Are we free to choose Christ Jesus?

 

Some folk believe that man is totally depraved and without the ability to choose to believe on Jesus Christ or to do any good thing. That he has no free will and that he lives a life scripted by God for good or for bad. When I think about this I wonder what would the world look like if we knew there was a God but we had no divine guidance in the form of the bible. If we had no authoritative source of information to tell us about the history of the people of God. Nothing to lead us to Christ Jesus or to show us about His redemptive work on the Cross and His resurrection from the dead. What would the world be like?

The apostle Paul told us that the all of mankind knows right from wrong in their hearts. God has put that knowledge in the souls of all humanity (Romans 1:19-20). Satan tells mankind that there is no God and a man should do whatever he desires to do. Do what you want in other words. However, the conscience that God has given you informs you that there is a path that is wicked and a path that is righteous. You have the knowledge and you have the choice.

So, if we look at our depravity from the God’s point of view we simply don’t measure up. Romans 3:10 tells us that “There is non righteous not even one.” Romans 3:22 says “All have sinned and all fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 6:23 puts it this way “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” So when stand before God we are clearly deficient or as the prophet Isaiah states “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” KJV

If we consider our situation from a human point of view where we are considering our good deeds or our sinful acts in comparison to our equally fallen brothers and sisters. May be we can be more merciful to our fellow men and women. We all know at least someone who is not a Christian but who is a good person when judged by human standards and as I mentioned before we all have a heart felt knowledge of right and wrong. Christians are saved but are not perfect in this life and this is also the case with non believers who are often decent folk but not perfect in this life. Non Christians may choose to be as righteous as they can be because they have the free choice. They may not have heard the gospel or read the bible but often they try to be as righteous as they can as people who don’t know God. This does not apply to all as some people are just wicked but that is often a choice they make for themselves.

However, The fallen and unsaved do good things every day. Mothers and Fathers love their children. They feed and care for them and even give their lives for them in many places around the world. Are these not righteous acts. We hear tales of valor from wars and from disasters and often these are from people who are not Christian. If we cannot do any good thing with out the grace of God, how is it that the unrighteous can do these things at all?

I believe that much of the thinking that underpins ideas like “We are so depraved we can do no good thing without the grace of God,”comes from legalism and church tradition. It is the traditions of men based in the arrogance that we know better than those around us. It is so easy to be saved and credit the grace of God for our salvation while condemning the lost for their depravity. Interesting in the light of what Jesus says in John 3:17 “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (NKJV). If God does not condemn the world then why do we?

Ezekiel chapter eighteen is interesting reading when it comes to learning about God’s attitude to sin and repentance. In paraphrase, Ezekiel speaks here of how God views the sins of the fathers and the impact they have on the righteousness of their sons. The end of the chapter, verses thirty through thirty two says this: “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways,” says the Lord God. “Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord God. “Therefore turn and live!”

Here, the prophet speaks to the reader as though they are able to hear his message and react to to it. There appears to be no question of them being unable to respond to his instructions because of their depravity. God who inspired the prophet, seems to expect them to repent and return to Him as though the course is open to them and they are completely able to comply with His request. It is as though He views them as free will beings with the freedom to choose.

It is interesting that the people are being told to repent and turn from their transgressions in a similar way to that which the apostle Peter proclaims in the book of Acts chapter three verses seventeen through twenty: “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers also did. But the things which God previously announced by the mouths of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has fulfilled in this way. Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you..” (NASB).

Now, if you read Ezekiel chapter eighteen and the passage from Acts chapter three you will see that the people are given a clear vision of sin and repentance and God has given them a clear choice, and He gives it with the expectation that you will obey and live. The choice is yours my friends. It always has been and it is a choice given to free will beings created in the image of God. Whom God hopes will choose His Son, Jesus Christ, that they might have eternal life and live forever with Him in the kingdom of heaven.

So let the bible which is the divinely inspired word of God have the last say.

Two Peter chapter three verses eight and nine:

“But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance..” (NASB).

John chapter three verse sixteen:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (KJV)

The Whole Picture

 

Many Christians speak of salvation in terms of election and grace. However, the bible provides more information about salvation than election alone and the bigger picture involves faith, belief and an element of personal choice.

Now, it is not agreeable to talk about freedom of choice in many Christian circles. This is because as it is considered that since the fall of man, humanity is so completely depraved that they are unable to choose to do any good thing.

A fallen person then, would be unable to believe that God’s only Son, Jesus Christ, bore their sins on the cross and that through believing in His redemptive work they would receive eternal life.

Therefore, from this perspective people can only be saved through God’s grace. This statement is true but focuses on only part of the picture of salvation. This is because God desires a people for His own possession (1Peter 2: 9-10), and that we each must choose to believe on Jesus Christ to become members of the people of God and to gain entry to the Kingdom of Heaven.

You see, it all comes back to what happened with Lucifer in heaven. Lucifer was perfect in every detail until sin was found in him (Ezekiel 28:15). Although God created him perfect, Lucifer (Satan), chose to disobey the will of God and sought to usurp the throne of God. To attempt to achieve this he led one third of the angels in a battle against God. He lost the war and was forcibly ejected from Heaven (Revelation 12:3-4).

He then came to Earth and decided to attack God’s creation there and by tempting Adam and Eve to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge and to disobey God (Genesis 3:1-6). In doing this, he brought about the fall of man and usurped their throne to become the prince of this world.

Now, because Satan was created perfect and decided to rebel against God as were Adam and Eve. It is now very important to God that man makes a choice to either believe on Jesus Christ and live or to reject Him and die. It must be a free will choice. Which is not to say that God will not assist man to make that choice through grace.

This is because, man has experienced sin and its consequences in this one life on Earth (1Corinthians 15:42). Every man is to live and die once and then the resurrection To those who choose to believe on Jesus Christ and His redemptive work on the cross. They are resurrected to Eternal Life. To those who reject Jesus Christ. They are resurrected to judgement and the second death, eternal fire.

Thus, it is not only a matter of predestination and election from the foundation of the world although this is an essential part of salvation. It is also critical that man be able to exercise freedom of choice in the matter of salvation.

The method of delivery of that freedom of choice is the Holy Spirit. He brings the conviction of sin into the heart of the lost person who hears the gospel message (John 16:8). Under conviction, he enables them to make a decision, either to believe on Jesus Christ and to receive eternal life or to reject Jesus Christ and to receive eternal damnation. The choice is theirs.

So it is, that those who would believe on Jesus Christ would also want to spend eternity in the universe run according to the will and law of God (Psalm 16:11). Those who reject Christ would not want to spend eternity in His kingdom. As is evidenced by those who implore the rocks to fall on them and the hills to cover them when Jesus returns at the end of the tribulation in the book of Revelation.

It is often put forward by those who favour a Calvinist approach to predestination and grace, that all is provided that is needful for salvation through God’s grace and that all is achieved through the fulfilment of the sovereign will of God. However, there is also a mention of the will of man in the bible (Revelation 21:6).

If we read the bible clearly and without bias and were we to consider the concept of a ‘People of God’s Own Possession’ as if they were in a train on a railway line. Then each of the rails in this track would have a name. One would be called Election and Predestination, and the other rail would be called Freedom of Choice to Believe.

God desires a people who will obey His will. This is mentioned in Revelation chapter 22 verse 17 “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” KJV

The meaning of this verse is a positive decision on behalf of the believer to obey the will of God and to strongly desire to avail themselves of the glorious rewards of eternal life, bestowed on the people of God in the Kingdom Age to come.

So, what is the outcome of election and faith in my opinion. Well, I believe that we are chosen of God and surely elected in the sovereign will of God. I also believe, that we must choose God and believe on Christ Jesus with all of our hearts, with all of our souls, with all of our minds and with all of our strength. Then we must love our brother as we love ourselves.

Sovereign Election and Free Will Beings – Both Are True In God.

Getting the Gospel Across

 

 

 

There's a bible called The Message. I would hazard a guess that the focus of the message is  sharing the gospel with as many people as possible. It a achieves this by shifting the bible into a plain speaking easy reading language that is accessible to any person.

 

I feel the same about what our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, had to say about sharing the gospel with the whole world. Matthew chapter twenty eight verses eighteen through twenty. "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

 

So we need to get out there as Christians and share a simple gospel with the people containing the truth about sin and how it separates us from God. Romans 6:23 "for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

Acts 2:38 "Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

 

It's not rocket science folks. We are sinners and yet while we were still sinners Jesus died on the Cross at Calvary in our place, paying the cost of our sins. All you need do is to acknowledge that your sin separates you from God; Believe on Jesus Christ to receive eternal life; Repent and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and to receive the Holy Spirit.

What Does The Bible Actually Teach?

There are a lot of different biblical doctrines and teachings in the Christian sphere of influence. It is also true to say that the Bible is often cited when many different theologies are being discussed both in the Church and outside of it. However, It is not unusual to hear knowledgeable people say that a given teaching is not what you might arrive at if you simply read the Bible. It is not what the Bible has to say.

This is the case for elements of the Pentecostal, the Calvinist and the Adventist belief systems to name a few. For instance, in the Pentecostal faith there is a strong contention that receiving the Holy Spirit is always evidenced by speaking in tongues. The problem here is that there is not enough scripture to support that contention. 

The number of scriptures relating to speaking in tongues are relatively few and it is not completely clear what the phrase ‘speaking in tongues,’ actually means. Is it speaking in unknown languages, angelic or human? Is it for worship and the glory of God or is it to convey meaning and assist the dissemination of the gospel or both? There are many arguments either way and the Bible is not clear on which is the absolute truth of the matter. Thus, it is hard to make a categorical statement of fact either way but to do so puts one in the situation previously eluded too where you are saying something that the Bible does not actually say.

In the Calvinist faith it is contended that a person is elected to salvation on the sovereign will of God alone and contributes nothing to their salvation. In fact, even the choice to believe on Jesus Christ and His redemptive work on the Cross is said to be bestowed by God’s grace as an artifact of God’s sovereign will. Such that, the freedom to choose salvation for ones’s self is removed from the equation. 

The question here is if you simply read the Bible for your self is this the conclusion that you will arrive at? Personally, I would point to many scriptures that tend to indicate that when you are speaking of the doctrine of election the answer is yes God has exercised His sovereign grace and will. However, the answer is also yes the Christian has exercised his, or her, free and personal choice in this matter of salvation as per John chapter three verse sixteen.

Adventism is another example of how different faiths interpret the bible. For the most part Adventist’s preach a gospel based on understanding the gospel as it is laid out in the book of John chapter three. However, they have some notable additions to their faith in that they include the writings of Ellen White and have a group of doctrines based on the Millerite Great Disappointment of 1844. 

Notably, that Jesus Christ didn’t return to the Earth in 1844 but instead went into the inner sanctuary in Heaven and has been interceding for the saints, on a case by case basis ever since, to see who has sufficient good works to make it into the Kingdom in the resurrection. Evidently, Jesus wasn’t able to pay the sins of the whole world on the cross. This doctrine is called the Investigative Judgement.

I know that I have mentioned my three favorite religious entities in this piece and that I tend to go on about them in some detail and also fairly regularly. What I am trying to get at here though is that it is important to search the scriptures and to find out for yourself what they say about the different doctrines. Is what scripture says actually what different faiths claim that it says.

It is amazing how the leaders of those faiths claim that they teach what the Bible says and even seem to teach against some of the beliefs of their group but in the end manage to add what amounts to false teaching into their preaching while scarcely batting an eye lid. They also tend to incorporate the same church traditions that they might rail against other Christian groups for adhering too in their beliefs. 

This can be the case with congregants as well. They rail against others for taking verses out of context while happily picking a verse here and a verse there and then pick one or two verses while ignoring the rest of the chapter and taking the whole issue out of context at the same time. 

My counsel, for what it is worth is to select a topic that is relevant to your walk or your Church. Then study what the Bible says about it. Search all of the relevant scriptures and make notes about what the Bible seems to be saying about this issue. Then, read some commentaries and try to get a sound perspective on what the scripture really says. Just because a group teaches a certain doctrine does not mean that, that is what the Bible says and yes sometimes the Bible has very little to say on an issue. Which tends to allow some creativity on behalf of the various religious organisations as they compound doctrine and tradition.

So, take some time to really check out what the bible does say about the various theological issues. What it does teach and what you can preach with confidence. Use it to compare and contrast what your denomination teaches and believes. The question is always what does the bible actually teach? 

Acts chapter seventeen verses ten to eleven, “The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these people were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” NASB

Reach the Lost

 

In this time Christianity is almost mirroring the World. Politics is becoming increasingly divided and polarized and so is the Church. Where politics is seeing the disappearance of parties in the center and the return of extreme left and right wing parties into the mainstream. The Church is seeing the disappearance of denominations that believe the gospel. They are being supplanted with other denominations who believe that the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the Cross was not enough to save mankind by itself.

 

As a result we have these various denominations believe that Christ and the Father met in the beginning to decide who would be saved. Still others believe that the believer must do more to ensure their salvation than simply believe. One wonders where these ideas find their source? In a way they are similar to Roman Catholicism even though the proponents of them would rail at the very idea of such a thing. The Catholics make no bones of the fact that in their view no one will make it to heaven without a lengthy stay in purgatory. They teach that life is about making yourself more godly and righteous so that God will accept you.

 

Meanwhile, society is moving further and further from its Christian roots and is descending into  a drug induced malaise. Citizens in so many countries are straying into paganism while social media is exposing them to everything from atheism to the occult. Secular socialism with a spiritual component, paganism. As we moved into a new era in the fifth century as the rise of Christianity changed the face of the world at that time. So, now we are making the reverse move and heading back to pantheism and pagan spiritism.

 

Our youth are actually quite strong young people but the effects of drugs and secularism are impacting their perspective on life. However, they have community and contrary to popular belief of many are quite good communicators exhibiting loyalty, concern for their peers and genuine love for each other. I think, they are similar to the great generation of WWII in many ways and if they are to go through similar life experiences to that generation and hear the gospel. I think they stand a good chance of becoming Christians and entering the Kingdom of God.

 

 In this light, we have a great opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with them. These young people can be reached and even though the bible tells us that many will fall away in our time. The gospel will be shared around the world and a multitude will turn to righteousness in Christ Jesus and will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. As Christians we need to start sowing the seed, while others of us water and tend the crop.

 

Some might read this piece and say "What need we do as the lost are lost and the saved are saved." Personally, I don't subscribe to that belief. The word of God says clearly in Ezekiel 18:32 "For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.” and again in 2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slow to fulfil his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance."

 

 So, it is that the lost have a choice to make and can hear the gospel and respond to it or reject it. They may choose to accept the gospel and live or reject it and die in their sins. In the same vain we have a job to do, fulfilling the great commission and taking the gospel to all the world. That all the world may hear the truth of salvation in Jesus Christ and choose to receive the forgiveness of sins through the His shed blood on the Cross at Calvary. The choice is theirs but the honour to bear the gospel is ours as servants of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Remember Where You Come From…

 

So often as Christians, we can get all puffed up and proud as we pass through other people's lives. We seem to think that because we are Christian, that gives us the right to judge others and condemn them for their actions. To say and do things that are neither kind nor understanding.

It is important to speak grace into the lives of those around us and not speak darkness into them. It involves the great commandment "Love your neighbor as you love yourself." It also involves carefully considering the words you choose to share with others. To be careful not to speak from anger or frustration and to measure the depth of impact on others before you say anything to them.

 

Jesus shared a parable that shows a great truth and that relates to this idea of forgiving others and not unleashing judgement upon them. In Matthew 21: 21 -35 Jesus described a man who came before his master owing much. The master was moved to sell all of the man's possessions to recover the debt. The man begged for forgiveness and the master forgave all of his debts. However, after he had left his master, he came across another man who owed him money and without mercy had him thrown into prison. Others told his master about the man's actions and justice was swiftly served. He too, was thrown into jail until he could repay his master all that he owed.

 

When we as Christians, are harsh and unforgiving to others we run the risk of putting ourselves in the same position as the unforgiving servant. In Christ Jesus we are forgiven much and it behooves us to forgive others much. If we are unforgiving to others we run the risk of incurring God's wrath on ourselves because God has forgiven us much, so we are to forgive others much.

 

At heart we Christians are sinners and sin has dominion within our hearts. This is because firstly, sin is a deed for which we need forgiveness and we get this when we first believe on Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God who bore our sins on the Cross. In short when the Saviour justifies us our sins are forgiven.

 

Secondly, sin is depravity and causes mankind to wallow in wickedness. Scripture speaks of a promise that the Saviour makes to us about this situation and His solution for it. Ezekiel 36:26 puts it this way “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh…" So God dwells in us and gives us a completely new heart to lift us out of a state of sinful depravity. This is sanctification and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

 

Thirdly, sin is a despotic ruler in us and fights with us continually to lead us back into depravity. The way out of this continual siren song of sin is to replace sin with Christ Jesus as our ruler. Scripture has this to say about the subject. Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." and Romans 12: 1-2 says this "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect…"

 

So friends, we need to be aware of how we interact with others taking care to speak righteousness and Christ into their lives. We also need to be aware of the battle between sin and righteousness in our own hearts and minds. We need to understand that we are no better than anyone else because we are sinners just like them. In Christ a work is in progress in us so that Christ Jesus may present us perfect before the Father in the resurrection.

 

From <https://www.openbible.info/topics/making_christ_our_ruler

A Beacon

 

Love the Lord with all of your heart, all of your soul, all of your mind and all of your strength, and love your neighbour as you love yourself.

I have spent the last few years in the spiritual wilderness for some reason or other. I thought I was just weak and that there was no real reason for the malady that seemed to be holding me back from others. I think though that God always has a purpose for the trials that befall us and more often than not it has to do with brokenness and the need for that in following God’s will.

If you look at the aspirations of our hearts in terms of what we desire and impacts that they have on where we see our future. You see that what God brings on us usually involves a conflict between our aspirations and His aspirations for our future. We get despondent and depressed because we feel we are not achieving on the world stage, but in reality God is shaping us through events that we do not desire and outcomes that we do not see the value in and we are travelling in what we perceive as being the wrong direction.

Businesses do not thrive, work places do not blossom with opportunities that we would see as being advantageous. We end up being servants and not rulers. We become discontented with being stuck in what we see as the wrong places and those around us do not behave in ways that we would see as being desirable in time frames we would see as advantageous.

Further, those we would want to be in the hand of Jesus do not seem to be any closer to getting on to their knees and confessing their sins to their creator or changing into biddable Christian people who could do what we would like them too? We ask Lord “What are you thinking, surely these lost individuals would be better if they were saved and the Holy Spirit was working in their hearts.” However, we do not listen for an answer because we know it would involve waiting on God and His perfect timing.

Lately and personally, I have returned to working as a reliever at a local high school. I had thought that particular part of my life to be closed and that I was in semi retirement and caring for my family. So, here I am back working five days a week with difficult youngsters who although they are talented have often have little or no inclination to learn even if their futures might depend on it.

For a long time in education, the thinking was that fostering self esteem and creating a well rounded individual was more important than discipline and learning. The result was petulant youths with no respect for those older than they are or authority in general. Now, we have created those holistically well rounded graduates we sought, but unfortunately they have achieved less and less academically until now some are not suitable for integration into the work force and many of them lack the means for a successful career.

The cycle is coming full circle and although we don’t use corporal punishment we are tending to act more sternly toward the students. Factor in devices, and we still have a problem because the students are not only petulant they fail to see the benefit in the education they are receiving because they cannot see the relevance of it to their lives. We are trying to control device access but the horse appears to have bolted and it is too late to regain control of the narrative.

What it comes down to is that those in control have dumbed the education system down and have given the younger generation the devices with the intention of making them more prone to suggestion, educating them in war and with less academic achievement they are making them more controllable.

We are arriving at the destination that the enemy has planned for our once Christian country and now we desperately need to have God bring repentance and revival to our foundering land before we reap the consequences of sowing the wind and reaping the whirlwind.

What it comes down to is that we are now in a situation where the only way to restore the past is to preach the gospel to lost generations and pray for them. Only in the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ can they be led to the lives which value those around them and to acquire wisdom that will restore them into communion with God and to find the future God has planned for them. 

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope." 

So of myself and coming out of the desert. I find myself focusing on what it is God wants me to do now He has me back education. One of the things that he led me too is the way I work with the groups of students in the classroom. Years ago when I was training my lecturer noticed that I am very calm and the students tap into that calmness. I didn’t really understand the comment at the time.

A friend of mine always comments on the calmness I bring to their department and how the students really benefit from that. Again, I didn’t really understand. I have always used a collaborative approach with the learners and a non confrontational style. Recently, I have been working with colleagues who use a much more assertive style of classroom management than I do and it caused me to reassess my own approach. Should I change to a more authoritarian model?

The question is really could I change my way of managing the classroom. I mean, I am who I am or I am who God has made me. This became a real challenge for a while as I grappled with how I might become more assertive and clamp down on the students. In the end I decided that I don’t want to spend my time jousting with the children and decided that I’ll just continue as teaching in the same style that I have. I am calm because I need peace in relating to those around me. It is a prerequisite for me in life.

Philippians 4: 4-7 “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be apparent to all. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” BSB

The peace that I bring to the classroom is not my own, No, if you read the passage above you will see that it comes from Christ Jesus. It starts with His gentleness revealed in my heart by the Holy Spirit. I try not to be anxious but that can be a hard ask with a group of agitated young people. I certainly pray and seek God for them while I’m with them but that calm that folks notice? Well, that comes from the peace of God which surpasses all understanding and God guards my heart that is for sure.

In the secular arena Christians are not able to preach the gospel in our schools so to reach people you have to model being a Christian to them. The calm that I radiate comes not from my inner peace but from the presence of the Holy Spirit within me. God has changed me into a beacon, and he reaches out to those around me through His peace and calm in me. Please don’t get me wrong. I am not boasting of being perfect rather I am just a humble servant of the Living God, Yahweh Elohim. Someone that loves Him and that it pleases Him to use.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”