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Showing posts from 2015

Little Preachers

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Among the greatest tools for spreading the gospel is the printed page. I praise God for organizations like The Gideons who distribute Bibles throughout the world. Sometimes I give away their New Testaments to people who don’t have a copy of God’s word. Other times I give out gospels of John produced by the Pocket Testament League . Still, I believe the greatest evangelism tool is a simple gospel tract. This handy “little preacher” is able to do what many of us often fail or are unable to do.  Consider the following advantages of using gospel tracts… The gospel tract never stumbles over words or forgets important Scriptures. The gospel tract can be given during extremely brief encounters (when making a purchase, passing someone on the street, etc.). The gospel tract never gets sidetracked or caught up in an argument. It just gives the message of salvation, plainly and clearly. The gospel tract is never intimidated or fearful. The gospel tract is never tempted to compromi

Living Saints

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This past week Pope Francis declared the late Mother Teresa would be elevated to sainthood. It reminded me of a Yahoo video I watched in 2011 called “The Four Steps to Becoming a Saint”, which claimed the late Pope John Paul II was one step away from sainthood. Immediately I thought how unbiblical that was. Had the pontiff obeyed Romans 10:13 ( “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” ) before he died, then he already took the only step needed. The Catholic Church teaches that for a person to be considered for sainthood, he or she must have been dead for at least five years. There are many Scriptures proving a person cannot become a saint after they die. Revelation 22:11 says, “He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.” Once a sinner passes through the gates of hell, he or she cannot become holy by the actions of another person inclu

Jesus Christ is Coming Again

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You better look up Look up into the sky  You better be ready I’m telling you why  Jesus Christ is coming again He’s gathering a list  And checking it twice  Gonna come for those He paid the price  Jesus Christ is coming again He sees you when you're sinning  But hears you when you pray He knows if you are saved or not  So be saved for He is the Way (to the tune of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" -  new lyrics by T. R. Post   © 20 11)

Oh My Stars!

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Facebook is a convenient way to stay in touch with friends, reconnect with old ones and meet new people. It’s also provided me an outlet to minister to numerous folks at once plus share evangelism testimonies. But just like any other technological tool, Facebook can be used for ungodly purposes. I’ve noticed a few friends posting horoscopes on their Facebook pages. Perhaps some of them are ignorant of what the Bible says regarding astrology and the occult. That’s why it’s important to read the word of God. There are numerous warnings about seeking counsel from astrologers and fortunetellers. Here are a few of them… “And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.” - Leviticus 20:6 “ There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens,

Whose Child Are You?

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One song often heard during the holiday season is “What Child Is This?” A question many people need to answer for themselves is “Who’s Child Am I?”   Sometimes while evangelizing, sinners tell me they are going to heaven because they claim to be a child of God. My hometown newspaper recently published a letter applauding Sen. John McCain’s declaration (regarding the Syrian refugee situation), “All of us are God’s children.” That inspired me to write a response pointing out this is not an accurate statement. It’s true that all men “have been made in the similitude of God.” (James 3:9)   But not every person on this earth is technically a child of God. A man or woman who doesn’t become born again has Satan as their spiritual father even if they don’t believe he exists. Look at this conversation Jesus had with the Pharisees in John 8… 39 They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.”  Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the wo

Stepping Out

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This past week at the church I’ve been working with, we had a visiting evangelist named Joe Jackson. That had me thinking of famous people with that name such as Michael Jackson’s father, a baseball player with the nickname “Shoeless,” and a British singer whose biggest U. S. hit was the Grammy-nominated “Steppin’ Out.” As I watched the music video of that song for the first time in years, I suddenly realized how Joe Jackson’s tune could be turned into an exhortation to obey the Great Commission. The hardest part about evangelism is simply getting started. Even after doing street ministry for over twenty years, there are times I don’t feel like talking to people. But once I get over myself and start sharing the gospel, the Holy Spirit flows through me and I feel much better afterwards. Back in the early 1990s when I was involved with network marketing, I heard a sales trainer point out if we only do things that are comfortable, we are “screwing up big time.” One way we matur

The Jesus of Islam

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Not too long ago during a prayer walk, I stopped to witness to two young men waiting for a bus. Both of them thought they would go to heaven for living good lives. Eventually Sayma told me he was Muslim but still prayed along with his friend Sam to get born again. Since Sayma didn’t have a Bible, I gave him a gospel of John pointing out it reveals a more accurate picture of who Jesus is. The Koran has some verses about Jesus that agree with the Bible... Jesus was born of a virgin (Surah 19:19-21) Jesus taken bodily into Heaven (Surah 3:55) Jesus was a miracle worker (Surah 2:253) Jesus said to obey him (Surah 43:63) However, there are Koranic verses about Jesus that conflict with Scripture... Surah 3:59 claims Jesus was created . John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Surahs 4:171 and 5:75 claim Jesus is no more than a messenger of Allah. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.

Out on a Limb

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English preacher John Scotland often says at his meetings, “For those of you taking notes…save the trees.” This is meant to be a humorous jab at people who jot down too many notes during church services.  Sadly there are environmentalists who do ridiculous things like chain themselves to trees they don’t want chopped down. In this creepy YouTube clip , members of a radical advocacy group are hysterically bawling over dead trees…   Tree huggers who really want to take their cause to the extreme shouldn’t read books, live in wooden houses with wooden furniture or use paper money, Kleenex and toilet paper. If God valued trees as much as humans, He wouldn’t have told Noah to built an ark out of gopher wood ( Genesis 6:14) or instructed His people to use wood for various sacrifices. God is certainly not worried about earthly shortages. One time I was driving through Yellowstone National Park and saw a mountain range with a huge amount of trees. At that moment, the Lord spo

Redeeming Halloween

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Next Saturday people around the world will celebrate Halloween. Christians have responded to this holiday in different ways. Some church-going parents allow their kids to go trick-or-treating not seeing anything wrong with that. Others ignore the day completely as to avoid “every form of evil. ” (1 Thessalonians 5:22) Then there are parents who send their kids to a “Hallelujah party” or some other alternative event. I’ve even heard of believers having “hell houses” (instead of haunted houses) to show people what eternity will be like if they die without knowing the Lord. Since becoming a Christian in 1991, there were a few Halloween nights when I went out street evangelizing. Another time I attempted to give out tracts instead of candy to kids who showed up at my door. I quickly realized this wasn’t an effective way to reach children for Jesus. I remember trick-or-treating as a kid and would have been disappointed if an adult offered me a tract without any candy. Six years a

Sowing the Seeds of Love

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God often uses secular songs to minister to me. This past Wednesday I had a dream in which I was watching a revised music video of the 1989 Tears For Fears hit “Sowing the Seeds of Love.” One of the lyrics had been changed by mentioning the Lord. When I woke up, I perceived this dream was direction to go evangelizing that day (I had stayed home the previous two days fasting and praying). Later that evening, I got blessed with a huge amount of gospel tracts. I also recalled a prophetic word I received five years ago in which I was compared to Johnny Appleseed. This 19th Century missionary lived a nomadic lifestyle planting apple orchards in Pennsylvania, Ontario, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, as well as the northern counties of present-day West Virginia. A popular legend is that Johnny randomly planted apple seeds without seeing the fruits of his labor. Although I’ve prayed with thousands of people to receive salvation, I’ve also planted countless seeds through gospel tracts.

Take Your Place

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Standing by a river in central Germany I was temporarily living in Toronto in 1996 when the Lord revealed He was calling me to go to Germany. Initially I wasn’t excited about the idea. But by the time I made my third Germany trip in 2003, I would have been content to spend the rest of my life there. Instead God directed me to visit other parts of Western Europe until I returned to America. Since then I’ve mostly spent seasons living on the East Coast and in the Upper Midwest.  One of the greatest frustrations a believer can experience is not knowing where God wants them to be. Many times we need to take action on what we know before He gives us additional direction. In Genesis 12, Abram was directed by the Lord to leave his home country but didn’t receive further instructions until he started moving. You cannot steer a parked car. Lack of provision can also be a sign we’re not where God has assigned us to be. In 1 Kings 17, Elijah was commanded to go to the brook Cherith w

Last Days Scoffers

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Last Sunday night I saw the latest blood moon in the sky. I couldn’t get a decent picture of it with my phone or camcorder but saw photos taken by Facebook friends. I also noticed friends posted mocking comments because the Apocalypse didn’t happen. The recent blood moon tetrad plus a total solar eclipse on March 20th of this year were simply signs that we are living in the last days. As Acts 2:20 says, “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.” The lunar and solar eclipses were never meant to signify the exact day of the Lord’s return.  Ministers like John Hagee brought attention to the blood moons because three previous tetrads also coinciding on Jewish holidays occurred around the time significant events happened involving the Jews... In 1493 and 1494, total lunar eclipses occurred on the Jewish Passover and the Feast of Trumpets both years. This was after King Ferdinand and Queen Isa