Remember

Remember as you walk by that person on the sidewalk and your eyes meet, you smile and say, "How are you?" without really meaning it.

When you walk by that person on the street, or step into the elevator with a coworker.

When you are standing in line at the grocery store with people in front of you and behind you, and when you step up to the cashier to pay.

Remember when you go through the drive thru to pick up your lunch, when you wave to your neighbor as you pull into your driveway.

As you wait in line at the DMV or sit in a restaurant waiting for your dinner, on the bus, on a plane, or anywhere else you come into contact with other human beings.

Remember that the gate is small and the way is narrow for those who find eternal life (Matt 7:13-15 ). That most people you will come in contact with throughout the day are likely on the wide road to destruction.

So, just remember these three little words. Say them out loud, whisper them under your breath or say them silently in your mind as you glance into the eyes of other people. These words aren't really meant for them anyway, they're meant as a reminder for you, to convict, to remember and remind yourself to say something else, rather than what is said by your silence or your meaningless small talk or greetings that you don't really mean.

Quietly say to them, "go to hell" if you're not going to share the words of eternal life with them as you are commanded by the Lord. And be ready to explain to God one day, why you called Him Lord but refused to follow His commands (Luke 6:46, Rom 14:12 ).

It's been said that there are sins of commission and sins of omission. We're pretty familiar with the sins of commission - the things you do which you shouldn't, but the sins of omission are the things that you don't do which you should, such as obediently sharing the Gospel as every Christian is commanded (Matt 28:19-20, Mark 16:15, Acts 10:42 ).

If you consider yourself to be a Christian, you need to learn to share your faith. At least carry around a few Gospel tracts, learn to quickly share the hope within you (1 Peter 3:15 ). Get yourself equipped to share the Good News with others, Biblically.

Go to Way of the Master.com and learn what you need to do. If what you find there is unbiblical, then walk away from it. But if you find it backed up by Scripture, then you need to get into the battle.

If you are afraid to witness to others because they might be offended, try this. See if it is less offensive to go ahead and say to them, "go to hell" because that's what you're saying by keeping the knowledge of eternal life from them.

Saturday 12-18-10

Saturday night was a busy night. There weren't any more people than normal and it seemed like it would be pretty slow. But our "Are You A Good Person" sign brought a lot of curious people by on this particular night.

Alan even did some Open Air preaching (see photo).

First, a homeless guy named Robert or "Roach" as he preferred to be called, stopped to prove that he was indeed a good person. He said he lived at some sort of church shelter and read his Bible every day. We went through the Good Person test in order to show that, by God's standard (the Ten Commandments), none of us are good. If we were, or could somehow work our way into God's favor, then we would have no need of Jesus Christ as our Savior. I gave him a tract, but he didn't seem to be convicted or take our conversation too seriously, still holding to his own self-righteousness.
Later on, he walked by again, bragging that he was going to go sin. So much for being "good" I guess.

As Robert was leaving, another homeless guy named Rodney came up to take the test. He seemed to feel that he was a good person as well, and did not believe that the Bible commands us to obey our government leaders (Rom 13:1-3), even after I read it to him out of his own Bible. He seemed to have a lot of bad theology and held to it very stubbornly. But we had a good discussion anyway, and I hope some of it will sink in. I gave him a tract to look through later as well, that will take him through the Ten Commandments very thoroughly.

Another man named Dave also stopped because he saw our sign, and wanted to find out if he was a good person. He found that he wasn't, and that God requires perfection, but that He has provided a way through Jesus Christ.

Later a group of girls were looking at the sign and we asked if they would like to go through the test. They agreed and we went through four of the Ten Commandments (concerning lying, stealing, blasphemy and lust). Two of them didn't like the conviction they were feeling and quickly left, but Katrina and Leslie stayed to hear the full Gospel and seemed to be seriously considering the things they heard.

The wooden cross that we carry out with us also generated a lot of questions or comments as we carried it through the street. It's a little over six feet tall, made out of 4x4's with the words, "Are You Ready?" printed on the cross bar.
People will ask, "Ready for what?" and I'll tell them, "Ready to stand before the Lord Jesus Christ and give an account for your life." Some will say yes, and then I ask if they've kept the Ten Commandments. Others read it and say they were born ready, and I tell them they were not, but most of those are not willing to stop and discuss, they just make their comments as they continue on their way.

There was a Mormon that Marcus knows and has spoken with before who was hanging around. He even went through the Trivia questions and the Good Person Test with Tom, and when we were leaving, he wanted to carry the cross. This was very interesting, as I know that Mormons do not like the cross as a symbol (I learned that when I went to a Mormon friend's wedding wearing an earring with a small cross on it). I asked him about this, and he said they considered it idolatry, but he insisted on carrying the big wooden cross through all of the crowded areas on Mill about halfway to the car.

I'm not sure why drunks seem to want to steal the cross when I set it somewhere. As I've mentioned, it's over six feet tall and weighs 22 pounds. But I set it down and a group of drunks walked by, and sure enough, one of them had to stop and pick it up. I told him that was probably less than half the size of the real one, and he decided to leave rather than be preached at.

After that, Marcus, Tom and I went to Taco Bell for fellowship and to discuss the conversations we'd had over the night.

Soli Deo Gloria

Merry Christmas

You'll have to press pause on the media player to the right to listen to this song and watch the awesome video below.

Saturday 12-11-10

Dan, Tom and I met out on Mill Ave and found a DJ set up at our usual spot. They were doing some break dancing on a large tarp they had set out on the sidewalk. No matter, they gathered a crowd, and we gave them tracts.
Joe, Alan, Sean, Courtney, Marcus and Jennifer met us out there a little later.

Our atheists set up nearby, but didn't hang around long when they realized that no one could hear their speaker and there was no preaching going on. We were mostly handing out tracts and having one 2 one conversations until later. Every time the DJ took a break and restarted with more break dancing, they had a new crowd to give tracts to, so this worked out well. They hung around for 3 hours or so, then packed up.

Then Tom was able to do some Open Air preaching, starting with some trivia questions. Angelica and JJ stopped and went through the Good Person Test.

Meanwhile, a guy named "Sideshow" (who I mentioned in an earlier post) came up to talk with Marcus. He looked different from the last time I had seen him, and he said that he was clean and sober, and had been going to church. That was a huge change from the last time I had seen him, and he even took a tract to read through later. Praise God and please keep him in prayer that the Lord will continue working in him and remove the bad influences that are still in his life.

I talked with a man named Lorenzo, who stopped when I handed him a tract. He knew he'd been doing some things wrong, but still considered himself to be good overall, so I took him through the Good Person Test.
He really seemed a bit convicted, even before I spoke with him. He said that he was a Christian, but was straying from the faith, and he asked for prayer for himself regarding that, and for his girlfriend Amanda, who is pregnant. I explained the Gospel and the need to turn from his sins in repentance and told him I would keep them both in prayer.

Tom talked with Chris and Tyler, a couple of young guys who had heard the street preaching before and had stopped by to offer encouragement. They were possibly interested in going to one of Tom’s classes later on. Praise God, and we continue to pray for more workers (Luke 10:2).

We all stopped off at Taco Bell afterwards for some fellowship before heading our separate ways home. The people working the late shift there remember us and always ask for more tracts. Courtney took the opportunity to talk with a few guys that were seated at a table next to us - I love this guy, he never stops!

We got home pretty late, but well worth the time in being out sharing the Gospel.

Soli Deo Gloria

Saturday 12-04-10

It was kind of slow on Saturday night on Mill, with the tents from the Festival of Arts still set up in the streets, but we still distributed a few tracts and had some good conversations with people.

Tom, Dan and I were playing with the light illusion, throwing lights back and forth and it caught the eye of a group of teens. They stopped to see how it was done and Tom started talking to them. Meanwhile, a couple of security guards also stopped, because they had seen it from a distance, so I talked with them. The guy didn’t seem real interested in the Gospel, he was too busy trying to be funny, or give strange, mystical type answers to the questions, while the girl with him seemed much more receptive. However, when they had to go, I offered them each a tract with more in-depth information, and she refused, saying she was already good, but the guy took one and said he would read it. It’s not always obvious how God is working in a person’s heart as we’re talking to them.

Tom also talked with two guys named Christopher and Andre, who allowed us to film them going through the Good Person Test. You can view that at Tom’s blog soon. tillthenetsrful

On the right is our new guy – Courtney, who’s not really new to evangelism, as he has been sharing his faith with tracts and talking to people on the light rail, but he is new to coming out on Mill with us.

He was handing out tracts and talking with people all night. When our atheists showed up, he talked with them for a long time. When we left, he stayed to talk with them longer. 

Soli Deo Gloria

Saturday 11-27-10

There were a lot of people out on the streets to share the Gospel this past Saturday night. The Festival of Lights parade came down Mill Ave, and after that there were still quite a few people hanging around, but they disappeared over time as it gets "cold" here at night.

Tom and I met up with Jean, Leigh, Joe, Luke, Anne, Marcus, Jennifer and Dan. We distributed a few tracts and did some Open Air preaching.

There was a Christian woman there who used to have an evangelical cable TV show, and who witnesses to a lot of homeless and hurting people on the streets. She and a friend (husband maybe?) didn't agree with the "Law to the proud, Grace to the humble" concept that we were using. They thought that we should be telling everyone how much Jesus loved them and that they could be forgiven. That's a great idea, and exactly what we do, AFTER we explain the NEED for a Savior, otherwise it makes no sense. It would be like giving someone the cure for cancer who had no idea that they actually had cancer. But if you describe the symptoms, give the details of what can be expected and then explain the results, then it will make sense and they will be ready for the cure. These people wanted to do it backwards, which would just seem confusing to me. There are far too many luke-warm, "carnal Christians" in the world today that are going to be in for a rude awakening per Matt 7:22-23. I think we'll stick to the Biblical way of witnessing.

We decided to call it a night early, since there weren't too many people out and headed to a nearby Taco Bell for some fellowship together.
Luke was witnessing to an unbeliever, and when we decided to take off, we invited the man to come with us.
He wasn't really interested in discussing spiritual things or taking any tracts, but decided to meet us there anyway. He said that he was surprised that we'd hang out with the likes of himself, but I told him that's exactly what we come out there for. I didn't catch his name, but God knows who he is. Please pray that the Lord would work in his heart. We'll probably see him out on Mill again.

Soli Deo Gloria

Wednesday 11-17-10

Tom, Heather, Linda, Sherry, Chad, Cole, Jean, Anne, Jennifer, Jill and I met a few others to evangelize on the local college campus on Wednesday. We had 2,000 tracts to give out and had some good one 2 one conversations with some of the students at ASU.

As I was setting up my white board, a guy named Anthony stopped by to talk about the trillion dollar bill tract. He felt that everyone had already heard the message on there and would like to have seen something from the Bible that he didn't already know. I challenged him on this, and asked if he knew the Ten Commandments. Of course, he stated that he did, and actually did pretty well, getting five of the ten on the spot. Most people can't remember more than about three. I gave him a coin with the Ten Commandments on it, and explained that the message on the tracts was the Gospel - the message of hope and what people needed to know in order to understand their need for a Savior. I told him there are many interesting stories within the Bible, and if people would read it, they would find those other things that he was looking for.

Garan saw my sign asking people if they considered themselves to be good, and really liked what we were doing. He had heard of WOTM a couple of years before in LA, and had been looking for more information. I gave him the website (http://WayoftheMaster.com) and a couple of CDs to check out.

Tom talked to a few people, and the campus atheists set up nearby. We didn't have an opportunity to do any Open Air, but we distributed tracts and had quite a few conversations.

Soli Deo Gloria

Saturday 11-13-10

Interesting night on Mill Ave. Brandt was talking to one guy – Ryan was his name, I think. But the man got mad when he wasn’t allowed to hold the mic, so he gave the PA a good kick and walked away. Later he stopped by the corner in a car to mock us, then got stuck in traffic so we were able to get his license number.

One of our friendly neighborhood atheists called out on their bullhorn that it was a “divine appointment” that our PA was kicked. Isn’t that awesome? They have finally admitted belief in the divine, they are no longer professed atheists, but simply agnostic, not knowing whether there is a Creator or not. Just like the person who would look at a building and wonder whether or not there was a builder.

We brought the turtle duck out, the replica of a transitional species. The Skeptic Tank is not impressed with our sense of humor.

Another guy, who generally hangs out with the skeptics, talked with us for a while. He thought that all religions are basically the same, teaching “play nice.” I don’t think that’s necessarily true. He says it’s just the extremists who commit violent acts against others. However, when someone who professes to be a Christian, commits some violent act against someone else, the Christian community condemns that action and that so called believer, because that is not what the Bible teaches. Under the New Covenant, we are told to love our neighbor and pray for our enemies.

But when a terrorist attack is committed by a professing Muslim, there is one of two reactions. Some are dancing in the street, rejoicing in the destruction of their enemies, and the other reaction is complete silence. I have not heard of anyone standing up and condemning terrorist actions, and that’s because that is exactly what their religious book commands.
When Marcus got out a Qur’an to show this, the guy decided to walk away, not wanting to hear it or see the proof (try Surah 9:5, if you’re interested).

There were some other “street preachers” down the road from us. I hear they were from New Orleans, traveling around the country with signs and preaching fire and brimstone in front of the bars. As I understand it, they were telling people that they were fornicators and whores and that they were going to hell.

Nowhere that I could find in the Bible does it tell us to mock and call people names. This doesn’t sound like caring or love to me, but simply hatred, much like the Westboro “Baptists.” This gives a bad name to others who are attempting to share the Gospel Biblically, through dialogue and preaching the full Gospel.
You see, fire and brimstone by itself is not the full Gospel. And neither is the warm, fuzzy love only Gospel. God is loving, but He is also full of wrath at law breakers. We are to warn people, and to ask them to judge themselves by God’s standards, not condemn them and call them names.

As Tom was doing some Open Air Trivia, one of our atheists was shouting out the answer to the question on his bullhorn. Interestingly, no one seemed to notice. Not that we care if they give the answers, we want people to get them. But it was interesting that he shouted out the answer multiple times and no one took advantage of that.




Soli Deo Gloria

Saturday 11-06-10

Saturday night on Mill Ave wasn't real busy, especially compared to last week. Still we got some tracts out there. We set up our sign asking, "Are You A Good Person?" which seemed to attract a few people (you can see a pic in the Photo tab).

Brandt has a good sign asking which religion is correct, giving a list for people to choose from (there's a pic of that one, too). This tends to get some good conversations started.

Pastor BJ came out with a few people from his church. Tom and I had a class there a few weeks ago, it was good to see them out there again.

I did some Open Air trivia and had a young woman come up for the Good Person Test, to find that she wasn't as good as she thought when judged by God's standard, and I explained the Gospel and the need for a Savior. We gave her a couple of tracts and it seemed to make sense to her, better than it had before.

We talked with a guy named Adam, who seemed to have some Christian background, and just discussed some theology and different belief systems. We left him with a few tracts to look over later as well.

The atheists came out later to proclaim their lack of belief, which still just amazes me. That people would have such a hatred that they would come out to oppose something that they claim doesn't even exist. That sounds really close to insanity to me.

A man named Dwayne came up as we were getting ready to leave, to give an encouraging word and thank us for being out there preaching the Gospel.

Soli Deo Gloria

First Friday 11-05-10

You'll have to push the pause button on the music player on the right in order to listen to the Ten Commandments being given by 8-year old McKayla in the video below.



We passed out tons of tracts and had some great conversations with people who were walking by. McKayla handed out tracts faster than I could keep up. May the Lord be glorified in all that we do.

Soli Deo Gloria

Saturday 10-30-10

I helped Tom out with a WOTM Crash Course on evangelism on Saturday. We do these about once a month to get more people equipped to witness per the Great Commission, so if you know of anyone that will be in the Phoenix area that would like to check it out, let us know. It's a free class and every Christian should know how to share the hope within them (1 Peter 3:15).

Mill Ave was interesting, being Homecoming and the Saturday night before Halloween. I brought out the turtle duck (a replica of an evolutionary transitional life form). This is actual PROOF of macro evolution. I don't mean proof as in actual evidence, but rather, it's an acronym that stands for Pathetic Reaching Onto Obvious Fraud.

Our local atheists were not impressed with my creative teasing of their Darwinistic religion. Shawn said it was stupid and I agreed with him completely. He didn't have any sense of humor at all tonight. They seem to be able to dish it out but don't really like us dishing it back. We love those guys though, please keep them in prayer.

I talked to a guy named Bradley for a while. He claimed to be a Christian, but had a lot of arguments and questions that would suggest that maybe he wasn't. He said he'd be back with more question, so hopefully we'll see him again. Pray that the Lord would work in his heart this week, convicting him of his sins and drawing him to repentence.

There were tons of people and some wild costumes. One guy was dressed as Jesus and heckling the street preaching, so I dragged my cross over near him and asked if anyone had a hammer and some nails.
He didn't really want to talk with me. I suppose that's about the last thing a guy making fun of Jesus wants to see is a big wooden cross brought over to him. Maybe it starts to feel too real at that point, maybe he begins to realize a small part of what Christ went through in providing us a way to avoid the hell that we deserve, while he is out there mocking Him.

We didn't have too many one 2 one conversations this night, but we handed out a lot of tracts. As Tom and I were leaving, a woman ran up asking if the cross we were carrying really worked. I explained to her that it was just a sign (it says "Are You Ready?" on the cross beam) and that it asks the question, are you ready to stand before the Lord Jesus Christ and give an account for your life. Apparently, she had seen a cross on some sort of paranormal TV show and thought it was some sort of good luck charm. She said she'd had some bad things happen in her life recently, and we explained the Gospel to her. I'm not sure if there were drugs involved or if she'd just been having a hard time in general, but she took off after a little while. I think she was looking for a quick change in luck, rather than a true change of heart and lifestyle. May the Lord work in her and draw her to Himself.

Then I met a guy I used to work with. I hadn't seen him in a while, and he asked what I was doing out there. When I said I was doing some street evangelism, he looked as though he were suddenly caught in a trap and would like to be anywhere else but there. We spoke briefly and he went on his way before any spiritual matters could be brought up. Tom and I left Mill Ave around 12:30 or so.

Soli Deo Gloria

Love and Seduction

"The language of love and the language of seduction are the same. The one who wishes a girl for a wife and the one who wishes her for only a night both say the words "I love you." Jesus has told us to discern between the language of seduction and the language of love, and to know the wolves clad in sheepskin from the real sheep."
- Richard Wurmbrand in the book "Tortured for Christ"

I found these words powerful as I'm reading through this book. This was written 30 years ago, but we deal with the same thing in different forms in the church today.

We have the emergent church, the prosperity gospel, charismatic chaos and all sorts of heretical doctrines being taught be false teachers. Satan doesn't care who or what you worship, as long as it's not the one true God of the Bible. Read it every day, so that you don't find yourself deceived.

Saturday 10-16-10

Tom, Catherine, Ronnie and I met Joe, Marcus and Jennifer out on Mill Ave for some Saturday night evangelism. We handed out a few tracts and Tom did some Open Air Trivia. A guy who had been sitting near by in Renaissance Festival clothes, had the correct answer for Tom's trivia question for a dollar, and decided to take the Good Person Test for $5.

His name is Andrew, and it turned out that he wasn't as good as he had thought, once he was compared to God's standard rather than man's.
Tom took him through the Gospel and spent some time explaining it to him. Although Andrew claimed to be a Christian, this explanation made it more clear of his need for a Savior, and we left him with a few more tracts to look through later.

I talked to a guy named Shane, who was homeless and trying to find his way back to Seattle. He claimed that he'd had an argument with a friend, and thought things had gone so badly that he could lose his life through all of this. I don't know all the details, but please keep him in prayer. He seemed to have some background in Christianity, but still considered himself to be a good person. So I took him through the test, explained the Gospel and told him that he has to be made right with God before he leaves this world.

Tom had been talking to a homeless woman named Jessica, and we prayed for her there on the street. She had recently become homeless and is trying to keep custody of her son.

A woman with multiple piercings in her face came over to talk to me for a while. She claimed to have had a Christian background, but now believes in all kinds of religions and pagan stuff. She thinks she can keep from being deceived by Satan, yet she is very lost. I'm not really sure why she wanted to talk to me, as she really wasn't interested in making any changes in her life. Just wanted to tell me about herself, so I listened and explained that there are false teachers within the church, but that doesn't invalidate the truth. She mentioned her tattoos of a pentagram and an inverted cross, and I told her that anyone can be forgiven and saved, but she really wasn't very receptive.

Our atheists had brought out their free clothes for those in need, and also brought some sandwiches from Jersey Mike's for anyone who was hungry. This goes to show that, while feeding and caring for the homeless are good works to be done, it is NOT evangelizing. We had some good discussions with Rocco and Shawn, as well as a few other atheists that stopped by.

I talked with a guy named Brad. He'd been drinking, but had some good knowledge of the Gospel. However, we know that believing isn't enough (even the demons believe), and I talked with him for a while. I explained the need to repent, turning away from sins, forsaking them and trusting fully in Jesus Christ. Then we talked about the fact that we do good works - not in an attempt to earn our way into Heaven - but out of gratitude for what God has already done for us, in His love and sacrifice to pay the punishment for our sins because we are unable to.

It was a pretty good night of evangelizing.

Soli Deo Gloria

Saturday 10-09-10

Saturday night on Mill was interesting. A man named Tracy stopped to answer some of the trivia questions we were asking, and agreed to take the Good Person Test, even though he said that he wouldn't consider himself to be a good person. There are very few who don't (Prov 20:6). I took him through the questions anyway, and gave him a more specific understanding of the Gospel. When we had finished, he said that he was a Gospel singer and asked if he could sing a song. I held the mic for him so he could play guitar and he was pretty good. Here's a picture of Tracy.

Later on, while Tom was Open Air preaching, a group of zombies went by. They had bloodied faces and shirts, and one of them laid on the ground so the others could drag him through the crowd and past the front of our stool. I guess they were out a little early for Halloween.

While we were playing with the light illusion, tossing red lights back and forth, people stopped to see how we did it. Twice people said that they would sell their eyes for $500,000. Sane people won't normally state such a thing, I asked them what they would do then, see the world? One of them said he'd go buy some other eyes. Money really is an idol that enslaves mankind, especially young people who've had too much to drink.

Tom talked with Shawn, one of the skeptics who likes to come out and oppose our preaching, and we spoke with Rocco for a while as well.
Most of the atheists we find on Mill Ave actually enjoy having these type of discussions. Even though they disagree with us, they are willing to debate, ask questions and give their own perspective for why they don't believe. I've found that many of them have a background in some sort of religion. Whether it's a false religion such as Mormonism, Catholic tradition, or just some entertainment based church, they've had just enough to become an innoculated backslider.

I've often heard the complaint that they've been reprimanded for questioning the belief system, most likely because those they asked didn't have the answers and didn't want to take the time to look for them. But there are answers out there, and we shouldn't just disregard the questions. I've actually had my own faith strengthened while looking up answers to some of the questions or statements posed by our atheists on the streets.

I hope to see our friends from Tree of Life Community Church out again in the future. Tom and I have recently taken them through the WOTM Crash Course and they came out to see these principles in action on the streets, even handing out a few tracts while they were there. Thanks to Pastor BJ Drebert for opening up his church and allowing us to teach there.
We continue to pray for more workers (Luke 10:2)

Soli Deo Gloria

Saturday 10-02-10

Tom and I met Alan and Ronnie out on Mill for some witnessing.

A few kids stopped by for the Open Air Trivia questions. I was able to take Alex through the Good Person Test, while his sister and a couple of others listened in.

After that a blond woman walked over to see what was going on and to ask more about what we were doing. I talked to her a bit about what we were doing out there and she asked what church we went to. I explained that we all go to different churches and come out to share the Gospel according to the Bible. I took her through the Good Person Test and gave her a "Are You Good Enough to Get into Heaven" tract. Then she mentioned that she was Mormon and seemed to think that we believe the same things. I was talking to her a bit about the differences, when some other guys came up to ask some questions. I talked to them and the lady I had been speaking with disappeared. At least she had a tract before she left.

The three guys seemed to be unbelievers, but were open to discussion. They had some good questions and I answered the best I could. I didn’t catch their names, but I’ve seen them out there before, and will probably see them again.

A guy named Larry, who seemed a little tipsy, claimed to have had some sort of prison experience and said he knew God and lived for Him. I was able to share the Gospel briefly with him and he went on his way.

Over all it was very busy on Mill Ave this Saturday with people celebrating Oktoberfest. We distributed a lot of tracts and had quite a few conversations.

Soli Deo Gloria

Saturday 09-25-10

It was pretty busy on Mill Ave tonight, and we distributed a lot of tracts.

A man named Alec and a couple of friends stopped, and Phil and I talked to them for a while. I took Alec through part of the Good Person Test and it seemed to make sense to him. They asked some questions and we had a good discussion.
I found out later that they were LDS, which I didn’t discern from the conversation. I guess that’s because they weren’t saying too much about what they thought or believed, but were asking questions and listening to what we were telling them. Seeds planted, I pray that they will go home and search the Scriptures as the Bereans did to find out the truth and not be caught up in something that is not true.

Three Native Americans stopped while I was doing some OA Trivia. They had been out drinking and wanted to know what the answer to the trivia question was. I gave it to them and we went through a couple of other ones. Two of them were laughing and having a good time, while the third, a big guy who seemed pretty drunk, stood close and stared at me as if he wanted to knock me off of the stool.

When I went into the Good Person Test, Mileno and Sharon admitted to lying, but after that Sharon wouldn’t admit to anything else. Mileno also admitted to stealing and using the Lord’s name in vain, while the third guy seemed to continue waiting for the opportunity to smack me. He made a couple of incoherent statements that sounded like he was trying to start a fight, but I wasn’t really sure what he was talking about, so I continued through the GPT.

Sharon asked what if they didn’t believe in an afterlife, and I explained that our belief isn’t what makes something true, but the object of our faith is what needs to be considered. She didn’t really want to get into a serious conversation, but Mileno said that he agreed with what I was saying.
They decided to head off to get something to eat, but the third guy stayed. I talked to him for a bit and found that his name is Bernard. (I heard Mileno call him “Junior” once as well).

Bernard seemed to be relaxing a bit and I found that he had been in the Marines. He said that he had done some “bad things to people” and I explained to him that there is forgiveness available through Jesus Christ. I never found out exactly what he had done, but a couple of times in our conversations, I noticed a tear in his eye. I took him through the Gospel and told him he needed to pray to God for forgiveness, after repenting and trusting in Christ alone. I told him that I would keep him in prayer and he asked me to pray with him there on the street, so I did.

He still hung around for a while more, and seemed to want to talk, so I went through it again with him, unsure of how much had penetrated the influence of alcohol. His friends finally came back and I gave them some tracts before they headed out. Please keep Bernard and his two friends in prayer.

Christopher Hitchens

I wasn't aware of this, but a friend sent me a news story on Christopher Hitchens having cancer and a prayer day for him. Check out the article here: Christopher Hitchens Skipping Prayer Day In His Honor

A couple of thoughts from the article.

"For some of his critics, it might be satisfying to see a man who has made a career of skewering organized religion switch sides near the end of his life and pray silently for help fighting a ravaging disease."

Satisfying? Well, maybe, but not for the reasons that the world might think. As Christians, we know there is no hope apart from Jesus Christ, and that there is still hope through Him, even for an outspoken atheist. Hitchens will probably never come to faith - it becomes a pride issue now, how would that look to all of his loyal atheist fans? But then again, nothing is impossible with God. A Christian should not see a change of heart as a "win" for our side, but rather, the salvation of a man who deserves eternal punishment just like the rest of us, to the glory of the Lord who saves.

Hitchens may not know it or want to believe it, but he will glorify God at the end of his life in one way or another. Either as a demonstration of God's holy righteousness as justice is done through eternal punishment, or as a demonstration of God's holy grace and mercy in salvation through Jesus Christ alone. Those are the only two options, and God is glorified either way.

"The way the English-born Hitchens sees it, the people praying for him break down into three basic groups: those who seem genuinely glad he's suffering and dying from cancer; those who want him to become a believer in their religious faith; and those who are asking God to heal him."

His first group couldn't be Christians. Any group that is held together by their hatred of another group simply cannot have the love of Christ in them. If these are professed believers, they are hypocrites, false teachers and deceivers.

The last group, asking God to heal him, would buy him more time but that in itself would not change his eternal fate. Paul asked to be healed from the thorn in his flesh and the Lord told him no. All the disciples, and many others faced martyrdom for their beliefs. This is part of living under the curse of sin. I wouldn't be a part of this group.

The middle group, those who "want him to become a believer in their religious faith" could probably be better defined. Why do they want him to become a believer? Is it because they want a big hit against the other side, that when it really comes down to it, even atheists will turn? The "no atheists in foxholes" sort of argument? That would only strengthen the stubbornness of the rest of them.

Or is it because they know his fate without Jesus Christ in his life, and know that we all deserve eternal punishment in hell because we've all sinned against an eternal God? Is it because God has provided a way out of this fate that we deserve and it is available to any who would call on His name? Is it for this man's salvation and the glory of God alone that we'd like to see him come to faith? That's the group I would fit into.

Saturday 09-18-10

Another Saturday night of sharing the Gospel on Mill Ave in Tempe. We handed out a lot of tracts and had a few interesting conversations. Chris and Fernando stopped by. They had talked to us on a previous occasion, but I didn't remember them. They are both Christians and stopped to offer encouragement, so Tom gave them some tracts to distribute.

Later on Jordan (one of our atheists who used to come out to oppose the preaching) stopped by. We hadn't seen him in a couple of years, since he'd moved around a bit. I had some good conversations with him in the past and he's a very likeable kid, but still holds to his unbelief. We talked for a while and then Fernando got into a conversation with him, bringing up some good points to make him think.

Marcus and I talked to a guy with a Jamacian accent who seemed to think that all religions were basically the same. He asked if we were "religious racists." I asked him what that meant, and he explained that it was thinking that only your particular religion is correct. I wouldn't call Christianity a religion, but yes, Jesus said, "No one comes to the Father except through Me."
It is exclusive in that only the true Christians will have salvation, but it's also inclusive in that anyone can come to Christ. Repent of your sins, forsake them, and trust in Jesus Christ alone, submitting to Him as Lord and Savior.

After a while our atheists from the Skeptic Tank showed up and set up their free clothes and speakers right next to us as they like to do. There were some others sitting near the corner, giving away free roses made from palm fronds. I was taking a few random pictures out there, and one guy that was hanging out with them came over to inform me that he didn't like his picture taken. So I put my camera away and went over to talk to this guy. I explained that I wasn't taking pictures of him specifically, but just wondered if we could discuss the issue. He got up and walked quickly away, so I guess not.

I'll be helping Tom out with a WOTM class for the next two Thursdays at a church in Tempe, so pray that we will gain more workers for the harvest field in that (Luke 10:2).

Science in the Bible 10

Alright, one more, then you'll have to go and get your own copy. The Evidence Bible is full of great info like this and also includes a lot of great witnessing tools. You can view a lot of it in the online version at the link above, but it's nice to have a hard copy as well. So, here ya go, the last one I'll post here.

Evolutionary Fraud.

“Charles Dawson, a British lawyer and amateur geologist, announced in 1912 his discovery of pieces of a human skull and apelike jaw in a gravel pit near the town of Piltdown, England… Dawson’s announcement stopped the scorn cold. Experts instantly declared Piltdown Man (estimated to be 300,000 to one million years old ) the evolutionary find of the century. Darwin’s missing link had been identified.
“Or so it seemed for the next 40 or so years. Then , in the early fifties … scientists began to suspect misattribution. In 1953, that suspicion gave way to a full-blown scandal; Piltdown Man was a hoax. Radiocarbon tests proved that its skull belonged to a 600-year old woman, and its jaw to a 500-year old orangutan from the East Indies.” -Our Times: The Illustrated History of the 20th Century

The Piltdown Man fraud wasn’t an isolated incident. The famed Nebraska Man was derived from a single tooth, which was later found to be from an extinct pig. Java Man, found in the early 20th century, was nothing more than a piece of skull, a fragment of a thigh bone, and three molar teeth.

The rest came from the deeply fertile imaginations of plaster of Paris workers. Java Man is now regarded as fully human. Heidelberg Man came from a jawbone, a large chin section, and a few teeth. Most scientists reject the jawbone because it’s similar to that of modern man. Still many evolutionists believe that he’s 250,000 years old. No doubt they pinpointed his birthday with carbon dating.

However, Time magazine (June 11, 1990 ) published a science article subtitled, “Geologitst show that carbon dating can be way off.” And don’t look to Neanderthal Man for any evidence of evolution. He died of exposure. His skull was exposed as being fully human, not ape. Not only was his stooped posture found to be caused by disease, but he spoke and was artistic and religious.

Science in the Bible 9

Still more from the Evidence Bible. Who says Christianity is based on "blind faith?" There's tons of evidence!

Archaeology confirms the Bible.

The Scriptures make more than 40 references to the great Hittite Empire. However, until one hundred years ago there was no archaeological evidence to substantiate the Biblical claim that the Hittites existed. Skeptics claimed that the Bible was in error, until their mouths were suddenly stopped. In 1906, Hugo Winckler uncovered a huge library of 10,000 clay tablets, which completely documented the lost Hittite Empire. We now know that at its height, the Hittite civilization rivaled Egypt and Assyria in its glory and power.

“It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a Biblical reference. Scores of archaeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or exact detail historical statements in the Bible. And, by the same token, proper evaluation of Biblical descriptions has often led to amazing discoveries.” -Dr Nelson Glueck

“Archaeology has confirmed countless passages which have been rejected by critics as unhistorical or contradictory to known facts… Yet archaeological discoveries have shown that these critical charges .. are wrong and that the Bible is trustworthy in the very statements which have been set aside as untrustworthy… We do not know of any cases where the Bible has been proved wrong.” -Dr Joseph P Free

Science in the Bible 8

More from the Evidence Bible. Haven't you gone out and bought one of these yet?

The Peppered Moth

"Almost all textbooks on evolution include the peppered moth as the classic example of evolution by natural selection. There are two types of peppered moths, a light-colored speckled variety and a dark variety. Most peppered moths in England were the light variety, which were camouflaged as they rested on tree trunks. The black variety stood out against the light bark and were easily seen and eaten by birds. But as the industrial revolution created pollution that covered tree trunks with soot, the dark variety was camouflaged better, so birds ate more of the light moths. "The peppered moth story has been trumpeted since the 1950s as proof positive that evolution by natural selection is true. In 1978, one famous geneticist called the peppered moth 'the clearest case in which a conspicuous evolutionary process has actually been observed.' "However, this 'clearest case' of purported Darwinian evolution by natural selection is not true! The nocturnal peppered moth does not rest on the trunks of trees during the day. In fact, despite over 40 years of intense field study, only two peppered moths have ever been seen naturally resting on tree trunks! "So where did all the evolution textbook pictures of peppered moths on different colored tree trunks come from" They were all staged. The moths were glued, pinned, or placed onto tree trunks and their pictures taken. The scientists who used these pictures in their books to prove evolution all conveniently forgot to tell their readers this fact. If the best example of evolution is not true, how about all their other supposed examples? It make you wonder, doesn't it? - Mark Varney


It's humorous that evolutionists cite the peppered moth as their best example, enabling them to "watch evolution in action." Watch closely: Before the moths' environment changed, some of the moths were mostly white, some were mostly black. After their environment changed, some were mostly white, some were mostly black.
No new color or variety came into being, yet we have supposedly just witnessed evolution. Evolutionist John Reader (Missing Links) explains this biased interpretation: "Ever since Darwin's work..., preconceptions have led evidence by the nose." Harvard professor and evolutionist Steven Jay Gould admits this scientific bias, "Facts do not 'speak for themselves'; they are read in light of theory." Even Charles Darwin Concedes, "Alas, how frequent, how almost universal it is in an author to persuade himself of the truth of his own dogmas." Keep this in mind when scientists proclaim the theory of evolution as "fact."

Science in the Bible 7

Here are a few more interesting facts from the Evidence Bible.

Evolutions Circular Reasoning

“At least six different radiometric dating methods are available. The assumed age of the sample will dictate which dating method is used because each will give a different result.

“For example, when dinosaur bones containing carbon are found, they are not carbon dated because the result would be only a few thousand years. Because this would not match the assumed age based on the geologic column, scientists use another method of dating to give an age closer to the desired result. All radiometric results that do not match the preassigned ages of the geologic column are discarded.” -Dr Kent Hovind

“Contrary to what most scientists write, the fossil record does not support the Darwinian theory of evolution because it is this theory (there are several ) which we use to interpret the fossil record. By doing so we are guilty of circular reasoning if we then say the fossil record supports this theory.” -Ronald R West, PhD


“Shells from living snails were carbon dated as being 27,000 years old.” Science magazine, vol. 224, 1984

Science in the Bible 6

Here's another one straight out of the Evidence Bible. This is an amazing Bible - everyone needs one of these.

Earth’s population refutes evolution.

The evolutionary scientists who believe that man existed for over a million years have an almost insurmountable problem. Using the assumption of forty-three years for an average human generation, the population growth over a million years would produce 23,256 consecutive generations. We calculate the expected population by starting with one couple on million years ago and use the same assumptions of a forty-three year generation and 2.5 children per family. The evolutionary theory of a million years of growth would produce trillions x trillion x trillion x trillions of people that should be alive today on our planet. To put this in perspective, this number is vastly greater than the total number of atoms in our vast universe. If mankind had lived on earth for a million years, we would all be standing on enormously high mountains of bones from the trillions of skeletons of those who had died in past generations.

However, despite the tremendous archeological and scientific investigation In the last two centuries, the scientists have not found a fraction of the trillions of skeletons predicted by the theory of evolutionary scientists. -Grant R Jeffrey, The Signature of God

Science in the Bible 5

As with the rest of these posts, you can go directly to the Evidence Bible by clicking the title. There's a ton of great info there, just click "Search It". Here's some more science in the Bible:

The Water Cycle

The Scriptures inform us, “All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, there they return again.” (Ecclesiastes 1:7 ) This statement alone may not seem profound. But, when considered with other biblical passages, it becomes all the more remarkable. For example, the Mississippi river dumps approximately 6 million gallons of water per second into the Gulf of Mexico. Where does all that water go? And that’s just one of thousands of rivers.
The answer lies in the hydrologic cycle, so well brought out in the Bible. Ecclesiastes 11:3 states that “if the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth.” Amos 9:6 tells us, “He …calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out upon the face of the earth.” The idea of a complete water cycle was not fully understood until the seventeenth century. However, more than 2,000 years prior to the discoveries of Pierre Perrault, Edme Mariotte, Edmund Halley, and others, the Scriptures clearly spoke of a water cycle.

Science in the Bible 4

Check out the online version of the Evidence Bible.
Click on "Search It" to find some interesting commentaries and answers to questions.

In the mean time, here's another snippet:

God created the “lights” in the heavens “for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years” (Gen 1:14 ). Through the marvels of astronomy we now understand that a year is the time required for the earth to travel once around the sun. The seasons are caused by the changing position of the earth in relation to the sun – “astronomers can tell exactly from the earth’s motion around the sun when one season ends and the next one begins.” (Worldbook Multimedia Encyclopedia.) We also now understand that a “month [is] the time of one revolution of the moon around the earth with respect to the sun” (Encyclopedia Britannica). How could Moses (the accepted author of Genesis) have known 3,500 years ago that the “lights” of the sun and moon were the actual determining factors of the year’s length, unless his words were inspired by God?

Science in the Bible 3

Here's more scientific fact, straight out of the Bible.This can all be found at the Evidence Bible

If, down through the ages, Scriptural principles had been applied during epidemics such as the Black Plague, millions of lives would have been saved. Long before man understood the principles of quarantine, the Bible spoke of the importance of isolating those who had a contagious disease and of disinfecting their houses. See Leviticus 13 and 14.


"Science can only be created by those who are thoroughly imbued with the aspiration toward truth and understanding. This source of feeling, however, springs from the sphere of religion. To this there also belongs the faith in the possibility that the regulations valid for the world of existence are rational, that is, comprehensible to reason. I cannot conceive of a genuine scientist without that profound faith." -Albert Einstein

Science in the Bible 2

Here's some more science in the Bible - the first and second laws of thermodynamics - who says science and the Bible don't agree? This is also quoted from the Evidence Bible.

Creation is Finished

The Scriptures say, "thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them." (Genesis 2:1) The original Hebrew uses the past definate tense for the verb "finished," indicating an action completed in the past, never again to occur. The creation was "finished" - once and for all.

That is exactly what the First Law of Thermodynamics says. This law (often refered to as the Law of the Conservation of Energy and/or Mass) states that neither matter nor energy can be either created or destroyed. It was because of this Law that Sir Fred Hoyle's "Steady-State" (or "Continuous Creation") Theory was discarded. Hoyle stated that at points in the universe called "irtrons," matter (or energy) was constantly being created. But the First Law states just the opposite. Indeed, there is no "creation" ongoing today. It is "finished" exactly as the Bible states.

Universe is Wearing Out

Three different places in the Bible (Isaiah 51:6, Psalm 102:25-26, Hebrews 1:11) indicate that the earth is wearing out This is what the Second Law of Thermodynamics (the Law of Increasing Entropy) states; that in all physical processes, every ordered system over time tends to become more disordered. Everything is running down and wearing out as energy is becoming less and less available for use. That means the universe will eventually “wear out” to the extent that (theoretically speaking) there will be a “heat death” and therefore no more energy available for use. This wasn’t discovered by man until fairly recently, but the Bible states it in clear, succinct terms.

Science and the Bible

Many people believe that the Bible and science cannot agree. However, this is not true at all. The Bible actually served as a basis for modern scientific pursuits. Modern science was born in the seventeenth century because of a belief in an unchanging God of order, purpose, and consistency—the God portrayed in the Bible.

If you think about it, that's the only way it can even make sense. What would be the point of studying science if everything was left to random chance? There would be nothing to discover without the existence of an intelligent Creator that put it all into motion and organized it.
If there is no God, then there is no science either, only chaos and random chance, with no way to observe the laws and rules of an ordered universe.

Although the Bible is not primarily a science text book, there is some science in there. Wouldn't the Creator who made everything and put the scientific laws in place know something about how it all works? Of course He would!

Time and time again, science eventually catches up and we realize that man has made mistakes and been wrong, while the Bible had the correct information all along. So, whenever they do seem to contradict, I'll go with the Bible every time!

Check out these scientific facts that have been found in the Bible. You can find more at the online version of the Evidence Bible by clicking the title of this post.

Interesting Stuff

1. Only in recent years has science discovered that everything we see is composed of invisible atoms. Scripture tells us that the "things which are seen were not made of things which do appear."

2. Medical science has only recently discovered that blood-clotting in a newborn reaches its peak on the eighth day, then drops. The Bible consistently says that a baby must be circumcised on the eighth day.

3. At a time when it was believed that the earth sat on a large animal or a giant (1500 B.C.), the Bible spoke of the earth’s free float in space: "He...hangs the earth upon nothing" (Job 26:7).

4. The prophet Isaiah also tells us that the earth is round: "It is he that sits upon the circle of the earth" (Isaiah 40:22). This is not a reference to a flat disk, as some skeptics maintain, but to a sphere. Secular man discovered this 2,400 years later. At a time when science believed that the earth was flat, is was the Scriptures that inspired Christopher Columbus to sail around the world.

5. God told Job in 1500 B.C.: "Can you send lightnings, that they may go, and say to you, Here we are?" (Job 38:35). The Bible here is making what appears to be a scientifically ludicrous statement—that light can be sent, and then manifest itself in speech. But did you know that radio waves travel at the speed of light? This is why you can have instantaneous wireless communication with someone on the other side of the earth. Science didn’t discover this until 1864 when "British scientist James Clerk Maxwell suggested that electricity and light waves were two forms of the same thing" (Modern Century Illustrated Encyclopedia).

6. Job 38:19 asks, "Where is the way where light dwells?" Modern man has only recently discovered that light (electromagnetic radiation) has a "way," traveling at 186,000 miles per second.

7. Science has discovered that stars emit radio waves, which are received on earth as a high pitch. God mentioned this in Job 38:7: "When the morning stars sang together..."

8. "Most cosmologists (scientists who study the structures and evolution of the universe) agree that the Genesis account of creation, in imagining an initial void, may be uncannily close to the truth" (Time, Dec. 1976).

9. Solomon described a "cycle" of air currents two thousand years before scientists "discovered" them. "The wind goes toward the south, and turns about unto the north; it whirls about continually, and the wind returns again according to his circuits" (Ecclesiastes 1:6).

10. Science expresses the universe in five terms: time, space, matter, power, and motion. Genesis 1:1,2 revealed such truths to the Hebrews in 1450 B.C.: "In the beginning [time] God created [power] the heaven [space] and the earth [matter] . . . And the Spirit of God moved [motion] upon the face of the waters." The first thing God tells man is that He controls of all aspects of the universe.

11. The great biological truth concerning the importance of blood in our body’s mechanism has been fully comprehended only in recent years. Up until 120 years ago, sick people were "bled," and many died because of the practice. If you lose your blood, you lose your life. Yet Leviticus 17:11, written 3,000 years ago, declared that blood is the source of life: "For the life of the flesh is in the blood."

12. All things were made by Him (see John 1:3), including dinosaurs. Why then did the dinosaur disappear? The answer may be in Job 40:15–24. In this passage, God speaks about a great creature called "behemoth." Some commentators think this was a hippopotamus. However, the hippo’s tail isn’t like a large tree, but a small twig. Following are the characteristics of this huge animal: It was the largest of all the creatures God made; was plant-eating (herbivorous); had its strength in its hips and a tail like a large tree. It had very strong bones, lived among the trees, drank massive amounts of water, and was not disturbed by a raging river. He appears impervious to attack because his nose could pierce through snares, but Scripture says, "He that made him can make his sword to approach unto him." In other words, God caused this, the largest of all the creatures He had made, to become extinct.

13. Encyclopedia Britannica documents that in 1845, a young doctor in Vienna named Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis was horrified at the terrible death rate of women who gave birth in hospitals. As many as 30 percent died after giving birth. Semmelweis noted that doctors would examine the bodies of patients who died, then, without washing their hands, go straight to the next ward and examine expectant mothers. This was their normal practice, because the presence of microscopic diseases was unknown. Semmelweis insisted that doctors wash their hands before examinations, and the death rate immediately dropped to 2 percent. Look at the specific instructions God gave His people for when they encounter disease: "And when he that has an issue is cleansed of his issue; then he shall number to himself even days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in running water, and shall be clean" (Leviticus 15:13). Until recent years, doctors washed their hands in a bowl of water, leaving invisible germs on their hands. However, the Bible says specifically to wash hands under "running water."

14. Luke 17:34–36 says the Second Coming of Jesus Christ will occur while some are asleep at night and others are working at daytime activities in the field. This is a clear indication of a revolving earth, with day and night at the same time.

15. "During the devastating Black Death of the fourteenth century, patients who were sick or dead were kept in the same rooms as the rest of the family. People often wondered why the disease was affecting so many people at one time. They attributed these epidemics to ‘bad air’ or ‘evil spirits.’ However, careful attention to the medical commands of God as revealed in Leviticus would have saved untold millions of lives. Arturo Castiglione wrote about the overwhelming importance of this biblical medical law: ‘The laws against leprosy in Leviticus 13 may be regarded as the first model of sanitary legislation’ (A History of Medicine)."

Grant R. Jeffery, The Signature of God - With all these truths revealed in Scripture,how could a thinking person deny that the Bible is supernatural in origin? There is no other book in any of the world’s religions (Vedas, Bhagavad-Gita, Koran, Book of Mormon, etc.) that contains scientific truth. In fact, they contain statements that are clearly unscientific.
Hank Hanegraaff said, "Faith in Christ is not some blind leap into a dark chasm, but a faith based on established evidence."

Saturday 09-05-10

We were witnessing out on Mill Ave for another Saturday night. There was a home game, so there were a lot of people out there. I think one guy actually growled at me when I handed him a tract.

Jim came out – it’s nice to see him out there. He’s been coming out for years, he’s 84 years old and it hasn’t slowed him down at all. He does some awesome Open Air and apologetics.

I did some Open Air preaching and talked to an atheist kid named Alex for a while. He was a nice enough kid, but young and pretty set in his atheism, not believing there was any proof of God. Richard and I talked with him for a while and planted some seeds, giving him a few things to think about and look into on his own.

Jeffrey and Nick stopped and talked to us for a while, after seeing the light illusion. They had been drinking a bit and claimed that they were Catholic. Tom talked to them for a while, having a Catholic background himself.
We gave them some tracts and they left, but came back to talk some more before we went home for the night. We ended up staying out there until about 1:30 or so.

There was a crowd across the street, waiting in line to get into a club, and we thought they could probably hear us over there, so Marcus and I each did some open air preaching for them to hear.



Soli Deo Gloria

Saturday 08-28-10

Some people think that they are sharing their faith by doing good works, and that they don’t actually have to say anything.

Our atheists who come out to oppose the street preaching on Mill Ave brought a rack of used clothes to give away to those in need. This is very generous and thoughtful thing to do, as there are some homeless and needy people on the streets of Tempe. So what is the difference between these atheists doing good and a Christian doing it?
Only the Gospel being proclaimed. A Christian cannot simply “live the life”, “let their light shine” or think that people will just notice some sort of “hope within” and consider that sharing the Gospel. Good works are great, and we should do them and continue doing them. But we are also commanded to proclaim the Gospel with words (Rom 10:13-14).


So, to our local atheists I commend them in helping out those in need. To the Christians, I say if you’re not proclaiming the Gospel, speaking it to people you come in contact with, how will anyone realize the difference between you and a humanist?
In the words of Penn Jillette (who is an atheist, yet understands the importance of evangelizing for those who truly believe), “How much do you have to hate someone, to believe that eternal life exists and not tell people that?”

I did some Open Air Trivia and a man named Ace stopped for the Good Person Test. We went through that and found that he was actually a self admitted lying, coveting thief, and a blaspheming adulterer-at-heart, just like most of the rest of us. He had heard of repentance before, but I explained that there are two things required in order to make Christ’s sacrifice apply to our lives: First we must repent, turning away from our sins, and then trust in Jesus alone for our salvation. He understood, and we sent him away with a Save Yourself Some Pain booklet.


Later on Tom talked with a man named Rick, who took some extra tracts to hand out to others. He was very enthusiastic about witnessing and he is looking forward to going through a training class that Tom is putting on next month in Tempe.

We were playing with the light illusion and a couple of guys stopped. We talked to them for a while before they mentioned that they were Mormons. They were very set in their beliefs, and Tom and I talked to them for a bit on their belief that Jesus saves us “after all that we can do” and how that doesn’t match up with the Bible teaching that we are saved by grace alone. Richard brought up the verse in the Bible where Paul said that if anyone brings a different Gospel, that they are to be accursed. Our Mormon friends insisted that it wasn’t a different Gospel, but there is a definite difference between what Mormonism teaches and what Biblical Christianity teaches.
They didn’t seem to have enough knowledge to properly defend their beliefs, so they left us after a little while.

Then a few Japanese tourists stopped and asked if they could take a picture with our cross. I gave them each a tract and they took their pictures. I’m still not sure why they wanted that or what their thoughts were about it.

Later on a drunk guy decided he wanted to drag the cross out to the sidewalk. It’s interesting how many people have attempted to steal the six foot cross made out of 4x4’s. I tried to talk to him a bit, and he informed me that Jesus drank. I explained to him that Jesus never got drunk or sinned in any way, so then he cursed at me and walked away.

Tom and I stayed out there with Marcus and Jennifer until 1:00 in the morning. Over all, it was a pretty typical night out on Mill, planting seeds and distributing tracts.

Soli Deo Gloria

Saturday 08-21-10

Tom and I met Richard, Joe and Alan out on the streets of Mill Ave to share the Gospel.  Soon after arriving, Matt, Jaquintan and another guy who I didn't catch his name stopped to check out our light throwing illusion. This leads into a discussion on how your eyes can deceive you, and then to the question, would you sell an eye for a million dollars. Most people wouldn't, because their eyes are precious to them, but our eyes are only the windows from which our soul looks out, so how much more valueable is our soul?

These three claimed to be Catholic, but as we talked with them a bit, we found that Jaquintan didn't believe in an afterlife at all, and the others seemed to think that all religions lead to the same place. Well, actually they do, they all lead to the Judgment Seat of Christ, it's where you go from there that really matters. They heard the Gospel, but still held to their Catholc/atheist beliefs as they went on their way.

It was raining quite a bit for a while, so we took shelter under an overhang at the post office. As we were sitting there waiting for the rain to ease up, I saw our friendly neighborhood atheist who normally comes out and heckles us. She didn't have her megaphone today, and actually gave a half hearted wave in our general direction. This is progress, as she normally seems to really hate us. We didn't see her the rest of the night.

Another guy named Jason stopped as we were still under the shelter from the rain and gestured that we should be preaching and not afraid of the rain. While the rain doesn't really bother us much, it really disperses the crowd, so there was really no one to preach to. We talked to him for a little while, and he brought up how he didn't like street preachers who judged people and told them that they're going to hell. We explained that we didn't do that, and that we ask people to judge themselves by God's standard to determine where they'll spend eternity. We took him through a few of the Commandments and then he left. I guess his real problem was not so much what kind of preaching he was hearing, but the conviction in his heart.

It was raining off and on, so there weren't too many people out tonight. We were still able to hand out a few tracts and plant some seeds. And the rain is nice out here in the desert where we don't get much of it, except during Monsoon season.

Soli Deo Gloria

Saturday 08-14-10

It was very hot out on Mill Ave this past Saturday, even after the sun went down, because the pavement takes in heat all day and radiates it back all night. There was an excessive heat warning, but we went out anyway.

We brought a cooler full of ice cold water bottles, and Tom would give it away to anyone willing to answer the question "Are you good enough to get into heaven?" This, of course would lead to further discussion as to why or why not. Marcus sent a guy named "Sideshow" over to Tom for some water. We've seen him around and know that he's not real receptive to the Gospel, but he had to listen to it anyway in order to get a free bottle of water. Please pray that one day the Lord will open his eyes to his sin and convict him, drawing him to salvation to the glory of God.

I did some Open Air Trivia questions and a woman named Elizabeth stopped by and eventually got them all right. Then she agreed to go through the Good Person Test, even though she said she was not a good person. When we were finished, the Gospel made sense to her and she understood the need to repent and trust in Christ alone. She thanked us and continued on her way.

Tom started talking with three young Muslims, who came back after receiving a tract from him. I entered the discussion for a bit, and managed to explain the Gospel to one of them after listening to their beliefs. Then I went back to handing out tracts and talking with others. Tom continued talking with them for the rest of the night, and both sides learned a lot about the others belief systems. These young men were very passionate about their beliefs, and I pray that God would show them the Truth, that they would not be deceived, but come to know Jesus Christ as God and Savior, not just a prophet as they are taught.

The Skeptic Tank showed up to heckle and play music in attempts to disrupt the preaching of the Gospel. There are only two die-hards left that continue to come out to actively oppose something they don't even believe exists. To me, that seems insane, but I guess they have a non-belief system that they hold to religiously, which is kind of ironic.

While Phil was preaching and reading from the Bible, they wanted to discuss Psalm 137:9, they've even made one of their anti-tracts based on this one. They kept on saying how unjust and evil it was to kill babies, taking the verse out of context. This made me wonder about their stand on abortion and Marcus went over to give the idea to Phil.
Well, come to find out, our atheists believe that it's ok for people to kill babies through abortion for convenience, but not for God to kill out of judgment.  Interesting.  I guess in the end, it is the simple fact that they hate God because they want to BE God, accountable to no one. Unfortunately for them, that's just not the way it is, no matter what they believe or choose not to.

Soli Deo Gloria

Saturday 08-07-10

Ok, I've been falling behind a bit on keeping the blog updated since I've been having some computer problems and home repair issues. Here's what happened last week.

Eric, who liked to go by the name of "Flips", hung around all night. At first, he was listening, but then he just wanted to argue. Later he claimed that he worked at a nearby Trails and had to listen to street preaching all the time and wanted to bother us as much as the preaching bothered him. He was not receptive, but since he hung around, he heard the Gospel multiple times. Seeds planted, please keep him in prayer. You can see a pic of him mockingly attempting to put himself on our cross on the Photos tab.

Tom was doing some Open Air Trivia, and a woman stopped and went through part of the Good Person Test. But she left before hearing the Gospel, because she didn't like feeling convicted.

A couple of drunk women tried to pick up our cross and steal it. They didn't have much luck, and Marcus and I went to talk to them a bit. One of them had a really foul mouth, just trying to say anything for shock value. Marcus gave her a tract and she tore it up then walked away. I remembered that I had some of the untearable tracts in my pocket, and Richard said he'd take it over to her, since she was still at the corner.

Well, that really made her mad. She came back towards Richard, still trying to tear the tract and having no luck, threw it on the ground while cursing at Richard. I picked up the tract and showed her that it could be torn, but she continued to curse at Richard until her other friends finally dragged her away. You can see this angry young woman on the Photos tab as well.

A guy named Ray stopped by, saying that he was a Christian and does go out and share his faith. We didn't get a chance to talk to him too much before he had to go, but I gave him a copy of Hell's Best Kept Secret and True and False Conversion on CD.

Soli Deo Gloria

OMG

You've seen that in text messages, heard people actually say it out loud, but do you really know what it means? Now before you attempt to justify yourself with "I meant Oh My Goodness", let's just realize from a Biblical perspective, you don't have any goodness, God alone is good, so you still end up talking about Him.

Now then, the Third Commandment says you shall not use the Lord's name in vain, this is called blasphemy, so let's determine what exactly this means.
First, we should recognize the difference between "God" and "god." Some may say that "God" is not His name, so it's not really blasphemy. However, with capitalization, it is indeed referring to the one and only true God revealed in the Bible and not some generic god invented by man.

Blasphemy is the use of God's name, including "God", "Jesus Christ" or "Lord" irrelevantly, without due respect. Consider this: If I were to use your mother's name as a curse word, would you have a problem with that? Most people would. If every time I wanted to express disgust, I would use your mother's name in addition to a few other four letter curse words, would you be offended? How much more should the Creator of the universe be offended when His own creation does this constantly out of rebellion and ignorance?
And to use "God" as an irrelevant expletive (as in omg) is the same offense. Now that you realize exactly what it is that you are doing, I do hope that you'll stop.

And I hope that you won't stop at a Hallmark store and buy one of these "cute" little blasphemous decorations that I saw the other day.








What is this world coming to? I'll tell you, it's coming to an end. No one knows exactly when that will be, but know this. 150,000 people die every day. That's two people every second, off into eternity. Are you ready?

Saturday 07-31-10

Tom and I went out to Mill Ave for Saturday night sharing of the Gospel. We met Alan, Joe, Marcus, Jennifer and Walt out there.

A guy named Danny stopped to ask about our cross. I was able to ask him a few questions about keeping God's law, but he wandered away before I could finish. Marcus said that he'd talked to this guy before. I guess he just didn't want to hear any more at this point, we didn't see him again the rest of the night.

Next, Jimmy and Mandy stopped to ask about the question on the cross that we brought out again, "Are you ready?" They said that they were ready to give an account of their lives to the Lord, and that they were Christians, but I took them through it anyway. They seemed to have a better understanding of why they believed when they left.

A drunk woman broke away from her friends to come over and give the cross a kick while Marcus and I were holding on to it. She came back a couple more times, but it's made out of 4 x 4's, so she wasn't able to do any damage. Lucky she didn't fall over herself though, as she was pretty unsteady on her feet. One of her friends apologized as she pulled her away and they headed down the street.

Our friendly neighborhood atheists came out with all their speakers and signs, as well as some of their "Anti-tracts" which generally take OT verses out of context in order to mock the Bible.
I refer to this local "think tank" of skeptics and free thinkers who actively oppose the Gospel as the Skeptic Tank. And what is a "free thinker" anyway, other than someone who doesn't get paid to think?

A young girl named Barbara was hanging out with the Skeptic Tank for a while, and then decided to come over and talk when I was doing some Open Air Trivia. I took her through the Good Person Test and we found that she was a self-admitted lying, coveting thief and a blaspheming adulterer-at-heart.
She knew she'd be found guilty, but was not concerned because she didn't believe in hell. I explained that our beliefs do not make any difference of if something is true or not. Atheists like to turn this back on us, but it is a correct statement.
Our belief, or lack of, makes absolutely no difference to reality at all. It's just a matter of aligning ourselves with what is true.

I talked with her for a while, and even though she was not convicted, maintaining her lack of belief, I gave the Gospel anyway because I was on the PA, and there were others listening as well.

She held to the idea that God's law couldn't possibly be written in our hearts. Even though everyone knows it's wrong to lie, steal and murder, Barbara claimed that the first commandment is not written on our hearts. She said that we couldn't possibly know that there was only one God unless we were taught that. Maybe she's got a point there.
Yet God's Law is written on our hearts enough to convict us of our own wrong-doing (Romans 2:15), and we go the the written Scripture to find more.

We do know enough to realize that there is a God, which is obvious as creation itself is the evidence for a Creator. That is enough to start. As most unbelievers do, she wanted to know about the poor person in the jungle of Africa who never heard the Gospel, what about them? Well, I don't know about them, but I do know that God is just and He will judge them in that righteousness. But, more importantly what about those who have heard the Gospel and yet reject it? What about those standing right before you?
Both would be left without excuse, but those who have heard it and reject it will be condemned per Hebrews 10:26-27.

Barbara asked what I thought makes people fall away and I explained that a true believer won't fall away, but that they were never saved in the first place. She claimed to have grown up as a Christian and so she didn't like that answer.

It was loud out there with others doing Open Air and the atheists bullhorn, so we went our separate ways. I asked her for her name to be able to pray for her, and she said that she appreciated the gesture. Please pray that God would convict her of her sins, open her eyes and reveal the Truth to her, and that she would forsake her sins and turn to Him in repentance and trust.

Soli Deo Gloria

Hard Question

Here's a question to contemplate.

Let's say you die today and find yourself standing before Jesus Christ. Now, you walk up to Him fully expecting Him to open the gate for you. But what if He looks at you and says, "Away from Me you worker of iniquity, I never knew you!"

Whoa! Now what? As the fear wells up in your heart, you remember all the times you were sitting in church instead of at the ball game. All the times that you wrote out your check for 10% of your gross income to the church where you sat in the front row, every Sunday. You remember how you invested your time in helping out with the youth, even passing out Gospel tracts on the street, telling everyone you knew about Jesus Christ, even leading many in the "sinner's prayer." All that you sacrificed for your beliefs, all that you did, was it all just a waste of time?

This frightening scenario will happen to many who stand before Christ at the end of time, fully expecting entrance into heaven (Matt 7:22-23).
How would you react? What would your answer be? What would you say?

Here are a couple of answers, and they will reveal a lot about ourselves.

Would you say, "But Lord, I believed in You, I prayed every night, I was in church every time the doors were open! I did all that you commanded, was it all in vain, for nothing?"
Maybe you'd wish you had never even tried, that you had just lived your life for yourself, denying yourself no pleasure, doing whatever you felt was right at the time. The end result is the same, but now you feel as though you've wasted your entire life.

-Or-

Would you say, "Lord, I know that I deserve nothing but the darkest depths of eternal hell. Nothing I've ever done can even begin to earn my way into Your kingdom. I've broken Your Law, I've lived my entire life under the curse of sin. My life was filled with wickedness and I have nothing to offer that could even begin to correct that. I put my trust completely in You and Your finished work on the cross for my salvation. But I know what I deserve, and Your will be done."
Maybe you'd be honored to have had the privilege to live your life for Him and now accept His judgment. Even though the end result is horrific, you can think of no better way to have spent your short life, only wishing you could have done more, even if the outcome were the same.

So, which one would be you? You don't have to answer here, just be honest with yourself before God.
In the first instance, it becomes clear that you were counting on your works, and your religious tradition for your salvation, and were not truly serving the Lord at all.

In the second, you accept His will for you, regardless of what it is, because you know that He is holy, righteous and just. And you would have served Him all the days of your life, regardless of the outcome and your eternal destiny because you know that He alone is worthy.

Just some stuff to think about. What are you truly putting your faith in? And what is your motivation for doing so? Are you simply jumping out of the line to hell and into the one going to heaven?
Are you reading your Bible every day? Are you going to church? Are you praying? Are you telling others about your Savior? Are you growing in holiness (that is, are you more holy today than you were a year ago)?
None of these things will save you. But they are evidences that you might be saved. God knows the heart. Read the Book of 1 John to test yourself and see if you are truly saved or not (1 John 5:13).

Here's what Paris Reidhead said, near the end of his famous sermon "Ten Shekels and a Shirt":

If I were to say to you, "Come to be saved so you can go to heaven, come to the cross so that you can have joy and victory, come to the fullness of the Spirit so that you can be satisfied", I'd be falling into the trap of humanism.

I'm going to say to you dear friend, if you're out here without Christ, you come to Jesus Christ and serve Him as long as you live whether you go to hell at the end of the way, because He is worthy!

I say to you Christian friend, you come to the cross and join Him in union and death and enter into all the meaning of death to self, in order that He can have glory.

I say to you dear Christian, if you do not know the fullness of the Holy Ghost, come and present your body a living sacrifice and let Him kill you so that He can have the purpose for His coming fulfilled in you and get glory through your life.
It's not what you're going to get out of God, it's what He is going to get out of you.
Let's be done once and for all, with utilitarian Christianity that makes God a means instead of the glorious end that He is.

Test yourself.