Acts 17:11 “Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.”

BEREANS

Paul had the gift of agitation. Just follow his missionary journeys.  Everywhere he went, with few exceptions, ended with him getting run out of town.  He had a way of inciting people with his words.  But here, in Berea, the people responded differently.  They were students of the Scriptures, so they checked out Paul’s words and found them true.

Are you a Thessalonian or a Berean?  Do you get agitated and upset when something someone says convicts you?  Do you say, “How dare they judge me?”  Paul didn’t mind upsetting people if it meant they might be convicted and turn to the Lord.  His goal was not to make friends.  He wanted to make disciples.  Don’t misunderstand me.  We don’t want to insult people, but we do want them to see their sins and confess them to Christ.

TEACHING MOMENT

You need to be careful with your children to not constantly point out their sins.  It is not your job to force confessions out of them.  No amount of nagging and scolding is going to bring them to repentance.  You need to present the truth to them and show them how their choices don’t measure up to God’s Word.  You are ALWAYS to point it back to the Word, not what you think is best.

Give them verses to read that deal with the issues they are facing.  Show them through your life that it is God’s Word that guides you. As appropriate, share stories with them of your own struggles and how God’s Word directed you.

As you go through your day meditate on these words and see how you compare: “examining the Scriptures daily.”  There is NO OTHER WAY to ensure you will make good choices.  Do not rely on any other source.  TRUST THE WORD!

Genesis 17:17 “Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, ‘Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?’”

THAT’S A GOOD ONE

I love a good joke.  I especially love one when the person telling it has the gift of telling jokes.  Do you know what I mean?  My brother-in-law had that gift.  He could, as they say, really spin a yarn.  I bet Abraham was thinking, “Man, this guy can really tell a joke.  Come on!  Really?  99 years old?  Having a child?  That’s funny enough, but by Sarah?  No way!  She has never been able to get pregnant.”

Listen, dear brother and sister, do not doubt what God can do.  If the Lord had desired to have Sarah birth an elephant, that would have happened.  He created everything.  Orchestrating a child between Sarah and Abraham was no huge task for Him.

TEACHING MOMENT

How do you get this concept of making the impossible possible across to little Leroy or Flo?  How can we explain to our children that God can do anything?  Our belief that He can or can’t has nothing to do with it.  Abraham laughed.  Later Sarah laughed.  But it still happened.  God had a plan, and it involved their future son, Isaac.

No Abraham and Sarah had to do their part (as they obviously did), but God was the one who designed the plan.  Our children need to understand that God has a perfect plan designed for them.  They just need to listen and obey.  They need to leave all the “heavy lifting” up to Him.  He wants to use them, but He won’t make them His unwilling servant.  He desires willful obedience.

How about you?  Are you fighting against God or with Him? I find myself way too often fighting against Him.  It is so easy to fool myself into thinking I am not.  Listen to Him today and allow Him to have His perfect Will in your life.  It’s much easier that way!

Acts 13:52 “And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”

WHAT CAUSED THE JOY?

I love this verse, but it is a bit puzzling. Paul and Barnabus had been sharing the Gospel and the crowds were building. The Jews get jealous (sounds like Baptists) and ran them out of town. This verse follows that. Why were they filled with joy and the Holy Spirit? Paul and Barnabus had been forced out of the district, not just the town.

I believe Paul and Barnabus gave these new disciples some marching orders when they left. “Hey guys, we have to go. But this is your home. You are the ones God is going to use to see these people changed. You have to continue preaching the Good News of Jesus to them.” Now those words are not in the Bible, but I believe this is why they responded in the way it says in verse 52. Continually filled!

TEACHING MOMENT

We have the privilege to teach our children what it means to be continually filled. Do they see that in you? Or do they just see you put on your “spiritual mask” on Sundays? Do they even hear you mention God’s Word or Jesus the other six days? Are you continually filled with joy and the Holy Spirit?

I am not saying you have to walk around with a permanent grin on your face with your hands lifted up. But I am talking about having the shekinah glory all over you. We can shine for Jesus even when we are having a bad day. Our kids need to see that. They need to see us living out our faith when everything is falling apart. They need to hear us speak truth when all around there is uncertainty.

Are you “continually” doing those things? Will you commit today to try? Will you let Jesus live out His desires in your life today? He will – if you let Him.

Genesis 12:8 “Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord.”

ALTAR BUILDER

Abram stops his journey long enough to build an altar in order to worship the Lord. The Lord had told him to leave his homeland and go where he told him. Here he is, on his way, but he stops and builds an altar. He builds another one in Genesis 13. Abram was an altar builder. He wanted to hear from God.

What are you “building” in order to hear from God? Are you too busy “doing life” to stop and listen for God’s direction? Have you been too busy throwing stones rather than gathering them to build your own altar of self-sacrifice? I heard Charles Stanley say once, “When people throw stones at you, pick them up and build an altar.” I have never forgotten that. But I still want to throw those stones back. My flesh does not want to crawl on the altar.

TEACHING MOMENT

Our children will learn self-sacrifice one way – by observing us. Yep, sorry! We have to model sacrificial living for them to truly understand it. The day will come when they will face a situation that demands sacrifice. Then they will reflect back on your example. Whether they yield to temptation or to the Lord is their decision. But we must be sure we set the right example.

What can a child sacrifice?   A lot. When their friend wants to cheat off their paper in school, they may have to sacrifice friendship for honesty. It may happen when they are asked to compromise their purity for “love.” Our children today are faced with so many challenges to their faith. We have to be constantly modeling self-sacrifice.

So today, when you are faced with that choice of building an altar and hearing from God or throwing rocks at someone who has challenged your faith, what are you going to do? Lay it down, crawl up on that altar of self-sacrifice and die to self. Only they will you truly live!

Acts 10:3 “About the ninth hour of the day he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, ‘Cornelius!’”

HUMILITY

This verse may seem to just be a verse about another angel appearance, but don’t believe that. This verse marks the opening of the Gospel to the Gentiles. If the Lord had not sent an angel to Cornelius who instructed him to send for Peter, it would have been years, maybe even generations, before the Gospel was shared with the Gentile world. Peter, the lead disciple at that time, realized the Lord had given the believers a new direction.

I love Cornelius’ response. He was humbled at the appearance of the angel and Peter. He was a powerful, important leader in the Roman army, but he recognized true power and bowed in its presence. He had a servant’s heart. I have to believe after Peter left that the Lord used Cornelius to spread the good news of Jesus to his soldiers and neighbors.

TEACHING MOMENT

Our children must learn that God can use anyone who is surrendered to Him. Perhaps the Lord is preparing your child right now under your leadership to be the next Billy Graham. Now that’s scary, isn’t it? That’s a lot of responsibility. God has asked you to mold little Bubba, Jr. into a spiritual leader for the world.

So how is that going? What are you doing to accomplish that task? I bet Peter didn’t think he would be asked to go to a Roman commander’s house to share the Gospel. But he was, and he did. You need to find ways every day to pour the truth into your son or daughter. You do not know what God has planned for them. You are shaping them for the future. You are shaping them to be a world shaper. God may use them to reach that last soul before Jesus returns.

Teach! Mold! Build!

Genesis 9:16 “‘When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.’”

WHAT GOD SEES IN A RAINBOW

Who doesn’t like a rainbow? They are beautiful. Someone recently took a picture of our church with a double rainbow over it. The picture was awesome and inspiring.

But have you ever thought of this verse? God told Noah, right after they had left the ark (after over a year with a boat full of stinky animals) that this would be a sign. It was not just a pretty thing in the sky. He would look down and see it too. Then He would remember the covenant He had made with “every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”

TEACHING MOMENT

Now this is a story all children love to hear. What a fun story to tell. But don’t leave out the context. Man had rebelled and had become exceedingly wicked. God had to “reboot” the earth. He had to reestablish His covenant with man and all creation. The flood came and everything (except what was on the ark) died.

Can you imagine the questions Noah’s family had the first time it rained again? But God set a reminder in the sky for them – a rainbow! And not only would they be looking up at it – He would be looking down on it. And at that moment, they would both be reminded of the covenant.

Have you stopped today to remember your covenant with God? Have you spent time today thanking Him for His faithfulness even in the storms of life? Have you thanked Him for the “rainbows” He sends to you everyday to remind you of His covenant with you through His Son? If you haven’t, why not stop right now and do that?

Look up! He’s looking down! And you both smile at the bow in the sky.

Acts 5:29 “But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men.’”

TOUGH CHOICE

Don’t you just love Peter’s response here? What a change in a man who just a few weeks prior had gone back to fishing. Now, here he stands before the religious leaders of his day telling them he is boldly representing Jesus whom he had denied three times on that fateful night.

There are times when we must choose obedience to God over obedience to man. Those times may become more and more frequent in the days ahead. We must be ready. What will you choose? When (notice I said “when” not “if”) you are faced with that decision which could cost you your job or maybe even your life, what will you do?

TEACHING MOMENT

Our children are more than likely going to face these same decisions. They may face these decisions in school when faced with a project that flies in the face of their faith. With your knowledge and support, will they choose to take the zero and voice their opposition respectfully? Or will they silently just do the project even though they know it is against everything they believe?

We must help them be bold in the face of a world that is doing everything it can to tear down and destroy our faith. They are being bombarded by ideas and words that tell them their faith is stupid, ridiculous and intolerant. What will they do when faced with the tough choice? Will they be strong or weak?

I will ask you again. What will you do? What example will you give them? How far will you go to take your stand for Christ?

Genesis 5:24 “Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.”

NO DEATH

There were only two men in the Bible who never died a physical death, Enoch and Elijah. We have many stories about Elijah, but all we know about Enoch is he was the father of Methuselah. That’s it! Oh yeah, Enoch lived on the earth for 365 years, the shortest lifespan of anyone mentioned at this point in the Bible, except for Abel whom Cain killed.

So what was special about Enoch? It just says “Enoch walked with God.” What does that mean? Why did God decide to take him at such a young age (compared to others in chapter 5)? The Bible doesn’t tell us, but we have to believe that Enoch was special to Him. So special that He wanted him closer to him than to earth.

TEACHING MOMENT

When was the last time you took a walk or hike with your child? There is something peaceful about walking in the woods down a trail. Little Elrod is exploring every little stick and rock. You are admiring the beauty of creation. What a perfect time to share this verse with your son or daughter. Tell them how Enoch was just walking with God, and God decided He loved him so much He wanted him home.

Now, don’t scare your child into thinking that if they walk with God He is going to kill them. That would be wrong. But they do need to know that when we walk with the Lord and focus on spending time with Him, we had much rather be with Him than here. We look forward to the day when we will see Him face to face. Don’t you imagine Enoch was thrilled to come face to face with His God?

Are you walking with Him? A word of warning: Don’t become so heavenly minded that you are no earthly good! You may have heard that before. But most of us are never in danger of that. We probably could all afford to be a little more heavenly minded.

Now, take that step today with Him!

Acts 1:3 “To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.”

THERE THEY ARE AGAIN

Have you ever had the experience when you kept running into the same person everywhere you went? You go to the grocery store, and there they are. You stop off to get gas for your car, and they pull up beside you. You go out to eat and, lo and behold, there they sit. You finally begin to look for them wherever you go.

I bet people started feeling that way about Jesus during this 40 day period. It says He was “appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.” They not only saw Him. They heard Him. He was still teaching.   But now, in His resurrected body, they were listening even closer.

TEACHING MOMENT

The next time you “pop in” and surprise your child, mention this verse to them. They need to know that Jesus’ physical body is not necessary (like yours is) to be present among them. He is there all the time, through the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives (if they are a believer). They don’t have to look for Him. They don’t have to search for Him anymore.

But that also means that everywhere they go, they take Him with them. He is aware of everything they say or think. He knows which friends are best for them. He knows the words they should use when someone is mean to them. All they have to do is talk to Him and He will direct them.

I don’t know about you, but I forget that sometimes. I get so frustrated with my situation that I start to “figure it out” for myself instead of pushing the pause button and asking the Lord to guide me. Jesus doesn’t have to “pop in” in my life. He is there. I just have to listen.

Will you listen today to the ever present Christ in you?

Daniel 12:1-2 “1 ‘Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. 2Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.’”

THE BOOK

Is your name in the book? I attended a wedding recently, and as I entered the building there was a guest book for me to sign. Now that book had multiple blank lines for all the guests to sign their name and address, so the bride and groom would know who attended. But signing that book did not give me the right to enter. I had already been invited to attend.

The difference in that book and the one mentioned in our passage today is I will not be granted permission to even enter heaven unless my name is ALREADY written in the book. I have to have a reservation in advance. I am not worried, though. I know my name is in the book and my check-in date has been predetermined. I am ready.

TEACHING MOMENT

I am sure at some point in the next days or weeks you will have the chance to sign something while you are with your kids. Why not take that opportunity to share this verse? Talk about how when you accepted Christ (or if your child is a believer when they did) your name was written down in the Lamb’s Book of Life. It was signed with permanent marker. No one or nothing can erase your name.

Kids like security. They need it to thrive. They need it to grow in a healthy way, both physically and emotionally. More importantly, they need eternal security. Having the knowledge they are secure in Christ and that nothing can change that gives them (and us) peace. They are safe! They are promised an eternal home. Is there really anything any better? I don’t think so.