Matthew 10: 38 & 39:  “If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine.  If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give it up for me, you will find it.”

 

One night, Donna and I, before we were married, went to a Young Peoples meeting at our church.  The assistant minister was in charge of the service.  When we arrived at the door, each person was given a number.  We asked what it was for and we were told that it would be explained to us later.

 

So the service began, and when the song leader finished leading in the hymns, the pastor came to the pulpit.  He opened the hymn book to three different numbers and asked the leader to read him these numbers.  After the numbers were read out, the he asked those who had the numbers to come to the platform.

 

The pastor’s daughter, another one of the young people, and myself had the numbers.  When we reached the platform, we were given a paper with a scripture on it and told that we were the speakers for that night.  On my paper were the words from Matthew 10: 38 & 39 (see above) and I added, “must Jesus bear the cross alone and all the world go free?  No, there’s a cross for everyone and there’s a cross for me.”  This took about two minutes in all and surprisingly I wasn’t nervous.  I then went and sat down.

 

After the pastor brought the service to a close and we were out at the church entrance with the pastor and others, he came to me and said, “I know you and Donna are getting married in May (this was in February), but you should quit your job and go to bible college and prepare for the ministry.  This was a confirmation of what I had felt for some time.

 

In October 1956, when only married for 16 months and with a 5‑month old son, I answered the call to full time ministry and entered Eastern Pentecostal Bible College in Peterborough for my training.

 

Leslie Jobb