EquipU Online Library

“My spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour . . . For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name” (Luke 1:47, 49).

“Are you hungry, Momma? Do you want anything?”

Marie’s mother shook her head. “Thank you, Marie. I’m all right.” She wasn’t looking at Marie. She was looking out across the strange watery landscape.

Their neighborhood, a small development east of New Orleans, had been flooded for two days. Now an ocean of gray water stretched as far as Marie and her mother could see. On rooftop islands their neighbors sat stranded, waiting for help to come.

Marie leaned against her mother and closed her eyes. To Marie’s left sat a white plastic bag. In it were two boxes of cereal, almost empty, and half a pan of dried-out cornbread. The two-liter Coke bottle had been empty since yesterday.

“I wish I could help us, Momma.” Marie looked up at her mother.

“I know, Marie. You’re such a help to me.”

Straight ahead of the two, at the end of what used to be their street, a convenience store stood. Now all that could be seen was the red and yellow sign that read “Quick Mart.” Just four days ago Marie had run there to buy her mother a carton of milk. All the way home she had run, carrying the heavy carton.

“Look at that girl fly!” one of the neighbors had called as she ran past his porch.

And when Marie had burst in the door with the milk, her mother had grinned widely and hugged her.

“You’re such a help to me, Marie,” she had said.

But now Marie couldn’t help anyone. She couldn’t even help herself.

Marie felt a tear escape and seep through her mother’s T-shirt sleeve. Her mother must have felt it too, because she put an arm around her daughter. After a minute, Marie’s momma spoke.

“It’s okay that you can’t help me now, sweetheart. That’s not your job.”

Marie sat up and looked at her mother.

“Your job is not to rescue me, Marie. Your job is not to rescue yourself, either. Your job is just to wait for help to come. And when help comes, your job will be to take it.”

Marie sat, quiet, hugging her knees. Marie’s mother looked out into the distance.

“Marie, who is our great Rescuer?”

“God,” Marie whispered. “He rescues us from sin.”

“He does!” Even though Marie’s mother hadn’t slept for two days, her eyes were almost happy. “That’s what Savior means. It means ‘Rescuer.’ Marie, you know how helpless we are on this roof, stuck in all this smelly water?”

Marie nodded.

“That’s just how helpless we are stuck in sin! And we can’t sprout wings and fly out of this water, can we?”

“No, Momma.”

“And there’s no way, no way in the world that we can get ourselves out of sin. So what do we need?”

“We need someone to pull us out.” Marie wasn’t whispering now.

“And Jesus did it, didn’t He?”

“Yes, Momma. He pulled us right out of our sin.”

“We’re just helpless sinners. He’s the Strong One.”

“You’re right, Momma.” Marie leaned against her mother again.

So Marie and her mother felt peaceful, even before they saw the Coast Guard helicopter flying toward their street that afternoon. They laughed and hugged each other when they saw the rescue workers dropping to their neighbors’ rooftops, lifting them to safety.

And when Marie’s rescuer landed on her rooftop and picked her up, Marie wrapped her arms around his neck and closed her eyes. She didn’t try to help her rescue worker. She just let him rescue her.

God is the only one strong enough to rescue us from sin.

My response:

» Am I trying to rescue myself from sin?

» Or am I trusting God, the great Rescuer, to rescue me?

“And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.” (John 21:25).

Trish had to go the library to work on a paper for school. Her assignment was the life of George Washington. Trish’s school library wasn’t big enough, so she had to go to the public library downtown.

On Saturday morning Mom dropped Trish off at the library. As she walked into the library, she saw thousands and thousands of books. “Where do I begin?” she asked herself. Seeing a computer, she typed “George Washington” into the search box. Hundreds of books came up in an instant. Trish noticed that most of the books were in the same section. After getting lost a few times, she found the right place. It took a long time, but Trish was able to get several books that helped her write her paper. Each book she used was written for one purpose—to tell the reader about George Washington.

That night at dinner, Trish was talking to her family about her experience at the library. “Your experience today reminds me of what the apostle John said about Jesus,” said Trish’s dad.

“What do you mean?” asked Bobby, Trish’s younger brother.

Their dad went on to explain that one of the reasons John wrote the book of John was to tell about the events of Jesus’ life so we would believe in Him as our Savior (John 20:30–31).

“But John made the point that he didn’t tell all of what Jesus did—if he had, the world couldn’t contain all of the books it would take to write on the subject,” said Trish’s dad. He went on to explain how Jesus has done much more than we could ever know. He is always supplying our needs, protecting us, forgiving us, and leading us—sometimes without our even acknowledging it. “He is always at work in your life. Before bed tonight, write out five ways Jesus is working in your life,” said Trish’s dad.

That night as Trish and Bobby wrote out five ways Jesus was working in their lives, Trish was thankful for how Jesus loved her and was constantly at work in her life. Before she turned her light out, she prayed and thanked Jesus for all He had done and was still doing in her life.

Jesus has done more than we can ever know!

My response:

» How is Jesus at work in my life?

» What should I thank Jesus for?

» What will I thank Him for right now?

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11).

Have you ever helped with a house project, such as cleaning, painting, or pounding a nail into a wall? If so, you’ve probably learned to use a toolbox. Toolboxes contain all the things we need to accomplish big tasks and projects. Without a good toolbox, we probably wouldn’t get very far on a project.

Living for God requires tools too. What tools can help us do right and reject sin? The Bible says that the Word of God is the best tool we have to help us do what is right. It is always good to read God’s Word, but it is even better to memorize it. When we store up God’s Word in our minds, think about it, and try to obey it, we will not choose to sin. Memorized Scripture is a tool you can take with you to soccer, school, or a friend’s house. No matter where you go, you can review what the Word of God says, and then choose to obey. Do you have God’s Word in the toolbox of your life?

My response:

» How can I regularly review the Bible verses that I’ve memorized so I can store them up and always have them with me?

» How often do I think about what the verses mean?

» Do I usually choose to obey God’s Word?

“Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the Lord our God is holy” (Psalm 99:9).

What does it mean to “exalt” God? To exalt means to raise Him high, to make Him appear great in the eyes of others, to honor Him. What does “worship” mean? The Hebrew word for worship literally means a certain posture of the body that expresses humility or obedience. In other places in the Bible, this word is used to mean “bow down,” “crouch,” “stoop,” or even “fall down flat.” Do you see the contrast in those two words—“exalt” and “worship”? God is supposed to be high, and we, His worshipers, are supposed to be low.

God deserves to be honored because He is holy—absolutely pure and sinless. When we worship Him, we need to remember that we are not like Him. If it were not for His gracious gift of Jesus Christ, sinners like us would have no business coming anywhere near Him. We would have no right to talk to Him or ask Him for anything. It is only because of His great love and grace that He has chosen to pardon sinful people.

Our holy God deserves to be worshiped, but He deserves to be worshiped in a certain way. We must not come to Him thinking that our wishes, our problems, and ourselves are the most important things. We must come realizing that He is most important. We should come to Him humbly, knowing that we need His mercy more than anything else. We should come thanking Him that He is so loving and willing to grant that mercy. When we worship Him, we should make ourselves low and make Him high.

We should worship our holy God with humility and thankfulness.

My Response:

» When I go to church or have my personal quiet time, am I truly worshiping God?

» Which do I think of as more important—God or myself?

“Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29–31).

God cares about big things; after all, He made the universe and the sun and the planets. Important things—not little things like haircuts and ballgames and birthday parties. But wait. He sees birds falling to the ground. How many birds have been hatched since time began? He saw all of them. Not just the eagles and the owls and the pelicans, but also the sparrows—plain little birds of no great importance.

If you have a close friend, you might think you know that friend well. Maybe you know what he wants for Christmas, or his favorite food. But no matter how well you know him, you know more about yourself. So, how many hairs do you have? You don’t know, do you?  Besides, the number changes from day to day. You wash it, brush it, fix it, and maybe even twist it or pull it when you’re thinking hard about something.

God knows. He has kept count of your hairs. And if He knows that, you can be sure He knows the rest: your family problems, your best friend moving away, your pet dying, your team losing, your bad grades at school. Not only does He know, He cares. The Creator of the universe cares about you.

Take your problems, big and small, to the One Who knows and cares and can do something about them.

My response:

» Which one is more valuable—a bird or me?

» Which one did Jesus die for?

» Whose prayers does He hear?