For the love of God

-CoNnEcT- There was a time when bonfires for believing teens became a popular way to get rid of anything “worldly” and show that you were sold out for Jesus. People would gather together and bring all sorts of things: drugs, pornography, CD’s and clothes… throw them all into the fire and watch them burn up. While many of the people involved in these type of youth groups activities were serious about their commitment to God and strongly felt a need to get rid of some stuff, others stood back terrified to think that they would have to give up some of the things they loved.

Even at Winterfest the same sort of thing happened…. people gave up things in the offering buckets, some people even there new I-pods. (While some of us wanted to pick them up!) Overall though, there are plenty of people who stand back from the Christian faith for fear that they might have to change some of their behaviors, or give up some of the things they hold most dear. That scares people. That whole idea makes some people mad. IT has even caused some people to deny God all together, because they claim this God is “too strict” and “Power hungry” as if his only desire is to take away every pleasure in our lives.

-ReFlEcT- Read Matthew Chapter 2
Key Verses: 2:13-15 and 19-23

The two key passages happen to be the times when the Lord spoke to Joseph (Jesus’ earthly Father). Jesus had been born, the wise men had come and brought him gifts, and Mary and Joseph are adjusting to life with a new baby. Then all of a sudden, The Lord speaks to Joseph in a dream and tells him to get the whole family together and move! If you know anything about moving, then you know it is NOT fun. But God wanted to protect Jesus from being killed by Herod, who had demanded all children under the age of two be killed.

After moving once, Mary and Joseph continue to adjust to life with a newborn, and Joseph has yet another dream… and God tells him that it’s time to move again! After two major moves, they finally settle in Nazareth. Can you imagine what it must have been like? To be in a place and trying to get comfortable, get a life started with a new family, and then have God himself take you somewhere else?

-DiReCt- Sometimes we find ourselves in places where we are comfortable and content. We try to make it through school, work, church and sports, and whatever else may come our way. As Christians we can get a little uncomfortable when we think about letting God be the one who leads our lives. The fear that we might have to go somewhere we don’t want to, to love people we don’t like, or to give up things we love and are comfortable with, causes us to want to keep control of our lives. But we have to remember that God does not lead us away from things/people/places to spoil our fun, but rather to keep us safe from the things that might pull us down or mess us up.

-Have you ever felt like there were some things you needed to change in your life?

-What are some of the things that would be hard to give up if God asked you to?

-Has there ever been a time when things could have gone a different direction in your life and ended up with negative results? (Like a bad friendship, a stupid action, etc.)

God, we want to trust in you. We like our friends, we like our music, we like certain books and TV shows and hobbies. But we know that we should like you most of all, and we need you to help us understand why you ask us to get rid of some things we like in our lives. We know that you have our best interest in mind, and you want us to be the best people we can be…even if it means giving up something or moving to a new place in a specific area of our lives. Give us courage to listen for your voice and to follow where you lead and forgive us for the times when we haven’t. Amen.