A Christmas Perspective

It's Christmas again ! Lights and trees are going up everywhere. Parties have already been planned. The stores and malls are being filled with gift seekers
For those of us who are saved, we focus on the Reason for the Season:
Jesus !

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. (Matthew 1:23 KJV)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-5, 10-14 KJV)

He came down so that he could lift us up ! He was born to die ! He that knew no sin became sin for us ! He gave the greatest gift of all: Himself ! Let this be the most Christ-filled Christmas that you have ever had ! As we give gifts, think about the one true Gift ! Jesus is what Christmas is all about !

Soul Patrol !

pa·trol (p-trl)
n.
1. The act of moving about an area especially by an authorized and trained person or group, for purposes of observation, inspection, or security.
2. A person or group of persons who perform such an act.

As Christians, we observe that people need the Lord. You might can say that we are on soul patrol, looking for souls to witness to. We are pointing souls to Calvary; to where we have been to receive forgiveness of our sins.
The tract in the picture is from the latest supply of tracts from The Bezeugen Tract Club. At the Walmart gas pumps tonight, I observed that there was a young man working on his speakers in the trunk of his car. I pulled out this tract out of my tract holder. As I gave it to him, I told him that I hoped that he had a Merry Christmas and that I was part of the soul patrol ! The tract talks about the symbolism behind the legend of the candy cane and ties it in with the gospel message. Christmas time can give us opportunities to witness about our great salvation. I'm glad that I'm part of the soul patrol !

Reflections Of Thanksgiving

It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night, (Psalm 92:1, 2 KJV)

At Thanksgiving time in America, we reflect on what we are thankful for. As Christians, we should be thankful at all times. We have been saved through the shed blood of Jesus ! We have been given the privilege to share our faith in Him ! Thanksgiving day has come and gone, but we can be thankful all year long. I am thankful for the opportunity to share my faith. I am thankful that I can even blog about my faith and the experiences that I have in doing so with my fellow laborers in the gospel. I am thankful to be alive ! As I posted a few months back,I wrecked my truck in a drunken state on New Year's morning in 1993. I was saved two months later. The Lord is so good ! I will post more about that night when the new year comes around. I am thankful for my wife, my three children, my family, my church, my pastor, my friends, my job, and my boss. Thanks to everyone that has taken the time to read our blog entries. We pray that we will continue to encourage you in witnessing. There are so many that aren't saved ! Let's be thankful for being able to proclaim the the name of Jesus ! I will leave you with this illustration I used in the message I preached at our church tonight :

Roland Allen tells about a veteran missionary who came up to him one day after he had delivered his sermon. The missionary introduced himself & said, "I was a medical missionary for many years in India. And I served in a region where there was progressive blindness. People were born with healthy vision, but there was something in that area that caused people to lose their sight as they grew older."

But this missionary had developed a treatment which would stop progressive blindness. So people came to him & he performed his treatment, & they would leave realizing that they would have become completely blind, but because of him their sight had been saved.

He said that they never said, "Thank you," because that phrase was not in their dialect. Instead, they spoke a word that meant, "I will tell your name." Wherever they went, they would tell the name of the missionary who had cured their blindness. They had received something so wonderful that they eagerly proclaimed it.
God bless !

Evangelism Update - November 25, 2011

But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit. But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. (Jude 1:17-23 KJV)

We had a revival at our church (Sterlington Holiness Tabernacle) a few weeks ago with Bro. Shawn Stephens who pastors in Kentucky. The messages that were preached challenged us. He and his sons blessed us with the songs they sung and played. We picked up John for most of the services. He is one of the homeless men that we talked to the last time we preached at Walmart. Please pray for the Lord to meet some needs for him.
I have been witnessing when I can. Here are some names of a few Spanish men that I have talked to : Julio, Catalina, and Nicolas. One night at Walmart I gave tracts to seven.
Bro. Day and I went to Claiborne Parish Detention Center on Wednesday night. There was at least fifty men in the service. I talked with Jose who was bilingual. Rakeen prayed for salvation at the end of the service ! Hallelujah !! This is what it is all about ! We do have several pray from time to time. Some come to just play the part, but you can tell who is really sincere. It is really evident when the tears flow. One of the men who has really been saved was sent to a half-way house in Baton Rouge. He even wrote a tract ! We are praying that God will use him there as he prepares to get out. The in-house pastor has gone, also, after serving his time. A new pastor has been appointed to replace him. At Walmart tonight, I ran into a Sacred Name believer that I have talked to before. He is always argumentative. He is one of those who believes that God's name is Yahweh only. This religion basically goes back to Judaism, keeping the Sabbath on Saturday and denying that Jesus is God, the second person of the Trinity.
I try to get away from him as soon as he starts his talk. Please pray that he will realize the truth before it's too late. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life ( John 14:6 ) ! I heard that he used to to be a oneness Pentecostal. While he was talking with me, I gave a tract to a Spanish man. That was my goal before I ran into him. Have a great soul-winning week !

Happy Thanksgiving - 2011

May God bless you and yours on this day as we give thanks to Him for all that He has done.

Soul-Winning Words

"If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for."    Charles Spurgeon

Go And Tell !

What a great commission for the Christian : to go and tell of the great things that the Lord has done ! It is a joy to talk about how much compassion He has for us ! This man in Mark 5 was bound by spiritual chains when chains that were made by men couldn't hold him. He was wild. He cut himself with stones. He was possessed by devils. Then, the Gadarene met the Nazarene ! Jesus came and set him free ! Do you remember that day when you were set free ? The chains were broken ! You called upon the name of the Lord ! You got saved ! You were blind, but now you see ! Jesus told you to go and tell of what he has done for you ! I was reading this passage in March of 1993 when I lived in Shreveport. The Lord was telling me to go home to witness for him. I came back to West Monroe the next month. I witnessed to everyone that I came in contact with. I witnessed on the job. I told all my friends what the Lord had done for me ! I did lose a lot of friends, but God gave me new ones ! I am still going and telling ! The commandments from the Lord through His word are not grievous !
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:3-5 KJV)
Be encouraged ! It is joy in obeying the commandment to go and tell ! The first two letters in Gospel is go ! Let's go and tell today !

Soul- Winning Words

The 3.5 billion unreached people on earth would form a single file line that would stretch around the equator 25 times! Can you picture 25 lines of Christless people, trampling endlessly toward hell? Let that vision stay with you day and night.
-Larry Stockstill

Soul-Winning Words

" The faith that you claim to have, if you have no desire to give it away, then you probably ought to give it up. You don't have the real thing. "

Adrian Rogers

Soul-Winning Scripture - November 14, 2011

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16 KJV)

Christians are a reflection of the Lord Jesus Christ. We shine as lights in this dark world because Jesus is the light of the world. In Him there is no darkness. As the moon reflects the sun at night, we reflect light of the Son of God to a lost and dying world! Let's shine for Jesus !

New Spanish Blog

I started a new blog called " Ganar Almas En El Norte De Louisiana. " Prayerfully, this will encourage Spanish-speaking Christians to share their faith. Also, I would like to encourage others to learn Spanish. I am not very fluent, but I know enough to witness if I talk to someone that doesn't know English. The Lord has given me a burden for those who speak Spanish. I pray that I can learn more as I do this blog. It will consist of entries from this blog, Spanish related entries, and spotlights on Spanish ministries. You view this by going to the profile on this blog. Thanks ! God Bless !
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They Are Watching !

I went to Walmart after work today. As I was leaving, the woman at the door asked " Do you have any pamphlets today ? " I said " I sure do ! " I gave one to her and a co-worker ! I try my best to make sure that I have tracts with me all the time. A man that I used to work with at Sam's will ask me for them everytime I see him ! He will ask " What do you have for me ? " I had to go to the car once when I didn't have any on me. It pays to be ready ! Are you being consistent in witnessing ? If you find it hard to do, pray for God to help you and give you opportunities to witness or pass out tracts. There is joy in soul-winning !