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Kids Bible Blog: consequences
Who’s At the Controls?
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Romans 8:5-11
TO CHEW ON: The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. Romans 8:6
Most vehicles, machines and toys have controls. Can you match the object with its controls?
1. Car ____ 4. Bike ____
2. Computer ____ 5. Video Game ____
3. Canoe ____
The controls on most things are small. But the results of how those things are controlled are big. It’s the same way with our lives.
We determine who and what controls our lives in small ways. It's in the choices we make every day. We can make selfish choices and try to control our own lives. Or we can choose to let God the Holy Spirit control our lives. The consequences of both are huge....
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Tags: Saul/Paul Romans Holy Spirit God’s plan consequences choices
Tricked!
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Joshua 9:1-21
TO CHEW ON: "The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord." Joshua 9:14
Have you ever been tricked? Maybe you were tricked for a good thing, like having someone throw a surprise party for you. Or maybe it was for a bad thing, like falling when someone pulled a chair away. The Israelites had a trick played on them the day some raggedy strangers rode into camp.
“Who are you and what do you want?” Joshua asked them.
“We’re people from a far country,” they told him. “We’ve heard about how God has helped you and we’re scared of you. We want to sign a peace treaty with you.”
“How do I know that you’re not from close by?” Joshua asked.
“Here’s proof,” the men said. They showed Joshua dry, moldy bread, cracked wineskins, torn faded clothes and worn out sandals. “These things were all new when we started on this trip,” they told Joshua. “We’ve been traveling so long the bread got moldy, the wineskins cracked and our clothes wore out.”
The Israelites eat the Gibeonites bread - Artist unknown
Joshua and the people tried the bread. It was very old. They examined the wineskins and the clothes. They...
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The End of Nineveh
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Nahum 1:1-11
TO CHEW ON: "The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him, but with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh; he will pursue his foes into darkness." Nahum 1:7-8
Remember Nineveh, the city where Jonah went to preach? Though the people turned to God after hearing Jonah’s warnings, they were soon back to their idol worshiping, cruel and warring ways. God gave the prophet Nahum a message about Nineveh.
Nahum explained that God was patient and good. But there would come a time when He would act.
God had used Assyria (the country of which Nineveh was the capital) to discipline the people of Israel and Judah. But that didn’t mean God wouldn’t make them pay the consequences of their idol worship and cruelty. Nahum prophesied that the city of Nineveh and the nation of Assyria would be completely destroyed. And this is exactly what happened.
Illustration by Annie Vallotton from the Good News Bible © American Bible Society 1976, 1992
Today, Nineveh is only a mound called Tell Kuyunjik which means ‘the mound of many sheep.’
God hasn’t changed in His fairness. He still watches individual people and whole...
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Tags: prophecy Nahum judgment God’s timing God’s plan consequences
The Beginning of Solomon’s End
TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Kings 11:26-40
TO CHEW ON: "Then he said to Jeroboam, 'Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the Lord, the God if Israel, says: "See I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hands and give you ten tribes." ’ ” 1 Kings 11:31
Solomon ruled for many years. Though God had told him that the kingdom would be taken away from his family because they worshiped idols, everything went on as usual. Perhaps Solomon thought God had forgotten what He had said and wouldn’t do it after all.
After Solomon built the temple and his palace, he built many other things. One of his best workmen was Jeroboam. When Solomon saw how well Jeroboam did his job, he made him a boss over many people.
One day when Jeroboam was on his way home, he met Ahijah the prophet. When Ahijah saw Jeroboam he did a strange thing. He took off his new cloak and tore it into twelve pieces. “Take ten of these pieces for yourself,” he said to Jeroboam. “God told me to tell you, ‘I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and give you ten tribes. I’m doing this...
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The Money God
TODAY’S SPECIAL: I Timothy 6:6-10
TO CHEW ON: "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil." I Timothy 6:10a
How do you feel about money? Do you have any? How much? Do you earn money regularly? When you get it, what do you do with it? Spend it all? Save it all? Spend and save both?
It’s hard to imagine a world with no money in it. Getting money for a job we’ve done shows us our work is worthwhile. We use money to buy many things we need like food, clothes, a house, and a car. Money is not a bad thing.
But when we love money, when we feel we always need more and think being rich is the most important thing in the world, we are on a dangerous path. Very quickly money can become more important than God. It can become something we worship like a god.
PRAYER: Dear God, help me never to love money more than You. Help me to spend my money wisely and be content with what I have. Amen....
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Tags: worship Saul/Paul money consequences choices 1 Timothy
The Enemy
TODAY’S SPECIAL:2 Thessalonians 2:7-12
TO CHEW ON: And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. 2 Thessalonians 2:8
The Bible is a story of a fight. The fight is between light and darkness, love and hate, obedience and rebellion, good and evil, God and Satan. This fight began in the Garden of Eden when Satan, in the form of a snake, tempted Eve. He persuaded her to listen to him and eat fruit from the tree God had plainly forbidden. Sin (any act that defies God and sides with Satan) came into the world.
"The Fall" by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1907
Through history, God has done many things to fight Satan. He chose the Jews, gave them His laws, and commanded them to make sacrifices for sins. Then He sent His son Jesus, born of a Jewish mother, who became the final sacrifice for sin. Now we have the Holy Spirit who helps us resist Satan’s temptations and live for God.
The final showdown between God and Satan is still to come (although because Jesus rose from the dead, we know Satan’s power is...
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Tags: Saul/Paul Satan salvation love God’s plan death consequences 2 Thessalonians
Testing, testing
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Genesis 42:1-17
TO CHEW ON: “Joseph said to them, ‘It is just as I told you: You are spies! And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.’” (Genesis 42: 14,15)
Joseph was made a ruler in Egypt
The dream Joseph explained to Pharaoh came true. After seven years of good crops the rains stopped and crops were poor. Everyone was hungry. When the people came to Pharaoh for food, he sent them to Joseph.
Joseph had collected food in storehouses during the good years. Now he sold the storehouse food to the hungry people. Soon people from countries all around were coming to Joseph for food too.
One day ten foreign travelers came to Joseph. They looked familiar. Suddenly he knew why. They were his brothers! What thoughts do you think went through Joseph’s mind as he saw his brothers again after all those years?
Joseph’s brothers didn’t recognize him. And he didn’t tell them who he was. “Where are you from?” he asked them roughly. When they told him, he said, “You’re lying. You’re spies.”
“No!” they said. “We’re all sons of one father. Only our youngest...
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Steps Downward
TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Kings 11:1-11
TO CHEW ON: "Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command. So the Lord said to Solomon, 'Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates.'” 1 Kings 11:10,11
Solomon was known as the wisest man who ever lived. God came into the temple Solomon built. He talked to Solomon. He promised to make him wise and to keep his family the ruling family. But in order for that to happen, Solomon was to worship only God.
As Solomon’s power and fame grew, he began doing what many kings did and marrying many wives. He married over seven hundred princesses from other countries to help him get along with the nations around him. He married three hundred more women because they were beautiful and he liked them....
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Tags: worship Solomon sin consequences 1 Kings
Soap and Fire
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Malachi 3:1-5
TO CHEW ON: "But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? for he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." Malachi 3:2,3a
"Malachi" by J. James Tissot
Ezra’s revival soon cooled. The joy of being back in Jerusalem evaporated. Life was hard for the exiles. They didn’t get rich quickly, as some had thought they would. Many felt disappointed with God. Their disappointment showed in the way they no longer respected Him. Instead they lived to please themselves.
No longer did the Levites teach the truth. Men divorced their aging wives and married beautiful young foreign women to take their places. People lied, cheated workers out of wages and were mean to immigrants. That’s when the prophet Malachi came on the scene.
“God will return to His temple one day,” he said. “He will come suddenly and purify His people, like soap washes clothes clean or a searing fire burns impurities out of gold and silver.”...
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Tags: selfishness research repent Malachi God’s character consequences
Runaway
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Jonah 1:1-15
TO CHEW ON: "But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord." Jonah 1:3
Have you ever been asked to do a job you really didn’t want to do?Did you a] do it anyway or b] try to avoid it. If you tried to avoid it - how?
Jonah was an avoider. One day God gave him a job. “Go to the city of Nineveh and preach against its wickedness.”
But Jonah didn’t want to. Instead, he went the opposite direction. In the city of Joppa he bought a ticket and set sail for Joppa.Illustration by Annie Vallotton from the Good News Bible
Soon a violent storm came up. The wind and waves tossed the boat so fiercely the sailors were sure they would all sink. They threw baggage into the sea and prayed to their gods to stop the storm.
All the while, Jonah was sleeping. The captain found him. “Get up. Pray to your God,” he said.
But still the storm raged. Finally the sailors decided to find out...
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Tags: weather Judah Jonah God’s presence disobedience consequences
Repent = Change Direction
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Joel 2:12-19
TO CHEW ON: "Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity." Joel 2:13
Suppose you did something bad like got mad at your little sister and hurt her. Now you feel really sorry. You wish you hadn’t hurt her and you’re also worried that you might get punished.
1. What thing from the list below will convince your parents you really are sorry and won’t do it again:a] you cryb] you apologize to your sisterc] you promise to never hurt your sister againd] from now on treat your sister with kindness.
Though crying, apologizing and making promises might convince your parents you’re sorry, they’ll know you’re really sorry by watching how your actions have changed.
When the people of Judah stopped following God and again worshiped idols, they were like a kid who had done something wrong. Prophet Joel told them God was going to punish them by sending locusts and drought. But there was still a way to avoid this punishment. It was by coming back to God and showing Him they were truly sorry and...
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Tags: repent judgment Judah Joel God’s character consequences
Prophets and Plagues
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Joel 1:1-4 and 10-14
TO CHEW ON: The fields are ruined, the ground is dried up; the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, the oil fails. Joel 1:10
Which people do we go to, to find out what might happen in the future
weathermen scientists prophets
I’m sure you’d agree that in our time we may go to weathermen and scientists, but we don’t often go to prophets. Even in Bible times people sometimes made fun of what prophets predicted. Yet God chose to speak through these ordinary men who didn’t speak their own ideas but said what God told them to say.
Joel was such a prophet. He lived in Judah around the time Joash was crowned king. He had seen the way King Jehoram and Ahaziah and then Queen Athaliah had turned the people away from praying to God.
When Joash became king, Joel hoped that things would be different. And they were for a while. As long as Priest Jehoiada was alive Joash followed his advice and honored God. But after Jehoiada died, Joash stopped worshiping at the temple. He put up Asherah poles and soon the land was filled with idols again.
One day...
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Prison Prayers
TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Chronicles 33:7-13
TO CHEW ON: "And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God." 2 Chronicles 33:13
“The Assyrians are coming!” A messenger blurted the news to King Manasseh.
Manasseh called his priests and told them to pray to the gods, check the omens, and make sacrifices. But not to the God of heaven. For Manasseh, Hezekiah’s son and Judah’s king, was not like his dad. Instead of worshiping God, he rebuilt hilltop shrines where people went to pray to statues of Chemosh and Baal.
Illustration by Annie Vallotton from the Good News Bible © American Bible Society 1976, 1992
He sacrificed his own sons to idols, was deeply into witchcraft and even built idol altars in the temple. God had tried to talk to Manasseh and the people, but they refused to listen.
The sacrifices Manasseh made that day did no good. He was captured by the Assyrian generals, chained and taken to prison in Babylon. There, in a dungeon and all alone, he had time to think. He remembered the things his father...
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Tags: worship sin repent problems occult obedience Judah idols forgiveness consequences confession 2 Chronicles
Pride Before a Fall
TODAY’S SPECIAL:2 Chronicles 26:16-22
TO CHEW ON: "But after Uzziah became powerful his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense." 2 Chronicles 26:16
Back in Judah, years had gone by since King Joash’s reign had ended. Now sixteen-year-old Uzziah, Joash’s grandson, was king. Like his grandfather Joash, Uzziah was trained by a priest. Just like Joash he started out well. He strengthened the army, defeated his Philistine enemies, built cities, and gave lots of people good jobs on his farms and in his fields. Soon he was famous in the nations all around. Best of all, during this whole time he was careful to do what pleased God.
That is, until one day when his success went to his head. That day he decided there was nothing he couldn’t do. So he went into the temple, lit the incense in the portable burner called a censer, and was about to make a sacrifice on the altar when Azariah and a crowd of priests stopped him.
“What are you doing?” Azariah asked. “This isn’t right. Only priests are allowed to go into the temple...
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Tags: worship temple Judah God’s plan God’s holiness disobedience consequences 2 Chronicles
On the Run
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Exodus 2:11-15
TO CHEW ON: "The man said, 'Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?' Then Moses was afraid and thought, What I did must have become known." Exodus 2:14
Fast forward 40 years. Moses was all grown up. Though he was raised in the palace as a prince, deep inside he loved the Hebrew people – his people.
One day he saw an Egyptian slave master beating a fellow Hebrew. He looked around to make sure no one was watching.
Moses kills the Egyptian - Artist unknown
Then he drew his sword, killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand.
The next day he happened to be walking by when he saw two Hebrew men fighting. He tried to break up the fight. But one of them said to him, “Who made you our boss? Are you going to kill me like you killed the Egyptian yesterday?”
Now Moses knew the news of the murder was out! The palace was no longer a safe place for him. He ran for his life. And sure enough when Pharaoh heard of the killing, he ordered Moses killed.
Moses probably lived most of his life...
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Not Guilty
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Romans 3:19-28
TO CHEW ON: "But now God has shown us another way to heaven. It is not by 'being good enough' and trying to keep his laws.... Now God says he will accept us and declare us 'not guilty.' He will do this if we trust Jesus Christ to take away our sins. We all can be saved by coming to Christ." Acts 3:21a,22a - Simplified Living Bible
Suppose you stood before God today and He asked you, “Why should I let you into heaven?” What would you say?
- I tried my hardest to be good.- I did more good things than bad things.- I doesn’t matter what I believed because I was sincere.- My heart is clean because the wrong things that I’ve done (sins), were paid for by Jesus when He died on the cross.
I hope your answer was the last one.
One of the things Paul explained to the Roman Christians was what Jesus’ death means to everyone who believes in Him.
Before Jesus came, God gave the Jewish people rules about how they were to relate to God and treat each other (the Ten Commandments). And He told them what to do if they broke those rules...
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Tags: Saul/Paul salvation Romans God’s word God’s plan consequences Acts
No Favorites
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Numbers 20:1-13
TO CHEW ON: "But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 'Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.' ” Numbers 20:12
Now the Israelites kept traveling from place to place. While in the desert of Zin they ran out of water. As usual the people came to Moses to complain. “Why did you bring us here,” they whined. “There is no grain. There are no figs, grapes, and pomegranates. Now we have no water.”
When Moses and Aaron asked God what to do, God said to Moses, “Take your staff, gather the people and speak to that rock.”
So Moses did exactly as God had said – almost. He took his staff, gathered the people at the rock but then, instead of speaking to the rock, he hit it with his staff.
Water gushed out and the people stopped complaining and began drinking and filling up water jugs.
God had answered Moses’ prayer. But He was not pleased with Moses’ disobedience. Even though he was the leader God had chosen, and God had often talked to him like...
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Tags: water sin Numbers Moses miracles God’s holiness God’s character disobedience consequences
Is God a Nag?
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Isaiah 30:1-5
TO CHEW ON: “'Woe to the obstinate children,' declares the Lord, 'to those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit, heaping sin upon sin.'” Isaiah 30:1
What does it mean to nag (click on the verb 'nag') someone? Have you ever done this to someone else? Has anyone ever done this to you? Do you like being nagged?
The people in Judah may have felt that God was nagging them. Prophet after prophet came with messages from Him, telling them to change. In today’s reading Isaiah comes with another warning.
“You are like stubborn children,” he said to the leaders. “Again you are doing things on your own instead of asking for My (God’s) help. You are getting together with Egypt to make your army strong. But you are forgetting to talk to Me about it. As a result things won’t work out.”
God wanted the Israelites to be completely His. He wanted them to pray to Him in trouble. Instead the people had joined their army with the army of Egypt. They did this all on their own. Unscramble the words that tell the things that Isaiah predicts will come to...
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Impatient Saul
TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Samuel 13:7-14
TO CHEW ON: "He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter. So he said, 'Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.' And Saul offered up the burnt offering." 1 Samuel 13:8,9
One day after Saul had been king for a while, Saul’s son Jonathan attacked a Philistine outpost. This was like poking a stick into a wasp’s nest. Immediately the Philistines gathered their army and came against the Israelites to fight.
Saul’s army was only two thousand men. In a panic he sent trumpeters through the land to call back the rest of the army and anyone else able to fight. Then he and his men waited. They waited for more soldiers to come. They also waited for Samuel, the prophet and priest, to offer a sacrifice and ask for God’s help. Saul knew that it would be useless to go to war without that.
Meanwhile every day the Philistine army grew larger. It swelled to three thousand chariots, six thousand charioteers and thousands upon thousands of soldiers.
The men in Saul’s army watched and grew more terrified by the hour. Soon they lost...
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Tags: Saul Samuel memory verse impatience God’s timing disobedience consequences 1 Samuel
I’m Sorry
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Psalm 51:1-19
TO CHEW ON: "My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise." Psalm 51:17
After Nathan had talked to David, he felt terrible. Now he knew how seriously God took what he had done. It wasn’t just some little "mistake." It was sin – adultery, lying, murder. He felt guilty. He felt dirty. He felt sad. He felt afraid that God wouldn’t be his friend any more. He was very sorry.
David wrote his thoughts and feelings in Psalm 51.
1. Even though David had killed Uriah, whom had he sinned against the most? ____ (Psalm 51:4)...
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Tags: sin Psalms obedience disobedience David consequences confession
Hidden But Not Secret
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Joshua 7:10-25
TO CHEW ON: “Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions.” Joshua 7:11
Have you ever done something sneaky – stolen something, told a lie, or cheated on an exam? Achan did such a thing when he went into Jericho. He had heard Joshua’s command about what to do with the loot. But when he saw a beautiful robe, some silver coins, and a wedge of gold, he sneaked these things home, dug a hole inside his tent and hid them in the ground.
A few days later Joshua sent scouts to Ai, the next city. “It’s a small town,” the scouts reported when they got back. “We’ll only need part of the army to capture it.”
But the people of Ai chased the Israelites from their city, beat them and killed many soldiers.
Joshua and the people were stunned. Joshua fell on his face before God and asked, “Why didn’t you help us?”
“Get up!” God told him. “There’s sin in the camp. Someone has stolen and lied. You need to deal with...
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Tags: trickery sin memory verse Joshua disobedience consequences choices
Greedy Lying Gehazi
TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Kings 5:15-27
TO CHEW ON: “When he went in and stood before his master, Elisha asked him, 'Where have you been, Gehazi?''Your servant didn’t go anywhere,' Gehazi answered" - 2 Kings 5:25
Naaman offers gifts to Elisha
After he had left, Elisha’s servant Gehazi couldn’t get the thought of Naaman’s gifts out of his mind. My master was too easy on Naaman, he thought. But I’d sure like some of those things.
He ran after Naaman’s carriage, caught up to it and said, “My master has changed his mind. He has visitors and could use some of your gifts.”...
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Gold Frappuccino
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Exodus 32:7,8, 15-26
TO CHEW ON: "They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt'.... And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made." Exodus 32:8, 35
While the people were worshiping and celebrating around the idol, God told Moses, “It’s time for you to go down. The people are doing something bad.”
So Moses went down the mountain, carrying the tablets of stone on which God had written. But even God’s warning hadn’t prepared him for the sight that met his eyes when he got back to camp. There, in the middle of everything, was the gold calf idol. Around it the people were dancing, singing and celebrating.
Moses stormed into camp. He threw down the stone pieces he was carrying and they shattered.
"Moses Breaks the Tablets of Stone" from Treasures of the Bible (Moses)
Then he tore the calf idol off its stand and heaved it into a fire....
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Tags: sin puzzle Moses judgment idols Exodus disobedience consequences
God’s Lullabies
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Zephaniah 3:11-17
TO CHEW ON: "The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves.He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17
Again Judah was in a mess. When King Manasseh died, his idol-worshiping son Amon became king. Amon was king for just two years when officials murdered him and crowned his eight-year-old son Josiah to be king instead.
God gave another prophet named Zephaniah, messages for King Josiah. Most were not popular. “God’s judgment day is coming,” he said one day. “If Judah doesn’t return to God, it will be destroyed, just the like nations around it. Jerusalem will be destroyed too. Only a few people from it will be saved.”
Then Zephaniah ended his stern message with the beautiful picture of a God who can also be gentle. He is a God who loves and cares for those who stay true to Him.
Have you ever seen a mother or father quiet a crying baby? How do they do it?
In our reading today, God is that parent. He quiets His restless children with...
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God’s Graffiti
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Daniel 5:1-6
TO CHEW ON: "Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking" Daniel 5:5,6.
What is the most mysterious thing you have ever seen?
I’m sure that for King Belshazzar it was the night a body-less hand wrote on his wall.
The night started out as a fun party. To make it special, Belshazzar served wine in the gold goblets brought from the temple in Jerusalem. Everyone was having a great time eating, drinking, talking, laughing, and dancing when from nowhere a hand appeared. When Belshazzar saw it, he stared. How could this be? The longer he watched, the more scared he became. Whose hand was this? The words were in a language he couldn’t read. What did they say? What did they mean?
The queen mother saw how frightened he was. “I know who will be able to read this,” she said. Then she called for Daniel....
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Tags: miracles God’s help Daniel consequences
God’s All-seeing Eyes
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Acts 5:1-10
TO CHEW ON: "With his wife’s full knowledge, he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and laid it at the apostles’ feet." Acts 5:2
Some early Christians sold their property and gave the money from those sales to help others. Ananias and Sapphira decided to do this too. But instead of bringing the whole amount, they brought just a part and kept back some for themselves.
There was nothing wrong with this. But then Ananias did a sneaky thing. He gave the money to the leaders as if it were the entire amount. He tried to leave the impression that he was giving everything, even though he wasn’t. Later his wife Sapphira lied in the same way.
But God saw their deception. He told Peter, and Peter exposed their lie. That day Ananias fell down dead when Peter confronted him with what he had done.
"Death of Ananias" by Raphael
Later the same thing happened to Sapphira. It was God’s judgment on them for trying to deceive....
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Tags: truth temptation repent Peter lies God’s omniscience consequences Acts
Free at last
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Exodus 12:29-36
TO CHEW ON: "During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, 'Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested.' ” Exodus 12:31
Imagine that first Passover night. Your family did exactly what Moses said. Your dad killed the lamb and painted its blood on the doorframe. Your Mom roasted the lamb’s meat. Then your family ate it with herbs and flat bread. For this meal you were dressed and ready to leave at a moment’s notice. But you weren’t allowed outside because God had said to stay in until morning.
Pharaoh commands Moses to leave Egypt - by James Tissot
Just after midnight the wailing from the Egyptians began. It woke you as it got louder, spreading from house to house. Soon there was crying everywhere – from the poorest servant’s shack to Pharaoh’s palace. For in every Egyptian house, including Pharaoh’s palace, the firstborn son had died.
Pharaoh sent for Moses. “Take your flocks and your families,” he shouted. “Take everything and get out!”
As the sun rose on a new day, your family packed. You packed your clothes, your pets, your toys, your dishes, your beds. You gathered all your...
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Fire Test
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Daniel 3:1-18
TO CHEW ON: "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Daniel 3:17,18
One day an urgent message was sent to all the provinces of Babylon: “Come to the plain of Dura. Nebuchadnezzar is putting on a special celebration.”
Daniel’s three friends Shadrach, Meshech and Abednego joined the rest of the rulers. When they got to Dura they saw a huge golden statue as high as a six-story building. An announcer was telling everyone what to do: “When you hear the music, fall down and worship the statue. Whoever doesn’t will be burned in a furnace.”
Shadrach, Meshech and Abednego didn’t want to pray to anyone but God. Yet the price of disobeying was certain death. What should they do?
Soon the music started. Immediately everyone around them fell to their knees. But Shadrach, Meshech and Abednego stayed standing. Many people saw them. Soon someone came to them and said, “Nebuchadnezzar...
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Tags: prayer God’s presence God’s help drawing Daniel courage consequences
Dethroned
TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Samuel 15:17-26
TO CHEW ON: "Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams." 1 Samuel 15:22
Samuel came to Saul one day to give him a new job from God. He was to fight Israel’s old enemy, the Amalekites. After the battle was over, Samuel gave him plain instructions not to let any person or animal escape alive.
Saul’s army won easily. Then they did as Samuel told them and destroyed all the people. But they kept the best cattle and Saul saved the life of king Agag.
After the battle God talked to Samuel. “Saul hasn’t carried out my instructions,” He said.
So Samuel went to find Saul. When Saul saw him he was all smiles. “I did exactly what God told me to,” he said.
“Then what are the sounds of sheep and cattle I hear?” Samuel asked.
“The soldiers kept those,” Saul said. “They’re planning to sacrifice these animals to God. I destroyed all the people just like you told me to. I only kept Agag the king.”
But Samuel wasn’t fooled by the Saul's excuses. “God wants...
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Tags: Saul Samuel sacrifice rebellion disobedience consequences 1 Samuel
Defiant Daniel
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Daniel 6:12-23
TO CHEW ON: “ 'My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.' ” Daniel 6:22
“Bring them in!” commanded king Darius to his servant.
The Babylon rulers smirked as they entered and bowed before the king. “We’ve found someone who broke your new law,” they said. “We caught Daniel praying to his God.”
Darius was shocked. Not Daniel! He was his favorite servant. And then he understood. The other rulers were jealous of Daniel. They wanted him gone. They knew that he prayed to his God three times a day. So that was why they had come to the king and suggested he pass the new law. It said that for thirty days it was illegal to pray to anyone but the king. Punishment for disobeying was death by hungry lions.
All day King Darius tried to get Daniel freed. But he couldn’t. “May the God whom you serve rescue you,” he said to Daniel as servants tossed him into the lions' den....
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Tags: trickery persecution miracles God’s help Daniel courage consequences
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