The Makeover (4 page)

“And so how did
we get here, Cedric?”

Shrugging
again, Cedric continued.  “At the end of the night, she slipped me her
number and said if I wanted one last fling before taking the big walk down the
aisle, I should call her.”

Phoenix charged
Cedric again and got into his face.  Spittle flew from her lips as she
screamed, “So that’s what happened?  You wanted one last fling?”

Cedric stepped
back.  “No, I threw her number away.  I didn’t want to do that to
you.”

Phoenix paused,
her forehead wrinkling with confusion.  “Wait.  Hold on.  If you
had no intentions of cheating on me, why were you doing it?”

“A few days
later, I went back to the lounge for a drink.  I don’t know, man, I was
feeling
kinda
messed up after spending another wasted
day looking for jobs that ain’t out there for me.   I was feeling so
low about my life, man.  I got my Associate’s and still couldn’t find a
bookkeeping job.  So I’m throwing back a Jack and Seven and there she
was.  And to make a long story short, I got caught up.  She kept
coming onto me and I liked the attention.  So I took her number again and
told myself since I was about to marry you, what could it hurt for me to have a
little fun for a short time?  You weren’t going to know about it.  I
liked the way she carried herself, liked the way she looked and—”

“So this is about looks?” Phoenix heart began
disintegrating in her chest.

Cedric froze.  “No, I mean…”

“What
did
you
mean?”  Phoenix came even closer.

“Well, I—”

“Just tell me
the truth!” Phoenix slapped his face.

Cedric pushed
her hard.  “Look, I told you about that hitting mess.  I’m out of
here!”

Phoenix grabbed
his arm.  “Don’t you walk away from me!  You’re the one who hurt
me.  How dare you walk away from me?  Stop being a punk and tell the
truth, for once.  Why did you cheat on me?  Why did you do
this?  Because of how she looked?” Phoenix was screaming again so close
that her nose bumped his.  “Tell me, you punk!”

“Yes!” Cedric
bellowed into Phoenix’s face.  “Yes! Alright? Yes!  I got tired of
looking at your ugly, fat behind!  Happy now?”

And as they
squared off, Satan watched, gleefully, as the events unfolded.  He was
glad that he had caused Cedric to speak such hurtful words to Phoenix. 
Frankly, he was annoyed that Cedric had taken so long to destroy what little
confidence Phoenix had left.  It was only fair that he help Cedric
along.  Surely, after Cedric had spoken those hateful words, this Phoenix,
would be pushed over the edge.  But Satan knew it would take much more
than that to destroy the girl.  Satan commanded his minions to begin their
work.  The minions surrounded Cedric and Phoenix, cackling and pointing at
Cedric’s bewildered expression and Phoenix’s glazed shock.   Upon
Satan’s command, each minion took their places within Cedric and Phoenix.

It would not be
enough for their relationship to merely end, Satan mused.  No, he had to
destroy
their relationship and destroy Phoenix along with it.  This was the
most important part of his plans.  And he had to do it now because God was
always
lurking and interfering with his plans.

And it was
Satan’s plan to get to Phoenix before God did.

Chapter 2

In the same
way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise
your heavenly Father

(Matthew
5:16)

Paulo saw the
girl and knew that the Lord God had placed her in his path.  The minute he
looked into her eyes, it felt as though he had known the woman his entire
life. 

Paulo, a man
who had been walking fully with Jesus for the past ten years, had learned to
recognize the Lord’s voice.  By God’s grace, Paulo had survived the hard
truths and lessons needed to mature him in his faith.  And he was still
growing in that faith.  The Lord had trained Paulo, over the years, to use
the gifts he had received as a prayer warrior and intercessor for God’s
people.  Serving for many years in his church’s Intercessory Prayer Ministry,
he’d learned to stay in constant communication with the Lord.  As a
result, Paulo had learned to listen for the many ways the Holy Spirit of God
chose to speak to him.  He had also come to identify the Spirit’s
promptings, nudges, and violent churnings –reserved for when he had stepped
into a trap, was in the middle of a spiritual battle, or was being convicted of
sin by the Lord.  Paulo had grown to enjoy the electric tingles he felt
whenever God allowed him into His presence.  He had also learned to listen
for God in His Word, as he searched the scriptures for revelations from Him
each day. 

Most of all,
Paulo had learned to obey God’s voice, no matter how the Spirit spoke to him.

The moment
Paulo looked at the disheveled woman with the beautiful, sorrowful eyes, he felt
the Spirit speak His Word into his heart. 
Follow Me and I will make
you fishers of men.
   

Paulo knew it
wasn’t time to start sharing tracts from his church or telling the woman about
the wonderful gift of salvation.  Paulo had learned the hard way to wait
on the Spirit to lead as he began an assignment from the Lord.  His job
was to extend kindness to the woman who looked like she wore the weight of
world on her shoulders.

Paulo’s heart
churned as he tried to make eye contact with the woman, when he’d helped her to
her feet.  He discerned that her eyes refused to meet his not out of fear
or even shyness, but a self-loathing that was so powerful, Paulo could almost
see it wrapped around her like a cloak.  So he’d pulled her to her feet,
smiled, and asked to help with her bags.  Paulo sensed she wouldn’t accept
because she couldn’t bear to be close to someone that was looking at her.

Paulo wondered
about the girl as he left the building.  Even as he did, he marveled at
the Lord’s power. 

“God, You are something
else.  I know You caused Cara to leave her bag at my house for such a time
as this, didn’t You?”  The night before, after the weekly group Bible
study Paulo hosted each Wednesday night, his friend had left a bag filled with
important papers at his home office.  Cara, his friend from his church,
had told him several times that she would simply drop by to retrieve her
belongings, but Paulo had felt compelled to offer to take the bag to her
instead.  Cara had told him to bring the bag by at eight-fifteen and Paulo
had agreed.

Paulo didn’t
mind helping out friends, of course, but even he couldn’t figure out why it was
so important that he bring the bag to Cara rather than have her simply pick it
up.  He did live around the corner after all. 

But he finally
understood.

Paulo sang “How
Great is Our God,” softly, rejoicing in the Lord as he walked around the corner
to his brownstone.  Looking around the neighborhood, he saw a group of
young
teenaged
boys huddled by a bodega smoking
marijuana and loudly rapping to each other.  Sighing, Paulo inwardly
petitioned the Lord for these young men to one day hear the Gospel and accept
Christ into their hearts.  Outwardly, he smiled at the boys, nodded, and
said, “Hey guys, be careful out here.  Cops are roaming.  God bless
you.”

“Good
lookin
’ out,
yo
!” one of the
young men called out before taking a hit on the marijuana-filled cigar. 

Paulo rounded
the corner.  “God, please protect them and forgive them.  They’re a
product of their environment.  Lead them to Yourself, Jesus.  Save
them all.  Let not one of them perish, before knowing and accepting, You,
Lord Jesus.  I ask for this in Your Name.  Amen.”

He stopped at
Mexican restaurant to get his favorite veggie burrito and taco salad before
heading to his brownstone.  As soon as he got home, he washed up, turned
on 1170 AM to hear some praise music as he enjoyed his dinner.  He then
watched the news on CNN for about an hour.  Following that, he did his
forty-five minute evening workout consisting of three hundred pushups, three
hundred crunches, one hundred chin-ups, and twenty minutes on his elliptical
machine.  He took a shower and threw on a pair of shorts.

As soon as
Paulo was done, he sat down in his prayer closet—the second-largest bedroom in
his duplex apartment—to spend his nightly prayer time with the Lord.

The minute he
entered the consecrated room, Paulo felt himself in the presence of his
Savior.  He began to worship and praise the Lord for several minutes,
singing songs, and glorifying his God. 

“Father, I
thank You for being You in my life.  Please forgive me for all of my
sins.  I ask You to lead me now in the Word.  What do You want to
show me?  Please confirm for me, Father, that what I think about that girl
is true.  Please confirm that You caused us to cross paths for Your divine
purpose.”

And the Spirit
chose to speak to Paulo at that moment.  He led Paulo to Matthew 4:19 to
confirm what Paulo had felt the Lord speak to him when he saw the girl. 
“Follow me and I make you fishers of men.”  

“Okay, God, so
You want me to minister to her?  Of course I am grateful that You would
use me, Your broken vessel, to stand in the gap.   Is that what You
want?  For me to stand and fight for this girl?”

Paulo waited
until he felt led to turn to Ezekiel.  His eyes searched passage after
passage until the words in Ezekiel 22:30 seemed to jump off the page. 
 Paulo read, “I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of
righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap
in the wall so I wouldn't have to destroy the land, but I found no one.”

Paulo waited as
the Spirit of God gave him revelation as to how this Word applied to the girl’s
unique situation.  Paulo felt the Spirit telling him that God would be
using him to fight for the girl, to restore her to righteousness…that there was
no one else in the girl’s life that would stand up and fight for her in the
spiritual realm.  The girl was alone, spiritually and socially, and needed
someone to help her.  Paulo understood that the Lord was commissioning him
to pray for the girl that she would receive salvation, but would also use him
to help the girl in some other ways.

“Is that all
You want, Lord?  For me to pray for her?  I don’t want to run ahead
of You.  We both know what happened before when…”

But the Spirit
wouldn’t allow Paulo to bring up the past.  Paulo had already been
forgiven for his mistakes and the Lord had already cast his failures into the
sea of forgetfulness.  God confirmed this fact by leading Paulo to read a
scripture he had been reminded of time and time again.  His eyes fell on
Romans 8:1-2 that stated, “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong
to Christ Jesus.  And because you belong to him, the power of the
life-giving Spirit has freed you
from the power of sin that leads to
death.”

Paulo chuckled
ruefully as his heart swelled with love for his Savior.  “Thank You,
again, Jesus.  Now about the girl…?”

The Lord
confirmed for Paulo that He was leading Paulo into battle for the girl’s soul
as he read the passage in Ephesians 6 that discusses spiritual warfare. 
But the Lord also confirmed at some point, Paulo would be called to minister to
the girl.  Paulo read out loud from 2 Timothy 2:24-26, “A servant of the
Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be
patient with difficult people. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth.
Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the
truth.  Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s
trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.”

Paulo was
humbled this time as he reread the words three more times.  Although the
Lord had kept him from wallowing in self-pity about his past failures, He was
still merciful enough to remind Paulo of how to avoid them. 

Paulo
swallowed.  “Yes, Father.  I know.  I need Your help in this
area.  I do tend to get…harsh when people don’t get the truth right
away.  I get so frustrated because it’s obvious what You’ve done and who
You are.  It’s just so bizarre how people will reject You and...”

It was Me
who opened Your eyes, My son.   It was Me who called you out of
darkness.  You used to reject Me too, or have you forgotten?
 

Paulo swallowed
in shame as the words washed over him from a deep place within his
spirit.  “Yes, You’re right, Father.  Forgive me.  Being a
hypocrite again.  Father, help me with my pride issues, please.  And
please give me Your grace and patience this time.  Please fill in the gaps
where I am lacking.  It’s not by my own strength, power, or might that
this girl will be saved.  It’s by Yours.  Don’t let me get arrogant,
impatient, or pushy this time, God.  Cause me to do this exactly as You
want.  Please Jesus, help me to be fruitful in carrying out my duty as a
Christian.”

And the Lord
led Paulo to pray and prepare for the battle.  That night, Paulo began, as
led by the Spirit of God, to pray for the woman’s soul and salvation.  He
prayed for her for the next few days.  The woman stayed on Paulo’s mind constantly,
the burden to pray so overwhelming that Paulo began to lose sleep.  He
sensed that she was in danger, but did not know exactly what was
happening.  Paulo was concerned but not afraid, because he knew that God
knew, even if he did not.

On day seven,
however, the Lord began to take the prayers to another level.  He
commanded Paulo to begin a seven-day fast for the girl, and even began waking
Paulo up to pray at odd hours of the night.  Sometimes the Spirit would
put a burden on Paulo to drop everything during the day, and it didn’t matter
if Paulo was in the middle of a conversation, on the phone, or meeting with a
client.  And there were times when Paulo was tired.  And he was
hungry.