Jesus was sent out of love

While pondering a very familiar passage today, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."  I was reminded that is was out of Love that God sent His Son Jesus.  It wasn't out of anger for all the terrible things we were doing, Jesus was sent because of Love.  It wasn't out of obligation because He had created us, God's motive in sending Jesus to die on the cross was motivated out of His love for us.  His love for the world is what compels him to seek and save the lost!  And that love that we have in our hearts is what should compel us love those who are lost and dying without Christ! 

What would it be like?

...to have 100kids, 500 kids, 1000 kids in our church youth groups...to have an incredible worship team for Wednesday night services where our kids are smitten with the love for God?..... to have buses that pick up kids who can't find rides to church on Sunday mornings and Wednesday night?
  If God really does want to touch and rescue this young generation, is He waiting for the older men, all the adults and the moms and the dads to dream on behalf of the young people?  Where are the dreamers?-- Ron Luce  RE-CREATE

Today is a good day

Deuteronomy 6 the blueprint for a successful family

D6:5 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."
Most of us know that we are commanded to love God with all that we are and with everything that we have. The question is; how do we train children and teenagers to do this as well? How can we raise our kids so that they will love God also? Deuteronomy 6 gives us some answer to this:
1) Make great efforts to get God's word into the hearts of our children. In Verse 6 it says impress them upon also verse 8 it says write them on your doorposts, and tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
This sounds like more effort than just getting our kids to show up for church on Sunday? It sounds like we will have to work at teaching our kids God's word. 
2) Remember what God has done for us in the past
3)Serve God only
4) Don't follow the ungodly ways of the people around us.

You Give Them Something to Eat!

Sometimes we feel as if we don't have the resources or abilities to impact and reach our world for Christ. I was reminded of this today as a small group of teenagers came to church after school to spend their afternoon preparing through prayer, devotions, drama and worship practice to minister to their friends and peers the unchanging truths about God's Word.
The disciples where challenged by Jesus to gives the great crowd that had followed them in Matthew Ch 14 something to eat. With little money, no store in sight and only a few small loaves of bread and a few fish, Jesus gave them what seemed like and insane command. "You give them something to eat"! I think Jesus is still saying this to his church today! Most people in the U.S may not need a physical meal but their is a spiritual hunger in everyone! I think Jesus might just be saying its time his people gave those who are hurting and dying without Christ in their lives the bread of life, the bread that came down from heaven. Man cannot live on bread alone, but on every word comes from the mouth of God. Oh God break us like the loaves and fish and use a small group of teenagers, a few youth leaders to multiply your word to the masses of people!

Our youth vs our culture

Recently I have been reading some interesting books dealing with the topic of raising up young people to love God in a culture that promotes the complete opposite message of what we teach in the church. In our church we minister to a significant number or teenagers and kids who do not come from church families. It is very difficult for us to try to shape their moral values and world view when we have maybe 2 hours a week to influence their lives, compared to the many hours a week they are being influenced by their peers in school, tv, video games and family members who do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ. I love seeing these young people give their lives to Jesus but it seems like we face such a uphill battle trying train them to live lifestyles that are set apart and dedicated to God. I am reminded of the disciples question to Jesus about who could be saved if rich people could not be saved.(Matthew 19:26) His answer was that with man this is impossible but with God nothing is impossible! This battle is completely impossible for us to do on our own! We are dependent upon Jesus to show up and change a young person's heart! God I pray that you will get a hold of our young generation, I pray you will capture their hearts so that they will follow you all the days of their lives!