The Gospel Proclaimed through USA Today...today.

If you've ever done any extensive traveling and stayed in some nice hotels, you  have undoubtedly received a free copy of the USA Today newspaper. This morning's paper was a rather pleasant one. As I was in a training class, my lab partner showed me the direct center of the paper. It was a full page ad sharing the entire gospel of Jesus Christ with the entire world. 

Most newspapers wouldn't touch this with a 10 foot pole, and I don't think any amount of money would have changed that. There was an web address attached to this ad: https:amen3053.org, to which it links a site called the Amen Missionary Church, and the entire page seems to be written in Korean. I don't know anything about this church. The gospel shared is totally solid. I checked the Watchman Cult List to see if they were in there and they were not. But I guess that's my cynicism talking.

This got me thinking though. Is it that easy to do? Think about it. This church gave probably a boat load of money to put this ad through. Nothing stopped them. They just did it. So seriously...what's stopping other churches from doing this? What's stopping churches from putting billboards up, running TV commercials, or radio programs on popular stations? What's stopping churches from pulling money together to share Jesus Christ with the world? For the most part...nothing. But we tend to think that it probably can't be done so why even try. Isn't that our problem most of the time? We think that it can't be done, so why try. "They're not going to listen to what I have to say so why bother."

We should look at this and be encouraged. We can turn our "cant's" to "can's" and our "why's" to "why not's". Let us put ourselves out there and just try something for the Lord. Anything done in the Lord's name, for the Lord's glory, will not be done in vain. So praise the Lord for this church. Pray many come to the saving grace of Christ. I hope many people in hotels read this and look up the verses in their Gideon Bibles in their rooms. How awesome is that!!! 

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!