Devotions for Teens

[Soldier4Christ]

  Saying The Pledge

By: Tony B. Rhoda


"And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him." (Matt 6:7-8) NKJV.

Do you sometimes get into the habit of doing things over and over again to a point where it loses it's meaning? Maybe it is not the meaning, but it becomes boring or just meaningless? Sometimes, something can be so obvious that you wouldn't even be able to recognize it. Try saying one word again and again. If you keep saying it, does it even sound like a word after a while?

The other day I remembered my senior year in high school and it was revealed to me exactly how much routine can set in if you're not careful. I remember the morning announcements coming on and I was just about to fall asleep on my desk. However, it was time to stand up and say the pledge. After staying up late the night before, saying the pledge was the last thing I wanted to do, especially after I had found the one comfortable spot on my desk. The teacher then tapped me on the shoulder and gave me that look that students just dread, especially at 7:15 a.m. So I got up and said the pledge like I did every morning.

How do you say the pledge after 12 or so years? Well, with me it was a half asleep, groggy voice, that was longing to spend the next 45 minutes finding that comfortable spot on my desk again. I didn't care, and I sure didn't even think about why I was saying it while I was doing it. At 7:15 in the morning there isn't a lot on your mind except sleep and that was what my mind was determined to do.

Now let's switch the pledge to prayer. Is it something that you feel you have to do? Or maybe you just say it before you got o bed at night, with that same groggy voice that you wake up saying the pledge with. Maybe you say that same boring prayer every night. If we talked to our boyfriends or girlfriends like we say the pledge..well I'll let you fill in the blank. Think about your prayer life, do you really pray with all your heart to the Lord. Do you go into great detail and go out of your way to give thanks? Or has praying become this hassle that you feel you just have to do to get it off of your chest. I challenge you to take the time to talk to the Lord. Remember the guy that died on the cross so that you can go to heaven? Don't take that lightly. God Bless and Keep The Faith!

[Soldier4Christ]

  Joyful Worship

By: Beth Hays


Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord.  (Psalm 89:15) NLT

Worship. I used to struggle with the real meaning of that word. I went to church on Sunday and sung a few songs, and even thought about them a little bit. I figured that was my “worship” quota for the day. I did sing praise-and-worship songs…isn’t that enough?

Then I experienced REAL worship. I stood in the very presence of God. That was mind-blowing. I stood in front of His throne and I told Him just how much I adored him. It was a place of intense love and gentle peace. It was incredible. And what followed that experience was a new depth of God. I desired to go back to that place. I longed for more reasons for worship, so I started to read the Word more. All of my pain left my focus because it was stayed on Him alone. And most of all, I was filled with overflowing joy.

Joy, my friends, is something much greater than happiness. You can only be happy when everything is going right. But, when your life is in shambles and you can still smile and praise God…that is joy at work. True joy is so much more beautiful than happiness and is all-consuming. You can’t lose it because it isn’t dependent upon circumstances. It’s yours for as long as you continue to worship.

Dear ones, hear God calling you gently into His presence and follow. Turn up some great music or sit in silence and tell Him how much you adore Him. He longs to hear from you. Know that when you do, your heart will know a new depth. Then, keep worshipping and experience the most amazing thing on this earth—pure worship.

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[Soldier4Christ]

  What A Savior!

By: Adam R. Rinehart


And when he had said these things, as they were looking, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.(Acts 1:9)

And what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:19-23)

Calvin and Hobbes cartoon strips are my favorite cartoon strips of all time.  Calvin reminds me of myself when I was a child and the mischief that I got into.  In one of their strips, they are lying in the shade of a tree on a hot summer day.   Calvin the hyperactive little boy, asks, “What if there is no heaven?  What if this is all that we get?”  Hobbes, the tiger answers,  “Well if this is all that we get, I guess that we will have to accept it.”  Calvin replies, “Yeah, but if I am not going to be rewarded for my good deeds, I want to know it now!”

Life after death - immorality - seems to be on everyone’s mind these days.  If I were pick a religion to believe in today, I would want one that spoke with clarity and authority about life beyond the grace.

Ironically, if you were to take a few months and study the writing of other religions, you would discover that the history of their founders stops abruptly with their death.  They wasted away in the grave.  Confucius, Mohammed, Krishna, what are their plans for the future.  Not even their most devoted followers know for sure!

Have you ever had a time in your life when you wondered where God was? “I couldn’t see Him working, I couldn’t see Him or sense Him.” Honestly—has this ever been you?  We are called to:  Walk by faith and not by sight!

WE ARE DIFFERENT!  The written record of God’s word and countless eye witnesses confirm that Jesus Christ is God’s Son!  He died on the cross for the sins of the world and raised from the dead!   These are the facts that set Him and us apart!  Where is Jesus right now?   He is seated at the right hand of the Father with all power and dominion!  He is praying for you and I, sending His Spirit to live in our hearts, preparing a place for us, and getting ready to come for you and I!  What a Savior!  He is alive!  We need to serve Him more and more with all of our hearts!  May God’s Grace Abound In You.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Reason for the Season

By: Tony B. Rhoda


All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel--which means, "God with us." (Matthew 1:20) NIV

I woke up like I did every morning. Half awake, off balanced, and longing to tell the world to stop for another hour. After a weak attempt to hop out of my bed, I walked awkwardly towards the front door to get an idea of what the weather was like. I opened the door and with a sudden blast of wind I shrieked, slammed the door, hurtled a book case, and dove under the warm covers of my bed. "You've got to be kidding me!" I screamed at anyone that would care to listen. "It had to be 50 degrees outside!"

Fifty degrees may not sound like much, but for this Florida boy, that might as well be considered a snow day. I put on what some would consider a ski jacket, unpacked the long johns, and threw on a less than flattering pair of sweat pants. I didn't care what I looked like, I was going to be warm.

Yes, it is that time of year again. The time when we decorate the Christmas tree, put up the stockings, and drink way to much eggnog. It is also the time we get to focus on Christ. A bumper sticker read, "Keep CHRIST first in CHRISTmas." With all of the hustle that goes on during this time of year it is easy to forget why we are celebrating. We get caught up in the 5 AM mad rush for the last Hokey Pokey Elmo at Toys R Us and forget that we are giving because Christ gave His life for us.

When you wish someone a Merry Christmas, remember what you really are saying. We celebrate the birth of our Savior, His life that He lived, and His ultimate sacrifice which allows us eternal life. Of all of the gifts I could receive, none will come close to that. Christ truly is the reason for the season. God Bless and Keep the Faith.

Editor's Note: The staff of TDDM have made an early New Year's Challenge. We want to have a 150 signed members on our message boards. Do your part by signing up for free today at www.TDDM.org/bb. Then you can chat with teens across the world and find answers to all of those tough to figure out questions.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Twas The Night Before Jesus Came


TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE JESUS CAME AND ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE NOT A CREATURE WAS PRAYING, NOT ONE IN THE HOUSE. THEIR BIBLES WERE LAIN ON THE SHELF WITHOUT CARE IN HOPES THAT JESUS WOULD NOT COME THERE.

THE CHILDREN WERE DRESSING TO CRAWL INTO BED, NOT ONCE EVER KNEELING OR BOWING A HEAD. AND MOM IN HER ROCKER WITH BABY ON HER LAP WAS WATCHING THE LATE SHOW WHILE I TOOK A NAP.

WHEN OUT OF THE EAST THERE AROSE SUCH A CLATTER, I SPRANG TO MY FEET TO SEE WHAT WAS THE MATTER. AWAY TO THE WINDOW I FLEW LIKE A FLASH TORE OPEN THE SHUTTERS AND THREW UP THE SASH!

WHEN WHAT TO MY WONDERING EYES SHOULD APPEAR BUT ANGELS PROCLAIMING THAT JESUS WAS HERE WITH A LIGHT LIKE THE SUN SENDING FORTH A BRIGHT RAY I KNEW IN A MOMENT THIS MUST BE THE DAY!

THE LIGHT OF HIS FACE MADE ME COVER MY HEAD IT WAS JESUS! RETURNING JUST LIKE HE HAD SAID. AND THOUGH I POSSESSED WORLDLY WISDOM AND WEALTH, I CRIED WHEN I SAW HIM IN SPITE OF MYSELF.

IN THE BOOK OF LIFE WHICH HE HELD IN HIS HAND, WAS WRITTEN THE NAME OF EVERY SAVED MAN. HE SPOKE NOT A WORD AS HE SEARCHED FOR MY NAME; WHEN HE SAID, IT‚S NOT HERE MY HEAD HUNG IN SHAME.

THE PEOPLE WHOSE NAMES HAD BEEN WRITTEN WITH LOVE HE GATHERED TO TAKE TO HIS FATHER ABOVE. WITH THOSE WHO WERE READY HE ROSE WITHOUT A SOUND WHILE ALL THE REST WERE LEFT STANDING AROUND.

I FELL TO MY KNEES, BUT IT WAS TO LATE; I HAD WAITED TO LONG AND THUS SEALED MY FATE. I STOOD AND I CRIED AS THEY ROSE OUT OF SIGHT; OH, IF ONLY I HAD BEEN READY TONIGHT.

IN WORDS OF THIS POEM THE MEANING IS CLEAR! THE COMING OF JESUS IS DRAWING NEAR. THERE‚S ONLY ONE LIFE AND WHEN COMES THE LAST CALL WE'LL FIND THAT THE BIBLE WAS TRUE AFTER ALL!

[Soldier4Christ]

  Rejoice!

By: Adam R. Rinehart


Luke 1:46 -47  "And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,  And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour."  (ASV)

One of my favorite nicknames that people have for me is the classic "Bah Humbug".    I really do not like Christmas.   Unless you have been abandoned to a lost island, you have at least heard since the end of Thanksgiving Day, and will continue to hear on through tomorrow, the use of the phrase, "Christmas Spirit".   Maybe in the form of 'having more of", "sharing in" or "getting into".   

According to Jacob Marley, in one of my favorite Christmas stories, Christmas spirit meant regret at a lifetime of wasted opportunities for good deeds.   To the distillers, Christmas spirit comes in a bottle and approximately $75 million dollars worth will be sold and consumed this month.  Christmas card business will go through the roof, and 95% of all Americans will send a total of 5 billion Christmas cards this year.  Wal-Mart © even says that they had the biggest day after Thanksgiving that they have ever had.    Some Christmas Spirit is just that spirit and nothing more.  For some,  it is more about the gifts and nothing more.  For me, you can have all of the gifts that you want, but you can never take them with you.

Put simply, to me, Christmas Spirit, according to God's Word, is a time of worship and a time of rejoicing.  That's Right!  Christmas is about worship and a time to rejoice.  Why?  Because of the unmerited, undeserved saving provision God Almighty has made in, by, and through Jesus Christ to us, giving us the ultimate gift of eternal life after this hellish life!  This is a time to rejoice and worship unto and only to Jesus Christ our Savior that came to this earth to die on the cross for our sins and raise again so that when we believe we can have eternal life!  That is the reason for Christmas.   

You know, Mary had it right about the true meaning of Christmas.  She found out that she was going to bear a child and that Child would be born of the Holy Spirit, and she could have sulked, but she chose to rejoice.  With her age, and the culture she could have been killed, or if she even stayed alive, she may have been classified as crazy and maybe would have never married again, but she chose to serve the Lord and did it willingly!  She also rejoiced and worshipped the Lord in her decision!  What about us?  Is this season all about the material or about God?   If it is about the material than all that we care about is the gifts.  If it is about God, then it better be all about God.  I am not saying that there is anything wrong about the gifts, but is it all about the gifts?  You know, I would rather have a time of worship to the Lord for all that He has done and especially saving me from an eternity away from Him, than the best Christmas present in the world.  Well, "Bah Humbug."  Or really?  May the Lord move in your heart this season to see the real meaning of the season, and cause you to respond just as Mary responded with rejoicing and worship!  May The Grace Of God Abound In You!

[Soldier4Christ]

  Piecing Me Back Together

By: Beth Hays


Look with favor on Zion and help her; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Psalm 51:18 (NLT)

A couple years ago I went to a friend when I was very broken and desperate. I told her I needed some encouragement to keep going. She showed me passages about the wall of Jerusalem and talked about it had to be broken before it could be built up again. This was great comfort to me…knowing that being rebuilt could make me more beautiful inside.

As I have gone on the past couple years I have forgotten about the comparison of the wall to my life. My life has had rocky moments but I have not yet been totally broken. At least, I have not been broken like I was a couple of years ago.

Tonight I was spending my quiet time with God and He spoke to me about being broken and that I needed to be broken to be useable because I so stubbornly refused him for so long. I was too busy fooling myself and others to acknowledge my inner issues. I really broke down tonight and told Him that I knew He was right...I needed to break down those masks.

After this intense time, He brought me to this verse: Look with favor on Zion and help her; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Psalm 51:18 (NLT) Wow. He will help to rebuild me. I remembered the analogy. Imagine that one conversation two years ago could have such an impact today. I have been broken…but for His purposes…and that is an amazing thing.

Now He is going to take those shattered pieces and put me back together. Maybe you are in the same boat. Are you shattered? Let Him gently piece you back together again. He loves you, my dear ones.

[Soldier4Christ]

  We Are Redeemed

By: Jessica Scheurich


"In him we have redemption through his blood, the
forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of
God's grace" (Ephesians 1:7) NIV

This is the season of Easter. At Easter we celebrate
the death and resurrection of Christ. The above verse
tells you what happened on the cross.

Christ shed His blood on the cross for the forgiveness
of sins. He also redeemed us through His blood. What
do we mean by redemption? Redemption means to pay back
something that has been lost. Christ has redeemed us.
He paid the ultimate price for our lives: His own
life.

All this was done according to the riches of God's
grace. Do you know what grace is? Grace is when we get
something that we do not deserve. Such as in "For by
grace you are saved through faith" (Ephesians 2:8a).
That verse tells us that through faith by grace we can
be sure of our salvation.

I will keep this short so that you can reflect on the
message of the cross. I leave you with a challenge: to
preach the Gospel to yourself every day.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Eating The Bread

By: Jeff Lappano


“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4

It was ordained by God, from the beginning, that if man wanted to survive, and function on a day to day basis, he must eat something. In Genesis 2:16, God declares, “Of every tree of the garden thou may freely eat.” Adam had to keep up his strength by eating, so that he could continue naming all the animals of the world.

We’re composed of three parts: body, soul, and spirit. That which we spoke concerning our physical body applies to our spiritual body. If we want to keep our spiritual bodies totally in shape for the work of the Lord, we must be eating of the bread of life!

Jesus makes it clear in our text that we cannot survive off of physical bread, and with good reason He says this. May I remind you that the Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 6 that our battle is that of the spirit realm, and not that of the flesh? Lets go deeper with this thought. In this same passage of scripture, Paul says that we need to put on the whole armour of God so that we can stand against the wiles of the enemy.” I’m going to go ahead and kick it up a few more notches. The apostle goes on and tells us that the sword of the spirit is the word of God. if you look “word” up in the Greek, you’ll see that it is translated “Rhema”, which is “a spoken word or utterance."

Believer, do you want to have victory over the enemy? Do you want to withstand the wiles of the enemy? Follow the example that Jesus set in Matthew 4. Three times the tempter came to tempt the Lord, and every time He spoke the word, and after the third time the devil left him alone. Believer, know the word! When the enemy comes to tempt you and you speak the word against him he is going to flee from you! Just as bread brings strength to the physical body, so does the spoken word of God to the spirit man. In Jesus name Amen!

[Soldier4Christ]

  Another Milestone

By: Adam R. Rinehart


Acts 28:15 ......."When Paul saw them he thanked God and took courage." 
(NKJV)

Here in the last chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, we see that Paul had just landed on the shores of Italy to venture toward Rome. Reaching the city of Rome was a milestone in the life and ministry of Paul. He so longed and prayed that he would be able to see Rome one day, to see the brothers and sisters in Christ and teach them more about His love and grace. Paul made it!

You see Paul had a very big reason to thank God and take courage for he had many ups and downs in his life and ministry to be able to see it to this point. He utterly thanked God for getting him to this milestone because of all that he had been through in his life. While on the shore of Italy and starting the trail to the city, he ran into some of the brothers of Rome. What an encouragement to Paul, and this gave him courage.

Friends, when we look back at our lives and this past year with all of the events, achievements, disappointments, wars, terrorism, things that we are sick of, and many other things that have happened in our lives, what is our attitude about them? Today, as we stand on the new year, a new milestone, what is our attitude? Are we thankful to God no matter what? Are we taking courage? I challenge you to be thankful and take courage this new year as Paul did when he reached a milestone in his life and ministry. May God’s Grace Abound In You.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Today You Might Die



"I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies."  John 11:25 KJV

"For me to live in Christ and to die is gain."  Philippians 1:21 KJV

No one wakes up thinking, "Maybe I will die today."  But someone will die today. Someone got out of bed this morning never to return to it tonight.  Some said good-bye to their parents, brothers and sisters this morning over breakfast and will never come home tonight.  Some have great plans for the weekend that will never happen, instead their family will be at their funeral.  It happens.  In June of 1999 my husband kissed me good-bye and left to go to the store to get steaks to barbecue.  As I was making the salad and setting the table on our porch for dinner, the call came in.  My husband was dead.  He had not been sick or hurt or anything.  He died of a brain aneurysm.  He was dead before he hit the floor in the grocery store.  He didn't wake up that morning saying, "I will probably die today."  He had plans, a good job, a family, a life. 

When it is our time to leave this world there may be no warning at all.  Some are ill and we know that the time is drawing near, but for most we do not know.  I know that when my husband left and never came back that he did go to a place that was prepared for him.  Heaven, my husband went immediately to Heaven, how do I know that?  I witnessed during our lives together my husband prepare his soul to insure he was going to Heaven.  I saw my husband pray to Jesus Christ to forgive him of his sins and to change his life.  I saw my husband dedicate his life to God.  I saw him grow in a personal relationship with Jesus over the years.  I saw the spirit of the Lord within him each and every day.

IF YOU WERE TO SUDDENLY DIE TODAY - DO YOU KNOW FOR SURE WHERE YOU WILL GO? DO NOT WAIT!

Do not wait another minute cause no one knows where our time is come.  Go on your knees NOW and pray to God for salvation.  Ask Jesus to come into your heart and live there, changing your life and forgiving you of your sins.  You need not a fancy prayer, just talk to him from your heart as you would you best friend.  This guarantees a place in Heaven for all eternity.  Especially as teens we may think we have plenty of time to do this in our lives -- but we just never know.  An actual prayer to God must be said, just thinking and feeling it won't make it so.  Go down on your knees NOW and ask Jesus in your life.  Believe me I never expected to never see my husband again when he left that afternoon. Go to God now and make your reservation for a wonderful eternal life with Jesus in Heaven. Do it before its too late. The alternative is everlasting life in torment in Hell. 

"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.  In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.  John 14:1-3 KJV

[Soldier4Christ]

  Phat Chance Devotional


I’ll never forget the day. We were in the middle of the Festival Con Dios tour with Audio Adrenaline and the Newsboys. I was walking around backstage, minding my own business, trying to find a little peace and quiet.  (Okay, I was looking for a port-a-john!)  Ahhh, relief was finally in sight, as I saw a few booths in the parking lot.

I was just getting comfortable, when I heard it.  I knew exactly what it sounded like…but, no, it couldn’t be.  The noise grew closer, and then I felt the jolt and the vibrations.  Suddenly, I was airborne!  A forklift had just picked up the whole booth, and I was quickly being transported to the other side of the parking lot.  When I finally landed, safe and sound, I didn’t dare move until I couldn’t hear any more talking.  Then I scooted out of there faster than a rabbit before I was noticed!

Genesis tells the story of someone else that was just getting “comfortable” in life, when he got “picked up” and taken someplace he really did not want to go.  It’s the story of Joseph.  Life was fine, and then the unexpected, the unbelievable, happened.  Joseph found himself being taken to a foreign land.  (Read Gen. 37)

It was far less dramatic than Joseph, but I too, was taken on one of those unexpected, unwanted, life-changing journeys.

I was a normal, active kid, when suddenly my Dad was diagnosed with AIDS.  That was the beginning of quite a “ride,” and took me to lots of places I did not want to go.  Within a few years, he died a horrible death.

There’s no way of downplaying how miserable that was, or of stating how much I would love to have my dad back.  But that was not an option.  God had moved me to a different place.  However, Joseph’s story did not end at chapter 37.  God had much more in store for Joseph (read Gen. 41).  And he had more in store for me as well. 

My dad led a life filled with drug abuse and sexual immorality with women and it cost him his life.  But, before he died, he had a deep and genuine salvation experience, and gave his life to Christ, and nurtured me in the faith.  His death was painful for all involved.  But a “Chapter 41” is now unfolding in my life as well.  Who would have thought that God would have used all that pain to put a passionate message of purity and abstinence in my heart – and then to provide a platform to share that message with teens across the country through our music? 

Floating port-a-johns may be funny, but there was no laughing in either Joseph’s or my undesired journey.  Nevertheless, if we are faithful, God can take even our undesired journeys and give them a wonderful ending.

[Soldier4Christ]

  The Choice

By: Laura Hofford


“Many are invited, but only a few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:14, CEV)

All of us who are Christians got to the point in our lives when we accepted Christ as our Savior.  Maybe you grew up in church, maybe not…but there was some point when you made the decision to follow Jesus.

I grew up in a Christian home, but never really accepted Jesus till much later on in life.  I thought I believed, but as I grew up I realized I didn’t have faith in anyone but myself.  My whole concept of religion was originally based on the fuzzy warm feeling I got in my stomach knowing that I was “good” because I went to church and could recite a lot of prayers.  As I got older I realized that believing wasn’t a feeling but a conscious choice.

So does it end there?  We all chose to follow Jesus, right…so we’re good to go.  Or maybe not.  Lots of times we get up to make a profession of faith and what we’re really saying is something like “Well, I’ve looked at the available information and I’ve decided that it would be in my best interest to follow Jesus.”  Like it’s some big deal on our part!  We so easily belittle our God by focusing on what we’ve done…and losing sight of what He did for us.

Of course, it’s necessary for our salvation that we choose to accept the free gift of life.  But we forget that God chose to make us, chose to love us, and ultimately chose to hang on a cross and die for us…how arrogant of us to not fall to our faces knowing we do not come close to deserving the gift we choose to put out our hands for!

I would challenge you today in your quite time to really think about the choices that God made.  You know that He chose to die for you…what other choices has He made for your life?  Take the time to discover what God wants in your life, and be prepared for a life that is better than you what could have chosen yourself!

[Soldier4Christ]

  Soul Mate

By: Adam R. Rinehart


And Adam said: "This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man. Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:23-24) NKJV

I will bless the LORD who has given me counsel; My heart also instructs me in the night seasons. I have set the LORD always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. (Psalm 16:7-8) NKJV

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29: 11-14) NKJV

When I was fifteen years old, I met Bethany. She was twelve and was told that she would never be let of the house with any boy for any reason until she was sixteen.  When she and I met, we really began to hit it off and had a little puppy love relationship and then broke up after six months.

Four years passed and we continued to go to youth group together, I dated other girls, and even thought that I would marry one of them, but God had other plans and it never worked out.  I continued on at Bible school, and was still keeping my dream, ambition, and calling of God to become a pastor one day.  My sophomore year, I went home for Christmas break and Bethany was now sixteen and able to go out on dates.

While back visiting my home church, I heard word from the pastor’s wife that there was a girl in the church that liked me.  I asked, “Who would that be?  I have dated all of the girls any way.”  Our church was small and very easy for me to do something like that.  Needless to say, she would never tell me, and so I decided to ask the pastor.  He then told me that is was Bethany.

I then asked if I could go out to dinner with Bethany and her parents that afternoon after church, and then asked her parents if she and I could go out that evening after church and talk and see a movie with Bethany.  She and I really were great friends, and then wouldn’t you know it, we really hit it off that evening and I asked her if we could go out the next night.  We did just that, and then it came time for me to go back to school, and we talked again and she said that we could continue to date.  We “long distance” dated for about a year, and I began to really hate that, and I asked her to marry me and we got married July of 1995, and have a beautiful little girl.

She really is my soul mate.  After much thought in trying to answer this question from a Biblical point of view, I did not have to look very far to find my answer.  I believe that God has a plan for each and every one of us, and has even chosen the one that we are supposed to be with the rest of our lives.  The Bible says that when two people are married, they become “one flesh.”  Meaning that they become a unit and their marriage is because of the two of them.  Are soul mates perfect?  No, and the relationship is not perfect either.  One day you will want to get married and be looking for your soul mate, and God will have that person picked out and you will want to seek out His will on the matter.  God told Jeremiah that He had plans for him concerning the captivity of Israel, and Jeremiah’s life, and He has the very same plans for you and I especially in the search of our future mates.

Is it right to search for your soul mate?  Absolutely!  In my opinion, God wants us to seek His will, and seeking His will means that we may have too look for it.  We don’t know how the Holy Spirit will tell is, but when the time comes we can search God’s word, look at the doors of circumstance, talk to older Christians for wisdom, and check our motives as to why we think that this person is our soul mate.  I know that it took me a time of talking to my parents and different people to see what they thought.  I am so thankful that they thought that we ought to get married because she really is my soul mate.

In conclusion, it does not matter if you are a teen-ager of 13 or a young adult in your 20’s. I would encourage you to seek God’s will in the finding of your future mate. Pray for your future mate, and begin to pray that you will have a relationship with that person that will make you the best soul mates ever. I know that I did, and I know that my soul mate is God sent, and I will thank God and cherish her until the day that I die. May God’s Grace Abound In You.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Spiritual Resolution



“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”  (Proverbs 3:5,6) NKJV

Every year millions of people make resolutions for the coming new year that they hardly ever keep.  Many resolve to lose weight, save money, get married, buy a new automobile, go on exotic vacations or anything that they can possibly think of.  Most of these resolutions never get accomplished.
     
We as Christians tend to resolve to read our Bibles more and pray more.  Most of the time we commit to our resolutions until about the end of January.  By then, we have become preoccupied with other things that we feel are more important.  However, this year let’s commit to establishing a better relationship with God.  Think about it.  Would it actually hurt you to spend an hour with God reading and meditating on His word?  No, because you would probably spend it watching television.  Would it hurt you to pray and give thanks to God?

We tend to make excuses for everything.  There is one thing that I want you to remember and that is that your life may be the only Bible that some people may read.  As Christians, people are watching us daily.  This year let’s commit to trusting in the Lord with all of our heart and let Him direct our paths.  May God bless you.