Wow! Where has this year gone. It seems the older you get, the faster time passes you by without so much as a glance in your direction. That's why one must treasure every moment, record every memorable moment in their mind, dwell not on the past, but enjoy the present, because the second you blink, that moment is gone forever. Keep your friends near, keep your family closer, tell the ones you love that you love them, and above all put God first and love Jesus.
This year had its joys and its pains; its victories and defeats; its laughs and its cries. But the biggest highlight of this year so far is joining the year-long internship. I know it has only been 3 months (wait 3 months?!!) but it has been so worth taking the year off school for. Yes there have been highs and lows and you may be wondering what is keeping me going. The other interns. Yep that's right and you heard it here first. Just being around these people who also sacrificed things for the Lord makes me proud to be a part of this internship.
What makes these people special is that I am spending an entire year with them and getting to know them better than I did before. Sure there was the occasional "Hi how are you?" at church events, and maybe the once in awhile dinner/lunch chat or same team for a pick-up game, but for many of the ones participating, I hardly ever knew them or hung out with them the way I do now. And don't think for a second that I am talking about a select group of people. I am talking about each and every single one of you: Mark, Timothy, Jeremiah, Jesse, James, Julian, Zane, Peter, Paul, Daniel, Ian, Rosie, Emily, Esther, Grace, Kayla, Sarah B, Sarah D, Sarah W, Bethany, Jean, and Micah (this also includes everyone in Buffalo and Ann Arbor). Whether it's spending 20 hours in the Bible a week, playing ultimate Friday nights, traveling to towns in the mountains or cities afar, or even just hanging out on our own time, you all are awesome and near to my heart.
Even though 2011 is drawing to a close, we still have one last hurrah for this year being The Rock Conference in Toronto and Empower @ Ashland and I have a feeling the Lord will do great things there and in 2012.
I thank all of you who have kept me, us, this labor, and the church in your prayers. The Lord has done many marvelous things this year and it's all through the prayers of the saints. For those who aren't doing the labor and I proudly call you my friend, I also hold you near and dear to my heart. Some of you I will be seeing at one of the two year-end events and I am excited.
Praise God for every breath I breathe, Praise the Lord for answered prayers and blessings, and praise Jesus Christ my Savior, Master, and Friend for everything.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Friday, November 25, 2011
Sowing Seeds
It's been two weeks since my last sign of life among the blogging world, but fear not for my fingers are yet again furiously pecking away, scrawling the thoughts out of my brain for the whole wide world to see. I do not have an exciting story to tell this week, but any story about the gospel is worth sharing.
So recently we have started to spread the gospel on the Cleveland State campus. This is a preaching experience that every Christian should experience (yes I know I was repetitive there; just making sure you were paying attention). You'll never know what type of people you will meet. For some strange reason I cannot comprehend, it seems that every time I go out, I manage to meet one particular group of people, with little diversity.
The past two trips I have found myself in this predicament. The first time I was slammed into a wall of "don't care," "don't believe," and "don't need anything," which basically comes out to agnostic after agnostic after agnostic. Yet the day was not a total loss. The last guy of the day I talked to was willing to attend a bible study. The second time I meandered over to CSU I ran into Christian after Christian after Christian; very encouraging, but no one to share Jesus with...well almost. Caleb Fei and I ran into a Muslim who was in a hurry but was willing to discuss things later.
Even though there wasn't much response, a student who Jeremiah and Jesse preached to recently got saved by watching a Kirk Cameron video and a friend who I haven't seen in a few years (I have been praying to the Lord to but him back into my life) showed up in a Gamestop I was in today. I had a good talk with him and got his new number! Jesus is amazing!
I'm sorry I don't have more at this time, but my final word is this. The Rock is coming upon us fast and the need for prayer is there. This is a time just for high schoolers to get into the word and come closer to Jesus Christ. If you are coming bring a friend, saved or unsaved, it will be something they will never forget. Until next time. Lord be with you all.
So recently we have started to spread the gospel on the Cleveland State campus. This is a preaching experience that every Christian should experience (yes I know I was repetitive there; just making sure you were paying attention). You'll never know what type of people you will meet. For some strange reason I cannot comprehend, it seems that every time I go out, I manage to meet one particular group of people, with little diversity.
The past two trips I have found myself in this predicament. The first time I was slammed into a wall of "don't care," "don't believe," and "don't need anything," which basically comes out to agnostic after agnostic after agnostic. Yet the day was not a total loss. The last guy of the day I talked to was willing to attend a bible study. The second time I meandered over to CSU I ran into Christian after Christian after Christian; very encouraging, but no one to share Jesus with...well almost. Caleb Fei and I ran into a Muslim who was in a hurry but was willing to discuss things later.
Even though there wasn't much response, a student who Jeremiah and Jesse preached to recently got saved by watching a Kirk Cameron video and a friend who I haven't seen in a few years (I have been praying to the Lord to but him back into my life) showed up in a Gamestop I was in today. I had a good talk with him and got his new number! Jesus is amazing!
I'm sorry I don't have more at this time, but my final word is this. The Rock is coming upon us fast and the need for prayer is there. This is a time just for high schoolers to get into the word and come closer to Jesus Christ. If you are coming bring a friend, saved or unsaved, it will be something they will never forget. Until next time. Lord be with you all.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Preaching Life: One of God's Greatest Gifts
I apologize in advance for this soon-to-be extremely long post...and then again I don't. These past few weeks the Lord has done so much. So I'll start by thanking all of you who have been reading this and praying for our going on in the gospel and now you'll read about the fruits that have come about from all this prayer.
I'll start with the weekend of October 28-30. The internship group (us) went down to the wild and wonderful state of West Virginia (history lesson: only state created during the civil war) where we joined with the churches of Fayetteville to evangelize the town of Fayetteville. Before the weekend even started, a sea of prayer from the Great Lakes area went out for this time. We went down there hoping to help out and see what the Lord could do to a small town in the mountains. On the very first night, the Lord revealed to us how pleased He was with our going to WV.
The young people came the very first night for some awesome singing and more powerful prayer. After the meeting had ended, we started talking about our adventures of getting to Fayetteville. There was a group of us who was listening to the intense survival story of Grace Wang and Peter McNaughton, told by Grace (you'll have to ask her about her story), when this one boy, named Michael, came up to us and told us that he had just became saved. This happened because Grace and Peter got lost, they arrived later and took a breather in a back room when Michael showed up. Grace and Peter talked with him and then eventually someone else joined in. After the talk he realized that he needed to give his life to the Lord. Later on that evening, all the interns went over to the Morey's and crammed into their bathroom to baptize Michael in their bathtub. His testimony is so powerful and would make this blog twice as long, but he will be at the Rock in Toronto, Canada so if you want to hear it you should talk to him. This was only the first night.
The next day our schedules were crammed with a whole lot of Jesus.The morning was filled with back-to-back small groups/messages/skits preformed on Ephesians 1 (If you would like the links for the skits, FB message me). Next came some hardcore door-knocking and preaching the gospel in the cold weather where every house had a dog and most houses were separated by a few minutes of walking. The overall result was very positive.
Later in the afternoon, when most seemed tired, our spirits were revived again with a Christian rock concert performed by Phos (Ian K.'s band). These were songs Ian had written himself and in between, numerous interns gave touching personal testimonies. Afterwards, we had a delicious dinner with the saints at Christ Fellowship Church and then were treated to a violin concert performed by Vios (Julian T's project) that had the put a spin on well known hymns. The violin was the lead, but incorporated were acoustic/bass guitars, a piano, drums, vocals, and even a dance. Julian surprised most of us by bringing out a shiny accordion, which he played beautifully. Here is the link were you can experience some of the awesomeness we enjoyed: http://www.juliantaylormusic.com/music.html. Just click the play button near the title "Belief." Afterwards we were treated to a bonfire under the moon and stars.
On the Lord's day, the interns went to different churches of Fayetteville. This was an interesting/enjoyable experience. Later that afternoon, many of us stayed in WV to go on a fall hike in the mountains. This experience was so breathtakingly beautiful and something that should be placed on many bucket lists. The fall colors blanketing the mountains with a gorge slicing them down the middle. What made this adventure really exciting was when we left the trail and began to blaze our own trail through the underbrush, scale down a cliff, climb on and over huge boulders, squeeze through a crack approximately six feet wide by four feet tall, step over a 30 foot drop, and finally climb up a small ledge to overlook the mountain range...with a group of 40+ people.It was such a privilege to see the artistry of God. Some of us then stayed a little longer to participate in their Lord's Day evening service. We rushed straight there, dirty and all, but we made it. There was one more surprise for us. The pastor asked all the choir groups to come up and sing "How Great Thou Art" all together. The surprise was that we were called up to sing with them! That was a wonderful experience. We then said our good-byes and left the small mountain town of Fayetteville and headed back to the city of Cleveland, arriving at 2AM.
One week later, these Gospel Warriors were off on another quest in another city. Location: Toledo, OH. Mission: Evangelize Toledo and help build up the church. We came in droves and masses, fearlessly stepping onto strangers' porches, rapping upon their doors, and gave them Jesus. Mission results: 99 surveys, 20 contact cards, 2 people prayed with, and 1 clear salvation. Here's a little insight to the power of prayer. The westside bros prayed/challenged the Lord to give us 10 contact cards. Not only did He meet that need, He exceeded it. Jesus is awesome.
The trip was supposed to actually last until 4PM but the westside had a young people's day in Bedford to get to. So basically we left town at 8AM, got to Toledo by 10AM, stayed until 1PM, got back at 3PM, then drove out to Bedford and arrived a little after 4PM. There were close to if not more than a 100 people there. We experienced a Fall filled day. There were caramel apples, a scavenger hunt in the woods, an apple relay, some delicious food, and an 7-8 foot high bonfire. I may have been dead tired that night, but it was totally worth it.
Closing thoughts: I again thank all of you prayer warriors who have been praying for our going on in the gospel. So many of yours and our prayers are being answered as we are getting contacts and follow-ups by the numbers. I will expound more upon this in my next post. Praise God for all He has done!
I'll start with the weekend of October 28-30. The internship group (us) went down to the wild and wonderful state of West Virginia (history lesson: only state created during the civil war) where we joined with the churches of Fayetteville to evangelize the town of Fayetteville. Before the weekend even started, a sea of prayer from the Great Lakes area went out for this time. We went down there hoping to help out and see what the Lord could do to a small town in the mountains. On the very first night, the Lord revealed to us how pleased He was with our going to WV.
The young people came the very first night for some awesome singing and more powerful prayer. After the meeting had ended, we started talking about our adventures of getting to Fayetteville. There was a group of us who was listening to the intense survival story of Grace Wang and Peter McNaughton, told by Grace (you'll have to ask her about her story), when this one boy, named Michael, came up to us and told us that he had just became saved. This happened because Grace and Peter got lost, they arrived later and took a breather in a back room when Michael showed up. Grace and Peter talked with him and then eventually someone else joined in. After the talk he realized that he needed to give his life to the Lord. Later on that evening, all the interns went over to the Morey's and crammed into their bathroom to baptize Michael in their bathtub. His testimony is so powerful and would make this blog twice as long, but he will be at the Rock in Toronto, Canada so if you want to hear it you should talk to him. This was only the first night.
The next day our schedules were crammed with a whole lot of Jesus.The morning was filled with back-to-back small groups/messages/skits preformed on Ephesians 1 (If you would like the links for the skits, FB message me). Next came some hardcore door-knocking and preaching the gospel in the cold weather where every house had a dog and most houses were separated by a few minutes of walking. The overall result was very positive.
Later in the afternoon, when most seemed tired, our spirits were revived again with a Christian rock concert performed by Phos (Ian K.'s band). These were songs Ian had written himself and in between, numerous interns gave touching personal testimonies. Afterwards, we had a delicious dinner with the saints at Christ Fellowship Church and then were treated to a violin concert performed by Vios (Julian T's project) that had the put a spin on well known hymns. The violin was the lead, but incorporated were acoustic/bass guitars, a piano, drums, vocals, and even a dance. Julian surprised most of us by bringing out a shiny accordion, which he played beautifully. Here is the link were you can experience some of the awesomeness we enjoyed: http://www.juliantaylormusic.com/music.html. Just click the play button near the title "Belief." Afterwards we were treated to a bonfire under the moon and stars.
On the Lord's day, the interns went to different churches of Fayetteville. This was an interesting/enjoyable experience. Later that afternoon, many of us stayed in WV to go on a fall hike in the mountains. This experience was so breathtakingly beautiful and something that should be placed on many bucket lists. The fall colors blanketing the mountains with a gorge slicing them down the middle. What made this adventure really exciting was when we left the trail and began to blaze our own trail through the underbrush, scale down a cliff, climb on and over huge boulders, squeeze through a crack approximately six feet wide by four feet tall, step over a 30 foot drop, and finally climb up a small ledge to overlook the mountain range...with a group of 40+ people.It was such a privilege to see the artistry of God. Some of us then stayed a little longer to participate in their Lord's Day evening service. We rushed straight there, dirty and all, but we made it. There was one more surprise for us. The pastor asked all the choir groups to come up and sing "How Great Thou Art" all together. The surprise was that we were called up to sing with them! That was a wonderful experience. We then said our good-byes and left the small mountain town of Fayetteville and headed back to the city of Cleveland, arriving at 2AM.
One week later, these Gospel Warriors were off on another quest in another city. Location: Toledo, OH. Mission: Evangelize Toledo and help build up the church. We came in droves and masses, fearlessly stepping onto strangers' porches, rapping upon their doors, and gave them Jesus. Mission results: 99 surveys, 20 contact cards, 2 people prayed with, and 1 clear salvation. Here's a little insight to the power of prayer. The westside bros prayed/challenged the Lord to give us 10 contact cards. Not only did He meet that need, He exceeded it. Jesus is awesome.
The trip was supposed to actually last until 4PM but the westside had a young people's day in Bedford to get to. So basically we left town at 8AM, got to Toledo by 10AM, stayed until 1PM, got back at 3PM, then drove out to Bedford and arrived a little after 4PM. There were close to if not more than a 100 people there. We experienced a Fall filled day. There were caramel apples, a scavenger hunt in the woods, an apple relay, some delicious food, and an 7-8 foot high bonfire. I may have been dead tired that night, but it was totally worth it.
Closing thoughts: I again thank all of you prayer warriors who have been praying for our going on in the gospel. So many of yours and our prayers are being answered as we are getting contacts and follow-ups by the numbers. I will expound more upon this in my next post. Praise God for all He has done!
Saturday, November 5, 2011
God's Love: A Personal Testimony
For this post, you all get a special treat. A lot of things have been going on in my life lately and I have a river gushing in me to write so many things, but time eludes me. This post is going to be short because it's late and I just wanted to put this up while I have the feeling to.
Some of you know that one of my main aspects of writing is poetry. A year ago, while I was in college, it was the day of midterms and I was a mess. I had to be at a test at 8:30AM for a class that was normally at 3:00PM, had to walk a half mile in freezing cold and drifting snow, ride 40 min on a smelly/crammed bus, to take a test for a class i absolutely despised, had to go to work right after, and had some personal issues. As I was walking through the snow, I was complaining to the Lord about something dealing with love. Right as those pathetic words escaped my lips, He struck me with powerful words of His own; they were "Now you know how I feel." He stopped me dead in my tracks. I could not believe that I had been so selfish in my whining. Feeling slightly better, I eventually made it to CSU, took the test, and then listened to some Christian music to relax after an insanely hard final. The song was "True Love" by Phil Wickam. That song and the words the Lord spoke to me earlier inspired me to write this poem. This poem has only been read by two people and for the first time it will be available to the public eye.
Some of you know that one of my main aspects of writing is poetry. A year ago, while I was in college, it was the day of midterms and I was a mess. I had to be at a test at 8:30AM for a class that was normally at 3:00PM, had to walk a half mile in freezing cold and drifting snow, ride 40 min on a smelly/crammed bus, to take a test for a class i absolutely despised, had to go to work right after, and had some personal issues. As I was walking through the snow, I was complaining to the Lord about something dealing with love. Right as those pathetic words escaped my lips, He struck me with powerful words of His own; they were "Now you know how I feel." He stopped me dead in my tracks. I could not believe that I had been so selfish in my whining. Feeling slightly better, I eventually made it to CSU, took the test, and then listened to some Christian music to relax after an insanely hard final. The song was "True Love" by Phil Wickam. That song and the words the Lord spoke to me earlier inspired me to write this poem. This poem has only been read by two people and for the first time it will be available to the public eye.
Love Amazing
By Josh Watkins
What is so great
that wars have been ceased?
What is so marvelous
that makes life exist?
What is so miraculous
that the dead have been raised?
What is so powerful
that mankind was saved?
That was the love of Jesus Christ.
It was this love
that tore down walls,
that shattered every barrier.
It was this love
that moved the mountains,
that made the earth shake.
It was this love
that created the eagle, the lion, and the lamb,
that gave the gift of life to man.
It was this love
that walked upon the sea,
that feed the hungry,
that healed the sick.
It was this love
that left the heavens,
that humbled to the form of a man.
It was this love
that took every hit, every beating, every hateful word,
that was betrayed, scorned, and killed.
It was this love
that caused the Father to give away His only Son.
It was this love
that as it was passing away, it grew stronger.
It was this love
that conquered death, that destroyed the devil, that rose again.
It was this love
that forgave a distraught race, that took away the sins of the world, that died for all.
It is this love
that saved me.
This is my encouragement to you. Go out and share this love with the lost, confused, torn, helpless, hopeless, godless, and unsaved generation that they too may have this love and may spread it like wildfire until the earth is consumed.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Rain. What Rain?
Hello to all who are wondering what Jesus has been doing recently to add to His Church. If your wondering why there wasn't a post last week, it's because the entire labor team was out a Ashland Woods for a corporate week with Bro Titus. Let me just say I praise the Lord for allowing Titus to be with us during the situation he is going through. I will not expound upon this online and if you really must know, ask a full-time brother in your local church.
This last week I had the privilege of going out preaching the gospel with the skies threatening rain. My sister and I were only out for 15 minutes when the rain started to come. Luckily, Lakewood is such an out going community that the streets didn't completely clear out. The first few people we tried to talk to were all in a hurry (most likely to get out of the rain), but eventually we broke ground and found some hardcore people willing to talk to us.
The first was an Arabic girl who said she was Muslim. Surprisingly, she was willing to talk to us about Jesus. We preached to her using the William Fay method (if you don't know what that is, pick up his book "Share Jesus Without Fear." It's an amazing book and is worth reading). Just by talking to her I could tell she wasn't a strong Muslim. We asked her if she was willing to pray with us to receive Jesus and Praise the Lord she was! After she accepted Jesus, we gave her an invitation and my sister's cell number. Hopefully she will call us (she wasn't willing to give us her number).
Almost immediately after, we met an older woman waiting for the bus. We again went with the William Fay method and this lady was not interested...at first. She wouldn't believe in God because a lot of bad things have happened to her. We asked her why she claimed God was behind those things...she didn't know. Then we asked her if she believed in heaven and hell. She did and believed she was going to hell because of all the bad things SHE had done. We told her there was a way to be saved from hell and asked her if she would like to know how. Drum roll please...............she also said YES! Once she accepted the Lord, we got her number and already have a follow up time for tomorrow. Jesus is awesome.
Two things I'd also like to mention are that I've been sharing the gospel with some friends I've been praying for awhile now and they are still far from Jesus. Yet there is one who is very open and I am greatly encouraged. Also, get this. The very first person I talked to after the labor started showed up on Lord's Day looking for a bible. I can tell people have been praying for us and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I pray that all of you who are not partaking in the labor would remain strong in the Christian faith and continue to pray for the Lord's moving this year.
This last week I had the privilege of going out preaching the gospel with the skies threatening rain. My sister and I were only out for 15 minutes when the rain started to come. Luckily, Lakewood is such an out going community that the streets didn't completely clear out. The first few people we tried to talk to were all in a hurry (most likely to get out of the rain), but eventually we broke ground and found some hardcore people willing to talk to us.
The first was an Arabic girl who said she was Muslim. Surprisingly, she was willing to talk to us about Jesus. We preached to her using the William Fay method (if you don't know what that is, pick up his book "Share Jesus Without Fear." It's an amazing book and is worth reading). Just by talking to her I could tell she wasn't a strong Muslim. We asked her if she was willing to pray with us to receive Jesus and Praise the Lord she was! After she accepted Jesus, we gave her an invitation and my sister's cell number. Hopefully she will call us (she wasn't willing to give us her number).
Almost immediately after, we met an older woman waiting for the bus. We again went with the William Fay method and this lady was not interested...at first. She wouldn't believe in God because a lot of bad things have happened to her. We asked her why she claimed God was behind those things...she didn't know. Then we asked her if she believed in heaven and hell. She did and believed she was going to hell because of all the bad things SHE had done. We told her there was a way to be saved from hell and asked her if she would like to know how. Drum roll please...............she also said YES! Once she accepted the Lord, we got her number and already have a follow up time for tomorrow. Jesus is awesome.
Two things I'd also like to mention are that I've been sharing the gospel with some friends I've been praying for awhile now and they are still far from Jesus. Yet there is one who is very open and I am greatly encouraged. Also, get this. The very first person I talked to after the labor started showed up on Lord's Day looking for a bible. I can tell people have been praying for us and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I pray that all of you who are not partaking in the labor would remain strong in the Christian faith and continue to pray for the Lord's moving this year.
Monday, October 10, 2011
God Bless You
Let me just open this blog by saying "Thank You Jesus for this Indian summer!" (Which is summer like weather in Autumn). Delaying the evident wrath of Old Man Winter allows for perfect gospel preaching weather, but also for all sorts of people from different walks of life.
The first person I met in this week's adventure was quite the surprise. His name is Dave and apparently, he visited the Church in Cleveland back in the 80s. I found this morsel out when he asked what church I went to. He then told me exactly what we stand for and what our foundation is...he was dead on target. I then discovered he is catholic and before we parted ways he said he appreciated that their are people like me out sharing the gospel and then he said "God bless." What I didn't yet know was that I was about to be blessed more times in one day than I probably have been in a month.
Out of the last for people I talked to for the day, three of them were also catholic. The most interesting of the last three catholics was the second. When I asked this guy what his spiritual beliefs were, he showed me his arm and tattooed on it was the ever popular saying "Only God can judge." You will find when you preach the gospel that there are a lot of people, believers or not, that have this saying tattooed on their body. This man wasn't in a hurry, but he also answered every one of my questions with a simple yes or no. After I thanked him, he, like the first two catholics, told me "God bless." Even though I didn't have much luck with someone who needed Jesus, the day was very encouraging.
Later in the week, me and some of the bros returned to the old stomping grounds of Lakewood Park. Because of the beautiful weather God had graced us with, there was a throng of people. Jeremiah and I headed down to the lake front to see what kind of people needed some Jesus. Little did we know that the first person we'd talk to would be our last.
The guy looked to be in his late thirties, was on the chunky side, and was wearing a Cleveland Browns cap. The guy was super friendly, but this conversation was about to go on a windy road with no end for miles around. This dude used to be in a part of the government, was a very knowledgeable, and was a very charismatic speaker. He knew how to change the subject very quickly and what he stood upon was that God is love and so is nature and everything else. He liked to talk about world issues and many other "interesting" things. Some of his memorable quotes were "I'm still on the fence", "the playing field is not level"(Communism?...I think so) "the president is a puppet controlled by very rich and power people", and my favorite "For all we know, Hitler could be in heaven." Jer and I spent over an hour talking to this guy and managed to preach the whole gospel, but ended up having a practically fruitless conversation. Hopefully a seed was planted in him that will break up through the ground of intellect in his heart.
To all of you who are reading this blog; I ask you to please pray for our going on in the gospel, for the contacts we are obtaining that are becoming stale, for everyone involved with the labor, and for anyone you might know who is unsaved. Jesus is our Shepherd. Because He endlessly takes care of us, we should be willing to shepherd those who do not have the glorious presence of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The first person I met in this week's adventure was quite the surprise. His name is Dave and apparently, he visited the Church in Cleveland back in the 80s. I found this morsel out when he asked what church I went to. He then told me exactly what we stand for and what our foundation is...he was dead on target. I then discovered he is catholic and before we parted ways he said he appreciated that their are people like me out sharing the gospel and then he said "God bless." What I didn't yet know was that I was about to be blessed more times in one day than I probably have been in a month.
Out of the last for people I talked to for the day, three of them were also catholic. The most interesting of the last three catholics was the second. When I asked this guy what his spiritual beliefs were, he showed me his arm and tattooed on it was the ever popular saying "Only God can judge." You will find when you preach the gospel that there are a lot of people, believers or not, that have this saying tattooed on their body. This man wasn't in a hurry, but he also answered every one of my questions with a simple yes or no. After I thanked him, he, like the first two catholics, told me "God bless." Even though I didn't have much luck with someone who needed Jesus, the day was very encouraging.
Later in the week, me and some of the bros returned to the old stomping grounds of Lakewood Park. Because of the beautiful weather God had graced us with, there was a throng of people. Jeremiah and I headed down to the lake front to see what kind of people needed some Jesus. Little did we know that the first person we'd talk to would be our last.
The guy looked to be in his late thirties, was on the chunky side, and was wearing a Cleveland Browns cap. The guy was super friendly, but this conversation was about to go on a windy road with no end for miles around. This dude used to be in a part of the government, was a very knowledgeable, and was a very charismatic speaker. He knew how to change the subject very quickly and what he stood upon was that God is love and so is nature and everything else. He liked to talk about world issues and many other "interesting" things. Some of his memorable quotes were "I'm still on the fence", "the playing field is not level"(Communism?...I think so) "the president is a puppet controlled by very rich and power people", and my favorite "For all we know, Hitler could be in heaven." Jer and I spent over an hour talking to this guy and managed to preach the whole gospel, but ended up having a practically fruitless conversation. Hopefully a seed was planted in him that will break up through the ground of intellect in his heart.
To all of you who are reading this blog; I ask you to please pray for our going on in the gospel, for the contacts we are obtaining that are becoming stale, for everyone involved with the labor, and for anyone you might know who is unsaved. Jesus is our Shepherd. Because He endlessly takes care of us, we should be willing to shepherd those who do not have the glorious presence of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Monday, October 3, 2011
The Calm After the Storm
Rain, rain, rain. That sums up the last week...for the most part. Don't get me wrong, I love a summer thunderstorm or a soft, summer rain, but when you are trying to share Jesus with the world, rain can really dampen the situation.
This last week wasn't a total loss, however. In between showers on Saturday evening, me, Timothy, Jer, and Jesse had a chance to tackle the usual place: Detroit Rd. Surprisingly, there were more people out than we expected. We had about an hour because the Jr. High/High School meeting was that night. We split into pairs; Jer and I headed West, Tim and Jesse took the East. Within a few minutes a hooded guy smoking a cigarette came strolling our way. We asked him if he had a few minutes and he stopped to talk to us.
At first, he came off as a guy who looked like he wasn't even going to give us two seconds, but it turns out that he was a really nice guy who was a believer. The guy started out as a Methodist, but after his father passed away when he was six, he went off on a spiritual quest. He wanted to find a way to end his pain, so he tried Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, Lutheran, and many others. Eventually, he found his way back to the Lord and returned to his Methodist church.
It didn't take long to find another person willing to let us share Jesus with them. The person looked to be 15-16 years old, but I could be completely wrong. He had a deep voice for his assumed age and answered "yes" to almost every question we asked him. He also said he goes to a church nearby. Just in case he was interested, we gave him an invite to our church and before we went along our way, he told us his brother would like the invite a lot.
I checked my phone and we had enough time to talk to one last person before we had to leave. This last guy we came upon was a guy in his mid-20s. He, like the first guy, had a half-smoked cigarette dangling of the out of the left corner of his mouth. He was also wearing a Raiders cap backwards and had on a white T-shirt in 48 degree weather. We began to talk to the guy and he was a pretty friendly dude. I believe he was agnostic because he said he believed in a higher being, but not God. He claimed heaven and hell do not exist and when asked if he was a good person, he said no but he has no regrets (he mentioned he felt guilty about some things, therefore he contradicted himself in a way). I didn't even bother to check my phone because when you share the gospel with an unbeliever, time doesn't matter when their eternal destination is at stake.
The guy seemed like he had somewhere else to be (which turned out to be the bar he worked at right next to us) so we asked him the 5th "Share Jesus" question which was "If what you are believing isn't true, would you want to know the truth?" The guy answered us with a question (I hate it when they do that). "It's all perspective or your opinion right?" he said. Then he told us he had to go back to work. I made a last ditch effort and told him that if he was ever interested in seeking God or had a change of heart, he would be welcome to attend church on Lord's Day. I also gave him an invitation. Hopefully that seed Jer and I planted grows.
Not everyone who you talk to will listen. Not everyone will even give you two seconds of the day. Yet, as long as the Word of God and the and the Truth gets shared, the Kingdom will continue to grow.
This last week wasn't a total loss, however. In between showers on Saturday evening, me, Timothy, Jer, and Jesse had a chance to tackle the usual place: Detroit Rd. Surprisingly, there were more people out than we expected. We had about an hour because the Jr. High/High School meeting was that night. We split into pairs; Jer and I headed West, Tim and Jesse took the East. Within a few minutes a hooded guy smoking a cigarette came strolling our way. We asked him if he had a few minutes and he stopped to talk to us.
At first, he came off as a guy who looked like he wasn't even going to give us two seconds, but it turns out that he was a really nice guy who was a believer. The guy started out as a Methodist, but after his father passed away when he was six, he went off on a spiritual quest. He wanted to find a way to end his pain, so he tried Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, Lutheran, and many others. Eventually, he found his way back to the Lord and returned to his Methodist church.
It didn't take long to find another person willing to let us share Jesus with them. The person looked to be 15-16 years old, but I could be completely wrong. He had a deep voice for his assumed age and answered "yes" to almost every question we asked him. He also said he goes to a church nearby. Just in case he was interested, we gave him an invite to our church and before we went along our way, he told us his brother would like the invite a lot.
I checked my phone and we had enough time to talk to one last person before we had to leave. This last guy we came upon was a guy in his mid-20s. He, like the first guy, had a half-smoked cigarette dangling of the out of the left corner of his mouth. He was also wearing a Raiders cap backwards and had on a white T-shirt in 48 degree weather. We began to talk to the guy and he was a pretty friendly dude. I believe he was agnostic because he said he believed in a higher being, but not God. He claimed heaven and hell do not exist and when asked if he was a good person, he said no but he has no regrets (he mentioned he felt guilty about some things, therefore he contradicted himself in a way). I didn't even bother to check my phone because when you share the gospel with an unbeliever, time doesn't matter when their eternal destination is at stake.
The guy seemed like he had somewhere else to be (which turned out to be the bar he worked at right next to us) so we asked him the 5th "Share Jesus" question which was "If what you are believing isn't true, would you want to know the truth?" The guy answered us with a question (I hate it when they do that). "It's all perspective or your opinion right?" he said. Then he told us he had to go back to work. I made a last ditch effort and told him that if he was ever interested in seeking God or had a change of heart, he would be welcome to attend church on Lord's Day. I also gave him an invitation. Hopefully that seed Jer and I planted grows.
Not everyone who you talk to will listen. Not everyone will even give you two seconds of the day. Yet, as long as the Word of God and the and the Truth gets shared, the Kingdom will continue to grow.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
The Rejection, The Believer, and The Saved
So let me just start by saying how awesome Jesus is. For those of you who don't know or have been wondering where I am, I have taken the year off of school to participate in a Christian internship. This internship includes studying the Bible, doing projects, shepherding people, loving Jesus, and preaching the Gospel. This blog will be updated once or twice a week time willing.
Let me just start by saying that preaching the Gospel is easier than most people realize. Once you get someone talking, you'll find how easy it is to share the Truth. My first adventures in preaching the Gospel weren't as eventful as today's experience.
Today, Timothy Miller, Jeremiah Johnson, and I went to our usual place which was Detroit Rd. in Lakewood, OH. Now Lakewood is an interesting/colorful place. Just walking down any major road you can run into some characters. The three of us decided to split up. I headed east towards Rocky River, hoping to run into some luck. As I walked, every person I stopped had an excuse. "I have a doctor's appointment." "I have to take my dog home." "I have to go into the store." It seemed as if no one was willing to hear the good news. I decided to turn around and head back towards our starting point. As I came upon the Lakewood Library, I noticed a man coming at me. He was of stout nature, had scraggly white hair and was wearing a purple cap that had a peace button pinned to it. I thought I'd have a casual conversation with this guy, but boy was I in for a surprise.
I stopped the man and asked him if he had time to answer a few questions. He did and I asked him if he had any spiritual beliefs and if he believed in Jesus. The man said yes to both, but before I could ask a third question, he personality sprang upon me like a tiger in the grass. He started asking me questions in a condemning, booming, voice. He was literally two feet in front of me and shouting as if he was across the street. He asked me questions like "Do you believe in Buddha, Gandhi, MLK?" He also asked me to remove my cap and shades so he could "see who he was talking to." He then stated he believes in Jesus, but not what he did. He quoted Matthew 7:1-2 which is about not judging others. I then asked him how many sins Jesus died for and he totally answered my question with a question by asking me what was the one bad thing Jesus did. I couldn't answer because of course Jesus never sinned. The man then called Jesus a thief for "stealing" the donkey (Mark 11:1-11). Unfortunately, being a Bible noob, I did not know which gospel that story was referenced so I could prove him wrong because the Bible says the men let the servants have the donkey after they told them who it was for. I then asked him about heaven and hell and he asked me why would a loving God send people to hell. Thanks to Ian Brinksman's message on this subject, I was able to answer his question which he refuted with "the devil doesn't exist and neither does heaven and hell." He also continued his spiel with that those who taught me are brainwashing me and turning me into a robot. Before I could ask him one more question, he realized he was late for something, shook my hand with his left because he had a massive bruise on his right shoulder (he unbuttoned his shirt to show me even though I told him he didn't need to do that) and then said we'd have to talk again sometime...O Lord Jesus.
We'll that was more interesting than it was depressing. Plus the sun was shining for the first time in a week and a half and it was a beautiful day. I think the next person I was about to meet was the Lord sending me some encouragement. This guy was walking at a slightly faster than normal speed and I was about to let him walk by when I felt I should stop him because I had passed by too many people without saying a word already. I began my intro speech and right after the first question, I found out the guy was not only saved, but is a pastor at a denomination down the street. He asked me what church I went to and when I told him, he asked again because when most people hear "The Church in Cleveland" they think I mean "A" church in Cleveland. I told him the reason for that name is that we are a church in the city of Cleveland for ALL believers. He really appreciated that and luckily I had an invitation on me. He told me he may have to send some people over to visit!
Now for the most exciting conversation of the day. Jer, Tim, and I met up with Jesse, Rosie, Sarah Dugger, and Sarah Watkins and we went to Lakewood Park. As soon as we got there, Tim and I decided to hit up the skate park and believe me, that is a challenging place to preach the Gospel. Most of the ones who hang out there are stoners, drop-outs, delinquents, and basically ungodly people. I once saw a 15-16 year old girl with a lit cigarette in her mouth. Anyways, Tim and I had made a contact there before and I was feeling good. So we marched on over there and talked to the first person we saw. The dude was about 17 and was a high-school drop out who basically spends his life working and skateboarding. We started asking him questions and the key question that struck with him was where will you go when you die. He thought he was going to heaven just because he didn't kill anyone. But once he read the Scripture, his response went along the lines of "Dang, I'm going to hell!" We talked to the dude more and at the end of our conversation, he prayed to ask Jesus into his heart. Hallelujah! As Tim and I left the park, we heard the guy say "I'm going to heaven bros!"
Final thought: Preaching the Gospel is no small matter. Not everyone has heard the Truth. These people are going to hell. No ifs, ands, or buts. We should not be selfish and conceal this marvelous Life withing us. Think about eternity and the judgement gates. You may be entering through, but your friend who you had known all your life but never told him/her about Jesus is right there, asking you why you didn't tell them about Jesus. Jesus payed the highest price for us; we should be willing to return the favor because God desires all men to be saved. JEEEEESSSSSSUUUUUUSSS!
Let me just start by saying that preaching the Gospel is easier than most people realize. Once you get someone talking, you'll find how easy it is to share the Truth. My first adventures in preaching the Gospel weren't as eventful as today's experience.
Today, Timothy Miller, Jeremiah Johnson, and I went to our usual place which was Detroit Rd. in Lakewood, OH. Now Lakewood is an interesting/colorful place. Just walking down any major road you can run into some characters. The three of us decided to split up. I headed east towards Rocky River, hoping to run into some luck. As I walked, every person I stopped had an excuse. "I have a doctor's appointment." "I have to take my dog home." "I have to go into the store." It seemed as if no one was willing to hear the good news. I decided to turn around and head back towards our starting point. As I came upon the Lakewood Library, I noticed a man coming at me. He was of stout nature, had scraggly white hair and was wearing a purple cap that had a peace button pinned to it. I thought I'd have a casual conversation with this guy, but boy was I in for a surprise.
I stopped the man and asked him if he had time to answer a few questions. He did and I asked him if he had any spiritual beliefs and if he believed in Jesus. The man said yes to both, but before I could ask a third question, he personality sprang upon me like a tiger in the grass. He started asking me questions in a condemning, booming, voice. He was literally two feet in front of me and shouting as if he was across the street. He asked me questions like "Do you believe in Buddha, Gandhi, MLK?" He also asked me to remove my cap and shades so he could "see who he was talking to." He then stated he believes in Jesus, but not what he did. He quoted Matthew 7:1-2 which is about not judging others. I then asked him how many sins Jesus died for and he totally answered my question with a question by asking me what was the one bad thing Jesus did. I couldn't answer because of course Jesus never sinned. The man then called Jesus a thief for "stealing" the donkey (Mark 11:1-11). Unfortunately, being a Bible noob, I did not know which gospel that story was referenced so I could prove him wrong because the Bible says the men let the servants have the donkey after they told them who it was for. I then asked him about heaven and hell and he asked me why would a loving God send people to hell. Thanks to Ian Brinksman's message on this subject, I was able to answer his question which he refuted with "the devil doesn't exist and neither does heaven and hell." He also continued his spiel with that those who taught me are brainwashing me and turning me into a robot. Before I could ask him one more question, he realized he was late for something, shook my hand with his left because he had a massive bruise on his right shoulder (he unbuttoned his shirt to show me even though I told him he didn't need to do that) and then said we'd have to talk again sometime...O Lord Jesus.
We'll that was more interesting than it was depressing. Plus the sun was shining for the first time in a week and a half and it was a beautiful day. I think the next person I was about to meet was the Lord sending me some encouragement. This guy was walking at a slightly faster than normal speed and I was about to let him walk by when I felt I should stop him because I had passed by too many people without saying a word already. I began my intro speech and right after the first question, I found out the guy was not only saved, but is a pastor at a denomination down the street. He asked me what church I went to and when I told him, he asked again because when most people hear "The Church in Cleveland" they think I mean "A" church in Cleveland. I told him the reason for that name is that we are a church in the city of Cleveland for ALL believers. He really appreciated that and luckily I had an invitation on me. He told me he may have to send some people over to visit!
Now for the most exciting conversation of the day. Jer, Tim, and I met up with Jesse, Rosie, Sarah Dugger, and Sarah Watkins and we went to Lakewood Park. As soon as we got there, Tim and I decided to hit up the skate park and believe me, that is a challenging place to preach the Gospel. Most of the ones who hang out there are stoners, drop-outs, delinquents, and basically ungodly people. I once saw a 15-16 year old girl with a lit cigarette in her mouth. Anyways, Tim and I had made a contact there before and I was feeling good. So we marched on over there and talked to the first person we saw. The dude was about 17 and was a high-school drop out who basically spends his life working and skateboarding. We started asking him questions and the key question that struck with him was where will you go when you die. He thought he was going to heaven just because he didn't kill anyone. But once he read the Scripture, his response went along the lines of "Dang, I'm going to hell!" We talked to the dude more and at the end of our conversation, he prayed to ask Jesus into his heart. Hallelujah! As Tim and I left the park, we heard the guy say "I'm going to heaven bros!"
Final thought: Preaching the Gospel is no small matter. Not everyone has heard the Truth. These people are going to hell. No ifs, ands, or buts. We should not be selfish and conceal this marvelous Life withing us. Think about eternity and the judgement gates. You may be entering through, but your friend who you had known all your life but never told him/her about Jesus is right there, asking you why you didn't tell them about Jesus. Jesus payed the highest price for us; we should be willing to return the favor because God desires all men to be saved. JEEEEESSSSSSUUUUUUSSS!
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