For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have. - Philippians 1:29-30 NIV
Dear Friends and Family,
To some I have confessed that i have been a fake for most of my life. Not living for the right reasons. Living for only myself, and myself only.
Last year when I went to Obsession, I made a promise with my sister the year before that I would go; and the same with CIY. But to tell you the truth, even with out the promise, about 55-60% of me would've gone. I still would've went. But if a certain person was still in my life, I would've broken the promise and wouldn't have gone.
In February/March of this year, I started to change. Still to this day I'm changing, but it hasn't been easy.
When I opened the card at CIY (NO CATHEDRALS: Study, Share the information, and Serve the PERSECUTED CHURCH), I wasn't expecting a life change as big as this. But as I read and hear the stories; they make me wonder "What if that was me?" Then I look at the duck tape that is on my Bible, and the promise i made to ENDURE the pain...no matter what.
Here I am, and I give everything to Christ Jesus. My best friend. He is, and will be, calling me to things people may not like. In fact you may hate me, but I don't care; for Jesus changed my life and he wants to change others as well. I love you all, but my love for Jesus is greater. Greater then anything in this world.
You may not understand me right now, but maybe one day you will know what I mean and feel. But believe me, this is the real deal!
He is the way, the truth, and the life says the Apostle John. And He is. He is my way, truth, and life, and I give it all to Him and Him alone.
When (and if) I die, I didn't die because of old age, or because someone disagreed about my faith. I died because my job here on this sin-filled-world has expired. I have fulfilled the work of Jesus Christ.
But my work is now beginning, and I will not stop at anything for the work, and love, of my friend Jesus Christ the Son of the Living GOD, for there is NO END.
I AM JESUS FREAK,
Amanda Kersker
I wrote this in November of 2010. I went on a weekend trip called "Obsession". At the retreat, we were encouraged to write our "Last Letter". Now the last letter is NOT a suicide letter! All it is is a letter to friends, family, and close ones saying that you gave your life up to Christ and going His way; even if it means dying for Him.
Many of Christ's followers have written a "Last Letter" before they were martyred. One of the followers was the Apostle Paul. Now Paul wasn't one of Christ's disciples while he was here on the earth. In fact he martyred the first Christian, Stephen a Disciple of Jesus.
I try to imagine what it would be like to be Saul (later to be Paul). Standing there, allowing the people of the town to throw stones at him! As they are throwing their stones at a young man, who is filled with the Holy Spirit, Saul is standing with the towns folk's cloaks at his FEET! I don't know how he could even bare watch them this young man. But he did.
In Acts 9 it tells us more about Saul and how he came to know Christ. Read this:
Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
Paul traveled all around the Roman Empire spreading the word of God to everyone, even in prison. In fact that is where he wrote most his "Last Letters" in. If you want to read them, they are called the Prison Epistles: Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon.
Now the title of this blog is "Let's Begin...A Challenge". Here is the Challenge, I want you to write your own "Last Letter". But before you do, I want you to pray about it. Ask God how he wants to use you and what He wants you to write. You may share this letter to whomever you wish, but this is between you and God. What is He saying to you? What does He want you to do?
Dear Friends and Family,
To some I have confessed that i have been a fake for most of my life. Not living for the right reasons. Living for only myself, and myself only.
Last year when I went to Obsession, I made a promise with my sister the year before that I would go; and the same with CIY. But to tell you the truth, even with out the promise, about 55-60% of me would've gone. I still would've went. But if a certain person was still in my life, I would've broken the promise and wouldn't have gone.
In February/March of this year, I started to change. Still to this day I'm changing, but it hasn't been easy.
When I opened the card at CIY (NO CATHEDRALS: Study, Share the information, and Serve the PERSECUTED CHURCH), I wasn't expecting a life change as big as this. But as I read and hear the stories; they make me wonder "What if that was me?" Then I look at the duck tape that is on my Bible, and the promise i made to ENDURE the pain...no matter what.
Here I am, and I give everything to Christ Jesus. My best friend. He is, and will be, calling me to things people may not like. In fact you may hate me, but I don't care; for Jesus changed my life and he wants to change others as well. I love you all, but my love for Jesus is greater. Greater then anything in this world.
You may not understand me right now, but maybe one day you will know what I mean and feel. But believe me, this is the real deal!
He is the way, the truth, and the life says the Apostle John. And He is. He is my way, truth, and life, and I give it all to Him and Him alone.
When (and if) I die, I didn't die because of old age, or because someone disagreed about my faith. I died because my job here on this sin-filled-world has expired. I have fulfilled the work of Jesus Christ.
But my work is now beginning, and I will not stop at anything for the work, and love, of my friend Jesus Christ the Son of the Living GOD, for there is NO END.
I AM JESUS FREAK,
Amanda Kersker
I wrote this in November of 2010. I went on a weekend trip called "Obsession". At the retreat, we were encouraged to write our "Last Letter". Now the last letter is NOT a suicide letter! All it is is a letter to friends, family, and close ones saying that you gave your life up to Christ and going His way; even if it means dying for Him.
Many of Christ's followers have written a "Last Letter" before they were martyred. One of the followers was the Apostle Paul. Now Paul wasn't one of Christ's disciples while he was here on the earth. In fact he martyred the first Christian, Stephen a Disciple of Jesus.
I try to imagine what it would be like to be Saul (later to be Paul). Standing there, allowing the people of the town to throw stones at him! As they are throwing their stones at a young man, who is filled with the Holy Spirit, Saul is standing with the towns folk's cloaks at his FEET! I don't know how he could even bare watch them this young man. But he did.
In Acts 9 it tells us more about Saul and how he came to know Christ. Read this:
Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered.
The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”
“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”
But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
Pretty crazy huh? But you're probably wondering how Saul became Paul. Well that doesn't happened till chapter 13. Take a look:
The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper. They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun.”
Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
Now the title of this blog is "Let's Begin...A Challenge". Here is the Challenge, I want you to write your own "Last Letter". But before you do, I want you to pray about it. Ask God how he wants to use you and what He wants you to write. You may share this letter to whomever you wish, but this is between you and God. What is He saying to you? What does He want you to do?
