Leaders Must Be Readers....

It's a beautiful Saturday here in Central Iowa, and I usually try to get out and share the gospel with my friends, neighbors, and complete strangers on a day like this. But, not today.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I struggle with a lung illness that really knocks me down once or twice a year, and that is certainly the case today! Actually, I've been struggling all week, and have missed some work because of it.

So, I guess the Lord is wanting me to rest my body, meditate on His word, be full of thanks for all the He has done, is doing and will do in my life. I know He's got a new body waiting for me - a glorious eternal home for my soul that will never get sick, run down, or wear out.

But even in rest, we can redeem the time (Ephesians 5:16, Colossians 4:5). An evangelist once wrote,
"Leaders must be readers." 

And frankly, I have been lazy lately. Not with the Bible; I read through the Psalms & New Testament twice in a year, and the Old Testament once. But I've been lazy in reading other edifying books that can help me grow in Christ and be more useful in His service.

Well, no excuses...Mary got me Dave Hunt's "Judgment Day!" for my birthday, and Mark Cahill sent me his latest book, "Reunion" as a gift a while back. And while the Bible comes first, I get the chance to read a couple of good, godly other books now, and trust God will teach me some good truths through these brothers.

Quick question: Where are you leading people?

We all influence other people in this life: friends, family members, neighbors, kids at school, and people we pass on the street or in the store. Are you leading them closer to Heaven by your words & actions? To do that, you have to be saved yourself. If that's true, are you pointing people to the only One who can save them from Hell? That's what I want to do, and I want to encourage you to this end as well.

For those of you brothers and sisters who are not physically unable to be about the Father's business, please reach out to someone with the gospel for me today, will you? I'll be praying for you to boldly share the truth in this dark, dying world, and that many will be turned to our mighty Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

And, prayer for my recovery, strength, health, etc., are greatly appreciated. Paul.

A Word for Our Ukrainian Website Friends....

We get a lot of Ukrainian "referring  URL's" or "referring sites" hitting our Iowa Seed Sowers website that are basically pornographic in nature, and apparently there is no way to block these sites from pinging us. So, since these poor souls are being manipulated and used by the enemy of our souls to snare so many, many people through their filth, I thought I would respond as Jesus did, with scripture. So for any Ukrainian Website friends who might be reading, this one's for you!

May your eyes be opened to see your great need of deliverance from sin, death, and Hell, and may you flee to the Lord Jesus Christ who alone is that Deliverer!

(Matthew 5:27-30)

Від Матвія 5 Ukrainian Bible (UKR)

27 Ви чули, що сказано: Не чини перелюбу.
28 А Я вам кажу, що кожен, хто на жінку подивиться із пожадливістю, той уже вчинив із нею перелюб у серці своїм.
29 Коли праве око твоє спокушає тебе, його вибери, і кинь від себе: бо краще тобі, щоб загинув один із твоїх членів, аніж до геєнни все тіло твоє було вкинене.
30 І як правиця твоя спокушає тебе, відітни її й кинь від себе: бо краще тобі, щоб загинув один із твоїх членів, аніж до геєнни все тіло твоє було вкинене.

Come Witnessing With Me - On My Birthday!

September 4th, 2014.

God has blessed me with 52 years on this beautiful, crazy planet. It was a very hot & humid day in Marshalltown, Iowa, and I wasn't sure if too many people would be out on my way home from work. I usually bypass the downtown area & all the stop signs, but today I intentionally drove that way, to stop and pass out some tracts, and see if I could talk to a few people about Jesus Christ.

So, come along witnessing with me (through this audio recording), up & down Main Street here in Marshalltown. Click the link to listen HERE.

You'll hear 3 interesting conversations with Terry, Rick, and Josuina - at least I found them interesting. Forgive me for the couple of spots where the wind noise cut in pretty loud. Maybe in the future, I can use a better microphone or something. Let me know what you think.

I hope this message is an encouragement to you:

• If you are a born-again Christian, may you be bold in sharing Jesus Christ with everyone around you.
• If not, may you turn to the one-and-only Savior of sinners, and be washed clean of all your sin, before you step into eternity!

Witnessing for our Lord was a great birthday present to me from God. And when I got home, my wife Mary made sure I knew how much she loves me by making it a very special day. Maranatha!

My First Gideon Bible Distribution - UNI

About two years after I became a Christian back in 2003 we had two members of Gideons International come visit our church.  After listening to the testamonies of these men, and what the organization stood for, I knew that I watned to be a member of this proffesional men's association.  After applying several times, and then being denied several times, I gave up hope that my dream would happen, and accepted the fact that I would never be a member.  Years later a friend of mine joined the organization and begged me to go to a few meetings.  Carefully I went not to get my hopes up.  Not getting our hopes up I did fill out another application.  Long story short, I was chosen, became a member, and received my emblem in July, 2014.  The fire was lit again, and was grateful to be a part of this proffesional men's organization boldly going into the world to proclaim the gospel and distributing God's word throughout the world.   

Wednesday was my first Gideon Bible distribution and what better way to start would be at the University of Northern Iowa.  I was supprised to know that I was the only one to represent Des Moines East Camp, and I was welcomed by impressed men that I would drive two hours to lend a hand.  We all met at the Hy-Vee to have breakfast, fellowship, and get our assignments.  Since help was short, each of us had to take our own postions alone. 

Not realizing where I would be I was placed at one of the main gates on the corner of College and University.  I had a lot of traffic, but I was only able to give out 47 Gideon New Testaments out of 200 available.  The students were genuinely nice, some very grateful, some cautious, and some stand-offish.  I was able to have a conversation with a Muslim girl.  She was very grateful to receive the testament, and I was able to carry on a conversation before she had to go to class.  Before she left I gave her a tract from Living Waters called, "Are You Good Enough To Go To Heaven?" and she said she was going to read them both.  In the end, we gave out 3,159 Testaments total with 28 Gideons and 2 Auxillary members.  One man gave out 500 by himself, and on average we gave 100 per man.  Next week we hit University of Iowa, then the following week is Iowa State University.  Please be in prayer that we have enough laborers to harvest these fields and that many come to the Lord by the Testaments given.