The Bible is the perfect book--correct in its every claim, authoritative in its every demand, helpful for every worthy pursuit, relevant for every generation and culture, necessary for every individual, accurate in its historical accounts, flawless in its prophecies of things to come, boundless in its ability to make God known, trustworthy in its every promise, consistent and cohesive in all its passages, and reliable and complete as a resource for meeting every spiritual need.  It speaks to the intellect, and to the heart.  It gives wisdom, and knowledge.    

            It has stood the test of time, proving itself unlimited in its power to withstand scrutiny of the honest seeker, and even the assault of disingenuous attacks thrust upon it by those of hard hearts who distort what it says or who are just unwilling to read it with an open mind.  

            What’s more, the Bible is God’s personal message for you.  It applies to all of humanity as a whole, but it also speaks to you personally as an individual.  It was written with you in mind.       

            It contains information you must understand if you want to go to heaven.  God requires you to know Him, and He will judge you when you die based on your response to what He has revealed in the Bible, whether you’ve chosen to read it or not.  God loves you and wants fellowship with you; and He wrote this book so that through it, He could establish a relationship with you, that will begin in this life, and grow, and last forever.  You were created in God’s image, so you will never cease to be.  You will exist somewhere forever.  And whether your eternal state is one of infinite joy or unspeakable suffering is entirely dependent upon whether or not you come in this life to know God personally as He has presented Himself in the Bible.  There is no other source of information that can replace or supplement the Bible as a guide on the road to heaven.  No human teacher of any religion or faith can speak truth apart from what God has said in this book.  No religious tradition can help you if you follow it, instead of the decrees of the Bible. 

            And the Bible has answers, help, and comfort for every problem or issue you are facing today.  If you live to be 110, you will never face any trial or tragedy outside the bounds of the Bible’s scope of ability to help.  It contains the answer to grief, to pain, to sorrow, to rejection, to every form of problem in human relationships, to loneliness, to depression, to anger, to violence, to hunger, to guilt, to sins you’ve committed, to sins committed against you, to family problems, to work problems, to money problems, to health problems, to ignorance, to bigotry, to war, to poverty, to terrorism, to fear, to death, to loss, to how to pray effectively, and to every other thing. 

            Don’t miss out.  Read it.  Believe it.  Study it.  Learn it.  Find life in Christ through it.  Share it with others. 

   In the wake of the impeachment yesterday, this evening President Basescu announced that he is refusing to resign his office, even though an interim president had already been appointed.  Basescu said he is invoking a constitutional procedure that allows him to call for a referendum vote of the people in 30 days, in which they would vote to retain or expel him as president.  It is hard to say what is actually going to happen at this point.  The president in his press conference announcing this decision said he knew that this decision would result in "extreme anger" on the part of those who wanted to "expel me from political life" but that they need to understand that "sometimes we just don't get what we plan in life." 

   Disclaimer: The "quotes" above should be seen as paraphrase because they are on-the-spot translations into English of his Romanian comments--not precise wording but still capturing the meaning and spirit of what he was saying. 

Why Share the Gospel?  14 Biblical Motivations for Witnessing

1) For the glory of God – God is worthy of worship and praise, and evangelism will bring Him what He has earned on the cross.
See Psalm 96

2) To evangelize is to fight evil with the most effective weapon for doing so. 

See Jonah 1:2

3)  The lost world around us needs our witness, and waits for it in the storms of life, so that they may be spared God’s wrath—our witness being the means by which God has chosen to set them free.

See Jonah 1:7-11

4) Because even though you’ve failed in the past, you’re still called.

See Jonah 3:1-3a  

5) Because sometimes a great harvest is awaiting you among the “least likely.”

See Jonah 3:5-10 

6) To walk with God means to put aside our needs and share His sacrificial concerns for the lost.

See Jonah 4:10-11

7) Because of eternal reward He offers –

See Luke 19:11-26

Also note that every NT writer and almost every NT book holds out reward for a motivation to serve God well, and serving Him in evangelism is one way that is key to this reward.  Jesus not only suggested we seek heavenly reward, but commanded us to.    

8) Because of the needs you see and the compassion He gives you. 

See Matthew 9:35-38

9) Because somehow, somewhere, you will have success. 

See Mark 4:8; and Gal. 6:9

10) Because He protects you.

See Acts 26:16-18

11) Because He compels you.

See 1 Cor. 9:16; and Acts 4:18-20

12) Because He chooses, calls, and sends you.

See Acts 26:16-18

13) Because of all that the lost will receive after  you proclaim Christ to them – a) open eyes, b) a turning from darkness to light, c) deliverance from Satan to God, d) forgiveness of sins, e) a place among us who are already His, f) sanctification, g) saving faith in Him-a relationship.

See Acts 26:16-18

14)  Because it is a matter of obedience.

See Luke 5:5-6 –What God needs from us in evangelism isn’t our opinion or viewpoint; just our obedience to fish when and where He says, just because He says so.

   The Romanian constitutional court had ruled that Romanian President Traian Basescu hadn't done anything in violation of the constitution and that there wasn't a solid case for his impeachment, but the parliament today voted by a 3 to 1 margin to "suspend" him. 

   The suspension has prompted some very large, vocal, and angry (but peaceful) protests in the nation's capital and other cities, since public opinion is largely behind the president, with 75-80 percent favoring his staying in office.  The suspended president spoke to the crowd in Bucharest, saying he was surrendering power now, but vowing to govern "the same way" when he is restored to the presidency, which he expects to happen eventually. 

   Romania's national government has been going through something of a crisis lately, as the influential parties in the Parliament have been at political war against the president.  The president wants new elections to settle the issue, and some in the parliament are seeking his impeachment.  The vote on that impeachment is scheduled for tomorrow morning, and President Basescu has said he will resign if they vote to impeach. 

   Please pray for our government, that God will orchestrate circumstances according to HIs will, and will bring about whatever glorifies Him and opens doors for the proclamation of His word and the advancing of His kingdom in the hearts and lives of Romania's people. 

   This week the gospel was presented through the tract to more than 300 young people, as we did outreach in the city's three largest parks and also distributed them at a music festival Sunday night. 

   The kids are now back in school, so we'll be using the tracts distributing them outside of school grounds to students in the coming weeks as we have opportunity. 

   Since Friday, we've also shared the gospel with families in two homes that invited us over, and we have three dinner appointments with people in our homes coming up in the next 7 days, with people we're trying to reach for Christ. 

   Our Sunday night meetings are no longer well attended, and are sometimes unattended by anyone but us.  Although we had two people join us this week, neither is someone now that could be considered committed to it at this time.  The location is also causing us some problems now, so after April, we might be stopping the weekly scheduled meetings for a while and concentrating again on one-on-one outreach in our home and in visits to others' homes for a while as we seek those who might not just make a profession of faith, but do so and then go on to discipleship and have a hunger for God's word and for prayer.  We'll continue to have people over to our home on Sunday as a group if they are willing, and we know that at least when gypsy people want to come, they won't be turned away as they might be at the hotel where we've been meeting.   

   I praise the Lord for the opportunities that are before us, and pray that God will call forth His elect out of this generation of Buzauans.  I also ask for prayer for God to give us boldness for the ministry, since opposition to our work is greater than we have had before.  The police were going to fine me for posting flyers promoting a Bible study (which isn't illegal, but the police have some limited power to legislate and pass sentence of a fine on the spot when they see something they dislike), but a new friend who isn't a believer yet intervened and used his influence to get the officers to change their minds.  We also see much more vocal opposition to the gospel message from those who oppose it than we used to see here, so that when we go out to do ministry in the parks, there is greater risk than before of "causing a scene,"  I'd like to say I'm so spiritual and strong in the Lord that I can face down such challenges without being fazed, but that wouldn't be true, so I need your prayers that God will give us boldness, enable us to speak the truth in love, to not be ashamed of the gospel in any situation, and for the attacks of the enemy of our souls not to escalate to the point that they prevent the proclamation of the gospel in this city to those who want to hear. 

   Our children's gospel tracts are printed, and thanks be to the Lord, the printing job was done very well by a printing house we found right here in our own neighborhood.  We got our first copy of the tract just an hour ago, and on our trip back we already saw evidence of how effective a witnessing tool for children this is going to be.  The comic-book style and the attractive photos of the tract cause children to see them in our hands and want them even before we take any proactive step to share the gospel.  We praise the Lord for this opportunity that the tract is presenting us to share the gospel.   

   Tomorrow, Lord-willing, Lili's mom is coming up to help us with the baby for a few days so that we can do a mass evangelism campaign of outreach to children and families, using these tracts with our balloon animal ministry in the parks Friday (kids out of school for Easter break still), and then again on Saturday and Sunday.  Lord-willing, Monday, we'll be going to one of the public schools for students up to 8th grade and distributing the tracts to students who want them as they enter or leave the school grounds at the end of their day. 

   Please pray for the fruitfulness of this outreach in young people's lives, as they are at an open-hearted stage of life, and pray also for open doors for parents and family members to hear the gospel through it.  Pray for open doors so that opposition to our work for the gospel will not prevail.  And pray for us to have boldness from the Holy Spirit to do this witnessing.  We need prayers for boldness even more than we did when we came here two years ago this month to begin the church-planting ministry, because now that we've been here a while, we are recognized by a large segment of the city's population, and it is well-known why we are here, so opposition to us is much more vocal and fears can rise up within us much more easily than ever before.  So pray for God to strengthen us and our resolve, to never be ashamed of the gospel and always be willing to share God's love and His message with others, even if there is a cost to us personally for doing so. 

   On one other note, if you'd like to have the gospel tract for use in your ministry in Romania, contact us about that, and if you want English or Spanish language versions for ministry in America, visit the tract's publishers at Evantell and look up the "Welcome to Heaven" tract. 

   The annual national conference for Calvary Chapel Romania is coming up in late May, and I've been given the opportunity to do a workshop for the men at the conference on the topic of "Being God's Man." 

   After spending time praying and thinking about how to approach that topic, I've arrived at the idea of doing the session as a study of John the Baptist, and finding from his life some spiritual principles that every man can learn from in his quest to be used of God for the glory of Jesus Christ on earth. 

   Lord-willing, as I develop the teaching over the next few weeks, I might post some brief notes on the topic from my study here on the blog.  Pray with me that God will guide and make the session one that is worthwhile for all the men who attend; and if you have thoughts about the life of John the Baptist and how his life teaches us to "be God's man," feel free to either post them here or send them in an email to me directly.