Video: Freeport Church of the Downtown Bus Stop

My daughter was along this time, so we got some video:

Freeport Church of the Downtown Bus Stop (Bahamas)

Today, I arrived again at the man downtown bus stop, in Freeport, Bahamas, with my backpack and folding stool. I waited a bit for a few more people to come, arranged my backpack in front of me, got up on my stool, and began.

I encouraged those standing closest to gather around; then in a loud voice, announced, “Welcome to the Freeport Church of the Downtown Bus Stop!”. Asking those around, how many grew up in church, or attended church as a youth, many raised their hands. Then introduced Isaiah 53 & suggested that it was probably a familiar passage. I read a portion of the 53rd chapter of Isaiah and told the listeners this passage was describing the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. I explained that I wanted them to understand two things. The first thing was that this passage was written 700 years before his crucifixion…that his crucifixion was fulfilled prophesy, proving the Bible is true. The second was that the passage says that Jesus then died for sin…& what did that mean? I used this to bridge into the Law; pulling out a large copy of the Ten Commandments (a page in Ray Comfort’s open air book….not sure where you can download…email me and I’ll help you). I spent lots of time going through each commandment one at a time, explaining. I preached much longer than I usually do, showing Law, sin, judgment and wrath of God.

Part way through, a young woman approached to listen and got out her cell phone holding it in front of her, then beside me…finally dropping the pre-text, she help the phone up in front of me….she was recording. When her bus came, she smiled, waved encouragement and left. Another bus driver came by, a Christian brother, smiling and waving encouragement as he helped passengers off his bus, and then he left on his route.

Finally, getting to Grace, I slowly and in detail explained the work of Christ on the Cross of Calvary. It would make an interesting ‘sermon’ to listen to, because some people were staying, others coming and going…& busloads of people (some Bahamians and some tourists) coming and going. Because of all the coming and going, I kept backing up, talking more about sin, righteousness, judgment, and then getting back on track with my message. I pulled out my ‘magic’ Bible, flipping the pages showing that as a non-believer, you read the Bible and find it means nothing (the pages show blank as I flip them for the crowd); I then explain that as one attends church and pays attention, he sees that the stories have value and are good. I got into my testimony and explained that as I repented and believed the Gospel, the whole Bible came alive….the words of life, and flipped again to show the pictures of the stories of the Bible all in bright color.

I preached much, much longer than usual, kind of getting a bit hoarse towards the end (preaching without amplification). I was trying to record, but hit the iPod buttons wrong and didn’t get it…sorry. As I was getting ready to get down, I asked those listening to swallow their pride and come take an “Are You Good Enough To Go to Heaven?” tract. Several did, before I was even done speaking.

I was at the same bus stop last Friday and managed to record that; a much shorter and more standard message. I’ll post that for y’all to listen to. My podcast is at http://repentanceforgrace.podomatic.com. On that day, numerous people came forward to get tracts as well, and some Christians came to talk and eventually took “Hell’s Best Kept Secret” CD’s to listen to….were quite appreciative of someone preaching in their country…encouraging.

Glenn.

Pizza, Security, Bus, Taxi & Standers-by.

Good evening from the northern Bahamas. I am still amazed here by the freedom to approach people & discuss death, eternity and the Gospel of Jesus Christ….quite refreshing really, also heartbreaking to see so many religious people who don’t know the Gospel.

While I’ve planned to spend extensive time here, dedicated to preach on the streets, my plans have been thwarted. It seems that every day, something comes up that required a trip uptown or some other place. Some of you may not be familiar, but we live on a boat, one of the most fantastic places to live on earth…and staggeringly mechanically unreliable. The maintenance required (even though I’m not new to it) blows my mind. So…this means that often I’m off to some place or another for some fuse, bolt, screw, belt or something. The long and short of this, is that instead of having time to go to specific places to hand out tracts, start conversations of the Gospel & preach, I have been running all over the place….and hence talking to folks all over the place (not where I’d planned) of the Gospel….hmmm….maybe my God is allowing my boat to break, so I can meet these folks. J

Today I had to run uptown for four 5/16 stainless steel lag bolts. Sue and the kids decided to come along and do some Christmas shopping (thankfully, quite a challenge on this island). Along the way, I met a lot of people….some of which I remembered to make notes about, so I can tell you about them (I have the memory of an elephant….good, but short!). Just five-minutes after leaving our boat, we got out to the main road and were walking to a bus stop….looking out for a bus (i.e. local buses are mini-vans privately operated with official sanction). I saw what looked like a ‘bus’ and waved it down. When it slowed, I saw it had ‘taxi’ emblazoned on the side. I apologized and called out that we’re looking for a bus and waved him on. The driver, undeterred, asked where we were going. I explained that we were heading up (down) town. The driver pragmatically explained that we’d have much better luck catching a bus by Port Lucaya (the direction we were walking) & offered us a ride. I asked how much to which he replied that he wouldn’t charge us for the ride….we quickly hopped in.

Neil had a King James Bible on his dashboard (not uncommon at ALL here). I asked if he knew the author (I think he was originally confused with ‘King James’). Trying to become more clear, I become more specific “Almighty God”. He said he believed in God. I asked whether he was a Christian, he said he couldn’t say he was, but believed in God. We talked about God, sin, righteousness and judgment but arrived at the bus stop in Port Lucaya before we could get to the Good News. I asked if he knew what God had done, so he would not have to go to Hell….he wasn’t really clear. I gave him an “Are You Good Enough To Go To Heaven” tract, asked him to consider and left him.

As we ran across to the bus stop, a ‘bus’ pulled in, in front of the other couple sitting at the stop. I had been heading for the front bus at the stop, but as this bus pulled in, I saw the word “Downtown” labeled on the side….we hopped in. As we pulled away, the other bus driver came running onside yelling at our driver. As we drove downtown, at several stops or red lights, this driver (in his ‘bus’) pulled alongside and yelled threats to our driver; threatening to register a complaint (turns out his nickname is “Snake”)….seems he should have pulled in behind and not accepted passengers until the others were full and left the stop.

As we went, I was able to give tracts to a couple from the USA who were in the back of the bus and a couple locals heading home from work. Our bus driver, took us directly to the store we’d been heading for (beyond his usual route) and as I was paying our fare outside after my family and I’d disembarked, I walked to the front of the bus and asked about a pamphlet I’d seen the reflection of in the windscreen….something about how to be “Born Again”. It turns out that our driver….think his name was Michael Glenn Thompson (note middle name) is a fervent believer and disciple of Jesus Christ. He and I talked for quite a while. Initially, I questioned him of the Gospel; asking how to be saved. Eventually, he asked me to critique his answer (a mark of a humble believer). I was humbled at the opportunity to help instruct a faithful believer on presenting the Gospel. We talked for some time on the Gospel, doctrine and living as a Christian man, father and husband. Please pray for Michael, he seems to be a real brother, with a heart to serve our Lord!

Tonight, much of the rest of the day is a blur, though I talked to others, handed out tracts all over the place (even Sue was handing out tracts….Jacquie was handing out tracts to school girls in the seat behind her on one bus). One bus driver downtown (we rode his bus two times that day) talked with me for some time. We were at the main bus stop downtown, lots of people around & a rousing game of dominos echoing the background. I asked him about death & judgment…..coming to what was the standard God would judge him by, he was stumped. Another driver behind him began to quickly (& in thick island accent) quote the Ten Commandments. I was able to talk with this man for some time (with a big interruption in the middle) and explain the Gospel at length.

Tonight, my family must’ve been feeling both lazy flush….nobody wanted to cook (I sort of volunteered) and everyone seemed to want pizza. I remembered that there was a Dominos Pizza location nearby at Port Lucaya. I looked them up online and called to see about having a pizza, or two, delivered. The only phone we have here is via Skype (internet phone….www.skype.com). I called on Skype and attempted or order pizza. I was asked for phone number….being my number was not Bahamian, it would not fit into their computer….they would NOT take my order, as they could not call me back on a local number. I later learned that they routinely call back and order to confirm and then the drivers call to confirm before delivery. Some of this is to eliminate prank calls, while it is also to minimize the risk of robbery (a real hazard).

My family protested at me traveling at night via bicycle to pickup pizza, but I protested and went (wearing a headband light…set on red, backwards and a flashlight in my hand) by bicycle to Port Lucaya. It must’ve been an hour and half ‘till my return. I arrived at Dominos, ordered my pizza (MUCH cheaper for pickup) and had to wait 15 or 20 minutes for cooking. I rode my bike around the corner and encountered a group of rather muscular men (plain clothes) with badges around their necks. One of them took me aside and told me that riding my bike on the market area was not allowed. I smiled and enlightened him that I was simply ordering a pizza for my family and picking it up….through this I ended up talking with one of the other men from the group, Sergio. The others walked off, while I talked with Sergio.

Sergio freely admitted that he was not a Christian, but believes in God…his face….not sure how to explain….some softening…a wince maybe when talking of God & the Day of Judgment. He and I talked for quite a long time….for a time he companions were calling after him….one came back to bring him a drink (the bag was leaking….I teased him a bit and found later it was Sergio’s boss). I was privileged to have had the opportunity to explain, at length, the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Sergio. Please pray for Sergio…he seems to be really concerned about his eternal destiny.

Initially I had asked Sergio whether it would be a problem if I Open Air preached in front of the market place. It seems that if no one complains loudly, I will be allowed to preach.

Leaving the marketplace, I passed by the taxi stand & found a lone-man standing where I’d seen him a half-hour before. I turned back and gave him a tract and talked with him of the Gospel…he was appreciative and took the tract.

I know not all of you can be here, but ALL of you are going about your daily lives, encountering people wherever you go…do you care that most of them are going to HELL without Jesus Christ?! You can warn them of the coming day of wrath. If you don’t know how, email me!

Your Brother-In-Christ,

Glenn.

Devon, Phillip & Brown in the Bahamas

Today, my son Ben & I caught a ride downtown Freeport to pickup a special type of bolt for the alternator on our boat (i.e. floating home). Because we’ve not car, we were then on foot ‘till we caught a city bus home (note; ‘city bus’ in Freeport, means something that looks suspiciously like a minivan, with an inordinate number of seats inside….privately owned and seemingly quite efficient). So, after the hardware store, we were on foot for a hike to the post office. We were able to give out a few tracts along the way.

At the post office, I gave a tract to the postal clerk, who responded quite positively and professed faith in Jesus Christ. Leaving, I turned and handed a tract to a sharply dressed man, sitting on a folding chair just outside the main entrance. I pointed out to him the question on the back, “Will you go to Heaven?”….he figured he would. I asked (wondering if he might be a true believer) why? After sifting through lots of island-speak, his reasoning was that he was a good person…imagine that? Heard that before? We talked around this for a while & we finally arrived at the conclusion that God will judge all men by His standard of righteousness, illustrated in the Ten Commandments. I grinned at him (Devon) and asked if he cared to prove that? He agreed. Devon freely admitted that he’d broken each commandment, that he’d be found guilty on the Day of Judgment….but seemed totally unconcerned. It became clearer what he was thinking, when he said that all men have sinned….so, yes he’d broken God’s Laws, but was as good or better than most (in his own eyes). I began to use some practical examples to show Devon that this was unreasonable. I asked him if he was driving down the road, here on Grand Bahama, in a 45mph zone, at 60mph….figuring he was okay because everyone else was driving the same speed….when an officer pulled up behind him and turned on his lights and siren, would it be an acceptable excuse that others were speeding too? Devon agreed it would not be an acceptable excuse. I asked if one committed a serious crime here in the Bahamas & were not caught for years, would the judge, looking at all the evidence against him, let him go because he’d been a good citizen in the intervening time? He agreed “no”. I explained to Devon that if the judge did, he would be in dereliction of duty & an unjust judge. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the just judge of all the earth & that God will “by no means clear the guilty”.

We talked at length of the command of scripture to Repentance & Faith in Jesus Christ, with much explanation. Devon talked of his sick mother & how he was copying out scripture verses to give to her, so that she might be healed….quite a strange belief according to scripture. I asked where the scriptures instructed us to do that…he looked at me a little surprised and seemed to agree that maybe it did not. I told Devon that he need to sit and think of his sin (the thousands & thousands of offences he’d committed against a Holy & Just God) & of the amazing kindness of God (giving him life, a family, an amazing place to live & dying on the Cross of Calgary to pay for sin)….that this should break his heart “…godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” (2Cor.7:10).

Pray for Devon….he seems to actually be pondering these truths and eternity.

Hungry, my son and I walked down the road to Wendy’s (yes, fast food is invading de islands). When we were almost done eating, I stepped to the table behind us and gave million-dollar bill tracts to the two security guards that sat there….they were very receptive and open to conversation. Brown and Phillip both attend church regularly, but figured that to pray, attend church and be a good person will get one into heaven. They were quite forthcoming with admissions of guilt before the law & were quite attentive as I explained the Gospel in truth, showing the way of salvation. Phillip actually got out pen and paper and took notes, writing down scriptures we talked about to lookup and read at home. Please pray for these man…they now know the way of salvation, pray that God will bring them to repentance.

I’m enjoying the Bahamas & Bahamians….though some have actually been totally closed to the Gospel, most are quite receptive, but many are quite religious, but not born again.

Glenn.

Arsenio Is Concerned About Judgment

Arsenio is concerned about judgment

Today I rode a mile or so over to the Lucaya area. This area is home to numerous hotels and resorts, a straw market and many restaurants, bars and high-end tourist shops. This is an area with lots of pedestrian traffic.

I rode over and chatted briefly with Kelly, a local vendor and bright Christian (with open air preaching experience) & began to scout for a likely place to open air preach. There are many great places, but the challenge is that the whole market area is on private property, so I need to find a place on both public land and where there is lots of pedestrian traffic. I think I’ve found a place I’ll come back to.

I began to walk around & hand out tracts to start conversations. I gave some to a group of Asian folks sitting around with their computers playing. I have a couple to a couple Bahamians dressed in the uniform of kitchen staff, sitting in their car at the curb. Finally, I found a young man, sitting on a curb in front of a store, smoking a cigarette. Using a tract as an icebreaker, we began to talk of death and judgment.

I sat down on the curb beside Arsenio and talked of the Gospel long and slowly. Right off, he told me that he would not be going to Heaven, as he was a sinner….had broken the Ten Commandments (his words). We in great detail went through the Gospel. Arsenio said he’d been concerned and thinking of death, since his friend died at 22 years of age. We talked of how “it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Heb.9:27ESV). This young man asked me an interesting question; he asked concerning a particularly heinous crime….if one committed that crime, would he “always be a sinner” meaning could God ever forgive him. I explained this at some length; using Jesus’ words from Mathew 5, that if you hate someone or call him a fool you are a murderer at heart….then explained imputed righteousness. Predictably, when I asked, “have you ever heard of imputed righteousness?” his face drew a blank. I explained like this: When you repent of your sin before God & put your total trust and faith in the saviour, when God gives you new life, the great exchange occurs. God takes your sin and credits it to Christ’s account, where he paid for your sin on the Cross of Calvary 2000 years ago & takes the Righteousness of Christ and credits it to your account. So….on THAT day, you will be seen as perfect, even though you are not now perfect, but because Christ’s righteousness is credited to your account.

Pray for Arsenio! I left him with some reading material, my email address and an invitation to a mid-week church service at one of the nearby resorts; I will be at with Pastor Eddie this coming Thursday.

I walked around and talked to a few others, handing out tracts. I walked by the taxi stand, where a row of benches is lined up….they were full of people. I took a chance pulling out a stack of tracts and very publicly offering one to the first person….she smiled and took it & so likewise, all those waiting for a taxi took a tract.

Please pray for the work here, pray that the Lord of the harvest will send more laborers into the harvest….maybe you?

Glenn.

P.S. Met a bright Christian man on the dock this afternoon. He's VERY clear on the Gospel & concerned about apostacy in the local church. I gave him a copy of the DVD's "Hell's Best Kept Secret" & "True & False Conversion" to watch (email me if you've not seen them). He might be convinced to come out and share the Gospel with me.

Gospel As You Go?

A couple of days back, my daughter Jacquie and I took a ride into downtown Freeport, Bahamas, for groceries, a haircut and a bit of an adventure of exploration of our new surroundings.

We were riding our bicycles and trying to remember to ride on the left side of the road; something that’s easier to remember when there’s lots of traffic, but harder to remember when winding through the back streets….’Go LEFT, young man, go LEFT’ is an axiom I’ve invented in fun to help remember this.

Rounding one corner, we came across a neighborhood park with a basketball court; the children (seeing we didn’t look local) began to call out to us and ask us questions. I handed one Million Dollar Tract over the fence, pointing out that it’s had a million dollar question on the back….we rode off to the sounds of one of the boys standing on top of some seats, reading the back of the gospel tract to the others in the park. Sometimes I hand out tracts to everyone & other times I leave just one; making it seem rare and more valuable. Interestingly, hours later when returning from downtown through the same area, the children spotted us as we rode down the street and ran after us for blocks, allowing me to hand out gospel tracts while still riding my bike, to eager hands. When’s the last time someone ran after you begging for a gospel tract?

We passed out a few tracts and talked to a couple people briefly. At the City Market supermarket, I handed a tract to a young man, a young teen….asking him about the million-dollar question. Stephan is a very polite and courteous young man. He took the tract I offered him and engaged me in conversation about the message on the back. He seemed to feel that if one attended church and lived like a good Christian, then one would get into Heaven. We talked in detail of the message of the Gospel, of the Law to bring knowledge of sin, of judgment….using an example of a man standing in front of a Bahamian judge, guilty of a violent crime and asking to be forgiven because one was sorry…he began to understand through this example that if a human judge could not perform his duty while letting a criminal go free, simply for asking for forgiveness, how much more a just and Holy God (Ex.34:7). Stephan, after seeing his guilt before God & see the coming judgment and wrath of God, admitted to ‘shaking’ in fear before God. Pray for this young man, that Satan would not be able to snatch the seed of the Gospel that was sown on his heart; that Stephan would repent and believe the Gospel.

At a fast-food restaurant, I handed out a million dollar bill tract to a man in line behind us. It caused quite a stir as a number of people came up to get one & began reading the Gospel message on the back.

On the way home, on a side-street, I spotted a small barber shop….eying the son, I figured I’d time for a haircut & to peddle back to our dock by sundown. Paying for my haircut & slipped a million dollar bill tract to the barber….he loved it. He began digging through his stuff to find one he’d been given once before….then discovered this one had a Gospel message on the back. Seeing the Gospel message, the barber excitedly asked for more, so he could hand them out (a professing Christian).

In front of the dock where we are currently docked, is a clubhouse, tennis court and park. Last night, elaborate decorations (lights, tent, catering, sound) were erected for a wedding celebration. Sue and I sat in our cockpit, enjoying the spectacle while quietly playing a card game to pass the evening. I looked up to see an apparently slightly drunk man walk near a tree in front of our boat and begin urinating on the lawn. I got a little excited but Sue wouldn’t let me holler at him. As he began to leave, I finally called out to him and pointed out the bathrooms. He didn’t hear me, so I walked down the dock to shore and explained….also explaining that my children play in that park…he was very apologetic. Something came over me & the conversation quickly steered to the Gospel, where we continued to talk for some time. He saw his guilt but figured that if one tried to live a good Christian life, that was what was required to be right with God. He began to see the truth as we talked further and admitted that his mother is praying for him and that numerous others (both Bahamians and foreigners) have been approaching him with the Gospel. We talked until the party was over and the packing-up began. Please pray for him (I’m omitting his name and identity as other who might know him may read this page). Pray that God will bring him conviction; I prayed with him before he left, that God would remove sleep and any peace in his life ‘till he repented before God and believed the Gospel.

There were others, but the point of today’s column is how many people you can confront with the truth of the Gospel, while going about regular life….this was NOT a day where I’d been going out on purpose to preach the Gospel (that’s tomorrow), but simply regular life. How many have you confronted with the truth of Sin, Righteousness & Judgment & the Gospel today?

Glenn.

Preaching with a Scattered Brain! :-)

This Saturday afternoon was another interesting one for evangelism at Fort Myers Beach (SW Florida). The day before, I’d gotten some new serious medical news, so was a little distracted and struggling in my own head. Honestly, I didn’t feel like going, but we went anyway. Just two of us this week, Bobby & I.

As usual, I forgot to write notes on a bunch of folks I talked to & some others I wrote names but now can’t remember the conversation (what happens at 40 anyway?). I’ll tell you a little about the ones I have both. J

Early on, we met a British family (now living in NJ). She was pretty defensive & they both so badly wanted everyone to respect everyone else’s beliefs but NOT question her own assessment of God, death and eternity. The husband was a geologist so got going about the geological evidence for zillions of years…seemed to think a bit when I suggested that he was telling me he believed that in the beginning there was an explosion out of nowhere with no energy and not matter from no place in nothing and out of that mystery explosion all this incredible order came….who had the blind faith? We warned them of the coming Day of Judgment & bid them a good day.

Bob & I talked to a young man Zach & his girlfriend Rochelle (Zach’s mother hanging around). Rochelle had a Christian background but no real understanding of the Gospel, of God as Judge & of the wrath of God. Zach began to be quite concerned & thoughtful as we explained to him his guilt & the coming Great & Terrible Day of the Lord. You could see in his face that he’d always considered himself a good person but not saw for the first time that he was in trouble.

I met an older couple (Norm & Judy) sitting on a bench, he wearing a prosthetic leg. I pointed to the prosthetic leg & commented, “There must be a good story behind that!”. Norm told me he was working on a scaffold, when it collapsed, severing his leg….he’d not been able to work since, but was thankful to be alive. I asked Norm what would have happened if he’d died. Really gently & kindly (with a smile) & walked Norm through the commandments and with a soft-voice explained the wrath of a Holy & Just God & then the Gospel. Pray for Norm & Judy, they seemed to have never understood the Gospel before.

I have been amazed too how someone can CLEARLY hear the message of the Gospel preached, the New Birth explained & immediately when questioned on how to be born again, answer something like Baptism or some other thing. It’s good sometimes to check with the hearer to see if the truth is getting through to them.

Rob & his girlfriend were sitting on a park bench. I began to talk to them; Rob began to proclaim he’d not lied (she corrected him). We had an extensive conversation & I found that Rob had spent years as a caretaker of an evangelical church & was sickened with the focus on money and the hypocrisy….he knew far more of the scripture than he first let-on. We did talk about false religion vs. what was going to happen when he died and stood before God, his creator.

Later as I was getting ready to preach, I talked to three drunk young-men, two laughed and jeered while their friend was walked through the Law, showing His guilt. The young-man I was talking to professed to be not concerned….figured he was guilty & going to Hell, so ‘party on’. I told him there was good-news, but until he was concerned why would I explain it to him. I gave him a “Are You Good Enough To Go To Heaven” tract, had him tuck it in his pocket, instructing him to read it in the morning when he sobered up.

My mind was a little muddled up & I was pacing back and forth, fearful to get up and preach. My brother Bobby was so compassionate for my situation that he simply began introducing me to those standing around as his friend that was about to get up and preach & that they should pay attention and listen. No pressure or anything! J

I got up and preached; it was just after a rain so very small crowd…..but it only takes one to hear the Gospel, right? A woman working on a T-shirt shop across the square listen for most of the time we preached, two men from the ice cream shop kept coming out to listen in between serving customers & several working in the pizza shop in front of us stood and listen (plus those coming and going, sitting eating ice cream and so on). After we’d preached for about a half-hour Bob and I sat together praying…..a woman from the pizza shop walked past and made a point of speaking to us, wishing us a good night….she’d listened for quite a while….God is an amazing God…we’d almost not preached, because of my scattered brain and ‘cause there were so few people right after the rain.

I’d really appreciate your prayers this week; I’m undergoing some medical treatments all week that could have side-affects. I’m to be traveling to the Bahamas all next week as an evangelist trainer & need to be ready to lead teams on the street….please pray.

Glenn.

P.S. Listen to our preaching at http://repentanceforgrace.podomatic.com

Went to JAIL!

This past week, I finally was able to obtain approval to minister in the local county jail. Friday night was my first time.

Ministering at the jail is TOTALLY different than on the streets. Clipping on our I.D. badges, we checked in, handed over our car keys & began to make our way through the many security doors. The area we were bound for, was the stockade. These are single-level buildings with cells holding many men each, each block opening through a barred open-door to a covered outdoor area. We chose two sections and asked if they’d had ‘church’ this week yet (they hadn’t). The guard allowed five men from each cell out for ministry. The ten prisoners, Bobby & I all sat on the asphalt yard, opened our Bibles and began.

More than half the men had their own Bibles (issued by the prison chaplain) & followed along. I am learning, so am working with Bob; can that man preach! He is totally in his element with these men...Bob has such a love for them. No singing or fancy intro, just opening Bibles and expounding the Word of God...not feel-good messages like most churches preach, but serious theology; explaining the New Birth, God’s Sovereignty & the signs of being truly Born Again. The men ask some questions. I then preach for a shorter time. I began by asking how many had a Christian background (about three-quarters did); I then asked how many had been born again....about half of those said they were. I asked if one of them could quickly explain to me how to be born again; answers ranged from being baptised to asking for forgiveness....but all missed the scriptural mark. It’s helpful to have the chance to get a gauge of the understanding of your hearers. I was then able to back-up and preach the Gospel, showing sin, righteousness, judgment (the courtroom example was really close to all their hearts) & showing how God MUST do justice & cannot let the guilty go. Then explaining the Cross, substitutionary atonement & the call to Repentance & Faith once more.

How many of you complain when you have to sit on your padded pews while your pastor preaches long....say almost an hour? I looked at the clock when we left, we’d preached for two hours. Those men sat on the hard (&damp) asphalt yard, in the humid Florida evening & paid attention for two hours & no complaints. Most of them thanked us for coming, asked for specific prayer & lined-up to be let back into their cells.

Partly because we were talking to a group, & partly because of the situation (i.e. jail) I found it more difficult to try and establish where people were in their spiritual walk. Some talk well, but it’s hard to forget that you are talking to them in jail. I don’t have any idea how they ended up there (& am not allowed to ask) so it’s somewhat hard to reconcile the two.

Over all, the opportunity to minister in the jail was a real blessing; I’m looking forward to going back.

Glenn.

P.S. Love to hear your comments & emails! Check out the podcast of our street preaching at http://repentanceforgrace.podomatic.com.

British Catholic, Hardened Teens & Seven Deadly Sins.

Now that September is here, the crowds are thickening at the beach, some of the street-performers are coming back; more people to talk to.

Yesterday Bobby struck-up a conversation with a Brit named Tom. Tom professes to be a Roman Catholic & is sure he’s going to Heaven. As Bob and I talked with Tom, he got a bit agitated (probably my fault). Tom asserted that while he ‘believed’ the Bible some of it just didn’t make sense; like Creation, the Flood/Ark & so on. He simply said he didn’t believe ‘every word of the Bible’. You can (I’m sure) see the illogical nature of this philosophy; can one simply pick and choose what to believe or reject in God’s Word....in itself it claims to ALL be true, so if some is false then why would one assert that else is true? Asserting that to be Roman Catholic was just as Christian as any other Christian, I reminded Tom of the official ruling of his church, that if one believes he can be justified before God, by Faith Alone, in Christ Alone, as revealed in Scripture Alone; the church classifies him as Anathema (cursed). I contrasted this with the orthodox teachings of scripture & implored Tom to be sure he was right.

Later, Bobby & I talked to a small crowd of youth (mostly girls and around thirteen years old). We were amazed (though we shouldn’t have been) of their calloused view of God, scripture, death & eternity. A number were mocking of the Gospel, but a couple were asking questions, but simply of how to avoid Hell & not showing real conviction of sin. Over & over we began to answer questions, but the askers were repeatedly distracted by something....anything rather than listen to the truth.

Three young-men began to walk past me, when I noticed that tattooed on the chest of one were the ‘seven deadly sins’ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_deadly_sins). Now that’s an opening for the Gospel if I’ve ever seen one. I began talking with them men, asking them if they’d ever committed any of those sins & transitioning to the Ten Commandments. As usual, I asked if they considered themselves good people; they did. Wow is Proverbs 20:6 ever accurate, “Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?”. I showed them their specific sin before the Law of God & they began to experience some discomfort. When talking of Judgment & the Great & Terrible Day of the Lord, two of the three got upset & walked off. One man (Donavan) stayed to hear the Gospel...pray for him.
I passed out tracts to a couple who stopped, read them and came back to thank me. It turned out that they are from Wisconsin (where Bobby’s from). I called Bobby over and we visited with them about the call to evangelism & each Christian’s responsibility to witness to the Lost, for the Glory of Christ. They expressed a concern; they’ve a friend who’s dying & are trying to figure out how to explain the Gospel to him. I directed them to www.wayofthemaster.com for help. Pray that they will become active for the Gospel & that God will strengthen them in witnessing to their dying friend.

After preaching in jail on Friday night & working hard to get our ‘floating-home’ ready to move onto, we only stayed ‘till about 7:30 & didn’t Open Air Preach.
We appreciate your prayers for strength, energy (seems lacking these days), protection (spiritual & physical) & encouragement. Please email and/or leave your comments on this blog....very encouraging!

Glenn.

Hostile Michael Comes To Talk!! + Open Air Preaching

We'd been witnessing weekly at Fort Myers Beach's Time Square & one week began Open Air Preaching. The first week, a waiter in a patio restaurant at the beach began yelling at us; we perceived that he was unfriendly to us after that. We'd tried going to eat at the restaurant & ask for him as a waiter, but he had a weekend off the week we tried that.

This week, Bobby and I were handing out tracts and talking to people about the Gospel; guess who walked right up to me? Yep, you guessed it! He walked right up to me; seeing him coming, I figured 'O, here goes!. He was quite pleasant and began asking me questions. He kept having to leave and serve his customers, but came back again and again. We talked for about forty-five minutes about the Gospel. He told me that when he first saw us, he thought we were pretty fringe, but after talking he thought we didn't think too differently after all.

Michael (that's his name) had kinda gone off the rails when his mother died, the bad stuff he was doing brought unpleasant consequences to his life. He found that stopping doing this (kind of worldly repentance) made his life improve. We focused on the fact that even if he did turn from all sin, that would not remove the guilt he had stored up for himself....he needed a sacrifice, payment for sin....a savior! Pray for Michael.

Richard was another young man that both Bobby & I talked to. We talked to a group of three young-men, (all drinking); two left but Richard stayed. Richard seemed very convicted of sin, really wanted to talk about the Gospel; was previously trusting in God letting him off for sin, if he just asked for forgiveness. His eyes began to open as he saw how if God was Just, he could NOT just let Richard off with sin....that would mean God was NOT just & a corrupt judge! Richard was VERY sober of mind, seemed to be convicted of sin & glad to hear of the Gospel. Pray for Richard!

Here's Bobby & I Open Air Preaching, as is our habit weekly (you can listen to recording of our preaching at http://repentanceforgrace.podomatic.com/ + subscribe using iTunes):







COMMENTS!!! Please click below & leave your comments....much appreciated!!!

Preaching Podcast

Shine, Rain, Clear & Preaching

Today is Saturday & again to the beach to share the Good News!

As this is summer time in SW Florida, rain was a factor. We met around 3:30 pm and began talking to people and handing out tracts.

I met Kevin and his friend. Kevin was open and questioning about the Gospel, while his friend was very closed and NOT open….we talked of the coming Judgment of God and God’s Righteousness. Kevin seemed bothered, while his friend was losing patience.

Later, I met Andreas & Louis; young men. These guys had some kind of church background, but considered themselves good guys and hoped they’d get to Heaven. Both professed to have kept the Ten Commandments, so without comment I began to go through the commandments to see….they failed miserably. After seeing their guilt, they professed concern, so I explained the incredible Grace of our God in rescuing his chosen from the terrible grip of sin, exhorting them to repentance and faith.

It began to rain, so we all gathered in the shelter of the Dairy Queen awning to talk together of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. What awesome conversations these are, to enjoy Christ together and his amazing Word.

The rain let up a little, but it seemed that everyone had abandoned the beach, we all decided to go home. I hadn’t got to preach open air and felt a pull, so hung around a little, walking around the block. I got back to the square and saw people coming and going from the pier….thought about preaching & wimped out.

Returning to my car, I had the door open when I was approached by a man I’d talked to about the Gospel (Kevin). He and I chatted for a long-time, getting deeper into the Word, showing the Righteousness and Sovereignty of God. I finally asked him if he’d stand in as my rent-a-crowd for an open air…he agreed & I preached across from a ice cream shop….lots of folks stood around listening….no comments or hecklers though.

I send Kevin home with a Bible to read….pray for him.

Fourth of July Evangelism

Many from the Gunnery Road Baptist Church met Friday to go hand out tracts and share the Gospel at Veteran’s Park here in Lehigh Acres, this 4th of July. I mentioned it to the Pastor last week, he made an announcement encouraging people to come out & many did. Each person went out armed with 100 tracts and a 2-hour commitment. Very cool!

When I had first arrived, I met a woman pushing a baby carriage. I gave her a tract & she introduced herself as a Christian. As usual, I told a story; a story that I was on the ground at her feet, knife in my chest, bleeding out with 2-minutes to live, scared of Hell….How do I get to Heaven? She couldn’t explain the Gospel & said something like “I’m born again & you’re being too pushy….she was mad”. I’m sorry I made her mad, but expect it’s most likely a result of being bothered that she couldn’t explain the Gospel after professing to be a Christian.

I began handing out tracts to people sitting around tables under a sunshade (sunshades are popular during the summer in Florida. At the first table, I met Joe. Joe is from New York, where he was involved in evangelism with folks from his church. We visited for a short time, encouraging him to preach the Gospel & inviting him to come to church with me.

I moved on & began to hand out tracts to everyone sitting along the tables; at the far end of the tables, I met Debbie & Richard. A young girl was sitting at their table, but left as we began a serious conversation. Debbie showed a very strong conviction of sin. She and Richard both claimed to be Christians, but talking to them, I’m not sure. She’s said she’d not been born again – had not truly repented of her sin & put her faith in Jesus Christ and the Blood he shed for sin on the Cross of Calvary. We talked for quite a long time, thoroughly explaining the Gospel & the exhortation of scripture to “examine yourself, whether you be in the faith” (I Cor. 13). Sue joined the conversation and we invited them to join us at church in Sunday. Sue stayed to chat with them while I eventually moved on to talk with others. She hugged Sue when they left.

It turns out they did come to church today & sat with us. Pastor Vance preached on I Corinthians 13:5 as we’d been discussing a couple days earlier & he preached a strong, clear message. Pastor knew they where there…he and I were talking later & both had noticed the songs we sang about being freed from the bondage of sin…hoping they’d touch her. They had to leave right after church but said they were glad they’d come & would be back. Please pray for Debbie & Richard; very nice people, be so good to see them come to true repentance & faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Later, I moved back along the tables & found that all the people had moved…all new people…cool! I began to hand out tracts and talk to people. I met a couple women, seems that everyone from the church had also talked to them. One said she was new to the area and looking for a church. I was able to chat with them & a bit light-heartedly use my standard knife-in-the-chest story to ask her to explain the Gospel. I got a squishy response, so we chatted about what the scriptures say about the Judgment of God, substitutionary atonement, repentance and faith. It is sad to see professing Christians so unclear on the Gospel.

Further down the tables, I met a couple girls, older-teens or early twenties. They thought they were good people & good enough to get into Heaven. We discussed the Law to show them their sin & what the scriptures say about God’s righteous judgment (Hebrews 9:27, Acts 17:30-31, Revelation 21:8, I Corinthians 6:9-10). They showed concern & took an “Are You Good Enough to Get Into Heaven?” tract.

The man who was operating the kid’s inflatable water-slides talked to me for a while. I can’t recall his name now, but he admitted he’d sinned before God, but felt that everyone else had too (very typical) & thus God would overlook sin. He felt that God knew that he’d done his best & was ‘comfortable’ that this was good enough. It took some chatting for him to seemingly hear that God’s standard was absolute moral perfection….that “he will be no means clear the guilty” (Exodus 34:7). Is this pretty common feeling simply the depravity of man, or is the modern church partly responsible, with it’s preaching of ‘God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life’…preaching of the Love of God, but forgetting entirely of His Righteous Judgment. I eventually was able to explain to him of God’s standard. Often, a story works well. I say something like, ‘Imagine that someone murdered your daughter, slit her throat and dumped the body. The police caught the perpetrator; he stood before the judge and admitted his guilt, but asked the judge to forgive him, to let him go. If the judge let him go, would that be justice? What would you feel about the judge?’ I ask if God’s standard of justice is higher or lower than man's….higher! This often begins to open their eyes….though in this case, he was not very open…but seeds are planted. People often feel they are only successful when sharing the Gospel, when someone falls on their knees and repents. We are really successful when we are obedient to His command to share the Gospel; when we lift up His name and preach His Word, for His Glory….let our Lord create the increase.

My family was trying to get me to finally leave. Walking for the parking lot, a group at a table off to the side, asked me for some of the Million Dollar Bill tracts I was handing out. I was able to talk to them for a bit….one showed conviction of sin…I talked to him for a bit & invited him to the church here in Lehigh.

Pray for those who heard the Gospel, may the name of Jesus Christ be glorified and praised.

Bobby Backslider?

A couple nights back, heading home at the end of the day, I passed a car. I’d just turned off the main-road and was beginning the 8-mile run up Sunshine Blvd home, when I passed a cross-street; on the corner of the cross-street sat a small car; hood up and driver pacing back and forth, calling on his cell-phone...I drove by. I felt a tug inside; turned around and drove back.

As it turns out, Bob had just installed a new battery in his little Hyundai the night before and had failed to properly tighten-down the positive battery terminal, thus his alternator was not properly charging his battery – in short...’he be stuck’. Bob was a little agitated, as he was rushing to pick up his dear wife at work. “You need a boost”, I asked Bob....yep, he did....but I could sense hope drop in him when I asked if he had cables...he didn’t. I cheerfully turned around with a smile & lined my van up with the front of his car anyway, figuring I’d find cables from someone. Half a minute later, a lady in the house right beside us began backing out of her driveway....she had cabled & loaned them to us....I boosted Bob’s car.

As I was disconnecting Bob’s car, I asked what would happen to him when he died...Bob was polite, but assured me he’d take the time to talk another time, but was late picking up his wife....what do you know; his car engine quite before he could drive off. I now had time to talk to Bob while I figured out why it quit (found the loose battery terminal & fixed it) then re-boosting the car.

It turns out that Bob is a sinner and a lawbreaker, guilty before God and deserving of punishment. Bob told me that he loves the Lord, but is a backslider. I told Bob that we don’t see that in scripture (i.e. a man who falls away from the faith, but is still on his way to Heaven)....I pointed out that I John 2:19 says “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.” That seemed to bother Bob; I trust he was convicted.

Pray for Bobby the ‘backslider’.

Glenn.

Church signs run amuck?

Modern ‘Christianity’ is baffling. While I’ve been here in Florida, I’ve noticed that churches commonly feature goofy sayings on their road-side signs. Some of these sayings are cute, occasionally (very) a saying is almost biblical but often they are quite irreverent & unbefitting an assembly of believers meeting to honour the name of Jesus Christ. I’ve taken pictures of a few, but this one takes the cake. This church, in the Buckingham neighbourhood, have resorted to what is (in my estimation) blasphemy. Their sign reads, “FOR ALL YOU DO HIS BLOOD IS FOR YOU”, a play on words and copying a Budweiser beer slogan “For all you do, this bud’s for you”.

Let us guard ourselves & make sure each of us does not fall into the trap of trying to be cool, to attract people to Jesus Christ. People will only truly be drawn to Him if God does the drawing, “No man can come to me, except the Father which has sent me draw him:” (John 6:44). Remember that WE are NOT the attraction to Him; our job is to “...Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15). It reminds me of a sermon by the ‘Prince of Preachers’ Charles Haddon Spurgeon entitled “Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats?” (read this online at: http://www.biblebb.com/files/spurgeon/amusement.htm).

May we faithfully serve Him & glorify His name, operating according to His Word!

Glenn.

A Meeting With Darwin

Bob & Linda were the only other ones to join us in preaching the Gospel at Fort Myers Beach today. It was threatening to rain all around, but was sunny and pretty hot most of the time we were there (‘till rain drove us out around 7pm). I must admit that it was disappointing to have four or six others plan to join us, but not make it...but I’m learning to leave this with the Lord. Today was an interesting day; seems that each time out at the beach, our Lord has something else up – specific appointments with people.

I met quite a few Christians today & was able to encourage them to be active in reaching out to the Lost with the message of the Gospel. Please pray that God will but a burning fire in their hearts for the preaching of the Gospel. One couple’s hearts were breaking for their granddaughter, mired in homosexuality. Another man from Tennessee came back to talk to me after I’d given him a tract; he is a Christian & was really willing to talk about his personal responsibility to share the Gospel.

How about you? Do you regularly look for opportunities to reach lost souls with the message of salvation from sin, by the Blood of Jesus Christ? Many of us have a tendency to sit in Holy Huddles...hanging out only with other Christians. Yes, we do need Christian fellowship for sure, but one of the primary purposes of the church on this earth is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, so souls can be saved & His name be lifted up and glorified. The Apostle Paul wrote of the qualifications of an evangelist:

“And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” I Corithians 2:1-5

So...if you’re a real Christian & if the thought of sharing the Gospel with strangers leaves you weak, fearful & trembling; you’re qualified – you’ve got the job!

Handing out a ton of tracts today, I met Kevin, a young Hispanic man. Kevin thought he’d go to Heaven when he dies & figured he’s a pretty good person – figured he’d do fine if judged by God’s Moral Law (the Ten Commandments). As we talked further, he began to see his guilt & that he’d be in trouble on Judgment Day. At this point another man walked up saying something to him like, “See, this is what we’ve been telling you”...turns out to be Kevin’s uncle. Kevin’s uncle and family have been taking Kevin to church for a long time; but Kevin didn’t seem to have any understanding of the Gospel & in fact saw himself as good before God. Our discussion deepened as I was able to exhort Kevin to Repent (confess & forsake his sin) & put his Faith in Jesus Christ & the blood he shed as payment of sin. We went through explanations of substitutionary atonement, Repentance & saving faith. Please pray for Kevin.

Sue & Jacquie setup their “Free Glitter ‘Tattoos’” booth at the beach again this afternoon. These ‘tattoos’ are something Sue learned while in New Jersey last fall at a Face Painting convention. They use a system of stencils and special glue to create a very bright and attractive ‘tattoo’, typically on children. They visit with the kids and parents while they are working, then leave them with a children’s Gospel Tract.

Tonight as I write this, I can’t recall how I met this next gentleman, but it must have been handing him a tract. We began to talk about the Gospel & he began to unfold his story to me. He is from Columbia & for years has played piano in churches; growing up in a Christian family. His world is falling apart, as his wife has just left for another man; leaving three very young (& adorable) children with Darwin. Darwin is not sure of his salvation, but does believe in God, the Bible & sees his personal guilt before a Holy & Just God. During our talk, we went through the fundamentals of Repentance & Faith; confirmed by a changed heart & life. It turns out that Darwin lives quite near us, so I invited him to come with us to church. Please pray for Darwin, he’s very broken hearted.

We talked to lots and lots of folks today & handed out quite a few tracts. It was a great day...like many days, preaching the Gospel is exhausting but I always go home with a skip in my step.

Glenn.

P.S. Please leave me a comment or email me to let me know your thoughts on this blog.

JOY IN HEAVEN!

“...I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” Luke 15:10

As I drive from our house here in Florida, to where we are renovating our boat, my habit has been to spend the 15 or 18 minutes listening to preaching or my audio-Bible. One particular morning, a couple weeks back, I felt a prompting to spend the time in prayer. As I drove, I began to plead with my Lord for strength to live in holiness, to run from all sin, for Him to use me in reaching the lost with the message of salvation through the Blood of Jesus Christ & to send more labourers. I was asking my Lord specifically to send believers to me here in Fort Myers who are passionate about sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the streets.

I was shocked (sorry to say) when 90 minutes later, handing a tract to a ‘sandwich artist’ in a Subway store, a waiting customer interrupted. The waiting customer was a student at a local Christian school and asked me if I knew “Mr. Gallagher”. It turns out that Mr. Gallagher is a passionate evangelist who’s been teaching pupils how to share the Gospel as well as an evangelism class at his home church. I was able to meet with him a few days later; a warm Christian brother on fire for the Gospel. We are planning to go to the streets together. What an amazing, fast answer to prayer

Later in the day, I was heading to The Home Depot, but ended up stopping in at Lowe’s instead. I was looking for countertop for my boat; the young man in the kitchen department was very helpful in referring me to the supplier who could better help me with such a small installation. I thanked him, handed him a tract and asked him where he would go when he died. This started an extended conversation on the Gospel. His co-worker turns around, and says something like, ‘see, this is what I’ve been trying to tell you’; he’d been witnessing to him for months. We talked for a long-time; he seemed to be convicted of his sin & see impending judgment. I left, hoping he would be brought to repentance.

Today, I was back in Lowe’s & stopped into the department and visited with his co-worker (a Godly Christian man); he told me that our visit had a major impact. The weekend following the young-man went to the beach, struck up a conversation with a young woman, who shared the Gospel with him. She ended up praying with him, amid the jeers of a friend who was accompanying him. The following weekend he attended church with his co-worker and came forward at an alter call to pray in repentance to God, putting his faith in Jesus Christ. We know that simply a prayer doesn’t save anyone, but repentance before God and Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The scripture basically tells us to be fruit inspectors, good fruit is evidence of salvation. I’m hearing that this young-man is changed in his demeanour, cleaned up his language & walking away from drinking and partying. It seems that there is joy in Heaven, over this soul coming to repentance. Please pray for him.

Glenn.

FORT MYERS BEACH PREACHING

Saturday night I came home absolutely exhausted.

This Saturday afternoon (as has become our habit) we spent the afternoon at Fort Myers Beach sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. One-by-one more folks are coming out to participate in sharing the Gospel in this place; an answer to real prayer for sure.

I talked to far fewer people than usual today, but the conversations were long and very deep. First, I talked with Simone (sp?) and Sasha; both from Germany. Sasha was the one that talked with me, while her male companion Simone stood by, even video-taping me briefly. Sasha had some knowledge of the Bible, but little & know nothing of the message of the Gospel. After a conversation of God’s Law & judgment, she could see her guilt before God; her face became very grave & concerned. I felt for her, but it warmed my heart to see a soul experiencing conviction, seeing herself in truth before God. She was very receptive to the message of the Cross, Repentance & Faith. She agreed that she’d a lot to think about. She’s another week in Florida on vacation before she returns to Germany; please pray that she’ll read her Bible & that God will show her the truth & bring her to Repentance & Faith in Him.

Next, I struck up a conversation with Allen. Allen is a young Hispanic boy from a Catholic background. He felt he was a good guy & that going to church was going to get him into heaven. Seeing his guilt before God though the Ten Commandments, it didn’t concern him much as he felt that God would forgive his sin, if he said he was guilty and really, really meant it. I asked him if someone raped & murdered his sister & dumped the body; then told the judge he was guilty & was really, really sorry....would the judge let him go; and if he did, would that be justice. Allen quickly agreed that a good judge could not let a criminal go, just because he admitted his guilt & claimed to be sorry, but felt God was different. The light seemed to go on when I asked Allen if God’s standard of justice was higher or lower than man’s; MUCH higher he responded. Pray for Allen, as he seemed to walk away to meet his friends with a real concern in his face. He agreed to read a copy of the “Are You Good Enough To Go To Heaven” tract (available at www.livingwaters.com) I offered him.



My friend Sam was talking with a couple girls & called me over for help. It turns out that one was unsure of her salvation, while another knew nothing of God; Sam had to exegete each verse he read to her, making talking to both really difficult. Sam called me over for help; I ended up talking with Chelsey for almost two hours. We had lots of crumby doctrine and weird beliefs to unwind. She claimed to have been saved years before, but was now concerned. Asking her questions of her supposed conversion, we found that she had tried Jesus, found she felt better, felt His presence but had no knowledge at all of repentance & faith. We talked further & found that what was bothering her now, was her sin; good! So many folks have tried contemporary Christianity to fill a perceived need in their lives (love, stress, happiness, money, health) but this is false; a false draw to Christ, creating false-converts who never repent of their sin, never put their faith in Christ & are never actually saved; no wonder there is an epidemic of folks ‘falling-away’ & walking away from the church (note I John 2:19 & Luke 9:62). Interesting what I learned as we talked; the issue is she is fearful of her family, what will they say. She’s put up lots of Bible plaques and things from her grandmother, to the ridicule of her family. She’s scared of what they will say and do if she should become a Christian. We talked of the fear of man; “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Mathew 10:28. I am amazed how the conversation went; not sure I can recall it now; but was talked of God His power, glory & majesty; He alone is worthy to be served! We talked of counting the cost; was she willing to be rejected and persecuted of man for His name sake, willing to suffer affliction with the people of God & be rewarded in Heaven.



Some weird beliefs came out of Chelsea. She suddenly came out saying she believed in reincarnation; that folks get a second chance to live right before God. Funny how people are, but asking what she based her belief on, it was just a feeling. We depraved human beings invent a God in our own image to fit our sin & guilt. We went back to Hebrews 9:27 where scripture specifies death ONCE, then judgment...was she right, or God; that hopefully made her think. She was also struggling with the thought that many people believe strongly in their other religions so strongly, how could they all be wrong (i.e. where there many roads to God)? It seemed that Chelsea is feeling the heat of conviction and trying to cool her conscience, by finding away in her mind that she will avoid judgment. Tears flowed a bit during the time we talked. Hopefully this is a sign of conviction, I just don’t know.



My friend Bobby open air preached once and I was able to preach three different times during the afternoon. Bobby preaches with such compassiona and a pleading in his voice; I need to learn from him (He is such an encouraging man of God). It was kind of weird, but as I was preaching, at least four groups or individuals waved, called encouragement or came and shook my hand. It had me wondering if I was preaching a soft message, that I was getting accolades, rather than persecution. You may laugh, but I asked the folks with me; guess it was just God sending some encouragement. One gentleman, Scott, came back with his family later and insisted in giving us money to help pay for tracts. I was able to visit with Scott, his wife and family; encouraging them to learn to share their faith & reach out to the lost with the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, using God’s moral Law to bring knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20). I was able to pray with them before they left. They are here on vacation from Missouri. Pray for this family, that God will gift them with a yearning desire to live in holiness and a passion welling up within them to seek & save that which is lost.

Today, several more people from church expressed an interest in joining us in preaching the Gospel on the beach, Saturday afternoons. I pray this is the Lord moving, to raise up His people, to preach for His glory & that souls be saved.

How about YOU? Are you sharing your faith? Do you go outside your church and look for lost people to share the Gospel with? I encourage you to consider Christ's commands to the church to preach the Gospel. Is not the primary job of the church (those redeemed by His blood) to seek and save that which is lost?


Glenn.

Gospel to Drug Dealer, Publix, Tracts & More

Driving down the street this morning, near our boat, I can across a few hip-hop looking guys standing on the side of the road, in front of a house. My window was open, so I stopped and offered Million-Dollar-Bill tracts; which they gladly took. I began talk to them about the ‘Million Dollar Question’, would they go to heaven when they die. In the next minute, most of the group scattered (like cockroaches do when the light is turned on) but one young man was left behind.
The young man, who stayed, said he went to church & considered himself a good person. We talked of death, judgment and God’s high and holy standard, as revealed in Scripture. After being called away by one of the group & a cell-phone call, he returned to the conversation. He finally said something like, ‘if what you’re sayin’ is the way it’ll be, I’ll go to hell’. I assured him that the scriptures say exactly that & shared with him the amazing work of Christ on the Cross of Calvary; that God commands him to Repent and but his Faith in Jesus Christ, the risen Savior. A side note; the man with me is more street-wise & told me the fellow I'd share the Gospel with was a drug-dealer & the others he customers.

For the past two or three weeks, a young man has been working with me to help me re-do the interior of our sailing vessel Seawing, to get her ready for the voyage south. This young-man, made a profession of faith as a teen, but has since been walking FAR from God. We’ve talked a lot over this past few weeks, of the scriptures clear warning that not all those that name the name of Christ are Christians (Mathew 7, I John + many more). The scriptures are so full, friends, of this truth; we never read in God’s Word that someone is a Christian because they prayed a prayer, or walked an isle...in fact the concept of leading a sinner in a ‘sinner’s prayer’ is something like fifty-years old. II Timothy 2:19 reads “...let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” This young-man has been attending church with us, and discussing the scriptures with me; he’s making a profession of faith. Sue and I’ve given him a MacArthur Study Bible to read and learn with; he’s been reading it voraciously & talking with me the next day of what he’s read.

Today I dropped him at the bus station for the four-hour trip north to see his girlfriend this weekend. He had me sit with him before his bus & help him mark verses to explain the Gospel from before he went north, so he could talk to whom ever sat beside him on the bus (& so he could explain the Gospel). I looked for an church in the town he’s going to on http://www.9marks.org/ (a good church search site) & found a good potential church a few miles from his destination. He’s hoping to take his girlfriend to church.

Please pray for him; that God will clearly reveal to him whether his is truly saved or not; that he will see himself in truth & either stand strong, or repent of his sin & put his trust in the Saviour. Please pray that our Lord will provide a way for him to run from sin this weekend, as the potential pitfalls there are many.

Tonight, I was standing in line at the Publix supermarket, buying roast chicken & cheese. The man behind me sat his fried chicken behind my roasted one on the checkout stand. I made a comment that his fried chicken looked good & maybe I should have gotten friend, instead of roasted; that fried stuff tasted SO good, even though it was so bad for you. I was (momentarily) stunned by his response; he said that no matter how healthy you eat, or how much exercise you get, we will all die anyway. Have you had a sinner setup a presentation of the Gospel like that before? I quickly recovered & asked him what he thought was out there when we left this world. He thought there was something out there, but not sure he believed in Heaven & Hell. I commented that God tells us in His Word, that he has appointed the day we will die & then we are to be judged & that by His standard of right & wrong (Hebrews 9:27 & Acts 17:31). We talked briefly about the Law of God & then I had to pay for my groceries. As I left the cashier with a Million Dollar tract, I gave one to him also. Maybe I stopped at this store (where I seldom do) just to bring thoughts of Judgment Day to this man. May God bring him to Repentance & Faith.

Today I was able to go through dozens of tracts, and it wasn’t a special day. Please understand, I’m nobody special (those of you who know me can attest). I mention this only to encourage all of you to carry and use tracts. You can hand them to people, leave them tucked in then crack behind the hand-dryer in the store bathroom, in the pockets of clothes at Wal-Mart, even hand them to people. One of my favorites here in Florida, is to go into the beer isle at the grocery store and drop foled gospel tracts into the slots on the top of each beer case. Try http://www.livingwaters.com/, http://www.customtractsource.com/ or http://www.onemilliontracts.com/ to find tracts....if you need to email me for help. There are so MANY good, creative tracts out there, get some you like & hand them out. Just make sure they use the Law to bring knowledge of sin & warn of judgment & exhort the sinner to repentance & faith. Remember, a written Gospel is MUCH better than no Gospel at all.

Comments please! Hey, if you read this blog, please click on the bottom of submissions and enter your comments. It’d be great to hear some feedback!

Until His Nets are Full,

Glenn.

A New Evangelism Warrior!

Today was a very interesting day at Fort Myers Beach, preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ; seems it was more eventful than usual. Sam came with us, from Gunnery Road Baptist Church; he was a blessing and encouragement for sure! Sam got right to work and energetically handed out tracts, started conversations and worked to show many people the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We handed out a ton of Million Dollar Bill Tracts (available at www.livingwaters.com), some Tickets to Heaven and a few other tracts. The conversations were pretty interesting and stimulating today; makes one want to run home and sharpen one’s ‘sword’ to be better ready for battle the next time. I’m tired tonight, but will try and remember some of the conversations to recount here.

I gave a couple girls Million Dollar Bills & asked the Million Dollar Question; Will you go to heaven when you die? Asking them what happens when one dies, they said ‘heaven’. Questioned further, on who goes to heaven, they responded that if one where pretty or smart they would go to heaven (maybe a little arrogant?). I asked if they knew what the Bible said; one of the girls responded that she was Jewish; like this somehow made the truth of the Bible null and void or something. I’ve just been reading through Isaiah, so responded that the prophet Isaiah wrote of the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord, Judgement Day, just as the New Testament says. Asking further of the standard of judgment, I told her that because she was Jewish she would know God’s standard of righteousness....nope; she didn’t come up with the Ten Commandments. They pretty much split after that.

I looked over and saw Sam embroiled in what looked like a rather animated conversation with a young couple. I wandered over & met Ben and his girlfriend. Ben was asking what Christians say would happen to Muslims on the Day of Judgment. I began to show him, how people don’t specifically go to Hell because they’re not Christians, but because they’ve broken God’s Law; like someone jumping without a parachute dies not specifically because they’ve not a chute, but because they’ve broken the law of gravity. Ben (I discovered) doesn’t listen well & doesn’t really want answers to anything, but loved to argue and be vulgar.

As it turned out, I was talking to Ben (read ‘kept Ben occupied’) while Sam was able to explain the Gospel to Ben’s girlfriend (she was close to tears when I looked over Ben’s shoulder to their conversation). Ben when round-and-round with his argumentative talk; finally I asked Ben why every time we began to talk of his conscience and guilt before God, he changed the subject. He told me to go ahead, so I began to lead him through the Law. He paused (promising to continue) to go on a tirade on how I shouldn’t show people their guilt before God when preaching the Gospel. Ben claims to have spent ten years as a Pentecostal missionary, sharing the Gospel. He began to roll-play, showing me a classic make-a-friend, seeker-sensitive, non-threatening, marketing style (his word) ‘gospel’. He said the goal should be to get folks to church so the professionals could preach to them. I asked of the verse (Mark 16:15) should have read ‘Go ye into all the world, bring folks to church so the pastor can preach to them’? I eventually reminded him that THAT ‘gospel’ didn’t work on him, as he was flirting with atheism &/or universalism, is an active & continual blasphemer, fornicator, foul mouthed and angry. Ben didn’t like me very much, maybe it was his booze talking. Heartbreaking to meet another false convert; a product of the modern ‘gospel’ that so many churches embrace. Pray for Ben, that God will dissolve any peace in his life and give him the gift of a sorrowful repentance before God.
Later, I met a couple Spanish boys, who had a history as gang-bangers. They are going to church somewhere now, but didn’t know the Gospel. The one who spoke the most English was Orlando. Orlando figured that he’d done so many bad things, even though he was going to church, it was too late for him. I explained the amazing work of Christ on the Cross of Calvary as payment for sin, and the call to Repentance and Faith. Pray for Orlando, that he will see the truth as truth.

I approached a rough looking man with a Million Dollar Bill tract; said he already had one. I asked if he’d read the back, he hadn’t. Mike had come to SW Florida from Wyoming for work and to escape winter. He’d been unable to find work and was apparently mugged on the beach, losing his money. Interestingly, he didn’t ask for money & when I asked if he was hungry, didn’t indicate that he needed food. I softened my tone and was talked for quite a while, about the Law & Gospel; what an incredibly kind offer it was from God, to ‘pay our fine’ by the Blood of Christ through Repentance & Faith. Pray for Mike, his heart seemed to be softened (& he admitted that he’d lied to me, he hadn’t gotten on the tracts before).
I met a Christian couple from Puerto Rico here on vacation. He was wearing a fish symbol necklace and he t-shirt with a huge “Jesus” on it. Language was a barrier, but I asked him to explain the Gospel to me. He did not show the bad news, before the good news. He’d used Romans 3:23, so I opened up my Bible and showed him that if we backed up the previous verses spell out a more detailed description of man from God’s eyes & then showing the Law as the standard that shows sin (& other verses). Pray for these folks, as they seem to be serious believers.

I was able to preach for longer, using a springboard story to start the message. As I was finishing, I introduced Bobby to speak next. Bobby wasn’t expecting this (please forgive me Bobby!) but rose to the occasion and preached on Nicodemus. The concern, love and pleading in his voice made me really take notice. I got back up after him and preached, giving my own testimony and talked of Romans 3 as I’d talked to the Puerto Rican folks & touched on the false seeker-sensitive ‘gospel’.

Sam got into a VERY long conversation with a Catholic couple at a nearby sidewalk cafe. Sam got his Bible and began showing him the scriptures to show the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The angry couple from the next table moved over to join the conversation, bit Sam seemed to do well. Praise the Lord for Sam!

It was a blessed day, as the name of our Lord Jesus Christ was lifted up!

Glenn.

Ft. Myers Beach.....silent film! :-)

Hi All. It's been a long time since I've blogged. I've a bunch of stuff to blog about and some videos too (having trouble getting the videos processed for upload).

A couple friends and I have developed a habit of going to Fort Myers Beach on the weekend and sharing the Gospel. Yesterday was interesting; got a crowd of 30 or 35 or so. We shot some video, but the audio track didn't work for some reason. It might be a bit of an interesting watch; note Ben handing out tracts while his Daddy preaches.

NEW CITY; NEW CHURCH?!

More than 3000 miles from home I went looking for a church to attend.  We are here in southwest Florida for a few months or more, so we want to find a church preaching the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ & stay there.  This is something I find difficult, because so few churches in our time are bent on preaching the truth.  Fewer and fewer preachers are opening their Bibles and preaching the Word.  I began a web-search for a church; in this part of Florida, there seems like an inordinate number of churches.  Most of the churches I found online either didn’t have a website, or the material on it seemed a little suspect (read; ‘squishy’). 

Not sure what it was, but something about a church four miles from our house caught my attention.  We took a chance and attended today.  At the door, as fine gentleman, saw we were visitors and handed me a visitor package; telling me to fill out the card & drop it in the offering basket and keep the pen and tract.  They gave me a Gospel tract at the door; good start!  After singing a number of hymns, the pastor stepped up and began preaching the word!  Way cool!  He open up I Peter 1 and verse-by-verse began expounding the scripture.  I chatted with him afterwards, and was very impressed with this man of God.  I think we’ve found our church here in SW Florida.

My friend Bob and I plan on going out to the beaches to share the Gospel here regularly.  Pray that the Lord will send others to come and labor with us.  “Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lordof the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest” (Luke 10:22)

Dawn....motel desk clerk (& Wal-Mart cashier)

 

We arrived in Florida, yesterday. Our boat is not yet ready to live on, so we left our kids on my parents boat and took a room at a motel in a nearby town. I paid for the room with a credit card, but as it turns out, I forgot to get my card back. The missing card was not discovered 'till the next afternoon (today)....causing a little commotion. I called back to the motel and found they had the card. No problem, a bit of an annoyance, but no big deal, right? Wrong!....a divine appointment instead.

Arriving at the motel and asking for my card, I ended up chatting with Dawn, the desk clerk. I began to talk to her about death & learned that she'd been in a near-fatal car crash a couple weeks earlier (still has scrapes on her arms). She and four friends rolled an SUV end over end into a river. She was trapped in the truck, fifteen feet under, finally pulled free by a friend. The attending medical staff at the hospital could apparently not figure out why she survived. They told her that in that type of crash, one's breath is usually knocked out of them, leaving insufficient oxygen for the time she was under water.

A Christian friend has been telling Dawn that God is trying to tell her something & that He has kept her alive for a reason. I explained to her the reason that 'God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance'. I explained to her the inevitability of death; that it should not shock us that someone dies & the only surprise would be as to the timing. All of us will surely die. I explained the righteous standards of God & showed her how she'd failed His standard miserably (as have we all). Dawn began to see that she had failed God's standard & when she stood before God in judgment she would be found guilty and sentenced to eternal damnation in the lake of fire of Hell. Explaining how what seems like an insignificant offense to another human being, is an great offense to God seemed to help (I.e. This makes; 'and all liars shall have their part in the Lake of Fire' make sense).

We were interrupted by motel guests checking in, so I left. Later on, driving by, I dropped in and gave her two tracts (“Are you good enough to go to Heaven?” & “Why Christianity?” both from livingwaters.com). I was going to hand them to her and leave, but she stopped me. If I understood her correctly, her Christian friend had just called her since my previous visit and talked to her again about God trying to get her attention. She asked me where she should be reading her Bible. I told her to read the book of John, for an eye witness account of the life and teaching of Jesus Christ & the book of Romans, for Paul's explanation of Justification by Faith. She kept talking and asking questions. Pray for Dawn.

Something to think about; Dawn is a regular church attender but had not understood the Gospel...didn't seem to have heard it clearly before.

Earlier in the day, a Wal-Mart clerk asked about my “What if?” shirt. I explained that 153,000 people die every day, two every second....what if this were her second? We talked for quite a while about the Gospel. I was amazed because there was no one in line behind us....but all the other tills around us had line-ups. She ended up asking me how to be born again & how could one know if they were born again. I was able to point her to the scriptures and explain. Again, this girl had a history of regular church attendance (though not the recent past). What are churches teaching, if those attending do not even hear the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Currently in Moorehaven, FL,

Glenn.

STEVE, THE POOL MAINTENANCE GUY.

Last night, I stayed at a Hotel in Kentucky, while on my way south to Florida with my family (near Answers In Genesis Creation Museum). While swimming in the Hotel pool with my kids, I met Steve, the pool maintenance guy. Steve was working at repairing the floating rope that divides the deep end from the shallow end. I ended up talking with Steve and offering to help him fix the problem line.

Steve told me a little about himself….seems like a real nice young man. Something Steve told me struck a chord; he mentioned that he was planning to join the Navy. I asked what he thought would happen to him if he saw action with the Navy and died. It took a little digging, but he believed that he would be judged by God (Heb. 9:27 & Acts 17:31).

I opened up God’s Law & showed Steve his personal guilt before an infinitely Holy & just God. I showed him what God’s Word says about judgment & punishment. (I Cor. 6 & Math. 5 & others). Steve admitted that he was very concerned that if he where to die that very night, he would be found guilty & sentenced to an eternity in Hell.

I explained the amazing Gospel of Jesus Christ to Steve. I showed him how Jesus Christ suffered and died on the Cross of Calvary to defeat sin and death; as a substitute. I showed Steve that if he would repent of his sin & put his faith in the Jesus Christ & the blood he shed on the Cross , he would walk out of the court room a free man on the day of judgment. Not only that, but God promises that he would make him a new man now, with new desires to please Christ.

Something we don’t often talk to people about, is the cost of following Christ. I felt prompted to tells Steve of the promise of scripture; the promise of persecution and trials for those that profess faith in Christ. I told him how the scripture tells of persecution & that those that endure to the end will be saved (& those that do not, where never truly saved in the first place…..I John 2:19). We talked for a while about the cost of dying to ones own self & one’s own desires and living for Him; this didn’t seem to dissuade Steve.

I asked Steve when he was going to get right with God and he responded that he was going to do it soon. We did talk about Godly sorrow (2 Cor. 7:10) & I encouraged him to get alone that night and cry out to God to show him his sin & great offense to God.

Please pray for Steve; that God will show him his sin & that God will give Steve the gift of Godly sorrow that works repentance unto salvation.

Glenn.