Kept By God in Christ

I am so thankful that the Lord is my Keeper. I am at work right now and was just reading through the Valley of Vision prayers. Which is always refreshing reminder of the Gospel. I originally was just going to post a prayer below, but wanted to share my interesting conversation I just had...

We just had our 15 minute break and I was talking to this guy at work, who happens to be a devout Mormon who did a 2-year mission in Thailand.

...On a side note, I have a heart for Mormons and there are several I work with. Several years ago I got to live in Salt Lake City for a summer and serve with Hidden Valley Presbyterian Church. I spent the summer loving on the youth group girls and encouraging them with the Gospel of grace found in Christ alone. It was an incredible summer growing in the knowledge of Christ and how we were saved only through His grace, not by works. It was such a blessing to work this Gospel-centered and Christ-exalting church, I am forever changed through my time spent in Utah! Pray for this church to continue to be a light in a city that clings to Mormon belief's of works-based salvation to receive peace with God! Oh my heart needs to be more burden for the deceived and lost around me, for apart from grace in Christ I would be in the same place!

...Okay, now that you are caught up to speed...we (my co-worker and I) just had some good dialogue at break that has left me challenged! It started off by him asking how my j-term class went because I had told him I was taking a class over the New Testament last week. Now it gets tricky! The thing that blows me away is that what I explained about the New Testament, he agreed with me. I tried to prob more questions to him about why the Mormon's used there Book of Mormon's in addition to the Bible. You can tell that he has had a lot of experience in explaining what they believe. Yet, they use the very same terminology as Christians do! It's hard to get any where because they think we are meaning the same thing, when I say key words like, "gospel" and "grace" and "salvation". We had to get back to work, but I said to him that I would like to continue to discuss this more later. He agreed.

I'm explaining this story because I'm asking for two things:

1. Prayer. Please pray for my Mormon friends here at work. That the Lord would give me favor and wisdom in discussing true Christianity with them in how the absolute truth found in the Bible competes and wins over Mormonism. That the Spirit of God would move and soften their hearts to desire to know the true God of Scripture and bring conviction of the fallacies of their belief and in His kindness bring them to repentance and faith in Christ.
2. Can anyone have any tips in evangelizing to Mormon's? I see that its over my head and totally dependent on the Holy Spirit's work. I need to grow in understanding still and knowing how to communicate clearly the excellencies of God and dispute their wrong-thinking and teaching! Again, this is so humbling and sobering that the God of creation would use His little children to declare the goodness of God in the face of Christ! So really, if you could help me with tools and ideas of communicating clearly to them, let me know! Please PRAY for much grace in all of this!!

Oh how I take for grant it the grace I have been given in Christ. That it was His complete righteousness that I needed and the only way I could ever have peace with God. It was His life, death and resurrection that was necessary, for there would not be forgiveness of sins without it! For Christ is my only Hope for today and eternity....may we declare the true Gospel to all we encounter. For His Return is sooner then ever! Let's hasten' His Return together, unto His glory alone! Amen!

"Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!" -Romans 11:3