Gandhi's Thoughts on Christians

Mahatma Gandhi said, "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."

This quote should hit every Christian like a ton of bricks. If you call yourself a Christian, you WILL be watched by others to see if you live out what you claim. The question is, when they look at you, what will they see? Will they see the fruit of the Spirit? They should.

Ephesians 1:13 tells us that when we believed in Christ for our salvation, we were sealed with the Holy Spirit. In other words, the Holy Spirit made a home inside our hearts when we gave our lives to Christ. Since the Holy Spirit dwells inside of us, we should be controlled by the Spirit in everything we do. When controlled by the Spirit, our lives will show it by producing: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control.

Check out this verse from Ephesians 5:15-16: "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil."

Where should you walk carefully? At home, at school, at parties, on sports teams, at lunch, at church, at the movies, when a friend spends the night, at school clubs, and every other place you go. Wherever you go, you represent Christ... make sure you represent Him accurately!

Gandhi also said, "If it weren't for Christians, I'd be a Christian." I hope no one at your school feels the same way based on how you live...

In The Dark - Week 2 - Frank Turek

Is there a God? For a long time, science has tried to do away with the thought of a higher being... but, it seems as if the scientific world is running out of theories and has begun to point to a creator. Frank Turek is one of the most amazing speakers/apologists that I have ever heard and he gave a great message at Advance >> last Sunday. He will be here again this coming Sunday! Check it out:

In The Dark Pt. 2: Frank Turek from Dan Anderson on Vimeo.

In The Dark - Week 1 - How to Study the Bible

Have you ever sat down to read the Bible and been completely LOST? Do you get frustrated reading the Bible because you don't know what you are doing? Maybe this message will help you discover some different methods of reading/studying the Bible.

Try out a couple of these methods and see what works for you. Also, the new Advance >> Website has all of these methods explained thoroughly for you. Check it out by clicking HERE. Thanks and I hope this helps you grow in Christ!

In The Dark Bump from Dan Anderson on Vimeo.

IN THE DARK 1 from Dan Anderson on Vimeo.

Comparison = Vain or Bitter

Unfortunately, we live in a world of comparison... "What does he have?" "What clothes does she wear?" "I want what they have!" Americans live in a state of looking at other people and then comparing themselves to see if they measure up. To be honest, it is a scary place that will never end well unless we become content.

There are only 2 possible outcomes when you compare: You will either become VAIN or BITTER.

• If you compare yourself to others and you are "better" than them, you will become VAIN and think too highly of yourself. You will look down on them because they are not on your level.
• If you compare yourself to others and you are "worse" than them, you will become BITTER. You will become envious of what they have and your heart will become bitter toward them and you will hate them for having what you don't have.

In other words, NOTHING good will ever come from comparing. So how should we act? Let's see what God's Word has to say:

1 Timothy 6:6 says, "Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment."

When you compare, you are thinking about yourself and what you can "get." Another word for this is greed.

When you are content with what you do have you become thankful. Another word for this is grateful.

God has been good to you... be grateful. Stop always wanting more... stop comparing.

Asking for Forgiveness

No one is perfect. That means, at some point (and probably often) we will have to ask someone for forgiveness. So how do you do it? Is it as simple as saying, "I'm sorry"? I don't think so...

Here is a short little formula that you could/should use when apologizing:

1. Call the person by their name - everyone like to hear their name and this creates a personalized touch
2. Say you're sorry - this is where you apologize for whatever you did. Make sure you say what you did so it is very clear. See James 5:16
3. Ask forgiveness - tell the person you offended that you would like for them to forgive you for the thing you said you are sorry for. See Ephesians 4:32
4. Action step - Just saying your sorry is NOT enough. Asking for forgiveness is better, but telling them what you want to do so you don't repeat this offense is GREAT! See 1 John 3:18 - (if you are truly sorry, you will show it with your actions)

The Bible places a high value on relationships and this is the best way to restore a relationship after it has been damaged. Romans 12:18 says, "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." So who is everyone? Your parents, friends, teachers, coaches, co-workers, teammates, school-mates, etc.

Let's look at an example: "Dad, I am really sorry that I talked back to you earlier today. I want to ask you to forgive me and next time I will try to do a better job of listening to you and not just wanting my way."

Do you see how easy this is!?!? The ONLY reason why someone would not follow this outline is because they have too much pride. Pride is the sin that got Satan kicked out of heaven... that is NOT the example that I want to follow! The opposite of PRIDE is HUMILITY... Jesus was humble... we should be too!

Advance >> Bible Study - Day 7

Today is the last day of the Bible Study week on the blog. I hope you have enjoyed it and have found at least one method that you can do on a regular basis.

Today's method is a Topical Study on the word: Humility

Here is what you do: (you will need a journal and a pen)

1. Write down the dictionary definition(s) for the word humility.
2. Go to www.BibleGateway.com by clicking HERE and type in the word "humility" in the search box, then hit enter. There will be a list of verses that come up. Look through those verses and write down two or three of them that stick out to you.
3. What did you take away from those verses about humility?
4. What does humility show about your relationship with God?
5. Summarize how God is calling you to be humble.
6. What are some ways that you can be humble?

You can do this with just about any subject or person in the Bible. It is very useful when studying one subject at a time.

Some other possible studies might include: Purity, forgiveness, perseverance, love, confession, honor, etc.

Advance >> Bible Study - Day 6

Today's Method is the Inductive Method. It is a simple way of looking at the Bible and asking three questions:

1. What does it say? (Observation)
2. What does it mean? (Interpretation)
3. What does it mean to me? (Application)

The main point of studying the Bible is to find out what it says and what it means so that you can apply it to your life. Remember, you could memorize the entire Bible and if you don't apply it to your life, it will mean NOTHING!!! We MUST apply the Bible to our lives in order for us to be changed.

The passage of Scripture that we will read today is found in Matthew 18:21-35. It is a parable (story of Jesus) that talks about forgiveness. Click HERE to listen to the parable and then go through the three questions.

In order to do step #3, you will have to DO SOMETHING about what you read in the text... The Christian faith is PRO-ACTIVE (that means we have to do something with the information we have). Have fun!

Advance >> Bible Study - Day 5

The 10 / 10 / 10 Method:

Today our Bible study method will be the 10/10/10 method. It is very simple, yet effective, method of studying God's Word. It has three steps:

1. Read for 10 minutes: during this part, read with your pen in your hand. As you read, underline, highlight, put a star next to, and mark any word or phrase that sticks out to you. Don't be afraid to write in your Bible.
2. Meditate for 10 minutes: during this next part, go back and re-read all of the words and phrases that you underlined or highlighted. Take some time to meditate on them and what they mean to your life. Ask yourself: "What about my life needs to change based on what I just read?" "What did I learn about God?" Take some time to just BE STILL and MEDITATE on the Word of God.
3. Write for 10 minutes: during this final part, put your thoughts down on paper. Based on your thoughts from meditation, take some time and write them down in a journal. Write down how your life will change based on what you just learned.

What if you don't have 30 minutes to do this? That's OKAY! If you want to do this in the 5/5/5 format, do it that way. There is no wrong or right way to study the Bible... just make the effort to do SOMETHING!

Today's text for you to read will be Matthew 5 - Matthew 7: This section of Scripture is known at the Beatitudes. It is some of Jesus' greatest teaching. Grab your Bible, and get started! Enjoy!

Advance >> Bible Study - Day 4

For today's Bible study method, we are going to learn the background of the book of Colossians and then read the whole thing... and the whole study will only take 10 minutes!

Personally, this is my favorite way to study Scripture. Most of the books in the New Testament were meant to be read straight through because they are letters. We need to read the whole thing to get a grasp on what the letter is saying.

So why do we have to learn the background before reading? Because if you don't know why the letter was written, who is was written to, and what the letter is addressing, then you probably wont understand it. It would be like listening to one side of a phone call. In order to make sense of a phone call you need to hear what both sides are saying. It is the same way with the books of the Bible.

Today, you will watch a short video to learn the background of Colossians and then click on the link to listen and read the whole book straight through. When you are done, make a comment and let us know how you liked it!

Colossians from Dan Anderson on Vimeo.

After watching the video, click HERE and you can read and listen to the whole book of Colossians.

Advance >> Bible Study - Day 3

Today we are going to read a chapter in the book of Proverbs. There are 31 chapters in Proverbs so a good way to study this book is to read the chapter that matches up with the day of the month. Since today is February 17th, we will read Proverbs 17.

Proverbs 1:4 tells us that one of the purposes of Proverbs is to help young people gain knowledge and discretion. In other words, this book was written for students! It is a very practical book and is easy to read. For example: verse 17 tells us that a friend loves at all times... do you truly have your friends back at all times? Even when they are going through a rough stretch?

While you are reading, mark up your Bible... that's right, don't be afraid to take notes, underline, highlight, etc. There is nothing wrong with writing in your Bible!

When you are done reading this chapter, make a comment and let us know what parts of this chapter stuck out to you. Is there anything in your life that you need to do to line up with God's Word?

Advance >> Bible Study - Day 2

Today, we will be looking at a few different Pastors from all over the country. The best way for you to hear these guys on a regular basis is to subscribe to their Podcasts on iTunes (for FREE). Let us know if you need help figuring out how to do that and we will help you.

Hope you enjoy these short messages:

Mark Driscoll

Matt Chandler

Andy Stanley

Perry Noble

Which Pastor did you like best? Why did you like them? Make a comment and let us know!

Advance >> Bible Study - Day 1

Everyday this week we will be giving you the option of trying out a different Bible study method. We hope that you connect with at least 1 of them and begin to study the Bible for yourself OUTSIDE of Sunday nights at Advance >>.

Here is the first method we will do this week: Read 1 John 3 and then journal about what you read. Just read the chapter and write down your thoughts about it.

If you would like to have this chapter read out loud to you, click HERE and then click the button that says "LISTEN". You can follow along as the Bible is read to you.

When you are done with this, please make a comment here on the blog and share some of your thoughts from the chapter. It would be great to see how God spoke to each of our hearts individually through this chapter.

John Piper - Don't Waste Your Life

Mark Driscoll - Tolerance

We live in a world where tolerance is thought of as a good thing. But is it? Should we be so tolerant of every one's views? Watch this to find out:

A Big Word in the Bible: "IF"

As Christians, we MUST understand that we have a role to play in our relationship with God. Yes, God made the first move when Jesus came to earth, but it is our responsibility to respond to what God has done. There is no such thing as a one-way relationship...

The Bible has a lot of conditional statements. A conditional statement is a statement that contains the word"IF" in it. In other words, "IF" something happens, then a favorable result will occur. On the other hand, "IF" something doesn't happen, a negative result will occur. Let's look at a couple examples from Scripture:

• Romans 10:9 - "IF you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
• 2 Chronicles 7:14 - "IF my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."
• 1 John 1:9 - "IF we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
• 1 John 2:3 - "And by this we know that we have come to know him, IF we keep his commandments"

Let's flip this around:

• IF we DON'T confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, we will NOT be saved.
• IF we DON'T humble ourselves and pray and seek His face and turn from our wicked ways, God will NOT forgive our sin and heal our land.
• IF we DON'T confess our sins, we will NOT be cleansed from all unrighteousness.
• IF you DON'T keep his commandments, then you may NOT have come to know Him. (this one is scary)

Not many people like to read the Bible this way. It is not warm and fuzzy.

We have a role to play in our relationship with God. Do not expect to have a good relationship with God if you do nothing. A real relationship is never one-sided. He has already made the ultimate sacrifice. How will you respond?

Character vs. Reputation

Make no mistake about it, you can fool people. It happens all the time. But there are two people you will never fool: God and yourself. There is a huge difference your Character and your Reputation. Check out these definitions:

• Reputation - what others believe to be true about you.
• Character - what is true about you.

Should you strive to have a good reputation? Yes! Check out Proverbs 22:1. As a Christians, it is very important to have a good reputation, but it is not more important than having character.

Your reputation is formed by what you do when people are watching. Your character is formed by what you do when no one is watching.

Some questions for you:

• Do you act different around your friends' parents?
• Do you act different around your Life Group Leader or Youth Pastor?
• What kind of words come out of your mouth when you are trying to be "cool?"
• Are you more concerned with what others THINK of you, or what is actually true about you?

The word INTEGRITY is a synonym for the word CHARACTER. The best way to describe a person who has integrity is to say that their public life and private life are the same.

Is your private life the same as your public life? If not, you might fool the world, but you won't fool the Lord... and you wont fool yourself...

"The best pillow is a clear conscience."

Jesus did miracles for others, not Himself

When I look at the miracles that Jesus performed, I am amazed. But should I be? The book of Colossians tells us that Jesus is the creator of the entire universe! Everything was made in and through Him. So why should I be amazed when Jesus does small miracles like healing the sick or feeding 5,000 people, when he is actually responsible for the creation of EVERYTHING?!?! I will tell you why... because every single miracle He did was for others. He never performed one self-satisfying miracle.

• When He fed 5,000 men with 5 loaves and 2 fish, it was so others could eat.
• When He raised Jairus' daughter from the dead, it was for her parents.
• When He healed a man who was born blind, he did it to give that man sight.
• When He healed the man with leprosy, he did it to restore health to the man.
• (There are TONS more...)

All of these miracles showed that Jesus was The Son of God, but none of them were for His benefit. They were all for the benefit and betterment of others' lives.

Jesus was "others-focused." In other words, He didn't think about himself. He was not the center of his own universe. Here are a couple of questions for you to think about:

• Do you focus more on yourself or others?
• Are you more concerned with your wants or other people's needs?
• Do you constantly have something to complain about? (If so, you are only thinking about yourself)
• Would you rather be comfortable or serve others?
• Do you constantly have drama in your life? (If so, you focus on yourself too much)
• Do you give more or consume more?

It would be easy to be amazed by the miracles that were performed, but I am more amazed at the selfless heart behind the miracles. Jesus thought very little of himself. He was a servant. Are you?

That's Not What It Means!

I grew up playing sports on the high school and collegiate level and I cannot tell you how many times I have seen people write "Phil. 4:13" on their shoe or their wristband as they compete in an athletic competition. Even today, when you turn on ESPN to watch a football or basketball game, it is very common to see this. I think people see it as a good-luck charm or something... It's almost like they are saying, "God is going to give me the STRENGTH to win tonight! Yea!!" There is one problem with this: that is NOT what this verse means.

I want to destroy the myth that surround one of the most commonly quoted Scripture verses in the Bible. Philippians 4:13 says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," and it has NOTHING to do with succeeding in sports or any other part of life!

Paul, the author, is writing this letter to the church in Philippi while he is in jail. The main point of the letter is to encourage the believers in that church to live out their faith. Keep in mind, Paul was trying to assure them that he was in good spirits, even though he was in jail and there was a possibility of him being executed at any time.

So before we read Philippians 4:13, we must read what it says before that. It says, "for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." It is only AFTER this that he goes on to say, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

So what is this verse talking about: Victory? Success? Hitting the game-winning shot? No, no, and NO! This verse is talking about being content in EVERY situation and that the secret to living in life's hard times is trusting God enough to say that you can make it through anything because Christ will give you the strength. It is saying no matter what situation you are in, you have faith that God will be with you and see you through it. It is NOT a good-luck charm!

So when is it appropriate to use this verse? Check out the list below for a few ideas:

• When your parents get divorced.
• When you don't have the name-brand clothing.
• When your Dad gets cancer.
• When your boyfriend/girlfriend breaks up with you.
• When you break your wrist before a big game and cannot play.
• When your Grandma dies.
• When your family doesn't have the money to get you all the latest toys and gadgets.
• When your coach seems to hate you.
• When you can't seem to catch a break in ANY part of life.

This is a verse about contentment, not victory in sports. In fact, I don't think God really cares who gets the victory in sports, as long as He gets the glory.

If you don't... who will?

Christians MUST begin to feel a PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY for the Advancement of the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus told us to "Go and make disciples." In other words, Jesus gave us instructions for what we are supposed to do until He comes back.

Having said that, here are a few questions for you to think about:

• If you don't push your Christian friends to live for Christ, who will?
• If you don't share the Gospel with your lost friends, who will?
• If you don't set a Christ-like example for your little brother or sister, who will?
• If you don't read and learn the Bible so you can share it with others, who will?
• If you don't reach out to the outcast at school and be nice to him/her, who will?
• If you don't stand up for your faith and look different than the world, who will?
• If you don't kill the sin in your life, who will?
• If you don't honor and respect your parents, who will?
• If you don't stand for Christ, who will?

If you are a Christian, your heart should be BURDENED for a lost world that is going to hell. Jesus chose to use PEOPLE to carry on His message of grace (that's YOU and ME). It's time that we take this responsibility personally!!!

Do you take this responsibility seriously? Do you live for Christ Monday - Saturday, or just on Sundays by going to church? Do you take Jesus' words seriously? Because if you don't, who will? Maybe no one...

Matthew 9:37 - "Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few."

A Double Life...

The world in which we live makes it very easy to live a double life; to have a private life that no one else knows about while acting differently in public. I think this is especially true for teenagers. They can have private conversations through text message, E mail, Facebook, and on their cell phones while their parents have no idea what is actually going on.

When we are secretive about our lives and don't want anyone to know how we are living, the Bible calls that "living in the dark." In other words, if we would be ashamed for others to know how we are living and we hide it, we are living in darkness. Check out what the Bible has to say about this:

John 3:19-21 says, "God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants."

Here is the problem: Sin happens in the dark... and sin is fun... for a moment... then, it ruins you.

Most of the time when we are sinning, we do our best to hide it so no one finds out. We don't want LIGHT to be exposed on our sin. We like to sin in the DARK because if it is in the dark no one knows, right? Wrong. We often times forget that God knows...

What are you doing in the dark that could potentially ruin your future or your faith? Here are some things to think about:

• Would you send that text message if everyone at your school was going to see it?
• Guys, would you make a move on a girl if her Dad were there?
• Would you send that picture message to your friend if you knew your Mom would see it?
• If someone asked to look through all your text messages, would you let them or would there be something to hide?
• If every one of your conversations at school were recorded, would you be okay with them being played back for your youth pastor?
• Is your relationship with your boyfriend/girlfriend sexual in any way?
• Do your parents know what you are doing at the party? At the movies? At your friend's house?

If you are living in the dark in any area of your life, the Bible says that you should CONFESS it. 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us from our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." If you are living in the darkness, expose it to the light. Confession cleanses your soul.

The dark is a scary place to be... I would much rather be in the light...