Take It Away, Jesus

Bible Reading:   1 Corinthians 1:21-25

Christ is the mighty power of God and the wonderful wisdom of God.   1 Corinthians 1:24

There once was an old scientist who traveled from university to university delivering lectures on his field of expertise. After long weeks of travel, the scientist and Bob, his chauffeur, became friends.

The scientist tired of giving the same lecture over and over. So one day—knowing his chauffeur had heard his lecture so many times he had it memorized—the scientist asked Bob to give the lecture for him.

Bob gave it a whirl, and the lecture went off perfectly. No one knew that the “scientist” talking to the audience was the chauffeur and that the “chauffeur” sitting in the front row was actually the scientist. There was even a question-and-answer time, but Bob had heard the scientist answer the same questions so many times that he answered them all perfectly.

Then someone asked a new question—a question Bob couldn’t answer on his own. “That’s a great question,” he said confidently, “but it has a simple answer. It’s so simple, in fact, that even my chauffeur can answer it.” Nodding toward the front row, he added, “Take it away, Bob.”

Bob was wise not because of what he knew, but because of whom he knew. He knew the answers because he had hung around the scientist. And as long as the scientist was close by, Bob had nothing to worry about.

As a Christian, you might not look too wise to the non-Christians around you. When people toss you tough questions about God, you might not always have the answers. But isn’t it encouraging to know that you have a close friend who does know all the answers? Not only that, but he is the answer. His name is Jesus Christ, and Paul calls him “the wonderful wisdom of God.”

Just as Bob the chauffeur spent a lot of time with the scientist and learned from him, so you need to make time to learn from Jesus. That means reading the Bible and listening to your parents, pastor, or Sunday school teachers when they talk about the Lord.

Even if you don’t always know how to answer the tough questions, you can know that Jesus is always with you. Just look his way and say, “Take it away, Jesus.”

TALK: Has someone ever asked you a question about Jesus you couldn’t answer? How does it help you to know that The Answer is always with you?

PRAY: Lord, help us learn to know you better so that we can answer the questions our friends ask. Thanks that you always know the answers.

ACT: What one question about your faith stumps you the most? Spend some time digging for the answer!

Getting Oriented

Bible Reading: John 14:15-17

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth.   John 14:16-17

HOW MANY DIFFERENT sports can you name? Name as many as you can.

How many can you think of? You probably named baseball, right? And football, basketball, and soccer. Maybe even tennis, hockey, or track. But there’s one sport you’d probably never guess in a hundred years. It’s called “orienteering.”

Orienteering is a sport or pastime that’s becoming more and more popular. Participants go out into a wild area (a forest, field, desert, and so on) with almost nothing except a map and a compass. Then, using the map, compass, and their “orienteering” skills, they find their way to some distant destination. People enjoy the sport because it’s sort of like solving a puzzle or finding your way through a maze.

Well, all of us are constantly doing something similar. We may not be in a forest or field, but we often find ourselves in areas we’ve never seen before: “Would it be wrong to tell Mrs. Rotgut that I liked her cake when I really didn’t?” “Would it be all right to ‘borrow’ money out of my brother’s piggy bank if I put it back later?” “Is it OK to put shaving cream on my sister’s Jell-O and tell her it’s whipped cream?”

It can get pretty hard to find our way in such strange territories. Most of the time we feel like we’re just guessing. But we don’t have to feel that way—not if we have the proper equipment.

When Jesus was telling his disciples that he would soon be leaving them and returning to heaven, he promised them that the Father would “give you another Counselor, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth” (John 14:16-17). He knew his followers would sometimes feel lost. He knew that sometimes they wouldn’t know what to do. So he told them the Holy Spirit, who would live in their hearts, would lead them into all truth.

One of the keys to orienteering is learning how to use a compass to find out which way to go. One of the keys to making right choices is listening to the Holy Spirit to find out which way to go. We listen to him through prayer and Bible reading and by following his commands. And as we listen to him, we’ll find out that the territory we’re in becomes less strange as we start to see the way more clearly.

REFLECT: Do you think Christians (who have the Holy Spirit living inside them) should find it easier to know right from wrong than non-Christians do? Why or why not? How is the Holy Spirit’s guidance like a map or a compass? How is it different? Do you let the Spirit lead you in making right choices? If not, why not? If so, how?

PRAY: “Dear God, thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit, who lives inside every Christian. Please help me listen to his voice and follow where he leads me.”