TUESDAY, May 6th, 2008

Good Day To You! I am starting to feel like this is becoming somewhat routine for some of you. That causes good news and bad news. I will go with the good news first. If the devotions become routine, then you are well on your way to forming a habit out of it, in other words, you will remember to do them more often. However the bad news is that when something becomes routine it becomes less effective and even boring. I notice a few of you literally putting like 10 words for a devotion. Try to apply the passage to your heart and life a little more, remember the purpose of doing this. It is not just to do them, and it is definitely not to earn an incredible trip at the end of June, but it is to gorw in the Lord. ALSO, Keep up the conversation amongst yourselves in the comments, because that is what keeps you unified and excited about getting back on. Wow, sorry this is so long, I will shorten up the other stuff to make up for it! But DONT YOU shorten anything up! :)

A Few Thoughts From Yesterday:
CCM: Great application of the passage, but we are all wondering who you are?
Josh: Listen man, if you didnt understand the passage, then READ WHAT I SAID ABOUT IT, it doesnt get much clearer than that. (Besides, I know how smart you are, and I KNOW you could have figured it out)
Jessica: Those were some great truths about using your time wisely! We all need to do that!
Jill and Kacey: We will pray for your Dad today, Keep us updated on how his doctor visit goes.

Phillippians 2:1-11
1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy,
2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.
4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

WHAT AN INCREDIBLE PASSAGE! This is one of my favorites. It is a good passage for all of us to have memorized. (at least verses 5-11) So lets start at the top. Verse 1 and 2 may be a little difficult to understand, but here it is: Paul says, hey, if these things (love, fellowship, affection, and mercy) and in Jesus Christ, then we should also have them in us. (vs. 2- "that ye be likeminded, having the same...") He need to grow in the attributes of Christ. NOT only that, but the remainder of this selected passage is great! It asks the question: "Who do you live for?"

WHO DO YOU LIVE FOR? Most people would have to honeslty answer, "themselves". But Paul tells us that there is something far greater to live for. 3 tells us not to be proud or willing to fight over something, instead treat everyone else as if they were BETTER than you. WHAT A CONCEPT... we do the exact opposite: we treat everyone around us as if they were not as good as us. 4 says that we must not focus on ourselves and our own interests, but on the interests of others. Here is the great part then I will be done: 5-11 Give a perfect example, or should I say THE PERFECT EXAMPLE. These verses explain the example that Christ was for us. He, BEING GOD, came down from heaven, He thought of little old you and me, and put our interests above His own. Thank you God for being our savior, our perfect example of how to treat others.

HOMEWORK: Write out an application teenagers. How does this apply to you personally? Here is something I am reminded of, when I was at the Wilds one year, I hung out in the creek to flip all the girls tubes that floated by (at 6:30 in the morning). Well, truth be told, they did not want to get wet, they just wanted to float down the creek, but... that didnt happen. They got wet, and I got called out on it. Someone came to me and said, Hey! you should treat other people better than you treat yourself. In other words, just because it is fun to flip girls out of the inner tube, doesnt mean you should, think about their interests instead of your own. The fact is: Guys, if you want the girls attention, flipping them out of a tube is not the way to do it, but, THINKING about their interests and doing that will get their attention. Am I Right Girls?