Scripture
When I came to the city of Troas to preach the Good News of Christ, the Lord opened a door of opportunity for me. 2 Corinthians 2:12
Observation
Paul was being criticized by certain leaders in Corinth for being flaky with his travel itinerary and ministry plans. Paul was making it clear that even if he planned on going to Corinth earlier he wasn’t about to walk by a door God was opening in Troas and not walk through it. He held loosely to his plans so he could hold tightly to God’s leading. Luke actually describes this whole journey of following Jesus in Acts 16. To be honest, it does look pretty convoluted as an outside observer zigging, zagging, stopping, going, but Paul was following the resurrected Lord and this is how Jesus did ministry as well as explained in John 15: “19So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. 20For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. In fact, the Father will show him how to do even greater works than healing this man. Then you will truly be astonished. 21For just as the Father gives life to those he raises from the dead, so the Son gives life to anyone he wants.” John 5:19-21. This is what Easter on Tuesday looks like. Following Jesus through the doors He’s opening for those who didn’t walk through the church doors on Sunday.
Scripture
When I planted a church in Seattle I had to learn the language of the land and there was no better place to do that than at Starbucks. I knew if I had any hope of reaching the area I had to know how to navigate the complex ordering options of coffee culture. So, one of the doors God opened for me was at a 24 hour drive-through Starbucks on Lake City Way and 120th in Seattle. While working at Starbucks I was purposefully praying for my fellow baristas who did not know the Lord and had no interest in attending this new church I was starting. In between the rushes of caffeine addled customers I’d often have time to have all kinds of conversations including spiritual ones, especially when they found out I was a pastor. Once they got over the initial shock of a pastor working the latte bar right alongside them they would ask me what it was like to, you know, “be a pastor”. I simply explained that it was the best thing in the world to walk with Jesus every day. No matter where I was, in a coffee house, in my house or in the cafeteria at a local Junior College where we met on Sundays for worship, I was never alone. I never pushed my faith on anyone but relished the opportunities to pray with my co-workers when they were going through the ups and downs of life. One of these baristas was a fun and feisty woman named Genessee. We had some really good discussions and she was very honest and never afraid to ask me the tough stuff. We worked together for around two years before the church grew to the point where I needed to step away from Starbucks. Even though she hadn’t come to my church I kept stopping in to catch up with her. Then, when we moved back to Hawaii I lost track of her. Imagine my joyous surprise yesterday when, after 10 years, Genessee walks in through the doors of The Father’s House with her husband Andrew to join us for our Easter celebration service! As we caught up after the service she explained how she came to know Christ and met her husband who loves Jesus and now they were raising their family in Arizona to follow Jesus. It’s not often in life that you get to see the seeds you’ve planted come to fruition, so this was such a gift to me to see Genessee. To see that, in some small way, those spiritual conversations we had at the Starbucks counter actually had eternal value. I share this story to encourage each person who may be discouraged that “the one” you invited to Easter didn’t show up. Here’s the good news. When you show up today, so does Jesus. Our Resurrected Savior walks through those open doors at your work, school, home, grocery store, etc. It may look like to the outside observer that your ministry and witness isn’t having much effect, but just know Jesus using your authentic faith and enduring witness to draw people to Himself whether or not they ever go to your church!
Prayer
Lord, I’ll be honest, after April Fool’s Day, I often feel like a fool when I share my faith. I often wonder if it’s having any effect at all accept to me make me look like a wierdo to those around me. Thank you for the gift of Genessee’s visit yesterday to remind me that You never waste a witness and all You ask me to do is walk through the open door. You are The Resurrected Lord on Monday and I don’t miss a thing You’re doing around me in the lives of those You lead me to.
