What Cards Have You Been Dealt?

Have you ever wondered why God has allowed things into your life that are hurtful or difficult?

As teens, we face many of these trials... Parents may get divorced, a family member or friend may die, physical illness or disease may happen.

Why do things like this happen?

What purpose do trials have?

In this video, Eddie James illustrates the things we face in life by using a deck of cards:



God can use both the difficult and the good situations that we face to bring Him glory.

So, what cards have you been dealt?

How will you use those cards?

Will you hide them, or will you play them?

Preparing for War

Every single day we are involved in battle... A spiritual battle.

As teens, we face temptations all the time... It's hard to resist sometimes.

Ephesians 6:12 says, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

This is not a battle that we can fight using our own strength; it is far above our level.

Fortunately, God has provided equipment for us to fight our spiritual enemies.

In Ephesians 6:10-17, we are instructed to use the Armor of God to successfully battle the temptations of Satan.



Through the equipping of us done by God, we are able to stand against all the wiles (trickery) of the Devil.

Are you equipped for the battle?

Gear up today!

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Photo Credits:
http://www.morguefile.com
Albion Europe ApS (Flickr: The Decurio) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Roland zh [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Simon Speed
Leofwynn

What Does God Want Me to Do?

Have you ever questioned what God has for you in life?

Do you struggle with finding your purpose?

Recently, I was able to briefly interview Stephen Rains, a staff member at Camp Joy, a youth and family ministry located in Whitewater, Wisconsin.  Mr. Rains has been involved in the ministry at Camp Joy for the past 10 years, and has been the program director for the past 7 years.

The following questions are from that interview:

At what age did God lead you into the ministry?

I've sensed the Lord leading that way since I was saved at the age of 3, but at the age of 8, I made a definite decision to serve the Lord in the ministry.

As a young person seeking to follow God's will for my life, how can I actually find God's will for for my life?

By reading His Word, trusting His promises, and striving to obey Him in every way.  Be doing all that you can do for him each day; depend on Him for everything.

Once I believe that I know what direction God has led me in, how do I actually go about doing it?

I've noticed that He does not always show me much more than one step at a time, but as I seek to surrender every part of my life to Him, He clearly leads step by step.

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"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." - Proverbs 3:5-6
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