Music

I can't tell you how big of a difference it makes in my day when I listen to worship music instead of the mainstream music on the radio. It seems like just about every song on the radio now is about partying. They make it all seem so fun and harmless, like it's something you have to do because you're young. I know that at times, that's had a big effect on me. It's made me jealous and angry, just listening to this music, feeling like I was missing out on a part of life that everybody else was having fun with. But as I've grown closer with God, I've realized that the draw to partying has become less and less. I don't feel upset anymore when I'm sitting at home on Friday nights, I actually feel glad that I'm not out somewhere getting drunk! To me, that is huge, because when I was younger I practically dreamed about going off to college and going wild. But now that I'm "getting serious" with God, the thought of partying kind of repulses me. I feel like I don't want to let God down; I want to obey Him. I think about Jesus going through all that pain and dying, and it becomes a lot more personal when I imagine it's that sin that I just committed that put another slash on his back or another nail in his hand. I've noticed that a lot of the time when I'd sin, I'd do a quick little justification in my head that makes it ok, but when it's done and over with I feel terrible and beg for forgiveness..but then I'd do it again later, and it's just like a big circle. It's not worth it, sin is not worth it. Now I realize that repentance is a lot different than just saying sorry, and that's what I try to do. I don't try to abstain from sinning to earn salvation or "good standing" with God, I do it because I love Him (because He loved me first, of course!) I also realize that there's nothing I can do on my own, because as humans on this earth, God is the one who sanctifies us, not ourselves.

Back to the topic of this post, music. Lol I got a little sidetracked there, but anyway.. Let me say that I do not generally like contemporary Christian music. I don't say this to put down those artists or other people that like them, it's just not my cup of tea. When I hear that music I just don't feel any emotional connection, and it ends up all sounding the same. I love music that I can feel the soul of, so to speak, praise music and just regular music. The kind of worship music I like is the kind that makes me desperate for God. I guess that's the best way to explain it. Basically all I'm trying to say, is that if something tempts you, hearing music that encourages that is going to make it even harder to stay away from (yes, I suppose I'm pointing out the obvious there.) But on the other end, listening to praise music will make it easier to keep your mind on the Lord, worship Him, and make your temptations much easier to deal with. God is always with us (I think that Hebrews 13:5 is my favorite promise God gives to us,) sometimes we just forget that. Thank God for the gift of music!

It's Not An Excuse

One thing I've come to grips with is that being young is not an excuse to sin. It's something that I've know but have always pushed to the back of my mind and pretended it's not there. I always had big plans of turning 18, going to college, and going crazy partying. It was always my one sin that I wanted to justify, thinking, "Oh, I'll go have fun being young and then I'll get my life on track and live like a Christian after college." I thought this way, despite knowing it was wrong, until this summer at Lake Forest Ranch. LFR is the camp that me and my youth group go to every summer up in Macon, Mississippi. It's a very special place, and God's presence is always felt there. This year was different though - through the worship, quiet times, and messages from our speaker Steve Miller, I felt my relationship with God growing, and my want to live my life for Him renewed. See, I have been saved since I was 5 years old, but somewhere along the way, I turned into a 'lukewarm' Christian. Revelation 3:15-16 says: "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth." This verse scared me silly. I don't want to live my whole life thinking I'm going to Heaven, yet acting any earthly way I desire, only for God to "vomit" me out of His mouth. I don't want to be a lukewarm Christian any longer, just because my excuse of "I'm young." 1 Timothy 4:12 says: "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." I believe that when it says "Don't let anyone..." it includes ourselves, and our fellow youth.

Stop using your youth as an excuse to yourself. A 16 year old girl from my town just passed away a few days ago - you never know when your time is to go. As youth we always think 'that couldn't happen to us', and that we have all the time in the world to get our lives on track whenever we decide to. The fact is, that's not the truth. This isn't the only reason, or the main one, to start living your life for Christ, but it is a good one.

Proverbs 8:32-33 talks about being blessed. Jeremiah 1:4-9 talks about not using your youth as an excuse, relying on God, and not being afraid. Matthew 5:17 says: "...I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." (That's Jesus talking by the way.) Jesus doesn't want to take anything away from your life, but to bless and fulfill it to the fullest. I'm so glad I've stopped using my youth as an excuse, and have begun to let Jesus consume my life. "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." (Galations 2:20)

I'll end this with one last passage:
Titus 2:2-8
Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.