June 2008
Dearly Beloved of Our Lord:
We desire His presence as we labor in His harvest here in the city of Portland in the Pacific N.W. We are now in our summer season in open-air ministry in downtown Portland and spend most of our time at Pioneer Courthouse Square – Portland’s Living Room.
Karen’s Testimonies
Intercession for the generation of our children and our grandchildren. ~ We are related to many brethren who were birthed out of the Jesus Movement. During these years we ended up teaching the word of God to their children, as well as to our own. We taught in Sunday school and various youth groups. Now they are young adults and we often run into them or find out how they are doing. My prayer is that we gave them the gospel and not religion.
Some of the young people we run into are in the captivity of legalisms (you should, you ought, and you need to) or performance (trying to get the approval of God and man). They have left the place of grace. Others are in the captivity of condemnation and sin. And there is another group who are in the captivity of their feelings and emotions who are running to every high hill. (See Ezekiel 34:6) They do not have the revelation that the kingdom of God is within. They are missing the inward journey – the journey where we deny ourselves and take up our cross daily and follow Him.
“This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck.” (I Timothy 1:18-19)
We can stand on the promise that we and our household shall be saved. Our prayer is that this generation would have the revelation of the cross and that they would maintain a good conscience by the blood of the Lamb. As we see some of them shipwrecked, we are continually interceding for them and praying that the Lord would use us to find our lost brothers and sisters.
Street Stories from Karen
A soft answer turns away wrath. (Proverbs 15:1) I was sitting by the Sixth Avenue MAX stop holding out some tracts when a young man in black clothes with tattoos came by with his girl friend and gave me the finger. I looked him in the eye and told him that I was not that dangerous. Then his girl friend got mad at him and asked him why he was being so mean.
A woman from India stopped by who had taken my tracts. She said she had read them and that she was Hindu. She asked me about Jean, my co-laborer from England who had witnessed to her. The last time Jean and I talked to her we mentioned a revival which was taking place in Shillong, India. Jean had talked to her about the Welsh revival that was brought to India in the 1900s. As a result of the conversation with Jean she had taken some of my tracts. This time I talked to her about her conscience and how it keeps track of our wrongs. I then presented the gospel to her. Please pray for her. I believe she is on the verge of accepting Jesus.
Another woman came walking by with a man and stopped to talk with me as I was sitting by the MAX stop. She said that “Jesus is her Lord” and that she had known the Lord for two years. She took the little scripture booklets called “Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled” and “Smile Jesus Loves You”. The man with her who was a believer was surprised she knew the Lord and said he thought she was Jewish. He told me he had a problem with insomnia so I talked to him about forgiveness. He said his insomnia had to do with problem solving and worry. I quoted the scripture: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5)
Days of Great Opportunity for the Church
We are especially challenged concerning the times we are living in. It seems that this is a season of “much complaining” but we see it as the time of opportunity for all those who are followers of Jesus. The high prices of various commodities, the fear of shortages, a continuing war, and a strange election season provide opportunities to speak of our Lord’s provision, His faithfulness, His enduring Kingdom, and His soon-coming return to rule the earth in righteousness. “He that winneth souls is wise.” (Proverbs 11:30 KJV)
Street Theatre ~ One day a group of young men came by and stopped to interact with us and other passers-by on the Sixth and Morrison corner of Pioneer Square. An older man amongst them pulled out two one-dollar bills and proceeded to tell everyone that money is our God because it says “In God We Trust” on the money. Then he said he was going to burn god and pulled out a lighter and lit the money on fire yelling out that he was burning our god. Well this certainly got a bit of attention as people stopped to watch money burn – money which the panhandlers would have wanted for themselves. This was in contrast to our small “Trust Jesus” sign on our backpack and certainly this event brought up such questions as: “Who or what is really god?” and “Who or what does one actually trust in?” As the older man was leaving with the group of young men, he appeared to be their teacher or professor. He was telling them that which is real is what you experience with your senses in the now. He was negating the supernatural.
We thank God for your prayers, your friendship, your love, your encouragement, and your support as we continue to bring a witness of His kingdom day by day in the Public Square in our city and region. We thank you for standing with us in intercession for an awakening in the church and in the general population of the Pacific N.W. as well as for our nation. And we are standing with you as we send our prayers and our love with this letter.
~ Ron & Karen
E-mail: awakening1s@comcast.net
Home Page: awakening1s.net
church @ 24/7
Ron & Karen Rohman
PO Box 14292
PORTLAND OR 97293