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WHAT IT TAKES.
Here's a quick little test for you. See if you can match up the trees in the first list with the fruit those trees bear in the second list:
apple tree
oak tree
banana tree
pear tree
peach tree
hickory tree
walnut tree
cherry tree
pecans
pears
hickory nuts
acorns
cherries
apples
walnuts
peaches
bananas
Pretty dumb test, huh? Everybody knows that apples come from apple trees and walnuts come from walnut trees. No matter how hard it tries, a cherry tree could never produce apples; a pecan tree couldn't squeeze out a single banana. Why not? Because neither tree has what it takes to produce that kind of fruit.
Making right choices works the same way. None of us can make right choices all the time. Some days it seems as if we can't make right choices at all! Because we're sinners we don't have what it takes to produce that kind of fruit not by ourselves, at least. We might as well try to squeeze pears out of our ears!
So, does that mean we should just give up? No, but it does mean that the only way we can consistently make right choices is through the Spirit of Christ living in us. His Spirit lives in everyone who has trusted Christ for salvation. It's only by relying on him every day through prayer and Bible reading that we can consistently make right choices. In fact, you might say that making right choices is the fruit that the Holy Spirit produces in our lives when we trust God day by day.
REFLECT: What kind of choices have you been making recently? Have they been sort of prickly, like a pineapple? nutty, like an acorn? sweet, like a cherry? sour, like a crab apple? something else? What kind of choices do you want to make from now on?
ACT: Try making a simple song or poem out of Galatians 5:22 and 23.
PRAY: Here is an example of a prayer you may want to say the first thing every morning: "God, I praise you for this day that you have made. I give your Holy Spirit complete control of everything I do today. Help me to make right choices all day long. In Jesus' name. Amen."
Here's a quick little test for you. See if you can match up the trees in the first list with the fruit those trees bear in the second list:
apple tree
oak tree
banana tree
pear tree
peach tree
hickory tree
walnut tree
cherry tree
pecans
pears
hickory nuts
acorns
cherries
apples
walnuts
peaches
bananas
Pretty dumb test, huh? Everybody knows that apples come from apple trees and walnuts come from walnut trees. No matter how hard it tries, a cherry tree could never produce apples; a pecan tree couldn't squeeze out a single banana. Why not? Because neither tree has what it takes to produce that kind of fruit.
Making right choices works the same way. None of us can make right choices all the time. Some days it seems as if we can't make right choices at all! Because we're sinners we don't have what it takes to produce that kind of fruit not by ourselves, at least. We might as well try to squeeze pears out of our ears!
So, does that mean we should just give up? No, but it does mean that the only way we can consistently make right choices is through the Spirit of Christ living in us. His Spirit lives in everyone who has trusted Christ for salvation. It's only by relying on him every day through prayer and Bible reading that we can consistently make right choices. In fact, you might say that making right choices is the fruit that the Holy Spirit produces in our lives when we trust God day by day.
REFLECT: What kind of choices have you been making recently? Have they been sort of prickly, like a pineapple? nutty, like an acorn? sweet, like a cherry? sour, like a crab apple? something else? What kind of choices do you want to make from now on?
ACT: Try making a simple song or poem out of Galatians 5:22 and 23.
PRAY: Here is an example of a prayer you may want to say the first thing every morning: "God, I praise you for this day that you have made. I give your Holy Spirit complete control of everything I do today. Help me to make right choices all day long. In Jesus' name. Amen."
Scripture
About this Plan
Written for teenagers to use in their daily quiet time readings, this plan will make them laugh or cry. Some are fiction, some are stranger than fiction, but each will help you discover how to make right choices in the everyday ups and downs of life. Josh McDowell's Youth Devotions is a daily adventure in making right choices.
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© 2011 Josh McDowell Ministry. All rights reserved. No part of these Materials may be changed in any way or reproduced in any form without written permission from Josh McDowell Ministry, 2001 W Plano Pkwy, Ste. 2400, Plano, TX 75075. www.josh.org. +1 972 907 1000. Used by Permission.
