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The Woodcutter Finds Jesus and Peace
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Pocket Full of Quarters Trek 2012
The Woodcutter Finds Jesus and Peace
By Cheryle M. Touchton
The Pocket Full of Quarters Lady
Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,
NASU 1 Cor 13:4-5
My evangelism partners Laraine and Sandra Marlena and I wandered through the crowd of noisy laughing families. Kennesaw Baptist Church had a booth and their “Jesus Loves You” green balloons floated everywhere. Mothers juggled eating their sugar coated elephant ears, carrying their newly purchased arts and crafts, and trying to keep up with excited children. Kennesaw loved their Big Shanty Festival.
We noticed a ruggedly dressed man with shaggy sandy blond hair sitting alone staring at the sidewalk. What caught our eyes was the stark contrast of the happy families and bleak aloneness on his face. At first, I wondered if he was homeless and then I realized he was just rugged. He was the artist woodsman for the festival. The Big Shanty Festival had brought him in to delight the crowd with his chainsaw and a log, and then auction off the amazing wooden animals he created.
The 3 of us felt it at the same moment. The Holy Spirit drew us to him. He was a long way from home. He lived in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania and his face lit up when he heard that I too lived in Pennsylvania.
“I’m spiritual but not religious,” he said. We assured him we were not there to preach religion and he relaxed a little. He was seeker of spirituality and had built a kneeling bench in his woods. I told him about my kneeling bench in my sunroom.
“I have a relationship with the Father of light and peace,” I told him.
He had heard it all before and had given up on a god with a name so none of us expected him to receive Jesus. We had underestimated the power of the word of God and the depth of his need for Jesus. When we began speaking the word of God from the book of Romans, his eyes lit up with hope. We felt the Holy Spirit working as we quietly gave the gospel of love. When we invited him to pray to receive Jesus, he bowed his head and quietly and humbly begged Jesus to become his savior. When he looked up, he was a new man.
Sensing the pain in his life, Sandra Marlena asked, “Is there anything else we can pray for you today?”
Tears sprang to his eyes. “Yes,” he said. “My marriage. We are in trouble.”
We understood. The three of us surrounded him and touched him as we agreed in prayer for peace and love in his home. We commanded the demons of anger, bitterness, and sadness to leave his home.
When we finished, Laraine told him about 1 Corinthians 13. “It is all about love,” she said. “No matter what, just love your wife. Love will fix everything. When she complains, tell her you love her.”
I pulled out what I like to call the “evangelism cheat sheet.” It contains the script and scriptures for leading someone to Jesus. I gave it to him.
“Lead your wife to Jesus,” I begged. “She may not know it but she longs for him just as much as you did.” I gave a short lesson in how to lead someone to Jesus.
We came back later for his show. People crowded around for the noisy show. He saw me, smiled, and gave me a thumbs up sign. He took a giant log and with sawdust flying everywhere, a beautiful owl emerged. The crowd cheered.
We had 19 people pray to receive Jesus that sunny Saturday but the woodcutter was the one that stayed with me. He may not know it, but because we asked God for it, there was already peace in his home.
You can see pictures of the woodcutter and his work by going to the photo gallery and looking at Georgia – Kennesaw – Shanty Festival Day 1. Photo Gallery
Join our prayer team and help us pray for people like the woodcutter. Join our Prayer Team
Help me stay on the road ministering to people like the woodcutter. Donating
Follow the entire journey. 2012 Pocket Full of Quarters Missionary Journey
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