David committed adultery and murder. Samson leaked his secret and his hair was cut off. Nebuchadnezzar was proud and was punished to live like an animal for years. Peter denied Jesus, his Teacher and Friend. Paul persecuted Christians.

The Bible is replete with stories of people who sinned in one way or the other. But our God is a God of mercy, and He makes His saving grace available to all. Perhaps, you also have stumbled and fallen. Perhaps you think you’re too far gone to be saved. Perhaps, you believe that God’s love is not for you. That’s a lie! The love of God is everlasting. His saving grace is available for you too. No one is excluded from the finished work of Christ. Even if you’ve fallen flat on your face, God doesn’t hate you. He wants you back. He wants to restore you, just like He restored the heroes in the Bible.

David was called a man after God’s own heart. Samson’s hair grew back and he became strong again. Nebuchadnezzar’s sanity was restored; and he got his kingdom and status back. Peter repented and God performed miracles through him. Paul encountered Jesus and wrote two-thirds of the New Testament.

So what sin have you committed that you think God won’t forgive? That you can’t be restored? Turn to God and confess your sins. He’ll forgive and restore you, for there’s hope for even a tree that has been cut down…at the scent of water it’ll flourish and sprout like a young plant!

His love for you is never ending. Don’t ever forget that!

Dear Youth,

Hi. I formed you in your mother’s womb. I watched you grow into the fine person you’ve become. My heart beats with love for you, and so I made my saving grace available to you through My Son. I watched you struggle with impurity; I watched you try to stand and then fall. I saw you make the decision to follow Me, and then turn back when it got tough. I saw you mixing with the wrong crowd, because you couldn’t tell them no. I watched you compromise, because you felt you weren’t courageous enough to stand out. I listened to your cries for help, and gave you comfort through My Spirit. When you came running back, I opened My arms to welcome you, but you left again.

Now you’ve taken a stand, a firm one. My heart is pulsating with joy at this, my face breaking into a smile so bright it rivals the sun. Then I saw you go down on your knees to ask Me, “Father, how do I keep my life pure?”

Here’s my reply – young people keep their lives pure by obeying My commands. You keep your life unsullied and free from immorality by keeping to My instructions. Surround yourself with friends that seek Me, meditate on My Word day and night so that you would know it by heart and be able to follow it.

All these aren’t too difficult, right? But if you still consider them hard to abide by, I understand. I know you can’t do it by yourself, that’s why I gave you My Spirit. He’ll help you, teach you, guide you and lead you into all truth.

I look forward to hearing from you; after all I have told you to come so that we can reason together. You can always come before Me with boldness and confidence through Jesus, My Son.

Oh, and in celebration of your new identity in Christ, your inheritance with the saints and your citizenship of heaven; I say, cheers.

Yours forever,

Your Father in Heaven.

I trudge along the streets, light breaking out from the horizon as the sun rises in the sky. Lifting up my eyes, I gaze at my father’s house in the distance, the building towering above all others.

Blisters litter my feet, every step forcing out gasps from my mouth. But I refuse to stop, my mind racing.

I had been gone for too long. Would my father recognize me? Would he accept me back? What about my elder brother?

My gaze lands on a biscuit wrapper and I bend to pick it up. I find crumbs inside, so I throw them into my mouth. At least that would suffice for the meals I had missed for days now. Perhaps if my father doesn’t accept me, I would beg to join his servants. Their state is still better than my current one.

I limp towards father’s gate, but as I near it, it flings open and my father dashes towards me. I see the tears in his eyes as he wraps his arms round me and draws me into his embrace.

“Father–”

“It’s okay son.” Father whispers, his arms tightening around me.

Moments later, he pulls away and leads me into the compound, barking orders at his servants to get me a change of clothes and to kill the fattest cow to celebrate my return.

“My son is back home.” Father says, his eyes dancing with joy. “My son is back home.”

I blink back tears, but they refuse to retreat. With my hand clutching my father’s, he guides me into our home, where I’d always belonged. I realize now that I should have returned a long time ago. Father would never have condemned me. Instead, he would have welcomed me with a loving heart, just like he did now.

How far have you wandered away from your Heavenly Father? Just like the father of the prodigal son, God is waiting for you to return to Him. His arms are itching to receive you, and His heart is beating with love just for you.

Come back home, dear son/daughter, for your Father’s home is also yours. Don’t be shy, don’t be afraid. Return to God, and you’ll be ushered into His presence with shouts of joy by the angels as they sing, “Welcome back!”

Imagine a team of athletes are running on a track, and then one of them goes off the track, runs towards the spectators and begins to take pictures with them even though the race is not yet over. What would you think? That he or she is an unserious athlete that has no ambition to win, right? He or she would most probably not win the race and might even get disqualified.

Similarly, we as Christians are running a race.

Because we are running a race, we can’t afford to be distracted by the things of this world. Instead, we are to fix our eyes on Jesus who is the Author and Finisher of our faith while we run the race that has been set before us. We are to remove from our lives anything that would get in the way, especially the sin that so easily and cleverly catches us as Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us, and run this race with endurance, bearing in mind our reward, that is, the attainment of a crown that will last forever.

The reason why we do this is so that even after preaching the gospel to others, we would not be disqualified. While people of this world engage in sports to win a medal that will perish, the crown that awaits you will never rust.

Moreover, you can’t attain this crown by your own strength. It is not by your power or might, but by the Spirit of the Lord. He will help and guide you, so that you won’t make the wrong turns in this race of a lifetime (Zechariah 4:6). This is one reason out of multitudes for which Abba gave us the Holy Spirit. He serves as a guide to encourage and keep us in the right path.

Therefore, brethren do not let anything weigh you down; don’t give room for distractions and discouragement. Remember that in a race all the runners run but only one gets the prize. Run like that! (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

In Jude 1:24 the Bible says that God is able to keep us from stumbling or falling into sin and present us unblemished in His presence. You have to learn how to hold on to His word. The Holy Spirit is with you to help you navigate through the twists and turns of this life, but it’s difficult to know His voice without knowing the Word. This is because the Holy Spirit only speaks the Truth; Jesus is the Word that became flesh, He is also the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 1:14, 14:6). So if you don’t know the Word, you won’t know the truth. If you don’t know the truth, then you can’t know when the Spirit of Truth is leading you.

How are you running your race? Is it to win or to lose?

Please, run your race to win so that at the end you can say with a joyful heart,

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

“And now, a crown awaits me.”