Things that being a young Christian has taught me.

Hello, my dear brothers and sisters. It has been a while, almost a year, to be exact. Although I have endured many afflictions, God has been incredibly gracious to me. I guess I wanted to come on here and share a message with you, something that I've learned during my hard seasons. It may not be what you are expecting to hear. I guess this is for the ones who are still living a sinful lifestyle, and especially for the ones who have made vows to God and did not keep them (Ecclesiastes 5:4-5).

Before I officially dedicated my life to God a couple of years ago, I lived a very sinful life. Even though I grew up in the church and knew better, I ran from God like the prophet Jonah. You could even think of me as the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). If you've never heard of that story, I encourage you to read it. At one point, I was even like a Pharisee; I called myself a Christian, but my lifestyle did not show it. And because of this, I have been chastised by God (Luke 12:47-48). I kept wondering why the past couple of years have literally been the worst couple of years of my life, but then I remembered I strayed from God for a couple of years and lived my life like I was in Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 13:13). If I had stayed on the right path with God, I believe I would have been a lot better off in life. But I see a lot of people these days on social media who proclaim to be Christians but are not living the Life. I see so-called ministers on social media cursing and leading many saints astray. Let me tell you right now that is NOT the way to go. You may think everything is going well now, but God can bring you all the way down, like King Nebuchadnezzar; his pride is what led to his downfall (Daniel 4:28-37). The Apostle Paul, before God called him, was persecuting the saints of God, but God humbled him and blinded him for 3 days (Acts 9:1-9). I feel as if God has kind of done something similar to me to get my attention, and he's gotten it. I'm here to warn you: don't let it get to that point. Repent for your wicked ways and turn to God while you have the chance; don't let hard seasons be the reason you seek him. But seek him from a sincere heart. Btw, true repentance shows through actions. You can not say, "Lord, forgive me," then the next day run back to your sinful ways. That is not how true repentance works. True repentance is when you throw out the things that are causing you to stumble. When you completely throw out your sinful habits and replace them with Christlike habits (2 Chronicles 7:14), that is true repentance. God is gracious, as he was so gracious to King Nebuchadnezzar, Jonah, and the Apostle Paul; I believe he has been gracious to me too. And He will be gracious to you if you come to him with a sincere heart.

Remember, brothers and sisters, that we reap what we sow. If you sow evil, you will reap evil, but if you sow good, then you will reap good (Galatians 6:7). With that being said, I encourage everyone reading this blog post to sow good seeds, not just out of necessity but out of the kindness of your heart. Also, young people, this is coming from a 25-year-old. Be kind to your parents; love and respect them. Do not talk back or be snarky. Nine times out of ten, they know more than us, because they have been here longer than us. Be respectful- in doing this, you are showing respect to God. Let me also mention that those who disrespect their parents will not live a long life (Ephesians 6:1-3). So you see, this is very important to God, and if it's important to God, it should be important to us. So respect your elders; be kind to the seniors because we will get there one day (Leviticus 19:32). When you sow these good seeds, you will one day reap the good things that you have sown. But it is important to sow those good seeds now while we are in our youth.

Ecclesiastes 12:1: Remember now your creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, "I have no pleasure in them.

Lamentations 3:27: 'And it is good for people to submit at an early age to the yoke of his discipline. '

Young people, we must let our Heavenly Father train us in the way we must go, and to do that, submit yourselves to His Word; and to do that, you must read His Word. And if you have the Holy Spirit, be led by the Spirit and NOT by the flesh (The flesh will mess you up!) Read Romans 8:6-9.

If you do not have the Holy Spirit, ask God for it, and he will give it to you (Luke 11:13). We are living in the last and evil days, and having the Spirit of God in us is necessary.

I wanted to close with this: God is watching everything that we do, good or bad, and one day he will judge us for our good and bad deeds, so make your lives count while you are here on the earth, as this will determine your eternal fate (Heaven or Hell). (Ecclesiastes 12:14, 2 Corinthians 5:10). Heaven is our goal, and to get there we must follow the way to Heaven, and the way to Heaven is Jesus Christ (John 14:6). Please stay prayerful, in the Word of God, and surround yourselves with Godly people. Being around sinful people can corrupt good character, so remember that (1Corinthians 15:33). Be doers of the Word of God, and not just hearers; being a doer of the Word is what counts (James 1: 22-25).

I love you, people of God. Keep me in your prayers as I continue to spread the Gospel. I pray this post helps you. Until next time, peace be with you.