Not Now, Maybe Later
I remember sitting nervously in church as a teenager because I was desperately trying to keep out of the eye range of the preacher. I frantically looked around for my nearest exit without drawing attention to myself.
He had gone into to final section of his sermon that made me extremely uncomfortable: Heaven and Hell. I needed to make a sharp exit, but if I walked out for a convenient toilet break it would be really obvious to everyone in the room that I was trying to escape another altar call again.
"Here we go again" I thought to myself. He continued to talk about God’s love for us but I didn't completely get it. Wasn't the love I received from my family enough? He went on to say that God had the plans for our lives in His hands and that we had a special purpose. "A special purpose? Yeah right!" I thought to myself.
But then, my heart prompted me to go up to the front but the thought of everyone glaring at me caused me to keep still. It felt as if my feet were glued to the ground. My head was saying: “You've got too much to sort out before you can commit to anything like this”. So I listened to my thoughts while I continued to keep as still as possible to make sure that no one would realise I was battling with my indecisiveness, but it didn't work. My plans of going undetected had failed miserably!
From experience, I’ve noticed there's always that one brother or sister in the church who manages to pick certain people out on their radar when it comes to time for an altar call. If you are unfamiliar to an altar call, this event usually takes place after a sermon is preached. It’s an opportunity for people to come to the front to receive prayers and it also gives those who haven’t made a commitment to follow God the chance to do so. Anyway, a sister from the congregation started to head towards me and there was absolutely nowhere to hide.
She took me by the hand and led me straight to the front. I knew her intentions were good, but at that point in time, I just didn't want to be there. There were too many things that were whizzing around in my mind. I could think of many reasons for saying no to the call of God and only one reason for saying yes, and even that reason seemed to a be little unclear. I felt I had to put my foot down before I ended up committing to something that I would regret later on.
The sister went on to tell me that Jesus died for me, but I didn't fully understand what she meant. I had heard this statement a million times before, but I still couldn't figure out why Jesus would want to die for someone who doesn’t even want to follow Him. Nothing seemed to make any sense.
The sister looked me straight in the eye and asked me where I would spend in eternity if I continued to reject God’s call, and because I didn't want to accept the truth by answering honestly, I just shrugged my shoulders as a sign to say that I was unsure. I didn't know where her question had come from because I didn't hear or feel that God was calling me, but if she was right about this, why was God calling me anyway? I took a glance at the people in the room dressed in their hats and Sunday best while they were praying and crying out to God and I quickly came to the conclusion that I was nothing like them.
I began to question God by asking: “Is this what you are calling me to become Lord? Is this really your plan for my life? To be honest with you, it doesn’t look very exciting. You can't be calling me, not now God; I’m just not ready for all of this. Can’t you see that I’m the type of person who starts a lot of things but never quite manages to finish them. I’m not like the other church people and I don’t even know how to pray properly. What will happen if I regret making the decision to follow you tomorrow; how will I get out of it? How would I explain this to everyone else? What about all of the things that I would have to give up? My life would be completely boring.”
At that point in time the sister started praying for me, which was nice, but then I started to cry! I needed to get a hold of myself! I blamed my emotional behaviour on the soft music and the typical church atmosphere. Looking back today, I realise that this was the work of the Holy Spirit.
I had a goal and this was to make it back to my seat as quickly as possible, so I fought against what I thought were my emotions, stopped crying and I dried my tears. I shut my eyes to make it look as if I was praying to avoid making eye contact, but she continued to pray so I had no other choice but to listen. I tried to block out her convincing words by thinking up more reasons to support my argument for saying no.
Eventually the room became quiet as the prayers ceased and the service drew to an end. The sister told me that she would continue to pray for me and gave me a hug. I then walked back to my seat to collect my things and I quickly said goodbye to everyone. As I walked towards the exit, I said to myself: “Not now Chantelle, maybe later.”
Today, I thank God for His patience and mercy, He did not give up on me. The question is can you afford to delay the call of God any further? How much time do you have left to start your walk with God?
A wealthy woman phoned a manager of a concert hall and asked, “Have you found a diamond pendant? I think I may have lost it somewhere in the building last night.” The manager replied, “No, we haven't but we will take a look now for you. Please hold the line.” After several minutes of searching, one of the members of staff found the pendant. The manager rushed back to the phone and said, “We have some very good news for you. We have found it! Hello…hello…hello…” The woman had hung up! She never called back and her diamond pendant was never claimed! Do not miss out on what God has in store for you! God is calling you today! How long have you got left to answer His call? Was this your final chance? Jesus is REAL! Get to know Him for yourself and experience a personal relationship with Him. Remember all you need to do to be saved is repent, believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and confess that Jesus is Lord and Saviour. Read Romans 10:9-11. Start your exciting new journey!
Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. Isaiah 55:6 KJV
Please note that the altar call described above is a combined account of my experiences during my teenage years.
Odd One Out - Church Girls in a Club
Good Morning. I'm just about to get ready for church today, before I go, I would like to share an eye-opening event from my past with you.
Well, here goes... Have a blessed day!
By the time I was 18 years old, my main focus was to try and figure out what career path I should take. As I was still living at home with my parents, I continued to attend church on a regular basis and I even managed to attend Sunday school and conventions. I was doing just enough to blend in with the crowd at church.
In my mind, I thought that everything was ok with God and I because I was doing all of the basic practical things that pleased Him. Strangely enough, I believed He understood that this was just not the right time for me to make a commitment.
After asking God to help me with my driving test; I passed on my second attempt. Not only did He answer my prayer but He also blessed me with my first car.
My friends and I were planning a big night out, it was supposed to be amazing. What made that night out so special, was the fact that we now had our own transport. We were going to be traveling in style to the club in my second hand, 1 litre, metallic blue Nissan Micra.
The evening for our wild night finally came and I just couldn't wait for the church service to be over so I could make a sharp exit to get home, get changed, pick up my girls and hit the road. There was definitely no time for an altar call that evening.
““That night we weren’t labelled as those three girls from church. We were just Chantelle, Geneetta and Michelle.””
When we got to the club were having great time and by looking at us, you would never know that we were daughters of an Elder, a Minister and a Youth President. We were feeling good because that night we weren't labelled as those three girls from church, we are just Chantelle, Geneetta and Michelle - 3 young ladies who were out to have a good time just like the other ladies in the crowd.
So, there we were in the middle of the club having the time of our lives when all of a sudden we heard loud gun shots. People were screaming, panicking and trampling on one another to get to the nearest exit. We grabbed a hold of each other and raced to the car as quickly as we could. We jumped into my car and instantaneously started praying. Now, I'm not talking about a small prayer like: "Thank you Lord for keeping us safe. Amen." I mean we are really praying from the bottom of our hearts.
We ended the night by sitting in the car talking about how good God was to us. Not long after, I found myself tucked up in bed hours earlier than I originally planned. So much for a wild night out!
Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colours in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
St. Matthew 5: 14-16 (The Message)
That night we realised that no matter where we were or how we were dressed, there was something different about us. There was something deep down inside that we couldn't shake off. We looked like all of the other ladies in the club, but something told us that we were different.
Sometimes you may feel as if your the odd one out, but please don't feel bad about it. There's a reason why you can't just blend in with the crowd and it's simply because your not supposed to. God has put something deep down in you too. Start a closer walk with Him today so you can figure out what your purpose is and then you'll know what God has actually called you to do.
Today Michelle (left) is the author of Dead Man Walking and she is going strong in her walk with God. Michelle is founder and Director of Toolbox which is a company that specialises in healthy relationships. Geneetta (right) was the first one out of us to start her walk with God and Michelle and I followed shortly after. She is currently setting up her ministry and business ventures with her husband in Scotland.
Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Romans 12:2 (The Message)