Get the appJosh McDowell's Youth DevotionsSample
NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH.
Have you ever noticed the headlines of some of the newspapers in the racks beside the grocery store checkout lines?
"Alien spaceship found in New Mexico!" (It was a four-seat plane from Mexico.)
"Baby born with treasure map on its back!" (It was a birthmark.)
"I gave birth to Elvis's two-headed alien love child!" (Yeah, right.)
"Vince Foster's ghost haunts White House!" (The floor in the west wing creaks.)
Do people really believe this stuff? They certainly buy it. Supermarket tabloids sell millions of newspapers every week, so somebody out there must be reading it, liking it, and maybe even believing it.
Of course, those newspapers aren't the only ones to "embellish" the truth or even to stretch it to its breaking point. You and I do it all the time. We may not claim to have seen Elvis at the local Wal-Mart, but we do stretch the truth sometimes. After all, what's the harm of a "little white lie"?
A lot. God has another word for "stretching the truth" or "embellishing the truth." He calls it lying. He says, "Do not testify falsely against your neighbor" (Exodus 20:16), and "Do not lie" (Leviticus 19:11). But lying, whether it's a little white lie or a big fat one, is wrong not just because God says it is. The ninth commandment reveals God as a God who values truth because he himself is true.
Another reason God tells us to avoid lying and to speak the truth is that lying is destructive. Ananias and Sapphira found that out in one deadly lesson! Lying separates us from God. It erodes our character and destroys our reputation. It makes us less like God.
God wants to save us from all that by showing us, through his commandments, what he is like. When we reflect his nature, we also make things a lot easier on ourselves.
REFLECT: The ninth commandment tells us not to lie. What does that reveal about what God is like? Do you think God ever lies? Why or why not?
Finish this statement: "I reflected God's nature this week when I...
If you can't finish the statement, what could you do now to reflect God's nature?
ACT: Cut out letters from news headlines to form the words "Do not lie." Arrange them on a piece of paper. Then attach the paper to your mirror, bulletin board, or refrigerator as a reminder to always speak the truth.
PRAY: "I'm sorry, God, that it's hard for me to tell the truth when... Help me to be more like you."
Have you ever noticed the headlines of some of the newspapers in the racks beside the grocery store checkout lines?
"Alien spaceship found in New Mexico!" (It was a four-seat plane from Mexico.)
"Baby born with treasure map on its back!" (It was a birthmark.)
"I gave birth to Elvis's two-headed alien love child!" (Yeah, right.)
"Vince Foster's ghost haunts White House!" (The floor in the west wing creaks.)
Do people really believe this stuff? They certainly buy it. Supermarket tabloids sell millions of newspapers every week, so somebody out there must be reading it, liking it, and maybe even believing it.
Of course, those newspapers aren't the only ones to "embellish" the truth or even to stretch it to its breaking point. You and I do it all the time. We may not claim to have seen Elvis at the local Wal-Mart, but we do stretch the truth sometimes. After all, what's the harm of a "little white lie"?
A lot. God has another word for "stretching the truth" or "embellishing the truth." He calls it lying. He says, "Do not testify falsely against your neighbor" (Exodus 20:16), and "Do not lie" (Leviticus 19:11). But lying, whether it's a little white lie or a big fat one, is wrong not just because God says it is. The ninth commandment reveals God as a God who values truth because he himself is true.
Another reason God tells us to avoid lying and to speak the truth is that lying is destructive. Ananias and Sapphira found that out in one deadly lesson! Lying separates us from God. It erodes our character and destroys our reputation. It makes us less like God.
God wants to save us from all that by showing us, through his commandments, what he is like. When we reflect his nature, we also make things a lot easier on ourselves.
REFLECT: The ninth commandment tells us not to lie. What does that reveal about what God is like? Do you think God ever lies? Why or why not?
Finish this statement: "I reflected God's nature this week when I...
If you can't finish the statement, what could you do now to reflect God's nature?
ACT: Cut out letters from news headlines to form the words "Do not lie." Arrange them on a piece of paper. Then attach the paper to your mirror, bulletin board, or refrigerator as a reminder to always speak the truth.
PRAY: "I'm sorry, God, that it's hard for me to tell the truth when... Help me to be more like you."
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.
