Apple of His Eye – DC

It was a grey overcast day, but people were out on the Mall taking advantage of the relative warmth for this time of year.  I distributed 600 fliers.  Among the people who stopped to talk were two atheists.  One had been convinced by philosophy and the other by science not to believe in God.  The one who had been persuaded by philosophy said that the question “What do YOU think of Jesus?” is important for everyone to think about and to answer for themselves. He agreed that in today’s society a lot of people never consider the question and that bringing it to their attention is important.  I encouraged him to continue to explore the question himself.  Please pray that the Holy Spirit will open his eyes to the one who is THE TRUTH  (absolute) as he seeks his own understanding of his own (subjective) truth.

A lady who took a flier looked back, smiled, and held out her necklace so I would be sure to see the cross and the Star of David.  Two other believers thanked me for what I was doing.

I always appreciate encouragement, and in this time of Thanksgiving and Advent anticipation of Yeshua’s coming it is much appreciated.  Many good and worthy causes are competing for your support at this time. I don’t do this often, so I am asking for your patience as you prayerfully consider the following supports:

First of all I ask for your prayers.  Prayer is always “the winning shot”.  Please pray for those who accept our fliers that they will be drawn by the Holy Spirit (It’s not by my powers of persuasion and never has been) to Yeshua.  Next please pray for the ones that do not accept fliers.  Many of them are believers and I appreciate that they do not take them so that I will have more for the unbelievers, but many do not believe, or have put the Lord on the ‘back burner’ in their lives.  Please pray that the Lord will surround them with a cloud of witnesses and not give up on them until they draw their final breath.

Also pray for workers in the field. Pray that believers who have, or have never considered sharing their faith with friends, coworkers, or relatives will be given the opportunity to do so and the grace to follow through by the Holy Spirit   If you find yourself drawn by the Spirit to be a sower in God’s field, please contact me or someone in your area who can help you learn to share your faith and take the next step by actually doing it.  Many well meaning Christians take classes and seminars on faith sharing, but without stepping out in faith to actually do it they remain afraid to act and what they have learned remains “head knowledge”.

Finally, if you have given to your local church and to those charities that you find otherwise worthy, please also consider financial support for Apple of His Eye central (in St. Louis Mo) and for this mission in the Nation’s Capital and Baltimore area. We are a Recognized Service Organization of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, but we are also a faith-based mission with no direct financial support from our central church body.  We rely on the free-will gifts of our brothers and sisters in Christ to continue our mission. Currently our staff includes Steve Cohen: our founder in Missouri, Lisa Schnurr; Executve Asst to Founder and Itinerary Coordinator for Steve, Alexy Shepelev; our representative in Moscow (who produces a Russian language messianic podcast) and myself.

Where does the money go? Undesignated gifts to Apple of His Eye go to the support the central office. Support for the rest of our small staff must be specifically designated as a gift for them to reach their ministry.  By Apple of His Eye policy an individual must raise a fund of $85,000 before they get any kind of regular monthly distribution.  Normally people who enter this field begin by going from church to church to raise the $85,000 before they start actually doing the outreach. I decided to take the faith-based principle one step further and start the outreach first, relying on the generosity of God’s people to help sustain it as I developed a story by doing the work.  I am retired so I am not totally reliant on these funds for day-to-day living, but mission is not free of cost.  Thanks to a couple of small circuit Ablaze grants to Apple of His Eye for this mission, and a few greatly appreciated gifts from individuals, the continuing support of three local congregations: Bethany Lutheran, Alexandria; St. Johns, Franconia; and Prince of Peace, Springfield, I have been able to continue now for two years. It is my hope that by the Grace of God I will be able to continue for at least one more year on this basis. Studies have shown that it normally takes four years for a new mission to become self-sustaining.  If it appears that support is building (prayer, participation, and contributions) I will continue.  Otherwise, having tended the fig tree for three years I will assume the Lord has other plans.

Again, please pardon my appeal, I don’t do it often (although I do support our central office when they put out their own appeals).

Oh, the young elf… he is the youngest street musician I have seen on the Mall.  He came with his older brother who was looking out for him.  I had a conversation with his brother.  They are Mormons but they were just trying to make a little extra money, not evangelizing for their faith. He asked what group I was with and I told him.  I told him a little about the Lutheran Church and the Reformation.  He wished me luck with my outreach.  Please pray for that family that they would come to know the true Christ of Christmas.