Proverbs 16:9
The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.
Tonight my wife Nicole and I set out to share the gospel of Jesus Christ (read about the gospel here). We were accompanied by a burgeoning friend named Vanessa as well. I had read earlier in the day that Mark Spence and EZ from the Living Waters staff were going to be at the Victoria Gardens, so I thought to myself we go there from time to time anyway, so we should go there tonight. As we were walking through the parking lot to enter the premises of the Victoria Gardens I started to take some gospel literature out of my pocket when all of my million dollar bills flew out of my pocket and were scattered across the road (it was the part of the parking lot where all of the cars drive by to get in and out). As Nicole and I scrambled to pick up the fallen million dollar bills a security guard stopped on his little three wheel cart to tell us that we need to leave because they do not allow people to enter their premises to talk to people about Jesus. We walked back to the car as the security guard followed us on his 3-wheel mall cop scooter. Inwardly I was fuming with myself. I had spilled the tracts on the ground and had gotten us kicked out before we even started. Fortunately the Ontario Mills is only a 5 minute drive from the Victoria Gardens, so we drove there instead. I was still upset though. Didn't God know that I had planned to go Victoria Gardens to share with people about Him? My pride took a further hit as I walked around Ontario Mills with little to no success having people talk with me or take a gospel tract from me. It was at this point that I was reminded of a verse in Proverbs that I had read earlier in the day (Proverbs 16:9). I had made a plan, but it was God who would be directing my steps. I had to ask God to forgive me for my insolence. I had made it all about me. I confessed my sin (1 John 1:9-10) and asked for God to give me success so that He might be glorified and from that point on in the night things went well. I was able to talk with around 25 people on the night and hand out a good amount of gospel tracts. Each conversation had its differences, but one constant theme was that I preached repentance for forgiveness of sins (Luke 24:46-47) because Jesus has died on the cross for our sins and paid our fine in His life's blood. The great thing about using the law to bring the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:19-20) is that it teaches people why they need Jesus (Galatians 3:24). Pray for everyone that we spoke with (Chris, Josefina, Blanca, Carlos, etc...) to repent and believe the Gospel (Mark 1:15). Tonight was a reminder that God's plan might be different than mine and that His sovereign plan was for us to be somewhere besides Victoria Gardens. I hope and pray that Mark Spence and EZ had success in their evangelism wherever they ended up. I also hope the same things for my brothers and sisters in Christ who were out sharing the good news tonight. All glory, honor, and praise to God from whom we receive all of our blessings.
-Fei
The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.
Tonight my wife Nicole and I set out to share the gospel of Jesus Christ (read about the gospel here). We were accompanied by a burgeoning friend named Vanessa as well. I had read earlier in the day that Mark Spence and EZ from the Living Waters staff were going to be at the Victoria Gardens, so I thought to myself we go there from time to time anyway, so we should go there tonight. As we were walking through the parking lot to enter the premises of the Victoria Gardens I started to take some gospel literature out of my pocket when all of my million dollar bills flew out of my pocket and were scattered across the road (it was the part of the parking lot where all of the cars drive by to get in and out). As Nicole and I scrambled to pick up the fallen million dollar bills a security guard stopped on his little three wheel cart to tell us that we need to leave because they do not allow people to enter their premises to talk to people about Jesus. We walked back to the car as the security guard followed us on his 3-wheel mall cop scooter. Inwardly I was fuming with myself. I had spilled the tracts on the ground and had gotten us kicked out before we even started. Fortunately the Ontario Mills is only a 5 minute drive from the Victoria Gardens, so we drove there instead. I was still upset though. Didn't God know that I had planned to go Victoria Gardens to share with people about Him? My pride took a further hit as I walked around Ontario Mills with little to no success having people talk with me or take a gospel tract from me. It was at this point that I was reminded of a verse in Proverbs that I had read earlier in the day (Proverbs 16:9). I had made a plan, but it was God who would be directing my steps. I had to ask God to forgive me for my insolence. I had made it all about me. I confessed my sin (1 John 1:9-10) and asked for God to give me success so that He might be glorified and from that point on in the night things went well. I was able to talk with around 25 people on the night and hand out a good amount of gospel tracts. Each conversation had its differences, but one constant theme was that I preached repentance for forgiveness of sins (Luke 24:46-47) because Jesus has died on the cross for our sins and paid our fine in His life's blood. The great thing about using the law to bring the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:19-20) is that it teaches people why they need Jesus (Galatians 3:24). Pray for everyone that we spoke with (Chris, Josefina, Blanca, Carlos, etc...) to repent and believe the Gospel (Mark 1:15). Tonight was a reminder that God's plan might be different than mine and that His sovereign plan was for us to be somewhere besides Victoria Gardens. I hope and pray that Mark Spence and EZ had success in their evangelism wherever they ended up. I also hope the same things for my brothers and sisters in Christ who were out sharing the good news tonight. All glory, honor, and praise to God from whom we receive all of our blessings.
-Fei
Good job Chad. Proud of you brother.
ReplyDeletethanks Mark. I hope you guys didn't have any problems and were able to share at the Victoria Gardens on Friday.
ReplyDelete