Church Of Christ - Youth Group

I know that some of you have been praying for my wife and kids as they were in an accident last Thursday.  Things are going well and she is healing up very nicely, although she still has a lot of headaches caused by a small concussion and probably her neck is screwed up from the accident.  We do praise God in Heaven that things were not worse and thank Him for His protection.

It’s easy to forget about God in the “good times” and lean on Him in the hard times.  This whole situation has made me realize that I too am guilty of this.  God forgives us and helps us carry on.

Psalm 119:143 says - “Trouble and distress have come upon me, but your commands are my delight”.

What a verse!  Even though we are troubled, worried and in danger, David says that the Bible should be our focus.  Trouble, distress, and all these bad things can cause us to be worried, lose some joy and feel alone, but reading the Bible - spending time with God should always - always be something that brings us back around to a place where we are at peace.  God wants to talk to us, and He does it through the Bible.  Today, I challenge you to “delight” by reading the Bible with me.

Take a look at Galatians 4:4-7 as we start today.

“But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.”

I am good friends with a couple from a church I used to help preach at. They just had their third child. They named him Michael. Michael was brought home from the hospital on August 22, 1999. I went over to his house that night. When I got to hold him, I looked at his face and then I felt the warm and soft skin of that brand new baby boy. While I was holding him, I saw the sparkle in his eyes, and then I was trying to imagine how Mary must have felt when she was holding the brand new baby Jesus in her arms.

It must have been a wonderful feeling for Mary to know that she was holding the Son of the Most High, a son that would save us from all of our sins. Because of God sending His Son down to earth to be born of a woman, and to die for everyone, we will no longer be enslaved to sin. We are free from sin, and we can look forward to a place in heaven. A place where there will be no sin. A place where no one will pick on us or make fun of us. From the moment we are baptized, we are heirs of that wonderful place—heaven.

I know that Michael will be in heaven some day because of the “Special Baby”—JESUS.

Points To Ponder: What was Jesus’ main purpose on earth? How did it affect our lives?

Prayer Possibilities: Thank and praise God for sending a Savior to us so we can be free of sin, knowing that we have eternal life in Him.

Although Christians say they believe that God has everything under control, sometimes we have a hard time believing that when bad things happen to us. Take a look at John 4:46-54 this morning.

“Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death. “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.” The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus replied, “You may go. Your son will live.” The man took Jesus at his word and departed. While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.” Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and all his household believed.”

There are times that it is hard to believe that God will safely bring you out of troubled times. I can remember one of those times when I had difficulty believing. It was when my niece was born. She was months early, and very premature. She need to be warmed, needed help breathing and had to be fed by a tube for the first month of her life. For the first couple of weeks, I kept asking myself, “Why did this have to happen to such a little girl?” So many people prayed for her through the hard times.

My niece is living today. With this little example you can see that you should believe, no matter what. In hard times and good times always believe that God will bring you out of troubled times.

I have learned my lesson. And now, no matter what, I believe that God will do what is best for me. God is always watching over us. He always knows when we are having hard times. Sometimes God might keep us in the troubled and hard times for longer than we want to be, but He does it for good reasons.

I know I have already said this a couple of times, but I will say it again. Believe in God always. You will never know when you will need Him the most.

Points To Ponder: When are you likely to doubt God? How do Christians combat fears and doubt?

Prayer Possibilities: Pray for yourself and others to keep strong in the faith. Thank God for always being there to turn to.