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.
Friday, November 25, 2011
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.
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