Tough Times

I had a hard day yesterday.

First, I was told that I wasn't needed to work, maybe for the rest of this week. Which means I will have to dip into my savings account, something I wanted to avoid.

Then, the people that I was witnessing to: church people who are so enamored with "gifts" that they haven't the foggiest clue what it means to be saved. Absolutely frustrating to talk to two different people who were so deep into what their pastors' taught that it didn't occur to them that, if it no longer makes sense because they are not teaching it, either they didn't teach it properly or maybe they just got it wrong! But try telling that to these people whose idol is their pastor! I don't think I was ready for the backlash, so I didn't speak up. But am so distraught that maybe next time I will!

Then there was the young lady who whole-mouthedly consented to the exhortation to repent, but was dressed like a harlot (so was her stubborn friend, but at least she wasn't pretending to be a Christian), holding a cigarrette in her hand, extolling the virtues of getting high, and cursing about someone on the phone! I was so distressed after meeting them, I didn't know if I could witness to someone else right away.

The Lord told me to drop that notion and stop having a pity party, because there were more harlots out there--and to whom did Jesus go when He preached? The publicans and harlots. We have a TON of the latter here in St Louis, and I see why He went to them first. Talk about deceived!!

The next encounter was better, as I set my eyes on another pair of harlots but didn't know how to approach them. They were laughing at my shirt, though, and finally, when I smiled at something they were doing, they had the courage to ask me about it. (It is the graduation T-shirt that the Great News Network [GNN] gives to their Evangelism Boot Camp graduates.) I answered their question and gave them the Good Person Test.

The little sister of one was confessing the sins of the other harlot, and both harlots were getting scared. (The girl was 6, I think the other two were mid-teens). I told them that they should be scared: "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God. If you die in your sins, you will face His wrath!" They were very grateful when I gave them the Good News.

I no longer fear to make them tremble. They need to be afraid! "Fear Him whom after He has destroyed the body can also cast the soul into Hell. Yea, I say to you, fear Him!" It is by the Fear of the Lord that men depart from iniquity, and I will not stop preaching it now.

There are too many souls at stake.