Breaking the Silence

I see it every day at school.  The person to my right is trying to hide the pain of his home life through a faint smile, and another is silently going about, holding on to the name she was called in the last class. It's a sad reality of life...sin is everywhere, and it is the reason for self-defeat.  As Christians, we can't continue to stay silent, because we have a reason we are all here-to spread the gospel.   When you witness someone confounded in a despairing mood, step up to plate and give the person a pat on the back, make sure they know just how much God loves them; words of encouragement are like rays of sunshine that could light up their rainy day.

Seeking Wisdom

Oddly enough, my past two devotionals have been all about spiritual wisdom, and on Sunday, wisdom was the main topic.  Wisdom is found in several places in the Scriptures.  I sure have learned a lot through Solomon's unexpected request and the countless Proverbs connoting to God's gift of wisdom.  Confined in the halls of my school, many of my peers seek after wisdom of a different sort.  When students at my school find themselves in trouble, they turn to a friend who is just as spiritually lost as they are. In Phillipians 3, God calls this "seeking after the flesh".  Paul says that as children of God, we must turn to God for wisdom, and not turn to the flesh in hard times. We have to stand strong by God's right side. God knows what is best, so we can't turn from him when the sky falls down on us, and go to an earthly authority.  Many of us have given our lives to God, so why are we living as if we are still flesh-dependent, searching for help in a sea of sin?

Finding HIS Will!

         Often times, people are fooled into the notion that there is a path they have to follow to reach the epiphany of the journey we call life.  This hoax has become more believable than ever in today's society, twisted and writhing in wickedness.  Many young teenagers, including myself, are told to start planning our future out now, and find colleges we are interested in. College is a must-have.  Students begin dreaming of the jobs that make the big bucks, and they start talking like they're life is an open book.  I'm not saying that this a bad thing, but where does God's will come in. Is college in God's will for you? A huge job? Fame and fortune? Although these things fit puzzle-perfect into the American dream, they may struggle to fit in with God's dream for us.  

         I am currently reading the book Kisses from Katie; by Katie Davis, an all together awesome story of an individual who willingly strayed from the world's plan for her and sought after Her Almighty Creator's will for her.  Katie Davis, the author, came out of Highschool being number one in her class, Homecoming Queen, and with an abundance of college options. However, she became interested in mission work some time before college, so she traveled to Uganda, with its clay-red streets and grinning people.  Katie found her true calling in Uganda, and is now a school-teacher, a mom of 13 Ugandan girls, and a servant to God. Katie is a rare finding, as she found a calling outside of the life that many American teens seek after from the very beginning.

Post by: Gail O'Connor

Most of us are way too self-absorbed.  How many thoughts a day do you spend worrying about what people think of you, how you look, if you measure up, etc.  Although this is a natural phenomenon, especially for teens, it doesn't lead to happiness.  When we focus on others and really look at people, we see a world of hurt.  People desperately wanting acceptance and friendship.  Today focus on one other person besides yourself and see how you can lift that person up, be a friend to him.  Especially if that person is an "outsider," one whom everyone else ignores.  Your kindness can make a world of difference.

Lasting Love

It is a truth that no one can fully grasp in this life time.  However, I feel like often times God's love is something that we are ignorant of and something that flows right through us without any reflection.  Whether this is because we are lost trying to make sense of the quality, or if we just refuse to accept it, God's love for us is unconditional, eternal, and drives deep into the soul.  I used to be a frequent worrier in which I would usually question God-I hated not being able to understand the concept of his eternal being and reign...I sought after an answer early on.  I remember one night in bed, my mom told me something after one of my worry fits.  "God loves you more than we, as parents, do.  As your mom, I find that astonishing."  Right then and there, I realized the intensity of God's unconditional love and just how wide open his arms were to comfort me in the midst of heartache and doubt.  God loves you to no end when trapped in a dark, shadow-lined valley, and on the peaks of life's highs, when you feel unstoppable.  He keeps on loving you.

Writers?

Happy Sunday!  I'm pumped for today, ready to soak up a much needed lesson and squeeze it out to others this week. Speaking of next week, would anybody be interested in writing on a specific day of the week?...I'm not the only writer, you know.  I heard that the commenting thing is kinda tricky, so if you're interested in writing, email me at ec99robinson@gmail.com with your simple encouragement and what day you would like it posted. Have a blessed day.

Our Job as Christians...

Have you ever just stopped and thought of the idea of eternity? Anytime I have tried this,  it feels ethereal and almost makes me anxious.  Eternity is forever...unending...non-stop.  As obvioius as it may seem, our doom is in the hands of eternity.  Think of your neighbor, a distant friend, a colleague or peer.  Where is there eternity going to take place?  As disciples on this Earth, it is our job to reach out and help others get on the path to Christ.  Avoidance or unwillingess as a disciple could keep someone from an eternity of paradise.  As scary as it may seem, our job is an important factor in the fate of others.  As you go through the day today, reach out to someone who hasn't accepted the gift of Christ...the gift of eternity.  The result of this acceptance isn't temporary, it's eternal.  One verse that really sums this up is Matthew 28:19-20.

Matthew 28:19-20

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Checking God IN!

I can't be a lecturer and call others out for it, because I've done it too. We all do it-we put God on a checklist and check him off. Similarly, we choose to shine our light only when we are comfortable and surrounded by other Christian disciples.  If we claim to be Christians, how come we often put God in second place?

Because we are all human, sin runs in us on a heritable chain.  Sin will bring lust, envy, and greed into our lives, and with those things is the desire to put ourselves in first. We seek after self-righteousness, rewards for our own glory, when God should be our all in all.  This simple fact in modern Christian society is the reason for the mask we choose to put on. On Sunday mornings, it's easy to testify to being a willing disciple, but during the week, it's usually about us, ALL about us.  The following verse is a verse to remind us all, God is to be our everything.

1 Corinthians 10:31

"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

As you go through the day today, be a shining light, giving God the glory every single minute.  Don't check him off for the day, check him IN for the day!

Resigning Position

    I have been a control freak since the day I was born.  Thanks to the science of genetics, I snatched both of my parents "OCD" genes and am now more obsessive and controlling than ever.  Routines are my best friend in life.  I've got my 15 minute morning routine, the at-school daily routine, and the after-school schedule to follow and complete. However, there will come a horrible day in my perfectly scheduled week where-BANG!-something goes wrong.  From that moment on, frustration usually limits the sense of success I feel for the rest of the week. I'm ruined.

   A couple of weeks back, I had a week that threw me way out of wack that taught me a valuable lesson, nobody's perfect.  I realized that in life, we are faced with situations that are out of our league...they're in God's league. "God is in control"---it's the simple phrase parents recite to their worrisome kids, the quote that has answered many past problems.  For a while, I found myself so caught up in this life's over-sized hurdles that I forgot about the Almighty creator who is really in control.  The one who saw wickedness in Noah's time. The one who saved his people from Babylonian captivity and Egyptian enslavement.  That  same God is reigning today, and that same God deserves our trust.  So today, lay down your burdens, and let God take the captain position of your boat.  The one who can sense the ocean swells of life before you can.  

**Proverbs 3:5**---

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."