Debby, from Colonial Hills Baptist Church in Indianapolis, asked her 95 year-old father’s caregiver a life-changing question: “How would you describe your relationship with God?” The response was not what one would want, “I don’t want to talk about it.” But Debby didn’t give up. Instead she asked this dear woman if she would be interested in doing a Bible study together to which she agreed.
Each week she would finish just a portion of the lesson and complete the remainder with Debby. She just really enjoyed doing the lessons together. At times the King James translation was a bit difficult so Debby would look up the verses in a modern translation. This 29-year-old woman admitted early on that she was bound for hell, but it wasn’t until lesson 4 that she responded to the gospel. The Exchange teaches a wonderful truth through a simple illustration using two chairs. One chair represents what we’ve been trusting in – good works, religious activities, etc. The other represents Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross. Debby wisely visually demonstrated this by having her friend move from one chair to the other. When her friend was ready to move back to sit closer to Debby, she made sure Debby knew that she wasn’t moving away from putting her trust in Jesus, she was just moving back to her chair! Though she hadn’t expressed it yet, she was indicating that she wanted to transfer her trust to Jesus alone. That day was very special because not only was it the day she placed her trust in Christ as her Lord and Savior, it was Debby’s father’s 95th birthday! They may be 66 years apart, but they share the same birthday!