Devotions for Teens

[Soldier4Christ]

  Heaven's Telephone

Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) NASV.

Imagine how life would be like today with out the telephone? Scary thought, huh? Try and figure out how you would get in touch with friends. Would you have to write a letter a week in advance to see if they wanted to go to a movie? I have a few friends that would go through complete denial if they had their phone taken from them for just a week. The phone can be someone's best friend, or in my case a while back, your worst enemy.

I had just finished mowing the lawn when I decided to take a break and see how my girlfriend was doing. As I picked up the phone and dialed her number, I tried to think of all the stuff I wanted to talk to her about. But then something horrible happened, yes you know the one thing we all dread. The busy signal! I started tripping when I heard the most annoying beeping sound known to a teen besides the fire alarm at school.

Then thoughts started running though my head. "What if she's talking to another guy. She's probably asking her friends to help her find a way to break up with me. Maybe she's tired and trying to give me the hint to leave her alone. Or she might even be off with someone else and left her phone off the hook so I wouldn't know. Ackkkk!"

After a few minutes, I calmed back down and decided I would think the situation over and try a new approach. By the time I started thinking of what to do next, I couldn't help but think of how God must feel at times. Are there times when God tries to call me and He gets a busy signal? Maybe there are times when I'm so busy talking to other people or hanging with my friends that I forget all about my heavenly Father.

You know it's a free call every time we want to talk to our best Friend upstairs. You never need to dial a 1 and you don't even need an 800 number. He's there at anytime of day when ever we need Him. We just have to take the time to pick up the receiver and dial Him up.

So take time during the day before you call a friend to remember there is another person who not only is dying to talk to you but already died so you can spend a few minutes a day to say hi. The next time you pick up the phone, spend a second thinking of Him, because believe it or not, He spends all of eternity thinking of you. May peace be with you.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Opposite End of the Spectrum : Mary and Elizabeth


We are fast approaching the celebration of history's most blessed event, the miracle of the virgin birth of our Savior, Jesus of Nazareth. Throughout the New Testament it is discussed and explained. Another birth which was linked would occur with the birth of John, who became John the Baptist. Both were very carefully planned by God and culminating in a very eventful meeting in the middle of the Jordan River. Luke 1:5-25 describes in detail the visit of an Angel of the Lord to Zechariah, who was a priest. Zechariah was married to Elizabeth and both were described in Luke 1:5 as being noteworthy examples of piety and devotion to God. Elizabeth was well beyond the age to become a mother (like Sarah) and God removed the stigma of being childless. Elizabeth gave birth to John who would later baptize Jesus. She was also a relative of Mary although the exact degree was not indicated in the Bible (Luke 1:35). God called her to His service when she was very old.

In contrast, Mary was a very young virgin who was pledged to Joseph, a descendant of David. Luke 1:26-36 describes the visit of the Angel Gabriel to Mary with the message that she would be with child and give birth to a son given the name of Jesus. Mary was very concerned that she was not married and still a virgin. Gabriel explained that "the Holy Spirit would come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you" and told her of Elizabeth who was already in her sixth month. Mary responded "I am the Lords Servant, may it be to me as you have said." Mary accepted her calling from God to be the mother of our Savior.

God does not discriminate when he calls us to serve Him. Christmas is fast approaching and now would be a wonderful time for you to spend some time reflecting on your life, what you have done in the past and what you will do in the future. In one event, God chose two very special women to participate in the most significant births in history. Pray for God's guidance in the decisions you make and the paths that you take, the friends you make. You can never be too young to seek God's Will in your life. You can never be too young to strengthen your faith and your walk with God. You are all children of God in the most literal sense and have a whole lifetime ahead of you to serve God in the ways He chooses for you. You will know when God calls you, I promise. Your joy and happiness will be abundant and you will be free of worldly influences and sin. God Bless you all.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Getting Back Up


"All like sheep, have gone astray each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:6) NIV.

We all have dreams of being the best at one thing or another. I personally wish I could shoot more like Michael Jordan, or be able to write a master piece like Max Lucado, and my biggest dream is to become as great a Christian like Billy Graham. I started thinking of what it would be like to walk in his shoes. I bet he never has a hard time with life. But then reality set in and I realized that just because you are really good at something doesn't mean your perfect.

For the past ten years, I have absolutely loved roller skating. I sometimes wonder if I will ever out grow the past time. I even work at the rink that I spent most of my life growing up in. So needless to say, I'm a really good skater. One of the tricks that I love to do is a 360 in mid air.

The other day I laced up my skates before the session started and went out on the floor to mess around for a few minutes. As I was skating around I went to do a 360. I didn't even think about it because it has become so routine, but something didn't go right this time. I landed on the side of my skate and I had a nice run in with the wooden floor. I laid on the ground for a few minutes, slightly embarrassed but mostly in pain. I slowly got up and skated over to the snack bar to grab a drink. After I regained my self, I jumped back on the floor, a little banged up, but back to doing my same old tricks again like they were nothing.

Friends, believe it or not, even Michael Jordan has a bad game, and I'm sure Max Lucado will get writers block. Even Mr. Graham will go through trials but no matter how great you are or how good of a person you try to be, we're not perfect. Jesus realized this and that is why He bore our sins on the old rugged cross. So when we mess up we can't stay down on the floor. Shake it off and take a second to figure out what went wrong. Then after that I got back on the floor and proved to Satan that he was going to have to do a lot better than that to keep this boy down. May peace be with you.

[Soldier4Christ]

Obedience

Exodus 20:12 Says, as we all know and love, "Honor your father and your mother so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you."

This is the first commandment with a promise attached to it. To live in peace for many generations in the promise land, the Israelites would need to respect authority and build strong families. Honoring your father and mother, means to speak well of them and polite to them. It also means to act in a way that shows them courtesy and respect. It means to follow their teaching and example of putting God first. Parents have a special place in God's heart. Even those who have difficulty getting along with their parents must honor and obey them.

To obey your parents is to honor them. So what if your parents aren't Christians do you have to obey them? Whether or not your parents are believers has nothing to do with whether you should obey them. They deserve obedience because God placed them over you. Romans 13:1 says, "Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God." Obedience to your parents is an expression of your obedience to God.

Most of the time when I am having trouble with one of my sons, it is because of lack of respect more that them being "bad." We parents are far from being perfect. We would like to think we are pretty close to having all the answers, but we don't. We do try and want to be honored and respected for just being who we are and for being your parent. Showing us honor and respect sure does convey love in a most special way. In return parents will show you respect.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Suicide

Have you ever felt that life just isn't worth living? I know I have. I did more than just feel that, I put those thoughts into action.....almost. A few months ago, my life was taking a spiral leap downhill. I don't need to go into detail when I say that the only way I could have described my life was hell.

Those thoughts of suicide crept up on me one day as I was sitting on my bed playing a video game. It was like this little voice that said "hey, you can always kill yourself, put yourself out of your misery." At first, I was shocked I had ever thought of such a thing, but the more I contemplated the thought, the more real it came to me. Soon after, I made the decision, I was going to kill myself.

I came up with the perfect time and day, the last day of camp. Camp is one of my favorite experiences, I always have so much fun, and see all my friends, so I thought of it as a perfect goodbye. I made that decision in August, while camp wasn't until November.

Time passed by, one day I decided not to kill myself, and the next day I was looking forward to it. Then, the day came, November 20, the first day of camp. I acted completely normal that day, until the evening came and we had small group sharing. We all went off to our small groups and took a few minutes to share our thoughts.

At camp, we work on taking off our “masks”. As my turn to share approached, my mind spun, debating on whether or not I would really take off my mask and tell the group what I was really thinking about, my death. My turn came and I started getting really nervous, but as I slowly got to the point, I saw those caring faces. By the time that I realized that people really cared about me, my eyes welled up with tears. The rest of the weekend was kind of like that also, I spent my time, taking off my masks and being the real me, and I found, that when I do take off those masks, I'm not so depressed.

Sunday, the 23 came, that was the day I designated to be my death day. I woke up that morning with and extra bit of life. I had finally caught the Holy Ghost fire I had longed for. I went that morning to sunrise sharing (church at camp) and just felt the love of God surrounding me.

I know now that God loves me, even when I do make mistakes, and He won't put us through anything we can't handle. “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” I love you and God bless.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Satan's Game

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. (Ephesians 6:11) NIV.

One fact that we can't seem to get away from is the constant temptations thrown at us by Satan. Every time we seem to get a handle on our life, he comes around and we get thrown back down again. Why does this always happen? How can I prevent it?

I was playing around with my stepbrother's Nintendo 64 the other day when I tossed in a game called Star Fox. Not having touched a video game in a few months I ran into a few problems. OK so they were more like buildings, but you get the idea. After a while I finally got the hang of it. Then the end enemy of the first level came into the picture. The big robot took up half the screen and I didn't even consider this remotely fair. But I flew around for about a minute until my mission came to a sudden stop this mountain decided it wouldn't move out of my way and I hit it. So needless to say Star Fox left the board with more than a headache.

After about the 347th try, I finally figured out the weak spot of the robot. If you take out his legs and shoot him in the back you have a chance to win. So that's what I did. I went and of course crashed through his legs which took them out. For some reason I was better at crashing through them than shooting them off. Then I proceeded to beat the level, and do a victory dance around the TV

It's funny how Satan uses the same concept when controlling our lives like the video game. He takes hold of the controller and will keep hitting the reset button until he finds your weak spot. Then even if it takes him all night, he will constantly attack you until you fall and crumble. That's why we have to put on the full armor of God. We all have our weak spots and need God's protection. Go to Him tonight and ask for forgiveness and help with dealing with those weak links in your life. Also remember that God makes us perfect through our weakness we just have to hand over the controls. May peace be with you.

[Soldier4Christ]

  The Nativity : No Place at the Inn

Matthew and Luke provide us a vivid picture of the birth of our Savior. It is presented in Luke 1:5-80, Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 2:1-38 and Matthew 2. In order to appreciate the whole story of the birth of Jesus, please read the above scriptures in the order given.

Everyone knows the story of the travels of Mary and Joseph which ended one evening in the town of Bethlehem. Bethlehem is approximately 6 miles south of Jerusalem. Mary and Joseph arrived and sought shelter to protect the birth of their son, the son of God, from the elements. They came to an Inn and asked for a place to stay for the night. Mary knew she was about to give birth. The Inn was not as we would probably imagine it. It was an open hall probably with one large table in the center. Guests would sleep anywhere they could find space. This evening, there was no space so the Innkeeper told them they could stay in the stable for the night. In those days, the stable was a cave beneath the Inn but was far more suited to the event that was about to occur. It was dry and warm but most important, it was private. This was really the best place for Mary. There were feeding troughs, called Mangers, which very appropriately served as a safe, warm and comfortable place for the newborn baby Jesus to spend his first night. Mary wrapped Jesus in bands of cloth to keep him warm and give him a sense of security. The custom of wrapping newborn infants in bands of cloth is a tradition that is still practiced in many Middle East countries to this date. God sent an Angel to shepherds to announce the birth of the Savior. Jesus had a very quiet and tranquil night, His first night on Earth. Our Salvation is just beginning.

Mary and Joseph were traveling to Jerusalem, before they were sidetracked in Bethlehem, to comply with a Roman Government ordered census. Joseph was presenting Mary as his betrothed. They were very poor and could afford very little, yet they were chosen by God, to bear and rear a most extraordinary man. The people of Israel refused to accept the fact that Jesus was the promised Messiah because he did not fit the image they had expected. They expected a Messiah of royal blood who arrived on a magnificent horse who would free them forever from their captors and enemies.

The greatest man on earth was born into a very poor family who had little material wealth. This is a lesson that we all can learn from. Many young men and women feel that they do not have much of a chance to be successful since they do not have wealthy families. Nothing could be farther from the truth. God gives each of us all of the tools necessary to live a very successful life. How we use these tools will make the difference. God will not let man defeat us if we put all of our faith and trust in Him. God has promised each of us rewards beyond our wildest expectations if we only listen to what He asks of us. He will never put more on us than we can handle. As teens and young adults (not much difference between the two), you making decisions that will affect your entire life. God will show you the right decisions if you let Him. You are special to Him and it does not make any difference if you are white or black or green or purple. You are his creation and "He don't create no junk." Pray and listen for His will in your life and you will want for nothing. God bless you all at this special time of the year. In His Grace and Love

[Soldier4Christ]

  My Christmas Gift to YOU

The Gift

We have received God's grace through the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now we need to be open to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit, "But eagerly desire the greater gifts" 1 Corinthians 12:31

I am going to give you a gift for Christmas. The box that it is in is sturdy and strong, no wind, rain, storms, fire or hazard can harm it. It is wrapped in the lovely paper of promises. Around the wrapping is a ribbon of grace and a bow of mercy. Inside of the box is a gift designed just for you. It is the most wonderful and important gift you will ever receive. This gift is just for you, but in order to have what is inside you have to accept the gift. You have to open you hands, receive the gift and open it up. You have to acknowledge that this is for you and you are taking ownership of it. As you open this box you will see the face of God in the form of a baby that was sent to earth, God in form of man being born as a baby. Christmas is the time celebrated of His birth. He was born of a virgin, Mary whom God chose to carry this child. His life's purpose was to share God's love with all he came in contact with. He told of God's love and will for each and every one of us. He was to die, taking every torture and hardship and pain known to mankind on himself. He felt every single discomfort and pain for us. He prepared a place for us to go after our death, everlasting life in paradise with Him. God loved us so much he was willing to send His own son to die for our sins. We are born with a sin nature and no one can change that until he or she opens the box, that lovely wrapped box with the gift inside of it. The gift of God who wants you to draw to Him, surrendering yourself to Him. OPEN your box I send to you and accept your gift of love, peace and eternal life. Receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the promises He has made to you. Stand strong as the box which is sturdy and will withhold life's storms. Accept that God sent His son for you, gift wrapped with the Holy Spirit and the wonders of His Love. And thank Him with all your heart for giving you such a wondrous gift!!!!

[Soldier4Christ]

  A Gift For Jesus

For God so loved the world......

This is a special time of year not only for your family and friends but also for another special someone who often gets pushed aside during the holiday fling. It was this month, some two thousand years ago, a little baby was brought into this world by a virgin named Marry. We have heard the story time and time again of how the King of Kings walked the earth, and the timeless tale of the One who came to seek and save the lost. But now two thousand years later, what meaning does it still hold?

As another Christmas is edging towards us. It seem like everyone is making a mad dash to the malls and outlet stores to find that certain something for that special someone. Trying to find the perfect gift is almost as hard as trying to find where you last had your TV remote. For some reason you find everything where you least expect it.

I was looking over the list and checking it twice. The last present was finally bought, wrapped, and placed under the tree. After I left the room satisfied with a job well done I suddenly had this feeling that I was forgetting someone. When I closed my eyes I started to pray and I finally realized who I forgot. Out of all the people I hold close to my heart. The one I held the closest was left off my list. I laid awake trying to figure out what I could do. What do you give a God who has it all?

After a while, I sat down and started pray. During my quiet time with God I found out exactly what to do. Friends, God has everything, He can have any toy, or any tie. All He has to do is say the word and all of heaven and earth is at His finger tips. But out off all the possessions this world could offer, He could only care about one thing, and that's you. He doesn't want your money, nor your CD's. The one thing He wants, is what money can't buy and what only you can give. That's our lives, hearts, and soul. Even though it seems like sometimes God has it all. He has nothing if He doesn't have you. Take time and pray tonight and wrap the biggest gift of all. The gift we all have inside, our heart. Because when we give Him our heart and lives, we don't give a present that will be forgotten next year, but a gift that He will be able to treasure, for now, and all of eternity. May peace be with you.

[Soldier4Christ]

  To give or to Recieve

When I baby sit my brothers at this time of the year, its more challenging than any other. I believe that their whole goal in life in the month of December is to get to the presents under the tree as soon as they can.

Then I look at my sisters, who sneak around the Christmas tree, when they think no one else is around. They find all the presents with their names on them, and shake, rattle, and turn them until they are positive that they know what is in them.

Its sad though...I look around and see all the things that we are getting for Christmas, all the parties that I go to. All the cards and little gifts that I exchange with my friends. The new dresses and outfits that we get for Christmas card pictures, and get toghters.

I look under the tree and I know that the new rollerblades that I wanted are there. Along with the stereo, and cloths I thought were cute at the mall. There are all the newest fisherprice toys for my baby brother, a Furby for my sister, and a remote control car for my brother. All the material things that they could ever want.

Our society has given Christmas an image of shopping and Santa, candy canes and carolers.

But then I think about some thing that my school did. I live in a small town called Wayzata, which is on a large lake, making it a very tourstie town. As well as giving it a reputation of being very rich and preppy. Our high school is thought that way among all of the others in our sports conference. So our high school ever year has what we call a class cash war. Each grade’s student council members carry around Christmas buckets for one week, and everyone brings in money for these buckets. At the end of the week we count up the money and the winning class goes shopping. Not shopping for themselves though. We adopt five families, five families with children, that cant have Christmas because they can not afford it. This year we collected $ 8,956 for those families, and got them things for their Christmas.

Isn’t that what our grandparents use to tell us when we were little and so excited that we couldn’t wait for the 25th to roll around? “Its not the getting at Christmas but the giving.”

As teens we especially tend to be material orented, and focus mainly on if our shoes are in, or if we are wearing the right jeans. But there are those who cant have those things, and much less the name brands.

Friends everyone can spare something, weather it be $1 or $100, everyone can give something at Christmas time.

“The rich are not to give more than half a shekel, and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the Lord, atone for your lives.” Exodus 30:15 NIV

A line I in the Lords prayer says “Give us this day our daily bread” The lord provides for us all that we need, as Christians we want to do the same for those around us, because of the great love that God has and what he gives to us. He is our example and we are to live like him.

[Soldier4Christ]

  The Shepherds : The First Visitors

The Gospel of Luke tells us the wonderful story of the shepherds who were tending their sheep in the fields around Bethlehem.

Luke 2:8-20
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An Angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were terrified. But the Angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told to them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

In Biblical times, the shepherds were very nomadic, a wandering people who had no roots, no personal possessions beyond what they could carry. When the shepherds came to a town, they were not welcomed into the town with open arms. The townspeople warned each other, locked up their valuables and kept their daughters in, keeping a respectable distance between them and the shepherds. They were the lowlife of society at that time (I do not like that word but it is the reality they faced every day) This simple event set the tone for the ministry of Jesus that continues to this day. God, in His infinite wisdom, chose common people to announce the birth of the Savior and in doing so, tells everyone that EVERY PERSON, no matter where his status is in any culture, IS JUST AS IMPORTANT TO HIM AS ANY OTHER. I am not a CEO or a high government official and I praise God for that. I know that our Savior came for me and especially for you. As teens, you can be assured that Jesus came for you, will love you forever, will teach you about His Father and grant you, through the Grace of His Father, a place in Heaven right next to him. I have faced much adversity in my life and the Grace of God has guided me through it. The same will be true for you; no matter what adversity you face as you grow in your walk with God. You are the princes and princesses of God's Kingdom and no man or even Satan can take that away from you. Believe in that and trust in that and we will all meet in Heaven someday. God loves you and I love you all. Merry Christmas.

[Soldier4Christ]

  A Gift For Jesus

God can take the worst of situations and turn them around to the best of lesson's for His Children. -TBR

The tree is up, the lights are hung, and presents start to form under the tree. Christmas is almost hear. Last miniute shopping along with spending time with loved one's take up most of the week. But, for some it's not like this. Some people do not have very many if any presents, and some may not have enough to survive on let alone be able to give.

Growing up, I have been able to experince both sides of the coin when it has come to the topic of money. I have lived times in my life when my parents were very well off. Yet, I spent many other times when we were doing everything we could just to scrape by. Right now I am in the middle. I am making that transistion from living under my parents control and money to more freedom and more bills.

During this holiday season all was not well in my finacial life. Yes my family was doing well but I myself was not, and I have to support myself. It's a horrible feeling when you see everyone buying Christmas presents, yet you can't seem to spare a penny. The other day I didn't think things could get any worse until I looked up in my rear view mirror and saw the flashing lights. I didn't make a complete stop while turning right at a red light and the cop decided he wanted to come over and say hi and wish me a Merry Christmas.

Well, those were not his exact words. The cop came up to my door and said. "Well son, this isn't your lucky day, is it." Now I just met this guy, but for some reason I could tell that he wasn't wishing me a happy new year. Instead he gave me a little yellow ticket and had me give him my autograph in return. The erge to tell him to repent for he knows not what he does crossed my mind a few times. But I knew that would only make things worse.

As I drove off it starting hitting me that now there was no way I was going to be able to buy my family Christmas presents. I almost started crying when reality set in. What was I going to do? I started praying for help. I turned on the radio and a song said something to the effect that God takes the bad situations and turn them out for my good. Then the D.J. stated after that the verse above. At that point I knew God was in control. That night I went to work and a girl came up to me wanting to buy my 5-wheel racing inlines. (I have been trying to sell them for a while). I thought she was just another person who wanted to just take them for a spin when she laid ten 50 dollor bills in my hand.

Friends, God does have a way to turn things around. I thought I was going to have to sit with my family watching everyone else give presents and myself have nothing to give. But I trusted God. I trusted His Word, and most of all I trusted my heart when He told me that everything would be ok. If we just give everything, our whole lives to God, He will watch over us. He will never let us take on more than we can handle and loves us so much that He will always provide. This Christmas He did just that. If it wasn't for Him, who knows what my life would be like. Tis the season, to truly be jolly. May peace be with you

[Soldier4Christ]

  To give or to Recieve

When I baby sit my brothers at this time of the year, its more challenging than any other. I believe that their whole goal in life in the month of December is to get to the presents under the tree as soon as they can.

Then I look at my sisters, who sneak around the Christmas tree, when they think no one else is around. They find all the presents with their names on them, and shake, rattle, and turn them until they are positive that they know what is in them.

Its sad though...I look around and see all the things that we are getting for Christmas, all the parties that I go to. All the cards and little gifts that I exchange with my friends. The new dresses and outfits that we get for Christmas card pictures, and get toghters.

I look under the tree and I know that the new rollerblades that I wanted are there. Along with the stereo, and cloths I thought were cute at the mall. There are all the newest fisherprice toys for my baby brother, a Furby for my sister, and a remote control car for my brother. All the material things that they could ever want.

Our society has given Christmas an image of shopping and Santa, candy canes and carolers.

But then I think about some thing that my school did. I live in a small town called Wayzata, which is on a large lake, making it a very tourstie town. As well as giving it a reputation of being very rich and preppy. Our high school is thought that way among all of the others in our sports conference. So our high school ever year has what we call a class cash war. Each grade’s student council members carry around Christmas buckets for one week, and everyone brings in money for these buckets. At the end of the week we count up the money and the winning class goes shopping. Not shopping for themselves though. We adopt five families, five families with children, that cant have Christmas because they can not afford it. This year we collected $ 8,956 for those families, and got them things for their Christmas.

Isn’t that what our grandparents use to tell us when we were little and so excited that we couldn’t wait for the 25th to roll around? “Its not the getting at Christmas but the giving.”

As teens we especially tend to be material orented, and focus mainly on if our shoes are in, or if we are wearing the right jeans. But there are those who cant have those things, and much less the name brands.

Friends everyone can spare something, weather it be $1 or $100, everyone can give something at Christmas time.

“The rich are not to give more than half a shekel, and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the Lord, atone for your lives.” Exodus 30:15 NIV

A line I in the Lords prayer says “Give us this day our daily bread” The lord provides for us all that we need, as Christians we want to do the same for those around us, because of the great love that God has and what he gives to us. He is our example and we are to live like him.

[Soldier4Christ]

  The Shepherds : The First Visitors

The Gospel of Luke tells us the wonderful story of the shepherds who were tending their sheep in the fields around Bethlehem.

Luke 2:8-20
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An Angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were terrified. But the Angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told to them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

In Biblical times, the shepherds were very nomadic, a wandering people who had no roots, no personal possessions beyond what they could carry. When the shepherds came to a town, they were not welcomed into the town with open arms. The townspeople warned each other, locked up their valuables and kept their daughters in, keeping a respectable distance between them and the shepherds. They were the lowlife of society at that time (I do not like that word but it is the reality they faced every day) This simple event set the tone for the ministry of Jesus that continues to this day. God, in His infinite wisdom, chose common people to announce the birth of the Savior and in doing so, tells everyone that EVERY PERSON, no matter where his status is in any culture, IS JUST AS IMPORTANT TO HIM AS ANY OTHER. I am not a CEO or a high government official and I praise God for that. I know that our Savior came for me and especially for you. As teens, you can be assured that Jesus came for you, will love you forever, will teach you about His Father and grant you, through the Grace of His Father, a place in Heaven right next to him. I have faced much adversity in my life and the Grace of God has guided me through it. The same will be true for you; no matter what adversity you face as you grow in your walk with God. You are the princes and princesses of God's Kingdom and no man or even Satan can take that away from you. Believe in that and trust in that and we will all meet in Heaven someday. God loves you and I love you all. Merry Christmas.

[Soldier4Christ]

  A Gift For Jesus

God can take the worst of situations and turn them around to the best of lesson's for His Children.

The tree is up, the lights are hung, and presents start to form under the tree. Christmas is almost hear. Last miniute shopping along with spending time with loved one's take up most of the week. But, for some it's not like this. Some people do not have very many if any presents, and some may not have enough to survive on let alone be able to give.

Growing up, I have been able to experince both sides of the coin when it has come to the topic of money. I have lived times in my life when my parents were very well off. Yet, I spent many other times when we were doing everything we could just to scrape by. Right now I am in the middle. I am making that transistion from living under my parents control and money to more freedom and more bills.

During this holiday season all was not well in my finacial life. Yes my family was doing well but I myself was not, and I have to support myself. It's a horrible feeling when you see everyone buying Christmas presents, yet you can't seem to spare a penny. The other day I didn't think things could get any worse until I looked up in my rear view mirror and saw the flashing lights. I didn't make a complete stop while turning right at a red light and the cop decided he wanted to come over and say hi and wish me a Merry Christmas.

Well, those were not his exact words. The cop came up to my door and said. "Well son, this isn't your lucky day, is it." Now I just met this guy, but for some reason I could tell that he wasn't wishing me a happy new year. Instead he gave me a little yellow ticket and had me give him my autograph in return. The erge to tell him to repent for he knows not what he does crossed my mind a few times. But I knew that would only make things worse.

As I drove off it starting hitting me that now there was no way I was going to be able to buy my family Christmas presents. I almost started crying when reality set in. What was I going to do? I started praying for help. I turned on the radio and a song said something to the effect that God takes the bad situations and turn them out for my good. Then the D.J. stated after that the verse above. At that point I knew God was in control. That night I went to work and a girl came up to me wanting to buy my 5-wheel racing inlines. (I have been trying to sell them for a while). I thought she was just another person who wanted to just take them for a spin when she laid ten 50 dollor bills in my hand.

Friends, God does have a way to turn things around. I thought I was going to have to sit with my family watching everyone else give presents and myself have nothing to give. But I trusted God. I trusted His Word, and most of all I trusted my heart when He told me that everything would be ok. If we just give everything, our whole lives to God, He will watch over us. He will never let us take on more than we can handle and loves us so much that He will always provide. This Christmas He did just that. If it wasn't for Him, who knows what my life would be like. Tis the season, to truly be jolly. May peace be with you