This Saturday I went to one of the usual fishing spots along the beach in central Florida. 3 other evangelists were there and out we went.
I was able to talk to an elderly couple who are in their mid-seventies. The man – Paulo instantly went into a lecture on the oil spill, BP, Big Oil, etc. Each time I interrupted him and tried to lead him into the spiritual, he reverted to his political agenda. This happens quite often as most people seem to grasp where you are going with the conversation and they don’t want to go there.
He finally took a breath and I said that God is in control and don’t you think if He wanted the oil to disappear that he could do that in less than a blink of the eye? Paulo did not agree and said it was man’s greed that caused the oil spill. I did not disagree because I wanted to take that idea of greed and go to the Law. That man is greedy and that has become many men’s god. Paulo did not believe that God could make the oil disappear so with that that I said it does not matter what he believes but what matters is what is true. His wife agreed. She quickly let me know she is a Believer but then was quiet – that was a good thing.
I took Paulo through a few of the commandments. I discussed with Paulo the idea of being in a civil court and someone making the payment for the fine that he could not pay. He has 2 choices – accept the payment that someone else made on his behalf or reject that payment. He understood this and I decided to give him the Gospel as we are commanded to. See Mark 16:15, 2 Timothy 4:2, and 1 John 4:15.
There are some who might say don’t give him the Gospel since he wasn’t repentant at this point. However, each witnessing situation is different. I think to apply Matthew 7:6 in all situations is not what we are commanded to do.
Paulo’s wife stayed a few moments as Paulo walked off and thanked me for talking to him. She said most of her family members are believers and they have been trying to reach him for years. She said this was truly a divine appointment and God had sent me there at that time to speak directly to Paulo.
Do not be ashamed of the Gospel. Romans 1:16
Friday, May 28, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
A Taste for Blood.
As soon as I got to the event Saturday night, Dennis took me aside to let me know about a guy he had just met. He described this guy as 'having a taste for human blood'. Hmmmm. OK. He told me that he had tried talking to him but the guy told him that he had demons. Dennis said he was very unfocused and then he walked away.
Well, I watched him for a while. He seemed drawn to the kids at the event...not good. I told some of our fellow evangelists who were out that night and we prayed for him. All I could think of was that he was someone's child. I continued to watch him and then told one of the guys, EC that I was 'going in'.
As I walked near him I could see that he was absolutely filthy. His nails were all very long and you could immediately see dirt under them all. I also noticed that he had numerous scabs and sores covering his body. As I got closer I saw human bite marks on his exposed skin. I wondered how he compared to the maniac of Gadara.
"Hey, I like your shirt!" I said. "What's the cross for?"
"It's what Jesus did. See the skulls? They are death!!" He had a very strange look in his eyes while we talked.
"Yeah. What about this other cross? What's that about?" I asked. He mumbled something unintelligible. "Can we talk? Do you have time? You seem like a very interesting guy. Let's sit here."
He consented and we sat down. I told him my name and he told me his. He said he was 19. (I am going to change his name in this blog for his sake.)
"Do you live around here Tom?" He told me he did. He also told me that he was raised in 'the system' of foster care since he was very young. He told me that he had been sexually abused and mentally abused. He can not read or write.
"Then they threw me out on the street, now I live with my real Mom." As he spoke you could see he was under great pressure to try and focus. He was very aware of everything around him and yet he didn't look directly at anything.
"I'm sorry that you had to go through all of that." I told him. "I want to ask you some questions. Do you think you could answer some for me?" He nodded. "Where will you go when you die?" We talked a bit about the reality of Heaven and Hell. Tom didn't like the thought that he might end up in Hell but told me he didn't think he could go to Heaven because of some of the things he had done. I won't relate those things here.
"When Jesus hung on that cross He looked far into the future and saw your face, Tom. The Bible says that He bore all of our sins. He knew each one you would commit and He decided to pay for every one of them." At various points in our conversations I could see his muscles constrict and he would seem to go into a trance-like state.
"Do you believe that everyone has demons?" he asked me.
"No. But I do believe that some people have demons." I told him.
"I have demons." he said. "I see demons and angels and other things that people don't see." He quickly stood up and asked if I would come with him to go see a guy.
"Why do you need to see the guy?" I asked, fully aware that I had friends all around me but was not going to go beyond where they could see me.
"I want to get a cigarette." he said. At various points during the evening he would simply stand up and change the subject.
After he got the cigarette we walked away from the crowd a bit so that he could smoke it. "I tried to kill myself, I slit my wrists. I got hit by a car and thrown halfway into a parking lot." I thought of the father who took his demon-posessed boy to Jesus. (Luke 9) I found myself praying that the Lord would speak to this boy through his fog.
"I'm a destroyer! See that bicycle over there?" He pointed quickly at a bike across the parking lot. "I could tear it down and make weapons out of it! I can make a weapon out of anything." He told me that he sometimes fought even though he didn't want to. "I put the last guy in a full-body cast. When I was in jail I bit a huge hunk out of my arm because I didn't want to fight." Suddenly he got up and walked toward our booth.
Dayna was sitting on the slope behind the booth and I could see she was praying for us.
"Let's go sit over here with my friend, Dayna." While we sat with her I told Tom that the only one who could speak to God about his sin would be him.
"Yeah, I know. I talk to him alot." he said.
"The only thing He wants to hear from you is complete surrender." At this his eyes became wild and I could see the muscles in his arms and hands completely contort them. "Only you can do it and it may be the hardest thing you have ever done in your life." Dayna prayed as we talked. "If you think this is something that you can do then go ahead."
Tom talked a minute about how he could never close his eyes here. We told him he was safe and that the Lord would protect him if He made Him Master of his life.
"Have you ever played 'chicken' with a semi-truck?" he asked us.
"No."
"Well, I have and we were about this close when we finished" he measured about a foot's space.
"Well, you can't clean yourself up, Tom. You have to go to God and ask Him to cleanse you from all of this filth and sin that we talked about."
"Yeah, I know. I want to do that." he said.
"Do you need Jesus?" I asked.
"Yeah."
"Can you say it?"
"Yeah." he answered but never said it.
"Tom if you want to talk to God go ahead." I invited. "I will pray for you and then you pray, ok?" He nodded.
I prayed out loud while Dayna prayed silently for us. Tom stared straight ahead with wild, staring eyes. His hands were contorted again and he looked as though he was fighting himself.
He bowed his head and started mumbling gibberish. He kept it up for a few minutes. Then he suddenly stood up and walked away from us.
I walked down to him and said, "Tom did you pray?"
He was very angry now and said, "Yeah I was praying in tongues, don't you know that?" And then very calmly he said, "They have crosses over at that table and I want one but I don't have any money."
We walked over to the table with him. The crosses were made from nails bound together with wire. He chose a purple one and Dayna bought it for him. The lady showed him how to adjust the leather and he put it around his neck. He stood still for a moment holding onto it.
"That cross won't protect you, you know that don't you? Only Jesus can save you, Tom".
"I know."
We parted ways and he took my hand twice saying thank you each time.
Please pray for him. God knows his real name.
Well, I watched him for a while. He seemed drawn to the kids at the event...not good. I told some of our fellow evangelists who were out that night and we prayed for him. All I could think of was that he was someone's child. I continued to watch him and then told one of the guys, EC that I was 'going in'.
As I walked near him I could see that he was absolutely filthy. His nails were all very long and you could immediately see dirt under them all. I also noticed that he had numerous scabs and sores covering his body. As I got closer I saw human bite marks on his exposed skin. I wondered how he compared to the maniac of Gadara.
"Hey, I like your shirt!" I said. "What's the cross for?"
"It's what Jesus did. See the skulls? They are death!!" He had a very strange look in his eyes while we talked.
"Yeah. What about this other cross? What's that about?" I asked. He mumbled something unintelligible. "Can we talk? Do you have time? You seem like a very interesting guy. Let's sit here."
He consented and we sat down. I told him my name and he told me his. He said he was 19. (I am going to change his name in this blog for his sake.)
"Do you live around here Tom?" He told me he did. He also told me that he was raised in 'the system' of foster care since he was very young. He told me that he had been sexually abused and mentally abused. He can not read or write.
"Then they threw me out on the street, now I live with my real Mom." As he spoke you could see he was under great pressure to try and focus. He was very aware of everything around him and yet he didn't look directly at anything.
"I'm sorry that you had to go through all of that." I told him. "I want to ask you some questions. Do you think you could answer some for me?" He nodded. "Where will you go when you die?" We talked a bit about the reality of Heaven and Hell. Tom didn't like the thought that he might end up in Hell but told me he didn't think he could go to Heaven because of some of the things he had done. I won't relate those things here.
"When Jesus hung on that cross He looked far into the future and saw your face, Tom. The Bible says that He bore all of our sins. He knew each one you would commit and He decided to pay for every one of them." At various points in our conversations I could see his muscles constrict and he would seem to go into a trance-like state.
"Do you believe that everyone has demons?" he asked me.
"No. But I do believe that some people have demons." I told him.
"I have demons." he said. "I see demons and angels and other things that people don't see." He quickly stood up and asked if I would come with him to go see a guy.
"Why do you need to see the guy?" I asked, fully aware that I had friends all around me but was not going to go beyond where they could see me.
"I want to get a cigarette." he said. At various points during the evening he would simply stand up and change the subject.
After he got the cigarette we walked away from the crowd a bit so that he could smoke it. "I tried to kill myself, I slit my wrists. I got hit by a car and thrown halfway into a parking lot." I thought of the father who took his demon-posessed boy to Jesus. (Luke 9) I found myself praying that the Lord would speak to this boy through his fog.
"I'm a destroyer! See that bicycle over there?" He pointed quickly at a bike across the parking lot. "I could tear it down and make weapons out of it! I can make a weapon out of anything." He told me that he sometimes fought even though he didn't want to. "I put the last guy in a full-body cast. When I was in jail I bit a huge hunk out of my arm because I didn't want to fight." Suddenly he got up and walked toward our booth.
Dayna was sitting on the slope behind the booth and I could see she was praying for us.
"Let's go sit over here with my friend, Dayna." While we sat with her I told Tom that the only one who could speak to God about his sin would be him.
"Yeah, I know. I talk to him alot." he said.
"The only thing He wants to hear from you is complete surrender." At this his eyes became wild and I could see the muscles in his arms and hands completely contort them. "Only you can do it and it may be the hardest thing you have ever done in your life." Dayna prayed as we talked. "If you think this is something that you can do then go ahead."
Tom talked a minute about how he could never close his eyes here. We told him he was safe and that the Lord would protect him if He made Him Master of his life.
"Have you ever played 'chicken' with a semi-truck?" he asked us.
"No."
"Well, I have and we were about this close when we finished" he measured about a foot's space.
"Well, you can't clean yourself up, Tom. You have to go to God and ask Him to cleanse you from all of this filth and sin that we talked about."
"Yeah, I know. I want to do that." he said.
"Do you need Jesus?" I asked.
"Yeah."
"Can you say it?"
"Yeah." he answered but never said it.
"Tom if you want to talk to God go ahead." I invited. "I will pray for you and then you pray, ok?" He nodded.
I prayed out loud while Dayna prayed silently for us. Tom stared straight ahead with wild, staring eyes. His hands were contorted again and he looked as though he was fighting himself.
He bowed his head and started mumbling gibberish. He kept it up for a few minutes. Then he suddenly stood up and walked away from us.
I walked down to him and said, "Tom did you pray?"
He was very angry now and said, "Yeah I was praying in tongues, don't you know that?" And then very calmly he said, "They have crosses over at that table and I want one but I don't have any money."
We walked over to the table with him. The crosses were made from nails bound together with wire. He chose a purple one and Dayna bought it for him. The lady showed him how to adjust the leather and he put it around his neck. He stood still for a moment holding onto it.
"That cross won't protect you, you know that don't you? Only Jesus can save you, Tom".
"I know."
We parted ways and he took my hand twice saying thank you each time.
Please pray for him. God knows his real name.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Window Tinting and Quarks
The conversation this morning happened on me so fast that I almost don't remember how! I went in to get the driver's window tinted on my truck. It's been so cold here that it peeled off.
When I walked in to talk to the guy I noticed that he had a very nice 1965 Mustang fastback in the garage. It was his and he told me all about it. It was Caprice blue and he had re-done everything on the car. It was beautiful. He told me his name was Jeff.
Jeff measured my window for the film and as he did he told me that he used to restore Mustangs for a man. His job was to bring them all up to factory specifics. He said he loved doing it and it taught him a lot.
"I loved working on it and it kept my mind on it instead of other things." He laughed when he said this. "You know, it was a distraction. Something to keep my mind busy. That's what it's about you know, just keeping your mind busy while you're here. We're not here for long!"
'Wow,is this really being dropped in my lap like this?' I thought. "That's right, here one minute and gone the next!" I was meeting Allyson at the nursing home when I was finished here and I had prayed earlier that God would bring someone into our paths to talk to. Guess He was already starting!!
"The big question is what next Jeff?"
"Yeah, you got that right! I'll tell you what I think..." Jeff proceeded to tell me that he believed that God created the world with a big bang about 17 billion years ago and man has evolved ever since. He told me that he liked the science of it. He told me he 'liked religion' because we needed to keep that balance of good and bad in us. It made the world go 'round. He told me that he thinks about this a lot.
When I asked if he believed in life after death he told me that he doesn't really like the idea of Hell. He said that he believed that our spirits came back in our kids.
"So, if I have this right you believe that you are a compilation of your ancestors?"
"That's exactly it!" He nodded then went on to tell me that we all had good and bad in us and then when we die we might get to float around 'god'. He proceeded to use familiar words like forgiveness and Heaven. "I don't believe the Bible. I believe in science."
I told him that my Dad and I had just had a conversation yesterday about quarks. We were discussing the possibility of pure sound being able to break quarks down. "The Bible says that God spoke the world into existence." He didn't know this.
I let him finish his thoughts and when he seemed to pause I asked him when he would be good enough to die. He seemed puzzled by the question. "Well, you mentioned a balance between good and evil in us. When are you good enough to die?"
"Ahhhh...well..."
"Jeff are you a good person?" I asked.
"Yeah. I try do do what's right." he said.
"I want to ask you some questions."
"Go ahead, I'll be honest!" he said. My phone was ringing and I saw that it was Allyson. She probably wondered where I was, so I hit the answer button. My plan was to let her hear what was going on so she would know I was going to be late. I was sitting over in a chair away from the truck and Jeff was standing at the truck with the driver's door open. Suddenly a voice said, 'Your call cannot be completed.'
"Whoa!! Was that the voice of God??" Jeff laughed. He seemed a bit shocked by this.
"No just Bluetooth." oops. I took the phone off Bluetooth and dialed her number then held the phone down. She told me later that she heard us and had prayed for us. By the way, it's a good idea to do this and have someone praying for you while you are talking to someone.
After Jeff answered some questions and admitted that he had probably broken each Commandment I asked him how God would judge him..."Guilty or innocent?"
"I'm going straight to Hell!" he said this with a bit of levity but I didn't let him off the hook.
"Yes, you are." I let it soak in.
"Well, we all are!" he said, as if this were some sort of comfort.
"Do you know what God did for us, so we don't have to go there?" Jeff didn't answer, he looked mystified. "Any idea?" He had no idea!
I told him about Jesus dying for us. He told me he thought it would have been much 'smarter' of God to just have the whole cross come out of the ground with Jesus on it and for Jesus to say something like, "I'm dying for you now. OK go ahead and continue." and then for the cross to go back into position in the hole in the ground. hmmm.
"Do you really think that He could not have come off of that Cross in a flash?? Scripture says that Jesus could have called leagues of angels but he didn't. He willingly laid His life down for you. When he was dying he saw your face Jeff. He knew each and every sin you would commit and He paid for it anyway." We talked about repentance and faith in Jesus.
Jeff still had questions and didn't believe that Jesus was without sin. After talking with him a while longer, I gave him the courtroom illustration and asked him if he could leave after his apology to the court. He got it. I talked again about repentance.
"Jeff, do you think this is important?"
"Yes, I do!" he said and stepped back.
"When do you think you'll take care of it? You never know when it's your time to go and if you wait, it may be too late for you!"
"I know... soon!" he said. By now some other people had come into his shop. I gave him a Good Person tract with the payment. He gave me a hug and told me he enjoyed our conversation.
Please pray for Jeff. It seems a bit strange to think that someone might not be familiar with the reason that Jesus came, but that's why we're here-after all!!
When I walked in to talk to the guy I noticed that he had a very nice 1965 Mustang fastback in the garage. It was his and he told me all about it. It was Caprice blue and he had re-done everything on the car. It was beautiful. He told me his name was Jeff.
Jeff measured my window for the film and as he did he told me that he used to restore Mustangs for a man. His job was to bring them all up to factory specifics. He said he loved doing it and it taught him a lot.
"I loved working on it and it kept my mind on it instead of other things." He laughed when he said this. "You know, it was a distraction. Something to keep my mind busy. That's what it's about you know, just keeping your mind busy while you're here. We're not here for long!"
'Wow,is this really being dropped in my lap like this?' I thought. "That's right, here one minute and gone the next!" I was meeting Allyson at the nursing home when I was finished here and I had prayed earlier that God would bring someone into our paths to talk to. Guess He was already starting!!
"The big question is what next Jeff?"
"Yeah, you got that right! I'll tell you what I think..." Jeff proceeded to tell me that he believed that God created the world with a big bang about 17 billion years ago and man has evolved ever since. He told me that he liked the science of it. He told me he 'liked religion' because we needed to keep that balance of good and bad in us. It made the world go 'round. He told me that he thinks about this a lot.
When I asked if he believed in life after death he told me that he doesn't really like the idea of Hell. He said that he believed that our spirits came back in our kids.
"So, if I have this right you believe that you are a compilation of your ancestors?"
"That's exactly it!" He nodded then went on to tell me that we all had good and bad in us and then when we die we might get to float around 'god'. He proceeded to use familiar words like forgiveness and Heaven. "I don't believe the Bible. I believe in science."
I told him that my Dad and I had just had a conversation yesterday about quarks. We were discussing the possibility of pure sound being able to break quarks down. "The Bible says that God spoke the world into existence." He didn't know this.
I let him finish his thoughts and when he seemed to pause I asked him when he would be good enough to die. He seemed puzzled by the question. "Well, you mentioned a balance between good and evil in us. When are you good enough to die?"
"Ahhhh...well..."
"Jeff are you a good person?" I asked.
"Yeah. I try do do what's right." he said.
"I want to ask you some questions."
"Go ahead, I'll be honest!" he said. My phone was ringing and I saw that it was Allyson. She probably wondered where I was, so I hit the answer button. My plan was to let her hear what was going on so she would know I was going to be late. I was sitting over in a chair away from the truck and Jeff was standing at the truck with the driver's door open. Suddenly a voice said, 'Your call cannot be completed.'
"Whoa!! Was that the voice of God??" Jeff laughed. He seemed a bit shocked by this.
"No just Bluetooth." oops. I took the phone off Bluetooth and dialed her number then held the phone down. She told me later that she heard us and had prayed for us. By the way, it's a good idea to do this and have someone praying for you while you are talking to someone.
After Jeff answered some questions and admitted that he had probably broken each Commandment I asked him how God would judge him..."Guilty or innocent?"
"I'm going straight to Hell!" he said this with a bit of levity but I didn't let him off the hook.
"Yes, you are." I let it soak in.
"Well, we all are!" he said, as if this were some sort of comfort.
"Do you know what God did for us, so we don't have to go there?" Jeff didn't answer, he looked mystified. "Any idea?" He had no idea!
I told him about Jesus dying for us. He told me he thought it would have been much 'smarter' of God to just have the whole cross come out of the ground with Jesus on it and for Jesus to say something like, "I'm dying for you now. OK go ahead and continue." and then for the cross to go back into position in the hole in the ground. hmmm.
"Do you really think that He could not have come off of that Cross in a flash?? Scripture says that Jesus could have called leagues of angels but he didn't. He willingly laid His life down for you. When he was dying he saw your face Jeff. He knew each and every sin you would commit and He paid for it anyway." We talked about repentance and faith in Jesus.
Jeff still had questions and didn't believe that Jesus was without sin. After talking with him a while longer, I gave him the courtroom illustration and asked him if he could leave after his apology to the court. He got it. I talked again about repentance.
"Jeff, do you think this is important?"
"Yes, I do!" he said and stepped back.
"When do you think you'll take care of it? You never know when it's your time to go and if you wait, it may be too late for you!"
"I know... soon!" he said. By now some other people had come into his shop. I gave him a Good Person tract with the payment. He gave me a hug and told me he enjoyed our conversation.
Please pray for Jeff. It seems a bit strange to think that someone might not be familiar with the reason that Jesus came, but that's why we're here-after all!!
Aguas Vivientes!
Aguas Vivientes!
Posted: 09 Apr 2010 05:41 AM PDT
I could not remember my password when I was on the net last night trying to pay a bill. Arrrgggh! Finally I broke down and called Jose' in Customer Service. He was a very nice young man with a heavy Spanish accent. He was very helpful and solved my problem.
After we were finished with the password issue Jose' asked me if I had any other questions. I just love that. Of course I told him I did.
"Jose' I have a question for you that is off the usual subject, but please take this seriously. I want you to really think about this, OK?"
"OK."
"How do I get to Heaven?"
He was quiet a moment and then said, "You have to do the right thing, you have to obey laws and be nice to other people."
"Do you do those things?" I asked him.
"Yes ma'am, I go to church and confession and take communion, and I'm nice to other people. I try to do the right thing."
"You are a good man?"
"Yes ma'am. I try to be." he said.
"Jose' I want to test your theory, OK? But I want to make sure that before you answer these questions you really think about them and you are honest before God-OK?"
"Yes ma'am."
I knew that this call was being taped and I also wanted to be respectful that Jose' was at work. I quickly went through 3 of the 10 Commandments and we discovered that Jose' had lied, stolen and blasphemed God's name.
He quickly justified his actions. "But I haven't committed anything really big."
"So you think maybe God will weigh everything and decide that you did more good than bad?" I asked.
"Yes ma'am." Even I would vouch that he was very polite.
After talking a bit more Jose' was struck by the fact that our sins and acts of disobedience are something that we cannot erase. They will stand forever, unless erased and forgiven by The Only One Who Can Forgive.
Jose' also learned the reason that Jesus really came-to make a payment for us that we CANNOT. We simply don't have it! We talked about repentance and faith in Jesus Christ alone.
"You can't hang on to your good works, Jose'. You must let them go and hang on to Jesus. He's the only way!" I quoted John 14:6 to him. I hope you will really do some thinking about this. I don't want you to go to Hell, Jose'.
"I don't want to go to Hell either!"
"The only way for you to avoid it now is to talk to God. Beg Him for forgiveness and put your trust only in Jesus! How do you say Living Water in Spanish?" I never can remember that!!! (Sorry Spanish-speaking friends!)
"Aguas vivientes."
"That's it! Go to that website, Jose'."
"Wait a minute...I want to write this down!" I could hear him scrambling at his desk.
After getting off of the phone, I prayed for Jose' that he would seek God and not stop until he found Him.
I am so very thankful that we have resources for the Spanish-speakers out there!!
Posted: 09 Apr 2010 05:41 AM PDT
I could not remember my password when I was on the net last night trying to pay a bill. Arrrgggh! Finally I broke down and called Jose' in Customer Service. He was a very nice young man with a heavy Spanish accent. He was very helpful and solved my problem.
After we were finished with the password issue Jose' asked me if I had any other questions. I just love that. Of course I told him I did.
"Jose' I have a question for you that is off the usual subject, but please take this seriously. I want you to really think about this, OK?"
"OK."
"How do I get to Heaven?"
He was quiet a moment and then said, "You have to do the right thing, you have to obey laws and be nice to other people."
"Do you do those things?" I asked him.
"Yes ma'am, I go to church and confession and take communion, and I'm nice to other people. I try to do the right thing."
"You are a good man?"
"Yes ma'am. I try to be." he said.
"Jose' I want to test your theory, OK? But I want to make sure that before you answer these questions you really think about them and you are honest before God-OK?"
"Yes ma'am."
I knew that this call was being taped and I also wanted to be respectful that Jose' was at work. I quickly went through 3 of the 10 Commandments and we discovered that Jose' had lied, stolen and blasphemed God's name.
He quickly justified his actions. "But I haven't committed anything really big."
"So you think maybe God will weigh everything and decide that you did more good than bad?" I asked.
"Yes ma'am." Even I would vouch that he was very polite.
After talking a bit more Jose' was struck by the fact that our sins and acts of disobedience are something that we cannot erase. They will stand forever, unless erased and forgiven by The Only One Who Can Forgive.
Jose' also learned the reason that Jesus really came-to make a payment for us that we CANNOT. We simply don't have it! We talked about repentance and faith in Jesus Christ alone.
"You can't hang on to your good works, Jose'. You must let them go and hang on to Jesus. He's the only way!" I quoted John 14:6 to him. I hope you will really do some thinking about this. I don't want you to go to Hell, Jose'.
"I don't want to go to Hell either!"
"The only way for you to avoid it now is to talk to God. Beg Him for forgiveness and put your trust only in Jesus! How do you say Living Water in Spanish?" I never can remember that!!! (Sorry Spanish-speaking friends!)
"Aguas vivientes."
"That's it! Go to that website, Jose'."
"Wait a minute...I want to write this down!" I could hear him scrambling at his desk.
After getting off of the phone, I prayed for Jose' that he would seek God and not stop until he found Him.
I am so very thankful that we have resources for the Spanish-speakers out there!!
Monday, February 15, 2010
Opening Session Prayer
Thought you might enjoy this interesting
prayer given in Kansas at the opening session of their Senate. It seems
prayer still upsets some people.. When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open
the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is
what they heard:
Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask
your forgiveness and to seek your direction and
guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those
who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we
have done.
We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed
our values.
We have exploited the poor and called it
the lottery.
We have rewarded laziness and called it
welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it
choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it
justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our
children and called it building self esteem..
We have abused power and called it
politics.
We have coveted our neighbor's possessions
and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and
pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values
of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts
today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.
Amen!
The response was immediate. A number of
legislators walked out during the prayer in
protest. In 6 short weeks, Central Christian
Church, where Rev. Wright is pastor, logged more than
5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls
responding negatively. The church is now receiving
international requests for copies of this prayer
from India , Africa and Korea .
Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on
his radio program, 'The Rest of the Story,'and
received a larger response to this program than any
other he has ever aired.
With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep
over our nation and wholeheartedly become our
desire so that we again can be called 'one nation
under God.
The Lord is in Charge
Just go.
Since the nurses are very familiar with the patients, I usually ask them if they have anyone I should see first. On this particular morning I was told the man I should really see wasn't here but instead, he was in the hospital.
I decided to make the trip on Tuesday. I was really dragging my feet today. I really needed to snap out of it! I prayed on the way that the Lord would take care of all the details. I knew that if I would just plant the seed, salvation would be up to Him. When I got up to the room I was concerned because I could see that there were no sheets on the bed. As I peeked in the room I saw an elderly lady sitting in a chair.
"Hi." I introduced myself and told her I was from the nursing home.
"I'm Geri, Charlie's wife. Charlie is down in dialysis right now. You are welcome to wait with me." She gave me a weak smile. Geri looked very worried and tired.
We talked for a while about her children and grandchildren. We talked about Charlie, whom I had yet to meet. Soon enough the subject of death was discussed. I asked what she thought about the afterlife. She told me about her father, who was trained for the priesthood in Rome.
"He came back and told my grandmother that he just could not do it. He was a wonderful man", she reminisced. "He instilled in me a very strong belief in Purgatory."
Oh, great, I thought. Ok Lord, You have to do the work. I am going to do what I came to do. Seeing that Geri was a Roman Catholic I knew that she would be familiar with the 10 Commandments, so I took her through a few of them. She admitted to lying, stealing and blasphemy. Then she told me that God would not send her to Hell because nothing she did was 'that bad'. We went through a couple more Commandments and then finally she told me she would end up in Purgatory.
"You know, good works!" she smiled.
"You know Geri, that is really a comforting thought, but the trouble is there is no Purgatory mentioned in scripture. And if it were true then why did Jesus have to die?" When I said this her jaw dropped slightly. She just stared at me as though this were the first she was hearing of something that really shocked her.
"If God is truly Righteous and Just, as scripture says He is, He will be bound by His Holiness to send you to Hell for eternity-no chance of escape for you! God sent Jesus to die for us because we don't have the payment He is looking for. You see, Jesus died so that He could pay our penalty. We deserve to go to Hell-we did the crimes. What God expects of us is that we humble ourselves and admit that we've done wrong. We don't deserve Heaven but He made a way for us to spend eternity there. We must repent, or turn away from our sin, admitting we are wrong. Then we must follow Jesus, putting all of our trust in Him. 'For by grace are you saved, through faith, not of works, lest any man should boast.' There will not be one person boasting in Heaven that he got there on his own. Does this make sense to you?" I asked her.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Sharing the Gospel
Hello to All,
Dennis and I would like to thank you for all of the encouragement, donations and prayers for FFM Ministries. It has really been exciting and eye-opening to see what the Lord has done!!
So far He has allowed us to:
-Circulate over 64,000 gospel tracts.
-Give out over 600 bibles.
-Distribute 14 Way of the Master training kits.
-Help send 3 individuals to the Ambassadors Alliance Academy in California for training.
100% of the money given goes toward getting the Gospel out.
We were recently contacted by Pastor Harry in the Mindanao region of Philippines:
Thanks a lot of your prayers and concern towards the ministry here in our area. The God's work here is in Mindanao area, it has 17 cities. Our desire and prayer by the grace of God that we can share to them the word of God. Mindanao is a wide island many destitute and poor brethren don't have Bible to use. Please behind us in your prayers that God will harvest more souls to His Kingdom before Christ return. We appreciated so much of your deep love concern towards the ministry here, we never forget you all in our serious day and night prayers that God will bless you abundantly. May God's best be upon you all. In Christ, Harry
We are so grateful to tell you that we were able to supply him with 200 desperately needed Bibles. We got a note from him a couple of days ago...
Greetings in Jesus name! I just arrived from the destitute brethren in the Muslim area distributing the Bibles. Praise God! The meeting there is very successful! but I can't send you pictures through email because I don't have digital camera.... We traveled 3 hours from here reaching that critical place to meet them and sharing to them the good news of Jesus. However, I can send you photos through your physical address so that you can see the result of the distribution. We are praying for more Bibles because I talk to their pastor, he has also a friend who has in need of the 200 Bibles who is pastoring to the next town, they are also praying for a long time that God will provide Bibles for their guidelines. Please share and transmit this email to your lovely and merciful brethren there in your place. Wishing of your love and compassion towards the ministry here. We pray for you day and night that God will bless you more and use you mightily! May God bless you all!
We have also put him in contact with Living Waters Asia. They have scheduled training meetings for next month. (PTL!) The area that Pastor Harry is speaking of is the dangerous mountain region of Kauswagan, where Muslim rebels wage war against Christians and the government.
As you can see there is a great need here in this region and you can see that there is someone willing to share the Gospel already in place. But certainly, you can also see that there is a great need for funds to supply literature and training in this very dangerous area. 2 Corinthians_9:7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
If any of you would like to help in this effort to get evangelism training to the Philippines, please go to:
http://www.ffmministries.com/support/support.htm
PayPal is preferred but there is also an address for checks.
The number of training seminars we will hold and amount of material distributed is directly affected by this effort to raise funds.
Luke 12:16-21 And he told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, 'What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?'
And he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God."
Luke 12:35 Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning.
Dennis and I would like to thank you for all of the encouragement, donations and prayers for FFM Ministries. It has really been exciting and eye-opening to see what the Lord has done!!
So far He has allowed us to:
-Circulate over 64,000 gospel tracts.
-Give out over 600 bibles.
-Distribute 14 Way of the Master training kits.
-Help send 3 individuals to the Ambassadors Alliance Academy in California for training.
100% of the money given goes toward getting the Gospel out.
We were recently contacted by Pastor Harry in the Mindanao region of Philippines:
Thanks a lot of your prayers and concern towards the ministry here in our area. The God's work here is in Mindanao area, it has 17 cities. Our desire and prayer by the grace of God that we can share to them the word of God. Mindanao is a wide island many destitute and poor brethren don't have Bible to use. Please behind us in your prayers that God will harvest more souls to His Kingdom before Christ return. We appreciated so much of your deep love concern towards the ministry here, we never forget you all in our serious day and night prayers that God will bless you abundantly. May God's best be upon you all. In Christ, Harry
We are so grateful to tell you that we were able to supply him with 200 desperately needed Bibles. We got a note from him a couple of days ago...
Greetings in Jesus name! I just arrived from the destitute brethren in the Muslim area distributing the Bibles. Praise God! The meeting there is very successful! but I can't send you pictures through email because I don't have digital camera.... We traveled 3 hours from here reaching that critical place to meet them and sharing to them the good news of Jesus. However, I can send you photos through your physical address so that you can see the result of the distribution. We are praying for more Bibles because I talk to their pastor, he has also a friend who has in need of the 200 Bibles who is pastoring to the next town, they are also praying for a long time that God will provide Bibles for their guidelines. Please share and transmit this email to your lovely and merciful brethren there in your place. Wishing of your love and compassion towards the ministry here. We pray for you day and night that God will bless you more and use you mightily! May God bless you all!
We have also put him in contact with Living Waters Asia. They have scheduled training meetings for next month. (PTL!) The area that Pastor Harry is speaking of is the dangerous mountain region of Kauswagan, where Muslim rebels wage war against Christians and the government.
As you can see there is a great need here in this region and you can see that there is someone willing to share the Gospel already in place. But certainly, you can also see that there is a great need for funds to supply literature and training in this very dangerous area. 2 Corinthians_9:7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
If any of you would like to help in this effort to get evangelism training to the Philippines, please go to:
http://www.ffmministries.com/support/support.htm
PayPal is preferred but there is also an address for checks.
The number of training seminars we will hold and amount of material distributed is directly affected by this effort to raise funds.
Luke 12:16-21 And he told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, 'What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?'
And he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God."
Luke 12:35 Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning.
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