Farewell 2013

This last day of 2013 was cold in Iowa, but us watchmen can handle a little cold weather, and I got out to the corner of Anson & Center Street this afternoon, to send off the old year with one more day of witnessing cross evangelism. Got a handful of Titanic gospel tracts out, three "God of Wonders" DVD's, and a Spanish "Are You A Good Person" tract. God has surely blessed this year with numerous opportunities to lift up Jesus Christ & share the gospel with friends, neighbors, co-workers, and many strangers, here in Iowa, and in the various places I've travelled this year: Florida, Michigan, Arkansas, and Minnesota. There really is no greater privilege we can experience than pointing people to Jesus Christ, and eternity will bear this out.

And today, I completed my Bible reading schedule for the year, which took me through the Old Testament once, and through Psalms and the New Testament twice. God graciously gave me one more year to read and meditate on His Holy Book. Wow!

This verse really struck me:
"And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." (Revelation 22:17)

Three times, the Holy Spirit is urging us to COME TO HIM.
Ever wonder who are the "called", who are the "chosen", who are the "elect?"
Well, it is the "whosoever will." I think Adrian Rogers once said this, and this verse just nails it.

Friend, are you thirsty?
Thirsty for forgiveness of all your countless, countless sins against a Holy God?
Thirsty for cleansing and a new life with Him that never ends?
Look at the moral law, the 10 Commandments. Listen to your conscience, and face the truth about your sin.
Almighty God knows your every thought, word, and deed: like me, you are guilty, guilty, guilty.
We deserve judgment, and the eternal penalty of our sins, the Lake of Fire.
Are you thirsty?

If so, I have good news for you.
God calls you to come and be made new and whole....

So, how does one come? John 6:35 tells us - by believing on Jesus Christ!
You must look to Jesus Christ, who for your sake was crucified, died, buried, and rose again.
He took the wrath of a Holy God that was meant for you, and if you will repent & believe on Jesus Christ, God will forgive you, cleanse you, make you his child, fill you with the Holy Spirit, and give you the gift of eternal life.

May we who know the Lord step up our love for one another, and our love for the lost, in 2014 and beyond.

A Church Infiltrated....

Following up with the last article on "Jesus Calling": this example of extra-biblical communication being taught within the church is alarming enough. But if you zoom out to a 30,000 foot level to get the big-picture look, it seems beyond question that the Christian church as a whole has been infiltrated and compromised with false, anti-biblical, anti-Christ teachings, as described in 1 Timothy 4 and 2 Timothy 3. It is truly breathtaking.

Here are a couple of older videos (part 1 & part 2)  with Todd Friel and Justin Peters examining the Lakeland, Florida "revival ministry" of Todd Bentley. Please pay special attention to the phrases used to disarm and silence those who question these perverse teachings. As a new believer back in the mid 1990's, I got hit with similar responses, like "You can't put God in a box." These are meant to totally disarm your discernment, and throw open the doors to any and all kinds of madness to be dumped onto the body of Christ. You've heard these statements too, I'm sure, and it is one of the methods that have brought us to this point.

 

 If you are a born-again child of God through faith in Jesus Christ, you are commanded to prove all things (1 Thessalonians 5:21) and to try the spirits (1 John 4:1). Let me echo the words of Mark Cahill: beware of men (and women) with microphones. Keep your guard up. Especially RELIGIOUS men! Check everything - EVERYTHING - you are taught against the word of God. The Jews that Paul preached to in Berea are called "noble" (Acts 17:11) in that they "received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." Today, many who would be noble Bereans are chastised for questioning the Pastor, Preacher or Evangelist, labeled divisive or lacking in faith, kicked out of their churches, marked & avoided in an un-biblical manner.

 

Brothers, we need more than ever to heed the words of Jude 3, and earnestly contend for the faith with was once delivered unto the saints.

 



Jesus Calling: A Warning from Warren Smith

Note from Paul: I am adding more links and information to the bottom of this post as I become aware of them. I've added 2 additional links since the original publication. Please be a Berean and check all things against the scriptures of the Holy Bible, to see if these things are true. Maranatha!

 

 

"Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young is selling like hotcakes. It has a rating of 4-1/2 out of 5 stars on Christianbook.com, and 4 out of 5 stars on Amazon. Warren brings a warning, from his past in the New Age, on what appears to be another deceptive teaching being embraced by the Church. I really love Warren and his ministry, and thought you might appreciate this message.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For further listening, here's a LINK to a podcast from the program, Stand Up For The Truth, featuring an interview with Warren Smith. Here's some introduction to the podcast from their website: 

 

"Today we are asking:  Can going into a meditative silence help us actually hear the voice of Jesus?
Many people are attempting to hear the voice of our Savior speaking to them, thanks to a wildly popular book franchise you probably have heard of. The “Jesus Calling” book was written nearly a decade ago by author Sarah Young, who practiced a contemplative prayer method and actually heard a voice speak to her. She wrote down everything the voice told her to and published her first book which has now sold over 9 million copies and is ranked #1 on the Wall Street Journal Non Fiction Bestseller list. It’s product list includes books for women, teens, a children’s version, calendars, devotionals and even a smart phone app.

We have some concerns that many people are turning to their own experiences over the real Truth that God promises can be found in the Scriptures.

 

With us today is Warren Smith, a frequent guest on Stand Up For The Truth. Warren has just finished writing his newest book, “Another Jesus” Calling: How False Christs are Entering the Church through Contemplative Prayer.” Warren spent many years in the New Age practicing the very types of spiritual exercises put forth by Contemplative Prayer proponents. He knows full well that not every experience is from God but in fact can be from familiar, seducing spirits."


Here's another very extensive article on the discernment blog, Herescope (herescope.blogspot.com), posted on Saturday, November 30th, 2013, authored by Sarah Leslie of the Discernment Research Group. It starts back in the 1960's with the author's experiences in the New Age, and moves through to the present, exposing how the spirit behind the New Age has penetrated and spread into and throughout the church. Covers a review of Warren Smith's book, "Another Jesus Calling" and has some good endnotes. Wow! A must read, and please share this with your friends.

Christmas Greeting

Welcome to Winter Evangelism!

Friday, November 22nd. Freezing rain last night turned to snow, and we woke up to maybe an inch on the ground, and temperatures that never made it past the mid-20's all day. But the sun was out, and it was not windy, which is rare for Iowa! So I rushed home from work, put on the long-johns & 2 pairs of socks, grabbed some "Hot Hands" to stick inside my gloves, and made it to the corner of Anson & Center for a hour of Witness Cross Evangelism. Had a couple of good conversations, too: one with a guy on his way to the bus stop, and another with a Christian man named Joel, who brought me a cup of hot cappuccino. The gospel was shared with the former, and some outdoor fellowship between brethren was shared with the latter. Thanks, brother, for your kindness and encouragement in the Lord.

Man, where did summer & autumn go? Somewhere south of here, that's for sure! Winter's come early to central Iowa, but us Bible-believers are hardy souls, and is there not a cause? Men and women are speeding toward eternity, so we'll brave the elements to reach out to our neighbors with the only message that can save them from an eternal Hell...the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the one-and-only Savior of sinners. Welcome to winter evangelism! Bring it on!!!

Another Unexpected Blessing

Our new brother in Christ
Dr. Udayakumar

Mary & I travelled up to Minneapolis, Minnesota yesterday for an appointment with a doctor at the University of Minnesota, one Dr. Prabhu Udayakumar. We didn't know this man - couldn't even pronounce his name - and visiting a doctor's office, especially a large medical office like UM, is really not on my list of fun things to do. But what an unexpected blessing it was to make his acquaintance!

We went from strangers to brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ in just a few minutes. Without going into details, we felt it was worth the trip just to have to met Dr. Udayakumar. It seems we were an encouragement to this brother, and he was an encouragement to us...the sweet "savour of life unto life" mentioned in 2 Corinthians 2:15-16.

You've got to hear this testimony he gave at a recent birthday celebration for his daughter, at this LINK. A native of India, raised in a traditional Christian home, you will hear how this brother was delivered from "religion" to a relationship with the God of the Universe, the Lord Jesus Christ, being born-again and become a new creature in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17).Wow! I love it.

Pray for our brother and his family as they joyfully live for the Lord Jesus Christ: for encouragement, for the blessings of fellowship with like-minded believers and sound Bible doctrine in a local assembly, and to grow in grace. May God work through him to bring the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ to those who cross his path. And may that be true for all of us who know and love the Lord. Amen.

Q & A Session with Ken Ham

Enjoyed watching Ken Ham do a superb job on a Q & A session, while working out today.
He gets down to the foundational issue of skepticism very smartly.
Really quite encouraging to Bible believers - check it out on the link below.

Click Here for Link

When The One You Love Becomes Your Enemy

A few things have been on my mind lately, one of which is how to live and share the gospel in a world like today. People today most definitely describes the people talked about in 2 Timothy 3:1-9. These people are the most unloving of them all. But Jesus commanded every Chrisitian to love thier enemy (Matthew 5:43-44; Luke 6:27). But the problem that I run into is this...who is my enemy, and what do I do when the people I am trying to reach become my enemy?

Who Is My Enemy?

I know that we as Christians obviously have enemies like Satan and his demons. But if we look at the word enemy from Matthew 5:44 in a Strong's and Thayer's concordences, it takes on a more important meaning. The word enemy litterally means:

A person who is hateful, actively hostile, and an adversary. It is talked about as a person who is hostile toward the things of God.

So what this means is that those who oppose me on the street as I witness, those who try to stop me preaching, and those who are yelling and cursing at me are those who I am supposed to be loving. So those who the bible says, "curse you, hate you, spitefully use you, and persecute you", I am supposed to love.

How Am I To React... In Thought, Word, and Deed (Matthew 5:44)

The human knee-jerk reaction to a person yelling at me would be to yell back. An eye for an eye...right? But Jesus said to love these people. So how do I go about doing that? Lets look at some scripture to get a better understanding.

Bless (Word)

Bless those who curse you. What does it mean to bless? It means to:

Speak well of, to consecrate a thing or person with God's blessing and prayer, to cause to prosper, make happy, and bestow blessings on.

Blessings here indicate more of spoken words and not action (which we will see next). So when a person is cursing me out, I should respond with a sincere, "God bless you."

Do Good (Deed)

Do good to those who hate you.
What does it mean to do good? I can think of alot of things, but scripture says:

To do beutifully, finely, excellent, well. To do things that are excellent, noteworthy, commendable, noble, and worthy of honor.

So here it's putting your action to the blessings of your mouth. We must not only love in tongue, but in deed and truth. Some practical things we can do is buy them lunch, offer to help them in any way.

Pray (thought)

Pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you (Matthew 5:44).

Alot of times we may say the right thing, do the right thing, and then all there is left to do is pray. I cannot change a person's heart, but I can lift him up in prayer to the one who can, and that's God.

There are some times when I cannot say or do anything in the moment, or I'm not even near the person who is coming against me. To spitefully use really means to threaten, unjustly accuse, or to insult and slander. Most times when people sling insults they are behind your back and not to your face. Look at the Apostle Paul and his dealings throughout his letters on how people accused him and slandered him before he got there and after he left. They were cowards.

But praying for people not only helps the one who is coming against me, but helps me, the one who is being persecuted. When things are at their worst, and seems like there is no hope, a person can get bitter, angry, and want to seek revenge. But it's hard to be bitter and angry towards a person who you are praying for. It for the most part aligns my thinking with God's word.

This has been a good reminder for me. I always have to keep my heart in check and often site 2 Timothy 2:24-28 as a good example of what an evangelists heart needs to be when sharing the gospel with the lost, saving them from the ultimate enemy which is Satan himself. Continue to pray for us as we share Christ with this world that despritely needs Him. 

Saeed Abedini: Update & Urgent Prayer Needed

Please continue to pray fervently for American Pastor Saeed Abedini & his family. He's been moved to a prison more infamous than Evin Prison outside of Tehran. Here's a link to the article I read today.

Not much more to say than that others have said better. God's promises to us are true, even when we cannot see them. Saeed is not lost or hidden from the eyes and will of the Almighty. God bless and keep you, brother. God fill you with his Holy Spirit, and may the Lord Jesus strengthen you, your wife, and your children.

Psalms 139:7-12
Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. 

Anti-Semitism is not "Absurd"

No.
It's not absurd.
It is Satanic; demonic; hellish; wrong.

Here's another in a parade of news articles describing another example of the hate directed at our Israeli friends:

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/10/15/the-absurd-anti-semitic-argument-involving-rape-one-former-israeli-soldier-says-he-encountered-while-speaking-at-an-american-college/

The Almighty, speaking through the prophet Moses in Numbers 4:25-27 that the children of Israel would go after other gods, and the LORD would scatter them throughout the nations, and send the sword after them. But he also promised to bring them back into the land, and after near 2,500 years of non-existence, the nation of Israel is in the land today.

So why is Israel such a problem for the world? Why does the United Nations spend 30% of it's time on a nation that makes up 1/100th of the worlds population?

Throughout the both Old and New Testaments, we see the Serpent working through men & nations to foil the promise God made in Genesis 3, that a Deliverer and Savior would come, to save us from the consequences of sin. Satan worked through Pharaoh to try to wipe out Israel; through Haman, through the Philistines, through Assyria & Babylon (though they were God's instruments of judgment on His people). He worked through Herod and Rome, Hitler and Germany, and now through Islam. A future time is coming when Satan will deceive all nations, and lead all nations to battle against Jerusalem in the valley of Megiddo in a last ditch effort to defeat God. But he will fail, as usual.

The Lord Jesus has promised that he will return, and that there will be a Jewish people and nation to return to. Period. Until then, anti-Semitism will continue, spurred on by the god of this world, perhaps increasing as that time draws near.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. (Psalms 122:6)

Santa Biblia: Palabra Dioses en Español

I really love the Bible. It is unlike any other book - religious or secular - in that it is not written by man. You see, the author of the Bible is Almighty God. Our Creator used about 40 men, as you and I use a pen, pencil, or a keyboard, to write out His Holy Word in the 66 books of the Holy Bible.

And yes, I can prove this is so: the fulfilled prophecies of the Bible prove that this book could not have been written by man, because frankly, men can't guess that good! And we know that the God of the Bible is THE GOD, and that the Bible is HIS WORD, through the nation of Israel, as I have mentioned in the past. Wow...to hold in one's hands the words of our Creator to us!

But, I digress. Today my son and I dropped back into Rosenkranz Book & Bile Outlet Store up in
Eldora, IA. Mary and I stopped in last week and stocked-up on Bibles to give away, but they had no Version Reina-Valera Spanish Bibles at that time. But today, there were many! Seems they bought a gaylord container of liquidated Bibles from Holman Bible Publishers this past week, so I scooped up several, and now have a good stock to give to my Spanish speaking friends and neighbors.

Please pray for us as we give out the precious seed of the Word, that God will speak to the hearts of these dear souls, and may they be delivered out of the bondage of religion (most I meet here in Marshalltown are either Roman Catholic, or Jehovah's Witness: both of which have no gospel, and are leading their followers to eternal Hell) and into the glorious light of eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.

(In case you wonder, the title of this post is "Holy Bible: God's Word in Spanish").

E T E R N I T Y !

Just heard a great message preached tonight by Evangelist Gary Gillmore, on Luke 12:16-21. The man in this parable worshipped himself. Count the number of times the words "I" and "my" are used! But, he left a critically important word out of his life:

ETERNITY

O Fool! To live for time,
and not for eternity! Jesus lived for eternity, and it was for the joy set before him that allowed him to endure the cross, despising the shame...that he might bring many sons to glory, in eternity.

We must live for eternity now, in this life, (not when we are in eternity - that'll be too late) if we are to be prepared for eternity. Thank God through Jesus Christ, that because of him alone, I will be with him in eternity. God has promised, and I have complete confidence in his word. And keeping this word in mind - ETERNITY - will help me make choices in my daily life that will count for eternity.

Do you have that confidence? If today were your last day to live, if you stepped into eternity tomorrow, would you be ready? Are all your sins washed away in the blood of the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ? If not, friend, you are not ready, for God will not overlook your sins. Because God is good, he cannot overlook your sins, and Hell will be your eternal destiny.

Jesus Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures...he was buried, and was raised again from that grave three days later (see 1 Cor. 15:1-4). God now commands all to repent (change your mind, agree with God, and turn to God), trusting that Jesus died on that cross for your sins. All who repent & believe on the Lord Jesus Christ will receive the gift of eternal life. That is salvation,  my friend, and that is how you can begin to live for eternity....

Stocking Up

Mary & I made a trip up to Eldora, IA today, to stock up on Bibles that we've been giving away around Marshalltown. Rosenkrans Book & Bible Outlet Store is a great little place for Bibles and other Christian books. I picked up a used set of J. Vernon McGee's commentaries a few years back, and Mary has been using them lately as she studies through Matthew. We get brand new, good quality, compact large print Bibles, and also some New Testaments for around $5 a piece, or less! I could not find any Spanish Reina Varlera Bibles, though - I got all he had the last time we were up, and he's still out of them.

Like we prayed on the drive back home, may God get these Holy Scriptures into the hands of people as we give them out, people who will read and understand the will of God, and come to saving faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. When people come to request a free Bible, I usually say, "Are you going to read this? It's not a good-luck charm or family heirloom. You need to read it, and heed it!" Amen. That is a good word to all of us.

Blessed Coincidence

In my daily Bible reading this Saturday morning, I happened to read a portion of scripture that included Isaiah chapter 25. I noted the Isaiah's magnification of the LORD's faithfulness, "O LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful thing; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth." (Isaiah 25:1) I made a note in the margin of my Bible, "GOD IS FAITHFUL!", as I've been reminded of this over and over again, while teaching through the Old Testament to our Karen believer's Sunday School class.

I also noted the reference in Isaiah 25:8 which is picked up and amplified by the Apostle Paul in 
1 Corinthians 15:54, and the Apostle John in Revelation 21:4.

After a time of prayer, I hit the shower, and listened to an interview with T.A. McMahon and Dr. Randall Price. And in the interview, Dr. Price, who is a Biblical archeologist, described something that they found while excavating around Qumran, the site of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

You can listen at www.oneplace.com/ministries/search-the-scriptures-daily/.

What was a blessed coincidence to me is that he related what they found in these excavations to the verses in Isaiah 25:6-9: how that the group of people at Qumran were likely anticipating what Dr. Price called "the Messiah's Banquet", the feast after the victorious battle of Armageddon, a feast which is described in other places including the New Testament (i.e. Matthew 8:11). I thought it was really neat to just happen to hear that this morning, and get an extra blessing from the reading of God's Holy Word. I had penned the note about God being faithful, and this was just another small confirmation of that eternal truth.

Art Walk 2013

Marshalltown, Iowa is hosting the annual Art Walk on Thursday, 10/3 from 4:30-7:00 pm. Various downtown businesses will be hosting local artists and their works, along with musicians staged throughout the downtown area. This also happens to be the last day of the Thursday evening Farmers Market on the Courthouse Square, one of my weekly places for evangelism in my home town. Should be a lot of people out and about.

In honor of this event, I've created a witnessing cross just for the occasion: "Lord Jesus....How Great Thou Art!"

The forecast is calling for scattered thunderstorms on Thursday, so all the activities may be cancelled. But if not, and the Lord allows, I hope to be out there with gospel tracts and this newest addition to our witness-cross collection. I'm interested to see how people react, and we pray for conversations that will point others to our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Here are the words to the hymn from which this cross' message is derived:

"How Great Thou Art"
Carl G. Boberg (1859-1940)
Adapted by Stuart K. Hine (1899-1989)

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the *worlds thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the *rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed:

    

Refrain

     Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee:
     How great thou art! How great thou art!
     Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee:
     How great thou art! How great thou art!

When through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees,
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze:

 

(Refrain)

And when I think that God, his Son not sparing,
Sent him to die, I scarce can take it in,
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

 

(Refrain)

When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration,
And there proclaim, My God, how great thou art!

The Not-So-Bright Atheist

David Heckart and I dropped by the Octemberfest shindig around the courthouse in downtown Marshalltown this evening. We were passing out gospel tracts, and hoping for gospel conversations. One encounter with a couple of teenagers went like this:

Me: "Hello, ladies: did you get your tickets?"
Young Woman: "What is it?"
Me: "It is a Ticket to Heaven, or  a Ticket to Hell." (This tract from Gospel Tract Planet is printed on both sides, the one side reads "Ticket to Heaven", the other, "Ticket to Hell.")
YW: "Oh, I'm sorry I cannot take that. I am an atheist."
Me: "Why is that? Let me ask you something: what is the most compelling evidence you've found for the non-existence of God?"
YW: Stares, and says nothing
Other YW: Seeing the predicament, grabs YW by the shoulders and they beat a hasty retreat.

Marshalltown Octemberfest 2013

So I have to say, have we not been sold a bill of goods by Dawkins & Co., that these are the intellectuals, the "brights"? Not so, my friend. David, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in Psalm 14:1 states:

"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good."

As J. Vernon McGee puts it, this use of "fool" holds the meaning of insanity. Indeed it is an insane person who sees clearly the hand of an all-powerful, all-wise Creator all around them, and the witness of his moral law and conscience within, and holding all that truth in unrighteousness, denies his existence. See Romans 1:18-20.

I pray that God continues to put his people in this young woman's path, and that she would stop running away, but deal with reality. The Bible has the answers, so may we who know our God reach out and challenge those who are stumbling towards Judgment and Hell. And may this precious soul listen to the gospel, and in repentance believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, while there is time.

Bravery...NOT!

I've had several people comment on how brave I am, to stand out on a street corner with a witnessing cross, and a crate full of Bibles, DVD's and gospel booklets to give away. Or, to get up on a soap box and preach the gospel.

When someone says this, I laugh. It is not bravery, I assure you. If you do anything publically for the Lord, you will be called many things, most of which are not flattering. I'm definitely not a "Type-A" personality, and prefer not to be in the spotlight or center of attention. And, when I go out, I go in spite of my fears, which are many.

Like you, I do what I do because I appreciate what the Lord has done for me. We've been given a gift of inestimable worth, and we want to pass it on. We are:

• Thankful...for what Jesus has done for us
• Grateful...for the mercy and love God has demonstrated to us in the cross and the gospel
• Concerned...about our family, friends and neighbors
• Certain...that Jesus is the only way to escape the wrath of God and eternal Hell
• Convinced...that life is short, and we want to redeem the time God has given us

Witnessing crosses, giving away free Bibles, preaching open air: these are just some ideas that came to me, something that I thought would be a way to get the gospel out, or get people thinking about eternity. You've probably come up with other good ideas to do this. If so, thanks for serving your Lord and your King, Jesus Christ. And keep on keeping on, until he comes for us, or we go to be with him!

Saeed Abedini: 1 Year in Evin Prison for Jesus Christ

Thursday, September 26, could be the 1-year anniversary of the imprisonment of Saeed Abedini, the Iranian American Pastor held prisoner in the infamous Evin Prison outside of Tehran, Iran, for the crime of being a Christian. I say "could be", because many have been praying for his release, and if the Lord brings this about, we could well all be rejoicing on that day. Until then, I encourage all believers to lift up this brother and his family before the throne of grace. And not him alone, but all of the persecuted Church around the world.

Here in Iowa, there will be a prayer vigil on Thursday in Des Moines, at the State Capital Building on the Westside Steps from 1-2 PM.  Click HERE for a link to an article by Saeed's wife on John Piper's "Desiring God" website. There are links near the bottom of the article on where you can locate prayer vigils throughout the US and the World.

What more can I add to what many have written? For us to live in Christ. Suffering for the name of Jesus is not foreign to the body Christ. Our brother is in the mighty hand of our Lord and our God, and it is to him that we cry, and may God's will be done in his life. And in ours....

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.
John Newton, Amazing Grace, verse 3

"...and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name." Acts 5:40-41


1 Peter 4:12-14
Hebrews 13:3
John 16:33
2 Timothy 3:12
James 1:2-4
2 Corinthians 4:17
Romans 8:28

Private Interpretation

Was really hoping that someone would shoot me some feedback re: "Conversation with Patrick." The thing about street work...you study up & pray up, but it is a fluid situation out there in the real world. I usually pray Acts 4:29 (boldness & filling of the Holy Ghost) and Philippians 2:12-13 because I don't have the power and wisdom needed to get the job done. I am depending on God to work through me as I yield to him and go.

I save audio out on the street for a couple of reasons. One: if someone accuses me of saying something inappropriate, I want a record so I can refute it (or not, depending on what is deemed "inappropriate"). And two:  also opens  a small window of sound into this ministry, and we share it for the edification of the body of Christ.

So guess what? I have to listen to myself and do the audio editing to get something worth sharing on the website. Yep, even the cringe-worthy times when I blow it. Last Saturday I read from Psalm 90:10-12, and kept losing my place. Sheesh!  Or worse, when I am inpatient with a heckler, or when I miss a sound biblical response, like a major one I found with listening to the audio of my conversation with Patrick.

And here I thought someone would call me on it! It was when Patrick was commenting on "my interpretation" of what the Bible says regarding salvation alone in Jesus Christ. So, class, what is the Bible-Believer's response to this statement?

2 Peter 1:20- 21

Yes, taken in context, comparing scriptures with scriptures, etc. If we have anything, saints, we have God's mind regarding the way of salvation. Jesus is indeed THE WAY, and no one comes to the Father but by the one-and-only Savior of sinners, the Lord Jesus Christ.

We cannot encourage one another enough to be Bereans in these last days. Heresy and apostasy abound. The Bible is being questioned and attacked and neglected like never before. It is not uncommon for Pastors, Preachers, and other church leaders to set themselves above the flock and
make themselves un-approachable regarding what they teach and preach. Not so at Iowa Seed Sowers. We're just brothers and sisters in the Lord, and are open to questions, exhortation, and even a rebuke, if warranted (Proverbs 27:5).

Outreach with AGENTS FOR CHRIST

Wednesday night fellowship at the church I attend had guest speakers from a ministry in Oaklahoma, called Agents For Christ.  Their website is here.  Bill James and his wife, Danielle, traveled to the Calvary Chapel Pastor's conference and was headed east so they stopped at our church along the way.  They shared their story and also encouraged us in the body to share thier faith.  It was a great time of getting into Romans 12 and how we can apply what Paul was teaching in the doctrines of chapters 1-11.  They wanted to test some waters in Des Moines, so we decided to take a few people out fishing in the city streets. 

Well tonight, it absolutely poured, and doing anything outside was out of the question.  So we decided to hit Valley West Mall and do some soul-winning there.  Tony, of Saving Faith Outreach came with us, along with my pastor, his son, and Ray, a member of CCDM.  We split up and did some outreach.  Tony and I teamed up together (as usual) and hit the ground running).  We decided to go to the lower level and take the elevator.  That's when a man named Angel, with his two kids entered with us.  Tony gave him a million dollar bill tract and asked him what he thought.  Turned out he was a Mormon from Chile.  The funny thing is that I sensed the Holy Spirit wanting me to take Mormon tracts specifically.  So we used one tonight.  We spent the entire time talking with this man.  He told us he used to be Catholic, then Jehovah's Witness, then 7th Day Adventist.  He was clearly searching for truth, but in all these areas have fallen short. 

We basically spent the entire time with him, and gave out only one tract.  But please pray for Angel and his family that they would come to the truth of the gospel.  We invited him to get together so we can talk more and hope that he calls to make an appointment.  The other teams did well, and had various conversations.  Jake even faced his fears and placed a tract on a bench.  Good things are happening in Des Moines.  Pray for Bill and Danielle James along with the others of Agents For Christ as well. 

Exciting Times Lay Ahead For 2014

If you were to ask Paul, or any of my friends for that matter if I were an excitable guy, they would probably laugh.  When I met my wife she said that I reminded her of the Winnie the Pooh character, Eore.  I guess that stems from being dissapointed too much growing up.  I don't get excited about anything really.  Few have seen it to tell the tale.  So when I say that there are exciting times laid ahead for the coming year...it has to be big. 

My pastor whom I respect, has been the head of our church for over 6 years now.  During that time God has been grooming him, and equipping him for ministry.  He recently came back from the Calvary Chapel Pastors conference where the Lord really spoke to his heart through His word, and the teachings of different men.  He basically laid on his heart that it was time to ramp things up.  That my pastor was accountable for the people at Calvary Chapel Des Moines as thier shepherd.  We do some things really good, and others we pretty much stink.  One of those areas that we stink is in evangelism.  After a lengthy conversation, and an apology from him to me as not supporting me along the way (I've been feeling really discouraged for the past 10 years being the "Han Solo" at my church when it comes to evangelism) that he said things are going to change.  I can't get into the specifics of how that is going to look, but I will tell you this.  Every person that attends Calvary Chapel Des Moines will be involved in all 5 pillars of the church (Fellowship, Discipleship, Service, God's Word, and Evangelism/Outreach) on a quarterly basis.  I will be the head of the Evangelism/Outreach part of it, with an elder overseeing me.  Accountability will be key. 

This is huge being that I should be having regular teams (from my church) go with me to events, and sharing the gospel out on the streets.  Of course this will stir the pot at first, but we despritely need a healthy church and it's the only way to do it.  I will be scheduling outreach events and evangelism outings throughout the year, along with training sessions to equip and guide those who need it.  For years I prayed that the leadership would be more involved, and that my brothers and sisters in my fellowship would join me.  Praise God my prayers are getting answered. 

UPDATE: Iowa State Fair 2013

Since I got saved in 2003 I make an effort to go to the Iowa State Fair (ISF) where it all started to share the gift that I was given when I arrived here in Iowa from NJ in 2001.  Even though I didn't receive Christ at that moment, it was where I heard the gospel for the first time at the creation booth with the Noah's Ark exhibit.  So the Iowa State Fair holds a special place in my heart for the gospel. 

Tony and I spent the entire day Tuesday and Wednesday sharing with people outside of the fair.  It's more relaxed outside the fair because we need to be cautious not to draw attention and be removed from the fair.  But we have a great time especially with those who are renting spaces on their lawns.  Every year we run into many different people from all over Iowa and the world and involved with all different religions.  This year we tried to talk with a Satanist who said she worshipped Satan (which is ridiculous because Satanists would never worship anyone else but themself); people who didn't care about what the bible said cause they were right, and the bible is not; and those who are really wanting to know God. 

It was after we talked to the Satanist when I got really depressed.  Not because my feelings were hurt or the things she said to me, but for the hardness of her soul.  I can't imagine how Paul must have felt.  But it reminded me of how Paul got joy.  Paul wanted to finish the race with joy, and that nothing, whether people or situations moved him (Acts 20:24).  A soul-winners joy is a valuable weapon against the enemy (Psalm 51:12-13).  A soul-winners joy can come from:

• The Lord
• The rememberance of those who we won to Christ (Psalm 126:6, 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20).
• Those who go soul winning with us will rejoice with us (John 4:36, Acts 15:3).

It is important to know that even though we may weep now and that we may think that our conversations are wasted, we should know that those tears may be turned to joy as people are in the process of being saved and God is using us for His glory (Psalm 126:5-6).  I can't spend my time thinking of those who rejected God's word for any reason.  I had to spend the remainder of that last day just thinking of all the people we DID reach, and those who have been wanting to know the Lord and didn't know where to begin. 

Of the conversations that we had some stood out more than others.  One young man in the beginning said he was a Christian, but did not understand anything about the gospel.  At the end of our conversation he was overwhelmingly thankful and was wanting to read his bible again (which it has been months).  I shared with him the importance of making a decision for Christ now while he had time and hopefully he did that very thing later on. 

Another conversation Tony and I had with a woman who's mother had been praying for for years.  Her mother, who only knew Spanish, cried and praised God when I gave her a Spanish tract and realized that some prayers were being answered right in front of her eyes.  One which was that someone would share the gospel with her daughter and have it make sense. 

Most of the conversations we had were with people who knew of Jesus, but never took Him as Lord of their lives.  We had many conversations and pray that God will make the fruit grow in their lives for His glory. 

Conversation with Patrick

Is the Bible reliable and authoritative? Do we have the mind of God revealed to us through his word? Is Jesus the only way to Heaven, or is there some other way?

As promised, here is the audio from my conversation with Patrick, a man I met last Saturday while passing out gospel tracts at the Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market.

Click HERE to listen to the 14 minute conversation, and let me know what you think. If you would've answered differently, leave a comment.

Just some topics covered within 2-1/2 minutes of the conversation:

1. Patrick's reaction to my use of "...he's revealed in his word", in reference to God.
2. His comment, "I don't have the mind of God, so I don't know if it (the Bible) is right or wrong." We don't? That's a scary place to be. 1 Corinthians 2:16.
3. "You shouldn't judge." Yes, as a hypocrite. Matt 7:3-5; John 7:24
4. The Bible "was written by men...." Can God use men to write his word, so that we have God's communication to his creation? 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21
5. Me: "If someone dies without Christ, what's going to happen to him?" Patrick:"That's up to him (God) to decide (pause)...well, he aint gonna be walking up the stairway of Heaven."
6. Me: "There is none other name under Heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved." Patrick: "But it doesn't say flat that you're getting in...."

Wow! It's amazing how fluid these encounters can be. I pray that the Lord would give us the wisdom and understanding to know how to answer when the questions and comments are swirling like this (Colossians 4:6).

Interesting Day

The Lord allowed me to make it down to the Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market this morning. What a beautiful day here in Central Iowa. The Market was busy, but not packed wall-to-wall like it is on some weekends. There was a guy with a banner in the middle of 4th & Court Avenue, so I tried setting up on the corner of 3rd & Court. But the band at an outdoor restaurant across the way started jamming, and a saxophone on the opposite corner made it too loud to speak. I moved down to 2nd Street where there was less music, and set up on the southwest corner across from the Stam Greenhouse booth. Brent Stam is a brother in the Lord, and he's always been an encouragement to me when speaking down at the Market.

Well, I have to say it was a very interesting day. I had 4 or 5 encounters that stick out in my mind, some of which are on this part of the audio I captured from the open-air preaching. Click on the link HERE and hit the play button on the upper right of the Internet Archive screen to listen.

So here's an overview of the day:

• I encountered Jack, an angry man who has a major problem with God. You'll hear him at the 12:40 mark in the audio. Let me say that Jack has a wrong concept of what it means to be a man, and unless he repents and turns to Christ before stepping into eternity, he will remember the words he spoke today to his eternal regret.
• Three men stood to my right and listened for quite a while, and then approached me, wanting to pray for me, that I would be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. You can hear Larry and 2 young men with him around the 19:30 mark. Now, I am not of the Charismatic or Pentecostal persuasion. There is much regrettable doctrine taught and believed by these brothers. But I do pray for the Holy Spirit's power, especially when I go out to publicly proclaim the gospel. Frankly, I am scared to speak in public. I don't like to be looked at as a religious nut. But the Lord has called us to go out and preach the gospel, so I cry out to God for boldness, as the believers did in Acts 4:29. So when Larry and the other men said they wanted to pray for me, that's great. I need all the encouragement and prayer I can get.
• Patrick got a gospel tract and came back to talk about it. I'll post some audio of him later, but briefly, he's got little confidence in the Bible, does not believe we have the "mind of God" (his words), and that people in other religious practices may be saved some unknown way. I explained that we do have God's mind, according to 1 Corinthians 2:16, and that the Bible is God's mind about everything. We had quite a discussion, (as you'll hear in that future audio), and we parted well, with Patrick promising to read Romans 1:18-20 and following, regarding the fact that God has revealed himself in all men everywhere, so that they are without excuse.
• Finally, I had a very short exchange with a woman who claims that you cannot be saved unless you know the Hebrew name for Jesus Christ. I rejected her claim, and told her she was twisting the scriptures, as Peter warns as "wresting" the scriptures in 2 Peter 3:16. I can only say, may the Lord rebuke her.

All this said, our focus here is about the Lord Jesus Christ, what he has done and is doing, and not so much about me, Mary or Frank. I hope this encourages you in some way. If you are a follower of the Lord Jesus, come out and join us some time. We have our calendar of ministry events posted here on the website.

And if you cannot make it out with us, that's okay: go out into the highways, supermarkets, the gas stations, the Wal-Marts and the street corners of your Jerusalem, and hold out the offer of forgiveness and eternal life to your friends and neighbors, in the person of our Mighty Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Maranatha!

Followership

Leadership.
It is highly promoted.
Who doesn't want to be known as a great leader?
But I don't know that I've seen many books or training seminars on "Followership."
Perhaps it would be better that I focus on being a great follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.
From my daily Bible reading...

"Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."
(John 8:12)

Get A Life!

"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." (John 17:3)

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life...
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."
(John 3:15,16,36)

Ever have someone tell you to "get a life"? On Saturday morning, I slipped away from my weekend to-do projects, to stand at the busy Wal-Mart intersection here in Marshalltown with a couple witnessing crosses & my "Free Bibles" sign. It was actually an "evangelism interruption", a short-stop on my way to Menards and the Sears store to buy a set of box end wrenches and replacement blades for my YT3000 lawn tractor.

It was hot - 94 degrees - so there were not many cars with their windows down. I usually try to make eye contact with people who look our way, give them a wave and a smile, or a "How's it going today? How're you doing?" when possible. So when a certain sedan made the turn onto Merle Hibbs, with windows down and the woman in the passenger seat looking my way, that's what I did. But in return, I got a sneer and a "Why don't you get a life!?"

And you know, it just made me smile. Not for the hostility and contempt of this poor woman, but for the fact that I have been given the gift of eternal life through the Lord Jesus, something that transcends anything and everything I could ever have in this temporary physical life. As a joint heir with Jesus Christ (Romans 8:17), I will inherit all the things that my Lord inherits when he returns to rule and reign, and when God creates the new heaven and earth. So yes, I can smile and say, "Lady, I have a life that you would not believe, and will never understand unless you, too, repent and trust the Savior." And that gift of eternal life, with joy unspeakable and full of glory (1Peter 1:8), is why we go out into the streets with the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, to pass it on. Hope you who know and love the Lord will do the same, until he returns.

Salvation is of the Jews

In my daily Bible reading, I am reading a second time through the gospels, and today's schedule included John chapter 4. These scriptures brought to mind my Jewish friend Joseph, who I met when preaching in Des Moines several weeks ago, about whom I've written about and posted the audio of in previous articles.

"Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews."

(John 4:21-22)

The Holy Bible is a supernatural book. About 30% of the Bible is prophecy: detailed documentation of world-shaking, world-shaping events written down hundreds and thousands of years before they happened, and the 2 major topics of prophecy are Israel and the Messiah. Most of these prophecies have already been fulfilled, proving that this Book is written by God. The Almighty took 40 men from diverse backgrounds and cultures, as you or I take a pen, and wrote 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. The Holy Bible is God's complete, perfect word to humanity.

A golden thread woven throughout the entire Bible is this: in the Old Testament book of Genesis, God promises to send a Deliverer, the Messiah who would deliver mankind from the consequences of our sin against God. In the New Testament, in God's appointed time, the Messiah arrives and completes the work necessary to atone for sin and provide a way for sinful man to be justified and accepted in the presence of a Holy God. And the name of the Messiah: Jesus of Nazareth, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is undeniable and indisputable, proven by the fulfillment of over 30 scriptures regarding his birth, life, death, and resurrection. The Bible says that salvation is only available through the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12).

So what is "salvation?" It is the fact or state of being delivered from the consequences of our personal sin against our Creator. The wages we have earned by our willful choice to sin, is death, eternal death, the "second death" (Romans 6:23; Ezekiel 18:20; Revelation 20:14-15). Look at the moral law, the 10 Commandments, to evaluate your condition in the sight of God (Exodus 20; Matthew 5-7).

How might I obtain this salvation? The Bible is clear that our works are unacceptable, and that only the finished work of the Messiah are acceptable to God. In the name of Jesus Christ is preached remission of sin, and the gift of eternal life. So you see, salvation came to Israel through the Messiah, and through Israel to the world, so salvation is indeed of the Jews. And I am so glad that the gospel call came on across these 2000 years, and around the world, until it came to a needy sinner like me (John 17:20). May we who believe be faithful to proclaim it and share it, until we go to be with our Lord, or he come to rescue us from this dying world and bring us to our eternal home in Heaven.

Here's all of John chapter 4...enjoy!

The Gospel of John

Chapter 4

1 When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,
2 (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)
3 He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee.
4 And he must needs go through Samaria.
5 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
12  Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
27 And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?
28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.
31  In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.
32 But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.
33 Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?
34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.
38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.
39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.
40 So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.
41 And many more believed because of his own word;
42 And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.
43 Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee.
44 For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country.
45 Then when he was come into Galilee, the Galilaeans received him, having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast: for they also went unto the feast.
46 So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum.
47 When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death.
48 Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.
49 The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die.
50 Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.
51 And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth.
52 Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.
53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.
54 This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judaea into Galilee.

Karen Bible YouTube Channel Launched!

We are happy to say that the Karen Bible YouTube channel has been launched. Here is a picture of Pastor Moo Thaw reading chapter 1 of the Gospel of John for the first video on the channel.

We have to fine tune the YouTube channel: the camera is working well, but I'm not thrilled with the sound levels coming out of either the camera mic or the laptop mic. I'm  trying to figure out how to customize the name of the channel, and we still need some software to edit the video. But it has started. You locate the YouTube channel by going to YouTube, selecting "Channels", and entering "Pastor Moo Thaw." Just in case you want to know, here's what the Gospel of John, Chapter 1 sounds like in S'gaw Karen:

Our prayer is that we can get the word of God to our Karen friends and neighbors. The younger ones who are in school are learning English, but many of the adults will not master English, and are unable to read their own language, S'gaw Karen. But, they speak and understand it, so we are going to put this out on YouTube and other social media, so that God may speak to them through his word in their own language. May many come to a solid understanding of the gospel, and be born-again through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:23)

As we get this channel working, we also have a desire to do the same for the Karenni people here in Central Iowa, and also to reach out to Spanish speaking people.

Finally! The Long Awaited "Conversation with Joseph" Audio is Ready

Sound the trumpets!
Set off the fireworks!
Queue the resounding applause!

Yes, the loooong awaited, much anticipated "Conversation with Joseph" audio is up on Internet Archive and ready for your listening ears. Just go back to the article - about 4 or 5 articles back from this one - by that same title, and click on the link as directed (it's near the bottom half of the text...you can't miss it).

Whew. Glad that's done. Now Frank can finish the "cliffhanger." Hope you enjoy it. Remember this audio is taken out in the street, not in a studio: the distracting hustle, bustle, and noise reflects the way it is when you are sharing out in public. You have to listen carefully to catch everything Joseph is saying.

Share your thoughts via comments, if you wish. As always, we'd love to hear your feedback.
Paul

EVG Sponsor Offer: Join Us In Fulfilling The Great Commission

We are making an offer to anyone who would like to join us in fulfilling the Great Commision (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8). Living Waters has released the DVD, "Evolution vs. God" (EVG), and we see this as another avenue with which we can reach the lost with the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you would like to get in on this, but lack opportunity, here is our offer:

You may SPONSOR a give-away of EVG to a designated school, event, town, area, etc., by purchasing the DVDs and having them delivered to one of us at Iowa Seed Sowers. They are available from Living Waters (www.livingwaters.com) for $2 dollars if you purchase 10 or more, and also from The Berean Call (www.thebereancall.org) for the same price. We will arrange to distribute the DVDs for you, and post the results here on the ISS website.

God instructs us to redeem the time (Ephesians 5:16; Colossians 4:5), and to be ZEALOUS of good works (Titus 2:14). Are you in? WE ARE! If you would like to join us as we labor in the harvest fileds for our Lord, email myself or Frank and make arrangements. Our email is located on the "Contact Us" tab.



Charles Spurgeon said: "If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for."

Response to EVG

Has anyone else been following the response to the DVD, "Evolution vs. God" on Facebook or other social media? Wow; you need to check it out. Go to Facebook and type "Evolution vs God" and just read the comments posted there.  Then go the the website and watch the movie. It's at www.evolutionvsgod.com

Or, send people to the Iowa Seed Sowers website and watch it below!

Want to get involved? Why not get some of the DVDs to give away to people you meet, or a business card with the website so people can watch this and be challenged in their "faith" in secular science textbooks, professors & teachers, and evolution THEORY, which is unprovable and therefore NOT science. It's a fairy tale for grownups who, though they do know the God of the Bible, will not glorify him as God, but have become vain in their imaginations, have had their foolish hearts darkened, and worship that which the Almighty has created rather than worshipping the One who created all things. See Romans 1:18-23.

Lawton Becomes "LAW town" via God's Moral Law

We're visiting Michigan for a week of vacation & our annual family get-together with Mary's kinfolk, staying at a rental home on Gravel Lake. We make daily runs into Lawton or Paw Paw for groceries and supplies, and yesterday it was Mary's & my turn to run to the grocery store in Lawton. So we got what we could find there, gave out a few tracts, and then walked across the street to the Public Library to use the rest room.

Lawton Public Library is on the left, grocery store on the right

Over the next 20 minutes or so, we crossed paths with a couple of young men, Matt and Ryan. Titanic tracts always go down well, and we used them to explain how God has provided a "life boat" in the Lord Jesus Christ, our only means to escape "going down with the ship." I went through a couple of the 10 Commandments to make it clear that all have sinned; Lawton, Michigan became LAW town, for a few minutes, and we pray the law would do its work in these men's hearts.

Matt seemed very interested & thankful for the conversation. He was wearing a large cross on a chain about his neck, and had a large cross tattoo on his right forearm, but I didn't get a sense that he is born again. We pray that he will be.

Ryan was an interesting fellow. He walked with us down the sidewalk as I explained the gospel. He's a felon, without work, and therefore is drawn to illegal methods to make money. We stopped at a street corner while Mary went into a Pharmacy, and I encouraged Ryan to flee from the wrath of a Holy God to the one and only Savior of sinners. He kept saying, " I know...I know...", but something has its hooks in him and is preventing him from running to Christ. I asked if he had a Bible at home, and he said, "Of course!" So we parted, and lifted both men up in prayer to God. Please do the same, and may we meet them again in Heaven some day.

That was yesterday. Today I made a run to Adams Hardware store with my daughter Emily and nephew Ian, for fishing licenses and some gear. Raoul helped us with the fishing lisences, and he got our thanks and an "Are You A Good Person?" tract. The lady at the checkout (I am terrible with names, and have forgotten her's) got a "CONTRADICT" tract, and listened while I explained the message on this one (how different religions have different beliefs about God, man, Heaven, Hell, etc., and that they are different one from another; they actually contradict one another, so they cannot all be true). There were no other customers in line, so we chatted about the outrageous claims made by Jesus Christ, like he being the only way to the Father (John 14:6), or that he had power on earth to forgive sin thereby proving he is God (Matthew 9:6; Mark 2:10; Luke 5:24). Like the Temple guards said so well, "Never man spake like this man." (John 7:46) I told her that Hell is a real place where real people go, and that God's will is that no one go there (2 Peter 3:9). I had just paid my bill, so I shared with her how that Jesus has done all the work necessary to purchase our pardon, and said his last words were, "It is finished" or in the Greek, "Tetelestai" meaning "Paid In Full." So because of this fact, we must repent/beleive on Jsus and be born-again and receive the gift of eternal life.

We stopped at Country Lakes General Store for some bait, and Emily got ice cream. While waiting, I got a chance to speak with Amber, the young lady serving ice cream. This is her last day working there, as she is off to college at Ferris State University. Funny how things work out. I happen in on our once-a-year trip to Michigan to this store in the middle of nowhere, and our paths cross. Next day she's outta there. So she took the "Good Person?" tract I offered her, but we had to wait a bit longer for something Ian was getting, so I went out to the car and grabbed a "COEXIST" tract and an "Evolution vs. God" DVD for her, and handed it to her through the walk-up window. She listened as I explained the DVD, and seemed sincerely interested;I hope she really looks into these things and considers her eternal soul.

So join us in prayer for these ones mentioned here, and take advantage of the privilege we have here in the USA to share our faith and reach out to the precious souls around us with the only gospel there is or that saves: the gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16). It's a heckuva way to enjoy your vacation, I'm telling you!

We love you in Jesus Christ.
Paul

4,000

Got out to the M'town Thursday Farmers Market this afternoon. Had a good conversation with Juliet, a woman from the Philippines now living in Marshalltown. She has a ministry to orphans and the poor back in the Philippines. We met several months ago when I was out with a cross in front of Wal-Mart. She told me she was an ordained minister, so we had a lot of discussion on the prohibition in the scriptures about a woman elder, pastor or bishop (1 Tim 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Timothy 2: 9-15; Romans 16:1-5; etc).

My understanding is that; outside of the gathering together of the church, women should witness, even preach the gospel, and minister in word & deed the gospel, the love & mercy of the Lord Jesus. But when the church gathers, a woman must not preach or teach, or be in authority over the church. I am constrained by the clear revelation of the scriptures, and this is very clear. Sure, many churches in the USA ignore this teaching, but I love the Lord and his word, and I will not violate it or encourage others to do so. Juliet is Pentecostal, and I expressed my concern for her sake because of the excess of focus on "spiritual gifts", things attributed to the Holy Spirit that range from questionable to outright profane and bizarre! Well, we had a good Bible discussion: I listened to her, and she listened to me, all respectfully snd with Christian charity, and I am glad she stopped by.

So, whats this got to do with "4,000"?
Nothing.
It's just that some time earlier today, we passed the 4,000 visitor mark on this website. Maybe that's not a lot of traffic on a regular website, but we don't exist to sell stuff or elevate ourselves; we exist only to glorify God, and to edify the body of Christ. We (apparently) are getting visitors from China, France, Australia, Russia, Germany, The Netherlands, Canada, Serbia, Switzerland, Ukraine, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Denmark, Belgium, Italy, and the UK. Wow - that's cool! Are these real people, or just software program "robots" surfing internet sites looking to place advertising? Well, if YOU visit us, I hope we can encourage, bless, challenge, and exhort you to really KNOW the Lord - to be born again into the family of God; or for our brethren in Christ, to enjoy his fellowship and to reach out to the lost with the hope of the gospel.

Do us a favor, and leave a comment if you can. Got a question? Let's hear it. Got a testimony to share? Lets hear that, too.
We love you in Jesus Christ.
Paul

Conversation with Joseph

I made it down to the Farmers Market this morning. Beautiful sunny day. I set up the box on the northeast corner of Court Ave and 4th. While I was speaking, a man came up and listened intently. After some time, he cane up to ask a question.

His name was Joseph, a Jewish man from St. Louis,  Missouri. He said, "I'm Jewish."
What followed was a really neat experience for me.

FINALLY!!! Click HERE for the link to that discussion with Joseph. Go to the upper right side of the screen and hit the PLAY arrow to start it. I was going through some of the tracts we hand out, and was finishing up with the Titanic collectible postcard tract. Joseph shows up at the 7:29 mark on the audio.

The photo below is a 360-degree panoramic view from the top of my soapbox. (Click on the photo and you can view it bigger.) The crowd is thinning out because the Market was just about to close (closes at 12 Noon). It was packed at 10 AM when I got there, and that was a pleasant surprise...this day was also the first weekend of the Iowa State Fair, and I expected attendance at the FM to be down. If you ever take a panoramic photo, turn the camera in the opposite direction of the traffic. I did not, and that is why you see some odd things in this shot. (Example: the lady in the bright blue shirt appears once on the far left, and three times toward the right side.  Also, see anything strange about the couple walking away from the camera in the middle of the photo? Whoa!)

A Poem on Reading the Bible

Here's a poem that Dave Hunt often quoted

(taken from the Berean Call Facebook page):

Dave Hunt
1926 - 2013

 Yes, I thought I knew my Bible,
Reading piecemeal hit or miss.
Now a bit of Psalms and Proverbs,
... Now a verse in Genesis.
Certain chapters of Isaiah,
Certain Psalms, the twenty-third,
Twelfth of Romans, first of Proverbs,
Yes, I thought I knew the Word.

But I found that thorough reading
Was a different thing to do
And the way was unfamiliar
When I read my Bible through.

You who like to “play” at Bible,
Dip and dabble here and there,
Just before you kneel a-weary
And yawn through a hurried prayer.
You who treat the crown of writings
Like you treat no other book,
Just a paragraph disjointed,
Just a crude impatient look.
Try a worthier procedure,
Try a broad and steady view.

You will bow in very wonder
When you read the Bible through.
And through and through…

(Author unknown)

 

Evolution vs. God Released on YouTube

Living Waters has released "Evolution vs. God" on YouTube this morning. Check it out. I ordered 50 copies of the DVD (from The Berean Call - $2.00 each if you order 10 or more)., and look forward to giving these out to believers, atheists, and agnostics. Will you help get this important message out?

2013 TBC Conference - Live Streaming Info

Hey, our brothers over at The Berean Call are hosting their annual conference out in Bend, Oregon this August 23-24. It's free, but you do need to register. Better yet, for those of us who can't make it, they are going to streaming the conference live! I'm planning on logging in. Here's a promo video, and I've copied the link for the live streaming information below the video.
Paul

 

http://www.thebereancall.org/content/streaming-2013-conference

Manti, Utah Mormon Outreach

For the past few years I have been asked to take part in the Utah Outreach to Mormons in Manti, Utah during the Manti Mormon Miracle Pageant.  Finally through God’s will and answered prayer  I along with a team of 51 people from 7 different fellowships, First Family Church of Ankeny, IA being the majority,  was able to go between June 17 -24.  I was so blessed to be a part of this endeavor and would gladly go again…even possibly for both weeks.  

There was so much packed into the week that I spent that it seemed like I was gone for a month.  The travel was just as long as going back home to visit my parents in NJ.  Thankfully we had power outlets on the bus so we can charge cell phones, laptops and other things to help pass the time.

We continuously had training in addition to the 8 weeks we had previous to the trip.  From the moment we got on the bus we watched training videos and documentaries on Mormonism on the big screens, and listening to audio on our cell phones.  Each day we also had training at Ephraim Church of the Bible in Ephraim, UT which was 6 miles from Manti Temple.   HERE is one such lesson.  There we were able to buy tracts, DVD’s, and Mormon material to share Christ and hopefully open the eyes of the blind of the Mormon indigenous.  It was awesome how much training and materials the church provided.  And I cannot forget the great worship and prayer we had while we were there.  You can listen and watch some of it HERE. 

Many prayers were answered during the time we were there.  One of which was getting the tents set up in Christian Ghetto (our park camping spot) with good weather and quickly.  We had not a cloud in the sky and got all 11 tents up in less than an hour.  Logistics throughout the trip went very smoothly from the travel going out to the travel coming back. The only problems that we had were several people getting sick, which is a normal occurrence due to the high altitudes of Utah. 

During our trip we took a tour of Salt Lake City and traveled around a bit to see the history of Mormonism straight from the source.  It gave me a whole new outlook on Mormonism than ever before.  I thought it was deceptive before, but this trip confirmed it. 

We took a walk through the Church Museum where they showed mostly the exodus out of Missouri to Salt Lake City.  The one thing that really got me thinking was Joseph Smith’s bible and some of the original transcripts of the Book of Mormon which they called “ancient writings”.  Last time I checked, Civil War era was not considered “ancient”.  But it was interesting that his bible was all scratched out and edited to fit his doctrine.     

Next we took a walk over to Temple Square and saw a film in the Joseph Smith building called, Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration.  It was probably the most deceptive thing of the whole trip in which right in the beginning it tells you that it's all true, when it wasn't.  It depicted Joseph Smith as a God fearing, family man who loves the Lord.  This couldn’t have been further from the truth.  Joseph Smith dabbled in the occult with his peep-stones, he had 33 other wives (some of which were under aged or married, which he had the nerve to say God ordained it.  They never showed the translation process of the Book of Mormon, nor do you see the gold plates at all.  So much was left out but they managed to add that he healed the sick and raised the dead (which never happened).  We also went to the Temple Square Visitors Center which I called the “Grand Propaganda Building”. This housed TV’s so you can watch LDS commercials, and get a look at the SLC Temple dollhouse which shows what it looks like inside without being there, and equipped with missionaries to answer any questions (which I had a few myself).  We were able to witness with a few LDS missionaries practicing to go out on mission and it was interesting to see their reaction to some of our questions.  It was great practice to go on the streets of Manti. 

Witnessing on the streets of Manti was challenging, but also in a way was normal for me.  It’s always a challenge to engage someone in conversation so you have to be pretty creative when it comes to starting a conversation.  Tracts are a good way of doing that.  I can’t go into detail with every conversation, but the ones that stick out in my mind were the really good ones. 

My first encounter was in the food court with a teenage girl and her two younger brothers.  I used a display called, “Heavenly Father’s Plan of Salvation” where I got it from Deseret Books in Temple Square, SLC and gave it to them and asked them if that was truly what their church teaches.  They said it did.  But then I asked them, “What was missing”?  That’s when they really opened up and after 5 minutes and giving up, I said, “Jesus.  You belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and according to this document from your church, Jesus…is NOT a part of Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation.”  So I asked another question, “So according to this document, who saves who?” which one of the boys said it clearly, “we save ourselves.”  That’s when their phones went off the hook and their parents were calling to tell us to leave the conversation.  The devil hates it when we share our faith.  

 

It was cool to watch the eyes of the blind wake up and realize what they are doing, living, and experience is wrong.  There was one kid, Wyatt, who was really confused at what Rob Sivulka was open-air preaching.  And when confronting Wyatt in a way using the 10 Commandments to awaken his conscience, it was amazing to see how he couldn’t understand what I was talking about then in the following 15 minutes totally understanding and joyful of what I was showing him through God’s Word.  It was pretty mindblowing especially when he went away with a New Testament hopping and jumping so full of joy and turning around seeing that you had a group of Christians who witnessed the whole thing saying that a miracle just happened.  It was totally cool. 

There were a lot of “firsts times” while we were there.  It was the first time:

·         during the pageant that every Christian had at least one witnessing encounter.

·         there were not enough actors to perform just one part in the pageant and they had to double or even triple up on parts.  There has been a significant decline in members every year.  This has been because of the efforts of us Christians taking time and going to Manti to share our faith, and also the internet in which questions are being asked...and answered. 

·         the tours at Temple Square were shut down.  This was due to too many Christians taking tours and asking questions. 

In short it was an amazing trip.  If you have a heart for the Mormon people, and those trapped in Mormonism and you desire to see those saved with the true gospel, I highly recommend going to this event.