Youth Worker BOOST: Authentic

ym360 knows youth workers. We know what an incredibly rewarding, yet incredibly challenging job youth ministry can be. There are days when your spirits are sky-high, and there are days when you could use a bit of a “pick me up” from God's Word . . . That's why we're happy to offer Youth Worker Boost, one of the many valuable resources on the ym360 Blog.

Boost is a short, weekly piece of encouragement designed to, well, “boost” your spirits and encourage you as you minister to students. We consider it yet another great opportunity to serve you and your ministry.

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Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.--Psalms 26:2-3

I have a friend in the jewelry business. I was visiting him at his store one day and he was showing me around. He was talking about buying old jewelry when I asked him how he could tell the real gold from the fake stuff. He showed me what he called a testing table, complete with a few bottles of chemicals and a small piece of ceramic.

He informed me that the test was pretty simple. Nitric acid applied to real gold will produce no reaction, while gold that has been mixed with other metals will react with the acid. Furthermore, he told me, real gold will leave a gold-colored streak when dragged across an unglazed ceramic plate.

I found myself surprised at how simple it was to spot what was authentic, and what was fake.

It occurred to me when reading this passage that God operates kind of like my friend the jeweler. With one look, He knows the measure of our faith. While that causes many of us to shudder a bit, David didn’t seem to mind letting God test his motives and affections. In fact, he went as far as to invite the Lord to even put him on trial, that’s how confident David was in the condition of his heart!
Are you willing to ask God to put your motives and affections to the same test, both in your personal life and in your ministry? What do you think would be the result of that test?

The road to a pure heart and pure motives begins with being honest before God and letting Him do the purifying. 

Our prayer for you: That you would open yourself up to being "tested" by God, and that you would listen for what He reveals to you. 

Last Week's BOOST: Fair Pay

Next Week's BOOST: Who's Your Builder?

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