Praise God for New Life

Praise God for New Life


Despite all of the ups and downs that our local church has experienced in the last few months, we have still witnessed  the workings and blessings of God in astounding ways.

A few weeks back, I was speaking to one of the "newer" students about his relationship with his girlfriend.    Our conversation, however, soon transitioned towards the nature of his relationship with Jesus.  This young man, I'll call him "T", started attending our youth ministry in November when his girlfriend brought him to one of our lock-ins.  To be honest, I was a little leery about her bringing her new boyfriend to an all night youth event (believe me, we kept our eyes on them).  After the lock-in, T began to come to everything we had to offer.  At first he just came with his girlfriend, but then he began to come to church even when she didn't!  T's knowledge of the Bible and of Christianity was very limited.  He was not sure how to use or read the Bible, he had not heard the most common stories and teachings of the Old or New Testament and I am not sure if he had even heard the gospel.  For the most part, he was a blank slate when it came to biblical knowledge.

Going back to our conversation, T informed me that he had trusted in Jesus as his Lord and Savior!  He accepted Christ after hearing the story of Jesus and the gospel message at a local youth evangelistic concert!  What remarkable news!

In the weeks following my conversation with T, I began to notice significant change in his life.  He told me that he felt bad using foul language and he had felt the need to live a life that was pleasing to God.  In addition to this, T told me, after learning about baptism that he wanted to be baptized!

The week before last, Easter Sunday, I had the privilege of baptizing my first student, T, along with two other church members who also wanted to be baptized!

As I look at God's action and work in the life of T, I find myself being at a loss of understanding.  I have studied the Bible and the theology of salvation, but when I experience and see the miraculous work of God transforming a person who was His enemy, and dead in sin, to eternal life and peace in Christ I am left in utter amazement.  Salvation is an act of God, and it is nothing less than a miracle!

In addition to T's story, last Sunday, a young man decided to trust in Jesus as his Lord and Savior during our Sunday morning worship service!  Wow!  I don't know all of his story, but during the service he told his mother that he felt the desire to trust in Jesus and ask Jesus to forgive him of his sins.  They came to the front and he allowed me to tell the church that he had just placed his trust in Jesus.  Upon hearing this, the rest of the church cheered and praised God for His saving work in the life of this young man.

I am so thankful that God has allowed me to be a witness to this miraculous work He is doing.

Romans 11:33-36

  "³³ Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

³⁴ “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
    or who has been his counselor?”
³⁵ “Or who has given a gift to him
    that he might be repaid?”

³⁶ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen"(ESV). 


~Trev

Reasons to Celebrate

Reasons to Celebrate

Over the last few weeks my family has had much to celebrate. We have celebrated my wife’s birthday, my daughter KJ's second birthday, and we celebrated six years since I asked Stephanie to marry me. In addition to this, Steph and I found out that we are having another baby girl!

Two weeks ago we gathered our little family together and drove to the doctor’s office for Stephanie’s twenty week ultra sound. We had much anticipation and were looking forward to finding out the gender of our next baby. As we were waiting patiently, (well, Stephanie and I were, KJ was a little restless) we were alarmed to hear what the doctor said. She told us that she believed our baby’s heart had a defect where the great arteries were not positioned properly. She told us that she wanted to refer us to a specialist to take a more in-depth look at our baby’s little heart. After our appointment, we left the clinic without saying much. Steph and I were both at a loss for what to say. All I had were questions. What does this mean for our daughter's future? How do we pay to get her the treatment she needs? On and on, my mind searched for answers to questions that were out of my control. The visit with the specialist was scheduled for the following week.

A week later, in Sioux Falls, SD, Steph walked into the hospital for her appointment. Friends and family were praying, I was praying, and from various places we were waiting to hear the diagnosis. Stephanie met with the team of doctors that would potentially be working with us and our new baby for the next few months. She and the doctors began to schedule future appointments, preparing a more technical birth plan, and talking about upcoming surgeries for our little one. The specialists did multiple tests using highly advanced machines, looking at the smallest details and intricacies of our unborn baby’s heart. Much to our amazement, however, the specialist noticed no defects with our baby’s heart. As far as he could tell, her heart looked perfectly normal! All the future appointments were canceled, the special team was called off, and Steph was told that she could plan to give birth here in Casper with no extra precautions! Needless to say, we are now celebrating!

Over the last few weeks, especially while waiting to hear the diagnosis, I had a hard time not worrying. Like most men, I wanted to problem solve, but this was out of my control. During this waiting process I was able to talk to a trusted and beloved friend. I explained to him our dilemma and some of my emotions, and he had some wise advice. He challenged me to focus only on what I know to be true. As I thought about it, I came to realized that the truth is, God is still God. God is still in control (Eph. 1:11-12). God is still forming this little baby in the womb, and she is being fearfully and wonderfully made (Jer. 1:5; Ps. 139:14). God so incredibly loves us that He would send His own Son to be sacrificed and raised from the dead so that I would not be sentenced to eternal judgment under His wrath like I deserve, but have life forever with Him through faith in Jesus (Jn. 3:16-18, 36). So what I know to be true is that God is God, I am human, and for some reason God loves me even though I was His enemy (Col:1:21)! I know I exist for Him, and desire to praise Him whatever the outcome. And with this, I know that "He works all things for the good for those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose" (Rom. 8:28).

Christ is Risen!

As I look at this list of things “I know,” I have come to realize that they are all in some way associated with a promise from the Bible. With this, we come to the two most amazing reasons for us to celebrate. The first is that all of the promises that God makes to us have been accomplished or will be accomplished. How do we know, and how can I trust that God’s promises from the Bible will come true? God put his power and trustworthiness on display when He raised Jesus Christ from the dead (Col. 2:9-15). All of the promises from the Old Testament, and all of Jesus' promises foretelling His death and resurrection were validated when Jesus Christ busted out of that tomb, displaying His power for all creation to see (2 Cor. 1:19-21)! The second reason that we have to celebrate is that God, in Christ Jesus, has promised us that He will return one day to take his children to be with Him. He has promised that we can look forward to His return, this earthly life is not all that there is, and that God the Spirit is with us now to comfort and transform us so that we can live with Him and for Him (Jn. 14:1-4, 16:7-10).

Father, please help us love you more, help us trust you more, and help us celebrate what you have done and what you are doing. We live by you and for your glory. Help us to lean upon you, and please help us to treasure and love Christ. Thank you for sending your son, Jesus, as our substitute, taking the wrath that we in our sins deserve. We declare that it is only through the Spirit's work in us that we can please you.

Let us celebrate Christ’s accomplishments and all the blessings He has given us this Easter Season.

~Trev