Testimony by Andy Magee

“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth
forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”   John 15:5
I was once helping in a youth ministry and seeking to be used by God.  At one point, I had
this young boy who was drawn to me.  We knew each other from previous meetings and
during our time together, I prayed for an opportunity to be used by God.  In our discussions,
I asked the child if he wanted to know about Jesus and he responded, “Yes.”  It was at this
same time that there was what I call a window of heaven that opened up.  Hard to describe
this, but it was a time that electrified my spiritual senses of both God’s presence and power,
and God was going to use me as the conduit.  And although these senses were telling me
the one thing that mattered, I looked around at all of the distractions and concluded that there
was too much noise and that this was not the right time or place.  I decided that I would wait
until later.  Needless to say, the window of heaven closed up, and when “I” later shared, my
words were flat and powerless.  I prayed, and the heavens never opened again for me to
share like it did earlier.  Years later as I heard about this young man going in and out of prison,
I often wondered about this missed opportunity.  Yes, I have confessed and know that I am
forgiven, but I also confess to you that this was a hard lesson for me.  I learned that, as the
scriptures state, “salvation belongs to the Lord.”  I also learned that salvation is not a lighthearted
matter.
Pressing On,
Andy M.