Friday Night Notes

dumb... dumb... dumb...

I worked quite late tonight so I actually met up with Pastor Tim in the market; he had already been preaching the Gospel for nearly an hour.  I'm sure I was a welcomed sight!  The market was quite busy tonight.  We've been having quite a mild September this year, so people are coming out to the restaurants and pubs, enjoying the warm weather while it lasts.

It's always bittersweet to us preachers when the market is busy.  Sweet because it gives us opportunity to share the Gospel with thousands and thousands of souls.  Bitter because these thousands and thousands are in the market chasing after all manner of wickedness.  Still, we took what the Lord gave us and ministered the Word of God to all who would listen.  The Lord have mercy on whom He will have mercy.

I had a pleasant enough conversation with a couple of students from France.  They first asked me for directions and then were curious about my evangelism.  I gave them an overview of my faith and the reason for my evangelism and they seemed genuinely impressed.  The men had obviously been drinking, but they weren't totally drunk.  They were able to ask reasonable questions and understand my answers.  After a good 15 minutes, they both shook my hand and thanked me for speaking with them.

The two other conversations I had tonight were with two charismatic women; and on both occasions, it was a real aggravation.  In both instances, the women affirmed that they were believers and saved members of the body of Christ.  However, after 5 minutes of talking with each of them, I strongly doubted their profession of faith.  The first woman was quite put off by my evangelism; she didn't like me on a street corner holding a Bible sign.  She wanted me to be more subtle and lovey-dovey (so much for faith coming from hearing, and hearing by the Word of God).  The second woman was really far out.  She told me she was a big fan of Joyce Meyer... enough said.  I showed the woman a number of Scriptures pointing out the heresies in Meyer's teachings, and while she was clearly disturbed by the clarity of the Scriptures, she made a number of attempts at defending Meyer's "ministry".  She eventually walked away warning me no "to judge".  Oh dear...

Lots of drunkards tonight, and lots of mockers.  We endured a number of "God doesn't exist!", and a few "You've been brainwashed!", with a side-dish of "What's with all the Christians tonight?".  That last one always makes me laugh... "all the Christians"... it's just me and Pastor Tim!

The Lord have mercy on my poor, wicked city... and by extension, my poor, wicked country.  Truly, the foundations are destroyed, and the righteous hardly know what to do (Psalm 11:3).

Lord, help us!


Rand