'What If That Had Been You?'

Mrs. Ann Burrows is pictured here.

“This morning, on the way in [to church], someone crossed the center line and was headed toward me,” Mrs. Ann Burrows said on Sunday morning, May 28, 2023, as she opened the service. “They weren’t paying attention. They veered over… I was able to get out of the way.

“If that had been you in the car, and if there wasn’t a way to whip the car over… in other words, I’m saying, if your life was snuffed out in an instance, what is your relationship with the Lord? Are you ready?… 

“I am asking you to do a little introspection. You may have come to church ‘on the regular,’ you might be involved with stuff. You may know ‘the Way.’ You might even read your Bible; you might pray some. But my question to you is ‘What is your relationship with Jesus and have you prayed to him to do a work in your heart?’ Have you yielded yourself over to him? 

“You may come from a Christian family… You may have sung ‘the songs’ for months if not years. You know all the right things to say. You know the right to look, to talk, and everything else. But if their grill hit your grill, and you were gone, are you assured of your relationship with the Lord?  

“And that’s what the Lord gave me to ask you this morning. Not to put any pressure, not to guilt you. I can promise you that question is asked in the purest of love for you. If the answer is ‘I don’t know; I’m not sure; really, I don’t know remember ever having a time when I had an experience with the Lord, myself. I just come to church and I sing the songs and I go home and pray a prayer when I’m in trouble — or before a meal’… But if that’s the extent of that relationship, then please have that conversation with the Lord. And I would love to know about it. 

“There’s something to be said also for a public confession, and the Bible talks about that. But in this moment, I understand there’s kind of an embarrassment, there’s kind of a ‘I don’t want anybody to see me’ kind of thing that can happen in your spirit… I’m not going to put pressure on you to come forward, to stand in front of everybody, or raise your hand. I’m not going to do that. This is something between you and God. You and Him. You can do that right where you are sitting. You can do that with a bowed head… The bottom line is ‘Think about your eternity this morning. And just make it right if it’s not.’ 

“I don’t have this kind of talk often, but when the Lord lays it on your heart, you have to share it… That’s what the Lord has asked me to ask you this morning. So, please, if that applies to you, don’t ignore it. Don’t be too embarrassed to respond… The Lord will reach down and tap your spirit. He knocks on the door of your heart… And if that’s happening for you, please don’t resist. Yield to Him. I promise your life may not be easy, but you will not regret it, ever, your entire life.”

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