Living in the Moment

Teens, and adults for that matter, are faced with choices everyday--choices that are hard and produce an inner conflict that often consumes our thoughts and tugs at our hearts. Our natural tendency is to simply make the choice and move forward, just to avoid dealing with the conflict. When the choices you make involve willful disobedience, reckless behavior, or the use of illegal or harmful substances, you are setting yourself up for a dangerous outcome and hurting the ones who love you most. Perhaps you don't care about that. Maybe all you are interested in is living in the moment and doing what feels good to you.

Even the most committed Christians I know struggle, or have struggled, with sin and the conflict of self versus Spirit (as in the Holy Spirit). When faced with the choice to do what is right according to God's Word or to do what satisfies their fleshly desires, they often choose the latter. Often God is merciful and spares them the full punishment their sinful choices deserve, but sometimes he withholds his protection and allows them to fully reap what they sow. Just because someone doesn't get what he or she deserves for a sin they committed, doesn't mean that you won't. It is not worth the gamble. If you play with fire (literally or figuratively), you will eventually get burned.

When you commit that sin, that "living in the moment," you have to ask yourself if being outside of God's will is really worth the risk of being subjected to his judgment. Perhaps you don't know what God's will is, or perhaps you have chosen to ignore that still, small voice that nags you on the inside saying, "Don't do that. You know it's not right." That check in your spirit is really God's voice telling you which way to go. If you don't listen and as a result turn away from his path and his will for your life, then you are playing right into the hands of Satan and giving him permission to come in and destroy you.

There will be a day of reckoning for all of us, a judgment day when our holy and righteous God holds us accountable for the sins we have committed and the deeds we have done, whether good or bad. Wouldn't you rather be found faithful and righteous than ashamed before the One who gave his life for you?

The Bible tells us, "If we claim that we're free of sin, we're only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won't let us down; he'll be true to himself. He'll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. If we claim that we've never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God—make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God" (1 John 1:8-10, The Message).

I don't know what area of sin you are struggling with today, but I do know this: God is faithful to forgive and will not condemn anyone who humbly repents and turns away from his sin (Romans 8:1). The bottom line is, you have to be willing to repent and lay aside your sinful desires and instead surrender to God's way of living. The Bible tells us, "The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God" (Romans 8:6-8, NIV).

As you are living in the moment, wouldn't you rather it be a peaceful moment rather than one full of conflict and fear? As long as you wrestle with God and fight the Holy Spirit who lives within you, you will never have a moment's peace. Surrender to God's will and walk in His ways. It is the only way to truly live.

It's Not Just for Breakfast Anymore

One of the things I try so hard to convince my teenager of is his need to take in more of God's Word and fewer of the world's lies. As a parent, I realize that most teens think parents "don't know anything." But the truth is, we have a lot of wisdom gained from years of living on this planet and from surviving our own adolescence. Because he doesn't take the time to read his Bible or a daily devotional at home, I have decided to enclose a little "Brown Bag Bite," a verse or two of Scripture hand-written on a piece of note paper, in my son's lunch each day. The neat thing about doing that is knowing that not only is he reading the Word of God, his lunch buddies are as well.

I became a Christian when I was your age, and was active in my youth group at church. I even attended Bible studies. But the one thing I probably failed to do was actually spend time, on my own, in God's Word, drinking in the truth of it and applying it to my own life. Had I been as anchored in the Scriptures then as I am now, I would have avoided the traumatic consequences of my own poor choices because I would have avoided a whole lot of sin in the first place. I would have known the love of Christ, the wisdom of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit to enable me to turn from temptation, remain sexually pure, and avoid the devastating effects of addiction. This is the message I want my son and his teenage peers to take to heart: that God's Word is our lifeline in this world, and to try to live life outside of God's loving boundaries, set in his Word, is to sentence ourselves to a miserable existence.

God's Word is given to us to nourish and sustain us spiritually, to lead us to salvation through Christ and assure us of God's provision for every need of life, and to guide our footsteps on the path God has set out for us. Psalm 119: 1-9 (The Message) says this about the Bible: "You're blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God. You're blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him. That's right—you don't go off on your own; you walk straight along the road he set. You, God, prescribed the right way to live; now you expect us to live it. Oh, that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set; Then I'd never have any regrets in comparing my life with your counsel. I thank you for speaking straight from your heart; I learn the pattern of your righteous ways. I'm going to do what you tell me to do; don't ever walk off and leave me. How can a young person live a clean life? By carefully reading the map of your Word."

Trust me, if you try to live your life on your terms rather than on God's, you are setting yourself up for a hard life of misery, shame, and sorrow. I know because I've been there. You may not think your parents know anything, but God does. Father knows best. Better start listening to him today!