With camp coming up I've been thinking alot about all of the possible decisions that will, or won't, be made at camp this year in our young people, as well as the adults attending. There are so many differant subjects that weigh on my heart when I think about today's young people and I have talked on quite a few of those so when thinking about what to talk about this year I felt overwhelmed with it all. I've been thinking and praying about this for awhile and starting to feel kind of nervous about the quickly approaching camp time when I was sitting in church a week or so ago. I don't even remember for sure what Pastor was preaching on but in the middle somewhere he made the statement, "You will serve who you yield to", or something to that effect. Suddenly I thought, yes, there are so many things that young people need to hear about, but what does it all boil down to? Yielding to God or Satan. Yes, Satan, because every little decision we make all day long (what to wear first thing in the morning, what kind of music we listen to while we are getting dressed, if we cheat or not or if we help our friend cheat, what friends we hang out with, who we date, IF we date..., if we do our chores as soon as we get home or make our parents tell us to do them, if we let ourselves have an attitude over anything, where we go on the internet, what movie we watch before we go to bed, and that's just the first dozen or so of hundreds of decisions we make all day every day) is either a decision to the glory of God or Satan, will we yield to God or ourself/flesh (which usually leans towards Satan's ideas). So I looked up some verses on and about yeilding.
"...but yield yourselves unto the LORD, and enter into his sanctuary...and serve the Lord your God." II Chronicles 30:8
Whoa! That's cool! Right off the bat not only are we told to yield to the Lord but to serve Him! So, not only are we to think about every little decision and who we are yielding to in it but we are to yield to the Lord by going to church and serving Him there. Something so important that He addresses it specifially. So, as a little, but very important side note, what kind of service have you yielded to the Lord in today, or this week?
"No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Matthew 6:24
See, as young people, and I'm sure adults struggle with this from time to time too, we want to think that the little decisions don't really matter. But God doesn't say that. He just says decide, because you can't serve both. So if today you decide to watch something you shouldn't, that is a decision against God because you are serving yourself and Satan in that decision.
" Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God..." Romans 6:13 See? When we choose the wrong thing in the situation, we are yielding ourselves to sin and Satan. Every time we choose the wrong choice in a situation we make it that much easier to choose wrong/sin the next time and that much harder to choose right. This thought is further demonstrated in the following verse. " Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" Romans 6:16 Each choice you make either places you more under Satan's influence or more under God's influence.
"...as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness." Romans 6:19 The truth is that we all were under Satan's influence before Salvation - "Ye are of your father the devil..." John 8:44 We were yielding to iniquity and Satan so now (if you're saved) yield yourself to righteousness and holiness and Christ! A side thought...if you don't, you're acting like your lost self...
"Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God." Daniel 3:28 (boldness added) Here is an example of some pretty neat young men who are known to most Christians and some non-Christians for there bravery and dedication to the Lord. Here's one of the reasons why they were so dedicated to the Lord...they yielded their bodies to the Lord so that they would serve no other god but God! Other gods such as self, the flesh, the world....all which boil down to Satan. Their story is a pretty amazing one, isn't it? They went through the fire not only unburned but they didn't even smell like it! I wonder if they would have come out of the fire if they hadn't yeilded their bodies to God? Probably not...in fact, they probably wouldn't have gone in the fire because they would have bowed down and we wouldn't have this amazing story or Shadrach, Mesh...all becuase they yielded their bodies. Hey, I didn't say it, the Bible did.
So..."...How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him." I Kings 18:21 Is the Lord God or not? Is He Lord of your life? Who will you yield to today?
With Prayers. Sarah