Relationship, Relationship, Relationship

I received a note today from an old friend.  This friend is very special.  He was the man God used to lead me to the Lord.  He was a WYAM missionary in Okinawa Japan.  He served as the English-speaking pastor, in a Korean church, on a Japanese island.  God sure works in mysterious ways.  The first time I was in his service he asked, the 20 or so American husbands of Korean women, why we considered ourselves Christians?  I thought he was nuts, after all I was sitting in a church, I am a good guy, I knew the stories of the bible.  I was a Christian!!  He then explained what he meant by being a Christian.  Did we have a relationship with the Lord and was he our Lord and Savior?  I understood the Savior part but the relationship and Lord parts I didn’t really understand.  I did know one thing; I was no longer assured of my salvation and I wanted to know the truth.  Over the next few months, the Spirit of God used this man to reveal the truth to me and I am assured of my salvation and gladly do my best to serve the Lord.
I tell you this story because we never know who God will use to change your life or how he will use you to change someone else’s life. God works through relationships.  I had to go halfway around the world to meet a man from Chicago to find the truth.  With all that has been going on in the world remember what this season is about.  It is about a God that loves us so much that he sent his Son to die for us that we might be able to have a relationship with him forever.  He continues to send us to those who do not know the truth.  Let us put the things of the world aside, walk in the Spirit, and spread the Truth of why we have hope. 
I know 28 Christian men and women that are praying that they will soon be able to build relationships with troubled youth, so that they may know the truth.
Please join us in praying for the youth that find themselves in a troubled place.  They need the love of God.  Thank you for being a friend of the Lord and Southern Colorado Youth for Christ. May God strengthen your good relationships, fix the broken, and use them all for his glory.  Have a blessed Christmas. 
Andrew LaValley 

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