Dealing With Social Media

If as a parent you have never thought about setting up ground rules with your children about internet/social media and cell phone use it may be something that you want to think about. My own kids are not yet at the age where we are dealing with these issues, but they soon will be. I recently came across a "Family Digital Covenant of Conduct", it outlines some great moral as well as safety issues that should be at least taken into consideration. I think the best thing about it is that it puts in black and white what the standard is for using cell phones and online activity. This way both parent and teen will be on the same page with a clear understanding of whats acceptable and the consequences of breaking the covenant. You can access the covenant form here, from CPYU's website, that is, The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding, headed up by Walt Mueller.

Music Music Music

If you've spent any time around youth these days you may have noticed something dangling out of their ears and trailing down to either a cell phone, ipod or some similar device. Yes, music is in the lives of most kids in a big way. But how often do any of us stop and think about what our music is telling us. What message is it putting out there. What message is the artist trying to convey? What do they want us to believe about ourselves, our society, about them? Music has a powerful way of stirring up our emotions and it's easy to get caught up in the "feeling" of a song and not pay close attention to the message it's promoting. We need to remind ourselves that as Christians our minds need to focus on those things which are noble, pure, just, right, praiseworthy, true, and commendable.(Phil 4:8) These are the things that we should let fill our thoughts as we strive to live godly and upright lives. So do we ever stop and ask ourselves what our music is telling us? Or as this guy put it, do we ever just stop and ask the simple question, "Oh really?".

Easter

Our church has committed for the next 6 months to pray Ephesians 3:16-19 which says,

                               "that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,  may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."

 What a beautiful time Easter is as we remember the love of Christ that was shown on the cross, and the hope that the resurrection brings. I hope that we will all take the time to think about, pray about and meditate on the love of Christ. I hope God will give us the strength to comprehend the love of Christ in a way that surpasses knowledge. Make this your prayer as well this Easter season.

Would You Give Up Your Toilet?

I recently asked a group of students to list their top 5 must-have technologies. What are the five things you just don't want to go without. They named things like microwave ovens, computers, cars, medicine, cell phones, instruments and mp3 players. These answers were not all that surprising. We know that many of us love our gadgets and tend to see them as an integral part of our life. But what about the technology of indoor plumbing and the flushing toilet? That is something I wouldn't want to go without! And wouldn't you have to say electricity? So much of what we view as technology wouldn't be here without it. Our view of technology and the impact it has on our lives can depend on the era in which we are born. Tim Challies in his book The Next Story, Life and Faith After the Digital Explosion writes, "The generation that spans these technological transformations may recognize that such changes are happening, but those who are born into them are blinded to them." We don't notice how things like an indoor flushing toilet affect our lives if we are born into a world where they exist.
All this to say that we do need to step back every now and then and take a look at the things that shape our lives because it's to easy to miss how we are affected by the technology we have. How does technology impact us? How do we use it? Romans 12:2 calls us to "be transformed by the renewing of [our] mind[s], that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect". We want to be people who can discern what pleases God, so that we can use all of the technology He allowed us to create in a way that pleases Him.

Education

If you live in the US chances are that you have been through some sort of schooling. Most of us have been through public school, some through private schools and a few through home school. So is there a point to all this learning. We hear all kinds of statistics about how earning potential rises with each further degree, or level of education a person receives. So maybe the point is to equip us with the ability to perform a task that will provide income. Some might argue that the government is using education to mold and shape society into a certain mindset and way of life.(which they most certainly do) However as Christians we must learn to view all of life through what the Bible teaches. What might the Bible teach us about the point of acquiring knowledge? This Sunday evening we will talk about this very issue. After all, God gave us the ability to think, learn, discover and create, so why?

Discrimination, We All Do it... Don't We?

Now none of us likes to think that we might be the type of person to discriminate against others. But if we take an honest look at our lives we know that we are all guilty of it at one time or another. Casting Crowns wrote a song, If We Are the Body, that talks about what it looks like in to many churches today. We are all capable of judging people to quickly. Without thinking about it we can come to conclusions based on all the wrong things such as looks, income level, where they live and even someone's age. The problem comes when we begin to act on our conclusions by either favoring or discriminating against people. We must guard against this in our own lives so that we can fight against it when we find it in our society. James 2:8 reminds us "If you fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself,' you are doing well." He then goes on to warn against the sin of partiality, or favoritism. It sounds so simple, 'just treat everyone how you want to be treated'! If we really did this how many other issues would fade away? Anger, resentment, greed, covetousness, gossip and slander just to name a few.
This week at high school group we'll be talking more about the subject of discrimination and the steps we can take in our own lives to make sure we don't fall victim to discriminating against others.

Into the New Year

Well here we go again another new year and almost a month into it at that. It is amazing how quickly time goes by. Some of the things coming up that we hope to see students take part in include True Love Waits, a day of service at Gleanings, and Worldview Academy. Our hope is to see students grow in their faith, living it out each day. They have been challenged again this year to be in the world. The only way to have our minds renewed and be transformed by God's word is to be in the word! Let's make the most of this next year by truly seeking Christ and proclaiming his glory, in word and deed, to those still walking in darkness.