Today, by the sovereign will and grace of God, I am 56 years old.
What am I here for? To love and serve God with all my heart, mind, soul and strength through Jesus Christ, my Lord and my Saviour.
How long will I live for? ETERNITY!
Where? In Heaven.
How? By grace, through faith in Christ, alone.
Sins? Repented of and forgiven, paid for in full by Christ on the cross.
Guilty? Acquitted.
Deserved? Not in the least.
Grateful? Speechlessly so.
For how long? ETERNITY !!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Thursday, November 24, 2011
HARK! THE HERALD, JEFFREY, SINGS
Fellow gospel herald and friend, Jeff Mardling, of Ridgetown, Ontario, joined Kim and me this past weekend to herald the gospel of Jesus Christ at this year's 'Help Santa Toy Parade' in downtown Ottawa.
Hundreds of tracts were handed out, a portion of a Christmas carol recited a couple of times (one much better than the other) and one conversation following an open air gospel presentation that resulted in a young woman breaking into tears expressing her desire to know more about God and finding a solid church that preached the right gospel. After a few words of encouragement, we gladly pointed her in the right direction.
Christmas or Santa parades, however they are called, are one of those public events in the year that are a no-brainer when it comes to going out to spread the gospel truth.
The theme, the birth of Jesus, is the obvious springboard to the preaching of the gospel even though it may take a born again Christian or two to dig it out and proclaim it aside the guise of a jolly fat man, commercialism and man-made religious traditions. Keeping the name of "Christ" in the word "Christmas" is not a issue with me. Putting "Christ" in the hearts and minds of the lost who celebrate Christmas but know not Christ, is.
Not that Christians had ever been commanded by God's word to commemorate the birth of Jesus, but Christmas is an opportunity where we can set the record straight to the world, religious and nonreligious, as to why He had to come. Sometimes in creative ways as our dear friend, Jeff, demonstrated.
What a privilege it was to serve the Lord with him again this weekend.
GLORY TO GOD!
Hundreds of tracts were handed out, a portion of a Christmas carol recited a couple of times (one much better than the other) and one conversation following an open air gospel presentation that resulted in a young woman breaking into tears expressing her desire to know more about God and finding a solid church that preached the right gospel. After a few words of encouragement, we gladly pointed her in the right direction.
Christmas or Santa parades, however they are called, are one of those public events in the year that are a no-brainer when it comes to going out to spread the gospel truth.
The theme, the birth of Jesus, is the obvious springboard to the preaching of the gospel even though it may take a born again Christian or two to dig it out and proclaim it aside the guise of a jolly fat man, commercialism and man-made religious traditions. Keeping the name of "Christ" in the word "Christmas" is not a issue with me. Putting "Christ" in the hearts and minds of the lost who celebrate Christmas but know not Christ, is.
Not that Christians had ever been commanded by God's word to commemorate the birth of Jesus, but Christmas is an opportunity where we can set the record straight to the world, religious and nonreligious, as to why He had to come. Sometimes in creative ways as our dear friend, Jeff, demonstrated.
What a privilege it was to serve the Lord with him again this weekend.
GLORY TO GOD!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
WON FOR THE GOOD GUYS!
Here is an encouraging video from Southern Australia where an open air preacher, after being arrested by police and acquitted over 30 times for preaching the gospel on a pedestrian mall, finally had his day in court and the Lord won it for him and his team of street evangelists, enabling them to carry on as usual, despite the protests against them.
"But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourself fighting against God." - Acts 5:39
"But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourself fighting against God." - Acts 5:39
Sunday, November 6, 2011
PASCAL'S TESTIMONY
There is not much more that warms my heart than hearing how others came to saving faith in Jesus Christ.
We can come from different backgrounds, different cultures, different life circumstances and different countries, yet, the end result for God's chosen people is the same: forgiveness of sin and eternal redemption by grace through repentance and faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ.
Not long ago, my dear brother in the Lord and friend, Pascal Bougie, was baptized in his 13th year as a born again, faithful follower of Jesus Christ. As you will hear, Pascal was graciously saved from faith in a false religion and eternal wrath for his sins. The Lord Jesus suffered and died for him in his place.
This is Pascal's story, told in his own words to the congregation of our church and his family preceding his long awaited baptism.
We can come from different backgrounds, different cultures, different life circumstances and different countries, yet, the end result for God's chosen people is the same: forgiveness of sin and eternal redemption by grace through repentance and faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ.
Not long ago, my dear brother in the Lord and friend, Pascal Bougie, was baptized in his 13th year as a born again, faithful follower of Jesus Christ. As you will hear, Pascal was graciously saved from faith in a false religion and eternal wrath for his sins. The Lord Jesus suffered and died for him in his place.
This is Pascal's story, told in his own words to the congregation of our church and his family preceding his long awaited baptism.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
'FAMILY' ZOMBIE WALK
This world gets sicker and sicker by the day. This past Hallowe'en weekend proved that.
Again, all the more reason why we Christians must be out there on the front lines doing battle for the Lord, bringing the Good News of salvation to all the world - starting right in our own backyard!
Last Saturday saw a team of us doing just that. And of all places, at a so-called "Family Event" in Ottawa's Westboro community. A family 'zombie walk' was the kicker for the morning at "Wickedly Westboro" .
There, little children and young teens were brought to join their parents in being made up as murdered dead people (zombies) complete with depictions of blood, gore and all things frightful. They were taught how to walk and groan like zombies before parading themselves in character through the retail corridor of Westboro.
V
Glorifying murder, bloodshed, guts and gore. Death galore. These people have no idea what, or who, they are playing with. They have no idea what they are teaching and planting in the hearts and minds of their little ones. They have no idea that their wickedness is an abomination to the one true God, but obviously not to the god they made up in their minds to suit themselves, if any god at all. Yet, what can we expect from those who know not Christ, nor His gospel that saves?
So what are Christians to do about this problem?
GO! "Go out into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." - Mark 16:15
Our church family happens to worship in Westboro and a few of us made it our business to be a witness for the Lord by spreading His saving gospel to all that would receive a tract at this event. We also tagged tracts to utility poles and many cars throughout the neighbourhood. We stood at the main intersection, as well, for two hours with our "Are You Ready" crosses following the short parade as we continued to hand out tracts.
People don't take death, nor what truly happens after death, seriously. Not until it hits close to home. Even then, the harsh reality of it may only last a while before they are making light of it again. The saddest thing is that they pass on their ignorance to their children. But we Christians know full well what happens after death.
We, therefore, we must be active proclaiming the sobering truth, warning people and then telling them how they can come to peace with God through His Son, Jesus Christ, that they too may be saved and guaranteed eternal life in heaven instead of hell.
It's what we are here on earth to do: seek and save that which is lost while joyfully serving our King and Savior!
Again, all the more reason why we Christians must be out there on the front lines doing battle for the Lord, bringing the Good News of salvation to all the world - starting right in our own backyard!
Last Saturday saw a team of us doing just that. And of all places, at a so-called "Family Event" in Ottawa's Westboro community. A family 'zombie walk' was the kicker for the morning at "Wickedly Westboro" .
There, little children and young teens were brought to join their parents in being made up as murdered dead people (zombies) complete with depictions of blood, gore and all things frightful. They were taught how to walk and groan like zombies before parading themselves in character through the retail corridor of Westboro.
V
Glorifying murder, bloodshed, guts and gore. Death galore. These people have no idea what, or who, they are playing with. They have no idea what they are teaching and planting in the hearts and minds of their little ones. They have no idea that their wickedness is an abomination to the one true God, but obviously not to the god they made up in their minds to suit themselves, if any god at all. Yet, what can we expect from those who know not Christ, nor His gospel that saves?
So what are Christians to do about this problem?
GO! "Go out into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." - Mark 16:15
Our church family happens to worship in Westboro and a few of us made it our business to be a witness for the Lord by spreading His saving gospel to all that would receive a tract at this event. We also tagged tracts to utility poles and many cars throughout the neighbourhood. We stood at the main intersection, as well, for two hours with our "Are You Ready" crosses following the short parade as we continued to hand out tracts.
People don't take death, nor what truly happens after death, seriously. Not until it hits close to home. Even then, the harsh reality of it may only last a while before they are making light of it again. The saddest thing is that they pass on their ignorance to their children. But we Christians know full well what happens after death.
We, therefore, we must be active proclaiming the sobering truth, warning people and then telling them how they can come to peace with God through His Son, Jesus Christ, that they too may be saved and guaranteed eternal life in heaven instead of hell.
It's what we are here on earth to do: seek and save that which is lost while joyfully serving our King and Savior!
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