EquipU Online Library

“God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5)

Jared hurried into his bedroom to grab the football that was on his bed. He was in such a hurry that he did not even bother to turn on the light. His friend Thomas had just arrived, and they wanted to play football in the backyard for as long as possible before supper time.

Whoops! Before Jared knew what was happening, he found himself on the floor. It was dark – too dark to see where he was going! Just then, his dad came into the room and flipped on the light. Suddenly, Jared could see! There was his football on the bed, and on the floor beside him were the shoes he had tripped over.

“How did you expect to see without the light, Jared?”

Jared grinned, feeling a little silly. “I thought I didn’t need it, but I was wrong. Thanks for turning on the light, Dad!” Jared picked up the football and ran outside to play with Thomas in the sunshine.

Trying to do things in the dark can be dangerous. But some people do live in the dark – not in the physical kind, but in spiritual darkness. The Bible says, “He that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth” (John 12:35). Many people try to live without God, trusting only in their own minds as they make decisions about their lives. This is walking in darkness.

It can be fun to do things your own way – at least for a little while. But continuing to walk “in the dark” leads to unpleasant surprises, like the surprise Jared got when he tripped over his shoes. Without the light, he stumbled and fell. Without spiritual “light,” we will stumble and fall spiritually, again and again.

When we fall into sin, the results are even more painful than falling on the floor. Our sins do not hurt just us! Our sins often affect other people, and they hurt Jesus’ testimony, too. But Christians do not have to walk in the dark. God is our spiritual light. The Bible says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation” (Psalm 27:1). Walking in the light protects us from falling.

Perhaps you are wondering, “But how do I walk in God’s light?” The Bible also says, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105). Here are some ways to walk in the light:

1. Read God’s Word every day.
2. Pray and ask Him for help.
3. Obey what God’s Word says.

When you are walking with God, you are never “in the dark.”

My Response:
» Am I content to stumble “in the dark”?
» What do I need to begin doing to “walk in God’s light”?

“Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

What are some of the things that you have been told to do this week? Maybe someone told you to clean up your room, or to look both ways before crossing the street. Maybe your mom told you to be nice to your siblings, or to help with the dishes after supper. You have probably been told by many people to do many things this week. But have you ever stopped to think about some of the things God wants you to do?

God tells you in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 that He wants you to “pray without ceasing.” What does that mean? To “pray” is to talk to God. But what does it mean to pray without ceasing? “Ceasing” means stopping. So, you are supposed to pray without stopping.

How can you pray without stopping? Does that mean you have to be praying to God every second of every minute of every hour of every day? No. This verse is saying that you always should be ready and willing to talk to God. Prayer to God should be natural, just like talking to someone who is in the room with you. When you have a friend over to your house to play, you do not have to spend every second of the day talking to them. You spend a lot of time talking to them because you are ready and willing to talk to them at anytime.

How can you “pray without ceasing”? Well, when you wake up in the morning, you could pray and thank God for the day. When you are ready to study for school, pray and ask God to help you concentrate. When you are going to get together with friends, pray that God will help you honor Him in your words and your behavior. When you hear a police car or ambulance go racing by, pray for them as they go to help someone in need. See? There are many ways that you can constantly be talking to God.

Some people think that when they pray, they must have long prayers using big words. Those prayers don’t impress God. God desires you to talk to Him throughout the day, even if each prayer is short.

God desires you to pray without ceasing.

My Response:
» How many times throughout the day do I think of praying to God?
» What do I pray about the most?
» How can I get in the habit of praying without ceasing?

“Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4)

How can you rejoice in the Lord always? Sometimes life might seem too difficult for you to be happy. However, you can always rejoice in God’s Word. David, the man after God’s own heart, found great delight in God’s Word. David calls God his “exceeding joy” (Psalm 43:4). He says, “I will delight myself in [God’s] commandments, which I have loved” (Psalm 119:47), and “let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live: for thy law is my delight” (Psalm 119:77). David found so much delight in God’s Word!

But what about you? How can you rejoice in God’s Word? The first step is obvious: Read it! Read it, looking for how great and amazing God is on every page. Read it prayerfully. Read it as God Word to you, and then talk back to Him in response – speaking right back to Him! Few people truly delight in God’s Word, and most of them do not even try to delight in it. Do you ever read because you have to? or because you think you ought to? You should read God’s Word as much as you can because you love it! You should not be able to get enough of it! You should want more and more time with God, just as a deer longs for the water brooks! (See Psalm 42:1.) Pray about it; ask God to help you love His Word more.

You can live joyfully because you have God’s eternal, unchanging Word, and because you have a great God. No matter what happens, you can, and should, always rejoice in the Lord. Rejoicing in God’s Word isn’t all! There are all kinds of things to rejoice in. Look in the Bible to see what else God has given you to rejoice in. Learn to delight in God’s Word as David did, and say with him “O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day” (Psalm 119:97). Rejoice in God’s Word!

Rejoice in God’s Word.

My Response:
» Have I spent time reading God’s Word today?
» What did I learn about God today in His Word?
» How can I rejoice in the Lord today?

“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5)

Have you ever missed the school bus or a ride to an activity that was important to you? Being left is a terrible feeling! It is embarrassing and frustrating, and it can also be really sad – especially if you miss out on something you were really hoping to see or do. Sometimes it can even be dangerous to be left behind. What if you accidentally got left in a football stadium? What if you were on a hiking trail and got separated from your friends? It could be scary, and lonely, and maybe even harmful to be left like that.

Sometimes we rely on people too much. It is okay to count on your friends and family to keep an eye out for you and to remember your needs and hopes. But friends and family are human, and sometimes they forget or make mistakes. Some people might take off on you because they want to do something selfish for themselves, or some might turn their back on you when you have done something wrong. People are human. They might let you down. They might give up on you. They might leave you.

The writer of Hebrews 13:5 was reminding readers of what Jesus said to His disciples – that He would never leave them. He would never forsake them. Jesus is God; He is greater than our human friends and family. He is better than anything we might try to be or to get on our own. In this verse, the Bible shows us the kind of God Who promises to be faithful. That means He is not the kind of God Who lets His people down. He is not the kind of God Who leaves His people alone. He keeps His promises.

God is not a leaver. He has always been more trustworthy than anything or anyone else. He has always been more faithful than any of our friends and family could ever hope to be. He is God and always has been. In the Old Testament (Psalm 27:10), the psalmist writes, “When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.” Most fathers and mothers would die before giving up on their children or leaving their children! But if a parent ever did give you up or leave you behind, you could still count on God. Even if you yourself fail, even if your best-loved friends and family fail, and even if everything you know and trust were to drop suddenly off the face of the Earth, you can remember that God is not a leaver. He is not a forsaker.

Again, the writer of Hebrews 13:5 was reminding the Hebrew Christians what Jesus told His disciples about never leaving them. It is for this reason – that Jesus does not leave us – that this verse teaches we should not covet. If we remember the kind of God we have – that He will never leave or forsake His people – then we do not need to want things we do not have. We should not desire something so much that we think we need it in addition to God or instead of God.

Do you ever wish you could have a certain thing? Do you ever wish you could have a certain someone for a friend? Remember that things, and even humans who love you, will fail you. Look at those things and people you trust the most. If they were ever to leave you or let you down, would you have anything left? Do not covet things or people to keep you company. Count on God to stay with you.

God is not the kind of God Who leaves. We can count on Him more than anyone or anything else.

My Response:
» Am I trying to collect things or get friends so that I can protect myself from being lonely?
» What are some Bible reasons for trusting God to take care of me and be with me?

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)

Virtually anyone who has any Christian upbringing at all has heard the very first verse of the Bible. And anyone who claims to be a Christian accepts the truth it teaches, that God created us! But how many of you have ever sat down to think just how that fact affects how you live and act every day?

Anytime a person creates something, he has a purpose for that creation. For example, your mom never just goes into the kitchen and starts throwing together some flour, sugar, and milk without having something very specific in mind that she plans to create with those ingredients. A potter never begins spinning her wheel until she knows what she wants to mold that clay into. And a carpenter never begins cutting up a new shipment of lumber into an odd assortment of shapes and sizes until he has some idea of the type of furniture he plans to build. God did not just create you on a whim with no design for you. Instead, when God created you, He had a very specific purpose in mind for you.

Since God created you for a purpose, He has a right to demand that you fulfill that purpose. Back to the illustration of the potter: If you were the one who purchased the clay, took the time and effort to spin the wheel, and used your skill to carefully shape the clay into a ceramic bowl, you would then be the owner of that bowl. You would have every right to decide whether it ought to be used for your morning cereal, or to hold a potted plant! Because God created you, He owns you and has every right to decide your purpose. But you do not have to wonder what that purpose is. Scripture identifies that purpose for you: God called you to salvation even before He created you. Why did He? “That we should be to the praise of His glory.” (Ephesians 1:12)

God owns me and has the right to demand that I act in a way that brings glory to Him.

My Response:
» Have I been acting today in a way that gives God the glory He deserves as my Creator and Owner?