Can we ever be completely without sin?

Over the years, I have struggled to understand this concept:

In Heaven, there is NO sin; so, how can I (even in my glorified form) ever be completely free from sin, and still be anything that “resembles” myself? Can we still have free will in Heaven? If we have the freedom to make choices, doesn’t that mean that it is possible for us to sin?

Our sin nature runs deep. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and is desperately wicked.” ~Jeremiah 17:9. All humans have broken God’s Commandments countless times, and we all sin virtually every day. This is why we need God’s grace, and this is why Jesus came to Earth and died on the cross: so that our sins can be forgiven when we repent and trust in Him.

I believe that virtually all sin is rooted in unfulfilled human desires. Whether we struggle with greed, vanity, substance abuse, arrogance, anger, selfishness, laziness, pride, lust, envy, gluttony, deceitfulness, and/or anything else; I believe that we sin when we feel that our basic desires are not being met. Satan, the “father of lies,” (John 8:44) tricks us into believing that these sins will fulfill our desires better than doing what is right, and we choose to sin.

I believe this analogy gives a partial glimpse of how we can be without sin while maintaining free will.

Imagine that you and your family are homeless, starving, and living on the street struggling to survive.  Imagine walking by a bakery which has dozens of loaves of bread sitting on a window with no one guarding them. Stealing is wrong, and stealing is a sin, but I’m willing to bet that you would be willing to steal a loaf of bread if it meant saving your family from starving to death!

Now, imagine that you and your family are exceedingly wealthy, and that you have hired a private chef who prepares a five star dinner for your family at your mansion every night. When you walk by the exact same bakery with the unguarded bread, will you be tempted to steal a few loaves? No! Because your basic need for nutrition has been fulfilled in such a way that you have absolutely no need or desire to steal bread.

In Heaven, I believe that our every need, want, and desire will be so wonderfully, amazingly, completely, and exceedingly fulfilled that ANY form of sin will seem infinitely more worthless than a stale, moldy piece of bread is to a wealthy person coming home to a five star meal.

So, what does this mean for us now? Jesus said in John 10:10, “The devil comes only to steal and kill and destroy, but I have come that you may have abundant life.” Jesus loves us, and He wants what is best for us. Our enemy, the devil, wants our lives destroyed. When we realize that sin stems from unmet desires, and that the devil is constantly trying to lead us into destruction by tricking us into believing that these sins will meet our desires, then we can look to John 10:10 and trust and wait on the Lord for Him to give us what is best in His timing.

When we truly believe in our heart that God loves us and wants what is best for us, it is much easier to resist the temptations of the devil!

Great mission in South Africa

After calculating all of the numbers, our team was able to reach more than 30,000 precious souls in South Africa with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ and see more than 12,000 professions of faith in Christ as Lord and Savior! Also, we were able help the local members of Gideons International to distribute 13,500 New Testaments in these schools.

God is good! Thanks for your prayer and support as YES shares the Gospel around the world!!!

Awesome first week in South Africa!

Our team has had an amazing week of ministry in schools here in Limpopo province in South Africa! We spoke in 39 schools with over 20,000 students and teachers and saw more than 10,000 professions of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We were also able to distribute more than 10,000 Gideon New Testaments in these schools. Please continue to pray for our team as we travel to the city of Nelspruit to continue sharing God's word this upcoming week.

Great first week in Zambia

Wow, our Youth Education Strategies team had a wonderful week of ministry in Livingstone, Zambia! We were able to share the life-changing message of Jesus Christ in 27 schools with over 15,000 young people and see more than 10,000 professions of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We were also able to partner with local members of Gideons International to distribute more than 10,000 New Testaments in these schools. Our team is now in Lusaka, Zambia preparing for another week of ministry. Please pray that God's anointing will remain on our team and that many lives will be permanently impacted here in Lusaka!

Going to Zambia

In two weeks, our team will be in Zambia getting ready to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with many thousands of people! Please join YES in prayer for God to guide our final preparations.

Final week in Kenya!

Bwana Asifiwe! ('Praise the Lord' in Swahili) YES has finished our final week of ministry in Kenya! In Vihiga, we were blessed to share the life changing message of Jesus Christ in 28 schools with more than 11,000 precious souls. Thank you once again for your prayer as we completed a wonderful mission in Kenya!

Wonderful Second week in Kenya

Greetings from Vihiga, Kenya. Our Youth Education Strategies team has completed a wonderful week of ministry in Migori where we spoke in 28 schools with over 8,000 students and saw over 4,000 professions of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior! We have already had a great church service on Sunday and a great Monday and Tuesday in schools. Please pray for God to move mightily in Vihiga during our final three days of ministry.