This is Joni and welcome to Joni and Friends. Listen to the words of this very beautiful old hymn:
Lord, I believe were sinners more,
Than many sands upon the ocean shore,
Thou hast for all a ransom paid,
For all a full atonement made.
Hi, I am Joni Eareckson Tada and even if you don’t recognize the words to that hymn, the sentiment is still as powerful today as it was a couple of hundred years ago when it was written, because today, this year as never before, sin seems to be abounding… despair and hopelessness seem to be on the rise, and so many, many people are searching for hope and help. Well, Christ has paid a ransom for all who would believe – He’s made a full atonement for those who respond to His call. It’s a dangerous world, a wicked world that has lost its way, but the good thing is – and I don’t know if you sense it, but I sure do – people are looking for what is real, they are looking for what is authentic and true. They’re searching for hope and help. As never before people know they need a Savior.
I experienced this just this past weekend when I was shopping. An Iranian woman at the make-up counter kept watching me out of the corner of her eye. And finally, when I was testing different colors of eye shadows and lipsticks, finally she came up to me, leaned on the glass counter, looked me straight in the eye, and said, “You look so happy. Tell me why you are happy!” Was that a plea for hope and help or what! Well, maybe she singled me out because I was in a wheelchair smiling, I don’t know, but I gave her what I had on hand. It was a testimony tract of my story. It’s about eight pages with photos of me drawing with my mouth and stuff like that, but it was enough to not only whet her appetite, but to give her the Gospel. In fact, at the close of the tract, I share a prayer – kind of a model or an example of what someone can pray if they desire to open their heart to the lordship and salvation of Christ. Believe me, that Iranian woman at the makeup counter sure was touched.
That’s why when I travel, my friend Rainey always makes certain to carry in her purse a bunch of what we call “Joni’s Story,” little tracts on hand. We give them to, well, clerks when we shop. We always give out a bunch at airports when gate agents or flight attendants help me with my wheelchair. My husband, Ken, enjoys giving them away at a restaurant with the tip – and we tip generously; we want the waiter to know that the God we trust is, indeed, a generous God. We leave them on the dresser for hotel maids. Wherever and whenever someone wants to offer us a hand, like a Boy Scout helping me across the street, they’re going to get a “Joni’s Story” tract.
And I want you to have several of these little tracts for you to use, too, except that I’d like you to use them when you meet someone with a disability who does not know Christ. Maybe a neighbor who’s in the hospital with a serious illness… or someone who’s gone through a knee or hip replacement… or maybe someone you always run into at a favorite restaurant who uses a cane. I don’t know, but I do know that you run into people with physical limitations and problems every day. So visit me today at joniandfriends.org and I sure will send you three “Joni’s Story” tracts right away. Again, it’s just joniandfriends.org and ask for “Joni’s Story” and then find that person who’s looking for hope and help in this hurting world and point them to the Savior.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 91376
© Joni and Friends