Justin Bieber Draws Praise From Pastor for 'Fighting' for His Faith and 'Lifting People's Souls'
Pop sensation and devout Christian Justin Bieber has been described as "astounding" by "The City Church" pastor Judah Smith who praised him for "fighting" for his faith and "lifting people's souls".
In a recent Instagram post, Smith posted a picture of Canadian superstar in concert the night before.
"What I witnessed last night as I watched my friend and brother for life @justinbieber completely give himself to the gift God has given him and lift people's souls was nothing short of astounding," Smith captioned the photo.
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"Justin I love you, thank you for fighting for your faith and taking the risk of relationship! Let's get better every day and when we are 70 years old let's be kind, sweet, devoted men who look like Jesus," the pastor added.
Smith said he loves seeing Bieber grow in his faith, adding that the singer and songwriter even tries to minister to him with scripture. "He'll send (scriptures) to me, along with encouraging thoughts or an encouraging emoticon. I'm committed to helping him and protecting him, but it's fair to say we're there for each other," he said as quoted by Billboard in a November 2015 cover story on Bieber.
Bieber was just 7 years old when he was introduced by his mother Pattie Mallette to Smith. Since then, they have become close friends.
During the 2015 Billboard interview, Bieber admitted that at first he did not always understand his faith and questioned his pastor a lot. "I'd come and listen to him and try to hear him out. I had all these questions and things were not adding up. 'Well, why is this, then? How did all those animals fit on Noah's Ark, then?'" he said.
But that was a long time ago, and now Bieber has grown in stature not only as a celebrity but as a follower of Christ as well.
The Canadian-born singer has become more fearless with his faith as he uses the stage as a pulpit. He recently ministered to concertgoers in Manchester, a city devastated by a terror attack at an Ariana Grande concert, The Christian Post earlier reported.
"I'm not going to let go of hope. I'm not going to let go of love. I'm not going to let go of God," he said. "Put your hands up if you're not going to let go," he said. "God is good in the midst of the darkness, God is good in the midst of the evil, God is in the midst no matter what is happening in the world. God is in the midst and he loves you and he's here for you."
Last month, a simple image posted by Bieber on Instagram, showing a square white paper with the text "I follow Jesus," went viral and drew heart-warming comments from his legions of fans.
He's also more than happy to bare his numerous tattoos, which include many Christian inkings.
