At the Awana conference I attended a few weeks ago, we learned about many ways to be more effective in our roles as preschool and elementary youth ministers. One other thing we learned that was not in the program was a recent rash of unfortunate incidents in the life of Ron Glynn, Iowa's Awana Missionary.

And just what is an Awana Missionary? My uneducated definition of an Awana missionary is someone who travels throughout their territory, helping clubs get started and keeping the clubs on track. They are there to serve as an advisor to the clubs in all matters great and small. They coordinate the efforts of the clubs for their conferences and games, bringing different clubs together. They also visit the clubs and remind all of the leaders how vital their role is in the lives of the children. With 195 Iowa churches participating in Awana, Ron is kept very busy!

At the conference, he mentioned that the basement of his home had recently flooded to a considerable depth, destroying office equipment and supplies. These aren't cheap and many of the records he kept will be difficult to replace, but he didn't seem distraught over those. I realized what was troubling him about the incident when he put both hands on the pulpit, looked up and, with a teary voice, told us that all of the canned goods that Iowan churches and Awana clubs had donated had to be discarded. This man could lose thousands of dollars worth of purchased equipment without suffering too much strife, but the thought of all of these cans of food from children going to waste caused tears in the big man.

In response, our club has decided to get a can drive going. For the next 2 weeks, the kids have been challenged to bring canned goods in during our Awana clubs, and I imagine we could accept them at church as well. If they can bring 175 cans, a leader will have his head shaved. And who might that leader be? Yours truly.

As the game dude, I have been running the kids through their paces, making them play with outlandish game props like toilet bowl scrubbers and pizza boxes. I'm not the world's greatest scorekeeper, either, so they all have reason to contribute to the cause of balding the games dude. I'll be putting out before and after pictures here for you when the time comes. To give you an idea of how shaggy I am, you can look at the most recent picture of me from my baptism on August 29 with my word that my hair has not been cut since that time.

The hair will be flying and until that day the games dude will be taunting the kids. Perhaps this next week would be the time to saran wrap them into groups to run as a total team... I could also throw out the ideas of premature male-pattern baldness as a possible haircut or maybe a mohawk.

Are there any ideas from the audience?

Yours in Christ,

Today's Reading is found in John 8:21-59 and Luke 10:1-11:13.

Habitual offenders. That's what we are. If life was fair, we'd all be sent to prison with a parole board laughing at our every attempt for leniency. We are slaves to sin and don't even know it, because sinning can be so convenient at times. A shortcut here, a white lie there, before you know it, life is looking good and so are you, but only for a time. The truth of Jesus will set you free from all of that, and in all honesty, it won't be comfortable. That's partially because you hold yourself accountable and largely because the Spirit is at work against your sinful nature. People do notice the change in you. I was asked once why I don't curse like everyone else and I had my opening to speak about the changes in me. That's just one benefit of living the Christian life as if you truly mean it.

As you can tell from the reading thus far, the Samaritans and the Jews didn't exactly get along. In fact, Jesus had just recently been rejected by Samaritans, as mentioned in Luke 9:52-56, for the simple reason of his return to Jerusalem. So this story takes a deeper meaning. The Jewish man is robbed and left for dead as fellow Jews walk by as if they didn't notice him, but a Samaritan, the hated man, stops and cares for him as he would want to be cared for. Mercy toward our enemies is important to God. Loving your neighbor as yourself is not just a suggestion.

Today's Reading is found in Luke 11:14-12:34.

This is, I believe, the most scathing rebuke given by Jesus in his years on earth. It was not directed at the sinners of the day, or even to the demons that were being cast out of their victims. It was directed at the self-proclaimed shepherds of the flocks: the Pharisees. These were men who went through the motions in front of everybody, but didn't practice what they preached, or at least didn't believe it in their hearts. It was evident that they had angered Jesus and they were not used to such scolding. Their response was true to form, as they looked outward, not inward, and tried to catch Jesus in a verbal trap. Do remember that the one thing that really brought the ire of Jesus was a pretender who mislead the masses. Whatever you do regarding your faith, whatever role you play in your church, make sure you are validating your teaching with your life and your own faith.

God wants us to remember our priorities and motives at all times. The rich fool had gotten ahead in life and decided that complacency was more of a reward than diligence. His heart was centered on the joys of this world and not on the rewards in Heaven, which would be eternal. That was his error, and Jesus cautions us not to make the same mistake. Treasures in Heaven are eternal once again, Treasures on earth are fleeting and easily lost. Choose wisely.

Today's Reading is found in Luke 12:35-13:21 and John 9:1-41.

The remainder of Luke 12 is about preparing yourself for the coming of God, and there's quite a bit of information in this relatively short portion of the reading. He wants to be continually expected. That means that everything is set right as soon as possible. I remember when we were expecting a visitor to arrive sometime in a period of 2-3 hours when I was a child. We would clean the house a few hours before, and for the remainder of the time until this person arrived, if we made a mess, no matter how small, it was immediately cleaned up. That's the spirit of this message to me. If you're expecting to see God sometime between the next moment and the next century, clean your "home" and keep it that way. Remember, if you are in Christ, the Holy Spirit is fighting for you.

Here's another example of a healing done on the Sabbath. Jesus didn't adhere to the rules of the Pharisees, and it almost seems like He was baiting them a little by now, but I don't think that was the case. He knew they would be upset at this, but He doesn't change His timetable for anyone, least of all Pharisees. They did talk themselves into a verbal trap, however. When Jesus said that the judgment was that the blind should see and those with sight should be blind, the Pharisees jumped at the argument. Jesus' response was classic. Paraphrased, he says that if the Pharisees would acknowledge that they are guilty of sin, they could be saved as well, but they deny themselves that honor. Before any problem can be resolved, the true problem must be determined.

Today's Reading is found in John 10:1-42 and Luke 13:22-14:24..

The Narrow Door was Jesus' way of saying that though many people are sure that they have been taught the way to Heaven, many will be disappointed. When a shepherd leads his sheep into danger, it's not the fault of the sheep, but they are still in danger all the same. That's why church hunting or pastor hunting is not something to take lightly. The key ingredient is not the age group of the members or the social activities offered. It's the shepherd and the rest of the flock.

The first shall be last and the last shall be first. I never understood what that was supposed to mean until I read in Luke 14 about the feast attendees. The self-assertive people that show up early to grab a good place at the table are often the ones who would see themselves as better than the others. In this light, they would be more likely to believe that they need no help from their sins. The first step to removing any problem is admitting that the problem exists in the first place. If you can't do that, you lose. Too many people believe their good deeds will outweigh their bad deeds, so repentance is not important. These are the first who shall be last

Don't forget, though, that you have been invited to a banquet, and this is one that you would be wise to attend. When your time on earth is done, however, and you can compare the dining at this banquet and it's alternative, your choice will have been made already.

Today's Reading is found in Luke 14:25-17:10 and John 11:1-37.

Our reading today will be all about priorities. Jesus does not want us to hate our families, but he does want our love for him to be so great that our love for others is weak in contrast. I specify in contrast, because if we love God with all of our hearts, He gives us more and more love for others. However, if a family member forces you to make a choice between them or Him, you should choose Him with absolutely no hesitation.

The parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son are basically three versions of the same story. They are all examples of how we may become lost and get down on ourselves, but the important thing is to keep on seeking His forgiveness, for He has this quality in abundance. He is overjoyed when we have strayed and turn to him for guidance, for once you have seen the redemption that is awaiting you, it's not likely you'll stray so far again.

Today's Reading is found in John 11:38-57 and Luke 17:11-18:8.

It's hard for me to comprehend that the raising of Lazarus would be the last straw for the Pharisees, but they saw that Jesus wouldn't stop his rocking of their proverbial boat. Something had to give and they were afraid the Romans would remove them from what power they had. I haven't read all of the historical accounts, but the Roman Empire was in force at that time, and policing the known world is a tall order. Therefore, I imagine the Jews were allowed to live their own lives as long as they paid their taxes and maintained the order of things. For these reasons and others, a plot to kill Jesus became the popular plan to handling the issue.

Jesus healed people of all kinds, including those who didn't even see the need to thank Him. Notice that ten men were cleansed of leprosy, but only one man, and a Samaritan at that, returned to thank Him. Jesus was not a resentful man, though, and the others remained cleansed. They did still show faith by going to the priest. The fact that the other nine, probably all Jews, didn't return with thanks and the Samaritan did return is testament that Jesus came to save all, not just the Jewish people.

Today's Reading is found in Luke 18:9-14, Mark 10:1-12, Matthew 19:1-12, Mark 10:13-16, Matthew 19:13-15, Luke 18:15-17, Mark 10:17-31, Matthew 19:16-30 and Luke 18:18-30.

Divorce has never struck my immediate family on either parent's side, but my wife's family has had this happen and it is a hard thing for the family to endure. Jesus spoke out about this one day and reminded all of us that the intention of marriage was to make the two people into one and that union must never be broken as long as the marital partners both lived. I have known people who were dating and were completely incompatible, fighting like cats and dogs. Some of them decided to marry anyway, if for no other reason than to see if it would work out. All of these marriages that I have noted have failed or are headed in that direction and many have children involved. Marriage is not to be taken lightly, but with much prayer and with God as the glue that binds the duo together.

So what are the children that Jesus said are the right people to enter Heaven? Let's look at the general description of a child. A child is teachable; they don't think they already have all of the answers. They will trust their parent in any situation, for they know that Dad and Mom would never ask anything of them that could harm them. And they truly love others. My son gives the best hugs you could imagine. I suppose in a few years adolescence will begin and these hugs will taper, but for now I will cherish each and every one. Characteristics such as these are ones we should seek to adopt for ourselves.

And what about this remark made about the rich having a hard time getting into Heaven? Jesus was not saying that wealth would disqualify you from eternal life, but the love of money over God could do this. Anybody can agree to follow God if it doesn't cost them anything, but when asked to sacrifice a worldly good, what would many rich people do? Scoff at the suggestion and proclaim that they worked for what worldly possessions they have and proclaim that the idea of giving it up for any reason is absurd? Many would say this. It's impossible for a person to save himself, especially if they fit this description, but never forget that nothing is impossible for God.

Weekly Link Grace to You Grace to You is the Bible-teaching media ministry of John MacArthur. I recently received a copy of the MacArthur Study Bible as a gift and have been very pleased with the quality of this Bible. My curiosity led me to discover more about MacArthur, and I soon found Grace to You, which is his website for his radio program. Filled with great messages, devotions and reading material, this site has not disappointed me. Honestly, though, if the only page on the entire site was the FAQ, I'd still recommend it to you. The articles about strengthening your relationship with Christ and Biblical study tips have both been most encouraging to me. http://www.gty.org/

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Thanks for sharing my goal of reading the Bible in its entirety this year!