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.