An Unexpected Evening of Evangelism Training

This afternoon I received a message that some "Christian people" (as I heard someone once refer to them) were going to meet in the city square for an evening of evangelism. I quickly made plans to go, since I was also hoping to do so this weekend. With all the people out tonight, it was amazing to also see so many Christians of various church affiliations out tonight passing out tracts, preaching, and just sharing the gospel with anyone willing to listen.

I met a young brother in Christ, A., who had come out for the first time to learn about street evangelism. I spoke with him about the gospel and some ways that I like to meet people and asked if he would like to accompany me. I later learned that he is a religious studies major who wants to specialize in evangelism. He asked me how long I had been doing this. It is amazing, but this blog was started seven years ago, so I have been going to the streets to share the gospel for more than ten years now.

Very quickly we met a young passerby, I., who was willing to stop and talk for a few minutes. A few minutes turned into something like a half an hour as this young man expressed his struggle with faith as the child of a Christian home who, now, after beginning a science major, finds himself helplessly agnostic. We connected right away and spoke for a long time. He seemed to grasp everything I said and everything I shared with him from the Bible, especially on the topic of faith. I recommended three churches nearby his campus where he could go to learn more. My prayer is that I will see him again in one of them and follow up with him.

My young partner and I had a very healthy discussion afterward about the gospel, languages and Biblical evangelism and apologetics. I also pray for his future in this kind of ministry as he learns and grows.

Then I met T. from Haiti. We spoke in Spanish, because he said his English is not so good yet. He would like to meet me again, so he asked if I will be there tomorrow. I told him I plan to be in the morning. In either case, I said, "Que Dios le cuide" (May God take care of you). My prayer for him is that God would lead him to know the Scriptures and read them more as God leads him in faith through Jesus Christ.

So much more I could say about tonight, but I am tired and I have some studying to do. I must say, I am grateful that God has been merciful and gracious to me, one so undeserving. I pray for the glory and praise of the Lord as He works a new creation in us, His people. Amen. 

Morning Good News at the Square

The good news. It was an ironic morning. I met up with a man who, in a certain aspect, resembles the governor of Pennsylvania. He is a dear Christian brother who wants others to know the God of the Bible, Jesus Christ. We grabbed some coffee and had an edifying conversation. Afterwards, we hit the street to talk to people and pass out tracks.

People are full of stories. While Tom spoke with a man who appeared to be in his seventies about his new experience in joining a church, I spoke with Luis, a quiet Puertoriqueño (Puerto Rican — Latin Americans don't refer to themselves as "Spanish" unless they are from Spain, in which case they are not Latin American, so it's best to just ask their heritage). We talked about everything from the gospel of God's grace (la buena nueva de la gracia de Dios) to family and children and church (familia, hijos, iglesia). He told me he reads la Biblia at home, so I took the opportunity to recommend a good church in the area for him to look into. God bless Luis!

There was a gentleman on the wall from SW Philadelphia. I can't remember his name, but he was a real nice guy and we talked. I should do better at remembering everyone's name.

Caleb came walking over pointing to his shirt. It said, "Play Hard and Pray Hard." He told us his basketball team, members of which were fired up for the gospel, was travelling for a tournament. He agreed to pray for us. The Biblical figure Caleb was a man of rock-solid faith. He wouldn't back down at the sight of Israel's tall enemies, but quieted the people's fears with words of encouragement (Numbers 13:30).

Tom had a sign on that wall with the question: "Are you going to heaven? Free test." So as people passed by, I asked them if they new the answer to that question. There was a young couple passing by who stopped, willing to hear the question. The young man answered, "I know I am going." He responded to my "why" question with, "Because I believe in Jesus." So I asked why he should be accepted by God as a believer in Jesus and not millions of other people who don't believe in Jesus; like Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and others. He said that was too deep a question. Of course, I pointed out that it's no deeper than the thoughts we all have concerning these things. They both seemed very eager to hear me explain the answer. My response was along the lines that the good news in Romans 1–5 shows how sinners need to receive a perfect sacrifice of blood and righteousness from Christ, who provided it on the cross and empty tomb, to make us perfect and acceptable before God. We're all in the same boat. We're unworthy due to real guilt. God's holiness requires perfection and God's Son provides it. I pray they both dig deeper into such world-tilting matters.

Lastly, I talked to Angel. He came up in gold chains, covered in tats and a cigarette between his lips. If I could judge hearts, I'd say he is as great a man of faith as I  have met in a long time. His answer to the heaven question was totally Christ-centered. His testimony was that of a former gang-banging, multi-million dollar drug lord turned to Christ. He spent 15 years in prison and after reading the gospel in the Bible and meeting Christ, he became a testimony of God's power to save, speaking to youth all around. He asked me a question to test my knowledge of Scripture, and after that, we just encouraged one another with Bible stories and testimonies of God's grace. Angel in Greek is ἄγγελος meaning 'messenger.' May the Lord use Angel to continue spreading the message of Christ-exalting transformation!

I confess, I am a sinful man. Yesterday and today I spoke unkind words to family. I also confess my need for pardon and reformation through the cleansing blood of the risen Christ applied by the Holy Spirit. Thanks to Jesus Christ, I'm able to talk freely (and guilt-free) about the truth of the Bible, because it is a gift meant to be shared.

But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."
(1 Corinthians 1:27-31 ESV)

I'm Dead and I'm Not Dead!

Dead to the passions and sins I once walked in, I've been made alive to God in Christ! (Romans 6:1-4; etc.)

I'm also still alive as far as blogging goes, even though my blogging has slowed down considerably. It may not gain me a lot of followers, but that has never been a big goal for me. Rather spreading the Word of Christ together with those faithful believers who love our Lord God and Savior has always been the main thing here.

God bless to all who read this post! :)

-Penn Tomassetti, a sinner, saved by the grace of God (Ephesians 2:1-10).

Grace Abounding: Summer Grace Produce

Here is a list of summer fruits of grace that God my Father has mercifully abounded toward me, a chief of sinners among those saved by grace.

1). First of all, my third evangelism trip to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, was the most fruitful and rewarding of all, having been built upon each past evangelism trip there. It was blessed with closer relationships with the folks from the Biblical Church of the Lord Jesus (www.ibsj.org), and the wonderful opportunity of meeting and training so many fellow Christians in evangelism. I met people again who I had witnessed to in the past, and even have been keeping in touch with David, who I met in the park while preaching under a tree as it rained. David has blessed my heart with his zeal and eagerness to learn the gospel.

I am also truly amazed at how far a little blogging has taken me. Rita Martínez and I met through blogging two years ago, and now, not only have we been able to work together in the fields of evangelism together with our churches, but we are engaged to be joined together in holy matrimony as well. This is God's gracious gift to us and the answer to many prayers for a godly partner. If it is His will, we will live to marry and labor by His grace together in our Christian calling in life.

2). After two years of vigorous study, I have pretty well grasped the Spanish language... my first foreign tongue! I still make a lot of mistakes and still have to practice a lot to pick up and learn more, but by God's grace, my dream of speaking another language has come true.

3). As my interest in languages grows, I have also found the joy of learning to read the New Testament in the language it was originally written... there are some amazing resources on the internet for learning New Testament Greek for free (see links below). If anyone is interested in purchasing learning material for NT Greek, www.christianbook.com or wtsbooks.org has a lot of affordable resources, including Greek New Testaments.

Often I would make use of such resources as concordances, Bible dictionaries and online Bible study tools, in order to find out a little more about an original Greek word used in the New Testament when studying the Bible. But those tools, as good as they may be, do not remove the limitation of not understanding Greek as a language.

One must learn grammar, the structure and order of a language, before one can fully comprehend what is being said. Learning Greek grammar can literally look like a nightmare, since it is more complex than anything I have ever seen. But with the many free online resources, one can learn a lot, as long as ardent desire and dedicated determination continue to flow through one's veins into the brain... for if this inertia stops, all else may very well be hopeless!

1). http://greattreasures.org is a translation website that gives you a lot of essential information about the words of the New Testament. Just select a Koine Greek translation that contains word information or parts of speach, for example, use the Tischendorf (with parts of speech) Greek translation. You can then select parallel translations in any other language, including many good English ones.

2). http://ntgreek.net NT Greek is a free, easy-to-follow beginner's course in New Testament Greek, with lessons.

3). http://www.ibiblio.org Little Greek 101: Learning New Testament Greek is very easy to understand and helpful for anyone interested in NT Greek.

Well, there are many more resources out there, but these are good for anyone seriously interested in learning to read the New Testament in Greek.

~ Penn, a seriously guilty sinner, mercifully saved and justified by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

Grace Abounding: Third upcoming evangelism trip to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

I will be traveling to Santo Domingo, DR, this Saturday (July 3, 2010) with a group of friends and family in order to help train others in street evangelism there.
I have never been to the Dominican Republic in the summer time, but they say it is going to be HOT... so please keep us in prayer.
Some things to pray for:

- God's powerful grace working in our lives to preach the good news of the cross of Christ to all kinds of people there in Santo Domingo.

- God's powerful grace to keep us faithful and holy.

- That the fellowship we have with each other and with other Christians would be Christ centered and edifying to all.

- That the Lord Jesus Christ, our God, who died and rose again in the flesh on our behalf, would glorify His Holy name through us, His feeble servants.

Amen.

Grace Abounding: At New York City like Santo Domingo with my fiancé

I stayed in the Bronx, NY, this past weekend visiting my girlfriend and fiancé, Rita Martínez. We met through our blogs two years ago in July, 2008. Rita was finally able to travel from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, to visit me two weeks ago, and while she was here, I asked her to marry me. In tears she said, "Did you talk to my dad about this?" I answered, "Yes." She asked, "What did he say?" I told her that he said, "Yes," that I could marry her. She didn't even answer my question, but asked again in tears, "Is this really happening?" I told her it is as I knelt in front of her by the park bench at Longwood Gardens, and said, "So, will you marry me?" She responded, "Yes! Of course!" We were both delighted! I don't think I could be more in love with this beautiful Christian Latina woman.

After a week, she went to New York city to be with her 15 year-old cousin, Laura, who is being treated for cancer. They are staying at the house of Dominican friends, who also happen to be Christians.

This weekend I drove there to visit Rita and Laura. It was a blessing. Just about everybody in that area speaks Spanish, I felt like I was in Santo Domingo, even though it was New York. They were all impressed with my Spanish, something that I have really struggled hard to learn. I had the opportunity to speak with Laura about the grace and love of God after the mac and cheese dinner that she made us at 10:30 p.m. (Dominican Suppertime is late), Saturday night. Rita and I also began our wedding plans. The next day we all went to church. All the Latin American people at that church treat each other like family, and I was honored to be received with the same love. However Rita and I both would like to encourage them more to be Biblical in everything, just as we are striving to do by God's mercy. (I am not a charismatic anymore, but their church is.)

After church we went to a sea food restaurant, where I seemed to have lost my appetite. Then we went back to the house where we talked until Rita and I left to exchange an engagement book we had bought at Barnes & Noble. On our way back, we stopped at Kmart to look for rings, since I had to take her diamond ring to get it resized to fit her finger, so she was ringless. And as lovers, we just can't have that! People need to know she is promised to someone (me!) already! So at Kmart, I bought her a $10 engagement ring with an enormous fake diamond on it. It wasn't even behind a glass case. Anyhow, that should do the trick until I can slip the real ring, fitted and sparkling, back on her preciously engaged finger again!

Now, getting back to my thoughts on the Word of God from church on Sunday, I find it so important that people would realize the sufficiency and the importance of understanding and believing the Bible above all other feelings, experiences and encouragements. Jesus Christ is our Savior sent from God, but it is the Bible that reveals Him to us through the illumination and regeneration of the Holy Spirit. Therefore the Bible is all the revelation we need to help us know and follow God's will for our lives. I tried to stress this to everyone at church on Sunday. Please pray for us about this. Thank you.

May Christ always be our greatest Treasure and Good in this life and in the one to come!

Penn T.

2 Timothy 3:14-17, ESV:
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings [i.e., Scriptures], which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 4:1-5, ESV:
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Grace Abounding: A Weekend of Grace in Pittsburgh

I love visiting the Grace Laborers in Pittsburgh. They are so filled with the Word of God and with the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ. We spent the weekend in prayer, fellowship and the edification of one another with the Bible.

Brian and pastor Mark traveled across the state of PA Thursday, and I left from York after quitting time on Friday. As I was driving to Harrisburg the wind was strong and it began to hail. Traffic slowed to a stop as large hail stones beat against my windshield. The rest of the drive was nice, even with a rainbow in the mountain clouds.

I arrived at Bob the evangelist and Linda's house Friday night during a prayer meeting. I can't describe all the details of that time, except for the feelings of grace and joy in seeing every face of the saints there.

Saturday morning I was thinking that certainly all of Pittsburgh would be converted or at least hear the gospel of grace preached that day, because there was an army of street evangelists heading out. We were, in all, 12 brothers and sisters in Christ meeting together early at Subway on Wood Street. Each of us shared about ourselves and a Bible verse, then prayed and hit the streets.

At Point Park, I met a young woman who was willing to talk to me about the gospel from the Bible. I was explaining to her how marriage is meant to be a picture of what Christ's love for the Church is like. At that point she brought up homosexuality, since that was something she admitted to either practicing or desiring. I patiently and gently explained that the reason homosexuality is sin, is because it violates God's design for marriage between a male and a female, and how it goes against the picture of God's relationship with His people that marriage is supposed to represent. I would love to talk to more homosexuals and point them to Christ as the true answer and only satisfaction. In addition, I feel the need to study the Scriptures more specifically to correct the lies that our culture spreads concerning the sin of homosexuality. I preached Christ and Him crucified for sinners, and graciously exhorted her to read her Bible and look to Him. She admitted that what I was telling her about salvation was really good news, and also accepted some of my gospel tracts as I departed.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in fellowship with "gentle" John. We talked about Christ in the Old Testament and the gospel of John. It was such an edifying time.

Later I met with Mark "Grace" and we went to the corner at Pitt, where we met an African-American Muslim walking and exercising. I argued with him about the Qu'ran a little bit, until he asked me something like, "What do you want me to do?" I replied loudly, arms waving, "I want you to come to the Bible, I want you to come to the light!" At that moment a foreign Muslim student overheard, turned around and came back to question me. I showed him where Jesus claimed to be God in John 8:58. After that he said it must be a corruption and left.

That night was our Bible study together. Bob, Jr., pastor Mark, Bob, and I shared from the Scriptures, with the others joining in. We were rejoicing in grace, exalting our Savior as our true hope and glory, confessing the worthlessness of our works apart from His cross, and speaking of the power of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, including much more. Bob spoke on how the self-righteous are seeking to justify themselves by their own crosses (i.e., their own self-sacrifices), while true Christians glory in the cross of Christ, where our life ends and His begins in us.

So much more I could mention, but let me leave with this verse of Scripture, where Paul comments on his calling as a preacher of the gospel:

Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
(Ephesians 3:8-9)

How could we ever be ashamed of the gospel, when it is just too good not to share?

But the natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolish to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
(1 Corinthians 2:14)

Grace Abounding: Who Says They Won't Listen?

Who says that kids these days just won't listen?

Well, I'm sure we have all probably said, or thought, that they don't a few times before. However, last evening in York, I was walking down the street with Matt and we were handing out gospel tracts, and we talked to around 9 or 10 people, mostly young.

York streets are not very busy in the evenings, but there is usually a few people walking or sitting around who are willing to talk about God. We stopped a number of young people who were walking together, to ask them questions. About half of those we talked to listened intently to what I was telling them about repentance, sin, judgment and faith in Jesus Christ. Most of them said they would read their Bibles to learn more. Not all of them accepted what I was preaching, because one felt offended, since he professed to believe in paganism. Others said what I was telling them about repentance was new to them and they seemed to understand it.

Now, there was no cries of "What must I do to be saved!" But there was a genuine interest and maybe some real conviction in some of those we met last night.

May God bring salvation to many young people here in York Pennsylvania, as well as to the old.

"For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."
How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!"
However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, "LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT?"
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ."
(Romans 10:11-17, NAS).

"For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.
For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard"
Hebrews 2:1-3, NAS).

Grace Abounding: New Layout, Witnessing and Prayer

I'm trying a new look for the All-Grace blog. Hopefully it freshens it up a bit.

I was in Philly again witnessing for around an hour today, then went to pastor Mark's for prayer. He was at a 9marks weekender last weekend at Capitol Hill Baptist Church and had some exciting things to say about it.

The witnessing is going great as far as being able to speak to people in Spanish. I also met two Pakistani guys today and tried to persuade them to read the Bible. I gave a gospel of John to one of them and he handed it to his friend. May God Sovereignly move both of them to read it!

We are praying about taking another trip to Santo Domingo for evangelism, and certainly need prayers from brotherly/sisterly saints for that.

Grace Quote for today:
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(John 1:14 ESV)

Grace Abounding: Premillennial/Amillennial Calvinism - I'm still learning

I'm learning that the debate over the return of Christ and the meaning of the 1,000 year reign (Revelation 20:4,5,6) is not one that is easily resolved.

I've considered both amillennial views and premillennial views of calvinism, and can say that both make a strong case.

I would say that Kim Riddlebarger (one of the lead amillennial Calvinists) and John MacArthur (Calvinist in favor of dispensational premillennialism) both have a lot of good points they are making. However, I see that both have the tendency to argue from their presuppositions without carefully considering the other side. I guess I could be wrong, I am only now learning from their messages. They are smart guys, but even smart guys can be mistaken. So I'm listening with care.

Whichever view most accurately represents the return of Christ, I want to say this, that we must always reform our understanding according to the entire Bible and look forward with eager longing for the eternal reign of our King and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

May His name be praised as Christian brothers sharpen one another through such debate.

Grace to all in Jesus Christ our Lord!

Grace Abounding: Dominica Orphanage

During my trip to the Dominican Republic over a week ago, we visited this orphanage and school called Dominica.

The sad thing was that most of these kids were not really orphans but are the offspring of people who have had multiple sexual partners and/or use alcohol or drugs. It moved my heart to see the great needs these kids have, and not only them but their parents and people all around the world.

This made me think of the greatest need of all, the need for reconciliation and life with God through Jesus Christ His Son.

My brother, Lee, put together this video. He has posted this video, along with other video that he has and will be posting from our evangelism and missions at his You Tube channel called LiveBOLDLYforChrist.

Grace Abounding: Back in the United States

By the grace of God I am home from my trip to Santo Domingo after a week of visiting and evangelism there.

I enjoyed being in the Dominican Republic for many reasons...

I am glad to be back in the U.S. for some also...

1. God's will
2. Fellowship with Christians
3. Spreading the gospel by proclaiming and sharing what God has said in Scripture (2 Timothy 3:15, 16, 17).
4. Time with family
5. Able to speak the language ;) lol
6. Work to do
7. (Last-but-not-least) the grace of God in my life

You can watch some video of the trip on my brother Lee's You Tube Channel, but keep in mind that there will be more video to come in the near future.

Looking to Jesus (Heb. 12:2),

- Penn T.

Grace Abounding: Estoy en Santo Domingo

I am in Santo Domingo (estoy en Santo Domingo), Dominican Republic, for the week. My pastor, brother and a fellow evangelist friend are here on a mission - to spread the glorious gospel of God's grace through His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

So far, it has been an amazing learning experience for us. The Dominican people are very warm people. Yesterday, we visited an huérfanato (orphanage) and spent most of the day learning about the needs and conditions of the orphanage/school and the community. We taught the older kids from the Bible, then later spent a lot of time playing with the little children (los niños).

Our evangelism experience has also been very good. Keep us in prayer as we continue to share the gospel with more people, spreading tracts, booklets and portions of the Bible in Spanish for the people of Santo Domingo to read.

Grace to all who love our great Lord and King!
- Penn

Grace Abounding: Returning to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

If the Sovereign LORD wills, early Friday morning, I will be taking off from New York with my pastor, brother and friend to fly back to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.

We are taking a lot of Bibles, New Testaments, Gospels of John, tracts and booklets to give away on the streets. It is our desire to share the gospel with as many people as possible while we are there for a week.

We are especially looking forward to the opportunity of mutual edification and godly fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ there in Santo Domingo.

We also need prayers, and will be rejoicing along with those who pray for all that our gracious Lord and God does in response to them.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you who trust in Him.

-Penn

Grace Abounding: Evangelism and Missions

I've been busy the past month planning a second trip to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic for evangelism Oct. 30 - Nov. 7, and also to visit my friend Rita, from New Human Life blog, and other Christian brethren there. 

My brother, Lee, has begun using his video camera to help in our mission work here in Pennsylvania, and will be carrying it with him to Santo Domingo as well. You can watch two of his videos on You Tube under "LiveBOLDLYforChrist".

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the [one] name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

(Matthew 28:19-20).

Grace Abounding: Manoa's wife and Audio from York streets

It was interesting as I read Judges chapter 13 this morning, how the angel of the LORD appeared to Manoa's wife in order to announce to them the coming birth of their son Sampson, who would save Israel from their enemies.

After she went and told Manoa about it, he immediately prayed that God would send the angel back to them so he could question him. The interesting reason was that Manoa wanted to learn how he should raise this child. What an example this is for dads, that they too would be willing to get on their knees and beg the LORD for wisdom about how to raise their children!

However, it seems Manoa really wanted instructions from the LORD since he knew this child was special and would be set apart to be used by God in the deliverance of Israel. I believe he also doubted the LORD's word a bit, just like Zecharia did when the birth of his son, John the Baptist, was announced to him (Luke 1:18-20).

But the story kept getting more interesting as I read on... who is the angel of the LORD? and why did Manoa's unamed and intriguing wife humorously have to rebuke him for thinking they were going to die?... Read the story here, and post your answers in the comments. :)

IN addition to that, I've had some very good conversations on the streets explaining the gospel to people. Here is one example of a guy who was questioning the Bible as Matt and I talked with him in York, last night. (Also listen below). Grace to all!

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Grace Abounding: Resources and Evangelism 1

From Artwork

In this Grace Abounding post, let me first say that God's grace truly is amazing and abounds even to the lowest of His chosen creatures. I love reading Psalm 113, because in it, God is humbling Himself to help the nobodies and the poor and the ashamed women, and He is giving them a wonderful inheritance, all because He wanted to--all because of His grace!

• If you or anyone you know is suffering right now, then I recommend reading as many Grace Gems as you have time for.

• Pyromaniacs blog has had some wonderfully challenging posts and reposts all during this past week, on Biblical evangelism. This blog is truly educational when it comes to thinking Biblically and accurately.

• Some brief, and a few humorous observations between Atheism and Christianity are given in this post on the Contemporary Calvinist.

• And finally, please pray for more Biblical, grace and Christ centered evangelism both in our own country and around the world. Since persecution is so wide-spread now, we also have a great need for accurate Biblical doctrine, and focused prayer for all persecuted saints.

Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ and are waiting eagerly for His return. Come Lord Jesus, our King and Savior! Amen.

From Artwork

Grace Abounding in York this evening

I hit the streets of York with Matt this evening, after having a brief chat and study on sin together at McDonald's. I was asked, "Do you struggle with sin?" How could I answer "No"! Of course I do, and my biggest struggle is S-E-L-F, which is simply an acronym for self. My prayer is to be led by the Spirit and put this enemy to death, as we focused our attention back to our great Savior of sinners.

After we left McDonald's, we first prayed, then started walking. We offered tracks to those who passed by. The first man seemed like a possible true believer, although he really didn't stop to talk with us much.

We walked around the block, and as we passed by the Market court, we saw a group of homeless guys sitting around. So we went to them and recognized some of them. I sat with one guy and talked loud enough for the others to hear. We covered heaven, hell, the law, repentance, the cross, faith in Christ, grace, the Holy Spirit in salvation, the resurrection of Christ, judgment. This conversation set the stage for all the rest I had tonight. There was also a woman there trying to have a ministry to these guys, and another lady with a squirrel tattoo on her arm feeding squirrels.

The guy was drinking a little, so after shaking hands about three times, we left them and walked up the street. There we met someone sitting on a bench in high 80 degree weather with winter socks on and a winter coat. He was younger than most homeless guys, and seemed a little mentally slow. So I talked with him about salvation for a while. He listened patiently but wouldn't accept a New Testament from me.

That was when two young fellows came strolling by, occupied with thoughts of smoking weed. I caught them as they were passing and began asking them questions. They were stunned as we went through all the things I mentioned above, and were clearly at the dividing line. Either repent and leave all behind to find eternal life in Christ, or perish forever in hell for every sinful deed whether bad or good.

"I want to trust God so I'll have a good life," one said. I replied, "If you trust Christ, your life will become worse, not better." He was shocked and didn't understand at first, asking, "Why?" I said, "Because God promised that you would suffer with Christ if you trust in Him."

We talked long, and I went on to explain that it would not be easy, but that there would still be joy, there would still be peace with God, eternal life, glory with Christ, but this life would be harder. They could not understand that, and soon after this they left. But the message was clear, "Jesus said, 'Repent and believe the good news." And I explained clearly why it is called "Good News", because salvation is freely given to those who have no righteousness of their own, nothing good in themselves, but who trust in Jesus Christ and submit to His Lordship, receiving Him for all that He is, their Life, their Prophet, Priest and King.

They got the message and left. Oh, that my compassion for the lost might be more like my Lord's, who wept for them. I feel very inadequate for this, but thankful for grace.

Grace Abounding: 4th of July, 2009 and Answer to prayer for a muslim

I am so glad that my relationship with God is real!

What do I mean? I mean, I know God and He knows me, and He continually reminds me of this everyday. His mercy toward me is greater than any earthly father or mother or friend.

God is my God, my Maker and my Savior. I know the Father, because I know His Son and the love He has shown. I know His Holy Spirit, who is working in me to know Christ Jesus. This is a supernatural thing, a work begun by God about 7 years ago, which has continued on till today. Praise be to the only God and my all in all!

I just wanted to say all that. (You can read John, Romans, Ephesians, Philippians and 1 John if you need to know where I'm coming from).

Ok, now on to the news.

Today had its ups and downs, but the Providence of God was clearly seen in it. When I arrived at 69th Street and saw pastor Mark witnessing to a guy, and Herman Lee handing out tracts, I went up and greeted brother Herman. He told me his son Andre was with him, but he was up the street window shopping.

When Andre came back, I said hello and exchanged a few greetings then I gave him one of my tracts, which I wrote here (we had met once before in the same spot). Andre is with the sunni muslims, but his dad has been witnessing to him when he can. I also think he's had some hard experiences and is searching for the answers or the truth.

After we spent an hour handing out tracts and meeting people on 69th Street, we went back to pastor Mark's place. There Andre spent an hour letting us talk to him about the gospel and the Bible. He asked a few questions, but we did a lot of sharing the good news. He was very open to it all. I gave him a Greasy the Robber booklet and an Is the Bible Reliable (Piper) pamphlet. He accepted them and seemed eager to read them in his search for truth.

I praise God for this, because we have prayed for him. Herman has prayed for him a lot and requested our prayers, and now we had this opportunity. Praise be to the Lord!

I drove home after that and spent the evening with my family and grandmother, who we call Gram. We were at her house in the woods, eating together and setting off fireworks, with the Amish neighbor's watching. The Amish girls that came to watch lost their dad a number of years ago, so I think I should begin praying much more for them as well. Their brothers did not join us for whatever reason, and the other farm neighbor's were away on vacation. But the sunset was beautiful and the fireflies were just as amazing as all the fireworks we saw.

There was also an incident with two young cows at home, that happened later, but that was brief. The dog was excited to see us arrive home, and when I got on my computer, I read some questions a friend had for me about God's Sovereignty and Christ's return. We as believers need to be ready and excited for Him to return at any time.

The Lord is in control of the hardest times as well as the good, and I am certainly glad to be one of His. Are you?

This is grace abounding today, which is now Sunday, July 5th. Grace and peace!

Grace Abounding: Evangelism cancer, church, the love of Christ

Evangelism in Philadelphia is exciting. Why? For many reasons, including that I'm praying to be useful to the Lord in the service of His gospel (good news), I am so excited to get out there and share what I've been learning through study, praying for the nations of the world and learning about them is extremely exciting when I meet people from those very continents! and many more reasons.

I'm also excited to be learning to speak in tongues, such as Spanish, as well as bits and pieces of other languages.

My uncle is very sick and in a lot of pain from having Mesothelioma cancer. I'm praying for him daily. Oh how we need the Holy Spirit to awaken our hearts to the truths contained in Scripture, because our time on earth is so short.

My pastor and church are growing in grace along with difficulties that have arisen lately. How I am so grateful to be a part of this small band of believers. We are learning to exhort one another toward love and obedience in faith. May Christ truly be honored by us as we consider ourselves very small in His great Kingdom. May all who join us in praising our Savior be blessed as we worship the Lamb who for us was slain.

Grace to all who read my blog and may God bless you with strength to be able to comprehend with all the saints the overwhelming love of Christ (Ephesians 3:14-21).