Well, I now have another revelation. Trying to update this blog is going to be a lot harder than I thought. With summer fast approaching and the weather beginning to warm up, we hope to be out on the streets nearly everyday. If our encounters last night are any indication of what the summer holds for us, then trying to relay the days events to you the reader will be next to impossible.
Last night was AWESOME! Josh, Val, Tina, and our girls were with me yesterday. Although Tina and the girls did their own thing, I have no doubt that Tina was praying for us and enjoying her time with the girls.
Val and I were manning the sign while Josh had to attend to some personal business. Just as I was setting up the sign, a guy approached me with a high-tech camera.
He asked me, "Would you be willing to flick off the camera for me."
I said, "No".
How about sticking your tongue out.
I'll smile for you if that works.
No that won't work. You need to do something that fits your sign.
What do you mean?
Well your sign looks stupid, so you need to look stupid too. I guess this will work. Both of you look like idiots. Thanks.
This guy obviously did not like our sign (he professed to be a christian - who doesn't?) however he kept mocking us, telling us we are "stupid" and "idiots". He was taking our picture constantly and did not want us to stay around. The funny thing is, he was drawing more attention to us then we were drawing to ourselves, probably the very thing he didn't want to do. It's great how God works! At one point he got so desperate to make us leave that he took some potato chips, crushed them up in his hands, and preceded to throw them around us. Why? In hopes the seagulls would fly around us and poop on us. They didn't and even if they did, we wouldn't have moved. Praise God that His name is exalted even by mockers who have no idea what they are doing is drawing more of a crowd to think about God.
Psa 37:12 The wicked plots against the just, And gnashes at him with his teeth.
Psa 37:13 The Lord laughs at him, For He sees that his day is coming.
One of the highlights about last night was that it was the first time we really got a chance to witness with Val. We meet Val a few weeks ago. He's a middle-aged gentleman who is originally from Russia (oh yes, he's got the Russian accent). He was born-again over 30 years ago in a Russian prison (awesome testimony), became a preacher, moved to the US over 16 years ago, and is now in the process of working with us. He used to open-air preach in Russia when the communist regime fell. So I was pretty excited when people started approaching us. I let him do the talking, it was time for me to be the student. I was very impressed with what he had to say. He didn't get caught up with the "rabbit trail" questions people were asking. He told them the truth, asked a few questions, and let the people go if they so desired. As he says, "You have to open your mouth. In the beginning was the Word..." His point (I think), "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17).
As the day began to close, we were approached by a group of believers. These believers, for the most part, were very negative towards our sign. They didn't understand why we would wear shirts that say, "Repent or Perish". I tried to explain to them that this is a very common theme throughout the entire bible. Not to mention, this is what Jesus said to the masses.
Mat 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Luk 13:2 And Jesus answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things?
Luk 13:3 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.
Luk 13:4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?
Luk 13:5 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."
I may have stated this before, so please bear with me. I have NO PROBLEM with people thinking our sign/style of witnessing is not how they would do it and/or not the "best" way to do it. I DO have a problem with believers telling us our way is the WRONG way of doing it. For example, I do not think having a sign that says GOD LOVES YOU on it is the "best" way to get God's message out. However, I would not "argue" on the streets with them about it. I would encourage them in their endeavors and genuinely ask them how things are going. I would then hope to take them aside (when they are done) and talk about God's other side as well. Is their message biblical? Yes. Can God use it. Yes. Is it the best biblical message someone can come up with? That's debatable. I don't think so, but doing SOMETHING is better than doing NOTHING. Josh and I discussed this last night a little and he said, "I'd rather be preaching the right Gospel the wrong way, rather than the wrong gospel the right way." Amen to that.
Now, why did Josh say that? Well, while we were talking to these believers, a lady on a Harley bike rolled up and staring getting a little defensive about our sign. She was saying we were being judgmental (our sign has NOTHING about specific sins at all and nothing that could be considered judgmental in my opinion). Within the first few minutes she claims to be a homosexual christian...which is an oxymoron. Can a homosexual become a christian...ABSOLUTELY! Can a christian slip up at times and commit a homosexual sin, of course. Can a christian live as an unrepentant homosexual, who does not see homosexuality as a sin...no way! So the reason Josh made his statement about preaching a true gospel the wrong way (not talking about "love" and talking more about "judgment") is because the other believers who came up to us were "lovingly" telling this lady that it is ok to be a homosexual. I wasn't part of the conversation, but according to Josh they kept reassuring the lady that "we all sin" and "we all struggle with sin". How deceiving is that! That's true in a sense! But it's unbiblical to say it's OK to be a homosexual and still think you are going to heaven. If you think that, then how would you interpret the following scriptures.
Lev 20:13 If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.
1Co 6:9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,
1Co 6:10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.
It's not about what the culture thinks, it's about what the bible says.
Let me add that as Josh was having his conversations with, I was having a GREAT conversation with two of the other believers that came up to me. We talked about a lot of topics, but the main point was me trying to explain to them why our sign says what it says, why we focus on judgment, wrath, hell, and stop sinning, more than God's love (although I think our sign is VERY loving). In the end, I think my point was clearly made and taken very well by the listening party. In fact they both seemed to understand where I was coming from and even considered coming out with us to hear more of what we say to people.
As the conversations ended, we started packing up. Just then a couple approached us both with a rather "happy" smile on their faces. We started up a conversation with them and shortly into the conversation we realized these people were very encouraged by our sign and style of witnessing. The guy, Sam, is the worship leader at a local church. His wife, Lesley, is part of the Pro-Life street witnessing organization. They to have been frustrated with the churches of today, the lack of zeal in most christians lives, and the lack of obedience to the word of God. It was a very encouraging way to end the day. In fact, we plan on meeting with them in the near future and discuss the vision God has laid on my heart. I am not the most optimistic person in the world, but this looks to be the start of a great relationship that God had ordained. Just when Tina and I, as well as Josh, were discussing the lack of people willing to fight the fight on the streets, God (in His timing) brings people to us. To encourage us and give us strength.
1Th 3:1 Therefore, when we could no longer endure it, we thought it good to be left in Athens alone,
1Th 3:2 and sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith,
1Th 3:3 that no one should be shaken by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are appointed to this.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
From the Streets - Thursday May 22
I'm beginning to see that my posts, although different in wording, will often times be very similar in content. People's opinion towards our signs and/or message is becoming very similar. Some like it, others hate it, some reject it, others embrace it...but most are pretty indifferent to it. This mindset is actually helping me to rethink what needs to be put on our signs.
I have been doing some extensive reading in the book of Acts. Trying to find the "perfect" sign is driving me crazy. My wife and Josh are finding it pretty comical that I keep finding THE "perfect" sign. Only to have that "perfect" sign, superseded by another sign that is "THE" sign. It's a tough process. The more I study the book of Acts, the more I see the message which they preached was a message "relevant" to the people they were talking to. In short, they were preaching "Jesus as the Son of God" and "Jesus as the Christ" because this was VERY relevant to the Jewish people. If you read through the book of Acts, you will find that when Paul was confronted with people who had no (or very little) knowledge of the scriptures, he did not talk about Jesus as the Christ (see Acts 14:7-17; Acts 17:16-31) or the Jesus as "the Son of God". Why? Because those statements meant NOTHING to those people. They weren't waiting for the Messiah.
So what does that mean for today. A LOT! I am beginning to see that the people today, although they are well aware of the scriptures and the basic teachings of Jesus, they have no clue what it all means. To preach to people the "Jesus died for their sins", seems pretty pointless if they don't think what they are doing is sin. I am beginning to see that we MUST tell people what the bible calls sin. However, just telling people what the bible calls sin has no power to it if their sin has no consequences. Therefore, we must tell people about the consequences of their sin. The consequences of their sin is separation from God. However, telling people their consequence of their sin has no power to it if they don't see why "being separated from God" is important. I am staring to FIRMLY believe that one common theme throughout the bible is the declaration of GOD'S JUDGMENT ON ALL PEOPLE!
From Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21, we several common themes over and over again: There is only one God, God is loving, God is forgiving, God is jealous, God has mercy, God is angry with men and their sin yet He is patient with them however His patience does run out at times, and finally JUDGMENT! I have yet to do this study, but I would guess the idea of "the judgment of God/Day of the Lord" is found in most if not all of the books of the bible.
Just think about God's love toward us through Jesus Christ. This doesn't even make sense to us if we don't see a need for Jesus. The only reason for Jesus, was because their is going to be a judgment. This judgment, the judgment of every man, is THE key to understanding God's love, patience, forgiveness, etc. Without Judgment, Jesus is pointless. Their is no need for a sacrifice if there is not Judgment!
In the book of Acts, you only hear the apostles very few times talk about the judgment that is to come. However, that does not mean we should not be talking about it. Remember, the majority of people who the apostles were talking to (both Jews and Gentiles) had a good bit of scripture knowledge. Therefore, they were well aware of the final Judgment of God and the apostles need not mention it to them.
Same goes with specific sins. They did not need to preach to the people to turn from their "sexual immorality" because the odds were pretty good that the people were trying to obey God and His commandments. We know this because the scriptures say they were zealous to keep the law. The Jewish people "feared God" because they knew their was a judgment. Therefore, to be "saved" they tried to keep the Law. Their mistake was in not realizing the Law was to lead them to Christ (the Savior). However, today people are not trying to live "moral" lives as set forth in the bible. They are trying to live "moral" lives set forth by their own standards. That is why we need to hit our culture hard with what the bible calls sin. Many people we talk to on the streets claim to be christians, however they do not see many of the sins we preach as sin. We need to reason with them from the scriptures (just as Paul reasoned with the Jews using the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ) what God defines as sin.
Finally, one of the common themes I have found throughout the bible to be relevant to our preaching today, is the concept embedded in "Idolatry". Specifically, that throughout the Bible we see God wanting the lone worship of mankind to Himself, yet man is constantly doing things his way. Man thinks he knows what he needs to do to be saved. In short, man thinks he is God. Man thinks he makes the rules. Man thinks he can determine what is sin and what is not. What is sin for one person might not be for another. Most people today have a "tolerance" mindset. The idea of, "you can believe whatever you want, as long as it doesn't 'effect/hurt' other people." Obviously this is not what Jesus, Peter, Paul, etc taught. Jesus said He was THE ONLY WAY! We need to get back to this principal. There are NOT many ways to God. We need to preach to the people today that TOLERANCE IS NOT OK. Tina likes to say, "Tolerance is not Ok, Jesus is the only way." There are faults with that, but it's catchy none-the-less (and true). We need to preach Jesus not so much "as the Christ" but as THE ONLY GOD AND HIS WAY IS THE THE ONLY WAY! We are STEEPED in a society that teaches there are MANY ways to God. Again, it's the idea of tolerance - this America must repent of!
So, as of right now, (it might change as I continue in prayer and study) the three things that we need to be preaching to people are:
1. Judgment
2. What God calls sin
3. Jesus is the ONLY God and the ONLY way
Now obviously you include the message of the cross, forgiveness of sins, etc. We must include the Full Gospel, and a "half" Gospel does not make sense if there is no judgment, consequence of Sin, and the Authority and Deity of Jesus Christ.
John 14:6
Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father, except through Me."
Doesn't sound like "tolerance" to me!
Oh, by the way, we went out yesterday and had some very good conversations. God is always providing us with oppurtunities to share His truth. Be looking for a future post on my conversation with Mormons.
I have been doing some extensive reading in the book of Acts. Trying to find the "perfect" sign is driving me crazy. My wife and Josh are finding it pretty comical that I keep finding THE "perfect" sign. Only to have that "perfect" sign, superseded by another sign that is "THE" sign. It's a tough process. The more I study the book of Acts, the more I see the message which they preached was a message "relevant" to the people they were talking to. In short, they were preaching "Jesus as the Son of God" and "Jesus as the Christ" because this was VERY relevant to the Jewish people. If you read through the book of Acts, you will find that when Paul was confronted with people who had no (or very little) knowledge of the scriptures, he did not talk about Jesus as the Christ (see Acts 14:7-17; Acts 17:16-31) or the Jesus as "the Son of God". Why? Because those statements meant NOTHING to those people. They weren't waiting for the Messiah.
So what does that mean for today. A LOT! I am beginning to see that the people today, although they are well aware of the scriptures and the basic teachings of Jesus, they have no clue what it all means. To preach to people the "Jesus died for their sins", seems pretty pointless if they don't think what they are doing is sin. I am beginning to see that we MUST tell people what the bible calls sin. However, just telling people what the bible calls sin has no power to it if their sin has no consequences. Therefore, we must tell people about the consequences of their sin. The consequences of their sin is separation from God. However, telling people their consequence of their sin has no power to it if they don't see why "being separated from God" is important. I am staring to FIRMLY believe that one common theme throughout the bible is the declaration of GOD'S JUDGMENT ON ALL PEOPLE!
From Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21, we several common themes over and over again: There is only one God, God is loving, God is forgiving, God is jealous, God has mercy, God is angry with men and their sin yet He is patient with them however His patience does run out at times, and finally JUDGMENT! I have yet to do this study, but I would guess the idea of "the judgment of God/Day of the Lord" is found in most if not all of the books of the bible.
Just think about God's love toward us through Jesus Christ. This doesn't even make sense to us if we don't see a need for Jesus. The only reason for Jesus, was because their is going to be a judgment. This judgment, the judgment of every man, is THE key to understanding God's love, patience, forgiveness, etc. Without Judgment, Jesus is pointless. Their is no need for a sacrifice if there is not Judgment!
In the book of Acts, you only hear the apostles very few times talk about the judgment that is to come. However, that does not mean we should not be talking about it. Remember, the majority of people who the apostles were talking to (both Jews and Gentiles) had a good bit of scripture knowledge. Therefore, they were well aware of the final Judgment of God and the apostles need not mention it to them.
Same goes with specific sins. They did not need to preach to the people to turn from their "sexual immorality" because the odds were pretty good that the people were trying to obey God and His commandments. We know this because the scriptures say they were zealous to keep the law. The Jewish people "feared God" because they knew their was a judgment. Therefore, to be "saved" they tried to keep the Law. Their mistake was in not realizing the Law was to lead them to Christ (the Savior). However, today people are not trying to live "moral" lives as set forth in the bible. They are trying to live "moral" lives set forth by their own standards. That is why we need to hit our culture hard with what the bible calls sin. Many people we talk to on the streets claim to be christians, however they do not see many of the sins we preach as sin. We need to reason with them from the scriptures (just as Paul reasoned with the Jews using the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ) what God defines as sin.
Finally, one of the common themes I have found throughout the bible to be relevant to our preaching today, is the concept embedded in "Idolatry". Specifically, that throughout the Bible we see God wanting the lone worship of mankind to Himself, yet man is constantly doing things his way. Man thinks he knows what he needs to do to be saved. In short, man thinks he is God. Man thinks he makes the rules. Man thinks he can determine what is sin and what is not. What is sin for one person might not be for another. Most people today have a "tolerance" mindset. The idea of, "you can believe whatever you want, as long as it doesn't 'effect/hurt' other people." Obviously this is not what Jesus, Peter, Paul, etc taught. Jesus said He was THE ONLY WAY! We need to get back to this principal. There are NOT many ways to God. We need to preach to the people today that TOLERANCE IS NOT OK. Tina likes to say, "Tolerance is not Ok, Jesus is the only way." There are faults with that, but it's catchy none-the-less (and true). We need to preach Jesus not so much "as the Christ" but as THE ONLY GOD AND HIS WAY IS THE THE ONLY WAY! We are STEEPED in a society that teaches there are MANY ways to God. Again, it's the idea of tolerance - this America must repent of!
So, as of right now, (it might change as I continue in prayer and study) the three things that we need to be preaching to people are:
1. Judgment
2. What God calls sin
3. Jesus is the ONLY God and the ONLY way
Now obviously you include the message of the cross, forgiveness of sins, etc. We must include the Full Gospel, and a "half" Gospel does not make sense if there is no judgment, consequence of Sin, and the Authority and Deity of Jesus Christ.
John 14:6
Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father, except through Me."
Doesn't sound like "tolerance" to me!
Oh, by the way, we went out yesterday and had some very good conversations. God is always providing us with oppurtunities to share His truth. Be looking for a future post on my conversation with Mormons.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Street Preaching May 14, 2008
We went out yesterday evening from 3:30-8:30 down in the Canal Park area. It was an amazing "coincidence" that there just "happened" to be a scheduled air show in that area. So as the day progressed, the area around us was being flooded with people. Several hundred people were within reading distance of the sign.
The day started relatively "slow" in that we did not get much, if any conversations going. As always, there are those who walk by and give a "thumbs up" and there are those who walk by and shake their head and/or same some "nice" comment about our sign. Either way, BOTH are a blessing! The Holy Spirit does wonders in people we never see happening.
Our first conversation was really just a continuation conversation with a guy I had talked to last time out. His name is Art. He's a self-professing atheist, who seemingly hates ALL religions, thinks we are all deceived, and really hates us because we are "dumb enough to stand out here showing the world how foolish our 'god' is." He's a really nice guy! Actually, the conversations have been "good" in a sense. Although he thinks we are complete idiots, he also says how "nice" we are and he thinks we are pretty good guys, it's our beliefs he hates.
When he first came up to us, I told him how great it was to see him, with all these people around. I told him I would get the conversation going, he'd get mad and a little loud, and that would bring the crowd in. He ASSURED me that he wasn't going to talk to us and "help us out." An hour later he was still talking to us! You can't resist the Holy Spirit! Seemingly the conversation goes no where. He wants to argue against the existence of God, faith, etc. And is pretty defiant against any argument you present to him. I try my best not to get into "philosophical arguments" but it's hard. Josh is much better and staying within the scriptures, staying out of arguments, and letting the word of God do his thing.
Hebrews 4:12-13
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
As the day progressed and the air show ended, things started to pick up. While I was talking to a professing christian who despised our sign, Josh was having a conversation with another professing christian. Both of these gentleman, not associated with one another, believed a person could put their faith in Christ, renounce their faith, practice another religion yet still be saved because "at one time they trusted in Christ". WRONG ANSWER! What saith the scriptures:
1 John 5:13
These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
Mark 13:13
...he who endures to the end shall be saved.
When these conversations were over it was about 7pm. I was pretty whopped from my conversation with the atheist and the professing christians. Several things about witnessing. It challenges your faith, it challenges your patience, it makes you really dig into the scriptures to see why you believe what you believe, and it is both mentally and physically draining.
We decided to pack up and head to the area in front of Little Angies, knowing that it is a hot spot for people eating, drinking, and hanging out. It wasn't long before we set up that people started to come and talk to us. The conversations were short, but the gospel message was presented. Josh was talking to a couple of girls while I was talking to a few skate boarders. As I finished my conversation, a lady pulled up in a car FURIOUS that our sign had the word "men" on it and not "women". I assured her it was only for scriptural faithfulness and the scripture we were referring to. It didn't matter to her. She believed men should not be in authority over women. Once she calmed down a bit, we discussed the issue a little and I learned she was a Chaplin at St. Mary's hospital. Although she said she believed the bible, every scripture I presented to her, she rejected and said, "oh, I don't believe that." I didn't give her my interpretation, I just read the scripture to her.
When I got done with my conversation, Josh was engaged with a man from Russia, Val, and the same two girls. Turns out Val is a believer who seems to be ON FIRE for Jesus. To make a long story short, he wants to get together with us, fellowship with us, and come out with us to open-air preach/street witness. We ended up talking with him for a while and discussed his conversion story, his fleeing from Russia to America, and our vision for the city of Duluth. At this point, we are very encouraged by his zeal and willingness to step into the battle for lost souls.
After a short conversation with two professing christians (one wearing a HOOTERS tank top, the other...well...I'm not sure if she was wearing ANY clothes) who pulled up to talk to us, we ended our conversations and went home.
GOD IS GOOD!
Acts 18:9-10
Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, "Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city."
The day started relatively "slow" in that we did not get much, if any conversations going. As always, there are those who walk by and give a "thumbs up" and there are those who walk by and shake their head and/or same some "nice" comment about our sign. Either way, BOTH are a blessing! The Holy Spirit does wonders in people we never see happening.
Our first conversation was really just a continuation conversation with a guy I had talked to last time out. His name is Art. He's a self-professing atheist, who seemingly hates ALL religions, thinks we are all deceived, and really hates us because we are "dumb enough to stand out here showing the world how foolish our 'god' is." He's a really nice guy! Actually, the conversations have been "good" in a sense. Although he thinks we are complete idiots, he also says how "nice" we are and he thinks we are pretty good guys, it's our beliefs he hates.
When he first came up to us, I told him how great it was to see him, with all these people around. I told him I would get the conversation going, he'd get mad and a little loud, and that would bring the crowd in. He ASSURED me that he wasn't going to talk to us and "help us out." An hour later he was still talking to us! You can't resist the Holy Spirit! Seemingly the conversation goes no where. He wants to argue against the existence of God, faith, etc. And is pretty defiant against any argument you present to him. I try my best not to get into "philosophical arguments" but it's hard. Josh is much better and staying within the scriptures, staying out of arguments, and letting the word of God do his thing.
Hebrews 4:12-13
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
As the day progressed and the air show ended, things started to pick up. While I was talking to a professing christian who despised our sign, Josh was having a conversation with another professing christian. Both of these gentleman, not associated with one another, believed a person could put their faith in Christ, renounce their faith, practice another religion yet still be saved because "at one time they trusted in Christ". WRONG ANSWER! What saith the scriptures:
1 John 5:13
These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
Mark 13:13
...he who endures to the end shall be saved.
When these conversations were over it was about 7pm. I was pretty whopped from my conversation with the atheist and the professing christians. Several things about witnessing. It challenges your faith, it challenges your patience, it makes you really dig into the scriptures to see why you believe what you believe, and it is both mentally and physically draining.
We decided to pack up and head to the area in front of Little Angies, knowing that it is a hot spot for people eating, drinking, and hanging out. It wasn't long before we set up that people started to come and talk to us. The conversations were short, but the gospel message was presented. Josh was talking to a couple of girls while I was talking to a few skate boarders. As I finished my conversation, a lady pulled up in a car FURIOUS that our sign had the word "men" on it and not "women". I assured her it was only for scriptural faithfulness and the scripture we were referring to. It didn't matter to her. She believed men should not be in authority over women. Once she calmed down a bit, we discussed the issue a little and I learned she was a Chaplin at St. Mary's hospital. Although she said she believed the bible, every scripture I presented to her, she rejected and said, "oh, I don't believe that." I didn't give her my interpretation, I just read the scripture to her.
When I got done with my conversation, Josh was engaged with a man from Russia, Val, and the same two girls. Turns out Val is a believer who seems to be ON FIRE for Jesus. To make a long story short, he wants to get together with us, fellowship with us, and come out with us to open-air preach/street witness. We ended up talking with him for a while and discussed his conversion story, his fleeing from Russia to America, and our vision for the city of Duluth. At this point, we are very encouraged by his zeal and willingness to step into the battle for lost souls.
After a short conversation with two professing christians (one wearing a HOOTERS tank top, the other...well...I'm not sure if she was wearing ANY clothes) who pulled up to talk to us, we ended our conversations and went home.
GOD IS GOOD!
Acts 18:9-10
Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, "Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city."
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Streets May 9, 2008 - THE COPS
FINALLY we got the chance to go out witnessing this week. It has been a hard week on me because MY plans kept being altered because our girls were sick. It's hard to not be selfish when YOU want something so bad. I know God had plans that were WAY more important than mine. Besides, one GREAT thing that happened this week was that Amariah has learned to say "YES" to everything rather than, "yeah", "yep", "mmmhhhhmmm", and whatever other slang we use. If you happen to be around her, WATCH OUT, she'll catch you saying one of those things and call you on it, "don't say 'yep' say yes."
So we went to the Canal Park/Marine Museum yesterday afternoon. This was our first outing to the same area we got booted before. As many of you know, I have done some SERIOUS research into our rights within and/or around that area. The CONCLUSION of the matter can be read in one of the more recent posts.
We arrived around 4pm with our new sign in hand (see pictures). This sign is MUCH larger than the last sign. This sign "weighs" in at 48"W x 51"H. We were a little apprehensive if the sign might break "code" but we figured it was worth a try. We set up about 20feet from were the federal land and city property abuts one another. There were A LOT of people there and it wasn't even really nice out. THAT PLACE WILL BE PACKED THIS SUMMER!
As usual we had many people stopping, looking, and reading from a distance. A group of High School students on their senior trip stopped and talked to us. They were professing believers and seemingly we were able to encourage them with our banner, stories, hats, shirts, and testimonies. I always try to challenge people, esp. teens, to live out their faith to the fullest. Since this was our first time out with this BIG sign, we had no idea what to expect in terms of the wind and wind "push". As we were talking to the students a few "mild" breezes came through and I'm sure I looked like a HUGE idiot trying to keep this thing from falling on all of us. The sign won and I had to set it down while Josh grabbed his homemade base for "better" support. That didn't work either. All in all the sign needs some modifications IF we continue to use that size.
As the students left, one guy who was not with the students, let us know he thought our sign was "#1", although he did that with his middle finger...maybe that's the only finger he had and was really giving us a "thumbs up"...I doubt it!
Now we had the sign in it's base and seemingly thought we were ready to take on the wind. Just then two cop cars pulled up along the Marine Museum and the cops walked inside. We were pretty confident this was going to happen since the federal employee said she would "take the next step" if she saw us out there again. The thing is, I had done my homework and knew EXACTLY where I could and could not stand. In fact I now carry a 3-ring binder on me AT ALL TIMES when out witnessing with laws, court cases, boundary lines, important contact info, and pertinent emails from city officials.
The police came up to us and asked what we were doing. I said, "exercising our rights", which probably wasn't the best choice of words. I think the officer might have thought I was being defiant. Because he seemed to get mad. A few exchanges went on and I said, "yeah we got booted from there before"..again maybe not the best choice of words. The officer, now seemingly annoyed by my "defiance" said, "AND YOU'RE GETTING BOOTED AGAIN".
Now, I don't do real well with people telling me what to do, ESPECIALLY when I KNOW I am right...and in this situation I KNEW I was right. I said, "Why I have all the necessary documents saying I am OK to stay here." They have their six-shooters, I have my 3-ring binder. I pulled it out and let them know I had contacted the city attorney, city engineer, AND THEIR Lt. of Police Dept. I also showed them the aerial photos of city/federal property. Things seemed to change once I showed them I "had done my homework", as one of them explained. One of the officers still seemed to have a problem with our message because people are "offended" by it. The thing is, I KNOW. Jesus IS the "rock of offense". Jesus is the "stumbling block". Jesus said, "the world will hate you because it hated me." The officer didn't see why we would stay out here if we weren't wanted out here. Simple, the best place to be is the place you are not wanted to be....that's the place you NEED to be! They let us know if we went onto federal property that we would be arrested for trespassing. Supposedly the federal employees didn't like us near their property, and therefore will violate us as trespassers if we go on their property. Now I seemed to think they meant EVER, but Josh seemed to think only if we have signs. I plan to do to a little looking into this. It would be discrimination if we were NEVER allowed on their property WITHOUT signs. Doesn't make sense.
The police officers left after giving us a few of their "opinions" on what we should do. One of them must have been a professing believer because he said he thought we were "doing a good deed." After the officers left things seemed to pick up with the people....boy that's a "coincidence". A gentleman engaged me about our sign thinking that works, infant baptism, and going to church saves a person. We discussed these things for close to half-an hour. Although discussing doctrine can be very beneficial, it was pretty clear nether of us were going to budge on what we believed. I said it's by faith and faith alone and this faith produces obedience. He said "we have to do something" in order to be saved. I will NEVER believe our obedience gets us into heaven. Our obedience happens BECAUSE we are saved, not vice-a-versa (I'm obedient then I get saved). I tried to end the conversation with "are you sure you are saved". He said, "no" but also added "no one can know they are saved". I wonder what John would think of that:
1 John 5:13
These things I have written to you who believe in the Son of God, so that you may KNOW you have eternal life.
I don't think the apostle John would agree with this gentleman, therefore I didn't agree with him.
As soon as he left, a young man came up to me who was a STRONG "atheist". We discussed MANY topics and to say the least, it was a VERY frustrating conversation. He literally believed in "nothing". One of the best parts of the conversation was when he said, "you christians think you know absolute truth...there is NO SUCH THING AS ABSOLUTE TRUTH." hmmmmmm, is it just me or isn't he implying that he KNOWS ABSOLUTE TRUTH? His ABSOLUTE TRUTH is that there IS NO ABSOLUTE TRUTH. When it was all said and done, I gave him my email and asked him to contact me for a burger and "beer" sometime. He agreed.
Meanwhile Josh was working his new made hat next to me. It must have caught the attention of a few girls because he was in a discussion with them about many topics, most of which dealt with "humanism" and "relativism". People who believe this basically say, "you can believe what you believe...and it's good for you." That doesn't work though when you apply Hitler, rapist, murderer, etc to that same "faith". The conversation seemed to go good and Josh commented how "difficult" it is to talk with "those types of people". It is hard, BUT I always try to bring it back to God the creator, we are created in His image, our moral conscience, sin, judgment, wrath, repentance, faith, obedience, and ultimately the cross. Sometimes it's best not to debate with people, let the Word of God do the "debating".
It was now 7:45 and time to go. As we were packing up, two young gentleman walked up and asked us if they could read our sign. BINGO! For the next 20 mins or so we were able to discuss God the creator, we are created in His image, our moral conscience, sin, judgment, wrath, repentance, faith, obedience, and ultimately the cross. They seemed to take it in very well, were blown away by God's hate for sin, and they seemed to understand the terms repentance and faith.
It was now 8:15 and I had told my wife I would be home by 8pm. Praise God my wife knows what I'm all about. I heard a preacher once say (paraphrase), "if you want to help people see their need for a savior, you might as well forget about Denny's." Point: sometimes you have to forget about YOUR agenda. Some things are much more important.
I got home, my wife understood. I love my wife!
Proverbs 31:28-31 (The "Proverbs 31" wife)
Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: "Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all." Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
So we went to the Canal Park/Marine Museum yesterday afternoon. This was our first outing to the same area we got booted before. As many of you know, I have done some SERIOUS research into our rights within and/or around that area. The CONCLUSION of the matter can be read in one of the more recent posts.
We arrived around 4pm with our new sign in hand (see pictures). This sign is MUCH larger than the last sign. This sign "weighs" in at 48"W x 51"H. We were a little apprehensive if the sign might break "code" but we figured it was worth a try. We set up about 20feet from were the federal land and city property abuts one another. There were A LOT of people there and it wasn't even really nice out. THAT PLACE WILL BE PACKED THIS SUMMER!
As usual we had many people stopping, looking, and reading from a distance. A group of High School students on their senior trip stopped and talked to us. They were professing believers and seemingly we were able to encourage them with our banner, stories, hats, shirts, and testimonies. I always try to challenge people, esp. teens, to live out their faith to the fullest. Since this was our first time out with this BIG sign, we had no idea what to expect in terms of the wind and wind "push". As we were talking to the students a few "mild" breezes came through and I'm sure I looked like a HUGE idiot trying to keep this thing from falling on all of us. The sign won and I had to set it down while Josh grabbed his homemade base for "better" support. That didn't work either. All in all the sign needs some modifications IF we continue to use that size.
As the students left, one guy who was not with the students, let us know he thought our sign was "#1", although he did that with his middle finger...maybe that's the only finger he had and was really giving us a "thumbs up"...I doubt it!
Now we had the sign in it's base and seemingly thought we were ready to take on the wind. Just then two cop cars pulled up along the Marine Museum and the cops walked inside. We were pretty confident this was going to happen since the federal employee said she would "take the next step" if she saw us out there again. The thing is, I had done my homework and knew EXACTLY where I could and could not stand. In fact I now carry a 3-ring binder on me AT ALL TIMES when out witnessing with laws, court cases, boundary lines, important contact info, and pertinent emails from city officials.
The police came up to us and asked what we were doing. I said, "exercising our rights", which probably wasn't the best choice of words. I think the officer might have thought I was being defiant. Because he seemed to get mad. A few exchanges went on and I said, "yeah we got booted from there before"..again maybe not the best choice of words. The officer, now seemingly annoyed by my "defiance" said, "AND YOU'RE GETTING BOOTED AGAIN".
Now, I don't do real well with people telling me what to do, ESPECIALLY when I KNOW I am right...and in this situation I KNEW I was right. I said, "Why I have all the necessary documents saying I am OK to stay here." They have their six-shooters, I have my 3-ring binder. I pulled it out and let them know I had contacted the city attorney, city engineer, AND THEIR Lt. of Police Dept. I also showed them the aerial photos of city/federal property. Things seemed to change once I showed them I "had done my homework", as one of them explained. One of the officers still seemed to have a problem with our message because people are "offended" by it. The thing is, I KNOW. Jesus IS the "rock of offense". Jesus is the "stumbling block". Jesus said, "the world will hate you because it hated me." The officer didn't see why we would stay out here if we weren't wanted out here. Simple, the best place to be is the place you are not wanted to be....that's the place you NEED to be! They let us know if we went onto federal property that we would be arrested for trespassing. Supposedly the federal employees didn't like us near their property, and therefore will violate us as trespassers if we go on their property. Now I seemed to think they meant EVER, but Josh seemed to think only if we have signs. I plan to do to a little looking into this. It would be discrimination if we were NEVER allowed on their property WITHOUT signs. Doesn't make sense.
The police officers left after giving us a few of their "opinions" on what we should do. One of them must have been a professing believer because he said he thought we were "doing a good deed." After the officers left things seemed to pick up with the people....boy that's a "coincidence". A gentleman engaged me about our sign thinking that works, infant baptism, and going to church saves a person. We discussed these things for close to half-an hour. Although discussing doctrine can be very beneficial, it was pretty clear nether of us were going to budge on what we believed. I said it's by faith and faith alone and this faith produces obedience. He said "we have to do something" in order to be saved. I will NEVER believe our obedience gets us into heaven. Our obedience happens BECAUSE we are saved, not vice-a-versa (I'm obedient then I get saved). I tried to end the conversation with "are you sure you are saved". He said, "no" but also added "no one can know they are saved". I wonder what John would think of that:
1 John 5:13
These things I have written to you who believe in the Son of God, so that you may KNOW you have eternal life.
I don't think the apostle John would agree with this gentleman, therefore I didn't agree with him.
As soon as he left, a young man came up to me who was a STRONG "atheist". We discussed MANY topics and to say the least, it was a VERY frustrating conversation. He literally believed in "nothing". One of the best parts of the conversation was when he said, "you christians think you know absolute truth...there is NO SUCH THING AS ABSOLUTE TRUTH." hmmmmmm, is it just me or isn't he implying that he KNOWS ABSOLUTE TRUTH? His ABSOLUTE TRUTH is that there IS NO ABSOLUTE TRUTH. When it was all said and done, I gave him my email and asked him to contact me for a burger and "beer" sometime. He agreed.
Meanwhile Josh was working his new made hat next to me. It must have caught the attention of a few girls because he was in a discussion with them about many topics, most of which dealt with "humanism" and "relativism". People who believe this basically say, "you can believe what you believe...and it's good for you." That doesn't work though when you apply Hitler, rapist, murderer, etc to that same "faith". The conversation seemed to go good and Josh commented how "difficult" it is to talk with "those types of people". It is hard, BUT I always try to bring it back to God the creator, we are created in His image, our moral conscience, sin, judgment, wrath, repentance, faith, obedience, and ultimately the cross. Sometimes it's best not to debate with people, let the Word of God do the "debating".
It was now 7:45 and time to go. As we were packing up, two young gentleman walked up and asked us if they could read our sign. BINGO! For the next 20 mins or so we were able to discuss God the creator, we are created in His image, our moral conscience, sin, judgment, wrath, repentance, faith, obedience, and ultimately the cross. They seemed to take it in very well, were blown away by God's hate for sin, and they seemed to understand the terms repentance and faith.
It was now 8:15 and I had told my wife I would be home by 8pm. Praise God my wife knows what I'm all about. I heard a preacher once say (paraphrase), "if you want to help people see their need for a savior, you might as well forget about Denny's." Point: sometimes you have to forget about YOUR agenda. Some things are much more important.
I got home, my wife understood. I love my wife!
Proverbs 31:28-31 (The "Proverbs 31" wife)
Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: "Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all." Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Next Time Out
Hey everyone
The schedule is "set" (bar any changes - weather permitting) for this week:
Wednesday: preaching/witnessing at UMD campus (location TBD)
Thursday: preaching/witnessing in evening (3ish - whenever) at Canal Park/Marine Museum
Friday: preaching/witnessing location and time TBD
Saturday: preaching/witnessing TBD (bring the family if down at Canal Park)
We have designed and will be printing out a new banner (wording and style), so that gives us 2 banners to work with when on the streets. We would like to have AT LEAST 2 people per banner and each banner at different locations.
Also, Josh has developed a NEW hat (even better than the last one). YOU GOTTA SEE IT....it swivels!
Hope to see you out there. Either call (590-9462) or email if you can make it...or just show up!
The schedule is "set" (bar any changes - weather permitting) for this week:
Wednesday: preaching/witnessing at UMD campus (location TBD)
Thursday: preaching/witnessing in evening (3ish - whenever) at Canal Park/Marine Museum
Friday: preaching/witnessing location and time TBD
Saturday: preaching/witnessing TBD (bring the family if down at Canal Park)
We have designed and will be printing out a new banner (wording and style), so that gives us 2 banners to work with when on the streets. We would like to have AT LEAST 2 people per banner and each banner at different locations.
Also, Josh has developed a NEW hat (even better than the last one). YOU GOTTA SEE IT....it swivels!
Hope to see you out there. Either call (590-9462) or email if you can make it...or just show up!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
The Resolution: Wednesday April 30, 2008
Well, there has been a resolution in regards to the situation we encountered last Wednesday when we were asked to leave the Canal Park area by a federal employee of the Marine Museum (see last post for details). The last week I have been EXTREMELY busy contacting the City Engineer (basically she develops/lays out the street plans, right-of-ways, property ownership, etc), LT of the Duluth Police Dept., the City Attorney, and a Lawyer from Mount of Olives Baptist Church.
My first personal mission was to locate the City of Duluth Ordinances (found on the website...the internet is down right amazing!). I wanted to find out the exact ordinances for what I wanted to do. I suggest if anyone is planning on going out witnessing in their town, look over your city ordinances so you are familiar with them. I have a copy of the appropriate ones in regards to our purpose. I will carry this with me whenever we go out, just in case.
My first plan of attack with the city was to contact the City Engineer and find out IF the Canal Park/Marine Museum area was indeed Federal Land, off-limits to us. The City Engineer was VERY helpful to me in the past when we were trying to figure out where we could and could not stand in regards to the UMD campus. In fact, I thought it to be almost "weird" how helpful she was in the past.
So when I first contacted her, I explained the situation and asked if she would be willing to let me know exactly where the federal land is located and where the city land is located. I told her I didn't want to break any laws, but I wanted to be proactive for my rights. She said, and I quote, "You are doing more than that....you're spreading the WORD OF GOD. What could be better than that?" My heart about dropped! She's a believer!! The importance of that is HUGE! Everyone and anyone goes to her to determine land ownerships, public right-of-ways, etc. Now, she was not biased in terms of where was legal and/or illegal for us to stand, but it does help that she was FOR our cause and not against it. I knew she wouldn't try selling some "you can't stand there" message because she was NOT a believer. It gave me a sense of confidence to know a believer was working for us. God is so good!
My next step was to contact the Duluth Police Dept. and inquire as to my rights within that area. I sent out an email. The next day I received an email response informing me that my email was forwarded to the Chief of Police. Wow, that's big time! It doesn't get any higher than that! A few hours after receiving that email, I got a call from the LT of the Duluth Police Dept. letting me know he had received my email and is looking into the land ownership etc...VIA THE CITY ENGINEER! Oh really! God is so good!
To make a long story short, the City Engineer was AMAZING. We corresponded over several emails and a few phone calls. She sent me aerial photos of the area, plat book maps showing land ownership, and even contacted the City Attorney and LT of the Police Dept. When it was all said and done, she went above and beyond my expectations. Maybe that is what is required of her by the City, but I can't help to think that just maybe, she did a little extra work for us for the cause of Jesus Christ. God is so good!
We now have aerial maps of the area showing where we can legally stand. In fact, if I had stood only a few feet from my original position, I would have been perfectly legal...which is good. The place where we are going to stand is the BEST place to stand in that park area. It's a funnel that will bring thousands upon thousands of people past our signs, voices, and tracts in the next several months. God is so good!
After determining where I could stand, my next plan of attack was to contact the City Attorney and the LT of police to determine what I could legally do (hold the sign, pass out tracts, open-air preach, etc). When I contacted the City Attorney, he was well aware of who I was because the City Engineer had already contacted him. He went right into what I could and could not do. Instead of giving me legal mumbo jumbo, he spoke very clearly in regards to what my legal rights were. In the end, what we wanted to do is EXACTLY what we CAN do! In terms of our legal right of free-speech, YES, God HAS blessed the USA. God is so good!
I am still waiting on a response from the LT, however in an email I received from him last week, he explained our behavior is well within our legal rights. He also said he determines where we can legally stand based on the City Engineers plans. Oh really! God is so good!
So to say the least, I am VERY CONFIDENT when and if someone approaches me asking me to leave "their" property. I am also very confident if a police officer approaches me asking me to leave. I have all the necessary documents from the City Attorney, City Engineer, and LT of police stating that what I intend to do and where I intend to do it is WELL within my legal rights.
We MUST fight for our rights. Think of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who have fought and died so we can exercise our freedom. We should take advantage of this (with thanksgiving) as a christian. I find myself so mad/shameful at times when I am "scared" to proclaim the gospel. Yet, some 18 yr. old kid is willing to hold his ground FOR HIS COUNTRY AND FELLOW SOLDIERS, while being fired upon by the enemy knowing that he may die doing it. And we think we are "brave" when we pass out a tract!
May God give us the boldness to exercise our free-speech, proclaiming the gospel to a lost and unregenerate nation where persecution is almost non-existent.
Acts 4:29-31
Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus." And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
My first personal mission was to locate the City of Duluth Ordinances (found on the website...the internet is down right amazing!). I wanted to find out the exact ordinances for what I wanted to do. I suggest if anyone is planning on going out witnessing in their town, look over your city ordinances so you are familiar with them. I have a copy of the appropriate ones in regards to our purpose. I will carry this with me whenever we go out, just in case.
My first plan of attack with the city was to contact the City Engineer and find out IF the Canal Park/Marine Museum area was indeed Federal Land, off-limits to us. The City Engineer was VERY helpful to me in the past when we were trying to figure out where we could and could not stand in regards to the UMD campus. In fact, I thought it to be almost "weird" how helpful she was in the past.
So when I first contacted her, I explained the situation and asked if she would be willing to let me know exactly where the federal land is located and where the city land is located. I told her I didn't want to break any laws, but I wanted to be proactive for my rights. She said, and I quote, "You are doing more than that....you're spreading the WORD OF GOD. What could be better than that?" My heart about dropped! She's a believer!! The importance of that is HUGE! Everyone and anyone goes to her to determine land ownerships, public right-of-ways, etc. Now, she was not biased in terms of where was legal and/or illegal for us to stand, but it does help that she was FOR our cause and not against it. I knew she wouldn't try selling some "you can't stand there" message because she was NOT a believer. It gave me a sense of confidence to know a believer was working for us. God is so good!
My next step was to contact the Duluth Police Dept. and inquire as to my rights within that area. I sent out an email. The next day I received an email response informing me that my email was forwarded to the Chief of Police. Wow, that's big time! It doesn't get any higher than that! A few hours after receiving that email, I got a call from the LT of the Duluth Police Dept. letting me know he had received my email and is looking into the land ownership etc...VIA THE CITY ENGINEER! Oh really! God is so good!
To make a long story short, the City Engineer was AMAZING. We corresponded over several emails and a few phone calls. She sent me aerial photos of the area, plat book maps showing land ownership, and even contacted the City Attorney and LT of the Police Dept. When it was all said and done, she went above and beyond my expectations. Maybe that is what is required of her by the City, but I can't help to think that just maybe, she did a little extra work for us for the cause of Jesus Christ. God is so good!
We now have aerial maps of the area showing where we can legally stand. In fact, if I had stood only a few feet from my original position, I would have been perfectly legal...which is good. The place where we are going to stand is the BEST place to stand in that park area. It's a funnel that will bring thousands upon thousands of people past our signs, voices, and tracts in the next several months. God is so good!
After determining where I could stand, my next plan of attack was to contact the City Attorney and the LT of police to determine what I could legally do (hold the sign, pass out tracts, open-air preach, etc). When I contacted the City Attorney, he was well aware of who I was because the City Engineer had already contacted him. He went right into what I could and could not do. Instead of giving me legal mumbo jumbo, he spoke very clearly in regards to what my legal rights were. In the end, what we wanted to do is EXACTLY what we CAN do! In terms of our legal right of free-speech, YES, God HAS blessed the USA. God is so good!
I am still waiting on a response from the LT, however in an email I received from him last week, he explained our behavior is well within our legal rights. He also said he determines where we can legally stand based on the City Engineers plans. Oh really! God is so good!
So to say the least, I am VERY CONFIDENT when and if someone approaches me asking me to leave "their" property. I am also very confident if a police officer approaches me asking me to leave. I have all the necessary documents from the City Attorney, City Engineer, and LT of police stating that what I intend to do and where I intend to do it is WELL within my legal rights.
We MUST fight for our rights. Think of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who have fought and died so we can exercise our freedom. We should take advantage of this (with thanksgiving) as a christian. I find myself so mad/shameful at times when I am "scared" to proclaim the gospel. Yet, some 18 yr. old kid is willing to hold his ground FOR HIS COUNTRY AND FELLOW SOLDIERS, while being fired upon by the enemy knowing that he may die doing it. And we think we are "brave" when we pass out a tract!
May God give us the boldness to exercise our free-speech, proclaiming the gospel to a lost and unregenerate nation where persecution is almost non-existent.
Acts 4:29-31
Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus." And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Street Preaching Wednesday, April 23
Yesterday found us outside enjoying the BEAUTIFUL day the Lord had made! It was sunny, 65 deg with a slight breeze. We started out at our usual location, the Holiday Center Bus Station on Superior St. We were very surprised how few people were on the streets since it was so nice out. Josh busted out his newly made hat, which brought A LOT of attention as we walked into our position. I made mention to him several times that he might have to take it off because it might cause an accident! Drivers had serious rubber neck as they drove by. Josh's hat is a GREAT idea to exalt the name of Christ in such a self-absorbed, sexually-orientated, money-hungry, wicked generation we live in today. The hat is made out of a construction hard hat, with approx 7" x 4" acrylic panels on the front/back/and both sides. It's like a small "walking" billboard! The front says "FEAR GOD". The back: "YOU DESERVE HELL". One side says: BELIEVE JESUS. The other says: "STOP SINNING". It is very impressive looking and many people found themselves reading it as we went by (I can just hear the "seeds" being dispersed!). Nice work Josh.
We stayed at the bus station for a little over an hour with no real conversation from anyone. As always, people found themselves reading the sign, some several times over. But the Lord was not leading anyone to talk to us thus far. Right before we left, we did have a young lady ask if she could take our picture. I asked her what she thought of the sign and she said she disagreed with it. She said she was a born-again christian but that what we were doing was NOT loving. She believes it is better to "show God's love" rather than warn people about the seriousness of Hell and God's Wrath. She said she works inside a store with many unbelieving employers who are turned off by our sign. Basically she said what we were doing was unloving and not working. I have two comments about that: 1. Warning people about their plight before God is the most living thing I can think of. Would it be "unloving" to tell a blind man they are about to fall off a 300 ft. cliff? 2. If what we are doing is "unloving" and "not working", I wonder how she interprets what Jesus said, Paul said, etc. Jesus talked more about Hell than any other New Testament writer! We talked with her for a while trying to explain our "case" before her. We also found out she goes to the Vineyard Church (we are finding most of the people we talk to from this church use the "show God's love" rather than speak God's truth type of evangelism). I think, however, in the end we were able to get through to her to AT LEAST see our way is not incorrect but just not her "style", if there are other "styles".
Being that we were not having many conversations and it was so nice out, we decided to pack up and move to Canal Park by the Marine Museum. I took the sign, and Josh took his hat. He walked around the area for an hour or more while I stood with the sign. I had a few people encourage me, one conversation with a crying drunk who said "I've only had a couple drinks" (that's what they all say!), and a conversation with a "New Testament" christian who believes we MUST be baptized in order to be saved.
As I was talking to the "New Testament" christian (there is an endless # of title's to put before "christians" today...will it ever stop! What about...I'm a BIBLICAL CHRISTIAN! Why can't that stand alone today?). Anyway, as I was talking to the New Testament christian, a park official from the Marine Museum approached me and said I could not be out here with that sign. She said we were soliciting, we were on Federal Land, and that we needed to leave. She was very polite and we asked her several questions. She didn't seem real solid in her stance, but I wasn't solid in my stance against her either, so I informed her we would plan on talking to the Police to see if she was right or if we were right. We talked with an officer at the Duluth Police Dept. who seemed to side with us and our rights to be on the public sidewalk, since we were NOT soliciting by definition. We then went back to the Marine Museum to talk with the lady explaining the conflicting views between her and the Police Dept. She informed us the city workers were "ignorant" of the Federal laws. I explained we were just trying to be proactive about this and making sure what the laws are. She then pulled the "you know if you are christians you are not being very christian-like", or something to that degree. I can ASSURE you, I was very calm, collective, polite, and kind. All I wanted to know is what the Laws were. When I told her I planned on looking further into this matter, her demeanor changed and she seemed to get very "annoyed" and "defensive". She took us to her supervisor, who was not in, but gave us his contact information. I have contacted the Police Dept. and have been informed my questions were being sent to the Chief of Police for further "investigation". Chief of Police, WOW, that's BIG TIME!
So to say the least, it was another "exciting" day on the streets. Some might think it would be best to just leave the area and not try to "contend" for our rights. Some might think our actions to speak up and try to "force the issue" might be a stumbling block to the Federal Employee or others. I disagree with this. First off, I am to obey my authorities IF they are in the right. If my rights are being violated, then I want to fight for my rights. Think of the hundreds of thousands of men and women who have died to preserve our rights. I want to be proactive for my rights SO I CAN BE PROACTIVE FOR THE GOSPEL. Satan will do whatever he can to prevent the Gospel from going forth. If the law says I cannot be down in that area, I will abide by that. But, if I am in my right to be there but the Marine Museum would rather me not, I will chose to focus on my rights. The area we are at is a HUGE tourist area, with many hundreds of thousands of people filtering through their during the summer.
Please keep this situation in prayer. I think we as christians would want this area to be accessible to us to share the Gospel with the multitudes.
Act 4:17-20
"But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name [Jesus]." So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard."
We stayed at the bus station for a little over an hour with no real conversation from anyone. As always, people found themselves reading the sign, some several times over. But the Lord was not leading anyone to talk to us thus far. Right before we left, we did have a young lady ask if she could take our picture. I asked her what she thought of the sign and she said she disagreed with it. She said she was a born-again christian but that what we were doing was NOT loving. She believes it is better to "show God's love" rather than warn people about the seriousness of Hell and God's Wrath. She said she works inside a store with many unbelieving employers who are turned off by our sign. Basically she said what we were doing was unloving and not working. I have two comments about that: 1. Warning people about their plight before God is the most living thing I can think of. Would it be "unloving" to tell a blind man they are about to fall off a 300 ft. cliff? 2. If what we are doing is "unloving" and "not working", I wonder how she interprets what Jesus said, Paul said, etc. Jesus talked more about Hell than any other New Testament writer! We talked with her for a while trying to explain our "case" before her. We also found out she goes to the Vineyard Church (we are finding most of the people we talk to from this church use the "show God's love" rather than speak God's truth type of evangelism). I think, however, in the end we were able to get through to her to AT LEAST see our way is not incorrect but just not her "style", if there are other "styles".
Being that we were not having many conversations and it was so nice out, we decided to pack up and move to Canal Park by the Marine Museum. I took the sign, and Josh took his hat. He walked around the area for an hour or more while I stood with the sign. I had a few people encourage me, one conversation with a crying drunk who said "I've only had a couple drinks" (that's what they all say!), and a conversation with a "New Testament" christian who believes we MUST be baptized in order to be saved.
As I was talking to the "New Testament" christian (there is an endless # of title's to put before "christians" today...will it ever stop! What about...I'm a BIBLICAL CHRISTIAN! Why can't that stand alone today?). Anyway, as I was talking to the New Testament christian, a park official from the Marine Museum approached me and said I could not be out here with that sign. She said we were soliciting, we were on Federal Land, and that we needed to leave. She was very polite and we asked her several questions. She didn't seem real solid in her stance, but I wasn't solid in my stance against her either, so I informed her we would plan on talking to the Police to see if she was right or if we were right. We talked with an officer at the Duluth Police Dept. who seemed to side with us and our rights to be on the public sidewalk, since we were NOT soliciting by definition. We then went back to the Marine Museum to talk with the lady explaining the conflicting views between her and the Police Dept. She informed us the city workers were "ignorant" of the Federal laws. I explained we were just trying to be proactive about this and making sure what the laws are. She then pulled the "you know if you are christians you are not being very christian-like", or something to that degree. I can ASSURE you, I was very calm, collective, polite, and kind. All I wanted to know is what the Laws were. When I told her I planned on looking further into this matter, her demeanor changed and she seemed to get very "annoyed" and "defensive". She took us to her supervisor, who was not in, but gave us his contact information. I have contacted the Police Dept. and have been informed my questions were being sent to the Chief of Police for further "investigation". Chief of Police, WOW, that's BIG TIME!
So to say the least, it was another "exciting" day on the streets. Some might think it would be best to just leave the area and not try to "contend" for our rights. Some might think our actions to speak up and try to "force the issue" might be a stumbling block to the Federal Employee or others. I disagree with this. First off, I am to obey my authorities IF they are in the right. If my rights are being violated, then I want to fight for my rights. Think of the hundreds of thousands of men and women who have died to preserve our rights. I want to be proactive for my rights SO I CAN BE PROACTIVE FOR THE GOSPEL. Satan will do whatever he can to prevent the Gospel from going forth. If the law says I cannot be down in that area, I will abide by that. But, if I am in my right to be there but the Marine Museum would rather me not, I will chose to focus on my rights. The area we are at is a HUGE tourist area, with many hundreds of thousands of people filtering through their during the summer.
Please keep this situation in prayer. I think we as christians would want this area to be accessible to us to share the Gospel with the multitudes.
Act 4:17-20
"But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name [Jesus]." So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard."
Monday, April 21, 2008
Street Preaching Friday April 18, 2008
SYesterday we had three of us out (Steve, Josh, and Erik Larson). The day started with me trying to talk to a self-proclaimed "satanist", to say the least, the conversation didn't last long he wanted no part of me or what I believed. I asked him why he was a "satanist", and he said, "Because God has never done anything to me and satan has done a lot". WOW...that was probably one of the best answers I've gotten from someone when I asked them why they believe what they believe. However, he was in no mood to talk, and so I left him alone against the wall (about 15 feet from us). Throughout the day we had approx. 12 conversations or encounters with people about our sign. Some were lengthy discussions, others were very short. However, two really stood out to me as GREAT conversations (this might be biased because they were "my" conversations).
Josh stepped out in faith to talk to a gentleman who "seemed" interested in our sign. Josh walked over to him and I heard a small dialogue between them. From my perspective Josh had a very confused look on his face and at one time attempted to call me over but the gentleman declined me coming over. After a few short minutes, Josh walked back to our area with a strange look on his face. Before he could tell me what the guy said, the guy came over and said one of the weirdest, demonic things I've ever heard come from someones mouth. I know you are probably interested in what it was, but for the sake of our ears, I'll spare you...let me just say I have NEVER heard such a comment come from someones mouth, nor do I think I ever will. IT WAS WEIRD! Praise God for Josh's boldness!
We talked to a couple we had encountered the day before. We asked if they did any thinking about what we discussed with them . They said they had and even humorously said they would be willing to hold our sign for us. I actually might take them up on the offer. I even made mention to pay them to hold the sign....imagine the conversations they will hear, how many times they will hear the gospel, if they hold the sign for a few hours for $20! I'm sure we'll see them again.
One couple came up to Erik and asked if we had any bibles they could have, without hesitation Erik gave them his bible (eventually we spared Erik's bible and gave them one of Josh's).
A word of encouragement/exhortation/suggestion: Just because someone says they like your sign, "God bless", "keep up the good work", "I'm a christian"...etc, DOES NOT MEAN YOU SHOULD ASSUME THEY ARE A CHRISTIAN. What I mean is this. We have many people throughout the day who will commend us for spreading the word, "preaching", etc. However, at times I think "oh, they are a christian, I probable don't need to talk to them". We need to talk to these people too. According to Jesus, "Many will say to me on that day 'Lord, Lord' and I'll say to them, 'Depart from Me, I NEVER knew you". My point: don't just assume someone is a christian because they tell you they are. Talk to them. Ask them about the sign, ask them when they got "saved" and "how did that happen", ask them how their "walk with the Lord" is doing, ask them if they need any prayer, etc. A little "prodding" and there will be times you will find that the person is just a self-professing christian with no "fruit" to accompany their proclamation. They are deceived and therefore need to repent and believe just like an "unbeliever".
An example of the above happened yesterday when a girl approached us, thanked us for being out there, said she like her sign, and adamantly said she was a born-again christian, "been one my whole life". She left and later walked by us again, so I approached her again because we suspected she wasn't a christian. As I talked to her for the next half-hour or so, I learned she has been addicted to drugs (on and off) her whole life, her mother (who she told us was a "strong" christian) was an alcoholic and drug-addict, and she admitted to me that if she died today she would go to hell. Now that doesn't fit her earlier statements of being a "born-again" christian. I really tried to be honest with her letting her know I was concerned for and her salvation. I didn't tell her she wasn't saved, but I let her know in so many FIRM words that I have no assurance that she IS saved. Be honest with people...it's called loving your neighbor as yourself. I prayed with her, got her contact information so Tina could call her, and went back to my "sign guys".
The "sign guys" were talking with a Dad and his daughter who were both christians. All of us were very encouraged by talking with this man. In fact, he stayed with us, talked to people, for several hours. So much so that he got a parking ticked because his meter ran out! He lives in Ladysmith, WI and connected with one guy he talked to. He will be staying on contact with that gentleman, and I think Erik too. PRAISE GOD!
As we were packing up to leave and walking away, a group of about 5 girls stopped us and said, "hey what's that sign mean"...i thought, "are you kidding me, that's the second best question a person can ask you (#1 is 'why do you believe in God'), this sign thing is AWESOME!"....i said to them, "why don't you tell me what it says to you"...not much was said by them but one of them said something about "how can anyone know God since on one as seen him"...just then in the back of the group was a little, tiny girl (maybe 20ish yrs old) with 2 lip rings, dyed hair, and (would you believe it) a self-proclaimed SATANIST..she said (rather loudly) "how can you prove there is a God if you can't see him"....i thought, "i'm really beginning to like these satanists!", so I started in with the creation/creator, miracle of life, my testimony, and our moral conscience of right and wrong. It actually started to get a little heated because she ADAMANTLY hated God because, according to her, she was "raped, molested, and abused" by her father yet when she prayed to God that he would stop, he never did. She assumed there wasn't a God, or at least if there was one she hated him for not answering her prayer. She said she hated God for it and hated her father for it. Now understand this, I am not into sugar-coating things nor am I trying to "be nice" for the sake of being nice. I care about one thing: telling this girl the truth whether she likes it or not. Now of course we do this out of love for God and love for people and we do this in as loving way as possible AND we all might have different ideas about what "a loving way" is. So I said to her...."I'm sorry your dad did that to you, that's terrible, BUT that is a really selfish thing for you to do. You hate God because he seemingly didn't answer your prayer? You were asking God to take care of you for selfish reasons, AND since He didn't, you chose not to believe in Him and/or hate Him for it? How about the fact that he has given you life, the world to look at, the very eyes to see, nose to smell, tongue to talk and taste...and the list can go on. You see, you hated God before God didn't answer that prayer. You hated Him because he chose to reject Him from the very beginning. The bible says we know God exists by the simple creation (universe, earth, people, etc) YET we reject Him none-the-less. Even if God would have made your father stop doing those things, you still would have found other reasons to reject God (i remember listing some reasons)...I then told her this, "remember what your dad did to you when you were younger. he had a craving for sex and took it out on you. now here you are dancing naked in front of a bunch of men all for the money. they can't touch you. they want to but they can't. you flaunt yourself in front of them, rub yourself on them, and do anything and everything that you can to turn them on only so they will give you money. did you ever think that just maybe you are throwing full on a fire"..she said, "what do you mean".. i said, "do you think that just maybe some of these guys go home, all turned on wanting sex but couldn't get it from you, they are going to release that tension one way or another..i guarantee it. so they go home with a 'heated-fire' continued to burn (maybe even greater) by you and then do the same thing your dad did to you? did you ever ONCE think about those girls when you were trying to turn these guys on for money? did you ever think that maybe just ONCE the money you made that night was money used to get turned on, go home, and molest/rape someone?"...IT'S HARD BUT IT'S THE TRUTH! We live in a wicked, wicked, world. Sin is everywhere and we NEED to confront it head on. Call sin what sin is...DISGUSTING and an Abhorrence to God!
At this point her friends had left and it was just her and I. She seemed to understand what I was saying and said..."i'm not a good person...no one is...i'm a stripper!"...i said, "that contradicts what you said earlier (earlier she said she didn't think there was a "right" and "wrong" or a "good and "bad"), why would you call yourself "bad" if you don't think anything can be bad or good"...she said, "things are only 'bad' or 'good' if you think they are...i said, "so your father thought it was good to rape/molest a girl between 3-14, was he right?"...she didn't answer...i said "OF COURSE NOT, no one thinks raping/molesting a kid is ok. ma'am i am really sorry what your dad did to you, but the least of your worries should be about your dad and what he did. You are not a bad person because you are a stripper, you are a bad person because you've rejected God over and over again. You are an enemy of God and God is your enemy."...she, just like the other satanist, started asking some REALLY GOOD QUESTIONS. We basically went from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22. I'm telling you people, don't' be afraid to be hard, firm, direct, and to the point. I always hear people say, "I wish people would just be honest with me, I hate when they sugar-coat things"...YEAH..."treat your neighbor as you would yourself!" I want people to be direct and honest with me (if what they say makes sense and it's not just their opinion with no factual evidence), so I try to do the same (it's not always easy but I find people are way more receptive to talking if you are just honest, people can see a phony from miles away!). As we continued to talk I asked her this question, "since I've been talking to you about God, your sin, His wrath, His judgment to come, your destination if you died today, etc, are you the least bit concerned IF what I say is true?"...she said, "yes"...AAAAHHHH BINGO...I then said, "do you think God would just create all people just to send them to hell?....she said, "no"...neither do I because the Bible tells me so"...I then shared with her the story of Jesus. I wish you all could have been there when I read John 3:16 to her, "FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHALL NOT PERISH BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE". As I quoted that scripture to her I looked her right in the eye. For the first time in our conversation, I saw something in her. SHE WAS LISTENING! Her eyes began to well up, she took a deep swallow (the kind you take to keep from crying)...I read that verse over and over again (probably 3-4 times)...and continued with the FULL gospel message. She never cried, but I saw it in her. She heard, I believe, for the first time...THE GOSPEL! It was amazing. We went from being heated to being cordial. She was honest. I was honest. I asked her if she had any questions..she said "no". I let her know that I would do ANYTHING to help her out within my power BUT I was sure to give her mine and tina's name, and she gave us her name and number. We shook hands and went our separate ways. I called Tina and gave Tina the girl's contact information. Tina called her cell phone and left a message. Please pray for her, her name is Nicole.
As we were leaving and walking up the hill, we ran into one more guy. His name is Scott. At first I thought he was being sincere. He talked to Erik for a while and then just broke down crying, about his wife, kids, job, life, drinking, etc. He said he wanted to get on his knees and pray, which at first I thought was a good idea. But as we knelt down, I smelt alcohol like never before. In fact, even today I still get a whiff of it in my nose...it makes me sick. Before we knelt down I did not think the guy was drunk, BUT HE WAS. We decided not to pray with him because I felt he, just like Nicole, wanted God to make his life better (fix the marriage, get the kids back, stop the drinking, etc). This may sound harsh but God is not interested in how your personal affairs are going IF you are not a christian. All God cares about IF you are not a christian is IF you will repent and believe to become a christian. And if you do, there is NO GUARANTEE your life is going to get "better" as you see it. We could have prayed with him (and maybe we should have) but what if God didn't "fix" those things and now we might have a guy who "hates God" because God didn't make "his life all better"? Erik suggested we get the guys contact info, write him a letter, and meet up with him when he is sober. VERY GOOD WISDOM, ERIK!
So that was Day 2! Another day on the streets of Duluth, MN.
Josh stepped out in faith to talk to a gentleman who "seemed" interested in our sign. Josh walked over to him and I heard a small dialogue between them. From my perspective Josh had a very confused look on his face and at one time attempted to call me over but the gentleman declined me coming over. After a few short minutes, Josh walked back to our area with a strange look on his face. Before he could tell me what the guy said, the guy came over and said one of the weirdest, demonic things I've ever heard come from someones mouth. I know you are probably interested in what it was, but for the sake of our ears, I'll spare you...let me just say I have NEVER heard such a comment come from someones mouth, nor do I think I ever will. IT WAS WEIRD! Praise God for Josh's boldness!
We talked to a couple we had encountered the day before. We asked if they did any thinking about what we discussed with them . They said they had and even humorously said they would be willing to hold our sign for us. I actually might take them up on the offer. I even made mention to pay them to hold the sign....imagine the conversations they will hear, how many times they will hear the gospel, if they hold the sign for a few hours for $20! I'm sure we'll see them again.
One couple came up to Erik and asked if we had any bibles they could have, without hesitation Erik gave them his bible (eventually we spared Erik's bible and gave them one of Josh's).
A word of encouragement/exhortation/suggestion: Just because someone says they like your sign, "God bless", "keep up the good work", "I'm a christian"...etc, DOES NOT MEAN YOU SHOULD ASSUME THEY ARE A CHRISTIAN. What I mean is this. We have many people throughout the day who will commend us for spreading the word, "preaching", etc. However, at times I think "oh, they are a christian, I probable don't need to talk to them". We need to talk to these people too. According to Jesus, "Many will say to me on that day 'Lord, Lord' and I'll say to them, 'Depart from Me, I NEVER knew you". My point: don't just assume someone is a christian because they tell you they are. Talk to them. Ask them about the sign, ask them when they got "saved" and "how did that happen", ask them how their "walk with the Lord" is doing, ask them if they need any prayer, etc. A little "prodding" and there will be times you will find that the person is just a self-professing christian with no "fruit" to accompany their proclamation. They are deceived and therefore need to repent and believe just like an "unbeliever".
An example of the above happened yesterday when a girl approached us, thanked us for being out there, said she like her sign, and adamantly said she was a born-again christian, "been one my whole life". She left and later walked by us again, so I approached her again because we suspected she wasn't a christian. As I talked to her for the next half-hour or so, I learned she has been addicted to drugs (on and off) her whole life, her mother (who she told us was a "strong" christian) was an alcoholic and drug-addict, and she admitted to me that if she died today she would go to hell. Now that doesn't fit her earlier statements of being a "born-again" christian. I really tried to be honest with her letting her know I was concerned for and her salvation. I didn't tell her she wasn't saved, but I let her know in so many FIRM words that I have no assurance that she IS saved. Be honest with people...it's called loving your neighbor as yourself. I prayed with her, got her contact information so Tina could call her, and went back to my "sign guys".
The "sign guys" were talking with a Dad and his daughter who were both christians. All of us were very encouraged by talking with this man. In fact, he stayed with us, talked to people, for several hours. So much so that he got a parking ticked because his meter ran out! He lives in Ladysmith, WI and connected with one guy he talked to. He will be staying on contact with that gentleman, and I think Erik too. PRAISE GOD!
Now, remember the self-proclaimed "satan-worshipper" I tried to talk to earlier in the day? Well, he never left the wall (about 15 ft. away from us) for over an hour. He just sat there (within listening distance sometimes but FOR SURE within the distance of reading the sign over and over again). I only gave him an occasional thought as I saw him standing over by the wall. We were approached by 2 guys who passed out some "rave" fliers to us. As we were talking to them, the "satanist" came into our circle and said (with his mohawk), "Yeah, I've got a question for you....how come YOU believe there IS a God?".....BINGO! Now, what better question can someone ask you...EVER! At this point I was like a kid in a candy store. I thought, "did he really just ask me that question", "is this the same guy who over an hour ago told me to 'bug off' and now he is SINCERELY asking me 'why do you believe in God'?, to say the least, I WAS PUMPED! I engaged in conversation with him about the creation/creator (God), the miracle of life, healing, etc, my testimony, and our moral conscience of knowing right from wrong. I think I could write a book about this conversation because we covered everything from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22! HE KEPT ASKING QUESTIONS. He wasn't rude, he wasn't being sarcastic, he was just being sincere. I listened to his beliefs and he listened to mine. At one point I told him, "you know you are a hypocrite", he said, "why is that"..i said "because you call yourself a satanist but you do not believe the bible"..he said, "yeah"...i said, "the only reason you know anything about "satan" is FROM THE BIBLE and the bible says satan came to kill, steal, and destroy, why aren't you trying to kill me?"...he said, "well i don't believe all the bible nor do I believe all the satanic bible"....AH HA (I thought) he's doubting his "faith"...I said "well why would you be a professing satanist IF you don't COMPLETELY believe the book that confirms your god's existence"...he didn't have an answer. Don't be afraid to challenge people's way of thinking, reasoning, etc. Often times I like to try to get the person to doubt what and why they believe what they believe. If you can get someone to doubt what they believe, you can often times get them to AT LEAST consider what you believe (the very fact that you are so confident about your belief, will give them doubts about their lack of faith in what they believe). So the conversation went on and on and on. He kept saying, "I have one more question" about 10 times! IT WAS GREAT. He had a lot of great questions and hopefully I was able to give him the BIBLICAL answers. When it was all said and done, WE BOTH thanked each other for a great conversation and he admitted he "really learned a lot from" me. We exchanged contact information and I plan on emailing him very soon. His name is Tim, please pray for him.
As the day went on, we had a gentleman come up to us who in the end, was a born-again christian. HE WAS SUPER ENCOURAGED BY US, as we were by him as we talked with him. He wants to fellowship with us, do bible-study with us, and come out on the streets with us. He is on fire for the Lord and wants to be around other christians who have the same passion. His name is Vincent, please pray for him and us.
As we were packing up to leave and walking away, a group of about 5 girls stopped us and said, "hey what's that sign mean"...i thought, "are you kidding me, that's the second best question a person can ask you (#1 is 'why do you believe in God'), this sign thing is AWESOME!"....i said to them, "why don't you tell me what it says to you"...not much was said by them but one of them said something about "how can anyone know God since on one as seen him"...just then in the back of the group was a little, tiny girl (maybe 20ish yrs old) with 2 lip rings, dyed hair, and (would you believe it) a self-proclaimed SATANIST..she said (rather loudly) "how can you prove there is a God if you can't see him"....i thought, "i'm really beginning to like these satanists!", so I started in with the creation/creator, miracle of life, my testimony, and our moral conscience of right and wrong. It actually started to get a little heated because she ADAMANTLY hated God because, according to her, she was "raped, molested, and abused" by her father yet when she prayed to God that he would stop, he never did. She assumed there wasn't a God, or at least if there was one she hated him for not answering her prayer. She said she hated God for it and hated her father for it. Now understand this, I am not into sugar-coating things nor am I trying to "be nice" for the sake of being nice. I care about one thing: telling this girl the truth whether she likes it or not. Now of course we do this out of love for God and love for people and we do this in as loving way as possible AND we all might have different ideas about what "a loving way" is. So I said to her...."I'm sorry your dad did that to you, that's terrible, BUT that is a really selfish thing for you to do. You hate God because he seemingly didn't answer your prayer? You were asking God to take care of you for selfish reasons, AND since He didn't, you chose not to believe in Him and/or hate Him for it? How about the fact that he has given you life, the world to look at, the very eyes to see, nose to smell, tongue to talk and taste...and the list can go on. You see, you hated God before God didn't answer that prayer. You hated Him because he chose to reject Him from the very beginning. The bible says we know God exists by the simple creation (universe, earth, people, etc) YET we reject Him none-the-less. Even if God would have made your father stop doing those things, you still would have found other reasons to reject God (i remember listing some reasons)...I then told her this, "remember what your dad did to you when you were younger. he had a craving for sex and took it out on you. now here you are dancing naked in front of a bunch of men all for the money. they can't touch you. they want to but they can't. you flaunt yourself in front of them, rub yourself on them, and do anything and everything that you can to turn them on only so they will give you money. did you ever think that just maybe you are throwing full on a fire"..she said, "what do you mean".. i said, "do you think that just maybe some of these guys go home, all turned on wanting sex but couldn't get it from you, they are going to release that tension one way or another..i guarantee it. so they go home with a 'heated-fire' continued to burn (maybe even greater) by you and then do the same thing your dad did to you? did you ever ONCE think about those girls when you were trying to turn these guys on for money? did you ever think that maybe just ONCE the money you made that night was money used to get turned on, go home, and molest/rape someone?"...IT'S HARD BUT IT'S THE TRUTH! We live in a wicked, wicked, world. Sin is everywhere and we NEED to confront it head on. Call sin what sin is...DISGUSTING and an Abhorrence to God!
At this point her friends had left and it was just her and I. She seemed to understand what I was saying and said..."i'm not a good person...no one is...i'm a stripper!"...i said, "that contradicts what you said earlier (earlier she said she didn't think there was a "right" and "wrong" or a "good and "bad"), why would you call yourself "bad" if you don't think anything can be bad or good"...she said, "things are only 'bad' or 'good' if you think they are...i said, "so your father thought it was good to rape/molest a girl between 3-14, was he right?"...she didn't answer...i said "OF COURSE NOT, no one thinks raping/molesting a kid is ok. ma'am i am really sorry what your dad did to you, but the least of your worries should be about your dad and what he did. You are not a bad person because you are a stripper, you are a bad person because you've rejected God over and over again. You are an enemy of God and God is your enemy."...she, just like the other satanist, started asking some REALLY GOOD QUESTIONS. We basically went from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22. I'm telling you people, don't' be afraid to be hard, firm, direct, and to the point. I always hear people say, "I wish people would just be honest with me, I hate when they sugar-coat things"...YEAH..."treat your neighbor as you would yourself!" I want people to be direct and honest with me (if what they say makes sense and it's not just their opinion with no factual evidence), so I try to do the same (it's not always easy but I find people are way more receptive to talking if you are just honest, people can see a phony from miles away!). As we continued to talk I asked her this question, "since I've been talking to you about God, your sin, His wrath, His judgment to come, your destination if you died today, etc, are you the least bit concerned IF what I say is true?"...she said, "yes"...AAAAHHHH BINGO...I then said, "do you think God would just create all people just to send them to hell?....she said, "no"...neither do I because the Bible tells me so"...I then shared with her the story of Jesus. I wish you all could have been there when I read John 3:16 to her, "FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHALL NOT PERISH BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE". As I quoted that scripture to her I looked her right in the eye. For the first time in our conversation, I saw something in her. SHE WAS LISTENING! Her eyes began to well up, she took a deep swallow (the kind you take to keep from crying)...I read that verse over and over again (probably 3-4 times)...and continued with the FULL gospel message. She never cried, but I saw it in her. She heard, I believe, for the first time...THE GOSPEL! It was amazing. We went from being heated to being cordial. She was honest. I was honest. I asked her if she had any questions..she said "no". I let her know that I would do ANYTHING to help her out within my power BUT I was sure to give her mine and tina's name, and she gave us her name and number. We shook hands and went our separate ways. I called Tina and gave Tina the girl's contact information. Tina called her cell phone and left a message. Please pray for her, her name is Nicole.
As we were leaving and walking up the hill, we ran into one more guy. His name is Scott. At first I thought he was being sincere. He talked to Erik for a while and then just broke down crying, about his wife, kids, job, life, drinking, etc. He said he wanted to get on his knees and pray, which at first I thought was a good idea. But as we knelt down, I smelt alcohol like never before. In fact, even today I still get a whiff of it in my nose...it makes me sick. Before we knelt down I did not think the guy was drunk, BUT HE WAS. We decided not to pray with him because I felt he, just like Nicole, wanted God to make his life better (fix the marriage, get the kids back, stop the drinking, etc). This may sound harsh but God is not interested in how your personal affairs are going IF you are not a christian. All God cares about IF you are not a christian is IF you will repent and believe to become a christian. And if you do, there is NO GUARANTEE your life is going to get "better" as you see it. We could have prayed with him (and maybe we should have) but what if God didn't "fix" those things and now we might have a guy who "hates God" because God didn't make "his life all better"? Erik suggested we get the guys contact info, write him a letter, and meet up with him when he is sober. VERY GOOD WISDOM, ERIK!
So that was Day 2! Another day on the streets of Duluth, MN.
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