During an open air session a couple of weeks ago, a young man named Joshua told street evangelist Ray Comfort that he "tried" Christianity and it didn't work for him. Ray was quick to point out that he was never a Christian in the first place.
Here is a 4 minute excerpt of the "on the box" exchange:
One cannot become a genuine Christian through true repentance and faith in Christ and then choose to bow out of salvation later on. That would make God's power to regenerate a person's heart toward true conversion, and keep it there, absolutley ineffectual.
As you stand right now, you are either a genuine child of God, saved by grace, eternally secure and you have been made wanting to live your life in love and obedience to His will. Either God is your heavenly Father or, as Jesus put it, "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire." John 8:44
You may even be a "religious" person, like Joshua was, trying to earn your way to Heaven by your own good merit. If so, you are in no better a place than where Joshua always has been and still was as of two weeks ago. What he proved lacking was a God-initiated conversion experience that would have opened his eyes and mind to the truth that he is a great sinner in dire need of a great Savior.
It is not possible for any genuine Christian to willfully desire to turn his back on the immeasureable love, grace and mercy of God through His Son, Jesus, the Lord. If he did, it would be a clear indication that he was never a Christian from the onset, just like Joshua.
Truth is: once God has you in His grip, He will never let you go. Ever!
But sadly, there are millions upon millions of false converts in this world. They believe and regard themselves to be "Christian" for every reason but the one that counts. These untold numbers of people have been deceived, even by their own church leaders, and remain trudging along the broad road that leads to eternal punishment in hell, lest they repent of their sins and place their trust in Christ alone for their salvation.
All the more reason for genuine, obedient and compassionate Christians (like you) to be "out there" proclaiming the truth of the gospel where and whenever possible so as to encourage the lost to seek the truth in it that they may eventually find themselves truly converted...and saved!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
CROSS ENCOUNTER
I can't say enough about this video. A wonderful encounter made possible by God through my good friend and brother, Allen Peek.
A great example of what can happen when you are willing to stand like a fool for Christ, ready to share the gospel.
Please watch this video. It will be a blessing especially to those who have not done this sort of thing before, but have always wondered what it would be like.
Then GO do!
A great example of what can happen when you are willing to stand like a fool for Christ, ready to share the gospel.
Please watch this video. It will be a blessing especially to those who have not done this sort of thing before, but have always wondered what it would be like.
Then GO do!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
AYR CROSS GIVE-A-WAY
My brother in Christ, dear friend, fellow blogger, instigator of Mission Canada 2010, street evangelist, honeycrisp apple enthusiast and woodworker guy extraordinaire, Vernon Costolo, of Huntington, West Virginia, has a wonderful offer you might be interested in.
If you have been following this blog, you will already be familiar with the Are You Ready cross we utilize for our evangelism efforts here on the streets of Ottawa. A wonderful tool thought up by Tony Miano, of southern California, a year and a half ago that has proven to be extremely effective in drawing attention, getting people thinking and creating gospel conversations with strangers with great ease.
Vernon is a gifted wood craftsman and is responsible for making many a person a cross to carry, even in different languages, that begs the same question.
Don't have a cross? Want to have a cross? Free of labor and cost? Then head on over to Vernon's blog, Proclaiming the Truth, and toss your name into the hat and wait til February 1st for a draw that just might win you your own custom made cross to help you boost your evangelism efforts.
We have one of his crosses. Quality workmanship at it's best!
Unfortunately, yet understandably, this draw is only open to street evangelists living in the States. But if you're not American and you know someone who is and who might be interested in this opportunity, then please spread the word. Thanks!
Vernon is a gifted wood craftsman and is responsible for making many a person a cross to carry, even in different languages, that begs the same question.
Don't have a cross? Want to have a cross? Free of labor and cost? Then head on over to Vernon's blog, Proclaiming the Truth, and toss your name into the hat and wait til February 1st for a draw that just might win you your own custom made cross to help you boost your evangelism efforts.
We have one of his crosses. Quality workmanship at it's best!
Unfortunately, yet understandably, this draw is only open to street evangelists living in the States. But if you're not American and you know someone who is and who might be interested in this opportunity, then please spread the word. Thanks!
Monday, January 17, 2011
DO YOU APPRECIATE YOUR BIBLE THIS MUCH?
There are just some things that we should never take for granted within our ability to easily access what we want. The Bible being the most important of all.
The Bible? Yes, the Bible! God's Holy Word. This video should warm your heart.
Take a little time out and watch the anticipation and pure joy of a distant tribe as they receive and celebrate the arrival of Bibles printed in their native language for the first time.
It might help you better appreciate the treasure, that is the written Word of God, already published in your own language long before you ever received or bought one.
My prayer is that you are just as overjoyed, like the Kimyal tribe, of being able to simply have a Bible you can call your own.
Cherish and know your Bible like there was no tomorrow. Read, study and apply. Who knows? The way things are going here, there may come a time when owning and reading a Bible will be against the law.
The Bible? Yes, the Bible! God's Holy Word. This video should warm your heart.
Take a little time out and watch the anticipation and pure joy of a distant tribe as they receive and celebrate the arrival of Bibles printed in their native language for the first time.
It might help you better appreciate the treasure, that is the written Word of God, already published in your own language long before you ever received or bought one.
My prayer is that you are just as overjoyed, like the Kimyal tribe, of being able to simply have a Bible you can call your own.
Cherish and know your Bible like there was no tomorrow. Read, study and apply. Who knows? The way things are going here, there may come a time when owning and reading a Bible will be against the law.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Saturday, January 8, 2011
MENU SPECIAL: HUMBLE PIE
It's one thing for me to watch and hear a person recite Romans 12 verbatim, or any Bible chapter for that matter. But it's a completely different thing when that person is 52 years my junior.
This is a must-see of three year old Nathaniel Sippley reciting said Bible chapter. He is the son of a brother in Christ and FB 'friend' of mine, Chris, in Moncton, New Brunswick.
There is much to be said about the "down the road" benefits of Nathaniel being able to recite whole chapters of the Bible at such a young age.
And much to be said about Nathaniel's parents, who love God and their son enough to prioritize what he should be learning, especially at such a young age. Now that's good parenting!
I confess, being a Christian of 11 years now myself, I am not too proud of the fact that I cannot do what little Nathaniel can do at the age of 3.
"One slice of humble pie, please. Nay, make that the whole thing!"
This is a must-see of three year old Nathaniel Sippley reciting said Bible chapter. He is the son of a brother in Christ and FB 'friend' of mine, Chris, in Moncton, New Brunswick.
There is much to be said about the "down the road" benefits of Nathaniel being able to recite whole chapters of the Bible at such a young age.
And much to be said about Nathaniel's parents, who love God and their son enough to prioritize what he should be learning, especially at such a young age. Now that's good parenting!
I confess, being a Christian of 11 years now myself, I am not too proud of the fact that I cannot do what little Nathaniel can do at the age of 3.
"One slice of humble pie, please. Nay, make that the whole thing!"
Friday, January 7, 2011
SEND IN THE CLOWNS
"Evangelicals once prided themselves that they were not like those small-minded fundamentalists who erected walls around their beliefs and stuck to the Bible.
Evangelicals were different, they claimed, because they believed in lowering the drawbridge into the culture so that the church could intermingle. Well, all these years later, evangelicalism is indistinguishable from the culture around it.
Ingrid Schlueter
Crosstalk America
Evangelicals were different, they claimed, because they believed in lowering the drawbridge into the culture so that the church could intermingle. Well, all these years later, evangelicalism is indistinguishable from the culture around it.
That's because the lowered drawbridge of evangelicalism wasn't sending out soldiers of Christ intent on evangelizing the lost.
It was sending traffic from the world's culture straight into the heart of the church. Traffic goes both ways on a drawbridge, and nobody bothered to stand watch at evangelicalism's gate."
Crosstalk America
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
HEART 'N SOUL - FOR THE FUN OF IT
Kim and I do a lot more than proclaim the gospel on the streets of Ottawa together as we are grateful to the Lord in that, as husband and wife, we share the same passion for a good number of different things. One of those things is playing the piano.
Well, the truth of it is, Kim plays the piano. I fake the piano. Kim is classically trained. I play by ear. Thankfully, my head doesn't hurt as much now that I have learned to use my fingers instead. Easier to play, too. :)
So, for our faithful subscribers, The Word Street Journal proudly presents something completely different for the first blog post of the new year. It has nothing to do with evangelism aside from the fact that the players are evangelists.
Featured below is an improvised version of a little fun piece called "Heart 'n Soul" that Kim and I do, but never the same way twice. You have heard the tune before, just maybe not quite like this.
The Bible says to "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord" - Psalm 98:4. Here's a little bit of noise, hopefully joyful:
The media scrum in the background is made up of our dear friends and fellow evangelists, Vernon and Sean, from the USA who were up here last October participating with us in what has been now dubbed "Mission Ottawa 2010". We played this for them.
Enjoy!
Well, the truth of it is, Kim plays the piano. I fake the piano. Kim is classically trained. I play by ear. Thankfully, my head doesn't hurt as much now that I have learned to use my fingers instead. Easier to play, too. :)
So, for our faithful subscribers, The Word Street Journal proudly presents something completely different for the first blog post of the new year. It has nothing to do with evangelism aside from the fact that the players are evangelists.
Featured below is an improvised version of a little fun piece called "Heart 'n Soul" that Kim and I do, but never the same way twice. You have heard the tune before, just maybe not quite like this.
The Bible says to "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord" - Psalm 98:4. Here's a little bit of noise, hopefully joyful:
The media scrum in the background is made up of our dear friends and fellow evangelists, Vernon and Sean, from the USA who were up here last October participating with us in what has been now dubbed "Mission Ottawa 2010". We played this for them.
Enjoy!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
AN OLD BLESSING FOR A NEW YEAR
For you, fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, present and aspiring gospel harbingers, on this the first day of 2011, a blessing.
A blessing composed by God and given to Moses to pass on to Aaron and his sons to bless the Israelites about 3,400 years ago as they made their way through the desert to the Promised Land after the Lord helped them escape 400 years of slavery in Eygypt.
“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26
All both of us here at The Word Street Journal, pray this blessing for you for 2011. And that the Lord would bless you with a great burden in your heart to be always at the ready to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with the lost, whoever and wherever they may be.
So much so that you would make the effort to purposely go out and boldly, lovingly proclaim the name of Jesus and His gospel in the public square by whatever means you have been blessed with.
Your time here on earth is your only opportunity to share the gospel with others.
If we can be of help, please feel free to contact us. That is what we are here for on this blog: to encourage you, that you may be blessed in having a hand in the building of the Kingdom of God and know the joy of such a privilege.
May God bless you abundantly in His service for 2011.
A blessing composed by God and given to Moses to pass on to Aaron and his sons to bless the Israelites about 3,400 years ago as they made their way through the desert to the Promised Land after the Lord helped them escape 400 years of slavery in Eygypt.
“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26All both of us here at The Word Street Journal, pray this blessing for you for 2011. And that the Lord would bless you with a great burden in your heart to be always at the ready to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with the lost, whoever and wherever they may be.
So much so that you would make the effort to purposely go out and boldly, lovingly proclaim the name of Jesus and His gospel in the public square by whatever means you have been blessed with.
Your time here on earth is your only opportunity to share the gospel with others.
If we can be of help, please feel free to contact us. That is what we are here for on this blog: to encourage you, that you may be blessed in having a hand in the building of the Kingdom of God and know the joy of such a privilege.
May God bless you abundantly in His service for 2011.
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