The Christ-Centered Christian

Trust In The Lord

The discipleship process at U-Turn For Christ involves training men to abandon their fleshly attitude and behavior and turn to God for the wisdom to see things His way.  So often, as men, we feel the need to take situations into our own hands, acting on what we think needs to happen.  The problem is that we often do so based on our own ideas and perceptions.  We use this as an excuse to react in the flesh and rely on our own resources to solve our problems.  What we need to do instead is allow the Lord to lead and guide us to handle difficult situations in a godly manner. 

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Walking In Newness

The Just Shall Live By Faith

We all live according to something, chasing after something.  There is an intended end to everything we do, whether we realize it or not.  Some are chasing after wealth, wanting to one day retire in a mansion on a beach somewhere.  Others are just trying to survive another day and chasing the next high.  Whatever we are striving for, if it is in this world, it will never satisfy us.  As society goes down this path, moral decay inevitably follows, and evil and violence rise more and more.

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Hope For Tomorrow

Perseverance, Character, Hope

So many people in the world are without hope.  We often go through life just living day-to-day, looking for our next fix just to get through the day, week, year, etc.  While we simply try to survive, we do not get anywhere in life.  This routine does have one advantage, it is relatively easy, but it is extremely dissatisfying.  One thing everyone needs to survive is hope; the way we get hope is through trials.

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Pressing Forward

New Sanctuary

Much progress has been made in finishing the interior of our sanctuary.  We have made a few repairs, floated and textured the drywall, and are currently in the finishing stage of painting the walls.  Carpet has been donated by our home church, Calvary Chapel San Angelo.  Our goal is to have it done by the end of the year so the men have a comfortable place to gather for Bible studies, fellowship and our Friday Night services.

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The Narrow Way

A Season of Pruning

Over the past few months, we have seen the Lord remove several men from our ministry, and very few added.  As of the beginning of September, on the ranch we only have one guy in first phase and our director, Michael Justis.  While it is difficult to see so many guys go, it is a sobering reminder that the ministry is not for everyone.  Jesus told us in the sermon on the mount:

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Michael Justis

I was born and raised in southern California and northern Arizona.  My parents raised me and my sister in the church and showed us the ways of the Lord.  When I was 14 years old, we moved to San Angelo, TX to help start and run a radio station out of Calvary Chapel San Angelo.  The Lord has been faithful to keep me from wandering away from His path.  Throughout high school and college, I have served with the church and the radio station.

In July 2016, my family moved back to California, but I knew that the Lord had called me to stay in Texas.  After a couple months, with nowhere to go, I found myself living at the U-Turn For Christ ranch; I quickly realized that this was exactly where God wanted me to be.  The first six months I was here, I was not technically part of the ministry, but the Lord was still using it in my life in ways I never expected.  For the last six months, I have been involved in the ministry and have served as a leader for five of those months.  This has been hard for me, but one of the biggest blessings in my life.  My walk with the Lord has been tested, tried, and proven.  I am realizing more and more everyday that I need Him in every aspect of my life.  I am truly grateful for how God has used U-Turn For Christ to draw me into a deeper, more intimate relationship with my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Chad Randle

Growing up, I lived in a good family household… most wouldn’t expect what would happen over the years as I grew up. I’m currently 24 and I started using at the age of 12, it started off with simple partying with friends to rapidly turning into an every day “where is my next fix” drug use. At the age of 17, I was a full-blown heroin addict along with any other drug under the moon… But that’s enough of my old life, nothing good happened during those 12 years. I originally came to U-Turn for Christ on July 2nd, 2016… I was stubborn, I was practiced Odinism, I worshiped Nordic gods and never believed in God or Christ so coming to a Christ-centered rehabilitation center was the worst sounding idea to me, I ended up walking after being there 3 weeks trying once again to do things on my own. God had a different plan for me, I was gone for a week and the Lord used my parents to bring me back to U-Turn for Christ, this time things changed. My heart had been softened by our Gracious and Merciful Father God… I cried out to him while digging my hole for walking, and I made a promise to him, I asked him to help me because I was tired, tired of hurting myself and the ones I loved… I promised him that I would do whatever and go where ever he wanted me… that night on July 30th, 2016 my life was changed forever. I started walking with the Lord… it hasn’t been easy but it’s been the most rewarding/fulfilling thing I’ve ever done. I spent 8 months at the main U-Turn For Christ ranch in Perris, CA. Six of those months I spent as a Leader/Overseer helping the men. Today I’m helping run the U-Turn For Christ Texas men’s ranch as the Head Overseer with my brother in Christ, Kahiwa who is the director of the program in Texas. God Bless you All!

 

Chad Randle
Head Overseer