Thursday, December 21, 2006

A Christmas to Remember

What is Christmas? This is a question that has been asked by many over the years. Some people will answer the question with things like: "Presents", "stockings", or even "leaving the cookies and milk for santa." All of these things are fine and dandy. Even I find myself opening gifts and stockings with the utmost of glee on Christmas morning. But is that what Christmas is about? Is it about who has the biggest and best gift? Or maybe beating your neighbhor in the annual Christmas-light competition, and being proud of the fact that you completed your shopping list before Thanksgiving. Perhaps it's setting the tree and decorations up before the Thanksgiving football game has even ended. Perhaps. Still more people will say that this season is all about what is called the "Christmas spirit"; evidently the good feeling people get inside once a year. It's a sudden urge to give to the poor, or be extra freindly to the teller at the bank. This "Christmas spirit" goes deeper for some. It is the very essence of Christmas. It is trimming the tree with your family, Bing Crosby's voice wafting in the background. It is baking sugar cookies with your mother, and having a good laugh over the flour on your nose. It is sharing a mug of cider with your father over an open fire. It is singing Christmas carols with friends as well as strangers. Is this "Christmas spirit" what this season is all about? Most people will answer that yes, it is. This spirit and feeling is a great thing, and makes Christmas all that much better. But the question still remains: Is this Christmas? Is this why we go to all the trouble of gifts and trees and hams every year? Perhaps there is an even deeper meaning behind this holiday? Perhaps.

A handful of people will say that this day is about a baby born more than 2000 years ago. Is this the answer? An infant born in a stable? Perhaps this is the true meaning behind Christmas. The infant, Jesus Christ, was born of a virgin, and sent from God. The holiday we call "Christmas" is celebrating his birth. But why? Why is this birth so special? Well, Jesus was, and is, a King. A king, you say? How so? How could this baby, born in a barn among the animals, be a King? He is not only a King; He is God. God the Father sent Him to be born, and to live, and to die. Not just die. He died for us. Every single one of us. And that's still not the end of it. He is alive today. He came out of the tomb, and arose to heaven; to His rightful place. When we celebrate His birth this season, we need to not only think of His birth, but of His death for us. When people say that Christmas is all about the gifts, they are right. God gave every single one of us the greatest gift anyone could ever give. Eternal life. How does a Wii or an Ipod match up to that? Not even close. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." I am a sinner. You are a sinner. But God has given us that gift. That is the true meaning of Christmas. Have a great Christmas and New Year in the Lord.

God bless!

Brooklin Nash
"Go tell it on the moutain, over the hills and everywhere. Go tell it on the moutain, that Jesus Christ is born."

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Thanksgiving to God

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I pray that everyone will remember what this day is all about...no, not the food. Turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pies are all wonderful, and we are most definately grateful, but we need to be grateful to God for our lives, and what we have. I was reminded about one aspect of Thanksgiving that most (including me) don't think about. A friend of mine gave a speech on the Pilgrims in Thanksgiving...and she compared us to the Pilgrims. Sure, we don't have wooden shoes or black pointy hats, but we are pilgrims all the same. We are called to be Pilgrims for the Lord. (Or, in other words, be a witness to the fallen in this world.) As my friend put it: When you think of the Pilgrims this Thanksgiving, don't forget to look in the mirror.

On a more "thanksgiving-ey" note, I am grateful and thankful for my family, their health, the friends God has blessed me with, the schooling oppurtunity I have down here in Southern California, the freedom we have in this country to worship the Lord and pray to Him, and most of all, my salvation. I am a worthless sinner, but God has saved me. That is the best gift anyone can recieve.

God bless, and have a wonderful thanksgiving! (And give thanks!)

In Christ,

Brooklin Nash

Monday, November 06, 2006

Halloween Night


A group from my church went out to Topanga Mall tuesday night. (Halloween.) The main purpose was to get out as much literature and video's as we could, most of them pertaining directly to Halloween issues. For some reason, I'm not a fan of handing out tracts. Don't get me wrong, tracts are wondeful tools if you're in a hurry, if they're in a hurry, or if you just want to leave them places. (For example, I was at Six Flags recently, and left tracts on tables, garbage cans, bathrooms, counters, etc.) But I don't like going up to someone, handing them a tract, and leaving it at that. If you have the chance, you should talk to the person. It makes it so much more personal, and sticks with them. The first conversation I had that night, with Jeremy, was probably the must fruitfull. To tell the truth, I was feeling pretty downcast that night. I didn't really feel like being there at all. My church was having a Harvest Party, and I wanted to be there instead. Man, the enemy will get in any way he can, huh? Finally I just stopped to pray for strength and direction, and it got better from there. The first place I stopped was at a vendor's booth in the middle of the mall. I started with some trivia questions, rewarding right answers with M&M's. Works great. (Especially on Halloween. =) After winning to candies, Jeremy asked what this was all about. That opened a wide door. I asked him if he wanted to take another test, a different one called the "Good Person". He accepted. I took him through the law, and he was very open. He said that he has come to realize that there is a God, and that whoever He is, that God loves him. He had been looking into it for the last couple months. What a start to a conversation! He had a lot of questions about the deity of Christ, hell, heaven, and creation. This made me realize how much more I need to study! There's so much I don't know. But I think it was good for me. One problem he had with the Word is the idea of a hell. How do we know there is one? I showed him. About then he got off work, so I left him with a tract and my email address. Be praying for him. He's really close.

After that I met up with my group, and we decided to head over to Northridge Mall, thinking there would be more of a crowd. When we got there, the mall was already closed, but there was a haunted house, climbing wall, etc. set up outside, so we stuck out there. I teamed up with Dorothy, a young woman from my church. She said she was feeling the same as I was at the beginning of the night; not really feeling led. We decided to press on anyway. The first guys we talked to thought it was one big joke, and didn't really care about wether they were going to hell or heaven. (All he cared about was the candy that I gave him for the trivia questions.) He said he was an agnostic, and wouldn't accept anything we said, saying it was "unknowable". No matter what we said, he wouldn't put up with it. Be praying for him as well.

Right after that, we saw a group of teens, apparently waiting for a ride. Now, teen groups are my favorite to talk to for a couple reasons:
1) I'm a teen, and can relate better.
2) Because it's a group, it's not as intense as one to one.
3 ) Because of those two reasons, it's a more open atmosphere.
Again, I started with the candy/trivia. You get tired, bored teens, and give them candy, and you've got a good start. Then I gave them the Good Person Test. Most of them said that they were not good people. There was one that held out though. I focused on him. As I took them through the commandments, they became more and more serious. They seemed convinced enough, so I shared the good news. They were very receptive. Their ride came after that, so I left them all with tracts. Dorothy and I made our way back to the haunted house area, where the rest of our group had been talking. The crowd had left for the most part, but there were a few stragglers left. We're called to witness to all people, so we talked to the stragglers. Overall, it was a great night, and God definately had His hand in it. That night showed me how much I need to learn about God's Word, and encouraged me to do so. What I learned is that if you don't know the answer to something, say so, and tell them that you'll find out. Usually they'll accept that. God bless, and stay in the Word!

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Getting Started


Well, I've finally got a blog up and running! (And even then I don't have anything on it. =) This is (Lord willing) going to be a blog about my personal expieriences when witnessing. (And stories other's have told me.) I first started witnessing around this time last year with a group from my church. Sharing the good news is one of the most rewarding and exhilarating expieriences of being a follower of Christ. ("For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes" Rom. 1:16) I would still call myself inexpierienced, but we are all a work in progress, and the Lord is shaping me into what He wants me to be. There are some (ok, more than some) negative encounters on the street, but that only strengthens your knowledge of God's Word and your relationship with Christ. I don't know how often I'll be posting, but I'll do it as often as I have a chance to! This blog is not to glorify what I do, (that is, what little I do. =), but to glorify Christ, and hopefully be able to encourge fellow believers. God bless, and stay in the Word!