God gives the increase

Mike, my brother in Christ!, I want to send you and the other Jesus Freaks who visited, prayed, and shared Christ's love with Greg and his family this latest update.  We have continued to visit Greg and his family every time we are on the North side.  Last Saturday, I received a call from his fiance, Katrina.  (I gave her my number some time ago, to call me for a ride to church, but she has never called.) Katrina seemed very desparate, and asked if I could come and talk to Greg.  My wife and I got to go and pray and minister to Greg and Katina, once again we shared the love of Christ and and salvation, and although, he even asked at one point if he could be saved today if he chose, when the time came, once again he pulled back, and didn't make a decision. 

Lately some words from a couple of verses have been pressing on my heart and mind, Psalms 46:10 (Be still and know that I am God) and Isaiah 40:31 (Wait upon the Lord), and I was reminded once again "that only God gives the increase" 1 Corinthians 3:7. Katrina and Greg committed to going to church with us the next day if we picked them up, and Praise God, the next morning Greg, Katrina and all six of their kids were there waiting.

And now for the let us come together and worship our Great Saviour, "whose mercies endure forever" -Psalms 136.  When I picked up Greg, he looked better than I ever saw him, a peace seemed to had fallen on him some time during the night.  He told me that He prayed and confessed that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God, and asked God to save him.  Hallelujiah!,  We continue to pray for Katrina and their six kids to come to salvation.

  

Greg asked if he could go to a men's Bible study at ICCM church tonight, so I will be picking him up and taking him, please pray for God's protection on him and his family during this critical time of his early Christian walk.  

I thank God for each of you that I had the priveledge to serve and do God's will with, and look forward to the next time God calls us together to further His kingdom, until then I pray Phillipians 4:7 that the peace of God, that passses all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus, in Jesus Christ name we claim this scripture over each of our lives, Amen!

Phil B.

the Gospel anywhere and everywhere.

We came together as Jesus Freaks on another summertime Friday night to spread the good news. On this night we met at 7p to head out onto the streets of North Minneapolis. We began at Broadway and Lyndale and walked up Broadway.

In advance of going out for this trip, I personally had to do some soul searching and praying. I knew that this trip would be different than a typical trip to Uptown or Downtown. This particular area of North Minneapolis is known for high poverty and high crime. I have spent time in neighborhoods like this at various times in my life. I have witnessed first-hand the type of ruthless crime that poverty can breed. I know that it is in places like this where many are killed for absolutely no reason. More than any other time heading out to the streets, I asked myself if it was worth the risk.

 I actually considered whether I was willing to die so that the Gospel could be told. As I weighed the scales of what I was risking, I realized that all of the things I was afraid to lose, were things (my life, my family) that had been gifted to me by God. And none of it was mine to keep. I needed to give it up and trust the Lord with it. I needed to go where he was leading. He is always leading us to share the Gospel, every man. 

I met up with Mike, and we started witnessing to those in the parking lot of the strip mall. There were so many people just hanging out in the parking lot. We just walked up to them and asked them if they knew Jesus Christ as their savior and if they would read through our pamphlet. When the Holy Spirit is leading you and guiding, fear goes away and is replaced with joy. I am not just saying this. People really need to understand this. The Holy Spirit removes fear from your mind. 

We spent some time talking with a man named Camp who explained that he was a musician, and that he was having a conflict with an old friend of his who lived out of state. He asked that we pray for that relationship, and that friend. We prayed with him. 

We met a gentleman on the street who stopped to talk with us and confirmed that he was also a born again Christian. He asked where we went to church. Mike was able to give him a Harvest business card.

We met a man who was playing guitar, an electric guitar with an amp attached to it. He was playing “Cocaine” by Eric Clapton. He said he would sell us the guitar and amp for $500. He also said that he loved the station KTIS and that he loved Christian music. He listed off some Christian artists. We told him the message of salvation. He talked, we listened.

Sometimes you meet people who say they are Christians, and who tell you they know the Lord. They might even be wearing a cross. They may be able to use the terminology. But then you walk away with a feeling that they really don’t know the Lord. We met a few people like this as well. Sometimes I feel like these people who do this, their problem is that they do not fear the Lord. So they know the truth, but do not allow the truth to change them from within. 

We stopped into a bus stop to witness to two women and a man. One of the women asked, “Are they paying you guys for this?” We told her no and that we didn’t do it for money. She then said “You guys need to run..run before the sun goes down, you should not be out here.”

We met quite a few families with children, and our handouts were cartoons, so it was good for the children as well. 

I talked with a homeless woman who told me that every morning she prayed and gave thanks to the Lord. She started her day like that. This woman had nothing. She literally had…nothing. You see so many extremes in this type of environment. 

So many people were just happy to come across another believer. This is typical of our trips out to the streets. Many people, when a stranger approaches and mentions Jesus, they roll their eyes and look for a way out. But there are also so many that, when you mention Jesus, their eyes light up, and you get that smile, and you know you have found someone who shares your faith. It’s a faith in a God that can do anything. A God that has given us anything and everything we have. 

When we talk about Christ, our eyes light up and we smile. We get to have those conversations over and over again. We have joy. And that is why we bring the Gospel anywhere and everywhere.