Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Rom 1:14-17 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. (15) So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. (16) For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (17) For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH."
I pray that we, like the Apostle Paul, understand our responsibility to proclaim the Gospel to everyone -- Greeks and barbarians; those who look like us and those who don't look like us, those younger and those older, those poorer and those richer and all who come across our path.
When we ignore the clear call of Scripture to proclaim the Gospel to everyone we are guilty of being ashamed of the very message that saved us from the wrath of God. Paul was not ashamed because he knew that this was the only message that could save.
Lord grant us mercy as we take your Gospel to a lost and dying world.
In Him,
Jimmy
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Blessings Everyone,
ReplyDeleteYou know you got to love it when the mission field shows up at your doorstep. I came home from work not too long ago and in my mind complaining to God about how tired I was; trying to convince myself that it was okay to stay home just one night. Then the doorbell rings, a young man named Steven was selling steaks of all things. I guess he's typically a delivery guy for his meat company and his boss was allowing them to make a little money selling door to door. Anyway, a $164.00 later I have a freezer full of meat and someone to share the Gospel with.
Steven is a young 20 something, married with 3 young kids (lives in the South Tulsa area). I gave him a Mercy Hill tract and asked if he and his family attended church anywhere. He said no but was really interested in going, apparently he and his wife had been discussing this very thing. He was very open and honest and said he really didn't know where to begin or what he should do. I explained to him that all of mankind has a problem and that problem is sin. We have all violated God's holy standard -- the Ten Commandments. I went through a few of the commandments with Steven (lying, stealing and adultery) and we both agreed that in accordance with the Biblical standard (perfection) neither one of us has kept any of these commandments. I went on to explain that violating God's law is sin and that the wages of sin is death (both spiritually and physically). I explained the reality of hell and that a just God must punish sin. I asked Steven if he knew anyone who had ever kept the law perfectly, he said no. I told him that I did know someone who kept the law perfectly and His name is Jesus. I let Steven know that Jesus accomplished what he and I could not –perfect obedience to the law. Not only did Jesus perfectly obey the law but he willingly went to the cross and took the wrath of God upon himself for sinners like he and I. His perfection qualified Him to be the perfect sacrifice and by the way Jesus is the only one in history who can make that claim. You see Jesus died on that cross and was buried, but something happened three days later that rocked the entire world. He rose from the dead! Proving He was the perfect sacrifice, the sin eater for all who would believe in Him and announcing to the world he had defeated sin and death. I encouraged Steven to trust in this message not because I told him but because Jesus rose from the dead.
I write this in tears because God is good. Lord take the Gospel Steven heard today and make it effectual unto his salvation.
In Him,
Jimmy
I was able to speak with Hunter today. He works at the golf course. He also plays on Bill's team. I asked him if he had a few minutes to talk in between cleaning golf carts. He said yes. I asked him what he thought his purpose in life was. He just looked at me funny. Then I asked him where he thought he would go when he died. Another funny look. I asked him if he believed in a heaven and a hell. He said yes. I then asked him what he thought it took for a person to go to heaven. He told me that you need to live a good life. I then told him that I would like to share with him what the bible says about heaven and how to get there. I shared the gospel with him. He said he had never heard that before. I then went to get a basket of balls for my next lesson. He walked by me so I asked if I could ask him one more question. He said yes. I asked him who he thought Jesus was. He said God. I then brought up the resurrection and Christ being the only way for eternal life. I talked to him for a while about sin. He admitted to lying, stealing, lusting. I told him that I was guilty of all of those things as well. I told him that God is a just God, holy, and cannot overlook sin. He sent His one and only son to die for our sins. He was our substitue. God's wrath was poured out on His precious son, the wrath we all deserve. He just looked at me funny once again but he did listen to me very carefully as I spoke of all of these things. I challenged him to read the book of John in his bible. He said he did have one. He said he does not go to church, I plan on inviting him to Mercy Hill. I told him I would be praying for him. This one didn't cost me 165 dollars though. When is the cookout at your house brother J?
ReplyDeleteWe'll have a cookout soon. I need to find a less expensive way to witness :)
ReplyDelete