Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Yes, I'm Still Here!

No, I've not been the most faithful blogger for the past month or more. No, I haven't died but the Lord has been letting me go through some things that have led to growth.

It started maybe 6 or 8 weeks ago. I'm not sure.

Since 2004, I've been convicted of the need to be more involved in personal evangelism. I came to this conviction through the ministry of Way of the Master. While I don't necessarily agree with everything they say, or those whom they affiliate with, I do agree with their method and appreciate them greatly. We need more who follow their example.

So what has been happening? Well, simple. See since 2004, I had become very frustrated in my efforts to find a partner to do evangelism with. Then came a Facebook friend. Out of nowhere.

We meet in Peoria and do street evangelism on Saturdays from 1pm to about 3 or so. And we talk to the homeless. We talk to those who have homes to go to. We talk to them at bus stops. We walk around and talk. We drive around to find others. We hand out good tracts and do one on ones with them. It's great!

I had noticed after the first week or two that my walk with the Lord seemed to have new life. Then, of course, as my doctor recently told me, if you do street evangelism you have put a large target on your back. We are invading enemy territory with the one thing they can't tolerate: Truth. The Gospel.

It's been an interesting time. It has been challenging but the Lord is faithful. Of course, He always is. But He has shown this to me in special ways over the past weeks. And I give Him praise for His faithfulness to me.

So, please understand why I am so quiet. I've not thrown in the towel. I've just kind of been refocusing. This used to be a "watchdog" blog of sorts. And of course, there is need to herald warnings about various errors which saturate Christendom of late. And of course, there is room for a political statement here and there.

But my focus has shifted. I'm primarily learning to love my wife more and myself a bit less. I'm learning about God's personal love for me, mainly in a recent incident that the Lord brought me safely through. I won't go into what happened here, but His fingerprints are all over it.

I have a new job. We have found an excellent church...56 miles from here but it is an excellent church of the Reformed Baptist persuasion. Expository preaching. Verse by verse. Book by book. Can't beat that.

This has been a tremendous time. No doubt. Please pray that the Lord will find me faithful.

Thanks and I'll be back!

Tim