RIGHTEOUS ANGER - THE 7TH COMMANDMENT ON HOLLYWOOD BLVD

Tony Miano, of The Lawman Chronicles, and some friends were walking down Hollywood Boulevard recently and came across a group of people displaying pornographic imagery in public and asking passersby what they thought of it.

So, Tony decided to let them know what he thought:



I think this to be a great example of what Christians should be doing when they come across blatant displays of man's depravity in public.

Don't just shake your head and walk on by.

Speak up, Christian! Speak up!

Speak up against the offending issue at hand. Speak up on the negative social impact it has on society. Make it personal, if applicable.

And, most important: use it as a springboard to preach the law and the gospel, as Tony did here, with a compassionate heart and a righteous anger that brings glory to God.

THE LOST SHEEP, COIN AND SON

Vaylard Zupke, a close friend of Leonard Ravenhill, shed some new light for me in Jesus' parables of the lost sheep, coin and son.

I was truly enlightened and moved by his sermon.

Please take a half hour of your time this weekend and view this humble and powerful presentation of God's Word.

Blessing guaranteed.




HT: I'll Be Honest

AN EVENING AT THE COUNTY FAIR

A CROSS. THE BEACH.

Boy, life sure is busy these days. With family, full time work, errands galore, committments I forgot I was committed to, etc., it sure is not easy these days to get a word in edgewise into The Word Street Journal.

Oh, yeah, I do manage to make a little time to evangelize but I'm a little behind in bringing you my reports so I'll start with a week ago Sunday.

It was a beautiful warm afternoon when, after church, I decided to take the cross to a nearby beach where I knew hundreds would be. I also brought along a Ray Comfort book, my Bible, a chair and some gospel tracts.

I set up my cross along a main pathway that was constantly busy with passersby busy doing what passersby do...pass by.

As I sat reading my book beside the cross by the path, I heard many people comment to each other after reading the glaring question "Are You Ready".



"Oh, that's just some Jesus freak" one said to another. Thank you. I'll take that as a compliment.

"He's probably some religious guy" another said. They don't know me very well.

"We're all gonna die! We're all gonna die!" some young guys laughed and mocked. Hey, great idea for a t-shirt slogan!

Hundreds of people passed by in my time there, glanced and kept on walking without saying anything...at least that I could hear.

It wasn't until an hour and a half into my presence there that two ladies came over to ask what I was doing there. They knew what the question on the cross was leading to as they proclaimed to be Christians.

One of the two ladies, Paula, said "But, we are Catholic Charismatics."

"Well, this should be interesting", I thought to myself.

She continued excitedly, "I go to church every Sunday, I go to prayer meetings every week and I have been baptized in the Holy Spirit!"

I smiled, welcomed them and started what turned out to be a half hour discussion.

I began with, "Alright, but are you ready?"

"Me?" Paula asked with a puzzled look.

"Yes." I confirmed. "Let me put it this way: If you were to die today and found yourself being ushered into Heaven, how would you have made it there?"

She thought for a moment. "Well, I have no idea how I would make it to Heaven, but I am hoping I'm going to make it there, that's for sure."
In other words, "I hope I am religious enough and, therefore, good enough to make it into Heaven."

That's all it took.

I don't have time to tell you all the details of our conversation, but rest assured, they heard the clear and simple gospel. Though we touched on the various differences that separate us doctrinally, (Mary, purgatory, transubstantiation, praying to saints, etc.), I tried my best to keep the discussion focused on the cross of Christ and what that all entails.

Paula listened intently to what I had to say. Her friend, however, (I forgot her name) tried to argue me down on every issue, but I would not enter into debate. I brought out the Word of God to prove various points I was making.

Paula was nodding her head as though she was being given food for thought. Her friend told me my Bible was not valid as it was not a Catholic bible and that I should return to the ways of the Catholic church and follow the church's Magesterium for my spiritual and moral guidance.

I told her that the infallible Word of God in the Bible is all I need for my spiritual and moral guidance and not the fallible word and traditions of sinful man.

I reiterated the simple truth of the gospel to them and asked them to think and pray about what they had heard . With that, they had to go.

Paula smiled and thanked me for spending time with them. Her friend was rather, shall I say, cold in saying goodbye.

As they turned away I told them I would be praying for them. Paula's friend whipped around, pointed her finger at me and said, "You're the one that needs prayers, sir!"

I was grateful for our conversation though saddened by their lack assurance of their place in Heaven even though they practice all the "religious" things they proclaimed were so great.

This is for sure: the questioning cross is a catalyst for thought and discussion. Because of it's presence with me, hundreds walked by thinking about the question and two people stopped by and were given the gospel in a clear and concise manner.

God is good.

THE LOST DOCTRINE - PAUL WASHER

HT: I'll Be Honest

FEAST OR FAMINE

I was all gung-ho and geared up for some downtown evangelism work last Saturday.

I anticipated handing out hundreds of gospel tracts. I was hoping to talk one-to-one with tons of people. I was planning on breaking my record of open air preaching more than twice in one day.

But Proverbs 19:21 came to life for me that day, which says:

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD'S purpose that prevails."

This was the scene when I arrived at one of my usually super busy downtown fishing spots, the Sparks Street Mall. Have you ever heard the chirping of crickets...downtown in broad daylight?

Ooohh, wait! Would that be two humans on a street bench? Let's zoom in.


Great! I hadn't even started preaching yet and my congregation was already asleep.

"I didn't come all the way here for nothing", I thought. "I'm going to get up, open my bible and read all of John 3 and maybe stop some people, if any pass by", I decided.



OK, well maybe someone. This fellow stopped by, stood a few feet away from me and stayed for the whole reading of John 3, nodded his head a few times, thanked me when I was done but couldn't stick around to talk.

"Where is everybody?" I wondered. "Aha! They're all on Parliament Hill watching the Changing of the Guard ceremony. So I took off to be there in time for the conclusion and hand out tracts to the departing hundreds of people.

There was that cricket noise again. As it turned out, the hundreds of people all left the Hill from every other gate except the one I plunked myself near...the one I thought most would exit from.


Well here's one who came by for a tract. I think he just felt sorry for me.

"I know! I'll head down to the busy entrance of the Rideau Centre shopping mall, read from John 3 and open air." Not many people there either, but I did what I came to do.

Soon, I had a congregation of more than one. They stopped to hear the whole gospel and then stuck around a while for further discussion with me, asking all kinds of good questions with no rebuttals. With gospel tracts in their hands, they all left expressing appreciation of what they heard. Two of the group of 3 seemed quite convicted. Praise God!

-----------------------------------------------------

So, what I thought was going to be a big numbers day turned out to be a handful of people who heard the gospel and less than 10 gospel tracts given out.

But, evangelism is not about numbers. We should not be going out for the "big numbers" as some churches do in order to declare themselves a "success".

We should be going out in humble obedience and gratefulness to God for what He did for us on the cross regardless if anybody listened, anybody talked with us or anybody took tracts.

If we go out for the big numbers, we go out with selfish, boast intended motives and not a humble, compassionate heart for the lost.

I thanked the Lord for my quiet busy day when, for the most part, the gospel was given to one soul at a time.

TRUTH - PASTOR AL MARTIN

A few years ago I had the privilege of sitting under Pastor Al Martin's preaching for three days at a conference and was subject to his form of telling it like it is, passionately, lovingly and without compromise.

He gave me much to think and pray about. During each of his sermons, I don't think my eyes blinked once.

Here is a sample why:



Professing Christian: did this shake you? Did this cause you to question your true stance before God? Did you come to Christ with a broken heart? Or did you, for example, just recite a little prayer?

Have you truly repented of your sins? Or are you still living them out from Monday to Saturday thinking it's no big deal?

Still unsure?

Then please, please, do as Paul exhorts in 2 Corinthians 13:5 and examine yourself to see if you are truly in the faith. You've come this far! Test yourself by the Word of God. Test yourself and know whether or not you are truly saved.

And if not, repent! Forsake your sins once and for all and put your faith in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation while God has still given you time.

(Note: the world is in dire need of fervent preachers like Pastor Al Martin... for those who are not saved, for those who think they are but are not and for those who know they truly are.)

HT: I'll Be Honest

UNOPEN AIR PREACHING

Our Savior commanded us: "Therefore, go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." (Mark 16:15)

Jesus did not say "Wait at your church doors for strangers to come in. And, if they do come, welcome them and preach the good news to them."

No! He said, "GO".

That means we must be proactive just as Jesus was proactive: "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." (Luke 19:10)

Jesus didn't wait for the lost to come to Him. He went out to them wherever they were.

Many of us have preached in the open air on the open street. But here's a place where the gospel is being preached that I never would have thought about. I was absolutely amazed and touched when I viewed this video. I love the ending.



Christians must venture away from the four walls of their church buildings to seek and save what is lost. To search in every crack and crevice for those who need to hear the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. Again, we are commanded to do so by the very One who saved us in the first place.

For those who know Christ as their Savior and are quiet about it:

Pray. Seek the Lord's leading towards evangelism.
Pray. Seek advice from those already out there.
Pray. Seek the lost!

"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?" (Romans 10:14)

HT: Pure Gospel Truth

CHRISTIAN TEEN ESCAPING ALLEGED DEATH THREAT FROM MUSLIM FATHER

Seventeen year old Rifqa Bary ran away from her Ohio home to Florida seeking refuge from her Muslim father who has allegedly threatened her with death through "honor killing" after discovering she had become a Chrsitian.

I came across this incredible story on the Transplant Ministries blogsite and was upset as a father and deeply moved as a Christian.



Do honor killings really happen here in North America?

I publish this in light of the very recent story in Montreal, Canada, where a Muslim man and his wife (and their 18 year old son) are being held on charges of first degree murder in the deaths of their three daughters and the man's first wife.

It is alleged that these 4 murders were committed as "honor killings", for other unjustifiable reasons than conversion to Christianity.

I don't think this young girl's father's death threat should be taken lightly. Honor killing is honored within the boundaries of this "religion of peace" for those who are deeply devout.

Rifqa is both very brave and terrified. She has grace to be one and reason to be the other. Yet, her faith and trust in her Savior is unshakable.

I would love to know the details of her conversion story. Could it be possible that God planted a seed in her heart in the receiving of the gospel by someone handing her a gospel tract on the street or by hearing a gospel preacher on the street? Who knows?

But what is important now is her safety and the maintaining of her steadfast faith in Christ, no matter what.

Please pray for Rifqa.

Jesus warned:

“Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.” -John 16:2


HT: Transplant Ministries / Read Fox News story HERE.

A CROSS. THE MARKET.

Saturday night was the first opportunity I had to utilize the cross in my street witness at one of my favorite downtown fishing spots: the Byward Market.

The Market is always abuzz with many people, but especially on Friday and Saturday nights. It's alcohol time! And seemingly thousands of people (especially of the college species) come out of the woodwork and flock to the numerous pubs, bars, taverns and clubs that dot the Market area.

I affixed the cross across from a crosswalk at one of the busier cross section of streets. There's alot of crossing going on there!

While I slowly set up to preach I let the cross do its own work as people on the sidewalk and in slow passing cars did doubletakes in glancing at the questioning cross in passing.

There is no doubt in my mind of the effectiveness of this wonderful tool. The cross can stand on its own and give reason for people to ponder, if not in the immediate, then even later on.

And it continues to lead some to come right out and stop to ask the "Ready for what?" question, as did one young fellow, rather loudly, who was walking by across the street with a group of friends on their way to a bar.

"Eternity!" I yelled back. This 2 second question and answer period successfully turned some heads.

"If you were to die today, would you be ready to meet God face to face to give an account for your life?" I continued.

"I'm not going to die today. I'm going to live for a long time.", he said as his friends were coaxing him to ignore me and continue on to the bar.

"Do you mean like the 9 people who flew over the Hudson River in New York City earlier today?" I asked. (That most recent sudden death news story just popped in my head.)

With that, one of his friends got him in a headlock and dragged him away and he was gone. I had wished for more time with him but others heard my point.

After 20 minutes of letting the cross do its work, it was time to open air preach. Up on my pedestal, next to my cross, I opened up by reading chapter 3 from the Book of John as hordes of people walked by. I then preached the gospel for about a half an hour.

Many, especially the buildup of people waiting on the corner for their light to turn green every minute, turned their attention to what I was reading and preaching.

While I was preaching I noticed a woman standing a few feet away on my right listening intently. The next time I turned toward her way, I noticed her with hands clasped and head bowed. "Ahh...backup support!", I thought.

Behind me was a fellow standing beside his bike listening to my message. A while later another man joined him and started conversing with the cyclist guy in french. I just kept on preaching the Law and the Gospel.

When I was done, I was approached by the lady who introduced herself as Nancy. She let me know she is a born again Christian. She told me she was walking home through the Market and, from a distance via my speaker, heard the Word of God being proclaimed. She followed the sound of my voice until she came to the corner.

Nancy said she was captivated and encouraged by the God's Word being preached on a busy street corner, so much so, she felt compelled to pray for me while I preached.

I told her how much I had appreciated that and how great it was that God sends encouragers of the faith to show up in support without notice. Nancy continued her walk home with a seemingly lighter bounce in her step.

After she left, the guy with the bike introduced himself to me as Matthew. He was a believer from Quebec, just across the Ottawa River. He, too, was going by my corner in the market when he saw the cross. He put two and two together while I was setting up and decided to stay to see what I was going to do.

Matthew told me that about a third way through my discourse, a stranger came up to him and started to converse with him in french. I told him I had noticed.

He said it was really interesting because this stranger asked Matthew, who is fluently bilingual, if he was with me. He answered him "No.", but that he was just there listening.

The stranger started to talk to Matthew about his spiritual woes, his discouragement with the Roman Catholic church, he semi-uncertainty of God, etc. That opened the door for Matthew to share his faith and views with this stranger, something he later told me he does not do enough of.

So, what was an encouragement to the stranger, who had left before I was finished, was also an unexpected encouragement for Matthew. And this brother was an encouragement to me as he asked me if he could pray for me right there and then to which I readily agreed.

We talked for quite a while before we said goodbye as the questioning cross continued to do its work with headturning pedestrians and motorists.

After a full day at work, a quick supper, a drive downtown, a walkabout the Market and spending about two hours on the corner with my cross, my body was telling me it was time to go home and hit the hay.

It was a beautiful evening and a wonderful privilege to preach the gospel truth to the masses and offer the one and only way by which they may find themselves READY to face God on Judgment Day, clothed in a robe of righteousness not of their own, freely given to all who repent of their sins and place their trust in Christ, and Him alone, for their salvation.

On my way home, I gave thanks to the Lord for this privilege and also for sending me not one, but two fellow believers, strangers with a bond to our soveriegn Lord, to hold me up in prayer as I did my work.

And I also gave thanks for my new trusty companion, the questioning cross. What a blessing!

All glory to God! Amen!

EMPOWERED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT - PAUL WASHER

HT: I'll Be Honest & Puritan Fellowship

THE CROSS AND ROSEMARIE

Monday was a civic holiday and most people had the day off work as I did. I made some time to head back to the Sparks Street Mall for a while with my cross and a boatload of gospel tracts.

I had hoped to see about as many people downtown as there were on Saturday, but the weather was far from the best so there were alot less people milling about. Nonetheless, I set up my cross on a rise and sat just to see if anything would happen.

About 5 minutes into my being there, a couple of young fellows came over to me to ask questions about the cross and what I was doing. It turned out they were believers and curious about my mission. They listened to my explanation and offered encouragement.

One fellow asked me for my e-mail address as he said he has been sensing a call to witness as well. I encouraged him to get in touch with me and gave him my blog address as a start to further resources.

After they left, I noticed an upsurge of pedestrian traffic. With that I stood up on the rise next to the cross and offered my Canadian and American MDB gospel tracts to passersby. It didn't take long before 100 tracts were wisked out of my hand.

As I gave them out I made sure they knew it was a gospel tract and that the message on the back was worth more than all the money in the world. I repeatedly encouraged them to make sure they read it. Many did right there. Some smiled and waved at me as they left.

Before long, the pedestrian mall was barren again. Except for one lady.

She apparently had seen the cross just as I was getting ready to hand out tracts. She took a seat on a nearby bench and watched as I gave out the MDBs to eager receivers.

After everyone had left and as I was about to pack up to leave, she got enough gumption to approach me and asked "What is this all about?" and pointed at the cross. Her name was Rosemarie.

When I had made it clear as to why I was there I asked her if she, herself, was ready for eternity. She told me she beleived that she would go to "a better place".

I asked her if that better place was called Heaven. She said yes.

I asked her if she thought that she was good enough to go there. She said yes.

I asked her if she had kept the 10 commandments. I could tell by the look on her face that she knew she had not but didn't want to admit it.

I pointed to 4 of them to see if she had broken any. She admitted to breaking them all.

I took her through the Law and then gave her the Good News. That got her thinking more. She seemed to have been convicted of her stance before God on Judgment Day without the forgiveness of her sins through the shed blood of Christ on the cross.

She knew, there and then, that she was NOT ready. She asked a few more questions to which I gave answer and then she said she had to leave.

Rosemarie thanked me for helping her understand the gospel in a better light. Before she left I told her that I was going to be praying for her that in the hearing of this gospel, God would do a move on her heart and cause her to become born again.

With that she seemed bewildered. "You are going to pray for me?" she asked.

I said "Yes."

She said "Well, if you are, would you please also pray that God would take away my habit of gambling? I spend way too much time and money in the casino."

She wasn't being light about this, she was on the verge of tears. I believe she was further convicted of need for forgiveness and for deliverance from this particular obsessional sin.

I said "I most certainly will. Gambing is a sin as well."

She acknowledged that she knew gambling was a wrong but did not know how to put an end to it.

I told her two things:

1) God can enable you to repent and put a stop to this sin and all others.

2) I told her that the next time she finds herself approaching the door of a casino, "make sure to read the giant neon lit sign on the front of the building as 'caSINo' ".

With that she burst out laughing saying she had never read it like that and that it was an easy thing to remember.

She thanked me again for spending time with her, for helping her understand her need and that I cared enough to pray for her. And off she went.

In summary:

1) Two Christians saw the cross and were drawn to talk to me and left encouraged by my witness. Praise God.

2) Rosemarie walked by, read "ARE YOU READY" on it and was stopped. It stirred her curiosity. She sat at a distance until I finished handing out tracts. She approached me and conversed with me for a while.

She went home encouraged with the truth of the gospel in her mind, the promise of a stranger to pray for her and a gospel tract.

Now, how difficult was this gospel giving effort?

Not.

Any Christian could do it.

Do it with a heartfelt compassion for the lost and the Lord not only helps you but rightfully receives ALL the glory. Nobody else.

What a great, great God we serve!

A CROSS. THE STREET.

It worked!

The simple cross with the burning question "ARE YOU READY" along the crossbeam. Saturday was our first time incorporating it into our street gospel work.

As I carried the cross through downtown festival crowds and as it stood attached to my dolly on the Sparks Street Mall, people's attention clearly were drawn to it. Some were curious enough to come up to me and ask me the obvious question: "Ready for what?".

One fellow, John, who you will see me sharing the gospel with in the video below, left his outdoor cafe table across from where we were set up and talked with Kim and I for over a half hour.

Just before leaving he said: "I'm so glad to have had this conversation with you. You gave me lots to think about. And if it wasn't for this cross I saw, I would have had no reason to come over and talk with you."

God is so good!

I hope this little video is a help to those who are praying for encouragement to reach out to others with the saving gospel of Christ our Lord in whatever way they feel inspired to do so, big or small: