Key Bible Verse: As Jesus was going down the road, he saw Matthew sitting at his tax-collection booth. "Come, be my disciple," Jesus said to him (Matthew 9:9). Bonus Reading: Matthew 9:9-13

My wife and I went shopping on a Saturday night. While Barb was trying on dresses, I struck up a conversation with the salesclerk. I noticed she was from Latin America, so I began asking questions about her home country. One question led to another, and I found out this was a second job for her. Her real job was as a sales manager for a large hotel. It turned out that she was divorced and her son spent the weekends with his dad, so she found this department store job to keep her occupied weekends.

She's working a second job to kill her loneliness, I thought. I should invite her to church. When I did, I found out that several of her friends had already invited her to our church. She said, "There's something there for me!" I gave her my business card, and later my wife and I stopped by the store to see her again.

Connecting with this woman was as simple as asking questions, listening to her answers, and sensing a need. Finding the people Jesus misses most involves doing the most ordinary thing you can do: Just be your authentic, spiritual self.

—Jim Henderson in a.k.a. "Lost"

My Response: Could I naturally invite a person I've come to know to visit my church—or to know Jesus?

Thought to Apply: Most people are brought to faith in Christ not by argument for it but by exposure to it.—SAM SHOEMAKER (minister & cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous)

Adapted from a.k.a. "Lost" (WaterBrook, 2005) by permission. All rights reserved by James K. Henderson and/or WaterBrook Press.

Prayer for the Week

Lord, I want to come across to others not as religious so much as real. Help me make being Your disciple look inviting.

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