I have heard many times that we are the generation who will get out there and get into action, stand up for what we believe, make a difference. But I really don't see that happening very much. Sure, we fight for the right to marry someone of the same sex, and we fight for the "right" to kill unborn children. But we haven't yet had a national argument over whether or not teenagers have the right to hand out tickets to a Christian event in Walmart parking lots without getting into trouble. Why aren't there entire youth groups sitting on Oprah's couches, defending our faith? Instead, we sit at home and quietly disagree with these people who bash our God. We should be out there, displaying what we're all about! We shouldn't just discuss these things in our small groups at church- we need to take action! People should see us, teenagers, on the streets, defending our God, instead of sitting around and singing lifeless worship songs. We need to put action into our faith- we are not called to simply sit around and worship our God through music and reading His Word. Though these things are good and help you grow in your faith, how much more will your faith flourish when you are out on the streets, proclaiming His name? Why are we not out there now? Why is no one responding to this awesome calling, this honor, of being a light to the world for Jesus Christ! If it is out of fear, then we lack faith! Psalms 27:1 "The Lord is my light and my salvation- whom shall I fear?" Why are we so afraid to speak of our faith? Why do we shy away from declaring the name of the Lord? We should be shouting of His grace, His mercy, His indescribable love! We have nothing to fear with Him by our sides. We cannot be silenced by mere men! We should not stand for this silent faith. I pray that we become the loudest, most outspoken generation of Christians that the world has ever seen- more so even than Paul! May we take His name to the people of the world who have not yet had the opportunity to hear His name, let alone be told of His salvation! May we show these people that we are not afraid, that we fear nothing and no one- that we will stand firm for our Lord and Savior Lesus Christ, and not be silenced!
I admit, I am guilty of being a silent, shy Christian. But the more I dig into the Word, the more I see the need for us to get out there! We have to display our faith in every way possible. We are called, as Christians, to be missionaries who are willing to die for our God. This is no small task. Our salvation is not a simple security blanket. We must share it with the world! We are not called to discover His awesomeness, His everlasting love, and then simply hide it away! We must show this incredible gift, that we did nothing to earn, that was given to us in His amazing grace and mercy and love, to everyone!
I will not let a rock cry out in my place to worship my God. Will you?
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Middle School Years...
Last night was our last night of middle school Breakpoint. The "panel" really made me think about how my life has been transformed during these past 2 years in the Middle School Ministry. This will probably wind up being a mess of random thoughts and memories, so bear with me.
Sixth grade was my first year in middle school, and probably the worst. My social life was a train wreck, my friends were nearly non-existant, and my reputation was ruined. But it taught me a very important lesson- I need to learn to tolerate those around me, no matter their flaws or quirks. Throughout the year, I began to understand the value of friends, family, and a Christian attitude. Without these three things, I was lost in the chaos that was my life. But as the year progressed, I began to gain the support of family and friends. But I will freely say that I did not have a Christian attitude in the sixth grade, and didn't feel that I needed one. I had my excuses, and spouted them whenever I was called out on my attitude or actions. Sixth grade was a year of crying, learning, and finally, conquering obstacles. But it was not a year of spiritual growth.
Seventh grade was also a tough year, but I learned much, much more about others, as well as myself. After being dropped into the middle of the homeschool life, I was angry, upset, and wanting desperately to be rebellious. But as the year progressed, I slowly began to realize that what I hated most was actually helping me grow, as a Christian and as a young woman. I began to understand why people acted as they did, said the things that they said, and I began to feel sympathy for them. I began to see why my parents had pulled me out of my school, and why homeschooling was the best option for me that year. I became more independent, more social, and my reputation began to remake itself. I was no longer a "mean girl", but, rather, I became part of a group of Christian guys and girls, who helped me grow in my relationship with Christ, as well as other friends and family. Straight Up Weekend really opened my eyes to how incredibly lost I was without God. As I watched friends go forward, surrendering their lives for the first time to Christ, or rededicating themselves, I began to see the awesome power of my Savior. He could change hearts from just a few sentences, a few words, sometimes just a hug or a smile. He became larger to me, more real, closer than I had ever thought possible. My faith grew to incredible heights, and I began to search for Him, reading my Bible daily, praying consistently, talking with friends about our revelations and convictions. But this "high" only lasted for a few days, maybe a week. I began to fall away from my quiet time, not as focused on God and his awesomeness. I hadn't completely fallen away from God, but I was not as close to Him as I had felt at Straight Up Weekend, so I began to feel discouraged. But then camp happened. Camp was truely life changing. I rededicated my life to Him, and suddenly realized what I needed to forget, who I needed to forgiive, and Who I needed to trust completely. My life was different when I returned- I was reading my Bible, doing a quiet time, and staying close to God for several weeks after. I began to see who my true friends really were, and I suddenly understood the meaning of a best friend. My life was flipped upside down, and I was getting so much out of it. I was beginning to discover my faith.
But as I entered the eighth grade, I began to fall away again. I was put into public school, where I felt I didn't fit in, wasn't accepted. I was distracted from God and His Word, and started to hang out with what I thought was the wrong crowd. I didn't dare speak of my faith, or even one word of God, fearful that I would be excluded from groups, conversations, or any other social activities I wished to take part in. I read my Bible occasionally, and tried to direct my life more toward God. But in reality, the only time I was ever talking to or worshipping Him was on Wednesday nights. Even on Sundays, I was not praising Him as I should have been, my excuse being that the style of the services wasn't "contemporary enough". My spiritual life was confined to an hour and a half each week, and it was doing nothing to quench my spiritual thirst. I craved Him, His Word, His guidance. But I was terrified of not being accepted. As the youth activities started to come around, I begged to go to them. I went to Straight Up Weekend, after preparing for it through the Journey of Awareness. Over the course of the weekend, my eyes were opened to the need around me. I realized that even though people appeared to be okay, they all had hidden hurts, fears, and secrets. I talked to people who were really struggling in their waslk with God, and tried to be an example and give them Godly advice. But I realized that I could not provide these things if I was not living according to them. I needed to show these people God through my life, not only my words. I realized that I needed to change. So I went home, believing that I would change. I changed slightly, but not as much as I had hoped. My spiritual time was still only once a week, and I was still trying desperately to fit in. But I did start talking about my faith more. I wasn't quite as afraid to voice my opinion, or to claim Christ as my Savior. As the end of the year rolled around, lessons from Scott's Spiritual Leadership Bible Study started to bubble up in my mind. I began to see that I was the leader at school, at church, and even at home. I needed to show my faith unashamedly, not afraid of being excluded or laughed at. I needed to lead others to Christ, be an ambassador, confident in my beliefs and my God. So I tried to change. I tried to stop laughing at the jokes, to stick up for those who were laughed at, to accept others more freely. To be more like Christ. I succeded, in a way. I saw how far I had strayed, and how much I would need to do to gain the lost ground back. I also saw that my intentions were not as they should have been. I was trying to change my life to be able to show the people at church what a great Christian I was. How far I had come in my walk with Christ. How many people I could be a light to. I wanted people to notice me, to see my great successes and even my failures which had taught me important lessons. I wanted to be seen. But through Scott's sermons, Sunday School lessons, and the help of friends, I realized that I should be wanting people to see God, not me. I should be trying to show people how great He was, not my own accomplishments. I realized that I needed to tell God how awesome and great He was, not how cool I was for being a Christian. I needed to be His instrument, instead of using Him to gain popularity. After camp, and Matt's incredible messages and illustrations, I began to really start growing in Christ. But it was not until Frontliners that my eyes were really opened to His grace, mercy, indescribable love for us. As we shared with the people in South Tampa, I saw how He worked through us, and all we were doing was handing out some papers and quoting a few verses. We were daily reminded that God didn't need us to show Him to people. He could to that all on His own. But He chose us to go out and be ambassadors for Him. He had picked us for a reason, and He would be glorified through our jumbled words, sweaty backs and sore feet. He was all that mattered that week. We were there for Him, for His work, not for our own recognition. As we went door to door, I saw hearts being cracked, slowly, slowly, and people beginning to be exposed to His glory. I saw students come forward and rededicate their lives to Christ, saw them give themselves to Him for the first time. I witnessed people standing, admitting that they needed prayer, and asking for it without an ounce of shame. I heard heartfelt testimonies, incredible stories of God working in students, and I was given the privilege of seeing people transformed completely for Him. Frontliners was, by far, the closest I have ever felt to God, and it has stayed fresh in my mind, even after nearly a month of being home, being caught up in life. I have begun to see God for who He really is- He is everything. Nothing can be without Him. I could not be writing this without His mercy, love, and grace. I am nothing without His love, His Son, His awesomeness.
Scott asked the panel last night what they would say to the upcoming 8th graders if they had 30 seconds to talk to them. One of the biggest issues of 8th grade was not even touched on in anyone's 30 seconds: dating. I just want to say, to any upcoming 8th grader who reads this, that dating in middle school is not a good idea, unless the person you are in a relationship is at a higher spiritual level then you are. At least the same level. Being close to a person who does not share the same faith as you will, without a doubt, pull you away from God, as well as your Christian friends. I was told this time after time, and ignored this advice, believing that I could maintain my faith, even while dating an unbeliever. I was wrong. Oh, how wrong. I learned very quickly that you cannot rely on yourself to stay in the Word. You have to be surrounded with Christian friends to encourage you, and if your boyfriend or girlfriend is not part of the Christian group, you will not be able to stay close to Him. You must, at all costs, have an intimate circle of Christian friends, or you will not easily succeed in remaining in the Word. Being in a close relationship with an unbeliever, or even someone of a lower spiritual level, will always result in you being pulled away from God. No exeptions. I have witnessed this happen multiple times over the course of this year, as well as experiencing it myself, and it is not easy to just jump back into a routine of reading the Word daily, or even worshipping God as you should. So my word of advice to the upcoming 8th graders is to not date while you are leading in your school and at church. You are no longer the one watching- you are the one being watched. You must set the standard for the class after you, and the classes after that. You cannot ignore this responsibility. I wish I would have tried harder to be an example to you guys. I should have strived to show you Christ, instead of showing you how to be "cool". Because you cannot even begin to even resemble cool unless you are a servant for Him. :))
There is so much more that I could say, so much that I have learned and experienced that I would love to talk to the 8th graders about. I can only hope that I will have the opportunity to be a Christ-like example as I enter high school and come in contact with hundreds of other students like myself. I hope that the new 8th graders will lead with more confidence, a stronger faith, and more wisdom then our class did, and I pray that you will all be exposed to His awesomeness as often as He allows.
Sixth grade was my first year in middle school, and probably the worst. My social life was a train wreck, my friends were nearly non-existant, and my reputation was ruined. But it taught me a very important lesson- I need to learn to tolerate those around me, no matter their flaws or quirks. Throughout the year, I began to understand the value of friends, family, and a Christian attitude. Without these three things, I was lost in the chaos that was my life. But as the year progressed, I began to gain the support of family and friends. But I will freely say that I did not have a Christian attitude in the sixth grade, and didn't feel that I needed one. I had my excuses, and spouted them whenever I was called out on my attitude or actions. Sixth grade was a year of crying, learning, and finally, conquering obstacles. But it was not a year of spiritual growth.
Seventh grade was also a tough year, but I learned much, much more about others, as well as myself. After being dropped into the middle of the homeschool life, I was angry, upset, and wanting desperately to be rebellious. But as the year progressed, I slowly began to realize that what I hated most was actually helping me grow, as a Christian and as a young woman. I began to understand why people acted as they did, said the things that they said, and I began to feel sympathy for them. I began to see why my parents had pulled me out of my school, and why homeschooling was the best option for me that year. I became more independent, more social, and my reputation began to remake itself. I was no longer a "mean girl", but, rather, I became part of a group of Christian guys and girls, who helped me grow in my relationship with Christ, as well as other friends and family. Straight Up Weekend really opened my eyes to how incredibly lost I was without God. As I watched friends go forward, surrendering their lives for the first time to Christ, or rededicating themselves, I began to see the awesome power of my Savior. He could change hearts from just a few sentences, a few words, sometimes just a hug or a smile. He became larger to me, more real, closer than I had ever thought possible. My faith grew to incredible heights, and I began to search for Him, reading my Bible daily, praying consistently, talking with friends about our revelations and convictions. But this "high" only lasted for a few days, maybe a week. I began to fall away from my quiet time, not as focused on God and his awesomeness. I hadn't completely fallen away from God, but I was not as close to Him as I had felt at Straight Up Weekend, so I began to feel discouraged. But then camp happened. Camp was truely life changing. I rededicated my life to Him, and suddenly realized what I needed to forget, who I needed to forgiive, and Who I needed to trust completely. My life was different when I returned- I was reading my Bible, doing a quiet time, and staying close to God for several weeks after. I began to see who my true friends really were, and I suddenly understood the meaning of a best friend. My life was flipped upside down, and I was getting so much out of it. I was beginning to discover my faith.
But as I entered the eighth grade, I began to fall away again. I was put into public school, where I felt I didn't fit in, wasn't accepted. I was distracted from God and His Word, and started to hang out with what I thought was the wrong crowd. I didn't dare speak of my faith, or even one word of God, fearful that I would be excluded from groups, conversations, or any other social activities I wished to take part in. I read my Bible occasionally, and tried to direct my life more toward God. But in reality, the only time I was ever talking to or worshipping Him was on Wednesday nights. Even on Sundays, I was not praising Him as I should have been, my excuse being that the style of the services wasn't "contemporary enough". My spiritual life was confined to an hour and a half each week, and it was doing nothing to quench my spiritual thirst. I craved Him, His Word, His guidance. But I was terrified of not being accepted. As the youth activities started to come around, I begged to go to them. I went to Straight Up Weekend, after preparing for it through the Journey of Awareness. Over the course of the weekend, my eyes were opened to the need around me. I realized that even though people appeared to be okay, they all had hidden hurts, fears, and secrets. I talked to people who were really struggling in their waslk with God, and tried to be an example and give them Godly advice. But I realized that I could not provide these things if I was not living according to them. I needed to show these people God through my life, not only my words. I realized that I needed to change. So I went home, believing that I would change. I changed slightly, but not as much as I had hoped. My spiritual time was still only once a week, and I was still trying desperately to fit in. But I did start talking about my faith more. I wasn't quite as afraid to voice my opinion, or to claim Christ as my Savior. As the end of the year rolled around, lessons from Scott's Spiritual Leadership Bible Study started to bubble up in my mind. I began to see that I was the leader at school, at church, and even at home. I needed to show my faith unashamedly, not afraid of being excluded or laughed at. I needed to lead others to Christ, be an ambassador, confident in my beliefs and my God. So I tried to change. I tried to stop laughing at the jokes, to stick up for those who were laughed at, to accept others more freely. To be more like Christ. I succeded, in a way. I saw how far I had strayed, and how much I would need to do to gain the lost ground back. I also saw that my intentions were not as they should have been. I was trying to change my life to be able to show the people at church what a great Christian I was. How far I had come in my walk with Christ. How many people I could be a light to. I wanted people to notice me, to see my great successes and even my failures which had taught me important lessons. I wanted to be seen. But through Scott's sermons, Sunday School lessons, and the help of friends, I realized that I should be wanting people to see God, not me. I should be trying to show people how great He was, not my own accomplishments. I realized that I needed to tell God how awesome and great He was, not how cool I was for being a Christian. I needed to be His instrument, instead of using Him to gain popularity. After camp, and Matt's incredible messages and illustrations, I began to really start growing in Christ. But it was not until Frontliners that my eyes were really opened to His grace, mercy, indescribable love for us. As we shared with the people in South Tampa, I saw how He worked through us, and all we were doing was handing out some papers and quoting a few verses. We were daily reminded that God didn't need us to show Him to people. He could to that all on His own. But He chose us to go out and be ambassadors for Him. He had picked us for a reason, and He would be glorified through our jumbled words, sweaty backs and sore feet. He was all that mattered that week. We were there for Him, for His work, not for our own recognition. As we went door to door, I saw hearts being cracked, slowly, slowly, and people beginning to be exposed to His glory. I saw students come forward and rededicate their lives to Christ, saw them give themselves to Him for the first time. I witnessed people standing, admitting that they needed prayer, and asking for it without an ounce of shame. I heard heartfelt testimonies, incredible stories of God working in students, and I was given the privilege of seeing people transformed completely for Him. Frontliners was, by far, the closest I have ever felt to God, and it has stayed fresh in my mind, even after nearly a month of being home, being caught up in life. I have begun to see God for who He really is- He is everything. Nothing can be without Him. I could not be writing this without His mercy, love, and grace. I am nothing without His love, His Son, His awesomeness.
Scott asked the panel last night what they would say to the upcoming 8th graders if they had 30 seconds to talk to them. One of the biggest issues of 8th grade was not even touched on in anyone's 30 seconds: dating. I just want to say, to any upcoming 8th grader who reads this, that dating in middle school is not a good idea, unless the person you are in a relationship is at a higher spiritual level then you are. At least the same level. Being close to a person who does not share the same faith as you will, without a doubt, pull you away from God, as well as your Christian friends. I was told this time after time, and ignored this advice, believing that I could maintain my faith, even while dating an unbeliever. I was wrong. Oh, how wrong. I learned very quickly that you cannot rely on yourself to stay in the Word. You have to be surrounded with Christian friends to encourage you, and if your boyfriend or girlfriend is not part of the Christian group, you will not be able to stay close to Him. You must, at all costs, have an intimate circle of Christian friends, or you will not easily succeed in remaining in the Word. Being in a close relationship with an unbeliever, or even someone of a lower spiritual level, will always result in you being pulled away from God. No exeptions. I have witnessed this happen multiple times over the course of this year, as well as experiencing it myself, and it is not easy to just jump back into a routine of reading the Word daily, or even worshipping God as you should. So my word of advice to the upcoming 8th graders is to not date while you are leading in your school and at church. You are no longer the one watching- you are the one being watched. You must set the standard for the class after you, and the classes after that. You cannot ignore this responsibility. I wish I would have tried harder to be an example to you guys. I should have strived to show you Christ, instead of showing you how to be "cool". Because you cannot even begin to even resemble cool unless you are a servant for Him. :))
There is so much more that I could say, so much that I have learned and experienced that I would love to talk to the 8th graders about. I can only hope that I will have the opportunity to be a Christ-like example as I enter high school and come in contact with hundreds of other students like myself. I hope that the new 8th graders will lead with more confidence, a stronger faith, and more wisdom then our class did, and I pray that you will all be exposed to His awesomeness as often as He allows.
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