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Topic: God uses tracts. Do you?
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Jeremiah333
Advanced Member
Member # 7372
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posted
I put children's tracks in the bags with candy to give to trick or treaters that come to my door.
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JoAnne's Prayer Closet
Posts: 44 | From: USA | Registered: Sep 2008
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ECM
Advanced Member
Member # 7097
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posted
I couldn't agree more about the use of tracts. I have used them for years, mostly in paying bills and sometimes handing them out. I choose my tracts carefully and prayerfully and pray over each one before using it. I believe God's Word will do what he says. Once it leaves my hands, it's totally in his.
There is one thing that puzzles me, though. I think I will post it later on the question and answer board. What does Matthew 7:6 mean? Since I'll post it later on the other thread, I'm not going to elaborate here.
A couple of years ago when I was seeking something to do in the Lord's service, I got an urge to write the slavation message in an entertaining tale. At first I ignored the urge; but it kept resurfacing, and eventually it occurred to me that it might be the answer to my prayer. That's when I sat down and prayerfully began to write a book, "Hidden Passage," that was published last year and released in October.
I don't know what the Lord is going to do with it, but I believe he helped me write it and led me to the publisher. Everyone needs to hear the salvation message. Some people will read a novel who will not otherwise be exposed to God's plan of salvation. Books are more expensive than tracts but they often draw the reader into the message. And a book given or on loan to an unbeliever will likely open a door for witnessing.
The storyline of "Hidden Passage" (not to be confused with "The Hidden Passage")is right out of my imagination and the message line right out of the word of God. It somewhat reflects my interest in the elusive creature we call Bigfoot or Sasquatch as well as my faith in a very loving, powerful, marvelous God and Creator.
I'm trying to get it into our local libraries. It's my first book and so far has been a very interesting experience.
Esther Mesterton
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Smile, God loves you.
Posts: 22 | From: Monroe, WA | Registered: Mar 2008
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TheBibleSender
Advanced Member
Member # 7046
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posted
quote:
Originally posted by GrandmaPeg:
That's a great and comprehensive list of places to leave tracts. I found another one this last summer. When I'm parked at a red light, and there are those people running around the intersection trying to get money or give info. about their particular cause. I used to roll up the window & ignore them. Now I take their info., promise to look it over, and then hand them a packet of tracts right before I drive off. I've seen them in my rear-view mirror reading through these tracts with great fervor.
I also leave them on picnic benches at local parks where I walk my dogs, as well as tape them on the water fountains & porta-potties!
I've made up about a dozen of my own little tracts -- business card size, and laminated. I leave them on the Welcome Center at our church for people to pick up and they can also distribute them where they choose.
Those are great ideas. Keep up the good work. God bless. ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
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We need used bibles. PM me for more info
Posts: 79 | From: USA | Registered: Feb 2008
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GrandmaPeg
New Member
Member # 6950
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posted
That's a great and comprehensive list of places to leave tracts. I found another one this last summer. When I'm parked at a red light, and there are those people running around the intersection trying to get money or give info. about their particular cause. I used to roll up the window & ignore them. Now I take their info., promise to look it over, and then hand them a packet of tracts right before I drive off. I've seen them in my rear-view mirror reading through these tracts with great fervor.
I also leave them on picnic benches at local parks where I walk my dogs, as well as tape them on the water fountains & porta-potties!
I've made up about a dozen of my own little tracts -- business card size, and laminated. I leave them on the Welcome Center at our church for people to pick up and they can also distribute them where they choose.
Posts: 6 | From: Midwest | Registered: Dec 2007
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TheBibleSender
Advanced Member
Member # 7046
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posted
When was the last time a stranger
talked to you about Jesus?
If nobody ever tells YOU about Jesus, how often do you think the average person hears the Truth of the Word of God?
While most people claim some religious affiliation, the majority of people in America today have never been personally led to Christ and have the assurance of salvation. If this is the condition in America, can you imagine how it is in other countries?
The only knowledge of Christ that most people know, is what they have learned on TV or at the movies. However, those who need the message of Christ the most, NEVER go to church and will not listen to a TV or radio minister, so how can they ever hear the Truth, unless someone personally tells them?
Most born again Christians want to tell others about the change Jesus has made in their life, but find it difficult to talk personally with someone, especially a stranger. The real answer to world evangelism and church promotion is in the personal witness of every believer and the distribution of gospel tracts and literature.
If the average Christian would use Gospel tracts, they could convert more people to Christ in a month, than many pastors will, in years of preaching.
Isa 55:10. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: Isa 55:11. So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
If God cannot lie. Then he means that every time you spread his word he will honor your efforts and use them for a purpose. No matter how you do it as long as it is not illegal or disrespectful I know of alot of people that think that tracts are ineffective and just a waste of time. My hope is that after reading this if you are one of those people that you will change your mind and be encouraged to pass out tracts. .
Sowing the seed of the gospel.
A student at Jacksonville University in Florida was given a tract. The student crumpled the pamphlet up and tossed it into a trash bin in his dorm. Later, his dorm mate picked it out of the trash, read it, and was soundly saved. He is now a pastor of a church in Florida. “A Christian I met in a home group said his job was raking litter off the Avon River. It was dull, boring work and he often wondered what life was all about. One day he raked a soggy piece of paper off the water and decided it was interesting enough to keep, so he carefully placed it in his bag and took it home. That evening he dried the paper in front of a heater and carefully unfolded it, then he read it . . . it was a gospel tract. He became a Christian that evening.” Richard Gunther
Gospel tracts-how to use them. If Paul meant “by all means,” he no doubt would have used gospel tracts as a means to reach the lost. A Christian book relates the true story of a diver who saw a piece of paper clutched in the shell of an oyster. The man grabbed it, found that it was a gospel tract and said, “I can’t hold out any longer. His mercy is so great that He has caused His Word to follow me even to the bottom of the ocean.” God used a tract to save the man.
Why should a Christian use tracts? Simply because God uses them. He used a tract to save the great missionary Hudson Taylor, as well as innumerable others. That fact alone should be enough incentive for a Christian to always use tracts to reach the lost, but there are even more reasons why we should use them. Here are a few:
1 A tract is never embarrassed, timid nor fearful and isn't hurt by rejection.
2 It does not flinch and show cowardice when the Truth it conveys is not believed.
3 It never yields to the temptation to compromise the Truth of the gospel of Christ.
4 It speaks clearly and right to the point.
5 It never argues back when its message is disputed, and it always sticks to the Truth.
6 It glorifies only Jesus as the Holy Spirit reveals the Word of God to its readers.
7 It never gets tired and gives up.
8 It keeps on working while you are sleeping, even when you are unable to distribute it.
9 It is always ready to witness to its readers at any time and at any location.
10 It can get inside of a house and stay there, even in secret places where you cannot gain entrance, to be revealed at a chosen time.
11 It cost very little and travels inexpensively.
12 It travels by any mode or class and in all kinds of climate and weather conditions.
13 It requires no food, clothing or shelter.
14 It is easily carried in a pocket or purse and between the pages of a book.
15 It can be used by anyone, any age, deaf, mute, crippled or even in a wheelchair.
16 It can be used by either the intellectual or the uneducated, because no speaking skills are needed to convey its message.
17 It conveys a message that is not ever lost, like a sermon, and can be read over and over again, long after you are gone and forgotten
18. It always catches a person in the right mood, because the Holy Spirit will always speak to the heart as the Word is being read.
19 It needs no translator, when it is in the language of the reader, as the Holy Spirit reveals His Word instantly to the reader. It may be read by scores of people before God is finished with its purpose.
20 You can do a great work for God and lead many people to the knowledge of Christ.
Dr. Oswald J. Smith said, “The only way to carry out the Great Commission will be by the means of the printed page.” Charles Spurgeon stated, “When preaching and private talk are not available, you need to have a tract ready . . . Get good striking tracts, or none at all. But a touching gospel tract may be the seed of eternal life. Therefore, do not go out without your tracts.” If you want people to accept your literature, try to greet them before offering them a tract. If you can get them to respond to a warm “Good morning,” or “How are you doing?” that will almost always break the ice and they will take it. After the greeting, don’t ask, “Would you like this ?” They will probably respond, “What is it?” Instead, say, “Did you get one of these?” That question has a twofold effect. You stir their curiosity and make them ask, “One of what?” That’s when you hand it to them. It also makes them feel as though they are missing out on something. So they are.
Perhaps you almost pass out at the thought of passing out a tract. Don’t worry; you are not alone. We all battle fear. The answer to fear is found in the prayer closet. Ask God to give you a compassion that will swallow your fears. Meditate on the fate of the ungodly. Give hell some deep thought. Confront what it is that makes you fearful. Do you like roller coasters? Some Christians want to try bungee-jumping or sky diving. Isn’t it strange? We are prepared to risk our lives for the love of fear-and yet we are willing to let a sinner go to hell for fear of giving out a tract. Ask yourself how many piles of bloodied stones you can find where Christians have been stoned to death for preaching the gospel. How much singed soil can you find where they have been burned at the stake? Part of our fear is a fear of rejection. We are fearful of looking foolish. That’s a subtle form of pride. The other part of our battle with fear comes directly from the enemy. He knows that fear paralyzes. We must resist the devil and his lies. If God is with us, nothing can be against us.
Never underestimate the power of a gospel tract. After George Whitefield read one called “The Life of God in the Soul of a Man,” he said, “God showed me I must be born again or be damned.” He went on to pray, “Lord, if I am not a Christian, or if I am not a real one, for Jesus Christ’s sake show me what Christianity is, that I may not be damned at last!” Then his journal tells us “from that moment . .. . did I know that I must become a new creature.”
If you have never given out tracts, why not begin today? Leave them in a shopping cart, or put them in the mail when you pay bills. Then each night as you shut your eyes to go to sleep, you will have something very special to pray about-that God will use the tract you put somewhere. You will also have a deep sense of satisfaction that you played a small part in carrying out the Great Commission to reach this dying world with the gospel of everlasting life. Don’t waste your life. Do something for the kingdom of God while you are able to. Always remember: treat every day as though it were your last-one day you will be right.
Charles Spurgeon on Tracts:
“I well remember distributing them in a town in England where tracts had never been distributed before, and going from house to house, and telling in humble language the things of the kingdom of God. I might have done nothing, if I had not been encouraged by finding myself able to do something...[Tracts are] adapted to those persons who have but little power and little ability, but nevertheless, wish to do something for Christ. They have not the tongue of the eloquent, but they may have the hand of the diligent. They cannot stand and preach, but they can stand and distribute here and there these silent preachers . . . They may buy their thousand tracts, and these they can distribute broadcast.
“I look upon the giving away of a religious tract as only the first step for action not to be compared with many another deed done for Christ; but were it not for the first step we might never reach to the second, but that first attained, we are encouraged to take another, and so at the last . . . There is a real service of Christ in the distribution of the gospel in its printed form, a service the result of which heaven alone shall disclose, and the judgment day alone discover. How many thousands have been carried to heaven instrumentally upon the wings of these tracts, none can tell. “I might say, if it were right to quote such a Scripture, ‘The leaves were for the healing of the nations’-verily they are so. Scattered where the whole tree could scarcely be carried, the very leaves have had a medicinal and a healing virtue in them and the real word of truth, the simple statement of a Savior crucified and of a sinner who shall be saved by simply trusting in the Savior, has been greatly blessed, and many thousand souls have been led into the kingdom of heaven by this simple means. Let each one of us, if we have done nothing for Christ, begin to do something
now. The distribution of tracts is the first thing.”
If you want people to accept your tract from you, don't say, "Would you like this?" They will probably say, "What is it?" and then you're in trouble. Instead, say, "Did you get one of these?" That question has a two-fold effect. You stir up curiosity and make them ask "One of what?" That's when you pass it to them. That phrase also makes them feel as though they are missing out on something. And so they are.
Perhaps your whole life seems to pass before your eyes at the thought of giving someone a tract. Don't worry-you are not alone. We all battle fear. The answer to fear is found in the prayer closet. Ask God to give you a compassion that will swallow your fears. Meditate on the fate of the ungodly. Give Hell some deep thought. Confront what it is that you are so fearful of.
Do you like roller coasters? Some Christians want to try bungie-jumping or sky diving. Isn't it strange? We are prepared to risk our lives for the love of fear...and yet we are willing to let a sinner go to Hell for the fear of giving out a tract. Ask yourself how many piles of bloodied stones you can find where Christians have been stoned to death for preaching the gospel. How much singed soil can you find where they have been burned at the stake. Shame on us. We have a fear of rejection. We are fearful of looking foolish. That's a subtle form of pride. That sort of fear isn't from God. He hasn't given us the spirit of fear. If we listen to the lies of the devil rather than the Word of God, it shows we prefer to have faith in the devil rather than in our faithful Creator. What a terrible thought! Faith in His "precious promises" will lift us above the fear that so easily paralyzes us. If God is with us, nothing can be against us.
If you have never given out tracts, leave them in a shopping cart, or put them in the mail when you pay bills. Why not begin today? Then each night as you shut your eyes to go to sleep, you will have something very special to pray about...that God will use the tract you put somewhere. You will also have a deep sense of satisfaction, that you played a small part in carrying out the Great Commission...to reach this dying world with the gospel of everlasting life. Don't waste your life. Do something for the Kingdom of God while you are able to. Finally, always remember-treat every day as though it were your last...one day you will be right, so do something for God while you are able.
Just a few Ideas on where to put tracts
At pay phones
In shopping carts
In clothes pockets in stores
In letters to loved ones
With a generous tip even if the service wasn't the best.
On seats in restaurant lobbies
With fast-food employees, cashiers,flight attendants, cab drivers, and gas station workers.
In restrooms
At rest areas
In diaper changiong stations
On ATM machines and bank counters
In envelopes with bill payments. Please make sure the bill is on time
In elevators
On hotel dressers for the maid and in the dressers
On ice machines
On newspaper racks
In waiting rooms of doctors’ offices and hospitals
On seats at airports, subways, and bus stations
In plane seat pockets
Inside magazines
In cabs
In laundromats
At truckstops in the lounge
In canisters at the drive-up tellerand in night deposit box
In the postage paid reply envelopes you get with Junk mail
Mail tracts to families that have just lost loved ones look through your papers obituaries. You can also mailthem to people convicted of DUI or other crimes
Put some in a plastic brochure holder by your door to give to anyone who comes to your door, and as a reminder to bring some with you when you leave the house.
In open car windows
To people you see waitng in their cars at parking lots.
At libraries in books, magazines etc.
If you rent videos put one in the movie you are returning.
Leave them on video games in the arcade
Basically anywhere you go. Just pray that God will prepare peoples heart and open doors before you leave for the day and trust God to do the rest. Remeber it is God who does the saving not us. We are merely planters and waterers.
If God is speaking to you about your lack of evangelistic concern, pray something like this now:
Father, please forgive me for my lack of love for this dying world. From this day forward I
will strive to be a “true and faithful witness.” Please give me the wisdom to know what to
say to reach the lost. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
I hope that this will encourage some if not all to consider tracts. May God bless you.
Intersted try
http://www.fellowshiptractleague.org (Free)
http://www.pfbaptistpress.org/ (Free)
http://www.libertygospeltracts.com (Free)
http://www.shadowofthesteeple.com (Free)
http://www.readcarryshare.org (Free gospels of John)
http://www.livingwaters.com
http://www.customtractsource.com
http://www.chick.com
http://www.av1611.org
http://www.sowersofseed.com
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We need used bibles. PM me for more info
Posts: 79 | From: USA | Registered: Feb 2008
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