Dear Pastor,

I am a young man who wants to turn to Christ but I want some help to overcome, and to understand more about God. I also want to overcome smoking and to get a job. In my family, no one is a Christian, so I want to be the first and hope that others will follow my footsteps. There are a lot of people in my community that I don't talk to, but I pray and ask God for forgiveness.

In this world there is nothing out there for young people, so I hope other young men and women will think as I do and seek counselling and get to understand more about Christ. I was in jail for five days and I prayed and asked God to take me out, and He did. I have a court date for later this month and I know I will overcome because I am a changed person.

Please help me, pastor. Guide me in the right direction.

B.W.

Dear B.W.,

I wish you well as you go to court. If you are serious about serving the Lord, I would suggest that you prayerfully read the Gospel of John and pay attention to Chapters 1-4 and ask God to save you and to do a work of grace in your heart. Then you should attend church regularly, get baptised, and find fellowship with other Christians.

Please do not try to use God by making promises to serve Him and after you have overcome all obstacles, you stop going to church and go back to your old lifestyle.

Pastor