"I NEED TO GET MY LIFE RIGHT" was Trina's response when I asked her the question: What's the Lord Jesus been speaking to you lately?

"What makes you say that?," I quizzed. "My grandmother taught me and raised me right. She prayed for me and I went to Church and served God. When she died I just kinda started slippin away," she answered soberly.

"Do you know why I am here talking to YOU tonight?", I quickly responded. "Because even though your Grandmother has gone to be with Jesus, the Word of God says in Revelation 8 that those prayers rise like incense before His throne and the Lord Jesus is still at work answering the intercession of a praying Grandmother! I am here tonight because Grandma prayed!"

"Oh man.... I know," she said humbly. "Do you want to see her again," I asked? "Yes I do. I love my Grandmother," she replied.

"Well, if you EVER want to see her again - you have got to repent and return to that relationship with Jesus that she taught you coming up. Unless you do - you'll never have that opportunity and you'll spend eternity not only separated from her - but you'll be cast out of the presence of God and into a hell for eternity," I said emphatically.

Trina was very open and receptive to my stern rebuke and corrective word to her. She never tried to minimize or justify her sin in any respect. She admitted her failing and acknowledge that she had to repent and turn away from sin in order to get things right with Jesus.

I was able to further encourage her and pray that the Holy Spirit would not allow her to find any peace or solace in her back-slidden condition; that she would be awoken in the night by dreams and vision and that the fear of the Lord would cause her to wholeheartedly return back to Christ.

She thanked me as she departed..

CHRISTINE was a very conflicted person that came up to me that night. She is married to a devil worshipper (10 years) and thinks that they are "okay" and just going through a few "rough spots" at the moment.

As I began to share the Word of God - you could see it piercing her heart. Her eyes filled with tears and she said, "I just feel so empty and depressed." With her demonically influenced husband standing next to us and speaking all manner of blasphemy - she said, "Please can you just pray for me?"

I prayed for her that the Holy Spirit would open her eyes and break down every deceptive spirit that had been give access into her heart and mind; that she would be convicted of her sins and see the necessity to yield entirely to Christ Jesus in faith and allows the Spirit of God to transform her whole life.

She grabbed me by the neck thanking me through tears. They hung around for the next hour or so talking to various members of our team. You could see the demonic grip that her husband had on her mind - as he would try to convince her that our call to "live holy and righteous" before the Lord Jesus was us judging and condemning her.

KENNETH JAMES comes to the Cross! This young man (23) left New Orleans several years ago to attend college in Illinois and completely abandoned his Christian upbringing for things that he called "complete wickedness"

He had not been back in the City for years prior to that night and "happened" by the Cross. He told me, "I just couldn't turn away. I was drawn to you all and had to stop."

I shared the word of God with him and pulled no punches. I told him of the severity of not walking with Jesus and the penalty that awaited the unrepentant; that the Lord Jesus desired to make of him a "new creation" that just didn't DO different things - but was transformed from the inside out to BE a totally different person.

I told him he needed humble himself and repent from his dead and debase life and place his faith in the finished work of the Cross of Calvary. Deep conviction set in and he bowed his knee there at the foot of the Cross and yielded himself to the Lord JEsus!

This is Scott from North Carolina who walked up to Austin while he was preaching and stood listening to him preach the word, and the Holy Spirit prompted me to go up to him and just tell him we are here for you. So I walked up to him and said

“Hey I don’t really know where your at in life or whether you have relationship with the God or not but I just want to tell you we came out tonight for you”

He immediately told me “Yes I can tell you where I’m at that’s actually why I walked here I really want you to pray for me”

He went on to tell me that he is a freshman in college in his first semester attending University of Georgia and struggling.

He told me he was raised in a christian home, his parents are ministers and he knows that he is not right with Lord, but doesn’t know how he can stop doing the things he’s doing.

I shared with him 1 Corinthians 15:33 which talks about how “bad company corrupts good character.”

I told you him,

“You can’t expect to serve the Lord faithfully if you surround yourself with people that live a lifestyle contrary to how the Lord desires for us walk in His word.”

I shared with him more of what the scripture says about us being set apart from the world not be like the world, and as I talked to him he was being really receptive.

I couldn’t help but think about how scripture talks about one planting, another watering, but God giving the increase (1 Corinthians 3:6-7)

Knowing that he has been prayed for probably by his parents and others and on Bourbon street the Holy Spirit drew him to the preaching of the gospel.

I was able to pray for him and we exchanged numbers so we can keep in contact.

After the conversation he left and texted me a couple of minutes later,

This is Scott THANK YOU.

Please pray that Scott truly repents and takes the right steps to separate himself from a bad environment and serve Jesus!

The conversation started off with me asking Keyon if he needed prayer, and he responded by saying “Teach me something”

I went to John 3:19 and read it to him (“And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”) then told him

“If you look around you’ll see a bunch of people that love darkness rather light because they love their sin more than the God who wants to free them from that sin.”

He then asked “What is sin?”

I responded and told him that sin is to miss mark or fall short of God’s standard (Romans 3:23)

He went on to tell me he is an agnostic which is someone who believes there is a higher power but they don’t really believe in the true living God, and he considered himself to be a "thinker" that likes to learn about everything.

He wanted to understand why I believe in what I believe in and I shared with him why we need saving and how we can be saved.

He followed by saying “How do I know this is real?

I went to Romans 1 and read to him verse 18 to 24 where it speaks of Gods invisible attributes being made known but men suppressing the truth in unrighteousness and man worshipping the creation rather than the creator.

I pointed out how we can see a lot of what it says in that portion of scripture today and he agreed but also said he wouldn’t want to believe in a God that condemns him.

I turned to John 3:17 and read to him the scripture “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

I told him “God doesn’t condemn people it’s mans rebellion that condemns them.”

I shared with him John 3:19 again and he said.

“I believe as long as I’m not killing people or doing crazy things like that I’ll be fine.”

Then I said “Jesus said if you even look at woman lustfully you’ve committed adultery in your heart.”

He looked at me in disbelief and said “I don’t see anything wrong with that!”

I said “Of coarse you don’t because the standard your using is according to sinful man not the standard of a Holy God and that’s the problem.”

I shared with him a few more scriptures and what he kept going back to was the fact he didn’t believe that Jesus was real, and that unless he saw proof he wouldn’t believe.

But what he was doing was what part of Romans 1:18 talk of “Supress the truth in unrighteousness.”‭‭Keyon believed that he couldn’t serve a God that wouldn’t let him do the things he wants because he thought he had to stop doing the bad things then obey, thinking that’s what we believe would produce faith and unless he had proof he wouldn’t be willing to do that.

When in reality what the hearing of the gospel should produce is REPENTANCE (change your mind), belief then by the Holy Spirit the enabling to walk in obedience.

Most of the conversation he seemed attentive to what I was saying but was trying to grasp salvation intellectually.

By the end of the conversation I shared with him 2 scriptures John 3:3 “Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot SEE the kingdom of God.”and1 Corinthians 1:18 “For the message of the cross is FOOLISHNESS to those who are perishing, BUT to us who are being saved IT IS THE POWER OF GOD.”

To be born again is not to just stop doing the evil thing you want to do and expecting transformation to come by works but it is to REPENT BELIEVE and allow the HOLY SPIRIT to change you by obedience IN FAITH from the inside out not from the outside in.(Ephesians 2:8-10)

Unfortunately there are to many today that are like what 2 Timothy 3:7 states “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

Please pray for Keyon, that the word that was shared would penetrate his heart and he would come to the saving knowledge of who Jesus is and what He has done for him!

This is Jessica (37) who approached me about five minutes after we started preaching tonight.

She walked up to me and said,

“Are you the guys that pray for people out here?”

Kind of surprised cause I haven’t heard someone come up to me and say that before in the 9 years ministering out on Bourbon Street I replied,

“Yes we are.”

She then told me,

“I’m gonna be honest with you. I’ve walked past you guys many times, but I know that you guys are always out here and I’ve struggled for so long and I’m honestly sick of being in the same cycle.”

Jessica went on to tell me how she had been through two failed marriages, has worked on Bourbon Street for years, and has struggled with an addiction to drugs not being able to break free no matter how hard she tried.

I shared with her the difference between behavior modification, and a true heart change when you surrender your life to the Lord. The truth that changes your heart which will produce a real change in your actions.

She followed by saying,

“I’ve looked into other religions, and I respect them all, and I kind of think that they all lead to the same place.”

I interrupted her and said,

“I’m sorry Jessica but I completely disagree with you on that. Christianity to it’s core is different than any other world religion.”

I went on to tell her why, and how Christianity is different from all other religions in the world. Mainly the fact that only in Christianity does God himself humble himself to the point of becoming a human man, living, dying, and rising again for His enemies. Also that fact that it’s about a heart change in man not just behavior modification.

I told her,

“When you change your mind (repent) God can change your heart and that’s what changes actions because there is a nature change, thats the problem with man. It isn’t so much the behavior but that heart of man is sinful and produces all those bad behaviors.Truly believing in the death burial and resurrection of Jesus changes a person from the inside out, (2 Corinthians 5:17) while other religions are all about what you can do and what you could earn by behavior modification, not addressing the root issue of man which is the sinful nature.” (John 3:3)

We had a good conversation for about an hour about the importance of the change of the heart not just a change of actions. I kept emphasizing the need to surrender to the Lord to see real freedom but she seemed hesitant on really beliving that was the answer. I was able to pray for her, gave her a New Testament Bible and gave her the information to our church.

Keep Jessica in prayer she seemed genuine in wanting to change, but like many wasn’t willing to then truly surrender to the Lord. But I’m believing the Lord will truly bring conviction of sin, righteousness, and judgment in her heart so that the change that she is looking for will become a reality in Jesus name!

"I WANT TO JOIN YOU..." she said as she came near the Cross after having heard the bold proclamation of the truth during Raven Street-Church on Bourbon Street.

"You want to do what?", I asked to make sure that I heard her right. "I want to join you. I was right up there on the Balcony listening and I told my fiancé that I had to come down here with ya'll."

"Stephanie" is a television news reporter who lives in Washington DC (she is originally from Columbia) who was in town with her fiancé to attend a conference here in New Orleans. He is on staff as a doctor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Medical Center.

"Why do you want to join us?" I asked (because we have mockingly been told this innumerable times) "I am a Christian and after hearing the preaching I knew that I just had to get away from up there and come down here with you," she said.

Stephanie did not grow up with a Christian family - but here sister married a Christian and they recently began a ministry in Miami, Florida. She said that they were the only two people in the family that were trying to serve Jesus.

She shared with us that she and her fiancé (David) were scheduled to be married a week later - so I asked her, "Is he a Christian?" Her countenance changed as she was now forced to answer this question as myself and now my sister, Kim stood next to me.

"No, but he is a good guy and I hope....", she said as I interrupted her. "He's not a believer? But you are entering into a covenant relationship with him and he is not even walking in covenant with God?"

"The covenant of marriage is not built upon HOPE, it is built upon two people in union with Jesus Christ. The Bible says that a threefold cord is not quickly broken and unless the Lord is the one that builds the house they labor in vain that build it."

Pointing to my sister Kim I said, "Over forty years ago my sister married someone HOPING that she would have a godly marriage - - - it never happened! Yes, he went to church, yes he said that he wanted to serve God on occasion - but he has never yielded himself completely to Christ and that was the death knell to the marriage. Hope was deferred and hope deferred makes the heart sick. Do you want to enter into that type of relationship?" I asked.

By this time tears filled her eyes as she feebly attempted to somehow justify this in her heart even though you could see the deep conviction and conflict that was going on. She spoke of a previous abusive relationship and how David wasn't that way - - - and she hoped.....

I told her, "Stephanie, you don't have a dad that follows Jesus to warn you, so tonight I am going to cease to be the preacher and talk to you like a father - just like I have talked to my daughters. You deserve and must demand a believing husband; one that is more in love with Jesus than he is with you. One that will lead you spiritually and guide your family by more than just humanistic morality - one that will lead you in the Word of God -- but this guy is not that guy."

We took hold of her and prayed for her and as we did she gripped my shoulder like a person clinging to life. I gave he my card and encouraged her to make a stand for herself and more importantly for JESUS.

"I THINK WHAT YOU ARE DOING HERE IS UTTERLY RIDICULOUS", said the tall man with the obvious Australian accent. "Really? Why," I answered well knowing the direction that the conversation would probably take.

"You're here where people are trying to have a good time . . . doing this...," he said with his hand gesturing towards the cross and his tone taking on a sound of disgust.

"Actually, what you don't like is the fact that you traveled all this way in hopes of finding a place where your sin could not find you - but then suddenly you come upon some preachers underneath a big red cross in the one place you though Jesus would never dare to show His face and now that light has come into your darkness - you simply love darkness rather than the light because your deeds are evil," I responded quoting from Numbers 32:23 and John 3:19.

"But, if you find what I am doing so ridiculous - - you are welcome to simply keep on walking down this sin darkened street - because I'm not going anywhere pal," I declared.

"Oh, but aren't you going to try and convert me! That's your job. Are you just going to tell me to keep walking? Shouldn't you try to convert me to your belief," he said in a futile effort to "shame me" for not trying harder! lol

"Absolutely not. I am not here for you my friend. Your heart is too hard for me. I am here for the harvest that Jesus saw that was ready to be picked. I'm not out here for someone to waste my time and take me away from people that genuinely desire a change and transformation in their lives. No, you are full of pride, full of self and have no desire to repent and turn to Jesus. I could talk to you until I was blue in the face and you'd never change - because you have no desire to change and until you are humbled by the Spirit of God - no preacher anywhere will be able to convert you," I said firmly as I leaned into his ear to make sure he got every word.

With that, he smugly turned and continued on his path towards destruction.

If there is one thing that I have learned over the years is that Satan also has those that are in league with him (whether they truly know it or not) that come simply to occupy your time and efforts so that you'll not be available when that "Divine Appointment "comes calling.

The best thing to do when you discern a situation like that developing is to call it what it is, cut bait and send them on their way as you prepare for the heart being prepared to hear from you.

This young lady standing next to me was a 21 year old named Hope.

She approached me as I was intervening with an aggressive atheist and said, "When that guys done screaming at you, can I talk to you for a minute?"

We stepped to the side and she began to share with me that she was presented the Gospel about a month ago, but had a lot of questions. She said that the person who witnessed to her told her that , "God would not put more on you than you can handle."

She then went on to describe the horrific events that had happened to her in her life and asked why God would "put that on her."

She described being taken away from her drug addicted mother at age six and given to her biological father whom she had met. Sadly, her father began molesting her and that would continue into her teenage years.

She ran away at age 17 and had basically lived on the streets ever since. She told me that she's been the victim of rape and is now sleeping in a car with the three guys and keeps a stun gun and pepper spray on her because she feels they intend on assaulting her as well.

The first thing that I told her was that person who suggested to her that "God had put these things on her was wrong" and had terribly misquoted and misappropriated 1 Corinthians 10:13 that says,

"The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure."

And that James 1:13 says,

"And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else."

I told her that all of those atrocities that had been committed against her were not the work of God, but rather of Satan who had come to "kill, steal and destroy" but its Jesus that has come that we might have "life."

I shared with her that she was now at a place wherein she needed to make some very tough and important decisions for herself and that these would be difficult to make because she's become "comfortable and familiar" in this destructive lifestyle.

We exchanged information and I told her that we'd help her get out the streets and into a place that would disciple her and teach her the basic life skills that her mother and father had failed to teach her.

Last night, this woman was standing attentively listening as Hank was preaching.

I approached her and asked,

“What do you think about the preaching? Who is Jesus to you?”

She went on to tell me how she had just come out of a homosexual marriage, and that her nieces had recently started going to church and she started joining them about three or four weeks ago. She shared how she was brought up Catholic, but also had some belief of Buddhism because of her ex. She said she believed in Jesus and enjoyed going to church, but she just didn’t like how Mary wasn’t talked about enough.

I went on to share with her what Christianity is compared to other world religions mainly the difference between Catholicism and Buddhism.

How Catholicism says that Mary is the mediator between man and God but the Bible tells us that there is one mediator between man and God that is Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 2:5)

Also how there are no amount of works we can do to achieve the ultimate level of enlightenment that can bring true satisfaction, but that the truth is, that, that route only ends in death. (Isaiah 64:6) (Proverbs 14:12)

That apart from genuine repentance from dead works and faith in Jesus there is no eternal life. (Hebrews 6:1)

As I continued to share with her what the Gospel really is. Her eyes welled up with tears and I got a sense that she had been through a lot pain and rejection in her life.

I shared with her the hope and freedom that can be found in Jesus. That though she has been through pain and rejection that Jesus can TRULY heal her!

With tears streaming down her face as she listened I asked if I can pray for her and I was able to pray for her.

Her name is Reina, keep her in prayer! I believe the Lord is dealing with her heart!

You just never know where someone is and what just sharing the truth of the Gospel can do!

Like scripture says in 1 Corinthians 3:6

One plants, one waters, but God gives the increase!

"I HAD TO COME THROUGH HERE AND TAKE THE CHANCE OF RUNNING INTO YOU..." he said as he approached me. He and his wife were coming through New Orleans from their home in Lampasas, Texas on their way east in celebration of their 10th wedding anniversary.

"I've been watching the YouTube videos and just wanted to see the ministry for myself," he beamed.

A firefighter by vocation, he said that he just didn't really have many Godly men in his life and that it was tough "going it alone" and didn't know if he could do what he saw the Raven Street Church doing there on Bourbon Street.

I shared with him concerning the enabling power of the Holy Spirit that came not upon those with "ability", but rather those with "availability." I shared with him my personal testimony of transformation from a person that would just as soon be alone to someone that burned in his heart to reach people for Jesus.

For about twenty minutes I just pumped the Word of God into them and encouraged them to "simply believe and obey" WHAT the Word of God says and then go and do it WHERE God has placed you.

I invited them to come and spend a few days with us at the Raven Ministries International Training Center and get some "hands on" training on witness and effectively bringing people to the Lord Jesus Christ.

"Are you his security?", asked twenty-five year old Houstonian, Christina as I stepped towards where she stood just a few feet in front of where we stand in the middle of Bourbon St during Raven Street Church.

The "security" that she supposed I provided was for the gutter punk whom had just simulated an utterly perverse sex-act with her as she hiked up her short skirt and posed for pictures being taken by her two accompanying girl friends.

"No, I'm not his security - I AM YOURS!" I said firmly to the now stunned young woman who now had regained her wits enough to read the name J E S U S screen printed on the front of my hoodie. "I'm here to rescue you from HELL and SECURE you for heaven by the power of the Blood of Jesus!", I continued.

"OOOOhhhh, I am a child of God," she nervously answered, "I'm just having a little fun...I work hard and deserve a break every once in a while."

Flipping open my Bible and holding it close to her face so that she could read it herself I quoted from 1 John 3:10, "...This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child...", "According to the actions that I saw you committing a minute ago and the manner in which you are carrying yourself - you are no child of God - you are a child of the devil," I declared firmly.

"Do you not realize that when you become a friend of the world that you become an ENEMY of God (James 4;4) and that claiming to have a relationship with Jesus but continuing to walk in the darkness of sin makes you a LIAR (1 John 1:6) and just because you are in New Orleans and not in Houston that God still sees you and has found you to be LUKEWARM and will have no choice but to vomit you from His mouth( Rev 3:15)," I pleaded.

By this time I had her full attention and a sobriety came upon her. I told her that her "fun" had caused her to commit spiritual adultery against the Savior that she claimed love and fidelity towards and that her defiling actions with her body would bring destruction from the hand of God upon her very soul!" (1 Cor 3:16-17)

I went on to share with her the power of the Cross and the great value that God placed upon reconciling mankind back to Himself and that her actions revealed both an ignorance of the things of God and an arrogance in believing that she could offer herself as a perverted mockery on a public street and that God would be pleased with her!

She was deeply convicted and I began to pray for her that God would open her blinded eyes and reveal the freedom producing fruit to her and that she would come to a place of honest repentance and faith towards God that produced transformation.

Friends - please pray for Christina - - she is so representative of "a generation that arose that did not know God or remember the mighty things that He had done."

"I'm Jesus! I'm Jesus" said the 37 year old "Kevin" as he stood with his arms outstretched in front of the Raven Street Church Cross on Bourbon St one night.

"Hey dude. What's wrong with your mind?" I asked as I leaned into him so that he'd know that I was taking to him. "What do you mean?" he asked in a somewhat stunned tone.

"Just what I said. You're not acting like a sane human being. I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you had something wrong with your mind in order to act like that," I retorted.

"Its not real. None of its real" he replied.

"Oh come on. You'd never act such a fool over something make believe. You'd totally ignore something that you thought wasn't real. What the real deal buddy?" I inquired.

Come to find out that he had been raised in the Jehovah's Witness Cult all of his life (https://carm.org/jehovahs-witnesses) and had grown weary of the oppressiveness of it five years ago and walked away.

Since then he had been totally ostracized by his family and former friends because he questioned many of the beliefs of their religion. He had decided that if the "Jesus" and "God" of the Jehovah Witnesses was God - then there was no way that God could be real.

The Holy Spirit spoke to me and I immediately caught hold of him and began to pray - asking the Spirit of God to set him free from the oppression that had robbed him of the knowledge of the one, true and living God.

As I prayed for him to have a revelation of the GENUINE JESUS he began to weep upon my shoulder! I shared with him the difference between the JW "Jesus" and Jesus Christ - the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! He wept more sorely!

I ministered to him further and gave him all of my contact information. I told him that he had to have a relationship beyond the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society and a revelation of Jesus beyond the Awake Magazine.

He hugged my neck repeatedly with tears streaming down his face before thanking me and departing.

A SIDE NOTE: There is a group of Hebrew Israelites (https://carm.org/black-hebrew-israelites) that frequently come near where we minister in order to engage in some type of debate. Well... they were standing there when Kevin first began to mock and saw our whole exchange - they saw the Holy Ghost take him from belligerent to broken as the Gospel was preached.

After he walked away - their leader (who I have spoken with numerous times) came and extended his hand and said, "I wanted to say hello and tell you to keep on preaching the Gospel."

God is Good!!!