“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.” (Isaiah 55:8)

Jeremy Fairmont sat in the fourth pew with his family during Mr. Graham’s funeral. Mr. Graham had been Jeremy’s neighbor, his Sunday school teacher, and his friend. Jeremy was feeling very sick to his stomach and very sad in his heart. Mr. Graham’s death just didn’t make any sense at all. He had been driving his semi-truck on the highway for work, when another car’s tire suddenly blew out. The car spun around and came into his lane, and Mr. Graham had not had time to stop his truck. Jeremy did not know all the details, but he knew that Mr. Graham had died right away. He could not understand why God would let someone as wonderful as Mr. Graham die. Wasn’t God supposed to protect His people?

The people who had been in the other car were all fine. They were all Christians – in fact, they were all members of a different church on the other side of town! Jeremy knew that they had been thanking God for taking care of them during the wreck. This is what Jeremy could not understand. Why would God protect this other family of Christians on one side of the wreck, but choose not to protect Mr. Graham and not to spare his life? Jeremy knew that if Mr. Graham were alive right now, he would be praising God for protecting him, just like this other family was. So why didn’t God let Mr. Graham live? Obviously, He could have, but He just didn’t.

One reason Jeremy was so upset at Mr. Graham’s funeral was that he had lost someone he loved dearly, and who loved him back. Death is never an easy thing to deal with, but the death of Christian is still nothing like the death of an unbeliever. Jeremy did have hope that he would see Mr. Graham again one day, in heaven; but what Jeremy could not understand was why God would protect the lives of some Christians in the wreck, but not protect Mr. Graham. Mr. Graham was one of the greatest Christians Jeremy had ever known. It seemed to make better sense for God to leave people like Mr. Graham here on Earth. If there were more people like Mr. Graham in the world, Jeremy thought, the world would have to be a better place, for sure.

After the funeral, Jeremy just sat in his family’s van and cried. When the rest of the Fairmont family went inside the house, Jeremy’s dad stayed in the van with him. Together, they began to talk through what the Bible teaches about the kind of character God has. They talked about how God does not think like we think. God is all-knowing; His thoughts are higher than ours. Even the smartest human being might not ever understand some of God’s perfect reasoning. God never makes mistakes; His ways are better than our ways. God’s timing and actions are perfectly planned. Even our best dreams and wishes and plans could never come close to the perfection of God’s ways. God is loving; His affection is greater than ours. As much as we think we might love someone, and as much as we think we might know what’s best for someone – God knows better, and God definitely loves more.

Based on what he knew of Mr. Graham, Jeremy could figure out a lot of great things that Mr. Graham had done and might be able to do in the future, if he had not died in that wreck. But, based on what he knew about God, Jeremy had to admit that God knew and loved Mr. Graham far more than Jeremy could ever dream. Deep down, Jeremy knew that was true. It was not going to be easy getting used to life without Mr. Graham around. But it helped a little to trust God’s wisdom and perfection and love. Jeremy knew all those things about God in his head already, but it was a lot more difficult to learn them in his heart.

By the time Jeremy and his dad climbed out of the van, Jeremy was feeling a little better. He did not have to understand all God’s reasons for sparing the other Christian family and taking Mr. Graham home to be with Him. Jeremy knew he just needed to keep trusting and obeying God, even when it didn’t always make sense to him. Surely God – with His high wisdom and infinite love and perfect ways – surely He could more than fill up the giant hole that Mr. Graham’s homegoing had left in Jeremy’s heart. And Mr. Graham would have wanted that.

God thinks higher, loves greater, and plans more perfectly than any of us ever could.

My Response:
» Am I struggling lately with a choice that God has made?
» How do I respond when God does things that affect my life?
» How can I show in my responses that I believe God is how He says He is in His Word, and that He is worthy of my trust?

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“But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” (James 3:8)

Sometimes, we say things we wish we hadn’t said. It may be to a friend, or mother, father, sister, brother – or maybe even to someone we don’t even know.

There is an old saying that goes like this: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” This isn’t true! Physically, sticks and stones can hurt you if someone throws them at you. You will probably recover from the injury. But when someone says something that hurts your feelings, an emotional recovery isn’t always as easy as a physical recovery. You may be able to forgive someone who has been unkind to you, and this is what God wants you to do – but forgetting is almost impossible to do. No matter how old you get, there will be times when you will remember how you felt when someone hurt you by unkind words or actions.

We are taught in James 3 that our “tongues” can harm others. Sometimes you may want to say something against another person because you are angry and you “want to get even.” What should you say when you are feeling unkind toward someone? Probably nothing!

Years ago a man named Ollie lived in a country village. He said something hurtful about a friend of his because he had made him angry. The gossip spread throughout the neighborhoods, and it wasn’t long before Ollie’s friend became the talk of the town. Ollie apologized to his friend, but he did something more – something that is hard for us to believe: Ollie never talked again!

From that day on, Ollie kept a small pad of paper and pencil that he kept with him at all times. When he wanted to say something, he wrote it down. Did he speak when he was at home? No one knows. No one ever heard Ollie say a word to anyone again in public.

It is probably not necessary to do something as drastic and extreme as not talking at all. But it shows us how seriously Ollie considered his sin, and how seriously he was learning to consider his friends. He did not want to harm anyone else the same way he had harmed his friend. To him, if never speaking again meant he would never hurt his friend with unkind words again, it was worth it to Ollie.

Another common saying goes like this: “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” If you are having a hard time controlling your tongue and being kind in your words, you might try humbling yourself and shutting your mouth. It is humbling to admit that “the tongue can no man tame” and that your tongue is just as difficult to control as anyone else’s. Admit that you have to keep a close guard over your mouth – maybe just be quiet – and pray for the Lord to help you. Jesus Christ was 100% man and yet 100% God. He is the only Man Who ever lived perfectly, and He is strong enough to help you be kind with your words.

God expects and enables us to speak kind words.

My Response:
» Do I have trouble controlling my tongue?
» How important is it to me to make sure I speak kindly about other people?
» Am I relying on God to help me be as kind as He commands me to be?

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“Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul” (Hebrews 10:38–39).

How is a person saved? You have probably memorized a verse that gives the answer to that question. Ephesians 2:8 says that we are saved by grace, through faith. If you are a Christian today, you were saved only by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

But does that mean that we Christians don’t need faith anymore? No, we need faith for the rest of our lives! All of the Christian life is like a long journey toward Heaven, and the road that we’re traveling could be called “Faith.” God says that “the just,” or those who have been made righteous through Christ (Christians), will live by faith.

Faith, as Hebrews 11:1 explains, means being confident of something that we cannot see. If there is anything in your life right now that seems difficult, sad, or confusing, God is asking you to live by faith. You cannot see how the situation is going to turn out. You cannot see what direction your life will take in the future. Perhaps you are having trouble seeing anything good about the situation you are in. If that is the case, you are going through a trial that God is using to strengthen your faith. He wants to see whether—and how much—you will trust Him, even when you can’t see all of the answers, results, and reasons.

What do you know about the God you cannot see? You know that He is wise. You know that He loves you. You know that He wants you to grow into a stronger, more contented, and happier Christian. So exercise some faith! Believe that God is working for your good in ways that you cannot understand right now. Praise Him for the things He is doing and for the things He is going to do in the future. It takes faith to do this—but faith is what we live by!

God wants us to live by faith when things happen that we can’t understand.

My response:

» What do I need to have faith about?

» What seems sad, confusing, or difficult in my life today?

» Am I complaining and questioning God about it, or am I living by faith, trusting God even when I can’t see any good?

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“For we ourselves were sometimes foolish, disobedient, . . . but after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared” (Titus 3:3a–4).

Have you disobeyed your parents recently? How did they treat you the day after you disobeyed? They probably gave you food to eat, provided you with clothing to wear, and allowed you to keep living under their roof—at the very least. They may even have done something especially nice for you. Your parents’ love for you does not change after you disobey them. They continue to show love and kindness to you, day after day, even when you disappoint or disobey them. That’s because loving you is natural for them. You are in their family. Loving you is part of who they are as your parents.

God loved us even when we were not in His family. Romans 5:8 says He showed His love for us while we were outside His family, still lost in our sins. Titus 3:3–4 tell us that He loved us even after we had been foolish, disobedient, and hateful. If you are saved today, God loved you and showed mercy to you after you had sinned against Him thousands of times. He brought you into His family and gave you eternal life (Titus 3:7). He saved you just because of His mercy. He showed kindness and love to you—because that is His nature. It is part of Who He is. God is kind to sinners.

Are you ever tempted to think God is not kind? Have you ever thought that because He has not given you some of the things you want, He does not love you? God has already proven His love and kindness toward you. He has already shown you much greater love and kindness than you could ever deserve. He will not keep back His kindness from you now. Sometimes God waits to give us good things, and sometimes He refuses to give us things we want because He knows they would harm us. When you are tempted to doubt God’s kindness and love, just look back to the day He saved you. He loved you when you were still a sinner—and He will always love you. It is part of Who He is.

God is kind and loving toward sinners.

My response:

» Have I remembered God’s gift of salvation today?

» Have I thanked Him for His love and kindness?

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By Kids4Truth Clubs on 09/28/20

“Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you” (Exodus 16:4a).

“And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey” (Exodus 16:31).

Every evening at dusk, I fill my bird feeders with bird seed. In the morning—to the birds’ amazement, I’m sure—there is more seed for them to eat. If they could talk, I wonder if they might say, “Where did this come from? It was almost gone when we went to bed. Does the seed grow overnight? This is a mystery we don’t understand. But we sure are happy when we see the food again!” I give my birds food because I care about them.

When Moses was leading the Israelites through the wilderness to the Promised Land, the people were hungry and needed food for their health and strength. Moses couldn’t go to the grocery store to buy food. Instead, He depended on God to supply what the people needed. But the Israelites were unhappy with Moses. They accused him of taking them into the wilderness to kill them (Exodus 16:4b).

God heard the complaint from His people and told Moses that He would “rain bread” from Heaven. God also gave strict instructions, telling the Israelites how much food they could have each day, but some did not obey Him. They did not believe there would be enough food for them the next day, so they gathered more than God had instructed, and they kept some overnight. During the night worms infested it, and the next day it stank and had to be thrown away. God provided manna during the morning, but as soon as the sun came out, the manna melted. In the evening God provided meat. He wanted the Israelites to know “that I am Lord your God” (Exodus 16:12b). The Israelites did not have to worry about food again. They knew exactly where it had come from.

God wants us to trust Him and believe that He will provide all that we need. Today, thank God for all the provisions that He gives you daily. Can you name some of His blessings?

My response:

» Do I tell God my needs and trust Him to provide them?

» Do I thank God for the blessings He has already given me?

» When God meets one of my needs, do I remember to thank Him?

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By Kids4Truth Clubs on 09/24/20

https://equipu.kids4truth.com/podcast-player/10888/dont-get-lost-2.mp3

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5–6).

Have you ever been lost? I have. When I was a young boy, about eight- or nine-years-old, my brother and I were walking home from school. Instead of walking down the streets we knew, we followed a creek for a while, thinking it would take us toward home. But it didn’t. It went another direction. When we realized we were lost, I got a little scared. We finally asked a man where the street we lived on was, and he told us. As we followed his guidance, we got back to familiar territory and home!

What my brother and I did is what Proverbs 3:5 tells us not to do. We leaned on our own understanding. We thought we knew what we were doing, but we didn’t. This is how most people are for most of their lives. They think they know what they are doing, and instead of getting their guidance from the Lord, they go their own direction. And they get lost—every time! Why is that? It is because no one has the ability in himself to go the right direction, to do the right thing. The prophet Jeremiah even admitted this fact to God when he said, “O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps” (Jeremiah 10:23).

If we don’t have the ability in ourselves to go the right way or do the right thing, how can we get it? We must believe, obey, and honor the Lord, and He will make sure we go the right direction and do the right thing. That is what Proverbs 3:6 tells us. The Lord has already given us the guidance we need. We just have to find out what it is and do it.

God’s guidance will always take us in the right direction. It will always take us home—to Him.

My response:

» Do I ask God for guidance or lean on my own understanding—on what seems right to me?

» When I sin, do I confess it to God and turn back to Him, or do I try to fix it myself (leaning on my own understanding)?

» Do I learn God’s Word, obey it, and use it to guide me?

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By Kids4Truth Clubs on 09/23/20

“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8).

Have you ever gotten ready for school in the morning and decided you did not like your outfit? Unless you are short on time, it is usually okay to change your clothes. People do it all the time.

Have you ever realized that a food you used to hate is starting to become a favorite food now? Maybe you used to hate spinach. After all those years of hating spinach, you are starting to love it. People are like that. As we grow older, our tastes change.

Did you ever lose track of someone who used to be a good friend of yours? Some friends will always be a part of our lives. But some of our friendships will change over the years. We make new friends. We may never forget the old friends, but we might spend less time with them or go a long time without seeing them.

Change is a part of every human being’s life. We have to deal with that change. Sometimes it takes a very long time for us to change, just as it takes a long time to grow taller or wiser. On other things, we might change overnight.

Every human being has to change. But one encouraging thing about Jesus Christ is that He is always the same. He is God, so He will always have the great character that only God has.

Because Jesus never changes, we do not have to wonder about Him. We can trust that Jesus will always be exactly Who He always has been. He will never lose His love for us. He will never forget us or let us down or change His mind about us. He will never make mistakes. He will never do wrong. Because He is faithful and never changing, Jesus deserves our trust and worship. What a great God He is!

The Lord Jesus Christ is always going to be exactly Who He always has been.

My response:

» Do I ever doubt whether Jesus is still the same person He was in Bible times?

» Do I ever wonder how Jesus could keep on showing grace to me every day?

» How should I respond as I learn more about the unchanging goodness and greatness of Jesus Christ?

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By Kids4Truth Clubs on 09/22/20

https://equipu.kids4truth.com/podcast-player/10886/god-wants-us-to-be-poor-in-spirit.mp3

“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3).

It was Billy’s turn to read his verse in the morning devotions. The Phillips family was reading in the book of Matthew, chapter 5. Billy read verse 3: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

“Dad,” he asked, “what does ‘blessed’ mean?”

His father answered, “It means ‘happy.’”

“How can a poor person be happy? He doesn’t have anything to be happy about?” Billy wasn’t sure how this verse could be true.

His father answered wisely. “It doesn’t just say a poor person is happy. It says those who are ‘poor in spirit’ are happy because they will live in the kingdom of Heaven.”

Billy wasn’t sure what all that meant. “What does it mean to be ‘poor in spirit’?”

“It means a person is not proud. There is a saying about proud people that goes something like this, ‘He’s full of his wee self.’ That means a person who is proud is filled up with himself. He doesn’t have room for others, let alone for the Lord. All he thinks about is himself. All he cares about is himself. You know what it means to be poor, don’t you, Billy?”

“Sure. It means someone doesn’t have much of anything.”

“That’s right. In this case the person doesn’t have much of himself. His life isn’t full of himself. He has room for the Lord and others. This is true of those who are going to Heaven. They have realized they are nothing great in themselves and they need Jesus to forgive their sins. They also know they need His help to do what is right and to make the right decisions. The proud person doesn’t think that way. He thinks he is good enough by himself and doesn’t need God or anyone else. He has all he wants as long as he has his pride.”

Billy started to understand what his father was saying. “So the person who doesn’t think he is good enough by himself is the one who will come to Jesus and get saved from his sins, and then he will know he is going to Heaven. And that’s why he’s happy. But the person who doesn’t want the Lord is a proud person and will never come to Jesus because he doesn’t think he needs God. And he will not go to Heaven. He has nothing good to look forward to. And when he dies, he will never be happy again. It that what it means, Dad?”

His father answered, “That’s pretty much it, Billy.”

“Wow!” exclaimed Billy. “Last year I understood I was a sinner and not good enough to go to Heaven, and I asked Jesus to forgive my sins and save me. And I still know I’m not very good all by myself. I still need the Lord to help me not to sin and help me do what is right. That means I’m poor in spirit, and I can be happy because I know I will be in Heaven with Jesus forever. Sometimes it really is good to be poor, isn’t it Dad?”

“It sure is, Billy. It sure is.”

My response:

» Am I poor in spirit?

» Do I know I need Jesus to save me?

» Do I know I need Jesus to help me live?

The post God Wants Us to be Poor in Spirit appeared first on EquipU Online Library.

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By Kids4Truth Clubs on 09/21/20

https://equipu.kids4truth.com/podcast-player/10885/serving-god-for-the-right-reasons.mp3

“As the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men” (Ephesians 6:6–7).

Kara walked quickly down the church hallway. She was late for orchestra practice. When she reached the auditorium, she searched the chairs for her usual empty spot. To her surprise, it was filled by her friend Melanie. Kara stalked up the stairs and stood in front of her chair. Melanie stopped practicing and looked up.

“Oh hi, Kara. Pastor Fox just moved me up here this morning,” she explained.

“Okay. Did he say why? This has always been my spot.”

“Not really, but it’s not a big deal. I mean, if you need to sit here, I can just move back,” Melanie offered.

Kara gave a plastic smile. “It’s fine. I’ll just move somewhere else.” She found an empty stand at the back of the first violins and flopped down.

After a couple of minutes, Pastor Fox came in. As he passed Kara’s chair, he stopped and said, “By the way, Kara, I moved you because I thought it’d be nice to give Melanie a chance to sit in the front. You don’t mind, do you?”

“No—it’s fine,” she said sourly. They began practicing the Sunday offertory, but Kara’s heart wasn’t in the music. All she could think about was the injustice of her new seat. It’s not fair. I’m so much better than Melanie, she thought.

After practice, she made a beeline for the door but was stopped by Pastor Fox. “Kara, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Uh, sure,” she swallowed.

“I noticed you didn’t seem very happy about your new seat. Maybe Melanie isn’t as good a musician as you, but this is a leadership opportunity for her. I want you to really think about why you play in the orchestra. Are you doing it for God, or for yourself?”

Kara thought a minute, then said, “I guess, myself.”

God wants us to serve Him because we love Him. When we do something to be recognized by other people or to make ourselves feel good, we are being selfish in our ministry.

We glorify God when our motivation is to honor Him.

My response:

» What is my attitude when others get attention that I don’t get? What does this show about me?

» What’s my reason for ministry—do I do it for God or for myself?

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