by Ken Turner | Faith
- God will bring light to your moments of darkness. For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. Psalm 18:28
- Do not be afraid. The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1
- God’s light will bring you through. O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles. Psalm 43:3
- The day and night are both in God’s The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun. Psalm 74:16
- God still cares even in times of darkness. Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. Psalm 112:4
- God’s word will light the path. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Psalm 119:105
- God is 100% engaged in my life whether it’s light or dark. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. Psalm 139:12
- The darkness is temporary. Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me. Micah 7:8
- Some day soon you will be able to impact others because you experienced this time of darkness. What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. Matthew 10:27
- If you know Jesus Christ, you are connected to the true Light. Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. John 8:12
How has God been at work in your life. Post a comment below or share your thoughts with others on this topic. Call us and share your thought s or topics you’d like to see covered at 423-381-0018.
Ken Turner
Learn more at https://kenturnerministries.org/walking-with-god/
Email me at kenturner@highimpactteens.org
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by Ken Turner | Faith
Authenticity, humility and an approachable spirit will open doors for you to impact people deeply. To be real and to be consistently real is a quality Jesus not only modeled, but He said we should strive for it too.
There’s no such thing as a perfect person so we can rest easy knowing that it’s a goal that we just can’t achieve. But authenticity, the ability to choose to be real… now that is achievable. Not only is it achievable… it’s essential if you want God to use you to the fullest for His purposes.
When you read the word “guile” it’s important to know that the definition of the word basically means “inconsistency, hypocrisy, fraud or deceit.” I Peter 2:22 says of Jesus that “in Him was found no guile.” Jesus was everything He claimed to be. Wherever He was, whoever He was with, in all situations He was real.
Here are a few places “guile” is mentioned in scripture…
I Peter 2:1, “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings…”
I Peter 2:22, “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:”
Psalm 101:2, “I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.”
- To be real is to be consistent in your words and actions.
- To be real is to be the person at home that you are away from home.
- To be real means you don’t let envy or jealousy affect your relationships.
- To be real means you will walk with a pure heart and not live with wrong motives.
- To be real means you will be okay with your strengths and weaknesses, you will be self-aware and not claim to be more than you are or less than you are… you will be true before God and trust Him to use you as the person He created you to be.
Read Psalm 101 and notice how David committed to be real before God.
I’d love to hear from you about how God is at work in your life. You can email me, post a comment or even leave a voicemail at 423-381-0018.
Ken Turner
Learn more at https://kenturnerministries.org/walking-with-god/
Email me at kenturner@highimpactteens.org
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by Ken Turner | Faith
Love God with All Your Heart: Mark 12:30
“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart…”
The scribe asked Jesus which commandment is the greatest of all. The question wasn’t which commandment came first in order of all commandments, but which commandment stands out as one that carries weight and dignity for a believer. Of course all of God’s commandments are highly important because they are God’s commandments. But what if you knew which commandments were weighted by Jesus himself as those of utmost importance? Well… now you know. If you want to get one thing right in this life, it’s this… love God with all your heart.
Of all the pleasures of life, of all the obligations of life, of all the commitments of life, of all the relationships and all the people you might ever want to please… make sure you understand this… your love for God is more important than them all. When you love Him, it is from that place all the decisions of life will be determined. You will lead your life from a core conviction of love for God. You will decide, you will choose, you will deny temptations, you will draw toward certain things and people and you will push away from certain things and people, all based on your deep love for God.
Your love for God is preceded by a commitment that He is the one God. Mark 12:29 states that the Lord our God is one Lord. When you realize this you will not live with a divided heart. He alone is our one Lord. This commitment to God as our one God makes Him the center of all our affections, all our obligations and all or desires. This positions God to have the sole rights to our life, our plans and our future. Nothing or no one will supersede Him as the most important voice in all we are and all we will ever become.
When you love God with all your heart…
- His opinion is more important than anyone else’s opinion.
- Pleasing Him is more important than pleasing anyone else.
- Obeying Him is a major priority.
- When you disobey Him you feel convicted.
- When you experience His conviction, you don’t ignore it… you respond by asking forgiveness.
- You have a desire to spend time with Him.
- You have a desire to spend time with people who love Him.
- Even when you don’t have the answers to life’s challenges, you still trust Him and put all your faith in Him.
I’d love to hear from you about how God is at work in your life. You can email me, post a comment or even leave a voicemail at 423-381-0018.
Ken Turner
Learn more at https://kenturnerministries.org/walking-with-god/
Email me at kenturner@highimpactteens.org
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by Ken Turner | Faith
Remember building houses out of cardboard when you were a kid? I heard about some kids who built a playhouse and it didn’t take long before they realized they needed a few rules to keep order in the house.
The kids came up with three basic rules:
- Nobody act big.
- Nobody act small.
- Everybody act medium.
There’s something very special about being surrounded with great friends! Friendship fills you up. It’s that ingredient that brings purpose and joy to so many things. Think about the things in life you really enjoy. Whether you enjoy fishing, boating, riding horses, ATV’s or almost anything, it’s obvious that it’s more fun to do with someone else.
When God created the heavens and the earth He said “it was good” but He said “It was not good” than a man be alone. From the very beginning God wanted us to know that we were made to be in relationship with others.
As important as friends are… you will soon learn that some of the most difficult experiences you will ever face in life will be connected to struggles in relationships. Great friends are important and I truly believe every person needs to have at least one best friend that you can be totally honest and transparent with.
Proverbs 18:24 says, “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”
If you are currently facing challenges in your friendships, remember that God wants you to remember that you can’t control the actions and attitudes of others, but you can control yours. So make a commitment to be the best friend a person could ever have.
How do you honor God in your friendships?
- Be a faithful friend, not up and down or hot and cold.
- Be an honest friend… always speak the truth in love.
- Be a friend who is a giver not a getter. Ask how you can invest in your friend and help them become a better Christian, a better son or daughter, a better student, better in every way.
- Be attentive. Reach out, respond and invest the time into a friendship that matters.
God can use you in mighty ways in the life of others. But He uses those who are humble, not proud. He uses those who realize that it’s not about acting small or big… it’s about acting medium.
Read I Corinthians 13 and notice all the elements that define a caring friend.
I’d love to hear from you about how God is at work in your life. You can email me, post a comment or even leave a voicemail at 423-381-0018.
Ken Turner
Learn more at https://kenturnerministries.org/walking-with-god/
Email me at kenturner@highimpactteens.org
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by Ken Turner | Faith
There are so many people who grow up in church and spend their teen years actively involved in youth group but find themselves spiritually empty. It’s not something those of us who have invested our lives in youth ministry really want to talk about very much. You would think that a teenager who is committed to going to church regularly and is hearing the Word taught on a consistent basis would become a thriving Christian and continue to thrive spiritually for years and years to come.
But the hard reality is that about 70% of youth who grow up in church end up leaving the church after high school. That’s tough for those of us in youth ministry to accept. But it is happening.
If I could speak to the heart of a teenager today or even a college student, I’d like to share what I’ve learned from decades of youth ministry about the real path to your spiritual walk with God.
You see, many years ago I began to realize that teens in church for the most part were not really growing spiritually. Just attending church, listening to a message from the pastor, youth pastor or Sunday school teacher and leaving only to return again in a few days to repeat the process isn’t really enough to transform you into a strong, growing Christian. The truth is that many students are much more strategic about how to “not listen” than they are about really listening anyway so even though you are there in church, how long has it been since you really listened intently to the message?
This leads me to a realization. Just being in church does not automatically guarantee spiritual growth. But there is a way for you to experience incredible growth in your Christian life and it has a lot more to do with your approach to your spiritual growth than the responsibility of your pastor, youth pastor and teachers to wow you with their best sermons week after week.
It comes down to this… every Christian needs to commit to their own spiritual growth plan.
Several years ago I began to track on a weekly basis over 80 teens in our church youth group in areas of spiritual development and we tracked them in these areas for five years. Turns out, there were 7 key habits that were making all the difference in their personal spiritual growth. Here are the 7 key spiritual growth habits that made the difference. We learned that the habits and the frequency of the habits were important. For example, teens who had their devotions at least 4 days per week out of 7 were really growing spiritually. Also we noticed that teens who memorized at least 5 verses of scripture per month found that scripture memory made a big impact… but it didn’t necessarily need to be at a level of hundreds of verses a month to make a difference.
Here are 7 Habits That Will Help You Grow as a Christian
- Devotions–
Keep a devotional journal and consistently write down the truths you are learning from scripture and how you are putting these truths in to practice. Make a commitment to read the Bible at least 4 days or more each week. Read as few as five verses or more if you like. The key is to read, understand and apply the Word. Focus on getting something from your Bible reading not on trying to read large portions of scripture just to check it off your to do list.
- Prayer –
Keep a journal of prayer requests and as much as possible be specific in your prayers so you can record the date God answered prayer in your life. Set a goal to pray at least 4 times each week over your prayer list and be specific enough with some of your requests that you can actually measure that it was answered.
- Scripture Memory –
Memorize verses of scripture and allow God to use the scripture to help you grow as a Christian. Set a goal to memorize 5 verses of scripture each month and continue to review them over and over until they have become “carved into your heart.”
- Sermon Notes –
Take a journal to church with you and take notes on the Bible messages and lessons you hear. Refer back to these notes often in order to remember what God has taught you. List to the messages with a desire to learn and grow.
- Christian Service –
Find ways to serve the Lord by helping others. Put your faith into practice by helping others in need and showing God’s love. Talk to your pastor or teachers about ways to actively serve God in your community. Do at least one “Christian service” action each month. Volunteer at a nursing home or hospital, help at a homeless shelter, serve young children, do a missionary project. You’ll be amazed how much your faith comes alive when you serve others out of a heart for God. Oh, and the best Christian service you can ever do is to share your faith with a friend. Tell them what God is doing in your life and introduce them to Christ.
- Sermon Audio –
Listen to Bible messages throughout the week. Find good Bible teachers and preachers on the radio or on the internet and listen to messages that will help you and challenge you to grow spiritually. Subscribe to podcasts of great preachers, look for messages that will inspire and challenge you. Set a goal to listen to one sermon per week outside of church.
- Read Books –
Read good Christian books on topics that will help you grow spiritually. Read Christian biographies of others who have served God and been used of Him mightily. Set a goal to read one Christian book each month that will inspire you and teach you how to be a Christian who really experiences God.
Read Psalm 119 this week and look for all the ways God says to approach His word with your “whole heart.” Determine now that you won’t live as a “half-hearted” Christian.
If you are interested in learning more about our High Impact Teen Spiritual Journal, click here.
I’d love to hear from you about how God is at work in your life. You can email me, post a comment or even leave a voicemail at 423-381-0018.
Ken Turner
Learn more at https://kenturnerministries.org/walking-with-god/
Email me at kenturner@highimpactteens.org
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by Ken Turner | Faith
It’s one thing to know about God but it’s completely different to really know Him. It’s one thing to know that He can answer other people’s prayers but that’s not the same thing as experiencing answers to your own personal prayers to Him. You might know in your head that God has a plan for His children but when you clearly know His will for your own life, that is a life-changing experience.
You can read in the book of Job a fascinating true story about the man whose name was Job who walked with God, feared God and shunned evil. He was known for praying faithfully everyday for his children and his extended family. If you want to see a great example of a man of God who truly lived a blameless life… Job is your man.
God did something really interesting in Job’s life. He allowed him to go through some deep trials and when Job came out on the other end of tough times, he had moved from knowing about God to seeing God in a whole new way. The story of Job is a reality check for all of us. It shows us that no matter how much we know about God or how spiritual we may seem to be… there is still so much more room for us to grow in our walk with Him.
Four Keys to Moving from the Head to the Heart with God.
- Even the most spiritual person still needs to know God in deeper ways. Job 1:1, “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.
- Even the wealthiest of God’s children need to go deeper in their walk with Him. Job 1:3, “His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.”
- The spiritual victory we experience today will be challenged deeply in the future. Read the full first chapter of Job and see how he lost everything.
- Knowing God and seeing God are not the same thing. Job was known for being very spiritual, being very blessed by God with material wealth and being very strong in character. But after God allowed him to go through some massive trials Job realized he had a blind spot. He revealed it in Job 42:5 when he said, “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.” Job realized he had spent years of his life living for God by believing in the truths of God’s word but he still needed to go much deeper. And the depth of his faith came when he truly experienced God as his only source of hope, strength, identity, love, guidance and anything and everything that brings true meaning to life. If you want to get the full effect of Job’s eyes being opened to how little he really knew of God’s presence and power, read Job chapters 38-42. It is an amazing dialogue between him and God.
So remember, no matter where you are with God right now, the goal is to truly experience Him… not just know about Him. The goal is to move from the head to the heart and see His fingerprints all over your life everyday.
I’d love to hear from you about how God is at work in your life. You can email me, post a comment or even leave a voicemail at 423-381-0018.
Ken Turner
Learn more at https://kenturnerministries.org/walking-with-god/
Email me at kenturner@highimpactteens.org
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