| Devotionals from the Upper Room |
| This is the part of the website where I will keep the devotionals from Wednesday Nights at The Upper Room. At any given time I will probably only have 8 or 9 devotionals posted up here. But I will make a list of all the devotionals I have so you can e-mail me to recieve the ones that are not posted on the website. |
| NO EXCUSES Fear Him. Love Him. Know Him. "It's not easy to live as a Christian teenager in today's world. I try to do what's right and be in God's will, but with all the pressure I have put on me by the people who aren't Christians, it's just....so hard!" Excuses leave peoples mouths more often than they realize. Think about how many times you have an excuse for why you did or didn't do something. Think about how many times you have an excuse for why you don't live by the Christian standards that you should. The above statement is the most common excuse Christian teenagers give when confronted about the way they portray their Christianity when they are "out in the world." Have you ever said or thought something similar to the statement above? Read: Matthew 27:27-31 Imagine that as you are sitting here reading this page you are suddenly blinded by a bright light. As quickly as the light appears it vanishes, and as your eyes began to focus clearly again, you realize that Jesus is standing before you and is about to speak to you. What would Jesus say to you? Would he be pleased with the way you are living your life and worshipping Him? Or, would He open a bible to Matthew 27:27-31 and say, "After I went through all this for you, this is the best you can do for my father's kingdom?" Excuse: Well sure, I sin. But I am human, and God knows that I am not perfect right? I mean I may not be the best person in the world, but I am certainly not the worst. I know this one guy that is into all kinds of bad things... Don't you just love those teachers who grade on a curve? You know, the teachers who take all the tests scores, and by looking at the average and highest scores, decide that everyone gets an extra ten points added to their tests grade! Read: Romans 2:12-13 and Luke 16:15-16 God does not grade on a curve! According to Romans 2:12-13 eveyone will be judged by God, and according to Luke 16:15-16, what is highly valuable to men is detestable to God. So are your sins any better than someone else's? "Well my sins may be just as bad as someone else's, but it is so hard to know what I should and shouldn't do." As a Christian everyday you are faced with many questions: - How should I talk? - Am I doing the right thing? - How do I handle this situation? - How should I pray? - How should I worship? Every person in the world has an opinion about these questions. Many teenagers tend to ask for the answers to these questions and they receive so many different answers that they don't know what is right. Do you ever have this problem? Read: Romans 7:7 In Romans 7:7 Paul says that he would not have known what sin was is he had not known the law. In other words, had he not read the Bible he would not have known how to live His life for God. Set aside a time everyday to read you Bible and prays. Find out for yourself how you should live and what God desires for you to do with your life. Luke 11:9a says, "Ask and it shall be given to you..." This verse tells you to God answers prayer. Don't give an excuse when you sin, simply ask for forgiveness. Pray right now for God to help you with your daily struggles, and lead you to live your life for Him. There are NO EXCUSES. Fear Him. Love Him. Know Him. |
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