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MILK OR MORE?
Most things in life go in a certain order. Babies crawl before they walk and drink milk before they eat solid food. Little kids ride a bike with training wheels before they take off on a two wheeler. Teens get a temporary driver's permit that allows them to drive with an adult before they're allowed to drive on their own.
The Christian life goes in a certain order, too. When we're newborn Christians, we need to master the basics: knowing our own sinfulness; needing God's forgiveness and love through the gift of his Son, Jesus; desiring to forgive others. As we grow in Christ, the lessons we learn go deeper as we face the day-to-day decisions between right and wrong.
"Do I cheat on a test to get the grade I need so I can go on the youth group work project this weekend?"
"Do I lie to my parents and tell them my homework is finished so I can go to a concert tonight?"
"Do I throw food at my baby sister because she stuck out her tongue at me?"
OK, so maybe the last one's too easy. But the point is, all those opportunities to choose right or wrong are more than opportunities to choose right or wrong they're opportunities to train yourself to make right choices. Not just now but when you get older. By making good decisions now (when the choice is "Do I stomp my kid brother into a bloody pulp because I'm in a bad mood or show him Christian love and mercy?"), you prepare yourself to make good decisions when the choices are tougher and more complex ("Do I control my raging hormones with my date or give in and see what happens?").
If you don't train yourself in making right choices, you will have a harder time of it later, when the stakes are higher and the consequences are greater! Every good decision you make now trains you for the harder decisions that are sure to come your way down the line. The more you train by making good choices, the more equipped you will be to make good decisions later on.
REFLECT: Think back on the choices you've made this past week. Do you think they've equipped you to make right choices in the future? Have you made the right choice when the choices were easy? Have you made the right choice when the choices were hard? Which do you think "trains" you better for the future hard choices or easy choices?
PRAY: "Lord, with your help I know I can make good decisions. With your guidance, I know I can choose right over wrong. Be my strength, Lord, when I am weak."
Most things in life go in a certain order. Babies crawl before they walk and drink milk before they eat solid food. Little kids ride a bike with training wheels before they take off on a two wheeler. Teens get a temporary driver's permit that allows them to drive with an adult before they're allowed to drive on their own.
The Christian life goes in a certain order, too. When we're newborn Christians, we need to master the basics: knowing our own sinfulness; needing God's forgiveness and love through the gift of his Son, Jesus; desiring to forgive others. As we grow in Christ, the lessons we learn go deeper as we face the day-to-day decisions between right and wrong.
"Do I cheat on a test to get the grade I need so I can go on the youth group work project this weekend?"
"Do I lie to my parents and tell them my homework is finished so I can go to a concert tonight?"
"Do I throw food at my baby sister because she stuck out her tongue at me?"
OK, so maybe the last one's too easy. But the point is, all those opportunities to choose right or wrong are more than opportunities to choose right or wrong they're opportunities to train yourself to make right choices. Not just now but when you get older. By making good decisions now (when the choice is "Do I stomp my kid brother into a bloody pulp because I'm in a bad mood or show him Christian love and mercy?"), you prepare yourself to make good decisions when the choices are tougher and more complex ("Do I control my raging hormones with my date or give in and see what happens?").
If you don't train yourself in making right choices, you will have a harder time of it later, when the stakes are higher and the consequences are greater! Every good decision you make now trains you for the harder decisions that are sure to come your way down the line. The more you train by making good choices, the more equipped you will be to make good decisions later on.
REFLECT: Think back on the choices you've made this past week. Do you think they've equipped you to make right choices in the future? Have you made the right choice when the choices were easy? Have you made the right choice when the choices were hard? Which do you think "trains" you better for the future hard choices or easy choices?
PRAY: "Lord, with your help I know I can make good decisions. With your guidance, I know I can choose right over wrong. Be my strength, Lord, when I am weak."
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.
