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“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?

“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.” (James 1:13)

God is holy. He has never sinned, and He never will. He is perfect. In fact, there is no sin in heaven. God will not allow sin into heaven. Because He is holy He wants us to be holy, too.

This verse teaches us one main truth: God does not tempt us to sin. This verse says it pretty clearly: “neither tempteth he any man.” God doesn’t tempt anyone to sin. One man said, “God sends hardship in our lives to make us better not worse.” God doesn’t send a temptation into our life, but He sends trials to make us be more like Jesus.

Let’s say you get really sick. You have to go to the hospital and get some bad news from the doctor that you are going to be sick for a while. So you have to take medicine, and maybe you are told to lie in the bed for a whole month. Where did that illness come from? The Lord allowed that to happen. Did He do that as a way to make you mad or upset enough to sin? No! God has nothing to do with sin. Then why does He give you hard things to go through?

The Bible says it is so that you can be more like Jesus. Jesus suffered common temptations that we all face. But He never sinned when He faced them. He responded to situations with the right attitude, and He took hard things as from His Father’s hand. God sends trials (hard things) into believers’ lives to sanctify them (make them more like Jesus, more holy). Maybe God wants you to work on your attitude. When you get better, maybe you have learned to have a better attitude. God sent a trial in your life to make you better.

But where does temptation to sin come from? God does not tempt me, that is for sure. He never wants to see me sin, and He would never help me to sin. He wants me to be holy.

There are three areas that temptation to sin comes from: the world, the flesh, and the devil. If you are in a store, and your stomach is growling, and no one seems to be looking at that candy bar shelf, and you are tempted to grab a candy bar–well, then, that candy bar is being used by the world, by your own flesh, and by the devil to draw you in to sin. If you are watching TV and they show you a movie that has things in it that are displeasing to God, then that movie is being used by the world, by your own flesh, and by the devil to tempt you to sin. Candy bars and movies do not have to be wicked in and of themselves. But we can sin with anything! When we are tempted to use anything as a way of filling up our own ungodly desires, rather than as a way to glorify God and live out our love for Him, then we are sinning.

Remember, God does not provoke you to sin, or tease you with sin. He does not want to see you fall. One thing we can pray for when we talk to the Lord is that He will keep us away from temptation. He wants to help us turn away from temptation and say “no” when we find ourselves wanting to sin. Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 6:13 to pray, “lead us not into temptation.” God can keep us from situations in which we will be tempted. When we are tempted to sin, we can count on Him to help us get out of a hard situation in a way that will make us more holy and more like Jesus.

God does not sin or cause sin.

My Response:
» Do I sometimes doubt the goodness and holiness of God?
» Can God be tempted with evil or tempt me with evil?
» Did you pray today and ask God to keep you from situations that would tempt you today?

“The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” (Jeremiah 31:3)

Have you ever had a dog? Jake had a dog, and he loved that dog. Her name was Daisy. She was a cute little white dog with black ears and a brown spot in the middle of her back. She had a cute little tail that curled up over her back. Jake would feed her and give her water every day. He would give her a bath when she was dirty, brush her fur when she had been outside, and take her for walks after school. Jake loved Daisy very much, and he showed her that he loved her by taking care of her. Even when she was bad and misbehaved, he still loved her. Who do you think takes care of us and loves us, even when we do wrong? Your parents do, but Who else? God does, and He loves us, too! God loves us unconditionally.

Do you know what it means to love “unconditionally”? The word “unconditional” means “without limitations, perfect in quality or nature.” Basically, it means that God love has no strings attached and there is nothing we can do to earn it or lose it. God’s love never changes! No matter what you do, you cannot make God love you any more than He does right now. You cannot do anything to make God love you any less than He does right now, either!

God’s love is even stronger than that bond between Jake and his dog Daisy. Why? Because God is God! His unconditional love has no bounds, because it is just as infinite (never-ending) as God is! God always loves His people, no matter what. Because of His unconditional love, He sent His Son to die on the cross. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Do you love God in the same way? Would you do anything for God? Probably, if you were being honest, you would have to say no. That kind of love is not easy for human beings to have. We can try, though. God is the One Who has shown His love to us, and He wants us to love others and forgive others as He has forgiven and loved us: Unconditionally! Because God loves us unconditionally, we should love him and serve him with our lives.

God’s love for His people is unconditional.

My Response:
» Do I ever meditate on how wonderful God must be to love me unconditionally?
» Am I willing to love and serve God even when I do not always understand what He is doing in my life?
» How can I demonstrate (show) unconditional loving like God’s in my relationships with my friends and family members?

“Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?” (Job 40:9)

In the Bible, God is sometimes called “the most high God.” What does this mean? Does it mean that God is high up in the sky, or that He lives above and beyond all of us down here on Earth? Well, we know from the Bible that God is everywhere. But the words “most high” refer to God’s preeminence, which means He is the greatest of all, the highest of all. God is everywhere, so He is “high” above us in that sense. But in a spiritual sense, He is higher and far above anyone or anything else. God is preeminent. He is the most high God.

But where is God in our thoughts? How do we think about Him? How important is He is our lives? Is He preeminent over all other loves and interests? Does the way we spend our time and money and energy show whether we believe God really is the most high God?

Remember the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? Nebuchadnezzar was the king ruling over these three young men. King Nebuchadnezzar thought so highly of himself (he had so much pride) that he had an image/idol of himself set up for his people to worship in his honor. Nebuchadnezzar considered himself a god, and he expected everyone to worship him. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, however, served only the most high God. In fact, because they were true to God by not refusing to worship anyone or anything else, a whole kingdom learned about the most high God.

When their king grew angry with the three men, God saved them from dying in the fiery furnace that was their punishment. When God delivered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Nebuchadnezzar finally realized that God is the most high. Nebuchadnezzar figured it out that he himself was not most high. When he called the three men to come out of the furnace, the king even used a phrase that shows he understood finally. He called, “Ye servants of the most high God, come forth” (Daniel 3:26).

Maybe you do not have an idol you worship like Nebuchadnezzar did, but do you ever have a problem thinking too highly of yourself? How about the pride you take in a collection or hobby that you have? Do you start to treat something else or someone else as more important than God?

God is and always will be “the most high God.” No matter where we put God in our priorities or how often we think of Him, it does not change that He is the most high God. We can trust Him. We can serve Him and obey Him and never be ashamed. Psalms 57:2 says, “I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me.”

Thank the most high God today that He is all you need to be completely satisfied. You need no other gods. Lift Him up high!

God is and always will be the most high God.

My Response:
» Do I acknowledge (think of, live before) God as “the most high”?
» How can my life be a testimony to the most high God in front of the leaders and people of my community?

*NOTE: The audio recording lists the verse in paragraph 5 as Daniel 5:18, however, the correct verse is Daniel 3:26.