Stay True to the Dreams of Your Youth

September 11th is an important date in the minds of all Americans. It is the date that, in 2001, terrorists did their terrible deeds, many died, our country suffered, and the entire world entered a new phase of international relations and crisis. On that same date in 2006 something of a different nature happened and in many ways was more personal to my family. On that day our nephew Andrew, a recent graduate of Westmont College in California, took what little money he had and set off for a trip around the world. He went to most European countries, Russia, China, Indo China, Indonesia, and then Egypt. Along the way he stopped in Bulgaria to visit his twin brother Eric, who is doing a twenty-eight month stint with the Peace Corp. Andrew ended up in Cairo, Egypt, a city that he now considers his favorite in the world. He did a few months of Arabic studies, worked as an English editor for an Egyptian magazine, rode buses, cars, trains, and the like, and finally, after nine months, made it to the suburbs of Denver, Colorado where he grew up. Stay True to the Dreams of Your Youth is the name of his web blog, which was the inspiration for the blog you are now reading. Andrew kept up his journal regularly. His family and friends were in constant contact with him, not only in word, but also in the sense that we could hear and see what he was doing...or better, what he was up to. What a wonderful technology the Internet can be. It helped us to share his joys and it also helped to salve our fears for his safety. There is a posting Andrew made here to let me know that he had seen this blog and approved. His approval is actually quite important to me. In that entry you will see that he reminds me that the Internet and blogs can be used for both good and bad.

Isn't that a principle we discussed at length on many different levels during this last year's Small Group at my home and also in Student Impact Sunday mornings? So much of life is based upon our choice as to how we are to use something. Whether that thing be an object, a person, or a relationship, we find ourselves facing daily the need to decide how we are going to apply the life God has given us. That life can be a force for good or evil. What we choose to do, the act or actions that we take makes all the difference. Job could have cursed God and died. No one would have remembered him. Job's counselors could have continued to mourn and weep with him, they could have kept their mouths shut and hollow opinions to themselves. Paul could have rationalized his vision on the road to Damascus and disobeyed Christ's calling. He could have invested in a stone quarry. Paul could have said, "You deserved it." He could have said, "I still hate." The people who witnessed the miracles of Christ could have chosen to be dissatisfied and demanded more. More of the lepers could have come back and thanked Jesus. The rich young ruler could have dropped all of his possessions and followed. The Psalmists could have chosen not to have written songs of praise and blessing. Jonathan could have betrayed David. David could have chosen to not seduce the beautiful woman on the roof. The prodigal son could have chosen to remain proud in the pig pen and died there. His father could have turned him away when he returned. The prodigal's older brother could have run out and met him too.

As Captain Gawboy stated in our last lesson in Student Impact this year, we can never know the impact of each and every decision we make. We never know for sure what the outcomes will be. However, we do know that the Lord Jesus Christ wants us to be obedient to The Word of God. He desires us to study His Word, His teachings, and to do the best we can with what we learn and know. He tells us to pray. He calls us to be in close relationship to Him. As you read this entry consider that God wants us to live righteous and holy lives. Consider too that you are young. Paul, on behalf of his Lord, tells you to not let older people put you down because you are young. Christ calls you to be bold and righteous. God will give you a dream, a dream or goal in your youth. Ask! Grab it! Seize the Day! Do it for yourself, but do it for Christ too. Every moment can count. Every decision does matter. Though we don't know each outcome, we know God is faithful. Our most important decision, of coarse, as Captain Gawboy stated, is to decide to walk with Christ. This means you choose to glorify God and goodness with your life. What could be better? What better shield to secure eternity, now? That is an outcome we know. That is our greatest grace from God.

Andrew is now working to make a few bucks so that he can have a little spending money available when he starts his masters program at Georgetown University in late August. You see, Andrew decided to honor the Lord with hard work. The Lord has promised Andrew that He will open many doors for him if he works hard and is faithful. Andrew believes this. Andrew indicated on his blog that he spent only six thousand dollars or so in the nine months that he spent learning about God's world and All of His People. He traveled over 38,000 miles! Some of us spend that much on a car, insurance, and gas. Other than teaching you to be a good consumer, what do we learn from our cars that comes anywhere close to what Andrew learned in his travels!? What Andrew chose to do with his money! Wow!!

Dream in your youth. Submit those dreams to the Lord in prayer. Then...stay true to them.

A Humble Beginning

Difficulties abound when trying to make a first entry on a new Blog. As a fifty-four year old the whole virtual environment is somewhat threatening. Inspired by my nephew Andrew's Blog, (he traveled the world in 2006 and 2007 logging over 38,000 miles in nine months, documenting his experiences as he went to each different country) I am taking the digital plunge and applying this new and wonderful technology to one of my life's passions. One of the greatest delights of my life has been the privilege of teaching young men and women about the Gospel of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. I have been doing this for over thirty years and I have no idea how many young people I have engaged in study, but it is many. Though I can not remember them all by name their faces are with me. The format of my classes has always been under the authority of a local, evangelically oriented church. Most of my teaching opportunities have come to me in the form of classic morning Sunday School. I just love Sunday School! I am sure that makes some a little uncomfortable as early Sunday morning to most people is anything but to love. Getting out of bed to go and teach on Sunday morning has never been a burden to me...it is like the first morning of vacation every Sunday. I have exclusively worked with junior and senior high school students.

For the past four years I have also lead a small group Bible class/discussion at my home on Sunday nights. This study follows the local high school calendar year and is also an official feature of the youth ministry at our church. This study is designed for high school men who want to go deeper into Scripture, strengthen their knowledge and faith, make a firm commitment to participation, and grow in community with their fellow students. We meet at 6:30 p.m. and the men can go home whenever they want. Our official go home time is 9:00 p.m., but often we find ourselves talking much later. Jokingly I tell the guys that when they see me heading upstairs with my pajamas on they will have to turn out the lights themselves when they leave. I have the full support of my dear wife of 31 years. This support is a precious and greatly appreciated gift to me from her.

Our studies have been taken directly from the Bible. We have studied verse by verse; Proverbs, Romans, Psalms, Revelation, Job, and The Acts of the Apostles. We have done some topical work which has flowed from our studies. We have not been shy about what I like to call rabbit trails. I have found that we all can learn much from some of then. However, being the oldest and most experienced member of the group, we have agreed that I can choose for the group which rabbit hole we will go down. This has worked well over the years. Along with our studies we have a time of sharing and a time for praying for each other and our differing needs. This time, as much as the study time, has been a great blessing to me and the young men in our group. It has been a time of self reflection and a time to focus, not on ourselves, but rather on the Lord Jesus Christ first, and the needs of our brothers next. We always find that though some prayers can never be confirmed to have been answered, the simple act of surrender and giving to others brings peace and unexpected answers to many of life's challenges. We also have a policy which is called The Open Chair. This means that our group is open to new people who may be lead to our group through our church contacts, group member friendships, and parental requests. We never want to become in-grown nor do we want to be seen as an exclusive club. This is certainly something that would go against Christ's teachings. The world of public school is so saturated by this unfortunate sociological reality. We would want to be considered counter cultural on this issue. Unfortunately, this exclusivity also infects the Church more often than we would like. We want to be alert to this potential error and actively resist it.

As we initiate this Blog it is my hope that we will be able to use it to continue and to enhance our dialogue. We will attempt to update the entries at least once a week with reviews of our subject matter, the questions and answers that we encountered, and submit additional questions that may have come to me or one of the students after our classes. I encourage class and small group members to use this format to ask serious faith questions. My desire is that this Blog will remain limited to group participants and not open to the general public. I ask the young men to be cautious as to who they give this Blog address to so that our discussions can be uninhibited and more beneficial to all of us. I will reserve the right to edit and or delete any entry in an effort to improve clarity and protect the integrity of our group and the reputation of Jesus Christ.

I look forward to making entries on a weekly basis. May the Lord bless this effort and all the young men that I have come to love and admire.