In my free blogbook Take the Spiritual Lead, I spoke of a number of things
which could help a young person to overcome difficulties. Since God must ultimately be the head of any repentance revival, the lack of a father should NEVER be a hindrance.
My "Discovering Grace" and its sequel, "Young Leaders," (also as paperbacks, at Nook store, etc.)are fun fictional stories of how God can use young people in families of turmoil. Divorce and other chaos are the main situations in those books, along with with children even having to discipline younger siblings, as happens sometimes in inner city and even other failies. In "take the Spiritual Leader," in no
particular order, I discuss among other thigns how to overcome violence, drugs, and family difficulties. There are
many obstacles which young people must overcome. however, one thing
unites them. God is able to triumph. Jesus tells us, "In this world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world." John 16:33.
I discuss the need to steer clear of sin elsewhere in "Take the Spiritual Lead." Here, I have emphasized repentance.
Why emphasize repentance? There's a deep need
for it because of Ferguson, Baltimore, and many other things. Prince's new song is right that the system is broken, but it's broken because God, Creator of the Unvierse, has been ignored. We need repentance on all of
our parts - white, black, urban, world, rich, poor, all have sinned and
come short of the glory of God. Thankfully, while what we earn becasue of that sin is death - separation from God forever in a horrible place - the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord, and all you have to do is trust Him by calling on Him by faith to forgive you and save you from your sin, believing what he did for you when he died on the cross and rose from the dead is all that was needed to save you; invite Him into your heart to make you new inside.
How, then, to unite the two, repentance and leadership?We cannot wait for the next generation to grow up. Revival, for
it to happen, must come from whatever source is handy. Would God
prefer that Godly men read it? Certainly. Would God prefer that mothers,
taking the lead in single parent homes, do so if men are not available?
Of course. In fact, mothers and fathers can use "Take the Spiritual Lead" very
effectively. The very Bible story it comes from, 2 Kings 4:8, is of
such a powerful woman, whom God calls great. In her case, the husband is
physically present but emotionally absent.
However, God is calling for anyone. I repeat, anyone who is
willing to take the spiritual lead. And that lead comes from someone
who is willing to repent for their nation. to pray as Daniel did, and
seek God's face and forgiveness for their own sins and for their
nation's.
That need doesn't end there, however. After repenting, one
must live the Gospel through how they treat others. The Creator has shown that His Word is true, that's why I made sure to point out in posts specifically that Jesus Christ is Lord and Islam is wrong about Him, plus in a couple of posts how wrong Islam's way of treating people is, both in how their leaders began slavery and the evils of sharia law, which is an attempt to re-enslave us.
Will there be
challenges? Certainly. As noted, we must fight ISIS tooth and nail. However, that is not the only problem. This is a spiritual battle. The devil wants to destroy, remember? The devil
is seeking whatever road he can find to destroy, to get into the hearts of our young
people, of all of our people. Hence, 1st Peter 5:8 says that the devil
walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.
God wants us to have fun, of course, as Christians. Jesus promises in John 10:10 that he came that we might have life and life more abundantly. But, look at what has been happening to take away that life. Intense violence in African-American neighborhoods is a grave concern for people in those neighborhoods, sparking protests that sadly go unnoticed by many.Even in poorer white neighborhoods, those same concerns exist.
Then, there is what we put into our minds and thoughts - so many impure, unlovely things that we wind up eitehr desensitized or with at least a little PTSD.
People say we can't change the world on our own, but with God, we can. Intercessory prayer can and will still work, but we must be united in purpose, recognizing Jesus' place as our Creator. We are not cosmic accidents, we ayou are fearfully and wonderfully made - this is true for male as well as female members of the human race.
So, this is going to sound a bit silly, but it's time our young people rise up and fall on their knees. Rising up in prayer and seeking God's face. Never in vain repetitions, but always with an eye toward pleading with God to hear our heartfelt prayers.So many things are idols in our churches and in our homes - they can have good places if they can be pleasing to God, such as sports, but God must be first since sports are so fleeting. By dedicaint ourselves to God and throwing away our idols, our magic, whatever we worship that is in place of our Creator, we can see our fervent, effectual prayer make a difference.
Becasue, we will be seeking God's forgiveness for how we have turned away from Him, then for how our nation has turned away from Him. Then, we will be pleading with God to forgive us and send Revival. He paid everyone's sin debt with His life before He rose from the dead, and God can certainly revive us.
That revival must be doctrinally sound, of course. Checking places like here for good, sound doctrine will help. Turning away from counterfeit Bibles is important, too, returning to the one from the original Antiochan texts which are honest and use the ancient names like behemoth and leviathan for beasts whose description shows they were dinosaurs.
And, when those who choose not to see you are radically different and dedicated to what is right in the Creator's eyes, and how much peace he gives you, you can lovingly guide them to doing the same. Remember, our lives here are but a vapor - it is important that we pray with an eye toward eternity. God loves them, but for Him to save them, you need to be the first one to stand up and choose to follow Jesus and trust Him to make you a new creature inside.(2 Corithians 5:17) Becasue, jesus is the key to changing this nation. We ourselves are powerless, just as I am powerless and may seem to the world even less so because of my handicaps.
Besides, that is one of the horrible sins we have - false pride. Some people don't like when anyone gets ahead, as I've noted, always tearing others down, but God wants us to help others. I have always rooted for those less fortunate and love seeing others succeed. is that due to my handicaps, I don't know. But, I know that it thrills my heart to see people choose to call on Jesus, to see them call on Him for forgiveness and be changed. And, that is something we all need - our cities, our rural areas, all members of the human race need Him.
And, it starts with you praying and then turning away from the world we sinful adults have created, not because you're perfect but because you have chosen to accept our nation's sinfulness and repent and call on Jesus to save you and come in and make you a new creature, and then live for Him. And, if you mess up, repent of that sin and continue to focus more and more on following the Lord.
And, you will be showing a good example for all of us who have messed up (notice how I say that, just like Daniel, willingly including myself in that even though I've been a victim much more). Imagine when a nation of rich people sees millions of young people, teens, even preteens, on fire for Jesus Christ because you want to make a difference in your community the right way. Imagine when they see millions calling on Jesus Christ to forgive you and trust that He is God in flesh, that He took the punishment for your sins when he died on the cross, then he triumphed over the grave when He rose from the dead, o you could go to Heaven and have life more abundantly right here. Imagine all those people seeing you, young people, dedicating your homes to the Lord even if nobody else will. Imagine them seeing you dedicating yourselves to honesty and integrity and kindness and pleaseant speech and abandoning the cursing we see too much of, and not having any of it in your mouth or heart! Imagine when they see you committed to purity not because you have to ut because you want to for your future mate, smashing anything you're consuming those lusts on if you have to so it's out of your life! Imagine when they see hordes of young people, if anything bad happens, going to Jesus Christ in prayer and uniting to please with God to send a spirit of peace upon this land so there are no riots and so ISIS, that enslaving evil, and the darkness behind it can be defeated! Imagine hordes of young people with their minds always on prayer so they can be controlled by the Holy Spirit(which is what being filled means in Ephesians 5) and staying away from any alcohol or drugs!
It starts with you. It starts you doing it yourself and getting the word out, and living the life of goodness, trusting Christ and letting Him grow those fruits of the Spirit of Galatians 5:22-23. It starts with you.
Then, you will be making an eternal difference. And, you might even go down as another Josiah, another Elijah, another Daniel, one who was a great spiritual leader in this difficult age.
Then, there is what we put into our minds and thoughts - so many impure, unlovely things that we wind up eitehr desensitized or with at least a little PTSD.
People say we can't change the world on our own, but with God, we can. Intercessory prayer can and will still work, but we must be united in purpose, recognizing Jesus' place as our Creator. We are not cosmic accidents, we ayou are fearfully and wonderfully made - this is true for male as well as female members of the human race.
So, this is going to sound a bit silly, but it's time our young people rise up and fall on their knees. Rising up in prayer and seeking God's face. Never in vain repetitions, but always with an eye toward pleading with God to hear our heartfelt prayers.So many things are idols in our churches and in our homes - they can have good places if they can be pleasing to God, such as sports, but God must be first since sports are so fleeting. By dedicaint ourselves to God and throwing away our idols, our magic, whatever we worship that is in place of our Creator, we can see our fervent, effectual prayer make a difference.
Becasue, we will be seeking God's forgiveness for how we have turned away from Him, then for how our nation has turned away from Him. Then, we will be pleading with God to forgive us and send Revival. He paid everyone's sin debt with His life before He rose from the dead, and God can certainly revive us.
That revival must be doctrinally sound, of course. Checking places like here for good, sound doctrine will help. Turning away from counterfeit Bibles is important, too, returning to the one from the original Antiochan texts which are honest and use the ancient names like behemoth and leviathan for beasts whose description shows they were dinosaurs.
And, when those who choose not to see you are radically different and dedicated to what is right in the Creator's eyes, and how much peace he gives you, you can lovingly guide them to doing the same. Remember, our lives here are but a vapor - it is important that we pray with an eye toward eternity. God loves them, but for Him to save them, you need to be the first one to stand up and choose to follow Jesus and trust Him to make you a new creature inside.(2 Corithians 5:17) Becasue, jesus is the key to changing this nation. We ourselves are powerless, just as I am powerless and may seem to the world even less so because of my handicaps.
Besides, that is one of the horrible sins we have - false pride. Some people don't like when anyone gets ahead, as I've noted, always tearing others down, but God wants us to help others. I have always rooted for those less fortunate and love seeing others succeed. is that due to my handicaps, I don't know. But, I know that it thrills my heart to see people choose to call on Jesus, to see them call on Him for forgiveness and be changed. And, that is something we all need - our cities, our rural areas, all members of the human race need Him.
And, it starts with you praying and then turning away from the world we sinful adults have created, not because you're perfect but because you have chosen to accept our nation's sinfulness and repent and call on Jesus to save you and come in and make you a new creature, and then live for Him. And, if you mess up, repent of that sin and continue to focus more and more on following the Lord.
And, you will be showing a good example for all of us who have messed up (notice how I say that, just like Daniel, willingly including myself in that even though I've been a victim much more). Imagine when a nation of rich people sees millions of young people, teens, even preteens, on fire for Jesus Christ because you want to make a difference in your community the right way. Imagine when they see millions calling on Jesus Christ to forgive you and trust that He is God in flesh, that He took the punishment for your sins when he died on the cross, then he triumphed over the grave when He rose from the dead, o you could go to Heaven and have life more abundantly right here. Imagine all those people seeing you, young people, dedicating your homes to the Lord even if nobody else will. Imagine them seeing you dedicating yourselves to honesty and integrity and kindness and pleaseant speech and abandoning the cursing we see too much of, and not having any of it in your mouth or heart! Imagine when they see you committed to purity not because you have to ut because you want to for your future mate, smashing anything you're consuming those lusts on if you have to so it's out of your life! Imagine when they see hordes of young people, if anything bad happens, going to Jesus Christ in prayer and uniting to please with God to send a spirit of peace upon this land so there are no riots and so ISIS, that enslaving evil, and the darkness behind it can be defeated! Imagine hordes of young people with their minds always on prayer so they can be controlled by the Holy Spirit(which is what being filled means in Ephesians 5) and staying away from any alcohol or drugs!
It starts with you. It starts you doing it yourself and getting the word out, and living the life of goodness, trusting Christ and letting Him grow those fruits of the Spirit of Galatians 5:22-23. It starts with you.
Then, you will be making an eternal difference. And, you might even go down as another Josiah, another Elijah, another Daniel, one who was a great spiritual leader in this difficult age.
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