SOS

Last Wednesday I received an SOS call from one of the brothers whom the Lord graced me to lead to salvation few years ago. Discerning the tone of the call I sensed the urgency and made an impromptu appointment. The meeting that evening with this brother was an eye opener to the real situation one is facing as a believer.

Few years ago, this brother was an ardent seeker of God (whichever is true and real in this world of many gods.) When I first met him he was very sincerely seeking and would fold his hand, pause a moment, and bow his head in reverence whenever he passed by any religious site. On one such incident, I approached him and preached the gospel of Jesus Christ to which he immediately believed and received the Lord Jesus Christ into him. Later, we lost contact as he lost my mobile number where he stored my number. However I gifted him a tract, The Mystery of Human Life. At one point of time he was struggling to be a successful man and though if he could succeed in winning a world record or a national record he would be satisfied. In fact, he laboured and tried hard for it.

He is by nature a genius in memory power, and practised sharpening his mind power. One time he went through a serious relationship problem and was in need of help. At that time he tried to contact me but could not recollect my number. After searching his house thoroughly for a trace to contact me again, he saw the tract I gave piously kept in the worship room along with his household, traditional and religious idols. Immediately he called the number mentioned on the back side of the tract. And then came to meet me. On that day the Lord burdened me to pray for him and speak to him biblically and strongly about baptism. After listening to his problems, I remembered telling him that his need was to fully experience the full salvation of God by being baptised following his repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. He received the fellowship and the Lord led him to be baptised. After his baptism he was filled with joy. With deep depression he came and with full of joy he left. Since then he prayed only in the Name of Jesus and called often to pray over the phone.

Later, on his first attempt for the National Record, he called over the phone and we prayed together over the phone asking God for wisdom and blessing.  When the result was out after months, he joyfully called to praise the Lord that God had blessed him a national record! Similar incidents repeated for another two more  national records and went on to win even an international record. Every time, he testified, all these successes were due to God's blessings and we used to pray together often over the phone. Success after success followed him. Now he is on Youtube, News Channel, News Papers and Magazines. But as successes were bestowed, he kind of drifted back gradually. the successes and glamour of the world clouded his sky. Slowly he drifted away from the normal and basic exercise of a Christian life.  His Bible reading was not regular, his prayer came down and his fellowship with the Lord and the believers minimal, and he was trapped in depression all over again. That's why the SOS call.

The fellowship we had was on the recovery of our normal daily eating and drinking of the Lord in reading the Bible, prayer, pursuing the truths and fellowship with the Body. He realised where he went wrong after the fellowship. The Lord had mercy on him, we prayed together and he promised to take care of the basic spiritual exercises of contacting the Lord through the word and prayer everyday and in fellowship with the brothers. It was a timely call and a timely visit with a timely fellowship.

O the basic exercises should never be missed. Come what may, our number one priority must be the Lord Jesus Christ and nothing else; the reading of the holy word and prayer and fellowship, without which all else are empty. It is not a matter of balancing our time in a busy schedule, but a matter of setting the priority right. First for God and then the others. Then our SOS will be OLJ, O Lord Jesus!