Ask me! God’s been good to me.

About two weeks ago a few of my friends went to a weekly night festival here in the Chattanooga area. We take this time to serve God by sharing the Gospel one-to-one with people that come our way. Over the years I have learned to keep an eye open for easy opportunities to chat with someone. Sometimes I will use a button that someone might be wearing or a shirt with a question on it to strike up a conversation. That is exactly what happened on this night.

Across the park I saw a man wearing a t-shirt that read, “God’s been good to me”. What an invitation to talk to someone!

I walked up to the man and asked him “So, God’s been good to you?”

“Yes”. He said.

“How has He done that?” I asked.

“Well, He woke me up this morning. I had something to eat today. I’m not in any pain right now. Yeah, God has been good to me.” He said.

I just smiled and told him that was a great answer. But I began to probe further…”Tell me. How else has God been good to you?” This started a 45 minute conversation that took many twists and turns. As the conversation continued he asked me to sit down with him on a park bench. His name is Anthony. He tried to show off his Biblical knowledge to me by quoting all of the books of the Bible and he did this FAST. I was actually very impressed. “Wow!” I told him. “There is no way I could do that”.

Something was missing out of Anthony’s story and he admitted it. He had not been living for the Lord. He had fallen on some tough times. He was very quiet and humble. He kindly held on to every word that I spoke to him. His eyes were dead locked right into mine.

I presented God’s holiness to Anthony. I tried to explain God’s love for everyone but that God is also Just and Perfect so He must punish wrong doing. He must punish sin.

Before Anthony and I parted ways he asked that I pray for him. So I grabbed his hand and took his name before the Father, sitting right there on a park bench with hundreds of people around.

He told me, “I know God sent you here tonight. He sent you here to talk to me.”

“Yes He did, Anthony. It’s your move now. What are you going to do about it?”

We parted ways we exchanged contact information and I gave him a copy of Mark Cahill’s book “One Heartbeat Away”. He thanked me, I thanked him, and off we went.

Fast forward – Yesterday afternoon my cell phone rang with a number that I did not recognize. It was Anthony! He called to let me know that he had been out of town spending some time with loved ones in Michigan. He wanted to let me know that he had been reading Mark’s book and was underling all the parts that talked about the Bible. He added, “so most of the book is underlined!”. He reminded me that he knew God has arranged our meeting a few weeks ago.

He said, “You know that right? Don’t you ever let anyone tell you different!”

You better believe I know it. So Christian, I will echo Anthony’s words. Don’t you ever let anyone tell you different? You don’t HAVE to establish relationships before you share the Gospel. You don’t HAVE to earn someone’s trust first. The relationship that I earned/established with Anthony was based on the truth of the Gospel. I didn’t have to hide my motives in wanting to talk to him. He knew upfront!

Look for those opportunities to start conversations with people – clothes they are wearing or books they are reading. Be on the lookout, the lost are everywhere.

Deeper Conference 09

The Deeper Conference is coming back to Woodstock, Ga on September 11th and 12th. I can't wait. I was able to attend the very first one last year and went out with the first 500 group too. What a blast, shout out to Marcus Pittman! I learned so much and met some great friends being there. More than anything I'm really looking forward to hearing Mark Cahill speak this year. I was able to hear him in a church a few months ago and I was able to speak with him shortly after. What a generous man. He gave our evangelism team two cases of his books to pass out and didn't ask us for a penny.

Christian apologetics has become so interesting to me. I want to know how to defend my faith, another reason I can't wait for the conference is.....Ravi Zacharius! This man is one of the most brilliant Christian apologists that I have ever heard. Can't wait. I'll post pics and updates after the conference is over.

One Heartbeat Away

For those of you who know, a few weeks ago my best friend from my high school years passed away. It was sudden. He died of a heart attack at only 35 years old. After this happened to Rodney I knew it was time to get myself checked out. I mean, let’s face it. I’m no “spring chicken” anymore at the ripe old age of 36. Man! How time goes by fast. It seems like I remember just a few weeks ago playing with a plastic golf club in my grandparents front yard using their small ditch as a “hole in one”.

So this past week I went in to see my doctor to get a checkup on my heart and some blood work to make sure all is well. After some initial testing and hearing of my family history the doctor wanted me to come back the next day for an echocardiogram to make sure everything is above board. That night I did not sleep well at all. Even though I know everything is in the hands of a Sovereign God, I didn’t want to be sick. Who would, right? So, I skipped breakfast as directed and went in the next morning for the test. I walked into the testing room and was asked to lie back on the small bed next to the ultrasound machine. So they “gelled” me up and put the hand device onto my skin. Within seconds I was able to see an ultrasound picture of my heart on the screen. “That is amazing” I said to the doctor. I was able to see all the chambers of my heart, the valves opening and shutting, both red and blue colors representing oxygen filled blood, and the motion of my heart as it was beating! All I could think of was “How can anyone believe this happened by random chance? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

The technician spent the next 10 minutes or so looking at my heart from all types of angles and taking measurements to pass on to the doctor. He told me that he would not be able to discuss anything if something was wrong but told me from what he could see that everything looked “A-Ok”. But what if it wasn’t? How would I handle that type of sickness? What about you? Could you handle such a thing?

As a stared at the monitor watching my heart beating I realized that I was surely just one heartbeat away from death. If this mass of tissue inside of my chest gave out I was going to die. There is no way around that. My body is contingent and dependent of the fact that it needs blood circulated and so is yours. So the question we should all be asking is – What happens when our heart finally gives out? If you would like to find out I have a small gift for you.

Here is a picture of a book written by Mark Cahill. If you would like a free copy of this book please just email me or post a comment with your information and I would be glad to send it to you completely free of charge. This is one of my most favorite books of all time and I don’t have a lot of them.

All of us one day will step out into eternity. What is going to be waiting for you? Fear or Certainty? Reward or Punishment? A loving Savior or a Righteous Judge?

Enforced thought is a dangerous phenomenon.

An atheist might say to you:

Atheist: Your thoughts and your faith have been enforced on you or brainwashed you. You’re only saying these things to me about your religion because you have been programmed to do so.

Christian: But you as an atheist have that in your own world view. Your Materialistic-Naturalism reduces your brain function and all logic out of it to chemical reactions. You are forced to say what you are saying right now because of chemical reactions in your brain. As an atheist you can’t get around from this. If your brain function is nothing more than the result of evolutionary processes and natural phenomena through electrical chemical processes in your brain then you simply respond to stimulus and the environment that you are in. Your brain is just reacting a certain predictable way through your senses. So, you are forced according to your worldview to be guilty of the very thing that you are accusing me of.

Are there two Jehovahs?

One of the things that I like to do with Jehovah Witnesses when they come to my door is ask them if I could use their Bible to show them something that I want them to teach me about.

I will say to them “I read some verses and when I read them I found them very intriguing and interesting. It’s almost confusing but I think I know what’s going on but I would like to see what you think about it.” Be honest! Don’t lie or try to be deceptive here. Just ask them the straight forward question. Most of the time they will politely respond…"Sure!"

Use their Bible (the New World Translation) and go to Genesis 19:24

24 Then Jehovah made it rain sulphur and fire from Jehovah, from the heavens, upon Sod´om and upon Go·mor´rah.

How many Jehovah’s are there? There are two. Now that can throw a monkey wrench into things!

You can also go to Amos 4:10,11 in the New World Translation

10 “‘I sent among YOU people a pestilence in the nature of that of Egypt. With the sword I killed YOUR young men, along with the taking captive of YOUR horses. And I kept making the stink of YOUR camps ascend even into YOUR nostrils; but YOU did not come back to me,’ is the utterance of Jehovah.
11 “‘I caused an overthrow among YOU people, like God’s overthrow of Sod´om and Go·mor´rah. And YOU came to be like a log snatched out of [the] burning; but YOU did not come back to me,’ is the utterance of Jehovah.

God is speaking in this passage. When asking a Jehovah’s Witness about these passages from their own Bible more times than not they will look at you and ask, “Are you trying to show me the Trinity?”

Simply respond with, “You got the Trinity out of that?”

This is just a small way to plant a seed of Truth to many Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Have You Died?

Romans 5:15-18
15 - But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.

16 - The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification.

17 - For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

18 - So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.

Let me ask you a trick question. Have you died? Yes. As a Christian you have died.

Romans 6:8 –Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,

Colossians 2:20 - If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as,

Colossians 3:3 - For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

2 Timothy 2:11 - It is a trustworthy statement:For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him;

So, as a Christian you have died. We are not talking about a physical death here but a spiritual one. Whenever we have any Scriptures that talk about any dying in relationship to Jesus, in relationship to His atonement, or in relationship to the cross, in any way, it is only speaking of believers. You never have an unbeliever dying with Christ. You never have an unbeliever dying to the principles of the world. This just refers to the Christians.

2 Corinthians 5:14 - For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died;

Who is the all who died? The Christians. He died for all, therefore all died. Who is the all that died? Only the Christians. Now you might be saying, “Hold on! You’re playing word games.” No I am not. Let me ask you this question. Does God know everyone? No, He does not know everyone.

Matthew 7:23 - "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'

Romans 8:29 - For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;

See the ones foreknown are the predestined ones. The text does not say that He looked into the future to see who was going to pick Him and then He picked some of them. It does not say that. God foreknew the predestined ones. It is the exact same group. So, when God says that He knows someone it means they are saved. When He says He does not know them it means they are lost. This is how God uses the term.

What I am trying to illustrate here is that if we are going to use the term correctly we have to see how God uses the term in His Word. We must also look at the context and usage to see what is going on.

Now you know that the Greek term “agape” means divine love right? Nope, not always.

Luke 11:43 - "Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the chief seats in the synagogues and the respectful greetings in the market places.

The word love is the Greek is “agape”. So, does it mean divine love? Does this really make any sense? “Woe, to you Pharisees because you divinely love the front seats.” Huh? So here it simply means that their love was a love, complete, given over to feeling. Then it would fit the context of what the scope of the Scriptures was talking about.

The reason I’m trying to illustrate this is words mean what they mean when God defines them not the way we presuppose a word should mean.

For example, “all the world” means everybody who has ever lived. Right? I just don’t think so.

Colossians 1:6 - which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth;

“All the world”. Really? What about Australia? Japan? Canada? Of course not. So, “all the world” doesn’t mean every single individual because it simply just can’t! Words mean what they mean…in context. What we need to do is look at how words mean, what they mean, the way they are being spoken, and the context of what they are being spoken of.

2 Corinthians 5:14 - For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died;

What does this mean when it says all died? The only way to look at that and to know it is by going through the Scriptures and seeing how it is used. All died, it is reference to the believer and their relationship to Christ. So, when Paul says Jesus died for all therefore all died, you either have Universalism, which cannot be true because Matthew 25:46 and Revelation 21:8 clearly refute that. Or the word all is only in reference to the believer. There is no other way around this. We must remember that the Bible interprets the Bible. Again, only the Christians have died in reference to Jesus Christ. Unfortunately some Christians think the Bible is always very easy to understand.

One Minute Evangelism

This is our very own Jeff "The Bulldog". Go Jeff go!!

Jehovah's Witnesses and Colossians 1:15

Inevitably when witnessing to any Jehovah’s Witness the deity of Christ will come up. This is a crucial topic for us to share with the Witnesses because the Watchtower teaches their students the Jesus is Michael the Archangel. Having witnessed to many JW’s over the past two years I thought I would share some of my knowledge and pass on some witnessing tips that I have learned from the MacArthur Study Bible. One of the main verses that any Jehovah Witness will go to is Colossians 1:15. So let’s take a closer look to know how to answer the JW’s challenge to this verse (1 Peter 3:15).

Colossians 1:15 - He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

image of the invisible God

The Greek word for “image” is eikon, from which the English word “icon” derives. It means, “copy” or “likeness”. Jesus Christ is the perfect image – the exact likeness of God and is in the very form of God (Phil 2:6, John 1:14, John 14:9) and has been so from all eternity. By describing Jesus in this manner, Paul emphasizes that He is both the representation and manifestation of God. Thus, He is fully God in every way. (Col 2:9, John 8:58, 10:30-33, Heb 1:8)

the firstborn over all creation

The Greek word for “firstborn” can refer to one who was born first chronologically, but most often refers to preeminence in position, or rank (Heb 1:6, Romans 8:29). In both Greek and Jewish culture, the firstborn was the ranking son who received the right of inheritance from his father, whether he was born first or not. It is used of Israel who, not being the first nation, was however the preeminent nation (Exodus 4:22, Jer 31:9). Firstborn, in this context clearly means highest in rank, not first created (Psalm 89:27, Rev 1:5) for several reasons…

1. Christ cannot be both “first begotten” and “only begotten” (John 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18; 1 John 4:9)
2. If Paul was teaching that Christ was a created being, he was agreeing with the heresy he was writing to refute.
3. It is impossible for Christ to be both created, and the Creator of everything (Col 1:16, the very next verse!)

Thus, Jesus is the firstborn in the sense the He has the preeminence and posses the right of inheritance “over all creation” (Heb 1:2, Rev 5:1-7, 13). He existed before the creation and is exalted in rank above it.

Get Your Income Tax Refund!

It’s that time of year again. That’s right! Tax time. If you’re anything like me you look forward to getting your W-2, having your wife file your taxes, and hopefully you will see some type of a refund. Especially with the economy in the shape that it is in I’m sure many people will make a bee-line for the closest tax filing business. All over the place businesses will advertise themselves by putting people in patriotic costumes as they walk up and down the sidewalk. This picture that I made today should remind us of the great opportunity to reach out to these people. So, put a stash of money tracts in your car and when you see Uncle Sam or the Statue of Liberty promoting a business take a minute or two to park your car and give them the Gospel and some big money!

Winter Jam 2009 and Downtown Outreach

This past Friday night our group went out to the Winter Jam 2009 concert. I must admit I was a bit uncertain about how we would be received while we were out witnessing at a Christian concert. My plan was simple to ask the Christians there some basic theology questions and see how they responded. Some replied with some very simple yet firm answers to these questions, while a few of them could have used a basic introduction course in Christian theology.

Keith Higgins from SavedFromWhat.org came up from Atlanta to join us at the concert and also to participate in our downtown outreach.
Keith and I spent most of our time passing out hundreds of Gospel tracts out to the crowds and asking Christians that were in line some basic questions. Questions like…

1. Is the Bible inspired by God? Does it contain contradictions or errors?
2. Is Jesus God?
3. If I am a good Muslim can I still go to Heaven?
4. If you were going to witness to me how would you do that?

Most of the people took the Gospel tracts from us with a smile and said thank you. Keith was even able to do a few open-air sessions in which he asked the Christians to make sure their “calling and election was sure”. Afterward we had a few concerned people come to us and ask us why we were witnessing at a Christian concert. We assured them that we didn’t have any problems with the concert or the music but we have a concern that not all who profess Christ there were saved. Most people seemed to understand but still disagree with our method. One guy even asked Keith if he had heard of Way of the Master!

After most of the people flooded into the arena we took off and headed for the downtown area. One thing I have learned about living in the south is that just about everybody thinks they are saved. So many people that you talk to seem to have the right answers because they know the “Christian terminology”.

I spoke to many people while downtown that night. One group of teenagers claimed that they tell God they are sorry so it’s ok and they are saved. I tried to reason with them by showing how telling a judge you are sorry doesn’t do any good, because the law has been broken and justice must be served. Two of them stormed off, but they third stayed for another minute and told me he would think about what we talked about.

While Keith was preaching open-air downtown I noticed another group of young people that seemed to be getting a laugh as they walked by so I stopped them and we began to chat. As I took them through the commandments it seemed that they had a problem with the Sabbath. I’m pretty sure they were just playing “Let’s stump the Christian”. They all claimed to be Christians..only God knows their heart.

When talking to professing Christians I have found the following questions to be effective:

1. Do you know the Lord?
2. Is Jesus precious to you?
3. Do you read your Bible every day?
4. Are you born again?

Below are some pics of our outreach. God bless!

New Tract Design!

Here is the my newest tract design. I just approved the final proof yesterday so hopefully I will have them in by the end of next week.

Thanks to One Million Tracts for putting this together. Be sure and check them out. I highly recommend them!

Did Joseph Smith really see the Father?

Last night I continued my meetings with the Mormon missionaries that have been coming to my home for Bible studies over the past two weeks or so. We began our discussion with the restoration of the Priesthood and how Joseph Smith claimed to have seen the Father and Jesus Christ. This is one of the most important claims that Mormonism makes. According to Mormonism the reason this vision was given was to restore the true gospel back to the church. If Joseph Smith really did have this vision then Mormonism is the true church, but if he did not then Mormonism is automatically proven to be false.

Joseph Smith claimed to have actually seen the Father by his own words:

"When the light rested upon me, I saw two personages, whose brightness and glory defined all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name, and said, pointing to the other -- 'this is my beloved Son. Hear him!

Ok, it is clear that Mormons will support what their prophets say, but what does the Bible have to say about seeing the Father.

1 Timothy 6:16 - who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.

Jesus also said...

John 6:46 - Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father.

Simply put…here are two Scriptures that say no one can see the Father. Joseph Smith says that he saw the Father. Who is right? What about Steven in Acts 7, right?

Acts 7:55 - But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,

Right before Steven was stoned he was allowed to catch a glimpse of the majesty of Jesus Christ. What exactly did he see? He saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God. The “right hand” is simply a position of authority in that day’s culture. If you were on the right hand of someone that was a place of honor and preeminence. It showed that you had authority.

Did Steven see the Father? Does the text say that he saw the Father or the glory of God? He did not see the Father only the glory of God.

The Bible also says:

John 1:18 - No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son,who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

If the Bible says that no one can see the Father, but Joseph Smith says he has seen the Father, how can we reconcile these things? Easy. The Bible says that no one can see the Father therefore Joseph Smith did not see the Father, therefore Mormonism is false because it violates the clear teaching of Scripture.

For a deeper look at this subject. I recommend looking at the link at Carm.org – Can the Father be seen?

Ooltewah Parade

Below are some pictures of our evangelism team at the Ooltewah Parade this year. Enjoy and God bless!

I am blessed to have such wonderful and faithful friends that will allow me to go into the streets with them to preach the Gospel. To God be the glory!

Bluegrass Festival in Chattanooga

This past Saturday night there was a bluegrass festival downtown at the Riverpark. As usual when the devil throws a party we like to show up. I’m so very proud to partner with the guys that I have been witnessing with over the past several weeks. All of them are bold in their approach and will not compromise for the sake of the Gospel.

Some of our team was insulted, cursed at, at just treated very rudely, but the reaction that we get from people should never determine how we present truth. The truth of God should be upheld and proclaimed no matter how well or how poor we are received. How well was Paul always received? What about Peter? Stephen? That’s right…they stoned him! What about our Lord Jesus? He was murdered by the people He created! I’ve noticed that in talking to people about our witnessing results their question is always “Well, how many people were saved?” Again, do we really determine the success or failure based on the immediate results? No way! The question should never be “How many people…..” You will never see me make a check mark in the back of my Bible for how many people I have prayed with or how many have repented on the spot.

I personally had some great conversations. Bob, Brandon, Ray, Stephanie, Nikki – Just to name a few. Great questions from all of them and I am so thankful for their time. While I was speaking to one teenager about God’s law he told me “Dude, you’re starting to make me feel really bad.” Praise God for that! It is only when we see how bad and rebellious our sin is, do we see how wonderful and merciful God is to us. He provided a Savior for us. The One who can wash away all our sins. He can forgive our lying, cheating, stealing, lust, and hatred. No one else can do that. While I was asked some great and challenging questions Saturday night I would like to issue my own challenge right now. One question for you to think about day in and day out. Both early in the morning and late at night. What will happen to you when you die? If justice is true then you will give an answer for what you have done. Think about it. Ponder it and let you conscience speak to you.

Why modern Evangelism is not Evangelism at all

Oh No! Not Evangelism!

I was excited this morning to out witnessing to the streets of downtown Chattanooga. I was glad to be able to rub shoulders with people and do get my hands dirty talking to others about Jesus Christ. In my head I went through my list “Tracts – check, Bible – check, car keys – check, cell phone – check” Ok, so let’s go!

As soon as I stepped on the sidewalk a Jehovah’s Witness was no more than 20 yards away. I quickly grabbed my document detailing the false prophecies of the Watchtower. As soon as he made eye contact and smiled I engaged him in a conversation. Jehovah’s Witness really know their Bible and are really good at taking you down rabbit trails, so always stay on track when talking to them. It’s funny how when you prove that the Watchtower claims to be a prophet and that false prophecies have been spoken by the organization most will completely deny that! Please play for Clyde. That God will lift the fog of the Watchtower and open his eyes.

I also had the chance to speak with Roger at the bus stop. He was very friendly and allowed me a few minutes to talk to him. He told me that he was raised a Christian and still held to his Christian values but he knew that God would forgive him because he had done good things and his bad things were in the past. A few good questions/statements to this could be:

• How many good things do you have to do to be saved?
• Are you being good enough right now?
• Would a good judge forgive a rapist if his crime had been committed 30 years ago?
• If you were to murder one person but be nice to thousands more would a judge just let you go due to that fact alone?

Whether Roger agreed with me or not, I do not know, but I pray that God will move his heart. Today could be the day of salvation for someone but you must tell them about the Savior. Take his Word out of the comfort of our homes and churches and be faithful to our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

Thy Will Be Done

This past Saturday night was the Sugarland concert here in Chattanooga. Josh and I thought it might be a good idea to park away from the venue and walk to the convention center. On the way we had plans to pass out Gospel tracts and witness to people on our way there. We both were looking forward to the “black tie” fund raiser that Sugarland was performing at…but God had other plans. Within 20 minutes of being downtown Josh was witnessing to a couple walking down the street. After I finished up my talk with someone I walked by to check out what was happening. I heard the lady say, “…that 144,000 is the Jehovah’s Witnesses...” I knew right then what the deal was. As the four of us stood on the sidewalk having our discussion a fifth person arrived, his name is Charles. Charles was obviously a wee-bit intoxicated because he quickly chimed in with his sermon on Revelation and the end of the world. The JW woman quickly cut him off and he was steaming mad. He was screaming at all four of us telling us “You people say you are Christians but you don’t want me to talk to you!” The situation could have quickly turned bad but Josh and I gently talked him into coming back over to us. After a few minutes went by Josh delivered the question “Would you consider yourself to be a good person?” I knew this would be the time to get Charles out of the way. So I asked him to step away and hang out with me on a park bench for a minute or two. Josh was able to present the Law to both of the JW’s. The gentleman was extremely convicted and wanted to continue talking Josh, but his fiancé’ pulled him away.

A few minutes later he did come back and Josh was able to witness to them a bit more. Josh was also able to minister to this couple by taking them to the grocery store and assisting them in stocking up on some meals and such. This gave me some time to continue to witness to some homeless folks that were in the area. I was able to witness to at least 8 to 10 people in a very short period of time because 2 to 3 at a time were sitting on park benches. While the people that I spoke with were very kind in letting me present the Gospel to them they also asked me to help them with some needs. So, my wife and are making some care packages that I will be taking back this week. Please pray for my homeless friends.

Cory – living in Chattanooga, but his children are in Birmingham
Cindy – is finally clean from drugs and alcohol but has supervised visitation with her daughter
Charles “Mississippi” – homeless passing through Chattanooga
Leon – homeless passing through Chattanooga
Carrie – was just looking for a “drink”
Charles – is an older gentlemen, admitted he wasn’t saved, but told me our talk was a “blessing”

Later that evening I spoke to Josh about the JW couple. Josh continued to witness to them and warn them of the coming judgment. They both agreed to meet with us and have a Bible study very soon. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will soften their heart. Josh and I both had plans to spend the evening with the elite of Chattanooga and to bring the Gospel to them but God had plans for the night too. I have been praying for some of those “God moments” in ministering to people and He delivered tonight. Thank you Lord for another answered prayer. All the glory to God alone! Above all else Thy will be done. Amen.

Two Views of the Gospel

I am in the process of making a study on the Emerging Church and its leaders so when I ran across this article I thought it blended in perfectly. Many of our cherished Christian beliefs and doctrines are being questioned and re-interpreted by church leaders today. So what is the difference? Maybe the following article can help you distinguish between Biblical truth and a man-centered message.

The old view of God used to be that the contact with non-Christians used to be “creation”. That God made you and God has authority over you and everything that you are about. But now these days the man-centered modern approach is …..”love”. God loves you and His authority is secondary, if even brought up at all.

The old way is - God is the King who will save you. The new way – God is a friend; He’s going to help you.

The view of humanity used to be – in our mind we were at enmity with God and that no one seeks God. Now…well, we seek the truth but we just don’t have all the information. The old view used to be…We need a new nature, a new mind, a new heart, a new will. Another words we need to be regenerated. Now…we need love, help, and some friendship.

We use to say that we were rebels against God. We have a sinful nature and we need to be reconciled to God. How could we even begin to reevaluate this? Can I ask you this? What is bigger than that? Name it! We can’t fathom the power of God. We can’t even come close to understanding how powerful God is. That “things” just happen because He wants it to. We might look at something like a tsunami and say “Wow that is power!” It isn’t even close to the wrath of God being poured out on the sinner in Hell where it is horrible and eternal. The wrath of God is coming at people and it is going to get millions. What a horrifying thought! Now all of a sudden enters Jesus who says – “Hold it. I’ll pay the price. The wrath of God will be satisfied in Me.” Now (because of Jesus) you and I can be reconciled to God through repentance and faith. Purpose? Fulfillment? Happiness? Money? Health? It’s nothing compared to the Gospel! But these days we hear “Oh we’re just imperfect. We just make little mistakes”.

In the old days we would say that we need salvation from guilt, the power of sin, and the wrath of God. Now…just the consequences of sin is something that we might want to deal with. Many both in and out of the church just want the consequences of sin and someone’s unhappiness dealt with. But no preaching of sin, righteousness, and judgment, please.

Humanity is dead and lost…Now, just sick and ignorant.

Even the view of Jesus has changed. Jesus exists to gather a kingdom to receive honor and glory to which one day He will turn it over to His Father. When Jesus came to this earth be didn’t just become a human being and take on a different nature. He also took on a human nature as well as being God. Jesus is God in the flesh. If Jesus had just appeared on the same day and said – Ok. Go ahead and crucify me. Let’s get this over with so I can pay the price for sin. That would have purchased neutrality, if you will. You and I would not have received that wrath of God because our fine would have been paid in Jesus but it would have left us in limbo because there would have been nothing in us to commend us to God.

Our sins would have been forgiven, but why would God take us to Heaven to be with Him? Except for Jesus’ sinless life of obedience, fulfilling all righteousness, fulfilling all the laws. That is why Jesus didn’t just do away with the laws. Jesus came to fulfill them so that when we die if we have repented and put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, if our sins have been forgiven because of the punishment and death on the cross, the punishment and suffering, the blood that was shed for the forgiveness of sins, so that we can be commended to God because of Jesus life of perfect obedience. So His death and His life of obedience are equally important. Not anymore though…well, just His death. Not so much his life, but just His death we will look at. Our theology must be correct so we can correctly understand the Gospel and the true nature of Jesus.

We use to call Him our Priest, our King, our Prophet. Now…He’s just kinda priestly. He’s just there to help us. It used to be that we would have an attitude of submission to Jesus’ Lordship. Not anymore…What do I mean by that? We can’t have the attitude of wanting to have our sins forgiven but we want to stay in them. Nope. In order for Him to be Savior, He must be Lord too.

The old way of looking at the response to the Gospel…It was a command, a loving command to be obeyed…NOW! Today…it is an invitation waiting to be accepted. In the old days assurance of salvation came from the Holy Spirit, applying Biblical concepts to be growing in holiness. Now…it comes from a counselor saying…Oh, don’t worry about it. You’re saved, now get out of here.

Now the question is...Which side is right? There are decent people on both sides of the argument. You and I need to figure this out. Don’t believe me, this blog, or your pastor, or Sunday school teacher. Just go read your Bible and see what it says.

Be sure and check out the link below from Will Metzger who inspired this article.
Two Views of the Gospel

Do you ever feel lukewarm and ashamed?

This morning was a little bit unusual when it comes to being downtown witnessing to the people heading to work or just waiting on the bus. It was very difficult to get anyone to engage in a conversation. I tried several times but most people this morning seemed to have better things to do. If I was on one side of the street the people would be on the other. If I notice a group of people by the time I got there they were gone. This morning seemed to be mainly about passing out Gospel tracts and sometimes I find that to be exactly the case. Some mornings it’s all about talking and presenting the Gospel other times it maybe that just doing what I can with the crowds that I have to work with. I was left with a feeling of being pretty lukewarm this morning. And I’ve got to tell you, I just couldn’t stand it! One gentleman asked to pray for me this morning. I accepted his offer but I kept one eye open watching this guy. He seemed a little shady and I didn’t know what he was up to. This left me feeling ashamed. Am I ashamed to pray on the street, out in the open, with my head bowed? Or am I trying to watch out after myself? It’s tough question that I will need to deal with.

I was listening to the Gospel of John on CD in my car this afternoon when I realized. I don’t measure success or failure. I don’t gauge whether it was a good morning or a bad morning based on the outcome. I can only allow God to move me as I take step by step out on the streets. If He wants me to present the Gospel to someone He will provide! If He wants to pass out Gospel tracts then He will provide! I must rely and completely trust in Jesus Christ if my evangelism to going to be fruitful. John the Baptist said “He must increase, I must decrease.” I must continually let go of Ty and asked God to conform me to the image of His Son. So in conclusion, if we ever feel lukewarm then we must pray and ask God to ignite a Holy fire within us that will completely consume us for His glory.

How did Jesus deal with shame? Click on the player below and listen to this great sermon jam from John Piper based off of Romans 1:16. God bless….

Egghead and Carrie

Location: Downtown Chattanooga

After passing out a few Gospel tracts and trying to get loosened up (I was really nervous as I started out this morning), I stopped Johnny as he was walking down the sidewalk. He kept referring to God as his “higher power”.

So I finally stopped him and ask, “Is your higher power the God of the Bible?”
“Yes, He sure is.” He told me.

We kept talking but he couldn’t understand, at first, why God will not just forgive you if you asked. So I asked him if a judge would forgive him if he raped and murdered someone but said he was sorry and he wouldn’t do it again. He said “Well, maybe if it’s just your first offense and if you didn’t have a prior record.”

“What?! A judge would let someone go for murder and rape? No, Johnny if a judge is a good judge then he must make sure that justice is served and people are punished for their crimes. Right? How much more just do you think God will be? How much more angry do you think God will be a murderer than a human judge?”
“I see what you mean now” He said.

As Johnny and I parted ways I passed an older gentleman who was wearing a suit and tie on his way to work. I stopped him and offered him a Smart Card gospel tract. He said “What is this?” I told him just put your thumb on the card and if you’re a good person it will turn green. “Oh, I see.” He said, “I don’t like these judgmental things.” Then he quickly walked away. I thought to myself, “If you think I’m judgmental just wait until Judgment Day, pal” I’ll be praying for him.

A few blocks away I pasted by a young lady who really looked bad. She had two black eyes, a swollen face, and cuts along the side of her chin and face. I passed by and told her hello, but I felt a nudging from the Holy Spirit to talk to her. I disobeyed and she passed by. I prayed, “Lord I’m so sorry if you give me another opportunity to speak with her I promise I will.” Well, about 15 minutes later she was sitting down at a table with an old man reading a book or something. I was hesitant about talking to her because I was thinking that maybe she was beat up by the guy sitting at the table with her and he might try and mess me up too! Just then I thought about some advice from my friend Keith Higgins from http://www.savedfromwhat.org/ . Keith told me that Satan uses our assumptions against us to make us think people will not want to hear what we have to say or that they are going to be hostile to us.

Keeping his advice in mind I went over the table and introduced myself to them both. The old man’s name was Egghead and the lady’s name was Carrie. Egghead was drawing on a notepad so I asked him if he would show me what he was drawing. Egghead and I exchanged some 1-liner jokes and Carrie began to tell me what happened to her. She told me that she was drunk, high and was with her boyfriend who was messed up on crack. He freaked out and told her the cops were coming (they weren’t). She took off running in the dark and fell off of a 6 foot high wall. Not only did she damage her face, but her left leg was hurt, multiple teeth had been knocked out, and on top of that she is having surgery done next week on her jaw. The doctors are going to have to break her jaw and wire it back shut again. I witnessed to her with Egghead speaking up every once in a while. She told me that she did not have a Bible. So this weekend I am going to buy her one and take it to her downtown on Monday morning. Please pray for her. I spent about 30 minutes with them this morning. This is what I call a Divine Appointment.