I once did something sexual in high school in public with a certain woman I was seeing on a bench with traffic passing by. I did it out in the open where everyone could see. I freely confess it to anyone who reads this blog that I was once addicted to pornography. I can say that because I'm saved! Those sins are completely forgiven! They're covered by the blood of Jesus, and God's promised in the Word that He'll forget them. All there is is His grace to those who are now saved.

Went to Ybor today with my friend Nadia. I said I'd be there at 8:30PM so that we aren't out late, but I was running late. The front left tire on the Nissan I drive (thank you Lord!) was bald. I took it to Wal-Mart and they changed it. It cost me $75, which I had to put on a credit-card, unfortunately, but the tire's on. On Friday, I was driving home from dropping Orlando off when there was this black VW on the side of the road with its entire back half sticking out into the intersection. It was a 2-lane intersection commonly called 'malfunction junction' because traffic slows there all the time and there are frequent accidents around that area. I stopped to get out and give them a hand (I do my works before God, in private, but I didn't actually get to do a good work, so I'll tell you) - one guy was on his cell phone and the other was handing him a wad of cash, which looked suspicious. I ask them if I can give them a hand to get it out of the busy intersection, and he pointed to the front - his front tire was completely gone, the shock was smashed into the pavement, the front-end of the car was smashed into the rail-way, and the back had dents. That car wasn't going anywhere - couldn't move it. Some guy showed up and said he was a mechanic and he had a tow, and so I just let him do the good work. I handed him a tract, told him I'd wished I could do more, and kept going. Well, he told me that it happened because his front tire was bald. :-Z My front tire was bald! So, today I definately made sure I went to get it changed, and I was thanking the Lord for giving me such great safely, even though I hydoplained in the rain like 5 times and came close to accidents many times. Thank the Lord! Grace, once again!

So I met Nadia in Ybor and she was going through her purse. She showed me 'Save Yourself Some Pain' by Ray Comfort. She had a conversation with a man we met before. He has a rare disease that stripped him of his muscle-mass and left him skin and bones. He looks very frail and meek. He's homeless, and Nadia bought him a bite to eat once. We'd prayed with him once, and she got a chance to have another conversation with him again. It was a non-contagious disease, but I think he also said that it wasn't genetic, which is strange. We handed out gospel-tracts down Centro Ybor. They're these little cards with the Gospel message on them that say, 'What If.' The hands were very receptive! I thank God for that. It's illegal over there for anyone to hand out anything, but if it's considered prosyletizing then it's covered by a number of laws, I suppose, so the tracts are okay. Well, one time Nadia, Jason from church, and I were handing them out and the cops stopped us. There were two and they said, 'You know, it's illegal for clubs to hand out anything down here. It's a $250 penalty per card for handing them out.' Then one of us said, 'They're Gospel tracts.' And they said, 'Oh, okay!' And they left. I don't know how long that will be the case in this country, and in the world, but I thank God we have this time where we can share the Gospel without much fear of the authorities fining or punishing us, that God's protected this time by His sovereignty over man's laws, as it seems.

We had very few conversations - in fact, I didn't have any, and apart from the gentleman that was described earlier and a new Evangelist Nadia met, neither did Nadia. But, we handed out tracts, and we prayed over the people in Ybor. Ybor is a very traditional and old city, but that particular district and what makes Ybor Ybor is its night-clubs. People travel from Saint Pete and Tampa just to go to the clubs and play in the thriving night-life. There are a lot, and there's also a growing number of homosexual bars. As a man, I don't particularly enjoy having to battle so much enticement from women passing by - trying to provoke men, which I guess is apart of their night-life. They don't wear very much! God's given me through Christ power over the flesh, so no lust, and now a sexual advance is sickening to me and when I'm tempted, it's a disgust rather than ... a delight, or what it was before.

I was just thinking, like I don't even think the same thoughts I used to think. God's work on my heart has been so thorough that if I met myself before I was saved, I wouldn't know me anymore. Jesus says that those who profess the name of Jesus but yet they live a lifestyle that sent Him to the cross will come and cry to Him on that day and cry, 'Lord, Lord', professing His name, but He says, 'Depart from me you worker of sin, I never knew you.' Well, since this is true, I can look at myself before I was saved and say, 'Depart from me, I never knew you.' Those evil deeds that I hid from my mum and my family and kept in dark and in secret Jesus bore on the cross and paid my fine so that I can go free. I love the good news. :-) Praise God for what He has done! He's sooo good! And His mercy lasts forever.