TEEN CHALLENGE

" Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:   And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.   And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:   And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it." Matthew 7:24-27     My cousin was texting a sermon he wrote to me yesterday, and in it was a very simple, yet very good statement. He said "the wise man built his house on the rock, and the storm showed it". The storm showed all the work and effort that he had put into building his house correctly. Are you building your life correctly? Are you taking the time and putting in the effort to build your life on the...

  "...I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness." Psalm 84:10     The lowliest of positions in service to God is better than being a king and serving Satan. The world will try to entice you and tell you that you'll have so much fun with them, but beware; it's all a lie. In the end there is only heartbreak, disaster, and death. Refuse to dwell where there is wickedness. Don't spend your time with those who are not walking with God.      Dwelling "in the tents of wickedness" will only leave you empty. Take one good look at a crowd of unsaved people who are talking a laughing, and you will see hollow, empty lives with no purpose. Stay in God's house- that is where you will find true joy.       We do have to live in the world- there's no getting away from all the sin. We still have to work and live life. But we do not have to be of the world. Don't allow the unsaved people who you are with ...

  "Wherever you are, be all there; live to the hilt every situation that you believe to be the will of God." -Jim Elliot     When I first read this quote, I was unsure of what "live to the hilt" meant. So I looked it up and found that the phrase means " As   much   or   to   the   greatest   degree   possible;   completely   or   utterly." So according to this quote we are to live every situation that is the will of God to the greatest degree possible.      If God has put you in a situation that you don't particularly like or enjoy, don't be miserable about it. Wherever you are, be all there. Whatever God has given you to do, do it with everything you've got. Even if you've got a "small" job that God has given you, do it the absolute best that you can.  Doing things half-heartedly is not glorifying to God. To honour Him we must use the abilities He has given us to the fullest. Not developing or using th...

 " Behold, the  Lord 's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:   But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. " Isaiah 59:1     Does it ever feel like God's just not answering? We hear everyone saying that God is all powerful and can hear and see everything, but then we pray and pray for things and there's no answer. But have you considered that you may have something between you and your God? Have you sinned against him?      If your brother came up and punched you, and then asked you to do him a favor 10 minutes later would you be very likely to do it?   Now what if he came back and apologized to you, and was sincerely sorry? Would you be more likely to help him out?      Now we can in no way compare God to how we act, but in this verse it says that our iniquities will hide God's face from us....

This month's devotional comes from Bro Luke Tullock from Heritage Baptist Church in Palmyra, N.Y. 1. Prayers aren’t answered because of unconfessed sin. Proverbs 66:18 “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” • Regard meaning to recognize. • When we allow sin to reside in our hearts, we are creating a barrier between us and God. • God cannot work on our behalf when we have sin in our lives that is unconfessed. (Isaiah 59:1-4) • Do you have unconfessed sin in your life? • Are you hiding something? • Proverbs 28:13 “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” • Unconfessed sins prevent answers to prayer. 2. Prayers aren’t answered because of unbelief. Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him...” 2 Corinthians 5:7 “For we walk by faith, not by sight...” • Christianity is based on faith in God. • So then, why is it so hard for us to have faith? • Why are we “surprised” when God answer...