Can you imagine anything worse than being lost for eternity? The fact that people all about us are going into a Christless eternity should motivate us as Christians to share Christ with others that they might be saved. Christ said unto his disciples, “Ye shall be witnesses unto me.” (Acts 1:8) Years ago I began to pray for members of my high school class which numbered 236. I have had the privilege of leading many of them to the Lord over the years. I have officiated at the funerals of four of them. Some of them came to the Lord at their homes, others in hospitals and others at annual reunions we enjoy. More recently some have prayed the prayer to receive Christ on the phone. There are many avenues on which we can reach the lost. Not everyone will respond favorably to the Gospel message but we must continue to share it where we can.

Some of us have had many years to spread this glorious message but some have had only a few years. It is not how long we live but how broad we live. We must make use of every day to serve our blessed Lord.

Stephen, in the book of Acts was chosen as a deacon but was, also, used as a mighty evangelist. It appeared that a wonderful future awaited him but the Lord permitted him to die at a tender age. Acts 7:59 says “And they stoned Stephen calling upon God, and saying ‘Lord Jesus receive my spirit’.”

Just four months ago, on Aug. 13, a young man by the name of Elijah Brett Looker who was just 12 years of age died as a result of his bicycle colliding with an automobile. He was the son of Thomas and Pamela Looker who are wonderful parents who raised their children in a beautiful Christian home. This young man was fully committed to the Lord and maintained a journal in which he wrote verses and observations daily. He had all kinds of good prospects but the Lord received him home at a very tender age.

Sammy Morris was a young African man who came to the United States to learn more about the work of the Holy Spirit in filling our lives many years ago. He was led into that wonderful experience of being filled with the Spirit and was used of the Lord to bless many people. People who knew him felt he would be going back to Africa and lead many to the Lord in his homeland, but the Lord had shown him that he would come home soon. He died at the age of 19 and is buried in a cemetery in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. I’ve stood at that grave and am told that many have accepted Christ as Savior while standing there.

David Brainerd lived in the early 18th century and was attending what was then called Harvard College when in an all-night conversation with other students felt the call to go as a missionary to the North American Indians on the east coast. For a whole year he saw very little results but after fasting and prayer the Holy Spirit began to move with those Indians and swept across them as they wept their way into conversion by the hundreds. Mr. Brainerd said that he was able to speak with a “tender power and energy.” At the age of 29 he went home to be with the Lord in the home of Jonathan Edwards.

We just celebrated the first coming of Christ and many prophetic Bible scholars feel that the second coming of Christ could be very near. It is the desire of many of us that we have one more major revival that will sweep many into the Kingdom of God before this event that will see millions of Christians caught up into a much better life. It is the time to pray for our loved ones and friends that they may be saved and caught up with us.

Revival will save souls and heal the land. Drug addiction is a serious plague in our nation but a genuine revival can deal with it. In 1801 the state of Kentucky was known for its immorality and drunkenness but in August, 1801 the Cane Ridge Revival took place that swept from one city to another and the result was many being saved and Kentucky becoming known for its sobriety and morality. Let us join in prayer for revival. Pray at home and support the prayer meetings of your church and community. When God’s people pray then God will move and do some wonderful things far beyond what we can imagine. It is not how long we live but how broad we live.