A Wheelchair, a Cross, and the Glory of God - By Tony Miano

From Cross Encounters

Richard Story grew up in Southern Alabama. His parents divorced when he was eight years old. Until he was 15 he was raised by his mother and grandmother. His grandmother was the greatest influence in his early years. She was a very godly woman who read her Bible daily. She would give Richard his first Bible, which he has to this day.

During his latter teen years, as so many young men do, Richard was captivated by the world. All the while he held on to the false perception that he was a good person. He went to church, but not to worship. He treated church as if it were a night club -- a place to pick up girls. It was during this time in his life that he prayed a prayer and walked down the aisle of the church. He thought this made him a Christian, but there was no appreciable change in his life. Frustrated, over the next several years he would "pray the prayer" several more times, hoping each time it would stick.

Richard graduated with honors from a small, rural high school. His chosen career path kept him in the Southeast, but he moved frequently. He worked in the energy management industry, which encompassed a number of different fields. He even spent some time in Antarctica.

Richard lacked contentment. The job was never good enough. The pay was never high enough. He always wanted more. He wanted to be the best at whatever he did and to earn more money than anyone else doing it. To him, contentment was a sign of weakness. God would soon strip him of his spiritual facade and his self-reliance.

A Life-Altering Drive

One day in 2006, Richard, who was working away from home, was driving his pickup truck, which was pulling a trailer. Suddenly, one of the tires had a blowout. As Richard slowly tried to maneuver the truck and trailer to the side of the road, another vehicle collided with the trailer. The vehicle that struck Richard's trailer was traveling at an estimated 70 miles per hour.

Read the rest of this incredible and God glorifying story HERE

"Genius" The Movie -

Los Angeles, CA. "Genius" is a new and chilling movie based on the life and tragic murder of John Lennon. The Producer of the Los Angeles-based film company, Ray Comfort, said, "It's chilling because it reveals what people will do for money. There are ordinary people out there who would kill you. All they need is the right amount of money and the belief that they won't get caught."

Just before he was murdered, John Lennon told Playboy magazine that he didn't want to die at 40. Ironically the famous singer was gunned down at the age of 40 by a man who killed him just because he wanted to become famous.

Comfort said, "Many think that John Lennon was a musical genius. His music has crossed cultures and even generations--the Beatles have sold more than 2,303,500,000 record albums, and in June of 2012 they hit number one on iTunes. They are as big now as they ever were and they're half dead--with the tragic loss of Lennon and Harrison."

Ken Mansfield, the former U.S. Manager for Apple Records said, "Genius will open your eyes." Other reviewers have called it "fast-paced, thought-provoking and compelling." It is being promoted as "33 minutes that will rock your soul." Comfort's last movie "180" received more than 3.7 million views on YouTube and aired on television around the world. "Genius" has been released for free viewing on www.GeniusTheMovie.com to coincide with the December 8th anniversary of the death of John Lennon.

Comfort added, "Abraham Lincoln said, 'Towering genius disdains a beaten path. It seeks regions hitherto unexplored.' That's what John Lennon did. He pushed the musical envelope of creativity."

The Genius trailer: http://youtu.be/ZW2lhWfa28g
Pictured: Each of these people freely admitted that they would murder for money.
Interviews or questions: aalvarado@livingwaters.com

Merry Christmas!

Vernon Costolo and 100 Days with the Cross!

"It is only fitting that the last 100 days I spent with the cross would be the 100th post on my blog. The 100 days out with the cross was a result of being inspired by my friend and dear brother Paul Latour of The Word Street Journal during Mission Ottawa 2012. He took his cross out on multiple days during his vacation. That inspired me to challenge myself to go at out on the streets for at least an hour a day for 100 days. (Unless there were hurricane force winds :-) )This is a brief synopsis of my last 100 days with the cross."

So begins a re-cap of the 100 days my brother in the Lord, Vernon Costolo, writes about his cross-walking adventures on his blog "Proclaiming the Truth".

I first "met" Vernon via his blog while he was still living in West Virginia and was blown away by his boldness and faithfulness to take the gospel to the lost. About a year and a half ago, Vernon re-located to Georgia and whether he is open-air preaching, handing out tracts, having one-to-one conversations or standing alone on a corner with a cross, Vernon's boldness is unmatched in the north Georgia area.

I have been blessed many, many times to go along side Vernon and share in what God is doing through him. I am very thankful and blessed that I have been given the privilege to know him, labor with him and witness first hand how God is blessing this man.

I love this brother!

Please take a few minutes and read the rest of his post on the last 100 days he has been out with his "Are You Ready" cross -

Wretched: Be silent when you talk.

Can we "live" the gospel and lead others to Christ....or, do we actually and specifically have to communicate the gospel to the lost?

Please watch this 3-minute video -

 

Do Catholics Worship Mary? - WOTM

On The Box with Ray Comfort

Black Friday follow-up

The above picture symbolizes how I felt at times last night while out tracting and open-airing.

Hundreds and hundreds of people who were in long lines waiting to get into stores for something they just had to have.

Waiting. Laughing. Reading. Joking. Standing. Sitting. Mocking. Jeering. Angry. Frustrated.

All these people.....lights out.

I was reminded of a particular verse of Scripture all night long: "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing..." 1 Cor 1:18. Of course the rest of the verse goes on to say, "....but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." Thank God for the rest of that verse!!

My missionary friend and I left my house at 8pm and headed out to the first opening of the night; Target. When we arrived at the Canton store, there must have been 200-300 people in line waiting to get in. We took handfuls of Black Friday tracts and began passing them out as fast as we could. As soon as we got a tract in their hands I set up my stool, opened up the cross, turned on my amp and began speaking to the crowd.

Before I could even past my opening words of hoping they were having a wonderful Thanksgiving day, two Target managers made a bee-line right at me while talking into their little headsets. My missionary friend (who is an ex-police officer) intercepted the managers before they got to me (all part of the plan in case this happened) and engaged them in conversation while I continued on. My friend kept talking to them until the managers went and got the police who were already there for crowd control and crazy Jesus freaks. I knew I only had a couple minutes left before we would be shut down, so I went into my "Stop Light" message. When the police came over I was already done and folding up the cross. I guess the crowd was anxious to see what was going to happen to us but they were disappointed I'm sure as one of the police officers recognized my friend and then there was nothing but smiles, handshakes and memories from years past :-)

We left from there and went on to Best Buy a few doors down. My friend was jumping at the chance to do some open-air, so he took the amp and set up close to the road and, basically, off Best Buy property. I went to hand out the tracts to the hundreds in line there and when I got about half way through the line my friend began. I was a little concerned my 25 watt amp would not have the impact from the distance he was from the building, but when he started speaking, I had no trouble hearing him at all. His voice carried down the hill and bounced of the wall of the building and into the ears of the people waiting in line. No incidents here; police or hecklers.

We left Best Buy and headed for the Canton Belks store.

When we arrived, there were only about 50 people in line. We waited a couple minutes and then my friend went to hand out tracts while I got the amp and cross ready. After the tracts were passed out I got up on my stool, and with no interference from authorities, was able to go as long as I was led to go. When I finished, I told the crowd (now around 75 people) that I had free "The Biggest Question" dvd's and free Bibles for anyone who wanted one with no obligations to them.

We waited around and no one came over to us. As we packed up and were headed back to the car, a woman came over to us and began to thank us for our boldness in proclaiming Christ. She said that she was a believer who regularly attended a church not far from where I live. She gave us a little testimony and then asked us to pray for her daughter who, at 18 years old, had recently left home to move in with her boyfriend. She said her daughter had grown up in church and was now living a very sinful lifestyle. My friend was able to give her good council (he is also a youth minister) and then we all held hands and prayed for her and her daughter. She was greatly encouraged by my friends council and for our prayers. I gave her a few copies of the Greatest Question dvd and told her to make sure she gave her daughter one. I thank God for these divine appointments!!!

Just as we got into the car to leave, a young man came up to the car and asked if we had any more of the dvd's. Yup!

We left there and went to the Old Navy store in Woodstock. After I handed out a hundred or so tracts there, my friend began his second open-air session. No incidents or conversations there, but the glorious gospel was heard by all in the line!

By that point, Vernon, from Proclaiming the Truth, had got off work and was headed down to meet us at the Best Buy on Barrett Parkway. When we all got to that Best Buy, there must have been at least 300 people waiting to get in the store. Knowing that this was Vernon's first (and maybe only) opportunity to open-air, my friend and I set out handing out tracts as fast as we could. We knew there were police and store management walking around; time was probably not on our side.

Vernon cranked up his amp and began to open-air the last half of the line as we kept watch for anyone attempting to shut us down; but there was no incidents. Because the line was so long, and we feared the people at the front of the line may have not heard, we moved toward the front and he went a second time. As Vernon was about halfway through, a plain clothes security (an off duty Sheriff's Officer) came over and my ex-police friend ran interference and began engaging him in conversation so Vernon could finish. It seems that my friend and this officer knew some of the same law enforcement folks, so that kept them talking about those things while Vernon never missed a beat in his message.

We only had about 30 minutes before the midnight hour, so we headed over to Town Center Mall. We knew for sure that we would be thrown off the property as soon as we cranked up the amps, but we decide we would give it try anyway.

When we arrived at the mall, we did not see a single line outside at any of the stores. But, people were coming to the mall in droves. Vernon asked me if I wanted to use his amp, set the speaker on the roof of his truck and just broadcast to all the people walking into the mall.

Great idea!

I jumped up into the bed of his truck, put the speaker on the roof and began. We knew for sure that the little security vehicles would be pouncing on us any minute...but no one ever came.

My friend got up in the truck after me and began his turn...no security came.

Finally, Vernon did a turn as well...still, no security came to run us off.

Last night, in our little corner of the world, in our mission field, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people heard the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. All across the country, in their own little mission fields, evangelists were proclaiming the good news last night to lost souls; bulbs who had no light to them.

We live in a dark and fallen world that loves it's sin and hates and mocks the message of the only good news that will save them. Although at times we may feel like we are but a candle in the wind with the good news of the gospel, know that it (the gospel) is the power of God unto salvation!

Where is your mission field?

Soli Deo Gloria!

Black Friday 2012

It is that time of year again when people will stand in line for hours upon hours to save a few dollars on something they just got to have.

Evangelists love opportunities like this!

This year, like the last couple years (see here and here) His Feet on the Street will tract and open air the good news of the gospel to as many people possible in the short window of time we have.

My ministry partner is not able to take part in the Black Friday outreach with me this year, but I have the pleasure of being joined by a missionary who is attending the Word of Life Bible Institute in Florida and is up here in north Georgia right now visiting family for the Thanksgiving holiday.

If all goes as planned, we should be able to hit a few stores in the Canton and Woodstock area before heading down to Barrett Parkway to meet up with Vernon Costolo from Proclaiming the Truth ministry.

Here is my tentative schedule starting Thursday evening:

8:30pm
Canton Target

9:30-10:30pm
Canton Kohl's, Best Buy, Belk's, Bealls and maybe Game Stop

11:00-11:30pm
Woodstock Old Navy

11:30-12:00am
Best Buy on Barrett Parkway

Please pray for us to faithfully proclaim law and gospel; pray for the authorities to stay at bay and let us speak; pray for the managers of the stores to let us speak; pray that the deaf will hear and the blind will see; pray that the lost will come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Most importantly, pray the God's will be done and that He be glorified in the highest.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Cross Walking and Open Air

Today I was out with my brother in Christ, Vernon Costolo, from Proclaiming the Truth.

We spent about an hour or so cross walking with our "Are You Ready" crosses in Holly Springs and then headed over to Marietta Square to proclaim the gospel in the open air.

I went first and got up on the public stage and read the Gospel of John chapters 1 and 3 and then open aired law and gospel.

After I was done Vernon got up on the stage and open aired law and gospel as well to those who had ears to hear.

I put these pictures up here not for our publicity, ego or our own glory. I put these pictures up here to encourage all of you out there who feel like they could never stand up in a public place and speak to people; let alone open air the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

You can.

I would never consider myself a "Type A" personality. I am not an extrovert by any stretch of the imagination. But what I do have is a passion for the lost and a desire to take the gospel out into the local community.

Do I mess up sometimes? Yes, of course. Am I nervous? You bet! Do I sometimes feel that the words just did not come out like I intended them to? Yup!

If God is moving you to hand out tracts...hand out tracts. If He is moving you to do some one-to-one witnessing...do some one-to-one. If He is moving you to read the Scripture and open air in public...do it.

Today I had a young man approach me after I was done and thanked me for sharing the gospel.

Sometimes you do get a little encouragement from the people who hear you...sometimes you have angry people shout and mock you.

Either way, it's all good!

Be obedient and do not worry about the results...God will take care of the results.

Soli Deo Gloria!

President Obama and Persecution Complexes

From The American Vision

Since President Obama won re-election as our nation’s president, the chatter on Facebook has been somewhat amusing. In response to that chatter, I posted the following status update:

“All of this talk about Christian persecution coming under four more years of Obama is amusing. The only Christians who get persecuted are those who: (1) share the gospel when the government says not to (check the book of Acts) or (2) stand against evil when the majority are toeing the line (see the book of Daniel). If you haven’t already been doing these things when you had the freedom to do it, what in the world makes you think you will do it when you don’t have those freedoms? The government WILL NOT CARE if you keep the gospel inside your church walls and only vote against evil. Every oppressive government has allowed churches to meet just as long as they keep their mouths shut (Nazi Germany, Soviet Union, China even has State-controlled churches). If persecution is coming, don’t worry, you won’t see any of it so long as your Christianity is limited to your church attendance.”^[1]

 

I’ve been somewhat pleased to see this get reposted on Facebook. I hope it goes fully viral and people think seriously about these statements because they reflect a reality that few in church leadership are willing to admit. What we do in the church building is not impacting society because the church membership is not taking what they know outside the four walls. If they do, it is thickly masked under the guise of friendship evangelism which involves no real gospel proclamation in most cases (not all).

 As long as this is the case, we cannot expect any persecution.

Read the rest of this great article HERE

Tract and Treat -

Christians are divided when it comes to Halloween. I have heard from brothers and sisters in Christ who are in favor of participating in the Halloween festivities and from brothers and sisters in Christ who are not in favor of participating.

But there is one thing for certain: Halloween happens and lost people come to my house in droves every October 31st.

Knowing that this is the one day of the year that this happens, I am ready (No pun intended) with hundreds and hundreds of tracts of varying types for the different age groups that will come.

This is as easy as it gets for getting the gospel into the hands of the lost.

They come. I hand out candy. I tell them to pick out a tract of their choosing from the table.

 

Tracts galore!

 

Kids deciding which tracts they want!

 

Me in camo with my daughter and grandson -

 

 

May God be glorified and may He use those tracts to bring many to faith in Christ!

 Soli Deo Gloria -

Testing...1,2,3

Had a little bit of time this afternoon to go down to Heritage Park in Canton, Ga. to try out my new amp I got for my birthday a few weeks ago.

As some of you know (and I'm sure most do not) I would not consider myself an extrovert or a "Type-A" personality by any stretch of the imagination. I tremble at the thought of public speaking and still get very nervous any time Cam or Vernon and I go out to share the gospel.

So for me to actually get up on a box, read Scripture or open-air witness, it takes more than just my shear will power to accomplish the task; it takes prayer and the Holy Spirit.

In order for me to try out my new amp, to make sure the sound levels reach the intended targets (other than my living room that is), I actually needed to go somewhere outside...duh. While Cindy and I were out today I stopped over at Heritage Park, set up my stool, and proceeded to read the Gospel of John chapters 1 and 3 as well as a portion of the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew chapter 7.

The whole time I was reading the Scripture, there was a small family of about five people playing frisbee and sliding down the small hills in the park. After I finished reading, I open-aired Law and Gospel to the family. They paid no attention to me that I could tell, but knowing that God's Word will not return void, I gave Him the glory for the time out there -

DEATH COMES UNEXPECTEDLY - Kim Latour

Please take a few minutes to watch my sister in Christ, Kim Latour, open-air preach at the gates of the University of Ottawa. This is a very encouraging video for all the saints out there who may be just a little timid about getting up on a box and sharing the gospel.

Kim is the wife of evangelist Paul Latour over at The Word Street Journal -

 

2012 RiverFest

His Feet on the Street will join up with Vernon Costolo from Proclaiming the Truth to crosswalk the RiverFest this Saturday (September 29th) from 10am to at least 12 noon.

For the past few years HFOTS has gone into the RiverFest parking lots to hand out thousands of tracts and have dozens of One-to-One conversations.

Last year, while in the parking area of the RiverFest (not in the actual event), RiverFest organizers complained to the local police that we could not be on the grounds to hand out literature and talk to people.

The local police came and told us if we did not leave we would be arrested for trespassing. We tried out best to be polite as we explained, to no avail, that we were not in the actual event, but in the parking areas of the event (which were public school grounds). The police were having none of it and so we left after still having the pleasure of handing out hundreds of tracts that day.

This year Vernon and I will crosswalk the public sidewalks leading into the event with hopes of handing out a few tracts and, God willing, having a few conversations with folks on their way into the event.

Can't wait to see what God has in store for us!

I Rejoice in the Sovereignty of God! - Tony Miano

I am so thankful to my great God and Savior, my Lord and King, Jesus Christ.

I rejoice in the sovereignty of God. My salvation is contingent upon nothing within me or anything accomplished by me. Nothing. Not my desire; not my abilities; not my religion; not my lot in life; and most certainly not my own will.

Yes, I rejoice in the sovereignty of God. I am saved because God is sovereign. I am saved because God, from eternity-past, had predetermined and preordained to call me His own. Only the kind intention of His will, and not the gratuitous and selfish intentions of my sin-marred will, made it not only possible but also certain that He would adopt me as one of His beloved children.

Yes, I rejoice in the sovereignty of God. For apart from His sovereignty I could have no hope of forgiveness, reconciliation, and regeneration. If my will was necessary, even in the slightest cooperative sense, to somehow contribute to my salvation, I would never be saved. I could never be saved. For my will, deathly marred by my depravity, which I inherited from the first Adam, would never, could never seek or even desire to cooperate with God in anything--let alone my salvation.

Yes, I rejoice in the sovereignty of God. I am saved because God, for reasons known only to Him, has elected to pardon me from my iniquity--pardon me from an inherited, wanton rampage of sin that would seek to go as far as to murder the Judge as He sat on His bench, if I ever had the present ability to carry out the act. So deep was my hatred for God, although shrouded in false piety and self-perceived goodness. I deserve nothing but an undelayed, unappealable execution of God's good and holy wrath. Yet the Judge--the Judge of the Universe--stepped down from His high, holy, heavenly bench, sending His eternal Son who humbled Himself to take on the form of human flesh in the person of my Lord and Savior, Jesus of Nazareth. He humbled Himself, allowing Himself to be executed by His sinful creation; and yes, to be mutilated and humiliated on the cross. Yes, even death on the cross.
Read rest of post HERE at Cross Encounters

How to Botch an Alter Call

“I need to quit texting, because I could die in a car accident.”

From Ray Comfort -

Early in August 2012 in Huntsville, Alabama, a young man sent a text message to a friend: “I need to quit texting, because I could die in a car accident.” While he was finishing the sentence the truck he was driving flew off a cliff and crashed, leaving him with a broken neck, a crushed face, a fractured skull, and a traumatic brain injury. His injuries were so serious that doctors had to shock him back to life three times.

In an effort to discourage drivers from texting while behind the wheel, Alabama State decided to fine drivers $25 if they were caught in the act. Actually, the threat of a $25,000 fine probably wouldn’t deter most teenagers from texting, because at that age people think they are immortal.
However, there is the hope that if they are educated on the distance a vehicle travels in the time it takes to text and they see the dangers that can ensure, their good sense may just kick in.

The threat of a very real Hell doesn’t awaken some people. But we have the hope that if we trust in God and open up His Law, it can convince them of their danger, and their good sense may just kick in.

What is Missing?

From Leon Brown

Every year, Christians are trained around the nation in order to learn how to share the gospel. You are familiar with the programs because they are many. Some programs are professed to be better than others. Are they really? The final determination is up to you!

But throughout these training sessions, I've noticed something is missing. Or to be more specific, I should say, the first step is missing.

It's extremely easy to gather 100 people into a room and tell them a certain formula to share the gospel. I've done it, and you've probably done it. Initially, it seems to help people. They are thankful that they are learning to share the gospel, and rightfully so. But once the training session is complete and they're on their own, sometimes the enthusiasm to share the gospel tappers off.

Why?

I believe it's because something is missing.

You know, just the other day I watched my interview with Dr. J.I. Packer. At one point, I asked him about evangelism. He told me that his African friends would think we are quite strange for talking about evangelism because they do it so frequently and so naturally. As I began to think about this, I wondered, "Why do they do it so frequently and so naturally?"

Many answers came to mind and this is one of them: Joy!

These African brothers have joy in the Lord. And as this joy builds inside of them, they cannot help but share the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's kind of like a pot that boils over because it has too much water in it. Initially, the waters are calm, but as the pot heats up, the water come out the top.

The same thing can be said about sharing the gospel. Once the pot gets burning (the pot is you), the gospel will come out. It may not come out perfectly or even the way you'd want it to, but it comes out. (Remember, God works in spite of us often, so don't be discouraged if the gospel does not come out exactly 'like you planned.')

Moreover, sharing the gospel becomes natural. There are too many instances when non-believers will make this comment once they've heard the gospel or watched a video on YouTube: "Oh, I've heard that before."

Question: "Heard what before?"

They are not talking about the gospel insomuch as they are talking about the "formula" that was used to share the gospel. You're familiar with them. There is no need to name names. There are a bunch of them out there.

So, back to my original question. What's missing?

Instead of teaching someone how to share the gospel as a first step, as best as it is possible (and this is hard with a large group), let' see if they have joy in the Lord. I think it's too much to assume that they have joy just because they're there. Many people simply want an easy way out, and this includes Christians. People want a 1-2-3 step program. Whereas, evangelism, as I've had to learn, is so much more than that.

So, as we continue to train individuals in the body of Christ, as far as we are able, let the first step, or one of the first steps, be in talking to the trainee about joy...because if they have joy, chances are they've already been sharing the gospel, but they're coming to you to be refined, not initiated. Then, once the trainee leaves, he or she will continue to share the gospel (naturally, I might add) regardless of whether he/she thinks their local assembly is sharing Christ. Why?

Because they have joy! And joy about a particular subject is hard to keep to yourself! Thank God there is joy in Christ!

Preach the Gospel!

Jesus said, “Preach the gospel to every creature.” But men are getting tired of the divine plan; they are going to be saved by the priest, going to be saved by the music, going to be saved by theatricals, and nobody knows what! Well, they may try these things as long as ever they like; but nothing can ever come of the whole thing but utter disappointment and confusion, God dishonored, the gospel travestied, hypocrites manufactured by thousands, and the church dragged down to the level of the world.

Stand to your guns, brethren, and go on preaching and teaching nothing but the Word of God, for it pleases God still, by the foolishness of preaching, to save them that believe; and this text still stands true, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”

- C. H. Spurgeon
1834 – 1892

Here I stand - By Chris Hohnholz

From Defending / Contending

I want to make something clear. I am a born again follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This means I believe I was born a sinner and that my actions put me at war with God. Because of that, God will judge me for my sins and condemn me to Hell. Yet, in His mercy, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to live the perfect life I could not live and to die the death I deserve. Jesus rose from the grave three days later, giving me a promise of eternal life. By turning from my sin and trusting in Jesus, He takes on my sins and I receive His perfect righteousness. I have been granted eternal life and will one day be with Him forever in Heaven.

As a Christian, I believe that the Bible is the inspired and inerrant word of God. That means it is the direct revelation of God to man. This means I believe everything it says. Everything. When it says something is a sin, it’s a sin. What culture says about it today is irrelevant. No matter how we try re-work or re-word what God has already said, His truth remains. I will not bend, I will not yield, I will stand. I will proclaim God’s word, all of it. I may be called arrogant. I may be called ignorant. I may even be called a hateful bigot. But no matter what the world thinks of me, I care more of how I am viewed by my Savior than by anyone else. Jesus paid my fine with His life’s blood. I owe Him nothing less than my total love and obedience.

Because I trust in Christ for my salvation, and because I believe God’s word is true, I will proclaim to the world that it is in sin against God. I will proclaim that through Christ and Christ alone is their salvation. I will do this because I love people far too much to leave them in the delusion that they are “OK” with God. I love them enough to warn them of the judgment that is coming. I love them enough to risk being hated by them, and even have them turn against me. If I am willing to risk my life to save a drowning man, or a child trapped in a fire, how much more must I be willing to risk my standing in people’s minds to try and rescue them from the fires of Hell. It matters not if a blind man does not believe in the cliff he is walking toward. Thus, I cannot and will not stop my warnings because people do not believe as I do. I love them too much to stop.

I make this declaration today because I believe the world is beginning to openly war against Jesus Christ and those who follow Him. I make this stand today to make it known I will stand for Him no matter how tough the opposition may be, and no matter what it may cost me personally. I declare this to let you all know that I believe the greatest love I can possibly show is to point to the way of salvation, not to allow people to remain comfortable in their sins.

In the words of the Reformation preacher Martin Luther, “Here I stand. I can do no more.”

What Do You Do When You Ask Jesus Into Your Heart But He Doesn’t Stick Around?

From Defending / Contending

I have heard this story before. A young boy or girl attends VBS and at the end of the week, they raised their hand and said the prayer. Or maybe, when they were older they came forward at the altar call at church or at the local evangelist crusade. No matter the venue, they were told to “ask Jesus into their heart,” and assured that once He came in, life would get better. They were assured they were a Christian now, and were told to never question it, no matter what. The initial spiritual high carried them for a time. They read their Bibles, went to church, talked about how great it was to be a Christian. But in time, the buzz wore off. The feeling just wasn’t there anymore. Other things, people or events just seemed more interesting. Or they began to be ostracized by their peers, so the compromises began. Before long, life was like it was before, or maybe worse because they began to look for other things to fill the void. But no matter how bad it might be, they were still a Christian…weren’t they?

When it comes to the modern day evangelism of “asking Jesus into your heart” there is a very big problem in that it rarely, if ever, addresses the issue that a person is a wretched, vile sinner. A spiritual criminal deserving of God’s righteous judgment. It avoids examining the life of the person under God’s law. It fails to show that when we lie, steal, lust, hate, blaspheme God, or any other sin, we are committing crimes against our Lord. It fails to reveal that on the day that we stand before God, every sin, every thought, word and deed is called into account. And because God is a good and just Judge, He will condemn us to Hell for eternity. It does not explain that the punishment is infinite because we have sinned against an infinite God.

When the church tells a person to, “just ask Jesus into your heart” there is very little weighing of the issue.

Very little understanding of the severity of their sins.

Read the rest of article HERE

When Will Sinners Be Converted?

From Airo

From pages 134-135, Jeremy Walker writes in his new book The Brokenhearted Evangelist,

We cannot say when [conversion] will occur. It might be many years in the future that fruit might be borne of our present efforts, long after some of us who labor and pray have ourselves gone to be with the Lord (if Christ does not first return). Who knows how many words of truth will come back to the minds of those who have read them? Who knows if some of those who hear preaching outside church buildings might travel thousands of miles before remembering that they once heard someone offer salvation from sins in Christ Jesus and repent and believe for their salvation?

A young boy named Luke Short once heard the eminent Puritan John Flavel preaching in Dartmouth. That boy grew and immigrated to New England, leading a life without much thought of God. Michael Boland describes what happened years later: “One day as [Luke Short] sat in his fields reflecting upon his long life, he recalled a sermon he had heard in Dartmouth as a boy before he sailed to America. The horror of dying under the curse of God was impressed upon him as he meditated on the words he had heard so long ago and he was converted to Christ – eighty-five years after hearing John Flavel preach.”

The words Short heard so many years before from the faithful preacher of God’s Word came back to his mind with converting power, and he was saved through the instrumentality of a decades-old sermon. Perhaps parents whose children now are heading away from God will one day welcome their once-wayward offspring into the land of glory. Perhaps some of those nameless and faceless strangers for whom we pray shall, as a result of our prayers, be brought to faith in Christ many years after our praying tongues have been silenced by death. It might be immediate: Why should we not expect people to come in, hear, and be saved? Is that not within God’s power? It is not impossible that a sinner of any stripe should walk through the doors of a church building during a sermon or overhear two Christians speaking of their beloved Savior or pick up a tract or return to an old invitation or bump into an hold friend recently converted, and be within moments redeemed from sin and death and hell. God’s power is sufficient to prevent us imposing any limitations of time, either of shortness or length. We cannot say when sinners will be converted.

Indeed, we do not know when sinners will be converted through repentant faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, but repent they will. As Jeremy Walker previously writes on page 134 regarding Psalm 51:13,

it is God’s sovereign pleasure and solemn promise to crown faithful gospel preaching with genuine gospel success.

May we continue to be faithful in our proclamation of the Gospel, trusting the Lord to bring His sheep into the sheepfold through the means of preaching Christ and His marvelous work on Calvary.

The Brokenhearted Evangelist can be purchased for $11 at Reformation Heritage Books.

Letter from John Newton to a friend concerning godly church members -

July 7, 1777
 
Sir,

I have had a letter from your minister since his arrival at--. I hope he will be restored to you again before long, and that he and many of your place will rejoice long in each other. Those are favoured places which are blessed with a sound and faithful Gospel ministry, if the people know and consider the value of their privileges, and are really desirous of profiting by them: but the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.

I hope those who profess the Gospel with you will wrestle in prayer for grace to walk worthy of it. A minister's hands are strengthened, when he can point to his people as so many living proofs that the doctrines he preaches are doctrines according to godliness; when they walk in mutual love; when each one, in their several places, manifests a humble, spiritual, upright conduct; when they are Christians, not only at church, but in the family, the shop, and the field; when they fill up their relations in life, as husbands or wives, masters or servants, parents or children, according to the rule of the word; when they are evidently a people separated from the world while conversant in it, and are careful to let their light shine before men, not only by talking, but by acting as the disciples of Christ: when they go on steadily, not by fits and starts, prizing the means of grace without resting in them: when it is thus, we can say, Now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord.

Then we come forth with pleasure, and our service is our delight, and we are encouraged to hope for an increasing blessing. But if the people in whom we have rejoiced sink into formality or a worldly spirit; if they have dissensions and jealousies among themselves; if they act improperly, and give the enemies occasion to say, There, there, so would we have it; then our hearts are wounded and our zeal damped, and we know not how to speak with liberty.

It is my heart's desire and prayer for you, that whether I see you, or else be absent from you, I may know that you stand fast in one spirit and one mind striving together for the faith of the Gospel.

I am, &c,

Dixon 5K Run Evangelism Outreach

His Feet on the Street once again (Getting to be a good habit) joined up with it's most favored local evangelist, Vernon Costolo from Proclaiming the Truth ministries, for the Collins Dixon 5K run hosted at First Baptist Canton. His Feet also had the pleasure of sharing the good news alongside an evangelist we hope to see very often, Jason Fleming.

The 5K run was hosted at First Baptist Canton and was created in honor of a young man named Collins Dixon. The run was to raise an awareness of brain cancer; the cancer that eventually took the life of young Collins Dixon.

Vernon, Jason and myself got ourselves in position with our crosses for the more than 600 runners to focus on when they took off from the starting line and when they headed back.

While we were holding our crosses, Cam was handing out tracts and giving shout outs to those we knew who were running the race.

I think I promised Vernon it was not going to rain....I still don't think it did...Those were just very heavy mist drops Vernon ;)

After the run was over we put up the crosses and took out the tracts and proceeded to descend upon the masses (estimated 750-1000 people overall) that were hanging out in the First Baptist Canton parking lot.

I'm sure we handed out well over three hundred tracts in the short time we were there. We were encouraged by several folks who told us to keep it up and we were doing a great job.

Of course, this goes without saying if you know me, but all glory and praise goes to God alone; we were humbled to be serving the King at this local event in our hometown.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Independence Day Report -

I had the honor of teaming up with Vernon Costolo of Proclaiming the Truth for the first part of the Independence Day activities very early that morning in Woodstock for the 5k run and the parade that followed.

Vernon and I were able to hold our crosses for the runners to see as they started the race, after they turned around and headed back, and as they were about to cross the finish line.

Unlike the previous night while holding our crosses in Woodstock, we did not have any derogatory remarks that I can recall :)

Side track for a moment -

The above photo was taken the night before on July 3rd. Left to right: Me, Jason and Jonathan. Brother Vernon gathered us together for a photo after we all manned a corner in downtown Woodstock for a couple hours.

It was a real pleasure meeting these other Jesus Freaks and I hope to be out with them again very soon!

While on my corner holding the cross I had a couple one finger salutes and was thrown into good company when one motorist cursed Jesus and me in the same breath. Once, while the traffic was stopped and waiting on the light to turn, a fellow told me it was "a beautiful day to be white; isn't it?". To which I responded, "Did you get one of these?" and handed him a Are You Ready tract.

I also had a brief conversation with a lady who told me she was going to Heaven because she was a good person. I gently corrected her and rebuke her self-righteousness to which she responded, "I will have you know that I am Greek Orthodox and we are the first Christians." She went on to tell me that she listens to sermons and prays all day long. I asked her again what was she trusting in to get to Heaven and she told me again, "..my good works..". I started going through the law with her when a young man walked up with his ear-phones blaring.

I gave him a tract while I was talking to the lady. The tract I gave him was an Are You Ready tract that has a picture of a tombstone with the words on it, "Your Name Here". He asked me if I was selling burial plots. I started to laugh but thought about the surrounding scene and it kind of made sense from his perspective in a worldly way.

By now I am trying to engage them both in conversation and the lady started asking why the light was not turning so she could cross the street. I said maybe it was because  she was supposed to stand here and talk to me. She didn't think that was why and when that light did turn she booked it on across the street.

Ok...back to the morning of the 4th -

After Vernon and I held the crosses for the 5k run, we went around and handed out some tracts and hoped for some conversations.

While handing out some tracts we ran into a Mormon...scuse me...a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints as the person politely corrected me. He was dressed in a Karate uniform and we talked about that for a few minutes and then steered the conversation into the direction of the things of God.

The young man was very nice and gave nice little answers to questions I was asking him. He said just enough of the truth to sound almost right.

He was very happy to answer the questions until Vernon asked him about his belief that Jesus and Satan are brothers. Yes, he admitted, that was so.

Vernon asked him about his belief that he himself would be a god one day and have little god babies on his very own planet. Yes, he admitted, that was so.

Vernon challenged him to find any of those things in the Bible.

The young man then questioned the authenticity of the Bible due to "it's many translations". Things went quickly south from there and the young man was now in a hurry to get to his group for his Karate demonstrations.

After that, we ran into a group of folks who were handing out books and literature and cold lemonade. The group, Seven Day Adventists, was from the church across the street. We talked to very nice gentlemen who told us several things about his churches doctrine.

They believe in annihilation of a person who dies without "accepting" Jesus while on Earth. They do not believe in the everlasting punishment of Hell that the Bible teaches and that Jesus talks about in the gospel of Matthew or that Paul describes in Thessalonians.

After the conversation with the SDA man, Vernon and I called it a morning and we headed on home.

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Later that evening my wife and I, along with my ministry partner Cam, handed out right at 1,800 tracts to folks who were sitting around and waiting on the fireworks show to start in Canton.

Silly me forgot to bring the camera ;(

We had a couple great gospel sharing conversations along the way and only one weird incident.

I had just handed out tracts to four people standing around a building and started to walk over to another group when the oldest person of the group who I just handed tracts to wanted me to take his tract back.

He said, "I don't have my glasses with me, so you should take this back". I told him that was Ok, he could take it home with him and read it there..have a happy 4th! It was at this point he fold the tract up and started violently ripping it to pieces. I said, "You're tearing up the tract?"

He then pointed at me and yelled, "You are the kind of people who give Christianity a bad name!!!"

I asked him what I said or did that made him so angry. He went on to tell me he was a Christian and didn't like the kinds of me.

I started to try to have a conversation with him but my wife took me by the arm and said let's move on. She said something to me about swines and pearls.

I almost let this incident steal my joy of sharing the life saving gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; it weighed on my mind the rest of the night.

Sure, I have been yelled at before. I have had people so mad at me they were almost spitting in my face. I have had people throw gospel tracts back at me or hand them back to me while cursing me.

But something was different with this particular incident and I could not put my finger on it.

Anyway, the rest of the evening went without incident and I had the pleasure of sharing Christ to a group of four and a young couple a little bit later.

I pray that God receives all the glory that He is so worthy to receive. I pray that God uses the tracts and the conversations to bring many to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

Thank you Father for so great a salvation!

Soli Deo Gloria -

Independence Day Celebration Outreach!

Wooo Hoooo!

It is that time of year again when His Feet on the Street has its biggest outreach day of the year; Independence Day!

Each year, thousands of people gather together in Canton and hang out for a few hours while waiting for the big fireworks show. This is a perfect time to put a gospel tract in a hand and maybe have a one-to-one life-changing conversation with someone who does not know Christ.

Christian, wanna help us?

If you will be in the Canton area and, if all you were going to do was just sit around and sweat while waiting for the fireworks to start, come out and join us and sweat while handing out tracts, having one-to-one conversation or praying for us while we intentially go into our part of the world seeking lost people.

If you are a little scared, don't worry, I will be too. We can be scared together for Christ!

If you are a little bit shy, don't worry, I am too. We can be shy together for Christ!

If you are __________ (fill in the blank) don't worry, I am too! We can be _____ together for Christ.

If you have never handed out a tract before, I will teach you how in a quick 10 second lesson.



Meet us in front of Hibbits Sports at 6:30pm (In the Riverstone Shopping Center) on Wednesday the 4th of July!

If you have tracts, bring em. If not, we will bring some for you -

Come join us!

Evangelistic Zeal -

"In vain do we seek to awaken our churches to zeal in evangelism as a separate thing. To be genuine it must flow from love to Christ. It is when a sense of personal communion with the Son of God is highest that we shall be most fit for missionary work, either ourselves or to stir up others."

-Archibald Alexander

No Evangelism Team is Complete Without a 'Fran'

One the most important roles in evangelism is prayer. When His Feet is out witnessing we always start out with fervent prayer. We have had many people over the years come along side of us and just pray while we witnessed.

This is huge.

Here to articulate this most important part of an evangelism ministry is an article from Tony Miano over at "On the Box". Please take the time to read it and consider coming out with His Feet sometime and just praying while we take the gospel to the lost.

Fran is not an open-air preacher. She doesn't engage a lot of strangers in conversation. She won't set any records for distributing gospel tracts. In fact, she is so new to biblical evangelism, she is content remaining in the background when she joins her church's evangelism team on the streets.

But make no mistake. Fran is one of, if not the, most important person on her evangelism team. In fact, I will go as far as to say no evangelism team is complete without someone like Fran.

Fran prays.

That's what she's doing in the above picture. Fran is praying for the person atop the box heralding the gospel. She is praying for her team members who are distributing tracts. And she is praying for her team members engaged in one-to-one conversations.

Fran prays.

"You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many" (2 Corinthians 1:11).

"Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak" (Colossians 4:2-4).

"Brothers, pray for us" (1 Thessalonians 5:25).

"Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one" (2 Thessalonians 3:1-3).

Paul knew very well how important it was to have his Christian brethren praying for him as he engaged in harvest work--the work of evangelism.

Sadly, in today's street evangelism community, praying saints who may not be overt in their personal evangelism efforts are often relegated to a place of secondary importance on evangelism teams (if they are even considered part of the time, in the first place). How very foolish at times we evangelists are!

I thank God for faithful, precious saints like Fran--Christian brethren who not only see the importance of prayer, but also pray. They are the troops assigned to guard the flanks of the charging army. They are the operators of the lines of communication between the front lines and headquarters. They are the M.A.S.H. and U.S.O.--the nurses and comforters--for soldiers far from home. Praying saints are the interceding soul of an evangelism team, whether they join the team on the field of battle or remain in the camp.

No evangelism team is complete without a "Fran." And I am thankful to God and to Fran for showing me this important truth this last weekend, in Syracuse, New York.

Who are the "Frans" of your evangelism team? I'm going to start recruiting mine, today!

Backsliding in 9 Easy Steps

Tim Challies from Challies.com, shares with us today "How to Backslide in 9 Easy Steps" that he has drawn from John Bunyan's great book Pilgrim's Progress.

1. Stop meditating on the gospel. “They draw off their thoughts, all that they may, from the remembrance of God, death, and judgment to come.”
2. Neglect your devotions and stop battling sin. “Then they cast off by degrees private duties, as closet prayer, curbing their lusts, watching, sorrow for sin, and the like.”
3. Isolate yourself from Christian fellowship. “Then they shun the company of lively and warm Christians.”
4. Stop going to church. “After that, they grow cold to public duty, as hearing, reading, godly conference, and the like.”
5. Determine that Christians are hypocrites because they continue to sin. “They then begin to pick holes, as we say, in the coats of some of the godly, and that devilishly, that they may have a seeming color to throw religion (for the sake of some infirmities they have espied in them) behind their backs.”
6. Trade Christian community for distinctly unChristian company. “Then they begin to adhere to, and associate themselves with, carnal, loose, and wanton men.”
7. Pursue rebellious conversation and fellowship. “Then they give way to carnal and wanton discourses in secret; and glad are they if they can see such things in any that are counted honest, that they may the more boldly do it through their example.”
8. Allow yourself to enjoy some small, sinful pleasures. “After this they begin to play with little sins openly.”
9. Admit what you are and prepare yourself for everlasting torment. “And then, being hardened, they show themselves as they are. Thus, being launched again into the gulf of misery, unless a miracle of grace prevent it, they everlastingly perish in their own deceivings.”

The case with self-righteousness

A television news story revealed that a well-known football player was having trouble with his memory. He would walk outside, remember that he had forgotten something, then go back in the house. By the time he got inside, he had forgotten what he went back for.

This greatly concerned him. The story then mentioned that the player had received ten concussions in his football career. Slow-motion video clips showed him being tackled and violently hitting the ground.

At that moment I realized something I have never heard anyone mention. Although rugby, which is very popular in New Zealand, is as violent as football, there is one major difference. Americans are aghast that rugby players don’t wear helmets or protective padding. Rugby players get bruised, they pull muscles, and they get bloody noses, yet concussions are reasonably rare. I have never heard of a player having multiple concussions, let alone ten!

I would suggest that the reason football players have concussions is that they wear protective helmets. Rugby players have an instinct to protect their heads when they tackle or fall. As they hit the ground, they instinctively hold their heads up. Football players, on the other hand, use their helmeted heads as battering rams. When they hit the ground, their head recoils, and the seven-pound helmet gives the head an even greater impact.

I may be wrong, but it seems that what they are trusting to protect their heads is the very thing that is causing the damage.

This is the case with self-righteousness. Sinners are deceived into thinking that they are inherently good, and that their good works are pleasing in the sight of God. After all, how could doing good be bad? Their good deeds may be good for society, but they won’t do them any good on the Day of Judgment. In fact, their good works have a bad result because the self-righteous don’t see their need of a Savior.

The very thing that they think is helping them is doing them eternal damage.

This is why it is so important to instill the Moral Law into young minds, before children learn to become self-righteous, to show them the standard of goodness that God requires. Its power, under the Holy Spirit, will help your children steer clear of the deception of self-righteousness, and bring them to the righteousness that is in Christ alone.

Ray Comfort

(Excerpted from How to Bring Your Children to Christ…& Keep Them There, p. 66–68.)

Evangelism and the local church

 

 

The roots of evangelism are embedded in the local church which derives its life from Christ, as he is set forth in the whole of Scripture. The members evangelise as they are nourished by the preaching, strengthened by the corporate prayer and worship of the church and encouraged by fellowship.

 

Christians who abide in Christ by abiding in a true local church will evangelise spontaneously. They can do no other. If the churches are not producing evangelism in this spontaneous way, the way to recovery is not by the imposition of organised efforts upon the churches from without. The only way is by reformation and revival taking place within.

Rev. Erroll Hulse

Three-fer Saturday!

His Feet on the Street completed a "Hat Trick" Saturday hitting three big events in Cherokee County.

Vernon Costolo from "Proclaiming the Truth" joined His Feet for the first event of the day at the Canton Art's and Craft's Show in Canton, Georgia. We were able to hand out a few hundred tracts and have some great gospel sharing conversations before Vernon had to go to work  -

Vernon found a very friendly spot to stand and hand out some tracts; the parking lot of the Canton Police Department :)

                                                Evangelism Warriors Cam and Vernon

Cam Sharing with a young couple

Cam sharing with an older couple (we don't discriminate!)

Discussing the Law while the law looked on -





After we left the Art's and Craft's show, we went and got a bite to eat and then headed over to Ball Ground's Heritage Day Festival. While we were there we had a few good conversations and handed out a couple hundred Gospel tracts!



After a couple hours at Heritage Day, we headed back to Canton for the monthly Car Show where we were able to hand out a few hundred more Gospel tracts and talk to several people in about an hour and half before the rain came.

We praise and give all glory to God for the opportunities He gave us to share the Gospel and hand out tracts to receptive hands. We pray that God was glorified and Jesus was proclaimed mightily-

We pray that through the conversations and the tracts, God leads many to repentance and faith in the Name above all names; Jesus Christ.