Macedonia Youth Council

11/09/2015

Today's Prayer Line scripture was, "The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.”
Psalms 138:8 KJV

Our young people were reminded that God cares about their concerns and that He is mindful of what is stressing them out. There is no paper, no test or no gossiping friend that God will not come and see about if only we learn to seek Him first for help with it. Trust that God can and will perfect the things that concern us so that they won't bother us anymore and praise God in advance for all that He has done and will continue to do. Amen!

The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.

11/02/2015

Congratulations to Arielle Jackson for her Citation for Faithful Service Award that she received yesterday!!!

11/02/2015

The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.

10/29/2015

Proverbs Challenge Day 26:

"As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness." Proverbs 26:11 HCSB

This verse is pretty self-explanatory in that we have to start evaluating the number of times we repeat poor decisions even though we already know the outcome will be undesirable. A fool repeats his foolishness because he won't accept correction. "He never advances, but returns to what everyone else can see is repulsive." (HCSB) We should try to eliminate the label of "fool" by listening to the wise counsel that we receive in every area of our lives.

For example: If several people have been telling you that that man/woman isn't good for you.. then let them go. ?

10/29/2015

Proverbs Challenge Day 25:

"Don't brag about yourself before the king, and don't stand in the place of the great; for it is better for him to say to you, 'Come up here!' than to demote you in plain view of a noble." Proverbs 25:6 HCSB

The Book of Proverbs is pretty keen on the concept of humility versus pride. Our primary goal should not be to impress others, but to do what God has called us to do to the best of our ability. I have personally both seen and experienced the difference between someone who tries to promote themselves in front of others and someone who does what they are supposed to do and is then promoted by others. The latter is more ideal, since as this verse suggests you don't want to get to a place where you are consistently trying to promote yourself, but in the midst of your pride you eventually get demoted.

10/29/2015

Proverbs Challenge Day 24:

"Though a righteous man falls seven times, he will get up, but the wicked will stumble into ruin." Proverbs 24:16

Seven is the number of completion, but this verse states that even if the righteous person keeps falling until he is utterly down, he will still be able to get up. As stated in Romans 3:22, "Righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe." So it doesn't matter how difficult or helpless your situation may seem right now, if you have faith that Christ will be able to help you through this, then soon you will get up.

10/23/2015

Proverbs Challenge Day 23:

"Don't wear yourself out to get rich, stop giving your attention to it. As soon as your eyes fly to it, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky." Proverbs 23:4-5 HCSB

My HCSB reads, "Diligence along with godliness and wisdom brings riches, but only if God blesses. It is futile to try to get rich easily, illegally, or quickly."

If your life is centered on the hashtags , or any other saying insinuating a desire to get rich quickly, then according to these verses once you actually acquire the richness that you desire, it will disappear like "an eagle to the sky." When we lust or desire something more than we desire God, it tends to leave us faster than it takes us to obtain it.

Deuteronomy 6:16 should remind us that "our God is a jealous God" and that He has instructed us to not make any idols before Him (Leviticus 26:1). Money and the aspiration to become rich can definitely become idols if we aren't careful. When we learn how to seek God first for all that we desire, we learn how to put God at the head of the outcome of our lives instead of just focusing on "money as the motive". Psalm 37:4 reminds us that if we delight ourselves in The Lord then He will give us the desires of our heart, so there is nothing wrong with desiring to have more money than you have now or to desire to be rich and not lacking in finances, but consider your financial plan and means to obtaining these riches. Is God at the head of it?

10/22/2015

Proverbs Challenge Day 22:

"Don't make friends with an angry man, and don't be a companion of a hot-tempered man, or you will learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare." Proverbs 22:24-25 HCSB

Our friends are a reflection of us. We choose them as friends because there are qualities in them that are similar to ours, and as we spend more time together their behaviors can start to match ours as well. Today's verses suggest that we be careful when making friends with people who tend to always be angry or irritable, because then we may start to take on their negative behaviors as well. Misery loves company and why should we continue to give it the camaraderie it desires? If your bestie seems to be a person who is always angry, then consider speaking to them about why they're always so angry and how they can begin to exude more positive and life-giving behaviors. If its you that tends to be the angry one, then take the time to consider why you're always so angry and ask God to bring forward the issues that are concerning you and to deliver you out of them.

Anger is a serious heart issue that can spread like a disease, its time to put an end to it. ?

10/21/2015

Proverbs Challenge Day 21:

“The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord.”
Proverbs 21:31 NIV

We can study, we can prepare, we can research, we can train and we can work out all day everyday but ultimately our efforts are fruitless if we do not seek The Lord and His wisdom in order to attain victory. Joshua in the Old Testament is the prefect example of how successful you can be in battle when you seek The Lord first, then choose to be obedient to His instructions even if they seem strange (Joshua 6).He's also a great example of how not heeding The Lord's advice can cause you to lose the battle as well (Joshua 7).

James said that "faith without works is dead" (James 2:17), so we should continue to properly prepare for the various battles that we face in our lives, but Matthew also reminds us to "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness", which instructs us to seek God's wisdom first when preparing for battle. I truly believe that when we learn to seek God first we come to find our battles a little less difficult to overcome than before and that ultimately we will be victorious.

10/21/2015

Proverbs Challenge Day 20:

"Don't say, 'I will avenge this evil!' Wait on the Lord, and He will rescue you." Proverbs 20:22 HCSB

This is probably one of the hardest scriptures that I have had to learn to live by. We have all had that one person or persons who have done something so heinous to us that we dream of ways to get back at them and avenge them for what they've done. But, as this scripture and many others instruct, we are to love our neighbors, not harm them. While this is a very difficult pill to swallow, I can surely testify to numerous occasions when David's words in Psalm 110:1 have come to fruition. "The LORD says to my lord: 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.'"

It took a lot of prayer, patience and self-control only given by the Holy Spirit to not go in on some people in the way that others might've, but later on I definitely saw how God took care of them and the situation in a way that I would never have been able to myself. Now I am grateful, because who knows how the situation could have escalated further, but when you let God handle it all you have to do is sit back and watch.

10/21/2015

Proverbs Challenge Day 19:

"A man's own foolishness leads him astray, yet his heart rages against the Lord." Proverbs 19:3 HCSB

How many times have we been in a difficult situation and cried out, "God why? Why me??" Now how many of those times have we really thought about the situation and the circumstances leading up to it and realized that it was really our doings and not God's? God loves us and desires the best for us and as Deuteronomy 31:6 and Hebrews 13:5 state, "He will never leave us nor forsake us", so we should start being slower to blame God for our misfortunes or setbacks and quicker to consider what have we done to get ourselves in these predicaments in the first place.

Additionally, we should also try to start seeing how God is in the midst of our situations even when they aren't going so well. I have had flat tires and numerous car troubles, but still saw how God allowed me to not be by myself as I waited for AAA or how he blessed me to be able to get home safely on a worn out donut. God is always with us, considering us and taking care of us. So, the next time you find yourself in a situation cry out, "God please show me where you are in the midst of this, and please help bring me out."

10/21/2015

Proverbs Challenge Day 18:

"Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit." Proverbs 18:21

According to my HCSB study bible, "The tongue is powerful (Jms 3:1-12). Those who love the tongue and eat its fruit are those who choose to live or die under its power, like those who live by the sword, by the law, or by faith. Prudent speech brings life, and wicked or excessive speech brings death."

We should be more mindful of the things we say because they can have an adverse affect on us without us even knowing it. Speaking life over death means saying things like, "Thank God for this job" or "I'm going to make it through this day" even though you're exhausted and would rather be at home. When you speak negatively about your life you begin to plant seeds of dissatisfaction and discontent and you start to focus more on the bad than the good in your life. "Every good and perfect gift is from above" (James 1:17), so start speaking about the good things that are going on in your life, even if its just the fact that you woke up this morning, because there are so many people who unfortunately did not.