Do you have a Mother’s Day present picked out yet? I’ve got a great recommendation. It’s the new book by Chip and Joanna Gaines, the Christian couple on TV that restores old houses on the show Fixer Upper. He’s the builder, she’s the designer, and the two of them together are so genuine and fun, they make watching the show really enjoyable. Their book is called The Magnolia Story, and it’s our thank-you gift for your donation to Harvest this month. If you act right away, we can get it to you in time for Mother’s Day. You can get it here:https://www.harvest.org/r?id=12567 »

Monday, May 1, 2017

The Power of the Gospel

For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.

—Romans 1:16

My life was dramatically impacted by the power of the gospel in a single day. I came to the Lord on my high school campus after hearing the gospel presented in a way that I had never heard it before. I responded and gave my life to Jesus Christ, and immediate changes started to take place.

The Lord used the Christians on my campus, fellow high school students who were unashamed to live out their faith. If someone had tried to reach me by being cool or relating to me, I don’t know how well they would have done. I’d had enough cool to choke on in the world. I had pretty much been there, done that, and I was fed up with it. I was searching.

I had already, through the process of elimination, determined where the answer in life was not. It was not in the hedonistic, materialistic, party lifestyle of my parents’ generation. Nor was it in the choices that I made as a kid. Being cool would not have reached me.

In fact, the people who reached me probably were what I would have considered the lamest people on the face of the earth. I thought you couldn’t be any lamer than a Christian. They walked around carrying Bibles and talking about God. I thought that was the most absurd choice a person could possibly make. I had basically narrowed it down to this: either these people were out of their minds—actually disturbed mentally, or they really did have an encounter with Christ. Of course, in the end I concluded it was option two. I heard the gospel and made a commitment to the Lord.

I was looking for something real, something authentic, and I found it in a relationship with Jesus Christ.