And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased Mar 4:8
As I learn more of my friend Cido’s story the more I am wanting to hear. He is a spiritual baby at 49 but keep your eyes on him he’s growing fast. What he is learning from the Word of God is taking his breath away as he begins to comprehend who God is and what salvation means.
This last week I was asked by someone if I thought that Cido’s decision was genuine. That is a good question these days. Many make “decisions” to accept Christ and there is no apparent change in their life. In others there seems to be change but it is short lived. It reminds me of Jesus’ parable of the sower where some seed falls in different soils and the results are different. The following story relates a tiny slice of Cido’s young Christian life that might help you and me to evaluate what kind of “spiritual fruit” Cido is producing.
This is an election year in Brazil. The onslaught of propaganda is nearly unbearable. Pamphlets carpet the streets. T.V. ads are constant. Cars with huge speakers BLARING ditties for their prefered candidate are plethora. One blaring ditty in particular nearly drove everyone crazy. Each candidate has his electoral number to help voters remember which button to push in the booth. This guys number has been tattooed into the psyche of the population 11888, 11888, 11888, 11888!
Weeks before the grand finale 11888 came to Cido’s house. Cido has worked in politics for years. He has a lot of experience, contacts and has even suffered physical abuse and been imprisoned for his cause. He was one of the principle organizers that stood for the homeless and won an apportionment of land for hundreds.
Cido told me, “Pastor, after just five minutes of conversation I knew that this guy was a crook. However, he said, ‘If you will concentrate on my campaign I will give you $80,000.00.”
What he said next brought tears to my eyes. “Pastor, that money would have really helped to pay all of my debts. I sat down with my wife and we talked about it. I said, ‘Zita if I accept this money then, I’ll have to leave the church.’ So, I called Mr. 11888 and turned down his offer.”
This temptation came just ONE week, ONE WEEK after Cido made a decision to allow Jesus Christ take control of his life. Can you imagine the pressure that an offer of $80,000.00 bucks would bring into your world? So what if you support this guy. Who would know? Who would care?
We know the answer don’t we. We have years of Faith behind us. We might smugly sit here right now and say, “God would know! Congratulations Cido! You did good!” But imagine putting yourself into his young spiritual shoes. What on earth would you have done? Just one week old in the faith! Is Cido a believer? If he’s not he is an excellent faker!
As I learn more of my friend Cido’s story the more I am wanting to hear. He is a spiritual baby at 49 but keep your eyes on him he’s growing fast. What he is learning from the Word of God is taking his breath away as he begins to comprehend who God is and what salvation means.
This last week I was asked by someone if I thought that Cido’s decision was genuine. That is a good question these days. Many make “decisions” to accept Christ and there is no apparent change in their life. In others there seems to be change but it is short lived. It reminds me of Jesus’ parable of the sower where some seed falls in different soils and the results are different. The following story relates a tiny slice of Cido’s young Christian life that might help you and me to evaluate what kind of “spiritual fruit” Cido is producing.
This is an election year in Brazil. The onslaught of propaganda is nearly unbearable. Pamphlets carpet the streets. T.V. ads are constant. Cars with huge speakers BLARING ditties for their prefered candidate are plethora. One blaring ditty in particular nearly drove everyone crazy. Each candidate has his electoral number to help voters remember which button to push in the booth. This guys number has been tattooed into the psyche of the population 11888, 11888, 11888, 11888!
Weeks before the grand finale 11888 came to Cido’s house. Cido has worked in politics for years. He has a lot of experience, contacts and has even suffered physical abuse and been imprisoned for his cause. He was one of the principle organizers that stood for the homeless and won an apportionment of land for hundreds.
Cido told me, “Pastor, after just five minutes of conversation I knew that this guy was a crook. However, he said, ‘If you will concentrate on my campaign I will give you $80,000.00.”
What he said next brought tears to my eyes. “Pastor, that money would have really helped to pay all of my debts. I sat down with my wife and we talked about it. I said, ‘Zita if I accept this money then, I’ll have to leave the church.’ So, I called Mr. 11888 and turned down his offer.”
This temptation came just ONE week, ONE WEEK after Cido made a decision to allow Jesus Christ take control of his life. Can you imagine the pressure that an offer of $80,000.00 bucks would bring into your world? So what if you support this guy. Who would know? Who would care?
We know the answer don’t we. We have years of Faith behind us. We might smugly sit here right now and say, “God would know! Congratulations Cido! You did good!” But imagine putting yourself into his young spiritual shoes. What on earth would you have done? Just one week old in the faith! Is Cido a believer? If he’s not he is an excellent faker!
And he was... :(
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