Monday, June 29, 2015

The Next Time Someone Asks if Gospel Tracts are "Effective".....


Recently I published a gospel tract with Marv Plementosh of One Million Tracts titled: What Comes After Pride?

Recently, Marv received the followin email from someone in Hawaii who found the gospel tract in a rental car:
"I work at Avis Budget Maui and when I was cleaning one of the cars, I found this card that said 'What Comes After Pride?' I am a Christian. I use to go to church. And I admit that I am a sinner in a sinful world. That moment when I found the card, God was trying to tell me something, I read the message and the website, and I'm willing to give up myself to Jesus Christ. Thank you very much! & God bless!!"
So, the next time someone asks you if gospel tracts are effective, feel free to share this testimony with them.

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Martin's Faith in Meaninglessness

While distributing gospel tracts on Wimbledon Hill Road, in Wimbledon, England, I handed a gospel tract to a man named Martin. When Martin received the tract, he asked what it was. When I explained to Martin that it was a message about Jesus Christ, Martin asserted he was an atheist. What followed was a 15-minute conversation during which Martin acknowledged he had to draw from the Christian worldview to assert any basis for morality and that his godless worldview provided know basis for a morality that was anything more than the arbitrary opinions of people. During the conversation, Martin conceded that his worldview could not give an account for knowledge, logic, or purpose for human existence. Martin lives by faith, but sadly it is faith in meaninglessness.

Martin was on his lunch break. He left, not in a huff, but simply due to a lack of time. While I did not get to communicate the gospel with Martin, the paper missionary I gave him went with him as he walked away.

Listen now to my conversation with Martin.

Thursday, June 4, 2015

My Bible, My Cell Phone, and My New Conviction

My friend, Gayle Metcalf, shared the following image today on her Facebook page.


My friend, Pastor Geoff Kirkland, posted an article today titled Lessons for Young Men, which included a charge to greater commitment to the Word of God.

The above items have been used by the Lord today to bring much conviction to my heart and mind. Great conviction.

My cell phone is with me wherever I go. It is my primary source of communication with the world: phone calls, text messages, emails, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, news outlets, the Weather Channel, traffic alerts, law enforcement alerts, my calendar, and Bluetooth for my GoPro camera. The only game on my phone is Chess.

The apps that are least often used on my phone are my Bible apps. I prefer the printed page over the electronic page for most of my reading, especially my Bible reading.

I am in my Bible every day, more often than not for the edification and evangelization of others. In other words, most of my time spent in the Bible is spent in preparation for writing articles and pulpit sermons, or preparing for sermons I preach in the open-air.

An ongoing challenge in my 27 years of Christian living is staying consistent in my Bible reading, for the purpose of worship and devotion.

Reading Pastor Geoff's article and seeing the image Gayle posted this morning hit me like a ton of bricks.

Making even a cursory, side-by-side comparison today of my daily time on my cell phone with my daily time in my Bible has been shocking to me. Shocking. Appalling. Stomach churning. Discouraging. Convicting. I spend much more time on my phone than I do in my Bible.

I do take a Bible with me most places, but not everywhere. On the other hand, I take my phone everywhere. To be without my phone is like being without my house and car keys; it is like being without my wallet or my driver's license. But I can't say I have the same sense of incompleteness, or the sense of not being fully dressed, if I walk out of the house without my Bible the way I do with the before-mentioned items.

What does that say about me? What does that say about my love for the Word of God?

The above image is a picture of me holding my cell phone and a small Bible, which was given to me (ironically enough) by Pastor Geoff and Elizabeth Kirkland the last time I was guest in their home.

I have a preaching Bible. I have a number of study bibles. And I now have a specific use for the compact Bible the Kirklands gave me.

Like many people, if I have an idle moment (i.e. standing in line at a store, post office, or some other place; waiting for someone to return from a restaurant restroom; stopped at a red light while driving my car; etc.), I reach for my phone. I want to change that. In all of the before-mentioned moments and others, I want to start reaching for my Bible instead of my phone.

Ray Comfort often says, "If you find me without a gospel tract in my possession, I will give you $1,000." Ray has yet to pay out to anyone.

While I will NOT give you $1,000, I welcome you to hold me accountable if you ever see me without a Bible (the one pictured above or another).

Now, I'm not trying to start a "thing." Don't join me in my conviction simply to be part of something. Carry a Bible. Don't carry a Bible. That's up to you. If you want to follow me as I try to follow Christ, then you're welcome to join me in this simple effort to spend more time in the Word. Just know that if you decide to do it, you have NOT joined a new Christian club or fad.

If you do it, do it for only the right reasons.

Well, here it goes. I hope it lasts. Pray for me.

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Jerusalem's King: A Review




Jerusalem's King is a feature-length documentary, written and directed by Ryan Habbena. My friend, Andy Olson, of Echo Zoe Radio and Blog, served as the film's Director of Photography and had his hands in other aspects of the project.

As I watched the film with my family last night, it didn't take me long to discover the true strength of the film. It is an artistic, Scripture-laden, 90-minute summary of the Word of God. More than that (not that that is not enough), Jerusalem's King is a cinematic gospel tract. For 35 years, The Jesus Film has been used by missionaries to present the gospel to more than 200 million people around the world. I can see Jerusalem's King used in a similar way.

Filmed almost entirely in Israel, Jerusalem's King takes the viewer on a panoramic tour of the nation where most of the world's greatest history has taken place. As the viewer sees flyovers, views maps, and watches reenactments of some of the Bible's most memorable stories, they are treated to biblical narration, from Genesis to Revelation.

Ryan Habbena did an exceptional job making clear the story Scripture has always told--how man can be reconciled to the Sovereign Creator of the Universe, through faith in the sinless Lamb of God, the Messiah, the King of kings and the Lord of lords--Jesus Christ. From the Protoevangelium to the Law, to the History, to the Psalms, to the Prophets, to the New Testament, Habbena visually weaves the tapestry of the Gospel.

At $8 for the DVD, and $3 for the digital download, Jerusalem's King is affordably priced, allowing for the purchase of the film in bulk. And I recommend you do just that. Purchase as many copies of this film as you can and distribute it like you would a gospel tract.

I enjoyed Jerusalem's King, and it will be another weapon in my evangelistic war bag.