Letter to American Youth

The Lord has laid this on my heart, and before you dismiss it as not being for you, I encourage you to please read it…

Dear Young Person,

We owe you an apology.  We have failed you.  We have let you down, and now, we don’t know how to handle our failures.  We were supposed to be the example for you to follow.  We were supposed to show you the way to handle life’s difficult circumstances and situations….we were supposed to help you grow and mature…

It breaks my heart to have to write this to you, knowing that we let you down by not being there as your parent, mentor, or friend…it pains me to have to admit that we have failed you and are now blaming you for the situations that you find yourself in because of our lack of guidance.

See, the Bible says in Proverbs 22:6 to “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”  This is where we have failed you, because we have not trained you to look to God for answers.  We have failed you by teaching you that being destructive and divisive is okay.  We have shown you that attacking others, calling them names, treating them with disrespect, and blaming them for our own shortcomings is the proper way to handle life.

We owe you an apology for not showing you the value of the family, for not being there when you needed us the most…for teaching you that we stand for family values, but only when it pertains to something we agree with, while showing you that it is acceptable to tear our own families apart because we only value the idea of a “Good, Christian home” while allowing alcohol and lust to tear apart our own family.  We haven’t shown you what it looks like to seek God in all issues and allow Him to direct our steps…no, instead we have shown you that leaving when you do not agree with someone is ok….we have shown you to take a stand for what you believe in….but not to listen to others and work toward a solution, just to yell and scream until you get your way….That is not what we were supposed to do….

We were supposed to show you the Love of God…the love that is God….love in general…

We were supposed to be the example…not show you how problems shouldn’t be handled…

Maybe, if we hadn’t been so selfish, you wouldn’t have felt that you needed to act out in many of the ways that you have…

Please forgive us….can we start over? I hope it isn’t too late…

Remember, Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in ALL your ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.”

In God’s Love,

Someone who Let you Down

A Christian’s Responsibility

As Christians we have responsibility that is given by God in our government. Before you judge this too quickly, let me say that in no way is this a political statement and in no way am I here to tell anyone who to vote for or how to vote on specific issues.

What I would like to do is explore where we should stand as Christians today. We are to take a stand morally, especially when it comes to issues that can effect an entire generation. I hope to shed scriptural light on what we as Christians should stand for and how we can influence a generation in need of Christian example.

1 Peter 2:11-17 gives us instruction on this matter. It states:

“Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. (1 Peter 2:11-17 ESV)”

In essence, Peter’s instruction to us is to be in the world but not of the world. We are instructed to be careful of how we carry ourselves and not to rebel against the government but to set examples. We are not to stir up discourse in the world. We are also instructed not to use our freedom as tools for evil. We must be servants of God and with that we must be servants to others.

We are called to honor each other and to love one another. We are also called to fear God and honor the government. We should take a moral stand, and as Christians in America we have responsibility to vote and to be involved in the government through that. We can vote and give our say in who is elected as the leaders in out community and country. We can vote based on our morals, morals that are founded upon scripture, and make a difference in our nation.

In saying this, I encourage you to register to vote. I encourage you to take your stand on our morals today. Let your voice be heard today and encourage others to do the same We must all take a stand together on the moral grounds that we know from the Word of God. Through this we can set an example for a generation that is turning away and seeking satisfaction in worldly desires.

Please consider today the stand that you can take and seek knowledge in voting morally as a Christian. Let your voice be heard and stand firm on the Godly foundation that you have been given.

When We Sing, When God Sings

Something that has been on my mind lately is what happens when we sing and when God sings. I started studying for a sermon this past Sunday, and as I studied, I started meditating on two sections of scripture that I feel can bring us joy and blessing in our lives.

The first is in Acts 16:25-40 where we see the story of Paul and Silas in prison and the opening words of the section tell us that around midnight Paul and Silas began singing praises to God with the other prisoners listening. These men began praising God in their time of weakness and trouble. They were seeking God and trusting Him through one of the most difficult times they had ever faced.

What do you do when you are facing tough times? Do you trust God and seek Him and praise Him? Do you sing to Him in your times of trouble?

In the next verse we see that there was a great earthquake and the prison gates were opened and their chains loosened. These men trusted God and sang to Him in a time of trouble and the earth shook! But how?

I am offering a theory on what may have taken place during this time, but I want register a disclaimer that this is only one of many possibilities that may have taken place during this time. But in studying the scripture we see that when the Lord returns there will be a loud shout of praise and the earth will shake and graves will open. With this in mind I look back to Zephaniah 3:14-17 for this theory:

“Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: ‘Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.’”

I feel it is highly possible that these words are encouragement to each of us, and feel that Paul and Silas experienced in this moment what happens when God sings. They were singing praises to God, encouraging the other prisoners, and those prayers and petitions made their way to the throne room of heaven. It is possible that God chose to sing along, scripture tells us that God’s voice is like thunder. Again, I am not saying that it is what happened, but isn’t it a wonderful picture, men rejoicing and praising with all their heart and God joining in, singing with them, rejoicing with gladness?

This is what happens when we are obedient to the scripture, when we praise Him, he is faithful to His word. God promises that he will rejoice over us with gladness and will exult over us with loud singing. What an amazing God we serve!

Today, sing in your times of trouble, you never know what will shake the earth and loosen the chains that are holding you back, so sing to your heart’s content. Praise God today for He is good!