Getting Closer to God for Youth

I think for young people one of the coolest things to do today, is to constantly be in contact with friends.

Who has a mobile phone?
Do you call your friends very often? (assuming you have credit)
Do you send many SMS messages?
What about email. Who has their own email account? Who has more than one?
Who has MSN Messenger or Myspace or Bebo or some Blog site?
Who has met someone new on the internet?
Did you then get to meet them in real life?
Were they exactly the sort of person you thought they were, and the sort of person they told you they were?
Can you get to know someone from their blog site?

Assuming they are telling the truth about themselves I think you can learn a lot about a person from their blog site. They can tell you the sort of things they like, and the sort of things they don't like. They can tell you their opinions about a lot of topics and even tell you real life stories about their lives.

Some people put poetry on their blog site, or tell you about things that have happened in their lives. They might even write some philosophical things about what they believe in. The more you read an honest persons blog site, the more you get to know about them.
Well, did you know that God has his own blog site. Its called the bible. In the bible God has written stories about what He has done and the relationship He has with His people. He tells us all about what he likes and what he doesn't like, and he gives us the best answers to struggles in our lives. The more we read Gods blog site – His bible, the closer we get to knowing God.

What else can you do on a blog site? Well you can write comments about what you think. You can add your thoughts, agree with points in the blog or ask some questions about it.
You might think that you can't do that with Gods blog, but the truth is that you can. God told us that we can pray to him. In that way we can post comments to God, agreeing with Him, thanking Him for his blog, and even ask questions about it.
And the amazing thing is that God will respond to our comments and in His way even reply to our questions by
making us aware of something we hadn't noticed before or
acting in our lives in obvious ways, or
even making a change in our hearts.

And there are lots of ways you can pray to God.

I have broken it down to 3 main forms of prayer:
SMS prayer
You can send Him a spiritual SMS. This is the sort of prayer that you can do at any time no matter where you are. You could be at school, or on the bus, or at dancing class, or soccer training, or even washing the dishes at home. This sort of prayer only takes a few seconds and hardly takes any effort.

Here are some examples:
"hey God, cool 2 have U in my lyf. thanks 4 watchin ova me. luv ya heaps xoxo"
"thanks Jesus for makin my day so gr8. cant w8 to get into ur word tonite seeya"
"father God. im havin a rough day 2day. pleez help me 2 b patient n loving. Talk l8r"

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus


Personal Message Prayer (or comment prayer)
Then I think there is the type of prayer that is more like a comment or personal message on a MySpace site.
"Hi God, I was reading about how you want me to be wise in my decisions. I think that is a good idea. Can you please help me to know what to do and say today so that I can be wise and bring glory to you. Thanks heaps that you love me so much and that you are teaching me through your word. You rock God."

Email Prayer
Then there is the sort of prayer that is more like a well thought out email. It might go like this:

"Dear Father God
You are all powerful, and I just want to give you the glory for everything beautiful that you are and that you have done. You created the heavens and the earth and made them so good. You are so loving that you are merciful to everyone who wants to know you. You are full of wisdom, and only you have perfect truth. You never fail to keep your word and I adore you for being so faithful and reliable.

I confess that I have stuffed some things up today Lord. I was mean to that unpopular kid at school and I am sorry. Help me to be nicer to them and not be so concerned about what my friends think. I am sorry for getting angry with my parents too. Please forgive me and make me a better person.

Thank you Lord that you were willing to sacrifice Jesus to take the punishment for my sins. Thank you that you have forgiven me by your grace and love, and thank you for being patient with me and making a change in my heart. Thank you that you care about even the silliest things in my life. Help me to be worthy of Your name.

Lord I pray that you would help me to be patient and kind to my family and friends. I pray especially now for Uncle George who is sick with cancer. I ask that you would heal him and remove the cancer from his body. I pray also for my friends that don't know you. Please show yourself to them in a way that has meaning for them so that they can also come to know you and the joy that they can have in your salvation. . I pray that you would watch over our family and keep us all safe from harm and close to you.
In Jesus name,
Amen."

Colossions 4:2 (NIV)
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.


So is it clear that if we want to get closer to God we need to do some things. We need to actually make an effort to have communication with Him.

So now we know how to get closer to God. We just need to keep in communication with Him by reading the Bible daily and praying daily. When we do he reveals things to us and helps us to understand more about Him.
When you spend time with God you actually develop a deeper love for Him, and strangely you find yourself happier and more fulfilled in life.

Of all the things in life that you will try out to make you happier (popularity, clothes, cars, bikes, money, being famous, sexual gratification, drinking alcohol and getting drunk or trying out drugs), nothing will make you happier than getting to know the God that created you and loves you more than anyone ever will.

God rewards people who put effort into getting to know Him. He wants to reveal to us many things, but unless we decide to make the effort to get close to Him, he will just let us go on our way.

He will give us what we want.

If we want to avoid God then he will wait patiently nearby. He will let us go our own way and even let us wreck our own lives if we choose to reject Him.

If we want to know God more then he will come to us in the secret place where we approach Him. In our bedrooms, or a bushwalk, or in fact any moment in our life when we stop and focus on Him with the desire to get closer to Him.


What is the biggest problem that we face in relationships with our friends?
What causes friction and arguments between friends?

Selfishness (choosing your on desires over the other person)
Bad or false communication (gossip or lies about a person can destroy relationships)
Unfaithfulness (giving attention to someone or some thing else that is not worthy)

Selfishness – Life is a struggle between the choice or doing what you WANT to do and what you OUGHT to do. You see the problems arises when they are not the same thing. When the thing that you want to do is the same as what you ought to do (or what you know is a good thing to do) then life is sweet and everyone is happy. BUT when what you WANT to do is different to what you know you SHOULD do, then you will have to face an internal conflict. You will have to actually fight against yourself. Because whether you are aware of it or not, you have a built in nature that is selfish and wants to please itself. Selfishness when you are with your friends will cause them to hate you, because they will see that all you do, is think about yourself. And God is the same. When you ignore God and do what you know he would be unhappy about, you are breaking down the closeness you have and destroying your relationship with Him. When we are feeling selfish we need to remember that nobody likes a selfish person, least of all God, who has the most right to be offended by this selfishness, and we need to make a conscious effort to think of other people first, and especially God first above everyone and everything else.

Phillipians 2:1-4
If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor:
Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top.
Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand


2. Gossip – Have you even had someone say a lie about you to other people. Very quickly there are all sorts of problems that occur. People will think badly about you and perhaps think that you are horrible or ugly or a slut. But when those rumours are lies it can make you feel very bad. It can very quickly wreck your friendships, especially when your friends believe the lies.
Well it is the same with God. People will tell you lies about God all the time. If you believe the lies then your relationship with God will be wrecked. We need to always keep in touch with the truth about God so that we know when people are lying about Him. The easiest way to deal with this is to keep reading the bible and making sure we know the truth well enough so that we recognise lies when we hear them.

Proverbs 16:28
Troublemakers start fights; gossips break up friendships.

Proverbs 18:8
Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy; do you really want junk like that in your belly?


3. Unfaithfulness – If you have a boyfriend or girlfriend then you will understand this, but if you don’t, imagine you have a boyfriend or a girlfriend. Now imagine that your boyfriend or girlfriend kisses someone else. How would you feel?
This sort of thing usually wrecks a relationship very quickly. Now if a kiss can be so damaging, then how much more damaging would it be if your boyfriend or girlfriend had sex with someone else. I know that sounds extreme but this is how God feels when we choose to ignore Him and seek pleasures with other things and other people. God talks all the time in the bible about how He is hurt by the unfaithfulness of His people. And he talks about it as if His people were prostitutes who would sell themselves for pleasure instead of staying loyal to God. Whenever we choose something else over God, this is what we are doing. We need to choose that we are going to be faithful to God and resist the temptations that will eventually destroy us.

Hosea 1:2
The first time God spoke to Hosea he said: "Find a whore and marry her. Make this whore the mother of your children. And here's why: This whole country has become a whorehouse, unfaithful to me, God."

Colossians 3:5-8
And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That's a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It's because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger.


How do we do this?
How do we not be selfish, avoid damaging gossip and remain faithful to God?
By reading the bible daily. By praying daily.

I have never met a person who reads their bible and prays daily that is unhappy.
If you want a simple formula for lifelong happiness and fulfilment and a life more exciting and enjoyable than anything else anyone can offer then follow this formula:

(Bible + Prayer) x EveryDay = The Best Life you can have.

1Timothy 4-5
Everything God created is good, and to be received with thanks. Nothing is to be sneered at and thrown out. God's Word and our prayers make every item in creation holy.

James 4:7-10
7-10So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he'll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it's the only way you'll get on your feet.





*References from the "The Message" version of the Bible.

The making of a good movie

I have this theory about movies and it goes something like this:
“The quality of a movie can be judged by the direction in which it inspires us to move.”

A good movie is that which inspires one to be good in word and deed.
A bad movie then is that which inspires one to be bad in word and deed.
A foolish movie to be foolish, a great movie to be great.

A movie reveals its worth and lasting value by the quality of the motivation that it implants within the viewer.

A good movie leaves viewers with a lasting impression that moves them to act in a way that brings about a greater good. It does not necessarily leave a person feeling good, for a renewed sense of outrage against injustice can bring about good actions.
From this, ones moral senses are pricked, and feelings of duty and honor are revived by it.

On the other hand a bad movie does not necessarily leave one feeling bad. An effectively bad movie can in fact encourage people to perform evil deeds and be glad about it. The rise of teenage ‘party’ style movies is a case in point, as authority and decorum are cast into the wind with scorn, and pleasurable good times are had by all, yet without the impact of real life, long term consequences.
One can excessively drink but not get over-drunk or contract liver disease, can smoke marijuana yet not be effected by short or long term paranoia, and can have sex without ever having the burden of children, and be promiscuous without contracting veneral diseases or die of AIDS. All of these real life consequences are conveniently left out of such movies in order to maximize the promotion of fun and minimize the tedious burden of responsibility.Violent movies that romanticize excessive violence and the glory obtained therein, encourage the viewer to be more aggressive in their behaviour because therein lies their sense of achievement and worth, perhaps even a feeling of power.

A good movie then does the opposite of this. Instead of condemning duty and responsibility, it exalts and glorifies them for their virtuous nature. It renews the youthful exuberance in purity, goodness and justice. It condemns our carnal vices and praises our heavenly virtues. It revives the knowledge that love of our fellow man, presented through acts of mercy, patience and peace is what crowns a man in glory. It is the very nature of God revealed through his image instilled within a righteous man, which sets him apart from all else and proclaims his honor.

Someone said once that you can judge a country’s state of health by the manner of art that it produces. If this truly is the case, and our entertainment industries are considered to be creators of art, then ‘entertainment’ today may well be considered a sad indictment upon the decadence and moral degradation of western society.

Reality TV shows like Big Brother encourage voyeurism and our lust for eavesdropping and gossip.
Dysfunctional families in shows such as the Simpsons and My Wife and Kids make light of, and encourage acceptance of, inappropriate family behaviour and responses. Movies with inappropriate sexual or violent content numb our moral senses and eventually fail to elicit the rightful shocking and appalled response. On the contrary, they fuel our evil natures with the lust for erotic or violent encounters.

The older I become, and the more I understand about God’s nature and Man’s behaviour, the more convinced I am of the paradox that almost every thing that almost everyone knows in "human" wisdom is almost completely wrong.

Fundamentally wrong assumptions lead to fundamentally false conclusions. The viewing perspective can make all the difference and until we see the universe through the eyes of the one who understands it best, we will never understand one piece of worthwhile truth.

Thankfully though there are a few good men and women who still know how to produce good movies that provide a well needed respite from the perversion of the modern media, and employ within us a desire to see the right and proper way of things through honorable and righteous living. Good movies according to my criteria are few and far between, but when they do arise, often they are championed as truly great movies by those who appreciate the true meaning of glorious.

The Self-Love Obsession

One of the things that really concerns me about modern society is what I call the "Self-Love Obsession".

Many people are solely concerned with being beautiful, feeling beautiful, being told they are beautiful, and acting like they know they are beautiful and that they think that everyone else knows it too. I partially blame movie makers and other forms of media that appeal to the narcissistic nature of young people. Behaving in this manner is wrongly glorified and portrayed in a desirable manner, especially for the vast majority of unthinking individuals that willingly soak it all in.

Many young girls are absolutely obsessed with wearing the "right" clothes, talking in the "right" way, having the "right" friends, owning the "right" material objects. I am at a bit of a loss at the Paris Hilton-esque vibe of so many young people. What makes them think they have the right to be such prima donna's when they clearly have no demonstrated talent anyway? Besides, the real appeal of a talented artist, or successful person is their ability to remain level-headed and well grounded in humble reality.

I think ultimately for many victims of the wrong-headed thinking that prevails in our youth, the real issue is that of insecurity. It is well known that many people who project confidence and self-love, really suffer from insecurity and self hate. Such individuals can also exhibit a kind of self destructive magnetism for all things negative, preferring insults to praise, while at the same time complaining that they don't get enough praise. It sounds like contradictory nonsense, but in such a persons mind, veracity of thought is not ever a consideration.

I read many things about the attitudes of generation Y, from the need to be constantly affirmed to the Y meaning whY care. One commentator suggests that accepting them entails accommodating their narcissistic tendencies, bolstering their egos, and learning to live with them. I disagree strongly with this sentiment, and believe that although it may seem fruitless for much of the time, opposing these behaviours while loving the person is the only way to help them grow towards being someone who others will both love and appreciate. Hopefully given time and the right kind of hard love, such a person can contribute in a positive way to society rather than continually draining everyone around them.

Do you love yourself in a healthy way or an unhealthy way?

Blame shifters

I have seen my fair share of road rage on the streets. Sometimes it is directed at me, and other times at other drivers.
Recently I watched as a young female driver indicated to change lanes from the left lane to the one I was in. She was a little in front of me so there was no chance that she would hit me, however she was directly beside another car. As she began changing lanes she failed to notice her fellow motorist until the last minute when she violently swerved back into her lane.

The strange thing was that there was nobody in front of her, so there was no real reason for changing lanes. The next right hand turn was quite a few kilometres further up the road, so this was not a valid reason either.
Then as I began passing her car she indicated again and began to swerve towards me. Fearing a collision due to her clear inability to notice other cars around her, I hit the horn in order to warn her of my presence. After swerving back to her lane again she proceeded to hurl violent abuse at me and gave me "the finger". I was gobsmacked at her lack of proper mental faculties with which to realise her fault in the matter.
I suppose bad drivers are a pet hate of mine, and I was tempted to be incensed at her stupidity, but instead I feel sad for a generation of young people that are so selfish and arrogant that they are unable to recognise when they have made a mistake, and instead blame innocent people around them.

I am old enough to remember good motoring ettiquette, and young enough to partially understand the youth of today, but it makes me wonder what causes people to be so arrogantly pig-headed on the road. Is it personality, upbringing, culture, or just bad genetics?

Are people no longer being taught how to think properly? One of the Quotes of the day today was this "We can have facts without thinking but we cannot have thinking without facts." - John Dewey
I believe that many people just don't seem to be able to consciously engage their minds to be critically aware of what goes on around them. I know this first hand because I suffer the pain of regularly dealing with someone close to me who embodies this lack of perception. When you can't think about what is happening in your world, you are simply tossed around by circumstances and the consequences that apply to you, with no understanding of your personal control over the situation. When you don't think, and you believe that the world just happens to you, then I guess you are left with no option but to blame some one else.

Who have you blamed today?