Pray for America

Please prayerfully consider your VOTE on November 4th, 2008.

Here are some quotes:

"Without morals a republic cannot subsist any length of time; they therefore who are decrying the Christian religion, whose morality is so sublime & pure, [and] which denounces against the wicked eternal misery, and [which] insured to the good eternal happiness, are undermining the solid foundation of morals, the best security for the duration of free governments."
~Charles Carroll of Carrollton -- Signer of the Declaration of Independence

"The only foundation for a useful education in a republic is to be laid in religion. Without this there can be no virtue, and without virtue there can be no liberty, and liberty is the object and life of all republican governments."
~Benjamin Rush

"I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings, that "except the Lord build the House, they labor in vain that build it." I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without His concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better, than the Builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our partial local interests; our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and bye word down to future ages. And what is worse, mankind may hereafter from tis unfortunate instance, despair of establishing governments by human wisdom and leave it to chance, war and conquest.

I therefore beg leave to move that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one of more of the clergy of this city be requested to officiate in that service."

(Source: James Madison, The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787, Max Farrand, editor (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1911), Vol. I, pp. 450-452, June 28, 1787.)

"No free government now exists in the world, unless where Christianity is acknowledged, and is the religion of the country."
~Pennsylvania Supreme Court, 1824


"The most perfect maxims and examples for regulating your social conduct and domestic economy, as well as the best rules of morality and religion, are to be found in the Bible. . . . The moral principles and precepts found in the scriptures ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws. These principles and precepts have truth, immutable truth, for their foundation. . . . All the evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible. . . . For instruction then in social, religious and civil duties resort to the scriptures for the best precepts."
~ Noah Webster

"By renouncing the Bible, philosophers swing from their moorings upon all moral subjects. . . . It is the only correct map of the human heart that ever has been published. . . . All systems of religion, morals, and government not founded upon it [the Bible] must perish, and how consoling the thought, it will not only survive the wreck of these systems but the world itself. "The Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it." [Matthew 1:18]

(Source: Benjamin Rush, Letters of Benjamin Rush, L. H. Butterfield, editor (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1951), p. 936, to John Adams, January 23, 1807.)

"We profess to be republicans, and yet we neglect the only means of establishing and perpetuating our republican forms of government, that is, the universal education of our youth in the principles of Christianity by the means of the Bible. For this Divine Book, above all others, favors that equality among mankind, that respect for just laws, and those sober and frugal virtues, which constitute the soul of republicanism."

(Source: Benjamin Rush, Essays, Literary, Moral and Philosophical (Philadelphia: Printed by Thomas and William Bradford, 1806), pp. 93-94.)

Free Give-Away!

Hi all! A missionary friend of mine serving the Lord in Portugal is hosting a give-away for the readers of her blog. Since this is a mission theme blog I thought you all might enjoy checking out her blog (which is listed on the sidebar under: Missionaries I pray for). There is nothing like reading the every day life of a missionary wife/mother serving her Lord in a foreign country. Click HERE to check out her blog.

Celebrate The Glory

Yes, October is a busy month! Mom says that we really need two Octobers in order to fit in everything there is to attend and I agree! October weather is always so beautiful and the color of the changing leaves is lovely!

Today we left the house at 7:30am this morning to attend a conference called:
Celebrate The Glory which is hosted in the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia. We attended the conference for the first time last year and met many other wonderful Christian families. We attended their 2nd annual conference again this year and had a great time!

I wanted to share the links with you and invite you to keep this conference in mind for next year.

Here is a list of several of the speakers/ministries that attended Celebrate The Glory:

Bible Drama Pictures

• Unfolding Drama http://www.unfoldingdrama.org/ is a ministry sponsored by http://www.nogreaterjoy.org/ The Rozeboom and Brand families have the passion and gifting to make Bible stories come alive using stories and drama. The Rozeboom’s are from Colorado. The Brand family (daughter and son-in-law of Michael and Debi Pearl) are from Tennessee.Be inspired to read God’s Word more…love God’s Word more…LIVE God’s Word more in this great drama we call life.
  
  
• The Durocher Family (http://www.durocherfamilyministries.com/ ) from Minnesota will be providing the music gospel bluegrass style. They have a great love for God’s Word and family. Ten of their twelve children minister together in music. The parents, Paul and Judy, have done an excellent job discipling their children and winning their hearts. They desire all families to know of the joy of following Jesus together.
  

Naomi Durocher playing madolin with Amber & Curtis.
(Yes, I'm in the background with crutches, wearing 3 layers of clothing & FREEZING - it was so cold today!)

• Ken Jenkins (http://www.kenjenkins.com/) is a nationally known natural history photographer, writer, lecturer, and outdoor adventurer. For more than 30 years his photographs and articles have appeared in publications from National Geographic to Southern Living. Ken's galleries, Beneath the Smoke and Heaven's Eyes, are located at the west entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park where he has been exposed to the 12 million visitors that enter the park since 1986.
  
  

October Mission Outreach

I'm sorry it has taken me a week to get this post written and posted, but I plan on doing several new posts today, so hopefully I'll have the time to post them all.

October has been a very busy month for us.

• We started the first weekend of October in West Virginia at a Way of the Master conference with Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron.
  



Gospel Illusions...






• Last week we spent our entire Saturday afternoon helping a local church with their October Fall Fest Children's Outreach. It was a lot of fun! Amber and I volunteered to help at the craft table to assist the children in making wordless bracelets. My dad and Curtis did a gospel illusion presentation, which the kids loved!

Our craft table - lots of beads for making wordless bracelets.

Click HERE for instructions for making a wordless bracelet.

Click HERE for step by step instructions "Corn Stalk" gospel illusion that you can do!

Yes, my favorite part of the day was holding the baby!

We decided to put into practice what we learned from the Way of the Master conference a week earlier by using the law to witness to children and their parents. Many of the children I helped were very young and I basically told them what each color stood for and asked them if they had ever disobeyed their mommy or daddy, told a lie, etc. and explained how we sin against God.

The most exciting part of the day was being able to talk to two mothers, who asked if they could sit at our craft table while their children did the various activities at the festive. We had a chance to talk to them about the Lord using the "are you a good person" test from Way of the Master. Amber did most of the talking with the moms and although I would chime in the conversations going on when the traffic at the craft table was slow, I tried to focus on the kids. I could overhear the conversations going on and I didn't want Amber to become sidetracked and not have a chance to talk with the moms about their spiritual condition.

One mom that Amber & I talked with believed that she was "good enough to go to Heaven". This lady told us that when God asks her the question one day of "Why should I let you into Heaven?" that she would say, "I did my best and tried to live a good life".... We explained to her that your best isn't enough and that she needed a Saviour.

As many witnessing conversations go along the 'victim (our unsaved friend)' will begin to feel convicted and you can sense they are starting to squirm inside and often will try to turn the topic another direction. I could see the look in the lady's eyes as Amber talked with her - instead of being the happy carefree person who had just sat down at the table minutes before she was now talking with an uneasy laugh and becoming to turn on her defences. She started getting judgmental (sign of conviction), saying things with a "do you think you're better than me!" tone like: "Why are you wearing skirts?, Why do you have long hair?, etc" - which of course was besides the point.

She also mentioned that she has friends that are Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons, and Catholics. Personally, I think this is great - - - everyone should have an unsaved friend and witness to them! Sadly, this lady thinks everyone will get to Heaven according to what each religion believes. For example, if her Catholic friend believes differently than her, it's OK....they'll both meet in Heaven-no matter what the belief may be.

Anyway, we had a very interesting afternoon last Saturday, but it was good to have so many opportunities to witness. We're now able to pray for those who we had the chance to witness to and I actually invited a family to come to our church with us that Sunday evening and they came!

They had bounce houses and other activities including puppets, skits, games, food, and music.

Witness Where You Are!

Far-off Fields?

We're concerned for the sinner in China
And the heathen in Mandalay,
But say, do we care, have we offered a prayer
For the lost one just over the way?

We say we would go with the Gospel
To lighten dark Africa's shore--
Have we spoken a word in the Name of the Lord
To people who live just next door?

The person who lives down the way,
Who looks so forbidding and grim;
Do we have a call to witness at all
Or speak of the Saviour to him?

We'd take the Gospel to Savages,
We'd cross the stormy tide;
But will we tell out what the Gospel's about
To the people who work by our side?

We'd tell of our wonderful Saviour
And His love we have found so sweet
To far-off ones, but what about
The folks we will meet on the street?


~Poems taken from Moments With The Book

Quotes...

Here are several quotes that I think you might enjoy reading:


"People who do not know the Lord ask why in the world we waste our lives as missionaries. They forget that they too are expending their lives ... and when the bubble has burst, they will have nothing of eternal significance to show for the years they have wasted."
-- Nate Saint, missionary martyr


"To know the will of God, we need an open Bible and an open map."
-- William Carey, pioneer missionary to India

"Go, send, or disobey." -- John Piper

Sympathy is no substitute for action.-- David Livingstone

"Within the covers of the Bible are all the answers for all the problems men face."
-- Ronald Reagan 40th president of the United States of America

"Christians don't tell lies they just go to church and sing them" - A.W. Tozer

"I have found that there are three stages in every great work of God; first, it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done."
-- J. Hudson Taylor

"If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for."
-- Charles Spurgeon

"We have a God who delights in impossibilities." -- Andrew Murray

"Why do you need a voice when you have a verse." -Jim Elliot

Feel free to post a comment with your favorite quotes about missions. I love to read good quotes from missionaries and other Christians.

Reaching out to loved ones & friends

Did you know that airplanes were made for passing out gospel tracts?

The isle of a plane happens to be a perfect place to pass out tracts,
because there are people on both sides!

Here are some ideas to help you reach out to your unsaved loved ones and friends this week.

* Write a letter to a friend or a love one telling them how you got saved and how Christ has made a difference in your life.

Here is how Diego put it last week during Sunday School:

L-ove...remember to write the note in love - don't criticize or condemn the person whom you are writing to...the Holy Spirit will work on them.

E-mpathize - think about what they are going through in their live right now.

T-iming

T-ruth -remember to include the gospel!

E-nd strong - remember that post people will remember the beginning and ending of your letter.

R-emember to pray for the person receiving the letter (this the "R" I added) and to read and reread your letter over and over again to make sure it says what you want it to and that the gospel is clearly presented.


*You can also send an email using the "LETTER" tips, instead of writing a handwritten note.
Be a witness in all your correspondence - use scripture or quotes from Spurgeon, Bunyan, Wesley, and other great men of God.

*Make a phone call to an unsaved friend or loved one. Invite them to church and tell them about Christ. I created an answering machine message on my cell phone that gave the gospel....I can't remember exactly what I said, but I used the verse:

Romans 10:13: "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

and used that to explain salvation....I wish I could remember exactly what I said.

Eight Reasons Why I Don't Share My Faith

In order to hear this video clip more clearly, you may want to click "pause" on the sound player found at the bottom of this page.

On Fire for God!

People waited in LONG lines to have their books signed
by Ray Comfort & Kirk Cameron.

The boys really enjoyed the conference!

Our Group

Getting On for God!

Notes taken from The Way of the Master Conference "Transformed" in

Charleston, West Virginia on October 4th 2008.

" If you get on fire for God people will come to watch you burn." ~C.H. Spurgeon

"Catch on fire with enthusiasm and people will come for miles to watch you burn." ~Charles Wesley

Bill Bright with Campus Crusade for Christ once said, that statistics show that only 2% of Christians actively share their faith with others.

The Three Keys to Evanglism

1. Faith = Joy = Physical Energy -Romans 15:13

2. Love for God who redeemed us: We love Him because He 1st loved us. - Acts 20:21

3. Compassion (concern) for the ungodly. - Rev. 20:11

The 5 Signs Of A True Convert (Believer)

1. Fruits of Repentance - Matt.3:8

2. The Fruit of Good Works - Col. 1:103.

3.The Fruit of Thanksgiving - Heb. 13:15

4. The Fruit of the Spirit - Gal. 5:22

5. Fruit of Righteousness - Phil. 1:11

AW Tozer writes. "It is my opinion that tens of thousands of people. if not millions. have been brought into some kind of religious experience by accepting Christ and they have not been saved.”

Ten phrases we use which lead to false converts...


1. “Hell fire preaching” - See Romans 2:4

2. “Just believe”

3. “Accept Jesus” - WE don’t accept Jesus, Jesus accepts us.

4. “God shaped hole” - Jeremiah 17:9

5. “Jesus +” …..prosperity . We give the unsaved the idea that if you come to Jesus all will be well - always happy & wealthy, which is not the case.

6. “Come to Jesus and get joy & goodies” … Fruits of the Spirit should not be used as a draw card.

7. “Decisional Regeneration” - a decision does not save you - Jesus saves you.

8. “Make Jesus your Lord & Saviour” - He IS Lord & Saviour

9. “Commit to Jesus” - SURRENDER ALL to Him

10. “It’s easy to believe” - No it’s not!

A great preacher once said, "Evermore the Law must prepare the way for the gospel. To overlook this in instructing souls is almost certain to result in false hope."

"Ask Jesus into your Heart"

-is not found anywhere in the Bible

-leaves out repentance

-leaves out "believe"

-presents Jesus as a beggar, waiting at our heart's door. We are not in control HE is!

Remember: WDJD

W-ould you consider yourself to be a good person?

D-o you think that you have kept the 10 commandments?

J-udgement day. According to God's standard will you be innocent or guilty?

D-ensitiny. Are you going to heaven or hell?

Many people have excuses as to why that can't share their faith with others.

Would you be interested more in sharing your faith if you got $1,000 each time you told someone about Christ? You would probably wake up each day saying, "Give me a sinner! Those that are born-again should be highly motivated to go out and witness without the enticing of money. The souls of men are at sake and their lives are worth more than thousands of dollars!