Ohhh my – am I a talker! I love to talk. Let’s just talk it alll out. I like to dive in and dissect every thought, feeling, and action; my own and otherwise.

As much as I enjoy chit chat among friends and family I’m not a huge fan of talking to random strangers in waiting rooms and such. I do not look around and try to make eye contact in order to engage in conversation with another waiting person. My mother does that and I’m like, “Mom. No ma’am. Absolutely not.”

So waiting to be called back for blood work a few days ago I was doing my best to look uninterested in striking up a new friendship.

There were 3 chairs along the wall and I sat in the one nearest the corner. I put my purse and paperwork in the chair next to me and I started *applying makeup*.

Yes – I did.

Not just a touch up either. I totally walked in bare faced so we’re talking moisturizer, foundation, eyeliner – the works.

Apparently this behavior seemed inviting to Mr. Lloyd.

Mr. Lloyd appeared to be in his early 60s I would guess. Dressed casually in shorts, T-shirt, tennis shoes, dingy off white crew cut socks, grey hair and glasses. Just a regular man.

There were at least a dozen empty seats throughout the office but he went right ahead and sat in the one next to my purse and menagerie of makeup and belongings. Of course I was thinking, “Really?? This is the chair you’re going to choose? Could you not sit in any one of the other dozen or so empty seats? I’m clearly wanting lots of personal space over here.”

Still – nothing about my set up or the vibe I was trying to put off made me seem unapproachable to this nice man. He just sat right down in my territory.

I didn’t look up.

Across the room there is was an elderly man having an awkward and excessively loud conversation with a stranger next to him. He was telling this lady every detail of his past. Consequently the whole office was learning about Mr. Lake as well. I know his name because he said it multiple times. Again, very high volume. He preceded to spill that he had 10 children with 2 different wives of which had both passed away.

At that, I did look up.

Mr. Lloyd was looking at me grinning and we both agreed we couldn’t imagine that many mouths to feed.

And so began the conversation between Mr. Lloyd and I.

He found it comical that I had made an appointment but the patients who came in after me as “walk ins” were being called back before me. I was not as amused.

I was all uptight because I purposely arrived extra early so I would be able to eat breakfast with Jimmy in the hospital cafeteria and still get to work on time. With every name that was called before mine I became increasingly agitated. All my thoughts were focused on myself and my own agenda for the day.

Mr. Lloyd had an entirely different agenda. He was looking for an open door to give me a very specific warning. He wanted to tell me about something he had experienced in order to save me and anyone I knew from future misery. He had recently experienced a medical misfortune. He was prescribed a common antibiotic earlier this year that carried the risk of a rare complication. Sadly Mr. Lloyd was one of the statistics. After only 3 pills his Achilles’ tendon hardened and snapped. He could not walk and had to have surgery to repair the tendon. He showed me the scar. It was definitely fresh. He is just now able to walk again without the knee scooter.

What stopped me in my tracks is this: he said, “I tell my story to everyone I come in contact with so they can be warned”.

Wow. At that moment the Holy Spirit impressed upon me very clearly that I also have a warning to share with everyone I come in contact with – but I don’t. Why? There are many poor excuses I could give but the dominant ones are 1. I’m afraid of what they’ll think of me. 2. I feel I am a pathetic witness for Jesus because of my negativity and day to day behavior. And 3. I am too self absorbed with my personal responsibilities and problems.

How incredibly selfish does that sound?

My warning? There is life after death and if you don’t surrender to Jesus as Savior, Hell is your destination. The Achilles’ tendon thing is pretty bad – but Hell, I assure you, is way worse.

So when I’m having all these conversations that I so love to participate in, what am I talking about if I’m not telling people I care about – much less strangers – that they need to give their hearts and lives to Jesus? And with urgency. I’m talking about absolutely nothing. Idle words. A whole lot of them.

Jesus said, “And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgement day for every idle word you speak.” Matthew 12:36 NLT

That is an overwhelmingly frightful thought. I am extremely thankful for God’s grace so freely given.

Moreover, not all my words are exactly idle. Some actually cause *harm*.

“The tongue can bring death or life”

Proverbs 18:21 NLT

Gasp.

That is the part I am so ashamed of. Not only am I more often than not ignoring the Great Commandment to share the Good News of Jesus Christ and not pounding with desire to help lead people to a saving knowledge of Him, I could actually be turning them away from receiving the free gift of eternal life with my idiotic-ness.

God, forgive me. Friends and family, forgive me. Please hear me. Jesus willingly died on a cross to pay a debt we could never pay. “There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12 NLT

That means no amount of goodness that is in us can ever mend the brokenness between God and us. As a matter of fact, the Bible says, “When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags.” Isaiah 64:6 NLT

We are born into sin. We may not like that fact but it doesn’t make it any less true. There is nothing we can do about our sinful nature. That is why in the Old Testament there had to be a blood sacrifice periodically to atone for the sins of the people. That blood sacrifice was usually the blood of a spotless lamb. At last, God had mercy and sent His only Son to be the forever spotless Lamb.

For us.

And we do not have to do one single thing to earn God’s grace. That is what grace is. Unmerited favor.

I became a true Believer at the age of 18. Before my conversion I had followed religious traditions and hoped in the end my good would outweigh my bad. After all, I was a pretty “good” person. The problem with that is no where in the Bible does it ever say there will be a big scale weighing our good against our bad – but I didn’t know the Bible. When Jimmy had the boldness and courage to share the Truth with me, I got hung up on the whole “you don’t have to be good to go to Heaven” thing. How can this be true? I had spent my entire 18 years trying to do all the good things so the scale would tip in my favor. Then Jimmy showed me the verse that filled in all the gaps:

“God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this: it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”

Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT

It’s not about doing (or not doing), it’s about believing. Faith. That is how Abram was saved. His faith was credited to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6). It still takes faith, but it is so much easier now since we have the power of the Holy Spirit to draw us.

This is serious. This is a literal life and death matter. Think back. Has there ever been a point in your life when you’ve realized you couldn’t be good enough to get your own self to heaven? Did you surrender to Jesus then knowing He was your only hope? If not please do so. Make sure you know where you are going because each us has an predetermined number of days this side of heaven.

“Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgement, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many…”

Hebrews 9:27-28a NIV

Please consider these scriptures as evidence of the Truth:

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. – Romans 3:23

(all = every person)

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. –Romans 6:23

(it is a GIFT)

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were sinners, Christ died for us. -Romans 5:8

(while were still sinners – no cleaning yourself up before coming to Him is required)

If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. -Romans 10:9-10 ESV

(confess and believe)

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. -Romans 10:13

(again – every person)

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Lord, I pray each and every person reading this has their heart softened by Your Word. I ask Your forgiveness for those I have had access to and blew it. I have regrets over those countless missed opportunities. Please continue to have grace and mercy toward me. Please open the spiritual eyes and ears of those who have yet to surrender to their need for You. Thank You for loving us so much that You would send your precious Son to reconcile us to You if we simply believe and ask. Jesus, thank You for being obedient to the death. Thank You for the power of the resurrection and it’s undeniable ability to defeat death. Thank You for making a way when there was no way. You are “the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through [You].” John 14:6- Please remove all doubt and fear from the hearts of those who desperately need You even though they may not realize it. Let them see You clearly and never judge You from what they see in people. Be glorified. In Jesus’ name. Amen.