John Piper-”Don’t Waste Your Life”

The following italicized quote is from, as you can see to the left, John Piper’s book “Don’t Waste Your Life. I took this excerpt from pg. 100-102 from the book because I had never seen anything written quite like this on the topic of forgiveness. I know from personal experience how destructive an unforgiving spirit and the smallest root of bitterness can be. I wasted many years of my life being angry with so many people and took such little interest in remembering all that Christ did for me. Piper makes the point in his book if you want to stop wasting your life then begin to learn how to forgive others. I won’t give any more details away but will let the words from his book speak for themselves. I am pleading with people, especially those who already profess Christ in their life, to reflect on what Christ has done so we can continue to carry out the message to the world.  I hope the following will shake up your perspectives much in the same way it has opened my eyes. By no means do I intend to replace the Word of God but John Piper has truly unpacked the truth of what it means to forgive one another as Christ has forgiven us!

The biblical motive for being a forgiving person may be deeper than being forgiven. It is true to say: The motive for being a forgiving person is that we have been forgiven by God when we did not deserve it. “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). But the bottom of this motive is not God’s forgiveness, but what God’s forgiveness gives. It gives God.

Why do we cherish being forgiven by God? There are answers to this question that would dishonor him, because there are benefits from forgiveness that a person may love without loving God. We might say, “I cherish being forgiven by God because I hate the misery of a guilty conscience.” Or “…because I hate the prospect of pain in hell.” Or “…because I want to go to heaven to see my loved ones and have a new body with no sickness.” Where is God in these reasons for cherishing forgiveness? In the best case he is there in all these reasons as the real treasure of life.

If so, then these delights are really ways of cherishing God himself. A free and clean conscience enables us to see more of God and frees us to enjoy him. Escape from hell at the cost of Christ’s blood shows us more of God’s commitment to merciful holiness and his desire for our happiness. The gift of seeing loved ones highlights God’s wonder in creating relationships of love. Getting a new body deepens our identification with the glorified Christ. But if God himself is not there in these gifts—and I fear he is not for many professing Christians—then we do not know what forgiveness is for.

Forgiveness is essentially God’s way of removing the great obstacle to our fellowship with him. By canceling our sin and paying for it with the death of his own Son, God opens the way for us to see him and know him and enjoy him forever. Seeing and savoring him is the goal of forgiveness. Soul-satisfying fellowship with our Father is the aim of the cross. If we love being forgiven for other reasons alone, we are not forgiven, and we will waste our lives.

What, then, is the root motivation for being a forgiving person? “Forgive one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” We are to forgive “as God…forgave” us. God forgave us in such a way that infinite joy in his fellowship becomes ours. God is the goal of forgiveness. He is also the ground and the means of forgiveness. It comes from him; it was accomplished through his Son; and it leads people back to him with their sins cast into the deepest sea. Therefore the motive for being a forgiving person is the joy of being freely and joyfully at home with God. At great cost to himself God gave us what we needed above all things: himself for our enjoyment forever. God’s forgiveness is important for one reason: It gives us God!

Our impulse for being forgiving people is the joy we have in a forgiving God. Not just in being forgiven, but in being given joy in God by being forgiven. If we do not see this and experience this, we will probably turn God-centered motives into a kind of benevolence that tries to do good for man without knowing what the greatest good really is—namely, all-satisfying pleasure in God. But if we experience forgiveness as the free and undeserved gift of joy in God, then we will be carried by this joy, with love, into a world of sin and suffering. Our aim there will be that others, through Jesus Christ, will find forgiveness and everlasting joy in God.

Joy in God overflows in glad-hearted mercy to people, because joy in the merciful God cannot spurn being merciful. You cannot despise becoming what you enjoy about God. Joy in the God who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for undeserving sinners cannot return evil for evil. That joy will love being merciful (Micah 6:8). Joy in the God who is slow to anger cannot coexist with its own impatience. It will fight for the triumph of what it admires in God. Joy in the God who spends eternity showing “the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness towards us” (Ephesians 2:7) delights to be generous and looks for ways to give.

I (God) Complete You

If you have grown up in church from a very early age you most likely will remember the lyrics to the song “Jesus Love Me” along with the one line that sings “they are weak but He is strong.” From a very early age I remember singing this song and learning that God is my strength but say around 10-15 years later something happened. I am not the only one and my generation won’t be the last. Over these years boys and girls begin to realize that the opposite sex isn’t so bad and we desperately want to find one to be partnered with. This is natural and there is nothing wrong with wanting to love another human being. The problem is when our priorities and focus have shifted from what it was when we had faith like a child. One of the most troubling examples I can recall is a statement from a young woman I heard about a few years ago in reference to her new love, “When I am weak he is strong, and when I am strong he is weak.” It sounds really cute and you can just imagine the fireworks going off in the background as the words are spoken. In the midst of falling in love with the romance of that statement we are forgetting one major element. By nature both people are sinners so my question back would be, “What happens when both of you are weak?” Tragically, the answer is temptation which leads to sin and if not dealt with before and during marriage then ultimately will lead to divorce. Seriously think about this for a minute. Why is it that so many relationships outside of marriage and then so many within a marriage covenant end in such a nasty breakup? We watch movies about this and for every Hollywood romance flick there is an equally disastrous movie about some couple breaking up. Too many shows like “Sex and the City” have become truth for establishing relationships instead of the truth from God’s Word. There are so many couples putting their hope in one another and have forgotten that Jesus and Jesus alone is the source of our strength and he alone can complete us and fill our void (Exodus 15:2, Psalm 18:32, Psalm 73:26). Jesus is our perfection and only He will ever make sense of our world. The answer is if a relationship begins wrong then without the hope of Christ’s leading it is destined to end wrong.

I first began preparing to write this several weeks ago after I watched a YouTube video from one of my favorite pastors, Matt Chandler. I posted the link below and would highly recommend listening to his thoughts from this clip on relationships and putting your hope in God. Chandler says what makes a person the one or better yet how does he know his wife is the one is very simple. It has nothing to do with any idea that his wife is somehow completing him but rather the very basic fact that they are husband and wife. His idea of the “one” has nothing to do with emotions or giddy language surrounding the context of the relationship but has everything to do with a deeper God uniting bond between husband and wife. Matthew 19 reminds us that Jesus’ view was, “the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” When we perceive that another person has completed us outside the covenant of marriage then we don’t value and treasure the need of God uniting our flesh into one through the covenant of marriage. If we believe we are completing each other and not God then as conflict within the marriage arise it will be that much easier to walk away. It should not be this way because it is not as Jesus intended.

I would also recommend for those who are single, getting married, those who probably will get married, and for those who are already married to check out the book by Dave Harvey called “When Sinners Say I Do”. It once again reiterates the idea that two sinners cannot make something perfect, especially a marriage. We don’t perfect each other only Christ does because he is holy! We have built up our spouses and those in relationships with us to be something they will never be and that is perfect. It is inevitable that at some point there will be something done that is less than perfect whether it is accidental or intentional and we will be faced with the question of “Could the grass be greener on the other side?” I have a passion to reach youth who are already laying the groundwork for destruction in their teenage relationships. It is very common for teenagers to have 4 or 5 boyfriends or girlfriends a year at the very least. It is done with the hope that someone better will come along and when they get older and are confronted with the slightest trouble in their marriage the thought comes across that there might yet be someone better. If you are jumping from relationship to relationship and constantly desiring to be with someone then how solid is your relationship with Christ? No one would be excited for me to call this idol worship but it is exactly what it is. Are we pursuing or desiring Christ in our lives the same way we are pursuing or desiring another person. How our lives and relationships would change if we would only love God in the same way He desires to be loved.

Why is the grass not greener you might ask? Very simply and in its most basic form it is exchanging one sinner for another sinner, one sin for another sin, one transgression for another transgression. It is inevitable because sinners sin. The answer is not another person but is God’s grace made available through Jesus Christ that gives us strength. I see so many people wasting time and energy looking for the perfect person to date and potentially marry. Instead why not put the focus on becoming the right person and becoming exactly what Christ wants you to be? In order to have lasting marriages and Christ centered families then our relationships at its earliest stages need to be Christ focused. It begins with an individual who is focused on Christ and then two individuals who seek to begin a life’s journey together of loving Christ more each day which enables them to love one another.

Living God’s Will

What is God’s will for my life? If you have ever had a thought about God then this is a question you have certainly asked yourself. Even after a person professes salvation in Christ this question doesn’t disappear. I have met Christians who are 60 yrs old and are still asking this same question. In Christian circles I would presume it is one that is most frequently asked. I hear it everywhere I go and after each time it makes me feel sad for the person because it reminds me so much of where I have been in my life. I have been a believer in Christ since I was 15 years old and it took 11 painful years for me to truly understand what God’s will is for my life. If I could ask just one question to Christians around the world it would be why such the difficulty in determining God’s will for our lives? God’s will is not a mystery like so many of us believe it to be and like I used to think it was within those 11 years of my life. If you don’t hear me on anything else in this post then remember this…God’s will for my life is no different than it is for your life. I know that may sound crazy at first glance but I hope my explanation in the next few paragraphs will leave anyone who reads this resting assured in the sovereignty of an Almighty God.

“What is God’s will for my life?” I have come to understand this question doesn’t mean so much what is God’s “will” for me but better yet what does God have in store for my life in the future. Sound about right? In a sense we are desperate to know what God has planned for us on this earth. We want to know God’s full plan revealed to us like what person we will marry, what are kids will be like, what job we will have, and where in the world I am going to live. If these are the kinds of things you want to know about your life then I completely understand the confusion when the question is asked, “What is God’s will for my life?” The person we marry, the job, the kids, etc are truly a mystery that we cannot know ahead of time. Why waste so much time and energy focused on wanting to know them? So do you want to truly know God’s will for your life? Are you tired of obsessing with endless scenarios and constantly worrying about what your future holds? I will say it again do you truly want to know God’s will?

This would probably be a good time to explain what God’s will is then. We have focused on what God’s will is not and what it should not be so then what is it? It is very simple and I pull it from two passages of Scripture that have dramatically changed my life. The first is I Thessalonians 5:16-18 and the other is Romans 12:2.

I Thessalonians 5:16-18

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Romans 12:2

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Because of its simplicity there isn’t much need for explanation. God’s will is hating what He hates, loving what He loves, being in a constant attitude of prayer, and not necessarily being happy about your circumstances but finding joy in the middle of them because you know God is using everything for your future good and ultimately His glory. This is truly what God’s will is all about for each one of us. It is not that every detail of our lives is not important but that truly doing and knowing God’s will for our lives is so much better. Let me rephrase it this way. Knowing there is victory in Christ and the fact God has not stepped off his throne in any of our circumstances is far superior to anything and everything we might be able to obtain in this present world! God’s will is doing what he expects (obedience) and not what we expect to obtain from Him! If we believe in Christ we have far better than what we deserved because we are promised an eternity with Him.

At the Bible study I lead in downtown Greenville, recently we were talking briefly about God’s will for our lives and I suggested the following scenario. We want to know everything God has in store for us in our lives but is it necessary. What if God revealed everything future about our lives to us? What if he told some of us we would lose our jobs, have our spouse leave us, maybe have an abusive spouse, maybe you get terminally ill, maybe your martyred for Christ’s sake, maybe your children are kidnapped, maybe the worst things you can possibly imagine come true. At the risk of coming across morbidly concerned with negativity, seriously what if? If you knew all these things were going to happen would it make you want to trust and serve God more? If I knew 10 years ago some of the things that are happening to me now I can assure you it would only have made me want to question God more and focus on the circumstances instead of God. One thing I know about the future of each person is suffering must and will happen because of Philippians 1:29, “it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him”. The other thing I know is from Psalms 34 that a “righteous man may have many troubles but the Lord delivers him from them all” and Romans 8:28 “that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” Because we can truly know God’s will for our lives we can truly face any circumstance. Rest on the promises of God and not on the perception of hopelessness in your situations. Rest on the sovereignty of God and not on the sovereignty of man. When we believe God is in control of everything we will no longer be obsessed with knowing every small detail but will focus more on obeying God today and in this minute. The good news about knowing and doing God’s will for our lives is that when we are truly seeking God it will allow us to be best prepared for the future. Instead of obsessing with the future I would challenge others to become obsessed with God’s Word and truly begin to understand God’s will.

Lessons from Francis Chan

Over the past two weeks I have been reading these two books from Francis Chan. I had never heard of him until about 2 months ago when my friends came back from the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta raving about him. I still hadn’t decided to check him out until a pastor friend of mine in Rocky Mount, NC told me he had been reading “Crazy Love” as a one on one discipleship with a youth in his church. I respected his opinion so when I got back in town from speaking at his church I picked up the book for myself.  I first of all started reading “Crazy Love” which focuses on why Christians become lukewarm and how to reverse the trend in today’s church. I haven’t finished reading “Forgotten God” yet but it is opening my eyes to things I may have never thought about the Holy Spirit. Being raised in the Baptist church my entire life, admittedly there have been preconceived views about the Holy Spirit in my life. The Holy Spirit for a lot of Christians scares us because of the churches we have been raised in but this book reinforces the belief that the Spirit should be power in our lives. I have enjoyed searching the Scriptures as I have been reading both of these books and am more solid because of it. I would highly recommend reading what Francis Chan has to stay about the Holy Spirit in light with what the Bible teaches and determine for yourself if your views are grounded in God’s Word or a denomination. I wanted to post the following excerpts from the two books highlighting my favorite and most meaningful lessons from them. I hope they will be just as meaningful and possibly convict in a way that will find you back in the center of God’s will for your lives.

“Crazy Love

Chapter 4: Profile of the Lukewarm (pg.67)

“Has your relationship with God actually changed the way you live? Do you see evidence of God’s kingdom in your life? Or are you choking it out slowly by spending too much time, energy, money, and thought on the things of the this world?

Are you satisfied being ‘godly enough’ to get yourself to heaven, or to look good in comparison to others? Or can you say with Paul that you ‘want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death’ (Philippians 3:10)?”

“Forgotten God”

Chapter 3: Theology of the Holy Spirit 101 (pg 76)

-The Spirit has emotions

“I believe that if we truly cared about the Holy Spirit’s grief, there would be fewer fights, divorces, and splits in our churches. Maybe it’s not due to lack of belief but rather a lack of concern. I pray for the day when believers care more about the Spirit’s grief than their own. In fact, I pray that some of you readers would be broken over the grief you’ve placed on the Holy Spirit. So broken that you actually put down this book and work to resolve any conflicts you have with other believers. ‘If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all’ (Romans 12:8).”

Wonderful Cross

I was listening to Chris Tomlin’s song “The Wonderful Cross” yesterday when suddenly God used it to speak to me in a most amazing way. I had led a study earlier in the week with a group of single adults in which our discussion was centered on the foolishness of the cross for those who have yet to believe but to those who are being saved it is powerful (I Corinthians 1:18). I will have to post the notes from our discussion from that study in a few days but right now I want to share the thoughts that came to my mind from yesterday. As I have posted before I am a big fan of C.J. Mahaney and I love how he calls us to put our focus back on the cross and not on ourselves. His book “The Cross Centered Life” has me thinking a lot about the cross lately and so naturally when I heard the song directing my attention it made me even more focused on it. When the song was over I sat down with my pen and then these following words came out on the paper.

“There is no greater manifestation of our sin as that which was displayed on the cross. Yet there was no greater manifestation of God’s love as that which was poured out on the cross.”

Of course we understand it was God’s love that sent Jesus to die for our sins but how often do we forget that it was our sins that nailed Jesus to the cross? Without pointing the finger at everyone else’s sins we must first recognize it was our sins. His will is that none of us should perish and so if it was only my sin I still believe God would have sent a Savior. We need to begin to wrap our mind around the fact that we are all sinners and we were all equally at one time enemies of an Almighty God. Christ’s sacrifice while we were still sinning made it possible for us to even become the children of God. Because of this it makes complete sense that we can sing a song about the cross being wonderful. It is the place where God’s love met our sin and it is the place where God’s wrath against mankind was satisfied. The cross is wonderful because the message of the cross is powerful.

Uprooting Anger

About a year ago a friend of mine mailed me this book to help me get back on the right track in my life. As I am sure to tell numerous times in my life, I had an anger problem and my life was marked with bitterness and a heart far from God. This book helped me understand God’s grace in my life and helped restore me to the man I have become in Christ today. As I continue to watch people being fed lies about how we can control our anger and how to just simply change behavioral patterns (a la Dr. Phil), God has begun to place on my heart a desire to learn more about Biblical counseling. I hope to be able to go to seminary at some point in the near future to study Biblical counseling and help point people back to truth that will change their lives from the inside out. Another great resource is the link I have posted on the blogroll to Ken Sande’s website. Jay E. Adams is also a personal favorite of mine. Anyways, I am posting some thoughts from pg. 105 from the book that talks about holding a grudge and not forgiving.

When you hold a grudge and refuse to forgive in your heart, what does God say about you?

(a.) You are forgetting the size of the massive sin debt for which God forgave you (Matthew 18:21-35; Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13).

(b.) You are declaring that you do not need God’s forgiveness in your life (Matthew 6:12-15; Matthew 18:21-35; Mark 11:25).

(c.) You are declaring that you do not need God’s mercy on the day of judgement (Micah 6:8, Matthew 5:7, James 2:13).

(d.) You are assuming God’s role as Judge (Genesis 50:19, Romans 12:19, James 4:12).

(e.) You are forgetting the fact that the offender, as a sinner, is in one sense deceived and enslaved by his sin. You lack compassion (Luke 23:34a; John 8:34, Ephesians 4:30-5:2, Colossians 3:12-14).

(f.) You are forgetting the fact that you, as a sinner, are capable of the same sin and that the same root sin may already reside in you (Proverbs 16:18; Jeremiah 17:9; I Corinthians 10:12; Hebrews 3:12-13).

These six truths, and the accompanying passages that teach them, yield hope to those who wonder whether they can forgive others.

Love Never Fails

Cross Centered Life

C.J. Mahaney- “The Cross Centered Life”

This is an awesome book that I highly recommend. It points Christians back to what should be the central focus of our lives, the cross. I am looking forward to hearing him speak when he comes to Greenville soon. I am posting  a section from the book that would be great for each Christian to examine in their lives. It is the fruit that marks a life whose focus is not on the cross. If the following describes your life then there is evidence of change that needs to made.

Are you living a cross centered life? (pg. 16)

• You often lack joy.
• You’re not consistently growing in spiritual maturity.
• Your love for God lacks passion.
  
• You’re always looking for some new technique, some “new truth” or new experience that will pull all the pieces of your faith together.

Sweet Devotion

I was recently at a Christian concert with the bands Third Day, Jars of Clay, Thousand Foot Krutch, and Audio Adrenaline headlining. During one of the switches between sets evangelist David Nasser briefly spoke and one phrase he said sparked the discussion for our latest Bible study. He said, “Christians have got to stop living on emotion and start living on devotion.” It began to make me think about how much of our decisions are made because we “feel” like it is the right thing to do. The world’s view is if it feels good then go ahead and do it but God reminds us that are ways are not his ways. We need a standard that is firmer than just a feeling from our heart. Jeremiah 17:9 says our hearts are deceitful and it gives us further proof to the necessity of being deeply rooted in God’s Word.

I started off the study by asking the group to give me a verse that is influential and has made a difference in their life. I mentioned Romans 12:1-2 for my life and then popular responses I began to hear from the group were Proverbs 3:5-6 and Romans 8:28. To those who are reading this how about you? How has God’s Word impacted your life? When David Nasser began to speak about devotion the first thing that came to mind was a Christian doing their quiet time or “devotions”. I hate what this concept has become to so many Christians. It has become repetition for many to make themselves feel good about their walk with Christ. In the rest of this blog today I will be discussing what devotion is not and then what a devoted life to Christ really looks like. Devotions are not just the first 15 minutes of your morning to begin your day and it is not even the last 15 minutes of your evening before you head to bed. While reading the Bible is important at any point in the day it can’t just begin and end there. It doesn’t matter what you read in those 15 minutes if the rest of the 23 hours and 45 minutes of your day resemble nothing like what you just read.

As I began to study I was drawn to Psalm 119 which is really quite lengthy but throughout there are three concepts which I see as a central theme. (1) The author is unknown but what we do know and can see is this person is passionately driven by God’s Word. (2.) We see humility before God. (3.) We see a desire for righteousness and obedience to God’s commands.

Psalm 119:9-11

How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

This idea of seeking God with all our heart is found numerous times in this passage and even throughout the Bible itself. Ever heard someone say seek the face of God or seek God with all your heart? This very simply means to have an understanding of God along with a desire to conform to His will. God’s will for us is in His word and if we are going to be living in devotion then we need to be saturating our mind with His word. This means reading and having fellowship with God daily and yes even memorizing. Why do Christians have such a negative outlook when it comes to memorizing Scripture? People memorize things every day even the ones who supposedly can’t memorize the Bible. For instance when a song comes on the radio or when we watch a movie do we formally set out to memorize the lyrics from the song or the quotes from the movie? Maybe, but do the majority of people do that? What we do is watch the movie numerous times over and hear the song on the radio again and again to the point where we have saturated our mind with it. We even tell our friends some of the quotes or sing lyrics of songs around our friends and we begin to influence others. I am absolutely not against movies and music but what if we saturated our minds with God’s Word and became so passionate we began to influence those around us with something that truly matters? It is ridiculous to say we can’t memorize Scripture! When we say we can’t we imply it just isn’t that important to us or it means we don’t have guidance from the Holy Spirit.

Emotion can be a great thing when we have put it in its proper context. Emotion set apart from God has the potential to not glorify him but when our passions come from his word then there will be an overwhelming release of emotion that is God glorifying. The author of this psalm loved the law of the Lord and never wanted it to depart from him. So often we think of laws in a negative context. God’s laws are not meant to punish us but are meant to keep us safe. The law in the Garden of Eden was not meant to harm or punish Adam and Eve but very much to protect them. His laws lead us to righteousness and keep us from sin.

When I was living in sin I purposely ignored passages I knew would convict me but this is what Scripture does. According to II Timothy 3:16 all Scripture is useful and it allows us to make corrections in our own lives and it helps us lead others away from sin in theirs as well. Scripture is the Christians manual for living a successful life or in other words a life of holiness that ultimately glorifies Christ.

Have you ever noticed the devotion from the followers of all the other major religions of the world? These are all false religions that lead straight to eternity in Hell yet those who profess to follow Jesus Christ show the least amount of devotion in their lives. No religion has such a sacrifice as that of Christ laying down his life for the sins of the world. How much more then should we be willing to sacrifice and devote our lives to the only one who can save us. Our lives need to exemplify Christ!

**“We must carefully treasure up the word of God, declare it to others, meditate on it, and heartily delight in it; and then by his grace shall we act according to it.” –Unknown

II Chronicles 7:14

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

What Does It Profit A Man…?

What’s up with posting the song above? Ok, well I will tell you. This song was all over the Christian radio about a year ago and I even heard Toby Mac here in Greenville for like $10 back in February. This song means a lot to me because it reminds me a lot of where I have been in my walk with Christ. For so long I held to the title of “Christian” but my life didn’t represent it. I became obsessed with the things this world had to offer and lost my focus on my identity with Christ. I know there are other Christians who have walked, are currently walking, or will walk down a similar path I took in my life. Christ has recaptured my love for him and the things of this world no longer compare to the grace he has given me.

A few months ago you might remember me posting about an opportunity to speak at an all night youth event in Rocky Mount, NC on Nov 6th. At the time I was very anxious because it seemed like it was so many months away. Now I look at the calendar and I can’t believe it is just a few weeks away. I feel like I am about ready to explode if I don’t get the message off my heart soon. The passage from Mark 8:34-38 has been on my mind for the last several months but it wasn’t until about two weeks ago that I knew without a doubt God was leading me to speak from it. “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?” This is the question I will be asking the youth from a few different churches at this event. I am praying for wisdom and boldness as I seek to pursue things with my life I never envisioned. God has given me a great opportunity to represent Christ and to influence and lead youth to his saving grace. I thank God for the opportunity and I pray God will grant more to come as I continue to follow in obedience to the path he lays out for my life. Whenever I begin to think maybe I am in over my head I am reminded of this passage from I Corinthians 1:27-29,

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.

Please keep me in your prayers as I continue to follow God’s will for my life and I can’t wait to post the follow up story in November. Thanks for all the support!