5:00 a.m.

I stopped by a friends house for lunch and conversation a couple of weeks ago.  It happened to be Spring Break week and his 18 year old son was on his way out to his part time job.  I greeted he and his father when I heard the Spirit speaking to me to repeat the following.  "Hey John (not his real name), now that you are 18 years old, I think you need a liminal experience."  "A what?" came John's response. "An experience that is transitional in developing a foundation in your life as you move into manhood."  John replied, "What does a liminal experience look like?"  "How about this summer," I said.  "we fly to Chicago for 3-4 days without any money, no cell phones and no place to stay and just trust God to supply all our needs?  At the same time, we would look for opportunities to spread the love and truth of Jesus anywhere the opportunity presents itself."  John got this large smile on his face as it say that he was all in.  John then said, "I have been thinking about growing stronger in my faith and closer to Jesus.  This is amazing!"  "Before we make those plans," I interrupted, "how about we see how faithful you are.  Going to Chicago is a huge commitment and proving yourself faithful is important."  John agreed and asked what I had in mind.  "How about we meet weekly to talk about Scripture we have read, confess our sins to each other and to pray really hard for lost people to come to Jesus."  John thought that was a good idea and asked when.  I knew John was interested, but I wanted to find out how interested he was.  I said, "John, because you are in school and working our options are limited.  The best option for me is really early in the morning on Wednesdays.  I currently have a 6:30am appointment so how about we meet at 5:00am at Starbucks?"  Without hesitation, John said that sounds great, I'll see you tomorrow, and off he went to work.

The next day at 5:00am, I was enjoying a Venti dark roasted brew at Starbucks.  John arrived somewhat late and said that wouldn't happen again.  I smiled and we talked about the process of a Life Transformation Group (LTG) and he agreed to be faithful that process.  The next week, John was at Starbucks at 5:00am ready to talk about God's Word, talk about our following Jesus and to pray for our friends who need Jesus.  I can't wait to see how God will use this young man in the decades ahead for His Kingdom building pleasure.  

My point for this short entry is to encourage us all to pray daily (10:2b virus) for men and women like John who are desperate for Jesus and are ready to learn and be faithful in following Him.  They are out there and they may come your way at the least expected times.  Be in prayer and be ready to act when the Spirit guides you.  Live out 2 Timothy 2:2 with all your heart and make Jesus' prime directive (Matthew 28:19-20) your prime directive.