No Notes

rained out...

Pastor Tim and I were unable to go out street preaching tonight due to rain.

Have a blessed weekend,

Rand

Sunday Afternoon Notes

the cursed parade...

I apologize for the delay... it's been quite a day.

Today was the cursed Pride Parade in my city, and Pastor Tim, Brother Rod and I went down to it with our Bible signs.  I took only one picture, hoping to get a far enough shot to post along with this entry, but trust me, you don't want to see it.  I'm sure you can all imagine how disturbingly wicked it was; and if you can't, you're the better for it.

You have no idea how spiritually distressing (and exhausting) this wicked event is on a Christian man.  We all had difficulty sleeping the night before, and our Lord's Day morning was more or less ruined by the prospect of what we were going to witness.  It's difficult to keep the day "holy unto the Lord" when 2-3 hours of the day is spent surrounded by the pervert-freak-show.

Nevertheless, we soldiered on, and thousands of lost sinners read something of God's condemnation of homosexuality, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which can set them free.  We were mocked, scorned and persecuted... and our persecution was something far less than dignified. 

All things said however, this was one of our easiest Pride parades.  For starters we didn't watch the whole parade go by (which is where one sees a whole lot of perversion).  We walked several feet behind the last section of the parade, so that those who watched the abomination could then see what God had to say about it.  Secondly, we had sympathetic souls around us.  The police and the security detail were for the most part, quite kind to us.  One young lady in particular, a security guard at the back of the parade came to my defense when a transvestite got a little aggressive.  Thirdly, there were a number of saints around, who were either doing some sort of evangelism, or came by with a word of encouragement.

Still, the whole thing was pretty disturbing, and I know there will be pay-back for all this from the Lord.  He will "by no means clear the guilty".

After all that nonsense, I went home for quick rest, and then made my way back to church for the evening service.  I preached the evening service, and I think all went well, but the day had already taken its toll.  I think everyone saw the weariness and fatigue I was experiencing.  No doubt, they all understand.

The Lord have mercy on my wicked city/country.


Rand

Ps: I want to acknowledge the hard work done by Brother Rod, Pastor Tim, Brother Dennis, Brother Paul, Brother Tim, Brother Jeremy, and sister Kim.  For evangelists, it doesn't get tougher than the Pride Parade.  Kudos to all of them for their faithfulness.

Coming Soon

please... stand by...

There will be no Friday Night Notes, but there will be some Sunday Afternoon Notes.

See you then...

Rand

Friday Night Notes

somehow... things changed...

It's been a bit more than a year now... a change in the behaviour of the people we preach the Gospel to... or perhaps its a change in the way we react to the words and actions of sinners.  It's really hard to know exactly if it's me or them, but there is no doubt I'm finding our evangelistic efforts are a whole lot less difficult as they were years ago.  The cursing and mockery is nowhere as grievous as it once was, and Pastor Tim and I haven't found ourselves in any altercation with those who would violently oppose the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I'm not saying everything is wonderful (not by a long shot). If anything I'd say most of the people we minister the Gospel to just seem apathetic.

Tonight evangelism was no different.  We had one drunk who yelled at Pastor Tim but he was no real threat; and to be perfectly honest, I think Pastor Tim mishandled that situation.  Not saying he deserved to be yelled at, but when dealing with a drunkard, one has to be tread carefully.  Other than that, I had a few people mock loudly, a few eye-rolls, and that's about it.

While apathy toward God most certainly isn't a good thing, I have to say that our street preaching outings have been far calmer than in the past, and it's kind of refreshing.  I'm sure that that's a bad thing... but I'm trying to be honest about how I feel.  It was really difficult a decade ago, going downtown on Friday knowing that I was going to be maligned, mocked, and on occasion, beaten for my efforts.  I haven't felt that kind of uneasiness in months now.

Pastor Tim had a long conversation with a former client of his, and it seemed to all be good.  The good preacher only said: "It was good talking to him, he was the best client I ever had."  I had a few short conversations with sinners.  Mostly just explaining why I was on a street corner communicating the Gospel of Christ.  No time wasters tonight, which is great!

We also had a number of believers who showed their support with kind words, and on one occasion, an embrace!  All in all, an easy-going night of evangelism.

Just wish we could see the Lord saving some of the souls we minister to...


Rand

No Notes

Five minus one...

A nasty virus is affecting our family, well except for my eldest who, so far, has been 100% healthy.  Sadly, I didn't have the voice or the strength to go out street preaching tonight.

I trust Pastor Tim was able to go out.

Rand

Friday Night Notes

I know what I was saved from...

The street preachers were back in the market tonight!  Pastor Tim and I were both back at it after a busy month of July, which unfortunately, saw a drop in open-air evangelism.  We tried to make up for lost time by presenting the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ for a good three and a half hours; it was passed midnight when I made it back home.

The market was busy enough, but I think the threat of rain scared a lot of people away.  It eventually did rain a little, but not for long and it was by no means a hard rain.  Despite the unpredictable weather, we presented the Gospel to hundreds of lost sinners through open-air preaching, tract distribution and the Bible signs we carried around with us.

We didn't have a great deal of one-on-one conversations tonight.  Pastor Tim had a few, I only had one... and it wasn't very profitable.  Pastor Tim on a couple of occasions spoke with Christians who were walking through the market, and I got a few words of encouragement from believers.  Other than those times of refreshing, we were mocked and scorned.  One wicked woman really gave Pastor Tim and hard time with a terribly vulgar diatribe.  The good preacher just continued on with the work of the Gospel and let the wicked soul tire of her tantrum; just a couple of minutes and she was gone.  Praise God.

Our Bible signs were knocked down a couple of times, no damage was done to them.  It's remarkable to me just how much the people of my city hate the Word of God.  Our John 3:16 sign isn't spared!  They really are trying to "...not retain God in their knowledge..." (Romans 1:28), and that, has consequences on the spiritual welfare of my city.  The Lord be merciful!

After all that Gospel work, I made my way home by bus where I ran into a brother-in-the-Lord.  It was good to speak of the Lord in that bus.  No doubt a lot of people heard our conversation and that in itself was a witness.  The Lord use it as He sees fit.

With that, it's really, really late, so I'm turning in.  It was a nine hour work day, with a three and a half hour street preaching effort.  I'm beat!

Have a blessed weekend, dear saints.

Rand