I have written a blog post or two before about how I wanted to be bold for Christ at the school I worked at in Kansas. Now I'm 275 miles away from that place. I am friends on Facebook with a few students from there. It seems as though some of them are having a hard time right now, from what I can see, someone passed away. A person who was young. Who had a lot of life ahead of them. And the people left behind are struggling. Struggling to find hope in a tough situation.
I stopped. And I prayed. "God, please give _____ hope. Show them Your grace, peace and love." And then I thought about who was going to share this hope with them? How would these young people hear the Word of God? Mostly likely, they won't. I wasn't immersed in this community, but I knew those kids. Many of those kids did not know Jesus. And I am feeling broken for them.
I have been reading the book of Acts the past couple weeks. Those guys were bold. Real bold. They prayed for boldness in Chapter 4. And boy, did they get it. They were stoned, imprisoned, beaten....but how many times did they win someone for Christ? It says that the number of those believing multiplied daily. Daily. I wasn't that bold at work. I was nervous about getting into trouble with my superiors for proclaiming the name of Christ. I didn't want the kids to dislike me. I didn't want my co-workers to look at me like I was some kind of Jesus freak. But, let's be real...that's what I am, right?
To my sweet students from PR, if you just happen to stumble across this, please know that there is hope and life found only through Jesus Christ. He was the one and only perfect Son of God. He died a horrible death on a cross and rose from the grave three days later. He conquered sin and death. Through Him and only Him, you can find hope and true freedom. Freedom from all the crappy stuff this world throws at us. Hope for a future and a plan for your life. Without Jesus, life is meaningless. One of you posted on Facebook earlier, "what is life anyway?" Well, with Jesus, life is full - it's never empty and you are never alone. It's not always easy, as you know, but there is hope for a better tomorrow. Guys and gals, God loves you and I love you. I will keep praying for the students, teachers, administrators and community. God works in mighty ways and I have no doubt He will work wonders.
I can't go back and preach this to you on that last day of school in May. But I truly wish I could. As we liked to joke, what would they have done...fired me? :) I pray a seed has been planted, someone else will water it and eventually, there will be a beautiful bloom.
I stopped. And I prayed. "God, please give _____ hope. Show them Your grace, peace and love." And then I thought about who was going to share this hope with them? How would these young people hear the Word of God? Mostly likely, they won't. I wasn't immersed in this community, but I knew those kids. Many of those kids did not know Jesus. And I am feeling broken for them.
I have been reading the book of Acts the past couple weeks. Those guys were bold. Real bold. They prayed for boldness in Chapter 4. And boy, did they get it. They were stoned, imprisoned, beaten....but how many times did they win someone for Christ? It says that the number of those believing multiplied daily. Daily. I wasn't that bold at work. I was nervous about getting into trouble with my superiors for proclaiming the name of Christ. I didn't want the kids to dislike me. I didn't want my co-workers to look at me like I was some kind of Jesus freak. But, let's be real...that's what I am, right?
To my sweet students from PR, if you just happen to stumble across this, please know that there is hope and life found only through Jesus Christ. He was the one and only perfect Son of God. He died a horrible death on a cross and rose from the grave three days later. He conquered sin and death. Through Him and only Him, you can find hope and true freedom. Freedom from all the crappy stuff this world throws at us. Hope for a future and a plan for your life. Without Jesus, life is meaningless. One of you posted on Facebook earlier, "what is life anyway?" Well, with Jesus, life is full - it's never empty and you are never alone. It's not always easy, as you know, but there is hope for a better tomorrow. Guys and gals, God loves you and I love you. I will keep praying for the students, teachers, administrators and community. God works in mighty ways and I have no doubt He will work wonders.
I can't go back and preach this to you on that last day of school in May. But I truly wish I could. As we liked to joke, what would they have done...fired me? :) I pray a seed has been planted, someone else will water it and eventually, there will be a beautiful bloom.
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