I Haven't Forgotten You, North Olmsted - 9/12/2010

Today, I went back to a spot I haven't been to in a while- Dover Center and Lorain Road in North Olmsted. I was out from 2:40 to 3:45 and a lot of people in their cars got to see the cross, but I didn't have any conversations. I am have a full time job now and won't be able to go out as much as I used to, but I hope to still go out on the weekends a bit. I need to hit up all the old spots I used to go to- I've been in Lakewood a lot recently.

A Conversation With Jeff - 4/20/10

Last Thursday, I went to the intersection of Dover Center and Detroit in Westlake. A young man stopped and asked if he could pray for me, which was definitely appreciated.

Today, I went to the intersection of Dover Center and Lorain in North Olmsted from 3:15 to 4:45. Around 4:00, a young man named Jeff (not my new fishing buddy) approached me and asked about the cross. I said to him, "The Bible says, 'It is appointed for a man once to die, and then comes judgment.' So, if you were to die today, are you ready to face God?"

After a second, he replied he was. I asked him if he could say for certain if he was going to heaven. He said he couldn't say for certain.

After this, our conversation went into a lot of different areas. I made sure to tell Jeff about the necessity of repentance and the parachute analogy. I made sure to define the difference between repentance and confession- confession is merely admitting guilt and repentance is a turning away from sin.

At this point, I used the analogy of being in a court of law with a fine that you cannot pay. The judge is about to sentence you to life in prison when someone comes in and pays your fine. You are no longer under the demands of the law, not because you are innocent, but because your fine has been paid and justice has been served. This is what Jesus did on the cross- he bore our sins in our place and took upon our punishment on the cross.

Jeff asked about different Bible versions. I told him that modern versions like the ESV and NASB are very accurate to the original Greek and Hebrew and offered an example of a difference in translations. One translation may say "gird up your loins" while another may say "clothe yourself," but they both mean the same thing. He had mentioned he thought his Bible at home was King James, and I told him that this version would have "thou, thee, thine, etc." in it- just different language of a different time.

At one point, Jeff told me that his girlfriend was moving away from God and asked if I had any ideas on bringing her back to God. I directed Jeff to LivingWaters.com and encouraged him to listen to Hell's Best Kept Secret. I told him the reason we need Jesus is not to make our lives better, but because we have all fallen short of the glory of God. We are all sinners that need a Savior.

Unless we repent and place our trust in Him, we are going to go to hell. It's not about having your "best life now." I recommended that he take his girlfriend through the law to show her sinfulness and her need for a Savior.

I started going through the law and I must have hit a nerve with Jeff. He asked me about a specific sin and what the Bible said about it. I had read earlier from 1 Corinthians 6 and was brutally honest about what the Bible says. I think at this point Jeff realized that his salvation was in jeopardy. I had the same experience myself when I first started reading the Word of God. I read John 3 and the necessity of being born again and Luke 13 about the necessity of repentance.

I asked Jeff if he had a Bible and he said he did. I encouraged him to read the gospel of John. Jeff has some tough decisions ahead of him. Please pray that he makes the right decisions.

Dover Center and Lorain in North Olmsted - 4/10/10

Saturday, I went to the intersection of Dover Center and Lorain in North Olmsted for a little over an hour in the afternoon. One person that drove by yelled out that Satan was coming- I'm not sure people understand what they are doing when they say things like that. I also got a thumbs up or two. I didn't hand out any tracts or have any conversations, but there was a lot of vehicle traffic.

Dover Center and Lorain in North Olmsted - 3/24/10

Wednesday, I went to the intersection of Dover Center and Lorain in North Olmsted from around 1:00 to 3:00. While I was there, a woman approached me and asked what I was doing. I told her trying to spread the Gospel. She told me she knew Jesus but that she was battling an addiction. She asked for prayer- I briefly prayed for her before she had to go and I left her with a Gospel tract.

When it was getting close to 3:00 and I was soon to leave, a man pulled up and parked in the parking lot behind me (at this point I was standing on the corner diagonal from where I was in this shot). I was watching him as he took some things out of his car, and I realized it was a giant wrench along with a sandwich board. There is a sign guy locally that advertises for a local plumber and turns out this was his spot for the day also.

Rocky River Drive and Lorain Road in Kamm's Corner (Cleveland) - St. Patrick's Day

For St. Patrick's Day, I joined John (an elder at my church) at the intersection of Rocky River Drive and Lorain Road in Kamm's Corner (Cleveland) for St. Patrick's Day. It was bright and sunny all day with temps in the upper 50's (possibly even 60 at some point). John and I were out from 12:15 to 5:00, aside from my bathroom break, and I have a sunburn to prove it (I didn't even think about getting sunburn in the winter, but it can and does happen!). Around 4:00, Beth, who goes to our church, and her two daughters, also showed up.

We stood diagonally across from P.J. McIntyre's Irish Pub. Also nearby were several other bars, including Panini's, West Park Station, and The Public House- all which appeared to be packed. This is a panoramic shot showing the P.J. McIntyre's on the left side of the photo and Panini's is the three story building on the right:



Here is a closer shot of P.J. McIntyre's. This is around 12:45, and the place only got busier as the day progressed:



Here's a shot my pastor took while driving by. You can see John on the left in a yellow sweatshirt and me with a backpack on, right next to the light pole.



John had a sign that said "NeedGod.com" while I had my cross. John and I were handing out Big Money tracts, and when Beth and her two daughters arrived, she had St. Patrick's Day Millions which we started to pass out. I would say about 60% of the people accepted the tracts.

We didn't have too many one on one conversations because everyone was out to party, but we had a few. After a good while, a guy came across the street and wanted to know what our signs were about. John talked to him and told me that he had been a Christian and was even involved in ministry work, but had backslid. John asked me if I thought he ever was a Christian, and I told him that I tend to think that he never slid forward- that he was a tare among the wheat.

A man came up to me and started asking me what I thought about the Torah and the Koran. Then he asked me what I thought about Islam and asked me if I hate them. At this point he started cursing about Islam. He had a shirt on that said "Infidel" and what appeared to be Arabic writing on it. I wasn't sure where it was going to go, but he ended up leaving.

One women, who appeared to be drunk, rubbed up against me on my right side and said, "Jesus loves you." Then I felt someone else on my left side and one of them asked, "Do you think Jesus would do this?" One of them replied, "I think He would." Apparently they got a picture with me and cross, but I was so startled I failed to even realize it.

One woman crossing the street at one point was interested in the cross and asked what she should do if she didn't have Internet access. I didn't end up getting a tract to her or her friend at that moment, but shortly thereafter I went back to my car to drop something off. It turned out the path I followed to return to my car was also their path. I heard the one woman calling out "Mark!" and I heard her friend say "She was looking for you." I ended up giving her and her friend both a tract. One of them said "I'm a good Catholic. I go to church every Sunday." I didn't go into it with them, just told them to read the tracts.

Getting closer to 5 o'clock, a man waiting to cross the street appeared to have a problem with what we were doing. I can't remember exactly what he said, but I do remember him asking, "If there is a God, why is He letting the Pope close down St. Pat's?" St. Pat's is a Catholic church in the area where we were that is due to close soon. Beth told him maybe he should pray about it- I wasn't going to even go into a Catholicism debate.

I am not sure how many tracts were handed out today, but I would say easily over 100, if not 200. There were quite a few people screaming "NeedGod.com" as they drove by (most likely drunk), loud enough for a lot of people to hear it.

Dover Center and Lorain in North Olmsted - 3/05/10

Today was my first day back on the street since January. It was in the mid to upper 30's yesterday and it is amazing how warm that feels when you go through winter in Northeast Ohio! I was out today from about 2:15 to 3:15.

Shortly after arriving, a young woman came up on the sidewalk and looked at the cross and wanted to know more about it. Her name was Alex. She asked me what Mark 1:15 was and I quoted it to her. She told me she had heard things about the Old Testament and the New Testament and she seemed to be a little confused about it. She told me she grew up Christian and was was currently "experimenting."

I asked her if she thought of herself as a good person, and she replied, "For the most part." We went through the law and she admitted that God would find her guilty, but she started to say, "but if I go and confess..."

I said, "Now wait, if you are guilty, should he send you to heaven or hell?"

She replied, "I think that's up to Him.. it depends."

I brought up an example of her breaking the law here on earth and that the law needs to be satisfied- that her confession isn't going to get her off the hook.

"So he should send you to hell."

She replied, "So, He's like the ultimate sheriff."

I asked her if she knew what Jesus did, and she replied, "He died on the cross."

At this point I started to stumble over my thoughts a bit but still managed to explain imputed righteousness to her, our need for repentance, and how we must trust in Jesus like a parachute. It's been a while since I've had any witnessing conversations (from not being on the streets plus the streets drying up from the cold even when I was out) and I realized I should listen to Hell's Best Kept Secret and True and False Conversion again to brush up on my witnessing analogies.

I gave Alex a million dollar bill and encouraged her to read the tract and check out the website listed on the tract. I was able to hand out 9 tracts yesterday, including the one I gave to Alex. I gave some tracts to some younger guys walking by on the sidewalk and one mentioned, "I have a Michael Jackson one."

Dover Center and Lorain in North Olmsted - 1/22/2010

Today, I went to the intersection of Dover Center and Lorain in North Olmsted from 3:10 to 4:10. Traffic starts to get heavy around 3 o'clock in the areas around here. It's been a while since I've been at this spot with the cross. Today was about 40 degrees, so I wanted to get out while it was still relatively warm (compared to the 20's and low 30's). Someone told me "God bless you," I got a few honks, at least one thumbs up, and I also got some jeering.

Dover Center and Lorain in North Olmsted - 12/03/09

Yesterday I went to the intersection of Dover Center and Lorain in North Olmsted. I was out from 3:00 to 4:15 and handed out one tract.

Dover Center and Lorain in North Olmsted - 11/20/09

Friday, I went to the intersection of Lorain and Dover Center in North Olmsted. I was out from around 2:00 to 3:00 and didn't hand out any tracts, but I did see Greg, who works at a restaurant across the street, who I had spoke to before.

Lorain and Porter/Butternut Ridge in North Olmsted - 11/06/09

Today, I went to the intersection of Lorain and Porter/Butternut Ridge in North Olmsted from 2:30 to 4:00. This is a new spot for the cross and I'm not really a fan of it because of the way the intersection is set up (it is actually a 5 way intersection). It was tough to find a good spot to be visible by almost everyone like at my other intersections, but the cross was still visible to many. I picked this spot because it is close to North Olmsted High School.

There were a few students walking home from school and I was able to hand out tracts to a group of about seven and then a group of about three. Both groups asked me what my sign said. I said to a girl in the second group, "It is appointed for man once to die and then comes Judgment. Are you ready to be judged by God?"

She responded, "Yes."

I asked, "You are?"

She said, "Wait, what?"

I asked again, "Are you ready to be judged by God?"

She asked, "Is that a bad thing?"

Either her or one of her friends responded to my question, "Actually, no."

One of them also replied, "I'm ready."

I had already given them gospel tracts at this point and told them to read the back side because their one friend was beginning to leave and they wanted to follow behind. I wanted to go through the law with the one girl, but didn't have the chance, but at least they left with tracts.

A Pastor and a Catholic Teen - 10/30/09

Today I went to the intersection of Dover Center and Lorain in North Olmsted. I arrived at 2:45 and stayed until 5:00. It was in the low 70's today and I really think this is it for the warm weather. After a short while, a man came up and said he wanted to extend his blessing to me, "For standing on the battlefield, for the kingdom of God."

I really appreciate when I get people who stop and give throw their support behind the cross. His name was Dennis and he pastors a local church that gathers in the west side of Cleveland. I showed him a Way of the Master tract and went through a quick law and gospel presentation to show him how I evangelize.

Dennis asked me if I met anyone from Islam or a Jew yet, and I said I had not. He told me Jews are interesting because they are God's people, but they don't think they need to receive Christ. His timing was impeccable, as I encountered a teenager shortly thereafter who said he was Jewish.

I told Dennis about how I just had a Bible study on that in Romans 2:26-29, about how the Jews' circumcision is regarded as uncircumcision if they fail to keep the Law. He told me he can only imagine what Jesus went through in His day.

A little later, I had a group of three male teens walk by and the cross caught one of their attentions. He told me he was Catholic and pulled a gold chain of a cross out from underneath his shirt to expose it. I asked him if he knew any of the commandments. He mentioned, "Don't disrespect your parents. Don't kill." Either him or his friend mentioned "Love thy neighbor."

I asked him, "Let me ask you this- do you think you've kept the Ten Commandments?" He said, "No, because I don't know the rest. What are all of them?"

I proceed to go through the first seven and when I got to the seventh (adultery), he said he had never broken that. I asked him, "Well, have you looked at a woman with lust, sexual desire?"

"Yea...."

I say, "Jesus says if you look with lust, you've committed adultery in the heart. Have you ever called someone a fool or an idiot?"

"Yea."

I say, "Jesus says you are liable to judgment."

"Well, that's not my fault."

I say, "It's not your fault? Who's fault is it?"

"I dunno..."

I gave him a tract and told him to read the backside of it. "I have a question. Doesn't it say in the Bible God is going to forgive you for all your sins?"

I told him, "God is a forgiving God, and He will forgive you of your sins, but do you know what you must do for God's forgiveness to apply to you? It doesn't just apply."

"You have to pray."

I ask, "Pray?"

"Yea, and try to follow His commandments."

I say, "But none of us have kept His commandments. We've all broken them. Have you kept them?"

"No."

I say, "OK, neither have I. That leaves us guilty. God should send us to hell because we've broken His commandments."

"That's why we pray for forgiveness."

I ask, "But how does that forgiveness apply? Does He just grant it willingly?"

"No... we sacrifice ourselves, right?" His friends were starting to distract him a bit at this point.

I ask, "Do you understand why Jesus died on the cross?"

"To forgive us of our sins."

I explained the necessity of repentance to him to have the forgiveness of sins. I asked him if he had ever heard the word repent in church, and he said he hadn't. He told me he had gone to a Bible school and how he had to memorize certain prayers for his first communion. At this point, he and his two friends walked away.

I handed out 3 tracts today.

Dover Center and Lorain in North Olmsted - 10/18/09

This was the second spot I went to today. I arrived around 1:10 and stayed until 2:10. If you look in the picture above, you can see some on the opposite corner with a sign promoting Halloween. I normally don't have competition on opposing corners, but I did today. Here is a close up of them:



There were a lot of horn honks today, but they were for the person in the costume. Someone also found it necessary to curse at me while driving by. A photographer for a local newspaper also showed up to get a picture of the cross for the new article I was interviewed for last week. I'm looking forward to the warmer weather forecast for this week before winter sets in.

A Conversation with Kevin - 10/16/09

Today started out with sprinkles that I hoped would stop- but turned into a steady rain! It was worth it, though. Today I was blessed to meet a young man named Kevin. Kevin asked me about what the cross meant, and I told him I was trying to spread the Gospel. As it turns out, Kevin goes to a C&MA church, just like I do, and is going through some of the same trials I have gone through.

I took Kevin through the law presentation and clearly, Kevin understood we are all sinners. I also took him through the good news of the Gospel- Jesus' atoning work for us on the cross. Kevin mentioned he quite didn't understand how the blood of Jesus applies to our sins. I explained to him how in the Old Testament that God required animal sacrifices for the covering of sins, but Jesus was the perfect, final atoning sacrifice for our sins. I was able to explain imputed righteousness to him- how Jesus' perfect, sinless state, is imputed to us when we repent and believe in Jesus.

Kevin told me he had been a Christian for 3 years. He told me he was struggling with deciphering how God speaks to him. I told him I was struggling with the same thing- trying to figure out God's will for my life.

I told him that I had sin in my life and as long as I refused to deal with that sin, that I was impeding God's progress in my life. I also told Kevin that God speaks to us through His Word. I told him that Scripture is God's communication with us and that when I am reading the Word, God reveals new things to me that I may not have previously seen.

I asked Kevin if he was born again, and he said he wasn't sure. I told him what it meant to be born again was to repent of your sins and place your trust in Jesus Christ for your salvation. Once you have done that, God will give you a new heart with new desires to serve Him. I told him that it may sound foreign that someone would desire to do something like hold a cross on the side of the street, but I once used to think like that, also.

I also told Kevin about how I continually asked God to take away my sinful desires but nothing was happening, until I took the first step in repentance and turned away from my sin. I told him that God wants us to take the first step in obedience. Once I had taken the first step, then the desires started to subside. Kevin said maybe that's what he had needed to hear. I told Kevin how we needed to be "Dead to Sin, Alive to God" as Romans 6 says.

We also had similar concerns about our fathers and their eternity. I was able to explain some of the other analogies of Way of the Master, and I told Kevin how taking the WOTM really cleared up my understanding of my faith. We also discussed a few other things, like how we should "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you" (Matthew 6:33).

I gave Kevin a tract with my church's website and encouraged him to read the post on "How to Get to Heaven" which contains more WOTM analogies and also how there was a message posted by my pastor about "Do I Need Jesus?" Please be in prayer for Kevin and his relationship with our Savior.

Dover Center and Lorain in North Olmsted - 10/08/09

Yesterday, I went to the intersection of Dover Center and Lorain in North Olmsted. I stayed for a little over an hour, when rain started to move in. It was a quiet day and I handed out 4 or 5 gospel tracts. I also added the web address to my blog at the bottom of my cross, hoping people would check it out and see the image that says, "I have seen the cross. What does it mean?" So far, I haven't seen any new local traffic yet, but it was only the first day with the new addition to the cross.

Dover Center and Lorain in North Olmsted - 10/03/09

Today, I went to Dover Center and Lorain in North Olmsted. As you can see in the picture, I added "NEEDGOD.COM" to the bottom of the cross. It isn't as visible as the other text, but some people will be able to see it. It was a pretty quiet day, aside from someone rolling down their window and telling me that God didn't exist. I said, "OK," and then said to myself, "says the fool in his heart." That's the response I should have given instead of just "OK." I was actually across the street from where I took this picture. I arrived around 2:00 PM and stayed for a few minutes past an hour.

Rocky River Drive and Lorain Road in Kamm's Corner (Cleveland) - 9/19/09

Today, John, an elder at my church, and I, went to the intersection of Rocky River Drive and Lorain Road. The weather has been remarkably nice for Cleveland. Usually it's always cloudy, but we have been blessed with clear to mostly clear skies for almost all of the past 2 weeks.

We showed up around 12:15 and stood on the northeastern corner of the intersection. I had my cross and John was sporting a sign displaying NEEDGOD.COM I made. John has plans to make his own cross.

We both noticed a man that was talking to himself that made both of us uneasy. I was especially nervous when the man came and stood within about 10 to 15 feet of me. He asked to see my sign, which I showed him. He was constantly blaspheming the name of the Lord. After about 30 minutes he left.



John moved around more, while I stood stationary. If you have noticed in all the pictures I have posted, I always find some shade to stand in- even if it is only from a telephone or utility pole. I burn very fast in the sun.



John handed out 6 tracts at this location. Above, you can see him giving a lady a tract.



While I was standing at the intersection, we got a wave or two in support, but we also had a younger lady curse God while she drove by. We left this location about 1:15 and headed to the location I was in Lakewood. More on that coming soon.

First Time Stoplight Preaching With the Cross

Today, John, an elder from church, came over to pick me up and we went to intersection of Dover Center and Lorain in North Olmsted. We arrive around 12:30. I loaded up my camera backpack with my ESV New Testament and the Evidence Bible and completely forgot the backpack.

We had two signs today: my cross and another sign that read "NEEDGOD.COM" with about 7 inch lettering. John pointed out it was a little hard to read since both words butt up against each other, so I will have to make an adjustment to it. We took turns holding each sign, depending on who was stop light preaching.

John wanted me to start stop light preaching, which I have never done. I told him to go first. He took my cross and read the stop light preaching message I had typed up and taped in the reverse side of the cross:

"Listen up! Have you ever told a lie? Stolen anything? Taken the Lord's name in vain? Lusted after another? We've all done these things. We're all lying, thieving, blaspheming, adulterers at heart. We will all stand guilty before God on Judgment Day, and He would rightly send us to Hell for all of eternity. Here is the good news. The Bible tells us that if we repent of our sins- that is, to turn away from them- and place our trust in Jesus Christ, we can be saved from the fires of Hell and have eternal life in Heaven. Please go to NEEDGOD.COM to read how to be saved."

Here is the audio of John:


I also took my cross and read the same message to a different set of cars stopped at the light another time. We only had about 30 seconds before the cars in the turning lane got the green arrow.

Here is the audio of me:


I'm glad John went with me today, because he pushed me to do stop light preaching. It wasn't as hard as I thought once I started doing it. There was a moment when I was reading right before we left when a dog with its head stuck out a window starting imitating me talking. We used to have a lab mix at home growing up that used to do the same thing and I couldn't help but start laughing as this dog was doing this.

We handed out a total of five tracts today.

A Conversation With 2 Jehovah's Witnesses

I arrived at Dover Center and Lorain around 3:30 yesterday. I soon handed out two tracts to two teenagers, and one told me she had seen the same tract at work and tons of them! She works at a local fast food burger restaurant.

Around 4:15, I saw two women across the street from me. They crossed in the cross walk and came over to talk to me.

I gave her a tract and asked her if she knew what was going to happen when she dies. She said, "Yea, I do, as a matter of fact. What do you think?" She then started reading the tract aloud:

"Will you go to Heaven when you die? Here's a quick test. Have you ever told a lie, stolen anything, or used God's name in vain? Jesus said, "Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Have you looked with lust? Will you be guilty on Judgment Day? If you have done those things, God sees you as a lying, thieving, blasphemous adulterer at heart. The Bible warns that if you are guilty you will end up in Hell."

She then stops, and says "Ohhh... I see. What church are you affiliated with?"

I told her I don't do this as a part of my church, but that I do go to a church in Rocky River and that I do this on my own.

"Oh, well it shows that you have a zeal, and that's good. Not many young people today have that zeal for God. Where do you derive your zeal from? What makes you want to do this?"

At this point I started tripping up over my words a little, talking about Living Waters and the Way of the Master course, but I quickly went back into the law. I told her that God sees us as lying, thieving, blaspheming, adulterer and murderer in the heart, and you are going to face God on Judgment Day. Based on that, would He find you innocent or guilty?

Completely ignoring the question, she says, "I was looking at your Scripture that is on there- Mark 1:15."

I quoted the verse: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."

"We are Bible students, actually, and this is why we came across the street, because we wanted to talk with you."

She continues, "Mark 1:15, 'The appointed time has been fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has drawn near. Repent, YOU people, and have faith in the good news."

Ok, I think, it's not exactly the ESV, but I figure it's close. I explained that so many people that are Christians who just profess to be Christians and not repent.

She explained that "repentance means that you feel sorry for the wrong that you've done and that conversion turning away from it and not doing it anymore. Absolutely, we believe in that truth."

I explained the parachute analogy. At this point, everything seems good. She says, "It talks about something interesting- it says that 'the kingdom of God has drawn near.' Have you ever wondered what that 'kingdom of God' is?"

I state that it says it has drawn near. It hasn't come yet. I told her that when I look at the verb tense, it says that "has drawn near," which tells me it's close, but it isn't here. I told her that we are in the end times and we are waiting for Jesus to return- it's just a matter of when.

"Yes, this kingdom that it talks about here in Mark, that has drawn near- Jesus taught His disciples to pray for that very kingdom. Something you pray for probably. 'You must pray that then this way: Our father in Heaven, that your Name may be sanctified. That your kingdom come.' Jesus says when we pray this prayer, it was for conditions in Heaven to be on the Earth. 'Let your kingdom come, that your will be done, on Earth, as it is in Heaven.' So, from the study of the Bible- and there's another Scripture in Daniel 2:44 that talks about the government. There is a prophecy in Daniel about the end times and it talks about this image of gold that Nebuchadnez´zar saw, and it tells you in Daniel 9, it represented all the governments of the time from the world powers of Egypt and Syria, all the way down to our day- and so that kingdom, that the Bible talks about is a government in itself..."

"Daniel 2:44: 'And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. And the kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite.' So it talks about that kingdom of government of God that will put an end to all human governments. When you pray the Lord's prayer, that's what you pray for."

This went on a little more and she said she wanted to come over and share with me. We talked a little more and I asked her what version of the Bible she had- because all of the previously quoted Scripture didn't seem right. "New World Translation. It is the most accurate translation of the Bible."

I ask, "Are you guys Jehovah's Witnesses?"

"We are Jehovah's Witnesses. Have you ever talked to Jehovah's Witnesses before?"

I say, "No, I have not." Not in depth anyways.

She said, "People say JW's have their own Bible, but if you go to Google and type in 'What is the most accurate translation of the Bible.,' it will bring up the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. It's actual fact. It's not the JW's have their own Bible, but it's because we put back the name of God the way it was meant to be in its original text." That doesn't mean anything. If I titled this blog post "Pigs Can Fly," it also would come up in Google eventually. That doesn't make it true.

I ask, "OK, let me ask you- what must I do to get to heaven, from your perspective?"

"Well, I won't tell you what- first of all, I can't tell you whether or not you go to Heaven or you will be here on Earth."

I say, "I can tell you exactly what you need to do to get to Heaven."

I also asked, "If I had 3 minutes to live, what would you tell me?" They hesitated and couldn't provide an answer.

I told them, "I can tell you exactly what you need to do. You need to repent of your sins, turn away from your sins, and place your trust in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation."

Our conversation went into other things, also- about working out endurance and about how faith without works is dead. I told them that our works are done in gratitude to what Jesus has done for us. I told them how Scripture says our works are nothing but filthy rags in the sight of God. There is nothing I could possibly do to add to Jesus' sacrifice on the cross.

At this point, I made sure to read my version of the Bible whenever Scripture was quoted- not to rely on the New World Translation.

I kept going back to my 3 minutes to live question, telling them they need to repent of their sins and place their trust in Jesus. I said, "If someone gets in a car wreck here, I could run out and say, 'Please, repent of your sins and place your trust in Jesus Christ.'"

She said, "OK, how does he repent of his sins 3 minutes before he dies?" I told them that he turns away from his sin and apologizes to God. Granted, there won't be the rest of his lifetime to see if that repentance is true- that's why waiting to the last minute to repent is so dangerous- it may not me true repentance and faith.

We also got into a brief discussion about the Trinity. She told me Jesus grew up as a man and He went to John the Baptist to be baptized. When He was being baptized, the Heavens opened up, the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove came down upon Him, and a voice was heard from Heaven, saying, "This is my Son."

She asked if Jesus was part of the Trinity, it would mean that God was presenting Himself to be baptized, God was speaking from the Heavens, and God was appearing the form of a dove on Jesus, all at the same time, and Jesus would be deceiving everyone around Him, because He would be saying that He is the Son of God, but He was actually God. How could God be poured out on Him and also His voice be heard from Heaven? I told her this isn't something I understand and I won't ever understand. She left me with a booklet that says, "Should You Believe in the Trinity?"

She said, "If I see you out here again another day, I'll stop by. Take a look at this and tell me what you think."

I told her, "I can tell you right now, I'm not budging."

She said, "You seem like a guy with an open mind." I may have let her speak her mind out of courtesy, but that doesn't mean that I am open to her beliefs. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father expect through Me." That doesn't leave any negotiating room.

She encouraged me to go online and look up some of things she gave me. I told her I didn't need to- I told her I have the truth- Jesus. At this point she realized she wasn't getting anywhere. I told her I have the truth- His name is Jesus Christ. I told her, "I know what is right- and you're not."

She said, "I respect your belief. I do respect your belief."

I told her, "It's not what you believe, it's what's true."

I don't know if I handled this conversation the best way, but at least I prevented 2 Jehovah's Witnesses going door to door for at least 30 minutes and brain washing someone who doesn't have a firm foundation.

Dover Center and Lorain in North Olmsted - 9/12/09

After earlier going to the Komen Race for the Cure with my cross, later in the day I went to the intersection of Dover Center and Lorain in North Olmsted. I arrived around 6:15 and after taking the picture above, I moved to a different spot across the street. It was a beautiful night with clear skies.



I stayed until 7:30. Traffic was light to moderate, I handed out one tract and was flicked off once. I've noticed that I've come to expect the best of society lately, which is not the case at all. I know I am in a moderately safe area, but I still have to remind myself that crime does exist and there wouldn't be a need for the police if it didn't.

A Conversation with Megan and Her Friends

Today, I went back to the intersection I was at on Sunday- Dover Center and Lorain in North Olmsted. This time, I arrived around 3:15. The first hour and a fifteen minutes was pretty quiet. I handed out a few gospel tracts to people passing by on the sidewalk.

One man in a car asked me, "Ready for what?" I quoted Hebrews 9:27 (It is appointed for a man once to die and then comes judgment.) I then asked, "Are you ready to be judged by God?" He told me that he was ready. He was stopped at the stoplight- looking back I should have gone through the law and gospel really quick to confirm he really was ready. One person from a car on Dover Center asked to see my sign (at the time it was pointed toward the moving traffic on Lorain).

At around 4:30 is when Megan and her friends passed by on the opposite side of Lorain Road. I saw them standing at the opposite corner waiting for the light to change so they could come to the corner I was at.

They asked me, "Ready for what?" I quoted Hebrews 9:27 and asked if they knew where they were going when the die. One girl flat out told me, "I'm going to Hell!" Great- I don't even have to go through the law! As if it were that easy...

I asked her if that concerned her. "Nope!" I asked her again if that honestly didn't concern her. "Nope!"

She told me she knew she was going to Hell and it didn't bother her. I told her that Hell was a "lake of fire." I again pushed her about it- "It doesn't bother you that you are going to burn in a lake of fire? A lake of sulfur?"

At this point it seems like they are just teenagers looking to entertain themselves by talking to me. I asked, "Have you ever put your hand in fire?" She told me she had and that it hurt. "Could you deal with that forever?"

She asked me where I was going. I told her I was going to Heaven. She asked me if I knew that for a fact- I told her I did. This is when Megan asked me, "Can I ask you something? What makes you believe in Heaven and Hell?"

I told Megan I had the inspired Word of God- the Bible. It has proven itself to be true through prophecies and through Jesus Christ.

Megan's friend told me that I don't have video evidence of Jesus rising from the grave. I told her I did not. She asked me if I had proof that Jesus was really the Son of God. I told her I did. I asked her if she had evidence that the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776. Just because there wasn't a video camera there doesn't mean it didn't happen. I told her there were 500 witnesses who saw the risen Christ after His death.

At this point I gave them all gospel tracts and encouraged them to read them. I thought they were leaving at this point, but our conversation picked back up.

Megan asked me if I had a Bible she could have. I told her I didn't have an extra one on me. She told me her brother took her's and used it to roll joints and smoke them. Her friend joked, "A holy joint?" I apologized I didn't have any but that I would get her one. I directed her to the Internet and a website that has the Bible online and I recommended the New Living Translation.

Megan told me she "didn't believe in God because if there was a God, He would make life perfect." She referenced all different types of evil in the world. I told her I understood, but also that the world was perfect at creation- it was through the fall and all the resulting evil was a part of it. I told her when Jesus returned, He would make it perfect again.

Megan asked me if I believed in reincarnation. I flat out said no. I asked her what she meant by reincarnation and she told me that "your soul lives in Heaven or somewhere for a little bit and if you did the right things..." I asked if she meant earning our salvation, to which she said yes, and I told her that is not what the Bible teaches. I told her the Bible teaches you are justified by faith in Christ alone. I told her part of that faith has to include repentance.

I asked Megan if she had trouble believing in God. I told her that all of creation testifies to God's existence. Take the human eye- it has 137 million light sensitive cells- do you mean to tell me that just happened by accident?

The other problem she had was who created God? I told her that is a problem a lot of people have. I told them that God created time and that God exists outside of time. It's not something that we understand, but I also don't fully understand how the concept of the Trinity works. I know God is three persons in one, but none of us fully understand how it is.

I encouraged them to read the tracts once more. Megan's friend told me that she doesn't really believe in Heaven and Hell, and she believes that just about everyone is going to Hell except for babies and a very few very good people. During her saying this, Megan interjects with, "What makes you believe in Hell?"

Aha- if there is a Hell, there must be a Heaven. I have not seen any witnessing conversations where the reality of Hell was certainty and Heaven was debated- it is always the opposite.

I told her friend that it didn't really matter what we believe to be true, it is what is true. I told her about these two guys that came by on Sunday that ignored the traffic light and rode into the intersection and almost got hit. Just because they believed they could use the cross walk at that time doesn't mean the car isn't going to hit them.

I gave Megan a card with our church's website on it and told her to read the "How to Get to Heaven" post. I asked them if they had a minute or if they had to run, and they said they had a minute, so I took them through the law and gospel presentation. They said they thought good people would go to Heaven, so I asked them if they would consider their selves to be good people. They said, "Good people who make bad choices."

After asking them if they had ever told a lie, stolen anything, blasphemed, lusted, and hated, I told them that God sees them as liars, thieves, blasphemers, adulterers and murderers at heart, and they need to face God on Judgment Day. Based on your breaking His law, would He find you guilty or innocent? Megan said guilty. Heaven or Hell? "Hell" I asked her if that concerns her. I told her it should. I told her Hell is described as being the weeping and gnashing of teeth, a lake of sulfur, a lake of fire. Someone said, "A lake of sulfur doesn't sound too nice!"

I explained how we need to repent of our sins and place our trust in Jesus for our salvation. I explained the parachute analogy- being on an airplane that is about to crash and having a parachute that can save you. Merely "believing" in the parachute won't save you- you have to strap on the parachute and jump from the plane. In the same sense, we need to strap on the Lord Jesus and jump from our sinful lifestyle.

Someone asked if Jesus would get mad if we spent our entire lives not believing in Him, or would He understand. I flat out told them that if they die in their disbelief, they are going to Hell. "That sounds kind of harsh!" I said, "But, you've broken His law."

Megan's friend asked, "So, it's kind of like jail?" I said,"No, this is forever!"

Someone said, "I did once believe there was once a God, and He was a good person, but I don't believe He is still watching over us."

They asked about other people of other religions and all the other gods. I told them those other gods don't exist. "So they're going to Hell?" Yes.

"But don't you think the people who believe in Hinduism and Buddhism think the same thing about us? That their god doesn't exist?" I told them those religions don't have the proof the Bible provides.

I said to them, "I'll tell you why Jesus is the only One who makes sense. You've all admitted you've sinned, and sinners can not go to Heaven. Jesus came to this earth and lived in the flesh with all the desires and never sinned once. He was put to death for our sins. If we repent of our sins and place our trust in Him, His righteous, His unsinful state can be applied to us and then we can be viewed by God as righteous and go to Heaven. All the other religions, you have to work your way."

I told them that narrow is the gate and few will find it. I told them that there are a lot of professing Christians who continue to live in sin- and I used to be one of them. I used to confess my sins and think I was OK. I then took them through the court room analogy of being before a judge. Just because I confess my sins to a judge doesn't negate the punishment I deserve.

"So, Jesus is the judge and we are in His court?"

I told them that if someone commits a crime, someone has to pay the price. Say, for example,
someone committed a crime and the penalty was a $1 million fine. There is no way I can pay the fine. The judge says, "Unless someone comes in with $1 million, you're going to jail for the rest of your life. At the last minute, someone comes in and right before the judge slams the gavel, puts down $1 million. The judge looks at the money and says 'you're free to go.' That's what Jesus did for our sins. He paid the fine for our sins, if will repent of our sins and place our trust in Him- we can go to Heaven, too."

I told them there is no way outside of that. It's not Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam.

Megan asked, "Do you believe if you don't believe in God, He will make your life worse?" I told her no, not necessarily. They asked if I believed in karma- I told them no, because there was no Scriptural basis for it.

I told Megan if she had any questions she could email me through the church website (via a form- my email address is not directly published on the church website). I showed them the Big Money tracts and asked them if they want those, also. They gladly took them.

Megan said to me that even people who have a worse life believe in God. I told her that's the problem with religion. A lot of them will tell you that you need Jesus because He will make your life better. The reason we need Jesus is because we are sinners and the only way we can get to Heaven is through believing. I referenced the Book of Acts and many of the Apostles' fate.

I told them to remember the reason they need Christ is not because they need a better life, but because we have all sinned and have all fallen short of the glory of God.

I asked them if they would be around this area regularly and they said yes. I told Megan I would get her a Bible and be out there Monday as long as it doesn't rain. I gave out 10 regular money sized gospel tracts and 3 Big Money tracts plus the 5 tracts I handed out earlier today.