Page 3 of 4 of these devotionals - #32-48.
32.
“Did you tell on me?” Ronnie asked in a huff.
His brother looked strangely at him. “I didn’t have to,” he said matter-of-factly.
“What do you mean? Mom just yelled at me for taking cookies from the cookie jar right before supper, and…” Ronnie was really mad at Lenny now. “What are you giggling about?”
“You have green icing on your hands and face,” Lenny replied.
Their mom chuckled a little from the kitchen, too. “The Bible says your sin will find you out – but it’s usually not that obvious!”
Ronnie sighed as he went back into the kitchen and wiped his hands and face with a paper towel. “Even if I tried to hide it better, would my sin still have found me out?”
“Oh, yes. Maybe not right away, but God has ways of bringing the truth out. God wants us to know we can’t avoid consequences – like when one of you eats so much candy you get a stomachache.” She put an arm around him and said, “The only way to avoid the consequences of sin is, don’t sin. Because God always wins in the end.”
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33.
Leon frowned as he walked up to his youth leader. “I looked through the whole Bible. I didn’t see Ohio State or Michigan.”
Mr. Steward knew what would normally have been a joke was very serious to Leon. “Still thinking about college?” The boy nodded. “The Bible says God will direct your paths every time you acknowledge Him. But, God speaks in other way, too, right?”
“Yeah. I just wish it was as clear as stuff where the Bible talks about it,” Leon said.
Sure, like having a backup plan if sports don’t work out,” Mr. Steward said as they sat. “You’ve got a good one, taking courses toward a front office job. Or making sure your relationships bring you closer to God and not away from Him. Leon,” he said as he leaned forward, “I know it’s a hard choice. But, keep praying, getting good advice from people you trust, looking at each campus, the programs, and so on. Trust God; He knows the right place for you.”
“Thanks. Just being reminded of that really helps,” Leon said sincerely.
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34.
Mandy was amazed. Why wasn’t anyone going forward?
“…It’s free. Come one up,” the speaker was saying. All you have to do is be the first one.”
Mandy shyly crept forward. Then, she started to walk more boldy, though still with caution. Surely someone would get there before she did. She was coming from way in the back.
“I’m waiting…here comes someone.” Mandy took the speaker’s wallet and pulled out a $5 bill. “Take it, I said whoever got it first could have it,” the speaker said.
Mandy said “thank you” and returned to her seat with the money as another kid cried out, “That’s not fair!”
The speaker insisted it was fair. “Everyone had an equal chance. That girl came from way in the back. It’s just like God’s free gift of salvation. ‘Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ You don’t have to be anywhere special; you can call on Jesus right now to save yhou from the penalty for your sins. The choice is yours. Thankfully, everyone hs that chance, but people don’t take that chance when the have it.”
Mandy grinned. She’d trusted in Jesus and called on Him by faith to forgive her and save her from her sins last year at church camp. She hoped everyone there would make that important decision, too.”
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35.
“What’s a yearbook?”
Katie smiled. The first grader she volunteered to help was looking at the many pictures and papers on Katie’s table. “A yearbook is where they put pictures of all the students and teams and clubs. It tells about all the fun stuff at the school that year.”
“Oh.” The girl thought for a moment. Katie’s table was really full. “That must take a lot of people to do that.”
“It should, but I’m doing it all,” Katie told her.
The girl spun around. “Wait, what? Why?”
“The last few years, our Yearbook staff got smaller and smaller. Nobody wanted to work. This year, no one showed up. If I hadn’t made this my English project, our class wouldn’t have a yearbook. And, every class treasures theirs.”
“They’d be real sad, huh?” the girl guessed.
“Right. It’s just like Jesus says about sharing His love and salvation. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. I’m so glad I get to work with you. I wish more people took the time and built the patience to help others.”
The girl smiled proudly at Katie. “I’m glad you help people. And if you need any help with this, let me know.” Katie said she would.
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36.
Courtney loved spending time with God. Some of her prayer needs seemed to big, though! She kept praying for a job, for instance. It was hard at her age, yet she knew God could provide.
Sometimes it seemed to take forever, though.
Suddenly, she got a text. Someone hadn’t been able to find a sitter. All of a sudden, she had a job offer. Sure, it was just one time, but at least it was something.
She tried hard to get a ride, and finally got one. She had really wanted to – and while she’d have taken $10, she wound up getting $20.
She came back home refreshed. She still had that prayer need, but she had seen how God could provide. Sometimes, His way wasn’t one big thing, however. Sometimes it was a bunch of little ones, especially if the real answer would take a while to come.
She knew God was faithful because His Word said so. It felt great to get a little taste of proof in her life, though.
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37.
Troy remembered Paul’s quote. Reporters sometimes twisted things to make news. But, his relationship with his teammate, Paul was strained anyway.
So, Troy walked up to Paul the moment he saw him at the next practice. “Do you have a problem ith me?” he asked casually.
Paul replied, glad for the chance to talk with Troy. He hadn’t been sure how to handle this. “I have a problem with how you act,” he said, careful not to attack Troy personally. “You seem arrogant sometimes, like you’re trying to boss people around.”
“I’m sorry if I come across that way,” Troy said. “It’s hard for me to express myself, so my confidence can come out wrong. Plus, I’ve been bullied so much I’m afraid sometimes I need to take charge of everything. Do you have some ideas for how to improve?”
Troy and Paul gladly discussed ideas so both of them could get along. Troy didn’t care if the reporter had quoted Paul right. His concern was to not divide the team but to be united. And, he knew the Matthew 18 principal was best for this, so they could develop a friendship and help each other improve.
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38.
“Meow,” Missy said with a small giggle as she crawled around and rubbed against Kacy’s ankles.
Kacy smiled at her little sister as she put lunch on the table. “Come on, Missy, get up.” She reached down to put her in her booster seat, but the little girl pretended to scratch at her. So, Kacy’s voice became sterner, like their mom’s – who was paying her to babysit this afternoon. “Missy, you can’t eat human food if you’re a cat. Do I have to feed you cat food?”
Missy didn’t like the tone. She rubbed against Kacy and purred, but let Kacy pick her up and put her in her booster seat this time. Finally, Missy said, “I was just playing.”
“I know. I love you; but you need to be a person now.” Kacy blessed the food. “You know, for some weird reason I just thought of Romans 12:2. You’re a great kid. It’s okay to play sometimes, but just now you had to be a person, and not conformed to being a cat.” Kacy asked how her sandwich was – it was good. “Good. Anyway, we’re not supposed to be conformed to this world – that means we shouldn’t be like those who ignore God. We’re children of God – so we should act like He wants us to.”
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39.
“How do you put up with it?”
Alexis smiled. She still felt a lot of pain from her surgery, but she was here, at least. “God gets me through somehow.”
“I’m sure,” her friend said as she sat visiting her. Alexis would be in the hospital for a few more days. “Don’t you ever just wish your body worked like normal?”
“I do,” she admitted. “I should be able to have treatments now that will keep me from having to have more surgery.” She agreed with her friend that wasn’t quite the same. “Jesus said ‘In this world you will have tribulation.” It’s a fallen world. Sure, God made it perfect, without pain. But, man’s sin way back when caused everything to fall apart., so I won’t have a perfect body till I get to Heaven.”
“I’m glad you made it through. I don’t know if I could handle all you have to go through.”
“It’s not always easy for me, either. But, I have friends like you. And, that verse goes on with Jeuss promised we can be of good cheer because He overcame the world.”
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40.
Pat finished the laundry, then went into the living room. “Thanks, Mom,” Pat said while taking the camp registration form.
Pat had heard from a counselor that quite a few young people lived with someone suffering from depression. “Whether Mom suffers from it or not,” Pat prayed, “I found a way to get to that church camp. That’s the important part.”
Pat went over the checklist while thinking. It was rough having to do so much around the house. Pat even took care of a younger sibling sometimes – who had gone to camp the week before. But, Pat knew God could help with anything.
Pat sang softly to himself while waiting for a ride. “What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear. And what a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer…”
Pat grinned as the car pulled up, and jogged to it while carrying his bag. “Thanks,” Pat said while getting in.
“I wish Mom got off the couch more. But, I’ll keep praying for her,” Pat prayed. “And, in the meantime, I know I have a relationship with you, Lord. Because I know you provide all my needs and give me wisdom no matter what when I trust you.”
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41.
Joann felt alone sometimes. Even in a crowd of people.
She knew she shouldn’t let her best friend pull her down. But, she found it hard to think of going to church without her.
“What’s wrong,” Riley asked. Joann’s best friend was Riley’s older sister.
“Well… you know how they talked about Joshua 24:15? About choosing who to serve? Lauren stopped coming to church a while back. And, it’s hard without her.”
“Mr. Rotini says it’s ‘cause you lost your mom when you were little.”
Joann put an arm around Riley. “You’ll blurt out anything sometimes.” She sighed. “I don’t know. I just know she gets me. Sometimes I don’t know if anyone else does.”
“God does.”
Joann’s tired look said Riley may as well have said “the sky is blue.” It was true, but did she feel like trusting?
“You have to try. I’ll be there no matter what.”
“Thanks. I know you’re trying to help.” She smiled. “I guess I have to choose sometime. It does help me understand what the Bible means better. I feel more peace since I started praying more.” Joann relented. “Okay. The people are nice. I’ll go. It is nice to be around people who care,” Joann said with relief. She didn’t know why she felt like she did sometimes. But, she knew God had given her hope, and she wanted to learn how to keep getting more.
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42.
“We can’t have a four-year-old referee!”
“We don’t have even sides otherwise,” Rob countered as he picked up a ball in the park and the other kids discussed strategy.
“Mom said he had to come with me,” Devon said evenly. “Besides, he helped stop a fight the other day.”
Daryl, who had spoken first, and Rob looked oddly at the tot, who was staring with great interest at crawling ants. “How’d that happen?” Rob asked, shocked.
“Well, not a big fight, but our parents were having a little argument, like a tiff. And, he starts saying what we teach him. He told them to talk nice. Then Dad said something that hurt a little. So, he said, ‘That was mean. You made Mommy cry. Say you’re sorry.’ I mean she wasn’t really crying, just a bit teary, but still, he said stuff like that and got them to remember to talk nice and be kind to each other. And, they settled their problem.”
“He was just repeating the rules,” Daryl said. “Of course, I guess that’s what a referee does,” he muttered, still skeptical.
“It’s fenced in here, We’ll watch and keep him watching us. Chris’s mom is close by watching anyway,” Adam pointed out.
Daryl relented. “I guess you’re never too young to be useful.”
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43.
Andrea sighed gloomily as she gazed out the window. She then walked over and plopped down on the couch. “It’s no use. He promised he was going to come pick me up to do some stuff with our friends.”
Andrea’s mom put an arm around her. It hadn’t been a real date, but a group activity felt like it to Andrea. “I got stood up a few times, too.”
“I bet Dad never did it to you,” Andrea remarked.
“No, but boys aren’t very mature yet at your age. Sometimes they change their minds, like a puppy that finds a new toy and forgets the one he was playing with a minute ago exists,” her mom said, trying to cheer her up with the comparison.
Andrea read a text while her mom talked – the boy said he’d gone with some other friends for pizza. “Or, maybe I’m just not good enough.”
“Andrea, you know God made you special. I felt bad sometimes, to; being lied to feels awful. But, don’t let one moment define how you feel about yourself.”
“I try not to. It’s just so hard being lied to,” Andrea admitted.
“I know it hurts. We want to be able to trust people – God’s has lots of reasons why He doesn’t like lying. But, you can always think of good things; like the fun you have with yoru friends, and especially the fact God never changes.”
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44.
“Wow, what a shot!”
Dwight had won the game at the buzzer. He smiled and glanced at the scout. “Thanks.” After the teams shook hands, he came over to the sideline.
“I’ve been talking with your friends and Coach Washington. I know you have to go to college a year, but we’re already looking, and you might be a pro prospect,” the scout said; he’d met Dwight once before.
“Thank you, Sir.”
“That doesn’t mean the NBA right away – we’ll see how you develop in college. You might start in the G League even after college. But, you have a chance,” the scout said.
Many things ran through Dwight’s mind. The idea of playing four years and maybe getting to the NBA faster then. The money he could get if he made the NBA, even as a bench player. The fans and big cities. But, one thing stood out most.
“I’m praying about what to do. God’s given me the talent. But, Billy Sunday was the fastest baseball player of his day, and God called him to preach.” He assured the man he’d let him know either way. “The most important thing to me is doing what my Saviour made me for. Sports skills are just part of what He gave me. Whether or not I’m supposed to be a witness as a basketball player is up to Him.”
The scout agreed. He was glad for Dwight’s commitment to God. It would make him more committed to sports if that was his calling, because he’d be following God first.
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45.
Anne leaped up excitedly at the sound of the fireworks.
It wasn’t because the family was watching them. They planned to visit the big fireworks show downtown tomorrow.
It wasn’t even so she could maybe catch a glimpse of the ones being shot off down the street.
Instead, she ran to her dad.
“I’m okay,” her dad said slowly, reminding himself to remain calm. “I’m so glad you’ve been praying for me.”
“I know the war was really scary for you,” Anne said soothingly as she took his hands in hers.
“It was,” her dad said. He was so glad he took his chidren to church and worshipped with them at home, too. Even if he didn’t, though, he knew prayer would work when he trusted the Lord. “But, we serve a great God. I’ve been praying, too. It’s great to know we can always trust Him to help us through everything.”
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46.
Andrew kept thinking about the gym’s basketballs.
They weren’t marked. And, they sure were nicer than his at home. As he and his friends took a break from playing, he noticed nobody was watching him.
“Hey, Andy,” Andy’s friend called out as Andy stared at the basketballs. “Come tell Pat about that crazy stuff that was going on when the the school bus passed by that one house.”
Andy smiled. “Sure, be right there.”
Silently, he thanked Jesus as he considered that sight. Pat went to a different school. Andy knew Pat would enjoy the story. More importantly, he knew it would take his mind off the temptation to take one of the balls. He knew it would be stealing – and he had in fact been coveting already.
However, God had been faithful, and with the temptation he had just faced, God had provided a way of escape. Andy thanked God for His faithfulness as he jogged over to share the story.”
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47.
Amanda couldn’t believe it! She had always been the fastest girl in her youth group. Yet Barb, who had been there for only two weeks, had just beaten her. And it wasn’t even close.
Amanda didn’t like what she was starting to feel. She knew she shouldn’t be mad at Barb, but she was.
After sitting quietly for a minute on the ride home, she told the driver, “I felt a little jealous today because Barb’s so much faster than me.”
The van helper smiled. “I understand; one thing that helps is to remember there will always be someone better than you at something, and there will always be someone worse.”
Amanda thought a moment. That made sense. She couldn’t be the best at everything in the world – there were over 7 billion other people.
“It’s good to want to be the best,” he continued. “But, what’s important is being the best at what God made you for. The only person you need to compare yourself to is Jesus – how are you doing living for Him, and how can you be more like Him?”
“Thanks.” The nice thing was, focusing on that helped Amanda not be jealous or covetous, either. “I’ll be thankful God made me like I am. Because I know He loves me no matter what.”
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48,
“Does this include making funny faces?”
Daniel tried hard not to laugh at his younger brother, Kenny, as the campers recited the camp’s key verse: “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”
Kenny continued to think of silly things throughout the day. Finally, the brothers asked their camp counselor, Aaron.
Aaron agreed – the questions were silly. “You’ve got quite the imagination to keep coming up with things,” Aaron added. “But, yeah, all that random stuff – trimming toenails, doing backflips, flying kites – is included in ‘Whatsoever ye do.’”
“Even laughing so hard milk comes out your nose?” Kenny asked.
“Well, the Bible says ‘a merry heart worketh good like a medicine.’ The key is, are you honoring God? Making fun of other people isn’t, but remember that movie when they got people with the same name mixed up? You laughed so hard you fell off your seat.”
Daniel nodded and smiled at the memory.
“It’s all about honoring God. That can be good, clean fun like that, or something you can thank Him like food or physical ability or health. It means letting God get the glory and not ourselves; and, being the kind of person Jesus wants us to be.”
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