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posted by James on 07/30/07

Let me skip ahead to a special activity that we did during the 7th week of Life FOCUS. On Wednesday last week, Director Ritchie planned an outing as a reward for wholeheartedly working through the last six, intense weeks. We traveled to Green Acres canoe livery on the Whitewater River in Harrison, Ohio for an adventurous canoe trip. For the students, it was a very unexpected and well-received surprise.

For five hours straight, we canoed down the river, floated around in the water, and played a huge game of capture the flag. The game was played on several islands in the river so fording waterways and running in rough terrain were a few extra challenges! It was a great time to relax, enjoy God’s creation, and have fun as a team of adventurous, young men.

6 Comments » | posted in Ministry Reports

posted by Michael on 07/26/07

From June 26 to 29 we had the privilege of hosting our long time friend and professional historian Pete Olson at our house as he spoke to good crowds in Morgantown, Smithburg, and Salem about America’s providential history.

Each talk usually began with the original American dream, a dream that started with John Calvin in Europe. This dream that he passed on to the pilgrims was that of a shining “city on a hill” to show the world what could be accomplished when God’s ways govern not only personal lives, but also political structure. He spoke of God’s amazing provision for these pilgrims in preventing them from going to Jamestown and putting them in New England, the place He had prepared for them. God sustained and prospered them as long as they sought Him first.

He also spoke of Jamestown which was quite a different story. He told of the lazy “gentlemen” who were only there to get rich quick. He told the truth about the ruthless tyrant Powhatan and how God used Robert Hunt and Pocahontas. He told of the seemingly tragic events that happened to John Smith and later those aboard the Sea Venture which actually spared them all from the horrific “dark night of the soul” through which only 10% of the settlers survived. And yet eventually through Jamestown came the light of the common law and the first representative government.

A highlight of each talk was the Great Awakening that swept over the colonies. There were stories of Whitefield, Samuel Davies, and Gowan Pamphlet. The Presbyterian, Methodist, and Baptist revivals were God’s foundation for a generation that would fight for freedom and frame the Constitution of the United States. About 90% of the founders of our country clearly declared their faith in Jesus Christ for their eternal salvation. Franklin, who was not of this number, nevertheless saw God’s working so clearly that he called the first constitutional convention to prayer with a profound and powerful speech that marked the turning point of the convention. The facts of the so-called Revolution and the Boston Port Bill were very eye-opening as well.

Most inspiring of all to me was seeing God’s hand in the war, especially His hand of protection over Washington. It was the heavy fog that allowed him to escape from Long Island. Again the weather played a large role in the victory at Trenton. It was a “barn-sour” horse that revealed Benedict Arnold’s treason, saving West Point and Washington’s life. It was an unbelievable French navy victory and a miraculous and sever weather change that prevented both victory and retreat for the British at Yorktown, ending the war. Washington was not in control of the fog… or the flooding… or the barn-sour horse… or the miniature hurricane at Yorktown. Even Clinton, the British commander-in-chief of Cornwallis was forced to acknowledge the intervention of Divine Providence.

The original American dream is one of faith in God and His Son Jesus Christ that “He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him”. What He has done for the founding fathers of our country He can do for us today. Be not faithless, but believing.

5 Comments » | posted in Historical Glimpses, Ministry Reports

posted by James on 07/22/07

I was challenged with this question a few weeks ago. On the Sunday before Journey to the Heart, the Life FOCUS class was scheduled to go to the Pacific Garden Mission in downtown Chicago, a ministry founded in 1877 by Colonel George Clarke. The mission was hospitably providing a meal for homeless men who were willing to listen to a short message and the gospel presentation. I was told that it was a good idea to go prepared with a testimony because you never knew if you would be called on to share one. As I thought about what I could share, nothing came to mind right off. This disturbed me because I should surely be able to recognize at least a few of the ways God had worked in my life in the past week. However, before going to bed on Saturday night, I thought of a small testimony that I might be able to share but I would wait till morning to see if God would reveal something from His Word to expand my testimony into something worth sharing.

It is not normal for me to wake up at 5:45 on Sunday morning, but I did anyway in order to have a full hour of reading God’s Word before leaving at 7:00. But once I got started, two things almost ruined this important time. First was deciding where to read. I felt like skipping over to Psalms, the next portion of my daily Bible reading plan, but God directed me to re-read a section in II Chronicles. I am so glad I did! II Chronicles 6:10-11 fit perfectly with my little testimony. The second hindrance was breakfast. I was so hungry and everyone else was eating, but again, I did not want any more distractions. Thus I removed myself from the distraction and finished writing up a little testimony just in time to leave.

Yes, I was prepared, but what was the chance that I, out of 19 FOCUS guys, would be called upon to share? Well, on the way there, Robert called to ask who would be speaking that morning: a fellow on staff named James was going to. However, we found that through some kind of miscommunication, he was unprepared and not able to come. For me, this was a conformation that James, a different one than was scheduled, would indeed be speaking!

To make a long story short, everything worked out exactly as planned. Robert opened with leading a hymn, the Focus guys sang a number and quoted James chapter 1, I gave the short message, and Mr. Garvin concluded with an invitation. I have no idea if what I said impacted any of the homeless people I spoke to but I can sure say that the whole experience impacted me! Remember the testimonies of God working in your life every day; you never know when you will be called upon to testify of God’s power through them.

3 Comments » | posted in Ministry Reports

posted by James on 07/20/07

Though the fourth week of Life FOCUS is long gone, it doesn’t mean that I should not post about it. Indeed, it was a very important week. Now that the students had learned and applied important truths of the faith, it was now time for them to go out and share it with other people. Week four was Evangelism Week.

We kicked it off with some inspirational video messages by Ray Comfort, the one who heads up Way of the Master ministries. With his powerful perspective, creative techniques, and contagious zeal, we were instructed on how to effectively share the gospel. Tuesday and Wednesday were full of sessions.

Come Thursday, we walked around downtown Indianapolis planting seeds by handing out gospel tracks. Among the ten teams of two or three people, we handed out dozens of tracks. Friday afternoon was very similar except an effort was made to actually talk to individuals.

One very helpful thing I learned from the sessions and was able to apply while witnessing was a simple outline Ray Comfort gave: relate, create, convict, reveal. First you have to start the conversation by relating to the person you want to witness to. Smiling, and saying “Good afternoon; beautiful weather, isn‘t it?” as I walked up to someone almost always worked. My team leader ran into a few nasty people, but only a few times did I occasion someone who did not want to talk. Sometimes it is not possible to get passed this stage. I walked up to a Spanish speaking person who said he spoke English, but after receiving unrelated answers to obvious questions, I left him with a track and walked away from the awkward situation to go fishing elsewhere.

However, if you can strike up a conversation, the next step is to create an avenue for talking about spiritual things. After striking up a conversation with a guy playing a guitar, he began talking about plans, or rather lack of plans, for his future. This opened a door for me to ask if he had thought about plans after death. Immediately, we were on spiritual topics and a conversation worth conversing.

Once you are on this topic, there is no way of telling what the person will say so you really have to guide the conversation toward conviction of sin. This is always tricky and the best way to be successful is to keep doing it to get experience. It is good to use the law of God, the Ten Commandments, to bring them to a realization of their need for Christ. Sometimes this doesn’t work because not everyone listens to their conscience or even to common sense. An old man sitting along the canal didn’t believe in God but after I presented the Ten Commandments, the penalty for disobedience, and the possibility of final judgment, he didn’t know what to say. Sadly, as the conversation deepened, it was clear that he did not want to change so I left him with a track called “The Athiest Test.”

However, if someone does come under conviction, it is time to reveal the gospel. Unfortunately, I never was able to get this far in a conversation but others on Blue team were able to. A few people were actually saved and that boosted our fervor to continue!

It has been a huge step out of my comfort zone to go out of my way to witness to people. No matter how uncomfortable it may seem, I urge you to fulfill the Great Commission by sharing the good news of the gospel everywhere you go, whether it be handing out a track or initiating an in-depth conversation. Remember; relate, create, convict and reveal. The gospel message is for sinners to hear!

4 Comments » | posted in Ministry Reports

posted by David on 07/17/07

Have you ever made chain reactions with dominoes? I have had a great time experimenting with this recently. What tremendous fun it was to set up tracks for the dominoes! They slid down ramps, fell over, through, and under bridges and tunnels, and traveled through many incredible patterns! I especially liked using stairs, slides, block piles and the dinner bell! One even used Lincoln Logs and a marble. In picture number 6 you can see the long green piece that has a Lincoln Log balanced on its end. When the domino behind the blocks (you can see it in picture 5) knocks the Lincoln Log off, the front end of the green lever falls allowing the marble to roll down to the next domino and continue the chain reaction. Meanwhile, the Lincoln Log fell and hit a domino which started a second chain reaction. As you can imagine, most of my time was spent in trial and error and setting up dominoes that were often bumped and fell over. It was hard to respond with patience and not get frustrated. Just one little accident led to many of them falling over. As I contemplated this truth I was reminded how often it is that one little compromise, a small sin, leads to more and damages a person’s life. The concept of falling dominoes is an encouragement to me to reject temptations. I’m looking forward not only to getting back to trying some more domino inventions but also finding opportunities to build my relationship with the Lord.

4 Comments » | posted in Family News