Today is Sunday, December 31st. We normally meet with the brethren at Solid Rock Bible Church this morning, but due to the extreme cold temperatures and snow (see the screen shot from my weather app taken this morning), our pastor sent out word yesterday that we would cancel the meeting today. Many of the church live out in the country, and here in Iowa that means gravel roads, which can get icy and drifted over. A lot of us drive some distance to get to the church meeting, so Adam decided on caution and asked everyone to stay home, warm, and safe.
I posted the Bible reading plan I use here on the Iowa Seed Sowers website in one of the tabs in the header, as a downloadable file for anyone interested in using it.
Today takes me through the end of the Old Testament for the year, Malachi 1-4, through the end of the book of Psalms for the second time this year, Psalm 150, and through the New Testament for the second time this year, Revelation 22.
Malachi 4
I'm not suggesting this is some great accomplishment: it's really not that much time in the word to follow this plan, and plenty of people spend more time and go through more scripture in a year than this. But it is a way to stay in the word - to stay disciplined like anything else that's important - and as I reflect back on 2017 I'm thankful for the privilege to have, read, and meditate on God's word. Some don't have it, and long for it.
Mary & I got to spend some time by the fire last night, praying for all the witnessing opportunities we had in 2017, and that people might come to understand the gospel and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ through it. We prayed for people, lost and saved, and also for what the Lord would bring for us in 2018. It reminds me that we are all living on borrowed time: the prophet Daniel tells me that not only Belshazzars' breath, but mine as well, are in God's hand (Daniel 5:23), and God can take it away any time He sees fit.
Revelation 22
I hope you, too, can look back on 2017 and thank the Lord for the treasure of His word, and maybe for witnessing encounters and evangelism outreach where you live. And in 2018, let's provoke one another - challenge one another - to even more love and good works, the ones we are commanded to walk in as born-again followers of the Lord Jesus (Hebrews 10:24, Titus 2:14, Ephesians 2:10), filled with love & humility, and by God's amazing grace.
I heard a well known evangelism teacher in a Q & A session reply to a comment someone gave him for why we don't go out of our way to witness to strangers. The reason was that we feel like we are interrupting this person's life when we try to engage in a conversation with them
.
His response, I thought, was excellent. It went something like this:
"Okay, you are interrupting this person. But let me tell you, Satan throws interruptions into our lives all the time. We get sexually explicit junk email, we get interrupted by the trashy magazine covers in the supermarket checkout lanes, songs on the radio, billboards, and banner advertisements on our computer websites.
Those interruptions are for evil. I just want to make sure my interruption is a good interruption - that it is an interruption for God."
You know, that rings really true with me. I fight through that line of reasoning in my mind when I am out purposely trying to reach my neighbors & fellow townsfolk with the hope of the gospel. And, that thought about Satan's interruptions - that is exactly right! It happens all the time, and in places and ways that would be unbelievable, but for the facts we are warned about in the Holy Bible:
2 Corinthians 2:11
Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
Ephesians 6:11-12
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Seems like Satan's interruptions are everywhere!
I'm glad that through the grace of God, I had many "interruptions" in my life that I can see were from God and for God, when I look back over the years. I could give you a list of them, especially in the 10 year period from the time I rejected the concept of God & religion in my early 20's till the day I came to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And you know what? I'm thankful for that kind of interruption.
And that's the kind of interruption the Lord has asked us to be living for, according to Acts 1:8.
"They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at thy tokens: thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice."
Downtown Marshalltown, Iowa looking west down main street, around 5:00 PM, December 18, 2017
Beautiful sunsets, beautiful sun rises...this verse comes to my mind when I see these around me. Especially those more unique to later fall & winter in the Midwest: soft pinks and shades of baby blue. God is so beyond my ability to comprehend, yet he has revealed some of who he is in the beauty of his creation, though fallen now and far from what it was in the beginning when God declared all things "very good." (Genesis 1:31)
This last week of work before our Christmas and New Years holidays, I stopped downtown to give out gospel tracts, parking my car here. I snapped this photo before heading home. If you got one our our Iowa Seed Sowers tracts, we hope you come to know the God that created all this beautiful, miraculous universe all around you. You can, you know...not through religion, but through Jesus Christ & faith in him. Someone said, "The Son of God became the Son of Man, so that son's of men may become son's of God." We pray for everyone who took some gospel literature, that this will become true for you. John 17:3)
Living Waters has produced a short movie on depression & suicide, called "Exit: The Appeal of Suicide." I've embedded the movie on the side bar to the right. Please take the time to watch this. If you are struggling with depression & suicidal thoughts, let me tell you:
THERE IS HELP!
YOU ARE NOT AN ACCIDENT.
GODDID NOT MAKE A MISTAKE WHEN HE CREATED YOU, AND YOU ARE NOT LOST FROM HIS SIGHT.
YOU ARE LOVED.
YOU ARE HERE FOR A PURPOSE:
TO KNOW YOUR CREATOR & TO LIVE IN A FAMILY RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM AS HIS CHILD-FOREVER!
JESUS CHRIST CAME INTO THIS WORLD
TO SET YOU FREE!
If you have friends or family members struggling with this, would you please share this with them? And pray that God would use this movie to help those who are overcome by depression & suicidal thoughts or actions, that they may come to know Him as Abba Father, through faith in Jesus Christ.
I was in Wal-Mart with Mary the other day, picking up a birthday present for our son. Mary needed to stop off somewhere, so I went over housewares/furniture section to wait for her. I found some bookshelf units we were thinking of buying, and I was browsing around at other stuff when I noticed it: someone had left a gospel tract on the shelf. No way!
I picked it up to check it out: not from The Watchtower, not from the Mormons, not some other cult. Just a simple Christian gospel tract with the gospel of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. COOL!
I was excited. Why? Because some brother or sister in the Lord was doing something to reach the lost in my community for Jesus Christ! Think that's not a big deal? Trust me, it's huge. Most Christians do not regularly engage in evangelism with strangers; it's something like 2% or less in the professing church who regularly share their faith with strangers.
Leaving a gospel tract in a place like Wal-Mart is a good stepping stone to handing a tract to a stranger, which leads to actually talking to a stranger about Jesus Christ and the gospel message they desperately need. I drop tracts in various places all the time: ATM machines, the credit card slot in gas pumps and Red Box machines, on parked cars while out walking around. If you think its silly, what did you do today to reach these men and women who do not know Jesus Christ?
Now the location where I found this tract was a little obscured - back behind some items on an end cap. So, I stuck it on an island display, hanging out into the main aisle where it could not be missed.
God bless the person who left that, and may God get that into the hands of someone who needs it. Thank you for your boldness. If nothing else, unknown brother or sister in the Lord, you got me fired up!
"And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:"
We had a good group come together for our annual gospel outreach at the 2017 Oktemberfest celebration here in Marshalltown, Iowa. We gathered at our home on Friday, planning to head downtown around 6 PM. Mary had everything ready, including tracts for the team to take with them.
I took my light-up "JESUS SAVES" witnessing cross and a backpack full of tracts & some Bibles, and took my usual spot on the northwest corner of the Courthouse square, on the corner of Main Street and Center Street. I had several good gospel conversations, passed out a lot of tracts, and got thoroughly smoked out by the Bubba's Barbecue stand (the wind and his smoker were just right that night, and I was downstream of the smoke most of the night).
We headed back to our house around 9:15, and Mary had a great meal ready for us. We all sat around and ate, and shared about our experiences downtown. For some of the younger folks, this was their first time going out and sharing gospel tracts and talking to complete strangers about Jesus Christ. It's a joy to be part of their stepping out in boldness to reach the lost in our community. I pray that other Christians were encouraged to get out of their comfort zones and reach out to those around them as well, and we pray for everyone that took a tract, or that we spoke with, would seriously think about the gospel message and their eternal destiny, and we hope they reach out by faith to Jesus Christ and are saved.
In the aftermath of the October 1st attack on concert-goers in Las Vegas, Nevada, I read about how people in or around the concert venue put their safety and their lives at risk to protect not only loved ones, but also complete strangers, shielding them from the rain of bullets coming from Stephen Paddock, helping them escape from the field of fire, aiding the injured or getting them to the hospital. This puts me in mind of an accident I saw reported on the internet from a few years back.
On September 15, 2011, an accident occurred near the campus of Utah State University in Logan, Utah. Brandon Wright, a 21 year old college student, slammed his motorcycle into the front end of a BMW, and his motorcycle burst into flames. The accident was caught on video by a nearby film crew.
It is a compelling video:
The first video I saw of this had no sound. As it begins, all you can see is the damaged BMW and the motorcycle totally engulfed in fire and furiously spewing flames. You can't see anyone in the vehicle, or the motorcyclist Wright. Smoke is beginning to come up from under vehicle's hood as the fire spreads.
A man enters the picture: he looks like a construction worker. He crouches down, looking, trying to decide what to do. A few more people approach the vehicle, and that first man steps over to the car and tries to lift or push it, with no effect. A young lady steps into the picture, and she gets down on the pavement, looking under the vehicle, but you can't see what she's looking for or looking at. More people show up, and now several try to push it sideways, but it's too heavy.
You see the young woman drop down to the pavement again, looking, and she gets up and points towards the front end, and you realize there is someone trapped under there. Now more people swarm to the side of the vehicle, and they lift it up on two wheels, and a man reaches down and drags out the body of Brandon Wright like a rag doll, and he is left laying there on the pavement, spread eagle, motionless. He looks dead. Everyone backs away. I was stunned at what I just watched.
Remarkably, Brandon Wright survived the crash, suffering 2 broken legs, a broken pelvis, some burns and smoke inhalation, and some road rash. He was so grateful to those bystanders who rescued him, that he asked for a press conference from the hospital:
I also saw an interview of that first man who approached the vehicle. He witnessed the accident and apparently knew Wright was under the engine. He said, "I was sure he (Wright) was dead. But I thought about my own son, and I wouldn't want him left there to burn." Let that sink in.
Brandon said during the press conference:
"That car could have blown up at any time. How brave they are is crazy."
"I should have died several times, really."
"They're definitely heroes."
"I am forever in debt to them."
The Las Vegas tragedy and the way people responded brought this story back to mind, and like the heroes of Las Vegas, I say that the rescue of Brandon Wright was:
An act of mercy
An act of love
An heroic sacrifice, and
The rescuers gave of themselves
In many ways the incident parallels to the message of the gospel, and what God did for us. I spoke about this recently down at the Des Moines Farmers Market, and you can listen to the audio of that message by clicking HERE.
Brandon Wright found himself in a perilous spot, under the engine of that BMW that was beginning to burn: injured, passing in and out of consciousness, and helpless to get himself out. He was in desperate need of rescuers, and if those bystanders stood around with their cell phones out, shooting video of the accident (as we sadly see too frequently today) instead of taking quick action, he would have been, literally, toast.
You and I find ourselves in a much more perilous spot: by turning away from the light that God has given us and choosing to live and act contrary to that light - by choosing to sin against God - we have put ourselves under the judgment and wrath of a Holy God (Romans 1:18-20). And we are more helpless than Wright was; there is nothing we can do on our own to extricate ourselves from this terrible spot, and if left without rescue, we will suffer the judgment of God, and spend eternity in the hopeless misery of Hell. Religion won't rescue us, or good works, or trying our best, or being sincere in our beliefs. God's standard of righteousness is perfection; it is so high, that none of us can attain that by our own efforts. The 10 Commandments show us we are all guilty, our conscience accuses us, and if left in this condition, we perish.
Brandon Wright needed someone to rescue him, and we need a perfect Someone to rescue us from the consequences of our sin. God promised in the book of Genesis, the book of beginnings, when man turned his back on God (Genesis 3:6-25 the seed of the woman), that He would send a "Rescuer" - a Savior. God makes this promise in Genesis, and then the entire Old Testament is how God controlled history to bring this Savior to us, Jesus of Nazareth, born of the virgin Mary, born in Bethlehem, a descendant of Abraham, a descendant of King David, just as all the prophets had foretold.
The message of the gospel is that Jesus lived a perfect life, and then laid down his life on that cross as a substitute - a perfect substitute - a Rescuer - to bear the judgement of God we deserve, so that God could offer us mercy and forgiveness. So God could give us grace.
1. An Act of Mercy
Ephesians 2:4-5 "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ...,"
Titus 3:5 "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;"
2. An Act of Love
Revelation 1:5"Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,...."
Romans 5:8 "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
John 15:13 "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
3. An Heroic Sacrifice
1 Peter 3:18 "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:"
Hebrews 9:26 "....but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself."
Hebrews 9:28 "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation."
Hebrews 12:2 "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."
4. God Gave of Himself
John 3:16-18 "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. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
Jesus has paid the price for our salvation - our "rescue" - in full on the cross. And you may access this rescue, if you want it, friend. The Bible says that if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be saved (Acts 16:31). There are not many ways to be rescued, for Jesus is the only one who can do it (Acts 4:12). If you haven't trusted Jesus Christ for eternal life, will you do it now?
If you're like me, if you've turned to God and put your faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, I have a question for us: what should our attitude be toward our Rescuer? Brandon Wright's response to his rescuers was totally reasonable in light of what they did for him, wasn't it? Jesus Christ has done something infinitely greater for us.
General
Douglas MacArthur warned in a speech to the Salvation Army, Dec. 12, 1951,
stating:
“History fails to record a single precedent in which nations
subject to moral decay have not passed into political and economic decline.
There has been either a spiritual awakening to overcome the moral lapse, or a
progressive deterioration leading to ultimate national disaster.”
Oh how we need a spiritual awakening in America. Take the gospel to this lost, dying nation while you may.
Just sharing a simple worship song from the 70's that ministered to my spirit this week. I grew up in the Roman Catholic church, so while in the mid-70's I may have gone to the "guitar mass", I never heard this song until this past Friday.
Brothers & Sisters in Jesus Christ: may this song minister to you, too, and may God's Holy Spirit refresh you & strengthen you in a real way today. Keep on living for your King; Heaven is just ahead!
Galatians 6:9
And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
You know a key activity of Iowa Seed Sowers is giving away Bibles. Its God's word that people need to hear. A preacher recently said that the diet of the church needs to be the word of God, but so much of what is being shared in the church today is man's wisdom and pop-psychology.
I was taught that 3 things are going on when we share the gospel with the lost, and of the 3 things going on, we have 1 job to do. Our job is to deliver the truth from the scriptures, speaking the truth in love. The Holy Spirit's job is to use the word of God to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16: 7-11). He's very good at His job, by the way!. The the lost person's job then is to respond by belief or by unbelief, one of the two. So, giving away Bibles is a great way to do our job!
Romans 10:17
"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
Sometimes people ask me about how to read the Bible. That's not always an easy answer, because people come from different backgrounds, have different levels of spiritual maturity or experience with the Bible. I highly recommend a chronological approach to Bible reading, because it gives the "big picture" of God's work through history, and makes the Bible make more sense. That's why we offer the "Creation to Christ" Bible study (in the cross-column header above). And I firmly believe that verse-by-verse teaching through the word of God is critical to build healthy Christians and healthy churches. But I also believe we should be diligent to personally read God's word daily, letting the Holy Spirit teach us day-by-day so we can grow in Christ and discern truth from error.
I don't know about you, but I need to plan, or the busy-ness of the day or my own laziness will sap all my time. We plan for what time we have to be at work, when we need to be home for supper, etc. A disciple of Jesus Christ needs to discipline himself to do the needful things, and reading the Bible daily is one of those things.
So I put a copy of the Bible Reading Plan I use up in the cross-column header (above), if you'd like to use it for your daily reading. It will take you through the Old Testament once in a year, and through the New Testament and Psalms twice. In the picture above (left), you can see a copy of this plan that I used from 2012-2016. I couldn't figure out how to mark it up any more and keep reusing it, so I started a new copy in 2017.
To use it, click on the header above and download the file. Print it out using the "1-Sided to 2-Sided" format on a printer or a copying machine, and then you can fold it up and paperclip it to the inside of your Bible, like I do. Its pretty handy, and works very well for me. There are a ton of other Bible Reading plans you can find on the internet. I just thought I'd share this one, and I hope it's an encouragement to you. Maranatha!
We were able to get downtown in Marshalltown today around 12 Noon, for our annual "Mission Good Friday", where we read out in public the Bible account of the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to pass out gospel tracts and have some conversations with our neighbors.
Rain was predicted, and it started to drizzle just after we got set up. But the Lord gave us a break in the rain, and I read Matthew chapters 26-28 in English, and just as I was getting finished, David and Anna Leigh Heckart showed up, and David read the scriptures in Spanish. Our young friend Aquila also joined us, and he walked down the block by the China Buffet, and gave out a lot of gospel tracts.
I used a small chalkboard on magnets to write out what we were doing out on the corner of Main Street & Center Street
Here we are on the street corner, in front of Zamora's Fresh Market in Marshalltown (Paul, David & Anna Leigh, and Mary)
David reading Matthew 26-28 in Spanish
A man named John stopped and listened while he was waiting for a court appearance across the street, and he shared that he was moved to tears as he heard again of the heroic love of the Lord Jesus, demonstrated by his willingness to do the Father's will, and go to the cross to bear our sins, so that we could have our sins washed away, and be given the gift of righteousness by God, and receive the gift of eternal life simply by trusting in the Lord Jesus. And to that I say Amen - I agree whole heartedly.
We pray that God would use us to encourage other believers, and to speak into the lives of those who have not trusted yet in Jesus Christ. It is our hope that they'll think about God's word, think about who Jesus is, and think of their own eternity. God wants all men to be saved, and has provided a mighty Savior who has finished the work of our salvation 2000 years ago. So make sure you go and tell as many people as possible about our Savior Jesus Christ, and the good news of the gospel. Let's take advantage of every opportunity to obey our Lord to go & to tell them:
Matthew 28:18-20
"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."
Pastor Umar Mulinde was raised Muslim and trained to be a Da'i, which is an Islamic missionary that propagates Islam. Instead, he became a Christian pastor. In this Tel Aviv hospital interview, he recounts how he was burned with acid at the hands of Muslim persecutors. His scars and pain will endure, but his faith is greater than these. Nothing the world can throw at him or us will quench our love for Jesus.
Please watch Pastor Umar Mulinde tell his story in this short video:
Jesus says this to His disciples:
If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin. John 15:18-22 Stay strong in the Lord, brothers and sisters, and boldly share the glad tidings of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the one-and-only Savior of sinners, and the one true God of the Bible, of whom to know is eternal life (John 17:3)
If your ministry is primarily out-of-doors, then January in the Midwest USA can be challenging. Now I don't let the winter weather get in the way of our outreach here in Iowa: we do plenty of "ice fishing", and just like the secular version, you just have to prepare for the cold (Carhartt insulated overalls & Hot Hands hand warmers, for example). Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve are excellent times to point people to Jesus Christ, and I always try to get out on the street corner (in addition to getting out the decorated gospel tracts and books we make for this time of year.)
But there are days in January & February when its just better to stay indoors. This weekend was like that. Still, you can put these days to good use. Its a perfect time to work on new witnessing tools, or do a little needed maintenance on existing ones. My witnessing crosses get little wear and tear over the year. Here's part of my "Jesus Paid It All" cross (with "Are You Ready?" on the back side). I wipe them down with alcohol first, and then go over everything with a new coat of paint. I apply linseed oil and let them dry for a few days, and then wipe off the excess, and they are ready for another year.
If you're ever interested in how I make these witnessing tools, just drop me a line. And, if you are into woodworking and have the time & equipment to help, please give me a call! I lost my local lumberyard (Logs To Lumber) who used to cut, plane & notch the cross members to my specifications. I need to find a another resource for this so I can make new witnessing crosses.
(29) And Levi made him a
great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of
others that sat down with them.
(30) But their scribes and
Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with
publicans and sinners?
(31) And Jesus answering
said unto them, They that are whole need not a
physician; but they that are sick.
(32) I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Why did the Lord Jesus
call publicans and sinners, and eat with them?
It was true – that’s what
he did. And the explanation is surely simple: he was a great physician. You
don’t go around healing well people. He was healing the sickness of sin, and he
came to minister to them.
The gospel is really for
those who recognize their need. There are some people today that are too
good to be saved…did you know that? That is, they think they are.
I want to speak very
frankly: If you recognize that you have a need, then the gospel is for you;
Christ can save you, and he will save you!
If you are
self-sufficient, you recognize no need, may I say to you:
just go on your
self-chosen pathway. It will lead to destruction.
The message (of the gospel)
is not for you. I’m very sorry; I wish I had a message for you, but I don’t
have a message for folks like that.
Excerpt I made from the audio teaching of J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Radio, teaching on Luke 5.
I was reminded today of this little 1-minute that addresses the subject, "If God is good, why is there evil in the world?" It has a lot of good answers packed into such a short video. If you've ever had questions about the goodness of God, you certainly can spare 1 minute now, can't you? Enjoy!
