I started handing out tracts last night at the local shopping plaza. We picked this plaza because of the large number of kids that hang out around there on Friday nights. Recently the movie theater in the plaza closed, that in addition to a huge increase in police patrolling had greatly reduced the number of kids this Friday evening. I had just started handing out tracts when I noticed a young lady about 16 years old by herself, dressed in Goth. She seemed to be waiting or looking for someone. I walked up and held out a Million Dollar Bill tract (MDB) to her and asked, "Did you get one of these". She did not move; no smile just a blank glare. She didn’t even as so much to lift a finger towards the tract and replied, "No, I don’t want one." I smiled and said okay and walked away to find softer ground.
There weren't many people out, so I walked the length of the shopping plaza and turned around to retrace my steps. The young lady I had just passed was still standing where I had greeted her. I walked in front of her, made eye contact and smiled as I walked past. All I got was a glare. I walked to the opposite side continuing to hand out tracts and then turned around to go back once again. This time as I approached the area where the girl had been, there were five others with her, all dressed in Goth. Their ages ranged from around 12 to 16 years old. Two other girls and three boys. They were running my way, but were on their way past in a hurry to do something.
I recognized one of the boys as Douglas; he goes by “Runt ". Stacy and I met him last Friday night while handing out tracts. Our conversation with Runt had been cut short by a distraught lady who pulled up in a car and called him away to talk with him. We later found out she was looking for her runaway daughter. As the youths were passing by I stuck out my hand and gave them some MBD tracts. They grabbed them saying things like, "Wow!” and “ Cool!" The young lady I had originally tried to give one to still didn’t even want to look at it and refused again to take one in her hand even though the rest of her friends had. Just as I had placed one of the tracts in the hand of another girl about 14 years old she shrieked and yelled "It is of God!" and promptly shoved it back in my hand. I was taken aback by her reaction and as they continued quickly past me I thought that they might be into what seems to be commonly practiced by the youth in the area- Wicca. 
(The practice of witchcraft or Satanism, or both.) I continued on, thinking I would like to get a chance to talk to them some more, when my witnessing partner Stacy, called to tell me that she had arrived. When I realized that Stacy was standing near the group of kids I said, "Hold them, I will be right over." But, by the time I got there they had moved on and it became obvious they weren't going to have anything to do with us. I looked to see that Stacy was wearing a red wrist band like me. I told her that since we had come out into our "hood" it was good we were wearing our colors. We started handing out tracts to passersby and seemed to be getting a lot of rejection. Stacy said "I don't know what’s going on? I’ve never seen anyone not willing at least to look at a million dollar bill before, there seems to be a lot of opposition to the gospel here."I agreed and we prayed right there for God to come and soften the hearts of the people around us and against anything that was not from Him. We then noticed a lady standing near us and when we looked toward her she smiled as she saw us praying. Stacy said, "Let's go talk with her." We gave her a MDB and she took it in her hand. I said " It's a gospel tract, it has a million dollar question on it," She said "What’s that?" I said, "Will you go to heaven when you die." She smiled and said, "Absolutely".
As politely as I could, with a smile asked "Why is that?" She immediately replied she was saved and baptized at the age of six. Stacy said, “That is great.” Then asked where she went to church. She said she was regularly attending ‘a church’. I asked her name and Stacy noticed the many tattoos on this lady. Not being critical, but trying to relate to her, Stacy told her that she like some of her tats. At the same time I noticed the group of kids headed back our way. I said " I sure would like a chance to talk to those kids." The lady said, "Oh those are my kids." I asked, "All of them?" She said, “No just one, but the rest of them are at my house all the time, they might as well live there." I told her of their reaction when I tried to give them a tract and her reply was, "Oh yeah, kids will be kids- they are practicing Wiccans you know." I was not really surprised, just very sad. Just as she said that to us, a car pulled up and she said, “There’s my ride, got to go.” In an instant she was gone. The group of kids that were headed our way spotted us and made a detour going behind the shopping plaza. Stacy noticed that they were avoiding us and that they were going to come back through at the other end by the closed theater. We decide to position ourselves to intercept them. We found a good place to meet up with them again and started handing out tracts. We got involved in a conversation with someone, when they came right to the place we were standing and quickly went into a shop. I thought ‘man they’re fast I missed them again but now I have them! I'll just wait till they come out’. It was then that another young man named Luke walked up. He was about 14 years old. He was trying to catch-up with the Wiccans but had not met up with them yet, so he was still unaware that they were avoiding me. I gave him a MBD and it got his attention. I cut right to the chase. I asked him if he were to die today would he go to Heaven or Hell. He said Hell. As Stacy and I were speaking to him about his eternal destiny, Luke's friends came out. The girl who had shrieked when I tried to give her a gospel tract earlier came up to Luke and tried to drag him away. I looked at her and now she seemed very agitated. I said, “We are discussing with Luke his eternal destination, about the reality of Heaven and Hell and that these are very real places that we are going to spend eternity in- one or the other!” At this her appearance changed a lot.
Her eyes got really big and she began rapidly glancing from side to side. She got behind Luke while looking at Stacy and me and put her arms around him, as if to drag him away from us. She now looked like a rabid dog and was showing her teeth and began to snarl at us! She leaned forward, kissing Luke and said, “We are taking him to Hell with us." At that I said that Hell was a very real place and was to be taken very seriously and told her that God doesn’t want anyone to go there. She and the rest of her friends left right away, leaving Luke behind. I don’t think they wanted to hear about the things of God and I know God was with us! That’s why they left us alone with Luke, so we could speak to him some more about Jesus and our eternal destination. I asked Luke if he had ever gone to church or if he has ever heard the Gospel of Jesus. He said he had gone to church and that tonight wasn’t the first time someone had told him about Jesus. We told Luke of the need not only to believe in Jesus but to put on the Salvation of Jesus by turning away from sin and living for Him. That even Satan and the demons believe in God but that the only way to heaven is through Jesus. We warned him about hardening his heart to Jesus and to stay away from witchcraft and the practice of magic and Satan worship. He said he was not ready to give his life to Jesus. I gave him some more in depth Biblical reading materials like The 4 Spiritual Laws. Stacy and I encouraged Luke to think very seriously think about what we told him. We told him that when he laid his head down to sleep for the night he should pray that God will reveal Himself to him. My point is that we are in a very real battle for the salvation of the lost. We who are saved- who know the truth and are Gods chosen need to stop cowering in our fox holes. We are at war! The truth is we are surrounded by the enemy, what are we going to do? Are we going to wait for the inevitable attack come to us? Or are we going to jump out of our fox hole, get up off our pews and charge! We cannot lose. Jesus has won! As I read recently, we need to take up the battle cry "No guts, No glory!" and charge! I have determined that it is appointed for man once to die then the Judgment. (Hebrews 9:27)
Well, when I go I won't be hiding in my safe place. I want to go out in a BLAZE OF HIS GLORY!
Jeff
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