The incentives of the Holy Spirit

Several years ago, the Lord made it my heart to begin a Bible study in the church of a tiny town called Pendleton. It was in an area of ​​Canada that had no testimony of Christ within sixty kilometers.

I went to see the church council and told them who I was and why I wanted to rent their church. They eventually allowed us to use the building for free and they even provided a person to turn on the heating and sweep the snow in the winter.

I immediately prepared flyers to announce the Bible study and distributed them. The first evening there was a snow storm and no one came ! I ended up alone with my six-year-old son, Jason, and my brother-in-law, who was the lead singer. My brother-in-law asked me, "Are we going home ?"

I replied : "No, the Lord has called me to do it, so we're having a meeting tonight !" And we did. We loved God, my son shared his testimony and had a great time !

I continued to hold Bible study week after week. Sometimes there were six people, sometimes only four. But eventually, after several years, biblical study became a church. This church grew and founded a second, plus a Christian school and a food store - a testimony that still exists today.

What would have happened if I had just returned home from the first night of Bible study ? I could have said to myself : "All this is of no use - this result is not worth the effort I have made."

How sad it will be for some people when they come to the throne of God and realize that the Lord's incentives were there to push them to do something that would have brought honor to His name but that they did not obeyed.

Carter Conlon