The Joy of Meeting God?

What was your reaction when you first met God? When you first heard about Him, heard what He did for you? When you "received" Him into your heart? Was it overwhelming joy? Happy giddyness? Excitement?

In Matthew 13:20,21 Jesus said, "the one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the Word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the Word, he quickly falls away."

When I first understood my predicament before the Lord, it was not a joyful moment. To understand that my sins and iniquities had separated me from my God so that He would not hear me, is a sobering & humbling thing. You may say, "But we are past that now. our sins are washed away, isn't that joyful?" Should I tell you, "Oh yes, I am so happy to know that what I have done has resulted in the Creator of the universe to be beaten, spit upon, mocked, cursed, stripped & nailed to a tree to be left to die. Isn't that joyful?"

No, the first thought of what God has done for us should bring us to our knees, broken before Him in humble gratitude. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (Psalm 51:17)

Morgan County Prison Revival

Double rows of chain link fence fifteen feet tall & wrapped in razor wire couldn't keep the Spirit of God out this week as I had the priviledge of joining Pastor Ronnie Reagan while he held a revival at the Morgan County Correctional Facility. Services were held Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings from 7:00 to 8:30 PM. I got to go Thursday and Friday along with Johnny C, Marty W, Jeff M, & Daniel S. A couple of Davids went on Wednesday although I'll not sure yet which ones. That was the first time I had set foot in a state prison (thankfully) so I wasn't sure what to expect. Although I am sure we didn't meet the most hardened criminals in the place, I was excited to see how receptive they were to the gospel. I guess that shows that the Law really is a "schoolmaster to bring you to Christ" (Galations 3:24). The chapel we were using was made to seat 60 people but by Friday night we had 85 men in there & had to turn others away for lack of room. The prisoners had their own band & they were amazing! Many of your large churches would be hard-pressed to have music that good. Pastor Ronnie preached hard on sin, judgement, repentance, faith and redemption. Many came to the alter while others prayed at their seats because there was no more room at the front. It was hard to get a gist of how many were save because of our time constraints. Speaking of which; it seemed like the last night we were there God must have held back the clock to give us time to complete everything that needed to be done. We did in an hour and a half (singing, praying, testifying, singing again, preaching, praying again, passing out tracts) what would have normally taken two hours or more. Praise God for His patience and mercy. Pray for those men in prison. It is sobering to know that when we were done we get to go home & back to our own bed while they are stuck with the harsh reality of the consequences of their actions. Remember that we who are saved are forever in debt to the One who took the ultimate consequences for our actions when he suffered and died on a cross 2000 years ago.

Coversations With Drunks 2

I was out tonight & stopped at the BP station when I saw this worn-looking 40 - 60 year old guy at the corner of the building. He was hollering to at me to ask me a favor. (I have to admit the reason I pulled into the station to start with was because I saw that guy sitting there & decided to try to talk to him. He beat me to it.) He gave me five dollars & asked me if I would go in there I buy him some cigarettes because they would not sell to him since his sister went in to the BP and shoplifted. Of course he would never steal anything but they refused to sell him anyway. You may not approve of buying someone cigarettes just so you can witness to him but that is what I did (I did tell him I would not buy him any beer). After I brought up the things of God he said he repents "every morning". I asked him what he thought "repent" means. He said "To ask for forgiveness." When I explained to him that to repent meant to turn the other way, to get your eyes off sin & get them on the Savior, he said, "But this life we are living is a winding road." I told him "Jesus said we are to be on the straight and narrow path, that is the road that leads to life." When he heard this he said. "Oh, you got me there." I gave him a booklet called "Save Yourself Some Pain" & he asked me for another & one more of the gospel tracts I had given him at the first. Then something a little strange happened. He asked me if I would give him a ride to the jail so he could bail out his sister who had been arrested for the shoplifting. I was a little hesitant & I don't recommend this but after determining he was fairly feeble, I agreed. On the way there he admitted to me he had been drinking & the smell was obvious on his breath. As he got out asked me to pray for him. So there I was dropping off a drunk man at the jail so he could bail out his sister! Something tells me that is not going to work out too well for him. On the other hand, God knows what He is doing.

Conversations With Drunks

You may or may not think trying to witness to a drunk (not driving)person is worth the effort. There could be good arguements either way, but sometimes you don't know what you are getting into until you are already in it. Last night I was witnessing to these two young teenage boys at Thunderworld when this college age guy decides to jump into the conversation. When I asked him where he was going whe he died, he asked me if I knew anything about the Masons & I said "very little," I told him I used to work with one. He sais he was a Mason & his Father was one & his grandfather was one (apperently that will get you priority treatment for salvation). It was hard to get any words in between his talking but I finally got out of him that he had been called to preach four years ago but he had "backslid". He admitted he had been drinking too much that night & had planned on going into Thunderworld to drink some more. He never made it. He told me,"I would give my life to save someones soul." I said, "If that were true you would be out here doing this with me instead of what you are doing." After 20 minute of discussion about the state of his soul, he and his friend decided they had had enough & left, seemingly convicted about his lack of commitment. It is hard to tell for sure what they are truely feeling when someone is under the influence. We must trust that God's word will not return void.

Bargain Shopping On INSP TV

I was channel surfing tonight & came across this Mike Murdock guy on the INSP channel. What a guy! For only 58 dollars seed money he will pray for your business card so you can become a millionaire. The people who developed the beenie babies became successfull because they planted $5.80 in him (that was all the money they had at the time). Another guy gave him a black Corvette & a $25,000.00 Rolex watch as a seed. Whoever that guy was must be a trillionaire by now! I never realized becoming filthy rich was so easy. Of course the only reason you would want to be that rich is so that you could spread the gospel better. We all know that rich people are much better witnesses than poor people. I wonder why Jesus didn't figure that out? Surely He would have been much more successful with His ministry if He would have had His own TV show & lived in a big fancy mansion & drove a Ferrari or something. Everyone would want to be like Him. Perhaps the next time Mr Murdock prays he can ask Jesus to come down and give it another try, Mike's way. God help us.

"Have It Your Way" Christianity

Are you unhappy with your pastor? Unhappy with your church? Have we found the answer for you. Chance sent me this. Unfortunately it is all too close to the truth.

Bitter Cold Better Than Lukewarm

Did some ice fishing tonight at Wal-Mart. After a little success at Thunderworld (inside) Ronnie drove Donnie & I to Wal-Mart where we passed out a few tracts in the cold 24 degree night. We hit the jackpot when we saw seven guys hanging out the front side of the building. Three of them were employees, probably going out to smoke. Some vices are worth any sacrifice I guess. The other four were just friends who apparently didn't have anything better to do than hang outside Wal-Mart in 24 degree weather. We got to give them a mini sermon about death, the law, judgement, forgiveness & repentence while they trembled in fear (or it could have been the cold). Anyhow, it was a good opportunity to spread the Gospel. "Preach the Word, be prepared in season and out of season..." 2 Timothy 4:2

Tom Brady: Super Bowl Rings Are Not Enough

What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in it's time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:9,10

With all the accomplishments the quarterback of the New England Patriots has achieved you would think he would feel pretty well satisfied with his life. But read this quote from Tom Brady in an intervue on Sixty Minutes a couple of years ago:

"Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there is something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, 'Hey man, this is what it is.' I reached my goal, my dream, my life. Me, I think, 'God, it's got to be more than this.' I mean this isn't, this can't be all it's cracked up to be."

What's the answer?

"I wish I knew. I wish I knew." says Brady. " I love playing football and I love being quarterback for this team. But at the same time, I think there are a lot of other parts of me that I'm trying to find."

A good football game is fun to watch, but when eternity comes, how much will Super Bowl rings be worth?

Now all has been heard, here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. Ecclesiastes 12:13

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly before your God. Micah 6:8

What is the prize worth keeping? Paul wrote about it in 2 Timothy 4:7,8..."I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing." Pray that we are included in that crowd.

For some reason it won't let me link it but to read the whole Tom Brady interview got to:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/11/03/60minutes/main1008148.shtml