Is There Hope For This Man?

I have permission to share this little story from my friend, who is a missionary in Guatemala. It goes something like this:
After the church meeting in NYC, they were walking down the sidewalk, which was kind of dark and late at night. There was a series of meetings going on in this city during the evenings. While walking on the sidewalk, a large dark figure was approaching. He recognized my friend and said, "Pray for me". But something strange and mysterious was happening. While this man was desiring prayer, some kind of force was dragging him in the other direction. It was invisible. But the dark figure was pulled away. And then he was completely out of view.
A couple of days later, the missionary from Guatemala was speaking in this New York City church again. He and his wife had not seen the mysterious figure since the night they saw him on the sidewalk. But this evening, his wife espied him in the audience. So, he tried to find him and talked to this dark, large figured large man that met him on the sidewalk, and when he did, he said 'Pray for me'. Somehow, the mysteriously figured man was pulled away again. What was that all about? What was God up to in that?
Fast forward two years later. The missionary from Guatemala encountered this mysterious man, and the man asked him if he remembered him. He told the missionary man what had happened. After the night in the meeting where he attended, and asked for prayer for the second time, then disappeared, he went back home and repented. You see, he was a warlock. He was living with a witch, and he left that kind of lifestyle and actually told authorities on himself for some of the crimes he had done. He came to Christ and was radically saved. He was sent to prison, where he served during that two year period. He was able to minister to those in the prison while he was there. He did get out and ministered the Gospel to people. The last report on him was that as he was ministering the Gospel, he was injured so badly that his leg had to be amputated.
We really don't know how effective our ministering is while we are serving here on earth. I remember one person, who was asked, "When you die, are you 100% sure that you will go to heaven?" That question triggered his thinking and God used it to bring this man to Himself. Another person was having a conversation with some people, and one person, probably not even a believer asked, "How do we know we exist?" For this man, it involved his researching the Gospel until he found his answer. You just never know what God will use to minister to people with. One more example was George Whitefield, who did open air preaching to thousands of people, who had a heckler. The heckler would mock George and everything he was saying. He used motions like George and even had his own little audience. Well guess what God did? This heckler repented after the message was given and came to Christ! God has a sense of humor and will reach people in whatever ways He deems best.

What's in the Folder?

Everyone has folders of some sort. We all have places to categorize our stuff. Some people have folders in bins. Others have folders on their computers. How comfortable would you be if someone suddenly came into your room and demanded to look at your folder?
  That actually happened to a person I know. Years ago, my husband was at work. It started off as a day like any other day. No one expected any surprises. Around 8:30 am. some people were wondering out loud if there was a special event happening in this place of business. No one knew anything that was planned. But the man dressed in their suits got out of their cars. They headed inside the building, then proceeded to the business department. No one knew who they were or why they were there. Not too long after that, my husband was faced with a man with a badge and a gun. This man ordered my husband to step back and not touch anything. He proceeded to look in all the drawers and throughout the room in all the nooks and crannies. He came across a folder. The man carefully looked through the folder. What was in the folder? The contents of the folder contained cards and love letters from me! Wow, what if there were something else hiding in the folder? My husband passed the surprise inspection. There wasn't anything to hide.
  Contrast this with another story that really happened. A recently widowed woman wrote to Dear Abby. It was a very sad letter. She and her husband seemed to have a fine marriage, from what she could tell. But she had a surprise after her husband passed away. His drawers were being cleaned out at his work place, and what was found was most disturbing. This man had another woman in his life, all along. The poor widow had no idea. Can you imagine that kind of shocking news? What kind of emotions would she have toward her now deceased husband, whom she thought she loved and trusted?
   I wrote all this to say that, one day, all of our drawers are going to be cleaned out. Every file and folder will be open for everyone to see. Are we hiding anything now? Do we not understand that one day everything that we do will be open to the public? We think we are hiding things now, but they are not hidden from an Omniscient, holy God.
  There is large percentage of murders that are committed, where the murderer is never found. Guess what? They will be found and brought to justice, one day. We may be able to elude people, but we can never hide from God. We might be able to deceive others, but we can never fool God. God knows every thought that we have thought, or will have thought in our lifetimes. He knows every act we have committed or will commit. We might think we are getting away with something, but we aren't. It's only a matter of time before we get caught.

Everyday Evangelism - Why We All Should Learn A Foreign Language

We learn something new everyday, and today, although this was not new to me, was just a reminder of why we should learn a foreign language. This has happened a couple of times to me. You go out with tracts, and every once in a while, you meet a person who doesn't speak English. What can you do?
 
My limit of foreign language ends with the German language. However, I did learn a little bit of Spanish when I was in the fourth grade. Thank God for teachers who teach well and love their subjects.  I happen to remember a little bit of Spanish and picked up a few words since fourth grade.

I got out of my car today, and a man was walking on the sidewalk carrying a blower machine. I gave him a Giant Money tract. He looked Oriental to me. After a real brief conversation, I realized he didn't speak English. I picked up on a couple of key words. 'No Comprehendo" "espaniole" or at least that was what I thought I heard. I tried to ask him if he spoke Spanish, to which he didn't really know what to say. Then I remembered a Spanish phrase that sounded something like this; 'si espaniole' and now I think we were communicating. I pulled out a Spanish "How Good Are You?" tract and he could read it! So he took the Spanish tract instead of the Giant Money!

Many of the tract companies make tracts for Spanish speaking people. There are a couple of tract companies that make all kinds of foreign language tracts. Wouldn't that be great if you could learn a foreign language and use it to write your own tracts?

The Bible talks about the different nations serving God together: I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. Daniel 7:13,14. 

America is like a melting pot of people and nationalities. We can preach the Gospel to people in many nations by just going to the store or restaurant. Let's minister the Gospel to people in whatever language they speak, and wherever they are at! 

Everyday Evangelism - Many Claim the Bible is a Book of Fairy Tales

  Ever wonder why people make claims about the Bible that are false? Now we know they are false claims, but why are people so eager about making sure that these false claims are made known?

   A common false claim is that the Bible was written by men. Actually, the words of the Bible were penned by men, so that part of it is correct. But what the Skeptic is trying to communicate is that basically, the Bible is not God's Word to us. The statement is taking a partial truth, and adding a lie to it, to make the whole premise false.
 
  Another one I have seen a lot of recently is the one about the Bible being a book of fairy-tales. I have to marvel at this one, for, I have not yet seen a debate forum on whether Aesop's Fables are from God or not. Nor have I seen anyone struggling to figure out what God was saying to Zeus and the other Roman/Greek gods and goddesses. I think Greek mythology is interesting. While it is interesting, there is no controversy about those writings being from God or not. No one is concerned, and no one has seemed to have thought about it.

  But when it comes to the Bible, there has always been a struggle with that book. Did you know that in at least 52 countries, the Bible is forbidden? Now let me ask you a question; If the Bible is a book of fairy-tales or mythology, why is it forbidden in so many places? I haven't seen the Iliad forbidden anywhere. Nor have I seen Aesop's Fables forbidden. In some countries, a person will go to prison if they are found possessing a Bible. They must keep their Bibles well hidden for those who would, by force, break into the house if the people living there are suspected of being Christians.

   Could it be that there is a real force behind the hiding of the truth of the Bible? Could we really have an Enemy of our souls that hates us and wants to keep us from the Truth? Remember, Satan is angry at God, and he is angry at people, Christians in particular. (By Christian, I mean people who have realized their sinful state before God and repented of their sins, and who trust in the sacrifice that Jesus provided on the Cross for them). I am aware that another trick of Satan is to take words like 'Christian' or 'religion' and twist their meaning around so people get a warped view of what they are. We need to see through the tricks of the Enemy and not give into his wishes, for his desire is to deceive us and destroy us. He would like to destroy you and your family, and he will if you let him. He comes in the door by telling us lies that we are likely to believe in. Then he has us where he wants us.

                                           

Everyday Evangelism - The Suggestion to Evangelize While We Have Freedom

Lately, I have been thanking God for the freedoms we have right now, in our country. It would seem like we could take over our country with evangelism, if we wanted to. Just think, the Bible is banned in 52 countries or more around the world. I thank God every day that we have Bibles here, and don't have to be afraid of going to jail because they are in our possession. There are people, right now, that would give anything to be able to have a Bible, but they are hard to come by, for them. How easy it is for us. I probably bought three different Bibles this year, let alone, a case of New Testaments. The Bibles are for me to use, and the New Testaments are to give away. I don't have to be afraid of someone finding my order receipts and coming to my house, and arresting me. Not yet, anyway.

  Here is a plea from a man who lives in Laos. When he first came to Christ, even before he really had a good understanding of the Gospel, he couldn't help, but, to share his faith. He was warned not to evangelize, but continued to do so. Finally, in 1999, he was sentenced to 15 years of prison. Somehow, he did manage to smuggle Bibles into his cell, and he was set free before the sentence was over.

   He has a word for us. He thanks us for praying for him and credits the prayers for him as the reason for his being alive. Here is his request for us "Please pray for my country,...Pray that everyone accepts Jesus Christ, because I know that nothing is worthy in this life except becoming a Christian and following Jesus Christ. I know how hard life is, but I want to encourage believers in America to be strong in their faith. I know many Americans have not accepted Jesus Christ yet, but you have the freedom to proclaim Jesus and share the gospel. Go evangelize in the name of Jesus because you can. You have the right to read the Bible, to pray, and go to church. Please do that."

  Can you hear the desire of this man's heart? He wants us to preach the gospel and do evangelism, because we can do that here. He is right. If Jesus really is precious to us, shouldn't we be telling people of Him? If we love people, shouldn't we be telling them the good news of the Gospel? And what better place than in America, where people have heard the Gospel, but many still haven't. One day, our freedom to do this may be gone. We need to be on our knees and evangelizing, today. Tomorrow, it may be too late.

This article came from 'Voice of the Martyrs' magazine, August 2012 

Tim Keller on Evangelism Best Practices | Tim Brister

Tim Keller on Evangelism Best Practices | Tim Brister

Here is an article with some evangelism thoughts. I like the first one, although I struggle with how to do this one right. Let people around you know you are a Christian in a natural, unforced way. I remember coming up with ideas on how to let people around know that you are a Christian, like using Christian cliches like, "Praise the Lord" or "Praise God". Bumper stickers were a favorite too. I could never use the cliches though, because it seemed so unnatural. What has worked a couple of times, is to have a good conversation with a Christian friend, and be in a place where people can hear your conversation. Let it be a natural dialog, not put on. I have heard of people doing the cliche thing and it really looks unnatural and put on.
   Asking people questions is a good way to get into a dialog with someone. And who knows. Perhaps the dialog will lead right into the Gospel or into a truth the other person needs to hear. Always be kind and considerate. That doesn't mean you have to participate in sinful activities. Remember, Jesus was a friend to sinners, but He never condoned sin. But He did reach deep into the hearts of sinful people by being a friend.
  One other thing; people love to talk about themselves. Let them talk about themselves. And don't correct them when they say things that you know are wrong. Not yet, anyway.
  Somehow, we met a couple last night, who were homeless, and claimed to need money to take the woman to the hospital. She seemed to be in a lot of pain, and appeared sick. We gave them a little money, and listened to their story. They were living together in a tent. She was divorced and had two children who were living with their father. Anyway, I know in the past, I would have wondered what to do with people who were living in sin. We showed compassion to them and prayed for them (included the Gospel in the prayer). We didn't blast them out of the water because they were living together. I would love to see them again, and explain the Gospel to them further. Pray for them. Their names were Steven and Therese I think.

Everyday Evangelism - Battling at my Grocery Store

   I have a few favorite grocery stores, and some of them I frequent quite often. One of them I might be frequently less often though, for people who work there seemed to be distressed about my giving out tracts. As you will recall, I was at this particular grocery store a couple of weeks ago, and I offered a tract to an older woman getting into her car, and she was not happy when I told her it was a Gospel tract. I went into the store after that and bought a few items, and as I was on my way out a man who had a 'customer service' badge on appeared to be looking for me and stopped me to inform me that I was not allowed to pass tracts out in the parking lot. I was really surprised because this particular brand of grocery stores tries to please their customers and make their customers happy.
   I decided I had two options. One would be to go to another one of these grocery stores down the road, or, use smaller tracts when I go into this particular one. So, today I went back to this particular store, and brought a prescription in to be refilled. I didn't even buy anything and was in the store probably no more than 5 minutes.
  On my way out, I went over to the Coke machines like I normally do, and put a million dollar bill in the place where you can put dollar bills in to get change. Before I left the store, as I was passing the 'customer service' department, I checked to see if Ryan was there, the man who told me I wasn't allowed to pass out tracts a couple of weeks ago. I did not see him there, and as I exited, I didn't really see anyone who would notice my putting the tract into the Coke machine.
  I was on my way out, right at the exit door, when I hear someone saying something out loud and it had the word 'trash' in it. I turned around and one of the workers (possibly a bag boy?) pulled the tract out angrily and walked away. Maybe it was a store manager, I don't know, but, I am beginning to think that my presence in the store will either be welcoming (which it has been all along with most people) or it will be unwelcoming. I have to go back to pick up my prescription tomorrow and will see what happens then. I may get banned from the store.
   I have to think about what usually happened when Paul was in different places preaching the Gospel. The results were pretty much the same. Some people listened and wanted to hear more. Other people opposed him. People responded. People rejected. That's just the nature of preaching the Gospel in a darkened world. Some people are going to be totally irritated by it. Others will be thankful throughout eternity for hearing the words of life.
  If you think of it, I would ask for prayer for me. I don't want to react in a sinful way to people when they stop me from doing this. I don't want anger in my heart towards them. And I still want the open door to have opportunities to talk to people about the Gospel there. Thanks.

                                                 
Next time I'm using a 10 Commandment Coin instead!