Breaking down and no answer

I have not blogged in over month, but I wanted to just talk about an adventure and what has been going on inside at the moment.

Lately, I've been battling apathy with sharing my faith, still getting out, but knowing that the Holy Spirit is nudging me to speak out. Do you know the feeling? A lack of fulfillment, a feeling of needing to do something, or an uncomfortable feeling in the heart! It's kind of hard to describe, but I believe that God's Spirit has been nudging ever since I have come back to school to continue to spread His wonderful gospel! I know that there will be opposition rejection, rudeness and possibly persecution, but disobeying God and omitting what He has said is far worse that any of the former things that I have just named!
So what slows me down?
I believe it is the fear of man, and the fear of how others will respond. I have been thinking about it how to combat these things, and I think I have found out! We must deny ourselves, we must lose ourselves in Christ and carry our crosses! Oh how painful it is though! It hurts!!! My flesh cries out and says "What are you doing?!! "Stop that!", all the while the Spirit spurs me on reminding me that the old Samuel has been nailed to the cross, and reminding me of His precious promises which far outweigh what this world has to offer. I must continue the fight even when it hurts or is not convenient. But here is what I see: To disobey God, pain, to carry the cross, pain, but with it comes a great joy and refinement and life in our walks with the Lord Jesus Christ! We can identify in His sufferings.
I've resisted, and been reminded over and over only to obey when I am about to get the shakes or cry! I get convicted and break down my cage of omission and fear in order to run into battle with the Lord where there again is discomfort.............. but it's different, it's soothing, it brings a smile, it brings me running to the Lord, like a two year old running to mommy and daddy after hurting himself. And I remember that I'm just getting a taste of what other believers have been going through for almost two thousand years.

Today I went out to get some food and I saw a guy sitting on a bench with his cell phone. I walked up to him and asked him if I could ask him a question. He declined and said that he was having a financial crisis. As I was walking away I thought to myself "Doh!!! I should have asked If I could pray for him!" So I went inside of Chipotle (Mexican restaurant) seeing the opportunity to talk with someone who was in line (It was a long line). I walked inside, stood in line and about 5 minutes later I struck up a conversation with a young man about my age. I made some small talk with him, asked him his name, and then I told him that I had a question for him. "If you died tonight are you 100% assured that you would go to heaven?" (Sometimes I freak out about asking this question, but this time I was calm believing that I was doing what God had asked me). His face developed a suspicious looking smirk and he asked me, "Are you just trying to get me to go to your church?" I replied with a smile, "No, I'm interested in what people believe about the afterlife" Then he said, "Well if I knew you better I would talk to you, but I don't know you so I'm not comfortable with to you about it." I then asked him if he went to a church, then he said yes. I left the spiritual topic alone after the rejection, but something struck me on the inside. If he is a Christian Jesus should roll right off of his lips, there should be some interest in that area. But he is either a Christian with no such conviction, or he wasn't a Christian, and I say that the former would show a discouraging state of the church. But God however gave me joy nonetheless and I headed back to my room praying for both young men and my roommate whom I am going to speak with about Christ."

Witnessing and Open-air adventure

I just wanted to share another witnessing and open air preaching adventure that we had today on campus. A friend and I decided to go and preach the gospel in a place called Turlington plaza (We do this on Thursdays). My friend arrived to the area at 10:15am and I arrived at 10:30am. When I showed up my friend was already preaching the gospel. I saw a guy sitting down who I had wanted to witness to for a while. So I approached him asked him if he was religious and what he thought happens when people dies. He thought that there might be a heaven and a hell and he had gone to church before. I told that the standard that God has is the Ten Commandments, then I walked him through them. He was guilty, and he said that it was a hard standard to keep. He said that he would be going to hell and it kind of concerned him. I then gave him the gospel, and he was sincerely thinking about everything and asking questions about the bible. Another friend of his came over and started talking about evolution and the bible being true, but I went back to the Scriptures and talked about how the creation account contradicts evolution. They were both listening intently and asking questions. It was a good conversation. Afterwards, I encouraged the guy to think about salvation.

Then I was up to preach, and I was planning on preaching about John 6 where Jesus says that he is the bread of life. As soon as I opened my mouth a guy came up to my friend who had just got done preaching, and he was holding a sign that said " I'm with stupid." I began to interact with him, and asked him why he was hold that sign. He said he was holding it because he didn't like that he was being told that he needed to live by a book. I then asked him if he was a Christian, and he said "no" , and I asked him why. He said that there was no proof. By this point a fairly large crowd came to listen to the debate. I then took him through God's law and and preached it to the crowd as well . He kept cutting me off and we ended up debating creation, evolution, the existence of God, Christ's deity, and the validity of the bible. As we were going, his girlfriend was yelling objections, and someone behind me was urging me to prove God's existence. One of my friends also came next to me, and told the guy out loud that he would die for Jesus Christ (Wow!)! I was able to bring the debate back to the gospel twice so that it could be given to the crowd. After about 15 minutes, he left, and I articulated the gospel as quickly as I could before he left then the crowd dispersed as well. A bit later, my friend came back up to preach again, and a 16 yr old young man shared his testimony open air after him, and man, he was on fire! Afterwards, I preached another salvation message about the bread of life, and we wrapped it up. We praise God for what happened today and for having his gospel contended for and proclaimed! Our semester ends tomorrow.

Open-air preaching at UF

During this six week semester, the Lord has led me to open air preach in a place where alot of students walk, hangout and table for organizations. I usually go out there with my bible, and just begin to preach! I'll meditate on a verse, and pray asking God to speak, and preach on open air on the text. This semester has been challenging yet a blessing as well. Christians have been encouraged and fired up from the preaching and it has also opened up doors for myself and others to share the gospel with unbelievers that stop.

Last Thursday, I went out to preach the gospel on campus with another brother and I used Luke 24:7 which says "The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.". I used this verse as a spring board and preached on the resurrection of Christ as fact. A few came to listen, as people were walking by during the class change. I then switched the subject and began to preach on the existence of God and alittle about evolution, then a couple of guys came to debate me about evolution. One of the guys threw out what he claimed as evidence that I had never heard before, and I have to admit I was stumped about what he was saying ( I didn't get out of the intellect, to swing to the conscience... ). Not long after our debate another Christian came to debate the topic and it turned into a discussion. After that the preaching and debate was over, I went over to talk with a brother that I had preached with that day and a someone walked up to him and asked him a very interesting question. She asked "Does the thought of there not being an afterlife ever worry you?", and he replied that he never thought of that so it didn't. She then began to walk away, so I said "excuse me, what do you think happens after people die?" We had a 20 minute conversation and I was able to share the law and gospel with her and what the Bible says about the afterlife. As I shared how Christ had transformed me I could see it in her eyes that she was soaking it in. She told me earlier that she did not believe in an afterlife and that she was not born again, but that she had a churched background. I encouraged her to think about what we had talked about, then I headed back to my dorm.

Gospel to the proud.

Just yesterday, God gave me the opportunity to witness to someone who was in my group for a project. I asked God to give me an opportunity to witness to this person, and it came up in an interesting way ( I didn't bring it up, but as God would have it, it came up.) My group member and myself were talking and I ran into a friend who is an unbeliever. Him and I talked for a bit, then he told me to have a good Fall (I am traveling with a campus preacher this Fall). This sparked conversation between my group member and I about the things of God after about 5 minutes and she told me her own world view. We went to the library and sat down because we were supposed to be working on a project, but I began to witness to her. I took her through the Law, and talked to her about righteousness and the need to be born again, because if she died then she would go to hell as punishment for her sins. After I took her through the law of God, she wasn't argumentative, but not exactly humble either.... As I was sharing the gospel with her she chuckled and said to me "you probably think that I am a jerk right now for laughing". She was displaying a type of "whatever" attitude towards the pearl of the gospel. I also shared with her my testimony and how Christ had transformed me into a new creature, but she tried to rationalize it in her mind with psychology. I wondered at that point if I should have not given her the gospel (I might not have if I had a tract on me). I'm going to try to preach the Law unsparingly to those who aren't humble, I almost felt like I was casting pearls to swine. Overall, I know that God was at work and completely set up that situation for me to witness to her. Praise to His Name!

I'll post some more encounters. This one stuck out to me.

The Spirit's push.

I wanted to post a few more encounters.

Last Thursday God had been burdening my heart to share the gospel, but I was hindered by fear and it paralyzed me. That morning I handed out a few gospel tracts, but I was battling fear. Later that day after I had gotten out of class, I was heading down the street to go and get some lunch and I saw a girl sitting on a brick wall smoking and reading a newspaper. It was impressed upon my heart to give her a tract or talk to her and as I walked , I debated with myself on whether or not to witness to her and I walked right past her and clinched my fists and said "No! Lord forgive me! I thought to myself, "maybe I will have another chance to give her a tract", but when I had gotten done buying food she was gone.... After this, my heart was still burdened to share the gospel, the Spirit was pressing me. After I ate my food I went out side to study on a bench, and about 30 minutes later, a girl comes to sit down on a bench about 30 feet away from me. I then pulled out my bible and began reading it. I felt like God was burdening me again to go and talk with this person, but I was scared and fighting it! I finally put my bible back in my pocket and went to talk with her. The Spirit had to push me. I walked up to her and said "Hi, how are you?" "I'm asking an important question, can you help me out?" She replies ,"Sure depending on what it is". I then asked, "What do you think happens when people die?" She was Jewish and believed that everyone was going to heaven, but not totally sure. We had a good conversation for about 15 minutes. She heard about the Law and Christ dying on the cross for our sins to bring us to God! I was pumped!

After I talked with her I headed to go get some dinner, and I saw two guys playing on a skateboard outside of a lecture hall. I was walking and I asked the Lord if I should talk with them. So I approached them and said "Hi, are you guys preview students?" they then replied, "We're Freshman." Then I asked them what they were doing with the skateboard and they said they were practicing to use it for transportation because campus is so big. I asked them their majors and where they were from. I then said, "hey guys, I have a question for you." "If you died tonight are you 100% sure that you would go to heaven?" Both of them replied "no". I then took them through the good person test and they admitted that they would go to hell. I then asked the guys if they knew how to have their sins forgiven. One guy said no and the other said "Jesus died on the cross." I then briefly went through the gospel with them. One guy objected about hypocrites in the church and left the church at an early age, but I exhorted him to not let that keep him away from the truth. I then shared my testimony with them urged them to seek the truth. They both took tracts and had to class.

This evening I was in my dorm lounge reading a book and spending time with the Lord, and a guy and a girl walked in to make dinner. I began talking to the guy and introduced myself. We exchanged names, majors, where we were from and where we lived. Then he got up and started cooking dinner along with his friend. I asked the Lord to bring him back so I could witness to him. About 5 minutes later he came back and sat down. I said "Hey I have a question for you. What do you think happens when people die?" He then had kind of a strange look on his face, but proceeded to answer my question. He believed that a soul lives forever and when you do bad if is repaid to you in this life. I asked how he knew that to be true and where he got his information from. He said that he didn't believe in the Bible and wasn't sure if there was a god or not. I then got stuck and didn't know where to go. So I told them what the bible says about the after life, and took him through the Law. He didn't agree with hatred being murder, and lust being adultery in the heart, and said that if this is true then everyone would be going to hell. He wasn't convicted, but was proud and unbelieving. I started sharing with him evidence from the Bible, but he did even want to consider it. I urged him to look into the truth of the Bible and reasoned with him about eternity, but he wasn't concerned at all. So, I didn't share the gospel with him, but there was a gospel tract that I left on the table. Hopefully he will read it.

God has really had to push me to go lately! But I want to get to the point where I am just taking those oportunities as they come!

"Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God," 2 Timothy 1:8

Satan's workin' overtime!

A few days ago, the Lord was tugging on my heart to share the good news of Jesus Christ, but I kept stalling and distracting myself with everyday things. That night (1/23/07) after I had dinner with my lifegroup, I told myself "Ahh whatever!! I'm going to share the gospel with the first person that I see on my way back to my dorm! So as I was walking back to my dorm from Broward dining, I saw six girls standing on the sidewalk chatting. I then walked up to them and said "Hi, are you all busy?" they replied "No we are just waiting for the snap van." Then I said "Can I ask you all a question?". They then replied "sure", so I asked "If you all died tonight, are you 100% assured that you would go to heaven?" One by one the girls said "no" "no" "no".... then I inquired why, and a few of them answered that they were going to purgatory. I then inquired further, "why is that?", and they responded, "Because we are not perfect." After the girls said this the snap van came, I handed one of them a gospel tract and they all left! That was it! I then asked the Lord to reach their hearts with the gospel ! It was an unfortunate answer I received from them because the Bible doesn't even hint at a purgatory! It doesn't exist! The blood of Christ has either fully cleansed us or it hasn't!

I thought that was an interesting account to note however, the night doesn't stop there! I then made my way back to my dorm, and I decided to go to the kitchen. I saw a guy from my floor watching T.V. so I struck up a conversation with him, then after about five minutes I said "I've been wanting to ask you an interesting question." He replied "ok", and I said "What do you think happens after someone dies?". He replied he had no idea. So I took sometime to talk about God, and creation, and the proof of the Bible. Then I began to walk him through the Ten Commandments, and he admitted that he would be guilty. Then someone else walked into the kitchen on the conversation and started talking about Jesus the Son of God! Then the guy I was talking with walked over to the stove to attend to his food. I asked the new person if she was born again, and we talked for a bit. I then finished the conversation with the guy from my floor and told him about the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on the cross for our sins.

Afterwards, I began to walk upstairs with another guy who lived on my floor and in the hallway I asked him what he thinks happens after death. He told me that he thought heaven and we talked about how to get there, and I shared my testimony with him. He then told my that he was a Christian who was not in fellowship and that he had been kind of discouraged from going and talking about Jesus Christ because of his friends. So I tried to encourage him a bit.

There is one big thing that I noticed from witnessing that evening, mainly from the two latter conversations. I noticed that Satan is always working, he never stops. He is working to keep Christians silent and timid in witness, and he is working to keep unbelievers in the dark away from the truth. He will do what is in his power to stop us from spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, with fear, lies, temptation and etc. He doesn't want believers to be bold in the gospel, but to remain bottled up! I must confess, that these past few days I've been feeling "bottled up" myself and reluctant to share the truth with others. But my exhortation is this: Don't let Satan out work you as a a believer, he is constantly working and this is what we should be doing as well. There are many people on our college campuses who are blind from the truth of the gospel and have no clue that there is judgment coming (Hebrews 9:27) for sin and that they can pass through it by Jesus Christ. As believers, lets commit to working for the glory of God for the souls of men, by telling them the truth!

David and Goliath

Most of us have heard the account of David and Goliath growing up at some point in our lives! This morning I was reading for class and I came across the account of David killing Goliath in 1 Samuel 17. All of the Israelite men were afraid of the nine foot giant, Goliath who for forty days would come to ranks of the Israelites and challenge them to send a man for a duel! I then read that David came to the troops to bring some supplies from his father and began to question who giant Philistine was by saying "....who is this uncirumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?" 1 Samuel 17:26. David then assured King Saul that the Lord would deliver him from the giant Philistine just as he had delivered him from the bears and lions.

David then approached the line to meet the Philistine with a staff and a slingshot. David said to Goliath "This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may now that there is a God in Israel" 1 Samuel 17:46. This is interesting because David could have easily thought with a rational mind and said to himself "There is no way that I could take him with my own strength... I'm young and I'm much smaller that he!" But what was David's secret? David didn't look at himself in relation to the task that he had!!!!! He looked at the strength and glory of God and was out for the glory of God and was tenacious in seeking that glory for God!! He saw that this giant Philistine was reigning curses on Israel, blaspheming and defaming the glory of God and his people! So David looked 100% to God when he hopped into this battle with Goliath and slain him with a stone!! David wasn't out for himself or for fame, but out for God's glory so that His name would be made known to others!

Neat account huh? But what does this have to do with our lives today?
We as Christians have a monunmental task set before us today called the Great Commission given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ! We have been appointed by God to bring the gospel of Jesus to this lost world, and what a great and difficult task it seems like to us. We have all sorts of opposition that we cannot seem to get past, like thoughts of discouragement, unbelief, slander, personal reputation, fear, and the list goes on! But just as David faced a seemingly impossible opponent and eagerly met him at the frontlines with his eyes focused on God, we are to do the same with the Great Commission! We are to meet this great task of reconciling souls to God head on with our eyes totally on the Lord! We are to focus on spreading his glory and fame throughout this world, and not on ourselves or what it will make us look like, feel like, or even what might happen to us! I fear that many of us have turned our gaze inward or on the wrong thing as we have tried to spread the gospel of God's grace! Maybe we have been too introspective or maybe we have worried too much about what others may think of us!

Take David's example and keep your eyes Fixed on Jesus Christ, and remember that you're out battling for the glory of the Lord... not your own or even the glory of those that we try to reach! If God was with David when he stepped up to Goliath for His glory, will he not be with you, His own child, when you step up to the task of the Great Commission for the glory of Jesus Christ?

The woman at the rock.

I have had only one class today and I've been somewhat studying for an exam, but I felt like it was a good idea to go out and hand out some tracts before I ate lunch... so I did! I handed out some tracts as I made my way to the Turlington rock and sat down there. I then struck up a conversation with a young woman sitting next to me, and we talked briefly about everyday things.
I then asked her "When you die, what do you think is on the other side?" She said she decided not to think about it much anymore, but after I did alittle more probing she said that maybe heaven and hell. Then I asked her "How do you get to heaven?" and she replied, "by being a good person". She then told me that she goes to the Catholic church across the street from my dorm. So I asked her a few more questions, and then proceeded to walk her through the Ten Commandements and she admitted to being a liar, a blasphemer, a coveter and she failed to obey her parents at some points. After reasoning with her for a bit about sin and death, God allowed me to transition to the good news about Jesus Christ and about how he was crushed under God's wrath for our sins.
She then told me that she believed that and was trying to live for Christ. At that point I was a bit confused because her answers to my questions early led me to believe that she wasn't a believer, so I talked about the new birth in Christ alittle bit. She then left for class and thanked me for talking with her.
I then just thought "hmmm I wonder if she was being honest or not?" And you know.. I've wondered that on many different gospel encounters, but a person will know in their heart whether or not they are right with God. God won't let His word return void, but it will always accomplish what he wills it to, but we as believers must continue to faithfully plant the seeds of the gospel no matter what because we all know what happens after death....but sadly many do not!
Until Next time.

The Great Challenge..

Here is a monthly post of something that has been on my mind and my heart!!! It's late, I have some work to finish, so I'll make this quick!

I have a great desire to see the souls of men and women on this campus saved, it is a frequent prayer and a task in which I frequently take part in! But I've been greatly challenged in my consistency of the great task of preaching the gospel to every creature as Jesus commanded! I find that I struggle with apathy, fear of rejection and of the unknown every time, everyday and it almost never goes away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know what God desires and I know that he will not withhold the strength needed for the gospel to go forth on this campus, but I find it so tough to consistently remain steadfast in prayer for God's churches and the as I should, but I continually feel God nudging my heart to continue on in the work of chasing the souls of men!!

Everyday that I wake up I feel the nudge on my heart saying "Are you going to cast your nets today?" It never ever leaves me!!!! NEVER! And by gollie I won't ignore the call that God has given to seek him and fish for men with the message of the gospel! Yes it's hard, yes it's scary, yes it's uncertain, yes there's rejection, but what a mistake it is to ignore the calls of the living God. For Jesus has said "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" Mark 16:15. I cannot neglect it, will not!

I'm reminded of a missionary named David Brainerd who gave himself wholly to be used by God to reach the Native Americans in the 18th century and went through such tremendous hardship and pain that he died at the age of 29. He frequently prayed and wept for their salvation and preached with a tongue of fire because he had obeyed the commission of God and took it seriously with all of his heart! He even viewed suffering as a friend! As a result of the work that God did through him, many Native Americans came to Christ! This is an example that I'm challenged to follow as well as the Apostle Paul's and when he says "For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:" Romans 9:3.

I'm challenged to give myself over to God and his work as these men have done! There is a campus of 50,000 people, most of whom do not know the Lord Jesus. I'm living in a dorm and I suspect that most here do not know Christ either! I've sat idley, and prayerlessly long enough. I must do what God is nudging my heart to do... I must preach the gospel to them! I've been lazy and scared, but I must trust in the Lord! Everytime I hear their voices in the hallway and make small talk with them when I see them passing through I cringe inside and ask, "what if I brought up Christ? How would they respond?" And I think the worst and say nothing because I want no offense! Haha but alas! The message is offensive!!!!!!!!!!

But this is what is going on inside my mind and my heart at the moment for the cause of Christ. This isn't really for entertainment or for people to read and be entertained.... who reads blogs anyway? *wink* May God give us all the strength and wake us up from Spiritual apathy and lack of concern for the lost and dying world!!! Amen!!!

Giving into the War

It is 7:55pm and I'm taking a break from working on a hg teaching for tomorrow evening. I was just doing some reflecting about my life and passion for God. I look around and I see people who are in need of the Lord! I see a great harvest that God wants us to thresh as believers. I look around and I realize that there is great work to be done here at the University of Florida, and the Lord is constantly giving me a desire to tell everyone about Him! God wants sold out men and women to use to reach this campus with the gospel, and it's in all out war. I'm writing this blog because in my mind and my heart... I want to commit to this war that is waging between the forces of spiritual light and darkness!
There are souls in the balance, there are dead men and women who are in desperate need of the Lord Jesus Christ. This morning I rededicated myself to fighting against the dark spiritual forces that rage in this world for the glory of Jesus! It is a scary thing, but fear is the enemy's greatest weapon in incapacitating the Body of Christ and it's tough to admit, but this tactic has been very effective! But I'm throwing myself into the arms of Christ! The hands of Jesus! I'm surrendering myself totally to the will of the Lord because there is a great work that needs to be done!!!!!!!!! Reader, will you do the same? Will you hop into the arms of Christ so that he can use in this War of reconcilation?
I want to tell every person that I come across about the saving power of Jesus Christ! The people in my dorm, on the bus, in turlington plaza everywhere! I want to preach my heart out for God, ahahah. I thought of this verse "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent." Luke 4:43. This is the mission given by God for us to do and this is the cause that I will give my life to.
Until next time.....

When things went wrong......in evangelism at FSU

I just want to share some of the experiences here in which people have gotten offended or angry from me trying to witness to them for one reason or another! Hey! It happens, but rejoice and reflect because we are representing Christ and his word says "If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you" 1 Peter 4:14. However, this is not a verse to cover yourself with if you are not speaking the truth in love or if you're being a meddler! But people will misunderstand those who preach the gospel at times. So my hope is that whoever reads this is encouraged when the not so nice witnessing experiences come by and to share your faith in general!

Earlier in the summer I was with a sister in Christ, Lauren and we were able to give a spiritual interest questionaire to an atheist(I won't put his name). This guy was kind of proud and didn't believe in God and the validity of the bible. So I reasoned with why God exists with an order, art, design, and creation argument. I don't know if he was convinced or not, but we talked alittle more about it, then I decided to address his conscience rather than his intellect. I asked him if he considered himself to be a good person and he said "Yes". So I proceeded to walk him through the God's moral Law. He failed the test just like everyone else, and said that if God existed he would let him into heaven. I reiterated that he was guilty and that he would have alot to think about if this is true. Then he quoted a bible verse to me! "Judge not lest ye be judged" he said! I told him that this wasn't my judgement but God's andI asked him what he think would happen to him if it was true. He then, got agitated and said that I was forcing my beliefs on him, but I was asking him "what if it was true?" He then said that the bible is not reliable, and asked me where Cain from the book of Genesis got his wife. This caught me off guard, although I knew the answer. It wasn't good enough for him, and he laughed at me, ehheh.... Afterwards, he had to go back to work, and I urged him to think about these things more.

During another instance, I approached some FSU students who were tabling for a study abroad program. I struck up a conversation with a girl who had a cross around her neck. This caught my eye... I eventually turned the conversation to spiritual things by asking her if she would go to heaven if she died. She had no idea, and she pointed to a guy to her right and told me to ask him that question then she left to talk on her phone. So I proceed to talk with the guy behind the table about spiritual things. He had a churched background, but was an agnostic. I talked with him about the existence of God, but he didn't really believe in a heaven or hell. Since he was churched, I asked him if he knew the Ten Commandments, and he looked at me with this "Well, DUH!" expression, lol! So I asked him to name them. I don't think he named them all, but he named most of them. I then asked him if he kept them and I think he said that he didn't keep them all, but some of them. So I asked him, "Have you ever told a lie?" ,Yes he said, then I asked "What does that make you?". His face then went flat and he answered "a liar", then I asked him, "Have you ever stolen something?" he answered "yes, but I'm not a thief". I tried to reason with him on what a thief was, but I moved on. Afterwards, I asked him, "Have you ever used God's name in vain?" he answered "yes", then I said, "that's called blasphemy". Then that set him off! He replied, "NOW YOU'RE PREACHING TO ME! I WAS NICE ENOUGH TO TALK WITH YOU ABOUT SPIRITUAL THINGS AND USE MY TIME. I SEE THE TRACTS IN YOUR HAND! YOU HAVE AN AGENDA DON'T YOU? I HAVE LIED AND STOLEN AND USED GOD'S NAME IN VAIN AND EVERYTIME I DO IT I FEEL GUILTY! Then I said, "I came over here to tell you something important because if you died tonight, you be punished for your sins, and not only you, but many other people here!" I then told him about the cross of Jesus Christ!!!! "You feel guilty because God gave you a conscience." He then replied, "You must care alot about people to go about trying to save their souls. You're very kind". He then took a tract and said that he wanted to talk again sometime. This was very encouraging, but his conviction caused him to get angry which will happen when you testify against peoples works..

I have another one, but I don't feel like typing it because it is late! But may you read this and be encouraged!

Grace and Peace! Until next time!

Witnessing encounters on FSU's campus

Today between 1 and 4 I got to go out sharing the gospel with my fellow intern and brother in Christ, David. We shared the gospel with 11 people today on campus, which has been really amazing! God has been giving us great boldness to approach groups of people and tell them of the saving power of Jesus Christ. David and I were able to approach a group of 4 people sitting at a table, and we gave them a spiritual interest questionaire. None of them were actually sure if they were going to heaven or not, but they said that they had God in their hearts. They were doubtful because of their lifestyle. One of the people left, then I began to reexplain the gospel to them and at this time, my heart began to feel heavy as I was reitering that Christ paid our full debt, and by believing we are justified by his blood. One of the people that was listening began to clap, and I started to explain that we can know 100% that we are going to have eternal life, and that we are new creatures in Christ. The person began to clap again and they thanked David and I for our time and we thanked them for theirs.
Next David and I were able to approach 4 more people who were having a conversation on a sidewalk on campus. We gave them the questionaire, and they were not sure if they were going to heaven or not, and thought that if they could get there then it would be by their good deeds. I walked them through the ten commandments and they admitted that they were guilty before God and were not going to heaven. So we then shared the gospel with them and 3 of them listened very intently, while one of them walked off to talk on his phone. When I look back I think I should have challenged them with a decision for Christ, but I gave them some gospel booklets then they headed off to class.
Afterwards, David and I approached 4 more people and gave them the survey. They then were interested in knowing how they could have eternal life. David then walked all 4 of them through the ten commandments, and it was interesting to see their reactions when they saw how they measured up against God's Law. It's interesting because it shows us what we really are in truth! David then shared with them the saving power of Christ, and all of them listened very intently as well, even though two of them said they were Christians. I then explained to them the power that the Holy Spirit has to sanctify us.The most skeptical guy of the group seemed to be affected the most, and had the most questions, but that day everyone left knowing that they had alot to think about. God really blessed that day of gospel preaching. We pray that all of those seeds that were planted and watered would bear a crop of salvation!
Grace and peace!

Update

It's been a while since I have posted, the time is 4:20 pm and it is the 4th of July, haha. I'm here at the FSUbmerge program which is a church planting and leadership training program! I've been support raising for the program and I am now at 87% of my support! God has amazingly come through with the support. I had no idea how He would do it, but He has!
God has been teaching us alot here at FSU in the program! He has been personally testing me tremendously as a leader, and it has been very challenging! I used to pray regularly that God would grow me as a leader and He has answered them lol! There have been alot of growing pains through this but God is faithful and will come through. God has also been growing my diligence in evangelism which has been amazing. There are so many more details that I could include in this post, but I will maybe save them for a later time. Until next time!

Trial, Renewal, and Personal Reflection.

The time is 5:23 pm and this is the first blog entry of this month. I have not posted here in a while, but now I feel compelled to post.

For the past few weeks, I believe that this has been a period of trials, and my heart for God has been tested. The trials have come in the form of busyness, and I have also been trying to learn more about myself and who I am in Christ. None of this may make sense because this is coming straight from my brain and my heart.
Lately, so many things have come up such as, tests, ministry, school work, support raising, and conference preparation. I have been swamped with obligations, and it feels as though my heart for God has been tested. It is so easy to forget what God has put on your heart or what He wants you to do when daily chores come up. And for the past few weeks, the flame in my heart for God and the gospel has been put under strain it seems. But yesterday, it felt as though my heart was renewed for the work he has set out before me. Yesterday morning during quiet time, I prayed to God and asked him to damn my fears, my complacency, my pride, my uncaring attitude, my reputation, and to give me the boldness to live for Him. I then got dressed and left the dorm with the mind set of serving God, mainly through witnessing to anyone that I could because that's what God has put on my heart!!!!!!!!! My heart was filled with compassion and I could not help but feel a overwhelming love for those around me! I got the opportunity to share the gospel with someone from my economics class, and later that day I tried to share with a guy on the bus, but he rejected me. Afterwards, joy just flooded me as I continued to look around on the bus for someone that I could talk to. I felt totally renewed!
I've also been doing alot of reflecting and asking myself... who am I????? I've been looking at who I am in Christ, examining my own personality closely, and even comparing it to what it was in high school. Lately, I have been exposed to more leadership responsibilities and that has caused me to look at my personality and who I am in Christ with respect to leadership.... hehe does that make sense? I have concluded that I'm definitely not gifted or skilled as a leader ehhhh..... I always make mistakes! But I believe that God is trying to grow me as one and is using mistakes to teach me how to be a leader, and this process is not easy because it is exposing personal pride, and I am very critical of myself! And I usually come down alittle hard on myself when I know that I could have done something better (Bad sentence structure I know..). So, with regards to examining my personality, I have found that I'm on the introverted side and usually in large groups I'm not very vocal . I'm always reminded of this in large group settings such as home group or hang out times. I have always been like this since I can remember, but what's cool is that I feel like God wants to use me to say alot to others and encourage them. I also feel this supernatural burden to spread the gospel verbally, although, I'm not a trained, eloquent, or constant speaker. I want to shout from the roof tops!

I have more to say, but until next time..

By the way, the reason that I write this blog is because I have alot of thoughts that I usually don't share very much, so I type what's inside of me.

The Fire Inside and Outreach thoughts.

The time is 3:10 p.m.

I woke up this morning at about 8:00 am and had a quiet time. Afterwards, I went to church. For the past few days, I've been looking inside and pondering about the fire inside of my heart for God and the gospel. It's there, it's burning, and it's real! But it's hard to channel it into something that is practical and hands on. Not sure how I can put this but, it seems that all around this campus there are people who are gospel resistant I guess.... those who have been exposed to the good news before and maybe many many times, and there are even believers who don't seem to care so much for one reason or another. Of course, there are those who don't quite know, but what about those who do know and are extremely harden to the gospel? This can be a challenge, even if you are gung ho about the spread of the good news. I know that I'm not the only one who has been wrestling with this situation, but I think we can shed some light on how to actually spread the gospel with some fruit I guess... eh. It seems that in other places in the east such as India and China, you hear about multitudes of people coming to Christ within a short period of time, but here in America, the number of born again believers is hardly growing at all! Now right now I am not sure where I'm going with this because my mind is now an open platter, so bear with me, heheheheheeheh. This is a complex yet simple subject! Why do our outreach efforts here seem so ineffective? Here's where it can get very cloudy, but here is what I think.
We have strayed away from the biblical way of outreach. Today, we don't see God's hand in our witnessing attempts as much as should I believe. As I mentioned before, multitudes of people in the east have been coming to Christ for the past 50 years or so....millions!!!!!! There have been tons and tons of miracles also, which has been a powerful witness of the truth of the gospel in Asia. But here, we don't see tons of people coming to the Lord and we don't see very many miracles. Now I could go on and on with thoughts, but I'm going to make this short. I believe we must rely on God when it comes to spreading the gospel, not social events, not our own intellect, and not even our own personalities or kindness!! Look at the books of Acts, the gospel spread like wildfire because when people spoke, God confirmed his truth with His power and presence. There weren't apologetical arguments like we have today because the Lords hand was on there efforts. We must cry out to God and plead with Him to change the hearts of men whether we know them or not! I believe that we have made the mistake of taking the matters into our own hands when it comes to outreach, and as a result we have not seen very many lives transformed by the gospel. I think that we need to go back to the pattern of Acts even it does seem like it won't fit into this culture! God will fight for us if we let Him, step out on faith!!!!!!!!
If you want to really getting a glimpse of how God is moving in Asia check out the newsletter archive on www.asiaharvest.org.

It continues..

It's been a while since I have posted here.... But today is my 20th birthday, lol. I feel like I'm getting old haha! Does this mean that I have to actually act older since I'm no longer a teenager?

Catching up.... I have recently changed my major, and I am no longer on the microbiology track! I am now on the religion track and so far it is pretty interesting!!! I've been warned about my future however by my family to really make sure that I want to do this because of job opportunites, but this decision was a leap of faith and I trust that God will use this some how. I came to this decision by examining my heart and what God has put on it. It is on my heart to serve God full time when I graduate college, and I was experiencing a growing discontentment with my previous major, so now I am doing religion.
The fire to spread the gospel still burns within my heart and it has played a role in my decision to change my major. This summer I am going to be involved in a church plant, and I am very excited.
This is all that I have for now, more soon to come.....

Done but not at rest.......

It has been a while since I have actually posted on my blog... hehehe. Hehe, and a certain someone predicted that I wouldn't be consistent with this blog.... (*Stares at screen with sinister look*) I'll show him.............
For the past few weeks things have been busy, and I have had alot on my mind, but I have been taking breaks during every chance that I get, and now I am done with exams lol. So I'll give the run down of what's been happening.
I've had a hand full of finals to study for and a couple of papers to write. I also have decided to apply for an internship with GCM, and that application was sent in yesterday. Since things have been busy, it seems that my passion for God has been stressed alittle bit, but with the testing, that leaves room for growth in faith. In the midst of my busy time, deep down inside I realized how much I want to give my life completely to God and how much of a passion I have for the gospel. In fact, I want to see a revival right here at the University of Florida.... I want to see many many people some to Christ here, so much that it flips this place upside down. This is on my heart, and I'm pressed with the question of "how does this get done?" "What do we need to be doing?" Even though I am finished with exams and have the opportunity to rest, the spirit within me is not at rest because of my thoughts on a revival. This is all that I will say about this subject for now...
This is the end of today's entry. This is just alittle bit of what I was thinking, but there is more that I will put up on a later date.

Boldness in Prayer/ Warning Godless men

11/28/05
The organization of this blog may be off, hehehe...
It is now 9:47 am, and I think it's alittle early to be typing this now, but with thoughts from this morning I just couldn't wait. I woke up early this morning and had a quiet time, and had some interesting thoughts about Godless men and Prayer! (By the way, the two subjects aren't linked in anyway.)

I started off reading Daniel Chapter 9 this morning and Daniel's prayer really popped out at me! I was intrigued by the way he prayed to God. Daniel completely humbled himself before God with fasting, sackcloth attire, and ashes. Daniel began to praise God for what He had done in the past, and also admitted his faults and the faults of his Countrymen! In addition to his humility, Daniel came boldly before God with requests on behalf of Israel! But what really got me was the fact that Daniel wasn't just plainly asking God for forgiveness of his countrymen...no... he was demanding it! He came before the creator of the universe demanding blessings!!! How cool is that? He was extremely humble in the process of it too, and God granted his request! When I think about this there seems to be a wave of irony associated with this! How can a mere man come before God with total confidence and demand blessings?! Lol. This is found specifically in Daniel 9:15-19. Prayer in this Fashion is also done by the believers in Acts 4:28-30, by the Lord Jesus Himself in John 17. There are more examples all over scripture, but those were some of the ones that came to mind immediately. Approach God's throne with boldness believing that he will answer! If God doesn't give us what we request, he may be telling us no, or wait, but I trust that it will make sense to the saint why God will not answer a prayer.

Afterwards I read some of the book of Jude, and again something caught my attention....Godless men!!! Jude 8-16 Talks about Unrighteous/Godless men and the judgement that will eventually come to them! I will make this short. Everyday we are surrounded by unrighteous Godless people, alot of us are close friends with them. Now the point I want to make is that we should warn these people of God's judgement... Yes! We should warn them, and this reminds me of Ezekiel 33:7-9. Following this warning, we should follow up with the truth of the gospel. Many people have been told that they are a sinner and that they are going to hell, and they have been greatly offended by this. I've run into individuals who were bitter towards Christians because someone has told them that. This is because the truth was not fully spoken and was not spoken in love! In reality the unbeliever may have been told that he or she is going to hell out of malice and cruelty or just plain coldness. We must speak the truth in love! While it is true that if someone is not trusting Christ they are headed for hell, but WE MUST TELL PEOPLE WHY!!! We must give them the whole truth, and the truth is that we are all transgressors of God's law. God does not overlook sin but instead, he must provide punishment for those sins. For the wages of sin is death. By no means will God let those who are not forgiven of their sins into heaven, and there are two places where one can only go after judgement! We must warn people of this and speak the truth in love followed by the gospel! Now by typing this, I am reminded of what I talked about with an acquaintance during my ride back down to Gainesville. Here is the Gist of the story......
I was in the car with a friend and his friend. I'll call him D. I opened up a spiritual conversation with D and he told me that he was an agnostic/athiest, then he told me that someone told him that he needed to repent or he was going to hell......ok....But then he proceeded to proclaim his goodness. He told me that he was no Hitler, he only stole once, he was honest MOST of the time, and that he stayed away from extreme stuff. Now what's wrong with this picture? Someone warned him of God's wrath, but he did not indicate that he knew why God would send someone to hell!!!!! D is like a blind man headed toward a cliff!!!!! He thinks he will be ok if there is a God when he is judged, but in reality he is not forgiven for his sin, and only through Jesus can he be forgiven!!! We must warn these people of God's wrath, but we must also tell them WHY they are headed for God's wrath following this with the gospel. We must speak the truth with love!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We must not abstain from telling our friends and family this vital truth followed with the gospel!
Now I want to mention one more thing.
When speaking the truth of the gospel to people there will be persecution. Jesus said so himself...... No servant is greater than his master, and if they persecuted Him they will persecute you too. You can look back at history and in scripture, and you will see all kinds of persecution. People have been ridiculed, boiled, beheaded, hit, kicked, spat on, crucified, and stoned. But these are the marks of Christ, and we will not be exempt from the cup that our Lord Himself drank from. Besides if you are rejected for the name of Christ, you are blessed. (1 Peter 3:14 ; 1 Peter 4:14, 16).

I know this was alittle extreme, but this is what was on my mind today and for the past few days.
More to come......soon

What is really inside?

11/27/05
This is a collection of my thoughts, it may not even make sense!Hmm... many things have been running through my mind for the past few months. I can't get into all of them right now, but I would like to through a few of them out there.

I woke up alittle later than usual this morning at 10 am, went to church (GCL). The information from the teaching was wonderful... I always wondered why the gospel of Thomas was rejected hehehee. It sounded like the gospel was mixed with a bit of Eastern philosophy........... is God everything? Is the creator also the creation? Nope! I just thought that was interesting to point out.

I feel like I'm standing at a cross road right now on where God wants me to be in the future. There are a handful of options and I know what my heart wants right now. It would be easy to just follow it and make a decision right?! I wish it were, but it's not....... let me explain what some of the deal is yo. Here is some Background.When I first came to UF during the Summer of 2004, I already had it set in my mind what I was going to major in. I wanted to be a microbiologist. This decision came with no guidance from God seeing as though I was not a Christian at the time, but it seemed like the right choice according to my interests. Now lets fast forward about year and a half. Its fall of 2005, my heart has changed because of the outpouring of God upon me, I no longer look at the world the way I used to, including people for that matter. But let me cut to the point! My heart for God and this lost world is BIG! My thoughts, aspirations, goals, dreams, ambitions, desires, and whatever else stem from what God has put on my heart. I want to direct my future according to what God wants, but at the time I am not 100% sure on which way I should go. I believe the rumblings of my heart provide a good clue though *Smiles*. The big question is... should I enter full time ministry or should I pursue the career as a microbiologist?

At this point I see science as nothing more than a kind of hobby. My interest in it has taken kind of a plummet, but my heart for God has grown exponentially lol. Hey, check out Matthew chapter 10! I could totally picture myself doing what Jesus sent the Disciples out to do yo!!!!!!!!!!! Every time I read that I get a wave of excitement, heheheheheheheheeheh! I want to do what would honor God the most though!!! I want to lay down my life!!!!! Judging from where my heart is, I want to serve God full time. My heart aches when I think about the decay that is all over the world...........I have many more interesting thoughts and what not, but I will come with more later! Until next time!