I would like to share with you my thoughts on being cool in this world.
Now there’s a lot to get through so sit back and relax and Pastor David you might want to get your chocolate out.
In this world there are lots of things that are considered “COOL” but being a Jesus follower is probably not one of them.
In Matthew 18:3 Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, you must change and become like little children. Otherwise you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
My mum has a friend who doesn’t believe in God. She told her daughter that believing in God was the same as believing in fairies. She said believing in God was childish.
I think that children, who are told the truth about God, think that He is pretty cool. Children have colourful imaginations and they can see God.
There is a story about a young girl who was drawing a picture and when her father asked her what she was drawing she said “a picture of God”. Her father said, “But no-one knows what God looks like and she said “they will once I’m finished”.
Children trust easily and have faith that what they pray for will happen.
A little child’s life is usually simple, innocent and honest and that is how they pray too.
Children can also be teachable and they always want to learn.
Children laugh a lot too. Apparently on average children will laugh 300 times per day compared to an adult who might laugh 20 times per day.
Children love easily. They expect to be loved unconditionally.
This is what Jesus wants us to be like.
Tomorrow, I will turn 13 years old. At precisely 4.33pm I will become a teenager. I will no longer be a child.
I have already noticed that some things are changing and my life is getting really busy. I get lots of homework from school now and it’s hard to get it all done because I also have dancing, swimming and I play for two netball teams.
I have started to see things differently too so I don’t always agree with Mum. I have different friends than I had at Primary School and some of the friends that I was really close with have turned into strangers. I sometimes wonder what other people think of me and I am not sure where I fit in. I take ages to figure out what to wear when I go out with my friends because I want to blend in with everyone else.
Being cool in this world is about your looks, your clothes, your house and your holidays. It’s about what you do in your spare time and it’s also about attitude, the way you think and talk.
I feel it’s obvious that I am not one of the cool kids, I don’t want to stand out for being uncool but then I don’t want to do what I would have to do to be one of the cool kids. It gets very confusing.
In Romans 12:2, I am told not to change myself to be like the people of this world but to be changed within by a new way of thinking. Then I will know what God wants for me and I will know what is good and pleasing to him.
The world doesn’t think following Jesus is very cool. It’s not cool to lift up my hands in worship or clap and yahoo for God but it is cool to yell and scream at a footy match or a concert.
It’s not cool to get up early on a Sunday to go to church but it is cool to get up early on a Sunday to go to sports practice.
It’s not cool to give your money to God through the church but it is cool to use your money to buy the latest gadget or fashion item that only lasts a short time.
It is definitely not cool to hang out with people who are considered “unpopular” for whatever reason.
In John 15: 18-19, Jesus tells me that if people think I am uncool, I have to remember that they thought He was uncool too, that the world hated him first. He tells me that I was chosen to be in the world but not of the world.
He tells me that even though I will go through some tough times to stick with Him because He has already won the battle. How’s that for knowing the future?
I know that if I am not careful, I could get caught up in the things that are in the world so I try to always think about why I love Jesus.
He protects me and keeps me safe and makes sure that his angels watch over me.
He listens to me when I pray to Him and I know that He will always answer my prayers.
He healed my Papa and the doctors could not find anything serious in his body. I know that he will take care of my Papa.
Mum said that He is the Man of our house and we always go to him when we are worried about something.
Even though we don’t have lots of money, He always makes sure we have enough.
He blesses me and my family every single day.
So, now that I am no longer a child but a teenager, how can I keep being like a child of God?
My Papa has come to stay with us. He came to be with me for my 13th birthday. I love my Papa very much and this birthday will be my most special ever because he has come all the way over here to spend it with me.
My Papa does not like vines that grow all over fences and damage property. Our neighbour has one that comes over our fence and every time Papa has come to visit he trims it. It has been growing for so long that its big trunk is pushing the fence down between our house and our neighbour’s house.
This time my Papa decided to do something about it and chopped the branches of the vine away from the trunk which was pushing the fence down. Now that the branches are no longer connected to the vine they are dying.
Jesus said in John 15:5
“I am the vine and you are the branches. If any remain in me and I remain in them, they produce much fruit. But without me they can do nothing. If they do not remain in me, they are like a branch that is thrown away and then dies. People pick up dead branches, throw them into the fire and burn them. If you remain in me and follow my teachings, you can ask anything you want, and it will be given to you. You should produce much fruit and show that you are my followers, which brings glory to my Father. I love you as the Father loved me. Now remain in my love”.
Holly Rose, age 12, Spirit Alive Church
