“Respect for Church Leaders” by Lauren Davis

I Timothy: 5:17 reads: “The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.” Titus 1:8 says: “Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.” The elders devote themselves to keeping watch over God’s church, a responsibility not taken lightly by those chosen for the task. Each decision is carefully thought out and meticulously reasoned, because the elder’s goal is first to please God and second to benefit the church as a whole.

I’ll be straight to the point: It kills me to hear any churchgoer to complain about elder’s actions or lack of action and criticize what takes place in the eldership. Some members of the church are not afraid to voice their opinion on what they believe the elders are doing as if chatting about politics. These “church politics” are denounced in Romans 13:1: “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” The verse particularly refers to governmental authorities, but the application is additionally valid in reference to the church leaders. Respect for the all leaders is commanded.

The members of the church should realize and try to understand that the elders are trying their best at their duty, and that it is wrong to gossip about what they think the elders should do differently. If someone should have a suggestion, there is nothing wrong with telling the elders. The elders will consider it and decide whether or not it’s in the best interest of the church family. But to assume that one knows better than the eldership is foolish and childish. One’s trust should be placed in the eldership, because they were selected by the church and God to serve in that position.

One should also not discuss topics in which he is less than informed. I personally get irritated when people discuss topics like they know exactly what’s going on and they know all the details, when in reality they don’t know half of what’s going on. For example: don’t complain about not knowing where or why the elders spend money in certain areas when there is an annual budget printed out and readily available. Even if there wasn’t a budget sheet available at the time one wanted to research the budget, all one has to do is ask and the information will be given. Don’t blame things on the elder’s for lack of asking.

I witness the burden with which the elders are faced and I see in their hearts how much they try to make things work out. However, it seems like no matter what they do or how they do it, the elders will always be chastised for their choices. They know difficulties are blamed on them, and so it makes their job even more difficult knowing that the people they are trying to help are not accepting of their diligent effort. They are all great men who deserve respect and honor, and the church has a responsibility of showing them such.

“A Book By Its Cover” by Gwyndolyn Ellis

Ever hear the phrase “Never judge a book by its cover?” How about this one “You never get a second chance to make a good first impression?” So, what is a first impression and how do you make it good? Webster’s defines “impression” as: a characteristic, trait, or feature resulting from some influence. Therefore, a first impression is a characteristic, trait, or feature that another picks up from you based on the influence you exert when you first meet. For example, if you exert very little influence, a characteristic that could be attributed to you is that you are quiet, but if you exert a fair amount of influence, you could be seen as outspoken or even decided in your opinions.

A first impression can either be spot-on about someone’s personality, or completely wrong, but, if you don’t work to discover the real person, you will never know if you judged to soon either way. Someone can give you a pretty bad first impression, but once you get to know them, you learn they really are nice and fun. In the same way, you can receive an awesome first impression of someone and later learn that they are not the kind of person you want to hang out with. As Christians, though, we are called to be different, and be “open books” for others; our cover should tell all about our spiritual book. In Romans 12:2a, the Bible states “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. A common practice in today’s world is to have different “covers” for different situations, so that you never know the real person, just what they want you to see. As Christians we should have one cover that is our true self and be “open books” for any, and every, one to read and know that we are different.

One way to make that good first impression is through our appearance. Even though the Bible states in John 7:24 “Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment,” the world looks to our appearance first. And while we should not spend all our time on our appearance, we should try to look somewhat pleasing, in a modest way, and always strive to have a pleasant expression so people feel invited and welcomed by us. Another way to make a good first impression is through our speech. In Colossians 4:6, Paul states “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” We are told to have pleasing speech that allows us to be open to speaking with everyone and lets them be open to speaking with us, in an appropriate manner.

Even though being the “open book” is not necessarily the popular way, we should always act the same at all places, and our “book” should correspond with our “cover” exactly.

“Showing Respect” by Lauren Davis

As a member of the track team, I am repeatedly exposed to a variety of worldly actions. I have friends on the team, but none of which I am really close to. Recently, I found out that one of the girls that I am friends with is bisexual. She knows that I am a Christian, and so one day while we were running together, she asked me my stance on things. I told her it was not my job to judge; that duty belongs to God alone, and that it was my job to correct and teach what the Scripture says. This conversation wore on me for a long time, because even though I told her what I was supposed to be doing, I still hadn’t shown her where the Bible says that homosexuality is wrong. A week or two later at practice, she was very distressed because of problems she was having with her girlfriend. Finally that night, I had the motivation to send her a message with two scriptures and an explanation of why who she’s involved with is a sin. I tried to instill that I was not judging her; I just needed to make her aware of that God does not approve of homosexuality and she needs to repent. In her reply, she thanked me for looking out for her, and said she needed to figure out what action to take. The next day at practice, she was not bitter to me at all, but instead received me as a good friend woul

Another situation came about with an over-flirtatious senior boy on the track team. I have chosen to keep my distance from him so that he understands that I am not looking for physical attention like the other girls. Something came up that he said, “My life will be complete when Lauren doesn’t hate me anymore.” I felt terrible to hear that he thought I hated him, so I corrected him and said, “I don’t hate you; I just don’t like the way you act with girls.” His friend sitting next to him started to make fun of me, saying: “What? That doesn’t even make sense.” But the boy himself sat thoughtfully looking at the ground and he told his friend, “Yes, yes it does.” A day or two later he confronted me and said “I just wanted to let you know, you won’t have to worry about me acting disrespectfully with girls anymore.” I thanked him, and since then, he has held true to his word.

By a Christian’s conduct, they earn the respect of peers. The example of the everyday life of Christians causes non-believers to hold us in highest honor and admiration. If people claim to be Christians but act like the world, non-believers see that as hypocrisy (and their observation is accurate). As we act upright every day and earn appreciation from others, our confrontations become more effective.  When Christians earn respect from peers through their actions, non-believers are more willing to listen to instruction and correction, because they know that Christians themselves are trying to live as they tell other people to live, and not telling people how to live when they don’t live that way either. If non-believers see us “walk the walk,” then they will be more willing to listen to us “talk the talk”. Titus 2:7-8 says: “In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In 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.”

When respect is gained from non-believers, they will trust and listen to you more. So here is my challenge: stand up for God, tell non-believers about your Mighty Savior. Don’t be afraid of losing friends, because friends will listen to friends. It may take time, but at least once you’ve spoken up, the seed has been planted.

 

“Acceptable Prayer” by Andy Morstain

About a year ago, several families from the Keller church of Christ had the privilege of going up to Boston Massachusetts to help the Fall River church of Christ with some building maintenance, ministry workshops, and their Vacation Bible School.  I had several highlights during this trip; I got to eat my first lobster, I got to pull an all-nighter with the preacher’s sons’ playing video games, but the thing I remember the most was visiting a cathedral. We had the privilege of going on a guided tour through the cathedral, being able to see the confessional booth, the altar, a life-size replica of Jesus hanging on the cross, and the GIANT organ… but the thing that stuck with me the most was when we were getting ready to leave, there was an older woman and a younger woman. The older woman was bent over on a statue and was in very obvious emotional stress.  She was talking in another language so I couldn’t understand her, but I didn’t have to, to see her pain. She was pouring her heart out to what was essentially an idol. It gave me butterflies in my stomach when I thought of how the prayer that she was saying was no more than words, because she wasn’t praying to God… she was praying to Mary.

We as Christians know that we have one of the most important acts of Worship – Prayer. Prayer is VERY powerful, as I’m sure most, if not all, of us have seen. What gives prayer such power? The answer is very simple. GOD gives prayer power; moreover than what we could ever ask for. Prayer is something that must be accompanied by human action. Just as a farmer can pray for all the crops that he wants, unless he goes out and plans the seed and waters that seed, he will get nothing more than grass and weeds. So if prayer is powerful, what must we have to make prayer acceptable to God?

We must pray with sincerity.

Without sincerity in a prayer, we are doing no more than saying words and the prayer will be completely ineffective.  Notice Jesus’ statement in Matthew 6:5, “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.”  Jesus is clearly teaching that praying without sincerity makes one a hypocrite. Those who get up and offer those long, drawn-out prayers WITHOUT sincerity are trying to attract the attention of men, rather than God. Praying without sincerity makes them a hypocrite.  Hear what Jesus proclaimed in Mark 7:6-7, “Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying: “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”  Jesus is saying here that those who only praise him with their mouths, but do not have their heart in it worship in vain. Their offering is unacceptable to God.

Secondly, we must pray with is persistency.

Luke 11:5-8 reads, “And he said unto them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?” I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.”  Luke goes on to say in Luke 18:2-5, “There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.”  We see here that because of the friends and widows persistency they each got what they were seeking. What the texts are NOT saying is that God is at first unwilling to answer our prayers, but rather that God will be more willing to answer our prayers if we have the motivation to make it a regular part of our lives. Thus, we need to be like the friend and the widow in our prayers, in the way that we should be consistent.

Finally, we must make sure that our prayer is in accordance with Gods will and that we pray in Jesus name.

1 John 5:14-15 states, “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”  We see here that if we ask for something according to Gods will, he will certainly hear us and will answer, even if that answer is a no. We should NEVER pray to change Gods will, but we should pray to change our will to conform to the teachings and the will of God.  John 14:13-14 shares, “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”  According to Jesus whatever we ask in His name, as long as it’s in accordance with Gods will, it will be done for us. Some things aren’t in Gods will though, like that new car or that really expensive house. But when we come to God in prayer, we must come to Him through Jesus, because He is our mediator.

As Christians we must be sure to pray with sincerity, persistency and our prayers must be in accordance with Gods will and we must pray through Jesus Christ for our offering to be acceptable to God.

“The Pursuit of Happiness” by Kelsey Allen

Have you ever thought to yourself, “I just want to be happy?” Happiness is a key word in today’s society. And why shouldn’t it be? No one wants to sit around being sad. No one wants to mope around draining everyone’s energy. We want our lives to be full of happiness and contentment, of optimism and excitement.

Everyone wants happiness. The problem is that we are not able to quite grasp it, just like a dog chasing its tail. In your life, maybe you are the dog chasing its tail. So close to being able to reach it, but just not coming close enough to the destination. This is the problem with happiness. We, as humans, think of happiness as a destination, but this is not at all the case. God wants all of us to be happy, but with one distinction.  He wants us to realize that happiness is not a destination.  When we make happiness our destination, we end up in misery.  Rather, happiness is the scenery we experience as we draw closer to God in obedience.  Happiness is the byproduct of a Christian attitude and lifestyle.

How can we become happy, while striving for our Christian lifestyle? The perfect place to find exactly what we need to be happy is in Matthew 5:3-10.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Webster’s dictionary defines the word blessed as “blissfully happy and content”. God is telling us right here exactly what we need to be happy, all while drawing near to him. We must be free of spiritual pride; we must mourn our sins, and our faults. We must be humble, merciful, pure, and peacemakers. It becomes so easy to become wrapped up in the world, and to forget where our real happiness lies. Without Christ, we’re all just dogs chasing our tails. To become truly happy, we must live our lives in pursuit of Christ, and then happiness is just a part of the package deal, and comes naturally.

“Helping Others” by Lauren Davis

Coming home from worship Wednesday night Mom and I stopped at the gas station. I had completed filling up my car and I began to make my way back to the driver’s side of the car when a man of about thirty years of age stopped me. Mom was talking to her mother in the car and didn’t see the exchange. The man explained to me that his daughter and her mother had been in a car accident and were now hospitalized in Dallas. He said had been to three different gas stations, at none of which his debit card worked. He asked me if I had any change to spare. I’d always heard of scenarios like this, but never thought it would happen to me, especially as a sixteen-year-old. I didn’t bother thinking about if he may be intending to harm of take advantage of me; all I could think about was how blessed I was that God placed such an obvious opportunity in my path. I reached in the console, took out a ten from my wallet, and handed it to him. Of the situation in its entirety, his next comment was burned into my head most: “God bless you.”

I explained my actions to my mom and had the rest of the car ride home to ponder what happened. My simple gesture led him to recognize the fact that I was accomplishing my duties as a Christian. It was so encouraging for me to know that I proved God to a stranger.

I don’t know if the man was lying to me. If he was, his guilt is on his own head. If was being honest and I refused him, I become guilty of not helping someone in need. Matthew 25:41-46 states: “Then he will say to those on his left: ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Jesus explains that it is not only good to help others, it is wrong not to. To see a need and leave it unmet is a sin worthy of condemnation. God expects us to be a light to the world by helping others with whatever they need. Helping others is not an option; it is a command given to us by the Lord.

Here is my challenge: Know when people are in need of your help. Always be on the lookout for ways you can demonstrate your love for God by loving other people. To help is to love, and to love is to be Christ-like: a true Christian’s lifestyle.

“Your First Love” by Andy Morstain

“I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou can not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted, Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.” (Revelation 2:2-4)

Who and what do you love? I personally love my friends and family. They’re easy to love (most of the time) because I know that they will love me back. What about those who don’t love you?  What about those who don’t even know you, those who HATE you, those who annoy you? Do you love them?

“Ye have heard that it hath been said; Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them that love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?  Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:43-48)

Love isn’t that costly, there’s plenty to go around. But you can’t love one person and not love another. You can’t love God and Jesus if you don’t love people. You can’t love people, if you don’t first love yourself. Let your love for Jesus come first. If you love Jesus more than everybody and everything, and most importantly, yourself, everything else will come naturally.  (1 John 4:20)

Now that we know what and who to love, who/what do you really love? The “Churchy” answer would of course be Jesus. But think about it, do you really love Him the most? I mean, we’ve all got homework, sports, friends, some people babysit, and some have jobs. Oh yeah, and we can’t forget about video games. Out of this list, how much time do you spend on each? Now contrast that with how much time you spend with Jesus on a daily basis. There are 24 hours in a day first you have school and homework, then maybe you do some babysitting for some extra cash, then you want to play that new video game that you just got. By now it’s dinnertime. After dinner you want your friends to come over, but you have to clean the house first. So… where does Jesus fit into all of this?  How much time do you spend with him apart from Church? How much time do you really seeking his face? Do you actively read His word and let Him speak to you through those words?  Before you know it, the day is over and you haven’t even said hi.

Those things I listed above aren’t bad, but you need to set your priorities. Do you really love Jesus more than anyone and anything? More than that friend that you have a very close relationship with? More than that new video game? We all say that we love Him, but do our actions show it?

James writes in James 2:17,20 – “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. (17)  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” (20)

1 John 3:18 – “My little children let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”

Let Jesus be your first love and everything else will come naturally.

“The Broad and Narrow Gate” by Lauren Davis

In US history, my class was working in groups to analyze political cartoons and many of the cartoons had allusions to the Bible. I was saddened to see that in the cartoon my group had, no one except me recognized the man parting the waves to be Moses. I thought to myself “These are only five kids out of the rest of the class; surely there are more who would recognize this man.” As the other groups presented their cartoon, the teacher asked who the man standing in front of a huge boat was, and when they recognized Noah, I felt a slightly relieved. Yet still, the teacher questioned who went to Bible Class and as he asked around the room, more and more people said they didn’t attend any sort of worship service.

I used to wonder how wide the wide gate is, and how narrow the narrow gate is. However, now I understand that we truly are a minority as Christians. Matthew 7:13-14 reads “Enter through the marrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it.” It used to scare me to ask “Just how good do you have to be to make it into heaven? Where exactly does God draw the line?” The line will never be perfectly defined for humans, and therefore it is our duty to stay as far away from the line as possible. When something beneficial to society needs done, it is our responsibility to accomplish it.

Many Christians face the uncertainty of the afterlife, especially in the early stage of their relationships with God. Personally, I feel like I’ve never done anything good enough to earn salvation. I understand that salvation is not something to be earned, but even after baptism, everyone continues sinning. My wondering is: how long will God keep forgiving after forgiveness has been given and the sin is repeated? The “Once-Saved-Always-Saved” theory is not justified with scripture, but to what extent does God forgive repeated sins? Young Christians such as myself often repeat the same sin several times before they learn from it. But what if their life is ended before the lesson is learned and they have truly repented? Where will their soul be destined for eternity?

So again to the question: How wide is the broad gate and how narrow is the small gate? Here is my conclusion: Instead of concerning oneself over the boundaries of what you can and cannot do, fight against one’s own evil desires and only do what is known to be upright and correct in the eyes of God, found in the scriptures.

“A Season for Everything” by Andy Morstain

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:  A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

As humans, we want there to only be the seasons of joy, peace, love, abundance, and life. But, unfortunately life doesn’t always work out this way. During our lifetimes we will encounter many times as extreme as day and night. This verse in Ecclesiastes shows us that we will have many seasons that are as different as summer and winter.

Many people, including Christians, think that there should only be a time to be born, plant, reap, heal, and build up. For those people, the thoughts of death, destruction, killing, and tearing down are absurd and unimaginable. For the people that think there will only be good times, they will be caught off-guard by the bad times. When ones faith is placed in life, they will eventually be let down.

Instead of looking at the bad times as curses, we should try to look at them as trials from God to make us stronger. Job went through the toughest of times and still remained faithful to God. When Satan was standing before God asking to test Job, God knew that Job would remain faithful. God didn’t let Job be tested beyond what he could bear; likewise he wont let you be tested beyond what you can bear. So when Satan is standing before God asking to test you, know that it is something that will make you stronger in your faith.

When a person stops fearing or fighting the seasons of God and instead learns how to flow with them, there arises in their soul a great peace that comes with understanding. That understanding is that to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. In other words, when we live for a higher purpose than our own, we finally understand life and God’s purpose for us in it.

“Sticks and Stones” by Gwyndolyn Ellis

There is an old saying, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” This saying is not true, especially in this day and age. Yes, sticks and stones can break bones, but words can and do hurt people.

Words have the greatest impact on mankind because they are everywhere: in our conversations, the books we read, and the shows we watch. A simple word can make our day, or ruin it. There are several ways words can hurt, gossip and cursing are just some examples of those. In Colossians 3:8, it says “But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language.” This verse gives us a way to achieve Godly Speech, and falls under Paul’s teaching about rules for holy living. God wants us to have kind speech and lift up others with our speech, so stated in Ephesians 5:29: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” This verse not only tells us to lift others up, it is all about doing what is best for someone else.

As teens, we find ourselves surrounded by selfishness daily, which comes out in the form of gossiping or cursing. When people gossip, they are trying to make themselves feel better by making someone else look bad and therefore feel worse than the gossiper does. And when people curse, it is because they want attention to the fact that they are upset and don’t care if they offend someone else by using crude language. As teens, we have the ability to influence those around us for the good and we are called, in 1Timothy 4:12, “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.” Notice that Paul first mentions speech to the young Timothy, knowing the influence he would have on the Church; even though we are young, we can do a lot to influence our peers. Another form of words that can cause problems is found in Exodus 20:7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.” When people take the Lord’s name in vain, it should hurt us, because they are hurting themselves, and we and others use euphemism for the Lord’s name, it is just as bad. Therefore, we need to train ourselves to monitor our words, think over what we are going to say, and then say only positive and uplifting things. One of the things I learned at E.W.E.S (Equipping Women for Exceptional Service) Camp was the THINK before speaking acronym:

Ask…Are my words:

True? Remember this rule about gossip: “The more interesting it is, the more likely it is to be false.”(Proverbs 8:6-7,10:32, Ephesians 4:16, Philippians 4:8)

Helpful? Will your words help bring about a solution to the problem? (Galatians 5:14, 6:2, Job 16:5, Acts20:35)

Inspiring? Will your words build up someone? (I Thessalonians 5:11, Romans 14:19, Hebrews 3:13)

Necessary? Do you have anything to say at all? (Psalm 141:3, Ecclesiastes 9:17, I Thessalonians 4:11)

Kind? Are your words based on a desire to help and comfort? (Ephesians 4:29-32, Colossians 4:6, Galatians 5:22-23)

I will leave you with this verse: “For, whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.”  I Peter 3:10