GUILT & ANXIETY

Dear Christian teens,

Do ever feel ashamed or guilty?

Sometimes you might feel as if you don't live up to what Christ has given to you.

Maybe you feel unworthy because He went through so much pain that you deserve.

But when did you ever think that this might be a sin?

Do you ever fear for your future?

Things might not be working out for you, or your heart is conflicted.

Some days you feel no hope.

But have you ever thought that this might be a sin?

When you're guilty of the fact that someone else went through pain for you, you're simply staying aware of Christ's love, right?

And when you're anxious, you're just sad, right?

Wrong.

Christians, please know that this is not from God.

These are pitiful sins.
Being anxious is only losing trust in God and taking things in your own hands to worry about.
Being shameful of who you are is only rejecting Christ's gift of peace and joy.

So, in our sorrows we tend to feel bad for ourselves and become anxious, or maybe even guilty.

But our Father never wanted for us to drown our sadness in anxiety and worry, or guilt and shame.

He called for us to rise up, take on the truth of His Word, and glorify His name.

He wants us to be joyful, and fight the enemy.
So don't let the devil get in your mind and whisper lies that you have no hope and you will never measure up to God's love.

Listen to these truths:
Hebrews 12:2
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

Philippians 4:6-7
"do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Christians! Lay aside what is weighing you down, look to Jesus, and run the race.
He has freed you of the shame...now receive the joy He's offered you!
Let go of your anxiety, give it to God, and tell Him all your thoughts and feelings.
His unending peace will bless you greatly.

Now rise above what is evil...honor our Savior in Heaven with joy and love!
For we are conquerors.
Ignore the lies, live in the truth.

sincerely,
                      Sophie

IT'S HIS TIMING

Dear Christian teens,

Sometimes our hearts ache at what isn't anymore.

Our God has blessed us with so much, but we still miss what we once had.

Not necessarily something of material value, 

but something of much greater satisfaction.

We still know we haven't completely lost everything, 

but the abundance of it all seems to slowly thin.

Then again, we know we're not to complain...for we are still blessed beyond measure.

But when things begin to change, and you don't know how to handle it, you can't help but feel loneliness and loss.

Then your anxiety and doubts start to creep in.

You have an unending, but distant feeling of sadness.

We're going to be okay, for we have God, our Father on our side.

He eases our pain and gives a still peace.

We simply have to know that we have an all-sufficient Friend.

Jesus. Forever Jesus.

He is like a balm and soothing medicine for the soul.

Just as the things we've felt we've lost...

Except ever more lasting.

Christians, there are times when our Father blesses us with wonderful things.

Sometimes spiritually, sometimes in our ministry, maybe even just through our family and friends.

But remember, there is a season for everything.

God has an extravagant plan...sometimes it requires seasons that are dry.

But know that He does this only to grow your heart. 

You're going to be okay.

You know why?

Because you have an all-powerful God as your Father and Friend.

He will ease your pain, and give you the most still peace.

sincerely,

                 Sophie

FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT

My Child,

I know, you are becoming weak.

But please...stay strong.

I am your Heavenly Father, and I assure you...I will care for you.

Trust me.

My sons and daughters, trust me.

You are completely and entirely worth my love.

I don't even need you, but most importantly...I want you.

I've chosen you.

Do not lose your enthusiasm in my word.

Do not lose heart.

"For peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give. Do not let your heart be troubled, and do not be afraid"

John 14:27

My Child, 

I will bless you in all you do.

I will give you strength and life.

But know this: ask all in Jesus' name and for the right reasons.

 Then I will give to you...

in my own timing.

So fight this fight to win love over anything else.

Fight the good fight against fleshly, worldly, and immoral sin.

Use my love as your ultimate weapon.

Clothe yourself in Biblical truth.

Surrender your anxieties.

Give up your troubles.

You are a conqueror.

You are a Child of a King.

Oh dear Child, I love you, I will protect you.

            ~Your loving Father

Dear Christian teens,

This week I felt God leading me to write something that He has spoken to me several times.

I hope you all will hide His words in your heart and cherish them forever.

sincerely,

                Sophie

GOD PLEASER

Dear Christian teens,

As a Christian girl, I like to think that I'm honoring the Lord.

In fact, many times, that is my prayer.

I pray that my focus ultimately lies on honoring Christ and enlarging the Kingdom of God.

I also pray that that will be the prayer of Christians as a whole.

I pray that as a family of God we will open our minds and hearts to the Lord's will and His call on each of our lives.

And in this life, as we are constantly honoring Christ through our sharing and witnessing...

we get so engrossed into the lives of others.

Our compassion grows in numerous ways, (which is amazing) but maybe too much.

We love others, and we give, and give, and give.

We are looking to all the needs of others that we forget our own spiritual needs.

We begin to feel the need of pleasing people to the point of losing the perfect 

"receive and outflow of God's love."

If you'll allow me, let me shift your perspective.

From my own experience, in friendships and in ministries, I've plunged into God's plan for the person He's set on my heart and I give everything I've got.

Nothing is wrong with this, until you start trying to live up to what that person thinks of you. You try to be a "perfect Christian", and you try to do everything you can to please them and honor them.

In this reminder, I hope you'll hear what God has put on my heart.

Everyday is a form of worship. Our lives are centered around, and surrounded by praise; giving back to God.

The only thing that God asks of us is to receive His love. minister, and share it with others. 

God simply wants us to give back to Him so that He can give more to others.

So we're already doing this, but then we stop doing it as worship to God.

We stress on being a good Christian and we stop doing what we're doing for the right reason.

The reason is:

giving back to God.

Have compassion, but do it because of God's love. Yes, serve others.

But ultimately....serve God.

sincerely,

               Sophie

GO

Dear Christian teens,

I fear we've forgotten.

I fear we've forgotten who we are and what we are called to do.

Last week I wrote about compassion.

Letting go of ourselves, and looking through the compassionate eyes of Christ.

Have you done that this past week?

Have you lived for the Lord and gone outside of yourself?

So I'm afraid we've forgotten.

Christians...

Have you forgotten what to do?

You've gone through the motions of "honoring the Lord"

You've lived your life for Christ.

What are you missing?

In the midst of this chaotic life you've lost the meaning, the true meaning, of WHO you are. WHO you are called to be as a representative of Christ.

You don't know what to do now.

You've carried out the challenge of sanctifying your life.

And now, you have compassion!

But what's next???

go

I want to live for Christ.

But my biggest fear is that I've failed.

So I look at everything that I am.

Then I try to fix it up.

I straighten out each kink and wrinkle of my personality.

But now I've truly failed.

I've forgotten!

My purpose is not to be perfect!

It is to live for Christ and share my life of Christ with those around me!

God calls us to something greater...sometimes something greater beyond our understanding.

So I challenge each of you to GO.

Go when you feel a little push from the Holy Spirit to talk to that person sitting alone at lunch.

Go, and don't fear the outcome...God will take care of the results!

Go, and minister.

And through your every day life, use your talents and gifts to relate and create conversation.

Share your faith with others and multiply the Kingdom of God!

Amen!

sincerely, 

             Sophie

COMPASSION

Dear Christian teens,

In our daily lives we stay busy.
As Christ followers, we get so caught up in this fast paced culture that we forget to focus on our spiritual growth and the spiritual growth of those around us.
 We lose sight of the most important thing.

Focus.
The very essence of it is so great.
When it comes to glorifying God, it seems to be something so small and unimportant.
The very thought of the word is so frustrating.
In this culture, the meaning is a joke.
And now, we simply do not care.
Either we live too much in the worldly pleasures, or we look so deeply on what
"has to be done" that we forget God's mission.
Our relationship with Christ is so far from our minds that we forget what honoring Him is like.
We even forget to minister to others.
And most importantly, we forget to live out our own faith.

You're not alone.
I struggle with this too.
I'm pretty sure many of us do.
Focusing on God's love and not our "preferred love" is difficult.

But we have to overcome this.

1. We find a greater joy when we know that God's love is the ultimate gift.
2. His love and joy begins to overflow through our lives and we begin to leave behind our worries and anxieties.
3. God uses us in our right relationship with Him to glorify Him, and His kingdom.

How awesome is that?!
God will use you.
We've crossed that bridge, now let's look farther...
In this ministry, begin to look at others through Christ's eyes.
Look at the lost and the hurting with compassion.
Lose the selfish attitude and look outside of yourself!

I know it's difficult to love others through your own pain, but imagine what Jesus went through!
God will surely give you strength.
Let Christ soften your heart. Settle your yearning for love and trust Him.
He will give you such a great peace!
It breaks Christ's heart to even look at someone who is lost, just as it says in the Bible, it must break our hearts too.
I hope that you are able to let go of whatever you need to so that God can use you.
I pray that you will find God's unending love and that you will let His joy overflow through your life.
It breaks my heart to know that you are hurting...but know this:
He will care for you...just let Him.

sincerely,
                Sophie

LET HIM INTERFERE

trials.

depression and sadness. loneliness. hopelessness and loss.

an unending cycle of pain.
just when you think things will get better, the very fabric of your core joy falls apart.

Dear Christian teens,
Hope is not lost.
When you're in the very depths of despair, Jesus will enter your life...
you will find an imperfect but perfect peace.
Trust it.
Trust the peace He gives you.
The quicker you give your worries to God, the quicker you learn to surrender yourself,
and give all glory to Him.

Now wait.
Wait on God's plan, and enjoy His lovely gift of peace.
It may seem in this time of waiting, that God's voice is quiet, or totally silent.
Simply trust Him.
Know this: He is God...the winning God. He will help you win this battle of pain,
sadness, and hurt that you're going through.
When you put your hope, trust, and your whole heart in His hands,
you've already let Him win it.
So wait! Even if things don't work out in this life on Earth, know that there is a place,
a Home in Heaven, where God will conquer all your pain.

This is a time to grow.
Grow in Christ's love and joy.
I don't believe that becoming a Christian means that we'll always be happy.
In fact, a lot of times, we'll be quite the opposite.
We will be in the depths of despair. And we'll walk through the valleys.
As Christians, we should follow in Christ's footsteps.
And if we truly choose to, then we will be persecuted just as He was.
So what I'm trying to say is that we should always have joy. Even though we're not always happy,
let God's love radiate through you. Let it shine so brightly.
Grow in your Christ's joy.

Next comes this: learn patience.
In all of these challenges, I believe they are a way of God showing us a new perspective on His love.
A way of growth in our faith and a growth closer to Him
In every aspect of our lives, God will constantly be teaching us something.
Sometimes we can't always find the lesson from God above the surface.
Sometimes we have to dig so deep into the dirty real to learn more about our faith.
I encourage y'all to do that.
When you learn more about your faith, you grow closer to God, when you grow closer to God,
you find more peace and joy.
You find the precious bread of life.

Christians, let God interfere.
In confusion, we need to give up our worries.
Simply let it go.
Let God interfere in your life, in your heart, and in your mind.
When the people and the things of your life fall apart, let God interfere, and simply pray to Him.
When you know your heart isn't right with Him, and you've turned away from God, simply pray to Him...let Him interfere.
When your mind is filled with the world, simply pray to Him...let Him interfere.

Hope, Wait, Grow, Learn Patience, Let Him Interfere.

sincerely,
                   Sophie