I was blessed to have several good conversations but the highlight of the night was my witness encounter with two Muslims from Saudi Arabia. They were college students here visiting for an English class. I thought they were Muslim from their appearance and I was excited as I approached them. I handed one of them the Million Dollar Bill tract and they were immediately inquisitive about it.

I explained to them that it was a Gospel message, and then I explained to them what a Gospel message was. I verified that they were Muslim and we talked about their beliefs on how they believe they get heaven (you have to do enough good works). That was a great segue into the law, how we are all sinners, that we deserve death and how Christ paid our penalty on the Cross. I also explained the how Christ fulfilled prophecies, some of which were prophesied in the Pentateuch which the Muslims hold as true.

They listed intently and seemed to understand what I was saying. I then gave one of them a Bible. He was so happy to receive the gift. He almost didn't take it because he thought it was too much of a gift, then he wanted to pay me for it. After I explained that it only cost me a dollar and it was my pleasure to be able to give it to him, then he accepted it. He said he would read it all, but it might take him a while. I went over where some of the different books were and we bookmarked the book of John with his Million Dollar Bill tract. I gave him my email address in case he has any questions, or just to say hello.

They were both extremely nice young men with a passion to please God! Please keep them in your prayers that they would be drawn into the Word of the Living God and He would be revealed to them.

I shared with them what the Bible says happens to us when we die. I was focused more on one guy named Robert who seemed to be the most interested in the conversation. When Robert said he thought he was a good person, I asked if I could give him the good person test. When he complied, I explained why God gave us the Ten Commandments and ran through a few of them with him. What's interesting is that his friend Skyler became very solemn, and with complete conviction said "I am such a terrible person."

I shared with Skyler that that is exactly why God gave us the Ten Commandments, to use them as a mirror to see our own sin and imperfections. I went on the share the gospel with them and they really understood it. I don't push for people to make a commitment on the spot but rather make sure they know what they need to do to be saved and encourage them to do it in their own time.

Skyler said he had to think about it because, although he wanted to make a decision, he wanted to do it later, when I was older. Of course, I told him that our next breaths our not guaranteed and no one knows if they will get 'older'. I prayed with them and left Skyler with a copy of Mark Cahill's book, "One Heartbeat Away"
I know God is working on their hearts. Please keep them in your prayers!

The event was a big success. Many kids came over and enjoyed the music, food, games and conversations. I got to personally share the gospel with two young girls named Danni and Melissa. They listened intently and seemed to understand everything. They also said that there was nothing that would keep them from making the decision to give their lives to Christ. I encouraged them to make sure they get right with God before they went to sleep that night. I pray that they will feel the tug of God on their heart and yield to Him.

I remember early on when starting my daily reading, the enemy was attacking my faith and causing seeds of doubt to appear in my mind. The enemy only seems to attack when you are committing to The Lord and moving forward in your relationship to Him, otherwise he is content to let you be idle and lukewarm.

But I pressed on, prayed for renewed faith and The Lord brought me through that dark time. Now my faith is stronger than before and I have a renewed understanding of The Lord. For anyone who has not started a daily Bible reading plan, I strongly urge you to consider it.

My commitment for 2007 is to start another reading plan. This one is called "Chronological" and you read through according to the time the passage is referencing. For instance, Genesis is interrupted by Job and the read through the Gospels in parallel. My wife, Monika, has committed to reading through this plan with me. I am very excited about the year to come and reading through this interesting plan with my wife.

I also want to slow down a bit and allow God to speak to me -- in my reading and in my everyday life. I know I often feel so rushed and overloaded that I push aside the most important things. I also want to commit more time to prayer. The time that I speak to God is so vital to a Christian and it's an area that I very frequently neglect.

I pray that, God willing, at this time next year I can write about how I kept my commitments for 2007 and my relationship with Jesus has grown by leaps and bounds. Happy New Year!

I never thought about it like that, but it is so true. Even though Satan is the ruler of this world and a very real enemy, most people scoff at the idea of his existence. Our enemy is the father of lies, he masquerades as an angel of light and he relentlessly hunts us.

A casual observance of society will tell us that most people don't think Satan is an actual entity. In fact, a lot of Christians don't believe Satan is a literal being. The Bible, however, is very clear on this. Ezekiel details his creation and fall. Job tells us of his conversations with God. Revelation gives us the hope of his ultimate defeat. And throughout the Bible we are warned of the threat this enemy poses to us.

It is truly amazing how someone with such great power and authority over humanity is scoffed at and laughed upon. He is sneaky, conniving and seeking to devour us all - yet has pulled the wool over the eyes of the world.

Are Christians happier than non-believers? In general, they probably are. But when we commit to take up Jesus' cross, we are also committing to sharing in his suffering. A follower of Jesus will almost undoubtedly experience suffering, pain and sadness -- maybe more than their non-believing counter-part.

Christ did not promise us an earthly life completely void of pain. But, through Jesus, we have the hope of an eternal life that will not have any suffering. It's not necessarily the here-and-now that causes a Christian to be joyful, it's the hope of the future and the peace that comes with knowing that God is in control of everything and that we are his children.

While watching Ray doing street evangelism, I realized that telling people about how happy Jesus can make them may back-fire. What is they are already happy? What if they have a life surrounded with everything that brings them joy? As Christians, we know that these treasures are fleeting, and can be gone in the blink of an eye. Their joy is built on shaky ground. But they are happy, and maybe, some Christians they have seen have not been so joy-filled.

As the sprit leads us, it may be more effective to minister to their sinful nature. Ray has built his entire ministry upon preaching about God judging us by the law. If people don't realize their guilty of a 'crime', it won't make any sense to them that they will have to pay a penalty.

Ask them if they've ever told a lie, stolen anything, looked at someone with lust. When they answer yes, you can share with them God's law that he holds us to. They will realize that by God's standards we are all sinners, lying, adulterous, thieves. Ask them how God will judge us on judgment day.

By God's standards, the law, we are all guilty, worthy of punishment. But God made a way for us to avoid his judgment. He became a man, bore our sins and dies on a cross to pay the penalty for our sins. He suffered and dies so we won't have to. To accept his offer, all we have to do is accept him - believe and repent!

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Romans 5:1-5

Matthew 18:9

Jesus taught us that any area that allows sin to enter into our lives must be removed. If spending time with certain people causes you to sin, don't spend time with them. If certain activities take your mind away from God, don't do them. If looking magazines, television shows, or the Internet causes you to lust after the opposite sex, don't allow them into your life.

With the Internet, there is an ever-present, easily accessible, gateway into every sin imaginable. We have access to it and our children have access to it. With just a few clicks of the mouse lustful desires and sexual exploitation, perversions and blasphemy are brought right into our home. Sometimes it is even done accidentally.

For anybody struggling with temptation, or worried about their spouse or children lured into the sins of the Internet, it needs to be removed. You can simply cancel the Internet all together. Or you can install an Internet filter device. I have found and tested one called the I-Boss from Phantom Technologies. It is a hardware device, and it works very well.

The I-Boss is a small box the plugs in between your modem and computer. Or, if you share the Internet between multiple computers, it will plug in between the modem and router. It only works for broadband access, so if you are still using dial-up, the I-Boss will not work for you.

The I-Boss works by filtering categories. Using a browser-based configuration menu you can allow or disallow certain categories such as adult (pornography), violence, illegal, hacking, drugs, dating, gambling, shopping, and many more.

It works by comparing the website you are accessing against a database. The database is constantly being updated to include new sites. The subscription price is currently $7.95 a month or $59.95 for a year. Because it is a hardware device and no software has to be installed, the filter does not slow down your Internet access.

I was very skeptical at first. With so many websites out there I didn't expect it to be very effective at catching the ones I wanted to block. I am happy to say that it works extremely well. Trying to find a website to access that falls into a blocked category is almost impossible. Someone would have to try very hard, for hours on end, to find a site that wasn't allowed.

Every attempted access to a block category is logged. If the device is disconnected in an attempt to bypass the filter, it is logged as well. The logs can be set to automatically email to a parent, accountability person or spouse. I believe this is an excellent way to protect your children from information you do not want them exposed to. Or, to remove the temptation to look at pornography, gambling or other websites that lead to sin. With the e-mail logs you can set up an accountability system that can help keep you on the narrow path into the Kingdom of Heaven.

1 Peter 4:7-11

This image was sent to me recently in an e-mail. It is the 1994 Pulitzer Prize winning photo taken by Kevin Carter. The photograph shows a famine stricken Sudanese child trying to reach food. Behind her is a vulture waiting for her to die so it can feed upon her.

Kevin Carter, a South Africa photojournalist, committed suicide two months after receiving the Pulitzer Prize. His long time friend, Judith Matloff, stated that Carter would often return from upsetting assignments with bouts of crying, drinking, or using drugs. She says that after he shot his Pulitzer Prize winning photo, he "sat under a tree and cried and chain-smoked" - he couldn't distance himself from the horror he saw. No one knows what happened to the girl in the picture.

In his suicide note he stated that he was haunted by the vivid memories of killings, corpses, anger, pain, starving and wounded children and trigger-happy madmen.

This world is fallen. All of us suffer. But if you are reading this you have it far better than most. Right now, half the world (about 3 billion people) lives on less than two dollars a day. Because of poverty, over 30,000 children die every day. Every year 2.2 million children die because they are not immunized and 15 millions children are orphaned because of HIV/AIDS.

It's easy to live in our comfortable lives, detached from the rest of the world; most of us don't want to fully realize how much suffering is really occurring in the world. They say ignorance is bliss but who benefits from it? Nobody.

I struggle with empathy and pray often for more of it. I pray that I will be more selfless, not consumed with this world and what it has offer me. It is only temporary and moving past me at an enormous rate. There are many people suffering, many people who have not heard about their Savior, Jesus Christ. We should always be motivated to spread the good news to the fallen world.

With salvation comes hope and peace - and a price. Jesus gave His life on the cross as payment for our sins. In turn, we are called to give our lives to Jesus. It's a small price to pay when you consider what our lives were before - hopeless and void of purpose. But, despite this, it's all too easy to become caught up in this world and lose site of heavenly goal.

I struggle with living for myself. My flesh tells me that I deserve to be entertained and have certain luxuries. But I know that my life is not my own and as I let Jesus take control He leads me down a more selfless path, a path of self denial, where His will reigns.

There are so many people suffering, people who don't know and have never heard about Jesus Christ. Not that knowing Jesus doesn't mean the suffering will stop, it means that if you suffer, it pales in comparison to the hope we now have as children of God.

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.

Romans 8:18-19

Knowing that I was saved from a reckless path of destruction to the great hope I now have, I must constantly remind myself not to become complacent, or become too absorbed in the things of earth. I must set my eyes on heaven, and the things of heaven, and the will of my Heavenly Father.

For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.

Hosea 6:6

We've all heard it said countless times before, "time goes by so fast", or, "where has the time gone". As I, and I presume everyone else, gets older - time does seem to escape me. I look back on events with my friends and family and it feels like it wasn't that long ago before realizing it's been a decade or more since that happened.

It's something we certainly have no control over. Time continues to march faithfully on, never missing a beat. My nieces, whom are already teenagers preparing to drive have gotten to this point way too fast. So much has changed in so little time and the perceived rate of the flow of time is only going to continue to exponentially accelerate.

People look older - I look older. It's amazing how we change so quickly with the ravages of time. It can be a depressing topic, luckily we have hope. The Fountain of Youth - Jesus Christ. Through his death, burial and resurrection, He has prepared a way for us and our loved ones to have eternal life. A never-ending life with perfected bodies.

If it weren't for the hope of our adoption into the Kingdom of Heaven I would have no hope at all. We have no control over time - it is constantly pulling us toward our inescapable meeting with our Maker. Whether you live another hundred years our another hundred heartbeats, that meeting will be here before you know it. Thankfully we do have control over our future and where we choose to spend eternity.

I made a mini-movie (about 5.5 minutes) of the footage from the trip, you can download it here. If you plan to watch it more than once, please download it to your computer. This will save bandwidth usage on my web host as this is a very big file (45 MB)

It was a fear of death. I didn't necessarily fear the act of dying, it was more of fear of not existing anymore. I remember thinking about being dead and then trying to grasp the idea of 'dead forever'. I tried to imagine how long eternity was. I would imagine one hundred, one thousand, one million years - all the tiniest speck of the never-ending eternity.

I suppose it seams silly now, trying to grasp eternity in relationship to time is impossible. But, the thought of being dead forever scared me in such a way that I couldn't deal with thinking about it. It was such a deep-down fear that, as I got older, I started using drugs to numb my mind. I wanted to surround myself with as many distractions as possible to keep my mind from thinking about the inevitable. It worked to some degree, but the thoughts of the eternal still surfaced from time to time.

By God's grace, He called to me in the midst of my self indulgent life style and I responded. At that point I knew the hope and peace that can only come from a relationship with our Creator. He has a plan for us and it is not to spend eternity any other place that with Him, in His Kingdom.

Often times I can become complacent and forget about the fearful life I used to lead and the byproducts that manifested through that lifestyle. But, when I reflect on the hope and peace I now have, I realize what an awesome place that is to be - in the arms of our Lord.

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

Romans 5:1-2

Please read her following support letter for more information on the trip.

Children are precious in the eyes of Christ and they are the future of our world. God has opened a door for me to share the love of the Father with his special children! I'm writing to share with you that I'm blessed to have the opportunity to be part of a mission team that is going to Africa.

Calvary Chapel Saint Petersburg is sending a short-term mission team to Nairobi, Kenya to support missionary Lori Ogle with SIM (Serving in Missions) working with children's outreach programs. This includes caring for children affected by AIDS in their communities, orphanages and hospitals.

After seeking the Lord's will, I believe He has confirmed that He does want me to take part in this trip. I love serving the Lord and His people as it is truly a privilege and an honor. I am looking forward to this trip with eager anticipation as it is my first involvement with a mission trip.

The team will be leaving on May 17th and returning on May 30th. Our team very much needs and welcomes your prayers. Please pray for the Lord to give us wisdom, unity, strength, and that He will guard us with His shield of protection during our travels and while in Kenya. Please ask the Lord to prepare our hearts to minister to the people of Kenya. Lastly, I ask for prayer that the Lord will lead our entire trip and that we will be responsive to His call.

Eventually Steve couldn't deny a feeling of the Holy Spirit pulling on his heart. We didn't talk about it much because I wasn't very receptive to his news - I was still pretty rebellious and into the party lifestyle. Over the next couple of years we saw less and less of each other as our lives had less in common. But I did try to stay in touch. Eventually I didn't know how to find him anymore.

About nine years ago I found the Lord - the same Lord whom I know Steve had dedicated his own life to serving. After that point I had tried on many occasions to track Steve down many times- unsuccessfully. I truly wanted to share with him the good news.

I tried again last Tuesday night as something with computers reminded me of him again. This time I was able to access some Pinellas County public records relating to his estate. Upon examining them I saw that it stated he was deceased. My heart skipped a few beats. I then searched through the Saint Petersburg Times newspaper archives and found his obituary stating his death about ten years ago. I couldn't believe it.

I found Steve's father's name in the obituary and was able to do a Google search and then found his e-mail address. Steve's father confirmed his death.

Here is the message I received:

"[Steve died in an] Auto accident. I suppose you know Steve worked with the homeless in Florida. There was a woman that he had helped get an apartment. She needed money and the day it happened, he went to work, picked up his paycheck, cashed it and took her some money. On his way back to work a van broadsided his car on the driver's side. The impact severed an artery to his heart and although they worked on him in surgery for hours trying to save him, it was too late. I'm an atheist, but Steve was a born-again Christian. If you believe the story in the New Testament about the Good Samaritan, then doing what he did was just about a guarantee of instant sainthood. The people I met in Florida at his memorial service all seemed to act as if they believed that. Even for an atheist, stuff like that strikes me as pretty cool. "

I have been grieving the loss all week. Although it happened a decade ago I am still in disbelief. I always looked forward to sharing with Steve the good news of my salvation and talking with him about our experiences. I suppose we may get to talk in our new lives.

The whole thing seems so surreal and I can't stop thinking about it. Especially the fact that he was in the middle of an act of being such a servant to the Lord's people - like he always had done. The world has suffered a tremendous loss indeed.

There are many lessons to be taken from this experience - some of which I'm sure I haven't fully realized yet. The foremost being, we truly don't know what the Lord has dictated for our lives from one second to the next. We should live our lives as if we believe that.

I can't help but wonder why the Lord would allow Steve, a true servant, who always sacrificed his life for others, to be taken like that. I don't know. I wish I did. Does God allow the enemy to physically harm us? I know the enemy strongly attacks those who are following the Lord's will. I know from my own experience that when I am getting closer to God, doing the right things - that's when I feel Satan's presence. But can he actually interact physically with us? I suppose so...

As a memory to Steve I wanted to post his obituary here:

BRESNAHAN, STEPHEN CRANE, 35, of Clearwater, died Friday (Dec. 13, 1996) at All Children's Hospital, St. Petersburg. He was born in Newark, N.J., and moved to Clearwater in 1995 from Dunedin, where he had lived for several years. He worked as a pager programer for Air Touch Paging and was associated with the Refuge Ministry in St. Petersburg. He served as a volunteer with the Street Ministry of Homeless Christian Community. Survivors include his mother, Anmarie (Bresnahan) Souza, Clearwater; his father, Dr. Daniel Bresnahan, Bloomfield, N.J.; and a sister, April Russo, Belleville, N.J. Gee and Sorensen Funeral Home, St. Petersburg.