Quote from Forum Archives on March 20, 2002, 4:56 pm

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

Today's message follows the special note I received. Please take
a look at the message I received from the owner of welovegod.org,
Glen Stewart. Glen has several things in common with me:

1. Glen is an earnest seeker and believer in the Lord Jesus
Christ. He is someone who has devoted his life to serve the
Lord.

2. Glen is a software engineer, the same profession that I
claim.

3. Glen's undergraduate degree comes from the same school as mine
did, Michigan Technological University.

When Glen asks something, I pay attention. I leave it up to you
whether or not his request is something you would consider, but
I'd like each of you to read the message and at least give it
some thought.

So here's Glen's request, followed by today's Word for Today
message:

Dear Email Group Owner,

If you could please pass this message on to your Email Group,
where appropriate, I would appreciate it.

Thanks!

Your testimony for use in Evangelism
------------------------------------

One of the easiest, most exciting and interesting ways to share
Jesus is to give a personal testimony. Your testimony is the
basis of your witness. It is your story - your firsthand account
of what God through Christ has done in your life.

Your testimony has authority. Many questions about the Bible you
may not be able to answer, but you are the authority on your
testimony. We would like to encourage you to write up your
testimony following the simple guide at
welovegod.org/texts/About_Your_Testimony.html

Once it is written, it can be placed online in our randomly
revolving queue of "Inspiring Stories" seen at
welovegod.org/testimonies/random.cgi?random.dat on our
main web site at welovegod.org

Please send your testimony to glen_stewart@welovegod.org once it
is completed, and some standard HTML touch-up will be done prior
to placing online at Associate.com.

Before and After photos for use in Evangelism
---------------------------------------------

Another simply way to catch people's attention and draw them to
Christ is with a photo from before and after your salvation.
You can scan them in (or have a friend do it) and email them to
glen_stewart@welovegod.org

We have a unique "advertising" witness effort using the photos
and a nice salvation message when people visit various pages
around the site, such as welovegod.org/gantt/

Thanks for working with me to draw people to God!

Glen Stewart -- Associate.com - THE Place to Associate!
welovegod.org Is Your E-mail Group Here? Visit
welovegod.org/faq/your-list-here.shtml -- To unsubscribe,
send ANY message to <moderator-unsubscribe@welovegod.org>
=========================================================

End of request. OK, let's think about the events leading up to
the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which today form the
basis for our Christian faith.

Matthew 26 records these things - first, verses 20-22:

20 When it was evening, Jesus sat down at the table with the
twelve disciples. 21 While they were eating, he said, "The truth
is, one of you will betray me." 22 Greatly distressed, one by one
they began to ask him, "I'm not the one, am I, Lord?"

Then in verses 31-35, we read these words:

31 "Tonight all of you will desert me," Jesus told them. "For the
Scriptures say, 'God 47 will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep
of the flock will be scattered.'32 But after I have been raised
from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you
there." 33 Peter declared, "Even if everyone else deserts you, I
never will." 34 "Peter," Jesus replied, "the truth is, this very
night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times."
35 "No!" Peter insisted. "Not even if I have to die with you! I
will never deny you!" And all the other disciples vowed the same.

Finally, in verse 75 we read this:

75 Suddenly, Jesus' words flashed through Peter's mind: "Before
the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." And he went
away, crying bitterly.

You can read the complete account of Matthew 26 in your own
Bibles, or if you are interested in using the resource that I
used to pull up these verses, look at
bible.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?new=1&word=Matthew+26&section=0&version=nlt&language=en.

Now, at first glance, we too, might be inclined to say, "I'll
never deny you, Lord!" But how many times have we ALREADY denied
Christ in our lives? For many of us, I have a feeling it may
even be MORE than THREE times. As much as I love Christ, I
SHUDDER to even think of how often my attitudes and actions have
denied Christ, when I may have been someone to point to Christ.
I sincerely pray that I will no longer deny Christ by my
actions.

Even so, Jesus Christ was most gracious, to Peter and all of the
others. He knew their hearts, and He knew that though they were
afraid, He also knew that they loved Him. Jesus DID remind
Peter, Thomas, and the other doubters when He reappeared to
them. He did not bash them, but He DID remind them. Perhaps we
need to be reminded, too. Let's be careful NOT to deny Christ by
the things we say and do, or by the things we do NOT say and do.

Your Brother in Christ,
Brian

=====
--
Brian Masinick, "The Mas", mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

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