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Don't Get Disconnected

Mr. Wrigley, the chewing gum magnet, was riding a train to Chicago, where his headquarters were located. A passenger sitting beside him said, “Mr. Wrigley, your gum in known all over the world. Why do you bother to continue advertising?”

Mr. Wrigley looked the passenger in the eyes and asked, “How fast is this train going?”

“I don't know. Maybe 60 miles an hour.”

“Well, since it's already on a good run, why don't they just go ahead and disconnect the engine?”

The answer was obvious: Advertising was the “engine” that pulled the gum through the market. We've all seen products come out with a bang, and CEOs have made the mistake of assuming since the product was selling well, they could afford to cut back on advertising. Unfortunately, they soon saw the demise of their product when they discontinued the marketing plan.

Lots of people will tell you there are several ways to get to heaven. Some religions will brag that good deeds will earn you salvation. Others say you must be reincarnated and try again. But Jesus said that He alone is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He went on to say that no one could get to heaven except through Him. Jesus Christ is our connection to God Almighty. So it's important that we get connected and stay connected.

In our day-to-day living, faith is the engine that pulls us through life. Martin Luther caught the significance when he discovered that the just shall live by faith. And this is the principle on which he formulated the Protestant Reformation.

By faith we are justified. You can put that in simple terms and think of it as “just as if I'd never sinned.” That means we have been justified before God. Forgiven. Cleansed. Made whole. We are seen as pure before Him.

If faith is the engine, what are the cars on the track that faith is pulling? Faith is pulling the cars of fact, feeling and joy. And they're always in that order! The caboose doesn't pull the train. The caboose is always at the tail-end of the train. Likewise, the coal car doesn't pull the train. The purpose of the old coal car was to provide fuel for the engine which had the power to pull the train. The coal car, caboose and the engine are never interchanged. Freight cars, passenger cars and mail cars may make up the remainder of the train, and these cars are sometimes interchanged, but this doesn't affect the destination of the train.

Know It!
For you to experience spiritual maturity, it's important that you stay deeply rooted and connected in Christ. It's also important that you allow faith-not feelings-to pull your relationship full steam ahead.

Read It!
John 14:6; Romans 1:17; Romans 4:5-20; Romans 9:30.

Pray It!
Ask God to help you keep your faith and your feelings in the proper perspective

What's Pulling Your Train?

If we compare our relationship with Christ to a train, we have to allow faith to pull us down the track into a deeper relationship with God. Faith pulls the cars of fact, feeling, joy, discouragement, loneliness-whatever makes up your train of life. But it's important to remember that faith and fact are like the engine and the coal car; they are never disconnected or interchanged.

Jesus announced that He was standing at the door of our hearts and knocking. He went on to say that if anyone would answer the door and let Him come in and reside in his home, He would give him eternal life. The fact is: When you have repented of your sins, Christ has forgiven you of your sins. And by faith, you believe in Him. The just shall live by faith.

There is no other engine that pulls the train, and no other coal car feed the engine except the fact that you have been forgiven. The other cars in your train may come and go. There will be days when you experience feelings of joy. You may be overwhelmed by His presence. There may be other days when you have feelings of loneliness or discouragement, or you may be sick and not feel a thing.

You may think your train has been derailed because you can't feel God. During those times, Satan will work like crazy to make you think you're not a Christian. He'll tell you that you never were saved in the first place. Or he may bring up a sin from your past and try to make you think that God couldn't possibly forgive you for that. Don't believe Satan . . . even for a second!

Instead, keep doing what you've always done: Continue reading your Bible. Keep praying to your heavenly Father. And no matter what the weather is on the outside, keep the Son shining in your heart by steadily growing in His grace.

Know It!
Don't allow Satan or anyone else to get your cars mixed up. Remember, joy doesn't pull the train. Feelings don't empower the train. Faith pulls the train. Don't disconnect your faith in Jesus. He alone is the One who pulls you to your final (and eternal) destination.

Read It!
1 Corinthians 16:13; 2 Corinthians 1:24; Galatians 2:16; Revelation 3:20.

Pray It!
Ask God to help you remain firmly connected to Him with a deep, growing faith.

Thursday December 13th

I Am with You on the Mountain on the Mountain

Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. Exodus 19:18–19

Mountains are awesome. Whether you are in the Rocky Mountains of the United States, the Alps of Europe, or the Himalayas of Asia, it is easy to stand in awe of the gigantic, majestic peaks. You might feel as if you are in the very presence of God.
When God met Moses on Mount Sinai, He was accompanied by thunder, smoke, fire, and the sound of a loud trumpet. In God’s awesome presence, Moses received the Ten Commandments. This was how God expressed His majestic presence among His people and communicated His will to us.
As He showed on the Mount of Transfiguration, this magnificent and majestic God also chose to be present with His people in the person of Jesus. This Jesus is the baby at Bethlehem. God is awesome and untouchable, and yet as close to us as the lowly, touchable baby who lay in Bethlehem’s manger. He touches us with a mountain of His love and grace. God is with us on the mountain and in the manger.

Your untouchable presence, Immanuel, touches me in the presence of the baby Jesus. Thank You. Amen.

God's Voice Part II

When God spoke, Elijah didn't hesitate to obey. So Elijah confronted King Ahab and told him that God wasn't too pleased with the way things were going and if he didn't make a turn for the better (and get the people to start worshiping God instead of the idol of Baal) he'd be mighty sorry because a famine would sweep the country and there wouldn't be any rain- which not only meant no crops, but also put a pretty big damper on summer fun. (Like how can you go water skiing, swimming, tubing or rafting without water? Pretty basic.)

Well, other than talking in run-on sentences, Elijah did a pretty good job of delivering the message. But King Ahab didn't listen. Next move? God told Elijah to hit the mountains. Now while you may tend to think being banished in the mountains could get boring, the Bible tells us that God provided for every one of Elijah's needs. The Lord sent ravens to bring him food every day. (Not bad room service, huh?)

A few years passed, and God spoke again. This time He told Elijah to go back down the mountain and talk to King Ahab again. And instead of thinking, Wait a minute. That can't be God's voice, because He's the One who told me to come here in the first place. Hmmm. Must be Satan. Or maybe it's just my own thoughts. It would be kind of nice to be with people again. Elijah didn't have to guess; he knew God's voice. And when God spoke, he responded.

You can probably imagine how King Ahab reacted when he saw Elijah heading for the palace. He shook his bony royal finger at God's man and screamed, “You!” (Man of great verbiage, that Ahab.) “You're the one who's responsible for this mess!”

And it really was a mess. Just as Elijah had predicted, God had withheld the rains for several years, people were dying, the crops had withered . . . the country was a disaster.

But Elijah stood his ground. “I'm not the reason for this famine; you are! I told you this would happen. God has allowed our country to suffer because of the way you have chosen to rule.”

“But . . . but . . . but, I . . .” (Be glad Ahab never spoke for one of your school assemblies. He stammered so much it would've taken forever to get his point across!)

“Listen, Ahab! Almost the entire country is worshiping Baal. That's not right. God wants to turn the hearts of His people back to Him.

“But I'm not into Baal worship,” Ahab defended.

“True. You're not,” Elijah agreed. “But you're not into worshiping God, either.”

Know It!
God want His children to be totally committed to Him. We're told in the book of Revelation to be either hot or cold, but lukewarm won't get us anywhere. King Ahab was trying to be lukewarm.

Read It!
2 Peter 1:3; 1 John 5:3-5; Jude 24-25; Revelation 3:16.

Pray It!
Ask God to help you stay “hot”-totally committed to Him.

God's Voice Part III

Elijah confronted King Ahab with confidence. When you truly know the voice of God, you can respond in boldness and confidence to whatever He asks. Elijah continued with his confrontation to Ahab. “If there's one thing God can't stand, it's a lukewarm commitment,” Elijah said. “Be hot or cold, Ahab, but don't stand in the middle. Serve God or serve Baal, but you can't remain neutral.”

“Hold on, Elijah!”

“No can do, Ahab. It's time to make a decision. What's it going to be? Serve God? Or worship your silly idols?”

“Elijah, I don't mind serving your God if he's really God. But I need to know for sure,” Ahab bargained. “So let's have a little contest. I'll get the 450 prophets of Baal, and we'll have a showdown between you and your God . . . and the prophets of Baal and their god.”

Settled. First Church of Baal got really excited. They had a humongous youth group-more than 5,000 teens. They decided this would be a great way to earn money for their surf 'n' swim trip to Jamaica, so they had special T-shirts printed that read “THE CONTEST” and sold them for $15 each. They also took charge of the confession stand. I mean, the concession stand.

The big day arrived and the arena was literally packed out. Serena Williams had a break in her tennis tour, and she was hired to commentate. She began by going through the rules:

“Since there are more people on the Baal team, we're going to let them go first. They'll drag their dead bull out here and pray to their god to burn it up. And guys . . . you're aware that you can't use kerosene or charcoal bits, right? Okay, good.

“Then, after they've had a chance to prove the existence of their god, we'll give Elijah a shot wit his dead bull. Let the games begin!”

The team of Baal pulled their carcass on stage. They danced around their bull and prayed loudly to their god. People watched closely. Reporters were crouched on the edge of their seats in the press box. Cameras zoomed in extra-close. But nothing happened. The crowd grew restless.

Finally, Elijah himself grew impatient and began to sarcastically mock the prophets of Baal. The prophets stepped up the intensity and began cutting themselves to show their false god how serious they were. They danced on stage all day long, but nothing happened.

Know It!
If you haven't made an all-out decision to follow Christ with all your heart, now's the time to do it! Instead of trying to put God to some kind of test, accept His forgiveness and eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ and what He has done for you.

Read It!
1 Kings 18; Hosea 6:3; Joel 2:11-12; Joel 2:32

Pray It!
Ask God to give you a brand-new life through His Son, Jesus Christ.

God's Voice Part IV

Elijah approached the stage and told the contest helpers to clear the platform. They had to hose it down because of all the blood from the prophets of Baal cutting themselves. As they dragged Elijah's dead bull to center stage, he gave them some interesting instructions.

“Dig a trench all the way around the stage and fill it with water,” he said. So they did. “Fill it again,” he instructed. So they did. “And again,” he continued. The audience began to wonder why Elijah was drenching the stage before he began to pray for fire. Then Elijah stepped away from the microphone so no one could hear him. I like to imagine he prayed something like this:

“God, I know You're God. I have absolutely no doubt at all that You created this entire universe and You have more power than anything or anyone anywhere.

“I'm not asking You to burn this bull to prove Your power to me, because-like I said-I'm already convinced of Your power. Those doubts were settled a long time ago when I gave my life to You.

“I'm asking You to burn this bull, though, so these thousands of doubting, questioning, lost people can be convinced that You are the only true God.”

Then I imagine a hush fell across the stadium. And stepping in front of the microphone, Elijah probably boomed in his deepest and loudest voice, “Father God of heaven and earth burn this bull!”

Instantly that dead animal was ablaze. It was incredible! People all over the arena began to realize they'd been duped into believing in a false god. They saw this power, and they wanted what they saw. They began committing themselves to the one true God- Jehovah.

Elijah wasted no time. Microphone still in hand, he grabbed some of the new Christians and convinced them to help him slaughter the prophets of Baal. (Before Jesus came to die for our sins, God abolished evil through death. So, Elijah knew he had to wipe out the Baal gang, or they'd travel to the next town and start the same old thing all over again.)

After all the prophets of Baal were killed, God spoke to Elijah and told him to head back to the mountains. (Back to the mountains? You're kidding! With all this action going on? Why? Because God wanted to talk with him, that's why.)

And Elijah didn't questions whether it was God's voice, Satan's voice or his own thinking. He responded immediately because he knew the voice of the Lord. Elijah went to the mountains and waited for God to speak to him. (To find out more about Elijah's experience on the mountain, flip over to March 12.)

Know It!
Though God doesn't want us to test Him, He is faithful in showing His power through His children when they need Him.

Read It!
1 Kings 18; Psalm 63:2; Psalm 66:3; Psalm 77:14.

Pray It!
Is God's power evident in your life? Ask Him to reveal anything that may be blocking His power through you.

God's Voice Part V

Do you, like Elijah, know the sound of God's voice? God desires not only that you know it, but that you also obey it when you hear Him speak. It takes discipline to learn what God's voice sounds like. It means making time daily to shut everything else out-even the stereo and the TV-to focus on His still, small voice that comes from within.

Everyone in the Bible who accomplished great things for God, did so because they knew the sound of His voice. Jehoshaphat knew God's voice and was able to stand up to King Ahab. (See the devotions on December 19-20). It took temporarily blinding Paul for the Lord to get through, but when He did, Paul had no doubt the sound of his Father's voice, and God used him in astonishing ways. The disciples knew the sound of the Master. Even Jesus said that sheep know the sound of their shepherd's voice. It pays to tune in to the right voice! And the voice of God is a voice that wants to guide you, support you and protect you.

When you have truly learned to tune in to the sound of His voice, big things happen! The better you know God's voice, the deeper your relationship with Him will grow. Why? Because the more you know His voice, the more you'll respond to His voice. The better you know God, the more confident a Christian you'll be.

A disciple who knows God's voice equals a disciple who responds when God speaks equals God working through your life to impact those around you!

A Christian who knows God's voice equals a Christian who's confident. A confident Christian equals one who will dare to take a stand in his school, at work and in his non-Christian home.

Know It!
Look what happened to Lazarus when he recognized God's voice! He was raised to life through Jesus Christ. The most important voice you'll ever respond to is the voice of God on your life. Learn to listen carefully!

Read It!
Deuteronomy 30:20; John 5:28; John 10:3; Revelation 3:20.

Pray It!
Spend some time in prayer just listening to God instead of talking to Him.

Got the Joy of the Season?

Christmas is only eight days away. Have you caught the spirit? Are you spreading the joy? Here are a few Christmas laughs to get you in the mood.

• What are Santa's helpers called? Subordinate Clauses.

• Which one of Santa's reindeers needs to learn his manners? “Rude” olph.

• Ever thought about what Santa says when he gets sick? “OH, OH, NO!”

• Can Santa take pictures? Yes, with his North Pole- aroid.

• What can we call a cat at the beach during Christmas? Sandy Claus.

• Know which reindeer has the cleanest antlers? Comet.

• Who sings “Love Me Tender” and makes Christmas toys? Santa's little Elvis.

• What do we call Santa Clause after he's fallen into a fireplace? Krisp Kringle.

• How does a cowboy greet people at Christmas? Moooooory Christmas!

• What's Santa's favorite snack? A jolly roll.

• Where does Santa take his reindeer for lunch? Deery Queen.

If jokes don't get you into the Christmas spirit, maybe some random acts of kindness will. Try the following:

• Take a thermos of hot chocolate to school today and give a cup to each one of your teachers before school starts.

• Volunteer to go grocery shopping for an elderly person in your neighborhood or church.

• Ask your youth leader if your group can visit a retirement home this Christmas and spread cheer to some senior citizens who may not have family in town.

• Bake cookies for your youth pastor, Sunday school teacher or church staff.

• Surprise your folks with some hot apple cider this evening.

Know It!
Be willing to go the extra mile this Christmas season. No one enjoys being around a Scrooge. But with long lines, hectic traffic and little money, it can be very easy to show your frustration. Determine to spread Christmas cheer in spite of your personal circumstances. When it gets difficult, stop and count your blessings. That will quickly put things into perspective.

Read It!
Lamentations 3:40-42; Lamentations 3:54-58; Ephesians 4:31-32; Philippians 4:4-5.

Pray It!
Ask God to help you reflect His love through your actions this Christmas season.