Janice Cretton: The Spirit of Power, Love, and a Sound Mind
Raised as a Jehovah's Witness, I ran from this religion when I went to college in 1969. I became a hippie, experimenting with everything—alcohol, drugs, and sex. Then in 1979, I gave my heart to Jesus. I was so excited I told everyone how He had changed my life and could change theirs. I started learning how to effectively share my faith at home with my six kids. Then I started telling their friends—the neighborhood kids who filled our backyard, our skateboard ramp, and our trampoline—about Jesus. God showed me that every person He puts in my path is someone He loves dearly and wants to live in heaven with Him. He wanted me to show His love to them, and then share the Good News of Jesus.
Doing this is not always easy. Once when I visited a sick coworker and saw her statues of Buddha, I lost my courage. A month later she died. I so regret not sharing the Lord with her. But because of my coworker's death, I was able to tell other coworkers about Jesus, and many made decisions for Christ. Her death also spurred me to lead a dying aunt to Jesus. Praying with the dying was not easy for me at first. One Sunday morning, a woman from my church asked me if I would go with her to visit a man dying of cancer. I had other plans and the thought of praying with a dying person scared me. But during the service, the Holy Spirit convicted me to visit this man. God gave me the privilege of leading him to Jesus.
Now whenever I talk with someone, I believe God arranges that conversation for His purpose, and I pray for an opening to share the gospel.
For example, when I ran into an old high school friend, I told him about the reunion he missed, and mentioned the next one in seven years. He said he might not be alive by then. This was the window God opened. I told him we never know when we'll take our last breath, so we need to be prepared for heaven. As we talked, he accepted Jesus in the Haiku drizzling rain. I learned later that the man had been involved in illegal things and our conversation had occurred during a low point in his life. That taught me that we never know what's happening in a person's life when God allows us to meet. Even if someone tells us that life is fantastic, if he or she doesn't know Jesus, that person has voids that only God can fill.
When I became a rental agent a year ago, I found this to be a fertile opportunity to share the gospel with tenants—the government inspector, the handyman, and potential renters. One couple was moving to Maui for a job. I told them since they were starting on a new island with new jobs it was a good time to start a new relationship with Jesus. They asked Jesus into their hearts. When people call me about renting, they tell me about their desperate situations. The Holy Spirit shows me that He can bring people to Jesus while I'm on the phone with them. The Holy Spirit also uses phone connections at other times. Once, on a flight from Maui to San Diego, I sat by a Swiss woman. We became friends and stayed in touch. I wondered how I could share the gospel without ever seeing her. Eventually when she called to talk about family problems, God opened a door and she accepted Jesus.
When I have business on the phone, I've witnessed as the Holy Spirit directs. I've prayed with airline representatives in the Philippines, credit card representatives in India and New Jersey, a computer representative in Panama, and a banker on Maui. This year I helped plan some class reunions and contacted many classmates. During that time, I was fasting and praying about some problems. While I was fasting and praying, people entered God's kingdom daily. Most of these were people I prayed with on the telephone. I even dialed some wrong numbers, and prayed with them, too. God has a sense of humor!
Witnessing at work can be risky, but effective. After staying home with my kids for 22 years, I became an educational assistant. I was always sharing Jesus with people in the school until I got fired for giving a Bible to a student. However, the principal had asked me to work two more weeks. I was pleased because I really wanted to reach two more students for Him. Those two students received Jesus, as did others. More than 40 came to Jesus from that school. The firing turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Because my unemployment agent knew why I got fired, we talked about God. The same thing happened with my dentist, whom I led in the sinner's prayer as I sat in the dentist chair.
Now that I'm fired and retired, I am free to do God's work whenever He calls. Last winter God put the homeless on my heart. I gathered warm clothes and blankets, and my husband and I went to find the homeless.
At first I was fearful, but God gave me the courage to step out of my comfort zone.
Each time I took these people warm clothing, I prayed for the Holy Spirit to give me boldness to share the gospel with them. So far, I've gone to the park nine times and 48 homeless people have entered God's kingdom.
People also enter God's kingdom in the air. When I fly on an airplane, I usually converse with those next to me, and often lead them to Christ. A 20-minute trip between Maui and Oahu offers perfect timing to bring someone to Jesus. On one trip, God put me by a Jehovah's Witness who was questioning his faith, and he accepted Jesus. God has also used the 1968 Toyota Corona I'm selling as bait to fish for men. After some construction workers looked at the car, I prayed for boldness, and gave them pocket testaments. They both received the Bibles, and received Jesus, too. Another time, two guys came to see my car. One was already a believer, but God made a way for his friend to receive Jesus. Recently I went to see a car for sale and ended up praying with the seller. He was so excited he called his young children over. I sat with them and told about God and Jesus. When they asked Jesus to come into their hearts, it sounded like angels praying!
Just as I feel a special burden for little ones, God is showing me the urgency of praying with the elderly who are so close to eternity. Our church ministers to a nursing home on Maui, and each time I visit friends there, God directs me to share Him with more patients, and even staff. As I've learned to share the gospel, many have accepted the Lord, but many have rejected him, too. I keep a list of both categories of people and pray over them. I rest assured that God can change hearts and can use the seeds I planted when I shared the gospel.
Wherever we go, Jesus wants to use us. Perhaps if we were all busy spreading the Good News, we wouldn't have time for petty problems. So many lost people all around us are heading for hell, and we have prime opportunities to point them to Jesus and heaven instead.
Janice Cretton
Please Note: All facts, figures, and titles were accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of original publication but may have since changed.
