By Rusty Stowe
A man was crawling through the Sahara desert when another man approached him riding a camel. As the rider came closer the man in the sand whispered, "Water, give me water!" The guy on the camel said, "Sorry, but I do not have any water, but I can sell you a necktie." "Neckties?!" the man in the sand said, "I need water!" The rider said, "Hey they are only $4.00 each, but I will make you a deal and you can have two for $7.00." The man in the sand replied "I do not need neckties, I need water!" So the man on the camel rode off into the desert. A few days later the man in the sand came upon a little café in a beautiful oasis. He mustered up just enough energy to ask the headwaiter for some water to which the headwaiter said, "Sorry, you must have a necktie to be served here!" The point of this story is that we need to be ready for any and every circumstance we might encounter.
As we move head first into the year 2022, are we ready for what God is preparing for us? Back in 1948, God used a young evangelist named Billy Graham to preach a series of revival meetings in a small tent near Hollywood, California. At first, the members of the press ignored this man and these meetings, but as things began to happen and the news began to spread, this became known as one of the greatest evangelistic meetings of all times.
Much earlier in Biblical history, God used a little known guy named John the Baptist to do much of the same thing. He too was a young man who dressed differently than everyone else. The message he preached was like nothing they ever heard, but it was evident that John had the power of God upon his life!
I just wonder who it might be this year that God uses to do something larger than life to grow His kingdom? It just might be someone at CHBC! It might just be you!
So the question is still, "Are you ready?"
Rusty