I want to take this opportunity to challenge you guys because I know that there are a lot of people in this youth group with a lot of potential and desire to serve God. I want to challenge all of you, myself included, to keep in mind this week that every material thing we have on this earth is temporary and will pass away.

   Some people have more money and possessions than others and you should thank God if you live comfortably, which most of us do, but strive to put your hope in things that will last. Just keep in mind the fact that your heart needs to lie with things that will not pass away.

   It used to always trouble me to hear Jesus say things like “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:25) I hadn’t yet realized that the reason Jesus said that is because he knew human nature better than anyone and knew that even though possessions themselves aren’t bad, they will draw us away from himself and trap us in empty and meaningless lives.

   We are called to look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are unseen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. (II Cor. 4:17)

   “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose” –Jim Elliot

    I hope you guys are all doing well and growing in the Lord.

-Landon Loftin