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Actual Classified Advertisements

Check out the following advertisements. Each was actually printed as is in local newspapers.

• GEORGIA PEACHES — California grown. Eighty- nine cents a pound.

• Two wire-mesh butchering gloves: One 5-finger, one 3-finger. Pair $15.

• Nordic Track $300. Slightly used. Call Chubby.

• Snow-blower for sale. Only used on snowy days.

• Nice parachute. Never opened. Used once.

• Full-sized mattress. Twenty-year warranty. Like new. Slight urine smell.

• OPEN HOUSE: Body Shapers Toning Salon. Free coffee and donuts.

If someone were to run an advertisement on you , how would it read? Maybe you’ve heard the saying, “If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”

The above advertisements don’t really make the reader want to rush out and purchase the items for sale, do they? Have you ever stopped to think that you’re a walking advertisement for Jesus Christ? So . . . if you actually were arrested for being a Christian, what would the evidence say? Do people know about your relationship with Christ? Is it as obvious as your hair color? When you walk into a room full of people, do they sense there’s something different about you?

Let’s take this a little deeper. Do the following key areas of your life give a true advertisement of Jesus Christ living in your heart?

#1: Conversation. Is your chit-chat filled with gossip and rumors? Any criticism or sarcastic remarks about others? Do you tend to spice your words with bitterness and negativity? Or are your conversations filled with words that bring glory to Christ?

#2: Clothing. Does what you wear (and how you wear it) cause others to question the depth of your relationship with Christ? Do you dress in such a way that the opposite sex has trouble keeping a pure mind when around you? Or have you learned the art of looking in-style yet remaining modest?

#3: Character. Does your lifestyle echo WWJD? Do you base your actions on what Jesus would do? Can others trust you to keep your word? Are you dependable? On time? Honest? Do you live a life of integrity . . . or is there always that little “something” that causes others to doubt your genuiness?

Know It!
You’re a walking billboard for God. Non-Christians are watching your life for clues that say you don’t belong to the world. Are you living up to the advertisement God needs you to be? He can empower you to be a glowing ad of His love!

Read It!
Proverbs 10:9; Proverbs 13:6; 1 Timothy 3:7; Titus 2:7.

Pray It!
Ask God to help you be the living advertisement He wants you to be—one that will glorify His Holy name.

Check out yesterday’s devo, Becoming Who God Wants.


Taken from One Year Devotions for Teens by Susie Shellenberger (Tyndale Publishers) Copyright 2002. Used with permission.