The USA: my mission field of choice

Yesterday, a few of us (Tom, Christina, Kathleen, and myself) were at Wayne State University doing open air. While there, I was reminded of the incredible opportunity for evangelism in the United States. On the one hand, the Wayne State campus is very diverse and I feel that when we preach there, we are fulfilling the great commission in reverse. Instead of going into all the world, all the world comes to us. After Tom finished a magic trick to a crowd of about fifty, some of us talked to Muslims, some to Hindus, and some to "Christians." Personally, I'm amazed at the unprecedented opportunity that the Church has to evangelize so many cultures. But on the other hand, the USA is still predominantly "Christian." And this is the main reason I'm excited about working in the US. If a person grows up under the sway of Communism, has been brainwashed to believe there is no God, and dies without ever believing in Jesus for eternal life, that person will be lost for all eternity. But if a person grows up going to church regularly, is encouraged to believe in God and counts the Bible as His word, but dies without ever believing in Jesus for eternal life, that person will be lost for all eternity as well. While at WSU, I was able to talk to several people who had no idea what it took to get eternal life. When asked why God should let them into Heaven, they answered (after pondering for a while) that they did their best. But these were people who believed the Bible, knew Jesus is God, and were open to learning new truths. When presented with the fact that eternal life is in no way conditioned upon our works, but only upon whether or not we believe in the Lord Jesus to give it to us, many were persuaded of the truthfulness of this claim. And THAT is what it means to believe. THAT is what it takes to get to heaven. I don't know if these souls were saved before (maybe they were but then became really confused) or lost, but they are saved now. Praise God for an environment in which the gospel is so intelligible to the perishing. I'm encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity. You should be too.

Whosoever

"Does God allow gay people to go to heaven?!"

Dear God, I have no idea where these people are coming from and that is not the issue I want to talk to them about! Please give me the words to say!"
I had just turned around after Greg had finished preaching and asked a couple of teenagers what they thought of the message. Their inquiry about homosexuals was their response. Within milliseconds the answer came.
"According the the Bible, WHOEVER believes in Jesus will go to heaven." I then briefly explained the the love of God, His hate for sin, and consequently our need for a Savior. I refereed to the painting right in front of us for an illustration of God's love shown through the death of Jesus. That conversation turned into one of the best, straightforward conversations I have had in a long time.

Later that night I talked to an older gentleman who had certain ideas as to what it took for a person to be able to abide in God's house. He told me that if he lived with a friend of his and his friend said that he could stay there as long as he did not smoke, then if he smoked then he would be kicked out. "Its the same way in God's house." I wholeheartedly agreed. (As a side note, I try point out what I agree about as much as I can with people, even adding in my own thoughts as to why they are right. Then I go onto the big "But...." That way the conversation stays as a conversation and does not turn into an argument, like it is prone to do, especially with me. If you have an good tips on how to keep a touchy conversation cool, please share!) Anyways, I went on to explain to Charlie that its up to the owner of the house to decide the rules. The same is true with God's house. And then it came again. "According to the Bible, WHOEVER trusts in Jesus can stay in God's house."

On the way home and over the next few days, I pondered the beauty of whosoever. No matter someone's station in life, their good deeds, their degree of sinfulness, the color of their skin, or geographic location, if they trust Christ they have His promise of eternal life. That means me! Without the whosoever, I would be disqualified from trusting the promise of Christ. How sad that would be! So praise God for the "WHOSOEVER"!