Devotions for Teens

[Soldier4Christ]

  A Generation that Boils

‘Ah, Sovereign Lord, ‘I said, ‘I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.’ But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.  Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,’ declares the Lord. Jeremiah 1:6-8

You’ve probably heard the old wives tale, “A watched pot never boils.”  Obviously, this isn’t exactly true.  If you watch a pot of water which is over heat, eventually it will boil.  The point is that it “seems” like it takes forever to really get to a boil.

For years, those in the Christian community have watched the current generation of youth, generally those in middle school, high school and college, to see if there would be a generation that would “boil” for Christ.  And as they watched, many felt like this pot would never boil.  But I think we need to look again – a few bubbles have started to come to the surface.  Several colleges in the US have experienced a brief, but substantial revival setting in the past few years.  Students are volunteering in large numbers for the challenge of taking Christ to the Nations, and on many college and seminary campuses, students are using the “R” word.

Could it be that God is preparing to do something great in this country as He has in many countries over seas in the last couple of decades?  South Korea, as well as parts of Africa have seen substantial revival as people are saved and the saved are calling on the power of God.  Could it be that this is the generation that God will use to bring the whole thing to a boil?  Of course, no one knows.  The more important question is, if He does, will you be a part of it?  Will you be a part of going to everyone He commands you to go to?  Will you be part of the boil?

[Soldier4Christ]

  What Spills Out

"Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."  Romans 12:17-18

The recent tragic and heart wrenching event that occurred last week on the campus of Virginia Tech serves as an overwhelmingly sad reminder of the evil present in the world today.  Words can not express the pain that the students families are now feeling.  This incident resonates directly to the core condition of the heart of every individual and begs an answer to the question, "Why do things like this happen?"

The Senior pastor of my former home church had a simple, but very relevant question that he would ask of us from time to time.  "What spills out of you when someone bumps you?"  The way in which each of us respond to that question is a crucial indicator that reveals our true relationship with the Lord.  As Christians, we have a responsibility to live to a higher standard than those who do not know Christ as their Savior. 

In his address at last week's convocation for the students who died and were injured, President Bush exhorted all Americans to do what God would want us to do when he quoted Romans 12:21; "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."  This was an awesome and courageous example of how we all should respond when violence is committed against ourselves or others. 

Every day, we have opportunities when people 'bump' us, to be an example of how Jesus would respond.  He would respond with love, kindness, gentleness and understanding.  Take a moment to ask yourself, "How would I respond?"  As believing Christians revenge, bitterness, anger, evil and resentment are words that should not even be in our thinking. 

My challenge for each you today is this: the next time you get bumped by someone, rather than lash out with indifference, resentment or anger, in kindness, ask the individual what you can do to help them.  Show them the love of Jesus that reigns within your heart.  We can all make a profound difference in this world.  It happens one changed heart at a time.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Impossible...Or Not?

For nothing is impossible with God.Luke 1:37

Have you ever been in a situation where you felt completely helpless, where all you can do is just wait for the outcome? Whatever it is your trying to do, or whatever your going through, seems so impossible. It really doesn’t help when others tell you that is worthless to try. They criticize you and tell you to just give up and move on. (Don’t you just love people?) I know I’ve been in one of those situations before, many times. I’m the type of person that likes to know what’s going on, and what’s going to be the outcome, especially if it's something I really want. But instead of going into it with a defeated attitude, I want to try something different, something I should do everyday of my life. Something that no matter what will turn out good. (Your probably sitting there thinking, what the heck? A for-sure good outcome every time? Guaranteed?? No matter what the trial or situation is?) That’s right my good friend, I’ve got the secret. Are you ready to hear it? Are you sure you can handle it? Here it is: Trust God.

Not the answer you expected, huh?

In my life I have major trust issues. I know I do. It’s a big problem for me, because it effects a lot of areas in my life. I always try to handle things on my own, thinking that I'll be able to handle myself. But reality is, I can't. I need to give everything over the Lord. He is leading me through life, so He knows what is best for me. A lot of you reading this have probably heard all that before. Yeah yeah, trust God with this, pray about that, yada yada yada. But if you sat and really thought about it, there would be no yada about it. Every decision in life takes faith. Even the mundane ones. All God asks of us it to give our stresses and worries to Him. He will take care of it. The Bible says:" And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who Him, who have been called according to His purpose." (Romans No matter how impossible the situation may seem, God has your life under control. He is leading you down this road of life. He knows the desires and wants of your heart. He hasn't placed them there to not help you achieve what you want in life. Trust God with whats gong on. Its something you've heard a million times before. But there is so much power in the two words: TRUST GOD.

You take care of the possible, let God take care of the impossible and let Him give you the strength to give Him the impossible.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Prayer

“Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer.  From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”  (Psalm 61:1-2)

The above verse speaks about prayer.  One who isn’t familiar with the concept of prayer and that it is just crying out and talking to God, would be confused by this verse, I think.  We as Christians know that prayer is just that, but I challenge you to think about your own prayer life.  Although we know what prayer essentially is, how close are you to God through prayer? 

Personally, I struggle with prayer.  No matter how hard I’ve tried in the past, somehow my efforts to draw closer to God in prayer have gradually failed each time.  That is because I haven’t either viewed prayer as essential to drawing closer to and knowing God better, or I haven’t taken the time to do just that.  For example, I recently made a resolution to spend more time focused on prayer, and I decided writing down my prayer requests on paper every day would help me be focused in my prayer time.  Well, for the first few days, I wrote down my requests and requests for people I was aware of that needed prayer.  That’s never a bad thing to do, so that’s not where I messed up.  But after a few days, I was either too tired after writing down the requests that night, or I just was too tired in general to pray before I went to bed so I decided in my tiredness that I would pray in the morning. Well, it all came to a point where I just stopped writing down and praying for the requests of others completely.  . This was all an attack of satan because I know that I cannot wake up in the morning well enough to have a good prayer time and normally I stay away from planning morning prayer and devotion time for that reason. 

Reading this verse has helped me resolve once again to spend more time with God in prayer, and I am thankful that God led me to it just when I needed it.  I have been going through many things at once recently and I know I need to spend more time talking with God, and these verses have opened my eyes up to that fact once again.  I find also, that the whole book of Psalms is an inspiration for me in this goal, because it is simply a book of the psalmists talking to God, and meditating in God’s presence as He teaches them and brings them closer to Him.

I hope you know how important it is to draw closer to God in prayer, and if you don’t realize that yet, just seek to know God more through His word, and He will reveal to you the importance of prayer for your life as well.  I want to leave you with one statement I came upon in a book I was reading that went something like this:  ‘When you feel least like praying and reading your Bible, that is when it is important to do those things.’  Take that statement with you through the days to come and constantly strive to make learning more about God through His word and through prayer a priority, and you will surely grow more in your walk with God.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Rise Up

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21

Since the event that took place at Virginia Tech Monday morning, I have heard this verse repeated several times. The worst shooting in U.S. history has taken place. Several innocent lives have been taken in an instant and countless lives are forever changed. In a time like this it’s hard to understand how to overcome this deepest form of evil with good. A tragic event like this tends to leave hurt and more than that in some cases, bitterness or hatred. I’ll admit myself that each time I see the face of the killer and the innocent faces of those lives he took, I swell up with anger and confusion. I can only imagine how those close to them must feel.

So how do we overcome this evil with good? My answer would be this, “God is good.” It is time for the body of Christ to step it up. For it’s only through the broken heart that Christ Jesus can enter! Imagine how many lives can be changed if we come together as one in Christ and we put on the full armor of God. Shine your light in the darkness, offer this promised hope that we have to the hopeless people, and let them know about the peace that passes all understanding! Rise up army of God, rise up! Let the battle cry ring loud! Raise the blood stained banner up high. The devil may have won this battle but we are not counted out of the fight.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Big Ouch

“The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”  Zephaniah 3:17

Did you ever stop to think how hard the metal is in a chin-up bar?  I have and let me tell you why.  When I was in fourth grade, I had a problem, a serious problem.  And his name was Owen.  I know, but there are actually kids in the world named Owen.  Anyway, he loved to make my life miserable.  Owen was in 6th grade and he was my official bully. 

One day as Owen was chasing me across the playground AGAIN, I thought maybe this time I could actually outrun him.  I ran as hard as I could possibly go.  I looked back to see if he was still following me.  When I turned back around, I found out that they make chin-up bars of really hard metal.  The sound of my forehead hitting the bar made a giant thud.  This was followed closely by the splat of me hitting the ground.  Needless to say, I survived.  Although every time I turn on a microwave oven, I bark like a dog and hear someone singing Jingle Bells.  Other than that, I’m fine.

You know what I really needed?  I needed a savior.  A savior is someone who comes to your rescue.  The Lord your God is your rescuer.  Not just from hell, but from the pitfalls of life.  And there are a lot of pitfalls in life.  Much of today, I spent watching video of the tragedy at Virginia Tech.  My heart is broken for the families of those who were killed.  My greatest prayer is that they know the Lord so that He can delight in them, quiet them with His love and rejoice over them with singing.  It feels so good to know God is rejoicing over you.  All it takes is faith.  Faith to believe that He is doing exactly what He said He would do.  And just for future reference, that promise is more firm than a chin-up bar.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Finding Significance in the Insignificant

"When my life was slipping away, I remembered God, And my prayer got through to you, made it all the way to your Holy Temple. Those who worship hollow gods, god-frauds, walk away from their only true love. But I'm worshiping you, God, caliling out in thanksgiving! And I'll do what I promised I'd do! Salvation belongs to God!" Jonah 3:9-10

Everybody knows about Jonah. People who have never read the Bible know enough to joke about Jonah to laugh at a joke about him and the "whale". Jonah has entered our folklore. There is a playful aspect to this story, a kind of awkward clumsiness about Jonah as he makes his way along, trying, but always unsuccessfully, to avoid God.

But this playfulness is not frivolous. This is deadly serious. While we are smiling or laughing at Jonah, we drop the guard with which we are trying to keep God at a comfortable distance, and suddenly we find ourselves caught in the purposes and commands of God. All os us. No exceptions.

I'm guilty of this often when I look at the story of Jonah. I mask the realities of my life as I make fun of a guy that got swallowed by a "whale". I tend to think of it as funny and sad, but then it starts to hit home. Its easier for me to point my finger and make light of Jonah's ordeal. Meanwhile I'm swimming in my own guiltiness of forsaking my own God.

Biblical stories are the best way to see oneself in God's mirror. Stories, in contrast to abstract statements of truth, tease us into becoming participants in what is being said. We find ourselves involved in the action. We may start out like me, by critiquing and criticizing Jonah's actions in the story, but when the story instantly provides that connection to our own lives, we find ourselves no longer just listening to, but inhabiting the story. That's the kind of God we serve. He is alive just as much in the time of Jonah as He is right now.

I connect with the story of Jonah extremely well due to the fact that he isn't a hero, he's not King David or a Moses. He's alowly preacher called out by God to bring forth the Word. Through the story he doesn't accomplish anything significant. This insignificance is the significant part of the story. He's one of us, a partner, a friend we can easily connect to. Even when Jonah gets it right (like preaching, finally in Ninevah) he does it wrong (by getting angry at God). But here's the gold nugget: the whole time despite Jonah's flaws God is working in and around Jonah and giving him His very own touch. He raise him up, edifies and chastizes him, then envisions a new purpose for him. I don't know about you, but I could use a friend or two like Jonah.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Love One Another

“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35

As the verse from the Gospel of John tells us, for those of us who have received Jesus Christ as our personal savior, we have been given a clear instruction of how we are expected to treat others.  If we are truly a Disciple of Jesus, it becomes evident by the manner in how we demonstrate our love for others.

When Jesus was asked what the most important Commandments were, he answered the question in this way: and the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'  Matthew 22:39.  His answer makes it very clear just how much importance He places on loving our neighbors.

Understandably, there may be people in your life who have hurt you, deceived you, betrayed you or lied to you.  Do those actions release us from loving them?  Absolutely not, in fact Paul told the Corinthian church precisely what God expects of Christians in those types of situations.  “Do everything in love.”  1 Corinthians 16:14.   That verse does not appear to provide any exceptions, regardless of how we might feel toward someone else.

The prophet Micah provided Christians with important guidance in this area as well.  In Micah 6:8 it is written “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Isn’t this just the way we want others to treat us?  Then shouldn’t we treat others in that same manner? 

Jesus met and accepted each one of us just as we were and where we were at in our lives.  The greatest act of love and mercy we can give others is to do likewise.  This is how we show others in our sphere of influence that Christ is truly abiding in us.  If you have not been living your life in this manner in the past, today would be a good day to begin.  Become an outstanding example of Jesus to others and see what it might do for their lives.

[Soldier4Christ]

 So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. 1 Peter 1:6

I know that anyone reading this has had one of those days. I know, you know what I am talking about. One of those days that starts off wrong the second you open your eyes in the morning and trip out of bed, can't seem to get the toothpaste on your toothbrush, what you wanted to wear is in the dirty laundry, and when you get to Starbucks their machine is broken. Then it is just a down spiral from there.

Yes Yes. You have had one or multiple days similar to this. I know I definitely have. Indeed life is hard sometimes. Bumps in the road occur, and when they do it's hard to be joyful and happy. Sometimes God throws us curve balls to see how we will react to them. Whether our trials be little or large, how we come to them is up to us. Our faith would be pretty sad if we never had to deal with trials. If everything was fine and dandy ALL the time, our faith would grow stagnant and stale. Our faith only grows when we put it into action. It is so easy to be joyful and all smiles when life is well..peachy...but when life gets rough we need to step up our faith and show that whether times or good or bad, we can keep the joy of the Lord in our hearts and on our faces.

It is also good to remember that the world is constantly looking us. Waiting for us to fall or say the wrong thing or react a certain way. And when people see that we are going through a trial in our lives, they will watch and see how we will react to it. Even though life is hard at times, God is there to bring us out of it. 1 Corinthians says"And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." God will never give you more than you can handle, so just remember that when your having one of "those days" that Jesus is Lord and you are Saved, so no matter what its a good day.

[Soldier4Christ]

  God Hears

I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I go about mourning.  My back is filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body.  I am feeble and utterly crushed; I grow in anguish of heart.  All my longings lie open before you, O Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you.  My heart pounds, my strength fails me; even the light is gone from my eyes. Psalm 38:6:10

I don’t know about you, but even amid God’s great blessings I have sometimes been left wanting more.  I long for this, I yearn for that, and I want more than I have.  Sure, I know God has me waiting on some things for good and perfect reasons, but that hasn’t changed my longings.

There was one point in the recent past where I went through a tough time emotionally.  I won’t go into detail, but I often felt almost depressed, or sad.  The first two sets of verses I shared with you above are the passages that really describe how felt at that point.   The feeling went away for the most part, but it sometimes comes back now and then, I’ve noticed.  I’m sure we all go through times where we feel like David felt when he wrote those passages.  Maybe some of you are also going through this right now.

In the third passage I shared, we learn that God wants us to tell Him of our sorrows and troubles!  That’s simply it!  When we are going through tough times, God wants us to tell Him all about them.  He is our compassionate, sensitive, caring, and understanding friend!  He hears us and invites us to fall into His arms and cry when we need to, and only after we expose our pain and tell Him of our brokenness, can He begin helping us through our hard times and heal our wounds.

Here’s a final note for anyone who is going through a tough time (to some degree):  God is holding out his arms to you.  Now it’s up to you to fall into them and let God take care of you.

[Soldier4Christ]

  The Cost of Faithfulness

Those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. 1 Corinthians 4:2

On the first day of their lives together, most couples stand before a church full of people. They stand there nervous and excited at the same time, looking into each others eyes while their loved ones look at them. Each of them made a decision and on that day will profess it together. They express their vows and make a pact to be faithful. What does it mean to be faithful? It means to keep promises, to remain loyal, to honor each other no matter what the cost may be. This seems easy to understand when it comes to a wedding.

Think about this: what if every promise you made carried the weight of solemn vows or commitment to not easily be broken? What about the promises you make? How faithful and loyal are you? Can people rely on your word? Can your parents and friends count on you? Are you where you tell your parents you’re going to be? Do you keep engagements you make with friends?

Now what about God? If you have decided to follow Him you’ve been entrusted with all that God has to bless you with. Now you must prove to be faithful and true in your relationship to Him. It’s the most important commitment in your life, beyond anything else. Jesus said you should count the cost of a commitment before making it. It is easy to tell God we are going to follow Him, but will we really? Will we lay down everything and follow Him NO MATTER the cost? The price is great but the reward is greater.

God wants us to be known by our faithfulness and loyalty to Him. Just as partners make vows to each other on their wedding day, so should we do towards Jesus. Our commitment to Him is more crucial than anything. No one deserves our faithfulness more than Him!

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."  -- Mark 8:34

[Soldier4Christ]

  Let My People Go or Else!

“For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead.”  Isaiah 43:3

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be taken hostage?  A couple weeks ago, several British soldiers were captured and held hostage by the nation of Iran.  It was pretty scary for them, I’m sure.  They were blindfolded, threatened and given very little to eat.  They didn’t know if they would be killed, tortured or just left to rot in an Iranian jail forever.

But they had something very good going for them.  You see the nation of Great Britain took it very personally.  Those were their people.  And the prime minister, Tony Blair, made it very clear that he would do ANYTHING to get his people home.  I think he would have blown Iran off the map, if he needed to. You see, someone cared about those soldiers.  Someone very powerful (the whole nation of Great Britain) was intent on seeing their people come home.  No price was too high to be paid!

God makes a similar gesture for the nation of Israel.  They have been taken captive by the Babylonians and are scattered all over.  But they have someone very powerful willing to do ANYTHING to get them home.  This passage makes the statement that God would even ransom the nations of Egypt, Cush and Seba.  What’s really cool about this is that in the 6th Century B.C., Cyrus of Persia allowed the people of Israel to go back home.  They were set free!  Soon after that Persia “just happened” to conquer Egypt, Cush and Seba.  How cool is that?  God not only said He would ransom his people, He did it!  I don’t know about you, but it makes me feel awfully good to have a God like that.  Don’t worry about the situation you may be in.  God is able and willing to ransom you out!

[Soldier4Christ]

  Walking by Faith

For we walk by faith, not by sight... 2 Corinthians 5:7

Remember when you were a kid and you played "Pin the tail on the Donkey" or "Marco Polo?" You had to trust in others to help you not crash into things since you couldn't see where you were going. Sometimes they didn't guide you correctly and you'd smash into something and hurt yourself. When you're blindfolded, you rely on your other senses, like hearing, but you can't get around as well as you can when you can see clearly.

Being a Christian is a little different. Sometimes we count on what we see as being the truth. We get wrapped up in our circumstances and sometimes become overwhelmed. But Jesus tells us that we are to walk by faith and not by sight. We have to believe that His word is true and trustworthy. When feelings of unworthiness or self doubt come creeping in because of things going on around you, remember don't walk by sight! Hold on to what you know is true...you are a child of the King! You are more than a conqueror! You are an heir to the throne!

It isn't always easy to walk by faith; but if you've hidden God's word in your heart, when you're feeling depressed or stressed out, you can call up those verses that help you remember to walk by faith.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Preach Christ Crucified

"And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again." (Luke 18: 33)

"…but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks”
(I Cor. 1:23)

This afternoon, I was sitting in my office doing what I do best, using my imagination.  While I was using my imagination, images of the cross came to my mind and I felt the Holy Spirit leading me to think deeper than I have ever thought.  Imagine with if you will as you read along that I am a missionary and am proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ to you.  I am going to tell you that a 33 year old man was electrocuted in the electric chair for your sins. 

There are many hymns that have been written about it. When I Survey The Wondrous Electric Chair and The Electricity Will Never Lose It's Power or The Old Rugged Electric Chair—remember we are imagining.

Now imagine that if people caught onto the religion, and wore electric chairs around their neck, on their t-shirts, and as decals on their car windows.  Imagine if you had an electric chair hanging in the church or on your wall at home. You drive down the road and come to the next church and what do you see but three electric chairs on a hill representing the one who died for you and me.

What would your response be?  "Well that is the dumbest religion anyone would have ever invented!"   Would you be offended?  The imagery would be totally different than what people see in the cross. Or would it?

The problem with that is that the electric chair is so much better of a punishment than what our Jesus took upon that tree.  Yet, when we look at what people are saying nowadays, I wonder if they really realize that.  "Don't preach the cross any more, it doesn't work."  "A crucified Messiah is stupid, preach prosperity, give them emotional experiences, provide them with self-esteem then you will fill the pews." The proof: look at your church, does the pastor preach the cross?  When was the last time that you heard a message on the cross?   If not, I wonder how many people are going to Heaven?

Friends, we are called and mandated to preach Christ crucified, buried, and risen again on the third day.  Are you doing that?  Are you sharing that with your friends?  I pray that you are.  May God's Grace Abound In You!

[Soldier4Christ]

  A Bad Case of Tadpoles

“His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, And he is caught in the cords of his sin” Proverbs 5:22

What began as a break from summer boredom, exploded into an ecological nightmare, at least from a frog’s perspective.

We were out of school and the neighbor’s pool was not yet open so a Tadpole Catching Contest seemed like fun. The Hicksons had four girls on their team, Eddie Butler was solo, and my sister and I completed the competition. Each team had to acquire its own supplies, which included sneaking a colander and containers (mostly pots, pans, and mixing bowls) out of our moms’ kitchens. Tadpoles were counted at the end of each day by container since they moved too much to get a real “head” count.

The first week my sister and I took the lead. Eddie was alone and easy to beat. Two of the Hickson girls were small and dropped as many tadpoles as they caught, and Mrs. Hickson was a stay-at-home mom who noticed every dish that left her kitchen. The other moms worked and so, as the need for containers increased, pots and bowls disappearing from the kitchen went pretty much unnoticed.

By the second week, my sister dropped out, and Eddie discovered that he could sit in the creek and increase his catch, and pulled ahead with eight containers of tadpoles. As the summer rains moved in, Mrs. Hickson tired of washing muddy clothes and kept her younger daughters in. Vickie and Laura Hickson soon pulled into the lead.

Then the unthinkable happened. Mrs. Butler and Mrs. Hickson discovered the tadpoles and said they had to be released. To Vickie, Laura, and Eddie, “released” meant moving them to the only remaining storage place for captured tadpoles, and that was our back porch. With over twenty containers full of tadpoles crowding the screened porch and no one sure who caught what, the competition ended. Eddie thought he won because of sitting in the creek. We all thought that was disgusting and disqualified him. Vickie and Laura said they caught the most. When my sister saw everyone’s catch on our porch, she decided to rejoin me and proclaimed us champions. So it was a good thing that the Hickson’s pool was finally opened and the Tadpole Catching Contest was forgotten. Or so it seemed.

One morning while grabbing swimsuits to go to the Hickson’s pool, a piercing scream rang throughout our house. My sister and I raced to the back porch.

Like something left over from an old Charleton Heston movie (The Ten Commandments), frog upon frog moved on the porch where Mom stood shrieking in horror, with trapped amphibians crawling over her feet and up her ankles.

They had started as small fish-looking things and grown into a disaster. We couldn’t walk on the porch without endangering a frog. The smell was overwhelming and nauseous. Mom called Mrs. Hickson and we were all in big trouble, not to mention the work of catching frogs and dispersing them throughout the neighborhood. Kitchen pots and colanders had to be replaced at our expense, which meant more work to earn money. And the Hickson’s pool was off-limits.

Sin works the same way. It may begin as a small, seemingly insignificant thing, but if left without our repentance and God’s forgiveness, it will grow into a disaster and stink up our lives. Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). God wants what is truly best for us, and He knows every secret sin. He alone has made a way for our forgiveness through Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross.

“O God, You know my foolishness; And my sins are not hidden from You” Psalm 69:5

“Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known” Luke 12:1-2