This happened back around June. I had typed up the encounter, but never posted it on here. So here it is! If you are with one of these groups I ask that you please read this with an open mind.
Ever since I started studying biblical evangelism after I was born again I had been praying and telling my wife that I hope some Jehova's witnesses or Mormons come to our door. Why? Because it is an excellent evangelism opportunity. Jehova's witnesses ultimately believe that Jesus was Michael the archangel and deny the trinity, that He was God in the flesh. Mormon's (LDS), believe that Jesus was Satan's brother and that anyone can become their own god in the after-life... thus denying the trinity as well. Both of them are also a works based religion and do not believe in being saved by grace through faith.
If you are in one of these organizations and do not know this then PLEASE research your own religion and find out the facts. What is hard is that both of these use the same terminology as Christians, but it IS NOT Christian! So you can see why I prayed for this opportunity. Last week, my prayer was answered! Here is what happened.
My wife and I have the summers off since we are both educators and I heard the doorbell ring one afternoon. I felt a bit excited because I thought this could be it! I grabbed a million dollar bill tract off my bookshelf and ran to the door to look through and I saw an older man, and his wife with bibles in hand!
My prayer had been answered. I prayed that the Holy Spirit would lead me and guide our conversation as I continued the whole way through. Prayer helps so much! The man began by asking me if I wondered why there is a church on every corner of almost every street and started through his routine as his wife stood by. This man was extremely knowledgeable of his scripture. He asked very good questions and tried to show me different verses from his bible. I asked if it was a Watch Tower bible and I said no thank you. The Watch Tower bible, or known as the New World Translation, is a bible produced by an anonymous committee who shapes the scriptures to their desired beliefs. He then proceeded to show me verses from a KJV, but I didn't know if that is really what it was or not so I said no thank you and told him I wanted to talk about the Word in it's entirety.
I then told him I had listened to him and I would now like to ask him a few questions. I asked him if he considered himself to be a good person. When he discovered he is a lying, thieving, adulterer at heart, he said, "well wasn't Paul"? He didn't get the point right away. This got me on a rabbit rail unfortunately and he turned the conversation back to his routine by quoting scripture with lots of "what ifs" and "this could possibly mean this". I was very patient with his words and scripture references that he took grossly out of context. Through constant prayer I noticed his wife had contrition in her eyes and she walked away about halfway through.
The conversation lasted around 2 hours. Many of the questions where "what if" questions as I said before. He asked me where would my baby son go if he died. I told him the bible gives one reference to possibly heaven, BUT it does not say for sure. God does not tell us. Apparently, their organization has shaped scripture and their doctrine in order to answer the unanswerable question. He told me that my son would be raise up in sometimes during the end times and live a whole other life...getting to make a choice to accept God or not. There is great danger in doing this because emotions get in the way of truth many times.
He also asked me what church would Jesus go to if He came back. I said something along the lines of that Christ already has His church and that is the body, not the building. Many organizations like this like to make the claim that they are the first church. Claiming that you are the first church, does not make you the right, only, or biblical church.
I was fortunate enough to give him the Law and the Gospel biblically 2 or 3 times to a point without him trying to bring up someone else again. I ended our conversation by saying I cared about him and was glad he came by. I then gave him the tract and told him that Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven and there is a real Hell now despite what you want to call it.
The conversation was much more extensive, but when you have knowledge of the true law and Gospel it really makes things much more simple when talking to those who are all about their intellect. Their patrol cars drove by 7 or 8 times to check on him during the duration of our time. Please pray that his wife and friends hearts may be unhardened to what was said, that their eyes would be open, and that they are receptive to the gospel message on the tract.
I have never seen the organization return to our neighborhood since then. Maybe our house or neighborhood was "marked".
Remember, it's always okay to say "I don't know, but what I do know is this"...and go into the law and Gospel! Our God is truly an awesome God. For more information on how to deal with these kind of encounters their is a great book called, The School of Biblical Evangelism that talks about these things.
If you are a Jehova's Witness or Mormon, I love you, but please do some research to see if what I am saying is true because their is NOTHING more important than your eternal salvation. It pains me because this man was not sure of his.
If you are a Christian and this happens to you, answer the door! Share the law and the gospel, use your testimony of how you became a born-again Christian, or hand them a good biblical gospel tract!
May God bless you and yours!
In Christ,
Joey
www.needGod.com
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Saturday, December 26, 2009
A lesson for daddy
This post is not about evangelism, but it is about something else that is dear to me and that is parenting. Last night, I had to deal with a rough situation that we all do as parents, especially if you have or have had little boys.
We have been teaching and disciplining our son from a biblical sense, even though he is only about 2 and a half years old. I could go on and on about how intelligent and advanced I think he is, but that would be the proud daddy in me talking : )
As he entered into the toddler years he began doing the natural things such as hitting back, not sharing, and taking toys from others. He has progressively gotten MUCH better as when he is disciplined we explain WHY he is being disciplined and are on the situation right away. This is greatly reinforced, the part where they are on it right away, at his day care and my wife and I are truly grateful for the staff they have.
Last night, he was playing by himself at a relatives house to himself. Usually two others toddlers take his toys, mess with him, or do other things that he is not used to. It breaks my heart, but it has provided great teachable moments for my little boy.
The two began jumping on him while he was playing on the ground with his cars and began to hit him. Grayson, very upset, simply got up and ran into the other room with his toys. This doesn't sound like a big deal, but it is a HUGE deal to me and I will tell you why. As a dad, growing up in martial arts, and someone that used to be into the rough and tough sports, my natural reaction was to want my son to hit them back or push them down. Dads typically want their sons to not be a "sissy", or "wimp". I believe that is prevalent in our society as well, "if they hit you first, you hit back"!
A couple months ago he would have definitely hit back or pushed them down. However, when I understood why he didn't hit back this time and left the situation I realized that is what we taught him to do. I was instantly convicted of my feeling and was so proud of my boy. I know it sounds silly as he is only a toddler, but he grasps the understanding of when certain situations occur. He knows he has to make a choice. As adults we tend to forget that children have choices, even though they have natural tendencies. Just like as adults we have a natural sin-nature and we have to constantly repent, thus making the right choice. We are really not all that different.
When someone tries to take a toy from my son, I tell my son to let them have it. Why? Most will say that it's not fair because my child had the toy first, however, my son is then being selfish and not sharing. We tend to forget that both children are actually sinning, the one trying to steal, and the one being selfish. Since I started that I have seen my son begin to truly show humbleness, as a TODDLER.
My point in all this is, as a Christian, I have realized that I will experience heart ache as I see more of these situations happening, but it is truly the best for my son. My goal is for him to be raised with biblical principles, having a humble, loving, and serving heart for God and people. That is more important than being a star football player, tough kid in school, or any other macho stereotype I had growing up.
I do believe in self-defense if your life is in danger, but not when it comes to silly fights as I see and have experienced as a boy growing up, through school, and teaching at school. I pray that my son will continue to grow in this manner and make these kinds of choices. I also pray that I will continue to have the realization that I had last night and be proud and supportive of these kind of choices rather than let my natural sinful side for him to retaliate to come in.
As Christians it is inevitable that we will suffer trials and tribulations, because darkness hates the light as the bible says. To what extent, it's impossible to know. I shouldn't expect any less for myself or my family, but God is and should always be first. I naturally want to shield my son from the world when it comes to this, but if I do that how will he ever have a chance to change it.
Anyways, I really wanted to share this and I hope you enjoyed it and maybe learned something from this experience. May God bless you and your little ones as well!
In Christ,
Joey
We have been teaching and disciplining our son from a biblical sense, even though he is only about 2 and a half years old. I could go on and on about how intelligent and advanced I think he is, but that would be the proud daddy in me talking : )
As he entered into the toddler years he began doing the natural things such as hitting back, not sharing, and taking toys from others. He has progressively gotten MUCH better as when he is disciplined we explain WHY he is being disciplined and are on the situation right away. This is greatly reinforced, the part where they are on it right away, at his day care and my wife and I are truly grateful for the staff they have.
Last night, he was playing by himself at a relatives house to himself. Usually two others toddlers take his toys, mess with him, or do other things that he is not used to. It breaks my heart, but it has provided great teachable moments for my little boy.
The two began jumping on him while he was playing on the ground with his cars and began to hit him. Grayson, very upset, simply got up and ran into the other room with his toys. This doesn't sound like a big deal, but it is a HUGE deal to me and I will tell you why. As a dad, growing up in martial arts, and someone that used to be into the rough and tough sports, my natural reaction was to want my son to hit them back or push them down. Dads typically want their sons to not be a "sissy", or "wimp". I believe that is prevalent in our society as well, "if they hit you first, you hit back"!
A couple months ago he would have definitely hit back or pushed them down. However, when I understood why he didn't hit back this time and left the situation I realized that is what we taught him to do. I was instantly convicted of my feeling and was so proud of my boy. I know it sounds silly as he is only a toddler, but he grasps the understanding of when certain situations occur. He knows he has to make a choice. As adults we tend to forget that children have choices, even though they have natural tendencies. Just like as adults we have a natural sin-nature and we have to constantly repent, thus making the right choice. We are really not all that different.
When someone tries to take a toy from my son, I tell my son to let them have it. Why? Most will say that it's not fair because my child had the toy first, however, my son is then being selfish and not sharing. We tend to forget that both children are actually sinning, the one trying to steal, and the one being selfish. Since I started that I have seen my son begin to truly show humbleness, as a TODDLER.
My point in all this is, as a Christian, I have realized that I will experience heart ache as I see more of these situations happening, but it is truly the best for my son. My goal is for him to be raised with biblical principles, having a humble, loving, and serving heart for God and people. That is more important than being a star football player, tough kid in school, or any other macho stereotype I had growing up.
I do believe in self-defense if your life is in danger, but not when it comes to silly fights as I see and have experienced as a boy growing up, through school, and teaching at school. I pray that my son will continue to grow in this manner and make these kinds of choices. I also pray that I will continue to have the realization that I had last night and be proud and supportive of these kind of choices rather than let my natural sinful side for him to retaliate to come in.
As Christians it is inevitable that we will suffer trials and tribulations, because darkness hates the light as the bible says. To what extent, it's impossible to know. I shouldn't expect any less for myself or my family, but God is and should always be first. I naturally want to shield my son from the world when it comes to this, but if I do that how will he ever have a chance to change it.
Anyways, I really wanted to share this and I hope you enjoyed it and maybe learned something from this experience. May God bless you and your little ones as well!
In Christ,
Joey
Saturday, December 12, 2009
A night of "I believes"
Since it has finally stayed cold in Texas consistently for over a couple weeks I have been going indoors to share the gospel. Whenever I go to my favorite outdoor "fishing" spot I usually go on Saturday nights, but I decided to go on a Friday this time. That is when a local evangelism team goes out and does the same.
I didn't expect many people to be out there since it was pretty cold outside, but to my surprise their were more groups of people hanging out than when I go on Saturday. As I walked around the area I saw the same team out there, which are very nice and I always enjoy fellowship with them.
I started out by praying for greater manifestations of the Holy Spirit, a great thing to pray for when witnessing or just starting your day out. To see His hand intervene is truly awesome. That doesn't mean for tongue speaking or any other charismatic gift like that to happen, even though it would be nice if I could witness to people that spoke a foreign language in their own language! What I mean is for the Holy Spirit to manifest Himself through; unhardening hearts, convicting the conscience, opening peoples eyes, and for opportunities to share the gospel according to His will. God uses all of us. It's just a matter of submitting to how you want Him to use you and I personally want Him to use me to proclaim the gospel of His son, Jesus Christ.
The first group of people I came across was a large group of about 12 boys and girls, mainly consisting of boys dressed in mainly black with piercings and such. When I handed them tracts I noticed a guy in the back who I had met two weeks ago who told me he was an agnostic and who had got really defensive when we started talking about judgment. This was also the same lad who lead me down a rabbit trail. Ironically, when I pointed him out he said he didn't remember me and that "he was a Christian and he likes to party". It's funny how individuals change and present themselves when they are with different groups of people. I have seen this there many times.
Another guy in the group told me he accepted Jesus Christ as His Lord and Savior last week. I got caught up in the moment, gave him a high five, and told him to keep reading his bible. I really should have continued to go through the law and the gospel with him anyways. I messed up or maybe it was planned, only God knows, but I pray that his conversion was real. I then moved on as this group was not wanting to hear what I had to say because they were walking away as we talked. I thanked them for their time and let them be, hoping they would read the law and gospel message on the tract.
I then talked with a group of 4 girls that were on the same path and we went through the law and the gospel. There was a lot of joking around going on until we got through the Ten Commandments and we started talking about judgment. Their demeanor immediately changed. This is what I am talking about with manifestation of the Holy spirit. Their conscience was seared because they knew the seriousness of their sin even though they said they were good people and have gotten baptized in the past.
They listened intently and we talked about how repentance and trust in Christ is the only way to true salvation. It was really a great conversation. There were some more encounters that went the same way, but the overall thing that stuck out the most was a lot of people were saying, "well, I believe God is love, and He will forgive us all", or "I believe we go to heaven no matter what", or "I believe God doesn't send people to hell". This is why my blog is called a night of "I believes" because this was I heard more than ANYTHING. People were putting their own personal beliefs over what scripture actually says.
I responded to all these accusations in a gentle and understanding way by saying, "okay, I can see how you would see that, but let me tell you what the bible actually says because this is really important." If they said, no, then I would say, "well lets say IF the bible is real because if hell is then it would benefit you to know what it says. I care about you and I don't want you to go there."
Whenever someone starts getting fussy, ask for their name or call them by name. It makes it more personal and shows that you actually care, which you should. Please know that the reasons I write about my witnessing experiences is because;
1. I like to boast on the things God does (not me, because I'm seriously a wretched person who deserves nothing but hell!)
2. Share what the world outside of the church building actually believes and are saying here in America.
3. Share any tips on sharing your faith and being a witness for Christ. I am not an expert by any means, but I try my best to be obedient. My hope is that you can read about these encounters and learn from my mistakes or utilize any ideas to help further your witness for our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Anyways, the conversations went great. What I mean by that is, there was CONVICTION. They saw the severity of their sin and what they, as we all, deserve. I don't know if they are going to be born again or not. I have and probably will never have ANY idea, but they received the law and the gospel and responded in some fashion which is all I can hope to see. That is why I don't pray with someone after I witness. I don't want to give them a false hope that they are then saved, because that is between them and God.
I tell people that repentance and trust in Christ is the ONLY thing that will save them. I tell them to cry out to God because every breath they have is a gift from God and they never know when they will breathe their last breath. I also encourage them to read John in their bible to check out if what I am saying is true.
The last conversations of the night were really interesting though. There was a group of about 15 guys with piercings/tattoos as well. When I gave them million dollar bill tracts they let me know that it's not a good idea to give them fake money because I might get killed. They were probably joking around, but I simply replied, "Really? That wouldn't be cool. This has the million dollar question on the back. So what do you think happens after death?" About half them walked off after I said the word "God".
The guys that stayed showed serious concern and some of the ones that walked off actually came back. A lot of them had their own opinions about God and forgiveness. And they talked about their Catholic views and asked what the difference was between being Catholic and Christian which I have heard before. *If you're Catholic, don't get mad please, I am just writing what was said.* They told me that it was about forgiveness and that as long as you ask for it after you sin then you can go to heaven. I then asked them if they knew what the bible said about it. They said no, and we went through the Ten Commandments and then they got quite and there facial expression changed to one more of earnestness.
We took the forgiveness claim to the court room scenario. Most of them said they had been there before, not on a good account. I asked them if a good and righteous judge would let them go for their crime or punish them for what they deserved. They seemed adamant on saying that a good judge would let them go, but then I asked if someone killed your mother would you want justice or should they be let go? That made them see it differently. I told them we can't change the judges standard just because we are the ones in the hot seat. They grasped that understanding and agreed that a good judge will not let someone go for saying sorry, meaning it, and doing good things if he is really good.
I then asked them what they would think if someone walked up and paid that fine for them and they were free to go. I explained that, that is what Jesus Christ did. God is so loving and just that He see's all sin the same, lying, stealing, rape, murder, hate, you name it. He is so fair and good that He will punish ALL sin. Christ is the only one who can legally dismiss their case, BUT they have to repent and put their trust in Him. Relying on doing anything or going to church, and asking for forgiveness will not give them salvation. It is not a work to be maintained. It is a gift to be embraced with EVERYTHING you have that God grants you.
They didn't have any questions after I lead them to the cross. They thanked me for the time we shared and said they were going to think about what I said. We then parted ways. I am so thankful for the opportunity to talk to these guys. Even though they appeared tough and as though they didn't care at first they do have souls and they did care.
After a couple more conversations I had my last conversation of the night. What was funny is groups of people were asking for more than one tract and they were passing them out to other people trying to be funny. How ironic, and what a blessing! I even had some of them putting them on peoples cars because they thought it was funny as well.
Okay, well the last conversation there was a group of 6 guys standing around kind of acting goofy. I saw that they had the tracts in their hand, but I had not given them to them. I asked if they were the ones who put them on the cars and they said no, and that they were doing an activity for a bible study...Anyways, once we started talking one of the guys pulls out a video camera and starts filming me and the whole conversation. He said it was for the bible study. If it really was, awesome, if not, then I don't know what was going on.
They were honest and listened intently. It was a fun conversation as they were neat guys. I also told them for their bible study to look up Revelation 21:8 because we cannot ignore the severity of hell and who is going there. I also explained John 14:6 that no other religion leads to God. I tried to get in everything I could in case the video really was for a bible study or if anyone besides them would see it as it would be a great opportunity. I also explained to them that if they are Christians what the importance of sharing their faith is and told them to refer to Matthew 28 and Mark 15.
I finished the night by sharing stories with the evangelism team and telling them I appreciate what they do. We also talked about the Hell's Best Kept Secret/True and False Conversions CD that I handed out to their team the last time I saw them. If you haven't heard the message it is amazing and available for free at www.livingwaters.com - I try to carry a few CDs with me in case I ever meet other evangelists. Thank you Lord for cargo pants!
The team consists of a dad, his kids, and a couple of people from their church who go out and do it regularly. Praise God for His faithful laborers and that He would raise up more for His glory.
Thank you for reading and may God bless you and yours!
In Christ,
Joey
I didn't expect many people to be out there since it was pretty cold outside, but to my surprise their were more groups of people hanging out than when I go on Saturday. As I walked around the area I saw the same team out there, which are very nice and I always enjoy fellowship with them.
I started out by praying for greater manifestations of the Holy Spirit, a great thing to pray for when witnessing or just starting your day out. To see His hand intervene is truly awesome. That doesn't mean for tongue speaking or any other charismatic gift like that to happen, even though it would be nice if I could witness to people that spoke a foreign language in their own language! What I mean is for the Holy Spirit to manifest Himself through; unhardening hearts, convicting the conscience, opening peoples eyes, and for opportunities to share the gospel according to His will. God uses all of us. It's just a matter of submitting to how you want Him to use you and I personally want Him to use me to proclaim the gospel of His son, Jesus Christ.
The first group of people I came across was a large group of about 12 boys and girls, mainly consisting of boys dressed in mainly black with piercings and such. When I handed them tracts I noticed a guy in the back who I had met two weeks ago who told me he was an agnostic and who had got really defensive when we started talking about judgment. This was also the same lad who lead me down a rabbit trail. Ironically, when I pointed him out he said he didn't remember me and that "he was a Christian and he likes to party". It's funny how individuals change and present themselves when they are with different groups of people. I have seen this there many times.
Another guy in the group told me he accepted Jesus Christ as His Lord and Savior last week. I got caught up in the moment, gave him a high five, and told him to keep reading his bible. I really should have continued to go through the law and the gospel with him anyways. I messed up or maybe it was planned, only God knows, but I pray that his conversion was real. I then moved on as this group was not wanting to hear what I had to say because they were walking away as we talked. I thanked them for their time and let them be, hoping they would read the law and gospel message on the tract.
I then talked with a group of 4 girls that were on the same path and we went through the law and the gospel. There was a lot of joking around going on until we got through the Ten Commandments and we started talking about judgment. Their demeanor immediately changed. This is what I am talking about with manifestation of the Holy spirit. Their conscience was seared because they knew the seriousness of their sin even though they said they were good people and have gotten baptized in the past.
They listened intently and we talked about how repentance and trust in Christ is the only way to true salvation. It was really a great conversation. There were some more encounters that went the same way, but the overall thing that stuck out the most was a lot of people were saying, "well, I believe God is love, and He will forgive us all", or "I believe we go to heaven no matter what", or "I believe God doesn't send people to hell". This is why my blog is called a night of "I believes" because this was I heard more than ANYTHING. People were putting their own personal beliefs over what scripture actually says.
I responded to all these accusations in a gentle and understanding way by saying, "okay, I can see how you would see that, but let me tell you what the bible actually says because this is really important." If they said, no, then I would say, "well lets say IF the bible is real because if hell is then it would benefit you to know what it says. I care about you and I don't want you to go there."
Whenever someone starts getting fussy, ask for their name or call them by name. It makes it more personal and shows that you actually care, which you should. Please know that the reasons I write about my witnessing experiences is because;
1. I like to boast on the things God does (not me, because I'm seriously a wretched person who deserves nothing but hell!)
2. Share what the world outside of the church building actually believes and are saying here in America.
3. Share any tips on sharing your faith and being a witness for Christ. I am not an expert by any means, but I try my best to be obedient. My hope is that you can read about these encounters and learn from my mistakes or utilize any ideas to help further your witness for our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Anyways, the conversations went great. What I mean by that is, there was CONVICTION. They saw the severity of their sin and what they, as we all, deserve. I don't know if they are going to be born again or not. I have and probably will never have ANY idea, but they received the law and the gospel and responded in some fashion which is all I can hope to see. That is why I don't pray with someone after I witness. I don't want to give them a false hope that they are then saved, because that is between them and God.
I tell people that repentance and trust in Christ is the ONLY thing that will save them. I tell them to cry out to God because every breath they have is a gift from God and they never know when they will breathe their last breath. I also encourage them to read John in their bible to check out if what I am saying is true.
The last conversations of the night were really interesting though. There was a group of about 15 guys with piercings/tattoos as well. When I gave them million dollar bill tracts they let me know that it's not a good idea to give them fake money because I might get killed. They were probably joking around, but I simply replied, "Really? That wouldn't be cool. This has the million dollar question on the back. So what do you think happens after death?" About half them walked off after I said the word "God".
The guys that stayed showed serious concern and some of the ones that walked off actually came back. A lot of them had their own opinions about God and forgiveness. And they talked about their Catholic views and asked what the difference was between being Catholic and Christian which I have heard before. *If you're Catholic, don't get mad please, I am just writing what was said.* They told me that it was about forgiveness and that as long as you ask for it after you sin then you can go to heaven. I then asked them if they knew what the bible said about it. They said no, and we went through the Ten Commandments and then they got quite and there facial expression changed to one more of earnestness.
We took the forgiveness claim to the court room scenario. Most of them said they had been there before, not on a good account. I asked them if a good and righteous judge would let them go for their crime or punish them for what they deserved. They seemed adamant on saying that a good judge would let them go, but then I asked if someone killed your mother would you want justice or should they be let go? That made them see it differently. I told them we can't change the judges standard just because we are the ones in the hot seat. They grasped that understanding and agreed that a good judge will not let someone go for saying sorry, meaning it, and doing good things if he is really good.
I then asked them what they would think if someone walked up and paid that fine for them and they were free to go. I explained that, that is what Jesus Christ did. God is so loving and just that He see's all sin the same, lying, stealing, rape, murder, hate, you name it. He is so fair and good that He will punish ALL sin. Christ is the only one who can legally dismiss their case, BUT they have to repent and put their trust in Him. Relying on doing anything or going to church, and asking for forgiveness will not give them salvation. It is not a work to be maintained. It is a gift to be embraced with EVERYTHING you have that God grants you.
They didn't have any questions after I lead them to the cross. They thanked me for the time we shared and said they were going to think about what I said. We then parted ways. I am so thankful for the opportunity to talk to these guys. Even though they appeared tough and as though they didn't care at first they do have souls and they did care.
After a couple more conversations I had my last conversation of the night. What was funny is groups of people were asking for more than one tract and they were passing them out to other people trying to be funny. How ironic, and what a blessing! I even had some of them putting them on peoples cars because they thought it was funny as well.
Okay, well the last conversation there was a group of 6 guys standing around kind of acting goofy. I saw that they had the tracts in their hand, but I had not given them to them. I asked if they were the ones who put them on the cars and they said no, and that they were doing an activity for a bible study...Anyways, once we started talking one of the guys pulls out a video camera and starts filming me and the whole conversation. He said it was for the bible study. If it really was, awesome, if not, then I don't know what was going on.
They were honest and listened intently. It was a fun conversation as they were neat guys. I also told them for their bible study to look up Revelation 21:8 because we cannot ignore the severity of hell and who is going there. I also explained John 14:6 that no other religion leads to God. I tried to get in everything I could in case the video really was for a bible study or if anyone besides them would see it as it would be a great opportunity. I also explained to them that if they are Christians what the importance of sharing their faith is and told them to refer to Matthew 28 and Mark 15.
I finished the night by sharing stories with the evangelism team and telling them I appreciate what they do. We also talked about the Hell's Best Kept Secret/True and False Conversions CD that I handed out to their team the last time I saw them. If you haven't heard the message it is amazing and available for free at www.livingwaters.com - I try to carry a few CDs with me in case I ever meet other evangelists. Thank you Lord for cargo pants!
The team consists of a dad, his kids, and a couple of people from their church who go out and do it regularly. Praise God for His faithful laborers and that He would raise up more for His glory.
Thank you for reading and may God bless you and yours!
In Christ,
Joey
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Why I love my wife
Call me romantic, but I really want to write about why I love my wife. Not because I am in the "dog house" or other marriage jokes I hear a lot whenever I buy flowers for my wife just because I love her. Honestly, both of us don't see or joke that way and its not because we have been married for 3 and a half years since some don't see that as very long. If we are ever irritated with one another it does not last very long because we keep the communication lines open and are honest and upfront with one another. We follow the biblical guideline for marriage. We honor it and we stick to it as it is God's plan.
With that being said...
When I met her it was not love at first site as some claim, but it did happen rather quickly. She was and still is truly unique, loving, and has the most genuine character making her great with children and others. She has what some would call "southern hospitality" that is almost forgotten nowadays, but what I call a heart for God, loving Him and people as He commands of us.
She is sensitive while having a child-like innocence, but possesses strength when it comes down to the things that matter. She is firm in her faith and in maintaining her witness for Jesus Christ. She is modest, while being fashionable without conforming to societies standard of what is "in" and what is not.
Within our first week of getting to know each other we wanted to run off and get married. Thankfully, the Lord gave us the gift of reason, haha. I was a man with a plan to run off and try to make it getting in a band as I was a guitar player and songwriter who threw the idea of college way out the window during high school. Thankfully His is plan is ALWAYS better than ours! I was not a Christian, but presumed to be one because my faith was in things I did rather than in Christ, my high morals, and my love for appearing to be a good person. It fooled a lot of people, including myself until the law of God convicted my heart and showed me how wretched I really was. Do you think you are good enough to go to heaven as I did? Check this link out if so - www.thegoodpersontest.com
I am thankful He didn't strike me down and give me what I deserved, hell and that He saved a lost soul like me almost a year now. By His grace He allowed me to have her to be my wife and partner in life.
Besides my wife being breathtakingly beautiful, it was not that which I was attracted to as I said before. I really didn't date too much because it was more drama than I wanted and it was really hard to find a girl with good morals! Her character is really what stuck out more than anything to me in all honesty.
I love my wife because of who she is, who she knows she is not, and who she wants to be. She is genuine, lovingly, and strives to be obedient to the word of God, which is a quality more important than anything else on this earth. She is a faithful,loving, supporting and awesome partner to have in Christ and marriage. And on top of all that we have a child together. How beautiful is that? My wife will always be the #1 woman to me is because she loves me, God gave her to me, we had a child together, and we are one in marriage. She's 2 years older than me and I tease her about that all the time, but she really will still be the prettiest woman if we make it to old age.
I will end with verses from Ephesians discussing marriage:
Ephesians 5:22
Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.
Ephesians 5:25
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
Ephesians 5:28
In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church—
Ephesians 5:31
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”
Anyways, thank you for reading about why I love my wife.
Now go tell your husband or wife how much you love them!
May God bless you and yours!
In Christ,
Joey
With that being said...
When I met her it was not love at first site as some claim, but it did happen rather quickly. She was and still is truly unique, loving, and has the most genuine character making her great with children and others. She has what some would call "southern hospitality" that is almost forgotten nowadays, but what I call a heart for God, loving Him and people as He commands of us.
She is sensitive while having a child-like innocence, but possesses strength when it comes down to the things that matter. She is firm in her faith and in maintaining her witness for Jesus Christ. She is modest, while being fashionable without conforming to societies standard of what is "in" and what is not.
Within our first week of getting to know each other we wanted to run off and get married. Thankfully, the Lord gave us the gift of reason, haha. I was a man with a plan to run off and try to make it getting in a band as I was a guitar player and songwriter who threw the idea of college way out the window during high school. Thankfully His is plan is ALWAYS better than ours! I was not a Christian, but presumed to be one because my faith was in things I did rather than in Christ, my high morals, and my love for appearing to be a good person. It fooled a lot of people, including myself until the law of God convicted my heart and showed me how wretched I really was. Do you think you are good enough to go to heaven as I did? Check this link out if so - www.thegoodpersontest.com
I am thankful He didn't strike me down and give me what I deserved, hell and that He saved a lost soul like me almost a year now. By His grace He allowed me to have her to be my wife and partner in life.
Besides my wife being breathtakingly beautiful, it was not that which I was attracted to as I said before. I really didn't date too much because it was more drama than I wanted and it was really hard to find a girl with good morals! Her character is really what stuck out more than anything to me in all honesty.
I love my wife because of who she is, who she knows she is not, and who she wants to be. She is genuine, lovingly, and strives to be obedient to the word of God, which is a quality more important than anything else on this earth. She is a faithful,loving, supporting and awesome partner to have in Christ and marriage. And on top of all that we have a child together. How beautiful is that? My wife will always be the #1 woman to me is because she loves me, God gave her to me, we had a child together, and we are one in marriage. She's 2 years older than me and I tease her about that all the time, but she really will still be the prettiest woman if we make it to old age.
I will end with verses from Ephesians discussing marriage:
Ephesians 5:22
Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.
Ephesians 5:25
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
Ephesians 5:28
In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church—
Ephesians 5:31
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”
Anyways, thank you for reading about why I love my wife.
Now go tell your husband or wife how much you love them!
May God bless you and yours!
In Christ,
Joey
Friday, November 27, 2009
Black Friday Evangelism
I have been excited about black Friday, the most hectic shopping day of the year. I used to dread it as I worked at Toys R Us and then at Target for 4 years so I understand the chaos on both ends of it!
I knew there would be crazy lines so I wanted to pass out as many gospel tracts as I could. I woke up around 3 this morning to go up to Target, Best Buy and whatever hot spots there were since I don't really know. Everywhere pretty much opened around 5am from what I could tell. Any time I go to an event I get REALLY nervous since I'm usually flying solo on these missions, but I am comforted and strengthened by the Holy Spirit and the fact that I have a wonderful wife praying for me.
When I arrived in Rockwall I drove around just to see what kind of lines/crowds there were. There was security setup at Best Buy so I took a couple hundred tracts and handed them to the first couple groups of people in line and asked if they would pass them down. It's amazing how well that works. Usually if the first couple of people won't take them then the rest won't. But if the first couple do, then the rest will. I did this at a model search going on at North Park and my wife and I got to stand back and watch everyone take one. It was great to see the gospel go into the hands of so many.
I almost always use my Million Dollar Bill tracts. I used Obama Trillion Dollar bills for a while, but way to many people would turn them down because of who was on the front! I've even had people tear them up in front of me. It was good for some conversation starters, but as more time went by more people disliked the Obama bucks!
So after I left Best Buy I went to Target which had a HUGE line. I was able to pass out hundreds of MDB tracts one by one which I prefer. That way I get to greet people and actually communicate with them. A couple of people thought I worked there and was asking me questions about the sale, lol. There were at least 800 people there and I ran out of tracts pretty fast. Once the line started moving fast my hands couldn't keep up because it was cold, but thankfully people were stopping just so they could take one. Some people were having their friends save their spot in line so they could come up and get some before they ran out!
When "mass tracting" the usual questions I get are; what are these, what are these for, is this a God thing, who are you with, or what church are you with.
I had someone ask me a question when I was passing them out in lines that I will never forget. I handed it to a lady and as she read the back she said, "why don't you go pass these out to people who aren't saved". I was a bit shocked, and simply replied, "ma'am because you just never know if someone is or not." Maybe I'm wrong in this, but I have to question someone's salvation if that is their response to something with the gospel on it. I would rather assume someone is not saved then assume they are. I don't care if it makes me look stupid or not, because I care more about someones soul than their or my feelings.
One of the biggest deceptions is to think that everyone who says they are a Christian is one. Especially since I have met pastors, other now born again Christians, and myself who called ourselves Christians for years, but never truly repented and put our trust in Christ. We were hypocrites who relied our salvation on a water baptism, "decision", or a sinners prayer where someone told us we would be saved just by simply doing one of those. For more information about salvation you can find my testimony under May on the right of this page.
No one has ever really gotten mad at me from what I could tell, but the ones that I have noticed get a little flustered are the ones who say they are Christians already...
On a good note a man said he was born again and appreciated what I was doing and handed the tract back. Anytime someone does that I tell them to give it to someone I can't and they usually happily keep it.
Next year I need to take twice as many tracts. I had some big money tracts in my car that I was able to pass out as well, but I was a little let down that I didn't have more with me. I went home after that to get more and go check out Mesquite. It was so packed I couldn't find a parking place anywhere except the mall.
Thankfully, it was packed and I was able to hand out tracts and witness to some groups of people.
It was a great experience and I thank God for the opportunities that He gives us to spread His gospel. I eagerly await many more black Fridays : )
Please pray for those individuals who received tracts all around the country as I had many of my brothers and sisters in Christ doing the same thing today. I also ask for prayers for more laborers to stand up and proclaim the true gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel is what will change our country, and we need more Christians out there preaching it and being a bold witness for Christ by any means.
Thank you for reading and may God bless you and yours.
In Christ,
Joey
I knew there would be crazy lines so I wanted to pass out as many gospel tracts as I could. I woke up around 3 this morning to go up to Target, Best Buy and whatever hot spots there were since I don't really know. Everywhere pretty much opened around 5am from what I could tell. Any time I go to an event I get REALLY nervous since I'm usually flying solo on these missions, but I am comforted and strengthened by the Holy Spirit and the fact that I have a wonderful wife praying for me.
When I arrived in Rockwall I drove around just to see what kind of lines/crowds there were. There was security setup at Best Buy so I took a couple hundred tracts and handed them to the first couple groups of people in line and asked if they would pass them down. It's amazing how well that works. Usually if the first couple of people won't take them then the rest won't. But if the first couple do, then the rest will. I did this at a model search going on at North Park and my wife and I got to stand back and watch everyone take one. It was great to see the gospel go into the hands of so many.
I almost always use my Million Dollar Bill tracts. I used Obama Trillion Dollar bills for a while, but way to many people would turn them down because of who was on the front! I've even had people tear them up in front of me. It was good for some conversation starters, but as more time went by more people disliked the Obama bucks!
So after I left Best Buy I went to Target which had a HUGE line. I was able to pass out hundreds of MDB tracts one by one which I prefer. That way I get to greet people and actually communicate with them. A couple of people thought I worked there and was asking me questions about the sale, lol. There were at least 800 people there and I ran out of tracts pretty fast. Once the line started moving fast my hands couldn't keep up because it was cold, but thankfully people were stopping just so they could take one. Some people were having their friends save their spot in line so they could come up and get some before they ran out!
When "mass tracting" the usual questions I get are; what are these, what are these for, is this a God thing, who are you with, or what church are you with.
I had someone ask me a question when I was passing them out in lines that I will never forget. I handed it to a lady and as she read the back she said, "why don't you go pass these out to people who aren't saved". I was a bit shocked, and simply replied, "ma'am because you just never know if someone is or not." Maybe I'm wrong in this, but I have to question someone's salvation if that is their response to something with the gospel on it. I would rather assume someone is not saved then assume they are. I don't care if it makes me look stupid or not, because I care more about someones soul than their or my feelings.
One of the biggest deceptions is to think that everyone who says they are a Christian is one. Especially since I have met pastors, other now born again Christians, and myself who called ourselves Christians for years, but never truly repented and put our trust in Christ. We were hypocrites who relied our salvation on a water baptism, "decision", or a sinners prayer where someone told us we would be saved just by simply doing one of those. For more information about salvation you can find my testimony under May on the right of this page.
No one has ever really gotten mad at me from what I could tell, but the ones that I have noticed get a little flustered are the ones who say they are Christians already...
On a good note a man said he was born again and appreciated what I was doing and handed the tract back. Anytime someone does that I tell them to give it to someone I can't and they usually happily keep it.
Next year I need to take twice as many tracts. I had some big money tracts in my car that I was able to pass out as well, but I was a little let down that I didn't have more with me. I went home after that to get more and go check out Mesquite. It was so packed I couldn't find a parking place anywhere except the mall.
Thankfully, it was packed and I was able to hand out tracts and witness to some groups of people.
It was a great experience and I thank God for the opportunities that He gives us to spread His gospel. I eagerly await many more black Fridays : )
Please pray for those individuals who received tracts all around the country as I had many of my brothers and sisters in Christ doing the same thing today. I also ask for prayers for more laborers to stand up and proclaim the true gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel is what will change our country, and we need more Christians out there preaching it and being a bold witness for Christ by any means.
Thank you for reading and may God bless you and yours.
In Christ,
Joey
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
To my atheist, agnostic, and non Christian friends...
It hit me all of the sudden today that I needed to write a letter to my friends on facebook who are atheist, agnostic, non believers in Christ, or those who may not be sure. So here I am. I would ask that you please read this to the end of the page.
I just want to first and foremost say thank you for accepting my friend request or requesting me as a friend on facebook. I may know you personally or I may not, but the acquaintance is appreciated all the same. One of my main goals on facebook is to promote thinking that leads to a creator, which is God, and spread the law and the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you follow my posts or blogs then you already know this and I greatly appreciate your patience and time.
You probably know that I am a born-again Christian, or in many other peoples eyes an extreme or fundamentalist Christian. What people label me or call me really isn't important. I know there is a God, heaven, hell, and that there will be a judgment when we all die whether we believe it or not, which is why I write what I write. I truly care about you. I don't gain anything by my posts except maybe a few people "liking" my status, (I'm sure that will change when there is a dislike button, lol) positive/negative comments, or some hate mail which is fine with me. Trust me, if you want to be popular or people to like you; going and preaching to strangers, and trying to reach others with the gospel is the last way to do it!
I understand some of you may have had bad experiences with a church, Christians, or evangelists. Please keep in mind that there are many in this country who claim to be Christian that are not, including pastors. Christians do not and should not hold themselves higher than anyone else. Just so you know, I have had those experiences as well being a false-convert (calling myself a Christian, but not really being one). I was a hypocrite and there are many others out there. Everything does happen for a reason though.
With that being said there are real Christians that do truly love you despite the manner of their actions at times. The reason we spread the law and the gospel is because we do not want anyone to go to hell. It is eternal punishment. If it is not real then we go in the ground and eventually turn to dust. If the bible is real then we have to face God on judgment day and He will hold us accountable for everything. We will either go to heaven and be with Him forever or go to hell which is everlasting torment. It is not because God is mean or cruel, it is because He is so good and just that He must punish sin.
The bible says that anyone who has broken even one of His laws is guilty. Which is, everyone. The ten commandments say you shouldn't lie, steal, commit adultery (Jesus says lusting is the same thing {{okay, so pretty much anyone who has ever been a teenager}}, He also says if you hate someone it is the same as murder in your heart. No one can keep the law, that's a no-brainer. They are put in place there to show us our need for a Savior and that we are not perfect.
Everyone including myself deserves hell. That is why God sent His son, fully God and fully man to suffer and die on the cross. He then rose from the dead 3 days later forever defeating death for those who will turn from their sin and believe in Him (which I am praying is you). There is nothing we can do to be "good" in His eyes despite what you may have heard. Once God changed my heart, it REALLY changed. I still sin, but I fall into it now instead of diving into it like I used to.
I am not perfect and I am not better than you by any means. However, I am better off, meaning I will go to heaven after I pass however that may be. I don't say that to be belittling, but I say it with confidence and love because I have a relationship with Jesus Christ and I pray and hope the same for you.
You are reading this for a reason. You can get mad at my words, think I'm crazy or you can consider them. I said it once and I'll say it again, I truly care about you which is why I do what I do. I go out and witness every week and I have talked with atheists, agnostics, and other people of different religions, so I hope you do not think I am writing these things in ignorance.
The bible tells all Christians to go and preach the gospel, but obviously not everyone does it. Doing this will not get me to heaven as I am already going there because I repented and put my trust in Christ. However, I am going to be obedient to His word and I do NOT want anyone to go to hell, especially you.
Again, PLEASE consider this. Look into it for yourself. If you believe what I am saying then cry out to God, pray, communicate to Him however you will. You don't need to go to a pastor or have someone pray for you. It is a relationship between YOU and Jesus Christ. The gospel is offensive because we as humans tend to want to hold onto our sin because we love it, even though we know it is wrong. Our conscience tells us that, which is God-given.
The bottom line is that God changed my heart. Everything in my life was going good for me before I became a true Christian, but I was on my way to hell. Now everything is far greater than I could ever imagine knowing Christ through thick and thin. I realize now how wretched I was and how much I needed Him. I'm asking you to open your eyes and check this out for yourself. If you want more information, start in the book of John in the bible, go to www.needGod.com, or feel free to write me as I would love to help with any questions that you may have.
There is NOTHING more important than your eternal salvation!
In Christ,
Joey
I just want to first and foremost say thank you for accepting my friend request or requesting me as a friend on facebook. I may know you personally or I may not, but the acquaintance is appreciated all the same. One of my main goals on facebook is to promote thinking that leads to a creator, which is God, and spread the law and the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you follow my posts or blogs then you already know this and I greatly appreciate your patience and time.
You probably know that I am a born-again Christian, or in many other peoples eyes an extreme or fundamentalist Christian. What people label me or call me really isn't important. I know there is a God, heaven, hell, and that there will be a judgment when we all die whether we believe it or not, which is why I write what I write. I truly care about you. I don't gain anything by my posts except maybe a few people "liking" my status, (I'm sure that will change when there is a dislike button, lol) positive/negative comments, or some hate mail which is fine with me. Trust me, if you want to be popular or people to like you; going and preaching to strangers, and trying to reach others with the gospel is the last way to do it!
I understand some of you may have had bad experiences with a church, Christians, or evangelists. Please keep in mind that there are many in this country who claim to be Christian that are not, including pastors. Christians do not and should not hold themselves higher than anyone else. Just so you know, I have had those experiences as well being a false-convert (calling myself a Christian, but not really being one). I was a hypocrite and there are many others out there. Everything does happen for a reason though.
With that being said there are real Christians that do truly love you despite the manner of their actions at times. The reason we spread the law and the gospel is because we do not want anyone to go to hell. It is eternal punishment. If it is not real then we go in the ground and eventually turn to dust. If the bible is real then we have to face God on judgment day and He will hold us accountable for everything. We will either go to heaven and be with Him forever or go to hell which is everlasting torment. It is not because God is mean or cruel, it is because He is so good and just that He must punish sin.
The bible says that anyone who has broken even one of His laws is guilty. Which is, everyone. The ten commandments say you shouldn't lie, steal, commit adultery (Jesus says lusting is the same thing {{okay, so pretty much anyone who has ever been a teenager}}, He also says if you hate someone it is the same as murder in your heart. No one can keep the law, that's a no-brainer. They are put in place there to show us our need for a Savior and that we are not perfect.
Everyone including myself deserves hell. That is why God sent His son, fully God and fully man to suffer and die on the cross. He then rose from the dead 3 days later forever defeating death for those who will turn from their sin and believe in Him (which I am praying is you). There is nothing we can do to be "good" in His eyes despite what you may have heard. Once God changed my heart, it REALLY changed. I still sin, but I fall into it now instead of diving into it like I used to.
I am not perfect and I am not better than you by any means. However, I am better off, meaning I will go to heaven after I pass however that may be. I don't say that to be belittling, but I say it with confidence and love because I have a relationship with Jesus Christ and I pray and hope the same for you.
You are reading this for a reason. You can get mad at my words, think I'm crazy or you can consider them. I said it once and I'll say it again, I truly care about you which is why I do what I do. I go out and witness every week and I have talked with atheists, agnostics, and other people of different religions, so I hope you do not think I am writing these things in ignorance.
The bible tells all Christians to go and preach the gospel, but obviously not everyone does it. Doing this will not get me to heaven as I am already going there because I repented and put my trust in Christ. However, I am going to be obedient to His word and I do NOT want anyone to go to hell, especially you.
Again, PLEASE consider this. Look into it for yourself. If you believe what I am saying then cry out to God, pray, communicate to Him however you will. You don't need to go to a pastor or have someone pray for you. It is a relationship between YOU and Jesus Christ. The gospel is offensive because we as humans tend to want to hold onto our sin because we love it, even though we know it is wrong. Our conscience tells us that, which is God-given.
The bottom line is that God changed my heart. Everything in my life was going good for me before I became a true Christian, but I was on my way to hell. Now everything is far greater than I could ever imagine knowing Christ through thick and thin. I realize now how wretched I was and how much I needed Him. I'm asking you to open your eyes and check this out for yourself. If you want more information, start in the book of John in the bible, go to www.needGod.com, or feel free to write me as I would love to help with any questions that you may have.
There is NOTHING more important than your eternal salvation!
In Christ,
Joey
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Time for CHRISTmas!!!
Many of you know God changed my heart this January and I became a born-again Christian, or what many commonly called saved. I thought I was a Christian most of my life because I said a prayer, got baptized, did good things, went to church, and went through the routine. I was a false-convert who never repented (turned from sin) and put my trust in Jesus Christ. With that being said, I see everything in a new light, including the holidays.
As I have researched extensively and witnessed already, this is an extremely controversial subject for many Christians. I will probably take some heat for this one I’m sure. This will be my first Christmas as a born-again Christian. In this article I am not knocking anybody or anyone’s beliefs, but you may disagree with what I say. So please understand I am not being dogmatic or legalistic in what I am saying, it is simply my views for my family’s traditions.
My family and I revamped our Halloween traditions this year. Instead of celebrating Halloween we participated in it in a way to glorify God. My wife dressed up as a princess and my son was a firefighter. We setup a table outside my sister-in-laws house where we handed out bottles of water, gospel tracts, bibles and candy. It was truly awesome and we will continue to do that every year from now on. It is a tradition shared by some of my brothers and sisters in Christ called, “Light in the Night”.
There is without a doubt traces of pagan origins in Halloween and Christmas traditions which is why there is so much hostility. Is it a sin or pagan that my wife and son dressed up, no. Is it a sin for children to go house to house and ask for candy, no. Others see Halloween as Satan’s day and we should have nothing to do it with it. My view is that every day belongs to God and we can use any and every day to bring glory to Him. That is why we did not sit out on Halloween. However, my family will never have Halloween decorations such as witches, devils, ghosts and such, nor will my child ever dress as something of the sort. As a Christian family it is our personal conviction to never celebrate or participate in the occult side of the holiday. It really shouldn’t even be considered a holiday because there is nothing “holy” about it, lol. Now onto Christmas!
I have always been a big Christmas guru caught up in the “magic” and commercialism of Christmas, big time. Becoming a Christian has changed my views on the holiday a bit. Believe it or not, there are many Christians out there that view Christmas the same way as Halloween, whether it was because Christ was most likely not born on December 25th, the Catholic church tried to replace a pagan holiday with Christmas, and other traditions that are rooted in pagan origins on December 25th. Is it true? Yes. Are there Christian traditions on Christmas as well? Yes.
This is the position my family will take on December 25th. We will celebrate the birth of Christ as He was God’s greatest gift to the world. It doesn’t matter if it was the day He was literally born on or not, because we do not know for sure. Everyday we should celebrate Jesus Christ, and this is a day that is allegedly recognized for that, so yes we are going to celebrate, recognize, and promote the true meaning.
Now this may offend you if you haven’t been already. We will not have Santa decorations in our house or play the Santa game with our child. There, I said it. So why have I taken this position? I don’t think people who do the Santa game are evil, pagan, or anything like that at all. But for me personally it has taken away from celebrating Christ in a time where He should be the center point. For my family, I don’t believe a holiday about Christ should be shared with a magical man that is not real. Yes, there was a real St. Nicholas and I highly doubt he would approve of the way he has been esteemed and commercialized on a holiday that is supposed to celebrate Jesus Christ whom He served.
Both of our parents did the Santa Clause with us so it’s not because we were raised differently than other people. I care more about my son knowing truth and the full glory of Jesus Christ rather than lying to him about a man coming down our chimney to leave presents depending on his behavior. It’s something I personally cannot and will not do.
Does this mean that my family is going to go around saying Santa isn’t real or protesting any who do the Santa game? No. Can a family honor Christ and partake in the Santa game with all the traditions? Sure they can, I personally think it’s harder to have most of the emphasis on Christ, but again it is up to the family. We aren’t going to shelter our children from the world either. We just aren’t going to reinforce it in our home. We will probably come up with more of our own traditions honoring Christ throughout the years as a family. These are some of the things we will be doing.
We will still have decorations such as a tree, Christmas lights, snowmen, nativity scenes, and stockings. We will still do a couple of presents as well, but we won’t say that Santa Claus put them there. None of these things such as the tree and lights are idols or superstitious to us as they were when they were considered pagan traditions long ago. Most people nowadays don’t consider them that way either. A good quote from an article I’ll leave a link to is this: “What is important is not the origins of traditions, but their significance to us today as believers in the Son of God.”
We will also sing Christmas carols, a couple songs will be excluded, read the story of the birth of Christ in the bible, make a birthday cake for Jesus, give bibles, tracts, and of course pray and give thanks. We will even probably read the true story of Saint Nicholas, as he was a great Christian man who gave gifts anonymously and generously. My wife and I have made it a tradition since we have been married to have some kind of charitable drive or project we participate in every Christmas so that is something we will include our children in as well.
These are my views on Halloween and Christmas. You can probably assume what they are regarding the Easter bunny after reading all this, lol. Being a rather new creature in Christ, I was greatly concerned with what I should participate in and what I shouldn’t. As a Christian I found myself lost and wanted to make sure I wasn’t doing anything wrong and that I would be giving glory to God. There are a lot of sites and books out there that are very legalistic, presented in an ugly way, and hateful about what we should and shouldn’t do as Christians. I have gone though much prayer and many headaches, but I have reached this conclusion for my family that I am sharing with you. Hopefully, this may help you as well if you have the same concerns that I do.
This article and site is one of the best I believe on the subject. http://www.gotquestions.org/Christmas-traditions.html This ministry has written other good articles as well about the holidays and other common questions.
If you have any good suggestions or sites on Christian traditions I would love to hear them.
Thanks and God bless you!
In Christ,
Joey
As I have researched extensively and witnessed already, this is an extremely controversial subject for many Christians. I will probably take some heat for this one I’m sure. This will be my first Christmas as a born-again Christian. In this article I am not knocking anybody or anyone’s beliefs, but you may disagree with what I say. So please understand I am not being dogmatic or legalistic in what I am saying, it is simply my views for my family’s traditions.
My family and I revamped our Halloween traditions this year. Instead of celebrating Halloween we participated in it in a way to glorify God. My wife dressed up as a princess and my son was a firefighter. We setup a table outside my sister-in-laws house where we handed out bottles of water, gospel tracts, bibles and candy. It was truly awesome and we will continue to do that every year from now on. It is a tradition shared by some of my brothers and sisters in Christ called, “Light in the Night”.
There is without a doubt traces of pagan origins in Halloween and Christmas traditions which is why there is so much hostility. Is it a sin or pagan that my wife and son dressed up, no. Is it a sin for children to go house to house and ask for candy, no. Others see Halloween as Satan’s day and we should have nothing to do it with it. My view is that every day belongs to God and we can use any and every day to bring glory to Him. That is why we did not sit out on Halloween. However, my family will never have Halloween decorations such as witches, devils, ghosts and such, nor will my child ever dress as something of the sort. As a Christian family it is our personal conviction to never celebrate or participate in the occult side of the holiday. It really shouldn’t even be considered a holiday because there is nothing “holy” about it, lol. Now onto Christmas!
I have always been a big Christmas guru caught up in the “magic” and commercialism of Christmas, big time. Becoming a Christian has changed my views on the holiday a bit. Believe it or not, there are many Christians out there that view Christmas the same way as Halloween, whether it was because Christ was most likely not born on December 25th, the Catholic church tried to replace a pagan holiday with Christmas, and other traditions that are rooted in pagan origins on December 25th. Is it true? Yes. Are there Christian traditions on Christmas as well? Yes.
This is the position my family will take on December 25th. We will celebrate the birth of Christ as He was God’s greatest gift to the world. It doesn’t matter if it was the day He was literally born on or not, because we do not know for sure. Everyday we should celebrate Jesus Christ, and this is a day that is allegedly recognized for that, so yes we are going to celebrate, recognize, and promote the true meaning.
Now this may offend you if you haven’t been already. We will not have Santa decorations in our house or play the Santa game with our child. There, I said it. So why have I taken this position? I don’t think people who do the Santa game are evil, pagan, or anything like that at all. But for me personally it has taken away from celebrating Christ in a time where He should be the center point. For my family, I don’t believe a holiday about Christ should be shared with a magical man that is not real. Yes, there was a real St. Nicholas and I highly doubt he would approve of the way he has been esteemed and commercialized on a holiday that is supposed to celebrate Jesus Christ whom He served.
Both of our parents did the Santa Clause with us so it’s not because we were raised differently than other people. I care more about my son knowing truth and the full glory of Jesus Christ rather than lying to him about a man coming down our chimney to leave presents depending on his behavior. It’s something I personally cannot and will not do.
Does this mean that my family is going to go around saying Santa isn’t real or protesting any who do the Santa game? No. Can a family honor Christ and partake in the Santa game with all the traditions? Sure they can, I personally think it’s harder to have most of the emphasis on Christ, but again it is up to the family. We aren’t going to shelter our children from the world either. We just aren’t going to reinforce it in our home. We will probably come up with more of our own traditions honoring Christ throughout the years as a family. These are some of the things we will be doing.
We will still have decorations such as a tree, Christmas lights, snowmen, nativity scenes, and stockings. We will still do a couple of presents as well, but we won’t say that Santa Claus put them there. None of these things such as the tree and lights are idols or superstitious to us as they were when they were considered pagan traditions long ago. Most people nowadays don’t consider them that way either. A good quote from an article I’ll leave a link to is this: “What is important is not the origins of traditions, but their significance to us today as believers in the Son of God.”
We will also sing Christmas carols, a couple songs will be excluded, read the story of the birth of Christ in the bible, make a birthday cake for Jesus, give bibles, tracts, and of course pray and give thanks. We will even probably read the true story of Saint Nicholas, as he was a great Christian man who gave gifts anonymously and generously. My wife and I have made it a tradition since we have been married to have some kind of charitable drive or project we participate in every Christmas so that is something we will include our children in as well.
These are my views on Halloween and Christmas. You can probably assume what they are regarding the Easter bunny after reading all this, lol. Being a rather new creature in Christ, I was greatly concerned with what I should participate in and what I shouldn’t. As a Christian I found myself lost and wanted to make sure I wasn’t doing anything wrong and that I would be giving glory to God. There are a lot of sites and books out there that are very legalistic, presented in an ugly way, and hateful about what we should and shouldn’t do as Christians. I have gone though much prayer and many headaches, but I have reached this conclusion for my family that I am sharing with you. Hopefully, this may help you as well if you have the same concerns that I do.
This article and site is one of the best I believe on the subject. http://www.gotquestions.org/Christmas-traditions.html This ministry has written other good articles as well about the holidays and other common questions.
If you have any good suggestions or sites on Christian traditions I would love to hear them.
Thanks and God bless you!
In Christ,
Joey