new tracts and stories ~ : )

Hey fellow ambassadors and prayer partners ~ : )

It has been a crazy several weeks! Very busy and full of ministry opportunities! ~ : ) Some stories below, but first we wanted to let you know about some unique tracts that we just found out about!

We just received a shipment of Mark Cahill’s tracts today and the ‘True Repentance’ tracts, and we have already ordered the ‘One Million Ameros’ tracts.

Mark Cahill’s One Heartbeat Away tract:

Custom Tracts’ note about this tract:
‘Recently, Mark Cahill contacted us (Custom Tracts) about making a Gospel tract to direct people to a new website of his which allows lost people to request a FREE copy of Mark's book One Heartbeat Away. Working together, this tract is what we came up with! This is slightly bigger than our mini-post card tract, but slightly smaller than our standard post card tract. The size is a pocket-friendly 3.5"x5". These should be *very* easy to hand out!’

Words on back:
‘Beep...beep...beep... The sound of a heart monitor somewhere in the distance comes into focus as you slowly return to consciousness. Your sides hurt tremendously and you can’t feel your legs. As you wonder where you are, you hear muffled voices that sound like doctors. Beep...beep...beep... The heart monitor continues beeping, letting the doctors know that you’re alive... at least for the moment. You vaguely recall what happened—you were driving around a curve when out of nowhere came the flash of headlights headed directly toward you. You remember screaming, and the piercing crunch of metal, and then... nothing. You can’t remember a thing since then. Now you’re wondering if you’ll ever make it out. The heart monitor suddenly speeds up—Beep! Beep! Beep! You hear the doctors rushing around barking orders. You feel frightened and wonder what’s happening. You try to open your eyes to look around, but it’s no use. You’re paralyzed there in your hospital bed and can’t do anything about it. You start to think that this may be IT. You start to panic. You begin to wonder what’s next: Is there a heaven? Is there a hell? Have you done enough good to get to heaven? Your life flashes before your eyes. What about all those lies you’ve told? If there’s a God, will He just forget about them? And what about those items you’ve stolen? They weren’t big things, but it still makes you a thief, right? What if God even knows your thought life? What about all those times you’ve looked with lust, and used His name as a curse word? Will God hold you accountable? Your heart is beating faster. Beep-beep-beep. Where will you end up? What can you say before God? Your lungs begin to hurt. It’s getting hard to breathe. You know this is it. Beep-beep-beeeeeeeeep....... One last beat. Little did you know you were One Heartbeat Away from passing into eternity... Every second, two people die. What if this is YOUR second? What should you do? Find out what’s in eternity—get a FREE copy of the book One Heartbeat Away at (http://www.oneheartbeataway.org/)’

You can order these at: http://www.customtractsource.com/One-Heartbeat-Away-Tract_p_0-211.html & http://www.customtractsource.com/


The NAU ~ $1,000,000 bill:
Ø With Titus 2:11-14 concealed on the front – very interesting verses!
“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.”

Words on back:
‘One Million Ameros?! What’s an Amero?! It is the proposed currency for the new “North American Union” between Mexico, Canada and the United States of America. The Amero has been designed to replace the Mexican Peso, the American Dollar and the Canadian Dollar. Just like Europe now has the Euro, North America is bound to have the Amero eventually. In fact, the Mexico to Canada Highway which slices like a dagger through the middle of America is already being constructed. Looks like “One Nation Under God” will be no more. Speaking of God, did you know that the Bible says that we will ALL have to stand before Him to be judged for every thought, word and deed? How will you do on Judgment Day? To find out, all you have to do is take a look at the Ten Commandments. They are like a mirror. A mirror shows us the truth whether we like it or not. The Ten Commandments are the same way. #9 says, “Thou shalt not lie.” Have you ever lied before? #8 says, “Thou shalt not steal.” Have you ever stolen before (size and value are irrelevant)? #3 says, “Thou shalt not take my name in vain.” Have you ever taken God’s name in vain before? #7 says, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” BUT, Jesus said that looking at someone with lustful thoughts is the same as adultery in God’s eyes (Matthew 5:28). Have you ever looked with lust before? If you have broken just these four of the Ten Commandments, you are a liar, a thief, a blasphemer and an adulterer. Because you have broken God’s Law, you deserve to be punished. That punishment is Hell, should you stay in your sins. The Good News is that Jesus died on the cross for you and then rose from the grave. And because of what He did, you can be Pardoned of your sins, Reconciled to God so you can have a relationship with Him, Empowered to live a Holy Life and be Granted Eternal Life in the end. You must Repent of your sins (confess and forsake them) and put your Faith in Jesus Christ. Friend, you WILL die someday and that day could be today! Won’t you consider your eternity? http://www.onemillionameros.com/’

Link: http://www.gospeltract.org/amero.html & http://www.pinpointevangelism.com/

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Now for some updates!:

(Steven’s update)
Two of the past several weeks, we had the opportunities to go soul-winning with a couple of different teams, so we took advantage of that, but it meant we got home too late to keep you all up to date on the soul-winning stories, though we hope and pray that God has been using you all too!

Two Thursday evenings ago, we got to lead a group of newer soul-winners and share the gospel together and encourage one another ~ that was a blast! My friend and I got to talk to a quasi-atheist and then a Jewish girl (Sarah) and her 4 lesbian friends… very interesting conversations… got to plant seeds and pray for them.

Two Friday evenings ago, the Florida Music Festival was downtown Orlando, and that allowed for some very interesting conversations! We realized later that the majority of the people down there were already focused on God (or at least some version of spirituality) and so that made things easier in that they were already on the subject of eternity ~ : ). Brittany and I had a number of good conversations. We talked with a few artists at the festival and gave them some gospel tracts. They seemed to be somewhat interested in the conversation, but they were more interested in doing what they wanted to do, but we got to plant some spiritual seeds ~ : ). Then there was the very interesting conversation with a girl outside another bar. She is 22 and she has a life-threatening disease that will likely kill her before she turns 30, and she was in effect wanting to know why? Why the pain? Why diseases? She was also very interested in hearing our thoughts and our understanding of God’s Living Word. She would have probably talked longer, but her dad got her out of our conversation. We did get to show her that God still cares about her and challenge her that she needs to surrender her life to Jesus Christ. We can only pray for her and trust that God is working in her heart.

Last Friday evening was unusual too, but it was very good! It lightly sprinkled the whole evening, but Deanna had an umbrella and the rest of us had jackets, so that worked well. But the conversations were really neat! Deanna and I (Steven) talked with one guy and he wanted to blame God for His decisions, but at the end of the conversation seemed to be convicted and thinking, which is great. We’re praying for Him. Those are just a few of the stories.

Again – to everyone who prays for us: THANK YOU! Only in Heaven will we find out how God used our prayers and obedience to Him!

(Paul’s update)
I've got several great stories I wish I could share with you, but I've got to tell you about what happened today at work! I was sent on a service call this afternoon to wire up a microwave. So I arrived and got to work, and it wasn't until the end of the project that I found out why I was really there! :) The customer was a single middle-age woman, who is dealing with a number of health challenges and incompetent doctors and also a number of problems in her house - power failure (which Progress Energy was fixing while I was there) and water damage in the kitchen and general disorder of things in her house, etc. So at the end of my time there as I was getting ready to leave, she gave me some really nice compliments on my work and my manner and my family (Henry Electric). So I told her what I normally say when people compliment my work - that we are a Christian family and that we do our work to honor God. She told me that she already could tell that! I already knew she was a Christian as well from her conversation on the phone with a friend earlier, so I was just waiting for this conversation to happen!

So we talked a little about her situation, and in the next few minutes of conversation, God gave me three things from His Word to share with her that really encouraged her. 1) Trust God and allow him to teach you through the difficult trials; 2) Perfect love casts out all fear, so as you pursue the love of God more deeply, it will drive out your fears; 3) She goes to a church that really focuses on emotion and asking for the Holy Spirit as the solution to problems, so I pointed out that you don't get more or less of the Holy Spirit by asking for it, but the more you get rid of barriers in communication with God and ask God in faith for what you need, you receive answers to that. These things made really, really good sense to her, and she really appreciated them. I really wanted to also warn her that her TV was a hindrance to her because it clearly was, but I couldn't figure out how to say it, so I pray that the Holy Spirit will convict her of her sin. But I was thrilled at how encouraged she was! She gave me a hug and told me how God had sent me and one other person in the last couple of days to encourage her on those things, so she would be able to keep going! As I walked out the door, she said that God had blessed her through me today, so I was glad for that!

Thank you again for your prayers. We are praying that God keeps using and training each of you!

Your friends, fellow prayer partners and laborers in the harvest,
David and Barbara, Steven and Paul ~ The Henry Family

The Holy Spirit is holy, bringing true repentance and sometimes other blessings

Hello fellow laborers and prayer partners,

This morning, I, David, was reading in the book of Acts where God was saving so many souls. It was a time of real repentance, and the church was so in harmony with their Holy, Holy, Holy Creator and the truth was so refreshing in contrast to the fake religion of these last days. I was so moved in a godly way that I want to share a brief portion of Acts 5:1-16.

Acts 5:1-16
"(1)But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. (2)And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles' feet. (3)But Peter said, 'Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? (4)While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.' (5)Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. (6)And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him. (7)Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.(8)And Peter answered her, 'Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?' She said, 'Yes, for so much.' (9)Then Peter said to her, 'How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.' (10)Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. (11)So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things. (12)And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon's Porch. (13)Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. (14)And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, (15)so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. (16)Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed."

Last Sunday, I patiently listened to a prayer and healing time that was trying to get people healed without a brokenness over their sin. Most of those dear friends who wanted help from God are probably in much the same condition still and might not understand why.

We are soul winners and you and I can tell stories of people we meet that are in some dimension of false religion where they believe in some god that doesn't exist. They usually quote a few brief Bible verses or a partial verse and express what they believe.

The One and only God never changes and God's Word describes Him. We all have this lifetime to get to know Him or seek something else. We live in the last days where there are many more false teachers than truth teachers in this country. When you find someone that is distorting the truth, you have to make a decision to go with them anyway or keep growing closer to God. We are not robots. Every day, we are making decisions to keep growing closer to God or find a more comfortable fantasy. Last Sunday, we heard Todd describe his fantasy deity, and he even used half of the verses he read. However, he kept overlooking the righteousness and holiness part of God's amazing character. He was also talking about healings, and signs and wonders, but never mentioned Biblical repentance or the “fear of the Lord”.

One of the windows into the personality of the Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, is found in Isaiah 11:2-3 ~ "2The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. 3His delight is in the fear of the Lord..."

When Bible teachers are teaching in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, these elements will show in their teaching. We are in the last days, we need to be alert, and watching! And we need to keep learning to discern between God’s truth and lies and deception.

2nd Timothy 4:1-2, puts it this way:
“1Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron…”

2nd Timothy 3:5
“5having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”

Your friends and servants of Jesus Christ,
David, Barbara, Steven and Paul Henry

trips, adventures and stories ~ : )

Hello fellow laborers and prayer partners! ~ 05/01/2008

Greetings from the traveling Henry family! Well the last two weeks have been quite exciting! We were in St. Louis, MO April 19-20th and in St. Pete, FL April 25th - 27th. And we got to see the movie ‘Expelled’ ~ great movie. (Free movie review below ~ :))

(Steven’s update)
Our trip to St. Louis was pretty uneventful (except for the odd construction throughout Georgia. The other event was when we found out that we had a bad battery at a gas station in a small town, also in Georgia. :) God arranged it where we met a nice guy, named Jim Goodman. He was pumping gas next to us when he saw our car wouldn’t start. So, he borrowed some jumper cables to jump-start our car and then led us to the nearest auto parts store in that little farm town. We gave him a million dollar bill tract and had some great conversation with him. We enjoyed the fellowship, but we didn’t stay very long because we were trying to get to First Baptist Arnold in time for the conference. The drive to St. Louis was like 18+ hours, which was pretty cool, because we were listening to some Bible teachers, including Ken Ham on the way up. If you get a chance to hear Ken Ham or Kent Hovind, we encourage you to do so – they point out how true science and the evidence all around us strengthens our faith and proves the accuracy of the Bible.

Ø You can find Ken Ham’s ministry ‘Answers in Genesis’ info and resources at: http://www.answersingenesis.org/.
Ø And you can find Kent Hovind’s info and resources at: http://www.drdino.com/.Eric Hovind is scheduled to speak at Eastland Bible Church at 6PM this Sunday evening and we are planning to go to that and looking forward to it!

So (back to our trip ~ :)), we got to the ‘Transformed’ conference safely and really enjoyed it! We also got to meet some more soul-winners and had great fellowship with the ‘Way of the Master’ team. It was a blessed time. We also got to meet and fellowship with a friend I met online, named Janet ~ :). That was really fun too! She got adopted into our family! :) Then we drove home, which was mostly uneventful, except for another event – a flat tire. :) So, we got to share some of the gospel with the guy who came. And it was also in Georgia. :) Fun in Georgia. It’s pretty amazing how God arranges our schedule when we make ourselves available! :) Then we drove home and life was normal for a few days and then we went on another trip - :). Oh, and I forgot to mention that on the way home, we stopped at a gas station that had a sign challenging people to bless Israel. One side said: ‘GOD’S WORD SAYS HE WILL BLESS THOSE THAT BLESS ISRAEL & CURSE THOSE WHO CURSE HER.’ The pizza sign right next to it said: ‘POLITICALLY CORRECT IS OF THE DEVIL.’ The other side of the sign said: ‘PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM’ PSALM 122:6. It was pretty cool, very thought-provoking! And the best part is we got pictures of it! I hope to post them sometime soon!

On our second trip – last weekend, we had a 5th soul-winner - Deanna was able to join us. We left Friday evening, got delayed by rush-hour traffic, but we made it in time to hear most Darrel Rundus’ teaching. Then we found a hotel for the night. Darrel covered several different fears that would stop us from obeying Jesus Christ and they were though-provoking.

The next morning, we went to the meeting, sang some worship songs and then got to hear Mark Cahill. That was pretty cool! One main thing Mark communicate in a few different ways is that he could teach us all day, but the best way is to go out and do it, and ask God to teach us how to be more effective at reaching into people’s lives. Here are a few other things that stood out to me and I hope to put into practice:

Mark’s motto: ‘If you do not engage the culture, that culture is going to engage you.’ (He knows something about that – he used to be a part of the party scene and played basketball with Charles Barkley, so he knows this first-hand.)

Mark told a story of a friend that didn’t want to go a relationship with God for himself, but he said that he was going to drop his kids off at church so that they could. Mark told us that he pointed out that this plan wouldn’t work. The guy asked why and Mark told him that his kids will know instantly that it’s not important to him, so they will quickly conclude it’s not important for them or their life either. That got the guy thinking.

Mark pointed out that sharing our faith – our relationship with Jesus, is a conversation not a presentation. If it is real to us, then we aren’t presenting something, we are inviting them to turn around and start a relationship with Someone, and wanting to reach their heart. What makes that point even more clearly is how Mark talks with his audience the same way: conversation style, asking questions, getting responses. It was fun, challenging and engaging! And it emphasized that point that this passionate caring about others really works!

Mark told a story about a kid who said he used to attend youth group, but now he’s an atheist. Mark asked why he became an atheist, and the guy explained that his youth leader was rude to him, among other things, so he left, looked up some stuff on the internet and became an atheist. Was he really an atheist? No, just wounded. So, Mark reached out to him. Mark also pointed out to us that hypocrites are not a problem for those who share the real Jesus Christ, because the real Jesus isn’t hypocritical. That was a pretty thought-provoking point! It was encouraging to realize that he is right – hypocrites are only a problem to those who are not following Jesus Christ, and daily learning to build an active relationship with Him. That challenges all of us to keep learning so we can be the salt of the earth – tasty seasoning in a tasteless, cold, selfish world.

Mark mentioned how some of the people he talks with say they are just sitting on the fence – not ready to accept or reject Jesus. But Mark pointed out that sitting on the fence is making a choice. And he also mentioned how a friend once said to him: ‘If someone says they are sitting on the fence, remind them that Satan owns the fence.’ Interesting point.

Then we got to go to 2 different session groups and then we got to go out soul-winning! That was a blast! I hung out with those who stayed in the downtown section of St. Pete. It was a bit different from Orlando, but of course the people were similar, just different attitudes. Jason and I got to talk with a guy and challenge him to run from his lifestyle and surrender all of his life to Jesus Christ. He left thinking. Then I go to talk with a few people who were just hanging around waiting for their friend who was talking with one of our fellow soul-winners. I think they left thinking, but I couldn’t tell for sure – all I can do is pray for them, though I do wish I could remember their names. :) Then I got to talk to John and his wife Carrie. John was going to go through seminary, but didn’t - he didn’t tell me why, but he did tell me that he has traveled the world and thinks that all religions are the same. He didn’t know what was after death, or rather he wanted to escape the topic, but we had a fun conversation. I did get to remind him that we are all rebels and the first time we knowingly rebelled against God and broke His law we lost everything. I also got to point out that we could get into Heaven 2 ways: 1) if we are 100% perfect or 2) if we are 100% forgiven. He thanked me for the ‘debate’ as he left. (Debate was his word. :))

I also got to talk to a girl (named ‘Q’) and her mom. They seemed to understand salvation, but they didn’t understand that we could be sure that we are saved, and that after we are saved, sin affects our relationship. They appreciated talking and I gave ‘Q’ a copy of the John 10 study God gave me.

The last couple of conversations were the best! When we were all headed back to the small buses, we stopped by what they call ‘the rock’ – a huge bolder that you can climb on. Apparently, one of the other soul-winners made someone mad (or they were convicted) but that allowed Paul and I to talk with a number of them and show them the love of God. They seemed to be a group of broken-home kids and it was wonderful to be able to allow them to insult us, and then to keep showing them the love of God and even to share the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ with a girl named Danielle and her friend Dina. A few others came and listened in on our conversation, here and there. A few of their faces will probably stay etched in my mind for quite a while. My heart goes out to them and I’ve been praying for them.

Then we (evangelists) gathered together, talked shared stories, took pictures and then prayed and headed back to the church. Mark shared some more at the morning services – good, refreshing teaching, including the reminder that we live in a dying, broken world where people are being snatched into eternity everyday.

On the way home, we got to talk about some stuff we learned and our conversations with fellow evangelists – fun stuff!

And last, but not least ~ :) ~ the free ‘Expelled’ review. It was great! Ben Stein talks to several people who were fired and excluded because they even considered the question that there was a Creator. Talk about a crazy world! It’s hard to know all the damage they are doing to all the students who go through their ‘public’ school system – or more correctly: re-education system. Ben also included some background on the Holocaust and it’s ties to the Darwinism and some computer animation of what all goes on inside the very complex human body! Amazing! We truly are “fearfully and wonderfully made…” (Psalm 139:14)

Thank you all for your prayers. We have heard that there are more conferences and exciting events to come, so we’ll try to keep you posted!

Your friends, prayer partners, and fellow laborers in this vast harvest,
David, Barbara, Steven and Paul ~ the Henry family