Many of us have heard people say that all things work together for good. A lot of people use it to mean that whenever something bad happens, that is in the end for the good. However, not many people finish the verse. The full verse is Romans 8:28, which says “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”

That verse has a conditional statement. All things work together for good TO THEM that love God, and who are called according to His purpose. The first statement is easily understood. We need to love God. The second one is not so clear,”called according to His purpose”. What that essentially means is that we need to be following the Will of God.

If we aren’t following the Will of God, we should not expect a bad situation to work out for good. A bad situation that we put ourselves in can work out for good, IF we stop what we are doing, and pray to God, and seek His will.

If we are following the Will of God, then, sometime in the future, everything will have worked itself out for the better. Sometimes it takes a very long time, while other times it happens quickly. Also, remember that things work together for good, good things and bad things. Just because you are doing the Will of God doesn’t mean that everything will be easy. Look at the life of Paul, or some missionary’s life today.

So, look at your life. Are you following the Will of God? Do you love God?

Kent Hovind is a Christian from Florida (Click here for a full bio: http://www.drdino.com/articles.php?spec=71). Known as “Dr. Dino”, he travels the country giving seminars and talks on Creation Science, and showing the flaws in the so called “theory” of evolution. I’ve listened to many of them (on tape) and think he has done a great job spreading the word of God.

However, I recently learned that Mr. Hovind has been arrested on federal charges, including making threats against federal officials, filing false complaints and tax evasion (of approx. $500,000). He has been quoted in saying that “He is an employee of God, and that he doesn’t have to pay taxes.”

I had a lot of respect for him before this incident, but after hearing that statement I lost it all. What picture of “Christianity” does he think that’s projecting to the world?! Think of all the people who are now viewing Christian’s as people who believe it’s acceptable to commit Federal Offenses. It’s horrifying!

I think Mr. Hovind should take the time to read through the Book of Matthew again; specifically, Matthew 22:17-21:

Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

I think that sets the issue of paying taxes in stone.

Remember that being a Christian isn’t a “day job” that we can cast aside when we’re not at Church or among other Christians. As Christians we are God’s ambassadors, representing GOD in everything we do and to everyone we come in contact with.

Take some time to think about it. Are you displaying a “Christian” image to the World?

Trusting in God is a vital part of our Christian life. To trust in God means that we rely on Him to help us through our life. To trust in God means that we have him guide us through life, through bad times and good times, not just the bad times. Trusting God also means that we may make sacrifices in our life.A lot of times, Man says one thing, while God says a very different thing. In times like that, we should do what God says. Proverbs 3:5 says “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding”. Rather than doing what we think we should do, we should read the Bible, and pray to God to find out what He wants us to do, and then we should do it.

Quite a few people ignore God, or push God off to the side when things are going good. However, as soon as things start going bad, they then turn back to God, until things get better. At that point, they ignore Him again. This kind of an attitude is not right. It communicates that we only see God as a “Get out of Jail Free” card, rather than the Creator of the Universe, or our Heavenly Father. We need to trust in God regardless of whether or not things are going well for us.

Trusting God also means that we may have to make sacrifices in our life. We may have to give up things that we most value, or we may have to even lose our lives. However, in the end, things work out for the best. Look at Noah. He listened to God, and ended up getting ridiculed for over 100 years. Can you imagine being ridiculed for your faith for that long, as your worked constantly to build something? But, in the end, Noah was saved, while the rest of the world perished because they would not listen to God. Look at Stephen. He died for what he believed.

So, how does one trust God? One trusts God by relying more on Him, and less on one’s own skill and knowledge. Reading the Bible, and praying for guidance is another important part of trusting God.

Psalm 17 is a prayer of David.

He starts off by praying that God will hear him. He tells God that he is not faking his prayer, but is being totally honest with God.

He then tells God how God has proved him, and how God has tried him, and found no evil. How many of us have been tried by God and have passed the test? How many of us can tell God that we have not transgressed?

The Psalmist continues by praying that God will guard his footsteps, so that he will not slip. We should pray that God will guard our footsteps so that we don’t stumble. He further prays that God will show his loving kindness, and that God will protect him.

The Psalmist then changes to describing the wicked’s ways. The wicked are described as having proud mouths, and as lions waiting in dark places.

After describing the wicked, the Psalmist prays that God will cast them down, and deliver the Psalmist from them.

The Psalmist concludes by saying that God will protect him.

When things are going rough for us; when we are afraid of what is coming, do we pray to God and ask for Him to guide our steps? Or do we instead push through, and try to make it on our own.

Several times throughout the prayer, the Psalmist praises God. When we pray do we just read off a list of things we want, or do we take time to actually worship God?

All throughout history Christians have been mocked, threatened, or persecuted because of their beliefs. Noah was laughed at for building a big boat, John the baptist was thrown in prison and beheaded, Stephen was stoned to death, and many more suffered deeply for their religious convictions.

Today we don’t have to worry about being “stoned to death” or “executed”; however, being a Christian isn’t exactly society’s definition of being “popular and cool”. No doubt you have been made fun of in school because of it, and maybe even by your friends too. Please read through Acts 5:17-42 (with particular emphasis on verses 40-42), and see how the apostles reacted when they were rebuked and flogged by the Sanhedrin (the elders of Israel) for their beliefs.

Now that you’ve read that, let’s look at those last two verses again:

The Apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.
– Acts 5:40-42

Isn’t that inspiring?! I pray that we all will have that kind of convinction; so that even if we are beaten and reproached, we will rejoice for being found worthy to suffer for Jesus.

If you ever do find yourself feeling discouraged, try reading this verse:

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
– Spoken by Jesus, in Matthew 5:10-12

God knows what you’re going through (He did, after all, suffer humiliation and death on a cross for YOU!). Remember that you are on the right path, and that with His help, you can help others come to know the love of Jesus too.

Psalm 16 is a Psalm of trusting and relying on God.

The Psalmist starts off by crying out to God to preserve him, and that the Psalmist puts his trust in God. He then says how his goodness is nothing apart from God.

From reading the opening lines of this Psalm, we can see how much the Psalmist trusted God. He places his trust in Him, and prays that God will preserve him. when we are faced with seemingly impossible circumstances, what do we do? Do we place our trust in God, or do we just fall apart?

The Psalmist goes on to describe how those who follow other Gods will suffer, and will have far more sorrows. He further says that he will not help them with their worship, or even mention the names of their gods.

This is a powerful statement. When he saw people who were worshipping other gods, he did not help them with their worship. He would not even mention the names of their gods. He was completely given over to God, there was no room for anything else to be worshipped in his life. Too often, we let other things crowd into our life, and they quickly become the centerpiece of our life. We should rather follow the Psalmist’s example and let NOTHING come between us and God.

Continuing, the Psalmist describes how much God has blessed him. He says that God has set his lines in favorable places. What that means is that God has blessed him with much land. He says that he has a good heritage, and that he will praise God, because God has given him much.

He then describes how he has God in front of him, and he shall not be moved. Because of this, he says he is glad, and he will rest in hope, because God will not leave him in hell.

How about us? Is God in front of us, as the only God we have? Or is he off to the side, and something else is in the front? God should be at the front of our life, and not off to the side.

Being a Christian Teen can be hard. Everywhere you look society is telling us that giving in to tempations and immorality is “cool”, and if you don’t indulge yourself in them then you’re nothing better than a “wimp”. I have a lot to say about things such as drugs, violence, and impure physical actions, but right now I’d like to focus more on “thought” than “action”.

In the book of Matthew Jesus tells us that to commit murder we do not need to literally “kill” someone, but only have to think it in our hearts. I believe this is a very important lesson, and that the same rule applies to any other sin, whether it be anger at a sibling or impure thoughts about another person.

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their mind set on what the Spirit desires.
– Romans 8:5

So, how do we control wishing that our siblings get sent to a deserted island next time they make us angry? It’s hard, but we can conquer those evil thoughts with God’s help. Just ask him, and remember these two verses from Philippians whenever you feel like you’re losing the battle:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
– Philippians 4:8

I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.
– Philippians 4:13

We all know that God hears our prayers, but does He answer them?

Sometimes we feel like He doesn’t answer us, but in actuality, He does. Every time we ask God for something, He gives us an answer. There are three answers He gives us, yes, no, and wait. When God says yes, we can be assured that what we asked for WILL happen. When God says no, what we asked for doesn’t happen. When He says wait, well, we have to wait.

Sometimes when God says no or wait, we think He didn’t hear us. We tend to think that if our prayer isn’t answered our way, then God isn’t listening, or isn’t answering our prayers. There is a simple solution to this that involves three changes that need to be made. We need to learn to be less self centered and more God centered, we need to learn patience, and we need to learn how to accept the answer we’re given.

We can’t possibly be content with the answer God gives us if it is not the answer we want to hear. When we are focused on ourselves, we want everything to go OUR way. We give God a list of things we want, and we throw a fit if we don’t get our way. When we are self-focused, we act like little kids. If we ask our Father for something that is bad for us, He will say no. If we don’t like the answer, we’ll either throw a fit, or try to get what we want OUR way.

We need to be patient. If God says wait, then we have to wait, and there is no way around it. We have two choices. We can wait for what we asked for to happen in God’s time, or we can try to get it ourselves in our own time. I highly recommend the first one.

We need to learn to accept the answer that we’re given. God never gives us an answer without a reason. He never says no, just because He wants to. He doesn’t say wait because you aren’t on the top of His to-do list or because He just doesn’t feel like giving you what you asked for right away. He does everything for a reason. It is our decision to accept or reject that reason.

Prayer is very important in our relationship with God. It is one of the ways that we can keep in touch with our Heavenly Father. Prayer isn’t supposed to be a time where we give God a list of things we want. It is a time to talk with God and express our love and gratitude to Him. We can ask God for things, but if the only reason we pray is to ask God for things, then we are not praying for the right reasons. Prayer is so important, that even Jesus did it. When He was on Earth, and separated from His Father, Jesus prayed to keep in touch with Him.

We ask God for things all the time, and He asks things of us as well. the right thing for us to do is to do what God asks, but sometimes, in our self-focused lives, we say no, or ignore God. This makes me wonder though. What would have happened if Jesus had said no? What if Jesus had thrown a fit and said “No way, I’m not going down there, those people are terrible?” [John 3:16-17] What if he had jumped off the temple like Satan told Him to? [Matthew 4:5-7] What if He had decided to kill the men that were beating and crucifying Him? [Matthew 27] What if He had said, “I want to do this for my people Father, but I want to do it in my time?”[Matthew 6:10] Thank you Jesus for being so humble and willing to do the Father’s will!

What does God have for your life? What decisions have you made that were your decisions not God’s? Whose will are you going to follow the next time you have to make a decision?

Psalm 15 is a Psalm giving the qualifications for someone who is fit to be in the temple of God.

The Psalmist starts off by asking God who is able to dwell in the tabernacle or on the holy hill. In the next verse, the Psalmist answers the question.

A man who walks upright,works in righteousness, and who speaks the truth. A man who doesn’t attack with his words, does no evil to his neighbour, and does not hate his neighbor. A man who holds a vile person in contempt, but instead honors those who fear God. When he makes a promise, even if it ends up hurting him, he still keeps it. He doesn’t take bribes. He doesn’t do things to hurt the innocent for money.

In closing the Psalmist states that those who do these things shall never be moved.

To be a righteous man, capable of being in God’s temple, we have to have those qualities. We’re supposed to be doing righteous works. We shouldn’t attack people with our words, rather, we should build them up. What it comes down to, is that we should be blameless people doing righteous works.

How many of us can claim that we have those qualities?

Sometimes life feels like we’re going through a tunnel; a time in our lives so full of dissapointment, sorrow, and misery that it feels like there’s no end in sight. I was going through a period like this 5-6 months ago, and a friend recommended that I listen to this song:

It’s called “Tunnel” from the album “Wherever You Are” by Third Day, and here are the lyrics:

Well I won’t pretend to know what you’re thinking
And I can’t begin to know what you’re going through
And I won’t deny the pain that you’re feeling
But I’m gonna try and give a little hope to you
Just remember what I told you
There’s so much your living for

There’s a light at the end of this tunnel
There’s a light at the end of this tunnel for you
For you
There’s a light at the end of this tunnel
Shining bright at the end of this tunnel for you
For you
So keep holding on

You got your disappointments and sorrows
You ought to share the weight of that load with me
Then you will find that the light of tomorrow
Well it brings new life for your eyes to see
So remember what i told you
There’s so much your living for

There’s a light at the end of this tunnel
There’s a light at the end of this tunnel for you
For you
There’s a light at the end of this tunnel
Shining bright at the end of this tunnel for you
For you
So keep holding on
Keep holding on

So remember what i told you
There’s so much your living for

There’s a light at the end of this tunnel
There’s a light at the end of this tunnel for you
For you yeah
There’s a light at the end of this tunnel
Shinging bright at the end of this tunnel for you
For you yeah
There’s a light at the end of this tunnel ooh
For you, for you yeah
Shinging bright at the end of this tunnel
For you, for you
So keep holding on
Keep holding on
Keep holding on now

You got your disappointments and sorrows
I’m gonna try and give a little hope to you

In our sinful and human nature, it is usually our first instinct to blame someone when we’re in trouble (and unfortunately, the easiest person to blame for most people is God). I hope this song will remind us that no matter how painful or bleak our current situation is, if we place our trust in God, He will protect us.

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” — Deuteronomy 31:6

Great job Third Day!