ambassadors for the risen Christ ministries

by Shawn Brasseaux

I have the privilege of ministering to young people, a matter that I do not take lightly. It is my hope and prayer that any young people reading this will consider what is said and taught, and act accordingly.

I was born in the late ’80s. When I look at my generation today, I see young adults; I also see the end result of a childhood having little to no Bible study at home and/or church. Not to say that everyone in their early 20s is a murderer, a thief, or a fornicator, but my generation is in such a dilemma with regards to life issues and values. I can only wonder what will become of those born in the 2000s and following.

Our young people today are so confused when it comes to making wise decisions. One pastor commented on the way kids dress these days: “our young people have no idea how to properly dress themselves.” How true. They have no idea what “modest” is, let alone what is not “modest.” Many young men cannot seem to raise their pants high enough, and many young ladies cannot seem to wear skirts and shorts that are long enough to be considered “modest, proper, and godly.” Our young people, unfortunately, are growing up destitute of the truth, but this goes far beyond simple daily attire.

I see so many young people smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, engaging in fornication, and being picked up by the police for drugs or violence. Unwanted pregnancies, suicides, and incarcerations. Brilliant minds, young people with such potential and energy, but were swept away by this evil world system. Their lives damaged, some permanently (as in physical death). Those who straighten up later in life are bothered by regret; others physically disabled and suffering from poor health because of their mistakes.

Once, while speaking to a youth minister at a nursing home, I learned that he could not convince many kids to accompany him to visit the elderly. He and I both agreed that those young people were too busy with worldly affairs. They had no interest in furthering God’s Word. On the college campus, I have seen it for over four years. Most people want nothing to do with the Lord Jesus Christ. I have found that many young people who do have an interest in God are enticed by religion, and have become a part of a manmade system rather than the Church the Body of Christ that the Lord has established.

There are many young people who have no respect for authority. Kids these days are so disrespectful in schools. Some parents let their children do whatever they want, and when these children grow up, they reason that they can break the law and get off scot-free. As the Bible says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right” (Ephesians 6:1 KJV). Yet how many parents even know about this Bible verse, let alone children? If our parents do not enforce their children’s obedience, why should we be shocked when the children rebel against the governmental authorities and go to jail or prison?

Our young people, especially the young women, have been beguiled into following in the footsteps of Hollywood. They have no sense as to what real beauty entails. How many dear young lives were lost after they felt they were “too fat,” “too nerdy-looking,” or “too skinny.” The Bible says this “outward man,” this fleshly tabernacle, is “temporal,” one day to die and be buried in the ground (2 Corinthians 4:16,18). Why place so much emphasis on something that will decompose anyway? After all, “…man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7 KJV).

Today, unfortunately, about 50 percent of all marriages end in divorce. With that being said, we know that our young people are not growing up in one household where there is father and mother, man and woman. This greatly affects the children, and their experience with divorce will play a heavy role in their own marriages one day. Divorce confuses children because divorce makes marriage meaningless, and those children affected will have no idea how to treat their spouses when they are married adults.

I look at those my age, and I see those precious people groping in spiritual darkness. They have no understanding as to how they should act and what should they believe. For example, when I went on a school field trip, nearly all of my classmates went into the bars. I was invited to go into those bars, but I declined. When they returned from the bars, most of them could barely walk and speak. I sat in a classroom where none of the people knew the definition of “agape” (God’s love for man). They thought “agape” was the name of a religion! How does God feel when He looks at this?

If you are a young person today, I strongly encourage you to keep the following in mind for the rest of your life. Remember that you have your whole life ahead of you (hopefully). Right now, you have choices to make. The Lord can only instruct you as how to make those decisions, but they are YOUR decisions, and neither He nor I will make them for you.

The most important decision you can make is get saved. Remember that God loved you so much that He died for your sins. If you are not saved today, and you do not have eternal life as a present possession, will you make the decision right now to place your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour?

The Bible says sinners are worthy of eternal death, separation from God forever in a place called the lake of fire, but “God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 KJV). Christ shed His sinless blood to pay for everything that is wrong with you. No matter what you have done, are currently doing, or will do, the blood of Christ has already forgiven all sin for everyone! Furthermore, Christ Jesus rose again from the dead the third day, to justify everyone who places his or her faith in Him and His finished work on the cross (Romans 4:25).

Make wise decisions now based on God’s Word, so you do not regret it later. Through personal Bible study (using the King James Bible “rightly divided”), you will gain wisdom far greater than anything you will learn from another book or by sitting in a classroom. You will learn God’s will for your life, and God’s will for your life is for you to be saved and understand His Word to you so you can see how you fit into His sovereign plan of the ages.

After you are saved, you let your life bring God the glory. When you place your faith in God’s Word to you, God’s Word will transform you into something magnificent. It will be Christ living His life in and through you, and THAT, my young readers, THAT will bring success and THAT will honor and please God.

Remember what 1 John 2:15-17 says about this world passing away one day, it and all its “glory” is fading away to eventually become nonexistent:

“15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”

Do not base your decisions on the world’s view because the world’s wisdom is “foolishness” to God (1 Corinthians 1:20). Do not get caught up in the pleasures and cares of this world so that you lose sight of the Lord Jesus Christ and His will for your life. Remain sexually pure until marriage. Stay out of trouble. Be an example to the lost world. If you have younger brothers or sisters, you need to set a godly example for them. Trust me, they are watching you! Let Christ live His life in you, and you will be different. The world will see you as “odd,” but so what because everything that God does and says is “odd” to the world.

If I can ever be of assistance to you, contact me at arcministries@gmail.com and I would be honored to help you in any way I can.

“Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12 KJV).