XP: What Happens Here - Devotional

What Happens Here . . . [Devotional]

by Sarah Anderson

I love being at home. Growing up, I didn’t go over to other people’s houses—I preferred that they came to my house. I didn’t like sleepovers; I didn’t like long trips away or time spent out of my routine. Maybe it comes down to me being a creature of habit. I like the predictable and the knowable. I like what I expect to actually happen. That is where I thrive.

That being said, this trait of mine would have been a real hindrance to being one of Jesus’ disciples over 2,000 years ago. Have you ever noticed when reading stories from the Gospels that Jesus and His buddies did a lot of traveling? And we aren’t talking 15-minute walks to the nearest neighborhood before crashing back at their own house. No, the disciples following Jesus rarely stayed in one place a long time. They traveled all over Israel, and not by way of train, bus or taxi—but on foot. They didn’t have a home to call their own in the three years Jesus was involved in His public ministry. And they didn’t have a building or a meeting place where they held their services or where Jesus did His teaching.

In other words, Jesus’ ministry in those days looked a lot different from current Christianity. Most of us, whether we are self-admitted homebodies or not, like to be comfortable. We like having a home to come back to. We like going to church—as long as we know our friends will be there to sit with us, the songs we sing are ones we know already and our spot in the front row by the stage is left empty for us. We go to church. And when we invite our friends, we ask them to come with us. So for us, it’s easy to connect with God in one place.

But Jesus left His home and His hometown. He didn’t just hang out at the temple. In other words, the things Jesus taught, the way He lived and the way He loved other people didn’t happen inside four walls. His ministry didn’t happen in one place. It happened everywhere.

This past week we talked about the importance of taking what we hear in church and letting it spill over into the different areas of our lives, letting what we learn here affect the way we talk to our parents, the way we treat our siblings, the way we interact with our friends.

What we hear here can’t stay here. And there is a reason for that. Because sometimes the people who need to hear what we know, who need to encounter Jesus, will never step foot in a church at all.

Not only that, the things we hear here are meant to affect our lives as well. God’s Word, His truth, changes the way we see and interact with our world and all the people who are a part of our everyday lives. His Word is even supposed to affect how we see ourselves.

And when we begin to live in ways that go beyond the walls of the church, when we begin to live like God is with us everywhere we go and live out the truths we hear in here, people begin to see what Jesus is all about. And while it may change them, even more so, it will change you.

Let your life be the testimony of Jesus to people who need to hear it, no matter where they are. Don’t count on the words of your youth pastor or lead pastor to communicate what your genuine and authentic life can communicate on its own. Go out. And live the message.

© 2010 Orange. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

XP3: The Prodigal - Devotional

The Prodigal [Devotional]

By Tim Walker

I hate to tell you this—but then again, you may have already noticed—but sometimes the good guys don’t come out on top. Sometimes the people who behave or do things they shouldn’t do seem to be the ones who get the most attention.

Like in a family, the kid who behaves the worst gets their parents’ notice.

The person who breaks the rules at school is the one people talk about.

The bad boy gets the good girl.

Are you following me?

It even happens at church, but in much more subtle way. We don’t necessarily celebrate the person who is leading a double life—acting one way at church, and the complete opposite at school and at home. We don’t talk about how great it is that a guy or a girl has decided to drop out of youth group and move in with a boyfriend/girlfriend, get drunk or develop a drug addiction. In fact, we preach about staying away from those things.

But when one of those people start coming back to church, or have a moment at camp or a youth group retreat that turns their lives around, we make a big deal about it. We have them tell their stories, tell what they’ve been through and why they are different now.

Maybe you’re sitting there listening to their story, and that is the furthest thing from your life. You don’t put yourself in those kinds of situation. You aren’t tempted at all to drink or take drugs. You don’t go to those parties. You believe in setting boundaries in your relationships. You read your Bible, pray, memorize Scripture and never miss youth group. And if you’re honest, you just don’t get it. You just don’t see how someone like that guy or girl could get so messed up. All they needed to do is what you do and they would be fine.

Maybe you even wonder, “They have such a dramatic story of what God has done. Maybe I should take drugs or drink or have sex so I can have a story like that too.” Okay, maybe not.

But sometimes being the good kid seems to equal being invisible. And when that happens, the “good kid” begins to look down on the so-called “bad kid.”  The “good kid” begins to think that he or she is better than the “bad kid,” that he or she is a better Christian, a better person—like Christianity is some kind of system of levels and grades.

If you haven’t caught on by now, that’s also the mentality of the older brother from the story of the lost son that Jesus tells in Luke 15.

You see, that son did all the right things. He obeyed his father. He stayed home and made good choices. He worked hard. He did everything he was supposed to do. But there was no party. No great celebration for him. The younger brother got all of that, the one who did the exact opposite.

But here is something you may or may not have noticed. The older son, well, he wasn’t so good. He wasn’t so great. It may have looked like he did all the right things on the outside—but on the inside it was a different story. He was bitter. He felt like he deserved more than his brother. And even though he may have never taken one step away from home, in many ways his heart was miles away from his father. So while he looked “good,” the reality is that he wasn’t so good—that the younger son and his older brother were both pretty messed up. And honestly, here is something else that may surprise you—we all are too.

I’m not trying to put you down. I’m not trying to discourage you. But even the “good kid” isn’t so good. He or she still sins. He or she isn’t perfect.

That’s why it’s such a big deal when someone has a moment on a retreat or at youth group, a moment when his or her life makes a change. Not because he or she decided to become a good kid, but because he or she realized that what was needed most wasn’t to be good, but to trust in the one who is good—Jesus.

Jesus wanted His followers to celebrate that truth, not only in their own lives but in the lives of others.

Because following Him isn’t about how good we become, but about how much we can trust in the only one of us who is truly good.

So what would it take for you to become someone like the loving father? What would it take for you to celebrate the return of those who drift away from God? From our church? From this youth group?

Who do you need to call?

Who do you need to let know that you haven’t forgotten about them?

Who do you need to invite to hang out?

Do it today. Let them know that you haven’t forgotten about them. Let them know that you haven’t written them off—that you still believe that God loves them and wants to be a part of their lives. And do so by showing that you want to be a part of their lives too.

And also, for yourself, realize what happens on the outside is just as important as what happens on the inside. You don’t have to go far from God to completely miss His heart. Because big party or not, celebration or not, the goal is to end up back at the heart of the Father.

© 2010 Orange. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

write.rewrite. A BIGGER STORY

Everyone loves a good story.Whether it's one being told to us by a friend or a relative, or one we watch on a screen or read in a book, a great story intrigues us, moves us, fascinates us. But all of those great stories are a small reflection of a bigger story, a story that our hearts long for. It's God's story. And that's a story that is written down in His Word and it's a story being written in our lives every day. Our choice is to be a part of it, or write our own story.

We all do it. We all make subtle choices that, left unmonitored or unchanged, can lead us to some place where we may not (or may) have intended to be. Maybe it's a lie we told. Or a relationship we are in. Or looking at something we knew we shouldn't see. And we know it's probably not the best -- we may even know it's not something God wants for us -- but we decide to go ahead and write our own story. We make the choice. We pursue the relationship. We tell the lie. And then we make another choice, and then another, and before long we end up miles away from where we ever thought we would be.

Your challenge this week is to begin each day by telling God that you want to be part of His story. Pray that you won't settle for a lesser story but be part of the story that God is writing.

Please feel free to leave a comment about how you're doing with the challenge this week. Remember that you have the option to post questions/comments anonymously, so don't be shy!

Hope you have a great week! : )

Copyright 2010 Orange. All Rights Reserved.