Anchored Youth: Devotionals

Showing posts with label Devotionals. Show all posts

Showing posts with label Devotionals. Show all posts

Friday, 10 October 2014

Every Sunday is the Lord's day. The reality is we ought to be giving the Lord every day of our life. I want to encourage each teenager to be actively involved in the local church. Many times we are actively involved in everything in life except the Lord's work. May I encourage you to not allow television shows, video games, store sales, sports, or even other friends to get in the way of you coming to church this coming Sunday. God has something very special from His Word for each teenager that comes, guaranteed. This is a very special time of year in which we celebrate Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a holiday that most people really don't even realize the purpose behind it. It is a time when we thank the Lord for how richly He has blessed us. May I encourage you teenager to thank the Lord today for His great blessings. Also, we are having a thanksgiving afterglow this Sunday night. Each teenager is invited to attend. This will take place following the evening service. The cost is $5 per person to help cover the cost of the food. Let me encourage you to GET INVOLVED! You will have a great time fellowshipping with other Christian teenagers. Will you be in your place this Sunday?

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Friday, 25 July 2014

God Directed Steps

In Psalm 37 we see 4 steps that we as a Christian must take daily in our lives. As soon as we get up in the morning, these actions must take place in our lives. David tells us in verse 23 that "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way." Young people, we need God to direct our steps every moment of our life. In verse 3 the first step I see is "Trust in the Lord, and do good;" Obviously in this passage the prerequisite for God to direct is that of being a good man. The simple step young people is just to trust the Lord. In all that God allows you to go through simply trust Him. Believe with all your heart that God has a very special plan for you. The second step I see is in verse 4 where it says "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." When you delight in something you find great pleasure in it. It is something that you truly enjoy. Do you enjoy being in the presence of God? Is it just something that you come to when you go to church? It ought to be a daily delight. Third step I see is in verse 5 where it says "Commit thy way unto the Lord." When something is committed to another, it is giving someone charge or trust over something of ours. This could be something that we hold very dear. The Bible tells us that we are not our own anyway. Can you trust the Lord with your life? Surrender everyday of your life to Him and He will use you. The fourth and final step is in verse 7 that says, "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him:" The only way you can have good rest at night is when you have let go of what is pulling at you or bothering you. When you have truly surrendered your life to the Lord, you will not worry about what the Lord will lead you through in the day ahead. Teenagers, these are four vital steps that you must take everyday knowing that God wants to direct your steps. Trust, delight, commit, and rest knowing that God loves you and He has a plan for YOUR life.

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Thursday, 24 July 2014

Rejoice in the Lord!

In Psalm 33:1 the Bible says "Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright." The Bible tells us that this is something that is pleasing to the Lord. All through scripture we see very clearly that God deserves our praise. How many times a day do we think to simply stop and praise the Lord? In Psalm 150:6 we see, "Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord." Why do you think this is? Could it be because God is the giver of life. In Genesis 2:7 Moses wrote, "And the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." If God is the giver of life and those that have life are commanded to praise the Lord, than we have every reason to give God all praise for even us getting out of bed today. The Bible many times over tells us to Praise the Lord and Rejoice in Him. I Thessalonians 5:16 says "Rejoice evermore." This should be a never ending character trait in our life. Learn it now while you are young. "In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God." What are you praising the Lord for today? Think about something or someone right now and Praise the Lord today!

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Wednesday, 23 July 2014

Start to Finish!

How many times in life do we start something yet never finish it? Often times in our life we set out with the greatest of desires and ambitions that we are going to accomplish something, but it never happens. We say we are going to do something and sadly we lose the desire to complete it. The reality is Satan does not want you to be a finisher. In Acts 20:24 Paul desires that he "might finish" his course with joy. In II Timothy 4:7 Paul is satisfied with what the Lord has allowed him to accomplish in his life. He was able to say, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." Each one of us have our course to run and we must finish it! The more committed that you become to finishing, the harder it is going to seem to become. Young people, Satan is going to use whatever form of fiery dart that he can in order to get you to stop running as a Christian. Salvation is eternal, but your impact and influence on the world around you can be affected greatly. Any runner that has set out to run in a race is going to tell you that it takes a lot of work to win. Do you want to be a winner for the Lord? It is vital that you set some distractions aside in your life and let the Lord lead you to victory. Paul said in Philippians 3:14, "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God is Christ Jesus." To press something according to Webster's Dictionary is "to act upon through steady pushing or thrusting force." According to this definition, you just keep going. Just keep living for the Lord everyday. Allow the Lord to exercise yourself in His Word. He will strengthen you and prepare you for when the attacks come from the one who wants to pull you off course. Be watching today for the enemy as he is on the hunt for your life. Are you known as a finisher? Don't ever quit! Keep living for God and finish your course.

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Tuesday, 22 July 2014

Great Name or Great Riches?

As you can see the picture included in this post kind of dates me a little. Uncle Scrooge McDuck starred in the cartoon series called "Ducktales." Now I am not at all promoting this show within this blog necessarily. Oftentimes there are many things in our lives that we can see an illustration of how simple minded many people are today. Uncle Scrooge was a man that lived only for money. Everything that he did surrounded the need for getting a little more. In his mansion he had a gigantic safe where his money would be kept. A daily ritual that he had was to go into that safe and swim in all of his money. This was his love, his passion, his joy! This is a sad description of our society today. Money drives people! Money is the control and the reason for which most people live today. We live in such a vain and purposeless world.
In Proverbs 22:1 the Bible says, "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold." Each one of us have been given a name. All of our life we build something by which we are known and that is our reputation or our testimony. You spend a life time building what people think about you. Understand that we do not live for what people think about us, yet we are commanded to be a light or a reflection of the Lord Jesus Christ to those around us. The reality that what takes a lifetime to create can be destroyed in just a matter of minutes. Our actions speak very loudly. What do people see of Christianity when they see you? In verse 4 of this same Proverb, we see "By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life." The real riches are found when we place the Lord and everything about Him as first priority in our life. When God is #1 in our life, we will not have to worry about our reputation or our testimony because you will be living for the Lord in having a desire to please Him in all that you do. Many people couldn't care less about the name that they have when it comes to gaining wealth. They are willing to sacrifice a great deal in order to gain more. What are you willing to sacrifice in order to exalt the name of Christ today? Be willing to value the name that you have been given, CHRISTIAN and live to be a follower of Christ today!

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Wednesday, 16 July 2014

A Delightful Prayer Life

In Proverbs 15:8 Solomon says, "The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to Lord: but the prayer of the upright is his delight." In this verse we see a comparison between something God hates and something that God delights in. The word abomination here is used to describe something that God hates with an extreme disgust. God hates the sacrifice of the wicked. A wicked man can easily go through the same "religious motions" that every Christian goes through. We go to church every week. A wicked man can go to church every week. We read our Bible every day. A wicked man can read the Bible every day. We can go through the actions of prayer everyday. A wicked man can go through the actions of prayer everyday. Young people, religion is just that; religion. God delights in the prayer of the upright! God joys in a relationship with you. Can you think about that? The God who created this universe delights in the one who comes to Him with a pure heart. Psalm 15:1 says, "Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart." You see, God delights in righteousness." How many times have we entered into the presence of the Lord with sin in our lives? How many times have we entered into the empty actions of religion, going to church, reading our Bible, and praying yet our heart is not pure before the Lord. You wonder why God doesn't seem to answer your prayer. Psalm 66:18 says, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." Don't ever take entering into God's presence lightly. It is a privilege! If you have something in your life that you know is wrong, you need to get on your knees and plead for the forgiveness of a Holy God. God wants to delight in you, but He cannot delight in your sin. Does God delight in your prayer? Does God delight in His time with you? Give God your valuable time today. Let the Lord show you in your heart today what you need to give over to Him that He can delight in you and you can have a delightful prayer life.

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Tuesday, 15 July 2014

Lasting Words

Words are a very powerful tool. Though many times we think are words do not mean much, the truth is that they can mean a lot to someone else. In Psalm 12, David is looking for faithful men that would speak the truth consistently. In verse 2, he speaks of their words being empty and vain. He also speaks of words of hypocrisy, "With flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak." On one side they are speaking words that please others. While they speak these words, they have other thoughts in their minds. In Proverbs 6:16-17, the Bible tells us that God hates a lying tongue. We are told in Jeremiah 17:9, "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: who can know it?" The heart cannot be trusted! In Matthew 12:34 Jesus says, "for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." Eventually what is in the heart of a man will come out. What are you putting into your heart? Who's word can you trust today? No longer is man's word recognized as a trusted truth. David tells us in verse 3, "The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips." Man's word will not stand! In verse 6 and 7 we see the great promise that God's Word Will Stand! "The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever." You can trust God's Word. You can depend on its accuracy and truthfulness. Always look for God's Word to direct you each day. His Word will stand forever!

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Monday, 14 July 2014

Depart From Evil

In the book of Proverbs we find a wealth of knowledge that if applied will lead us to live a God-blessed life. Through out the book we are challenged to make a choice between one path or the other. This is where wisdom is applied. As a choice is made we apply wisdom. The more time we spend with the Lord the more wisdom we will gain in order to know which way to go or who to follow. In Proverbs 14:7 Solomon says, "Go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge." There is the ability shown here to discern between right and wrong. In this verse we see the importance of fleeing from the presence of evil. In verse 9 of this same chapter we read that "fools make a mock at sin." Here is where wisdom comes in, when the form of entertainment or pleasure that we are involved in is sin, it's time to depart. Verse 12 says, "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." It should be obvious this is not the way to go. Who wants to choose the way of death? The problem is when we do not apply the God given wisdom in His Word to make right choices. In verse 16 the Bible says, "A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil:" In applying wisdom, you literally fear the possibilities when evil is present. Depart from evil! Don't hang around when sin is prevalent. Be careful to never set yourself up for destruction! Be wise today and live to honour the Lord.

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Sunday, 13 July 2014

Rooted in Righteousness

All around us we get to enjoy the beauty of God's creation. We can daily see the perfect design by God's hand in all of nature. It always amazes me how as the water comes and the sun shines that plants grow. Obviously something that we really cannot understand is the process that is going on. If you have ever taken a simple seed and placed it in the ground you know that if you water it and allow it to see sunshine it will eventually begin to grow roots and then open up and release the plant. Large trees have an enormous root base to provide for their strength and stability. In Proverbs 12:3 we find, "A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of righteousness shall not be moved." This verse shows us the firm foundation that living in righteousness brings. A man that builds his life in the wicked ways of this world will eventually be destroyed. Psalm 7:9 says, "Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins." Our God is a righteous God which means He will judge by righteousness. Soon the wicked will be removed and the righteous will stand for eternity. Psalm 1:3 tells us that the man that separates himself from the ungodly and places himself in the Word of God "shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water." Plant your self in righteousness today. What are you surrounding yourself with? Many Christian teens are filling their minds with wicked things that lead to destruction. Allow the Lord to fill your heart with the righteousness in His Word. Today is Sunday! Make sure you allow God to teach as you attend the church services of today.

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Saturday, 12 July 2014

             A World Turned Upside Down

     In my Bible reading yesterday I came to the phrase in Acts 17:6, "These that have turned the world upside down." In this passage we see something that I am sure we have heard many times over again. This is something that proves to us that the apostles were making a difference. Its amazing in this world how we hear much about protecting our planet and making a difference for the greater good. It amazes me how quickly this philosophy has overtaken our world. You see a few people began to commit themselves to that cause and eventually have left a dramatic impact on an entire world. I truly believe that if we as Christians would desire to let God use us, we could do the same for Him.
     Just before the departure of the Lord Jesus Christ from this earth, He gave the disciples the great commission to go into all the world and proclaim the gospel. This gospel represents the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. This gospel represents the grace of God available to every man. This gospel shows to us just how merciful our God really is. Young people, I really believe you can make a difference in this world, but you need to be completely surrendered to God's will for your life. Are you letting God use you to impact somebody. The apostles made a difference and were known for turning a world upside down. They left a lasting impact! What impact are you leaving? Let me encourage you to seek to leave an impact in someone's life today.

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Friday, 11 July 2014

Wise Counsel

In the conclusion of the book of Job, God speaks to Job and challenges him on the counsel that he listened to. You see Job had three friends that gave him some very poor counsel regarding the understanding of God and how He works. Sadly, Job had paid attention to the counsel and misunderstood some of the ways of God. In the book of Proverbs we are encouraged to listen to counsel. In Proverbs 12:15 Solomon says, "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkenth unto counsel is wise." True wisdom is going to come by listening to the counsel of God's Word. In Job 42:3 Job says, "Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not." Job said I realized that I listened to counsel without applying wisdom. Young people, you are going to be given much advice and many ideas in your life from a great source of people. The question really is, what are you filtering the counsel through. A filter is used to remove impurities in order to protect the receiver of the substance coming through the filter. The ear gate is one of the biggest entry points in our life right to our hearts. What are you listening to today? Is it being filtered through God's Word? If you have to shut off the T.V. If necessary, get away from the internet. Satan is using the EAR of many teenagers today to insert poor counsel. Be careful what you listen to today. Be sure to apply God's Wisdom in everything you hear today!

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Thursday, 10 July 2014

Stay Close to the Lord

As I continue to learn more of what it means to be a father, I continue to learn more of what it means to have a heavenly father. I grew up in a Christian home and was raised under the leadership of Christian parents. The more I see taking place in this world today, the more I am thankful for the heritage that God has given to me. It is truly of the mercy of the Lord that I have what God has given to me. As I hold the hand of one of my children, I think about the sense of security that it brings to me to know that they are right beside me. It seems in those times that nothing can harm my child if they are close to me. The reality is that this sense of security is just that, it is not completely true. Really if I were walking down the street with one of my children holding onto my hand danger is still all around. Someone could snatch them from me, a car could come by us and run them over. Obviously if this happened it would be something that I would try to stop. My efforts are very feeble though. I am just one man with two small hands and have many limitations. I am once again reminded of the Heavenly Father that watches over me. I love my earthly father and am thankful for his protection over me, but my Heavenly Father brings a protection that no person can offer. In the book of Job we find that our God is Almighty 31 times. God is all-powerful! God asked Job in Job 40:9, "Hast thou an arm like God?" Young people, you must realize this world offers you nothing! Hold onto the one who cares for you beyond what you will ever understand. Not only that, He has power beyond what you will ever understand.

I can remember a couple of days already as a father not knowing where one of my sons were and beginning to have a sense of fear. It was a fear really of the unknown and the fear of knowing what our world has come to. Teenagers, there are dangers in this world that we can never comprehend that Satan desires to use in your life to destroy you! There is no better place to be than to be holding to the Hand of the Almighty GOD! Are you walking with Him? Get closer to Him. Stay close! James 4:8 says, "Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you."

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Wednesday, 9 July 2014

Where Do Your Answers Come From?

In reading the book of Job I have been reminded once again of the God that we serve who has every answer we need. We hear many times in our life that God is omniscient. What does this mean to you? The word omniscient means "to have infinite understanding and complete knowledge." God possesses all wisdom! Do you understand what that means? It means that God is so big that He can wisely direct every decision you make in your life. Elihu came to Job in Job 36:3 and says, "I will fetch my knowledge from afar," in verse 4 he says, "he that is perfect in knowledge is with thee." In verse 5 he reminds Job that "he is mighty in strength and wisdom." Obviously through God's Word we are reminded of this fact that God has all the answers we need. Young people, are you seeking God's guidance in everything in your life? The reality is that even in the smallest decisions need to be made through prayer. Far too many Christians are growing to rarely ever pursue God's direction in their everyday life activities.
It is obvious that decisions lead us into a direction. Eventually our direction leads to a destination. I wonder, where will your destination be 20 years from now because of the decisions you will make today? We must be careful to get our answers from the Lord. He sees the entire scope of what is ahead and He has every answer you need for TODAY. Seek the Lord in every choice you make today!

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Tuesday, 8 July 2014

A Vital Reminder

Through out our lives we are going to receive many reminders. You may get them by way of a calendar. They may come through a cell phone, Ipod, or some other electronic device. Your parents may be the one to give them to you at times. They can also come from your pastor, Sunday school teacher, or even a friend. As often as you receive a reminder, how many times do you pay attention to them? Sometimes in life these reminders can be looked at as more of a warning. For instance, my sons know that they cannot play on the road. Yet just because they know, that doesn't mean that they always remember it nor truly understand why it is so important. This is the reason why at times I have to give them a reminder that really stands as a warning to them of the dangers of playing in the road. Through God's Word we are given many "reminders." It's amazing how many times we go through our reading for the day and many times we pass right over the reminders that God is giving us for that day. We as Christians often times pass over the reminders in God's Word that really we ought to be viewing as a warning. When someone gives a warning to you, it is because they are aware of the possibilities that are ahead of something wrong happening. I truly believe we can trust in the omniscient God to know what you need for today. In Deuteronomy 6:4-25 we see a daily reminder that Israel received to help them remember what their responsibility was for that day. In verse 5 the Bible says, "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." Verse 6 says, "And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:" The passage goes on to describe how this would stand as a reminder to the next generations to do the same. Young people, this is the biggest thing that you need to worry about in your life today. LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD! The passage goes on to tell us verse 18 of the great blessings that they would receive, "that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land." You see God had great blessings for the people of Israel if they would heed the warning.

In I Peter 5:8, we see a warning that is critical to remember everyday, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about , seeking whom he may devour:" If you do not heed the first warning given to you to Love the Lord thy God then you will not be ready to heed the one found in this passage. Where is your focus today? Your focus must be on the Lord today, because if its not the enemy has his sights set right on you and is ready to destroy you! This ought to be a RED ALERT for you everyday to focus your every being on the Lord and He will give you victory in every struggle of your day.

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Monday, 7 July 2014

      Invest Your Time

     As you are enjoying the summer time off of school, a thought comes to mind of what you are doing with your time. Every day we wake up unless God takes us home, we are all given the same amount of time in a day. Time in a way is money. If you spend your money, you don't really get it back. If you spend your time, you definitely do not get it back. What are you doing with your time this summer? What are your plans for today? Do you have a goal that you are working towards? You say, "it's summertime do I really need to have a goal?" The answer is yes! Far too many young people waste the most valuable thing in their life during the summertime. That most valuable thing is time. Without time, you have no life. The Bible says that we all have an appointment with death. Hebrews 9:27 tells us, "it is appointed unto men, once to die." This point marks the end of our time. There will be no more opportunity to live for the Lord on this earth. What are you doing with the time that God allows you to have until that point?
     Any wise financial advisor is going to advise you to invest your money into something that will benefit you in the future. The idea is that you make the most of what you have been given financially. The same thing is true with your time. You must learn to invest your time into something that will reap blessings later on. Those blessings are eternal! In Ephesians 5:15 the Bible speaks of redeeming the time. The word "redeem" here means to "buy up or to rescue from loss." How much of your time are you buying up? How much of your time are you rescuing from loss? Be wise in your time. Be careful spending too much time on television, video games, social media, hanging with friends, and many other things that simply eat up time. Invest the 24 hours that God is giving you today for His glory. Ask the Lord at the start of the day what you can do to make the most of the time that He has given to you!

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Sunday, 6 July 2014

Shake off the Dust

When Jesus was preparing His disciples for their service that they would continue He used the phrase, "shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them." Jesus was teaching His disciples that first of all you will be rejected. We must always remember that we are going to be rejected by some if we are faithful in proclaiming the gospel. Jesus himself was rejected as He proclaimed the truth. Yet in this we cannot stop being a witness. Jesus said it is a "testimony against them." This meant that they had fulfilled their responsibility of preaching the gospel to those people. Young people, we have a responsibility to others to share the truth to them. In Acts 13:50 tells us that the unbelieving Jews "stirred up" and "raised persecution" against them. They then proceeded to "expell" them out of the city. You see Paul faced rejection over and over again. Yet he did not stop being a witness and proclaiming the truth. In verse 51 it says, "But they shook off the dust of their feet against them." They didn't let rejection slow them down. Verse 52 tells us "And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost." God had equipped them to continue on even when someone does not receive. Teenagers, you must be a witness for Christ and not fear the rejection. It will come! The question is on how you will respond to it. Allow the Lord to use you today to proclaim the truth to someone.

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Saturday, 5 July 2014

Hold Strong!

In the book of Proverbs, we see a high value placed on wisdom. Solomon places it up as the most vital item necessary in our life. In Proverbs 4:5-9 we see what wisdom does for the one who is willing to possess it and use it. Verse 5 tells us, "Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not;" Solomon encourages his son to possess wisdom and never forget it. He goes on to show why it is so important in verse 6, "she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee." This is the very essential part of living. Nothing else will guide us through life other than godly wisdom. Verse 7 says, "Wisdom is the principal thing;" The blessings that wisdom brings are shown in verse 8-9, "Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee." Solomon obviously lays out great promises and how vital wisdom is for life.
When you think about something that is vital for physical life, you would do everything you could to keep it to stay alive. The reality is there is an enemy that wants to destroy you. The Bible tells us in many places to Be Strong for the reason is the enemy wants to see our spiritual life hindered and made weak. In Proverbs 4:13 Solomon tell his son, "Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life." Young people, there is nothing that you need more than the wisdom of God's word. Get wisdom and never let go of it because you need it for the rest of your life. Let me encourage you to be in Sunday School and church tomorrow. God will use every time that you give Him to teach you and to enable you to hold strong against the enemy!

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Friday, 4 July 2014

Momentum Changer

In any sports game we see something that plays a very active role which is called momentum. A team will begin to pick up the pace for a time and things may continue to go in their favour. Usually the fans are up cheering especially if it is the home team. You can begin to see the excitement and feel the intensity. This can be a very critical time for the opposing team to be alert and ready to defend their team and their purpose.
In Acts 12:2 we see the death of James through the order of King Herod. The Bible tells us in verse 3, "And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also." The king was on a roll as the surrounding fans cheered him on. He recognized the fame and praise he was getting and wanted more. King Herod spoken of here is the grandson of the King Herod who wanted to see Jesus put to death at the time of His birth. He began to see the impact that he could have on the church and on keeping the work of Christ from going forward. This world has a great purpose that it lives for, itself. In accomplishing its purpose, the world will do everything it can to stop whatever gets in the way. The Christians at this time had done a great job of making God's purpose known, to redeem the world. The Bible tells us in Acts 8:4, "Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word." You see, there was a great momentum that the church was able to see God do mighty works. Young people you must understand that when we see God working that Satan does not like it and he will do everything he can to stop it. It is amazing though to see what changed the momentum that the world was seeing through King Herod. The answer was prayer! In Acts 12:5 we see, "but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him." James had been killed and Peter was in prison awaiting his death. The church prayed fervently and God began to stop the momentum. Peter was set free by an angel (v. 11) and King Herod was put to death (v.23).
God has all the power to change the momentum we see today! How much do you pray to ask God to use you? He can use you today to begin to see the momentum turn the other way!

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Thursday, 3 July 2014

God Knows My Path

In the book of Job we find a story of a man in the Bible that went through a great trial in his life. This trial is greater than anything most of us have gone through. Job was a very wealthy man both in possessions and family. God had blessed him abundantly. Yet God allowed Job to be tested and lose everything he had. The Bible tells us in Job 1:22, "In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly." In this verse it is evident that it would have been foolish for Job to look to God and be bitter towards Him for what was happening in his life. Through the next several chapters Job would be "encouraged" by his friends that quite possibly Job had some sin in his life that needed to be dealt with. Yet in the beginning of this book where the conversation takes place between the Lord and Satan we find that this is not the case. Job 1:8 the Lord says to Satan, "Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?" You see God was pleased with Job and how he walked with the Lord. It's amazing though that even Job, the one that God recognized, still had more to learn. Young people ,we will never reach the point of being as close to God as we can be on this earth. No matter where you are in your walk with God, we still have a long ways to go to get closer to Him.
Do you realize that God recognizes you? God recognizes everything about you and everything that you still need to learn. Not only that, but God has an exact plan of the right path to get you to where He needs you to be. For we see in Job 23:10, "But he knoweth the way that I take:" Nothing surprises God in our lives. Though many times the choices we make hurt God, they do not surprise Him. Yet even when we go down the wrong path God has a path to bring us back into where He needs us to be. Trust the unseen hand of the ONE who loves you more than you or I can understand. God knows my path and He has great blessings waiting if I will but follow HIM!

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Wednesday, 2 July 2014

How's Your Bible Reading?

Well, we have reached the halfway point in the year. Hopefully that means you have reached the halfway point in your Bible reading. Don't think that because you have fallen behind that there is no sense in finishing. Let me encourage you to finish what you started to do. Satan would love for you to miss a day of Bible reading. Really, that's how he works is keeping you from reading God's word one day at a time.
God places a high value on His Word and we ought to as well. In Psalm 119:105, the Bible says, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." We daily need the light of God's Word guiding us. We do not have the answers and we need to get them from the Lord. In Psalm 119:11, the psalmist writes "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." We know that what is in the heart will come out. If God's Word is being planted every day in your heart, that is what is going to come out in your life. God commanded Joshua to "meditate therein day and night." As young people we have filled our lives with so many other things to occupy our time. Don't just spend up all the time God has given to you but make sure to give God plenty of time today by reading His Word. Be faithful to your Bible reading and you will see God work abundantly in your life!

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