Impact: From A Handful of Dirt And A Question.

Today was a special day for me. I received a card and a letter in the mail from my cousin who is at a Christian substance and addiction rehab facility on the east coast. So far he has been there 8 months, and this is his second time out there. This was my first correspondence with him since he left to go live there, even though I write him between 1 and 2 weeks apart.

I'm not going to show or even write down everything that is in the letter, but he talks about being totally wrecked for Christ and how he had to lose everything to gain everything in Him. He is giving up his life to serve the Lord and not only that, but they have even put him on staff at this facility. At the end of his letter, he writes,

"You were the first to introduce me to my Christian faith. Although it has been a long, bumpy road, you have a huge role in this victory." 

Here is a public video of him sharing his testimony at the place he is staying.

The reason why I wrote about this is because most of us will never know the impact we have in souls we witness to and share our faith with. Most of us will never get a letter, or a thank-you, or a pat on the back. But we don't witness to get these. We do it for God's glory. But it's nice every so often to see some fruit on this side of heaven. The crazy thing to is to not give up hope and trust that the Lord is working, no matter how long it takes.

When I first witnessed to Rich, it was at the log cabins in West Virginia when this picture was taken. I was really young in the faith, newly married, and probably close to maybe 2005. That is like 13 years ago! Rich was borderline agnostic / atheist, who grew up Roman Catholic, but really questioning God's existence. But the story of the first time I witnessed to him was pretty funny. We were hiking along the top of the tallest mountain in West Virginia - Seneca Rocks 2,202 ft above sea level. While we were hiking, he stops at the very top, bends down and scoops up a handful of dirt. He brought it over to me and showed me that in his hands were ocean fossils that scattered all over the top of this mountain. There were so many that all you had to do is scoop up some dirt and you were sure to have some. They were everywhere. So I asked him how they all got here. He said the only logical explanation was that the top of the mountain had to be covered with deep sea water in order for them all to settle the way they did. So I said, "That must mean Noah's Ark is true, huh?" Well, he quickly denied it, but then went on as to what else it could have been. But nothing else made sense. And from that day it really made him think about God, the bible, afterlife, and why Jesus had to die on a cross. I've answered questions through the years, and had some pretty good conversations. But it all started with a handful of dirt and a question.

But here is the one thing I want to stress. "When we do nothing...nothing happens". We won't have an impact on anyone if we don't share our faith. We need to get out there and make disciples. We can't make disciples if we don't share our faith first. The fish aren't going to jump in the boat. We have to take initiative and start the hard conversations, conquer the fear, and get out of our comfort zones. I hope this encourages many of you. To God be the glory.

Earnestly Contend for the Faith

Today is Saturday, August 30th, 2014, the last weekend of the summer, and the start of Labor Day weekend here in the United States. I made it down to the Des Moines Farmers Market in the historic Court Avenue district, to herald the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, in order to:
1. Extend God's offer of forgiveness to all who will repent & trust in Jesus - and Jesus alone - to save them from the consequences of their sin against God.
2. Encourage believer's to boldly live for and share Jesus Christ with everybody & anybody while they can during this short life here on earth.

This is my little corner of the harvest field. Someone commented about there being "better soil" elsewhere, but all these people are eternal souls, who will spend eternity either in the presence of God with unspeakable joy, or as miserable creatures suffering the judgment of God forever separated from His love. No, this is my field, and I will work it as long as the Lord gives me strength of body & mind to do so. Here's my view from the south-west corner of Court Ave. and 2nd Street where I spoke today.

Wow, what an excellent day! My friends from the Atheist booth down on Court & 3rd drop by to pay their respects. I always enjoy their efforts to disparage or to stop the preaching of the gospel, because they help draw a crowd of interested listeners, and that was certainly the case today. So thank you, my atheist friends: I love you for Christ's sake, and I am praying for you. You claim to be "free thinkers", but will never know freedom or experience truth until you humble yourself before your God, whom you do know, and look to the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. May that be true for all of you!

It was a great day, and the war of worldviews was on! Praise God that I was clothed with His holy armor (Ephesians 6:10-18), and that the weapons of my warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).

Click HERE for the link to the audio.

Please remember, this is a raw, on-the-street recording, so while it may not be Dolby stereo, it pretty much reflects the environment we work in. It includes times where I am standing on my box & speaking out to people walking through the Market, times when people came up close & personal to dispute what I was saying, and also personal discussions between 1 or 2 people. I left it all on there, and you can skip through or listen to as much or as little as you like.

PLEASE NOTE: I was down at the Market alone today. You will hear comments or statements made by other Christians who jumped into the fray. I do not endorse or approve of anything anyone may have said in support of the gospel proclamation. Be a Berean (Acts 17:11), and check out everything everyone says (including me) against the Scriptures.

You'll want to hear how things went down...it was a real rhubarb, but God is always faithful, and I am so much more encouraged to live for His glory, both publicly & privately, and to reach out to those who are blinded and taken captive by the enemy or our soul, through false religion or philosophies that are contrary to the revealed word of God. Please pray for all who heard, especially the atheists, that they might repent and trust Christ Jesus before it is eternally too late. Maranatha!