Day 12: No Hope

Posted by: Sarah Logan 

(rising Paige Middle 8th grader)

Day twelve’s devo is No Hope. It’s a story about kids at school who are involved in gangs, and how another student believes that they will never change, that they are beyond all hope. 

It’s sometimes hard to believe that people so different from me can change, or would want to change who they are. Throughout Jesus’ life, he visited will all kinds of people—rich people, poor people, and even criminals. He always believed that they could change if they chose to follow him. If Jesus believes that, then I know it must be true. 

As Jesus hung on the cross alongside criminals, he said to the one who believed in him, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” This proves that anyone, even criminals, can change. It would be scary to hang out with the “gangbangers” now, but hopefully they won’t be that way forever.

Checking in with... Maddie

We're coming to the end of week 2 and we're checking in with one of our students to hear how their experiment is going and what they're learning. Here's rising freshman, the mad-child Maddie Younginer.

So far this Disciple Experiment has helped me stay on track with God. I love going on choir trips because everyone gets on what I like to call a “God high” but when I come back home it’s always hard to stay in that mind set. This experiment has helped me stay closer to God and think about what Jesus would want me to do. 

The main thing that stuck out to me on choir tour and has stayed with me because of this experiment is interpreting things the way God wants me to instead how I want to. I never realized how many times a day I would just do what I wanted to do and not even think about what the Lord would want me to do. I have been torn sometimes because what I am used to doing isn’t always the way God would want me to do.

The main, hardest part for me would have to be respecting my parents more. My parents have tolerated when I’m stressed with school and, as much as I hate to admit it, it’s made me get into the habit of being more dis-respectful towards them. I love this experiment because it has made me take a step back and think, “What would a disciple of Jesus do?”

Day 11: What are friends for?

Post By: Jayna
Kerry was a star athlete with a bright future and college sports ahead of him, until a freak accident at school crushed him and left his legs paralyzed. His friends believe that God really can heal Kerry, and want to pray for him. They want to gather together and lay hands on him. What if it doesn't work though? Will other students make fun of his friends? Will they make fun of God? 

Being a true disciple in this situation means that you don't really care what the other people think and pray anyways. It means you believe in the power of prayer, even if it doesn't always turn out as expected or as you want it to.

I think in these types of situations, as sad as they are, we need to remember that God will heal in the way He sees best and in His time. His healing may be in the form of peace, strength, and faith. It doesn't necessarily mean that Kerry will get up and walk again. God can take a situation like this and turn it into something amazing, even if it's years down the road.

It is difficult. I think maybe "laying hands" is somewhat easier here in the Bible Belt than it would be elsewhere, but still, who doesn't think about what others think when they're praying? Even in small circles? We shouldn't care, but we do. It doesn't matter though, not to God. What matters is that you're praying. He wants that. He wants us to talk to Him, and He wants us to listen. Why do we only seem to do it when something terrible happens, though? And then expect Him to answer immediately? Is that what being a disciple looks like?

Day 10: Put Up or Shut Up

Posted By: Taylor Younginer (High School leader)

Today’s Devo was about a student who had been bullied by the same kid for years. Because of his faith he believes in the principle of still treating this bully with kindness, however, after years of abuse his patience has almost run out. Eventually he is confronted with the choice of to act against this bully physically or remain strong in his moral/religious values. 

This devo is extremely unsettling for me simply because of how incredibly real this issue is. To be a disciple you’re “supposed” to act certain ways because of our beliefs, but it is immeasurably frustrating when you feel that you are the only person attempting to uphold those beliefs and actions while everyone else “gets away” acting however they want. This also bothers me particularly because the bully really has no other motive to bother the student other than the fact he is intentionally looking to bring someone down. 

I’ve never understood hate, especially without a cause. Yeah, I’ve said I hate this or that, but to truly act out of hate, or to make others feel hated, I cannot see any justification.  So many of my friends and peers have been singled out because of their sexuality, appearance, religion, family life, and all other sorts of things that are out of their control, and most importantly, not of anyone else’s concern. Yet people judge them, and even seek to make them feel pain emotionally or physically, and some of these people even call themselves “disciples.” But doesn’t that make me just as guilty because I’m judging their actions? How can I ever be a disciple if I hate to see people acting hatefully? Doesn’t that just make me a hypocrite? 

Disciple: a person who is a pupil or an adherent of the doctrines of another; follower 

Friend: a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard

Day 09: Degrading Women

Posted by: Rachel Heckle (rising Freshman at BHS)
Todays devo was about a girl who really liked a guy but he kept saying crude coments to her. When she asked him to stop he dosen't take her seriously and tells her he is kidding. 

This devotional got me thinking that if I want to be a true follower of Christ then I need to surround myself with people who have the same values that I do. As we talked about some in Sunday School, being a true follower of Christ can be scary. Linda is very scared that if she keeps telling Todd to stop treating her badly that he will never like her, or go out with her. 

This is when Linda should think about what Jesus would do. Obviously Todd thinks that treating women badly isn't wrong, and that its even funny. When situations like this happen you need to step out of your comfort zone and realize that if anyone is treating you badly, they aren't worth your time. Would you really want to date a guy that has no respect for you? 

I know that sometimes I mess up and don't surround myself with people who love God and are followers of Christ, but this devo gets me thinking about how some of my friends act, and maybe I should be a true follower of Christ and break down the walls and find friends, and boyfriends with my same values.

Day 08: No Big Deal

Posted by: Chandler Elkins (rising Freshman at BHS)

So this passage is about explaining how Jesus felt about the people when he destroyed the market in the temple many years ago. 

I like this passage because it really taught me something. This is that we should all be careful about how we portray ourselves as "Christian people". This lesson has really challenged me to be a Christian on the other six days of the week besides sunday.

"What do you fear?"

Today in Sunday School, we talked about fear. The fear that we face in life. The fear that we face in trying to follow Jesus. Here's the video we showed with some Jubi Tour peeps sharing their own fears.

"What do you fear?"

Don't forget your devos! See you next Sunday!

Day 07: When Life Gets Dark

Posted by: Nellie
If it's not been made clear already, let's get this straight: following Jesus doesn't equal a perfect life. 

Hear it again... it doesn't equal a perfect life.

In Sunday School today we talked about fear. We talked about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-46). Jesus faced something he didn't want to face. He told God, "I don't want to do this". We talk about Jesus dying so much that we make it seem like it's weird that Jesus wouldn't want to do it. But He didn't. He longed for God to make it change. For another way. "Why does it have to be like this? Isn't there another way". Yet in the fear, and in the darkness, Jesus put His trust in the Father, and followed.

Sometimes we think it's God's job to give us everything we want. That God will make things good, and happy, and easy. I'm not sure where we get that from, because the people who did God's will in the Bible went through some horrible times.

3 things come into my head:

1) Following Jesus DOES NOT equal a perfect life. (Get it yet?)

2) We don't have to pretend everything's ok. God can handle our anger, our frustration, our confusion. God can handle our darkness.

3) Prayer isn't about getting what we want. It's learning to trust God, and follow, even when it's not what we want. 

Checking in... with Hayden

Every week we're checking in with one of our students to hear how their experiment is going and what they're learning. Here's rising BMS 8th grader, our boy Hayden Fussell.

So far the Disciple Experiment has been a great benefit to me in my faith. It has helped me be a lot more conscious of Jesus each day. It also helps me to have a better understanding of what it would be like to be His disciple. 

One particular thing I would like to share is about having Jesus hang around you everywhere you go everyday. For most people they would totally change what they did and how they acted. They would also try their best not to sin because that wouldn’t look to good with Jesus right by their side. 

Although it might be a little “awkward” having Jesus physically beside you, you shouldn’t change how you act too much because even though Jesus isn’t physically right beside you everyday, he is mentally, and he knows everything you do wrong and everything you will do wrong, and there is no sin that Jesus doesn’t know about. So you should always act like His disciple everywhere you go so people will see Jesus through you. So far this whole Disciple Experiment has encouraged me to be more aware of Jesus in my daily life and to follow Him more.