Announcement: Helena Youth Retreat October 7,8,9, 2012

Hello everyone,
Here is a link to the brochure if you want to download it.
Hope to see you there.
https://sites.google.com/site/salvation2day/events
TJ

Our Response to Those Who Have Wronged Us

Many of us can think of instances where our brothers and sisters in Christ have wrong us in some way or another. I am sure that I have wronged someone.  There are people, believers and non-believers, that have treated us unfairly, unjustly and some have committed sin against us. (When I say committed sin against us, I mean stolen something from us, deceived us, treated us wrongly, etc.) So the question is how do we deal with this? What is the proper response in this situation? Christ is our example. He was wronged by many people. He was accused of doing things that He did not do. They made fun of Him. If we look at 1 Peter 2 we can see what Christ’s response was to them. 

1 Peter 2:18-24

1Pe 2:18  Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable.

1Pe 2:19  For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly.

1Pe 2:20  For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.

1Pe 2:21  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,

1Pe 2:22  WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH;

1Pe 2:23  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;

1Pe 2:24  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.

It is talking to servants here, but these things also apply to us. Verse 19  “if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly.” This finds favor before God.  First of all what is conscience toward God? It is listening to Him, knowing what He would have you do in a situation and standing by it even if it come to suffering unjustly. To do what is right even if you will suffer for it.

In verse 20  Peter asks a good question. If you sin and are harshly treated, disciplined you know you deserve it and endure it with patience.  When you do right you do not expect to be disciplined for it do you? No! Peter is saying patiently endure it. Patiently endure what people do to you and continue to do right. This finds favor in God’s sight.

Verse 21 For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ suffered for you leaving an example for you to follow in His steps. What purpose?  To patiently endure harsh treatment, suffering, mistreatment and to follow in Christ’s steps. When thinking about this the question that must be asked is, Was Christ ever mistreated, unjustly treated, or suffer? When we read the account of the time from right after the Lord’s supper until He died, we see many instances where He was mistreated. In fact, throughout His life Christ was mistreated and suffered persecution at the hand of the religious leaders, these so called” Men of God”, yet He did nothing wrong.  Yet even today there are people just as the Pharisees who go by the name “Christian”, so called” followers of Christ” and yet do they actually walk in His steps? Much suffering and persecution that we face comes from people who claim to be Christians, but who live lives with no regard for Christ nor do they desire to walk in His steps.

Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example to follow in His steps. Verses 22-24 tell us of Christ’s example.

1.       He committed no sin.

2.       No deceit was found in His mouth. He never deceived anyone.

3.       While being reviled(made fun of, insulted, taunted) He did not revile in return

4.       While suffering, He did not threaten them

5.       He entrusted Himself to the Father who judges righteously

6.       He bore our sin in His body on the Cross.

1.       He committed no sin. This is His example to us. We are to strive daily to live a life of righteousness before God. Many will say that is impossible. Yes it is. That is why I use the word “strive”. It is something we are always working towards, we are always moving towards. Also, it is to move towards righteousness before God, not before man. We should be seeking righteousness before God, because man’s understanding of righteousness is not righteousness at all. Let us daily strive to commit no sin, as Christ also committed no sin.

2.       No deceit was found in His mouth. He did not lie, ever. He did not do anything deceitful. Yet many people who call themselves “Christians” say it is ok to lie in certain situations or it is ok to deceive people in certain situations. Christ never did so. If we are following in His steps, no deceit should be found in our mouths either.

3.       While being reviled (made fun of, insulted, taunted) He did not revile in return. People made fun of Him, they insulted Him, and they taunted Him, when He was being flogged before His crucifixion and even when He was on the cross. Yet He did not insult them in return. Jesus said,” Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” Matthew 5:11. We are not to insult those people in return. We are to pray for those who persecute us. Matthew 5:44

4.       While suffering He did not threaten them. He did not say He was going to make them pay for what they had done. We should be counting it all joy, when we face trials of many kinds. James 1:3-4. When we are suffering we should be thanking the Lord that He has allowed us this opportunity to face a trial of this kind, knowing the testing of our faith develops perseverance.

5.       He entrusted Himself to the Father who judges righteously. He gave all of these things that people had done to Him to the Father to judge righteously. It is not up to us to get people back for what they have done to us. We should also be entrusting ourselves to the Father and giving all of those things that have been done to wrong us to the Father. The sins that have been committed against us need to be given to the Father. If they are not then it causes us to sin also.

6.       He bore our sins in His body on the cross. He took all of our sins and the sins of those who have wronged us, to the cross with Him. So that we might die to sin and live to Righteousness. If Christ had not died on the cross, take our sins there with Him and rose again three days later, there would be no reason to follow in His steps. He died and bore our sins so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. We are to be living righteous lives and the way we do that is to follow in Christ’s steps.

Coming back to the original question of how we deal with people who have sinned against us and treated us wrongly. We deal with them as Christ dealt with them. He gave those things that were done to Him up to the Father, the righteous judge.  We also are to give them up to the righteous judge and let Him deal with it.

Update 7 August 11, 2012

Hello everyone,

I apologize for not updating any of you in the last four weeks. I have been busy and we had lost internet at the orphanage for two weeks due to a lightning storm. While I was in Ika I could not talk about what I was doing there. So now I will very briefly update you on what has happened in the last four weeks. I went to Ika and was there for two weeks. I spend some time with Spencer Dibble and his son-in-law Tom Wheeler and his grandson Benji Wheeler. We were working on a secret project for Tom’s wife, Lois. We were remodeling the kitchen and master bathroom. I also spent some time with Mr. Dibble and sat and talked with him for hours on end. We also took some time to fix Crystal’s sons bike. On the Sundays I was there, I was asked to speak.  One of the Sundays, I went to a conference. There was one woman who was there who was used to be a Muslim. She was afraid that her family would kill her if she became Christian. Finally, she snuck away to a church and talked to one of the elders. She left her family and went to another part of the country so she could not be found by her family. I had a great time there.

The next few weeks I went with Mepa Adejo on Evangelism. We went to a village just off the Dekina road a little ways. With it being Ramadan there were many Muslims who were not very happy, because they had no food in their stomachs since early morning. Many of them told us to go away, some said they would visit us, but never did.  Many of them young unmarried ladies, that want to marry a nice white man. Yeah that would be me, all of them asking how my wife was in Igala. 

Our evangelism group

The answer from me was either to ignore what they were saying or to answer no wife, which made them want to follow me around. Some even asked if I wanted a wife, others offered me a wife. Both of which I graciously, but bluntly refused. In the afternoons I had an interpreter, which I was very grateful for, who helped me to understand what the Bible study was about. I will upload a picture of our group sometime soon.

While I was with Mepa, I stayed at Mama Gross’ house, with her daughters Esther Nordman and Ruth Carlson, who were there cleaning out the house and taking their mothers things back to the US.  I had a really good time there in the time I spent there.

I have been working on a project of getting Igala words together to be put in dictionary form. It has been a long process and it will continue for a while as I continue to study the language in the US. I hope to also put tone markings on each of the words, in order to make it so I can understand it better and so that others who desire to learn the language can also.

I decided to return to Otutulu on Saturday evening after I went with Mepa. Normally, I would stay and speak at the chapel there, but this time Daniel Edeh and his family were in Anyigba for the giving away of Mama Grosses house to CMML Nigeria (a local denomination). So on Sunday, I went to Abejekolo to visit a small church there with Daniel Edeh. It was an excellent time fellowshipping with the believers there. We took about 8 of the kids from the orphanage with us, because the church is very small. I believe it was a great encouragement to them.

The week that followed I helped with work on the compound and did some other things, played with the kids and worked on my language study. In the evenings I would sit with some of the kids and talk and with my good friend, Freeman Edeh. This last week, I spent many of my evenings with the older Edeh kids, who are around my age. I helped them with office work and talked with them. Last Sunday, I stayed in Otutulu to speak. I was thankful for that opportunity.

I have some very exciting news. I was in Otutulu village doing a week of Bible stories on the life of Joshua with a projector. Every night we went there and told another part of the story of Joshua. One night after finishing the story, one Muslim boy asked me a question and I explained it to him. He continued to ask excellent questions. Finally, he said he wanted to change his mind to Christianity. As it was late he told me to come the next day to see him. I went the next afternoon; we talked for a while. I answered questions then he asked me about the trinity. I tried my best, but I don’t think it got through to him. Almost every day this week I have been to see him. He is definitely a believer. His greatest fear was to tell his mother and grandfather he was a Christian. He knows that they can kill him for that. He also fears his brothers, who are not in the village right now. He went to his grandfather on Wednesday and told him that he was a Christian. The grandfather simply told him, that he did not believe it. I pray that he might be in the church tomorrow, so that he can show his grandfather that he is serious about it.   I gave him an Igala Bible and an English Bible, so that he can understand the scriptures better. We can praise God for what he has done. I only wish I could stay and disciple him. I have given that job over to one young man who is eager to do it, because he is so happy that this boy, his friend has finally become a Christian. I myself cannot even say it was anything that I did, but it was fully the work of God, I praise Him for what He has done. As I came back from the village after the boy had told me that he was a Christian that he knew that Jesus died on the cross for his sins and that he wanted to follow after him, tears of joy rolled down my cheeks. Even if it was for this one boy who came to know Christ, it was well worth the time I spent here. Well worth my time. I would not trade coming here this summer for the most well-paying job. I only wish I did not have to leave.

I am back in Ika until Sunday, visiting Spencer Dibble and the Wheelers, once more with Shana, before I leave. I will be leaving on Wednesday at 11:15pm from Abuja.

I would appreciate your prayers, for my trip back. Please pray for the Muslim boy in the village. Also as I am coming back to the culture shock of America and I have many things that I have to get ready before going to school the next week.

Thank you for all of your prayers. I appreciate them very much.

Your brother in Christ,

T.J. Kerttula

Is it ever right to lie?

Is it ever right to lie? This question has been asked of me a couple of times in the last few months. My simple answer is no. Many people disagree with me on this, but before you judge what I am saying, I hope that you will hear out the case that I present before you, with ample evidence from the Word of God.

There has been much debate about this question. I do not want to look at opinions. Instead, I want to look at what the Word of God says. Even though there is much debate there is a very simple answer to it. The Lord says in Exodus 20:16 "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”  To bear false witness means to lie or to deceive or to be untruthful. You might say that your neighbor is the person that is living next to you or the people that you like and are friends with. When Jesus is asked the question “Who is my neighbor" in Luke 10 by a lawyer, He answers the question with the story of the Good Samaritan. I believe some background information on the Samaritans and the Jews is needed to fully understand who our neighbor is. They hated each other. The Samaritans were half breed Jews and that was the reason they were hated by the Jews. Because the Jews hated them they hated the Jews back. The Jews would even travel on the east side of the Jordan River along the part that boundaries Samaria so that they would not have to go through Samaria. That is how much they hated the Samaritans. So that is the background.

In Luke 10 we see this man was travelling along, he was ambushed and beaten by robbers in the heart of Judea, where the Jews were from. His own people and “men of God” would not even stop to help him, but a Samaritan, who was not even from that region, who was travelling in the heart of the region, stopped to help a man that he was supposed to hate and who was supposed to hate him. So as you can see it is not just the person next door who is our neighbor or all your friends. It is people in the next subdivision over, in the next zip code, in the next city or town, in the next county, in the next state, in the next country and all around the world. Everyone is our neighbor, those who are not friendly to us and those we love, those who hate us and those who love us. Therefore, we are not to lie to anyone no matter what.

God takes lying/ bearing false witness very seriously, so also should we. Proverbs 19:5” A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who tells lies will not escape.” (NASB)  We think we can get away with lying, but we cannot. We either continue on telling more lies to cover up the truth, but the truth ends up coming out anyway or it immediately comes out. When we lie and it is found out it makes us look foolish. It says in 1 Peter 2:1 “Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander,…” It says to put aside ALL deceit, not just a part of deceit or just a small portion of it, but ALL of it.

In Psalm 34:13 it says, “Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.” We are to keep our lips from speaking deceit.

If we pattern our lives after Christ, as we should be doing, then we will find the passage in 1 Peter 2:21-24 of an interest. It says “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.”

Christ is the example for us to follow in His steps. He committed no sin nor was any deceit found in His mouth. Christ did not lie or deceive anyone ever. There was no need for Christ to deceive anyone, because He was entrusting Himself to the Father in all things. If we are to follow in Christ’s step’s that is a strong indication that we are to not lie or deceive anyone ever.

The question is do we entrust ourselves to Him who judges righteously? If we say we are entrusting ourselves to Him who judges righteously then there is no other answer to our first question, of is it ever right to lie. The only answer is no. Even if the result of us telling the truth is that we are sent to prison or we are martyred for Christ at least we will be entrusting ourselves to the Father. We will be letting, His will be done in our life and we will not be sinning against Him.

You might say, well what if you are taking Bibles into a country that is closed to Christians or hiding Christians in your house to keep them from getting caught? To even ask this question makes me wonder if you really are entrusting yourself to the Father. For you to lie and sin against God means that you do not trust Him to work everything out. Even in these instances it is not right to lie.

Rahab is an example that many people use, to say that it is alright to lie. Unfortunately, there is no way that anyone can say this to be fact, especially when the rest of the Bible speaks, bluntly against lying, bearing false witness and deceit. Let’s take a look into the passages used to justify this a little closer. James 2:25 “In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?”  It is saying she did a good work, by receiving them and sending them out another way. James is not commending her for lying. Do you think that if she would have told the guards right where they were that the results would have been any different? I don’t think so. Even though we sin against God, God still uses us. Sometimes we put Bible characters into a light that makes then look perfect as if they never sinned or we say that because they did a specific sin then it is ok for us to do that also. The only one that was ever perfect was Jesus Christ and that is why He is our example. Rahab’s lie was not pleasing to God and by telling it, the guard’s shut the gate, but God knew all of this would happen, so He provided Rahab’s house to be on the wall, so the spies could get away. Hebrews 11:31 is another passage about Rahab, “By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.” Rahab believed in the one true God and she can be commended for her faith. Think of all the other characters that are commended for their faith yet they also lied. Abraham (Genesis 20), Jacob (Genesis 27), and David (2 Samuel 11-12) are a few. So how can we even say that it is right to lie?

If we say that lying is right then every other sin is right to do at some point in time. There is, therefore, no moral standard and we have blurred the lines between right and wrong. There becomes no black and white, only grey. When this happens we are lying to ourselves about the absoluteness of what God commands us to do and by doing that we are not pleasing God. Do we trust God enough to keep His commands even when it could get us mocked, persecuted, thrown in prison, or even killed?  These are questions we must ask ourselves. I pray that Christians around the world will heed this and turn toward righteousness and truth, to cling to it and to not depart from it. If they depart from truth, then there is no Truth in them and they are not truly followers of Christ. Friends, please do not allow yourself to think that it is right to ever lie. You can see that God hates it and so also we should hate it.

Solomon was a very wise man. His words in Proverbs should be read and heeded. I will leave you with this passage.

"He who speaks the truth tells what is right,

But a false witness, deceit.

There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword,

But the tongue of the wise brings healing.

Truthful lips will be established forever,

But a lying tongue is only for a moment.

Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil,

But counselors of peace have joy.

No harm befalls the righteous,

But the wicked are filled with trouble.

Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord,

But those who deal faithfully are His delight."

Proverbs 12:17-22

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Nigeria update July 6, 2012

Hello everyone,

There is not much to write about this week. There was a team from Texas here for ten days. On Sunday I went down to a small village down the road to visit the small church there. That was very good and interesting. There was a pregnant woman who asked for prayer for herself that she would not have another miscarriage and a few minutes after she said that she went into labor, right before I was to get up to speak. At first I didn’t know what was going on, but I quickly guessed. The Second fear that came into my mind was.” I hope they don’t ask me to deliver the baby.” For some reason white people must have medical expertise in everything when they are in Nigeria, I was relieved when they asked me to do nothing, but preach and the lady was taken, by motorcycle to her house.

Every night, I try to get the boys to bed, by at least 9:30. It has been a great time to get to know the boys and spend time with them. That is one of the things I enjoy thoroughly.

On the evening of July 4^th we had an Independence day celebration, with a parade in the living room and Crystal playing her trombone and everyone else had noise makers. It was a lot of fun. We had hotdogs and hamburgers and French fries and Oreo pudding and we watched a video. We had a great time. Even some of the neighbor kids came over to help us celebrate. : )

Early this morning, I got Malaria. Don’t worry. I am not going to die. I am perfectly fine. I have been resting and getting stronger and taking my medicine. It has been really good to get some rest and not feeling guilty about it. The biggest thing is drinking water and keeping hydrated, which is harder, during rainy season, because it is cooler so I don’t drink as much water.

Tomorrow, I will be going to Ika Lord willing to visit Tom, Ben and Spen, the missionaries there. I am looking forward to my visit there.

Please pray for:

1.       The church I visited this last week. The name of the village escapes my mind, but the Lord knows.

2.       Pray for the boys that I would get the opportunity to share the gospel with all of them and wisdom in counseling them and disciplining them.

3.       Pray for me as I get over Malaria

4.       Pray for safe travel and a good time in Ika and that I will learn more of the language while I am there.

Once again thank you all for your prayers I appreciate them very much.

Your brother in Christ,

T.J. Kerttula

For the sake of the Christ

 I have come to the realization that if I go out and preach the gospel, sure people may get saved, but I also need to help train up these young men so that they might also go out and preach the gospel and that they might also go out and train even more young men to preach the gospel and so on and so forth. The war we face in America with apathy and ungodliness does not stop at our border. It goes out into all the other countries. There is a need for godliness and righteousness and holiness and a fear of the Lord wherever believers are at and that is where a revival begins. If someone wants to follow after Christ it is not going to be easy. If we are in a war we must always be on our guard, and ready to fight for the sake of the gospel no matter what. We sit back and we say well if I say I am a Christian at this job interview then I probably won’t get the job or if I sit back in this class and say nothing about my belief no one will know that I am a Christian and they won’t hate me then. We are to be hated, friends. We are to be despised and we should count it a great joy to be persecuted for the sake of Christ, because that means that we are doing something right. If there is no one who hates you for the sake of the gospel there is something drastically wrong with your walk with Christ. More than likely you look too much like the world to be known to be anything set apart from the World.  Maybe you do not proclaim the name of Christ because you are scared or afraid or just plain do not care.  Is it worth it to be silent as we wait for the coming of our Savior? Is it worth it to just give up and not fight for the gospel? Is there any soul in this world that does not have a right to the inheritance of our heavenly Father? Do we not care about what is going to happen to the people of this world?

 I come back again and again to a passage in Romans 10:12 -15 “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for ‘WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’ How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, ‘HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!’” (NASB)

Friends, we have been sent, by Jesus Christ Himself do go and preach the gospel, to make disciples and to teach them to observe all that He commanded. We are to be training others up to go out and preach the gospel, but how can we train others up if we ourselves do not go out and preach it. We need to preach it with boldness and strength. The Lord is our strength, do we actually believe that the Lord will help us in this? If we do, we will go out and preach the gospel and rely on the Lord for the boldness and the strength we need.

There is an elderly man in Nigeria who said that he would continue to go out and do evangelism and preach the gospel until he could no longer move and he has been relying on the Lord for his strength. When he was younger, he became very sick for several years. During that time no one went out to preach the gospel or to do any evangelism. When he became well he said that he would continue to go out until he could no longer go. The Lord has allowed him to continue to go. He will take his walker with him and he will go to wherever they are doing evangelism that particular time and he will sit and pray the whole time they are out sharing the gospel. This man desires to see the Word of the Lord go out into Nigeria so much so that he himself will do whatever it takes to get people to go out. He, himself, would go out if he still could. This elderly man should be an example to all of us that it is not just those who are young that can go out and preach the gospel, but also those of all different ages, from young to old.There is a need, not only to preach the gospel , but also to pray for the people that are preaching it and for the hearts of the people who hear it.

You may continue to say that you do not want to go out and preach the gospel, that you want to stay in your little comfort zone with all of your believing friends around you. That you don’t have the gift of evangelism, so that is not how the Lord is going to use you. That is a lie that Satan has been telling Christians for years. 

We are to be willing to be used by God in whatever way He sees fit and we are to be willing to do things that are even out of our comfort zones. All of us are supposed to preach the gospel, by proclaiming Christ first, followed by our actions to show Christ’s love to others. If any of you feel that you have any excuse whatsoever you need to look into your life and your heart and see what is holding you back from giving Christ your all and telling others about Him. There is a great war out there and there is a greater need for believers to fight for the souls of men. Will you join with me in this battle or will you turn your back on those you are fighting with and retreat and give up the fight? It is your decision. Stop saying you’re a follower of Christ if your life does not reflect it and if you truly want to follow after Him then stand with Him and fight. Are you willing to follow after Him even to death?  That is a question you need to answer. Where is your loyalty? Is it in Christ or is it in the World? The two cannot mix. They must be separate from one another.

Ministry in Bozeman, MT (Spring 2012)

I wanted to update all of you on the ministry that I have been a part of this spring here in Bozeman, Montana, before I leave to go to Nigeria this summer. Throughout this spring I have done some street evangelism here in Bozeman with several different people, but primarily with Chris Jones and Jessica Jones.  During the winter months there weren’t a lot of people that were out on the streets during the day, but we handed out many gospel tracts. This Saturday was a really nice day. Praise the Lord for such nice weather. There was tons of people downtown to share the gospel with.

I want to tell you a little bit about what happened this Saturday.  We (Chris , Jessica and Aedine)  went out and people were willing to talk. We handed out a bunch of gospel tracts. Chris and I got the opportunity to talk with a fellow that is very lost. He kept telling us that we were wasting our time on telling people about an event that happened 2000 years ago and that we needed to get into politics so that we could change America that way. He went on to tell us that Republicans are going to turn this country into a dictatorship. He said he was a part of the Bahia religion and that he did not need God and proceeded to tell us that we were ignorant fools. He told me I had a big ego to think that my religion was right and that I was selfish for sharing the gospel. All of this happened with us unable to get much of a word in. Final, after listening to him and not getting to finish a thought with him, I decided it was time to straight up preach, and as I got going on it, he decided that it was time for him to leave. He told me that he was 75 years old and he could not believe that I would not listen to him and warned me that I should stop sharing the gospel and make my life into something worthwhile. Then he proceeded to walk off. A man stumbled up the street, toward him, yelling and walked right past him. I handed him a gospel tract and the fellow that we had just been talking with yelled back at us that we had a lot of guts to give out more gospel tracts, after what he had just told us. The only verse I could think of was Romans 8:38-39 “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. “ (NASB)

Here are some other verses that have also come to mind.

2 Timothy 1:8-13 “ Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,  for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day. Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.” (NASB)

2Ti 3:14-17  You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (NASB)

I am convinced of these things. I am convinced that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins and that He rose again to show that He conquered sin and death.  I am convinced that He is the Son of God. I am convinced that the only way that a person can have true peace is through Jesus Christ. I must boldly preach the gospel for that is what Christ has commanded every believer to do and there may be persecution and people that hate it and try to tell you that you are wrong, like this fellow did, but we are convinced that our Savior Jesus Christ abolished death and brought life and immortality (eternal life) to light through the gospel. For if we are not convinced of these things then, what do we have to stand on? What do we have to cling to?  These are some questions to think about. Are you convinced of these things?

To continue on we kept on going and preaching the gospel. There were a few other people that we got to talk to briefly. Please pray for all of the people that received gospel tracts, that they might be convinced also of these things. Pray for this fellow we talked with that he would read the gospel of John that we gave him and that he might be convicted and that he might also be convinced of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Please pray for Tyler, Andrew, Dave 1, Dave 2, Paul, and Fen.  Praise the Lord for such excellent opportunities.

That was little about the evangelism that is going on here in Bozeman recently. Jessica and Chris will continue to go out and share the gospel with people this summer. Please pray for them and that the hearts of the people in Bozeman would be softened to the gospel.

I have also been helping out with a ministry called International student ministry this year. This spring has been really good and I have enjoyed getting to know the international students. It has been such a blessing to be able to share the gospel with them and to become friends with many of them. I will miss them a lot.  I am excited about next year as I will be helping out with it again this next year also.  Praise the Lord for such great opportunities.

I will be writing an update soon for my trip to Nigeria. It is coming very soon in less than a month. Please pray for the rest of the preparations for that. Thank you.