BOLD FAITH

1st Thessalonians 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

Precisley. We don't know when Jesus is coming back. It is not time to step back and try not to offend people. I'm not saying not to respect them because God says that we are to love the sinner. Only we can't step down anymore. We don't know when the Lord is coming. He may come tonight, he may not come for centuries. The fact is we simply don't know.

Matthew 24:36 But about the day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in Heaven, nor the Son, but only the father.

If we knew the He was coming this week what would you change? Who would you tell about God? How would you act. Personally speaking I would tell strangers on the street. I would try to act in a way tha God would be proud of me. I would be bold in my faith. There would be no time for shyness. No room for offense. As many people as would listen, I would tell. He could come back tomorrow. We just don't know. We have to act like every day is our last. Like if we don't tell these people about God then they'd never here it. And you know what? You could be the only person to tell them. What if you don't? Everyone needs to know. Don't hide the light under a bushel. Let it shine in the darkness.

Jude 23 Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.

We have to love them. We have to care. We can't go through life not caring about the people and souls around us. Look around you at the people and think about what I've said.

Christ loved us while we were still sinners. Can't we do the same for others? He said to love thy neighbor as thyself. Faith, hope, and love. The greatest of these is love. We have to have all of these. We need faith to talk to these people. We have to love these people as ourselves. We have to hope that they'll listen. We also need persistence. Even if they don't listen the first time you have to try again. You may be the only thing standing between them and Hell. Or maybe you just need to care. What if they have nobody that seems to care. You never know whats going on in their lives. We just need to love them.

~JesusFreakTeen

Music

The things that we put into our minds is very important. The bible suggests that Lucifer was the minister of music. Music is very easy to find these days. On your cell phone, your computer, mp3, ipod, and in your car. We have to be careful what we listen to and watch on TV. Recently my youth pastor told me that when she was a teenager and listened to questionable music she would say that she just liked the beat. She said that this is one of Satan's common lies. When she looked one of these songs up on youtube however it had satanic signs on the video. Its very easy to be deceived. Remember that nursery rhyme:
Oh be careful little ears what you hear.
Oh be careful little ears what you hear.
Theres a Father up above.
And He's looking down in love.
So be careful little ears what you hear.

Even this nursery rhyme from years ago has stuck in my head. Old "favorite songs" are still mostly stuck in my head. These songs, any of them, can get stuck in your head. They can start to influence you.  This is why we need to listen to encouraging music. Not all secular music is bad but some of it is.



"Consider carefully what you hear," he continued. "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you -- and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him."
— Mark 4:24-25 (NIV)

~JESUSFREAKTEEN