Friday, July 28, 2006

The upcoming County Fair!

Our County Fair is coming up in a few weeks. The Lord put it on my brother’s heart to have a booth and give away free soda and gospel tracts. He’s asked if the rest of the family will help he and his wife at the booth. It sounds like a great opportunity – and we’re all excited. But, WOW, there are a lot of details to work through.

The first challenge relates to the soda. What type, and how much. A fountain is out of the question because we won’t have a water line, and it would be too expensive to rent. The Fair is expecting 17,000-22,000 people during the week – but we expect only 1 in 10, or 1 in 20 to be willing to accept a free soda (people will wonder what the catch is). The next choice was either 2 liter’s or can’s. The can’s are nice in that we then don’t need cups or ice to go in the cups. So, we’re planning on can’s.

The next problem is how to chill so many cans. We thought about trying to chill the cans, then put them into coolers with a layer of ice in-between. Then we realized that the old house that is on the property next to us (that the Lord provided for us earlier this year) has a refrigerator – and we could take that out to the fair. By taking all the shelves out, and stacking carefully (but, even then, we’ll have to have spacers between each layer to allow air circulation), we figure we can get about 200 cans in the fridge. By filling the fridge each night, we’ll have a cool supply the next evening. We can also put about 50-75 in the freezer, and estimate they’ll be cold in 1.5 to 2 hours, and then can move them to the fridge. We’ll still bring a cooler, so that we can take cans out (in batches) of the fridge, put them in cooler (with some ice), and serve from there.

A lot of logistics – and still lots to be done. We need to make sure we have A LOT of good tracts. I also need to look at my balloon animal supplies. If things get slow, I can always draw children by making balloon animals (and then the others at the booth can offer soda and tracts to the adults). Also, we’ll need a banner designed and printed up for the booth…

One big question is whether people will accept free soda’s. Another idea we have for next year (depending upon how this year goes), would be to pay for a food license (our current license for this year isn’t a food license – so we can’t sell food – but we can give it away!) and then sell soda’s at cost. While most people may not want to accept “charity” (in a free soda), a lot of people may be willing to buy an ice-cold soda for $.25, or even $.20. If we get a food license, we’ll be put in the food court, and we might end up making some of the other food vendors upset if we’re selling cheap soda’s. I don’t think they’ll be bothered this year since we’ll be in a different area, and we’re not sure how many people will be aware that we’ll be giving out soda’s.

We’ve already started praying for hearts and repentance and salvations during that week. May the Holy Spirit work powerfully in hearts!

I’ll post updates as the Fair draws closer and then during and/or after the week.

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Passing out some tracts…

I haven’t had a tremendous amount of opportunities to share the gospel lately (although, that does bring up the issue of “am I waiting for opportunities to fall in my lap or am I out making opportunities?”)… I’ve been quite busy with work, and haven’t been out and about much.

The times that I have been out I’ve usually remembered to carry tracts.

I needed to replace my bicycle tires and inner tubes, and had ordered the needed parts online. I then proceeded to spend three hours one evening trying to put the new tube and tire onto my bike. I have never had such a tight tire! I even broke a plastic tire iron trying to get the tire on. I then figured I would take it down to the bike store and see if they could do it. Not a problem – they said – and it’ll only cost $4 a tire! What a bargain… I dropped off the two tires on a Saturday. On Mondy afternoon I called, and they said the tires would be ready in ten minutes. I gave them closer to thirty, and when I showed up they were fighting them. It took two technicians an hour to get the two tires changed. They stuck by their estimate and were only going to charge me $8 – but I gave them $20. (how does this relate to the gospel?!?) After paying them the $20, I asked the fellow at the register if he ever been given a million dollar bill before. He said he hadn’t – but was very interested in one. I gave it to him – along with another gospel tract – and he was very grateful.

I walked out of the store and got in my car. In front of my car, sitting on bench in the shade, was a fellow with a cane. I grabbed four tracts and went over to him. I asked if he’d like something to read and gave him the tracts. He said “thanks”. I told him they were gospel tracts from the Bible, and weren’t weird or from a cult. He thanked me again and started reading them as I drove off.

I have to continually challenge/remind myself of the importance of passing out tracts during routine errands. It is very easy to give out tracts to a number of people while running errands. And yet, it is far more comfortable to NOT give out tracts, and to NOT risk rejection (it is definitely not pleasant when the checkout person tells you - and everyone else backed up in the line - that they don't want your tract). However, if all believers were to pass out a few tracts every time they are out of their house and running errands - think of how many people would hear/read the Gospel message?

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Starting a conversation - and sharing the gospel...

Last month we were on the road traveling. I’ve been needing to write out some details of an exciting opportunity the Lord gave me – and I finally have a few minutes.

We were in a large city in Colorado for a conference. One evening we had some time after the conference, and we met up with another family at a restaurant for dinner. The adults sat at one table, and the children sat at another long table/booth area nearby (there weren’t enough seats for us all to be together).

As the meal was about over, I got up to go chat with some of the children and see how they were doing. I noticed an older gentleman had sat down near them – but was eating alone. I went over near him, but started by chatting with the children a bit about the meal. I then turned to him and said that I hoped the children hadn’t bothered him at all. He said they hadn’t.

I chatted with him a little about the area, and us being from out of town. We talked about the restaurant a bit, and then I gave him a few gospel tracts, and we started talking through the “good person test” – he was very open and interested. Turns out, he’s been a nominal Catholic all his life. Yet after going through the commandments (and acknowledging guilt), he admitted that he was headed for hell! I was able to share the gospel with him – and spent about 15-20 minutes sitting and talking.

When we were wrapping up the conversation, he said he believed God had sent me to talk with him that evening. I agreed, and said I felt the Lord was working in his heart and trying to get his attention. I encouraged him to get right with God before it is too late – as this could be the last time God tried to get his attention (Gen 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man…). He again thanked me for sharing, and I headed back to the “adults” table to rejoin the conversation.

I was reminded, once again, of how important it is to ALWAYS be seeking to start conversations with strangers. Not every conversation will turn into an opportunity to share the gospel. But, by starting a conversation, one at least has A CHANCE to possibly share the gospel – whereas, by NOT starting a conversation, there is NO CHANCE at all to share the gospel.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

That's Up To God!

I was on the phone recently with a business phone call. At the end of the call I decided to attempt to share the gospel. The person had a few minutes, and so I started through the good person test (I let him know that there was a moral at the end – so he wouldn’t be too concerned about the leading questions).

The phone call was to a company that values security, so all telephone calls are recorded (occasionally you could hear the beep in the background).

As we went through the commandments I was surprised when he admitted to having committed adultery. Following the commandments, I asked the summary question (if you were to die, and God were to judge you based on the ten commandments, would you be innocent or guilty). He said that would be up to God to decide.

I said that he had, unfortunately, just made it really easy for God, because he had just admitted to breaking four out of the ten commandments. God wouldn’t even have to review (as He will) this man’s entire life, but could simply replay this one conversation and he would have an admission to the breaking of God’s commandments. So, I then asked again, if he were to die, and God judged him using this phone call as evidence, would he be innocent or guilty – and he admitted guilt.

I was then able to share the gospel with him, and encouraged him to be reading his Bible every day, and to get right with God before it is too late.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

The Church Security Guard…

While we were at a conference last month, I had an interesting witnessing opportunity. The conference that we were at was a Christian conference, and was being hosted in a large Christian church.

Partway through the conference the Lord put on my heart that I should be attempting to share the gospel with some of the staff that were helping at the conference, several of whom appeared to be lost (obviously, we can never judge one’s salvation, but, we do know from Scripture that the fruit of one’s life testifies as to whether they know Christ, and when one sees a person that blends in to the world and doesn’t appear to have any fruit of the Spirit, one tends to suspect the person doesn’t know Jesus).

Near the front entrance there was a desk, behind which sat an older gentleman, who was the conference security guard. At one point I had a few minutes and stopped by the desk. I started the conversation by asking some questions that I genuinely wanted to know about: had he ever had anything exciting happen while he was working as a guard (they’d had several people at different conferences or worship services faint); was the job boring; did he enjoy his work; etc. I then segued into the gospel by asking him if this was just his job, or if it was his church as well. He said it was both.

I We chatted about the church a bit, and then I started into the good person test. I was surprised when he felt he had kept the ten commandments! We went through several of the commandments: lying, stealing, blasphemy, and adultery – which he readily admitted to. I then asked if he were to die, and God judged him based on those ten commandments, as He says He will, would he be innocent or guilty. He said it depends upon how you look at it.

I said God has told us how he’ll look at it, and that we just went through four of the commandments and he was guilty of breaking them all, so if God judged him based on just those four commandments, would he be innocent or guilty. He finally admitted he would be guilty. I asked if he would go to heaven or hell, and again he hedged!

Here was a church-going man, who admitted to breaking the commandments, but didn’t appear to have any clear idea about true salvation, heaven and hell, and from what Jesus had redeemed him.

Instead of pressing the point of heaven or hell we then talked about the false hope that many have. Those that would claim to be Christians but aren’t. We talked about the various court-system analogies (confessing one’s sin, trying to live right, and doing good works) and how such strategies are useless when it comes to our eternal destiny. He agreed with everything.

I then shared the gospel with him – which he also agreed with.

I was concerned for his soul as he appeared to know some things about God in his head, but it didn’t appear to have changed his heart!

All in all, we had an excellent conversation (he enjoyed our talk as well!) and he definitely heard the entire gospel: from breaking the commandments to what Jesus has done for him.

Saturday, July 08, 2006

Two rejections, and then a request for the gospel…

We went to the City Mission today for a lunch chapel service (we help with the service the second Saturday of each month – when we aren’t traveling). We brought all of our instruments to do a special music (something the men seem to enjoy each time). I played the piano during the worship time, and then my brother preached during the message.

After the chapel service, the men go through the food line. Since the chapel is basically the dining room, they return to their seats/tables to eat. We always bake homemade cookies to give out to the men, and will give each a gospel tract with the cookie.

About 75 men were present. One or two turned down a cookie, and between 5 and 10 rejected the tract.

One gentleman, as he came through the line, said “You don’t want to hear me respond to that thing” (referring to the gospel tract). I said it would be hard to respond to something he hadn’t read, and he went on with some of the most bitter, angry words I have ever heard. His heart was as hard and cold to the gospel as any I’ve ever met before (except perhaps one other person at the Mission earlier this year). I’m always surprised such men come to a Christian Mission and sit through an hour worship service, considering there are other Missions in the area that are not Christian Missions!

After everyone had gone through the meal line and the tracts were passed out, I tried to move around the room talking with the men. It is often very hard to start a conversation, and I tried to get several conversations going – but didn’t get far.

I started chatting with one gentleman about the oranges he had chosen for lunch. We (or I) talked a bit about food, when all of a sudden he asked, “Why are you talking to me?” I said the goal was to have an opportunity to talk with people and, if they were interested, to share the gospel. I asked if he was a believer, and he said he believed in himself. I asked if he believed in God, and he said he absolutely didn’t want to talk about that. I said the burden of our heart was to share the gospel with men, and that was why we were there, but if he wasn’t interested in talking, he didn’t have to. He said he definitely didn’t want to talk.

I was a bit discouraged following two very strong rejections in such a short time. I, once again, tried to start a few other conversations but they went nowhere.

As I was walking back across the room a fellow waved me over to where he was and said he needed to talk. I thought, “Oh, no – I wonder what this is all about.” Generally, at the Mission, every time in the past that someone has waved me over and wanted to talk, they have always wanted to argue and debate, or had special needs and wanted to personally ask for money.

We sat down at an empty table and he started sharing with me. He’s struggled with drugs and alcohol. He has two children with his girlfriend. He recently lost his job. The gas was turned off at their house that week, and his girlfriend kicked him out. He stopped by the house earlier that day to get his church clothes (he attends a local church and even plays bass guitar during worship), and his six year-old daughter told him that she needed to say goodbye because her mother had said that would be the last time she would ever see her daddy. He says he was completely shocked (it was like a knife to his heart), but all he could do was hug and kiss his children and say goodbye.

I asked if he thought perhaps God was removing everything from his life in order to get his attention, and he said he felt that was what was happening. He felt, right when he heard those words, that he had truly come to the absolute end of it all. Despite being in church all his life (and being a part of the worship team), he said he doesn’t truly know Jesus.

We went through the commandments, and he genuinely understood and admitted guilt to each one we discussed (as I admitted guilt to as well). When I asked if he would be innocent or guilty before God, he said he would be guilty. When I asked if he would go to heaven or hell, he said that he would definitely be going to hell. I asked if that concerned him, and he said it absolutely did.

What a blessing, following two very cold rejections and many failed attempts at conversation, to have a person hungry for the good news of the gospel! It was a joy to share with him about Jesus – and yet this man has been in church all his life and knew much in his head. But he, as I had done for many years, had lived a hypocritical life. Claiming on the outside to be a Christian (and appearing that way to some degree to others), but not having freedom in his heart.

We read through some of the Scripture relating to salvation, as well as Matthew 7:21-23 about those that will think they are headed for heaven but will find out they aren’t. I encouraged him to seek Jesus with his whole heart, to repent of his life of sin, to surrender all the idols in his life, to reconcile with the people in his life that he has wronged, and to be in Scripture all day, every day, as he seeks the Lord. I was able to give him a New Testament, and show him a chain of Scriptures that deals with salvation. I encouraged him to read the book of John over and over again, and to seek to know Jesus.

It was special to pray with him – and to commit to continuing to lift him up in prayer. I’m praying that the Lord will continue to work mightily in his life. And not only was I praising the Lord for working in his life, but I was praising the Lord for encouraging my heart by, after two rejections, sending me something that has never happened before at the Mission: an honest seeker calling me over and asking about the Lord (whereas I have started conversations and then been able to share with someone).

Praise the Lord!

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Credit Card Fee’s Removed, and the Gospel Shared

I had a credit card for quite some time – and suddenly was hit was a yearly renewal fee. I called to have the card cancelled and the fee removed, and ended up switching to a different credit card with the same company that doesn’t involve a yearly fee (and I was able to share the entire gospel message with the customer service rep!).

It’s now been a month or two, and I received a statement from the company (along with my new credit card) – that showed I still owed the yearly renewal. On top of that, I was being charged late fee’s and interest. I figured the late fee’s would go away, but with another statement I just received I noticed they were still there (although, finally, the credit removing the yearly renewal was finally credited off).

So, I called into the credit card company. We chatted about the fee’s and renewal problem, and the young man helped me deal with the account. He put me on hold for five or so minutes while he straightened out the account. When he came back on, we talked about the rebates I can get with the credit card. When that was done, and we were ending the call, he asked if there was anything else he could help me with. I said there was, but that it wasn’t related to credit cards and was a bit off-topic.

He said he had some time, so I could go ahead. I said if he had another call come in and needed to go – no problem – just let me know. I asked if he had ever taken the “good person test”, and he said he hadn’t. I said it only took a few minutes and had a moral at the end (that way he would know the questions were “leading somewhere” and wouldn’t feel as if I was baiting him).

I asked if he felt he was a good person, and he said yes, but that he also did bad things at times. I asked if he was familiar with the ten commandments, and he was. I said the ten commandments give us a true idea of whether we are good or not.

First commandment we discussed was lying, and he readily admitted lying, but said most lies were to protect people and avoid a problem – not to deceive. The example he gave was if he got home really late, and his mother asked where he had been (and he had been with his buddies at a club or with a girlfriend), he would lie and say something different. I said that was a perfect example of lying to deceive someone, and on top of that, I said that was also breaking the fifth commandment, which tells us to honor our father and mother.

Next we discussed stealing, and he admitted (on a phone line that was being recorded – every now and then you could hear the little beep) he had stolen in the past.

Next I asked about using God’s name in vain. He said he’s done that, although not usually on purpose. We talked about how, even doing it accidentally, is still a serious thing because it shows how little we care for God’s name to let it slip out as a curse word. I shared that doing so was blasphemy.

Next we talked about adultery. I asked if he had ever committed adultery. He paused for a moment, and then asked a question to clarify the meaning of my question, and then said, yes, he had done it. I still went on to share how looking with lust is the same as committing adultery.

I summarized his condition before God (a lying, thieving, blasphemous, adulterer – I didn’t have to say “in heart” because of his acknowledgment), and asked if, when he dies and God judges him based on the ten commandments, if he would be innocent or guilty. He said he would be guilty. I asked if he would then go to heaven or hell, and he said heaven – because God will judge everyone the same. I agreed and said that God would absolutely judge everyone the same – all are guilty of breaking the ten commandments.

He then said he didn’t feel those things were so bad. I asked if he had a Bible at his house and encouraged him to read Revelation 21:7-8. I said that God is so holy that not only will murders and rapists go to hell, but also adulterers (which I realized he was guilty of), thieves, and – the scary part of that verse - even liars will spend eternity in the lake of fire. I also encouraged him to read James 2, where we are told that, even if we could keep all the commandments our whole life, and then break one of them, we are guilty of breaking them all. I encouraged him to then read the gospel of John to see what Jesus had done for him.

Since he was still open and had time, we talked more about what Jesus had done – and how Jesus will give victory over sin. I talked about the cost of surrendering to Jesus and repenting of one’s sin. I gave a few specific examples of things he would need to do when he came to Jesus, and things he would need to stop doing.

We talked about how God has so richly blessed him with life, health, eyesight, friends, and a job – and how, despite all of that, he was purposely breaking God’s commandments, and was using God’s name as a curse word. We talked about the futility of life, and how God will not always “strive with man” (Genesis 6:3 – meaning God will eventually stop bringing conviction to a person). I asked if there were other, true (not hypocritical Christians) in his life that had been sharing with him about heaven and hell and what Jesus had done for him – and he said there were. I shared how patient God was being with him – and yet he was resisting God’s grace.

I then shared how the decision was his and his alone. I encouraged him to get right with God before it was too late. I gave him our web site address so that he could e-mail us with any questions at any time – and encouraged him to also talk more with his friends.

Several times during the call I mentioned that I didn’t want to take too much of his time, but each time, he said it was fine and to go on.

What a blessing to be able to share the gospel while having to call a credit card company about my account!

Monday, July 03, 2006

Another Barber hears the Gospel

I’ve been thinking I need to get my haircut at a different barber, as the barber shop I’ve been two has primarily two barbers, and they’ve both now heard the gospel. However, I didn’t make a decision to go to a new barber – and I’ve been needing a haircut. So, I went to the usual barbershop.

I was doubly-blessed when I walked in the door: not only was the person in front of me finishing up (this shop is walk-in only – no appointments), but it was a different barber than usual! I had forgotten that there were three barbers that worked at the shop on various days. I had never been in on a Sunday or Monday – which are the only two days this barber works.

We started chatting, and after awhile I mentioned a trip that we had been on with our ministry. He asked about the ministry, and I shared that we encourage Christian homeschool families, as well as anyone that is seeking to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. It was a great opportunity to ask if he had a Christian background. Turns out, he was raised in the Baptist church.

I then said he would be familiar with the 10 commandments (he was), and asked if he felt he had kept some of them, none of them, or most of them. He said he had kept them all. I said I’d talked to a number of people and most tend to miss them, but we’d give it a shot and see.

We worked through lying, stealing, blasphemy, adultery (of the heart), and murder (of the heart). He acknowledged guilt in each area – and we had a good time talking about them. I said that when he dies, and God judges him based on those 10 commandments, if he would be innocent or guilty. He hedged… He said he felt that God would decide at that point. I said that he had just made it easy for God by acknowledging that he had broken five out of the five we talked about, and since God is aware of everything, God had just heard his own admission, and could judge his whole life based on that simple admission (without even having to replay his whole life of events). He agreed (and laughed).

I then said that God judges our entrance to heaven based on whether we’ve kept or broken His commandments, and asked if he would go to heaven or hell. Instead of answering, he asked if that was truly how God judges us. I shared the story of the Rich Young Ruler who came to Jesus and asked how he could gain eternal life, and Jesus asked if he had kept the commandments. The young man thought he had, but turns out he hadn’t (funny thing was that, as I was sharing about that, I realized the exact same thing had happened with the barber, first he said he was innocent, and then had acknowledged guilt).

We talked for another ten or so minutes about the gospel. I shared about repentance and surrendering one’s life to Jesus. We talked about being in the Word on a daily basis (which the barber said he does) – but he doesn’t attend church (because he’s usually working). We talked about living a hypocritical life (he’s aware of others that claim to be Christians but don’t live like one).

As we were finishing up, an older gentlemen showed up for his hair cut. A minute later a lady and her three children arrived. Following that, another gentlemen arrived.

I was praising the Lord for the opportunity to share (and I pray the Holy Spirit continues to work in this man’s life) as well as how nicely the timing worked out!