Peter comes to Jesus

     Whenever Betsy and I travel, we always look for what we have come to call “divine appointments”.  These are times when we encounter people in a way that we realize the Spirit of God is clearly at work, usually for their souls.  We have learned that if we are willing, the Lord will always provide someone, no matter where we are, who is willing to hear about Jesus. Many times, these appointments have led to prayers for salvation, other times they have simply served to encourage or “spur others on” in their faith. 

One of those “divine appointments” happened while we were visiting our daughter and son-in-law in Oregon. Betsy had gone out with our daughter shopping, and I was left home to watch over my two beautiful granddaughters. While they were sleeping in their room upstairs, I was downstairs on the couch reading. As I was reading it suddenly hit me that we had been out traveling for nearly a week and we had not had a single “divine appointment”.  That was unusual. I put down my book and prayed saying “Lord, you always provide someone who we can share your love with, please provide someone on this trip that we can talk to about you”.  The prayer was hardly out of my mouth when there was a knock at the door. I admit I did not expect the Lord to answer my prayer so promptly. Upon answering the door, I found a young man about twenty years old. The look on his face seemed to say “I need help”.  He said “I locked myself out, can you help me break into my house”.  Years earlier I had worked with a man who had at one time been a professional thief, and he had showed me how to open a locked door without a key.  I was anxious to help this young man named Peter, however, I also knew I had two little girls sleeping upstairs.

I told Peter to check the other neighbors and come back if he had no luck. I then took the time he was out praying to get some direction from the Lord.  I sensed the Lord telling me I was to go out and help Peter.  His townhouse was only a few feet away so I could still keep a close eye on the girls. What was needed next was for Peter to return. I had such assurance of the Lord’s direction that I knew he would. 

Less than five minutes later, Peter was back at the door asking again for help.  After running up and checking on my granddaughters, I went out the door with Peter.  Knowing I did not have allot of time, I got right to the point. I have used many openings to talk to people about Jesus, but that was the only time I ever began my witness with the seemingly childlike words “Do you know God?”.  I think I was amazed and maybe disappointed with the simple words coming out of my mouth. Peter however responded as if I had eloquently stated a philosophical question. He responded “I have often wondered, if God who is both eternal and spiritual can be known by man who is both temporal and natural". 

Peter’s philosophical approach to the question of God encouraged me. I love the Christian philosophers for philosophy by definition is the love of knowledge. His earnest and apparently thought out response created the opportunity for me to speak more directly about the need for spiritual life that comes through faith in Jesus Christ.

We continued our discussion while I attempted to open his door using the method I had been shown years ago. Nevertheless, my efforts failed and we found ourselves standing on his stoop no closer to opening the door than Peter had been when he first came seeking my help. It was then I recognize that the Lord had sent Peter to me, and it would be the Lord that would do the work to bring Peter to Him. 

I backed away from my efforts at opening the door and told Peter we needed to pray. I remember at that time seeing a gardener working in the flower garden just off of Peter’s porch, well within hearing of alI we were saying. With Peter bowing his head next to me, I prayed, asking the Lord to open both the door of Peter’s natural house, and the door into Peter’s spiritual house.  When we finished, I moved towards the door to resume my efforts at “picking the lock”. Before I could even touch the door, it silently swung open. Not just enough to clear the jam, but all the way as if someone was standing inside opening it. Both Peter and I stood there in amazement.

Peter was the first to respond verbally. He emphatically cried out “praise God”. We both knew we had just experienced a miracle.  The testimony of the miracle was so powerful I turned to Peter and right there, upon that porch, I lead him to Jesus. I have learned to always take advantage of the presence of the Holy Spirit when He so obviously moves.

Less than an hour after Peter prayed for Jesus to come into his heart, I was standing in my granddaughter's upstairs bedroom.  The window was open and I could hear two men speaking in the alley behind us. As I listened, I heard one of the men telling the other about what had happened on Peter’s porch. He was the gardener standing just off the porch as we had prayed. He was telling the other gardener about our prayer, the door opening, and even talking about the way of salvation I had just shared with Peter.

In His letter to the Philadelphian church, Jesus said “I have set before you an open door that no man can close”. It is amazing how when we allow Him to open that door in our hearts how He will so faithfully open the door into so many other hearts, like the two gardeners.

Only months after God opened the door into Peter’s heart, we would bring him home to our mountain cabin in Idaho where he would stay with us for almost six months. We would spend every day studying the word, memorizing scripture, praying, and fellowshipping. We were discipling Peter so that he could go out and help open the door for others into the spiritual life Jesus offers to all those who will believe in His promises.