Tomorrow will mark the year anniversary of this website.  Wow, time has really flown by, hasn't it?  This website was dedicated to keeping you informed on what God has been teaching me, in the hope that it would help you along in your spiritual journey.  And boy has my life been a journey this past year.  There are so many things that God has taught me this year, many of which never made it on this blog.  Many of which, sadly, haven't resonated in my memory.  But, I can be sure that the Holy Spirit really has been moving me and sanctifying me.  God has taught me so many things about Himself, and so many things about me.  He has shown me areas of weakness, and He has helped me overcome them.  He has helped me to be more focused in my relationship with Him (truly striving to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever).  He has shown me time and time again that I'm not perfect.  And He has shown me time and time again that He is patient.  He has shown me time and time again that I have a long way to go in my spiritual development.  And He has shown me that He will be there with me every step of the way.
     God has done so much in my life this past year, and I am so glad that some of that I could share with you on this blog.  I don't think our relationship with God is meant to just be private.  I think it's important to share with others the work that God has done in our lives.  It strengthens faith, to see the active work of God.  It encourages those who are struggling, to know that God sees all and will not only be patient with us, but will help us too.  It challenges those who don't take the Christian life seriously, to see how serious it really is.  And, most of all, it gives God the glory He deserves for the work that He is doing in each believer's life.  And, though God is sovereign, and though He is the one who works, He has still given us a part to play. 
   God is continually teaching His people, through His Word, through circumstances, and through other people.  God is ready to teach, but we must be willing to be taught.  I don't understand how it works, but God puts much emphasis on our listening to Him.  On a part that we play.  The Holy Spirit is continually working in our lives, but if you continue to resist His work, He will stop.  1 Thessalonians 5:19 warns us, "Do not quench the Spirit."  Please be willing to be taught and moved by God.  Have you committed your life to His service?  Have you really given your life to Him to do with as He pleases?  We use words and phrases like crucifying the flesh; committing your life to God; dying to self; giving God control of our life.  But what does that mean?  It means "not my will but Yours be done."  It means obedience.  It means being willing to accept whatever correction God gives you. 
   We are running a race, and that means a lot of work on our part, but thankfully God is there pushing us forward, and giving us the endurance we need. I hope you have been encouraged and challenged by what I've been saying, and by this blog in general.  I hope you've more and more come to realize the great love our God has for us, and the great ways He has demonstrated that in the lives of His people.  If you don't come away from this blog with anything else, please come away with this one thing: God loves you, and it is a love that will never let you go.       

As the title correctly states, I've found there is a great necessity in the repetition of religious truths.  All of you guys are so blessed to have grown up in Christian homes with a lot of Christian teaching.  We know our Bibles pretty well, and we know how we're supposed to act as Christians.  We know we're supposed to put our faith in Jesus, and we know that we're supposed to make God #1 in our lives.  We know we're not supposed to sin, and we know we'll be forgiven if we do.  We know we're supposed to love our neighbors as ourselves, and we know we need to "make disciples of all nations."  We know these things, and it's terrific!  But, there are so many times in my life when they just don't sink in. 
   Here's an example.  Since my early childhood, I knew that the catechism said, "Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever."   But you know what?  It wasn't until this summer that I really saw the application of it for my life.  I finally realized that I need to stop trying to glorify myself, and put my focus on glorifying God.  I realized that I need to stop trying to seek satisfaction and ultimate enjoyment from created things, and start seeking it from God.  It took a long time for that one truth to sink in and start doing something in my life.  I needed that repetition.
   Have you ever noticed that Jesus seemed to repeat Himself a lot?  I think there are several reasons for this, but one reason is because He knew that it would take a lot of saying the same things for it to sink in.  We humans have very short memories. :-)  In one ear and out the other.  I've found that there are so many things that I've been taught that I forget and don't apply.  Thankfully God is really patient with me! :-)  It can be so good to continue to be taught the same truths over and over again for it to sink in.  Sometimes, I get annoyed with preachers who are really shallow and focus on the most basic principle of a text.  But, even though I already know what he's saying, I fail to follow it sometimes!  This isn't a surprise, because as humans we tend to need a lot of time to fix a problem.  But, God is ever so patient and He is continuing to work in our lives to help us.  When you find that God has revealed a problem in your life, but you continue to slip up.  Don't get discouraged.  God will help us through it all.  But remember, that when you see someone else who keeps slipping up over and over again...be patient with them.  Don't expect people to learn right away--the disciples sure didn't.  How many times did Jesus tell them He was the Christ?  And that He would die?  And they never really got it until after the crucifixion.  Be patient as Christ is patient.  I hope this gives you a better appreciation for God's patience and the importance of repetition! :-)

Okay, so we all know that we're supposed to love one another.  We're told in Scripture to love one another.  To love our neighbor as we love ourselves.  We're told that what we do to the least of people we do for Christ.  We're told to look after the interests of others (Phil. 2).  We're told to be a servant as Christ was a servant.  But what does that mean, and what does it look like?  I've talked many times on this blog about my own self-centered attitude.  And, all of us teenagers have to fight the natural tendency to think only for ourselves.  It's good to see when a teenager realizes this and strives not to be so self-centered. But, I want to see more!  We've got so many opportunities to minister to people (and be ministered to) but many times we don't take the opportunity. 
   Let me explain to you what I'm thinking about.  The teenage years are a great time of spiritual development for the Christian.  I've seen how God has really taken my life (and the lives of many of my friends) and turned it into a life that is focused on Him.  Why is this?  It's because the person we are as a teenager will most likely be the person as an adult.  These teenage years are the time that shapes us into the person we will be for the rest of our life!  Now, not to say that God will stop teaching and growing us--for He will continue to bring us to maturity--but these years are so critical to our growth as a Christian.  And the time when habits form.  Honestly, when I look around at Christian teens, I don't see a whole lot of love.  Now, what do I mean by love?  I don't just mean saying nice things and laughing at peoples jokes.  I don't just mean kindness.  I see a whole lot of kindness, and that's great!  Kindness is a great aspect of love.  But there's more to love than that.  I don't see a lot of teenagers striving to really minister to the needs of other teens.  Where are the people who will go to you when they see a problem in your life that needs fixing?  Many times what can hold us back is other's opinions of us.  Do we even pay enough attention to notice what other people are doing? 
   Where are those who will go out of their way to talk and spend time with those who aren't that socially adept?  I fail at this a lot.  Sometimes it's really awkward and hard to spend considerable time talking to those people who just aren't good at talking.  They're shy or awkward, and it's really not fun to be around them...but not many people are around them.  I'd rather be with other people!  But, think of how Jesus felt with His disciples.  These guys weren't exactly the cream of the crop.  I'm sure it was hard to be around them and talk to them (especially cause it took them forever to understand some of His teaching).  But He loved them and cherished His times with them.  He reached out to them and was patient with them.  Bu, so many times we don't want to sacrifice our time and energy to be with those type of people. 
   Where are the people who will ask their friends how they're doing and actually mean it?  Who will come along side someone when they are hurting and help them.  Who will pray for their friends who need prayer and help.  Again, it can be hard.  Especially because this is a time in our lives where we need so much help of our own, that it's hard to try to help someone else.  I mean, it's not like we have all the answers anyway, right?  But, sometimes people don't need all the answers, they just need people to come along side them and talk to them and who will pray for them.  But this also means that we need people who are willing to open up.  I realize that it's hard to do help someone when they won't actually tell you how they're doing.  I'm not saying that every teenager should open to their friends when they're hurting.  Many times it is our parents who are the best to open up to with our personal problems.  But, part of a real friendship is to bear one another's burdens, and how can we do that when we don't share them?!  So, it's important for teenagers to be willing to bear another's burden and to especially pray for them in their need.  It's also important to be willing to share your burdens if you see it appropriate to do so.  Even if it's just to ask for prayer.  Having many people praying for you is a great thing. 
   So, I know these things may have sounded a little heavy, but I think it's important.  I think that we Christian teenagers can take a whole lot more responsibility than we tend to do.  Let's stop just being nice to people, and seek to serve them and meet their needs.  It's never too early to start the habits of loving one another.  Pray about this and ask the Lord to show you ways that you can love the other teenagers around you.  May God bless you in your efforts to be vessels of God's mercy to His people.