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!!!
Friday, November 22, 2013
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Another Unexpected Blessing
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| Our new brother in Christ Dr. Udayakumar |
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.
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
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
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?
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.
What does it mean to do good? I can think of alot of things, but scripture says:
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.
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.
Monday, November 4, 2013
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.
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.
Saturday, November 2, 2013
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)
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)
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