Potential

Hey Everyone,

Do you ever think about potential? Potential is one of those words you dread hearing as a teenager, that's because it is usually being yelled at you while you are watching TV. Potential is one of those things that I think about a lot because of the nature of my work. I decided to try to educate myself a little bit about potential, so I did what I generally do when I want to learn more about a word, I went to the dictionary. The dictionary defines potential in this way.

po·ten·tial

/pəˈtɛnʃəl/ Show Spelled[puh-ten-shuhl]

–adjective

1.

possible, as opposed to actual: the potential uses of nuclear energy.

2.

capable of being or becoming: a potential danger to safety.

It is the second definition which I would like to talk about a little today, this idea of what we can be become. I am blessed with the opportunity to work with hundreds of teenagers every summer at youth camps and area youth gatherings. Something amazing happens every summer, and when I say every summer I mean every summer. The thing that happens is that you see young men and women going above and beyond their comfort zones every year. The young man who would not ever lead singing will step up and lead a song in a time or worship, the young lady who is scared to talk to anyone makes lifelong friendships with the girl in her cabin and the friend who has come with one of your youth group members sees that their life in conflict with God's will and yields their life to Christ through the water grave of baptism. I would never want to trivialize any of this, but, what it all comes down to is living up to potential.

Let me explain. Nothing supernatural occurred for that young man to lead that song, the little girl who was shy didn't drink a magic potion that made her outgoing and the young person that gives their life to Christ was not possessed by some force that made them yield their life to Christ. What happened to all of these teens is that they were simply put into an environment that encouraged qualities that were already present in their lives, and that environment was filled with people who encouraged the development of those qualities.

Thinking about all of this makes me wonder what our world would be like if we all lived up to our potential. What if, like these teenagers, we took advantage of the qualities that God has already placed in us and lived up to our potential? I believe our world would be a better place. More than that I believe we would look a whole lot more like Christ if we strived to live up to our potential. Consider for a moment what the Apostle Paul said.

2 Corinthians 4:7-12 (New International Version)
⁷But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ⁸We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. ¹⁰We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. ¹¹For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. ¹²So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

What that translates into in my mind is living up to potential. Those of us that are Christians have this treasure within us, but it is our decision on if, how and when we decide to use it. More than that we have to get past the attitude that "someone else will do it". One of the greatest killers of potential is the idea that someone else is going to do whatever it is that you are challenged with. If we live our lives content with allowing someone else to always do what is needed then we are definitely not living up to our potential.

Teenagers often times get the bad rap of not living up to their potential. I don't deny that teenagers don't always live up to their potential but I would also say that teenagers learn that attitude from somewhere. I propose that teenagers have learned that from us as adults. They have learned it from the salesman who is really meant to be a teacher, the teacher who was meant to be a poet and the housewife who is sitting on the next great American novel.

As you read these words today I challenge you to not be content to not live up to your potential. I challenge you to look at your life and see what your potential could be, simply put, don't be afraid to dream. Take a lesson from that young man at camp who never lead a song before but took a chance. Take a page from the book of the little shy girl who came home with a new group of friends. Think like the friend that a youth group member came and decide to start living your life for Christ. Maybe you need put yourself in an environment that will foster this growth and your potential, maybe you need to leave an environment that is stifling you. To All of you who read my thoughts are such a blessing to me. I hope that I have been a blessing to you today.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

How Will You Be Different Today?

How Will You Be Different Today?

Daniel 1:8-16-NIV
⁸ But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. ⁹ Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel, ¹⁰ but the official told Daniel, "I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you."

¹¹ Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, ¹² "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³ Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see." ¹⁴ So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days. ¹⁵ At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. ¹⁶ So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.

This is part of the text the teenagers looked at Sunday morning. Daniel and his friends were plucked from their home at a young age and forced to learn a new way of life. All the morals and values they were raised with were now in question by the people who had abducted them from their homes. What makes this passage of scripture so teachable is that these young men decided to do what God wanted them to do and not what man wanted them to do.

Consider for a moment how easy it would have been for Daniel and his friends to conform to the world around them. Consider for a moment how easy it would have been for Daniel and his friends to sacrifice their integrity for the fleeting gift of acceptance. Consider for a moment how often Christians conform to the values of this world when God has set such higher standards for his people. While you are considering all of that consider these words from the book of Romans.

Romans 12:1-2-NIV

¹Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. ²Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Too often all we do is read these words without taking them to heart. Our society has become one of no absolutes; instead of black and white the world sees things in shades of gray. As God’s people we are called to something higher than shades of gray and compromising our morals. Often times I hear people try to justify their complacent attitudes by comparing our society to those of Biblical times. The justification is that we have more avenues of sin than the people of Biblical times. Not only is this justification ridiculous but it is false. We may have different opportunities to sin but the act is sin is the same as it was during Biblical times; and it is just as wrong now as it was then. When considering comparing our society to the societies of Biblical times consider the words of Peter.

1 Peter 1:1-2-NIV

¹Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, ²who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Peter was writing to people who were scattered away from their homes not by their own choice. Peter encourages these people through his letter to live a life based not upon their circumstances but upon the providence of God the Father with words like these…

1 Peter 1:13-16-NIV

13Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

So, how will you be different today? Maybe you will decide to give up a worldly habit, maybe you will reach out and become a friend to a friendless person or maybe you will take a stand for God when you have failed to in the past. I can’t tell you how to be different, but I can tell you that as Christians we need to be different. The way you decide to be different today is up to you. I encourage you to prayerfully consider how you are living your life and how you can be different today.

Be Strong and Courageous,

Paul