Youth Worker BOOST: Presence

ym360 knows youth workers. We know what an incredibly rewarding, yet incredibly challenging job youth ministry can be. There are days when your spirits are sky-high, and there are days when you could use a bit of a “pick me up” from God's Word . . . That's why we're happy to offer Youth Worker Boost, one of the many valuable resources on the ym360 Blog.

Boost is a short, weekly piece of encouragement designed to, well, “boost” your spirits and encourage you as you minister to students. We consider it yet another great opportunity to serve you and your ministry.

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Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.-- Isaiah 7:14

The Bible is full of accounts of people building statues to false gods. Baal was a pagan god that showed up quite a bit in the Old Testament. We find out in the seventeenth chapter of Acts that the apostle Paul was shocked to see so many statues to idols in Athens, even one to "the Unknown god," so the Athenians wouldn't be offensive to a god they missed. These false idols were built not only to honor the gods, but to comfort followers with a symbol of its presence.

As we read these words from Isaiah, what an incredible reminder it is that we serve a living God. Instead of a statue, we serve a God who actually lived among His people.

It's a passage that is no doubt read innumerable times during the Christmas season. But it's so much more than that. Isaiah said one of Jesus' names would be Immanuel, which means "God is with us." Jesus came to earth in human form to live with us, and to die for us. While it's appropriate and wonderful to celebrate this reality at Christmas, the truth is that, through the Holy Spirit, God's presence is still with us, all year long, every day of our lives. We should be daily moved by what this means for us personally, and for our ministries.

The Incarnation was a "God with us" moment. What a blessing it is that we have these moments every day through the Spirit's constant presence in our lives.

Our prayer for you: Our prayer for you today is that you would be aware of God's presence in your life, and that you would be empowered and encouraged as a result.

Last Week's BOOST: Change Agent

Next Week's BOOST: Fault Finders

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