Shining for Christ

Nigeria Update 2012

2012-01-04T12:22:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends,

I want to first thank you for all your prayers in these past months. They have been greatly appreciated. As most of you know I have been to Nigeria, Africa about two years ago and I loved the people and the country over there and wish to go back very soon. Right now, we are in the process of sending in our (my sister, Shana and I) visas to see if the Lord will open the door. I am planning on going over this summer as I have to be back in the fall for school and Shana is planning to go from 3 to 8 months. We are hoping and praying that it will go through, but more importantly we are praying for God’s will to be done. I hope that you also will pray about this with us. The Lord is good and we would love to have the opportunity to go back once again this summer. This is a great and exciting opportunity ahead of us. :)

Thank you again for your prayers.
Your brother in Christ,
T.J. Kerttula

New Year Update 2012

2012-01-04T12:20:00.000-07:00

Hello friends,
I want to give you a little bit of an update of everything that is happening here in Bozeman, Montana.

Right now I am in Bozeman, MT at Montana State University taking classes for a degree in Construction Engineering Technology. I am in the middle of my sophomore year here. The semester went very well this fall. There have been many opportunities here on campus to share the gospel and to encourage others. The Lord has really blessed me with so many Christians around that I can hang out with.

Some of the highlights of this last semester

1.The Lord gave me the opportunity to share the gospel at the end of the school year at a nursing home.

2.That same week several people came with me downtown to share the gospel at the Bozeman Christmas stroll, where over five hundred gospel tracts were handed out. The Lord is good.

3.Throughout the semester I went out and did some street evangelism.

4.I started to help out with a new group called International Student Ministries (ISM) through Intervarsity (a Christian group on campus). There have been many opportunities to share the gospel with the international students we have been working with.

5.Early on in the semester, I got a phone call from a brother in Christ in Washington, who I have never met. He told me that there were three Chinese students that needed a ride from Bozeman to Yellowstone and back again. I was more than willing to help. The Lord gave me the opportunity to share the gospel with them and we became very good friends. I had a lot of fun with them.

6.I passed all of my classes.:)

Some of the things that you can pray for this next semester

1.I am trying to decide whether to take 17 or 14 credits while I am working 12 hours a week. So wisdom in what to do in that matter.

2.We are starting a bible study for new believers in discipleship and in Basic Bible doctrines as well as how to study the Bible for themselves. You can pray that we would have wisdom and that the Lord would show us what to do.

3.For more opportunities to share the gospel with people here on campus and here in the Bozeman area.

4.That I would be diligent in my work for class and that I would persevere.

5.That I would focus on God and that I would not be drawn away from that by the things of this world.

6.I am planning a trip back to Nigeria this summer. ( special update for that will be post very soon after this one)

Thank you for your prayers. I really appreciate them. The Lord is good. Keep pressing on friends. Hebrews 12:1-3

Your brother in Christ,
T.J. Kerttula

Good News of Great Joy

2011-12-24T01:12:00.002-07:00

As I was sitting here combing through the stories of Jesus birth, trying to find something new to write about, I realized everyone is trying to find something new, but what we forget about is what is old, the facts we know. The facts we know, but have not taken to heart. In Matthew, I want to point out to you in Chapter 1 verse 21, an angel of the Lord tells Joseph “She will bear a Son and you shall call his name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” In Luke, a longer account is recorded. Let’s look at the announcement of Christ’s birth to the Shepherds. Luke 2:8-12 “In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’”

We could go on and on about different aspects of the Christmas story and that would be great, but I want to leave you with a simple thought or two. God the Son came to this earth is the humblest form, as a baby. His purpose was simple, to save His people from their sins. He is the Savior of the world. The news from the angels was good news of great joy which will be for all people. The shepherds may have thought, “Here will be a great leader, who will free us from the Romans.” I am glad that Jesus did not free the Jews physically from the Romans, but instead He freed the whole world from our greatest enemies: death and sin. He freed the whole world from the power of Satan. He gives the gift of salvation to all men. If one believes in Jesus Christ, that He died on the cross for their sins and rose again, he has accepted this free gift. This indeed is the greatest news of all time and yet we do not proclaim it to others. If we truly think that this is the greatest news of all time will we not yearn to tell others about the Savior of the world? Maybe that is our problem. Maybe, we don’t really believe it is the greatest thing that we have ever heard. Maybe, we think that our Savior is not worth other people’s time and maybe this holiday season has made us desire the things of this world, instead of what is really important. Friends, look to Christ and thank Him once again for all He has done. Remember Christ’s amazing and wonderful sacrifice, celebrate His birth with joy and make Him the reason why we celebrate Christmas. I will leave you with this hymn to dwell on.

I cannot tell why He, whom angels worship,
  Should set His love upon the sons of men,
Or why, as Shepherd, He should seek the wand'rers,
  To bring them back, they know not how or when.
But this I know, that He was born of Mary,
  When Bethl'hem's manger was His only home,
And that He lived at Nazareth and labored,
  And so the Savior, Savior of the world, is come.

I cannot tell how silently He suffered,
  As with His peace He graced this place of tears,
Or how His heart upon the Cross was broken,
  The crown of pain to three and thirty years.
But this I know, He heals the broken-hearted,
  And stays our sin, and calms our lurking fear,
And lifts the burden from the heavy laden,
  For yet the Savior, Savior of the world, is here.

I cannot tell how He will win the nations,
  How He will claim His earthly heritage,
How satisfy the needs and aspirations
  Of east and west, of sinner and of sage.
But this I know, all flesh shall see His glory,
  And He shall reap the harvest He has sown,
And some glad day His sun shall shine in splendor
  When He the Savior, Savior of the world, is known.

I cannot tell how all the lands shall worship,
  When, at His bidding, every storm is stilled,
Or who can say how great the jubilation
  When all the hearts of men with love are filled.
But this I know, the skies will thrill with rapture,
  And myriad, myriad human voices sing,
And earth to heaven, and heaven to earth, will answer:
  At last the Savior, Savior of the world, is King.

Source: http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/934#ixzz1hPBwr4g6

Christmas Stroll Evangelism 2011

2011-12-03T23:43:00.000-07:00

A chill in the air, numbness of fingers and toes, snow falling, music playing, people talking, Christmas in the air. That was the atmosphere of this evening’s Christmas stroll in Bozeman, MT. A group of us went out on Saturday to share the gospel and hand out gospel tracts to people in Downtown Bozeman. There were tons of people down there. So many that within the first hour and a half all five hundred of our Christmas gospel tracts were gone. We gave some other tracts, also. The Lord was good to us. Though there is not much to tell on my end. I would like to ask for prayer for all these people that received the gospel tracts this evening. We never know what the Lord will use or do with our faithfulness to go out and share the gospel. I would hope that someone would come to know the Savior through our efforts and maybe someday, when we get to heaven, we will find out what happened. Praise the Lord for the believers that came to help share the gospel. For many of them this was their first time out and a very new experience for them. I hope that they will continue to come with me in future times. Praise the Lord for everything that happened tonight. Without His help none of this would have even happened.

Job: The Intercessor

2011-11-19T10:51:00.000-07:00

I have been reading in Job and I thought it was interesting that Job was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.(1:1) and he would go and make ten sacrifices, once a week, to God in case his sons and daughters had sinned.(v5) Job was the intercessor for his sons and daughters. We also have an intercessor for us, Jesus Christ. Romans 8:34b-"Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us." Also Christ is our great high priest offering Himself as a sacrifice once for all for all time.

Hebrews 7:23-27 "The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself."

Hebrews 9:11-12 "But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption."

We can see that Job is a type of Christ. Job interceded for his children and making sure that their sins were covered. We have a Great High Priest who took away our sins, not just covered them. He saved us forever and always lives to make intercession for us. He has given us eternal redemption, through His great and wonderful sacrifice. What a wonderful Great High Priest we have!

The King and His messenger

2011-10-19T11:48:00.001-06:00

There once was King, who sent his messenger out, to all the lands, to take a message. The messenger, before reading it to everyone, read it for himself. He noticed that there was bad news about a plague, that people would die from it and good news that the king had the cure for this plague. He decided that he would not share the bad news, for the reasons that the people would not listen to him or they might not like him for bringing such news or they might even kill him. So instead of reading the whole message, to them, he told everyone only about the good news, the cure. When the King heard of this, he was very sad. No one came to Him for the cure; they did not see a need for it. They did not see the danger of the plague and death. Many of them died without knowing of they were sick with the plague, all because the messenger did not tell them about the plague.

Friends, is this how we treat the gospel? Do we as messengers only share part of the gospel, the part that will make us liked by people, that will not get us killed, that will get us listened to? Or do we share the whole gospel both the bad news and the good news? Do we fear man more than God? How can anyone come to know Christ if they do not know for the reason which He died? How can they come to know the extent of His sacrifice if they do not know they are sinners, that they are sick and need a cure? If you just give someone the cure, they are going to think you are crazy and say “why do I need this?” But if you tell them about their disease and show them what will happen if they do not take this cure, then they will take it. People may not like you for sharing the gospel, because they do not want to give up their “fun” (sins). If you really care about people show them about their sin and that they will die and go to hell unless they believe in Jesus Christ and turn away from the world and their sins. They may not like what you have to say, you may die or they may not listen to you. They may not believe that they have a disease, but that does not mean that you stop telling them about it and showing them.

We serve the King of Kings and He has given us a message to give to all the nations. We are God’s messengers. The Gospel is our message; let us give the whole message of the gospel, so that all may know of their disease and the cure of it. Are we going to be like the messenger in the story or are we going to do as our King commanded us? Let us go and preach the gospel.

*Note: The gospel consists of both bad news and good news, but in reality it is all good news. We now know we are sick and there is a cure. That is good news!

180 the Movie Please take 33 minutes and watch it.

2011-10-15T22:39:00.000-06:00

The Maker

2011-10-11T09:04:00.000-06:00

John 1:3,10 - V 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. V 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.

1Corinthians 8:6- V6“Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.”

Colossians 1:16-17- V 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him.

V 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Hebrews 1:2, 10- V2-3 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

V10-And, "YOU, LORD, IN THE BEGINNING LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH, AND THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS;

Revelation 4:11-"Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created."

We see in these passages that Jesus Christ, the one who made everything. We see the maker of the universe, who made the stars and planets and galaxies billions of light years away and beyond. He created all things. What, I ask would make Him want to come to this earth in the form of a baby and then a man. Why would He want to come to one small blue planet and live among people that hate Him and want to kill Him? The Mighty Maker would come in a humble state, not flaunting and saying look at me, which He had every right to do, because He made us. Instead He came as a baby because there was something every important that He wanted to do for us. He wanted to show us His love for all of us who had rebelled against Him. So He willing died as the perfect sacrifice for His own creations sins. There is no greater example of love in all of the History of mankind. There is no greater gift given to mankind. For on that day that the mighty maker was beaten, bruised, blood poured out from his back and head, with the crown of thorns that has been shoved there. He was mocked spit upon, cursed and beaten. The wood splinters from the cross were pushed into His back as He stumbled up to the cross. Then He was nailed to the cross and left to die. This is how the Mighty Maker was treated, and yet He went through it all, because He loved us. I am amazed at such love. I am worthless, I am just one person in the billions of people who have lived on this earth and yet He died for me. He died for the whole worlds sins and He died for me. The Mighty Maker died for me. Oh what love, How can we describe it? How can we understand it? And yet we don’t need to describe it or understand it fully to know that we are loved by God. We have been saved from sin and Hell, because of Christ amazing love and sacrifice for us. Christ the Mighty Maker died for man His creature’s sins. Praise the Lord that He did not stay in the grave, but that He has risen from the dead and is seated at the right hand of God interceding for us. What an amazing God we have.

What Are You Living For?

2011-10-03T22:40:00.001-06:00

I went to Courageous the movie recently. It was great, well worth the money I spent on it! What I was not expecting was what was in the previews. As one was about pastor’s daughter disobeying her father and going into the secular world and hooking up with a street dancer who wanted to express himself by secular dancing. One that, I was even ashamed to be seated there listening to the preview. The next one was about a church choir and how two people were fighting and competing to be the choir director at the church and trying to make the choir better. With several inappropriate comments thrown into the preview I was absolutely appalled at the message it was portraying. When some of the Christians around us started laughing at it I was disappointed and saddened that that was what the world portrayed as Christianity. I asked myself why? Why would the world look at Christianity like this? The only reason can be because we have been a poor reflection of Christ. We have been not been imitators of Christ. Friends why? Why have we been a poor reflection? Do we think we have a license to sin? Do we think we are good enough? What are we thinking? We cannot let sin continue to be a part of our lives. We cannot allow it to become a plant with a deep root, that is very hard to pull out. Friends God is calling you to a life that is honoring to Him. Let me ask you something. Why do we watch something that is not honoring to God?

What is a good definition of sin? Many times we think of it as what we think, say or do that is not pleasing to God. Brothers and sisters why is it not also what we listen to, or what we watch that is not pleasing to God. Do you think that listening to a movie that takes God’s name in vain is pleasing to God? I don’t think so. How about the cussing and swearing in a movie is that pleasing to God? Think of what you can do other then watch a movie? Share the gospel with someone, have a coworker over for dinner. We always want to be entertained instead of bring glory to God by sharing the gospel. Do we really want to bring glory to God or do we want to satisfy our selfish desires. Think of the money you spend on one movie. Anywhere from $7.75- $11 for that amount you can buy 70 -100 gospel tracts. You could plant that many seeds in the hearts of men for the price it is to go to a movie. Friends, for a fee we satisfy our temporary selfish desires by going to a movie that is most likely not pleasing to God. Hmm something seems wrong here. I am saddened to see these things.

Friends it is time to become more like Christ, to hate evil and to love what is good. Why do we not stand up for this? Why do sit back and want to be entertained by sights of evil and ungodliness. Why do we fill our brains with such things? Why do we not fill them with the things of God? We need to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and pursue righteousness, holiness, godliness. Movies are only one example. What we put into our minds is what we imitate, what we reflect. That is why we are such a poor reflection of Christ. We do not want to reflect Christ, we would rather be doing something else rather than spending our time telling others about Christ, or getting to know our Savior more, and taking time to talk to him. What if you spent the time you watch the movies in prayer with your family or reading the Bible together. Can we ever get to much of Christ? No! we cannot. Friends, we cannot stand idly by waiting for a “great person” to come and start a revival. It must happen first in our hearts. We are the ones who must stand firm against the forces of evil. We need to live lives that are pleasing to our Savior. If we do not then why are we Christians, why are we followers of Christ. If our goal is not to live for Christ then what are we living for? We are living for ourselves. Friends, I plead with you to live a life that is for Christ and not for yourself. We do not have time to waste on our selfish desires. Let us desire to do what God wants us to do and devote our whole beings to Him to do His will.

TERRORISM COME HOME? A RECENT INCIDENT ON THE IKA MISSION STATION

2011-10-02T15:11:00.002-06:00

Foreword: Dear friends, I want you all to understand the new challenges that are on the horizon for the missionaries in Nigeria. This article will help you gain a better understanding as it has been written by one of the missionaries over there. Please, keep Tom and his family in your prayers as they are serving in Nigeria. There is a great need for missionaries in Africa. If we do not go and preach the gospel, then soon Islam will grab a hold of all of Africa. Please, keep that in mind, for there is only hope Christ and in nothing else. There are so few Christians who are willing to give up their lives for Christ's sake, why are we not all willing to? What do we have to fear? death? NO. We have eternal life so there is no need to fear death. Let us pray for God's will to be done in Nigeria. - TJ

"In Nigeria a stage is set... trouble is brewing. An Islamist sect called BOKO HARAM and a terrorist Christian counterpart MEND, both complacent about bombing and destroying innocent people’s lives are preparing to step-up their nefarious activities. Just days ago MEND issued notice to Boko Haram - they will retaliate in defence of Christian lives lost in Boko Haram bombings. Looking on, and down on the mayhem in the making, is a government ill prepared but apparently doing their best, while clamouring to know what to do and to find solutions to this crisis. In the middle, innocent people are dying, and lives are being destroyed. For those who escaped the bombs and bullets so far, Boko Haram is a household word instilling fear and terror! Even here at Ika, hundreds of miles away from the scenes of destruction, a taste of that fear visited our hearts and minds just last week.

So was it a man or a woman wearing that burqa? People say it was a woman, and they remind me that Muslim extremist have successfully indoctrinated their women to take up their evil work. So we have many questions, like, "Why would a young lady dressed so modestly be here, all alone here at Ika?" And while others insist that it was a man, the big question is, “Was he or she scoping our compound? "Are we being checked out, maybe targeted for an attack? " Maybe if we knew what was in the black vinyl bag we'd have answers. It is told that the woman was carrying a large stash of cash, but more people are saying and believing that it was a man in the burqa and he was carrying explosives - a bomb. Now that's about all I was told, and of course, I was very sincerely cautioned, ...to be careful, be ready!

When all the talking was done, when imaginations ran tired from running wild, and when the tools had been checked and rechecked; the hour, the time for the generator to go off and the lights out finally came. In the eerie quiet and dark night, lightning streaked across the black horizon. Only an occasional low rumble of thunder could be felt more than heard. "So how do we find ourselves I asked myself?" "Are we, can we, and is it possible to be ready?"

Hours of waiting and listening to every sound wore on our patience, and then with the passing cover of darkness and the droning sound of the night’s falling rain, crickets announced the beginning of our new day. Then a roster crowed, and then another. Soon the sun's warm rays of life and light peeked through the clouds and glistened on the wet leaves in the trees. The roosters kept stretching their necks and crowing their heads off in their strange bird brain way to make themselves known for awhile. These were warming welcoming sounds, and signs and thoughts that made me smile along with relief and appreciation, and my prayer of thanksgiving during the dawning of that new day. Once again prayers are answered, just as our Lord Jesus promised, "and be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Mat. 28:20b.

With no one to trust more than themselves, and no one to put their hope in - like their government for protection, in the quiet and solitude of their homes people pray. Please join us in asking our Almighty Loving Heavenly Father for peace, for healing, for our leaders to find lasting solutions, and pray for those who minister, that we will be walking, talking, living examples of God's love and the hope we have in Christ Jesus. Pray... "May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Mat. 6:10.

Tom Wheeler

Ika Mission Station

October 1, 2011

Thoughts on Salvation and Christ's Sacrifice Part 1

2011-09-18T08:20:00.000-06:00

Titus 3:3-7 “For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

We all were once:

1. Foolish

2. Disobedient

3. Deceived

4. Enslaved to various lusts and pleasures

5. Spending our life in malice and envy

6. Hateful

7. Hating one another.

These are things that we were before we came to Christ. We wanted nothing to do with God. We thought we were good enough living in our sins to be good enough for God. But no there was nothing that we could do that would satisfy God’s great wrath against us. This was the evil state we were in.

Then a beautiful thing appeared. The kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind. What amazing kindness and love God had for us. This love appeared in the form of a baby in that day long ago. Love appeared as a man who grew up as we did. A man who was different than us. A man that would become the perfect Sacrifice for us. Yes a man, and not only a man, but also the second entity of the trinity, the Son. Jesus Christ fully man and fully God. God’s love appeared to all mankind and He saved us, not on the basis of deeds in that were done in our righteousness. Those deeds could not have even helped us to make our way to heaven. Though we thought they were righteous deeds God would not accept them. Our righteous deeds were not enough to make God send His Son to us as some means of gratitude. But God sent Him out of kindness and love for us as a free gift to us. Not because we deserved it, but because He loved us. He saved us according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing, by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, So that being Justified, being made right before God through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice, by His grace, by His undeserved favor, we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. We are Sons and daughters of God. We are the inheritors of eternal life.

The beautiful picture is painted of us lost in sin trying to strive to make our own way to God, trying and trying and trying, with what we see as great righteous deeds. He sent His Son not because He was rewarding us for our righteous deeds, nor were there any righteous deeds that could have been enough to save ourselves. He saved us, because He loved us. He saved us according to his mercy and we have been justified by His grace. That amazing love, mercy and grace. And not only did He save us and then just toss us aside as if we were still filthy, but He brought us into His family and made us heirs, so that we would inherit eternal life. I am in awe of my Savior and His great love, mercy and grace, for me a sinner condemned and unclean. Praise the Lord for So great a Salvation as we have, today.

Helena Youth Retreat 2011 Brochure

2011-09-08T15:41:00.003-06:00

Helena Youth Retreat

October 7, 8, 9, 2011

All 7th grade and up are

invited to come to Helena for a weekend of Bible Studies, games, food, singing, and fellowship.

The 2010 Helena Youth Retreat will begin Friday October 7 at 7:30p.m. and end Sunday October 9th after lunch.

We will have some outdoor activities again this year so come prepared with warm clothes and good outdoor shoes.

Things to bring:

Sleeping bag, pad, towel, Bible, notebook, Sunday clothes, tennis shoes, warm clothes, and lots of energy Please leave electronics at home.

The guys will be staying at the Chapel and the girls will be staying at the Kerttula’s home. There is no charge for this event.

Any questions contact:

Walt or Marilyn Kerttula at 227-5944 wmkerttula@netzero.net http://cbf.thelivingword.us

Location: Community Bible Fellowship 1225 Fern Rd Helena, Mt 50601

Evangelism August 2011

2011-08-24T21:28:00.000-06:00

I am so amazed at what the Lord has been doing these last few days.

Monday

Nathan and Nathaniel came over from Stevensville to help us for a couple of days. When they arrived we went out and hung packets for several hours. At around 4 we went downtown to share the gospel with as many people we could find. The first group of kids that I walked up to shouted to me before I even got to the table. “We are Satanists”. I asked them how they knew that I was different than them and they right away told me I was a Christian and they could see it when they first saw me. I proceeded to try to share the gospel with them but one kid pipes up and goes off on how I shouldn’t be out here sharing about this stuff, but that I should be letting people read the Bible and decided for themselves. I got in a good conversation with another one of them and I didn’t leave so they all left me and went inside the library. I proceeded on handing out tracts trying to catch up with Nathan, Nathaniel and my sisters. They were farther down the walking mall handing out tracts. We went down to hill part were we talked to some kids and encouraged one believer and shared the gospel with the others. Nathan took a group of a few kids and every once in a while girl would interrupt him and finally I answered one of the questions the girls asked and so she came over and talked to me instead. Nathan went on and got to share the gospel with all of those kids while this girl and her friend listened to me. PTL. Next we went up the hill to Hill park. There were some kids there so we approached them. Job was there, He is a person who believes in everything I believe in and more, as he puts it. I had talked to him a couple weeks ago and he would not let me say anything. I did not see him at first and so I tried to talk to some of the people around him(he has a following of 270 People). There were about ten people with him. As I got to read Isaiah 53 to one kid he just told me that I had no basis for my beliefs then he tried to tell me that the air is a fluid and so is ice. I told him he was wrong and he told me that I had never taken a science class or I would have known that. Then he went on to tell me that an Ape’s DNA is only 1% off of ours and I told him again that he was wrong and that was not true. After a while he finally told me to leave so I did. I turned around and Nathan was in a good conversation with two other kids and Job had just gone over to distract them away from him. I quickly decided to take my chance with talking with Job. I drew him away from Nathan and the two guys he was talking to and we started talking. He told me about smash (an adrenaline rush you get from throwing stuff and breaking stuff). This is the basis of his belief system. Nathan got done talking with them and came over. I decided once again to take a chance at telling him the gospel. This time I told him that I had let him tell me about what he believed last time and now it was my turn to talk to him. I have no idea how I got through the whole thing, but I did without him interrupting. He has heard the gospel so he has no excuse. He told us that if anyone ever tried to hurt us he would come after them. We told him that the Lord would protect us and that we trusted in Him and not man. Meanwhile Nathaniel gets the courage to go up to a table of guys and give them tracts. Much to his surprise there is a guy there that he knows. Nathan and I walk over to them and I say hello and one of the guys says I know you. There sits none other than Jesse Tack. A believer in Christ and a guy that I played basketball with and went to school with. We talked with each other for a while. It was encouraging how the Lord worked through that. That ended our day. What amazing work the Lord does.

Tuesday. We went out at 8:30 and hung out packets getting my projected goal done that morning. PTL

In the afternoon again we went downtown and shared the gospel. It was pretty dead down there not many people there at all. Nathan got into a good conversation with a kid. I got the chance to talk to a few people. One of them is a Christian fellow. Later on when going back to our car. I talked to some kids who were more Satanists, they were closed to the gospel. Then I met three ladies who are Christians, they were a great encouragement. Then a little while later I met a family who had just moved from Auburn, who are looking for a church. The Lord put them in my path for a reason. PTL. All the while I was meeting more people and giving them gospel tracts. It was great. The Lord is so good to us. : ) That evening Nathan and Nathaniel left to go back home. What a great encouragement they were to us. We had a good time fellowshipping with them.

Wednesday

We decided to do a small part of East Helena, with packets in the morning. All of the people we talked to were excited and glad that we were passing them out.

As I went through the crowd of people this evening at 5:15 the music had not started so people were sitting all around waiting for something to happen. As I made my way through the crowd of people handing out tracts almost all of them took them. Some said no, but were very polite about it. Some talked to me and I got to share the gospel with them. Many people either read the tracts I passed out or heard it directly from me. It was very encouraging. Several people I talked to were true believers in Christ. That also was very encouraging. Please pray for these people that were at Alive @ 5. Many of them needed to hear the gospel. Pray that they will be convicted of their sins.

In all that we did in these three days 1000 packet were hung out and 400 gospel tracts were passed out. PTL. Seeds have been planted. It is exciting to see all of these things happen and encouraging. Sometimes I wish I didn’t have to go to Bozeman, but there is a great mission field even there. A special thanks to Nathan and Nathaniel for coming over and to my sisters Marissa and Emma and Andrew and Seth and my Mom and Dad. Also, to all of you for praying for the evangelism this week. The Lord works even with the smallest amount of people. Thanks to you all and Praise the Lord for all that He has done.

Summer Update August 2011

2011-08-21T20:22:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone,

I feel the need to update everyone with what is going on here in Helena and in my life. Tomorrow we will be starting our half week of evangelism. We will be hanging out packets on doors and doing street evangelism in the afternoon/evening. This summer has been very interesting for us here. One of my evangelism partners and friend (Scott Doherty) and his family has gone to Costa Rica to learn Spanish and then on to Peru to be a missionary to Peru for the rest of his life. Please keep him in your prayers.

Throughout this summer I have gone on the streets and see a great need for young people who come along side kids and just talk with them, because the kids can relate to us. After sharing the gospel with them, they have wanted to talk to me about the Bible for at times hours on end. They have never heard such things as this. They do not know the stories of God’s great power. They yearn to hear. When asking how I could contact them, it has been hard to get a response from them, they don’t really want to be contacted. Many of these kids want to give up their drugs and their addictions and follow Christ, but they see it as to hard or that they will do it later. They yearn for something more in life then what they have. They yearn to be loved by someone.

When I started doing street evangelism this summer Helena was totally open to the gospel. People would take tracts and they would talk to me. As the summer has progressed there has been more and more opposition. There was one man named Job of Ob who had a bunch of his Atheistic followers with him. As I approached them they started shouting at me. A couple climbed up in a tree and started shout profanities and random things at me. Job was absolutely closed to the gospel, so much so that I could not even talk to him. He went through his spiel and then told me to leave. As I left he told me he would rather rot in Hell then to acknowledge that there is a God. I was saddened by this, but the Lord can even break the hardest of hearts.

A week from tomorrow, Monday the 29^th I will be starting my classes at MSU. I have decided to change my major to Construction Engineering Technology. The Lord has worked it out that I have taken most of the classes I needed to take, last semester for this degree. I don’t know what is in store for this year, but I hope and pray for many opportunities to share the gospel with the kids there. I have found that many younger kids that I have known are going to be going to MSU. I would ask you all to keep them in your prayers, that they would stand firm and that I would be able to encourage them and that they would not fall away. It will be an exciting, but hard year this year. I am ready for it.

This last Friday I gave out tracts at my last day of work. I was amazed at the responses. The people, I thought were absolutely hard against the gospel , were open to it and the one who I thought was a Christian turned out to be a JW. It gets harder and harder to tell Christians from the rest of the world, because many Christians swear. Many are in this world and of this world. Please pray for me as I respond to this JW and also for the rest of the guys in the store that they would come to know Christ as their Savior.

This next summer I will be planning a trip to Nigeria, Lord willing. There is a possibility that I can do an internship over there. Please pray for that. There is no way on my own that I could get over there the Lord will open the doors if it is His will. : )

Please keep all of these things in your prayers. Many things are happening here. The Lord is working in amazing ways. Thank you to you all for your prayers.

Your brother in Christ and Servant of the Lord,

T.J. Kerttula

2011-08-17T18:21:00.000-06:00

Yep, makes perfect sense to me. (dripping with Sarcasm)

Are we Hypocrites or Disciples?

2011-08-12T22:28:00.000-06:00

"Hero" by Abandon

"He walked the dirty streets famous for nothing
He said, "Come follow me" and they came
A face like all the rest, but something was different
The Son of God would lead the way

And soon they all would say

There He goes, a hero, a savior to the world
Here He stands with scars in His hands
With love He gave His life so we could be free
The savior of the world

He spoke with clarity, walked across the sea
A single word would calm the storm
His touch could heal the sick, but He was called a hypocrite
Laid behind the stone, his death was shortly mourned

He left the curtain torn

There He goes, a hero, a savior to the world
Here He stands with scars in His hands
With love He gave His life so we could be free
The savior of the world

He chose to take the cross, shed tears for the lost
The broken and the needy, forgiving those who were and will be
The angel made it clear, he told them, "Have no fear
He's not here, He's not here"

There He goes, a hero, a savior to the world
Here He stands with scars in His hands
With love He gave His life so we could be free
The savior of the world
(The savior of the world)

The savior of the world
(The savior of the world)
The savior of the world"

As I listened to this song tears came to my eyes. What an amazing sacrifice Jesus Christ made on that cross.With love He gave His life so we could be free. He is the only Savior to the World, and yet people continue to mock His name. Whether by their word's or by their actions. Even us, Christians, mock Him by disobeying Him and not living the life that we should. As I have been reflecting on the life that I have been living, I realize that my life is not what it should be. It is us that lead the way to godly and holy living. Are we going to throw away this great opportunity to point our generation to Christ? Let us both in word and deed show the love of Christ. First, of all by sharing the gospel with others and second of all by showing others the One we follow is the loving Savior of the World, by showing Christ's love, to whomever we come across. Do we deny Jesus by our lifestyle or do we show Him through our lifestyle? Friend's let us together change our lifestyle, to what is pleasing to the Lord, not what seems to be pleasant to us. Let us love God with our whole heart, with all of our soul, with all of our mind, with all of our strength. Let us stand up to this world and not compromise. Let us read the Bible and do what is says. Let us obey the commandments that have been given to us. Let us stand firm. I, for one, am sick of the apathetic rut I am falling into. It's time to show the World who this Savior of the World we follow is. It is time to follow in Christ's steps. It is time to stop being hypocrites and it is time to be disciples. I would like to leave you with a few verses to think about.

1 Corinthians 15:55; 16:13-14 "'O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?; The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord..... Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love."

I was listening to this song as I was writing this and decided to include it. I pray that the Lord would raise of men after His own heart.

I wanna know you like that- Anthem Lights

I wanna know x7

Just today

I heard a story of a Pastor far away

Who watched his church walls fall with the rain

With tears in his eyes

Here is what he had say

"Let's reach the ones that will rebuild this place"

I wanna know You like that

To live to love

With everything I am

To give it all

I wanna know You like that

To become

A man after Your heart

And not look back

I wanna know You like that

I wanna know x3

Like David did

He lived a life this world cannot forget

He'd fall so hard then get back up again

Then face the giant

Knowing he would win

Because You were with him

I wanna know You like that

To live to love

With everything I am

To give it all

I wanna know You like that

To become

A man after Your heart

And not look back

I wanna know You like that

With every breath I breathe

I wanna help others see

And I will never stop

'Til everybody's singing

I wanna know You like that

God's Love Part 2 -Love Your Neighbor as Your Self

2011-07-01T19:23:00.000-06:00

We talked in part 1 about God being the ultimate example of love toward us. He showed us how to love. He didn’t just say He loved us, but He gave us an example of His love in sending His son Jesus Christ. Now let’s look at how we can love our neighbor as our self.

The first question we might as is "Who is our Neighbor?" That is exactly what the lawyer asked in Luke 10:29. Jesus went on to tell Him the story of the Good Samaritan. Let’s take a look at the story of the Good Samaritan.

“But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied and said, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you. Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?” And he said, ‘The one who showed mercy toward him.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do the same.’" Luke 20:29-37

A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and the robbers ambushed him, beat him and stripped him of his cloths and left him half dead. By chance a priest went down the road and saw the man left for dead and instead of helping him, he went to the other side of the road as far away from him as he could and walked right on past. The same thing happened when a Levite came by. But the third one that came by was a Samaritan. The Jews and the Samaritans didn’t get along real well in fact they hated each other. The Samaritans were people that were half-breeds. They were not fully Jews. The Jews would actually go around Samaria, because they hated the Samaritans so much. This Samaritan despised by the Jews stopped in the heart of Judea to help this man left for dead. He could have said,”He wouldn’t have helped me so why should I help him?” He could have made excuses. But he didn’t. Notice it says he was on a journey. That explains why he is in the heart of Judea. When the Samaritan saw him it says he felt compassion on him. He came to him and took care of his wounds and bandaged him up. He could have just left him there, but he put him on his donkey and took him into Jericho. He could have left him at the gate, but He took him to an inn. Imagine the looks, stares, whispers and thoughts as a Samaritan entered Jericho with a bandaged up Jew riding on his donkey. He took him to an inn and he paid for the man’s care and stay and not only that he told the innkeeper that if there was more money needed for this man, he would pay it when he returned. What amazing love and compassion. Jesus is making the point that our neighbor is not only our friends, but those who may not like us or that we may not like. God gives us the ability to love others because on our own, without the Lord’s example of love for us, we would not be able to love others like He loves us.

Matthew 5:43-44 "You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.' But I say to you,’ love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,’”

I have thought of an example from my own life where there was no way to love without God’s help. This last year, I was at Montana State University. In my Public speaking class I was able to share the gospel with them. There was this one kid who didn’t like the message so in his written review he gave me a bad score. I thought well I probably won’t see him again so it’s not a big deal. All of this happened first semester. I was going to my Chemistry class the next semester and I sat down, well guess who sits next to me. The kid who gave me a bad review. We really hit it off on a good foot. He started by bugging me and punching me in the leg. Finally I could stand it no more so I thought to myself well what should I do? I prayed about it and suddenly a thought came to me. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a gospel tract and handed it to him and told him to read it. He left me alone for the rest of the period. He took the tract and placed it in his backpack. I was astonished. Over the course of the year he would continue to do things to try to get my goad or to make me angry at him, but the Lord was watching out for me and he helped me love this young man. I could have made him my enemy, but instead the Lord gave me a love for him that I can’t even explain. I should have been angry, but the Lord gave me patience and compassion for this kid. It is nothing I could have done on my own. Over the course of the year I gave him 20 or more tracts and he didn’t reject any until I gave him the one on evolution. Over and over again he would take them back to his friends and they would all read them and make fun of them, but the Lord still used this lost, young man for His glory. This young man has not believed in Jesus Christ, but I hope and pray that he might come to know Him who loves us very soon. The Lord is the one who helps us love. We have been given an example by Him. What amazing love He had for us. Now we are, with His help, to love others, to love our neighbors, to love our enemies.

The ultimate act of love would be to lay down your life for your enemy. You might say that’s crazy, but think about it. We were enemies of Christ (Rom 5:10), but Christ still died for us.

Here is something else to think on. If we love others we will share the gospel with them. If someone is in a burning building you are going to tell them that the building is burning and that they need to get out. You love them enough to warn them of the danger. In the same way you need to tell others of the danger that is coming. That we are sinners and that we deserve to go to hell. You are going to show them to the exit sign, the way out, Jesus Christ. You are going to tell them about His death on the cross for their sins and His resurrection. If you go and tell them here is the exit to the building you should come with me, but you fail to tell them that the building is burning. Many will say. Why should I leave? I am fine right here. I am comfortable. They will not know of the danger to come until it is too late. So if we love others, neighbors, enemies, friends, we will tell them about the danger to come and we will show them the way out. Whether they take the way out or not is up to them, all we can do is tell them about the danger and Jesus Christ and his free gift to mankind. I don’t know about you but, if I was an unbeliever, I would want someone to tell me the gospel. We are to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. With the knowledge of the gospel that you have, would you want to be left alone as an unbeliever or would you want to know the way out.

These are some things to think about. Do we love our neighbors as our self? Are we telling others about the danger to come and about Jesus Christ and the way out? I encourage you friends to try to tell someone about Jesus just once a week or to get some gospel tracts and to give one to someone once a week and after a month of doing that, give it to someone twice a week, then three times a week, then once a day and so on. People want to hear about Jesus Christ. There are many people just waiting for someone to tell them. That doesn’t mean everyone is ready, but some of them are. If you love your neighbors you will tell them about the danger to come and about Jesus Christ and His salvation to all mankind.

Indescribable by Louie Giglio - Part 1 of 5

2011-06-30T22:24:00.000-06:00

God's Love Part 1

2011-06-26T18:06:00.002-06:00

I have been thinking on God’s love for us and have decided to write down some thoughts on it. I hope you enjoy.

What amazing Love God had for us. Let’s take a look at this amazing love.

Romans 5:6-8-For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

God showed his love to us, helpless, ungodly sinners, at exactly the right time. That love was shown through Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for our sins.

1 John 4:9-10 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

God’s love was manifested, demonstrated, shown; that God sent His one and only Son into the World that we would live through Him. Then is verse ten we have an example of this love. In this, in what? In God sending His son into the World so that we might live through Him. John goes on to tell us of this love. We did not love God. We wanted nothing to do with Him, but that He loved us and sent His one and only Son to be the satisfaction of God’s wrath against us for our sins. This truly is love.

1 John 3:16, 18-We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren… Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.

We have knowledge of what true love is by the fact that Jesus laid down His life for us. We know how to love. In verse 18 it tells us something very important. We are not to love with word or with tongue but in deed and truth. What if God had said I love the whole world and that’s it? What if He had not sent His Son to die on the cross? He didn’t do that. He gave us an example of love, by sending His one and only Son to die on the cross for our sins; by His Son laying down His life for us. He didn’t just tell us He loved us, but He showed it with a deed that has changed the whole world. That He would willingly give up His Son to die on the cross for us so that we might not continue on the pathway to hell but that we might have a pathway to heaven to take. A path of eternal life. Now that is what I call love.

1 John 4:19-We love, because He first loved us.

1 Peter 2:21-24-For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.

The reason we love is because He first loved us. That is the only reason we can truly love our neighbor as our self is because of the great example that the Father and the Son are to us. Christ suffered for us leaving an example for us to follow in His steps. Then in verse 22-23 we see an example of His love toward others. He committed no sin, He did not deceive, when He was insulted, He did not insult in return. When they make Him suffer, He did not tell them He was coming back to get them and destroy them, but He gave all of these things to the Father. He not only left us an example of love in all of these things but also in the fact that He bore our sins in His body on the cross. Our sins were nailed to the cross with Him. The reason He did this was so that we would die to sin and live to righteousness. We have been given a new start because of His wounds. All of these sins were piling against us, ripping us apart but when He went to the cross and took our sins there and died for us, that is when we were healed. For by His wounds we were healed. Is 53.

God has shown us the greatest example of love. That is the reason we can love our neighbors. He helps us to be able to do that. What amazing and great love our God had for us that He would send His one and only Son to die on the cross for us. That He didn’t just say I love you, but that He had actions to back up His love, to show His love to us. That is wasn’t some empty words but that these words are true and that we can see that these words are true through what He has done for us. Praise the Lord for the great love He has shown us. Looking at these things has made me love and appreciate God even more and I hope and pray that it will do the same for you.

God's Love Part 2- Loving your neighbors as yourself. Coming soon!

Evangelism story: What is the Gospel?

2011-06-02T10:30:00.000-06:00

I was talking to some Christian youth leaders from a local church here in town and I asking them to tell me what the gospel was. They told me Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. That was the only thing they knew about the gospel. Then I asked them how does someone get to heaven? One replied repent and that was it. I continued to ask questions until the other one said Believe in Jesus. Then they asked me why I was asking them these questions. I told them that 90 % of people that claim to be Christians don't know the gospel. One of them though I was rude for asking and told me maybe I was asking the wrong question. That I shouldn't be asking what is the gospel. The other one didn't have much to say. I left them but I thought about what this person said about asking Christians about the gospel. As I thought about it verses came to my mind. I wondered what did this person think when she read the New Testament and the word gospel came up? I wondered if she even read her Bible, because if she had she would have known what I was asking when I asked about the gospel. The word "gospel" is used in the Bible 96 times. In Romans 1 we find the gospel mentioned 4 times. I look at this instance and I think about this and I wonder what these people are being taught. As I have met many young people in Helena who are trying to serve the Lord who have gone to church for most of their life and yet many of them know nothing about the Bible and what it says. It is sad. When I talked to these two youth leaders they were running a climbing wall for a church to give it publicity. It was a sad waste of time because they neither shared the gospel with the people that came nor gave them gospel tracts. It saddened me, but I am thankful that I can go out and share the gospel, though many others tell me that I am hindering people from coming to Christ by handing out gospel tracts and talking to people about my Savior. It is the Spirit that works in people’s hearts and I am told to go and preach the gospel so that is what I do. I cannot be hindering people if I am doing what my Lord commands. How can anyone keep this amazing gift from God to themselves? What an amazing Savior we have.

If you want to know more about the gospel go to:
http://cbf.thelivingword.us/Messages/StudyDays/Salvation/Salvation.html

Gospel speech in Business 201

2011-05-01T00:20:00.000-06:00

The Lord laid upon my heart to give a gospel speech in my business class on the last day of classes. I was thinking on what to do my speech on. It is my policy to share the gospel any chance I get. So it was an easy decision. I started to prepare and thought of how I could do it in five minutes. I prepared my outline for my teacher and to keep me from going off on tangents. Five minutes is a very short time. When some of my friends asked me what I was doing for my speech I told them and they gladly prayed for me. The Lord was definitely working as some of the guys in the other sections also shared the gospel in their classes. As the time grew closer to the speech I found myself very busy, but the Lord helped me to not feel tired. I was so excited at this amazing opportunity. I was also very nervous because my classmates get to ask questions afterwards and I was sure that one of the Muslim guys would ask a question. I was thinking of all the hard questions that could be asked of me and praying that I would have the words to answer those questions. I got there at 8 am and all the time I was praying for the Lord to work in the heart of my teacher as to when I was to go in the lineup. I would have loved to go last but I was called on to go first. I passed out the almost illegal literature (gospels of John) in class. There was a big ruckus and at first I didn’t hear it and then I realized what they were saying. Some of the things they said was “I don’t want any of this garbage; I don’t need this. This is dumb.” (All of this was said in much more colorful terms). I knew of at least four Christians in my class. So I started my speech I had my outline but after the first point I discarded it and just went with what I had done a thousand times over when talking to people on the street. The Lord helped me with it. I asked where people were going when they died and immediately I got most people’s attention. I went on to explain explained that we are all sinners and going to hell. Then I went on to what Christ did for us in dying on the cross and rising again. 3.5 minutes had gone by So I told them the only way to heaven was believing in Jesus Christ and in believing , turning away from their sins. Then I closed with asking them if they were to die tonight would they go to heaven? I told them that that needed to make a choice and not to wait. I think it really made some of them think. Immediately afterwards just as I predicted the Muslim fellow raised his hand and asked me if someone came and raped my sister would he go to heaven or hell. I simply answered him if he believed in Jesus Christ after he had done that he would go to heaven. He didn’t like that very much and told me he had read the Bible before and in Song of Solomon 16 (at this point I was like what Bible is he reading) Jesus said to a man that if he kept the commandments he would go to heaven. I knew the story and did not bother to correct him on the book and chapter but went on to explain to him what Jesus really said. That if the man had kept the commandments since he was born then he would go to heaven but because no one had there had to be another way and that way was Jesus Christ. Immediately afterwards my teacher rushed me off from the front of the class not wanted anyone else to ask questions. I smiled in my mind and prayed for the rest of class. Many of the unbelieving friends I had made in that class did not want to have anything to do with me after that, but that goes with sharing the gospel, so it is not a surprise. I was wondering how everything went, but I had no way of finding out. I had a bunch of other things to do so I went to check my e-mail to see if one of my professors had e-mailed me back and I found a message about the speech. A girl in my class wrote an encouraging letter to me about my speech. She is a believer. She told me what she saw while she was in the audience. She thought it was really good and that many of the kids were listening which was a great encouragement. The whole goal of this speech was to encourage the believers in the class and also to plant seeds. Praise the Lord that about 25 kids heard the gospel. Please continue to pray for them. The Lord is good. I am so thankful and excited at the opportunities I had this year and I can’t wait for more of them on campus next year. Praise the Lord for all He has done this year. Thank you all for your prayers.

Reflection of Christ's Suffering, Death and Resurrection

2011-04-23T23:52:00.002-06:00

I was reflecting on why we celebrate Easter this evening. What an amazing story it is. I am going to start at the Lord’s Supper. They went into the upper room to eat the Passover together. They eat and then the Lord’s Supper is instituted. Judas had left before this had happened. The Lord went out with the eleven disciples and walked to the Garden of Gethsemane. We will stop here and think about what Christ went through here. As He went to pray, he told the disciples to keep watch (Which they didn’t do well at and fell asleep. Three times Christ came and woke them up throughout the time Jesus spent in prayer.) Jesus went and prayed that the Fathers will be done and that if there was any way for God’s wrath to be satisfied, then let that happen. His sweat was like drops of blood. He was there pleading with His Father, but He always wanted the Father’s will to be done. In Luke, it tells us that an angel came to Him and strengthened Him. Christ knew what He was going to go through and He was ready. It was time. He got up and asked them for the third time “why are you sleeping?” Immediately, Judas came with a Roman Cohort (around 600 soldiers) and officers. They were ready for a fight and ready to take Jesus away. Judas came to Him having told the Romans that the one he kisses is the one they are to take captive. Peter being the “brave one” goes and cuts off the high priests slaves’ ear. Jesus stops Peter and then heals the slaves’ ear. He showed love even for those that hated Him and that were taking Him to His death. He went to several different leaders both Jewish and Roman. I will not account these is detail, but I will look at what our Lord had to suffer during these trials. First of all it was an illegal trial that He was taken to, held at night. When He answered the High priest with the truth, an officer strike’s Him. Many times during that night Jesus was beaten and struck. Early in the morning He was taken to Pilate. Pilate could find no guilt in Him but, it was His custom to let go a prisoner during the Passover celebration. So he gave the Jews a choice between a notorious robber named Barabbas and Jesus Christ. The Jews chose Barabbas. Think about how Jesus felt. He came to the Jews as the Messiah they had been waiting for and they were shouting Crucify Him, Crucify Him. There was a greater and better plan then anyone could have ever imagined. All the people wanted was Jesus to be crucified. Pilate then took Jesus and gave him over to the soldiers to be scourged. When Jesus was scourged it was done with a whip that had barbed hooks, glass and sharp metal in it and it wouldn’t just bruise up the skin, but it would tear into the skin. There would be nothing but a mess of muscle exposed on His back. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns. These thorns were not small thorns like on a rose bush. These were big thorns. They put it on His head and it wasn’t just a gentle placement, but they made sure it was on his head. Blood came running down around His face. They mocked Him saying, “Hail, King of the Jews.” They spat on Him. They took a reed and beat Him on the head. The blows driving the thorns deeper into His head. Then they took him to be crucified. When Jesus walked up that hill he was only carrying the cross beam and as He carried it on His shoulders and back it was heavy. The wood splinters went deep into the exposed wounds of His back, from the scourging that took place. The clots that were once there were ripped away. It became so heavy that Jesus could no longer carry it. The Romans pressed a man named Simon into service to carry the cross for Jesus. They then crucified him. The drove the nails into His hands and His feet and even more blood came out of His body. With every stroke of the hammer there was pain and the nails were driven deep into the wood. They hoisted the cross upright and there he hung while the people jeered at Him and spat upon Him. The soldiers gambled for His garments. Even the men that were crucified with Him made fun of Him at first. For three hours darkness fell upon the land. Then Jesus Cried out with a loud voice My God, My God why have you forsaken me. The Father had laid the sins of the whole world and had left Him alone. He left Him to bear the tremendous burden of the sins of the whole world by Himself. The Father’s wrath that was meant for us was on Christ, the perfect spotless Lamb of God. Jesus Christ was the only one that could satisfy the Fathers wrath toward mankind. Why did the Father do this? Because He loved us. Jesus then cried out with a loud voice “It is finished” and gave up His spirit. Jesus Christ conquered sin and satisfied God’s wrath. It wasn’t the Romans that killed him. Yes, they crucified Him but HE willingly gave up His spirit. He willingly went through this pain and suffering with one goal in mind. That goal was to pay the penalty for our sins. All of this was for us so that the wrath of God would not come upon us sinners. Jesus Christ did this out of love for us even when he was reviled and beaten. What love is this that the Son of God would lay down His life for me and everyone in the whole world? The Jews needed to get Jesus’ body off the cross so Pilate told the guards to go break the legs of the crucified ones. When the guards came to Jesus He was already dead but to make sure they stabbed him in the side and blood and water came out. Joseph of Arimathea had His tomb ready for the body of Jesus and they took Him and put Him in the grave. Guards were put around the tomb to guard the body in case someone came and stole it. At this point most stories end. That is most stories end in death. But this story is different. The Jews don’t count days by 24hrs but by the first day being the night Jesus was buried and then the next day being the second day and then the day after that being the third day. On that third day, Jesus rose from the grave. The day before was Sabbath so no one came to put spices of Jesus body. But on the third day a group of women came and they were surprised to find that the tomb was open, the stone was rolled away and it was empty. An Angel spoke to them and told them He has risen. Come and see for yourself and go tell the others. JESUS HAS RISEN. What an amazing truth. That is what Easter is all about, celebrating Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. What an awesome Go we have that sent His some Jesus Christ to this earth to die on the cross for our sins to pay the penalty for our sins and to conquer sin once for all time, but it didn’t just stop there. He also Rose again to show He had conquered death for all time. He rose again to that we could have eternal life. So that when God looks at us He sees us as Holy and Righteous. He sees us as Justified and He sees the perfect spotless Lamb of God who took our place so that we do not have to pay the penalty for our sins but if we believe in Jesus Christ, that He did all of this for us, we have eternal life. What a story of true love. This is the best love story ever. So during Easter let us remember what our Savior has done for us and went through for us, because it is the greatest gift given to all of mankind. Jesus Christ Has RISEN, Praise His Holy name!!!!!

Do We Owe God Anything?

2011-02-21T10:42:00.003-07:00

There was a question that was asked of me several weeks ago, a question that I had not thought about before. It has made me very curious to see what I could find. That question is “Do we owe God anything?” Many people try to get others to go out on the mission field by saying, “You owe God your life so you should go to the mission field for Him.” This is an interesting statement. Do we owe God anything?
First let’s take a look at a few passages. Ephesians 2:8-9 says “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” What is grace? Grace is getting what we don’t deserve. It is by grace that we have been saved through faith. We do not have salvation by doing good works but it is the gift of God. If you give someone a gift are they going to reach into their wallet or purse and pay for the gift. If they did, we would be offended . God gave us a free gift. It was the most expensive gift and there is no need for us to pay Him anything. We do not owe God anything. This is not to say we are not to do good works. In the next verse it says “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” We are to do good works but not for the reason that we owe God for what He has done. The reason we should be doing good works, that we are to be sharing the gospel, and that we should be going to the mission field is because of our Love for our Savior and because we want to share our Savior with all people. It is not because we owe God anything. Let us look at Paul. In His letters to the Romans, Philippians, and Titus he calls himself a bondservant of Jesus Christ. How is a bondservant different from other servants? There is a big difference. A bondservant is one who worked for his master for a long time and then one day the master told him, he was free. Instead of going away and doing his own thing the bondservant decided to serve his master for life. They would get an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door. Then He would be the master’s servant forever. (Deut 15:12-18) Paul has given His life to Christ and out of his love for his Master has decided to stay with Him and serve Him for the rest of his life. Paul does not do this because he owes Him anything but because He loves His Savior and Master. This should be the attitude of every Christian. We should be willing to do what God wants us to do because we love Him. We should be willing to obey what He commands of us because we love Him, not because we owe Him or because we feel that we have to. I Corinthians 9:16 says “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.” We see here that Paul feels obligated to share the gospel. The reason for this is because Christ commanded believers to” Go into all the world and preach the gospel.” (Mark 16:15) Jesus said in John 14:15 "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” And in v21a "He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me.” And in v23-24 "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; … He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me.” If we love Christ we will follow His commandments and His words. Paul preached the gospel out of love for his Savior, Jesus Christ, and His Father in Heaven. Because of this love, he obeyed Christ’s commandments, which were directly from the Father.
We don’t owe God anything, but if we love Him, we should be willing to give our life to Him. In showing our love for Him, we should be willing to die for Him. Everything we do should be out of love for Him and not because we owe Him. If we love the Lord then we will obey His commandments. That day that Christ, our Savior, died on the cruel cross of Calvary. That day that He was bruised, beaten and scourged. That day that His innocent blood was shed on the cross for you and for me. That day was the day he showed His love for mankind. All that Christ did was as a gift for the whole world, so that those who believed on Him would be saved. Does that not make you want to love your Savior even more? Does that love for your Savior not make you want to tell someone about Him? Do you not want to show your love for Him by obeying what He commands? Every time I think of that day that my Savior died, it brings tears of joy to my eyes for that great gift of salvation He gave to me and I don’t owe Him anything but I love Him for that very reason. I love Him, because He first loved me and that love for Him should be the drive behind everything I do. It should be what separates me from the world that does not love Him and what shows the world that I am a follower of Christ. What is the reason you serve the Lord ? Is it out of love for your Savior or is it because you feel that you owe Him and you need to try to repay Him back? I will leave you with the verse that has been pressing upon my heart. “If you love Me you, will keep My commandments.” John 14:15 (see comment below)

January/February Evangelism 2011

2011-02-20T20:09:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,
I guess I should update you all on what evangelism has been going on in my neck of the woods. I am currently in Bozeman, MT at Montana State University taking Civil Engineering. The Lord has blessed me with so many opportunities to share the gospel with my unbelieving class mates. This semester there have been several kids in my classes, that were in my Speech class last semester when I shared the gospel with them. Praise the Lord for the opportunities that I have with them. Every other day I get to sit by Jake, who is hostile toward the gospel, in my Chemistry class. Let me start at the beginning. When Chemistry first started he sat by me and I started giving him gospel tracts every class period. Each of them different. He would be bugging me swearing at me taking God’s name in vain at the start of the class to try to rile me up and then I would give him a gospel tract and he would leave me alone for the remainder of the time. Every time he told me that the tract was depressing and every time I would try to talk to him but he never wanted to talk to me. Please pray as the semester goes along I will be able to talk to Him about Jesus Christ dying on the cross. There are also two other guys that sit with us. Please pray for their Salvation as well. Also pray for Blane, Kyle, Riley, Christian, Ammon, Will and another one in particular who is in almost all of my classes Chris. So many opportunities, I am loving it. Please pray for boldness and love on my part.
This past Saturday I was going to meet someone to go out and do evangelism but I couldn’t get ahold of them so I went with my Lord. The weather was 17 degrees with a windchill of -10 degrees. Most people would think that no one would be out on a day like that. I know it sounds crazy but I seem to have the best conversations with people when it is either storming or really cold. That is exactly what happened. It was so cold that I could barely move my mouth but the Lord helped me to be able to speak and share the gospel with several people. The rest were too busy and cold to stop and talk but most of them took a tract. Please pray for Josh who goes to a big church here in Bozeman and believes that Heaven in here on the earth. He did not want to talk to me after I quoted that Jesus went to prepare a place for us. He told me my interpretation of that passage was wrong and that I needed to go study it out further. Then He left with a gospel tract. Coming the other way that instant was a couple who when I gave them a gospel tract and told them what it was turned around and said I love the gospel and I try to share it and live it in my life. He and his wife were so excited that I was out sharing the gospel with people. I stopped another kid that said that the way to heaven was by being a good Christian, never once did he mention Jesus Christ. He thought you got to heaven through good works. When I took him through the ten commandments he said he was still a good person and going to heaven. Finally, told him that it was only through Jesus Christ that we could get to heaven and he said he had to go right away. He took a tract also please pray for him. Please pray for the rest of the people I was able to talk to and give gospel tracts. Praise the Lord for the way He is working here in Bozeman. Please pray for those trying to discourage my ministry in street evangelism. I know that this is what the Lord has put on my heart and it is what I enjoy more than anything else. Thank you for your prayers.
T.J. Kerttula

Glorifying God in Everything We Watch, Listen to and Do

2011-01-23T18:08:00.001-07:00

Some Christians a long time ago saw worldly things coming out as new fads and decided that they were not for the glory of God. One such thing was going to shows (movies). Now days many Christians say you are “old fashion” if you don't watch or be a part these things. It has been on my heart lately how many bad things there are in many movies and shows. These bad things are not glorifying to God. Most Christians just set this aside and try to allegorize the movie so that they come up with a principle found in the Bible. They try to make an excuse to watch something that is not glorifying to God. I can honestly say that I have no problem with movies or dancing, as long as they are glorifying to God. Sometimes we make excuses so that we can satisfy our selfish desires instead of glorifying God. Other times we want to look just like the world so that we can try to get more of them to believe Christ. Something seems wrong with that way of thinking. Brothers and Sister of Christ, we are called to be different from the world. We are called to not be the same as the world, but going back to the topic at hand. I am not saying that all movies or shows are bad and that we should never watch them. The question we should ask our self is, “Is this glorifying to God? Is what I watch, what I listen to, what I do glorifying to God? If Jesus were sitting with us watching, would He be pleased? Or would He be disappointed that we are wasting our lives in such a way that has no spiritual benefit to us? Wasting our life on things that draw us away from Him? Wasting our time on things that could cause us to stumble into sin?” These are questions we should look at in light of scripture. 1 Corinthians 10:31 “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Colossians 3:1-17 (look it up and read it in your Bible). I find that if I listen to stuff that is not glorifying to God I seem to have a bad attitude. On the other hand if I listen to things that are glorifying to God then I am encouraged and have a good attitude. If we are setting our minds on things above then we should be thinking about things that are glorifying to God. Everything we do is to be done for the glory of Christ. If we fill our minds with garbage we will have bad attitudes and we won’t be thinking about things above. If we fill ourselves with things of Christ then we will have good attitudes. We will be setting our minds on things above and we will reflect Christ through our lives even more. We will be a brighter light shining for Christ.

I have been thinking of these things because I see a lack of godliness and righteousness in “Christians” lives. It made me ask myself what is the reason for this? What can I do to make people think about godliness and righteousness? What can I do to make them think about glorifying God in everything they do, watch and hear? There is a song that really makes you think about the effects of what we put in our minds. It’s called “Garbage in” by Tal and Acacia. “Garbage in, Garbage out what goes in is found out, all can see what goes in me, I pay the price.” Brothers and sisters in Christ this may only be a sliver of what we must look at to live a godly and righteous life but it is a good place to start. I challenge you to glorify God in everything that you do.

I will leave you with a quote to ponder from My Heart, My Life, My All by William MacDonald:“As the deeper significance of what happened there (At Calvary) begins to dawn on him or her, that person will never be the same. He says, in effect: ‘I have seen a vision, And for self I cannot live. Life is worthless, Unless all I give.’ People (True believers in Jesus Christ) like that will never again be satisfied with a bland Christian life. They determine that they will never again lower themselves to the chill of their environment. They realize that the Christianity they see every day is not the Christianity of the New Testament. A new drive controls them. They have a passion that absorbs their waking hours. They may become what some call a fanatic, but that does not deter them in the least. If they have lost their mind, they have found the mind of Christ. If they are beside themselves, it is for God. If they seem odd and out of step, it is because they march to the beat of a different Drummer. They don't want anything to come between their soul and full commitment to the Savior."

Salvation Prepared in the Presence of All Peoples

2010-12-24T13:18:00.000-07:00

Luke 2:25-33

“And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,

‘Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace,

According to Your word;

For my eyes have seen Your salvation,

Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES,
And the glory of Your people Israel.’

And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him."

(for the full story read Luke 2.) :)

What an amazing passage. This part of Jesus’ life takes place about forty days after His birth. This man named Simeon is righteous and devout. He was looking for the consolation of Israel, the comfort of Israel. The comfort of Israel is the Messiah. He was told that he would see the Messiah before He died. Mary and Joseph came to Jerusalem about forty days after Jesus was born to offer Him to the Lord and to offer sacrifices for purification according to the Law. Simeon was also in the temple because the Spirit of the Lord was upon Him. Simeon took Jesus into His arms. Can you imagine how he felt? He was holding the Comforter of Israel. He blessed God. He had seen God’s Salvation. What is amazing about what Simeon says is in verses 31-32. HE says I have seen Your Salvation “which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES (Isaiah 42:6, 49:6), And the glory of your people Israel.” Simeon knew that the Messiah had come not only for the Salvation of Israel but also to save the Gentiles. Way back when Jesus was around forty days old it was known by this man that He was to be the Savior of the whole world. How amazing is that?!! God who came in the humble form of a baby was to be the Savior of the World. He wouldn’t be one who fought bravely with the sword or a mighty General to defeat the Romans at the present time. His Salvation would be greater than that. It would last for eternity. It would be Salvation from sin, hell and separation from Him for all eternity. A Salvation that would last for all of eternity. A Salvation for all the peoples of the earth. The only way He could bring about this Salvation was to die on a cross. To pay the penalty of the world’s sins with his blood, the blood of the Lamb of God, the perfect sacrifice. But the greatest part is that the story does not end in death but in the fact the Jesus Christ rose from the grave to show that He conquered sin and death for all time. This great plan of Salvation is played out in the rest of the book of Luke what an exciting story. What a wonderful Savior is Jesus. We get to celebrate not only at Christmas time but all the time. Let us give Him all the glory now and forever not only at Christmas time, or at Easter, or Thanksgiving but all the time, every day. He has given us the greatest gift, Salvation to all men. Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your Son, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, in the form of a baby to become the Savior of the whole world. Thank You, Father, for this great gift of Salvation to all men. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Here Am I

2010-12-23T17:15:00.002-07:00

Here is a poem that I found in Nigeria. I have no idea who wrote it but I really like it. This is the prayer of my heart.

Here am I, Lord, Make me ready

Mold me use me Lord, May I give what I have

My testimonies, my prayers, my love

May I go into the world with the Good News, Lord

I am willing, I am ready

Here am I, Lord, send me.

Good deeds are not for Salvation so why should we do them? Part 1

2010-12-12T22:09:00.000-07:00

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.” Titus 2:11-15 (NASB)
Paul in this passage is talking to Titus. There are two things that we see here in these first couple of verses. First, God’s grace appeared bringing salvation to all men. Not just the Jews or the Gentiles but to ALL mankind. Second, God’s grace appeared instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age. God’s grace appeared instructing us, it appeared telling us what we need to do. Teaching us to DENY ungodliness and worldly desires. To deny, means to refuse to acknowledge. We are to not even acknowledge ungodliness and worldly desires. We are to have no part with them. We are to deny them access to our lives. We are to reject them. Paul then goes on to say that Gods’ grace appeared instructing us to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the past age? Or the future age? No, the present age! This means we cannot say I will deny ungodliness and worldly desires and live a sensible, righteous, godly life tomorrow or sometime in the future. We are to live a sensible, righteous, godly life NOW, in the present age. While living this life we are to be looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus. Jesus came to this earth as a humble lowly servant that was when the grace of God appeared. Now we are looking for the appearing of the glory of Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus is our great God and Savior! He gave Himself for us for two reasons. To redeem us from part of our lawless deeds or a few of our lawless deeds? No! He came to redeem us from EVERY lawless deed! He also came to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, ZEALOUS for good deeds. I love that word zealous. Zealous means passionate, fanatical, fervent, keen, and enthusiastic. Every time I read that word zealous it gets me excited. We are to be zealous for good deeds. We are to be passionate, enthusiastic about doing good deeds. It’s not sitting waiting for an opportunity to do a good deed to come around, but it is looking for opportunities to do a good deed so that Christ can shine through what you are doing. We should be zealous for good deeds so that Christ is shown through them. Not for your own glory but for Christ’s glory. This verse reminds me of one of my favorite verses. Matthew 5:16 says “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” What is our light? Christ is our light. John 1:4-5 “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” We are to let Christ shine in our lives, therefore when we are zealous for good deeds, people will see Christ in us and we will have more opportunities to share Him with others both with our mouths and with our actions. Being zealous for good deeds is a lifestyle as is all of this passage.
Brothers and sisters this is to be our lifestyle. We are to deny ungodliness and worldly desires right now. We are to live sensible, righteous, godly lives right now, not tomorrow. We are to be looking for the blessed hope and appearing of our God and Savior, Christ Jesus. We are to be looking for this one who redeemed us and purified us. We are to be Zealous for good deeds, so that we can show our God and Savior, Jesus Christ to this lost and dying world.
Paul tells Titus at the end of this chapter, “These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.”
*This has been posted but as I have gotten into this subject more and more I have decided to write more on this. So that is why it is called part 1. I am planning and hoping for a part two or at least another draft of this note including everything that I am finding. This subject has been something I have been learning about lately. I hope you all enjoy what the Lord has shown me.

Alimo's Legacy by Shana Kerttula

2010-12-08T11:37:00.000-07:00

Everyone has a heart full of love, not all will share it. Everyone has a sense of right and wrong, not all will listen to it. Everyone can see wrong, but few have the courage change. Everyone has a story, But who will listen. I have a story to tell but it’s not my own. A story of Neglect, a story of love, a story of grief, a story of joy. In 1979 a missionary woman named Esther Nordman was going to a conference in a village. She saw something out of the corner of her eye. At first glance it looked like a dead animal, left lying on the ground. She looked closer. It was not an animal nor was it dead, it was a small child. Esther went back home and brought back her husband Leslie to see the child. She was unbathed, naked and half starved. The couple asked around as to who her parents were .It turns out the father had died and the mother suffered of a mental disability. The family was happy to give the child to the Nordmans. They took her home bathed her, cut her hair, fed her, and poured all the love they could into her. Her name was Alimo. She was severely disabled both physically and mentally. Alimo was very happy, for a time. The couple tried to adopt her but they were unable before they had to returned to the United States. So Esther and Leslie had to leave their dear child and return home. They left her in the care of the CMML mission. The mission hired a nanny to care for her. The Nanny gave Alimo only two jobs. 1. Keep clean. 2. Not to eat anything that was not given to her to eat. So Alimo spent hours sitting quietly not allowed to play because she might get dirty, and fed very little. At this time Caroline Gross was in the United States burying her beloved husband, Paul Gross. She then came back to Nigeria. One Sunday Alimo’s nanny asked for ride to church. Mom Gross having a car at the time agreed to drive her. When Mom Gross arrived to pick her up the Nanny came out alone. She asked where Alimo was. The nanny replied that she was inside. When asked if Alimo was alone the Nanny said no someone was taking care of her. As Mom Gross drove her to church she couldn’t rid herself of the feeling that something wasn’t right. So she left everyone at church and went back to check on Alimo. As she walked into the room she saw Alimo, Alone, Quietly sitting on the bed. Across the room sat a basket of candy. Even though Alimo was very hungry she had not touched a single one of them. She had been so well trained, yet so very neglected. Mom Gross took her home, loved her, and devoted much of her time to Alimo. She decided to adopt Alimo, but when she went to adopt her she found out that Alimo had already been adopted. That she’d have to get permission from the Nordmans. They gladly consented to have Mom Gross adopt her. She ended up adopting Alimo in Nigeria but not in the United States because of some stipulations about the amount of time that she would have to spend in the USA, that she would not be able to fulfill. So when she traveled she got Alimo visa’s and brought along people to care for her while they were in the States. Mom Gross took in more children, caring for them, and loving them. Pretty soon the full time care became too much. The Doctor told her she couldn’t do it anymore. So Mary Edeh, one of the girls who had cared for Alimo while in the USA, packed everyone and everything up and moved them to Otutulu. This is where Mary’s Brother Daniel and his wife Esther lived. So they all lived in a house at the bottom of the hill. Soon they outgrew the house and built a bigger building. Over the years this became known as Ministry of Mercy Orphanage. Mom Gross had to return to the States for a bit of time. On this particular trip she left Alimo home. Alimo got very sick. She was taken to the hospital in Ika. Upon her arrival they performed a surgery on her. Mom Gross returned to more grief. On May 6, 2000 Alimo went home to be with her Lord and Savior. She was twenty-one years old. Loved and missed by many. To this day Alimo’s legacy lives on. I see it as I walk the halls, hear the joyful squeals, and feel the little body’s crowd around for a hug. As listened to this story, and later wrote it out, I was struck by how through it all I could see how God worked in everything. He had a plan. He was never surprised. God has a plan for every life. His greatest plan for us was sending His Son into the world to die on the cross to save us from eternal separation from God in Hell. Trust Him with your life He knows everything about you and what’s best for you!

The Gospel Speech in Comm 110 at Montana State University

2010-11-20T11:15:00.002-07:00

As I heard my teacher say, “Thank you Julie, TJ you’re up next.” My heart started pounding words were stuck in my throat. I praying Lord help me. The week before I had been praying about what I should do for my persuasive speech at school at the beginning of the year I had decided on doing a gospel message. As the weeks had gone on it look almost impossible to do it. I turned it over and over in my mind. Then I thought well maybe the reliability of the Bible would be a better subject. Two weeks before the speech I started to prepare it but I felt the gospel needed to be given still. I wrestled with it and finally one night I had this dream about it. Now I am not the type of person who would normally say this dream said this so this is what God wants,but I woke up early in the morning after having a dream about my speech. I wrote down everything that I could remember saying. That is when I decided to go back to the subject of the gospel. I still had one thing left though what was I to do for opposition? There are so many sides to the opposition or is there? That night I slept well, so well if fact I had another dream. Now two dreams about the same speech in a row, that is kind of crazy. This time I got my opposition. Works vs. Christ. I realized that most religions are based on works. So that was my opposition. I had everything ready for the outline. The night before the speech I started to write it. Everything fit so perfectly together. I was so excited about it. I would be able to give the gospel to twenty people in public on the MSU campus. As everything came together I thanked the Lord that I was not trying to do it on my own. I was thankful that He was there guiding me to do what He wanted me to do. As I kept going on I thought that I might not have enough sources for my citation but when I finished I had a bunch of sources. I was absolutely amazed how the Lord worked everything out. I was a little worried about the time limit because we had 10 minutes and if we went over it was cut off, right at ten minutes. When I practiced it, I got a 9:45 time on it. As I finished up the last of it, I thanked the Lord for such a wonderful speech. I had asked many people to pray for me. They did pray for me. As I asked more and more people to pray for me it seemed like the people praying for me grew in numbers more and more. The comment from some of the people was “TJ you have a lot of courage in doing that. I don’t think I could ever do that.” The next day seemed like the longest morning ever. I had one class in the morning then a two hour wait for the speech. I couldn’t sit still I had to move. I kept wondering and preparing for the worst. I thought “me have a lot of courage? I feel so scared. I feel like I may not be able to go through with this. What will my class think?” Then it hit me. This was not about me, it is about God. It’s about giving the gospel out no matter what the cost, not matter if man thinks of me as a loser or it he thinks I am weird. To be thought of in this way is such a small cost compared to people giving their lives up for Christ. (Which is not a cost at all in my eyes, because you get to be with the Savior. I think you get what I am getting at though.)The worst thing that could happen is that I get a failing grade for that speech, in which I still pass the class, so that’s not a big deal. Then another thought came to me. I am not alone. What do I have to be afraid of? All they can say is words against me. The Lord is with me. I prayed for strength to give this speech. When I went to class I got there early so as to get the spot I wanted but I had also prayed that I would be able to get the spot my Lord wanted me to get. That spot was second to last. As people came in and set up to speak, I prayed for them to have softened hearts and to receive the gospel. As people went through and got done with their speeches I thought “Wow, she is being very critical on their speeches.” Every single one of them was given something that was wrong with their speeches. I thought “O boy I am going to get it.” She is going to stop me right in the middle and I won’t be able to finish. I kept praying. Then it was my time. I heard my teacher say “Thank you Julie, TJ you’re up next.” I was ready for the worst. The Lord was on my side. I was ready and very nervous. As I started setting everything up a peace came over me. I felt confident and ready to do what the Lord had for me to do. At the beginning before everything started I handed out 15 gospels of John to the class. (Fifteen, because the other five had decided to skip class.) One of the guys pipes up. “Wow this is a gospel of John. That’s awesome!!!” I had to laugh because I was totally not expecting that from that kid. After telling them to stick it in their pocket or in their backpack, I silently asked the Lord to speak through me. Right then, I was ready to go. I went through the first part talking about several religions and how they rely on works. There is a kid from Saudi Arabia in my class who is a Muslim and as I talked about Muslims he nodded his head in agreement, that this is what a Muslim had to do to get to heaven. Briefly I talked about some of the main religions. Then I went into the law and then that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. Everyone listen and I could see that some of them were convicted. The Lord was there with me. I am amazed at how when we try to do things in our own power we struggle but when the Lord is giving us the words to say it is amazing. As I finished up I was praising the Lord in my heart and bracing myself for the worst. My teacher asked two people to critique me. As I waited for their critique I was waiting to be stoned with text books or something. It’s funny because both of the people that critiqued me liked the speech and how it was done. The comment was that you have a lot of guts to get up and do that here. All I can do is give the glory to God because if it was in my own power I would have never been able to do it. The crazy part about it was that the two people the critiqued me said they didn’t know what to say to work on next time I spoke. Next the critiquing went on to my teacher. I braced myself a second time. Her comment was that it was well put together and that I was able to cover the subject very well in the time period I had. She said she really enjoyed it. I was so relieved. Although there were several hostile looks from the rest of the crowd, I did not care because I was praising the Lord for everything that had happened that day. You might say well then the story is over and I really enjoyed it. Well it’s not over yet. I got my grade a week later. I was expecting a low grade even though my teacher liked it but when I looked at it I was astonished. It was way higher than I ever expected it to be. It was a 91.25%. An “A” in speech class is hard to get. Again I praised the Lord. That’s sounds like a good end to this story doesn’t it but if I were to end there I would not be giving you a complete account of the whole story. The Wednesday after the speech we had our lecture for speech class. I usually sit with some of the kids in my recitation so I sat down where I normally sit and got a cold glare from one of the girls and one of the guys started swearing at me randomly.(This is normal to me because that’s what I get on the street most of the time.) Then class started. The lecture was on Ethics and Morals. The comment my professor (different person from my recitation teacher) made was that there should never be a religious speech in the class. He had no idea I had already done my speech. As he went on he was very hostile to Christianity. He told us there was no place for those things in speech class. The guy started swearing and making fun of me and glaring at me and so did the girl. I ignored them. Finally the class was over. Praise the Lord that I was able to do my speech before my professor did that lecture. Persecution comes in many different ways. I have no idea if this is the end of the story but if there is more to write about there will be a part 2 to this story. All the glory for this goes to God. He gave me the opportunity and was with me the whole time. I hope that this is an encouragement to all especially to those who are in college to stand up boldly for their faith when the opportunity arises and to share the gospel with all even when we don’t feel like we have the courage to. What an awesome God we have that we have been given this great message to share with other people.

What is Your Excuse?

2010-11-11T21:38:00.000-07:00

“But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22)
Examine everything carefully. Make sure what you are looking at is in accordance with what the Bible says. The second part of verse twenty-one says hold fast to what is good. In Mark 10:18 Jesus says, “And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.’” Jesus is not saying that He is not God here but instead He is testing the man to see what he will say to this statement. If we are to hold fast to what is good then we need to hold fast God for He is good. Continuing on into verse twenty-two. “abstain from every form of evil.” Notice it says abstain from some forms of evil. Other forms are ok. NO!!! It says to abstain from EVERY form of evil. These days evil comes in ways that seem to be camouflaged to many people. They do not know what is good because they have not been taught the Bible. They have been given fluffy sermons that make you feel good inside and make you laugh and you might remember a story from it but is that all you take away from it? It leaves you lacking anything to hold fast to. How do you intimately know God if you are not taught from the scriptures? If they do not know what is good then they cannot tell what is evil. Therefore, they cannot abstain from evil. Everything has become grey to them. We must get to know God in order to know what good is because no one is good but God. Where are you oh Christians who are Godly? Where are you who are boldly proclaiming the gospel? Are you ashamed that you will not even speak out for what is good? You are not godly because you do not really know God. You are not bold because you do not have faith that God can help you. You are ashamed because you think one might think you are strange for standing up for what is good. Should not the gospel be on our hearts and minds all day long so that it is on the tip of our tongue just waiting to come out? Should we not be ready to give an answer to show what we believe? Are you ashamed of your Savior that you will not speak out about Him? You should be ashamed that you are NOT proclaiming Christ to all people. Are you, oh Christian, making excuses for not telling of your Savior, for not living a godly life, for not following Christ as you should? What excuse is good enough? There is no excuse, oh Christian. There is no excuse for you. None for you to give for not following Christ. None for you to give for not living a godly life. None for you to give for not telling of your Savior. There is NO EXCUSE!!! Come now, oh Christian, let us get to know God, let us spend time with Him. Let us tell of His Son, the Savior of this world. Let us boldly tell of Him and His great Sacrifice for us. Let us live a life like Daniel lived so that no one will be able to find anything wrong against us. Let is follow after Christ. Let us, oh Christian, live a Holy and godly life. No more excuses. Today is the day that the revival starts within our hearts and our minds. Today is the Day that we boldly stand for Christ. If God is for us who can stand against us?

God's Timing

2010-11-05T18:00:00.001-06:00

The other day I was thinking about some things that were heavy on my heart. One of them being the desire to be back in Nigeria right now. I was asking myself, “Why am I here at MSU? Why I am not in Nigeria?” I was reading a poem that I had written in the back of my Bible and as I read it something stuck out to me. It said, “Here I am Lord, make me ready, mold me, use me Lord.” I realized the purpose of why I was here is so the Lord can make me ready. So He can mold me and use me for His purpose. I realized that my mission is here right now. I was talking to a Christian brother about it and I was greatly encouraged by what he told me. It was something I had never thought of before. He said, “Don't forget that even while He is preparing YOU, He's also preparing the season and people who will be a critical to the success of the mission He sends you here to accomplish.” Even now as He is preparing me, He is also preparing the people. That is such an encouraging statement. The Lord’s time is always the best. My mission is to be at MSU and do what the Lord has laid on my heart to do, EVANGELISM!!! The Lord has prepared the people here for me, that’s why I am here. Even now He has prepared everything for me in the future. Once again it come down to patience and waiting on the Lord’s will for the next step of my life. There is a purpose for everything. Praise the Lord that He is in control of everything. He is making me ready and making the people I am to minister to ready to hear the gospel in His perfect timing.

.

Shining Reflection

2010-09-18T00:15:00.002-06:00

Darkness surrounds, a Shroud of darkness, Lights where are you? Are you shining? I can’t see you. Why? You look just like everyone else. Your light has dimmed. You say well it’s ok to go do this or that just once. God wants me to enjoy life so it’s ok. I can ask for forgiveness later. As you keep on willfully sinning your light grows dimmer and dimmer. Until it is nothing but a small flicker or until it is hidden from sight. Oh Christians where is your light? Is it dim or shining brightly? Is it covered? Do you say I don’t want anyone to judge me because I am a Christian? I just want to be normal. If you hide your light then all you are is a good person. But if you let your light shine then you are portraying Christ. I love the song by Salvador called “Shine”. The Chorus goes like this:

Lord let me shine, shine like the moon
A reflection of You in all that I do
Lord let me be a light for Your truth
Light of the world, I wanna be used to shine for You

Is this the prayer of our hearts or do we want to reflect the world instead? Who is it that we want to reflect? Also think about this sometimes we reflect Christ only when we meet with the church. The rest of the week we reflect the world. Do you want to be a reflection of Christ in all that you do or only part of what you do? Shine Christians shine. If you shine you never know who will be there that will take your example and shine with you. A good friend of mine put this on his facebook status.

“ ‘where are the reinforcements?" "we're it...’ -Blackhawk Down
Who are you expecting to be the reinforcements................ you're it...”

This is an interesting statement. So true. We should not expect reinforcements from man but we have the best reinforcement in the universe. If God is for us who can stand against us. I met a man the other day. He was passing out Gideon Bibles. I stopped and talked to him and encouraged him before class. Just by him standing there doing that he was an encouragement to me. When you see someone who has a Christian t-shirt on or is praying with someone or sharing the gospel with someone, stop and thank them and encourage them. We are in this together but it is a lonely road sometimes. It seems like there is no one shining for Christ anywhere. I have seen some very interesting things happen because I stopped and talked to a Christian or someone stopped and talked to me and encouraged me. Just thanking them for shining for Christ really makes a difference. Praise the Lord that we can reflect him as lights shining. Praise the Lord that we have such a great gift of eternal life to share with others. Let us reflect Christ and share what He has done for us on the Cross.

What Pi isn’t correct in the Bible?!!!

2010-08-08T22:37:00.000-06:00

While we were doing Evangelism at the Fair I met three Atheists. When I told them that I would give them a hundred dollars if they could prove the Bible scientific or historically inaccurate one of them piped up and said the Bible calculates Pi inaccurately. I told him Pi is never in the Bible. He went on to explain himself, trying to tell me how it was inaccurate and that the Bible implies it. He couldn’t give me a reference. He was just trying to get me off the subject of salvation. They were attacking the Bible so that is why I made them the offer. They walked off thinking that I had been made to question my faith and trust in the Bible. They did not have any interest in the things of God. After talking with them I wanted to know if what they said was true, knowing in my heart that it wasn’t but wanting to know what they were talking about so I could answer them. I asked a few people what they thought and then looked on the internet for an answer. On the internet I found that most people said the Hebrews rounded Pi to the number three. Actually if we look into the passage that these people use we will find Pi a lot more accurate than most people think. The passage we are looking at is in 1 Kings 7:23, 26. Most people only look at verse 23 and that is why they think that the Hebrews rounded Pi. Here are the two verses.
1 Kings 7:23 Now he made the sea of cast metal ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in form, and its height was five cubits, and thirty cubits in circumference.
1 Kings 7:26 It was a handbreadth thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, as a lily blossom; it could hold two thousand baths.

Watch as we do the Math.
Our equation is Circumference=Pi x Diameter.
C=Pi(D)

First I want to convert everything to inches.
1 cubit= 18in
D=10x18=180 in.
C=30x18=540 in.

When we look at verse 26 we see that it is a handbreadth thick.
1 handbreadth= 4 in.

Let’s insert values into our equation. We subtract the thickness of the bowl from the diameter.

540in=pi(180in- 2handbreadths)
540in=pi(180in-2(4in))
540in=pi(180in-8in)
540in=pi(172in)
540in/172in= pi
pi=3.1395348837

Now you tell me how accurate the Hebrew’s were with pi. We can see that Pi is very accurate in the Bible. The Bible is God’s Word and God’s Word is truth. When we look at Math and Science we are to take the all facts and make a conclusion from it, not take the answer we want and read it into the facts. I hope that you all might be able to use this if and when this attack on the Bible arises. How wonderful God’s Word is and what a wonderful God is our God. There is no argument that can stand against it. There is no historical or scientific inaccuracy in it. Praise the Lord for giving us His Word.

Evangelism Adventures in Helena July 2, 2010

2010-07-03T15:15:00.000-06:00

Friday I decided to go out and do some evangelism. I asked a few people if they wanted to come but they were busy so I went by myself for a few hrs. During that time many seeds were planted. I was able to talk to many different people. There was one man named Nathan who was in front of a bar and when I gave him and his buddy a tract they wanted to talk to me. So they asked me to sit with them in front of the bar. His buddy was all over the place talking about different things and wouldn’t let me talk or let me explain the gospel. Nathan told him to shutup several times but he wouldn’t listen. Nathan’s buddy said that he could show me a passage that said that it was alright to drink. He took me to Proverbs 31. This guy was drunk and he was quoting to me Proverbs 31 in the KJV. I was startled that he would be able to do that. Right after he quoted it he asked a guy passing by if he wanted a beer and so he took him in to get a beer. That left me with Nathan. He asked me why God would take his mother away from him when she was only 56 yrs old. He said that his mother was the only person he had in his life. He said that He knew his mother was in heaven because she always told them that Jesus died on the cross for their sins and that if they believed in Him they would have eternal life. He knew the gospel but he said that he couldn’t stop blaming God for taking his mother. I told him that God has a plan for him that there was a reason I was here talking to him. I told him that his mother was in heaven if she believed that and that if he believed that he would see her again someday. I told him that he needed to trust in Jesus and that He would help him through all the pain of losing his mother. He was near tears. He kept saying I know. I asked him if I could pray for him and right there in front of that bar I prayed for him. He appreciated that I prayed for him right there. He said that he needed to think about trusting Christ more. Please pray for Nathan. He is so very close to coming to Christ and he is trying to forget the pain by drinking.
I talk with a bunch of people and most of them were trying to deal with the death of someone.
There was a group of three kids that I stopped and I thought I had talked to them before because they looked familiar but I had not. So I was able to explain the gospel to them and when asked where they were going when they died, they had a scared look in their eyes. They promised to read the tracts and to think about what I said.
I met several kids that were telling me to get off the streets and stop trying to push my religion on them. One guy told me that the Bible was full of errors and flaws and when asked to name one he said the whole thing. I told him to prove it he said that I should prove that it is accurate because I was the one that approached him. All he wanted to do was argue so I moved on. Later on when talking to another group of kids he came past and told them I was lying and to get away from me. They left quickly. I thought that he was going to follow me around but he left quickly also.
I met some ladies sitting on a bench and when I gave them tracts they said they were Christians. I asked them what the gospel was and they gave it to me and then encouraged me to keep handing out tracts.
I was about ready to meet up with some other guys for evangelism.(Kenny, Mike P. and Brent) I was standing in front of my car and this guy comes down the sidewalk and so I decide to give him a tract. He turns out to be a mystic, reincarnated and a Jew. Don’t ask me how those go together but he also said that there is no such thing as a Messiah even in the future. He says that reincarnation will happen until everyone becomes a cow. He says that only the Hebrew writings are true. The Protestants have flawed the OT scriptures. The servant or messiah is never mentioned in Isaiah in the Hebrew. He wouldn’t listen to me because I was using an English Bible. He said that I could not disprove it because I didn’t have any proof and that he had studied it for years in this life and other lives. Yeah kind of crazy. I broke off the conversation because all he wanted to do was argue. As a parting gift he plucked a rose from a nearby bush and gave it to me as a sign of the Messiah. The guys left me and went down the walking mall. I went after them handing out tracts along the way. I met a guy from Senegal along the way. Then I finally caught up with the guys from there we went back down the walking mall handing out tracts along the way. I stopped at a table of kids outside one of the ice cream shops and asked if they had gotten one of these. They all said no but one. One of them said Yes, I have gotten so many that I don’t need any more. Just leave me alone. It turned out to be one of my co-workers (she was kidding) and I had shared the gospel with her at work. We had given her tracts last summer and a couple weeks ago I gave her a tract. You can call her B. God is after her. He wants her that’s why I keep running into her on the street. Pray for her that she will give her life to Christ.
We got to the library and decided to go back down to the movie theater so we walked there on the way we stopped at hill park and Brent and Kenny had a long conversation with two girls and a guy that had told me to stop pushing my religion on him. Mike and I went on to the movie theater. They were right in the middle of movies so there was no one around. We decided to go back to Hill park. Mike was able to give the gospel to a few kids.
We went down the hill to another park called Women’s park. There was something going on under the band canopy. As we got closer we saw it was tango dancers. Not wanting to get rope in anything like that we decided to go see some people sitting at a table. We approached them and asked them if they wanted something to read. Two of them told us to go away and one of them started cussing us and telling us that he was going to beat us up if we didn’t leave his table alone. We said we would leave. Then one of them told us to never bring that “stuff” back to the park. (That’s politely put compared to what he really said.) He said He would punch me and beat me if I showed him that gospel tract again. HE asked me if I wanted to fight him. I said “You can punch me but I won’t fight you.” Mike and I were both scared. I told the guy that these tracts are not just “stuff”. Suddenly he took a step toward me. I took a step back and said that we were going. He said “no wait. Your right it’s not ‘stuff’.” He told us that he couldn’t hurt us if he wanted to. We were under God’s protection and there was no way he could even touch us to hurt us. He told us he was Ed Hume. He told us that he was a Marine Chaplin and that he had been wounded in battle. He showed us his license and then told us his story. His wife had died and so he had taken up vodka to forget it. When he was 16 he had been shot in a bar fight and while in the hospital Nicky Cruz and David Wilkerson came to him and told him he needed to go to teen challenge and so that is where he went and when he gave up his life for Christ. He told us that he loved Jesus and he believed with all his heart that Jesus died on the cross for his sins and rose again but he couldn’t stop blaming God for taking his wife. He was crying at the end. He knew his Bible. Brent and Kenny joined us and he tried to run them off but he wanted gospel tracts so we called them back. We gave him gospel tracts. He wanted to read them. We gave him a New Testament. He told us to keep passing out tracts and that if anyone gave us a hard time them to tell him and he would take care of them. Then he gave us all hugs. Praise the Lord for an opportunity to talk to him. Pray for Ed. Pray that God would comfort him and that he would give all his anger to the Lord to take care of. Praise the Lord for protecting us.
We went back to the cars and handed tracts out on the way back. On the way salvaging gospel tracts from nearby garbage cans. :D
Praise the Lord for seeds planted and pray for all of these people in Helena. They need salvation.

Expositional Preaching - shai linne

2010-06-18T23:13:00.001-06:00

Flame - Leadership

2010-06-18T23:13:00.000-06:00

Alive @ 5 Evangelism and Wisdom

2010-06-16T22:20:00.000-06:00

There was a lady the other day that came up to me while we were doing evangelism. I gave her a tract and she wanted me to sing her petition for a certain bill. She asked me your pro-life, and then told me that I should sign it. I asked her about it and she asked me if I knew that 1 out of 4 children were in poverty in America. I replied by asking her if she knew how many were in poverty in Nigeria. She responded that she did not know. I told her that by American standards 4/4 were in poverty. Then I realized where she was going with it. She was not Pro-life, she was pro-choice. She was trying to stop poverty by trying to make a bill for women to have abortions. It disgusted me so much that I told her that I knew exactly how to stop the problem of poverty of children. I told her that she should make it illegal to have sex outside of marriage. She was flabbergast and asked me so you have never had sex outside of marriage. I told her nope. She said I can’t believe this, I have never met anyone that has not and she asked me why. I told her because I was a follower of Christ and the Bible tells us not to. She told me that she knew lots of Christians and they had sex outside of marriage. She told me she couldn’t talk to me and started to walk away and then she came back. I was very saddened about what she told me but I knew that this woman needed Christ desperately. I went on to ask her if she thought she was a good person and asked where she was going to go when she died. She said she was going to heaven and that she was a good person. I went through the Ten Commandments with her. When I asked her if she had lied she told me NO never and I told her I think you are lying to me right now and she admitted that she was right away. Then I asked her if she had ever stolen anything. She said yeah when I was a kid. I asked her if she had ever taken the Lords name in vain and right there and then she took the Lords name in vain four or five times in one sentence. I think she thought it would shock me, but it didn’t and I went on and asked if she had disobeyed her parents and she said yes. Then I told her that everyone sins and that because of that all of us deserve to go to hell. She said ok so all of us are going to hell then so why do I have to worry. I told her that we didn’t all have to go to hell. She tried to argue with me and tell me that was what I just said. I asked her to hold on and let me finish. She tried to walk away again and said that she couldn’t talk to me but she came right back and said ok continue. So I told her about Jesus Christ and how he died on the cross. I talked about God’s love for us and how He sent His son and asked her how she would feel if she had to give up her son and she told me she had already had 3 abortions and she would give up her child again without a problem. I told her about what Christ had done for her in dying on the cross and that if she believed in Jesus Christ that she would be saved. She told me she believed in Jesus Christ. I gave her Romans 10:9-10 and told her if she confesses with her mouth that Jesus is Lord and believes in her heart that God raise Him from the dead then she shall be saved. She told me to stop judging her. That she had already believed when she was a little girl. I said, Really? I couldn’t tell. You just took the Lord’s name in vain and you broke almost all of the commandments that I named while I was standing here. She told me “oh so Christians are supposed to have a certain light in their eyes so that you can see they are Christians.” I never said anything about it. At that time my buddy Scott had finished up his conversation and was walking over and she said once again that she couldn’t talk to me and started to walk away but came back again. Scott came over and took over the conversation. The lady told us that she believed that Jesus was just a man and that he didn’t die on the cross that it was a fairy tale. She said that the Bible was not totally accurate and had a lot of errors in it and that she could not believe it and we again told her about Christ and what He had done for her. She told us I can’t even talk to you one last time and walked away for good. It was a sad conversation but she heard the gospel and I hope that she will come to Christ. If she did imagine what a change that would be and her friends would notice it.

This story of my evangelistic events brought some things to mind and if you will bear with me I will explain later on in the paper.

I have been reading in Proverbs lately and ever since I went to Africa and saw one of the men there that has so much wisdom I have wanted to have wisdom and knowledge for what to do in different situations. So I decided to start by reading Proverbs. So here are some of my thoughts. Proverbs 1:7. "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge and fools despise wisdom and instruction." Fearing the LORD is the beginning of Knowledge. What does that mean? What does it really mean to fear the LORD. In Proverbs 8:13 it tells us. "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride, arrogance and the evil way and the perverted mouth, I hate." It lists several things there but also if we look at Proverbs 6:16-19 we see what the LORD hates. Six of them He hates and the last one is an abomination. 1) Haughty eyes 2) A lying tongue 3) hands that shed innocent blood 4) A heart that devises wicked plans 5) A feet that rapidly run to evil 6) A false witness that utters lies. And 7) One who spreads strife among brothers.

As Christians if we fear the LORD we are to hate evil. In our society I see that we don't embrace it but we don't hate it. Ex: I was told the other day while out doing evangelism that almost every "Christian" that this lady had met had sex before they were married (Story above). Now we could argue that those people probably were not Christians but also there are some that I know that are Christians and they had fallen into sin. If Christians really hated evil if they hated the things the LORD hates then we would see people that feared the LORD. If we fear the LORD then we have the beginning of Knowledge. There was a man that once said that if he had 100 young men that the only thing they feared was sin they could take over the world with the gospel. Do we really fear the LORD? Do we hate evil? It saddens my heart to hear that people claim to be Christians and are sinning as if they have a license to sin. It’s ok to sin because God will forgive me. But in reality if we fear the LORD we should hate evil. I see that our nation does not fear the LORD, the Mighty God, the Giver of Life and Breath. To say that it’s ok God will forgive me, so I can sin all I want is to say I don’t fear the LORD and I don’t hate evil. Read Proverbs 3:32-35. We see how God treats those who do not fear Him or hate evil. Desire to be upright, Fear the Lord and hate evil.

Home is Where the Heart Is.

2010-06-11T23:19:00.000-06:00

A phrase that we see at many people’s house. Let’s think about that for a second or two. We see that and we say wow yeah my heart is in such and such a place on this earth so that is where home is. Yes my physical home is in Montana but let’s look at this phrase from a different aspect. As a Christian our home is in heaven. 2 Corinthians 5:8. IS that where our heart is? Is our heart in heaven? Are we thinking about heaven and what a wonderful place it will be? When I was in Bible College there were a few guys that I was very impressed with. They would always talk about heaven and what a glorious day it would be. They were looking forward to heaven they wanted to go to heaven they were ready to go home in an instant and they were excited about going home. There heart was in heaven and still is. It was something that was so cool to see and I said to myself that is what I want to be like. I want my heart to be in heaven. I want to be thinking about how great it will be when we finally go home and see our Lord face to face. It will be a beautiful day. We should be anxious and patient at the same time. I can’t wait to go but I am waiting on the Lord to come and take me there. In the mean time we should be laboring to bring as many people with us to heaven. If our mind is set on things above and our heart is also there then our thoughts should be on our Lord who is coming soon. He is coming sooner then we know. Another thought occurred to me as I was thinking about this there were several people that had died in the last two weeks from the retirement home I worked at and some that were fairly young. I asked myself again if I was doing all I could to tell others about Jesus Christ before He comes or before they died. We have become satisfied with sitting in our chairs and saying “actions speak louder than words”. “They will be able to tell I am a Christian by my actions” but the sad thing is that every day I meet people that say they are Christians but you could not tell that they are Christians by their actions. They have filthy language, they act just like the world, they have compromised their walk with Christ or they have not truly believed in Him. Most have been told say this prayer and you will be saved. There is no repentance in them they are still in the old man. They have not shed the old man to put on the new man. They believe Christ was a man but they do not believe in Him. They do not know what He did for them. They don’t care. They use God as someone who can get them out of hard situations and forget about Him the rest of the time. Going back to the phrase” actions speak louder than words”. In some instances that is true but that should not be the whole of it. That is where most people stop. “Actions speak louder than words so I will just show people Christ through my actions.” The problem is that in the Great commission by our Lord, He tell us to “preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15) Actions are not enough to bring people to Christ. It is actions and words that bring people to Christ. We must also preach the gospel to them. Sometimes words are louder then actions. We are scared to tell others about Christ. We are scared what they might think about us. Why does it matter what they think about us? We are Christians. Sometimes we are even afraid we might lose a better opportunity to talk to them later on. The Lord is in control of everything. He will use what we say for His good because it is not us that bring them to Christ but it is God that brings them. So Go, preach the gospel our home is not here on earth it is in heaven and heart should be there also. Our Lord is coming back soon. Are we preparing for His coming, Are we preaching the gospel? Many have not heard. Go and preach the gospel, looking towards our Home in heaven. Someday soon all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ will be there. Sooner than you think.

Update from Helena, MT June 5

2010-06-05T10:27:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone, It has been a while since I have written. We are safely back home and recuperated and ready to go. The Lord has been working in our lives and our passion to go back to Nigeria has not died. But we are not just sitting here doing nothing. This last Monday I was able to go out and do street evangelism with my friends Scott and Jeremy. It was rainy but I think that you have the best conversations when it is raining or snowing. It was just like that then too. We walked around and passed out tracts and then we went up past the movie theater to a park where Scott was able to talk to two people who did not know the gospel. While he was doing that I went back down to the movie theater and caught a big group of people coming in. Scott finished up and we went on to hill park. There was a group of kids I hadn’t met yet. Scott knew some of them. He talked to a group of them and I went over to another group that was playing hacky sack and asked if I could join. As we played I asked them about the gospel. One kid, an Atheist, told me that it was impossible that the Bible was true and that there was no God and that we were all god and a part of god,(Therefore not a true Atheist) and kept talking so that I couldn’t get a word in edgewise and then he said he was tired of listening to this and left with all but one of his friends. I had to smile because I didn’t even get to say anything really, he was talking almost the whole time. I turned to the other kid and started talking to him about the gospel. He was very receptive. In the end he gave me his e-mail address and I hope to be able to meet with him again. I went p the hill and met a Christian girl and her non-Christian boyfriend. The girl thought it was cool that I was out telling people about Jesus the guy just rolled his eyes and said they had to go. Farther up the hill I questioned two young ladies about the gospel. They were students from Carroll College and they thought they would just turn into particles floating in space when they died. They wanted to know the gospel and then they decided that they didn’t want to know it but said they would read the tracts. On the way back to the car we didn’t meet anyone. Pray for these people that we met that the Lord would do a work in their lives that they might come to know Him. The rest of this week I have been working a part time job. Please pray that I would find a more full time job or another part time job in the evening or night. The Lord is so good.

Update 11

2010-05-10T19:17:00.000-06:00

Sorry this is a little late. I couldn't post it in Nigeria because I was blocked but here it is.
Hello Everyone,
This is my last update until I get back to US. I want to thank you all so much for your prayers. I appreciate them so much. The Lord has protected us and helped us with everything that we have done. PTL for everything that He has used us for here.
Right now it is beginning to rain. The rain here is beautiful. I love it here. The coolness before the rain is the best part about it.
There have been many things that have been going on here this last week. I was able to go to a few villages with the film show before I had to take my projector to the person who wanted it. I pray that many people would come to Christ through this presentation of the gospel. Last week I was out in a village and they wanted us to come back. I wish we could have but we were not able to. Some of the older men were very happy we came.
I went to Akpacha on Friday morning for evangelism. That was a really good trip the first thing was that it was where my grandparents had been when they last came and the second thing was that the first known Christian in Igala land was from there. I was able to meet his youngest son as well as many others of my grandparents friends. It was a very good trip. Challenging the Christians and meeting with them. Then on Saturday grandpa picked me up and we took the vehicle we were borrowing back to the Dibble/ Wheelers and said goodbye to them. Then we came back to the orphanage. We are finishing up things here and spending time with the kids. It is going to be hard to say goodbye but I am ready to start preparing for my next trip here. The Lord has been so good to us this trip. I love this place and hope to come back in the near future. There are so many needs here. It is a hard place to evangelize because there are so many Muslims but God is still here and He is at work.
Yesterday another little baby boy came in. The mother had died and the father was unable to care for him. Pray for the father also as he has had to give up both his wife and son.
Please pray for the school here they have four teachers for eight classes. They are short on teachers and so they are doing a morning and afternoon class. It has been difficult for them and they really need some more teacher. Continue to pray for the Muslims here. There are many of them and they need Christ. Pray for the American missionary here at the orphanage, Crystal Gosnell. She is a hard worker and a great encouragement to many people. Also pray for the rest of the staff here as they are always busy and rarely have a break from their work.
We will be leaving tomorrow morning for Mrs. Gross’ and then on Friday to catch our flight home. It is a little sad but also exciting because I have to go away in order to come back. I know the Lord has something else in store for my life and I am excited about that. PTL for allowing me to have this time here in Nigeria.
Your brother in Christ,
TJ Kerttula

Nigeria Update 10

2010-04-21T15:36:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone this may be the last letter I am able to send out. We have been very busy. It has been really nice to have the Secondary student’s home and the University students also. I enjoy hanging out with them and talking with them. We have gotten into some good spiritual conversations. Last week we did our film shows for three nights. I thought I should explain more thoroughly what we do. If it is in a village out a little ways I take the car and I take anywhere from 4 to 7 guys with me and we set up everything, do a Bible story with power point, give the gospel message and then greet everyone. Last night I was in a village right up the way from Otutulu, it was mostly Muslim. There is only one Christian family there. We got there and people came but during the whole show they were talking and were not really acting interested. The noise kept getting louder and louder. Finally I just stopped and people kept talking and I waited and waited. It was louder and finally I got up from where I was sitting and I told them that if they wanted to talk they needed to go across the road. They just stood there and made fun of me. The noise wasn’t as loud so I continued and finished. We decided because they were not listening that they might read gospel tracts. That did not work very well. They were fighting over the gospel tracts. I decided that I needed to leave they were hitting me because they did not get one and grabbing me trying to keep me from leaving. Finally I was able to get to the car. We got in and got out of there. It was not what I wanted to happen at all. The gospel is not something to fight over it is a free gift. I was not pleased with what happened there. I could feel all night that Satan was trying to stop the show but I thank the Lord that we did not get hurt or anything. Friday, Shana and I went to a private University for a matric ceremony, as the brother and sister of the girl that had invited us. When the girl introduced us to her friends she called us her brother and twin sister. The Nigerians laughed because of couse we are white and they are black. LOL :D This weekend, I was able to go to Agatu land. Another tribe from Nigeria. We were there for two days doing evangelism. I was happy that I was able to visit another tribe. There was a man named Ali who was a Muslim and came to Christ, PTL. I was able to speak on Discipleship at the meeting there. We had to go three ways with interpretation. That was fun. ;) I was able to speak to the evangelist that I have been going with and I am glad we were able to discuss some of the things that were not good that were going on here. He was able to explain some things and I have been very pleased with what he is doing and his ministry. He is not pleased with what the churches are doing here, with extorting money out of their members. The church planters are settling where they are at and are happy with their salaries from the church goers and don’t want to move. The denominations hate each other and don’t want to try to work together for the gospel. So this man is trying to bring them together. The leaders are too worried about getting more members in their church so they can get more money, so they don’t work together. They don’t care if they really know the gospel as long as they are coming to their churches. I am thankful for this man because he is standing against what is wrong. All he cares about is getting the gospel out to all people. PTL for him. Please pray for the churches here and for this evangelist, named James Enamaku. There has recently been a problem with adoption from Nigeria. The judge has denied the adoption of a little girl after many kids had been adopted out of here. They are taking their case to the attorney general today. Pray for them as they go there. Less than two weeks until I come home. The time is too short but I have to go because there is a need wherever I go so for now I will say goodbye to this place and then hope that I might come back here soon. :D I hope all of you have a great day and thank you for your prayers.
Your bro in Christ,
T.J. Kerttula

Nigeria Update 9

2010-04-13T14:25:00.000-06:00

Hello brothers and sisters in Christ,
It is only a small while until we leave here. It is a sad thing but we are working hard to make the most out of the rest of this trip. This last week we did film shows in the nearby villages. Many people came to watch. They love watching it and keep asking for me to come back. I want to make it to a few new villages this week. We have been doing kids club here for the kids almost every afternoon. The kids love it. They like the stories and they love singing. Grandpa got one of the vehicles running that needed the engine rebuilt. Every day I am able to go into the village and talk with people, mostly Muslims. There is a young man there that I have been able to get to know and encourage. He has become a good friend. The kids love our attention so we spend as much time as we can with them. They are so much fun.
This weekend I went to Bassa (another tribe in Nigeria). There were three of us that traveled, a Bassa, an Igala and an American. We traveled an hour and a half away to get there. I got my first taste of Nigerian driving. Yeah that was fun. There is no such thing as stay on the right side of the road when you are driving. As long as there is no traffic on the other side of the road you are able to drive on it if it is better. :D It’s crazy. Another thing that is crazy is that all these tribes are so close and they all speak a different language. We had a very good time there in Bassa. We showed a slide show at a small village but before we could show it we had to go talk to the chief of the village. The chief told us that it was good white man is here and that the village needed to hear about Christ and that he, himself was a Christian and that we should show the film show. So we went and had the film show. The chief even showed up to watch and was very pleased with it. We went and stay at the mission compound in Odenyi that night. The next morning we went to another village and I was able to speak to them there. They were very happy that we had come. We drove back right away after the service very happy that everything had gone well. We came into Iyale the village where the Otutulu road begins. There was a pagan festival going on there so the Juju dancers were there along with many other people, with very big sticks. The Juju’s stop the cars and try to make you give them money if you don’t you get beaten with a stick. The first few groups I came to got out of the way very quickly but then I was forced to stop because there was a large crowd of people in the middle of the road. They were hitting my vehicle with their sticks and demanding money. I told them no and told them to get out of the way finally a man came out of the crowd and told them to get back and let me through because I was a white man. He got me through the crowd of people and as I was going there were still people asking for money and hitting the vehicle. They asked me and I told them no I would not give them money. You might think well why not just give them money so you could get through but the fact is if I were to give them money I would be giving money to Satan and I will not promote extorting money out of people. It is a sad thing they are doing but the Lord definitely had His hand in everything and was protecting me and the men with me. PTL. Sunday afternoon we arrived home and found out that there was a baptism going to take place. Seven young people showed that they wanted to give their lives wholly to Christ. I am so happy for them. Some very good friends were baptized Sunday and they are serious about their decision. PTL.
On the way back I met a man that was a Muslim and wanted to greet me. He told me he was a king because of the gold watch and bracelet he was wearing. I used that opportunity to tell him of the true King but he told me that because I was young I did not know anything and that because he was old he knew everything. I knew I could not reason with him so I said goodbye but he asked me to come back and sit with him. So I will do that before I leave.
Monday I went to a dinner in Anyigba for many of the people in missions work. I wish I hadn’t. I got back late and there was a sick man that I knew about here in otutulu that I was going to witness to. That night he died and I did not get a chance to speak to him. :( It saddens my heart and makes me remember that I must go on with the Lords work and stand boldly to tell everyone about Christ. The Lord could have kept that man alive until I had a chance to talk to him but He didn’t. Last night it was time for that man to go.
I wish I could stay here for a much longer time and I am praying about what the Lord would have me to do. There is such a great need here for missionaries. There are very few white men left in this region of Nigeria that stay here all year long. I hope that you would pray with me about this. Also please pray for the people here that there would be a revival in their hearts. That there would be more people that want to follow after God wholeheartedly, that want to be Disciples of Christ. There are many nominal Christians here in Nigerian much like in America. There are in the churches so that they can look spiritual in front of people. Pray for the church at Otutulu that they would continue in their evangelistic efforts. God is so good. Ojo wa chenyo.
Thank you all for your prayers.
Your brother in Christ,
T.J. Kerttula

Nigeria Update 8

2010-04-06T15:00:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone Happy Easter. Easter weekend was here and is gone. This was my second Easter that was away from my home in Montana. This last week I showed film shows three times at different villages. I am trying to do it on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We have a kids club in the afternoon everyday and I am meeting with a young man, a little older than me, to pray with him and share God’s Word with him. We have become very good friends. On Friday we had a meeting in the morning for Good Friday, to talk about Christ’s death. Saturday afternoon I went to Anyigba to meet with a man to do evangelism. We went to a small village outside of Anyigba called Agala Ogune. We were able to talk to many people there. A group of young men that were willing to listen and were thinking about what I had to say were the first we talked to. I was to speak there the next day so my interpreter took me to the building and then we met with one of the members of the church. He gave us chairs and we sat down and talked with him for a bit. His mother came along, a Muslim, and she sat and talked with us. I was able to share the gospel with her and at first she started to argue and then she became very quiet and she said that she would have to think about all of what I said. Later on I saw she was deep in thought sitting in front of her house. Several other women came and talked with me. I was able to give them all the gospel in full. They listened intently. Most were Muslims. One of them wanted to believe in Jesus Christ and asked God to help her unbelief. Then some kids came along to see the Enefu (white man). My interpreter asked the kid if he knew who Jesus Christ was and if he wanted to accept him. The boy said yes. So my interpreter asked me to lead him in the confession prayer. I quickly said that I wanted to ask the kid exactly what he understood. I asked him who Jesus Christ was. He said that He died on the cross. But that was all he knew about Him. He was a Catholic. So was able to ask him where he was going when he died and why he was going to heaven. He answered that he was going to heaven because of good works. After that I was able to explain to the growing crowd of kids who Jesus Christ was and what He had done for us. Many of those kids came to Christ that night. I asked the Catholic boy if he believed that Jesus died on the cross or his sins and that works could not get him to heaven and that Jesus was the only way to heaven. The boy said that he believed that. So we prayed with him. After that the boy had the biggest grin on his face. PTL for the work He is doing here. The thing that disturbs me is that there is no follow up on the kids and anyone else that come to Christ. So pray for the people here that are coming to Salvation, that God might raise someone up to disciple them. Sunday morning was amazing. When I got to the church there were three brothers there at breaking of bread. It reminded me of home. The church was very small and because the women were all gone to a funeral there were only men and small children there. Five more men showed up for the next service. I was very blessed to be able to meet with this assembly of believers and I hope that I encouraged them. My Easter Dinner consisted of pounded yam and okra soup with hot pepper in it. MMMMM my favorite!!!!! :D My grandparents and Shana were in Anyigba also meeting with a small assembly. We met up and went on back to Otutulu. Yesterday morning we had another meeting in the morning and then kids club and filmshow at night. Our days are busy with many things to do and preparing for the next thing that is happening. The filmshows have been great because the secondary school students are home and they love to come out with me and do the film shows. We have a great time and have become good friends. They are like little brothers to me.I witnessed to a Muslim man today but though he does not know what he believes he says that he can not change from being a muslim. :D Well thank you again for all your prayers and I hope you all had a good easter. Jesus has risen from the dead and if He had not, the work the Lord has allowed me to do here would be in vain and all of my preaching would be in vain and my hope would be in vain and the life which I now live now would also be in vain. But He has risen so none of this is in vain. PTL
Your bro in Christ,
T.J. Kerttula

Update 7 Nigeria

2010-03-31T14:48:00.000-06:00

Update 7
One month until we reach America soil. Our time is flying by. This week was an interesting week. You know that I was going over the Niger river to a conference. We went to Ika first and then Grandpa and I went with Mr. Dibble to the conference. He attends these conferences every month. The drive was a day’s journey. We left at 10 am and got to the village at 11 pm. Along the way we stopped at Lukoja at one of the few fast food restaurants. Basically only for rich Nigerians. Mr. Biggs was the name of the place. We each got chicken and rice which tasted delicious. The Nigerians greeted us in Idoma (a different tribe and language than Igala. The greeting in that language is “Uma”) and then proceeded to unload our bags and told us to go sit. They did not want us to work but to rest. I think that is the hardest part to do just to sit because I am so used to helping out. Mr. Dibble told us to sit down or we would offend the Nigerians. So we sat down and watched them unload everything. Then we set up our mosquito netting and went to sleep by 12 am. The next morning we woke up early at 6 am and at 7:30 we had breakfast. The meal was one of guinny corn gruel and fried yam. It tasted pretty good. At 9am the meetings started and let me tell you about the structure of the conference. They have three hour sessions with 2 or 3 speakers. This time they had 3 speakers, each having 1 hr to speak. So they go from 9 am to 12 pm and then there is a 3 hr siesta and then they call come back at 3pm for another round of three hours, ending at 6 pm. So every day there is 6hrs of Bible teaching. :D This conference lasted for three days, so it is a total of 18 hrs of Bible teaching. I loved the hunger for the Word that these people have!!! The conference was outside because there was no building that could hold the amount of people there for the conference. There were around 800 people there (a small crowd according to the Nigerians). They all sat on benches for three hrs straight. As it went on many started falling asleep but there were several people with long sticks there to poke them if they started to fall asleep. I thought that was a good idea. After the first session of teaching many came up to greet us. To my surprise many came up and started talking to me rapidly in their language as if I knew what they were saying and I had no idea what they were saying. Finally when I made them understand that I did not understand. They simply asked if I was Mark (Tom Wheelers Son) Mr. Dibble quickly told them that I was not Mark. Apparently I look much like him. So it made for an interesting weekend. I really enjoyed the people there. They were so hospitable and cooked some of the food without too much pepper. The outhouse was interesting. It was the only private place that whit man had. It was a hole in the ground with a grass mat around it. The grass mat had holes in it, so it wasn’t really that private anyway. One of my favorite meals is pounded yam with Okra soup. Yummy. Anyway, on Friday night I went out onto the soccer field and showed a film show with the projector. Let me tell you I have never preached to that many people ever. There were people from the conference, from the village, people passing through would stop and come over, so much so that, there was people all over the place. There were around 200 people that heard the gospel that night and they loved the pictures. PTL One man came up to me and told me it reminded him of his childhood days when missionaries would come through the village to show film shows. He said it made him very happy that other children would remember this also. We stayed there until Sunday morning and left after breaking of bread for Ika because we wanted to get back before to late. So we travelled back almost the same as we came. The horn on our car stopped. It is a vital part of driving in Nigeria. But we made it back safely without it. We stopped at Mr. Biggs again. I decided to have a Beef Burger and it tastes nothing like an American Burger. It wasn’t bad though. We got to the Ika road and there was a young man there that needed a ride to Ika so we picked him up. We had two of the people that went to the conference with us. So grandpa asked the young man, Fredrick, if he knew Christ. The young man said yes, then he was asked how he knew Him. Fredrick answered that he worshiped him. I, unsatisfied with that answer went on to ask him who Jesus was. Fredrick answered that he did not know. I asked him why he was worshipping someone he did not know. He did not have an answer for that. I proceeded to talk to him about eternity and the other man that was with us, Edo, helped out. We talked about Christ and what He did for us. We found out the young man was a Catholic. He was relying on works and what the priests said. He had no Bible, so we gave him a New Testament to read. The time we had on the Ika road was much to short. I wish that we had had about another 15 minutes. Pray for Fredrick that he would read the Bible and that it would open his eyes to the truth.
We got into Ika with no problems. The next morning we left from Ika to Otutulu and met two police checks along the way. The police asked for pure water (Money) and we literally gave them pure water. We had some bottles and filled them up for them. They let us go right through. The Lord is very good to us. We got on the Ottutulu road and found that there was a big cat with a bucket on it filling in holes and smoothing out the road. When we got to the orphanage we found out that the governor’s wife was coming Tuesday morning. So they were taking out some of the bumps. So on Tuesday morning we met the governor’s wife. She was a nice lady and she was very happy that we were here and that we wanted to come back for another visit. It took all of 30 minutes for her to come and leave and she brought some groceries for the orphanage. Pray that she would have it in her heart to tell her husband that the orphanage needs a paved road, because time is precious when someone needs medical attention here at the orphanage. The orphanage is also in need of Better security because there was a little girl kidnapped in 2006 and her body was later found on the property dumped by the person. She was raped and killed. It is a sad thing. That is one of the things about getting a paved road in here. There would be more criminal activity and more people coming up here. Anyway that is about all that has been happening around here. Pray that I would be able to use my time as wisely as possible. I will be showing films this week during the nights and then this Sunday I will be going out in the field to speak somewhere. Friday and Monday I will also be speaking. Happy Easter Everyone. Praise the Lord that He rose from the grave so that we can have eternal life. :)
Your bro in Christ,
T.J. Kerttula

Update 6 Nigeria

2010-03-24T02:04:00.002-06:00

Hello Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
This week has been a short week. They days are flying by faster and faster only about 40 days left of our trip. I don’t want it to end I wish I could stay here much longer and I am planning to come back as soon as the Lord will allow it.
Many things have happened this week. We have put the Peugeot back together only to find it was leaking lots of water out the exhaust and into the cylinders. Not good. We have been doing kids club with the kids in the afternoon and that has been going well. I go down and sit under the meeting tree and hand out tracts every day and anytime we go anywhere we usually pick up people who need a ride and I am able to give them gospel tracts as well. Sunday was spent here at the orphanage. Grandpa spoke so I had the week off. Then in the afternoon I went with some of the men from the meeting at the orphanage to a village a couple of miles up the road. We went to talk to a family who had lost a son, he was stabbed to death in a bar fight. We got the opportunity to share the gospel with the family. My Igala greeting skills are improving immensely. When we get home we will show you how to greet someone in Igala. ;) Anyway there were five of the extended family sitting in front of where our car was parked. They wanted dollars. I gave them gospel tracts instead because I didn’t have dollars with me. Then the opportunity to talk to them about the gospel came up. The all spoke English but did not understand me very well. So Simon interpreted. I shared the gospel with them then asked if they believed this. They all answered yes. I asked them if they went to church anywhere. They said no we don’t go to church we go to the Muslim Mosque. Then I asked them why they agreed with me that Jesus died on the cross for their sins. They said, “Oh no we don’t agree with that but we believe in Jesus. He is a prophet of Allah. There is no difference in our religions we will both get to heaven.” As I was going to try to answer him my interpreter said that we had to go, now. We needed to stop the conversation right there. I was frustrated that we had to leave but I tried not to show it. Later in the car he told me I should not be talking to Muslims like that. If I wanted to talk to them I needed to get into a friendship with them, that is the only way to reach them. He told me that the way I was doing it was no good. The fact that he said that I should stop the way I was doing evangelism was something that was a surprise to me. I quietly went home and did not protest. Monday we stuck around the orphanage and got some things done that needed to be done. That night Crystal came over and told us her car had broken down in the next village, the village that we had just been at the day before. I was so happy. We went to take a look at the car. I was able to talk to the men for a couple of minutes but they did not understand as much English as they had said they had. There were many kids around and so I gave many tracts to them. I was excited about that and hoped that they would show them to their parents.  We couldn’t fix it that night so Tuesday morning we went back again and decided to tow it. None of the men I saw before were there that morning. I hope that what I was able to say will stay with them. At least I was able to give them the gospel. PTL for that. This weekend we will be going across the river with Spencer Dibble for a conference, which means I will be speaking plenty. It will be a good experience and I will be able to meet more people. One problem, I think it is in Bassa land so the Igala I have been learning will not do me much good. Oh well that’s how life goes. I am excited about it. Well that’s about all that we have been doing. Thank you for your prayers. I hope that I will get the opportunity to hand out more tracts. I am going to try to get the Ottutulu village done with tracts and then hit some of the other villages around the area. Please pray for me as I have some decisions to make here in Nigeria and also in the States. Nigeria concerning the work I will be doing for the next month or so. The States, concerning this fall and school and things for this summer. Thank you all again hope to see many of you in about a month and a half.
Your bro in Christ,
T.J. Kerttula

Nigerian update 5

2010-03-16T15:11:00.001-06:00

Hello again everyone, I hope all of you are in good health and doing well. I am writing from the orphanage once again. This week has not been as busy as the others have been. We have had plenty of time with the kids. Last week we pulled the engine out of the Peugeot and are repairing it and rebuilding it. I also fixed a motor cart for one of the handicapped fellows here and will be making some more adjustments on it this week. We fixed the well that Tom Wheeler had put in here at the orphanage but it will have to be developed even more. We went to a church in Agbenema about 2hrs from the Orphanage. The man who invited us is trying to start a church that is based on New Testament Principles. These people were looking for something else, besides what the charismatic movement wants to give them. So we stayed and preached on Evangelism, Pride and the Church. Three messages. We were there from 8am to 6 pm. After the last message we had a long question and answer time. It was a really good time. I thank God for the time we had with the believers there.
On Monday we fixed a washing machine. Only eight more to fix. We will be busy this next week with teaching, fixing washing machines, cars and anything else that needs to be repaired. I am hoping to get out and do some evangelism in some of the neighboring villages.
Last week I was able to give out around fifty tracts by sitting down at the meeting tree. Many people stop there to rest because it is a big tree with lots of shade. So anyone that passes by gets a gospel tract. Please pray for one of the Muslims leaders in the area. I gave him a tract as he went past. As He was coming back he tried to give the tract back and I told him I was offended because he did not want to take my gift that I had given him. Then I started giving him telling him about Jesus Christ. He hastily told me he would take the tract and left. :) Well that is what has been happening here. I think the next 6 weeks will go by faster than we think which is sad because I really like it here. Lord willing I will be able to return. I have been asked to come back on a more permanent basis but that is only of the Lord permits it. I am praying about that right now and we will see if that is what the Lord has in store for my life.
You may have heard about the fighting going on here and from what I understand you all are getting the wrong news. They are telling you that it is Christians against Muslims but the fact is that it is tribe vs. tribe. Last week you may have heard of reports in the Jos area of fighting and in my last update I told you about the trouble there. The fact is that there is still tribal wars and that is what most of this fighting is about. Not Christian vs. Muslim. Although that does happen some of the time but most of the time it is just Tribe vs Tribe. There was also an incident in Lukoja of a cement truck running into the market and killing 50 people. All of the cement trucks that came in that day were looted and burned. Some of the drivers were killed. It is a sad thing but that is what the world looks like without Christ. Please pray for the gospel to get out because if many find out about Christ there won’t be so much fighting and violence.
Thank you all for your prayers. I am thankful that I am able to write to you and tell you what is happening here so that you can pray for us. I hope you all have a great week. Thanks again.
Your bro in Christ,
T.J. Kerttula

update 4

2010-03-10T12:48:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone how are all of you? I hope you are all doing well. Right now you may have heard of more trouble in Jos. Reports say that 200 people have been killed by a group of Falanis. They are a tribe here in Nigeria. It is a sad thing. I am not scared of what might happen as many people are here. The Lord is with us. So much has happened in the last few weeks. I have not to be able to update you all because there has been no internet. I have been to a funeral with grandpa. The lady was a believer. She had walked out her back door at night without a light and a poisonous snake bit her. They were not able to get a snake antidote to her on time because we are out in the bush and they do not have refrigerators out here to keep the antidote. It has to be refrigerated. It was a nice funeral. Different than any I have ever been to. The people were glad that white men came because it gives the person that died more prestige. They asked grandpa to speak. It is there custom to ask people to speak 5 minutes before they speak if that much time is given. They fed us after the funeral and we had this stuff called Maltex. I have no idea if we have it in the States but if you ever come across it don’t try it. It is basically non–alcoholic beer and it tastes absolutely disgusting. Grandpa did not tell me that until afterwards but after the first sip I figured it out. I had to have it because it was offensive if I refused it. So I gulped it down trying to smile so they would not be offended. I about threw it up right there but I got some water down before that happened. It basically tastes like strong molasses. Next time I will tell them I don’t know how to eat it. They understand and take it better than us saying we don’t like it. Oh did I tell you it is a coveted drink. Well let me tell you that night I was not coveting that drink. I threw up all of it and all of the rest of the things I had eaten that day. I was so sick. It is not fun being sick and sweating and when you drink water you vomit it up so you are dehydrated. Finally at the end of Saturday the 27th, I felt much better. I slept all day Saturday and then all night Saturday Praise God for a quick recovery. I felt like a new man on that Sunday but grandpa was not feeling well. He was supposed to speak. I decided to fill in for him. The teaching time was first and then the breaking of bread. The thing is they asked me to speak for the teaching time. I was ready for that but the teaching time went right into the breaking of bread and with the 1 minute break I was told I was speaking for the breaking of bread also. You see when they do the breaking of bread they have many brothers that pray and request hymns but one man speaks from a passage of Scripture. So now I thank my dad and Jeff Tackes for encouraging me to share something at the Breaking of Bread at home. That is what helped this Sunday in impromptu speaking as well as the Lord. I have no doubt that He was helping me out the whole time.
There is a man here named Fred. He is crippled and cannot walk but he is the most wonderful man. I love sitting and talking with him about spiritual things. He is the head school master of the primary school. He shows Gods love in all of his actions and words. He is a neat man.
This past week, we took care of Crystals kids while she was away to renew her visa. Daniel Edeh went and got our visas renewed for two more months last Monday and it did not take very long at all. PTL. So we are now able to stay for a few more months.  This week went by quickly and on Friday I left to go to Anyigba on Motorcycle. I had a good trip. Then I met James (the man I am doing evangelism with). We went to a village called Ankpa. It is a big village. I was sorely disappointed in the weekend all together. CMML Nigeria is a very Charismatic group of people. So they like loud noise and dancing around in their services. I am not comfortable leading people to Christ and then having them go to this group of churches, so I will not be with them anymore. I had no idea what I was getting into. Anyway, we went out to do evangelism for one and a half hours in all. I wanted to go out for longer but they said that I should stay. They had very loud music going for almost all day. They say that it attracts people to their churches. I was absolutely astonished. If they want to attract to people to church with music then why are the people coming. It is not because they love Christ but because they like the music. It was a sad fact. The next thing that happened was the night vigil. They stayed up all night Saturday and played loud music. I tried to sleep as I had to speak on Sunday morning. Unfortunately I could not because of the loud music. I told James that it made no sense to me. All the people stayed up all night to worship the Lord but at the Lords Supper they would be asleep. Sure enough my prediction was right. They were asleep during the Lords supper and my message. I don’t think they like my style of preaching because all of their preacher’s yell at the top of their lungs into the microphone. I don’t do that. The third thing that made me mad and made me weep for a long time when I got home to Otutulu. Was what they did to a little girl in their main service. I did not speak at it. This little girl could not mover her arm above her head because her shoulder was hurt and I wish I could have helped her. They asked her to come up with her mother and they started praying all at the same time for her out loud and then the pastor took her by the arm and yanked it up and she let out a scream and sank to her knees. He let the arm fall and then he said there was an evil spirit that was making her arm do this. He asked the congregation if they have enough faith that this girl might be healed. They answered yes and he said that if anyone doubted then she would not be healed. He grabbed her arm again and yanked it up and she let out another scream and he prayed again that the evil spirit might come out. I sat there looking on in horror and prayed that the Lord might have mercy on the little girl, but I did not get up and do anything. I know what they would have said is that I was hindering the healing if I had tried to stop them. That is not the point I should not have been worried about what they have said but about the pain the little girl was going through. Jesus showed compassion on people. He did not hurt them. I am frusterated with myself and I weep bitterly every time I think of it. I wish I had stood up to them but I was too scared to and when the next time comes I am ready to stand up to them. The little girl was not healed. I took a look at her arm afterwards and saw that it looked as if it had been put out of socket but the mother would not let me help the little girl. I was mad at the pastor there and if I could tell you the rest of what happened in that church it would take pages but these were the three main things. Please pray for the little girl and her mother, the pastor told them to come back later and they would pray for her again. I cannot bear the thought of a little going through that again. Pray that I would stand firm if I encounter something like this again.
We left the church and I went back to Anyigba and then on Monday traveled to Otutulu. Pray for me as I will be meeting with James again and telling him that I cannot be a part of a group that is doing this sort of thing. I am a little discouraged by it but just being here with the kids has greatly encouraged me.
I thank you all for your prayers. There is a few people who would like to meet like the example in the New Testament and they are grateful we are here because it gives them some support. So we will be working with them. I am sorry this letter is so long but I wanted you to know all that is going on here. Thank you all again.
Your bro in Christ,
T.J. Kerttula

Third Week Update

2010-02-26T12:32:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,
The Lord has been merciful and good to us. It has been amazing to see His hand in everything. There is much to tell you this week. The work is starting to pick up and I love it. Last week I was in Anyigba for 6 days. I went and did evangelism with Mepa and 28 other people. We went to a town called Dekina to go door to door. Unlike in America they are very open to people walking up and greeting them and talking to them randomly. Visitors are always passing through, but when a white man comes they are even more open. We went out for Friday and Saturday morning to do evangelism from 7am to 10am. I absolutely loved it even though I could not understand most of what they were saying. Sometimes I was able to speak through an interpreter. Most of the people there were in there late 20’s to 85 yrs old. I was the second youngest there. The youngest was a little girl of 11 yrs old. She had come with her mom. We became good friends even though she didn’t speak more than a dozen words in English. On Saturday I was able to witness to two people in English. The first was named John. He was a Catholic. When I started talking to him we talked for a while about the gospel and then I was showing him Eph 2:8-9 and he asked me to sit down and changed the subject to telling me that he would find me an Igala wife before I left. In utter shock I stumbled over my word and then finally said No he didn’t need to do that. I didn’t need a wife. He insisted on finding me a wife and I again said I didn’t need one. He asked me why not and I was saved by the man I had asked for the Igala Bible from as he came up with the verse. I did not have to answer why and I changed the subject back to the gospel. The man listened to me but still wanted to rely on works. So off we went. We met many different people while we were out. Right before we left to go back there were two boys sitting on bench. I had my soccer may I ask you a question tracts( of which I was pleased to find out that they are starting to use them here in Nigeria and Emmaus Correspondence School has the ability to print them) and they were wondering what they were. So I gave them some. They led me to their compound and I gave some more tracts out the other evangelists got into a conversation with some of the parents. The boys brought their brother to me and I got to talk to him about the gospel in English. He was a Muslim and I showed him that It didn’t makes sense and then I talked about hell and heaven and told him I did not want him to go there. As doubt and fear came across his face his hard heart would not let him come to Christ and he quickly cast aside the doubt and fear and said goodbye to me. Ten minutes later as we were leaving he was sitting on a bench reading through the tract. I pray that he might come to know Jesus Christ. His name is Rashad. I am excited to go back out. Currently I am writing from Ministry of Mercy Orphanage in Otutulu. The road here is very bad but we made it safely. Grandpa and I left Anyigba at 5 pm so we could get here on the motorcycle before it was dark. We got to the Otutulu road safely but about a mile down the road we had an accident. We were going through sand and the handle bars broke off, the handle bar mount had snapped in half. God was taking care of us. We did not get hurt. Luckily it was in the sand so it did not destroy the bike and if it had happened on the tarmac (paved road) we would have totaled the bike and could have seriously injured ourselves. The Lord was watching over us and I am thankful for that. The car holding our stuff and Grandpa and Shana was behind us. A Nigerian stopped and I rode to Ottutulu with him on his bike. I paid him and gave him a gospel tract for him and some for his people. We went back and got the bike and will try to repair it.
I know I have gone into depth with my adventures here in Nigeria, but this is only part of them. I wish I could tell them all in detail but I cannot right now. Maybe you will feel you are right here with me. I hope so because I wish all of you could be here with me, especially here at the orphanage. I hope all of you are well. Pray for Rashad and John. This week I will be here in Otutulu and then next week providing the bike is fixed, I will be traveling back to Anyigba and to Ankpa for Evangelism. Every weekend I will be in the Anyigba Area for Evangelism. That will be my base while I do evangelism and then I will travel out from there. Pray for Safety in travel and for the people’s hearts that they might turn away from their idols and follow the living God. Thank you all for your prayers. God is good, God is bigger.
Your brother in Christ,
T.J. Kerttula

2nd week update from Nigeria

2010-02-16T08:50:00.002-07:00

Hello everyone, We have been here in Ika having a marvelous time. The Wheelers and the Dibbles have been very hospitable. We have enjoyed hanging out with the Wheeler kids and their friends. We went down to the river (creek) last week and played Volleyball in knee deep water. It was very refreshing. We had much fun and made many new friends. We have been working on the Engine and Upholstery some but have run into some snags. We should be able to finish up soon if everything works out. Grandpa bought a motorcycle for me and him to ride. Benji Wheeler has taught me how to ride it. It is so much fun. I have been enjoying it. The joke for Valentine’s Day was that I was depressed that I had gotten nothing for Valentine’s day. That no one loved me, because I didn’t even get a Valentine card. But I had fallen in love with my motorcycle. She welcomes me when I turn the key on and even tells me when I am going right or left. Just like a woman!!! ;) lol. Yes, my bike does speak to me. :D
Sunday I spoke to the kids at Sunday school which ended up being the whole church also not because they are all Sunday school age but because they were all in the building at the time and wanted to listen. I used the Evange-cube and the kids loved it and the teachers wanted some more to use. Yesterday night I used the projector for the first time. And the rest of this week I will be using it. Every single night I will be speaking this week. On Thursday morning I will be traveling back to Anyigba to go out with some guys to do evangelism. On Monday morning I will be traveling to the orphanage at Otutulu. After that I have no idea what will happen.
Africa is not what most people stereotype it as. Snakes around every corner and lions or panthers in every tree waiting to bite or kill you. In fact I have not seen a single snake yet or anything more menacing than a dog or a miniature goat. They are more afraid of you than anything else. Malaria is at least a yearly thing for the missionaries here if not two or three times a year and if not taken care of properly it can be dragged out for months. I actually enjoy Nigeria. It is not even close to as bad as everyone makes it out to be. There are cell phones and TV and internet. The worst problem is the water and electricity. It is hard to find clean drinking water in most villages and electricity is unstable. You have it for a few hrs and then it is gone. Very unreliable. Most people will get a TV before they get good drinking water. That’s just the way it is. Motorcycles are essential for most. Some have cars. Motorcycles can get around much easier. The people here are friendly. There is a great need for clean drinking water. Many people die because they do not have clean water. It is a very sad thing.
Pray that the Lord will work in the heart of the kids I will be speaking to tonight and tomorrow and for the evangelism this weekend that we will be doing. I am excited about that. I have nowhere near enough tracts to last the whole time I am here. Pray that the Lord will let them be in the hands of the people that will come to know Him. Well I must get going. That is basically all that happened this week. Hope you all have a great day. Thank you all for your prayers.:)

Response to those who think Jesus is not God

2010-02-16T08:48:00.000-07:00

Dear Mr.Pastor,
First of all I would like to ask you, “What does it mean to be a Christian?”
Second I would like to define who God is. God is made up of three entities God the Father, Jesus Christ (God the Son) and the Holy Spirit. This is what we call the trinity or the tri-unity. Although this word is never used in the Bible we see that there are three entities that make up God.
Third, one of the rules for understanding the Bible is that Scripture interprets Scripture. Another is to look at the context.

[1 John 4.15]
You say that Jesus is “the Son of the ONE God”. First of all it does not say “the One God”. It says the Son of God. This verse in 1 John 4:15 can also read that Jesus is God the Son.

John 10.36
If you look at the whole passage you can see that in John 10:30 that Jesus claims that He and the Father are one or another definition for the greek word is “a unity”. If Jesus claims to be one with the Father but then it says that He is the Son of God how can that be? The only answer is that Jesus Christ is both God and man. He is Son of God and part of the trinity Otherwise your claim says that the Bible contradicts itself.

(1 Cor 8.4,6)
You have neglected the last part of these verses. “When Paul says that there is one God, the Father, and one Lord Jesus Christ, he does not mean that the Lord Jesus Christ is not God. Rather he simply indicates the respective roles which these two Persons of the Godhead fulfilled in creation and in redemption.” (Believers Bible Commentary)
If you are saying that God can only be used of the Father then you have to say that “Lord” always refers to Jesus. What about when it says Lord in the Old Testament.
If Jesus was just a man he could not have been perfect.

He learned to obey the Father day by day. He went through the same things you and I went through, the same temptations but He remained perfect through them. He came to earth perfect, He did not deserve to have the sins of the whole world laid on Him but He willingly took them on Himself so that we could have a perfect stand before God. I don’t believe that He came to earth knowing how to do everything. He had to learn how to walk and talk. He had to learn how to read. It didn’t just come instantly. He had to learn to obey the Fathers will because there was temptation not to.
If you had studied Greek translation of this verse you would know that this translation of the word “perfect” is an unfortunate translation. The word here should be “complete” instead of perfect. Jesus was always perfect. He had to suffer and that is what made Him the complete sacrifice for our sins. Without His suffering there would have been no sacrifice and without a sacrifice there would have been no salvation and no Christianity. If you must insist on using the word “perfect” then you can still say He is the perfect sacrifice for all time. (Hebrews 1-13) How I get this is because it talks about Him being the author of eternal Salvation later on in the verse and before it talks about His suffering. In between His suffering and the authorship was His death, the sacrifice of His life.

Now if you are saying this you are saying that Jesus was just a man. If Jesus was Just a man then we should all give up Christianity. There is no way that Jesus Christ could be sinless. You see in the Old Testament the Sacrifice for a sin offering had to be unblemished and spotless. If Jesus was just a man and not God, He could not have been unblemished and spotless. Jesus Christ is the second Adam. The first Adam had the chance to be perfect but he messed it up and sinned. Jesus Christ was perfect and through His perfection He was able to be the perfect, complete sacrifice to satisfy God’s wrath. These verses are talking about Jesus coming down to earth as a man. Jesus Christ gave up His glory in heaven and came humbly to earth as a man because God the Father wanted to show His love for us by sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross for my sins.

This man, Colin Brown, needs to study his Bible a little more. Let’s look at the Beginning.
Gen 1:26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
Who is the OUR speaking of here? It has to either be more than one God or there has to be more than one being that makes up God.
If Mr. Brown had looked farther down in His study of John 1 He would have seen verse 14. But first I want to look at verse 2. HE was in the beginning with God. Who is HE? The Word is HE. If you say that the He is God you are saying that God was in the beginning with God. It doesn’t make sense. “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” Apart from HIM nothing has been created. Now in Verse 14 “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” The Word became flesh. The Word was in the beginning with God and was God. If the Word was with God and was God and then the Word became flesh there is no explanation but that the Word is the pre-incarnate Christ. This proves that Jesus Christ is God. The Word dwelt among us and we saw His glory. The glory of the Only Begotten from the Father. This proves that Jesus Christ was both God and man.

If the Word was not a living being (but only a Word or Thought), then that Word / Thought was called God. You have just defied a Word and called it God.

If we are talking about the deity of Christ then let’s look at Colossians 2:9 “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,”. Try to explain away that one. Jesus Christ fully God and fully man. I know that it is hard to understand and even I cannot understand it fully. It is just like thinking of eternity. It will go on and on forever. There is no way to explain it. There are many things that we cannot explain. We would like to try to explain them away and understand everything.

John 5:18 “For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.” The Jews wanted to kill Jesus because He was making Himself equal with God. Jesus claimed that He was equal with God. The only way this could happen is if He was part of the Godhead.

These verses say that Jesus is God.
Colossians 1:15 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”
Hebrews 1:3 “And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”
Titus 2:13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,
These verses make the claim and the Greek connects God and Savior into one person -- Jesus Christ.
Consider Revelation 22:13 along with Isaiah 41:4; 44:6-8; 48:11-12.
Jesus Christ is talking in Revelation 22. If you decide to overlook these things then you are picking and choosing what scriptures make up your stand. You are not looking at scripture as a whole. You are only taking what you want, what fits your view. You are not letting your view be fit by what is in scripture.
Sir I have already found the truth. The truth is that Jesus Christ, both fully God and fully man, died on the cross for my sins, was buried and rose again to show that He had conquered sin and death. If one puts their faith and trust in Jesus Christ they shall be saved. If they don’t they will be damned in Hell for eternity. You deny that Jesus Christ is God then there is no way to heaven for you because there is no way that He could save us unless He was perfect. If you refuse to believe this what are you going to do about John 10:30? Are you going to Say that Jesus is a liar? If He is a liar then He is also a sinner and therefore cannot be the perfect sacrifice and cannot take away the sins of the world. If He is a liar then there is no hope of salvation because there was no perfect sacrifice. If Jesus was lying then there is no Christianity. Just something for you to think about.

Also if you want to learn more listen to the message The Triune God and look at the study notes at this website. http://cbf.thelivingword.us/Messages/StudyDays/TheologyProper/TheologyProper.html
Scott has posted the verses for you to look at and if you cannot accept them to be true then you are saying that the Bible contradicts itself and therefore you cannot be a Christian.
I have presented my stand. I have showed you what God’s Word says. If you have questions I would be happy to answer them.
T.J. Kerttula

As I Am Over the Ocean and Over the Sea

2010-02-13T08:53:00.000-07:00

As I am over the Ocean and over the Sea
I want to bring you back with me
To a land that is foreign to both you and I
To a land that needs love from a new supply
To a land that needs Jesus as the Christ
And all that His love has given for a price
That we might have compassion and strength
To carry the load of the sleeping saints
That have died in the jungle giving all their life
To the work that has given hope to many lives
To the work that has given hope to many lives
As I am over the ocean and over the sea
This what I pray for you and me

First week in Nigeria

2010-02-10T06:54:00.003-07:00

Hello everyone. I am in good health and doing well. Figuring out how everything works. There is much need here in Nigeria I wish I could become a doctor, teacher, mechanic, dentist, and many other trades in order to help these people as much as possible but unfortunately it would take to long in order to become all of those things. I have had many new fruits and foods all of which I have enjoyed. There are many people with cell phones out here even in the bush. Right now it is very humid and hot. I feel sticky, but it doesn't bother me to much. It might be much to your dismay that I have not see a single snake or scorpion and do not wish to see one either. All of the people here are friendly. We stayed with Caroline Gross for the last 5 days. Yesterday evening we arrived in Eka where the Dibbles and Wheelers live. It is a very nice place. This weekend I plan to go out into the bush with Spin Dibble. I am excited about that. I have been learning more and more Igala every day. It has been a good week. Pray for the Assembly in Anyigba. They have gone a little off the deep end lets just say. I have the opportunity to go into the bush often and also teac in Otutulu at the Orphanage, teach school that is. I hope that every thing is going well with all of you. Thank you for your prayers. More updates will follow Lord willing.

Let Your Light Shine

2010-02-02T19:21:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about a discussion we had on Monday night it was very interesting. It was on Matthew 5:26. Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify the Father who is in heaven.
Your light is not your works. It is how you do your work. If you are going it with a cheerful heart and do the best you can do then you are letting your light shine through you. If your work is glorifying to God then your light is shining but if you grumble and complain then your light is not shining in you. If your work is glorifying to God then it is worthy to be glorified. Notice all the glory goes to God the Father who is in heaven. It is not glory to yourself it is glory to God. If you work for God’s glory then God will get the glory. What an amazing verse to think on. So let us glorify God in our work because He deserves all the glory for saving us from our sins.

What?!! You don't have to go to a different country to be a missionary???!!!

2010-01-26T09:24:00.002-07:00

I find it amusing when people say that to be a missionary one must go to different lands or cross cultural borders. I whole heartedly disagree with that. I will explain why in a bit first I want you to look at three passages.
Mat 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
Mat 28:20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Mar 16:15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

Act 1:8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."

The word missionary is never found in the NASB, NKJV, ESV, or NIV. So where did it comes from. Our Lord Jesus entrusted us with a mission or a charge to preach the gospel. That is how we now get the word missionary which literally means one who carries out a mission. If one is a missionary of Jesus Christ, then he must carry out the mission of preaching the gospel. I would say that anyone, who preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ whether in the US or any other country is a missionary.
Looking back up that these verses we have to assume that not all of these things happen all at once. First we go. Go doesn’t necessarily mean to go a different country, or different State or even a different city. To be a missionary you don’t have to cross cultural boundaries or go to distant lands. It just means to go out wherever you are to preach the gospel. To go where the Lord as put you at that time of your life. If you think about it someone had to stay in Jerusalem and share the gospel with the Jews. We see that there was a Church in Jerusalem. How did that start unless someone was preaching the gospel there?

Go where? Into all the world, Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the remotest parts of the earth. Many people think that go means to go to Africa or to South America or to anywhere but the US. The fact of the matter is that although many people in the US say they are Christians they have no idea what the gospel is. The US is in need of missionaries as much as many other countries. All of you that preach the gospel here in the US are missionaries as well as those that preach it in other countries. We must GO. We must preach the gospel to the world. Those that come to Christ are baptized and taught to observe everything our Lord commanded. Why should or would the Lord send you to a different country to preach the gospel, if you are not preaching the gospel where you are at now. Everyone that preaches the gospel is a missionary. No matter where you are in this world, that is where the Lord has put you and you need to go and preach the gospel. Those people need to hear the gospel to. So as fellow missionaries let us all go out and preach the gospel in the towns, cities, and countries where the Lord has put us for the time being. Let us be missionaries where we are at and if the Lord works out opportunities to go other places them let us go to other places.

January Evangelism Part 1

2010-01-18T19:13:00.002-07:00

I haven’t written a note on the evangelism going on around Helena so I decided that it was time to update everyone. Just about every week I go out sometime to do evangelism. All of those time have been very good times. Although the work has been going on for a long time here we have not talked to most of Helena and the surrounding area. When people see that it is a “religious thing” they either throw the tracts away or they give them back. My heart goes out to all of those people. A couple of weeks ago I walked up to this African American and gave him a tract and he said is this a religious thing or something. I said yes. He said so If I were to point a gun to your head right now and tell you to deny Christ what would you say. I simple said “NO”. He asked why would you say that. I said I know where I am going when I die. He said Praise God, Your ready to go right now. That is a good thing brother. I was just testing you. He said with a big smile on his face. That is the first time I have ever had a believer do anything like that to me.

On Saturday we went out and again met people that say that they believe in Jesus Christ but they do not know what the gospel is. As I was talking to a kid I asked him what the gospel is. He said it was in the Bible, the first 4 books of the Bible. I then asked him what the word gospel meant. He didn’t know. He guessed it was an account of something. I told him it is the Good News. Then I asked him what the Good news was. He didn’t know. I asked him why he called himself a Christian. He said because the people at the church he went to said to pray this prayer and then you are a Christian. Oh what a deception. It makes me want to weep for those that are being led astray by these people. They are no better than the Catholics, who believe that good works get them to heaven. I got to share the gospel with this young man. He told me that it made sense to him more than what the people at the church he was going to said. It seemed to be a day full of people from this same church. As we went on, we met some kids in front of the movie theater. They were also people that went to this church. There were 4 kids and all but one of them was goofing around the whole time. As I was talking to them about the Ten Commandments one of them pipes up and asks aren’t you TJ. I said yeah not really knowing who this girl was. I kept going and gave them the gospel and they told me that that’s what they believed. I then asked them if they were living a life that God would want them to live. All of them said no. I said why not. They told me that they didn’t need to because Jesus had forgiven them already so they could sin and still be forgiven. I told them you know as far as I am concerned I can’t tell that you are different from the world and the Bible tells us that we are to be in the world but not of the world. They were kind of like whatever and started goofing around again. That’s when it hit me. The girl that asked me if my name was TJ is one of the girls that went to Frontier Bible camp when she was younger. She had heard the gospel but still did not know it. I talked to them for a little bit longer about random things and then said good bye. It has made an aching in my gut that this church is leading people astray. I only wish there was something that I could do about it. The only thing right now is to keep proclaiming the gospel and praying for those people that we would be able to proclaim the gospel to more of them. Remember just because they say they are a Christian doesn’t mean that they are saved. The Lord is working. Pray for all of us here in Helena. That is the latest in the Helena Evangelism. For more stories from one of the guys I go with. Go to http://2alltheworld.blogspot.com

Hiding or Shining

2009-12-30T19:06:00.002-07:00

As I woke up I looked out the window and I saw blackness. So thick that it kept even the brightest lights from shining. Staring out into the early morning there was nothing but blackness to see. I got ready for work and went out to get into my car. The fog is what made the morning so thick I couldn’t see very far. As I drove to work in the thick fog I thought about the fog and then suddenly as the sun finally started to rise it started to get lighter. I was thinking about how the world was so black, without hope before Jesus Christ came. I thought of how the disciples and all of the people that followed Him felt as He gave His last breath on the cross. What a dark world that was. What were these people thinking as Christ died? They were thinking there is no hope. Our King is dead. We are left with nothing. As the fog melted away the sun started to rise over the majestic mountains and my next thought was. There was hope because Jesus Christ rose from the dead, just as the sun was rising. The darkness melted away and the light shown bright. That Light passed its light on to others who passed the Light onto others so that there are lights shining all over the world even in the darkest parts. The next thought that came to me was how the Bible tells us to be “in the world but not of the world.” But do we let our lights shining brightly or do we hide them so no one can see then, because we fear what man can do to us. We fear what man might think of us. It causes us to go with the flow of the world instead of standing firm as a beacon on a hill. My favorite verse is Matthew 5:16 "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Are you letting your light shine before men? Or are you hiding it? As for me I will let this song tell you what I am going to do. This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine Hide it under a bushel? No! I'm gonna let it shine Let it shine til Jesus comes, I'm gonna let it shine Such a simple children’s song but we can learn so much from it. I hope that you will think about whether your light is shining as bright as it can be shining because Jesus is the Light and we should want to share the Light with everyone.

NIGERIA

2009-12-10T22:50:00.002-07:00

For those of you who have not heard I am headed to Nigeria the first of February for three months. Our visas came through this morning. I will be traveling with my younger sister and my grandparents. My grandparents used to be missionaries there. We will be visiting Ministry of Mercy orphanage and traveling the bush. I have been asked to give a few messages during my time there. I am super excited about all of this and I can't wait. I think reality hasn't hit me yet but I am sure it will soon. Thank you all for your prayers.

I Hope I Go to Heaven.

2009-11-14T21:15:00.001-07:00

I was downtown doing street evangelism this afternoon. It was cold and not many people were out but as the Lord allowed me to talk to three people, I noticed a phrase that all of them said. You can probably guess what it was by the title of this note. They all said, “I hope I go to heaven.” That is an interesting phrase. I got to thinking about it and I realized that many people have this same mindset. They say they hope they go to heaven. If we truly believe in Jesus then we should know that we are going to heaven. When we say I hope I go to heaven, there is some doubt involved. It is like saying I hope I win the lottery. There is a HUGE chance that we will not win the lottery. When we say I hope I will go to heaven we are saying that there is a chance that we might not go to heaven. Are we saying that Jesus might not be able to save us then? Is our faith so small that even though we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior we still are not certain, not convinced that we will go to heaven. It seems like we are showing that our faith is not fully in Christ. Like there is a chance that Christ might not be able to save us. I am convinced that Christ has saved me and that I am going to heaven. I know for a fact that I am going to heaven because I have put my faith in Jesus Christ. Christ Alone can save us. So when asked where I am going when I die I will say I am going to heaven. What will you say?

Atheists Doubt?!

2009-11-05T23:06:00.003-07:00

It’s funny how sometimes people seem so confident. I meet a lot of confident Atheists and there is no used arguing with them. They think that they are always right. I think that just planting a seed of doubt in their mind is the best way. Just by presenting the gospel. When I was a kid I used to doubt whether I was saved or not (now I know that I am for certain).Why couldn't Atheists also doubt? I am certain that Atheists also doubt their beliefs and think that there is a possibility that there is a God out there somewhere. They shove that thought down and say there is no God. When they doubt they loose their confidence. So if you can plant a seed of doubt about whether they are right or not then it might get them thinking. I think this is a better approach rather than arguing with them. Arguing never gets anyone anywhere and most Atheists don’t listen to logic anyway. These are just some thoughts I had the other night and I wanted to write them down. Let me know what you think. Am I totally wrong about it?

Isaiah's example

2009-11-01T23:09:00.008-07:00

As my dad was preaching this morning I was very convicted about this and wanted to share it with you all. The message was on Isaiah 5 and 6. As we looked at the six woes on Judah in Chapter 5, we saw a parallel to the United States and where it is headed. It is crazy to look at it and very true. Then came the convicting part in Chapter 6.

Isa 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
Isa 6:9 He said, "Go, and tell this people: 'Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking, but do not understand.'
Isa 6:10 "Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim, Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed."
Isa 6:11 Then I said, "Lord, how long?" And He answered, "Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, Houses are without people And the land is utterly desolate,
Isa 6:12 "The LORD has removed men far away, And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
Isa 6:13 "Yet there will be a tenth portion in it, And it will again be subject to burning, Like a terebinth or an oak Whose stump remains when it is felled. The holy seed is its stump."

Are we like Isaiah? Do we say here am I Lord send me!? Or do we make excuses like Moses made. I can’t speak to people. I’m afraid. I just can’t do it oh Lord. Are we willing to go and do whatever the Lord wants us to do? Are we willing at all or do we just want to stay in our comfort zone inside the church and say They will come to us if they want to know about Christ. I want you to notice what the Lord said. He says “Go and tell this people”. Strangely familiar. Jesus Christ also told us to Go and preach the gospel; to go and tell the gospel to all creation. Obviously if we are to go that means that we have to go somewhere where there is people who need to hear the message. We aren’t going to give it to people we know are believers. Now let’s take a look at verse 11. Isaiah says “Lord how long?” The Lord replies until everything is utterly destroyed; until Babylon comes to take Judah captive. Isaiah never saw Babylon come which means he preached this until he died. Judah didn't even listen to him, but Isaiah was still obedient. Are we being obedient? Even though no one may listen to us we still need to preach the gospel. We also like Isaiah should preach the gospel of Jesus Christ until we die or until the rapture comes. What an amazing example Isaiah is to us. We should be following this example instead of making excuses. We should be obedient to Christ command even though no one may listen; though no one may care. So STOP making excuses and GO willingly!

The Lord works even in what we think is bad circumstances

2009-10-25T22:04:00.002-06:00

I find it amusing what the Lord does to us when we make excuses for what the Lord would have us to do. On Friday morning I woke up to rainy weather and it continued through the day off and on. I was planning to do evangelism that day and I thought to myself. Hmm I kind of don’t want to go out in the rain but I had made a commitment to go out with the guys and so we went out and we had some of the best conversations that we have had in a long time. As the night went on the weather got worse and worse but the Lord was working in the hearts of those people and they stopped to talk to us. The Lord is good. I find that in the worst weather we have some of the best conversations. Praise the Lord for such a great time out evangelizing.

Teach Me What It Means

2009-10-23T09:02:00.000-06:00

The original is a hymn called " O Teach Me what it Meaneth" by Lucy A. Bennett. This one has been changed a little bit and put into more modern terms. I hope you enjoy it.

Teach me what it means the cross lifted high
Man of Sorrows condemned to bleed and to die
Teach me what it cost you to make me whole
Teach me Savior teach me the value of my soul

Teach me what it means that Sacred crimson tide
The blood and water flowing from your wounded side
Teach me that if none had sinned but myself
Still your blood, Lord Jesus, would save me alone

Teach me what it means for I am full of sin
Grace alone can reach me and love alone can win
Teach for I need You I have no other way
In you alone I hope and I am here to stay

Teach me what it means the rest you give
To all the burdened people who look to you and live.
Because I am a rebel, Your pardon I have received
Because of Christ’s blood, I can, I have believed

Infinite Redeemer I bring no other plea
Because you have saved me, I cast myself on Thee
Because you have accepted me I love and adore
Because of your unfailing love I praise you evermore

Teach me what it means your love beyond compare
Your love that reaches deeper than my depths of despair
Teach me til there glows in this cold dark heart of mine
A deep pale reflection of your love divine

Do people know what the Gospel is?

2009-10-19T10:48:00.003-06:00

Why is it that we think that people know what the gospel is? Many people even people who claim to be Christians do not know what the gospel is. We think that because our nation was founded on Biblical principles that people know what the gospel is. We think that because we are able to worship how we want to and that if you call yourself a Christian then you must know what the gospel is. Many people say the gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ. This is absolutely true but when asked to explain what this is they simply say it is the gospel. The question I ask is what is the Good News of Jesus Christ? What is the gospel? This is the question I ask to those people who claim to be Christians. When asked this many of these people get offended that I would ask them that question. Why are they offended? It is because they either don’t know or they don’t like it that I would actually ask a “Christian” that question. If someone asked me this question I would jump at the chance to share the gospel with them. What gets me is when someone who claims to be a Christian says that they don’t want to talk about it. What! You don’t want to talk about Jesus Christ and what He has done for you?! You don’t want to talk about the gift of eternal life that has been given to you?! What madness is this? There is no reason Christians should be offended by that question and why Christians shouldn’t want to talk about their relationship with Jesus Christ.
On the other side we assume that most unbelievers have heard the gospel but in reality they have not and if they have most of the time it has been corrupted with books and movies like the “DaVinci Code” and a lot of other books Dan Brown has written. People read these books to figure out what the Bible says instead of reading the Bible itself and so they get the wrong ideas. Their minds are twisted to thinking that this is what the Bible says but it is not. When I go out to talk to people there are some crazy wild ideas out there. People don’t understand what the gospel really is. That is why we have to tell the gospel to everyone. There is no one who can be checked off the list of people not to talk to. Everyone needs a Savior! I implore all of you to go out and don’t just pass those people who claim to be Christians by, but ask them to explain the gospel to you. Ask them what the Good News of Jesus Christ is and how to get to heaven. It will be a surprising and eye opening experience.

Youth Retreat 2009

2009-10-12T22:55:00.004-06:00

Top: Self Study, Middle: Red (Nathan Norberg) excited to be at the youth retreat, Bottom: Group Picture.

What an amazing weekend. Youth retreat went very well. We had a record of 85 people that attended. On Friday night I got to share the gospel with all of the guys for devotions. It was really good. I had forgotten how much fun it was to hang out with all of my friends and getting to know new friends a little better. I am thankful for everyone who came. I am also thankful that the Lord allowed me to stay home this year and I am patiently waiting on Him to see what is going to be next in my life. Can’t wait to see how the Lords going to work!

Serving evangelism

2009-09-30T22:34:00.000-06:00

I have been thinking on this for a couple of days. I was at work the other night and these two girls that were serving were trying to get me to talk to them. They are both flirty girls and I don’t usually talk to flirty girls, because they annoy me. So they kept trying to get me to talk to them and told me that we were going to hang out and that they were going to call me and such. Finally I decided that I was going to talk to them if they bugged me again and ask them where they are going to go when they die. As the night went on I did not get the opportunity. So I knew that they would try to keep this up and decided that if they did I would ask them the question. So a couple days later I was getting ready to wash dishes and my boss came in and asked if I would serve supper and then they would bring in someone to wash dishes. So I served supper and can you guess who worked with me that night? That’s right one of the flirty girls. So as we were bussing tables after supper she was trying to get me to talk to her and so I said ok I will talk to you and I asked her the question. She being stunned that I would ask her that and stunned that I was a Christian asked me if I was seriously asking her that question. I said of course I am serious, she told me that she wanted to go to heaven but she thought that she might go to hell and then asked me where I thought she was going. I told her that if she did not believe on Jesus Christ then she was going to hell and repent of her sins. She was stunned again. She then asked me where I was going and I told her that I was going to heaven. Suddenly she got mad at me and said, “So you are saying that because I gave birth to my kid I am going to hell?” She obviously knew that sex outside of marriage was wrong and I said no. I said it is because you have sinned and you do not believed in Jesus Christ. She told me that she did not want to talk to me anymore. She was swearing all night long. She was definitely convicted and mad. So as the night went on I asked the Lord for one more chance to talk to her and he gave it to me. She said do you always make people this mad (in a little more colorful words). I told her only if they were convicted about their sin and she really got mad after that. At the very end of the night she told me that she really wanted to say a lot of things to me and I told her that it wouldn’t have been the first time. And that was it. I found out the next day that she had texted and called a bunch of her friends and told them that a kid told her that she was going to hell because she had a baby. Wow the way people want to justify themselves by making what other people say look absurd. I hope that every time this girl sees me she will be tormented by the question of where she is going when she dies, until she finally comes to know Jesus Christ as her Savior. It seems like a mean thing to hope for but in reality it is because this girl needs the Lord. The Holy Spirit is working on her and I have planted a seed. It’s amazing to see how the Lord allowed me to serve that night so that I could talk to that girl. What an amazing God we have. I like how these verses put it.

Psa 37:23 The steps of a man are established by the LORD, And He delights in his way.
Psa 37:24 When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, Because the LORD is the One who holds his hand.

God set all of this up before hand so that I could talk to this girl and I am so glad He did. It is amazing to watch how He uses unbelievers and they don’t even know it. God is so amazing!

They Say There is No God

2009-09-24T23:07:00.000-06:00

They look at the beautiful sunrise in the morning and the breathtaking sunset at night.
Yet they say there is no God.
They look at the bright and shining beautiful stars at night
Yet they say there is no God.
They take a look at the beautiful, magnificent mountains.
Yet they say there is no God.
They see the flowers that bloom in the spring with their radiant colors.
Yet they say there is no God.
They see the snow in the winter and not one flake is the same as another
Yet they say there is no God
They use His name as a curse word
Yet they say there is no God
They cry out to Him in their trouble
Yet they say there is no God.
They think everything happens by chance
They say there is no God.
When they look at the sunrise, sunset, the stars in the heavens, the flowers, the mountains, the snowflakes what do they think?
They cast their thoughts aside and say there is no God
How can they say there is no God?
It is because they are fools. Psalms 14 and 53
They do not know what they are saying when …
They say there is no God.
They are rejecting the existence of the One who created them.
They are rejecting the existence of the One who sent His only Son to die on the cross for their sins.
They don’t realize what they are missing because…
They say there is no God.

Thoughts

2009-09-24T22:42:00.000-06:00

I wrote this a while ago and forgot to post it.

Starlight glistens across the water as I look out across it to the other side wishfully thinking about future plans. Wondering what is next. Praying that I will understand the next part on my life that I would be able to serve the Lord wherever he sends me. As the moon slowly comes up I see the forest around me even better than before. It is so bright I can see all the way across the lake I wonder if there is anyone else that is thinking and praying about the same thing as I am. Then as I look around I wonder how I could live without a God that made all of this and has been with me in everything that I have gone through. Then I realize that I can’t live without Him and it makes me even more thankful that He is there for me. All of my worries are suddenly gone and goose bumps form on my arms as I think about how God is so good and He will work everything out in due time. Finally at peace I go back to my tent for a good night sleep and wake up in the morning content and refreshed.

Not much time

2009-09-22T22:07:00.000-06:00

Yesterday as I was at work (I work at a retirement home) I found out that a dear lady had died and they were having the funeral in the afternoon. Just a few weeks ago I had been cleaning her carpet and I had seen a Gideon’s New Testament sitting on her couch. I went on cleaning and I noticed she had her TV on a channel that was trying to sell very expensive Jewelry and she sat there ooing and awing. I could see she really wanted it. I thought to myself, “She is longing for worldly things that she cannot take with her when she dies.” As I was leaving I picked up the New Testament and asked her if she had read the Bible. She said not much. I told her my favorite story was in this book and I opened it up to the book of John and gave it to her and she turned the TV off and sat down right there and started reading it. I will never know if she accepted Christ as her Savior. My plan was to talk to her about it later and I never got the chance. If some of you were in my shoes you might be kicking yourself because you didn’t share the gospel with her right there and then. The fact of the matter I am not kicking myself. The Lord moved me to share the story of Christ with this woman through the little Gideon Bible she had. Not only that the past is the past and you can’t change it so move forward. It made me think about a few things. So often we hold back talking to people about Christ. Anyone can die at anytime anywhere. When I was thinking about this, I thought there is not much time. The Rapture is coming soon and I want as many people to come to heaven with me as I can get to come. Most people don’t realize the urgency of the situation. This woman’s death showed me the urgency even more than before. People think well they will just reject it what’s the point well it is better that you tried to tell them about Jesus than to just let them go without knowing the gospel and it is not you that they are rejecting but Jesus. We should do everything in light of eternity and for the sake of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So I hope that you will BOLDLY share the Gospel to everyone you know and don’t know because the rapture is near. There is not much time. I would hate to see all those people headed for hell and not even know what the gospel is. So again I implore you to join with me in telling everyone about Jesus Christ.

Apologize? Never!

2009-09-14T23:00:00.000-06:00

The other day I was doing street evangelism and I stopped to talk to 3 kids. 2 of them were Methodists and the other didn’t go to church. I got the chance to share the gospel with them in full and just as I finished a man and a woman came out a store and walked up to me. When telling the woman I was a Christian the woman started yelling at me for telling these kids about Christ when I didn’t know what their belief was and that I should not be telling anyone about Christ. I apologized for telling them( of which I regret apologizing for) and that satisfied her until one of the Methodist boys pipes up and says “I know about John the Baptist too, do you know about Him?” and I told the boy that was very good and that John the Baptist was the man that came before Jesus telling them that Jesus was coming. The woman then turns to me and tells in not so nice a voice. “Stop NOW!” and tells the kids to come with her now. All this time the man is very quiet and as they are leaving the man comes closer and apologizes for the woman action. I am guessing that he was the father of the Methodist boys. As they walked up the street I followed them handing out tracts and the woman looked back at me several time giving me nasty looks all the way. At the end of the street I felt like going up to her and telling her that I was wrong. I was not sorry for telling the boys about Christ. But I did not and I wish I had. I can only pray that those boys will come to know Christ as their Savior someday.We are so apologetic about what Christ has done for us. When someone yells at us we say we are sorry that we shared the gospel. This is not the way we should be acting. We should not apologize we should stand boldly. Apologizing makes it look like we were in the wrong for telling people about Christ and the people we are talking to are right. But you know just as well as I, that is not true. So brothers and sister in Christ stand boldly telling people about Christ and don’t apologize because we have offended these people. The gospel is offensive to those who do not believe, whose minds are set on sinning and following the ways of the world. As for me I will continue boldly proclaiming the gospel and I will not apologize for telling anyone about Christ. I hope that all of you will join me in this.