Student Devotional Week 34: "Shallow Worship"

John 4:24 (New International Version) "²⁴God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

What does worship mean to you? For most it is what you do on Sunday morning at 8:30 or 11:00am. But, authentic worship the Bible says is when we are connecting with God spiritually. Think about worship as a lifestyle that lasts a lifetime. In the Hebrew is means to bow down or to serve and the Greek we find much the same thing to bow down, to revere or to serve. Out of our bowing down or revering God comes our ability to serve. We must have our connection with God right first before we are able to serve. Paul says the way we live our lives is our spiritual act of worship. Now for the big question is who do you worship and how do you do it? Most would say God or a supreme being or power, but people can find themselves worship other people, sports teams, material possessions, etc. Make sure you are honest with yourself when it comes to worship and you are seeking after spiritual things and not temporary worldly idols that will fade away. Our God is a jealous God when it comes to worship, we are to worship Him and Him alone, it is the first commandment he gave Israel. So don't play around with your worship or turn it on when it is popular to do it and dismiss it when it is convenient, we are to worship God even in the tough times of life (David worshiped God after his first born son with Bathsheba died). How is your worship?

Student Devotional Week 31: "Not What You Expect: Parable of The Vineyard Workers"

BibleGateway.com - Passage Lookup: Romans 2:11: "Romans 2:11 (New International Version)
"For God does not show favoritism."

Does God show favortism? In the old testament God's chosen people were the Hebrew people, which we find became a huge stumbling block for early Christians in accepting non-jewish or gentile people into the faith. Peter and the Apostle Paul were huge proponents of accepting gentiles into the faith and for that stand they received a lot of flack from early Christian leaders.
In the Gospel of Matthew 20:1-16, we find the parable of the vineyard workers. The short summary of the parable goes that as the labor hands continued to get hired the day grew later and later and at the end of the day they were all paid the same. I would tell you that it is the same with those who labor for the faith all of their lives and those who accept Christ at the last possible moment like the thief on the cross, we are all treated the same when it comes to our eternal reward. The same could be said of those of different race, sex, culture, etc. we are all given the same treatment from our heavenly father and thank the Lord we are not judged by our own merits because the Bible says the wages of sin is death, eternal serparation from God.
How about you, do you show favoritism towards different types of people? How do you think God would have us look at others different than us?

Student Devotional Week 30: Lost & Found

Luke 19:10 (New International Version)
"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

The parable of the prodigal or lost son is one of the most familiar stories of all time. It shows how unconditional God's love is for us, no strings attached! Think about the worst thing you have done and then think about a heavenly father that simply doesn't care about what we have done or where we have been, He simply rejoices when we finally come home and accept Christ into our hearts. The interesting character in this parable is the good son. Maybe you are one of two or more siblings and you know what it feels like to do all the right things and never get rewarded for your good behavior. God is already pleased by your good practices, but he rejoices in the lost son because he too has now been brought back home and in good favor with God the father in this parable. It is hard not be jealous of those who seem to get all the breaks in life while you do all the hard work being the good faithful servant. God wants our hearts to break for the lost, not to be jealous of their freedom to do as they please. The Apostle Paul puts it this one, "Everything is permissable, but not everything is benificial to you." In other words we are free to make choices, but they all have consequences both good and bad. Be thankful you haven't had to face as many hardships as others and if you are one that is facing hardships know that you are not that far away from home!

Student Devotional Week 29: "You're Invited, But Dress Appropriately: Parbable of The Wedding Banquet"

Matthew 22:9 (New International Version)
"Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find."

It seems a bit old fashion, but dress does matter in the Kingdom of God. If I haven't already turned you off at this point, what I mean is described in the parable of the Wedding Banquet. As the story goes, nobody answers the master's wedding banquet invite and so he invites street people basically to come to his banquet, but there is at least one of them who doesn't take into consideration where he is going and dresses in his street clothes. The master insulted and infuriated throws him onto the street. What you might not know about this parable is that clothes would have been given to anyone who attended in preparation for the banquet. This person obviously refused to wear the proper attire and was therefore unprepared and not suited for the banquet. There are preparations we must make in order to attend the big party in heaven and if we fail to "cloth" ourselves in the righteous of Christ, we will find ourselves kicked out just like the one in this parable, but we will spend eternity separated from God in Hell! The parable also gives us a picture of what heaven will be like; people from all walks of life will be present, not just the few privileged ones, but all that accept Jesus as their Lord & Savior. How are you dressed? Are you "clothed" in the righteousness of Christ? How does it make you feel to know their will be different types of people in heaven that might not look anything like you do?

Student Devotion Week 28: Is That Your Final Answer? Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler

Matthew 6:33 (New International Version)
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

In the movie "Slum Dog Millionaire" we have a picture of a young man not seeking after fame, but enters the show only to find his "true love", a girl he had lost contact we years ago that was now taken hostage by a drug lord. The story has a lot of themes that could be drawn out, but I want to focus on this pursuit of love or favor found in the story of Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler and this movie. The Rich Young Ruler had done everything he thought possible to attain God's Love and Favor in order to attain eternal life, but the only thing holding him back in the end was his wealth. In the movie the main character had done everything in his power to try to win this ladies love and just to be with her, but whenever he got close she would be snatched away. In the end through a series of events out of his hands, they are re-united. The movie has a happy ending and unfortunately the Rich Young Ruler does not. What is holding you back from truly having an intimate relationship with God? What is it going to take to give those things, people, possessions away so you might be able to connect or re-connect to God?

Student Devotion Week 27: Small Beginnings, Huge Results: Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast

Matthew 13:31-37
The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast 31He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."
33He told them still another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough."
34Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. 35So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world."

Jesus often spoke about the Kingdom of God and like many times before he spoke in the form of a parable to try to relay to the crowd of people what God's Kingdom was like. First thing you notice is that God's Kingdom starts with small beginnings: 12 disciples turned into crowds of people following after Christ. The mustard seed is very small and if you were to take a grain of yeast you would have a hard time seeing it, but when they are worked into the batch of flour and when planted in a garden, the yeast and the mustard seed are very powerful with their ability to spread and grow very rapidly. The funny thing about Jesus talking about the yeast and mustard seeds is that for the common Jew these were not good images: Mustard Seeds were forbidden to be grown around other crops because they ruined the other crops and would overrun them. Remember Moses and the Israelites preparing to leave Egypt didn't have time to use yeast, instead they baked unleaven bread, which is also what is used in the passover meal and our communion today to represent the broken body of Christ and for the Jew God's deliverance from the hands of the Egyptians.
So what was Jesus talking about and what does all of this mean? God's Kingdom isn't about who is the best or biggest Christian, but about potential and God sees potential in the smallest of things, even a sinner like ourselves, that is why He sent His son Jesus to die for our sins, because He loves us and believes in us! Never under estimate the power that God has given you through the Holy Spirit to "Move Mountains" as Jesus in another passage refered to the mustard seed and Kingdom of God. God can take something very small and insignificant and use it to affect the whole world! Are you using the potential that God has given you to grow His Kingdom?

Student Devotional Week 26: The Lord's Prayer

Matthew 6:9-13 (New International Version)
9"This, then, is how you should pray: " 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11Give us today our daily bread. 12Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.' "

When is the last time you talked or texted your best friend? How about God, when is the last time you talked to God? Prayer has been described as "talking to God", but how do you start a conversation with the almighty? Jesus' disciples asked the same question and this is the prayer he taught them to pray. There are many parts to the prayer: adoration of God, humility before God, seeking God's will, forgiveness & confession, guidance or delivery, etc. Basically, we need to talk to God as we do our closest friends and family; let Him know what you are thinking and what you desire. God wants to hear from you and the greatest part about prayer is that God is always online and you don't have to wait to get a clear signal.