Living Boldly for Christ in School

Join hundreds of thousands of students who will share their faith on Bring Your Bible to School Day on October 1st. This event empowers Christian students of all ages to speak God's grace and truth into the culture around them, starting with two simple steps, bringing their Bibles to school and sharing what God's Word means to them.

Sign up and be counted. Text the word BIBLE to 72000 or visit bringyourbible.org. While school may look different this year, God's Word stands forever. Well, I sure wish every young adult could know this truth.

The truth and it will set you free. That's Emma Mae Jenkins. She's a 21 year old college student, and she's going to share some ideas for the child or young adult in your life to know their identity in Christ and to start living boldly for him right where they are. Welcome to Focus on the Family with your host, Jim Daly. I'm John Fuller.

And John, it is true when we really dig down deep and study God's Word, we start to realize that there is so much freedom in what he's saying. You know, one time I remember sharing with my boys on the way to school, which is my time for mentoring. It just was always the right time, you know, on the way to school, hopefully not in a boring way. But I remember sharing with them, you know, if one of your friends, you know, jumped in front of a bullet for you and died, what would you do for their family? And man, I'd do whatever they asked me to do.

I'd be there for them, obviously. I said, Well, that's exactly what Jesus has done for us. He's he's taken the blow. He's taken death for us so that we can have life.

What are you willing to do with them? And you're going to hear today from somebody who I think is embodying that as a young person. And it gives me so much confidence about the future. And let me just say, too, if you're that young person, a high school person or a college person, I mean, that's when I really started digging into the Word of God was in college, because I remember I was doing business school, and I remember reading all these books about marketing and accounting. And, you know, I just realized if I haven't read the book that may determine my eternal soul, I better take time to really read that one. And so I just kind of suspended my studies for, you know, a few weeks and started reading the New Testament, the Old Testament. It was a great revelation to me. Well, and I'm sure God honored that and your grades didn't slip at all during that time. You know, it was okay.

It all worked out. You know, God multiplied my study time. It's really insightful of you to go ahead and dial into the scripture like that. Well, it is. And today you're going to hear from a wonderful guest, Emma May, and she is living a life that really exemplifies what we're talking about.

Yeah. And one of the reasons we're bringing this broadcast to you is we're trying to highlight the power of God's Word and the power of the Bring Your Bible to School movement. We have information about that and free resources for you and your family in the episode notes. And Jim, as you said, Emma May Jenkins is here. She has a very popular YouTube channel and has written a book called Be Loved. And we're so glad to have her with us.

Emma, welcome to Focus. Thank you. It's so good. Yeah, I just love you light up the room and your excitement for the Lord. It's contagious. And that's a good thing.

Yes. That's the way we should all be living. Hey, listen, I want to start by diving into a struggle that you mentioned in your book, kind of the big struggle you had growing up.

And I really want to tap into this as a father of two teenage boys. This idea of perfectionism, especially for the Christian home. So growing up in a great home like you did, what was that perfectionism for you and how did you battle with that and how did you beat it? Yeah, well, I first and foremost want to acknowledge that I'm walking in the freedom that only the Lord can give. But it is also a daily surrender, not even daily, like a moment by moment surrender and that desire to refuse grace or that desire to feel as though I have to work hard enough to earn love or to earn approval.

It does creep in. And so although I'm walking in freedom, like the moment that you surrender your life to the Lord, you have complete freedom. But I believe it takes your entire life learning how to actually operate from that freedom that already fully belongs to you. In the book, you mentioned a night where your dad said something to you that was profound. I love to think again as a father, I'm sure you do too, John. You know, you say things that occasionally really strike a chord with your kids. But I love the references that you have in your book about how your mom and dad both poured into your life. And I think for the parents that are listening, this is really important.

But what did your dad say about who you are, your identity that really made a difference for you? Yeah. So I remember it so vividly. But what's funny is my dad said he barely remembers that night. I'm sure.

That's how it works. That was pivotal for me. But I was sitting on my bed as a 14-year-old and honestly just exhausted because I felt so afraid of messing up. So afraid of doing the wrong thing, making the wrong mood, because if I did, was I not going to be accepted anymore? So this was before you really grabbed onto that grace that you mentioned a moment ago.

Yeah. And just, it was heavy. It was very heavy. And my dad walks in and I'm in tears, which didn't happen often, me being in tears. And he's like, what's up? And again, nothing was taboo. I'm like, Dad, blah.

And I just told him everything. And he points to my Bible on my bookshelf and he said, Emma, when was the last time that you spent time alone with the Lord and His word? And now we went to church every Sunday. I was so involved in my youth group. I loved God and loved people.

I don't remember a time in my life that I didn't love Jesus and believe that He is who He says He is. But I was like, Dad, I don't remember the last time I just went to be alone with Him. And my dad, he said, Emma, when Jesus comes back, I'm not going to be there standing with you holding your hand.

It's just going to be you and Him. And he's either going to say, well done, my good and faithful servant, or depart from me for I never knew you. And then my dad left the room. And that was very much appreciated as I look back on it, because it really gave me the space to just be alone with the Lord and search my own heart to see where I was at and what I wanted and what direction I wanted to go. And I really am thankful that my dad did that, because I believe it's so important that each of us take ownership of what it is that we believe. Because at the end of the day, we're going to have to give an account for the life we lived and why we lived it. And no matter how incredible my parents were, my faith couldn't be their faith.

I had to decide what does Emma believe and what life do I want to live. When you look at the way your childhood was, I mean, people are listening going, wow, this is an impressive 21-year-old. You're a junior at Liberty.

I mean, you've been on this now, like John mentioned at the beginning on YouTube. You've been out there for the Lord for the last five, six, seven years pretty strongly, so it's not new. And I'm sure parents are going, oh, I just wish my daughter were like that or I wish my son were like that. What would you say to those elements that helped shape you? You moved around quite a bit as a junior high, high school person. That's tough to be at a new school all the time. How did those things help shape you and shape your spirit?

Yes, so I did. I started moving when I was nine years old and moved, very frequently moved, then again when I was in fourth grade going into fifth grade, moved again going into eighth grade, moved again going into tenth grade. So it was a lot of moving.

And I think two things come to my mind as of how the Lord used it to help. And that was I learned how to adapt, learned how to be confident by going and making friends. I was like, hi, I don't know you, but I want to. Sure, gave you social skills.

Yeah, exactly. And I think also my move during high school was probably the hardest move for me because I had made such great friends. I mean, you're in high school, you're really developing who you are. And that move, though, although it was one of the hardest moves, it truly was a powerful move in how it deepened my faith in the Lord, acknowledging that, wow, God is never going to lead me to a place that he himself hasn't gone before me and been there, been faithful, provided. And so it definitely taught me how to be confident in my own skin when in a new environment and to just trust that, God, where you go, I'll go. I'm yours.

Send me whatever that may look like, even when it's uncomfortable. Emma, you know, some of us who at your age there wasn't social media. I don't know who that might be, John, but it might be a younger generation. But social media has totally changed the way interaction occurs, et cetera. And, you know, for those listening, watching on YouTube, you've got 75,000, 100,000 followers. That's a lot of pressure for a young person to say the right thing, to be the right person, to avoid criticism or whatever the goal might be.

And what's refreshing about you is you're not doing any of that. I mean, you're just out there boldly for the Lord, but it can be brutal. In fact, you did a little piece about your morning routine with Jesus that went viral, right?

So tens if not hundreds of thousands of people saw it. And you had people, I'm sure, that were in your corner. And then you had the detractors, the bullying people.

Speak to that. What happened? What was it? And what did people say about it? How did you respond to it?

Yes. So that actually was really interesting. That video launched at the very beginning of the year.

So it was January during my senior year of high school. And I was on a social media fast. That's a good thing.

Which is kind of funny. So we launched the YouTube video, but I never went on YouTube or went on my social media because I was taking the first 21 days just to surrender my social media account to the Lord. Like, God, I want you to continue to build it.

Like Solomon said, if the Lord does not build this house, it's labored in vain. I want you to have your way. And I start getting texts from people like, Emma, are you okay? Like, I love you. I'm proud of you.

Just encouragement, affirmation, checking in on me. And I'm like, what's going on? And, of course, come to find out as I go on YouTube that an atheist has taken this video that was intended to inspire and encourage and teach.

And it's been made into a satirical, make fun, mocking type of video. And there's so much that I could speak into this just because of my journey with the Lord and what he's taught me. But some of the first verses that come to my mind is in John 15 when Jesus says, If this world hates you, remember that it hated me first. Like, you don't belong to the world. So how can you expect to be welcomed and loved by the world if you don't belong to it? And then Jesus said in Luke 6 27-28, You've been told to love those who love you, but anyone can do that.

That's easy to do. He said, But very truly I tell you to love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you.

Bless those who curse you. And so if God wanted to do that through an atheist making fun of something, then so be it. It will meet people where they are and God will do what only he can do because what the enemy intends for evil, God intends for good for the saving of many lives. And so I think it's important not to take offense to something that isn't necessarily about me, but it's about who lives within me. It's like I set my eyes not on what is seen than what is unseen because I know that this is temporary, what is unseen is eternal. And in fact, my battle is not even against those people. Ephesians 6, my battle is against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. And so I need to put on my armor and focus my weapons against the real enemy realizing that these people, the enemy just doesn't want them to know him. Well, I mean you're absolutely right, but it's hard for us as Christians to have one foot in heavenly places and one foot on this earth because this is the internal battle that we struggle with, right? That maturity that I so admire in you as a young woman to be able to recognize those things because it's tough.

In fact, we have a clip from that YouTube, I want to play it now. So make your morning routine so real and so genuine. God doesn't, he doesn't call us to be fake. That's so hard and boring. He wants you to be real. So whatever your morning routine looks like, let it be you, but let it be filled with prayer.

Let it be filled with time in his word and let it be filled with worship because man, it sets the tone for your entire day. That's so true, right? It really does.

I mean, that's so true. It just gets the point across, but it's hard to imagine people take exception with that and come after you. Interestingly though, you had one person, I believe self-described as transgender who really urged you to keep doing what you're doing, right? Well, it's really interesting. A lot of people who transgender, atheists, Satanists, Muslims, Mormons, Christians, I mean, every end of the spectrum will come and say, hey, either I'm a believer and I'm encouraged or I don't believe in God. I don't know about all of this Bible stuff, but I love you and something continues to attract me to you and I can't stop watching your stuff.

You're so kind. And what they don't know is they're attracted to Jesus and the flesh of Emma is not attractive, but they're seeing him and it's like, man, God is just fun. Yeah, there's such a diversity of comments there.

It really is amazing. In fact, we have a quote from an atheist. They said, I'm an atheist and I'm transgender, but I really appreciate Christians like Emma.

Emma, you may get a lot of hate and of course we're on opposite ends of belief, but keep being you. I'm proud of you. That's pretty amazing.

That's insane. Where people that don't believe what you believe, when they see authenticity, they see realness. I've experienced that where people will appreciate what you're talking about, even though they may disagree with you. That's a good place for Christians to be so they know that your heart is for them and for others and that's kind of critical, isn't it?

It's really beautiful actually. I've been studying how Jesus speaks to the religious leaders lately and I love how Jesus spoke to the religious leaders and he said, what sorrow awaits you because the outside of your cup is so clean, but the inside is so filthy. Your mouths worship the Lord, but your hearts are far from him. I really believe that great sorrow awaits inauthentic living. That doesn't mean hardships don't come whenever you live authentically.

It's definitely hard, definitely uncomfortable, definitely causes conflict at times, but it brings so much joy to, from the inside out, be true to who God has called you to be. This is Focus on the Family today. Our guest is Emma Mae Jenkins and what a phenomenal story she has to tell at such a young age. I'm not looking down on your youth, Emma Mae, you know that. We have copies of her book, Be Loved. We'll link over to the video by Morning Routine with Jesus and other resources, especially about our Bring Your Bible to School Day that's coming up October 1st, and it might be a virtual event for you, but we have details and resources for you as well.

All of this online, just check the notes for the details. Emma, I want to go back to another comment that was made on your YouTube channel because I think this is the proof in the pudding. A person wrote you and said, I was severely depressed and suicidal and Emma would always pop up on my timeline. She made me feel like I should keep living. I'm not sure why. What an awesome presence of the Holy Spirit that that is. I don't know why I'm compelled to live, but I know listening to this young lady, something keeps me moving forward. That's a great testimony. It makes me emotional.

I can see the tears. It's really sweet. Yeah, and that's the life-giving nature of Christ, and he's doing it through you, which is so awesome. And I'm sure we're urging you on. Keep moving forward. Keep doing it because that's such the right thing to do in this life. That's all that counts, right? Yeah, it really is.

So it's beautiful. Let's move into some of the practical ways you share your faith, which I think will be instructive for all of us, especially while at school. John's mentioned it. We mentioned it, the Bring Your Bible to School Day. We've had, I think, over 500,000 students participate last year. So being a goal-oriented guy, I'm like, can we hit a million?

Can we get to a million? And now we have COVID, so I don't know that we can do that this year, but we're certainly going to continue to encourage young people to speak about Christ. We get so many wonderful testimonies from typically 13-, 14-year-old girls.

God bless them. They're doing, they're participating in Bring Your Bible to School, and they're at lunch, and they get their friends together, and they read some of the book of John, and the last is they may want to give their life to the Lord. And we heard many testimonies like that where, not always, but typically these wonderful teenage girls are just really engaged and talking to their friends about coming to Christ.

I get the impression that was your style at school. How did you go about talking to people about the Lord? Yes, I think it's really interesting. On my plane ride here yesterday, I was sitting next to a woman, and just I love airplanes because you get to meet someone new every time you ride them, but she was, the way that she was talking, I couldn't tell if she was a believer, and so we were just talking about life. And she made the comment asking me like, so are you planning on being a missionary, like traveling to share the word of the Lord with other people overseas, because she knew what my major was at Liberty, so she knew I was a believer. And I said, well, I honestly see every day my life as a mission. Like you could go overseas and say that you're a missionary going to share the gospel with people, but it's also right here in front of a microphone.

It's also on the airplane. It's literally as you go, making the most of every opportunity, being careful with your words, letting them be seasoned with salt so you may know how to answer everyone. It's your life. In the book you mentioned the lunchroom at school was your samaria.

I love that. Describe that and help the parents and the young people listening. How did you see that mission feel at your school? Yeah, so I played soccer all growing up, and so that meant I was hungry all the time. And I would take my lunch box to school, and really I would eat something in every class. And I didn't have lunch until really the end of my day, the last hour or two of my day was when my lunch was.

And so I would be finished with my lunch before lunch even came for me. And in John 4, Jesus, he is going from Galilee to Judea, and whenever he's walking it says that he had to go through samaria. And I love that because he didn't. He didn't have to in the sense that he had no other option. He had to because that was where he saw help needed. It's where he saw an opportunity to love someone. He was compelled to go.

Exactly. Like all of the Jews, they hated the Samaritans. They actually went around samaria to get where they needed to go because they didn't want to go through that. The fact that Jesus was a Jew, it says he had to go through, I just think is cool.

And where he went in samaria was a well where he met a woman to share his heart with her. And so because I didn't have my lunch during lunchtime, I was like, why don't I just go to each table during lunch and just ask people how their day is? And so everyone from the band people to the football people to the art people, I mean, you name it, they were at different tables and I just got to go and tell them that I love them and ask them how their day was and I did. I saw it as my well because I didn't have to. I could have gone and sat by myself, gotten homework done, you name it.

But it was an opportunity. Man, I'm just thinking what is your well? That is a great question.

What is your well and who do you meet at your well? That's a really provocative thought. Emma, you had a project where you wrote 4,000 encouraging notes to each student in your school. I don't know about you, John, but that would have been… I'm overwhelmed thinking about that.

I played on the football team. That would have been a great thing for me to do, but I could have easily talked myself out of that one. I don't have enough time.

I mean, I'm busy practicing. How did you do that? Well, it was Thanksgiving break of my junior year of high school and the Lord just whispered into my heart, Emma, remember to treat those how you would want to be treated. And that just kind of spiraled into I would love to receive a Christmas card. I don't know why my brain went there, but I was like, that would mean so much that someone not only thought of me, but they took action on that thought to show me that I was thought of. And I thought, I want everyone to feel that way.

And the wheels started turning some more. I was like, I want everyone to feel that way. So I went to my mom.

This is another thing I love about my parents is that if it was something God was working in my heart, they were such cheerleaders of it. And I said, Mom, I want to write Christmas cards for everyone in the high school. And so she went to the grocery store and bought like 4,000 index cards. And over the course of Thanksgiving break until right before Christmas break, I had so many people over at my house. So me and my family, of course, the soccer team, my youth group, you name it, student council, people in the neighborhood, like everybody was coming. And by the time Christmas break was about to happen, we had them all and we had them categorized with homeroom numbers and how many students were in that room. And we went to the school and the principals, like they helped us get it all situated and we dispersed them. And what's really cool is some students would throw them away as they were walking out the door. And other students the next year, my senior year, they still had them on their walls as teachers. And so that's also a sweet little nugget is that don't let how you love people be determined by how you think people will respond.

Because if so, then you're living your life to please people based on their opinion of what you're doing. It's like, no, there are no strings attached. You can keep the card.

You can throw away the card. Just know my heart was to let you know I thought of you. Yeah, and that is amazing confidence.

I love that. You know, we're right near the end. And I, you know, again, as a dad of teenagers, this is important to me. Speak to that young person. They might be listening along with their mom or dad right now.

I don't know. And they're kind of going, oh, no. But maybe that person feels like they've been too bad. Like whether they're in middle school or high school, they're hanging out with the wrong friends. That's a great example. But their behavior has not been honoring to the Lord, even though they may be living in a Christian home.

What can they do to recognize that folly? I know you interact with people like that all the time. And the pressure and the stress on that age group particularly, you know, 13 to 17. I mean, you've got so many identity issues. You're trying to be your own person. It's probably embarrassing at times to claim the name of Christ. And you've got to figure out who you are. And that's where the Lord is shaping your heart and forming all those opinions and your belief system.

I mean, it's happening right there. What word of encouragement do you have for that person that they feel like they're falling short all the time? They're never measuring up to their mom and dad's expectations. They're going to church on Sunday because they have to. What would you say to them about feeling the grace of God? Well, I, in short, because I know we're short on time, it's the gospel that I want you to know that God made you to be in relationship with Him and He desires a relationship with you. But we know that all have sinned, Romans 3.23. We've all fallen short of His glorious standard.

So if you feel like you're messing up, welcome to the club because the entire world is right there with you. We've all sinned and that separated us from God because we are disobedient and He's a holy and perfect God. We can no longer be in relationship with Him, but He's so good and He pursues us with His goodness and His love every day of our life that He loved us so much that He sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to live that perfect life that not a single one of us could ever live. He died the death that we deserve because the wages of our sin is death. It's what we had to pay for it, but He paid for it for us. He took our place.

He was buried in a tomb and three days later He rose from the grave. So He defeated sin, which separated us from God, and He defeated our death problem. And so if you put your hope and your faith in the Lord, you're His. It is by grace you have been saved through faith and it is not by your own works. And this love that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus and that nothing in all of creation could ever separate me from His love, this now compels me to want to spend time with Him, to want to do the right thing, to want to love my neighbor as I love myself, to want to be obedient to Him because I know His commands are not a burden, but it actually brings freedom to my life.

It's now no longer for acceptance, but it's from a place of acceptance. So to that person, I just want to remind you of the gospel because the gospel puts it all into perspective. That is excellent. It couldn't be said any better, right, John?

Emma Jenkins, man, it has been great to have you. What a wonderful book you've written here, Be Loved. That is the truth of the gospel. That's the purpose of the gospel. And turning to you, the listener, the viewer on YouTube, man, we want to encourage you to get a copy of Emma's wonderful book, especially for that young person in your life.

You know, I'm thinking of my boys. I'd love for them to read this. And if you can make a gift to focus for any amount, whatever you can afford to help us in the ministry, that's what it's about.

It's not about us. It's about helping us help others. If you can do that, we'll send you a copy of Emma's book to say thank you for stepping in and being there for others. Yeah, get in touch and get your copy of this great book When You Call 800-A-Family or click the link in the episode show notes. And while you're at the website, don't forget to sign up for Bring Your Bible to School Day on October 1st. There are so many ways your family can participate. No matter what your school situation looks like right now, go online, download the free activities, and join the thousands of students standing for God's truth. And you'll find more information at focusonthefamily.com slash broadcast. Well, thanks for listening to this Focus on the Family podcast. I'm John Fuller inviting you to subscribe so you get every new episode and plan to join us next time, won't you, as we once again help you and your family thrive in Christ.