Author: Solomon

“And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?” Romans 10:14

Did you know unbelievers love certain Bible verses? How can that be?

Well, through long experience Solomon and I have discovered that unbelievers love to use Bible verses as weapons to silence us, especially when we’re preaching against sin. “Judge not” (Matthew 7:1) and “He that is without sin . . . let him first cast a stone” (John 8:7) are two of their favorites.

To them we can now add a third:  “Do unto others  . . ” Yes, now even the Golden Rule has been thrown in our faces!

While Solomon was preaching at the table this past week, an irate grey-haired man with veins popping out of his neck screamed “Love thy neighbor as thyself!”

Putting down the microphone, Solomon told the old man “It’s because we love you that we’re telling you about God’s salvation.”

“This is not love,” he shouted back, “this is noise pollution!  You’re making a lot of noise that nobody wants to hear!”

“Sir, you need to get right with God”

“And you need to show some of that love you’re talking about.” He scurried away with his hands covering his ears, screaming “Love thy neighbor as thyself! Love thy neighbor as thyself!”

Well, he was right about one thing:  Nobody wants to hear bad news, and the the news that one is born into the bondage of sin, needful of repentance and redemption – that’s bad, bad to the point of sounding too loud.

But unless you hear the bad news first, you can’t hear the good news that your sins were forgiven two thousand years ago and that by accepting Jesus into your life, you are free to “go and sin no more.”

Bearing witness to Christ in the middle of Times Square is not a calling for sissies, dear saints. All Jesus promises about the rejection and mockery of the world comes to sting us every preaching day of our lives. But spread the good news we must for that is our mission, and we thank you for your love and support without which it wouldn’t be possible  Amen.

Brenda & Solomon NY, NY  email bmilliner10@gmailcom     July 2020

website brenda-solomon-salvationpreaching.com

 

 

“God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” – 1 John 4:16

While preaching one day, out of the corner of my eye I could see Solomon being approached by two black men. I should say two black giants, actually, because they made six-foot tall Solomon look like Tom Thumb by comparison. I couldn’t hear the conversation, but the intensity of it made me anxious; it could have easily escalated into a fight, and Solomon would have been the loser.

No fight materialized, however. After the two left, Solomon explained that the spirited conversation was about the giants’ religion, which turned out to be Muslim. They were discussing the Muslim practice of “honor killing,” wherein a family member who converts to another religion must be killed by another family member – in order to save the “honor” of the family. (Some honor!)

“What a gruesome religion,” he continued. “Stoning people to death for adultery, cutting off their hands for stealing a loaf of bread . . . but the ‘honor killings’ take the cake. I tried to convince them that a loving God wouldn’t allow such punishments, but I was wasting my breath. Guess we’ll never see those two again.”

Turns out he was wrong. One did come back a week later, moved by Solomon’s vision of a loving God . . . and his testimony shattered us.

He started like this: “It happened to the family next door to us in my village in Somalia. Their 21-yr-old daughter Sabaad came under the influence of a British lady in the next town who was a strong believer in Christianity. After meeting with her many times, Sabaad came to believe in Jesus.

“She made a fatal mistake, though. She confided her new faith to a cousin she thought she could trust. The cousin informed on her, and within days, Sabaad’s battered corpse was found outside the village, a bullet through the head.

“They killed her flesh,” we told him, “but they couldn’t kill her soul. She’s in heaven,” we reassured him, “she’s in heaven with Jesus.” And this wonderful truth brought comfort to the giant’s heart – so much comfort that he tearfully asked Solomon to lead him to Jesus Christ. Before our very eyes, he repeated the Sinner’s Prayer and took his first steps as a baby believer.

What a thrilling way to start the New Year! And to think – without your love and support, the Somalian giant might have escaped God’s reach. Happy New Year, Dearly Beloved . . . to Solomon and me, each of you is a giant ! ! !

Brenda & Solomon NY, NY bmilliner10@gmail.com January 2020

Around Christmastime, a grandmotherly type showed up at our table claiming that she needed money to buy medicine for her grandson. Solomon questioned her;  to him her story just didn’t add up.  Despite his doubts, he placed a $5 dollar bill in her hand, but with a warning:  “If you’re taking this money under false pretenses, the wrath of God will descend upon you.”

Without saying a word, with both of her hands she took Solomon’s hand – and gave him back his $5 bill. It was like a miracle to see the fear of God at work.

As I watched Grandma fade into the crowd, empty handed but clean of conscience, I was reminded of another case where a woman was warned of God’s wrath, and this time I was doing the warning.

It was about two years ago when Latoya first stopped by the table to look at the pro-life materials. You could tell by her “baby bump” that she was at least four months pregnant.

“So when is your due date?” I asked.

“Due date?” she snapped. “I’m getting rid of it.”

“You’ll be in trouble with God if you do.”

She dropped the materials back on the table and walked away. I thought I’d never see her again.

Out of a clear blue sky, a year later Latoya showed up at the table again – no bump, no baby. I was expecting to hear bad news, but God had a surprise in store for me.

“Remember me?” she asked sheepishly. “You told me I’d get in trouble with God if I had an abortion. Well, I was already in trouble with God and didn’t need any more. So I took your advice and had the baby.”

“But where’s the baby/” I thought to myself. As if reading my mind, she answered my question: “The baby was placed in foster care, and the foster care mother so loved the child that she wound up adopting her.”

In both cases – the phony beggar and the pregnant girl – the fear of the Lord brought a happy ending, especially for Latoya’s adopted baby girl.

If it weren’t for your love and support, these stories would have ended much differently. We love you, we thank you, we wish you a New Year full of God’s Happy Endings!

Brenda & Solomon Milliner NY, NY bmilliner10@gmail.com  January 2019                        Website:   Brenda-Solomon-SalvationPreaching.com                 

It happened just last week, and it was so amazing I had to share it with you.

Young Dino had been showing up at our table once in a while, staying a few minutes, listening and smiling – but quietly drawing away before we could speak with him. We wondered who he was and why he was stopping at the table.

Last week he approached Solomon and asked, “Could we go out for a cup of coffee? I’d like to speak with you guys.” Of course we were happy to join him.

“I’ve been a Catholic all my life. Served as an altar buy. Was confirmed at the age of twelve. Go to Mass and confession. Saw Pope Francis when he visited New York. Not that any of this makes me an angel, but at least I try to live the way the church tells me to.”

“So . . . what I don’t understand is . . . as Christians, why can’t you guys accept my church? What’s so bad about being Catholic? Why can’t a good Catholic be a good Christian? I mean, what’s the difference? I’m troubled by this, and I’ve been thinking about it a lot.

We were struck by Dino’s sincerity, and his question deserved an equally sincere answer. Carefully, respectfully, and backing up our every point with scriptural authority . . . we made the case for doctrinal error concerning transubstantiation of bread and wine into flesh and blood, the Papacy as a permanent divine office on earth, and praying to Mary as a form of necromancy (praying to the dead).

This last idea, that praying to Mary was forbidden, shook our young friend to his roots. Solomon turned to I Timothy 2:5. “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ.”

Dino asked to see the verse. Solomon handed it to him. He read it over and over and over. Then he did the unthinkable: he stood up, took the rosary beads out of his pocket, dropped them to the floor and crushed them beneath his heel.

For this former altar boy, doing that must have seemed like spitting in the faces of all the priests and nuns who taught him a lifetime of Catholic beliefs. But he was honest enough and brave enough to see God’s light on the road to Damascus, and we were privileged enough to witness it, praise the Lord!

The Holy Spirit is still guiding men and women into all truth, friends. And during this Thanksgiving season, we are grateful above all for your love and support. It enables and encourages us to help shine that “great light round about us.”

Brenda & Solomon Milliner NY, NY  bmilliner10@gmail.com      November 2018

Our website        Brenda-Solomon-salvationpreaching.com

 

 

Solomon’s big and strong; very few guys would pick a fight with him. But attacked by a woman? That’s a different story. He’s put at a huge disadvantage.

Cut to last week. This angry white witch in her mid 30’s shoves herself right in front of Solomon and starts screaming in his face . . . accusing him of stopping her from exercising her right to “choose.” If Solomon had responded to her rants, she would have hollered that he’s a bully . . . so it was up to me, his wife, to speak up. And I did.

What surprised me was that my response caused the screamer to shut up.

While she was shouting “You’re against woman’s rights!” I shouted back, “Hey I’m a woman too, and your mother’s on my side.”

Confounded, she asked “What does my mother have to do with this? You don’t know my mother.”

“I know this much: she didn’t abort you, so she must be on my side.” Just as light drives out darkness, this simple truth drove Jezebel away.  Temporarily.

Five minutes later she’s back with new accusations to discredit us.  She loudly declares that she’s a vegan and that we’re murderers because we eat meat.

That’s when I shot back, “Your for killing black babies, aren’t you?”  Once again, she shrew was cowed into silence. “What does race have to do with this?” she asked.

I ten took the opportunity to tell her everything I know about the racist, eugenicist, KKK-lover Margaret Sanger, founder of America’s largest abortion provider m(Planned Parenthood).  I ended the rant with my tried and true diagnosis: “You need Jesus.”

“Jesus? Are  you kidding? This is the 21st century, sweetheart. You need to read a book for a change.”  She ran off before I could say, “You need to read the same Book I read, The Book of Life, so you can choose life instead of death.”

We’re grateful to God that you, our dear friends, make a choice too – you choose to support us so we can help others make the right choice – the Life Choice ! ! !

May God bless you as much as we do and more, more, more ! ! !

Brenda & Solomon Milliner NY, NY bmillkiner10@gmail.com      October 2018

 

 

Solomon and I understand that the people who stop at our gospel table are usually in a rush to keep their next appointment and can give us only a few moments of their time. We do not take these opportunities to witness one-on-one lightly, but pray that we’ll use these precious moments to plant seeds of eternal truth into their hearts.

Such an opportunity presented itself when a young man stood before me a couple of days ago. With his cool, fashionably torn jeans and tailored shirt, he fitted the description of “yuppie” to a tee.

I was surprised when he asked, “Did I kill Jesus?” Then he pointed to the top of his head, on which rested a yarmulke (with a New York Mets label). He was Jewish.

From the corner of my eye I could see his two buddies beckoning  for him to join them. I knew I didn’t have much time and I had a tough customer on my hands.

“You (meaning you personally) didn’t kill Jesus. He willingly laid down his life to pay for our sins.”

I challenged him. “Do you realize you need Jesus?”

“Jews don’t need Jesus,” he replied. To which I countered, “So you’re perfect? You don’t sin” He admitted he’s a sinner, and honestly helped me get to the crux of the matter. “And how can you, a sinner, be justified in the name of the Holy God?”

Repeating what he’d been taught all his life by rabbis, his answer was: “Prayers, good works, giving in the synagogue.”

In the background his friends were all yelling “Let’s go!” I had to make my point fast.

“According to the Torah, none of these things can make atonement for your soul.” His countenance betrayed a serious concern weighing on his mind.

“You’re in trouble with God!” I warned

He asked for pamphlets and stuffed them in his Gucci pockets as his friends pulled him away.

This exchange took less than two minutes. Two minutes that could make the difference between his spending eternity in Heaven or in Hell.

Thanks to you loving support, we’re able to plant seeds in the middle of Times Square, Satan’s HQ in New York. It’s you who provide the two-minute soil from which someday will spring Saved Souls.   Happy Thanksgiving – wish I could tell you how thankful we are for you!

Brenda & Solomon Milliner NY, NY   bmilliner99@yahoo.com  November 2017

Few revelations are more discouraging than watching a brother who professes to be a Christian – who you accept as a Christian — turn into a Pharisee before your very eyes.

Solomon and I witnessed such a metamorphosis at our table when Joseph, a retiree, met our friend Theo, an office clerk, and refused to shake the younger man’s hand.

Joseph had always been friendly when he stopped at the table, so his rude behavior caught us by surprise. What was it about Theo that could have caused this reaction? Nothing really. He was just a typical middle-aged office worker – no tattoos, no facial piercings, nothing that could make one think he’s some kind of weirdo to be avoided.

So what did Joseph have against Theo? That Theo was wearing a cross around his neck. Pointing at Theo’s cross, Joseph sanctimoniously said “Thing of all the atrocities that have been committed in the name of the cross.”

While Solomon and I tried to explain that it’s OK to wear a cross, Theo took out his cell phone and began reading to us Scriptures that teach against allowing petty differences to cause division among believers.

Once again we were shocked as Joseph pushed Theo’s cell phone away. “I don’t read the scriptures from cell phones, and neither should you.” He then pulled a huge black Bible out of his duffel bag. Holding that big black Bible high above his head, he shouted “Look – everyone can see I’m reading the Bible. When you read from a cell phone, people don’t know what your reading.”

“Your motive is wrong,” Solomon said. “Your reading the good book just to be seen reading it!” Joseph snapped back, “What right have you to judge me?” and stalked off, still holding the huge black Bible above his head.

In a matter of minutes, Joseph’s actions told us louder than his words: “I do things to be seen of men. I feel superior to others and refuse to be judged by them. I am above all criticism. I choose to see the faults in others instead of their good points. I don’t practice what I preach – but you’d better! I’m content to ignore the “weightier matters” of religious life, like love and mercy.”

Lord, may Solomon and I never become Pharisees. Our task (and yours) is to spread the real Gospel of Christ by showing genuine love and encouragement to each other. Thank you, dear friends, for your continued love and support for our efforts in NYC to help build the Kingdom of God, one soul at a time.

Brenda & Solomon Milliner NY, NY  bmilliner99@yahoo.com  October 2017