From promiscuity to purity.
Luke Castro
YPG National Coordinator
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
Are You Ready to Quit?
One of the most frequently asked
question is ‘What do I have to do to have an encounter with God?’
Well, in short - SACRIFICE! There's no
other way. If you don’t decide to truly put your life on the altar, meaning to
close your eyes and ears to the things of the world and discipline yourself obey God, you'll not see this great change in your life.
You have to neglect and turn your back
on the things of the flesh (which most often than not, are the things you like
the most e.g. gossiping, listening to worldly music, fornicating etc.) because
these are the things that separate us from God.
If like many young people you are asked,
‘what is the plan for your life?’ you, like they, will undoubtedly say that you
want to be successful, to have money etc. But what I am talking about here is
beyond this.
“Are you ready to be a quitter? ”
So far you are heading in the same
direction as any other youth in this world. Though you have to have your dreams
of achieving great things in this world you must remember that the ultimate
dream, the most important thing is your salvation. If you don’t have this, all
the other things don’t matter.
The heat in Texas summer is almost unbearable. But that’s not even 1%
of what the Bible describes as the lake of fire. It’s such torment that the
Bible says that people will look for death because they want to die and escape
the pain but death will run from them.
If we don’t fight for our salvation then
we are fools! There's no point having money, cars, homes, etc; if you don’t
have your salvation.
This is why we need the Spirit of
understanding. To discern and know what God is trying to tell us - to know what
is good and what is not, in order to conquer and maintain our salvation.
If you have not yet reached this point
of having the new birth it’s because there are things around that you have not
decided to let go of. It may be a tiny thing that seems so insignificant but if
it remains, there's a huge barrier between you and God.
The question is, are you ready to be a
quitter? To quit living your old life, your fleshy desire and to let go of that
thing that is currently impeding you from really knowing God? Like many
youths in the church, you say you want God’s plan for your life, but if your
life is not 100% on the altar, meaning to live according to His rules, then all you are doing is 'blah blah blah'…you have
to take action!
Be honest with yourself. What is
impeding you from getting closer to God?
Luke Castro
YPG National Coordinator
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Friday, February 17, 2012
Dream Come True
The core message of this movie is the choice the students made.
They were a bunch problematic, underachiever students who had failed too many times.
But the teacher, played by Hillary Swank, proposed a change.
They'd have to either accept it or not.
And they did accept it.
It wasn't that simple nevertheless.
They had to make an effort and stick to her proposal.
And that's the key message. They CHOSE to do what they perhaps never did before.
They met her half way. She couldn't do it all for them.
And because of that simple DECISION, they turned from negative to positive statistic.
How about you? What do you choose? To blame everyone else and be the same or make a difference?
P.S. The movie is based on true story.
Luke Castro
YPG National Coordinator
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
I Have a Dream...
I've watched this movie numerous times. It's very inspirational.
If you haven't watched it yet I strongly encourage to do it within
the next 3 days as I'll be writing a post about it on Friday.
There are 4 types of youth in this world. I'll talk to you more about it on the next blog.
Luke Castro
YPG National Coordinator
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Heart said: Dude, that's not for TODAY.
BRAIN: Did you know that God condemns TATTOOS and PIERCING of the body?
HEART: "Hey dude, that’s not for today. Man, that’s the Old Testament. I’m under the New Testament".
BRAIN: Okay. I tell you what, did you know that "bestiality" (sicko, perverted, sex with an animal) was ONLY forbidden in the Old Testament Levitical Law? Does that mean a Holy God NOW – under the New Testament, approves of bestiality?
HEART: Well...
BRAIN: Wait, wait... have you ever read Leviticus 19:29? The verse immediately AFTER the "it’s not for me" Leviticus 19:28? This is the only place in the Bible that God directly forbids someone to prostitute their daughter.
HEART: Uhh...
BRAIN: And since, it’s ONLY in the Old Testament Levitical Law (and "hey, dude, we’re NOT under the law") – it MUST be okay by the Lord for a parent to cause their daughter to prostitute. Same sick, perverted, wicked, line of reasoning as the "it’s ONLY in the Old Testament-tattoo-bearer-wearer". Same reasoning... Same disobedience... Same perversion of the Word of God.
HEART: Come on man...
BRAIN: What about human sacrifice of children? No where in the New Testament is this forbidden. Does that mean that NOW under the New Testament, God Almighty endorses throwing babies into the fire as a human sacrifice? Think.
HEART: Oh boy... I always come short. I hate you brain...
This is a call for those who want to use their head (reason) and not their heart (emotions).
P.S.: Go back to the top and stare at the picture. Draw your own conclusions.
Luke Castro
YPG National Coordinator.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
But Lord, You Know...
This is the reply given by many youths when called by God to serve Him: 'But Lord, You know...' What comes next usually sounds like this; 'I’m still so young', 'My English is not good', 'I’ve done so many bad things', 'I will lose my friends', 'My family would turn against me,' etc.
A man by the name of Moses also found
himself in a similar situation when he was called upon by God. Moses had more
than one or two reasons for him to say to God; 'You know...' To speak of a few:
Moses stuttered in his speech, he was a foreigner, he was adopted, he was poor,
he worked for his father-in-law and he was also a murderer. Moses could have
used any of these circumstances as an excuse of being unfit to be used by God.
Although the circumstances may not
exactly be the same, many youths may be able to match their current situation
close to the one of Moses. However, despite our complexes, the question we
should be asking ourselves is, If God used a man like Moses, then why can’t He
use me?”.
"For you see your
calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty,
not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of this world
to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of this world to
put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and
the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to
bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His
presence." (Corinthians 1:26-29)
Understand from this passage that God is
not looking for perfect people. In fact we see that He uses those who are
considered useless according to this world. The poor, weak, basic, small! He
raises up such people and through their testimony, His name is glorified.
Jacob, Moses, David, Joseph, Gideon, Hannah. You maybe despised, neglected,
unskilled, uneducated or abused; but God is still calling you. The only missing
piece is your decision. Even though God may be calling us, it is up to you to
answer Him. You must want Him.
The key is sacrifice. Usually when God
speaks to us, most people see it as the pastor’s words and therefore ignore
God’s instructions. Just like Moses’ sacrifice was to return to Egypt, the land
in which he was wanted for murder; your sacrifice will not be easy. You may
have to end certain friendships, to let go of grudges, deprive your enjoyment,
confessing to something you did... Whatever it might be, just as Moses went
down into Egypt, we will have to do what God asks of us.
The situation that led up to Moses’
encounter with God came about because he refused to be called the son of
pharaoh’s daughter, as well as to refuse the luxuries that come with that
title.
"But by faith Moses,
when become of age, refused to be called the son of pharaoh’s daughter,
choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the
passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than
the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward." (Hebrews 11:24-26)
Like Moses refused to be called the son
of Pharaoh’s, how many of you are ready to say no to the things that are not of
God. Are you ready to reject your will, pay the price and turn your back to
sinful pleasures? Would you put more value in what Jesus has in store for you
or what the world has to offer?
Everyone in this world will one day pay
a price, either for good or for bad.
Luke Castro
YPG National Coordinator
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