The Moment of Truth
“Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
(The Gospel According to Luke 24: 45-49 NASB)
and He said to them,
“Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day,
and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things.
And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you;
but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
We sat across from one another, with a dinner table separating us, while we shared a meal and conversation. She had returned to the university, from her home in Spain, for her final semester, and I had the pleasure of hosting her in our home just the night prior to this meal. We had carried her personal belongings up from our basement (where they had been stored when she traveled home), and now, after carrying those same personal items into her dorm room, we now sat face-to-face enjoying a meal and conversation.
Our relationship began a few years ago, and now, what began with a ‘Hello’ has blossomed into a comfortable, easy-going conversation. We talked about her grandparents, her internship, her future, her mom’s tears when she (the student) left home for the university, and about her dad’s comments about technology and how it’s changing the world.
“This could be the way the world ends,” she said (quoting her dad) as she held up her cell phone.
Her dad had spoken those words to her over the summer, in relation to turmoil seen across the world, and these words were echoed by her elderly grandfather. Her thoughtful wisdom was so strong.
At that point, we talked about our views about the cell phone and about the promise of heaven to those who have a relationship with Jesus. Since her faith background is Catholic and because she accepts the truth about God as the Creator, I knew that the name of JESUS needed to be spoken during our conversation. The name of JESUS would help her begin to understand.
Then came her questions:
“Do you read the Bible every day?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Do you just read the Bible cover to cover, and then start all over again?”
“No, I do not read like that because it is not organized in chronological order, but a person could read it that way if she wanted.” Then I gave a brief comment about how the Bible is laid out and how The Psalms speaks songs about historical details found in the Old Testament.
By then, we had finished eating our meal and had shopped at Wal-Mart for a few dorm supplies. I was driving back to campus, when her third question came.
“What is your favorite verse in the Bible?”
I paused, thinking deeply. Do I have a ‘FAVORITE LIFE VERSE’?
My mind raced through several, verses I had highlighted in my Bible and verses that had margin notes written near God’s Word.
This moment, her question, and my response was The Moment of Truth.
Did I have a favorite verse? &
More importantly, could I recite from memory my favorite verse to her?
At that moment, I began to pray, asking the Lord to lay a particular verse on my heart and giving me the clarity to quote it from memory. Immediately, the Lord gave me what I sought.
“that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord,
(The Letter of Paul to the Romans 10: 9-10 & 13 NASB)
and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead,
you will be saved;
for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness,
and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
. . .
for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”
The quoting of my LIFE VERSE felt like The Moment of Truth for me, for if I professed to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus, a believer, and a reader of God’s Word—
- Shouldn’t I be able to quote it?
- Shouldn’t I be able to explain it to someone who asked?
- Shouldn’t I be ready in a moment’s notice to tell why I believed?
YES, I SHOULD!
As I drove and as I quoted my ‘Favorite Life Verse,’ I also prayed, asking the Lord for her spiritual eyes to be opened, to allow her to understand the Scripture, and to help her believe.
“Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
(The Gospel According to Luke 24: 45-49 NASB)
and He said to them,
“Thus it is written,
that the Christ would suffer
and rise again from the dead the third day,
and that repentance for forgiveness of sins
would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations,
beginning from Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things.
And behold,
I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you;
but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”