Category Archives: Devotional

A youth devotion is an opportunity to plumb the depths of a deeper spiritual life by using a story, illustration, or real life experience to illustrate a Bible principle and entice the reader to apply it in a very personal way.

Century of Experience

A man, after 25 years with same company, doing the same old job and drawing the same old salary, decided to approach his boss for a raise and a promotion. While talking to his boss, he was outlining his justification for such a request. “After all,” he concluded, “I’ve had a quarter of a century of experience.”

“My dear man,” sighed the boss, “you haven’t had a quarter of a century of experience, you’ve had one experience for a quarter of a century.”

I wonder if the same might not be said about some of us… “You haven’t had a quarter of a century of Christian experience, but one Christian experience in a quarter of a century. Too often, we are also happy with one experience, instead of experiencing God each and every day. Others journey through life seeking dramatic experiences, climactic turning points, and instant solutions to spiritual problems instead of seeking God’s face. But neither of these define the Christian life.

Christianity isn’t an event that happened at a camp, at a retreat, or at a difficult time in our life. Christianity isn’t our activities as a deacon, a Sunday school teacher, or a group leader. Christianity is experiencing God day by day.
Like the oak, whose growth you cannot see, you may be able to define when the seed was planted, when the tree sprouted, but growth takes place almost invisibly day by day and moment by moment.

So next time, instead of looking for an experience, choose to experience God day by day.

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day…. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (II Corinthians 4:16, 18)

“But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” (Psalm 1:3,4)

“Be still and know that I am God…” (Psalm 46:10)

Author: Ken Sapp – copyright 1999 – Permission granted for non-commercial use


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Crabgrass

trowel.jpgA man wrote to the department of agriculture to find out how to cope with the crabgrass that was spoiling his lawn. They gave him a number of suggestions, and he tried them all, but nothing worked. Finally, he was completely frustrated, and sought help again, informing them that every method they’d suggested had failed, and his yard was still filled with crabgrass. He got back a rather short reply which read, “We suggest you learn to love it.”

You can probably relate to that problem of crabgrass if you have ever tried to remove habitual sin in your life. You may feel you have tried everything and nothing works. Change eludes you! The sin remains and maybe even grows!

Unfortunately too often, in a our failures at living a life a purity, we give up and come to live with our sin and maybe even love it.

One of the key struggles in the Christian walk is dealing with the process of change as we struggle to live a life of purity. Lasting change never comes about without a change in attitude, a change in heart. When we hate sin as God hates sin, we will be committed to avoid sin and live a life of purity.

But we also have to realise that we can never change our sinful nature in our own strength. We must cry as David cried, “Create in me a clean heart, Oh God” (Psalm 51:10) and “renew a right spirit within me.”

When God creates a new heart in us, new actions will follow. Only through constant renewal in the Lord will the new actions remain and take root in your life.

* What are some of the areas of your life where sin seems to taking over your lawn?
* What are the attitudes about those sins that need to be changed before you can eliminate them from your life?
* Ask God, as David did, to create in you a clean heart, to change those attitudes to agree with His.
* Ask God to daily renew your heart and strengthen your spirit. Depend on him. Trust in Him. Trust in his strength.
* And when you fail, don’t give up. Confess ask God to renew a right spirit within you!


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Tank Test

oscar.jpgI am fish-sitting for one of the children’s Sunday School classes again. The last time I did this we had one casualty. There’s only five goldfish, but it reminds me of the days when I had three aquariums of various sizes. My prize fish was a Tiger Oscar, with orange and black stripes. I also had a Plecostomas, which was like a little spotted shark with a suction cup to eat all the garbage in the aquarium. It resided in the back of the aquarium during the day, but if you quickly turned on the lights at night you could see it sucking on the glass. The Oscar slept at night so I guess you might say they had different social schedules. I don’t think they liked each other much, probably because the Oscar would have made a meal of the plecostomas if he could have, but he couldn’t quite swallow him. There were also some spotted catfish in the aquarium. Oscar actually tried to eat one of them once and instead received a bad case of indigestion as it was caught in his throat. He almost choked as apparently none of the other fish knew the heimlich manuever. Fortunately, I found him in time and he recovered. Unfortunately, the catfish didn’t recover.

I guess you could say I know about fish, fish tanks, fish filters, fish food, and fish stuff. There’s a lot to fish that your average person doesn’t realize or even care about that much. Initially my knowledge didn’t go beyond the basics. Like, if a fish is swimming upside down it is probably dead. Or, dead fish look bigger in the aquarium than than the do just before you flush them down the toilet. I also discovered fish will eat and eat and eat until they explode which is why you only feed them a little at a time. I think I had also read that fish must rest half an hour after they eat or they’ll get cramps and drown, but that story now sounds a little fishy to me.

One of my aquariums had a clear plastic partition down the middle. I think that one or two of the fish that died might have run into the wall, knocked themselves out, and drowned, but I am not sure.

Anyway, now I know about wet/ dry filters, algea eaters, brackish water, etc. I always wanted a bigger tank and even now I miss my aquariums. I think I developed a fish fetish. Fish have a way of doing that to people. You might start with five goldfish in a glass jar, but then you add this and that and before you know it you have a tank the size of the Great Barrier Reef and Sentosa’s Underwater Aquarium is calling to see if you can keep a dolphin for the weekend.

“Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs- He wants to please his commanding officer.” (II Timothy 2:3-4)

Sometimes my fish died because the water in the tank didn’t have enough of something or too much of something else. The tank was unbalanced. When life has a bitter taste, when our tomorrows appear cloudy and murky, when all our fish are floating belly up, it’s time to test our waters and see what is out of balance.

Paul’s words to Timothy is the tank tester we need. It’s a fairly simple test, merely a small question. Are you caught up in the things of the world or are you seeking to please Christ? What is the center of your life?

Sometimes get caught up in the things of the world as we try to keep a daytime calendar that requires 25 hour days. We then wonder why we are so tired or never have time to do anything. We spend so much time and energy working to get the things our society values that in the end we don’t have time to enjoy them or the things in life that are so much more important – fellowship with God, family, and friends. Sometimes we may feel like we have charged into an invisible wall, have been knocked out by frustrations and tragedies, and are drowning in despair. Sometimes we may have spiritual indigestion because we have eaten too much of the things of the world or we are choking from trying to eat the wrong things.

Why not look over your activities this week as and ask yourself the questions, “How can I please Christ in the things I do? Is my life out of balance? What things do I need to add to my schedule or remove from it to get my life into balance?”


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January

planner.jpgIn Roman mythology there was a god who was the guardian of doorways,

He had two faces on his head and could look backward and forward simultaneously.

He was the patron of beginnings and endings, and in 46 B.C. Roman emperor, Julius Caesar introduced a new calendar and gave the first month of the year the name of this pagan god, Janus’ month or in latin Juanuarius from which we get our word, “January”

Janus’ month has always been a time of endings and beginnings, when we have the feeling of making a fresh start on a clean slate.

People are obsessed with beginnings and endings.

They hold meaning for us, they fascinate us, we like them because they somehow magically make life seem simpler, not so complex and overwhelming. It helps us place life into small compartments that are easier to deal with.

We mark

  • The beginning of a new year.
  • The day a person is born.
  • The day a person graduates from primary, secondary, or University school.
  • The day a person is married.
  • The day someone retires.
  • The day a church was started.
  • Even the day someone dies.

Like the greek mythological figure from which we get the name “January”, we look backward and forward. We reminisce about how things were. But we also look forward to the future!

People are fond of giving away day-timers and calendars at the end of the year.

Last week I was looking over last year’s appointments.

It was nice to be able to look back over the year:

  • See the things I accomplished.
  • Look at all the appointments.
  • Remember the people I had met.
  • The events I attended.
  • Some of the lessons I learned.
  • The things I accomplished.

But there were also regrets:

  • The vacation I never took
  • Things I wanted to do, but in the hectic pace of life, never found the time.
  • The people I wanted to spend more time with, but didn’t.
  • Frustrations
  • Mistakes
  • Missed opportunities

Even so, there was something nice about being able to set it aside, and to say, “That was last year.!” Now I have a clean slate. A new start. New possibilities. I have great expectations looking forward!


Take It to the Next Level


  1. What will you record in Day-timer for the New Year’s?
  2. What changes do you plan to make?
  3. What are some of the things you will make time for?
  4. What things do you wish to learn? to do? to become?
  5. What opportunities will you make and seize?
  6. What accomplishments to do want to achieve?
  7. What relationships will you nurture or renew?

Application


Let God guide you to the changes he wants to make in your life! Just remember, God doesn’t love you for what you’ve done or what you will do, but because of what he did on the cross. On the cross he forgave your past and gave you a future!

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The Gift of the Wisemen

christmas_wisemen.jpgNot only did the star lead the Magi far from home but the star didn’t stop where they expected it to stop.

They watched the star trailing across the territory of Israel as it was moved toward Jerusalem. (Bethlehem is, of course, near Jerusalem. Today, it is considered a suburb of Jerusalem.) The Magi assumed as the star approached Jerusalem that the birth of such an important personage would have to have taken place in the palace. So they went to the palace of Herod. But Herod knew nothing about the blessed event. They arrived on the doorstep and asked, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? We have seen his star in the east and have come to worship Him.

Herod was dumbfounded! Royalty knew nothing about this great event. There were no flags flying, no music, no celebration, no festivity. Herod in perplexity and despair recalled his own wise men and inquired of them where the Christ child would be born. They searched their sacred writings and informed Herod, ‘in Bethlehem of Judea’. For thus, it is written in the prophets: ‘Thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judea, are not thou great among the tribes of Judea? For unto you who will be born a son, the Savior of the world.’

Then they come to the house where the child Jesus is and the wise men see the Messiah. Some scholars say it could have been a year after the birth of Christ. We read in scripture that, “they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts…” of precious gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Medieval theologians suggested that gold is a gift for royalty, frankincense a gift for deity, and myrrh a gift for death. They postulated that these were gifts for a King, a King who was God, and a God who would die. The reality is that they were probably the most costly things that they could get from their country. They brought that which cost them something. You remember David once said, I will never offer to God that which costs me nothing. So they offered the most costly things they could. But the greatest gift they gave was not the gold, frankincense or myrrh. The greatest gift that they gave the Christ child was the gift of true worship. That’s the greatest gift anyone can give Him.

It was there in that house that they yielded their lives to one who was greater than they were. They adored the child and gave the gifts that they had carried all the way from their homes in the east. When they returned home they were empty-handed but were full hearted because of the worship from the heart. The treasures they gave the child were worth little compared to the value and fulfillment they had in their hearts in worship. They had worshipped the King of the Jews.

The heart that can worship the Lord gives our entire lives a sense of fulfillment and meaning. Worship makes us whole because it meets the need of our inner being, our soul, our very core. God is worshipped, adored, and given honor. He is the one who created us and to respond to God in love makes life large and whole. Without worship of God we put ourselves in the center of our lives and we end up giving greater emphasis to ourselves.

Worship is a way to maintain perspective in the midst of life’s pressing demands. Most of us live our lives according to the “priority of the urgent”. We run from urgent demand to urgent demand. The problem is that we neglect that which is important. When the magi came face to face with the Christ child, the only thing that became urgent was ‘to worship him.’ They did not look to themselves.

They did not lift themselves up, but lowered themselves, bowing down in worship. If we take time to see the baby at all this Christmas, worship will not only be appropriate, it will be a necessity. Worship is a natural and appropriate response to the goodness and greatness of God. To worship means to pay tribute to, to honor, to revere God. When one comprehends God, truly sees him, it is the only appropriate response.

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They Followed the Star

christmas_star2.jpg

God set in the sky a marvelous star. Astronomers have discussed for many centuries what the star must have been. Some have suggested that it was a conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn. Others have said that it is a reference to an evanescent star found in Chinese literature. Others believe it might have been a comet, or a supernova.

But whatever it was, it was something new. It was something unusual. It was something surprising. It was something different. It was something unique that prompted the attention of the wisemen. They were compelled by a sense of needing to understand. But their journey was more than the satisfaction of curiosity, the seeking of knowledge. Scripture says that when they were asked about their journey, they said they were in search of a King of the Jews so that they might worship him.

The star led them a long way from home. For these ancients it was not an endearing thing to leave home, family and friends and go beyond the borders of one’s own country into a different territory altogether. Yet, this star drove them across their borders. Every step took them farther and farther away from the security of home and everything that was dear to them. Their adventure was to find this person born to transform humankind and change the course of human history.

The road may have been difficult, but the end was certain. You see, God doesn’t call a person on an adventure in vain. These Magi discovered a little baby, and in discovering the baby, they discovered Christmas – not in a palace, in a synagogue, not in a mansion. Though Christ had been born in a cattle shed, the wisemen knew Jesus for what He was. They understood this child was special. This discovery was one to which they were prepared to respond.

The journey that God has for each of us may be different, but the goal is the same: That we might find a King to rule our lives and to worship Him. Our journey might take us far from that which is comfortable or familiar. But when we find him we will be transformed and our lives will be changed. Will you respond?

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Christ, Born in Me

christmas_nativity.jpgSt. Augustine said, “What difference does it make that Christ was born so long ago in Bethlehem, if he be not born in me?”

I have no doubts that the angels of God come to us with the same offer they gave to Mary. Maybe we do not have big angelic visions, and maybe our angels come to us in unexpected ways, in the nudges, whispers, and intuitions given to us; but we, like Mary, are called to say “yes” to God, called to give birth, called to be the means through which Jesus enters this world here and now. We are not here only to commemorate his birth, but to give birth to Jesus in us. We are not here to simply remember what happened in Bethlehem in ancient Israel, but to create Bethlehem in this time and place.

What happened in Bethlehem is a powerful sign and a demonstration of what can happen here, in you and in me, when the love of God brings something good to birth in us. If the Savior can be born in such unlikely circumstances long ago, then he can be born in all the convolutions and complexities of our lives. If he can be born to a virgin, then he can be born in us. All we need to do is say like Mary, “Yes, be it unto me according to your word.”

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Christmas Memories

christmas_bow_pink.jpg• A multitude of wonderful Christmas smells filling the month of December.

• Of coming together as a family and putting up the Christmas Lights and the Christmas tree.
• Of so many decorations that it took a large trunk and several large boxes to store them away each year.
• Of cleverly disguising and wrapping gifts. My family is a family of laughter and practical jokes. I remember dad, wrapping a large box of laundry detergent for my mom. She unwrapped it and was a bit upset until she found a jewelry box down in the powder.
• Of being able to open one gift on Christmas Eve and having to wait on the rest until Christmas morning.
• Of leaving cookies and milk for Santa Claus. And water outside for the reindeer.
• Of Christmas programs and Christmas pageant’s at the church.
• Of a manger scene. And an angel on top the tree.
• Of relationships. We were not wealthy, but I could have received anything for Christmas and have been content.

For me, it wasn’t the gift, but the giver that was important. And I always enjoyed giving gifts more than receiving them. My parents would apologize for not having much under the tree, but it wasn’t what was under the tree that was special to me. It was the fellowship around the tree. It was the relationships, the fellowship that I remember most.. the time together as a family.

Indeed that is the true meaning of Christmas – Relationship! Sinful man was separated from God and God came down to us to restore the relationship. But Christmas was only the beginning. It was with another tree, many years later that our Savior truly restored the relation so that we can once again fellowship together.

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Best Christmas Pageant Ever

christmas_bow_blue.jpgIn the wonderful book THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER the Herdmann children (the rugged, undisciplined, rabble-rousing children from the neighborhood) volunteer to play the key roles in the Christmas pageant. It makes for some pretty funny moments. But at the end of the book something happens to the Herdmans. They begin to understand what the Christmas story is all about.

The Herdman boys who played the three wise men arrive without the gifts they were supposed to bring. So one of the boys runs out and comes back carrying the ham that was donated to the poor family by the firemen. It was the most valuable thing they owned. They gave the gift to Jesus and would not even think of taking it back. Imogene (the tough cigar smoking young girl who plays Mary) is seen tenderly crying as she rocks baby Jesus. Each of them is changed when the discover the true meaning of Christmas.

In this story these children come to believe that Jesus was someone unique, sent from God. So must we. And when we see God for who he is, we cannot help but worship and give.

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King and Father

Read: Isaiah 9:6-7

When Isaiah spoke about government, he had in mind the person of a king. The king carried the burden of authority upon his shoulders as he ruled over a nation. Yet Isaiah used titles that we would not readily ascribe to kings. One of those titles was the Everlasting Father. What did he mean by it?

Another possible translation of the Everlasting Father is “a Father forever”. God is eternal but here Isaiah also says that God cares for his people constantly. What a beautiful and encouraging thought this is for us. Nothing can interrupt God’s love and care for us because the child was given for our salvation. Even those who are presently rejecting Jesus Christ, they can enjoy the love of God if they repent, change their minds and receive the gift of the Everlasting Father in his Son Jesus Christ.

The rule of the King is just and righteous. The law is given and upheld. No unrighteousness is over-looked. The life of Jesus Christ was the foretaste and the assurance of such reign. Jesus was loving and righteous at the same time. He enforced righteousness and offered love throughout his life here on earth. And he will do the same throughout eternity.

Remember then that Advent is not just about a glorious past event. The Everlasting Father has control over the present and the future filled with his loving care based on the justice of a holy God.

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Would You Like to Hold Him?

christmas_shepherds.jpgIt doesn’t say it in the Bible, but can’t you picture those dirty shepherds, smelling like sheep coming to the manger that night to adore and worship with child. Then Mary says, “Would you like to hold him?” They say, “No that is okay, we are not really cleaned up.”

To that Mary says, “You yourself said ‘He is the Savior born to you, who is Christ the Lord,’ draw him close to your heart, touch him. He has come for you.”

No wonder they returned, glorifying and praising God, for the God that was far away, came to touch them, to dwell with them. You see, shepherds at the time of Jesus were scorned as shiftless, dishonest people who grazed their flocks on others’ lands. These were the outcasts, and God came to them to tell them of his coming.

While we don’t know for certain how the shepherds looked or smelled when they came to Christ, we do know that the announcement wasn’t made to the rich and famous, but to the poor and lowly. There’s a place for everyone at the foot of Christ. Gather around the manger. Smell the hay. Don’t worry about getting cleaned up. That’s why he came. You can’t get cleaned up. Just come as you are. Come let us adore him. Christ came so that your sins, your life, might be cleaned as white as snow. Come. Let us worship him!

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Ordinary

christmas_shepherds2.jpgRead Luke 2:8-14 from your Bible

A weary day in the fields, the shepherds are watching their flocks. It is an ordinary day, probably no different than any other. The shepherds are hot, dirty, sweaty, and smelling of sheep. Many, not able to get a jobs anywhere else, had resorted to being shepherds.

But to these lowly Shepherds God sent his most magnificent angels to announce, “Christ will be born to YOU! He is to be born in a stable, clothed in rags and lying in a feed trough.” He knows what it is to be lowly. He has humbled himself so that all men might be raised to join the Heavenly Father in His Glory! He would be visited by the wealthy magi, as well as, the humble shepherds. High and low, weak and strong, rich and poor, male and female, servant and master, everyone is invited to meet the Prince of Peace.

Christ has always brought joy to the ordinary, peace to the weary, and hope to the lowly! Everyone is invited to receive his blessing. It does not matter who you are, or what kind of work you do, Christ was born to YOU!

Christ does not love us for our position, for our money, or for our connections. Christ loves us because of who He is! He loves us not because of anything we have done, but because of what he has done. He was born to die for the sins of all men that we all might have the opportunity to be saved!

Thank God for his glorious gift that brings peace and joy to every ordinary person on any ordinary day!

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Little Town of Bethlehem

christmas_star.jpgRead Micah 5:2,4-5

The wisemen followed the star to Bethlehem. In Joshua 15, the cities of the land were divided among the tribes of Israel. Bethlehem, however, was too small and insignificant to be mentioned. Although it was “too little to be among the clans,” God selected it to hold the honor of being the birthplace of the Messiah.

God demonstrates his use of the weak and foolish to be the source of his mightiest works. Great things do come in small packages. Just as Bethlehem was considered insignificant, so perhaps did the people consider the infant Jesus as an unlikely candidate for the Messiah.

Yet, within the being of the gentle baby Jesus, resided the glory and majesty of the great Triune God. The Word of God, in communion with the Father and the Spirit in eternity past, did not burst forth into history with great fanfare, but amidst the sounds of common animals in their stalls.

Thus, when Satan and his minions seek to trample and invade our lives, we have only to remember that in the darkest night, there is a bright star, indeed the Morning Star, who pierces the darkness to say that “in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

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Make Room For Jesus

Edwin Markham tells a story about a cobbler who loved the Lord. One night he dreamed that Christ would come into his shop on Christmas Day. He got excited about the visit and began to make his shop presentable. He decorated the walls, swept the floor and placed a chair for the welcomed visitor. He could hardly sleep in expectation of the morning of Christmas Day. He opened up the shop early and then waited.

First, a poor beggar came in. The cobbler noticed that the poor man had shoes with holes in them, so he gave him a pair of shoes he hoped to sell to someone who needed a Christmas gift. But he felt good about helping the beggar.

Then at noon someone rang the bell. An old woman stood there barely having strength to open the door. The cobbler recognized she was hungry so he shared his lunch with her. She felt much better, thanked him and was on her way.

By this time the cobbler was wondering when Jesus would come. Before long a crying child came and stood in front of the window of the shop. The cobbler wanted to find out what was wrong and invited the little fellow in. The child was homeless, lonely and desperate. The cobbler knew he could take the child home and provide a nice Christmas evening for him. But he wanted to wait for Jesus to come. A doubtful thought crept into his mind: “Is Jesus really coming today?”

It was dark outside and the food was ready at home. So the cobbler walked home with the boy. After introducing the child to his wife, the cobbler went into his room and complained to God: “Why is it Lord that your feet delay? Have you forgotten?” Jesus answered his question: “Lift up your heart for I kept my word. Three times I came to your door, as beggar, a woman and a child. I was pleased to know you had room for me.”

We will please the Lord, when we make room for him by loving others. Make room for the Prince of Peace!


MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.

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Mighty God

christmas_hemlock1.jpgRead: Psalm 17:6-8

From the poetry of David we have a rich heritage that leads us to some of the most effective ways to worship God.
The striking truth found in the life of David and particularly in this psalm is not that David was simply a powerful or righteous man; the striking truth is that a man so powerful and so righteous needed a Savior. David cries out to God, “Show me the wonder of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes.” David, a man of power and righteousness, needed a Savior. So it is with all men. For if the mighty need a Savior, how much more those of us who are only average or even weak.

While constantly being pursued by his enemies David learned a very important lesson. The issue is not the ability or the inability of a man to save himself. The issue is the enormity of the predicament that he is in. No man can hope to win a battle in which the odds are stacked against him. His only hope is in God. In such a situation it is God alone who saves.

And the same is true for each of us. The issue is not our ability or inability to save ourselves but the enormity of the predicament that we face. Thanks be to God that our predicament has been matched by one who would be called “Mighty God” and He is Jesus Christ our Savior. All men, no matter how powerful and righteous, need a Savior, and all men, no matter how weak and wicked have a Savior. Take a few moments to thank Jesus Christ, the Mighty God for what He’s done for you.


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Mary’s Song

Read out loud Luke 1:46-55.

Mary certainly knew the scriptures.
By any count, in this short hymn of praise to her Lord, Mary quotes from at least eight Old Testament passages, and alludes to about a half-dozen others. In addition, Mary’s heartfelt expression reflects the attitude of several other scriptures. You might say Mary’s song is virtually saturated in scripture. Yes, Mary certainly knew the scriptures.

But who was she saying these scriptures to?
Who were you speaking to as you read these verses? It is important to reflect not only on Mary’s knowledge of scripture, but on her knowledge of the Lord. “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.” You can’t help but be struck by the impression as you read these verses that Mary was speaking directly to and personally with “the Mighty One” who had done great things for her.

A. W. Tozer warned, “Scientists have lost God amid the wonders of his world; Christians are in danger of losing God amid the wonders of His word.”

Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord, and my soul rejoices in God my Savior.”
May all our spirits soar so freely this Christmas!
Praise God, the Mighty One of Israel!


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A Great Light

christmascandle.jpgA young man once dreamed that he held an unlit candle in his hand. Nearby, Jesus stood by peacefully with a candelbra. The young man moved forward and Jesus lit the candle with his own. As the young man moved off into the darkness, eager to share his new light, his own breath blew out the flame. The young man turned back to see Jesus standing there, still peacefully holding the light. He returned hesitantly and held out his candle a second time. Christ gently and lovingly lit the candle again. As he moved away a second time, his breath again blew out the flame. Once more he looked back, expecting some reproach, but none came. The Master gently relit the extinguished candle. Once more the young man started out. The pattern was repeated, but the young man noticed something he had missed before. Each time he had gone farther before he lost his flame. With a lighter heart he returned once more to the Source, and again started out into the darkness.

At Christmas, it’s so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle that it’s anything but peaceful, and the glow of Christ is easily extinguished. In the hurried moments we also forget that Christ, on a silent night, brought light into a darkened world. It is in sharing the light of Christ with others that Christmas truly shines. Take a moment away from all the hurry associated with Christmas and relight your candle by going to the Source! Let Christ shine through you and guide others to Him as His star guided the wisemen so long ago!

Scripture
Matthew 2:1-12; Isaiah 9:2

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Remembering Well

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday among all holidays. It’s special to me because it’s when I look back, reflect on the past year and give thanks. Also because it’s a time when God reminds me of my burning bush experience. Every year, I use Thanksgiving as a point in my spiritual journey to (a) re-define (b) re-align (c) rejuvenate myself in Christ.

Our memory is like a hard drive in a computer, events, experiences etc get logged into it. This year, God’s been asking me if the past year’s experiences are logged well or poorly. I don’t know about you but it’s harder to forget the bad things that happen to you. Somehow it gets replayed like a movie over and over. But God wants us to have those events that have wounded us to be logged into our memories without us feeling hurt.

The form of how it has been logged into our memory bank is important. As I sat to remember the past year to put down a thanksgiving list, He identified 3 things for me to recognize and practice so that my default system of remembering poorly will be transformed into – Remembering WELL.

Not Alone
When Christ died and rose again, He left us a helper so that we don’t need to walk on our own. ‘I will talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can’t take him in because it doesn’t have eyes to see him, doesn’t know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you!’ John 14v16-17 (The Message)

We have the Holy Spirit! HIS ministry – to help us to remember well. Our experiences in life need to run by the Holy Spirit just like water gets filtered by a filtering system. When we do that, it gets logged into our memory bank correctly.

It doesn’t mean that we forget what has happened. It just means that we remember those events in a way that doesn’t hurt us.

Practice, Practice, Practice
Now I know why Paul says that we need to bring our thoughts into captive. ‘We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.’ 2 Corinthians 10v5 (NIV).
It’s not enough to say Holy Spirit come filter my thoughts. We have to make that pre-decision to literally bring our thoughts into captive. It’s not a one time thing, it’s something we have to do daily.

So if we don’t dwell on the things that hurt us, what do we dwell on? ‘Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me, put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.’ Philippians 4v8-9 (NIV).

When we keep practicing, we get better and better at something. After a while, it becomes part of us.

Remembering the Cross
Jesus knew we’d forget, so He instituted communion and guess what He said… yep, ‘Do this in remembrance of me.’

When we bring the events of our lives that may have caused us hurt to the cross, we’re not saying that God is going to erase our memory of that ever happening. Nope, it means that we are allowing the Holy Spirit to wash it with the blood of Christ and then log it into our memory bank. So that when we bring it to remembrance, we no longer feel the hurt.

Christ has set the example for us when He was crucified. He chose to not hate those who crucified Him, instead He forgave and loved them. We won’t be saved by grace if He didn’t.

Likewise, I pray that you will look back upon the past year and say ‘God I’m going remember the good and the bad in my life well. I’m going to surrender the bad events in my life to you so that you can wash it with your blood and return it to my memory bank for it to be lodged well. ‘

Happy Thanksgiving!
Charissa Ee


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Christ’s Banquet Table

turkey6.jpgImagine that you have been invited to Thanksgiving dinner at the home of the richest man in the world. You pull up a chair at a table two football fields long that’s piled high with so much turkey, dressing, potatoes, bread, carrot cake, pumpkin pie, mixed vegetables, milk, and anything else you can think of that the table is about to break under the load. Your host tells you to take your fill of anything you see.

Thank you very much,’ you say. ‘Might I please have half a cranberry?’

Your astonished friend nearly chokes on a candied yam and replies,
‘Please have all you would like. That’s why I invited you! You’re hungry, and here is everything you need to get full.’

‘Thank you so very much,’ you say. ‘Perhaps I will have a sip of water.’

Ridiculous, we say. Who would ever act like that? If it were us, we’d gobble up so much food they’d have to use a bulldozer to move us out.

Why is it, then, that when it comes to getting full spiritually, we settle for a half a cranberry?

Paul doesn’t want that for us, and in this passage he reminds us that in Christ we have all we need to be all that God wants us to be.

Not infrequently you’ll come across people who say either in word or deed that their lives are impoverished. Sometimes, remarkably, you’ll find a believer who for some reason is looking for something else.
He is not satisfied. She is not filled full.

Remember: The extent to which you need something else to fill you full is the extent to which you find Christ deficient. If you find Christ deficient, then you have found something in contradiction of Scripture, which says that in Christ all the fullness of Deity resides in bodily form.

We’ve got to decide, Is it true that in Christ we have all that we need?

You’ll find in the church today many people propagating all kinds of things that believers ‘need.’ Not infrequently these things that Christians ‘need’ have exceedingly tenuous connections to Christ, ‘in whom all
fullness dwells.’ As soon as someone tells you that you need this, that, and the other thing, ask yourself, Is this in any way diverting my attention from Christ? Is there any sense in which this is perverting the gospel of Christ, which tells me all fullness is in him? If I get into this
particular thing, will it in any way subvert the authority of Christ in my life?

Beware! Scripture declares that in Christ is all fullness, and if you are related to him, you have been given all fullness. We don’t need something super-added, extra-plus to Christ. What we need is to daily
discover all that we already have in him.

How much have you eaten off of Christ’s banquet table? How full are you?”

Source: Stuart Briscoe- “Secrets of Spiritual Stamina”

 

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Autumn Season of Life

leaves-red-yellow.jpgAt the root of God’s agenda is this promise. Think of it as a guarantee. The One who started ‘the good work within you’ won’t leave the task unfinished. At the end of the course, God won’t get an ‘incomplete.’ For sure, He won’t fail! Remember, it takes four seasons to make a year.

The autumn season of your life may be uncomfortable. Unemployment might be your lot. Or a broken romance. Perhaps you are grieving over a recent loss. Maybe you’re lonely. Or hungry. Or cold. You feel anxious about those ugly clouds on the horizon that indicate an ominous tomorrow. The winds of adversity are picking up and you feel afraid…

‘The roots grow deep when the winds are strong.’ If autumn, the season of reflection, has come, expect your roots to deepen. Count on it. Yet, be assured of this, the Lord God specializes in roots. He plans to deepen you and strengthen you. But He won’t overdo it. He is sovereignly and compassionately at work. We are more impressed with fruit. Not God–He’s watching over the roots. We like the product, He emphasizes the process. And painful though it may be, ‘He who… began…will keep right on…until His work…is finished.’

So we can boldly declare, ‘Come wind, come weather, welcome autumn!’

Source: Charles R. Swindoll
“Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life”


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Tested by Fire

“Our concept of God in crisis situations will determine our committment…If we can begin to see God as one who expects us to do right regardless of the consequences, we won’t waver; God many times *will* bring healing and deliverance and power and anointing to our lives, but that’s just the icing on the cake. Our concept of God makes a great difference.

“What resulted from the commitment of Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abed-nego?

‘Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with wrath…He answered by giving orders to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. And he commanded some valiant warriors who were in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, in order to cast them into the furnace of blazing fire. Then these men were tied up in their trousers, their coats, their caps and their other clothes, and were cast into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. For this reason, because the king’s command was urgent and the furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of fire slew those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. But these three men, Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell into midst of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up. (Dan. 3:19-23)’

“The first result of our commitment is that we will be tried.
Bank on it: when we stand up for God, we will be tested.

“The second result of our commitment is that God will be glorified.

“Nebuchadnezzar looked into the fiery furnace and asked, ‘Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?’ For he saw in the furnace four men ‘loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!’…Their hair wasn’t singed, their trousers weren’t damaged, and they didn’t even smell like fire…Nebuchadnezzar said, ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who has sent his angel and delivered His servants who put their trust in Him…”

Source: John C. Maxwell-“Be All You Can Be!”


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Chicken Eggs

egg.jpgGrowing up, we lived in the country and my family had quite a collection of animals. We had turkeys, geese, ducks, chickens, and rabbits. I was given the daily responsibility of feeding them and collecting the eggs which the birds unselfishly contributed to our family.

We had chickens which laid brown eggs, green eggs, blue eggs and white eggs. Turkey eggs were a bit larger and were white with brown speckles. Duck eggs were even larger. The largest eggs were by far the goose eggs.

Every morning we would check their nests and while we were doing so there were always a few that would sing out. On some days we would have lots of eggs and on others all the birds seemed to go on strike.
Some of the eggs were VERY small. There were times when I felt like getting a goose egg and showing it to the chickens and saying, “Now take a good look at this and try harder.” But even if I had, it wouldn’t have made much difference.

Each type of bird laid a characteristic egg and no amount of encouragement would make them lay a different egg.

As Christians, you might also say we each have our own eggs. We also have our own characteristic contributions to the family of God:

Some people are easily eggcitable. Others tend toward eggsaggeration. Some are eggstroverted. Some are gifted in eggsplanations of God’s word while others have a gift of eggsaltation. Some set great eggsamples. Some seem eggsellent at almost everything they do. Some are gifted with eggcitement, or eggsortation, or eggsperience in many different areas. Some cover the eggspenses of ministry. And like at home, there are a few who sing out as well… most often to the music of “Lord I Eggstol you.”

Of course there are always a few rotten eggs. Those who have unrealistic eggspectations, eggsclude others, and eggsploit people. There are those who are always making eggcuses and always focusing on eggsternal things.

Jesus said you can tell a tree by its fruit. But you can also tell a bird by its eggs.

Just remember you don’t have to be an eggspert to eggsercise your gifts in the church.

© Ken Sapp
This entry is protected by copyright laws, and may not be reproduced, republished, distributed, transmitted, displayed, broadcast or otherwise exploited in any manner without the express prior written permission of Ken Sapp


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To Infinity & Beyond

Buzz-Lightyear.jpgHebrews 10v23-25 (The Message) Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.

When I was thinking of a verse to put on my cell group web page, Hebrews 10v23-25 came to mind. I chose the version from The Message, because of one phrase “Let us see how inventive..”

Observation – We’re not just called to encourage each other but we are suppose to be INVENTIVE. What a task!

Inventive derives from the verb invent and if you go check your dictionaries, it will tell you that to invent it means “create or design something that has not existed before”.

This means we need to be on our toes to think of new and original ways to encourage, love and help each other. It doesn’t stop there. This version says “Let’s see HOW inventive we can be…”. If I didn’t read this wrongly, it sounds like a challenge. And it is a challenge, when you are trying to invent something.

When I think of inventions, I think Albert Einstein. Simply because he’s really one of the greatest inventors of our modern day age. Not only that but because I suck at physics. Big time. Never could understand E=MC2 for the life of me.

In my sophomore year of college, I had to take a basic course of physics to fulfill my science requirements. My physics professor, Dr. Swatarie who has great brains and a wealth of experience having worked in NASA told us on the first day of class that teaching physics to non-science students was something he saw as a challenge for him. He shared that it was his aspiration was to re-invent us to become science people. Basic courses were always taken by students like myself who had zero or little knowledge about an area of study.

This he did, class on a nice day was never indoors. It was on the lawn and he always brought his kitchen tools or toys to illustrate. Not only that, on occasions that he heard me lamenting how bad of a physics student I was, he would gently rebuked me. Following his remarks, he would pass me a quote from a famous person the next time he saw me during class. Those pieces of post it pads of quotations still serve as a reminder to me whenever I feel like giving up.

At the end of that semester, the physics-cally challenged me not only passed the class but got a B+ for it. I wasn’t the only one, Prof. Swatarie successfully transformed his class of non-scientists to see how physics worked in our everyday lives.

We can learn two lessons from Professor Swatarie. He was inventive and he spurred the class on.

We should not just think of creative or original ways of encouraging one another. But we need to spur one another. Spur is a device with a small spike that a horse rider will use to urge a horse to move forward.

If you have ridden a horse before you know that to get it giddy-up, you’ll need to use both your legs and hit it hard against its rumps. It doesn’t hurt the horse but it does give the animal the idea that you want to move forward and how fast.

We are the same. We need someone to come along side us and hit us against our rumps so that we will keep moving forward.

Inventors push life to the limits. Prof. Swatarie did that. He pushed us to believe that impossibility and possibility is relative to how we see ourselves.

Christ isn’t just asking us push our own limits but also those around us. I’m going to borrow from Buzz Lightyear, “To Infinity and Beyond”, guys.


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The Incredibles

incredibleedna.jpg “So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work, Frodo, than the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the ring. In which case you also were meant to have it, and that is an encouraging thought.” – Gandalf, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, 2001

My church is in the thick of a series – Gifts from God. Last Friday, our small-group leader asked us if we have discovered our gifts. This leads me to this week’s deep thought. When I think of Spiritual gifts, I think of Christmas. Every time I unwrap my Christmas presents, I get this thrill when I first discover what’s in each wrapper.

Same idea – we should be just the same about the gifts from God. Often, we spend too much time digesting Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12 that we end up not doing anything at all.

In Matthew 25v14-28, Jesus tells of a man going on a journey and decides to entrust his possessions to his slaves. So he calls them one by one and gives each of them a portion of his estate according to their abilities. (Matthew 25v15)

Just Do It – One of the best tag lines in advertising is probably Nike’s – Just Do It. When I think of Spiritual gifts I’d say just do it. Get involved. We don’t know how good or bad we are at something until we do it.

We often end up like the servant in verse 18 because we spend too much time trying to find “our calling”, “a ministry that suits us”, “our Spiritual gift” and the list goes on. What does the master say to this servant? He reprimands him and takes whatever the servant has been given and gives it to the another! What we don’t realize is that God has already entrusted us with something, it doesn’t matter what we do, we just need to do something about it.

I find this quite contrasting since he (the master) doesn’t comment on the results of the first two. He praised their efforts. From this we can conclude that all God is requiring from us is just do it.
When we are just doing it, there are times we’re going to also realize that things are not working out as planned. I like to suggest that for us to do the long haul, we need to establish three areas in our lives to sustain us while we exercise our gifts. They are Faith, God-Confidence and Pre-Decision.

“Dash” of Faith – One of my favorite movies is “The Incredibles”. I love it so much because the characters in the story reflect so much of us.

Dash couldn’t wait to use his super power. He ran into a couple of fixes but he never quite thinks that second thought. He just did it. We need that Dash of faith that Jesus speaks of in Matthew 19v13-14. Jesus says that the kingdom of God is made of children. I think God wants us to be like that, totally trusting Him, putting our faith completely in Him.

God-Confidence – There’s another character in the movie that I love so much because she knows who she is and no one messes with her – Edna Mode.

I love it when Edna says “Supermodels! Heh! Nothing super about them…. I used to design for *gods*!” We need Edna’s attitude. She was so sure of her gift and who it served. Likewise, our confidence must be like that – our gifts serve a purpose – God!

Edna is not a super but she was so proud of her role – designing super suits. When we find out what we are good at, be proud of those things. They are God-given! They are meant to serve a super plan – God’s purpose.

Hobbit’s Decision – My last illustration comes from a hobbit by the name of Frodo. If you have seen The Lord of the Rings, you’ll know that Frodo wished the ring was never found by him.

Sometimes we are like Frodo, we wished we weren’t given a task. I like the advise Gandalf (Frodo’s mentor) gave him. It is up to us to decide what to do with the time that is given to us.

This brings me back to Matthew 25v14-28. God doesn’t ask us for anything us except our decision to do something with what He has given us. Imagine what God can achieve if we just make that small decision.

I chose these three characters because they were all small in stature. Yet, each of them did BIG things. We may be small in our faith but if we had the Dash’s faith, Edna’s confidence and heed Gandalf’s advice, imagine what God can do through us.

We don’t serve just any god. We serve a God who’s a Super. If that being the case, aren’t we children of a Super? So which super are we?


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Little Tree

sprout.jpg

Many years ago there was a Catholic monk who needed olive oil, so he planted an olive tree sapling. After he finished planting it, he prayed, “Lord, my tree needs rain so it’s tender roots may drink and grow. Send gentle showers.” And the Lord sent gentle showers. Then the monk prayed, “Lord, my tree needs sun. Please send it sun.” And the sun shone gilding the once dripping clouds. “Now send frost dear Lord to strengthen it’s branches,” cried the monk. And soon the little tree was covered in sparkling frost, but by that evening it had died.

Then the monk sought out a brother monk in his cell and told him of the strange experience. After hearing the story, the other monk said, “I too have planted a little tree. See how it is thriving! But I entrust my tree to it’s God. He who made it knows better than a man like me what it needs. I gave God no constraints or conditions, except to pray, “Lord, send what it needs – be it sunshine, wind, rain or frost. You made it and You know what it needs.”

Let us not pray for what we want, but let us pray for what God wants for us. And remember that we are to come to Him as a child and that God answers all prayers, but sometimes the answer is “No” because He knows better what we need!

See how the lilies of the field grow. (Matt 6:28)


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Magician and the Parrot

parrot.jpg

There was this magician of some repute who was hired to do his act aboard a cruise ship. He had been there for several years and since the crowd was in continual change he did the same act over and over.

One day the Captain bought a parrot and over the months brought the parrot with him to see the nightly magic show.

Being a smart parrot the bird learned all the tricks as to where the cards, flower, etc were hidden by the magician in his act. Because the bird would say, “the card is up his left sleeve, the flower is under the pot, he hid the money under his shoe, etc.” the magician was FORCED to continually learn new tricks which was getting harder and harder by the day.

To put it mildly he HATED THAT PARROT, but since it was the Captains he didn’t want to weigh the bird down and deep six it overboard.

Late one night the engine room exploded and the ship sank within minutes. Miraculously, the magician found himself clinging to a timber, floating in the water at 0200 dark in the morning. He was the only one left alive.

But to his chagrin, resting on his shoulder was the annoying Parrot.

They glared at each other and said nothing. This went on for three days and neither said a word, just glared.

On the Fourth Day the Parrot finally broke the silence and said, “OK! I give up – what did you do with the ship!”

Sometimes we look at God as a magician, with all kinds of tricks up His sleeve. We think we have come to completely understand Him. But Isaiah 55:8 says “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. So next time trouble comes your way… don’t blame God. It was Satan who afflicted Job, not God. But God allowed it so that Job might prove his mettle. It is through the fires of life that we are purified. If your ship is sinking, maybe God is allowing you an opportunity to rest on his shoulder.


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Lessons from an Ant

ant.jpg

One morning I wasted nearly an hour watching a tiny ant carry a huge feather across my back terrace. Several times it was confronted by obstacles in its path and after a momentary pause it would make the necessary detour.

At one point the ant had to negotiate a crack in the concrete about 10mm wide. After brief contemplation the ant laid the feather over the crack, walked across it and picked up the feather on the other side then continued on its way.

I was fascinated by the ingenuity of this ant, one of God’s smallest creatures. It served to reinforce the miracle of creation. Here was a minute insect, lacking in size yet equipped with a brain to reason, explore, discover and overcome. But this ant, like the two-legged co-residents of this planet, also shares human failings.

After some time the ant finally reached its destination – a flower bed at the end of the terrace and a small hole that was the entrance to its underground home. And it was here that the ant finally met its match.

How could that large feather possibly fit down that small hole? Of course it couldn’t. So the ant, after all this trouble and exercising great ingenuity, overcoming problems all along the way, just abandoned the feather and went home.

The ant had not thought the problem through before it began its epic journey and in the end the feather was nothing more than a burden.

Isn’t life like that! We worry about our family, we worry about money or the lack of it, we worry about work, about where we live, about all sorts of things. These are all burdens – the things we pick up along life’s path and lug them around the obstacles and over the crevasses that life will bring, only to find that at the destination they are useless and we can’t take them with us.

Yes, indeed there’s so much to learn from the ANT.
Proverbs 6:6-8.

-Author Unknown


MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.

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Light

A young lady working in a factory became frustrated with the immorality around her. She went to her pastor for counseling one day and began to tell him how difficult it was to work in a factory with so many non-Christians. “Pastor,” she said, “You Just don’t know how hard it is to go to work on Monday morning and hear all the stories about the partying that took place the weekend before.” Her pastor replied, “Where do you place lights?” the girl, barely hearing the question, rushed on saying, “And you can’t imagine how terrible it is to work with people who smoke and curse all day!” “Where do you place lights?” he questioned again. This time the girls hesitated with a puzzled look on her face and continued on. “Pastor, you couldn’t possibly know how hard it is to work with a bunch of men and women who come in after the weekend and talk about their sexual exploits and affairs.” Again the pastor challenged the girl, ‘Where do you put lights?”

The conversation continued on until the girl stopped in frustration and responded to the question. “Well, I don’t know where you place lights–in dark places I guess!” When the words had barely left her lips, it was as if a light had come on, for the girl understood the point her pastor was making. She was to be God’s light in the factory where she worked. She left her church that day with a vision in her heart for what she could do to reach her coworkers for the Lord. In the next several months she led several of them to the Lord.

If we are going to win our friends to Christ we are going to have to start sharing with more of them outside the four walls of the church. If we refuse to tell them about Jesus on their own ground, in the work place and in homes, many of them will never hear the good news of salvation.

Read Matthew 5:14-16; and I Peter 2:12.
* What common theme is there in these verses?
* How do these verses apply to daily life?
* Is your life a light on a hill? Do you live a life that causes others to glorify God?


MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.

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God is Good, All the Time

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life -your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life – and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God wants you to do it the best thing you can do for Him. Romans 12v1 (The Message)

Last Sunday, Pastor exalted us to rise up like Aaron and Hur who stepped up to serve (Exodus 17v12-13). I’ve been thinking about that a lot this week because this Saturday, I’m up to play the synth again. It’ll be my first time that I’ll be serving as a musician since I stepped down from the music ministry in January this year.

After service on Sunday, it brought to my memory Romans 12. I’ve been reading the NIV version so often that when I decided to check out another version – The Message, it impacted me so greatly that I had to do something about it. Now you know why I write.

Paul the great apostle in Romans puts a challenge to us to worship God beyond singing praises. He challenges us worship God through our life.

A Pre-Decision
In the second verse of Romans 12, Paul writes fix your attention on God. He didn’t write this because he thought it was good advise but it is a reminder from his last experience in Philippi.

In Acts 16, Paul and Silas were thrown in jail and severely beaten because they delivered a slave girl from her ability to tell the future. Her owner was so mad that he had them arrested and thrown into jail. The Bible records that Paul and Silas were singing a robust hymn to God. I’m just wowed because I don’t know if I could still sing robustly if I had been severely beaten and thrown into a cell that was probably dark, cold and smelly.

Have you wondered how these two men could do that?

Observation – Don’t wait for the direst circumstance to arrive in your life before you make a decision to worship God.

We have this saying “God is good, all the time.” I don’t think we can say that if we don’t make a commitment to worship God.

A Pre-Requisite
In Romans 12v1, it reads “Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” (NASB)

He’s made it so easy for us to worship Him because He included a pre-requisite. We can worship God and live our lives in HIS call because He’s pardoned us when He sent Christ to die for our sins on the cross.

So what does service got to do with worship? It has everything to do with worship. Even those who worship idols offer a sacrifice. Be it in paper money, food or by piercing themselves. The difference with us is that our sacrifice is no longer in animals but it is with our lives – the physical expression of what we are capable to do.

Often times, we don’t live up to God’s call for us because we spend too much time living it down. We forget that our faith is not based on key performance indexes (KPIs). We tend to live our Christian faith, most of the time, like we’re running on a performance treadmill. God doesn’t care about KPIs.

I could go on but I’m ending this week’s thought with a quote from a pastor because it says it all – “Don’t let what’s WRONG about you (or your circumstance) stop you from worshipping what’s RIGHT about God.”

And that is the reason why, my friends, we can enter God’s presence blameless anytime and every time declaring that “God is Good, All the TIME.”


MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.

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Firsts & Lasts, What Happened to the In Betweens?

Lyn.jpg

by Charissa Ee
Firsts & Lasts, What Happened to the In Betweens?

A couple of weeks ago, my best friend Audra posted a photo of her daughter Lyn in her first dress. I was oohhing and ahhhing because it was such a sweet photo. But it got me thinking a bit about the firsts in my life.

We celebrate all the firsts in our lives. First smile, first steps, first time on potty, first birthday, first words, first day at school, first boyfriend, first kiss, first job, first car, first credit card, first child, first, first, first.

That wasn’t the end, when I was watching the Emmys on re-telecast last night, they honored ALL the men and women who have passed on. This got me thinking again. We celebrate the first and the lasts of our lives. What happened to the in between?

We have this saying, it doesn’t matter how you get to your destination as long as you get there. Can I suggest to you differently? Maybe it does matter whether take the scenic road or the Autobahn. I think it didn’t make a difference in my grandparents’ day but I think it does now for us because we’re so obsessed in getting there first. Not only are we obsessed about getting to our destinations first but we want to be there in the fastest time possible.

The bible is full of stories of men and women who have taken the scenic routes of their lives. Most often, we think about the pain that comes with a detour. We don’t think of how beautiful it can be.

Getting to our destination is not God’s top priority. The process of getting us there is equally if not more important than our destination. That’s because when we go through the right processes, when we finally get to our destinations, we’ll be the person God has intended for us to be.

Just like a lump of clay that first has to be pounded and slapped around before it can be thrown onto the wheel. When it gets on the wheel, it is molded. After that it’s left to dry and then fired in a kiln. When the first round of firing is done, colours can be painted onto it. After which it is put back into into the kiln for another two times before we see the final product.

Often times we admire these works of ceramics but we have no idea what great pains it took an artist to create a beautiful work of ceramic with its intense colours. God is like an artist that creates us for a purpose. Most ceramics are molded into plates, vases, cups etc. They are of purpose and we enjoy the use of them. Likewise God creates us in the same manner and He enjoys using us for His pleasure.

I was recently reading up on Moses and now I’ve moved onto Nehemiah. Both had their days in their scenic routes of their lives. But I like Nehemiah’s attitude.

Nehemiah’s my man these days. He has an attitude worth imitating. From Nehemiah 2v2, we read that the King could tell that Nehemiah was visibly sad. It was SO obvious that he asked Nehemiah what he wanted.

I don’t think the King would have bothered if Nehemiah had been throwing temper tantrums or been a complainer during his years of service. He was the best cup bearer he could be. If there was such a thing in Nehemiah’s time as best service award, he would have gotten it.

We’re all currently in our in between years now. Can I suggest to you to live out your life like God depends on it?

When we live our lives with such an attitude – life’s the best, our scenic routes suddenly take a different turn. We stop to smell the roses, enjoy a nap under the oak tree and sink our feet into the first spring grass.

You know what, I’m so enjoying my scenic drive these days that I’m taking as many “snap shots” of my drive. Do that and you’ll be amazed at the roads Christ is taking you.

What a drive!


MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.

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Slow Leaks

basketball.jpgSo many of the sports we play today involve little round objects which we hit, kick, drive or dribble toward a goal. We have basketballs, golf balls, tennis balls, and soccer balls, just to name a few.

Many men my age prefer golf. With golf, the objective is to a hit a little ball into a little hole from half-way around the world. Personally I find golf more an exercize in frustration rather than enjoyable recreation.

I have a preference for basketball. With basketball you can take a much bigger ball, get as close as you want to the hole, and jam it down the hole if you have the vertical leap to do so.

While golf requires expensive club memberships, green fees and a heavy collection of golfclubs, all I need is a basketball and a short trip to the nearest basketball court – which happens to be free.

Unfortunately my basketball has developed a little bit of a problem. It doesn’t quite bounce like it once did. Instead of bouncing into action as it once did, it generally hits the ground with a dull thud. Without a forceful push from an outside force, it is perfectly content to just sit there. And even when pushed pushed, It seems tends to roll off the court and spend the day simply lying around.

You can’t tell by looking at it, but over time my basketball has gone flat. I can’t point to a specific point in time when it lost its bounce. I can’t find any teethmarks from the neighborhood dog or punctures from angry players. The real problem is that the basketball leaks!

Yet now that I have discovered the problem, the solution is quite simple. I take out my trusty air pump and give it a periodic refill.

Yet what is true of my basketball is also true of us as Christians. There was a time when we all had a spring in our step and bounced into action when a spiritual goal was placed before us. But something has changed. We probably can’t point to a specific event that took the air out of our Christianity, but our spiritual life is now flat. We have the same problem as my basketball– we leak! Mediocrity is rarely the result of a blowout, but more often the result of a slow leak.

So how do we get that bounce back in our step? How do we change that dull thud into high flying goals? Instead of rolling away from His heavenly court and sitting in spiritual stagnation, we draw near to God and let him fill us with his presence. “Be ye continually being filled.” (Eph 5:18b)

Get "Go for the Gold" Youth Bible Study Series
Go for the Gold

Need an evangelistic Youth Camp/ Bible Study Series with an Olympic Theme?

What is salvation all about? What does it mean to be saved? This sports themed Bible Study / Camp Curriculum uses the Olympic Flag to introduce the concepts of sin (black circle), forgiveness (red circle), purity (white background), spiritual growth (green circle), heaven (Yellow Circle) and (Baptism) blue circle.
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Destined to Win

Need a Youth Camp/ Bible Study Series on “Running the Christian Race”?

The race as a metaphor for the Christian life is used in several places in the Bible. This series is a great follow up for new Christians or to re-emphasize the basics of our spiritual Journey in the Faith. This Bible Study / Camp Curriculum has a sports theme and is great for athletes as well as a tie in to the youth Olympic Games.
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