EquipU Online Library

“According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.” (2 Peter 1:3)

Do you think your mom has the ability to feed you every day at dinner? Does she ever tell you, “I’m sorry, but I just couldn’t get up the strength to feed you today”?

Does your mom ever send you to school without any clothes on because she just doesn’t want to buy you clothes? Of course not. Your mom wants you to get everything you need to live.

Your mom might be able to give you everything you need for living life in the earthly sense (clothes to wear, medicine when you need it, a warm house, good home-cooked food). But God gives you everything you need for living life both in this world and in heaven. God is more powerful than anything or anyone – He made the universe, after all! He gives you everything you need to make it through this life – including your mom! He is the ultimate Provider of food, clothes, home, family, and so much more.

But God doesn’t stop at giving you things you need to live your physical life. He gives you things you need for your spiritual life too – strength, faithfulness, love, and grace – every day. How does God give you these wonderful gifts? By the knowledge of His Son, Jesus. Jesus knows what people need. He lived on Earth, too. But God’s gifts to you come when you know Who Jesus is and what He has done. It’s not just knowing about Jesus. It’s knowing Jesus.

Think of it this way: You know that people live down the street from you; that’s a clear fact. You probably don’t know every single person on your street. But you do know your mom. She’s the one that gives you all those good things. You know who she is and what she does. That’s the way you should know Jesus – as Someone Who can provide for you and Someone Who loves you with a love that never ends. God will provide everything you need to get through life, both physically and spiritually, as you come to know His Son more and more.

God provides physical and spiritual needs through Jesus.

My Response:
» How does my mom provide for my needs?
» How does God provide for my needs?
» Am I taking time to thank God for providing my needs?
» Am I taking time to learn more about Jesus today?

“There hath not failed one word of all his good promise.” (1 Kings 8:56b)

Kayla was sitting in the living room staring out the window when her grandfather came in.

“Why such a long face?” he asked. “It’s a beautiful day outside!”

Kayla frowned. “Yesterday, Dad promised to take me to the zoo today – but this morning he said he had to go to work instead. He broke his promise to me!”

Kayla’s grandfather took a Bible off of the coffee table and sat down on the couch next to her. “I’m sorry you’re disappointed. Your dad didn’t mean to fail you, but he had to go to work. We all get let down by other human beings. But there is One Who will never break a promise.”

Kayla sat up and listened closely. She couldn’t think of anyone who had never broken a promise! Her grandfather opened the Bible to 1 Kings 8. Then he told her about the temple that King Solomon built. When the temple was finished, Solomon prayed to God and thanked Him for keeping the promises He had made to His children.

“It was Solomon’s testimony,” Kayla’s grandfather told her. “He was talking about God when he said, ‘There hath not failed one word of all his good promise.'”

“What kinds of promises did God keep?” Kayla asked.

Her grandfather told her about God’s promise to Abraham – the promise that, even though he was an old man, he would have a son. And that through his son, Abraham’s family would grow to a number more than the number of stars in the sky. He also told her God’s promise to Moses that He would deliver Israel from Egypt and give them the promised land.

“The Bible is full of many more promises just as incredible!” her grandfather said. As he read the Bible to her, Kayla felt more and more amazed that all those promises could have come true.

“But what about you, Grandpa? Are you sure God kept all those promises? Are you sure He will keep promises to you?”

Her grandfather smiled and nodded. “My favorite of all the promises is the promise of eternal life for those who trust Jesus Christ as their Savior.” He turned in his Bible to the book of Hebrews, and pointed to chapter 10, verse 23 – “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised).” Kayla’s grandfather leaned over and gave her a big hug. “We never have to doubt God’s promises. We can trust Him that He will never let us down.”

God will keep all of His promises.

My Response:
» When I read promises in the Bible do I believe God will keep them?
» Is there a promise I am afraid that God won’t keep?

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

Who is the light of the world? In the Bible, Jesus says, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). But Jesus also tells His disciples, “Ye are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14).

How can both Jesus and His followers be the light of the world?

Think of a mirror. Have you ever held up a mirror and seen sunlight reflecting off of it? It seems as though a beam of light is coming straight out of the mirror. But the light does not really come from the mirror! It comes directly from the sun, and indirectly from the mirror. Sunlight merely bounces off of a mirror. On its own, the mirror would not be able to generate light, would it? The sun itself is the source of the light.

It is similar with Christians. Jesus is the ultimate Source of their “light.” On their own, Jesus’ followers could never produce that kind of light; but, as Christians become more like Jesus Christ, they shine their light by reflecting (showing) what Jesus is like. It is not a Christian’s goodness that shines, but the goodness of Jesus. The “light” comes directly from the Son, and only indirectly from the Son’s reflection in His people.

When others see the good things Christians do – like being kind, loving, or patient – they should think of Jesus and praise God the Father. God should always get the glory for the good things we do, because all we do because of Christ reflects back to God and His glorious plans.

The goodness of Jesus should shine through Christians.

My Response:
» Do I “shine my light” by doing good things that show others what Jesus is like?
» Do I point to God and give Him glory by the good things I do?

“The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty.” (Numbers 14:18a)

This verse (Numbers 14:18) shows in one place how God can be so forgiving and yet still so holy. He will not let sin go by without dealing with it (“will by no means clear the guilty”), but He will deal forgiveness out to those guilty people who come to Him asking (“longsuffering and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression”).

Have you ever met an “unforgiving” person? When someone refuses to forgive something, we say that person is “holding a grudge.” God does not hold grudges. If you confess your sins, 1 John 1:9 promises that God is faithful and just to forgive them and to cleanse you from all your unrighteousness. If you are repenting of the things you have done against Him, God will not hold them against you. Instead, those things are covered by the righteousness of Christ.

How about you? Are you longsuffering and patient with other people? Do you “put up with” them, or do you choose to “hold a grudge” over them? Do you show mercy to your sister or brother? Do you forgive your friends when they do something wrong against you? Are you the kind of person who loves holiness but also loves to be merciful? It is hard for human beings to be like that!

Only God can be perfectly longsuffering. Only God can show mercy that great. Only God is powerful enough to forgive people who sin against Him. We can pray that God will help us have the strength and patience we need to forgive others. We can pray that God will help us be humble enough to ask Him to forgive our iniquity and clear us of our guilt.

God is merciful and powerful enough to make repentant sinners “not guilty.”

My Response:
» Am I humble enough to confess my sins to God and ask for His forgiveness?
» Can God forgive me and still be holy? How?

“Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.” (Jeremiah 1:4-7)

Lucas and Aunt Jo were riding in the back seat of a taxi cab. This was Lucas’s first time ever to visit New York City, and he was really excited. This morning, Aunt Jo had taken him to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. In a book at a museum there, they had looked up the name of Lucas’s great-great-grandfather, who had come to America from Germany in 1906.

Lucas wondered if his great-great-grandfather had been able to speak English when he first moved to America. He wondered how long it had taken him to learn it. Lucas loved learning languages. He had been studying Spanish through a video class at home two days a week, and he was already able to say a few sentences.

The taxi-cab driver looked back at Lucas in the rearview mirror. From his brown eyes and dark complexion, Lucas wondered whether the taxi-cab driver was Latino, and if maybe he spoke Spanish. Maybe this man was an immigrant, too, like the ones Lucas had learned about at Ellis Island. Maybe this man would one day have great-great-grandchildren coming to visit New York City for the first time. In his mind, Lucas tried to come up with the right Spanish words he could say to ask the taxi-cab driver some questions, but he just couldn’t think of what to say or how to say it. Besides, he was not even sure whether the man would know Spanish!

Those of us who are trying to learn more and more about the world God put us in can find it overwhelming! There are so many people on the globe, and they are all kinds of people. They speak different languages. They have different hobbies and interests. They look very different from one another. They have different kinds of relationships with one another. They live in many different types of places. There is no way any human being alive today could know or talk to everybody on the planet today – not even with the help of modern technology.

But God can know. He created people. He invented their languages. He is able to understand all their cultural differences, and he knows the dreams and needs of each and every person alive. Not only that, but He knows the dreams and needs of every person who has already lived and died, and of every person who will ever live and die in the future! Do you think this is incredible? It would be unbelievable, if we were talking about just a human being. But this passage in Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:4-7) teaches us that our Creator knows us more closely than any other person.

Lucas might wish he could talk to people who have already died and asked them questions – people like his own great-great-grandfather! Or Lucas might wish he knew even enough Spanish to be able to ask the taxi-cab driver where he had come from. Maybe Lucas would have liked to see all of New York City, to really learn it and know it “inside and out.” But Lucas could do none of those things. Why? Because he is only human. We can be thankful to know a God Who is great and good enough to understand everything about everyone.

Because He is God, God knows us and everything around us better than anyone.

My Response:
» Do I get overwhelmed sometimes just thinking of all there must be that I do NOT know?
» Who can I trust to know everything and everyone more closely than anyone else?
» How can I show that I believe God is as great and good as He says He is in His Word?