As a young adult, several friends invited me to attend church with them. I was searching for God and truth. This led me to study the Bible.
Soon I was born again of the Holy Spirit and baptized as a Seventh-day Adventist with a new heart devoted to God. My habits and priorities began to change.
The Holy Spirit planted in my heart a desire to tell others about how God had changed my life. The gospel of Jesus Christ has power. I could not shake the desire to share my newfound faith with friends and family.
The conference where I lived held a witnessing training weekend. Someone at the event preached a sermon based on Exod. 4:2.
There, we find the call of God to Moses when he was in Midian, just after he turned to explore the burning bush. Moses heard the call and listened to God call him to do something for Him.
However, Moses did not believe he could accomplish anything significant for God. I don’t remember much about the message except for how the pastor pressed the question, “What is that in your hand?”
This was a powerful question. It still is.
For Moses, his hand held a shepherd’s rod.
The Creator God has given gifts and talents to all humankind — to all nations, peoples and tongues — male and female, young and old, poor and rich.
When we desire to be a blessing to God and others, the first place to look is at what God has placed in our hands already.
What talent has He given you? What spiritual gift has He given you? What education has He blessed you with? What career or vocation has He given you? What skills have you learned in your work? What hobbies have you learned and enjoy? What friends has He given you? What family members need God’s transforming power?
The North American Division is talking about a new evangelism initiative called Pentecost 2025. The goal is to hold 3,000 evangelistic proclamation events in North America during 2025.
The NAD is working to raise funds to assist each local church that volunteers to hold an event. North Pacific Union is also going to provide funding for churches that hold evangelistic proclamation events.
The Voice of Prophecy is providing training and resources to assist churches and pastors. In fact, all the NAD media ministries are actively looking for ways to assist local churches for this evangelism initiative.
To prepare for Pentecost 2025, we must use the rest of 2024 for preparation. How? Start where you are. Evaluate what is in your hand.
God will bless anyone who will partner with Him to win souls. Look around you at what God has provided already.
After I heard God’s call, I found a stack of invitations to a prophecy presentation in my hand. Sharing those with family and friends, as well as explaining how my life had changed, resulted in my two brothers attending the meetings. Both were baptized.
This Gleaner issue features a plenitude of stories — in both traditional and unusual third spaces — about how Northwest Adventists are using God’s gifts in their hands to creatively build community, share the Good News of Jesus and reach just one more person. As you read and reflect, listen to how God is prompting you to respond to His question, “What is that in your hand?”
