Breaking the Silence

As many of you have probably noticed, we have been silent on our blog for about a week - not because we didn't have anything to say, but because we didn't know where to begin.

Like you've probably seen on the news (and if you haven't, check out this video: http://youtu.be/7QiYauuYHZE) on July 20th, there was a shooting in Aurora at a local movie theater. Praise the Lord, we weren't at the theater because we were too jet lagged from our trip to go, but a lot of our friends were there that night. Actually, there were over 30 people from our church (calvaryaurora.org) in theater 8 (the room adjacent to where the shooter was) and theater 9 (the room where the shooter was). We even found out that some of the kids we minister to in our church's junior high were in theater 9, and are really struggling to deal with all of the emotions and memories they have. Thank the Lord, He preserved all of the lives of those from our church... But our hearts are broken to hear about the people that were shot and those that lost loved ones because of the shooting.

What do you do when a tragedy, a shocking event of this magnitude, happens near your home. This is our city. This is where we grew up. This is where our families live. This is where our friends are. How do you even deal with that?

One Bible verse that has been really comforting recently is Romans 8:26, which reads:

"Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered" (NKJV). 

In our weakness, it's been difficult to even know how to pray. But in Romans, Paul talks about this very weakness, and he assures Believers that when we don't know how to pray, or what to pray for, the Holy Spirit will be our great intercessor, guiding us and urging us to pray - and to pray for the things that in our sorrow, or confusion, we simply can't utter.

We've also been reminded that we, as young adults, have largely been strangers to tragedy. A lot of things like Columbine, or even 9/11 happened when we were young... Too young to really understand the gravity of tragedy. But recently, we've found comfort in knowing that even if this feels new to us, God, our Abba Father, has experienced great tragedy... And not only that, but He experienced great tragedy on our behalf, and He knows how to comfort us. He willfully sent His only son, Jesus Christ, to earth. To live perfect life - a sinless life. To be the one person, in the history of humanity, that did not deserve death. And yet, to die a criminal's death, on a rugged, splintering cross ------ All For Us. That we might live life, and live it abundantly. That we might know freedom from sin, and that we would be able to choose a life everlasting with God in Heaven. 

 In times of pain, like this, all we can do is cling to the hope we have in Jesus, and know that He knows what we're feeling, and we're not alone. 

We have never officially given the Gospel here, on our blog, but this feels like a good time to do so. If you are reading all of this and are thinking, "I understand what you guys are saying, but I don't feel like this can apply to me because I don't have a relationship with Jesus.," we want to tell you, it doesn't have to be that way. There is a savior, waiting for you right now, whatever country you're reading this from, and He's ready to enter your life and give you the Blessed assurance and peace that comes from knowing and loving the one true God. The Bible says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me" (NKJV).

We want to give you some Bible verses to show you how to begin a relationship with Jesus. A lot of Christians call this progression of Bible verses the "Romans' Road to salvation." But if you're in a place where you want Jesus in your life, we want you to understand what that means according to the Bible, which is why we want you to read these passages:

First of all, there is no perfect person besides Jesus. The Bible says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23 NKJV)

We also know that the wages of sin is death. The Bible says, "For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23a NKJV). Just like it says in Genesis 2, God warned Adam and Eve against sinning (Eating from the Forbidden Tree), but they ate of the fruit. And we do the same... We do the things that God has asked us no to do. Lie, steal, kill, hate. These are not the things that God designed us for...

 But there's good news... There's a way out of this death and our sin. The rest of Romans 6:23 says, "but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23b NKJV). So, there's nothing we can do to deserve this eternal life - it's a free gift from God... And it's offered to us through grace. All we have to do is accept the gift. The Bible says, "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, 'Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame. 'For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For 'whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved'" (Romans 10:9-13 NKJV).

The next thing to do, if you're serious about having a relationship with Jesus, is to meditate on these Bible verses and pray. To just call out to God and have a conversation with Him. In your own words, just tell Him that you're a sinner and you want to change. To Him the truth about how you feel. And that you believe in Him and you want to have a real relationship with Him. Ask Him to send the Holy Spirit into your heart and give you assurance of your salvation...

And let us help you too... If you've made a decision for Christ today, please let us know so that we can put a Bible in your hands, pray for you, and come along side of you as your life changes. Our email address is byronandemilyj@gmail.com and there are also lots of resources available to you at CCAurora's website (calvaryaurora.org). 

For those of you that are deeply affected by grief right now, we want you to know that we're also available to help you out in any way possible. We are praying for you, our church is praying for you, and we're just an email away if you need to talk.

We love you guys... thanks for being such faithful readers.

God Bless,

Emily and Byron