29 And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him."
30 As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.
32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
The lines of distinction between the light of God and the darkness of the world are quite clear, and we can be faithful to shine the light of Jesus Christ, so that people may see His love and truth. 1st John 1 states:
5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
Just three weeks ago, there was a dubious event that was held in Watertown, Wisconsin, and it attracted quite a share of protestors, rightfully so - some of whom were arrested.
The Sentinel website noted that:
Police arrested and detained several young people in Watertown, Wisconsin, on Saturday while they were preaching the gospel at a public drag queen event targeted toward children.
Video circulated on social media showing multiple police officers arresting Marcus Schroeder as he was reading from the Bible. One officer was recorded aggressively pulling a microphone out of his hands and walking him away in handcuffs. Nick Proell, another young Christian, was detained and removed from the venue but later released with a warning.
Jason Storms, who recorded the viral video, said in remarks provided to The Sentinel that the young people, who attend Mercy Seat Christian Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin, were some of more than 200 individuals from various groups assembled to protest the drag show.
Shroeder told The Sentinel: “It was worth it. It’s actually an honor to be counted worthy to stand with the cloud of witnesses who have gone before us and been arrested for the sake of spreading Christ and his kingdom,” adding, “If the police wanted to try and set an example for others or anything like that, the only thing I’ve seen is actually the exact opposite, where more and more people are seeing the severity of what’s going on and being called to more action.”
The article went on to say:
Proell likewise told The Sentinel that he “absolutely” does not regret his detainment. “I’d do it all over again if it gives me an opportunity to share the good news and rescue innocent children being sexualized by their parents,” he said. “God will use it for good. We will stand for truth even if we stand alone."
The writer of the piece for the Sentinel website, Ben Zeisloft, had covered Proell in another story from last year, as Phil Johnson of Grace to You had pointed out. On Twitter, Zeisloft said:
Nick, who was detained at the drag event, had his beloved personal Bible eaten by feral college leftists while preaching the gospel outside of a @MattWalshBlog speech only eight months ago. He is an absolute beast for the kingdom.
Zeisloft was writing for The Daily Wire at the time and reported:
The Daily Wire has learned that the Bible belonged to Nick Proell, a local teenager who joined peers from his church to preach and start conversations about God’s design for human sexuality among left-wing demonstrators gathered outside of the event. In an interview with The Daily Wire, Proell explained that the copy of the Scriptures was a Legacy Standard Bible purchased for roughly $100 at the end of last year.
“It was my personal study Bible that I used every single day,” Proell explained. “At church, at Bible study, to preach, you name it.”
Proell had set his Bible down to talk to some of the protestors of the Matt Walsh What is a Woman? event, when it was apparently taken by someone outside the event, who began to, yes, actually eat the Bible. Over $1000 in recording equipment were also stolen.
A subsequent story on the Sentinel website related comments from Schroeder and Proell:
“Jesus told us to disciple the nations and teach them to obey all that Christ has commanded us, and part of the nations includes the culture,” Schroeder said, dismissing the notion that they were engaged in a mere culture war. “It's not that we're just trying to get political. This is God's world, and people have to live by God's rules. So we're here to take a stand for justice.”
“Jesus is Lord, and because he is the King and has made me a new creation through repentance and faith in him, I want to tell everyone living in sin that they can have true joy and peace if they simply turn to him in faith,” added Proell. “He has taken away my death sentence by taking my place. He died on a cross and was raised to life on the third day, defeating death and conquering the grave. If I truly believe in him, how could I not preach this good news to those who are lost in the LGBT movement?”
Men dressing as women, evil portrayed as good...these are the symptoms of a society that has collectively turned its back on God. Those who glorify deviant sexual behavior are cutting right to the heart of the book of Genesis chapter 2, which states God's good plan for marriage. When a culture rejects God, it rejects the things of God and the knowledge of God. That is why a heart change is needed; only Jesus can change the condition of a human heart - to transform it from hard and calloused to pliable and open.
The faith to be saved arises from the presence of the Word of God - faith comes by hearing, which comes from the Scriptures. Nick Proell said, "We will stand for truth even if we stand alone." The proclamation of truth can lead to the transformation of a life. So, we can consider how we are speaking and living the truth in our own lives. The truth of the gospel sets people free - our adherence to truth sets us free and our announcement of truth can set others free. We can be convinced in our own minds about how that can be applied - to people who are lost pushing a sexual agenda that is contrary to God's Word, to children who are being sexualized by it, to pre-born children whose lives are being taken, to those who are trapped in all sorts of sin. We have the answers, and we can be faithful to represent the Lord to those who do not follow Him.
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