I am so impressed by the "Way of the Master" evangelism program; Ray and Kirk have such conviction about reaching the lost, and they provide such an incredible way to get people to see themselves as God sees them without the savior: headed for hell. They do this by using the Law, the 10 commandments, to help people see that they really arn't a "good" person, and that if God were to judge them based on whether they've kept His standard of righteousness, they would be found guilty of violating his law and headed for hell. A holy and just God cannot by nature have anything to do with sin, and sin must be dealt with wherever it is found. But God is also loving and caring, and has provided a way for people to be saved from the punishment due for their sins: Jesus.
Anyway, Ray and Kirk developed these cool gospel tracts to act as conversation "swingers." They help a Christian swing the conversation from the natural realm to the spiritual. One of these tracts is a million dollar bill; it looks like real money, with a picture of a president on the front and everything. However, there is no such thing as a million dollar bill, so it's not illegal or counterfeit. On the back, written around the edge of the bill, it says this:
"The million dollar question: Will you go to heaven? Here's a quick test. Have you ever told a lie, stolen anything, or used God's name in vain? Jesus said, 'Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.' Will you be guilty on Judgement Day? If you have done those things, God sees you as a lying, thieving, blasphemous, adulterer-at-heart. The Bible warns that if you are guilty you will end up in Hell. That's not God's will. He sent his Son to suffer and die on the cross for you. Jesus took your punishment upon Himself: 'God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.' Then He rose from the dead and defeated death. Please, repent (turn from sin) today and trust in Jesus, and God will grant you everlasting life. Then read your Bible daily and obey it."
Now aside from neglecting to mention baptism, this bill is awesome! I was at the physical therapist office today for my regular appointment, and I struck up a conversation with one of the guys who was also receiving therapy (I forget his name, but it started with an R...Randy, maybe?). We started talking about healthy living and how some people live longer than others despite how they live. Eventually we got to talking about death and dying, and I thought, "If this isn't a good time to swing to the spiritual, what is?!" So I busted out one of the million-dollar bills and gave it to him. He read it and we started talking about Christianity and faith. It wasn't a long conversation since I had to go in one of the back rooms to finish my therapy, but he was very grateful I gave him the tract.
In the back room, I gave another tract to David, one of the therapists. Him and I get along very well and actually have had some good talks about spiritual things. He liked it too and agreed that what the tract said on the back was very important. As he left the room, I heard him talking to some of the other therapists about the tract and even another patient who was there for therapy was talking about it! I felt overjoyed that God's word was being spread and people were thinking about what would happen to them when they died. I gave another bill to Tammy, another therapist and to the patient who was talking about it. I couldn't get into a full blown conversation with everyone at the office, but at least I had put God's word and the gospel into their hands. As I left, I was so pumped! I couldn't believe how easy the whole thing had been to initiate; once the ball got rolling, it was easy to talk about spiritual things and share my faith. I couldn't wait to do it again!
On a more sobering note, this evening as I was hanging around the house and checking things online, I learned that a 17-year old boy was killed the other day in a car accident. He was driving his car late at night, drove too close to the curb, lost control and crashed. Only 17 years old...literally his whole life ahead of him, and now he's dead. Apparently he was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the car.
Later on in the evening, as I was talking with my roommates, I learned about the death of Heath Ledger. He was found dead in a hotel room today. One of my roomies heard it was a drug overdose. He was only 28.
As I was looking up info about the death on nbc4.com, I learned that three teens were shot outside of a DC high school today. Fortunately all of their injuries were non-life-threatening, but they easily could have been.
Why am I writing about these things? To show that 1) there are a lot of messed up things in this world, 2) people die every day and 3) we never know when our time to die will be. Think about it...that 17 year old was just driving along, doing who knows what, but I'm sure that dying was the last thing on his mind. And then, BOOM, he's swept into eternity. Barring any suicidal thoughts, I'm sure Heath did not think today would be his last day on this earth. And those kids were probably just walking along, minding their own business, when they felt the sting of bullets ripping through their bodies. It's true...we DON'T know when it will be our turn. And for those of us who have Jesus as our savior, this and countless examples like it should be a wake-up call to us. People are dying out there, many of them without the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Do we just stand idly by as people are swept into death still in their sins? If we have a single compassionate bone in our bodies, our answers should be a resounding "NO." Too long have I gone with minimal conviction about the fate of the lost. This is one man who's glad to be shaken out of his slumber.
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