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At Reality Check we are going through the book “Crazy Love”.  I think it is a super fantabulous book.  This week we are looking at chapters 5 & 6.  On part of chapter five took me to James 3:19-20.

This section is an encouragement for me.  An encouragement?  That is right, an encouragement.  When I read this I am reminded that the truth about God will change my life.  When I truly trust in a God that loves me with a grace that is beyond my imagination that sent His only son for me, that changes my life.  I used to live for fame or money or entertainment or a sweet minivan.  But, now I live a life with His power and know what truly matters most.  Because I know what matters most I don’t live my life like I used to.  I now care more about God and about others than I ever would have without knowing the truth about God.

So, I am encouraged by this section of James to not just “believe” in God, but to Love God and to allow all of the truth about God to change and transform me.  Now I invite you to join me as I live my life to bring honor to God and to love others in all I do.

(Reality Check Teen Center)

Today the devotional that I am reading focused on a subject that was life changing for me.  The thing I regret most is that it wasn’t until I was in seminary that I learned this truth.

The verse in my devotional was Luke 5:20.  Here Jesus is telling a paralytic man that his sins are forgiven.  There are a lot of other verses that tell us that it is because of what Jesus has done for us that are sins are forgiven if we come to Him and ask.  Every time I found myself not doing what I ought to do or doing something I knew I should not do I would allow a huge separation between God and me to develop that did not need to be there.  What I would do is I would go to God and tell Him that I was sorry and ask for forgiveness.  I would make plans to live a better life for and with Him.  But, I would then not draw near to God because of my sin.

What I needed to do was to take the truth of what God was telling me to heart.  I was indeed forgiven and God had washed me clean.  If you are like me and you find yourself separated from God because of sin – Go to Him and ask for forgiveness.  Ask for Him to give you His power to live a holy and God honoring life.  And most importantly don’t do what I did.  Don’t stay away from God because you are a sinner.  Draw near to God and accept His forgiveness and remember that Jesus blood has washed you white as snow.

Reality Check Teen Center

In Deuteronomy 32 we find a song of Moses.  That’s right, a song.  Moses led in “Hebrew Idol”.  Okay, not really.  He sang a song to all of Israel at the end of his life.  He wanted the nation of God, Israel, to remember all that God had done for them.  He wanted Israel to pass down from generation to generation the miracles of God and the covenant that was made with God and His people.

I like how the song begins.  It starts by saying,

“Let my teaching fall on you like rain; let my speech settle like dew.  Let my words fall like rain on tender grass, like gentle showers on young plants.  I will proclaim the name of the Lord; how glorious is our God!  He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect.  Everything he does is just and fair.  He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is!”

Moses is telling the people of God that his words can cause them to grow and flourish.  You know what Moses went on to tell them?  He went on to tell them to remember all that God had done for them.  When you and I take time to remember all that God has done for us we will be like grass that is receiving rain.  We will grow and flourish.  Daily life tends to drown out the love and justice of God.  Take time today to pause and remember all that God has done for you.

(Reality Check Teen Center)

LUKE 15:11-32

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On Wednesday evening at Reality Check we had a special guest that talked about his Palm Pre Plus. He was very excited about his smart phone and all it could do. . . But he was even more excited about how Awesome God is. We read a lot of different passages that showed the power and might of God.

What about God makes you say, “Woot Woot!”?

I am always amazed at the power of God and the grace of God together. I can’t believe that a God with that power would care about me and show the grace He shows. I am reminded of of John 3:16-17. It says that God loves us so much that He sent His only son AND the reason He sent His son was not to condemn us but to save us. Amazing!

Now it’s your turn. What about God makes you say, “Woot Woot!”?

There was a contestant on American Idol earlier this season that sang a song about how people dress.  He was not convinced that baggy pants that hang half way down look good and he talked about how he thought they looked like fools with their pants on the ground.

Today I am reading about the Hebrew people as they left Egypt and were on their way to the Promised Land.  God had delivered them out of Egypt by amazing acts of strength and power.  Now the Hebrew people were all marching along together and the Pharaoh of Egypt decided it would be best to go and get the former slaves and bring them back to Egypt.  When Pharaoh’s army catches up with the Hebrew people we find the former slaves trapped between Pharaoh’s army and the sea.  This is not a good picture.  The people of God think they have been caught looking like fools.  The people grumble and tell Moses that they should have stayed in Egypt instead of being killed in the desert.  They are sure they have been caught looking like fools. . .

I think what is so amazing is the response God gives them.  See what He says in Exodus 14:15 – 16

“The Lord said to Moses, ‘why do you cry to me?  Tell the people of Israel to go forward.  Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.’”

They are caught between an army and the sea and God said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me?”  That seems like a crazy question.  At first this seems like a good response.  But, when we look at what is going on and has gone on a little close we can see why God responds in this way.  God had just shown His might and power to get them out of Egypt AND he proved that He is God over ALL.  So, if this is true then the Israelites need to trust God to get them out of this situation.

Why do you cry?  Trust in God.  He is all powerful and in complete control.  Whatever is worrying you today needs to be turned over to God.  Allow Him to work and do what only He can do.  As followers of Jesus Christ we never have to worry about being caught looking like fools.  Instead, we can be caught looking like people who have the peace and joy that comes from God.