The Message of the Cross

The message of the cross is simple.

Hebrews 9:27 says, "Just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment." Do you know how you are going to be judged by God, come Judgment Day?

We've all broken the Ten Commandments. We've all lied, stolen (regardless of value), taken the Lord's name in vain (said "oh my ___"), looked with lust (which Jesus says is adultery in the heart, and hated (which Jesus said is murder in the heart).

Based on that, we are all lying thieves, blasphemers, and adulterers and murders at heart. We will all stand guilty before God on Judgment Day. He should sentence us to Hell for all of eternity.

But God loved you so much that He sent His One and only Son to die in place of your sins on the cross. He rose again on the third day forever defeating death. The Bible tells us if we repent of our sins and place out trust in Him, we will have everlasting life in heaven.

Repentance is more than just confession, though. Although confession is a part of it, repentance involves a turning away from your sin and abandonment of your sins.

Mark 1:15 says this: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."

Please repent of your sins today and place your trust in Jesus Christ alone to save you. Trust Him like a parachute if you were on a plane that was about to crash. Merely "believing" in the parachute will save you isn't going to. You must trust the parachute, strap it on and jump from the plane to be saved. In the same sense, you must trust Jesus Christ, put on the Lord Jesus and abandon your sinful lifestyle to be saved.

For a more detailed article on this topic, please read this post.

Dover Center and Detroit in Westlake - 8/16/2010

Yesterday, I returned to a spot I used to frequent a lot but have neglected for the past months as I have hit Lakewood hard: Dover Center and Detroit in Westlake. I have neglected the spots I used to frequent in favor of Lakewood for the past months, but I need to come back to those spots. I didn't hand out any tracts (although I had the opportunity to hand out a few, fear came over me- which it does at times) and was out from 3:45 to 4:45.

A Question About Homosexuality - 6/21/10

Monday, I went to Sinagra Park in Lakewood around 1:30. Shortly after arriving, a young man approached me and asked me, "Would it be a bad thing if I'm gay?"

This is the first time I have been asked about this subject on the street and I need to handle it with extreme care.

I told this young man that I could only tell him what the Bible said about homosexuality. He asked if it said it was bad and he would burn in hell. I told him that it was true that if he looked in 1 Corinthians 6:9 that it does say no homosexual will inherit the kingdom of heaven (The ESV says kingdom of God, but they are interchangeable).

At this point, I was quick to point out the Bible also says that no fornicators, murders, or even liars would enter, either. The young man rightly pointed out that is everyone in the world.

I told him the message wasn't geared for a specific group of people- we all need Jesus. I asked him if he was familiar with the Ten Commandments and he said, "I believe so." I told the young man this law was given to show us that none of us can keep it.

I asked him if he was familiar with Jesus at all and he brought up the issue of forgiveness.

I asked him if would consider himself to be a Christian, to which he replied, "Yea."

I asked him, "If I were to come up to you and ask you, 'How do I become a Christian?' What would you say to me?"

He replied, "Probably say, 'By being a good person.' "

At this point I asked him, "Would you consider yourself to be a good person?"

He said he would. I asked him if he had ever told a lie or stolen anything. He responded he had. I also told him that Jesus considers calling someone a "fool" the same as murder in the heart. I told the young man, "So, by your own admission, I'm not judging you- you're a lying thief, and a murderer at heart."

To which he replied, "OK, well, so are you!"

To which I said, "Absolutely! Absolutely! And we all need to face God on Judgment Day. So based on those three commandments, would he find you guilty or innocent of breaking His law?"

He responded guilty, and I immediately pointed out that I am guilty, also. I asked him if God found him guilty, should He send him to heaven or hell? He responded hell. I asked him if that concerned him. He replied, "Not at the present moment." I asked him if he knew what hell was described as. I told him it was a lake of fire, where the worm never dies- eternal torment.

The young man asked me how we could know how bad it is if none of us have been there. I responded that we have Jesus' words in the Bible.

I asked him if he knew what Jesus did for us on the cross so we don't have to go to hell. I explained that Jesus died in place of us- for our sins. I explained that a legal transaction took place- we broke God's law, but He died and took the penalty for our sins.

I told him it was like being in a court of law with a fine of $1 million in front of you or life in prison. You can't pay the fine and the judge is about to pass sentence and at the last second, someone comes in and puts down $1 million on the judge's desk and says, "Here, I'm paying the fine." The judge looks over at you and says, "You're free to go. Not because you are innocent, not because you deserve it, but because your fine has been paid." That's what Jesus has done on the cross.

I told the young man that what Jesus commands us to do is repent of our sins- turn away from them, and trust in Him like a parachute. I explained how merely believing in a parachute on a crashing plane won't save anyone- you must strap the parachute on, trust the parachute, and jump from the plane. In the same sense, we need to strap on the Lord Jesus, trust Him, and abandon our sins- repent.

I confessed to the young man that my big thing before I came to Christ was dealing with lust. I told him that Jesus said, "Whoever looks with lust is guilty of adultery in the heart." I said to him that I didn't need to tell him how bad it was out in public with all the temptation.

I quickly explain imputed righteousness again to him and told him to look at the back side of the gospel tract I had given him- that it talked about the things we talked about. I asked him if he had a Bible at home, and he said, "I think, somewhere." I encouraged him to look at the Gospel of John and don't take my word for it- read the Bible yourself and see if what I am telling you is the truth.

I told him I know it's a hard message because it was hard for me. I let him know that I really struggled with turning away from my sin and that I still struggle with lust at times.

I asked him if he had a home church and he replied with the name of it and I asked if it was a Catholic Church. He replied it was and I said I wouldn't get into about the Catholic Church, but to remember this: Jesus said, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice." I told him God cares about our hearts, not just externalizations.

If you doubt that standing on the street with a cross isn't effective, I hope this post shows you that it can and does draw people in. This young man knew what the Bible says about homosexuality, yet he wanted someone to talk to about it. He may have been afraid to talk to someone at church or someone he knew about homosexuality, but he was able to talk to me about it. I may never see this young man again, but he will be on my heart and I pray that God grants him repentance and salvation.

A Conversation with Jason and John - 6/17/10

Last Thursday, I went to my spot in Lakewood- Sinagra Park in front of the City Center. I stood near the traffic light next to Chipotle. I was handing out tracts and Jason approached me. Jason told me he wanted to offer me encouragement and pray for me. Our conversation lasted for quite a while and Jason did end up praying for me.

Towards the end of our conversation, two young men approached us and one of them, John, asked about the cross. Shortly after getting into the law and John realizing his sinfulness, Jason took over. The two young men were involved in some activities that Jason had been involved in previously. I am glad Jason was there to take over the conversation I had started, because he was able to relate to these young men a way I could not. Jason ended up giving the one young man his number and invited him to an outreach.

I ended up seeing John again the following Monday and he recalled his conversation with Jason. I think I ended up giving John a gospel tract and told him it went over the things Jason had spoken to him about. Please be in prayer for John.

On Detroit in Lakewood - 4/01/10

Yesterday was not a dull day in Lakewood. I was out from 3:45 to 5:45- this is the first time I have been out anywhere past 5:00. I started out in Sinagra Park on Detroit Road and shortly after arriving moved to the corner of Warren and Detroit. This is a very busy intersection with both foot and vehicular traffic. Very soon after arriving at this intersection, a Lakewood Police officer stopped to talk to me (and this is the first time I got the privilege of having the lights on top of the car turned on for me).

"What are you doing?" he asked.

I responded, "Trying to spread the Gospel."

He told me I was a distraction and could cause an accident. I asked him where I could go, and he responded he didn't know, but I couldn't stand here. He offered the park in front of the city center (where I started out), so in the interest of peace, I went over to that area. I have two friends coming up to Lakewood Saturday to do open air preaching and after standing at this location, I was thinking about using this spot, but now I may run into some problems.

After moving back over to Sinagra Park, I stood in front of a group of youths sittings on the benches that were talking very loudly and using countless profanities. My pastor had open air preached at this spot one time before and didn't have any problems with the police and I am hoping for the same. If these youths can scream and use profanities, we should be allowed to preach.

A man named Glenn came up to me and wanted to encourage me. He told me he had previously been a pastor at a church in the area but had to leave because they started going into a different direction. That sounds all too familiar.

I also had 3 or 4 people make references to Satan yesterday, including one "Hail Satan." I also encountered some youth that were curious about my sign and when I tried giving one of them a Gospel tract, one said he wasn't Christian and another said God and Jesus didn't exist.

A Conversation with Jeff - 3/31/10

Yesterday, I went to the intersection of Dover Center and Center Ridge in Westlake from 3:30 to 5:00. I remembered to stand in the shade this time to avoid the sunburn I got last week. The weather is absolutely beautiful this week (upper 60's and 70's) and there were a lot of middle school kids walking home. One asked me if I had any more of the money tracts, and I told him I did and gave him and his friends a tract. I handed out 11 tracts to students passing by.

Around 4:00, Jeff pulled up and told me he wanted to offer me encouragement for what I was doing. He wanted to show me his tattoo- along with a graphic, he had John 12:25 etched into his skin- just the reference, not the actual verse. John 12:25 is, "Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."

I gave Jeff a tract and it turns out he already reads Ray Comfort's blog, but wasn't familiar with Hell's Best Kept Secret. He said he may have heard of it, but I encouraged him to listen to it. I made sure to share the parachute analogy with him and stress the importance of repentance, which he refreshingly already knew.

On Detroit in Lakewood - 3/21/10

Sunday, I went to the intersection of Andrews and Detroit in Lakewood. Shortly after I arrived, a shop across the street sent someone out in a costume for their business to hand out fliers (though they didn't hand out very many). I don't know if they did that in response to me standing right across the street from them or not.

A man saw my sign and asked if it was about 2012. He talked about a variety of things, including tectonic plates and polar ice caps melting- after going on for a while I managed to give him a Gospel tract and encouraged him to read it. An elderly woman also walked by and commended me on what I was doing and said that in a sense, we are all little missionaries for Jesus.

I was also photographed by ClevelandSGS, a site that documents the Cleveland community. Here is a link to the blog post about me on that site. I handed out a couple of gospel tracts and received quite a few hits from ClevlandSGS.

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.

A Conversation With a Pedestrian and Ted - 3/10/10

Yesterday, I went to the intersection of Dover Center and Center Ridge in Westlake from 3:00 to 5:00. After standing on the southeast corner for a while, I gave a gospel tract to someone passing by and she asked about the cross. She told me she just came from a function at a Catholic church. I quickly went through the law and the Gospel with her and asked her if she knew where she was going when she died, and she said she did. I didn't really press it beyond that, but she did leave with the tract.

At around 4:00, Ted walked up to me. At this point, I was on the northwest corner of the intersection. Ted told me he was Christian, and when I asked what kind, he said non-denominational, although he grew up Seventh-Day Adventist.

Ted told me he had read parts of the Bible, but not from cover to cover. I asked him if he had read the four gospels, and he said he had. I made reference Jesus saying lust was adultery in the heart (Matthew 5:27-28) and how the Bible to says to hate is to murder. Ted said I struck a chord with him with lust.

I also asked Ted, "If I had 3 minutes to live, what would you tell me?" Most Christians have a hard time with this question, or they always seem to leave something out in their answer. Ted was no exception. At this point I mentioned how both repentance and faith are both necessary and shared the parachute analogy with him.

If you are on a plane about to crash and there is a parachute that can save you, merely "believing" in that parachute won't save you. You must put on the parachute, trust the parachute, and jump from the crashing plane. In the same sense, we must put on the Lord Jesus, trust Him like a parachute, and abandon our sins (repent).

I handed out 5 tracts today.

Detroit and Lake in Rocky River - 3/09/10

It's finally warm again in Cleveland! Yesterday, I went to a new spot- the intersection of Detroit and Lake in Rocky River. I was out from 3:20 to 4:30. At one point, someone in a car was looking intently at the cross and said he would look it up- I am pretty sure he was referring to Mark 1:15 on my cross. He turned onto Lake, turned around, and when he was sitting at the light, he reached for what I think was a Bible. I look forward to hitting the streets more often now that it's warm.

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.

Back on the Streets - 1/14/2010

Last Thursday, I went back out on the street for the first time in about a month. Prior to this date, for about the last three weeks, temps have been bitterly cold in the area and I haven't been out. Temps are starting to edge back north of the freezing point lately and I hope to get back out on the streets more often.

Thursday, with some of the snow finally gone, I went to the intersection of Andrews and Detroit in downtown Lakewood from 11:00 to 11:45. No conversations, but a lot of people saw and noticed the cross. Hope to get back out there more often, soon!

Dover Center and Center Ridge in Westlake - 12/15/09

Tuesday, I went to the intersection of Dover Center and Center Ridge in Westlake from 1:40 to 2:10. The lack of sunshine is a regular thing now and even though it looked like it was raining, it wasn't- everything was just wet.

Center Ridge and Wagar/West 210th in Rocky River/Fairview Park - 12/14/09

Monday, I went to the intersection of Center Ridge and Wagar/West 210th in Rocky River/Fairview Park from around 12:30 to 1:00. It was a "mild" day for this time of year- in the mid 40's, so I wanted to make sure and get out, but there was quite a wind blowing, which made it feel colder than it was.

I had a man walk by and look at the cross and ask, "They made you guys move down here?" He most likely was referring to the protesters that picket in front of an abortion clinic a block or so up the street, and I told him I wasn't associated with them.

Somebody passing by waved and I gave a head nod back because I didn't have any hands free. Someone else started honking their horn at me as they were driving by and as I started to wave, I saw a middle finger sticking up at me.

Dover Center and Center Ridge in Westlake - 12/07/09

Today, I went to the intersection of Dover Center and Center Ridge in Westlake from 12:15 to 12:45. Snow flurries are starting to fly around and I'm missing summer! I wish the expressed temperature in Fahrenheit was the temperature in Celsius right now!

On Detroit in Lakewood - 12/04/09

Don't let the clear, sunny skies fool you- it was a blazing 35 degrees today! It's getting tougher to stay in one spot with the cross because the cold sets in really fast. I was out from 1:30 to 2:30 and handed out one tract to someone who told she was trying to read my cross. She told me she was very analytical and she needed to know what my cross said.

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.

On Detroit in Lakewood - 11/29/09

Sunday, I went to the intersection of Elmwood/Andrews and Detroit in Lakewood. It was a pretty quiet day aside from someone stopping by in a car headed westbound on Detroit to show me The Villager newspaper and the article about the cross. They asked if I had seen it, and I said I had.

People may have read the article but not thought twice about it, but if they end up seeing me on the street, I may implant a seed to search for this blog which can lead them to the gospel. As winter quickly approaches, temps are dropping- please pray I have the endurance to stay outside in the cold! I handed out about 12 tracts yesterday.

Dover Center and Detroit in Westlake - 11/23/09

Yesterday I went to the intersection of Dover Center and Detroit in Westlake from 2:45 to 4:45. I handed out a few tracts, but mostly just stood with the cross. Winter is on it's way!

A Conversation with Rob - 11/22/09

Today, I went to the intersection of Elmwood and Detroit in Lakewood from 12:50 to 3:05. While I was there, a young woman who I think I had met last Sunday named Mirena was yelling down from an apartment (in the left side of the picture). She was yelling "Hail Satan!" and later came out onto the balcony. It appeared she was taking pictures of me and she uttered a blasphemy. I tried my best to ignore her.

Around 2:50, a young man named Rob inquired about the cross. He asked if I attended a local church that was nearby, and I told him I didn't. We started talking and I shared the Way of the Master method with him. He was big on how God is love and how God loves everyone. I told him that while God is love, he is also righteous and just.

I mentioned the necessity of repentance and he agreed, but he also told me that we are not to judge. Rob mentioned that God will use us as we are in life (e.g. prostitutes who came to Christ), but I made sure to hammer home the point that God also calls us to repent.

I mentioned a list of sins that were in 1 Corinthians 6 and Rob said that while Paul had some good things to say, he esteems the 4 gospels above them. Rob clearly knew Scripture and we could have gone back and forth, so I finally asked him what he thought of me with the cross. He told me that he had no problem with it and compared it to when John asked Jesus (in Luke 9:49-50) if others casting out demons in His name should be stopped, and He told them not to.

He mentioned he wasn't used to seeing things like my cross. I talked to him for about 15 minutes, but I cut the conversation short because I told my wife I'd be home at 3:00. I left him with a tract and 3 girls who inquired about the cross as I was about to wrap things up.