Spirit-Filled Evangelism

Please also pray for me to be aware of the ever-present opportunites around me everyday for evangelism. I need for the Holy Spirit to fill me for effectiveness in this area, as Acts 1:8 puts it:

~But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. ~ Acts 1:8

It is not the words I use or the way I say them that makes the gospel powerfully go forth. It is the power of the Holy Spirit having filled me beforehand going forth through me. Pray that I will be continually filled with the Spirit for this important task!

Faithfulness

Sometimes I am tempted to feel a lack of energy or eagerness about what God has called me to do for Him, or I feel anxious about how well I will do in school this semester. This verse sums up all I need to know about how I will make it:

~He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:24

Though I can feel inadequate and lacking in strength, the One who calls me is being faithful to help me and he will do it. This means that God, in His faithfulness, is accomplishing through me and for me what it is that He has for me in this season of my life. Praise Him for His assuring faithfulness!

Whatever You Do

God has been teaching me that whatever I do is what He has called me to do. It gives me a motivation to do my best in school when I view it, not as a waiting time to get through, but as a calling given to me by the sovereign hand of God.

~Whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. ~ Colossians 3:23-24

My school work, part of whatever I do, is what I am called to work heartily at as unto the Lord. God's word promises me that I will receive a reward from Him for working hard as unto Him. Yes, I have been given an opportunity to serve the Lord Christ and receive a heavenly reward. School is definitely worth it!

Salt and Light

~You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden... let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. ~Matthew 5:13-14, 16

What a privilege it is to be one of those who are called to help preserve the world until Jesus returns. May God fill me with His Spirit to shine forth the light of the gospel that is the truth that preserves this world!

A Holy Nation

As a new college student, I have been daily focusing on a verse or passage to help me renew my mind on truth in a different environment, and to keep me focused on my central passion during this season of my life.

The first verse I studied was 1 Peter 2:9--"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."

I am so grateful to, as I look and see all the lost people around me on a daily basis, be aware of the holy, elite institution that God has called me to. How wonderful it is be one who is called out of darkness into marvelous light! Its implications are unending and amazing, including proclaiming its excellencies to those around me. May God give me the wisdom and grace to do that, and to be continually more astounded that I am apart of the elite group of God's holy nation and people!

Myth of Adolescence

Sorry for the long time with no posts. I have made more of a goal to post more this summer, but we'll see how well that goes. :) Anyway, Holly and I are reading through Do Hard Things again, and I have really been affected by what the twins call "the myth of adolescence." They very helpfully point out that we teens have been victims of a myth that the culture presents us with, that the youth ages are just a vacation from responsibility. The Bible, however, has a different view for teens, found in 1 Tim. 4:12:

"Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity."

As teenagers, we have a high calling to set an example for other believers in five important areas of Christian living! Yes, God has a very big agenda for His youth children, and we have an exciting life to lead because of it.

Alex and Brett also point out that doing hard things is actually what we really do want to do. So let us break off the shackles of the culture and live, not under the myth of adolescence, but as 1 Tim. 4:12 youth!

Influential Success

I was pondering Alex and Brett's ministry and the extreme success they have seemed to have getting it started. At sixteen, desiring to do something greater with their teen years, the twins started their rebelution blog. It became the most popular web site for teens at the time, with millions of youth responding "This echoes the same cry of my own heart!" Through the "Do Hard Things" tour, they have been able to reach many young people and parents, and stir up this culture.

My first reaction was "Wow! These people are so successful! I wonder what it takes to become so influential? I wish I could be apart of a group like that." But as I thought more on what their mission is all about, I realized, this is just a group of Christian teens seeking to apply the gospel to their lives. What makes their ministry so effective is its purpose, not so much its numbers, or Alex and Brett. Living the gospel out in our daily lives, and having this good news be the central message we seek to proclaim yields wonderful fruit, no matter what curcemstances or people God has put us with.

Their numerical success has inspired me to see on an even deeper level my calling to walk in a manner worthy of the calling I have received, and to view my own circle of relations as capable of a similar rebelution mission. I have begun to see that my family, and my local church with its gospel-centered youth ministry is seeking to create this culture of godliness. I am so grateful to be apart of this great mission!

So to wrap up this post, may everyone, especially any of my own teenage friends reading this, be excited for what God has for you today, for the gospel we have been called to believe in holds a wonderful mission for all of us, whatever we may be doing right now!

On this Thanksgiving week, thank You God for Your gift of redemption, and for how You are using teenage children to advance it!

Looking forward to talking more "Do Hard Things" next Wednesday!