FJWL_02:248
         (Dad:) Keep a strong heart and a willing spirit. How can you do that? You've got to find your strength in the Word. You need to become a workman of the Word. Study to show yourself approved unto God. Dig in there and see what you can find! Be a sample of a young man who is going places for God! Be a sample of a young person who is turned on by the Word and wants to live it. Don't be content to just rock along with your peers and go with the flow as long as things are fun and exciting. That's great, and it's good to have fun and excitement in our lives; there's nothing wrong with that.
         But the key is to get hooked on the Word. If you're not feeling so hooked on it right now, then now is the time to get hooked! That's a prayer you should pray: that you will get hooked on the Word! That is going to be your lifeline, your salvation. That is going to be what will keep you. So will you do that? Will you make that a prayer?
         The Word will keep you strong in heart and spirit. The Word will keep your sample sturdy and right. Don't you want to be a young man your peers can look up to and admire for your dedication and love for the Lord? That is the thing that people truly admire in someone--their love for the Lord, their faithfulness to get in the Word, their love for lost souls, and their cheerfulness, willingness and yieldedness.
         Sure, some of your peers may be getting praise or adulation here or there because they're "handsome" or "beautiful" or "cool" or have some neat talent or what have you. But the long-lasting admiration comes from the qualities of the Spirit, so that's what you need to seek after. That's what you need to ask the Lord for. Those spiritual riches and treasures should be what you're asking the Lord for.



Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family