Jeff Bianchi On How he Made his Faith in Christ his Own (Gospel Light Minute #20

He is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. After attending high school in Pennsylvania, he was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the second round, 50th overall, of the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft. He previously played for the Milwaukee Brewers. He was also a Topps Short-season/ Rookie All-Star.

He said of his faith, "I grew up going to church with my family every Sunday, but that’s all it was to me – just going to church on Sunday. I had awesome Christian friends who are still some of my closest friends that I’m in contact with to this day. While I was in high school, I started to understand the Christian message and why Jesus came. For the next few years I thought that I had enough basic knowledge to get by, but I just kind of put my faith on the back burner.

"I've now been married to my wife for six and a half years, and I started dating my wife as a senior in high school. One day she basically told me, 'Hey, unless you start following the Lord, I don’t think I can date you anymore.' At the time, it was my first year playing professional ball, and I knew that I had to start making my faith my own. I realized after I started to dig into the Bible that Jesus is after a relationship with me, and it’s not just about going to church on Sunday. God wants a lot more, He wants all of me. When I realized that, I think that’s when I started to understand the Christian faith.

"My favorite Bible verse is James 1:2-4. It says, 'Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.'...

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