Remix: Student Devotionals

Time with God - Week 3, Day 3

Day 3: Strive or Thrive (Absolute Truth)

Too many students aren't living their best life.
When you hear statements like:

  • It's only one beer.
  • If we love each other, it's OK.
  • It's no big deal to copy or cheat on a test.

What do you think? These statements and many others like them are going to be said to you and around you for the rest of your life. So, where do you stand? What backs up your belief system? How do you know you are right? The culture of today says that there are no absolutes, that nothing is absolutely right or absolutely wrong. Basically, if it is right for you, it is OK to do.

Years ago, a high school senior came to Saturday night church to argue with the Saturday night high school teacher (which, to my luck, was me) about how the Bible was too narrow and how there is nothing in the world that is absolutely right or absolutely wrong. As we sat there discussing his beliefs, I asked him to let me see the keys to his car. He pulled them out of his pocket and tossed them to me.

I said, "Hey Jim, thanks for giving me your car." He said, "I didn't give you my car!" To which I responded, "Yes, you did. You see, in my belief system, it is perfectly OK for me to take your car. In fact, I'm going to go downstairs right now and drive it away from you so you can't steal it back from me."

I got up to leave, and he said, "Hey, you can't take my car. That's wrong!" To which I replied, "It may be wrong for you, but it is perfectly OK with me. Thanks again!" I tossed him back his keys, and as he caught them, I could swear I saw a light bulb come on for him.

What did the light bulb say? There are things in this world that are absolutely wrong and absolutely right, and there is a source of authority that will guide us to all truth. That source is the Bible. And you, my friend, have a choice daily to walk in God's truth or some man-made truth that isn't really true at all.

When you are faced with questions like at the start of this devo, you need to ask yourself some pretty serious questions. Questions like:

  1. If I do this, what does this say about me?
  2. If I do this, what does this say to God?

In the midst of any false statement or tough decision, you must consider the four little C's.

Consider the choice: Is this right or wrong?

Compare your choice to God's.
God is the one who determines what is absolutely true and what is absolutely false. Individual opinions don't matter. They change from one day to the next. If you end up making choices based on what someone else thinks, you are going to look foolish. Think for a second about all the people you know who constantly change with the current fads or trends. Don't they look ridiculous? What was once in is now out, and what once was out is now in. Trying to live up to the latest styles and trying to please everyone will leave you empty and compromised.

Commit to doing what God wants you to do.
Be so committed to God that you wouldn't even think of doing something that goes against His plans and will for your life. If you truly understood how much God loves you, this wouldn't be a tough commitment to make. We get thick-skulled and think we can figure it out on our own, and then we get burned and look back at our teenage years with regret mumbling statements like: "I wish I would have followed the Lord all through my teen years. Then I wouldn't have these habits bugging me all the time that I can't seem to get away from."

Count on God's protection.
The Ten Commandments aren't out of date. They are there to protect you, to serve as a guide to help you along the way. They aren't ten suggestions, and they are absolutely true. You can go to the bank on that one.

Our enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. He tries to make you think that God's word is out of date and not to be taken seriously today. He's kind of like the big brother who tells his little brother to lick his fingers and stick them in a light socket because if he does, he will get a real jolt. He gets a jolt all right. And if the little brother keeps listening to the older brother, he is going to get into some serious trouble.

Don't listen to the wisdom of this world, and don't listen to the lies of Satan. Stick with God's Word and His absolute truth.

Time Out:

Job 28:20-23 says wisdom comes from who?

According to Proverbs 2:1-15:

How does a person gain wisdom? Verses 1-4

If you search for wisdom, what does the Lord give you? Verse 5, 9-11, 12

The ability to rightly discern that which is right or wrong is a gift from God.

According to James 1:5, who can get this kind of wisdom? Why not do some asking today?

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. -Romans 8:38-39