Category: Ages 11 & above

Posted in Ages 11 & above, God & Me

Heart fitness

Posted on by christianliving4young

Heart is a major internal organ of the human body. The main function of the heart is to pump blood to retain life in the body. If heart stops beating or stops pumping, death occurs. So if we desire to live long, we should make sure our heart is in good condition. By regular exercise and eating healthy food we can keep our heart and body fit. We all know this physical aspect of heart fitness.

What about spiritual? Is heart fitness important spiritually? In fact spiritual heart fitness is more important than physical, as our entire eternity depends on it.

Let us open our treasure book to find clues on spiritual heart fitness.

OPENING THE TREASURE BOOK undefined

Why is heart fitness important spiritually?

Clue 1: For God our heart and its contents matter

I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.

Jeremiah 17: 10

For God, our HEART matters the most. He searches our heart to see it’s content. Also 1 Samuel 16:7 confirms that the Lord doesn’t look at outward appearance but He accepts people based on their heart’s content. To be acceptable in the sight of God, our heart should be fit – kept clean and good. You can read more about this on What does God notice in me?.

Because the heart matters the most to God, it also plays an important role in the plan of salvation He has for human kind.

For our spirit to be saved or redeemed from eternal doom, first action from our side is to repent. To repent is to turn our mind away from sins and to take a U-Turn from our sinful ways. Then we accept Jesus as our Lord and savior.

If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Romans10:9-10

For accepting Jesus as our Lord and savior, we have to first BELIEVE in our HEART that God raised Him from dead and then confess with our mouth. First heart should believe and then out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth will confess / speak. Jesus is the only way to get to eternal life. If your heart is full of unbelief and not fit to believe in Jesus as your savior, then your eternity is at risk! Believe in Christ, be saved and secure your eternity!!!

In the process of getting saved, we do not see transformation right away in any person because it happens at the HEART – the inside. The transformation slowly surfaces on the outside. Changes will soon be seen in one’s character.

Is heart and character of a person connected?

Clue 2: Our heart determines our Character

As in water face reflects face, So a man’s heart reveals the man.

Proverbs 27:19

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 6:45

As a mirror reflects our looks, a man’s heart reveals his character. If our heart is filled with goodness then we bring forth good actions whereas if our heart is filled with evil then we bring forth evil actions. Also the mouth speaks out of the abundance of our heart. So our heart reflects who we really are. If we keep our heart fit – clean, good and noble, then we keep our character in check, pleasing to God.

Clue3: The Parable of the sower Luke 8 : 4-15

Click the video to read the bible portion – Luke 8: 4-8, 11-15

Here Jesus portrays the Word of God as a seed and our heart as the soil where it is sown. As we all know, only if the soil is good, the seed can spring into life, sprout, grow and eventually produce fruit. If our heart is not fit – noble and good, then the word of God that we hear does not spring into life in our heart, but will be snatched by the devil. The devil will use his weapons like doubt, disbelief, hopelessness, fear, despair etc. to snatch the seed away. As we established before, if heart is not in good condition, even salvation is at stake because without believing in the heart, a person cannot be saved. If the heart is too consumed by the issues of life, riches and pleasures, then also the word will not have any option to grow or produce fruit. Only a noble and good heart will yield fruit.

For word of God to bear fruit in our lives we should have a heart that is fit – a good soil to nurture the seed and help it grow.

How to keep our heart fit?

Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.

Proverbs 4:23

Physically, to have a fit and healthy heart, we have to eat the right food, do regular exercise and do health check-ups occasionally. Spiritually too, we have to do the same.

Right Food: To have a heart that is fit spiritually, we should feed it with the right food. Always be diligent and be on guard as to what goes inside your heart. The junk food for heart is pride, selfishness, arrogance, jealousy, hatred, unbelief, unforgiveness, fear and the like. These are all weapons of the devil that he uses to attack our minds. Reject it and do not let it enter your hearts. If we fill our hearts with these negative and unwanted thoughts, we end up having a spiritually unhealthy heart that leads to an unfruitful life. God will not be able to use us for his kingdom in this case. Feed your heart with only good and noble contents – love, peace, humility, joy, compassion, faith etc. Reject all negative content that tries to sneak in.

Regular Exercise: Fill your heart with God’s word and His commandments. Read the word of God regularly and Write them on the tablets of your heart. When we fill our hearts with God’s living word and keep practicing it, then our heart will become spiritually fit as in how exercise contributes to the physical fitness of heart.

Occasional check-up: Our actions and our words reveals our heart, so we can validate the heart based on our words and actions. Occasionally scan your actions, your speech and your thoughts to see if anything unwanted has crept inside your heart.

Treasures uncovered

Spiritual heart fitness is very important because

  • Our eternal life depends on it.
  • For God, our heart and it’s contents matters.
  • Our heart determines our character
  • Word of God cannot produce any fruit if heart is not fit.

To have a fit heart spiritually

  • Feed Heart with good food – noble thoughts, love, peace, joy, compassion, humility, etc. Reject all the junk – pride, selfishness, arrogance, jealousy, hatred, unbelief, unforgiveness, etc.
  • Exercise regularly by reading the word of God and writing them on the tablets of your heart.
  • Do occasional check-up by reviewing our actions, speech and thoughts.

An unhealthy heart (heart that is filled with pride, jealousy, arrogance hatred etc.) REPELS God. It is completely under our scope to decide what to feed our heart. Our actions, our life and our eternity depends on what we fill our heart with. Fill your heart with the living word of God so as to be fit spiritually to bear fruit for the kingdom of God and to be useful for God.

Prayer:

Father, thank you for teaching us that our heart and it’s contents matters a lot to you. As the psalmist says “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me”. Help us to always be diligent about what we allow into our hearts. Help us to have a heart that is spiritually fit. Help us to fill our hearts with your living word and be useful for your kingdom. In Jesus name Amen.

Posted in Ages 11 & above, Life Skills

Have an attitude?

Posted on by christianliving4young

There are many kinds of people around us. Some are very friendly, some are shy and some others very active & cheerful. There is also another category who puts on an “attitude” and are rude, arrogant & selfish. The world that we live in also promotes and glorifies the aspect of putting on an attitude. Is this right?

Well, putting on an attitude and being arrogant is normally an outcome of PRIDE. “Being Proud” means “thinking very highly about oneself and showing excessively high opinion of oneself & one’s importance”. For “the proud“, the world seems to revolve around them and they expect everyone else to think likewise and act likewise. They expect special treatment from everyone and consider themselves as “ELITE” – the best & the wisest. And when it comes to others, they scorn, they look down upon them and laugh at everything concerning them, even their achievements – if not openly, at least in their hearts…

Do you fall into this category? Do you have an attitude? Do you have a proud heart? Then you are in big trouble friend! BEWARE of “Being Proud“.

Why should we be so conscious about PRIDE? Let us open the treasure book for clues!!!

OPENING THE TREASURE BOOK undefined

Clue 1 : What is wrong in having an attitude / being Proud?

Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; Though they join forces, none will go unpunished.

Proverbs 16:5

God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble

James 4: 6

We already know that when God looks at a person, he scans the heart (What does God notice in me) and finds the exact condition of the heart. Here the word of God says that God doesn’t like a proud heart rather it is an abomination to him. For each one of us, there are things that disgusts us – maybe unclean surroundings, a pile of waste, certain smells etc. For GOD, a person with a PROUD HEART is DISGUSTING. GOD RESISTS them.

This is indeed a horrible place to be. If God resists us whom do we turn to? What do we do if He finds us disgusting? Since God hates a proud heart and finds its disgusting, we should never let our hearts be filled with pride and contempt. For that, we should constantly do a self-check.

The self check

A proud and haughty man – scoffer is his name. He acts with arrogant pride

Proverbs 21:24

A major behavioral trait of a proud person is SCOFFING… The word of God even calls a proud person “scoffer”. Scoffer is one who makes fun of others and their ideas. He will always look down upon others with contempt, consider them silly, laugh at them and their situations, even their achievements. Scoffers think they are better-off than everyone else and SUPERIOR to others. They tend to be arrogant in all their dealings. Probably, some people might not show these behavioral traits outwardly, but keeps it hidden inward. God is the scanner of hearts and He gets to see all these traits hidden in your hearts. So be true to yourself and examine if you are proud at heart – Do I scoff? Do I have these behavioral traits? If you do, now is the time to turn away from it and change your attitude.

So then how should our attitude be?

Clue 2: What should be our attitude?

Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.

1 peter 5: 5-6

We should be submissive especially to our elders and to one another. Put on / wear humility as your attitude. We can be humble, when we submit ourselves completely to God and understand that all what we have and enjoy is a gracious gift of God. Even the next moment of our life is not in our hands and we do not have any control over it. We do not have any thing to be proud of, except our God. Also we are not superior to anyone rather are all God’s children. Our color, family background, financial stability, talents, social status, authority etc., doesn’t give us any edge over others. We should be of the same mind toward one another. Jesus, being God, humbled himself before the Father and gave Himself up for us who were lowly. When we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, He will give us grace and exalt us.

So clothe yourself with humility and “Embrace” it.

Clue 3: Why embrace humility?

When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom.

Proverbs 11:2

A man’s pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor.

Proverbs 29:23

By humility and the fear of the lord are riches and honor and life.

Proverbs 22:4

We wear clothes to cover and to protect our body. Similarly clothing ourselves with humility also protects us from shame and disgrace which is brought about by Pride. Pride brings a man down whereas humbleness or humility brings honor. Being humble is also considered Godly wisdom. Humility brings riches and life. God gives Grace to the humble and exalts them. So clothing ourselves with humility not only protects us from shame and disgrace but also brings about honor, riches, grace and exaltation.

So Embrace Humility!!

Treasures uncovered

“Attitude” is an outcome of PRIDE, so is scorn, scoff, rudeness, arrogance and selfishness.

GOD finds a Proud Heart DISGUSTING and He RESISTS it.

Clothe yourself with HUMILITY and not “Attitude / Pride”. Humility brings about grace, honor, riches and exaltation. It is Godly wisdom.

When we achieve something, it is quite natural to say or think ” I am proud of myself”. It is okay to feel so. But this should not lead us to a state where we scoff others, mock them, ridicule them, scorn them, show an attitude and be mean to them. Our life should not revolve around our achievements, our social status, power, authority or financial stability.. Then we tend to become PROUD, narrow-minded and mean. Be grounded and get your life revolve around God and His wisdom. Submit yourselves before God and wear humility.

Prayer:

Father, we submit ourselves before you. Reveal to us if there is hidden pride in any area of our life. Help us to wear humility and be humble in all our ways. Guide us and teach us your wisdom. Help us to be always compassionate to our fellow beings and see them as Children of God. In Jesus name Amen.

Posted in Ages 11 & above, God & Me

You Ain’t Alone!

Posted on by christianliving4young

In life, we go through different moments and situations that bring about various emotions in us. Happiness, sadness, anxiousness, worries, fear, pain, excitement, etc., are all outcome of these moments and situations that we go through. Even though we have our family and friends to support us, mostly we face LIFE on our own – for e.g., writing an exam, times of sickness and pain, facing an interview, peer pressure, etc. Our friends and family might know the situation we are in, but they do not EXPERIENCE it as we do. A simple example is that when we feel pain in any part of our body, we can only explain to others what kind of pain it is, but they do not experience it as we do. We might feel frustrated and lonely when the issues of life overwhelms us. We might then wonder – “who will be by my side during this time? None will understand my situations. I am indeed very lonely!!!” Are you really lonely?

Let us open the treasure book and find clues

OPENING THE TREASURE BOOK undefined

Clue 1: Are you really lonely?

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there. If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.

Psalm 139: 7-10

The presence of God is everywhere around us. The skies, the sea or the darkness cannot hide us from His presence. Wherever we go He is present there. We cannot hide from His presence no matter how we try or what we try. He is an omnipresent God who is around us wherever we go. He will lead us and guide us.

Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

1 Corinthians 3:16

When we believe in Jesus and invite Him to our heart to be our Lord and Savior, the spirit of God – the Holy Spirit, comes and lives inside us. We are His temple and He dwells in us. Since He lives inside us, He knows exactly what we are going through. He knows what our body is going though – sicknesses, pain, etc. and also what our mind is going through – anxieties, worries, fears, etc. Living inside us, He not only knows our situations but also EXPERIENCES everything AS WE DO.

When we are overwhelmed with our negative feelings, the enemy takes advantage. He blinds our minds and injects the thought that we are lonely… This is just another lie of the devil. Moreover, it is a weapon that he uses to push us into sinful living. When we have GOD everywhere around us and within us how can we say we are lonely? We are NEVER LONELY. Our God NEVER ABANDONS us! He loves us and He cares for us!!!

Clue 2: Will these situations stop us from reaching our destiny?

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.

Isaiah 43: 2

Uncertainty is a major aspect of our life. It mostly brings unexpected and unpleasant situations when we are least equipped / prepared to handle it. But our God knows what is ahead of us and what we have to face. He understands all our problems, our thoughts, our fears, our worries and all contents of our heart. He knows our exact situations at any given point of time and experiences it like us. He PROMISES to be with us all throughout and will make sure our situations will never overpower us. He always keeps His promises. He has the best solutions for all our situations. So when you are going through uncertain times, Be confident and Do Not Fear, but submit yourselves to God and Trust in Him to take you forward. Remember you aren’t alone, God is with you and in you and he will walk you through. With God by our side, we will reach our destiny no matter what situations life brings us. Nothing can stop us when God is with us and in us. The only person who can stop you from reaching your destiny is “yourself” and that happens when you give in to the lies of the enemy!

Clue 3: Example of Elijah ( 1Kings 17-22)

We all know Elijah as a great prophet of God. He too had his share of tough times and fearful times and times of loneliness. When King Ahab ruled Israel, he and his wife Jezebel did evil in the eyes of God. He worshipped Baal and did more to provoke the Lord to anger more than all the kings of Israel who were before him. As instructed by God, Elijah went and asked King Ahab to gather all Israel at Mount Carmel along with the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Ashereh. The prophets of Baal and Ashereh built an altar, sacrificed a bull and kept it on the altar waiting for fire to come down and burn the sacrifice. It did not happen. But Elijah built the altar, kept the sacrifice and called on the name of the living God. Fire from heaven came down and burnt the sacrifice. So people of Israel worshipped the Living God. Elijah turned against the false prophets and executed them. Jezebel, the king’s wife, got very angry and swore to kill Elijah before the next day. Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. Even though God was with him and did many miracles through him including the recent burning up of sacrifice, Elijah became afraid and ran for his life. He prayed to God to take HIS LIFE as he felt very lonely in this race against the king and his wife. But the Lord was with him even when he was alone in the wilderness and strengthened him for the journey that was ahead of him. Elijah became victorious and fulfilled his destiny.

Remember, you aren’t alone, God is walking with you and living in you knowing your exact situations & feelings and experiencing it like you do. Our God will never abandon us, leave us nor forsake us – He is with us always, knowing everything we are going through and will guide us and help us. We saw that in the life of Elijah. Our God is a promise keeper. He is true to His word.

Treasures uncovered

We are Never ALONE!!!

Our God is omnipresent – He is present everywhere around us, He is with us all the time and He lives inside of us

He knows all our situations and feelings and experiences them as we do

He is a promise keeper and will never abandon us, leave us nor forsake us but leads us and guides us in the walk of life.

Cheer up!!! Do not be afraid! We are never ALONE!!! Do not give in to the lies of devil. Our God is with us even when we are in the darkest of darkest times.

Prayer:

Father we thank you for being with us always. Thank you for living inside of me and experiencing everything like I do. Thank you for understanding me thoroughly and guiding me in everything. Thank you for never letting me be alone. Love you, in Jesus Name Amen.

Posted in Ages 11 & above, Life Skills

Valuing people

Posted on by christianliving4young

In this world that we live, people value one another based on their status in the society. Profession, achievements, power, authority, finances, family background, nationality, caste, religion, skin color, etc., are considered for honoring and respecting one another. If we see a wealthy person or a famous personality or a person with power and authority, we show them respect and give them importance. When we see someone from a financially weaker background compared to us or someone who is from a lower social status than us, do we respect them and give them importance or do we look down upon them and DESPISE them? Looking down upon people who are weak and who are from poor background is very common today as was in the past. Respecting people is good, but is despising or looking down upon someone correct? Something is being commonly practiced for many years doesn’t mean it is right. Let us open the treasure book and see what it says.

OPENING THE TREASURE BOOK undefined

Clue:1 How does God value people?

Yet He is not partial to princes, Nor does He regard the rich more than the poor; For they are all the work of His hands

Job 34:19

God is NOT PARTIAL to anyone, be it kings, princes, rulers, governmental authorities, police, the rich, celebrities or any other influential people in this world. He does not regard people based on their possessions, trade, authority, power or achievements. All people are His creation – whether rulers, authorities, rich, famous, poor or weak – all are His children.  

Jesus too was not partial during his time on earth. He was friends with people from all social standing. Tax collectors and sinners were despised by the religious Jews in those days and they wouldn’t associate with such people. But Jesus, even though a Jew, were friends with them and ate with them at their houses . He also made friends with people who were oppressed and under the bondage of sin. He helped them out of sin, healed the sick and the demon possessed. We also see Him in John chapter 4, talking to the Samaritan woman at a time when Jews despised the Samaritans. She even asks Jesus, “you being a Jew, why ask me for a drink”. He did not despise people, rather was very approachable for all who were considered lowly in the society. He helped them and healed them physically & spiritually… Even his disciples were from diverse background – tax collectors, doctors, fishermen, religious leaders, etc. He did not despise anyone based on their social status or trade but in fact saw all of them through the eyes of God.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

Here the world means people. God loves all people!!! The plan of salvation – “Jesus dying on the cross for the sin of the world” was not for only a certain community or religion but for the entire humanity irrespective of social status or wealth or power or authority or gender. He died for all humankind, taking their punishment so that people who believe in him can have eternal life.

So we now know that God does not despise anyone but loves everyone!!! He does not value people based on their status or authority or wealth, but is impartial and loves each of us very much.

Clue:2 How does despising affect people? Judges 6

During the time when Judges ruled Israel, Midianites greatly oppressed Israel by destroying their land’s produce and cattle. In fact, Israel became very poor because of this. Now there lived a man named Gideon who was from the Clan of Manasseh. God sent an angel to him who called him “Mighty man of valor” and told him “Go and save Israel from the hand of Midianites and I am with you”. He replied to the angel “My clan is the WEAKEST in Israel and I am the LEAST in my father’s house, how will I save Israel?”. He had a very poor self image. He would have been hearing his whole life that he is the least and this was deep-rooted in his heart. This is the reason why he replied to the angel about him being the least and did not take up the task with courage even though the angel confirmed to him that God is with him. He was not at all confident that he could accomplish what God told him. He asked God for several signs and God gave him all the signs he asked. Then… after getting all these signs from God, Gideon went as God told him. He defeated the Midianites and brought victory for Israel.

When you despise someone, they will lose their self confidence that will eventually result in a very poor self-image. This would hinder them from accomplishing the tasks God has in mind for them and slow them down in their journey to their destiny . So do not despise anyone and do not be a hindrance in the path of people’s destiny but be a blessing to them.

Clue:3 How to treat people?

“Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

Matthew 18:10-14

DO NOT DESPISE PEOPLE. It is not the will of our Father that anyone perishes. He loves everyone of us, even the people who live in sin. He loves humankind so much that He sent His only son Jesus to die on the cross for their sake. God loves all His children and want all of them to be saved. Do not even despise the ones who is living in sin, but rather slowly give them Jesus. Bring them to repentance and introduce them to the plan of salvation. There is much rejoicing in heaven for a sinner who comes to God.

It is not good to show partiality to the wicked,
Or to overthrow the righteous in judgment.

Proverbs 18:5

You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor.

Leviticus19:15

DO NOT BE PARTIAL OR UNJUST TO PEOPLE. We should not show any kind of partiality while dealing with people. We should not honor a rich person or a powerful person more than a poor or a weak person. We should not be partial either to the poor or to the wicked. We should also not be unjust to people, but deal with them in righteousness. Be impartial with people, be righteous and just in all your dealings with them. Look at them as God sees them!!!

Treasures uncovered

God is not partial to anyone and does not value people based on their social status, but loves all people very much that he chose to send his son to redeem them from the power of darkness and sin.

By despising people, you damage their self-image, hinder them from accomplishing God’s plan and slow them down from reaching their God ordained destiny.

Neither despise people nor be partial & unjust to them, rather love each other and look at people as how God sees them.

Prayer:

Father we thank you for enlightening our understanding about how to deal with people. Help us to be impartial and just in our dealings with people and help us to regard everyone equally. Help us not to despise anyone based on their social status. We thank you for loving us unconditionally despite our shortcomings. Love you Jesus, in Jesus Name Amen.

Posted in Ages 11 & above, God & Me

He follows you, Do you?

Posted on by christianliving4young

In this present age, social media plays a vital role in our lives. We spent hours and hours on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, Twitter, etc., gazing on what other people are up to. We follow many people on the social media who inspire us. When we follow such people, we get to know what they eat, what they wear, where they go, who their friends are and pretty much everything else about them. We also try to imitate what they do – let it be fashion, DIYs, fitness, cooking or baking, trying out new eat-outs, and whatnot. All these people who have millions of followers doesn’t know the people who follow them. They might get to know a few, but definitely NOT ALL.

Today shall we read about a person who has millions and millions of followers all around the world, and He knows everyone of them so very well!!! Are you ready to meet Him today???

Which media platform do we find Him? Well… this platform is called “The Holy Bible”. Here we call it the treasure book. Let us open the treasure book and meet this wonderful person.

OPENING THE TREASURE BOOK undefined

Clue 1: Who is this and how far does He know me?

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 

John 1:1-4

For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.

Psalms 139:13

In the beginning, He was with God during the process of creation and nothing was made without Him. All things were made through Him and for Him. He is the image of God. He is the word of God who became flesh to dwell among people. HE IS JESUS CHRIST THE SON OF GOD WHO DIED FOR OUR SINS.

He created us and covered us in our mother’s womb!!! Everyone else in this world including our parents get to know us only after we are born into this world, but He knew us before we were placed in our mother’s womb!!!

JESUS knew us wayyyy….. BEFORE our family and friends.

O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether

Psalms 139: 1-4

He knows everything about us!!! Everything really means E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G. He knows when we sit down and when we rise up. He understands every thought of ours and its intents. He follows all our paths. He is familiar with ALL our WAYS. He knows all our characteristics and our behavioral traits. There is not a word on our tongue that He doesn’t know before it comes out of our mouth!!! He knows all our actions too, even if we hide it from everyone else. He even knows our future.

JESUS knows us wayyyy….. DEEPER than everyone else in this world.

Clue 2: Does He really care for me?

For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:6-8

We all like to be with good people who encourages us and cares for us. People normally wouldn’t die for friends or family, but there are rare cases where people sacrificed their lives for their loved ones. But have you ever heard of anyone sacrificing their lives for a bad person? Never!!! But Jesus loves us so much that He chose to die for us while we were still sinners and bad… His LOVE for us is more than what we could ever imagine.

JESUS loves us wayyyy….. MORE than everyone else.

Jesus knew us before we were born into this world, He knows us deeper than everyone else in this world. He follows us and loves us so much that He took our punishment and gave His life for us. He even knows what future holds for us.

Wouldn’t it be great to follow such a person and be inspired by HIM?

Clue 3: How to follow Him and get to know Him better?

To be a follower of Christ and be saved – we should repent of our sins, confess Him with our mouth and believe that “Jesus is Son of God. He died for our sins and rose on the third day”. Whoever confesses Jesus as the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

To know him better – Same like how we browse through the pages / profiles of people that we follow on social media to get to know them better, “The Bible” is our platform where we get to know more about Jesus and His personality. We might think, “this book is written many years back and is everything written about Jesus still valid?”. Yes it is – Hebrews 13:8 says “Jesus Christ is the same Yesterday, Today and Forever” So everything written about Him in the Bible is still valid and up-to-date and true even for the ages to come!!! Read the bible and get to know him better!!!

Treasures uncovered

JESUS knew us before our birth and knows everything about us. He loves us very much that He gave His life for us while we were still sinners.

Follow JESUS CHRIST on the platform “The Bible”, and be inspired by him.

Jesus loves us and follows us. He knows EVERYTHING about each one of His followers and cares for them. Moreover, by following Him we will receive everlasting life. This makes Him different from others who have millions of followers. FOLLOW JESUS for LIFE EVERLASTING…

Prayer:

Father, we thank you for being so wonderful.. Jesus we love you and we thank you for following us everywhere and caring for us. Thank you for giving yourself for our sake. Help us to follow you and be your imitators. In Jesus name, Amen.

Posted in Ages 11 & above, The Trinity

Staying Connected

Posted on by christianliving4young

We all use smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc., in our day-to-day lives. In fact, these gadgets along with internet connectivity play a major role in our lives. It is even hard to imagine a life without them… They help us in our studies, ease our daily tasks to a great extend, help us to stay connected to people, help us to listen to music, watch movies, play games etc. However, to connect to internet on these devices, we need to switch on the Wi-Fi/ mobile data on them. If not, even if the internet connection is available for use, we won’t be connected.

Staying connected to God also follows a similar principle. His presence is everywhere. However, to stay connected to him, we need to switch on our Wi-Fi/mobile data buttons. And what is that? Let us open the treasure book and find out clues!!!

OPENING THE TREASURE BOOK undefined

Clue 1: Our Wi-Fi Button

John 14:16-17, Ephesians 1:13

And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 

John 14:16-17

In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise

Ephesians 1:13

Jesus before leaving the earth, promised His disciples that He will give a Helper – the spirit of truth who will abide with us forever. When we accept Jesus as our savior, we are sealed with His Spirit – The Spirit of Truth – The Holy spirit. This spirit of God dwells with us and in us. The worldly man who is controlled by the desires of his flesh (Galatians 5:19-21), will not know him and cannot receive him.

If you are saved, Holy Spirit lives with you and inside you.

If you are not saved, invite Jesus to your heart today and confess Him with your mouth to accept Him as your savior and the Spirit of God will come and abide with you and in you!!!

Clue 2: Our Wi-Fi Button

John 14:26, 1 Corinthians 2:9-14

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

John 14:26
1 Corinthians 2:9-14 (To read this bible portion click on this video)

We humans are made of Body, Soul and Spirit. Only a man’s spirit knows the deep things inside him. When you have a secret plan or you have a secret desire, only your own spirit will know it. Your friends, your siblings, your parents or others will not know it unless you reveal it to them. Similarly, only the Spirit of God knows what is in the mind of God and no one else knows the things of God except the Spirit of God – the Holy Spirit. He searches the mind of God and reveals to us the deep secrets of God and revelations from God. The Holy spirit helps us to understand the things that are freely given to us by God. The Holy Spirit also reminds us of the things of God and teaches us the wisdom of God. This wisdom is not understood by the world.

Now we know that Holy Spirit knows all the deep secrets of God and He lives inside us. So to stay connected to God, our Wi-Fi button is the Holy Spirit!!!

Clue 3: Switching on the Wi-Fi Button

All those who have accepted Jesus as their savior has the wifi button – the Holy Spirit. But if the button is not switched on, we cannot stay connected even though the connection is available. This means, even though the Holy Spirit lives inside us, and is available for us, we cannot stay connected to God if we are not sensitive to His Spirit – the Holy Spirit.

Holy Spirit is always speaking to us, guiding us, teaching us and helping us in everything. But, if we do not identify His voice, then we cannot make use of the help and guidance available to us. Listen to that still voice that speaks inside of you, guiding your steps and stopping you from doing wrong. Haven’t you felt someone from inside you warning you when you are about to do something wrong, speak something wrong or watch something wrong? Or at times when you do not know which way to go forward, there is that inner voice strongly urging you to choose a particular path. Be sensitive to that voice, listen and obey… Each time you obey that voice, it becomes clearer and audible… So you become more sensitive to His voice. Also praying in the spirit – praying in tongues helps you to become more sensitive to the Holy Spirit.

But if you do not listen to the voice or obey it, the voice becomes feeble within you and other voices from outside will rule over your mind. The devil will take advantage of this situation and put his voice in your head and that voice only leads you to destruction. Be alert and do not let that happen to you.

By being sensitive to Holy Spirit, you listen to His voice, His teachings, His guidance, revelations and the wisdom of God.

To stay connected to God, be sensitive to the Holy Spirit, listen to His voice and obey His voice.

Treasures uncovered

Everyone who has accepted Jesus Christ as their savior has Holy Spirit living with them and inside them

Holy Spirit searches the mind of God and knows the deepest secrets of God

To stay CONNECTED to God, be SENSITIVE to the HOLY SPIRIT, Listen & Obey His voice

Prayer:

Father we thank you for the Spirit of God whom you have sent as a helper to live with us and inside of us. Help us to be sensitive to the Holy spirit and be attentive to Him. Help us to stay connected to you always and walk in your ways, In Jesus name Amen!

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, God & Me

The Armor of GOD

Posted on by christianliving4young

Have you seen a soldier who is ready for battle? Maybe not real time but definitely in movies right? They will be dressed in a special outfit – a uniform with a belt on their waist, helmet on their head, a bulletproof shield held in their hand, a bullet proof vest, shoes or boots on their feet and weapons like gun to fight. Back in the olden days too, soldiers who went for battle wore a special outfit. It is called the “Armor” and had almost similar components as a modern day battle outfit.

An Armor consists of a belt, a breastplate, a helmet, a pair of shoes, a shield and weapons – mainly a sword. Why do soldiers wear this special outfit – the armor, for battle? Battle is not a time of leisure. A soldier would be completely focused on fighting putting his life at stake. There are big chances that the weapon of the enemy could injure his body and major internal organs. So the armor is worn to shield / protect their body from the weapons of enemy. All components of the armor except weapon are for shielding and protecting while weapon is the only component used to fight back.

The bible also talks about an armor – The Armor of God. What is this all about? Let us open the treasure book to learn more about it.

OPENING THE TREASURE BOOK undefined

Ephesians 6:10-17 – click this video to read this bible portion

Clue 1: Ephesians 6:10-13

The Battle

The Word of God says, we have to put on the complete armor of God. We now know that an armor is worn only during battles. So this means we are in a battle. So we should be wearing an armor to protect ourselves from being hurt. Being in a battle means there is an enemy to fight.

Our enemy

The word of God says “put on the whole armor of God to stand against the tricks of the devil”. Also it is written, our fight is not against flesh and blood – meaning other humans. So the enemy in this battle are not people but the devil and dark evil powers – domains, powers and rulers of darkness. The devil and his gang of evil spirits are our enemy and we know they are not in flesh but spirit. So the battle is not physical but in the spiritual realm.

The battleground

But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

2 Corinthians 11:3

In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

2 Corinthians 4:4

Both these verses states that the devil tries to corrupt and blind our minds from the actual truth. So our enemy – the serpent / the god of this world / the devil tries to manipulate our minds. That is where he tries to play his tricks. So our mind is the battlefield!!

Now we know that we are in a battle, we know where the battle takes place and who our enemy is!!!

So how do we get prepared for the battle and fight our enemy?

Clue 2: Ephesians 6:14-17

Like in a physical battle where soldiers wear the armor to protect themselves from the weapons of the enemy, in this spiritual battle against the devil, we too should wear an armor –The Armor of God, to protect ourselves from his weapons!

The armor of God also consists of shielding components – Belt, Breastplate, Shoes, Shield, Helmet and a weapon to fight – the Sword

The Belt of Truth

We normally use a belt to gird our loose pants tight onto our waist so that we can walk confidently without being afraid that our pants would come down. Imagine yourself in a battle and your belt isn’t proper. Would you be able to focus completely on the battle or will you be partly bothered about the pants coming down? Definitely the pants will bother you and this could take your life!!! In the armor of God, our belt is “TRUTH”. We should always speak the truth and be truthful to God, ourselves and others. If we are truthful in everything then we can walk confidently and we will be able to rightly focus on our battle without giving the devil a loophole to pull us down!!

Breastplate of righteousness

A breastplate is worn to guard the chest area, specially the heart. In the armor of God, our breastplate is “RIGHTEOUSNESS“. Righteousness means “right standing with GOD” or being right with God. Sin separates us from God but we are made righteous through faith in Jesus Christ. When we believe in Jesus, his blood makes us right before God. This is our breast plate that will guard our heart from the weapons of the enemy.

The shoes of gospel of peace

We wear shoes to protect our feet from sharp and hard objects that lie in our path. In the armor of God, “PEACE” is the shoes that we should wear to guard our walk. Always walk in peace and be peacemakers. Let the peace of God rule our hearts and minds. Worry is one object that the devil places in our path to hurt our feet, but if the peace of God rules our mind, it guards us from getting hurt.

Shield of faith

A shield protects us from the flaming arrows and other weapons of the enemy. In the armor of God, our shield is “FAITH”. When the enemy sends flaming arrows to attack our mind, we should use faith to shield our mind. The enemy might send arrows of disbelief, doubt, despair, depression, fear, loneliness, un-forgiveness, lust, etc., and we should shield it from entering our minds and hearts by proclaiming our faith.

Helmet of salvation

A Helmet is used to guard our head in battle. If head is not protected, we will definitely lose our life in the battle!!! In the armor of God “SALVATION” is our helmet. Salvation protects our head. Without salvation you will lose your life – the eternal life. If you have not known Jesus as your savior, invite him to your heart today. To be saved, confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead. Put on the helmet of salvation and secure your eternal life!!!

Sword  – The Word of God

In the Armor, the weapon to fight is the sword and in the armor of God, the sword is WORD OF GOD.

We know that our mind is the battle ground and this is where the enemy attacks. The enemy sends his flaming arrows of all kinds of negativity to our mind. When we use our shield (Faith) we protect our mind from these arrows. It will definitely protect us from getting injured, but it doesn’t stop the enemy from fighting us. As we see in all fights, an enemy will stop fighting only if we get stronger and he gets weaker. How does that happen? We should fight back then he will slowly lose his strength. We fight back with our weapon, the WORD OF GOD… Fight all negative thoughts the devil is trying to plant in our hearts, with the word of God.. Declare the word of God in all areas of his attack and keep on declaring!!! The word of God says that the enemy will eventually flee – Resist the devil and he will flee from you!!!

In Luke chapter 4 we see, Jesus when tempted by the devil fought back with the Word of God and the devil left him. Jesus took victory over the devil by fighting back with Word of God!

Treasures uncovered

We are in a constant battle and hence we should be always alert! The battleground is our mind and the devil is our enemy .

Put on the full ARMOR of GOD –

Protect yourselves from the weapons of the enemy by wearing the Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness, the Shoes of Peace, the Shield of Faith and the Helmet of Salvation.

Fight the enemy with Word of God and he will flee from us.

We have to put on the full armor of God to protect ourselves. If any element of protection is missing we can get hurt. So wearing all the components of armor is vital for our existence. Also fight your battle with the Word of God and victory is guaranteed!!!

Prayer:

Father, Thank you for making us aware about the armor of God. Lord Jesus, we thank you for the helmet of salvation that secures our eternal life. We also thank you for making us righteous. Thank you for the Word you have given us to fight the enemy. Thank you for making us victorious, in Jesus name, Amen!!!

Posted in Ages 11 & above, God & Me

No Gain without Pain?

Posted on by christianliving4young

Have you ever gained anything in your life without paying a price for it or without working hard for it?

In the world that we live in, achieving or gaining is not an easy task. There is “No Gain without Pain”. We should definitely go through a process of learning, hard-work, training, trials & errors, failures, struggles, etc, before we reap any kind of benefit. It is not easy even for those who are born with a silver spoon in their mouth. Is there anything at all that we gain without pain?

Let us open the treasure book to find clues.

OPENING THE TREASURE BOOK undefined

Clue 1: Genesis 2, 3

ENTRY of SIN

God created the first humans – ADAM & EVE and placed them in the Garden of Eden to take care of it. God used to come down to the garden and spend time with them. Everything was moving on very well until they disobeyed God by eating the fruit that God asked them not to eat. When God came as usual to spend time with them, they hid from Him as they disobeyed Him. Because of their disobedience, they were put out of the garden and were cursed to work hard for their livelihood… This is where the world changed its course of existence. Everything turned upside down.

Disobedience to God is SIN. Because of this disobedience, human race came under the “Power of Sin”. Death, pain, sorrow, enmity, curse and all other mess entered the world because of sin. More than anything else, humans were separated from their fellowship with God.

But God loves us sooo very much that He did not want us to live separated from Him and be destroyed eternally…

Clue 2: ATONEMENT of SIN

The atonement (action of making amends for a wrong) of sin is only by blood.

For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.

Leviticus 17:11

And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.

Hebrews 9:22

Plan 1: God gave a plan – the atonement of sin by sacrificing animals and offering their blood to God. People had to spend for this sacrifice. But, this did not help them overcome the “power of sin”. They still lived in the clutches of sin.

God loves us sooo much that He did not want us to live in the power of sin and be destroyed eternally….

Plan 2: God sent His only son, Jesus Christ – to die for our sins “once and for all”!!!

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world

1 John 2:2

Sin brings us punishment. God loved us very much that He sent Jesus to take our punishment. Jesus laid down His life for us and His blood was offered as atonement for our sins so that whoever BELIEVES in Him will not perish but will have ETERNAL LIFE. We don’t have to spend anything to be saved, but only believe in Jesus. Jesus freed us from the power of sin and also restored our relationship with God. As Romans 5:19 says “For as by one man’s (Adam) disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s (Jesus) obedience many will be made righteous.” By His blood we are made righteous before God. Without loosing anything or paying any price or struggling, we gained SALVATION!

Treasures uncovered

Our Gain without Pain

SALVATION!!!

IS A FREE GIFT TO ALL THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST

IS FREE, BUT EXPENSIVE. JESUS PAID THE PRICE – HIS OWN LIFE & BLOOD

Salvation is a very expensive gift that God has given freely to those who believe in Jesus Christ. Our part is to accept Jesus as our savior and believe He is the Son of God who died for our sins.

To accept Jesus as your savior you need to confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead. If you have not known Jesus as your savior, invite him to your heart today and live a life free from the power of sin and save yourselves from the eternal punishment – the lake of fire!!!

Prayer:

Thank you father for the free and expensive gift of salvation. Thank you Jesus for laying down your life for our sins and freeing us from the power and punishment of sin. Thank you for loving us so much… Help us to bring our families and our friends to this joy of salvation. We love you Lord, in Jesus name Amen!!