Church: Part 3

Church Part 3

By Leah F.
Flashback to First Devotion:
I was looking at my emails/subscriptions and this website showed up in my inbox:
http://stevesimms.wordpress.com/2013/10/29/c-h-u-r-c-h-a-poetic-acrostic/
In it, there was an acrostic poem that looked like this:
C-Christ followers
H-hanging out together
U-under the influence of the Spirit
R-responding directly to His promptings
C-celebrating the glory of
H-his only presence!
For a couple months, I'm going to grow through 1-2 letters at a time, going into each of these
descriptions into detail.
Today we go on with:
R-responding directly to his promptings
------
I actually had to ask my youth pastor on this one. I had to understand exact ally what promptings are.
Before I start, here's the dictionary definition: 1. Something used to suggest or remind. 2. To move or or
speak in response to a cue.
Now, this might be a bit confusing, but basically prompting is a command or statement for us to do. For
example, in Matthew 28:19 says, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Now here, the prompting is to go out and help
bring people to Christ.
Now I know I'm thinking "How am I supposed to do that? I'm only a teenager!" But, if you remember,
last time I talked about how we are under the influence of the Spirit, and with God all things are
possible. But God's promptings don't always come from the Bible, they come from our conscience, or
the Spirit gives you a yearning. This is what I'll be talking about today.
Have you ever been in your school cafeteria and seen the new girl/boy siting by their self? Did you (with
or w/o your friends) go sit next to him or her, or did you just leave them be. As Christians, we should
have the urge to help the new kid, be their friend, but then our human nature gets in the way, where we
worry of what other people will think. Now, God is giving you the prompt to go sit with them, but
sometimes we don't listen to his prompt. This acrostic says "responding directly to His promptings." Not
tomorrow, not next week, not next month, right now.
I hope we all realize that this isn't all fixed in a Christian school. I go to a private Christian school, and we
don't listen always to the promptings of God. We might spend the year memorizing Bible verses, but
after we recite them, we forget them, since memorizing scripture is normal to us. There is a boy who
just came into my class this year, and he has a bit of a social disorder. He is a great kid, but he doesn't
have many friends because of his disorder. But, I tried to hang out with him a bit, and he is actually
really smart, and really nice. Then i watched as in my friend group, in a way he is made fun of. I knew
there was something I could do to help him. Then one day during Friday devotions, we were giving a
post card, and we were told to write about someone and tell them of their good qualities. At first, I
thought I would just write it to my best friends, but something was telling me I should write it to the
boy. So I did, and when I gave it to him, I still remember how happy he was when he read it.
Responding to God not only is doing what he says, but in return it gives you a reward. It gives you a
higher sense of self-worth, and it helps you realize that you are here to make a difference. Maybe that
difference is to one day make world peace, or maybe that difference is making a kid's day. Maybe that
difference is starting a big anti-abortion charity, or maybe it's sponsoring a child by Compassion. Since
we are made in God's likeness, we do have the urge to do good, but our sinful nature gets in the way.
And that's why we need God and we need the Holy Spirit, we can't do anything on our own, it all
requires help from God.
Listen to God's promptings, and with each person you help, the more of the love of God you reveal.
Just in case you are interested: http://www.compassion.com/m/default.htm?

Church (part 2)

Church (Part 2)

By: Leah F.

Flashback to Last Devotion:

I was looking at my emails/subscriptions and this website showed up in my inbox: http://stevesimms.wordpress.com/2013/10/29/c-h-u-r-c-h-a-poetic-acrostic/

In it, there was an acrostic poem that looked like this:

C-Christ followers

H-hanging out together

U-under the influence of the Spirit

R-responding directly to His                        

promptings

C-celebrating the glory of

H-his only presence!

For a couple months, I'm going to grow through 1-2 letters at a time, going into each of these descriptions into detail.

Today we go on with:

H-Hanging out together

I-under the influence of the Spirit

---

Now, I know the maker of this poem needed a word starting with "h" but I don't like the term "hanging." I prefer the word "praising." We're praising together under the influence of the Spirit.

Praising includes things like praying, singing, reading the Bible, telling others about Jesus, etc. the Bible gives the impression that anything directed to God is praising him. That means there is an unlimited about of ways to praise our Heavenly Father. It's not just singing and praying, but so much more! Think, if you just promised God to that you will study for a test and you do; that's praising him! If you practice piano, and then thank God for your talent he gave you; you're praising him! And, since there is an unlimited amount of ways, the list goes on and on!

Since the day of Pentecost, the Spirit lives in the heart of each true Christian. It's what people would call your "conscience." Roman's 8:26 says, "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans" This verse shines a new light on the importance of the Holy Sprit. Sometimes the Spirit is undermined, being looked at as the least important part of the trinity. But God is all the same, and the Sprit plays an equal role in our lives. This verse says that the Spirit helps us pray, helps us in our weakness, and intercedes for us. God doesn't see our sins, but he sees the perfection in Jesus and the Spirit. Galatians 5:25 says, "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." This verse comes after the list of the fruits of the Spirit, which are; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The Spirit influences these attitudes, and God is praised when you use them. Then going back to the verse, since we live with the Spirit, we should do as the Spirit does; "keeping in step."

Church (Part 1) - By Leah F.

Church (Part 1)

By Leah F.

I was looking at my emails/subscriptions and this website showed up in my inbox: http://stevesimms.wordpress.com/2013/10/29/c-h-u-r-c-h-a-poetic-acrostic/ 

In it, there was an acrostic poem that looked like this:

C-Christ followers 

H-hanging out together 

U-under the influence of the Spirit 

R-responding directly to His promptings 

C-celebrating the glory of 

H-his only presence! 

For a couple months, I'm going to grow through 1-2 letters at a time, going into each of these descriptions into detail. Today we start with: C-Christ followers

 ----- 

What does it mean to "follow Christ?" Does it mean doing exactly what Christ did in the exact events? Sorry, but that isn't possible. Matthew 16:24 puts in a simple way; saying, "Then Jesus told his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.'" 

 Jesus tells us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him.

 Denying yourself- you need to realize that you are a sinner, and that you need God in order to get eternal salvation. Pray to God, repent for your sins, and ask him to love inside of you and be your God. 

Taking up Your Cross- Some might believe that this means bearing suffering and pain, and it does, but in Jesus' day; a cross meant death. You have to be willing to die for Jesus and your God everyday and every hour. 

Following Christ- 1 Peter 2:21 says, "For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps." We need to follow in God's example. Yes, we need to do good works; helping the poor, being kind to those who hurt you, but it means more. Praying to God in every hardship, preaching out to those who don't know Christ, loving people who don't love you, and even praying for them. 

As you can see, all of these points can't happen over night. They take practice, perseverance, and prayer. You need to *want* God in your life, and you have to realize you *need* to follow God. I understand that it's hard to realize what God wants from you, but I pray that we'll find the courage inside of us to pick up our cross, and follow Jesus.

Different Congregations, By Leah F.

Different Congregations

By Leah F.

What branch of Christianity are you? Are you Presbyterian? Catholic? Eastern Orthodox? Or are you Baptist? I myself am Presbyterian, that is the way I was raised. And as you know, these branches have different beliefs. There are some big differences between the Baptist church and the Catholic church. But what I don't like about the different congregations is that some people make fun of each other, and that maybe one congregation isn't saved because of their beliefs. My grandfather is Catholic, and it makes it really mad when people say Catholics aren't really saved. So yes, there are differences in the beliefs.
For example, the Lutheran church accepts women as pastors, and the Methodist church doesn't. Catholics believe that the communion actually turns into Jesus' body and blood, but Protestants don't. My personal opinion is that these things don't really matter in the long run.
Romans 10:9 says, "Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." That is really all you need to believe!
So yes, this devotion was short, but it was straight to the point. Need I say more? To get into heaven, all you have to know that Jesus is God, we are sinners, and that Jesus died for us and then raised from the dead!