Misc. Photos from the Discerning Women's Conference Last Weekend in CA

If you missed the conference, you really missed an encouragement. It was great seeing old friends and making new ones. I admire all the women who spoke and enjoyed getting to know those who came. It was truly my pleasure to be part of this conference, and I look forward to staying in touch with everyone. (I am sorry I did not get photos of all the speakers. Some of them were way too dark to use.) The church was a lovely setting in Sun Valley (Burbank area) last Friday and Saturday, Sept. 24-25th.

Jackie Alnor shared her research on counterfeit "religious" spirits within nominal Christianity. She did a great job, as usual.
Someone took a photo of me singing a hymn.
Here I am with my new friend, Caryl Matrisciana, veteran film maker and producer. After watching so many of her documentaries in the past, it was such a pleasure getting to know her. She is even more of a delight to meet in person! I could listen to Caryl speak all day. She is a gifted teacher in apologetics, specializing in research on Hinduism and the New Age.

It was great seeing my friend, Sarah Leslie, again and hearing her speak. (Not pictured is Jewel Grewe who joins Sarah often in research for Discernment Ministries.) Jewel Grewe and Sarah Leslie taught about the apostolic movement of dominionism.

Joanna Michaelsen spoke of her experiences in the occult to warn the crowd...Everyone was listening, as Joanna is such a gifted speaker.

With my friend, Darlene

Here I am with our team leaders for the Venice Beach and West Hollywood outreaches.

We answered questions Saturday night from everyone.

Tech Work Today

I have had my tech guy over today for the challenging task of fixing my wireless printer. He got it fixed after a couple of hours and has helped me download Carbonite as back-up. It is still running, so I may not get to my work goals today. I plan to post photos tonight from the recent conference in CA last weekend. I have decided to work at a slower pace, so I will not just work all the time! My goal is to have my new web site written by the end of October, which gives me much more time. I plan to take my lap top with me to Mexico to work on writing it in about a week.

As for tonight, I am off for a 5 mile walk on this beautiful fall evening in Atlanta. If the Carbonite is done backing up everything, I will post more on the blog when I get back from my walk.

I have changed my settings on Facebook. For important reasons, I have made it so no one can see my personal wall without connecting with me as a friend. The music page is still available as a public page for everyone. It continues to be a forum for discussion, though I actually enjoyed time totally away from it last weekend. I am asking God to help me have more balance in getting other things done and spending less time in discussion on Facebook.

Tonight, I am also working on more web site updates.

LTW to Kenya?

We are praying about expanding to start a new table outreach in Africa. I am getting to know the pastor better, to find out more about the needs of the people of Kenya, their spirituality apart from Christianity and whether or not it is safe to ship Bibles for an outreach. I love how this pastor and his wife feel called to reach out to the poor in the slums on the street. Details from their September newsletter are here.

Mission Field of Venice Beach

The stench of marijuana followed us up and down the sidewalk last Thursday, Sept. 23rd,

and homosexuality was on parade on the sidewalks and in the cafes.

I needed to make friends with some of the vendors in order for them to secure a spot on the boardwalk for our table outreach. I was happy to find some nice vendors willing to help.

Venice Beach is switching next month from a lottery system for spots on the boardwalk back to the way it used to be--vendors will have to get there early to secure a space for tables. Since our team comes from Anaheim, it will be very helpful to have vendors secure a spot for us to set up our outreach table. Without this, we cannot set up, because the vendors (literally) fight for the spots.

I exchanged numbers with several of the vendors, offering to pay them $20.00 per week because we need a spot. They said they would help us with no money, because we are "spreading God's love." I was happy for such a reaction to our outreach, as I described it! We just need a spot for our table, so I am hoping one of these vendors will come through the next time the team wants to set up to offer free materials, pointing people to the Gospel of Jesus, along with the explanation of why Jesus is the only Savior and different from all the other gods and spirits...

Spending Some Time in Prayer Now

I have much more to do tonight, but I am now turning off the computer to spend some time in prayer. I have been reading about how Jesus prayed.

He went off alone to be with the Father.
He dismissed people and doing other things to go be with His Father in prayer.
He acknowledged that God owns the world, not Satan.
He praised God.
He let His requests be made known to God and spoke to God; He did not pray silently.
He acknowledged that God grants wisdom to the humble and holds back insight from the proud.
He trusted His Father to vindicate Him.
He took His fears to God.

All of this made me want to pray. I have loved ones who need my prayers. I am burdened for my sister in Christ, Jan Markell, who is having surgery tomorrow. I am going to pray for her. I am also going to remember some people who need the agape Love of God, if only they could be humble enough to accept such a precious gift. I will pray that God will get them to that point. Most of all, as usual, I want to thank God for living in me and for saving me to live for Him. He surely knows how to keep His own (crying), and He surely knows how to get the attention of the hardest hearted person on earth. I know that therapists would disagree, but the Bible teaches that everyone is created in God's image, and there is no hard heart that God cannot touch. I look forward to my time in prayer tonight....as I start by opening my hymnal and singing a song or two to God. He is worthy of our praise.

"Pint Night" and Redeemer Presbyterian NYC

How about meeting for "Pint Night" and calling it a church gathering at the local "watering hole" (as the church calls it, referenced in their web site below)? Any alcoholic sinner of the world would want to attend in his or her dis-ease, and not just that, but stay for more rounds of drink to bury and numb any emotional discomfort in alcoholism! It is a place where the town drunks act the same as the church members! Wow, what a "missional" concept---exploiting the weaknesses of others in God's name and demeaning God's power to heal spiritual and emotional wounds without alcohol.

The Bible says we are to be "sober" and of a "sound mind," so the idea of drinking at a Bible study is a tad contradictory, but it seems to be the postmodern way of this new PCA Presbyterian Church, All Souls, affiliated with Redeemer Presbyterian NYC where Tim Keller is pastor. Jesus said, "Come to Me...," not alcohol, but I have a feeling this "church" will not be emphasizing what Jesus said over pop-culture trends. After all, this church is being created by the elders for the pub. Imagine the Bride of Christ sitting on a bar stool with spirits of whiskey and beer all around. The Bible teaches the Bride of Christ is worth a whole lot more.

Yet, all the souls at this affiliate church of Redeemer Pres. NYC in Seattle are apparently off to the pub to drink a beer or two in God's name. Yes, this is surely a church where all the souls of the world would feel welcome (unless the souls wish to remain sober and abstain from alcohol, that is). Not a bit of "oving the Lord "with all your MIND" going on as they meet at the pub to get a little buzz, so I predict this "church" will draw large numbers and be a "success." Will the "Bible study" teacher be drinking at the "Pint Night," too? Is the idea to get a little loosened up perhaps in order to wash the Gospel down, to have a drink and let the "spirit(s)" roll?

The new church, All Souls, in Seattle, WA, is an affiliate of Redeemer Presbyterian NYC and offers "Pint Night" to all the souls who would evidently not care to remain "sober minded" as the Bible teaches. They plan to meet at the pub here. I wonder if there is a drink limit at the Bible study. It would not be my kind of church, because I don't drink beer. But, then again, I am an old-fashioned Christian who was never taught to drink beer while at "Bible study." Yes, this is certainly a new "missional" way---drinking beer at the pub, getting a little tipsy and calling such an experience "church." In all fairness, perhaps it is not meant to be a Bible study. It is not specified as a Bible study. Maybe they are just meeting to hang out at "the watering hole" and drink. The Bride of Christ deserves better. I would never want to go to a "watering hole" with a man, and I thank God that Jesus takes me to places much better than a pub as His Bride. Down on my knees with Him is a much better place any night of the week.

From the All Souls web site:

All Souls is an affiliate of Redeemer Presbyterian Church of New York City.

http://www.allsoulsseattle.org/gatherings.html

All Souls is a brand new community. A sapling, really.

We’re a new and mixed group of folks, gathered from all over the social and spiritual map, of all ages and professions––some new to Seattle, some native to the area. Some are grandparents, many are in diapers.

Some are skeptical or curious about Christianity, some are taking steps toward faith for the first time (ever, or in a long time), and others are committed followers of Jesus, resting more and more in God’s grace.

In other words, all are welcome, and welcomed to be in process.

Having just begun meeting for Sunday worship, we are still in the beginning stages––building relationships, growing vision, imagining together what God will continue to do within this growing body as the All Souls story unfolds.

In fact, we are community known for gathering informally––any excuse to just hang out together––and are constantly welcoming newcomers to join us for dinner parties, beach picnics, exploring the Christian faith, book discussions, prayer, serving others, you name it.

Additionally, impromptu gatherings at West Seattle playgrounds, cafes, and watering holes happen frequently.

This fall, with the beginning of Sunday worship, we’re also gathering for:
+ Moms’ Group (every Wed.)
+ Pint Night (third Thurs. of the month)
+ Sunday Supper (Oct 24, Dec 5)
+ Home Groups (meet bi-weekly, learn more)

Click on the image at right to view a printable (and email-able) PDF with upcoming gatherings listed, and view the All Souls calendar for more info. All are welcome!
Please contact us with questions or for directions to a particular event. Thank you

************************************************
From the calendar:
Pint Night
WhenThu, October 21, 8pm – 10pm
WhereThe Beveridge Place (map)
Description: Join new and old friends for beer or cider every third Thursday at the Beveridge Place (www.beveridgeplacepub.com) near Morgan Junction in West Seattle.

Encouragement for the U.T. Outreach

The University of TN has an exciting campus with so many young people about to start their adult lives apart from their parents who, more importantly, will decide their spiritual life apart from their parents. The humanists, agnostics, and liberals seem to understand the opportunity to seize the hearts and minds of the naive and confused students. I believe there is no place that has a greater need for apologetics than the college campus. I thank God everyday for people like Josh McDowell, Dr. Walter Martin, Francis Shafer, C.S. Lewis, Dr. Geisler, and Campus Crusade; they helped me endure the Satanic assault I was ill prepared to deal with at that time. No one warned me of the battle that I was to face. Whether it was evolution, (devilution, as we affectionately called it), German Biblical Criticism, false religions, New Age, Eastern Mysticism, “Christian” cults, atheism, agnosticism, and the most dangerous, Liberal Christianity, my biblical faith was attacked. It seems like only yesterday, but I saw many students fall from the faith during their college days. The tools you are providing will change people’s lives. I saw Satanists become Christians, party animals become pastors, the unchurched become missionaries, and liberals turn into believers. You are doing a good work… God Bless you.

S. Springs
Tennessee

Why Liberals Stay in Evangelical Churches

“By withdrawing from the confessional churches – those churches that are founded upon a creed derived from Scripture – the liberal preacher would indeed sacrifice the opportunity, almost within his grasp, of so obtaining control of those confessional churches as to change their fundamental character.

The sacrifice of that opportunity would mean that the hope of turning the resources of the evangelical churches into the propagation of liberalism would be gone.”

“The present time is not for ease or pleasure, but for earnest and prayerful work. A terrible crisis unquestionably has arisen in the Church. In the ministry of evangelical churches are to be found hosts of those who reject the gospel of Christ. By the equivocal use of traditional phrases, by the representation of differences of opinion as though they were only differences about the interpretation of the Bible, entrance into the Church was secured for those who are hostile to the very foundations of the faith!

And now there are some indications that the fiction of conformity to the past is to be thrown off, and the real meaning of what has been taking place is to be allowed to appear. The Church, it is now apparently supposed, has almost been educated up to the point where the shackles of the Bible can openly be cast away and the doctrine of the Cross of Christ can be relegated to the limbo of discarded subtleties.”

--Christianity and Liberalism (written 90 years ago – in 1921! By J. Gresham Machen, the founder of Westminster Theological Seminary)

Last UT Outreach

Here are photos by Tom Duvall and Claudette Litz, from our last outreach to students of the University of TN. WE RAN OUT OF BOOKLETS BY JOHN BLANCHARD AGAINST EVOLUTION. ALL THE STUDENTS WANTED THEM! WE ARE PRAYING FOR GOD TO SUPPLY AN EXTRA 50.00 A MONTH TO COVER THE COST FOR ORDERING BOOKS REGULARLY AGAINST EVOLUTION FOR THIS OUTREACH LOCATION TO STUDENTS.

Welcome to the mission field of the University of Tennessee campus. This girl was passing out free condoms to the students close to where we set up our outreach table.
We had a wonderful day of outreach, with more students than we expected coming to the table.
A prolife group had graphic photos which were uncomfortable to view. There was also a street preacher with a microphone speaking to the passing students. (We tried to set up our outreach table away from him, distinct from his "preaching" as people passed.) The students who came to the table were impressed with the variety of books, tracts, and media for listening and viewing.
The CDs and DVDs were on topics dealing with Homosexuality and the Bible, Warning from Ex-New Ager and Psychic Medium, Darwin Undone, What Is The Unborn, Sexual Addition Testimonies, Zen Buddhism, An Atheist Finds Christ, Tools of the Occult, The Evolution Of A Creation, Out of Mormonism, The Riddle of Reincarnation, The Deity of Christ, and How to Know the Bible Is the Word of God.
John Blanchard's book, Evolution: Fact or Fiction, was the most popular gift of the day. Two students who asked for it went immediately to their friends and began reading it. The students always thanked us for the free materials.

Tom Duvall is explaining the purpose of this ministry with a student who is searching for answers about God. Several students expressed this same concern. Books such as Which Way to God? and After Death What Then? were taken by some of these students.

We are finding that the students who come to the table are serious about reviewing the materials before selecting the ones that interest them. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to draw them over, and we trust Him to give us the right words to say in each conversation.

At the end of the afternoon, a man who was helping in the prolife group shared his testimony with us. He is a UT alumnus who loves the Lord, and we promised to pray for each other.

-----------------------

From Tom Duvall, ministry leader:

We had a wonderful day on the UT campus! We set the table up on the pedestrian walk. The weather was great, and we were fortunate enough to get a nice shady spot. We set our table up alongside several other tables including a couple of students handing out condoms, a group doing a fundraiser, and a group of street preachers.

We had the opportunity to speak with several students, and they were all interested in the topic of evolution vs. creation. We gave out many materials on the topic and actually ran out of John Blanchard's book on the topic. I also noticed books quietly disappearing off the table about addiction. I pray that God will open their hearts and begin to bring them healing.

Please continue to pray that someone will come alongside to help me with this ministry and that we'll be able to find new sponsors to help pay for the materials we give out.

In Christ,

Tom

Speaking at a Women's Conference and Singing in CA

I will not have time to post on the blog until I return from CA. My schedule is so packed, I don't even have my lap top while in Los Angeles and the Southern CA area. I will be speaking and singing at a conference for women this Friday and Saturday, and Sunday I will be taping a video on apologetics and why evangelism should be based on apologetics in these postmodern times. I will be spending time with vendors at Venice Beach, too, because we need to arrange someone to help us get a spot on the boardwalk for our outreach table. I hope to arrange that as well while in CA.

Details for the conference are here: www.apostasyalert.org .

I will be checking emails via my Blackberry and will be in touch when I return to Atlanta.

Evangelism Update from Rami in Jerusalem

SEPTEMBER 20, 2010 REPORT

To our Dear Brothers & Sisters in Jesus:

I would like to share with you a few highlights of the Table Ministry from August and September. During the summer we conducted several outreach events at several of the parks in Jerusalem, during holidays and weekends, in the afternoons and evenings.

On a recent occasion at the Liberty Bell Garden Park, hundreds of people (including Jews and Arabs) were in the park with their children. Many were having a picnic. Some were riding bicycles. Others were playing football (soccer), or watching their children using the playground. There was music, cotton candy and food being shared by large and small groups of families. Our outreach was assisted by members of the Jerusalem Alliance Church, along with participants of a visiting ministry group from churches in the USA. Our outreach concession was to twist balloons into playful shapes for people in the park and to paint the faces of children. Some of our team played Christian music on a guitar, accompanied by a drummer.

Of course, our media table was positioned in a prominent location where most of the people would walk. People crowded around our table and the members of our team. Our ministry is primarily prepared to reach nominal Arab Christians and Muslims. People were happy to be entertained and many were happy to receive a gift of something to read or listen to. In spite of all the loud commotion around us, many were anxious to talk about spiritual truths and realities. Several conversations with members of our team were always going-on simultaneously. Not everyone was happy to hear our message of good news available for everyone, only through Jesus. Most defended the way they had been taught to believe or hold-on to since their birth.

A sad-looking, 40 year old woman, tired of life, and apparently chain-smoking her way through life, walked slowly by our table. She gave a lingering look while she passed the table and went nearby to sit on a perimeter wall, with a determination to watch us. After noticing her continued interest, Rima and I went over to start a conversation with her. She opened-up her heart to Rima and they spoke together for about an hour. She felt alone. Her 12 year old daughter was a big concern to her. Their conversation was concluded with prayer. After praying, the woman sensed a new kind of joy and happiness. She stood-up and began to mix and talk with our ministry team members. Before leaving, she sought out several of the team members to give them a special hug and an expression of gratitude.

A 35 year old married Muslim man with children came up to the table. He received a New Testament and said, “I want to be a Christian!” He said that a friend was going to a Bible meeting and asked him to attend the meeting with him. However, he was afraid of the repercussions that would inevitably follow, if he did this. I spoke with him about the love of Christ and explained the “Four Spiritual Laws”. He willingly listened and was willing to pray in response to my invitation. I gave him a copy of the “Jesus” film and he left his phone number with me, so we could talk again. This is the reason we do this ministry.

God not only leads us to people in Jerusalem parks and through the media table set-up along the street, but often people I have never met contact me through the ministry’s mobile phone number. On a typical occasion, a Muslim man from Jerusalem named “Usammah” phoned me and asked why we give people things that talk about Jesus. He asked me if I believed that Jesus Christ is the Lord? I told him I could answer him in one of 2 ways. First, if I say “Yes, I believe that Jesus is the Lord, you would say I was a crazy heretic. Or, I could send you a gift of the Bible and you could read God’s answer within its pages. It will speak to you and you will discover my answer to your question there.” He asked me to send him a Bible saying, “Maybe I will become a believer in the future!”

A young Muslim man from Um El Fahim was given a tract in the streets of Jerusalem. The tract discussed the purpose of spiritual fasting and how to do it in a way that pleases God. After reading and thinking about it for 1 week, he telephoned me and said he never realized how ignorant he was about fasting. He said he still did not understand what it really meant for him, especially as a Muslim. He asked if he could find out more and know more about Jesus Christ. I answered some of his questions and tried to encourage him. After closing the telephone, one of the first things I did was to send him a Bible in response to his request.

Please pray for me to show the love of Jesus to lost people.

Please pray for regular volunteers and sufficient media materials for this ministry.

Please pray for the finances to reach more people.

Your Brother in Christ,
Rami Mishriky
C M A
P.O. BOX 50
Jerusalem 91000
Isreal

LTW Update: Pakistan

May the blessings of the Lord be with you.

Here are photos of new table outreach in a village last night. It was a good experience .We drove to go there, and it took almost 45 minutes to get there. Everyne who took a Bible or book promised to read it. Mostly young girls and boys took a New Testament. Praise the Lord, He used me to pray for wicked people and witness to them.

We used a place with a boundary wall, because we needed safety from Moslems.

Blessings,

Pastor Babar kamran
Lightening the Way
Pakistan

New Web Site for Non-Christians

Here is what I have written for the 2nd page of our new www.bygodsgrace.org web site. This page is called: "How to Be Saved by Grace."

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It is very healthy for someone to realize he or she is not worthy of God’s grace. People are not worthy of God’s forgiveness and pardon for sin. The Bible teaches in Romans 5, verse 20, that God’s grace forgives any treacherous degree of sin:

Where sin increases, grace abounds all the more.

People sometimes retort, “Yes, but you can lose the grace of God if you ever get it!” or ask, “You mean, God offers me forgiveness for every bad thought or thing I have ever done, no matter how I have lived in the past and no matter how many mistakes I will make in the future?” Such a person often concludes, “I’m not buying it!” Karma, gauged by the ego, seems to make much better sense. After all, impersonal “energy” spirits from the “god of this world” and the “prince of the power of the air” offer excitement and results. But this web site is about an offer from the moral, Law-Giving God, the only God who offers freedom from sin by grace through a Savior who died in our place.

Taking credit for our good deeds may feel more comfortable than giving God all the credit for His mercy toward people, and being one’s own savior in autonomy may seem like a safer place…but only to a person who does not know about God’s loving grace.

You can’t earn it. If you can’t earn it by good works, you can’t lose it by bad works. It is a gift from God through Jesus who came as God in the flesh to die in our place and pay the penalty for the sins of mankind. He hates sin worse than any mere human, yet He humbled Himself to the point of death on a cross to suffer on behalf of adulterers, homosexuals, fornicators, liars, thieves, idolaters, sorcerers, deceivers and every wretched sinner in need of a Savior. That’s because He’s pure. By the strength that rose Jesus from the dead (with His tomb guarded by Roman soldiers), He is ruler over every quantum power and every dimension, so nothing can separate us from the love of God when Jesus Christ is our Lord. Even demons tremble at the power of Jesus toward those who believe.

Such grace alone comes as a gift from God through faith alone in Christ alone. Prisoners are set free within by such grace, but a captive has to want such forgiveness of sin on God’s condition and not his own. A person can sometimes believe in the kindness of such a miraculous offer without submitting to Jesus as Lord. But God’s grace is only granted to those who want a relationship with a pure, moral God, while guaranteeing hell for “those who love lying.” Which kind of person are you?

For anyone who would like a relationship with Jesus of Nazareth, the risen Savior very much alive today—the One who was tempted in all things yet without sin, the God who is the Good Shepherd who knows His own by name, the only Incarnate God of Love whose blood cleanses from all sin, Who came for sinners and defeated death, the Lord who will never abandon His own—this gift comes as a result of wanting such a Savior by God’s grace. No yoga prayer stance will acquire this gift of grace from God, and no amount of human consciousness can attain the moral excellence or “perfect spirituality,” as neo-pagans call it, that Jesus Christ of Nazareth offers you through His victory over death and sin. No amount of therapy can empathize with sorrow like Jesus, the Man of Sorrows, who wants to live inside your heart by the Holy Spirit. The pure God of the Bible is the only God who can truly make a person better.

Would you accept God’s grace and forgiveness of sin through Jesus and let Him make you new? Would you be willing to get to know a holy God, unlike yourself, through the only Bible written over a span of 1500 years by over 40 different authors, from kings to fishermen, fulfilling over 300 prophecies from the Old Testament to the New through Jesus? Would you like to know a God who hates sin with no deceit found in Him? Such a God wants to be your Friend if you would just bow the knee and surrender to His grace toward those who believe that Jesus paid it ALL. Such grace is free, but it costs people their DESIRE for debased living. Saving grace is always accompanied by a love for Jesus of Nazareth and sincere contrition of the heart, to repent of sin on behalf of all Jesus has done to pay for your freedom from sin and death in full.

“Come to Me all you who are weary…and you shall find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29)

Titus 3:5: “He has saved us not on the deeds which we have done in righteousness but according to His mercy...”

Titus 3:7 “That being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

Hebrews 4:16 “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

1 Peter 5:5 “. . .God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble.”

(Bible verses supporting what this page teaches: Romans 6:23; John 10; Isaiah 53; 1 Corinthians 15:1-10, 24; Matthew 15:17-20; Matthew 28:18; Ephesians 1:13, 19, 21; Ephesians 2:2, Ephesians 5:3-5; Romans 8:38-39; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Philippians 2:8,10; Galatians 5:16-25; Matthew 5:17; Luke 13: 3,5; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; 1 Timothy 1:15; James 2:19; Revelation 22:15; Psalm 50:21; Isaiah 55:9; 1 Peter 2:21-23; John 8:32; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 11:29; John 12:25; John 15:14-15; Romans 6:15)

Zeal and Boldness According to Jesus

Someone called me after midnight and asked me to remove my former post tonight, which was a letter to some elders at a church in Manhattan. I may or may not post it again. It is good to know these elders read my blog, and I am not ashamed of the God-given zeal that I have for the Bible, no matter who dislikes me. When Jesus saw people buying and selling in the temple, He did not walk up peacefully to the vendors and say, "I am hoping we can be friends. By all means, whatever happens, I want to be your friend. I don't want to damage the goods you are selling, and I don't want to offend you."

NO! He threw the tables over, destroying the merchandise. He was angry. Why? Because He loved God, His Father, more than those people, and I love God, my Father, so much more, too. He has been a good Father to me.

I don't like it when elders at a high profile church misrepresent Jesus. I don't like it when they misrepresent God. I don't care who they are or how many degrees they have. It is not right. I get my truth from the Bible, and so should they as elders and pastors in a popular church. If they don't believe in the Bible, I wish they would just come right out and say that in their sermons from it.

The Cult "Set Free" with Phil Aguilar

Have you heard of the cult, "Set Free," in CA? Here is more information. I met Phil Aguilar years ago at a Christian gathering, and I knew something was not quite right. (By the way, this guy is a lot like the people who have slandered me on the Internet with ad hominem attacks about me that are lies. This guy reminds me of all the gothic worship I witnessed at Cornerstone Music Festival, 2006, as I went there with a team of 3 other Christian women to do research. I reported what I saw, and the "Jesus People" (especially a man named Jon Trott who admits that he feels like a woman a lot of the time...) started calling me names on blogs, and it went all over the Internet...) Standing up for the LIGHT of what the Bible teaches can sure make some so called Christians viciously upset.

LTW to the Smokies--Last Update for 2010

This summarizes God's faithfulness on my last day of outreach for this year at the Lighting the Way to the Smokies table. I had asked God to let me share the Gospel with just one person who really needed it today in this TN culture where most people are already believers in Jesus. He answered that prayer. It was one of the best days of my life and such a great end to this ministry this season. I won't get to set up any other weekends due to my schedule. This day was one I will never forget, as I had the joy of sharing Jesus today with someone who really needed Him....

I want to begin a summary of God’s work today at the Sugarlands’ Visitor Center in the Great Smoky Mts. National Park, by sharing the words of “The Wonder Of It All,” written by George Beverly Shea.

There’s the wonder of sunset at evening,
The wonder as sunrise I see;
But the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul,
Is the wonder that God loves me.

As today’s experiences with tourists were coming to an end, I sat at the table praying that God would send someone to the table who needed to know Him. I recalled encouraging conversations with Christians who were very grateful for the free materials on the table.

One lady’s husband was unable to attend church because of stage four cancer.

Grandparents had unsaved grandchildren.

Pastors and adult Christians appreciated the sermons on CDs and DVDs, books, and magazines.

Children loved Dwayna’s ten-year old album songs on CD, as well as the “Hey Kids” tracts and the Knowing Aslan books. One beautiful, blonde, ten-year old girl was with her parents and friends and is in one of the pictures I took. She told me how she was telling her friends at school about Jesus and was seeing them later get baptized. Her parents verified her information and asked if she could have some of the witnessing materials to use with other friends who do not know Jesus. I shared with them how my daughter (Dwayna) took her Bible to school at that age, witnessed to her friends as she grew up, and is now a missionary. How wonderful it is to meet total strangers and soon feel you are life long friends because of the fellowship of the Holy Spirit in our hearts!

Boy Scouts, who were on a hiking trip, came over and asked if they could have Dwayna’s booklet, which contains quotes from America’s past presidents and founding fathers.

God even brought a lady from Thailand to the table to tell me about how she has been in Pigeon Forge all summer telling international students and visitors about Jesus. Tomorrow she is seeing many of them baptized at the First Baptist Church of Pigeon Forge. We may work together next summer when she returns to this area from her home in S.C. She wanted a picture with me and took my email address and phone number.

Several people took Dwayna’s business cards and wanted to write her and even send a donation to LTW. What a great day! Yet, there appeared to be no one stopping by who had questions about how to know Jesus.

Just before it was time to pack for leaving, a man named Jack was at the table listening as I was talking with other people. When they had gone, he came and stood beside me and spoke the sweetest words! I will never forget them. He had taken a Compass International bookmark from the table earlier, which shows a timeline of Biblical events (past and future). He brought it to me and asked, “Could you explain this to me?” This was an answer to my prayer.

As I briefly touched on the Old Testament events from creation to Abraham, and took more time explaining about why Jesus came, I told him how Jesus died on the cross for his sins. He said he needed Jesus. With tears coming down my face, I told him how wonderful Jesus is, how I needed Him every hour of the day, and how much I love Him and appreciate all He has done for me. His girlfriend, Beverly, was listening and agreeing with me. I told them about how Jesus is coming back for the church soon and about the period of tribulation, which will be for those left on the earth after the Christians are gone to heaven at the rapture. Then, Christ will come to earth for the second time, and we will be with Him. After the Battle of Armageddon, Christ will reign on the earth for 1,000 years of peace. The earth then burns up, and there will be a new heaven and earth.

I have never seen a person more open and willing to listen than Jack. I am thankful God used this bookmark of Biblical dispensations as the tool for sharing His gospel message. It was easy to follow the timeline, because this is what he had asked me to explain. He and Beverly took two sermon CDs, a New Testament, two bookmarks, After Death What Then? and “Steps to Peace With God.” Jack told me about how he almost lost his leg serving in the military and how he has steel in his leg and knee and limps as he walks. I let him know how much I appreciated all he had done for our country and how I respected all veterans. They left after spending at least fifteen minutes with me, and in a few minutes they came back and wanted to give me a donation for their materials. After they persisted, I let them give it to me. They told me that they understood what I had said to them and let me know they felt much better. I prayed with them, and we said goodbye drying the tears from our eyes.

The wonder of it all!
The wonder of it all!
Just to think that God loves me.

“Sharing Jesus, serving Him, and strengthening Christians with excellence for the glory of God.” (Mission Statement of the First Baptist Church of Sevierville, TN)

Claudette Litz

Unfair Treatment of Christians in America

David, Nabeel, Negeem, and Paul were arrested for essentially being Christians and going to an Arab fair. They will be on trail Monday. Two of them are Muslims who became Christians, and David Wood has a TV show where he talks about why he does not believe in Muhammad and this sometimes makes Muslims very upset. Their God given constitutional rights were violated. This is a very important human rights case.

Someone made a video with a rhyme about the case and how it is a sham:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9TBjfGMU9I

For more information go to their website http://www.answeringmuslims.com/ .

Does Water Baptism Save the Soul?

Some people were asking me about baptism weeks ago on FB and whether or not it is salvific. No, water baptism cannot save the soul. Where does it teach this in the Bible? Well, getting baptized is a "work," and we are not saved by works (Eph. 2:8-9).

Baptism is a testimony of salvation (God's miraculous regeneration of the heart through "circumcision of the heart" producing God's gift of saving faith in Jesus as Savior). Water baptism is not indicative of salvation, because salvation is God's work of regeneration of the heart. See 1 Peter 3:21 and Titus 3:5. People can get baptized, but only God can save.

Photos from Today in Little Five Points

We had a great day in outreach. The heat was draining, but it was a thrill telling people about Jesus and offering them free materials for His glory. God let people be patient enough for us to open the Bible and read to them what the Bible says about testing the spirits, what it means to be saved, to answer questions with Bible verses. (I love that)! Here are photos of our outreach table today with materials for satanists, New Agers, Buddhists, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, evolutionists, homosexuals, people dabbling in "Tools of the Occult", people practicing transcendental meditation, and nominal "Christians" interested in answers (based on the Bible!) to questions they don't find in postmodern, emergent, "contemplative" churches...

This man wasted no time reading what I gave him on the Satanist's definition of God. He was intrigued to know that Satanists also believe in "God." Believing in God makes demons tremble, so simply "believing" may not produce saving faith. We discussed how the creed of Satanism--"Do as thou wilt"--is really no different than how most people live. Rebellion from the Law of the Bible is at the heart of Satanism. Wonder why it is not rebellion from Buddhism or Hinduism, why the Bible, why the Law Giving God? It is because the battle truly IS between Christ and Satan. Satan loses forever, because even death could not hold "the King of the Jews." Everyone will bow the knee, either in this life or in the one to come. There is no God like Jesus! There is only ONE "Resurrection and the Life."

This must have been the day for witnessing to lesbians in Little Five Points. God brought up girls holding hands, and we gave out one testimony by "Kim" of how God has changed her life and how she left lesbianism for new life in Jesus, and we gave out booklets by "Mary" about what the Bible says pertaining homosexuality and relationships (explaining David and Jonathan and Ruth and Naomi were not "gay.") God is pure, and He desires His own to worship Him in Spirit and truth. It was a pleasure reaching these broken people as God brought them over to the table with questions....and we got to explain that God is pure. He is "holy" and what that means in comparison to the character of a sinner.

Anthony reading the Bible to someone

It is a joy to open the Bible to a passage and watch the person read it, especially when they tell us they have been going to church for years and yet don't understand what it means to be saved or live for Jesus.

Working with Tina and Anthony today was a pleasure. I will be out of town for the next few weekends, so Anthony is going to lead the outreach. I will be back to join the team around the end of October due to travel.