“If I were the devil...I would get control of the media, so that every night I could, I would, persuade people that the Church is irrelevant and out of date, and the Bible is for the naive; I would dull the minds of Christians, make them believe that prayer is not important, and that faithfulness and obedience are optional.” --Paul Harvey
Imagine a world without the Word of God. Imagine a family where the Bible is never read. Imagine a school where the Bible is not taught. This is our America! We can change this! We must change this by reading the Bible everyday so that people can see the effects in our lifestyle. Reading the Bible everyday will change your life. Last Sunday at Northside Gospel Center was a blessing to my soul because it reminded me of the power of the Word of God in the life of the church. It also reminded me that teenagers are important to God, and that it is a sin to teach them the Bible in a boring way. It was a blessing to see that God is always speaking through His servants, but it makes me sad how often I miss putting my confidence in the Word of God, and its power to change the lives of young people, for it is charged by the power of the Holy Spirit.
I love the Bible because it has changed my life. I struggled in my twenties with bitterness against my earthly father because I misunderstood his discipline as punishment, and his correction as emotional pain. My late teens were filled with depression and bitterness towards my father. It took full two years during seminary, and after my quarter life crisis, when a dear Pastor who had pastored for three decades showed me how deep my heavenly father's love is for me, to give me an earthly father who loved me with every fiber of his being.
Today, my dad is one of my closest confidants, and my hero, after Paul the Apostle and Jesus Christ. He is my dearest friend and most precious gift in my life. It happened because God used His Word to transform my mind and soul.
Today, my dad and I talk at least twice a year, and someday, I hope to give him a daughter in law and grandkids. I love the Word of God because His Word taught me to honor my father. This why I want to teach teenagers the Word of God for the rest of my life! This is my goal in life! To teach truth to the next generation. Nothing gets me excited like teaching middle school students the word of God. This is why I moved to the Southside of Chicago. This is the main reason why I want to start my own business that will fund my global ministry to teenagers. This why I want to start my own non profit global coaching non profit for teenagers and launch a global leadership conference for teenagers that exposes them to biblical truth.
Young people need to be taught success principles from the word of God to develop a biblical world view. Why? It will guard them from making terrible decisions that will destroy their destiny. Because they are not completely cynical about life, and will generally respond to the Word of God with honesty and humility. I love our church because it has always allowed the Word of God to do its work in the lives of children and teenagers. Let us continue to invest in the lives of young people. Let us continue to read the Bible every day. I love you all!
Respectfully,
Pastor James
