Seize the Night! 

Today is a day of great opportunity. Sadly, many Christians do not seize the opportunity. Many lock their doors and turn off the lights, as if in hiding from the very people who need the gospel message who would come right to their door if the lights were left on. Many get caught up in the revelry of Halloween and blend in with the dark way the world celebrates it and seem to forget we are called to be light to a dark world. May I encourage you to seize the night? Every year I hand out candy to all who show up at my door along with the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. I also believe it’s fine to use this opportunity to dress up as something wholesome and/ or portray a positive message in costume, (such as Christian themed, patriotic, heroes), while handing out Gospel tracts and church flyers. The right costume could start conversations to share the Gospel. What other night do multitudes of households in America willingly throw open their doors to the knock of a stranger or even for a neighbor?

Below are two free downloadable tracts for Halloween, one for small children and the other for older children and adults. I invite you print them to hand out with candy,or as you go door to door,or elsewhere in your travels tonight.

(Scroll past, A Special Announcement, for a bit on The Reformation and a bit more on Halloween and scary things and places.)

Pastor’s wife and writer Rachel Schmoyer is sharing her free #Halloween #gospel kids tract for you to distribute. You can access the PDF download here:  https://rachelschmoyerwrites.com/2017/10/06/trick-or-treat-gospel-tract/

Please feel free to print and distribute my handout for Halloween also. Here is the PDF for it: Scarier tract

What if we seized every night and day as an opportunity to share the Gospel and encourage others?

A Special Announcement!

Happy Reformation Day and happy Pastor Appreciation Month to all pastors and their wives!

How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? Romans 10:14 (NKJV)

November is the month we celebrate thanksgiving here is the USA, a holiday commemorating the pilgrims who fled to America so they could freely preach and practice their Christian faith. Thanksgiving commemorates the day on which the Plymouth colonists invited their Wampanoag allies to a shared celebratory autumn feast in thanks for their first successful harvest and God’s provision. Today we also use it as a time to acknowledge all we are thankful for.

I am most thankful for my salvation through Jesus Christ, and I am grateful for the men and women who answered and are faithful to their call to be pastors and pastor’s wives— those dedicated to harvesting of souls for the Gospel.  So, I will be continuing my series of interviews with pastors and pastors wives throughout November. The articles are many and varied in content. Don’t miss their stories and their wise counsel. It’s okay to be thankful for  pastors and wives in November too, right? How about if we showed our appreciation all year long? 🙂

Here are the links and some excerpts to the first three parts in my 2018 pastors and pastor’s wives interviews, followed by those for the prior two years.

Part 3 of 2018 Pastors & Pastors Wives Interviews: Life as a Pastor’s Wife

What has being a pastor’s wife cost you?

Compared to Christ, there’s no match. —Nicole Catala

This is a tough question. I feel that on one hand, it’s such a relief to see this question posed, and I want to dive right in. On the other hand, I’m somewhat afraid to… —Anonymous

What is the hardest thing about being a pastor’s wife?

Living in a fishbowl. Having people place impossible expectations on you.. Anonymous

Having to share my husband’s time with so many people. —Angelica Obermeyer

What is your favorite thing about being a pastor’s wife?

The effect this has on our family is profound. We are…

Part 2 of 2018 Pastors & Pastors Wives Interviews: The Call: Why Did You Become a Pastor?

I realized that following Jesus meant devoting my entire life beyond church attendance…I realized that God wanted all of me…During the message it was as if a lightning bolt sent a message saying, “This is what you are going to do for the rest of your life.” —Pastor Chad

I just wanted what my Pastor had, and ran with it… —Pastor Eric Quiles

Part 1 of 2018 Pastors & Pastors Wives Interviews: If My People

It seems like the church has become uninvolved. It has become inward focused—More focusing on efficiency of services as opposed to efficiency of outreach and any outreaching toward the lost..The church can’t be ashamed to preach the gospel because it’s the solution…

Part 1 of 3 of 2017 Pastor & Wife Interview: Dragon Slayer, Disciple Maker~ A Preacher Wages War, Wins Souls & Saves Children from Prostitution & Poverty in Nepal

“I am an Anglo-Indian. My ancestry is a mixture of the colonizer and the colonized. I look Indian and I am most at ease in an Indian culture but I speak and think with the English language…

Highlights from Interviews with Pastors & Pastor’s Wives from Around The World 2016 (You may need to pause the video to give yourself more time to read some of these slides)

Part 1:

What has being a pastor/ pastor’s wife cost you?

It has cost me nothing yet everything. There is no price too great when serving the Lord.   -Pastor Wayne Shaffer,  New Life AG, Altoona PA

My will for the will of God.  -Pastor Patrick Jordan, The Door CFM,  Jamaica West Indies

What do you see as the biggest threat to the church today

People who like to wear the Christian badge, but that’s it. It’s part of their Facebook profile, but not part of their personal profile. They are not converted. -Pastor Chip Ganiear,  Victory Chapel CFM, Cape Cod, MA

Continued at: Shepherd Princes & Sarah’s Daughters~ A Series of Interviews with Pastor & Pastors Wives from Around the World

Part 10 poems & link to post: What God Said

Part 14 

I felt like he could look right through me. I couldn’t stand him….  My pastor is not perfect; he’s just a man, as are all preachers. But he’s the man God provided to shepherd my soul….  I’m not speaking of blind following. Pastor worshipers don’t do well in their walk with God, because sooner or later they wake up and realize the god they created has failed them, or offended them and they derail as their reference was on the man and not the God the man represents. Likewise, those who are like a horse who shies from his groomer when his bridle is reached for, refusing to be led, don’t fare well…  Continued at: I Call Him Pastor

Part 16:

What do you believe is the biggest threat to the church today?

Tolerance. Christians should be discriminating. They should exercise sound judgment; not no judgment. -Anonymous

What do you believe is the biggest threat to the church today?

Cultural relativism,

Biblical illiteracy,

Prayerlessness,

Fat baby syndrome from so little exercise,

Lack of spiritual curiosity,

Gun shy evangelists. -Pastor Bruce Hanlon, Forrestdale Church, Sandwich MA

If you could tell your church anything about yourself, your family, or anything else what would it be? What’s on your heart?

I love the LORD Jesus and He is my rock and salvation, that what you “feel” in your heart might not be what is real in God’s word, that truth conquers lies and light dispels darkness and there is no sin that cannot be overcome by grace. This I would tell them… and so much more. -Pastor Michael Duncan, Author, Speaker, Pastor, Mountain View Baptist Church, Darrington WA

Continued at: A Fire in My Bones

Halloween and the Reformation and Free Downloadable Halloween Gospel Tracts

Did you know that the day known by many as Halloween is also Reformation Day? On October 31st 1517, a young Augustinian monk by the name of Martin Luther,  posted his 95 theses on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany, challenging several Roman Catholic practices and doctrines. This year, 2018, marks the 501st anniversary of this event that sparked the Protestant Reformation.

The movie,  Luther by Torchlighters, tells His story and includes a documentary on Luther and the history of the Reformation. It was made for families and recommended for ages 8 and up.

Pastor’s wife and writer Rachel Schmoyer is sharing her free #Halloween #gospel kids tract for you to distribute. You can access the PDF download here:  https://rachelschmoyerwrites.com/2017/10/06/trick-or-treat-gospel-tract/

Please feel free to print and distribute my handout for Halloween also. Here is the PDF for it: Scarier tract

Scarier

Do you know what’s scarier than Halloween? What’s scarier than ghosts, goblins, witches, and horror movies? Scarier than your worst day ever. Do you know what’s scarier than the recent tragic headlines?

It’s spending eternity separated from the God who loves you so much. He put on human flesh, was born, and lived, and gave His life on the cross to pay the penalty for your sin.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23 (NKJV)

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3 (NKJV)

Jesus was born to die so we could live. He rose victorious over Hell, so you don’t have to go there, so you can know Him, to offer you salvation and Heaven as your eternal home.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 (NKJV)

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 (NKJV)

Do You Know Him? Do you want this?

Salvation is there for the asking. If you’re ready, you can pray like this:

“Jesus, I believe you shed your blood, died on the cross, and rose from the dead for me. I repent of my sin. I ask you to forgive me and come into my heart. Help me to live for you in Jesus’ name, amen.”

that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9 (NKJV)

If you prayed, it is important that you find a church home that preaches the full gospel, so you can grow in your faith and have the fellowship and support of other believers. This site may be able to help you find one:      http://www.worldcfm.com/

You can also link to my page Redemption Center for more on salvation and to my post where I respond to the often asked question: How can a Loving God Send People to Hell?

Pray for Your Pastor Text Campaign

Text the word PASTOR to 74574 to sign up to receive either daily or weekly prayer reminders with suggestions for praying for your pastor and a matching scripture reference via text message. 

Next up: More exciting and heart challenging interviews with pastors and wives!

© 2018  Rachael M Colby                          Tattoo It On Your Heart

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