It's Not That Hard

For my yoke is easy, my burden is light. (Matthew 11:30)

I am amazed at myself sometimes. Sometimes I want go full out and I engage the person who's getting gas next to me at the gas station and hand them a tract. Other times I chicken out as I get ready to hand them a tract I quickly tuck it back away in my car. Oh, what the enemy likes to do with my self-righteousness and fear sometimes! I am reminded of Paul who said in Romans 7:15 "For that which I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate." Ah, it's nice to know that Paul was human too.

I continue to be alarmed at professing Christians who just downright don't witness. I understand though because well I was one of them. No sense of urgency. It's not that I didn't care I just didn't feel it was necessary....well, because everyone I was around was a Christian in this so called Bible Belt? I was surrounded by church goers who knew that you had to be born again to inherit the Kingdom of God, right? I was just going to keep on going to church and hope that people would take notice that I was a God loving church goer! How prideful and selfish I was! That doesn't save people!

It's not just a matter of opening your mouth and saying the right thing at the perfect time. It's more than than. It is preaching the gospel of Christ. It's telling others of his judgment and that we all will stand before Him when we die or when He returns regardless if we believe it or not. As Romans 14:12 says, "So then each one of us shall give account of himself to God." This is what grows my fear of God knowing that I will have to account myself to God! I will be in reverential awe and terrified at the same time!

I will have no excuse for not sharing how our Lord and Savior came down in the flesh to save us all for our sins. There are people who don't know this and there are some who do but are not living it! My hunger, my thirst is to tell others. Even if it's just passing out tracts or leaving them in restrooms, stores, ATM's, grocery carts. It's not HARD! So who cares what people think about you -- it's not about YOU! It's to glorify and edify our Lord. And, I have to tell myself this a lot. Romans 13:14, says "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts." My flesh doesn't always want to but my love for my Savior and the countless lost keep me going.

For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels. Luke 9:25-26.

As you read this, if you are not striving to witness on a daily basis ask yourself why? I was reading a very good answer to this question recently from Tony Miano from The LawMan Chronicles. Here is an excerpt from his blog entry: Now That's A Great Question!

"When you ask Christians why they don't share their faith, listen for the personal pronouns they use as they give their answers. They will most likely be in the first person singular form. "I'm afraid I won't be able to answer their questions. I don't want to get into arguments. I don't want to jeopardize the relationships I worked so hard to build. I could lose my job. My wife might leave me. I don't want to look like a Bible thumper. I'm just too nervous around strangers. I don't want to seem judgmental. I live my life in a certain way and then I wait for people to ask me what is different about me.....then I invite them to church." And the list goes on.

The sad truth is this. The reasons Christians give for not sharing their faith with the lost reveals that they care more about themselves than they do about where lost people will spend eternity. The reasons (excuses) Christians give for not sharing their faith have everything to do with their own preservation, and have very little to do with the unbeliever's salvation." Read full blog post here.

All I can say is a big ouch to that -- boy does that hurt my ego. What do we value more? It was and still is a hard question for me. Something I wrestle with every day. But the solution is easy -- I don't trust in myself -- I trust that God will deliver me from the irrational fears and doubts. I pray that he will continue to make me bold as a lion. It's not our strength that does it and if we rely on that we will fail. It is God who opens up the harvest -- not me. Even if I see no one come to repentance like Jeremiah did his whole ministry -- I will press on.

I encourage everyone to open some of the links listed to the right and see what tracts you can purchase. Even if all you can do is leave tracts that someone might read and receive the gospel and truth of God's word it is worth the effort. What if that one person you engaged in conversation or even gave a tract to was forever changed by it?

But even before you begin this journey, there is one important question you must ask yourself. Are you right with God? Are you sincerely seeking after Him with a hatred of sin in your heart? Do you love Him enough to follow His commandments and reject the world and its lust to seek Him earnestly?

Our actions are attributed to what we believe in.

Ask yourself.

Do you really believe in Him enough to reach others?

Interview with Paul Washer

Please watch this candid interview with the WOTM team and Paul Washer who very touchingly describes what he does and why. Hear what he tells a guy who said that he was living in complete misery and what is happening to the gospel of Christ in America.

Paul Washer: "We are never going to advance the Kingdom of God by being politically correct. And if we love people we are going to tell them the truth even if they hate us."


My Prayer: "My Father in Heaven, continue to give me a loving heart that cares for people's souls more than what they think about me."

Born Again...What does it Mean?

(Video is 10.5 minutes)

Quotable Quotes

"For those of you that are in here living a double life–coming here on Sunday but living like the devil during the week, and thinking that no one knows about it–understand that you are absolutely living on borrowed time. God will expose your sin either in this life or when the judgment comes, take your pick, neither one is going to be very pretty. So you might as well just get serious about repentance now and try and–like Nineveh–call on and see if God won’t relent and withdraw His burning anger against your hypocrisy. Because you do not get away with sin – ever!"

Don Green (Grace Community Church)

Piper on Prosperity

Desiring God

What's Wrong With Our Bibles?

I recently mentioned in And the Wind Doth Blow that we are to be very careful about the things we are reading in the 21st century. This includes Bibles too. If people say that it doesn't say that in their Bible...it might be true! And for clarification, I am mainly talking about Bibles such as The Message that is a complete man-made version of the word of God. However, I do think some things regarding other versions are worth mentioning.

Let me give you some examples:

The New International Version (NIV) deletes more than 64,000 words or phrases from the Bible and more than 40 COMPLETE verses. Try to find Acts 8:37, Matthew 17:21 or Mark 11:26 in the NIV -- you won't find them. Some of the missing verses are actually in the footnotes. Who looks at the footnotes when looking for a verse in the Bible? I don't and therefore most don't even know a particular verse is even missing. This can lead to confusion and complete misunderstanding of the words of our Lord.

The same missing verses in the NIV are also missing in the New World Translation (Jehovah's Witness "Bible") and is similar to those missing in the New American Standard (NASB). I do not want to use Bibles that portray and mimic false doctrine.

In 1 John 5:7 of the NIV and the JW Bible the very important phrase "the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost; these three are one" is deleted. No wonder JW's are confused about the Trinity!

The New King James version omits 20,066 words from the authorized King James Bible and has 100,000 word changes.

The New American Standard Bible (NASB) is full of changed words and phrases. You can check out those in particular here.).

"Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar" (Proverbs 30:5-6)

Can you guess what "bible", book, chapter and verse this is? "How well God must like you - you don't hang out at Sin-Saloon, you don't slick along dead-end road, you don't go to Smart-Mouth College." I'm sure you are thinking is that in a bible somewhere? Seriously...it is. It is The Message "translation" of Psalm 1:1 which in the KJV says, "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful." The Message is full of New Age darkness.

The word sodomite (homosexual) will not be found in the NIV. That word was "replaced" with male or female prostitutes. Why? Because the chairman of the NIV Old Testament Committee was a homosexual.

Here's what Robert Baker said in a booklet he wrote on this topic in 1997.

"Jesus Christ said, "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life." (John 6:63) Removing or adding to Jesus’ words results in preaching "another gospel," which is not the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul implies that preaching another gospel leads people to receive "another Jesus" and "another spirit." (II Corinthians 11:4) I Peter 1:23,25 shows that there is a direct correlation between the preaching of the pure Word of God and spiritual regeneration: "Being born again, not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible, but by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever…and this is the word by which the gospel is preached unto you.

The prophet Amos spoke of a day in which there would be a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. (Amos 8:11) Today, man-centered messages and experiences have largely replaced the expository teaching of the Word of God. Often missing from the Gospel presentation are vital doctrines of the Christian faith, such as the cross, the blood atonement, genuine faith, repentance, sanctification and judgment. Many in the church are busy serving, like Martha, but few are hearing Jesus’ words, as Mary did. (Luke 10:38-42) Deprived of the Bread of Life, many who profess to be Christians have an outward form of godliness but, perhaps unknowingly, do not possess true spiritual life."

I for one do not want to be receiving somebody else's gospel or interpretation of the gospel. God's Word is being more and more destroyed and changed. We must fight to be keepers of the truth of His word. The lovers of sin are changing the words of the Bible so that it will fit their lifestyle.

I am not advocating that we don't use these versions as God's word just cross-reference when possible in your studies.

"The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever." (Psalms 12:6-7)

Out With the New, In With the Old

Lately, I have been throwing away all the "new" and unbiblical ways of thinking and going back to the old. There is nothing that compares with the way the Puritans prayed, studied the Bible and lived their lives compassionately for the Lord.

I came across this Puritan prayer called Resting On God (adapted from The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions).

O God, most high, most glorious, the thought of Thine infinite serenity cheers me, for I am toiling and moiling, troubled and distressed, but Thou art for ever at perfect peace. Thy designs cause thee no fear or care of unfulfilment, they stand fast as the eternal hills. Thy power knows no bond, Thy goodness no stint. Thou bringest order out of confusion, and my defeats are Thy victories: The Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

I come to Thee as a sinner with cares and sorrows, to leave every concern entirely to Thee, every sin calling for Christ's precious blood; revive deep spirituality in my heart; let me live near to the great Shepherd, hear His voice, know its tones, follow its calls. Keep me from deception by causing me to abide in the truth, from harm by helping me to walk in the power of the Spirit. Give me intenser faith in the eternal verities, burning into me by experience the things I know; Let me never be ashamed of the truth of the gospel, that I may bear its reproach, vindicate it, see Jesus as its essence, know in it the power of the Spirit.

Lord, help me, for I am often lukewarm and chill; unbelief mars my confidence, sin makes me forget Thee. Let the weeds that grow in my soul be cut at their roots; grant me to know that I truly live only when I live to Thee, that all else is trifling. Thy presence alone can make me holy, devout, strong and happy. Abide in me, gracious God.