Friday Night Notes

lone ranger rides again...

I apologize for the poor quality of the above picture... my cellphone camera isn't the greatest to start with... and the young lady that took the picture didn't have a steady hand when she took the picture... she was laughing at me... (more on this later).

It was just me and Jesus tonight. When I arrived at pastor Tim's house, his wife told me that the poor man was in bed with a nasty cold. So I took a Bible sign, a bunch of Gospel tracts, and made my way downtown with the Lord as my sole companion.

Upon arriving at my customary preaching spot, I found myself dealing with a street person named Kenneth. This poor soul was in emotional and spiritual torments; he cried, he raved, he got angry, he got depressed... all in the space of a few minutes. I tried hard to keep him calm and share with him a good word from God's Revelation, and I believe I've succeeded to some measure. I told Kenneth that he had no peace because the Lord wasn't giving him peace. At first, he vehemently denied this, but later, in tears, he admitted that he longed for peace. After a good 20 minute talk, the poor soul thanked me for my words, shook my hand, hugged me, and thanked me. I promised him I would pray for him, and that if he came to church on the Lord's Day, I would give him a Bible. I hope to see him again.

Moments later, I spoke with a young black man who wanted to know "why a loving God allows bad things to happen to good men." My answer to him was two-fold.

"First off," I said, "there is no such thing as a good man. Second, the reason why bad things happen to sinners (for that is the only kind of man that exists) is because this is a fallen world, and in a fallen world, bad things happen."

It was clear that the young man had no time for my answers. At one point, he commented that he tired of hearing me say the phrase: "the Bible says..." To which I answered that that was the only thing he'd get from me. Answers from the Bible. When it became clear that our conversation wasn't going anywhere I walked away, as he mocked and jeered. The Lord have mercy on his soul.

A short time after this, a young lady stepped in front of me and asked me if she could take a picture of my Bible sign. The young lady was without a doubt making fun of me, but I never turn down those who want to take pictures of our signs. The way I see it, whenever they look at the pictures, they will be reminded of God and His Word. So, the young lady took her picture, and had a good laugh. That's when I thought to myself: "hey! might as well get something out of this!" So, I asked the young lady to take the above picture. In her unbelief, she got a double laugh, and I got a picture for my blog. Oh well... Christians aren't suppose to be a proud bunch!

Finally, I had a short conversation with an ex-WatchTower follower. He told me his name was Johnny and that he was now an agnostic. I couldn't resist asking him why he used the Greek word agnostic, instead of the Latin version: I-G-N-O-R-A-M-U-S. I know... I know... I'm a really, really bad man. Anyway, the poor soul was now a hodge-podge of messed up doctrine, claiming that "the Bible was probably all "bull" anyway." I tried to clear up, from Scripture, some of the messed up theology he was carrying, and to his credit, he listened. We covered a list of topics, including how God ordained the Fall of Man. This surprised the young man greatly, so I wanted to show him the passage where we are told that the Lamb of God, Jesus, was slain from the foundation of the world. My logic was that if Jesus' sacrifice was a done deal from the foundation of the world, it pretty much means there had to be a Fall ordained as well. Sadly, I was unable to find the passage right there on the spot (and that annoyed me to no end); I knew it was in Revelation, but I just couldn't find the verse so I could show him from my pocket Bible. Don't bother telling me now, I know it's Revelation 13:8...

"And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."

Anyway, I made my point using Ephesians 1:4, saying that if God had chosen a people to be holy and without blame in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world, that pretty much meant that there would be a Fall at some point. This definitely made my argument, but I have to tell you that not finding Revelation 13:8 was still bothering me, so I promised him that I would send him the Scriptural reference if he e-mailed me sometime this week (I gave him one of my business cards). I also promised that I would answer any of his questions concerning the Faith, so long as he honestly sought the Truth. I hope and pray that the Lord will save Johnny from his literal, self-confessed ignorance.

Now, I'm tired. So that's the notes for this week. Please pray for pastor Tim to recover from his illness dear saints of God, and that strength and boldness be given to me in the weeks ahead, as my church responsibilities will only increase.

Good night, and have a blessed weekend, dear readers.


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism