Why Use Tracts?

"To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some" (1 Corinthians 9:22).

Why use Tracts? Good question. The best answer I can give is that we should use them because God uses them! I remember when I became a Christian and I came to know and understand the gospel through attending Calvary Chapel Camarillo. I remember reading a gospel tract after church one Sunday that had a prayer of confession and repentance on it. I read it over and over until I could recite it from memory and then I did just that. I prayed to receive Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, to turn from my sin in repentance, and to walk in the newness of life God had given me as a child of His. It was part of God's sovereign work in my life to save me.

I first used and learned about gospel tracts in college as I learned to share my faith through the ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ. I continue to use them today because they are great "ice breakers" to help you start a spiritual conversation with someone you don't know. Even with friends, neighbors, or coworkers, I find that they are a great reminder to leave with them after talking with them about Jesus. For instance, I have an officemate at work that I give different tracts to on occasion and he has told me that he has shared them with his wife and son, all of whom are not Christians.

Here are a few of the reasons why I like to use tracts.

1. They speak clearly and they get right to the point.

2. They always stick to the Message and they never get distracted with rabbit trails.

3. They never argue or get angry trying to convey their message.

4. They never get tired and give up.

5. They are always ready to witness to its readers at any time and at any location.

6. They can get inside of a house and stay there, even in secret places where you cannot gain entrance, to be revealed at just the right time.

7. They convey a message that's never lost, and can be read over and over again by many people, long after you are gone and forgotten.

8. They can do a great work for God and lead many people to the knowledge of Christ.

9. ...Because God uses them.

Also, if you don't feel comfortable handing someone a gospel tract directly, they are great to leave in places where you know people will see them and pick them up. Here are a few ideas of places you can hand out or place tracts:

1. Sporting events

2. Book stores (Religious Section)

3. Barnes and Nobles.

4. Newspaper stands (leave one between each newspaper when you reach in for yours)

5. Pay phone Phonebooks (especially under "abortion" and "adult entertainment" sections)

6. Shopping carts

7. Clothes pockets in stores

8. Bills - return with your payment

9. Along with a generous tip

10. Drop in bags

11. Lobbies

12. Inside restaurant menus

13. Drive Thru Cashiers

14. State or County Fairs

15. Restroom stalls

16. Rest areas

17. Diaper changing stations

18. ATM machines

19. Credit card slots (ie. at gas stations)

20. Junk mail envelopes

21. Elevators

22. Hotel dressers and drawers

23. Magazine racks

24. Newspaper racks

25. Waiting rooms of doctors' offices and hospitals

26. On seats at airports,subways, and bus stations

27.  Plane seat pockets

29. Sleeves in DVD Jackets

30. Cabs

31. Laundromats

32. Library

33. Truck stops

34. Cases of Beer

35. Plastic brochure

36. Holder by your door

37. Movie Rentals

38. Napkin holders

39. EBay shipments.

40. Pin to bulletin boards in public places

41. Trick-or-Treat Packages (use Halloween time for God's glory!)

42. Everywhere

Be creative. You never know who might come along and read a tract that you have placed somewhere. If nothing else, leaving a tract for someone to pick up will encourage you to pray for someone. Have fun with it and ask God to use every tract you handout or leave somewhere. You never know who you might meet in heaven one day because of a tract you handed out or left somewhere.

Charles Spurgeon once stated, "When preaching and private talk are not available, you need to have a tract ready . . . Get good striking tracts, or none at all. But a touching gospel tract may be the seed of eternal life. Therefore, do not go out without your tracts."

Some of my favorite tracts can be found at the following places online: Living Waters, Custom Tract Source, Chick Cartoon Tracts.

If you have creative ideas or ways you like to use tracts, please let me know. And always remember that whatever you do, do it for the Glory of God!

Labor Day Every Day

Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

Matthew 9:37-38

Yesterday was a great day! I spent most of the day at home with my beautiful wife and daughter. Being Labor Day, I praised God for the work he has blessed me which he uses as a vehicle of provision for me and my family. I thank God for the education he blessed me with and the opportunity to design spacecraft for a living. It is a challenging job that stimulates my mind, keeps me on my toes creatively, and allows me the opportunity to minister to the people he has placed in my workplace. Too many times I take my job for granted and forget that it is not just a place I go to pay the bills, but it is a place God has placed me for His eternal purposes. While I spend my day “laboring” for wages I need to be mindful that God has called me, and all Christians for that matter, to be soul laborers in the harvest field.

While our daughter was taking her mid-morning nap my wife asked me if I could “Shark” the kitchen floor (in case you are wondering what that means, click here)? “I thought you would never ask,” I responded as tears of joy began to well up in my eyes. My wife knew I was playing at this point and we both began laughing. She then reminded me that after all, “it is Labor Day!” It was a great morning and we got some good cleaning done.

As I thought about Labor Day, Jesus’ words from Matthew 9:37-38 came to my mind. In these verses, Jesus tells His disciples that the harvest is plenty but the laborers are few and to pray that the Lord will send out Laborers into the harvest field. This is a double-edged sword in the sense that if we are not laborers, we won’t obey this command, because our conscience will condemn us. The devil therefore gets two victories: not only does the professing Christian not labor in the harvest fields, but neither does he pray for laborers. On the other hand, the Christian who labors in the harvest fields as Jesus commands will tend to pray more regularly for other laborers to be raised up because they know how important it is and have a similar passion to reach the lost.

This isn’t the spirit in which Labor Day was founded, but it was a great reminder for me. For the first time in my life, I thought of Labor Day as a great day to spend some time going into the harvest fields to proclaim the good news to people. Being a South Bay resident, the city of Hermosa Beach offers a great venue to do just that every Labor Day weekend. Known as Fiesta Hermosa, crowds in the 100,000 range gather to peruse the street vendors, listen to music, drink alcohol and hang out with friends.

So, after sharking the kitchen floor and taking out the trash, I ventured down to Fiesta Hermosa to do a different kind of laboring. My wife and I had been down there Sunday afternoon and I went down again Monday to meet up with some fellow laborers. In less than an hour, I had the opportunity to talk to several people about eternity and was encouraged to hear accounts of people who had trusted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior this Labor Day! The harvest is truly plentiful and I encourage you to make every day a labor day!

In the words of A.W. Pink: “It is true that many are praying for worldwide revival. But it would be more timely, and more scriptural, for prayer to be made to the Lord of the harvest, that He would raise up and thrust forth laborers who would fearlessly and faithfully preach those truths which are calculated to bring about a revival.”

Watchmen

In Ezekiel 33:1-11 we read about the Word of the Lord coming to Ezekiel and calling him to be a watchman for the people of Israel. Can the Word of the Lord come to us today? Sure it can, read your Bible. So often, people are looking for special revelation from the Lord before understanding the revelation given to us in HisWord. There are many voices in the world competing for our attention, so it’s important to know God’s Word and use it as a filter to make sure that what we are listening to and following is in line with His Word.

Back in the day, there was no CNN or Satellite imagery to warn us of impending danger. Walls were built around cities and Watchmen were placed on the walls to warn people by sounding a trumpet. They would look for dust clouds in the distance, horses coming over the hills, etc. It wasn’t their job to put armor on the people or make their decision about the battle, but simply to warn them of the danger ahead.

Now, what character qualities would you want a watchman to have? Some that come to mind include: alert, paying attention, not lazy, energetic, courageous, humble, not worrying what others think about you, boldness, standing for what is right, focused, good eyesight, and honesty (not sounding false alarms). Today, if you are a Christian, this it is our job to be watchman for the people God has placed around us.

Being a watchman is a serious responsibility in God’s sight. God told them that if they fail to do their job warning people, the people’s blood will be on their head. This is a serious duty not to be avoided. Over the years, I have wrestled with my own dodging of this responsibility and not taking it half as seriously as Almighty God does.

If we see people walking through life and fail to warn them of their sin God says very specifically that he will require their blood on our head. If God takes it that seriously, we need to blow the trumpet, we need to sound the truth and give them the warning. It is their choice what to do with that truth, how to prepare for the battle ahead, but it is our job to be obedient to the Lord.

In Acts 20:30-31 we read about the Apostle Paul: Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. Paul warned with tears day and night for three years! Paul knew it was his job to be obedient and to let the chips fall where they fall.

Are you warning anybody? Are you sounding the trumpet? We all walk past people every day. I ask myself, when is it finally going to matter to me to the point that I don’t care what that man thinks about me, I care what God thinks about me and I care about that soul, and I’m going to walk into their life and speak truth to them. Hebrews 9:27 tells us that it is appointed once for man to die and then face the judgment. We know what’s waiting around the corner for someone who dies without the Lord Jesus Christ. We can see it in the distance. So what are we doing to warn them about it?

Friends, we need to blow the trumpet. We need to warn people. God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11); none. We need to stand up and be bold. 100 years from now, we’re all dead anyways. Understand what matters. Souls matter to God. He proved it on the cross 2000 years ago. Remember, we warn people, it’s their choice what to do with the warning. But we should be dedicated to not letting a single person take their last breath without knowing and trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Reach Out This Summer

And [Jesus] said unto them,

“Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature”

Mark 16:15

I’m learning that summer is a great time to do some witnessing. School is out for most students and many people go on vacation. Especially living by the beach, many of the places you go will be full of folks to talk with. Whether you go to the enjoy the parks, festivals, malls, or beaches — it is a great time to reach out.

This past weekend I went down to the Huntington Beach Pier with some friends to meet people and try to plant some seeds with them. Little did I know there was a major surf contest going on and it was packed. I have seen some pretty crowded beach scenes in Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach, but the crowds down in Huntington this past weekend made those places look like ghost towns in comparison.

The sun was out, the surf looked good, and there was music, volleyball and exhibitionists putting on shows. During the few hours we were there we talked to several people and shared the gospel with them (Click for Audio). For me, each time I go out witnessing, for the most part, I don't really know what "ultimate impact" I had on any of the individuals I met. Sometimes, it seems like people are tracking with what you're saying and other times it seems like everything you are saying is falling on deaf ears. Either way, only God knows how His Word will work on their soul after we leave. No doubt, the conversations will have some impact on them, but the extent of that impact is between God and the individuals. My goal is merely to be obedient to the Lord when talking with them.

We are commanded by God to live our faith. That means our faith will result in works. But God also commands us to talk our faith when He provides us an opportunity to speak to a prepared heart, a heart He has prepared to hear what He wants you to tell them. That command is throughout the New Testament, starting with Jesus’ command, quoted at the start of this post, to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). 2 Timothy 4:2 says, “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” He then goes on to encourage Timothy “do the work of an evangelist.”

I encourage you to preach the word this summer. The lost must hear to be saved. The lie must be drowned out by the truth. The darkness must be drenched in the light. So go. Preach strong. Tell someone the truth. Speak it in love. And have a great summer reaching the lost wherever you go!

As Usual....

Acts 14:1 says "At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed." 

Acts 17:2 says: "As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures… "

Friday night I had a great time seeing and ministering with Eric, Tony, Jeff, Carlos, Arlette, John, and Helen. If you are ever able to join us I encourage you to come out on Fridays with us to the RB Pier. We usually get there at 5pm and leave by 630pm.

This past Friday I talked with 4 young adults just hanging out. We had a good conversation and they were thankful we were out there and that I stopped to talk with them. Near the end of our conversation one of them asked me if I was from a specific church. I told them I wasn't, but the fact that they associated what I was doing with a particular church in the area says a lot about that church.

As the above verses indicate, it was Paul's "usual" and "customary" business to go and speak about Jesus. It is what he was known for because he did it so regularly. After reading these verses, it made me wonder what my "usual" business looks like and to make sure that I am always seeking to bring glory to God through my thoughts, words, and actions.

To listen to the audio click here.

A Birthday First

Yesterday was my birthday. It was a birthday full of firsts. It was my first birthday being 29 years old! It was my first birthday being a father! It was my first birthday where my wife got me a really (and I mean REALLY) expensive present! It was also my first birthday where I got to share the gospel with a stranger!

After I got home from work my wife and I decided to walk down to the Whole Foods shopping center on PCH and Beryl. I wanted to get a smoothie and enjoy a nice walk with my wife and daughter. On the way down to the store we passed by a gentleman named Tyler and before I could say anything to him my wife was already saying “hi” to him. Apparently they had met a few weeks prior at the local grocery store. Tyler is a professional Volleyball player who just participated in the Hermosa Beach open and will be competing in the Manhattan Beach open in August with the AVP Tour. He plays Volleyball every day down at the beach and also teaches lessons. That sounds pretty fun! He asked me if I played and that he knows someone who is about 5 feet tall who is an absolutely awesome volleyball player. That was encouraging since I thought I was always way too small to be any good at volleyball. I might take him up on lessons sometime since he offered to teach if I'm interested.

After talking to him for a bit, I handed him a gospel tract and I asked him if he had ever received one of them before. He told me he had but had never taken the time to read it. It was a million dollar bill with the million dollar question on the back, “If you were to die, would you go to heaven?” His answer was that “he hoped so”, but wasn’t sure. He believed in heaven and hell and believed that a person had to be good to go to heaven. He considered himself a good person so I decided to take him through some of the Ten Commandments. He told me he had never lied or stolen anything in his life, which I found pretty unbelievable. He did admit to blasphemy, adultery of the heart, murder of the heart, as well as dishonoring his parents. By the standard of the Ten Commandments, he recognized that God would see him as guilty on Judgment Day and that he would have to go to hell because he had broken those commandments.

He told me that everyone had done those things so no one would be innocent on Judgment Day. That is exactly right according to Romans 3:23 and Romans 3:10-12. If everyone had done those things, he thought he would be ok, but I reminded him that God will deal with each person individually. Just as an earthly judge has to deal with each lawbreaker individually, so God won’t look at other people and compare you to them; He will judge us in light of the Ten Commandments and each person will be judged according to what they have done (Romans 2:6). And even if you don’t break all the commandments, the Bible says that if you are guilty in one point, you are guilty of breaking the entire Law (James 2:10). It is as if you are hanging by a chain with ten links and if just one link breaks you’re going to fall.

Tyler seemed to understand the justice of God and was concerned that if he died today and stood before God he would be guilty and the punishment would be eternity in hell. I was then able to share with Him what God did for us so that we wouldn’t have to go to hell. I explained how God sent His Son Jesus Christ to take our penalty upon himself by dying in our place and that if we repent and put our faith in Jesus Christ to save us then God can legally let us go on Judgment Day because the penalty has already been paid by Jesus Christ. We have to receive that gift by faith, turn from our sin (repent), and trust in Him alone to save us.

He thanked me for talking with him and I gave him my contact info in case he has questions about what we talked about. He told me he had a Bible at home and was going to read it later that night. It also turns out that he only lives about 10 houses away from me. I encouraged him to read the Gospel of John and to get right with God as soon as possible. I hope to see him again sometime soon.

Jesus said "it is more blessed to give than to receive" and I am thankful He gave me the opportunity to share the greatest gift of all with Tyler on my birthday.

RB Pier Follow Up 2010-07-16

I had a great time last night at the RB Pier, it is always an exciting place to go witnessing. I hadn't been out with the group on Friday for about a month and was glad to be back out there with them. I went with my friends Tony, Eric, Carlos, and Matt. At the end of our time down there, Tony shared with me that one of the gentlemen he shared with was broken by what he heard and asked Jesus Christ to be the Lord of his life. That never gets old! It was so encouraging to hear that. 

I can't encourage you enough to join us on Friday evenings or to begin your own group that regularly goes out. Most of us go to different churches but we share a love for the Lord and for lost people. Glory to God! He is our worthy King! We "GO" to bring our Lord joy, but in doing that we receive joy in serving Him!

"These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full." John15:11

While we were out there, I had the privilege of meeting an Army Veteran named Sean along with his family. His wife was the "church-goer" in the family and we all had a good conversation. I pray that he considers the things we talked about and takes the lead as husband and father in making sure he and his family are in heaven together for eternity.

I also got the chance to talk with two young men. One was wearing a cross necklace but didn't really know the significance of what it represented. I pray that the truth they heard will bear everlasting fruit in their lives.

Here is the audio:

http://www.archive.org/details/RedondoBeachPier-July162010