Easter and The Resurrection

Each Spring Christians celebrate Easter to remember the life altering truth of Jesus Christ. This holiday is one in which people remember the sacrifice Jesus Christ made on the cross and how He overcame death. Jesus rose from the grave and proved once and for all His divinity as Messiah. But, to fully understand what that means one needs to better understand who Jesus is.

Jesus Christ is a man who was born of a virgin named Mary. His birth was a miracle in itself, but it did not stop there. Jesus is God Incarnate meaning that He is fully man and fully God. This is hard for us to understand, but the historical stories about His life show evidence of its truth. While on earth, He lived a perfect life without any mistakes (sin) and performed many miracles. These included things like turning water into wine (John 2), healing the blind (John 9), healing lepers (Luke 17), and raising the dead (John 11). His miracles were acts of love that inspired faith in those around Him. He provided tangible visuals that showed people that He is good and He is God. Just like all people, Jesus faced many challenges and difficulties in His life. For Him these ultimately resulted in His Crucifixion. However, despite everything, Christ remained kind, good, and steadfastly perfect.

As His time on earth drew to a close, Jesus prepared those around Him for what was to come. He had a Last Supper with His disciples – His 12 closest friends and followers (Mark 14). During this Passover meal, the men ate lamb to remember the sacrificial lamb that saved God’s people years prior (Exodus 12). Jesus chose this time to be His last meal purposefully. He was foreshadowing that He would become the sacrificial lamb for all Humanity. The Last Supper was a way for the disciples to spend precious time with Jesus, hear about how He would become their ultimate sacrifice, and release His betrayer to fulfill God’s plan.

As the meal drew to a close, Judas Iscariot left to betray Jesus. He went to the High Priest and sold Him out as a blasphemer. This was the beginning of Jesus’ Crucifixion. Jesus was arrested, tried, and condemned to death. The priests accused Him of crimes and then asked Him if He wanted to defend Himself. He remained silent (Luke 23). Some wonder if He didn’t answer because He knew that on the cross He would take on all the evil of the world making Him guilty. Though Jesus committed no sins, He took all humanity’s sin on the cross. 

In the Roman empire, crucifixion was a brutal form of torture and execution.  After His trial, Jesus was whipped, beaten, had a crown of thorns shoved into His head, and was forced to carry His own cross to His execution. He was nailed to the cross and slowly died. The earth went silent and evil was thought to have won.

This may sound unfair, depressing, and cruel. It was. But this is where Easter begins. The story does not end on the cross. If it did, Jesus would have been like any other executed man. He would have been only human with nothing more to His death. However, three days later everything changed.

Some women who loved Jesus went to His gravesite and found that His tomb was empty. They were shocked and afraid. Then, they were gently greeted by a gardener who reassured them they need not be terrified (John 20). It turned out that gardener was Jesus, their Messiah and King. He was alive. He had conquered death.

Easter is the celebration of this story. That Jesus was humiliated and killed as the sacrificial lamb so that He could pay the penalty of sin. He died and was buried, but He rose from the grave. Jesus Christ is risen! This proves that He is God and He is alive. This shows that we have hope and freedom. Death is the penalty for sin, but Christ died in our place (Romans 5:8). If you believe in this story, and trust that Jesus died for you, you too can have eternal life and freedom. Jesus loves YOU.  You don’t have to make yourself better, we all have sinned, but Jesus made a way for us. Easter is the day we celebrate the goodness of our Savior and the gift we all can joyfully accept. Christ is Risen Indeed!

Celebrating Five Years!

This year AmazingGrace.Life is celebrating 5 years of ministry! We have had a front row seat to watch Jesus move in mighty ways. As we reflect on all the Lord has done, we asked our team members share a little about their experiences with AmazingGrace.Life.

“When our ministry started five years ago, we did not know what to expect. All we knew was that God had called us to share the Gospel to families all over the world. Five years later we have printed nearly 500,000 Amazing Grace books that have literally reached children all across the world! Our board shares the vision of Mark 16:15, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”

There are hundreds of people involved in our ministry, and each one has a specific role in getting the Gospel into the hands of hundreds of thousands of children and families. A lot of these people we have never met, but they are an integral part of the ministry. Together we are the body of Christ.  We all have our spiritual gifts, and we have committed to use ours to further the kingdom of God. It is our mission. It is our goal.

God has commanded us as believers to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He is coming back, and we want everyone to be prepared. It has been an honor and a privilege to work with people who have the same vision. We are simply messengers, messengers for Christ. Our hope is that you will develop a strong relationship with Christ and learn more about who He is. 2 Peter 3:18 says, “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.”

-Amy (Founder)

 “I started working with AmazingGrace.Life five years ago when they asked for help with social media. Eagerly joining the mission, we worked to spread the Good News of Jesus with 10 million people. Since then, AmazingGrace.Life enabled me to read God’s word almost every single day, interact with people from all over the world, and witness life change through Jesus. This ministry has given me more than I ever thought possible and shown me the Power of God. The Lord is using AmazingGrace.Life, and He continues to move mountains!”

-Elizabeth (Digital Coordinator)

 “AmazingGrace.Life has provided more than I could ask or imagine. Serving with a ministry devoted to bringing the good news of the Gospel to the ends of the earth is humbling. And watching the Lord deliver is inspiring! What encouragement to walk alongside thousands of believers and usher in new believers to the body of Christ. Only the Holy Spirit can quicken the hearts of those the Lord has called to Himself. We are privileged to stand at that decision point, and share resources to bring people one step closer in their walk with the Lord. May His name be glorified!”

-Shannon (Board Member)

“AmazingGrace.Life brings Jesus to a hurting, broken world. I have had the honor of seeing the Amazing Grace booklets spread across Indonesia and the Philippines. These are places in the world where Jesus is the only comfort to a people in desperate need. The Gospel, the story of Jesus, is the only thing that satisfies the unending hunger of the soul. Getting to watch and hear stories of people learning about the Gospel is the greatest joy for me. Locally, AmazingGrace.Life is able to be the hands and feet of our Savior, to a world in need. We bring the Gospel as we meet physical needs of children at risk, veterans, first responders, and people getting their lives back on track. I am so blessed to be part of this journey!”

-Priya (Director)

The AmazingGrace.Life team rejoices at the goodness of God over the past five years. He brought together our team so that He might be glorified. He used this ministry to reach millions of people with the gospel. He saved thousands of souls. The Lord is mighty, and we are blessed to be a part of His mission to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank you, Jesus, for your faithfulness to provide and save!

On the Killing of George Floyd

Outrage erupted across the country this week after video surfaced of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on the neck of George Floyd for nearly 10 minutes. In the horrifying video, Floyd begs for air before bystanders plead for his life. In the end, Floyd, an African American suspected of no violent crime but of “grocery store forgery,” died.

The four police officers involved were fired almost immediately. The FBI opened an investigation, and the Justice Department pledged to make the case a top priority. While, in the past, police have often defended fellow officers in similar incidents, this time, as the Washington Post reported, police chiefs across the country “denounced the prolonged suffocation of Floyd.”

Earlier this week, Detroit-area pastor Chris Brooks, a former Colson Center board member and close friend, posted a picture of Floyd on Facebook along with a quote attributed to Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” I admit, for the last few days, I’ve struggled to know what should be said and what could be done.

We must say, first, that George Floyd was an image bearer of His Creator. His death is awful. It’s tragic. And it should not have happened.

Floyd’s murder has opened up, yet again, so many larger, painful cultural issues we face–especially those having to do with race. Also revealed, again and painfully so, is how essential justice is, especially for victims and family members but also entire communities. Civilizations can sustain many things, but not when perpetual injustices go unaddressed.

Still, we must not forget, in the midst of the important discussions we must have, that George Floyd was a real person. Too often when videos like this one go viral–and God help us and forgive us, there are too many–we automatically run to ideological or political corners, turning victims like George Floyd into a prop for our own positions.

The most obvious example is those using this killing to justify looting stores and destroying property. Other examples include resorting to “what-about-isms,” as if some other unrelated wrong somehow diminishes the evil of this act or implying that one can only support either the police and law and order, or African Americans and justice… as if these are mutually exclusive options.

Dichotomies like that are dangerous and disingenuous. We must be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. We can support the institution of law enforcement and acknowledge that the terrible injustice that happened here happens too often. We can denounce lawlessness and still listen carefully to our African American neighbors describe their deep pain and disillusionment. We can support a right to protest and still denounce using protests as occasions for evil.

Above all, I, a follower of Jesus who happens to be white, can listen. I can, indeed if I am to love my neighbor as Christ commanded I must, care about the suffering of my fellow citizens, especially my brothers and sisters in Christ. The Church can lead the culture in addressing this suffering and its root causes, advancing justice, and caring for victims. Who else can?

This Monday is the launch of the third module of our Truth Love Together virtual event, entitled “Becoming People of Truth and Love.” It could not be more timely. The Enemy uses situations like the police killing of George Floyd to drive us away from both truth and love, to their counterfeits. We must not deny the truth of what happened to George Floyd, and we won’t reach justice, much less reconciliation, without hard, sacrificial, and biblical love. Please come to Conference.ColsonCenter.org to watch module 3, “Becoming People of Truth and Love.”

May God grant comfort to the family of George Floyd, peace to the city of Minneapolis, justice for the officers involved, safety to those affected by the related violence, and power to Christ’s Church, so that we would be the agents of peace and reconciliation, the people of Truth and Love, our world needs so desperately right now.

Download the MP3 audio here.

-John Stonestreet, Maria Baer | Colson Center

https://breakpoint.org/george-floyds-killing-and-why-we-need-truth-and-love/

The Power of Camp

I’ve always loved attending camp. Not camping, mind you, but going to camp. As a kid, teenager, young mom, and even older mom, the opportunity to pull away from the daily distractions to be in the midst of God’s creation, and be reminded of what really matters has always been powerful to me. I actually met Jesus at camp, and I’ve never been the same since. 

It was the summer of 1980, and I was attending our church’s Jr. High youth camp. As an 8th grader and teenager of the 80’s, I was no stranger to the middle school drama thrust upon so many girls my age. But, camp was an immediate refuge. One afternoon following a worship session, I found myself desiring to be alone, by the stream running through camp. That is where I felt God’s presence. It was in that place, by the running water, that I knew God wanted me to know Him personally. I had been attending church for as long as I could remember, but it was there at camp that I heard God’s voice so clearly. It was there and then that I decided to no longer be a cultural Christian who only knew about God, but rather someone who was going to run hard to pursue a relationship with Jesus. 

Now, many years later, I still have a passion for camp and how God works to reveal Himself through camp.  Times have definitely changed since the 80’s. Life seems to have sped up and our phones, gaming and social media are vying for our kids’ attention. The culture is influencing them like never before. And, if we want the next generation to impact the world for Christ, ministry to reach our youth is needed today more than ever. The statistics are alarming. It is estimated that 40 million young people in the US, who were raised in Christian homes, could walk away from a life with Jesus by 2050. Two-thirds (66%) of young adults who regularly attended church as a teenager dropped out between the ages of 18 and 22.

 Cutting through the noise and pressures to help our children feel seen, known, and loved is critical. I often like to say that Jesus invented camp. Throughout the Bible, we see examples of Jesus withdrawing from the crowds and into the wilderness to pray, and often inviting His disciples to follow, setting the example for us.

Pine Cove exists to inspire campers to walk intimately with Jesus and equip our college summer staff to change the world. As a Christ-centered, others-focused, and seriously-fun summer camp, kids hear the Gospel. Partners like Amy Simmons Crafton’s AmazingGrace.Life ministry has allowed us to present the Gospel and provide scholarships to many underprivileged campers here in the U.S. and Latin America. Through camp and AmazingGrace.Life’s written resources, lives have changed for eternity. Amy met Jesus while at camp, and I am grateful that we are now locking arms to reach so many children for Christ!

By Susan Andreone, Pine Cove

Youth With A Mission

Flora’s clothes were literal rags. She only had one shirt. It was a short-sleeved button-down shirt, with only one sad button remaining. She was very dirty and didn’t have shoes. We had no shoes or clothes left that were her size.

I was in war-torn South Sudan. Our team was delivering food, water, clothes and medicine to some of the world’s neediest refugees. These refugees did not have nice tents to sleep in. We found them sleeping on the ground near a tree if they could find one. None of them even had sleeping bags.

One day, we came to such a tree and found a few hundred people there who were so grateful for the help. I noticed a young girl named Flora kept watching me. I asked her if she wanted to help me give out the food and clothes. She nodded and took my hand. Flora didn’t say much but she stayed by my side the whole day and held my hand often.

At one point, some refugee ladies approached me and told me Flora’s parents were Christians who were killed by Muslims in the war. Flora was all alone—no siblings, no grandparents, no relatives or friends. These ladies didn’t know her but they were looking after her. They asked me to take her with me as they were very poor themselves. This was heart-breaking because I so wanted to take Flora home with me. However, I knew it was illegal to do so. If I was caught, I could be arrested for human trafficking!

The only thing I could do was give Flora the clothes I had in my backpack, my granola bars and the a few dollars I had. I also had a long talk with her about Jesus, his love for her and how He would be her helper and her Daddy. I prayed for her. It was hard to leave Flora that day. She still wanted to come home with me, but Flora took comfort in these thoughts. And so did I.

Even though, I could not bring her home, our ministry decided to send as much help as we could to Flora and so many others like her. We sent medical teams and containers of food and supplies for several years until the war ended. I lost track of Flora as the refugees there moved around. But I know Jesus has not lost track of her. Jesus said his eye is on even little sparrows and he knows the number of hairs on our head. We can take great comfort that God loves people like Flora and he loves us too.

We are currently helping people in her country get out of poverty by starting small businesses. Each business only costs $100! There are many verses in the Bible letting us know how much God cares for people in need. There are also many verses letting us know if we are blessed, he wants us to be a blessing to the poor. One of my favorite parts of scripture is found in Matthew 25. Jesus said when we reach out and help people in need, it’s like we are helping Jesus himself! That’s how important it is to God that we help the poor.

Our ministry is called MercyWorks and is a part of a larger organization called Youth With A Mission. We work all over the world helping people and sharing the life changing message of Jesus.

Ywamtyler.org, mercyworks.org

Debbie Lascelles is the Director of MercyWorks. She has  a passion to help vulnerable women leave poverty and hopelessness behind as well as seeing lives transformed by the Gospel. She has been to 55 nations including many of the poorest countries on earth. She is married to Chris, and they have three teenage kids, Haley, Kip and Caden. They live in Lindale, Texas and work full time with Youth With A Mission.