Evangelism, Equipping, and Encouraging

The wrong Religion

2011-02-07T19:55:00.000-08:00

Who said the following? “It has been our misfortune to have the wrong religion. Why didn't we have the religion of the Japanese, who regard sacrifice for the Fatherland as the highest good? The Mohammedan religion to would have been much more compatible to us than Christianity. Why did it have to be Christianity with its meekness and flabbiness? “

Bonhoeffer

2011-02-07T18:47:00.000-08:00

Finsihed reading great Biography on Bonhoeffer. I highly recommend it to every Christian, history buff, those interested in how a nation could be seduced by a dictator.

The Greatest Command

2008-04-28T19:48:00.000-07:00

The Greatest Command

Jesus says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30, NIV). This command is not new. You can find it in Deuteronomy 6:5, where the only thing left out is the mind. I always wondered why Jesus added the word “mind,” or why God left it out. I believe the answer lies in the languages used to write the passages. The answer will unfold as we examine each component.

The word “heart” in Deuteronomy refers to the mind and comes from a root word that means “to get intelligence.” It also refers to the seat of the appetites or emotions of a person. In the Hebrew language, appetites, desires, and emotions had some connection with the mind.

The word for heart found in Mark 12:30 denotes the physical and spiritual center of life. It refers to the emotional characteristics of the mind, such as desire, passion, and appetites. This word for heart excludes the rational side of the mind, and I believe that is why Jesus adds the word mind in Mark 12:30. The word “mind” in Greek refers to thoughts and the process of thinking. It therefore takes both Greek words, heart and mind, to accurately reflect the Hebrew word for heart.

In Genesis, God gave Adam life by breathing into his nostril. The word “soul” in both languages refers to breathing. The soul refers to an eternal part of our makeup, the very core of who we are. This essence of who we are also affects our desires, appetites, emotions, and thoughts.

Strength in both Greek and Hebrew refers to might, power, and ability. Strength implies that we are to love God with our actions and abilities. I have the ability to troubleshoot and repair problems with technical equipment. It would be unwise for me not to use that ability in showing my love to God.

Many times we use examples or paraphrasing to help us understand passages. This paraphrase helps me to understand it: Love the Lord your God with all your desires, appetites, thoughts, emotions, with every breath you take, and through action with all of your ability and power. As with all the positive commands, it is hard to define a requirement for this one. It would be easier if He had specified us a minimum amount of time and work we were to do for Him. You know 15 minutes of prayer and Bible study in the morning and at night and we could check it off. But no, He wants it all. You see He does not want one day in seven, He wants every second of our life.

My wife uses an analogy that I believe makes a valid and true point. This analogy can also help you gauge where you are when it comes to the loving God command. My wife, Ginger explains, “When I met you and fell in love with you, I wanted to tell everyone about you. I would catch myself mentioning you every time I talked to someone. When you love someone you talk about them.” Ginger hit the nail on the head with this analogy; we talk about the things that are important to us, things we love. Do you talk about God or Jesus outside of Sunday morning?

Evangelism Basic Training Camp –Sheffield Alabama

2008-04-16T06:59:00.000-07:00

Evangelism Basic Training Camp –Sheffield Alabama

July 24-27 2008
Are you a Christian that has decided it is time to learn how to share your faith with others? Are you a Christian that has been sharing your faith but want to take it to another level? Are you a Christian that is comfortable sharing your faith in different venues and just want to come alongside others to reach an area with the gospel of Jesus Christ? Are you a pastor who has been thinking about starting or improving a door-to-door ministry? Are you a Christian who is unconformable with the thought of walking up to strangers or friends to share the gospel, but you have a strong desire to pray for people who approach you for prayer? Do you feel called to open air preach but do not know how to start.

Have I got good news for you, and I am not talking about car insurance. The first ever Evangelism Basic Training Camp (EBTC) at Sheffield, Alabama is the answer. The Muscle Shoals Area EBTC is designed to equip each Christian to reach not only The Shoals Area but their own home towns with the gospel of Jesus Christ according to their own gifts and callings. EBTC will have leaders that are experienced in door-to-door evangelism from the host church (Ekklesia Church), prayer station evangelism, open air evangelism, street witnessing, workplace evangelism, and friendship evangelism. You will be trained by experts in each of this areas.

While this is the first all inclusive EBTC of Muscle Shoals Area, many of the leaders have all attended/led at Evangelism Boot Camps before, and all the leaders are experienced in the area they will be leading you in.

We encourage you to seek the Lord in fervent prayer to see if this EBTC is right for you. Hotel room, breakfast, and dinner will be provided in the tuition cost of $230.00. (If you can only come on Saturday the 26th fill out application and we will contact about cost) Do not delay only a limited number of applicants will be accepted.

Can’t come but really want to, consider sponsoring another camper from your church or make a donation and we will find someone who needs the sponsorship.

If you want to come copy the following application into your mail client, answer the questions and send it to franklinreeves@bizminsupport.com. Once you have been accepted you will receive an email with further instructions.

EBTC - Sheffield Application

1. Name
2. Full Address
3. Email
4. contact number
5. Are you a Christian?
6. Briefly give your testimony.
7. Are you an active member of a local church? Please provide the name of your church and denominational affiliation if any.
8. Have you ever, verbally or by using tracts, shared your faith? Give an example. If no, are you willing to partner with someone who has in order to pray with/for that person and learn to do so yourself?
9. Have you ever done door-to-door witnessing, street witnessing, or open air preaching (not required to come to camp)?
10. Would you be able to attend the full camp from the evening of the 24th to the morning of the 27th? If not do you want to just attend one day on the 26th?
11. Have you ever listened to Hell’s Best Kept Secret, True and False Conversion, seen the Way of the Master TV program, or read the book The Way of the Master? If yes, which one and what did you take away from the message?
12. We do not require you to be using the Way of the Master method but we do ask that you listen to Hell’s Best Kept Secret and True and False Conversion before arriving at camp.
13. Are you willing to pray for the leaders of the camp, the people we will come in contact with that God will send His Spirit before us to prepare the harvest?

Chosen One of God

2008-04-07T06:18:00.000-07:00

Chosen One of God

In the days of Isaiah
And the prophets of old
It’s been said
And it was foretold
A savior would come
The chosen one of God
and He would heal His fold
He would be rejected
His very life sold
Numbered with transgressors
Though the courts found no fault
They raised Him up
And He died on that cross
placed His body in a rich man’s vault.
and all hope was lost
But after three days
All the saints give praise
All the saints give praise
The Chosen One of God
was raised!!!

Recipe for a Loving Marriage

2008-02-12T07:26:00.000-08:00

Recipe for a Loving Marriage

1 Cup of loving attention from the groom.

1 Cup of respectful attitude from the bride.

1 heaping tsp. of letting go by the parents.

1 Large egg of daily prayer together.

1 Large egg of separate prayer for each other.

1 Cup of the oil of humility.

2 Cups of forgiveness. (one from each)

Equipment needed

1 Blender to join the two and make them one.

1 Pan of God’s grace to hold them together through the hot times.

1 Oven of life that uses extreme heat to rise the marriage to the height and the taste the Baker desires.

White as Snow

2008-01-19T15:03:00.000-08:00

Did you see the snow today? I am one of the few that welcome the snow, one of those that pray for snow, hope for snow, and really want to see it falling out of the sky and sticking to the ground. I was overjoyed this morning as the flurries came and then grew. Yes I know that the snow will melt and possible turn to ice. Yes, I know that people may loss power and therefore heat. Yes I know that some may loss money from missing work. However, it warms my heart and feels me with joy when I see the snow.

As some of you know, and others may have been unaware, the March for Life Rally was today. Dear friends of my wife and I were participating and publicly confessing their sin, and God's redemptive powers in hopes that two things will happen. One hope is that another lady that is still trapped in the anguish over committing an abortion will find healing. Another hope is that by testifying about the damage it had done to their life and expressing the regret they have another lady may choose life for the child they are currently carrying. I am focusing on the women, but the fathers are touched as well. Many now come forward and tell of their own pain at losing the opportunity to be a father to a precious child, many of the fathers have also found healing as well. Sometimes we forget that not only does this affect the child and mother, but the father and those that encourage or provide this service have shame, guilt, or condemnation hanging over them. They also need to come to God for healing, for reconciliation, for hope.

As my family was heading to Brother Bryant Park, I was feeling a little guilty over my desire for snow. I was feeling this because the event might be hampered by the snow. Some of the ladies were considering backing out because of the weather, and others that could come and begin the healing process might stay away. I was glad to see that many still came out to show support for an end to abortion, to show support for life. As we were driving I could not help to keep thinking about the snow, it was even invading my thoughts on the event.

Suddenly part of a verse came to mind. White as snow, that even though their sins are like scarlet, I will make them white as snow. I have been thinking about that all day. I was just looking out my back window at my shed. The roof had been covered in some green moss, but I could no longer see it because of the white snow. It brought to mind other things that were ugly and scarred that had turned to beauty as they were covered in snow. Old rusted out cars, yards covered in leaves or trash, holes in the roads, etc.. All these things that were not lovely become lovely when covered in snow. It is amazing how the blanket of snow can change ugliness into beauty. Maybe that is why I like the snow.

There is also ugliness inside of all of us. This ugliness, this sin that is inside and manifest outwardly through our thoughts, words and deeds. Whether it manifest as having or encouraging someone to abort their child, whether it is a lie or stealing, whether it is simply a look with lust which Jesus said is adultery of the heart. Regardless of how it has manifested in each one of us, the good news is that it can be covered in something that will make us as white as snow. Not simply the ugliness covered like the moss on the roof of my shed, this goes much deeper. This cleansing makes me white as snow inside and out. I thank God, that through the blood of Christ I have become new, that I have found healing and cleansing. I pray that if you have not found healing today that you would seek God for it. If you have never turned from your sin, confessed it, and put youth trust in Jesus Christ and His ability to cleanse you please do so. Jesus came into the world with no ugliness of sin inside or out. He lived a life of never sinning, then took upon Himself all of our sin. He took the punishment due us from God. He died on a cross for our sins, then He rose on the third day proving that God found His sacrifice acceptable. If we will trust in Him, we will be made white as snow.

If you have had an abortion and would like to receive help in healing, I can introduce you to a lady that has found healing and can help you do the same. If you are a father that has participated in this act we can help you find help in the healing as well. If you know of anyone still hurting have them contact me and I will have someone contact them.

I am glad it snowed today.

Isaiah 1:18
"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."

Psalm 51:7
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow

Velvet Elvis, repainting or obscuring the Chrsitian faith

2007-12-18T06:37:00.000-08:00

Mark Sohmer has produced a well written review of Rob Bell's book Velvet Elvis. I highly recommend reading it. In the introduction you will see that Mark is simply examining Rob's claims in light of the scripture in which Rob himself on the back cover of the book encourage his readers to do. If the bereans were commended for not accepting what Paul said with out consulting the sciptures then we should also do the same. The below is from Mark explaining how the review of Velvet Elvis began. (Even if you have not read the book, but have seen the NOOMA viedoes, it is the same material)

I had a number of people recommend Velvet Elvis to me, and interestingly, they all said basically the same thing. “You might not agree with everything Bell has to say, but there’s a lot of good stuff in there.” Each separate individual who recommended this book all gave a similar disclaimer, that there would be some things I wouldn’t agree with.
Because of this, I figured that when I read the book, I would likely agree with maybe 80% of what was written, and find 20% objectionable. But when I started to actually read the book, I found that my guess was grossly inaccurate.
To the contrary, I found myself underlining objectionable content on almost every page! I was shocked by the many errors of Velvet Elvis. This book was hardly 80% truth and 20% questionable. Page after page I found major heresies, aberrant theology, and in some cases bizarre conclusions based on very flimsy Biblical interpretation.
I have categorized the errors of Velvet Elvis as follows:
􀂃 Heretical Errors:
• Wrong View of the Trinity
• Wrong View of the Exclusivity of Christianity
• Wrong View of the State of Mankind
• Wrong Gospel
􀂃 Aberrant Theology:
• Wrong View of Jesus’ Purpose
• Wrong View of Heaven and Hell
• Wrong View of Rabbinic Judaism
• Wrong Hermeneutics
• Wrong Influences
􀂃 Bad Conclusions:
• You Don’t Have to Defend Doctrine
• You Should Not Preach the Gospel with Words
These errors are hardly minor, and they should concern us greatly. Considering the profound influence Rob has been enjoying lately, especially among younger Christians, the fact that he misrepresents the Trinity, the gospel, and our Christian mission is no small matter.
It’s one thing for me to claim that Rob has made these errors, and it an entirely different thing for me to prove it. That is the purpose of this review - to show in Rob’s own words that he consistently misrepresents the authentic Christian faith in his book, Velvet Elvis.

To read the full review click here.

Qoutes from Famous Preachers

2007-11-08T08:50:00.000-08:00

Quotes from famous preachers.

I am not mentioning any names for these preachers. I also ask if you are aware of who they are you refrain from naming them in any post you make. I want to discuss their views in this blog, and how to spot false teachers, not expose the teachers themselves. So please read and let me know if these are false doctrines, which means teachings by the way. Maybe you agree with these quotes your response is welcome as well.

Do you agree with this famous preacher?

Adam was a super being when God created him. I don't know whether people know this, but he was the first Superman that really ever lived. First of all, the Scriptures declare clearly that he had dominion over the fowls of the air, the fish of the sea - which means he used to fly. Of course, how can he have dominion over the birds and not be able to do what they do? The word "dominion" in the Hebrew clearly declares that if you have dominion over a subject, that you do everything that subject does. In other words, that subject, if it does something you cannot do, you don't have dominion over it. I'll prove it further. Adam not only flew, he flew to space. He was - with one thought he would be on the moon.

How about this famous preacher?

"I was shocked when I found out who the biggest failure in the Bible actually is...The biggest one in the whole Bible is God...I mean, He lost His top-ranking, most anointed angel; the first man He ever created; the first woman He ever created; the whole earth and all the fullness therein; a third of the angels, at least - that's a big loss, man....Now, the reason you don't think of God as a failure is He never said He's a failure. And you're not a failure till you say you're one."

Do you agree with this famous preacher?

“This is part of the problem with continually insisting that one of the absolutes of the Christian faith must be a belief that ‘Scripture alone’ is our guide. It sounds nice, but it is not true. In reaction to abuses by the church, a group of believers during a time called the Reformation claimed that we only need the authority of the Bible. But the problem is that we got the Bible from the church voting on what the Bible even is. So when I affirm the Bible as God’s Word, in the same breath I have to affirm the when those people voted, God was somehow present, guiding them to do what they did. When people say that all we need is the Bible, it is simply not true”

“The people who eventually wrote all of this down [the Bible] weren’t sitting there with their hand and the pen moving as if controlled by some outside force.
The writers of the Bible had agendas”

Do you agree that Adam did fly and went to the moon?

Do you agree with our second quote that God is the biggest failure?

Would you agree the only reason He is not a failure is because he did not call it failing?

How about our third and fourth quote.

Would you agree that scripture alone as our guide is not true?

Would you agree that we can’t really be sure the Bible is the Word of God because some church voted on which books to put in the Bible? (not how it really happened)

Do you believe, like this preacher, that the writer’s agenda, and not God’s agenda won out in writing the Bible?

Does it seem odd that of the over 40 writers over a two thousand year period all had the same personal agenda? Or would it make more sense to realize that there was one agenda that worked out the writing of these scriptures?

The preacher of the third and fourth quote finds it hard to believe that,” God was somehow present, guiding them to do what they did.” I have heard some say he has a low view of scripture, I would say that he has a low view of God. His god is not sovereign or powerful enough to give us his word and deliver it purely to us in a way we can understand. His god is sorely lacking in ability, power, and wisdom.

One thing you can learn from these preachers is that

1) Not everyone that preaches is preaching the Word of God.
2) Not everyone who uses the Bible believes the Bible is the Word of God.

Possible move to Korea

2007-10-26T13:34:00.000-07:00

Some of you are already aware that Ginger and I are looking into going to South Korea for 1 year. I wanted to give everyone the background on that. This is the first installment when we were asking people to pray. I will post later what happened a week ago in this process. Here is the orgional email I sent out.

Ginger and I are making plans to spend 1 year in South Korea. We wanted to give you a heads up and a rough idea of what is happening. There are two major aspects to what we will be doing there, work and ministry.

The work consist of teaching English as a Second Language to Koreans, ranging anywhere from Kindergartners to University Students or business people. This will be worked out in the contract. It is something I have been considering since 2002. However, the timing was never right and I would have not been prepared for the ministry component.

The ministry portion will be similar to what we do here, in that we will be sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with a lost and dying world. How this will happen will depend on the location we settle in. It will be a mixture of 1-on-1 evangelism, open air preaching (if people speak English, or God gives me a translator to work with), and sharing the gospel as part of service such as volunteering to teach English at an Orphanage, local church, or in our apartment using the Bible, worship and praise songs, etc. Part of this is also in equipping Christians in Korea to share their faith Biblically using the Law to prepare the hearts for Grace.

You may be asking how can we pray, I am glad you asked. Here are some bullets of what is happening and what needs to happen.

1) Employment offer from a reputable school, preferably,

a. Public School

b. 3rd-grade and older

c. In an area that God has chosen for us to work.

2) Transportation – The cost of my plane ticket will be reimbursed within a month of arriving, but Ginger and James will not.

3) Accommodations – We will either be provided housing or will receive housing allotment

4) Salary – Salary is between 2 and 3 million won. Preferably 3 million won would be great. However, with no experience, 2 million is more likely.

5) Paperwork – Need passports (Ginger and James) and visa for all of us to not have any hiccups.

6) We need the house to sale at a good fair price.

7) We need to sell the cars.

8) We need to wisely decide what to take, store, sell, give away, and throw away.

9) Furniture and appliances – Some contracts will have furniture, since we need a bigger place than a single person does, ours may not be.

Is this a move that is in God’s will for us?

1) In March of 2005 a general command to every Christian was made personal to me when I heard from my Radio, listening to a teaching called How to Find God’s Will for You Life, these words, “Frank, go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.” Since Korea is in the world, and creatures are there it seems to be a good place..

2) I have been longing to do this for a few years, in other words a desire in my heart.

3) I want to move into teaching field, and the practical experience will help cover the requirements in getting certified to teach here in America.

4) When talking to Mick, of Mick and Rick fame, about being a missionary, he looked at me and said you aught to become a teacher since that is a vast mission field.

5) Thursday while at work the Lord gave me this scripture Gen. 12:1

I have lots of passwords at work and have to chg them constantly. So a few months ago I started using scripture. I needed a new password about a month or so ago that had to have three letter one special character and three numbers. I decided to use he abbreviation for Genesis but could not think of a verse so I just choose 121 as an easy to remember number. Today as I was using it, I felt like I should go and read it. Since I had already read Gen. 1:21 after I picked that number, I went to Gen. 12:1 instead and this is what I read.

Genesis 12

1Now the Lord had said to Abram:

“Get out of your country,

From your family

And from your father’s house,

To a land that I will show you.

Wrong Time to Preach the Gospel.

2007-10-01T11:16:00.000-07:00

Wrong Time to Preach the Gospel?

One question that invariable comes up when encouraging others to preach (proclaim, speak, share) the gospel is, “when is a good time to bring up the things of God?” Or another way of putting is, “when is the right time or wrong time to witness to someone?” Believe it or not there is a wrong time to preach or proclaim God’s word in general and the Gospel in particular. Some of my friends will be balking now because they believe there is no bad time, that every chance you get is a good time. Well I do have a scripture reference that makes it clear there are situations or times were preaching the word would not be as fruitful as other times. At the conclusion of this article, I will give those people the verse.

I have been giving this some thought and before we can look at situations wherein wisdom dictates we withhold the Gospel from those sinking into hell, we need to understand what affect preaching the Gospel or Word of God has on sinners. We know from examples in scripture that there are three responses, 1) the sinners gets saved, 2) the sinners become angry, hateful, full of wrath even to the point of violence,(Stephen in the book of Acts) 3) the sinner is apathetic( no response at all) to the Word preached. From those three options you appear to have two safe options for your well being when you share the gospel. But on further study of those who are saved, I realized that in some situations even if the person is saved it could bring you the preacher great pain and suffering. While I admit on the surface it seems impossible that one who has just been saved from the wrath of God, through the mercy that Jesus purchased, would want to hurt the bearer of the good news, it is possible they might do so anyway.

Consider this fact, that fear and trembling quite often accompany salvation and also those who are on the verge of salvation when they hear the Word of God. God, speaking through the Prophet Isaiah, advised He will only look to those who have a poor and contrite spirit and who trembles at His word. (Isaiah 66:2) Through the Prophet Jeremiah, God says that when he cleanses the citizen of Israel and Judah from all their sins that they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and prosperity He is going to provide.” (Jer. 33:4-9)

So when you witness to some one it is possible that they will have fear and trembling that God has saved them, anger that you have showed them they are not good before God, or they will not care at all.

Consider these possible reactions as you decide you have enough love in your heart to warn your dentist to flee the wrath to come, to throw himself at the foot of a bloodstained cross because he is so evil only the blood of Jesus is sufficient to cleanse him. Do you talk to the dentist after he is done working or before he start filling that cavity or performs a root canal? Does he get so angry with you that he can’t see straight, or does tears start streaming down his face and his hand trembles as he relishes the love of Jesus that is now shed abroad in his heart?

Can you visualize that your dentist is holding the drill trembling in anger or love as it approaches your somewhat numb but stills sensitive tooth. Or you could have talked to him about his lying, thieving, adulterous heart before his gave you the Novocain injection. That needle could be the instrument that is held in his trembling hand, and if he is angry with you, he may choose to not give you as much Novocain before the trembling hand brings the drill.
Imagine you give into the prompting of the Holy Spirit, and in love, you decide to share the Gospel with the nurse that is putting in your I.V. You asked them “If you were to die today and stand before God, and He asked you why should I allow you into my Heaven? What would you tell Him?” The nurse tells you that she tried to do good, and she is basically a good person. As she is prepping the I.V. you explain to her that if she has ever told one lie she is a liar and all liars have their part in the lake of fire which is the second death. You tell her the if she has ever stolen she is a thief an no thief will inherit the kingdom of Heaven. She stops preparation and asks what must I do to be saved. You explain to her that Jesus Christ lived a perfect sinless life, always obeying the Father, that He died on a cross becoming a curse, taking the full wrath of God upon himself so that she could be saved. That God gave a sign that He accepted Jesus payment by raising Him from the dead. That all she has to do according to Jesus is repent (turn from) of her sins, and believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and died to cleanse her of her sins. With tears streaming down her face, she prays to God thanking Him for His gift and asking Jesus to cleanse her. Now she turns back to doing her job, and with trembling hands, and vision blinded by tears puts the I.V. in your arm.

You could also imagine a barber using scissors to trim around your ears as you witness to him, the brain surgeon that comes to visit you right before you go under, your partner in the bomb squad as he diffusing a bomb, and many other instances were you would pay a personal price for speaking up at the wrong time.

I am sure that there are still a few die hards that would say that there is no wrong time; even in these instances the eternal fate of those people is far more important to a needle going in wrong, or a drill running around the mouth drilling holes in teeth that are not numbed. Well for those people let me give the verse that proves Biblically that there are wrong times. 2 Tim. 4:2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. (NKJV) See the Bible does says there is an out of season for preaching the Word. However, on closer look it does appear we are still to do it even if it is out of season.

I guess the dentist, nurses, and barbers will not be the only ones trembling as we share the Gospel with them from now on, but perfect love will cast out fear of what might happen. We know it is far worse for them to fall into the hand of the living God, who is a consuming fire, if they die in their sins than anything that could happen to us now.

By Franklin L. Reeves

Evangelism Boot Camp Birmingham

2007-07-21T12:54:00.000-07:00

Evangelism Boot Camp in Birmingham has come and gone but the lives that were changed will be around to stay for eternity.

We had participants from Alabama, Missouri, Washington, New Jersey, Texas, and Norway. Each one made an impact on the efforts to reach Birmingham with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The activities ranged from simple passing out a tract, to sitting down and talking to a person about the gospel, and open air preaching, and just open air reading of God's Word.

One of the highlights was a local native of Alabama (not affiliated with GNN, EBC, or anyone in our group) volunteered to translate Andreas(Norway)'s proper English into southern English. It was the most entertaining preaching I have ever seen. However the importance and seriousness of the message was not lost on the hearers, or the translator.

We also have a link to the EBC photo video under the links sections of this website, so enjoy. I hope to also have other clips of the event posted here for you pleasure and instruction later.

I am also hoping some of the campers can come and share some their experiences for you.

P.S. We had a guest preacher Paul Washer of Heart Cry Missionary Society talk to us about evangelism. Part 1 of his message can be downloaded or streamed by clicking this link. http://www.jasperharvest.org/radio/PWEBC11.mp3

Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

2007-07-03T22:15:00.000-07:00

Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness

The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4th, 1776.

It was not an easy decision for the fathers of this country start a revolution against Great Britain. They tried, again and again, to get the King to treat them fairly. They asked for no special treatment, they merely wanted to have a say in what happened to them. Taxes and laws were passed and applied to the colonist without anyone present to represent them. It is hard sometimes to understand why they were so upset by a few cents in tax back then, and we are happy with 10-30% or our income being taxed now. However we chose the people that set our tax rates and create our laws, they had no say period.

In May of 1775 many still hoped to reach a peaceful settlement with the King. In a last-ditch effort they sent an Olive Brach Petition to the King, it was only after the King once again snubbed them that they declared independence.

In the movie the “Patriot” Mel Gibson’s character tell the South Carolina legislature, “Why should I trade one tyrant 3,000 miles away, for 3,000 tyrants one mile away.” It was so funny, because some times it feels so true.

Many of us remember these words from the declaration of Independence.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

A provocative question in my mind is, are we created with certain unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?

Life
The truth is that when God lifted another people out of the bonds of slavery in order to create a new nation, He forbids them to murder. The 6th Commandment, written by the finger of God on a tablet of stone, says “Thou Shall not murder.”

God had reserved the right to take life to Himself, and to governments for committing serious crimes. No individual has the right to take life particularly for their own gain.

Liberty
The other claim made by Jefferson and agreed to by the signers of the Declaration of Independence is the right to liberty. Liberty is defined as “the state of being free from control or restriction” or the “right to act, believe, or express one self’s as one chooses” or “the state of being free from confinement, servitude, or forced labor.”

When God established the nation of Israel, He said that “if anyone bought a Hebrew slave he had to freed after 6 years.” Since kidnapping someone was punishable by death, these slaves were ones that sold themselves into slavery. (Ex. 21:16)

Our very own Liberty Bell has this scripture quoted, Lev. 25:10 10And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants.

In one instance of them violating this God spoke thus to them,

7“Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother and every one to his neighbor. Behold, I proclaim liberty to you,’ says the Lord—‘to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine! And I will deliver you to trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth. (Jer. 36:17)

So it looks like God took this Liberty thing pretty serious. God even values freedom in that He allows us to choose whether or not we obey Him. Of course there are rewards and consequences for following or not following His Laws much like there are penalties for violating civil law.

C.S. Lewis said, “Without free will, man would not be created “in the image of God.” With it, he has the power to defy God’s wishes and to bring misery on himself and others.”

You can tell a lot about a man by what he does with this freedom. What are you doing with yours?

A.W. Tozer said, “The important thing about a man is not where he goes when he is compelled to go, but where he goes when he is free to go where he will.”

The last thing to look as it the pursuit of happiness. One thing I like is that it says pursuit and not attaining. Many of us have come to realize that life comes with up and downs. While we can increase our happiness by creating habits that are good for us, and breaking habit that are bad, we still must remember that no man is an island and others choices will bear on our happiness.

Did God give us a right to pursue happiness. Well based on the fact He gave us Liberty and Life, it appears that we may pursue happiness.

It is important to remember that God did tell this new nation(Israel) that He was giving them a land flowing with milk and honey. He also gave them laws, if obeyed, that would prosper them in this land.

So believing that God did give us the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, what have you done with it? You have been given freedom to go where you will, so were have you went? Many believe that freedom allows the good people to show goodness and the wicked to show the truth of their wickedness.

Do you consider yourself to be a good person? By whose standards. Compared to Hitler most of look good, but are we really good? Let’s choose a good standard that most everyone agrees on, the Ten Commandments. This was given to that new nation (Isarael) long ago and three major religions agree that it is a standard of goodness.

Let’s just look at three or four.

Have you ever told a lie? (9th) Have you ever stonel anything, regaurdless of value or age, and please be honest? (8th) Have you ever looked at another person with lust?(7th). If you said yes to all three you are a liar, thief, and adulterer at heart(according to Jesus). So do you still think you are a good person, when compared to this impartial standard of goodness that God gave us to measure ourselves against.

This reminds me that, almost all of here today believe we are free. The truth is that all of us here today are slaves. We are either slaves of sin or we are slaves of righteousness.

Roman 6
17But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 1

Either you have kept the Law of God or you have broken it. For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.(James 2:10).

Just like there are fines for breaking the laws in the U.S. there are also fines for breaking God’s Law. Remember we are created in His image and His just nature is what leeds us to seek justice through laws and courts. Just like a good judge must uphold the law, God who is the only one that is really good will uphold His Law. God has decreed that, “all liars have their part in the lake of fire which is the second death.” He has decreed that “no adultery and no thief” will inherit the kingdom of heaven. He has said that he will not hold anyone guiltless that takes His name in vain.

The Bible records in 1st John that “Sin is transgression of the Law” The Bible also records that the “wages of sin is death..” You see we all are standing on death row. It is hard to tell at times because it is a big holding cell with a blue roof, and we are free to roam about as we choose. However we have still been arrested by the law, found guilty and awaiting punishment. The only thing left is to see the Judge and receive our punishment, remember the sentence is already decided.

When do we face the judge? The Bible says (Hebrews 11:27) that it is appointed once for a man to die, then judgment.” So we will face judgment when we die. When is that, I do not know, and neither do you. You could have a heart attack right now and stand before the judge, or He could give you another year or twenty.

Now that is the bad news, but there is some good news. “God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” God knowing that you could not pay your fine, decided that He loved you enough to provide another way, to pay the fine Himself.

God sent His only begotten son, born of a virgin, in the city of David. This son was to take our punishment. He would bear our inequities, and takes stripes for our healing. He was to be rejected, mocked, abused, and crucified four our lies, thefts, adulteries etc.

This son was Immanuel, God with us.
He was names Jesus.
He was the perfect Lamb of God that took away the sins of His people.
The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus.
He was bruised for our inequity.
He gave his life as a ransom for many.
He came to liberate the captives.
He abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

God commended his love toward in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Christ died for while we were sinners, while we were enemies of God in our minds through wicked works.

Do you know what you must do in order to receive this gift. Jesus said the “unless you repent you will perish” He also said that “whomever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.”

The Apostle Paul said, “ I have not failed to testify to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.”

You must repent, turn away from your sins, and place your trust in Jesus Christ and the work He finished on the cross, in the same way you would trust a parachute to save you. You can’t simply believe in the parachute, you must put it on and not take it off until you have landed.

The time for salvation is now. God is commanding everyone everywhere to repent.

Do you stand up for what you believe?

2007-06-23T10:39:00.000-07:00

Do you stand up for what you believe?

It is hard to be a Christian in today’s culture. We are made out to be simple minded oafs on television. Or backwards in our thinking. So it is sometimes easier to be quiet and go with the flow. Is that what God would want us to do? Or do you think He desires us to stand up and be His mouth-piece?

At work for example, when they start telling those off color jokes, do you laugh and join in or do you turn around and leave? When everyone is telling the lady who is struggling in her marriage she should divorce that sorry so’n’so, do you agree or do you encourage her to seek God and His desire?

I work in a very worldly environment. I would even call most of them false converts. I have given each of them tracts (million dollar bills, pink and blue illusions, and/or the zero dollar bill). I’ve shared the Gospel with one lady, the one struggling in her marriage. I’ve talked in detail with another about God’s Law (the 10 commandments). There is one believer I work with who I have prayed for and with many times.

I know I am by no means doing all I can for the Kingdom of God, but are you?

Why do more people come to church on easter?

2007-04-07T15:05:00.000-07:00

Easter Message

Many people go to church on Easter Sunday that normally would not go to church. Why is that?

Honestly, I don’t know!

Why do you think people are more likely to visit on Easter?

Could part of it be that in this country we are ingrained to go to church on Easter and Christmas as part of tradition? I suppose that is a factor.

Could it be because on Easter most churches do some king of play or entertainment that makes sitting in the pew less boring and easier to take?

Perhaps it is because Church goers are more likely to actually invite someone on Easter? My pastor said that Easter is a great time to invite people that do not normally go to church, because they are more likely to go on Easter and Christmas. So could it be that since church goers expect people to accept the invitation they therefore actually do more inviting? And since they are inviting, people actually come. This become on of those self-fulfilling predications.

My pastor also said he wished every Sunday was Easter, because the church members seem to be more lively, energetic, open, and friendly toward visitors. I assume Christmas is the same way. Now my church is good at making people feel welcome, but Easter we do a little better.

So could people come more on Easter because they have learned that on Easter the people in the church will be nice and friendly to them, but the rest of the year it is not the case? Now I am not saying this is true, but do you think people might believe it is true and therefore come on those days they believe they will be treated nicely?

What do you think? Is any of those plausible? Does one stand out as the reason, or do you think it a combination of those? Perhaps you have another idea on why people come to church on Easter only?

My wife tells the story of a friend whose husband comes to church on Easter and Christmas only. Then one Easter he told his wife that he was not going, because they give the same message every time he is at church. She let him know that if he would come on others day he would see that the messages do vary.

I have one more idea. Could God be drawing them in more on that day than others? If that is true then it begs the question why Easter? If God is “not willing that any perish should perish but that all should come to repentance”(2Peter 3:9), then why not draw them in every Sunday. Why the big push on Easter?

If God is drawing more people in, and or moving church goers to do more inviting on Easter, then there must be something important in the story surrounding Easter. The concept of Easter is given other times in the year, but something must be different about the message proclaimed on this day.

I believe that the message given by most churches on Easter is the purest preaching of the cross that is done during the year. The Apostle Paul, in a letter he wrote to the Corinthians, explained that he preached the “gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.” (1 Cor 1:18) He goes on to say in the next sentence that the cross is to those being saved the power of God, and those perishing foolishness.

Since the cross is a central and integral part of the Easter story and very few churches would leave it out, it would make sense for God to want more people to be there that day. I believe that most pastors and church members know this and is a major part of the reason the invite more people than the normally do.

Most churches do a great job of explaining the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. So I want to look at another side of this story.

Many people wonder why was Jesus crucified? Who is to blame for His crucifixion? In fact some have committed great crimes against humanity because they thought they were taking vengeance for Jesus Christ. Many were afraid Mel Gibson’s movie “The Passion of the Christ” would set ablaze once again those who do those evil things.

I believe that we must understand why He was crucified, before we look at who is to blame for His death. While it may seem silly, I would like to conduct a game to help illustrate this point. Since many have called Jesus a good man , and in one case He told a person “why do you call me good, no one is good but God.”

So I want to host the Good Person Game.

Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever taken anything that did not belong to you without permission of the owner? This includes downloading copyrighted songs and copying games and software. Have you ever looked at someone with lust? Have you ever used God's name in vain or as a four letter filth word to exress disgust?

If you have you are, by your own admission, a lieng, thieving, adulterer at heart, that has blasphememd the name of God. Bearing in mind that all liars will have thier part in the lake of fire, no adulterer or thief will enter the kingdom of God, and God will not hold anyone guiltless that has taken His name in vain, would you be innoncent or guilty? Were would you spend eternity? That is the bad news read the rest for the good news.

See we all have failed to keep God’s Law. Even though it is within us, even though our conscience tried to warn us, we still choose to violate it. So the penalty for violating God’s law is death, but not merely death and then you do not exist, but death that is cast into the lake of fire.

You understand that we did the crime, and when we stand before the judge we are without excuse. Because the judge is good, just, unable to lie, holy He will punish those that have lied, stolen, used His name in vain, etc.. The fine will be paid, justice will not be perverted. You cannot bribe him by doing something good. You can’t sing song to get out of it, you can not read the Bible to get out of it, you can not worship Him to get out of it. You can’t feed a homeless person to get out of it.

That leaves us in a bad place. So what did God do to save us from the consequences of our sins against Himself. (((John 3:16)))

Jesus Christ never lied, stolen, looked with lust, dishonored his parents, etc.. He therefore did not have to die. However the Father sent the Son to pay our fine. The Son asked that if there be another way, He wanted that way. But nevertheless Your will be done. Jesus told the Disciples that He would lay down His life and take it up again. He told Pilate that Pilate would have no authority to kill him except that it came from above(GOD).

“God commended His love towards, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Supposing you murdered an entire family while the father was at work. You are caught, convicted, and your appeals are used up. You are walking toward the electric chair. You have broken the law, your guilt is proven, and you are getting what you deserve. People are there to watch the event. A man walks up to you and says “you have broken the law and deserve to die, but I also love you, you are important to me. I am going to take your punishment myself.” You watch in amazement as the man who is not guilty pays your fine.

You have come to a place were you realize that what you did was wrong, and you decide to take advantage of your freedom to go and apologize to the father of the family you killed. It took a few days to find out were He lived. You decided it would be better to drop in because you are not sure He will let you come by otherwise. You remember the anger and wrath that He had toward you.

You arrive at His home and notice that a wake is being held. You go in to the house you find the Father and apologize and ask Him to forgive you.

You decide to pay your respect to the deceased, hoping it is not the Father you wanted to ask forgiveness of.. As you lean into the coffin you see the man that took your place in the electric chair. Dropping to your knees you remember that that Father had a Son that was not home that night you committed that heinous crime. Not only did you harm the Father and His family, but now His Son took your place in the electric chair.
You now see that because of your violation of the Law, His son died to set you free.. You cry out weeping over what you have done.

The Father comes in the room and says, I loved you enough that I sent My Son to take your place. He loved you enough to do it. I no longer hold your crime against you.

Is Door to Door Effective?

2007-03-05T11:48:00.000-08:00

Is Door to Door Effective?
By Ginger Reeves

This is a question that has been debated by the church for years. People will say it is not the most effect way to share the Gospel of Christ. That may or may not be true. But what if that is not your goal? What if your goal is to step out of your comfort zone and do something you have never done before? What if your goal is to touch someone’s life by taking time to talk with them and pray with them? What if your goal is tell talk with people about your church? What if your goal is to encourage other Christians?

Let me give you an example of how door to door can be effective:

Saturday, March 3, Franklin and I went door to door in a neighborhood not our own. To talk about a church not our own. We knocked on 8 doors, talked with 4 homeowners, prayed with 3 of them, gave tracts to all of them (at least my 3 year old gave tracts to them all), encouraged 1 pastor’s wife to seek God in some difficult decisions she and her husband must make. The best part of the day though was when Franklin talked with Daniel. A 13 y/o kid who didn’t live on our assigned street, but was getting his dog that had run away. Franklin went through the complete Gospel – sin, repentance, judgment, hell, grace. All of it. Daniel seemed very touched. As Franklin is asking him what he thought about this, he tells us he has gotten saved the night before! Think about it, a young boy who just less than 24 hours ago had given his life to Christ is hearing again about the sacrifice made for him and how much God loves him. Talk about a God encounter!

No, we had no one place their faith in Christ that day. No, we did not see anyone repent of their sins. And no, we did not share the Gospel with every person we met. But we did plant seeds. We did encourage other believers. We did lend a hand to fellow brothers and sisters who needed it by going out with them. We did stretch ourselves by doing something we have not done before.

So before you right off door to door as ineffective, check your motive and goals and then decide.

An Intergalactic Gos

2007-02-27T06:21:00.000-08:00

An Inter-galactic Gospel.

In a galaxy far far away, a great illustration of Biblical truth is revealed. What do you mean, what kind of Biblical truth is illustrated in a Sci-Fi movie or book? I am glad you asked, because I think this illustration will help you understand a hard Biblical doctrine.

Do you remember a tall, furry creature that seamed to growl and roar to his friend and partner? If you are thinking of Chewbacca the Wookie then you would be thinking of the right character from the StarWars trilogy. He was the co-pilot of the Millennium Falcon and close friend to Han Solo.

To set the stage you need to know how Chewbacca and Han Solo joined together in partnership. A lot of that stage is not revealed in the movies, but for Star Wars fans who have read the books know a little more of the information. I am going to tap into this extra information as my illustration.

You need to know that at the end of Episode III Chewbacca and the rest of the Wookies are still sympathetic with the Jedi and the Republic. The Emperor also has a hatred for non-human life forms. This two factors lead to the enslavement of the Wookies. You also may not be aware that at one time, Han Solo was part of the Empirial fleet.

The following is an excerpt from Wikipedia on Han Solo;

A scheduled rendezvous with a slaving vessel revealed that an adult Wookiee had overwhelmed the crew and released the Wookiee children that were to be sold. Leading a TIE fighter squadron, Han boarded the damaged ship and found a barely conscious Wookiee, Chewbacca, in the pilots seat. Commander Nyklas ordered the young lieutenant to skin the Wookiee; Han refused to do so. He later lost his lieutenants commission and was dishonorably discharged. In this way did Chewbacca swear a life-debt to his rescuer, and from then on the two were inseparable.

The life-debt is a concept that I have seen in many movies. Usually the debt was paid off when the debtor found a way to save the life of the one who originally rescued them. The life debt the Chewbacca swore was different from those. It would continue long after the Chewbacca had saved Han Solo. It even went as far as Chewbacca giving his life to save one of Han and Liea’s sons. After which Chewbacca’ son tried to assume the life-debt to the Solo family.

While this is fictional and the concept is really strange, I want to look at it from the Wookies standpoint. The day the Han Solo sacrificed his commission and risked his life to save Chewbacca, was the day Chewbacca would have died. From that day forward Chewbacca would not have even been alive accept that Han Solo intervened on his behalf.

Even the act of saving Han Solo’s life could not cancel this debt, because there is no way that Chewbacca could have saved Han Solo accept Han Solo saved him first. No amount of service would ever be possible without Han Solo’s first saving Chewbacca life, so no amount of service could be used to pay the debt owed. Even Chewbacca’s son would have never existed accept for the intervention of Han Solo in his life. That was why Chewbacca’s son was willing to take over the life-debt.

It is important to know that the Wookie began his service to Han Solo at first out of gratitude to this Imperial officer. It is clearly seen that this gratitude turned into love and the years working together grew into a lasting friendship. So all of the affection the Chewbacca and Han shared was not simply because of their original encounter, but the original encounter was required to begin the process.

So you may be asking yourself what does that had to due with spiritual things, the Bible, Jesus, or God? That is a good question and I am glad you asked.

You see that fact is that you are a lot like Chewbacca. You are nearly dead at the control of a hijacked ship. You are awaiting the boarding party that has been sent to kill you. You cannot fight them off and your only hope is a rescuer that will risk His very life to save you.

Unlike Chewbacca, you are not wrongly pursued, your crime is not freeing others from slavery. You have violated a just law and the law is seeking you out. You don’t believe me do you? May I ask you a few questions to see if I am right about your crimes?

Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever stolen anything, regardless of value or your age? Have you ever looked with lust? If you answered yes to these three questions you are a liar, thief, and adulterer at heart! You have violated God’s standard of Holiness, the Ten Commandments, and you are already condemned.

You have not paid the penalty yet but it a matter of time before your ship is tracked down, and justice is swiftly dealt out. It is appointed once for a man to die then comes judgment. All liars have their part in the lake of fire, and no thief or adulterer will inherit the kingdom of Heaven. Your only hope is a rescuer to save you.

God demonstrated His love toward us in this, that while we were yet sinners (transgressor of His law) Christ died for us. Jesus Christ, totally right with the law, paid the fine you had earned. He did not risk His life to save you, He gave His life to save you. He laid it down and took the anger of God, that you earned, on Himself.

However that is not the end of the story. He was also raised from the dead, proving His sacrifice was acceptable to God. He has ascended back to Heaven were He prepares a place for those He saves.

What must I do to be saved? Great question! The Bible clearly teaches that one must come through the door of Jesus Christ, He is the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the father but through Him. It also clearly teaches that Jesus is the door. Now we know that doors swing on hinges. The hinges that the door of salvation swings open on is repentance and faith. You must repent, turn away from your sins, and place your faith, trust, in Jesus Christ alone.

You maybe saying you are already saved, so what does this story do for me. If you noticed the main part of the illustration was on what Chewbacca’s life-debt meant. You see you were dead in your sins at one time, if you are saved now. Christ came and set you free and saved you from sure death. Every moment from that day belongs to Him. It is reasonable that you would now serve Him with your whole life. Everything you own, even relationships, belongs to Him now.

As you serve Him out of gratitude for what He did for you, it will turn into love. Over the years of following, Him that love will turn into a true friendship that will last for eternity.

So I challenge you to think of yourselves as a bond-servant with a life-debt. Consider that you could have nothing, not even your life or freedom, if not for the sacrifice He made for you.

Key Verses

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. (NKJV)

Acts 20:20,21 how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. (NKJV)

Romans 5:6-8 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (NKJV)

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NKJV)

Other Verse references

Revelation 21:8
1 Cor. 6:9
Heb. 9:27

Slippery Slope

2007-02-16T14:59:00.000-08:00

Slippery Slope

I remember back when I was a child the worst thing I could hear from my parents was, We are going to church Sunday and you are going also. I was not saved so church was just something that took time away from me doing what I wanted to do. At the time they where going to a Full Gospel Church of God. Sunday morning was not to bad if I didn't have to go to Sunday school, it would only last about 90 minutes. Sunday night was a whole other story it would start at 6:00 and if I got out at 8:30 I counted myself lucky, sometimes it would last until 9 or 9:30 that seemed like the longest three hours of my life.Then many years later still lost, a good friend called me up and wanted to have lunch so I said sure. The next day at lunch he asked me if I was a good person? I said I was ok I guess. He continued to carry me through Gods law and I realized in man’s eyes I was ok but in Gods eyes I was a terrible sinner and if I died I would spend an eternity in hell. Later that week by the Grace of God I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal savior.

As I sat thinking about finding a church I thought back to my youth and how much I dreaded sitting there for hours listening to dull preaching. This made me slow to want to return to Church. But I started to hunger to hear the word of God taught, my friend started a Bible study in my parents house, as soon as it was over each week I started looking forward to the next week, for some reason now I've enjoyed hearing the word of God spoke and taught. Sitting through an hour or two seemed to fly by and left me wanting more.

After about a month me and my wife started to church, go figure it was a Church of God. As time went on I started to notice the Pastor kept a close eye on his watch and sometimes even if he wasn't finished with his message he would finish it up because it was almost noon or on Sunday night the one hour I guess allotted for church was almost up. I didn't think to much about it at the time, but I continued to see a trend toward more Songs, worship, praise, and less preaching of Gods Holy word. Now don't get me wrong praise and worship is very important and I think it is ok to have an entire service occasionally of just it. But the preaching and teaching of Gods Holy word is very important for Christian growth. Then I started paying attention to preaching and teaching on TV, radio, or wherever I heard it. I noticed sometimes an entire sermon or lesson was taught and very little if any Bible verses was read or even mentioned.

I am a Sunday school teacher now, and I use stories sometimes that I think are relevant or make a good point but my lesson is based on scripture and the story will lead back to them. I started to study and talk to my friend which is an Evangelist about this trend, and I found out some disturbing things: In the attempt to bring more people in, the modern church has decided to soften the message, tell more stories to make the sermon more entertaining, and to appeal to the people more. They have done studies about what the modern church goer wants and is looking for in a church today. They want less preaching of the word and more exciting things like singing, drama, and other activities.

The modern church has embraced this with open arms, hoping it will bring more people in, and then maybe they will hear something one day that will save them. I hear things like if we can just get them in or we have to do whatever it takes to get them in. What do they hear in some Churches when they get in? The prosperity or modern gospel whatever you chose to call it. Teaching if you just accept Jesus into that God shaped hole in your heart he will fix all your problems, get you a better job, a bigger house, and a nicer car. Now these may be fruits of the spirit that he gives you but it should not be a carrot to dangle in front of a dark and dieing world to lure them to God. They are trying to appeal to the carnal side of man to get them. That is inviting worldliness into the church!Now some of these things alone don't seem that bad but it seems to be a slippery slope. I see churches voting on canceling services for thanksgiving, valentines day, Christmas Day the most important Christian Holiday next to Easter, and the worst I have heard yet cancel church for the Super Bowl. So what will be next Aprils fools day, nice sunny days, maybe even Easter Sunday? That may sound extreme but 50 years ago calling of church for the super bowl would have never even been considered. It is a slippery slope so be careful.Richard N.

Marriage Retreat

2007-02-05T19:25:00.000-08:00

Marriage Retreat

We went on our annual Marriage Retreat in Gatlinburg, TN this weekend and had some great Divine appointments. And satan was mad!

In one of the outdoor, corner shopping areas, Franklin was encouraging me to get up and o/a. The fear I felt was paralyzing. However, he and God were more persistent than my fear. I got up and went through about 20 love/Valentine trivia questions to about 8-10 constant people with approx. 25 or so wandering by. I ended with, “What is the greatest act of love ever demonstrated?” Rom 5:8 “God demonstrated His love for us in this, while we were still sinners Christ died for us”. I left it at that. As I got down a lady hollered Good job at me and gave me a thumbs up.

A little while later Franklin did the same thing, but had no one stop. He still pushed on though. After he got down I saw a group of kids and started giving them all MDB (Million Dollar Bill) and he came up and asked them the million-dollar question. He ended up going all the way through the Gospel with them. It was great!

Then Sunday, my sister forgot her purse in our cabin and we had to go back. The beauty of this is my sister NEVER forgets things; she is compulsive about getting her stuff together but God had a different plan:

By the time we leave the cabin (after getting her purse) we head to the outlet mall for a bit of shopping and Franklin has an opportunity to witness to 2 different ladies. One of which got totally convicted and cried. She thanked him for talking with her and he gave her some tracts and some info. I passed out many tracts.

Over the course of the trip (Thur - Sun) we passes out approx 50 tracts, this includes the many left in rest stop restrooms and given to rest stop attendants and had maybe 20 people hear the Gospel.

A side note: While in downtown Gatlinburg 3 young girls were stopped at a candy store, watching the taffy being pulled and stretched by the taffy-pulling machine. My sister walks up and asks if they know why it does that. They start guessing and she says No, but good guess. Then looks at Franklin and me and says Gimme a million! None of the girls knew the answer but she gives each of a MDB for their guess. I think her tract total may be up to 6 now, for her entire life. I praise God for how she is growing!!

By Ginger

My beautiful wife is correct and inspiring in her telling of the story. I am just going to add a little color on one of the incidents.

One of the girls I shared with was Jennifer. I was feeling like I have been unfaithful in pursuing God and the lost lately. I was walking around the mall and had just finished asking God to forgive me and to let me see any divine appointments He had for me that day.

I felt God's leading to talk to Jennifer. Conversation went like this.

me: I like to ask people interesting questions. Can I ask you an interesting question?

Jennifer: Yes.

me: What do think happens when you die?

Jennifer: To Heaven.
me: Does everyone go to Heaven?

Jennifer: I like to think everyone goes to Heaven
.
me: If there was a standard for going to Heaven, would you want to know what it is?

Jennifer: Yes

me: For example you plan for your vacations, college, jobs and other things. We know that we will only be on this earth for 70-120 years max, you would agree its important to plan for the eternity beyond, right?

Jennifer : Yes

me: The Bible reveals that the standard is the Ten Commandments. Have you heard of them?

Jennifer : Yes

me: Do you mid if I take you through a few of them to see how you do?

Jennifer: No.

me: Have you ever stolen?

Jennifer: no, not that I can remember.

me: I stole staples from my teacher when I was in kindergarten(actually first grade I misspoke) and it made me a thief.

me: Have you ever told a lie?

Jennifer : Yes

me: What does that make you?

Jennifer: A liar

me: have you ever used…..

I took her through the third commandment and the 7th commandment. She was guilty of both.

I told her that by her own admission she was a liar, adulterer at heart, who has blasphemed God's name. Bearing in mind that the Bible says all liars will have their part in the lake of fire, and no adulterer will inherit the kingdom of Heaven, and He will not hold anyone guiltless that takes his name in vain, will you go to Heaven or hell. She said hell.

I asked her if she knew what God did so she would not have to go to hell? She started weeping at this point. She mumbles something about Jesus. I told her that valentines is coming up and I was preaching earlier using valentine questions and one question I asked was, what is the greatest demonstration of love ever shown.

I spoke Romans 5:8 into her life. I explained to her, “That God demonstrated His love toward us that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” I explained to her sin was the transgression of the laws we had just talked about. I told her that God had seen every sin that she has committed up until now, and everyone after today and still choose to send His son to die for her.

I told her of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ and His ascension. I explained to her that her part in receiving this gift was to repent and place her faith in what Christ has done for her.

I ended up praying for her. We hugged as she continued to weep. I gave her the only tract I had so she can remember what I told her and encouraged her to go to the website and find "Save yourself some pain". I also gave her a second tract.

When I said I am giving you an extra tract, she said" to give to someone else." I said yes. You have people in your life you love and do not want to see go to hell, just like I did not want you to go to hell. Pass it on to them.

It has been months since God has let me see some fruit of my efforts as far as doing a 1-2-1. It has brought me encouragement. I see fruits in other areas, but I told God that I would obey Him and His word regardless of the results I see, or even if no results occur period.

By Franklin

Modern Idolatry

2007-02-05T07:25:00.000-08:00

Modern Idolatry

What is idolatry? In a nutshell, idolatry is the creating and or worshipping a false god. It can be one that was created in physical form such as a golden calf, or one that is created in the mind. Both are displeasing to the one true God.

I would like to tackle the idolatry that is mainly in the mind. I am going to ask you some questions to help you determine if you serve a god conceived in the mind of man or the God revealed in the Bible.

Do you worship a God that is love? (1 John 4:8)

Do you serve a God that has always existed and will always exist?(Psalm 90:2)

Do you serve a God that is long-suffering (patience)? (Exodus 34:6,7)

Do you serve a God that is compassionate? (Exodus 34:6.7)

Do you serve a God that is Holy (separate/different from everything else)? (Isaih 6:3)

Do you serve a God that is angry at sinners? (Psalm 5:5,6)

Do you serve a God that did create a place of eternal punishment?(Matthew 25:41, Revelation 21:8)

Do you serve a God that will send people to an eternal place of punishment? (Revelation 20:15, 21:8)

If you answered no to any of those questions then you are not worshiping the one true God. It is possible that you have not been told all these things about God, it is possible through your own studies you have not found these passages. I must also mention that is not an all inclusive list of God’s characteristics that He has revealed through His Word. I encourage you to read your Bible daily, Old and New Testament seeking out who God is, so when you do worship and serve, you know who you are serving and worshipping.

That kind of covers those who may be worshipping a god, believing it is God, but because of not studying the scriptures has been led into this idolatry. They would be similar to the ones who worshipped gods created by another’s hand.

What about those who are creating this false god in the minds of others. If you (as a pastor, evangelist, Sunday school teacher, or Christian) do not convey an accurate image of God to others, you are creating idols for them to worship in their minds. If you only talk about His wrath you are creating a God who is wrath, while God is love. If you only talk about God and His love, you are creating a God that has no wrath in the minds of those you influence.

I encourage you to go back through the list and see if you cover all of these characteristics of God when you describe Him to people. Do you tell people God hates sin but loves the sinner? Read Psalm 5:5,6 and see if you are talking about God or an idol you are creating in their minds, and maybe your own.

Do you have to cover every characteristic of God every time you talk to someone or every sermon you preach? No! I challenge you to ask yourself if you tend to always focus on one side, therefore ignoring another aspect. This creates idols in others minds, even if you know the truth.

So I challenge you this day, determine to worship the one true God, and to quit creating idols in the minds of men that lead them into idolatry and away from the true God.

Whewwhat a weekend

2007-01-14T13:18:00.000-08:00

Whew…what a weekend!
By Ginger Reeves

Franklin and I decided to go witnessing Friday night after our home group meeting.  On the way to the fishin hole (5 Points South), I fell asleep in the car.  Once we got there, Franklin asked if I wanted to stay or go home.  I said let’s go ahead since we were already down here.

We got out and made our way to our spot.  Got there and nobody’s around.  Kinda suprising given it was a nice evening and it was a little later than we usually come.

But I looked across the street and saw a lot of people hanging out.  We head over there.  Oh, did I mention our 3 y/o son is with us?  We cross the street and James immediately runs up to this large fountain, kinda the center piece foe the area and is jabbering about its various decorations.  So Franklin has walked over and is talking with this gentleman, named Chip.  I start praying for him.  Then ask, do You want to jump up and start open airing right here, right now?  I didn’t.

Franklin finishes with Chip and joins James and I at the fountain.  I look around and tell him There are a lot of people praying around here.  He says Really? Where?

About that time a small group of young people stands up and joins hands and starts praying, out loud.  He waits until they finish, then walks up to them.  James and I sit down on the steps and are playing.  There is another small group of ladies that is watching us.  They go talk to the men with Franklin for a moment, then come talk to me.  I tell them I am his wife, as I point to Franklin.

They tell me they are with a local church and are out witnessing to folks as part of a class they are taking at their church!  I couldn’t believe it.  These were kids, 18 and 19  years old.  We made small talk for a few minutes, then I asked them I have 3 minutes to live, how do I get to Heaven?  One said ask forgiveness of sins and ask Jesus into your heart.  Ok, but doesn’t Scripture say that the heart is deceitfully wicked so why should He want to live there?  Another said He will make it clean as snow and pure as a lamb.  Ok, but what is sin?  Disobeying God’s Word.

By this point, the men had all walked up and we all took hands and prayed for one another.  It was so awesome to see other people out sharing God’s Word with the hungry and hurting in our city!

The next day we hit Homewood Park and I did an o/a with about 5 kids present the whole time, and several adults passing by.  My good person goes to private school in Shelby County and knew the verses I quoted.  But the look on his face when the law was opened up before him revealed it was new to him.  Also, the same look when I gave him the money he did not earn or deserve since he was not a good person was priceless. Franklin was able to 2 1-2-1’s while we were out.  It was a great weekend serving our awesome and mighty God!!

Thanksgiving outreach

2006-11-29T21:32:00.000-08:00

I knew the crowds would be out in full force Friday after Thanksgiving; so I decided I was going to be one of the crazies out before sun up! I ended up being a solo (my 2 y/o doesn't count, does he?) My husband had to get to work so I went it alone. Man, does satan know how to step up in the fear department. I was SOOO jazzed about going out, but got there (inside the mall) and pop! the wind out of my sails. I encountered a small group of young girls, very prideful and full of themselves. I was trembling. They gave me a very simple objection (don't believe in hell) and it totally stumped me! I tried to get around it, but just couldn't. Gave them all a tract, told them to read it, thanked them and left. Then kicked myself, repeatedly!

I decided to just go home, quit. Then said no, because of all the folks who knew I was coming out I would have to tell I quit so I stayed. I talked with 2 young guys, slightly older than the previous group. Remember, still pushing my 2 y/o in his stroller. This time went great! Nailed it - law, grace, repentance, whole 9 yards. PRAISE GOD! It was so great that He gave me the strength to stand firm and fight!

Also got to go out Saturday since it was GORGEOUS and about 70 degrees. I really wanted to open air. I witnessed to a couple not 5 feet in the park. It went great; they very receptive. I then went over to where we usually o/a. Got up and started “praying God send people; who do You want to hear this today?’ Just then 2 guys walked by and I asked if they were ready for Christmas and did they know alot about it. They said yes to both so I asked if I could ask them some trivia questions for fun. Went through 8-10 questions, then got to the biggy "If Santa used God’s Ten Commandments as the standard of naughty and nice, how would you measure up?" I was able to give them the full council of God Holy Law. They seemed to really get it. An hour or so later as we were leaving I gave them each a God Has A Wonderful Plan for Your Life tract. Told them to remember what we talked about. It was a great and awesome weekend and I thank God I was able to give people His Word and pray each one would go to Him and ask "what now?"

By Ginger Reeves

Living to Love One Another

2006-10-17T19:37:00.000-07:00

Living to Love One Another

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34 NIV). Is this a new command? It looks a lot like the second one we discussed. I quoted this scripture in a Bible study one day, and a fellow participant said, “It is not new, the Old Testament said the same thing.” He gave me a few examples. I, not being mature, patient, or avoiding quarrelsome disputes, said, “If you have a problem with it being new, tell Christ, He said it, not me.” Some may be thinking, What a smart aleck! They are correct. God has been convicting me of the way in which I communicate with others. I will only ask that you add your prayers to mine, that I submit myself, especially my mouth, to God’s control.
The old command was to love others as we love ourselves. Until the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, that was the best we could hope for, and it was still out of our reach.
Both the Old Testament and the New Testament give us the way in which we can obey both commands. God promised His people in Ezekiel that He would remove the heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh. God also promised He would “put a new spirit within them” (11:19 NKJV). Later in chapter thirty-six, God clarifies what that new spirit will be when He says, “I will put my Spirit within you” (36:27 NKJV). In both passages, He says the new spirit will cause us to walk in His statutes, keep his ordinances, and do them (see 11:20; 36:28 NKJV). The new heart and new spirit are also mentioned in Ezekiel 18:31-32
Jesus explains to Nicodemus that unless you are born of water and Spirit, you cannot receive eternal life. Jesus tells His disciples that when they are arrested and taken before kings and rulers that the Holy Spirit will speak though them. Before His crucifixion, Jesus tells His disciples that after He is gone another will come to teach them. He promises the Spirit of truth “dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:17 NKJV). The Apostle Paul reminds us in more than one place that we are new creations in Christ (see 2 Cor 5:17; Eph 4:24; Col. 3:10). Only with the Spirit of God within us, working in conjunction with our new hearts, can we keep this command (the new command) or any other command. “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19 NKJV).
The question then is, “How did Jesus love me?” I am going to separate the way Jesus showed love into two main categories: He showed love to all men in general ways such as providing for physical needs, spiritual needs, and salvation. Jesus also tailored His words and actions, so those He encountered would know and feel loved. Both types of love are critical and we have to learn to love both ways if we are to imitate Christ. Paul writes, “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” (1 Cor. 9:22 NKJV).

JESUS SHOWS LOVE TO ALL

Christ first showed love by leaving heaven and coming to earth in the form of a man. He endured all that we endured, facing the type of temptations that are common to man. He obeyed His parents on earth, even though He was their God (see Luke 2:51 NKJV). So one way He loved us was to come to our world and experience our pain and sufferings. We could say, “He walked a mile in our shoes.”
Jesus loved his disciples by serving them. He washed their feet at the Last Supper. Washing feet was a duty done by a slave, the youngest child, or an adult of lowest stature. That is why Peter protested Jesus washing His feet. Peter knew that the greatest person at the table, Jesus, should not be washing their feet.
The burning question I have is, “Why was this not already performed by one of the disciples?” The only reason I can think of is that each one thought they were of too high a station to perform such a menial task. The fact that they had been arguing over which one would be greatest in the kingdom during the last days of Christ’s life lends credence to that hypothesis. This arguing during the Last Supper is documented in Luke 22:24.
In fact, Jesus explains that He washed the disciples’ feet as an example to them on how they should be. He said, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that you should do as I have done to you” (John 13:14-15 NKJV). It is important to understand that serving each other in humility, not just by washing feet, is what Jesus is talking about. Jesus repeatedly told His disciples the greatest one in the kingdom of heaven is the one who serves, not the one who is served. Usually He mentioned this after they argued over which one would be greatest. The concept of humility is a struggle for many of us, including me.
This begs the question, “Are we too busy trying to do great things to build the kingdom that we refuse to serve in the not-so-great tasks?” Pastors, I would like to point out that your congregation and staff follow your lead. If you think you are too important to pick up a candy wrapper or occasionally work with the youth in a non-teaching capacity, then your staff and parents will also see those tasks as not important. This also plays out in evangelism and other ministry functions. If the pastor is not doing something, then it is not important. At least, that is what their staff and congregation will believe. Of course a pastor can not do everything, but showing a lack of interest or action will lead his congregation to neglect the same things.
Now I want to talk to every other Christian. Your pastor is not supposed to do everything, nor is the answer to every need hiring more staff. “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-12 NKJV, emphasis added). Your pastor’s job is to equip you to do the work of ministry. He as a leader needs to value all these things with actions and words, but you need to step up and ask, “How can I help?”
Jesus provided for the physical needs of those around Him. He is recorded on two separate occasions feeding thousands of people supernaturally. He would heal the blind, lame, and deaf. Mark 1:41 records Jesus healing a leper. He also calmed the winds and the seas to provide physical protection and peace of mind for His disciples.

Jesus suffered beatings, mocking, crucifixion, and eventually death as part of His loving us. He did not cry out, cuss, blame, lie, or even try to escape His sentence. He did this so He could be our scapegoat, our sin offering to God. He bore our iniquities quietly to the grave and on His lips was a prayer that God “…forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34 NKJV).
How do we love others like Jesus loved us? Well, instead of asking ourselves, “What would Jesus do?” (WWJD), we need to ask ourselves, “What did Jesus do?” (WDJD) in similar situations. When we see a physical or spiritual need in another Christian or non-Christian, we are to do what is in our power to help. This could be providing clothing or food for physical needs. It could also be admonishing, rebuking, and exhorting the faint-hearted or those going down a wrong path. It could also be praying for others’ needs when we cannot meet them, either spiritually or physically.
We can spend time with those we think are beneath us socially, spiritually, economically, intellectually, or any other way we look down our noses at people. We can help feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give water to the thirsty, and share the gospel that leads to salvation in Christ Jesus to a lost person.
We know Jesus could heal by a word, as the centurion points out in one story, but He chose to touch a leper (see Matt. 8:1-3; 8:7-9 NKJV). Lepers are contagious and are usually horribly disfigured. Jesus provided physical healing through His touch, but He also provided something else. He showed the leper he was valued enough by Him to merit a touch.
While participating with Convoy of Hope, my wife and I were able to give that touch to many people. I served according to my gifts by walking among those waiting in line to receive the gospel, food, medical attention, etc. While walking among them, I was able to provide information, meet needs, shake hands, give hugs, and listen to what was in their hearts. This means as much to those who do not feel loved as food does to the hungry. (Convoy of Hope partners with local organizations and churches across racial and denominational lines. This partnership unites communities, providing a platform for touching lives and bringing hope to thousands of individuals and families.)
Toward the end, my wife and I started carrying groceries for those who needed help. This allowed us more intimate time with those who where hurting. We were able to pray for these people individually.
I also must say that because of past hurts, many were reluctant to accept our help. They where afraid we were going to take advantage of them in some way, because in their world no one helps for no reason. The sad thing is I believe many of them know people who claim the name of Christ and still take advantage of others.
We can also love others like Jesus when we are in conflict with them. When they curse us, we can pray for them. When they beat us, we can forgive them and ask God to do the same. When they hurt us in any way, we can pray for them. When they scream, we can talk calmly or remain quiet. When your wife brings your mother’s faults into a conversation, leave her mother out of it. When your husband is not being the spiritual leader of the home, remember “they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives” (1 Pet. 3:1-2 NKJV).

I WILL POST THE OTHER WAY JESUS SHOWED LOVE LATER.

TALLADEGA UPDATE

2006-10-10T07:01:00.000-07:00

TALLADEGA UPDATE
By Ginger Reeves

Saturday, 10/7/06, our team of 3 joined with another small team and we stormed the city of Talladega on one of its biggest weekends of the year: Race Weekend. This year was especially big since they were to have truck races Saturday, for the first time, and then the Nascar races Sunday. I ask 3 questions of people when they tell me about an event (witnessing, or otherwise): 1. Did you have fun? I love serving our God. I love working with my husband in this battle. I love meeting new people. I love watching peoples faces as they "Get it". 2. Did you learn how to do it better next time? We learned there is no such thing as too much prayer. We learned we need more tracts. We gave out approx. 300 Million Dollar Bills at one of the gates in about 15 minutes. We learned we need to ask more people to go with us next time. 3. Was God glorified? I believe HE was. We were serving Him, sharing His word, and being examples before thousands. My favorite part of the day was doing something my leaders taught me during EBC 14 (evangelism boot camp, when I went to LA in September): As we were walking with a large crowd crossing the street I started talking a little louder than usual to Jamie, explaining how sin is anything from lieing to murder to theft and how God views it all as wicked, despite how we in this world may view it. She instantly knew what I was doing and fell right into it. A lady a few feet in front of us though did NOT like what we were doing, because she kept looking over her shoulder shooting daggers at me. She never said anything, but it was obvious I had hit a nerve with her. The day did not go quite as we had expected, but we know what needs to be done when we go back in April.

John 3:16 Updated for modern times

2006-09-15T04:40:00.001-07:00

John 3:16

I have decided to do a paraphrase of John 3:16 to make it more modern, to bring it inline with our culture and times. I am basing this on observation of what preachers teach that Jesus brings people. If you can think of others please feel free to add them in.

Original

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Modern

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not drive a chevette but race through life in a corvette.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not ever be sick but have good health in this present life.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not be poor in finances(regardless of their spending habits or work ethic) but have riches that fall from the sky so they can enjoy them without work.

Here is just a few of mine, what can you come up with?

Yes I know this is satire, read the prophets they used it as well..

2006-09-15T04:40:00.000-07:00

Emergency room,car chase, etc part 2

2006-08-04T06:22:00.000-07:00

Part 2

After chasing our blessings outside of Jasper, we stopped at a gas station. Looking up from the road, we saw a restaurant that neither one of was aware existed. So we went in and ate lunch. We took the opportunity to give some tracts to the server. The bottom fell out of the sky, the winds blew, and thunder resounded all around us. We took the time to pray for the people in the restaurant and elsewhere in Jasper that God spare any unbelievers another day to hear the gospel.

We left the restaurant and had to turn away from town, because there was no way to cross the median there. Before we reached a place to turn around, I saw a sign for the city landfill (dump). Remembering that earlier, on the show I believe, Richard said he felt worthy of preaching at the city dump. So we decided to follow the signs to the dump. When we reached the dump, it was closed. We also saw a police firing range and some junked cars near the fence. After preaching about 5 mins from Job (to the cars and fence), we left. Why did we preach with no one around? Because practice is always good, and you never know what God is using something for. I simply trusted God would use this to accomplish something. I will one day know the reason why.

Richard reminded me that we could reach the west side of Jasper by continuing down the road we where on, so we kept going. We took the time to place some tracts in newspaper boxes when available. Arriving in west Jasper, we spied a park, so we stopped to pray God allow us to preach to the neighborhood there one day.

After leaving the park, found a guy walking a large dog on a large chain. Stopped and gave him a Million Dollar Bill (Secret Service edition). From him the Lord led us down a side street that crossed Hwy 69. As I approached Hwy 69, I see a car parked with three people standing in the road talking. I asked God if He wanted me to talk to them, nothing came back, but I assumed the fact my attention was drawn to them was enough of an answer.

We crossed Hwy 69 and parked near the car. I jumped out and said, ”this may sound crazy, but I can not stand seeing people standing around without giving them money.”. I gave them a Million Dollar Bill each. I was planning on getting back in the car, but felt the need to try and share the gospel verbally. So I asked, ”have you ever gotten amillion dollars before?” They answered no. “Has anyone ever asked you the million dollar question? Do you a few minutes so I can ask you?” The lady responded she had to go meet her husband, but asked me to come back. I said “we might be able to.”

She started to drive off, and I turned around to leave as well. She got to the Hwy 69, then stopped car, got out and started heading back to us. Richard I exchanged glances, and wondered if this was going to be bad or good. Well, it was good. She thanked us for doping this, asked us where we went to church, and explained this area really needs what we are doing. We gave her ”Save yourself some pain” and a Gospel of John that we were creating for giving out to the community that included the gospel and Ten Commandments. She was almost in tears.

Thank You God for that Divine Appointment.

You may ask, how I knew that God was leading me to a Divine Appointment. What gave me the faith to follow this signs?
I believed that Jesus commanded us to “go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.” I therefore had faith that wherever this journey ended it would be in the world, and there would be a creature that I could preach the gospel to. So I trusted God to lead me to people in order I could obey His command.

I also trusted that God’s Word would not return to Him void without accomplishing His purposes. So as long as I used His Word, I knew it would accomplish His purposes.

I also trusted that God works everything to good, for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes. So I knew that He would use this for good, even if I was off base.

So whether or not it was God leading us, or just us having fun (we did). I trusted God to use it.

Emergency Room, Car Chase, City Dump, Divine Appointment

2006-08-01T05:39:00.000-07:00

Emergency Room, Car Chase, City Dump, and Divine Appointment

What do all the above have in common? A very interesting Saturday afternoon. One Saturday after finishing our radio show, Jasper Harvest, Richard and myself headed out to share the gospel. We had no particular place to go, usually we go to a park or the mall, unless the Lord led us in a different direction. Well before we get to the park Richard makes a comment about not wanting to go to the emergency room. I believe my driving was the cause of the statement, even though my driving has brought Richard closer to the Lord in prayer.

When I pull into the park it looked dead, so I said,” you want to go to the emergency room, huh? He said,” no.” We decided that if the Lord was trying to reach someone in the emergency room it would be better to drive ourselves there than let the Lord make other arrangements. So we head for the emergency room. On the way we saw a carwash at Wal-Mart. Richard commented that it was refreshing they were not using young ladies in revealing clothing to draw business. I agreed that I appreciated it.

I felt that after the emergency room we should come back and give tracts to them. We went to the hospital in Jasper, and left tracts on all the floors, in the emergency room. On the way out of the Hospital, I saw a couple coming down the hall. I knew at that moment this couple was the reason we where there. So I gave them a couple Million Dollars, tracts.

We went from there back to Wal-Mart. We ended up behind a car with a licsense plate that says “stlblsd”. Richard commented on it, and we followed in to Wal-Mart behind them. We parked and went to the car wash people. It turns out they were part of a church group(explains clothing) and they give out tracts from Living Waters also. So I thanked them for being faithful, gave them my card and offered to help train them to share the gospel.

It started raining so we got back in our car and left Wal-Mart. We found ourselves behind the same car we followed in. So we decided, like most Christians, we where going to chase our blessings. We figured what is the chance that we would get behind them again, so we took it as a sign. So we decided to follow them to see where the Lord would lead us. Since we had not eaten lunch yet, I was hoping they were going to eat dinner.

We followed them out of town, beginning to hope the Lord was not calling us to Memphis or Little Rock today. They pulled into a gas station just outside of town, and… I will finish this later.

City Stages

2006-06-20T04:51:00.000-07:00

City Stages

City Stages came once again to Birmingham. I have in years past always avoided the place because of the crowds, and music. This is the first year I have attended. I must admit I did have a purpose that overrode my on selfish desires. I realized that there would be people there who were still on a path to hell. People who have never been warned of the wrath to come, why it is coming, or to Whom they must flee.

The four hours spent at City Stages Saturday ended up being one of the most encouraging outing I have been on yet. I had three others join me. My beautiful wife (Ginger), my ministry partner(Richard) and his wife (Misty). Richard is hosting a WOTM Basic Training Course at his home and all of us our going through it. I believe this course has grown us all to become better sowers. Let me share with you what happened.

My wife has shared the gospel 4 times before City Stages; she has been passing out tracts on a regular basis. Probably on average 10 a week. Well at City Stages in a four-hour period she shared the full gospel with at least 5 people that I know of. She also encouraged Misty in giving out tracts as well. She also did the question for cash portion of my second O/A. She was so scared, but finally pushed through the fear.

Richard also did so much more. He has shared the gospel with a few people before City Stages, but Saturday He also shared with approx. 4 people. He also passed on many tracts. City Stages, is I believe, the first time he swung to the gospel from a tract. Previously he had shared with family and friends. Hopefully I can get him to post a story that really touched him, the last person he shared with. Richard left the man with the law, because he was not ready to hear grace.

Misty had a phenomenal day. She has, to my knowledge, never shared the gospel with anyone. She is reserved and usually just goes to work, comes home, and hangs out with her husband. She has been actively doing the WOTM Basic Training course. She started greeting strangers, leaving tracts around. Last Tuesday she role-played the gospel with my wife. She did a great job and left nothing out. Well Saturday she took it a step further. She gave out more tracts than she did at Doo Dah Day, but the exciting thing is that she gave the full gospel(she gave every example) to a stranger she had given a tract to.

The lady asked her,”What is this, is it religious?” Misty told her no, “It is a gospel tract” The lady asked her, “what does it say?” So Misty then went into the gospel with her. She was showing signs of conviction and according to others the lady boyfriend was joking around at first then his mouth shut also.

I believe the Lord made that a divine encounter, and since Misty had taken the pains to prepare to share the gospel, the Lord brought her an opportunity to do so.

I am so proud of the team the God had allowed me to lead to City Stages. They have went from loyal friends who supported me with prayers and presence, to full fledged seed sowers.

Glory to God in all these things. It is only Him at work in us that drives us to reach the lost.

Jesus friend of sinners?

2006-05-15T06:26:00.000-07:00

Was Jesus a friend of sinners?

Many claim that they do what they can to bring sinners into the church, even if it means not talking about sin, righteousness, judgment, and the wrath to come or any doctrine that is distasteful. They base this on the fact Jesus was friend of sinners. I ask you is Jesus a friend of sinners? Prove it!

Well what about Matthew 11:19 were Jesus says He is a friend to sinners? Well let’s look at it.

The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.

If you notice Jesus says that they say He is a friend of sinners. So far no proof yet that Jesus was indeed a friend of sinners. Luke 7:34 records also that Jesus was accused of being a friend of sinners.

In fact Jesus said in John 15:14,15 that we are His friends if we abide by His commandments.

Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

So the scripture does not actually say that Jesus was a friend to the sinner. You could ask, “ but didn’t Jesus hang out with sinners.” Yes He did. In fact, Jesus went to were sinners were, whether it is the Temple of God or a party. The truth is that there is no scriptural evidence that suggests that Jesus brought (unrepentant) sinners into the Temple. An abundance of evidence shows that Jesus took the Temple to the (unrepentant) sinners. (John 2:19)

Jesus never brought a sinner into the House of God, Jesus always took God to the sinner’s house.

So do you want to love the sinner like Jesus did, then ask Him to help you. Study how He interacted with sinners and do the same.

You want to be like Jesus, are you sure? Jesus took the gospel to the sinners were the sinners hung out. Jesus in fact kicked some sinners out of the Temple (John 2:14,15) So quit trying to modify you church service, removing things that offend (unrepentant) sinners so you can draw them in.

The very thing that you remove because it offends is more than likely the very thing that God has chosen to convict sinners of their sin and therefore drive them to the cross.

Re-ingnite L.A.

2006-04-29T10:56:00.000-07:00

Hey this link will take you to a friends website. It is a PDF and if you scroll down He talks about our trip to L.A. I encourage you to read it.

http://www.fool4given.com/evangelismupdate/eu_02-05-06.pdf

Do Dah Day Outreach

2006-04-26T07:44:00.000-07:00

I will be leading a team of seed sowers (people sharing the gospel) to Do Dah Days on May 20th. We need your prayers and support. Please pray for us. The following list will give you an idea of what to pray for. If the Lord lays it on your heart to be an answer to one of these prayers, you can contact me at

franklinreeves@bizminsupport.com

What we need is

1.People praying that God raise up laborers to assist.
2. People praying the God prepare the hearts and minds of those attending to understand the gospel.

3. People praying that God protect the laborers and their families before and after the event from attacks of the devil and the flesh.
4. Laborers that are willing to join us simply as on-the-spot prayer partners and rent-a-crowd.
5. Laborers that are able to or willing to be trained to pass out tracts.
6. Laborers that are able or willing to learn how to share the gospel.
7. Laborers that are able or willing to learn how to draw-a-crowd and Open/Air preach.
8. Pocket sized New Testaments, Gospel booklets.
9. Tracts( need tracts that give the Law before Grace like those found at www.livingwaters.com) Million Dollar Bills, Pink and Blue Illusions being two of the best for this situation.

* rent-a-crowd - a crowd draws a crowd. So if you would like to help but are not comfortable with giving out tracts, this is an excellent way to help.

Flat tire witness

2006-04-26T07:16:00.000-07:00

I was on my way home last Wed. I had gone to Jasper, Al to get some letters of recommendation for a job, and to talk to a ministry partner. I had not wanted to go, but had no choice. I ended up staying later than planned.

On the way, back I saw a van with a flat tire on the side of the road. I stopped to offer assistance. The elderly gentlemen was on his way to pick his daughter up from work. I looked and found were the spare should be, and it was empty.

Because of where he lived and the distance to where his daughter worked, I was not comfortable just dropping him off somewhere. I called my wife for guidance. She told me to do what I believed was the right thing to do. So I took his rim off and gave him a ride to Wal-Mart (knowing that it would be hard to make it to church on time).

At Wal-mart, I offered a Million Dollar bribe to expedite the process. The first person refused it. However, the people working on the tires did agree to do it first after I explained the situation. Since I still had a few million(tracts) left over I gave it to them as a thank you.

I talked to Jim (the man with a bad tire) on the way there and back. he had lost a both brothers at young ages. He had raised his daughter alone. He was now disabled and unable to work. He actually gave me about 4 different segways into the gospel.

I finally took one, and began to share the gospel. He claimed to be a good person, but before finishing I discovered He is a believer. He had also made sure his daughter knew the Lord. I asked if it was okay to pray for him and his daughter Angela. He said okay.

I do not know about everyone else, but I love praying for people I meet. I gave a general prayer for blessing and guidance. As he was walking away, the Lord put it on me to ask if I could pray about anything specific.

He did have on request. He told me, and then I said, "your name is Jim, and your daughter's name is "Peggy", right?" He gave me a shocked and amazed look. He told me that it was Angela, but her mother's name was Peggy. He said that she was strung out on drugs and needed prayer to. Angela had tried to have relationship in the last couple of years but the mom refuses.

So I prayed this time for God to send the gospel to Peggy and let her understand it. I prayed for reconciliation between mom and daughter. I asked him if he regularly attended church. He confessed he left a church recently because of the preaching not being pure. I exhorted him to find a church, reminding him that no perfect one existed.

I believe God put Peggy's name in my mouth, to touch that man in a way that he could not doubt God brought us together that day. He even said that he believes that God flattened his tire. I believe he is correct.

Praise the Lord.

Walker County and update

2006-03-31T07:06:00.000-08:00

Walker Country

I would like to apologize for not making an update here in months. So I will try and catch everyone up.

My heart is drawn to Jasper in Walker County. I have been praying for old friends from school, ex-coworkers. Most of these I have not seen since I became a Christian. We have been doing a Bible study in Jasper for almost a year now. My dad came for the first time last night(praise God!!).

A few months back I was called and asked to come do a one-day job. I went out to work but God had other plans. The business owner forbid us to start working until he called to give the go signal. We waited three hours, then decided to go out and get something to eat.

I was able to share the gospel with our waitress. She was in tears by the time we were done. She did not make a profession of faith, and I recommended she go home that night and read a couple chapters of John and ask God what she should do.

This was the first time I had done a 1-2-1 witness in over 4 weeks. When she walked away I told me friend and ministry partner, Richard, “I am shaking.” My arms were literally shaking I was so nervous.

After lunch, I started to take him home and go visit my parents. However, I felt like there was something else that needed doing. I had determined that no matter what was going through the business owner’s head, God had a reason for me to be out there. So I asked Richard if he wanted to go downtown and preach, pass out tracts etc. he said he would love to.

When we got down there, it was hard to engage people in conversation. Mainly because there was very few people to engage. I am weary of running across a courtyard at people to catch them between their cars and going inside. Therefore, we prayed that God help us reach or accomplishes what he wanted us to do there. After praying, we were led to go down the street in a direction we have not gone before.

The Lord led us to a building with storefronts for rent. I called, received the price, which was reasonable. It would make a good place for a mission type church. At the end of the building was a Christian Radio Station. It is Joy Christian Radio 1240 AM in Jasper. It also broadcast in Centre, and Alexander City on another frequency.

I said, “Why not?” Then we walked in and talked to the station owner. It was providential that he was there, he actually works out of all three offices. There is only someone at the station a couple days a week. I told him we were thinking of starting a ministry in Jasper that would be geared toward reaching the lost with the Gospel. We wanted to bring in other church to be co-laborers. He said if we run into road blocks, let him know and he would help.

When we walked out of there, Richard said he would sponsor a radio show if I wanted to do one. A few months later Harvest Radio was born. It took a few months for me to be sure, it made me nervous thinking about representing God on the radio. We started with 30-minute show on Sat 10:30am-11:00am. The week we decided, we needed to go an hour, the station manager told us he would place on the other two stations for free. He would do that until someone else asked to buy the time. He would then give us first choice.

I never saw a radio program coming out of this, and then to be on three stations was unthinkable. I do ask for your prayers that we do what God placed us there to do. I ask that you pray for God to continue to guide us and bless those things He is pleased with.

We are planning on starting to invite Christians through the show, and other channels to join us in learning how to share the gospel. There is an 8 week course we are considering doing, and we can also do a one day event. I ask that you pray that God lift up laborers to join with us in the harvest in Jasper and Walker County. I also ask that you pray that God provides a place for us to meet to do this training, that people come and are equipped, and pray that God provide resources to do this.

We prefer to give out pocket Bibles when witnessing to people, usually New Testament. We can carry more in our pocket and, fanny packs. We of course use tracts from www.livingwaters.com such as the Million Dollar Bill, Pink and Blue Illusions, the Smart Card for example. We would like to be able to provide those to the participants without having to charge them.

So please pray for our wish list above that God provide them. I also ask that you make a special unrelated request that God provide portable amplification for when we do Open Air preaching. God had been faithful to take my voice further that I thought it could go, and I have resisted asking Him for amplification. However when the winds are bad or a lot of background noise is present it will help take the good news further.

God Bless each and every one of you for your support, prayers, and love.

www.jasperharvest.org

Lynn Park Outing

2005-12-13T13:43:00.000-08:00

Lynn Park Outing

I was coming home from an interview Monday and just felt like I needed to go to the park and preach. I called my wife to see if she wanted to go and take the kids. So I came home we got ready and headed out.

I had not been in over a month. The last time I drove by to do it, the fear/anxiety was so high that I chickened out. While I can go out alone, it is easier when you have a brother or sister there praying for you.

We arrived had to pray a few times before we started because of family tensions. We were not united in purpose and attitude. I called everyone back into the van, so we could work out our issues. We prayed, talked, and then got out again.

The wife and kids went to invite people at the edges to come toward the middle. I raised my voice and started calling to them as well. Two young girls were walking by so I called out to them to join us for some Christmas Trivia. Ashley, 17, stayed with us.

I asked some easy questions and started swing from the natural into the spiritual. I then asked if anyone would make Santa’s nice list, if he used the Ten Commandments to measure them. I then asked if anyone to go through a couple and see. Ashley volunteered. It turned out that Ashley and the rest of us would be on the naughty list.

I then had to let them know that while Santa might not use the Ten Commandments, God in fact will. I went on to share the gospel with Ashley and the rest. I could see a change in Ashley as we talked about sin and why we can not earn our way to Heaven. We talked about the fact that around 2000 years ago a way for the debt to be paid came into the world. We talked about his lack of sin, but having such a great love for us that He paid our fine Himself.

Afterwards, I talked to James. James is a homeless man that is turning his life around. He wants to reenter society, and he realizes he is the reason for were his is now. His words not mine. I told him that I see no reason for God not to let him be reconciled to his family and rejoin society. So I offered to pray with him. Looking into his eyes I could see this spark of life that is many times absent in those without hope or without Hope (Christ). He claims the Lord and I believe him.

I got many encouragements from those listened. They were genuinely receptive and appreciative that we came out to share the gospel with them.

On the way out of the park, Walker asked if he could go and do the pink and blue tract with a man sitting on the bench. I said yes. Then Ginger said,” is that not Larry.” I looked over and saw that it was Larry. Therefore, I went over to talk to him.

Larry and I had met at one of the first times I had preached at Lynn Park. He is homeless as well. However, he has never asked for money. We talked about the Bible and I spent two hours talking to him one day. I realized that day why evangelism and counseling were both laid on my heart by God..

He told me that he has not seen his son in about 10-15 years. When he told me his son’s name I was shocked. Because his son is in the Marine Corps and is a sergeant. I worked with a Marine Corps sergeant by the same name. Well it turned out that they were not the same person. I did call the Marine Corp and try to track down his son. His son was deployed over seas, but I forwarded information to him on were his dad is and my contact info.

He had a ticket previously for beingin the park after curfew.. I asked him how it had turned out. He told me when he got their there was a guy he did not know. This guy walked up and asked his name. This guy told him he would talk to the judge for him. This mystery man walked up to the judge and talked to him. Then walked back to Larry and told him the charge was thrown out. Larry asked if he needed to wait for a piece of paper or something. The man said that the charge was already erased from the computer.

The funny thing is that I use a courtroom illustration sometimes. I tell them that they have a fine they can’t pay and will have to go to jail. Then I say but what if a someone, you don’t even know, was to walk into the courtroom and pay the fine for you. What would you think of that man? Then I let them know that is exactly what Jesus did for them 2000 years ago.

I want to ask all of you that might read this to lift up Larry and his son Allan. That God protect his son from harm in the Middle East, and that he reconcile them to each other on this side of heaven.

Chronicles of Narnia

2005-12-06T11:32:00.000-08:00

Chronicles of Narnia

This book series by C.S. Lewis has the gospel of Jesus Christ woven into its story line. Check out this website and listen to an explanation of the first book.

http://www.narniastory.com/

Why do only 5 of Chr

2005-11-26T11:46:00.000-08:00

“Why do only 5% of Christians ever lead anyone to Christ?”

I had a friend and pastor ask me one time, “Why do you think statistics show only 5% of Christians ever lead anyone to Christ?”

Many quote this statistic as a reason for not sharing the gospel or as an excuse for not leading someone to Christ. However I think that statistic makes sense only if you look at another figure. Bill Bright is his book The Coming Revival, reported that “only two percent of believers in America regularly share their faith in Christ with others” (New Life Publication, p. 65)

Could the answer be that simple? Can the reason most Christian never lead someone to Christ is because they do not share the gospel with others on a regular basis? Yes, I believe it is that simple.

How do you become good at something? You first study it, then you do it. At first you will not be very good, and you will struggle and even mess up. If you continue to practice what you are learning to do then it becomes second nature. However if you only do it a couple times at first, then a couple times a year after that, you will never become good at it.

Try becoming good at golf by watching a video, taking a couple practice swings, and going to the golf course for a game twice a year. How good will you get? Not very. What is the chance you will sink a hole in one or even two? Not very likely.

Well we do that with evangelism, we either never learn to share or faith, or we learn and never practice it. Without practicing it we never become comfortable or even good at it. Our lack of knowledge reduces the chances we will lead anyone to Christ. Our lack of practice causes difficulty in verbalizing the gospel, which reduces our chances of leading anyone to Christ.

Now let assume you have learned to do it and you have practiced it enough that it is second nature for you to explain the gospel. Your chances of leading someone to Christ is perhaps 3 out of 10 ( just picking a number to give as example). You still have to share the gospel with 10 in order to lead the 3 to Christ. If you only share the gospel 7 times this year, you might miss the opportunity to lead someone to Christ.

I believe that lack of knowledge keeps many away from sharing Christ to others. I believe that amongst those that know how, lack of practice keeps them from leading someone to Christ. Then for those who have knowledge and that have practiced enough in the past to have the presentation down pat, they do not share the gospel enough to lead anyone to Christ.

That is the easy answer and it is true for most of us.

Is it possible for someone to have the knowledge, and practice sharing the gospel enough to have it down pat, do it on a regular basis (with the lost) and not lead anyone to Christ?

It is possible. Our command was to preach the gospel to every creature, and to make disciple of all nations. That command does not guarantee us that we will lead anyone to Christ, and out of obedience we may toil for many years if not forever without leading another to Christ. You could be a sower or waterer all of your life and another gets the pleasure of reaping. I have sown and I have reaped. Reaping is more fun but without sowing there is no reaping. I can even tell of one incident were I sowed or watered, and a few minutes later another part of the team I was with reaped.

I only encourage you to learn to share the gospel, use intense practice in the beginning so you can become comfortable, and then do it regularly for the rest of your life. You will be blessed and more importantly you will be a blessing to many.

Fear of Man

2005-11-18T14:50:00.000-08:00

Fear of Man

This is an excerpt from my upcoming book called Do You Love Me? The book will tackle Evangelism and how that figures into our love for Jesus.

Almost every time I choose to withhold the gospel from someone, it is because of the fear of man. I am afraid they will think I am crazy. I am afraid they will attack me verbally or physically. I am afraid I will offend them by insinuating they are not a Christian or a good person. I am afraid if they are atheist, Buddhist, homosexual, or fill-in-the-blank, they will think I am being judgmental. My biggest fear is they know me and will bring up my sins from long ago … or from last week.

I was on the way to the hospital to visit a friend, Melissa, who had a blood vessel burst in her head. Her brother is one of my longest, lasting friends. I had been sharing the gospel, using questionnaires, with an EE team in a public location. I was thinking it was easier for me to share with strangers than with family, and that, other than my immediate family, Melissa and her family would be the hardest to share with. I went to the hospital with the plan to pray for her and comfort her family. I had not expected to see Melissa, figuring she would not be allowed visitors outside the family. However, I was allowed to see her, and her mother specifically asked that I go and pray for her.

I went into the Intensive Care Unit where Melissa’s bed was. I talked to Melissa and asked if I could pray for her. She said she would appreciate it, and I prayed for her. I have a CD by Casting Crowns and one of the songs is a narrative of a person asking God to give him words to speak. His friend is dying and instead of sharing Jesus, he lets fear move him into talking about the weather again. I have loved, listened, and been effected by this song for over a year. When I met with Melissa in the hospital, I had just learned how to share the gospel and was sharing it with strangers. I knew I could not walk out of her room without attempting to share the gospel.

I said, “I am dying to ask you two questions.” (I almost stopped right there because of the stupid way I began my presentation. Do not use the word dying improperly when talking to a patient in ICU). She said I could ask my questions. She answered the EE diagnostic questions in a way that lead me to believe she was not saved. I then asked permission to share the gospel, and she allowed me to share. I shared the gospel and finally asked her for a commitment. The nurse asked me to leave, because visiting hours were over (not because I was sharing gospel). I am sure Melissa is still not saved, but I did lead her brother to Christ a few weeks later. I now do a Bible study in her mother’s house where she currently lives. She has not joined us, but I will continue to pray and will talk to her again about the gospel.

I have shown you that you can mess up and still share the gospel. I have shown you that you can lead even those who know your worst sins to Christ. The power is in the seed, not the sower. The Word of God, spoken or read, works with the Holy Spirit to bring salvation to every creature that trusts in the work Christ did.

My next example is proof of that. I thought sharing the gospel with my family would be the hardest. A few months after speaking with Melissa in the hospital, I started thinking about how hard it would be to share the gospel with my ex-wife. It would be difficult to speak to her without her thinking I wanted to change her into a better person. I was on the way to her house to pick up my oldest boys when that familiar, quiet voice let me know I would share with her that day. At first, I begged God to send another messenger. Then, realizing that He had chosen me for this, I begged Him to give me the words and attitude that would not be condescending to her. I begged that He prepare her heart to understand and receive the words.

My wife and I had been praying for my ex-wife’s salvation, protection, and for God to draw her and her husband to Himself if they were already saved. I realize now that God had sent someone to share the gospel with them, but that person had remained quiet for almost two years. To make a long story short, my ex-wife made a profession of faith that day.

On my way home, I just started crying. One reason for my tears was I had come to Christ while I was still married to my ex, and I did not do the most important thing a husband should do: share and show Christ to his wife. The second reason I cried was because God allowed me to fix one of the mistakes I had made in that relationship by telling my ex-wife about the true gospel. The third reason for my outpouring of emotion was I had reason to believe my oldest boys will see their mom in heaven one day, and they will not have to worry about her salvation.

Skate Board for One

2005-11-17T04:17:00.000-08:00

Skate Board for One Million Dollars.

Sunday November the 6th I met some kids skateboarding at a park in Jasper. Why was I in Jasper? I had went there to visit the a local church that a good friend of mine attends. Part of the reason was to make up for not being able to attend a function he had invited me to earlier. Part of the reason was to visit him and his family because I love them and like to be around them. However the major reason is because my parents live in Jasper. I was hoping that by taking their grandchildren to a church out there they might join us.

I look for any excuse I can to get my mom and dad to visit a church. Not because you have to go to a church to become a Christian or stay a Christian, but because I have shared the gospel with both and at this time I believe they are not saved. I was hoping that by getting them to church, that they would hear God’s word more and from someone else. Hoping they would be more accepting if it was from some other than their son.

Well to get to the story, I was walking around the park with that friend I had mentioned. My children was with us as well. His wife and Ginger were not present at the park with us. We walked around talking about family, church, evangelism, etc.. We came upon some kids with skateboards outside the recreational center. They had came over to use the bathroom, since skateboarding is not allowed at the center.

I only had one tract, a million dollar bill, so I decided to go back and continue our conversation. I told my friend that I wish had the “pink and blue” illusion tract to open a conversation with the boys. As we were walking away I decided I could not walk away from them without at least trying. So I said to my boys and Richard, “come one lets go to were those kids are.”

We walked up and I started talking to them about skateboarding. I asked them if they though the could grind the rail going down the stairs. I quickly added that I was not asking them to break the rules by showing me, was just interested if they could. We talked for a minute about what they could do. I then pulled out the million dollar bill and asked them if they had ever seen one of these. One of the kids said, “I will sell you my skateboard for a million dollars!”

I told them I only had one but wanted to give it to one of them. I told them I prefer giving it to a good person. I asked if any of them were good. They said to give it to him, pointing at Seth, out of us he would be your choice for one that is most good. I Seth if that was true. He said compared to his friends it was true.

I said, do you mind if I ask you a few questions to see if it’s true. He said sure. I went on to ask Seth, and then the others, if they had ever lied, stolen, used God’s name in vain, and honored their parents. It turns out that all of them had broken at least two three of the Ten Commandments. I asked Seth if he would be innoncent or guilty if he was judged by those standards. He said guilty. I then asked the rest and they agreed they would be guilty as well. I asked, “would you go to heaven or hell?”

They said hell. I asked if it concerned them. They agreed that going to hell concerned them. I asked if they knew what God did so they would not have to go to hell? I went on to give them the parachute illustration for trusting in Christ, they courtroom illustration for their fine being paid even though they were guilty.

I asked them if they had Bibles and they did. I told them to read the first couple chapters of John, and to think about what we had talked about. I reminded them that I was concerned about them and they need to be as well.

You may be thinking you could have not done that, because you know nothing about skateboarding. I know nothing about skateboarding, but the kids I was talking to did. All I had to do was ask them a couple questions about their favorite subjects, themselves and skateboarding.

If you will take genuine interest in people and what they like, opportunities to witness as a friend will open up to you.

Oh, my friends, we are loaded down with countless church activities, while the real work of the Church, that of evangelizing and winning the lost, is almost entirely neglected. -Oswald J. Smith

The Wrong Door

2005-10-26T21:14:00.000-07:00

The Wrong Door
By Ginger Reeves

I went to my EE (Evangelism Explosion) class as usual this week.  We were supposed to go share the Gospel with the mother of a friend of my trainer.  We went to what we thought was the right address but our knock was answered by a gruff and very non-motherly voice saying, “Go away!”  We looked at each other and Rusty said, “I think we have the wrong apartment.”

A young man answered the door and Rusty, who was obviously taken back by a young man and not an older woman answering, said that we were in the area doing religious surveys and asked if we could ask him a few questions.  The young man invited us in and introduced himself as Russell.

We started the survey and were then invited to sit down.  As we continued asking Russell questions a friend of his arrived, waved a brief hello to Rusty and I and went to the back.  Rusty continued the survey and stumbled pretty badly.  He missed some of the examples and did not use the proper transition sentences.  Once I realized he wasn’t sticking to the presentation as we had learned it, I started praying the God would clear his mind and give him the words he needed and that this young man would hear the Truth, regardless of Rusty’s presentation.

Russell did want to receive the gift of eternal life so we prayed for him that he would receive assurance and repentance.  When Rusty asked him if he had a Bible, Russell said he needed to show us something.  Now this young man had some racy photo’s on his wall and a stack of “men’s” magazines on his end table so I was a bit nervous about what he was about to show us.  But he walks across the room and picks up this brand new looking Bible.  He was walking to work last week and passed the dumpster behind his building and saw this Bible in a Lifeway bag.  He picked it up and carried it to work and showed it to his friend, the one in the back of the apartment.  Rick, the friend, told him that God was trying to tell something and he needed to listen up!

Rick then comes out of the back and sits down and talks with us.  He is a believer and goes to a local church.  We don’t invite him to our church as not to steal someone else’s sheep, but we do invite Russell to church, Sunday school, Wednesday night dinner and Sunday night Bible study.  Rick says that sounds really great and he would be interested in coming also.  He has a 16 year old that is “riding the fence” so he wants to go where there is a good youth group.

We spent an hour talking with these two men about God, repentance, religion, church, Sunday school, and forgiveness.  They may or may not come to our church, that’s not the point.  The point is we did what we were supposed to do and maybe we did get the wrong apartment, or maybe we did not.  All I know is one young man will now spend eternity in Heaven with Jesus and another got some encouragement and got to see what we are all called to do.

The Wrong Door

2005-10-26T21:11:00.000-07:00

Why are we to share

2005-10-16T19:58:00.000-07:00

Why are we to share the Gospel?
Ginger Reeves

Last year when my mother got sick, my husband brought my two stepchildren to see her and say good-bye.  They were visibly upset; they loved their “Cookie” very much.  I explained that they should not be upset, they would see her again some day since we know her to be a Christian and Walker and Matthew are as well.  Franklin used this as a great opportunity to explain why it is so important to share the Gospel with those we love.  He said that if we love them, we should share the Gospel with them so we can see them again in Heaven and they too can be with Jesus.  This seemed to comfort them a great deal.

However, it also got me thinking that if we share the Gospel with those we love what about the woman at the grocery store or the man sitting next to us at work or our neighbor down the street from us?  The Bile tells us to “ 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:31)  Therefore, by this, we should love our neighbors and want to share the gospel with them.  We love them and as I have already stated we share the Gospel with those we love so they can be with Jesus and we can see them again in Heaven.  Right?

Ok, our neighbors, but what about the woman at the grocery store or the man at work?  Author, J.I. Packer, in his book Evangelism & The Sovereignty of God says  “…that any fellow human being whom you meet who is in need is your neighbour; God has put him there so that you may help him: and your business is to show yourself neighbour to him by doing all that you can to meet his need, whatever it may be.”  He goes on to say, “And that principle applies to all forms of need, spiritual no less than material.  So that when we find ourselves in contact with men and women who are without the Christ, and so face spiritual death, we are to look on them as our neighbours in the sense,…”.

We can surmises from this that we are to share the Gospel with everyone, not just our friends and family or just co-workers and cashiers, but with everyone we meet.  After all, isn’t that what God commanded? (Mark 16:15)

Court orders free speech out of bounds

2005-10-15T13:48:00.000-07:00

(image placeholder)
ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND NEWS RELEASE October 14, 2005 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020

Court orders free speech out of bounds on its own steps

ADF attorneys file suit against California judge who declared all public areas of Los Angeles County courthouses “no speech zones”

LOS ANGELES — Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed a federal civil rights lawsuit today against a California Superior Court judge who declared all public areas of Los Angeles County courthouses “no speech zones.”

“The courts are supposed to be protecting our First Amendment rights, not suppressing them,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Mike Johnson. “This judge’s order is a constitutional travesty and has already forced our clients and other law-abiding citizens from engaging in classic, ordinary free speech.”

ADF attorneys represent best-selling author and TV co-host Ray Comfort and Pastor Emeal Zwayne, two Christian ministers who have been peacefully sharing their faith most mornings for the last 2-1/2 years outside of the Los Angeles County courthouse in Bellflower. For 20 minutes each morning, Comfort and Zwayne talk with persons waiting outside before the courthouse opens for the day. They have never caused any disturbance for the court or for uninterested persons.

Because of the court’s “no speech zone” order, police officers removed the two men from a walkway outside of the courthouse on Sept. 30 and told them not to return.

According to the complaint filed today, the general order issued Sept. 13 by Judge William MacLaughlin “prohibits such free speech activities as picketing, distribution of literature, and demonstration. The ban requires even an individual prospective speaker to get a permit but fails to provide any objective criteria or time restrictions governing the granting of a permit.”

“Our clients have been peaceably speaking on the courthouse steps for years. Now a judge has proclaimed a sudden and sweeping crackdown on free speech. A courthouse is the last place you’d expect to find a restriction on an American’s First Amendment rights,” said Johnson. “We expect that the federal court will see the obvious problems with Judge MacLaughlin’s order and declare it unconstitutional.”

The full text of the complaint filed today in the case Comfort v. MacLaughlin in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California can be read at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/ComfortComplaint.pdf

ADF is a national legal alliance defending our first liberty--religious freedom--through strategy, training, funding and litigation. http://www.telladf.org/

Counting the Costs

2005-10-15T11:01:00.000-07:00

Counting the Costs in Evangelism I can’t begin to count the number of Christians that I have talked to since I started sharing my faith with others. There have been different opinions on what should be said and how the Gospel should be presented, but there is always one common thread. Every Christian that I have talked to does believe that “someone” should be telling the lost about Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, when that is compared to the number of Christians that I have spoke with that actually share their faith, I have seen a massive variance. Why do other Christians hesitate to share the Good News? It’s evident to me that most have counted the cost of evangelism and have decided that cost is to great. They choose to engage in other activities with a lower cost.

What does evangelism cost us? It can cost us our friends, as they may be uncomfortable or convicted by your service to the Lord. It may cost you your family for the same reasons. It will probably cost you money, as materials are not always free. It will most certainly cost you your pride, your coolness, and maybe even your name in the community or at work. Suddenly you will go from being “one of the guys/girls” to being referred to as one of those “Jesus Freaks”. No doubt that if you share your faith consistently you will be mocked, laughed at, spit upon, rejected and cast out from worldly groups.

What a tremendous cost you may be thinking. You realize that it is important to share your faith, but not sure if it is worth all of this.

First, consider this. If you had $100.00 it would be valuable to you. You wouldn’t want to lose it or give it away….you may need it for something. On the other hand, if you gave it to a missionary in Africa would that money be more valuable in their hands? There would be no question that it would be much more valuable than if you had used it for yourself.

Just like the $100.00, our own “costs” are much more valuable when we give them to the Lord for His use. No one realized this better than Paul. In Philippians 1:12-14 Paul said, 12Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. 13As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard[a] and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
Paul’s costs were greater than most of us will ever face. Paul’s costs for preaching Christ were beatings, stoneings, and in this scripture passage, his freedom. Paul didn’t whine about how much these things cost him, he knew that the costs were better spent by the Lord. He knew that though his costs were great, that the gospel was being furthered even by his suffering in prison.

Around 150,000 people leave this earth every day. How many do you think that are not saved? One fourth? Half? Even if it was just one what is it worth to you for that person not to have to spend eternity in Hell? Would it be worth even more if that person were a family member or a close friend? What costs are you willing to pay to save them?

The truth is this. As a Christian, we shouldn’t be considering the costs at all in evangelism. As children of God we aren’t to consider and ponder over our Father’s commands. We are to obey God’s word when we are told to “Go and preach the Gospel”. Paul continued to do that in the face of enormous costs, but he didn’t count them, he just did as his father told him. Do we do the same? Are we faithful each and every time that God calls us to speak?

I pray that we all stop counting the costs in sharing our faith and simply be obedient to the Lord.

This article was written by another seed sower, Tony, and is posted here with his permission.

Atheist views on evangelism.

2005-10-11T08:56:00.000-07:00

You read the orgional post using the link below.
http://www.xanga.com/item.aspx?user=MikeDavis&tab=weblogs&uid=295971170

Friday, July 01, 2005
I'm not sure how controversial this post will be, or is. But It has the potential to be. Thats for sure. The taboo issues are religion, politics, and sex. And religion is probably the most controversial of all of them. And I am about to touch that issue. So...dont read it if you think you might be offended. And if I get hate mail from this post....its your own fault for reading it, not mine for posting it.

Question:
I have heard may Christains who say something like:
"I am a Christain, but it's my choice, and I don't believe anyone should try to push Christainity on anyone else. I don't think thats a nice thing to do. We should let people believe what they want to believe."
This view is very tolerant. It is very multicultural. But I have a question.
Most people who know me well, know that I am not a Christian. Most people are fine with that, especially in the college community, because people are tolerant like that.
But: Most people who are Christains also hold the view that if you do not believe Christ died on the cross for your sins, and that if you do not accept him as your personal saviour - you will go to hell.
So - while trying to be nice, by not pushing your views on people...you are allowing them to go to hell for all eternity. Wouldn't it be better to violate some friendship, to push the envelope and maybe be a bit intolerant if you knew that trying to get them to convert would save their eternal lives?
Are you really doing me a service by being "nice" and not trying to convert me?
It seems the nicer thing to do, if you truly believe that I am d**ned to hell for eternity if I don't change soon, is to be a bit pushy - and try to challenge me to change my views.

I say this not because i think you will be successful in such an endeavor, but because I think you might be compromising your own belief system. If you really do think you are right, I think you should take own thoughts seriously, and think about the true implications.
For example, if I were a Christian: I would see many people each day who I knew were not Christains, and thus were not going to Heaven. I would have to ask myself which is the nicer thing to do. Should I be nice in the short term and let them continue to be wrong and avoid confrontation. Or should I confront them and hope to God that I can put them on the right track.
Just food for thought. You are probably thinking right now, why the hell is an Atheist trying to convince me to try and convert him. The answer: because I like to see people take their beliefs seriously instead of half-heartedly. I think that if people truly believe in something, they should follow it's rules. If they don't, it seems hypocytical.
The Bible says: "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation" - Mark 16:15
If you feel like you are being judgemental when you try to convince someone that their religion is wrong, or that they need to be a Christain then I ask you: Arent you supposed to be judgemental? After all the Bible says:
"For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?" - 1 Peter 4:17
If the reason you do not try to share your religion with others is that you think people will brush you off, and call you a "bible-thumper" then I have another question for you: Shouldn't you be proud to be a bible thumper?
The Bible says:
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.- Romans 1:16
"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."- Mark 8:34-38
But I don't think most Christians preach. Are you intentionally disobeying the word of God? Ask yourself: Are you really taking your religion seriously? If you are not, shouldn't you?

Madison Street Festival Oct. 1

2005-10-04T17:28:00.000-07:00

The young lady doing the good test is not sure if she wants the five dollars. I give her a second chance before giving it to some who is willing to receive it.

This guy belongs to a religion that believes Moses, Jesus, Buddha, and the founder of Islam were sent by aliens as their spoke persons. I was able to use the fact that he believes in the Muslim prophet by explaining the Muslim prophet consider Jesus to be a prophet and they respected the law of Moses. I used that to share the gospel with him and asked if he had kept the Ten commandments.

I shared the gospel with this woman by using the pink and blue illusion. I started by asking if karate really helped with concentration like the sign says. She said yes, so I tested her with the pink and blue. She realized that karate had not prepared her for that yet. I gave them to her along with the illusion tract for working with kids. I asked if she had any, and found out she is carrying twins. I ended up praying for her and the unborn babies. I did share gospel and she was already a Christian.

I found out this gentleman is from Mcalla area. He was on the voluntary fire unit that responded to a trailer fire in the trailer park we lived in over a year ago. I gave him a Hell's Best Kept Secret CD. He already professes to be a believer.

This picture went from giving out tracts to one kid. They all then crowded around so they could each get a Million Dollars. I then picked one and asked the Million Dollar question. I shared the gospel with him, but everyone heard it. Ginger said that two acted like they needed to go somewhere but they kept getting drawn back in to the conversation.

What is missing in Evangelism

2005-10-02T22:35:00.000-07:00

What is missing in evangelism?

Love - Loving someone enough to warn him or her of the wrath to come. Rev. 6:16 ,2 Cor. 5:11, Mat. 3:7

Law - The Law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul...Psalm 19:7.

Law - Schoolmaster to bring us to Christ Gal. 3:24

I am not a professional minister, but I do share the gospel with real people in real situations.

I talk to people about Christ. I do it a few different ways, and none of the ways did I event. I learned from others either through listening, watching, or participating. This means that you to can do the same.

1) Tracts - I give out gospel tracts that are fun to give and receive. People take them and even read them out loud in public places. Therefore, unbelievers have become preachers of the gospel in such places as Taco Bell.

2) 1-2-1's -I share the gospel to individuals, pairs, and occasionally three people at a time. I use four different ways to initiate this process.

a) tract - I say hello to a stranger, give them a gospel tract and depending on the tract I swing from the natural to spiritual. For example one tract is a Million Dollar Bill, I ask them if they have ever been asked the million dollar question? They say no, then I ask them if I can. If the say yes I proceed by asking them if they are a good person or if they are good enough to go to heaven. I have never had anyone offended by this approach. ( I just began using tracts is this way in Sept. 2005 and have shared with more than 20 people these way.)

b)Questionnaire - I learned to share the gospel with Evangelism Explosion. I took in on Thursday mornings so instead of visiting church visitors, we did questionnaires. I have shared 20-40 people this way. No one have been offended and I led two people to a profession of faith Thursday, God has allowed me to watch, help, or lead many to Christ this way.)

c)As I go - As I am talking to friends, relatives, and strangers with no plan to share the gospel, I get this feeling that I need to share the gospel. I try and fight it off, but my strength is waning and have a hard time winning the battle. I shared with a worker in an amusement park and he accepted Christ. This same voice led me to share the gospel with my ex-wife when picking up the kids. She also made a profession of faith.

3) Open Air - This is a new one, I did it twice in August in preparation for an Evangelism Boot Camp in Seattle. I went to the boot camp specifically to see this done by those doing it, and practice it. I have done it over ten times now. It is very hard the first time ( I was anxious from the time I gave in to the Spirit until I jumped up on a park bench, but now I only have to fight thru the fear when I arrive at the location)

Before Jan. 2005 I had only told the gospel to my two oldest boys. This was after washing the Jesus video, and they asked why they were hurting Him.

I took Personal Evangelism in the seminary as part of getting a counseling degree. The Evangelism Explosion way used by the seminary allowed me to learn a gospel presentation, watch someone (while I prayed) share the gospel, and eventually share the gospel with an experienced trainer present to take over if I lost my place. Many times I had to turn to my trainer when I got lost, or a really good objection.

I also became aware of a program called the Way of the Master, www.wayofthemaster.com

Between reading Soul Winner by Spurgeon, getting OJT in sharing the gospel, and learning Hell’s Best Kept Secret from the Way of the Master, I was equipped to share the gospel. I believe that if more churches would equip their members, by OJT(discipleship) in addition to preaching then more members would share the gospel. However many pastors/ministers themselves do not share the gospel, outside the pulpit) and until they learn to do so, and practice it they are not able to equip.

My best friend was saved 4 months ago. He is giving out tracts with me, had done questionnaires, and believes he will be ready to share the gospel vocally one day. I encourage and allow him to help were he is comfortable, and each time his comfort zone stretches.

EBC-& Pics

2005-10-02T17:47:00.000-07:00

SideWalk Movie and Jazz Festval

2005-09-29T19:47:00.000-07:00

Sidewalk Movie Fest

Hello Friends and Family,

Many of you are aware we went to the Sidewalk Movie Festival Sept. 24th in beautiful downtown Birmingham. I have been asked for an update by some of you and here it is.

The group consisted of Jim(friend from church) Richard and Misty (Friends from Jasper), Ginger, Walker, Matthew, James, and myself. Jim arrived shortly after we did, Richard and Misty had an early morning engagement and joined us around 11:00.

I want to praise God for sending these fellow sowers into the field. I also want to praise God for the Jazz Festival that occurred in the same area on the same day. We caught the film people between showing, but spent most of our time with the Jazz Festival Patrons.

We gave out between 100-140 tracts to people. I estimate that 30-50 of those tracts were given by my 8 year old Matthew. I did one open air at Lynn Park. Approximately 20 people heard the gospel during the open air.

We did numerous 1-2-1’s through out the 4 hour period we spent at the festival. Jim, Ginger, and Matthew made up the first team. Walker, James, and myself made up the second team. It was great passing out tracts and sharing the gospel with my kids. Almost every time I looked around Jim was talking to someone or a group of people. From Just what I saw Jim shared with 7 people and I believe that he shared with at least that many I did not see.

I use the term 1-2-1, but many times that day two-four others were involved. All together between Jim and myself we shared the gospel verbally with 30-40 people.

One of the new things we tried was doing a interview on camera. Jim approached a pedestrian and asked if he could interview him on spiritual matters. The guy okayed it and Richard filmed the exchange. I did the same with two others, one of them used to be one of my students from BellSouth. The problem is that background noise makes it hard to hear the exchange, Jim’s interview turned out the best but hard to hear everything.

The last thing we did was infiltrate a peace rally/anti-war rally/anti-Bush rally. On the way to the van we noticed a peace rally at the Civil Rights Park. I sent Ginger on to the van with Walker (headache), Jim (who needed to leave). Richard, Misty, Matthew, and I went to the peace rally to give out some tracts. I got a chance to share the gospel with a group of teenagers about 5 all together I think.

Results

While I saw a lot of conviction in peoples faces, no one made a profession of faith. In the crowded areas I do not ask for a profession anymore, I just recommend they repent and place their faith in Christ soon. I give them a pocket sized New Testament and ask them to read the first 10 Chapters of John. I learned this lesson in Seattle, even when they say they want to accept the gift of eternal life, people have a hard time praying when their friends are standing there or even worse hundreds of people are walking around us.

Upcoming Events

Madison is having a street festival. Madison is near Huntsville. Oct. 1st

Please pray that God prepare their hearts to understand God’s word.
Pray that God sends His Spirit before us and with us and that He speaks through us.
Pray that God lift up fellow sowers and harvesters.

Oct. 8th

Harvest Festival – Headland Alabama.
Small festival we are praying to see if this festival or the Mobile festival is the one we should go to. I would prefer Mobile because of the Guaranteed large number of people.

BayFest – Mobile

This popular Mobile festival expects 200,00 people to attend. Ginger and I will go down if God provides the resources needed.

Pray that God provide the resources and fellow laborers needed.
Specifically pray for Gas money, food money, entrance fees. It may be possible that we can stay for free with friends that live an hour away.

Entrance Fee – 35$ per person if we take the kids then $140.00
Gas – Depends on price but at least $100.00 to be on safe side
Food – at least $150.00 ( I am sure it will be more, but I will go if we reach this amount)
Tracts - $.10 each. 200 would cost $20.00
Pocket Bibles – $1.25 each. 10 given away would cost $12.50

Therefore, we need $290.00 not counting the cost of tracts or pocket-sized bibles we give away. We already have enough of those I purchased before.

EBC-& update 7

2005-09-26T11:09:00.000-07:00

EBC-7 Update 7

One last update covering our Monday activity and my trip home. I will probably talk about evangelism topics such as compassion etc. that will provide more information but this is my last post for EBC-7.

Monday morning we got up and had breakfast once again. After breakfast I retreated to my room to read my Bible reading, I am now in the Psalms and they are real good reading when preparing for spiritual warfare. After my personal Bible time, and prayer time I join the rest of the group.

They had formed a habit of praying for approximately an hour before leaving to witness. I have fallen in love with participating in the prayer meetings. I have never felt so in tune with others praying, I know it is the common goal and passion that is unifying this group. This is one of the two things I have missed most from the Seattle trip.

We could not take the monorail, it is closed. At the bus stop and on the way we are giving out tracts and doping 1-2-1’s. On the bus Bird preached the gospel. The bus driver did stop the bus after a few minutes to ask him to lower his voice. When we got off the bus we witnessed to the people there for about 15-20 minutes.

Once inside the festival area we began giving out tracts, 1-2-1’s, and open air preaching. One of my group, David, wanted to open air but had not done it before. I offered to tag team with him. He drew the crowd and I shared the gospel. I did one other open air that day. Neither one of those times did we have any unusual occurrences. I have yet to get a bad heckler, it could be because I am not praying for one to make the crowd larger. If that is the case, it will be awhile before I get a good heckler. I do not have the courage to pray for one yet, mainly because I know God is faithful and can provide more than I could hope to think or ask. It is the “more than I think to ask” that makes me not want to ask yet.

Heckler’s back side.

One of the other open air guys did get a good heckler. This guy used foul language, jesters, and at the end literally showed his read end. In case you are not aware literally means that some of us unlucky ones got a view of his naked behind. He continually called for people to fornicate, he actually used that word near the end, but used other more crude words in the beginning.

They good news is that he drew a large crowd of teenagers and young adults who I would consider to be Goths. They cheered him own and he had their respect. However what they did not realize that they were being exposed to the gospel. It also painted a stark contrast between our heckler and our preacher. It was like looking at two entirely different worlds. I even used that to ask some kids if the wanted to grow up to be like that man. The sad thing is that most said yes.

The best news is that after all was said and done one of the ladies in our group talked to our heckler. He grabber her hand (his mistake) and she began to talk to him. He started to protest, but she said “Sir I have listened to you for over 20 minutes, and now you are going to listen to me.” He tried to leave but she was now holding his hand. She kept on talking and he looked down. She asked him to look at her so he did so but making a joke of it. What she said next broke him down and stopped his mouth and led to a nice conversation. She said, “I love you, and I am going to be praying for you.” The words themselves only reflected the sincerity and truth in her heart. Our foul mouthed, mooning heckler felt love that day from someone he had offended and insulted just a few minutes earlier.

My Atheist groups

I talked to 2 separate groups of kids after open airs. It was kind of funny that both had three boys. They were atheist but kept asking questions. I had to admit that I could not answer all their questions and did feel bad. They even said since we could not answer all their questions then their blood is on our hands. I had to explain that they will be judged based on their actions and our inability to answer every question they had will not excuse them on the day of judgment. Since then I have thought more about what I could have said, and I will be prepared to offer a little more next time. I, however, believe that pride was they barrier to their faith and not lack of information.

Going Home

I was able to share the gospel with a lady between Spokane and Denver. She ended up being a professing believer and I have no reason to doubt. She had talked to me for probably an hour about her family. She is proud of her sons, and especially her 19 year old son. He is doing well with his work in computers.

After sharing the gospel, she told me her 19 year old did not believe in God. She poured out her heart and soul over her son’s eternal destiny. I was on the verge of crying with her. I told her to keep praying for her son, that God send someone to him that can show him who God is and what Christ did. I then asked her if I could pray for her, and all three of her children. She agreed so I prayed with her. I hope I was able to give her some comfort, and I will continue to pray for her and her son.

Arriving Home

I arrived home to late for my wife to drag the kids out of bed so I took a cab from the airport. Realizing that God was arranging things for me to talk to a car driver, I got my luggage and headed of to get a cab. I did find a cab and the driver was available to take me home. It turned out he was a Muslim. I thought to myself, God is trying to push me way beyond my fears and anxieties tonight.

While trying to decide how to open the subject, or if I would open the subject, my driver asked me a question. Here is the conversation to the best of my memory.

Driver: What do you do for work?
Franklin: I left work to pursue what the Lord has called me to do.
Driver : (not understanding) You are working for your father?
Franklin: I left my job to work for God. I am going to school to learn how to counsel families, husbands/wife and parents/children.
Driver: That is great! (He is smiling ear-to-ear)
Driver: Maybe you can tell me about my friend. He has a beautiful wife, but is cheating on her with an ugly girlfriend, why?
Franklin: Well, it is not that easy to say without more information, but I will take a stab at it. Usually a man does not cheat just for looks. The girlfriend ugly or otherwise might be giving him something his wife is not. Just like women can have their heads turned by a guy showing love, men can have their heads turned by a girl that shows them respect. The Bible commands Men to love their wives as Christ loved the church, and also that women respect their husbands. Neither one is earned nor deserved but commanded by God.
Driver: I see, I see.
Franklin: However that may not be the case here. Even if his wife is not showing respect, he is still sinning by committing adultery. The Law of Moses, given by God, says do not commit adultery.
Franklin: In fact, Jesus said that even to look at a woman with lust is to commit adultery in your heart.
Driver: Yes, Yes that is what I believe too.

I went on to give him the Good Test by asking if if he ever lied, stolen, or used God’s name in vain. I remember he had the first two not sure about the third one. I then explained that “all liars have their part in the lake of fire, no thieves or adulterers will enter the Kingdom of God.” I then explained the Jesus lived a sinless life and took our sins on himself. That we did the crime and Jesus paid the fine.

When all was said and done, he wanted to get together (both of our families) to talk to each other>

P.S.
My driver also asked why people here (Birmingham) went to church on Sunday but the bars on Friday and Saturday. I explained to him that some in the church are hypocrites, pretenders. That they pretend to be Christians on purpose or they falsely believe they are saved. I also explained that even real Christians also make mistakes sometimes.

EBC-7 Update

2005-09-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

EBC Update 6

Sunday we where at the park as I mentioned in a previous post. I did my first opne air preaching of the weekend Sunday at the park. It was not the first one I ever did, I did two previously in Birmingham. It was however the first in Seattle, and it would be the first one I did in front of people that have experience doing it. So I had the normal fear and anxiety, added to the not wanting to mess up in front of my peers.

A young man from Mississippi, Wes, also wanted to do his first one that day. We had worked together the previous day on 1-2-1 witnessing and worked well together. We decided to tag team. I would draw the crowd and give the law. He would then give grace. I guess you could say good cop bad cop, or more truthfully bad good then good cop.

One of my fears was that my voice would not carry, people have a hard time hearing me because of projection and volume. My volume actually get worse when I get serious, and I find the gospel to be very serious. I was worried I would not carry very far, and the previous two times in Birmingham I had not carried very far.

When the time came and I jumped up to start drawing a crowd, my voice boomed and startled me. It was like it had not come out of my mouth. The crowd came and we where off to a good start. As I went through some trivia questions, and then selected a contender for the “good person test”, I noticed a Familiar man approaching. I realized that I had seen him the day before when he was loudly heckling the preacher at the Bumpershoot. God being graceful, and due to the prayers of those that recognized him, he did not say a word but sat down a few feet away from me.

After walking the “good person” through the “test” and showing her that I could not give her the money because like the rest of us she was not really all that good, I told her to hold on because Wes might be a little nicer.

Wes jumped up and began to share the concept of grace. He gave the woman the money even though she did not deserve it. He did say and do far more than recorded here. He did a great job, especially they way he handled the previously inactive heckler.

Mr. Heckler jumped up after I got down and walked in front of Wes. Wes calmly stepped forward to the edge of the ledge we where using. This prevented Mr. Heckler from coming between him and the crowd again. Not only did he do it calmly, he did not miss a beat preaching.

Then Mr. Heckler approached Wes trying to get him to move. Another sower placed herself between Wes and Mr. Heckler. She then danced in a semi circle behind Wes with Mr. Heckler. I and other sowers are continuously praying for the situation. Mark, a sower, ended up placing himself behind our female sower and Mr. Heckler because it was looking like he might hurt her. Mr. Heckler asked Mark if he knew what martial arts was, then lifted his foot in the air, kind of like a Karate Kid pose. Mark stepped closer, but staying clam and nice.

Mr. Heckler then slinks off, and Wes finishes just a few minutes later. This was another situation where the Christian showed gentleness (strength under control) to someone that was obviously sent by the enemy to distract and cause havoc.

Know for the best news. The Lady that I went through the “good person test” with, talked to our team leader afterwards. The actions by Mr. Heckler was used to show her how much someone did not want her and others to hear the message. She placed her faith and trust in Christ that day.

That day in the park, I talked to people and did share 1-2-1 but it felt off most of the day. I felt like I was not doing enough, that I was failing. Looking back I realized that it was teaching me that the number of people is not as important as the love and time I give each one. Every time I looked around I would see a seed sower talking to someone, many times for 30minutes or even an hour. I saw people praying together and I saw one of the shyest most reserved people I have ever met talking to more than 1 or 2 strangers that day.

I thank God for my time in the park. He gave my soul great comfort seeing that others were in the fight. I also found comfort that when I did not immediately respond the nudge to go and talk to someone another sower took my place. Along with the comfort that God will use someone else when I do not respond, I also was convicted to listen harder and respond quicker when God directed me to someone.

EBC update 5

2005-09-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

EBC -7 update 5

Saturday we went to the Bumper Shoot, as noted in a previous post. Sunday we spent the day at the waterfront near Pike Place Fish Market.

We had around 6 or 7 teams. Two of the teams, one of which I was on, went to a little park that overlooked the water. If you are on Pike street looking at Pike Place Fish Market and turned right, walked to where the street converges with two others, turned left, crossed street, you would be in the park.

The park layout consisted of a main walkway entrance. It was wide enough for 1.5 cars. A van was parked on the walkway when we first got their. It held equipment for a group that was setting up a tent.

The main walkway ended in a T. To the left was a covered area, and it wrapped back around to the street. To the right it went a couple city blocks and then turned back to the street.

We where going there to open air, do 1-2-1’s, and give out tracts. The leader of our sister team was considering leaving and going elsewhere. The reason was that the tent and van belong to the Church of Scientology. We where there for training and witnessing not debating. He talked to some gentlemen to see if it was okay to go back to Pike Street and do open air there. However, the final decision was to stay. I do have to mention that when we initially walked past the scientologist, one of them said “Here comes a bunch of Paul’s” It was interesting that in area that is largely un-churched they would recognize a bunch of Paul’s.

I am going to do two posts on Sunday, I am going to focus this one on our scientology encounters. We never mentioned them in our preaching, and I am unaware if it came up in any 1-2-1’s. We left them alone, and they did not bother us. However, we did have some 1-2-1 encounters with some of them. All of them cordial, and two of them funny.

Stress Test

They where offering a free stress test among other things. It was their draw to talk to people. One of our guys, my 16 year old room mate, decided to take the stress test. I know because I thought about doing, and when I looked over there he was taking it. I prayed for him, and asked a few others to lift him up and use it to witness to the Scientologist “minister”. I did comment that they would be hard pressed to find any stress in him, he looked so relaxed he could have been asleep.

My roommate told me what happened later. He was able to figure out how to make their machine show stress and not show stress. He was totally relaxed and after a series of question the guy asked him what stressed him out. My room mate told him that hell stressed him out as he manipulated the machine to make it show stress. The guy asked him what exactly about hell caused him stress. My fellow sower of seeds said, “the though of all these people going to hell.” The “minister” asked what takes the stress away. The seed sower said something along the lines of, the stress leaves when I remember that Jesus died so they could escape hell if they would trust in Him. The seed sower then relaxed the stress meter so it showed him calm again. They did this for a long time, and the “minister” kept trying to adjust knobs on his machine to fix the problem it was having.

My fellow seed sower, said that they guy’s face started showing fear as he began to realize he was not in control, and that God had fouled his machine up.

The guy that started these boot camps showed up with his team later. He also wanted to check his stress. He did not come with us, so they did not know he was with our group. He walks up and begins talking to the guy. The “minister” says to our leader,” I feel weird around you.” Our leader says, “that is because light and dark cannot be together. You are the dark and I have the light in me.” Our leader then asks the “minister”, “Can I still get a stress test?” The “minister” says, “no”. Our leader responds “Do you mind if I just sit here?” The response was no.

The other experience was not nearly as comical or interesting. I saw another one of our team talking to one of the “ministers.” He talked to him for a long time. I heard this minister ask our seed sower to walk with to get something to eat so they can continue talking.

While no debates or fights occurs, these “ministers” heard the gospel from the open air preachers at least 15 times that day. They came face to face to the face with this realization, He that is in us, is stronger than He that is in them. They had weird feelings, incredible machine malfunctions, and genuine love and caring showed to them. I would not be surprised if some of these “ministers” deny their faith due to a bunch of Paul’s.

I will tell some more of what happened that day in the park, but this had to be told first. I could not tell our park story with out mentioning them and I could not do those events justice with just a few lines.

P.S. Please pray that God sends people to water those seeds sown. That He helps them take root and grow to trees that bear fruit.

EBC Update number 4

2005-09-06T23:16:00.000-07:00

EBC Seattle Update 4

Sorry it took so long. I was going to post from hotel but they charged more than I was willing to pay for internet service. I also did not have time to be honest.

Woke up Saturday around 6am. Had breakfast then went back to room to pray and read scripture. I joined the rest of the group around 8:15 in the meeting room. They had been praying for 15 minutes. We started each day with prayer usually lasting an hour. After the prayer session, we got some tips on using tracts to start a 1-2-1 witness.

We left the hotel around 10:00 and headed for the monorail. We all passed out tracts along the way. One of the team did an open air on the monorail. It was cool. Of course some people where not happy and asked him to basically shut up, but he kept going.

We got to the bumber shoot and split up in teams. My team of 5 and a leader worked with another team of 5. We split up into two's just as the disciples did. This provides protection and allows encouragement. I was teamed up with a 21 year-old college student the first day.

He started the first conversation and shared the gospel with a gentleman named Pepper. Pepper had a friend named Andrew that was in and out, so he heard it as well. Pepper asked those vital questions about the people on a remote Island in the Land of the Lost that had not heard about Christ. We talked to him and his friend for about 30mn-hour.

Wes and I ended up talking to different people after lunch. We stayed within a few feet of each other while doing it. The first major witness I did was with Eric who is in the Army, I found out the Wes was witnessing to his friend Blaze just a few feet away. He let me ask him the million dollar question. "Are you good enough to go to heaven?" I do not remember what he said, but I asked him if I could ask him a few questions to see if he was a good person.

I used the Law of the Lord which is perfect for converting the soul. (Psalm 19:7). He showed sign of conviction so I told him what God did so that he would not have to go to hell. He did want to trust in Christ but He would not pray as thousand of people walked around us. I encouraged him to read the first 10 chapter of John, and settle this soon. Using the same method I was able to witness to Eric, Hayden and two of her friends, and some other people whose names are escaping me right now. The theme through out though was that either they would continue to deny the existence of God, or they would come under conviction but would not pray in the crowd to receive Christ.

I am not overly worried about praying to receive Christ. They can do that themselves, if they did understand that they need Christ to forgive their sins, they will not rest until they have placed their trust in Him.

Around 3 or 4 we began open air preaching. We wanted to get a feel for what the authorities thought first. It was a public place and the 1st Amendment in still on the books, but we also where not going to fight over it.

I was able to see about 4 or 5 different open air session Saturday evening and night. Also had a couple good hecklers that made the crowd larger. I will explain how we drew the crowd in a later post. We did have two really bad hecklers, I am going to talk about one now. Instead of just disagreeing or shouting (he did do that also) he was walking arou8nf with tarot cards and getting close to the open air guy. Getting in his face, but the stool does tend to keep them away. The guy looked rough and freaky.

I prayed, (as other where doing that was with us) that he would get saved, calm down, not be a threat, or go away. When a man walked up and started talking to him. He then engaged that man because of what he said. This man showed up two days later, his name was Jack, and took another heckler or two out by engaging them in conversation with him. I found out later that Jack has a Doctorate of Divinity and is a master of apologetics. Praise God that he was there and intervened. I also praise God that he held off until the heckler had done his part in taking a small to medium crowd into a medium or even large crowd.

We where originally going to leave between 5 and 6 pm to go back to hotel, but decided that to many people where there that needed to know Jesus. We stayed another couple of hours then headed back.

P.S. The monorail music was too loud on the way back to open air, I guess they new we where coming back.
The officials of the event ended up asking myself and a few others to not pass out tracts, but feel free to do open air and 1-2-1 is what she told me.

EBC 3rd update.

2005-09-02T17:32:00.000-07:00

EBC 3rd update

Hi,

I am in my hotel in Seattle now. I am about to shower and join the rest of the people for dinner and briefing.

On the plane into Spokane I sat between Debbie and Kyle. I talked to Kyle before take off and found out a little about him. He is attending college in Seattle, Majoring in Media.

I discovered Debbie is from Virginia and traveling to Spokane to visit her daughter. She is a little heard of hearing, and I also tend to speak softly so I was reluctant to witness to her.

Kyle ended up with his hood over his head, listening to music through an Ipod. Debbie appeared asleep. I decided to write my previous post. I did try an witness to Debbie but her initial response let me know she was not interested in spiritual things.

Kyle pretty much stayed bundled up for the flight. I did give him a tract after landing.

I went to the bathroom and saw the flight attendants working on some number puzzles. I showed them the optical illusions tract and gave them each one. They responded well.

I got off the plane headed to my next plane which was not scheduled to leave until 5pm. It was a standby since my real plane was not leaving until 8pm. I walked past a boarding area that had a plane for Seattle leaving at 1:50. I hung around until they began boarding and asked the guy if he could get me on it.

I offered him a new crisp clean million dollar bill. It was not a bribe since it was not real, and he had already got me on the flight.

I sat by myself on that flight, but did give the flight attendant a tract on the way out. My driver in Seattle had a Christian background, but it was Catholic. I was not ready for that one but we did talk a little.

I will post later, keep praying for us.

EBC Update 2

2005-09-02T13:25:00.000-07:00

EBC-7 2nd update

Thank you for those who have prayed for my flight plans.

My scheduled flight from Birmingham to Denver was scheduled to leave at 2:37pm. The 8:05 flight I was standing by for was over booked. However, after all the other passengers boarded, I was called to the desk and given a seat.

My scheduled Denver to Spokane flight will be leaving at 5:15pm Denver time. I was standing by for an 11:53am flight. It was also overbooked. I was called up to get a boarding pass minutes before boarding. Praise God.

I ask that you continue to pray I get the first available flight from Spokane to Seattle. It is important I get there in time for the 7pm meeting. So far God has opened the doors in impossible situations to bring me this far.

Evangelism in Denver

Between terminals, I stopped to get something to eat. Domino’s was the most appealing choice in the area I was stopped at. I talked to the cashier a little, and I left him with an Intelligence Test for the Thinking Person. It ask some tricky questions and one of them is How can a man who lied, stolen, murdered in his hear, committed adultery in his heart escape hell. It is second to last question, and the answers are on the backside of the quiz. What do you think the answer is?

I arrived at the terminal, plugged in my laptop to recharge the batteries. I also posted the last message. While my laptop was charging, and I was posting I began talking to a young man setting next to me. I had asked him how he was doing before I started posting, but it took him a few minutes to wake up (mentally zoned).

He shared with me he had just left boot camp. Actually, I had not asked how he was doing, I had asked if he was in the military. He had a brown envelope with his last name on it, just like one I had once upon a time. The lack of much hair, not balding like mine, but cut short.

I talked to him for around 15-30minutes. I probably do not have to mention that a quite voice began admonishing me. I finished my post, turned off the laptop so Icould focus on him. He is having problems with his knee and passing his physical fitness tests in the military.

I finally obey the voice, and ask him if I can ask him a couple of personal questions. He gave me permission so I asked a question to diagnose if he had assurance he was going to heaven. He was sure.

I then asked him a question to determine what he was trusting in for salvation. He was trusting in God’s love. Between the questions I had alreadys asked if I could share with how I knew I would go to heaven. He said okay so I was able to proceed into sharing the gospel with him.

He later said he was trusting in Jesus. I do use anecdotes to help him see the difference between trusting in Jesus and intellectual assent to the fact Jesus is the Son of God. He believes he is saved and since he did not try and argue a works based answer I had accept his word for it.

We talked for a little while. He asked me what about the 2 day old babies that die, do they go to heaven. He also talked about seeing people auras, having the ability to dream about future things. He says his powers are underdeveloped but he is considering finding a teacher to help him develop his natural abilities. The abilities we all have locked away.

I suggested that he read his bible. I suggested not looking into advancing his abilities. He said they where comingout with a new bible,a complete bible with all the missing books. I suggested he study the one he has thoroughly before checking out new ones.

It was very hard to try to find a non attacking way of saying, “you are playing into the devil’s hand”, “or these powers you seek will open you up to demonic attack.”

The important thins is I shared God truth and the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is really the only thing I can do. God has to open his eyes, and give understanding. Please pray for the young man. I will not post his name here, but God know who he is.

I am going to have to go, I am seating between two people. I have already said hello, but I have to attempt to share the gospel before landing. I do not want to bother them, but is it really bothering someone when you share the only way that they can avoid eternal punishment in a lake of fire where the worm does not dies, and the fire is not quenched. A place of gnashing teeth and utter darkness.

P.S. It is Hell not a Christless eternity, or eternal separation from God.

EBC-7 Update

2005-09-02T09:30:00.000-07:00

Good Morning Alabama,

I am currently a few thousand feet in the air on my way to Seattle Washington. I will not be able to post this until I land in Denver, but if I do not take the time to write this update now I will forget to do it. If I could remember to do it later, I would remember any details.

Background

In case you are unaware, I am going to Seattle to participate in a 4 day evangelistic outreach. Seattle was chosen, more than likely, because of a major festival they are having this weekend. The official title for the outreach is Evangelism Boot Camp hosted by GNN. GNN has invited 75 people to practice handing out tracts, 1-2-1 witnessing, and open air preaching.

The main reason I am attending is to watch, learn, and practice open air preaching. Four months ago, I was at 5pts South and had a strange though go through my mind. I wondered what it would be like to jump up on a park bench and preach the gospel. I quickly shook my head to clear that nasty thought, and continued doing 1-2-1 evangelism with friends, relatives, and strangers.

As the months went by, the crazy thought kept recurring. Eventually I decided to give in and try it. Around a month ago, I stood up at 5 Points south and preached for the first time. A week later, I repeated the incident. I will go over details on those in a different post.

I learned to share the gospel using Evangelism Explosion. I incorporated part of the Way of the Master technique, specifically using the Law to bring about conviction in those that where sure they could earn their way to heaven. I learned of the Evangelism Boot Camps from http://www.wayofthemaster.com/ and had wrestled with attending. Once I submitted to following God’s plan for me to open air preach I decided I had to go. There is no other group I know of that does open air, especially holding true to the entire Gospel. I am not saying others are not using scripture, I mean they have forsaken God’s Law as the schoolmaster to bring sinners to Christ. The Holy Spirit guided the Psalmist in recording “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul…”(Psalm 19:7) and yet we chose to remove the Law from evangelism. The Holy Spirit once again guided Paul in teaching us “the law is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ that we might be justified by faith” (Gal. 3:24) and we have chosen to banish the schoolmaster from our evangelism classrooms.

Praises and Prayer

I was unable to get a flight that arrived by the beginning of the “mandatory” first session. I went to the airport early and am trying to fly standby. At this minute I am onboard a flight to Denver. My orgional flight was to leave at 2:37pm I was able to catch the 8:05 flight thanks to God and those who prayed He would allow me to leave earlier.

During the check-in and arranging to fly standby, I was able to meet a very nice lady named Melissa. She was working the counter at United and was very diligent in arranging an earlier flight. The last time I flew the check in person tracked my group down because we had to not left a tip. Not wanting to be embarrassed again I asked her if she was allowed to take tips. She was unable to take a tip. I told her if she could not take a tip, then I was going to have to give her a million dollar bill. She was excited to take the million dollar bill. I informed her a million dollar question was on the back on the bill and left her to read it when she had a chance.
At the second check point, the one before the x-ray, I had my ID and boarding pass checked by a nice lady. While she was checking things out a gave her partner a million dollars. The lady helping me was upset she had not received her million, so I pulled out my last one (on me) and gave it to her.

Shortly after take off I had to make a restroom visit. I noticed a couple kids while I was waiting. When I finished I stopped and showed their mom the “optical illusion tract”. I gave it to her to play with the kids, and told her the instructions where on the back. The instructions tell how to use the card, explains our eyes plays tricks but we would not sell them for great sums of money. This starts in the natural the eyes, and then goes into spiritual things by quoting what Jesus said about the eyes, and then proceeds into the gospel.

I had another illusion tract and I shared it with the flight attendant. She thought it was cool, I gave it to her. She glanced at the instructions and gave it back quickly.

I praise God for using is loyal servants to provide the airline tickets, money for the tracts, food, etc... on this trip.

I praise God for making the way for me to fly out of B’ham on an early flight.

I am currently still scheduled to arrive at the same time in Seattle.

I need you to pray that in Denver I can get an earlier flight onto Seattle.

I need you to lift up my wife and children to God. Pray that he protect them from physical harm and spiritual attack.
I need you to ask God to give me boldness to proclaim the gospel.

Ask God to give me the wisdom to know what exactly needs to be said.

Pray that God prepare the hearts and minds of those in Seattle (and along the way) to listen and understand the gospel.

Please lift up all the participants in the Evangelism Boot Camp in the same way, and any other prayers or request God might place in your heart.

Thank You for your support.

P.S.
I hope to make updates during my airport stops, and then at least once a day. Please check back frequently.

Seattle EBC-7

2005-09-01T11:00:00.000-07:00

I am leaving for Seattle Washington Friday Sept. 2nd 2005.

The purpose of the trip is to participate in an Evangelism Boot Camp. A group of 75 people will converge on Seattle and share the gospel one-2-one, open air preaching, and by giving out tracts. The main reason I am going is to practice open air preaching. Having others show me how they do it and analyzing my presentation will help me do a better job serving the Lord.

For more information got to GNN's website. http://www.thegreatnews.com/ebc.html

Please pray that I have boldness of speech, and that God prepares the hearts and minds of those we encounter
Please pray for God's protection of my family while I am gone.

I will bring back pictures and stories so come back here next week,