I was reminded yesterday of how much God loves His children by our pastor preaching on the Mosaic Covenant,  discussing how God chose the people of Israel as His own and set them apart. What does this have to do with love? God demonstrated His love to the people of Israel by choosing them as His own people, remaining faithful through all of their failures, and giving us an example of who He truly is. Through the Israelites failures in the Old Testament, God has shown us how impossible it is for us to follow His law and standard in our own strength, but He did not leave us there! God, through His son Jesus Christ, has taken the penalty for all our sin, and He has given us the power and strength to obey Him and follow Him through the Holy Spirit who lives in us! Hallelujah! 


I encourage you as you begin this week to remember all that God has done for you, and to rest in the fullness of His power and strength through your life. 


“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”  1 John 3:1-3 


"If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him." John 14:15-21 


“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15:9-11 

~paisley
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(All Scripture quoted from the English Standard Version)

No matter where you may be, it is almost impossible to ignore the policies and laws that are being made by lawmakers. We may be tempted to become angry at the unjustness of their acts, but have we ever thought about what we can do about it? Yes, many of us are too young to make a difference by voting, but even in our youth we can act and make a difference in our government and world, especially as writers. 


As I have mentioned before, we as writers yield an immense amount of power! With stories we can provoke emotion at wrongdoing, but equally valuable is the ability to write about things that matter to us in a direct way, not put into a story, but said as it is. 


Recently I have been learning this as I have been preparing for a week long government class, realizing that writing is important in our responsibility to be a good and godly citizen of any country. We can write to encourage those who are older than us who have the ability to vote to vote for candidates who uphold the truth, and we can also inform people of important matters that may not be obvious. Through all of this, by our actions, we can be a mighty influence, not by our age, but through the gifts that God has given us and our responsibility to the coming generations. 


I challenge and encourage you to be diligent in your writing, so that no matter where God puts you, you may be fully prepared! 


"Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity." 
1 Timothy 4:12 


"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." 
1 Timothy 2:1-4 

~paisley
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(All Scripture quoted from the English Standard Version)