I very seldom hear stories about people I've previously talked with. This is a very cool one.

In November 2007, I wrote an entry about a guy in the gym named Justin. Some time later, a friend of mine from the church down in south Florida, Danielle, contacted my wife and informed her that she was needing some encouragement one day and, therefore, visited my blog.  The first entry she saw was the post about Justin at L.A. Fitness.  Besides being encouraged, God also laid upon her heart to begin praying for Justin.  And, Danielle did. More...

Here are some video clips of myself and others from First Baptist Church Cumming at the homeless shelter.  While you'll see me in here talking to Dan and Warren (two white guys) from a distance, this isn't the video of the recorded and up-close conversation in which Dan accepts Christ.  I'm trying to acquire that video footage.  As soon as I get it, I'll post it on here as well.

This past Monday night, I had the privilege of traveling to a homeless shelter in the heart of Altanta.  I, accompanying First Baptist Church of Cumming, had a great time serving approximately 500 homeless men and loving on them.

Two men that I talked with, Dan and Warren, had taken a bus from Florida to Atlanta.  They were originally carnival machine operators.  They, however, quit the current carnival company that they were working for and moved up to Georgia.  They had just gotten off the bus this past Friday.  In other words, as of Monday, they had been homeless for 4 days.  Warren stated that he had been homeless previously and carried a huge chip on his shoulder.  Dan, on the other hand, has never been homeless before; he was tremendously scared.  As Dan, Warren and I spoke for quite a while.  Warren, really, never 'let me in' - he continued to say that "[his] home was currently under construction".  But, I never really got the impression he knew what he was talking about.  His pride kept him somewhat distant from the conversation - only speaking periodically.  Dan, however, gave me his full attention.  There were times when Dan would get seemingly angry, but I think it was the fear trying to put up a strong front.  Dan's constantly fought to hold back tears.  Dan, grew up Catholic but confessed that he knew nothing about salvation and forgiveness; he admitted that if he died that night, he would spend eternity in Hell. 

After some time of discussion, DAN ACCEPTED JESUS CHRIST as his Lord and Savior!!!  You could see a new peace in his countenance; his tears were now tears of relief. I showed him some passages in the New Testament that was given to him that night. I showed him how he was a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17) and how there was no longer any condemnation regarding his sins (Romans 8:1). Finally, the New Testament didn't have the Psalms in it, so inside the front cover, I wrote one more verse: "I sought the Lord and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears." (Psalm 34:4)  I told Dan that whenever he got scared out on the streets to remember that verse.

Dan was so grateful and his demeanor was so much more relaxed and joyful.

Something that is also very cool is most of this entire discussion was RECORDED ON VIDEO!!! I got some general clips of the homeless shelter on video, as well. Once I secure a copy of the videos, I'll post them on here so all of you can watch.  I'll try to get them on here within a week or two.

 Please remember Dan in your prayers tonight - wherever he's at.  Remember to thank God for saving his life.

Once more, on Saturday night, I visited another 'rough' part of town - Adamsville, a suburb of Atlanta. And, again, I was continually warned by the residents that I shouldn't be there. I would always ask them, "If I didn't come, who would? Who would share the love of Christ?" More...

This morning as I was praying, God laid on my heart to go to the mall this afternoon to share the Gospel.  I had the opportunity to talk with three different individuals. The greatest thing about it was you could tell the conversations were Spirit led and hearts were completely open to discussion.  Each of the three conversations were vastly different and each message was tailored to the individual.  I mean, no 12-step Gospel presentation here.  It is such a blessing to serve in your area of giftedness and just watch God use you - I totally enjoy using my gift of evangelism to serve to kingdom and reach people.

As I was talking to the third young lady, a security guard approached me.  He was led to my table by an onlooker who didn't appreciate what I was doing.  The security guard asks me if I was soliciting religion.  I answered, "Well, me and the young lady here are talking about spiritual stuff.  I'm not sure if that's what you call soliciting religion."  He told me that I wasn't allowed to do that.  I told him that I asked the girl if she minded and she said that she didn't.  I invited the guard to ask the girl if she wanted me to leave of if I could stay.  So the security guard asked her and she said that I was okay and wasn't bothering her.  The guard told me that I wasn't allowed to talk to anyone else after her and if he saw me, then he would escort me out personally.  I told him that when I got through talking to her, I would leave.

When the conversation with the girl was finished, I thanked her for talking and started making my way out of the food court. On the outskirts of the atrium, I saw the guard again.  I decided to go talk to him.  I figure the worse thing that could happen was that he would escort me out of the mall. Either way I was leaving, so asking him would still be a 'winning' situation. More...