Day 30 - The Finish!!

Here we are at the last day! What a testament to your devotion for those that have gone through the entire Challenge! And while today is the end of this challenge, I hope that you can find something else to start another challenge on!

Take a moment and read Luke 22:1-30 and take note of the words that Jesus says. He says a lot.

In this passage Jesus is having his last celebration with his disciples. He is marking the end of his ministry with the disciples and his eventual death on the cross at the end of this week. It is interesting how Jesus goes about the dinner. Jesus is very excited to have this meal with his disciples because of what it will mean for these men in the coming days. Jesus knew that this was going to be a very difficult time ahead of these men, however, he knew that he was going to send them out to do greater things than he ever did.

Jesus instructs them to remember where they had been and what they had done with Jesus and the imminent end that was coming to Jesus the next day. He then tells them to consider how they should live their lives when he is gone. He gives them instructions on what to do after he is gone. He re-issues them their task for the next phase of their lives.

So here we are at the end of this 30-day challenge. This is the end of something good and something that took a lot of work. CELEBRATE! Go have a Coke; or a bag of chips (no not the whole bag, Chris :) ). But do something to mark this day and to remember what it is that you have accomplished. But then remember that there is still a mission. Re-evaluate what that mission is in your life.

So what is it for you? What is your next task? What is the mission that you now have renewed for you? What is the next 30-day challenge that you have in front of you?

What is the meaning of your next 30-days?

Love you all!
Keep pushing into Him for everything!

GC

Day 29 - Finish The Race!

Get out your Bible again, and turn to Acts 20:24.

Here, Paul is talking to a group of leaders from Ephesus that he is leaving. Here Paul is describing to them what he is doing and why he is doing it.

What do you consider your life to be worth? Alot? Not much? Don't know?
Paul didn't even count his life worth nothing to him. There is nothing that he could do to be of worth to him because he drew his worth from the plan that God had already laid for him. What seems to be so interesting is that there is a something that must be completed. A task? A journey? Something. Paul sees something that he has to complete and must accomplish for his life to be complete and his journey to be at an end.

Do you see what God has laid out for you? Probably not. There are many people who don't know what that end is. But we must always recognize that there is a task to accomplish; a race to run. Perhaps there can be parts of the race?

Think of it this way.

When you are running a race, it can be so difficult on you that you are so focused on only what's ahead of you. Maybe that is a straightaway, perhaps it is the next turn. We really can never see the entire track. There may be portions of the track that we will have to go through, but we don't see them right now.

In order to be successful, we have to be passionate about finishing the current turn, or the current straightaway in order to finish the race. For a guy like me, running a big, long race is tough and can be tiring. Even my will to finish can fade rather quickly. So, I would have to break the race down into parts. I had to finish each part in order to successfully finish the race.

So, what part of the race are you on right now? Are you on a turn? A straightaway? Can you see the end of this part? Maybe, for you, right now, your race is this 30 Day challenge? You finish tomorrow! Can you finish this part, so you can finish the whole race?

Some other questions to ponder:
What is the portion of the race that you are on right now?

Where can you look back and see a completed part of the race?

What is the next portion of the race that is coming up?

Talk to you tomorrow for the last leg!!!

GC

Day 28 - Which One Are You?

Read Luke 17:11-19

We read a lot of passages like this is in Scripture where Jesus heals people. That was Jesus' nature and character. He has seen people who are hurting, sick, broken hearted, hungry, etc. and he desires to fill their deepest need. But here we see something that maybe you never thought through. Here we see 10 lepers who Jesus heals yet only ONE comes back to thank Him.

Too often today we see people whether it be adults, high school students, Jr. High students, etc. who have needs and things that they need Jesus to heal them from and complete their deepest need. We ask for those desires and Jesus has answered them but what do we do with that? I think as you look here you can gather that the majority of people get what they need from God and then just continue on with life.

This ONE leper who came back shows us an important lesson to remember. NEVER forget to give thanks and praise to Him who wants to meet us at our deepest need. The areas where we hurt most . . . the sickness that we feel is defeating us or a loved one . . . to provide us with the food and finances that we need or our family needs. HE IS FAITHFUL. The problem at times is that we are not as faithful back.

Think about it for you . . . when is the last time that you thanked Him for something HE answered your prayer about?

Which one do you relate with from this story? The ONE who came back or the 9 who never came back to thank Him for what He did?

Take time right now to pause and think about all that God has done for you. Write down those things and write a note of thanks to Him in the comments portion. Allow others to read what your thankful to Him for and do so boldly. Remember that He is the One that when this life is over we must have please.

Day 27 - Recognizing His Power in Us

Take a moment, find a Bible and read Mark 6:30-44.

Do you find yourself tired? Worn out?

Maybe this is because of your involvement in so many sports or activities.

Maybe you have been worn out of church? Youth Group?

You just aren't able to do what you used to do or you seem to feel a lack of connection with God?

Sometimes we are unable to connect with God's Spirit because we are tired and worn out and have been working so much for so long and have done so many things and have forgotten to reconnect with Him regularly.

We see here that the apostles have been doing so many good things in God's name and have been performing many miracles and glorifying God and they tell Jesus all about it and it has worn them out and they become exhausted. They even forget to EAT! Jesus reminds them that they need to rest and regain their spirit.

I wonder if the disciples would have even been able to complete the miracle of the 5,000 if they would have not rested or eaten. You see there is a large crowd there and if the disciples would have been tired, would they have been patient enough to listen to Jesus and obey what he said to do if they were just frustrated with him?

Do you ever get frustrated with your parents? with God? Maybe because you are tired and worn out and disconnected? It happens all the time! I do it!

This passage reminds me that I need to rest and sit in the Lord. I need to make sure that I am in his Power. The disciples were able to feed over 5000 people because they were reconnected to God and His Power.

Take some time tonight or tomorrow, sometime soon, and rest in the Lord, read His Word, and reflect on His Power in your life.


GC

Day 26 - Your Choice

Read Ephesians 5:15-18

Although this is a passage that I'm sure some of us have read many times, it is also one that holds a lot of truth and wisdom in it. It is a warning to us that everyday we need to watch how it is that we live. . . to be wise in our decisions and make the most of EVERY opportunity.

Can you say that that has been true for you over the last week? month? today?

When you wake up in the morning do you honestly give any thought to how you are going to live your day that day? Not many of us do . . .we just wait for things to happen to us instead of making things happen for us. We don't SEIZE THE DAY a lot of the times but this passage stresses how important it is that we do that because the days are filled with evil.

It also stresses the importance of understanding what the Lord's will is. Obviously we can't understand the mind of God. We can't understand how He created the world, the sun, the stars . . . even us as human beings. We can't fathom what that must have taken or the work and thought process it took to make it a reality. We can, however, try to find out what God's will is for us. We can do this by listening to Him, obeying Him, asking for wisdom and guidance to make the right choice and take the right path.

When is the last time you've asked God to show you the right way to go?

Did you listen?

This passage closes out by saying 'be filled with the Spirit'. What do you think that means?

How does that look for a Jr. Higher today?

Are the things that you're doing today and the way you're living allowing God's spirit to live in you or hindering it from taking its home in your life?

We have the power to make those choices, no one else. What will your choice be?

Share your thoughts . . .

Day 25 - The Battle

Read Galatians 5:16-17

Let's be honest, this passage describes the battle that we all face everyday of our life. No one is exempt from facing this battle. Knowing that this is something that we'll struggle with everyday gives us an advantage if you think about it. Think about it, when things happen that are unexpected we are unprepared at how to handle that situation. However, knowing that everyday we are going to have a struggle gives us an edge to prepare ourselves to tackle what comes our way.

How do we do that. I know these things sound cliche but . . . prayer, TAWG, reading the Bible, worship, listening to Him, obedience, etc. These are the things that Jesus tried to teach to His closest followers. These are still key for us.

How have you been doing lately with those things?

What do you find hardest to do?

Accountability with your Christian friends is another great way to prepare for battle. So you know that you have a hard time with TAWG and keeping it consistent. Get HELP!!! God doesn't intend for us to do life alone. Do it together. Meet before school. Talk on the phone about a passage with one another. Pray together, worship together . . . Follow Him TOGETHER!!!

Who is someone that could hold you accountable?

Ask them for their help this week?

Allow God to guide you and lead you together.

What's stopping you from doing this?

Share your comments . . .

Day 24 - Fear of the Lord

BIG SORRY . . . Hey everyone. I'm really sorry this wasn't up yesterday. I completely blanked. Chalk it up for my old age. Hope I didn't mess any of you up. Here's Day 24 . . .

Read Isaiah 33:6

When we think of "fear" we think of something that we are scared of. I don't think this is the way God intended us to think of Him when we think of the idea 'the fear of the Lord'. Obviously when we sin and are walking away from God and doing what we know to be wrong, that is a time that we may be scared of God and scared of His consequences.

In this passage I believe we need to hold God in very high esteem. That when we live our day from day to day, hour to hour, minute to minute, etc. that we live in such a way that we don't want to offend Him. Not out of being afraid but out of awe and respect for Him and what He has done in our life.

Have you been living like that? Having that kind of 'fear' of the Lord?

What do you think that looks like?

How does this make you think differently about how you live?

If we truly live this way it says that we will gain wisdom, knowledge, eternal life and a sure foundation to live and stand upon everyday. That is a great treasure!!

Share your thoughts . . .

Day 23 - Listen then Do

Read James 1:22-25

How many times have you read something in the Bible and thought to yourself, "Maybe I should start doing that"? Maybe you go to school or go to bed after reading it and that thought never crosses your mind again. Maybe as you read that same thing in the Bible you began to think about how hard it might be to do that or maybe you'd have to give something up to achieve that goal.

I think we can get caught up in that game too much if we're not careful. I know I can think of times myself when that has been the case. We may not be perfect at listening to what God says and then doing it all the time. I think the thing we need to think about though is how many times have we listen but not done anything. Has it been a long time for you?

Have you been running from something that God has asked you to do?

Have you been putting it on hold until an easier opportunity came along?

God desires us to look intently at what He has asked of us and to try with all our hear to accomplish those things. He asks each of us to do different things based on how He has gifted us.

So how have you been using those gifts for Him?

How have you been at listening and obeying Him?

What could you/do you need to be doing better in that area of listening and doing as He asks of you?

Day 22 - Lukewarm

Read Revelation 3:15-16

On Wednesday Night Pastor Chris talked about how God is upset with those people who call themselves Christians yet ride on the fence and never make a stand for Him. He even tells us that He will "spit us out of His mouth". Think about how upset God must be at us when He sees His children sitting on the fence instead of taking a stand for Him.

Have you ever been disgusted and upset because of someone or something?

Maybe something they did or said?

How did that make you feel? What did you want to do to them?

Can you think of a time that you could have been in the "lukewarm" category? What about a time this week? month? today?

What things will you do to Stand Up and Stand Out for Christ as this year ends in your school? this summer? Next school year?

Talk about it in your comments . . .tell other Christian friends. . . ask them to help you make those things a reality.

30 Day Challenge - Day 21

Last night, Pastor Chris talked about the Leaning Tower of Pisa. This is one of the wonders of the world because of its ability to stay leaning and yet not fall. But it still is not used for anything but tourism because it's builders did not build it on a firm foundation; they built it on a weak foundation. Last night, Chris challenged us to have a firm foundation that is on solid rock.

Read this passage and give us some of your thoughts on how this connects to Jesus teaching in Matthew 7?

So how do you know that your foundation is rock and not sand? What do you do to make sure that you know you are His?

Can't wait to hear some responses from you! Including your names!

GC

30 Day Challenge - Day 20

Tonight, as we finish up our series on Matthew 7, we are going to be looking at verses 24-27 most specifically. As a prep, or even if you are looking at this afterward, read through this passage. This is a powerful passage that is at the end of the Sermon on the Mount.

What do you suppose is the main focus of Jesus words here? Are they a suggestion for our lives?

What is at stake if we do not act upon this?

Now take some time and evaluate where you are in your walk with Jesus. Would you say that you are building your house on rock or sand? What does it mean to do that?

These are tough questions but they have to be answered!

Be sure to leave your name! And keep it up!

GC

Day 19 - Draw Near to God

Read James 4:1-10

This passage speaks again to the idea of "What are you chasing after?" What are you pursuing? Is it God or is it the world?

We have an inner battle that we all face each day. It is there because of the sin nature that we have that traces back to Adam and Eve. We fight with others because we want what we want. We don't always put others first. We have selfish desires and those desires are not from God.

We ask God in prayer for things and when we don't get them we get mad at God because He didn't give them to us. Why is He so mean? He's not. This passage tells us that we ask with wrong motives to get what we want not what God wants.

The reality is this . . . if we truly desire to follow Christ with all we are, WE MUST LIVE DIFFERENTLY! As we become different from the world WE WILL BE PERSECUTED. . . we'll be made fun of, looked at differently, picked on . . . and more.

In those times we can get upset and turn our backs on Christ or we can DRAW NEAR TO HIM. If we truly are pursuing the things of God . . .we must pursue Him. This passage tells us that when we do that HE WILL COME NEAR TO US! As we submit our future, our week, our day to Him, He will show us the path to take. . . what to say . . . how to act.

What things have been distracting you from drawing close to God??

What will you do with those things so they are no longer distractions for you?

What plan do you have in place now to draw near to God daily??

Do you have a certain time of the day? A certain place you go?

If not, it may be time to do that. Share with other Jr. Highers by posting a comment . . . and please leave your name as well.

Day 18 - Don't Worry . . . Seek First!

Read Matthew 6:25-34

What things are you worried about? What causes you to worry about them? Sometimes that worry causes us to fear things and sometimes even prevents us from doing what God would want us to.

What things have you felt God asking you to do that you were just too afraid or worried to do? Maybe it was because you thought your friends might think you were weird. Maybe you were too scared to standout in front of other people. Maybe you were worried about what it meant that you'd have to give up or stop doing.

As we grow closer in our relationship with Christ we must strive to become more like Jesus. He showed us a true example of what to do. Jesus was I'm sure scared about what faced him when it came to him being sacrificed on the cross, however, He wanted to do His Father's will.

We are to do the same. To determine what that is we must make it a priority to seek FIRST His kingdom. We must seek after His will. God will reveal to us His will for our day to day living, each situation we face, even in the toughest of times, if we are seeking Him.

Take some time to speak to God about what His will is for you this week . . . for the situation your facing. . . for this summer. What is He saying to you? What is it that He's asking you to do or not do? Share that with us.

Day 17 - Others First

Read Phillipians 2:1-11

What do you hear this passage saying?

We heard last Wednesday night that we are supposed to strive after the things of God. When it comes to other people God says that we are to consider others before ourselves.

How often do you actually do that? Most of us just get up in the morning and we just continue to think about what we want to do, who we want to talk to, what we want for lunch. Yet we've read that if we are to have the same attitude of Christ we must think of others.

How can you do that this week? What things can you do that would show others that you're putting them before yourself?

Let's not just write them down . . . do those things this week.

Day 16 - Lord, Lord

Read Matthew 7:21-23

What does this verse say to you?

Many of us say that we are Christians. Many of us buy Christian things, wear Christian T-Shirts, listen to Christian music . . . does all that really mean that we are a Christian?

Think about what Pastor Terry said on Wednesday night. Jesus desires us to constantly pursue Him and to persistently pursue the things of heaven.

How are you doing when it comes to doing that each day?

Are you chasing after the world or are you chasing after the things of God?

What things do you need to change so that you are truly doing what you know to be the will of God? What about the movies or TV shows you watch or the music you listen?

Answer this question as you respond. . .

Do you laugh at the things God hates??

Day 15

This one is going to be simple.

Take 15 minutes and silence yourself, body, mind, and soul. Don't look at another website, don't watch television. Just sit.









Read this passage in 1 Kings.

What does God seem to be saying through this passage to you?

Now apply it:

How often do you allow God to just speak to you?