She was walking out to get her coffee in her car as we were walking in to the church. The importance of this would soon be surprising and significant.
We greeted each other with joy. Just two weeks prior, we had been complete strangers. Then, we met in an unusual way at a Woman’s Retreat called Your Story For God’s Glory, discovering why your story matters. At the retreat, as she stood to share her story, she was shaky and looked like she wanted to bolt. Telling a deep, secret past while fighting emotions is not easy.
I sensed the Lord instructing me to go stand with her. I hesitated, praying and questioning if I was really sensing the Holy Spirit or just my desire to help her. (I had once been in those shoes.) Sitting near the stage, I motioned to her if I could come stand with her. She nodded her head to signal a YES. On the stage, I put my arm around her. She gripped my hand on her right shoulder. I placed my other hand on her left shoulder, like anchoring her from collapsing.
As she told of a teenage abortion, my tears flowed like streams. My eyes down in mourning, I hoped God’s Grace would touch hearts and lives.
She shared her sorrow and the enormity of how Christ became real and His forgiveness had flooded her soul.
She said that she did not deserve forgiveness and could never earn it but Christ had earned her forgiveness on the cross and through the resurrection.
We had an abortion in common. Yet, what a gift Christ our Savior is to fully forgive, redeem, and free us! We are free of the penalty of all of our sins and want others to know Christ as we are blessed to know Him and be changed because of him! We began as complete strangers. But, standing shoulder to shoulder, depending on our Savior and His Redemption, we experienced anew Christ’s great mercy, Gospel love and forgiveness.
So back to “the coffee”: when we met at the church entrance, after she went outside the church to get her coffee, we (my husband and I) went on to class. The class was showing a video of Pete Briscoe teaching on Galatians Chapter 1. Pete began talking about his coffee in great detail. Everyone seemed perplexed at how much he went on and on about his love of coffee and all the intricacies of his creme and sweeteners. He then went right into his lesson on the contrasts between the real gospel versus the mixed gospel. He spoke about the mixed gospel as another gospel, as the cursed gospel, and as no gospel at all! At this point, he poured car motor oil in his coffee!
The coffee that he had gone on and on about how much he loved now had poisonous ingredients! His intention hit the mark. Everyone realized this represented the cursed Gospel = cursed coffee!
We are called to the real coffee Gospel only:
C CHRIST
O OFFERS
F FORGVENESS
F FOR
E EVERYONE
E EVERYWHERE
Poison = the motor oil represents trying to earn salvation; making the gospel about us and not Christ, we add our poison to the real gospel making it no real gospel at all! The poison of thinking we are good and get to heaven by our goodness needs removed or not added at all. The truth that Jesus is Good; He alone saves by grace is the real Gospel. Salvation is a gift of God!
The Goodness of God in the finished work of Christ for the forgiveness of any sin is a real ingredient of the Gospel! We are to tell our stories to tell of God’s amazing Grace!
My new friend was going to get her coffee. This represented to me that she would go to those outside the church and bring them in –with the real coffee, the real Gospel of ALL GRACE!
A week or so later we went out for lunch and I asked her if she ever received help IN the church for recovery from her abortion. Her answer was my experience too. “NO, not really!” She had help outside the church, as did I! Why is the church not helping women and men who need the forgiveness and redemption of Christ for abortion?
There are 73 million abortions worldwide a year! We need to share Christ’s great grace! Christ is the answer for sin’s forgiveness! Jesus Christ came to save us from our sins! Matthew 1:21. Why not let him? The greatest, most important decision of life: to believe or reject Jesus Christ!vJesus said, repentance for forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed in his name. Luke 24:47. Jesus is the answer for sin’s forgiveness. Let’s live the real coffee of Christianity! Let’s live Revelation 12:11!
For more about Deborah Mott’s story to bring God glory:
The Elephant Gospel Book Updated:
Or:
Are You Willing? past pen name: Deborah Ann Saint
Thanks for reading and visiting!
MAY GOD BLESS AND KEEP YOU!
Further reading: John’s gospel says: “these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.’ John 20:31.
For believers:
“You can ‘approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that [you] may receive mercy and find grace to help [you] in [your] time of need’ (Hebrews 4:16). As you ask for forgiveness for the past – you can know that you will receive ‘mercy’. As you ask for help for the future you can know that you will receive ‘grace to help’ you in whatever your needs are and whatever difficulties you are facing at the moment.
The image of the throne is a way of emphasizing the majesty and glory of the one who sits on it – God. Yet through Jesus, you can approach God in prayer and worship no matter how you are feeling or what you have done.
Lord Jesus Christ, thank you that through your sacrifice I can approach the throne of grace with confidence, receive mercy and find grace to help me in my time of need.” Devotional Day 307 Of The Bible in one year 2019 by Nicky Gumble on You Version}
I am not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power of God to salvation for any who will believe! Let us tell of The Gospel of Christ, of His wondrous works for the children of mankind! This is the day of salvation. (Romans 1:16 &13:11; Psalm 107:31; 2 Corinthians 6:2)
Jesus is worthy of all glory honor and praise!
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