One apartment, two stories. Way back, I had met “Tyrone,” a truly broken soul who has been in and out of jail. Now that he’s back in jail, I’ve heard from him and have gone to pay him a visit. I wasn’t able to take a Bible in, or anything for that matter. So for about an hour I preached the Gospel to him from texts in my head as we sat without privacy in a large, open room with others, seated in our little tête-à-tête. We were one of many, but here was conversation into which the angels desired to look.
Among other things, I spoke of our Lord being about His “Father’s business” from Luke 2. Who was His Father after all? Was it Joseph? No. Joseph had nothing to do with Jesus’ conception. He was formed by the Spirit, coming down upon upon the Virgin. He was formed as the God-man, with two distinct natures in one person. Why was this? The Savior who had come for him, to save Tyrone’s soul, had to stand on both sides of the equation. He had to reconcile. What is reconciliation? Bringing hostile parties together; and in this case, bringing offenders, spiritual criminals, back into a right relation with the offended God. O Lord, make this seed sown to bear forth fruit unto righteousness and praise!
“Leah” now happens to live in the very same apartment in which Tyrone and his girlfriend used to live. The hallways and stairways are rather off-putting, and the actual apartment is, frankly, just as rough. But the door is open, quite open – and that draws me in, overlooking the rest. Leah has been coming to church with us consistently; because she has no car, we pick her up every Lord’s day. Leah has had a very rough background. She is in many ways a “Samaritan woman,” if you will. Her motivation? Not quite sure. I definitely think she wants to get out of the house and be around others. But she does have a certain seriousness about the things of God. She is eager to read the Bible with us, and we’ve made it up to the Flood in Genesis. Her little baby boy is a joy to bring to church, too, and our young people flock to his car seat at the first sight of him.
Please pray for “Tyrone” and “Leah,” that they may be saved, justified, and spiritually healed. And pray that the Lord would bring more helpers along to help minister to them in Jesus’ name.
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Image: Annan, Thomas. Close, No. 37 High Street. 1868 – 1871. Scottish National Print Gallery, Edinburgh. Accessed December 19, 2019. [URL]
West Port Experiment 
Amen may God speak to them both and draw them irrevocably to Christ.
Reblogged this on Missio Links and commented:
Do you have a “Tyrone” and “Leah” in your life? Are you leading them to Christ?
Thanks, brother!