On Saturday night, I had the privilege of going witnessing at the Frisco Rough Riders game with a group of over 25 people. We teamed up with a group from Gospel For Asia who are on fire for the Lord. In addition to them, I had my two sons, and my friend Brian and his two sons. For 90 minutes before the game we handed out tracts and had one on one conversations with people.
I brought my Lie Detector from Living Waters. This is an excellent new resource that they have provided. The box has two magnets inside. On the front it says “Lie Detector Are you a good person? Yes No” You hand the person a magnetic wand and they try to point to yes, but the magnet repels them from the yes and forces a NO! I had so much fun using this to witness to people. If you get one, I highly recommend having some Are You a Good Person or Good Card tracts to hand out to the people who take the test and even those that don’t.
We had some wonderful one on one conversations with people that were started up by using the lie detector. What seemed to work really well was to walk up to a group of people, get several of them to do the lie detector and then have a group discussion with them. In one case a couple and their sons got to over hear the conversation that I had with a group of four teens even though that had returned the tracts we’d given them. Praise God that they got to hear the Gospel anyway!
The group from GFA was encouraged to be able to share the Gospel with us. For many of them it was their first time out evangelizing. I’m expecting they will be joining us again in the near future for additional events!
I was able to put out 87 more door hangars this afternoon in Carrollton. Please pray that people will be touched by the message of the Gospel that they find on their door this evening.
It is interesting to notice that since switching to using door hangars, it seems like almost no one is home. Out of 87 houses, it only seemed like about five or so people were even around. This is just from noticing that houses were dark inside. There were a couple of people outside and I managed to talk with them briefly.
I was listening to Mark Cahill’s message Hey Stranger yesterday while driving in my car. Mark cites statistics from Jon Speed’s book Evangelism in the New Testament and then gives real examples of how sharing the Gospel with strangers has been a blessing to him. Not only was his own personal salvation related to strangers talking to him and giving him tracts, but he named countless times when strangers he witnessed too would come back to him and later and say that he shared the Gospel with them six months or a year before. Most of those cases, the person would remember the exact day, time and location of their encounter. And most, we extremely thankful for the encounter. A couple of things that Mark pointed out really stood out to me.
First, everyone that we know was at one point a stranger. All of our friends were at one point in time strangers to us. Even our spouse was at one point a strange to us. Every single relationship we had started out as two strangers. It all starts with someone taking the first step in talking to the other person.
Second, it is not about whether we are being effective in our efforts, but whether we are being Biblical. He quotes an unnamed “famous” pastor (and I don’t have the exact quote written down since I was driving my car and unable to take notes) saying essentially that we need to “earn the right” to share our faith with someone by developing a relationship with someone over time. Mark goes on to describe how he has asked people that have this mentality how long that takes. Six months? A year? The problem is that that approach is not Biblical. And the reality is that it is much easier to share the Gospel with a stranger than it is with a friend anyway. As Mark put it, “we don’t have to earn the right to share the Gospel. We have the right.” In fact, we are commanded by Jesus himself to do it!
Third, if a person really knows Jesus, they will talk about him. Look at what Jesus says in Matthew 12:34, “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” If Jesus is the most important thing in a persons life, they will talk about him. People talk about the weather, their jobs, their families, their favorite sports teams. If Jesus is more important than all of these, then they will talk about him.
One final thing, I took from the message. In the closing prayer Mark, says “Let’s not have 2010 Christianity, let’s have Biblical Christianity.”
I encourage you to listen to the message yourself. Then go share your faith with someone. The message is the first resource listed on his free audio downloads page.
As I was driving, I felt the urge to share the Gospel with someone. So I stopped at RaceTrac to refill my free drink cup. When I got out of my car, one of the managers of the store was standing nearby smoking a cigarette. I grabbed a stack of tracts, headed over to him and said, “did you get one of these?” He looked at it and I added, “it has a Gospel message on the back.” He said thanks and started to read the card. I went inside and refilled my drink. As I went back out, he was still there. So I asked him what he thought of the card.
He said that it was really interesting because the card had the same verse that his pastor had preached on the previous week. So we talked for a few minutes and got to know each other. I asked him how he got saved and he told me. So I asked if he ever shares his faith. NO! He then explained the exact reasons that Mark was talking about in his message. I encouraged him to share his faith with others because they might not have tomorrow. Then I gave him a copy of Ray Comfort’s book God Has a Wonderful Plan for your Life. I encouraged him to read the book and then pass it on to his pastor.
Barna recently released an article titled “Do American’s Change Faiths” in which they examined a survey response of approximately 2000 respondents to determine if Americans change faiths or if they maintain the faith of their childhood. This is interesting to consider for a couple of reasons.
First, as we are sharing the Gospel sometimes the objection that we here is something like “you are a Christian because you were raised as a Christian and I am am Muslim (Hindu, etc) because I was raised that way).” For the Christian, this is not really a valid argument. Being born in a Christian home does not make one a Christian. Being born in a garage does not make you a car and being born in a Christian home does not make you a Christian. Jesus said that a man must be born again (John 3) and this is done by repenting of sin and trusting the Gospel (Mark 1:15).
Second, since we engage in evangelism the question becomes do people really change faiths from hearing the message? According to the article:
Among those who were shifting toward Christianity, the most common motivations were going through difficult life events (such as divorce, a health crisis or death of a loved one); getting older and seeing life differently; wanting to connect with a church and grow spiritually; discovering Christ; or wanting to know what was in the Bible.
I believe this is where the problem lies. I would submit that none of these are the reason to change faiths. Don’t get me wrong. Christ and the church can provide comfort in difficult times and there is nothing wrong with wanting to connect and grow spiritually or knowing more about the Bible. But, the real reason to turn to Christ (and be called a Christian) is when one recognizes that they have sinned against a Holy God and deserve only His wrath for all eternity.
The Bible says that a day is coming when each man will be judged for his own deeds. Hebrews 9:27 puts it this way “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment”. We know from the scripture that this judgment is based on the Ten Commandments. Give yourself a quick test to see how you will do. Answer yes or no to each of the following questions:
Have you ever had a god before the true God of the Bible?
Have you ever bowed down to an idol? This might be as obvious as worshiping an idol carved of wood, or it might be putting your job, car or house before God.
Have you ever used God’s name or Jesus’ name as a curse word or in any irreverent way? This is called blasphemy and is a very serious offense.
Have you ever failed to keep the sabbath, or not set aside time to worship God?
Have you ever dishonored your mom or dad either to their face, or by giving them a bad name by your actions?
Have you ever murdered anyone? Before you answer consider Jesus’ words in Matthew 5 that says that if you even hate someone or call them a fool you are already guilty of the judgment. Have you ever hated someone or called them a fool?
Have you ever committed adultery (had sex wth someone you were not married too)? Again before you answer, consider the words of Jesus in Matthew 5 that say if you even look with lust that you have already committed adultery in the heart. Have you done that?
Have you every stolen anything?
Have you ever lied?
Have you ever coveted (desired) something that belonged to someone else?
How did you do? Ten simple questions. Did you get 10 no’s? If so, please go over the list again? The Bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The truth is that every person has broken every one of these commandments in thought, word, or deed. God is perfectly good and just. He must punish sin. God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man to die in the place of sinners. Jesus never broke God’s law. He claimed to be equal with God, and to have power to forgive sin. He claimed to know all things. He said of Himself, “I have power to lay down My life (crucified), and power to take it up again (resurrected).” Jesus died in the place of sinners, and was raised to life on the third day. It was not the price that was paid that satisfies God, but the worth of the One who paid the price: Jesus Christ, the Son of God. God commands you to repent, and to place your faith in the indescribable gift of Jesus alone, that you may not be condemned, but have eternal life. (Mark 1:15, Acts 17:30, John 3:16)
Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he whoconfesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.Proverbs 28:13
For a video presentation of the Gospel, please watch this 5 minute video:
The point is that coming to Christianity because life is hurting is the wrong reason to come. The reason to come to Christianity is out of repentance, to confess and forsake sin and then to cling to Jesus Christ, the one and only sacrifice for sin.
My we boldly proclaim this truth to the whole world so that they may be changed to the one true faith!
For more on proclaiming the excellencies of Jesus Christ, please listen to Tony Miano’s message “Him we proclaim!“
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Sometimes when doing evangelism we run into situations where there is a question of whether we are expressing our freedom of speech on public property or not. This is an important question because on public property, our first amendment rights to free speech are maintained. When dealing with private property, we may not always enjoy the same rights. However, sometimes we do. In NY near the NASDAQ building, I took these two pictures. The first shows the sidewalk from a distance. The second shows a close up of a little plaque in the sidewalk that clearly shows the public verses private property. Wouldn’t it be great if all property were marked this way?
What happens when you cross a life long dream of running a marathon, along with the design of a bucket list Gospel tract, the need to loose weight and the prompting of the Holy Spirit? You guessed it – you start planning to run a Marathon. Many of you already know that I am training for this. So, I thought I’d give a quick update.
I am completing week 10 of training for the half marathon which is this Sunday, August 15th. I am using a training plan from Marathon Rookie. The web site also provides a 16 week training plan to prepare to run a marathon. So my plan is to start on that plan next week and then run the White Rock Marathon in Dallas in December.
This has been an interesting journey. As I started handing out the Bucket List tracts that we designed, I often found people naming the items on their bucket list. As they did, I’d ask, “do you think you will do that?” So it seemed, natural for me to do something on my own bucket list. I’ve joked with a number of people that I could have picked “riding the fastest roller coaster” and been done by just getting on a plane and going to an amusement park. But, I didn’t do that. So, Lord willing, I will be able to keep training and run the marathon in December to cross it off my bucket list.
Thanks for all the encouragement and support as I set out on this goal.
This week as I’ve considered running 13.1 miles, I decided I needed a verse. So I went through the Bible and looked up all the verses that are 13:1. The verse I settled on is Zechariah 13:1 which is a propehcy of the second coming of Christ:
On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.
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While I was at Starbucks yesterday, I put some tracts up on the community “bulletin” board with a magnet that was there. As I did I noticed a card on the board that said AMMA on top and had a picture of what I guess is a Hindu “spiritual advisor”. The front of the card at the bottom says, “May all beings everywhere be happy.” On the back of the card, was an invitation to a “free program” (which took place two months ago) where “numbered tokens for individual blessings are distributed one hour before the program.” I took a quick look at the web site that was listed on the card. On of the pages of her web site says:
Amma always points out that the purpose of one’s life is to realize who we really are. She says, “By realizing our own Self we become full, with nothing more to gain in life. Life becomes perfect.”
To attain this goal, Amma says that no particular path or spiritual practice can be recommended for all. “Just as a doctor gives different dosages or even different medications to patients with the same ailment according to their constitution, so does a Spiritual Master prescribe different methods to different people to reach the same goal. Spirituality is the practical science of life. Apart from taking us to the ultimate goal of Self-realization it also teaches us the nature of the world, and how to understand life and live fully in the best way possible.”
However, Amma says that the path of devotion and selfless-service is the safest and most conducive path for many people.
This really struck me. Read again what she wrote “different dosages” and “different methods”. This is totally opposed to Christianity where Jesus says “I am the way.” (John 14:6) If Jesus is “the way” then he is the way for all people. Period.
I was going from Starbucks to the mall to meet up with a couple of guys to do some witnessing. I put the card in my pocket. As we walked around the mall, I would show it to people and say, “what do you think of this saying that all beings everywhere should be happy?” The first guy turned out to be a Christian. He disagreed with the statement and cited the same verse in John 14 that I referenced above. We had a wonderful conversation with him about Jesus and we all left feeling very encouraged.
The next gal that we showed the card agreed with the statement about happiness on the card. As we talked, she claimed some beliefs about Hinduism that I have not heard before. She said there is a heaven and a hell and that she also believes in reincarnation. We talked a few minutes. She continued talking about heaven, hell and re-incarnation. Finally, I asked, “what is more important, what you believe or what is actually true.” She said “what I believe is true.” Realizing we were not getting anywhere with her, we gave her a COEXIST tract.
About that time her manager came back. We asked her if she had any spiritual beliefs. She said she is a Christian and her dad is a Muslim. Very interesting. Her mom is a Christian and her dad is a Muslim. She said that growing up both parents taught her their beliefs and she believed Christianity to be true.
All in all, the AMMA card made a nice ice breaker to share the Gospel as we walked around the mall.
This BLOG post about Muslims praying in New York City has been circulating the Internet a lot recently. It’s probably been sent to me at least a half a dozen times. What amazes me when I see these images is the absolute dedication that these people have to worshiping their false god. In these pictures you can see that they have gathered even in public to bow down to a god that does not even exist.
When we do door to door ministry, we are amazed at the tenacity of Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses who similarly are going out to tell others about a false god.
If you are a believer in Jesus, would you please pray about joining us on the First Monday of September in praying for our nation, leaders and revival in the church? If these people who follow their false god’s can pray and witness then surely those of us who know the truth can be all the more bold!
Previously, we made arrangements with One Million Tracts to allow the purchase of any of the tracts developed by Bezeugen and used in the tract club. Today, I am pleased to report that Marv has offered pricing to allow you to purchase additional door hangars for use in your door to door ministry in your neighborhood. The pricing is as follows:
1,000 door hangars for $165 shipping included (16.5 cents each)
2,500 door hangars for $245 shipping included (9.8 cents each)
On the back of the door hangars there is a box and inside the box it says “Bezeugen Ministries, www.bezeugen.org”. This area is intended to be used for a label to customize to your church or ministry. Marv has agreed to place your own contact information in the box prior to printing therefore saving you the cost and time of printing labels and placing them on the door hangars.
The door hangars advertise a free DVD. When requests for the free DVD are received, they will be forwarded to the church or ministry that handed them out so that the requests can be fulfilled by that church or ministry.
Please email Marv at One Million Tracts to place your order. Simply tell him you’d like to order the Bucket List Door Hangar developed by Bezeugen Ministries!
The text of the door hangar reads:
People often use the term “bucket list” to refer to a list of things that they would like to do before they “kick the bucket” or die. What is on your bucket list? Some popular choices are: skydive, take a trip around the world, run a marathon, take up a martial art, learn to dance, drive a race car, climb Mt. Everest, see the Seven Wonders, and ride the world’s fastest rollercoaster. Need some help with number 10? How about…
back:
…find out what happens when you kick the bucket! It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment. (Hebrews 9:27) The Bible says that when you die, you’ll be judged by God’s standard, The Ten Commandments. The ninth commandment says you shall not lie. Have you ever told a lie? If so, God sees you as a liar. Revelation 21:8 says that all liars will have their place in the lake of fire, which is hell. The eighth commandment says you shall not steal. Have you ever stolen anything? If so, God sees you as a thief. The sixth commandment says you shall not murder. Jesus took this to an even higher standard saying, “everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment” and “whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” (Matthew 5:22) Ever hated someone or called them a fool? The third commandment says you shall not use God’s name in vain. Have you ever used God’s name or Jesus’ name carelessly or as a curse word? That is called blasphemy. In Exodus 20:7 God says that he will not hold anyone guiltless that uses his name in vain. That is only four of the Ten Commandments. How will you do on judgment day? Does God see you (by your own admission) as a liar, a thief, a murderer and a blasphemer at heart? Will you be innocent or guilty? Will God reward you with eternity in heaven or punish you with an eternity in hell? God is perfectly good and just. He must punish sin. God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man to die in the place of sinners. Jesus never broke God’s law. He claimed to be equal with God, and to have power to forgive sin. He claimed to know all things. He said of Himself, “I have power to lay down My life (crucified), and power to take it up again (resurrected).” Jesus died in the place of sinners, and was raised to life on the third day. It was not the price that was paid that satisfies God, but the worth of the One who paid the price: Jesus Christ, the Son of God. God commands you to repent, and to place your faith in the indescribable gift of Jesus alone, that you may not be condemned, but have eternal life. (Mark 1:15, Acts 17:30, John 3:16) Do it today- make it #1 on your bucket list – you may not have tomorrow!
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August 5th was the First Thursday in the month of August. We held out First Thursday Day of Prayer at a number of locations. In Dallas, Craig had 40-50 people gather for prayer at his office. They received about a half dozen prayer requests and then prayed for them.
In Carrollton, TX we had five people gather for prayer for our Nation, Leaders and Revival in the church. We brought my cross and stood it up near where we gathered in front of the City Hall. We started with a short meditation based on the Lyrics to Breathe on Us Again by Promise Keepers. The words are found online and read:
O Lord hear, O Lord forgive us.
We have lost the awe of You.
Have mercy, have mercy.
O Lord, cleanse
Our hearts which are divided.
Stir the faith that we once knew
We’re thirsty, we’re thirsty.
O Lord restore
The church that bears Your name.
O Spirit send
A revival to this nation.
Breathe on us again,
Breathe on us again.
We then read Nehemiah 8 in the open air. It seemed fitting to include this passage since it is a call to repentance. The people heard the Law of the Lord and turned back to him. Notice verse 3, “And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. ” After the scripture reading, we prayed. We prayed specifically for the leadership of our nation from City Hall to the White House. We also prayed for revival in our land and in our churches that bear the name of Jesus. We also prayed for Kenya, their government and an evangelist we know who is visiting there because one of the members of our team was from Kenya. Finally we prayed for some specific requests we knew about.
Following a time of prayer, we sang a song based on Exodus 15:
“I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. 2 The LORD is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
It was a blessed time of fellowship and prayer. We look forward to doing it again next month. Perhaps if you live in Carrollton, you can join us. If not, consider gathering at your city hall or place of business.
I know others participated around the country. Please add comments to tell us how your event went.
