Much of this world sees commitment as extremely dangerous. And for the most part, it’s not wrong about that. Commitment is dangerous—just ask anyone who ever shelled out cash for tattoo removal. The Scriptures actually warn against throwing promises around—even ones with the purest intentions—because we humans are neither omnipotent nor omniscient, and might very well realize later that a commitment we made was unnecessary, foolish, or even sinful (Matthew 5:33-37; James 5:12).
In this week’s Living Youth Podcast, with guest co-host Mr. Mark Sandor, we reflect on our own “unchurched” youth and consider what we know now that we wish we’d known then. We hope you find it profitable! The Spotify link will be added as soon as it is available.
P.S. When I posted this earlier today, I forgot that we had mentioned some articles we wanted to link to. Here are those links! Click away!
Mr. Gerald Weston’s classic article “Is Saying ‘No’ Enough?” which mentions some of his “Unshakeable Unbreakables” for teens and young adults.
Mr. Rod McNair’s article “Will You Do Hard Things?” which recommends an approach to living that is the opposite of living life as an “avatar.”
Mr. Thomas White’s “God’s Complicated Book” post here on this website, which Mr. Sandor referred to.
https://www.livingyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/logo2-300x138.png00Wallace Smithhttps://www.livingyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/logo2-300x138.pngWallace Smith2022-08-12 12:00:002023-01-09 10:11:03Podcast: What We Wish We’d Known
We don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the Living Church News occasionally publishes a feature called “Woman to Woman.” Written by a woman in God’s Church, it is meant to help fulfill Paul’s admonition to older or more experienced ladies, recorded in Titus 2:4–5, that they pass down wisdom in godly femininity and womanhood to younger ladies in the Church. As a sample, we hope you’ll consider reading the recent contribution from Mrs. Janth B. English, linked to below, titled “‘Submission’ Is Not a Dirty Word.” It definitely runs counter to the advice about being a woman you will get from many popular “authorities” these days, but it is rooted in the loving advice of your Creator who wants you to become the sort of woman He designed you to be.
https://www.livingyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/logo2-300x138.png00Wallace Smithhttps://www.livingyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/logo2-300x138.pngWallace Smith2022-07-28 12:51:082024-07-09 12:37:43Something for the Ladies…
As you can probably tell, the world is getting really political. And the more political it gets, the more people throw around the word propaganda. But not very many people are bothering to actually define that word—and, as Mr. Sandor recently said, definitions are important.
So, what even is propaganda? Well, the most recent issue of the Living Church News just so happens to have an article by Mr. Paul Kearns on that very subject. Mr. Kearns goes into what propaganda is and, more importantly, who’s really behind all the propaganda out there.
Intrigued? Just click the link below to be instantly transported to Mr. Kearns’ article through the mysterious power of the internets (which seems to run on some form of electricity).
Here’s a basic question for you: How do you draw close to God?
If you’ve heard that one before, you might know some of the answers. The Church of God helpfully focuses on four big actions we can take to draw close to God: Christians can pray, study their Bibles, fast, and meditate.
It can be a little tricky to start doing these things regularly. Thankfully, the Church provides plenty of help on how to get the most out of prayer, study, fasting, and meditation. When I tried to start doing these activities regularly, it was a slow process, but I gradually felt myself get better at prayer, study, and fasting. Little by little, I felt like I was getting more out of these things. Some days were better or worse than others, but generally, these practices seemed to be going in the right direction in my life.
Meditation was different—I rarely felt like I was getting much better at it. I knew the basics: think about a godly concept deeply. True meditation is not emptying one’s mind, as some religions teach. Philippians 4:8 tells us that “whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” That’s a great list, but what does it mean practically? How exactly are we supposed to think deeply about those things?
https://www.livingyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/logo2-300x138.png00Thomas Whitehttps://www.livingyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/logo2-300x138.pngThomas White2022-06-10 11:02:062024-07-09 13:12:41A Couple of Tips on Meditation
When I think about what it means to “think biblically,” I usually think, “How do I look at situations with the Bible as my guide?” And that’s fine! Most of the content on this website takes that approach: “How do we think biblically about entertainment? About dating? About current events?”
But sometimes we also have to think biblically about something much more basic, like the definition of words. This might seem too simple, but you would be surprised by how many contentions spring from people not even agreeing on how words are defined.
“Come on, Mr. Sandor,” you might think, “we know what dictionaries are. They give the same words and definitions to all of us.” Well, you have a point—to a degree. While dictionaries give us the opportunity to uniformly define words, it’s still not uncommon for people to just ignore dictionaries and use whatever definitions they have in their heads.
But there’s a bigger problem: Dictionaries don’t use the Bible to define words. The Bible provides definitions for sin (1 John 3:4), righteousness, (Psalm 119:172), faith (Hebrews 11:1, 6), and a host of other words—and these definitions are different from what you’ll find when you google a word (or dig out a hardcopy dictionary).
For this post, let’s briefly consider the word love. How should we define that? Well, if you’re still reading, you’re about to get some answers.
This week’s podcast focuses on another question we’ve received: What’s so wrong with dating “good people” in the world? It’s a great question! And both the Bible and, when you really think about it, common sense provide important answers. We hope it helps, and we hope our sound quality continues to improve! Again, your feedback is so helpful. Please let us know what you think.
Also, we don’t mention an article or booklet in this episode, but an old classic by Mr. Gerald Weston came to mind—an old 2006 Tomorrow’s World article written for the “Tomorrow’s Youth” feature, in which he included six of his “Unshakable Unbreakables.” Great advice worth reviewing—or reading for the first time for most of you, given it was published almost 16 years ago!
https://www.livingyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/logo2-300x138.png00Wallace Smithhttps://www.livingyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/logo2-300x138.pngWallace Smith2022-05-19 17:30:002024-07-09 13:13:50Podcast: Dating and “Good People” in the World
