Free No Wasted Tears by Sylvia D. Carter Page B

men and women getting up from their seats moving to the front of the church. Many of them were crying and bowing before the Lord around the altar.
    He felt that the Lord wanted him to make one more appeal. So he opened his mouth to say, “Maybe some of you feel that you are too sinful to come to Jesus. You feel that you’ve been out of his will for too long. You’ve even been asking yourselves, how can the Lord do anything with me? Let me tell you on this glorious day that you are no worse than this woman of Samaria. Even if you were, wouldn’t Jesus be able to help you? And doesn’t this story show that he is very willing, too?
    “Today, if you hear his voice, then do not harden your heart. Come. Nothing you have done is so bad that it will keep Jesus from loving you. Some of you may surprise others or even shock them, but you can’t shock Jesus.”
    Adam went on to say, “Perhaps you’re a regular churchgoer who is new to the area and seeking a church community. Maybe you left the church some time ago and are feeling an impulse to come back. Possibly the Christian faith is something you’ve never explored. Whatever your situations, we at Greater Community invite you to ‘come and see.’”
    The outpouring of the spirit of the Lord was so great it was overwhelming. The ministers were at the altar laying hands and praying. The altar workers were busy assisting in any way they could. It took a few minutes for Adam to come down from the high he was on with the Lord. His head was bowed in worship to the Lord. The tears of joy were still flowing from his eyes, but he lifted his head, and when he saw her, he began to weep all the more.
     

     
    Destiny did not really know when she began to walk, but she was moving toward the altar. She wanted that water that Jesus offered the woman at well. So when she heard the voice of one holier than Adam quietly whisper to her, “Come,” she slowly rose from her seat. As she was moving, she thought about the fact that she had restrained herself from crying during the entire message. But that was before the Lord spoke and told her to come.
    With slow, cautious steps, she moved around the twins and Cynthia. She made brief eye contact with her aunt, who smiled and nudged her on into the aisle. She continued to move forward until she arrived at the altar. When she realized where she was and what was happening, she became filled with so much joy that she began to weep.
    Pastor Wheeler stepped down from the pulpit. He had a handkerchief in his hand because sweat was still pouring from his face. As he moved between the crowd of new believers and those wanting prayer, he kept his eyes on Destiny. He was stopped by one of the altar workers to pray for a brother, which he did while still making his way toward Destiny.
    When Adam finally made it to her, he reached down, took her hand, and smiled at her. He extended his hands toward her, waiting for her to accept his. When she looked up, Adam’s breath caught in his throat. He pulled her closer and asked her to bow her head so that he could pray.
    “Destiny, God is ready to receive you right now. I know personally that when we come to him with our sins of the past or present, we are to turn away from those sins and not commit them anymore.” Then he began to pray, “Father, we want you to forgive us of our sins. God, do an amazing thing in Destiny’s life. Take away all of her sins and place them on Jesus. And God, take Jesus’s goodness and his righteousness and transfer it to her. We believe that Jesus died for our sins. We believe that now he sits on the right hand of the Father, interceding for us. And today Destiny is saved and qualified for heaven, and she will be a member of the family of God forever. In Jesus’s name, amen.”
    As he stood at the altar, he knew that God was not only changing Destiny’s life, but he knew his was changed on this day as well.
     

     
    Watching shrewdly as a group of women walked by, a woman,