Greetings, beloved brethren, in the name of the Promised Messiah. His name is JESUS, “for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). I trust you all enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving with much cause for thanksgiving, and I pray this Advent Season brings you much joy and reflection upon what is most important: JESUS CHRIST IS COMING. That inescapable inevitability has been true since the Garden of Eden, was true that quiet night in Bethlehem, and remains true today. Regardless of when, where, and how America falls, THE FUTURE IS CHRIST. Joy to the world!

Since my last newsletter, it has been small things and simple preaching at a time when it seems much of ministry, missions, and evangelism is a waste of time, going unnoticed and falling upon fallow ground. That’s quite a change from the ever-changing horizon and roller-coaster adventures of a long walk across America. And yet, there endures a very important truth we would all do well to remember in days of small things, an eternal truth on open display throughout the birth narrative of our Lord Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah of Israel and the Saviour of the Gentiles:

“Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts … for who hath despised the day of small things” (Zechariah 4: 6, 10).

God’s ways are not our ways, and He doesn’t need the glories of men to accomplish glorious things. His eyes run to and fro throughout the whole earth, seeing and using small and seemingly insignificant people, appointments, and circumstances to spark mighty works that profoundly affect human history, works He Himself purposed long before. The LORD always knows exactly what He is doing. Therefore, we dare not despise His Divine Hand of Providence in dark times or in days of seemingly small things.

“For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence” (I Corinthians 1:26-29).

simple preaching in mississippi

Earlier this month, we experienced a good week of college campus ministry and fellowship with persecuted brethren down in Missisippi. What a blessing it was to join up with Dr. Coleman Boyd, a political prisoner currently on “house arrest” courtesy of the Biden DOJ and a Jezebel judge appointed by Bill Clinton, simply for singing a hymn in a hallway outside of a Nashville abortion mill and daring to record it on his phone. Joe Biden and a harpie judge call that “criminal conspiracy”—one of many, many reasons why America is in BIG TROUBLE with the Lord. In Isaiah 5, the LORD says WOE to those nations that call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness (5:20). Dr. Boyd’s “house arrest” terms allow him to leave home for work, and for the Christian there is always Great Commission WORK to be done in all places and at all times. It was joyous to stand right beside this persecuted brother as he boldly and passionately shared Christ with young folks who are scattered abroad and without a shepherd, without hope in this world. It was even sweeter to stand beside him with the very cross that had been unjustly confiscated from me by rogue Madison County, Montana sheriffs deputies and locked up for two years in Virginia City. It’s back in our hands, and it’s back at work on the streets. Victory in Jesus!

So, we joined up with Dr. Boyd, his family, and some of his local church brethren for outreach at two college campuses in his home state: Mississippi State in Starkville, and Ole Miss in Oxford. We were also blessed to join their local church for the regular mid-week fellowship meal and service. It was a good time going to house church in the house of a house church pastor under house arrest. The last time I did that was 27 years ago in China—a house church service in the house of Samuel Lam, Chinese house church pastor persecuted for many years by the Chinese Communist government. I never conceived back in May of 1997 that I would be doing the same one day in America. Interestingly, Samuel Lam went home to be with the LORD at the ripe old age of 88, just a few months ago. I still have two of the little booklets he wrote and gave to me all those years ago. He used to always say, “More persecution, more growth.” Amen.

My son, Josiah, and my nephew, Graham, accompanied me on this latest road trip, and that was a blessing. As soon as we got to the Mississippi State campus, both of them immediately went to handing out Gospel tracts and never slowed down the entire afternoon. They even got the Dean of Students aggravated at them, meaning they did something by our Lord. It really does give me great joy to see young people excited about sharing the Gospel, something virtually extinct when my generation was once the youth of a nation.

I, myself, had a few good conversations on the campuses. And, I was able to encourage some of my Christian brothers, my favorite part of any such outreach. One college student got really angry with me after I rebuked him for directing very foul language toward some young ladies who simply offered him a Gospel tract. In fact, I told him the same thing I told that old blowhard on the side of a Montana highway: “Why don’t you do wash your filthy mouth out with soap … and use the foamy stuff!” Comically, he then asked if I wanted to fight him. I replied, “No, I don’t want to fight you, but there is a piece of information you might find interesting and insightful. The last person who tried to harm a child in my presence, that’s his blood on my pants. Do with that information whatever you please.” I was actually wearing the pants I had on when attacked back on 11.12.2022. I got those back from Madison County too, and I wear them out in public all the time. They are a badge of honor. The guy eventually left miffed at me, after unleashing a string of curse words my way, but later, I actually observed him apologizing to those young ladies. Yes, he got a hard-talkin’-to by a preacher who didn’t mince words, and he then did right by my Christian sisters. Hallelujah! In those moments, I was forced to reflect upon what really is the best victory over one’s enemy. It’s not winning over him. It’s winning him over. By a little chutzpah and blunt speech, we came to an agreement on a matter, that it’s wrong to use foul language in the presence of ladies. Look, these kids don’t need flattery or patronizing. They need hard hellfire and brimstone truth. That’s my understanding of true love, love that bids a warning doom to children who play in the freeway. And for those who would say, “You shouldn’t say stuff like that, you know, the stuff about your pants.” I’ll let this testimony by an old preacher, Mordecai Ham, speak for itself (taken from a biography of preacher whose hard preaching was used to draw Billy Graham to Christ):

At Ole Miss, it was even colder than it had been in Starkville, and yet it was a joy to preach Christ, the only hope for the American college student, in the open-air. I remember one handicapped young man who unknowingly dropped his student ID in the leaves. I saw it fall, went to pick it up, and gave it back to him. He was very appreciative and received a Gospel tract. Later, I discovered he had been quite hostile to the things of the LORD when others had earlier tried to engage him. And yet, the Lord showed him mercy. He caused one of the campus preachers he despised to see him drop something important, find it, and give it back to him. His hardened heart immediately got a little softer. Praise the Lord for that.

Yes, these were small things, it seems, days of small things and simple preaching when one could describe such as wasted effort and wasted time that fell upon fallow ground. I guess some might have said that same thing once about an unknown Yankee private on lowly picket duty one moonlit night in 1862 near Antietam Creek. To stay awake, this soldier began to whistle and sing an old hymn that first appeared in a hymn book for children back in 1836:

Savior, like a shepherd lead us,
Much we need Thy tender care;
In Thy pleasant pastures feed us,
For our use Thy folds prepare:
Blessed Jesus, Blessed Jesus.
Thou hast bought us, thine we are;
Blessed Jesus, Blessed Jesus.
Thou hast bought us, thine we are.
We are Thine - do Thou befriend us,
Be the Guardian of our way …

Unbeknownst to the Union picket at the time, a Confederate sniper had him in his sights. When he got to the part of the hymn, “BE THE GUARDIAN OF OUR WAY,” he was so moved that he lowered his rifle and retreated into the shadows. That seemingly trivial incident involving two plain people literally changed the course of human history, and its repercussions are felt in churches around the world to this day! You see, that Union private was Ira Sankey—the famed soloist, hymn writer, and song leader who labored so faithfully alongside DL Moody. Some of Sankey’s hymns written after this incident appear in our church hymnals today.

The LORD knows how to raise up His servants from the dust to DELIVER them for His service. The LORD knows how to raise up His servants from the dust to USE them for His service. And HE knows how to use small things, simple preaching, and even simple singing to mightily affect the course of human history. Dare we despise days of small things?

“The meek also shall increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 29:19).

Long ago, on a moonlit night during the GREAT WAR BETWEEN THE STATES, an unknown Union picket and a meek Confederate sniper both increased their joy. Even longer ago outside of Bethlehem in Judea:

“There were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night” (Luke 2:8).

These events, involving seemingly small people separated by many centuries, actually share something in common. What was heard was PREACHED! And simple preaching turned the world upside down.

“And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds” (Luke 2:17-18).

This Christmas season, consider a very important truth: God uses the simple preaching of simple people, and the simple preaching of the shepherds, often overlooked, played a very important part in the birth narrative of our Lord Jesus Christ. It was the poor shepherds who first preached Jesus the Messiah, not John the Baptist or the Apostles. Their sermon wasn’t preserved word-for-word by the Holy Spirit, as was Paul’s in Acts 17 preached atop Mars Hill. And yet, before the Apostle even arrived in Athens, a mere 50 years later, it was being publicly proclaimed in a neighboring city:

“These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also” (Acts 17:6).

When the shepherds MADE KNOWN ABROAD the Great Shepherd, they gave a great gift to the world. When a Confederate sniper heard sung aloud the Great Shepherd, he saved a great gift for the world. Dare we despise small things in dark days? Dare we despise the simple preaching of simple people?

Some years after that moonlit night on Antietam Creek, when Ira Sankey was at the height of his ministry, he was traveling down the Delaware River on a steam-ship. Some fellow passengers recognized him. They had seen his picture in the newspaper and knew he was associated with evangelist D. L. Moody. When these asked him to sing one of his own compositions, Sankey said he preferred instead the hymn, Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us. He suggested everyone join in the singing, right there on the boat. When they finished, a quiet stranger stepped out of the shadows and asked: “Were you ever in the army, Mr. Sankey?” The evangelist replied, “Yes, I joined up in 1860.” The stranger followed up, “Did you ever do guard duty at night in Maryland, about 1862?” Sankey was direct, “Yes, I did.” The quiet man then explained, “Well, I was in the Confederate Army. I saw you one night at Sharpsburg. I had you in my gun sight as you stood there in the light of the full moon. Then just as I was about to pull the trigger, you began to sing. It was the same hymn you sang tonight. I just couldn't shoot you.”

simple preaching in washington, oregon, california & montana

In my last newsletter, I promised to share with you some of the surprising encounters we had with lost sheep from the House of Israel on the last leg of #TheLongWalkUSA. These were small things that involved simple preaching, and yet they were incredible answers to prayer orchestrated by the LORD. You see, it was our custom to pray each day before we took a step, asking the LORD to guide our path, to give us witnessing opportunities, and very specifically to put a lost sheep from the House of Israel into our way. We prayed this many times and then started walking, watching, and waiting. This last walking leg, we had more such encounters than any prior, and these never happened in ways or in places we would have expected. In fact, they typically followed trial and tribulation that put us in the right place at the right time. What follows are posts I penned at the time:

ADAM (July 18): Please pray for Adam, a son of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob after the flesh. You wouldn’t believe the crazy “headaches,” “hassles,” and “delays” of the past couple of days that suddenly put him into our path as we tried to figure out the madness. It started with broken crampons, included giving a PCT hitchhiker a ride the opposite direction we were heading, nowhere to camp, a long drive to the only motel room we could find because of rain, a letter for me sent to the wrong post office, an Amazon package that didn’t show up at the right post office, a motel room in a town I had no intention of being, a UPS distribution center NOT open to the public a mile from that motel, my package scanned at that location this morning, and Adam pulling up in his delivery truck at the very moment I was poking around looking for someone in the open warehouse (somewhere I wasn’t supposed to be). I got the important package, Adam got his Hebrew-English Bible! It was a great encounter, the kind we pray for each morning. His ancestors came to America in the 1800s, fleeing persecution and pogroms in Scandinavia. During the WWII era, his grandfather coached basketball in the Dakotas and won a championship with his team. They were run out of town because of all the pro-Nazi sentiment in that area at the time. His family ended up in Washington where he has lived most of his life. At one point he actually lived in North Carolina. The divine hand of Providence, the sovereign direction of the God of Israel, never ceases to amaze me. All I can do is follow Jacob’s example, pause and bow my head and worship, leaning upon the top of my staff (Hebrews 11:21). As a Gentile, what a joy it was to give testimony this morning of the Jewish Messiah to one of Christ’s brethren after the flesh. May the Messiah reveal Himself to Adam through the reading of the Word of God, given to the world by God long ago through the Jewish people (Romans 3:1).

MIKAEL & AMIT (August 8): Due to more unforeseen headaches, hassles, and delays, we found ourselves killing time in the 1980s nostalgia of an old shopping mall in Yakima, Washington. Why we were there is a whole other story I can’t possibly write about now, its own tale of grace and good fruits. After grabbing an Americano and Gospel Tract-ing an in-house coffee shop, we decided to do a few laps around the mall while waiting for an important phone call. We passed by a kiosk featuring Dead Sea products and skin creams. Then, we heard the accents. I ran back out to the SAG vehicle to prepare a gift bag containing the Hebrew-English Scriptures, both Old & New Testaments, and changed into my IDF T-shirt. I then returned to the kiosks, walked up and said in Hebrew: “I am a friend of the people of Israel, for the Messiah of Israel changed my life.” I then explained that we were praying for their people and for the safe return of all the hostages in Gaza, as we finished our walk across America. Their faces lit up. Both had recently finished up stints of reserve duty in Gaza and were in the US for a short time. They gladly received the Scriptures and were very grateful. Please pray for Mikael & Amit. After Covid and the war in Gaza, I really thought Israeli kiosk workers in American malls had become a thing of the past.

ELLEN (August 23): There was an encounter with Ellen and her son, some Jewish folks, near Multnomah Falls. She refused a Gospel tract adamantly by quipping, “Oh no! I’m Jewish.” Now, we love to hear that. Carter’s response, “Oh really. Well, we praise the God of Israel for the Jewish people. He used your people to write down the Scriptures.” She didn’t know what to do with that. Bethany chimed in, and they showed her the Hebrew Gospel message on the cross. I sat observing from a distance through the SAG vehicle’s side mirror. As they walked away, the rest of Ellen’s family walked up. They just watched the walkers, talking, conversing, very curious and not knowing what to think. It really threw them for a loop, a very very good thing. Please pray for these folks, that the Lord will reveal Himself to them. At least they will return home tonight knowing that some crazy walking Christians pray for the people of Israel and for the safe return of the hostages in the name of the Jewish Messiah.

RON, OREN & IGAL (August 30): The Evil One didn’t want us camped where we camped last night. He didn’t want us in that place. Maybe sometime I’ll share about our eventful night. Just a few miles in this morning, I understood why. In the middle of literal nowhere, 3 Israelis pulled up at the junction of a forest road and saw the Hebrew on the cross as Carter and Bethany walked by. The rest is history. All took Gospel tracts, and yes we had some in Hebrew. They were literally blown away. One of them was a father with a son serving in the IDF in Gaza right now. Hallelujah! The great red dragon (read Revelation 12) hates both Israel and the Church. He never wants Jew or Gentile to hear the Gospel and will even try to rip a guy out of his sleeping bag in the middle of the night to stop it from happening the next day. That’s all I’m going to say about that for now.

YOAV & MIRIAM (October 9): Our plans are always subject to the Lord’s plans. Looks like we are going to finish #thelongwalkusa tomorrow, saving the last 5 miles for Thursday. It’s been a good day with some good Gospel encounters here at the end. I’m still beaming with joy over running into Yoav and Miriam from Jerusalem in Lady Bird Johnson Redwood Grove as we walked through with the cross. They asked about the Hebrew message on its backside and we got to explain it, while also communicating our love and concern for the people and the salvation of Israel, as well as our prayers for the safe return of all the remaining hostages. They were blown away and gladly received a Hebrew New Testament and one of my Hebrew Trekker tracts. It was a true divine appointment, as they head back home to Jerusalem in a few days. I’m amazed at how the God of Israel has orchestrated every one of our steps going all the way back to Cape Hatteras and culminating with putting this son and daughter of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob into our path to receive the Word of God in one of the most unlikely of places, only about 10 miles from the finish line. Sheer profundity! Yoav & Miriam head back home to Jerusalem in a few days.

THORIN (October 30): The morning the hate crime was done upon us in Madison County, Montana, we prayed as we customarily did: that the Lord would put a lost sheep from the House of Israel into our path. The Lord heard that prayer and answered it in a way completely unforeseen. You see, the assistant attorney general in Montana assigned to prosecute the case against us turned out to be a Jewish man with a reputation for fighting hard when the battle lines are drawn. He was zealous in his prosecution, but after Judge Berger issued his October 4th righteous ruling on Montana self-defense law, this prosecutor moved immediately to have the case against me dismissed, even putting himself at odds with those in authority over him. When the rubber met the road, Thorin Geist did what was just and right. Suffice it also to say, without providing further detail, that he demonstrated integrity in the closing chapter of this saga and showed himself a man of his word to both me and my public defender, a rare thing to see these days. Once the matter was closed, we exchanged some friendly words for which I praise the Lord. This was his last message to me as we left the State of Montana headed for home:

“Thank you for your email and for the kind words… I appreciate them and the spirit in which they were intended. I’m sorry that I didn’t get a chance to respond to you before you left … when Judge Berger issued his opinion on the law, dismissing your case was not a hard decision – it was the right one under the law. No more and no less. I wish you and your family safe travels as you continue your travels.”

Please pray for Thorin Geist. At the end of two years of unjust charges hanging over our heads, I can honestly say that I do not consider him to be an enemy or an adversary. As a martial artist, I can truly appreciate a man who fights hard when the battle lines are drawn, even if he stands on the other side. The whole Montana saga has been very educational for me, and Thorin’s role has played a part in that. In my martial arts training, I have been taught that any time you learn something useful or beneficial by your interactions with someone, even an enemy, that someone, perhaps unwittingly, assumed the role of a teacher. And, a teacher should never be disdained, disrespected, or forgotten.

In September of 2023, shortly after my dad suddenly passed away, Thorin relayed to me a kind message that I never forgot. It read, “I know what it's like to lose a loved one, which is why there is nothing just about forcing you to go to trial when you are unrepresented and in mourning. Please take the time that you need right now to grieve and to care for your family.” That blessed me, and I responded by doing what I am bound to do by my love for the Messiah of Israel, the Holy Scriptures, and the Jewish people used of the Holy Spirit to right down those Scriptures: I sent him a Hebrew-English Bible via certified mail. The USPS confirmed to me that it was received by his office, and I stand today by the words I penned on that flyleaf many months ago. Small things, simple preaching orchestrated of the LORD.

My friends, the greatest gift you can give anyone during this Advent Season isn't wrapped in fancy paper and topped with a bow. It isn't under any Christmas tree. No, this gift of love is to PREACH the glorious Gospel of Christ incarnated, Christ crucified, Christ resurrected, and Christ coming again! And, preach it simply, sing it simply all year long to the whole wide world. The days are short. Like the shepherds, go tell it on the mountain. Like Ira Sankey, go sing it under the light of the moon. Like a walking preacher, just take a few steps and open your mouth. The drawing below was given to me by a young boy many years ago in Alaska. I treasure it to this day. God indeed uses small things and the simple preaching of simple people. And sometimes, it mightily alters the course of human history.

Please pray for Full Proof Gospel Ministries here at the end of the year. We have some big decisions to make moving forward, and we have needs. And it is those times that are most exciting, waiting to see what the Lord will day. May all of you have a very merry Christmas.

Maranatha,
Jesse Boyd, Full Proof Gospel Ministries