Category: Life Skills

Posted in Ages 11 & above, Life Skills

Successful planning

Posted on by christianliving4young

Have you made any plans lately? Let’s say – It is a beautiful day with an awesome weather. What about planning a football match with friends?? Or an outing to the hills? So you make some calls and get everyone ready and everything organized… Suddenly from out of nowhere it started to drizzle and in no time heavy rains are pouring down… Your plans are now washed out by rain.

You make a plan and then plan spoilers springs up out of nowhere and ruin everything!!! Did anything like this ever happen to you? Pretty sure it has, for in life not everything turns out as we plan!!! But there is a secret to get all our plans successful and fruitful!!!

Let us open the treasure book and find out this secret!!!

OPENING THE TREASURE BOOK undefined

Clue 1: Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to PROSPER you and not to harm you, plans to give you HOPE and a FUTURE.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

Our Father in heaven works according to His plans. “Salvation through Jesus” is an awesome plan of God to save people from perishing eternally. In the creation process, we see yet another impeccable plan being carried out. We too are created as a part of God’s plan. Hence there are plans and purposes associated with each of our lives. God has several plans for each phase of our life. Our goal is to stick to these plans & purposes. God loves each of us and He knows the BEST for our life. His plans for us are never to harm us but to prosper us and to give us hope and a future.

GOD has plans for us that will prosper us and give us hope and future.

Clue 2: Proverbs 19:21, Proverbs 16:3

“There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand.”

Proverbs 19:21

“Commit to the LORD whatever you do,
and he will establish your plans”

Proverbs 16:3

We all have many plans / ideas / thoughts in our heart and there is nothing wrong with that because that’s how we are wired!!! We saw here that our Father works according to His plans. Since we are created in His likeness, we too make plans…

However, for our plans to be fruitful and successful, we should seek God’s advise in everything and commit to Him everything we do. He is an “all knowledgeable” God who knows what stays and what fails!!! So once you have an idea / thought, submit it to God in prayer for His advice. Then He will help us to form a plan in alignment with “His plans for our lives” and will guide us & direct our steps through the best possible way. When we are not connected to God, we will make our own plans and when our plans are not in alignment with God’s, they will fail miserably!!! If our plans are aligned with His plans – it becomes fruitful and successful.

Clue 3: Luke 1: 26 – 38, Matthew 1:18-26 (Example)

Mary was a young girl engaged to a man named Joseph. Like any other couple, they both were also counting the days to their marriage and dreaming about their life together. But then something extraordinary happened. An angel from heaven visited Mary and told her

You have found favor with GOD. You will conceive and give birth to a Child and you should call his name Jesus.”

She was confused!! She told him “How can this be? I am not married yet!!!” then the angel told her,

the Holy Spirit will come upon you and you will conceive and bear a child and he will be called Son of God”.

In those days, women who were found to be with children before their marriage were looked down upon in the society and were punished severely. They were STONED TO DEATH, if caught!!! So for Mary, if she is found to be pregnant before her marriage, Joseph will definitely call off their engagement and her dream of a family life will shatter because in their culture no one will ever marry such a lady!!!  She will be looked down upon by her near & dear ones and her society. More importantly, if caught, she will be stoned to death by law!!! No one will believe her if she says the truth, not even Joseph… She had her reputation, her future and her life itself at stake!!!

This was a plan spoiler for her!! It would spoil all her plans for future. She could either ignore Gods plan and live a normal life or risk her life and go ahead with Gods plan.

What did she choose?

Well.., she did not have any doubt on what to choose. She immediately answered “Let it be to me as God’s plan”…  She trusted God and his plan and knew His plans for her are better than hers. She also knew, His plans for her will never harm her but will give her hope and a future!!! In fact, she found it a great honor to be chosen by God to carry out His plan – to fulfil His plan and purpose for her life.

What happened to Mary for choosing God’s plan?

We read in Mathew Chapter 1:19 that Joseph had plans to quietly leave Mary when he got to know she is pregnant!! He was a just man so he didn’t want her to be a public spectacle, but wanted to get rid of her quietly. But he had a vision from God and it was made known to him that Mary being pregnant is part of God’s divine plan. God wanted him to take Mary as his wife. He obeyed God and chose to take her as his wife and father the child.

God took care of problems that came her way. Mary did not lose anything because of following God’s plan. In fact both God’s plan and her plan were in alignment. She did not lose the family life she dreamt about nor her reputation in the society. On the contrary, her reputation grew as the mother of Jesus. It did not stay only in her generation, but all generation that came after calls her “Blessed”. She also did not lose her future or her life because of this plan, but God gave her a blessed life as mother of Jesus – the savior of all people.

When we walk in alignment with Gods plan, our steps will be directed by Him and obstacles in the path will also be taken care by Him.

Treasures uncovered

God has plans for our life, plans that prosper us and give us hope & future

Our plans that are in alignment with Gods plans will be successful and fruitful

To make plans that align with God’s plans, stay connected to God, trust him, seek his advice in everything and commit all your ways to him

God loves us soo much. God’s plan for our life are not plan spoilers as we might think, but is packed with goodness and blessings. We should always walk in alignment with God’s plans and purposes for our life and then our plans will become successful and fruitful. God knows the BEST and HE IS THE BEST!!!

Prayer:

Father, we thank you for the plans you have for our lives – plans that will prosper us and gives us hope and future. Help us to walk in alignment with your plans and fulfill the purposes for our lives. Help us to always stay connected to you and commit all our ways to you. Help us to seek your advise in everything we do. Thank you, in Jesus name, Amen!

Posted in Ages 11 & above, Life Skills

Speaking right

Posted on by christianliving4young

We use words to express ourselves – our needs, our thoughts, our feelings, our imaginations etc. Every day, from morning till night we speak a lot of words. We talk different things to different people. In the morning while getting ready for school and college, we might ask our mother about breakfast or about our cloths, then talk to our father about our pocket money or allowances or to drop us on his way, in between we might shout at our siblings for taking our belongings, at school /college we might gossip with our friends or talk to them about latest fashion trends, ask doubts to teachers and so on. Can you imagine a life without being able to talk? Without being able to express yourself? That is really hard!!! It is indeed a blessing from God that we are able to talk and express ourselves!!!

We talk about anything & everything and whatever comes into our mind and that is not always right. What does the treasure book say about speaking right?

OPENING THE TREASURE BOOK undefined

Clue 1: Why speak right?

James 3:4-5, Genesis 1, Proverbs 18:21

Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.

James 3:4-5

Tongue is very small in size compared to other organs of our body, however like the rudder of a ship that turns the whole course of a huge ship, the tongue is powerful enough to turn the whole course of our life. Our speech can either bring good or bad based on how it is used.

God created the earth, the skies and everything else in it with his words. He said “Let there be light” and the light was created. God said, “Let the sky be formed” and the sky was formed. God said “Let grass and trees be formed” and all kinds of grass, herbs and trees sprang out from the earth. Thus, the seas, skies, sun, moon, stars, plants, animals and everything else were created by His words. His words are packed with so much power that when he uttered words, the respective creation took place. We know that He made us in his own image and likeness. Hence there is power in the words that we speak too.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.

Proverbs 18:21

Death and life are in the power of tongue. We can either use it and make the best out of it or bring the worst out of it. We can either use words for bringing life to our situations or bring about death to our situations. We see Jesus exercising the power of words in his ministry. He cursed a fig tree and it withered away from its roots, He calmed the winds by His words, healed many people by His words, brought dead people to life by His words and so many other instances. His words were packed with power too. If we always declare in faith, fruitfulness and prosperity for areas in our life, we will bring it to life and will enjoy its outcome. However, if we always curse and talk negatively about areas in our life we bring about death to those areas.

Our words have power and if we use it right, we will eat and enjoy its fruit.

Clue 2: Why speak right?

Proverbs 10:19, Proverbs 21:23

In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is wise.

Proverbs 10:19

Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles

Proverbs 21:23

We should be watchful of what we speak. We should not be quick in giving our opinion or replies without thinking. It could hurt others feelings. Once spoken, the words cannot be taken back. There are times when we should keep mum even if people are provoking us. We should be on guard against speaking evil. With words we can hurt others, we can lie, we can gossip, we can bring discord, we can curse, we can make fun of others, we can talk bad about others and so on… All these evil talking is sin. If we guard our mouth from speaking all these, then we guard our soul from trouble.

Guarding our tongue and using it right keeps our soul from trouble.

Clue 3: How to speak right?

Ephesians 4:29, Proverbs 12:18, Philippians 4:8

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Ephesians 4:29

There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword,
But the tongue of the wise promotes health.

Proverbs 12:18

Words can be used to speak good or bad. It can be used to encourage or uplift people and also demotivate or discourage them. The words that some people spoke has made a huge void in us draining our energy, affecting our way of thinking and confidence. And there have been some others who by their speech encouraged and uplifted us so very much. Hence it is a big deal to speak right in all situations. We should watch what we speak. As followers of Christ, let us make sure not to speak anything corrupt which is not right in the eyes of God, but should make sure our words will encourage, uplift and build the people who hear us. Words when used wisely promotes health.

Speaking right in all occasions is not an easy task, but with God’s help we will get there. To speak right, our heart should be filled with the right content because out of the abundance of heart, the mouth speaks. So if we fill our hearts with right content, speaking right will be easy!!! How to fill our heart with right content?

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. 

Philippians 4:8

Think about only these things and fill your hearts with word of God, love, goodness, truth, purity, gratitude,etc. Once heart is filled with these, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth will only speak right!!!

Treasures uncovered

SPEAK RIGHT

Speak RIGHT & Speak LIFE to bring to LIFE & enjoy LIFE!

There is power in the words that we speak and if we speak right, we will eat & enjoy its fruit.

Speak right and guard our soul from trouble

To speak right we have to fill our HEARTS with the right content because the mouth speaks out of abundance of heart.

Prayer:

Father, we thank you for teaching us that there is power in the words that we speak. Help us to use it fruitfully to bring life to our dead situations. Father, help us to keep our tongue from evil and our lips from speaking deceit. Help us to fill our heart with the right content and speak right to enjoy its fruit. We love you Jesus, in Jesus name Amen!!!

Posted in Ages 11 & above, Life Skills

Forgiveness

Posted on by christianliving4young

We have been hurt by people many times in our lives. Few of them would have apologized, while others never bothered… Do we forgive those people who hurt us even if they do not say sorry? Well it is not easy… We might say “yes we have forgiven”, but we should do a self-check and see what we feel when we remember those people who hurt us. If it is anger or hatred or bitterness, then definitely there is unforgiveness. Un-forgiveness in our heart doesn’t do us any good, in fact it affects us very negatively.

Let us see what the treasure book has to say about forgiveness.

OPENING THE TREASURE BOOK undefined

Clue 1: Matthew 18: 21-35

Peter, one of the disciples of Jesus asked him, “Lord, how many times should I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Is it seven times?” Jesus answered, “Not seven times, but seventy-seven times”. He did not mean to keep count each time someone sins against you or hurts you, but to keep on forgiving when they hurt you.

Then he told them a parable to teach the kingdom principle regarding Forgiveness. Parables are simple stories used to explain a moral or spiritual lesson.

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

Master and servant

A king wanted to settle financial records with his servants. There was a servant who owed him ten thousand bags of gold. (That is too much for a servant to payback. He won’t be able to payback even if he tried all his life.) This servant was brought to the master as he did not pay back and clear his debt. To repay the debt, the king ordered to sell this man, his wife, his children and all he had. The servant fell on his knees before him and begged ‘Be patient with me and I will pay back everything.’ The master took pity on him and let him go, cancelling all the unpaid debt. He would have lost his family and everything he owned. But the king was so merciful that this humongous debt was waved off – he didn’t have to return the 10,000 bags of gold that he borrowed.

When this servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.  He grabbed the servant and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.

He did not show this man any mercy. The amount this servant owed was only 100 silver coins which could be repaid. But for this small debt (compared to his own debt – 10,000 bags of gold) the servant did not show any mercy.

When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. Then the master called the servant in. “You wicked servant, I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me. Shouldn’t you have shown mercy to your fellow servant just as I did to you?” In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

Jesus told them

This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

God forgave our sins and took away from us the horrible punishment we deserve. Hence we should also show mercy and forgive people who have hurt us or have done terribly bad things to us. We should consciously learn to forgive no matter how hard it is, so that we experience God’s mercy and forgiveness in our lives. The hurt that we have faced is like the 100 silver coins compared to the punishment we deserve.

Clue 2: Mark 11: 25-26

And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.

Mark 11: 25-26

Even your prayers won’t be heard if you have an unforgiving heart. Only if we forgive, we will be forgiven.. this is the kingdom principle…

Treasures uncovered

FORGIVE

and you will be

FORGIVEN

Forgiving others is not easy, however without a forgiving heart we won’t experience our father’s forgiveness. Remembering the undeserved mercy and love we have received from our Lord will help us to have a forgiving and loving heart. If we do not forgive, unforgiveness in our heart leads us into bitterness and eventually to hatred, leading us into sin. So Forgive all those who hurt you!!!

Also make sure to ask forgiveness when you realize you have hurt someone. Remember!!! Only a brave person can ask forgiveness and it takes immense courage to say SORRY!!!

Prayer:

Father, we thank you for teaching us the kingdom principle about forgiveness. We thank you for the undeserving love and mercy you have towards us. Help us to forgive from our heart all those who have hurt us. Help us also to ask forgiveness to all people whom we have hurt. We love you Lord, in Jesus name, AMEN!!!

Posted in Ages 11 & above, Life Skills

Choosing Influencers

Posted on by christianliving4young

God chooses our family members for us, but we get to choose our friends. We cross paths with many people during our life time and some of those people take special places in our heart. They also influence our thinking and our actions. The people who influence our thinking, our decision making and our actions are our influencers. So it is very important to choose the right people as our influencers, because there are chances for us to go off-route if our influencers are not going in the right direction.

Friends

As Jesus said

….If the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.

Matthew 15: 14

Hence, we have to choose our influencers VERY carefully.

Some of us fall for good looks and trendy styles when we lookout for friends. Watch out!!! Appearances can be deceptive… Again as Jesus said

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

Matthew 7:15

People can come to you looking like they are innocent and helpful, but they might have wrong intentions at heart – to use you for their benefit, to cheat you, to cause you trouble or to just hurt you!

So how to distinguish between the right and wrong people?

Let us open the treasure book to find clues

OPENING THE TREASURE BOOK undefined

Clue:
A Tree Is Known By Its Fruit

We already learned that when God looks at a person, he searches the heart (What does God notice in ME?). We are not capable of doing that, but definitely we can see what proceeds out of their heart.

“For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Luke 6:43-45

God made beautiful trees and each of those trees produce fruits according to their kind. It is universal that an apple tree bears apples, an orange tree bears oranges and a lemon tree bears lemons. These fruits do not come from thorn bushes. Each of the trees are known by the fruit they bear. Same way, people can be distinguished by the fruit they bear. A good person bears good fruit and an evil person bears evil fruit. A good person cannot bear bad fruit and a bad person cannot bear good fruit.

What is fruit borne by a person?

Fruit borne by a person is his / her speech and action. Speech and action proceeds out of the heart and reflects the heart’s contents. Because, out of the abundance of heart, the mouth speaks. Only if your heart is filled with good, good actions will proceed out. Same way, if the heart is filled with evil only evil actions proceed, how much ever people try to pretend otherwise.

Examples of bad and good fruits

Few of the bad and good fruits are given in Galatians 5:19 – 22

Bad Fruits

All kinds of sexual immorality, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, jealousy & envy, extreme anger, heated arguments & disagreements, selfish ambitions, rebellion against God’s true word, murder, drunkenness & loud alcohol partying, etc.

Good Fruits

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, etc.

Treasures uncovered

Choose your influencers based on the contents of their HEART

Before letting a person influence you,

Be Watchful and find out the fruit borne by a person – the speech and actions that proceeds out of their heart

Evaluate the fruit with the word of God to understand if they are GOOD or BAD

Be alert and watch the actions & words that proceed out of a person. See if their actions are against the will of God or if it aligns with God’s will. Do not let evil people influence you, but at the same time you can be their influencer – help them change their ways by bringing them close to the Lord.

Prayer:

Father, we thank you for teaching us that it is important to choose the right people to be our influencers. Help us to be watchful and understand the contents of a person’s heart before letting them influence us. Help us to bear good fruit and influence our friends in the right way and help them come closer to you. In Jesus name Amen!

Posted in Ages 11 & above, Life Skills

Facing Dilemma?

Posted on by christianliving4young

Life is NOT always an easy ride! There will be twists and turns, ups & downs during the course of our journey!! Sometimes it surprises us and sometimes it puts us in dilemma!!

DILEMMA is “a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives”

How do we make the right choice? What do we weigh our decision on?

Society?

Friends?

Well-wishers?

Our own Intuition?

Let us open the treasure book and find out clues to uncover the treasure!!

OPENING THE TREASURE BOOK undefined

CLUE

Exodus 1:15-21

To read this bible portion please click the video given below

Egypt was a powerful kingdom during this time and Pharaoh, the king, was the MOST POWERFUL person in that kingdom!!

The Children of Jacob (Hebrews / Israelites) were also living there and were slaves to Pharaoh. But God was with them and they were multiplying in number!!  Pharaoh and his people were alarmed at the rising Hebrew population and wanted to kill all their male children.

During those times, pregnant women used to give birth at their homes with the help of midwives (nurses). So Pharaoh summoned the Hebrew midwives Shiphrah & Puah and gave them order to kill all the little boy babies at birth!!!

It was an order – a command from the king himself!!! And it is a crime to not follow the command!!! You can even be put to death!!! Pharaoh had the power to do anything to them if they disobeyed him.

On the other hand they also knew, “KILLING” babies or “MURDERING” them is a SIN in the eyes of GOD…

That was a tough call on the midwives!!!

Their Dilemma:-

Obey the king and save your life by committing a SIN!!

Or….

Disobey the king and put your life at stake rather than committing a SIN!!

How did the midwives handle this situation?

It is written – the midwives FEARED GOD.

They feared GOD more than they feared Pharaoh!!!

They knew God was the “SUPREME POWER” and has the “SUPREME AUTHORITY“. So they decided not to SIN.

However, they knew that “not obeying Pharaoh” will have consequences. Their life will be at stake.. But still they chose GOD’s way!

So what happened to the midwives? Did pharaoh kill them for not obeying him?

When Pharaoh found they did not obey him, they were summoned again. God gave them the wisdom to answer him. And Pharaoh let them go…. Just like that!!! That is definitely GOD’s doing!!!

Because the midwives feared God and did not murder the little boys, God dealt with them well and gave them families of their own!!

So by choosing God’s way, they did the right thing and were also BLESSED!!!

What will we do if we were in their shoes?

Do we fear God more than the people around us – our society, our friends?

Treasures uncovered

When faced with Dilemma,

Weigh your decisions on God’s word and not on what society marks right!!!

Doing God’s way is the RIGHT way and BEST way even if your life is at stake!!!

When we choose God’s way, he takes the responsibility… And blessings are a surety that follows!!!

Prayer:

Father, thank you for this revelation. Help us to weigh all our decisions on your word. Help us to always choose the right way in alignment with your will.. In Jesus name Amen!