Last Wednesday I received a text message from a friend in Kentucky.  He sends me a similar text every year on that date.

It was 38 years ago on a Friday night when I stopped by his house to talk.  He had recently started attending our church and was showing interest in spiritual matters.  That night I after I shared the gospel with him, we got on our knees in his kitchen and he committed his life to Jesus.  He was saved!  A few weeks later I baptized him in the Kentucky River.

He’s older than me and had a battle with prostate cancer a couple of years ago.  Through it all, he’s had Jesus in his life.

Each time I receive his text, I remember that night and smile.  It encourages me.

You may not know this, but more often than not you will be encouraged when you witness and invite people to church.  Sometimes the encouragement is immediate.  Other times it is later and ongoing.

Yes, the person benefiting the most when we share Jesus is the lost person hearing it.  But that doesn’t mean we are also blessed.  We are!

So talk.  Invite.  Witness.  You’ll be glad you did.

Pastor Steve Hogg