Kansas City+ 7.17.03

“We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.” 1 Cor. 2:12 Sitting here, thinking about the Phish concert, the only thing that comes to mind is how awesome is the Spirit that is from God!!! We went to the concert expecting a few drugs and a lot of people drunk. It was extremely different being in a place where three fourths of the people were strung out on drugs of some sort. We were offered about every drug in the book while at the show.
After talking to the second group of people, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to make it the rest of the night. I was extremely intimidated, but I realized that I could not let that fear of man keep us from sharing the love of Jesus. Once we read over the Armor of God we were set for the rest of the night. The floodgates of God’s love and mercy opened from the heavens and poured out upon us in that parking lot. I have never felt the hand of God move like it did that night. The spirit of the living God wasn’t around, it was in us and we can testify to the amazing, miraculous things that it has done.
There weren’t a whole lot of people in the parking lot until after the concert. This is when we had a chance to talk to a lot of people. We stopped and talked to this girl, Shaana. She was defeninently searching for something greater than this world and really liked talking with us. My brother was doing most of the talking, but I didn’t have any reason to interrupt. When you see the Spirit moving in someone’s words why interrupt that Grace coming forth? So, I stood there, listened and prayed. About the time I was praying, this young man named Josh came up and asked me what I was doing with a cross. So I told him we were out sharing the love of Jesus with people and I asked him if he had ever heard anything about it. He told me he knew a little but would like to hear more. After talking, Josh prayed with me that night to accept Jesus Christ as his savior.
It is amazing how people are saved through carry the cross. For me anyway, each person has walked up to me and asked what we are doing with a cross. God brings them right to us and at just the right time. The Phish concert was an extremely intimidating place to spread the love of God, but God knows exactly when you need encouragement and how much. God’s love reaches to the heavens!!!
Once the concert was out, there opened up a main strip in the parking lot where everyone congregated… vendors, people, animals. Walking down that strip provided many opportunities for us to share with others the love of God. A lot of people were just impressed about seeing people living out there faith. They respected us for being out there for Jesus. For me, that was a little surprising. But, I could care less if I’m respected while out carrying a cross. The only person I’m trying to impress is the Lord. When you’re out there for Him, his heart beats with yours and that heart beat is LIFE. Not only is God’s heartbeat life, it is the most anyone of us will ever get out of life. That is not something we have to settle for, but it is the greatest thing that can ever happen… to live life so your heart is beating with God’s!!!
There is so much more I could write about that night! God continued to encourage us throughout the whole evening… even on the walk back to the car! What is so amazing is that right now in heaven, there is a phat party going down because another soul has come into the kingdom! Tens of thousands of angels are rejoicing, praising and worshiping the Lord for yet one more soul!!! Praise our Holy God!!!
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1. I think of all the prophets, apostles and friends of God that went before us and how much they had to endure to finish strong at the end, and it makes me love God so much more for being with us and sending His spirit to live in us to get us through whatever circumstance we are facing. It’s not the death to sin part that most of us have a problem with, it’s the race that is life that in which we need conditioning. Jesus came for us!!! Let us live this life to the fullest in God; live it abundantly with God!!!

Kansas City+ 6.26.03

A few nights ago I felt a pull to gather some friends and go carry the cross in the plaza. This was not the first time Ihad ever carried the cross, in fact we've done it a lot, but this time i fealt a special pull so we went. The whole night we met Christian (accual Christian) after Christian. We were just about to go (we had decided to spark a few more conversations then head out) when i ran into a guy named Brandon. When asked what he thought about Jesus he said that he was not sure but he would like to belive. So I went throught a tract Icarry called "The Way to God" he got all excited and while he was talking to another member of our group, his friend said that she thought that we were there that night just to talk to him. I had to agree, because after it was all said and done Brandon prayed to make Jesus his savior. Wow! I've been cross carrying before but I had never seen a salvation as a result of random evangelism. God had been working on him and just allowed us the encredible honor of leading him the final stretch.
So, just thought that you guys may want to hear an amazing story of carrying the cross and how our God does accualy does use it to the glory of his name.
Follow his pulling.

Kansas City+ 7.17.03

Last October Christ found a place in my heart. I had grown up in a Christian household, but because we're not born Christian, I hadn't made the commitment to follow Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It wasn't until I attended a bible study last October that I knew a relationship with Christ is everything I needed and wanted. Since then, Father God has not ceased to use my heart for His good things.

I picked up my first cross on Good Friday of this year. Carrying the cross is an answer to my prayer for God to use me to get His awesome, life-changing news out.

April 26th, I met up with Jason, Lance, Chad and Shane to carry the cross up on the plaza. It had already been a glorious evening by the time I met up with these men (That is a story I hope that Chad posts soon). The plaza was hopping that night, being as it was absolutely beautiful. We were blessed with numerous Christians stopping to talk with us. More importantly, God was working through us that night. We talked with many unsaved people that just wanted to know what we were doing. And, Lance puts it best in saying that we're just out there to remind people of what Jesus did for us on a cross so long ago. I want to ask all of those that are reading this, please stop reading right now and pray for the monks down on the plaza. The Lord has laid them on our hearts to pray for them to come make Jesus Christ their savior. I, and I'm sure the rest of those that carry, want Father God to use us in being a link in the chain for those monks to come to know Christ as Lord and Savior.

On another note, that evening, the Holy Spirit convited my heart. I had never been baptized and that night just seemed like just the right time to do it. All of us, along with many of the Christians we met that night walked to the fountain just northeast of the Cheesecake Factory and I had Jason baptize me. It was an amazing experience. That night will forever being burned into my memory. I want to give Glory to our Father in Heaven for His dedication to myself and my brothers and sisters in Christ. What great things He will do through all of us if we'll just submit to His will and seek His kingdom.

Kansas City+ 7.17.03

Starting in the end of January, a few of us started carrying the cross on bridges over highways during rush hour in the mornings. We went out a total of three times during one week, doing so over consecutive weekdays. Then about a month later towards the end of February we did so during a few more weekdays. This time was very interesting. Just as usual the morning traffic reports on radio across Kansas City reported "The men with their crosses are back out again." It has been awesome to see how the cross has become a frequent sight across Knasas City bridges during morning rush hour, but also that it has been spoken of so often.

On the last day of the sequence in February, it seemed to blow up. I was standing on Quivira and I-435 and Jason was on Quivira and I-35. We both seemed to slow traffic down a bit, but it was going about 15-20 mph where I was at. It was so cool to see people slowing down to look at the cross. In the back of my mind I was thinking how awesome it was that people were slowing down to think about Jesus. Then after I had been there for about 20 minutes, a man from a local radio station approached me and asked me what I was doing and why. I told him that we were praying for repentance in KC and for people to turn from their sinful ways and worship Jesus.(A shortened version) It turns out they edited everything I said about Jesus.

Then after that a major local television station came and interviewed me the same way. They ended up playing a minute long clip of an interview with me and their commentary. While the cameraman was there, the highway patrol came and told me that I had to leave. They basically bent this highway ordinance to say what I was doing was wrong. So the TV station included that in their story. It was awesome to see how they allowed some of my comments about Jesus to be aired. God has a plan for His renoun, and nothing will hinder that. I praise Him for that. Anyway, that day practically blew up as the name of Jesus covered the city in many news broadcasts on television, radio, and traffic reports. Today we went out at the Grandview Triangle at an overpass that went over I-435 eastbound right before it turns north. Jason displayed the cross to westbound I-435 traffic and I to eastbound/northbound I-435 traffic. God once again provided for us as He gave us favor with the policemen.

Kansas City+ 12.19.02

Late one evening I felt the spirit tugging at me to go downtown and carry the cross. When I mentioned it to my friend, he immediately suggested that we obey the spirit and just go. We went and it was pretty dead. We carried it past a truck stop where several Mexicans were waiting to catch a bus. We talked to them for a few minutes. After that we headed toward the central area of downtown Kansas City. After walking for about five minutes, we noticed a track on the ground that said "Keep on keeping on." What encouragement from the Lord! Below that it said Let us not be weary in well doing for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. Galatians 6:9 The track was filled with encouragement for serving Jesus with all we have and not basing the success of our ministry on the harvest that we reap. Many times we are just planting the seeds that God will nurture and someone else will be blessed to cultivate them and walk people into the kingdom. There is always a lesson learned when carrying the cross.

Later on that night we felt urged to stop in front of a group of bars and pray. Much of our prayers were directed towards having the bars be shut down and turned into a place where Gods named would be glorified. So after a while a few police officers rolled up. I said a quick "Lord give me the words to say" prayer and waited for the questions. We were very full of the Spirit so when they asked us what we were doing His stregth and love just poured out. In a nutshell we said that we were there to bring glory to our God, to share Christ with those who wanted to hear, to pray for the city and for the people inside the bar. One of the police officers appeared to be very convicted and thinking about what we were saying. He turned to the bar owner and said that we didn't have to leave. It was beautiful. The Lord stood for us just like we'd read in scripture that He always stands for those who stand for Him.

After the police officer left, the bar owner tried to convince us that if we were good Christians we would take our cross and go back to our church because we were ruining his business. Another cool moment was when one of his workers came out to see what had happened and the owner had to tell him that we didnt have to leave. It was beautiful. We glorified God, finished our prayers and headed down the road. The cops gave us a wave as they drove by. Pray for these bars, and places like this such as strip clubs and adult video places in cities around our country. Even go and stand in front of them and pray that they would shut down and be a place where God is glorified.

Kansas City+ 7.17.03

We were carrying the cross through downtown Kansas City. It had been a sort of dead morning with not many folks being out and going to work. But just as always, God has people specifically selected for us to encounter. We were first standing on a bridge near Bartle Hall that I-35 goes under. We were standing the cross up so the vehicles driving under the bridge could see the cross. We received numerous honks, but the most exciting was when a semi-truck driver honked loud enough to knock my socks off. It was amazing. A few hours later after we were weary and on our way to our vehicle, a car completely stopped at an intersection we were going through. A black lady stepped completely out of the vehicle and shouted, "Hallelujah!! Praise Jesus!!" Just that one bit of appreciation for Jesus made the morning an incredible time.