Zach Young
Servant of the King www.purleygatesretreat.org Hello brothers and sisters! I have missed you, and I sincerely apologize for taking so long to write another blog post. I just didn’t do a very good job of keeping up with it. Nevertheless, we are back in action. It’s good to see you today! In this post I want to discuss the upcoming holiday. You know the one where all the families get together, we share stories, there is great food, and it’s a blast. Yea, I’m talking about Thanksgiving! I was realizing the other day that this is almost becoming the forgotten holiday. It’s just kind of there now. Before I move forward, this post is not in any type of way anti-Christmas. I love Christmas! It is the day we celebrate my Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. That is an amazing time, no doubt! Here is the problem. We have forgotten the purpose of Thanksgiving, which is coincidentally right there in the name. As Americans and as Christians, we have forgotten how to be thankful and joyful about the things we already have. Look at what’s going on the television ever since Halloween ended. It’s all about getting more things. Look what millions of people are doing the day of Thanksgiving itself – preparing to go to war on Black Friday. Not only have we forgotten the purpose of Thanksgiving, but our culture has perverted the purpose of Christmas. In reality, shouldn’t it be another day of Thanksgiving? Rejoicing that a Savior was born and celebrating the opportunity of eternal life. It’s hard to get in that mindset when we skip over the actual day of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is simply a day to remind us of the position our hearts should be taking every single day of the year. We should be constantly giving thanks to the Lord for all He has done. Check out 1 Chronicles 16:34, 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Colossians 3:17, Psalms 100:4, Psalms 106:1, Psalms 107:1, and the list can go on. As Christians, our lives should revolve around being thankful for all God has done and is still doing. I have realized, at least for myself, it is hard to give thanks when your heart and eyes are more concerned with worldly gains. So I have a challenge for you. First of all, DO NOT stop celebrating Christmas. That is a crucial holiday, and this post is in no way intended to take away from that. Secondly, re-evaluate yourself. Have you also forgotten the importance of being thankful? Last challenge – skip the day of shopping. Stay at home an extra Friday to be thankful for what you already have and take a long look at what God has done. Temporary deals aren’t worth sacrificing eternal joy and gratefulness. I hope this post pushes you a little bit, and at least causes you to take a look at our current situation. I want to be part of a body of Christ that is already so overwhelmed and overjoyed with the things God has given. I don’t want our body to have a wandering heart, or greedy eyes. I love you all, and I want to enjoy the love of Jesus with you all. Have an awesome day!
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Zach Young
Servant of the King www.purleygatesretreat.org Hello family! I am so glad you are here today and I look forward to all that God does through us this week. Today we are going to discuss the topic that will allow us to get to all that God offers so we can reach all the people God has put in our path. Today I want to talk about letting go of control. Zach Young
Servant of the King My heart is broken today. I have been scrolling through social media the past few weeks and all of the negativity and hatred just keeps piling up. There are so many hurt people in our nation, and it seems like there is no hope anymore. All I could think was “What happened? Where did we go wrong? How did we get here?” Then God hit me with some hard truth… Look at the American Church and you will have your answer. Boom. Right to the heart. Photo credit: https://giphy.com/gifs/rockymovie-movie-rocky-sylvester-stallone-1iTH1WIUjM0VATSw Zach Young
Child of the King www.purleygatesretreat.org Good morning brothers and sisters! I have missed you all so much. I am praying that today you are growing even more in your relationship with Jesus than you were yesterday. For this week’s post, I think it is time that we have a discussion on growth. There are a lot of ways to go with this topic, but I want to take us on the path of personal spiritual growth. In order to help us all have a little more clarity as we discuss, I want us all to think “our spiritual marathon” instead of just personal growth. Zach Young
Child of the King www.purleygatesretreat.org Good morning brothers and sisters! I hope you are having a great day so far and just can’t help but fall in love with Jesus today. He is so good! Even in the midst of trial and tragedy. Even in the middle of our greatest fears, in the middle of our deepest hurts. Zach Young
Child of the King www.purleygatesretreat.org Hello family! What a beautiful day! Isn’t God so awesome? We are alive today, we are loved today, and we get another opportunity to live like Jesus. It doesn’t get any better than that! Today, I would like to lighten things up a little bit for us all. In this week’s post I want to talk about another essential piece to living this Christian life – having joy. Photo credit: https://www.ted.com/playlists/447/how_to_make_compassion_thrive Zach Young
Child of the King www.purleygatesretreat.org Hello brothers and sisters! I pray you all are having amazing weeks thus far and are praising Jesus every moment of every day. He is good! Today I would like to discuss the topic of compassion – just like the title of this posts says. Plain and simple today. Zach Young
Child of the King www.purleygatesretreat.org As we begin this quick journey together, I just want to start with a prayer over you today. Jesus, I ask that those who have chosen to read today would find you. I ask that your Holy Spirit would rain down on them, and fill them with truth and love today. Jesus, I thank you for loving us and seeing great value in us. God you are awesome! We love you! In Jesus’ name, Amen. https://worshipcrafting.com/2017/04/24/the-hard-work-of-worship/ Zach Young
Creative Director Purley Gates Retreat Hello everyone! I pray that you are enjoying life today and God is doing big things through you this week. I’m so glad you are here today! Our topic for this week is another one of those tough ones that we often face as Christians – how to worship. Now when I say this, I’m not getting into the debates like having music or instruments in church, or what types of songs are played, or anything like that. I’m taking this post a little deeper and aiming it right at the heart of the matter. Today, we are going to look at why and how we meet on Sundays (or whatever day your church gathers). |
About Us:At Purley Gates, our passion is to share the love of Jesus with ALL people. Archives
November 2017
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