Day 32- Shreveport

Today we woke up and took showers at Bryan's house where we also got to have some really encouraging discussions with him about Biblical evangelism vs. modern evangelism. One of the main differences we noticed was that modern evangelism gives the good news first and tells people what God did so they wouldn't be guilty, while Biblical evangelism gives the bad news first so that people become convinced of their need for the good news. If we tell people Jesus died on the cross for their sins without their fully understanding why their sin deserved such a radical step from God, they will be either insulted by your assumption they are sinners or they will consider the cross foolishness. Paul urges the Corinthians to not receive God's grace in vain, so we cannot give people the good news of God's grace until they are first convinced of why they need it. When people realize how holy and just God is and know they sinned against Him, they will realize they deserve His just punishment and will hunger and thirst for His righteousness found in Christ. This creates disciples and not just decisions. Okay, off my soap box now :) We then went to the Louisiana Boardwalk and had some amazing conversations with people about the Lord. Clay talked to a few folks, while Brad and I went together and talk to some others. We had an amazing conversation with a girl with a beautiful name (which I don't remember) who said she had a good heart and would be innocent before God, but soon, as we revealed that God's Word says even our hearts are deceitfully wicked (Jer. 17:9) and out of them flow evil thoughts, adultery, murder, etc, (Matt. 15:19-20) she became convinced that she needed a heart transplant by the Great Physician. This was a wonderful conversation that really challenged her to consider who God was apart from her and who she was apart from God. We got to encourage Sean who said he was a Christian but wasn't living like it to examine himself and see whether or not he is in the faith as Paul commanded (2 Cor. 13:5) and to check out Romans and 1 John on what a true disciple of Christ lives like. We also talked to a guy named Matt who had never thought about what he would tell God on judgment day if God asked him, "Why should I let you into My Heaven?" (great question to ask folks!) He was sobered at the thought that his life actually wasn't just about the here and now but that he has to answer to God. We went and ate lunch at IHOP and had a great time encouraging our waitress. Clay had a conversation with the cash register woman about the Lord and our need for Him. We then shared with each other about the awesome people we talked to and how the conversations went. There were so many and I don't remember all of Clays, so he can tell ya later if ya wanna know. That night we spent the night at Waller Baptist again.