Devotions for Teens

[Soldier4Christ]

  Unity Through Humility

“Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.” Philippians 2:1-2

We as Christians are to be like-minded (having the same goal in mind), of one accord, working “together”, with a loving attitude.

How sad is it when believers cannot get a long with one another.  In Philippians, Paul writes to the church at Philippi, instructing them on Christian unity.  He said, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.  Let each of you look out not only for his own interests but also for the interests of others.” Philippians 2:3-4

Why do most arguments or troubles happen at church among Christians?  Mostly because we are too focused on our own interests, what we want.  There is nothing wrong with going after what you want, but not at the expense of someone else.  We are to think of others interests as well as our own. 

Only in Christ can we have real unity.  Paul goes on to say, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:5    The key is our minds.  We are to have the mind of Christ, to get our eyes on Him and off of ourselves. Stop thinking, “What about me?”  Just look at how Christ responded to things.

“Christ, who, being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bond servant, and coming in the likeness of men.  And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the deathof the cross.” Philippians 2:6-8

Christ humbled himself.  He became a servant, not of himself, but of others. He laid down his life for us.   That is not an easy thing to do.  To get rid of pride, even eat some humble pie if we have to.  Only with Christ’s help can we do this, because nothing in our flesh will want to and our feelings will not want to back denying ourselves at all.  Oh, but the joy and peace it brings.

“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11  Just as Jesus humbled himself and God exalted Him.  If we humble ourselves, God will exalt us above the situation.  And we will not hinder the work of Christ.   And the peace of God that, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Are you at odds with another Christian?  Do they see Jesus in you? Humble pie doesn’t taste good at first, but afterwards, it yields the fruit of peace.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Anger

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you....Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 19:27) NKJV.

Have you ever been angry? I mean to a point where you feel like your world is about to explode? When this happens how do you deal with it? Do you bottle it up inside? A while back I was mad at a certain person for a long time and not knowing how to deal with the pain. The bad news was that I kept it wrapped up inside me to the point of suicide. I hope and pray that those thoughts of anger will never turn into suicide or think that it is the only way out.

You shouldn't bottle everything up inside you. You have to let it out, to your pastor, your youth pastor or a really trusting Christian friend. You should never leave your anger inside of you. Joseph could have shown anger to his brothers for selling him into slavery but he didn't. If he had become really angry and kept it with him all those years it could have destroyed Gods plan for him. He might have killed his brothers when they came to buy grain but he forgave them. And let him stay free for use in god's plan. We need to also know how to forgive. What I have learned about anger is that it is OK to feel angry. just as long as you don't act on it. Anger is not a sin unless you act on it. Revenge is not ours, it is Gods. I hope this helped some of you out there.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Don't Put Off Putting It Off

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life to put off your old self , which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds, and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:22-24

I don’t think many people understand how to read and take scripture these days. So many Christians take the Bible and put it into their own words. They will say, "Oh I know it says that, but it doesn't really mean it to that extent." Or "That was thousands of years ago, things are different." But the truth is the Bible was written by God for everyone in any part of history and future. And the Bible is also pretty straight forward when it comes to what it says. "Thou shalt not murder." Means don’t kill anyone. "Thou shalt not take the Lord’s name in vain." Means unless your praying or praising, don’t say the name of the Lord for anything else. "Thou shalt not steal." Means don’t take anything that isn’t yours. "Thou shalt not commit adultery." Means don’t sleep with someone who isn't your spouse. I could go on and on. But you really would have to be an idiot to not understand the word of God. Maybe your the type of person who does understand the word of God, but you choose to make up your own rules for living it out. When you become a Christian and give your life to God, the bible tells us to put off our old selves. meaning the things you did before you knew God and are against His word, stop doing them. Pretty self explanatory right? But maybe you’re the type who reads the Bible and then bends it to fit your lifestyle. "Oh, I don’t do as much anymore." "Its only every once in a while." "It’s not necessarily a sin." "Well that person does it so how bad can it be?" Are you an excuse giver?

The main passage up above says, put off your old self which is being corrupted by evil desires. Evil desires always start out small. It can go from see something you want, to stealing it. From lusting to taking action. From one drink to seven. From one hit to becoming a junkie. It never starts out bad , but when we don’t get it fully out of lives, we will fall deeper and deeper until we have dug a hole for ourselves. God gives us tests in life. He won’t test you on your strongest quality. Like if you have never had the desire to drink alcohol, you probably wont find yourself in the midst of people drinking. He will test your weaknesses to see how strong you are living for Him. How real is your commitment. Yes you are human you will fall , you will sin , you are not perfect. God doesn’t expect you to be perfect by no means. But if you bend His word, and make everything out to be "No big deal." Then you will find yourself caught up, and unable to help yourself quit. I once read a quote somewhere that said. "Every person is living the life they want to live." Its true, God has given us free will. So your living exactly the way you want to. Whether its for Him or for yourself, your living the life you want and your as happy as you want to be. If your unhappy with your addictive lifestyle, quit. Yeah easier said than done, but its your decision. Don’t wine that your not happy. Living a life for God is the only way you can be happy. So put off that old corrupted self, and put on the attitude of Christ. You’ll see how fast things will change, for the better.09

[Soldier4Christ]

  Be The Barnabas in Your Church


Acts 4:34 There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time
those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales
35 and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he
had need. 36  Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called
Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement),
37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles'
feet.  (NIV)

Acts 9:27  But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told
them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken
to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus.

You could hear a pin drop in the sanctuary last Sunday morning, as the
pastor read his resignation maybe to never return to the pastorate again. 
Tension had been in the air for months.  Anonymous letters, people with
petty problems that turned from little things and exploded into something
bigger than it should have been.  The deacons in a frenzy to find answers,
the pastor, and the youth pastor doing their best to lead.  A church that is
about to close its doors.  A church in shambles that needs to start over and
begin with a new core.

Sound familiar?  Maybe the problems in your church have not escalated to the
size that they have in my church, but it seems that we all have problems.
Maybe there are problems that are going on in your youth group, and maybe
you are in the middle of youth pastors or pastors.  Maybe things are going
really well in your church.  Statistics say that a pastors stay averages 2
years, and a youth pastors 9 months.   The question that I have is what can
we do about it?  We really need some Barnabas’ in our churches.

First, it is a shame that we all have to go through problems in our
churches, but we can be very supportive of them as well as encourage them in
all that they do.  Sure, we may not like all of the things that they are
doing, but we need to be supportive.

Second, be a Barnabas encourage your pastor, youth pastor, and church
leadership, like Barnabas encouraged Paul and stood up for him.  Let him
know that the hours that they are putting in are well appreciated.  The time
on the phone helping with a problem, the late night phone call, meetings,
visiting, the time studying for the sermon or Bible study.  It really is not
easy, and it may not seem like work to some people, but it is.  Send a card,
get a weird gift or send a crazy email or something.  Find a way to
encourage them.  Barnabas encouraged Paul, and we need to do the same.

Friends, we really need to support our local churches and the people that we
have in them. It just seems that there are so many people discouraged about
church, and about what is going on in their churches.  If you are one of
those people, why not begin by being a Barnabas and encouraging your
leadership and see what the Lord will do in your churches.  Be challenged to
encourage one another, and especially your pastors. Won’t you do that today?

[Soldier4Christ]

  Putting on the Full Armor of God

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. Ephesians 6:10-11

Why did Paul write these verses to the Ephesians?  To fully understand, we need to have some insight into what was happening in Ephesus at the time Paul wrote this letter to them.  They had been slipping back into some very sinful ways and habits.  Paul, being in Rome, likely in jail, had no means of returning to Ephesus to set them back on to a righteous path.  He was quite concerned about this since it was causing the church that he set up to fall apart.

So how did he convey his message to them?  In the strongest possible way, first by grabbing their attention reminding them of the mighty power of God and their need to be strengthened by it.  He then goes on to explain that they need to have protection.  The protection of the Lord's armor, and not just some of it, but all that was available to them.

After explaining that he tells them that they have to do this to be able to stand against the devils schemes.  The devil will attempt to trick us and trip us up using the same methods he did with the Ephesians of Paul's day.  As James also instructs us "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."  James 4:7

These warnings and instructions for us are important reminders for us to put God's armor on everyday.  It is just as important to begin our days putting on God's armor as it is praying for protection from the devil, wisdom for guidance and God's direction for our lives.   Remember to put on your armor every day.  It might just save you spiritual life.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Getting Back On Track

It is because of your sins that he doesn’t hear you.  It is your sins that separate you from God when you try to worship him. Isaiah 59:2

So it’s a new day and I hope you have a good one.  I wish I could say that each of us have left the old behind us but I know I haven’t, and I know many of you haven’t.  Too many of us have started the new day as the same person we were yesterday.  We’re one day closer to the Lord’s return yet no better prepared for His coming.  And what’s the worst part?  We don’t want to change.  Simply put, we’re lazy.  Most of the time, we know we’re in the wrong yet we don’t want to make that turnaround.  We’re still slacking off with our prayer lives yet we stay on top of the latest gossip whether it be church, friends, or family.  We use up our free nights and weekends minutes on the cell phone to get every penny’s worth but are too tired to talk to God at the end of a long day.  We fail to read the Bible regularly yet stay on top of email and internet networks and every possible entertaining distraction we can find on TV.  We’re still abusing substances failing to recognize that the human body is a temple of God, created by God, for God.  We’re still acting immorally, letting our dating practices get out of hand and letting ourselves sink into sexual sin long before we even think of marriage.  We’re still dishonoring our parents failing to realize that every time we dishonor them, we’re really dishonoring our Creator.  We’re hot for so many things whether it be a certain style or a boyfriend or girlfriend or getting to some level of wealth and success, yet we fail to be on fire for Jesus.  Sadly, we been calling ourselves Christian for years, yet we fail to recognize that it is Christ’s name we’re bearing. 
The Bible tells us that we are separated from God because of sin.  It is time to finally take that step in our lives and stray away from those human desires that keep us from God.  There are a few steps toward erasing our sins and earning forgiveness.  First we must confess our sins.  Whatever it is, we must say “Yes, I did this.”  Confessing our sins is important because we are letting God know that we know that we are wrong.  It is agreeing with God that we have sinned.  Next, we must pour out our hearts to God and tell Him that we are truly sorry.  This lets Him know that we want Him to help us rise from sin, that we do want to grow closer to Him.  Then, we must repent.  Now repentance isn’t just confessing our sins.  It involves us turning away from our sins.  For some of us this means putting down the shot glass.  For others it means turning our attention away from impure thoughts.  For others it may mean a getting up and walking away from a setting that could potentially arouse desire or temptation.  Yet for others this may mean a breakup with a significant other who is leading us to sin.  Once we have repented, the last step is to ask God to forgive us.  It is important that you ask God for forgiveness as the last step because you want to let Him know that you’re as serious as He is.  Don’t let Him forgive you until you have made a true change within yourself.  And from this day forward, let’s make Christ proud and use every temptation as an opportunity to do good, instead of making the Devil happy!

[Soldier4Christ]

  Tests

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.  I Peter 3:15 NIV

It seems like I have tests all the time in school.  Have you ever felt this way?  Maybe you have one everyday of the week or maybe you are cramming for the three tests you have in a row tomorrow, like I currently am doing.  Whatever the case, you know how important a test can be to your final grade.

Have you ever thought about life as a test?  I know you often hear about the trials you face in life, but I mean the daily tests you go through.  Everyday you are watched as an example of God’s light.  Maybe you hang out with a group of non-Christians who look to you as the only light in their life.  Everyday you go through things that show if you really are who you say.  Maybe you bite your tongue when you get hurt rather than cussing, maybe you don’t skip class, whatever the case, your friends take note of your reactions.

Everyday in life you are being tested.  Stand up for God in all situations so that you will make the final grade, the grade of being a true follower of Christ.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Faith - Works = Dead

But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? James 2:20

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. We often ask God for things. We ask God for help in a certain area. We pray and we plead with God and we expect God to move on our behalf. The one thing we fail to realize is that we have to do some work as well. We can have faith to believe God to do something in our lives but it is not enough. According to the word of God in James 2 verse 20, you have to do some work or else it is dead. Some of us have been stuck where we are because we are not doing our part. So many of us have fail because we are doing nothing. We say God help me to get a job. You have to go and apply for it, a job will not drop in your lap, you got to work. We say God help me to pass that exam. You have to study. You have to do the work. So many of us have become idle and sit down and God is saying you will die where you are because you are not doing anything. Too often we expect God to do everything for us. We treat God anyhow. We use him when we need him. We expect him to do what we want and when we want it but it doesn’t work that way. Whatever you are believing God for. Whatever you are desiring God to do will require work on your part. Whatever you are asking the lord to do, it could be a house, a car, a business, salvation of your friends or family, healing, whatever it is you have to do some work.  When you do the work, you move the hand of God.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Distracted With Too Much Serving

And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, but one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.   Luke 10:41- 42


I remember one Christmas I had gotten caught up in “doing” a lot of things, they were all good things.  I volunteered for the Salvation Army, I was helping with the little Children’s Christmas program, I was baby sitting to earn some extra money for Christmas shopping with, and I was doing a number of things at school like competing in a door decorating contest and going to chorus concerts because I was in the chorus. 

I was doing a lot.....way too much.  I was so overwhelmed and so irritable because I was stressed. And I was not spreading any Christmas cheer.

Then I got Laryngitis.  I could not sing, my mother wouldn’t let me go to school nor do anything else for that matter.  I was forced by sickness, to “rest” and be quiet. Bummer, I thought at first.

But my peace and joy returned because I was able to draw close to Jesus and truly worship Him.  I still remember the smell of my mom’s fresh baked cookies, and those Christmas movies we watched together at that time.  And the night my Dad took us for a drive to look at other people’s  Christmas decorations and a live Nativity in front of a church.  I will never regret that Christmas, just siting at Jesus’ feet and listening to Him.

“Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha  welcomed Him into her house.  And she had a sister named Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.  But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said,”Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?  Therefore tell her to help me.”  And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, but one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42

What did Jesus mean by this?  Was it wrong for Martha to want to serve Jesus?  No,  Jesus did not mean that it was wrong to serve Him, but I believe the point He was making was that Martha was way too busy and worried and she was getting an attitude.  She wasn’t serving because she felt “led” to or inspired, maybe she was trying too hard to impress Jesus and the others..  Instead, she was missing out on Jesus by making such a fuss over things, where as Mary was taking that opportunity to spend some time “with” Jesus and to Hear His words.  Mary was sitting at Jesus feet.

Don’t forget to take some time to sit at Jesus’ feet and Hear His words and worship Him this Christmas!

[Soldier4Christ]

  No One Can Tell You Any Different

For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. 1 Timothy 4:4-5

I was listening to David Crowder’s new CD, and on it is a song called "Everything Glorious". I was drinking my venti non-fat caramel macchiato when the song came on in my car. The chorus goes, "You make everything glorious and I am Yours, what does that make me?" That line hit me. The Bible tells us that God has created everything, and what He has made is very good. And if we are made by God doesn’t that make us very good? A lot of the time in this life, we have people and situations that makes us feel horrible. People can do and say things to us that will makes us feel like nothing, like your not important enough. There our trials in each of our lives that will try to bring us down and make us hate ourselves. So many people , when problems arise out of their control, beat themselves up. We convince ourselves that we are not important enough , that no one seems to hear us crying amidst the crowd. God has made you good, He has made you in His image. No matter what people do or say to you, always keep in mind that God is your father, He is the only one in life that will be there for you 24/7.

God is the only thing that you need to worry about. When bad things happen in your life remember that God has allowed it , and you need to remember how extraordinary you really are. Don’t let anyone, even yourself make you feel like you are nothing. No matter what circumstances arise in your life be ready to come back with , I am God’s and He has made all things good.

[Soldier4Christ]

  God's Will, How Do You Know It?

To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the reply of the tongue.  All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord.   Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 6:1-3

If you saw God's will for your life how would you know it was the real thing?  That question can be a perplexing, yet a very important one for every Christian.  Man was born selfish, wanting his own way.  It's just a fact that we want everything for ourselves.  Our desire is to do it all "our way."   There was a very popular song written many years ago by singer Frank Sinatra, "I Did it My Way."  Now while it may have been popular with a lot of people, it was likely not very popular with God.

Doing it 'my way' is definitely not God's way and as the verses in Proverbs explains to us, we can do a lot of scheming, plotting and plan making, but in the end guess what happens?  God has the final say about how our life is going to go, how He will use us and how it is going to end.  What is a key Biblical principle for this process to be effective for Christians?  Being in the will of God.  Later on in Proverbs we read in verse 20, "Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord."  This is clear evidence of what being in God's will provides us.

So how are we to know when we are following God's will in our life?  Reading the Bible is one of the best ways to know what the will of is for us.  The Bible is full of instruction and guidance on what God's will is for us.  We need only to immerse ourselves in it, understand what it says and then apply it.  Psalm 25 also sheds light on His will for us in verses 4-5, "Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long."  Our hope should be in Him always, then we will truly be in His will.

Finally, Psalm 16, verse 11 tells us "You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."  This verse is more evidence that God indeed has a plan for us, desires for us to be in His presence and spend eternity with Him, enjoying the pleasures of Heaven, simply by being in His presence constantly.  If this sounds like the life you have been looking forward to, spend time seeking to be in His will and be assured of a place in Heaven with Him.

[Soldier4Christ]

  A Lesson From Coffee

“For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have eternal life

John 3:16 (NASB)

Having dinner at my grandparents is always a blast. It’s even so much better when my aunt comes. The best part of course is the desert time. Coffee with whatever deserts my grandparents happens to have. Me, being the youngest and all, I love coffee with cream and a lot of sugar. My aunt and grandmother likes just cream. Grandpa, on the other hand likes his “cup of Joe” totally black. Of course there are little comments between us of the different ways we drink the coffee, but never have we gotten into a huge brawl.

Turn to 1 Corinthians 1:11, 12“For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each of you is saying, “I am of Paul”, and “I am of Appollos”, and “I am of Cephas”, and “I am of Christ.” The people were fighting about the different teachings by the different men of God. All of these men were teaching accurately the life changing Gospel. Yet the church was arguing about who was teaching right, and who was teaching wrong.

What in the world does this have to do with us living at the end of 2003? The word I’m thinking of is denominations. We have so many denominations in the world today. From personal experience, I know that we have an attitude such as the church at Corinth. If we want to life as brothers and sisters in the Lord, we so just got to get over the denomination beliefs.

How does the scriptures and illustration fit together? It doesn’t matter if you put cream and/or sugar in it, or the amount thereof, its still coffee. Hebrews 9 tells us that Christ took His own blood into the holy place, and put it on the mercy seat. God gave his begotten son for the shedding of His blood. That is salvation. There is no other way to the Father but by the Blood of the Lamb. Lets get over our denominational doctrines and come together in the unity of the blood. Lets get over the fighting and remember that the only way to the Father is accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

[Soldier4Christ]

  A New Beginning

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the  waste land. Isaiah 43:18-19

We all want to have a new beginning, a fresh start. Some of things we have encounter or went through has taken its toll on us. Some of us can’t even think straight. Some of us have gone through problems after problems after problems. Wondering when will this suffering and trouble end. Some of us have done things that we are not proud of. We made some bad decisions, we made some mistakes and we wish we could take it back. How many of you want a new beginning? A fresh start? How many of you just want to start over? God say to you today to forget the former things. The things of old. Forget your past. Forget those things for he is doing a new thing. As the year comes to a close. I suspect that some of you just want to have a new beginning. Some of you want to have a better year in 2008. Some of you have experience hell this year. Gone through so many things this year. I encourage you to speak it into the atmosphere and you will have what you say. Speak it, believe it, and you will receive it.

There is a song that I will leave with you. The words of this song say God will do a new thing in you, God will do a new thing in you. Whatever you ask for, whatever you pray for, nothing will be denied said the lord. Nothing is denied said the lord. My brothers and my sisters you can have a new beginning. Ask the lord for a fresh start.

[Soldier4Christ]

  The Enigma of Compassion

But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Matthew 9:36

There is a great mystery in the world: Why do Christians, the keepers of the message of compassion, seem to be a bit compassion-deficient? I think the answer is simpler than might be expected. We don’t follow Christ’s example. Oh, we certainly try to follow his lead, and that’s why we fail. We are only following him halfway. 

Jesus was as radical as could be when it came to sin. Clearly, he despised it. Many Christians have that part down, and the disapproving glances we send sinners’ way are the proof. But the difference is that Jesus saw the peril people faced because of their sin, and was moved with compassion by it. Jesus saw the masses as sheep without a shepherd, and knowing their ignorance (the cause of their sinfulness) he said, “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into His harvest.”   

Since I brought up this enigma of the failure of compassion in many Christian’s lives, I suppose I should try to form an answer to the problem. We need to look at Christ as our example. Christians lack compassion because we see the sinfulness of the world and, like Jesus, we become angered. That’s the easy part. But we only go halfway in following Christ’s example. When He saw the world as sheep without a shepherd, his compassion stirred him to want to help.

The Son of God in tears
The wondering angels see;
Be thou astonished, O my soul!
He shed those tears for thee.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Blind

    Former Michigan state head football coach Duffy Daugherty tells an interesting story that happened many years ago as his team faced UCLA in an Los Angelos game.   Michigan state was tied with UCLA 14 - 14 and was running out of time when they got a chance to put their team ahead and most likely win the game.  It all wrapped around a young field goal kicker Dave Kaiser.  Kaiser knowing the game relied on his single kick ran and kicked with all his might to make the field goal and to beat UCLA 17 - 14.  After this game-winning kick Kaiser walked back to the bench to meet the enthusiastic support of his teamate while the deafening sound of the crowd rocked his ears.  As he arrived Coach Daugherty said, "Dave, that was a great kick, but I noticed you weren't looking at the ball after you kicked it, how come?"

     Dave Kaiser responded, "You're right coach, I wan't watching the ball.  I was watching the referee.  See I left my contact lenses in the hotel room.  I couldn't even see the goal posts."

     At first Coach Daugherty was extremely angry at Kaiser for not telling him he had left his contact lenses but after a few minutes of thinking it over he changed his mind.  Daugherty realized that Kaiser's long hours of practice had paid off.  He was an experienced kicker who had programed his mind and body to the point that he didn't need to see the goal posts in order to make a good kick.  His long hours of practice and his dedication to becoming as good a player as possible had really paid off.

     Since the original creation of mankind the desire of God's heart has been really simple for us humans.  He created us to have a relationship with Him.  When Adam and Eve sinned it broke God's heart because that relationship was severed in the most painful way possible.  God loves us despite all the terrible things we do that make Him sad.  Jesus loved us enough to pay the ultimate price and desires for us to practice and prepare our lives to be God honoring.  Just as Dave Kaiser prepared himself to be a godo football player even when he was in a situation that inhibited him; we must prepare ourselves beforehand by growing in our relationship with Christ to insure our success even when this race of life gets hilly.

     In order to prepare ourselves for the Christian race of life we must get into an active study of God's word.  God's word is one of God's chief manners of communicating with His children and is perhaps the greatest gift he has given us on earth.  The Bible says that, "The Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of sould and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Heb. 4:12).  God has outlined this amazing instruction book for life that we let sit on our desks collect dust when in reality it is the very key to living a successful God honoring life, and growing in our relationship with the one who created us.  God's word is not just a regular book it is a piece of God that he has given us on earth.  It's our manner of glimpsing I nthe character of God, learning from others in the past, and gaining wisdom that will help us through our life!  The Bible is absolutel!
y an amazing book.  It is 66 books combined in a single volume, written by 40 authors, over the course of 2000 years but it doesn't contradict itself one time.  The authors ranged from kings to shepard, included rich and poor, and times of sorrow and joy, but it doesn't contradict itself one time!  This is something only God can do.  I challenge you to get into a study of God's word.  Spend fifteen minutes reading the Bible every day and then write what you think about what you read.  Ask God to reveal to you what He wants you to get out of it and you will begin to not only prepare yourself for this race we call life but also allow you to grow in your relationship wit h Christ like never before!

     Jim Cymbala in his renowned book Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire says, "I have seen God do more in ten minutes of prayer than in ten of my sermons!"  The fact is that prayer is perhaps the most powerful right we have as born-again Children of God, but it is also one of the most neglected and denied in the body of Christ!  The Bible tells us to, "Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God;(Ph. 4:6)"  In order to grow in any relationship you must have communication and we have to right to talk to our Heavenly Father, the creator of everything, on a personal basis anytime we desire!  This is something simply amazing, and is Vital to our growth in our relationship with Christ!

     Just as Dave Kaiser's preparation allowed him to become a better and more effective player we must prepare ourself to become a more effective servant and witness of Jesus Christ in our lives.  Just like Kaiser's preparation allowed him strength in the dificult times we also gain strength in the tough and trying times of our lives by the preparation we have made in our service to Him.  Get in God's word and an active prayer life today and I garunttee your life and relationship with God will be revolutionized!