The season of youth is a critical season of life. Decisions that can have a decisive and visible bearing on the future are made at this season of life. It is a season when passions are strongest and the tendency is to want to give vent to them. It is a season in which many people play into the devil's hand as a result of their excesses. At this period of life, it is very easy to make critical mistakes that can mortgage the future. It is the season in which the devil goes all out to establish a foothold in people's life. It is the season the devil goes all out hunting for great destinies. Carelessness at this delicate season of life can be very costly. It is a season people easily jump at the devil’s bait without a second thought about the implications of their action. And the devil is an expert at baiting the hook to suit the fish. He knows the tendencies of young people. He knows the things young people easily gravitate towards. He knows what appeals to young people. He knows that the propensity of young men is to want to have some fling and sow their wild oats. He knows that the consuming passion of most girls is to want to use what they have to get what they want. He knows the stomping ground of young people. He knows what easily strike their fancy. He knows the desires that are incidental to the bloom of youth. He knows what he can use to get young people into his traps. Be informed that the devil will dangle his bait before you in the days of your youth. This is an inescapable reality of life. He will offer you things that are designed to ensnare you. He offered Joseph sex on the platter of gold in order to nip his God-given dreams in the bud. You had better anticipate the devil's offers for that is half the battle if you are going to escape his traps.
Young man/woman, you are commanded not to give place to the devil. The only place the devil can have in your life is the place you give him. You can choose to close the door of your life against him. You can choose to declare the enemy "persona non grata" in your life. When you engage in kissing, petting and necking, you are already opening the door of your life to the enemy. Kissing, petting and necking are the mother of fornication. They will prime you to step across the threshold of sexual immorality. When you easily give in to the sweet whispers of morally warped men, you are setting yourself up for a collision course with the enemy of your soul. When you collect gifts from dirty old men, you are already teetering on the edge of disaster. The gifts may be a poisoned chalice. In most cases, there is more to the gifts than meets the eye. You are giving the enemy an inch when guys who have roving eyes are your bosom friends. You are giving the enemy an inch when you spend your time reading romantic novels and sexually explicit materials. Don't give the enemy an inch- If you do, he will take a mile. You can't be at his mercy if you don't jump at his offers. He can't have a say in your life if you do not give him the right. He can't sow tares in the garden of your life if you don't let him. He can't lay claim to your future if you don't give him a chance.Do you know that most of the battles people fight in life are battles they set the stage for when they were young? In other words, they gave the enemy an inch in the days of their youth. They allowed their emotion to overtake their reason. Their philosophy was: "If it feels good then do it". Their feelings rather than the laws of God were the basis for their shortsighted decisions. They have become wise after the event. They are now using the second half of their lives to recover the ground they lost to the enemy when they were busy looking for a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Why don't you learn from their mistakes and save yourself the trouble of reinventing the wheel? You don't have to repeat painful history. You don't have to spend the second half of your life with sad reflections and reminiscences of a profligate youth. Your old age doesn't have to be filled with flashbacks of youthful follies. It is a costly error to think that you can have your way while young and get away with it. Somewhere down the road, the sins of youth always catch up with people. What you sow in youth, you reap later in life. Wise up, all Satan's apples have worms. Eat the devil's apples and sign on the dotted line.
If you are not going to give the enemy an inch in your life, you must heed Paul's warning to Timothy: "Flee youthful lusts ", Youthful lusts are the foundations for misery and sorrow in life. To ignore this warning is to "mourn at the last when thy flesh and thy body are consumed". And when that happens, you will inevitably say, "How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine car to them that instructed me (Proverbs 5: 1-13)". This is always the story of those who gave the devil an inch. It will not be your story. Therefore, avoid youthful lusts like the plague and listen to the voices of the godly influences God has place-t around you to keep you from going far. Repent of your sins and surrender your life to Jesus Christ.
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