Though God was working, our wee was not without opposition by the prince of the power of the air. The forecast showed that our first entire recruiting day should have been entirely ruined by rain, yet not a drop fell during any of our recruiting times–an answer to prayer! When I checked the forecast again for the first rally night, the entire day was supposed to be filled with thunderstorms. We got on our knees and prayed that God would not let any storms or rain dissuade anyone from coming. Sure enough, the storms completely vanished and we had beautiful weather for the competitions!

The first night at the invitation, God moved and nine teens trusted Christ. The second night, the teens were inviting like mad and our crowd increased drastically. God moved again in the service and seven trusted Christ. The final night, there was a young man who had not responded all week, though he raised his hand at each invitation. Each night previous, a team captain had talked with him and plead for him to get saved. The final night, God worked in his heart through a message on Hell and he not only raised his hand, but responded in the invitation and trusted Christ! Five others trusted Christ in that invitation as well. All in all, 22 teens were saved in The War for the week.

The Spring 2012 tour for The War was a wonderful tour. We preached the gospel to over 750 teens over our ten weeks on the road. 180 of them trusted Jesus as their Savior. Our faith has been stirred that the power of the gospel is still sufficient to reach the teens of America today.

Photo by Carl Wycoff from Nevada, USA [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

The first night, we were up against high percentage forecasts of severe thunderstorms during our outside competition time. We sought God and asked him to dispel the storm. Sure enough, the storm vanished and we were able to proceed completely unhindered by the weather. However, God was doing more than just working in the weather. That night, 11 teens responded in the invitation and trusted Christ! Sunday in the morning service, there were several lost adults in the service. The assistant pastor and several others in the church had been working for a long time on one of these men who were present. God led me to change my message to the gospel and this man walked the aisle and trusted Christ! For our evening competition, we faced rain and cold temperatures. We braved the weather and competed outside anyway. That night, two teens trusted Christ, including one young man for whom a girl in the youth group had been praying for over three years. The final night, we had several visitors from the local middle school. Four of these young men accepted Christ as their Savior. All in all, 17 teens and one adult trusted Christ for the week.

Photo courtesy of dscaglione on the Stock Exchange.

When we arrived, however, we found ourselves up against the biggest annual festival in Wilmington—the Azalea Festival. Yet in spite of this difficult obstacle, we purposed to believe that the fields were white, the harvest plenteous, and that God would save souls! Our recruiting was not easy, however. The team captains had to work for every recruit they got. When the night events arrived, God delivered and over the course of the three nights we had 77 teens attend our competitions with a high night of 50.

Each night, souls were saved. The first night, a young man came back concerned about where he would go for eternity. He spoke to a counselor about salvation, but insisted that he had already accepted Christ in fourth grade. The counselor had a sense that he was not truly saved, but did not know how to help him, so he asked me to help. I sat down and asked the young man more questions. It turned out that the young man was trusting Christ to help him be a better person so that God would let him into heaven. Once I showed him that he had a split-dependence between Jesus and himself, the young man bowed his head and trusted Christ alone! Another young man trusted Christ the first night and immediately followed in obedience to the Lord with believer’s baptism on Sunday morning. The third night, during the invitation time, several young people raised their hands that they were concerned about where they would spend eternity, but some of them didn’t respond in the invitation. Afterward, one of the team captains confronted one young man about his soul. Before long, the teen bowed his head outside the fellowship hall and trusted Christ. I confronted a young lady about what God did in her heart. She said to me that she was not ready. I asked her why. She told me that she just didn’t know much about Jesus yet. I told her that all she needed to know about Jesus was that he died for her sins and wanted to save her. The girl began to tear up with conviction. I asked her if she’d like to talk to my wife and get the matter settled. She agreed, followed me to the girls’ counseling room, and accepted Christ as her Savior. All in all, nine trusted Christ over the three nights.

Photo courtesy of hussey on the Stock Xchange

Our week began with some challenges in recruiting endeavors, but with much prayer and God helping us, God gave us just what our facilities could handle! The first night, we had a good crowd and a good response at the invitation–six trusted Christ. Typically, the number of decisions decreases after the first night. However, coming into the second night, our team was burdened to see God do an even greater work. We had a wonderful time of prayer Sunday afternoon and the light of God’s presence shone into our prayer time. That night, we neared maximum capacity in the fellowship hall where we conducted our inside competition. At the invitation, a crowd of teens responded and ten trusted Christ! Earlier that night, a young man named John grabbed his food and left well before the preaching began. The final night literally moments before I stood up to preach, my wife informed me that John had been shot and was in critical condition. I stood to preach with a fire in my heart, warning the teens that if they left without Jesus they could easily find themselves unexpectedly entering eternity unprepared. God worked and three teens trusted Christ. Overall 19 teens were saved over the three nights.

Our week began with some outstanding recruiting opportunities. We were able to invite teens from two lunch rooms, one breakfast room, one dismissal time, and one gym opportunity where almost the whole student body literally had nothing to do but listen to us recruit them for The War. Over two days of recruiting, we had 525 names and numbers of teens who had expressed interest in The War. We were excited at the potential of the week!

When the evening competitions finally rolled around, we were elated to see the turnout. Even though we were up against several community events, we still had a total of 129 teens attend over the three nights. Furthermore, God moved in hearts every night. Two young men came the first night who, from all outward appearances, did not seem to be “plugged in” to the night. During the preaching, they seemed to be cutting up and conversing with each other and generally not paying attention. However, at the invitation, it became clear that I only observed part of what God was doing. At the opportunity to respond to the message, both young men raised their hands to indicate that they needed to be saved. At the invitation to go back and talk to a counselor, both came back and trusted Christ! Another young man whom God was working on had attended our hosting church almost all of his life. The final night, he responded to the invitation and entered the counseling room. Afterward, I questioned him about his decision, suspecting that he was simply “getting saved again.” He told me that he had been depending on praying a prayer and feeling sorry for his sin to get to heaven but that during the message he realized that he had to depend on Christ alone! Praise God for the convicting work of the Holy Spirit! Over the three nights, 14 teens trusted Christ. Hallelujah!

Though we entered the week with much faith and expectation, our week was not without battles. In fact, we faced some of the most intense battles yet in this little town. For example, the school everyone fully expected us to get into flat out rejected us. However, not to be deterred, we pursued another nearby school that everyone told us that we could never get into, and subsequently received free reign to recruit the students in the lunch room and on the property after school!

During the rally nights, we also received opposition. One night, a large group of teens stood up and left; another night, the church van blew a tire and caused its sixteen passengers to completely miss the outside competitions. Nevertheless every night God convicted hearts. We were able to preach to over 65 teens and 16 trusted Christ over the course of the week. To God be the glory!

Our first night’s crowd was over one hundred teens, a large majority of them being from other gospel-preaching churches in the area. We saw seven teens trust Christ in the first invitation. The second night our crowd grew, and three were saved. The final night, we lost some because of the spring break week, but nearly broke one hundred again. Two were saved in the invitation the final night. Due to the large Christian population in the crowd, we had several teens get assurance of their salvation. With others, God broke their hearts over hidden sin during the gospel messages and they came clean in the invitation. All in all, we had a cumulative attendance of 169 teens, with a high night of 129.

The church opted to utilize our “Boot Camp” program to equip the adults of the church to effectively  follow up with the teens that would get saved. We had two wonderful nights on Thursday and Friday discussing the Gospel, the invitation, and laying out a strategy for reaching these teens for a lifetime. It was my burden to stir these dear people’s faith that God can and will use them to disciple these teens so that the teens can be used by God to shake the world! Praise the Lord, the people were stirred and there was a great spirit of expectation among the people.

We had a good turnout at the three evening rallies. While the points were close and the competition intense, the highlight of all three nights was the invitation time. The first night, 16 teens stepped out to the counseling room and trusted Christ. The second night, six trusted Christ. However, leading up to the third night, God had been intensifying a burden in our hearts to increase the size of our crowd and thus the scope of those who would hear the gospel. God opened the door for us to invite teens in a lunch room at a local high school on Monday afternoon. Since this opportunity was “outside the box” of our normal procedure, we asked God to do a special work in this time and trusted him to do it. We had a wonderful reception by the students! When one Christian teen who attends the high school arrived home that afternoon, she told her mother that “the whole school is talking about Galilean Baptist Church and The War.” Hallelujah! As a result, we had a great crew of teens out that night and 18 trusted Christ in the invitation. Overall, 40 trusted Christ this week, and there is a crew of faith-filled disciplers ready and waiting to lead the new believers on to maturity and usefulness for Christ. Praise the Lord!

Over the course of the three nights, the Lord blessed with a large percentage of outside young people. God stirred us with the power of the gospel as each night teenagers responded and trusted Christ. One young man trusted Christ the first night, showed up in church the following Sunday morning, and went forward to make a public profession before the church that he had trusted Christ! On Monday, the Lord burdened our team to do one last push at recruiting in the surrounding neighborhoods adjacent to the church. Three additional young people showed up that night because of that push. It was a battle to keep them, however. At one point all three almost left, but we were able to keep them in the service. They seemed amused at the preaching, laughing at the preacher. However, when the message turned to their sin, they stopped laughing. By time the invitation came around, all three went back and trusted Christ. They told me afterwards that they were glad they stayed. Overall, 19 teens made professions during the week.

On Monday morning, since most school were off for a holiday, the youth pastor had a paintball activity. Over 10 non-church teenagers from The War showed up and participated in the youth activity. Pastor Cover was encouraged at the turnout and is really looking forward to following up with these young people and getting them plugged in to the youth group. To God be the glory!

Our week was not without a battle, however. On the first day of competition the temperature dipped into dead-of-winter conditions (for Texas, that is). The first night conditions were in the low 40s; the second they dipped into the mid 30s and were accompanied by sleet. No doubt, the weather kept some away who were planning to come. Yet, in spite of the frigid conditions, the teens had a blast and we had lost souls present every night.

The first night, several young people responded to the gospel invitation and trusted Christ. One young man in particular has an exciting testimony. He was lovingly confronted by a man in the church in the counseling room, trusted Christ, and even came to church on Sunday! During the Sunday morning service, he was sitting on the front row absorbing the preaching like a sponge. On the second night, one young man left the counseling room having rejected Christ as his Saviour saying that he was not willing to make the decision. He was from a family of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Micheal was able to lovingly confront him on Monday evening and clear up some misunderstandings about salvation. The young man bowed his head and prayed to be saved right in the parking lot! Over all, twelve teenagers professed faith in Christ.

We also were grateful for the responsiveness of those in the youth group and Christian school.  Several dealt with bitterness issues and covered sin that they had to right with their parents.

It was a good week and we enjoyed getting to know the good people at GIBC.  Pastor Perkins was a blessing and the Lord used his message on Wednesday night to touch several teens as well.

We were encouraged by several things.  First, several teens who were visitors from the surrounding community responded to the Gospel invitation.  Second, several of those who responded gave great testimonies of their salvation at the campfire service!  Thirdly, eight young people who had gotten saved this week came to the church on Sunday after the team had left.  We were thrilled to hear that report!  Fourthly, we did have some encouraging decisions among the Christian school students.  One older student wept his way through a testimony confessing his bitterness and his desire to be freed from it and other things that had been a problem.  For me, it is always a highlight to see the truth set someone free.

Over 120 teens attended the three nights.  We love being at Calvary Baptist of Fort Walton Beach, and this year was no exception.

As the week progressed students began to be responsive to the Word of God.  Bitterness and hidden sin were issues that kept coming up.  On Friday the three team captains spoke to the 9th and 10th grade guys.  The Lord powerfully moved and most them stayed afterwards to deal with the things concerning which God had convicted them.  We did not have near enought counsellors even after several on staff came to help.

Friday evening when we opened the microphone for testimonies, we had more than we could handle in the time alloted.  We had to go overtime several minutes.  It was a blessing as young people testified of dealing with sin and finding the joy of the Lord.

The youth pastor told us the next day that parents had contacted him and told of teens getting right with them after the Friday night final service.  It is always great to hear of young people who take God at His Word and watch the truth set them free.

As the week progressed the Lord broke through in many lives and the testimonies were thrilling.  One young man gave testimony of going to Walmart that very day and confessing theft to the manager of the store.  He related that when he walked out of the store, there was such joy in his heart.  Another theme of this testimony time was the “mercy” God gave when the teens confessed their sin and took steps to forsake it (Proverbs 28:13).  Another thing that marked this week was the books that were thrown in the fire.  About three or four were books from the “Twilight” series.

The team left Arizona and the beautiful desert scenary with joy in our hearts that God’s grace had once more been appropriated by many young people.  One never tires of hearing teens tell of the joy God gives when they “trust and obey.”

The students in the Christian school really got into their team and the competition. There was a lot of enthusiasm about the War of Special Forces. God began to move and students began to respond to the invitations. It was on Friday where things began to break loose. That morning, I challenged those who had responded to the Lord to be willing to give a testimony on Friday night if the Lord led. I challenged them that the Lord would use their testimonies to impact others. Friday evening when we opened the microphone for testimonies, those who had gotten things right with the Lord began to give powerful testimonies. Later I noticed that the testimonies were from those who were at that moment getting things right. The earlier testimonies had been used of the Lord to really convict some of those holding out. It was wonderful to see the tears and hear the broken words as young person after young person related of dealing with bitterness and other sins. The greatest blessing is to witness the joy as teens experience the reality of God working in their lives.

Afterwards some of the young people burned some things they had brought that displeased the Lord. One young lady burned a bag of immodest clothes. A few other things were thrown in as well. A few more testimonies were given out at the fire. It was great to see the Lord move so powerfully.

One young man really had to deal with some major sin issues in his life. After getting through to the victory side, he texted his team captain these words, “I love God!! More than ever! I can actually feel him working in my life!” That is God’s grace at work. It was a thrilling week!

The teens were enthusiastic each night and we were grateful for those who got saved and got right with the Lord.  A couple of young men came with tears and told of some major sin behind their parents’ backs.  It is always wonderful to see the Lord break hearts.

By kid pro quo [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

The in-school competition was intense. We were pushed to our limits with the three team format. Each team captain organized and led one hundred and twenty teenagers. We had free reign of the whole building. One of my team captains rode a school bus with one of the drivers that we were witnessing to during lunch. He was also the lead custodian for the senior high building.

The superintendent thanked us for coming. The principal and assistant principal repeatedly thanked us for working with their teenagers. The team went to the sectionals volleyball game and the sectionals football game. We were loud in cheering and ran the cheering for the stands. During the football game the assistant principal was so thankful for the cheering and excitement, that he asked if we could stick around an extra week to help his team win. At half-time my team was invited to the hospitality room. The hospitality room is where the school board, coaches, superintendent, principal, and assistant principal, among other school officials go during half time to talk and eat chili. God’s hand was evident while at the game. Each one of the key football players thanked us for cheering so loud. They never heard the fans get so excited. A few of the players came out to the evening rallies and got saved.

We had a great week in Linton, Indiana and we look forward to returning there again soon.

The superintendent and principal said that we were able to go to the lunch room, set up a table, and walk around the lunch room and talk to every student individually about the program. My team is in their environment when they are in the public school, so they took every opportunity that the school gave them. The principal allowed me to use his speaker system to recruit all three lunch periods filled with high school students.

The first night was low in attendance. The second night doubled and the third night tripled the first night. The Lord allowed us to see many souls come to the Lord. On the Sunday morning during our event the teen group went from four teenagers to around twelve.

We left the church with much follow up and much fruit to pray for and nurture. We are scheduled to be back in this church in 2012. We are attempting to get into the local public high school in correlation with our return meeting.

Image by Tabuwn (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons

The team did an outstanding job recruiting teens.  Several of the teens in the youth group assisted us with the recruiting effort.  We had a pretty good number of teens show up over the three nights although we had some conflicts in the area.  Several teens were saved.  It seemed like the youth group really got behind the week.  Our team hopes that many were encouraged with the Gospel and its power.

Photo Courtesy of Nancy Hayes. Used by permission.

Cornerstone Baptist Church is pastored by Brent Snow.  His wife was a teenager in The War in Rohnert Park, CA in 1987.  During that meeting there were over 200 teens that attended.  It was neat to have her teens in the War of Special Forces.

The team worked hard, but the attendance was low considering the work.  We are grateful for some unsaved teens that did come and trust the Lord.  For others we trust the Gospel seed was planted and watered.

The high school consisted of about one hundred students. Over 70% attended the night rallies at the Academy. The Lord gave us opportunity to counsel students concerning salvation and assurance of salvation. This school was changed after we left. Some of the teens whose parents are on the school board got saved. Others saw a great need in their Christian lives and wanted God to use them to see their school changed. We truly had a glorious week.

One interesting note is that the students during the school day took an offering for the team. They did not call it an offering, but rather a gift of appreciation. The high school students were definitely affected by the week. They were so affected that they ended up giving my team a little over a hundred and fifty dollars from their own pockets. The week truly was an encouraging week.

The young man nervously walks up to the door of his beloved fiancé clutching a bouquet of lilacs in one hand and a box of chocolate covered peanuts in the other. After ringing the door bell, the young man sheepishly smiles at the young lady opening the front door. Not knowing what to say, he blurts out, “How can I…uh…honor you…tonight?” She replies, “Well, first of all, you can throw the lilacs and peanuts in the bushes; I’m deathly allergic to them. Secondly, you can start listening to me when I talk to you. I told you the other day that I hated both of those things.”

Many Christians, while trying to honor and serve God, allow things into their lives that God has clearly stated that he does not like. Many come up with reasons as to why these things are “alright.” Inevitably, excuses abound. “It is a grey area” or “a neutral activity,” they say. However, if the truth were to be told and if they really desired to honor God, they would take an attentive look at what God says in his Word about the subject at hand and matters related to it. One such activity that many Christians justify without truly examining God’s Word is that of video gaming.

Ephesians 5 states that the Christian should–in all that he does–walk as one who has been made a child of the light. Paul, under inspiration, charges the Ephesian Christians to therefore prove (try, examine, test) all that they do based on whether it is an activity of darkness or of light. The Bible has many things to say that relate to video games. Therefore, if a Christian wants to honor God with his video games, he must prove his video games based on what God has to say about those things related with them in His Word.

Video games that hurt the conscience do not honor God

God desires that every Christian be holy and have a “good conscience” (I Tim. 1:18-19) so that the believer’s faith may remain strong. God gives many specific commands to the Christian to which the educated conscience must take heed and obey. A few examples of things that God forbids include worldly music (I Jn 2:15-16; Rom. 12:2; Prov. 19:27), foul language (Ps. 10:7; Prov. 10:31), violence (Rom. 1:28-30; Ps. 11:5; Ps. 7:16), sorcery and magic (Dt. 18:10-12; Rev. 21:8), immodesty (II Sam. 11:2; Job 31:1; Prov. 6:25), and immorality (Mt.5:27-28; Eph. 5:3; II Pet. 2:9-10,14). To disobey these commands is to sully the conscience with sin and thus effectively shipwreck one’s faith.

One infamous game that seems to break all the rules is the series of games called Grand Theft Auto. This wicked series has made headlines scores of times for its violent, debauched content. From cop-killing to car-theft, immodesty to immorality, vile language to an explicit soundtrack, the game seems to stand as a demonstration of the lifestyle of people whom God will cast into the lowest recesses of the lake of fire. Massacre after massacre in the real world has been traced back to this God dishonoring game. Secular studieshave revealed that the steady exposure to simulated violence does indeed affect human behavior. No wonder God said, “Him that loveth violence my soul hateth” (Ps. 11:5).

Beyond violence, many games such as the Pokemon series and many others, open the players’ minds up to the supernatural world where Satan is prince through magic and witchcraft. While some games seem to take a more “innocent approach” to witchcraft, other games, such as The Darkness, dive headlong into suicide, demon possession, and summoning evil spirits to carry out murderous tasks. Whether seemingly innocent or straight out of the pit of Hell, God’s opinion is still that they are abominable and that they “shall not be found among you” (Dt. 18:10-12).

While many more examples could be cited, it is sufficient to say that most video games break at least one of these commands. If a Christian must admit that his particular video game choices contain one or more of these elements, he must also admit that they do not honor God.

Video games that squander God-given resources do not honor God

One of the signs of spiritual immaturity is that of recklessly squandering important assets for that which has little profit. The story of the prodigal son demonstrates the folly of this attitude of waste (Luke 15:11-14, 17-18). The prodigal was left with nothing to show for his father’s hard-earned wealth. God has very candid things to say to those who would waste His resources. Such resources as time (Eph. 5:15-17; Jn. 9:4; Js. 4:14-15; Jn.12:35), money (Is. 55:2; Lk. 16:11; Pr. 18:9), and opportunities (Col. 4:5; Ps. 119:37; Js. 4:17; I Cor. 15:34) are treated with high regard by the Lord. Those who squander them will doubtless face “terror of the Lord” at the Judgment Seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:11).

Even in the secular world, some are highly concerned about the wasteful nature of videogames. In the following lengthy quote, one source said that gamers can

spend a disproportionate amount of money on computer-related items. The person will seem to be continually upgrading hardware, software packages, and accessories. This becomes an even greater problem if the person spends money that should be used for bills, groceries, and other necessities…. A person may sit down at his computer…with the intent to spend only a few minutes, but completely lose track of time and suddenly find that several hours have passed. It is not unusual for someone…to play through the night and only realize how much time has passed when the sun begins to rise…. He may grow distant from friends and family who had previously been close. Homework may go unfinished, causing grades to slip. In more extreme cases, the teen may even neglect personal hygiene, choosing to play video games rather than taking a shower.

Hygiene and homework aside, many times for Christian teens, a relationship with God and the work of the Lord also go by the wayside as they waste the time, money, and opportunities God has bestowed upon them. Video games that waste these resources do not honor God.

Video games that nurture the flesh do not honor God

While some recreational activities Christians may enjoy are neither sinful nor waste God’s resources, many have the potential of feeding fleshly habits, thus causing the Christian to be preoccupied with that which is not spiritual. A well-fed fleshly appetite can easily bring a Christian into sinful habits such as laziness (Pr. 21:25-26; Pr. 24:30-32; Heb. 6:11-12), selfishness (Jas. 4:3; II Pet. 3:3; Phil. 2:4,21; II Cor. 5:15), covetousness (Col. 3:5; I Cor. 10:14; Ps. 119:36; Heb. 13:5; Lk. 16:13), or rebellion/disrespect (Eph. 6:1; Col. 3:20; Pr. 20:20; Pr. 30:11,17; II Tim. 3:1-3).

Many times, video games will nurture such fleshly weaknesses. The sloppy room, unmade bed, and other signs of laziness often accompany the glazed-over eyes of the teenage gamer. Instead of going outside and working, many gamers would prefer to stay inside and play. Instead of pursuing God and His will, an attitude of spiritual slothfulness pervades as the games dominate. A selfish perspective also begins to develop because the games all center around the gamer–his quest, his choices, his progress, etc. He is not so much concerned about the needs of his family or friends, but of his own. Instead of having a selfless ministry mindset, he is conditioned by the game to have a self-centered perspective. Video games also develop a taste for success and advancement without God. Whether it be obtaining a new car, a new level, or a new skill, God is entirely absent from the equation. This leads to a covetous appetite that seeks for more and more regardless of God’s will and provision. In addition to these flesh-nurturing dynamics, video games can also drive a wedge between the teen and his parents. Teens can lose interest in spending quality time with their parents. Teens can disobey their parent’s call because they are almost to a “save point.” Teens can buck at authorities who try to limit their time on the gaming systems.

Though the range of flesh habits that video games can nurture are as diverse as the personalities involved, nevertheless the habits nurtured are just that–flesh! If a Christian’s video games nurture these habits, he must admit that they do not honor God.

Video games that are addicting do not honor God

Nowadays, people are addicted to many things—from drugs to shopping, from internet usage to gambling. God makes it very clear in his Word that Christians should not brought under the power of anything (I Cor. 6:12). In other words, addictions do not honor God. Addicting substances or habits all have similar things in common: they offer escape from reality, they offer a sense of power or control, and they offer experiences far surpassing “normal” life. These elements of addicting activities can be dangerous to a Christian’s walk with God.

Dr. Kimberly Young of the Center for Internet Addiction Recovery defined gaming addiction as:

A compulsive behavior which interferes with normal living and causes severe stress on family, friends, loved ones, and one’s school or work environment. For the gaming addict, the game becomes a compulsive habit that completely dominates the addict’s life. Gaming addicts make the [games] a priority more important than family, friends, and work. The game becomes the organizing principle of addicts’ lives. They are willing to sacrifice what they cherish most in order to preserve and continue their unhealthy behavior.

I once read a story of a young man who had been stranded in the woods for three days. When he was found, he wanted to do three things: eat, drink, and play videogames. Apparently he was as addicted to games as he was to food and water. Games noted for their particularly addictive tendencies include the various editions of World of Warcraft and Halo. Another game that has addicted thousands of late is the game called Angry Birds. According to a recent demographic study, the overall average time spent playing Angry Birds exceeds 200,000,000 minutes per day. According to the same study, only 18% of those who play the game say that it’s not addicting to them at all. The study reveals that the only cure for this addiction is to delete the game entirely–sounds good to me.

Though there are various websites and organizations founded for the express purpose of helping people overcome their videogame addictions, the best way to beat the addiction is to stay away from the substance in the first place. If that is no longer possible, humility and accountability in conjunction with appropriating the power of Christ are more than sufficient to overcome a videogame addiction. If a Christian must admit that video games are controlling his schedule (I Cor. 9:27) or his thinking (Ps. 10:4; II Cor. 10:5; Is. 55: 7; Jer. 4:14), and that he is brought under their power, he must also admit that they are not honoring to God.

Conclusion

The truth is that very few people can play video games without viewing inappropriate content repeatedly, wasting their God-given resources, nurturing a fleshly appetite, and being “brought under” their power. Where a teenager or adult can honestly say that God would be pleased with their video games in all of these areas, they may have a right to play many of their games. However, all too often, Christians will defend their gaming while ignoring these clear biblical principles and consequently ruin the potential of an intimate, loving relationship with their Savior. Let’s stop pushing the lilacs and chocolates in God’s face, so to speak, and let’s start listening to what He says about our videogames.

Several in the school really got some things right with the Lord. Those that gave testimony at the Friday testimony service were definitely used of the Lord. We had an encouraging response to the Gospel message that night.

Photo courtesy of Nate Graham on Panoramio. Used by permission.

On Thursday night we had several lost teens and adults in the service. There were well into the double digits amount of people who responded to the Gospel invitation. Two were a mom and a dad who responded to the invitation and were saved.

Several students dealt with bitterness issues and pornagraphy. One mentioned after getting things right with his parents, “Our home is happier.” On Friday during the school day we had a testimony service that went for at least 45 minutes. The students gave some very substantive and helpful testimonies. In fact several other students responded during the testimony service to deal with issues in their own life because of what they were hearing from fellow students. Especially powerful were the testimonies of young people who dealt with bitterness. The team was thrilled with victories that God won in lives.

Photo courtesy of Colin Wojno. Used with Permission.