Battle Log

On Wednesday afternoon in Brisbane City the team were out with a desire to proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvellous light, so that others may become children of the King! That is exactly what happened over the course of the afternoon. With a focus on proclaiming the gospel God used this simple obedience of unworthy vessels to bring people to understand who He is and what He has done to save sinners!

An early conversation was with Breno. He was a deeply broken man, trying to hold his life together. He has been married for three months and is now in the throws of a messy divorce. He said that if the topic was raised only a few weeks earlier he'd never have wanted to talk but now he wanted to know. Over the course of a lengthy discussion he came to understand the good news of how Christ saves sinners and he seemed to grasp it.

It took a number of tries for him to understand as his Hindu background lead him to think that it was personal actions which contributed to our right standing before God. At the end of the discussion he said that he would open up the Bible he has at home and start reading tonight! Praise God for using the pain of divorce to open a mans ears to the gospel!

Another conversation took place with Silvester. It was a weird conversation, in that, he knew the gospel and a lot about Christianity. Sadly this meant nothing of his spiritual health as he was as dead as could be. He had no desire to attend Church or read his Bible, rather he just wanted to live however he saw fit. Because God "cramped his style" he was happy to ditch God for his own ends. He was warned and warned and warned. The conversation lasted almost forty minutes as Silvester was pleaded with, shown the foolishness and gravity of his decision and was encouraged to open up God's word today and to attend a local Church on Sunday.

He made no promises and at the end of it all was warned, that this may have been God's final opportunity for him to trust in Christ.

An exciting conversation happened with a Frenchman. Often European's are very liberal and quite proud of it and so their arguments basically range from, "I don't believe that to I don't want to believe that". But Irvin was different. He was similar in that being what he originally said but as the law and gospel was shown he was moved from apathy and rejection to intrigue. He wanted to know more. He came to comprehend the simple gospel and actually said, "That's beautiful" in response.

He was challenged with the serious call the gospel makes that although it is free, you will give up everything for the sake of Christ. He said he would have to count the cost, think about this and said he would start reading his Bible tonight! It was a privilege to be a part of his journey to comprehension!

There were a scattering of other conversations with "atheists" all five of whom preferred personal freedom over truth and despite not having arguments against God, all struggling to defend their declaration that there is no God when asked some simple questions they all ended up leaving quite quickly. Most were silenced by God's law but didn't want to know of the solution because that would require the acknowledgement of their guilt.

Over the afternoon there were many other people who heard of Christ, so please raise up those mentioned here and any others who came to understand the way to Heaven this afternoon to our gracious God that He would use this simple message to save many!

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As Sunday nights have become a regular event more and more team members have been coming out. It has been exciting to see that there has been around ten members each Sunday night so far. What better time to come on out to preach Christ and Him crucified then after you've just had a ninety minute worship service, as a body praising God for who He is and what He's done. This week's outreach was exciting as again some newer team members came out with the intention of telling others what Christ has done!

An early conversation took place with Alva a tourist who was bold in her declaration that she does not want to believe in God. She was shown the law and her guilt but kept trying to defend that the things she had done aren't that bad. She saw the building builder analogy and said that it made sense but she doesn't want to believe in God. It was sad to see that she was so against God and was warned that it is exceedingly unwise.

The following conversation was with a young couple who at first were hesitant to stop because they didn't want to think about it but they ended up pausing and at first the shared that they don't think there is a God or an afterlife. Then they were shown how we know God exists, why this is a serious problem for us as God is good and must punish all evil, leaving us, if being judged based on how we've lived, deserving of and heading toward Hell. But then they heard the good news, that God in His kindness has offered a solution. He has come, paid the penalty sin deserves and all those who trust in Him will be forgiven of their sin because Jesus has paid for it!

What an joy to share. Keva and Claire heard this, were asked some clarifications questions and came to understand the gospel. They were then challenged with the cost of trusting in Christ and were encouraged this very day to consider it because they're not guaranteed tomorrow!

The following conversation was surprisingly even simpler! Dirasch and Miral an Indian couple said they sort of believed in reincarnation. They were shown how we know God exists and they agreed without argument. Then they were shown that God is good and they agreed, which then by implication left them guilty. They took a look at God's law and were humble enough without argument to acknowledge that they are in very serious trouble because they have lived lives of rebellion against God. They understood that the punishment can't be merely limited to this world but that there is a Hell punishment for sin.

This moment was taken to emphasise the problem with reincarnation, each life is filled with wrong actions. More and more sins. Which means, life after life one will just compile more and more sins that need punishment. In an attempt to avoid Hell the reality is they are just making it worse for themselves. They agreed with this and saw that extending the amount of lives one has will never atone for sin.

Then they heard the glorious good news, better than a self-hope that over 80,000 lives one may be able to perfect themselves rather that God in His love has done it all so that those who by faith in Christ accept the gift of forgiveness are made right before God because He has paid the penalty for their sin and provided the perfection required to stand in the presence of God!

Dirasch and Miral got the simple response to the gospel, that all one must do is trust in Christ to receive forgiveness and then they were shown what it will cost them. That although the gift is free trust in Christ may cost them many things. They understood and said that today they are going to trust in Christ! They mentioned they'd been given a Bible in Byron Bay a little while back that they would read and they were encouraged to attend a local Church!

Praise God for His mercy and kindness toward all those tonight heard the gospel! Please be praying that those who heard the truth, read the truth or were even asked simple questions would not be able to rest until they are right with God! May this exposure to the gospel be a pebble in their shoe that they must deal with as soon as possible!

Why not consider coming out one Sunday night, you'll be glad you did!

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On Saturday the rain came as the day went on and by the time for outreach came Brisbane had been thoroughly soaked. This meant there were fewer people around than usual. There were also showers coming on by which meant most people were dashing off somewhere between showers, whilst it was dry. So the evening was a little harder going than usual but this didn't stop the conversations. There were still plenty to go around, it was just more work to start them.

An early conversation took place with Ray. He walked up near the table and was asked what he thought happens after we die. He shared that he though he'd go to Heaven because he is a good guy. He was taken through a simple gospel presentation and came to understand that his goodness is not enough and in fact that his life means he deserves Hell. Ray was quite surprised and yet was not trying to deny this reality he took it seriously.

Then he came to understand how a sinner can be made right before God. He took a couple of different explanations to fully comprehend the simplicity but when he understood it was exciting to see the joy on his face! He asked if there is a local Church he could head along to and was encouraged to read the gospel of John. He took one and said that he would! Please be keeping Ray in your prayer so that he may trust in Christ, turning to live for Him and start attending a local Church!

Due to the rain coming the team were mostly limited to under cover areas which had a decent amount of foot traffic but a young couple stopped and started chatting. Ben and Sophie were their names. Ben wasn't sure what happens after death and came to agree that he likes sin. He was shown the judgement sin deserves and therefore his current eternal destiny if he does not trust in Christ and then was able to understand the comprehend the simple gospel. He sadly was taken away before some serious cost counting and challenges could be raised but Ben was reminded that his eternal destiny is based upon his response to what Christ has done.

Sophie his friend said she had a great hatred for God because of her family who had treated her very poorly when she came out as homosexual. She was shown that we cannot blame God for the actions of other people but should hear what God himself has said. She saw the kindness of the team that we weren't out to get her, to single her out and to proclaim how much worse she is. But she also wasn't just ignored and it wasn't pretended that her sin isn't sin. Like everyone else she saw through the law that she was a sinner deserving of Hell and came to understand that even if she wasn't a homosexual she was still heading to Hell.

It wasn't her specific expression of sin that caused her to deserve Hell but the reality that she is a sinner. She settled down and seemed to be understanding and was being shown the gospel until she got a phone call and had to leave. At the end they both had received some news. Ben heard the good news of forgiveness in light of the bad news of judgement and Sophie saw the actual news of God's judgement but didn't get a chance to understand the good news.

But in their final parting comments she shared that she wasn't really interested in "changing" anything about her life because she wants to keep living her way. Please raise Ben up before God that he would humble himself and come to God on his terms, trusting in Christ for his forgiveness. Please be praying for Sophie that she would stop trying to justify her sin but that she would comprehend the desperate wickedness of rebellion against God and turn to Him alone for forgiveness!

There were a few other scattered conversations over the course of the evening. One exciting one was with Jason who had spoken to the team before and was able to simply explain the way to Heaven! It was exciting to see that he still remembered the simplicity of justification by faith alone and that this will always be evidenced by a changed life. But when asked when he will trust in Jesus to pay for his sin he wasn't sure. He was then encouraged strongly to count the cost and consider it tonight because he may never receive another opportunity to think about it!

Jason said that he would. Please be praying that God would have worked in Jason's heart and brought him to believe, not just know about the gospel!

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On Wednesday afternoon in Brisbane City the team had a wonderful afternoon, it is the time of year when the sun doesn't hit the square in the afternoon but instead is behind a building for most of the afternoon. Which means that many more people are sitting around, although it does make the square a bit cool as well.

There were a scattering of conversations but three stand out ones were with a JW, Josh an intellectual and Michael.

The JW man came up and approached the team seeing one of the messages that was displayed and was shown through the flip chart that like the rest of humanity he is guilty and deserving of God's judgement. He then sought to try and distract the conversation raising other different rabbit holes and getting away from the question posed to him, "How does someone get right before God?"

He finally said that we are made right before God simply by dying. This means Hitler, Satan and your garden variety person all receive the same punishment. But this man was asked if God has anything more to say in His word about the penalty of sin. It is true that death is a consequence of sin but the Bible doesn't say it is the only thing sin deserves.

He was shown some things Jesus said about Hell, some things that John wrote in regards to God's revelation and he sadly wanted nothing to do with it. He said that was all symbolic (meaning, that it didn't mean anything). He was shown that symbols point to something but when the good news of a free gift of forgiveness was being shared he decided that he'd had enough, we need to be worthy and so he left.

Next was a conversation with Josh who was engaged at length. He had spoken to another team member for quite a while and had heard the gospel but it was reiterated and he was able to simply and seemingly understanding it able to answer questions about the gospel, that many professing Christians would struggle to answer.

This was a good sign but knowledge isn't the same as belief and Josh showed this over and over as although he now knew the gospel he still loved sin and desired to live his own way. Over the course of the discussion he had quite a range of questions answered and was challenged greatly, there was a point at which his mouth was completely stopped as he realised what he was doing. He was shown that all his arguments were simply an attempt to justify his decision to live how he saw fit.

He saw that his sin was the same as Adam and Eve's in the garden that they wanted to be like God, they wanted to choose for themselves what they were and weren't allowed to do. This point was referred to over and over as Josh was challenged again and again to forsake his sin and instead trust in Christ alone for salvation.

Lastly a man named Michael came up, he approached the flip chart and said that he wanted to have a go. It was glorious! He had some good questions, he understood the law, his guilt and the good news of justification by faith alone and left knowing the gospel and said that he didn't think it was a mistake that he wanted to check it out and left with a gospel of John, the challenge to count the cost, consider what Christ has said and to trust in Him alone for salvation this day!

The afternoon overall was exciting, as always. It is wonderful to see who God brings along each outreach to hear of His kind and gracious offer of forgiveness. Please be praying for the JW man, Josh and Michael that God would use this small conversations to lead them to a saving knowledge of the truth. May God be gracious to them, save them and cause them to walk in His ways!

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On Sunday night the team has started heading into Brisbane City for outreach. It is set up in a way that enables new members, after their night services at local Churches to come in to be equipped and encouraged. This past Sunday, twelve people came out to proclaim the gospel! It was exciting to see the conversations that took place and that people who'd never spoken of Christ before taking this opportunity to share and loving it!

The first conversation of the evening was spread across three team members. There were a group of five Nepalese who walked up and one spoke to one team member, another three spoke to another and the a the last spoke to another. The first lady professed to be a Christian and was showing that she knew all the answers. The next three were mixed between Hindu's and Buddhists and the last was unsure. Individually they were spoken to and encouraged to consider who God is. Then as they all came together at the end they together were taken through the good person test and where shown God's judgement against sin, the penalty it deserves and therefore that the only way of forgiveness is if Christ pays for our sin.

They were shown the simplicity of accepting the gospel by faith and therefore they each were challenged this day to trust Christ. They were able to answer simply back as to how one can be saved and each took tracts to have a read of!

This was followed by a conversation with two men from the UK. They were being silly and when shown God's law squirmed under guilt. They came to understand that they were deserving of Hell but continued to try and play down the seriousness of their sin. They tried to joke about it and be silly but there came a point where they simply didn't want to face the reality of the lie they were living and so they left, not hearing of how they could be forgiven, instead trying to avoid it by being silly.

There were other conversations with Amelia and V, Lily and Jack and Ida each who responded positively to the gospel, took gospels of John, said they would think about it further and were recommended to local Churches.

The last conversation of the evening was with Will. He was quick with understanding and seemed to get it first try and even was thinking ahead and asking good questions about implications of it all. At the end of it all, knowing the gospel, understanding how one can be forgiven and the dire consequences or rejecting Christ, Will said, "You've been really interesting. This has been a great conversation and I am thankful that I stopped and talked but I don't want to believe. If I was less stubborn maybe I would".

He was left with a final reminder that sin isn't worth it in the end but he remained defiant toward God.

Please be praying that those who heard the gospel would trust in Christ alone for their salvation and forsake all other hopes or desires to gain right standing before God. Please pray that they will have a change of heart where they hate the sin they once loved and now love the God they once hated!

Why not come and join us some Sunday night, you'll be glad you did!

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On Saturday night in King George square there was a team of ten out. The team spread throughout the area. Some paired up with more experienced members and others went out solo to proclaim the excellencies of Him who bought us out of darkness into His marvelous light!

The first conversation of the evening was with Barry. He came up to the table asking for a Bible and the first few probing questions to find out where he stands had him declaring, "Yes, I'm a Christian just like you". Then the question was posed, "What are you trusting in to get you to Heaven?" To which he responded, "My belief in God and my obedience to Him". This was a good reminder that it isn't great to just assume upon someone's profession of faith that they are a Christian but it always helpful to ask a few clarifying questions because in almost every case they don't actually know Christ.

Barry was then taken through a very simple question and answer gospel presentation taking a tour past God's Holiness, humanities wickedness, our universal guilt and Hell deservance and therefore that we have no hope in ourselves to fix our problem but we are stuck desperately in need of someone outside of ourselves, outside of sin to save us. Barry was then shown the beauty of God's love for us in Christ and all that He did in order to bring His people back to the Father. Then he was shown the simplicity of our response, that the gift of forgiveness isn't received on the basis of obedience, good works, asking or being worthy but it to be received by faith in Christ.

Barry was then asked some new clarifying questions and he now had a comprehension of the gospel to which he responded, "Those were some great analogies, I understand the good news now!" He was then given a Bible and encouraged to attend a local Bible believing and preaching Church.

Another conversation was had with Verity a young lady with a Jewish/Catholic heritage. She still comprehended the gospel and understood the way to Heaven but this week she'd been thinking a lot about what she'd heard and knew about God and asked many questions about it all. She said she hadn't trusted in Christ yet but had thought about it at length this week. Many questions were answered but at the end of the conversation she was given a gospel of John and encouraged to read. She said she is quite a reader so she will have read it and have some questions for next time she see's us. She too was recommended to a local Church!

The last conversation of the evening was almost identical to the first. Jason approached the table, professed to be a Christian and then over the subsequent conversation came to see that was not the case but in fact that he'd never understood the gospel. He too left being able to articulate it back and was glad to receive a gospel of John to take a read of.

Please be praying for these conversations and the many others that took place on Saturday night and may God be using His word, written and spoken to be drawing those who are His unto Himself!

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This past week of outreaches has been exciting seeing more and more people come out and many people hearing the gospel. Wednesday afternoon was no different. During the afternoon a number of people came up and did the flip chart, asked questions or were approached and came to hear what God has done to save sinners.

An early conversation was with two young ladies who'd grown up Catholic and were sure that they knew the way to Heaven but when asked, they had no idea. They rejoiced in their sin and laughed their way through the good person test but the realisation of the predicament seemed to hit home behind the charade. They were shown that they goodness can't pay their Hell punishment in the same way that it won't pay a speeding fine.

They were shown the desperate position that they are in but openly declared that they loved their sin and didn't want to give it up for anything. They didn't even get to hear what God has done to save sinners as they left gloating over some of the things they'd done.

Next with a conversation with Ryan who has spoken to the team before months ago. He too had a strong Catholic background but last time had asked many questions about the Bible. Not ones that were attempting to undermine it but ones with an interest to understand how it all worked together. He couldn't quite remember the gospel and so that was reiterated again for him and this time he seemed to get it. He once again was challenged with the seriousness of what had been said, that God had been merciful to let him live these past few months but that he wasn't guaranteed another reminder or another chance to respond in faith and therefore he should count the cost of following Christ and trust in Him today!

The last conversation of the afternoon was with Connor and unsurprisingly he too had a Catholic background. He had almost no memory of most the things the church teaches but said that he was already trusting in Jesus. As usual he was show God's goodness, his wickedness, the penalty this deserves and then was walked slowly through the gospel as he took a while to understand it.

What was exciting was that he did finally comprehend it. He was able to explain it back simply, even when he was challenged by questions. He came to understand that he may have believed that Jesus existed up until this point but that if he was to respond by trusting in Christ that this would be the first day that he'd ever done so, simply because before this point he didn't know what it even meant. He said he was thankful for the conversation, would open up his Bible when he got home and think about Jesus has said.

It was truly a display of God's providential rule as Connor was just waiting in the city for an hour before catching a flight back home that evening and he had the chance to hear for the first time in his life how a sinner can be forgiven.

Please be praying for those who heard the message today that God would mercifully show them their sin and cause them to trust in Him!

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To encourage local Church goers to finish their night of fellowship with some evangelism after the evening service, some Operation 513 team members from other outreaches have been heading back into Brisbane City on a Sunday night for a shorter outreach to encourage and equip people who usually wouldn't make it out to outreaches during the rest of the week. This past Sunday was the third time it had happened and over the outreaches there have been nine, seven and seven people out respectively!

What an encouragement to see. Of those, there have been six people out sharing their faith for the first time! Last Sunday night one young man, who was hesitant at first to come on out, when asked when he'd be joining us responded, "Next Sunday if you're keen". What an excitement to see that people who were once totally fearful of sharing their faith are now excited to come out again sometime! It could be you too!

The evening was filled with a range of conversations, even in two hours there is usually the ability to have three to five decent length conversations. The first of the evening was had with three Africans. They had grown up in a Church and said that they would be going to Heaven because they'd kept the Ten Commandments. When shown numbers five through nine, with their universal guilt being revealed this slowed them down very quickly. Then they turned to saying that they would be going to Heaven because they'd asked God to forgive them for their sins.

They were shown that God's forgiveness isn't given on the basis of the request but it is offered as a gift to be received by trusting in Christ. Over the course of the conversation Adi and Jerry the two men seemed to understand it but Mary seemed resolute that she would be let into Heaven on the basis of something she had to offer God! This was heart breaking to see her pride causing her to reject Christ!

This was followed with a shorter conversation with a Muslim and an arrogant anti-theist. The Muslim was quite happy to chat and was engaging well, being challenged and was responding well to the gospel. His anti-theist friend on the other hand went between ignoring the conversation and loudly asking questions he didn't want answered and declaring that it was clear to everyone that God doesn't exist. There was some moments of patience as this friend would settle down after a few moments and the conversation could continue with the Muslim. Sadly the Muslim was unable to finish the conversation as his friend got too rowdy and he decided it was better to leave. He apologised and said he was thankful for the conversation that was had up until that point.

The final conversation of the evening with was a Jewish lady named Verity. She had a Jewish family but one of her grandparents were Irish Catholic so she had some strong heritage there as well. It was a longer conversation than normal as Verity came to understand who the Jewish Messiah was and why He needed to come. She saw that by the OT law all of humanity is condemned for there is no sacrifice in the Old Testament that takes away sin, rather a whole sacrificial system that temporarily covers sin, pointing to the day when God Himself would come to be the sacrifice and priest to atone for the rebellion of those who would come to Him in repentant faith!

Verity understood how someone can be saved and was challenged as to when she would count the cost, give up her false claims of autonomy and trust in Christ. She gave a few little reasons but mostly they were based around emotional upset from the way her family who all claimed to represent God had acted. In the end of the conversation she was strongly challenged, was given a gospel of John to read and she said, "That was a very well articulated message, I understand it now!"

Please be praying for those who the team spoke to that they would not just know what God has said but that they would be shown their wickedness, trust in Christ for their forgiveness and as a result live a life pleasing to God, even going out to share what God has done to save other sinners!

Why not come on out Sunday June 2nd, at 19:30-21:30 in King George Square? You will be glad you did!

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Wednesday in Brisbane City was overcast meaning that many more people were sitting around the area, making opportunities for a whole host of conversations.

The hard part with a conversation is knowing what pace to take. If you try and rush person may get lost or confused and leave the conversation. If you go too slowly they may have to leave before they comprehend the gospel. Usually at a bus stop outreach, it is always better to be quick knowing you have less than ten minutes in most cases to have the conversation. But in Brisbane city the balance is harder to find. The first conversation of the afternoon with Carly was cut short as she had to leave.

Before that point she came to realise that we all know God exists, that all of humanity is guilty and therefore there is no other religion in the world that can solve this apart from Christianity because exclusive to Christianity is God taking the penalty for the sins of those who will be going to Heaven. During the chat as a young lady she asked some interesting questions about sexuality, Hell and a few other things in light of how she has perceived Christians. What she was so surprised at was the graciousness of the answer. Scarily she said, "You're the first Christian I've talked to that hasn't been really rude about this".

The conversation was finished before she came to understand how a sinner can be forgiven but she took a tract and was thankful for the conversation.

Another conversation soon after was with Andrew. He has spoken to the team before but is very interested in his own ideas rather than what God has to say. Similarly to last time he said it was proud and presumptuous to be declaring who we think God is but then he would go on and start sharing the he thinks God is impersonal, just a force and doesn't care about right and wrong. Sadly the irony was lost on him.

This time, with great effort the conversation was mostly kept on track as Andrew was shown that any religion, including his religion of secular humanism, that says all we must do is be good people and that will be okay in the end are sown with the seeds of their own destruction, as we fail to do good continually. He was shown that where he was placing his hope would never be able to solve the issue. He had to head back to work before he could come to hear of Christ but please be praying for another opportunity to talk with him in the coming weeks!

A conversation with a guy, named Liz, took place and similar to Andrew he was blinded to the irony of his claims. The sad part of the conversation was that during the conversation he shared that he grew up in the Pentecostal Church and ultimately left because he doubted the Bible and started to think, there isn't enough evidence to conclusively say that there is a God.

Many simple evidences of God were pointed out, chiefly that a God who doesn't exist cannot act in history, so the very fact there is a universe, that God has told the future through prophets and apostles, that He has done miracles and most notably that He walked this earth, died on a cross and rose from the dead are things that God has done, there is absolutely no doubt about God's existence. Rather Liz was questioned about the original issue and was asked if that his doubts about God stemmed from a desire to do things God said he wasn't allowed to and then he had to make a choice, to ditch God or to stop sin.

Liz agreed that this was the case and then following that he'd started "disbelieving" in God. He was shown why this is foolish, both because of the judgement to come but also the the only hope for sinners is found in Christ and what He offers but despite comprehending the depths of God's love for sinners, Liz choose to reject the forgiveness that could be his if he will acknowledge that his sin is sin and trust in Christ, instead choosing to continue living his own way.

Please be praying for Carly, that another opportunity will come up where a Christian can share with her the glorious gospel. Please praying that Andrew may return for another smoke break and may get to hear of what Christ has done and please pray for Liz, who in his pride and self-love is making a very foolish decision to reject the only offer of forgiveness available for guilty sinners.

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Saturday night in Brisbane City came with great joy. There were eighteen team members out, Including a few new members! These members, despite having a desire for many years, had their first opportunity to try and articulate the gospel to someone they didn't know. What a joy it was to watch these first steps take place, as they endeavoured to see how it looks and then to share God's glorious gospel with those He had provided.

The first conversation of the evening was a sad one. There were a young African and Asian lady who approached the flip chart with the desire to see what it was all about. One girl professed to be a Christian whilst the other had hardly even heard the name of Christ. The problem, both of them believed it was ones goodness that would make them acceptable before God. Through the law they trekked, seeing the desperate position they're in before God but as the condemnation bought by the law showed itself the professing Christian started to get squirmy. "I've already repented of all my sins and I pray every day. I go to Church and I try and be good," she said in an attempt to defend herself.

This made it hard because the flip chart deals with the saving exclusivity of Jesus and how it can only be received by faith, not by works, but sadly this young lady was making it hard for her friend to even get a chance to comprehend the gospel. She was too proud to realise her own need and her words and actions were causing her friend to miss out on the chance to hear what Christ has done to save sinners. It wasn't too long later but both of them walked away together, with the condemnation that the law brings, without the knowledge of how it can be solved.

Soon another man approached the flip chart. He was a bit hesitant and was taken carefully through the flip chart but it was wonderful to see that he comprehended it simply and easily. The questions fell into place, the examples made sense and in under ten minutes Shuki went from a general knowledge of Christianity to an understanding of the simplicity of justification by faith alone. And was left to ponder the question, "When will you trust in Jesus?"

There were a scattering of conversations over the next hour or so but the final two conversations of the night were beautiful. Pat, was a man who at first even rejected the idea of God but with the simple building's need a builder analogy, flowing into the law Pat saw the predicament he is in. He is living in God's world, his way and will have to face the consequences of his rebellion, if he continues this way. He was asked for the solution but had no real idea so he listened intently and responded through a simple range of examples and analogies explaining; how the debt must be paid, forgiveness requires someone to pay, that salvation is a gift accepted by faith in Christ and it wasn't too long before He came to understand the gospel! He was able to repeat back the good news.

Then a turn was taken, he'd understood justification by faith so it was time to challenge him to count the cost. Although forgiveness is a free gift, upon receiving it, our lives will change and trusting in Jesus will cost us something. Whether it is a job, a girlfriend, a house. There will be scenario's in ones life, following their trust in Jesus that they will be called to give up something they love, due it being a hindrance to their service of God or maybe because to keep it they would be required to sin.

Pat was challenged and he was exceedingly grateful for the conversation and said this very day he will count the cost and trust in Christ. This conversation was followed by a very similar one with Matt.

Over the course of the night, many tracts were handed out, many gospel conversations were had and there were a range of people who came to comprehend what God has done to save sinners!

Please be praying for those spoken to tonight that God would use these conversations to challenge them, not just to acknowledge his existence, but to change their mind about sin and to trust in Christ, the Saviour!

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