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God-Fire  

They walked past all the punks and preppies. They said their greetings to them in a warm hello. They were not a part of any group. They are the young people who dare to follow Christ in the world of today.

I am one of these extraordinary teens who are dedicated to the purpose of the gospel. I am not alone in my walk now although I have been. I decided half way through my freshman year in high school to move 1,500 miles away from my hometown. I expected popularity, and I got letdown. My peers had no interest in me what so ever once they realise mischief wasn't my game. I came with a deep message that spoiled their "fun." I had one hellacious time that year. I had no friends, and I was the absolute definition of lonely. I had gone from being a queen in my high school to being the queen of losers.

Nonetheless, I endured a lot of persecution for my beliefs and morals, yet I persevered. I'm sorry to all those atheists out there, but God was the only thing that pulled me through that year. In the midst of my pain God was there and gave me joy.

Today I am back in my hometown. I didn't let them change me, but I changed them. Leaving that foreign place, I left a few people changed forever. On returning to my hometown I found that I wasn't the only one that had discovered the spark of Christ. Friends that had faded away through the miles had experienced God's fire like I had. Friendships were repaired and caressed. My best girlfriend and I stayed up one night reading the word of God until 3 in the morning. Oh yeah, we had it bad. We aren't the only ones. Teens in this town are screaming for more of God, and some just don't know how to find Him. I feel this is why I am back in my hometown to give hope to the kids that are alone in their walk.

We are the new generation. A generation craving more of Christ everyday. Often my friends will have praise sessions together called "Plugged into Jesus." It is a bunch of teenagers all different in various ways that unite for one common purpose. , to glorify God. I am excited to see what this year brings but I know that we are turning a few heads and changing a generation. Things aren't all peaches and cream living a life of dedication and reverence before God. Teens that have laid their lives before God face a lot of trials and triumphs, but we dare to scream that we are still here.

It is awesome how God is moving among the youth of today and this is only fuel for the few that are sold out to Jesus. As youth in our community lots of us do community services and help out with non-profit organisations. A passion lies in the heart of the youth in praise and worship service. Many teens are getting fired up about helping out with the praise and worship services by using their instruments and God-given talents to make their performance breathtaking.

We are teenager living in America so we like the idea of having crazy fun, but we do it Jesus style. In our small town the options are limited. Often cruising teens roar through the town sharing their wild music with everyone. Teens linger around popular spots for entertainment. We do all of the above but with the intentions to reach out to others. Come on people we like fast cars and loud music too. Only our music brings spiritual up lifting and our cars stay at the speed limit most of the time. The beauty of any evening is when we are all in need of restoration. We bow our heads as one as we come to God with heaven burdens to be in the presence of God of which fills our cups and renews us in full. We lift our heads being a lot lighter and have the persistence to go on.

Being as any teenager growing up we continue to make many mistakes. The difference between us and most of American teens is we live a life of sacrifice and service unto others being just forgiving and nothing more. We are simply functioning off of God's grace and mercy. We are all equal and try to let people see us as we really are. We are not perfect people but just forgiven people who have desperately fallen in love with God. I can say that from my heart comes a pure desire to serve people with love. That is simply our goal and our motivation. We may be a strange generation but were here to serve others and change the nation to make it a better place for all.

by

Daile Wells
17th July 2001

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