Below is a copy of an email that I recently sent to 15 FIGHTERS!!
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I'm gonna be really honest with you right now. I know there are quite a few names at the top of this email, but that just makes what I'm about to say all the more real.
This morning I was spending time praying and my heart became very heavy. As someone who ministers to teens, it is easy to become discouraged when I think of the direction most young people are headed. I know I'm 28, and that seems old, but I wasn't a teenager that long ago. But things sure are different now. When I was in high school, I was only offered booze once and I was NEVER offered drugs. That's not to say that there weren't a ton of teens doing that stuff, but it was fairly easy to stay away from it. Teens today are just bombarded with temptation and pressure. I haven't even mentioned sex yet. Almost ALL of my friends thought sex was something special. Most of my friends made a commitment to abstinence and most of those kept that promise. It seems like most young people have given up the fight and just want to blend in with culture.
Anyway, let me get to the point. If you're receiving this email it is because God brought you to mind today. Either you are a teen who I currently have the blessing of ministering to/ with - OR - I've had that privilege some time in the last ten years. God brought you to my mind to encourage me today. Like I said, my heart has been heavy at the thought that we are losing the battle for the lives of young people... but I'm wrong. When I think of you, I am reminded that there are young people who are in the fight. There are students who refuse to be typical. And the world is different... better because of it!
Here's what I think is happening. The Darkness is showing itself to be what it has always been... Darkness. It has stopped trying to look like the Light because it doesn't have to. People don't have to be fooled into Darkness. They simply want it. And while that breaks my heart, there is one good benefit. The Darkness makes the Light all that much brighter! The Darkness proves that the Light is there. How would we know what Sunshine is without Shadow.
Well you, my friends, are Sunshine. You may not always feel like that's true of you, but I know that is true of you. My heart was strengthened and given courage at the thought of you today. And know this, I am in this fight with you... and we will win.
This morning I was spending time praying and my heart became very heavy. As someone who ministers to teens, it is easy to become discouraged when I think of the direction most young people are headed. I know I'm 28, and that seems old, but I wasn't a teenager that long ago. But things sure are different now. When I was in high school, I was only offered booze once and I was NEVER offered drugs. That's not to say that there weren't a ton of teens doing that stuff, but it was fairly easy to stay away from it. Teens today are just bombarded with temptation and pressure. I haven't even mentioned sex yet. Almost ALL of my friends thought sex was something special. Most of my friends made a commitment to abstinence and most of those kept that promise. It seems like most young people have given up the fight and just want to blend in with culture.
Anyway, let me get to the point. If you're receiving this email it is because God brought you to mind today. Either you are a teen who I currently have the blessing of ministering to/ with - OR - I've had that privilege some time in the last ten years. God brought you to my mind to encourage me today. Like I said, my heart has been heavy at the thought that we are losing the battle for the lives of young people... but I'm wrong. When I think of you, I am reminded that there are young people who are in the fight. There are students who refuse to be typical. And the world is different... better because of it!
Here's what I think is happening. The Darkness is showing itself to be what it has always been... Darkness. It has stopped trying to look like the Light because it doesn't have to. People don't have to be fooled into Darkness. They simply want it. And while that breaks my heart, there is one good benefit. The Darkness makes the Light all that much brighter! The Darkness proves that the Light is there. How would we know what Sunshine is without Shadow.
Well you, my friends, are Sunshine. You may not always feel like that's true of you, but I know that is true of you. My heart was strengthened and given courage at the thought of you today. And know this, I am in this fight with you... and we will win.
