Prayer

So I was just reading my devotions and tonight's was on extreme prayer. I use the Voice of the Martyr's Extreme Devotion book. Anyhow, I came across this and wanted to share it with you.

"Prayer. That which does the most, we often do the least. Prayer is our first defense against spiritual warfare, yet often our last resort. Those who are persecuted for their faith teach us the priority of prayer. Their last remarks are not fighting words. Their final actions on earth are not resistance. Instead, prayer is on their dying breath, confounding their accusers and convincing others of their resolute faith. History shows persecuted saints' dying prayers can influence others for the gospel perhaps more than if they had lived. When you are in life's crucible and the flames burn hot around you, will you turn to prayer? Will others see your first and last defense is your communication with you heavenly Father?"

I mean, wow. What powerful words. I am so often guilty of not taking time to pray, for I have a very short attention span and others things soon cloud my mind. But these are important questions. When life get hard and stressful, will I turn prayer? Will others see that in me?


Just wanted to share this thought with ya'll.

What is my purpose?

I was thinking today about how many people my age, and even older than me, ask themselves that question. Many people wonder why they exist, and what there purpose is.


My purpose in life, and the purpose of everyone's life, is to show the love of Jesus! I want so badly to just shine for Him in a dark and lost world. So that is our purpose. To emulate Jesus the best that we know how, and to share him with those, even in far and distant countries. God help us to actually to this.

Osama Bin Laden....

Well, it finally happened. Wow. I mean, we have looked and searched for years trying to find this horrible criminal. 
He killed so many people.
Trained so many terrorists.
Personally oversaw many attacks.
Gave many hate speeches.
So why am I not happy that he dead?


Yeah, I'm relieved that he is dead and can no longer do the stuff mentioned above. But I feel incredibly sad for his soul. I mean, he no longer has the chance to change or have the hope of heaven. He was a horrible man, yes, but he still had a soul. A soul that I believe missed heaven. 


So should we as Christians celebrate the death of a mass murderer, or mourn a soul lost to hell? Just something to think about. I'm not even sure myself...

Coming forth as gold

"But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold." Job 23:10


Well, let's hope I come forth as gold... Sometimes I just think that once I get through all the trials, there won't be anything left to become gold...


I have been tested and tried so many times the last two weeks, that I just get to the point where I feel like I'm falling apart.


Just keep praying for me, as I am going through a lot right now. I am trusting God to help me and uplift me in my time of need. Thanks much!

Crisis of Faith

I think that even the best Christians have crisis' of faith at times. The past couple of weeks, I have been stressed with school and preparing for competition, so the devil has been using all of that pressure to make me doubt my faith. Sometimes I feel that God isn't near, or just doesn't care about me, and that has been nagging at me for a couple of weeks. 
I also recently found out that I have the onsets of Carpal Tunnel. When I heard that, my spirit kinda fell. I mean, I already have so much pain with Hyper-mobility Syndrome, hearing about another problem that would cause pain just made me mad. Writing and typing is a huge part of my life right now, what with school and my hobby of writing, that I thought it was unfair that I would have to do both of those activities in moderation. 
So as you can see, I was beginning to question whether or not God really cared about me. But serving God is everything to me, and I don't want to spend any part of my life away from Him.
I just have to trust God, that He knows what is best for my life, even though I don't understand everything that is happening.

I'm already there

Well, recently I began to notice that most love songs can not only apply to romantic love, but to the love I have for God, and that He has for us. I was listening to "I'm Already There" by Lonestar, and I realized the chorus applies to God in our lives. Whenever we feel alone, we sometimes ask God where He is, or to please show Himself to us somehow. And the following lyrics is what I think God would say in response to that question.

I'm already there

Take a look around

I'm the sunshine in your hair

I'm the shadow on the ground

I'm the whisper in the wind

I'm your imaginary friend

And i know I'm in your prayers

I'm already there.

I'm already there

Don't make a sound

I'm the beat in your heart

I'm the moonlight shining down

I'm the whisper in the wind

And I'll be there till the end

Can you feel the love that we share

Yes, I'm already there

If that doesn't apply to God, I don't what does. Even though there are times that we feel all alone, and that God is not with us, He is everywhere. Like the song says, He's already there, even before we ask. The chorus to this song has become very uplifting to me, because every time I hear it, I think of all the ways that God is with me. I hope that now this song will have the same effect for you.

Practicing the Presence of God as Teens

I just finished reading The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence.

                                                 
 I wasn't really expecting to get a whole lot out of it, but I was very wrong. God spoke to me in a very real way, showing me how important it is that I empty my heart of everything, except my desire for Him. There are some parts that really stood out to me, and have stayed with me since I finished the book. 

We ought, once and for all, heartily to put our whole trust in God, and make a total surrender of ourselves to Him.

I know for the right practice of it the heart must be empty of all other things, because God will possess the heart alone; and as He cannot possess it alone without emptying it of all besides, so neither can He act there, and do what He pleases, unless it be left vacant to Him.

This to me seems like an incredibly hard task. To empty my heart of all other things, so God alone can possess it, and do what He pleases. It is so hard for me to even pray, because my mind wanders a lot. I have found, talking out loud to God as if He were sitting in front of me, is the best way for me to pray. But if I'm listening to music, or being distracted, I need to rid myself of these distractions and focus solely on Him. I have to remove all desires and the want for pleasure from my mind, at that moment, so I am able to communicate with God, and let Him possess my heart.  

The following has stood out to me more than the others, and I think every Christian, not just teens, should want this as their testimony:

I walk before God simply, in faith, with humility and with love, and I apply myself diligently to do nothing or think nothing which may displease Him.

In my own life, I strongly desire and strive to never do anything or even think anything that would displease my Savior, but I sometimes fail. Peer pressure is a huge thing in a teen's life, even at a Christian school. It can be so hard not to go with the flow, not to do things just because they say it's okay. I have always been a follower, never thinking I was strong enough to be a leader. But since then, I have faced situations where I was forced to take a stand and be the leader I never thought I was capable of being. 

God has shown me what is right for my life, and what isn't. I go by His standards, not others. So if I need to say no to something, even though I get made fun of or hurt by cruel remarks, I know that I am doing what God requires of me, and that is all the motivation I need. 

Anyway, back to talking about the book :)    I highly recommend it for all teens and adults. It is a powerful yet simple book that can change your life.  

First Post

So, I randomly got an idea to start a blog where I could talk about things that I think are important, or should be, to Christian teens. I'm not a very complex writer, so my posts will be straightforward and simple. I will state my opinions along with the facts, so please feel free to comment. :) 

God Bless