Christian Teens
What does Christ have planned for your life??
Are you willing to follow where he will lead?
Will you obey his calling for your life?
Pray for the Lord to direct you in the path that He
wants you to travel. Not the path that you want to travel.
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How to Live for Purpose in Your Community
by Joel A. Lindsey
As Christians, we believe that our lives aren’t a
series of random circumstances. Instead, our
circumstances are purposefully determined by
God, even down to the most intricate details,
including the houses and neighborhoods in
which we live. Paul communicated this very
clearly to the great thinkers of Athens in
Acts 17:26 (emphasis mine):
“From one man He has made every nation of
men to live all over the earth *and has determined
their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live.”
Not only does this mean that people are placed in
their communities for a reason, it also means that
God intends for our lives to be about more than
just ourselves and the people we happen to like
best. We are to demonstrate Christ-like love to
those around us, including that reclusive, grumpy
neighbor who never returns your wave. God is
shaping us to be people who not only understand
the gospel, but embrace it holistically so that our
lives become reflections of God’s mission in the
world, which is to receive glory by drawing people
to himself.
Here are some steps that can help us live with greater
purpose no in the places God has us. We want to know
our neighborhoods for the sake of defining, claiming,
and living out God’s purpose for us and our neighbors.
Step 1: Read
Read Acts 17:26-28. What is this passage about?
What does it tell you about yourself? About your
neighborhood? How do you see God at work in
your neighborhood?
Pray that your life would be a reflection of a God
who is near to your neighbors. Jesus commanded
His followers to take the gosple to their neighbors.
Ask your Father to make the good news of the
gospel more and more a part of who you are, then
pray that God will equip you to extend the gospel
in word and deed to those who live around you.
Step 2: Think
Why do you live in your neighborhood? What factors
influenced your choice of this location? “Unexpected
circumstances” like job loss, family shifts, and political
instability are not outside of God’s plan. There are
some in your neighborhood who live near you for
these reasons.
Ask God why he placed you in your neighborhood,
on your block, and in your specific residence.
hen listen. What is God telling you?
Step 3: Explore
What exactly is your neighborhood? Take a walk
today and decide! When you get home, mark down
the street names or other boundaries (bridges,
railroad tracks, rivers, parks, businesses, etc.) that
define your neighborhood. Draw a map. On your map,
mark the places that you frequent, know, and are known.
Pray that over the next month God will help you fill
in this map with new places and new people.
Step 4: Explore Some More
Based on your map, where would you designate the
natural gathering spots for people? Are there coffee
shops, restaurants, markets, or parks that seem to
attract people regularly? Who meets at these places?
Why do you think they meet in that location?
Pray for these gathering places. Ask God to show you
His heart and purposes for the individuals who
frequent these locations.
Step 5: Engage
Pick one of the places where you know people gather,
pray for a chance to meet someone or a group of people
with whom you may develop a friendly relationship,
then go meet somebody! Through genuine relationships,
the doors are opened to share the great news of the
gospel with people who God has placed in your day-to-day life.
About the Author
Joel is the pastor of theology and care at The
Journey in St. Louis, Missouri. He is the co-author
of For the City: Proclaiming and Living Out the
Gospel with Darrin Patrick and Matt Carter.
Spiritual Growth: A Fresh Start with God
by Jared C. Wilson
If you’re like me, it often takes the start of
spring to motivate me toward new routines
or healthier habits. The lax lifestyle of Christmas
vacation gives way to the blahs of winter, and
then Easter rolls around (at which point I
realize I’ve not even thought about my New
Year’s resolutions).
And because I’m slightly OCD, I like to begin
something new at an official starting point.
For instance, I’ll start diets only on Mondays.
Once I’ve missed that starting point, my
self-justifying logic kicks in, convincing me to
wait until the next starting point—whether
that’s next week or next year—to try again.
Maybe you’re in the same boat with your
spiritual life: You want to start fresh in your
relationship with God, but you keep putting it
off. Might I suggest that your resistance has
less to do with the right timing and more with
the right approach?
If you’ve struggled to start or maintain your
devotional life, consider these three subtle
but important shifts to make a huge difference
in your relationship with God.
Shift Your Load
My relationship with God most often becomes
tenuous when I think I have to carry more than
I do. I know Matthew 11:28 by heart—”Come to
Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and
I will give you rest”—but too often I read “weary
and burdened” more as assignments than prerequisites.
I assume the way to get closer to God is to study
and pray so much that He can’t help but be
impressed by my efforts.
Many of us are guilty of biting off more than we can
chew. For me, getting “serious” about Bible study
meant committing to several hours of Scripture
reading per day. I would begin these reading plans
with high hopes, but soon found myself burned out
and blanking on my studying. Often, my attempts
at covering lots of ground in the Bible became a
substitute for meditating on what I found there.
Good news! Every verse of Scripture is inspired and
infallible. And God does wonders with mustard seeds.
Don’t feel like you have to conquer the Bible. Instead,
let the Bible conquer you, which is the real aim of
study. Don’t feel like you have to pray for hours on
end. Give God the first fruits of your time and energy—
and feel the freedom to start in smaller doses of text
and prayer—and be faithful in that. A smaller load lends
itself to more sustainability, and the longer you
sustain your time with God, the longer you’ll eventually
spend with Him.
Maybe instead of a one-hour “quiet time” at 5 a.m.
each day, you can start with 15 or 30 minutes after
breakfast. Or maybe instead of trying to start your
Scripture reading plan in Genesis (which would put
you in the thick of Leviticus right when you’re most
tempted to give up), you might alternate between
Old and New Testament books.
Shift Your Expectations
Shifting the load you’re carrying in your relationship
with God is closely related to shifting your expectations.
Do you ever pray or study and feel like it all hinges
on you—on your time, on your performance, on
what you say or do? If so, you’re placing all the
expectations for fruit upon yourself rather than on
God. Shift your expectations. Take the pressure
off yourself and lay it before God. He can handle it!
“For the word of God is living and effective and
sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as
far as to divide soul, spirit, joints, and marrow; it is
a judge of the ideas and thoughts of the heart”
(Hebrews 4:12).
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable
for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training
in righteousness, so that the man of God may be
complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
When we accept these claims, we can expect great
things from the Bible. If prayer is essentially talking
to the God of the universe, who loves us and wants
to hear from us, maybe it’s time we felt the freedom
to come before Him as meek, messed-up children
relying on His grace. As you pray and study your
Bible, expect less from yourself and more from God.
Shift Your Focus
When we stop being in awe of the gospel, our
spiritual lives come to a standstill, making us
lose sight of what God has already done for us
through Christ. We begin to think there are hoops
for us to jump through to please God. But Jesus
has already jumped through the hoops for us.
This perspective is crucial, because works-focused
discipleship can lead to burnout, brokenness, and
bitterness. Good works—whether Bible study or
prayer or fasting or serving others—are always more
joyful when they come from a heart that knows good
works don’t earn God’s favor.
In her book, Because He Loves Me, Elyse Fitzpatrick
writes, “We’ve got to understand ourselves in the light
of our new identity, seeing ourselves as we truly are:
sinful and flawed, loved and welcomed. Only these
gospel realities have enough power to engender faith,
kill idolatry, produce character change, and motivate
faithful obedience.”
When you pray, spend time adoring God. As you study
various parts of the Bible, ask, “What do these passages
show God has done?” instead of, “What does this say to do?”
Make a genuine effort to grow closer to God. He
desires to be close to you. As you implement these
three shifts in your approach, you’ll find your time
with Jesus sweeter, enduring, and fruitful.
This article appears in the Spring 2011 issue of
Collegiate magazine.
About the Author
Jared C. Wilson is the author of Your Jesus
Is Too Safe: Outgrowing a Drive-Thru, Feel-Good
Savior as well as articles and essays appearing
in numerous publications. He is the pastor of
Middletown Church in Middletown Springs, Vermont.
