Waves and the Word, can't stop them.

Today was an interesting day for this is the Lord’s Day.
The Book of Acts in 28:24 says, “And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved”. This is a verse I landed on this morning and it came to pass today.
On this frosty morn I was awaiting Loren as he made his morning preparations to kayak I met Eric who stopped by the campground. He owns a church, well what used to be a church, and converted it to a dry dock where he keeps and restored a boat. With this boat, Eric plans to sail to the DR and meet up with his girlfriend who lives there in the center part on a mountain. He had a little dog named Vicky that plays and plays.
I offered him a Bible and he refused. He refused on the grounds that he doesn’t need that because he’s got it all figured out. He said he is good enough. He went on to say he’d never stolen anything and he’s a very good person and he knows this in his head.
I asked how he planned to stand before a Holy God and answer for his sins. I told him to consider God’s Word that he was refusing and listen to what it says about his claims. “As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no not one’.” “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” I went on to explain that “our righteousness is but filthy rags before God”. Eric rejected all three. He held steadfast that God will find his good works enough to let him into heaven. He said his dad died several years ago and he was a good man and he felt certain his dad went to heaven. In the end, he still refused the Bible and rejected the Gospel that was presented to him. See Acts 28:24.
Loren and I went on down to the dock and he put in. I struck up a conversation with the guys working on restoring a boat at the pier. They invited me aboard and gave me a tour of what was completed along with an explanation of what’s to be done by this Saturday so they can set sail on a trip. I presented them each a PWT and they accepted. This brought up a conversation about traveling the world to spread the Gospel. The man that owned the boat said it’s a good thing and that he knew a Gideon that was a school teacher years ago that was active in spreading the word. He said now he’s old and not able to go anymore. Go while you can because one day the day will come when your mind or body or both won’t allow you to Go!
At the pier watch house I met Chris. He is a believer and so are his parents. I asked if he knew any Gideons in the area and he said his dad did. After a very encouraging conversation between myself and Chris, I came back to camp, got cleaned up and we all went back to Chris’ home and met his dad. We also met a man in need of prayer for his hip. I gave him a Bible and told him I’d be praying for his recovery and he said maybe your prayers will work because he’s not answering mine. I hope to meet this man again to really talk to him.
Mr. Reid came out to meet us and he was very kind. He also informed us of the local Gideon he knows and it’s the same Gideon that Shirley told us about two days ago. Hummmm, is he the only Gideon here?
After our time at the Reids, we took a detour through the community of Hardwicke. After a turn here and there we came across a church that had a sign on the front door, admission $4.00. Catching Kobee’s attention, he wanted to go back for a picture. I made a u-turn and parked in front of the church. There were neither cars nor signs of anyone when we first drove past but now several cars are pulling in behind us. A number of ladies, four to be exact, were there to set up quilts for a quilt show and that’s what the $4.00 admission was for. We went in to see the quilts and it was a bunch of them. That’s where we needed to be last night in the 3 degree Celsius temperatures.
The question always arises, what in the world are you doing here from MS. We are always obliged to explain. God sent His son to die for His glory and no other reason. When we accept Christ it is to the Glory of God. The Glory of God is why we travel to share the Gospel. Not for our own benefit.
Often when we’re asked on the street for the explanation we move into the gospel. Well here in the church I quickly began to explain that we are here to pray and spread His word. We introduced ourselves and the ladies gave us their names. One lady is from South China and her name is Xiao.
I told her of our visits to Harbin, China and how the Gospel is spreading rapidly among the young college age students. I told her of the English corners and how we engage them with the truth of God’s Word. At this statement she was stumped. How do you know when God is talking to you? OK, radar’s on…She’s a seeker but not a believer. She had some great questions about how do you know God is real and that Jesus is real. How was the Bible written by God? She said she had heard of Jesus living and dying.
I told her to look out the window and tell me if you can see the wind. She looked and thought. She answered and said that she saw the leaves moving. That’s right, you see the effects of the wind but you don’t see the wind. So it is with God, we look at creation and see the effects of God’s design. The Bible tells us that creation itself testifies of God’s existence. We looked at John 1:3, “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made”.
Next, I explained that she needed to read the Book of John and why. See previous blogs. John was given God’s words by God via the Holy Spirit besides, John was an eyewitness. I showed her Luke and explained he was not an eyewitness, rather he gathered his information by interviewing eyewitnesses such as John and the other disciples. I explained to her that if she and I both saw a vehicle accident we would tell our story in different ways but get to the same point that this vehicle collided with that vehicle. It’s the same with the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ ministry on this earth. Four men, four points of view but the same and ultimate conclusion that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God who being born of a virgin, lived a perfect, sinless life, was crucified, dead and buried and the third day rose from the dead. I told her she left this most important part out. Jesus is alive!
Now get this, in the middle of sharing the Gospel, one of the ladies interrupts and says we’ve got to get busy hanging up these quilts. I bit my tongue, took a deep breath and continued with the plan of salvation in the back of the PWT. I showed her that God loved her so much that He sent His one and only Son to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.
We wrapped up our conversation by my giving my email address and encouraging her to ask God to show He is real to her through His word and I promise he will. She was very thankful to receive God’s word and the brief explanation. See Acts 28:24.
We concluded our afternoon by going out to the end of the peninsula to see the lighthouse and the ocean from that point.