Jordan hopped into his pickup and slammed the door. The 16-year-old was running late for school — again.
He jammed the key into the ignition and twisted it abruptly. The engine grumbled a few times, coughed and sputtered, then roared to life. It seems to be rattling a little more this morning, he thought. It’s gotta be the cold weather. Besides, it’s an old truck.
He yanked the gearshift into reverse and screeched out of the driveway, narrowly missing the mailbox. Slamming into first gear, he stomped on the pedal and thundered down the street. White smoke began to pour out of the tailpipe. He noticed it in the rearview mirror.
It must be colder out than I noticed.
He checked the speedometer to make sure he wasn’t going too fast. Forty-five mph—cool, he thought. But I’ll slow down a bit. I just got my license and can’t afford a ticket. Dad would kill me.
Suddenly, a warning light next to the speedometer lit up. A red light — the one with the picture of a tiny oil can. It had first winked at him a week ago, and he’d forgotten to put oil in every day since. Last night his dad had insisted that he take care of it “or you’ll be sorry.” Jordan promised to get right on it after school.
I can’t afford to stop now. It’ll make me even later!
Jordan jabbed the power button on his new stereo. It took several seconds for the amplifiers to warm up. When they did, the entire pickup vibrated to his bone-jarring music. Jordan drummed the steering wheel with both hands and sang along.
His stereo seemed to be cranking out more amps than usual today. The old heap shook a little more than normal. Jordan nodded a silent approval and grinned in pride.
In the rearview mirror, he noticed that his truck was still pumping out smoke. Jordan checked the temperature gauge. It indicated that the truck was hot — too hot. Then he saw that the speedometer was dropping rapidly. He stomped the pedal. Nothing happened. He turned the radio down. No engine noise. Reaching for the keys he twisted the ignition — but his metallic yellow pride and joy just wouldn’t turn over. His pickup was dead.
As the vehicle slowed to a halt just past the intersection, a wave of nausea swept through Jordan’s stomach. He knew what had happened: The engine had seized up due to lack of oil.
“I blew it,” he mumbled. “Dad will never let me drive again.”
• • •
Routine maintenance. Lots of things require it. Cars, skateboards, computers, backyard gardens, teeth — spiritual lives. That’s right, our spiritual lives need regular maintenance as well. But our faith just can’t be put off. We have a responsibility to refuel daily. If we don’t, we run the risk of serious attack from Satan — even engine failure.
Most of us have heard the same old story: A friend becomes a Christian at youth retreat, then, within a week, he’s back in his old lifestyle — as if nothing ever happened. This kind of guy believes that if he has acceptedJesusasmypersonalLordandSavior his ticket has been paid. Next stop: ETERNITY!
True, if a person’s commitment is sincere, Jesus is faithful to come in, cleanse him and change his life. But what some guys forget is the responsibility each Christian has to grow his faith.
This means . . .
. . . getting out of our “spiritual recliners” and putting feet on our faith. (See James 1:22-25.)
. . . struggling daily to live by God’s awesome power. (See Ephesians 1:17-23.)
. . . allowing God to help us fight off the old, sinful nature and build a new, spiritually buff bod, one that’s in the image of Christ. (See Philippians 3:17-21.)
Fuel Up
Those who don’t make the effort to grow in the Lord usually want eternal life; they just don’t want to give anything in return. They operate on their own fuel, not God’s — and eventually conk out. “If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned” (John 15:6).
But check out the rewards of fueling up daily: “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (John 15:7-8).
God has all the joy, love, hope and peace we need to face life. But He won’t give it to us if we don’t spend time listening and talking with Him. Turning our lives around is God’s responsibility. Making time for Him is our responsibility.
Tune Up
• Analyze Your Past. Since becoming a Christian, how often have you gone through spiritual struggles or dry spots? When you endured them, were you staying in the Word? Did your time with God suffer? Often it’s a lack of devotion that causes people to anguish spiritually.
• Go to the Source. Ask God to give you the discipline you need in order to plug into His Word. What’s more, ask Him to provide ways for you to LIVE and GIVE sacrificially. Then trust Him to provide ways.
• Fuel Up Daily. Starting right NOW, do something radical. Don’t listen to another Christian CD or read Breakaway until you’ve opened The Book first. Ask God for strength: Lord, help me to spend time every day (even if it’s just 10 to 15 minutes) reading Scripture FIRST. And during the times when I feel dead inwardly, help me to stay connected to Your Word.
• Pray Daily. Don’t just “do your duty” with canned, programmed expressions that sound nice or empty words that really don’t reflect your heart. Spend a quiet time with Jesus every day where you think about His Word (Bible verses), tell Him of your love and devotion, and talk to Him about others and their needs (as well as your own). In any relationship, two-way communication is vital.
• Plug Into a Pack. Find a couple of trustworthy Christian friends from church and form an accountability pack. Ask these guys to help you stick to the commitments you make at youth group. Meet together — or talk on the phone — at least once a week. 
