 So Much Is Fake, It's Time To Get REALKen Turner
Have you ever made a "good deal?" One of those negotiations that just fell your way and in your favor.
Last fall I was driving down the street and saw several lawn mowers for sale outside the Salvation Army Thrift store. I needed a new push mower so I turned in. One was a Lawn Boy, self-propelled and it was commercial grade. "Any questions?" asked the associate. I said, "Just two. Does it run and how much?" He pulled the cord. It started on the first pull and he looked at me and said, "Twenty dollars." Sold! I took it home and looked it up online. I found out it sold new for over $800. I made a good deal!
When a person exchanges his or her life for the new life that God gives, that's a good deal and it is something God wants you to experience. He also wants it to be REAL.
A few months ago God stopped me dead in my tracks. I was driving and praying. It seemed so clear that God wanted to speak to me and I felt I needed to give Him my full attention. I pulled over and parked on the town square in Lebanon, Indiana. You may think it sounds odd, but I thought for a moment that God had something so clear to say that it just might change the course of my life. It was like I was getting ready to make "an exchange" with God. As I prayed, sitting in my car, there was a real sense that God wanted me to make myself available for something more real. I wrestled with the idea. I thought about the hardships of change. I thought about inconveniences and sacrifices I had made to try to please God. I thought about how much I felt I had already done for God. I thought about my family and the fact that I did not want them to make another sacrifice. But it was as if God was saying, "I want you to trust me and I want you to make a trade with me." " I want you to be willing to do anything I ask you to do, I want you to surrender." After some time in prayer, I agreed to exchange with God everything I was doing for whatever it was He wanted me to do next.
It's risky to lay it all out on the line and tell God there are no strings attached. You risk comfort, predictability of life and being in control.
In my new ministry to troubled youth, I meet teenagers every week that come to me and ask if I will please pray for them and please talk with them about their needs. A week ago I asked three teenage boys who they have to help them get on a new path with their life. Each one said they have no adult man to give them any support or guidance. I walk away every time and think about how REAL this is. It is so REAL to be a Christian and flee the professionalism of the Christian life, go out in the world and touch the lives of those who don't know God but want to know Him. If the Christian life is a spiritual battle and we are soldiers in God's army, aren't we supposed to stop polishing our medals and get out in the battlefield and possibly come home with a few battle scars?
So, if you feel God is ready to make an exchange with you for something in your life that is more REAL, be willing to do it because it will be a good deal.
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Ken Turner Ministries reaches troubled youth every week through ministry to parents, mentoring and mentor training and Bible studies at the Indianapolis Juvenile Detention Center as well as other inner city ministries.
Here is how you can help:
- Regular, monthly support in any amount.
- $25.00 to purchase a Bible and a spiritual journal for one teen.
- A one time substantial gift to help fund the expenses of the ministry.
How to give:
- Mail your gift to:
- Ken Turner Ministries, PO Box 460, Zionsville, IN 46077
- Give online at www.kenturnerministries.org
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Ken Turner Ministries
Are You Longing For 
