Begin With the End in Mind

Define your mission and your goals in life.

Do you have a clear picture of who you want to be one year from now? Five years from now? Or are you clueless?

Begin with the end in mind means developing a clear picture of where you want to go with your life. It means deciding to set goals. 

Why is it important to have an end in mind? I’ll give you two reasons.

The first one is that you are at a critical crossroads in life, and the path you choose now can affect you forever. For instance, do you want to go to college or open your own business? What type of friends do you want to have? Will you join a gang? Will you date now? Will you drink, smoke, have sex before marriage? What will you stand for?

The second is that if you don’t decide your future, someone else will do it for you. As Jack Welch, former teen and current business executive, put it, “Control your own destiny or someone else will.” “Who will?” you may ask. Perhaps your friends or family or the media. Do you want your friends to tell you what to stand for? You may have great parents, but do you want them to draw up the blueprint for your life? Their interests may be far different from yours. Do you want to adopt the values portrayed in soap operas, magazines and on the big screen?

Don’t go with the flow. Don’t procrastinate.

"Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesn't first sit down and figure the cost so you'll know if you can complete it? If you only get the foundation laid and then run out of money, you're going to look pretty foolish. Everyone passing by will poke fun at you: 'He started something he couldn't finish.' Luke 14:28-29

Pr Luke Castro

YPG National Coordinator

Turn the Page!

"The Holy Spirit certainly wants to dwell in you. Even more than you do.

 

My advice to you is that you don’t make the mistake that many do, which is to try to skip steps from the process of receiving the Holy Spirit.

 

Many people see the Holy Spirit as a luxury item, thus losing the understanding that one must first repent. Then you need to be honest with yourself and with God. 

Tell God how sick you are from living a life without Him. Tell Him you want to put a stop to this situation in your life. Feel disgust and anger to a life full of sin. That's how I overcame my short comings.

 

Do not be fooled by the idea that Holy Spirit is okay with sharing a person with sin. Never!

 

So throw yourself at His feet. Do not get in a game with God, sometimes with Him, sometimes without Him. Put your faith into action. Forget what you knew, or had or didn’t have. Start it all over again.

 

Turn this page of your life.

 

God bless you. "

 

 

Note: Message extracted from a conversation I had with a youth.

Pr Luke Castro
YPG National Coordinator

 

How many times have you been distracted?

"...a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving..." (Luke 10:38)

From reading this passage, it is very easy to wrongly think that Martha is the bad sister because she chose to do other things whilst Mary listened to Jesus. However, this is far from the truth.

If we look closely at the passage, we would see that Martha welcomed Jesus into her house, “...and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house...” She was also at Jesus’ feet with Mary listening. “…Mary who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard his word…” However, it was Martha who got distracted by other things instead of listening to Jesus. “…But Martha was distracted with much serving...” Martha might have even been preparing food for the Lord Jesus; but that is besides the point.

"It is very easy to wrongly think that Martha is the

bad sister because she chose to do other things

whilst Mary listened to Jesus. However,

this is far from the truth..."

This same pattern that we see in Martha and Mary repeats itself amongst many youths today. If for example two core members of the Youth Group were to be compared based on appearance, we would find many similarities between the two. From the outside, they would appear to be the same; as they are both active in their tribes, they attend the weekly meetings and battalion on Saturdays, help to clean the church, evangelise, etc.

It would be virtually impossible to spot a difference in these two individuals judging from their actions. On the inside however, one will be very different from the other. One like Mary would be focusing on what is important, whilst the other, like Martha gets distracted by other stuff.

Like Martha, many youths get easily distracted by other things. These distractions could be friends, music, thoughts, love life, career, studies etc. Whatever it may be, something on the inside impedes people from being 100% with God.

Building a relationship with God through the Holy Spirit should be our number one priority. Nothing should distract us from this goal. Even though we may be in the church and have responsibilities in the church, we cannot allow ourselves to be so occupied by other things that we render our relationship with God less important.

You may have been a good person all of your life. You may also be contributing a lot to the work of God; but if you get distracted from seeking His presence, it is all worthless. You do not gain merit only for doing the right thing in God’s eyes. Recognise that you need God’s mercy. The Holy Spirit only enters the humble-hearted.

It does not matter about the past; it is about being a real offering and giving 100% to God.

Pr Luke Castro

YPG National Coordinator

Reborn

There can't be FRUIT without a TREE. 

And a TREE can only exist if the SEED dies.

The same rules apply for us humans.

If we want to bear much fruit (John 15:5), 

we must bear in mind that we need to grow tall, strong 

and have deep roots like a tree (Jeremiah 17:8).

And in order for that to happen, first, we must DIE (John 12:24).

Got the picture?

P.S. - Make sure you read the verses in yellow

Pr Luke Castro

YPG National Coordinator