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Tickling Ears

A teen girl approached me recently and said, “Hey, I'm only 14! I'm not going to give God all of my life right now. I'm too young. I still wanna have fun.”

My heart broke for her. She calls herself a Christian, yet she knows in her heart of hearts that she's not following Jesus as Lord. And you know what Jesus says? He says that some day many people (really good people) will approach Him in heaven and say, “Lord, Lord!” And He'll respond, “I never knew you. Depart from me.” Yikes! That's scary.

A high school senior approached me and said, “I'm a Christian, but I know God doesn't have all of my life. And I don't want to give it to Him. I'm still going to sin with my friends, because it's fun. So what do you think about that?”

Well, again . . . it doesn't matter what Susie Shellenberger thinks. All that matters is what God SAYS. And God has made it crystal-clear that those who call Him “Lord” but don't live according to His will aren't Christians. And He also makes it clear that those who aren't Christians will spend eternity in hell.

Yeah, but I'm a good person. I can't believe that just because I don't live in obedience to God, that I'll actually go to hell.

And that's Satan's biggest lie. How could good people go to hell? And if you have trouble believing this, you're probably one of the people the apostle Paul is talking about in 2 Timothy when he says that people will no longer want to hear the truth but will look for churches with pastors who will simply tell them what they want to hear.

This devotional book isn't mean to tickle your ears. Yes, we've had a lot of fun inside these pages thus far, but we've also dealt with issues straight-on. And we'll continue to do that. I'm not going to tickle your ears. I'm not going to say, “Well, it's okay. God understands your sin.” I'm going to tell you the Truth. He'll forgive your sin if you come to Him with a repentant heart, but He expects you not to return to that sin.

In other words, don't call yourself a Christian, if you're not willing to try with all your heart to live up to the definition.

It's going to get harder and harder to maintain a godly life. Know why? Because we're living in a heathen world that's going downhill fast. The apostle Paul told Timothy that in the last days it would be extremely tough to live a Christian life.

We're living in a day when it's tough to believe that good people-cool people-will actually spend eternity in hell if they don't know Jesus Christ. It may be hard to believe that people as fun, cool, creative and articulate as your favorite celebrities are actually living in sin simply because they're not following Christ.

What's wrong with their choices? They're not hurting anyone! But again, the bottom line is: If someone hasn't sought forgiveness for his sins and doesn't have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, he'll spend forever in hell. This is the absolute Truth.

Know It!
Maybe you, too, have given God 100 percent and are living in obedience to His will. Great! But if you're not, I invite you to surrender right now. If you're calling yourself a Christian-yet not living up to the name and definition-now's your chance to make things right with the Creator of the universe.

Read It!
Matthew 7:21-23; James 3:11-13; 2 Timothy 4:3-4; 2 Timothy 3:1.

Pray It!
Seek God's forgiveness for your hypocrisy and ask Him give you a brand-new start. Confess your sins and accept Him as your personal Savior.

Saturday Sept 1st

Vanity of Outward Appearance

Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. Ecclesiastes 1:2

As a child, when I visited my

Aunt Sallie’s home, I was

fascinated by one old Victorian picture of an ugly skull. Why would anyone hang that on the wall? But when I inspected the picture up close, I saw a young lady sitting at a vanity table covered with fancy bottles of perfumes and lotions. The skull’s eye sockets now appeared to be the lady’s head and its reflection, and its teeth the row of bottles. The caption “All is vanity!” warned young women that superficial beauty is all in vain. In the end, all outward beauty fades, and the grave swallows up both our beauty and us!

In Ecclesiastes, the Preacher cites many examples of vanity in life. He defines vanity as life outside God’s love, a superficial life, futile, like a fleshless bone.

Our lives in Christ are not superficial, futile, or lived in vain. Jesus “came that [we] may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). God loves us abundantly. We have His Word, His body, and His blood. He gives us faith, and He forgives our sins through Jesus’ death on the cross. Rather than giving us a vain, superficial life based on outward beauty, Christ gives us life at its fullest!

Thank You, Lord, for giving me Your love and making my life full and meaningful. Amen.

Sunday September 2nd

Vanity of Wisdom

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever! Psalm 111:10

As a new school year begins, we admonish our children:
study hard, get good grades, finish school. We’re encouraged to get a degree and told that education equals success. Education certainly offers advantages for life in this world, but it cannot guarantee wisdom, nor does it lead to eternal life.
True wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord. Luther clarifies this in his explanation of the First Commandment: “We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things” (Luther’s Small Catechism, p. 11). We fear God through respect for His holiness, but we also fear Him because of our sin and its consequences. This is just the beginning of wisdom. True wisdom means much more.
Because of God’s love for us, Jesus took our sins upon Himself, bringing us forgiveness, making us acceptable in God’s eyes, and giving us faith in Him. Trust in Christ and reliance on His sacrifice for us and for our salvation is true wisdom. Throughout our lives, God continues to enrich us in Christ through His gifts of Word and Sacraments. Through them, God makes us wise for salvation in Christ Jesus.

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us Christ, our true wisdom, and all His benefits. Amen.

Beware of Friendly Snakes!

There's an old tale about a peasant who was working in his field during the spring. As the ground began to thaw, he noticed a snake. He raised his hoe to kill it, but the snake begged for compassion. “I'm too frozen to do you any harm,” the snake whined. “Please don't kill me.”

The old farmer took pity on the snake, picked up the half-dead reptile and put it inside his overalls next to his chest. He continued to hoe his field, and the snake got warmer and warmer as the day progressed and the heat from the sun shone brightly on the old man. Suddenly, the snake bit the farmer.

The man frantically reached inside his overalls, pulled the serpent out and threw it to the ground.

“Why?” the peasant asked. “I believed you. I befriended you. I saved your life and trusted you.”

“True!” the reptile hissed and it slid away. “But don't blame me! You knew I was a snake when you picked me up.”

Many people fall into the easy trap of picking up sin, befriending it and even holding it close to their heart. We can work overtime to dress it up or give it another name, but sin will always be sin. We can make excuses and rationalize why we carry it around with us, but again . . . sin is sin. And eventually-if not confessed with a repentant heart-it will kill us.

Is it possible to know if you have sin in your life? Absolutely! God will work through His Holy Spirit within you to let you know something in your life isn't right. And the exciting thing about our God, is that He's not into making you play games. You don't have to guess and work for the right answer: “Is it this, Father? Or what about that? Could this be it?”

If you ask God with a sincere heart to point out any unconfessed sin in your life, He'll do exactly that. And He'll be very specific, so you won't have to second- guess Him.

But we often become so comfortable with sin in our lives, we don't bother asking God to point it out to us. That's a dangerous place for a Christian to live! It's like sleeping through a storm. When God allows the lightening to flash into your soul, don't snooze through it. Allow His Holy Spirit to wake you up and bring to your attention those things in your life that are keeping you from becoming all He wants you to be!

Know It!
God is extremely faithful. You can trust Him. He'll always respond to a sincere heart asking for discernment and forgiveness regarding sin.

Read It!
Hebrews 10:26; James 4:17; 1 Peter 3:18; Revelation 22:18.

Pray It!
Rewrite Psalm 139:23-24, inserting your own name into the verse, and make it your prayer right now.

What's Your Faucet Saying?

Have you ever tried to concentrate on something and you couldn't . . . because of a dripping faucet? That constant drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. It's enough to drive a person nuts! It's not really the sound of water that's annoying. In fact, a babbling brook or the sound of a waterfall can actually relax us and lull us to sleep.

Many people buy CDs with nature sounds on them, because it helps them forget about the day's problems and drift into sweet dreams. But chances are, you'll never find a CD with dripping faucet sound effects.

Instead of allowing a dripping faucet to annoy us, maybe we should let it teach us something. Think about it: A dripping faucet is saying, “Something's not right here. There's a leak that needs fixing.” A dripping faucet is a signal that something's wrong. Most of us can't relax during the drip, because we know there's something that needs to be fixed, or we worry about the water that's being wasted.

In the same way, God sometimes allows “dripping faucets” in our lives to signal us that something is spiritually off-center. We often try to ignore those spiritual signals by cranking the volume on our CD player or flipping through a variety of channels on our TV. But the truth is, a dripping faucet won't quit on its own. We actually have to get up and do something about it.

Is God trying to signal you that something wrong in your life? If so, listen to the drip and be willing to do whatever it takes to fix it. Is there a wall in one of your relationships? Have you not forgiven someone who hurt you?

Has it become too easy to be critical, negative and to make remarks that cause dissention among those around you? Are you jealous of a friend who got what you had your heart set on? Have you become bitter because someone rejected you?

Perhaps God is saying through your broken heart, “This isn't right. Let's fix it.”

Or through a critical, negative spirit, maybe God is saying, “This can no longer continue. I love you too much to allow you to remain this way.”

Could God be trying to speak through your jealousy . . . saying, “Instead of feeling insecure about what someone else has, will you refocus your attention on Me? I dream BIG dreams for you!”

A dripping faucet won't fix itself. But our all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present God can even masquerade as a Master Plumber. And He can provide exactly what you need to stop the leak.

Know It!
God wants you to experience life abundantly! If dripping faucets are keeping you from clearly hearing His voice, call the Master Plumber immediately!

Read It!
Proverbs 14:10; 1 Corinthians 10:11-13; 2 Corinthians 12:20; Ephesians 4:31.

Pray It!
Ask God to make you aware of any dripping faucets in your life that need to be fixed.

Strength Through the Struggle

The wind rushed through Joey's sandy-blond hair as the 11-year-old boy made his way through the familiar neighborhood streets from school to his house. Just a couple of blocks from home, Joey found the cocoon of a butterfly. He stared at it for several minutes and made note of where it was so he could keep an eye on it during the next few days.

The following week, he noticed a small opening in the cocoon. Joey lost complete track of time as he sat and watched the insect inside struggle to force its body through the tiny hole. As the sun began to set, he hurried home but couldn't stop thinking about the cocoon. The next day, after school, Joey noticed the insect appeared to be stuck in the hole. It appeared as though it had gotten as far as it could and helplessly remained still mostly inside the cocoon.

The next morning, he took a pair of scissors and put them in his backpack. On the way to school, he stopped again to look at the cocoon. Feeling sorry for the insect, he decided to help it enter the outside world. He carefully snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. Joey smiled as he watched the butterfly emerge smoothly from the hole.

He was surprised, though, to notice the butterfly's swollen body and small, shriveled wings. Joey continued to watch the butterfly, because in his childlike innocence, he expected at any moment its wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support eh body, which would contract in time.

Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It was never able to fly. What Joey didn't understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the insect into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom fro the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. Though none of us enjoy them, God often uses them to for our good. He strengthens us through the dark hours. He increases our faith when we call on Him for help through the pain.

Know It!
If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We wouldn't be as strong as what we could have been. We'd never fly. God wants you to soar! Can you trust Him with your shaky wings and your daily struggles? Instead of growing frustrated with all that's going wrong in your life, try shifting your focus on what you'll become after the struggle has ceased.

Read It!
2 Corinthians 10:10; James 1:2-4; James 1:12; 2 Peter 2:9.

Pray It!
Ask God to change the way you view your struggles.

The World's Largest Backpacking Group Part I

They were sort of like a huge youth group. There were approximately 500,000 students! When they played “Capture the Flag,” it was all-out war! And car washes? Well, let's just say the whole city got wet.

Their youth leader was Yo-Mo. Well, that's what the youth group called him. Everyone has a special nickname for his youth minister, right? His real name was Moses . . . but Yo-Mo just seemed to fit him better.

Anyway, these teens (the world's largest backpacking group) had worked forever (okay, three months) to earn enough money to go on the world's longest backpacking trip. They'd had the car washes, spaghetti dinners and even tried selling M&Ms.

Now they were arriving at their weekly youth meeting, and Yo-Mo who was usually greeting kids and asking visitors to fill out address cards, had his head buried instead inside the youth bank account books.

“You've done it!” he screamed. “You've finally done it!” A few of the guys murmured, “I didn't think anyone saw us put those goldfish in the baptistery. How'd he find out?”

Then Yo-Mo grabbed the microphone and said, “I'm so proud of you guys! You've finally earned enough money for us to go on the world's longest backpacking trip.

Boy, were they excited! They shouted and clapped and screamed and made so much noise the adults (who were meeting in the sanctuary) complained about how much noise the youth were making again.

Yo-Mo didn't waste any time. He quickly grabbed his travel notes and began his trip-talk. “I've already mapped out the place for our adventure,” he began. “We're going to the Promised Land. They have some great deals on milk and honey there, and it should only take us about 40 days to backpack it.”

(Well, some of you have heard this story before, and you know it actually took a little longer than 40 days! But that's what happens when we get sidetracked from God's path. It takes us a lot longer than it would have if we'd just continued following His direction.)

He then passed out parent-permission forms, so no one could sue the church if something happened to his teen, and Yo-Mo continued with his instructions. “Since this is a backpacking trip, obviously that means we'll be carrying everything in our packs on our backs. So you know what that means, girls? No curling irons, electric rollers or blow-dryers. Nobody bring anything extra.

“And guys . . .” Well, he stopped. He was going to tell them the same thing. But he knew these guys. He knew they never brought too much stuff on trips. In fact when they went to youth camp or special retreats, they usually didn't even bring enough stuff-just a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. And if it got dirty? No prob. They just turned 'em inside out and kept wearing them!

Know It!
Just as God lead the children of Israel into a land promised specifically for them, He'll lead you into plans that He's creating uniquely for you!

Read It!
Exodus 13:20-22; Exodus 14; Exodus 15.

Pray It!
Ask God for faith to obey and follow Him even when you can't see ahead.

The World's Largest Backpacking Group Part II

Yo-Mo continued with his instructions to the teens in his youth group. “We'll meet here at the church tomorrow morning at 5 a.m.,” he announced. “And remember, it should only take us 40 days to get there . . . so we should be back at the church by . . .” and he told the teens the specific day and time they'd be returning. “So, tell your parents to be here waiting for you,” he said. “Because I don't want to wait for 500,000 of you to call your parents once we get back to the church, okay?”

It just so happened that the students in Yo-Mo's youth group weren't very good travelers. They got antsy. They wanted to stop at every McDonald's they passed. They screamed stuff from the back of the bus. Annoying stuff like: “How many more miles?” And “When're we gonna get there?"” Then their questions turned accusatory: “Hey! Yo-Mo, you said we'd be there in 40 days. It's been four-and-a-half years! So when are we gonna stop, huh?” And even derogatory remarks: “Yo-Mo! Where'd you get your license? Out of a Cracker Jacks box?”

Finally, after 13 years, some of the guys really let him have it. “Yo-Mo! We gave up basketball camp for this? When we gettin' there, man?”

And after 25 years, the girls started in. “Oh, I'm soooo shuuure. Like, c'mon Yo-Mo. I mean, we ran outta Flex Shampoo like 24 years ago. Gag! So when are we gonna get there, huh?”

After 37 years, a kid from the very back of the bus raised his hand. “Um, Mr. Yo-Mo? Do ya think maybe we could pull over and stop? I, uh, really oughta call my parents. They've been waiting for me at the church for 37 years now. I mean, you said we'd be back around . . .”

Finally, after being on the road for a little over 40 years, Yo-Mo pulled over at a rest stop. Everyone piled off the bus, and he climbed a mountain. (You'd probably want to stretch your legs, too, if you'd been traveling for 40 years with 500,000 teens all cramped in a very- big but too-small bus!)

When he reached top of the mountain, the Lord began speaking to Moses. “Mo, squint your eyes a little. See way over there in the distance?”

Yo squinted. “Yeah. I see it!”

“That's the Promised Land,” the Lord said.

“Wow!” Mo exclaimed. “That's it? That's what we've been trying to find for the past 40 years?”

“That's it.”

“Cool”

“And now that you've seen it, it's time for you to die.”

What?

Over 40 years of leading his youth group, and now he has to die? Without even getting to go inside?

That's right. You see, a little earlier, Mo had compromised (made excuses for things that were really wrong, but said it was okay), so God was withholding some of His blessings.

Know It!
There are always consequences when we compromise God's direction in our lives.

Read It!
Exodus 16; Exodus 17; Exodus 18.

Pray It!
Tell God you don't want to be a complainer (like the children of Israel) when things don't go your way. Pray for a positive attitude.