thanks for your hard work

{The following has been written as a thanks to the volunteers and leaders of our youth ministry}

Youth ministry isn't always easy. There's many ups and downs. When you're working to make disciples with any people group I'm sure it can be tough, and I think this especially true when working with teens. They're at the age that can feel extremely confusing as they try to figure out and decide who they want to be. Sometimes we see great results and impact. Other times it's hard to tell if we'd made any impact at all.
It's not easy to keep sowing seeds when you don't always see the fruit you desire to feel affective. But we keep sowing seeds. We keep developing relationships and teaching God's Word.

We appreciate every leader that's been a part of Cross Over Youth Ministry over the past year. Nothing that has taken place would have or could have happened, had it not been for your hard work, prayers, encouragement, and cooperation. You've had different jobs and responsibilities, but you've all been apart in making our ministry a success.

I would like to take a brief moment to review some of the events and happenings of 2007:

//We challenged our students to have an experience with God, we taught them about the life God rewards. We discussed violence and the affects of bullying.

//We've organized and hosted lock-ins for our young men and women, where we played games, ate, hung out, and just laughed all night long. We've spent many hours creating an atmosphere to build godly relationships with our students.

//We worked together to organize creative fundraisers to raise funds for our Mission's Trip, including our "free cookie give away".

//A small group from Cross Over went to the Inn Ministry (for battered women) help them by cleaning up their grounds.

//We played a game that we called the "Amazing Race" where the teens ran all over the church grounds on a wild goose chase following scripture related clues to figure out their next destination.

//We organized and hosted Jacksonville's first city-wide Dodge-ball Tournament for high school students. Mickey did an absolutely amazing job from start to finish as project manager. We had over 80 students representing from over 8 different high schools across the city come to compete. It was a huge success.

//Through the success of our tournament, we launched our new site on MySpace (www.myspace.com/crossover.events). We've met and ministered to many students outside of our church through the site. Our team of writers post weekly blogs discussing various issues and how to overcome through God's Word and we've had almost 2000 views since it's start. That's teenagers, in the privacy of their own home, purposely coming back on a regular basis to read the next article.

//We took a team of 14 to Guatemala for a 9 day Mission's Trip. Tony & Arlene were our project managers, working diligently for months to organize the trip and help the group raise the funds. It was an amazing trip as many in our team walked in God's anointing for the first time. The teens found a passion for Jesus and His calling that they'd never known before.

//We held a series of "fire side chats" with the young men and women, separately, teaching on sexual purity and warning about some of the negative aspects of media and bad influences. The teenagers asked questions as well as gave their own thoughts to their fellow students.

//We held an 8 week video Bible study course that taught extensively on the foundations of the Bible. We took the graduating class on a trip to Busch Garden's.

//In November we had a theme called "the Basics", where we discussed some of the basic fundamentals of being a Christian, such as Christ's character, prayer, worship, and relationships.

//We donated our time in the fundraiser competition for the Shoe-box Ministry winning the competition with the Usher's sending one of our leaders on a mission's trip to Guatemala in December.

None of this would have, or could have taken place with our your hard work and involvement in our ministry.

Thank you.

what's the reason?

I have some good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first? Ok. I will give you the bad news first. We are losing one of our devotional writers for this coming year. I know, I know it stinks for us. But God is doing some amazing things in her career so she is moving to the ATL where she will be getting a fresh start. I tried to con her into staying but she couldn't.

Because she has finally graduated from school and moving on to her career goal she will be very busy. All that is good news along with the fact that she still might be able to write a devotional every other month. We will be losing a great writer as she moves into a new phase in her life. Please help me to congratulate Gayann in her new and fresh start as she moves to Atlanta. You will be greatly missed. Much love from the devotional writing team and our readers.

I will make this short because I know some of you are out of town and still in the Christmas spirit. And some of us didn't have such a great Christmas but thats okay because I feel you on that one to. Not everyone has a Christmas like we all would like but thats okay. Because in all the shopping, the lights, the presents, the commercials, the songs, and all the food it seems like sometimes the real reason for why we celebrate Christmas seems to get lost. Do you know the reason for celebrating Christmas? Thats right. You got it. And for those who didn't know (and thats okay because I didn't know the reason for this season until a few years ago) I will tell you. The reason we have Christmas is to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He was born over 2000 years ago through a virgin named Mary. This was a supernatural birth which began the process of our salvation which we have been talking about for the last 4 weeks. If you did not have the Christmas you have hoped for or even if you did, remember that our Savior was born so that we all would be saved and spend eternity with Him. That means forever!!! If you have not made Him Lord over your life do so right now and if you already have be happy in the fact that He was born for us and made a way for our eternal salvation. His birth was for us as it says in the book of Luke chapter 2 in the bible..."TO YOU is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord." He was born for YOU. Don't forget it. Have a great week.

Mickey Santiago

we can only do SO much

I learned a very sad lesson early in my life that shaped my life for years to come. I had experienced my fair share of deceit and disappointments to conclude that the only person I could trust to make things happen was myself. So for years I went through life trusting in my strengths, abilities etc., and avoided relying too much on others. I was in control of my destiny! At least, so I thought. My system worked for a while, it brought me some degree of academic, professional and financial success, until I faced external constraints in which my abilities etc. were not enough to get me where I wanted to go. It was interesting how God humbled me. He took me out of my native country, away from my family and an environment with which I was familiar and brought me to an unfamiliar land where it was extremely difficult if not impossible to accomplish my dreams without him. Oh yeah, I learned to trust him real quick, as I had no other choice. God shouldn't have to remove our comforts and conveniences for us to trust him. We shouldn't have to go through hardships to learn to trust God. Unfortunately for so many of us that's what it took.

The bible constantly admonishes us to trust in God. Isaiah 31:1 and Jeremiah 48:7 warns us against putting our trust in material things and not God. In John 14:1, Jesus tells us to trust in the father and in him. Isaiah 28:16 says if we trust in Christ, we will never be put to shame. Psalm 32:10 tells of the unfailing love that surrounds those who trust in God. Yet despite the numerous reassurances and promises, learning to trust God is one of the hardest things for us to do.

Let us get one thing straight. We exist because of God! Every day we are alive is because of his grace and mercies! It has nothing to do with us!! He has a plan for our lives that was created before we were born. Our destiny is in his hands. So while it is important to work hard and give our best to what we do, make no mistake our abilities, talents etc that creates the wealth and security on which we live is not from us but from God. So we need to trust in the source and not the outcome! God has given us so much, and has brought us this far. Why can't we depend on him to fulfill his purpose for our lives? Jeremiah 29:11 says "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." I memorized this scripture during the heights of my personal battle and am here to say that he has kept his word! I believe my best is yet to come! I am sure there are many more battles that I will face, but I will continue to trust and look to him. After all worrying, fretting or crying about my situation will not change it. Learn to fight your battles effectively and overcome any situation, circumstance, or stronghold in your life. Trust in God and obey his word!!

Have a great week!!

-GG

it's yours if you want it

"Knowledge is needed to pass the test in school, but wisdom is needed to pass the test in life.
Knowledge is learned, wisdom is given.
Knowledge comes by looking around, wisdom comes by looking up.
Knowledge comes by study, wisdom comes by meditation with God.
Wisdom teaches one how to apply his knowledge"
Adrian Rogers

The above quote taken from an article written by Adrian Rogers, provides an excellent, yet simple distinction between wisdom and knowledge. I believe wisdom is being able to make the right decisions or choices in the situations we face, while knowledge is an understanding of God and who we are in him. Throughout the book of Proverbs the importance and value of both wisdom and knowledge are presented. Proverbs 1:7 states that knowledge begins when we fear God. Proverbs 2 -4 speaks to the benefits of wisdom. Proverbs 8 -9 expands further on the advantages of wisdom and knowledge. I encourage you to read the book of Proverbs for a deeper insight into these two important subjects.

James 1:5 tells us that wisdom comes from God. A description of godly wisdom found in James 3:17, is said to be pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Knowledge requires discipline (Proverbs 12:1). Wisdom and knowledge are made possible through the spirit of God (I Corinthians 12: 8). Possessing both will result in a prosperous life(Ezekiel 28:4). In order to acquire knowledge we must begin with a fear and reverence for God through studying his word. Acquiring wisdom involves asking of God and believing that we receive it (James 1:5-6).

Knowledge is gained through study, be it a study of God's word or specific academic disciplines. Knowledge of God's word will allow us to be victorious in all areas of our lives, while academic knowledge provides the opportunity to be successful in particular jobs or careers. Knowledge requires discipline and hard work. My knowledge of God's word is a continuous process. The knowledge and revelation I have received so far from his word, have delivered me from numerous destructive habits and behaviors. I have learned to forgive, received emotional healing and have experienced the peace and hope that comes from understanding who I am in God. I am also acquiring academic knowledge as part of my life long career goals. A continuous pursuit of both I believe will create the prosperity spoken of in the book of Ezekiel.

I have asked God for wisdom and discernment and have witnessed these in my ability to make wiser decisions. It is also evident in my tendency to seek and trust God with life decisions (no matter how small or insignificant), and to submit my plans and desires to him. As a result I am less anxious about the future, more confident about what I can do with God's help than on my own and have learned to maintain my peace in spite of life's challenges.

Is wisdom and knowledge evident in your life? If not, during this week think of ways to incorporate both.

-GG

what should I do?

Have you ever had a problem and were not sure what to do about it? Then you did something to try and “fix” the problem but only found that you made it worse? I have! Way too many times! Maybe the same problem keeps coming up and you still haven’t figured out what to do about it? I’ve been there! Glad to see I’m not alone!



What I discovered was that I needed to get wisdom on how to deal with a situation. What is wisdom? Two of the meanings I found are “good judgment” and “common sense”. Sometimes we can be in the midst of a problem or situation where we are not sure what to do. But if we had wisdom we would be able to have “good judgment” on what to do to where we could fix the problem and not make it worse. One of the other definitions I found is “knowledge of what is true or right” and putting that into action.



But how do we get wisdom? Proverbs 2:6 says that God gives wisdom and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. All we have to do is ask Him!

You may not hear your friends talking about how bad they want to get wisdom! They are probably talking about how bad they want that new cd or the new tennis shoes. But Proverbs 2:12 says that “wisdom will save you from the ways of the wicked men”. Wisdom is worth getting. It will enable you to make wise choices that will can make your life better, or even save your life!

trust me

I think that now after many years I have finally realized what trusting in God is! I spent years and years asking God to help me trust in Him and I spent years and years saying that I trusted God, but all the while I didn't really understand HOW to trust Him.

One of the meanings of trust is "to show confidence in a person by entrusting (him) with something".

So HOW can we trust God? How do we show Him that we trust Him? What can we DO to show God that we trust HIM? We can give him our life by living it the way that He has told us to live it. He gave us His Word - the Bible. In the Bible He gives us guidelines and rules to live by. There have been many times in my life that it may have seemed like what the Bible said to do was too hard or just didn't make sense at all!

But I have learned that if I trust God then I will do what the Bible says to do even when it seems too hard or even when it doesn't make sense....when I don't have enough money I should tithe anyway; That even if I love my boyfriend with all my heart I should not have sex with him until we are married; That even if I don't think my parents understand, I should still honor and obey them.

When I trust God, I will do what he says even when it doesn't make sense to him. Why? Because I trust HIM - I have confidence in Him- that he is saying what he says for a reason - for my own good. I trust that HIS way is better and that doing it HIS way will get me to where I want to be.

When you don't trust God, you will find an answer to what you are going through in the bible and do it your own way anyway. Why? Because you didn't trust and believe that God's way is better. You believed that your own way was better. And let me tell you that when I have decided to do things my own way, I always ended up with the problem being bigger than when I started!

Today, when I think that I will never get a particular blessing that I want I remember that, if I trust God, I will do what he says, the way that He says to do it. Because I trust (believe and have confidence) that He, who created everything, will bless me when the timing is right!

wisdom & knowledge

Hey everyone!

This is my first devotional at FSU. I miss everyone and hopefully everyone is enjoying school again. This month's topic is so important in your life because wisdom especially from God is unique and desired treasure for His children.

Wisdom is a huge gift of intriguing details and lessons to edify your character especially your daily walk in God. These details are needed to help you succeed in life. Wisdom helps you to avoid pitfalls that the enemy sets in your life. I attain knowledge and wisdom from reading the Word of God. This Holy Bible is everything I need to grow and maintain my walk with God. Of course the Holy Bible gives knowledge and wisdom to God's children and even sinners. When I feel shy or timid, I read about having the boldness of God in me. I learn who I am in God and that God says in 2 Timothy 1:7 "For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline." (TNIV). By using the tool of the Word, I become more in-love with my Father and the wisdom that He will give me. God loves us so much that He has given us the ability to attain His wisdom in the Word of God. Is this so cool? I love to read Romans because it is one of my favorite Book in the Bible. Romans gives me so much knowledge about how to live as an on-fire Christians in the End Times. Romans explains the consequences of sin even lists the different sins that people fall into especially Christians. When we become Born-Again Christians, we are marked by God so we have huge spotlights over us. We are different from the rest of the world so the enemy tries his best to set pitfalls for us to fall. By reading the Word of God, we learn lessons and how to not fall into the enemy's temptations.

I use God's wisdom in my life everyday especially these days at FSU. At college, you must have a firm foundation in God and you build a strong foundation by reading God's Word. Here there are so many temptations to fall into or reject my morals which are based on God's wisdom and knowledge that He has given me. The enemy tries to make me feel alone and isolated but I learn in the Word of God that God is always with me. In Joshua 1:5 God says "No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you." (TNIV) By learning this lesson, I know that I am never alone and I relied on God to find Christian friends. God did answer my prayers because I trust on Him because I have found Christian friends especially students from Jacksonville. When we put on our faith in God then we saying to God, " You are number 1 in my life. You are in-control and I rely on You!" Using God's wisdom has significantly blessed my life. I had been spared potential rejections and failures by trusting in God. God directs my path and never steers me in the wrong direction. I love God and He loves me! I love Him giving me wisdom which I use my life! I thank God often for His wisdom and knowledge! His wisdom and knowledge will make even the gloomiest day seem sunny and full of life! Trust in God and use His wisdom daily because you will never regret it!


Love you guys,

Brittany

Who can I trust?

As I write to you guys I am well aware that all of you are at different stages of your life. But I just wanted to say something about wisdom and knowledge that I hope if you don't understand it now that maybe in the future you will get it. Let me give you some hypothetical examples. This might sound kind of nasty, but if you had a chance to trade brains with someone, who would you do it with? If I wanted to know the ins and outs of basketball I would probably trade brains with Michael Jordan, if I wanted to know the ins and outs of football I would probably trade brains with Peyton Manning, if I wanted to know how to create a new software and be a billionaire I would trade brains with Bill Gates. Do you see what I am trying to get at? If I had their brains, their talents, and their hearts I would be doing the same things that they are doing. I would be a world famous basketball player, football player, and business owner if I had what they had. Am I right or wrong? Well, I say all that to make this point. God has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit. If you have not been filled with the Holy Spirit I encourage you to read the second chapter of the books of Acts in the bible and ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit or go to a church who believes in the Holy Spirit and ask someone to lay hands on you so that you can get filled with God's Spirit. It is soo off the chain you have to do it. Anyway, the Holy Spirit is the intellect of God. Having Him inside of you is like having the brain of God. He will help you to have God's thinking and God's heart. So if you are filled with the Holy Spirit all you have to do is pull from the wisdom you already have inside of you and you can live in God's wisdom. You will have to read the bible so that you can get God's word inside of you but when you are filled with the Holy Spirit reading the bible is fun because you actually have the author of the bible living inside of you. I know it sounds weird to most of you but I am just telling you a truth that you will not hear from most people. Anyway, I hope that helped some of you. Our topic this cycle will be a little different but I believe it is one that will help most of you. I don't know if some of you have been in the situation that I am about to explain but I hope that some have. Have you ever been in a place where you don't know who you can trust? Have you ever been stabbed in the back by those you thought were your friends? Have you ever been in a state of mind where you don't know what to do next? You have tried everything possible that you can think of but nothing seems to work? Your parents don't understand you, you go to your friends but if you were to be honest they only give you temporary satisfaction. Then you go and have sex with someone because you think it will make you feel better but it only makes you feel guilty and dirty. Then you go a step further and end up at a party drinking and smoking, laughing and cutting up, but you wake up the next morning only to feel like you are still misunderstood. You are not alone. Many people are in the same boat but they don't know how to open up about it and they don't have the answers. So we go around with the same pain all the time and we cover it up with chasing the opposite sex, drugs, and a lot of the times with music that makes you feel better. Let me tell you something that a very smart man who was in the same position said. He said..."Do not put your confidence in man but put your trust in God." The man who said it was King David and you can find this quote in the bible in the book called Psalms. Do you know who David is? Have you ever heard of the story of David and Goliath? That story is not a fairy tale. It is a true story. David knew what it was like to have your own king turn on you and even try to kill you. But even in these very hard times guided by the Holy Spirit he made the statement..."Do not put your confidence in man but put your trust in God". I encourage you, if you don't know where to turn, if you have tried everything you can think of and nothing seems to work, turn to God and put all of your trust in Him. Stop trying to think your way out of your hurts and just tell God..."I can't do it anymore on my own God. I turn to you and I am going to let everything go and trust that you will take care of it. I know you will. Thank you Lord. I know you will never turn your back on me. I trust you with all my heart." I hope this helps some of you out there. Trust Him with all your heart and be assured that He is on your side. Everything might still not be peaches and cream but just know He is there and that He cares for you like no one else does. Stay tuned for the next 3 weeks as we talk about putting our trust in God. I know it will help you to live this life that we live.

Much love,
Mickey

What should I ask for?

As we look around at the world it seems that there are certain things that get our attention that we want really bad. The TV promotes them, movies promote these certain things, rap artists, thugs, radios, and magazines. Everybody wants to have these things because if you do get them you will be seen as a star or idol. What am I talking about? What is it that people talk about in their raps, in their songs, or on the radio and in magazines? What is the underlying theme of what the world talks about you should have? Can you say MONEY, WEALTH, AND FAME. These things give you power, respect, and admiration from other people. Is there anything wrong for having these things? What do you think? I say no, but many may argue with me on that one. I believe these are things God has in store for His people. He did it for those in the bible. The fame of Jesus spread like wildfire when He came on the scene. He looked at Abraham and said if you obey Me "I will make your name great...". There are plenty of other people. The bible also says that Abraham was not only rich but he was "very rich". So is there anything wrong with wanting MONEY, WEALTH, AND FAME? This is a different question than..."Is there anything wrong for HAVING these things?". I don't think there is anything wrong for HAVING these things but HOW you get them is where there is a problem. If I told you how you can have these things the way you were meant to have them and what to ask God for... would you pay close attention to the following example and statements I am about to make? Now I already gave you two examples of people in the bible who became very famous in their time. Jesus became famous because all He wanted to do was what God wanted Him to do. Jesus healed a man who was possessed by devils and everyone in the town found out about it. They knew the man who they had to tie up in chains because he was so demonized that nobody could control him. Jesus came right up to Him, cast those devils out, and the man got his right mind back. When everyone saw he was in his right mind they asked him what happened and he told them that a man named Jesus healed him. Now do you understand why Jesus became so famous? The bible says that His...'fame spread throughout the whole country...' Another example that I gave was Abraham. God told him to leave his city and his family to go and find the city that God Himself was building. He said if you do..."I will make your name great..." Do you know what happened? Abraham obeyed, his name became great, and the bible says that not only was he rich but "he was VERY rich". I know this doesn't seem like a very Christian thing to talk about. We are not supposed to want money. Money is evil. No, the "the LOVE of money is the root of all evil". MONEY, WEALTH, AND FAME is supposed to be for God's people but there is a difference in how we get it. There is something you need to ask God for if you want these things. Would you like to know? Okay I will give you one more example and this is one of my favorites. There was a king named Solomon who was given the responsibility to rule over Israel. He gathered almost everyone in Israel to the church to pray to God. He respected God soo much and He wanted God soo badly in his times of prayer that this time God appeared to Solomon and said "What do you want from me? Ask." WOW!!! God came down from heaven showed up to Solomon and asked him what he wanted. Imagine Bill Gates, Donald Trump or even the President asking you what you wanted. What would you ask for? Do you know what Solomon asked for? He asked for "WISDOM and KNOWLEDGE" to be able to lead God's people. Do you know what God said? He said because you did not ask for money, wealth, fame, to destroy your enemies, or to give you long life I will give you WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE and as a bonus I will give you money, wealth, and fame "beyond anything the kings before or after you had or will have." Because Solomon sincerely asked God to give him WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE to lead His people God gave Solomon money, wealth and fame without Solomon even asking. If you want to have more wealth than anyone that will come before you or after you ask God for WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE to bless the people around you, your family, and your friends. Ask Him to give you the WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE to lead the people you are responsible for. For most of us this is people at your school, your friends, your family, and people at your work. Ask for WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE to love on the people around you and watch what God does for you. I hope you enjoyed this message and stay tuned for the next three weeks because we will be talking about the very same thing. Love you guys and talk to you later.

-Mickey

perseverance

Perseverance is an excellent quality to obtain. I have used this quality many times in my life especially for school and dealing with my parents and friends. God explained the importance of perseverance in James 1:2-4 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." God says that we will face trials , pressure and temptations. During these trials, we should not give up or give into temptations. We should persevere through the rough waters and trust God. In Proverbs 3:5-7 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight." When we persevere, we are putting faith and trust in God. When we put our faith in God, we say to Him" I trust you God and I put my faith in you." By persevering, God comes to our rescue by giving us the knowledge and tools to defeat the devil. The knowledge and tools comes from His Word. That is why it is vital that we read our Bible. Our faith grows as we persevere. During this 21-day fast, let's preserve and rely on God's strength and wisdom to complete our personal fast. You do not have to fast for the entire 21 days, but 3, 7 or 10 days. Ask God what does He want you to fast? (He will tell you.)

Perseverance helps me everyday. It keeps my mind at ease. God does not reward quitters but victors. When we are victors then we can show others how to be victorious as well. The last year of high school was the toughest year for me. I had millions of projects to do and not enough time to complete them. I felt overwhelm with my busy school schedule, after school activities, church activities and more. In October, I had four major lab projects to do for AP Biology plus the other assignments. I felt stress try to come over me. I felt anxiety try to plague my mind. I called on God because I felt like giving up. I felt like dropping out of the IB program to complete a regular high school curriculum with no AP or IB classes. But God told me to preserve and not give up. God gave me supernatural strength and wisdom to complete my rigorous IB curriculum. I thank God for giving me strength. My faith grew supernaturally. My perseverance to not give up helped build my character stronger and wiser than before. Perseverance rocks!

Love,
Brittany Baker

the power of self control

Folks,

Always remember that "what you do not control, will control you." I wish I could take credit for this statement but it was actually uttered by our own Bishop Wiley during a Sunday morning service. As I thought about these words and their implications, I realized that when I fail to practice self control in any area of my life, it meant I was 'cruising for a bruising.' Thus, Peter's admonition in 2 Peter 1:6 is actually meant to save us from unpleasant outcomes, as a lack of self control will produce devastating if not fatal consequences. Self control implies temperance, patience and moderation, just to mention a few. Thus, a lack of self control creates impatient, ill-tempered and excessive behaviors, usually with devastating results. An uncontrolled temper and anger can deeply hurt those we care about and have resulted in unnecessary tragedies. Uncontrolled sexual desires results in unplanned pregnancies and or sexually transmitted diseases with lasting effects. Uncontrolled eating habits can cause obesity or other health related issues. There is no positive outcome from any behavior that is done in excess. At the the heart of excessive behavior is a lack of self control.

Like you, I too grew up in a culture that praises and encourages excessive indulgence. A culture that tells us it is the right of passage to get drunk on our twenty first birthday. As young people, we live in a culture that encourage and tolerate behaviors the bible speak against, as acceptable at particular stages of our development. But remember, the bible tells us that although we are in the world, we are not of this world (See Rom 12:2, John 17:6, I Corinthians 2:12) . As children of God we cannot act and behave as the world dictates. We take our direction from the word of God! Practicing self control is crucial regardless of age, as it yields lasting results that will positively impact the rest of your life. Moreover, it is a requirement from God! In the past I too due to a lack of self control, indulged in behaviors and made decisions that not only hurt others but have created far reaching effects. Thank God for his grace and forgiveness!! I am now wiser and have learned to exercise self control in my life, which has helped me to make better choices and healthier decisions.

Folks, life is too short and tomorrow is not promised. I urge you to learn from the mistakes and bad choices the generations before have made. There is not enough time to repeat them! Learn to practice self control in all areas of your life through which you will realize the life God truly has for you!

Have a Great Week!!

-GG

Mickey's Story

> My first encounter with sex came at a very young age. At the tender age
> of about 4 years old the daughter of one of my dad's friends decided to get
> very friendly with me, if you know what I mean. She was about a year older
> than me and she came on to me very strong. (As I am writing to you this is
> still very crazy to me because she couldnt have been more than five years
> old. Wow!) Anyway she began to touch me in my private region and at first I
> was shocked but after a while I began to enjoy it. This was the beginning
> of how Satan had developed a stronghold of sexual perversion over my life at
> a very young age. In around the sixth grade I was introduced to masturbation
> by conversations with so called friends of mine who had started to do it.
> Because of their influence I decided to start myself. This was just part of
> the many perversions of sex that I had encountered at the ripe age of 11
> years old. I had other sexual encounters with a girl that lived down the
> street from us that would be instigated by her older sister, who was much
> older than us. And this was all before age 11. All this sexual perversion
> eventually led to my first encounter with sexual intercourse at the age of
> 13. The reason I did it was because it was available for me, I was
> encouraged by friends and I did not want them to think that I was scared. I
> wanted to fit in because everyone esle said they were doing it. I wanted to
> get mine. I did not want to be the odd ball out. Thats soo stupid. Everyone
> who said they were, the majority werent even doing it and I had been
> persuaded to have sex with a girl who I did not think was that fine in the
> first place. What a joke, the majority of teens who say they are doing it
> are not. Some are, but most are not. Anyway, by the age of 13 I was all the
> way in a perverted sex life. My friends and I would look at porno magazines
> and even got a hold of porno tapes. My mind was a mess. The devil was
> working in my life and doing a good job.
> At 14 years old I began high school and things changed a little bit. I
> went to a rich private high school and girls were not as willing to give it
> up to a kid from the other side of town. Sex was not as available and so I
> would have to rely on my perverted my mind and masturbation was my only form
> of sex for a while. Until I began to associate with the differnet culture of
> people. I wanted to fit in and so I started going to their parties. (Rich
> people have money and so they can afford to buy a lot of alcohol). One night
> I got soo drunk I had sex with a girl that if I was in the right state of
> mind I would not have come close to her, but that night I did. The story
> went all around school and not only that I had contracted an STD. Talking
> about embarrassing and shameful. I kept the STD a secret in hopes that no
> one would know and that it would go away, and it did. But not after causing
> me a lot of pain. I felt alone and embarassed. I would hide my feelings like
> I did my whole life which would cause the situation to be worse. I did not
> know how to vent my feelings which would cost me down the road.
> When I finished high school I went straight to college on a baseball
> scholarship. It did not take me long to get into some more mess sexually. I
> hooked up with one of the girls on the softball team and had sex with her
> the first night we met. She eventually became my girlfriend for two years
> and I had sex with her pretty much anytime I wanted. The sex was good to me
> and it was to her at first. But I became selfish and wanted it all the time.
> This became a habit and it was no longer emotional for her like it was at
> first because of my selfishness. Eventually the emotions ran soo thin that
> she didnt want to be with me anymore and so she broke up with me. Which was
> the best thing that happened to me even though I was hurt and broken. I was
> hurt, but what I did not know was that God was taking things away from me to
> bring me to Him.
> I eventually moved back home to Jacksonville and to make a long story
> short I gave my life to Jesus. He cleaned me up. All the stuff I was in was
> just cleaned right out of me or so I thought. He did clean me of just about
> all the sin I was in. I did not cuss anymore, I did not smoke anymore, or
> drink anymore. I no longer had a desire for those things anymore. But there
> was one thing I was not completely cleaned from and that was my sexual
> perversion. I was still masturbating and I was saved!! How could I do this,
> I felt soo bad. All I wanted to do was to please God and I was still in the
> same mess. I was still masturbating. What was going on? I thought I was
> delivered. I found out that God leaves some stuff in you so that He can
> teach you how to cry out to Him for healing. Anyway, I was still
> masturbating but it became less and less every month. I would cry out to God
> every time I did it and I would have less of a desire to do it every time I
> cried out until eventually I did not do it anymore. I was healed!!! Or was
> I? Later I came to find out that I had an evil spirit of masturbation that
> would come back and torment me. This spirit would wake me up in the middle
> of deep sleep and tempt me to masturbate. I did not have to give in but I
> did. When I learned how to tell evil spirits to GET OUT OF MY HOME!!!! in
> the name of Jesus that spirit would not bother me anymore. But over the
> years that spirit had done a great job on my mind. That spirit left me alone
> for years until it resurfaced again. It waited until I was clean to come
> back.
> Fastforward a few years into my relationship with my only girlfiend
> after I got saved and now my lovely wife. I thought I was all that and then
> some. But what I did not realize was that my mind was not healed of sexual
> perversion. When the situation presented itself I gave into my perverted
> mind. I committed sexual perversion with my, who at the time was my
> girlfriend, and now my wife. God created sex to be performed inside a
> marriage covenant. I knew that, but I gave in to my messed up mind. I did
> not have intercourse with my wife before I married her but I went as far as
> dabbling with oral sex. We eventually told our leaders and that light
> (light=telling someone who loves you) kept us accountable. What I still did
> not know was that my mind was still perverted. As soon as I got married to
> my wife those feelings of lust that I had befoe we got married went away. I
> had no desire to have sex with my wife which was hurting our marriage. And
> because I did not want to have sex I would go back to my messed up mind. I
> would bring up the same images I would use to masturbate inside the marriage
> bed. Bad move. I let this go on thinking it would go away just like
> masturbation did but it would not. I was hurting my wife because I could not
> love her the way she needed and I was ruining our marriage. I let the
> thoughts continue until I eventually started thinking about thoughts of
> committing adultery which I pretty much was in my mind already. I was headed
> down the path of committing adultery against my wife until I made the
> greatest decision of my life becaue of a service at church that changed my
> thinking. That night I came back home and told my wife everything. Did it
> hurt her? Yes. But she helped me. She loved me. Thank God for a wonderful
> wife. She prayed for me, cast those devils out of me and ever since I have
> not had a thought about another women while we have sex. And guess what? Sex
> is off the chain now. My mind is pure and everything is just awesome. As you
> know I have had plenty of sex in my life in all kinds of forms. But sex with
> your wife, with a clean mind, and God on your side is the best thing in the
> world. It is soo Holy. I cant explain it. If you can just wait it is all
> worth it.Trust me.
> I give you this testimony and I really open myself up to you a lot. I
> let you see right through me. I stand before you transparent. Just like
> Jesus was naked on the cross (He did not have anything on like we see on the
> pictures) and He brought deliverance to all of mankind. I put my reputation
> on the line, my image, all of it. Remember the scripture at the beginning
> "and they loved not their lives unto the death" I share my life so that you
> would not have to go through the things that I have. Satan is trying to work
> in your life, your mind, your thoughts, and your soul. Dont give him an inch
> because if you do he will capitalize. My mistake was thinking I did not have
> to tell someone about my sexual problems. I was wrong!! If you are
> struggling please tell someone. Someone who loves you and will cover you. If
> you keep it in the dark Satan will take advantage. If you struggle with sex,
> please tell one of your youth leaders or a leader you know you can trust.
> Please dont let the devil torment you in the dark. Satan is real, his army
> of demons is real and they are to destroy good people. DONT LET HIM. YOU
> HAVE PEOPLE WHO LOVE YOU. JUST CONFESS TO SOMEONE AND YOU WILL BE HEALED.
> Its in the bible"confess your sins one to another, pray for one another that
> you may be healed." Its not just enough to keep it in the dark and ask God
> for forgiveness. Sometimes He wants you to spit it out and confess to
> someone. In my case it was my leaders and my wife. I learned the hard way
> and I hope that you dont have to. I love you and I will talk to you again.
>
> Mickey and Sarah Santiago

Gayann's Story

//So here's my story.
>
> I too had my first experience with sexual perversion at around 7 or 8 years
> old. It was during one of those doll house experiences with a neighbor who
> was older than I. We were playing the part of parents and somewhere during
> the process kissing and fondling got in the picture. I felt akward and
> somehow knew it was wrong, but I didn't stop him because I liked him. By
> the time I was eleven this event had happened a number of times with this
> individual and later another family friend. Around the same time I got into
> reading hardcore romance novels and playboy magazines. These sexually
> explicit information, along with my exposure to heavy petting (kissing and
> fondling) eventually led to masturbation. My imagination fed off the the
> things I read and watched and created my own mental porn screen. The bible
> refers to this as a reprobate mind, and though I was physically a virgin at
> the time, I was able to arouse myself through my thoughts.
>
> I was spared the full consequences of my thought life when I got saved at
> 16. However, I fell away a year after. I remained a virgin until my early
> twenties, but was still tormented mentally with sexual images that I did not
> know how to handle. My first sexual experience happened a month before my
> 21st birthday. It was with my then boyfriend. At the time I felt the
> decision would solidify our relationship and guarantee his love. How naive!
> That was not the case at all! I had a few boyfriends between then and when
> I rededicated my life to the Lord six years later. My encounters left me
> feeling empty and stupid and made me realize that sex it and of itself will
> not guarantee love.
>
> However, my real battle with sexual purity began once I decided to
> rededicate my life to the Lord. At the time I got saved I was in a dating
> relationship. In my spiritual immaturity I did not speak with anyone about
> the challenges this was creating in staying pure. Instead of breaking off
> the relationship, I decided to get him saved (guess somewhere during my
> decision to follow Jesus, I had become Jesus). That's when everything went
> wrong. Shortly after I realized I was pregnant. The devil went to work and
> inflicted me with condemning thoughts. I felt like a failure, wanted to
> leave the Church and even contemplated an abortion to cover my sin. I did
> have my son and the love from the people at NCM encouraged and strengthened
> me. At the same time the situation with my son's father had taken a turn
> for the worse. When I was six months pregnant, I found out he had been
> cheating on me with another female. Our relationship was officially over.
> Needless to say I was devastated. Although I knew he was not good for me, I
> still could not shake the pain and rejection I felt. It was as if someone
> had pushed a knife through my heart. Although I still cared about him I
> also hated him intensely, it was difficult to believe that I even knew God.
> It was the messages I received at Church, the support of close friends and
> feeding myself with the word that got me through that period. Yet, the
> battle was about to get worse before it got better.
>
> I had not spiritually dealt with my hurt, pain and rejection. Infact the
> situation with my son's dad brought to the surface feelings of insecurity,
> and inferiority buried deep within my subconscious. I also began to develop
> destructive thoughts. As this was not my first relationship that ended due
> to unfaithfulness I began to question my person morality and value system.
> Why should I be faithful if it's not going to last? I began to feel that it
> made no sense to get emotional about a relationship, just keep it strictly
> physical, to avoid getting hurt. The devil had me thinking the way he
> wanted and soon after provided another opportunity for me to fall. One of
> my friends introduced us when my son was nine months. I enjoy playing
> dominoes and saw him regularly during the Friday night domino sessions. He
> was goodlooking, funny, attentive and married. It started out innocently,
> but the attention he gave me was not what I needed or could handle at my
> current emotional state. But I enjoyed it. It wasn't long after before I
> found myself in an affair that lasted for a year and a half. All during
> this time I was still coming to Church! The initialn bliss of the
> relationship quickly faded and I began to feel empty and lonely again. This
> was definitely not the answer. However, I could not give it up. It took
> some serious prayer and crying out to God for me to get out of it. The
> enemy knew exactly what he was doing as this man had all the physical,
> emotional and material attributes I was looking for. He had definitely
> become a stronghold on my emotions. The good news is God is still able!
> Once I confessed what I was involved in and had someone hold me accountable
> I was on the road to deliverance. I also prayed and fed my spirit with the
> word and reading spiritual books dealing with purity and being strong in
> God. That was how I was able to get free.
>
> However, I still did not have complete victory over sexual sin. A year ago
> I again found myself in a sexually compromising situation. It was at that
> time that I had had enough. During my prayer for forgiveness I told God
> that I was going to be sexually pure even if it killed me and I meant it
> this time! I have since read spiritually radical books dealing with
> singleness and purity by Michelle Mckinney Hammond and Tye Adams. Those
> books have really ministered to me , encouraged me and have given me
> practical advise. I have since been learning how to control my mind, and
> guard my eyes and ears. I have also changed the people I hang out with. At
> this stage I am willing to do whatever it takes to maintain my sexually
> purity.
>
> The reality is my next battle will determine my spiritual strength. In the
> meantime I am preparing my spiritual weapons and getting ready for battle.
> Who knows this may be an issue I'll have to battle with for a while, but I
> now know the enemies tactics and is not ignorant of his devices and I intend
> to keep fighting! Going to Church on Sundays and Wednesdays is not enough,
> I also have to daily fight the battles in my mind, decisions and actions. I
> have to stay in his presence as I cannot do it alone. I have learned to be
> real and honest with myself about the struggles and strongholds in my life
> so I can use the right spirtual strategy. More importantly I have learned
> that only when I hate my sin enough to want to change and do whatever it
> takes to change, will God deliver me. Remember God will not deliver us from
> what we like but what we hate.
>
> Stay strong...Gayann

Arlene's Story

Revelations 12:11 says that they (the people) overcame him (the devil, our enemy and he who fights against us) by the blood of the Lamb (Jesus dying on the cross) and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. This shows us how powerful our words are, especially in telling others of our lives and what Jesus has done for us. I'm not sure where to start. It seems that sexual perversion was always around in my life for as long as I could remember. There were all the other kids that I played doctor with. I was already dealing with a spirit of masturbation before I even knew the name of it and even before I learned it was a sin. I remember sitting in Sunday School when I was about 10 or 11 years old and I heard some of the teenagers talking about masturbation and they were laughing about it and making fun of each other. I swore to myself that day that I would never tell anyone about what I dealt with. A year or so after that I finally got up the courage to find out from my Sunday School teacher if it was a sin. She told me it was and ever since then I struggled with condemnation. Also about the time I was 9 or 10 years was the first time that I saw a pornographic magazine. My parents were divorced, it was at my father's house. My father also had a pornography video tape that wasn't meant for us to see. But he had recorded a movie over it for us to watch and he forgot that was in there. That was not the only encounter I had with pornography. Even though I was still a child it seemed that pornography was everywhere I turned and there was nothing stopping it. I grew up reading trashy (pornographic) romance novels. By the time I was about 13 or 14 years old I had a constant pornographic movie running in my head. It was uncontrollable. But I didn't mind, I had constant entertainment in my head, I just never wanted anyone to know about it. When I was about 17 years old my family began coming to New Covenant Ministries. This was the most challenging church I ever came to. I grew up in church, getting a solid knowledge of the Word, but never really growing spiritually. Well, here at NCM, I was challenged to not just look the part of a Christian, but also to live the life. For months I heard Pastor Jeana share about her testimony, it was so similar to mine in so many aspects. I tried to stop sinning on my own, but after a while it just seemed hopeless. I thought that I would forever struggle and feel condemned. Pastor Jeana shared that the way to get rid of sin was to expose it by confessing your sin to another and having them pray for you. The Bible verse in 1 John 1:9 ran over and over in mind for months before I did anything about it: If we confess our sins he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. I struggled with that because I thought that if I told anyone they would look at me differently, but that was only pride. Finally when I was about 19 a group named the Hell Fighters came to my church. I went up to the alter call. I was the first time I ever confessed all the filth and perversion in my life. I was instantly delivered. I went home that night and took every trashy novel that I had and threw them away. That was one of the most awesome deliverances and experiences that I ever had. There were some times after that when I struggled but I knew that was a sign that I wasn't staying close to the Lord. The years after that I spent relearning sex from God's perspective. What I would like you to know is this: there is nothing that you have dealt with that some one else hasn't dealt with. I was afraid to speak out on what I struggled with because I thought no one would understand. Don't be afraid to approach your parents or pastors (if you know they love you and that they know God) to confess sin or to ask for prayer. We will not judge you because God has forgiven us for much. It is by God's Grace that we are saved.

Love yall
Arlene

what's the password?

Hey guys,
After much deliberation and brainstorming as a team we decided on something to talk about again for this month. I know you can't wait for this new off the chain and life changing message. What we are going to talk about will make you cooler than all your friends. Everybody will want to know what you are doing that is causing you to be on top. By the time we are finished you will know the secret password in life that will give you the chance to get pretty much whatever you want as long as it lines up with God's will of course. Let me give you a little side note. Just as God has a purpose for your life so does Satan. So when I say "as long as it lines up with God's will" I am very serious about that statement. The devil has a plan for your life too. He will give you his plan and then give you the stuff you need to make that plan happen. Thats why in our devotionals we have placed a big importance on reading your word and real sincere prayer to God. So back to where I was at, how to have a chance to get anything you want as long as it lines up with God. As I write I am well aware of the fact that we are in the Christmas season. Through the research I have done it seems like depression tends to go up during this season. I could go on about this but I have decided not to. I did not want you thinking about being sad but I wanted to let you know that I know there is a possibility that you could be sad during Christmas. I am going to tell you how to break that sadness off of you and get so close to God that He can pretty much put the things that you want into your hands. There is a password that gives you access to God himself. With this password or passwords you will literally go places that people have never gone before. Have you ever tried logging onto a computer after it has been completely logged off? What do you need to know before you can start using the programs in the computer? I knew you woud get it, you're right, a password. When you know the password you can long onto anything that is inside of the computer. You have access to all its games, programs, windows, and unlimited amount of information on the internet and so on. Am I right? Do you want to know the passwords that will give you access right into a place where everything will seem to come to you without you asking? While everyone else is hustling to get 'things' they think will make them happy you have the secret that will blow everyone away. Do you really want to know? Well, here it is whether you want it or not..."thank you God for (you fill in the blank)..." Thanksgiving is the access code that gives you complete access to all that life has in store for you. I know you were looking for something else and I hyped it up a bit, but I am serious as a heart attack. If you live a life where you can thank God 'in' all things and 'for' all good things He will give you VIP passes to His castle where He will show you everything that He has for you. Remember God owns everything. Can you imagine all that He has in heavens bank account for you. All you have to do is thank Him. Thank Him for all He has done for you, all He has given you, and everything He is going to give you. If you can do this on a daily basis I promise He will remember your thankfulness and bless you beyond your wildest dreams. If you ever wondered what God wants you to do remember the verses in 1Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 16-18. If you ever want to visit God at His house just remember Psalm 100 verse 4 "Enter into His gates with THANKSGIVING, and into His courts with praise: be THANKFUL unto Him, and bless His name." I am going to end with this: Have you ever given something to someone that you put your heart into and they never said thank you. It made you not want to give to them again. God is the same way. Thank Him and see what He will do in your life and people will come up to > you to get advise on how to live. Read 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 for homework. If you do these three things (in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) you can be assured of being right where God wants you to be. Love you and see on the flip side.

- Mickey and Sarah Santiago

looking for something?

Matthew 6:33 "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

The Word seek means “to go in search of”, “to try to acquire or gain”. Every person in this world is seeking something – money, fame, friends, food on the table, a good job, a nice car, a big house, nice clothes… the list could go on for miles. We all seek a certain thing because it makes us feel good, because there is some type of benefit to us. Usually it’s because that thing is what we believe will make us happy. The Word is very direct in telling us that we should seek God and His Kingdom first. Why? Doesn’t God want us to have money, fame, friends, a good job, a nice car, a big house, nice clothes? YES! Every good and perfect gift comes from God! The reason He has told us to seek Him first – above and ahead of everything else we desire – is for our own good. The enemy has so perverted the world that God created that he will make someone think that they only way they can friends or a family is by joining a gang. Or that they only way for them to have money is by selling their bodies. That the only way to a good job is by working 24/7. The enemy will lie and tell you the only way you can afford nice clothes is by stealing them. That you can only afford a “clean” car by selling drugs.

How can we avoid the trap that the enemy sets? How do we avoid deception? The first and obvious answer is by seeking God first! By reading his Word and getting in prayer.
Also, look at the verse. It says seek His Kingdom and His righteousness. What is His Kingdom? It is righteousness (being in right relationship with God), peace and joy. That is what we all seek! To be good with God, to have peace and to have joy! If we seek Him first, he will give us all that AND he will give us everything else we need! God is not a prude. He doesn’t want to give you hand me downs, old and torn and faded. He wants you to have a new shiny Car, a big house, a great job and plenty of friends. He wants you to have the best things in your life. He just doesn’t want you to get caught up in these things because they will not got get you to heaven. And all these things will be give to you as well.

God’s end is to have you with him in eternity. We were created to have a relationship with Him. Seek Him first. Seek his joy and peace.

God Bless,
Arlene

my time is valuable

Hey everyone,

I am going to share about how the Holy Spirit helps me redeem my time. 24 hours in a day may seem a lot but to me sometimes it is too short for everything that I need to. My last year in high school was the most difficult year in my life. There were so much pressure from school, teachers, peers and others. Some nights were sleepless due to the many AP Biology labs reports that I needed to complete. One long night God came and answered my prayers. My friend Cindy and I were partners in my AP Biology class. We were partners with another student, William. Our assignment was to complete a lab report. Lab reports are generally more than ten pages long. We divided up the assignments so that each person would complete specific areas in that report. It was ten o' clock at night. Cindy and I finished up our sections of the report. We are chatting back and forth to each other online. We put our sections together. We are waiting for William to email his sections. It is eleven o'clock. Now we are concerned about William. Now it is twelve o'clock. We start to panic because there was no response from William. We told him in class earlier our plan of attack. I prayed to God for peace and instruction on what to do. God did answered my prayers. We decided to do his sections which were heavy burdens to us. We finished around 2 am that next morning. I prayed to God that I do not hurt William verbally the next day. The next day, we told our teacher what happened and she said that William will have to do the whole report by himself. When I saw William, I did not hurt him verbally. Praise God! He gave a lame excuse but I knew that I had the peace of God in my mind. Also I was not tired or sleepy throughout the day. God helped me and I thank Him for it. Oh...Cindy and I received a A on the report. That was God's divine favor!!!!! I did not crack under pressure because the Holy Spirit gave me the wisdom to have a revised plan of attack. Having a schedule did help Cindy and I because we finished our sections ahead of schedule. Since we were organized, we could take on William's load and not be stressed out. Having a schedule allowed me to prioritize my life always. I am becoming more successful in life due to my scheduling skills. In the past, I asked the Holy Spirit to help me make a schedule and He helped me. I had two schedules: one for school days and one for the weekend. These schedules allowed to concentrate on my academics and spending time with God. I always had time to spend precious moments with Him. He would gave me love, support, strength and more which I desperately needed. MY advice is to ask the Holy Spirit to help you redeem your time by making a schedule. Trust me you will not regret it. A divine schedule will give you peace in your mind and heart. My priorities in life are God, my family and friends and school. God is number in my life!!!! My revolves around my priorities. I sometimes have to cut out watching too much TV or chatting on the computer. The devil uses these pleasures as sometimes distracters from spending time with God. I always give God my time throughout the day because He ministers to me. He gives me insights in His plan for my life. Without God, I would not be the same person. I would be in worse conditions. One of my major priority is education. I stress education than being popular at school. We should not be man pleasers but God pleasers! If God is pleased with me then I am very very very elated. I love my life to please and worship God and not others! Others can let me down but God will never leave me nor forsake me! MY time is precious to me so I make sure to live my day to the fullest by being one of God's chosen servants.

God bless,
Brittany

you're wasting my time!

Ello Folks,

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance..." Ecclesiastes 3:1-4. The above scripture implies that life is a series of seasons and their are specific activities etc. that needs to be done during each season. Yet, daily we are bombarded with numerous responsibilities, options and choices as it relates to our time. Some of which are irrelevant and unimportant to the stage or season we are in our lives. It is important that we realize the season we are in so we can get the most out of that period. Remember, seasons are not forever and usually benefits us the most if they involve some type of growth in areas of our lives. I am currently in a season of learning, both spiritual and academic. I'll call it that for lack of a better word. I'm a full time graduate student who work over 30 hours per week. It's very hectic and exhausting. There are many nights that I have left the library after midnight and was up at 7:00 a.m. for work. I have had to sacrifice a lot including my social life, hanging out and watching TV. Additionally I have had to make a conscious effort to keep God at the forefront and at times have neglected to spend quality time with him. It seems I am always on the go and as such have used my car, my desk, and the library as places of worship. Moreover, I try to always be in Church on Sundays whenever I am in town. We all have numerous activities competing for our time. It is important that you recognize your season and prioritize your activities accordingly. It may require giving up old habits and activities for example TV, but these activities will always be there. Continue to make time for God no matter how hectic the schedule gets as we need his strength, wisdom and direction. If you don't already know, pray and ask God to show you your purpose and start working on it! Remember "Be very careful, then how you live-not as unwise but as wise. Making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." Ephesians 5:15-16. We are wise when we maximize every opportunity (time) to do the will of God and fulfill his purpose for our lives. What are you doing with your time? Have an effective week!

-GG

time well $pent

Ephesians 5:15-16 (Contemporary English Version)Act like people with good sense and not like fools. These are evil times, so make every minute count.


I used to sit around for hours watching T.V. I literally would come home from school, then later in life, from work and sit in front of the television for a good five hours. I was doing a whole lot of nothing! It only was a few years ago that I finally realized how much time I was wasting. No wonder I felt like life was passing me by and things were always happening for other people but not for me, like I was on the outside looking in! I didn’t realize that during all the time that I spent sitting around my life and time were just wasting away. You can be a Christian, you can be in school, but still not really have purpose that drives you.
When I decided to change my lifestyle I decided to get more involved in ministry. I joined the choir. I got involved with the youth group. Have you found yourself wasting time or just sitting around for hours? How do you get out of this? The first thing is to pray! Ask God what it is that you should get involved in. Or find an activity that you enjoy doing that you can work at. Set goals on what you want to accomplish then think of ways that you can make that happen. Once you do that, work towards it everyday.
Take an hour or two everyday. Read the Bible, work on your project.
You will probably have to give up some of what you enjoying doing to find balance. I found that not watching so much T.V. didn’t hurt as much as I was afraid of!
Now I can’t go through my day without doing something constructive. I can’t go through my day without listening to sermon or some praise and worship, without taking time to build my spiritual woman in some way. It’s a wonderful feeling when you go to bed and know that you have accomplished what you set out to do.
The verse above in another translation says to “redeem” the time. Make your time have value!

God Bless,
Arlene

love never fails

1 Corinthians 13:8 (Amplified Version) "Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth]." Love is one of the greatest gift from God. We witness everyday His love and compassion for us His children. "Love never fails" is revelation from the Word of God. Basically Love will always be there for you especially through hard times. God's love is everlasting and never fades away. When God says that He is always there, He is always there especially with His Love for us. "Love never fails" is awesome revelation because it states how enduring love is...well true love. True love never fades away. God's love never fades away. Sometimes in our daily walk we forgot that God's love never comes to an end. Even when we mess up and get off His path, God is still there loving us. God is love. Therefore, He will never fade away or pass away. He will always here for us. How great is that! To know that our Father God has everlasting love and He will never leave or forsake us. Just open your heart to Him and draw near to Him and He will draw near you.
In Jeremiah 31:3 God says "I've never quit loving you and never will. Expect love, love, and more love!" We all face stuff times in our lives. In our lowest times and we feel like giving up, God is still there with His love. His love has healing power that gives us peace and joy. His love never fades away meaning that it will always be there. He will always be there for us even when others are not there. When my best friend moved away, I was so sad because she was so dear to me. In my mind, I thought that I would never experience that kind of friendship. I thought that I would never find a best friend again! But I was wrong! God was there even when I was hanging out with my friend. He was there especially when I felt alone! His love gave me comfort and new joy. I felt more energized and began falling more in-love with God. I grew closer to Him and He grew closer to Him! (Eventually I found another great friend.) God wants your enduring love! We need to love Him and others even those who are not your friends! We need to love with a love that never fades away. So just love everyone with the love you want. Love your peers like brothers and sisters in the Lord. Love your parents and those in-charge over you with respect and honor. Love God like He is your best friend who will always be there and never fade away.
Love,
Brittany

a love that lasts

“Of all fires love is the only inexhaustible one” –Pablo Neruda

1 Corinthians 13
4 Love endures long … 8 Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]… Love is lasting, is does not fade away.

Only true love is willing to stay and not walk away or give up during the hard times.Value is added to relationships that endure over time.Ever After means that they stayed together till the end of time. Every relationship will give you a chance to walk away.Never ending. Love never fails.During the hard times is where strength, character and eternal bonds are created.Understanding, patience and forgiveness will be required to go the distance.Remember the prize… love can carry you for the rest of your life.Even when you’ve been hurt it’s possible to still love that person.Search out every possible way to love someone when it’s easier to walk away. Life is short, remember to treasure those closest to you before they are gone.Open your heart to God, He is Love and He can show you the way.Never look back, only look forward.God is Love. He will never stop loving you in spite of all your faults. He will never give up on you. He will never stop wanting to have an eternal relationship with you, beginning today.


God Bless You,
Arlene

what's love got to do with it?

Whether you believe it or not there is one thing that every person in this world is looking for. There is something that all your friends, family, role models, and even your mentors live to have in their lives. Some people go about it different ways in order to have it. Others go about getting it the wrong way because they do not know any better. A lot of people get hurt and disappointed over it because they really do not know what it means and how to go about getting it. If I told you to write me a paper about the planets two weeks from now and you spent hours and hours of study, but you were studying the stars in the galaxy, did you do a good thing? Well, you did a good thing but you did it all wrong. And not only did you do it all wrong but once you find out that you did not make me happy and you did not get a good grade on your paper you get angry and frustrated because of all that work you ended up doing. You went about it the wrong way and you end up hurting yourself. What is this thing that every one wants but do not know how to go about getting? Do you know what it is? I was hoping you would ask. The thing that everyone in this world is looking for but end up going about it the wrong way because they really don't know what it is...LOVE. Love is the biggest reason for people doing what they do. They join gangs to be loved, they join clicks to not feel left out, and they do things that they do not feel comfortable doing just so that they can be loved and accepted by someone else. Do you want to know how to love? Jesus said 'Love the Lord your God with all you heart, soul, strength and mind' and 'Love your neighbor as yourself'. If you can love God, I mean fall in love with him, you will love yourself enough to learn how to love others and not have to go out of your way to get them to love you. This is what we are going to talk about this cycle. We are going to teach you what love really means. If you want to learn what love really means, stay tuned because this cylce is going to blow you away. Love you guys and talk to you soon.
Mickey Santiago

a best friend

Everything in your environment teaches you. Music artists, television, radio, magazines, movies, and books are constantly teaching and finding ways to reach out to you so that you can learn from them. And they put things into your minds day in and day out. They play the same songs over and over again until they go out of style, you hear the same thing on the news over and over again, and the same kind of movies that have violence and sex get the highest ratings over and over again. There is a method to their madness. They know if they can play it over and over again you will remember it. And what you remember is what you will think about and what you think about is what you will do. These types of media spend millions of dollars so that they can reach this generation one way or another. Can I be real with you? The one who is behind all of this, the devil, is not stupid. He knows that if he can get the way his kingdom runs into your mind you will live by the rules of his kingdom. Satan has copied God's system of running things but he uses hate instead of love, evil instead of good, and revenge instead of forgiveness. The devil can not create, so he uses God's way of doing things, but he uses a perverted version. And he is using the media that I spoke about above to get into your minds. God created the idea of seed, time, and harvest. This just means that it takes time for you to learn, to grow, and mature. And during this process there must be seed planted in your mind over and over again. Seed can come in the form of words, songs, and pictures. The devil has copied this idea of God and he is using it pretty good. He has done a good job of getting into the minds of this generation and making us think that sin is cool. It is because of this that we are teaching on the kingdom of God over and over. So that you can get it in your mind and live by it.> Well another way that you are taught that I failed to mention is through your friends. Have you ever wondered why you want to be soo accepted by your friends and your peers? Why do you fear being left out? Is it because you don't want people to make fun of you? Is it because if you let people know the real you they won't hang out with you anymore? These are real questions that need to be answered. Because if you ever broke out of that fear you would be unstoppable in life. Why do we have to be accepted? Because even in the beginning God said 'It is not good for man to be alone'. We were created to have companionship. This means that we want to be loved by someone. Its okay, its natural. We were made like that by the Creator Himself. He is the one to blame for this mess. I am just kidding!! But what we fail to miss, especially in the society we live in now, is that when God said that to Adam they already had a relationship with one another. The bible says that "God walked with Adam in the cool of the day". This means that there was a specific time that they met everyday. They walked together. Can you imagine walking with God everyday? Can you imagine the creator of the universe being your best friend? Thats what Adam had. His best friend was the one who made him. OH MY GOSH! Listen, the one who made the heavens and the earth wants to be your best friend, He wants to walk with you, and teach you at the same time. If you can make Him your best friend then it does not matter who accepts you and wants to be your friend. Thats why you want to be accepted because you were created to have relationships. And if you are not hanging out with people who accept you then you are going to feel empty. Stop seeking your friends to satisfy this emptiness. Go to God first, let Him fill you up, and then go out and find the friends that best fit your life with God. Don't try to fit with them, let them fit with you. If they don't match your lifestyle that you have with God then don't make it fit. You can still hang out with them but make sure that it is not costing your friendship with God first. > I will end with this. In these days God has provided a best friend for us. When Jesus walked on this earth He told His fiends "It is better for you that I leave so that I can send the Comforter". The comforter is God's Spirit. He is called the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is supposed to be inside of you. If He is not, ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit. Think about this for a minute. God is saying that He wants to live inside of the very thing that He made......WOW!! He wants to live inside of you. Let Him and He will teach you the right way to live and you will never be the same again. The Holy Spirit will lead you, teach you, and comfor you. There is soo much He can do if you let Him help. In the next three weeks we will talk about how He leads, comforts, and teaches you about the kingdom of God. He wants to be your best friend. Why not let Him. Love you guys and talk to you again soon.> > Mickey Santiago

peace from the Holy Spirit

John 14:26-27 (The Message)(Jesus speaking) "I'm telling you these things while I'm still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I'm leaving you well and whole. That's my parting gift to you. Peace. I don't leave you the way you're used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don't be upset. Don't be distraught.
When Jesus was getting ready to depart from this earth he told his disciples what was about to happen. He also told them that the Holy Spirit would come in his place to be with his people because he would no longer physically be with them.
One of the most wonderful promises of the Holy Spirit is peace!
What is peace? One of the definitions found in the dictionary is “freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions”.
During our lifetimes, in our every day lives, we will struggle with a range of emotions: worry, fear, anxiety, stress, etc. There are so many things that we may be worried or fearful of… money, friends, fitting in, what others think about us, grades, parents, etc. We could go over a million of these.
But we have a wonderful promise that Jesus left us. Peace. He left us the promise that we can be free from worry, free from anxiety, free from stress, free from fear, free from doubt, free from insecurity!
How do we find this peace? Even among Christians many people are saved but many still live with constant worry and stress and fears. They have the Holy Spirit, but yet haven’t found the truth about what we have been given. The first part of Psalm 119:165 says “Great peace have those who love your law…”
When you’re feeling unsettled or worried or anxious or when you feel “down” and all these negative thoughts and emotions are weighing you down, open up the Word. Begin reading God’s Word to you. After a while you will begin to feel the refreshing of the Holy Spirit.
Peace be with you!
Arlene

how the Holy Spirit leads us

Before we can consent to have the Holy Spirit lead us, we must know who the Holy Spirit is and understand its purpose in our lives. In Matthew 28:18-20, the Holy Spirit is referred to as the third God Head in whose name we are baptized. John 14:16-18, refers to the Holy Spirit as our Counselor, the spirit of truth who is with us forever. However, this spirit of truth only dwells with those who obey God as is noted in Acts 5:32. The Holy Spirit represents the medium through which God communicates with us, Acts 1:2. It is God's representation on the earth that enables us to do the will of God, by giving us power, Acts 1:8 and boldness Acts 4:31. The Holy Spirit is a representation of God among us. It's role includes: 1. Bearing witness of Christ by convicting our hearts about the truth of Christ, through making the truth known to us, John 15:26 and John 16:14.2. Acts as our teacher (I Corinthians 2:9-14), through helping us to be receptive to the things of God as well as teaching and helping us to remember spiritual things (John 14:26)3. Develop godly character in the lives of believers through the fruits of the spirit as found in Galatians 5:22 -23. The fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Qualities which are difficult to develop and maintain on our own.4. The Holy Spirit also serves to convicts us of our sins (John 16: 8 - 11) Allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us includes yielding to its convictions, being receptive to the things of God along with developing Godly character in our lives through the fruits of the spirit. The Holy Spirit will remain with us as long as we continue to be obedient to God. Hence, being led by the Holy Spirit involves staying in the word and continually learning about what pleases God so we can continue to grow in obedience. Yielding to the Holy Spirit makes our walk with Christ easier and allows God to do more in our lives. Its a choice we all make individually to willing grow in Christ through yielding to the Holy Spirit or being stiff necked and do our own thing. Only we can make that choice, God will never force it on us.

http://everystudent.com/forum/hspirit.html?gclid=CM7bw4OA7IsCFQOxgAodHQl-Qw

Let's take the time to examine our lives to see to what extent the Holy Spirit is leading us. Have a Great week!!

-GG