Tired of sin and ready for Jesus

..."Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!"... my personal battle cry this week as the effect and consequence of sin has been closely felt. But the continuous saving grace of God has also been near. Thank you for praying; God is softening hearts. David came back to us this week, apologizing for his anger towards us for challenging him to leave his sin and follow Christ. Continue to pray for repentance and trust in Chirst as he often says, "this is who I am; I cannot change"... referring to a stronghold of deception and pride. Pray he will understand Christ alone brings freedom from sin-- not our own human efforts. Praise God for his grace and protection over David; this last weekend, he pursued many people from his old lifestyle, but was not received.

... This morning I dropped Krista off at the Atlanta airport. As we drove she asked "Who decides when we die, God or the devil?" As we talked about death, sin, and the justice and righteousness of God, the reality of her uncle's rejection of Christ and her family's current rejection of Him began to hit her pretty hard. She will be in Michigan for the weekend to attend her uncle's funeral. Pray that God would strengthen and comfort her and that she would have the courage to share the Gospel with her family. Oh, that this loss would hurry them to the cross of Jesus Christ!

...Saturday night, we invited many students into our leadership training. It was a sweet time of fellowship and talking through God's definition of genuine leadership-- becoming a servant of all men and forsaking selfishness to walk in the Spirit. I was convicted personally of picking and choosing the people I serve; the students spoke of being encouraged towards Christlike leadership as well. Pray that we would be receptive to God's continual sanctifying grace in our lives...

...Now, may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it!