Time is tick'n

If you are a young person, you need to read this post:

I've been reading "Don't waste your Life" by John Piper lately, and the main thing to do to not waste your life, is to "...glorify God in your body..." and enjoy doing it.

Many times as young people we ask, "what do you want to do when you grow up?" Or what are you going to do to glorify God?" But I ask you, what are you doing now to glorify God? We are in our "best years" what are we doing now to glorify God, hmm? Are we being servants? Are we sharing the gospel? I also have to ask, what am I doing to glorify God? So instead of putting it off, "oh, when I have a job I'll glorify God," 'when I am married, I'll glorify God." No! We need to do it now! Do something! Go serve some way! Time is tick'n guys!

All Christ,
~Kade

In the Fullest Measure

1 Peter 1:2, "according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood.  May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure."

As I was memorizing, reading, and studying 1 Peter, I noticed the phrase Peter writes at the end of chapter 1 verse 2: "in the fullest measure."

Grace in itself is full.  Grace is love that stoops.  Grace is God's act of love toward sinners that keeps them from His holy wrath and gives them eternal life.

The peace is peace with God.  Apart from this God-given peace, we are all His enemies.  With this peace, we are adopted as sons.

Not only does Peter pray that these people receive grace and peace, but he adds "in the fullest measure."  This reminds me of that song--"dayanu."  You remember, the one at seder?  "Da da yanu, da da yanu, da da yanu, dayanu dayanu dayanu."  You get the point.

It's Hebrew for "it would have been enough."  Put it this way:  it would have been enough if God had made peace with us so that we would no longer be enemies.  Dayanu.  But, in the fullest measure, God has given us peace by adopting us.

It would've been enough if God had given us grace so that we would not experience His eternal wrath.  Dayanu.  But, He has given us grace in the fullest measure--He has given us eternal life with Him in heaven.

Praise God, who gives us grace and peace--in the fullest measure!

Luke

Note: Sorry it took so long to post.  I just kept procrastinating.

God with Us

Deuteronomy 31:6 "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

Deuteronomy 31:8 "The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

Yesterday, at our youth-group we went through 1Samuel 23. It was about David running from Saul. And God always provided a way for David to escape. God was with him.

Today, in my school book Light and the Glory it told the story of how Washington escaped Howe's army of twenty thousand during the night by small boats, when they surely would have been wiped out. God was with them.

God promises to be with those who are his... so even though we may not see Him, feel Him, or hear Him.. He is there. And when we go through trials we might think; where is God? Well for one, God gave us that trial, two, He's in control, three, he might have giving us that trial to make us come running back to Him, four, He promised He will never leave us. And God doesn't lie, bub.

All Christ,
~Kade

Determination

Today I had my three little sisters on my bunk-bed with me. (Probably not the smartest thing, but I was on the outside, so they were safe)(but I wasn't, they sometimes push me off, even though they're young). Anyways, my littlest sister, Covey (who is 1) had got hold of a small tooth-paste box... and was determined to get it open. She pried and tried, but couldn't get it open. She then threw it on the ground, pressed on it, and it came open! She looked in and found her prize... the tooth-paste bottle.

Another thing that I think of when I think of determination is a race. I've ran a couple of three-mile races, but I don't really rely on my physical condition. I rely on brain power. Also called adrenaline, or determination. And I don't do so bad.

So just as my little sister was determined, and my determination in running, so should we be in life. That's something we really need in our Christian walk, we need to be determined to live for Christ, and excel in Him.

All Christ,
~Kade

This is the most emotional...

Hey guys, this is Kole. Right now..... I'm quite..... overwhelmed. Out of all the posts I have done previously I think this is the most emotional. You must read this. Some of you may know that I went to a wedding yesterday and it was very exciting because we were able to see a lot of our old friends from Texas because the bride was our pastor in Texas's daughter. I saw many people I haven't seen in over nine years! Anyway, we had a great time and on the way back, I was thinking about the wedding and I was like, 'who will I marry? How will I know who's the right one? What if I ask and she says no because she might be older than me, or she likes someone else, or I am to small or...or... whatever!?' I have some time had other experiences like this about what job I'll have or whatever, but I thought of something I hadn't thought of before. You have probably heard this before but it was just what I needed to hear right then. "I don't know what the future holds... but I know who holds the future." God has planned it all to turn out for my Good because he has changed my heart and turned it towered him! And I know that HE IS IN CONTROL! And you know, I don't know where you live... but I know that if he has saved you and you love him he will work everything out for your Good! Let Him be Priased!

Fervently Loving the Brethren,
and ALL for His Son's Glory!

-Kole

P.S. I want to dedicate this post to all of my Texas and Oklahoma friends! Thank you guys so much for your friendship with me. You are all an encouragement to me! Call me anytime!

Why we Forgive

Why do we forgive people? Why don't we hold a grudge?

Well, the main reason for the saved is... "Forgive just as your Father in heaven forgave you." The only way we can really realize God's grace and mercy, is if we realize how much God has forgiven us. And if we really know how much God has forgiven us... why shouldn't we forgive others?

You probably know the parable where the a man had a humongous debt, one that he could never pay... but yet, the king forgave him. However, when the man went away... he choked one of his servants for ten-cents! And that's how we are when we don't forgive others.

So if we really know how much Christ has forgiven us, we can forgive anybody for anything!

All Christ,
~Kade

Prayer Request

Hello readers. I have a prayer request for all of you concerning Steven Curtis Chapman (Contemporary Christian Singer). His youngest daughter, Maria Sue Chapman, was killed by a car yesterday evening at about 5 P.M. Her brother was driving the car and apparently didn't see her. She was rushed to a hospital via helicopter but she did not survive her wounds.

Please pray for this family and especially for her brother as he is probably having a horrible time right now dealing with this.

- Nick

Like it Never Happened

"Like it Never happened"-Seven Places

(Bridge)
You've taken all my mistakes and put them anywhere but close
(Chorus)
They have gone away (away)
from the east to the west and height any depth that's where it goes,
From the ground to the sky from low to high that's where it goes,
You act just like, like it never happened

(Second Bridge)
deep, wide, low, high my sins are gone away
and if I'm up, down, or all around I can hear you say,
"They have gone away"

All Christ,
~Kade

Survivor

Hey guys! Sorry I haven't posted in a while! The trip to Cal was fun, and we were able to see a lot of our old friends. Anyway, Today I was reading my bible and in Proverbs 21:14, and it talks about "bribes behind the back", and it reminded me of some thing that happened a round Christmas last year. I think everyone has seen the TV show survivor and my dear Dad bought the game for it. You have to complete physical or abilitical skills and when a team gets beat three times they have to vote a team member off. Sad to say, but I have always been the first to go out. But it got to the point that my team was down to three people: my Nana, my brother, and my Cousin. My Nana and my brother were going to vote each other off, so it was up to my cousin to decide. Both Nana and my Brother try to bribe him and my cousin was only six so of course he would be persuaded. There was no strong wrath I'm glad to say. But I just wanted to tell you this story.

-Kole

Communication:Conversation

I can't tell you how many times adults have been shocked that I held a conversation with them!People don't expect that. It is a very powerful thing, conversation. People think, Wait, aren't you supposed to be one of those lazy teen-agers who do nothing but have fun and hang out with your girlfriend? I've never seen this before. And before you know it, they love you!

How do you hold a conversation with an adult?
(1). Be friendly.
(2). Ask questions. (It's good to have a couple questions in your head all times: "What's your job?" "Have any kids?" "Do you go to church? Where?"etc.)
(3). Be mature. (Meaning: look them in the face, shake their hand, etc. (for all you guys, it had better be a firm hand shake! Or else...)

When I think of this I think of the Proverb "Even a fool who is silent, is considered wise." Well this is the opposite! "Even a fool who can hold a mature conversation with an adult is considered wise."-Kade (You can quote me on that one:)

All Christ,
~Kade

The Power of Our Influencce

Most of us probably have younger siblings, or are involved with little kids somehow. And all those who do, have a power... it's called "Influence". The only question is; how we are influencing them? Are we influencing them in good ways, or the opposite?

I'll tell you a story: A while back we had a couple of kids from the neighborhood come over to our house. We were playing a game when I said the word stupid. After a little while, I heard one of the kids say stupid. Now, I'm pretty sure that he didn't know that word because he was very young. When he said it, it broke my heart. It felt so bad, that I taught him to say that! Afterwards I went over to him to ask for his forgiveness and I told him that it was not a good word to say.

But we can also influence them in good ways: One day we had a day with our home school group. But this was not a regular day. Because this was not a regular day... there was no child care. So in one of the big back rooms there was about 25 to 30 kids. No parents, no teens older than myself, nothing to do, nice. But even with that I made up at least five games to play, everybody was under control, everybody had a good time. Even me. And because I influenced them, they cooperated.

Our power of influence on younger children is very powerful. Use it wisely. Influence them in good ways.

~Kade

(Leave a comment if you can relate)

Discouraged & Darth Maul

I am here in California on vacation guys. It's going well. Hav'in a lot of fun! I haven't been able to post for a while, but tonight, I can!

A couple of days ago something happened and I was feeling really discouraged. I kind of got into a "dopey mode" which sometimes happens with me. I thought what do I have? Well, I have Christ. Then I thought, if somebody saw me, would they see Christ? And is this what God has done with my life? Certainly not! God has done so much! So why ruin it? I instantly changed my attitude. So that's a good thing to carry about when we have bad attitudes. To steal a quote, "Would God allow us to carry His victory banner, and then look like we have been beaten back by the enemy? No Way!"

Alright now, I want to tell you a little story of my vacation so far, listen, it's funny: We went to Disney Land yesterday, and there they had a meet-and-greet for some of the Star Wars characters. As we approached Darth Maul, I was a little freaked out. He looked like... real! Horns and everything! I boldly went up to shake his hand... he knocked it away. I then said, "Oh, is that not cool?" (No answer) Freakier. With my heart beating, I softly punched him in the chest (just to know that he was human). Then I said, "So what is cool?" He made the motion, "cut-off-head-with-light-saber." I then have him a friendly slap and said, "You need the Lord."

Afterward I was like "That's awesome! I got to share the gospel with Darth Maul!"

All Christ,
~Kade

Quick, Meaningless Post

Hey, everyone, this is Luke.  I'm posting this from my personal blogger account, so it signs "Luke Godfrey" instead of "LifeSavior" at the bottom of the page.

I have thought up a post for you, stay tuned and I'll get it typed for you soon!

Experiences

I am going through a study and I will (try) to post about it at least once a week.

When we do something in life over and over again, we tend to use or own experience at it, right? SO when someone who is new to it needs advice, he goes to you or someone else who knows more about it than he does. Well, when we sin, and we try to stop, we tend to use our own expriences than asking for God's help! And that is impossible. We can't do anything without Him. We must NOT let our own experiences be our guide, or we will end up in a big mess. If we lean on our own experiences for our life, we are walking on some thin ice. But if we look to the Bible for answers, and pray for God's will to be done, we can never go wrong. Now, you can go wrong if you are looking for answers to a wrong question. I you are trying to seek out how to make a lot of money in a short time, you won't find the right answer! I like how Henry Blackaby and Claude King (the men who wrote the study I am going through) put it. They saud that we can't ask, "What is God's will for my life," but rather, "What is God's will?" We must find God's will first, and then conform our life into that.

-Nick

What is the "Fear of the Lord?"

We have talked about being wise and we said that the "Fear of the Lord" is the beginning of wisdom, but what is the fear of the Lord? If you read Proverbs 8 you will find out what it is. Read it and share your thoughts! I'll answer the Question directly from Scripture later today.

-Kole

P.S. Tomorrow I will be leaving with my family to CA. I will try to post when I have time out there, but we will be driving tomorrow and Saturday. Please pray that we would have a great time fellowshiping with people we haven't seen in a long time, and that the trip would be safe. Thanks!

Favorite Song

Alright guys, here's what we're going to do; everybody tell us your favorite Christian song by a Christian artist. That way, everybody will get a chance to check listen to some new music!

Personally, my favorite song is "This is Home" by Switchfoot. And my second favorite is "Spirit" by Switchfoot, so check them out!

~Kade

Hard neck to Reproof

Today, I refereed a game. In it there was three red cards and one yellow! And we ended the game early because the teams were so at each other! There was also a fight that broke out, with fists flying. Over-all, it was a terrible game.

Afterwards, the center-referee went to talk to a lady from the stands who had almost caused another fight. And she wouldn't listen! She kept yelling and yelling and was so stubborn, she wouldn't listen to reproof!... it was bad.

I feel sorry for her. Because you know what Proverbs 29:1 says: "A man (that also means a woman) who hardens his/her neck after much reproof will suddenly be broken beyond remedy." Broken beyond remedy! One of these days, she will be broken. It's sad, pray for her. Moral of the story: have a soft neck to reproof.

All Christ,
~Kade

No Correlation?

I was reading that book "Ancient Wisdom" and the Author was talking about wisdom and he made this statement, "There is absolutely no correlation between age and wisdom." And I thought about this statement. Is that true? What do you think? Please comment and share your thoughts!

-Kole