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Kids Bible Blog: obedience : Page P30
Is your faith alive or dead?
TODAY’S SPECIAL: James 2:14-19
TO CHEW ON: "In the same way, faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead." James 2:17
Someone wakes you up at night yelling, “Fire!” How will you show you believe the warning? Of course you’ll get out of the house.
The sign says, “Beward - shallow Water.” What will prove you believe the sign? If you’re smart, you won’t dive!
It’s easy to connect faith and action in the physical world. But there are other things we say we believe just as much, but our actions (or lack of action) make our words a lie.
We say God loves everyone and we love them too. Yet we gossip and say mean things about others.
We say we believe God will provide for all our needs, and yet we worry, showing we don’t really trust God at all....
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In Love
TODAY’S SPECIAL:2 John 1-13
TO CHEW ON: "I ask that we love one another. And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love." 2 John 5-6
To “walk in love” means different things to different people. To some it means having a crush on a special person. To others it means having a best friend who is always there for you. To still others it means constant reminders of someone’s love in the form of gifts and nice things.
But really loving each other is not nearly as soft and fuzzy as the things above would make us think. It’s all about choices. It’s about not doing the unloving thing and doing the loving thing. It’s about actions. It's about loving things that we do whether or not we feel loving.
I Corinthians 13:1-13 tells us some of the difficult things a person who lives a loving life does or doesn’t do. Which ways to “walk in love,” below, are hard for you?
Being patientNot being rudeBeing kindNot getting angryNot boastingProtecting othersNot being proudTrusting othersNot looking after my own interests firstBeing hopeful (positive)Not remembering bad things done...
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Tags: obedience love God’s help God’s character choices 2 John
I’m Sorry
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Psalm 51:1-19
TO CHEW ON: "My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise." Psalm 51:17
After Nathan had talked to David, he felt terrible. Now he knew how seriously God took what he had done. It wasn’t just some little "mistake." It was sin – adultery, lying, murder. He felt guilty. He felt dirty. He felt sad. He felt afraid that God wouldn’t be his friend any more. He was very sorry.
David wrote his thoughts and feelings in Psalm 51.
1. Even though David had killed Uriah, whom had he sinned against the most? ____ (Psalm 51:4)...
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Tags: sin Psalms obedience disobedience David consequences confession
Handsome Inside
TODAY’S SPECIAL:1 Samuel 16:1-13
TO CHEW ON: "But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people looks at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.'” 1 Samuel 16:7
For a long time Samuel felt sad about Saul and way he had turned out as king. One day God said to him, “Stop feeling bad about Saul. Today I want you to anoint a new king.” Then God told him where to go (Bethlehem) and which family the new king would come from (Jesse’s).
When he got to Bethlehem, he invited Jesse and his sons to join him and other people in offering a sacrifice to God. Then he asked Jesse to introduce him to his sons.
The first son, Eliab, was tall and handsome – just like a king. But God said, “Don’t judge by his height and good looks. I see his heart, and I have rejected him.”
The same thing happened when Jesse’s second son met Samuel, and the third, and the fourth, all the way to number seven....
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God’s Errand Boy
TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Samuel 3:1-21
TO CHEW ON: "The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, 'Samuel! Samuel!'Then Samuel said, 'Speak for your servant is listening.'” 1 Samuel 3:10
One night after everyone had gone to bed, Samuel heard Eli call him. Because Eli was very old and blind, Samuel helped him with many things and was used to coming when Eli called. Now Samuel jumped out of bed and ran to Eli. “Here I am,” he said. “You called me.”
“No I didn’t,” answered Eli. “Go back to bed.”
"Eli and Samuel" Original oil painting © 2001 by Darlene Slavujac Thau
A few minutes later, Samuel thought he heard Eli call his name again, and again he jumped out of bed to see what Eli wanted. Again Eli sent him back to bed.
When this happened a third time, Eli thought of something. Maybe this was God wanting to speak to Samuel. So he said, “Go and lie down. If He calls you a third time say, ‘Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.’”
So Samuel went back bed. Sure enough, in a few minutes the voice came again, “Samuel! Samuel!”...
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Tags: tabernacle storytelling Samuel rebellion obedience judgment God’s presence God’s plan 1 Samuel
God Comes Near
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Nehemiah 8:1-18
TO CHEW ON: "Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it the people stood up. Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted up their hands and responded, 'Amen! Amen!' Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground." Nehemiah 8:5,6
The wall was finished. It was time to celebrate! But instead of a lively party, the people gathered in the square at the Water Gate and asked Ezra to read the law.
They had just been part of an amazing project. They had seen how God had helped and protected them. Now they wanted to know how to keep pleasing Him.
Ezra stood on a high platform with the people all around. As soon as he opened the book, everyone stood up. After he praised God, the people raised their hands and said, “Amen! Amen!” and bowed to the ground in worship.
Then Ezra began reading. Nehemiah and the priests and Levites joined him on stage. From time to time they explained what the reading meant. Soon there was a sound of sobbing from the crowd, then weeping,...
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Gecko Burgers Anyone?
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Acts 10:9-23
TO CHEW ON: "The voice spoke to him a second time, 'Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.'” Acts 10:15
It was lunchtime in Joppa. Peter (Jesus’s disciple) was hungry. While he was waiting for a call to lunch, a vision appeared. A sheet came down from heaven with all kinds of animals on it. A voice said, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat.”
Though Peter was hungry, there was a problem with the food in front of him. These were animals which God had commanded the Jews not to eat. They were called ‘unclean.’ Peter answered, “I’ve never eaten anything unclean.”
Then the voice said, “Don’t call something impure that God has made clean.”
This happened two more times. Then the sheet disappeared.
"Peter's Vision" - Artist Unknown
While Peter was wondering what that was about, Cornelius’s servants arrived at the door. Peter invited them in. They told him about the vision Cornelius had had the day before. They asked Peter to come back with them to Caesarea to talk to Cornelius....
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Tags: Peter obedience Leviticus God’s plan Acts
Fruit Salad
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Galatians 5:16-26
TO CHEW ON: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." Galatians 5:22,23a
What do you like about fruit - its sweetness? Its juiciness? The way it feels in your mouth? What is your favorite kind of fruit?
If you live in a place where fruit grows, you know only certain plants produce fruit. You don’t expect to pick apples from an oak tree or find blackberries on a cedar bush. Even fruit trees can only produce one kind of fruit. Plum trees will not grow peaches, neither will cherry trees grow pineapples.
We can think of people as plants. Their fruit is the things they do. But unlike plants, people’s lives can grow many kinds of fruit - a real fruit salad.
In the letter he wrote to the church in Galatia, Paul talks about the kinds of fruit a person who has given their life to Jesus should grow. It's Holy Spirit fruit. When we give Jesus our lives and let the Holy Spirit change us to be like Him, our lives will grow this kind of fruit too....
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Fish!
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Luke 5: 1-11
TO CHEW ON: "He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat." Luke 5:3
Would you lend it?
~ Your friend asks to borrow your bike to deliver papers.~ Your sister needs to use your markers to finish her homework.~ Your mom needs to borrow change from you for the parking meter.
Would you lend these things? Your answer will probably show if you’re the kind of person who easily shares your things or likes to keep them for yourself.
Simon must have been a sharer. One day Jesus got into Simon’s boat, asked him to row it a way from the shore and then used it as a platform for teaching the people. Never once did Simon say: “Why should I let you use my boat?”
"Jesus teaching from a boat" - James Tissot
Later, after the people went home, Jesus thanked Simon in an amazing way. Though Simon and his partners hadn’t caught any fish the night before, Jesus told Simon to try fishing again. What happened when they let down their nets now? (Luke 5:6)...
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Tags: obedience miracles Luke Jesus generosity
Finding a Special Book
TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Chron 34:14-19 & 31
TO CHEW ON: "Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, 'Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.' And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king. When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his robes." 2 Chronicles 34:18,19
When King Josiah turned sixteen something changed. Perhaps after being king for eight years he realized what a hard job it was. Maybe he wished he had help and wanted to be sure that God was on his side. He may have asked, which god? For the people in Judah worshiped many gods.
Perhaps he remembered his grandfather, King Manasseh, and thought of how he had smashed the idols and taken down the Asherah poles after he got back from prison. Then he had told everyone to worship the unseen God of the temple.
However it came about, over the next four years, Josiah took down every altar and high place and pole connected with idol worship. Then he decided to clean up the temple too. He put the priests and Levites to work. One day as they were clearing out garbage, they found a book. It was the book of the...
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Centurion Summons Simon
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Acts 10:1-8
TO CHEW ON: "At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion...” Acts 10:1
Cornelius was not a Jew but a Gentile. It wasn’t only his race that made the Jewish people want to avoid him. His job was a problem too. He was a centurion (centurion = captain) in the Roman army. Roman soldiers often mistreated the Jews. Jewish people were suspicious and afraid of Cornelius.
But Cornelius had some surprising beliefs for a Roman soldier. Unscramble the words below that tell about him (Acts 10:2):He (dreefa)________ (dgo)________.He (vgae)___________ to those in need.He (yrdepa) __________ to God regularly.
One afternoon an angel talked to him in a vision. The angel told him God had noticed his prayers and gifts. He was to send someone to Joppa, find Simon Peter and bring him to his house in Caesarea. God looked past Cornelius’s race and job, into his heart. He knew Cornelius wanted to know Him better. Peter (who was a Jew) would help with that – or would he?
"Cornelius is confronted by the angel" by Caspar Luiken, 1672-1708
Do you ever jump to conclusions about what a person is like because of their skin color, the fact that they are...
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Tags: Peter obedience love God’s plan friendship choices Acts
Breaking the Rules
TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Chronicles 13:1-14
TO CHEW ON: "They moved the ark of God from Abinadab’s house on a new cart, with Uzzah and Ahio guiding it." 1 Chronicles 13:7
One day, sometime after he had become king, David thought of the ark. For many years this special gold box had been sitting in Abinadab’s house in Kiriath Jearim.* Now David wanted to bring it back to the tabernacle in Jerusalem.
He went with a crowd to Kiriath Jearim to move the ark. They put the ark on a new cart. Then he and the people celebrated with singing and playing harps, lyres, tambourines, trumpets and cymbals. Behind them came the lumbering oxen pulling the precious load.
Suddenly one of the oxen stumbled. Uzzah, who was guiding the animals, saw that the ark was starting to slip. He reached out to steady it. The minute he touched it he fell down – dead!...
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Tags: rules obedience God’s plan God’s holiness disobedience David 1 Chronicles
Bethlehem Food Bank
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Ruth 2:1-12
TO CHEW ON: “May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” Ruth 2:12
The first thing Naomi and Ruth had to do when they got back to Bethlehem was figure out where to get some food. So Naomi sent Ruth to the food bank, right? Well, not exactly. But she did send her to a place where food was free.
In those times, farmers harvesting their crops were supposed to leave a little behind for exactly this reason - to feed the poor. People who needed food were allowed to go to harvested fields and pick up what was left over. This was called gleaning.
I wonder what Ruth’s thoughts were as she went out to her first gleaning job. Perhaps she wondered if there would be any grain left to glean in the fields. Maybe she worried that people would find out she was a foreigner and make fun of her or chase her away. In spite of any anxious thoughts, Ruth went out, as Naomi asked her to.
Ruth gleaning in the field - Artist unknown
On...
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Amazing Escape
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Exodus 14:15-31TO CHEW ON: "And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant." Exodus 14:31Even after God spoke to him, Moses kept crying to God for help. Finally God interrupted Moses’ frantic prayer. “Stop praying,” God said. “Get busy. Here’s my plan.”
The waters are divided by James Tissot
Read the story in Exodus 14:15-31, then cross out the three things, below, that did not happen:
1. Moses stretched out his staff toward the sea.2. The cloud came between the Israelites and the Egyptian army.3. The Egyptians bothered the Israelites all night.4. An east wind turned the sea into dry land.5. The Israelites waded through the sea in waist-deep water.6. The Israelites walked across the sea on dry ground.7. The Egyptian army followed the Israelites into the sea.8. The Egyptian army became confused.9. When Moses gave the signal, the sea rushed back into place.10. Some of the Egyptians got across in canoes.11. The whole Egyptian army drowned in the sea that day....
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Tags: obedience Moses miracles God’s timing God’s help faith Exodus Egypt
Always Available
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Acts 28:1-10
TO CHEW ON: "His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured." (Acts 28:8,9)
Paul had just come through a two-week storm and a hair-raising shipwreck. The sailors and passengers had landed on the Island of Malta. You’d think he would be asking for a holiday. But not Paul!
"Paul sails for Rome" - Artist unknown (after Gustave Dore)
First he helped collect firewood. When a viper (a poisonous reptile) fastened itself to his hand, the superstitious islanders thought this was a sign Paul was a murderer. They watched closely to see him fall over dead. When Paul didn’t die they thought he was a god....
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Tags: work Saul/Paul research obedience miracles God’s care Acts
A Solid House
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Luke 6:46-49
TO CHEW ON: "As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock." Luke 6:47-48a
Which part of a house is built first:
- the walls?- the roof?- the rooms?- the front porch?- the foundation?- the basement?
You probably know that the foundation of a house is the very first thing a builder makes. He usually starts building that foundation by digging a hole. If he can dig down to bedrock and fasten the house’s foundation onto rock, the house will be almost immovable. But if a house’s foundation rests on earth or sand, it can be swept away by floods, toppled by earthquakes and smashed by storms.
One day Jesus told a story of one man who built his house on a rock. Another man built his house on sand. When the storm came, which house stayed standing?
"The house upon the rock and the house upon the sand" by William James Webb
Jesus explained the story. He said those houses on their different foundations are like our lives. When...
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A Second Chance
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Jonah 1:17 and 2:1-10
TO CHEW ON: " He said:“In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me.From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry.' " Jonah 2:2When the sailors tossed Jonah overboard I’m sure he expected to drown. But that didn’t happen. Instead he was swallowed by a huge fish.
Imagine getting swept into that big mouth and then into the fish’s insides. Imagine Jonah telling you about it. Finish each of his statements.
Inside the fish it smelled __________, it felt ________________ , I saw ______________.
The three days Jonah spent inside the fish gave him lots of time to think. Then he prayed. Read his prayer (Jonah 2:1-9) then circle the words that tell how he felt:...
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Tags: prayer obedience Judah Jonah God’s plan God’s care consequences
A New Start
TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 Kings 23:19-25
TO CHEW ON: "Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did – with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses." 2 Kings 23:25
“Everybody come to the temple. King Josiah has called a special meeting.” Quickly word traveled from house to house. When everyone had gathered, Josiah opened the book that the priests had found. He read aloud all the laws God had given Moses. Then in front of all the people he promised God that he would keep these laws for the rest of his life.
After he had dismissed everyone, he got to work.
Wherever there was an idol, he told his servants to smash it. Wherever there was an Asherah pole, he commanded it be taken down. Wherever there were altars, he broke them. He took down statues that had been dedicated to the sun god and made sure every dish, goblet, utensil or piece of furniture that had been used to worship an idol was taken out of the temple....
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The Big Test
TODAY'S SPECIAL: Genesis 22:1-19
TO CHEW ON: “...and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” Genesis 22:18
Imagine Abraham’s horror the day God told him to sacrifice his son Isaac. Perhaps he had some of these questions and thoughts:
- Did I hear God right?- Why would God make me wait all these years to have a son, only to ask me to kill him?- Didn’t God forbid human sacrifice?- God can do anything. Maybe He is planning to raise Isaac from the dead.
Whatever Abraham was thinking, he didn’t argue with God. Instead, he took Isaac, the stuff they needed for the sacrifice and they went to the place God told him.
Using Genesis 22:9-12 as a guide, put the rest of the story in order.
An angel stops Abraham from sacrificing Isaac - Artist unknown
Abraham’s faith was tested to see what he believed in. God was testing him to see whether he believed in what his mind told him God would do, or whether he believed in God, even though he didn’t understand. Abraham’s actions showed he believed in God. He passed the test!...
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Tags: sacrifice puzzle obedience Jesus Isaac Genesis faith angel Abraham
A Book Like No Other
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Psalm 19:1-14
TO CHEW ON: "By them your servant is warned and in keeping them there is great reward." Psalm 19:11
What is your favorite book? Why do you like it?
If we could have asked David what his favorite book was, I’m sure he would have said, “God’s Word” – even though books in those days were rolled up strips of parchment or animal skin called scrolls, and even though God’s Word wasn’t the Bible we now have.
When David lived, God’s Word was made up mainly of the writings of Moses. They are our books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
1. David called God’s Word by many different names. What names does he call it in Psalm 19?
2. What words does David use in Psalm 19 to describe and praise God’s Word?
After David tried to bring the ark to Jerusalem and Uzzah was killed, he could go back to God’s Word. There he could read how the ark was supposed to be carried. If he took God’s warnings seriously, he could grow wise and avoid making the same mistake again....
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Tags: wisdom Psalms obedience God’s word David
Faith Adventure
TODAY'S SPECIAL: Read Genesis 12:1-7
Abraham journeying into the Land of Canaan by Gustave Dore
TO CHEW ON: "The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you....” So Abram went as the Lord told him." Genesis 12:1,4
People move from one home to another for many reasons. Sometimes they move to find work. Sometimes they move to be close to family. Sometimes they move to experience life in a different city. And sometimes they move just because God tells them to.
One day God talked to a man named Abram. (He was a man who was alive at about the same time as Job.) God told Abram to move – and he did, just because God said so.
He had to have a big faith in God to leave the country he lived in, the city he knew, and even his family. He was 75 when God asked him to do this. That's older than your grandparents! To make it even harder, God didn’t give him a map or a moving truck. He just told Abram and his wife Sarai to pack their stuff and go wherever He would show them.
Abram...
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Tags: storytelling prophecy promises obedience Genesis courage Abraham
Noah Faith
TODAY'S SPECIAL: Read: Genesis 6:14-22
This Noah's Ark mural was once in the children's entrance of my church.
TO CHEW ON: "Noah did everything just as God commanded him." (Genesis 6:22)
Imagine this: you and your family are the only people who love God on the whole earth!
People talk about you. They say things like “Have you heard about that Noah family? They’re no fun. All they care about is pleasing God!”
Then one day God tells you to build a big boat (the Bible calls it an ark). Then people talk even more: “Get a load of this. That crazy Noah is building a boat – a BIG boat. And there’s not even any water nearby.”...
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Choices
TODAY'S SPECIAL: Read: Genesis 4:1-12
Detail from "Cain and Abel Offering Their Sacrifices" by Gustave Doré
TO CHEW ON: "Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.'” (Genesis 4:6,7)
God told Cain and Abel to sacrifice animals to Him. Cain and Abel both worshiped God by making sacrifices. But Cain disobeyed and offered fruit from the plants he had harvested. Abel obeyed and offered animals from his flock.
God was pleased with the animal sacrifice. He didn’t accept the plant sacrifice. He had told Cain what He wanted. Here are some things Cain could have done. Which one did he choose to do?...
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Tags: sin sacrifice obedience Genesis disobedience discussion choices
Consequences
TODAY'S SPECIAL: Read: Genesis 2:15-17
TO CHEW ON: “...but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” (Genesis 2:17)
Match the action on the left with what will probably happen on the right:
We know what will happen if we do the everyday things above. When we lose our grip while we're in a tree we’re not surprised that we fall down towards earth, rather than up towards the sky. Neither is it a shock that we hit the ground hard enough to break a bone. We know about earth’s gravity. It helps us make a rule (Don’t jump from a high place) or there will be consequences (or you’ll hurt yourself). It's something we expect....
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Tags: rules puzzle obedience Genesis disobedience consequences
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