Black Friday

What a perfect title for the day of the year that all of America seems to idolize the buying of more worldly possessions. And yet, when everything is all said and done:

Matt 16:26 (KJV) 26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

And sadly, for two young men (one of whom was from our town), Friday was truly a black day for them: they both died in an auto accident at 1:30 a.m. after their vehicle left a rural road and hit a tree. The obituaries make no mention of the Lord Jesus Christ, or their relationship with the Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Judge Who will judge all men, but, from all appearances, those two young men, one 21 and the other 22, are both now in hell.

If someone had approached them on Thanksgiving Day (Thursday) and said “Do you think you’ll die tonight in an auto accident?” I will almost guarantee they would have said “No way! Are you crazy?” And yet they are both now gone.

For us, Black Friday was spent with a Pastor and his family that were visiting our family from out of state. We had a wonderful day of fellowship and encouragement in the Lord Jesus Christ.

On Saturday, we went to the nearest large town and one the stores we visited was a major outdoor/adventure store. It was extremely busy. I didn’t need to purchase anything (as was the case with most of the others in the family – I think one person was needing to make a purchase), so we all split up into groups of two or three to see if we could share the life-giving gospel and hand out gospel tracts on the day after Black Friday.

NOT EASY!

We were not doing a mass tract distribution because we respected the fact that we were on private property, and the store wanted people to be shopping. As such, we only gave tracts to people if we had a conversation with them and they were interested in receiving tracts. I had quite a few conversations – and I’ve found the conversations can be hard to start. Not every conversation turns to the Gospel – but that is always the goal…

It started with the older couple outside at a table where they were selling raffle tickets for a shotgun. We talked about hunting (I’m not a hunter of animals, but am a fisher of men) and the weather. Towards the end of the conversation I gave them a few tracts (including a million dollar bill) which they accepted.

Inside, a lady was passing out postcards that encouraged people to sign up for a store credit card. I said “Great – I’ll trade you. I’ll take one of those and you can have these to look at later.” She accepted the tracts and I talked with her about the credit card for a few minutes.
As we walked around in the store I noticed an older gentleman looking at ball caps embroidered with the name of the store on the cap. I remembered the credit card offer in my pocket and pulled it out to start a conversation with him. “Did you know that if you sign up for their credit card they’ll give you a ball cap?” I showed him the postcard and we started talking. We talked about credit cards, interest rates, and society in general for a few minutes before we parted company (I didn’t offer him any tracts).

I went upstairs where I saw an older gentleman leaning on a railing looking out over the store and some of their nature displays. I leaned on the railing next to him and also looked out over the nature displays. After a minute I took my weight off the railing and said “Whoa – I hope we’re not both putting all our weight on this thing – who knows how strong it is.” He laughed, and we started talking about building codes and engineers. He then asked where I was from (nearby), while it turns out he was a tourist from another state. We talked for five or ten minutes. I gave him a little souvenir (a million dollar bill tract) and attempted to bring up the gospel. However, his wife showed up right then and he wanted to move on – so the friendly conversation came to an amicable conclusion.

Instead of actively walking around and fishing for men, I thought I’d sit on a bench near an indoor pond and see if any fish would “jump into the boat” by sharing the bench. Soon after I sat down a young teenage boy sat down and was talking on his walkie-talkie and looking around. I started a conversation by asking if he had a ham radio or a talk-about. He said it was just a talk-about. I mentioned I have my ham license but that the funny thing is, in the more than 10 years since I was licensed, I have never once talked on a ham radio. He was waiting for his parents to pick him up. I looked at my watch and told him I was sitting for a few minutes but had to be up at the front of the store in three minutes to meet up with the rest of my family (we had pre-arranged the schedule). I shared a few tracts with him and encouraged him to show them to his parents and read/discuss them with them.

At the entrance I saw a family of plain brethren gathered and waiting (probably for others that were still shopping). With their conservative clothes they definitely stood out from the other holiday shoppers! I’m guessing they were probably Amish or Mennonite. I went up to the father and said it was a blessing to see some plain brethren (I hope they are OK with that title??), shook his hand, and asked if they believe the Bible is God’s Word. He said they do – so I said he would probably enjoy reading some of the tracts we were handing out at the store. We had a nice chat for another minute or so (they were from out of town and were visiting his sister).

I had a few other conversations that didn’t go far – but, all in all, I had a wonderful time meeting people and learning about them and attempting to share the gospel. From past experience I know that shopping areas can be very difficult places to share the gospel:

• Mark 10:25 (KJV) - 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

but it was worth it! And, as verse 27 says "with God all things are possible"! May the Word of the Lord that is contained in the tracts bring forth much fruit in the lives of those that received the tracts.

Nursing Home Catholics (very sad)

Catholics that are living in nursing homes are some of the saddest people I know. And truly, if I was in their shoes (approaching death with no hope of heaven) I would be more than sad – I would be petrified.

There are two people at the nursing home that I have invited (a number of times) to attend our service. We preach God’s Word, and most Catholics claim to believe what the Bible says. I have encouraged these two to attend the service, listen to the preaching, and let me know if any word is spoken that isn’t supported by Scripture. Both have, so far, refused to attend. The one is a woman who prefers to spend the time in her room watching TV and reading secular romance novels. I have never seen her reading a Bible and have not seen one in her room. The other is a man (they aren’t related), who prefers to sit by the nurse’s station and read Western novels instead of attending. He doesn’t own or read the Bible. I asked if he would like a Bible (I was going to give him one as a gift) and he said “no”.

We did have a Catholic lady attend our service this last time. She is a relatively new resident at the nursing home. As we spoke of the Lord and her background, she shared that she was a Catholic. I said she was still welcome to attend our service as we worship the Lord Jesus Christ and we preach God’s Word. As we talked, I asked her how a Catholic gets to heaven. Her response was heartbreaking: by attending Mass, taking communion, and attending church (the importance of attending Catholic services was so burned into her mind that she said it twice with different words). No mention of sin, salvation, redemption, or the Lord Jesus Christ.

Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

These people have been lied to and deceived throughout their entire lives (and yes, they, as everyone, ultimately bear the responsibility for believing the lies and not repenting and believing in the Lord Jesus Christ) – and it breaks my heart to see them so close to eternity.

I would implore and beg any Catholic that happens to see this blog: begin reading your Bible before it is too late! While the sooner you forsake false doctrine and repent of your sins and believe in Jesus – the better – all I ask is that you begin by reading God’s Word to see if the things your church teaches you are in accordance with what God says in His Word.

If you will sit down, open God’s Word, and pray “God, if you are real, and if this is your Word, I ask you to reveal Yourself to me. AND, as you reveal Yourself to me, I commit to obeying what You tell me to do” I guarantee He will reveal Himself to you. How can I make such a promise? Actually, God Himself says that He will.

John 7:17 “If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.”

Meaning that if you desire to do God’s will, He will reveal truth to you.

If you will commit to spending 30 minutes a day reading the New Testament with an open heart as you seek God – your life will never be the same.

I have yet to meet a Catholic that spends time in the Word on a daily basis. (I’m not saying such a person doesn’t exist, it’s just that out of the many Catholics I have met, I haven’t yet come across one that reads God’s Word on a daily basis).

How is your relationship with the Lord?

Or even “Do you have a relationship with the Lord?” ----- I have found that those are not good questions to ask someone when you are attempting to determine if they know the Lord or not.

We went back to the homeless shelter over the weekend for a chapel service. In starting a conversation with one man I asked how his relationship with the Lord was – and he said it was good. I asked if he knew the Lord as his Savior – and he said he did. I was suspecting that neither of those were true, but had already somewhat boxed myself in! After we chatted a few more minutes I brought up the ten commandments and asked if he was familiar with them – he was. I asked if he felt he kept or broken then – he felt he had kept them. So, we took a few minutes to look at God’s law (I like to include myself anytime I’m going through the law with someone), and we both came up guilty. I asked him what would happen on judgment day, after he dies, when God judges his life based on the ten commandments, would he be innocent or guilty – he said he would be guilty. Where would he spend eternity, heaven or hell? Hell.

I spent the next few minutes verbally sharing the gospel with him and encouraging him to repent of his sins and believe on Jesus (and the while praying that the Holy Spirit would bring conviction to his heart), and while he did listen attentively, he didn’t seem very interested in the gospel. I asked if I could pray for him (he let me do so), and then I left him with a more detailed tract – which I encouraged him to read and to look up any Scripture to see for himself what the verse said. I would have given him a small New Testament but he had a Bible in his backpack.

I had noticed another man who was walking with great difficulty. He was probably in his upper 30’s or lower 40’s, using a cane, and wearing a hospital wrist band. I asked him if he had a back injury. He said he had been stabbed in the back by a “friend” (other people use that as a saying, he meant it literally). He professed to be a believer, but when I asked how he was living on a daily basis (in victory over sin or in defeat), and whether the Lord was possibly trying to get his attention in any areas, he said he definitely believed the Lord was trying to get his attention. We talked for a few minutes and I was able to encourage and challenge him (especially his need to deal with any sin in his life and to be in the Word). I then prayed for his physical healing and for his relationship with the Lord.

I also have some things to share after being at our local nursing and being once again reminded of the terrible deception of the Catholics that are there – it breaks my heart…

And by the way, the question “How is your relationship with the Lord” is likely a good thing to ask a believer. But, even then, something more specific may be better, such as “Have you been spending time in the Word lately?” or, “What has the Lord been doing in you life lately.”