Fresh Start Devotionals

Highways and Hedges Last Sunday evening I preached on the text: “… Go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in that my house may be full.” Luke 14:23. I’ve been thinking about that verse a lot lately. When I was a Youth evangelist, I saw God win those in the “highways and hedges.” Our revival team held services in the evening and taught a witnessing seminar in the mornings. After lunch we met back at the church to go into “the highways and the hedges” to share our faith. We saw people saved on a daily basis. One afternoon stands out in my memory. We were conducting a Revival in the California Bay Area. We held the witness training, then went out into the community. Ten minutes after we left the Church, just 20 feet from the front door of the Church a 25-year-old man was reborn. During the revival, he and his wife made a public commitment to Christ. He led his wife to the Lord within 24 hours of his own salvation. When I was a young pastor, I saw God win those in the “highways and hedges.” I made a commitment that everyone within a mile of our Church would hear from us at least three times a year. We sent out mail, telephoned them, and knocked on their door. The second time we knocked on the Beck’s door, Lennie and Kathy came to our service. Fifteen years later, they are still faithful members of that Church. Before I moved from there, it was my great joy to pray for him at his Deacon ordination. Does God still win those in the “highways and hedges?” I don’t know. I haven’t been out there in a long time. Have you? About a month ago, I decided to spend my lunch break knocking on doors. Pray for me as I go. Will you join me? There is no telling what would happen if we would be bold with our witness. How bold? Let’s be as bold with our witness as Satan is with his. Jim L. Wilson, Fresh Start Devotionals (Fresno, CA: Willow City Press, 2009).