Even though Christmas was a few months ago, there are a couple of “God stories” from our Family Christmas Outreach in Fresno that are too good not to tell.
This year we had about 500 folks, overflowing our center. One hundred of them were volunteers from our church plants and supporting churches. It always encourages me to see a diverse group of brothers and sisters in Christ working together to serve. I believe it reflects the power of the gospel of peace and reconciliation. Jesus said the world would know we are Christians by our love, and I believe we lived out that truth that day.
My wife Sharon did an awesome job of organizing this event, with food and crafts in abundance. It is wonderful to see her using her gifts. She shared with me this story. As the evening started, Sharon was surprised to be introduced to a volunteer who was a professor at Fresno State. She learned that this professor taught Chinese. Later that evening an elderly Asian couple, speaking no English, showed up at the door. Sharon did her best to explain the simple free-ticket system we use for each family to give everyone an opportunity to participate. Although they smiled, it was obvious they did not understand, and they walked out the door in confusion, heading home. Sharon followed them out the door to find out what language they spoke.You guessed it—Chinese. Within minutes, Sharon introduced the couple to the professor for a full explanation of the event and no doubt an introduction to Jesus. Later, the couple came back to Sharon repeating, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” It was clear God had orchestrated this situation.
I spent most of the evening praying for folks as they came by our designated prayer corner. We have a big painted sign on the wall inviting people to sit and talk for a moment. One lady sat down and asked me if she needed a ticket to get prayer. I smiled and told her that no ticket was necessary, “You can get as much prayer as you would like.” As we talked, I found out she was a believer who regularly reads her Bible. She wanted prayer because she felt guilty about being so sad when God had been good to her. I asked her if she struggled with depression and if she took medication. She answered yes to both questions. I suggested that God had brought her to me because I have also struggled with depression. I prayed for her and looked over to see tears streaming down her face. I know how she felt. Someone understood and did not judge her. I thought, this is the reason Jesus came to this planet—He walked with us to experience our pain and then to suffer on the cross to be our Savior.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).