Tuesday Morning Notes 1.20.2009

Yesterday Boyd and I braved the bitter cold (it reached a high of 50F) to evangelize in Brooksville. Unlike my dear brother Rand in Canada, we did not let a little cold weather stop our work. Actually, since Rand faced temperatures that were below zero, I guess he had better reason to stay inside. Truly, for us 50F is cold, especially when you factor in the wind chilling us further, but it was nothing brutal. I admire Rand and his pastor for their work in Canada.

For us, we had the opportunity to speak with a few Christians, two of whom were very supportive and who agreed to pray for our Tuesday evangelism. We met one girl who did not really want to talk and another who had that smile that tells you they are involved in a cult and somewhat brainwashed. She told us that she knew she was going to heaven because she was "a member of the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints." She declined to receive the true Gospel.

We did a lot of walking and knocking on doors, but had only a handful of opportunities to talk to any lost people about Jesus. It meant we were able to cover more houses, but many were empty. That is probably to be expected on a Tuesday morning, the only clear opportunity for me to go consistently, but those who are home on Tuesday mornings deserve our effort to share the Gospel with them. I believe the inauguration of Mr. Obama took away from the number who were at home as well. It seemed to be a holiday-type of event for many.

Anyway, that is all we have for today. Nothing major occurred, but we sought to be faithful to our commitment to share our Lord's wonderful, saving Gospel.

Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the LORD. 29 Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? (Jeremiah 23.28-29 ESV)

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Finally, I would like to congratulate Rand and his wife Twinlkemoose on their expectation of a new little Canadian servant of Christ! I do not know how far along TM is, but I am excited for them. Having met them a couple of years ago, I love them as if they were my own family (besides being my family in Christ)!

Remembering Angelia

I wrote this back in 2001 after finding out a young lady I ministered to as a youth pastor was killed by a drunk driver. I do not know why I feel like posting this from my old website, but I post it basically as it was. I will try to find a picture of her. I do not know where my old pictures are. She was a gem. She embodied the following Scripture:

Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. (I Timothy 4.12 ESV)

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I miss you Angelia...

• Who she was to me
• How she was taken from us
• Peace even in this loss

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Who She Was To Me:
Angelia was a wonderful girl I met when she attended the youth group I led in Lakeland from 1994-1996. She was the first teen I ever had in a youth group that was really dedicated to Christ. She was very involved in ministry. Angelia (actually her name was Angela, but I originally misspelled it and she liked how I spelled it: "Angelia") was always very supportive. Angelia was often a clown as she ministered (literally).

When I heard she was killed by a drunk driver I was devastated. Angelia was an inspiration to me. I wished so much that I could have been there for her during her last hours. I would have gladly taken her place. She meant that much to me. I will always miss her until I see her again in heaven. I look forward to that reunion.

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How She Was Taken From Us:
September 24, 1998~~ The day I wish never happened.

Angela Marie Sharpe, 18, was struck from behind and thrown into a ditch after midnight on Sept. 24, 1998, as she walked north on Lakeland Highlands Road near construction of a Polk Parkway overpass.

"The pedestrian was walking in the roadway, and she was walking with traffic, as opposed to against it," Fisher said. "The driver apparently was not alert and failed to perceive and react to the presence of the pedestrian. . . . If the Jaguar had moved nine-inches to the left, the pedestrian wouldn't have been struck."

The driver had a blood alcohol level of 0.15 five hours after the incident -- nearly twice the legal limit of 0.08, said Assistant State Attorney John Kirkland. An expert estimates it would have been between 0.19 and 0.26 at the time Sharpe was hit, he said.

Source: Lakeland Ledger

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Peace even in this loss:
We know that as a Christian, Angelia is now with the Lord in heaven. It hurts to not have her here. I had not spoken to her in two years, but I always thought we'd see each other again sometime. I know we will, but unfortunately not here. Angelia's faith in Christ has led her to a far better place. My faith in Christ will reunite me with her someday. Her many Christian friends will see her again as well.

Will you ever meet her (or if you knew her, will you ever see her again)? The question I am asking, is if you died right now, do you know for sure that you would go to heaven? If not, please either email me, or go to "the Way" page and read through the Scriptures. It can point you toward eternal life. Check the Scriptures in full at ESV.ORG.

I was not the only one whose life was touched by Angelia. There were many. I hope that people will look at this story and realize that drinking and driving can cost many people a great deal.
Even though the driver was convicted, it will not bring Angelia back. I will never forget Angelia, I will not stop missing her until we meet again in heaven.

No Tuesday Morning Notes 1.13.2009

Today the weather did not cooperate with our evangelism as the photo in this post will attest to. As we just returned from our trip to Alabama, it was probably just as well. I have to straighten up the house and re-adjust to being back in the "Sunshine State" (again, see the picture in this post).

So, instead of the morning evangelism, we had a family Bible study (my 7-year-old was in school, so it was just three of us).

I will be posting our verse of the week shortly.

Until then, ponder the Lord's words concerning our commission:

And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28.18-20 ESV)

Tuesday Morning Notes 1.6.2009

Today Boyd and I not only went evangelizing door-to-door, but we also visited a family from his church that just lost the 80-year-old mother/grandmother/great-grandmother a few days ago and followed up on some of the new converts and prospective visitors.

We only had the opportunity to speak with three people today. One was a young girl, about 15 years old, who professed to be a question and was polite. She seemed embarrassed to talk much to a couple of strangers, so that conversation was quite short, but pleasant enough.

The second encounter was also with some Christian gentlemen from Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church in Brooksville. It was a good conversation, edifying- we were much different in many ways, but the fellowship was encouraging and a blessing.

Finally we tried to follow-up with several new Christians and a lady who had promised to visit Anchor Baptist, but had not done so yet. The new Christians were not home, but the lady (Willie Pearl) was. She apologized for not coming to the church yet and said it was because she had a lot of company and was overly busy. Willie Pearl also asked us to continue to visit her and not forget to remind her to visit. She is a sweet lady. She also asked for prayer. We agreed to pray for her.

That was it. It was basically uneventful as far as sharing the Gospel with unbelievers goes, but we still went out and made ourselves available for the Lord's work. Oh to be a pleasing vessel in God's sight. That is all I want. I do not want to go out to "do my duty." I do not want to go out so I can boast about my works. I do not want to go out to lead people to Christ. (WHAT?!?!?) No, I want to go out to please God. Period. I would like people to get saved, but that is not my primary goal. Pleasing God is my primary goal. I hope He was honored by today's efforts.

Bible Memorization Sheet 2009

Below is a link to my newly created Bible Memorization tool. I took the format from the Triablogue work. I simplified it a bit, used mostly different Scriptures and utilized my preferred English Standard Version. I simplified it so my children will be able to better memorize the Scriptures. I also tried to use Scripture organized to promote teaching them some important doctrines of our faith.

2009BibleMemESV

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Bible Memorization 2009 by myall4One.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at http://www.esv.org/.