Are You Prepared For The Hurricane?

At this time, we are aware of a hurricane that could come our way. In 2004, our town was devastated by Hurricane Charlie, but even as bad as that was, it was no match for Hurricane Katrina. Many lost their lives through that. Are you ready for the hurricane that could hit your town?

We have been warned. We have enough technology available to us to help us prepare for the oncoming hurricane, should it be here in a couple of days. But there is another warning that we must pay attention to.

God tells us in His word that a day is coming where all will be judged for their sins. It will be a horrible day for many. God will tell many, many people to depart from Him and He will have them sent to the Lake of Fire. But why does God send people there anyway?

God is pure and without any sin. He has no defect in Him at all. When God made human beings, they were not sinners. But one day, the devil lied to Eve and she fell for it by breaking a command God gave to her and Adam. Ever since that event, every person who has been born (except for 1) has a sinful, selfish heart. Unless a person repents of their sin and turns to God, they will not be accepted into heaven.

Mankind sinned. God provided a covering for our sins. He made an atonement for us when He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, 2,000 years ago, to live a perfect live, and then to die a horrible death to pay for our sins. He had no sin of His own to pay for. Only a person who has no sin of their own can possibly pay the penalty for the sins of others.

He died on a Cross, was buried, and rose again the 3rd day. He walked around earth for about 40 days then was taken back up to heaven. He is aware of what is going on here and He is praying for those who belong to Him. He is coming back again to take those who are His, with Him. Are you ready to meet Him?

So, will the hurricane hit your area? Will it be devastating to your community?  Will it be life threatening to you or your family? If it is, will you be ready to meet your Maker?

You will not be able to say that you have not been warned!

Evangelism and Boundaries

I don't know what you think of when you hear the word 'evangelism'. The word originally means, 'Gospel' or 'good news'. Here is CARM's definition of evangelism:
The English word, “evangelism,” comes from the Greek word euaggelion. Most literally translated in the noun form, euaggelion means: “gospel” or “good news.” In the verb form (euaggelizesthai), the meaning of the word changes slightly to “announce” or “bring good news.” The Greek word in its various forms appears fifty-five times in the New Testament. In addition to the before-mentioned translations, the Greek word is also translated as “preach.”*

"The message of the Gospel is something worth sharing and telling others about. In fact, we are commanded in the Bible to do the work of evangelism. ".. and he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." (Mark 16:15 ESV). 

But what happens when people think we are harassing them? Sometimes, they see us and they try to avoid us. Why would they do this? I think, many times, they have either had an encounter with a Jehovah's Witness or Mormon. But they may have had a pushy relative or friend who was trying to share the true Gospel with them. Or, they may have seen an open air worker spouting out hatred toward sinners. Who knows?

When do we violate the boundaries of others when it comes to doing evangelism? I remember a time when we were out as a group with some in the church who wanted to branch out and talk to people about the Gospel message. One young man from our group offered a tract to a lady sitting on a bench. She was irate and accused the young man of harassing her. She informed us that he was the fourth person who tried to give her a tract that morning. Was she truly being harassed or was this just a simple oversight by someone who was trying to kindly share the Gospel with her should she have been open to listening?

We have to keep a couple of things in mind when we are doing the work of evangelism, whether it be just giving out tracts or trying to talk to people about the Gospel message. 

First, we have to set a new standard. God does not force Himself on people. That is how the Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons operate. They us pressure to try to get people into their churches. Sadly, many Christians do the same thing. Sometimes, new believers are excited about their new relationship with the Lord, and haven't grown enough to bear the fruit of self-control, so they, in their zeal and genuine love for God try to pressure family members and friends to respond to the Gospel. We have to learn that salvation is a work of God, and God is the one Who makes the meaning of the Gospel real to people. We are to proclaim it, whenever we can, but we cannot pressure people into making a decision to follow the Lord. We will scare people off if we come at them making them feel pressure to respond to God. On the other hand, people can be under God's conviction and misunderstand by reacting to us in irritation and falsely accusing us of pressuring them to be 'religious'. It takes a skill to know when we are doing the pressuring or when God is doing the convicting.

Second, if a person indicates that they do not want a tract, I don't pressure them to take one. If a person knows that I am going to share the Gospel with them, and they turn away, I do not try to make them listen. What I want to do is leave them with something to let them know that I care and that their eternity is at stake, but I haven't yet come up with a good way to do this without sounding like I have to be the one to have the last word in this disagreement we are having. I have to learn to let them spew their anger and walk away, knowing that God can still do His work without my having to be there to share the Gospel with them. Many already know that they are running away from God, but I do not have to re-emphasize what they are doing wrong. 

So, when do I cross a person's boundaries? I would guess that if he or she says 'no' to taking a tract, if I keep trying to get him or her to take it. Or if I keep pressing to have a conversation with someone who wants to have the final say in our discussion about eternity. Having said this, I will say that there are people who will walk away or indicate that they do no want to talk about the Gospel, only to come back and ask questions or even try to argue. That is ok, and it is ok to follow up with that. They are probably curious but not sure they can trust the evangelist at this point. Possibly they want to hear more, but are making it clear that they have boundaries that they do not want others to cross over. We should respect their boundaries. God never forces us to respond to Him. We have to represent God accurately to people. When we properly do this, they will listen. They might not come to Christ, and they might still argue or try to harm us, but if we are not crossing their boundaries, they are the ones responsible for their own actions.

May God give us words to say to people, and may He give us the grace as we interact with people, as well as wisdom to know when to press in and when to back off. May God fill our hearts with His love for the lost. 

*https://carm.org/what-is-evangelism

What Is The One Thing That You Can't Do In Heaven?

What is the one thing that you and I won't be able to do when we are in heaven? Yes, I know what you are thinking, and the answer is correct, but it is not the answer that the title of this book is asking.
There will be no sin in heaven, but there will be something else that is missing? It is something that we only can do something about while we are living on this side of eternity.

Think again. When you are in heaven, assuming you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord/Savior, there will be a large group of people who will not be there. Only While we are on earth, today, we will  have the opportunity to minister to these people.

One day, you will not be here anymore. Your opportunity to make an impact for the Kingdom of God, here on earth, will be over. There will not be any lost people in heaven.




This book talks about the one thing you won't be able to do in heaven. In heaven, there will be total worship. But in heaven, there will not be any lost people to evangelize. Every day of our lives counts while we are here on earth. Today could be your last day here. What are you going to do about it?

Turning A Difficult Situation Into Triumph

  Last year, our church did a float in the Christmas parade. God had put this on my heart to do this for a long time, and now it came to pass.

  We had a group of people, and I made a Facebook event page for us to keep everyone abreast of the latest parade news and any updates I had. It proved to be a helpful tool for us to communicate what we were all doing with our involvement in the parade.

   As soon as the parade was over, I made a new Facebook page, with a similar name, but a different date. Throughout the year, we have come together on the page and shared our ideas and thoughts. This went well for a long time, but, something very strange happened.

   I know God has a sense of humor and for a couple of days, I did not see anything humorous in this 'adventure' I found myself in. I never asked for this to happen, and it happened suddenly, without a whole lot of warning.

   Last year, we had about 50 people who were involved in the parade. I don't think all 50 came out the day of the parade. Some just helped. But, the number at the most, was 50, well maybe a little over. But, a couple of days ago, the number of people joining us for the parade event on Facebook is a thousand.

   What are we going to do? Do these people know we are a group with Metro Life Church of Casselberry? Do they share our vision of communicating the Gospel and making God's name known to all? What was I going to do with all these people? What if they all showed up the morning of the parade, thinking they are part of our group?

   I put out some clarification posts, defining what we are doing. The number went from a little under 300 'joiners' last week to 1K in a couple of days. I want people to communicate with me and tell me why they are joining our event.

   A couple of people wanted to have their groups in the parade and thought they could join us. Others thought they could just join our group, not understanding why we were going to be in the parade. It was definitely an interesting experience. We started having spammer post their ads. Some of the people felt sorry for me and were trying to help me figure out how we could make this a private event (which we never could figure out how to do).

   Then the angry posts started coming. One lady demanded that I stop sending her notifications. I had noticed that several people whom I did not even know, were sharing the event and tagging their friends. I posted a message telling people to not share this event. It didn't do much but make people angry. Some of the people posted and asked me to delete their names. I couldn't. There was no delete feature to use.

   I was so tired because I only slept 3 hours the night before. We went to a class at church that evening when suddenly, a light came on for me. I was thinking of what I could say in my next post to the group. I was coming up with the words to say when I was rehearsing the Gospel message in it. I don't know if it was habit for my thinking to be like that, or, if it were the Lord telling me what to write. It fit so perfectly.

   I have to admit, I was angry during the day. How much more work was this going to involve? I am sure it showed up in my posts too. But something interesting happened. When I saw the email from the woman demanding me to stop sending her notifications, all I could think of was, 'what a dumb person. She joined the event page. Why is she complaining to me about the notifications?'. But when I responded to her, I felt no anger and I was able to graciously help her to delete herself from the group.

   A couple of people said they were going to delete themselves. One person added that she was going to go to the parade but now she did not feel welcome. So, something that started out as a good idea that would serve us as a group, was now making people angry.

   But now, the tables are being turned. Some people suggested that I delete the FB event page and start a new one. I probably would have done that if the parade were a couple of months away, or more, but since it is around the corner, I will just keep it for now.

   I am going to make all the joiners feel welcome. I will accommodate their desires (as much as possible). I am giving them instructions on where to park and even making them feel like they are part of us. Then, at the right time, I will bring in the Gospel message.

   I have been praying for all those who have joined the group. May God open their eyes and help them to see Him. And may they learn of the true meaning of Christmas this year.

   Maybe they will receive the best Christmas present ever! Let's pray for them to respond to the Gospel in repentance and faith!

  And who knows? Maybe this is the only time they would ever hear the Gospel? Maybe this is God's way of bringing it to them?

Pulling Teeth Makes False Converts

"If you have to pull someone's teeth to get them to respond to the Gospel, then they aren't ready to respond to the Gospel".

People have to be hungry for God, in order for them to respond to Him in repentance and faith. We can reason with people from the Scriptures all day and night (and we should be doing that), but unless there is a genuine hunger for God, the person will only become a false convert, at best.

Pulling teeth, or trying to make something happen that is hard, is a form of manipulation. It is trying to do the work that only God can do in a person's heart. No amount of begging or pressuring will work in getting people to respond to the Gospel. Not with genuine results, anyway.

There are a lot of different responses I get from people when sharing the Gospel. Some will have nothing to do with it, and they may even rebuke me harshly. Others seem interested, but not enough to make a commitment. There are some though, who really are interested and will most likely respond when their hearts are fully prepared to receive the Gospel.

If there is not a hunger there, then we really could be trying to 'shove God down their throats'. Of course, ultimately, it is their responsibility to respond to God and sharing the truths of the Gospel is not necessarily 'shoving God down their throats'. We could be force-feeding them something they find repulsive.

The Bible says that we will find God when we search for Him with 'all our hearts'. Receiving salvation is not a half-hearted thing. We receive all of God, and everything that entails that, or, we do not receive God at all. We don't add God to our lives. We die to our selfishness and let go of sin, then we receive from God.

The next time we go out evangelizing, let's go where the fish are biting. I like this quote and it makes a lot of sense: You can bring a horse to water, but you can't make him drink it. Another good one is, "I am just one beggar telling other beggars where to find bread". That one is good because it ties in with what I am saying. If the other beggars are hungry, they will go to the bread and eat it. If people are hungry for God, they will respond to Him. It takes a work of God in a person's heart for him or her to be hungry for God. No one searches after God unless God makes that heart ready.

You and I cannot make a person hungry for God, but sometimes we can whet their appetite by sharing the good news of the Gospel and teaching the truths of God to others.

My Vision of Sowing And Reaping

  There was a time when I wanted to do it all. I would loved to have had the privilege to share the Gospel with someone and lead Him or her to the Lord. But how does God work in all that?

   We know the Bible says that one sows and another reaps, but God gives the harvest. God is the One who initiates the work in someone's heart to hear the Gospel. Many times, we share the Gospel with a person who is resistant and has a hard heart. It can be very discouraging unless we understand that, at one time, we all had hardened hearts to the Gospel. We resisted God when we heard the words of truth. But, somehow, God continued to work and we came to Christ, in spite of our resistance to Him.

   Sometimes, when we attempt to share the Gospel with someone, that person is hard. But, there are times when the person's heart will soften if he or she continues to listen to the voice of truth. Many times, people take home the message we tried to share with them, but were not able to because of their resistance to us.

   God uses His word to soften hearts. Then, another person comes along and shares some more Gospel truth with the person. Eventually, the person's heart is prepared to hear the Gospel message and it is gladly received. God had prepared the person's heart and used His word to soften their hearts.

  You might be the third person to share the Gospel message with someone. Or maybe, you just prayed for someone to get well and they were ministered to. The next time a person talks to the person you just prayed for, he or she will be more open to hearing the Gospel.

   If every person who has called upon the name of the Lord were to share the Gospel with people and demonstrate the Gospel with their lives, people on the outside would have no excuse for their rejection of the Gospel message. If the person has 6 or 7 seeds sown into him or her, the Gospel can take root as God works in that person's heart.

   The other day, I was at a restaurant, and as we were coming out, there was a family there, three women and one man (not sure how they were all related). Somehow, my friend was talking with them and they were explaining that the man was sick and was going to have his gall bladder removed. I tossed the idea around of offering to pray for him, but was not sure I should do that. As I continued to think about it, I decided to ask if he wanted prayer, which he said he did. They all seemed happy that I would pray for the man. So I did.

   I did not however, have the opportunity to share the Gospel with him. But, perhaps someone else will. If more than 2% of the people who know the Lord would share the Gospel, then there would be a greater chance of this family hearing the Gospel message.

   Sometimes when we sow seeds, it doesn't look like anything is happening. This was the case of Frank Jenner, who lived in Sydney, Australia. Jenner was radically saved while in the navy, and made a decision of giving tracts out every day to people on George Street, which was in downtown Sydney. Jenner did this for years, but never saw any results.

   A pastor who lived in England heard several testimonies of people who had gotten saved because a man in Australia gave out tracts to them on George Street. The man would ask the question, 'If you were to die tonight, are you 100% sure you would go to heaven?' Many were disturbed at his question. Some took the tracts. Others rejected the tracts. Frank Jenner never knew the results of his tract distribution until he was elderly. The pastor from England was so intrigued by so many coming to Christ because a man on George Street in Sidney Australia gave them a tract. So, while he was visiting Australia, he decided if he could track this man down.

    The pastor from London found out that the man's name was Frank Jenner. He found his address and stopped in. He told Frank Jenner of all the people who came to know the Lord because of his tracts and questions to them. Frank Jenner was surprised, of course. He found out this information not too long before he died and left this life behind.

   But my point about Frank Jenner is this; Although Frank Jenner passed out many tracts and asked many the pointed question, those who came to Christ because of his giving them a tract, did not respond to the Gospel by going back to Australia to find Frank Jenner and ask him questions. Instead, these people who responded to the Gospel, responded by finding a trusted, Christian friend or pastor to help lead him or her to Christ. This is where sowing and reaping come in.

    Sometimes, you and I will be those who sow the seeds. We might just pray for someone. Or, we might even share the Gospel with someone, or give out a tract. Then, someone else comes along and shares the Gospel or ministers to that person. That is why we pray for laborers to be raised up. We want the number of people in churches who are sharing the Gospel to be more than 2%. If we had a vision for this, I think many more will hear the Gospel and come to Christ. Are we up for this? Can we handle the challenge? It will be worth all the work involved. The results will be eternal, and many will be eternally grateful.

My Unplanned Experience Of Being In A French Culture

   We got ready to go to Canada for a business trip my husband was taking. I went along for the ride this time and planned out all I was going to do. Among the many things I planned was to bring some tracts. Of course, going to this part of Canada would not be the same as going to Maine or to Boston, where people are everywhere. In fact, I was very surprised and the surprise started on the plane trip to Canada.

  We were going to a place called, 'La Malbaie' somewhere in Quebec. I already knew that people in Canada spoke both English and French, but I didn't realize just how much French there would be. And, of course, I was not prepared.

  The lady who hosted us on the plane (Air Canada) spoke French. She could speak English, but was much more natural at French.

  I, of course, never studied French. I learned a few words from watching 'Madeline', a cartoon for little girls that had good morals. Other than that, I may as well have been in Greece or China.
 
  Before I left, I was sure I had some French tracts, but I searched my tract box and never found them. I found some Spanish ones, but that is not the same as French. How could I have better prepared for this event?

  The only English speaking people around were the ones from the work group. There were a few other people staying at the hotel or eating in the restaurants who spoke English, but most of the people visiting the hotels and restaurants were even French speaking.

   Suddenly, about the third day into this trip, I got a bright idea. Since we had internet access, I decided to go to Bible Gateway and look up some verses from the French version of the Bible. There were four different French versions and I don't know if any of them are preferable, so I used the top one. I copied and pasted the verses and saved them to a file, and intended to write them on paper and put them in places where I would have put tracts.

   But here is even a better idea: I went to Larry Kent's tract page, because I know he has tracts made in foreign languages. I found one in French, so I downloaded it. Then I copied an excerpt from it onto paper. This is the best way to make a simple tract when you don't know how to speak the language and don't have tracts with you that are in the target language.

  The hotel provided a writing tablet which I used to write the message on. Quite an experience writing words I have never seen before. God's word will never return void, and will accomplish its goal even on a small piece of paper.


   If I ever go to Canada again, I will prepare better. I will order some French tracts from Living Waters and also print out some of the French tracts from http://www.tracts.com/LKFrench.pdf

   Thank you Larry Kent for making this tract available at the moment I needed it. It wasn't the same as printing the tracts off, but it was definitely better than giving up because I don't know the language and didn't have any tracts with me that were in French.