ARE YOU WITHOUT POWER?

May 31, 2006

Look out for the 'rats' in your life!

THINK ABOUT IT

Rat Cuts Power, Ruins 'Idol' for Thousands

Riverside, Calif. (AP)

About 9,500 Riverside residents found themselves in the dark after a rat chewed through power equipment at a substation.

The rodent had to gnaw through two barriers before it reached the 12,000-volt equipment that it shorted out on Tuesday night, Public Utilities deputy director Steve Badgett said.

"We found him. What was left of him," Badgett said.

The rat made it to the live wires despite traps and rat poison placed in the substation, he said.

Some 1,100 customers went without power until early Wednesday morning.

Badgett said he braced for the worst when he realized that residents lost their power just as the semifinalists of "American Idol" were to perform on television.

picture courtesy defra.gov.uk & story courtesy sfgate.com, 05/25/06

TAKE A LOOK

Isaiah 59:1-2 - (NLT)

Warnings against Sin
¹Listen! The LORD is not too weak to save you, and he is not becoming deaf. He can hear you when you call. ²But there is a problem--your sins have cut you off from God. Because of your sin, he has turned away and will not listen anymore.

ACCORDING TO ISAIAH, WHAT CUTS US OFF FROM GOD?

Check out these notes from Tyndale's LIFE APPLICATION STUDY BIBLE:

59:1-14 Sin offends our holy God and separates us from him. Because God is holy, he cannot ignore, excuse, or tolerate sin as though it didn't matter. Sin cuts people off from him, forming a wall to isolate God from the people he loves. No wonder this long list of sins makes God angry and forces him to look the other way. People who die with their life of sin unforgiven separate themselves eternally from God. God wants them to live with him forever, but he cannot take them into his holy presence unless their sin is removed. Have you confessed your sin to God, allowing him to remove it? The Lord can save you if you turn to him.

When a rat chewed through a wire in Riverside, people were without power. They were in the dark and couldn't see 'Idol'. When you and I idolize the things of this world rather than giving ourselves to God in complete worship, we will find ourselves cut off from His power and light in our lives.

Get rid of the 'rats'!

TALK ABOUT IT

Praise God for His ultimate power! Thank Him that the same power that raised Christ form the dead is available to you through the Holy Spirit to live every day. Let His Spirit help you identify any 'rats' in your life right now. Confess them and receive Christ's forgiveness. Thank God that He will restore you to a right relationship with Him. Thank Jesus for His love, His guiding light and power to live in obedience to Him.

TRY IT

Make a written list of any 'rats' in your life that cut you off from God's power. Thank God for using his power to remove them from your life. Keep the list and review it weekly to make sure that these 'rats' don't sneek back into your life.
Read the entire chapter of Isaiah 59 to learn more about God's forgiveness of sin.
The next time the power goes off in your home or a light switch doesn't work, let God's Spirit remind you to check on any possible 'rats' in your life.

ABOUT IT

DAILY DEVOS is brought to you by Youth for Christ. Youth for Christ 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.

Byron Emmert Daily Devos is published Monday through Friday. Archives can be found at YFC.ORG. Its purpose is to help you apply truths from God's Word every day.

Our writer, Byron Emmert, has been involved with Youth For Christ for 30 years. He's served as Campus Life Staff, as a writer, and in leadership for the DCLA Conferences. Byron is married to Linda and their family includes two married sons and daughters-in-law, and a daughter in college. He loves sports, deep dish pizza, and spending time with his family.