10/11/07

Postscript for Students

We are come now to the end of the road.  I am no longer your pastor but I am always your friend.  My great longing for you is that you redeem the time.

Your teen years will go by very quickly.  Give them to Jesus and you will have them forever.  

¹⁹ Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: ²⁰ But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: Matt 6:19-20 (KJV)

I love you, my young friends. Now get your minds off of me and go live for God.  Let the adventure begin!

10/10/07

Spiritual Stamina

You ever seen somebody throw up there hands and with “righteous” indignation declare, “I quit, I’m oughta here! These people aren’t acting like Christians, so I’m gone!”

It happens all the time. The self-righteous declare the righteous to be unrighteous and then walks away from the family of God. Some won’t set foot in God’s house ever again, but one day they will be rolled in by two men, or carried in by six.

Granted.  Mean despicable things are said and done in the church.  These things ought not be, but they are. God’s children keep acting like children until they begin to mature in their faith. Faith is the victory.

If I had left ABC the first time I was disappointed I would have gone in July of 1991, sixteen years ago.  In fact, I would not ever have come.  But I am so glad I did.  I would not be leaving now except that the Holy Spirit tells me that I am done here, and that the time has come. Jesus ever claims the believer with two simple words: “Follow Me.”

Many young people are angered when they see good people do wrong things. Duh! Me too!!!  But two wrongs don’t make a right. If you walk away from God and His church because you don’t like what you are seeing you are walking away from God’s plan for your life, and you are thumbing your nose at His holiness.  I would not do that if I were you.

I know a young man who has not been in church for some years now.  He left because of the mean things he saw being done by church members to other church members.  That is the excuse he gives for turning his back on God.

Don’t go there, dear student.  Sin will take your farther than you want to go, it will cost you more than you want to pay, and it will keep you longer then you want to stay.

² Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. ⁴ But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:2-4 (HCSB)

Endurance: spiritual stamina.

10/9/07 YD

The Great Lovers of This World….

I have met a few dark souls in my time that could not accept love, and could not really give it. They can build a few relationships, and be friendly at times, but deep down they are the loneliest people of this world. There is a dark cynical sadness that hovers over them.  They will not let another touch their hearts, and they will not touch the heart of another.

If you love you are most blessed, no matter how much pain the love may bring. If you do not have love you don’t’ know God. 

⁸ He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 1 John 4:8 (KJV)

To know Him is to love Him, and to love others. 

Love at first sight?  I don’t know about that.  It may be a myth, but it sounds awfully romantic and the first time I saw Connie Morgan there was a tender attraction that has grown through the years.  

But love is more then the tingles. It is far more then a mutual admiration thing.  Regardless of what you hear, people do not fall into love.  It is a romantic idea in all the chick flicks; it’s taught it poetry and in song. But love is not about falling it is a giving. 

Love is a never-ending, unconditional commitment of your soul to another. It is a tender commitment of the deepest magnitude.  It is the soaring of the heart above the highest  of altitudes.  It is a stretching of your life wider then the broadest of attitudes.  And it is the simplest of all aptitudes.    You’ve got it, you’re going to love something or someone., even if it is just the yourself. 

But the great lovers of this world love God, and they love people, even people who hurt them; especially people who hurt them.

²⁹ And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: ³⁰ And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. ³¹ And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. Mark 12:29-31 (KJV)

10/8/07

When All Is Lost and There Is No Hope

I have been to that place where it is cold, dank, and dark. There lies the grave of hope. The tombstone is covered in a sickly mildew, as the dark winds hiss in their swirling laughter.  There is a glee among the lovers of the darkness; hope is gone. 

Here is the place were men think their darkest thoughts.  There is no trust, and one man expects the worst from another.   

But light has come into the world.  The 3:16’s reveal it. Joel promised it, Jesus confirmed it:

¹⁶ The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. Joel 3:16 
¹⁶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16

Some may choose to live in darkness, despair, hatred, and cynicism, but I will hope continually in the Lord and His word, and I will praise Him more and more!  The tomb is empty and the stone has been rolled away.

Dear young person I exhort you to hope in the Lord.  I have spent 60 years on this planet and have found that life here is a temp job.  The real deal is not temporal it is eternal.  

¹³ Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 1 Peter 1:13 

³ And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. 1 John 3:3   

If you would love life and grasp it with joy then embrace a lifestyle of the lively hope:

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 1 Peter 1:3

10/5/07

TGIF!  Thank God It’s FAITH Day!

From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD'S name is to be praised. Ps 113:3 (KJV)  

Dearest believer as you rise this day, be sure that you rise high enough and shine bright enough so that you will be an expression of God’s glory.

But it’s Friday you say!  The week is gone, and it is time for rest, recreation, and refreshments. But without faith those three things are artificial.  Rest will not give rest, recreation will not give creativity, and refreshment will not refresh.  Not your soul. Not the real you that is deep down in your heart.

The real deal of everyday life is to live it by faith.  Every day is FAITH Day.  Every day we must rise above the circumstances of life and shine for Almighty God. 

Everyday we must stretch ourselves beyond the natural into the spiritual.  And that is only possible if it is done as an act of faith.

¹ Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Heb 11:1

⁶ But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Heb 11:6

TGIF!  Thank God it’s FAITH Day!  Today we live and breathe and have our being so that every place we go and everything we do, we will see and leave behind the fingerprints of God.

10/4/07

Seven Weeks

16% of your school year is over.  You have six weeks behind you already. And there are only 35 weeks left.

That may seem like a long time, but I promise you it’s slightly less then an eye blink. 

Academically: The temptation is to do as little work as possible. Do just enough to pass. Don’t go there.  You don’t want this year to be a series of cram sessions for tests.  Let it be a year of learning for life.  Invest in your studies now, and the dividends will come later. 

¹⁵ Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Tim 2:15 (KJV)

The study of…

·         English will teach you to communicate

·         History will teach you about the past that got you into today that leads into tomorrow.

·         Math will help you calculate and budget your time, talents, and tithes

·         Algebra will sharpen your problem solving skills.  And it will teach you to think in the abstract.

·         Physical Education will help you develop a strong healthy body.

·         Science will help you see the wonder of God’s creation

·         Art will help you appreciate the beauty of God’s creation and it will help you find your own sense of creativity.

·         Biology will teach you how wonderfully you were made.

·         Zoology will teach you about the wonder of all of God’s creatures.

·        Botany will teach you about the way God as clothed the fields, and give you a sense of the Lily of the Valley.

·        Psychology will teach you about what makes you tick.

All the above is the getting of knowledge.  And as you study the Bible you can get wisdom. Academic study touches your mind.  Biblical study touches your soul.  Go for it!  

10/3/07

We Are All Spiritually Challenged

We are all spiritually challenged.  I say that with tongue and cheek trying to sound politically correct, and hip to the lingo of the day.  A person with a handicap is now physically challenged.  That’s the proper term to show respect.  I’m not making light of that, but the idea of being spiritually challenged is amusing to me.

Back in the old days people were not spiritually challenged.  We used a simple term to describe the condition of man.  Man is a sinner.  

²³ For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Rom 3:23 (KJV)

Sinners are not really spiritually challenged; they are spiritually dead.

¹ And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Eph 2:1 (KJV)

Quickened:  to be made alive, transformed, born again.   Have you been quickened?  Or are you still dead in your trespasses and sins?   

I do not ask if you are a Baptist or a religious person.  A religious person without Christ may be walking around on the planet, eating, drinking, and making merry. But a religious person without Christ is a spiritual zombie.  He is dead in his sin, and he needs to be brought to life.  He needs to be born again. 

When you come to Christ there is a transformation:  Old things pass away, behold all things become new (Rom 12:2, 2 Cor 5:17).  And the day you came to Christ you started a spiritual formation

The new Christian is a Babe in Christ, but the goal, the spiritual formation is taking place toward maturity. And one day that spiritual formation work of the Holy Spirit will be completed.  Then we will be completed conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. (Rom 8:29).

10/2/07

Blessings in the Darkness

Bad things do happen to good people.  That is why we must live by faith and not by sight.  There is no glib answer for why there are divorces in Christian homes, or why children get diseases and die.  Tsunamis and tornadoes strike both the good and the evil.  Catastrophes have no prejudice.

I cannot tell you why evil things happen the way we do, but there is biblical assurance that comforts me in the midst of troubled times. 

² Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. ⁴ But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:2-4 (HCSB)

The first two Beatitudes tell us that those who suffer with spiritual poverty and mourning are blessed. 

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs. ⁴ Blessed are those who mourn, because they will be comforted. Matthew 5:3-4 (HCSB)

I write this morning as a spiritual beggar who has been given a seat at the King’s table.  I write as one who is acquainted with grief and sorrow, and in the midst of those times, the Comforter comes to me.  Go figure.

There are blessings in the darkness.  Motorcycle wrecks, the death of loved ones, hurricanes, conflict among friends: such things are not a lot of laughs.  But we can count it all joy when we fall into various trials. 

The unbearable becomes unbearably painful accept for one fact.

God does the best of things in the worst of times.

10/1/07

Reflections on a Rainy Day

I can hear the wind whipping around the house and the rain assaults the windows of my study like bb’s  this early morning.   We may not see the Sun today, as this thick layer of clouds sends a deluge after deluge upon us.

Two cars washed Saturday for nothing; the porch I want to paint is way to wet.  Can’t have my Monday morning walk.   Connie is going to several homes in this weather to bring comfort and help to Hospice patients. We need a break.  We could take a vacation to Florida where the sun shines all the time….  O well, enough pity party for Monday.  A little rain must fall upon us sometime.  Surely the drought of 2007 is come to an end, and for that my soul is glad. 

¹¹ But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven: ¹² A land which the LORD thy God careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year. ¹³ And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, ¹⁴ That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. ¹⁵ And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full. ¹⁶ Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; Deut 11:11-16 (KJV)

A rainy season might not be so bad after all.  It is washing the oil sleeks off the streets. It will rinse the dust off of our world, and remove the impurities in the air.  Pollen and pollutions will be washed away.  The oranges will be plenteous and sweet. Lake Okeechobee is catching the rains and she will give S FL her water through the winter.

It is a very odd thing that what might seem like today’s curse, may be tomorrow’s blessing.

WELCOME TO THE YOUTH PAGE OF THE ABC WEBSITE

The Longing-a word to Teenagers

Do you have a longing for God?  Do you desire to know Him, and the power of his resurrection?

⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because they will be filled. Matthew 5:6 (HCSB)

⁷ “Keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7 (HCSB)

Being a a teenager in the early 21st Century is a very tough job.  Especially if you are serious about walking with Jesus Christ.  That walk is not popular, it is not easy, and it is not productive by the world's standards.  But it is the only path that leads through the darkness and into the light.  And it is the great path of adventure and blessing.  Everything else is sinking sand. 

My little studies in the Psalms in 2007 are offered in one section for adults; but the writings you find here, are written with you in mind.  They are offered to encourage you to crack open your Bible and to pray, every day.  If you do that, you will find that there is a God in heaven, and He is a great friend to young people everywhere, all the time.

In a world seen as hopeless and uncaring, The 24-Hour Counselor gives hurting young hearts hope—an absolutely private, absolutely reliable source of information, advice, and Christian encouragement when they need it most.

It is a starting place for young people who need some answers.  Your parents, your school counselors, and your pastor, are all here to help you too.  If you need to talk, and you are looking for a listener, call your pastor.