My Testimony for Evangelizing

My Testimony

"Like most people, I tried to be good, but often sinned.  Jesus Christ sacrificed Himself on the cross to pay for everybody's sins.  At 63, I became a Born Again Christian.  Through Jesus, I will have an eternity of peace, joy, & love."

This testimony was designed to be as short as possible, expressly include Jesus Christ, and intrigue the listener to ask follow-on questions.

My Chronic Problem

The above testimony was developed as my solution to be used by me when I'm handing out Bible tracts. 

I have been handing out a Bible tract about sin, obedience to God's laws, and the limitations of being  , which is wrongly assumed to be sufficient for eternal salvation.

The full colour cartoon tract I like to use ("Are you a good person?") is made famous by Ray Comfort of Living Waters.  It can be purchased through http://livingwaters.com  at a reasonable price.  Alternatively, which I eventually did, you can download a copyright-free public domain version (see: http://freecartoontract.com/are-you-a-good-person-english/ ),  customize it for yourself (eg. add your contact info), print locally, and save the expense of shipping.

Free cartoon Bible tract
http://freecartoontract.com/are-you-a-good-person-english/

My version is on legal size paper (8.5" x 14", double-sided, with two tracts per page), and includes info about our church, added via my desktop publishing software, available here:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/w4qrccoa6ajnr5zlw27td/KJBC-M_AreYouAGoodPerson_A09.pdf?rlkey=z6iexdwd2iiilbqq54zzjxrif&dl=0

When I hand this tract out, I would usually say "You're a good person!  Here [handing the tract to them], this is a story about other good persons, just like you.".

Previously, too often, I didn't add my own testimony to the tract gifting; often because:

A)   I'm not sure what else to say, &/or 

B)  I want to avoid social discomfort (ie. for both me, & the receiver of the tract).  

Praying & reflecting on this lack of testimony, I now worry that my avoidance of social discomfort is way too close to:

Ps 119:46; Mar 8:38; Luk 9:26; Rom 1:16; Rom 5:5; Rom 9:33; Rom 10:11; 2Ti 1:8, 12; 1Pe 4:16

[Psa 119:46 KJV] "46 I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed."

[Mar 8:38 KJV] "38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

[Luk 9:26 KJV] "26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels."

[Rom 1:16 KJV] "16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."

[Rom 5:5 KJV] "5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."

[Rom 9:33 KJV] "33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed."

[Rom 10:11 KJV] "11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed."

[2Ti 1:8, 12 KJV] "8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; ... 12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day."

[1Pe 4:16 KJV] "16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf."

Analysis

Boldness and courage, tempered by love, friendliness, and compassion for lost souls is why we speak our testimony in spite of wanting to avoid fleeting social awkwardness.

Therefore, I wrote the above testimony as a solution for myself.

Christians are suffering more & more persecution, around the world; up to & including death.

Soon, a time will come under the AntiChrist, when it isn't just social discomfort in N. America and Europe, it will be illegal to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and give one's testimony.

The One-World government of the AntiChrist will persecute and cruelly enforce these laws against Christianity.

Strength and courage learned now will be essential for this future time of Christian persecution.

I am reminded of Acts 5:25-42 when the Sanhedrin threatened the Apostles for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem:

[Act 5:25–42 KJV] "25 Then came one and told them [Sanhedrin], saying, 'Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people'. 26 Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned. 27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them, 28 Saying, 'Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.' 29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, 'We ought to obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. 31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are His witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey Him.' 33 When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them. 34 Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space; 35 And said unto them, 'Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men. 36 For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought. 37 After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed. 38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: 39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.' 40 And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 And they [the Apostles] departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. 42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ."

By memorizing my testimony above, I hope to recite it when handing out Bible tracts in all future evangelizing.  

I hope & pray that this combination of "Tract + personal testimony" will develop better, more effective evangelism methods, showing my courage and love for Jesus.

I share all this here in case the above might help you, or help others you may know.  

Therefore use any of the above freely for the greater glory of God, or if you think best, share it far & wide.

My Testimony

Here is how and why I believe in God, Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and salvation through the unjust shedding of Christ's blood on the cross.

Almost all astro physicists and cosmologists tell us that the planets & stars were created in a Big Bang, that had a beginning in time for all mass & energy at a specific point in space (ie. a singularity). I agree.

Before the Big Bang, no matter, energy, or space existed. After the Big Bang occurred, entropy has been running down, matter has been cooling off, and all mass is expanding away from the singularity.

Logic tells us that if time has existed forever, we would have never reached this moment in time. Therefore, like space & matter, time was created too at some point, likely at the Big Bang.

Whatever created the Big Bang, this creating force must have existed outside of space, matter, and time.

God is defined as something that has existed forever, God was not created, and God existed, exists, and will continue to exist forever outside of space, time, & matter.  God has made the claim to have created all the universe and everything in it.  Nobody else has made a credible competing claim.

There is the non-claim of Darwinian Evolution.  I was taught about Darwin's theories in public school when I was a child.  I believed Darwin's theories because it sounded plausible, most everybody agreed, and nobody mentioned Darwin's Doubt.

Darwin's wrote about his doubts with his theory, especially the Cambrian Explosion.  I never heard about Darwin's Doubts until recently, as Darwin was taught as settled science, without any doubts.

Since then, I have learned that evolution is based on speculation, circular logic, and lack of knowledge.  As the world learned more & more about DNA, cell proteins, epigenetics, complexities of the cell, genetics, and biochemistry it has become obvious that Darwin's theories for macro evolution are mathematically impossible.  For more info on this, see the book Darwin's Doubt here, here, here, and here.  Today, I am convinced that macro evolution, geological dating in million and billions of years, and other pseudo-science and alleged facts have been cruel hoaxes.

By awareness of this world and the universe, everybody can sense that all this world was created by an intelligent mind. Every building has a builder. Every painting has a painter. Every invention has an inventor. In this same way, this creation has a creator.

I therefore believe God, and His claim that He created everything in the universe.

While all humans (including me) realize this world has a Creator (or actively suppress this truth), how do we know anything about this Creator other than guessing?

Therefore God must reveal God, or we are forced to guess about God, ourselves, and God's creation.

God has revealed Himself to some individuals over the past 6,000 years of human existance. For all other people, God has inspired and directed certain individuals to write down God's Word, so as to reveal God to all humans. 

Like an instruction manual that comes with your new purchase, you can choose to read the instructions by the manufacturer, or wing it on your own based on prior experience & intuition. The same goes with God's Word; each person has the free will to choose to ignore it, or choose to read and carefully study the intelligence and knowledge found inside. 

God has promised that He will protect and preserve His Word for all humans.  Today, the English language is the #1 language in the world, with 2 billion speakers.

The King James Bible helped make English the #1 language.  Today, the best, most accurate, and easiest to read Bible in the English language is still the King James Bible.

All humans have a naturally occurring sense of right & wrong, inside each individual, given by God, as a naturally occurring instinct, like barking for a dog.

Some people supress and actively ignore this sense of right & wrong, just as some dogs are trained not to bark.

Fortunately, most people follow this sense of right & wrong to various degrees.

I have read God's Bible, and continue to study it every day without fail. I breath, drink water, and eat every day, and so I also study God's Word every day (a new habit, started for me on or about Feb. 2018).

I believe in God, who created everything that was created in Heaven & Earth, including all plants, animals, & humans.

As the owner & creator of everything, God set the rules of what is expected, what is prohibited.

God loves all of His creation, especially humans. God loves all humans, right or wrong, good or bad.

How does all the above contrast or compare to your thoughts, beliefs, & ideas?