EquipU Online Library

“Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving. . . . Who covereth the heavens with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains” (Psalm 147:7, 8).

Charlie, Ashley, and Jared hopped into the van with their pillows and duffle bags. Finally, the weekend had arrived, and they were going to spend it with their grandma. They loved staying with her at her house in the country. It always smelled like cinnamon sticks, and her beds were so comfortable. She made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast and baked the best blueberry pies for dessert after dinner. Saturday afternoon she’d even let Charlie, Ashley, and Jared ride horses.

But before they could get there, they had three hours to pass in the van. The first hour usually flew by as they were leaving the city. There were exciting buildings to look at and cool cars to check out. But the last couple hours of the ride weren’t so thrilling. The two-lane country road didn’t have much traffic, and the cows in the fields started to look the same after twenty minutes.

“Today sure is a beautiful day,” Dad said from the driver’s seat. All three children in the back rolled their eyes. He was always saying stuff like that. But today they didn’t care what kind of day it was. They just wanted to get to Grandma’s!

After a couple minutes of riding in silence, Ashley said, “You know what? Dad’s right! The sky is a really bright blue today, and those fluffy white clouds really stand out against that color.”

“Yeah, and I guess the grass and trees are really bright green after all that rain we got last month,” added Charlie.

All three stared out the windows of the van for a while with a new appreciation for the view. “We’ve been on this road so many times and never noticed the great view before,” said Jared. “I love those bright colors all together. They’re my favorites.”

“I just thought of something!” Charlie pointed out. “Dogs see things in black and white, so they can’t see all these colors. They’re missing out on this cool scenery. Why do you think God lets us see color? He could’ve made everything black and white.”

“That’s a good question,” replied Dad. “God created everything for His glory, so this beautiful countryside filled with bright colors is here for us to remember how wonderful God is. His creation points to His greatness.” The three children thought about that as they continued to ride through the countryside.

“Look!” exclaimed Ashley. “There’s Grandma’s driveway. I can’t believe we’re here already. The trip really flies by when you admire God’s scenery. Now I’m looking forward to the trip home. But first I have some pie to eat and horses to ride!”

God created beautiful scenery to direct glory to the Creator.

My response:

» Am I remembering the wonderful Creator, Who made the lovely scenery?

» Do I think of the bright colors around me as a gift from God?

» Do I thank Him for them?

“Thy righteousness is like the great mountains” (Psalm 36:6a).

At the age of ten, I saw mountains in real life for the first time. The Rocky Mountains in Colorado were the tallest, largest, and most impressive natural wonder I had ever seen. They were huge! Even though I was small and weak compared to the immense and firm mountains, they were approachable and accessible. I could see, touch, and walk on them.

According to Psalm 36:6, mountains are a picture of God’s righteousness. Mountains and God’s righteousness are constant. When night, a cloudy sky, or fog obscure the mountains, they are still there. God’s righteousness never goes away either; God is always righteous. God always has and always will do the right thing. Another similarity between mountains and God’s righteousness is greatness. Mountains extend to great heights and across vast areas. God’s righteousness has no limits. And, like mountains, God’s righteousness can be seen and experienced. Just as the awe-inspiring and breath-taking mountains are available to you and me, so is God’s righteousness.

The fact that God gives His righteousness to those who believe is even more stunning than the tallest mountain in the world. I do not deserve God’s righteousness; I deserve punishment, eternal torment, and separation from God, because I am a sinner. But God made sinless Jesus bear my sin and your sin on the cross so we could be made righteous. Second Corinthians 5:21 says, “For he hath made him [Jesus] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Those who believe that Jesus paid the penalty for their sins are saved and can be used by God to do right things that honor Him when they obey and follow Him. The book of Romans calls these people “instruments of righteousness” (Romans 6:13). This righteousness comes from God and is for His glory. It does not come from ourselves, nor is it for the purpose of making us look good. We need God’s righteousness, because none of us are righteous without Him (Romans 3:10).

The next time you see mountains, either in pictures or in person, remember that God’s righteousness is like mountains.

God is righteous. We must proclaim His righteousness and praise Him for His righteousness.

My response:

» Do I thank, praise, and worship God because of His righteousness?

» How can I be used as an instrument of righteousness for God today?

“Mercy and truth shall be to them that devise good” (Proverbs 14:22).

One morning when Susan woke up, she remembered that she wanted to buy a gift for her mother’s birthday. But Susan couldn’t get it without her mother seeing, so she asked her father to take her to the store. She knew exactly what to buy her mother. Many times when they had been in that store, Susan and seen her mother look longingly at a pair of earrings, but then decide at the last minute not to buy them. After saving up her Christmas and birthday money, Susan finally had enough to buy the gift. So she bought the earrings. When Susan gave them to her mother, Susan’s mom nearly cried tears of joy.

Susan had a giving attitude. She had planned out everything exactly. She had watched to see what her mother wanted, and then she had worked things out to surprise her mother. Susan planned to do good.

God is pleased with this kind of attitude. The sacrifice honors Him, and the thoughtfulness makes Him smile, because He, too, is thoughtful. Before He ever made the world, God planned to do good to all people by sending Jesus Christ as a substitute to pay for everyone’s sin. God has enormous delight in those who follow His example of planning to do good.

God plans to good and delights when we plan to do good too.

My response:

» What kind of attitude do I have: a giving one or a greedy one?

» Do I plan ahead to do good, or is it an afterthought?

» Do I ask God to help me do good to others to show them what He is like?

“He . . . set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps” (Psalm 40:2).

Have you ever watched a young child learning how to walk? The child totters around while the parents offer praise to encourage the little one to take more steps. Smartphones come out to record the event. The parents quickly clear the way to keep the child from getting hurt. Usually the little one falls many times in this process, but gets back up each time and tries again. Often, the parents are there when the child falls, so they help their little one stand back up. But good parents would never push their child over on purpose.

You aren’t a baby any more, but you still have to learn to walk. Yes, you may know how to walk on two feet, but there’s another “walk” you need to work on. In the New Testament, Paul compares the Christian’s life to a walk. As you probably know by now, the Christian life is not always an easy walk. Temptations come frequently. Hard times unexpectedly pop up along the way. Life doesn’t always go the way you plan it.

But Christians have a Heavenly Father who helps them learn to walk the Christian life. He is beside you with every step. Does that mean that you’ll never fall down? No! But just like a little child learning to walk, you have a wonderful person beside you to help you up: God. David asked the Lord for help, and God responded by putting David’s feet on a solid rock to keep him from slipping. You can’t get any more secure than that!

Your Heavenly Father will strengthen your steps in the Christian walk.

My response:

» How am I struggling in my Christian walk?

» Have I asked my Heavenly Father to strengthen my steps?

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16–17).

“You put your suitcase in the car. Right, honey?” TJ’s mom asked as she pulled out of the driveway.

TJ was going to camp for the first time, and he was excited. “Yes,” he called from the back seat.

“Okay, just checking,” she smiled as she said it. For about a week, she had been packing TJ’s suitcase for camp. She kept it open in his room so she could add necessary items as she thought of them. TJ didn’t really know what all was in there, but he knew she had been to Walmart four times just to buy things for his trip.

TJ enjoyed his week at camp. But when he got home, he admitted to his mom that parts of his week hadn’t been the best. “I got really hungry in the afternoons, Mom, and I wanted to buy some snacks and souvenirs but didn’t have any cash.”

“Oh, TJ,” his mom replied. “I put your wallet in your suitcase. It had $30 in it for you to spend. Did you eat all the snacks I sent you?”

“What snacks?” TJ asked.

“Oh, honey. It was all in your suitcase. Did you even open it?”

“Not really, Mom,” replied TJ “I didn’t want to take the time. Were there clean clothes in there too?”

You’re probably thinking, TJ wasn’t very smart to hardly open his suitcase all week! But believe it or not, you actually make a similar choice when you don’t open your Bible. Here’s why: You’ve probably heard people compare the Christian life to a journey. Throughout this trip you need encouragement, food and supplies for each day, wisdom in dealing with various situations, and correction when you’re going the wrong way. God has packed everything you need into His Word, according to 2 Timothy 3:16–17. It is your “suitcase” for the “journey” of life. Just as it would be dumb to barely open your suitcase during a trip to camp, it isn’t wise to neglect opening God’s Word from day to day. And God promises that His Word can make you “perfect,” which means “complete.” It’s all there for you; you just have to open it.

God has packed everything you need for life into His Word.

My response:

» Am I spending time in God’s Word every day to get what I need for my journey through life?

» When I’m reading His Word, am I looking for truths about Him?