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Over the past two devotionals, I have told the story of the Bible club that I was allowed to have in a public elementary school in southern, Ontario, Canada. There is one more lesson involving the Bible club that bears telling...
Even after the change in principals, with our current administration permitting the Bible club but not promoting it, this club remained a highlight at my school. Club members brought in other students, ones who didn't know the Lord. There were other students, however, who either weren't interested in coming or had parents who wouldn't permit it. Those students who "fell through the cracks" so to speak became the target for club members.
First of all, the club prayed for these students. They went on, however, to do far more than pray. Taking the Great Commission to heart and full of God's Spirit, they began testifying to students outside the Bible club. And as will always happen when God's Spirit reigns, many of the other students listened. They saw the difference made in the school by the helpful, caring attitudes of the Bible club students, and they recognized something that they didn't have but needed in their own lives.
Bringing kids to the Lord wasn’t enough for these Bible club students, however. They recognized that they needed to help new Christians develop a relationship with God, and they began encouraging other students to read the Bible and pray.
Before long more and more students began attending Bible club, ranging in ages from Grade 5 (the lowest grade at this particular school) to high school, with former club members returning after graduation.
These students took to heart Jesus' words in Matthew 10:18: "You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles." (NKJV). They brought their testimonies before teachers, janitors, fellow classmates, and some even took them home and shared them with their families. I would be privileged to witness the baptisms of many of those students, and my heart rejoiced to see even their parents and siblings walking closer to the Lord as a result of that Bible club. Some of these students went on to university and then came back to do student placements either in my classroom or with my wife, who was a local Speech-Language Pathologist. Their stories of faith through the years served as an inspiration and encouragement for literally hundreds of others.
What happens when we are obedient to God and plant a simple seed? What happens when we determine to leave the seed in God’s hands? That seed grows into a plentiful Kingdom harvest! Praise God!
What is God placing on your heart to do? What is keeping you from doing it? Fear? Doubt? Busyness? Whatever it is, renounce it in the name of Jesus. Be obedient to God's Spirit. Plant that "seed" for the Kingdom of God. Submit it completely to Him, then sit back and be prepared for the bountiful harvest.
In His love,
Rob Chaffart
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