It's one thing to joke about coffee...

I saw a man enter the building carrying two coffee drinks from Starbucks. It was 4:15 and I was sitting at my post in the lobby of the insurance company where I worked as a security guard. He told me that he wanted to surprise his wife and asked if I would call her and just let her know that she had a delivery in the lobby. I called her extension but because she was on the phone, someone else answered so I gave them the message to give to her.

What a caring thing of this husband to do; to bring his wife a cool drink on a hot day. He patiently waited, as he knew that she was busy with work. After about a half hour of waiting, I offered to call again, to make sure she had gotten the message. When she didn't answer, I joked with him that if she didn't come down, I'd be happy to accept one of the drinks myself. I talked with him a bit more and then he went back to reading a magazine. A few minutes later I asked him if he wanted me to e-mail her, just so we could be sure that she knew there was someone waiting for her. He said that it was okay, he'd wait about ten minutes longer then leave. I thought to myself, how sad; What a kind thing this guy is doing for his wife, and some circumstance is causing her not to receive his jester. At 5:15, one hour after he arrived, the man gave up, so to speak, and left the building. He said to me, "Well, I tried... I'll guess I'll just see her when she gets home."

What a kind and loving thing that husband did for his wife. After a long hard day at work, the first thing he thought of was how he could do something nice for his wife. He used others to get the message to her, but for some reason or another she didn't receive it. I am certain that if she would have understood that her loving husband was waiting in the lobby to give her the drink, she would have thankfully come down to receive it - she must not have gotten the message.

About 3 minutes after he left the building, I saw him walking back towards the door - this time with only one coffee drink in his hand. He opened the door, and walked over to were I was sitting and gave me the drink. I said thank you to him, and asked what happened. Apparently, she was already at home and there was some sort of miscommunication. I laughed in my head because I knew that the only reason he gave it to me was that I had joked about it.

Isn't it interesting how timing and joking works. There is another issue where timing is extremely important, but joking isn't quite as beneficial. From the day we are born God is trying to get a hold of us. He is trying to let us know that He is here (through Creation). He's also uses other people (the Bible writers) to try to get the message to us, of how he's ready to forgive us for our sins (Breaking his 10 Commandments - Lying, stealing, Adultery, etc.) which we know are wrong because He gave us a conscience (the knowledge of what is right and wrong). It's no funny joke to be living a sinful life. To God, it is a serious crime - with a punishment of death and eternity in Hell. But God patiently waits for us to understand that He has done something very kind (and undeserved) for us. He's waiting for us to repent, and receive the merciful gift that He's given us through Jesus Christ. Maybe there has been an error in communication getting the truth to us, but a time will come when our time is up. Timing is important - without warning, our life could be over, and if we die without repenting of our sinful ways and putting our trust in Jesus Christ alone for our salvation, our experience 3 minutes after we die will be much less desirable than receiving a cool coffee drink.

Please think about this question. Are you 100% sure that if you died tonight, you'd go to heaven? If you're not sure, confess your sins to God today(all of them, lying, stealing, looking with lust, etc. See the 10 commandments, and use your conscience for help). Apologize (to God) for them and ask for His forgiveness. Forsake your sins (abandon them, turn away from them towards God) - this is repentance. Then understand that Jesus Christ (God in the flesh) was beaten and bruised for your sins. He suffered for you. You broke the law, and Jesus paid the fine for you, so that when your Judgment day comes, His righteousness will be credited to you - and you will be innocent (because of Him) and not have to receive the just punishment for your life of "crime" (sin), which is a (multiple) life sentence in Hell - with no hope of getting out early for "good" behavior.

Think about that! Really think about it. Don't fall asleep tonight without thinking about that - please. This is an issue where timing is eternally important, and it's clearly no joking matter. The bible says it's appointed once for man to die, and then face judgment. God commands all men everywhere to repent, because a day is coming when the world will be judged in righteousness. None of us are good enough to "pass" on that day, which is why we must repent, and put our Faith in Jesus Christ to save us.

My goal is not to shove my "beliefs" down your throat, but believe me, if I could, and it meant you would be saved from hell, I would do it in a heart beat. Your salvation is not up to me, if it were, I wouldn't be writing this blog. But God commands me to preach the gospel to every living creature! So please, don't be offended by my blog - but rather understand my motives. I don't want you to go to hell. I don't want anyone to go to hell (and neither does God).

Your Friend,
Brandt Dary

P.S. To fellow Christians: If you're not sure why I use the Law (the 10 Commandments) in evangelism, it is because the bible says the Law is the schoolmaster, which leads people to Christ. It is by the Law that others gain an understanding of Sin - and how sinful they are. Without the Law , Paul said, he would not have known sin. To learn more about the use of the Law in evangelism, listen to (or watch) Hell's Best Kept Secret, by Christian author Ray Comfort.

(This teaching has been commended by such leaders as Bill Bright, of Campus Crusade for Christ as well as Dr. D. James Kennedy, and many more.)

Super Powers

The other night I was eating at IHOP (International House Of Pancakes) and talking with my friend Patrick. I guess what I was saying was funny because the two girls at a neighboring table began laughing. One of them turned around and apologized to me for laughing, but I told them that I didn't mind. I thought to myself, I am glad they did because I wanted to share the gospel with them, but I wasn't sure how I was going to approach them to bring up a conversation.

I started to talk with them about natural things, before moving to spiritual things. I talked to them about their meal, were they lived, their jobs, school, and stuff like that. At one point in our conversation the mood was lightened when one of the girls knoced over her water all over the table and in the seat of her friend.

Then I began talking about spiritual things (I forget how exactly I transitioned) but it came up that one of the girls was a professing Athiest "who kind of believed in a higher power", but not what most think of as God. I asked her where she thought the world came from and she responded that "the world made itself". That was easily proven silly, and from there we moved on. I asked her friend, who professed to be a Christian / Catholic who leaned more towards Catholism, how the world was created and she said that she believed in "Revolution". I smiled and asked her if she meant Evolution, and she firmly stated that she meant Revolution. She told me that she believed things revolved. I said that she is right, the world does revolve, but that doesn't answer the question of how it was made. I took the time to prove to her without using faith or the bible that God (or a Creator) does exist. (See WayOfTheMaster for proof of God)

I then continued with the athiest, I asked her if she would take the Good Test, and she said yes. I asked her if she considered herself to be a good person, to which she replied that she did. I took her through the law and she confessed to being a lying thief, and a blasphemous adulterer-at-heart. I asked her if on Judgement day God would find her Innocent or Guilty based on His Law. She reasoned that she didn't believe it would matter, because she didn't believe in God. I told her that our belief doesn't effect reality. I gave her the example that if I were out on the freeway playing around, I would still be in grave danger even if I didn't belive cars existed.

She understood the analogy, but still wasn't concerned with her fate (or at least didn't appear to be). She and her friend had to leave so I gave them a Million Dollar Bill gospel tract, and thanked them for talking with me. About six months ago, I would have been very disappointed with this witness encounter, because I would have seen it as a failure. I used to think that it was all about seeing people "get it" - that is understand their need to repent and put their faith in Jesus. But I now know that it's not about that, my job is to go and simply plant the seed.

I used to wish that I had super powers that would help me help pepole. I now believe that my sense of humor is my super power. Humor has opened up the door to have so many great conversations with people, and talk about issues of eternal importance. Do you have a Super Power? I bet you do! God has given you a gift that you can use to go and share the glorious gospel of salvation. If you can't figure out what your powers are yet, use your arms and mouth^*. Learn how to share the gospel simply, biblically, effectively - the way Jesus did (clcik here), and get a hold of some gospel tracts and start passing them out. Start opening your mouth to your friends, family members, and strangers and tell them the Good News (not Geico). Remember, with great power comes great responsibility - so although you can't swing around the city on spider webs, or fly faster than a speeding bullet - you can use your mouth and hands to lead people to the true Super Hero - the One who rescued the whole world, Jesus Christ.

Up, up, and away!

~ Brandt Dary

* If you don't have hands, or a mouth, you can still serve God. Talk with your pastor for ideas about how you can spread the gospel.