2013 Tucson Rodeo Parade Outreach

  I was super blessed to be invited to join our brothers over at Eternal Living Word Fellowship to evangelize and share the great news of our Savior Jesus Christ at the Annual Tucson Rodeo Parade.  This was my first time going to the parade and shocked at the attention this gets from the city of Tucson.
  Thousands of people gathered along fences going around blocks of the streets in South Tucson to see a parade recognizing a rodeo that happens every year.  Tucson even goes as far as to make the week in school called "Rodeo Week" and give the schools days off to see the event.
  Encouraged to serve with my brothers, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to minister to a city starving for the truth so we gathered together around 7:30 at a Circle K (mind you it was freezing for Tucson and had snowed the day before about 3 inches in some locations) and we spread out in two's!  I was blessed to be with a brother I have known for a couple years named Saul Negrete.  How awesome to serve along with him as he is such an encouragement with the Word that you can't help but want to talk to people!

book from the cult "Scientology"

  Amazing as it was, the very first person we spoke to happened to be evangelizing but with a false gospel.  His name was Shane and he was passing out a tract that looked just like the picture to the right.  I handed Shane a tract and he said he would like to give me one also.  Not able to read at the moment I asked him what the way to happiness was and he said through hope.  I asked if he was a Christian and he said he was.
"Praise God", I said as we shook hands and stood still for a couple seconds.  I could have walked away and be thankful another brother is passing out tracts but the Holy Spirit urged me to keep asking questions and keep talking so I attempted to spark more conversation by asking, "So, do you believe Jesus was fully God, fully man?"
From there it heated up as Shane responded with, "You can't know!"
  "You can't know?"  I questioned.  "What about what the Word of God says?  Didn't Jesus claim tons of times that He was God which is why they crucified Him on the cross for blasphemy?"
  "Your reading it all wrong", He returned.  "I study books all the time and if you read them correctly you'll see that we can't know."
  I couldn't believe this!  Here I thought I was thankful for the Lord providing a brother in Christ for encouragement but instead the enemy was professing false teachings immediately at the same time we we're trying to spread the truth!  The conversation went no-where fast from there.  I plead with the man showing him prophecy and Scriptures revealing that Christ is the Creator of the universe and that we can have assurity in salvation but he was not interested.  At that point, I had to rebuke him as he was now spreading a seed of damnation to the streets and assisting in people going to Hell which is the opposite of why we were out there.  Before I knew it, as we went down the streets, everyone had already received one of his books so I beg that you pray those people throw that book away, set it down and forget where they put it, and/or loose it forever as it is not the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ!
  From there, WOW, we hit some mileage!  Our group combined spread out about 2,000 Gospel tracts and after words only found about 10 on the ground.  The Lord opened several conversations for us to speak with people and I would love to share them all but as you've noticed I am not the best of writers so I will spare you with that.  All I ask is that you check out our prayer requests below and prayer page and PLEASE pray for the people, that they received God's Word today.  The Scriptures say in Isaiah 55:11,

"So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."

So please pray for the Word of God to spread and that the seeds planted today grow and produce some thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold!
  Thank you again to Pastor Danny and Pastor Sonny for the invitation along with the body over at ELW and thank you for those who prayed as we went out today!
PRAISE GOD!




PRAYER REQUESTS:

Shane - He was preaching the book on the cult "Scientology".  Pray he would hear the Word of God and that he would want to know the TRUTH along with stop passing out false teachings causing others to stumble.

Mark - He had mixed religious backgrounds including: Jehovah's Witness and Catholicism   He was curious about the truth and asked several questions so pray the Lord ministers to him and he would keep seeking!

Mo - He was a security guard that was receptive and took a tract even though he shouldn't have, being on duty.

John - He is a practicing Mormon and agreed with me on several things but kept adding that he had made his own "covenant" with the Lord and that he will be saved by his attempt at keeping the ten commandments.

Mimi & her son Tony - Tony walked away from the Lord after meeting and going through a relationship with a Buddhist girlfriend.  Though now they are broken up, Tony does not want anything to do with the Lord.  Mimi needs encouragement to also seek the Lord and His truth along with being capable to minister to her son!

Brandon - He is a TPD officer and reached out to us.  Funny story, I thought he was going to stop us but he actually said he was a Christian and wanted to give some tracts out also, so we prayed for him and gave some tracts! :)

Four Part Study Through Acts 2:42

In Acts 2:42 we see the Disciples of Christ show some foundations of the Christian life.  At House of Truth Fellowship we decided to take a moment from our study in 1 John and recognize what we see the church do in Scripture, as they follow the Lord and His Word.  

Below you will see a four part study of the specifics listed in Acts 2:42.  Take your time through each and examine what the Lord is saying.  We pray you are blessed as we definitely were!

Acts 2:42

"And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers."

Sincerity vs Truth Finale Part Four

(This article has been put together from different portions of "The Second Greatest Lie Ever Told" By Mark Cahill) 

If you have not read Part One, Two, or Three yet, here are the links:

http://once-lostministries.blogspot.com/2013/02/sincerity-vs-truth-part-three.html

http://once-lostministries.blogspot.com/2013/01/sincerity-vs-truth-part-two.html

http://once-lostministries.blogspot.com/2013/02/sincerity-vs-truth-part-three.html

  The second greatest lie ever told is that there are many ways to get to heaven.  We now know that is NOT true.  But did you know what the greatest lie that has ever been told and still told is?  That a human being can be good enough to get to heaven!  I can't tell you how many times I have heard that from someone, and I thought it myself at one point in my life.  I have even had people who do not believe in God tell me that even if there is a God, they have been a good person so they will be okay with Him when they die!


So how good is good enough?

All one has to do is look at the Law of God, which is more commonly called the Ten Commandments, to see how we measure up to the holiness of God.  So let's take a look at those commandments and see how we measure up:

"Thou shalt have no other gods before me."  The God of the Bible must be the God that you worship.  Worship implies a relationship.  You must have a relationship with God.  Nothing in our lives is more important than having a true relationship with the God of the universe.  Period.  Anything that would disrupt or impede this relationship with God would be breaking this commandment.  

Has anything ever come between you and God?

"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me: And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments."  Remember that the Jews tried to make a golden calf to represent God, and they worshipped it.  There is no manmade object that could ever replace God.  If you worshipped that creation then you would not be worshipping the Creator.  It is not proper to worship God through images.  The only image of God walking on earth are men and women where in Genesis it says we are made in his image.

                            Have you ever worshipped anything in place of God?

"Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain."  Remember that God gave His name to the Jews: YHWH.  When He did that, He was becoming very personal with the people that he created.  It is a privilege to know the name of God.  Now you see why you don't want to use His name in vain.  We are supposed to have a close, loving relationship with Him; and anyone we have that kind of relationship with, we would never use their name in a flippant, cursing, or disrespectful way.

                              Have you ever used the name of God in the wrong fashion?

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, or thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it."  God rested on the sabbath day and so should we!  God commands this so that we use it as a day of remembrance of Him, and also to prevent us from the greed that can get a hold of any of us.  Some of us would want to work every day to make more money, and God says no.  Chick-fil-A is one of the largest restaurant chains in America.  You will notice that they are not open on Sundays.  The reason is that it is a Christian-based company.  They believe if you can't run your business and make your profit in six days, then there is really no need to be in business.  The also want to make sure their employees get enough rest and spend time with their families.  If you don't already know, they have been one of the most successful restaurants out there for many, many years.

                             Have you always honored God's Sabbath day of rest?

"Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee."  This is the only commandment with a promise attached to it.  This commandment ensures a society where the younger generation respects and appreciates the older generation.  it teaches the young the proper way to submit to authority.  It is also the parents's responsibility to teach the ways of God to their children.  This is how a society will keep functioning correctly for                    many generations.

                             Have you ever dishonored your Mom or Dad?

"Thou shalt not murder."  The original Hebrew word here is "murder", and this commandment prohibits murder.  Murder is a selfish act.  It is premeditated.  We can see in the Bible that God takes the shedding of innocent blood very seriously.  God is the giver and taker of life.  We aren't.  1 John 3:15 says, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him."  Jesus gives us another take on this commandment.  He says even if you have anger with someone in your heart without cause, you will be in danger of judgment.  (Matthew 5:21-22)

                            Have you ever been angry with someone without just cause?

"Thou shalt not commit adultery."  This commandment protects the marriage covenant between a man and woman.  Once the family is destroyed, a society will be destroyed as well.  Unfaithfulness in our relationships is a very big deal to God.  God is a faithful being, and we need to be faithful as well.  Jesus even took this commandment to another level when He said, "If you have even looked upon someone with lust, it means you have already committed adultery in your heart with that person."  (Matthew 5:27-28)

                           Have you ever looked at someone with lust?

"Thou shalt not steal."  This commandment protects private property and a stable society.

                          Have you ever taken something that is not yours?

"thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour."  Telling the truth is the backbone of any society.  Numbers 23:19 says, "God is not a man, that he should lie..."  God is truth.  If someone can lie in court, then people will be falsely punished over and over again.  Perjury destroys the life and liberty of others.  When I served on a jury, every time I listened to a witness giving testimony, the question I asked was, "Are they telling the truth?"

                           Have you ever told a lie?

"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is thy neighbour's."  This is a private attitude of the heart.  We are not to crave and desire things that are not ours.  Why?  Those desires too many times will lead to actions, and those actions then cause you to break one of the other commandments.

                          Have you ever coveted something that is not yours?


ONE AND DONE

Now things get a little more interesting.  James 2:10 says, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all."  So if we break one of the Ten Commandments, we have broken them all.  So, I ask you again: Have you broken any of the Ten Commandments?

So many today compare celebrities such as Michael Jackson and ask, "He did all these good works, helped all these people, and gave millions of dollars to charities.  How can he not go to heaven?"

• Ephesians 2:8-9  "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

If we got to heaven by works, we could boast in heaven about what we did instead of boasting about what God did.

I was in a mall one day chatting with a young man when all of the sudden, someone walked out of the store and the security buzzer went off.  The clerk had left one of the tags on the item of clothing they purchased.  It got me thing.  It is the same way with sin and trying to enter the gates of heaven.  The alarm would go off as we tried to enter heaven because of our 'tag' called sin.  It didn't matter if that person had one item with the security tag still on it or a hundred items.  The sensor would catch it either way.  I did talk with a shoplifter one day who told me how he could steal things from a store even with the security tag on there!!  Remember someone might get away with stealing things, but since the all-knowing God of the universe see all things, I will never, ever get away from one of the sins that I have committed.

• Romans 3:23  "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"

We have all come short of God's standard.  Period.

So if God is going to be able to catch any of my sins whether there is one of them or a million of them,  you and I now have a huge problem.  We need forgiveness from those sins.

• Psalm 38:18  "For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin."

First of all, do you realize that your sin has offended the God of the universe?

• Isaiah 55:7  "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."

The word used in the Bible to forsake your evil ways is 'repent.'  It means to turn away from something.  Are you ready to turn from those sins that have gotten you into trouble with God?  If you are ready for Him to remove your sin 'tag' once and for all and want a different life, proceed forward.

• Hebrews 9:22  "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission."

In the Old Testament, there was a shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sins.  A lamb without blemish would be used for that sacrifice to God.  When you talk to Jews, they don't sacrifice animals anymore for sin.  But if God says that it takes blood for the atonement of a soul, that is what it takes.

• John 1:29  "The next jay John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."

You can see where we are going.  It takes blood to get rid of sin.  Jesus is the Lamb of God that the Old Testament has been pointing to the entire time to be that one final sacrifice!

• 2 Corinthians 5:21  "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."

When Jesus died on the cross, He took the sins of the whole world onto Himself at that time.  That is why anyone who wants to can come to Him for forgiveness.

• John 3:16  "For God loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Are you one of those people that are ready to repent and put your belief in what Jesus has done for you on the cross?

• 1 Corinthians 15:3-6  "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for your sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep."

Just like Jesus rose from the dead, so will you.  And then you'll go to either heaven or to hell.  It's your choice.

• Romans 5:6-10  "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.  For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life."

• John 3:3  "Jesus answered and said unto him,  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

• Revelation 7:9  "After this I beheld, and , lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;"

Sincerity vs Truth Part Three

(This article has been put together from different portions of "The Second Greatest Lie Ever Told" By Mark Cahill) 

If you have not read Part One or Two yet, here are the links:
http://www.once-lost.com/2013/01/sincerity-vs-truth-part-one.html

http://www.once-lost.com/2013/01/sincerity-vs-truth-part-two.html

       If one will seriously investigate these Biblical evidences, he will find that their claims of divine inspirations (stated over 3,000 times, in various ways) were amply justified.

Lets take a quick look and see if the Bible can be backed up by solid evidence or not.

The Proof of Textual Evidence

Both the Old and New testaments are strongly supported by manuscript evidence (the evidence of early hand written copies).  The famous Dead Sea Scrolls are one example of the Old Testament evidence.  These documents came from the "library" of a settlement founded at Qumran before 150 B.C. and abandoned about 68 A.D.  Some of the manuscript copies were made during that period, and some were written earlier (third century BC) and brought to the settlement.  Ignoring spelling-oriented (orthographic) changes and similar small differences, the Dead Sea Scrolls match the Hebrew text behind today's Old Testament, in spite of the passage of over 2,000 years (where one would expect errors to creep in).

Over 20,000 known manuscripts document the New Testament text.  This makes the New Testament the most reliable document of antiquity (a document written before the printing press).  These manuscripts vary in size from a part of a page to an entire Bible (Old and New Testaments).  The earliest New Testament manuscripts date from the second century (100-199) AD.  These manuscript copies were written in different languages by people of different nationalities  cultured, and backgrounds.  In spite of all those differences between them, the New Testament texts all agree.  (That is, those differences that we do observe between these hand written documents are occasional changes in the spelling of names or isolated cases of missing or changed words.  Still, since we have so many copies, it is obvious to anyone but the hardened skeptic that they all represent the same text.)

The Proof of Prophecy

One of the strongest arguments for the accuracy of the Bible is its 100% accuracy in predicting the future.  These future predictions are called "prophecies."  The Old Testament was written between approximately 1450 BC and 430 BC.  During that time, many predictions of the future were recorded in the Bible by God's prophets.  Of the events that were to have taken place by now, every one happened just the way they predicted it would.  No other "sacred writing" has such perfectly accurate predictions of the future.

One Type: The Messianic Prophecies

Of these prophecies, the most striking examples are the predictions about an "anointed one"  ("Messiah" in Hebrew) who was to arrive in the future.  About 4 BC, a miraculous event occurred-a boy named Jesus was born to a virgin named Mary.  You can read His story in the book of Luke.  Starting at age 30, Jesus fulfilled more and more of these prophecies written about the Messiah.  His fulfillment of these prophecies was very spectacular: Jesus gave sight to the blind, made the lame walk, cured those who had leprosy, gave the deaf hearing and raised people from the dead!  These miracles and others were done many times in front of thousands of witnesses for three years.  About 30 AD, Jesus was crucified (a prophecy) and died (a prophecy), after which He was seen by over 500 witnesses.  Since these prophecies were written down at least 400 years before they happened, there is no doubt that the Bible's writers were inspired supernaturally-by God.

A Second Type: Fulfilled Prophecy Dealing With Nations

There are many prophecies that can be proven through archaeology especially those dealing with entire nations.  Typically, when God declared judgement on a nation, He would send a prophet to announce to the citizens why He was judging them and what He was going to do to them if they continued their evil behavior. On occasion, God would tell the citizens how He would reward them if they started doing what was right.  The book of Jonah records a case where the Assyrians stopped doing what was evil as a result of Johah's short prophecy.  This is what God wanted, and God did not punish them as a result of their change of heart.  However, most often, the people would jeer at God's prophet and continue their bad behavior-later becoming recipients of the exact punishment that God threatened.


Like other prophecy recorded in the Bible, these predictions support the supernatural inspiration of the Bible.  The prophecies recorded in the Bible came true in such a detailed way that they could not have been predicted by chance.  Further, archaeologists have evidence that these prophecies were written down many years before they were fulfilled, proving that they were not falsified documents claiming to be prophecies that came true.  (The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls stopped the majority of that talk.)

There is no other book, ancient or modern, like this.  the vague, and usually erroneous, prophecies of people like Jeanne Dixon, Nostradamus, Edgar Cayce, and others like them are not in the same category at all, and neither are other religious books such as the Koran, the Confucian Analects, and similar religious writings.  Only the Bible manifests this remarkable prophetic evidence, and it does so on such a tremendous scale as to render completely absurd and explanation other than divine revelation.

The historical accuracy of the Scriptures is likewise in a class by itself, far superior to the written records of Egypt, Assyria, and other early nations.  Archaeological confirmations of the Biblical record have been almost innumerable in the last century.  Dr. Nelson Glueck, probably the greatest modern authority on Israeli archaeology has said:

"No archaeological discovery has ever controverted a Biblical reference.  Scores of archaeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or in exact detail historical statements in the Bible.  And, by the same token , proper evaluation of Biblical descriptions has often led to amazing discoveries."

Another striking evidence of divine inspiration is found in the fact that many of the principles of modern science were recorded as facts of nature in the Bible long before scientists confirmed them experimentally.  A sampling of these would include:

• Roundness of the earth (Isaiah 40:22)
• Law of conservation of mass energy (2 Peter 3:7)
• Hydrologic cycle (Ecclesiastes 1:7)
• Vast number of stars (Jeremiah 33:22)
• Law of increasing entropy (Psalm 102:25-27)
• Paramount importance of blood in life processes (Leviticus 17:11)
• Atmospheric circulation (Ecclesiastes 1:6)
• Gravitational field (Job 26:7)
• And many others!

These are not stated in the technical jargon of modern science, of course, but in terms of the basic world of man's everyday experience; nevertheless, they are completely in accord with the most modern scientific facts.

It is significant also that no real mistake has ever been demonstrated in the Bible-in science, in history, or in any other subject.  Many have been claimed, of course, but conservative Bible scholars have always been able to work out reasonable solutions to all such problems.

One Theme

The remarkable structure of the Bible should also be stressed.  Although it is a collection of 66 books, written by 40 or more different men over a period of 2,000 years, it is clearly one Book, with perfect unity and consistency throughout.

The individual writers, at the time of writing, had no idea that their message was eventually to be incorporated into such a Book, but each nevertheless fits perfectly into place and serves its own unique purpose as a component of the whole.  Anyone who diligently studies the Bible will continually find remarkable structural and mathematical patterns woven throughout its fabric, with an intricacy and symmetry incapable of explanation by chance or collusion.

The one consistent them of the Bible, developing in grandeur from Genesis to Revelation, is God's great work in the creation and redemption of all things, through His only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now that we know the Bible is true, eternal matters now become much more clear.  the God of the Bible is almost beyond words to describe, but yet, he used words to describe Himself.

1 Chronicles 29:11 "Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thiing; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all."

Psalm 29:1-4 "Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the Lord is upon many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty."

Psalm 104:1-5 "Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty. Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain: Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind: Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire: Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever."

Daniel 4:34 "And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation:"

Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." 

Hebrews 1:1-3 "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:"

Job 38:1-7 "Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? 

Matthew 27:50-54 "Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.  Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God."