Go and Stay Near It

by Ryan Krzykowski

It’s pretty cool the way God weaves people’s lives together in the right ways at just the right time.  In Acts chapter 8, we see an apostle in the early church named Phillip, who is used by God to share the good news of Jesus with a stranger seated in what appears to be a random chariot on the road.  First, Phillip is instructed to “Go south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza”, and later “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”  Phillip doesn’t know the details or who he’s about to encounter, but he follows orders and winds up sharing the gospel with an important official in the Ethiopian government.  We’ve got no idea how many in Ethiopia eventually learned about Jesus and came to faith as a result of this encounter, but the story’s inclusion in Acts suggests the impact was great.  God puts people in our lives to accomplish His purpose.

It seems unlikely that I’ve got anything going that compares to what God did through Phillip that day, but there are two young coaches at our school who God put in my path and on my heart in a special way.  Men in their mid-20s who I’d gotten to know over the past year or so, but hadn’t spent focused time with.  They are good friends with each other, coach the same sport, and about a month ago I felt a call to see if they’d be up for getting together to look at God’s word.  The response was enthusiastic, and for the past few weeks we’ve been doing 7 AM on Sunday at a coffee shop before church.  We begin with a couple questions:

• What are you thankful for?
• What are you struggling with?
• How have you applied God’s word this week?

Then we spend some time in a passage chosen by one of us to discuss in the group.  We read, pray, think and then ask each other:

• What does this say about God?
• What does this say about people?

There’s nothing very complicated about the process, but there is something powerful that happens when we open and discuss the word of God together.  And to have the chance to spend this time each week with a couple men who are about where I was 20 years ago is a tremendous gift.  I would imagine I’ve got some experience these two can benefit from, and yet there’s no doubt I’m learning as much from them as they are from me.  We’re only a few weeks in and we’re off to a fantastic start, and so it’s wild to think about the potential for impact if we’re able to keep this going long term.

Is there someone in your life that God has put in your path and on your heart to invest in?

Let’s Coach With Purpose…