Welcome to "Tuesday Morning"—a great way to begin a Tuesday, or any other day of the week. Remember: hurting people are always welcome here.

 

Jesus gave his disciples two promises that are recorded in the first chapter of Acts.

Then He was gone. In a moment. In a cloud. The disciples looked upward, stunned. They were speechless. At first they didn't see the two men dressed in white standing beside them. The men had a message for the disciples: "This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." The earlier instructions from Jesus had been clear: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised...in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

 

It happened exactly as Jesus had promised. The disciples waited in Jerusalem for the arrival of the Holy Spirit. Days later, while they were praying, the Holy Spirit descended upon them. Instantly they received new power, and immediately they began to witness to others what Jesus said and what he did. Jerusalem (and the world) would never be the same again.

 

The two promises were fulfilled, starting that very day. Jesus' followers were spiritually empowered, and they witnessed wherever their feet took them—and they continued to do so for the rest of their lives.

 

For more than two thousand years this pattern has been repeated. Believers have been empowered, and empowered believers have witnessed to everyone willing to listen. The power of a Spirit-filled witness cannot be contained, and the results cannot be calculated. Witnesses lead to more witnesses being created. Without end. Until Jesus returns.

 

One of the most effective "witnesses" of this generation is Chuck Colson. Countless millions of people have heard or read his testimony, and their lives have been changed. This week's "Tuesday Morning" is the story of Colson's spiritual conversion. It is attached. Open it whenever you are ready to be blessed. When you are finished reading it, forward it to someone who needs a spiritual lift. It may change their lives.

 

Tom Barnard

A Witness Who Has Been There

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Chuck Colson’s Prayer

Tom Barnard

 

ifteen years ago Prison Fellowship Ministries published Chuck Colson’s book of daily readings,

A Dangerous Grace. Unlike other devotional books Dangerous Grace consists of 52 weeks of highlights drawn from the author’s previous books, plus insights from his speeches, his magazine articles, and his daily radio broadcasts.

 

The second “reading” in the book is entitled “Piercing the Armor.” It is the story of Colson’s encounter with God, and his prayer of commitment to God. It happened during a week he spent in Maine, “searching for God and truth.” One “gray, overcast evening,” he visited the home of a friend, Tom Phillips, who had encouraged him to read a chapter from Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis. The chapter was on the subject of pride. After quoting from part of the chapter to Colson, Tom asked, “Would you like to pray together, Chuck?” Startled by Tom’s question, Colson answered, “Sure—I guess I would—fine.” The friend’s prayer was both personal and powerful. Reflecting back on the moment, Colson wrote,

 

“As Tom prayed, something began to flow into me—a kind of energy. Then came a wave of emotion which nearly brought tears. I fought them back. It sounded as if Tom were speaking directly and personally to God, almost as if He were sitting beside us. Later, outside in the darkness, the iron grip I’d kept on my emotions began to relax. Tears welled up in my eyes as I groped in the darkness for the right key to start my car. Angrily I brushed them away and started the engine.”

 

Driving away from his friend’s home, Colson said that “the tears flowed uncontrollably. I was crying so hard I pulled to the side of the road.” Then he continued,

 

“I forgot about machismo, about pretenses, about fears of being weak. And as I did, I began to experience a wonderful feeling of release. Then came the strange sensation that water was not only running down my cheeks, but surging through my whole body as well, cleansing and cooling as it went. They weren’t tears of sadness and remorse, nor of joy—but tears of relief.”

 

At this point, Colson prayed what he called his “first real prayer.” It was brief. “God, I don’t know how to find you, but I’m going to try! I’m not much the way I am now, but I want to give myself to you.” Then he said, “I didn’t know how to say more, so I repeated over and over the words, ‘Take me.’”

 

The emotional outburst of that evening spent with his friend, Tom, would linger. Later, at the end of his week in Maine, Colson pondered over what had happened. He said, “What I studied so intently all week opened wider the new world into which I had already taken my first, halting steps.” Colson continued:

 

“And so early that Friday morning, while I sat alone staring at the sea I love, words I had not been certain I could understand or say fell naturally from my lips: ‘Lord Jesus, I believe in You. I accept You. Please come into my life. I commit it to You.’”

 

Later testifying to the reality of his conversion experience, Colson said, “With these few words came a sureness of mind that matched the depth of feeling in my heart. God filled the barren void I’d known for so many months, filling it to its brim with a whole new kind of awareness.”

 

A witness from an earlier century, John Newton, expressed it this way:

 

“Amazing grace! how sweet the sound! That saved a wretch like me.

I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see.”

 

If you want to experience the grace that Chuck Colson experienced many years ago, why not repeat the prayer that Chuck expressed on that cold morning in Maine. It changed his life; it may change your life as well. If you are willing, write to me at the address below and tell me how God is changing your life.