HONOR GOD IN YOUR YOUTH

Today’s Bible readings are Ecclesiastes 10:1-12:14, 2 Corinthians 8:1-15, Psalm 49:1-20, & Proverbs 22:20-21

Ecclesiastes 12:1-2

Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say, “Life is not pleasant anymore.” ² Remember him before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is dim to your old eyes, and rain clouds continually darken your sky.

There are so many things that can come up in our lives as a distraction. We can easily get preoccupied chasing after many different things. When we are young & trying to build a family, there are so many things that can take our attention.

              

1.      School activities

2.      Sport activities

3.      Family activities

4.      Vacations

5.      Work

6.      Hobbies

7.      Friends

None of these things are bad things, but they all can become distractions. Each of these things can take the place of our relationship with Christ if we don’t intentionally purpose to put Christ first.

I look back at my early years serving Christ & I can see that we made some very good decisions that have kept us out of the pitfalls that so many others fall into. We had some great old men & women in our life to instruct on. They did a great job in warning us of the dangers of letting other things take precedent in our lives. They helped us see the importance of making Christ the center of everything.

1.      We chose early that Sunday was ALWAYS God’s day.

2.      We chose that Sunday was a family day BUT it would be spent together in church with God.

3.      We decided that praying together was something that we would do regularly.

4.      We decided that nothing was going to take us away from our Sunday commitment to God & each other.

5.      We chose that we were going to honor God by eating together as a family & praying before we eat.

Those may seem like small things, maybe even petty things, but they have kept us rooted & grounded when many others fell away & backslid.

When you commit to put Christ first in the beginning of your journey, it is so much easier. You will never be more motivated to give it all up then you are in the beginning. The longer you wait to surrender, the harder it becomes.

Think of some ways today that you can begin to honor God. What are some things that you can do right now make sure that God stays first place in everything that you do? Take those steps today. You will not be disappointed. It will be worth it now & worth it later.

Pastor Richard Schlotter