I thank the Lord for another great night of witnessing on Friday night. I pray that His glory is always the central focus through the planting of seeds and that souls would be won for Christ. The call and command of spreading the Gospel is sometimes uncomfortable, unpredictable, stressful, joyous, rewarding, fun, and so many other emotions and different situations come to mind, but in the end how I feel about it doesn't matter. What matters is that we are obedient and we are spreading the Gospel whether it is by using a gospel tract, open air preaching, typing to someone on the internet, talking one to one to a stranger, family member, or a friend. We need to realize that the proclamation of the Gospel requires words despite the famous quote that many people use which says, "Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words." Not only is that NOT biblical, there is also no documentation, records, or any evidence of St. Francis ever saying that. No evidence or record...kind of like evolution!
I have noticed that many churches emphasize inviting someone to church rather than actually evangelizing. While it is not bad to invite an unbeliever to church one has to consider if their church even includes the Gospel message in their sermon. Many churches unfortunately have alter calls without the Gospel even being preached. If that is the case then there is probably something wrong with that situation and it is producing false conversions which is so prominent in our country. We don't want to take someone to a church that is just going to make them feel better about themselves for a week. They need to be taken somewhere where they will understand their condition before God and hear the Gospel. Another mistake is that we assume that it is solely the churches (building/staff responsibility to spread the Gospel and we try to pass the ball to them.
I often pray that my thinking and prayers are eternally geared. Meaning, that I understand and comprehend that the person that is walking by me could die that very day or I may miss my chance to share the Gospel with that family member or friend that I have been praying for. Oh if I only lived everyday like it were my last. It is a feat than I honestly never know if I will be able to accomplish, but I strive to. If it were though, I would want to spend it sharing the Gospel, with my family by my side, and giving glory to God in every moment and aspect of that day as we should everyday.
With all that being said I want to share a conversation that I had recently with a guy named Travis. He was probably about my age or a little bit younger. I was making one of my rounds around the Harbor when I saw him leaving. He had long hair, a guitar on his back and his name was Taylor. I approached him. (This conversation lasted about 40-45 minutes, but I'll try to sum it up with the important points as best I can)...
Me: "Hi, did you get one of these?" (handing him a trillion dollar bill)
Taylor: "Yes, I've gotten several of these."
Me: "Oh, okay, has anyone ever talked to you about it before? It asks the trillion dollar question. What do you think happens after we die?"
Taylor: "Yeah, I've talked to a lot of people about this stuff and basically I think when we die we go in the ground and our bones dissolve along with our brains disintegrating...he gave me the science of the process)
Me: "I see, well I am a born again Christian. Do you mind if I share what I believe based on the Bible even though you may have heard this before like you said?"
Taylor: "Sure"
Me: "Has anyone ever asked you the Ten Commandments or the Good Person Test before?" (I figured they had if they handed him a Living Waters tract)
Taylor: "Yes, and morally I am a good person. I do good things. I think killing and abortion is wrong. I don't cuss or do anything that is bad. I come up here a lot and I see things that disgust me. Girls wearing shorts that are entirely too short. Guys who are hitting on two or three girls at a time, underage drinking, cussing, and other things that make me sick."(Throughout the conversation he kept proclaiming his goodness)
Me: "I gotcha. Well the reason I usually ask the 10 Commandments that you are familiar with is because they really show our condition before God. I thought I was a good person based on my morals as well. But our morality is nothing compared to God's. Breaking one of His commandments makes us guilty of them all.
Taylor: "Well, I study philosophy, history, and different religions a lot and I have a lot of problems with their being a God and especially Christianity."
Me: "Really? I enjoy studying those things as well. But please understand that not everyone who says they are a Christian or does something in the name of Christianity is one just because they say so."
Taylor: "I understand that, but honestly I can't believe in God and I don't want to because I don't understand why he would just let there be so much evil in the world."
Me: "I see what your saying, but far too often what we do is concentrate on all the evil ignoring all the goodness and grace of God. Look at you standing here and talking to me right now in good health with your guitar at this nice place. We are here right now by God's grace. There is evil in the world because man is sinful and we live in a fallen creation. Are you familiar with the Adam and Eve story?
Taylor: "Yes, but I can't accept that a loving God would just let bad things happen such as pain, suffering, and poverty. Why not just make everyone happy and healthy?
Me: "God shows His love to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. (I proceeded to share the Gospel with Him) We ask, " why this, why that, God," and completely try to shut out that He did this great thing for us and the common grace that He gives us through life."
Taylor: "I have a problem with that too because I didn't ask him to do that for me and I would hang on a cross because I love the world that much too. What people don't realize is that there are people today and all throughout history who suffered worse than Jesus. There are people who were tormented their whole lives worse than him and Jesus wasn't even here that long or suffered that long."
Me: "The reason Jesus had to die on the cross was because only the sacrifice of God, which is who Jesus is, could be sufficient for the whole world. We can look in history today and see that there are people possibly tortured, PHYSICALLY, more brutally and longer than Jesus, but the Bible also talks about Jesus suffering the wrath of God on the cross. That is something so horrible that we cannot see or comprehend what He went through on the cross.
Taylor: "I'm sorry, but there is just no way of knowing that there is a god. It is possible for a child to know something the father knows. (I'm not sure where he was going with that)
Me: "Sure there is. You have a conscience. Look at creation as it gives evidence to a masterful Creator. We have a whole book from Him!
Taylor: "There are so many contradictions in the Bible and over time we have progressive knowledge. We used to think the sun was a god and over time we realized that it wasn't. There are so many instances like that.
Me: "I agree that we have progressive knowledge. For instance, the world said that the earth is flat when indeed the Bible points to it being round. There are other instances in the Bible where science is still catching up with the truths that can be found in the Bible. Contradictions can be found in anything when something is pulled out of context and unfortunately that happens in the Bible a lot so someone can shape their own beliefs. That is why we are to study it and take it in context with itself."
Taylor: "Okay, but I can't understand why someone has to go to hell just because they are not baptized or part of a certain church or etc. My dad would let me into Heaven even though we have different paths or agree on things. I am a morally good person so I think that kind of god would just let me in.((He brought up quite a bit of Catholic theology and history (crusades) throughout the conversation))
Me: "Everyone without Jesus Christ is going to hell because we sinned against God and broke His law. A baptism or church attendance does not save. No one is innocent or good, we are all guilty. You can see that by looking at our world. We want to think that we are good, but that is not what the Bible says. We are all bent towards evil. That is why we need a redeemer. Someone who can pay our fine, which is Jesus, who is the only way. You talk about nations being wiped out in the Old Testament, but they did exactly what you are doing right now. You are proclaiming your own goodness and spitting in God's face by saying that you won't believe in Him and you don't need Him when He has shown you His glory through creation, conscience, and His Word."
He kind of skipped around, but then brought up his morals again so I asked another question.
Me: "The 10 Commandments are God's holy standard. That is where we get our morality as it is written on our hearts. Where do you get your stand of what is right and wrong?"
Taylor: "I believe a society determines what is right and wrong. Throughout time we have established better standards and morals to whatever fits that certain society."
Me: "So you are saying that it is only right to the person?"
Taylor: "No, the society."
Me: "So was the Nazi society right when they killed thousands of Jews or when terrorists bomb and crash planes in the name of Islam?"
Taylor: "Actually the Islam faith isn't brutal, it is really a religion of peace. In the Koran, which I have read, it says no where to actually kill the infidels, but to show them peace."
Me: "Then why does it say in Surah 9:5 - to kill the infidels...?"
Taylor: "Well, the Koran has contradictions just like the Bible."
Me: "The Koran does have many contradictions, but we already went over the Bible and it does not, but would you say that the Nazi's were right or wrong?"
Taylor: "I think it's wrong, but to them it is right."
Me: "Okay, so you are saying that there is no sense of absolute morality. It is solely based on a societies standard?"
Taylor: "Well, I don't believe in a supernatural moral code."
Me: "Alright, then you think child pornography is okay if a certain society says it is?"
Taylor: "No, I think it is wrong and I will speak out against it."
Me: "But if you were saying there is no standard for right and wrong outside of a society then it is "right" in a sense because that individual believes it to be."
Taylor: "I don't agree with it, but I just think there is no supernatural moral code."
Me: "So you are basically saying it is okay if someone believes it to be true and that there is no right and wrong. The Bible reveals to us God's standard of morality which is written on our hearts. Taylor, do you believe we all came from monkeys...?
Taylor: "Yes, we evolved. We can see similarities between different species. There is loads of evidence.
Me: "While there are similarities there are no transitional forms. There are huge holes in the evolutionary model. I know you are better than that and that you were uniquely created. I really don't believe you are just an animal."
Taylor: "We are all animals. If God is real then why can dolphins show affection and bears use logic like we do...(he used some other examples as well).
Me: "That has absolutely nothing to do with the existence of God besides the fact that He is creative in His creation."
Taylor: I'm sorry, I respect what your trying to do, but I just will not believe it. I just don't want to. When I was young I was told the story of Job and how God killed his children and took everything away from him."
(He knew this story very well and other theological principles in the Bible. It is unfortunate that many people like this know more about the Bible than many who proclaim to be Christians)
Taylor: That is awful and I don't understand how a loving God could do that.
Me: Don't end the story there. You didn't tell what God then did.
Taylor: Yeah, I know He gave Him more kids and stuff, but that still doesn't justify what He did just to prove a point.
Me: "I know to us it is hard to comprehend, but the fact is, is that we are the clay and He is the potter. The clay doesn't tell that potter how he wants to be made or tell the potter what to do. God's ways are His ways and they are perfect even if we can't understand. But we can see that the principle behind the story is that we go through trials and tribulations, but God is faithful. He rewarded Job for his faithfulness in the end more than before. If we focus on the emotional aspect of every instance then we lose the truth aspect and bigger picture."
Taylor: "I would rather go to hell than be in Heaven with God like that."
Me: "Taylor, I don't want that for you and you seem to not understand that hell is for eternity. It is the weeping and gnashing of teeth where the fire is never quenched and the worm never dies. Whether you believe it or not will change it."
Taylor: "Let me ask you this. What is your idea of hell?
Me: "It doesn't matter what my idea is about hell or any of this. What matters is what God's Word says which I told you. The Bible was written by more than 40 men of various occupational and cultural backgrounds, over 1,500 hundreds years in the making, throughout 3 continents, and it contains several fulfilled prophecies. It is the only truth that matters in the world and you may say you don't believe it or there is an error here or there, but it will not change the fact that it is God's Word."
Me: "Taylor, I understand that these facts I'm telling you are not going to convince you of anything. I know that, but I want you to think about what we have talked about and what if all this is true. Do you love life?"
Taylor: "Yes, I love life, but I wrote a paper in philosophy about how it would be better if we were never born because ignorance is bliss and there would be no pain and suffering. I used to study religion more, but now I am really into art. I write songs about love, the world, and other people. I really do love life though."
Taylor: "But listen, I really gotta go, but I'll let you have the last word after I say this. You are probably going to tell me that Jesus loves me so much and I would be crazy not to accept Him because of His love. But I like the way I live and I enjoy life. I'm a good person and I do good things. I won't go in a church and yell at someone because I disagree with them because I am a good person like that. I just don't want to worship a God who does the things He does in the Bible. I can't accept that."
Me: "I'm not going to tell you that Jesus loves you or to accept Him, because He doesn't need it, but the Bible does command that you repent and trust in Him. I really do care about you and I don't want to see you go to hell, seriously. I really just want you to consider what we talked about tonight. You may throw these away, but will you please take these and think about reading them?"
(I handed him 3 booklets, Save Yourself Some Pain, Why Christianity?, and Scientific Evidence Found in the Bible by Ray Comfort.
Taylor: "Yes, I'll take them"
Me: "Well, listen man. I really appreciated the conversation and you listening and dialoguing with me. I really enjoyed it and it is definitely healthy to talk about these things. Just check out that information please and have a great night because I know you love life and eternity is a long time to be wrong about all this."
And we parted ways. It never got heated or anything although he did jump to different topics when he could not respond to a certain point. The important part is that the law and Gospel was shared. I pray that the Lord unhardens his heart. He obviously knew there was a creator as he would get very emotional towards God when we discussed certain things. He brought up past experiences and more reasons why he did not like God, but Romans 1:18-19 kept ringing in my ears during the conversation. You could see him suppressing the truth when given to him of a holy, righteous, just, merciful, loving, Creator.
"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made." - Roans 1:18-20
The Bible is so true when it says that every man proclaims his own goodness. We may not all do it in the same way, but we do without the grace and redemption of Jesus Christ. The more I witness and walk with the Lord the more I am being able to apply and understand these amazing biblical truths.
All the other conversations in the night went excellent as well. However,I was let down by the many church goers who couldn't tell me how to get to Heaven or even what the Gospel is when I asked. A group of girls said that there were probably going to talk about the law and Gospel that was shared with them until 4 in the morning that night after our conversation! Even though I'm not sure if I am ever seeing conversion take place it does bring me joy to see people taking their eternal salvation and the things of God seriously whether it is a positive or negative experience to me. Please pray for everyone who got a tract and heard the Gospel!
Salvation is of the Lord, but He wants us to plant the seeds!
May God bless you and yours!
In Christ,
Joey
Friday, August 20, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Fatherhood and Evangelism
Life has been really busy as the Lord has graciously given me a new brother (in law) and a daughter in the last month so I haven't had much time to write as I have had in the past.
Having a daughter really didn't set in for me during the pregnancy, even though it literally did for my wife, until we went to the hospital. We have an almost 3 year old boy already and our daughter was just born on our anniversary weighing 10.5 pounds! My wife did a great job in giving birth to her! Praise God! Through the experience I have noticed that one of my strengths is that I don't worry very much about things when it comes to the serious stuff because I know that God is sovereign and in control. However, my weakness lies in sweating the small stuff. It's odd how that works out, because God is always in control of all of it.
I'm basically writing to talk a little about what has been going on and my reflections of being a father of two and evangelism. Honestly, my outlook on fatherhood hasn't changed much with the new addition of my family. When I found out I was having my boy almost 3 years ago I started researching, reading extensively, and listening to sermons on raising a godly son or daughter. I have always enjoyed teaching and working with children and I am extremely passionate about parenting because it is a calling and a God-given responsibility that should be embraced by every parent, especially the head of the family, which is the father.
I have definitely already made mistakes as a parent, but the biggest mistake when it comes to children is not admitting to them when you have wronged them, not prayerfully doing something about it, and not asking for forgiveness of the ones you have done it to. There has always been this cliche that a parent can't be wrong or especially let the child know, which is a great flaw in itself. Even though I have a toddler and infant I am beginning to see how serious, but joyous parenthood is meant to be, especially when done biblically. I've learned that the key to parenting doesn't start with the child, it starts with God and then your wife, or spouse. Many of my weaknesses or short comings are reflected in my handling of situations and treatment of my wife. A wise man once said if you want to know how a man really is then ask his wife. There is a a boat load of truth to that statement!
Through much prayer, reflection and study of scriptures my family has grown this past year. It is not a smooth process to establish certain rules or guidelines and go against most of what our culture says is acceptable, especially having grown up in it, but when you really step back and compare what is happening nowadays to what scripture really says and how things were in the last 100 years ago it really isn't all that surprising why we are where we are culturally today. I know the road ahead is going to be a difficult one for our family as we will be doing some things differently with our children, but the end result is for the glory of God and the best interest of our family in serving Christ.
On an evangelism note, I haven't got to go and witness anywhere due to my first job as a witness, being a leader for our family and partner to my wife. I still have to be humbled sometimes to realize that evangelism is important and everyone is to be doing it, but there are other responsibilities as well, which is how I lead and serve my family for Christ. I thank the Lord that he brought a (former) Mormon missionary who was questioning the existence of God and two Jehovah's Witness encounters to my house since I could not leave it much the during the last month.
I'm thankful for my wife, sister, father, and mother who understand how important spreading the Gospel is to me, or how important it is, period. My sister let me place a ton of tracts around at her wedding, which is a really cool and admirable thing of her to do. A lot of people and "Christians" are embarrassed by Gospel tracts, just what I've seen from my experience. My parents and wife also reinforce my efforts as well. I know that handing out tracts to people and witnessing publicly is not a popular thing to do at all, but there is more at stake than being socially acceptable, souls.
I was able to go and witness at my favorite fishing spot last night, the Harbor, and talk to many people concerning their eternal salvation. There were really great conversations, but I always tend to dwell on the one or two that don't go quite the way I want them to, but again, a Christian's responsibility is planting a seed of that which is the Gospel, no matter what the reaction is. If I go a week without sharing the Gospel with someone face to face then I find it extremely difficult to start back up, it's kind of like exercising! But by praying for the leading and strengthening of the Holy Spirit all things are possible.
So to wrap up, fatherhood is great, but I take it very seriously. The time we spend with our children is more important than sports, hobbies, TV, or anything else. Quality time comes from quantity time. The more time we spend with our children the more quality time and teachable moments there will be opportunities for. I have found that my biggest battle is not with the flesh, or Satan, but with wordiness. I think it is the most subtle of the three and the most prominent in our American culture, but that is a whole other topic for another day.
May God bless you and yours and thank you for reading!
In Christ,
Joey
Having a daughter really didn't set in for me during the pregnancy, even though it literally did for my wife, until we went to the hospital. We have an almost 3 year old boy already and our daughter was just born on our anniversary weighing 10.5 pounds! My wife did a great job in giving birth to her! Praise God! Through the experience I have noticed that one of my strengths is that I don't worry very much about things when it comes to the serious stuff because I know that God is sovereign and in control. However, my weakness lies in sweating the small stuff. It's odd how that works out, because God is always in control of all of it.
I'm basically writing to talk a little about what has been going on and my reflections of being a father of two and evangelism. Honestly, my outlook on fatherhood hasn't changed much with the new addition of my family. When I found out I was having my boy almost 3 years ago I started researching, reading extensively, and listening to sermons on raising a godly son or daughter. I have always enjoyed teaching and working with children and I am extremely passionate about parenting because it is a calling and a God-given responsibility that should be embraced by every parent, especially the head of the family, which is the father.
I have definitely already made mistakes as a parent, but the biggest mistake when it comes to children is not admitting to them when you have wronged them, not prayerfully doing something about it, and not asking for forgiveness of the ones you have done it to. There has always been this cliche that a parent can't be wrong or especially let the child know, which is a great flaw in itself. Even though I have a toddler and infant I am beginning to see how serious, but joyous parenthood is meant to be, especially when done biblically. I've learned that the key to parenting doesn't start with the child, it starts with God and then your wife, or spouse. Many of my weaknesses or short comings are reflected in my handling of situations and treatment of my wife. A wise man once said if you want to know how a man really is then ask his wife. There is a a boat load of truth to that statement!
Through much prayer, reflection and study of scriptures my family has grown this past year. It is not a smooth process to establish certain rules or guidelines and go against most of what our culture says is acceptable, especially having grown up in it, but when you really step back and compare what is happening nowadays to what scripture really says and how things were in the last 100 years ago it really isn't all that surprising why we are where we are culturally today. I know the road ahead is going to be a difficult one for our family as we will be doing some things differently with our children, but the end result is for the glory of God and the best interest of our family in serving Christ.
On an evangelism note, I haven't got to go and witness anywhere due to my first job as a witness, being a leader for our family and partner to my wife. I still have to be humbled sometimes to realize that evangelism is important and everyone is to be doing it, but there are other responsibilities as well, which is how I lead and serve my family for Christ. I thank the Lord that he brought a (former) Mormon missionary who was questioning the existence of God and two Jehovah's Witness encounters to my house since I could not leave it much the during the last month.
I'm thankful for my wife, sister, father, and mother who understand how important spreading the Gospel is to me, or how important it is, period. My sister let me place a ton of tracts around at her wedding, which is a really cool and admirable thing of her to do. A lot of people and "Christians" are embarrassed by Gospel tracts, just what I've seen from my experience. My parents and wife also reinforce my efforts as well. I know that handing out tracts to people and witnessing publicly is not a popular thing to do at all, but there is more at stake than being socially acceptable, souls.
I was able to go and witness at my favorite fishing spot last night, the Harbor, and talk to many people concerning their eternal salvation. There were really great conversations, but I always tend to dwell on the one or two that don't go quite the way I want them to, but again, a Christian's responsibility is planting a seed of that which is the Gospel, no matter what the reaction is. If I go a week without sharing the Gospel with someone face to face then I find it extremely difficult to start back up, it's kind of like exercising! But by praying for the leading and strengthening of the Holy Spirit all things are possible.
So to wrap up, fatherhood is great, but I take it very seriously. The time we spend with our children is more important than sports, hobbies, TV, or anything else. Quality time comes from quantity time. The more time we spend with our children the more quality time and teachable moments there will be opportunities for. I have found that my biggest battle is not with the flesh, or Satan, but with wordiness. I think it is the most subtle of the three and the most prominent in our American culture, but that is a whole other topic for another day.
May God bless you and yours and thank you for reading!
In Christ,
Joey
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Providence?
I often pray to the see the hand of God at work in life when it is already so obvious. Once I take a step back from the worldliness I am so susceptible to it's as if a veil is torn from my eyes. However, when I pray for something so much I sometimes lose hope over the request and it comes back and hits me like a ton of bricks! This is a great thing by the way!
My wife is pregnant and looks as if she is going to deliver any day now. We also have a toddler that I have to watch like a hawk, because as smart as he is, he gets into everything! This has hindered my evangelism efforts and I find myself frustrated at times, but my first obligation is serving God by being a leader and supporter for my family. I have prayed for balance over this since I became born again and the Lord has truly given me a greater peace over this issue.
Since I haven't been able to go out I have been talking to people on the internet and witnessing that way. Although, internet witnessing is very valuable and God can use it, I prefer talking to someone face to face when it concerns the things of God and their eternal salvation. Now I'm going to explain why I named this post "Providence".
The last couple of weeks I have been leading a Bible study at our house. Yesterday it just so happens to be our Bible study day and no one shows up so we don't have it. I hear someone knocking at the door and it is a pest control salesman trying to get me to switch services. I reluctantly picked up a tract off of my "tract table" by the door where I have a sign for people who enter our house to take tracts or different kinds of booklets or Bibles. So we both talked for a little while and I basically told him in a nice way that I'm probably not interested, but I would like his info. on it.
We were parting ways and I handed him a trillion dollar bill gospel tract. Usually people take them and walk off in a situation like that, which is what I expected him to do. But he started asking me about it and what it was. I told him it was a gospel tract and has a good message on the back, as I was making my way to go inside. (I wasn't prepared nor expecting to have a witnessing encounter). He then asked me what church I went to and I said that I currently do not go to a church, but I am a born again Christian. This is the shocking thing right here. He then told me that he is LDS (Mormon) and he used to be a missionary for years over in France. He doesn't really consider himself one anymore because he has been doubting the existence of God lately and hasn't been doing any good works.
He then asked me how do I know that there is truly a God because lately it has been on his mind a lot because he could die any day and he just doesn't know. This is one of those questions that every evangelist wants to hear and I don't hear someone earnestly ask it very often. We discussed how conscience, creation, and the Bible point to a Creator God. I then asked him if there is a God if he would be good enough to go to Heaven. He replied by saying, "a couple months ago I would have told you I was because of everything I was doing for the church, but now I don't think I would".
So we went through the law of God and the reality of hell along with who the person and deity of Christ is(what we were actually supposed to study at our Bible study that night). I explained the differences of LDS teachings and the Bible. He admitted that what I was saying makes sense, regarding faith and works. He asked me if I was 100% grace and I said yes, but here's the thing, because I knew what he was getting at. It is only by the grace of God that He saved me. There was nothing I could do to merit towards or for my salvation. You can't bribe a judge and you certainly can't bribe God. However, any true Christian saved by grace and changed by the power of God will produce works. Genuine faith without works is dead. A true faith will produce evidence of salvation through its works and fruit. If one is truly changed by God he/she will want to tell others and obey God's Word. Unfortunately, we live in a nation of hypocrisy.
We went through the gospel and talked about repentance and trust in Christ. How Christ is the only way and works cannot save us. I was impressed and touched that this individual asked about this because he told me that he really can't talk to his family and friends about his questions.
I am so thankful to God that he was so open to everything and seemed to grasp an understanding. This must have really been on his heart to boldly ask me what I believed the existence of God to be and how to be saved. I believe God put us in each others paths that evening and I let him know as well. He told me again that it is crazy because he had been thinking about these kind of things and really been struggling lately and didn't have anyone to talk to about it.
I emphasized that I care about him which is why I gave him the tract and was glad we got to talk. I also told him that eternity only has two destinations, not celestial, tellestial, terrestrial heavens, and outer darkness. Because God is so good, loving, and just that He will give sinners what they deserve, which is hell. He is also a righteous and holy judge and it is hard for us to comprehend the severity of what we think is "little sin" because His standard of morality is perfect. Ours is greatly flawed. People forget that God is Creator and we are creation.
Praise God for this experience. I know there are many who don't like gospel tracts, but God truly used it as an opener for this awesome encounter because I embarrassingly and sinfully wasn't planning on talking to Him about how he could be saved when he came to my door. I was uncomfortable (selfish) because I hadn't done it in quite a while and really wanted to just go inside. That is testimony of how much of a selfish sinner I am to this day and I thank the good Lord that He provides forgiveness and repentance when I mess up and sin against Him.
I want to emphasize though that if you have a loved one or friend who is of a different religion or has different beliefs than you, it is not always necessary to know everything about that religion. It is definitely helpful, but the true biblical gospel; by discussing where we stand with God and what sin actually is, which explains their need for the Savior, is and should be at the core of every witnessing encounter. The power of the Holy Spirit through the proclamation of the Gospel is what changes hearts, but again, apologetics and study is extremely useful in having some common ground when it comes to these kind of situations.
Please pray for my new friend Ryan and that the Lord would do a further work on His heart, because I believe with all of mine that He already is.
Thank you for reading and may God bless you and yours!
In Christ,
Joey
My wife is pregnant and looks as if she is going to deliver any day now. We also have a toddler that I have to watch like a hawk, because as smart as he is, he gets into everything! This has hindered my evangelism efforts and I find myself frustrated at times, but my first obligation is serving God by being a leader and supporter for my family. I have prayed for balance over this since I became born again and the Lord has truly given me a greater peace over this issue.
Since I haven't been able to go out I have been talking to people on the internet and witnessing that way. Although, internet witnessing is very valuable and God can use it, I prefer talking to someone face to face when it concerns the things of God and their eternal salvation. Now I'm going to explain why I named this post "Providence".
The last couple of weeks I have been leading a Bible study at our house. Yesterday it just so happens to be our Bible study day and no one shows up so we don't have it. I hear someone knocking at the door and it is a pest control salesman trying to get me to switch services. I reluctantly picked up a tract off of my "tract table" by the door where I have a sign for people who enter our house to take tracts or different kinds of booklets or Bibles. So we both talked for a little while and I basically told him in a nice way that I'm probably not interested, but I would like his info. on it.
We were parting ways and I handed him a trillion dollar bill gospel tract. Usually people take them and walk off in a situation like that, which is what I expected him to do. But he started asking me about it and what it was. I told him it was a gospel tract and has a good message on the back, as I was making my way to go inside. (I wasn't prepared nor expecting to have a witnessing encounter). He then asked me what church I went to and I said that I currently do not go to a church, but I am a born again Christian. This is the shocking thing right here. He then told me that he is LDS (Mormon) and he used to be a missionary for years over in France. He doesn't really consider himself one anymore because he has been doubting the existence of God lately and hasn't been doing any good works.
He then asked me how do I know that there is truly a God because lately it has been on his mind a lot because he could die any day and he just doesn't know. This is one of those questions that every evangelist wants to hear and I don't hear someone earnestly ask it very often. We discussed how conscience, creation, and the Bible point to a Creator God. I then asked him if there is a God if he would be good enough to go to Heaven. He replied by saying, "a couple months ago I would have told you I was because of everything I was doing for the church, but now I don't think I would".
So we went through the law of God and the reality of hell along with who the person and deity of Christ is(what we were actually supposed to study at our Bible study that night). I explained the differences of LDS teachings and the Bible. He admitted that what I was saying makes sense, regarding faith and works. He asked me if I was 100% grace and I said yes, but here's the thing, because I knew what he was getting at. It is only by the grace of God that He saved me. There was nothing I could do to merit towards or for my salvation. You can't bribe a judge and you certainly can't bribe God. However, any true Christian saved by grace and changed by the power of God will produce works. Genuine faith without works is dead. A true faith will produce evidence of salvation through its works and fruit. If one is truly changed by God he/she will want to tell others and obey God's Word. Unfortunately, we live in a nation of hypocrisy.
We went through the gospel and talked about repentance and trust in Christ. How Christ is the only way and works cannot save us. I was impressed and touched that this individual asked about this because he told me that he really can't talk to his family and friends about his questions.
I am so thankful to God that he was so open to everything and seemed to grasp an understanding. This must have really been on his heart to boldly ask me what I believed the existence of God to be and how to be saved. I believe God put us in each others paths that evening and I let him know as well. He told me again that it is crazy because he had been thinking about these kind of things and really been struggling lately and didn't have anyone to talk to about it.
I emphasized that I care about him which is why I gave him the tract and was glad we got to talk. I also told him that eternity only has two destinations, not celestial, tellestial, terrestrial heavens, and outer darkness. Because God is so good, loving, and just that He will give sinners what they deserve, which is hell. He is also a righteous and holy judge and it is hard for us to comprehend the severity of what we think is "little sin" because His standard of morality is perfect. Ours is greatly flawed. People forget that God is Creator and we are creation.
Praise God for this experience. I know there are many who don't like gospel tracts, but God truly used it as an opener for this awesome encounter because I embarrassingly and sinfully wasn't planning on talking to Him about how he could be saved when he came to my door. I was uncomfortable (selfish) because I hadn't done it in quite a while and really wanted to just go inside. That is testimony of how much of a selfish sinner I am to this day and I thank the good Lord that He provides forgiveness and repentance when I mess up and sin against Him.
I want to emphasize though that if you have a loved one or friend who is of a different religion or has different beliefs than you, it is not always necessary to know everything about that religion. It is definitely helpful, but the true biblical gospel; by discussing where we stand with God and what sin actually is, which explains their need for the Savior, is and should be at the core of every witnessing encounter. The power of the Holy Spirit through the proclamation of the Gospel is what changes hearts, but again, apologetics and study is extremely useful in having some common ground when it comes to these kind of situations.
Please pray for my new friend Ryan and that the Lord would do a further work on His heart, because I believe with all of mine that He already is.
Thank you for reading and may God bless you and yours!
In Christ,
Joey
Saturday, May 29, 2010
The Faith Dilemma
I believe there is a huge dilemma in our post modern American culture especially as I talk to more and more people along with what I see in the media. There is this assumption that any faith as long as you have it is a good thing. Whether it be faith in your church, god, organization, aspiration, or anything else. The atheist or agnostic may tend to disagree with me, but I will admit that they have more faith (well blind faith) than I do. To believe that nothing created everything or to say "we don't know what or where creation came from" is to deny common and in depth evidence to the claim of biblical Christianity and a Creator God. To me that takes a huge amount of blind faith to think anything otherwise could be responsible when there is no such reliable evidence. It is nothing simply more than rebellion and an excuse to justify sin.
The truth is, is that faith in the wrong direction is deadly. No one will admit that different religions are wrong anymore. There is this assumption that if you disagree with someone regarding their religion and be accepting or even embracing of it then you are being loving. Now don't get me wrong, I am not saying one is to go on a witch hunt persecuting those with different beliefs. Before I get deeper into this please realize this blog is for those who call themselves Christians. Acceptance is a tricky word and please don't take it out of context when I use it in the way I did. Can I accept that someone is an atheist and converse with them, yep. Can I eat lunch with a Buddhist and be friendly and generally care for that person, of course! What I am talking about by acceptance in the above is the kind of acceptance that you accept that their religion will get them to Heaven or is okay for them as long as they are happy. You accept that you don't have a responsibility to share with them the one true way despite the repercussions on your relationship because their religion works for them. That is the acceptance which I don't think a true Christian should ever have.
If we call ourselves Christians and don't realize that Christ is the only way then examine yourself to see if you are in the faith. Jesus Christ is the ONLY way. Contrary to what other religions and sources say you have to know the Son to know the Father. That is comforting for me, but scary because there are so many out there who don't. Do you not realize this? If you do then ask yourself what are you going to do about it? Are you going to sit back and accept the fact that someone is literally on the highway to hell or are you going to share the greatest news that saved you from hell? If you have no desire to share the gospel then there is either a lack of true love for people or you yourself may not be saved. This is a huge deal.
I have written about this before, but find a good biblical gospel tract. www.livingwaters.com has great ones. If you don't feel comfortable talking to someone about the gospel you can hand one to them or put it in a place you know they will find it. You can even witness to people on the internet! Being Christians we need to go out and share the good news, biblically. It is a shame and makes me question many peoples salvation when they claim they are saved by grace, but have absolutely nothing to show for it except maybe a nice demeanor about them. Several religions have the works based outlook backwards while modern Christianity for the most part has none. Good works are the evidence of our salvation, not the means. Please, I beg of you to go share your faith because anything outside of the repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully man, leads to hell, an everlasting torment and punishment for sinning against a holy, loving, righteous, just God who provided a way for you through His Son.
I believe there are 4 reasons why people don't share the Gospel.
1. They are selfish.
2. They aren't confident in what they believe.
3. They don't know how.
4. They are scared.
#1 and #2 may reveal that one may not even be saved to be begin with if those are true. #3 is an excuse that can be easily overcome and #4 really ties in with #1 if you think about it. There are plenty of resources, including the best one of all, the Bible, on how to share the Gospel. If you have questions about it shoot me an e-mail and would love to talk to you and help you out.
I got off topic a little bit, but let me reiterate that all paths do not lead to Heaven. They do however lead to God...and judgment. Being a good person will not save anyone because there is not one who is good, especially me. Just having faith in anything will not save you. It doesn't matter what one believes, it matters what is true. Belief never creates genuine truth, however truth creates genuine belief. And that one truth is God's Word revealed in the 66 books of the Bible, not a church, person in power, "religious" figure, organization or any other "religion" for that matter.
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." - John 14:6
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." - Matthew 7:13
The narrow road that leads to life is Jesus Christ. It's what He died for and 11 of His 12 disciples and many, many, many others are martyred today for.
God bless you and yours.
In Christ,
Joey Acker
The truth is, is that faith in the wrong direction is deadly. No one will admit that different religions are wrong anymore. There is this assumption that if you disagree with someone regarding their religion and be accepting or even embracing of it then you are being loving. Now don't get me wrong, I am not saying one is to go on a witch hunt persecuting those with different beliefs. Before I get deeper into this please realize this blog is for those who call themselves Christians. Acceptance is a tricky word and please don't take it out of context when I use it in the way I did. Can I accept that someone is an atheist and converse with them, yep. Can I eat lunch with a Buddhist and be friendly and generally care for that person, of course! What I am talking about by acceptance in the above is the kind of acceptance that you accept that their religion will get them to Heaven or is okay for them as long as they are happy. You accept that you don't have a responsibility to share with them the one true way despite the repercussions on your relationship because their religion works for them. That is the acceptance which I don't think a true Christian should ever have.
If we call ourselves Christians and don't realize that Christ is the only way then examine yourself to see if you are in the faith. Jesus Christ is the ONLY way. Contrary to what other religions and sources say you have to know the Son to know the Father. That is comforting for me, but scary because there are so many out there who don't. Do you not realize this? If you do then ask yourself what are you going to do about it? Are you going to sit back and accept the fact that someone is literally on the highway to hell or are you going to share the greatest news that saved you from hell? If you have no desire to share the gospel then there is either a lack of true love for people or you yourself may not be saved. This is a huge deal.
I have written about this before, but find a good biblical gospel tract. www.livingwaters.com has great ones. If you don't feel comfortable talking to someone about the gospel you can hand one to them or put it in a place you know they will find it. You can even witness to people on the internet! Being Christians we need to go out and share the good news, biblically. It is a shame and makes me question many peoples salvation when they claim they are saved by grace, but have absolutely nothing to show for it except maybe a nice demeanor about them. Several religions have the works based outlook backwards while modern Christianity for the most part has none. Good works are the evidence of our salvation, not the means. Please, I beg of you to go share your faith because anything outside of the repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully man, leads to hell, an everlasting torment and punishment for sinning against a holy, loving, righteous, just God who provided a way for you through His Son.
I believe there are 4 reasons why people don't share the Gospel.
1. They are selfish.
2. They aren't confident in what they believe.
3. They don't know how.
4. They are scared.
#1 and #2 may reveal that one may not even be saved to be begin with if those are true. #3 is an excuse that can be easily overcome and #4 really ties in with #1 if you think about it. There are plenty of resources, including the best one of all, the Bible, on how to share the Gospel. If you have questions about it shoot me an e-mail and would love to talk to you and help you out.
I got off topic a little bit, but let me reiterate that all paths do not lead to Heaven. They do however lead to God...and judgment. Being a good person will not save anyone because there is not one who is good, especially me. Just having faith in anything will not save you. It doesn't matter what one believes, it matters what is true. Belief never creates genuine truth, however truth creates genuine belief. And that one truth is God's Word revealed in the 66 books of the Bible, not a church, person in power, "religious" figure, organization or any other "religion" for that matter.
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." - John 14:6
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." - Matthew 7:13
The narrow road that leads to life is Jesus Christ. It's what He died for and 11 of His 12 disciples and many, many, many others are martyred today for.
God bless you and yours.
In Christ,
Joey Acker
Saturday, May 1, 2010
His way is better
Last week I didn't get to go out and witness around the time or day I wanted. I was a little discouraged because the usual large crowd wouldn't be around and things weren't going exactly my way. Often, I forget that God's way is ALWAYS better than mine though. : )
So I arrived at my location pretty late and didn't expect to see very many people around, which I didn't, but prayed that my efforts wouldn't be fruitless. When talking to people, handing out tracts, preaching, we have to always keep in mind that it's not the size of the crowd, how many tracts we hand out, but rather who is in the crowd that God is going to use. What I mean is I could hand out thousands of tract in my life, which I have, and not ever see one person come to repentance and trust in Christ. I could preach to hundreds of people and not see one convert. Does that mean my efforts were in vain? No, because as Christians we are to share our faith regardless of the outcome. Evangelism is all about planting seeds.
I have met individuals that boast over how many people they have "lead to Christ" and list all the things they done, but in essence what matters is that we are wholeheartedly serving God and His command of the Great Commission. If you pass out one tract in your life time or share your faith with one person then God may use that and you are being obedient. Now is that an excuse not to do it again, no. I am emphasizing that we must not be discouraged when we compare our zeal to others unless we feel a godly conviction that we should be doing more for Christ.
This isn't very popular in the evangelical world, but I never pray a prayer with someone after I witness to them unless they ask because I do not want to give them false assurance that they are now saved. There is no one on this earth who can pronounce someone saved and there is no certain prayer or person who can save you except Jesus Christ. There are so many people who have been deceived because they felt that they were "saved" because they prayed a prayer or got dunked in some water. We honestly do not and will not know how many people we lead to Christ because that is a work of the Holy Spirit. Our job is to lead people to the biblical gospel by showing them their need for the Savior and the good news of what Christ did for them.
Now as I walked around I did have the pleasure of having two encounters. I talked with two girls and it was a very good conversation. I believe they understood and they were glad that we talked. The next conversation lasted over an hour with 2 guys and what appeared to be their 2 dates. We went through the good person test and they claimed they were Christians the whole time blaspheming the name of God. However, when we got done they started asking questions about Nostradamus, 2012, why God lets bad things happen, how do we really know that God exists? By the way, I LOVE answering questions because I love discussing these kind of things and if I don't know the answer I will find it for you if at all possible!
One of the individuals was a pastor's daughter, but unfortunately did not have a grasp on what salvation is. Now when I say they don't have a grasp on salvation I mean that someone who is truly a born again Christian will know the gospel and be able to tell someone how to be saved, because how then could that person be? If your salvation didn't involve repentance of sin...then there is something very wrong my friend. Repentance and trust in Christ = Belief. They are two sides of the same coin, not a work that you can do to earn it. Many have tried to say that you can have your cake and eat it too, which is EXTREMELY popular in religion. However, there is no such thing as a carnal Christian, but all who are born again continue to battle sin and grow in sanctification because of what Christ did and our love and reverence for Him. If you claim the title of Christian, but love your sin then please examine yourself to see if you are in the faith. - 2 Corinthians 13:5
Now back to the encounter! I unfortunately see this often and usually the first thing they tell me when we discuss their standing with God is that they are a pastor's daughter/son. One claimed to be "Cathelcism" (Catholic) and this one guy who kept trying to discuss politics and history with me said he was as well, but he corrected her pronunciation. I truly believe that the Lord guided the long conversation that we had because their questions were very sincere and the one girl who was Catholic told me that being in church no one ever answered these questions for her or really explained how to be saved. At first she said she went through confirmation so she thought she was saved, but didn't really understand it. The others agreed as well.
This breaks my heart, and I'm not just saying that because she was raised Catholic. I don't care if you call yourself Catholic, Baptist, or whatever. If you don't have repentance and trust in Christ alone for your salvation then you are just as lost as the rest no matter what title you go by. She genuinely wanted to know how we really stand with God, and if He even exists, and how we can be saved if He is real. I was so blessed by this encounter because they wanted some booklets on Christianity, Science in the Bible, and Salvation that I usually don't carry around with me, but I did that night.
I told them that we were talking for a reason and that I enjoyed talking with them and explained that I really did care about them. I also always try to end by reminding people that 150,000 people die everyday and we don't know when we will and to seriously consider where you will spend eternity. At the end of the conversation they all thanked me and the girl told that me that she truly believes that this would change her life. I pray with all my heart that it does. I've never talked with someone who I believed to be so sincere, but again, we just never know. I would greatly appreciate prayers for those people and that more laborers will rise to serve in the Great Commission and win souls for Christ. Maybe it's you reading this right now. If so, there are great resources at www.livingwaters.com!
Thank you and may God bless you and yours!
In Christ,
Joey Acker
www.needGod.com
So I arrived at my location pretty late and didn't expect to see very many people around, which I didn't, but prayed that my efforts wouldn't be fruitless. When talking to people, handing out tracts, preaching, we have to always keep in mind that it's not the size of the crowd, how many tracts we hand out, but rather who is in the crowd that God is going to use. What I mean is I could hand out thousands of tract in my life, which I have, and not ever see one person come to repentance and trust in Christ. I could preach to hundreds of people and not see one convert. Does that mean my efforts were in vain? No, because as Christians we are to share our faith regardless of the outcome. Evangelism is all about planting seeds.
I have met individuals that boast over how many people they have "lead to Christ" and list all the things they done, but in essence what matters is that we are wholeheartedly serving God and His command of the Great Commission. If you pass out one tract in your life time or share your faith with one person then God may use that and you are being obedient. Now is that an excuse not to do it again, no. I am emphasizing that we must not be discouraged when we compare our zeal to others unless we feel a godly conviction that we should be doing more for Christ.
This isn't very popular in the evangelical world, but I never pray a prayer with someone after I witness to them unless they ask because I do not want to give them false assurance that they are now saved. There is no one on this earth who can pronounce someone saved and there is no certain prayer or person who can save you except Jesus Christ. There are so many people who have been deceived because they felt that they were "saved" because they prayed a prayer or got dunked in some water. We honestly do not and will not know how many people we lead to Christ because that is a work of the Holy Spirit. Our job is to lead people to the biblical gospel by showing them their need for the Savior and the good news of what Christ did for them.
Now as I walked around I did have the pleasure of having two encounters. I talked with two girls and it was a very good conversation. I believe they understood and they were glad that we talked. The next conversation lasted over an hour with 2 guys and what appeared to be their 2 dates. We went through the good person test and they claimed they were Christians the whole time blaspheming the name of God. However, when we got done they started asking questions about Nostradamus, 2012, why God lets bad things happen, how do we really know that God exists? By the way, I LOVE answering questions because I love discussing these kind of things and if I don't know the answer I will find it for you if at all possible!
One of the individuals was a pastor's daughter, but unfortunately did not have a grasp on what salvation is. Now when I say they don't have a grasp on salvation I mean that someone who is truly a born again Christian will know the gospel and be able to tell someone how to be saved, because how then could that person be? If your salvation didn't involve repentance of sin...then there is something very wrong my friend. Repentance and trust in Christ = Belief. They are two sides of the same coin, not a work that you can do to earn it. Many have tried to say that you can have your cake and eat it too, which is EXTREMELY popular in religion. However, there is no such thing as a carnal Christian, but all who are born again continue to battle sin and grow in sanctification because of what Christ did and our love and reverence for Him. If you claim the title of Christian, but love your sin then please examine yourself to see if you are in the faith. - 2 Corinthians 13:5
Now back to the encounter! I unfortunately see this often and usually the first thing they tell me when we discuss their standing with God is that they are a pastor's daughter/son. One claimed to be "Cathelcism" (Catholic) and this one guy who kept trying to discuss politics and history with me said he was as well, but he corrected her pronunciation. I truly believe that the Lord guided the long conversation that we had because their questions were very sincere and the one girl who was Catholic told me that being in church no one ever answered these questions for her or really explained how to be saved. At first she said she went through confirmation so she thought she was saved, but didn't really understand it. The others agreed as well.
This breaks my heart, and I'm not just saying that because she was raised Catholic. I don't care if you call yourself Catholic, Baptist, or whatever. If you don't have repentance and trust in Christ alone for your salvation then you are just as lost as the rest no matter what title you go by. She genuinely wanted to know how we really stand with God, and if He even exists, and how we can be saved if He is real. I was so blessed by this encounter because they wanted some booklets on Christianity, Science in the Bible, and Salvation that I usually don't carry around with me, but I did that night.
I told them that we were talking for a reason and that I enjoyed talking with them and explained that I really did care about them. I also always try to end by reminding people that 150,000 people die everyday and we don't know when we will and to seriously consider where you will spend eternity. At the end of the conversation they all thanked me and the girl told that me that she truly believes that this would change her life. I pray with all my heart that it does. I've never talked with someone who I believed to be so sincere, but again, we just never know. I would greatly appreciate prayers for those people and that more laborers will rise to serve in the Great Commission and win souls for Christ. Maybe it's you reading this right now. If so, there are great resources at www.livingwaters.com!
Thank you and may God bless you and yours!
In Christ,
Joey Acker
www.needGod.com
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Feel Good Christianity?
This blog today is my response to many conversations and encounters I have had in person and on Facebook.
I am going to say some hard things, but please bare with me as it is always in love. I know that many do not agree with the way I do evangelism, or with the way I even present the Bible or the gospel. A lot of people do not support open air preaching or street evangelism either. As DL Moody said, "I like the way I am doing it better than the way you are not doing it", to a lady who criticized his methods. I have brothers and sisters in Christ who are in the same boat and I relate as well. One cannot use the answer because Jesus did not do it that way either, because He did and so did the apostles. Making friends with someone before sharing the gospel with them is not a good excuse. I don't think they would appreciate it if they knew you had an agenda to be there friend just so you could give them the gospel. Souls are at stake and we never know when time will run out for us or the lost.
The problem is that Christianity to many has become a category, title, or means of life enhancement. People are not taking God/Jesus Christ seriously. I see this from people throwing God's name around like He is their little buddy who sits on there shoulder and turns his head or laughs whenever they sin. I don't spend much time on FB other when I am posting something, but when I get a friend request I check their profile to look at their religious views. Many times I see them say, "I love God! Christian, Born again Christian, Jesus Rules! and other sayings signifying that they are indeed a Christian, but their profile says other wise. It is filled with cussing, fans of things a Christian probably shouldn't be fans of, and distasteful pictures. I also see this when people tell me they are "major Christians" after they just got done blaspheming His name, cussing, and wearing clothes or lack of that are sure to make a true brother or sister in Christ to stumble. That is heartbreaking, but a big truth in this country. I am looking at their fruit, not making unrighteous judgment.
I have seen people who defend soft preaching and half-truths and attack those who preach the whole truth. I have heard things such as, "well Jesus's message was radical for His time period." That is true, but at the same time if preached biblically it is radical for ours as well. Go out on the street and preach biblically and you will find that out quick. Do not down play the seriousness and the offensiveness of the gospel. It is the best news ever, but it does offend. If it doesn't then something is probably wrong and you are only having a bunch of people having their ears tickled. A half truth is a lie.
There are also many that use the famous "what would Jesus do" when trying to defend their radical political views or justify sin as well, treating the person of Christ like He was a hippy or something. When I encourage people to read or study their Bible and the attributes of God/Jesus Christ during a discussion that is when they pull the "well I don't believe everything in the Bible." My friend, if one does not believe the whole Word of God then how could you possible be a Christian. Examine yourself to see whether you are in the faith. 2 Cor. 13:5 We cannot pick and choose what we like and don't like in the Bible and create our own god. That is idolatry. - 2 Commandment.
If you are a Christian ask yourself these vital questions. What does one have to do to be saved? What is one even saved from? One isn't saved from nothingness, that is a lie. What is the gospel? These are crucial questions that many do not have the answer to, but they should know if they have truly been born again.
I have also seen people knock those who study theology, Bible and the history of Christianity. What is that all about?? How can studying God, His word and history related to Him ever be a bad thing? Have you ever sat through a church service and felt convicted at what the pastor said and felt like he was talking directly to you. That is probably because he was using scripture. The Word of God does that to us!
The defenses I have heard is that if one is constantly studying then they are not truly experiencing Christ. People, that is one BIG way that we do experience Christ. Through His word, knowledge, and service to Him is how we grow. The truth will set you free, not the tingles or goosebumps of a catchy worship song. I am not saying worship is bad, but many look to worship service as their only experience with God. Putting feelings and experiences over truth is dangerous. We have God's completed Word for a reason. Not everyone who studies it is a Christian, but I can't imagine any genuine Christian criticizing those who do.
Hell is real and should not be ignored. I am not talking about hell-fire preaching here, but I am saying that we should all know what we deserve and are in danger of. Not to scare us although it is needed for some, but definitely to warn us and have knowledge of what exactly Christ saved us from to those who will repent and trust Him. This is an extremely important doctrine and many do not like it which is why we have cults like the Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormonism, unfortunately there are many evangelical churches and denominations now that are doing damage, because they are blatantly ignoring it. The saddest part is that the cults usually are more zealous and knowledgeable of the Bible than most "Christians" even though they base everything that comes from it on a man's interpretation rather than taking it in context.
Many will disagree with me on this, but the purpose of building a church is not to attract a certain group of people. It is to be a BIBLICAL church and whoever comes, will come. If one is only trying to attract youth to come to their church or higher income citizens isn't that discrimination in a sense? I know there are jobs at stake, but if one is truly Christian the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ is more important than anything worldly. And there are biblical churches out there.
The bottom line is that there are lazy people who are either Christian or calling themselves Christian. I don't know how else to put it. If you won't study your Bible then that is laziness which fuels ignorance. Sin gets in the way sometimes, but we should always have that desire. If you know more about your job then you do your religion then that shows what your priorities are. We will sit and watch TV for hours, but pop open the Bible for 5 minutes to make ourselves feel better for doing our daily holy "thing" or as many call devotional. Again, devotionals are great, but don't use them as an excuse for your conscience's sake.
The ones who do these things are probably not the ones who will read my blog, because I am pretty sure I have already been stereotyped as a crazed radical as I see many people take me off their friends list when I post something from the Bible or even about how I love my wife...that is kind of weird to me. If you are one of these people though, please, please study His word and take God seriously because He is almighty and powerful and we will have to get an account for every word, thought, and deed one day. He is our judge and if you have not repented and put your trust in Him then you are in danger of hell.
God is love, but He is so loving and just that He will cast all sinners into the lake of fire for eternity. Rev. 21:8 He provided the way for you through His only Son, Jesus Christ 2010 years ago to suffer and die on the cross and then rose from the dead 3 days later forever defeating death. He is the only living God who sits in Heaven right now on the thrown and He commands that you repent, meaning change your mind-turn from your sin, and put your trust in Him alone. He will change your heart. You will love the things He loves and hate the things He hates. You will no longer dive into sin, but you will fall and truly hate it when you do. That is difference. He is the almighty King and all that is good, holy, and righteous.
If your Christianity is too comfortable then it may not be biblical Christianity. I am confident in my eternal salvation, but I am constantly at war with my flesh, Satan, and worldliness.
Thank you so much for reading and may God bless you and yours!
Have a great Resurrection Day!
In Christ,
Joey Acker
I am going to say some hard things, but please bare with me as it is always in love. I know that many do not agree with the way I do evangelism, or with the way I even present the Bible or the gospel. A lot of people do not support open air preaching or street evangelism either. As DL Moody said, "I like the way I am doing it better than the way you are not doing it", to a lady who criticized his methods. I have brothers and sisters in Christ who are in the same boat and I relate as well. One cannot use the answer because Jesus did not do it that way either, because He did and so did the apostles. Making friends with someone before sharing the gospel with them is not a good excuse. I don't think they would appreciate it if they knew you had an agenda to be there friend just so you could give them the gospel. Souls are at stake and we never know when time will run out for us or the lost.
The problem is that Christianity to many has become a category, title, or means of life enhancement. People are not taking God/Jesus Christ seriously. I see this from people throwing God's name around like He is their little buddy who sits on there shoulder and turns his head or laughs whenever they sin. I don't spend much time on FB other when I am posting something, but when I get a friend request I check their profile to look at their religious views. Many times I see them say, "I love God! Christian, Born again Christian, Jesus Rules! and other sayings signifying that they are indeed a Christian, but their profile says other wise. It is filled with cussing, fans of things a Christian probably shouldn't be fans of, and distasteful pictures. I also see this when people tell me they are "major Christians" after they just got done blaspheming His name, cussing, and wearing clothes or lack of that are sure to make a true brother or sister in Christ to stumble. That is heartbreaking, but a big truth in this country. I am looking at their fruit, not making unrighteous judgment.
I have seen people who defend soft preaching and half-truths and attack those who preach the whole truth. I have heard things such as, "well Jesus's message was radical for His time period." That is true, but at the same time if preached biblically it is radical for ours as well. Go out on the street and preach biblically and you will find that out quick. Do not down play the seriousness and the offensiveness of the gospel. It is the best news ever, but it does offend. If it doesn't then something is probably wrong and you are only having a bunch of people having their ears tickled. A half truth is a lie.
There are also many that use the famous "what would Jesus do" when trying to defend their radical political views or justify sin as well, treating the person of Christ like He was a hippy or something. When I encourage people to read or study their Bible and the attributes of God/Jesus Christ during a discussion that is when they pull the "well I don't believe everything in the Bible." My friend, if one does not believe the whole Word of God then how could you possible be a Christian. Examine yourself to see whether you are in the faith. 2 Cor. 13:5 We cannot pick and choose what we like and don't like in the Bible and create our own god. That is idolatry. - 2 Commandment.
If you are a Christian ask yourself these vital questions. What does one have to do to be saved? What is one even saved from? One isn't saved from nothingness, that is a lie. What is the gospel? These are crucial questions that many do not have the answer to, but they should know if they have truly been born again.
I have also seen people knock those who study theology, Bible and the history of Christianity. What is that all about?? How can studying God, His word and history related to Him ever be a bad thing? Have you ever sat through a church service and felt convicted at what the pastor said and felt like he was talking directly to you. That is probably because he was using scripture. The Word of God does that to us!
The defenses I have heard is that if one is constantly studying then they are not truly experiencing Christ. People, that is one BIG way that we do experience Christ. Through His word, knowledge, and service to Him is how we grow. The truth will set you free, not the tingles or goosebumps of a catchy worship song. I am not saying worship is bad, but many look to worship service as their only experience with God. Putting feelings and experiences over truth is dangerous. We have God's completed Word for a reason. Not everyone who studies it is a Christian, but I can't imagine any genuine Christian criticizing those who do.
Hell is real and should not be ignored. I am not talking about hell-fire preaching here, but I am saying that we should all know what we deserve and are in danger of. Not to scare us although it is needed for some, but definitely to warn us and have knowledge of what exactly Christ saved us from to those who will repent and trust Him. This is an extremely important doctrine and many do not like it which is why we have cults like the Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormonism, unfortunately there are many evangelical churches and denominations now that are doing damage, because they are blatantly ignoring it. The saddest part is that the cults usually are more zealous and knowledgeable of the Bible than most "Christians" even though they base everything that comes from it on a man's interpretation rather than taking it in context.
Many will disagree with me on this, but the purpose of building a church is not to attract a certain group of people. It is to be a BIBLICAL church and whoever comes, will come. If one is only trying to attract youth to come to their church or higher income citizens isn't that discrimination in a sense? I know there are jobs at stake, but if one is truly Christian the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ is more important than anything worldly. And there are biblical churches out there.
The bottom line is that there are lazy people who are either Christian or calling themselves Christian. I don't know how else to put it. If you won't study your Bible then that is laziness which fuels ignorance. Sin gets in the way sometimes, but we should always have that desire. If you know more about your job then you do your religion then that shows what your priorities are. We will sit and watch TV for hours, but pop open the Bible for 5 minutes to make ourselves feel better for doing our daily holy "thing" or as many call devotional. Again, devotionals are great, but don't use them as an excuse for your conscience's sake.
The ones who do these things are probably not the ones who will read my blog, because I am pretty sure I have already been stereotyped as a crazed radical as I see many people take me off their friends list when I post something from the Bible or even about how I love my wife...that is kind of weird to me. If you are one of these people though, please, please study His word and take God seriously because He is almighty and powerful and we will have to get an account for every word, thought, and deed one day. He is our judge and if you have not repented and put your trust in Him then you are in danger of hell.
God is love, but He is so loving and just that He will cast all sinners into the lake of fire for eternity. Rev. 21:8 He provided the way for you through His only Son, Jesus Christ 2010 years ago to suffer and die on the cross and then rose from the dead 3 days later forever defeating death. He is the only living God who sits in Heaven right now on the thrown and He commands that you repent, meaning change your mind-turn from your sin, and put your trust in Him alone. He will change your heart. You will love the things He loves and hate the things He hates. You will no longer dive into sin, but you will fall and truly hate it when you do. That is difference. He is the almighty King and all that is good, holy, and righteous.
If your Christianity is too comfortable then it may not be biblical Christianity. I am confident in my eternal salvation, but I am constantly at war with my flesh, Satan, and worldliness.
Thank you so much for reading and may God bless you and yours!
Have a great Resurrection Day!
In Christ,
Joey Acker
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Be Careful What You Pray For...
All week I have been praying for an encounter that is different, that I would really be able to reach someone who was evident of needing ministering or the gospel. I know many of the people I talk to are in need, but a lot of times I don't see any opposition. Trust me, I know there is, but I don't see it much. I don't want opposition by any means, but it does let you know that you are in the battle. The battle of truth that is and I believe that evidence is needed at times.
I felt very nervous driving to my usual spot last night and even as I walked towards my destination when I got there. I couldn't really explain the feeling since I am usually semi-comfortable in the environment. As I walked around I saw a group of what appeared to be a group of late teenagers or early 20's smoking way off by themselves by the lighthouse. I was reluctant at first, usually I am with my first encounter, but I prayed and proceeded on. Some of the individuals looked like the typical "I hate the world and am desperately trying to make a statement with my appearance." As I gave them the tracts I asked them what do they think is in the after-life.
This turned into a more than a half hour conversation so I'll try to sum it up. Two of the guys were pretty quiet until they wanted to chime in agreeing with their "Pagan" friend. I say that because the girl that was with them told me that she was Pagan and she can't say who goes where or if there is even anything. The other boy who spoke up a lot was raised baptist and was currently on a philosophical journey for truth. He claimed that because someone told him at a church camp that all Islams would go to hell and that he was baptized twice without any results he no longer embraced "Christianity." He was a very intelligent individual and I can say that I genuinely enjoyed our conversation together. He actually wound up defending Christianity to an extent to the girl who insistently claimed that if she can't see something, she can't believe it.
I did get through the good person test, but some of these people were really searching for answers and really wanted to get their jabs in at Christianity. I told her that the majority of our country's Christians are hypocrites. She used that against me saying that how can I say that about anyone. That is when I explained that Jesus Christ says in the Bible that you will know them by their fruit. If you disagree with me then look at who is in our office and what our media consists of. There are missionaries from other countries now trying to evangelize our country! She also said that the Bible has been twisted over time and compared it to the DaVinci Code. For everyone who says fictional books can't influence...well I'm telling you right now that they can and they do. This isn't the first time I have had someone use the DaVinci Code to try to disprove the validity of the Bible.
I normally don't get into apologetics much, but there is a rare time and a place for it in witnessing and this was it. The girl was getting really frustrated when I explained that there is evidence of a Creator because since there is a creation there must be a Creator, we have a God-given conscience and God's word. There also has to be truth because there has to be a standard of morality, but there is always a point in this kind of conversation where those who attack the Bible are pinned into a corner when the discussion of morality comes into place. Her defense was that she didn't believe we have a soul and that something didn't have to create everything. Her friends saw the foolishness of this claim as well. I really felt bad for her because I didn't believe she didn't believe there wasn't a God. I really think she hated Him for something. It was like watching and listening to a disobedient child.
For a minute they were trying to say there isn't a God because of Haiti and "bad things" that happen. I told them that what we think is good may not be God's idea of good and that is something we cannot understand or even accurately question. The bottom line is the whole human race isn't deserving of anything but punishment for sinning against a holy righteous God. No one can say they know why Haiti happened, but God will get glory regardless. I know that sounds harsh, but He is sovereign and His plan is perfect. I believe some forms of "natural disasters" are a deliberate act of God, result of sin, or just plain result of the environment, but again the bottom line is that God is in control and He owes nothing to us. They actually grapsed this concept.
She agreed with most of what I said until it personally applied to her. The most popular words of the conversation was, "well I believe" or "to me". The facts of the Bible I gave her didn't mean anything to her because of her same claim to that it is twisted. She hadn't studied it, but in God's word where it says, "the fool says in their heart there is no God" constantly ran through my mind. She left after we discussed morality with her friend, but two of the others stayed.
The philosophical guy stayed with his quiet buddy. He shared his background with me regarding Christianity and his journey for truth. I emphasized greatly there is only one way and that way is Jesus Christ. In regards to his remarks about Muslims going to hell, I told him that anyone who doesn't repent and put their trust in Christ is going to hell because of sinning against God. It's not popular, but it's biblical no matter what beliefs we hold to or what kind of picture of God we try paint in our heads. He told me he has an open mind and will think about our discussion and really enjoyed it. He also said that he disagrees with the views of his "Pagan" friend and that she has a lot of misconceptions.
Overall I believe it was a great encounter. They have some serious stuff to think about regarding their eternal destination. Most of the other conversations I had through out the night were the same as usual and went really well, but there was one that really stuck out besides that one. I approached a group of about 8 young teenagers who I had have given tracts to some earlier who were now sitting down. They had recruited a couple more people in their group. I asked if they read the back of them yet and they said no. I asked if I could explain what they were and they said yes. We started talking about the law of God and this one girl starts blurting out, "well God forgives, God forgives" over and over again. I said, I agree with you, but there is a condition and we must realize what that is. When we started discussing hell she blew up. She stated that we don't have to follow the 10 commandments and they don't apply because they were written by a man...
I asked where she got her information and she said her pastor told her that. She told me she goes to a certain church called New Life so I'm going to check it out. I told her that a man did not write the 10 commandments it was God. Then she told everyone that it was a man. I'm sorry, but I told her and everyone else that is a deliberate lie. A sweet little quiet girl said, "God gave Moses the 10 Commandments". The other girl got angrier when I asked if she is familiar with the Bible and she said she didn't believe in the Bible, but she trusted her pastor. She said I don't need to read the Bible and that I need to go to church.
Unfortunately, that is how many people are, but they don't say it. Many put their trust in a man over God's word, she was just bold about it. Her claim was that God will forgive everyone if they just ask not saying anything about Christ.
When I asked where the church was she got mad and said that I'm a stranger and she wouldn't tell me and then started attacking my character for not going to a church and mocking me. She didn't like the fact that I said I was 25 and had been to 5 churches growing up. I said that's fine, I was just asking because I wanted to find out more information about it, but I asked if she was a Christian. She replied by saying yes and asked me why. I asked her if she is a Christian then why is she being so hateful along with being hateful to someone who is trying to share God's word and the gospel with her. Her friends kept apologizing for her, but they said she is just "like that". After that she said let's go...I guess she was there leader. I even told her that I'm sorry that she is getting so upset and that wasn't my intention, but I was simply trying to share God's word with her because I really do care.
I sincerely hope that the pastor doesn't hold to those awful beliefs she claimed. I will contact the church just to make sure though. To me this girl represented a lot of what is going on today, but I couldn't believe her hateful manner. It was ridiculous and those surrounding her noticed to. I asked if anyone around wanted to stay and listen and some of them did and she walked off mad. Thankfully I was able to share the gospel with them and during the middle of it she walked back and gave me the tract saying, "I don't need this". I simply replied by telling her to have a nice night. Hopefully the Lord will do a work on her heart. I apologized to the remaining individuals for the ugliness that was going on and that what she was telling them wasn't truth. They said it was okay and that they stayed because they wanted to hear God's word.
The encounter left me shocked and a little down on myself, but the words of Tony Miano's "Don't Quit" ran through my head as I went back to my car. So I turned around and went back and talked with 2 more groups of people. The last group I talked to was awesome. One of the girls went to a Christian school the last two years and didn't know what the gospel was and all 3 of them thought that being baptized saves you.
I believe they understood the severity of their sin and the position they were in. Their facial expressions changed and eyes were watering as we went through. I pray that it was genuine. At the end of the conversation I asked if they understood what I was saying and they agreed. The guy asked me if he was still going to hell after we went through the gospel. I told him that is between you and God. You have to give up on your own self and cry out to Him. Whatever you love more than God is what you need to turn from. Repent and put your trust in Jesus Christ alone.
I was very blessed by the last conversation and was grateful for the Holy Spirit and the words of Tony Miano's "Don't Quit".
Basically, I got what I prayed for. I was praying for something different and I got it. I prayed for the Lord to do something big and He did it. I have never met two individuals who were so opposed to the things of God in the manner that they were.
May God bless you and yours!
In Christ,
Joey
I felt very nervous driving to my usual spot last night and even as I walked towards my destination when I got there. I couldn't really explain the feeling since I am usually semi-comfortable in the environment. As I walked around I saw a group of what appeared to be a group of late teenagers or early 20's smoking way off by themselves by the lighthouse. I was reluctant at first, usually I am with my first encounter, but I prayed and proceeded on. Some of the individuals looked like the typical "I hate the world and am desperately trying to make a statement with my appearance." As I gave them the tracts I asked them what do they think is in the after-life.
This turned into a more than a half hour conversation so I'll try to sum it up. Two of the guys were pretty quiet until they wanted to chime in agreeing with their "Pagan" friend. I say that because the girl that was with them told me that she was Pagan and she can't say who goes where or if there is even anything. The other boy who spoke up a lot was raised baptist and was currently on a philosophical journey for truth. He claimed that because someone told him at a church camp that all Islams would go to hell and that he was baptized twice without any results he no longer embraced "Christianity." He was a very intelligent individual and I can say that I genuinely enjoyed our conversation together. He actually wound up defending Christianity to an extent to the girl who insistently claimed that if she can't see something, she can't believe it.
I did get through the good person test, but some of these people were really searching for answers and really wanted to get their jabs in at Christianity. I told her that the majority of our country's Christians are hypocrites. She used that against me saying that how can I say that about anyone. That is when I explained that Jesus Christ says in the Bible that you will know them by their fruit. If you disagree with me then look at who is in our office and what our media consists of. There are missionaries from other countries now trying to evangelize our country! She also said that the Bible has been twisted over time and compared it to the DaVinci Code. For everyone who says fictional books can't influence...well I'm telling you right now that they can and they do. This isn't the first time I have had someone use the DaVinci Code to try to disprove the validity of the Bible.
I normally don't get into apologetics much, but there is a rare time and a place for it in witnessing and this was it. The girl was getting really frustrated when I explained that there is evidence of a Creator because since there is a creation there must be a Creator, we have a God-given conscience and God's word. There also has to be truth because there has to be a standard of morality, but there is always a point in this kind of conversation where those who attack the Bible are pinned into a corner when the discussion of morality comes into place. Her defense was that she didn't believe we have a soul and that something didn't have to create everything. Her friends saw the foolishness of this claim as well. I really felt bad for her because I didn't believe she didn't believe there wasn't a God. I really think she hated Him for something. It was like watching and listening to a disobedient child.
For a minute they were trying to say there isn't a God because of Haiti and "bad things" that happen. I told them that what we think is good may not be God's idea of good and that is something we cannot understand or even accurately question. The bottom line is the whole human race isn't deserving of anything but punishment for sinning against a holy righteous God. No one can say they know why Haiti happened, but God will get glory regardless. I know that sounds harsh, but He is sovereign and His plan is perfect. I believe some forms of "natural disasters" are a deliberate act of God, result of sin, or just plain result of the environment, but again the bottom line is that God is in control and He owes nothing to us. They actually grapsed this concept.
She agreed with most of what I said until it personally applied to her. The most popular words of the conversation was, "well I believe" or "to me". The facts of the Bible I gave her didn't mean anything to her because of her same claim to that it is twisted. She hadn't studied it, but in God's word where it says, "the fool says in their heart there is no God" constantly ran through my mind. She left after we discussed morality with her friend, but two of the others stayed.
The philosophical guy stayed with his quiet buddy. He shared his background with me regarding Christianity and his journey for truth. I emphasized greatly there is only one way and that way is Jesus Christ. In regards to his remarks about Muslims going to hell, I told him that anyone who doesn't repent and put their trust in Christ is going to hell because of sinning against God. It's not popular, but it's biblical no matter what beliefs we hold to or what kind of picture of God we try paint in our heads. He told me he has an open mind and will think about our discussion and really enjoyed it. He also said that he disagrees with the views of his "Pagan" friend and that she has a lot of misconceptions.
Overall I believe it was a great encounter. They have some serious stuff to think about regarding their eternal destination. Most of the other conversations I had through out the night were the same as usual and went really well, but there was one that really stuck out besides that one. I approached a group of about 8 young teenagers who I had have given tracts to some earlier who were now sitting down. They had recruited a couple more people in their group. I asked if they read the back of them yet and they said no. I asked if I could explain what they were and they said yes. We started talking about the law of God and this one girl starts blurting out, "well God forgives, God forgives" over and over again. I said, I agree with you, but there is a condition and we must realize what that is. When we started discussing hell she blew up. She stated that we don't have to follow the 10 commandments and they don't apply because they were written by a man...
I asked where she got her information and she said her pastor told her that. She told me she goes to a certain church called New Life so I'm going to check it out. I told her that a man did not write the 10 commandments it was God. Then she told everyone that it was a man. I'm sorry, but I told her and everyone else that is a deliberate lie. A sweet little quiet girl said, "God gave Moses the 10 Commandments". The other girl got angrier when I asked if she is familiar with the Bible and she said she didn't believe in the Bible, but she trusted her pastor. She said I don't need to read the Bible and that I need to go to church.
Unfortunately, that is how many people are, but they don't say it. Many put their trust in a man over God's word, she was just bold about it. Her claim was that God will forgive everyone if they just ask not saying anything about Christ.
When I asked where the church was she got mad and said that I'm a stranger and she wouldn't tell me and then started attacking my character for not going to a church and mocking me. She didn't like the fact that I said I was 25 and had been to 5 churches growing up. I said that's fine, I was just asking because I wanted to find out more information about it, but I asked if she was a Christian. She replied by saying yes and asked me why. I asked her if she is a Christian then why is she being so hateful along with being hateful to someone who is trying to share God's word and the gospel with her. Her friends kept apologizing for her, but they said she is just "like that". After that she said let's go...I guess she was there leader. I even told her that I'm sorry that she is getting so upset and that wasn't my intention, but I was simply trying to share God's word with her because I really do care.
I sincerely hope that the pastor doesn't hold to those awful beliefs she claimed. I will contact the church just to make sure though. To me this girl represented a lot of what is going on today, but I couldn't believe her hateful manner. It was ridiculous and those surrounding her noticed to. I asked if anyone around wanted to stay and listen and some of them did and she walked off mad. Thankfully I was able to share the gospel with them and during the middle of it she walked back and gave me the tract saying, "I don't need this". I simply replied by telling her to have a nice night. Hopefully the Lord will do a work on her heart. I apologized to the remaining individuals for the ugliness that was going on and that what she was telling them wasn't truth. They said it was okay and that they stayed because they wanted to hear God's word.
The encounter left me shocked and a little down on myself, but the words of Tony Miano's "Don't Quit" ran through my head as I went back to my car. So I turned around and went back and talked with 2 more groups of people. The last group I talked to was awesome. One of the girls went to a Christian school the last two years and didn't know what the gospel was and all 3 of them thought that being baptized saves you.
I believe they understood the severity of their sin and the position they were in. Their facial expressions changed and eyes were watering as we went through. I pray that it was genuine. At the end of the conversation I asked if they understood what I was saying and they agreed. The guy asked me if he was still going to hell after we went through the gospel. I told him that is between you and God. You have to give up on your own self and cry out to Him. Whatever you love more than God is what you need to turn from. Repent and put your trust in Jesus Christ alone.
I was very blessed by the last conversation and was grateful for the Holy Spirit and the words of Tony Miano's "Don't Quit".
Basically, I got what I prayed for. I was praying for something different and I got it. I prayed for the Lord to do something big and He did it. I have never met two individuals who were so opposed to the things of God in the manner that they were.
May God bless you and yours!
In Christ,
Joey