Isn’t it funny how technology runs our lives?  We need it 24/7 or most of us would go into panic mode.  But why?  I thought about and think that maybe that is one of the reasons we fall away from God so quickly and easily. 

            The world today has made us believe that whatever we need, can be made by some machine.  However, to truly live a happy, fulfilling life we need God.  Unfortunately, we like to think, “Who needs God when we have the newest gadget out there.  It’s all fake happiness!  As a teen I know how it is to constantly feel the need to text, or check my Facebook.  But, when do I need God?  Is he a priority in my life like my social life is?  We need to just stop worrying about having the coolest car, the newest phone, and the fastest computer, and start worrying about who we’re living for!  Matthew 6:25 says, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?”  We have become blinded by all the worldly pleasures that are at our fingertips.  We forget that God is all powerful!  His love and what He can do for us is so much greater than the next I-pod or newest 3-D television.  He loves us for who we are, and not for the things we own, and in the end, none of those things will matter.  Luke 12:15, “The He said to them.  ‘Watch out!  Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.’”  When will we stop thirsting for the next big thing, and start thirsting for God in our lives, because without Him, nothing is possible, and we need to realize that.  Matthew 19:26, “Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’”

            Live for something bigger than yourself.  The world won’t always be here.  Friends, phones, I-pods, and computers won’t always be here.  But God will!  Hebrews 13:5 tells us, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”  Let’s start giving Him the love and gratitude He deserves.

Siara McWilliams (age 16)

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2 Timothy2:21-22 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor.  Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

I heard a story once about two farmers, both dealing with a terrible drought.  They both prayed to God for rain, but each reacted differently afterwards.  One farmer sat on his porch and wait to see if God would answer his prayer and when the rains came was ill-prepared for it.  The other farmer immediately began plowing his fields because he has the faith that God would provide.  The second farmer prepare for the rain.
The same analogy can be used when it comes to church growth.  If that is our prayer then we must ask:  Are we prepared for the growth?  I believe there some things we can do to prepare for rain.  As a church family we must offer assemblies that edify, and we must assimilate and nurture mew members.  As individual members we must strengthen our relationships with God, with one another, and most importantly with the lost.  May we apply these simple things to our church life as we prepare for rain.

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Matthew 10:34-37 Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.  For I have come to  ‘set  a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and  ‘a man’s enemies will be  those of his own  household.’  He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me.  And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

When you look at our responsibilities as Christians, you sometimes forget that some of them are simply taking care of our earthly family as instructed by God.  For instance, the Christians man is to love and honor his wife, and to train his children in the ways of the Lord, disciplining them as they go.  The Christian woman is to love and honor her husband, and train her children in the ways of the Lord, while keeping a good home life.  Christian children are to love, honor, and obey their parents, and learn how to follow the Lord.  And even those who are neither married, nor have any children are to honor God with their service to Him, while building relationships with the church family.  To put it simply, we are all to honor and love, which is why Christ said that was the greatest command.

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1 Corinthians 13: 1-3 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.  And though I have the gift of  prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

If someone were to ask me what one word describes what Christianity is all about, I would emphatically say that it is love.  Once Jesus was asked what is the greatest command and His answer was the same, “Love God, and love each other.”  You see that love is the catalyst of all things Christian.

To prove this to be true and by looking at some facts we find that there are 11 different words for love in the Hebrew text, and 4 words for love in the Greek, meaning that it is important.  When one looks closely at the examples of Christ with regards to love, the definition is clear:  We are to love unconditionally, that is show agape (Greek) or khesed (Hebrew) to God and to man.  In the end, love really is all you need!

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In today’s society it is hard to submit to the government when it is doing so many things that may be against our beliefs and ideals, but Peter makes two things clear here, we are to submit to the government and they are in authority because God put them there.  As hard as this seems to be to swallow, this has been happening for a very long time.

In Daniel chapter 1 we read that the Babylonians took captive Judah and Jerusalem because that was what God chose to happen.  His servant Daniel then proceeded to become the best servant to Babylon while continuing his devotion to God.  We are being asked here to do the same.

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1 Chronicles 28:1-9

When fathers prepare to leave this world it is not uncommon to find them leaving some last words for their loved ones to remember.  King David was no different.  As he prepares to leave, he has some words for his beloved son, Solomon.  He simply tells Solomon to remember the God of his fathers, and serve Him with a wholehearted devotion and a willing mind.  He also tells him to make sure that his devotion is real because God knows the heart.  He then gives him words of comfort.  He says that when you seek God, He will let you find Him.  What more does a child of God need than to know that when we need the Lord, He will be there.  David then finishes by telling Solomon to be strong and do the work.  That message is for us as well!

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