“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed…. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:5-6, 17)

With a heavy heart, Hillary stared out the window. Here it was already late October, and the leaves on the trees had not even changed color yet. But the grey sky outside matched her mood. She watched the swaying of the branches (still so full of green leaves) as a damp, cold wind blew through them. Hillary wished the leaves would just fall off. She also wished her tears would fall down, too. If only she could have a good cry, she thought maybe she would feel better.

But there wasn’t time for crying. Caroline – Hillary’s best friend and closest cousin – was all ready to move to China this week. Uncle Dave’s company was sending him and Aunt Britt and Caroline to Shanghai for two years, and Hillary was going to be left behind in plain, boring old Iowa – with only the teen-aged neighbors and the baby cousins to play with. Caroline had promised to write, but Hillary knew things would never be the same after they were gone.

“We know this is going to be especially tough for the two of you girls,” Uncle Dave had said to them. He gave Caroline and Hillary each a pretty jade ring that he and Aunt Britt had bought for them the last time they were visiting in China. “I want both of you to wear your rings every day,” he said. “When you look at them, I want you to remember that you have someone you love on the other side of the world thinking about you. Let your rings remind you to pray for each other every day.”

Continue reading Kids 4 Truth International – God Is Unchanging →

“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. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” (Hebrews 13:5-6)

Have you ever coveted? To “covet” something is to wish you had that something, even if God has chosen not to give it to you. Maybe you wish sometimes that your family had a nicer house, with a back yard big enough for a ball game. Maybe you have found yourself wishing that you were taller, or prettier, or stronger. Maybe you struggle with some kind of disability, and you just wish you could be “normal” like everyone else. Not everything we wish for is a bad thing in itself. We can wish for very good things. But when those wishes for good things become strong enough desires to make us bitter at God, or willing to break God’s laws to get those things, that’s when wishing becomes coveting. And that’s when wishing becomes sin.

God’s Word clearly teaches that He is sovereign. He is in control, and He is aware of (He knows the details of) everything going on in our lives. Hebrews 13:5-6 reminds us that the Lord has promised never to leave or forsake His people. If we are trusting the Lord, we can be content with those things He has chosen to give us. We can be content without those things He has chosen not to give us.

Do you believe the Lord is with you? Is He more valuable to you than the other things you desire? Or do you wish for some things so much that you would be willing to sin against Him to get those things? Reminding ourselves that the Lord is always with us and always aware of our needs is a great way to keep ourselves from giving in to the temptation to covet.

Another way that the Lord keeps us from sinning is the fact that He is our best helper, not men. The Lord is always available – we can always call on Him when we need help. What man or woman could always be there for us? And the Lord is greater than any person or problem that could come up against us. We really have nothing to fear if the Lord is with us and if the Lord is our help.

Continue reading Kids 4 Truth International – The Lord Can Keep Us from Sinning →

“He is the Rock, his work is perfect; for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.” (Deuteronomy 32:4)

Have you ever broken something like your mom’s good china or a special glass? Glass is fragile; it is easily broken. It’s the same way with trust. Trust in a friend can easily be broken. One of the quickest ways to lose a person’s trust is by lying. If a person lies to you, you never know when to believe him.

Lies are told in several different ways: telling a half-truth, sharing a story in a way that makes you look better than what actually happened, being one way with one person and another way with somebody else, or allowing a lie or rumor to continue when you know that it is not true. No matter what form it takes, a lie is a sin.

Continue reading Kids 4 Truth International – God Is a God of Truth →