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Kids Bible Blog: obedience
Yes Lord!
TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Kings 18:1-15
TO CHEW ON: "After a long time, in the third year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah: 'Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.' So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab." 1 Kings 18:1,2
Obadiah had a tough job and an evil boss. His job was to be in charge of the palace in Samaria, where Ahab and Jezebel ruled. What made this especially hard was the fact that Obadiah loved and obeyed God. His boss, Ahab, didn’t.
Because Obadiah loved God, he did a dangerous thing. When Queen Jezebel was killing all the prophets of God, he sneaked one hundred of them away and hid them so they were safe.
The last while had been hard for King Ahab. Three years passed from when Elijah came to him and said there would be no rain. By now the land was completely scorched, the grass yellow, the plants brown and shriveled. This day Ahab sent Obadiah out to look for any patches of grass left where animals could graze....
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Tags: obedience Israel God’s plan Elijah 1 Kings
Wise Child
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Luke 2: 39-52
TO CHEW ON: "And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom and the grace of God was on him." Luke 2:40
Jesus’ family spent a few years in Egypt. One night God told Joseph in a dream that it was now safe to go back home. So Joseph, Mary and Jesus traveled back to live in Nazareth where Joseph and Mary had lived before Jesus was born.
Every year, Jesus’ family went to the temple in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. The year Jesus was 12, his parents were already on their way home when they realized Jesus wasn’t with them or their friends. When they went back to Jerusalem, they found Him in the temple.
4. He was __________ (gnitlsnei) and 5. ___________ ( isgkan) questions. (Luke 2:46)
“Why did you look for me?” he asked his anxious parents. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” Of course, they didn’t understand that the Father He was talking about was God.
"Jesus Found in the Temple" (Standard Bible Story Readers Book One)
After this, though He knew He had a special job to do on earth, He went home and obeyed His earthly parents...
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When God Says “No”
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Matthew 26:36-46
TO CHEW ON: “'My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.'” - Jesus, Matthew 26:39
After Jesus and His disciples had eaten the Passover meal they went for a walk. They walked to a garden called Gethsemane. But it was not a relaxing, enjoyable time for Jesus. He knew what was ahead of Him.1. Choose the words that describe how He felt: (Matthew 26:37,38)
Happy Sorrowful Giddy
Troubled Relaxed Sleepy
Overwhelmed Angry
It’s easy to think of Jesus as someone who was so God-like that He wasn’t affected by sadness, dread or wanting His own way. But here, in this garden, we see Jesus praying, and begging His heavenly Father for something.2. What does He ask for? (Matthew 26:39) _________________________________.
Jesus praying in the Garden - Artist unknown...
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Tags: prayer obedience Matthew Jesus God’s plan Christ’s passion
When God says “Go”
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Acts 9:10-19
TO CHEW ON: "But the Lord said to Ananias, 'Go.'” Acts 9:15
Saul had a reputation. Followers of Jesus (Christians) knew him as someone who showed no mercy. Imagine Ananias’s (not the same Ananias as “Ananias and Sapphira”) surprise when God told him, in a vision, to go to Straight Street in Damascus and pray for Saul, his dangerous enemy.
At first Ananias argued, “God, You can’t mean that! Don’t you know who this man is?”
But God’s answer to Ananias was “Go.” For God knew what had happened to Saul three days before. He didn’t tell Ananias that it would be safe. He just asked Annanias to obey. So Annanias went.
"Saul and Ananias" by Benjamin West (1738-1820)
When he got to the house, Ananias didn’t meet the dangerous persecutor Saul he expected. Instead he met the blind and helpless baby Christian Saul.
Ananias put his hands on Saul’s shoulders. “Brother Saul,” he said, “the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit."
Immediately something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes. He could see again! He asked to be baptized, ate some food...
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What’s Faith?
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Hebrews 11:1-12
TO CHEW ON: "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1
Think about some of the ways you show faith every day.
If you jump from the third step, you have faith that you will land, not on the ceiling or against the wall, but on the floor.If you plug in an iron and turn it on, you don’t touch the bottom, because you have faith that it will be hot.If the light turns green in traffic, your mom drives through the intersection with faith that the people who would be coming across your path will have a red light and will stop.
In the same way that we have faith in invisible things like gravity, electricity, and people, God wants us to have faith in Him. In order to please God, what two things must we believe? (Hebrews 11:6):1.2.
If we have faith in God, we will show it by doing the things He tells us to. Hebrews 11 names some people who had faith. They proved it by what they did. Match each person with the faith act he did (check the references if you’re not sure):...
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Trapped!
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Exodus 14:1-14
TO CHEW ON: "Moses answered the people, 'Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.' ” Exodus 14:13,14
After a few days of traveling in the desert, the Israelites’ excitement at being free started to wear thin. Even though they were no longer slaves, walking for miles every day under the hot sun wasn’t exactly easy either.
But one thing this crowd of about two million people didn’t need to worry about was getting lost. From the beginning God showed them the way. In the day He led them with a cloud. In the night that cloud lit up as if filled with fire. Whenever the cloud moved, the Israelites moved. When it stopped, they camped.
Israelites leaving Egypt - Artist unknown
In a few days they found themselves camped in a dead end, between rocks, desert and the sea. But God had led them here, so it must be okay.
Meanwhile back in Egypt, Pharaoh couldn’t believe he let the Israelites go. What was he thinking? Such a huge...
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Tags: trust promises problems obedience Moses faith Exodus Egypt courage
Top Secret
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Esther 2:8-11
TO CHEW ON: "Esther had not revealed her nationality and family background, because Mordecai had forbidden her to do so." Esther 2:10
Why was that man looking at her, Esther wondered as she hurried home from the market. A few days later pounding at the door interrupted their meal. A servant of King Xerxes was there. “She has been chosen for the king,” he said to her cousin Mordecai.
Esther was a beautiful young Jewish girl whose grandparents had been taken to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. Because her parents had died when she was little, she had been raised by her kind cousin Mordecai.
Nebuchadnezzar was now dead and the Persian king Xerxes ruled from his palace in Susa. He had recently done away with his first wife Vashti. Now he was looking for a beautiful replacement to be his new queen....
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The Way Back
TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Chronicles 7:11-22
TO CHEW ON: "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14
After Solomon had finished the temple, he built a luxurious palace for himself. One night when both those projects were done, God appeared to him again.
“I heard your prayer and chose your temple,” He said. Then God gave Solomon some advice. “Keep my laws like David your father did. Worship only me. If you do this, kings will always come from your family.
“But if you turn away from me and start worshiping idols, bad things will happen.”
1. Pick out the three bad things God named in 2 Chronicles 7:20:
A. I will send Israel back to Egypt to be slaves.B. I will uproot Israel from my land.C. I will reject this temple.D. I will burn your palace.E. I will make this temple an object of ridicule....
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Tags: Solomon sin repent promises obedience dreams 2 Chronicles
Thank-you Glory Cloud
TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Chronicles 5:1-14
TO CHEW ON: "Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God." 2 Chronicles 5:13b,14
At last the temple was finished. It was time to move the gold furniture and ark into their places. It was time to begin worshiping God in the temple. Solomon had kept his promise to his father. He had made the temple exactly like his dad had said. Now he wondered, would God be pleased with what he had done?
Solomon announced a holiday festival to dedicate the temple. People came from all over the country to celebrate. Priests and Levites got themselves ready to move the furniture. On the big day crowds lined the street and watched as the Levites carried the ark and the gold altar, lamp stands, basins, and all the other furniture from the tent David had made, to the temple.
When they arrived at the temple, they placed the ark in the gold-lined Holy Place.
Then they put all the other furniture where it belonged. As the carrying Levites left the temple the musical Levites played...
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Tags: temple Solomon obedience God’s presence faith 2 Chronicles
Temple Cleaning
TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Chronicles 29:1-11
TO CHEW ON: "He brought in the priests and the Levites, assembled them in the square on the east side and said, 'Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the Lord, the God of your fathers. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary.'” 2 Chronicles 29:4,5
What are you most likely to do when your room gets messy?- clean it up- nothingWhen Hezekiah, Uzziah’s great-grandson became Judah’s king, one of the first things he did was a clean-up job, even though the mess wasn’t in his room and it was a mess he hadn’t made. In the first month of his reign King Hezekiah called together the priests and Levites and told them to clean up the temple.
The reasons for cleaning it up were more than that Hezekiah was a neat-freak. After thirty two years of being ruled by evil kings (his father Ahaz and his grandfather Jotham), Hezekiah knew there was a connection between worshiping God and having His blessing. He wanted God’s blessing more than anything. And so he told the priests and Levites to take everything that didn’t belong in the temple out so that they could again worship God...
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Tags: work temple project obedience Judah idols God’s word 2 Chronicles
Take That Step
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Joshua 3:1-17
TO CHEW ON: “Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap .... So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.” Joshua 3:15,16
Excitement filled the air. Today was the day! After living in the desert and in tents for forty years, walking miles in the heat, sleeping in the cold, eating only manna for as long as they could remember, the Israelites would enter Canaan, their new home.
People made manna sandwiches and filled up water skins. They packed their clothes and tools, rolled up their tents and got in line. The priests who carried the ark led the way.
But there was one HUGE – problem. In order to enter Canaan, they had to cross the Jordan River which was wide and fast-flowing. How would they do it?
“Tell the priests to keep walking toward the river,” God told Joshua.
When the priests were nearly at the water’s edge, God gave the next instruction. “Tell the priests to step in the river and stand there.”
So even though the river...
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Strange Strategy
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Joshua 6:1-5 & 20
TO CHEW ON: "Then the Lord said to Joshua, 'See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men.' " Joshua 6:2
The first city the Israelites faced after they crossed the Jordan River was Jericho. It had walls, an army and a king. The Israelites were not trained soldiers. They had no armor to protect them. Their weapons were simple. How could they ever defeat Jericho and make this city their own?
God gave Joshua a plan or strategy. His instructions are below, but they are all mixed up. Put them in the right order: (see Joshua 6:3-5)
1. The priests should blow a loud blast on the ram's horn and trumpet.
2. The people should march around the city once per day for six days.
3. The people should shout with a loud shout.
4. On the seventh day the people should march around the city seven times....
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Stealing From God
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Malachi 3:6-12
TO CHEW ON: “'You are under a curse – the whole nation of you – because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,' says the Lord Almighty, 'and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.'” Malachi 3:9,10
“You are robbing God!” Malachi’s words got the peoples’ attention. But how could he say that? They weren’t stealing from the temple.
“You are stealing from God by keeping the tithe for yourselves instead of giving it to Him,” Malachi explained.
A tithe is one tenth. Years earlier God had commanded the people to give one tenth of what they earned and grew (their harvest and their herds of animals) to God. They were to do this whether they were rich or poor and whether times were good or bad. Giving to God in this way showed that they trusted God to supply what they needed. It was also a way of saying thank you for all He had given them. And when they did this, miraculously they...
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Tags: trust prophecy obedience Malachi God’s care giving generosity
Special Assignment
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Luke 1:26-38
TO CHEW ON: "The angel went to her and said, 'Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.'” Luke 1:28
Has anyone ever told you that you’re special? Perhaps your teacher singled you out as the person who did a great job of the project. Maybe your parents were surprised at how thoroughly you cleaned your room. Your friends may say things like, “I love being with you, because you make me laugh.”
Imagine getting such a message from God! That’s what happened to Mary. He sent an angel to her. The angel told her she was highly favored. Then the angel told her about an assignment that God had just for her.
"The Annunciation" by James Tissot - 1886 - 1896
She would have a special baby. She was to name Him Jesus. He would be called the Son of the Most High because God would be the baby’s father. He would be a king of the family of David. He would reign forever.
Mary was puzzled. She wasn’t even married. “How will this happen?” she asked.
“God’s power will bring it about,” the angel told her.
"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as...
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Tags: obedience Luke Jesus God’s plan angels
Sin Germs
TODAY'S SPECIAL: Colossians 3:1-11
TO CHEW ON: Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Colossians 3:5
Our bodies are surrounded by invisible enemies. Tiny bacteria and viruses live all around us on places like toothbrushes, doorknobs and dishcloths. They are always trying to find places to grow and multiply, and our bodies are great for that. So they sneak into our mouths when we drink, fly into our noses when we breathe, enter through the injured skin of a cut or wound when we’re hurt.
While they’re trying to get in, we’re trying to keep them out. We use antibacterial soap, disinfectant and, when germs get in us and make us sick, antibiotics to make us well again....
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Tags: temptation sin Saul/Paul obedience confession Colossians choices
She Proposes to Him
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Ruth 3:1-18
TO CHEW ON: “'I will do whatever you say,' Ruth answered." Ruth 3:5
Boaz’s kindness to Ruth got Naomi thinking. Maybe Boaz would be willing to do even more for them. Naomi remembered that Boaz was a relative. He had the right to buy back the land she and her husband had sold when they left Bethlehem years earlier. But if he did that, he would also have to marry Ruth. Would Boaz want to do that? She would find out.
“Take a bath and put on your best clothes,” Naomi said to Ruth one night. “Then go to the threshing floor. When Boaz goes to sleep, lie near him and uncover his feet. When he wakes up, he’ll tell you what to do.”
Did Ruth understand that by doing this she was actually asking Boaz to marry her? Didn’t she know that the man usually asks the woman to marry him? What if he didn’t want to marry her? Whether Ruth understood exactly what she was doing, or thought about how things could turn out – or not, she did exactly as Naomi told her.
1. What happened when Boaz woke up? (Ruth 3:8-11) _________
Ruth sleeps at Boaz's feet -...
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Tags: trust Ruth parents obedience God’s plan God’s care faith
Recipe for Success
TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Chronicles 28:4-12
TO CHEW ON: “And you my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.” 1 Chronicles 28:9
David was an old man. He had been king for forty years, but he knew he would soon die. One day he crowned his young son Solomon to rule after him. Then he called the people together to introduce them to their new king.
In front of everyone he challenged Solomon to be a good king and serve God for his whole life. His speech told Solomon how to do that. It went something like this:
“Solomon, be sure you search out all of God’s commands and obey them. Get to know God. Worship Him with a clean heart. Serve Him with a willing mind. Don’t think you can fool Him with pretending. Not only can He see what you do, He also knows your thoughts. Search for Him and He will show Himself to you.
“But if you...
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Tags: worship Solomon respect parents obedience discussion David 1 Chronicles
Reasons to Obey
TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 John 5:1-5
TO CHEW ON: "In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world." 1 John 5:3,4
Which of these people would you obey?
policeman teacher
doctor parent God
Did you choose them all? Name one reason to obey:
a policeman:a teacher:a doctor:a parent:God:
We have different reasons for obeying.
We may obey the policeman because we know if we don’t, he can fine, arrest or put us in jail. We obey out of fear....
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Quick to Follow
TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Kings 19:19-21
TO CHEW ON: "Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah." 1 Kings 19:20
One of the jobs God gave Elijah was to find and call the person who would be the next prophet. We don’t know how Elijah knew which person to choose. God probably told him. Neither do we know much about the person he picked – Elisha – except that he was a farmer.
Elijah found Elisha in a field. He was plowing with oxen.
Elijah called him by going up to him and throwing his prophet cloak over Elisha’s shoulders. Our Bible doesn’t tell us if Elijah explained to Elisha what he meant by this. But Elisha knew exactly what Elijah was asking.
1. What did Elisha do? ( 1 Kings 19:20) ________
2. Did Elijah force Elisha to come with him? ________
"And Elisha left the oxen and ran after Elijah" 1 Kings 19:20 Artist's name – Diana Shimon
For some reason Elisha was ready to follow Elijah. Maybe in the days just before Elijah came, he had been feeling restless about being a farmer. Maybe he had been asking God to show him what he should do instead. Maybe he had heard of Elijah, and wanted...
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Tags: puzzle obedience Israel God’s plan Elisha Elijah 1 Kings
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
Power of Words
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Isaiah 55:8-13
TO CHEW ON: "As the rain and the snow come down from heaven,and do not return to it without watering the earthand making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty,but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:10,11
Words are funny little things. As marks on paper or a screen they can make us laugh or cry, tell us good news or bad, prove little things like we’ve passed the test or big things like we’re the citizens of a certain country.
Spoken words have a lot of power too. I’m sure you’ve heard the playground rhyme: “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” Do you believe it? I don’t! Because spoken words have the power to do a lot of things, including hurt us.
If we think human words have power, how much more God’s words. These are the thoughts and ideas...
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Tags: puzzle obedience Isaiah good news God’s word God’s plan
Parent Problems
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Proverbs 23:19-25
TO CHEW ON: "Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old." Proverbs 23:22
Have you ever had thoughts like this:- My parents are too serious. They just want me to work and not have any fun.- My parents are old fashioned. They don’t understand me and my friends.- My parents don’t let me do anything. All my friends are allowed to do it, why can’t I?
Kids getting along with parents, and parents getting along with kids has been a big deal since kids and parents were invented. In our Bible reading today, Solomon gives advice to kids on how to handle all the do's and don’t's that parents give.
Which things he does not say Proverbs 23:19-25 :1. Don’t join those who overeat and drink a lot of wine.2. As long as there’s an adult to supervise, you can go.3. Be disciplined.4. Make a project out of becoming wise and getting understanding.5. You become like the people with whom you hang out.6. It isn’t a big deal to your parents whether or not you obey them.7. When you show yourself a wise, good person, you’ll make your parents proud...
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Obey Whom?
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Acts 4:13-21
TO CHEW ON: "Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, 'Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges!'” Acts 4:18,19
After God healed the lame man through Peter, many people believed in Jesus. This made the religious leaders jealous.
"Preaching to the multitudes" - Artist unknown
First they ordered Peter and John to stop preaching. Then they grilled them with questions. Finally they told them not to speak of Jesus any more OR ELSE and let them go.
"The boldness of Peter and John" - Artist unknown
But Peter and John had no intention of obeying the leaders’ order. They knew in some things it’s more important to obey God than people....
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Tags: peer pressure obedience fear choices Acts
Obedience + Persecution = Joy
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Acts 13:42-52
TO CHEW ON: "And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit." Acts 13:52
Barnabas and Paul traveled to Perga and then to Psidian Antioch. When they preached in the church (synagogue), many people listened and believed. In fact at one meeting almost the whole town came out to listen.
"Through this man (Jesus) is preached the forgiveness of sins" - Artist unknown
But the Jewish leaders didn’t like Paul and Barnabas because they said the good news about Jesus was for non-Jews (Gentiles). When more and more people believed, the Jewish leaders got jealous. They gossiped and lied about Paul and Barnabas and turned the city’s important people against them. Soon persecution started again. Barnabas and Paul had to leave town....
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Tags: Saul/Paul persecution obedience joy Acts
No Compromise
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Daniel 1:8-20
TO CHEW ON: "But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way." Daniel 1:8
“Can you please change the diet of me and my friends?” Daniel asked the guard. “We’d like to have vegetables and water instead of the king’s rich food.”
“You’re asking a dangerous thing,” the guard replied. “The king will have my head when the four of you look weak and get sick.
Daniel was taking a big chance by asking this favor from the guard in Nebuchadnezzar’s court. He and his three friends were Hebrew boys from Judah. They no longer lived at home but were exiles and servants in Babylon. The four boys were in special training to serve the king himself.
But Daniel was determined. He knew that the royal food was not prepared the way God had commanded in the law. He wanted to honor and obey God every way he could....
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Never Too Young
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Acts 23:12-22
TO CHEW ON: “Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, ‘Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him.’” Acts 23:17
Have you ever thought you have to be grown up to be used by God? Perhaps Paul’s nephew felt that way. Then came the day he overheard a secret plan.
He heard forty Jewish men promising each other they wouldn’t eat or drink until they’d killed Paul. They would ask the Roman commander to bring Paul to a special place. They would hide along the road Paul would take. When Paul and the soldiers came by, they would pounce on Paul and kill him.
The boy went straight to Paul with news of this plot.
"Paul's nephew" - By Johann C. Weigel, 1695
Paul sent the boy to the commander, to tell him what he’d heard. As a result Paul was never sent to the meeting that day. Because his nephew did what he could, Paul’s life was saved.
Have you ever thought you were too young for God to use? You aren’t you know. God uses people of all ages. The main thing is be obedient and do the things He tells you....
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Tags: trickery Saul/Paul obedience God’s plan God’s help God’s care Acts
Life-saving Blood
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Exodus 12:21-28
TO CHEW ON: "When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down." Exodus 12:23
As God had told Moses, Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites leave Egypt. Through frogs, gnats, flies, sick cattle, boils, hail, locusts and darkness, he didn’t budge. But God was not finished with him. God told Moses and Aaron what He would do next.
The first born son of every family in Egypt would die. It would happen at midnight.
But God would not kill anyone in the homes of the Israelites IF they followed His instructions. Solve the crossword using the Bible references and find out what God told each family to do.
- Each family was to take a (9 across - Exodus12:3).- They were to kill it at (1 down - Exodus12:6).- With (3 across - Exodus12:22) they were to paint the lamb’s blood on the (2 down [plural] Exodus12:22)....
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Tags: sacrifice puzzle obedience Moses lamb Jesus Exodus Egypt blood
Just a Box?
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Exodus 25:10-22
TO CHEW ON: "There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the covenant law, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites." Exodus 25:22
The first piece of furniture God told Moses to make for the inside of the portable church (Tabernacle) was just a box. But what a box! God told Moses how to make the box (or ark) to the last detail. Using today’s reading, choose the right answers below:
God told Moses to use 1. (pine, mahogany, acacia) wood.
He told Moses exactly how big to make this box. It was to be 2½ cubits long(3¾ feet or 1.1 meters), by 1½ cubits wide (2¼ feet or .7 meters), by 1½ cubits high (2¼ feet or .7 meters). This would make it a 2. (square, rectangle, pyramid) shape.
Moses was to cover the wood with 3. (gold, tin, silver).
God told Moses how to make the ark easy to carry – with rings on each side. Gold-covered poles would fit through these rings. Priests were to carry the ark on their shoulders.
The cover for the box was to be decorated with gold 4. (palm trees, cherubim, apples).
Finally,...
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Jehu’s Unfinished Job
TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Kings 10:18-29
TO CHEW ON: “So Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel. However, he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit – the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.” 2 Kings 10:28,29
Jehu lost no time getting to work on job the prophet had given him. When Ahab’s son King Joram was recovering from a war injury in Jezreel, Jehu rode there in his chariot and did away with Joram. Next he had Queen Jezebel killed. Finally, he destroyed the worship of the idol Baal.
He did this by tricking all the Baal prophets. He told the people to call them together for a big, big sacrifice. “Ahab served Baal a little,” Jehu said. “I will serve him much. Any Baal prophet who doesn’t show up will be killed.”
When all the prophets had gathered in Baal’s temple, Jehu posted guards outside. “Don’t let anyone escape,” he said. Then he made the sacrifice. And right after that he gave the signal to the guards to destroy every Baal prophet in the temple.
After that was done, Jehu tore down the Baal altar and the temple. In this...
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Tags: promises obedience Israel idols God’s plan disobedience confession 2 Kings
It’s Not About You
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Esther 4:1-17
TO CHEW ON: "For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this." Esther 4:14
Esther eyes opened wide as the servant delivered Mordecai’s message. Was he telling her to go to the king without an invitation? Didn’t he know that could get her killed?
It had all started when Esther’s servants had seen Mordecai dressed in sackcloth, covered in ashes and wailing as if someone had died. She had sent fresh clothes for him and asked what the problem was. Now the servant had returned with a copy of Haman’s new law and Mordecai’s request. He was asking her to go to the king and beg for the life of the Jews. And she would have to tell him no. Because what he was asking was impossible.
But her servant returned with Mordecai's reply: “Esther, you too are a Jew. Don’t think you’ll escape Haman’s law just because you’re in the palace. Who knows, it may be that you are queen now just so that...
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Tags: trust prayer obedience God’s plan Esther
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