Because You Are Strong

Genuine Indignation

2012-03-09T07:34:00.001-08:00

Today you'll learn with David. Pay attention to his words, and attitude.

By the way, he was just a youth.

INDIGNANT - "For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?"

COURAGEOUS - "Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine."

UNFLINCHING - "This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel."

Just is the doer, not the hearer.

Next week you'll learn with another Biblical character what true and genuine revolt means.

Luke Castro

YPG National Coordinator

Da Trans4mation Continues...

2012-03-06T07:04:00.000-08:00

He was an instrument of evil in the past, selling dope and gang banging in the streets on NY.

Today he is an instrument of God

to rescue youths from the streets.

Luke Castro

YPG National Coordinator

B Trans4med!

2012-03-03T21:43:00.000-08:00

One more youth transformed at the YPG.

Will you be next?

Luke Castro

YPG National Coordinator

Emotions vs Reason

2012-03-02T14:01:00.003-08:00

That's why she was known as the 'Iron Lady'.

Luke Castro

YPG National Coordinator

B Trans4med!

2012-02-29T05:23:00.001-08:00

From promiscuity to purity.

Luke Castro

YPG National Coordinator

We're About Changes!

2012-02-26T16:39:00.000-08:00

Because we are STRONG!

1 Jn 2:14

Luke Castro

YPG National Coordinator

Are You Ready to Quit?

2012-02-24T08:54:00.002-08:00

One of the most frequently asked question is ‘What do I have to do to have an encounter with God?’

Well, in short - SACRIFICE! There's no other way. If you don’t decide to truly put your life on the altar, meaning to close your eyes and ears to the things of the world and discipline yourself obey God, you'll not see this great change in your life.

You have to neglect and turn your back on the things of the flesh (which most often than not, are the things you like the most e.g. gossiping, listening to worldly music, fornicating etc.) because these are the things that separate us from God.

If like many young people you are asked, ‘what is the plan for your life?’ you, like they, will undoubtedly say that you want to be successful, to have money etc. But what I am talking about here is beyond this.

“Are you ready to be a quitter? ”

So far you are heading in the same direction as any other youth in this world. Though you have to have your dreams of achieving great things in this world you must remember that the ultimate dream, the most important thing is your salvation. If you don’t have this, all the other things don’t matter.

The heat in Texas summer is almost unbearable. But that’s not even 1% of what the Bible describes as the lake of fire. It’s such torment that the Bible says that people will look for death because they want to die and escape the pain but death will run from them.

If we don’t fight for our salvation then we are fools! There's no point having money, cars, homes, etc; if you don’t have your salvation.

This is why we need the Spirit of understanding. To discern and know what God is trying to tell us - to know what is good and what is not, in order to conquer and maintain our salvation.

If you have not yet reached this point of having the new birth it’s because there are things around that you have not decided to let go of. It may be a tiny thing that seems so insignificant but if it remains, there's a huge barrier between you and God.

The question is, are you ready to be a quitter? To quit living your old life, your fleshy desire and to let go of that thing that is currently impeding you from really knowing God? Like many youths in the church, you say you want God’s plan for your life, but if your life is not 100% on the altar, meaning to live according to His rules, then all you are doing is 'blah blah blah'…you have to take action!

Be honest with yourself. What is impeding you from getting closer to God?

Luke Castro

YPG National Coordinator

We're About Changes!

2012-02-19T16:30:00.000-08:00

Images speak volumes.

Luke Castro

YPG National Coordinator

Dream Come True

2012-02-17T15:25:00.000-08:00

The core message of this movie is the choice the students made.

They were a bunch problematic, underachiever students who had failed too many times.

But the teacher, played by Hillary Swank, proposed a change.

They'd have to either accept it or not.

And they did accept it.

It wasn't that simple nevertheless.

They had to make an effort and stick to her proposal.

And that's the key message. They CHOSE to do what they perhaps never did before.

They met her half way. She couldn't do it all for them.

And because of that simple DECISION, they turned from negative to positive statistic.

How about you? What do you choose? To blame everyone else and be the same or make a difference?

P.S. The movie is based on true story.

Luke Castro

YPG National Coordinator

I Have a Dream...

2012-02-14T06:51:00.000-08:00

I've watched this movie numerous times. It's very inspirational.

If you haven't watched it yet I strongly encourage to do it within

the next 3 days as I'll be writing a post about it on Friday.

There are 4 types of youth in this world. I'll talk to you more about it on the next blog.

Luke Castro

YPG National Coordinator

Heart said: Dude, that's not for TODAY.

2012-02-09T08:24:00.000-08:00

BRAIN: Did you know that God condemns TATTOOS and PIERCING of the body?

HEART: "Hey dude, that’s not for today. Man, that’s the Old Testament. I’m under the New Testament".

BRAIN: Okay. I tell you what, did you know that "bestiality" (sicko, perverted, sex with an animal) was ONLY forbidden in the Old Testament Levitical Law? Does that mean a Holy God NOW – under the New Testament, approves of bestiality?

HEART: Well...

BRAIN: Wait, wait... have you ever read Leviticus 19:29? The verse immediately AFTER the "it’s not for me" Leviticus 19:28? This is the only place in the Bible that God directly forbids someone to prostitute their daughter.

HEART: Uhh...

BRAIN: And since, it’s ONLY in the Old Testament Levitical Law (and "hey, dude, we’re NOT under the law") – it MUST be okay by the Lord for a parent to cause their daughter to prostitute. Same sick, perverted, wicked, line of reasoning as the "it’s ONLY in the Old Testament-tattoo-bearer-wearer". Same reasoning... Same disobedience... Same perversion of the Word of God.

HEART: Come on man...

BRAIN: What about human sacrifice of children? No where in the New Testament is this forbidden. Does that mean that NOW under the New Testament, God Almighty endorses throwing babies into the fire as a human sacrifice? Think.

HEART: Oh boy... I always come short. I hate you brain...

This is a call for those who want to use their head (reason) and not their heart (emotions).

P.S.: Go back to the top and stare at the picture. Draw your own conclusions.

Luke Castro

YPG National Coordinator.

But Lord, You Know...

2012-02-04T09:19:00.000-08:00

This is the reply given by many youths when called by God to serve Him: 'But Lord, You know...' What comes next usually sounds like this; 'I’m still so young', 'My English is not good', 'I’ve done so many bad things', 'I will lose my friends', 'My family would turn against me,' etc.

A man by the name of Moses also found himself in a similar situation when he was called upon by God. Moses had more than one or two reasons for him to say to God; 'You know...' To speak of a few: Moses stuttered in his speech, he was a foreigner, he was adopted, he was poor, he worked for his father-in-law and he was also a murderer. Moses could have used any of these circumstances as an excuse of being unfit to be used by God.

Although the circumstances may not exactly be the same, many youths may be able to match their current situation close to the one of Moses. However, despite our complexes, the question we should be asking ourselves is, If God used a man like Moses, then why can’t He use me?”.

"For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of this world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of this world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence." (Corinthians 1:26-29)

Understand from this passage that God is not looking for perfect people. In fact we see that He uses those who are considered useless according to this world. The poor, weak, basic, small! He raises up such people and through their testimony, His name is glorified. Jacob, Moses, David, Joseph, Gideon, Hannah. You maybe despised, neglected, unskilled, uneducated or abused; but God is still calling you. The only missing piece is your decision. Even though God may be calling us, it is up to you to answer Him. You must want Him.

The key is sacrifice. Usually when God speaks to us, most people see it as the pastor’s words and therefore ignore God’s instructions. Just like Moses’ sacrifice was to return to Egypt, the land in which he was wanted for murder; your sacrifice will not be easy. You may have to end certain friendships, to let go of grudges, deprive your enjoyment, confessing to something you did... Whatever it might be, just as Moses went down into Egypt, we will have to do what God asks of us.

The situation that led up to Moses’ encounter with God came about because he refused to be called the son of pharaoh’s daughter, as well as to refuse the luxuries that come with that title.

"But by faith Moses, when become of age, refused to be called the son of pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward." (Hebrews 11:24-26)

Like Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s, how many of you are ready to say no to the things that are not of God. Are you ready to reject your will, pay the price and turn your back to sinful pleasures? Would you put more value in what Jesus has in store for you or what the world has to offer?

Everyone in this world will one day pay a price, either for good or for bad.

Luke Castro

YPG National Coordinator

Be Alert, the Enemy is Watching!

2012-01-31T07:33:00.000-08:00

Has the devil got any percentage of goodness in him? Could it be that maybe he is 90% bad and 10% good?

It’s written that, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy." (John 10:10)

If he had any good in him, it would have been mentioned. But sometimes he uses the good things to destroy people’s lives and often uses the people closest to you to do so.

He will try to deceive you in such a way that you won’t even notice. For example, the devil tried to stop Jesus from fulfilling his mission by using the Pharisees to question, persecute and even beat Him up. But because they had no effect on Him, he used Peter, his closest disciple.

"And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." (Mark 8:31-33)

What Peter said seemed to be something good, but if Jesus had listened to him, he would not have gone to the cross and have conquered our freedom.

That’s what he does with us today. He will try and use the people you know well to try and deceive or deter you from your target and separate you from God.

The antidote for that is simple: SPIRITUAL AWARENESS. In other words, the only way for me to identify the enemy is when I am in the faith. When my life is in God’s hands, when I am born of Him.

When Jesus heard what Peter said, he immediately knew that it was a trick of the devil. That’s why He said, '"Get behind Me, Satan!"' (Mark 8:33)

If we are not alert, sooner or later we’ll end up following someone else’s mind, ideas, ways and end up falling into the devil’s trap. So be alert, the enemy is watching…waiting for an opportunity to make you fall.

Luke Castro

YPG National Coordinator

Metamorphoses - Conclusion

2012-01-25T09:09:00.000-08:00

I can imagine the reaction you had when you read last week's message about metamorphoses. You probably thought, "Why on earth this woman transformed her body like that? She was so beautiful." You probably felt sorry for her too.

I won't get in to details about her bizarre looks. It's pretty much clear to me that she's lost and trying to overcome her past by changing OUTWARDLY first. It seems like the devil found a way to reveal his true colors, literally.

On the other hand, I have no doubt you felt disgusted by the strong images of Bryan Widener removing his tattoos, but also very much encouraged by the man's determination to eliminate his past in order to become a new man. He changed INWARDLY first.

LESSON: Much less is asked of us and we tend to say, 'it's too hard!'. One way or another you're transforming yourself, either for good or for bad.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. - Rm 12:2

Luke Castro
YPG National Coordinator

Metamorphose

2012-01-23T10:47:00.000-08:00

One way or another we are TRANSFORMING ourselves, either in to someone,

or 'something', for that matter, good or bad.

I'd like you to take a look at the video and picture below.

Watch, look, stare and take time to ponder and make your own conclusions.

I'll get back to you in a few days to talk more about it.

Maria Jose Cristerna, AKA Vampire Woman.

Before (teenager) After (at 35 yrs-old)

Former skinhead

Luke Castro

YPG National Coordinator

Be What You Aim To Be - Conclusion

2012-01-18T15:36:00.000-08:00

Last week I posted the video interview of the Bronco Denver's quarterback Tim Tebow, where he talks freely about his faith in Jesus. Without hesitance he declares his commitment to God and does not consider the alternative.

If you are a believer you probably loved it. If not a believer you either respected his choice or labeled him a fanatic.

Well, my intention is not to discuss the video but his attitude. He does not care what people think. He is what he is. If people don't like it, their problem. Eat less as we say in Brazil.

Many youths hide their faith and that they go to church from their classmates and co-workers. They are too concerned with their reputation, if they have any.

In a much smaller scale, compared to Tebow, they deny God. On the other hand, Tebow confess God in front of the cameras, for the whole world to see, including the fact that he is a virgin.

Perhaps that's one of the main reasons behind his success.

Jesus said, "But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven." Mt 10:33

How about you? Will you continue denying Him?

Luke Castro
YPG National Coordinator

Be What You Aim to Be

2012-01-14T04:55:00.000-08:00

I'd like to ask the followers of this blog to watch this video carefully as I will be making some comments in 3 days time. See you then...

Jesus vs Religion

2012-01-12T20:28:00.001-08:00

The Pressure is On!

2012-01-05T07:18:00.000-08:00

Jesus once said, "And because of lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold." - Mt 24:12

I've been thinking about it lately, specially in regards to young people. As the title suggests, THE PRESSURE IS ON!

Peer PRESSURE, family PRESSURE, carnal PRESSURE, worldly PRESSURE, media PRESSURE...; it's a daily struggle.

Basically, we have to develop our spiritual skills to a 'hand-to-hand' combat in order to literally survive in this filthy world.

And to remain faithful to Christ as a young person nowadays isn't easy at all. You've got to be brave, have some guts to stand your ground and fight back at all that the world throws at you.

But that isn't the end. He also said, "BUT he who endures to the end will be SAVED." Mt 24:13

He has given us His Spirit, which once working in line with our minds, not hearts, mind you, turns us into supernatural beings, aliens in this corrupted world.

"Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against your soul". - 1 Pt 2:11

One of our youth members here in America wrote the following, "A thousand may date at your side, ten thousand may get married at your right hand, but it will not come near you."

That isn't Biblical, but surely worth a thought.

Luke Castro

YPG National Coordinator

Music for the Soul. DANGEROUS!

2012-01-02T10:07:00.000-08:00

Last blog post you learned the physical consequences for listening to certain songs. As the title suggests, music for the soul is the satan's number one weapon, as the soul is linked to emotions. Once he touches your emotions through music he gains access to your innermost feelings. Once that access is obtained he then controls the person as a mere puppet.

Devil's recipes:

Are you angry? Listen to Heavy Metal, Punk Rock.

Are you in love? Listen to love songs.

Wanna take a puff? Listen to Hip Hop, Garage or the like.

Do you want to spur that rage inside you? Rap is what you need. Need a stronger dose? EMINEM is excellent to drive you crazy.

Are you happy? Listen to... happy songs, I guess.

In other words, there's a song for any kind of mood. He can control you as it pleases him.

Well, I warned you before, can you stand the truth? If not yet so then I'm using the Bible as my last resource to bring you to your senses:

"You were in Eden, the garden of God;
Every precious stone was your covering:
The sardius, topaz and diamond;
Beryl, onyx and jasper;
Sapphire, turquoise and emerald with gold.
The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes
Was prepared for you on the day you were created." - Ez 28:13

Luke Castro
YPG National Coordinator

Can You Stand the Truth?

2011-12-27T08:40:00.000-08:00

In most of my meetings I make sure I mention the danger some music imposes on us and I've noticed most youths find it really hard to believe in what I'm saying. Some even think I'm trying to dictate their lives by telling them what not to listen to. Well, I decided to share with you what this secular pediatric website has to say. Even though it's from a physical point of view, the outcome is pretty much the same as of the spiritual one in the meetings.

Objective: To perform a comprehensive content analysis of substance use in contemporary popular music.

Design: We analyzed the 279 most popular songs of 2005 according to Billboard magazine. Two coders working independently used a standardized data collection instrument to code portrayals of substance use.

Outcome Measures: Presence and explicit use of substances and motivations for, associations with, and consequences of substance use.

Results: Of the 279 songs, 93 (33.3%) portrayed substance use, with an average of 35.2 substance references per song-hour. Portrayal of substance use varied significantly (P < .001) by genre, with 1 or more references in 3 of 35 pop songs (9%), 9 of 66 rock songs (14%), 11 of 55 R & B/hip-hop songs (20%), 22 of 61 country songs (36%), and 48 of 62 rap songs (77%). While only 2.9% of the 279 songs portrayed tobacco use, 23.7% depicted alcohol use, 13.6% depicted marijuana use, and 11.5% depicted other or unspecified substance use. In the 93 songs with substance use, it was most often motivated by peer/social pressure (45 [48%]) or sex (28 [30%]); use was commonly associated with partying (50 [54%]), sex (43 [46%]), violence (27 [29%]), and/or humor (22 [24%]). Only 4 songs (4%) contained explicit anti-use messages, and none portrayed substance refusal. Most songs with substance use (63 [68%]) portrayed more positive than negative consequences; these positive consequences were most commonly social, sexual, financial, or emotional.

Conclusions: The average adolescent is exposed to approximately 84 references to explicit substance use daily in popular songs, and this exposure varies widely by musical genre. The substance use depicted in popular music is frequently motivated by peer acceptance and sex, and it has highly positive associations and consequences.

*Excerpted from: http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/162/2/169

To be continue...

Luke Castro

YPG National Coordinator

JOKER!

2011-12-24T17:33:00.001-08:00

"Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were...

foolish: stupid, silly, idiotic, witless, brainless, mindless, unintelligent, thoughtless, half-baked, imprudent, incautious, injudicious, unwise, ill-advised, ill-considered, impolitic, rash, reckless, foolhardy, daft; informal dumb, dim, dimwitted, halfwitted, thick, harebrained, crack-brained, crackpot, pea-brained, wooden-headed, dumb-ass, chowderheaded. - Matthew 25:1-2

Are the synonyms enough to make you understand?

Perhaps you could attempt to read the rest of the chapter.

Do you dare?

Luke Castro

YPG National Coordinator

Wise Up!

2011-12-23T12:12:00.000-08:00

Have you ever been in a situation where you do or say something and immediately after that you regret it? Young people often find themselves in this situation. Why? Because they act according to the impulses of their hearts, without wisdom.

What comes to mind whenever the word wisdom is mentioned is the image of an old man, full of experience and knowledge... this is the world’s image of wisdom. But there is a big difference between the wisdom that comes from God and the wisdom of the world.

The wisdom of the world often bears a lot of tragedy and problems simply because they act based on their own understanding. It’s equally easy to see the bad fruits of those who are unwise.

"Instead of kicking yourself every time you commit the same mistakes

seek wisdom from God that you may deal with things the right way."

For God, age or experience is not an issue. When Solomon asked for wisdom he was young, he had no experience of running a kingdom but he recognised that he wasn’t mature enough to deal with that responsibility and sought wisdom from God. He received it because his heart was after God’s own, meaning he wanted to do things right by God.

You may not be running a kingdom but you need wisdom to deal with family, finances, school, friends and the situation around you. Instead of kicking yourself every time you commit the same mistakes seek wisdom from God that you may deal with things the right way.

When you receive counselling from pastors or assistants, they don’t just sit there talking about things that they know. They are linked with God, they seek for wisdom and consequently God gives it to them in order to give people the right direction and advice.

Be wise.

If you want to grow in your faith, make sure you attend the last YPG Real Talk meeting of the year next Thursdays at 7pm.

Find your local YPG branch.

Luke Castro

YPG National Coordinator

What Are You Known For?

2011-12-19T09:35:00.000-08:00

In 2 Chronicles 26, we read the story of King Uzziah who was called to rule at the age of sixteen. When the people chose him to govern over them instead of his father, he grew from strength to strength and prospered in everything.

As he did what was right in the sight of God “…his fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped till he became strong.”

(2 Chronicles 26:15)

So what caused this great and successful king to be remembered as nothing more than a leper?

Note here that it says he was successful until he became strong, in other words, until he became proud.

“Stop for a moment and look at yourself…what are you known for?”

King Uzziah allowed pride to fill his heart and believed himself to know everything and lost the fear of God, just like many young people do today.

“…when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the LORD his God by entering the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.” (2 Chronicles 26:16)

When the priests rebuked him for this, instead of humbling himself and recognising his mistake, he was angry in his heart. Consequently, leprosy broke out across his forehead. In those days, a leprous person was an outcast; they were seen as ‘unclean’ and would have to stay away from the rest of the citizens of that city. In that single moment of rebellion in his heart, King Uzziah lost everything and was ashamed and humiliated before all men.

Isn’t this what happens to many youths nowadays?

Like this King, many youths lose the fear of God and despise the many opportunities that He gives them through direction and instruction from the man of God (pastors/assistants). They refuse to humble themselves. Consequently they become ‘leprous’.

Instead of being known for being successful, they are known for everything that is bad and shameful.

They become like those youths who are no longer known by their names but rather as ‘that girl that fights all the time’, ‘the boy who is an undergraduate’, ‘the one in the gang’, ‘the guy who ended up in prison’ or ‘the girl who got pregnant’.

Kind David was in a similar situation as King Uzziah. He was successful and also well known. At his greatest, like King Uzziah, he sinned when he sent his soldier to his death in battle because he wanted to be with his wife.

In comparison to King Uzziah’s sin, King David's seemed the worst of the two, so why is it then that today, he is remembered as the man after God’s own heart despite this big mistake? It’s because when David was rebuked by the priests for his actions, instead of being filled with pride like Uzziah, he humbled himself and repented of his sin.

Today, David is still known as a great king, a great man of God. Uzziah is known for being a leper.

Stop for a moment and look at yourself…what are you known for?

Luke Castro

YPG National Coordinator

Overcoming the 'Loser State'

2011-12-16T13:38:00.000-08:00

Many youths, in spite of believing in God and having every opportunity to succeed, they are losers!

They are constantly defeated by their problems, situations and are constantly making the same silly mistakes.

They try to overcome this ‘loser state’ according to their abilities but the Bible is clear…

“Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.” (Luke 17: 33)

When we give our life to the Lord Jesus, not just vocally but to the point of acting upon every instruction that's given, we can never lose because from that moment on our life is in His hands. We're safe.

This means that no matter what happens around you, even if it’s a situation that is against you, you can't lose because you already 'lost' your life the day you gave it to God. No matter what happens, there's no loss!

How can you lose something you have already lost? Your life is His concern now.

If you are reading this and thinking, ‘I don’t want to be a loser anymore’, then do something about it! Give your life to God, with no reservations.

Only the Holy Spirit can make you complete.

Make sure you win the biggest battle of all battles, the inner one.

Pr Luke Castro

YPG National Coordinator