Category: Just for Youth

by: Shannon Foote

“Limiting the limitless?” I know, that sounds like an impossible task, but I believe it is something that most of us have done on a regular basis

I am sure that we can all agree that God can do anything, and that if you or I were to get in a wrestling match with Him neither of us would stand a chance. The Bible tells us in Matthew 28:18, “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” How then can we, mere mortals, limit the ability of Almighty God to do whatever He decides to do? He spoke the world into existence and formed man from the dust of the Earth. Again, how could we alter anything He has done or will do? I seem to remember that an angel called by the name Lucifer, made some statements about becoming greater than God, and that hasn’t worked out so well for him. So, why would there be any mention of this notion written in the Word of God? Psalms 78:41 says, “Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.”

We know, based on what this verse says, that it is a definite achievement by the Hebrew people; because, the children of Israel were said to have “Limited the Holy One of Israel” while they were in the wilderness on their extended journey from Egypt to Canaan. The Hebrew children, by their actions, caused God’s blessing and provision for them to be held back. The God of Heaven, who miraculously delivered these people from bondage and then brought them through the Red Sea, is now being forced by those same people to hold back the blessings He so greatly desired to give to them. Why, you ask? God is bound by His Word, and He cannot bless people or answer the prayers of those who are living deliberately contrary to His will and the Bible. We find this recorded for us in Psalm 66:18 when it says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:” It seems to me, God will have a very difficult time answering a prayer that He will not even hear. Unfortunately, we can force God to not only withhold blessings and answers to prayer from us, but we can also require Him to bring us through times of chastening if our poor behavior continues. All too often, we as believers fail or refuse to take responsibility for placing restraints on the magnificent goodness of our loving Lord.

We look at this Bible story and say to ourselves, “I would never do that. All they had to do is obey God and follow Moses; then everything would have worked out just fine.” In reality, we have the same tendency in our lives today as the Hebrews did during that time. Is it not true that all we too must do is obey God and follow our authority? We do not always enjoy living by faith, and waiting on the Lord to help us; we would rather just take care of the situation ourselves. Sadly, this is a common mistake that we make, and in so doing, we limit the limitless power of God in our lives.

I believe, good Christian folks will set out to live for God and to keep His commandments, but these well-meaning people make this common mistake of maintaining complete control of their lives rather than allowing the Lord to have His rightful place in their lives. They work hard to do everything just as God would want them to, and they try to treat everyone the way they would want to be treated, but they never pass God’s tests. You see, God created us to depend on Him, and when we attempt to live our lives in our own power we are destined to fail. He tells us in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” “Through Christ” is the part of that Scripture that is often quoted, yet sadly it is rarely lived.

It is a special place to be for a Christian to have done all that he can do and to have prayed as long as he can pray for a given situation, because he is about to see the hand of an Almighty God at work. I plead with you, my friends, not to make the mistake of taking over at the last second. We will always get what our God can give us. The question is, “Who is truly the God of our lives?” I submit to you that the one who is trusted to make the major decisions and the one who is pleased most by our actions is the God of our lives. Who is that “One” in your life? Is it you, or is it your loving heavenly Father? You see, when we are in control of our lives, we rob ourselves of the power and ability of God, and we become guilty of, LIMITING the Limitless.

Shannon Foote
Pastor
Grace Baptist Church
Marrerro, LA

by: Jonathan Painter

“But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may enquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel’s servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.” 1 Kings 3:11

I believe that all over our country there are young men whom God has called to preach, but they feel that they never get their chance to preach. I am afraid some of these preachers-to-be burn themselves out from discouragement because they feel they cannot serve in the capacity of which they were called. Some of these young preachers get so discouraged that they give up. In this article I want to show you what kind of man on what kind of road it takes to truly become a man of God who can stand behind a pulpit and deliver the Word of God with zeal and power. We see all this on the road that Elisha traveled.

• Elisha Was A Worker

The first time we see Elisha in Scripture he is out in the field plowing with his father’s oxen. Elijah came along and found a young man already hard at work in his father’s field. God is searching up and down this country for a young man who is a hard worker. If you are a young man called to be a preacher, but you’re lazy at home and won’t work, then God has no place for you in his pulpits. God is interested in the hard working young man. Hard work enables you to endure struggles. It was Elisha’s hard work as a young man that gave him the working mindset which allowed him to prophecy to King Joash on his death bed. Young men, learn to work! When I was in Bible college, I went to school with young men who were workers. They would work all night and go to school all day and still be involved in various ministries. My junior year in college, I worked sixty hours a week between two jobs and went to school full-time on top of doing my ministry. God wants young men who will work!

• Elisha Did Whatever the Man of God Wanted Done 

“But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may enquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel’s servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.”

Elisha did whatever Elijah wanted him to do, he was Elijah’s SERVANT. Elisha did not wrinkle up his nose when asked to pour the water and say, “Well! I am called of God to be a prophet!” No, Elisha understood that if he was to be the prophet someday, he must first learn to serve the prophet. Young preachers need to learn that if they are going to be pastors, evangelists or preachers, they first need to learn how to serve the pastor.

When your pastor asks you to work on a bus route, do it, and do it heartily for the glory of the Lord! Be thankful to have a part in the ministry. If the pastor wants you to help out as an assistant teacher, don’t be upset because you’re not the teacher, just be happy with a chance to serve.

Far too often young men feel that since they have been called to preach that anything short of a pulpit and a microphone is not worthy of their talents. This attitude will get you nowhere in the ministry. Elisha did greater things than Elijah in his ministry because he learned how to work and he learned how to serve. Your talents are best served wherever God puts them by the word of your pastor. Learn to serve your man of God, and then one day you could have a double portion of his spirit.

Jonathan Painter
Youth Pastor
Lincoln Baptist Church
Lincoln, NE

by: Jason Watford

1 Thessalonians 3:7-9 says, “Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith: For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord. For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God;”

Recently, my dad and I were having a conversation about his past and about how he fought in the Vietnam War. I always love hearing my dad speak about this topic and hearing his war stories. I asked my dad, “What, in your opinion, was the hardest thing about fighting in the Vietnam War?” One of his answers was shocking to me; it was, “I hated when my squad was told to ‘hold’. We could not retreat or attack; we just had to hold and defend our place.” He went on to say that there were times when we could see the enemy laughing at us and shooting at us. He said they knew that he was told to hold and that there was nothing that he could do about it. I proceeded to ask him why he was sometimes told to hold and why couldn’t he just go anyway. His answer was simply, “I was told what to do and that’s what I did.”

In my spiritual life, I have always been taught to attack the Devil, Hell and to win the world for Jesus Christ. But here’s a question: Has God ever told you to just “Hold”?  Don’t get me wrong, God NEVER says retreat. God often says attack. In my own personal life, I know that occasionally God has told me to hold. Maybe health restrictions, financial problems, previous lifestyle, children or many other things could contribute to God telling you to “hold” in your life. It is very frustrating and difficult as a preacher to see what the Devil is doing in America with the younger generation, and to be told to “hold” by God could be strange, but it does happen. Why are there good men who could pastor but have no place yet? Why are there people willing to go soul winning but health restrictions will not allow them to? Why are there ladies who would love to get into church and serve the Lord but a husband will not allow them? Allow me to give you four things to hold on to when you are told to “Hold” by God.

1. Hold Fast to Jesus. (Matthew 26:47-49) When the tough times come in your life and you must hold, make sure that you remember that Jesus has never bailed out on you, so don’t you bail out on Him. Two years ago, I wanted a church so badly to pastor; however, for eight months I candidated for churches while painting light poles in Baton Rouge, LA. The whole time God was saying “Hold, Jason.” I did not like holding, but looking back, God knew exactly what He was doing. When your holding time comes, hold fast to Jesus.

2. Hold fast to your teaching and your doctrine. (2 Thessalonians 2:15) When your holding time comes, remember what you have been taught from God’s Word from influential men of God in the past. This is when it is time for you to put into practice what you have been taught. When those eight months of holding came in my life, I was thankful for men who taught me the Scriptures. I see so many get frustrated and throw away all the hundreds of sermons they’ve preached and heard. How unfortunate it is to see that.

3. Hold fast to your salvation. (Hebrews 10:23) When your holding time comes, continually remember and re-live your salvation testimony and be thankful for it. I was twelve-years-old when I got saved. I never want to forget that day. There will be a day in your life when that may be the only thing that you can hold on to. Do you remember your salvation story?

4. Hold fast to your position in life and don’t quit. (Revelation 2:25) When all else fails, remember your God is the authority and if He says, “Hold,” then hold. As my dad said, “That’s what I was told to do, so I did it.” That should be our attitude in our walk with God. Whatever God says, we do it.

Nobody likes holding. Every Christian I meet and know likes attacking the Devil and “tearing it up” for Christ. However, when your holding time comes, will you have what it takes to hold fast for the Lord?

Jason Watford
Pastor
Spring Creek Baptist Church
Seven Springs, NC

by: Jonathan Painter

My friend, you must remember that your life is a war. Every day that you face is a battle of that war. Every aspect of life has its own front in the war, and you are the general. As a Christian, you must remember that you are not the sole commander but you have a Superior, The Commander-in-Chief. You, as the general, are given the sole responsibility to carry out his Written Orders in each battle on every front of the war. This is an enormous responsibility.

The war of life is the most brutal war ever to be recorded. Your enemies are numerous and their weapons are strong. Among the strongest of your enemies are the armies of the world, lust, sin and destruction. These terrible armies are led by a fierce pair of leaders called Flesh and Self. These two are not brilliant on their own accord, but they are extremely familiar with your inner operations and most secret strategies. This makes Self and Flesh the two military figures quite worthy of your upmost attention and prowess. Your enemies take no prisoners and spare none as they clash with you day by day. The stakes are high in this fight; therefore, you need counselors who will be at your aid and stand by your side in the midst of the war.

“Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.“ Proverbs 11:14

When I was just about to start Bible college, I was convinced that I did not need to meet with the home room counselors that the college required each student to meet with every week. Soon after I resolved inwardly that I did not need these counselors; the Lord promptly showed me my error in the Book of Proverbs, as time and time again, I came across verses like the one above. Life is a difficult thing, and it should not be faced alone. God has given you godly people who are veterans in the war. These veterans could, and probably would act as mentors and counselors if we would humble ourselves enough to ask them. During my time in college, I developed a system that I used for every aspect of my life. The system was as follows…

Commander and Chief – GOD

His Written Orders (Bible) where to be obeyed without questions at all times and in every situation without fail.

Veto Counselors – Pastor and Parents

I had mentally given veto power to these counselors in every decision that I made. If their counsel came inside the boundaries of my Written Orders, it would automatically veto my own ideas and strategies.

Confidential Board of Advisors – College Staff 

This consisted of all men, since I am a man, and in my mind they formed an entire board of advisors who were just under my veto counselors. These, at the time, were the Dean of Academics, the Dean of Men and the Vice President. I felt free to confide in them concerning personal matters, spiritual matters and academic matters. I would heed their advice always unless the strategy was overruled by a veto counselor.

Fellow Officers – Good friends with the same pursuit

These were not counselors, but encouragers. I had five different men whom I allowed into this inner circle of my strategy. Each of these men were older than I and pursuing the same thing in life that I was. This was not a “click” friend group, but merely a group of men whom I could count on for encouragement when I needed it. These men were my peers, my encouragers and not my counselors.

*Never put a peer in a position of veto counselor or confidential advisor. These positions in your counsel ought to be held by authorities in your life. 

Before you laugh and call it “overboard,” I can assure you that each person in the system above has in some way helped me avoid tragedy in life. I have reaped the benefits of their years of experience. This all may seem a little complicated, but we are in a complicated war called, “Life.” Find a system of counselors that works for you. You cannot face this war alone. You need counsel!

Jonathan Painter
Youth Pastor
Lincoln Baptist Church
Lincoln, NE
http://www.youngpreachersofamerica.com

by: Matt Crouch

1 Corinthians 15:33 “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.”

I want to tell you about an acquaintance of mine that I will refer to as Billy. One day, Billy and his friends were drinking and simply hanging out as they usually did when they decided to play Russian roulette. (Russian roulette is a potentially lethal game of chance in which each player places a single round in a revolver, spins the cylinder, places the muzzle against his head, and pulls the trigger. Because only one chamber is loaded, the player has only one chance of hitting the loaded chamber, but the risk is still obvious and foolish.) Well, after a round or two into the game, Billy found himself once again with the gun in his hand – and this time his life would change forever. Though the gun shot did not kill Billy, the bullet did damage his brain, resulting in paralysis. Billy will spend the rest of his life in a wheel chair.

Influence is a powerful thing, and we must learn what and who are the right things that we should allow to influence us. There were two things that influenced Billy – alcohol and his friends – what he chose to do and with whom he chose to do it. 1 Corinthians 15:33 warns us about the wrong influence of our friends, and Billy’s story is an accurate example of this verse’s truth. There are a few key words from this passage to understand: evil means worthless or injurious; communications refers to companionship; to corrupt means to spoil, ruin, defile or destroy; manners are an individual’s moral habits. At any time that day prior to Billy’s tragedy, he could have stopped and walked away; unfortunately, the thought probably never crossed his mind. His habits had been ruined. This was not his first time to drink and act foolishly with his friends. He and his friends influence was evil, or injurious, to each other. Their habits included drinking, partying, and playing the fool. The Bible warns us not to be deceived or tricked by thinking that we can allow the wrong influences into our lives and it not corrupt (spoil, ruin, defile or destroy) us.

Many years ago I heard this quote, “What your friends are is what you are becoming.” So, today I ask you, what and who are influencing you? Are your friends the right kind of influence? Is your friends’ influence helping you to become what you should be or keeping you from it? I hope that you will ask God today to give you wisdom in making the right decisions concerning the things and people who you allow to influence you.

Matt Crouch
Youth Pastor
Grace Baptist Church
Flower Mound, TX

by: Shannon Foote

November 19, 2011, is a day that my family and I will never forget. After finishing a long day of ministry in several areas of our community, I received a phone call from my brother-in-law, Jon Lakie. He called and told me to, “Go get your mom and take her to University Hospital in New Orleans, because Bro. Foote (my dad) had been attacked and was being transported there, UNRESPONSIVE!” That word shot straight to my heart. “UNRESPONSIVE!” I spoke with Jon for just a few seconds and then jumped in my car and did exactly as he had asked me to do.

When my mom and I arrived at the hospital we were met by some ER nurses who wanted us to give them some information to identify my dad. They asked us to go in a room off to the side of the emergency room where we could speak privately about my dad. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office had already assigned a detective who wanted to speak with us there. Sitting in that room was the first time I had paused to allow the circumstances surrounding me to sink in. I began to feel very angry and overwhelmed with that antagonizing “what if” scenario playing out in my head. After a few minutes of answering questions, we were allowed to go where my dad was being cared for. I’ll never forget what it was like to see one of the strongest, most capable men I have ever known laying there in such a vulnerable state. Seeing him laying there on that hospital bed in such a helpless condition and the realization that someone had intentionally put him there only fueled this anger that had already began to build inside of me.

After speaking with the doctors and the detective, we learned that he had been violently struck on the back, right side of his head and fell to the ground causing a second point of impact just over his left ear. His skull had been fractured, and the blow accompanied by consequent fall had caused 14 contusions around his brain. There was immediate swelling and intense pain as a result of these injuries. He would have to spend 7 days in LSU Trauma Center’s ICU and an additional 5 days in the hospital recovering from this attack.

About 11pm that night, Jon and I realized that someone had to be prepared to step in for my dad, Pastor Craig Foote, and preach the morning service in less than 12 hours. We decided that I would preach that next morning. This proved to be much more difficult than I could have ever anticipated; I could not prepare to preach a message from the Word of God with anger and animosity in my heart. I went to the Lord that night and begged Him for strength and for grace. I cannot explain it to you, but while I was out there pleading with the Lord, that anxiety and anger and fear that had swelled up inside of me was just GONE. I was able to get a few hours of sleep and then go and teach my Bible class and preach the morning service with the right Spirit in control. Philippians 4:7 became very real to me through this event when it says, “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” To be perfectly honest, on Monday morning I tried to regain those feelings, but to no avail, because we have a loving Heavenly Father who even protects us from ourselves.

We are all aware that life is often referred to as a race or a journey. This is found to be true in preaching, Scripture and even in general teaching, so we can easily understand the comparison between our lives and walking down a long winding road. There are many different applications which may be applied and several lessons that can be learned from this illustration; however, I would like to focus on the idea of this journey more so than the journey itself.

Hebrews 12:1 says, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,”

If you are like me, when you think of a race, you probably see a large oval track with several athletes racing around it. Maybe some bleachers or a stadium with several fans cheering for the runners; possibly a concession stand with nachos, popcorn, hotdogs and candy, with a long line of people waiting to purchase their “pre-game snack”. There is an electric feeling that only intense competition can create. At an event like this, it seems everyone can sense it. Coaches are giving pep talks and parents and athletes are praying for good fortune and safety. Everyone is enjoying their time at this sporting event. With that idea in mind, it is hard for me to compare that event to my life. You see, at a track meet of this sort, the only opposition to be dealt with are the other runners who are trying to finish first. But in our lives, we have an adversary who is trying to take us out of the race. In the race of life we are not in competition with anyone, though at times we may treat others as if we are.

That night in November, my dad was physically hit and the rest of my family and our church family was spiritually hit while running our race. I call this “Full-contact Racing” – our adversary is waiting for a moment of victory, when we let our guard down, or a moment of weakness in our lives when he can swoop in and take us right off of our feet. For those who are weighed down with the desires of this world and by sins, these blows from the Devil will probably destroy their ability to immediately continue in their race. My friend, Romans 8:37 tells us, ”…we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” We must be constantly aware of the fact that there is a very real enemy whose goal is to destroy us, but we serve a God who has already won the fight and in His strength we too will prevail.

I am so glad to be able to tell you that my dad has exceeded the doctors expectation in his recovery every step of the way. They told him that it would be at least 6 months before he would be able to stand and preach again, but on Christmas Sunday last year (just 5 weeks after his attack) my dad returned to his pulpit. You see, Satan is out to destroy and defeat us believer, but we do not have to run this race in our strength because Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

Shannon Foote
Pastor
Grace Baptist Church
Marrerro, LA

by: Jonathan Painter

“Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.” Proverbs 4:14-15

I am afraid that in the life of our Christian young people one of the most deteriorating arts of defense is the art of avoidance. You may question why I call this an art. I call it an art because it indeed is a matter that is difficult and takes skill. In our churches we have been teaching our young people to accept and tolerate, when we should be teaching them how to avoid. We do not want others to dislike us, as we try to live a godly teenage life, so instead of breaking off relationships and avoiding them, we tolerate them and very shortly begin to adopt them into our own lives. This is very dangerous ground to tread upon as a young person. Please remember that there is power in avoiding.

Now, as I proceed, do not misunderstand me. I am not saying that a lamb that has wondered from the fold cannot be let back into the fold with warm welcome; however, don’t go run in the wilderness with the wondering lamb. We ought to welcome lost sheep back into the fold, but it is not our obligation to go find the sheep, God gave the sheep a shepherd, and it is the shepherd’s job to go find the lost sheep. Why don’t the sheep go look for the sheep? The sheep do not go look for the sheep because the sheep would get lost themselves while looking for the lost sheep. God has given every teenager a group of AUTHORITIES to be shepherds over them; therefore, when one of our friends has gone astray, it is up to the authority to bring them back.

God’s Word is very clear that when we come across the path of the wicked we are supposed to “avoid it, pass not by it, and turn from it.” I have no doubt that so many Christian young people have the sincerest intentions when they make statements like, “I am trying to salvage them!” or “I am trying to show them that I care!” and they are completely sincere in every way. So they begin to act upon these statements by building a close relationship with the wayward young person, while they are violating the plan God has set regarding the matter. Think about it, are you avoiding the way of the wicked when you sit in your friend’s bedroom who has rock music posters all over the walls? This does not seem to be avoiding the way of the wicked, but placing yourself in the midst of it. Although we have the sincerest intents to begin with, and we do it because we are sure we are spiritual enough to handle it. Yet, before we know it we have tripped over our own prideful spirit and fallen right into the mucky waters from which we were trying to pull them, all because we were trying to fill a role we had no place filling.

Undoubtedly there is someone reading this who thinks I am just a mean, hateful person who doesn’t care about people who fall. I plead for myself to the contrary. In fact, I recently penned a whole entire article on how to welcome people back into the fold who have fallen. My friend, what you don’t realize is that the authorities around you are trying to salvage your friend, but you keep getting in their way because you will not let God’s shepherds do their work unhindered. The end result often is that the shepherd who was trying to pull them out now has to work on pulling two of you out because you refused to avoid when you needed to avoid. This is the power of avoiding.

Jonathan Painter
Youth Pastor
Lincoln Baptist Church
Lincoln, NE

by: Jonathan Painter

The word aptitude basically means, “tendency.” Every teenage young man and young lady have an attitude. The question is, what is the aptitude of your attitude? Whatever your aptitude is in your attitude is what the face of your name will become. If you often have an angry attitude towards people, then very soon the mention of your name will bring thoughts of an angry person. If your attitude is a rebellious one, then very soon the mention of your name will bring to mind a rebel. “Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.” Proverbs 20:11

The following paragraph was found in an online parenting article.

“Parents are also griping about it to each other. And even adolescents admit it exists: When teens were asked how adults would describe them, 29% say the adults would say they have a “bad attitude”; 23% say adults would describe them as “disrespectful,” according to a Gallup Youth Survey of 500 teens, ages 13 to 17, released in 1998.”

The world would call this normal, but God’s Word presents a different story. “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.” God expects his children, regardless of their age, to develop good tendencies in their attitude. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:” I dare say that I don’t think Jesus was rebellious, nor did he snap back at his parents, nor did he pout and whine when he did not get what he asked for. We are to begin molding our mind to be like the mind of Christ, even as teenagers.

The Christian teenager needs not listen to the worldly philosophy that teaches that “teenagers will be teenagers” and that the attitude that most teenagers bring to the table is normal and acceptable. Such thoughts are nothing but erroneous lies to soothe the conscience of mankind. The Christian teenager should be a step above this, and should watch the aptitude of their attitude with diligence.

Here is a thought for the conclusion of this article. Your parents love you very much. They could have decided to abort you, but instead your mother decided to go through the jaws of death, with much pain to bring you into this world. All of your life they have cared for you, and loved you. They have given you everything you have needed, and tried to give you much of what you have wanted. They have toiled and worked to provide you a home in which you can live, and to put food in front of you to eat. I dare say that we should be thankful for everything that they have done for us. However, we repay them by rolling our eyes at them when they ask us to do a simple task. We yell at them and stomp off when they try to protect us from ourselves. Let’s think, before we allow our attitude to go sour toward our family; instead, remember all they have done for you. We, in return, should guard the aptitude of our attitude.

Jonathan Painter
Youth Pastor
Lincoln Baptist Church
Lincoln, NE

by: Jason Watford

Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

People today are looking for the “deeper truths” from the Word of God; however, Christianity is so simple that even a little child can understand it. Notice that I did not say that Christianity was easy; however, it is easy to understand. Christianity has always been the same. One should get saved, baptized and then start living for God. Many times other Christians try to “play” the Holy Spirit in another Christian’s life, but a legitimate saved person will not have to be pushed to do anything, they will WANT to do everything they can for the Lord.

There are many examples in Scriptures where Jesus (our Earthly Example) won someone to the Lord and did not preach on being clothed, yet the person saved started in their right mind to put on clothes. Or, the time when Jesus healed a demonic man. The next time you hear of him he is sitting in church. The Holy Spirit lives inside Christians and will convict them of sin and teach them all things. Allow me to give you some simple truths I see from Romans 12:1-2.

1. “Brethren”…These verses are to saved people in the local church.

Verse one reads “brethren”. These are not lost people. Therefore, whatever is about to be said, it is being said to saved individuals who have the Holy Spirit living in them.

2. “That ye present your body” does not mean to present your heart.

We live in a day where people misconstrue words or phrases to make it what we want it to say. This phrase it talking about your actual body; what others see when they see you. We are commanded to give or present willingly our own bodies to Jesus. This should answer the tattoo questions. This should answer the clothing questions. This should answer all the hair questions. When you present your body to Christ, it is no longer about what you and I want.  If you are saved, the Holy Spirit will teach you and tell you exactly what you should look like and be like. Let’s stop asking “Why can’t we do …” and just present our bodies to God and say that we are His.

3. “A living sacrifice” means while you are alive.

We should live everyday in a way that other people should be able to LOOK at our BODIES and tell that we are Christians. No one ever sees a military soldier in uniform and wonders what he/she is. Hence, no one should ever see us and wonder what we (Christians) are.

4. “Which is your reasonable service” means that Jesus is not asking that much of us to do this.

If Jesus gave all he had for us, is it really that much to ask that we LOOK like we should. What is wrong with Christians looking like Christians? It is reasonable for saved people to allow our body to look like we are saved. I challenge Christians today, to not only be saved, to not only love the Lord, but to look like it in public not only with your heart but with your body also.

Jason Watford
Pastor
Spring Creek Baptist Church
Seven Springs, NC

by: Jonathan Painter

“Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.” Micah 7:5-6

The modern Christian home has taken on the appearance that would sooner represent a battlefield than a tranquil Christ-honoring home. Our children have become emboldened with the power of the digital age and social networking. A “Pew Research” Poll reports that 95% of all teens between the ages of 12 and 17 consistently use the internet and 94% of teenagers use social media. The rate at which our young people are building relationships online is outstanding, while “Knowledge Networks” says that 92% of teenagers never consult their parents about these relationships they build. This is truly a recipe for trouble. I had a thirteen-year-old girl tell me that she did not even know who half of the followers on her Facebook page were. What kind of relationships and friendships are we building? I believe with all of my heart that Satan has his sight set on our Christian homes to tear them apart. There is a huge wedge being driven between our young people and their parents and often it is not even noticed until it is too late. As a teenager, all the devices and technology are quite intriguing, but we should not let them come between us and our family. Micah, inspired of God, addressed the issue long before the first computer, tablet or smartphone came along.

1. “Trust not in a friend…” Micah is not telling us to have no friends, but not to trust them as guides for our life. One must always remember that his peers are his friends, not his counselors. Yet, all too often we go to our room and lock ourselves in a world of Facebook, Kik, and Twitter to seek advice, comfort, and fortitude from our friends and followers. God gave us parents to fill these voids. I am not against technology or the internet; but they are not supposed to be our family. As young people, we should not go to the internet to find out how to live our life or treat our family, but we should analyze the Word of God and listen to our parents on how to use the internet.
2. “For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother…” We rely so heavily on our friends and on our internet that we dishonor our parents in doing so. Has your father ever been trying to talk to you, and though you were in his presence you were not listening because you were posting a tweet on your phone? This is dishonoring to your father. Have you ever let your temper flare because your mother dared to ground you from your computer? This is dishonoring to your mother. This truly happens in Christian homes.

America needs to see some young people who will work on building their relationship with their parents rather than building their profile and following. God intended for us to be close to our parents, but our home becomes a battle field and “…a man’s enemies are the men of his own house. “ This is not the fault of our parents, but of our young people. It’s time to put the computer away, set your friends aside, and let your parents know that you truly appreciate them, and put them back in their rightful place of honor in your life.

Jonathan Painter
Youth Pastor
Lincoln Baptist Church
Lincoln, Nebraska