Michael Ross - A Kids Game Plan for Great Choices: An All-Sports Devotional

Improve Your Game, Build Your Faith

Decisions, decisions. In both the virtual world and the real world, you have to make a bunch of choices. Mess up in the virtual world of Minecraft and you can always start over. But in the real world, where the decisions you make have real consequences, both good and bad, its not that simple.

Where can you go for help? Is there a gamers guide for living? Yes, its called the Bibleand God created it to help you win!

Join gamer Dragee90 as he shares daily devotions packed with secrets to success in two key areas of your life:

Gameplay Learn A-to-Z tips and tricks for virtual world-building and secrets and online survival in the game of Minecraft.

Real Life Dragee90 reveals some of his own daily struggles and gives you powerful Scripture verses from the Bible you can use to overcome lifes biggest obstacles.

Building faith block by block is easy when you start with the right foundation!

T he battle is on.

SMASHCRUNCH!

Ouch! My Arena Tower was hit but not taken down. Ive deployed my troops, and Im going after the Kings Tower in my opponents territory.

An emote pops up with a message from the enemy. (Emotes are short comments that can be accessed by the speech bubble icon.) This one is an emoji with a laughing king face.

Hes taunting me , I tell myself.

I fire off my own emote: Youre goin down!

My warriors surround the tower and move in for a win. Can we succeed? Will my clan rule the day? In this competition, anything is possible.

Im on my cell phone playing Clash Royale . Its a freemium tower-defense game that pits players against other real-world opponents, and it all takes place in a medieval cartoon world. The graphics are bright, simple, and pretty cooland the action is thrilling. But the more I play, the more annoyed I become.

Its tough to succeed in this game without two things: patience and real-world money.

Rewards and upgrades require either lots of time or cash to unlock. (And Ive already used up my allowance.) Theres also an in-game chat function that lets players communicate directly with one another, and the guys Im up against are swearing a lot. Theyre even sharing personal information. Those are two things I dont do.

Should I keep playing? I ask myself. HmmmI wont quit just yet. One more battle.

I quickly learn that players need super fast reaction times, and they have to come up with dozens of different strategies for many possible situations. Thats all good. I like to be challenged and to solve problems under pressure. (It brings out my competitive side.) And I notice that with an amazing strategy, a level-two player can defeat a level-six competitor.

But then things go downhill again.

Players try to acquire seven legendary cards. But they come with a price: They cost real-world money, and they arent cheap. Most high-level players rely on these cards, which give them an unfair advantage. Like I said, Ive used up my allowanceso Im at a huge disadvantage. My strategies are good, but I cant play if I cant pay. And thats so frustrating.

I notice something else: The longer I play this game, the harder it is for me to winand to quit. There seems to be an addictive element. Im serious!

Also, the system matches players with similar skills and styles. So if I play crazily, Ill be matched with other crazy players. Pretty smart thinking by the game makersand yet another appealing feature of this game. But along with the good is the bad.

Its easy to get lost for hours in game playand end up in a really bad mood.

Suddenly, more swearing from other players.

Thats it! I say out loud. Game over.

CLICK.

I love gaming with my friends. Its how a lot of kids socialize these days. Computers and the web keep us connected, and they are powerful toolsso powerful they can eat us alive if we dont watch out. Lets not give them a chance. The key: Stop acting like babies, not knowing right from wrong, constantly letting down our defenses in our cyberworlds, and getting pulled into dangerous traps.

Its time to grow up spiritually. Kids our age need to know how to make good choices.

WINNING WORDS

People who live on milk are like babies who dont really know what is right. Solid food is for mature people who have been trained to know right from wrong (Hebrews 5:13-14 CEV ).

WINNING TACTICS

Honor Mom and Dad. If were serious about keeping our minds clean and our hearts pure, we need to get serious about accountability. Be open with your parents about your gaming and online activities. Remember, sin loves privacy and hates light. (See Isaiah 29:15.)

Have more face-to-face time with your friends and consider limiting game time and other activities online. This keeps us from becoming addicted to our favorite pastimes, and it reduces the chance of getting into trouble in our high-tech hangouts.

Never talk to strangers. Were growing up with the internet of things, and were well aware that social network sites attract thousands of people. Some of them who play on kid-friendly games like Minecraft arent kids. And some are dangerous. Be smart by playing smart. Never, ever talk to people you dont know.

Read Psalm 111:10. What leads to wisdom and helps us make good choices?

J ason yanked the hamburger out of Kyles hand and took a bite. Go ontalk to her for me, he mumbled while chewing, then opened his mouth and exposed the contents.

Gross! You just ruined my lunch, Kyle said. Lookyoure the star forward everyone likesso you talk to her.

Eric slammed his math book on Kyles fries WHAM! and scraped the remains into a nearby trash can. Thats what I call gross, he said with a grin. Almost as gross as your goalie skills.

Youre history, Kyle snapped. Im going to rip your

The guys froze in their tracks. Girl alert, Eric blurted.

Two of their schools nicest girls walked by. One of them was the amazing forward on the girls soccer team. Jason sort of had a crush on her. (Only sort of .)

Jason grabbed Kyle by the shoulders. Please, Kyle, youve got to help us!

No way, Kyle snapped. With you rejects around, Im not going anywhere near those girls!

But they talk to you.

And with your help, they might even talk to us, Eric added.

Id rather have my tongue cut out.

Youre my best friend, Jason pleaded.

Friends help each other, Eric interjected.

They dont destroy a guys lunch.

Jason held up a french fry. My last one. Take it.

Kyles eyes lit up. A grin slowly formed on his lips. He flicked a french fry off Erics book and then fist-bumped Jason. Deal!

Lisas face grew red as Heather filled her in on the latest gossip from Shelly.

I cant stand her, Lisa exploded as she shoved another potato chip into her mouth. Everyone had invaded Nikis house after practice for some snacks and girl time.

I cant believe shes spreading those lies, Lisa continued. Im so mad at Shelly, I could strangle her, and I think I would if I had the chance.

And I thought you two were best friends, Niki said.

Yeah, girl, Heather interjected. Arent you, like, twins? We dont see one without the other.

Lisa practically choked on her chips. Usbest friends? More like frenemies.