Austin Believes in Science NOT Creator GOD

I met a very nice young man named Austin in Pismo Beach the other day. It was a beautiful day – in the High 80’s. There were people all over Pismo and Austin was out to show off his “Parkour” skills.

“What is Parkour,” you ask? Wikipeia says,

Parkour (sometimes abbreviated to PK) is a utilitarian discipline based upon the successful, swift and energy-efficient traversing of one's surrounding environment via the practical application of techniques, based around the concept of self-preservation and the ability to help others. It is a non-competitive, physical discipline of French origin in which participants run along a route, attempting to negotiate obstacles in the most efficient way possible, using only their bodies. Skills such as jumping, climbing, vaulting, rolling, swinging and wall scaling are employed. Parkour can be practiced anywhere, but areas dense with obstacles are preferable and it is most commonly practiced in urban areas.

In this interview I used the dangerous nature of the tricks I saw Austin perform to springboard into talking about the surety of death and the afterlife.

As you watch this interview, notice how Austin takes a position that he doesn’t believe in Creator GOD but instead “science” (at the beginning of the interview). But after opening up the Ten Commandments to him, we found a place of agreement in his conscience. He acknowledged his guilt before GOD and Austin’s eternal destiny if he died in his sins.


Christian, don’t forsake the use of what GOD has given us to speak the truth in love to lost people. Use the Law to bring about the knowledge of sin. Speak of the character and nature of GOD. Speak of the torments of Hell. Do your best to make Hell reasonable to them so that you can preach the Good News of Jesus Christ. More often than not, like Austin, a person will move from denying the existence of GOD to acknowledging their sin, guilt and the existence of GOD.


But ultimately, all of this is the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of a sinner. It is He who must save. So trust Him to use you and share your faith today.

Are You Ready?

When I made the decision to incorporate a cross into my evangelism endeavors, I wasn't sure how I was going to go about getting my hands on one. Many of my Brothers and Sisters in Christ posted their own versions (specifications) of the crosses that they made. In the end I chose to use the dimensions that Tony Miano provided in one of his blog entries.

I found several woodshops in my local area and sent out emails to these shops describing what I wanted. Below is part of what I emailed.

Please quote your best price and delivery of one wooden cross with the specifications as follows:

• 4' vertical beam
• 2.5' horizontal beam
• Each beam 6.5" wide and 1.5" thick
• All edges rounded with a 3/8” or 1/2" radius
• Pine or Poplar
• Dark Walnut Stain & finished with clear lacquer

I’m not really sure why but no body responded. Maybe I shouldn’t have described to them what I wanted to do with the cross. Or maybe none of the woodshops I requested quotes from appreciates the cross. Either way, I had no takers. I began to search the web for cross manufacturers. I found maybe a half dozen or so and emailed them my request for their best price and delivery of one cross meeting the specifications above.

Saturday morning I got up and checked my email, not really expecting to see any responses to my request for quotations. However, I received the simple response below:

Good morning, Thank you for your email. I can build the flat traditional pine cross according to your dimensions stained dark walnut and clear lacquer finish shipped to California for [$$$]
May the Lord bless you today

Kenny

Just taking a guess, but the packaging alone probably weighs at least 3-4 lbs. So I’m estimating that this cross weighs 19-20 lbs.


In parallel with ordering the cross I still needed to figure out how I was going to get the, “Are You Ready?” question written across the crossbeam. I looked where I might get some single letters that would fit. I wanted the lettering to come about 1” from ether end and about ½” from the top edge and bottom edge of the face of the crossbeam. The other thing that I was sure that I wanted to do was to have the letters be relfelctive. Reflective letters will come in handy when it gets dark. I looked around on the web and found another really easy company to order from: Custom-Vinyl-Lettering.

They have a very simple custom label creator where you specify what you want the on the label, its size, its color, and what type of material (white reflective in my case). Watch this short video to see how the decal is applied.

Here is a snapshot of the specific label and its dimensions that I ordered.


Within 5-6 days after ordering it, I had my custom, “Are You Ready?” label. Actually, I received my custom label on the same day I received my cross.

After I unpackaged the cross, I carefully laid out my label and had it installed within 10-15 minutes.

Here’s a few pictures of the finished cross.



Kenny at Crossmember Crosses does high quality work. I highly recommend his work to anyone who is interested. Please at least give him a chance at quoting you a price. His website is:

http://www.crossmembercrosses.com/index.html

If you want to get a custom vinyl label made, you can use:

http://www.custom-vinyl-lettering.net/

A Wooden Cross

Last year (2009) I read many blog entries, listened to audio, and watch videos of how my Brothers and Sisters in Christ have incorporated the use of a simple wooden cross in their evangelism endeavors. They use the crosses they carry as tool to start one on one spiritual conversations with people.

It’s nothing new. We’ve all seen people over the years carrying and holding up crosses. However, this group of brothers and sisters are doing something a bit different – at least I’ve never seen it.

Brother Tony Miano from The Lawman Chronicles started carrying a cross with, “Are You Ready?” written on the crossbeam. You can watch one of his videos here where he explains what inspired him.

GOD used Brother Tony to inspire many other believers to make their own crosses. As I said, I read about, listened to, and watched videos of these faithful servants of Christ out on the street, using their crosses to start spiritual conversations – leading to the communicating the Law and the Gospel to lost souls.

In December 09, I watch two videos that really encouraged me. So much so that I too decided that, in 2010, I would incorporate a cross into my evangelism endeavors. Below are the two videos from The Word Street Journal that blessed me and I pray that they will bless you too.





Here are a few more sites/blogs that inspired me to get a cross.
http://bythebloodofchrist.blogspot.com
http://lovethelost.org
http://www.clevelandcross.blogspot.com
http://justtruth.net
http://www.unlessyourepent.com

In my next post I'll put up a few pictures of my cross, its specifications and where I got it. Glory of GOD alone! SDG!

Why Another Blog?

Why another blog? I’ll answer that question by asking another from the Shorter Westminster Catechism. “What is the chief end of man?” ANSWER: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.”

It’s true! My highest purpose (and yours) as a Christian is to be totally absorbed by the Person and work of GOD the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. No matter what I set my hand to do, it is my desire that GOD remain central and receive all the honor, praise and adoration for who He is, what He's doing, and what He has done. He alone is my greatest treasure and joy – He alone is worthy.

It is impossible that anything I could say here would add anything to GOD’s glory. All glory already belongs to Him because of Who He is. But with that being said, it is altogether possible (and it is my motive) to blog in such a way that He is pleased and that He alone is honored, receiving all the credit for any and all good fruit. I say with the Reformers' that in all things “Soli Deo Gloria!” Soli Deo Gloria - Latin meaning Glory to God alone. SDG!

By the grace of GOD, my, although imperfect (heart, mind, soul, strength) love for the glory of GOD is the taproot for my love of mankind.

In this is love, not that we have 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 also ought to love one another. We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:10-11, 19

Out of the love that GOD has, “poured out” in my heart by the Holy Spirit, I will attempt to blog in such a way that expresses my love for GOD’s people – my Brothers and Sisters in Christ and for lost people. Remember - concerning the command to love GOD and man, Jesus said, “there is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12).

In First Thessalonians chapter four, the Apostle Paul instructs the Church concerning GOD’s command to brotherly love. In verse nine he urges the Church to, “do this more and more.” He then provides the Church with more practical instruction and exhortation about how to live (vv.10-12). Then he turns his attention to encouraging them about the glories of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and provides them (us) with a detailed teaching about what happens to Christians who die (vv.13-17). In verse eighteen he says, “Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

I want to make the Apostle Paul’s aim in writing these words to the Church my own aim in this blog. In everything I blog about here, I pray it will be with an eye on loving you my Brother and Sister in Christ. I’ll do my best, by the grace of GOD, to encourage you of this simple truth - Time is short! Our Lord will soon return! Love GOD and glorify Him by obeying His command to love man. How? “Go into the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” Mark 16:15

In the weeks, months, (years Lord willing) to come, I’ll be posting my experiences in evangelism. I pray it honors Christ Jesus our Lord and encourages you Christian. In addition to text, you’ll see/hear audio, video, and photos of my evangelism endeavors.

"Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you…" 2 Thessalonians 3:1

The title of the Blog “Cross Bearing Servant”??? I’ll explain it in my next post.

SDG!