Free Gospel Literature for Prison Ministry

Our local congregation has been involved in outreaching to our state prisons. Using Gospel Tract racks and tracts we send them in boxes to all the county jails and prisons; addressed to either their social workers and chaplains  free of charge. This program has been in operation in Wisconsin for 15 years. More states and congregations need to be a part of this program. What better way to rehabilitate prisoners than to provide them with solid Gospel literature that points them to the Word of God. We send a letter and two four pocket racks in a specially sized box provided by Gospel Tract in Moundridge KS. This is done once a year. If more tracts are needed our personalized stamp on each rack or the Gospel Tract address on each tract gives them a source for more literature or info. This is a rewarding work for the tract worker and helps keep the congregation in touch that there are people ---that we do not see that we can reach out to.

For more info on Gospel Tract and samples: http://churchofgodinchristmennonite.net/node/29
Peace of Mind in a Troubled World [text]: http://churchofgodinchristmennonite.net/node/23

Facebook Page? http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gospel-Tract-Bible-Society/168457219833751

Why I Hate Evangelism

This article is by Greg Stier and I think it has some good thought provoking thoughts in it.

It may come as a surprise to you that, the President of a ministry called Dare 2 Share, hates evangelism. But I do. Let me tell you why.

Evangelism makes my neighbors whisper about me and strangers laugh at me. It makes family members, who have yet to trust in Christ, roll their eyes when I engage them about the claims of Jesus at family reunions (aka “funerals” or “weddings.”) Evangelism makes for awkward moments everywhere I go.Evangelism forces me to decide whether or not I believe in Jesus enough to tell someone else that he is the only way into God’s favor. It puts me in the awkward position of telling a fellow human being that the core of what they believe about salvation is wrong, what the Bible says is right and that they need to repent (i.e. “change their minds”)if they expect to make it into heaven. Say it twice or say it nice and it still stings.

To be honest it would be much easier just to preach the gospel with my life and leave the words out of it. Wordless evangelism doesn’t spark outrage. It doesn’t spark arguments. It doesn’t spark anything. No discussion. No faith. No transformation.

Maybe I should ditch evangelism completely and just live a good life. I could seek to eradicate poverty, stop human trafficking or adopt orphans. Nobody will get mad at me then. Most people would probably think that I’m pretty cool. And, to be totally truthful, that’s what I want, to be cool and accepted, not mocked and rejected.

Who wants to be marginalized? Who wants to be persecuted? Who wants to come off as a stark raving lunatic?

Actually, who wants to be treated like the early disciples? Sure they took care of orphans and widows (very cool!) but they evangelized everyone they met (not so cool!) These Christians just wouldn’t shut up. In the midst of all their service to the poor they passionately proclaimed to them, and to everyone else who would listen, that this wood-working rabbi named Jesus was the exclusive way to God. As a result they were crucified upside down, beheaded right side up and gutted inside out.

Not fun.

I don’t want to take a punch for Jesus. Heck, I don’t even want to be a punch line on his behalf. I don’t like the feelings of shame that come from preaching the Name of Jesus Christ. Yeah, yeah, I know that 2 Timothy 3:12 promises that “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” And I know that this persecution erupts from declaring that “Jesus is Lord” to a scoffing world. But there has got to be another way. Right?

After all doesn’t Peter sound kind of arrogant when he declares in Acts 4:13 that, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved”? The gall of that chief disciple of Jesus who was given the keys to the kingdom by the King of kings himself! The arrogance of that leader of the revolution that was the early New Testament church!

Yes, I hate evangelism. I don’t like at all what it does to me. It puts me smack dab into a camp of Christians that are sure of what they believe and confident in what they proclaim. It puts me in the crosshairs of Satan, the world and the too-cool-for-the-old-school Christians.

But, on the other hand, maybe this was what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 5:11-12 in the Sermon on the Mount when he said, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Okay, maybe I don’t hate evangelism. Or maybe it’s the old me (the one before I met Jesus) who hates it. But, as I think about it, getting mocked or marginalized for the sake of Jesus isn’t nearly as bad as getting crucified for crimes you didn’t commit.

This article can be found at:

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20100730/why-i-hate-evangelism/

Witnessing to Muslims

I wish I had more time  to write on this but my time today is running out but here is a website and pdf on the subject that have some real value. I guess the last while due to my beard and dark complexion people have taken me to be a Muslim. I suppose that is what it is. lol. Anyways my heart goes out to these people and I hope some of you can glean as much new insight as I have reading these articles.

http://www.arabsforchrist.org/witnessing101/

http://www.centerformissions.com/images/Witnessing%20to%20Moslems.pdf

What Muslims Believe

Here are a few points I found on this website that helped me get a start in trying to understand more about what Muslims believe, (Although I don't necessarily totally agree with all their witness approach at the end of their article) It's a start:

http://www.christiananswers.net/evangelism/beliefs/islam.html

What Muslims Believe

"Islam has seven fundamental beliefs that every Muslim must accept as a part of his/her religion (the Emanul Mufassil, or Faith Listed in Detail). Every Muslim learns this formula as a part of his/her religious training." ^*

• “Belief in God” (who, in Arabic, is named “Allah”)
• "Belief in the angels" (both good and bad)
• "Belief in the revealed Books of God
• Belief in God's many prophets" (including Adam, Abraham, Moses, David, and other Christians and Jews are familiar with)
• "Accepting that there will be a Last Day
• Belief in the divine measurement of human affairs
• Belief in life after death"

* Yahiya Emerick, Understanding Islam (Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002, p. 18.)

Muslims also believe in Satan and in a Day of Judgment on which God will send people to either heaven or hell. They also believe that Ishmael (the father of the Arab world), not Isaac, received the promise from God through Abraham; this helps to explain why Arab Muslims feel that their claim to the Holy Land is a God-given right.

Is it true that Islam is a lot like Christianity?
Although the two religions share some terminology and even some theology (monotheism, for instance), Islam is fundamentally different from Christianity. Islam is a works-oriented religion, while Christian faith is based on salvation by grace through faith as a result of the shed blood of Christ. In Islam, if God wants to forgive sin, He simply says, “It is forgiven.” Christianity recognizes the necessity of the shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sin. (Hebrews 9:22)

How Do Muslims Believe They Will Be Saved?

As a works-oriented religion, Islam requires that its adherents earn their way to heaven by performing the five pillars of the faith.

1. Say the confession of faith. A Muslim must confess, "There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is the prophet of God."
2. Pray. Muslims are supposed to pray five times a day: shortly before sunrise, mid-morning, noon, mid-afternoon, and after sunset.
3. Give alms. Muslims are to give about 2.5 percent of their wealth.
4. Fast during Ramadan. For one lunar month, from sunrise to sunset, Muslims are not to allow anything to pass down their throat. (Theoretically, a good Muslim would even spit out his or her saliva.) Then from sunset to sunrise, they are permitted to eat as little or as much as they want. This is their way of developing discipline and relating to the poor. (Travelers, young children and pregnant or nursing mothers do not need to keep the fast.)
5. Make a pilgrimage to Mecca. Every Muslim who is financially able is supposed to travel to the birthplace of Islam once in his or her lifetime.

But do Muslims have any guarantee of salvation?
Muslims have no guarantee of being saved. They believe that all their works will be accounted for and that on Judgment Day, if your bad works outweigh your good works, you are going to go to hell. But if your good works outweigh your bad works, you'll probably go to heaven. (Since God is all-powerful, they concede that He may do with you as He pleases, even if you have been very righteous. They hope He won't be having a “bad day” at Judgment.) A third possibility is that you could go to hell and burn your sins off for a while and then be allowed into heaven. The only way Muslims can be guaranteed to go to heaven is through “jihad.” Although it is often translated “holy war,” “jihad” literally means "exerting force for God." One could be in “jihad” by writing a book about Islam, or by sharing his faith to bring others to Islam, or by physically fighting for the cause of Islam. If a Muslim dies in “jihad,” he is guaranteed to go to heaven.

3 Mistakes Christians Make When Trying to Reach a Muslim

I took light from this article because it shed light why one of my Muslim/turned Christian friend was so dependent on others for nurture even though he was a grown man. We were ignorant of what he was coming from, a community that supplied many of his needs. The thoughts are good and you can find the rest of the article at

http://www.4truth.net/site/c.hiKXLbPNLrF/b.2904183/k.F967/Mistakes_Christians_Make_When_Trying_to_Reach_a_Muslim.htm

By William Wagner

1. Not understanding the seriousness of religion in an Islamic context

For most in the western world a decision to follow Jesus Christ is very serious indeed, but if the person says yes it will have an only a limited effect on the persons immediate circumstances. Not so with a Muslim. The Koran teaches very strongly that any Muslim who converts to another religion, whether it is Christianity or some other belief system is guilty of apostasy and must be put to death. This is carried out in all Islamic Republics but since those living in the west cannot kill a person for switching religions the friends and family will use other very harsh means to keep the person a Muslim. This will include kidnapping and imprisonment, beatings, and total exclusion from the family.

Even approaching a person with the gospel puts the person into a very difficult position. They fear what others will say if they speak with a Christian and they also fear for their soul since they have been taught from birth that to become a Christian will send them to the sixth level of hell. (The seventh being the worst)

The Christian who witnesses must realize how serious a matter this is for the Muslim and their family. In witnessing to a Muslim you must be aware that the person you are working with, if they accept Christ, will probably be persecuted and could even be killed. Many Americans simply do not realize how serious a change in religion can be in a Muslim context.

2. Not being willing to take on the responsibility of discipling a convert from Islam

Once in Germany I spoke to a young man from the Middle East who lived in Nuremburg, Germany, about his newfound faith in Jesus. He told me of his decision but was disappointed with the care and love given to him by the church. I invited him to come to Salzburg, Austria where I lived and I would get him a job, an automobile, an apartment and offer him great fellowship in our youth center. He came and I provided what I had promised. I was proud of my effort and felt that I was finished. I told him to come to the youth center on Friday and Saturday nights and the church on Sundays. In about two months he came and told me how disappointed he was in me. I was shocked because I had done much for him but he said that he came expecting me to be his Guru (teacher). He wanted to follow me around everywhere I went. I was not willing for him to do this.

For a Muslim his family and community provides each member with their health insurance, their job, their food, their fellowship, their mate, and practically everything else of importance in life. When we win a Muslim to Christianity then we need to be prepared to make the necessary sacrifice in the disciplining process. They need much more of our time and love because we have torn them from their support system and we must find a way to make this up. Many Americans are not willing to make the necessary sacrifices that are called for.

In 1990 I went to a very important conference for the top people working in Muslim Evangelism in the world. One of the discussions was about the number of Muslims who converted to Christianity that stayed true to Jesus Christ. The consensus was that 80% of those who converted reconverted to Islam, the reason being that we did not take the necessary time to help disciple them so as to give them a good foundation in the faith. I am glad to say however that recently we have seen some dynamic changes and many more are now remaining in their new faith and they are even forming churches made up mostly of those who have come out of Islam.

3. Not knowing anything about Islam

A typical Muslim will know more about Christianity than a Christian will know about Islam. Just as Christians are taught how to witness to others, many Muslims are being taught how to refute the Christians arguments thus making our witness ineffective. Once there was a well-publicized open debate between the American evangelist Jimmy Swaggart and a famous Muslim scholar Dr. Ahmed Deedat. Swaggart apparently did not see the need to learn about Islam and just came with numerous quotes from the Bible. Deedat then replied by listing a large number of very important liberal Christian scholars that stated that the Bible could not be trusted and that most of it was not historical. Swaggart lost the debate and the Muslims still sell the videotape of the debate in their bookstores to show Muslims how to be ready for Christians who want to witness to them.

The more one builds up their knowledge of Islam the better the Christian can build good ideological bridges so as to find a good way to approach the Muslim. One very successful method is called the "Camel Method". In Islam the Muslims a that there are 99 names of God known to man but in heaven there are 100, but the only creature on earth that knows the last name of God is the camel thus the upturned lips of the camel that resembles a smile. This method of witness helps with the building of a bridge by saying to a Muslim. "We know the 100th Name of God, it is Jesus Christ". It builds upon what they know but takes them further on their road to belief in Jesus Christ.

Conclusion

Christians should not be afraid of witnessing to Muslims but rather should aggressively search out Muslims to talk with. The most important part of witness to Muslims is being led by the Holy Spirit. He will show you how best to approach the Muslim. I might add that the most effective means of helping a Muslim find Jesus Christ is still love. One Islamic leader stated at a large conference of Muslim clerics recently "Do not allow your people to have close contact with Christians because if you do the Christians will love your people into their faith." This is still true today.

How Can We Get More Love For The Souls Of Men?

Article by Brother JW

Here are replies I received, to the question that was asked. They are in the order that they were received and I have left them anonymous. Hopefully no one minds the sharing of your thoughts in this way. I might attempt to sum up these thoughts this way: That what is needed for love to increase, is a simple, humble, child-like faith that loves God, embraces Jesus, and then walks in obedience. It is out of a child-like heart that love pours...

The question:

How can we get more love for the souls of men?

---

One gets more love when one gives more love.

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First thing is to change this mysterious trying to "get a love for the souls of men" into a simple " go love our fellow men".

Jesus went about healing because he loved the people he daily met. He told John the Baptist that "the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the gospel is being preached to the poor.”

Profound in it's simplicity.

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Humility, love for God and absolute faith in His unchanging Word.

---

...It took me to 1 John 4:10-13.

Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.

Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.

First I am thinking that love for the souls of men is not something we can find ourselves. It is received. And when we talk of having more love, more or less is not a choice we have when we are only a recipient. We have before us an invitation to come to the Cross, and when we accept that invitation, and dwell at the Cross, we receive love. This love is compatible with whatever situation or circumstance we find ourselves in at any given time. I know that sounds a little too cut and dried, but I am thinking I have done way too much “trying to find”, instead of “receiving”.

---

Know the Savior. (The author of love) Can you know him and not be affected?

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It comes as a result of drawing close to God. Isn't it inherent in His work in our hearts? Furthermore, it is fostered by our response. If a Christian has a "heart" or burden for the souls of men, but doesn't do anything, how long will that burden remain?

---

We must remember. We must remember our own depravity. We must remember our own desperate need of a Saviour. We must remember how it came to be that we experienced the hope of salvation, and salvation itself. We must remember those first heart pulsing days when we visited and communed with God. When we comprehended that HE had a plan for our lives. How rich and secure we are in His love and security! When this is bubbling over in our lives our eyes turn to God, and then to what God sees. The need of man. We feel compassion for the depravity of lost souls, the mindlessness of their lives, and the futility of man’s efforts… I could rattle on. Now I have changed my mind. This has been idealistic, perhaps. Perhaps the answer can be summed up in the word, repent. If we repent, remember from whence we have fallen, and simply have the all encompassing love of God in our hearts, will we not have love for the souls of men?

---

It is a question that relates to the heart condition of men.

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Watch Tower Duty is Not a Time to Play Cards

For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.

Titus 2:11-15

This article was written thinking about the Church and yet for myself I want to take it personal. Glean from it what you might like, but the Truth stands that if we truly want to be saved of the Grace of God we must make sure we are indeed justified in His Righteousness as we know it in the Bible. We do not want to trust our own righteousness. For example we say times change and start looking around in comparisons to see how we want to live or believe instead of finding our direction from God. I think I am a good person because I don't do this or this........will not cut it. We first and foremost need to make sure we are where God wants us.

As for tower duty the best way to wipe the sleep from your eyes, Is to fall on your face and fear God. Be open with yourself--Is there anything you trying to hide from God. Are you covered by the grace. Do you bear good fruit that is fruit of repentance? Repentance is the vision of what it means to really feel sorry for your sins. Sins are pride and acts contrary to God's will or law.

Is there not

handwriting on the wall? It is over time to take serious stock of what the

Lord is telling us. The Lord is long suffering but he will not always strive

with flesh. He is totally justified in His righteousness to remove the

candle stick from whom he will because no one or ones can stand. It is only

through grace that we can be saved. (Grace is the gift of God to take away our sins and guilt if we will accept Jesus Christ sacrifice on our behalf.) That said this is really a spiritual time of dust and ashes.

The Church and Grace will stand, but will we continue in them or will we seek

our own proving and righteousness. Think about it in the light of what is

being said. There was a fire, their was a wind, and then a still small

voice. The Lord really has already told us his warning in the conference.

It's only out of his goodness he is reminding us over an extended period of

time. I'm not talking about certain issues, I am talking about repenting. A person

cannot repent until he sees the error of his way. That is why this is a time

of searching, we all hold the guilt in our hands. We recognize these areas

in our own life and bring them to the light. It is time for a little

"righteous indignation" and general movement of being tired of these state

of affairs. I am not worried about the Bride of Christ, it will stand. Do we

believe we are in an automatic default mode of once saved always saved even

though our fruits are increasing to the contrary? There will always be a

certain amount of problems, but where is genuine vision and repentance these

days? Do we really see are our nakedness and need to make sure our lives are

covered by the blood. Why else are we to Watch and Pray? To be on watch

tower duty is not a time to play cards.

Imagine......

1. John the Baptist saying, let's quite the locusts and get on with the

caviar, the kingdom is at hand.

2. Jesus saying even though these men have made the temple in this part a

den and market of thieves and a racket, lets focus on the fact it is still a

beautiful building.

3. Jesus blessed the fig tree and instead of cursed it for being fruitless

4. Paul would have said, well lets just accept the fact that Peter wants to

sit with his fellow Jews instead of the believing Gentiles. Let's be

balanced because he walked with Jesus in the flesh and the spirit, so it

cannot hurt this time.

Look at Nineveh. A reluctant Jewish prophet called Jonah comes into their midst. Surely

they could see he really wished they would perish. How did they see their

need instead of getting angry?

Remember these are the Last Times. We say it pretty lightly anymore, do we

mean it?

I guess maybe some would say perhaps I have a slightly warped view? I look

at pilgrim and strangers as moving toward Heaven and are focused on making

sure they stay on the right road. There is alot of dust and toil, but we are

fleeing the city of destruction being raided by hell hounds for bandits. We

are at the fork in the road and need to keep the caravan on the right road.

Where there is excessive smoke there is fire, and I want to rather be caught having a bucket of water in

my hands instead of a fiddle.

JLT

Winton's Out Reach to Homeless

Some young couples from Winton have been giving a couple evenings a month of their time to bring food for the homeless in their local town of Merced. (pop. around 70,000). They also have devotions with them after the meal for all those interested. Some of the participants of these services have showed continued interest in coming to visit our congregation in Winton. The latest development is also to shift the meal from the beginning to the end of the month to feed more people. The couples split the expenses out of their own pocket. Some ladies gather the night before and prepare the food at Church. This is only to inspire others to maybe doing something similar in your own communities.

And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? James 2:16

Let's pray that these outreaches can bear more good fruit to our fellow men around us suppling for their spiritual and physical needs.

A Plea for Fishermen

I heard about this story and then found a link to it posted by someone else. As far as I know there is not a copyright, I just thought it would be suitable here:

Is a person a fisherman if year after year he never catches any fish?

It came to pass that a group existed who called themselves fishermen, and lo, there were many fish in the waters all around them. In fact the whole area was surrounded with by streams and lakes filled with fish that were hungry

Week after week and month after month these who called themselves fisherman met in meetings and discussed about their ‘call’ to fish, the abundance of fish and how they may go about fishing. Year after year they carefully defined what fishing means, defended fishing as an occupation and declared that fishing should always be the mission-vision statement and primary task of fisherman.

Continually they searched for new and better methods of fishing and for innovative definition for fishing. Further they said “The fishing industry exists for fishing as fire exists for burning”. They loved slogans such as
“Every fisherman is a fisher” and “A fisherman’s outpost for every fisherman’s club”. Hey sponsored special meetings called fisherman’s campaigns” and “the month for fisherman to fish”. They subsidized global congresses where there were key note addresses on the rationale and best practices in fishing. They promoted new fishing equipment and called for papers to be presented innovation and new baits discovered for fishing.

These fishermen built large, beautiful buildings called “fisherman’s headquarters”. The plea was that everyone should be a fisherman an every fisherman should fish. One thing they didn’t do however, they didn’t fish!

In addition to meeting regularly they formed a board to organize and send out fisherman to other places also where they were many fish. All the fisherman agreed that what was really needed was a supportive board that would challenge fisherman to be faithful. The board was formed of those who with great courage and motivation could do vision-casting for fishing. They spoke of the need to fish in faraway streams and lakes where many fish of different colors lived. Furthermore the board hired staff and appointed committee and sub-committees to defend fishing and look into current trends and issues in fishing, but the staff and committee member did not fish.

Large elaborate and expensive training centers were built who origin and primary purpose was to teach fishermen how to fish. However, over the years specialized courses were offered on the existential needs and intricate nature of fish, the psychological reactions of fish, where to find fish and how to approach and feed fish. Those who taught had PhDs (doctorates) in fishology and became professors and heads of the fishology in universities. But the teachers did not fish; they only taught fishing. Year after year after tedious training, many were graduated and given fishing licenses. They were sent to do full time fishing, some to distant and exotic waters that were filled with fishes.

Some spent much time, money and travel to do research on the history of fishing and see the far away places where the founding fathers did great fishing in centuries past. They lauded the faithful fishermen of by gone years who handed down the idea of fishing.

Further, the fisherman established large printing houses to publish fishing guides. Presses were kept busy day and night to produce material solely devoted to fishing methods, equipment and programs to arrange and to encourage meetings to talk about fishing. A speaker’s bureau was also provided to schedule special speakers on the subject of fishing.

Many who felt the call be fisherman responded. They were commissioned and sent to fish. But like the fisherman back home they engaged in all kinds of other occupations. They build power plants to pump water for fish and tractor to plow new waterways. Hey made all kinds of equipment to travel here and there to look at fish hatcheries. Some also said that they wanted to be a part of a fishing party, but their felt called to furnish fishing equipment. Others felt their job was to relate to the fish in a good way so that the fish would know the difference between good and bad fishermen. Still others felt that letting the fish know that they were nice land-loving neighbors and how loving and kind they were was enough.

After one stirring meeting on “The Necessity of Fishing”, one young fellow left the meeting and went fishing. The next day he reported that he had caught two outstanding fish. He was immediately honored for his excellent catch and scheduled to visit all the big meetings possible to tell how he did it. So he quit his fishing in order to have time to tell about the experience to the other fisherman. He was also placed on the Fisherman’s General Board of Directors as a person having considerable practical experience.

Now it is true that the fisherman sacrificed and put up with all kinds of difficulties. Some lived near the water and bore the smell of dead fish everyday. They received the ridicule of some who made fun of their fisherman’s club and the fact that they claimed to be fisherman and yet never fished. They wondered about those who felt it was of little use to attend the weekly meetings to talk about fishing. After all, were they not following the master who said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men”?

Imagine how hurt some were when one day one person suggested that those who don’t catch fish were really not fishermen, no matter how much they claimed to be. Yet it did sound correct. Is a person a fisherman if year after year he never catches a fish? Is one following if he is not fishing?

A version of this story credited to J. Drescher, Pulpit Digest, July-Aug, 1978

Response To My Koran Post

Operation Noah:

What are you getting at with your posting of Muslim questions and koran verses on your blog???
Where you coming from and where are you going?

You have probably read up on it a little, no doubt.... but where is your fire coming from? I could tell ya a bit about Islam (arabic for "surrender"), their history, "sadaka", fatwa, seven pillars and so on.

The Qoran is full of abrogations. Even Islam's own esteemed scholars apparently say that the book isn't a masterpiece by the farthest stretch of the mind (maybe my own dramatic wording). Basically it plagerizes (and quite badly at that) the stories of the old testament at the very beginning. After that is sounds like the "proverbs" of a slightly insane religious zealot. Mohammad even keeps changing his tune to accommodate the pressure of his peers and circumstances. Mohammad is quoted as saying that his 4 biggest enjoyments in life were "women, wealth, food, and scents." A real "disciplined" guy by the sounds of it!
A muslim will tell you that their prophet is dead. That fact that nothing spectacular happened to him and his body after he died is somewhat puzzling to them... especially in the light that the "prophet" Jesus rose back to life. A muslim is never certain of grace with his god and eternal life after he dies. He always tries to live the most "perfect" life that he can because he believes that it will only be at the time that Allah judges the world that Allah will also unveil his "standard" by which some people will pass but others won't. Even the last words of Mohammad are recorded of him asking mercy of Allah. The only way that they can be sure is if they are killed in Jihad.
Interesting facts on Muslims. Their dead must be buried in unmarked graves, from the richest sheik in Saudia Arabia, to the poorest peasant... their graves all look the same. (Some discrepancies to this are the Taj Mahal, I can't figure out the logic behind that one.) Also, the graves cannot be dug using shovels, only the bare hands. There are no coffins used, just shrouds.


I will tell you about a couple of ways to get into a meaningful spiritual conversation with muslims. Ask them "what color God is". Ask them what their Qoran says on the subject. Tell them that the Bible says that God is Light. I have had quite the discussions with people on this subject. It opens up "dialogue" It also gives you the chance to most importantly tell them that "God is Love".
Brother, to tell these poor souls that there IS a LIVING GOD OF LOVE whose "colour" is LIGHT, (Every spectrum of colour and hence nation and race of people are engulfed in this Father - Aba - Baba.....) well.... that effects them.... Strongly! They are not ones to show great emotion (its a religion that doesn't leave alot of room for the gentler emotions).

Just be careful about approaching them when they are practicing there month of fasting. Tempers are in short demand with an empty belly.

I book I have recently read that would give you an insight into the "mentality" of a muslim (follower of Mohammad) is "From Jihad to Jesus".

Sincerely CURIOUS: [Joe the Brother]

Thanks Bro. Joe, Gives us something to think about. We are here to share. This is not to make any reader hate or distrust the Muslim, but rather we want to reach out to Him and as Christians help them understand the saving power of Jesus Christ.

What Do Muslims Believe?

Perhaps I over step myself because I have had very little opportunity to read the Koran myself. These quotes I came across seem to give me a sense of warning as I realize that this is one of the World's fastest growing religions. I do not believe for a second that we should not love the Muslim person or despise his soul. It is just the religion that I cannot support as it is Anti-Christ in nature. I seen this list of quotes and it interested me and I thought I would post it here for your interest in dealing with Muslims.If any of this is unfounded below let me know:


FROM THE KORAN:

--“ the (only) religion (acceptable) before God is Islam." (3:19)
-- " If anyone desires a religion other than Islam, never will it be accepted of him." (3: 85)
-- “You are the noblest community ever raised up for mankind.” (3:110)
-- The unbelievers among the people of the book and the pagans shall burn forever in the fire of Hell. They are the vilest of all creatures. (98.6).
-- Surely the vilest of animals in Allah’s sight are those who disbelieve. (8.55)
--The unbelievers are your inveterate enemy. (4:101)
-- Mohammed is God's apostle. Those who follow him are ruthless to the unbelievers but merciful to one another. (48:29).
-- It is unlawful for a believer to kill another believer, accidents excepted. (4:92)
-- Believers, take neither the Jews nor the Christians for your friends. (5:51)
-- Make war on them until idolatry shall cease and God's religion shall reign supreme. (8:40)
-- Fight against them until idolatry is no more and God's religion reigns supreme. (2:193)
-- The true believers fight for the cause of God, but the infidels fight for the devil. (4:76)
-- We will put terror into the hearts of the unbelievers. (3:151)
-- I shall cast terror into the hearts of the infidels. Strike off their heads, strike off the very tips of their fingers. (8:12)

FROM THE SAYINGS OF MUHAMMAD:
-- Muhammad said to the Jews: "If you embrace Islam, you will be safe. You should know that the earth belongs to Allah and His Apostle, and I want to expel you from this land. “
-- Allah's Apostle said, "You (i.e. Muslims) will fight with the Jews till some of them will hide behind stones. The stones will (betray them) saying, 'O 'Abdullah (i.e. slave of Allah)! There is a Jew hiding behind me; so kill him.' "
-- Mohammed said, "I have been ordered to fight with the people till they say, "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah, and whoever says, " None has the right to be worshipped but Allah , his life and property will be saved by me." (otherwise it will not). Vol. 4:196
-- Mohammed said, "Whoever changes his Islamic religion, kill him." Vol. 9:57
-- Mohammed said, " No Muslim should be killed for killing a Kafir" (infidel). Vol. 9:50
-- Muhammad said: "Fight in the name of Allah and in the way of Allah. Fight against those who disbelieve in Allah. Make a holy war, …"
How is that for a religion of peace, eh?

Witnessing To the Evil Around Us

I know you will probably raise an eyebrow at this article, but it needs to be shared. Are you ready to witness even to those people you can't imagine would be interested in Christ. Think of the roughest types, bikers, satanists, witches, and you name it. Why? Why not? Jesus loves them as much as he loves you. He came to heal those that need him. Alot of those people have been so tormented by their master by sins and lies that it is time for a break through. It amazes me how the media pokes at the fact that Haiti is riddled with Voodoo. Be not fooled it is here to. It is bigger than you want to imagine.
We are so materialistic in Western culture that it is hard for us to accept that spirits are at work overtime. We say yeah we believe in a devil, etc. If you really believed in the spirit world you would be spending alot more time on your knees. The media, evolution, world religions, Communism, and the Occult world have a lot in common: They preach anti-Christ. Even counterfiet Christian religious groups like Mormonism, Jehovah Witnesses, and even elements of the High Churches like the Catholic Church, twist the message of Christ. The destructive drug culture is also in the same work to undermine and destroy. Dysfunctional famalies and confused sexual orientation leave kids numb to really know what is their role in life. Abuse of women and children is part of the agenda. But wait.........the good news is that there is an answer....their is something you can do.....It is share the Hope that lieth within you. Share the Blessings of Jesus Christ! Where there is darkness, grace can much more abound. As it gets darker his light shines brighter!
The secret is to exercise your faith and love. If you are satisfied with living only a reaction orientated, passive Christian life- you might be in for a rough climb. The joy in the journey is when you see the power of the Lord work through you and touch others around you. How unworthy that we can actually mirror the Heavenly light even into the darkest places. Think of saving one soul from the brink of a eternal life in Hell. Watch that person turn from darkness to light. It is amazing! You only have to be willing to allow the Lord to use you. It is so simple that a child can do it. In fact sometimes you didn't even think you did anything.
First thing is get right with God. Anything Lord needs to be your prayer. 2. Learn to love all people no matter their culture or creed. 3. Realize your weakness as a sinner, without Christ. 4. Study the Word to learn more of the nature of your Savior. 5.Pray for Vision to see things the way God sees them. Pray for Compassion in the Home and to those you meet. 5. Exercise what you learnt with your neighbors and contacts. The next thing you know is that you never know what is around the corner for you to do.
I was raised intially in a rock and roll world. As a kid I seen abuse, perverted stuff, and heart break. I don't regret it. It has helped me to relate with others. I am very sensitive to the spirits around. I sense them in people and when they come to tempt me and even when I read books. I have had spirits living inside me as a teen. They handicapped my life in many areas until they were expelled by the Word of God and prayer. They left violently and I thought I was losing my mind, but later after hearing other testimonies I realized what had happened. I had so much baggage and depression that I tried to replace it with Bible study and Christian songs. As a vacuum was created I filled with good things and tried to starve myself from evil. It wasn't easy but it is neccessary to Christian Life. That is why I like to be careful not to always feed on the media, etc.
You can pray for Peace, but that is only the beginning. As you start the filling process it is quite natural to start putting it into practise. If you want to keep love and peace you must give it to others. It is a chain reaction. The Bible comes alive and God takes you on a journey of people and experiences that show you how He really is. His love becomes real. You are touched by others difficulties. You see things you never seen before.
I just read a book about a couple that were deep into the Occult and how they found Christ. It was note on one of his checks to the Church of Satan. The bank teller wrote that she would pray for him in Jesus name. His unearthly power and appetites left him. Slowly he was led away from darkness into light as a result of some ones willingness to pray. I try to make it habit to pray for those I meet in the day. If I see someone in distress or upset or any other scenerio, I try to make a point to pray for them. You can't talk to everyone, but you can pray. I don't feel it has to be a works thing, but the fact is that spirits are on everyones doorstep at work. Some people do not realize the source of the attacks in their life. When you pray it is like a flash of light cuts through the darkness. You do it because you love them and you want to make a difference. If the Lord allows an opportunity to witness outloud, praise the Lord, but a lot of the real witnessing is also done through prayer. Just like Abraham's intercession for Lot in Sodom. Let us to be willing to reach out in the power of prayer to those around us and just see if it won't make a difference.

Don't Hate the Player Hate the Game

I used to hear this statement from the fellows I worked with. Three guys over the space of three years. I worked with each one at different times for at least six months or a year or more. They all had something in common. They were all playboys, and yet they all feared Hell in one degree or another.
One was an ex-gangbanger that watched his buddy get shot in front of him at a party. He knew a little about God from attending Bible school and enjoyed hearing about the Bible. I loved him like a brother. He memorized my number and would call me through the years when he wanted to talk. He was a hard worker, but moved from place to place, because he knew his days were numbered- so the Spirit of fear told him. His main vice is that he just had to walk in town and as if he had a charm women fell into his arms. I seen it just eating lunch with him and the next thing we knew we had someones phone number which I luckily threw away. Good guy, but he was bound by spirits that would’t let him go.
The guy before him was one of our brethren. His old friends kept contact with him. Finally he could not resist. He fell away in a cloud of dark music, drugs, and a lying spirit. He also was smooth and a very likeable guy. He just couldn’t break the chains that bound him. He has spent a lot of time in prison, giving him time to reconsider, but those chains are heavy.
The other fellow was a good friend. He would do the sign of the cross when passing a Catholic Church. He was scared of the “inferno”, but that didn’t stop him from filling his trunk with bad magazines, and enjoying an evil eye. He also liked to look at foreign magazines depicting a lot of gore. You would see him with a classy girl friend, but when I would drop him off at his house a neighbor lady was waving him to her apartment to "pass the time", and he would look at me and head off to the slaughter until his girlfriend found out and he started fearing for his life.
Three extremely likeable guys. We can’t help but love them. How do we view them. Can we see even though they made the choices they are bound tight. In these situations I pray that the chains be loosened so they can escape. Two of them in prison- One of them running scared. They taught me a lesson “Don’t hate the player, Hate the Game".- More will be said latter…..

RACE, BROTHERHOOD, AND THE CHURCH

The reason I brought up this subject at all is that Deacon Lib was cutting my hair Friday evening and we got talking... For one he is full blooded Maya. They are of short stature. He is an educated, ex-military man with electrical experience. That is his trade. When he works at Spanish Lookout he can tell them a simple procedure. They look at his stature and Maya features and try to seek a second opinion. He naturally would have a tendency to get upset, especially since he is one of the only government licensed electrician on this side of Belize. He lets them play their game and waits it out. That is one of his biggest hurdles in landing the jobs that pay. He is waiting for more government codes to put all the jack leg competition out of business.
Race has become quite a mediocre subject to me as time goes by. I think less and less of it. The only time it gets to me is when one constantly has to tell you what color a man is for their story to make sense. That gets old. America tries to stereotype everybody to the point where you have to talk about Mexicans, Blacks, Whites, and Chinese like they all think and act exactly alike in there type.
My experience has taught me that racial problems stem from ignorance and the refusal of not wanting to look at the other side of the coin. Selfishness and covetousness can also be a factor. “Those people stand in the way of my prosperity and happiness“. “They are taking away our jobs.” “They make me sick the way they live.” If they would just go out there and work maybe then I could tolerate them” People with a low self esteem also like to take an advantage of putting some one else lower to lift themselves higher. (These are the militant ones.) Our feelings show in different ways and are natural.
Compassion teaches us to look at the other side of the story. A lot of people in this world are happy just to have a fraction of what you own or earn. There is an increasing amount of people growing up that haven’t experienced developmental love that you have been blessed with and instead have been rejected or abused as a child. Unless you have been in their shoes you have little idea how emotionally damaging it is. It becomes a challenge to overcome even the simplest tasks. It takes years even after conversion to overcome this kind of trauma never mind if your not even open to God. A lot instead turn to alcohol, drugs, and immorality and this only complicates their problems. Living in a ghetto is also a depressing, life sapping affair that chains you to a hopeless way of life that will not let you go. Unless you, as a Christian, are willing to see the other side of the coin you’ll suffer prejudice. It’s as natural as carnality and human nature. It needs to be nailed to the cross just the same if we are to carry the light of Christ in us.
Anyways Lib and I decided God made a variety of races and cultures to teach man about love, patience, and acceptance which is able to cross boundaries and overcome differences. Being raised in Nazareth, Jesus knew all about these pressures. They had the Samaritans, Jews, Greeks, Romans, and various other so called heathens rubbing shoulders on a daily basis. Their Galilean accent was a joke to the Jews from Judea. What good can come out of Nazareth? They make it just about sound ghetto, if it wasn’t. Though Christ’s message was to the Jew first he had compassion on the Gentiles and complimented their faith in him. It is a test of the Church to cross cultural boundaries with the true love of Christ.
Even opposite personalities compliment each other. When a Christian works with another man that he can’t get along with, he will do well to find out all that man’s good points and try to focus on appreciating them. That holds true on any social level. God made differences to test us and give us the challenge of overcoming those differences. That’s the beauty of being submissive to one another in the brotherhood. The Spirit of Communion embodies this principal. There will be differences to overcome, but its workable. We have just to wash one another’s feet.
Marriage is also one of the biggest examples of harmony and selfless giving. Books can be written on this subject. I appreciate the leading of God that has been allowing all the recent intercultural and interracial weddings that have been taking place in the church. It is a sign of maturity. It is a true gauge that our faith is open for all to partake. It shows that the love of God is able to melt away differences to make a stronger alloy. It is not just a family affair. We as a people shouldn’t have to be worried about marrying too close a relations by accident.
We are all trying to get to heaven. There is many challenges that we will face that are guaranteed to tax our resources to the outmost. So, why wouldn’t you want to have a group of counselors and supporters that can see all the sides of the coin. The more the better. The spiritual activity level in the Church and the love of the brotherhood is directly related. There is a gold mine before us in the form of our brotherhood; let us develop one another to our best potential appreciating our differing talents. The radiance that comes forth from this spiritual relationship will draw lonely souls from all walks of life. Let us draw in our ranks and reach out to all that thirst for true fellowship.

J.L.T. 3.2008

Realignment

Since the church is my family, I have really been investi-gating the “drift” theory. As I traveled since conference I have asked the question, “What is the drift?” I would get different answers. Sometimes I would get the impression that there is a transition taking place and it wasn’t necessarily clear where it is going but then when I think of the greatness of God and His promises I have to admit that whatever happens God always has a way for His people. The gates of hell shall not prevail. No matter how dark it will get God’s grace will always shine brighter, because “where sin abounds grace much more abounds.” I really like to look at the challenges of the day as a great realignment. There comes a time on your car, especially after some hard bumps that your front steering tires need to be realigned. We in the Church need to be sure that we are aligned with Christ. If we are aligned in Christian life we can’t help but wear right and we won‘t be dog trailing. We need inspiration and zeal lined up like sighting up a gun. If you don’t have the bead of truth in your sights of inspiration your going to miss heaven.
A realignment has little to do with the cries of liberalism vs. conservatism. We spend so much time stereotyping people and situations that we miss the point and nothing gets done. I have lived in conservative and liberal settings in the Church and realized that both miss the mark if Christ is not the main focal point. Whatever we think we are we need to be in the middle with an open ear to the Holy Spirit. It is not hard to outwardly live a standard of church tradition and ethics, but it is not worth the price of dwarfing your children’s spiritual growth and understanding. I want my family to be motivated in their Christian life because they know the Lord and His blessings. Then they can not but help the church. Often there is a question of defining Mr. Worldliness. He is such a slippery fish that you can hardly say you got him and he is slipping away. However if you’re prayerful and desire His Word and meditate on it you are going to recognize it for what it is. The word says “prove all things” for a reason. We have the Brethren as a safety to help us when we are not trying to be honest with ourselves. The real question is whether we are bearing the cross of Christ. What kind of cross did he bear. It was a cross of humility, self-sacrifice, and service. Each of us also have a cross to bear. We like to get self absorbed and jump into a hole and pull on one another for this and that well humanity is marching by. We need to be alive bearing the cross by helping others where we expect nothing in return. Since my job is in the service field my heart is touched by the little deeds of kindness people do like giving just a smile or a glass of water. A Christian should be able to be spotted by the small things he does for the sake of others. We need to bear the cross of prayer for our neighbors and everyone that the Spirit impresses on our hearts. The fact is that a lot of the cross is a burden on the heart. An invalid’s sighs and prayers to the throne of Grace can show as much zeal as anyone else. I have stood amazed in my youth at the bed of dying friends or family only to see them on fire and concerned for others.
When we see our brothers and sisters we should think we are staring into a treasure chest. Everyone has a talent to offer to the effort. We need to help everyone develop their gifts so we can all be more efficient for the Lord’s work. Moreover it gives each a sense of purpose and desire to succeed. Everyone is either active, passive, or a detriment to the effort. If you are in the last two it should be hoped that you are in transition to being active. Other wise you are not carrying your weight. We are a team. The timely assist or pass at the right time is what wins the game. There is no excuse. The true Church is most likely as close to heaven as we are going to get in this life, so we better make the best of it. Anyone can speak ill of someone or some program. In such a situation ask your self: What am I going to do about it? A prayer, a personal visit, or a helping hand is in place. Anything short of that you have no grounds to talk about somebody else’s lack. Imagine a man complaining about the ills of society and yet how many second miles is he willing to run to help someone else. If the answer is none-he himself is just another ill. If we see a lack in the church should we not humbly offer the little that we have to make it work. We should be instant in and out of season.
We need to take a leap of faith. Just like diving off a high rock or bridge. Often in a group of daring fellows one goes and the rest will follow, but in what we are talking about the stakes are so much greater.
When you crack down youth for their recreation activities and attitudes you better have a healthy alternative that they can channel their energies. That said they should be led by example. So how are you aligned?

Persecution in San Fransisco

Here is an interesting story I picked up on after researching the group JHOP (Justice House Of Prayer). I met one of their group when we Christmas caroled in the BART (subway) Transit station a couple of years past. They go in the roughest areas of big cities, rent a room and have 24 hour prayer meetings. The man we met was formerly gay and told us his repentance experience and how he had changed and now was engaged to a "real" christian lady. He was glowing with joy. I had hoped to run into him again and learn more about inner city evangelism and see if they could use our tracts. After a few emails and websites, I ran into this story that had just happened around that time. I read two different accounts of the same happening on different sites by different people that were there. They meshed pretty close. Perhaps you'll find it just as interesting. It makes you ask the question, "who knows what the future holds....?"

I take liberty to share this story for its value in informing others of what is happening even here in America.

November 18, 2008

     Last Friday night (11.14.08) our team of thirteen people, mostly ranging from eighteen to twenty-two years old, left the house around 5:30pm to head to the Castro District as we have done for the majority of Friday nights for the past three years. Over the course of the week we had actually been out in the Castro every night, singing and worshiping in the neighborhood. This night we arrived at Castro and 18th Street, with one guitar to simply worship and bring the presence of God to the Castro District. We understood that since Proposition 8 had passed it would seem instigating to talk with people, so we decided to only play the guitar and sing rather than to engage with anyone on the streets.

     Our intention was not to stir up anger, but to worship Jesus on the streets the way we had worshipped there for the past three years. As we were worshiping a man approached us and began yelling "You are haters! Get out of here!" A girl on our team simply told him "We are only here to worship God. We love you." This man became angrier and was screaming at her using profanity and obscene language. When he noticed that we were standing in front of a memorial that had been dedicated to an AIDS/HIV activist he became even more enraged. We had stood on that particular street corner numerous times when there had been a memorial and it had never been an issue before this night. She continued to answer him "We are only here to worship God. We love you and Jesus loves you," and eventually he left the street corner. A police officer then came and asked us how long we would be out there. We told him until nine o clock and he said "ok" and left.

     Our team continued to sing as a young man approached us. He stood near by until another man joined him.  He was wearing a headdress, which led us to believe that he was affiliated with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. This man in the headdress began to surround us with a cloth and shoving us to encircle us fully with the cloth.  He wanted to do this so that people on the outside could not see us. While this was happening the other man instigated to people walking by that we were the "Yes on 8 people". When in reality, we were only doing what we had always done at the Castro since before proposition 8 was even in sight.  This was not a proposition 8 event.

     At this point our team was standing in a circle holding hands singing "Amazing Grace." 
While they were holding the cloth around us someone from the crowd threw hot coffee over the cloth and it hit our team, including splashing two of our girls in the face and one on her head going down her back. At first the girls thought it was boiling water until they smelled that it was coffee.

     During the event people lunging through the crowd to get at us hit a couple of our girls in the face.

     Then a man picked up one of our Bibles and started to walk away with it. A girl from our team walked out of the circle after him and said, "Excuse me that is our Bible. Could I have that back please?" He turned to her and said "no" then hit her on the head with the Bible knocking her to the ground, then began kicking her legs.  A man from the crowd pulled him off of her. A police officer then came and detained the man who hit her. One officer asked the girl on our team if she would like to press charges. She said "No. Tell him I forgive him."

     A couple of the people who were holding the cloth around our team walk up to her and said "We are sorry that happened to you." and "He is not with us." referring to the man that hit her. Then the man who had been responsible for making the crowd think we were there concerning Proposition 8 said to her "I'm glad to see that you're feeling better, but let that be a lesson to you not to come here." 

     At different points throughout the night one girl on our team had her camera and was able to film some of what was happening.

     The crowd around began to grow as people started to scream "Shame on you! Shame on you!" over and over. They were yelling all kinds of obscenities and cursing us. That is when one of the young men who was with us called the police department to let them know what was happening. It was difficult to say how many people were surrounding us due to the chaos of the situation. We were trying to focus on worshiping rather than the masses, but we would guess anywhere from 200 to 500 people. One of the girls then stepped out to see how the girl who got hit was doing. And as she rejoined the team singing, she overheard a few men saying things like "we should grab them."  As well as "yeah we should grab their butts." At that point we realized that it was climaxing into a really hostile situation.
 
     Then it seemed like out of nowhere hundreds of whistles were being blown in our ears. Around that time someone removed the cloth which enabled the crowd to enclose around us turning the situation into what resembled a mob frenzy. The people in the crowd were shoving us against the wall blowing the whistles in our ears so close that we could feel the spit from the whistles hitting our faces. Around that time we began to sing "Oh the Blood of Jesus."  Things grew more intense and the crowd came in closer around us shoving and pushing us. Some men from the crowd began grabbing a few of the young men on our team inappropriately, sexually assaulting them and trying to take down the pants of one of them. When that began the young men with us quickly pulled all the girls into the middle so that no one could get to them.

     The intensity of the mob around us grew until finally the police had to shove the crowd off of us and they made a wall between the crowd and our group. There was one moment when a man from the crowd around us pointed out Roger, the leader of our team, and said, "I'm going to kill you!" An officer overheard and said to him "What did you say!?" The man said "nothing." And the officer replied, "I heard what you said."

     Then one officer said to Roger "Do you want to leave?" and he replied, "We would like to stay" because we knew we had the freedom to be there. A few minutes later as the crowd was growing quickly the officer said to Roger "I am sorry, but we need to get you out of here because we fear for your life, you no longer have a choice." Roger turned to our team and explained that we were going to honor the police and follow them. The officer came back, asked us where we were parked and told us we would be moving out in five minutes. At that point there was somewhere between 15 and 25 police officers. They surrounded our team and escorted us to 20th and Eureka Street where our van was parked. As they were escorting us to our van the crowd followed our team and continued to scream and threaten us.  They even threatened to follow us all the way home. As we were being escorted out a man with a news camera showed up and began filming us. (Later we found the footage on KTVU, a local news station in the Bay Area) They had reported that we were doing a religious march regarding Proposition 8, when in all actuality we were being escorted out of the Castro.  Realizing the hostility of the people who were still following us, and their threats to "follow us all the way home" we covered our license plate with post-it notes that a guy on our team had in his wallet. We did this so that they could not identify our vehicle later. We then loaded our entire team into the van and drove home. The time when we left was 8:30.

     In closing, though this event was one of the scariest moments in our individual lives, because of those who have died in America to purchase freedom, we felt in this situation we were to stand firm and not be intimidated out of our rights.  Furthermore our faith in Christ calls us to be willing to die for the sake of the gospel, and we are not to sacrifice for the sake of comfort or a false peace. Though the American church has not often been tested in this, these days seem to be upon us. We love the LGBT community and we do not believe that everyone in this community is filled with hate or anger. What happened on Friday night was different than what we have ever encountered.  We forgive those who assaulted us physically and sexually. We forgive the anger and threats of violence against us.  Our desire has always been to be a bridge to bring the love of Jesus.
 Thank you,
JHOPSF team.

10 Points for the Challenged Tract Worker

1. PACE YOURSELF-Luke 14:28-30- It is not a one or two man crusade: Lasting results need to include as many people as possible. Realize attainable goals and raise the bar after the goals are achieved. Don’t burn all your fuel (enthusiasm) up at once, build up the fire over time including others.

2. ENJOY THE CHALLENGE-Col. 3:22-24- If you are doing it “as unto the Lord” you should be able to have a smile on your face and believe that the “battle belongs to the Lord.” Be creative and enjoy the challenge. You’ll not know what the Lord can work with your humble witness. You may have planted a seed that will sprout years later.

3. KEEP TRACTS ON HAND-2 Tim. 4:2-They say you are not a tract worker unless you have tracts on hand. More than half the time you need them you do not have them with you.

4. BE ORGANIZED-I-1 Cor. 14:40 It is a detriment to progress to know you will have to sift and sort out a number of boxes every time you want to go on a route. The boxes should be marked and ready to go. The church entry tract rack is a good indicator in if the tract men are on the ball. Hopefully they are not just dusty.

5. KEEP THE CONGREGATION INFORMED-Pro. 11:14- It is a congregational effort- try to make everybody involved.. A lot of failure in tract work is that people forget it exists.

6. INQUIRE FOR AND READ AREA RESPONSE LETTERS FROM GOSPEL TRACT-Luke 10:2- Reminds everybody that it is a real responsibility and that many others out there are passing out tracts even if we were too preoccupied else where.

7. TRY TO HAVE THREE AND NO LESS THAN TWO PERSONS ON A ROUTE-Ecc.4:9-12-It seems three is a good number to have on a busy route. The fellowship flows and you can keep the moral up on a slow day. A couple should invite a youth, older person, widow, or other family person to visit with and keep the route from becoming to much of a ritual drudgery.

8. GATHER AND HAVE TRACT ROUTE SATURDAY TO BRING ROUTES UP TO DATE-1 Cor.12:14-Have a number of brethren show up, number off, and enjoy fellowship in bringing the gospel to others.

9. STRATEGIZE-Pro.29:18- Whether you have colleges, homeless, Spanish migrant workers or some other special interest group in your area, make an effort to try to reach them with special tracts and other outreach that could bear fruit.

10. PRAY-Luke 18:1- The work is the Lords and it is always important to entreat him to guide and bless your efforts as he sees best.