A Visit to a State Church - a Tormenting Experience

As a rare exception my wife and I went  to nearby state church (our national church).   I wanted my wife to meet a widow, a retired teacher, who kindly held me two weeks ago as I was on the point of flopping down because of my heart.  I was embarrassed, but it all went well.

Before the service started I said quietly to the minister, "May you get grace enough to say a word of awakening to the many unsaved people in this room!"  His answer was, "I´m not the judge of who are or who are not saved!"  I said to him, "You know as well as I do that our churches are thronged with souls who don´t know the Lord!"  He resented  me.

They also had a ceremony of infant baptism where according to the rituals passed by law the babies are admitted to the kingdom of God and born again.  A horrible show repeated every Sunday all over my country.

At the coffee table after the service we sat down with the lady in question, - her name is Margit.  She´s lovable, but has not personal testimony.  There was also a gentleman, Erik, 71, to whom I could witness.  He pointed at my bible, "Do you always have it with you?"  Of course yes, and I said that in America it´s unthinkable to go to church without bringing your Bible with you.

In Denmark nobody brings their Bible with them.  So on that point I get some attention.  But it´s such a privilege, the pattern of which is what the Levites of old did,  "They had the book with them and taught among the people"  (2 Chron. 17:9).  This I´ve learned from Moody too, who searched for the man "who opened his Bible and preached from it!"

So my small "gospel card" with a gospel message was handed out at our coffee table.  "Read it slowly", I said, "and think about it!"

Billy Graham was right when he said, "Today the church isnot a mission force, but rather a mission field."  Don´t be afraid of disturbing the church. Take glory in it as long as it has to do with the urgency of the gospel!

July 30, 2018 - jn