16 Jul, 2008

Fast thumbs!

God is texting us again...

Texting champ wins $50,000 prize

A 20-year-old student of Cleveland State University won the $50,000 grand prize for a national texting contest, CNET reports.

Nathan Schwartz's winning text was: "Does everybody here know the alphabet? Let's text. Here it goes ... AbcDefghiJKlmNoPQrStuvWXy & Z! Now I know my A-B-C's, next time won't you text with me?"

Not only did Schwartz complete the text in 50 seconds, he also did not make a mistake, according to the AP. Schwartz qualified for the competition after winning an MTV contest. Schwartz learned about the contest while watching MTV. The contest was sponsored by cell phone maker LG. JASON HIDALGO.

photo courtesy images.google.com & story blogs.rjg.com, 7/14/08

1 Corinthians 12:12-22 (NLT)

One Body with Many Parts

12 The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. 13 Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.

14 Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. 15 If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?

18 But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. 19 How strange a body would be if it had only one part! 20 Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. 21 The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”

22 In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary.

What does today's God's Story scripture teach us about our importance to the Body of Christ?

Paul communicates God's Story very clearly. Do you get his point? God has given each of His children (those who have trusted Jesus as their Savior) an important part to play in the body of Christ!

All of us will always know other believers who seem like they should get noticed because they seem more spiritually gifted, more talented, and more likely to be used by God to accomplish His plan. But we're all an important part of His team!

Even if we're like the little toe in Christ's body, God sees us as a winner!

And we should never be a sore thumb! If we resent someone else for their gifts or abilities, we are not responding to today's text message from God.

Of course it's tempting to be envious of the guy who won $50,000 for having the fastest thumbs in cyberworld! The key is to see the opportunities we have to serve God using His gifts to us. We may never receive earthly prizes, but God has some waiting in Heaven for us.

How can we connect today's God's Story scripture to our lives?
  • Thank God for the body of Christ and your part in it. Ask His Spirit to show you how to encourage others in their gifts. Thank Jesus that He will show you how you can best serve Him by using the gifts He has given you. Ask Jesus to show you how you can serve to reach others because they need the Good News.
  • Read Romans 12:1-8 to learn more about Christ's body and spiritual gifts.
  • Ask your youth leader or pastor to help you discover your spiritual gifts.
  • Whenever you receive text messages or text someone, let Jesus remind you that He has gifted you!

How can we connect today's story, God's Story scripture and our story to others?

  • In your youth group or small group, do your own texting contest followed by a discussion using this DAILYBIDE.
  • Send a text message to other followers of Christ and affirm them for their gifts or abilities.
  • Send a text message to someone who needs Jesus and encourage him or her. Set up a time to get together and talk. Tell him or her about the text champion and start a conversation about the God-given abilities you see in your friend. Listen to their response and you may have an opportunity to share more of your story and God's Story.
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The Daily Bide is brought to you by a team of writers from Youth for Christ/USA. The writers all have various years of experience in youth ministry but share a common bond in serving Jesus and discovering what it means to abide deeply everyday and to connect God's Story with those around them. A number of the Daily Bide writers have also written portions of our 3Story® resources. You can check out our resources at the 3Story.org website or connect with our writers at 3story@yfc.net. If you have a question or a story you would like to share, please reference the Daily Bide date in your email.

YFC works with young people on campus and in the community in over one hundred countries around the world so that they might have an opportunity to become a follower of Christ and be a part of a local church.