Jesus trumps all of them!

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Ever played "Trump"?  If not, don't feel bad, I've never played but I've seen people play and it looks fun. Ha-ha-ha.  I'm more of an Uno person myself.  But the term trump as a verb, means to "excel, surpass, outdo" (dictionary.com).  And that's exactly what my Savior does to all those other gods, leaders, and e'erthang.  Keep reading to find out what my conversation with two teenagers about this was like.

I was sitting in a classroom with two teenagers since everyone else from our group was already gone.  Earlier, one of the teens (a guy) was in a group where we'd started watching the Disney adaptation of the Ruby Bridges story.  The movie portrayed Bridges' role in integrating an all-white school.  Her mother served as a major source of encouragement for her urging her to pray for those who hated her as Jesus had done for the mob and to trust God.  Those themes really served to open a door for me to share the Gospel with the two teens who were left in the room.

It all started when the female student struck up a conversation with me about her being new to the school and about her life.  I was pretty amazed at how open she was with me since I was technically a stranger.  We later pulled the male student into the conversation when he returned to the room.  I prayed for the Lord to show me how to incorporate the Gospel into the conversation so that I might explain it clearly.  So, the Lord provided a natural opportunity for me to talk about the themes I mentioned above that were in the movie (thank You, Lord!).

This led to us talking about how if people just did what was right instead of doing their own thing, we wouldn't have so many problems in the world.  I went on to note that doing your own thing instead of doing what was right according to God's standards in the Bible is known as sin.  This led to us talking about race and racism - bringing up Ghandi, MLK, Jr.; and Nelson Mandela since these leaders fought against inequality based on race.  I explained that while these leaders were great, they only helped people overcome in this life.  Jesus came to prepare us for the next life.  By placing your faith in Him and what He did on the cross (taking on all the bad) and doing the things that He taught (loving God with everything you got! and loving others the way you love yourself) then things would be better!  ANDDD, you'd get to go to Heaven afterward where you have no problems!  So I told them, that He trumps those 3 leaders because of that!

By the end of the discussion, the male student said, "He really does trump them!"

Ah, I was satisfied.

I know that this wasn't a clear cut, play-by-play Gospel presentation, but the Gospel was shared! I prayed for the Lord to continue to work in their hearts after our discussion and to use other believers to explain the Gospel further to them and to live it out in front of them.  I also prayed for the Lord to open their eyes and hearts to the truth and to save them.

I have to remember that no matter what I say or do, God has to do the work in them to save them.  So prayer is very important!  Please join me in praying for those students and others I've had the opportunity to be a light to!  And I pray that you, too, will share the Gospel to those in your sphere of influence!