the change

I spent the day at a youth pastor's summit yesterday and it was pretty good. There were some key note speakers and some great names in church building and youth ministry alike. So as we sat in the Hard Rock Cafe listening I was thinking about the attitudes one speaker was adjusting. He talked about how at youth camp the last night they continually ask the kids, "If you were to die tonight, where would you end up?" or they tell stories of how there was a bus on its way home from camp and there were a few kids who didn't make decisions though they felt touched by God, the bus skidded off the road and well, we know where that is headed.
Yes it is true far too many churches and youth ministries prepare people to die, ask them what if they die tomorrow and so on. Well, my constant question is what if you don't die? What if you live? THese are questions that are just as important. Are we preparing young people to live as Christians, or just preparing them for the after life. Hopefully both, because preparation for one should prepare us for the other. Paul said it like this:
1 Corinthians 3:3 where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal...?
After we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior we must continue to seek Him. And as we seek Him we will grow more and more Christlike until all of our carnality is gone, that is our worldliness.
Think about it this way, do you ever catch yourself in a situation and afterwards you can't beleive you handled it as well as you did? I do, I get in a situation and afterwards I think, man 15 years ago I would have decked him, or I would have done this or that. That, is God chasing the worldliness out of us and that is what God enjoys about our relationship with Him. Giving us a new mind that is vengence and resentment free is one of the perks of living for Christ.
So let Him in, let Him do His work on your life and be constantly amazed at how differently you handle life's situations.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!