Get the appJosh McDowell's Youth DevotionsSample
TRUE VALUE.
If you had fifty cents to spend, which would you buy:
a bag of M&M's
or
that day's newspaper?
If you had a dollar to spend, which would you buy:
a bottle of soda
or
a six-minute phone call from a pay phone?
If you had a hundred dollars to spend, which would you buy:
a pair of cool tennis shoes
or
a portable CD player?
If you had a hundred thousand dollars to spend, which would you buy:
a house
or
a lifetime subscription to Iguana Owners Monthly?
OK, so maybe the last one was too easy; after all, everyone wants a lifetime subscription to Iguana Owners Monthly. But still, take a minute to look back over your choices. Why did you choose those items? Why was it really, really easy to choose in some cases?
Because those were things you value. You chose the items you valued. Your choices revealed your values.
Well, the same is true of God. His choices reveal his values. For example, in today's Bible reading, God talks about the things he values and the things he doesn't value! That's not hard to understand. God told the people of Jerusalem, "Tell the truth" because he values honesty. And he told them, "Don't swear that something is true when it isn't" because he actually hates dishonesty (Zechariah 8:16-17, TLB).
And if we love God and want to follow him, our actions should show that we (like him) value honesty.
REFLECT: Look back over Zechariah 8:14-17. Using what God says to his people think about what God values and what God hates.
How much do your values and actions reflect God's values?
PRAY: "Lord, I know you command honesty because you value honesty. Please help me to show by my actions that I value honesty, too."
If you had fifty cents to spend, which would you buy:
a bag of M&M's
or
that day's newspaper?
If you had a dollar to spend, which would you buy:
a bottle of soda
or
a six-minute phone call from a pay phone?
If you had a hundred dollars to spend, which would you buy:
a pair of cool tennis shoes
or
a portable CD player?
If you had a hundred thousand dollars to spend, which would you buy:
a house
or
a lifetime subscription to Iguana Owners Monthly?
OK, so maybe the last one was too easy; after all, everyone wants a lifetime subscription to Iguana Owners Monthly. But still, take a minute to look back over your choices. Why did you choose those items? Why was it really, really easy to choose in some cases?
Because those were things you value. You chose the items you valued. Your choices revealed your values.
Well, the same is true of God. His choices reveal his values. For example, in today's Bible reading, God talks about the things he values and the things he doesn't value! That's not hard to understand. God told the people of Jerusalem, "Tell the truth" because he values honesty. And he told them, "Don't swear that something is true when it isn't" because he actually hates dishonesty (Zechariah 8:16-17, TLB).
And if we love God and want to follow him, our actions should show that we (like him) value honesty.
REFLECT: Look back over Zechariah 8:14-17. Using what God says to his people think about what God values and what God hates.
How much do your values and actions reflect God's values?
PRAY: "Lord, I know you command honesty because you value honesty. Please help me to show by my actions that I value honesty, too."
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.
More
© 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.
