Three Minutes to Live and a New Birth

I have been so very blessed to serve as a "street fisherman," on Way of the Master Radio. Each week, I am allowed to serve Christ and share His gospel, by convincing people to get on the phone with Ray Comfort, Kirk Cameron, and Todd Friel. After the phone conversations, I have the opportunity to affirm that which Ray, Kirk, or Todd said to the person, during follow-up conversations.

I can say with all sincerity that today's "street fishing" opportunity was, to date, the most amazing. I was allowed to watch God work in an extraordinary way.

As so often happens, I had about a minute until I was due to go on-air, and I had yet to find someone to put on the phone. I had received a few rejections (even after offering people a free lunch at "In-n-Out Burger"), and the traffic at the mall was light. Then, I saw a young man walking toward me.

I introduced myself to Israel and assured him that I didn't want to sell him anything. I told Israel that I was with WOTM Radio and I was looking for someone to put on the radio to talk about the spiritual ramifications of the massacre, at Virginia Tech University. Israel told me that he was a Christian. When I asked him if he considered himself to be a good person, his answer took me by surprise.

When I ask the "good person" question, I usually receive one of two answers. The person will either proclaim their own goodness (usually an unsaved person), or they will say that they are not a good person, explaining that they have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior (usually a saved person). Israel's answer, however, was different. He said, "Well, if God judges me based on the Ten Commandments, I think I'm going to hell."

We walked outside the mall and sat down on a bench. While I waited for my segment of the show to start, I learned that Israel is a 2-year veteran with the Los Angeles County Police Department. (The Los Angeles County Police Department has jurisdiction over all of the county parks and hospitals.) At this point, I recognized that Todd and Ray were eavesdropping on our conversation, so I gave my phone to Israel.

Ray talked to Israel for a few minutes. You can listen to their conversation, here.

Once Israel was off the phone, I still wasn't sure about his spiritual condition. So, I took him through the Law and the gospel. The turning point in the conversation was when I put Israel in a hypothetical situation. In the scenario, the two of us were patrol car partners. We stopped a vehicle and shots rang out.

In order to find out what happened next, you will just have to listen for yourself.

What God did next was, well, amazing.