Psalm 96:11-12 “11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; Let the sea roar, and all it contains; 12 Let the field exult, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy.”

ALL CREATION

Have you ever wondered why sunrises and sunsets are so beautiful?  Have you ever been on the beach or on a boat and remark how gorgeous the ocean looks?  How about a view of a valley full of fields or forests?  You see, these verses tell you why.  They just can’t help but proclaim the majesty of the One Who created them. Continue reading →

1 Chronicles 13:14 “Thus the ark of God remained with the family of Obed-edom in his house three months; and the Lord blessed the family of Obed-edom with all that he had.”

BLESSED

I just love the fact that the Lord blessed Obed-edom merely for keeping the ark at his house.  Can you imagine?  The very seat of God in your house.  We don’t know where he kept it, but I am sure it was in a very safe place and treated with honor and respect.  He probably put “DO NOT TOUCH” signs all around it.  He knew what had happened to Uzza when he just reached out to steady the ark.  He was struck dead. Obed-edom didn’t want that to happen to anyone in his family. Continue reading →

1 Chronicles 11:19 “and he said, ‘Be it far from me before my God that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of these men who went at the risk of their lives? For at the risk of their lives they brought it.’ Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.”

SACRIFICE

This story is one of the intriguing ones to me in all the Old Testament.  David and his men were fighting the Philistines, and David gets a craving – for water.  Not just any water either.  He was craving water from the well at Bethlehem, which was in Philistine control.  Three of his mighty men go down, fight their way to the well and bring back water for their king.  As Adam Sandler said in the movie Waterboy, “That must be some fine H2O.”

David is so moved he offers it as a sacrifice to God and pours it out.  It seems David was almost embarrassed that these men had overheard his selfish craving and sought to meet it.  He is humbled at their loyalty and willingness to sacrifice for him.

TEACHING MOMENT

Loyalty and sacrifice are hard to teach to children. They can only learn that by observing others.  Being loyal to friends or family is so important, though.  We need to do all we can to help them learn how to do that.  Sacrificing for others is even harder to teach.  Children are naturally selfish (well, at least most of them).  Just try to get a two-year-old to share their toys with someone.

But loyalty and sacrifice are admirable traits in anyone.  When children learn to be loyal and to sacrifice their desires for the benefit of others, they will have learned true maturity.  Selfishness and maturity are complete opposites.  You cannot be mature and demand your own way.  You cannot be mature and be disloyal.

How are you doing with these two maturity traits?  To whom are you loyal?  For whom are you willing to sacrifice?  Think about those questions for just a minute.  Write down a list of five people you thought of.  Now pray for each of them.  Ask the Lord to allow you to show your loyalty this week.  Ask the Lord to show you how you  could sacrifice something you desire for their benefit.

Father, You sacrificed the greatest gift for me – one I could never repay.  I owe You everything.  Help me today to show You my loyalty and willingness to sacrifice for You and others.

1 Chronicles 9:27 “They spent the night around the house of God, because the watch was committed to them; and they were in charge of opening it morning by morning.”

COMMITTED

When I read this verse my first thought was, “How boring!”  I mean, come on, every day their job was to open the doors of the temple.  That’s it!  I immediately had the image of the guys you see at the door of a fancy hotel opening the door for people.  Continue reading →

1 Chronicles 5:20 “They were helped against them, and the Hagrites and all who were with them were given into their hand; for they cried out to God in the battle, and He answered their prayers because they trusted in Him.”

CRYING OUT

1 Chronicles is full of genealogies, which could seem to be a bit boring.  But hold on.  You need to read them slowly and see what hidden gems are in those lists.  Today for instance, in the genealogy of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh, this little gem pops out. Continue reading →

1 Chronicles 3:1 “Now these were the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron: the firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam the Jezreelitess;”

WHO IS THAT?

Do you remember who followed David as king?  That’s right – Solomon.  Do you know where he fell in line with the rest of David’s sons?  Way down there.  He was not the firstborn son, which you would expect, since he was made king.  The firstborn son of David, according to this verse, was Amnon.  Who was he?  We know nothing about him. Continue reading →

Mark 13:37 “What I say to you I say to all, ‘Be on the alert!’”

WATCH

There is NO doubt about it – Jesus is coming again!  Are you ready?  Here in Mark 13 He warned His disciples about the time.  The chapter ends with these four words – BE ON THE ALERT!  Actually, in the Greek, it is just one word, gregoreo, which means “stay awake.” Continue reading →

Mark 11:13-14 “13 Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening.”

NOT THE RIGHT TIME

Many are puzzled about this act of Jesus.  If you read on down to verse 20 of Mark 11, you will see the results of Jesus’ words on the fig tree.  Why would the Lord destroy an innocent fig tree?  It wasn’t about His hunger not being satisfied.  It was about fruit production.

The Lord expects us, as believers in Christ and possessors of the greatest gift, to share that gift with others.  Just as a fig tree exists to produce figs for food, we exist in Him to bear fruit for others.  Jesus was sending a message to His disciples.  Everything Jesus said or did was done on purpose.  He did not just do stuff.

TEACHING MOMENT

We have the opportunity to teach our children how to use their God given gifts for others.  Once they come to Christ, they are given gifts in order to produce fruit for the Body of Christ.  Discovering those gifts and using them is a blessing.  So many believers never experience the joy of bearing fruit.

When our children experience this joy of fruit bearing, they get a glimpse of the Body of Christ in a way that few experience.  I have seen children as young as 6 and 7 who are exercising their gifts for others.  It is a truly beautiful thing.

But let me ask you, Mom and Dad.  Do you know your gifts need to be shared too?  Your children need to see you bearing fruit.  They need to see you being a benefit for others.  How can you bless another believer today?  Ask the Lord.  He will show you.

Lord, You are my gift giver.  You give me exactly what I need to bless others.  Give me the boldness and courage to use my gifts to be a blessing for someone else today.

2 Kings 24:19-20: “19 He did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. 20 For through the anger of the LORD this came about in Jerusalem and Judah until He cast them out from His presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.”

WHY WON’T WE LEARN

Zedekiah just wouldn’t learn from the past.  His brother Jehoiakim rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar and then his nephew Jehoiachin (the son of Jehoiakim) was taken into exile by Nebuchadnezzar.  So what does he do?  He rebels too.  He couldn’t see that this was God’s judgment on Judah (for his grandfather Manasseh’s sin).  His heart was turned against God, and he just wanted his way. Continue reading →

Mark 2:4 “Being unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying.” 

NOW THAT’S A HOLE

This is one of those stories in the Bible that has been taught over and over.  Almost anyone who has been to Sunday School or Church has heard the story of the friends who dug a hole through the roof to get their friend healed.  But have you ever thought about those men?  Continue reading →