CHRIST IS RISEN

Kim made four new crosses this long weekend, custom made for our use today on the streets of Ottawa. Today of any day, Resurrection Sunday, is a day to proclaim the name of Jesus in the public square.

Four of us will be heading out to stand with our crosses later today at a busy intersection just a couple of blocks down from our church, one on each corner. Two others will be with us to hand out tracts to passing pedestrians. All glory and honour to God our Savior!

Christ has died. Christ is risen! Christ will come again!!

I SEE MYSELF IN BARABBAS - DO YOU?

"Now it was the governor’s custom at the Feast to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. 

So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him. While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”

But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.

“Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.

“Barabbas,” they answered.

“What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?” Pilate asked.

They all answered, “Crucify him!”

“Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.

But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”

When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”

All the people answered, “Let his blood be on us and on our children!”

Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified."

  Matthew 27:15-26

I see myself in Barabbas as one set free, despite my guilt, by Jesus who willingly bore that guilt for me in my stead and paid the horrific price for my lifelong crimes though He was perfectly innocent of any sin throughout His own life. 

The perfect spotless Lamb of God, hung on a cross, in my place.

Jesus died for me. Did He die for you?

Thank you, Father, for sending your Son to take on my sin and punishment on the cross.   Thank you Jesus for setting me free!

HT: Caleb and Sol

BUT WE GLORY IN CHRIST JESUS - (PHIL 3:3) - BOB JENNINGS

You want a simple definition of a Christian, a true Christian?  

He is one who glories, who boasts, who rejoices in Christ Jesus.  His glory is not ambition, work, women, hobby, house, nor hunting trips.  One dear old lady, whenever convenient, would bring the conversation around to her grandchildren. That was her glory.  I’ve known folks that had collections of cars, tools, arrowheads, or even buttons.  That is what made them stand out.  For some, it is a weird hairstyle, a piece of clothing, or even their poverty.  For some it is their church or their ministry.  Folks must have something in which to glory, even if it is their sin, their shame, Philippians 3.19.

But the Christians glory in Christ Jesus – His person and His work.  We boast of His eternal existence, His humble incarnation, His perfect life, His miraculous deeds, His substitutionary death, His powerful resurrection, His supreme exaltation, His effectual intercession, His sovereign reign, His second coming and righteous judgment.  We boast of His incomparable love, His incomprehensible peace, His tender mercy, His incredible forgiveness, His great salvation, His majestic saints, His surpassing wisdom, and His blessed hope.  It is the nature of a Christian to shun boasting in anything but the cross of Christ where his sin-guilt was put away, Galatians 6.14.

The Christian has seen that there is nothing else worthy in which to boast.  All else is passing, is frail, is weak, is dust.  All else is relative and next year someone else will do it better and then die.  Kings die.  Empires crumble, forgotten.  But Christ Jesus lives and reigns.  In the end, all will appear before Him and He will get the glory.  

We shout it from the housetops.  Are you proud of Christ Jesus?

                                           by Pastor Bob Jennings

CROSS TRACTS

If you are a Christian who wonders what it is like to hand out gospel tracts to perfect strangers on a busy street corner, have a look here and see how easy it can be.

As in any part of street evangelism, all you need is passion for God, compassion for the lost and, of course, some gospel tracts. And, if interested, the "Are You Ready" cross is a great help in bringing curious people to the gospel giving servant on the street.

Never underestimate the power of the gospel tract. As Charles Spurgeon once said: "A touching gospel tract may be the seed of eternal life."

I hope you are encouraged by what you see here and are moved to join the growing ranks of those who are willing to stand for and proclaim Christ in the public square, bringing the Good News to a lost a dying world in one of the simplest of ways.

'RELIGION OF PEACE'? WHAT SHOULD WE DO?

Yet another reason why we who profess Christ,should be as vehement as this "salafi" in Britain, even more so, and be out there on the streets (before and when they come) to be found boldy preaching a completely different gospel than the one he preaches, the one given to us to proclaim at all cost: the gospel of Jesus Christ, Son of God, Lord and Savior.

The gospel that does not call for violent bloodshed or world domination over those who oppose biblical truth, but the one that lovingly calls all sinners to repentance and faith in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins, that they may know and have peace with the one true God through His Son and, by grace, be granted eternal life in heaven.



There is no other way. No other truth.

Jesus said so Himself:

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through ME." - John 14:6

Muhammad was a mere man. He is dead.

Jesus is God. He is alive and sits at the right hand of the Father. He is coming back to judge the living and the dead.

No matter what faith background people come from, motivated by a spirit of love or hatred, we must be out and about proclaiming the love of God through the saving gospel of Jesus, the Lord!

It is the only truth. It is, as for us, their only hope.

ALL IN THE LORD'S TIMING

"The spirit is willing but"...sure been a lot of 'stuff' getting in the way of our desire to be out on the street with the gospel lately. It has been a relatively slow start for us this year on the evangelism front and we're not used to that. 

As the Lord would have it, we have had to curtail recent opportunities to go out with the cross, hand out tracts, initiate gospel conversations, public Scripture reading, open air preach, etc.

The reasons are many and legitimate regarding our time taken up in having to deal with work issues, house issues, family issues, weather issues and, as we speak, health issues...you name it, we have just not been able to make the time to get out there as much as WE would like.

Not that all is lost, mind you, as our commitment to be ambassadors for the Lord is a daily thing no matter where we are or what we are doing. We have had ample opportunities to leave and hand out tracts everywhere we go. I have been blessed with numerous gospel conversations with people at work and some regular passengers who ride my bus and so on.

We do have a busy evangelism schedule this year, you know, the ones that take pre-planning efforts and for that we are glad. We are also very glad for the number of "laborers" the Lord has raised up for us to evangelize with from our church and elsewhere. We are thrilled to be part of a larger team of gospel harbingers, an answer to prayer.

Yet, to some degree, Kim and I have been missing out on our spontaneous jaunts together downtown and other places to present the gospel to lost souls for an hour or two at our whim. Aahh, but we know and understand that it is never at our "whim", but rather, always, the sovereignty of God in all things including our time.

There are only so many hours on the clock per day. So we must rely and trust in God's perfect timing and reasons for everything in our lives including that which He has called us to do in the field of street evangelism.

That's why we never lament over our sudden inabilities to get out there to share the gospel with people.

Well, kinda never.

    

THE WORD STREET JOURNAL 2 YEARS OLD TODAY

As you probably notice from the photo below, there has been a lot of change since The Word Street Journal first opened it's office, along with the first open air sermon being preached, on Main Street in Ottawa, Ontario, a whole two years ago.

Click on the image for a larger view.

Yes, fashions have changed, pavement has replaced cobble stone, cars instead of horses, notepads to computers, etc.

Thankfully, the one and most important thing that has not and never will change is the Word of God.

We, here at The Word Street Journal, appreciate your patronage as we move into our third year of being a source of edification and encouragement to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who, like us, bear a burden for lost souls and have a burning desire to serve our King and "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." as He commanded us to do in Mark 16:15.

Leaving tracts, handing out tracts, one-to-one and group conversations on the street, reading Scripture in public and open air preaching are a few of the many ways we can all be bringing the saving gospel of Jesus to the world around us.

It looks like this year is going to be another busy year of sowing and watering seeds on the streets of the nation's capital. Come along for the adventure. Your support through the wonderful act of prayer would be most appreciated.

"...his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot." - Jeremiah 20:9

Always for the glory of God,

Paul & Kim