Emily and Larissa looking at Cecily's name
Abi and Sophia
The first lesson this year was a review of the first set, which we went over last year. Sylvia did the odd lessons, Jael did the even.
Have you noticed a common theme in a lot of these lessons? Maybe… surrender? We keep talking about how we need to surrender to God and try to please Him. Like Jael said in Developing a Disciplined Walk with God, He needs to be a priority in our lives. But why?
Being Strong For the Lord In Your Youth
For those of you who have been in Bright Lights before, you know what the acronym “BRIGHT” stands for: Being Radiant In Godliness, Holiness, and Testimony. But what exactly does that acronym mean, and how do we apply it?
Radiance basically means brightness… if you’re radiant, you’re visible; noticeable. So being radiant in godliness, holiness, and testimony means that you are relying on God so much, being so pure, and having such a great testimony that EVERYONE notices; God’s love and joy fairly shines from you! It’s as if you painted your face with glow-in-the-dark paint and then walked outside at 9 in the evening… trust me, everyone around you would notice! His joy in us is supposed to be that obvious that no one can help but see.
It’s not that we’re trying to gain that attention for ourselves… going along with the “glow-in-the-dark face paint analogy,” people wouldn’t walk up to you and say, “Wow, your skin glows! You are so cool!” No, they’d realize that the glow wasn’t coming from you; it was coming from something else: the paint. In the same way, we’re supposed to reflect Christ so that when others see us, they see Christ. Matthew 5:16 says, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” The whole purpose of radiance is to point others to the Lord.
All right, so we need to be radiant… that means we need to have Christ’s joy in us… and that means we need to have Christ in us… and that means we need to know Christ. For once, I'm going to ask a question that requires easy, “Sunday-school answers”: How do we get to know Christ?
(Read Bible; pray; church/worship)
Very good! Let’s talk about those one by one: firstly, reading the Bible.
The Bible is so amazing! It has wisdom for every situation we’ll ever encounter in life. It’s vital to establish regular Bible-reading habits while we’re still young… starting with 5 minutes a day, then increasing it to 10, then 15… or starting with a chapter a day, and then increasing that to 2, then 3… whatever your goal, it’s important to be intentional about reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating on God’s word. That’s one of the major goals of Bright Lights this year!
Prayer, also, is really important. Think about the people you love most in your life: you want to spend time with them and talk to them often, right? Why should God be any different? We are to love Him above anyone else and rely on Him to meet all of our emotional needs. The awesome thing about God is that He’s ALWAYS there and ALWAYS willing to listen to us... He is NEVER too busy for us. He loves it when we pour out our hearts to Him, when we tell him our worries, and when we trust Him to take care of us.
Worship is something that most people think of as “Sunday-morning church…” boring; let’s get it over with. But real worship has nothing boring about it! Real worship is being awestruck by how wonderful God is and praising Him with all your heart. This can and should happen just about anywhere… when observing His creation, in church, singing praises to Him, reading His word, talking to Him… all the time! Worship can be expressed in many ways as well- music is a great way.
These three areas are ones we’re hoping to emphasize a lot in the group this year as we grow in our relationships with the Lord. To “be strong for the Lord in our youth,” we need to truly know the Lord, love Him deeply, and desire to please Him above all else.
GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR PARENTS
What was the first gift you got when you were born? Your parents, right? I mean, they were your parents, for better or for worse, the moment you came into this world! And, believe it or not, they will be your parents until they (or you) die! So, it becomes rather important to have a good relationship with them. After all, if you're gonna spend 50-60 years with some people, it'd be a good idea to like them, right? Besides, good child/parent relationships are a rarity in today's world. Yet, few things are more greatly commanded in the Bible. God commands it in Exodus 20:12 - “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you." If you notice, God is speaking to youth, because children are very reward-oriented. So, God offers a reward. :-)
Now, before I start, let's get one thing straight. When you are younger, your relationship with your parents is more master to servant than friend to friend. They tell you to do something, and if you don't, there will be negative consequences. This is good, and is what God commands. ("Children, obey your parents in The Lord, for this is right.") As daughters, you will most likely remain under your parents' authority until you are married. (Yes, I know that doesn't cover EVERYONE, but, Scripturally, that is what presented.) But as you get older, your relationship changes. For example, when I was little, if I didn't do exactly what my parents said, I would probably get a spanking. They controlled pretty much every aspect of my life. But, as I got older, they started letting me to more stuff. Yes, I am still under their authority, but they now let me stay at home by myself, drive places by myself, and pick my own school schedule.
But how do you get a good relationship with your parents? What does a good relationship look like? [story of girl who told everything to her Mom] If you have a good relationship with someone, you tell them everything! You enjoy hanging out with them. That is what you want!
That, of course, presents the question, "how do I get a good relationship with my parents?" I wish I knew a hard-cut answer, but I'll tell you what I know. 1) Respect them. This will increase goodwill on both sides. It doesn't make sense, but it really works. 2) Pray for them. Not just once. Not just for a week. But pray for them for at least a month. Every day. You won't be disappointed by the results. 3) Talk with them (when they aren't busy). Most parents love to hear what their kids have to say! 4) Help them. Do whatever your parents ask cheerfully, but also, see if you can't help them in unexpected ways.
Jesus is recorded as honoring his parents in Luke 2, when he goes to the Temple with His parents. Even though He was GOD, He submitted to them, went home with them, and obeyed them. (Luke 2:51) And, since we want to be like Jesus, we want to do what He did, right? :-) A right relationship with your parents will set you apart from most girls in the world today, and will make you more like Jesus. :-)
More specifically, how will a good relationship help with Bright Lights this year? Well, this year, we will be focusing more on parent involvement than we did last year. We've already asked your parents to help you with whatever "homework" (although I hate to use that term) we give. They want to help you grow into gorgeous young ladies of God, so don't view their help as overbearing or an intrusion, but, rather, view it as an opportunity to ask questions and to grow. :-) Moms and Dads have great insights when it comes to the Bible, and they're pretty cool people, too.
Gaining a Clear Conscience
Psalm 51:10-12: Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Do not cast me from our presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.
Having a clear conscience is essential to a pure heart. How many of you have ever ignored your conscience when it started telling you that you shouldn’t do something? (Everyone’s hand should go up!) It can be easy to do at first, but often as time goes on, the guilt gets worse and worse.
How many of you have listened to the Adventures in Odyssey episode, The Tangled Web?
For those of you who haven’t heard it, it’s the story of a young boy named Jeremy. Jeremy’s mother gives him some money to go and buy her some flour… he is supposed to go straight there and come right back. However, he goes to Whit’s end to get some ice cream, gets sidetracked by playing… and somewhere along the way, he loses the money. Obviously, he’s pretty worried about this. He gets home, and of course, he’s pretty late. His mother is really worried: “Jeremy, what took you so long? Where’s the flour?” Jeremy mutters, “I lost the money.” His mother is a bit confused; “What do you mean you lost the money?” All of a sudden, Jeremy loses his nerve and blurts, “Someone took it from me.” To get out of trouble, he tells this long, complicated lie about how he was robbed by “some teenager”… he thinks it’ll just get him out of trouble, but then his mom calls his dad… and his dad calls his principal… and the principal calls the police… soon the story is all over town. Eventually, the mayor of the town gives Jeremy an award in front of the entire town for his bravery in fighting off his violent attacker! Jeremy never confesses to his lie, and eventually the whole incident is forgotten. At the end of the episode, Whit says to Connie, to whom he’s telling the story (she’s planning to do something her parents won’t like) that she could listen to her conscience, not do what she’s planning, and talk to her parents, or – in his words – “You can spend the rest of your life like Jeremy did, always wondering if SOMEBODY’s going to find out.”
A guilty conscience is TORTURE! It damages your testimony and will kill your relationship with God if you’re not willing to confess that you’ve done something wrong and need forgiveness.
So, listen to your conscience. Arguing with your conscience is never a good idea. If you’re tempted to go against your conscience, think about the consequences: would you rather refrain from doing whatever it is you want to do now, or have to confess, apologize, humble yourself, and try to clean up the mess you’ll make if you do it? The choice gets a little easier when you look at it in that light…
Having a clear conscience is essential to a pure heart. How many of you have ever ignored your conscience when it started telling you that you shouldn’t do something? (Everyone’s hand should go up!) It can be easy to do at first, but often as time goes on, the guilt gets worse and worse.
How many of you have listened to the Adventures in Odyssey episode, The Tangled Web?
For those of you who haven’t heard it, it’s the story of a young boy named Jeremy. Jeremy’s mother gives him some money to go and buy her some flour… he is supposed to go straight there and come right back. However, he goes to Whit’s end to get some ice cream, gets sidetracked by playing… and somewhere along the way, he loses the money. Obviously, he’s pretty worried about this. He gets home, and of course, he’s pretty late. His mother is really worried: “Jeremy, what took you so long? Where’s the flour?” Jeremy mutters, “I lost the money.” His mother is a bit confused; “What do you mean you lost the money?” All of a sudden, Jeremy loses his nerve and blurts, “Someone took it from me.” To get out of trouble, he tells this long, complicated lie about how he was robbed by “some teenager”… he thinks it’ll just get him out of trouble, but then his mom calls his dad… and his dad calls his principal… and the principal calls the police… soon the story is all over town. Eventually, the mayor of the town gives Jeremy an award in front of the entire town for his bravery in fighting off his violent attacker! Jeremy never confesses to his lie, and eventually the whole incident is forgotten. At the end of the episode, Whit says to Connie, to whom he’s telling the story (she’s planning to do something her parents won’t like) that she could listen to her conscience, not do what she’s planning, and talk to her parents, or – in his words – “You can spend the rest of your life like Jeremy did, always wondering if SOMEBODY’s going to find out.”
A guilty conscience is TORTURE! It damages your testimony and will kill your relationship with God if you’re not willing to confess that you’ve done something wrong and need forgiveness.
So, listen to your conscience. Arguing with your conscience is never a good idea. If you’re tempted to go against your conscience, think about the consequences: would you rather refrain from doing whatever it is you want to do now, or have to confess, apologize, humble yourself, and try to clean up the mess you’ll make if you do it? The choice gets a little easier when you look at it in that light…
Developing a Disciplined Walk with God
A long time ago, I read a poem that really struck me, and I wanted to read it to illustrate this lesson.
"One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonging to him, the other to the Lord. When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life, there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life. This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it. "Lord, You said that once I decide to follow You, You'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most You would leave me". The Lord replied: "My son, My precious child, I love you and would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you only see one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."
Now, I know this story is talking more about times of pain and suffering, but I really wanted you to see WHO you are dealing with. This is a God who loves you beyond all imagining! He loves you more than your Mom and Dad are ABLE to! So, technically, walking with Him should be a joy and a pleasure. However, I do understand that it doesn't work like that. Some days, you may just not WANT to spend time with God. I understand that. :-) But that's why this lesson is called, "developing a DISCIPLINED walk with God." Every good thing requires discipline. And remember, "no discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful..." Now, that doesn't mean that walking with God can't be fun and enjoyable. It just means that it won't be fun and enjoyable all the time AT FIRST!
So, what are a few practical steps for developing a disciplined walk with God?
1) Even if you don't feel like it, read your Bible. Just like Sylvia was saying in the first lesson, set measurable goals. 10 minutes a day. 1 chapter a day. Whatever. Just make sure you do it!
2) Have three people in mind that you want to pray for each day. Make a list of all their needs, and all the things that you are thankful for about them, and then pray through some of those thing for each person, each day.
3) Every day, make a list of ten things that you are thankful for. Be specific. So, instead of saying, "my house", say "my pillow".
4) Sing. Even if you have a voice that won't cooperate, sing. If you don't want to sing around others, then sing when you're alone! Pick a few hymns or praise songs, and sing them every day! It's amazing what singing can do to an attitude.
This year, in Bright Lights, our main goal is to help you know Jesus better. Like, that is our goal. We want you to love Jesus more than your Mom or Dad or anyone else on planet earth. We'll be emphasizing the importance of prayer, Bible reading, and singing. Our prayer is that you will see how much fun a disciplined walk with God can be, and that the word "disciplined" will lose the negative connotation, and have a pleasant one.
Understanding the Fear of the Lord
Jael said earlier that stuff God will do is “creepy”, so that must be the fear of the Lord, right? :D
…NO.
One thing about language is that it changes… now, if we say we fear something, we mean that we’re afraid of it. But fear used to actually be something more positive… something more along the lines of respect. You would fear the king of your country because he had the power to punish you if you disobeyed the law. If he was a bad king, maybe you’d be afraid of him because if you offended him even slightly you’d get your head chopped off, but if he was a good king, you would love him for his service to your country while still respecting and fearing him because, if you disobeyed the laws, he could carry out justice on you. Still, you knew that he would do that to others as well, and thus you are kept safe.
It’s that way with God: He is our very gracious king who takes care of us and keeps us safe. We obey Him – yes, because there are consequences if we don’t – but we know that He is just and His laws are good. Shouldn’t be too hard, right? Well, the problem comes when we fear people more than we fear God.
(read story from Bright Lights booklet)
That story illustrates how we often look to people for approval before we look to God. When, like in the story, we’re so influenced by our peers that their view of us is more important than God’s view, it will keep us from fearing Him the way we ought and lead us to compromise our values.
And whose opinion really matters in the long run? Your friends and peers at school will only be in your life for another year, maybe two or three… but then you’ll probably never see them again. God is the one who determines where you’ll spend eternity.
…NO.
One thing about language is that it changes… now, if we say we fear something, we mean that we’re afraid of it. But fear used to actually be something more positive… something more along the lines of respect. You would fear the king of your country because he had the power to punish you if you disobeyed the law. If he was a bad king, maybe you’d be afraid of him because if you offended him even slightly you’d get your head chopped off, but if he was a good king, you would love him for his service to your country while still respecting and fearing him because, if you disobeyed the laws, he could carry out justice on you. Still, you knew that he would do that to others as well, and thus you are kept safe.
It’s that way with God: He is our very gracious king who takes care of us and keeps us safe. We obey Him – yes, because there are consequences if we don’t – but we know that He is just and His laws are good. Shouldn’t be too hard, right? Well, the problem comes when we fear people more than we fear God.
(read story from Bright Lights booklet)
That story illustrates how we often look to people for approval before we look to God. When, like in the story, we’re so influenced by our peers that their view of us is more important than God’s view, it will keep us from fearing Him the way we ought and lead us to compromise our values.
And whose opinion really matters in the long run? Your friends and peers at school will only be in your life for another year, maybe two or three… but then you’ll probably never see them again. God is the one who determines where you’ll spend eternity.
Accepting God's Design
Take a look at these two paper dolls. Which one is better than the other? [ideally, they are identical in everything except coloring] Actually, it was a trick question. :-) Both are the same. I just colored them different. I like them equally, even though I designed them differently. Make sense?
Now, I'm sure you've all heard the pep talks that say that God designed you to be you, and so be content with how you look. As true as those are (up to a certain point. It is possible to go TOO far in that area), accepting God's design for you goes much deeper than that.
After, how MUCH of you did God design? All of it, right? How much of your LIFE did God design? All of it. Hmm...so, not only do you need to accept how you look, but you also need to accept how God planned your life to be.
I remember reading of a missionary named Adoniram Judson. He was the first American missionary, and he went to the country called Burma (which is now called Myanmar, for all you Geography freaks). He served that country for 37 years. He was married three times. His first wife Ann bore him two children before she died, both of whom died before they were 5. His second wife, Sarah, bore him 8 children (plus another child from her previous marriage) before she died, three of whom died before he did. His third wife, Emily, bore him two children, and he died before they did. Now, I know that thus far, this sounds like an incredibly bad sob story, but this all has a point. Inspire of all these tribulations, Adoniram Judson continued in the faith. Besides being arrested numerous times, and almost starving to death during several inprisonments, he also managed to translate the Bible into the Burmese language, and write several other tracts and books. He made a tremendous impression for The Lord in a completely pagan land.
But what if, after his second child died, (which was after his first wife and child had died, and after he'd been in prison and almost starved to death, and had very little visible fruit, and had been struggling to translate the Bible for years) he had looked at his life and said, "God! Why do you have this design for my life? I want to live in a comfortable home, converting 10 people every day, and have a beautiful, happy family with no death. If you don't give that to me by next year, I'm gonna go live in the United States again." What would've happened? Not only would the Bible not been translated for a lot time, but a lot of Burmese churches wouldn't exist, and the American missionary effort would be substantionally smaller.
The point I'm trying to make is this: you not only need to accept the way you look, but you need to accept what your lot in life is. For example, Cecily. You are the third child, second daughter, in a family with 9 kids. Sophi. You are the oldest in a family of two, and your young brother is scarcely a year younger than you. Abi, you are second oldest in a family of 4 kids. Each of you has your own set of trials, right? Each trial is hard to bear, but God designed it for you. I once heard that if everyone could put all their troubles on a clothesline, and then pick which troubles they wanted, everyone would pick their own. Why? Certainly not because they are appealing, but because you are best equipped to deal with your own problems! So accept where God has you. Accept what He wants to do with your life. NOTHING is worse than not doing what God wants you to do or doing what God doesn't want you to do.
Being Fully Dedicated to God
Being Fully Dedicated to God
Well, 1 John 4:19 is pretty clear and concise: “We love because He first loved us.”
How many of you have ever sinned in your life? (everyone’s hand goes up)
How many of you think that you can get into heaven on your own, without help from God? No one? Okay, that’s good.
NONE of us is worthy; all of us are condemned to hell for eternity. So we needed Christ to die for us. Think about it.. He was king of the universe, yet he came to earth to spend a LIFETIME suffering for and serving others, ending by dying the most painful death IMAGINABLE. Not only that, but He desires to have a close relationship with Every one of us! He loves us so much that he cares about the littlest things that we care about.
How many of you have ever seen a really gorgeous sunset and been absolutely awed and amazed by its beauty? Have you ever thought about how technically “pointless” a sunset is? I mean, why should all these colors randomly appear in the sky every night when the sun goes down? They don’t have any practical purpose; they don’t make us live longer or make breathing easier. But God is a God who cares about beauty and how much we enjoy His creation. He wants to make the world as beautiful and wonderful as possible and give us every reason to enjoy it.
How could we not love Him? He’s enough for every need. No human can ever meet all of our needs, so we have to rely on Him. That means knowing him!
When you love someone, you want to please them and serve them; you want them to be happy. We need to be so dedicated to God so that we’re longing to serve Him; we’re always thinking about how we can please him.
