Post by iamnobody on Mar 2, 2024 15:05:47 GMT -6
Jim's Story
Jim grew up in a city but he never liked it. Everything always felt “off” to him. To him people seemed like they were enslaved to the government. He had always heard that this was “America, the land of the free” but no matter which way he looked, he didn't see much freedom. His parents, nor anyone else could show him where the freedom was.
As a young adult of age 18, he quickly got a job at the city's big box retailer's food warehouse, working 4 days a week. He worked Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday from 4PM to 2AM since he was the “new guy” and got the shift other people didn't want. But he was single and didn't mind working the evenings when most people were out having fun and meeting each other. And the fact the warehouse had him working 40 hrs a week instead of 20 some hrs at a part time job like other places and were paying $35 an hour as a starting wage; he didn't complain. He had rented a small house in the less desirable part of the town. A 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom with an open living room / kitchen layout. His car was 15 years old, had some dents but it still ran good, so considering he wasn't out to impress people, it worked for getting him to and from work.
Since he wasn't out partying on Friday and Saturday nights, he was quickly building up a savings account. He would jog the streets in the mornings before work. One Sunday morning as he was out jogging, he saw several people standing around listening to a man on a street corner. As he got closer, he could hear the man reading from a bible, he stopped to listen. People slowly left and soon it was just Jim and the man standing there looking at each other. Jim had went to church with his parents when he was younger. They faithfully attended church twice a year on Christmas and Easter, he had watched as his parents threw a $20 in to the collection plate as it was passed.
This man looked nothing like the preachers he had seen and he was saying things that he had never heard from other preachers. The preachers he was used to had been wearing expensive silk suits, fancy leather shoes, had diamond rings and gold chains and drove expensive cars. This man was dressed in faded jeans, an old shirt and his shoes were old but serviceable sneakers from the big box store. When the man had read from the bible, he had said what book and chapter it was from and he had talked about the sin in the world and how people needed to repent of their sins and accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour. All Jim had heard in the churches was how everyone was okay and going to heaven, just throw a few more dollars into the collection plate and they never said what book or chapter during the few times they read from the bible. And this man didn't even have a gold plated collection plate, just his ball cap laying on the ground holding a couple of crumpled up $1 bills and a few quarters.
Jim was starting to walk away too but he couldn't, it was like he was suddenly super glued to the sidewalk. The street preacher was looking at him and smiled saying “it looks like the Holy Spirit is nudging you.” Jim said that he felt an urge to talk to the street preacher, could he buy him lunch. The man agreed and said his name was Li and Jim said his name. They entered a diner across the street and got a booth in the back away from the crowd of people. Jim asked where he was from and what brought him to the US. Li said he was from China and was part of the Christian underground church there. The Christians there had seen the lack of God's word here in the US and had sent him to evangelize the many lost people here since the so called preachers were not doing so. He had been smuggled out of China and to the US over several weeks. He was now street preaching here to give God's word to the needy people. They talked for 2 hrs while eating their meals. Then Jim said he had to go get ready for work. He asked if he could see the preacher again. Li said he would be around the neighborhood, preaching on the street corner next Sunday again. Jim said he would look for him and headed off to work.
Over the next week Jim kept thinking about his meeting with Li and the fact that the Christians in China had felt the need to sent evangelists to the US, the supposed Christian light to the world. But even as a young man, Jim could already feel the evil in this country. It was spreading and becoming more visible all the time. Sunday morning as soon as he got up, he showered, ate breakfast and headed out to try to find Li again. He jogged around the area until he finally found Li. Again a small group of people around him that soon left and went about their business, soon forgetting the lowly street preacher they had heard on the street corner.
Jim told Li he had a hard time finding him. Li said that he had to keep moving around because of the police, they told him to move along or get arrested. Some of the police wanted money from him to be able to stay longer, others just plain hated his preaching of God's word and threatened to do him bodily harm. Again Jim took Li to the diner where they again talked for hours. Jim told him he had he had never been exposed to things Li was saying was in the bible. Li sadly said that is why he had been sent to the US. Most preachers here were only in it for the money and prestige. They were hirelings tickling the people's ears with things they wanted to hear. There was a real famine of God's word in the US. Jim said he didn't even have a bible. Li reached in his backpack and pulled out a KJV bible and told Jim it was now his, to read it every day. Jim asked “didn't a person need trained in a college seminary to be able to understand the bible?” Li said “no, that was a lie from the devil and the fake preacher hirelings to keep people from learning of God.” Jim had to go to work again.
Jim met Li on Sunday morning. He noticed right away Li had a black eye. Li said that a policeman had given it to him because Li didn't move fast enough leaving the street corner. But he was praising God for the policeman not throwing him in jail, Li could have been deported then. Jim said that the cop still beat him for being a Christian. Li laughed and said that in China, being beaten for their faith was a common thing. That Christians were often beaten, jailed or killed. He said that here in the US, so called Christians say they are being persecuted for their Christian faith because someone slammed a door in their face. Li said that there is coming a time in the US that Christians will be truly persecuted and killed. The real Christians would be fined, beaten, homes confiscated, jailed and killed while the people in the churches claiming to be christians would be laughing and thinking they were doing God's work by killing the real Christians. Li showed Jim the bible verse to prove it. ( John 16:2 KJV They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.)
Over the weeks, Jim was spending more time and days with Li. Talking, discussing the bible and Jim was giving some money to him to help out with food. This went on for 14 months. Jim realized he was a sinner in need of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. He accepted Jesus as his Saviour and Li baptized him in the city lake where there was enough water to immerse him. After that, Jim dried off and changed clothes. They went to the diner they usually ate at. When they went to place their order, there was a new waitress.
Jim grew up in a city but he never liked it. Everything always felt “off” to him. To him people seemed like they were enslaved to the government. He had always heard that this was “America, the land of the free” but no matter which way he looked, he didn't see much freedom. His parents, nor anyone else could show him where the freedom was.
As a young adult of age 18, he quickly got a job at the city's big box retailer's food warehouse, working 4 days a week. He worked Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday from 4PM to 2AM since he was the “new guy” and got the shift other people didn't want. But he was single and didn't mind working the evenings when most people were out having fun and meeting each other. And the fact the warehouse had him working 40 hrs a week instead of 20 some hrs at a part time job like other places and were paying $35 an hour as a starting wage; he didn't complain. He had rented a small house in the less desirable part of the town. A 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom with an open living room / kitchen layout. His car was 15 years old, had some dents but it still ran good, so considering he wasn't out to impress people, it worked for getting him to and from work.
Since he wasn't out partying on Friday and Saturday nights, he was quickly building up a savings account. He would jog the streets in the mornings before work. One Sunday morning as he was out jogging, he saw several people standing around listening to a man on a street corner. As he got closer, he could hear the man reading from a bible, he stopped to listen. People slowly left and soon it was just Jim and the man standing there looking at each other. Jim had went to church with his parents when he was younger. They faithfully attended church twice a year on Christmas and Easter, he had watched as his parents threw a $20 in to the collection plate as it was passed.
This man looked nothing like the preachers he had seen and he was saying things that he had never heard from other preachers. The preachers he was used to had been wearing expensive silk suits, fancy leather shoes, had diamond rings and gold chains and drove expensive cars. This man was dressed in faded jeans, an old shirt and his shoes were old but serviceable sneakers from the big box store. When the man had read from the bible, he had said what book and chapter it was from and he had talked about the sin in the world and how people needed to repent of their sins and accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour. All Jim had heard in the churches was how everyone was okay and going to heaven, just throw a few more dollars into the collection plate and they never said what book or chapter during the few times they read from the bible. And this man didn't even have a gold plated collection plate, just his ball cap laying on the ground holding a couple of crumpled up $1 bills and a few quarters.
Jim was starting to walk away too but he couldn't, it was like he was suddenly super glued to the sidewalk. The street preacher was looking at him and smiled saying “it looks like the Holy Spirit is nudging you.” Jim said that he felt an urge to talk to the street preacher, could he buy him lunch. The man agreed and said his name was Li and Jim said his name. They entered a diner across the street and got a booth in the back away from the crowd of people. Jim asked where he was from and what brought him to the US. Li said he was from China and was part of the Christian underground church there. The Christians there had seen the lack of God's word here in the US and had sent him to evangelize the many lost people here since the so called preachers were not doing so. He had been smuggled out of China and to the US over several weeks. He was now street preaching here to give God's word to the needy people. They talked for 2 hrs while eating their meals. Then Jim said he had to go get ready for work. He asked if he could see the preacher again. Li said he would be around the neighborhood, preaching on the street corner next Sunday again. Jim said he would look for him and headed off to work.
Over the next week Jim kept thinking about his meeting with Li and the fact that the Christians in China had felt the need to sent evangelists to the US, the supposed Christian light to the world. But even as a young man, Jim could already feel the evil in this country. It was spreading and becoming more visible all the time. Sunday morning as soon as he got up, he showered, ate breakfast and headed out to try to find Li again. He jogged around the area until he finally found Li. Again a small group of people around him that soon left and went about their business, soon forgetting the lowly street preacher they had heard on the street corner.
Jim told Li he had a hard time finding him. Li said that he had to keep moving around because of the police, they told him to move along or get arrested. Some of the police wanted money from him to be able to stay longer, others just plain hated his preaching of God's word and threatened to do him bodily harm. Again Jim took Li to the diner where they again talked for hours. Jim told him he had he had never been exposed to things Li was saying was in the bible. Li sadly said that is why he had been sent to the US. Most preachers here were only in it for the money and prestige. They were hirelings tickling the people's ears with things they wanted to hear. There was a real famine of God's word in the US. Jim said he didn't even have a bible. Li reached in his backpack and pulled out a KJV bible and told Jim it was now his, to read it every day. Jim asked “didn't a person need trained in a college seminary to be able to understand the bible?” Li said “no, that was a lie from the devil and the fake preacher hirelings to keep people from learning of God.” Jim had to go to work again.
Jim met Li on Sunday morning. He noticed right away Li had a black eye. Li said that a policeman had given it to him because Li didn't move fast enough leaving the street corner. But he was praising God for the policeman not throwing him in jail, Li could have been deported then. Jim said that the cop still beat him for being a Christian. Li laughed and said that in China, being beaten for their faith was a common thing. That Christians were often beaten, jailed or killed. He said that here in the US, so called Christians say they are being persecuted for their Christian faith because someone slammed a door in their face. Li said that there is coming a time in the US that Christians will be truly persecuted and killed. The real Christians would be fined, beaten, homes confiscated, jailed and killed while the people in the churches claiming to be christians would be laughing and thinking they were doing God's work by killing the real Christians. Li showed Jim the bible verse to prove it. ( John 16:2 KJV They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.)
Over the weeks, Jim was spending more time and days with Li. Talking, discussing the bible and Jim was giving some money to him to help out with food. This went on for 14 months. Jim realized he was a sinner in need of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. He accepted Jesus as his Saviour and Li baptized him in the city lake where there was enough water to immerse him. After that, Jim dried off and changed clothes. They went to the diner they usually ate at. When they went to place their order, there was a new waitress.