The 500

So when we got to Olympic park in Atlanta we got together and prayed then we went and walked the streets. I handed out a couple tracts and the girls followed me and then the girls handed out a couple tracts and that is when a gentleman walked by and I got to hand him a tract and ask him the million dollar question. What will happen after you die? And he had a u die and go to heaven answer and I asked if he thought he was a good person and he did. So I started to show him that none is good but the father. Using the law as a mirror as reflection of our depraved state before God. He understood and admitted that if he died then he would spend eternity in hell. So I preached the cross about how God came to earth as a human 100% God 100% Human. And died on the cross Gods wrath being poured out on him. In payment of our sins because the sins of the world were put upon him. He took them willingly and the way to receive this free gift of Grace is through repentance and faith in Christ. After that we parted ways with him thanking me which is still weird. But we kept on walking after handing out a couple more tracts I came across a kid that was smoking and he said he hated God. so I asked why and after a while I went in with the law and I was starting to give the cross when he said he had to go back to work. I tried to give him a tract but he wouldn't take one but his friend did. We ended up talking to a couple drunk guys and one guy that kept asking me for money and wouldn't take any tracts or let me witness to him. The entire time out there witnessing the Canadian girls and myself were having great fellowship with others there to witness. And after around 10pm we ended up calling it quits prayed together and then a group of us went our to eat. So that was my trip out to Atlanta and the 500. I wish I could be more detailed but I have a really bad memory.

Peace and Grace,
Pumbapoindexter

Deeper Conference 2008 Part 2

So I rolled over and heard my Canadian friend Lewis sy did you hit the snooze button? and I heard no. Then the lights came on it was a little after 7 am so I got around 6 hours of sleep after being up for over two days straight but I was awakened and instantly wide awake. I did a little hygiene and off we were we grabbed some breakfast downstairs at the hotel. And then I went to my hotel and registered and got my room key so I had a place to sleep that night so off to the conference we went.

At around 9 am we got to the church and had some fellowship for a little bit and then found our seats. the first to speak that day was Todd Friel to welcome us. Then Scott Krippayne led us in Praise and Worship, And then Todd led us in communion which was the most God centered communion I have ever had and I have had some great communion since I started attending North Creek Church in Walnut Creek, CA. But the communion was awesome and Glorifying to the King of Glory! After that Todd spoke and we had a break and then Marshall Foster of the Mayflower Institute  spoke and it was really good I had never heard Marshall Foster speak before and he is very knowledgeable in the history of the earth and just Church history in general and a great speaker. After Marshall Foster spoke we had a lunch break and I went down stairs and had a pulled pork sandwich and sat at a table all by myself. This older gentleman came and sat down and right away we started to converse he had been saved for about 15 years. I was sitting in amazement as we talked about our testimonies and just in awe as we sat there in fellowship a older saint and a younger saint just having a great lunch and talking about the Lord. What a treat you would never see something like that at a secular conference because they would have nothing in common but us we had Jesus Christ and him crucified in common. So after Lunch we said our good byes and headed back to the conference to hear Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis  to speak and I must say the Creation Museum sounds like it would be a really cool place to go I would love to spend hours there. So he spoke and had some great videos that I wanted to get but didn't have time to pick up.

So after Ken Ham spoke we had a small break and  I headed to the break out session to hear Marshall Foster speak again and this time just like the last was awesome and I hope to hear him speak again. After the break out session we had a small break and then a closing time in where Todd, Ray, Kirk, and E.Z. spoke and showed a video to encourage us to get out there and start sharing our faith!!! the video was from season three of Way of the Master t.v. show. And then they ended the conference at around 5 pm and those of us who were going to the 500 after wards went to the chapel and got our assignments. I was with group one and had two young ladies with me from Canada that had never so much as handed out a tract! So off to Atlanta we went. And I will talk more about the 500 trip to Atlanta on my next blog but for now I have to say good bye. 

                                               

Peace and Grace,

Pumbapoindexter.

Deeper Conference 2008 Part 1

So I spent the weekend in Woodstock, Georgia at the 2008 Deeper conference. The idea of the conference was to "take you deeper into God’s Word and expand your understanding of today’s culture with the goal of making you a more effective witness for Christ." And that it did!

I spent the entire 2 days being immersed in the Word of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. From the first speaker to the last, the entire conference had a focus on Christ! Speakers included, Ray Comfort, Emeal Zwayne, Todd Friel, Ken Ham, Marshall Foster, Kirk Cameron, and last but not least, Paul Washer!

But first this is how the trip started it was a crazy one for me on Thursday October, 16th. My buddy Dave took me to Oakland international airport at around 3pm. I checked-in my Luggage and got my ticket and went to the terminal. My plane departed at around 6pm. I arrived at salt lake city then off to Las Vegas then to Atlanta! I arrived in Atlanta at around 6am and went and picked up my bag and went to the car rental place. I picked up my car and proceeded to drive the 45 min to Woodstock, GA I arrived in Woodstock at around 8am. I went to my hotel and found that I couldn't check in until 2pm that day. So I went to the Church a mile down the road.

So when I arrived at the church no one was there yet it was still really early the doors for the conference didn't open until 11 am so I sat in my car. So as I was getting my stuff together in my car I opened up my luggage to get my notebook and camera out and my camera was missing! Someone had stole my $600 camera out of my bag at the airport but it really didn't bother me. At around 10 am people started to arrive I talked to a couple people and had some great fellowship right off the bat. So I walked in and the Church was Huge!!! So I ended up talking to a guy from North Dakota for about an hour and met a couple guys from Canada. Then walked around some more and ended up getting in a line waiting for the doors to the sanctuary to open at around 1pm (now mind you I've been up since around 6 am the previous morning!) So I found a seat in the second row of chairs fight to the right of the pulpit. And I was sitting right in front of my Canadian friends, So Todd Friel from Way of the Master radio opened up to welcome us. Then he opened it up to Ray Comfort spoke about (Gethsemane- and the missing link to the cross). Then Emeal ("E.Z.") Zwayne spoke (Mind Matters)

 Then we had a break and came back and Pastor Johnny Hunt of First Baptist Woodstock spoke  about the (Sufficiency Of Scripture) and then the amazing Paul Washer from Heart Cry Missionary Society spoke about the (Essential Truths of the Cross) Then we had a dinner break and then we had a break out session in which I went to listen to Todd Friel talk about (Biblical Covenants). Another break and when we came back at 8 pm that night ( I've been up for 38 hours at this point!) Scott Krippayne did Praise and Worship which was awesome Scott sang some songs while playing the piano and Paul Washer read scriptures between songs! It was one of the most God centered Worship times in my life! After that at around 8:30 pm Kirk Cameron got up to speak and at this point here I am sitting in the front row falling asleep right in front of Kirk. And he took for ever but it was really awesome and he had video from season 3 of way of the master. so we ended around 10 something. 

Then we hung around for a while and eventually left, I gave my Canadian friends a ride back to their hotel because they were gonna call a cab but I didn't want them to spend the money. I dropped them off and proceeded to go to my hotel to get some much needed sleep! When I arrived at my hotel at around 12 am they were closed and I didn't have my room key!!! So I drove back to my Canadian friends hotel but got lost on the way in a new town and no way of getting in contact with anyone. I eventually found their hotel and room and we ended up grabbing a bite to eat and then they were kind enough to allow me to sleep in one of the beds. We laid down to go to bed at around 1:30 am and we had to be up at 7:30 am. (So I was up at this point for about 42 hours) So I said goodnight and fell right asleep. 

So this is the first day of my trip to the Deeper conference  it started at 6 am on oct 16th and ended at 1:30 am on oct 18th,There is more to come so stay tuned.

          Peace and Grace,

Pumbapoindexter.

Testimony

In 2003 I was honorably discharged from the USMC. I had spent six months in basic training. I caught an pneumonia one month into basic training. I recovered from that and went back to training then I broke my foot. that is when I got discharged and went home to be with my fiancee. Ten months after comeing home my fiancee and I broke it off. That is when I went off the deep end with alcohol, Drinking four 40oz beers and one half gallon of Jack Daniels every night. Then I would go in my room and put my shotgun in my mouth and try to pull the trigger. Then a co worker who had been asking me to come to church and finally I told him I want to go to church. that is when I started to attend Church after a while of just comeing on Sundays for a couple months I decided that something was wrong with my life so I drove to the Church to talk to the Pastor he was not there but the youth pastor was and he invited me to be a servent leader at the youth group and I started to be a youth worker after being a servant leader for one year. The Youth Pastor made me an adult leader. While me and a friend trying to figure out what God's purpose was for my life I came across the passage in the scripture where John the baptizer said "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (MATT 3:2) After this the word repent was in my mind for a long time. While I was using Google for the word Repent I came across the ministry Way of the Master and listened to Hells best kept secret. While listening to this message (Available at www.wayofthemaster.com) I was convicted by the use of the law the ten Commandments. Because I've lied, stole, lusted "God sees lust as adultery MATT 5:27,28" and i've hated "God sees hatred as murder MATT 5:21,22" So I found out that when I die I will stand before God and be Judged. God sees me as a Lying, thieving murdering adulterer at heart and no matter how much good I did to make up for the bad it wont be good enough. I broke the law and have to pay the fine which is death, Eternal damnation in hell, burning in the lake of fire for all eternity. That was the worst news i had ever recived but with the bad news came great news that Jesus Christ came to this earth God in human form to live a sinless life so that he could pay my fine. Jesus was brutally beaten and nailed to the cross where he poured out ever drop of his blood and died. But three days later he rose from the dead defeating death hell and the grave. But i said to myself how do I receive this free gift. Do I just believe? NO because even the demons believe (James 2:19) I could believe in a parachute and jump out of a airplane and fall to my death just because I believe doesn't mean I will be saved. What I must do is Repent of my sins that means confess and turn away from my sins and trust in Jesus Christ. I trust in him how you would trust in a parachute. When you put on a parachute you put it on and trust in it. So repent and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and your sins will be forgiven. Not because you are good but because you are bad but forgiven by him come to him not as a fear filled convert because your scared of hell but because your a tear filled convert because your so grateful of what God did for you. If you have never repented of your sins and turned away from them, Then examine yourself to see if you are in the faith 2Corin 13:5 Look into the mirror of the Ten Commandments to see how dirty and wrenched you are then come humbly to God repent and trust in him. Go to www.needgod.com