Last night

Well, there is a group called Youth With A Mission that is working with us this week. They are from South Korea, parts of Canada, the US & England. They went to school together and are here in Montreal doing an evangelism trip before the head off to Africa for 5 and a half weeks.
So, yesterday, we were out on the streets, sharing Jesus with people. What a great encouragement it was for me, to get to work with some people my age, and see them excited and also timid about going out into the unknown. But God is good, and He provided conversations for them, and gave them some learning experiences that they would never be able to receive in a classroom or learning setting. God is so good.
So, we went out in the afternoon as well, and as I was picking up something for us to use on the streets, they were on the corner waiting, and "Lucifer" came and met them. A guy that claimed to be Satan came and tried to put fear into these people - but praise God that they trust in Jesus and that He is in full control, and the guy just kept on going after he said his little piece. But it's a reality that we are in a battle - a battle not between flesh, but among principalities of this world. There is a spiritual reality to all this, so please be in prayer for this.
Lately, I've been getting people in conversation that I haven't known exactly what to say to them. Last night after the streets, I went home questioning what was going on. I really felt like I should read the story of the Rich Young Ruler. In the story, the dude appeared to have everything together, but when Jesus got to the heart of the issue and brought out the thing inside of the man that would keep him from following Jesus, the man left disappointed that he would have to sell everything. As I was talking with Tony this morning about this new level of conversation that I've been having, I really feel that I need to get to down to personal things with these people that have all the right answers and can even say that they believe all the things that we are talking with them about - but I really believe that it is self, it is them, that is blocking them from opening up. This is easy to think about in theory, but on the spot trying to figure this all out is so different. It makes me rely on God for the words.
So, please pray for me in my conversations. I really believe that I will have more opportunities to get into these deeper things with people and tell them what Jesus said in Luke 9:23-25:
"If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, his is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?"
And in Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."
May God give us wisdom to answer the people that seem to have all the answers, but it feels like there is something missing. May the Spirit give us words to say - and may we lose ourselves in Him.

Seeking Wisdom in Christ.
Dwight

Yahweh

I wanted to share a few things from the man that so many people don't know what to think about, Bono. He's written some amazingly deep words, and this song comes from the track called, Yahweh.
"Take these shoes, click clacking down some dead end street
Take these shoes and make them fit.
Take this shirt, polyester white trash made in nowhere
Take this shirt and make it clean, clean.
Take this soul, stranded in some skin and bones
Take this soul, and make it sing" - U2
I was thinking about how true these lyrics are in terms of what we, as the redeemed, have been made into. We are a people that are loud and just making noise, essentially going to some end that we know doesn't lead anywhere pleasant, but yet we just put our noses to the ground and trudge on. But God helps those shoes that have only made noise for so long actually fit, and do what they are supposed to.
We are like a shirt that is nothing special. We are not truly some designer fashion as we'd like to believe, but like the song says - polyester white trash, with no meaning, nothing! But with God, we are made clean, we are special, we've been bought with a very high price - one that we could never afford - and we're clean.
We have a soul that is imprisoned to the skin and bones that we can't escape. We try to satisfy it in so many ways and by so many means, but we ultimately agree with the Rolling Stones when they sing, "I can't get no satisfaction". But God takes our soul, opens the eyes of our heart, and makes this soul that was once a slave to sin, now a free bondservant with a good Master. We can sing because we are redeemed! What are we worth? Well, we are worth God leaving heaven to come and live on earth, and taking the form of a man, being rejected by His own creation in humans (even the demons knew who He was), having the very beings that He created crucify Him, and dying for the sins of man - all this to ultimately atone for the sins that we could never pay for - and He rose again, signifying victory over sin and death.
Why is this so important?
Because the other night we had amazing opportunities to share Jesus with so many people. We went out with a group of 11 people, which is great. We got to have some amazing conversations. I had a guy named Jordan, who I went through everything with him, and he wanted to accept Jesus, he even prayed to accept him, but I believe that he is confused about what he did, and there was nothing I could really do more at that point to explain more to him because of other circumstances at the time; so please pray that God does a work in him and that he understands what he did or didn't do. I don't want converts so that I can say someone got saved - but I want converts so that they can know that their soul is free.
I talked with a guy named Chris who couldn't understand why I didn't do some of the things that I could be doing. We talked a lot about who Jesus is and what He did, and this dude was having the walls around him broken down by the love of Christ, but one thing stood in the way - a huge thing, so please pray for Chris.
We spoke to the masses through preaching during Thursday, Friday & Saturday night. Probably within the three nights, we got to share the gospel in preaching with over a thousand people. We passed out about 4,000 tracts in one weekend. Yahweh was at work!!!
Please, know that God loves you, and that God has provided the free gift of eternal life and relationship with Him through the blood of Jesus - that has been shed for you! Pray with me as we long to see souls saved around the world!
Last night, I hung out with a group from Youth with a Mission. They will be working with Tony and myself next week. What an excited group of Jesus-followers. It's a privilege to get to pour into these people and be poured into. They are mostly from the western part of North America, but some are from Korea and England - so it will be a sweet week to get to watch people grow in their witness and walk with Jesus!
Today- I am finishing my sermon for Sunday, because tomorrow I am helping someone paint their new apartment. So - I must get working.
"Take this city, a city should be shining on a hill
Take this city, if it be your will
What no man can own, no man can take
Take this heart, take this heart, take this heart
And make it break" - U2

Letting my light shine because of Him.
Dwight

Quick Summary...

This morning I ate breakfast with my friend, Adriana, because she is leaving tomorrow morning early to fly back to Mexico. It is the St. Jean-Bapiste/Fete National today here in Quebec, and it is just a crazy day. It's 3 in the afternoon, and we are going to be heading out on the street quickly. We were on the street last night until almost 1 am, and it was a very fruitful night despite the weird circumstances and distractions that were going on. God is working.
I know that was a quick synopsis of the past day, but I want to ask you all to do something. Please pray! Pray for tonight, because people are going to be in multitudes, and last night had some crazy distractions, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. Please pray that hearts would be open to Jesus. Please ask your families and friends to pray for tonight, as this could be one of the biggest nights of the summer.
Pray for:
Hearts of people to be open
Wisdom in speech and deed
That God would be glorified
That people would see Jesus as their Savior and Forgiver tonight

Please, pray for us and the team going out. I am excited to document what happened because of Jesus tonight. Please pray and let me know what I can pray for you about.
"For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power, love and discipline" - 2 Tim. 1:7

Trusting & Praying.
Dwight

Grand Prix, Madonna, Fashion Show & Jesus

What a night!!!!
Tonight in Montréal, there were three huge things going on. First of all, this is the Saint Jean-Bapiste/Fete National. This is a huge Quebec celebration, and this weekend will be out of control. So, during this time, Montréal also has added the Grand Prix, which is a huge deal. There are people that have come from all over to be at this huge race. So, many were out just seeing the sights tonight before the race this weekend. Second, there is a three-day Madonna concert thingy going on here. The material girl is in the right place, because thirdly, there is a huge fashion show going on all weekend; in fact, it`s the street right next to where we preach and do the sketchboard. So, as you can imagine, there are thousands and thousands of people here in downtown Montréal just for this weekend! They are here to see things that will satisfy some craving for something within themselves.
But the most important thing that is here this weekend is Jesus! He was so ever present tonight on St. Catherine Street. Tony and I preached with the boldness of the authority given by Jesus! There was no holding back tonight in truth and in love! And two people accepted the Lord!!!! Praise Jesus that He has added two new souls into His Kingdom. In the midst of girls wearing almost nothing, guys looking for pleasure from these girls, people lost looking for anything to give them some sort of fix - Jesus Christ made his name known.
It was a weird night in a way too, for me at least. Tonight was the first night that I was actually pushed on the street. During one of the messages, a guy tried to get right in front of our translator, so I tried to step in between them, and this guy thought I was there to fight him or something - so he started - but God is good, and He settled the man by using the crowd & my friend Patrick to get the dude out of there.
I couldn`t really have a good conversation with anyone tonight; it was like I got all the people that just wanted to walk away, but not before they said something first.... But it`s all good, because maybe they`ll remember the name of Jesus, because I constantly repeat His name over and over when I`m talking to someone that doesn`t seem to want to listen, and is walking away.
I praise God that amongst all the distractions and things that were going on, He glorified Himself through the salvation of two young ladies! May they grow in Him, and His love, and know His Word, and go forth, preaching the Word, in season and out of season, with great patience and instruction. May the Lord teach them, and me - more about Him and what He wants to do!
Material girls are going to get flabby, and grand prix cars are going to rust away, and fashion today will be history tomorrow - but the name of Jesus and who He is, will remain the same today, yesterday and forever. Praise Him!
"I solemnly charge you in the name of God and of Christ Jesus.... preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.... be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry" - 2 Tim. 4:1, 2, 5

Materially-Undriven.
Dwight

When the rides are over... turn out the lights

Yesterday, I went to "La Ronde", which is part of Six Flags amusement parks. It was huge! I rode so many rollercoasters that made my stomach settled in my throat for short periods of time, and some of the rides made my head feel like I was spinning - after the ride was over. So, it was good. But after the day, I was reflecting on how life seems like one big rollercoaster, where we wait in lines and pay our dues so that we can have fun and experience some thrilling phenomenons momentarily; only to wait in line and pay our dues for the next big ride. The rides are worth the wait (at the theme park), but as I'm sitting here at a computer trying to communicate some essence of the overall experience, I realize that I'm not on the rollercoasters anymore. It was just a temporary fulfillment of pleasure for my adrenaline and manhood (to some extent - because girls ride the rollercoasters, but men conquer them).
So, now that I'm without the rollercoasters, I can either go back to them in order to distract myself longer from the 'norm', or I can deal with the bigger issues of what happens when the rides and the everyday life are over.
I used to listen to the Doors a lot. I used to dig how much Jim Morrison's lyrics were so "out there" and transcendental. I used to read a lot of Thoreau during these times too. I was really looking for the artists with the trippiest lyrics, poetry, music, artistry - whatever - as long as it made me dazzle in moments where reality was but a door to real thought. I wanted to fish deeper for unlocked puzzles and search beaches of mystery for treasures of the mind. So, thinking through my rollercoaster experience and analogy for the pleasures & distractions of this world - I thought of one of the songs by Jimmy M & the Doors that I used to listen to, "When the Music's Over".
This song's (which I will refrain from posting all the lyrics because of the length) main theme is that when the music (or life) is over, we'll just turn out the lights, as if we have real control over what happens next.
Morrison wrote lines such as "Cancel my subscription to the Resurrection, Send my credentials to the house of detention, I got some friends inside"
He even yells near the end of the song, "Save us! Jesus! Save us!" But ends the song with the claim that "Music" or life is your only friend until the end - and Morrison is so unclear about what he expects to happen - except that he wants to be in charge of it. But I thought of him as a man that rode the rollercoasters of life and wrote lyrics that said "We want the world and we want it NOW!" He was an icon and still is idolized by so many. But I don't think that he was ready for what happens when the rollercoasters, or music as he calls it, to be over.
We've got the answer that we can share with these people!
As I was walking in the tunnel of the metro this morning, I had a picture in my mind of the six people in front of me and the judgment of God. May we tell those around us about Jesus - because when the music is over - it'll be too late. The judgment is real - but so is the love of God and His sacrifice which was the payment for what we could never afford.
May we have a God-entranced vision of all things, so that we may offer hope to the people lost in the music and rollercoasters of life - because there are only so many distractions possible - then reality. There is nothing that will bring people joy outside of God - may we offer the answer to what happens when the music really is over.
May the words of Jim Morrison break our hearts for the lost who think this way: "This is the end, my only friend the end".

"...For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him" - 2 Tim. 2:11
Child of God.
Dwight

Mercy ....

As I was riding the metro this morning and having my worship before the worship service (because I go to a french church and don`t always understand everything that is going on, so I make sure I have some english before I go), I was listening to the song "A Sinner's Cry", and these words penetrated deep into my heart.
I came to a sudden hault in life and everything else seemed like it disappeared and it was just me and God, alone on a subway, and He was speaking directly through this Biblically deep & drenched song, but yet at the same time it is what I cried to God when I first understood Jesus was giving me grace and complete mercy.
It is such a blessed assurance that my salvation does not rest upon my own merit or even feeling saved, but it rests upon the Solid Rock, the Lover of my Soul, the One that has my heart fully, the Teacher that came from heaven to earth to show the Way, the Savior that died willingly for my sins, the Resurrection and the Life that death could not claim victory over. Now, my All-Surpassing Value to whom I can see & savor more and more each day that He so deems that I remain here. But I can't help but often thinking what Paul has said in Philippians 1:21, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain". I am so excited for the day when I get to be with Jesus. I just want to be with my God, because where else would I want to be?
My relationship began with Jesus` payment for my unremovable stain and was tied with a sinner (me) crying for complete mercy, because there was nothing and there remains nothing that I could ever do. A complete cry for mercy, because I deserved God`s justice, but He met me with lovely mercy & grace. All my debts were cast on Him, and I was freed! I am often moved in emotional ways lately as I reflect upon what God has done for me - and for you - if you have cried out to God for complete mercy... because He loves you, and wants to revolutionize your life - in a way you could never imagine.
I know that I've put a lot of lyrics on here (and I want to put this song here as well) - but God seems to be using a lot of music lately to rouse my religious affections as Jonathan Edwards penned - so, I'm going to. May God lift the religious affections of your life and mine! May our emotions meet our theology - and may we be so changed by the loveliness of what God has done! Jesus said "It is finished" - therefore, there's nothing else we can do except cry to God! Righteous...

A Sinner's Cry

Hear, gracious God, a sinner's cry
For I have nowhere else to fly
My hope, my only hope's in Thee
O God, be merciful to me
To Thee I come, a sinner poor
And wait for mercy at Thy door
Indeed, I've nowhere else to flee
O God, be merciful to me

To Thee I come, a sinner weak
And scarce know how to pray or speak
From fear and weakness set me free
O God, be merciful to me!
To Thee I come, a sinner vile
Upon me, Lord, vouchsafe to smile;
Mercy, through blood, I make my plea
O God, be merciful to me

To Thee I come, a sinner great
And well Thou knowest all my state
Yet full forgiveness is with Thee
O God, be merciful to me
To Thee I come, a sinner lost
Nor have I aught wherein to trust
But where Thou art, Lord, I would be
O God be merciful to me

To glory bring me, Lord, at last
And there, when all my fears are past
With all Thy saints, then, I'll agree
God has been merciful to me

May we all put our names in the "ME" of the song.
ME.
Dwight

Send Fire from Heaven Lord! (His Kingdom has been added to)

This morning during my quiet time, I was reading out of First Kings. I read about one of my favorite Bible figures, Elijah. What a crazy dude! As I was reflecting on his meeting with the 850 prophets of pagan gods, I thought about evangelism and how I present the gospel. I wanted to see principles from Elijah`s life that could be applied to mine.
Elijah was a bold man in this moment of truth. When Elijah tells Ahab in chapter 18 of 1st Kings to have all the prophets of the pagan gods meet him at Mount Carmel as well as all the people of Israel, I get excited. Elijah showed up, knowing what God was capable of, and wanted to see God vindicate Himself. Elijah poses the statement "If God is God, then follow Him... If He's not, then don't." Simply stated. Simple.
So, they set up this cool sacrifice system and the rules, and the pagan dweebs go first. They dance around, cut themselves - and Elijah just taunts them hard. Finally, after their many exuberant efforts to rouse their sleeping gods, Elijah steps in. He fixes the altar that the prophet-wanna-bes had messed up, and puts his sacrifice on there. He has them put one bucket of water all over the sacrifice; then another and another. The thing was drenched!
Then God sends His fire from heaven consuming everything. And in good fashion, Elijah has all the 850 dancers killed.
Application:
First.
Be bold for God & show up, no matter how wild the odds look.
Second.
Allow for others to explain themselves, so that they get to see how twisted their beliefs might be (just don't taunt them like Elijah).
Third.
Proclaim the message that "If God is God, follow Him", then let God do the work.

God wants us to be obedient to His call, go where and to whom He sends us, and just proclaim what He has done - and let Him work. And try not to kill them, because that would be bad news! Isn't it great how God vindicates His own name, and He also vindicates His prophets and His people. Maybe not today, or tomorrow. But don't turn away and cower to a group that is telling you that you are wrong. Remember Elijah.
Sometimes I feel like John & James, the sons of thunder, and want God to throw fire from heaven and vindicate Himself, but I know what Jesus says to them, "you don't know what spirit you're of". So, I repent, and ask for the fire of the Holy Spirit to be sent and reveal Jesus to the hearts of the lost. (I still think that it would be cool to see fireworks from heaven though). But, I know that my aim should not be to see people consumed by fire because I'm always yelling "Send Fire from Heaven Lord!", but I want to see people consumed with the love of Jesus, that they leave everything behind and count everything loss in view of His surpassing Value and Greatness.
Go.
Be Bold.
Allow others to express.
Proclaim the Message!
Let God Work.


Tonight - Weird night on the streets. Had some satanist dudes come and try to intimidate us, but they don't know who they are trying to serve. Satan doesn't even care about them, as long as they can proclaim anything but God, satan doesn't care if people are following buddha or mohammad. Anyways... real different spirit amongst the city-dwellers tonight. But we stood our ground and took our authority, given by Christ and shared His message in a bold way! What a bold night of preaching!
Menchee, one of the Filipino women that goes with us, led a lady to the Lord after one of the messages that was preached! Praise God! Another soul can now find satisfaction in the Only All-Satisfying Jesus! He's now the King of kings and Lord of lords to another soul! Praise God for that. Praise God that He chooses to use men and His Word.
I talked to a muslim guy named Osama tonight, and he was very close-minded to who Jesus was, until I showed him John 1:1 & 14. He was blown away and wants to read the New Testament to see what Jesus says about Himself. Praise God that He is doing so much work in the lives of people, that I don't or could never see it all.
Well, it is late and I have to come up with a new message tomorrow, so good night for now.

Jesus Saves, Lives, Loves & Gives - For His Glory.
For His Glory.
Dwight

Readin' to the Oldies

Lately, I've been inspired to search out some of the older books and men that are with the Jesus that they loved so much while they were here on earth. I just want to share a bit of encouragement that I've grasped from a couple of these men thus far. I just finished reading "Abounding Grace" by John Bunyan and have started the books on prayer by E.M. Bounds.
In Bound's book, "The Power of Prayer", he writes "Man is looking for better methods. God is looking for better men. Man is God's method". May God give us a deeper love and obedience to God, for His glory.
Here is an excerpt from Bunyan's 'Abounding Grace'. Take encouragement and enjoy the words of this spiritual giant. I can relate to these things ever so well, and found much relief when I read that great men have struggled with these same things. May we always turn back to Jesus when we step away, even momentarily.
"Oh it is a good thing to be on our knees, with Christ in our arms, before God. I hope I know something of these things. I find to this day seven abominations in my heart:
1. An inclining to unbelief
2. Suddenly to forget the love and mercy that Christ manifests
3. A leaning to the works of the law
4. Wanderings and coldness in prayer
5. To forget what I pray for
6. Aptness to murmur because I have no more, and yet ready to abuse what I have
7. I can do none of those things that God commands me without my corruptions thrusting themselves in. 'I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me'(Romans 7:21).

These things I continually see and feel, and am afflicted and oppressed with, yet the wisdom of God does order them for my good:
1. They make me abhor myself
2. They keep me from trusting my heart
3. They convince me of the insufficiency of all inherent righteousness
4. They show me the necessity of flying to Jesus
5. They press me to pray unto God
6. They show me the need I have to watch and be sober
7. They provoke me to pray unto God, through Christ, to help me and carry me through the world." - John Bunyan

May we turn to Christ in our constant struggle to find Him as our all-surpassing Value.

Continually turning to Him.
Dwight

Meditation & Prayer for Today

A song I was so deeply touched by and had the privilege to sing with my friend Josh at church was "Jesus Cast a Look on Me". I just simply want to post the lyrics here (seperate from my other blog entry from today) and let you pray them into your life. Be affected by them and be effective because of them - Jesus reigns!

Jesus cast a look on me
Give me sweet simplicity
Make me poor and keep me low
Seeking only Thee to know

All that feeds my busy pride
Cast it evermore aside
Bid my will to Thine submit
Lay me humbly at Thy feet

Make me like a little child
Of my strength and wisdom spoiled
Seeing only in Thy light
Walking only in Thy might

Leaning on Thy loving breast
Where a weary soul can rest
Feeling well the peace of God
Flowing from His precious blood

In this posture let me live
And hosannas daily give
In this temper let me die
And hosannas ever cry!

Loving Jesus.
Dwight

Hard-wood flooring & my body

So, this is more of a general blog - wanting everyone to feel sympathy for me. Yesterday, I went and helped out a friend with a hardwood flooring job (I know how to put in this flooring - yes!!!!). It was a good time except for all 11 hours of the job. Today, there are muscles in the weirdest places that I never knew that I had that are trying to force my body back into bed. My body is yelling "You need to not move", but my mind is thinking otherwise. So, I moved to the computer where now I can rest my body again. But it was a joy to get the opportunity to work hard and labor - and get to see the results. I have a deeper appreciation for the man (or woman) who labors hard with his body. I thanked God this morning that I didn't have to do this often and that it was like a "Go to work with your parents day" for me. Those days were so fun, no matter what you had to do, because it was just something new. I love doing new things and finding out that I don't want to do them ever again, unless maybe I can help out someone someday. New things for me are so fun, but I soon realize that I can only have so much fun before it becomes exhausting. So, I don't think that I will become a hardwood flooring dude anytime soon, but I feel like a Mr. Fix-it a little more than I did before yesterday.
On a different note....
On Sunday, I got to speak at a church of about 400 people, and share what God is doing through my life and the ministry that I have here. It was cool because the pastor used me and the ministry as like a point in his sermon on Acts 1:8. It was so encouraging, and people signed up to help in this ministry as well. Jesus says that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few, and that is the case here. I shared very openly how fearful I get before going out to witness, and I think that broke down the barriers for a few people, because people think that it's no problem for me or Tony to go out on the street. But I've learned that my fears aren't real, and that they don't portray the proper picture of what God really wants to do. He wants to work through me and not have me sit scared, but I really feel that I am at my weakest when I am nervous and fearful, and that is when I rely most on God - and He always comes through!
I'm having dinner at a family's house from the church that I spoke at this weekend. I pray that God encourages me through this and uses this for His glory. What a day off it has been. Restful, relaxing, worshipful. I read in Song of Songs last night, and what a beautiful message that has to give - I suggest you read in the Message Remix to get a new flavor of the beauty of love.
This morning, I was so encouraged by King Solomon in 1 Kings, and how he asked God for wisdom over anything else - wisdom to govern God's people in a worthy manner - and this is such a great example of prayer - God using us for the good of other people! May that be my meditation today - that I might be poured into by God so that He may pour me out for the glory of Himself and the good of others, while I reap the blessing of watching God change my life and others. What a good God we serve. May we tell the story of Jesus today and tomorrow and enjoy it deeper and savor it more and more each hour.

"I love to tell the story of unseen things above
Of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love
I love to tell the story, because I know it's true
It satisfies my longings as nothing else can do.

I love to tell the story!
'Twill be my theme in glory
To tell the old, old story
Of Jesus and His love"

Telling the story of eternity and Jesus, the Lover of my soul.
Dwight

Kingdom Work: Done by God (using weak people)

Tonight was amazing! First, before we even went out, I was so burdened in my soul that I wanted to throw-up. I was so burdened that I messed up the contact with Adam, and I didn`t want to be a person that just spouted the gospel-sales pitch ad with anyone I met. So, during our team-prayer time that we have before we go out on the street, I begged God to break me and humble me and use me, because I am weak!
It was horrible outside (raining and not so warm), but we stayed out anyways, under a little roof-type thing outside a store. We preached four messages tonight, with Tony and I swapping off each one. After the second message that I preached, I approached a guy by the name of Keo. He is a native dude. He seemed interested in Jesus, so we talked for about 25 minutes and then something started to change. He really wanted what I was talking about. He started to get serious and not talk about the other spirits or anything else anymore. He was really interested in Jesus and I really felt the Spirit leading the conversation. So, I went through the steps of salvation and asked him if he`d ever thought about things in that way. He said `NO`. So, I asked more questions which led to me asking what he wanted to do with Jesus, and he said that he wanted a relationship with Jesus - so we prayed there on the side of the street and Keo accepted Jesus as his personal Savior, Forgiver and Leader of his life! So, we talked for a while then he went on his way, joyfully changed forever. Please pray for him!
So, I walked back to where Tony was preaching the last message of the night. There were many in the crowd tonight laughing and mocking the message of Jesus. But after Tony was done, I caught up with Jason, a guy who had listened to the whole message. I asked him what he thought about Jesus. We had a long talk, which resulted in Jason telling me that many people had approached him lately trying to give him a Bible and that he really wanted more from God. So I asked a few questions and asked if he had ever surrendered his life to Jesus. He said, `No`. So, we went through how he could be assured of salvation, and he too believed and prayed to ask Jesus to come into his life tonight. He was crying as he prayed for Jesus to come into his life. Praise God!!!!!
So, I`m so pumped right now. I am so positive that God is the only one that can change lives, because when we went out, I was not at all thrilled to be there, because my soul was burdened so much for the dude from the afternoon, Adam. But God chose to open the hearts of two men from Montreal, and God is doing His Kingdom work and is using His weak servants to do so.
One by one, God is building His Kingdom and is bringing the lost into the fold. Please pray for Jason and Keo, as they begin their new life in Christ, changed for eternity because of what Jesus has done for them, and God opening their hearts to see this lovely message! May God get all the glory for these acts!!! He is so worthy of all our worship and all our praise.
I was reminded of my verses that compel me to pray and believe that Montreal and Quebec are where I should be right now. Galatians 6:7-9: "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit wil from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary."
Don't grow weary - and the only way we can do that is to rely COMPLETELY on Christ!
Pray for these new believers and for many more to come to Him.

Relying Hard on Him.
Dwight

But I shared the gospel.....

What is the purpose of going out to share Jesus?
Today, Tony & I went out on the streets and I went up and sat with a dude that was asking for money on the streets. He isn't your normal street person and I had never seen him before. He was fairly well dressed and so this made me curious and led me to go and talk with him. I went and started asking him about his situation, and talked with him for a little bit, then I went into the gospel with him. I was thinking, "great, this is my opportunity to share with this guy". I was so focused on sharing the gospel with this guy, I wasn't reading him very well. He does have unique circumstances, meaning that he was panhandling just to get home and he had all his stuff taken a few weeks ago while sleeping in public (a very normal occurance here in Montreal), and he has 68 dollars saved up for a bus ticket hom from panhandling every day.
Anyways, I shared a lot with him, and in the middle of one of what I was saying at one point, he politely interupted me and said, "I just want to go home man". I knew that he understood that he was a big sinner, just like you and me, but he wasn't ready for the ninety-nine reasons why he should become a Christian. So, I just stopped talking and started asking him questions about him.
I felt foolish!!!! I thought "But I shared the gospel.... that's what I'm here for" But maybe I was just supposed to listen to him and sit with him on the streets.
He had a one-track mind on getting home.... But he did listen and took some literature about how to trust in Jesus.
So, I went and told tony about Adam's circumstance and Tony offered to give him a ride to the highway so that he could hitch-hike home, which is way cheaper than taking a bus. Adam said he would think about it tonight and that he could take his money that he had saved and buy some used clothes (one bag of clothes for 6 bucks!!!), and then hitch a ride home. He really liked the idea and is gonna call us tomorrow morning to let us know.....
So, when I came back to the church, I was sitting and wondering why I felt like it was so hard to share and why I felt that I had forced the gospel.... and it was because I had! I am learning that it isn't my job to just go and bang out the four points of salvation and my campaign slogans for Jesus.... It's really about loving people and listening to them, and sharing with them because you know that they are able to hear it or need to hear it. My friend needed to hear it of course, but maybe not today. Maybe today he needed someone to listen to him and care about him. He did say that "people aren't usually this nice". May he see Jesus and His love for him. He needs someone to love him. And Jesus loves him! And me! And you!
Let's live out Jesus, and give a reason for why we are so different and be willing to share Jesus and His wonderful plan by word of mouth, but also sometimes just by action, and be willing to listen intently to the Spirit's leading!
Pray for me for wisdom in how to share, and when to be quiet!

Relying on Him.
Dwight

What is a Christian?

Today was an odd day for me in terms of meeting people. They weren't your normal people that you meet. In fact, most everyone that I talked with claimed to have a relationship with God - of course they all weren't true in the sense of accepting Christ's sacrifice as the only means to be brought to God - but still claiming a relationship.
I met two 7th-day adventist believers today and one that is on fire for Jesus!!! He met us tonight before we started and told us that he really sensed that the Holy Spirit was near. Of course me first thought was "great, now I have to have a deep conversation with this guy about who the Holy Spirit really is!" But, he (Patrick) is a true, born-again believer that loves Jesus and wants to share Him with people. So, I preached the first message on the street tonight and he watched with great enthusiasm. Tony preached the second message and just handed the mic to Patrick to translate, and he did an amazing job. What a gift this guy has for translation!!! He is truly a gift from God, and he is 25 years old, and just wants to share Jesus with people. So, he is going to be there with us tomorrow night and he has a real connection with people. Dude was a drug-dealer before meeting Jesus, now we're serving God together!
It was so funny, because as he translated my second message of the night, he was preaching it with me in french!!!! I loved working with him!!! Such a blessing.
See, my walls of thought about what a Christian (i made the correction here) should be in terms of where they go to church are being torn down. I've met true believers that go to Roman Catholic church in different countries because there is nothing else, but yet disagree with the theology that is being taught. I've met 7th-day adventist believers that love Jesus and want to see His name being spread and not caring about the church differences. I'm seeing that a Christian is someone that has surrendered their life to Jesus, accepted God's free gift of eternal life and loves Jesus. It's not where they go to church, what they think about tongues, or any other issue like that - I love my brothers and sisters in Christ and we need to work together as the body, not seperate powers! More work gets done where there are more hands. We all want to see Jesus lifted high and people come to know Him - fair enough - let's work together! I love my family that will be together forever!!!
On a different note, tonight I also talked with a young man who grew up in a Roman Catholic upbringing, but has doubted many of the claims of Jesus. We had a good, lengthy conversation and I came to ask him the question of what would happen if he stood before God, and God asked "why should I let you in to heaven?" He had no answer except "I was good" We chatted and he ended the conversation after I said that God looks at us in two ways: Those who have His Son and those who don't. He completely disagreed with me, but said he'd take me up on the challenge to read the New Testament and find a different answer to the question of who gets into heaven. Please pray for him, his name is Dario.
We got into many good conversations tonight with non-believers and Tony and I talked to quite a few people this afternoon down in the subway station. Please pray for fruit from those conversations. TOny had a very good conversation with a gay man, please pray that the Lord convicts his heart of what he's doing and that Jesus died for him and loves him.
Please pray for the festivals that are starting here in Montreal. This year is the first World Outgames, which is a huge gay & lesbian festival with lots of olympic-type events. But it is a real burden on our hearts. We are going to go and minister within the festival as it goes on, but please pray for these men and women that have defined themselves by their sexuality and preference. Please pray that God would give them such a dissatisfaction with the evil that they do and open their eyes to Jesus!

Yesterday, Tony & I went into a park. We got to share with kids and teens there, and it was a wonderful opportunity for the children to hear of Jesus' love for them. But as the kid's message was being presented, there was a teenager who sat and listened to it all. His name is Serguy. He is a 15-year old Armanean (I don't know if that is spelled right) with very heavy questions. We sat with him for about an hour and a half and came to the conclusion that he wanted answers but wouldn't accept them. We gave him example and answer after answer, but yet nothing satisfied him. He is really a skeptic. So, we gave his name to a church today that will be following up with him. Please pray that this young man will experience the love of Christ. This is a kid who is very smart, he knows 5 languages and asks very provoking and deep questions. But what do we gain if we get the whole world but lose our own soul?

Lastly, please pray for Montreal. Pray for this darkness to be lifted from the city and that God would infest the lives of the people here.
Pray for His people here. I get the opportunity to speak at People's Church about evangelism and our call to be missionaries to our own cities this week, and this church has about 450 people that attend. Please pray for me, that God would give me wisdom in encouraging these believers and that many workers would help with the harvest here.
Pray for workers! We so desperately need groups of people to come with us on the streets, but people haven't caught a mission for it yet - and this is their Jerusalem!

Question - How are you doing at sharing with the people in your Jerusalem, your area where you live? This is a question for me too.... How are we doing at letting Jesus' name be known among the people that live near us, and with us.
One day - there will be no more need of missions, because everything will be over. But worship will go on forever!!! I want many people to worship Jesus with me forever and ever! Let's step outside of comfort and give our beings to Jesus! He wants to use them for His glory.... He loves you!

I am pray that God develops a love for Him within your soul and that He encourages you to tell others about it - because you love Him so much that you can't shut-up about Him! We've been forgiven much!!!

Please pray for me....

Loved.
Dwight

A Wonderful Birthday....

I thank so many of you who sent along encouragements today to me! I love encouragements and I love being loved. I`m like a cat that purrs because so many of you are scratching my ears with encouragement! Thank you to everyone who sent their best wishes and blessings.
Tonight, my roommate Alain, my Mexican friend Adrianna and I all went to an Irish pub to eat dinner called Hurleys. It was so amazing!!!! The burgers were incredible and the cheesecake was even better!!! It was a good time to get to sit and relax and take in the fact that God has blessed me in so many ways and He has given me so many friends and family that love me and that I love and I wish were here with me to share in what is going on.
I got to talk to my parents and my sister today which made the day so much better, but came home to an email box full of emails wishing me encouragement and a happy birthday. So, thank you all for loving me. Keep praying for me as I pray for you. What an exciting day it will be to gather for eternity with Jesus Christ and the whole body of Christ!!! I read one of Dave Garda`s (you are truly a great friend Dave) emails to a group the other day, and he put a song in there, and I`m gonna copy it and put on here for you all. I love you all, and Jesus loves you more!You've Got A Friend, Randy Newman (From the deep theology of Toy Story)

You've got a friend in me, You've got a friend in me
When the road looks rough ahead
And you're miles and miles from your nice warm bed
You just remember what your old pal said
Boy, you've got a friend in me
Yeah, you've got a friend in me

You've got a friend in me, You've got a friend in me
If you got troubles
I got them too
There isn't anything
I wouldn't do for you
We stick together, we can see it through
Cause you've got a friend in me
Yeah, you've got a friend in me

Some other folks might be a little bit smarter than I am
Bigger and stronger too
Maybe
But none of them
Will ever love you
The way I do
It's me and you, boy

And as the years go by,
Our friendship will never die
You're gonna see it's our destiny
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
Yea You've got a friend in me.

Privileged to be your friend.
Dwight

My birthday today...

As I was reading this morning during my quiet time, I was reading in Jeremiah. I am going to be preaching on Jeremiah in the next couple of weeks. So, any suggestions on reading of commentaries or helps would be appreciated. But I will be using the text of Jeremiah 20:7-13 and Lamentation 3:19-24 and will use the "t" as my sermon-point guide because it worked itself out that way: Trouble (outside himself), Termoil (inside himself), Trust (in God - outside himself)..... so that was good to nail down, until God decides to change it if He wants.
But than as great encouragement on my birthday I read this in Jeremiah 20:14-18
"Curse the day I was born!
The day my mother bore me - a curse on it, I say!..... and so on....with more encouragement"

I took that as a great birthday greeting! What a weird thing to read today.... anyways, I am done blogging for now....

Jesus loves you, whoever you are.

Loved.
Dwight
Lamentations 3:22-24

Too Atonement Centered???

I read Mark Dever's article in this month's issue of Christianity Today called "Nothing but the Blood". He talks of evangelical Christians that are calling people too atonement-centered, that their focus is too much on Christ's death. Dever says this in the article of this doctrine of the Atonement of Christ, "At stake is nothing less than the essence of Christianity. Historically understood, Christ's atonement gives hope to Christians in their sin and in their suffering. If we have any assurance of salvation, it is because of Christ's Atonement; if any joy, it flows from Christ's work on the Cross. The Atonement protects us from our native tendency to replace religion with morality and God's grace with legalism. Apart from Christ's atoning work, we would be forever guilty, ashamed, and condemned before God. But not everyone these days sees it that way." - Christianity Today, Mark Dever "Nothing But the Blood", p. 29
There are other people that don't believe that the atonement is everything - these are called cults!!!!! Mormons are key in this crew. But many others and the list would be very long! Remember that wonderful hymn, "Nothing But the Blood", and the truth that flows from it? What are we clinging to for truth as believers? ....
Read the whole article here: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/005/9.29.html

I have included another interesting comparison in Mormon beliefs and Truth.... Helpful for me in evangelism with Mormons and it's not too much. I'm working on assembling a simple plan for talking to different groups, which I will blog as I go. But here is the website:
http://www.irr.org/MIT/Is-Mormonism-Christian.html

Keep the cross in the center and Jesus at the front! He is the Way, the Truth and the Life! He makes absolute claims about Himself and His necessary death and anyone that denies this is speaking heresy!
Read what Paul says about those who speak another gospel:
"I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be ACCURSED! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be ACCURSED!" - Galatians 1:6-9

Stand firm for truth! Don't waver like those tossed to-and-fro by every doctrine! By His stripes are we healed! All about Him!!!

Atonement Centered.
Dwight

What a Crazy Couple Past Days

Last night on the streets was so great! God is doing a lot here in Montréal and He is getting the glory for it. People are getting to hear so much about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but there is something going on. It`s like a darkness or hold that is on people to listen and dialogue but not to make decisions. Praise God for allowing us to get through to people, but there`s something going on that is unexplainable. I`ll share some of the people that I`ve shared Christ with in the past couple days.
Yesterday -
Jason - a skaterboarder dude that smoked a joint in front of me, but really thought what Jesus did was amazing. He wanted to believe something some day, but thought that now wasn`t a good time for him, but someday. He thought what I was doing was cool, but it wasn`t for him now. He believes in God, but said something won`t allow him to make a decision for Christ because there are things that he needs to work out.
Some Russian chick - thought that Jesus was interesting, but claims to not really believe anything. Listened to me and asked questions about what Jesus did and heard the gospel. But she wasn`t sure if she believes in God. So, I offered her a booklet with the gospel in it, and she took it and I offered one to her friend and he said no, and that I should save the trees and not give out so many booklets. I thought to myself that the trees are already dead, but at least your soul has a chance, but I commended him for believing in something, because people want to believe that "as long as you believe in something sincerely, then you're okay". I think more people do crack than I wanted to think before....
Muslim (devout) man named Karim. We talked for over an hour, closer to the 1.5 hour mark. I really like speaking to Muslims, because they are open to talk about spiritual things. I don`t like speaking to Muslims, because they rarely come to see any different way. But with Karim, he really wanted to know how we could be forgiven by someone else making a payment. It is too much to write all about, but anyways, after the conversation was over, it was like a light went off in his head as to what I believed in Jesus being the ultimate payment and that I receive forgiveness because of what Jesus has done, that I am a beneficiary of the payment that Jesus made. He doesn`t believe it, but pray for him that God will move him to faith, because he agreed to read the New Testament, and we know how God loves to work through the power of His Word because it`s Active and Living and sharper than a double-edged sword (Heb. 4:12). So, that was him. And when the conversation was over, I went to shake his hand and his wife's, but I learned that I guess you don't shake the hands of Muslim woman (I should have given her a hug).... But they just laughed about it and it was all good. God is so good.
Jean - a dude that wanted what Jesus did for him, but not ready to make the commitment. Again, he said he believed everything I was talking about, but there was something that kept him from making a decision there. So, please pray for him as he is going to praying over the Word of God and the book that I gave to him with a clear gospel message in it. It`s the power of God`s Word that will change people`s lives, not my words.
TODAY-
Jodie & Nancy - two girls that listened to me talk about what Jesus did for them and how He so radically changed my life and wanted to do the same for them. I talked with them for about an hour and we just shared openly about our lives. They really are searching and they got a lot of questions answered for them and they took booklets and my email so that they can ask me more questions about their spiritual journey. Long, good and open conversation that flowed so smoothly, and they accepted truth, but weren't ready to submit to it yet.
Will & some other Mormon - I approached two poor Mormons today. Tony encouraged me to because I really felt led to go talk to these dudes. They stopped and I asked them sincere questions so that I could share the gospel with them. In the conversation at one point I called them heretics, but God is gracious and allowed them to stay there, then I calmed down. But at the end of the conversation, I challenged them with two things - Is Jesus the God of the earth OR Is Jesus God? They don't claim Jesus to be supreme as God the Heavenly Father. The second thing is Ephesians 2:8 & 9 as well as James. I asked them are they saved by grace through faith OR faith and works. They said both. I said, you can't have both. Either we earn it or we don't.... Anyways, there was so much to this conversation, but they said that they would pray about Ephesians 2:8, 9 and ask God if this is true. Please pray that they do....
Steve - Believer I met, who is struggling and didn't have a Bible until I gave him one of the New Testaments. He was so excited about having a Bible!!!! He wants someone to sit down with him to talk about what to do with his faith, so I asked where he lives and he lives right in my neighborhood. Funny how that all works, eh?
WEll.... There were so many more interesting stories, like people looking at us while we are on the streets and just screaming at us (creepy experience with people filled with something crazy), but God answers prayers and they just walk away.
This is what ministry is here - constant. I preach every night on the streets now, and it is crazy to be a street preacher. It's all the grace of God, and everytime I just place all my trust on God for the words and He is so faithful to give them to me, for His glory. Tony & I are getting to spend lots of time in prayer, and how amazing that is. Thanks to those of you that have been praying for me to have a deep burden to pray! God is answering it.
Well, I have had dreams about french in french and last night I dreamed all about talking to people on the streets, so I am really confident that I am in the right place for this summer. God is using the foolish things to confound the wise! Praise be to Him for that.
I feel right at home here in Montréal, but think of many of you back home so often. I am excited to see what God is doing in your life when I come back, and am excited to hear from you all - so please write me by email or in the blog because my comment section gets lonely without comments. A comments section on a blog without comments is like an ocean without fish or woods without deer or tapioca without pudding - so say hello or bonjour or salut or in whatever language you want to say something - but I miss you all, and love you all, and am most likely praying for you (unless you're a Japonese warrior who happened to come to my blog, then let me know and I'll pray for you).....
I will be speaking next week in a big church of about 400 people about being missionaries in our cities and where we live, so please pray for me and the people, that they catch a vision for evangelism in Montréal and that they'd see themselves as sent out by God and His power to share His love.
Pray for me - for love, wisdom, filled with the Spirit, meditating on His Word, time management, passion for Christ!

All for now.
Enabled.
Dwight.
"I'll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness,
the taste of ashes, the poison I've swallowed.
I remember it all - oh, how well I remember -
the feeling of hitting the bottom.
But there's one other thing I remember,
and remembering, I keep a grip on hope.
God's loyal love couldn't have run out,
His merciful love couldn't have dried up.
They're created new every morning.
How great Your faithfulness!!!!
I'm sticking with God (I say it over and over).
He's all I've got left." - Lamentations 3:19-24 (MeSSage ReMIx)

Yesterday afternoon & last night, we were on the streets. For the afternoon, it was Tony & I on the streets and we were using a big evangicube to share with people. What a cumbersome tool, but the Lord used it to open up conversations. We talked to a guy named Rudy who had such a problem with suffering in the world. It seemed like it was a very personal subject to him, but he didn't let on any further than that.
It seems to be the overall attitude here in Montreal that people are so scared of making a decision about anything in terms of commitment. And if they do make a commitment, it seems that they are looking for a way out. What can we do about this? I think that prayer is the only thing. It seems that suffering and past problems have a lot to do with how people's attitudes are. It also has become evident that people have been hurt or disappointed by the church, whether it be the real Church or not. There seems to be a hard forgetfulness of Jesus' command to forgive 70 times 7. There seems to be a reactive spirit to everything that happens, even with people in the church.
Remember the story of Joseph. He went through some incredible circumstances that probably would have left me questioning what God was doing. But that is not how Scripture portrays the attitude of Joseph. (Reread Genesis 37-50 for a reminder of Joseph's circumstances) But instead of reacting to human circumstances, Joseph was proactive about trusting the Lord and Scripture does not talk of Joseph becoming bitter at people, even when they forgot about him.
As the Church, which is made of individual believers, we must pray that we are proactive and prayerful for the Church. We must not continually remember the things that the Church hasn't done for us, but ask what has the Church done for me. And better yet, what has Jesus done for me. We have been forgiven much, so let's remember that as we suffer, or get treated unfairly, or are the target of neglect in the Church, let's be proactive in helping people see the Biblical way of things.
As we talk with people who are dealing with suffering and things that aren't "fair", let's remember that God is sovereign and He has a plan for all things. That He has not randomly distributed suffering, but has allowed circumstances in our life for our good. The Bible says that there is no temptation that is beyond us with the power of God. We are reminded in James that we are to consider it all joy, pure joy, whenever we face trials of many kinds because we know that the testing of our faith produces endurance. And we are reminded in Romans that God is working all things for good for those who love Him.
I love hearing the people on the streets that I talk to tell me of how their life is changing too.
Last night, Tony talked with a guy named Jay, a guy that I had talked with 2 weeks earlier. When I talked with him he was very angry about so much. He made a profession of faith years ago, but was struggling and living on the streets. So anyways, last night, Jay came up to talk with me after Tony had finished with him, and there was such a difference about him. He had such a peace about him and seemed like things were changing in his life. Only God can do this.
Okay, I have to do some stuff now before we go out on the streets. Please pray for the preaching of the Word that Tony & I will be doing on the streets. It is wild out there!

Please, tell me what God is doing in your lives!!!!!!! Keep me connected in your community!!!!!

..... Dwight