CABGx3

 It's been one year since my CABGx3 on 05/07/24 

At 57 years old, I'd had high blood pressure for a while and a light pain in my chest, off and on.  

One day I was feeling some heartburn that just wouldn't go away, even though I hadn't really eaten anything.  I remember a friend who'd survived the Widow Maker, tell me that's what it had felt like when he was having his heart attack, so I went in to the ER to be checked out.  It wasn't a heart attack, but my heart was under stress, so they admitted me and two days later I had open heart, triple bypass surgery (one artery was 100% clogged and two others over 90%).  

I primarily thank my Lord and God that it was found and treated.  He is the one who holds our life and sustains it with every breath and heartbeat until our time on this earth is up.

This didn't really hit me that hard until about a month later when a guy I knew that was a couple of years older than me, who also liked mountain biking and posting pics of sunrises.  He had posted a cool one that I had liked, but it turns out that later that very morning, he died of a massive heart attack in his doctor's office.  

Now, what really made me think, is that could have been me, and probably would have been, if this hadn't been caught early enough to have the surgery.  Why had God given me more time, but not my friend?  I guess He has more work for me to do before I leave this world.  

Maybe some of it is posting my experience and thoughts online, as well as evangelizing to the lost on a regular basis.  

How much time do you have left?  150,000 people die every single day, that's two people every second, off into eternity.  Are you ready to kneel before the Lord and give account for your life on this earth?  Do you know what He requires from you?  He's given us 66 books, bound into one Bible, I would encourage you to read it, study it, know it and obey the principles you find in it.

You'll also find the only hope we have in there, and our need to repent of our sins and trust in Jesus Christ alone for our salvation, apart from any works.  Trust in the works that He's already done on the cross. 

Soli Deo Gloria.

Pilgrims Progress

Pilgrims Progress

Christiana (Pilgrims Progress part 2)

Christiana - Pilgrims Progress part 2

The Works of Josephus Flavius

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/josephus/ Book 1, chapter 3, discusses the Nephilum. 

 "When mankind began to multiply on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of mankind were beautiful, and they took any they chose as wives for themselves. And the Lord said, “My Spirit will not remain with mankind forever, because they are corrupt. Their days will be 120 years.” The Nephilim were on the earth both in those days and afterward, when the sons of God came to the daughters of mankind, who bore children to them. They were the powerful men of old, the famous men."  Genesis 6:1‭-‬4

Cage Stage

Is this where I'm at now? The cage stage? I've been accused of being Calvinist for a while now, simply because I find things like "predestination", "the elect", "chosen before time", in the Bible, and much less on God being a respector of man, unwilling to touch his "free will" and requiring free choice in order to have true love. People in real life have unfriended me. Others call me names - liar, prideful, arrogant, ignorant and stubborn. Some even block me rather than discuss the issues. Many of those that stick around ignore the verses and explanations for these beliefs and simply set out their own. Yet all this seems to just push me closer to Reformed theology which I find in the pages of Scripture. And the arguments against it are so man-centered and appealing to our independence, self worth and freedom, that even those push me the same direction. I don't believe that anyone is saved by their theology, salvation is by grace through faith. There are saved and lost in both camps. I don't know how God remains completely sovereign over all of His creation, yet evil is still found in the world. I cannot comprehend how God has predestined and chosen certain people, yet mankind is still held accountable for their actions and choices. But I find these things in the Bible, I know they're true, and that God is Creator and sovereign over all. So I'll stand on this Biblical basis, whether you call me Calvinist, lost, or just stupid, I don't care.

Street Preaching group on FB

Street Preaching Discussion Forum

Halloween Outreach

 Halloween Outreach - Light in the Night

 

http://streetfishing.blogspot.com/2010/10/halloween-outreach-light-in-night.html by Rob-roy

 

Friends,

Each year I like to share a reminder of what we have done the past few years on Halloween to reach out to our neighborhood with the purpose being that the Holy Spirit may lead you according to God’s word in reaching out in some way to your neighborhood.  Maybe these ideas will lead to something you might try or consider in prayer and testing with scripture.

 

First I should note that I have studied the disturbing origins of Halloween and have made the decision to have nothing at all to do with "celebrating" it.  In fact the history of it unsettles me greatly.  That however is another topic I will not get into at this time.

 

What we have done instead the past few years on October 31 is to intentionally be a Light in the Night.  We intentionally celebrate Christ and celebrate Him by reaching out to our neighborhood through the sharing of the gospel and free gifts on that night.  In the past years we have a had great conversations with the adults and kids in our neighborhood.  Our kids like to help out and usually we have some friends in Christ come over to help out.  Now on to the details...

 

Here is what we do:

 

1.  Be Praying.  Always pray and pray always.  October 31 can be a darker night than most for spiritual warfare.  But remember it is God who is the Light and the owner of the Night.  Only He can reach the lost.  We are to surrender and be willing to be used by God as He reaches them.  Put all trust in God.  The battle is His and it has been won.

 

2.  Be Out.  (Be in the midst) Instead of handing out candy at the door we go outside and in front of our house in the front yard.  We set up chairs and a table.  There are extra chairs for neighbors to sit as they choose.  We run an extension cord to provide lights for the front yard so that it is the brightest area of the neighborhood.  We have coolers that have gifts in them ready to hand out.  We have the whole family out to talk with people and help do the handing out.  It creates an environment where it is ok to stop, sit and chat for awhile.  Especially if some others are already doing it.  It becomes contagious.

 

3.  Be About.  (Be Friendly, Be Loving) As kids and people come near we invite them over for a free gift before they can say Trick or Treat.  On a personal note the Trick or Treat terminology and history bothers me so we have fun intercepting that by saying "come on over we have something special for you and we are glad you are here."  Engage your neighbors before they engage you.  Go to them.  Make it about you genuinely reaching them for Christ instead of them reaching you for Halloween.  Be about honoring God by loving the lost and by directing the focus from the darkness of Halloween night to the Light of the one true Savior.

 

4.  Be Ready. (Be Prepared) Know when October 31 traffic starts.  In our neighborhood it gets dark just before 6:00.  We set up around 5:15 and are ready by 5:30.  Usually the first traffic starts at about 5:45 or 5:50.

 

5.  Be Giving.  (Be Generous) We want to make a big impact in every way for God’s glory.  We desire to do that by handing out the biggest candy bars available, the king size ones that are sold at Walgreen's or Costco (Sam's).  We look for the biggest bars we can find and then invest in them.  These are great for a couple of reasons.  Kids really notice them because they are not the bite size candies.  They are huge and the bigger kids 11-14 take notice of the generosity.  So do the parents of the 7-10 year olds.  Almost every parent will come over when I wave the "Mom and Dad" size bars and tell them that they are not left out.  With a sheepish grin they are drawn over, especially the Dads!

 

Also, the big bars have a lot of room for adding a gospel message or tract.  We use our printer to crank out labels with a gospel message on them that we "stick" to the king size bars.  If you would like a copy of the text we use it is provided at the end of this message.  Yes the candy is expensive but is nothing compared to the price of souls.  We average about 150 pieces a year and that is what we plan for.  About half the pieces are the big bars and the other half regular bars (for the little kids) but still all are bigger than the "bite size" bags.  There are many ways to share the gospel and be generous so be led by the Holy Spirit according to God’s word and be obedient.  You will not regret it.  

 

6.  Be Light. (Shine Bright)In addition to the candy we also have tracts ready.  They are tracts that most people "ask for" and enjoy looking at.  Not the ones that people cringe at.  We use Million Dollar bill tracts and Pink/Blue curved illusion tracts the most (shown below).  People love these and ask for extras.

 

Some people hang out because we have prepared a place for them to do that.  We have a chance to talk and the tracts break the ice with a good laugh.  We are able to make a connection.  Since we are outside there is no bottle neck at the front door.  It creates an environment where there is time to talk.  

 

If we were in the house then when parents let the kids walk up to the front door and stay on the street we would not be able to talk with them.  Since we are outside we actually get to talk to these parents and they are more open to coming up to us to talk.  There is no door or narrow walkway creating a barrier.  Plus it is face to face time for the whole family so it is easier to remember each other in the future.  And when our kids talk to their kids then next thing you know people are hanging out.

 

A lot of kids really comment about the candy.  They are like WOW!  We let them know that the big candy is a free gift from an even bigger God who created them and to read the important message on the wrapper.  That can lead into conversations about the gospel.

 

 

Some big kids want more than one bar.  Even with a huge candy bar one is not enough?  Funny how that works.  Is enough ever enough?  For the bigger kids that want more I let them know they can have another bar if they pass "the test".  I ask if they would consider themselves to be a good person?  And then that leads into gospel!  Trust God and step out and connect with people.



Also we provide a cooler full of water bottles for people to take for free.  The bottles have a “Got Thirst?” gospel label on them.  We put up a Free Stuff table that has DVD’s, Gospel of John’s, etc., which also attracts attention, questions and conversations.

 

7.  Be Humble (Be Genuine) Look on everyone that you come in contact with as those that God loves dearly because He does.  He is not willing that any should perish.  Ask God that you would have His heart and compassion.  Then humbly through the power of the Holy Spirit generously share His love and the truth of the gospel to those who are lost.  Share the words of life either in writing stuck (to a big piece of candy) or verbally with those who hang around.  It is a privilege to serve God and meet people.  Be humble and loving when sharing the gospel but do not compromise the truth.  God’s judgment, wrath and Hell are just as real as His mercy, grace and forgiveness offered in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.  Proclaim the whole gospel earnestly.  Be genuine.  Be real.  Be a servant.

 

8.  Be Thankful  All Glory is God's.  Not every night honors Him but every night is His and belongs to no other.  Give thanks for His goodness.  Give thanks through honoring Him on October 31 by being His Light in the Night.  Thank Him for casting aside the darkness of night that all that come may see the light.  Thank Him for using a night meant for darkness to instead impact eternity through the sharing of gospel tracts in love to reach the lost.  Give all Glory to God for all Glory is His and He is worthy.  As a family pray asking God that seeds would be planted, that people would read the gospel message, that people would be saved and He glorified.

 

Summary

In prayer and study, seek after God.  Allow God to use you to reach others every day, not just on October 31.  May the Holy Spirit lead you to be light in the middle of darkness.  Show compassion instead of apathy towards those who are lost.  Ask God what He would have you do this October 31 and then ask for the strength to do it.  I pray that in the sharing of this it helps you in some way to serve our King.

 

In Jesus name,

Rob-roy

 

"I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." - John 8:12

 

 

*************SAMPLE TEXT******************

 

Are You Ready?

 

Nobody is guaranteed another day or minute. On Judgment Day every thought, word, and deed will be exposed. All will be guilty of lying, stealing and more. Nothing will be hidden from God. The penalty for sin is punishment in Hell. The good news is God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him will not die but have Eternal Life.

 

Jesus took the punishment for sins upon Himself dying on the cross and rising from the dead. God commands you to repent and put all your faith and trust in Jesus alone to save you. There is no other way. No amount of good works will get you to heaven. Repent and trust in Him alone today. You may not have tomorrow. Read the Bible daily and obey what you read.

 

 

God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast.                     Ephesians 2:8

 

juststopandthink.com   got-thirst.blogspot.com

 

The Crown Maker

There was something big going on.  The Hebrew temple leadership was in an uproar, wanting to have someone put to death over some infraction of their silly religious law. But this was different somehow.  It was hard to define, I could feel something much bigger and more important than what it seemed, but couldn’t quite place what it was.  As a young Roman soldier, I knew I had to be a part of it somehow.

I had an idea!  I’ve always had a wicked sense of humor, and when I heard them saying that He referred to Himself as the “king of the Jews”, I thought to myself, “Self....maybe we should make a crown for Him.”  Like one of those victor’s wreaths in the Olympic games, only the grand prize here was death!  There were some prickly thorn bushes nearby, so I quickly put my idea into action, clipping and weaving some of the nastiest looking thorny branches that I could find together.  This would be hilarious, and my fellow soldiers would finally appreciate my humor and what I could contribute to the Roman empire.

This will be awesome, I thought, as I pricked my finger on yet another thorn.  But it was worth it for the painful, dark joke that I was preparing in order to mock this "king" and show Him that He's nothing, belonging to the lowly Jews, rather than a Roman citizen.

This is going to be so funny, this peasant that calls himself some sort of king.  Here's your crown, King Nothing!

Suddenly, that jerk, Gallus, snatched my novel crown of thorns for the King of the Jews out of my hands and slammed it onto Him. So, I added my own insult as I hit Him with the stick I was holding, driving it further onto His head.  I could see some of the thorns dig into His scalp, breaking off pieces under His flesh.  That would be a nasty infection, if He were to live long enough.  But He wouldn’t.

We ripped the bloody rags from His body, blood clots had already started to form and scab over, the dried blood sticking to the fabric.  As we ripped it loose, it started bleeding again.  I could see some parts of bone through the bloody mess that had been His back.  He'd had a thorough scourging, which many would not have survived.

Valens draped a purple robe over His shoulders, as we hit Him and ripped out pieces of His beard.  More blood trickled down His face from the crown I had created for Him.

No one else had ever thought of an idea like this, maybe it will catch on and others will copy me against any other criminal "kings" who might consider usurping the Roman empire in the future.  They will find it hilariously funny, just like my cheerful name - Hilarius.
I'll probably be famous for this!

I whacked Him on the head again with my stick, asking Him to prophesy, as Fabius and Brutus spit on Him and mockingly bowed down in front of Him before gleefully hopping to their feet and punching Him straight in the face.

"Prophesy, who hit you?" I yelled as I placed a broken reed in His hands, hoping He'd try to lash out at us with it, giving us more reason and opportunity to beat Him senseless.

At that moment, His eyes locked onto mine.  I mean locked, I could not move or look away.  I saw the pain there, but there was more, so much more.  I could see a sorrow, but it wasn’t for what was happening to Him.  It seemed to be an expression of grief directed toward me!  How could He feel sorry for me at this point?  His eyes pierced through my very soul and I realized this was no mere rebel that we were mocking and putting to death.  My face flushed as I felt the hot flash of embarrassment and shame at my part in all of this.

It wasn't funny any more.  Suddenly, my wicked sense of humor was no longer humorous, but only wicked, a disgusting sickness within myself.  As tears of shame welled up in my eyes, I wished that I could turn away, but I still could not, as His gaze held me fast.
The look of love and compassion towards myself and the others, as we painfully mistreated this Man was beyond comprehension to me.

This was a strength that I had never known, and I had no idea how He could handle such a severe punishment such as this without even an angry look or word.  I only saw love and true mercy in His eyes.

I finally broke away, disgusted with my part in all of this.  None of my fellow soldiers seemed to notice as I quietly retreated from the room to be alone with my thoughts and contemplate what this was and exactly what I had been caught up in.

Although you and I were not physically there at the time to press this crown of thorns onto His head in mockery, we did contribute our own sins.  We might as well have been there, mocking, berating and ridiculing.  That is what we continue to do when we don't esteem the sacrifice and think we can continue in our sins

("If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?" - Hebrews 10:26-29).

But this was only one small part of the torture.  And He willingly accepted this, out of love, in order to atone for our sins, to pay the penalty that we deserve.

The worst part wasn’t the physical, it wasn’t the scourging that sometimes brought the victims to death in itself, nor was it the mocking, spitting on, plucking out His beard, stripping Him naked and nailing Him onto a cross, then raising it up so that He could barely breath as He hung there, naked, bleeding, humiliated and mocked.  No, none of that was the worst part.

The Son of God, who had always done exactly what the Father wanted Him to do, always in obedience and loving fellowship, was suddenly abandoned and alone as He took on the sin of the world and the Father could not even look at Him.  To suffer the wrath that each of us deserves, breaking that fellowship that He had always known with the Father, was a much greater pain that any of the physical pain that He endured and something beyond comprehension for us.
And He took on the entire cup of God's wrath, full strength, leaving nothing for us to atone for, if we will just repent and trust in Him alone.

How great a love is this, that He would lay down His life, His perfect, sinless life - the torture, the humiliation, the pain - as a payment for our rebellious sins against God?

WOTM Evangelism Training

Way Of The Master video training class coming up on Saturday, March 24^th. 

Using the concepts explained by Ray Comfort, we are going through a simple, Biblical training process on a monthly basis to equip the saints to be more comfortable in sharing the Gospel and carrying out the Great Commission. 

This training is being held at Shiloh Community Church at 19021 N 32^nd St, Phoenix, AZ 85050

Room 1 in the Community Center (north most building), from 6:00pm to 7:30pm, with an opportunity to join us out on the streets of Tempe afterwards to see how this works in a real world application.

If you’d ever like to join me any Saturday night on Mill Ave, contact me for details (disciple7@cox.net).  We normally go out on Saturday nights from about 8:30pm until whenever, to hand out Gospel tracts, open air preach and talk to people one 2 one. 

Early Christian Beliefs by Nicholas Dylewsky

Early Christian Beliefs: The Importance of Interpreting Scripture with a 1st Century Worldview

By Nicholas Dylewsky

The Importance of Interpreting Scripture with a 1st Century Worldview Christianity, being born in the Roman empire, has endured millenniums of growth,
persecution and prosperity. Christianity is surely a faith that has grown despite immense pressure on those that call themselves Christians to recant their beliefs and has withstood the test of time more greatly than any other religion despite the cost to those that persevere.

The problem that presents itself is that in that wide gap of time, the truths that are found within scripture are often distorted by modern interpretations that fit more with the culture of today’s society then with the culture of early Christianity.  Thus, the intended message of the original author remains hidden in the text rather than coming to light.
With the distiantation that is applied between ancient and modern times, one can only expect that the context in which we interpret scripture today might be distorted and therefore be less edifying to the Church. But why then are we as Christians today, especially in America, so eager to hold to modern interpretations of scripture despite there being so many resources that point towards a more accurate reading of the text? Furthermore, if one is to examine closely the early interpretations and beliefs pertaining to Christian doctrines, would a major paradigm shift occur for those that had been interpreting scripture with modern eyes after taking off their modern lenses?

I propose that answer to the first question is that the modern reader, especially in the western world, approaches scripture with a presupposition of comfortable individualism that causes the believer to search for interpretations that cater to the individual’s comfortability rather than the openness to be confronted and convicted with Biblical truth. Therefore, the second question is answered; Yes, a major paradigm shift must occur.  (Richards & O'Brien, 2012) argues that people of all cultures approach scripture with a lens that filters everything through their cultural worldview.

As followers of Christ however, we should make a proper attempt to remove those lenses and bring the text to our culture rather than the culture to the text. In support of this argument, a lot of times when modern Christians such as myself interpret scripture, a tendency to lean towards a view that fits our modern cultural standards or morals is often developed. For example, a believer that is reading scripture in the United States may have a “western” bias when interpreting scripture. An individual that was raised in India may likewise view scripture under the filter of a more “Eastern” perspective.

More specifically, western readers are likely to approach things with and individualistic mindset whereas and eastern reader would be more likely to view things with a more communal interpretation. This is also alluded to in (Richards & O'Brien, 2012), which focuses more on the filter that westerners put on scripture but also refers frequently to eastern cultural as well.  Now, while bringing culture to the text can certainly assist the reader with formulating a modern application of certain verses or passages of scripture, it is essential to take a fresh look at what the author intended and how the early church would have understood said verse or passage to avoid missing the point. The result being that the true meaning of the verse or passage is revealed and therefore applied correctly even when brought forward to a modern application.

One way to read scripture is to focus on what it would mean if someone gave us similar instructions today, then we can start formulating an application. However, the argument that is being made in (Richards & O'Brien, 2012) is that a contrary and more effective method of interpreting scripture is necessary. And, if the authors are right and it is this so important to understand the correct interpretation of scripture, then the only viable to do so is do dig in to what early Christians believed about the correct interpretation of a scripture. Another way to say this is something like “The effective Biblical interpreter, when interpreting scripture, takes off his/her cultural beliefs and steps in to the shoes of the early Christian and reads scripture as if he/she was an early Christian.” Only then can the reader take the same principle and apply it to modern culture in the manner originally intended by the author.

Revelation 3:15-16 is a perfect example. These two verses are in the center of Christ’s letter to the Laodiceans. This is where Jesus tells the audience at Laodicea that He would prefer them “hot” or “cold” over “lukewarm” lest He spit them out. The traditional reading of this passage is that Jesus would prefer the individual to either be a devout Christian (hot) or a completely uncommitted individual (cold) over a Christian who is half in but not fully committed. In this interpretation, the “cold” is an unbelieving person and both the “lukewarm” and “hot” person are interpreted to be believers. In other words, “outright denial is better than [phony] piety” (Morris, 2009) (Beale, 1999).

The problem with this interpretation is that it would imply that God would spit out those who are believers, those who are saved but still prefer someone who is completely non-committed. Granted, the proponent of this view might argue that the “lukewarm” individual is not one that was truly saved; the conclusion is still that God would prefer a professing unbeliever to a professing believer that is not fully committed when logically He would either view them both the same. After all, the terms of following Christ are essentially all or nothing.  

An alternate view that seems more likely has emerged more recently, notes (Beale, 1999), that what is more likely happening here is that Jesus is using the circumstances regarding the water supply in Laodicea to effectively bring about His point.  Evidence exists that supports that the neighboring city of Hierapolis had a “hot springs” like water supply that had a healing effect on those that bathed in it and the neighboring city of Colossae had a supply of fresh cold water that was very pleasant to drink. In this scenario, it was also likely that the water supply in Laodicea was run off from the water supply in Hierapolis that was extremely unpleasant to drink by the time that it reached Laodicea and therefore would have likely caused the Laodiceans to spit the water out upon consumption (Morris, 2009).

This interpretation allows for the interpretation that seems more likely due to the positive description in the passage of both he “cold” and “hot,” whereas the traditional interpretation doesn’t explain why the negative is accepted by God more then the “partially positive” (Beale, 1999). We can now interpret the scripture as describing the two descriptions of “hot” and “cold” as positive while understanding the “lukewarm” to be the negative resulting in an application less separated from that of the original audience. Now we see that God prefers “hot” which is a good thing along with “cold” as a good thing but does not approve with “lukewarm”

The problem is, however, that this is not as simple as it sounds because there are still multiple views on most passages including this one. We still need to determine other things that are now in controversy within the passage such as is the “lukewarm” Christian being spit out to eternity in hell or is the passage just referring to the “lukewarm” works of the Christian being spit out while the believer remains eternally safe.  However, the important part is that we have in either case approached a more accurate reading of the text by taking off our modern lens and applying the circumstances that were taking place to the early believers at Laodicea instead. 

Likewise, the same can and should be done with all the other texts.  As we just saw, after looking at the historical context of a passage or after looking at the remote and immediate context, many scholars still come to contradicting conclusions. There is sometimes no choice but to choose between one of multiple possible interpretations of a passage.  Thus, one must then wrestle with the fact that there is only one true interpretation that is correct or inadequately settle with the idea that there could be multiple interpretations that are correct.  While we hold to the belief that there is only one accurate interpretation to a passage, ensuring that one doesn’t hold a view that is incorrect can become a heavy conviction to the genuine Biblical scholar or even the daily devotional Bible interpreter.  
It is possible therefore that a necessity arises to hold lighter positions on some of the views that are more secondary as a solution and a focus that is on the truths that are more salvific such as Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection are magnified. Granted, the latter might be true; but it does not change the fact that the only way to truly begin understanding many important issues in scripture is to do sufficient historical research on a passage. Not only is this essential, but the correct context must be considered as well once the historical data is collected.

While there is admittedly some difficulty even amongst the most devout Biblical scholars to determine the true meaning of certain passages, historical and cultural background research; jumping in to the worldview of the 1^stcentury audience is still arguably the most important aspect of interpreting scripture correctly.

And, although some passages may still have an unclear meaning it is still more possible to now determine which interpretation is more likely whereas before doing the research we might have been un aware of some of the possibilities of what the passage truly means. The only way to effectively to this, however, goes back to the original purpose of this paper which is solely to emphasize the importance of avoiding to read scripture with our modern eyes lest we come to an inaccurate conclusion that leads to an inaccurate application.


Works Cited
Beale, G. K. (1999). The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Co.
Morris, L. L. (2009). Revelation: An Introduction and Commentary. Nottinham, England: InterVarsity Press.
Richards, E. R., & O'Brien, B. J. (2012). Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Binders to Better Understand the Bible. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Encouragement

We do not post these things for the praise of man (Matthew 23:5-12).  Sometimes we’re accused of this.  In the context of this verse, the Pharisees and religious leaders of the time were seen as important, and people looked at them with respect. 

It’s not the same in modern American society today, where our Christian heritage of this country is denied, religious leaders are mocked more than respected, while more and more of the population declare themselves “atheists” or hold to some sort of mixed up smorgasbord of spirituality, attempting to combine all the different religions together, or simply picking and choosing what they like from each one creating their own hybrid worldview.    

 

And then they accuse those who are holding to historical Biblical Christianity of trying to make ourselves look important in front of people.  As if standing on a stepstool on the public sidewalk, in an area littered with bars and clubs, proclaiming the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and calling people to repent of their sins (Matthew 4:17), somehow makes people exalt and praise us.  Quite the contrary (John 15:18-19).  They are out there looking to party, lusting in their hearts and enjoying their sins for a season (Hebrews 11:25). 

Since we’re out there to call them to repentance and to consider eternal things, it kind of ruins their sinful time.  As their conscience bears witness (Romans 2:15), they want to suppress it.  They hate us, they laugh and mock us as they stumble by, looking for their next drink, and possibly some stranger to hook up with. 

 

But we do this for good reason.  First, the Lord has given us the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15, Acts 10:42), commanding us to go out and proclaim the Good News.

 

Second, we actually care about people and don’t want them to end up in eternal hell (Matthew 25:41, 46, Daniel 12:2, Colossians 3:6)  We explain the Gospel to them that they might repent and be saved (Acts 17:30).  Eternity is at stake, and that will last much longer than a few hours of pleasure in a drunken stupor over the weekend. 

 

Third, God doesn’t want them to end up in hell, either (Ezekiel 18:32), but being a just and righteous God, that is where they will end up – where all of us deserve to go (Psalm 53:3, 1 John 1:8).  When judged by God’s Law, we’re all found to have broken it (Romans 3:23) and the fine must be paid.  The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) and eternal punishment in the lake of fire (Matthew 25:46, Revelation 14:11). 
God has provided a way to pay that fine for us, through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, and He uses people to proclaim that good news to others. 
God doesn’t need us, but has granted us this privilege, to use us in reaching out to the lost, just as someone once reached out to us in our lost state before we were saved! 

It is the loving thing to do.  How could you possibly NOT tell others, when you know that they are headed to hell without Jesus Christ? 

 

If you call yourself a Christian, and you’re not going to say something to them about their eternity, you might as well say it out loud as you walk by, “Go to hell”, because that is exactly what you’re saying by your silence.  You don’t care enough about these people to give reason for the hope within you (1 Peter 3:15), and yet call those who do so “unloving” and “judgmental”? 

 

Fourth, the Lord says that if we deny Him or are ashamed of Him and His Words before men, that He will deny us before the Father and the angels (Matthew 10:33, Mark 8:38).  Is it not denial of the Lord, remaining quiet instead of warning them as we are commanded (Luke 6:46)?

 

And why would we remain silent?  We are not in fear of our lives here in America for proclaiming the Gospel.  The only thing we are afraid of is looking foolish in front of a bunch of lost people who are on their way to eternal hell.  That is nothing more than selfish pride, which is a sin in itself (Proverbs 16:18).

Well, I will look foolish for Christ (1 Corinthians 1:27-29), I will not deny the One who gave His life that I might be saved (John 3:16-18).  They can mock me, ridicule me, throw things at me and hate me, but I will NOT deny Him, nor will I stop proclaiming His Word (Acts 4:18-20). 

 

We are following the Biblical precedent that has been set forth before us, and I am not ashamed of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

And lastly, we post these pictures and witnessing encounters, not in an attempt to exalt ourselves before men, but rather, as an encouragement to other believers.  In order to demonstrate that it's not too difficult, that you are not alone - there is a remnant, holding to God’s Word, proclaiming His Gospel to the lost and here to help equip anyone who might consider joining us. 

 

Soli Deo Gloria

 

Psalms

We’re starting off the year going through Psalms in church.  Today, as I was listening to some music on YouTube, I came across this song.

 

Psalm Chapter 1 (So I Sit Alone)

 

 



This one really stands out to me.  Back in October of 2006, I heard of an Evangelism “Crash Course” on the radio (KLove), so I went to it on 10/14/06.  This class was based on the Way Of The Master that Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron teach, explaining how to evangelize using the Law to show our need for a Savior.  I always knew that as a Christian, we should be sharing our faith, but I really didn’t know how to do so.  This class explained how to do it in a simple, Biblical way.  I have attended and even taught many of these classes since then. 

This class was life changing for me, and I started going out on a regular basis to share my faith with others.  At first, there was a pretty good sized group of people going out there doing this.  But slowly, over the years, the numbers got smaller and eventually it was just me.  By then, my daughter, McKayla was old enough to join me, and she’d been asking to go for years prior to this, so she started coming with me.  Occasionally, we’d see someone else out there doing the same thing, and it was encouraging when we did, it just wasn’t often. 

But as the quote in the picture shows, I would still follow Christ, alone or not.  I knew this was something that I had to do. 

Then I met Chris and Nick, who introduced me to Rachel, and all of her amazing songs.  And now we have a group of people evangelizing and street preaching again.  Matt, who I’d met before, David, who I met online, Leigh, Aaron, Jamin, and my youngest daughter is getting old enough to come out now, too. 

I had been praying for a long time for more people to get involved, per Luke 10:2, and to be able to teach this in my church on a regular basis.  God has provided, in His timing, and we now have monthly classes available and more workers in the harvest field. 

 Long ago, when my mother was alive, she had told me that she felt God had some sort of special purpose for my life.  I was really nothing more than a false convert at that time, so I really didn’t think much of it.  I figured every mother probably felt that way about her children.  But years later, my sister told me that our mom had told her the same thing about me.  And my younger sister was a Christian long before I really was. 

Although my mother is no longer on this earth, maybe this is what she was thinking of.  Or maybe God has even more in store, I don’t know.  I just know that I want to follow after Him, to trust in Him with my whole life and eternity.  I praise God for all the blessings He’s given me, and want to live my life in obedience to Him, whether I walk alone or He blesses me with a group of like minded believers. 

We follow Him not to try to earn our way, and not because we think we deserve it, but out of gratitude that He would save us when we were found guilty, condemned and without hope of saving ourselves.  The God we serve is an awesome God!

Soli Deo Gloria

 

 

 

 

Prayer

It is amazing how God works.  I actually had an opportunity to pray at work with my coworkers in a meeting today.  Unfortunately, it often takes some bad news to open up a door like this.  One of my coworkers recently had a lump removed that turned out to be cancer from melanoma that had gotten into the lymph nodes.  She’ll be getting treatments for this and just wanted to let everyone know what was going on, so we had a quick unit meeting. 

 

After explaining the situation, and expressing her faith and trust in God through all of this, another coworker said that it might be a little different, but asked if we could pray for her.  Our manager agreed and they asked me to do so.  It’s not often in these days of attacks on the Christian faith that an opportunity like this would come up in the workplace. 

 

I thank God for this opportunity and pray that He would be with my coworker, encouraging, strengthening and helping her deal with whatever comes in this experience and that He would heal her in a miraculous way.  I also pray for my other coworkers, as well as myself, that God would draw us closer to Him.  It is so easy to get distracted with all of the day to day activities in this world and neglect to put Him first, as per the first of the Ten Commandments. 

 

Please keep my coworker and her family in your prayers.

 

Soli Deo Gloria

 

Saturday 12/16/17

Matt, Chris, Aaron and I met together for prayer and fellowship before heading out to Mill Ave for evangelism. It turned out to be a crazy night. It started out kind of dead, not a lot of people around as the weather gets cooler in AZ, but it did get busier as the night went on. We talked with a few people, handed out some tracts and did some Open Air preaching.

I didn’t know that the Black Hebrew Israelites were KJOnly. Did you know that King James was black? Yes, the King of England, that is what they believe! And if you’re a white person, you’re going to hell, there is no hope for you, whatsoever. Quite the racist group, and they usually won’t even talk to me. There is no reasoning with them, either. So, this guy, carrying a fifth of vodka on the street was telling Matt how his HCSB was “changed” and “wrong”, and how all the tribes of Israel can be traced to specific races today. He usually stood a few inches from his face and yelled very loudly. Still, he was more friendly than most of these guys that I’ve come across.
 

A couple of guys almost got into a fight in front of us while Aaron was preaching. The first I was aware of was when one man smashed the other guys soda container and started yelling at him. Apparently, they knew each other a little bit, but were having some sort of disagreement that got out of hand. I managed to get between them and calmed the aggressor down. I was also able to leave a tract with him as he went about his night.

Aaron took a homeless guy to get a burger and went over some verses, having a little Bible study in the restaurant with him for a while. The guy had a lot of questions and seemed to really want to understand what the Bible says. He stopped by and asked more questions to the rest of us later on.

Chris bought a meal for another homeless guy, and we talked with him for a little while in the restaurant. He had a Roman Catholic background and seems to have moved on to some sort of new age idolatry now. We didn’t have a real productive discussion with him, but perhaps God will use this as a starting point to get him turned around and on the right track.

  Please pray that God would work in all of those that we talked with or gave tracts to, and any that heard the Open Air preaching, that He would convict them of their sins, show them their need of a Savior and turn to Him for salvation.
May we glorify God in all that we do.

Soli Deo Gloria

Saturday 12/09/17

Nick, Chris, McKayla and I met Matt, David, Marcus and Brandt in Tempe for evangelism. 

Sometimes you can just feel the darkness out on Mill Ave when witnessing.  This was one of those nights. 

It’s not really something you can explain, but more like something you can just feel.  I was trying to explain this to McKayla, and she said, “You feel it, too?”

When you feel the spiritual warfare around you, it’s important to stay strong, pray and trust in God.  His Words will not return void, but will accomplish the purpose He has sent them out for.  It makes me wonder who we might reach that the enemy does not want reached. 

There was a group of drunk men, one of whom really seemed interested to hear and discuss spiritual things, while his friends wandered around attempting to be a distraction to him and to us.  Then another guy, a self-proclaimed drug dealer joined in to mock us. 

Meanwhile, we did distribute a few tracts to those walking by. 

A guy stopped to drop off some clothes for homeless people, telling David that they might be more helped by those than just us preaching to them.  David started to explain what we were doing and the importance of eternal salvation, but the guy said that he knew what we were doing.  He seemed kind of neutral towards us, it was just a little weird. 

I talked with another guy, who seemed a bit crazy.  McKayla walked away, because the guy had barked at her earlier.  No, that’s not an idiom, he actually, literally barked at her, “Arf!” 

He calmed down a little bit while I was speaking with him, but then ran off with another friend and was messing with other people along the way.  Still, he took a tract with him.  Pray that he reads it when he is sober and repents of his sins, trusting in Christ alone for his salvation. 

Soli Deo Gloria

Saturday 12-02-17

So, this past Saturday night in Tempe was nice.  The Arts Festival is going on during the day and at night they close it down.  But the tents remain in the streets for the next day’s activities, so, there is no traffic or exhaust, less noise, and a lot of security walking around when we go out to evangelize.

I brought the Einstein illusion, and met Aaron, David, Nick, Rachel and Matt on Mill Ave to reach out to the lost.  We had some good conversations, did a little bit of Open Air preaching, and distributed a lot of tracts. 

Nick filmed a quick demonstration and advertisement for the upcoming evangelism class this weekend, and Rachel posted it online.  You can check it out here: 

Link

Much thanks to both of them for that! 

Hopefully, we’ll reach more people and generate more interest to get equipped to carry out the Great Commission and reach out to the lost. 

A couple of people were attracted to the Einstein illusion, and I was able to take them through the fun “genius” questions at the top of the board as an icebreaker, and then get into the more serious questions of the Good Person Test after that. 

One woman actually got all of the “genius” questions correct.  I don’t think that’s ever happened before, because they are designed to show that your mind can fool you into answering incorrectly. 

But, when going through the Good Person Test, she did not do so well.  This follows what the Bible says, in that there are none found good, not even one (Romans 3:10-12, Psalm 14:1-3, Ecclesiastes 7:20).  So often, we compare ourselves to others around us, normally the worst that we can find, and then call ourselves good in comparison.  But God will not judge us compared to other people.  When we bow before Him on the day of judgment to give account for our life, we will stand alone, compared only to His holy standard, which is revealed to us in outline form with the Ten Commandments. 

How do you think you would do?  Have you kept them?  Do you even know them?  It’s interesting that most people claim that they’ve kept them, but when pressed, cannot even name half of them (see Exodus 20:1-17).

Now, keep in mind that no one is saved by keeping the Law (Romans 3:20, Galatians 2:16).  That was never the intent (Galatians 3:24, Romans 7:7). 

The Ten Commandments simply show how we’ve failed to uphold God’s holy standard, and our NEED for a Savior ( 1 Timothy 1:9-11, John 14:6, Acts 4:12).  These are the greatest tool in evangelism, yet so often overlooked. 

So, we use the Law as it was intended, to show our own sinfulness and the need of a Savior, then explain the Gospel, that we must each repent, turning away from our sins, and trust in Jesus Christ alone for our salvation.  He is the only way.

Soli Deo Gloria

Saturday 11/25/17

ASU vs U of A game was on Saturday, so it was crowded on Mill Ave.  Traffic was a mess with road closures and accidents, but a lot of us met out there to evangelize.  My wife and youngest daughter came out, and we met up with Nick, Chris, Eddie, Leigh who brought his sister Danica, Matt and David.  We handed out a lot of tracts, had a few one to one conversations, and a little Open Air preaching. 

It’s been a long time since we’ve had so many people evangelizing that we had to split up into different locations, praise God.  This has been an answer to my prayer of Luke 10:2, asking for more workers in the harvest field. 

Next week is the Tempe Art Festival during the day.  At night all the tents are closed down, but still in the streets, so there is no traffic driving around, which makes it nice.  The week after that (Dec 9^th), I’ll be having another evangelism class at church before heading out, so I’m hoping to bring out even more workers. 

We talked with a few people, I took a guy named Brian through the Good Person Test (GPT), and explained the Gospel.  It seemed to make sense to him, pray that the Lord would work in his heart, convicting him of his sins and drawing him near for salvation.  I’ll try to have more details on specific encounters next week, but this night was pretty busy. 

Soli Deo Gloria

Saturday 11/18/18

I had a monthly evangelism class tonight, unfortunately no new people made it.  Dan and my two youngest daughters were there, so we went through True & False Conversions anyway, and I headed out to Mill Ave afterwards by myself.

I met Nick, Chris, and Rachel out there. We got into a few conversations with people and handed out a lot of tracts. A guy named Ryan stopped and talked to us for a little while he had recently gotten out of prison and his birthday was tomorrow so I gave him a tract with some cash in it and he gave me a hug.
We talked to him for a while and it looks like he's going to go to Thanksgiving dinner with Nick and some of his friends.

Another couple stopped to talk to Nick and while he was talking to the guy, we had a conversation with his girlfriend. Kayla didn't like the way we presented the gospel. She was much more humanist in her views and felt like people should just be nice to other people just for the sake of being nice.

Another couple was talking to Chris near the Einstein illusion and the guy was very against the gospel but his girlfriend seem to be a believer.

We handed out a lot of tracts and talked to a few people so it was a pretty productive night.
Pray for the lost and pray also for more workers in the harvest field.

Soli Deo Gloria

Saturday, 09/09/17

Time to get back on track keeping up on this blog.   It's been awhile since I've posted anything, but I have still been going out there.
I've just been making general posts about it on FB, but want to go deeper into it here at the blog.

There was a home game at ASU, so it was busy on Mill Ave.   McKayla and I started handing out tracts.  She distributed 100 tracts!

I handed out a few and did some Open Air street preaching.  Not too many people stopped, but many heard the Word as they went by.

We saw Art, another street preacher out there, preaching and giving away free Bibles.

A young Jewish woman took one of the "untearable ticket to heaven" tracts that I was handing out.  She stood in front of me and read some of it, then asked me if I rejoiced in the thought that Jewish people deserved to rot in hell forever.  I said, no, of course not.

But she was insistent upon arguing with me, and crumbled the tract, trying to tear it up as she began walking away.   However, these type are extremely difficult to tear.   She could not tear it and then started crying.
I thought there might be another opportunity for rational discussion with her, explaining that Jesus is the Messiah that they've been waiting for.

But, not so much.   She screamed and yelled at me that God is not a "He", but an "it", which I couldn't agree with.   All throughout the Bible, OT and New, God is referred to as He.
Eventually, she wandered off, still clutching the crumpled tract.   Maybe she will read it.
I pray that God would work in her heart and convict her of her sins so that she will repent and be saved.

Soli Deo Gloria