Last night we had "Underground Church". While everything didn't go according to plan, I hope that you got the message that I was trying to get across to you.
Today I would like for you to do a couple of things: 1. Check out a website that I'll tell you about later, and 2. Tell me how last night might have changed your perception of persecution.
1. I would love for you to check out www.persecution.com. That is the website where I got the stories from. Click around on the site and read some of the stories. One thing that I would like for you to do is to click on the "Restricted Nations" tab and get an idea of how many countries it is illegal to be a Christian in.
2. We looked at persecution. There were two aspects of that topic - ours and others.
How did the police guys busting into the meeting help you get a better picture of what other Christians your age face? How did that make you feel?
I have to say I was pretty impressed that I didn't hear a single one of you disown your faith!
We looked at a few passages of Scripture that deal with persecution one of which was John 15:18-24 you can click on this to go there now http://www.youversion.com/bible/niv84/john/15/20. How does knowing what Jesus says here help you in dealing with persecution? How can that help us change our perspective on it?
We also looked at Matthew 5:10-12 http://www.youversion.com/bible/niv84/matt/5/12. How does this passage help you in dealing with persecution? Why?
The last thing that we will talk about today is probably the hardest one. Are you persecuted for your faith? Are you facing any trials at all? If the answer is no, then you are either really lucky - or not living out your faith to the fullest. Because Satan does not like God (no duh, right). He also doesn't like when God's children live out their faith - because that's when we become dangerous to him!!! Take a long look at your life and ask yourself the question, "Have I been living my life the way God wants me to live it?". I can guarantee that if you live your life totally on fire for God, you will encounter some resistance from this world.
So let me know what you think!!!!! Who's going to be one of the first to EVER comment on this blog - I pray that it's YOU.
I love you guys, and I am so proud of your commitment to our Youth Group. It has been an awesome year so far and I am really excited to see where God takes us this school year.
God bless,
Chris
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Daniel
Today we will look at one of the stories that I talked about on Monday. In Daniel chapter 6 we looked at the beginning of that chapter. We saw how Daniel distinguished himself far above the people around him. Today we are going to develop this in greater detail. We will also see that God is taking away many of our excuses for not living a Godly life and that it comes down to the fact that we need to choose whom we will serve.
We think things are hard now to live for God. We think that if we just read our Bibles, or go to church, that is enough.
Daniel and the other Israelites had a much different situation that they were living in. First off, the Babylonians capture and overtake Jerusalem. When they do this, they disperse the people all over the face of the know world. They did this so that their culture and hope would be destroyed. At this point, we wouldn't really hold it against Daniel if he was a bit resentful! We wouldn't really blame him either if he felt like "taking a break" from serving God.
But he doesn't. In fact, Daniel is elevated to a high position because he can interpret the kings dreams. He served two kings of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, and Belshazzar.
Our story picked up with Daniel serving Darius. Well, Darius was the conquering king from Persia. So now Daniel has not only been taken captive by the Babylonians and forced to serve them, now they are overthrown and the Medes and Persians are now in power.
Once again, we would forgive Daniel if he was a bit jaded. Many things have gone on in his life. His life is turned upside down three different times, and yet he still serves God!
I would like you to read the whole book of Daniel if you have time. It is an awesome book of God's power and provision. It is also the book where we get the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. If you don't have time to read the whole book (it's only 12 chapters), then concentrate on chapter 6.
As if all the junk that has happened to Daniel in the past isn't enough, now he is facing a new challenge! We looked at verses 1-5 on Monday night, but the real plot develops after that! The other governors despise Daniel because he is making them look really bad.
Which leads me to my first point: Are people around you able to see their own sin by the purity in yours?
They came up with a plot to kill Daniel by tricking the king. They could find NO corruption in him whatsoever! And therefore the only way to get rid of Daniel was to have the king say that everyone needed to worship him!!!
Point number two: When faced with a crisis in your life, do you obey God or worry about what others think?
We see what Daniel chose. I love the fact that he went home, opened the windows, and prayed right out in the open - even after hearing the new law! Not a whole lot of compromise in Daniel is there?
The king is confronted with his new law and the new lawbreaker - Daniel. We see in verse 14 his reaction to what was supposed to happen to Daniel.
Point three: Do the "pagans" in your life love you? Do they desire to be with you? Or do they run and hide when you walk into the room? We see that the king, although he was not a believer, truly LOVED Daniel! He even went as far as to hope that Daniel's God would save him (vs. 16)
We know the end of the story, God saved Daniel, the king was happy, the bad dudes and their entire families were destroyed, and the king issued a decree that the people must fear and revere God.
This is obviously an epic story, fitting of a dramatic musical score and the best Hollywood actors and directors! But what if the story didn't end with a "happily ever after"? What if Daniel was mauled to death by the lions and the other guys got away with their plot? Would that have made God any less powerful, or present?
My answer is no! We will never fully understand God's Will and purposes this side of Heaven. But we are called to trust and obey His leading. Shad, Me, Abed..... had it correct in chapter 3:18 when the said that even if God chooses not to save them, they will never serve any other God.
What is your answer? What do you think? More importantly what will you do when you are put into a situation that isn't easy? Even more important than that is what will you do with your life BEFORE a tough situation comes up???
Daniel was prepared for the tough situations in life because he was grounded in God. Are you?
We think things are hard now to live for God. We think that if we just read our Bibles, or go to church, that is enough.
Daniel and the other Israelites had a much different situation that they were living in. First off, the Babylonians capture and overtake Jerusalem. When they do this, they disperse the people all over the face of the know world. They did this so that their culture and hope would be destroyed. At this point, we wouldn't really hold it against Daniel if he was a bit resentful! We wouldn't really blame him either if he felt like "taking a break" from serving God.
But he doesn't. In fact, Daniel is elevated to a high position because he can interpret the kings dreams. He served two kings of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, and Belshazzar.
Our story picked up with Daniel serving Darius. Well, Darius was the conquering king from Persia. So now Daniel has not only been taken captive by the Babylonians and forced to serve them, now they are overthrown and the Medes and Persians are now in power.
Once again, we would forgive Daniel if he was a bit jaded. Many things have gone on in his life. His life is turned upside down three different times, and yet he still serves God!
I would like you to read the whole book of Daniel if you have time. It is an awesome book of God's power and provision. It is also the book where we get the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. If you don't have time to read the whole book (it's only 12 chapters), then concentrate on chapter 6.
As if all the junk that has happened to Daniel in the past isn't enough, now he is facing a new challenge! We looked at verses 1-5 on Monday night, but the real plot develops after that! The other governors despise Daniel because he is making them look really bad.
Which leads me to my first point: Are people around you able to see their own sin by the purity in yours?
They came up with a plot to kill Daniel by tricking the king. They could find NO corruption in him whatsoever! And therefore the only way to get rid of Daniel was to have the king say that everyone needed to worship him!!!
Point number two: When faced with a crisis in your life, do you obey God or worry about what others think?
We see what Daniel chose. I love the fact that he went home, opened the windows, and prayed right out in the open - even after hearing the new law! Not a whole lot of compromise in Daniel is there?
The king is confronted with his new law and the new lawbreaker - Daniel. We see in verse 14 his reaction to what was supposed to happen to Daniel.
Point three: Do the "pagans" in your life love you? Do they desire to be with you? Or do they run and hide when you walk into the room? We see that the king, although he was not a believer, truly LOVED Daniel! He even went as far as to hope that Daniel's God would save him (vs. 16)
We know the end of the story, God saved Daniel, the king was happy, the bad dudes and their entire families were destroyed, and the king issued a decree that the people must fear and revere God.
This is obviously an epic story, fitting of a dramatic musical score and the best Hollywood actors and directors! But what if the story didn't end with a "happily ever after"? What if Daniel was mauled to death by the lions and the other guys got away with their plot? Would that have made God any less powerful, or present?
My answer is no! We will never fully understand God's Will and purposes this side of Heaven. But we are called to trust and obey His leading. Shad, Me, Abed..... had it correct in chapter 3:18 when the said that even if God chooses not to save them, they will never serve any other God.
What is your answer? What do you think? More importantly what will you do when you are put into a situation that isn't easy? Even more important than that is what will you do with your life BEFORE a tough situation comes up???
Daniel was prepared for the tough situations in life because he was grounded in God. Are you?
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
1 Peter 2:11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.
12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us
Those were the first words that we looked at last night. For today's post, I want to see how many of you would actually post a comment on this!
What does this passage mean to you? I would love to hear some stories of people who have done this and seen results.
We went to the funeral of the neighbor kid that I was telling you about last night. We were able to minister to the family yet again this morning. The mother is going to be coming over soon to talk about things. We praise God for this opportunity - an opportunity that we wouldn't have had if we didn't live out this verse.
Ask yourself do I look strange? (no not that kind of strange...) But seriously, do I look like an alien in this world, or just another person that is blending in?
We will look at the other passages in the upcoming days, but please answer the following:
1. What does this passage mean to you?
2. Have you had any positive stories based on this passage?
3. What are some things that you can do to be "Strange"?
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