They Are Still Seeking

Read: Matthew 2:1-12

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem.                    Matthew 2:1

     The wise men – though they have no faces or names, are probably the most recognized men in the story of Jesus. They were highly esteemed men who came, most likely, from Persia or Arabia. Though they bore three distinct gifts, there is no mention actually of how many of these men there were. They knew the Scriptures well, for as soon as the star appeared in the east, they recognized it as the one that would lead them to the Christ. They saw the star, it disappeared, and they travelled by faith to Jerusalem. When they got to Jerusalem, the star reappeared and led them not to the manger, but to the house where Jesus was possibly already two years old. Though still very small, the wise men recognized that the Child they had spent so long seeking after, was indeed the Son of God. With Mary looking on, their knees bent in reverence as they fell down and worshipped Him.

     Though Jesus is no longer a child resting under a miraculous star in Bethlehem, wise men still seek Him. That does not mean that you have to be a scholar in all areas, capable of giving advice to a king. A wise man is any man who seeks after God. Paul, as he stood atop Mars’ Hill in Athens, spoke of all nations of men when he said, “That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us (Acts 17:27). The wise man will seek after Christ, first, for salvation. Although there are so many proposed ways to Heaven, there really is only one way – Jesus Christ. There is no getting into Heaven through a back door or taking a short cut to get there. Secondly, a wise man will seek God to know His will for his life. There are thousands of different career paths that a young man can choose, but only one matters. If he does not choose God’s will for his life, then he cannot be in a place where God can bless him. God has one specific college picked for you to attend, one specific young lady for you to marry, and one career that he wants you to pursue. As you seek God in those matters, He will reveal each one to you. Lastly, a wise man will seek to know God. Philippians 3:10 begs, “That I may know Him.” A wise man seeks to draw closer to God and to enhance his relationship with Him each day.

     Though it was over two thousand years ago that the original wise men made the long journey to Bethlehem, it is certain that wise men are still seeking after Jesus Christ.

Quote of the day: “Your life is your message to the world. Make sure it’s inspiring.”

He Chose to Look

Read: Matthew 5:27-30

I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?

                                                                                                                       Job 31:1 

     Without a doubt, the biggest mistake of King David’s life came when he innocently stepped out onto his rooftop terrace. Glancing over the city below, his eyes inadvertently fell upon a scantily clad woman named Bathsheba. There would be no account of a mistake or heartache in the life of David if he hadn’t made the decision to affix his gaze. What started as an accidental look turned into a sinful stare, and ultimately, it led to the foolish decision that David would pay for for the rest of his life. That sinful gaze turned into a hideous action which had to be covered up by a murder that soon led to the whole escapade being exposed to generation after generation of those who would read the account in the Bible – all because David chose to take a second look.

     In a world where pornography, a multi-billion dollar industry, is so prevalent in society, it is easy to make the decision to look a second time or to let your eyes linger on an unrighteous object for much longer than they should. Young men are curious about the opposite sex because their senses are just beginning to awaken to the fact that women exist. The biological alarm clock begins to sound the alarm as it ticks toward that young man becoming a husband in the near future. Many young men are destroyed as they pursue the uncontrolled desire that has been sparked within them, so there are a few things you need to know.

     First of all, though your curiosity is piqued at this point in your life, you just have to realize that there are some things that you are not meant to see. Just rest in the fact that someday God will allow it. The reward will be much sweeter when you have waited for it to be given to you rather than your going out and taking it. Secondly, you must understand that pornography will destroy you. It is a drug that demands increasingly more of your attention until you are so addicted that you must feed the craving to survive. Pornography is the cheap version of the real thing that God saves for those who save themselves for His timing. Pornography will never completely satisfy your cravings, and it will leave your future marriage suffering from its paralyzing effects. Lastly, you must put safeguards into place to protect yourself. The ultimate goal is to get to the point where you are afraid to look because you are afraid of hindering your relationship with Christ. That can be accomplished by establishing small habits like looking away each time your eyes fall upon something that isn’t right. God will bless a young man beyond what he sees right now when he chooses to give his desires, and his eyes, to God.

Quote of the day: “God always gives His best to those who choose to walk with Him.”

Blood Money

Read: Matthew 27:1-10

Then Judas, which had betrayed him…brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.                                                                                                      Matthew 27:3-4

     All I have to do is mention the name Judas, and more than likely, it instantly conjures up an image of disgust in your mind. Judas was the coward who decided he would betray the most innocent man to ever walk the earth, Jesus Christ, for a measly thirty pieces of silver (thirty pieces of silver was the going price for a slave). As soon as the coins jingled together between his worthless palms, Judas felt the waves of guilt flood his soul like a tsunami, and he knew he had made a mistake. He took the money to the chief priests, his co-conspirators, and tried to make them take it back. They laughed in his face. It was he who had betrayed Jesus Christ. He had accepted the blood money. He was the guilty one. The chief priests had what they wanted, and they had no cares about how Judas felt. The waves of guilt pushed so hard upon the betrayer that he was forced to drop the money and retreat to a precipice where he prepared the rope where his lifeless body would soon hang. His corpse was later discovered beneath the rope – broken in pieces – a symbol of the life that once lived inside it.

     Sin is much like the chief priests, and the sinner like Judas. The devil’s sole interest is to get you to sin so he can continue to hurt God, his arch-enemy. He will use anything he can to accomplish that purpose. He might use alcohol, drugs, music, movies, television, or pornography to try to get you to fall. Quite frankly, he doesn’t care what device he must use if he can make you sin against God. Much like the chief priests bribed Judas with silver, the devil will bribe you with any sin that he can make look appealing. He will hold out his hands full of good pleasures to try to lure you toward his devices. When he finally has what he wants – your life in shambles – he will laugh in your face. You may beg for the results of sin to be reversed. You may plead for the chance to go back a few years and start over, but it will all be in vain. It was you who betrayed your Lord for a few days of pleasure. You fell for the lies and deception. You are the guilty one. Just as the chief priests were hardened toward Judas’ feelings of guilt, the devil has no cares about what happens to you when you have followed him to destruction.

     Heed the advice of your parents and counselors. Listen to the warnings they give you concerning the divisiveness of Satan. He is not looking out for you; he cares only about advancing his agenda in your life. In the end, you will be left holding the bag full of “blood money,” and he will be rejoicing that you have betrayed your Saviour for such a small sum.

Quote of the day: “If you don’t want anyone to find out, don’t do it.”        – Chinese Proverb

Dribbling Footballs

Read: Matthew 6:19-33


No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.                                                                                                   Matthew 6:24


     Dribbling a basketball is pretty easy, isn’t it? I mean, that is exactly what a basketball is designed for – bouncing. I have seen some people who were very adept at dribbling, whether in a game with one ball, or on a street corner with several of them; but, it doesn’t take a tremendous amount of skill to bounce a basketball up and down. Try dribbling a football, on the other hand. It is possible to do, I suppose, but footballs were made for throwing, not dribbling. You will find it extremely difficult to dribble a football – or, at least I did. It would certainly take a tremendous supply of skill and exorbitant amounts of practice to be able to dribble two or more footballs (if it is even possible).

     Yet, so many people, young and old alike, are trying to do the equivalent of dribbling footballs in their spiritual lives. They are trying to serve the world at the same time that they are pleasing God, and that is just impossible. So many people are wishy-washy today. They don’t want to displease God by following after the world, but they don’t want to displease the world by letting it slip that they go to church and worship God; that they have standards; and that they believe the way to Heaven is through Christ alone. The very nature of their “wishy-washiness” is displeasing to God. God made it very clear that you cannot serve Him and the world at the same time. You are either completely given over to the world, or you are all God’s. There is no middle ground.

     Here is what it all comes down to: you must make a decision one way or the other. Either you must either throw all of your heart into the world, or you must make the obviously right decision to give your heart completely over to God. Footballs were never made to be bounced like basketballs, and you were never created to serve the devil. Rather than forcing a football to be used like a basketball, the natural thing to do is to use it in the way it was intended: throwing it in a football game. Your life is no different. God created you to serve Him; so, rather than trying to force yourself into a relationship with sin that you were never meant to have, the better choice is to just serve the God you were created to serve. It is impossible to serve both masters, so simply choose the One who loves you the best and blesses you the most.

Quote of the day: “God created a void in your heart that is only His to fill. When life becomes meaningless, boring, and hard, it’s because you’ve been filling it with anything but Him.” – Anna Bachinsky

Cheering the Sluggard

Read: Matthew 25:24-30

The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.                                                                                        Proverbs 20:4

     The world loves a “go-getter.” In fact, the world rewards the one who gets out early, puts his nose to the grindstone, and makes things happen. Men like Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and countless others, who started out with little more than a dream, tirelessly worked to make their dreams a reality – and history remembers their names. You don’t have to invent something world-changing to be remembered. You do have to get to your feet and get busy doing something. Nobody cheers the quarterback who is sitting on the sideline during a game-winning drive. Nobody hails the man hiding in the foxhole during the fight. Nobody praises the firefighter who stayed in the truck while the others rushed into the burning building to rescue those inside. And – nobody cheers a sluggard.

     Laziness is the bane of any society. When the young men only want to sit around playing video games or watching television, a society crumbles under its own weight because there is no one to bear the load. The young men are the able-bodied individuals that are still able to handle the stress of labor-intensive jobs. Often, young men see older men making good money in jobs that look very easy. They see them living well, and they think that those things should be handed to them, as well. What they don’t realize is that those older men who are now enjoying their lives are doing so because they put in the time and the hard work when they were younger. They earned their lifestyle. Many young men expect to be lazy and still get paid. Life does not work that way. 

     Someone said, “Killing time is not murder; it’s suicide.” Wasting time is wasting life because time is the stuff life is made of. There is certainly time for relaxation from time-to-time after hard work, but the sluggard does all the relaxing before any hard work has been done, and the world has no use for a young man like that. I believe that within each young man is the desire to go out and make something of himself, a desire to make a decent living, and a drive to make those things happen. Each young man needs to dig deep inside himself, find that work ethic, and get up and get going. The world is ready to hail the man that makes something of himself; but remember, no one cheers the sluggard.

Quote of the day: “Those who say it can’t be done are usually interrupted by others doing it.”  - James Baldwin

I Need Revival When...(Part 5)

Read: Matthew 23:1-12

But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments.

                                                                                                    Matthew 23:5

When I crave the attention of man more than the attention of God: I need revival.

     All throughout history, people have done foolish things in an attempt to draw attention to themselves and get their name in the newspaper or in some kind of record book. The Guinness Book of World Records seems to be the latest trend that attracts crazy stuntmen and daredevils who are trying to outdo the craziness before them. People are willing to risk their very lives just to gain themselves a little notoriety. They will jump off of just about anything with only a small parachute in what is known as BASE jumping, free-climb the side of a high-rise building, or attempt other death-defying feats – all to get the attention of a few people who are watching.

     Do you fall into this category? You may not be crazy enough to try to cheat death, but you may do things that are foolish just to try to get the attention of your friends. Most often it is the guys in high school who are trying to get their friends’ attention by blatantly breaking the rules to get a laugh, or by mercilessly making fun of someone they deem is not “as cool” as they are – all to draw the attention onto themselves. Proverbs 24:9 reminds us that even the thought of foolishness is sin, but amidst all of the attempts to draw the attention of man, we forget whose attention we ought to be trying to attract – God’s.

     The Pharisees, whom Jesus constantly criticized, were masters at looking good to men. They knew how to act and what to say in public to draw the most attention they could onto themselves. Meanwhile, they forgot the very fact that God was not looking on the outside to determine if He could use them or bless them; He was looking at their hearts. God is not looking for young men that are trying to impress their fellow men. God is looking for young men who will stand above the crowd in principle, in holiness, and in truth. He is not impressed by the young man who can draw a crowd based solely on his personality or appearance; He is impressed by the young man who will sell out to Him in his attempt to serve God in whatever aspect he can. The attention of man will get you no farther than where man can take you, but having the attention of God will lead to limitless service and blessing.

Quote of the day: “It is better to have God approve than the world applaud.”

The Great Pretender

Read: Matthew 23:23-28

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.                                        Matthew 23:27 

     The 1955 hit song, “The Great Pretender,” was recorded by a group called the Platters. The song speaks of a man who is lonely in love but lives his life pretending as if everything is just fine. Perhaps because so many people could relate, the song made it to number one atop several music charts of the day.

     Many Christian young people live their lives the same way that the young man in the song spoke of his love life. They know exactly how they are supposed to act because they have been in church as long as they can remember. They know what is expected of them, so they conform outwardly. The inside, however, is far from being what is should be; yet it is what is on the inside that is most important because it is what they really are. The private life is what matters – who you are when nobody is looking. The men that most would consider unable to fall often fall prey to Satan’s devices because what everyone thinks them to be by watching them outwardly is not who they really are inwardly.

     Consider two examples. Judas was a disciple of Jesus. When Jesus announced that one of His own would betray Him, several of the disciples asked the Lord if they were the ones who would betray Him. They didn’t automatically point the finger at Judas, sure that He was the one that would turn Jesus over to the Jews. They doubted themselves more than they doubted Judas. That means that Judas was an upstanding, good-looking person on the outside; his actions later that night proved that he was someone completely different than what he portrayed. Jesus, on the other hand, was the same on the inside as He was on the outside. He said He was against sin, and His thirty-three years of life on this earth proved His point.

     You cannot have fellowship with Jesus if you are not right in the area where He sees you – the inside. Would you take things into your life that Jesus would not approve of if He were standing there with you? You must remember that, though you cannot see Him in bodily form, He is with you always. He sees each action, knows each thought, and hears each spoken word. The private life is what really matters. Do people see the real you when they see you outwardly, or are you a great pretender?

Quote of the day: “To fake it is to stand guard over emptiness.” – Arthur Herzog

Get in the Game

Read: Matthew 28:16-20


Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost…                                      Matthew 28:1


     I heard a pastor tell a story of when he used to coach a girl’s sports team. As one of the games progressed, he looked over to one of the girls seated on the bench and asked her if she wanted to go in. Her answer surprised him. She looked at him and said, “No.” She didn’t want to get into the game. She was content to sit on the bench and watch the others play the game. She probably felt like she wasn’t good enough to be a help; she might have felt embarrassed to let others see her play. Whatever the reason for her hesitation, she decided she would rather not have an influence on the outcome of the game.

     Many Christian young people live their lives in the same way. They say they are part of the “team” because they are a Christian. They claim that they want to see the cause of Christ move forward, but they sit by and watch everyone else do the work of spreading the gospel. They let  others take on the job of upholding godly standards or speaking out for righteousness. They don’t want to get into the game because they are afraid someone may reject what they have to say. They may not want to join with the other Christians who are doing the work because they are afraid they may be viewed as weird by the rest of the world. They might stay on the sidelines just because they are lazy and lack the initiative to get up and go do something for Christ. There are a million excuses that people come up with as to why they cannot serve God. However, that is exactly what they are – excuses. Anyone can serve Christ if he has the desire to do so. No one is too young. No one is too old. No one is too rich, too poor, too disabled, too untalented, or too unqualified to serve Christ. He has a job that every single person can do that will help the cause of Christ move forward.

     Those Christians who sit on the sidelines and do nothing are the ones who will stand before God someday and hang their heads when He asks them what they accomplished for Him. All of the excuses are going to sound pretty silly as they try to explain their lack of service to God. Don’t be one of the Christians who stays away from the game and has no influence in bringing people to Christ. Life will not last forever, and we only have the time here on this earth to serve Christ. Get in the game and be useful today.

Quote of the day: “There is a difference between interest and commitment. When you are interested in something, you do it only when it’s convenient. When you are committed, you accept no excuses, only results.”

Grab It and Run

Read: Matthew 28:19-20

Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.                                                           1 John 4:4

     I like football. I like watching it, and I like playing it. I wish I could have played on a team growing up. It is entertaining because it is like watching a modern version of ancient warfare as the sides duke it out face-to-face in an attempt to out-maneuver each other. I like watching the quarterback orchestrate the offense, but I am intrigued by the position of running-back. When the quarterback hands him the ball, he just grabs it and takes off. His legs start churning and he doesn’t stop until he has a pile of guys on top of him. It’s like he is saying, “Get out of my way. I’m on mission.” Many of the big plays that make it onto the highlight reels are made by the quarterback, but if it was not for the work of the running-backs, grinding out the yards on the ground, the team would never be in a position for the quarterback to make the big plays.

     In essence, that is what we are to do with the principles we have been given in the Bible. We have been given principles of dress, music, holy living, and many more principles that teach us how we ought to live in order to please God. It should not be something that has to be hammered into us. It should not be something that is forced upon us. It should be something that, as soon as we read these commands and understand these principles, we should just pick it up and run with. We should keep moving forward for God, striving to live for Him in every way possible, until death sweeps over us and we are taken Home. We have the power to overcome the obstacles; we have been given the strength to win the battles because we have Christ on our side. To keep with the football analogy, God is in Heaven orchestrating our lives and giving us the “ball” to run with. It is up to us to carry it into the end zone – we have the responsibility of overcoming the hindrances of Satan and doing what we know is right to do.

     Also, we have been given the responsibility to carry the gospel to those who have not heard. The Great Commission in Matthew 28 says we are to go to the entire world with the gospel. Pick it up and run with it. It is more important than life-saving medicine. It is more valuable than all the currency in the world. It is the only thing in life of any value. God uses us to carry His message to a dying world. Keep your legs moving to spread that message until you can go no more.

     Football is exciting, but it pales in comparison to the mission we have been given. We have a responsibility to live out the principles of God’s Word, and to carry the gospel to a lost world.

Quote of the day: “We are not saved to be silent.”

Answer the Phone

Read: Matthew 9:35-38

Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few.

                                                                                                       Matthew 9:37 

     Have you ever had someone call your house or your cell phone over and over until you finally got sick of them calling? It may even be someone you don’t mind talking to, but when the phone rings continuously because of them, it gets pretty annoying. When I was in high school, I had just such a friend. I enjoyed talking to him and being around him, but he called almost every night asking for help with homework. It got to the point where I would walk to the phone to see who was calling, look at the caller ID, then turn and walk away, whistling as if I hadn’t heard it ringing. My brothers wouldn’t be far behind me to check the caller ID. “Steve, Joe (name changed) is on the phone,” they would yell. “Who?” I’d ask as if I didn’t already know. “Joe!” “Oh, I’m coming – oh look at that – I just missed it. Well, maybe he’ll call back.” The problem is, he would usually keep calling back until someone finally answered the phone and left me no way out of talking to him (for the fifth time that evening!).

     Many young people treat the call of God on their lives as if He is nothing more than a friend bugging them over the telephone. They start off with a tender heart, ready to answer God’s call for anything He wants them to do in their lives. As they get older, however, they get less and less sensitive to His calling. They sit in youth services, and when they start feeling the tug of God on their hearts, they just let it “ring.” They can tell by the “caller ID” that it is God, but they are no longer interested in what He has to say. It’s not that God has stopped calling young men into the ministry that has led to the lack of pastors and missionaries (and, naturally, pastors’ and missionaries’ wives) in the world today, it’s that young men have stopped answering God’s calls. They have begun to ignore Him because they feel they have something better they can do with their time. They are afraid God may ask of them more than they are willing to give.

     Do you realize that over 150,000 people will die today, and every day – most of them going to an eternal hell? This is not the time to ignore God’s call, and to pretend you cannot hear Him calling you. It is not the time to spend life living for yourself. There are thousands of souls that may be waiting for you to pastor them here in America or to be a missionary to them overseas. The longer you wait, and the longer you ignore God, the more people will die without Christ. The “phone” is ringing, and God is on the other end. Will you answer His call?

Quote of the day: “The secret of an unsuccessful life lies in an unsurrendered will.”

Not a Care in the World

Read: Matthew 6:25-34

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.          

                                                                                                           Philippians 4:6

     I have two boys; Jackson is four, and Alex is one. Alex can’t talk yet. However, Jackson, who can, has never come up and asked me, “Daddy, where are we going to get the money to pay the next house payment?” He has never asked me if we were going to have the money to put gas in the car to go anywhere, and he has never asked me where his next meal was going to come from. We have been blessed enough that we have a house, a car, and food; but, even if his parents were dealing with the crisis of how to pay for those essentials, Jackson would not be concerned with them. He is not old enough or wise enough to understand how most of those things work, so he doesn’t bother himself with those issues. He is only wondering when is the next chance he will get to play with his toys, when is the next chance he will get to play outside, and when is the next opportunity to eat. In other words, he doesn’t have a care in the world. He completely trusts that his parents will take care of his needs, and that he can continue on with the things he enjoys in life without worrying about things like money or bills.

     Why do we, as children of the King, worry about the things around us? We are the sons of God, the One who controls the entire universe. What could we possibly have to worry about that He cannot handle for us? Yet, we worry about passing classes in school, we worry about where we can get money to attend youth trips, we worry about where we will go to college, and we worry about who we will marry. There are a thousand other possibilities of things that worry us on a day-to-day basis. “Be careful for nothing” does not mean to be careless about things for which we should take responsibility, but it does mean that we should have such a dependence upon God that we are not anxious or worried about any of the things that life throws our way.

     Children do not worry because they have a father and a mother who bear the load of responsibility for them. Why not allow our Heavenly Father to bear the load of taking care of our daily problems and needs? Because, you see, for Him, they are not problems and needs, they are opportunities to show His children how much He cares for them by supplying the comfort they need to handle those difficulties.

Quote of the day: “It is not work that kills men; it is worry. Worry is rust upon the blade.”             - Henry Ward Beecher

"Unanswered" Prayers

Read: Matthew 26:36-45


And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.                                                                                                      Matthew 26:39 


     I’ve only dated three girls in my whole life: one I liked in high school, one I dated in college for a few months, and my wife, whom I met just after I graduated from college. After I broke up with one of those girls (whom I will not reveal), I prayed that God would allow us to get back together, and that He would allow us to be married. I really liked her, and I really thought she was “the one” God had for my life. As time wore on and things never worked out for us to get back together, I began to question why God wouldn’t hear my prayer. She was a good girl and was headed in the same direction I was. What could God possibly see as a hindrance to our getting married? When I finally met my wife, I found out that I had been sadly mistaken in my thinking. I became so thankful that God did not answer my prayer. My life has been wonderful in ways I’m sure it never would have been if God had granted my foolish request.

     I’m left to wonder how many other times I’ve prayed for things that God didn’t answer that I sort-of got upset about, but that God knew all along was not best for me. When we pray, and it feels as if He doesn’t hear us, it may not always be a bad thing. Additionally, God can answer our prayers with a “no,” as well. Although “yes” is what we most often want to hear in answer to our requests, “no” is also an answer to our prayers. We can be assured that whether we get a “yes” or a “no,” God is always going to do what is best for us.

     Instead of being upset that God didn’t give you what you were asking for, or didn’t give you the answer you wanted to hear, thank Him for loving you the way that He does and for looking out for your best interest. Remember, God even had to tell His own Son “no” when he asked Him to let the cup of death pass from Him. God knew what was best for His Son and for mankind. As painful as it may have been to see Jesus suffer the way He did because the answer He gave was “no,” God watched victory and honor come to His Son as a result of the path God chose for Him to walk. As our Father, God may not always do what we want, but He will always do what we need. We can depend on the fact that sometimes the “unanswered” prayers are the best ones for us.

 

Quote of the day: “Someday everything will make perfect sense. So for now, laugh at the confusion, smile through the tears, and keep reminding yourself that everything happens for a reason.”

Faking It

Read: Matthew 23:23-33

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.                                                                                                                Matthew 23:27

     Frank Abagnale became a successful and wealthy businessman at a very young age. However, he did it all illegally. He forged passports and photo identifications, signed and cashed bogus checks at hundreds of locations, and flew thousands of miles to any destination he chose aboard airlines who happily accommodated him for free. How did he do it? He looked older than he really was as a teenager, and he had a very quick mind. He fooled a lot of people into believing he was something that he was not. He would do his research, spend time talking to the experts, and then he would become whatever it was he wanted to become by forging papers and documents that gave him the legal right to participate in his chosen field. Although he had posed as a doctor, had spent time as a lawyer, acted as a college professor, and even worked as an airline pilot, he eventually became an inmate.  His whole scheme was exposed when a stewardess he had dated recognized him as the man police were searching for.

     Many Christians today are doing exactly what Frank Abagnale did. They are pretending to be one thing when they are actually a completely different person. They will come to church every Sunday and Wednesday dressed sharply with Bible in hand. They will come out to visitation and prayer meetings. They may even be involved in the ministries of the church. To anyone looking at them from the outside, they would be the model of Christianity; but deep in their hearts, they are anything but a good Christian. God, Who knows what goes on in the deepest parts of our beings, sees the wicked thoughts, the bitterness, the silent rebellion against authority, and the blackness of unrepented sin.

     Many Christian young men who grow up in church fall into the trap that the devil has set for them: Doing everything to look good on the outside yet being completely hollow and empty on the inside. I fell into this trap myself as a young teenager. I knew what was expected of me to avoid attracting the disciplinary attention of my youth leaders and parents, but I did not have the relationship with God that He wanted me to have. I was at every youth meeting and church service, yet, I lacked the desire to really be right with God. It wasn’t until I got older that God really grabbed my heart and showed me that faking Christianity is not the same as being the real Christian he wanted my life to emulate. Watch out! If you continue faking your Christianity, one day it will be exposed for what it really is.

 

Quote of the day: “The degree of your devotion to Christ is the barometer of your love for Him.”

Every Idle Word

Read: Matthew 12:31-37


But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.                                       Mathew 12:36 


     Have you ever thought about words? Sure, you have probably thought about the things you say and how you say them, but have you ever thought about each individual word? There are edifying words, pessimistic words, hope-filled words, dirty words, and yes, even idle words. That’s what the Bible calls them.

     Idle words are the words that many times teenagers say that are just goofy or have no meaning to them whatsoever. I understand that teens will be teens, and they will be goofy sometimes. There is nothing wrong with that, but we must be very careful to guard our words. You say words that may not technically be considered curse words, and therefore do not face the scorn of the authority in your life. You say them to try to be cool and to fit in with the crowd that says the dirty words, while not technically saying them yourself. But not only do these things mar your testimony before a lost world, they are being recorded in Heaven, and some day you will have to answer for why you said each one.

     Words that are mean and hurtful to someone around you are idle words. Teens are often the most guilty of trying to tear others down to get a laugh from their friends. Most of the time they are things that you may not even mean; you just say them in an attempt to be funny. Have you ever said, “Well, I didn’t really mean it”? Those are idle words, and they are things for which God says an account must be given.

     Also, think about the fact that if you must give account for the idle words that you speak, how much more accountable must you be for the malicious words that are deliberately spoken to hurt someone or to tear them down? God places a high premium on what comes out of our mouths and we must be careful to guard each word.

 

Quote of the day: “But words once spoken can never be recalled.”      - Wentworth Dillon

Squirrely Faith

Read: Matthew 6:25-34


And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:                                                                                                                                                 Matthew 6:28 


     As I glanced out the window of my office this morning, I noticed a squirrel in the tree that grows across the way. I probably would not have noticed it except for the great amount of movement the tree made as he jumped from one branch to another. I watched him for a minute, and my mind began to wander to all the things that God does to take care of us. That squirrel was exactly where God wanted it to be at that moment in its life, and it could not have been happier or more satisfied. I realized that all the jumping he was doing was because he was gathering acorns from one branch to another, and apparently, he was excited that he had hit the mother lode. 

     We get so worked up about things in our lives when we face a little bit of a trial. It often seems to us that since we don’t have everything we want, right when we want it, that God has let us down and is not taking care of us. We worry about the results of health exams at the doctor; we worry about difficulties at school; and we worry about how this or that thing is going to work out. We forget the fact that if God can clothe the lilies in the field, if He can feed the sparrows of the air, and if He can give the squirrel his acorns, then certainly He will take care of us as His special creation with whom He delights to fellowship. Those who are doing the will of God will have trials and hardships, but we have nothing to worry about because God always takes care of His own.

     After thirty minutes of work in my office, I looked out the window again, and there was that same squirrel, still as excited as ever, still gathering his acorns in preparation for winter, and still enjoying the provision of a God Who will not let His own be forsaken. The squirrel has no worries because He knows Who is in charge. May we act the same.

Quote of the day: “Worry is wasting today’s time to clutter up tomorrow’s opportunities with yesterday’s troubles.”

Not One Inch

Read: Matthew 6:25-34

     Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?                                                                                                              Matthew 6:30

     If you have ever played basketball, then you probably have prayed at some point that you could grow just a couple more inches. You may have wished you had the ability to think really hard and make yourself grow an inch or two at a time. I can remember wishing someone could invent some kind of machine that could stretch me (without pain) to heights that would give me the ability to dunk. Unfortunately, that never happened.  Maybe God answered your prayer and let you grow as you got older, but I can guarantee that no matter how hard you tried, you were never able to think your way to growth.

     That’s what God is talking about in this passage. He says that if we cannot even add to our height when we would like to, then what kind of control do we really have over our lives? He is in control of everything. If God controls your stature, and if He gives the lilies their ability to punch through the ground in their fragility, then don’t you think He can take care of you? If the flowers of the fields, which are completely dependent on God, are arrayed more ornately than Solomon ever hoped to be, then can’t God handle your difficulties?

     That test that you are worried about in school – if you do your best to study, then don’t you think He can give you the ability to pass it? That struggle that you have with your thought life – if you beg Him for strength to overcome, then don’t you think He can give you the power to have the right thoughts? That difficulty you face in honoring your parents – if you try your best to honor them, then don’t you think he can work out that relationship? The list could go on indefinitely. If you don’t have the ability to control any of the outside circumstances in your life, and God does, then why can we not simply let go and just trust Him?

     Today, think of one thing that you have a hard time with, and just turn it over to God. Tomorrow, you can pick something else. What will happen is that, over time, you will create a pattern of depending upon God to help you in each situation. He controls everything anyway, so why not just rest in that fact and let Him sustain you.

 

Quote of the day: “When I try I fail; when I trust I succeed.”