The Hopes and Fears of a Street Preacher

the faithful warnings of faithful souls...

A have a story for you. It's about Joe Bob and his best friend Ned. These two friends grew up together and have literally gone through life together. Both men were alike in every possible way except for one thing: at the age of 12, Ned took up smoking, while Joe Bob refused to touch the foul stuff.

In their youth, Joe Bob would often chide Ned about his smoking:

"Ned," Joe Bob would say, "you still on those cancer sticks buddy?"

"Pfff!!!" Ned would answer, "real men can handle a little smoke!"

Over the time, Ned's smoking increased, and Joe Bob's chiding gave way to genuine and earnest concern:

"Ned," Joe Bob would say, "don't you think it's time you put that stuff away man, you know it'll kill you one day."

"Bah!" Ned would answer, "there are so many things that can happen to a man in this life, a few cigarettes here and there aren't going to make any difference."

At the age of 40, Ned was smoking more than one pack of cigarettes a day. Joe Bob, the FAITHFUL friend, would plead:

"Ned! don't tempt fate man! Smoking all those cigarettes are going to bring you to an early grave."

"Ha!" Ned would answer, "you've been singing me the same story for years now and look at me! I'm still tougher than you!"

When Ned turned 48, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. He died a few months after of his 49th birthday. Ned spent his last year in the hospital, suffering greatly. Joe Bob never gave Ned an "I-told-you-so", he didn't have to. Ned knew all too well that his own prideful foolishness had brought him down, and at that point, nothing could be done to remedy the situation. In his private moments though, Ned would often remember the numerous warnings he got from his good friend Joe Bob, and cursed every stupid response he gave back.

Moral of the story: don't neglect the sound advice of faithful friends.

---------

Tomorrow, July 1st, is Canada Day in my country. They will be shutting down the downtown core of my city for all sorts of festivities and celebrations. Lord willing, I will be there with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

All day my pastor, myself and my wife will be doing everything we can to bring the Gospel to our fellow Canadians. We will use Bible tracts, Gospel signs and my pastor and I will be doing plenty of open air preaching. It'll be 3-4 of us, and tens of thousands of unbelieving revelers. Many will give us a hard time, many will mock us to scorn. The consensus will be that we are way too dense and somber.

No matter.

You see, like Joe Bob in our story, kind concern and compassion moves us to preach. All the mockery and rejection, like Ned's, are irrelevant. Ned needed to hear the warnings, as does the lost in my city. My hope is that, unlike Ned, many in my city will repent of their wickedness and come to the knowledge of the Truth. My fear though, is that the cancer of sin in my country may already be quite incurable.

Nevertheless, we will go. We will be brave. We will be sober-minded. And above all else, we will be FAITHFUL.


Rand
Mark 16:15 ; 2 Timothy 4:2

Lovely Feet!

Biblical responses are the best...


I have been a preacher of the Lord for nearly six years now. I am not in full time ministry (as in, I'm not a pastor of a church), but in one form or another, I have been preaching the Gospel to both saint and reprobate. I never imagined I would ever, willingly, take up any ministry that involved public speaking but the Lord has a way of working His will out in all His saints.

My preaching has produced a wide variety of responses throughout the years; from great joy and thankfulness from God's people to the violent curses of the wicked. It is worth noting that well over 90% of all the reactions to my preaching could be classified as extreme. In other words: joy and thankfulness I got, violent curses I got plenty of, but I have received very little indifference. Again, the Bible rings true:

"Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death." (1 John 13-14)

Now this post isn't going to be an analysis of the dynamics of the various responses to Gospel preachers. This post is actually a request to all my Christian brothers and sisters. A personal favour, you might say. The Bible says:

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent?" (Romans 10:15a)

And then check out the answer:

"How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" (Romans 10:15b)

I love that verse. I mean... I LOVE IT! And I'm absolutely convinced that every honest and faithful Gospel preacher out there has a soft spot for the above verse. The sweetest compliment I could ever get from anyone hearing me preach the Word would be to quote Romans 10:15. To me, it's the most biblical expression of thankfulness one can give to those whom the Lord has called to preaching/teaching ministry.

So here's my request, dear saints: memorize the last phrase of Romans 10:15, and make sure to recite it to any Gospel preacher you should come across. Especially the street preachers and the evangelists, believe me, they need all the encouragement and gratitude they can get. It will warm their hearts and refresh their spirits.

Hoping to one day be told I have nice feet...


Rand

Friday Night Notes

vain words...

Even with cooler temperatures, the masses were out in the marketplace again tonight. It felt good to have my pastor back for our usual three hours of street evangelism; it's good to have someone covering your six.

We distributed a good number of Bible tracts tonight, and had a number of one-on-one conversations with the unconverted. There was still plenty of mockery and cursing, but we also got mercy drops here and there from souls who were favorable to our ministry. So all and all, a good night; here are some of the highlights:

The Good:

A group of young men walked by me as I was carrying the Gospel sign late in the evening; they laughed when they saw me, so I just kept walking. I was a whole block away when the same group of men came up behind me. They were all out of breath.

"Hey! hang on, man," one of them exclaimed.

"Listen," another one began, "we ran all the way up here to talk to you... we don't want to give you a hard time, we just want to see your sign and know what you're about. I know we're kind of drunk, but we're serious... we're not being jerks here..."

Well, I let them read the sign and I explained to them that I was displaying the Word of Truth to everyone in the hopes that some would convert and come to a saving knowledge of Christ. I then reminded them that they too, needed saving. I said:

"You know guys, if you all died tonight, all of you would meet God as drunkards."

I would say there was about 6 young men, two of them seemed to be taking what I had to say VERY SERIOUSLY. They told me they were military, and that they were on leave; I wasn't sure if they were honest with me, so they began to show me their Canadian Forces cards. At that point, I realized that they weren't trying to make a spectacle out of me, so I challenged them to seek the Lord. It was a good conversation.

They said they might come to church on Sunday... do I ever hope they do!


The Bad:

Several times tonight, and I mean SEVERAL, people would walk by me, see that I was either preaching, distributing or simply holding Gospel literature and this is what came out of their mouths:

"Jeeeezusss!"

"Jeezus Christ!"

"What the Hell?"

"Oh my God!"

Unreal! They respond to the Gospel with the very words found in the Gospel, but the words are vain. They don't even realize what they're saying. It got me wondering: will their responses to my Gospel preaching be replayed for them one day? Can you imagine? Watching themselves take the Lord's name in vain right after reading a part of the Gospel! Hearing themselves use the word "Hell", but never actually thinking about what this place is all about.

I wonder.


The Absolutely Insane:

So a man came by tonight while I was preaching, and he was going to educate me in the Scriptures. You see, denominations (as in all of them), are 100% of the devil according to him, that's why he doesn't go to church. He worships in his house with his wife and his mother-in-law; so he says. Also, the apostle Paul wasn't a man, he was an angel. Oh, and the end is extremely nigh, so enough of this street preaching, it's time to prepare for the Rapture.

Now this guy was seriously far out! His hand gestures, his tone of voice, along with his bizarre doctrines made that abundantly clear. So, trying to cut in his diatribe to try and get him off my case, I said:

"Sir, you are mistaken about a whole lot of things... you are in a bad way."

Well, let me tell ya, that didn't go over to well. The look of fury that came over his face was something to behold.

"If you do not receive my teachings," looney toons began, "then you are sinning against the Holy Ghost! And that, as you know, can not be forgiven."

At this point, I couldn't hold it in any longer. I started laughing, which just further infuriated the man. I quickly refocused, regained my composure and kept repeating "sir, have a good evening" until he realized I wasn't going to fight or argue with him any longer.


And that's the notes for tonight. I'm going off to bed now for a well deserved night of sleep. God bless you, dear readers. Have a blessed weekend, especially the Lord's Day.

"Even so, come, Lord Jesus." (Revelation 22:20b)


Rand

Why They Keep Coming Back

my assumptions...

You know, it really never ceases to amaze me. "It" being people who hate the Gospel, who hate Christian positions on a variety of matters, who detest even the faintest sent of conservatism, reading my blog on a regular basis.

It blows my mind.

I regularly check my Statcounter and there they are! My adversaries. From disgruntled Romanists and other heretics, to left-wing hardened atheists, and everything in between. Many of them are banned from commenting, due to violations of my commenting rules, but still, I would say that on any given day, 30-40% of my traffic is from "the opposition". With those kinds of numbers, I thought I would try to understand what would move one of my adversaries to visit my blog, and then keep coming back. This is what I came up with:


1- "Mommy, look at the funny fundamentalist!"

Like a kid watching a monkey or some other bizarre animal at the zoo, I am well aware that there are many who read my blog because they see me as some sort of novelty. I therefore become a strange form of entertainment; a freak show, so-to-speak.

I don't really mind this adversary. I understand that there really isn't too many like me out there in the world, so I gladly accept being the strange zoo animal for their entertainment. While these souls would definitely stand against most of my views, they would, usually, be respectful of my positions, even if they think I'm completely mad. That's probably why I can't remember ever banning such an one.

Perhaps, as they are watching my antics, the Lord would save them. Therefore, it's a win-win situation.


2- Blog Hijackers.

These opposers are of the worst kind. Just like any other kind of hijacker, these souls' objective is simple: take over and direct everyone to a different destination. In the blog world, a hijacker is a person who continually promotes a position(s) in the blogger's comment box that are contrary to the blogger's views. I have banned plenty of these.

The reasoning behind the constant return of these folks is simple: they seek to sabotage and discredit anything and everything the blogger has to say. You really have to be passionately PSYCHO to be a continual Blog Hijacker, IMHO. I say this because at the core of the blog hijacker's philosophy is the denial of the expression of all other views but his/her own. The Blog Hijacker's views must always be preeminent, and that, even on another person's domain.

The funny thing is that I am often charged with "denying the expression of other views" because of my occasional banning of comments/commentors. There is a difference though. While I do keep a firm grasp over what is posted anywhere on my blog, I do not infringe on the rights of others to post whatever they want on their own blogs by incessant opposition. Few Blog Hijackers understand this precision; they are so convinced of their own point-of-view, they feel 100% justified in "straightening the blogger out".


3- Desperately seeking... attention.

I have seen a few cases of this now, and of all the types of opposition, this is the saddest. This adversary is actually looking for strife and heated debates. Such a person isn't interested in winning people over to his position so much as he is interested in arguing his points. The adage "loving the sound of their own voices" fits perfectly. You will find MYRIADS of people out there who couldn't go one single day without going to a blog they completely disagree with, just to argue.

The only possible explanation I have for this kind of behaviour is boredom/loneliness. No one talks to them or cares to hear what they have to say, so they log onto a website where they know they can get attention; and there are plenty of bored/lonely bloggers out there who will gladly give them the fight they are looking for.

Too often, these folks log on for a fight, and when they get it, they play the role of the persecuted. The effect of this aggressor/victim dichotomy is double attention; unfavourable attention from the blogger and his supporters, favorable attention from other adversaries. It's like winning the attention jackpot!

I'd say congratulations, if it weren't so sad.


4- Watching for a fall.

Just like "in real life", bloggers mess up online. No matter how nice and good the writer, he/she will eventually write something that is either completely or partially incorrect. And that's the sweet fantasy of this group of adversaries. They lie in wait to discredit, to mock and humiliate.

These are usually the most dishonest of souls, in that, while they will not say a word 99% of the time when the blogger is absolutely correct, they will write novels attacking the poor writer when the 1% comes around. There is no sense of fairness or temperance in their judgment, they just want cast down, by whatever means necessary.

The desired end result is to ruin the blogger's reputation; thus casting doubt and distrust on all his views.


5- On with the tin foil helmet, and off to cyberspace!

Crazies.

Wack-oes.

Nutjobs.

Quack-oes.

Whatever the term, you all get the drift. The internet is a perfect means of escape for unstable souls. It's where they can go and interact without being seen, or truly known; and they take full advantage.

With these souls, you really never know what you are going to get. They could be antagonistic to the blogger, they could be supportive, or they could be completely off on some unrelated tangent. Their points are often completely unsound and even contradictory, but when you're in CrazyLand, this is completely irrelevant.

Thankfully, I haven't had to many crazies commenting on my blog, but I have received some pretty insane e-mails in relation to some of my posts. I might share a few in the future.


And that's it. Those are the major categories in which I have come to classify my constant dissentors. They don't always fit perfectly in any one of the above categories, some will have elements of two or even three categories. That being said, that's how I have come to explain this constant 30-40% of my blog traffic. You have another category/explanation? I'd love to hear it!

Whatever the case, I believe I have made it abundantly clear that I really don't think much of those who come by just to nay-say. In the end, I guess I just don't see the point of it.


Rand

Friday Night Notes

Hi! Yo! Silver! Away!!!

Yep, I "lone rangered" tonight. My pastor has been away all week, so it was up to me to carry on with our Friday night street evangelism. I laboured for a good three hours; half of that time actually street preaching, the other half I distributed Bible tracts and walked around with a Gospel sign.

It was quite a night. The marketplace was buzzing with activity tonight. I was thanked, mocked, questioned, insulted, blessed and cursed. It was a truly a night of contrasts. I was quite nervous when I first went out (because I was by myself) but Lord be praised, I was kept safe and sound throughout the night. No violence, no threats whatsoever.

I have to say though, there really is an intimidation factor to deal with when I go out preaching alone. It really is me vs. THE WORLD!!! Now most of the time, I go out with only one other man, but there is a good measure of comfort in knowing that there is another soul around that is with you. It wasn't so tonight. I remember walking through an alley tonight with the Gospel sign... hundreds of people all around... all of them staring at me... most laughing and mocking... others with perplexed looks on their faces... I really felt... small.

Anyway, alot has happened tonight (and I mean A LOT). There is no way I can summarize it all, so I'll share with you a few events of the night:

Disappointing:

On my way to the marketplace, I walked passed a Romanist building. On the front lawn, there was a man fixing up some flowers which circled an abominable "virgin-mary-idol".

"Excuse me sir," I started, "I have a question about that statue you are working around... can you read a Bible verse for me?"

I pulled out my Bible and turned to Exodus 20:4-5. The man read the verses and when he was done I said:

"Are these verses not clearly saying that you shouldn't be using ANY IMAGES for the purpose of worship?"

"Yeah, I see what you are saying," the man began, "but..."

The man then began to make all sorts of excuses why it was good for him to pray and worship in front of Romanist images, despite the clear teaching of the Second Commandment of Moses (which he, in no uncertain terms, confessed was actually saying he shouldn't make or make use of any graven images). So in summary, the man agreed that in God's Word, there was indeed a passage teaching that making graven images for the purpose of worship was an abomination, but in the end, it didn't matter, because he believes it is still profitable.

The man was effectively saying: "I know what God says, but I know better."

Oye.


Hopeful:

I dealt with yet another Romanist tonight. His name was Michael and he made it clear that he believed was I was doing was 100% right (my street evangelism). Afterwards, he declared:

"I'm a catholic, so I'm Christian."

"Really?" I said. "Tell me, do you know what the Second Commandment of Moses says, my friend?"

He wasn't too certain, so I re-opened my Bible, and showed him the exact same passage in Exodus. After reading the commandment, he said:

"Oh yeah! I remember that. I asked my priest about that and he said that it was okay to use images as long as it helped us remember God and His people."

"Well, that's sounds nice, Michael," I said, "but God in the commandment you just read said DON"T MAKE THE IMAGES. He doesn't say DON"T MAKE IMAGES, BUT IT'S OKAY IF THEY HELP YOU REMEMBER GOD AND HIS PEOPLE!"

He saw my point, and agreed that he had probably taken his priest's "explanation" a little too hastily. I gave him a Bible tract with our church address on the back. He said he might come out to one of our meetings.


Humorous:

Three guys walked passed me as I was holding the Gospel sign by the side of the road. They mocked me with extreme vulgarity, and walked away. Seconds later, the guys are back:

"Rand?" one the the men inquires. "Do you remember me?"

"Sorry friend, I don't." I answered.

"It's Andrew."

The second he said his name, I recognized him. He was a little boy I babysat from time to time in my home town.

"What are you up to, Andrew?" I inquired.

"Oh, we're going to an Irish pub here in the market," he answered embarrassingly.

Feeling quite embarrassed at how he had treated me before he recognized me, and feeling doubly embarrassed at admitting that he was up to no good, he asked me where my church was again and said he would try to make it out soon. After this, he took off with his friends.

I won't be holding my breath, but I really hope the-now-not-so-little-Andrew will come to church. It would sadden me to think of him wasting his life away in alcoholism, in the company of friends that curse all things holy.


That's it, I'm too tired to type anymore. I have a lot more to say, but it'll have to be for another day. I'm off to bed now.

Good night, and God bless you all, dear readers,


Rand

Speaking of Spiritually Dead Denominations

Southern Baptist Convention??? Dead...

Another article which caught my attention; and just like my last post, it shows the deadness of yet another "Christian" denomination (note the quotation marks).

Two things can be concluded from the article in question:


1- The label "evangelical" really doesn't mean anything anymore. I mean, we have Romanists, Mormons, and all manner of heretic using the term "evangelical". Evangelicalism is also becoming synonymous with ecumenism, as the article points out in the phrase:

"...growing understanding between people of different faiths."


2- The Southern Baptist Convention probably has Christians in it's membership, but it most certainly is no longer a Christian denomination. Consider:

"Clinton, a Southern Baptist, noted that there was once a resolution at his denomination's convention to expel his church because of his positions in favor of abortion rights and gay rights. It failed."

President Clinton's Southern Baptist church would not put him out of membership despite his wicked social positions; positions which are clearly anti-Christian. And then, the Southern Baptist Convention, when faced with this abominable assembly, failed at putting the wicked group out of the Convention.


To paraphrase Dr. Leonard McCoy of Star Trek:

"It's dead, Jim."


Rand

The Ungodly Debates Of The Hypocrites

Anglicanism is dead... really!

So I found this article on-line today, and I just had to bang my head on my desk a couple of times. Yes, Anglicans will get together for a big pow-wow in a few days and will "debate" the ordination of a gay bishop as well as the practice of gay unions. They will debate this. I love it.

"Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination." (Leviticus 18:22)

"If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them." (Leviticus 20:13)

"For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet." (Romans 1:26-27)

"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

These are but a few verses indicating what the Bible has to say about homosexuality. Being aware of these verses are quite necessary to any religious group claiming to be part of Christianity since everything we know of Christ and His teachings are in the Word of God; and last time I checked, Anglicans confessed that the Bible was indeed, the Word of God. Now this begs the question:

HOW IN THE WORLD DID THEY GET THEMSELVES INTO THIS "DEBATE"?

Oh! I'm sure many Anglicans will say: "it all depends on how you interpret those verses." HOW WE INTERPRET THEM??? How else are we to interpret "homosexuals being an abomination" and "they will NOT inherit the kingdom of God"? How does one read the above Scriptures and come out with a different "interpretation" than God hates homosexuality and will condemns homosexuals for all of eternity?

Now I have heard this reasoning before (from a wicked "united church" minister): "those verses were only meant for the time in which the Bible was being written, they no longer apply today. Just like the Jewish dietary laws which the church practice, these verses against homosexuality are "passé". A cute twist... quite deceitful... and entirely wrong. True, all Scriptures have a proper context that must be respected. Also true, some Scriptures have been fulfilled and are no longer relevant to the church age. That being said, God's fury against homosexuality is a continuing fact.

There are indisputable passages in both the Old Testament and the New Testament that attest to this fact. To disregard these clear teachings with the "oh-that-was-for-those-backward-days-only" is both wrong and wicked. Imagine if someone came up with this doctrine: "Loving your neighbour as yourself was only for the apostles' day! Now, you can hate and despise your fellow man as much as you want!" I don't think these Anglican hypocrites would go for this doctrine, and would charge such a "someone" with misinterpreting Scripture. Hence the hypocrisy. What is good for the goose is good for the gander. If homosexuality is right and good in God's eyes now, then so could incest, adultery, hatred of mankind, lies, why... even murder!

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

The Anglicans have found themselves in quite a situation. They don't have a reasonable and biblical leg to stand on but they refuse to accept it. They want to be recognized as a Christian church, but they have done away with Bible teachings a long time ago (see Spurgeon's sermon "Christ, the Glory of His People"). So now they have to hypocritically manipulate the Scriptures in order to justify their wicked views/doctrines, and this in itself brings ONE serious PROBLEM: getting hypocrites to agree with one another is quite difficult.

This is what this terrible debate will be in the end: an ungodly debate of the hypocrites. One hypocrite will vehemently stand against homosexuality (which is what the Bible teaches), but will then be in favour of women ministers (which is against Scriptures). Another will be in favour of accepting homosexuals (against the Bible), but will afterward profess that salvation is in Jesus alone (which is in line with the Bible). Yet another will hold that only men are to be pastors and deacons (pro-Bible), but will then hold that faith is Jesus isn't the ONLY way to peace with God (against-Scripture).

What a mess.

The conclusion of the matter is this: Anglicanism is spiritually dead. Has been for a long time. Let the hypocrites revel in their hypocrisy. Christians who are still wasting their time in this ungodly organization should heed to the call we find in Revelation 18:4:

"And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues" (Revelation 18:4)

The Anglicans may not be the whore of Babylon, but make no mistake, they are a-whoring!


Rand

No Notes Tonight

rain... rain... go away... come back here another day...

Due to rain, we were unable to make it out for our night of evangelism. So there will be no "Friday Night Notes".

Don't you worry though, I'm keeping quite busy. I will be doing a record amount of preaching at church this week. I covet your prayers, brothers and sisters.

Later,


Rand

The Foolishness of the Foolish

a spontaneous post...

As I am writing this post, I can hear my next door neighbor's son coughing. He's out there on the back steps, coughing up a storm whilst smoking some marijuana and/or cigarettes. He coughs like a man struggling against tuberculosis, and yet, he continues to smoke his trash.

"The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble." (Proverbs 4:19)

This may sound snooty and condescending, but really, that level of stupidity astounds me. I understand that addiction is a powerful thing, but it is very hard for me to sympathize with someone who has chosen to harm himself for a cheap thrill, and then continues on, ignoring the obvious.

This being said, I know my responsibility, and my duty to both this lad and the Lord my God:

"For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou salt love thy neighbor as thyself." (Galatians 5:14)

While the stench of his drugs drives me up the wall... while his foul language irks me to no end... while his perversions disturb me... I must love him as myself.

Brothers and sisters, I NEED your prayers.


Rand

The Definition Of Marriage

a little perspective...

With President Bush's latest political move (and believe me, this has nothing to do with faith, and every thing to do with politics), the United States will be considering whether to protect the "traditional" definition of marriage by a constitutional amendment. Why now? Simple. Elections are looming and the Republicans need the "religious right" to come out in full support. Now the President of the United States of America hasn't and most certainly will never come out and admit this, so we are fed some more convenient excuses.

The primary excuse has to do with those dreaded, evil, scheming liberal judges, who, by partisan judgments, judges in the U.S. are continually swinging the doors open to gay marriage. Now I don't dispute this fact. Judges are responsible for bringing the abomination called gay marriage in my country. The problem is, the only reasonable and logical argument to ban gay marriage is an argument no politician, including "Christian-President-Bush", can utter:

"God condemns homosexuality, and all nations that tolerate it."

Liberal judges and politicians are successfully bringing the issue of gay marriage to the forefront because there is ZERO power behind arguments for "the traditional definition of marriage". If you want to argue something of consequence, then it is GOD'S DEFINITION of marriage that we need to consider. If God isn't part of the debate, THERE IS NO DEBATE.

"Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." (Genesis 2:24)

That's the definition of marriage. They can change marriage from "traditional" to all manner of modern abomination. My country has proven the point; it won't be long, you'll see legalized polygamy up here. In the end though, God created marriage and the definition is clear and certain. One man, one woman, one flesh. That's it!

If the Word of God has no place in the various endeavours to preserve God's definition of marriage, then I'm not interested in them. Let President Bush and his traditional conservatives fight for their traditions. I contend for the Lord.

"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

"The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." (Psalm 9:17)


May the Lord have mercy on North America, for it has willfully forgotten God.


Rand

Friday Night Notes

just how weary is Rand???

REALITY:

My 3 hours of street preaching tonight was centered on these verses:


"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord" (Acts 3:19)

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23)

"Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." (Isaiah 55:6-7)


The typical response to my preaching?


"You stupid #@&*!"

"Satan! I love Satan!!!"

"You can't seriously believe that #&$%!"

"God is dead!"

"I'm a sinner! Woohoo!!!"


My Hope For Tonight:

I distributed a good number of Bible tracts. It would be wonderful if the Spirit would direct souls, throughout the weekend, to these Bible tracts. After all, "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)


A Heartfelt Thanks:

Darrin Brooker posted the following quote by C.H. Spurgeon on his blog:

"If sinners be dammed, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for."

I so needed to read those words tonight. In my weariness, it was refreshing to be reminded of why I was out in the marketplace tonight; putting my body in the way of those who are walking "the wide and broad way that leadeth to destruction." (Matthew 7:13)


Have a blessed weekend, dear readers,

Rand