Can You Make God Famous?

THE ACT
Lisa was 6 years old when she was watching The 700 Club with her mom and a friend.  The show that day was kid-friendly and included puppets and puppies.  At the end, the puppies asked, “Do you want to know that when you die you will go to heaven?”  Lisa remembers thinking, “Yes!”  She prayed along with the animals and confessed that Jesus is Lord.  As she grew older, Lisa replaced the guiding voice of the Holy Spirit with the voice of her peers, particularly boys.  Like many other girls desiring to be loved, Lisa gave up her virginity to the first boyfriend who asked.  In 1996, Lisa was 18 and nearly ready to head off to college but found out she was pregnant.  She considered her options.  As a Christian, Lisa knew the right choice was to have the baby, but Lisa was in a crisis. “I felt the only way out of that crisis was to terminate my pregnancy,” she says.  “So that’s what I did.”

Two months later, a friend called to challenge her, gently asking why she walked away from the Lord.  “I felt raw and vulnerable,” says Lisa who was reminded of the unconditional love of Jesus.  For the first time, Lisa saw the gravity of her sin and wanted to change.  “It was like the scales fell from my eyes,” says Lisa.  She turned 180 degrees away from the life she was leading.  “I’ve never been the same since,” she says.

THE NEW CREATION    
Lisa met Markus while performing in a theater production in Dallas.  As they spent time together, Lisa realized he didn’t just say he went to church and read his Bible.  He really did!  Jesus was everything to him.  Ten months later, Markus proposed.  When she told him about her past, Markus wrapped his arms around her and said, “I can’t believe what Jesus has done through you!”  Five years later and ten years after her abortion, Lisa wanted to help others who had gone through similar experiences.  She went through post abortion group counseling.  “I had no idea how many feelings I had buried,” says Lisa.  I encountered God in such an incredible way.”  The Lord revealed to Lisa that her baby had been a girl and that her name was Christine.  “I didn’t see her face; The Lord showed me her from the back and she was standing next to Jesus.”  Lisa felt the Lord told her, “I’ve got her. Go make me famous. Go tell everyone what I’ve done in your life!”

On the way to an audition in Dallas, Lisa was going over her lines.  She thought about how badly she wanted to be what the director was looking for.  All of a sudden, she had an opposite thought.  The Holy Spirit was reminding her to make this about His glory, not hers.  “I loved God, but I seldom thought about Him at an audition,” says Lisa.  Making God famous meant her goal at this audition would no longer be about elevating herself, but elevating the Lord.  She says it’s important for all of us to use our gifts and talents for God’s glory.  “This is the goal of God,” says Lisa. “That His name and His celebrity would be known throughout the world. The surprise? He desires to use you and me to make it happen.”

It’s important for parents to make God famous to their kids, in the little things as well as the big things.  When she is with her children, Lisa tries to say prayers out loud.  “I do this so my kids can see my reliance on God to answer my prayers and learn that they too can trust Him with anything,” says Lisa.  She prays “parking spot prayers,” when she needs a spot in a crowded lot.  “When I’m alone in the car, God answers my parking spot prayers about 90% of the time! But when my kids are with me, He jumps it to about 99.9% of the time!  Sometimes one of her kids prays for a parking spot and one opens up. She reminds us that God proves himself in parking lot situations so we can trust Him in the big racecar ones. “I believe God does this for my kids so that they know they can call on Him,” says Lisa.