FOLLOWING CHRIST CAN BE A LOT OF FUN.

Bible Reading of the Day: Read Hebrews 11:24-25.

Verse of the Day: “I have told you this so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” (John 15:11).

Nate lost control of his icy sled and rolled down the hill, laughing and shouting.

“This is great!” he said to his friend, Ted. “When you called me this morning to ask me to go sledding, I thought you were crazy. Here it is, not a single snowflake on the ground and the temperature in the forties. This was a great idea, man!”

Ted laughed as he gripped a rope that was frozen into a fifty-pound block of ice. He lugged the block back up the grassy hill.

“Where did you come up with this idea?” Nate asked.

Ted shrugged. “My church youth group does it almost every year. It’s easy. You just buy a block of ice, freeze a circle of rope into it, and you’re in business!”

“This is so great!” Nate repeated. “You don’t even need cold weather or snow!” “So,” Ted said, turning to face Nate at the top of the hill, “you having fun?” “Absolutely!” Nate said.

“I seem to remember you saying once that you didn’t think Christians ever had fun,” Ted said, smiling broadly. “You said anybody who doesn’t drink or go to wild parties had to have a totally boring life.”

Nate looked a little sheepish. “I said that?”

“I said that?” Ted echoed sarcastically. “The next time you think God wants to spoil our fun or steal our joy, just remember today.”

Nate hesitated. “But don’t you ever wish you could do the things I do?”

Ted shook his head. “I know you have fun sometimes when you go out partying, but the fun doesn’t last too long, does it? And it can have some pretty rotten consequences, can’t it?”

Nate shrugged. “I guess,” he said.

“I’ll admit that sometimes it’s not easy to do the right thing,” Ted said, “but believe me, man, following Christ can be a lot of fun. He didn’t come to spoil all our fun—he came so we could have fun!”

“All right,” Nate said, holding up his hands, “I give up.”

“So does that mean you’re ready to become a Christian?” Ted asked.

“I don’t know about that,” Nate said.

Ted studied his friend thoughtfully, then said, “Well-just so you know-when you are ready to become a Christian you’ll know what fun really is!” Ted said. He flung himself onto the ice slab and hurtled toward the bottom of the hill.

TO DO: Plan something fun to do as a family to remind each other (and perhaps some of your non-Christian friends) that following Christ can be a lot of fun.

TO PRAY: “Lord, thank you for the joy of being in your family. Help us to spread that joy to others.”