Day 57 - Brandon, Jeremy, the Newby, and Don't Talk to Me.

Brandon said he felt certain his eternal destiny would be heaven. "That's great," I responded. "How do you know for sure," I asked in a gentle tone. "I go to church," Brandon answered. It's amazing how often I get this response when I probe deeper into people's belief that they will be going to heaven. I've learned not to worry about asking such penetrating and revealing questions, because their eternal fate is literally on the line. I walked through the gospel with Brandon. He learned that he must repent and trust Christ alone to be born again. We also talked about what it means to truly follow Jesus--continuing in His Word daily (John 8:31-32) and learning to "fish" for men (Matt. 4:19). I gave Brandon some extra tracts and encouraged him to fish for some family or friends whose lives may be on the line.

Jeremy said he knew he was going to heaven, because he just got saved after getting out of prison. I asked him how he got saved. He explained that he repented of his sins and asked Jesus to come into his heart. I asked him what things were like before he got saved. He explained the sins in his life. I asked him what he was doing to follow Jesus. He said he was praying daily, spending time in the Word, and going to church. I encouraged him in his new faith and in his daily disciplines and told him it was a blessing to meet him and to get to talk to him.

I spoke to a Newby and her boyfriend. I didn't get their names. I call her the "newby" because she said she just got saved yesterday at Victory Christian Center. I asked her, too, how she got saved. She said she asked Jesus into her heart. I asked her how He comes into her heart and saves her. She really couldn't explain herself, so I walked her through the gospel again. She and her boyfriend confirmed that they understood and that she had repented of her sins and trusted in Christ alone for salvation. We then talked about the basics of growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, since being born again is just the beginning of the Christian life (2 Pet. 3:18). I encouraged her in her new walk and gave her some extra tracts to pass out to people she may know who have not yet been born again.

I approached another man sitting on a bench near the courthouse, but he said "don't talk to me" and rejected any effort to speak with him. Before parting, I told him that God loves him, and that he should consider his eternal fate before it's too late. He refused to take a gospel tract. Some ground is just too hard for the seed to be sown.