0hurch of the Lutheran rethren |dent|ty TWoThousand Th|rteen |ssue No.

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In This Issue
FAITH & FELLOWSHIP
Identity Issue No. 2
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture
taken from the HOLY BIBLE,
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION.
Copyright 1973. 1978. 1984.
International Bible Society.
Used by permission of
Zondervan Bible Publishers.
FF
Director of Communications:
Tim Mathiesen
tmathiesen@clba.org | twitter: @ffmag
Editor: Brent Juliot
bjuliot@clba.org
Publisher/Graphic Designer:
Troy Tysdal
ttysdal@clba.org
4
Trust, Read
Daniel Berge
6
Jesus
Adam Krog
8
Stop Struggling
Paul Tjelta
10
Dont Forget
Kirk Militzer
12
Created in Christ
Fred Scragg
Identity Challenge
2 Faith & Fellowship
LIKE
ME
www. f acebook. com/ i dent i t ynet
14
Know Jesus
Jason Lang
16
re:Think
Kristina Lee Grandstaff
Christian Resources
Websites to fnd Christian connections and resources:
www.everystudent.com
www.ccci.org (Campus Crusade)
www.intervarsity.org (Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship)
www.athletesinaction.org (Athletes in Action)
www.fca.org (Fellowship of Christian Athletes)
www.worldmag.com (World MagazineChristian world perspectives)
www.focusonthefamily.com (college perspectives/counseling referrals)
www.navigators.org (Navigators Christian Fellowship)
I
d
e
n
t
i
t
y

i
n

C
h
r
i
s
t
Across
1. We have _____ in
Jesus name.
2. God reveals
himself through
the ______ Word.
Down
1. Jesus' fullled
Gods _____.
2. Our talents
are _____ for
Gods glory.
1.
2.
1.
2.
Fill in the blank:
1. __________ comes from hearing the
message, and the message is heard
through the word of Christ.
- Romans 10:17
(Answers are found in the articles)
Glimpse
JANET ANDERSON
www.magazine.org 3
Get ready, followers of Jesus, for your
faith to be tested. You are now in a time
of life where you will fnd that your peers,
teachers, and others you know will confront
your beliefs, asking: Do you really believe
there is only one way to heaven? How
can you be sure that you are forgiven for
your sin? Why would a loving God allow
bad things to happen? 'How can you
know for sure that the Bible is true?
How will you respond? How will you
make sense of it all? Where will you go for
answers? What will you do when your faith
is challenged? Students who follow Jesus
have big hurdles to overcome.
Think of hurdlers in a track meet. In the
400 meter hurdle race, the runner has to stay
in his lane the entire way after the starting
blocks and clear ten hurdles that are evenly
spaced along the way. I love to watch these
runners. They are so graceful, but what
impacts me the most is that they never look
at the hurdle itself. Their eyes are always
looking forward to the fnish line.
When your faith is challenged, dont
look at the hurdle in front of you. Look
to the fnish line and do not get tripped up
by the opposition. Hebrews 12:1-3 says,
Therefore, since we are surrounded by
such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw
off everything that hinders and the sin that
so easily entangles, and let us run with
perseverance the race marked out for us.
Let us fx our eyes on Jesus, the author and
perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set
before him, endured the cross, scorning its
shame, and sat down at the right hand of the
throne of God. Consider him who endured
Here is a great resource for you when
you have questions: www.GotQuestions.
org. There`s even an app for it! CHECK IT
OUT!
Janet Anderson is the program director at
Inspiration Point Christian Camp + Retreat Center
in Clitherall, MN.
Visit Inspiration Point
Christian Camp + Retreat Center
online at www.ipoint.org
such opposition from sinful men, so that
you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Jesus knows what you are facing, and he
faced opposition as well. He was scorned,
mocked, beaten, and nailed him to a cross,
taking what you deserved. Yet he did not
abandon his mission to save us from our
sins. The Pharisees continually challenged
the teaching and authority of Jesus, yet he
did not give in to them, continually fxing
his eyes on the goal of rescuing lost sinners.
Jesus has already overcome the opposition
and won the victory for us! Because of his
triumph, we can keep our eyes fxed on
him, the author and fnisher of our faith!
When your faith is challenged, and it will
be, fx your eyes on Jesus!
Fix
your eyes on Jesus
DANIEL BERGE
hat is the Bible, and what should
I do with it? Is that a question
youve ever asked yourself?
There are a lot of different ways to answer
a question like that. Basically, the Bible is
the way God has chosen to reveal himself
to us. If we want to know about God, how
we relate to him, and how we relate to the
world, we can read the very words God
chose to hand down to us: The Bible.
That sounds easy, right? Why is there still
confusion about the Bible? Well, there are a
lot of different ways to answer that question
too. Frankly, it is a collection of old books,
and the world has changed a lot since it was
written. Still, this is what God has given us,
and it`s more relevant than we might frst
think.
So what should we do with it? Take it
seriously. Its Gods Word; he wants us to
have it. Here are a couple of ways to take it
seriously:
Trust it. Many have tried to strip out
the miracles or other diIfcult ideas Irom
the Bible because they seem too unlikely.
But, when you begin with the idea that the
universe began at some time in the past, and
God was the creative genius behind that
beginning, then no miracle can possibly
seem out of place or impossible. We take
the Bible seriously when we trust it as
truthful. If we start deciding what God can
and cant do, were placing ourselves above
God (pretty much a bad idea).
II you fnd yourselI struggling with
diIfculties in the Bible, keep an open mind
and be careful who youre listening to.
Many people talk about the Bible without
believing in creation, miracles, or the
resurrection. They might sound convincing,
but their ideas arent always as complete as
they sound. They claim to know a whole
lot more than they actually do know. Be
carefuland be open to mystery. God
cannot be fully understood; it would be
really strange if we could understand the
infnite Creator oI all things. II you have
specifc questions, your pastor should be
able to help you think about them.
Read it. We also take the Bible seriously
when we actually read it. I dont mean
just memorizing Bible verses (which can
be helpful). I mean reading through the
different books of the Bible in their context;
that means in big chunks. The Bible isnt a
collection of quotes; for the most part its a
collection of books that tell stories. We take
the Bible seriously when we read and re-
read these stories.
God chose to reveal himself to us through
stories, and for good reason. Stories have a
sneaky way of forming the way we think.
We usually just enjoy stories, and dont
think about how they affect us. But look at
how many people can sit around quoting
their favorite movies. Think about how
the things we say come to us Irom stories:
Beware of the Dark Side! The way we
talk, the way we joke, and even the things
we value are really shaped by what stories
we spend time with. When we enter into
any story we allow our thinking to be
shaped by it.
Spend time with the Word of God, and
allow these stories (and the other books,
letters, etc.) to be the stories that shape the
way you talk, think, and understand the
world. God has chosen to hand down these
stories to teach us how to think about him,
ourselves, and the world. Dont neglect his
gift by limiting yourself to random verses.
Read the verses and chapters around your
favorite Bible verses and get to know the
context they came from.
Take Gods Word seriously. Trust it as
truthful and take the time to try to understand
what it is really saying by reading it in its
context. Allow it to form the way you view
God, yourself, and the world. God chose to
reveal himself through the written Word,
which ultimately points to his revelation of
himself through Jesus Christ but thats
another article.
Daniel Berge is a 2012 graduate of Lutheran
Brethren Seminary.
www.magazine.org 5
W
TRUST
READ
through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it
says: See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen
and precious cornerstone, and the one
who trusts in him will never be put to
shame.
This Scripture teaches us about Gods
good intentions for us. It says we are like
living stones and God will use us and
our unique talents and gifts to build his
Church. God loves us; he chooses us and
uses us to accomplish great things in this
world for his own honor and glory.
But thats not all it teaches. It also
mentions one very special stone in
Gods building, the cornerstone. The
cornerstone formed the foundation of an
ancient building in the very same way that
concrete is the foundation of buildings
today. When God set out to build His
church, he needed an absolutely perfect
foundation, a cornerstone, a solid rock he
could trust.
Unfortunately, the world had no such
person. Just as Home Depot can provide
every material except the most important
one, the concrete foundation, so God
could fnd no suitable Ioundation in our
world either. Since the fall into sin in the
Garden of Eden, all people are sinners. As
the Bible says, everyone falls short of the
glory of God. There are no perfect human
beings; no one is good enough to be a
suitable foundation for Gods Church.
So God provided the foundation himself
by sending Jesus. Jesus Christ, Gods
only Son, came down from heaven and
was made man and lived the absolutely
perfect, God-pleasing life that we could
not. No matter what temptation came his
way, no matter what life threw at him,
even when he was tempted by the devil
himself, Jesus Christ remained absolutely
obedient to God. In doing so he proved
that he was the perfect foundation for
Gods Church, a solid, unmovable rock
we can trust.
When Jesus laid down his life for our
sins by dying on the cross, he made it
possible for his perfect righteousness to
be credited to us through faith. When we
come to believe in Jesus, God ties us into
the foundation; He connects us to Christ.
We fnd all our hope and purpose in this
world in knowing that God has called
us to be part of his building project, and
he has set us upon a perfect foundation,
Jesus Christ our Lord. As living stones
in the Church we know that we are part of
a project that will endure forever because
God is our builder and we are made right
and given an eternal foundation in our
Savior Jesus Christ. All our hope in this
world and all our hope of eternal life with
God in heaven rests on our relationship
with Jesus Christ, our foundation, our
cornerstone.
Rev. Adam Krog serves as pastor at Elim
Lutheran Brethren Church in Clearbrook, MN.
hen I was in college I worked
at The Home Depot. My job
there was to bid building
projects for home builders. A building
contractor would bring me a drawing for
a house he planned to build and I would
take his plans and create a list of materials
needed to complete the project. I learned
that The Home Depot is able to provide
nearly every single item a person might
need in order to build a new home.
There was one item, though, that I
could not provide: ready-mix concrete.
Concrete is an essential part of every
building project because it makes up the
foundation. No serious builder would
ever begin a building project without
frst leveling the ground and pouring a
foundation of concrete; it is the solid
footing which every other material is
rested upon and fastened to. It ties the
entire building together and enables it to
stand frm against even the fercest storm.
Without a solid concrete foundation, it
wouldnt matter how well the rest of the
home was built. It simply wouldnt have
a chance of standing the test of time.
The Bible tells us that God has a building
project of his own. But Gods project
doesnt involve a physical building;
instead he is in the process of building a
spiritual dwelling place for himself. That
dwelling place is the Christian Church
and God wants to include each one of us
in this building.
1 PETER 2:4-6
As you come to him, the living Stone
rejected by men but chosen by God and
precious to himyou also, like living
stones, are being built into a spiritual
house to be a holy priesthood, offering
spiritual sacrifces acceptable to God
W
ADAM KROG
6 Faith & Fellowship
Jesus
ummer is the time for swimming!
It is the time to dive into the clear
blue water at the local pool, jump
off the dock into your favorite lake, or
splash in the ocean waves. Water provides
us with fantastic opportunities for fun.
But water also holds a dangerous
power; it has the frightening ability to
drown a person. If you have ever found
yourself in distress while in the water,
and been confronted by the possibility
of drowning, you know how terrifying
water can be. If youve never been in
that situation, imagine it for a minute.
You realize that you are no longer able
to keep your head above water. Your
attempts to raise your mouth above water
S
fail. You panic! What an unbelievably
scary moment! Then suddenly someone
is there to help you, arms reaching out
to grab you. A rescuer has appeared and
pulls you out of danger. Right?
Surprisingly, the drowning person who
has someone swimming out to rescue him
is still in great danger. Unfortunately, it
is common for the person in danger of
drowning to continue struggling and
failing wildly with his arms. In his panic
to save himself, he can make it impossible
for the rescuer to help him.
In an even more unfortunate occurrence,
something similar can happen to us
spiritually. We fnd ourselves drowning.
Perishing. In fact, Scripture tells us that
we are all perishing in our natural sinful
condition. There seems no escape from
Gods punishment for our sin. You realize
that one day you will stand before God as
your judge, and hear him pronounce the
punishment Ior your sin: eternal hell. An
unbelievably scary moment!
Unless someone is there to help you.
A Rescuer has appeared. Jesus comes
to rescue you from the penalty for your
sin by offering forgiveness. He has taken
your punishment on himself. Through
faith in Jesus death in your place, you are
saved! You are out of danger, right?
Surprisingly, believers in Jesus may still
fnd themselves in spiritual danger. As
with the drowning person who struggles
8 Faith & Fellowship
www.magazine.org 9
to save himself and in so doing hinders
the one who is trying to rescue him, our
efforts to save ourselves may endanger
our faith in Christ.
The Bible tells us that we are saved by
faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus is our Rescuer!
He gave his liIe as the sacrifce Ior our
sin. Through faith in Jesus we receive
forgiveness of sin and the promise of
eternal life. But sometimes we begin to
think we can help Jesus out a bit. If I live
a good enough life, if I try really hard to
keep from sinning, then God will be more
pleased with me. We begin to put some
hope in our own efforts to save ourselves.
We begin to struggle in the water, rather
than resting in the safety of our Rescuer.
The Apostle Paul wrote a letter to
Christians who were beginning to try to
save themselves. He said this to them in
Galatians 5:4, 'You have been severed
from Christ, you who are seeking to be
justifed by law; you have Iallen Irom
grace (NASB). These people were trying
so hard to save themselves, to please God
by keeping the law, that they had given
up on faith in Christ. Our desire to be
good people, to do good things, can take
the place of our faith in Christ and we
will perish in our failing eIIorts.
Consider the two alternatives: You
can try to save yourself through your
own good works, and in so doing reject
Jesus, the One who is there to rescue you.
Or, like a drowning person who rests in
the arms of a rescuer, you can just stop
struggling and rest by faith in Jesus as
your Savior. You are saved by faith in
Christ. Just stop struggling!
Paul Tjelta serves as pastor at Bethesda Lutheran
Brethren Church in Westby, WI.
PAUL TJELTA
struggling
stop
www.magazine.org 11
K
IR
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he frst 24 hours. Yup. Super smart
people who look at the sociological
changes that happen with young
adults have determined that the frst 24
to 48 hours away from home will set the
direction for the entire collegiate years.
Whoa. That is a gutsy statement.
If you extrapolate that out from day one
and two away from home... The window
between ages 18 and 30 will signifcantly
determine the course and direction of the
rest of your life. How come? The Big
Three M`s will most likely happen in
your liIe. The Big Three M`s are: Master.
Mate. Mission.
Now it may seem that our culture could
care less about those. I mean hooking up
and having fun and checking out new
friends/parties/groups will always have a
pull. Now that parents arent in the picture
or at least you don`t have 24/7 access to
them, you now have to own your faith.
So the heart question for you to wrestle
with is this What will you do? What
will you do with what you have been
taught and seen modeled and lived out?
How will that mark what you will do
now?
Here is a something to chew on: Don`t
forget to remember. When you struggle,
or fall, or doubt, or when your conduct
or words or actions dont match up with
what you know to be right.... dont forget
to remember.
Shame comes rushing in. Guilt comes
pouring on. And your soul screams
God, where are you? Your head is
scrambled with thoughts like, Why have
I done this?
A very wise manone who experienced
a ton of parties, drinking, and sexwrote,
Remember your Creator in the days of
your youth... (Ecclesiastes 12:1).
That key word remembering is twoIold:
1. Looking back (refection) on past
events. (That was incredible,
God. You came through.)
2. Looking forward to what lies
ahead. (When I cant see the
future, but I know God is there and
he wont leave me on my own.)
Dont forget to remember the picture
of the extravagant/prodigal father who
runs toward his son in Luke 15. (Note:
Prodigal doesnt only mean rebellious
or wayward but it also means extravagant
love seen in the picture of the prodigal/
extravagant over-the-top loving father in
Luke 15.)
God runs towards us. Dont ever forget
to remember that.
The Prodigal/Extravagant Father
throws his arms out wide to rebellious
and wayward sons and daughters and
says, You are back. Lets have a party!
Fire up the grill for some good steaks.
Bust out the sound system and make-a-
some-a-noise! Because my young adult
child didnt forget. He or she remembered
where home is. Yahoooo!
Dont forget to remember when you
do leave home that others can help you
remember. When you feel all alone, you
arent. His community of other disciples
of Jesus will encourage you.
Hanging out with others your age
who love Jesus will help you not forget
to remember. In old school terms
that is called the fellowship of the
saints. Throw in good coffee, open
conversations, laughter, prayer and Gods
Word and you have a setting where
God the Holy Spirit will come. And you
will remember.
Oh yeah, you will remember Gods
faithfulness. You see, we either follow by
design or by drift, but to merely fall to
default leads to disaster. So when you are
on campus or in a new community away
from home, seek out passionately those
who can help you process and wrestle
through diIfcult issues:
Questions of sexuality, how to really
know truth, and asking not only who God
really is, but what am I? Nail those big
questions down.
And dont forget to rememberJesus
really lived. Really. Gods Word is a rock
solid basis to come back to.
That is worth remembering.
Rev. Kirk Militzer serves as the East Campus
Pastor at Triumph Lutheran Brethren Church in
Moorhead, MN.
T
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12 Faith & Fellowship
FRED SCRAGG
he lights go down. I take my
place on the stage. Sitting on a
stool behind a mountain of drums
and cymbals, my hands wrap tightly
around tree trunks fashioned into musical
instruments for my using. I wait, hiding
in the darkness, anticipating the rhythms
I will create.
The buzz from a stack of guitar amps
flls the crowded and smoky room.
And these hopeIul words fow Irom the
T
microphone through the speakers into
the ears, minds, and hearts of a waiting
audience: One died Ior all. One takes the
fall. One life so we can live on!
1

The singer screams to the audience,
Believe that!
And after a count of four beats from the
drumsticks in my hand banging against
one another, the sound of the entire band
instantaneously reverberates throughout
the space. Joining in without hesitation,
every person in the room jumps up and
down to the pulsating sounds of a Rock
N` Roll band.
The scene described above has been
a familiar experience to me for close to
20 years now. However, the message
proclaimed has changed because my
identity has changed.
Before receiving faith in Christ, I
identifed myselI as a drummer. I took the
stage to receive applause, honor, glory,
FREE DOWNLOAD:
www.CLBNETWORK.org/identity
www.magazine.org
and fame for myself. I was driven to play every note,
every beat, at every concert, so that the crowd would tell
me how great I was. I wanted to hear that they wanted to
pursue a musical career because of me, that they wanted
to leave everything behind because of how great I was.
After receiving faith in Christ, which washed me clean
of the guilt of my sin and reconciled me to God, my Father
in heaven, I now identify myself as a Christian who has
been given the gift to create and perform music. The Holy
Spirit now drives me to play every note and every beat at
every concert to hear the crowd say how great God is.
The Bible tells us the good news that if anyone
is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the
new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us
to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of
reconciliation We are therefore Christs ambassadors,
as though God were making his appeal through us. (2
Corinthians 5:17-18,20a).
For the majority of us, the talents and passions we had
before receiving faith in Christ do not disappear. Instead,
those talents, gifts, and passions are made new through
faith in Christ. Look at your life right now. What are you
good at? What is your goal for a career? What do your
youth leaders encourage you to spend your time doing?
What does your pastor ask you to help with? The answers
to these questions will be a clear indicator of what God
has gifted you to do both inside and outside of the church.
Before I received Gods gift of faith in Christ, I was a
drummer in a rock band. I drummed to earn glory, honor,
praise, fame, and recognition for myself.
After receiving Gods gift of faith in Christ, the old was
gone. I no longer use my talent and passion for drumming
and music to gain attention for myself. Instead, my years
of training, practicing, and performing music are used to
bring glory, honor, praise, fame, and recognition to the
person and work of Jesus Christ.
Since receiving faith, God has enabled me to meet
several Christian musicians and songwriters. They gave
me opportunities to create and perform music that tells
the story of Jesus Christs life, death, and resurrection.
To date, God has shown his favor to me by allowing me
to lead praise and worship songs in Japan on a missions
trip, tour with Hillsongs in Europe, and share the stage
in the States with major recording artists from both the
Christian and non-Christian scene, such as Candlebox
and Family Force 5.
In the person and work of Jesus Christ, I have been
washed, I have been cleansed, I have been made whiter
than snow.
That is why I and my band, The Royal Guard, proclaim
to every crowd that we stand in Iront oI: Hail the King!
Hail the King oI all! Under his command we march on!
2
Fred Scragg is Lead Pastor at Bethel Lutheran Brethren Church in
Huntington Station, NY.
www.facebook.com/theroyalguard
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheRoyalGuardMusic
The Royal Guard at building dedication concert and beneft, Genesis Church, Long Island, New York 2012
(Fred Scragg, Andy Ascolese)
The Royal Guard opening for Family Force 5, Ollie's Point/Revolution, Amityville, New York 2012
(Fred Scragg, Todd Davidson, Andy Ascolese)
Above: The Royal Guard touring with Hillsong in Europe, Sporti Hall, Tallinn, Estonia 2010
Below: Fred Scragg preaching on Good Friday, Bethel LBC, Huntington Station, New York 2013

1
Davidson, Todd. Lyrics. Showdown. Showdown. CD. Independent. 2009.

2
Davidson, Todd. Lyrics. Hail the King! Hail the King! CD. Independent. 2013.
13
tomb right before the angels scared the
guards, causing them to faint. Then they
rolled the stone away. When the women
showed up, they saw it all, except Jesus.
They ran back to the rest of Jesus friends
who were crushed, sad and afraid, hiding
in a locked room, but they didnt believe
the women. One of the women met Jesus
in the garden, but didnt recognize him
until he spoke her name.
And in the middle of that very busy day,
Jesus took the time to meet two of his
friends who were walking away. Those
two were on the wrong road headed the
wrong way, and Jesus walked with them
and shared the truth about who the Savior
is (they didnt recognize him) and why he
had to die. As they walked, Jesus showed
them right from the Bible that he was the
Savior. Interested in what he was saying,
they urged him to take a break and join
them for something to eat. As Jesus
prayed and broke the bread and passed
it to them, they recognized him. Then
he disappeared from their sight. Thats
Jesus, one who is willing to take time out
of his busiest, most important day to walk
and talk with some friends who are going
the wrong way. Thats what Jesus does
for us too. You can read the whole story
in Luke 24.
My passion is to introduce people to
Jesus, to help people actually get to know
Jesusnot just facts about him. So, who
is Jesus? I can tell you about his birth,
his life, his friends, his enemies. But I
would rather tell you about the time he
touched and healed a man with a nasty
skin disease. Wanting the man to be right
with God and accepted in his community,
Jesus sent him to the priests so that he
could show he was healthy and ready to
go home.
If you want to know Jesus, you have got
to hear about the time he was at a party
and a prostitute washed his feet with her
tears, or the time he was transformed into
his heavenly glory right in front of his
closest friends. You have to hear about
the time a man worshiping at the temple
took the baby Jesus in his arms and said,
I can die now, because my eyes have
seen Gods salvation.
When you hear these stories and read
what Jesus said to these people, then you
are getting to know the real Jesus. You
see him touch real people and tell them
they are forgiven. You see Jesus change
peoples lives, and you realize, as you
are getting to know Jesus, he is changing
your life, too.
Rev. Jason Lang serves as pastor at Emmaus
Road Church in De Witt, IA.
f you could meet anyone in history,
who would it be? Julius Caesar?
Shakespeare? Picasso? Leonardo da
Vinci? Aristotle? Maybe someone more
personal? Your great-great-grandmother?
That girl you had a crush on before you
moved away? Or maybe, Jesus.
Wouldnt it be amazing to hang out with
Jesus, to spend time with him? It would be
awesome just to spend some time getting
to know Jesus, to hear his thoughts and be
amazed as he shares whats on his mind.
Knowing someone is diIIerent than just
knowing about someone.
We can talk about Jesus without really
helping people get to know him. We can
talk about Jesus like he is a person from
the past out of a dusty history book rather
than the living Son of God. We can tell
you about Jesus, that he is the eternal Son
of God, the agent of all creation. But how
do you get to know Jesus, I mean know
him in a relationship? He is alive, and just
because you cant SnapChat with him
doesnt mean you cant get to know him.
In fact, he was texting you before you
even had a cell phone. And thats how we
get to know Jesus, not just memorizing
Jesus stats like his healing average or his
people fed ratio or his miracle count. We
get to know Jesus by reading his texts
reading the true stories that his friends
told and wrote down so everyone could
get to know the real Jesus.
A story that has really helped me know
Jesus is an Easter story, but it doesnt get
a lot of attention. After Jesus was tortured
on the cross, he died as the sacrifce Ior
peoples sins. Very early on Easter Sunday
morning, he came back to life. He got up,
took off the sheet that was covering his
face and folded it and placed it to the
side before he left the tomb. Jesus left the
I
JASON LANG
14 Faith & Fellowship
Christ?
Know
LIKE
ME
www. f acebook. com/ i dent i t ynet
by: Kristina Lee Grandstaff
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www.ffmagazine.org | www.ffbooks.org | @ffmag
{Gods Will, Gods Timing}
ray about it, God will show you the way! Youve
heard it and Ive heard it, but when youre in facing a
crossroad in life, these words dont necessarily make it
any easier.
Our teens and twenties are transitional years flled with new
experiences, trials and growth. We progress from graduating
high school to deciding on the right college and major; from
moving out oI our parents` home into our frst apartment to
beginning a full time job.
I always thought I knew exactly how my life would look in
my mid-twenties; let me tell you, the Lord had different plans.
He has taken me down a road less traveled and has continually
shown me that I cannot do anything in my own strength.
I worked at a high fashion job in New York City, but felt
called to move back to my home town to establish a grassroots
nonproft ministry that serves women, teen and children
survivors oI domestic traIfcking and violence.
I told God, 'But I am not qualifed Lord! He answered,
'|Be| confdent oI this, that he who began a good work in you
will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus
(Philippians 1:6). Still, there have been moments oI doubt.
Just last May, our team fnished the second year oI our
program. It had been an impactful year; however, our continued
Iunding was uncertain. 'OK, Lord, I am going to move back
to New York this summer. I trust that if you want this program
to continue, you will make that path clear. Two weeks after
our Closing Dinner, I received a letter containing a check for
$25,000 that Iunded our program Ior a third year. Let`s just say
my suitcase remained in the closet.
Sometimes life takes us down long winding roads with
detours and roadblocks, roads we never expected to be on. As
for the future, I dont know what is in store. I am probably
about ten years older than you; surely lifes decisions become
clearer, right? What I can tell you is that the peace and joy that I
have come to know is not the result of having all my questions
answered. It comes instead from the assurance that the Lord
has faithfully met every one of my needs and that he has a plan
for my life. I am convinced that he has a plan for your life as
well, and I am confdent that his plan is Iar grander than any
of us can achieve in our own strength. The desires that he has
placed in each of our hearts will come to be, in his perfect
timing. He only asks us to trust.
Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires
oI your heart (Psalm 37:4).
Kristina Lee Grandstaff serves as Executive Director with Freedom Forth
Ministries in the Greater New York City Area.
Email: www.FreedomForth.org.
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