I have had an interesting opportunity to witness to a college girl this week. But she doesn’t know it.

Monday she telephoned stating that she was working on an extra credit report in her anthropology class about “a religion not her own.” After agreeing, she commented with a sigh of relief, “you are the eighth church I have called.”

When we met, the questions were easy enough and didn’t take a long time. She took pictures of the building, inquired about the particular history of this church and then wanted to know “just what is the Baptist religion?” For reference, I asked if her background was Catholic. She affirmed my guess.

In the 30 minute interview, I covered the entire span of Church history (why there is a “Catholic,” “Orthodox,” and “Protestant” Church) and a very brief history of the Bell Gardens church.

She was intrigued that there would be three “churches” sharing the same building and wanted to know what all of the pastors did.

Then it was not long until she got to the questions I knew she had to ask. “What are the distinctive beliefs of the Baptist church?” “What makes the Baptist church different?”

I tried to carefully explain the gospel of Jesus Christ, our salvation by grace through faith as the pre-eminent distinctive. You have to admit, it is not often that someone else initiates these questions. She made notes of what she thought was important.

It wasn’t until two emails later that I realized she was unclear about the purpose, theology, or distinctives of the “Baptist” church because she didn’t really know the beliefs and practices of her own church, as a point of comparison.

The second email asked for an explanation of both the exterior and interior of the building. I wondered for a long time what a building has to do with anthropology, but I obliged, explaining first that a “church” is not the building, but the people. Then I described what goes on inside the building each week (primarily worship of God through the reading and preaching of His Word, fellowship among believers with Jesus Christ through corporate prayer, singing, and dialogue to encourage, edify, and equip one another for serving Jesus Christ beyond the building). I also included an explanation of our practice in baptism (how can you be in a “Baptist” church and not explain this?) and the Lord’s Supper.

In my emails, I attached an outline of the Gospel with the Scriptures written out and a brief (and clever) description of the Biblical distinctives of Baptists, as well as my further answers to her questions. Clever, because the author of the distinctives paper used the acronym “BAPTISTS” to begin each point.

Since the original interview, I’ve submitted ten to twelve pages of material for this six page report. I hope I get a good grade. Well, I hope she gets the good grade and (as I have been praying) that she discovers the saving grace of Jesus Christ, which is far more important than a good grade on a paper.

Last week has spilled over into this week. Here it is the first day of the week, the Lord’s Day, and I find myself “catching up.” And, there are very good reasons for the delay!

By way of report, the chapel at Talbot was especially blessed. The student testimonies were excellent, the music was led by some of the students that accompanied us on the trip. Special recognitions were made to an additional professor that also went and helped before and during the trip. Pastor Rigsby gave an abbreviated but stirring appeal for next year’s trip to Israel. The only glitch in the whole thing was my part. Everything checked after connecting the computer and projector for the slides. When the service began, the DVD we played operated accurately. When it was time to show slides via the computer and PowerPoint, the slides were not framed on the projector screen properly.

Becoming irritated wouldn’t help anything. I look at the problem as a reminder that we have an enemy who hates us and seeks to destroy our lives and anything we do. On the East Coast, he was permitted to destroy many lifes that morning. My “glitch” certainly pales in comparison.

Thank you for praying. I don’t know how God does it, but even through “technical difficulty,” (and loss of life, for that matter), He will receive glory to Himself.

So, I was finishing my work on Saturday and was pleasantly surprised by the change in my plans God had made, and thus the final reasons that last week has spilled over into this week.

Louis and Diana Hurtado and their daughter Emily stopped by. I hadn’t seen them since—forever—and their visit was a pleasant treat!

Later, a man that had asked two weeks ago when our services were returned to ask again. We visited for about a half-hour. I was hoping he would be here for this morning’s service, but he wasn’t. Maybe he will come tonight!

Ready to leave for the day, one of the Korean brothers asked that I come over and fellowship with them for a few minutes. Unsuspecting, I agreed. The men were meeting (they meet each Saturday but usually at one of their homes. Tonight, they met at the church building). After a few minutes of conversation, strawberries, and tangerines, Pastor Yoon asked if I would “preach” (but only for five minutes). I wouldn’t call speaking “off the cuff” preaching, but I did stay within the time limit. I thought I could then excuse myself, but now each brother, in turn, would share a verse of Scripture, its meaning and what had impressed them. I listened intently and watched their expressions. I’m sure some really good things were said. My “few minutes” diversion lasted awhile longer than I anticipated.

Because everyone’s mind was occupied with the tragedy at Virginia Tech, I mentioned how we are no different than that young man. We are born with exactly the same nature. We are very much capable of the same atrocities—except for God’s grace preventing us. God extends a common grace to all men and most generally receive it without question. Think about that the next time you take a breath. When we are born again we are given a new nature but our flesh will at times strive against God and at other times will cooperate with God.

Whether we reject God’s common grace or His special grace of salvation, doing so will ultimately result in some form of trouble, with varying degrees of consequence, and affecting an unknowable number of people. “God resists (brings more trouble to) the proud, but gives grace (the desire and power to do His will) to the humble,” says James

Maybe this concept of resisting and receiving God’s grace is what John Newton aimed for when he penned, “’twas grace that taught my heart to fear (because there is no one righteous, I am in danger of utter destruction) and grace my fears relieved (for by grace I am saved through faith)”?

It is alarming to think that without God’s grace we really are capable of such heinous acts. We grieve for the families who are now suffering the consequence of one man’s rejection of God’s grace. How seldom we grieve over our own regular rejection of God’s grace.

It is more alarming to know that God has not only extended to us what we need, just when we need His grace, but that He has also made it freely, abundantly available. As long as we have life on this earth, we have hope of receiving His grace! Newton finished his stanza similarly: “How precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed.”