Drugs Are Not The Answer, God Is!

By Pastor Don Gettys

Nancy Reagan said it this way: "A chemical high becomes their salvation. For many young people, drugs take the place of faith." Five thousand Americans will try cocaine TODAY for the first time. Two thousand will start using crack. Add to that the 3.3 million American teenagers who are alcoholics and we have an epidemic among teens today. Most teens who experiment with drugs get hooked. Once, hooked they experience life-long problems. Be careful what habit you form.

A survey conducted by George Washington University reveals that many of the young people who got hooked on drugs in the 1960s are still using them. The 5,000-person study suggests that, while the percentage of drug users is decreasing among today's youth, the decline is not as evident among the 26 to 34-year-olds who "came of age" during the days of Woodstock. According to USA Today, one professor said, "The flower children of the 1960s are now approaching middle age, and they are bringing with them the same habits they formed in earlier years."

See Eccl. 12:1 - Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, "I find no pleasure in them". Put Jesus first today and you will not have to battle with life-long drug problems.

We first make our habits, and then our habits make us. The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken. If you form good habits in your Teen years, they will be life-long servants assisting you in your efforts at being successful in this life and the life to come.

Decipher This...

"File si oto horst ot eb tilte." Answer to Last Month's Decipher This:

"For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile- the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him." Romans 10:12

Quote Corner

"Failure is never an enemy if you've learned from it."

"Pain is inevitable, misery is optional

Dear Della,

My boyfriend and I have been dating for a short time, and he is already starting to get physical with me. I like him a lot but I am not ready for getting physical. What do I do? -Confused

Dear Confused,

When it comes to relationships, there are certain things you should consider. 1) When you get into a relationship, make it known where you want this relationship to go. 2) Then let the other person be well aware of your boundaries. You should never put yourself in a compromising position, where you have to think about what is happening. 3) Never put yourself in a situation you know is wrong. Don't be afraid to speak up, and hurt their feelings, if what is going on compromises with your good judgement. 4) Last but not least, pray. Ask God to help you make a good decision, and help you to stand up for what you believe. If God doesn't want this relationship to continue then this could be a sign to end it. No matter the outcome, God is working it out for your good. God Bless. -Della

What is success?

To laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people

and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics

and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty;

To find the best in others;

To leave the world a bit better, whether by

a healthy child, a garden patch

or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed

easier because you lived;

This is to have succeeded.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

"He Cares"

By Georgia Liles

Growing up

Can be rough,

Kids these days

Have to be tough.

There's so much to learn;

So much to know.

And we have to make mistakes

In order to grow.

It may seem

That no one is on our side,

We lose hope

And want to run and hide.

But we NEED God

To help us get through.

If He cares for the sparrow,

Imagine how much He cares for you.





"Worry is in Opposition to Trust"

"I learned the biggest lesson of my life in March, 1945," "I learned it under 276 feet of water off the coast of Indo-China. I was one of eighty -eight men aboard the submarine, Baya S.S.-318. We had discovered by radar that a small Japanese convoy was coming our way.

As daybreak approached, we submerged to attack. I saw through the periscope a Jap destroyer, a tanker, and a mine layer. We fired three torpedoes at the destroyer escort, but missed.

Something went haywire in the mechanics of each torpedo. The destroyer, not knowing that she had been attacked, continued on. We were getting ready to attack the last ship, the mine layer, when suddenly she turned and came directly at us. (A Jap plane had spotted us under sixty feet of water and had radioed our position to the Jap mine layer.)

We went down to 180 feet, to avoid detection, and rigged for a depth charge. We put extra bolts on the hatches; and in order to make our sub absolutely silent, we turned off the fans, the cooling system, and all electrical gear.

Three minutes later, all hell broke loose. Six depth charges exploded all around us and pushed us down to the ocean floor-a depth of 276 feet. We were terrified.

To be attacked in less than a thousand feet of water is dangerous--less than five hundred feet is almost always fatal. And we were being attacked in a trifle more than half of five hundred feet of water--just about knee-deep, as far as safety was concerned.

For fifteen hours, the Jap mine layer kept dropping depth charges. If a depth charge explodes within seventeen feet of a sub, the concussion will blow a hole in it. Scores of these depth charges exploded within fifty feet of us.

We were ordered 'to secure'--to lie quietly in our bunks and remain calm. I was terrified, I could hardly breathe. 'This is death' I kept saying to myself over and over. 'This is death!...This is death!' With the fans and cooling system turned off, the air inside of the sub was over a hundred degrees; but I was so chilled with fear that I put on a sweater and a fur-lined jacket; and still I trembled with cold.

My teeth chattered. I broke out in a cold, clammy sweat. The attack continued for fifteen hours. Then it ceased suddenly. Apparently the Jap mine layer had exhausted its supply of depth charges, and steamed away.

Those fifteen hours of attack seemed like fifteen million years. All my life passed before me in review. I remembered all the bad things I had done. All the little absurd things I had worried about.

I had been a bank clerk before I joined the Navy. I had worried about the long hours, the poor pay, the poor prospects of advancement. I had worried because I couldn't own my home, and I couldn't buy a new car. I was always nagging and scolding.

I would come home at night sore and grouchy, and quarrel with my wife over trifles. I had worried about a scar on my face. How big all these worries seemed years before. But how absurd they seemed when depth charges were threatening to blow me to kingdom come.

I promised myself then and there that if ever I saw the sun and the stars again, I would never, never worry again. Never! Never!! Never!!! I learned most about the art of living in those fifteen terrible hours in that submarine, than I had learned by studying books for four years in college."





The Next Millennium

By Melissa Turner

The wind is calm, the sun shines brightly upon us. I run towards a field filled with daises. My friends run alongside me, the wind seems to push us along. We run until we reach the top of a snow-covered mountain. At the mountain's summit, we gather and form a circle. We hold hands, as we sing praises to God. Our angels join us in harmony.

When we finish, we slide down the mountain's side. Laughing, and screaming out in joy as we are thrilled by the "chilling ride" down the mountain. When we get to the bottom we run towards the city. We stop to roll down hills, and splash in the brooks.

As we near the city's gate we see Jesus' smiling face. He is so happy to have His loved ones with him finally. We run toward him with outstretched arms, and embrace Him with love. Then He tells us that a feast is prepared for everyone to enjoy.

We walk into the dining hall, and there are fruits of every kind imaginable, numerous vegetables, and juices that are so sweet and satisfying.

After eating we go back out to play in the fields, with the many animals. We slide down elephant's trunks. We cuddle with koalas. We play tackle with lions. We even go swimming with the dolphins.

Close your eyes. Imagine all of the awesome things that will be in heaven. You might think that video games, T.V., amusement parks, and other earthly things are cool. But, guess what? Heaven is 100,000,000,000,000,000,000 times better! It's so wonderful that we, as earthlings, can't even begin to imagine what it is going to be like.