Have you ever listened to a lesson at school and thought, “I don’t have a clue what the teacher is talking about.”

Three words a Coca-Cola loyalist hates to hear are: “Is Pepsi ok?” Coca-Cola has a rich, crisp bite, compared to the mild, sweet sip of Pepsi. They are not interchangeable. Coca-Cola is, as they say, the real thing. The question can only be answered politely with, “I’ll just have a sweet tea.”

Something magical happens during the summertime. If it hasn’t rained in a few days, things begin to look listless. Flowers start drooping. Grass gets crunchy. Leaves on the tomatoes brown. Without enough water, the world begins to show its need for life. But then a rain shower comes—one of those steady, soaking summertime showers—-and suddenly the things that were withering are wonderfully bright again.

One of the chief ways we show mercy to others is by forgiving them when they sin against us. Sometimes it may seem difficult, even impossible to forgive because of the nature of the sin. We may be so harmed by what another person has done that we convince ourselves we could not possibly forgive them. It’s at exactly this point when we owe others our forgiveness, when we ought to be merciful. That’s because it’s at exactly this point that God the Father, for the sake of his Son Jesus Christ, was merciful and forgave us.

Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is about becoming like him. Disciples are learners, students of their teachers. They don’t just learn what their teachers know; they are influenced to become who their teachers are in character and manner. That’s why Jesus calls us not just to know and agree to the facts of the gospel, but to be formed and shaped by the gospel.

As the Israelites prepared to enter the land of Canaan after forty-years of wandering in the wilderness, Moses led them in reviewing their experiences and the lessons they should have learned along the way. Among Moses’ recollections was the nation’s experience of hunger.

Has an adult ever told you, “Don’t eat that. You’ll spoil your dinner,”? We usually hear those words when we are looking for a snack in the afternoon and are about to eat something less than nutritious. We hit the kitchen, ready to pop the top on some Pringles or unwrap a smile with a Little Debbie, only to hear a voice of wisdom and warning: “Don’t eat that. You’ll spoil your dinner.”

After years of delivering hot meals to people in need, Lisa Thomas McMillan opened a restaurant called Drexell and Honeybees. McMillan’s restaurant features a unique concept. The menu has no prices. Guests receive no bill. The restaurant is donations only. McMillan’s desire is to give the hungry a place to dine with dignity. Everyone is welcome. Those who can pay do. Those who can’t don’t. Regardless of ability, everyone is offered a place at the table. 

It’s Saturday morning. The house is filled with wonderful things: the sound of bacon frying, the scent of coffee brewing, the sight of ingredients ready to be transformed into pancakes. You’re so excited! You love pancakes. There are things to be added into your pancakes: strawberries, blueberries, chocolate chips, pecans. There are things to top your pancakes: butter, syrup, powdered sugar, jam. There are ingredients to make the pancake batter: eggs, oil, milk. You’re getting hungrier by the minute.

Think about the last time you went to the beach. Before you made the trip, there was a lot to do. Pick out a bathing suit. Find the sunscreen. Ice down drinks in the cooler. Get towels for everyone. And depending on the age of those going with you, you probably packed toys for building a sandcastle, including a bucket. 

One of the great themes of the Bible is God’s desire for you to have a relationship with him by faith. Every person who turns away from his sin and trusts God for salvation has a relationship with God. In that relationship, he learns the rules of how to live in a way that pleases God and the rewards of living by faith. The relationship always comes before the rules and the rewards.

As we learn to follow Jesus, it’s important to learn the difference between weakness and meekness. Weakness is the absence of strength. Meekness is the control of strength. Jesus does not call us to be spiritually weak, but spiritually meek. Just as an athlete does performance training for success in competition, so the disciple disciplines himself for godliness. He grows in grace, increases his knowledge of Scripture, submits to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, serves his fellow man all in order to be a stronger Christian. The disciple of Jesus then controls that strength so that it is used only to glorify the name of Jesus.

If meekness is strength under control, one of the first strengths we need to control as followers of Jesus is that of the tongue. We learn on the playground that “sticks and stones may break our bones, but words will never hurt us.” Yet even the kindergartener repeating the saying knows by experience how wrong it is. Words have power. The proverb says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” That means words can help or they can hurt.

When we choose to follow Jesus, we are saying two things. First, we are saying Jesus will get us to the right place. The right place is in heaven with God. By grace through faith, Jesus will get us to the right place because he himself is the Way. As we follow Jesus, we are also saying he will get us to the right place in the right way. Jesus knows all the temptations this life has to offer, yet he is the only person who ever overcame them all. When we follow him — by reading the Bible, praying, fasting, fellowshipping with other Christians, and serving others — we are able to be convicted when we sin, corrected when we are going toward sin, and coached in the ways to keep from sinning.

When was the last time you played with Play-Doh? Did you keep the colors separate? Did you make your favorite animal? Did you form your favorite actor? Maybe you made shapes, letters, or an entire scene. Think about what the Play-Doh looked like before you played with it. It probably looked just like the container it was in: a short, colorful cylinder. But the more you worked with it, the more it took on the shape you desired. 

We all sin. Sometimes we say things to people or about people in disrespectful ways. Sometimes we fail to obey the rules of those in authority over us. Sometimes we think too much of ourselves or too little of others. In all of these things and more we sin.

As he was led out of Jerusalem to the place of the skull where he would die in the place of sinners, Jesus was very quiet. But if there had been a soundtrack of what he heard around him that day, you would find it was hardly silent.

What’s your favorite sport to play? Basketball? Golf? Tennis? Do you play at home with friends for fun, or as part of a community or school team? At some point in every athlete’s life he realizes he’s been doing something wrong. It might be his approach to nutrition, his regimen in the weight room, or his mental strategy. The realization of a need for change comes by seeing someone else excel. The example of excellence, whether from a coach or fellow athlete, reveals what is missing in his own approach.

Has anyone ever told you to make your bed? Or to put up your toys? Or to put your dirty clothes in the laundry basket? At first you may have thought these tasks were not that important. Maybe you did not understand why it mattered whether your room was clean or dirty. But something happens when you start to clean up your room on a regular basis: you begin to value a clean room and you cannot stand for someone to mess it up.

Have you ever painted by the numbers? The picture is sketched onto the canvas. Each section of the picture contains a number, which corresponds to a paint color. As you paint the areas with the appropriate colors, the picture comes into view.