This is Your Life

  

 

          I was listening to the radio the other day and one song struck my attention. It was This is your life by Switchfoot. The chorus said:

          This is your life, are you who you want to be

          This is your life, is it everything you dreamed that it would be

          I got to thinking, what if we changed those lyrics too:

          This is your life, are you who God wants you to be

          This is your life, is it everything that God dreamed that it would be

          Think about your everyday life. How much time do you spend on pointless stuff? I’m the worlds worst when it comes to that. I probably spend about 2 hours a day on the comouter doing absolutly nothing. It’s sad. Think about your life. What have you done in your past or are doing now that hinders your relationship with Christ? I was reading I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris and in it he recorded a dream he had. It read:

          I found myself in a room. There was nothing special about this room accept for one wall was covered with small index-files like those in a library. The files stretched from the floor to ceiling and never seemed to end. It had odd titles and one caught my eye, it read, “Girls I’ve liked.” I opened it and then quickly shut it, for I recongnized every name. Then, without being told, I knew exacly where I was. My life had been recorded in this room, every move and action.

         I began flipping through the files. One of the files entitles, “Friends I’ve betrayed.” Others read, “Books I’ve read,” “Lies I’ve told,” “Comfort I’ve given,” “Jokes I’ve laughed at,” “Things I’ve yelled at my brothers,” “Things I’ve done in anger,” “Things I muttered under my breath to my parents.” It never ceased to amaze me of the volume of the files, but yet there they were, written in my hand writing, signed with my signature. I pulled out one that said, “Songs I’ve listen to,” I couldn’t believe at how many there were. I shut it ashamed, not so much the quality, but the amount of time it represented.

         I came across another. It read, “Lustful thoughts.” I pulled it out only a little, and drew a card. I shuddered at its detailed contents. I suddenly felt rage. One thought dominated my mind, “No one must see these cards! I have to desroy them.” I tried to tear a card only to find as strong as steel. I put it back. That’s when I saw it. The title read, “People I’ve shared the gospel with.” I pulled out the file and could count ts contents on one hand. I fell on my knees and began to weep. That’s when I saw HIm. It was Jesus. I thought, “Oh no, not Him.”

       He came up and put His arm around me and we wept together. After a while  He got up and walked to the end of the room. He took out a card and began writing His name over mine. I jumped up and shouted, “No,” and pulled the card from His hand, but there it was, the name Jesus, written in His blood. He took the card back and continued signing the rest of the cards. After He was done He put His hand on my shoulder and said, “It is finished.”

        As you go through out the rest of your life, remeber the cards. Remember, This is your life, are you who God wants you to be?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tough Times

      

Boy, how our economy is slipping. Families, like mine, are going through some tough times. I truly believe that our economy is slowly falling into another Great Depression. The price of everything has gone up, while the housing market has gone down. What does this mean for GTS? Well it starts by putting our trust in Christ Jesus. Your family may be one of the millions that are suffering because of our economy. The only thing we can do is put our trust in the Lord.

It just so happens that while our economy is falling, we are going through a presidential election. With the way politicians are it’s hard to determine who to vote for. All politicians do is point fingers ar each other. It’s become harder and harder to see the truth. 1 Thessalonians 5:15 says, “See that no one renders evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.” It doesn’t matter what one candidate believes, says or does, pointing fingers is the same as rendering evil. I didn’t say that, God did.

A few years ago a bracelet came out that stated WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) That bracelet is great, but shouldn’t it state WWJS (What Would Jesus Say?) Jesus spoke many things, and we can find them in His word. Jesus told us how to live. All we have to do is remember what He said. The only problem is that our world that we live in is telling us otherwise. They say that the next president should be decided by which one can dig up as munch dirt on the other.

Why can’t they merely say, “I respect my opponent, we just don’t see eye to eye. Here’s my side. If you agree with what I have to say, please vote for me.” If there was a running candidate that said that, I can almost bet that he wouldn’t win. I think Americans find enjoyment in watching two candidates bash one another. Romans 13:1-3 states, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resist the authority resist the ordinances of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but of to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise all the same.”

So as our economy falls, and our presidential candidates fall with it, it’s time we stand up for what’s right. Not only do we need to be the generation that seeks, but the nation that seeks. In closing I quote a passage from Common Sense by Thomas Pain. “Society is produced by our wants, and government by wickedness; the former promotes our happiness positively by uniting our affections, the latter negatively by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first is a patron, the last a punisher. Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil.”

We Are Losing Our Generation

 

                As I look around, I see the generation that will one day become our future. It scares me to look and see that the only things that our youth care about are their cell phone and MySpace. Why? Why is it that that’s all they care about? Maybe it’s because they have nothing else to care about. Their parents are too busy working to care, and the only people that do care are those they’re chatting online with whom they don’t even know. A Generation that Seeks is ready to change that.

                Generation that Seeks comes from Psalm 24:4-6: “He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false, He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob.”

Here are three reasons why our generation isn’t seek Christ

1.       They don’t Know:

Countless Christians today are “falling away” from Christ. These “Christians” aren’t raising their children in Christian homes. For this reason our youth, who will day become our future, don’t know that Christ can change their lives.

2.       They’re invited to church but afraid of what their peers will say:

They’ve been told there is a savior, but they know what their friends will say. They would rather go with everyone else then worry with living for Christ.

3.       They’re too busy with their social life :

They think that accepting Christ is going to cut into their social life. They’re too busy to worry their eternal life so they don’t ask questions.

 

                If we can change the way they think, we can change our future. Generation that Seeks will clean their hands and purify their hearts, that our future will look and be that which Christ would want.