Devos

God Is Merciful

   

“I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?” (Matthew 18:32b-33)

“She was rolling her eyes at me!”
“He hit me!”
“He wouldn’t share his cookies with me!”

The same boys and girls who had been quietly listening to a Bible lesson only minutes before were now filling the air with angry shouts. What had the Bible club leader just said?

“God is merciful. He sent Jesus to die for us when we were still sinners. He did that so that we could be saved from all of our sins. He promises to forgive our sins when we come to Jesus.”

Forgiveness. Love. Salvation from sin. God offers us all of these things freely. There is nothing we could ever do to earn our salvation. We could never deserve forgiveness and love. What if God had thought only about how much we had hurt Him by our sin? What if He had not returned love and kindness for our hatred and rebellion? We are saved only because God has been merciful to us. (See Titus 3:5.)

Since God has been merciful to us, how do you think He wants us to treat others? He wants us to treat them just as He has treated us–with mercy. Mercy reaches out to others with compassion, with forgiveness, with love. Mercy means not returning evil for evil. Mercy means refusing to roll our eyes back, hit back, or be unkind back. Mercy means forgiving. Mercy means thinking about someone’s needs rather about how that person hurt us. Mercy means treating others as God has treated us.

God is merciful, and He wants us to show mercy to others.

My Response:
» Am I treating others in the same way God has treated me?
» Do I see others’ needs, or do I only see how they hurt me?

Truth in Real Life Moments

Robert Raikes

   

“The world marches forth on the feet of little children.”

In the late 1700s, many church-goers in England hated Sundays! Sunday was the only day when children were not allowed to work, so the streets were full of excited and noisy children enjoying their day off! Churches were sometimes unable to meet because of the noise. People were upset.

Robert Raikes, born on September 14, 1735, was the owner and printer of the popular newspaper in town. His father had been the owner of the newspaper before him, and had given Robert the newspaper as his responsibility before he died. Robert wrote about these children in his newspaper, telling people that something had to be done! Children should not be ignored or left to entertain themselves on Sunday.

Because the children were forced to work throughout the week, they were unable to attend school. As a result, many English children could neither read nor write. From a very young age, they were driven to act like adults and join the work force.

Robert Raikes took the money he earned from the newspapers he sold, and with that money, he started a Sunday School. He became known as the “pioneer for the Sunday School Movement.” His influence still lives on today, as Sunday Schools have been started all over the world.

He asked only that Sunday School teachers be godly people who could teach these children how to read and write. Why was it important for them to learn to read? So that they could study God’s Word for themselves! Just two years after the first Sunday School began, over 200,000 children in England were attending Sunday School each week. Because of Robert Raikes, thousands of children throughout history have been exposed to the Gospel and become believers.

What do you like most about Sunday School? What do you learn?

2 Timothy 3:15 – And that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Devos

God Knows What Is Best

   

“Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.” (John 11:5-6)

When Jesus’ friend Lazarus was sick, everyone must have expected Jesus to go right away to help him. Lazarus’s sisters, Mary and Martha, had sent the alarming message of their brother’s serious illness to Jesus because they hoped that He would come quickly and heal him. But, strangely, Jesus did not go to help Lazarus right away. Two days went by, and Lazarus had died before Jesus and disciples began the journey to Lazarus’s home at Bethany.

No one seemed to understand why Jesus had waited so long, allowing Lazarus to die. Before Jesus even reached the place where Lazarus lived, first Martha and then Mary sadly came to meet Him. Greatly disappointed, they told Jesus that if He had come earlier to heal Lazarus, their brother would not have died. Although Mary and Martha did not understand why Jesus allowed such a terrible thing to happen, Jesus had a special reason for not coming earlier to heal Lazarus.

Jesus asked that someone roll away the tombstone in front of the place where the body of Lazarus had been buried. Then Jesus called out, “Lazarus, come forth.” Suddenly, the man who had been dead walked out of the tomb. Jesus had done something better than just making a sick person well. He had brought a dead man back to life! Jesus knew what was best.

Even though sometimes you may not understand why God allows things to happen as He does, God always knows what is best for you, too. Even though you may not understand why God doesn’t answer your prayers the way you would like, He wants you to trust Him (Proverbs 3:5-6). He always has a special reason for answering your prayers in the way that He does. Even though you, just like Mary and Martha, may become disappointed when God does not answer your prayers in the way that you expect Him to, God often has something better planned for you than you can imagine. “All things work together for good to them that love God” (Romans 8:28).

God knows what is best for you.

My Response:
» Do I believe that God knows what is best for me?
» Do I trust God to do what is best even when He seems to allow bad things to happen?

Devos

God Has Everlasting Arms

   

“The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” (Deuteronomy 33:27)

The highlight of each fall in Andrew’s hometown is attending the Riley Days Festival downtown. Every year, their town has a parade, live entertainment, craft booths, and yummy food filling the streets surrounding the courthouse. Andrew’s family always looked forward to Riley Days, and they would usually set aside the entire weekend for attending the festival.

During one of these Riley Days evenings, Andrew was having a hard time keeping up with the rest of the family. He had sprained his neck during a dodge ball game earlier that day, and it was really starting to bother him as their family walked around the festival.

Finally, Andrew asked his dad, “Will you carry me?” His dad was glad to carry him, and Andrew was so relieved. It was wonderful to let his body go limp in his dad’s arms. Andrew did not have put out all that energy to hold his head up. He could trust in his dad’s strength to carry him in a time when he was very weak.

In the same way that Andrew’s dad was glad to carry him around the festival that night, your heavenly Father will carry you through difficult times. When you are facing troubles and feel overwhelmed by the weight of them, let God carry you through them. He commands us to cast our care upon Him. Why? Because He cares for us. When you are weakest, He is always strong. Read His Word, and take comfort in His promises to you. God’s “arms” will never get tired (His strength and comfort and grace will never wear out) as He carries you through those difficult times. The Bible says that He has “everlasting arms.”

If you are facing difficult circumstances and have been trying to work hard in your own strength–stop it! Crawl into your heavenly Daddy’s arms; trust Him; and let Him carry you.

God is a refuge, and He has everlasting arms.

My Response:
» Have you been overwhelmed by troubles, rather than resting in God’s everlasting arms?
» Can you handle all your own problems?
» How can you help others learn to trust in the God of the Bible?

Devos

God Always Provides

   

“And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.” (I Kings 17:4)

During the days of Elijah the prophet, God sent a drought–a long period of time without rain–to the land of Israel. God was punishing Israel because the wicked rulers, King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, were causing the people to stop serving the Lord and to worship idols. Even though Elijah had warned King Ahab that God would punish them, Ahab did not listen. So God did not send any rain to Israel for a long time, and food could not grow. The people of Israel, including Elijah, soon became hungry and thirsty. Even though Elijah trusted in the Lord, he must have wondered where he would find food and water.

But God still took care of Elijah. Even though there was no rain and little food or water, God provided for the needs of His faithful servant. God knew where to find water, and He told Elijah to go to a little brook that still had water to drink. God also knew where to find food, and He commanded the ravens to bring bread and meat to Elijah. What a surprising way to meet the prophet’s needs! Twice a day, the black birds delivered food to him. Even though the people who worshipped idols were hungry and thirsty, Elijah always had enough to eat and drink. God always provided for the needs of His servant.

God will always take care of you, as well. If you truly know the Lord, He will always provide for your needs, just like He did for Elijah’s. Sometimes, like Elijah in the drought, you may find yourself in the middle of a hard situation. Maybe one of your parents has lost a job, and your family needs money. Or maybe you have moved to a new school, and you need to find good friends. Whatever your need, God will never forget about you. Like in Elijah’s time, God knows where to find the things you need (Matthew 6:8). He will always be faithful to provide for you–sometimes in surprising ways!

God will always meet your needs.

My Response:
» What are some needs I have?
» Am I trusting the Lord to provide for my needs?