por Youth First Team
Have you ever asked God why? Have you ever wondered why? Why would a loving God create an eternal hell? Why does God allow "bad" things to happen to "good" people? One of the undeniable, identifiable traits of people is our proclivity, our predisposition, our tendency and frequency to ask questions... And not just any question, but our favorite and most asked question is... Why? Listen as we learn for every why in our life God responded with "I AM." Bringing your questions to Jesus doesn't mean you'll leave with AN ANSWER, but you will always leave with THE ANSWER. It may not be the answer you want, but it will be the answer you need.
The Bible tells us to remember God's miracles and obey His commands, but it also says to forget the former things. That can seem a bit contradictory... However, the lesson is this, the past is where we go to learn, but never to live. It's a place of reference, not a place of residence. We don't forget the past, we are just more focused on the future. We must all come to the conclusion that if we don't let our past die, it won't let our future live. God was good back then, but He's still good now!
We have a tendency, a natural proclivity to leave. Our knee jerk reaction is to run. To leave the Church, to leave community, to leave Christians, to leave the group and go out on our own... To run away from the place and people you should run to. We want independence without inheritance, we desire resources without relationship, we want God's hand on our life, but not His involvement in our life. We want God's favor, but not the Father's commands. We want God's blessing on our way of life. We want what the Father has more than we want Him. The sad truth is, most people don't want God, they want what He has. We need to learn, realize and recognize that if all you have is Jesus, you have all you need. And you can always come home!
Have you ever asked yourself... Why am I here? What my purpose in life? What is my reason for living? We think the answer to those questions is found in God's Word. Everything God made was intended to survive in the environment that God placed it in, and anything outside of God's intended environment dies. With that being said, the answer to why you are here, your purpose can only be found in the One who placed you here.
There has been a misconception, misinterpretation, and a misunderstanding of what love is. Love is probably the most misinterpreted, misconstrued, misunderstood word in our language. It's deep, it's intricate, it's detailed, it's complex and at the same time it's simple. It's only four letters long but it has a deep meaning. We dare say, love is the most overused and the least understood word in the history of language. However, love is the theme of this life, it's the anthem of this life, it's a key part of our very existence, it's in our DNA and nothing will ever change that. Everyone has an inward desire to love and to be loved. People are so thirsty for a love they cannot find that they are settling for the counterfeit our world has to offer. Afraid of real love so they settle with the fake kind. Living off likes, follows, views and shares while starving for real love, enamored with, infatuated with the idea of love yet frustrated with the elusive pursuit of it. We’re in love with love and not the truth of it. But thank God that He is love, and we find it in Him because we are created FROM love, FOR love, WITH love and TO love.
Aren't you tired of being tired? That seems to be a common theme or phrase today. "I'm tired!" In our current hustle culture, our rise and grind mentality, we say foolish things like, "I'll sleep when I'm dead." Not realizing that not resting is killing us! We need to learn to take a break or we will break, we must learn to work at resting, because rest isn't to hinder us, it's to help us. It's a gift from God, it's for us, and the way the weary find rest is in Jesus. It's biblical, scriptural, spiritual and supernatural, it's a commandment and a blessing. We must remember to rest because busy isn't working! It's the PAUSE in your life that gives your life POWER!
Our value is revealed in the fact that God chose us. In the fact that He still chooses us. The Owner adds value to ordinary things. But just like sin has a cost, salvation has a cost. How so? Salvation is free for us, it didn't cost us anything, it doesn't cost you anything to be saved, but it cost God His Son. There is a price to being picked, there is a cost to being chosen, and the value of anything is determined by what someone is willing to pay... And you cost the blood of Jesus!
According to Scripture, if you are a believer in Jesus, you are no longer a sinner, but a citizen of heaven, a child of God, a son and a daughter, you are saved, sanctified, called, appointed, selected, set apart, holy, CHOSEN! And God in His goodness, grace and mercy... In His divine wisdom, the Almighty chooses the least likely to do the unlikely. God chose you!
If we're honest, we can all admit that believing is hard. Believing gets hard when options are few, but thank God He is too good to not believe. I mean it takes faith to be an atheist, it takes faith to believe in nothing... It's hard to believe. However, through God's Word and the life of Jesus the Holy Spirit wants to help us with our unbelief and disbelief. At times, even though it's hard to believe because it hard to see, we trust that God doesn't just want us to have ears to hear, but eyes to see what He is doing. The Bible even says, no eye has seen, ears have not heard, nor has it entered the heart of man what God has planned for you. We don't see to believe, we believe to see!
Saints are God's holy people set apart for God's special purpose, and the truth is very saint has a past... But thank God that every sinner has a future. That's why being a saint, being a follower of Jesus is so much more than being a fan. Why? Because God has more in store for your future if you will just follow Him.