The Struggle of the Youth, Today and Yesterday (By Pastor Rene J. Perez)
The struggle of the young people today is still the same as yesterday.
The prophet Daniel gives his testimony of what represents deciding what is good of both generations: The first is of the parents and grandparents. The second are the young people and with the prophet Daniel thousands of youths would have to choose and decide where to live.
No, I am not referring to the practices of culture and customs of their fathers and grandparents, but of the way of spiritual and human life that had been given from God through His word before their parents and grandparents were born.
The greatest problem of the young people of that time was to choose what to do and how to live in a modern, cultural, political, and religious society, which was practiced at that time by the grand majority, not only by the Babylonians, but even the Israelites.
The interpretation of the scriptures in that era was confounded in the modern culture of where the lived, and in only 70 years, the majority of the Israelites had been assimilated into the modern culture of the younger people and accepted by them, forgetting the old culture of the bible, that they thought was incorrect for their modern time, because it was if an old era.
Only 70,000 people came back to Jerusalem after the seventy years of being taken to Babylonia, they did not come back not because they were prohibited by the Babylonians and the Mido Persians. They did not go back because Jerusalem represented the old culture, the old ways of believing in faith and obedience that their grandparents and great-grandparents practiced over 70 years ago.
A half a million or more Israelites stayed in Babylonia because they wanted to live in a culture that was modern and advanced and young, guided by pastors that taught the Torah (Bible) and permitted them to live like modern Israelites; pastors and leaders which teachings were “seasoned” with half truth, pagan practices, the commandments of God badly interpreted and taught to everyone from the viewpoint of (Modernism).
But not everyone accepted this modernism and distortinated teachings, there were many who decided to follow the scriptures just as they were written and they opened a path for a remnant of 70,000 people to return to Jerusalem.
Of them were spoken in Nehemiah, Ezra and many other books. But of them that stayed in Babylonia, nothing has ever been spoken of ever again. They were lost in history, they ended up becoming Babylonians, Persians and Medes with Judea religion, and later on became totally assimilated.
Today we are experiencing this, today’s younger people are assimilating to a culture that has distorted the Bible and teaching contaminated christianity with a culture of the world that is not theirs and is not of God, but at the same time very attractive; yes, they sing and praise God, go to church, but afterwards practice and live the culture of the flesh without even realizing, that little by little they get further from the will of God and His commandments. And the ending was inevitable, they would finish as the half a million of Israelites assimilated and lost in time “Forever”.
Young people, you still have time, that is what our Lord told Jeremiah to that generation that was about to be lost.
Jeremiah 6:16
Thus saith the Lord, stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.
For the young people in Daniels time, the goals in their lives should have been to return to Jerusalem and finish their young years then later on their lives would be magnified by their powerful God. And for today’s youth it should be the same, their goals to get to the New Jerusalem to be with Jesus “always”.
Remember, your young will pass, but those that look for the truth and God, trying to obey and please Him, will have the prize of eternal life.
Do not let yourselves be impressed by lights and colors and that by tricks and promises and pleasures by those that minister them, my beloved young people.
Do not let anyone quide you to the path that leads you astray from the Sanctity of God.
The Psalmist writes in Psalms 119:9 a question? How can a young person live a pure life? He responds himself. BY OBEYING YOUR WORD.
May the Lord guard and bless the young people of today, by filling them with the Holy Spirit.