Well, here I sit, threatening to blog. Whether or not this will become a habit remains to be seen, but for my own sake, I hope it does. To start out with, I should clarify a few things about myself and what I believe.
First and foremost, my beliefs. I believe in the God of the Bible who created the universe and everything in it. I believe that His Son, Jesus Christ, came to earth to pay the penalty for our sins and provide for us a way to have fellowship with Him as His children. I believe that when we make the choice to accept Him as our saviour and king, the Holy Spirit fills our lives and works in us to mold us into His image, in which we were originally created.
These are the beliefs I hold and which ought to shape the course of my life. Unfortunately, I am still human, and as such, I am prone to fail. I've come to realize over the last four or five years of my life that I cannot change myself. It has to be the work of the Holy Spirit in me, through prayer and studying the Word. I don't have the strength to follow His direction unless I make a conscious decision every day to please God and not myself. My intention is to become the man He would have me be, and to always be improving- never considering myself a finished product, but rather a work in progress as long as I live.
Second, a little bit about myself. I am a teenager, struggling to balance time dedicated to school, work, and my music studies. God has blessed me with the ability to play piano- a gift which I am obligated to use for His glory. He as also blessed me with a large, Christian family; I am the oldest of 11 children, led by a godly mom and dad who do their best to guide us in our life choices. I've spent several weeks each summer for the last three years as staff at Bible camp. This, to me, is not only a chance to dedicate some of my time to God and watch Him use my efforts, but is an incredible opportunity to grow spiritually and emotionally. Chapel and devotions twice a day, Christian staff to spend time with, the encouragement of watching others grow in the Lord... camp is one of the most significant seasons of the year for me.
Why did I decide to start blogging? Primarily for my own benefit. I feel the need to write down things I learn during my own devotions, but I am not very good at keeping myself accountable in that area. I figure if I write down my musings on this blog - even if nobody ever reads it - it's a little bit of motivation to regularly jot down some thoughts. I think back to the verse I chose as subheading for this page: "But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith." Those are things I desire in my own life, and I have thus far not been very faithful at pursuing them. It is my prayer that through my efforts to maintain this blog, I will grow steadily in the knowledge of the Word and of Christ's will for me. Perhaps someday there will even be some interaction and discussion in the comments section!
I will close my first entry with a verse that has been my motivation for some time now: 1 Timothy 4:12. It reads, "Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe." Paul here was encouraging Timothy, who seemed very young next to his fellow church leaders, not to let his youth be a hindrance, but rather to be a witness to the life-changing power of God's grace. We don't have to wait until we're old and wrinkled to be wise. Experience is not the best teacher; God's Word is. It has been said, "A smart man learns from his own mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others." There is so much instruction and history recorded in the Bible that we shouldn't have to learn everything by doing it wrong. We ought to look to God and His Word for our instruction. I believe that if we faithfully seek this goal, each of us can obtain a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith, becoming an example of those who believe.
No comments:
Post a Comment