We’ve had some record lows this week . . . low temperatures, that is. Yesterday morning when I woke up, it was almost 30 below, so I didn’t have high hopes of my car starting. No car means no youth group and I was afraid that we’d have to cancel again. It “warmed up” to 10 below by afternoon and I decided to try my car. As I put the key in the ignition, I said to the Lord, If You want me to get there tonight, You’re going to have to make my car start! It groaned when I turned the key, and I was in shock when it actually started (the Lord must have wanted me to get to Tokio). That’s when the highs began . . .
All four of the girls came last night, as well as three of the guys. I had only seen the guys once since before Christmas, so I was especially glad to have them there (definitely an answer to prayer!). One of them was babysitting and he had the sleeping baby with him when he walked in. After he laid the baby down, I went over to greet him, putting my hand on his shoulder and telling him I was glad to see him. He gave me a hug and said, “Yeah.” The next boy did the same.
Before we started in on John 12, we were having popcorn and hot chocolate, hanging out, and keeping an eye on the lunar eclipse–the front doors of the church are glass and we had a perfect view of the moon. I don’t know what triggered it, but as I stood there watching the eclipse, one of the boys opened up and started talking. He shared quite a bit in a short amount of time, telling me how he got involved with a rough group of friends when he was young and how that led to some bad habits. He also told me how he had, at one time, tried to read the Bible and, because of something he read, decided to find a “better” group of friends. Years ago, this young man was a camper at FaHoCha. As he shared with me, I couldn’t help but wonder how the Lord had used his experience at camp to influence him . . . sometimes I really wish that I could see into the spiritual world.
After Bible study, while the others were finishing up popcorn, playing with the baby (who was now awake), and hanging out with Pastor Larry in his office at the church, I stood at the front door with the young man who had shared with me earlier. I told him that I would be praying for him and asking the Lord to help him with the things that he wanted to change. He nodded in appreciation. As we stood there and continued to visit, Romans 7 came to mind, so I grabbed the closest Bible I could find (from a shelf in Pastor Larry’s office) and read to him . . .
We know that the Law is spiritual. But I am merely a human, and I have been sold as a slave to sin. In fact, I don’t understand why I act the way I do. I don’t do what I know is right. I do the things I hate. Although I don’t do what I know is right, I agree that the Law is good. So I am not the one doing these evil things. The sin that lives in me is what does them.
I know that my selfish desires won’t let me do anything that is good. Even when I want to do right, I cannot. Instead of doing what I know is right, I do wrong. And so, if I don’t do what I know is right, I am no longer the one doing these evil things. The sin that lives in me is what does them.
The Law has shown me that something in me keeps me from doing what I know is right. With my whole heart I agree with the Law of God. But in every part of me I discover something fighting against my mind, and it makes me a prisoner of sin that controls everything I do. What a miserable person I am. Who will rescue me from this body that is doomed to die? Thank God! Jesus Christ will rescue me.
So with my mind I serve the Law of God, although my selfish desires make me serve the law of sin.
The version that I had happened to grab was the Contemporary English Version and it seemed to echo the heart and spirit of the young man who had just been sharing with me. I continued on, reading the first two verses of Romans 8 . . .
If you belong to Christ Jesus, you won’t be punished. The Holy Spirit will give you life that comes from Christ Jesus and will set you free from sin and death.
Even as I write this now and think about the power of God’s Word, that incredible Truth, and the influence that that Truth can have in this young man’s life, I am moved to tears. I have said this before, but I cannot express what a privilege it is to be a part of sharing the truth and the hope of Christ Jesus with these youth. Continue to pray, dear friends, that they would choose to believe and “belong to Christ Jesus” and that the Holy Spirit will give them life and set them free!
The guys at Youth Group last night
