Testimony

This is a testimony that someone gave me permission to use.  It is completely unedited except for perhaps spelling.

Topic: Hero

What do you think when you hear the word hero? Do think Superman or Batman? What makes a person a hero? Is it super powers, cool gadgets, or is it the costume? Well to explain what I think makes a person a hero let me tell you a little bit of my life.

Before I was born the doctor told my mom that she should have an abortion; in other words kill me. The doctors said I would be born abnormal and have all types of problems, but my mom told the doctor no and I was born completely normal. My mom is a hero because she basically saved my life.

Later on in life, around the time I was about five or six years old, I asked Christ to come into my life and He did. God is actually more then a hero because He created me and He saved me from my sins. As I got older I started being a better Christian and started serving others. But as time went on I started feeling depressed because I felt like I was a slave; it seemed as if I was always stuck doing everything for everyone else. Then one-day between the ages ten and thirteen I tried to kill myself. I took a knife out and was going to plunge it into my heart but my dad walked into the kitchen and told me suicide was not the answer. We talked for a while and after the talk I realized my dad was right -my life is not my own. I am bought with a price and that price is the cost of Christ dying on the cross. I am made in God’s image and I am also one of his adopted sons. My dad is a hero because he saved my life and helped me through my depression.

After a little while I met people who cut themselves, do drugs and tons other things that are just so horrible to hear about and I realized I wanted to help these people; I wanted to be a hero. I didn’t realize it at the time but I was already a hero having fought with depression and having defeated it day after day. So I helped these people and some changed and others didn’t but I know that God is taking care of them. One day a friend of mine asked me for a clean slate. How many of you want a clean slate? I do and guess what! I got it and so can you! Just ask God to forgive you and He will. Ask Him for strength and He will give it to you so that you can forgive yourself. My challenge for you is to stop doing what you’re doing that is wrong; stop cutting yourself, stop doing drugs, and stop doing whatever else I forgot to mention. Ask for forgiveness and then forgive yourself. I know it’s hard. I have struggled with it many times but it’s the greatest thing to be free from sin and to really know that in your heart that you are forgiven. If you’re still struggling write down your sins on a piece of paper and burn it.

If you ever need some one to talk to you can always talk to me. I’m here to help you not to hurt you but remember God has always been there for you and He is there for you now and always will be there for you so turn to Him first because He never fails. While others sadly can fail you God won’t ever fail you for He is God almighty the One True God. Last thing I have to say is I believe each of you are a hero in one way or another and if you don’t think that you are then go out there be a hero and help your friends or other people you know who are hurting inside.

Jeremiah 29:11-13
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Thankfulness

Though the Thanksgiving holiday season is over, it is important to remember that every season is a season to give thanks. Here are a few meditations on the topic of thanksgiving.

God commands us to give thanks. “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise… Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…” (Eph. 5:15,20)

Give thanks always, for all things. This commandment could be repeated a thousand times and still be as powerful. It is difficult, but a good habit is to just thank God as you go about your daily business. But we cannot only thank Him for what we see as good, but we must thank Him for all things. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.” (Rom. 8:28) Sometimes it is hard for me to give thanks for things that trouble me. But I need to!

To love God is to thank Him. This is for a couple of reasons. First, God commands us to thank him: “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) Thus to love God is to keep His commandments, and to keep his commandments is to thank Him! Secondly, don’t you think God wants to be thanked? Do you want to be thanked? Surely we all do, and so does God. So let us show God our love for Him by thanking Him for all his many blessings.

Thankfulness does us a lot of good. In my life God has shown me that depression is always selfishness. If I am feeling down, I had better check and see if I am being selfish! What is the best way to get out of selfishness? Thankfulness is! How can we be stuck in our conceit and foolish discontentedness when we sincerely look at all that God has done for us? “O taste and see that the Lord is good…” (Psalm 34:8) And God has done so very much for each and every one of us. If you cannot think of anything else, think about the salvation that the Lord so freely offers!

One more thought on how thankfulness does us good. If someone kept knocking on your door day after day asking for things, would you like it? Probably not. Now let’s say that you are a very generous person (and we are called to be), and again and again give to this person. In turn they smile and walk away; or even worse, they take the gift they wanted so from out of your hands, frown, and then walk away depressed. Within the last few weeks I have found myself doing this same thing. Should God keep giving us what we want if we don’t even take the time to show appreciation? No: “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.” (1 John 3:22) In short, we need to thank God because otherwise He might just decide to stop giving us what we ask for!

Thankfulness is thus extremely important. My challenge is for us to develop an attitude that is thankful always in all things, and to develop a habit to give thanks constantly and consistently. God bless!

In Christ,

~ Anthony H.

Incentives to Soul-winning

A good question to ask is, “why should we evangelize?”. There are several reasons, a few of which we will examine here. They all come right from the Bible. So, why should we share our faith with others? Here are three reasons, which have to with our love to God, our love for others, and our (let’s face it) love for ourselves.

1. Because God says to. (Loving God)

This one is pretty obvious. “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel unto every creature…”     (Mark 16:15) But the fact that God tells us to share our faith should encourage us to do it! Here is one reason why: Where God commands, He empowers. “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) This is all a part of keeping that one great commandment, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God…”.

2.  Because Hell is a real place. (Loving our neighbors)

“And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments…” (Luke 16:23) We need to tell other people about Jesus because Hell is a real place. Do you want to go to Hell? I think not. At least I know that I do not want to go to a place called Hell. Do you want to go to a real place called Heaven? You will if you are saved by Christ and understand what Heaven really means: what Heaven really is. And it is not just a place where we sit on clouds and play harps forever. I really think that Heaven will be the most fun place in the universe. So, I know that I want to go there.

If we want these things for ourselves, we ought to want them for others. The Lord says, “Love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matthew 22:39) This means that the good we desire for ourselves we should desire for others, too.

3. Because there are great rewards. (Toward self)

“He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” (Psalm 126:6). The precious seed, says the Lord “is the word of God”      (Luke 8:11). God “renderest to every man according to his work” (Psalm 62:12). This means that because God is just (and there are many verses that say so!), he will give all of us what we deserve. He will not give us according to the results, but according to the effort. What do we get for this effort? Jesus said, “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where theives do not break through nor steal”. These treasures are eternal.

So, as you can see there are quite a few reasons for us Christians to be out there witnessing. My challenge for us all this week is to gain a burden for the lost. Ask God to help you go and weep for the lost, seeking their souls for Christ. That is one step on the Greatest Adventure.

God bless!

~ Anthony H.

The Role of the Holy Spirit

Romans 8:1-11

The Holy Spirit is often just a fuzzy figure in the back of our minds that we can’t truly define.  We know that it’s a part of the Trinity, but what does it actually do?  Is it just the part of God that comes to “live in your heart” after you take Christ as your personal Lord and Savior and except His free gift of Salvation, or is the Holy Spirit more than that?  What is the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives?

The Bible emphasises 3 main roles of the Holy Spirit:

• The Holy Spirit SENDS and GUIDES us.
• The Holy Spirit GIVES US THE ABILITY TO DO THINGS.
• The Holy Spirit GIVES US LIFE.

“And now the Sovereign LORD has sent me, with his Spirit.” Isaiah 48:16b  We have to realize that we don’t just go to wherever we want and get “lucky” about what happens when we’re evangelising to the lost.  The Spirit of God guides our path, our words, and their hearts. 

“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you to all truth.” John 16:13a  

“but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.” 1Corinthians 2:10a 

 

“Are you so foolish?  After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?” Galatians 3:3  We have to realize that we cannot do anything in our own strength and abilities.  We cannot even receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Savior without the empowerment of the Holy Spirit . 

“My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,” 1 Corinthians 2:4

“And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” Ezekiel 36:27 

“All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them.” Acts 2:4

 

 “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing.  The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and they are life.” John 6:63  We have to realize that above all else, the Holy Spirit gives us life!  There are approximately half over the amount of verses in the Bible about the Holy Spirit giving us life than verses of any other role of the Holy Spirit!

“The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” Job 33:4 

“We know that we live in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.” 1 John 4:13

“…the Spirit gives [everlasting] life.” 2 Corinthians 3:6c

 

Hugs and Prayers, Kendra Allison

Don’t Sugarcoat the Gospel

This is a problem that must be avoided.  Matthew 16:24 says, “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.’ ”  Matthew 5:10-12 says: “10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  11“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”  Persecution will come.  If it isn’t, then you are not doing anything about your faith (see our post “Persecution”).  This is part of being a follower of Christ.  You need to let people know what they are getting themselves into.  Now, obviously, you can’t say “Are you sure?” as that will turn them away for sure.  But you can’t just go around saying, “Follow Christ and your life will be perfect” because that isn’t true.  It will be hard, but the point is that Christ will help us get through those hard times.  He won’t eliminate them.  In Matthew 13:5-6 it says: “Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.”  Basically, this is saying that the Word of God (the seed) was well received in these people (the stony soil).  But after they realized that life was not going to be absolutely perfect, they fell away (sun coming up and plants wilting).  This is what will happen if we describe life in Jesus that way.  We will win many people, but few of them will be true Christians.  This is so important to remember.  Kindly tell people that life will not be perfect, but that Jesus will help them get through those hard times.  Hope this helps!

In Christ, Matt

The Power of Prayer

Hey everyone,

This is probably one of the most important aspects of evangelism.  This is true for several reasons.  The first reason is that it helps us to remember that we are not the ones who are convincing people to turn to Christ.  That is not our job; the Holy Spirit takes care of that.  Also, it helps us to stay humble.  Many times people make the mistake of becoming proud, and the sometimes they even feel like they are better than people who aren’t Christians.  This is very dangerous, and it often completely turns people away from Christ.  Finally, God wants us to pray.

Prayer is an extremely important part of evangelism. It can help us to love those we don’t want to love. How many stories have you heard of people having a hard time with people and then praying for and loving them? If we pray for those people we don’t get along with. God can give us a heart to serve, love, and evangelize.

Prayer could be illustrated this way: Pretend your in a valley in the Sahara desert. The sand dunes reach up high on every side. You are in the army and it’s your job to shoot the enemy with missiles. So you set your rocket launcher in the sand and start shooting them over the dune. You fire and fire not knowing if you’re hitting or missing, but that doesn’t mean you stop. Just because you don’t know if your hitting doesn’t mean it worthless. So keep sending prayer after prayer to God, you may not be able to see if does any damage to the enemy. but it probably is . Don’t give up! Mat 7:7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Mat 7:8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. ”

Another reminder to pray: Eph 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Often when we see things going wrong physically they are also going wrong spiritually. We must pray to actually do something about them.”

The Gospel Message

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to publish something in “gospel message” section, because I believe that this is one of the most important things on our blog.  So here is my explanation.

Matt says:

First off, we need to realize that we are all sinners, whether we think so or not.  Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (emphasis added).  We all do things that God tells us not to and avoid doing things that God tells us to do.  The judgment for this is death.  Romans 6:23a says, “For the wages of sin is death…”  Now realize that I mean spiritual death, not physical.  After we die physically, there is a judgment where God decides what happens to us next.  Either we go to heaven, or we go to, well, you know.  If we were judged based solely on our deeds and how much good we did, no one would go to heaven.  It takes one sin to kick you out for good.  Here is where the good news comes in.  Romans 6:23b says, “…but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christs our Lord.”  God has given us a chance to spend eternity in heaven.  He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins.  He came to earth, was born as a baby, lived a sinless life, and died in our place.  He was then buried in the tomb of one of His followers.  Finally, after three days, He rose from the dead, fully alive.

Levi says:

There is so many important aspects of the gospel. God’s probably thinking, “Levi, get realistic, you don’t know half.” I will attempt to say what I think to be important. First “Gospel” means “Good news”, I think that for you to see that news is good, you first have to hear the bad news. The bad news is: Rom 3:23 ” For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Lets face it. I think I can safely say that we have all lied (at least). And if you have lied then “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” (James 2:10) That means that if you have lied that you are guilty of of murdering, theft, it all. Further more the Bible says Rev 28:1b “all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire”. That puts everybody in quite the pickle. God is such a righteous judge that He will send you to hell for sinning once.

Now for the gospel (good news). God doesn’t want to send you to hell. So why doesn’t he automatically send everyone to heaven? Because he is righteous. What righteous judge on earth would let people guilty of murder and theft go scott free? No, God requires something. Also, God had a lot of effort on his part for us to be able to be saved. He sent His Son to earth to live in the same temptations each of us have. His Son, Jesus, didn’t fall for those temptations, Jesus was and is most thoroughly perfect. He was killed for our sins. Jesus gave up his life so that we could be saved from our sins. He took our sins onto himself. Its a hard concept. It would be like a surgeon taking our disease ridden brain and switching it with his own. Or a stranger coming into a courtroom and paying our 500 million dollar fine. Jesus paid our debt that he didn’t owe and we couldn’t pay. Hallelujah! He then rose from the dead defying death! He asks you you to believe and have faith in Him and he will forgive you of your sins and give you eternal life. You must repent (change) of your ways and be made new.

He also says that you shall know them by their fruits. The things you do (what you watch on TV, think about others, things you say) are evidences of your faith and belief. Reports have shown that their is no difference between the morality of those who call themselves Christians and those who say they are not. What does that tell you? It should tell that their is a lot of hypocrytes who are going to hell thinking that that one prayer when they were three will save them. I know this sounds extreme, but a good tree won’t have bad fruits.                    There you have it. That’s my gospel message.

History Maker says:

I see the gospel message as one of love, Romans 5:8 says, “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” I think that is amazing while we were still in full rebellion against God, He sent His son to die for us. While we were still doing wicked deeds, while we still hated God, He sent His son for us.  John 15:13 says, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” Again, we see that word “love” again. Because of His amazing love for us He lay down his life, so we could go into eternity with Him. The last “proof” of love I see is that He gave eternal life to us as a free gift, we don’t have to do anything to enter into a relationship with Him all we have to do is believe. Ephesians 2:8-9 say, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not by works so that no man may boast.” Three words stand out to me, grace, faith and gift. Grace is getting something good you don’t deserve, faith is believing, and a gift is something you get, you don’t work for a gift. So, what does the gospel mean to me? In a nutshell it’s LOVE!

Matt’s Testimony

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to share my testimony with you.  In case you don’t already know, a testimony is the story of a person’s life before and after accepting Christ.  I accepted Christ pretty young, so mine will be less spectacular than some.  Well first, I was raised in a Christian home.  This is why I accepted Christ so young (like when I was five).  However, because I was only five, I didn’t really know why exactly I had accepted Christ; I just knew it was important.  Since I was so young, I obviously didn’t have a whole lot of time to screw up, so I don’t have a lot to say in terms of how my life has changed since, but when I look at where I might be otherwise, I’m really glad I was raised in a Christian home.  Now I’m simply trying to live my best for Christ.  I do make mistakes, but as Proverbs says, it’s not about how many times you mess up, it’s about how many times you get back up (paraphrased).  Life is still hard, but I’m trusting Christ to take care of it all.

Matt

Do Hard Things

Hey everyone,

This book is not dedicated entirely to evangelism, but it can have a profound impact on your evangelism.  It is written by Alex and Brett Harris, teens at the time, and it was written specifically to encourage teens to do extraordinary things for God.  You may ask what this has to do with evangelism.  Well, often, we as teens are not expected to do much.  This too often hinders us as we try to evangelize, because our efforts are seen as useless and pointless.  This book will show you why not to think that way.  The resulting change in your efforts will be phenomenal.  I recommend this book to all teens.

Matt