Tag Archives: God Loves You

Youth Matters… Don’t Quit!

Posted in Reflections From My Heart by

GGBlog

Proverbs 22:6 King James Version (KJV) “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

 This past year I have been teaching bible studies in our local County Jail. I open my bible study each time with the question; “Tell me about your church background and how familiar you are with the bible?” The number one answer is, “I used to go to church when I was younger, but haven’t been in awhile.” A few even have some knowledge of the bible; yet they are still sitting in jail – as law breakers of our society.

I am convinced that whatever their exposure to church was when they were younger, these girls received the motivation to check out bible study in jail; when God plants the there, to get their attention and reveals to them a better way of life. He chose not to reach them on the streets, instead he uses the streets to capture their hearts and put them in a place where they have to stand face to face with the bad choices that they have made with their lives

It takes courage to sign up and have your named announced on a loud (and I mean loud) speaker and then to visibly line up to be escorted through the whinding hallways of spectators before arriving at the bible study room. Yet they come.

I’m always surprised and amazed who enters the room. I’m not able to ask what they’ve done or get overly personal, I’m just there to bring the message of hope of Jesus Christ, no matter what they have done. To love them, accept them and show them that God has a better way, a better plan and a brighter, hope-filled future. I feel a frog in my throat and tear up realizing how profoundly blessed I am to be able to minister to them in this way.

My main message today is to say… whether you are mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, foster parent, aunt, uncle or neighbor, thank you for bringing the children in your life to church. I passionately teach 3rd graders on Sunday mornings about having a relationship with Jesus and in many ways, it’s in the hope that they find Jesus and commit their lives to him while they are young in an effort to prevent them from having end up as societies

I realize that the world (TV, friends, social media, teachers, etc…) tell them a whole different message; a confusing message. I have my own teenagers to know that. Here is my petition… don’t quit.

Even if your child rebels and walks away from their faith later in life, even to the point of being put in jail, God can use your faithful commitment to draw them back to himself. I seriously can’t thank you enough for doing whatever it is that you have to do to get them here – weekly.

The other day I sat with a beautiful young girl who requested a 1:1 because she realized that she messed up her life and needed to get right with God. She prayed to accept Jesus as her Lord and Savior and in tears she replied, “Thank you, I have lost everything, my job, my house, my car, my marriage, my kids and everything that I own, but I now have Jesus. I’m ready to start building my life over again, but this time with Him in charge.” How did she know that she needed Jesus? She said her Grandmother took her to church when she was younger and she has an Aunt who is “very religious” and prays for her. I was blessed to witness a transformed heart, right before my eyes, and if I could meet her Grandmother or Aunt I would say, “Well done good and faithful servants!”

 

 

Come, With Joy

Posted in Daily Devotions: Chapter by Chapter by

Joy

Today’s Devotion: Deuteronomy 16

Today’s Theme is about Three main feasts: Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles. Exodus 12 gave us the real details of the Passover. The Feast of Passover was instituted as a memorial to Israel’s deliverance from Egypt and their adoption as Jehovah’s nation. The Passover is a festival that laid the foundation of the nation, Israel’s birth into a new relationship with God.

In verses 9-11, it says that they were to number seven weeks after Passover, which would be forty-nine; then the next day would be the Sabbath, the fiftieth day. Because the Greek word for “fifty” is pentecoste, this Feast of Weeks is known as Pentecost. It is also called the Feast of Harvest or the Day of First Fruits. It celebrated the first or earliest fruits of the harvest.

Verses 16-17 expand on the tabernacles. These are the three feasts which were to be celebrated in Jerusalem, which all males were required to attend. Three times a year they were to travel to Jerusalem to keep these feasts. It was to be a time of rejoicing and they were to come before the Lord with joy.

How often do we come to the LORD with a laundry list of wants and we through it all on Him. I’m guilty of that. I have burdens for people and events. I try to be sincere when I ask God about the things on my prayer list, but do I always come to Him with joy? Unfortunately, no.

This is a great perspective for us to keep in mind as we enter into prayer with Him. He does say “cast your burdens on Him and He will care for you” (1 Peter 5:7) and I’m certain God can handle it, but what if someone saw you, walked up to you and just started hammering you with a list of “I wants?” You would be confused. No sincerity, no compassion, not even a half-hearted, “How are you doing?” If we had people like that in our lives, we may avoid that person in the future.

I know God doesn’t avoid us, but I do believe as we approach the God of the Universe, we could (and should) be respectful, communicative, appreciative and joy-filled. This is a perspective that is a good reminder to us, especially me, that God is not my dumping zone of worries and woes. He is God and we are so blessed to be able to go directly to Him, in fellowship, with our lives.

Are You Special?

Posted in Reflections From My Heart by

True King

The school year started just a few short weeks ago and I heard a teacher tell a story about her new 5th grade class. She gave her students an introduction sheet to start the year with some typical “Getting to Know You” questions. The last two questions on the sheet were, “What is something that you expect of me as your teacher?” And, “What is the one thing you would like me to know about you?”

For the first question one boy writes two words, “Be Awesome.”

“Wow!” She said, “I hope I can live up to your expectations.” Being inquisitive she prompted him to answer the next question, “So what is it that you want me to know about you?”

He looked up at her with his big brown eyes, half croaked smile and said very matter-of-fact, “You already know!”

“I do?!” Reacting with a surprised glare and curious tone.

“Yes.” He said, “I’m special!”

Wow. Could pride and arrogance already be attributes of this young man’s heart or could it be possible that he has a loving family and strong support system around him that has shaped him with love and confidence? I am going to guest that it is the latter of these.

Can you say that you are special?

I cringe at the thought. After all, who am I? I’m not special. I didn’t set a world record or climb Mount Everest, earn an Olympic medal, invent a product that revolutionized the world or rescue people from a concentration camp, slavery, injury, or a burning building. I have never even come close. Yet, God says I’m special according to John 1:12, “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” That’s pretty special if you ask me.

God has a special place in his heart for kids.  And he said in Matthew 18:24, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” The innocence of a child can teach us so much.

May this message give you the confidence that you are special because God chose us and sacrificed his Son, Jesus, to make sure we know just how special we are.