changed

Sunday night we went to a This Hope concert at church.  They are a group of 5 men who now live in Georgia, but grew up here and do an insane amount of concerts each year.  Including one at our church annually!  We really enjoy them.   Anyways, we went as a family, and invited some dear friends along as well. 

Near the end of the concert, they did what most people would call an "altar call".. you know the drill.. "Heads are bowed, all eyes are closed.. no one is looking around... slip your hand up if you prayed that prayer for the first time, or truly meant it for the first time..."  Usually about once a year, I'm at an event where this is done...  it's a rather strange thing if you ask me.  Now, don't get me wrong, I'm definitely all for notifying church leaders or others if there are those that need someone to come alongside them in their new walk with God through Jesus Christ.. and doing this sort of group prayer to invite Jesus into your life and heart is great, it's the nudge some need that aren't  ready to do this on their own.  And maybe a reminder of all that God is and has done for us is just what they need to make that step... it's a perfect example of us loving our neighbors. 

 I'm all for the prayer aspect, folks... but the slipping the hand up?  Who started this practice?  And how does this look to someone who does not attend a church where this is a practice or doesn't attend church at all... and may be turned off by this seemingly odd practice?    And I couldn't help but think (and please excuse me if this offends you) that it is just a way for those who are doing the ministering to keep track of how many people have accepted Christ at one of their events.  I've visited Baptist churches where this is a regular practice, and for them it's probably just as routine as walking in and taking a church bulletin and finding a seat.  They probably don't think anything out of the ordinary is up.  I'm totally thinking outloud here, in this mini-rant, and am part giggling to myself about it all.  I would hate for those who are looking in at how we as believers in Christ are living our lives and STARTING our lives in Christ to have this as a stumbling block to their step of faith.  No magic words, or prayer spoken in elloquence, or hand slipped up at the perfect time without making a rustling sound, can make a holy miracle happen. 

The Bible says in Romans 10: 9-10,

9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

 End of story.  He will invade your life with the most welcome invasion. You just need to invite Him in.   He will penetrate your thoughts and pitch a tent on your soul.  Forever. 

No matter how odd the whole hand in the air thing is to this mama, I am grateful for the message my boy Drew heard the other night.  You know, Drew is growing up in a home and church that speaks truth to him day in an day out... and I was shocked the other night when my good buddy told me she spied Drew slip his hand up after praying.  My Drew has always been a boy whose brain has been years ahead of his body and age.  And at age 3 he decided that he just couldn't be good, and was on his floor sobbing.  I talked with him about Jesus, and about how he helps us and about how he forgives our sins if we ask.  Drew at that tender age, said that he wanted Jesus to come live in his heart and forgive him for not being good.  I prayed with my son that day... and as we both cried and hugged I knew I would never forget that moment or even where we were sitting.  (In front of the dresser in the boy's room, which is now the girl's room!)  So the other night, I was excited to see what he would say about the concert, and decided to just tell Jeremy and wait and see if he mentioned it right away.  Well, we got home, it was late and we all had a snack.  In a wobbly voice tight with emotion Drew said,  "Mom?  Dad?  This night has been quite the experience for me..." 

Jeremy and I huddled around him and asked him to tell us what had happened.  He said that he knows he asked Jesus to come into his life when he was younger, but he said in between sobs, "Now, I really meant it."
He asked us if we'd come and cuddle on the couch with him, so all 6 of us ended up piled on our loveseat, in a moment I also don't think I'll forget.  He then went on to ask us to pray that he would "go after God."  To which we said we already were, and would keep on praying that.  As he walked down the stairs to go to bed, he asked in his still emotional voice if he could sit up and read his Bible for a bit.  And we said... duh.. YES!  So a bit later when we tucked him in, he had read the first 6 chapters of Genesis... such a sweet, sweet boy. 

But this is my boy that always wants to be on the "bad" side.. you know, be the villain.  This is my boy that will push any sibling out of the way to make it to the top of the stairs first.   But this is also the boy that told a good buddy this morning that he didn't want to run around and chase the girls to tease them because he had CHANGED.  Those words were told to me by the mother of this boy who was so thankful to have an example of a changed life for her son.  She expressed that she had been trying to help her son understand what it all means... Jesus... Forgiveness... Change.   And now, she said, it will open the doorways of communication with her son.  Wow.  I was speechless as she was teary-eyed.  And couldn't believe my son, without any prodding or reminding, truly was CHANGED.  It is amazing grace indeed. 

You know, I've heard it said by some that we need to do all that we can in this life and then Jesus will pick up the slack and do the rest... but really the Bible says, it's that Jesus did it all, now we can spend the rest of our time thanking Him with our lives.