We are moving

This blog is to inform you that Billy's Tackle box will be moving to a different site. To continue to receive my blog, go to www.sowingtheseed.com and subscribe to the blog there. it will not be under the same name, but it will still be my weekly blog. It is just a whole lot easier to keep it on one site. My fishing buddy Josh and I have been building the Sowing the Seed site for a while, and we hope that it will soon be finished. We're just in the middle of making a lot more changes.
So please log onto our website and subscribe there. You will still recieve the blog every time I publish one. Thanks, guys and gals... Blessings.... Billy

Tracting, Part 2

A few weeks ago you read "Tracts 101", which had a detailed list of great places to leave tracts. Gospel tracts are a wonderfully effective tool in sharing the gospel. I'm not talking about using weird or boring tracts. I think that a tract needs to be interesting, and unique in a way that people will read them through, even if they end up throwing them into the trash. Let's face it, we are bombarded with all kinds of leaflets advertising this or that product, churches and even cults use them. So they must be original and be intriguing.
I remember once about 13 years ago, I was on a nature hike in the woods, and as I walked over a bridge, I spotted a $20 bill folded up and squeezed into the railing. But to my dismay, (and irritation) upon opening it up, it turned out to be a gospel tract. My excitement suddenly faded as I became somewhat annoyed that someone would trick me like that. So I don't use those types of tracts.
I do use a fake $1,000,000 bill, but I show people the gospel message on the back to make sure they know what it is, making it obvious to them that its a novelty. Almost everyone loves them. I keep a pile of them in my wallet, and every time I make a purchase, I give one to the check-out guy/gal. Also, I drop them into my bills as I mail them out. Why not? Just don't send them out in a bill that is being paid late!
Another fun method is to get your hands on some smaller size tracts, and go into the beer and wine section of a retailer and slip them into the cases of beer. They have a wide enough opening on them to give you plenty of room to slide them in. Last time I was at Wal-Mart I put 50 tracts in beer cases. It was really fun. I wish I was a fly on the wall when they were discovered!
You can also go into bookstores and put tracts in the pages of books and magazines. What's great about this is that you can target your readers by what types of literature you choose to place them in. Go to the new age sections and load up the books. You will look like the average patron as you flip through the book before you put it back on the shelf. The key is to be stealthy. You can also go to the magazine rack and put them in the pages of all the papparazzo mags, gay mags, etc. Just be careful that you don't spend too much time in the "soft" porn areas. It's not good for you, and you don't want another believer or your pastor to see you there!
These are just a few of the ways I like to distribute tracts. They are really a lot of fun. I like to keep a lot of different kinds of tracts on me for different types of situations. For example, when I am in a drive-thru, I give a different tract to the person in the window than I would put in a book. I like to take a tract called "Ticket to Heaven" that looks like a ticket and when I see people waiting in line for a movie or a hockey game, I walk throught the line and offer everyone free tickets. Bang! 100 plus people with the way to everlasting life in their hands!
It's very easy because people in general are polite and will almost always take them. So get some tracts, and keep a small amount on you at all times, because you never know when you will see an open door to slip one into a sinner's hands. I'm going to leave you with a link to a great website for purchasing tracts at the best prices anywhere. They have many different types of tracts that are original and amusing and, more imoprtantly, share the gospel Biblically. Go to www.livingwaters.com
Until next week, go out and be bold! The righteous are as bold as a lion!

The Enemy Within

Every one of us who belongs to Christ is perpetually engaged in a battle for control of our mind. Our flesh is constantly waging war with our spirit to influence whether or not we will succumb to sin or walk away. We all know this, and we all have experienced victory as well as defeat in different areas. Aside from the fact that our flesh is drawn like a moth to the flame to various sinful pleasures, there are other ways in which the Adamic nature rears his ugly head.
One specific area is in the realm of personal witnessing. All too often, I find that I have much more important things going on than to spend my precious time sharing the gospel with a bunch of people who don't want to hear it anyway. There are fish to be caught, birds to be shot at, sporting events to attend, good TV shows that I can't miss, etc. And on top of all that, there is some really good fellowship to be had with my hunting budd- Ahem- christian brothers. What am I describing? Evangelical laziness. We just don't give it the time.
There is nothing in me that wants to go out and speak to people about the things of God. I would much rather stay home and surf the web or watch television. There is an old adamic nature in me that needs to be continually denied its appetite if I want to serve Jesus and glorify him. I have been in situations where I have gone to certain public places, determining ahead of time that I was going specifically to witness to people, and when I arrived, began looking immediately for some excuse to blow it off and do something else. Have you been there?
If you've ever gone out and done any personal work, then I'm sure you have. Sometimes it is the result of fear, and sometimes it is the result of plain old laziness. We couldn't be bothered to share the words of everlasting life with people because we are so busy doing our own thing, living our own lives. But the Bible says that we should be "in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom we shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life.."
The next time you are confronted with a witnessing opportunity and you are feeling too lazy or too scared to open your mouth, just take a moment and imagine the tables were turned. Imagine that you were on your way to hell and didn't know it, and this person couldn't be bothered to take a moment and share the words of eternal life with you. How would you feel about that? Wouldn't you want to have been told?
Or what would you think of a doctor, who discovered a cure to cancer, but didn't share the cure with the world because he was going on to further studies as a doctor? Obviously, just the thought is enough to give us a sense of indignation. How much more then, is the gift of everlasting life in comparison with a cure to cancer? And how often do you keep it to yourself when you could be sharing it with those who still sit in the shadow of death?
The world is going to hell. One by one they are falling into an abyss of eternal torment. You and I have been entrusted witht the word of reconciliation by our Lord. We must reckon the old man to be dead, and we must be dead indeed to sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. The enemy within will come up with all sorts of things for us to be doing other than what we are supposed to be doing, but we must be diligent, continually denying our flesh of its desires and being filled with the Spirit of God.
So be on your guard, and look out for the attitude of laziness and complacency. Determine to ask the Lord to fill you with compassion for the lost, and go out with boldness and power to lead men and women to the source of life, Jesus Christ.

Listening

I recently learned an important lesson on listening. I had the wonderful experince of sharing Jesus with the dentist. I wasn't exactly fired up about how a 1/8 oz. piece of porcelain was going to affect my bank account, but that's the price you pay for playing hockey, I guess. Nobody likes the idea of visiting the dentist's chair, so I had to make things a little more interesting. The way I saw it, I may as well make the most out of my time there.
I know what you are thinking. How in the world does one go about sharing their faith when their mouth is open wide enough for a volkswagon? Well, he did get a few more words in than I did, but it actually worked out perfectly. By listening to him, I was able to meet him where he was at and address some specific questions he had before opening up the gospel to him.
So I began by asking him how many years of education he had to go through, and continued by asking whether his studies of the human mouth and all the intricate details re-inforced a belief in God or atheism.
"Ohh, that is the age-old question that doesn't get answered in the dentist's office" he said, but then went on and on about his viewpoints on evolution. He reasoned that even though it is obviously too ordered for it to be random, there was also some obvious evolution that took place. So maybe God created evolution.
I responded by addressing the evolution question. (He actually paused with the procedure to allow me to speak) I explained that there is such a thing as micro-evolution. That is, that there are all kinds of different types of dogs, cats, etc. Even in the human race, we have black, white, Asian, big, small, etc. But micro-evolution is not the same as macro-evolution, where a cat could become a bird, or a fish become a cow. There is not one verifiable transitional form from one species to another in the fossil record. So, even though there may be some evolution inside a species, there are no examples of one species blending with another to form something new. In fact, if evolution were true, and it took millions of years to occur, then we should have millions more transitional forms than anything else. They should be littering the landscape of the planet. Yet scientists cannot find even one. Strange?
He agreed with me and then went on to describe his Catholic upbringing and that his priest actually told him that the Indians worshiped the same god even though they did it in ignorance. With all the world religions, where is the source of truth? He said he wished that God would just write a "book of truth" that we could read and follow.
WOW! What an open door!
So I was able to speak to him about the "book" in question, and witness to him.
After he finished and left, his assistant was exhilerated. "That was awesome," she whispered. She had been inviting him to church and even had him show up with his family a couple times, but he still was not getting it. That was a real blessing for her as well as me.
I have another appointment coming up, in which I hope to follow up with him some more.
But I learned a very important lesson in all this. Because my mouth was wide open most of the time, I wasn't able to take this guy through the gospel like I usually do. I had to listen to him a whole lot more than speak to him. But in that, I was able to find out where he was at and meet him there. I wouldn't have known to address the issues of evoluton and the Bible otherwise.
Our core gospel message should never change, but we should always use different bait to draw them in before we pull the hook of the gospel through. People have all sorts of issues that they struggle with, and if we take the time to listent to them before we hammer them with the word, we can deal with those issues. Don't worry if you don't know how to combat atheism or intellectualism. You don't HAVE to address them. The gospel is still the the power of God no matter what they say they believe. Just share Jesus and let him do the work in their hearts.
So go out, and be bold! Let your love for those you mean to reach be evident in your actons as well as your words. Blessings...

Black Friday: An Evangelist's Gold Mine!

I have been a little bummed out lately because there just aren't all that many opportunities during the winter months to go out and do any mass evangelism. When the weather is cold, people stay indoors, so any place you go is probably going to be private property. I have had enough incidents with mall security and crowd management services for distributing gospel tracts that I think I am marked every time I go to one. I can't get away with anything anymore.

But along comes Black Friday, the day when people come out and line up in droves just to hear us preach! Well, okay, they are lining up to save money on their Christmas gifts and big ticket merchandise, but who cares? They are a captive audience, and all we need to do is find a way to get them to listen to the gospel without feeling like we are ramming it down their throats.

So with that thought in mind, I began trying to build a team that would come out early in the morning and make the most out of this incredible opportunity. I started by calling local department stores to get opening times, and with that information, mapped out a route to hit as many of them as we could before the doors opened.

Then I had to come up with some sort of ice-breaker. I needed something to appeal to them in order to win their favor. Why not give them free coffee? Many of them will have been standing in line since 12a.m. to get a good spot in line, so they will have to be freezing! How better to soften them up and open their ears than to give them something they will appreciate? So, I got ahold of some commercial coffee-makers and a couple of 5-gallon thermal-insulated dispensers, and had 200-plus cups ready to go.

I was able to find 6 guys who were willing to get up early and hit the streets with me. Thank God for those guys. I pray he blesses them for this.

So here's the run-down. We hit Circuit City first, at 4 a.m. I really wish I would have called Kohls, because when we showed up at 4 o'clock, they were opening up across the street and there must have been 400 or more peope there heading into the store. Missed opportunity. Darn!

Anyhow, there were about 75-100 people at Circuit City, so we pulled up right in the front of the store, and I jumped up into the bed of my pickup and said, "Good Morning, would anyone like some free coffee? Just raise your hands and we'll bring it to you." The response was wonderful. People were so eager that many of them just rushed to the truck and gratefully accepted the hot coffee. Then, as the rest of the team were passing out the coffee, I preached a short, 5 minute gospel message and finished up by asking them to please accept a gospel tract from us and read it at their leisure. I reasoned with them that if they cared enough to stand out in the cold for hours just to save a few bucks, how much more should they value their souls? Almost everone took tracts from us.

I didn't even have to shout or use amplification because we were facing the front of the store, and the building itself contained my voice very well. It went better than I had expected.

Second store, Toys-R-Us. The line here was a little bigger, maybe fifty or so more, and I think they were the most receptive of all. We followed the same format at each store.

Then we went over to Shop-Ko, where there were a lot more people, and then to Best Buy, where we had to preach twice because the line was so long. We started shooting some video when we got to Best Buy, but I forgot to put new batteries in my wireless mic and they ended up dying on us halfway through the gospel presentation. I never bothered to check them all morning, so I have a lot of video with no audio. Oops! At least I posted the video I do have on my youtube channel, so if you are new to open air or are looking for pointers on getting a message started, you can check it out for yourself by clicking on the following link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfeEq6NcG1w

After Bust Buy, we hit Joes sporting goods, which had a pretty large crowd of about 200 or more. By then it was 5 a.m. which was opening time for most of the stores, except for the two local Target stores, which didn't open until 6. Suprisingly, there weren't that many people at the first one, but since I had a lot more time, I was able to preach a little longer message, which was cool. We ran out of coffee and had to stop for more before we hit the next one.

I thought I was going to have plenty of time here, too, so I was taking my sweet old time, expounding on the fact that we have all sinned against God and deserve his judgement, and reasoned about the aweful reality of hell, when all of the sudden a security guard approached me and asked me to stop. I begged and pleaded with him for just one more minute. I said, "I just told these people that they are heading for hell, please just give me one minute to tell them about Jesus. I can't leave them like that! Please, just one little minute?" But he wouldn't budge. But at least he let me address the crowd and let them know that the management had asked us to stop speaking. Funny thing is, the crowd turned on him, and demanded that he allow me to finish! He still wouldn't give in though, so we were forced to stop. He did, however, allow us to continue handing out coffee.

It was a great morning, and a great opportunity that we took full advantage of. I tried to encourage members of the team to get up and preach, but they were not comfortable with that yet. Maybe next time. Everone contributed and was a big help in getting this done. They must have all handed out a couple hundred tracts each. It was a real blessing to be a part of it and see these guys stepping out of their comfort zones for the sake of the gospel.

I really hope that this experience inspires you to look for opportunities in your community to get the gospel out. It was a total blast.

Until the nets are full...

Tracts 101

How many times have you been in a situation where you wanted to share Jesus with someone, but you really didn't have the time? Or, how often have you found yourself scared silly in the heat of the moment as you are about to open your mouth for the kingdom of God? You know, those pulse-pounding, dry-mouth, palm-sweatty moments when you wish there was some way you could just give them the gospel and get out of there before you have a coronary. Maybe you are comfortable with the thought of sharing your faith with others, but you just don't know how to bring the subject up.

If you can identify with either of these, there is solution to your dilemma; the gospel tract. No matter what your situation is, there is a tract for you.
You can find all sorts of creative ice-breaker type tracts that will help open up a conversation with a complete stranger, as well as tracts you can use to transition a conversation from natural to spiritual things. There are tracts you can just leave in places where people will find them, and tracts you can give away in places like drive-thru windows. There are very thorough tracts you can give to people after you share Jesus with them, and tracts you can give to people you are afraid to share verbally with.

The great thing about tracts is that people really do read them, and if they are good tracts, often people keep them in a drawer somewhere and end up reading them again and again. You never know where a tract will end up, or who will wind up reading them. Also, tracts are great at getting the gospel through to people who would otherwise argue with you during a conversation because they read the whole thing without getting into debates and going down rabbit trails.

Another great thing about gospel tracts is that they are so easy to give away. If you are polite in your approach, people almost always take them. I have given out tens of thousands of tracts, and I can tell you that I have never been beaten up for it. I think I can count on one hand the times when someone actually got angry about it. The vast majority of people will take them from you. Just check out this short 1 minute clip and see how easy it is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL0_bq9RYLE
Or, you can click on the video on the fishing adventures sidebar if you are on my blogspot page.

Giving out tracts is easy and effective. Why wouldn't we make the most out of this wonderful method of sharing the gospel? You can purchase tracts fairly inexpensively. I buy them from Living Waters, where most of them are 5-7 bucks per hundred.

Here is a cool take on tracts, adapted from a teaching by Mark Spence, Dean of the online School of Biblical Evangelism:


Why use Tracts?

A tract is never embarrassed, timid nor fearful and isn't hurt by rejection.
It does not flinch and show cowardice when the Truth it conveys is not believed.
It never yields to the temptation to compromise the Truth of the gospel of Christ.
It speaks clearly and right to the point.
It never argues back when its message is disputed, and it always sticks to the Truth.
It glorifies only Jesus as the Holy Spirit reveals the Word of God to its readers.
It never gets tired and gives up.
It keeps on working while you are sleeping, even when you are unable to distribute it.
It is always ready to witness to its readers at any time and at any location.
It can get inside of a house and stay there, even in secret places where you cannot gain entrance, to be revealed at a chosen time.
It cost very little and travels inexpensively.
It travels by any mode or class and in all kinds of climate and weather conditions.
It requires no food, clothing or shelter.
It is easily carried in a pocket or purse and between the pages of a book.
It can be used by anyone, any age, deaf, mute, crippled or even in a wheelchair.
It can be used by either the intellectual or the uneducated, because no speaking skills are needed to convey its message.
It conveys a message that is not ever lost, like a sermon, and can be read over and over again, long after you are gone and forgotten
It always catches a person in the right mood, because the Holy Spirit will always speak to the heart as the Word is being read.
It needs no translator, when it is in the language of the reader, as the Holy Spirit reveals His Word instantly to the reader. It may be read by scores of people before God is finished with its purpose.
It can do a great work for God and lead many people to the knowledge of Christ.


Places to Hand out Tracts:

Sporting events
Book stores (Religious Section)
Barnes and Nobles.
Newspaper stands
Pay phone Phonebooks (escort & Abortion listings)
Shopping carts
Clothes pockets in stores
Bills
Along with a generous tip
Drop in bags & Purses
Lobbies
Inside restaurant menus
Drive Thru
Cashiers
Restroom stalls
Rest areas.
Diaper changing stations
ATM machines
Credit card slots
Junk mail envelopes
Elevators
Hotel dressers and drawers
Magazine racks
Newspaper racks
Waiting rooms of doctors’ offices and hospitals
On seats at airports, subways, and bus stations
Plane seat pockets
O Sleeves in DVD Jackets
Cabs
Laundromats
Library
Truck stops
Case of Beers
Plastic brochure holder by your door.
Movie Rentals
Napkin holders
EBay shipments.
Pin to bulletin boards in public places
Everywhere


Tracts are one of the best resources we have in street witnessing. You can reach more people in a few minutes in a big crowd with tracts than the average church reaches in one year. So find a tract that you can use, and use it often.

There are people heading for an eternity in hell. It really is true. You are like a doctor who has a cure to cancer. Don't keep it to yourself. Share it with the world.

Staying Focused

As we look out on the fields, we should see that they are ripe for the harvest. Everywhere around us, there are men, women, and children who desperately need the gospel. Every person you meet has an eternal soul that will either go to heaven or to hell for all eternity, and that moment you have with them, no matter how small, could have tremendous implications on where they wind up. Sometimes we have a few seconds, sometimes we have a few minutes, and sometimes more, but let us make the most out of every opportunity to reach out to the lost while we can.
Now, because we live in the land of plenty, I believe it is especially difficult to remain focused in our culture. Often when I want to approach someone with the gospel, a little thought creeps in that tells me that they would not be interested in the things of God because they've got everything they could want. I mean, just about everyone in America has a nice home, a car and a job, with plenty of food tucked away in their pantry. Not to mention all the wonderful freedoms we enjoy and all the attractions and pleasures that are at our fingertips. How can I make grace the amazing grace that it is to someone who, at least on the outside, has it pretty good?
If you lose your focus and allow those thoughts to crowd out the simplicity if the message, in a flash of a second, you can go from "bold as a lion" to running away with your tail between your legs. The key is to remember that we are not offering a life enhancement program when we share the truth of the gospel, otherwise we would limit our audience to the down-and-out and the rock-bottom hitters. We are sharing the truth about the One who is life itself. The bum on the street without Jesus lacks the same thing as the Wall Street businessman without Jesus... forgiveness of sins. Neither one of those men has any peace, (something you have) and according to 2 Corintinans 5, the Lord has put you in their path to tell them about Him.

2Co 5:18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,
2Co 5:19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Incredible isn't it? That God has "committed" it to us. He has entrusted us , and ordained that we should be his ministers. The passage goes on to say that we are ambassadors for Christ, and that we should be pleading with men and women to be reconciled to God. Why does the apostle say this? Why should we plead with the sinner? Because if we truly understand and meditate for a moment on their fate, then we won't be able to help but to plead with them.

2Co 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
2Co 5:11 Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men

It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God! Yet how often do we hear that sort of message declared? Is it because we are afraid of offending the listener? If we really cared for them, we wouldn't succumb to the fear of man and water down our message, but we would plead with them, beg them to respond to the gospel. Just read Revelation 20 and see what lies ahead for the unregenerate, and really let it grip you as you understand the devastation they are headed for. This mindset is what will keep you focused in those moments of discouragement or fear, (which we all experience) and help you remember the basic core of the gospel message, which the apostle tells us in the same chapter...

2Co 5:19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
2Co 5:20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.
2Co 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

So stick to the basic message, and it won't matter who you're talking to, a Buddhist, Muslim, Jew, atheist, intellectual, college professor, bum, etc., you can always find an ally within the person's conscience when you speak about their need of forgiveness of sins. It is universal among mankind, because God has given every son and daughter of Adam the conscience. Not everyone you meet will be looking for a life enhacement program, but everyone knows they've sinned against the Lord, because he's placed it in our hearts. It's the key to reaching anyone you might want to witness to. You can argue for hours on useless rabbit trails, but until you bring it back to the fact that they've sinned against heaven and desperately need God's forgiveness, the cross will remain foolishness to them and grace will not seem all too amazing at all.
So share with boldness, and share often! If you are a new believer or are new to evangelizing, just take baby steps. Share your own testimony of how you came to understand the gospel. Pass out tracts to people and let the written word work in their hearts. You've got the promise that He will never leave you or forsake you, and that He'll be with you wherever you go.
So don't let them scare you! Because when it comes to the kind of peace that really matters, you're the one holding all the marbles.