|
Touch Point - Liberty
|
Pocket Full of Quarters Trek 2009 – Give ‘em Heaven
Touch Point - Liberty
By Cheryle M. Touchton
The Pocket Full of Quarters Lady
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. Luke 4:18-19 KJV
“Would you like a Liberty Bracelet?” we asked to the thousands of people who stopped by our booths. Christ on the Mall gave away over 3000 Liberty Bracelets and hundreds of Bibles. The bracelets were so popular that when we ran out, everyone frantically made more. We called them a “bracelet with a message.”
“Today America celebrates liberty. I find my liberty through Jesus Christ,” I said as I tied the leather bracelet on the arms of people of all different ages, nationalities, religions, and races. “May I tell you what the colored beads mean?”
Everyone said yes.
“If you died today, do you believe you would go to heaven?” I asked. The answers varied but were usually versions of yes, no, I hope so, or I don’t know.
“Why do you believe that?” I asked. There, the answers were interesting. “Because I’m a good person,” was by far the most popular response.
“We are just smart rats. Rats have no after life. We live like rats and die like rats,” was the most depressing answer.
Surprisingly few gave the only true answer – I know I’m going to heaven because Jesus Christ is my Savior.
I mostly used my EvangeCube, a pictured cube of cubes that can be flipped around to give a visual plan of salvation. I had them touch the different colored beads on the bracelet that represented the key points of the story.
“Touch the gold,” I’d say. I pointed to the bright light on the cube. “Gold represents heaven. God wants you to go to heaven.
“Touch the black bead.” I pointed to the picture of a man surrounded by black. “Sin separated us from God. The black represents sin. God is just and judges sin. Because of sin, we cannot go to heaven.”
“Touch the red bead.” I opened the cube to the picture of Jesus dying on the cross. “Jesus died a horrible bloody death on the cross as a sacrifice for your sin. Through that blood, you can be forgiven. The red represents the blood Jesus shed for you.”
“Touch the white bead.” I opened to the picture of Jesus’ pulling a smaller hand out of hell and into heaven. “This is the best part,” I said excitedly. “If you believe in Jesus and pray to invite Him into your life, all of your sins will be forgiven and you can enter heaven. Jesus provided the bridge back to God. The white represents how pure you can become. The Bible says Jesus doesn’t even remember our past mistakes.”
“Touch the green bead.” I opened the cube up to the last picture. “Green represents growth.” I pointed to each picture, one at a time. “After we receive Jesus, we are to pray, read our Bible, go to church, and lead others to Christ.”
My body ached from standing all day. My voice grew hoarse from speaking over the Christian music playing on the live stage. I never grew tired of telling this amazing true story. All around me, fellow team members were telling the same story with the same excitement I was feeling. We used the simple formula given to us.
“You can invite Jesus into your life right now. You can pray and ask Him to be your Savior. This easy prayer will change all of eternity for you. I’ll tell you what to pray. Will you please pray with me right now?” I’d invite.
“Yes,” said one person after another. They would pray, “Jesus, I believe in you. I believe you died for my sins and rose from the dead. I confess that I have made mistakes and ask for your forgiveness. I invite you to come into my life right now. Thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit.”
Teenagers and children prayed, while relatives and friends watch and prayed. Entire families prayed together. People from China, Germany, England, and Thailand prayed. Active church members realized they’d never invited Jesus to be their personal Savior and prayed to receive Jesus. Muslims and Hindus listened, took tracts, and a few prayed. These prayers started before we could get our booth set up and continued after we tore our booth down. We only stopped when the fireworks made talking impossible. We worked as a team for over 12 hours. I lost count after praying with 15 people. Fellow team members said the same thing. We have no idea how many people our 13 person team lead to Christ. We can only imagine how many people everyone participating in Christ on the Mall reached.
There, in our nation’s capital, among tens of thousands celebrating our nation’s liberty, hundreds of people found liberty in Christ Jesus on the 4th of July. They share a spiritual birthday with the birthday of our nation.
I’ve had many wonderful days in my life. I married the man of dreams. I gave birth to a beautiful son. I adopted a son and a daughter. I have been blessed by the birth of 3 grandchildren. I even witnessed my 85-year-old father receive his high school diploma. Yet, almost nothing can top what I experienced today. The only day in my entire life that was better than today was the day I invited Jesus to be my Savior. I wonder what tomorrow will bring.
==========================================================
Cheryle M. Touchton is the Director of Pocket Full of Change Ministries. For more information or to schedule a speaker for an event, go to www.pocketfullofchange.org or call Gail Golden at 904 316-5462.
This ministry exists because people like you are called to help fund the work of the kingdom. To help keep the Pocket Full of Quarters Lady on the road as a traveling missionary, send your tax deductible contribution to Pocket Full of Change Ministries, POB 51205, Jacksonville Beach, Florida 32240 or go to the donate button on the home page of this website.
|
|