Silence Media

Before you read this, go watch this video:

You are Special by Max Lucado

Social media is great for sharing pictures and keeping in touch with friends. It can help you become more aware of world news, other cultures, and opinions that may differ than yours. Sadly it’s also great for making you feel bad about your life. You see friends hanging out and wonder why you weren’t invited. Your selfie only gets half the likes that your friend’s selfie got. People troll you and bully you by the comments they make. The world of social media is very much like the world of the Wemmicks in the video you should have just watched. We allow the opinions of others to determine our value rather than looking to our Creator to determine our value.

Silence media by remembering the truth. God loves you (Romans 5:8). You don’t have to earn His love (1 John 4:9-10). You are forgiven (1 John 1:9). You are redeemed (Ephesians 1:7). Your sin does not define you (Isaiah 43:18). God has unique things planned for your life (Ephesians 2:10). You do not have to be afraid (2 Timothy 1:7). You are a conqueror (Romans 8:37). God cares about the details of your life (Matthew 10:29-31). God wants you to have joy in life (Psalm 16:11).

When the enemy tries to use social media against you, reject him with these truths. Don’t let internet trolls and cyberbullies get you to believe otherwise.

Just because you don’t have a phone doesn’t mean this message isn’t for you! Media isn’t just Instagram, facebook, snapchat, sarahah, music.ly or whatever other social media. It’s also tv shows, movies, magazines, even books. According to google, the definition of media is any sort of mass communication (broadcasting, publishing and the internet). All of us, multiple times throughout the day encounter various forms of media!

Media is a great tool for the enemy because he can use it to distort the truth and tempt multiple people at the same time.

Again, not all media is bad. There are tons of movies, tv shows, music, magazines, and books that are informative, they spark social change, they teach lessons and they encourage/inspire us. Star Wars & Lord of the Rings teach about the battle of good versus evil. The Chronicles of Narnia teach us allegorically about God. The Jungle, Uncle Tom’s Cabin & Animal Farm are all books that sparked social change in American History. Movies like Unbroken and Hidden Figures, biographies & history books can teach us historical facts so we learn and don’t repeat their same mistakes. They also encourage us as we see how people triumph through adversity.

Like most things though, media can have a negative impact on us. When we see things portrayed as normal, we think there is something wrong with us if we aren’t doing it. We know that God created sex for married couples, yet media tells (and shows) us that we can do what we want with whoever we want, that age, marital status and gender make no difference, if it feels good, do it. We see underage drinking and the kids who don’t drink are mocked, we then give into the pressure when put into similar situations, even though we know it’s wrong. We watch shows full of foul language and then wonder why we struggle with controlling our tongues.

Media can give both girls and guys body image issues. To be pretty, we think we need to be blonde and skinny. To be manly, we must have facial hair and muscles. We forget the images we see have been Photoshopped and are unattainable standards.

Silence media by shutting it off. Jesus is speaking to a crowd of people when he tells them. “if your hand—even your stronger hand —causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” Matthew 5:30 If you know that certain music or tv shows are going to cause you to sin,  shut them off! Replace music full of cursing or messages about sex, drugs and violence with worship music. When there is a sex scene, skip it. Don’t let the enemy use media against you.

You have the freedom to watch and read whatever you like. If parents have made restrictions, honor them by obeying what they’ve said. Don’t find ways around the rules. They are trying to protect you. Let them “shut it off” for you.

If it’s something your parents have given you the freedom to watch or read, ask yourself some questions.

• Is it beneficial? “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. 1 Corinthians 6:12 Does this help me be a better person in some way or does it make me a worse person? If the answer is no it’s not beneficial, shut it off. What’s the point?
• Is this promoting sinful behavior? If we constantly watch shows where sin is portrayed as normal or fun and exciting, we are eventually going to be tempted to do it. There’s an old adage, “Garbage in, Garbage out.” We are impacted by the things we read, watch and listen to.

Media will influence you. Walt Disney said “Movies can and do have tremendous power in shaping young lives.” Everything we watch and read and listen to has some influence on us. Disney movies, which seem so harmless, give us false idea that once we find our prince, we’ll live happily ever after. You’ve lived long enough to know that’s not always the case.

Does this mean we should cancel Netflix, burn all books and never go to the movies again? No - we just need to use wisdom and discernment as we make choices about what we take in. Remember, media can be used for good or bad, use it wisely.

Think about what area(s) of media cause you to believe lies or to be tempted to sin. Consider doing a media fast. That means go without for some amount of time and replace it with reading your Bible, praying and/or serving God.

Make intentional habits. Maybe you should stop watching R rated movies or only watch parent approved shows. Maybe you spend too much time on social media and need to limit the hours you are on there. Maybe you delete certain apps from your phone or just deactivate certain accounts. Pray for wisdom as to what steps you should take to silence the negative influence of media in your life.

GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. How much time do you spend on various forms of media in a normal week?
2. In what ways do you see media having an influence on your mind?
3. What are you going to do to silence media?

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This is the third of four messages in the Silence! Series I wrote for my church in Hawaii, New Hope Leeward.

At least it's a good story...

Open your Bibles to Ruth 1 and read along as we talk through the chapter. (Seriously open your Bible or at least open this in a new tab!)
Read verses 1-2.
Who: a Jewish family of four - Elimelech, his wife Naomi and their two sons Mahlon and Chilion
What: they are leaving Bethlehem for Moab to sojourn… Sojourn means a temporary journey.
When: the time of the judges... according to commentaries, it was probably during the same time as when Gideon was judge. Another reason this is important is because when the Jews would read that this story is taking place in the time of the judges they would sense hopelessness.
Where: They start in Israel and end up in Moab. Throughout the Bible, the land is associated with blessing. Jewish readers would see red flags go up as this family decided to leave their land and head to foreign land.
Why: there is a famine in the land of Israel, so rather than waiting for God to provide they decide to go try to find food.

READY - Yield to God's Will

Yield is not a word we use in everyday conversation. What does it mean?
The place you most frequently see it is on a road sign. “In road transport, a yield sign indicates that each driver must prepare to stop if necessary to let a driver on another approach proceed.” - wikipedia
Keep that in mind as we look into what it means to yield to God’s will.

Background for today’s passage: Saul is currently king. David has been anointed as his successor, but hasn’t taken his place yet. We’re looking at a chapter in the midst of when Saul is angry with David and trying to kill him.

Read 1 Samuel 24:1-4. (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read about Saul going to the bathroom in the cave and I chuckle every time! But anyway...) So we see Saul was off fighting the Philistines and as he returns someone tells him where he can find David. We could talk a lot about how Saul is living his life and has not yielded to God’s will because he’s lost his focus. Instead of serving God and leading the nation of Israel, he’s off chasing down David for some personal vendetta. To yield to God’s will, we need to put our own will to the side. (deny ourselves)


Read 1 Samuel 24:5-7. Here we see that David feels bad about what he did and we learn why David felt bothered by what he had done. The Lord, through Samuel, had anointed David as the next king, but David realized that he needed to wait on the Lord’s timing. He felt that since God hadn’t told him to kill Saul it was wrong for him to do so. David could have easily killed Saul and justified his actions with a litany of excuses: “It’s self-defense, Saul’s out to kill me.” “It’s all right, because God promised me the throne anyway.” “It’s all right because I am in the right, and even Jonathan knows that I deserve the throne.” “This is a God-given opportunity and I should take it.” Or even, “I’m just so tired of running and fighting Saul. This can end all of that now.” But David knew they were all just excuses and he shouldn’t kill Saul. David put his will to the side and submitted to God’s will. To yield to God’s will, we need to do what’s right and quit making excuses. David felt convicted that what he had done was wrong and he doesn’t make excuses. He doesn’t take matters into his own hands.
David trusted God and waited on His timing. When God promises us something, we can be sure that He will follow through on that promise. If we try to take things into our own hands, we can make God’s promises happen, but it doesn’t turn out as well as if we waited for God to do it His way. David trusted that God’s will was better than his own will.
(An easy excuse for us to make is that we don’t know God’s will. Much of God’s will for our lives can be found reading the Bible. More specifically though in Matthew 7:7-8, Jesus tells us 7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. So if you are unsure about God’s will for your life, pray and ask Him and He will reveal it to you.)

This chapter ends with David revealing to Saul everything that had happened, then Saul goes home and David continues wandering around.

Read 1 Samuel 26:7-11. Saul heads out again to try and find David. When he takes break and makes camp, David finds him, again has the opportunity to kill him. Again his men encourage him to do so. Again he denies himself, and yields to God’s will and doesn’t kill Saul. To yield to God’s will, we need to repeat the process. David didn’t decide just once to follow God’s will. His decision was an ongoing decision, a daily process. Every day (sometimes every minute) we need to choose to yield to God’s will.

And we know that David wasn’t always successful. We know he married multiple wives, he committed adultery with Bathsheba, he murdered Uriah. Everyday yield to God’s will, even if you messed up the day before. Being in process doesn’t mean being perfect.

The beginning of the Lord’s prayer summarizes these ideas. Matthew 6:9-11 “This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. To yield to God’s will, we need to pray for Him to help us. The only way that we will successfully yield to God’s will is if He helps us. Jesus taught the disciples to pray and to ask for God’s will to be done (not their own will) and figuratively asking for daily bread is showing that it is an ongoing process.

(Oh and I should probably cite my sources, as to not be accused of plagiarism :) I took the list of excuses David could have made from http://www.enduringword.com/commentaries/0924.htm.)


GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. What does it mean to yield to God’s will? What does that look like in your life? 
2. Can you think of a time that you did what God wanted instead of what you wanted and you saw positive results? 
3. What is the toughest part of yielding to God’s will for you personally? 

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This is the fifth lesson of a 5-part series I was asked to write for the middle school ministry at my Hawaiian Church, New Hope Leeward. The series is on the acronym READY.

READY - Die to Yourself

What’s the first thing you think about when you wake up?
I generally think, “I’m tired and wish my alarm wasn’t going off at the moment.” Then I start thinking about what I need to do to get ready for the day. It’s easy to go through the day just focused on yourself and what you need.

It is very easy to let everything in your life be about you. We pay attention to how many likes did our latest post got or how many people watched our Snapchat story. We wonder if our friends hang out without us or talk behind our back. We hesitate to sign up for ITM events because we think something more fun might come up. When we take group pictures we look for ourselves first before look at anyone else. We spend most of our day focused on ourselves!

This week our focus is on “Die to Self Daily.” What does that even mean?

If someone is really overweight and decides they want to lose weight, what do they need to do?
The most simple answer would be “eat healthy and exercise.” In order to do that, the person needs to give up their desires for eating Big Macs and laying on the beach all day. They would need to give up some foods that they enjoy and eat things they may not like or do some activities they don’t want to. Even though Big Macs and candy bars taste good, they are not healthy and won’t help the person lose weight. Even though exercising may be difficult, it is a necessary part of losing weight.

In the same way, if you want to live for Christ, we can give you simple suggestions like “Read your Bible and pray.” But it takes more than that, we need to give up sinful ways.

Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God–this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.

To die to self, you must offer yourself as a living sacrifice.

You need to give up certain things. What that is may look different for each of us. That’s part of examining yourself and seeing what God reveals to you. If it is sinful, you definitely need to give it up! Galatians 5:24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. When the Bible talks about the flesh, it means our sinful nature, that part of us that doesn’t want to do what’s right.

Sometimes we also need to give up things that aren’t necessarily sinful. Going on Instagram or Snapchat isn’t wrong, but there may be better ways you can use your time. 1 Corinthians 10:23 "All things are lawful," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful," but not all things build up. Think about the things you spend your time doing, are they helpful? Do they build others up? If the answer is no, maybe you should consider spending less time doing them or giving them up altogether.

This isn’t easy! The verses in Romans talk about how we need our minds to be transformed. We naturally think about ourselves. It takes our minds being transformed for us to begin to do what is right. Paul talks about this struggle in Romans 5-7, how we want to do what’s right, but we just end up doing what’s wrong anyway.

If we try to focus just on what we can’t do, we will fail. If we make a list of rules that we must do to live for Christ, we will fail. We need to also think about what we should do instead. A person who is trying to lose weight shouldn’t just stop eating, they need to change from Big Macs to salads. They need to replace the bad with the good.

Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
As we deny ourselves what we want, we instead should be focusing on loving God and loving others.

What does all this look like in real life?

In Daniel 3, King Nebuchadnezzar makes a golden statue of himself and then makes a law saying that you must bow down and worship it every time the music is played or be thrown into a fiery furnace. There are a bunch of Israelites who are living in Babylon, they worship God, not idols and statues of kings.
When the music plays, everyone in the country bows down and worships the statue, except for three Israelites, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They choose to die to their sinful nature (which was probably saying “it’s no big deal, just bow down and pretend to worship the statue and live to see another day. Because if you obey God and don’t bow down, you’re going to die!).
They remain standing when everyone else (including other Israelites) bow down and worship the statue.
Of course King Nebuchadnezzar finds out what happens. Daniel 3:13-18 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?” Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego’s reply is pretty intense. “We know God can save us, but even if he doesn’t, we still choose to obey him.” That’s what our lives should look like. Choosing to obey God and do what he commands regardless of what it may cost us.

You and I aren’t in situations where we have to worry about being killed for what we believe. However, it may still cost us to truly die to ourselves and live for Christ. We may lose some IG followers if we start posting Bible verses. We may have some friends who stop hanging out with us. We may have people who even make fun of us. Regardless of what it may cost, it is worth it in the end.
Matthew 16:24-26 says Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

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This is the fourth lesson of a 5-part series I was asked to write for the middle school ministry at my Hawaiian Church, New Hope Leeward. The series is on the acronym READY.

How Not to Win Survivor

Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary,bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. For "Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil." (1 Peter 3:8-12 ESV)

I love watching Survivor. I find the group dynamics so entertaining – seeing the way people act and interact with the group and how that helps or hurts them when it comes time for challenges and tribal councils. Each season can be drastically different. Sometimes the people who make it to the end win because they were everyone's friend or they had the best strategy or they just kept winning everything.

There are quite a variety of people who have won the game. There are also certain people who will never win the game one of the most notorious villains to play Survivor was Russell Hantz. He ruthlessly made it to the end but had no chance of winning because he manipulated and mistreated people so badly.

It was also extremely entertaining to watch CBC and GBC play Survivor. I had a lot of fun watching the challenges and seeing what went down tribal Council. Early on in Survivor Hawaii, it became obvious that Stephen had become this season's Russell Hantz. He was doing everything right as far as playing the game was concerned, but he took the blame for the decisions and liked to talk way too much. Bushy made a smart decision taking Stephen to the final two.

What does that have to do with this passage in 1 Peter though? In these verses, we read about characteristics that explain why Bushy won, not Stephen.

As the game was being played, Bushy, Spencer and Stephen had unity of mind – they had the same goal in mind, stick with their alliance and make it to the merge. At the merge, they stayed unified and they eliminated bigger, stronger players.

However, Bushy and Spencer made decisions with sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart and a humble mind. They were playing to win, but weren't cocky and boastful as they did so. They kept their tongues from evil and their lips away from speaking deceit.

Survivor relies on the people voted out to determine the winner. Natural human tendency is to repay evil with evil. When Stephen was cocky about those he voted out, he burned those bridges and in doing so, lost their votes at the end because they repaid evil for evil.

Moral of the story: when developing your Survivor strategy for next season, keep in mind that although you must vote people off, the way in which you do so makes a difference. More importantly, this is true in life outside of Survivor too. As you interact with others you need to do so with unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart and a humble mind. Peter tells us this is necessary if we desire to love life and see good days.

Answer This:

1) In what ways does your life show that you are sympathetic? Loving? Tender-hearted? Humble?

2) What can you do to overcome the tendency to want to repay evil with evil?

3) Do you seek peace and honor God with your life? If so, how? If not, what needs to change?

4) Take some time to pray and journal about this passage.

Anybody have a dollar?

"Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor." (1 Peter 2:13-17 ESV)

The Bible is one long story. We get in the habit of breaking it down into more manageable chunks to read. There is great benefit in doing that, but it can also cause us to miss certain connections.
So we're reading 1 Peter which was written by: _______________. We know this guy – he was one of Jesus's 12 disciples. He walked on water. He cut off the soldier's ear. He denied Christ three times. He preached on the day of Pentecost.
Don't forget who the guy is that's writing the book as you're reading it. Now why do I bring that up?
I enjoy studying Peter's life and seeing how he was very passionate about serving Christ, even if he didn't always get it right. We see character development throughout the Gospels and Acts and as we read his epistles– We see how he made mistakes but also how he learned from the experiences he had.

As I read this passage and Peter, it reminded me of a story about Jesus. Let's read it:
"Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away." (Matthew 22:15-22 ESV)

Jesus respects Caesar as an earthly authority and pays his taxes. Although Peter isn't specifically mentioned, he knew Jesus' stance (see Matt. 17:24-27) and very well may have seen this all go down to. This is a lesson Peter learned and is now teaching to others.

It is God's will for you to submit yourself to the authority of your parents, teachers, youth leaders, police officers, government officials, congress and the president.

Peter's comment in verse 15 is interesting considering the story we just read about Jesus – became asking about the tax looking for a way to accuse Jesus. Because He had paid it, there was no fault against Him and they left. His obedience "silenced the ignorance of foolish people."

So as Peter says, "Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood [other believers]. Fear God. Honor the emperor." (1 Peter 2:17 ESV)

Answer This:
1) Do you have a difficult time submitting to and respecting authority? Why or why not?

2) Why is it important for us to respect our authority figures?

3) Can you think of a time where your obedience had a positive influence on others watching?

4) Take some time to journal about this passage.

i learned it from watching you!

When I was in middle school, I had a little bit of a potty mouth (ok a pretty terrible mouth actually). I went to church and listen to Bible stories and lessons, but I didn't live it out. I would invite my friends to youth group and the different activities but they never came and I never knew why.

One day this kid from my neighborhood, who was literally the worst person I knew, told me I cursed too much. Until that moment I don't think I ever realized that there were bad consequences to the way I talked. I mean, I knew if my mom heard me I'd be in big trouble, but I never thought that it made a difference otherwise. God used that to change the way I talk.

A few years ago, a friend was upset and telling me what she was mad about while cursing a mile a minute. At one point, she stopped, looked at me funny, and said, "you don't curse," then continued venting without cursing. I never told this person that I don't curse, she just noticed it over the years we have known each other.

Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. (Galatians 6:6-10 ESV)

In this passage, Paul is talking about how good choices have good consequences and bad choices have bad consequences, right? He uses a farming analogy to explain though. If we sow (or plant) our flesh (which refers to our sinful, worldly desires), we will reap (or grow or harvest) corruption. If we sow the Spirit, we will reap eternal life.

Seems like an obvious choice – I want eternal life, not corruption.

In youth group, Jeff mentioned Liam being frustrated that bad decisions get him bad consequences but he wondered when he's ever going to get good consequences for his good decisions. Do you ever feel that way? I know I do at times. That's why Paul that encourages us not to give up and to continue doing good. He knows it won't always be easy; that doing what is right can be quite difficult. But, eventually there will be good consequences!

Answer This:

1) I have seen bad consequences for my bad language and good consequences from my clean language. Is there an area you reap what you've sown – good or bad?

2) Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one _______________, that will he also _______________.

3) Can you relate to Liam? Do you ever feel like there are only bad consequences not good consequences?

4) Take a minute to journal about this passage.

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Written for the youth group devotional book.

It's a process...

Become who you are…

When I think of people in the Bible who did a great job as a Christian, I must say Peter is not one that comes to mind at first. Think about the stories we hear about him most often—sinking as he walked on water, denying Christ (and three times), cutting off the guard’s ear, being called Satan by Jesus—not very positive stories. Honestly though these stories are probably the reason we can relate to him the most. Think about it, Peter was a pretty ordinary guy. He had a job as a fisherman. As we can see from the Bible stories, he made lots of mistakes. But that’s not the end of Peter’s story. He also did get things right many times. He went on to preach sermons that saved thousands in the early church. He even wrote two books of the Bible. For starting out as such an ordinary guy, he ended up doing great things, or more accurately God was able to do great things through him. Peter is an example of becoming who you are in Christ.

So what can we learn from Peter? There are so many lessons we can learn from Peter, but the one I’d like to focus on is how Peter learned from his experiences.

I know how sleepy you can feel reading these devos, so stand up and read Matthew 17:24-26. (If no one is close enough to you to be distracted, read the verses out loud.)

Who are the three characters in this story?

Did Jesus have to pay the tax?

Every year tax was collected to support the Temple. So the tax collectors come to Peter asking if Jesus is going to pay the tax. Peter doesn’t think Jesus should have to pay the Temple tax—why? Well no king collects taxes from his son, so Jesus, being the Son of God, shouldn’t have to pay the Temple tax. So Jesus doesn’t pay the tax, right? He’s a son and sons are exempt.

Ok read verse 27. What’s Jesus tell Peter to do?

Jesus pays the tax. He demonstrated to Peter the importance of respecting earthly authorities. If you were Peter what part of that story would you remember? If it were me, I’d be telling all my friends about how I caught a fish that had a coin in its mouth that, get this, had the exact amount of money Jesus and I needed to pay the tax. My focus would definitely be on the fish. But what did Peter learn from this experience?

Stand up and read 1 Peter 2:13-18. What does Peter write—all about submitting to the king or anyone in authority over you, whether that person is good or evil.

Peter learned from his experiences. He didn’t just walk away with a good story about a fish. He learned that Christians should obey the law and respect their authorities.

Now don’t think that he learned this once and that was it. In John 18:10, Peter doesn’t respect his authorities and cuts off a guy’s ear. So don’t be disheartened if you revert back to old behaviors. Becoming who you are is a process. James 1:2-3 talks about how we will encounter trials that will test our faith, the question is will you allow Him to use them to become who you are?

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This is the second of the two devotionals I wrote for our Maine Missions Trip. Our focus for the week was "Become Who You Are."