Have you ever had one of those days where nothing seems to go right? You know; one of those days where even ordering a cheeseburger at Wendy’s is a chore. Maybe it is more than a day. Maybe it is a week or month, or even a year. You might be thinking that God has left you or that God simply isn’t listening to your prayers.
Well I have good news and bad news for you. The Good news is that God has not left you. The bad news is that God has a different time table than we do. We are human so we want what we ask for when we ask for it. We don’t want to wait. Nobody likes to wait, although my son and several other teens have waited in line for hours just to get in to see a movie like Spiderman or Pirates of the Caribbean.
I have seen lines of people standing outside of electronics stores waiting for the new Playstation game or even longer for the latest gadget; the iPhone. People stood in line for days just to pay $600 for a phone that promised to deliver amazing things. Was it worth it? Probably not. I have heard mixed reactions. Some people love them while others think it is full of problems.
The irony of this all is that many people will wait in line for hours and sometimes days for the craziest stuff but we expect God to answer our prayers immediately and in our favor. God knows what is best for us. God will answer prayers if it fits with His will. God’s will is perfect because God is perfect. That is hard to take because we all think we know what is best for us.
I have prayed several times for something I knew didn’t line up with God’s will and each time I was certain that it would be good for me. A few times if God would have answered my original prayer, it would have been a disaster. Thankfully, God didn’t answer the prayer the way I originally presented it to Him. I am sure that you have had similar things happen to you and I hope that you were able to see how bad it would have been if God had answered that original prayer for you as well.
While there are books on prayer, I don’t believe that there is a “Secrets to Successfully Answered Prayers” guidebook. Although, I can tell you that if we are praying for something and expect an answer, we need to sit back and ask ourselves whether we are in line with God in what we are asking. Will this help to further the Kingdom or is this a selfish prayer? Obviously, if it is a selfish prayer, we need to rethink it.
“…the prayer of the upright pleases Him” – Proverbs 15:8
- YPP
7/24/07
Summer Time
Summer is almost over for most of you. School starts back up soon for most. I have heard August 15th, 16th, and 17th from most of you as school start dates. I hope you have had a good summer and that you will make this school year count. Remember that you are to be salt and light to the world. That means that you need to make sure your actions match your speak. That is assuming that your speak is right.
Make sure that you are being Jesus to others around you so that they will know what Jesus is about. Many teenagers hate church. Most of those hate it because that is what they have learned from their parents. The problem is that we don't know how to love. Jesus said to love your neighbor as yourself. Can you do that? Of course you can. It is tough sometimes because sometimes our neighbors are jerks and schmucks! But if we look in the mirror, sometimes we will find that is what we are as well.
Jesus knew it would be tough for us to do but He was very clear when He told us to do that. So how do we do it?
Kill them with kindness. When JD calls you a retard, just smile and tell him that you love him anyway. Who knows? Maybe you are a retard! Maybe he was just trying to help you understand that so you could do something about it.
School is hard enough and you're going to be faced with many challenges. So here is another challenge. Love everyone. Be positive. Build others up. Be Jesus to your friends and those you think of as enemies. Can you do it? Whatcha got to say? I believe you youngsters call it holla back.
Make sure that you are being Jesus to others around you so that they will know what Jesus is about. Many teenagers hate church. Most of those hate it because that is what they have learned from their parents. The problem is that we don't know how to love. Jesus said to love your neighbor as yourself. Can you do that? Of course you can. It is tough sometimes because sometimes our neighbors are jerks and schmucks! But if we look in the mirror, sometimes we will find that is what we are as well.
Jesus knew it would be tough for us to do but He was very clear when He told us to do that. So how do we do it?
Kill them with kindness. When JD calls you a retard, just smile and tell him that you love him anyway. Who knows? Maybe you are a retard! Maybe he was just trying to help you understand that so you could do something about it.
School is hard enough and you're going to be faced with many challenges. So here is another challenge. Love everyone. Be positive. Build others up. Be Jesus to your friends and those you think of as enemies. Can you do it? Whatcha got to say? I believe you youngsters call it holla back.
7/10/07
What is a Christlike Disciple?
My main goal is to teach you how to be Christlike Disciples so that you can go and make disciples as Christ commaned us to do in Matthew 28:19-20. So what does that mean to you? What is a Christlike Disciple? Can you say that you are one?
-Paul
-Paul
Welcome to Adrenaline Rush
Well there you go...now your youth group has a blog that you can post to. Please remember that this is a Christian group so keep your comments Christian. I don't care if you are a believer or
not, just keep the comments clean. You can disagree here as long as you do it respectfully and without profanity. Have fun.
not, just keep the comments clean. You can disagree here as long as you do it respectfully and without profanity. Have fun.
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