The Why and How of God's Forgiveness

Saturday, October 26, 2019.


FORGIVEN! witnessing cross

Last day of the 2019 season for the Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market. I tried the past 2 weekends to make it down for public gospel ministry, but extreme cold weather, and rain, kept us away until today, which although it was on the cool side, we had sunshine and an open door to share Jesus with many folks at the Market. 

I wanted to share about the "why" of the forgiveness of God, and also the "how" and the "how not" as well. We all need to be forgiven, don't we. J. Vernon McGee reminded me recently that, although God is love, and that God does love you and me, God cannot us by his love, or you could say that God cannot save us by his love. But, his love motivated him to provide a way for us to be forgiven. I used my "FORGIVEN!" witnessing cross and spoke on that, this last day at the Market. The link to the audio is at the bottom of this post.


The "Dark Knight" heard the gospel, too!

And, Batman was there - right in the middle of the intersection of Court Avenue and 3rd Street, where we usually speak!  I don't know if he's born-again or not, but he heard the message we were sharing, and Mary got a picture with him, too.

Last day of the Farmers Market. 
Last days of things always calls for reflection. So, let me share a little....

You know, we've been allowed the privilege of doing this gospel outreach in Downtown Des Moines since 2008, and I have several "last day the the Market" photos I like to pull up and think upon. Many gospel tracts have been offered and taken...some rejected; many preaching messages have been written and delivered; time spent kneeling in prayer, in crying out to God for wisdom, strength, especially for courage and conquering fear; for souls to be saved and saints to be encouraged and challenged to live boldly for the Lord Jesus.


Last Day of the 2019 Farmers Market

There are people I met down there that are now gone on to be with the Lord. Some of the brothers and sisters in Christ that we've labored with have gone on to other things, and I miss them. Some new ones, perhaps, are around the corner. Many good memories.

Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 7:8, 

"Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit."

MacLaren's Expositions of Holy Scripture makes this commentary note on this scripture:

"The life which is lived for God, which is rooted in Christ, a life of self-denial, of love, of purity, of strenuous 'pressing towards the mark,' is better in its 'end' than in its 'beginning.' To such a life we are all called, and it is possible for each. May my poor words help some of us to make it ours."

The Apostle Paul writing to the Church in Corinth said, by the Holy Ghost:
"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 15:58)

"To such a life we are all called."

"...your labor is not in vain, in the Lord."

These are deep things to really reflect on. And so I am thankful to God for, among many things, giving someone like myself the chance to stand up in public and lift up the name of Jesus Christ. And for my wife's shared passion and partnership in getting the gospel out. Its been a good year, and more to come, Lord willing.

Here is the link to the audio from today's public speaking: LINK

Wrapping up 2015 with a Candy Cane Tract

Here's a candy cane gospel message we made to give out over the Christmas holiday season, in hopes of redeeming the time and pointing as many people as possible to the Savior.

I looked up various versions of "The Candy Cane Story" on the internet, and using these as a reference I wrote the story in my own way using Microsoft Publisher. We used a local print shop to make about 200 cards. We donated a bunch for family gift packages for our church's bus ministry children, our friends Aquila & Priscilla Sletten took a box full over the the Iowa Veteran's Home. The rest we've been giving out around town. May the Holy Spirit water this seed sown, that many would come to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The text of this message is below:

We Hope You Enjoy this Candy Cane! 

As you take it in your hand, turn it upside down: you will see
the J that reminds us of Jesus, who left Heaven’s glory 2000 years ago, and was born in a lowly stable in Bethlehem, just as the prophets had written many years before.
Turn it back upright, and you will see the shepherd’s crook, that reminds us that he is the Good Shepard who loves and cares for all who will follow him. The stripes remind us that he was wounded for our sins: the red speaks to his blood shed on Calvary’s cross to pay the penalty for our sin, and the white tells us how only he can wash away our sins, and make us white as snow. For all have broken God’s Law, the 10 Commandments, and all deserve the punishment … eternity in Hell. But God wants all to be rescued from this fate, and this is why Jesus came into the world.

We are glad you accepted this candy cane as a gift from us, but even more, I hope you will accept the gift of forgiveness and eternal life that comes, not from religion, a church, your sincerity, or by being a good person, but from trusting in this same Jesus as your own Savior. If you have not done so, why not turn to him today?

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!

Memorial Day Weekend: The Conspicuous Gallantry of Jesus Christ

Mary and I got a chance to get down to the Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market on Memorial Day weekend. The corner of 4th & Court Avenue was open, so we set up there. Many gospel tracts went out, and I was able to speak about the amazing love of God demonstrated for us on the cross of Calvary.

During our time there, Mary had a fantastic 30-40 minute conversation with Shalih, a muslim man from Iraq. She had given him a "CONTRADICT" tract (below left), and as he stopped to look at it, she asked him if he had any questions, which he did. After a while, they moved out of the street into the shade of the buildings on 4th Ave, as you can see in the picture (below right).

Shalih started with the question of who was Melchizedek - can you believe it? How would you like to get that question? Wow, talk about jumping right into deep waters! But Mary patiently had a conversation with this man, who has bought in to the misconceptions and un-truths that Islam has cast on true Biblical Christianity: that Allah and the God of the Bible are the same, Jesus was a man, and not God come in the flesh, that good works are necessary for salvation, why all the different Bible versions if Christianity is true, etc.

Now, we know that Issa, the Jesus of the Q'uran, is not the Lord Jesus Christ of the Bible; We know that God has revealed himself in his word as THE one-in-three, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; we know that there is no other name (other than Jesus) under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved. Our goal is to present the true gospel of Jesus Christ to all men, so that they may be convicted by the Holy Ghost, repent towards the God of the Bible (who all men do know, according to Romans 1) and trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. So this is for Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Janes, Buddhists, Roman & Orthodox Catholics, Coptics, Protestant Christians, Pagans, Wiccans, Satanists, Atheists, Animists,...all men everywhere (Acts 17:24-31).

Overall a very good day. Pray for Shalih, and pray for Mary as she studies God's word and how to respond to the challenges & questions that come her way as she holds forth the word of truth. Praise God for his goodness and mercy towards us.

Here is the LINK to the open air preaching.
Please note there is a lot of street noise in this audio, but it's not a problem with your speakers or my recorder. This is what it is like preaching open air, and it is very different than sitting in a comfy church building with great sound systems and comfy chairs. I hope you enjoy the experience. There are a few minutes of delay as we were getting set up. You will hear us pray, and then Mary heads across the street with tracts while I get ready to preach the gospel.

First Day Out....

First day out in 2014 with a Witnessing Cross and our free Bibles. It was a balmy 38 degrees (F) here in Marshalltown, with a brisk wind, but compared to the sub-zero weather we've been enjoying, it was a great day to get outside and share the gospel. As usual for a Sunday at noon, I was at the corner of Merle Hibbs and Center Street, in front of Wal-Mart.

Had a young man named Josh stop by bringing some coffee, which was really nice, yet Josh did not know the gospel and hoped he would be forgiven some day. God allowed me to share about sin, judgment, Hell, and the wonderful gospel of grace. Another brother, Devon, stopped by and encouraged Josh to listen to the message of hope we have in Jesus Christ, and invited him to a Bible study he attends on Wednesday nights...same one my son Alexander's been going to.

Josh was extremely open to God's word, took a Bible and a "God of Wonders" dvd,gospel, wall  and a tract. He longed to be forgiven, to the point of tears, and now he knows how he may be forgiven, fully & freely, because of what Jesus Christ has done. He sounded excited to get to that Bible study on Wednesday, and I'm excited to see the Hloy Spirit working in Josh's life, and am praying for his salvation and new life in Jesus. Wow!

Glory to God, and I wish you all boldness, compassion, love, wisdom and holy zeal, as you reach out to your community for our Savior.

Paul V.

Salvation is of the Jews

In my daily Bible reading, I am reading a second time through the gospels, and today's schedule included John chapter 4. These scriptures brought to mind my Jewish friend Joseph, who I met when preaching in Des Moines several weeks ago, about whom I've written about and posted the audio of in previous articles.

"Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews."

(John 4:21-22)

The Holy Bible is a supernatural book. About 30% of the Bible is prophecy: detailed documentation of world-shaking, world-shaping events written down hundreds and thousands of years before they happened, and the 2 major topics of prophecy are Israel and the Messiah. Most of these prophecies have already been fulfilled, proving that this Book is written by God. The Almighty took 40 men from diverse backgrounds and cultures, as you or I take a pen, and wrote 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. The Holy Bible is God's complete, perfect word to humanity.

A golden thread woven throughout the entire Bible is this: in the Old Testament book of Genesis, God promises to send a Deliverer, the Messiah who would deliver mankind from the consequences of our sin against God. In the New Testament, in God's appointed time, the Messiah arrives and completes the work necessary to atone for sin and provide a way for sinful man to be justified and accepted in the presence of a Holy God. And the name of the Messiah: Jesus of Nazareth, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is undeniable and indisputable, proven by the fulfillment of over 30 scriptures regarding his birth, life, death, and resurrection. The Bible says that salvation is only available through the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12).

So what is "salvation?" It is the fact or state of being delivered from the consequences of our personal sin against our Creator. The wages we have earned by our willful choice to sin, is death, eternal death, the "second death" (Romans 6:23; Ezekiel 18:20; Revelation 20:14-15). Look at the moral law, the 10 Commandments, to evaluate your condition in the sight of God (Exodus 20; Matthew 5-7).

How might I obtain this salvation? The Bible is clear that our works are unacceptable, and that only the finished work of the Messiah are acceptable to God. In the name of Jesus Christ is preached remission of sin, and the gift of eternal life. So you see, salvation came to Israel through the Messiah, and through Israel to the world, so salvation is indeed of the Jews. And I am so glad that the gospel call came on across these 2000 years, and around the world, until it came to a needy sinner like me (John 17:20). May we who believe be faithful to proclaim it and share it, until we go to be with our Lord, or he come to rescue us from this dying world and bring us to our eternal home in Heaven.

Here's all of John chapter 4...enjoy!

The Gospel of John

Chapter 4

1 When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,
2 (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)
3 He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee.
4 And he must needs go through Samaria.
5 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
12  Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
27 And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?
28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.
31  In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.
32 But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.
33 Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?
34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.
38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.
39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.
40 So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.
41 And many more believed because of his own word;
42 And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.
43 Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee.
44 For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country.
45 Then when he was come into Galilee, the Galilaeans received him, having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast: for they also went unto the feast.
46 So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum.
47 When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death.
48 Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.
49 The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die.
50 Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.
51 And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth.
52 Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.
53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.
54 This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judaea into Galilee.