Day 75...Secret Service

Proverbs 9:10; 1 John 4:18

Fear. We usually think of fear in only one sense - running away because something scared you so bad that you wet your pants. That would make Proverbs 9:10 a weird verse because it says that fearing God is a good thing. It makes a lot more sense if we understand that fear has more than one meaning.

1 John 4:18 uses fear in the sense of being scared - we don't have to be scared of God because He loves us perfectly. Yeah!

Proverbs 9:10 uses fear in the sense of respect and reverence. God is our Father and we aren't afraid of Him, but we must have a respect for Him because of His greatness and power and holiness. When we remember these things, we will see God more clearly and learn from Him and gain wisdom.

• What qualities of God make you fear (in the respect sense) Him?
• How will having this fear help you know God more?

Pastor Dave

Back from CO

Hey...it's been a while since I posted anything. That's because I have been on vacation in Colorado and didn't have access to the internet. Hopefully you've been keeping up with the devotional in my absence. Let's get to it!

Pastor Dave

Day 62...Busting Loose

Colossians 3:5-10

Our nature is kind of like computer stuff. Before Jesus came into our lives we had one version. This version had a lot of bad stuff in it called sin. Stuff like selfishness, lust, rage, jealousy, and so on. We were controlled by those things and they saturated every part of us.

When Jesus came into our lives, it was like our programming was totally redone. We were given a new nature and the process of totally eliminating the effects of the old nature began. That process is like getting upgrades to our new nature - as we grow and understand and follow God more closely we are changed by Him more and more into His nature.

The trick is realizing our need for these upgrades and submitting to God so that He can do the upgrading. God has promised that he will keep upgrading us into His image (2 Corinthians 3:18 and Philippians 1:6). Keep your heart open to His work and allow Him to upgrade whatever He wants in your life.

• What's one area of your life that needs an upgrade from God?
• Pray and ask God to work on that area and to upgrade you more into His nature.

Pastor Dave

Day 60...The Perfect Family

Galatians 5:13-15

Today's devotional is really challenging if you stop to think about it. Most of us are really good at seeing when something can be better. In the first bite of a meal you immediately notice that salt would make it taste better. On the first day of class you immediately notice that your teacher would be better if she have that hairy mole on her nose. And you can easily see how your family (parents, siblings, etc.) would be better if only they would...

But here's the challenging part. We need to not only see when something can be better, we also need to learn to see how we can help it be better. Let's focus on your family. It's easy to see that something or someone in your family isn't reaching the mark of perfection (or even close to it). When you see this, is the first question you have "how can I help this be different?" For example...your brother is annoying you to death and you ask "how can I help my brother be less annoying? Punching him in the head is not a good answer, but asking him to help you do something or hang out with you may be just the right answer.

God says that He has set us free from sin (punching your brother in the head) so that we can serve one another in love. That "one another" includes the people you call family. As you see things that aren't good enough in your family, begin thinking of ways you can serve the people involved so that you are helping to make things better.

• What's one thing you know is "not good enough" in your family?
• How can you serve the people involved to help make it better?

Pastor Dave

Day 57...In The Trunk

Romans 12:17-21

One of the interesting things about the Bible is how it puts a lot of responsibility on each of us. We live in a culture that is usually looking for some way to put the blame on someone or something else in any situation. These verses in Romans speak about this when they say to "do your part to live in peace" We can't control how other people act, but we can control ourselves. It's OK to feel annoyed or frustrated by someone, but it's usually not OK to react to those feelings. Instead, follow God's advice in verses 20-21. Do good to them and you just may see them change they way they act towards you. But even if they don't change you know that you have acted in a way that pleases God and He will bless you for that.

• Who do you have the most difficulty being at peace with (don't post their names here)?
• What's one thing you can do to "do good" to them?

Pastor Dave

Day 54...Cinderfella

Genesis 4:1-9

Sin is a crazy thing. It can take a minor situation and somehow make us respond in majorly bad ways. Sin has a way of getting into our hearts and minds and leading us down a bad path. That's what happened to Cain. God didn't accept Cain's offering (it never says that God was angry or rejected Cain...just his offering) and Cain let that grow into an intense anger/jealousy at his brother which led Cain to kill Able.

For some reason, that sibling relationship can be really difficult at times. It's so easy to let a little sin work it's ugly magic on us and lead us deeper into sin with our siblings. God's warning to Cain was a powerful one and it is just as real for us. Sin is waiting to pounce on us and we must beat it down so it doesn't overcome us. You may never kill your brother or sister, but consider Jesus' words in Matthew 5:21-22. Are you still as innocent as you think??

• What are the major things that cause conflict between you and your siblings?
• How can you fight sin and prevent things from getting out of hand?

Pastor Dave

Day 53...Guess I'll Keep Them

Yikes! It has been a while since I have blogged about the devotional! I want to be consistent with this because it's important to me. I need to get back in the rhythm of things.

Luke 2:40-52

It can be hard for students as your relationship with your parents changes. Especially for Jr. High students. You are in the weird stage where you really want freedom and control of things but your parents aren't totally ready to have all that. And the problem is...you're both right. It's good for you to want those things, but your parents know that you're not quite ready for all that you want (and they're right!).

You can take a lesson from Jesus' life. When He was your age He submitted to His human parents and lived by their rules. He was a lot more ready for freedom and control than you are (He was Jesus after all) but He still was obedient to them and followed their guidelines.

You still need your parents and they still have a lot of help to give you. Be a blessing to them by obeying and respecting them and they will bless you with more freedom and control in things.

• What is the biggest area of conflict between you and your parents?
• How can you be more respectful and obedient in that area?

Pastor Dave

Day 46...Which Row to Hoe

2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1

Because most of the people in Jesus' time were farmers or knew about farming stuff, the Bible uses a lot of farming analogies. Here's one of them in 2 Corinthians when it talks about being "yoked" together. God's not talking about eggs...it's a farming tool to help two or more animals work together. Here's a picture to help you see what it means.

A farmer would put the heads of the animals through the loops so that they could work together to pull the wagon or the plow. The trick was that the yoke forced the animals to go in the same direction rather than pulling separately.

The point that these verses are making is that followers of Jesus can't be yoked with people who aren't following - we can't tie our lives to them too strongly. Some yokes are stronger than others. Obviously a friend is not as strong a tie as a husband or wife. God wants us to evaluate each of the ties that yoke us with others in life and be careful that we aren't being pulled off of the path that He is leading us.

• How do you think a strong tie with someone who doesn't follow Jesus can hinder your journey with God?
• Where should you draw the line when it comes to "yoking" with people who don't follow Jesus - friend, dating, marriage?

Pastor Dave