“Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
1 Kings 18:37
The Charleston Church of Christ was able to witness an amazing miracle of God this summer as we saw four men restored to our fellowship in one week. My father-in-law Sam used to preach, “There ain’t nothing like a baptism.” But seeing the Lord turn people who have wandered away back to him and even back to our church family may be even more encouraging.
Why are restorations so encouraging? Maybe because what precedes them can be so discouraging. If you’ve been a disciple for a while, you have seen your fair share of folks who decide to walk away from the church. And sometimes people even walk away from God altogether, and we see sin cause destruction in their lives. These are the stories that can discourage us the most. But whether or not we can see it, God is always working to turn people’s hearts back to him.
This summer, God did that with four men in the same week and it reminded us that these stories are not over. God is still moving powerfully among us! The first one was Mike Barnes. Mike was a former evangelist in our churches who left after 2003. And after 20 years God brought him back to our congregation, and he’s on fire for Jesus again. The second was Deven VanDeNyde, the son of long-time members of our church. Baptized as a teen, he walked away from God and in his late 20s truly hit rock bottom. But God helped him put the pieces back together and he is now a loving and devoted member of our church again. The last two are Tom McMahon and Willie Page. Both of these men stopped attending church many years ago and yet had friends who stayed close and connected and were there for them when they were ready to seek God once again.
Whether we see it or not, God is always working on our hearts. We are so nearsighted yet he still has vision for each one of us no matter how far we wander. These four men are a sign that God’s word is true; he is turning their hearts back again. And we know that in every city around the world he is doing the same thing.
