Happy New Year 2009: RAVEN STYLE!

Praise the Lord for another year of having served Him in this lifetime!

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Matthew says 24:44-46 "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing."

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Last night we took a team out to the streets of Daytona Beach to "Do" the New Year by "Doing" what Jesus has called us to---Preach the Gospel!

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I always like to close out a year preaching to the lost...and launching into another year of doing the same. Well we said, "Good Bye to 08'" reaching out to a new generation of young (lost) people and christened 09' by calling them to "repent and believe the Gospel."

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The young man that you see Lucy speaking with in the top photo had been out of prison for just three days when she stopped him. He had served a two year sentence and had claimed to have come to know the Lord during his stint. Unfortunately the Jesus he met in prison wasn't Jesus Christ is was "Jailhouse" Jesus---the impostor who often slips into cells during times of incarceration to offer temporary sollace and not eternal transformation.

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Lucy brought him over and introduced him to me and I took him down and sat with him for a while and read some scripture to him about genuine salvation. He was very open and respectful--but terribly shapen by the two years of compromising Christianity that he had been exposed to while in prison. Pray for him---he goes by "T".

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Pastor Sam and Pastor Thomas had quite a bit of "tag team" action last night as they picked off people one-by-one as they passed by in front of where they were standing outside of a local night club. Pastor Thomas looks like a "Jedi-Master" underneath that hoodie! (It was only 55 degrees---you'd of thought it was snowing outside!---we're pretty wimpy when it come to the cold here in Florida)

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Troy Morris is such a blessing. This young man moved to Daytona Beach this past summer from New Orleans to be a part of the ministry and to be discipled. He lives in the home of Pastor Scott and Robin Durrance and works a job during the week.

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I cant say enough by his heart for the Lord and his passion to reach the lost and dying for Jesus. As we say here, "There ain't no shame in his game" this young man is true blue for Christ and a formidable foe for the adversary as well.

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The guy that he was witnessing to in the third picture here was a drunken-belligerent backslider---but that did not deter Lil' Troy (as he is called here) from standing firm in his witness and constantly taking him "Back to the Word."

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Mehgan Croghan (age 16) is another precious jewel. (Here with her mom and little Troy). Never afraid to "mix it up" this young lady, is a regular fixture on our local and national outreach teams and a very willing servant of Jesus.

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With a generation of young people slipping deeper and deeper into the abyss of sin, compromise and spiritual destitution---young people like Troy and Meghan are bright lights that truly bring a ray of hope to the situation. We just need more young people to have their eyes opened to the truth so that they will get desperate for the spiritual condition of their generation.

The young man (24 years old) pointed out by the arrow is typical of the condition of so many today. He sat and talked for over an hour about his "relationship with God" and what God thought and expected--yet had never personally picked up and read a single scripture from the Bible. He had undoubtedly had someone--a grandmother, aunt or undecerning preacher tell him that he was okay at some point.

While admitting to selling dope and smoking pot and drinking--he was still confident that he was fine in his relationship with Jesus (once saved always saved???--yea right) Where is the holiness? Where is the fear of God? Until it is preached in our pulpits--it will never we seen or felt in our streets.

Happy New Year.