Category: The Negatives

Posted in Ages 11 & above, The Negatives

It’s ME and only ME !!!

Posted on by christianliving4young

The world that we live in teaches us to compete with others. From a very young age it builds a competitive mentality in us and as we grow, this mentality also grows within us. It also urges us to take part in the rat race for wealth, position, power, recognition, etc. In this pursuit, as we climb up the ladder, we push others down and also knock them down if necessary. Our concern is only about us – our future, our career, our well being, our recognition, our fame, our reputation etc. We do not stop or care to look around and see if we are hurting anyone in this process. In fact, this is what our world follows and marks as the way to success. In other words, the world instills in us selfishness or self-seeking. The world supports selfishness doesn’t mean it is the right way. We should be concerned about what the treasure book says about selfishness / self- seeking.

Let us open the treasure book to find clues:

OPENING THE TREASURE BOOK undefined

Self- seeking / Selfishness

Selfishness / self-seeking is to think only about oneself without considering other people and to be concerned about only one’s own welfare / interests before those of others. In any given situation, selfish people will think only about themselves and their affairs and will act accordingly to turn everything to their benefit. Even remotely, they do not think how it will affect others and their lives.

For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.

James 3:16

but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation.

Romans 2:8

The word of God clearly states that selfishness is evil. Such people obey unrighteous and do not obey the truth. Obeying truth is obedience before God and obeying unrighteousness is disobedience before God. So the self-seeking / the selfish are disobedient before God. Disobedience to God is sin and hence selfishness is a sin before God. So this clearly is not a desirable quality for the children of God. What the world follows and instills is completely against what God wants us to practice and follow.

For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

Romans 8:5

Do not follow the world or take in what the world instills. This is possible only if you set your minds in the things of Spirit rather than on the things of the world. Do not get into the rat race like the world but follow the things of the spirit and the plans of God for your life.

Selfishness is evil before God and is a sin.

Our Example

As we all know, Jesus is our perfect example to look onto.

Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

Philippians 2:4-8

Jesus, although God, left everything to be born as a man just so that His creation – the human race, who were living under the clutches of sin could have eternal life. He took the punishment we deserved. He didn’t have to do that at all. Still He did because He was not selfish or self-seeking but loved us unconditionally. He had to go through terribly bad persecution of all times. He was tortured physically such that there was no place on His body without a bruise. He was completely disfigured because of the torture. He took the worst death of all times – being nailed on a cross ALIVE and then dying on the cross for no offense of His. He did it all for US so that we get eternal life. He is the most selfless person who ever lived on this planet. How could He possibly go through such terrible torture? The love He had for us overpowered the pain from His torture. He gave His precious life and blood for our sake – for saving us from the eternal punishment that we very well deserved!!! All throughout He put our interest before His own.

Jesus is our perfect example. He is the most selfless person who ever lived on this planet. He left everything to be born as a man, endured terrible physical torture and the worst death of all times just so that we can have eternal life.

Our attitude

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

Philippians 2:3-4

Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being.

1 Corinthians 10:24

 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

Matthew 22:39

We should not do any thing because of selfish ambitions but should respect others and consider them better than ourselves. We should not only look out for our interests but also of others. Never do anything at the expense of others rather seek their well being. This can be done only if we love them. As Jesus taught, we should love one another wholeheartedly.

The world teaches us to be selfish, but God wants us to be selfless just like Jesus. Love each other, seek their well being and consider them better than yourselves.

Treasures uncovered

Selfishness is evil before God and is a sin.

Jesus is our perfect example. He is the most selfless person who ever lived on this planet. He left everything to be born as a man, endured terrible physical torture and the worst death of all times just so that we can have eternal life.

The world teaches us to be selfish, but God wants us to be selfless just like Jesus. Love each other, seek their well being and consider them better than yourselves.

Do not take in what the world instills, rather walk in the spirit and follow the truth.

Prayer:

Incline my heart to Your testimonies, And not to covetousness.

Psalm 119:36

Posted in Ages 11 & above, The Negatives

Disobeying God

Posted on by christianliving4young

In this life, we have all had our fair share of disobedience – be it disobedience to parents, teachers, other elders, governmental authorities or even God. We already learned in “Obedience” that it brings blessings. What about disobedience to God? Since it is the exact opposite of obedience, does it bring upon us the exact opposite of blessings? Let us look into the treasure book to find more about this.

OPENING THE TREASURE BOOK undefined

What is disobedience to God?

Disobedience in simple words is “not doing what someone or something with authority tells you to do“. God is the supreme authority over all creation. Not doing what He has asked us to do is disobedience to Him. There are generic rules and guidelines that God has given for the human race like – You should love the Lord, your God with your whole heart and you shall not worship any other God other than Him, you shall not murder, you shall not covet other’s belongings, etc., as given in the word of God. God also gives each of us specific instructions to follow at different times. For example, God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son. This was a specific instruction to Abraham. God asked Noah to build an ark which was a specific instruction to Noah. So not following these generic or specific instructions given by God is disobedience to Him and is Sin.

God has given us generic instructions. He also gives us specific instructions from time to time. Disobeying both these generic and specific instruction is disobedience to God. Disobedience to God is sin.

Disobedience to generic instructions

“But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: “Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country. “Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. “Cursed shall be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. “Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. “The Lord will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me.

Deuteronomy 28:15‭-‬20

‘But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you.

Leviticus 26:14‭-‬17

Disobedience to generic instruction brings forth punishment and curses. Like how blessings overtake the obedient, curses overtake the disobedient. Their food, water, possessions, fruit of labor, health and everything concerning them will be cursed. Their lives will be filled with terror, confusion, sorrow and defeat. Disobedience is wickedness before God and hence destruction and perishing will be the final outcome because God sets His face against them. Disobeying God is to fight God and to make Him your enemy.

Disobeying GOD’S generic instruction is wickedness and brings forth punishment & curse. It also means to fight God and make Him your enemy because God sets His face against the disobedient.

Disobedience to specific instructions

Example of Adam & Eve (Genesis 3)

God created Adam & Eve and put them in the garden of Eden to keep it. They were given a specific instruction – “not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil“. Enticed by the serpent, they disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit. When God asked them why they ate the forbidden fruit, they did not repent, rather started blaming each other. God put them out of the garden and punished them for their disobedience. They lost their peaceful life in the comfort of the garden and were cursed. In fact the whole of humanity came under the clutches of sin and were cursed because of their disobedience.

Disobedience to God’s specific instruction also brings forth punishment and curse.

Example of Jonah (Jonah 1-3)

The story

God gave Jonah a specific instruction, “Arise, go to the great city of Nineveh and cry out against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.” But Jonah disobeyed God. He went to Joppa and got on a ship going to Tarshish, another city. God sent out a great wind and there was a mighty tempest on the sea. The ship was about to break and the mariners were afraid. Every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten the load. Meanwhile, Jonah was in the lowest deck of the ship and was fast asleep. So the captain came to him, and said, “Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.” And then they cast lots to know for whose cause this trouble has come upon them. The lot fell on Jonah.

Then they said to him, “Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” So he explained to them everything including how he got on this journey trying to flee from God. The men were greatly afraid, and said to him, “Why have you done this? What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?” And he said to them, “Throw me into the sea and the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.” Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not. The sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them. Therefore, they cried out to God and said, “We pray, O Lord, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O Lord, have done as it pleased You.” Then they threw Jonah into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. The men on the ship feared the Lord exceedingly, offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows.

Now God prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah and he was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly and repented his actions. God spoke to the fish and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. Again the word of the Lord came to Jonah, a second time saying, “Arise, go to the great city of Nineveh and preach to it the message that I tell you.” This time Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord and preached as he was asked to.

The Analysis

Here we see that God gave a specific instruction to Jonah. But Jonah disobeyed God and went his way. God set His face against him and punished him – Jonah was thrown into the sea and was swallowed by a great fish. In the belly of the fish Jonah repented and prayed to God. God had mercy on him and forgave his sin. God also gave him a second chance. This time Jonah obeyed God and did as he was asked to.

As we already established, disobedience to God is SIN. However, if you repent there is forgiveness and God gives us another chance to do it right. With Adam and Eve, there was no repentance and hence they were punished. But with Jonah even though he was punished, God delivered him when he repented and also gave him another chance.

If you repent, God will forgive your disobedience and deliver you out from your punishment. He also gives another chance to make it right.

Treasures uncovered

God has given us generic instructions. He also gives us specific instructions from time to time. Disobeying both these generic and specific instruction is disobedience to God. Disobedience to God is sin.

Disobedience to GOD either on generic or specific instruction, is wickedness and brings forth punishment & curse. It also means to fight God and make Him your enemy because God sets His face against the disobedient.

If you repent, God will forgive your disobedience and deliver you out from your punishment. He also gives another chance to make it right.

Prayer:

Father, we thank you for teaching us the consequences of disobedience. Thank you for being merciful even in our disobedience that when we repent you deliver us out from the punishment we deserve. Thank you for the many chances you have given us to make things right. Help us not to disobey you. We love you Lord. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

Posted in Ages 11 & above, The Negatives

I am the best!!!

Posted on by christianliving4young

We all, at some point in life, have either bragged or boasted about ourselves to our friends or even strangers! Our friends would have called us a show-off behind our back several times. We too would have had this kind of experiences with others. Usually people show-off or boast to build an impression about themselves that they are someone greater than those around them. Have you ever wondered what causes us to show off or boast? Is bragging / showing-off a desirable quality?

Let us look into the treasure book and find clues!!!

OPENING THE TREASURE BOOK undefined

Who is a boastful person?

Dictionary defines boasting / bragging as talking with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about own achievements, possessions, or abilities. And showing-off is to boastfully display one’s abilities or accomplishments. These basically means nothing but crowning yourself and making yourself glorious in front of others.

For he says:

“By the strength of my hand I have done it,
And by my wisdom, for I am prudent;
Also I have removed the boundaries of the people, And have robbed their treasuries;
So I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man.

Isaiah 10:13

The word of God also describes a person who glory in himself / herself as boastful. Such people believe all their achievements are because of their own strength and wisdom. But they are foolish and ignorant of the fact that they are all God’s creation who are positioned by God to be used in a certain way. And also that, their achievements are actually God’s grace in their lives.

Shall the axe boast itself against him who chops with it? Or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it? As if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up, Or as if a staff could lift up, as if it were not wood!

Isaiah 10:15

Imagine an axe that boast to the woodcutter who uses it, “You are very lucky that you are holding me. I have cut down many forests. You are nothing without me and you cannot do anything without me.” What do you think the woodcutter will do to such an axe? Definitely the axe becomes a nuisance and he would throw it away and look for another axe. Such an axe is definitely foolish and ignorant. If someone does not hold the axe and use it, it will just rust away and will not be useful in any way. Similarly is the one who boasts. They are foolish and ignorant of the fact that they are just an instrument used by God and their accomplishments are not in their might or strength but because of the grace of God. They take all the glory for themselves. They are in fact robbers who steal the glory that is due to God.

Boasting is not a desirable quality. The boastful are those who crown themselves and glory in themselves. Such people are foolish and ignorant that they are just vessels in the hand of God. They try to steal the glory that is due to God.

Why do we boast?

The wicked in his pride persecutes the poor; Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised. For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire; He blesses the greedy and  renounces the Lord. The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts.

Psalms 10:2-4

But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

James 4:16

If there is wickedness in your heart, pride and arrogance also becomes a part of you. Pride is to have a high opinion of oneself and ones importance. God detests pride. We already learned in Have an attitude? that GOD finds a Proud Heart DISGUSTING and He RESISTS it. When you have a prideful heart, it leads to arrogance – having an exaggerated sense of own importance. Pride and arrogance makes you feel more important and worthy than your fellow beings and in turn causes you to show off, boast and brag about yourself.

Boasting is a fruit of wickedness caused by Pride and Arrogance.

What should we glory in?

Thus says the Lord:

“Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might,
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me,
That I am the Lord, exercising loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.
For in these I delight,” says the Lord.

Jeremiah 9:23-24

But “he who glories, let him glory in the Lord.” For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends.

2 Corinthians 10:17-18

The only thing we can take glory in is that we know the Lord God Almighty. We can glory in the Lord and nothing else. Everything else – our talents, our wisdom, our possession, our strength, our health, our beauty, our family background are all God’s gracious gift and not things for boasting or showing-off. Glory belongs to God and not to us in any way. We should give God the glory that is due to Him and not try to steal what is rightfully His by boasting, bragging and showing off.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9

Even our salvation is a gift of God and is not dependent on our works or performance so that there is no chance for anyone to boast. Jesus, the son of God, died on the cross for our sake and rose back to life on the third day. Whoever believes in Him is saved from eternal doom. No flesh can boast about this as it is a free gift to all who believes in Jesus.

Glory belongs to God and only Him. He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.

Treasures uncovered

Boasting is not a desirable quality. The boastful are those who crown themselves and glory in themselves. Such people are foolish and ignorant that they are just vessels in the hand of God. They try to steal the glory that is due to God.

Boasting is a fruit of wickedness caused by Pride and Arrogance.

Glory belongs to God and only Him. He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.

Prayer:

Father, we thank you for teaching us that boasting is not a desirable quality. Help us to always consciously stay away from boasting or bragging. Help us to always detest wickedness and everything associated with it. Father, we give you all the glory and honor that is rightfully yours. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

Posted in Ages 11 & above, The Negatives

Pain & Affliction

Posted on by christianliving4young

We humans prefer to live a happy life free from pain, affliction, sadness and the like. But that is not the case always. We have to face all these while living on this planet. Sometimes it is so hard on us that we loose hope to live. Why do we have to bear all these pain and affliction? When sin entered the world though the disobedience of Adam and Eve, all these byproducts of sin also got free entry into the world. So then affliction should be only for the sinful. Why are children of God afflicted then?

Let us open the treasure book to find clues:

OPENING THE TREASURE BOOK undefined

Affliction from God

Case 1: Pharaoh and Israel, Exodus 1-14

The Pharaoh who ruled Egypt during the time of Moses was a ruthless emperor who afflicted the children of Israel. The Lord heard their cries and saw their oppression. He appeared to Moses and told him that He will deliver them out of Egypt. So Moses went to Pharaoh and told him to let the Israelites leave as per God’s command. Pharaoh did not heed and denied their freedom, rather afflicted them more. Pharaoh disobeyed God and sinned against Him. Then God sent affliction one after the other on Pharaoh and his people. The same Pharaoh who afflicted the children of God was now under affliction from God. First their water turned to blood. They were deprived of drinking water which is essential to sustain life. Next their country was teeming with frogs, then lice and then flies. Next, their livestock which was their means of livelihood started dying, then there was a plague of boils. After this there was a hail storm which destroyed all their crops and whatever still remained the next plague of locusts destroyed. Then there was pitch darkness for three days. People could not move around or even get up from the place they were for 3 days. All these afflictions affected their basic needs like food, water, livelihood and their health. These did not let Pharaoh repent or listen to God’s word. He still continued to stand against God and fight Him. Then the last and final affliction came – death of all the first born. Every first born in every family, including the first born of animals were killed. This was more than what even Pharaoh could handle. He let them leave his country. But after they left, Pharaoh felt he shouldn’t let them go easily. So, Pharaoh pursed them but could not get to them and drowned in the red sea along with his troops. He tried to fight God and his children and ended up bringing calamities one after the other upon his household and his kingdom eventually losing his own life.

Who will prevail fighting GOD, the almighty? Pharaoh, even though a big emperor was foolish enough to fight God. He afflicted the children of God and so afflictions from God came on him one after the other. Even then, he did not repent but continued fighting God to a point where he lost his life. The Israelites were also living in Egypt when afflictions hit the land, however it did not come near them, to the land where they were living. God protected them all throughout.

If we oppress or afflict God’s children, we fight God and sin against Him. And when we fight God and sin, affliction from Him is a surety. Without repentance, there is no deliverance from the affliction that comes from God.

Case 2: The Bronze Serpent, Numbers 21: 4-9

The children of Israel, after escaping from Pharaoh by crossing the red sea, had to journey through the wilderness for a long while. The people became very discouraged on the way and started speaking against God and Moses: “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food, no water and our soul loathes this worthless bread.” So the  Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people. Many died. Then they realized they sinned against God. They came to Moses and asked him to pray for their deliverance. So Moses prayed for the people. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery  serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.”  So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

In this case, the affliction came from God on His own chosen people. Even though they did not stand against Him or His plans, affliction came on them. His people sinned against Him forgetting all what He did for them. He had brought them out of slavery and took care of them in the wilderness providing food, water, shelter and protection. Listening to their complaints and seeing their ungratefulness towards Him, He sent affliction. This made them realize their mistake and remember what God did for them. As soon as they came back to their senses, they asked Moses to pray for their deliverance. They repented and God provided a way out. He gave them deliverance from the fiery serpents.

Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word.

Psalm 119:67-69

It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes.

Psalm 119:71

Lord sends affliction to remind us about His mercy, faithfulness and goodness towards us which we tend to forget from time to time. We take for granted all the resources that God has given us. So sometimes afflictions are a way to remind us of God’s ways so as to walk in them continuously without being tired or weary of them. It also helps us to stay on the path of God and not go astray. As the psalmists says, affliction from God helps us to remember Him, His ways – to learn them and keep them.

Affliction from God reminds us of God and His ways – His mercy, goodness and faithfulness towards us. It helps us to repent and turn to Him. It also helps us to learn His ways and keep them. It is for building us so that we do not go astray and lose our eternity. God has our best interests at heart.

Affliction comes from God only when sin is involved.

Affliction from Satan

The life of Job, Job 2

One day, the Lord asked Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause.” Satan replied, “Stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse You to Your face!“ And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. His wife told him to curse God and die. But Job did not sin against God.

Here we see a conversation between God and Satan. God Himself is testifying about Job that he is a blameless and upright man who fears God and rejects evil. So Job was upright in all his ways before God. Even then he was afflicted. Satan wanted to destroy him without any cause. God gave the permission to Satan to afflict Job without taking his life. So Satan went ahead and afflicted Job with painful boils. This proves that definitely Satan can cause affliction to God’s children who are righteous, if God permits him. Moreover, sinning is not the reason for affliction from Satan. His only motive for bringing affliction is destruction. He wanted to destroy Job without any cause!!!

We also see here that even with all the affliction and the discouragement from his wife, Job still did not sin but waited on God to deliver him. God used this as a testing period for Job concerning his faith in God and Job came out victorious. Later on we see that Job was delivered and he was given twice as much of what he lost in affliction.

Satan afflicts the righteous of God and his only motive is destruction.

Deliverance

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.

Psalm 34:19

Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.

Matthew 4:24

For the righteous, many are their afflictions that comes from Satan – physical and mental sickness, fear, depression, demonic oppression, etc. He will take all opportunity to torment and torture the righteous of God. His only motive is destruction. But remember, God delivers us from all kinds of affliction. Jesus overcame Satan and all his afflictions on the cross. While He lived on the earth, He healed thousands and thousands of people from oppression, sickness and all kinds of satanic affliction and torture. He is still alive and is capable of delivering us out of all kinds of afflictions. He heals all kinds of pain and sickness. So look on to Jesus and take refuge in Him as your deliverer.

But if you have Jesus already in your life, there is a twist. You are redeemed by the blood of Jesus and is righteous before God. It is not by your works that you are saved, but because of Jesus and His precious blood. Always remember, Jesus already took our sin, our sickness, our pain, our suffering and all our afflictions on the cross and so we do not have to suffer the afflictions from Satan. Resist the devil and he will flee from us. Resist the afflictions he tries to instill in us in the name of Jesus and by His precious blood. Claim victory by the blood of Jesus and he will have no choice but to FLEE…

So if you do not have Jesus in your life, accept Him today as your savior and live life to the fullest on Earth and secure your eternity.

Jesus is the only cure for our affliction. He is our deliverer who has overcome Satan and all his afflictions. Resist the devil and he will flee from us.

Treasures uncovered

Affliction comes from God only when sin is involved.

Affliction from God reminds us of God and His ways – His mercy, goodness and faithfulness towards us. It helps us to repent and turn to Him. It also helps us to learn His ways and keep them. It is for building us so that we do not go astray and lose our eternity. God has our best interests at heart.

If we oppress or afflict God’s children, we fight God and sin against Him. And when we fight God and sin, affliction from Him is a surety. Without repentance, there is no deliverance from the affliction that comes from God.

Satan afflicts the righteous of God and his only motive is destruction. Jesus is the only cure for our affliction. He is our deliverer who has overcome Satan and all his afflictions. Resist the devil and he will flee from us.

Prayer:

Father we thank you for teaching us about affliction. Help us to always walk in your ways remembering your goodness and faithfulness. Thank you father, for Jesus, our deliverer and our cure from affliction. Help us to resist devil and his afflictions. In Jesus name, Amen.

Posted in Ages 11 & above, The Negatives

This is sooo unfair!!!

Posted on by christianliving4young

In life, many things happen to us unexpectedly – Good & Bad. When unexpected good happens, we call it our luck!!! But if unexpected bad happens, we call it UNFAIR!!! Imagine you loose something that you worked hard for, something that you deserve very much – like your position in the baseball team suddenly got offered to a relative of the coach; or the dream job position that you worked hard for was offered to your boss’s friend. We feel that what happened to us is sooo UNFAIR!!! Well… life is not always fair!!! All of us would have experienced multiple unfair treatments in many areas of life. When treated unfairly, we would be very disappointed and angry. It is quite natural to feel this way.

Bitterness / resentment is defined as anger and disappointment at being treated unfairly. The bitterness towards people might lead us to slander them, treat them bad, hate them and so on. But, when those people are people with authority, it might not be possible to react this way, but the bitterness towards them will be deep rooted in our hearts. Is bitterness okay?

Let us look into the treasure book and find what the treasure offers.

OPENING THE TREASURE BOOK undefined

Bitterness – Good or bad?

looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;

Hebrews 12:15

 For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”

Acts 8:23

 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

Ephesians 4:31-32

Bitterness brings nothing but trouble. It defiles us like all other evil and wickedness. It is impurity and uncleanness before God. Bitterness is considered a poison. Poison when consumed is hazardous to health and can result in death. This is the effect of bitterness on us. It is hazardous to our health. This nature of bitterness is also proven scientifically by various medical studies conducted by reputed universities.

Bitterness should be put away like all other evil ways as it is malice / ill will. Instead of bitterness we should practice kindness and be forgiving as how Jesus forgave us.

Bitterness is poisonous and brings only trouble. It is evil and defiles us. Put away bitterness and be kind, forgiving one another.

Handling our bitterness

Example of Simon the Sorcerer (Acts 8:9-25)

During the time of apostles, a man named Simon practiced sorcery in the city of Samaria and astonished the people, claiming he was someone great. The people from the least to the greatest, believed this man to be the great power of God. And they heeded him because of his sorceries. Philip preached Jesus Christ and the things concerning the kingdom of God to these people and they believed. Simon himself also believed and was baptized and he continued with Philip. He was amazed seeing the miracles and signs which were done. Then Peter and John were sent to Samaria and they prayed for the people that they might receive the Holy Spirit. When they laid hands on the people, they received the Holy Spirit. When Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, “Give me also this power, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” Peter rebuked Simon for this blunder. Holy Spirit revealed to Peter that his heart is not right in the sight of God. Also that he was poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity. Peter asked him to repent and pray to God that he may be forgiven. Then Simon repented and prayed.

Simon, even though a child of God who accepted Jesus as his savior, was poisoned by bitterness. His heart was not upright before God but he never knew it. Holy Spirit revealed to him through an apostle that he was poisoned. If poisoned, then immediately look for cure or the chances of survival is dim. The cure for bitterness like all other evil is to repent first and pray to God for forgiveness. We see that as soon as the poisoning was made known to Simon, he took the cure immediately.

If poisoned with bitterness, be quick to find cure or the chances of survival is dim. The only cure for this poison is to repent first and pray to God for forgiveness.

Example of Hannah – 1 Samuel 1

Elkanah was an Ephraimite with two wives – Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not have any. He went with his family every year to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice to the Lord. And whenever he made an offering, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters, but to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah even though the Lord had closed her womb. Peninnah did not leave any chance to provoke Hannah and hurt her because the Lord had closed her womb. Year after year, when they went to the house of the Lord, Peninnah would hurt her severely and make her feel miserable, making her cry and not eat her portion. Then Elkanah her husband would talk to her and comfort her saying, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”

One such time after Peninnah’s usual provoking, Hannah arose and went to pray in front of the tabernacle. She was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish. The priest Eli saw her and mistook her to be drunk. But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord. Do not consider your maidservant a wicked woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now.” Then Eli told her to go in peace and that God will grant her petition. So Hannah went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

The study

Here we see that out of the two wives of Elkanah, Hannah did not have children. Having children was the greatest strength for Peninnah and she turned her strength to be the greatest opportunity to torture Hannah. Peninnah made Hannah feel very miserable and hurt to a point where Hannah would just cry and not eat. Even though her husband loved her, the provoke of Peninnah took the focus above everything else. Her soul became very bitter. In all that bitterness, she did not fight Peninnah or slander her or complain to her husband and give him trouble. She did not even try to argue or prove her point. Instead she prayed and wept in anguish before God. She poured out her soul to God. She knew only God could get her a solution, so why discuss with others or argue. She trusted God and believed He would deliver her. God filled her heart with hope and she left in peace and happiness. The bitterness was not to be seen in her anymore. Later on we see that God answered her prayers and gave her children, Prophet Samuel being the first among them.

Hannah did not speak on her behalf, but God did, in such manner that Peninnah did not have any ground to provoke Hannah or make her miserable anymore. Not only did Hannah have children like Penninah, but also a husband who loved her more than Peninnah. But we don’t see Hannah using her strengths to provoke Penninah even though she had every opportunity to do so.

We too might have people around us who take every opportunity to hurt us, belittle us and make us feel miserable. This could spring up bitterness in our souls. Praying to God and pouring out our soul to Him is the best way of getting the bitterness out of us. God will make us stand with our heads held high like He did for Hannah. Make sure also to never use your strengths to mock others or make them feel miserable, but be thankful to God for all His mercies.

Getting God’s help by praying and pouring out our soul to Him enables us to heal our hearts and fill it with peace.

Treasures uncovered

Bitterness is poisonous and brings only trouble. It is evil and defiles us. Put away bitterness and be kind, forgiving one another.

If poisoned with bitterness, be quick to find cure or the chances of survival is dim. The only cure for this poison is to repent first and pray to God for forgiveness. Getting God’s help by praying and pouring out our soul to Him enables us to heal our hearts and fill it with peace.

Never use your strengths to mock others or make them feel miserable, but be thankful to God for all His mercies.

Prayer:

Father, we thank you for teaching us that bitterness is poisonous in nature and that we should never hold on to it but should repent and ask for forgiveness.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Psalms 51:10-11

In Jesus name, Amen.

Posted in Ages 11 & above, The Negatives

Unbelief

Posted on by christianliving4young

Imagine that, a stranger in shabby and worn out clothes approaches you and tells you, “I am the richest person in this area”. How will you react to this? Will you believe it? If you are a sane individual, you will not believe it unless the person provides you with solid proof that validates his statement. We humans are logical and rational in nature and so we cannot believe theories that are illogical. The concept of spiritual world and even GOD seems illogical to a lot of people. They consider it foolishness as they do not consider any of the proofs around them. The mere existence of humanity and the beautiful creations around us is the greatest proof of God’s existence. Unbelief in God and specially in Jesus can cause us serious trouble. Let us look into the treasure book to find out clues.

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Unbelief in God

Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God;

Hebrews 3:12

We already learned in ” Who are fools?” that a person who do not believe in GOD is called a fool. A heart that believes in God is WISE before Him, but an unbelieving heart is foolish before Him. No matter how learned they are or how vast their worldly wisdom is or how marvelous their worldly accomplishments are, they are still considered FOOLS by God if they do not believe in Him. Your education or your wealth or your achievements does not indicate wisdom before God, only a BELIEVING HEART does.

Moreover, not believing in the true living God is considered EVIL. An unbelieving heart is an evil heart that does not acknowledge the existence of God. Each day of our life on this Earth is a gracious gift from our heavenly Father. Not recognizing the existence of our creator nor His plans for our life is the most pathetic state we could be in. No wonder He calls such unbelievers FOOLS.

He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

John 3:18 – 19

Jesus is the Son of God who was sent by God the Father, as a savior for the whole of humanity to redeem them from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God. Whoever believes in Jesus as Son of God and accepts Him as their Savior will be saved. But not everybody believes this. What about the unbelieving lot? Not believing in the son of God results in condemnation – meaning they are declared guilty and sentenced for punishment. They are declared guilty because they loved to continue in their evil ways rather than turning themselves to the light – Jesus. And their punishment is eternal doom. Jesus is the only way to eternal life.

And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

1 Timothy 1:12

If you have been living your life without believing in the true living God or His son Jesus, now is the time for you to return back to him. Repent and accept Jesus as your savior. God will forgive and forget your past considering it as ignorance and will enable you to carry out the plans of your Creator, the purposes for which He sent you.

Not believing in God and His son Jesus is FOOLISH and EVIL before God and results in Eternal Condemnation and Eternal Doom.

Surrounded by Unbelief

Mark 6:1‭-‬6

Jesus after beginning His ministry went to His hometown with His disciples. And on the Sabbath, He began to teach in the synagogue. Many heard Him and were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man learn these things? And what wisdom is this, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” They were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” Now He could not do any mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went to villages, teaching.

His own people could not believe the fact that a normal person like them is doing such great works for God. To them, He was too familiar as an ordinary person and because of this they would not believe. They saw Him as a carpenter and not a child of God sent to accomplish God’s purposes. Jesus could not do any mighty works because of the unbelief of people who surrounded Him.

So with unbelief lingering, the mighty works of God does not takes place. And do not surround yourself with people who do not believe in you or the mission for which God sent you – even if they are the people in your closer circle. They will definitely discourage you and blow out the passion in you. As much as He would love to stay in His hometown, Jesus moved away from them because, if He stayed among these people who could not believe in God’s plan for His life, He wouldn’t be able to carry out His mission.

Separate yourself from people who do not believe in God’s plan and purpose for you, because they will definitely discourage you and could bring you out of God’s mission and purposes for your life.

Consequences of Unbelief

Mark 9:14‭-‬27

During Jesus’s ministry, a man brought his son who was mute, to the disciples. From time to time an evil spirit would seize him and throw him down. When this happens, the boy foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. Jesus’s disciples could not cast the evil spirit out. When Jesus came to them, this boy was brought to Him. When the boy saw Jesus, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth. The father told Him that this has been happening from his childhood and that he was often thrown into fire & water by the evil spirit. The father said, “But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as dead. But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.

Here, the boy was brought to the disciples and they could not heal him. Jesus called his disciples “O faithless generation“. Their unbelief is the reason why they could not carry out the healing. Now the boys father, even though he brought the child to Jesus, did not believe that the boy will be healed. Probably seeing the disciples not able to heal would have disheartened him. So when Jesus came he said – if you can do anything, please help us. He did not say – I believe in you and know you can help. Jesus could not heal the boy in the midst of these unbelieving hearts. So He addressed it one by one. First the disciples and then the boy’s father. As soon as it was addressed to the father, he cried out and prayed – I believe, help my unbelief. When the unbelieving heart turned into a believing one, Jesus casted out the evil spirit.

So with an unbelieving heart you cannot receive healing or miracles – Jesus could cast out the evil spirit only after the father believed. Also at the same time you also cannot perform the works of God for the glory of God if you have an unbelieving heart – the disciples could not cast the evil spirit out because of their unbelieving hearts.

You cannot receive miracles and healings if you have an unbelieving heart. Also you won’t be able to carry out the works of God if you have an unbelieving heart.

Treasures uncovered

Not believing in God and His son Jesus is FOOLISH and EVIL before God and results in Eternal Condemnation and Eternal Doom.

Separate yourself from people who do not believe in God’s plan and purpose for you, because they will definitely discourage you and could bring you out of God’s mission and purposes for your life.

You cannot receive miracles and healings if you have an unbelieving heart. Also you won’t be able to carry out the works of God if you have an unbelieving heart.

Prayer:

Thank you Father for sending your Son and bringing us into your kingdom. Thank you for counting us faithful to carry out your work. Help our unbelief and enable us to fulfill the plan and purpose for which you have sent us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Posted in Ages 11 & above, The Negatives

Who are Fools?

Posted on by christianliving4young

Do you think Clowns are the REAL FOOLS because they act silly? We call a person fool when they behave silly or act without commonsense. Don’t we all sometimes speak and act silly? When our feelings / emotions such as grief, anger or happiness overwhelm and overtake us, we do not think but act spontaneously and most of the time end up being foolish. Apart from these petty instances once in a while, we think we are pretty wise at all times. Isn’t it?

The bible is “The book of ultimate truth” and hence let us look for what it says regarding the subject.

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Biblical definition of fools

WISDOM is considered as the ability to think and act using knowledge, experience, understanding and common sense. Foolishness is the exact opposite of that. Dictionary defines FOOL as a silly person who acts unwisely. What about biblical definition of fools?

The fool has said in his heart, “ There is no God.” They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good.

Psalms 14:1 NKJV

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

I Corinthians 1:18

In the bible, the people who do not believe in God are called FOOLS. The one who says in his heart “THERE IS NO GOD” is called a fool. For such people, the plan of salvation is foolishness. God sending His son Jesus to the world and Jesus enduring the cross for the sin of the world does not make any sense to them because they do not believe in God. They think they are wise but are silly and unwise before God. They are the real fools before God, not a clown.

So if people have been addressing you “a fool”, do not worry or bother because what matters is what God thinks about us. If you believe in God, in His son Jesus and in the message of cross, we are wise in the eyes of God.

The Origin of foolishness

For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”

Mark 7:20‭-‬23

Foolishness is to believe in the heart “there is no God”. This is evil and wicked before God. Like all other evil and wicked deeds, foolishness too originates from the heart because it is with the heart that we believe. Foolishness is at par with other wicked acts and defiles a person before God. Foolish people are on the road to eternal perishing because they do not believe in Jesus, the only way to eternal life.

Foolishness originates at the heart. It defiles a person and is evil before God.

Characterestis of fools

A fool’s heart

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 1:7

A fool has no delight in understanding, But in expressing his own heart.

Proverbs 18:2

The wise in heart will receive commands, But a prating fool will fall.

Proverbs 10:8

A fool despises his father’s instruction, But he who receives correction is prudent.

Proverbs 15:5

The main characteristic of a foolish person is that they despise wisdom, instruction and correction. As we all know, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. But fools do not believe in God and hence His wisdom does not shine any light on them. They despise their father’s correction and do not have any heart for understanding. They delight in expressing their own heart. In simpler words, they do not perceive but only talk. If you despise wisdom, understanding & correction but only care about expressing your own heart, you will definitely end up being foolish in everything you do.

Embrace the wisdom from God and prepare your heart to receive instruction and commands. Never ever despise your father’s correction. They have seen life more than you have and they have more life experiences than you. Your father corrects you so that you do not make his mistakes but be an even greater achiever. Fools never understands this fact but despises elder’s correction.

A fools heart despises wisdom, correction and understanding.

A fool’s mouth

A fool vents all his feelings, But a wise man holds them back.

Proverbs 29:11

Whoever hides hatred has lying lips, And whoever spreads slander is a fool.

Proverbs 10:.‬18

A fool’s lips enter into contention, And his mouth calls for blows.

Proverbs 18:6

Another characteristic of fools are that, their mouths cannot be controlled. As we saw before, they do not take in corrections or instructions or try to understand any given situation but are interested in expressing their heart and venting out their feelings. Expressing your feelings about other people or situations might result in spreading slander. Speaking about others merely based on your feelings and without proper proof is totally wrong. It is slander. A fool never understands these or worry about the consequences of his words. They FEEL, and they SAY… This will bring them trouble. The mouth of a fool brings about disagreements, quarrels and even disputes. They do not think before they speak or evaluate the outcome of their words before bringing it out.

A fool’s mouth brings in trouble as words are spoken without thinking and only based on feelings.

A fool’s walk

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Ephesians 5:15‭-‬17 NKJV

Circumspect means being “careful to consider all circumstances and possible consequences”. It simply means to be prudent – to be careful and thoughtful for the future. Fools do not walk in prudence. They do not consider possible consequences of their walk, but walks in all kinds of paths that only leads to destruction. The only path leading to eternal life is Jesus as we learned in “Life the bigger picture“. Let us be prudent in our walk and the paths we take in life.

A fool’s walk leads them to destruction as they are imprudent.

Treasures uncovered

The people who do not believe in God are called Fools – the one who says in his heart ” There is no God “.

Foolishness originates at the heart. It defiles a person and is evil before God.

A fools heart despises wisdom, correction and understanding.

A fool’s mouth brings in trouble as words are spoken without thinking and only based on feelings.

A fool’s walk leads them to destruction as they are imprudent.

Prayer:

Father, thank you for teaching us that foolishness originates at the heart. Help us to believe in you and in your son Jesus. We thank you for the plan of salvation. Help us to be prudent in our walk and be careful in our talks. Help our heart to accept correction and delight in wisdom. In Jesus name, Amen.

Posted in Ages 11 & above, The Negatives

Fear

Posted on by christianliving4young

What comes to your mind when you hear the word Fear? Some of us might think about the most fearful moment in our life, some others about the things / situations / people that they fear or the horror movies they have watched, etc. Fear brings to remembrance different things for different people and its intensity varies from person to person. But for everyone, it is an unpleasant emotion. None of us like to be experiencing fear for a prolonged time. Currently, with the world facing the pandemic, many are living a life of FEAR. In fact it would be rightful to say they are under the captivity of fear. How to handle this unpleasant emotion?

Let us dive into the word of God to find clues.

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The character of Fear

The first time bible mentions “Fear” is when Adam & Eve disobeyed God. God came to meet them in the garden, but they hid from His presence as they were afraid to face Him because of their disobedience to Him. Fear creeped in as a consequence of Sin and that’s how the emotion of fear entered humanity.

For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

Romans 8:15

Fear is a bondage that works in the spiritual realm. It is a spiritual weapon used by our enemy, the devil, to take over people and bring them under his captivity. Normally in a warfare, the kingdom that wins takes the loosing kingdom’s subjects as captives / slaves. Similarly in the spiritual warfare that is going on in our minds (as we learned in The Armor of God), if we do not resist and give in to Fear, it will enslave us.

So first, the bondage happens in the spiritual realm, and then its consequences surfaces in the physical. Fear will impose us to hide from or flee from the situations that we are afraid of, or the people whom we fear, or from life itself. It will bring about despair, emotional trauma, feeling of helplessness, etc.

Fear enslaves people in the spiritual realm and its consequences surfaces in the physical realm.

Fighting Fear

Always remember

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:9

Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10

And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.

Deuteronomy 31:8

Imagine having a powerful ruler to be with you always, wherever you go. You will be respected like him and also will be privileged in everything because he is with you. You will get extra ordinary facilities that are not available to common people. Because he is with you always, these privileges follow you everywhere you go. So there is nothing to fear or be concerned about as he is powerful and is able to help you out from any kind of situation.

We are in an even better position. Our God is the all powerful God and the creator of the whole universe. There is no other power that is greater than Him. We also know that when we accept Jesus as our savior, the Holy Spirit comes and lives inside us. He is with us always to guide us and help us. He will not leave us nor forsake us. So why fear? The all powerful God Himself is with us always and He is greater and powerful than all the dark powers put together. We need not fear and be concerned about anything because He is our God. He will surely help us and uphold us.

The great and mighty creator of this universe is my God who is with me always. He will never leave me nor forsake me, then why fear?

Our Mindset

The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?

Psalm 118:6

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

2 Timothy 1:7

We should always remember that God is with us. If God is on our side who can stand against us? The spirit that is within us is the spirit of power, love and of a sound mind, not the spirit of fear. So then, tell your mind – “I WILL NOT FEAR”.

Our mindset should be “I will not fear because God is on my side”.

What if fear creeps in?

Fear can creep in at any moment of weakness. Even the disciples of Jesus feared and cried out when they saw Him walking on the sea thinking it was a ghost. So, everyone goes through moments of weakness in life, after-all, we are humans. So what if fear creeps in and tries to take us captive?

I sought the Lord, and He heard me,
And delivered me from all my fears.

Psalm 34:4

The only way to get out of fear is by seeking God. When you seek Him, you will find Him. God is the only one who can deliver you out of all your fears and insecurities. God alone is the only solution, so seek Him. The bible has recorded many events in the lives of people as an example for us to learn. Let us look into such an example,

2 Chronicles 20
Jehoshaphat was king over Judah for twenty five years. Sometime during his reign, few kingdoms from Syria formed a great army against them to fight them. When Jehoshaphat heard that a multitude of army is coming to fight him, he FEARED!!! Being a king having an army that is not big enough to fight the big army of his enemies, Jehoshaphat feared. What did he do?

He set himself to seek God and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord and to seek the Lord. God assured Jehoshaphat through a prophet not to worry and promised He will take care of the battle. Jehoshaphat trusted God and on hearing this he and all people worshipped God. The next morning, as the army set out for the battle, Jehoshaphat and his people sang praises to God and worshipped Him. The Lord set an ambush against the big army of the enemies and they destroyed each other. When Jehoshaphat and his army came to fight they only found dead bodies with valuables and precious jewelries. It took them three days to gather all the valuables as there were so much. On the fourth day they blessed the Lord and returned back to their homes. There was great joy and rejoicing throughout Judah. They won the battle without even having to fight!!! The lord fought their battle and took care of their situation which would have been impossible otherwise.


When fear creeped in, Jehoshaphat set himself to seek God. He sought the Lord and the Lord delivered him from all his fears and filled him with joy and laughter. Jehoshaphat rightly approached his fear and he was delivered.

So when fear creeps in, seek God and ask Him for help. He is the only one who can deliver us. He will never leave us nor forsake us. Our part is to seek God and trust Him, praise His name and worship Him. He will deliver us and bring us JOY & REJOICING!!!

Treasures uncovered

The great and mighty creator of this universe is my God who is with me always. He will never leave me nor forsake me, then why fear?

Our mindset should be ” I will not fear because God is on my side “.

If at all fear creeps in, SEEK GOD and ask Him for help. He is the only permanent solution and the one & only who can deliver us. He will never leave us nor forsake us.

Fear enslaves people and bring them under its captivity, however our God is mighty to save. In fact, only He can bring deliverance. He is the only permanent solution. So Seek Him, Trust Him, Praise His name and Worship Him. He will deliver us from all our fears and bring us JOY & REJOICING!!!

Prayer:

Father, we thank you for being our God. Thank you for teaching us that you are the only permanent solution to “Fear”. Thank you for being on our side. Help us to seek you during times of fear and despair. Help us to always remember that You are with us. Thank you for delivering us from all our fears and insecurities. We Love you. In Jesus name, Amen.

Posted in Ages 11 & above, The Negatives

I Would Never… Really?

Posted on by christianliving4young

We all have certain firm ideas and principles in life that we present proudly in front of others. We would make statements like “this is what I am, so I would never do that or I would never say that” and so on… But most of the time we end up doing those, that we proudly stated we would never do. For example, we swear to our friends “I would never hurt you” and we end up hurting them very often. Even though our principles are with right motives, we sometimes become hypocrites. Hypocrite is a person who acts in contradiction to his / her stated beliefs / feelings.

Let us see what the word of God has to say about such people – Hypocrites.

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Is Hypocrisy okay?

In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 

Luke 12: 1

The hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor, But through knowledge the righteous will be delivered.

Proverbs 11:9

BEWARE / be cautious of hypocrisy is what Jesus taught His disciples. We are normally cautious about things that are dangerous. Hypocrisy falls into such a category. It is likened to a leaven (e.g., yeast) which when added to any dough infects the whole dough and changes its composition. Similarly hypocrisy is considered to be infecting a persons heart and change its initial composition. So hypocrisy is not okay. It infects our heart. A hypocrite is also associated with destruction. They destroy others with their mouth. Destruction is evil and is from devil who only comes to steal, kill and destroy.

Hypocrisy is a matter of the heart. It is destructive in nature. It is infectious and dangerous for our hearts, so BEWARE of hypocrisy…

Who does God call a Hypocrite?

Jesus during His ministry came across many hypocrites and addressed them.

  • People who judge others and point fingers at them.

And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Matthew 7: 3-5

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.

Matthew 23:29-30

We all have flaws in various areas. As our hearts get closer to God, our eyes will be opened to them to undergo correction and resemble Him more. The kind of people who have flaws and not realize it are the people whose hearts are away from God. They are too quick to judge others and find faults with them. Rather than being bothered about their own bigger issues, they are interested in others business irrespective of how insignificant it is. Such people are blind towards their faults and flaws. Their lives and hearts would be more messed up than others, still they ignore it and interferes into others life. So be sure to evaluate your heart and life, be aware of own flaws and mistakes, correct them before judging others, pointing fingers on them and trying to correct them.

  • People whose hearts long for recognition and praises from people.

Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men.

Matthew 6:1-2

And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

Matthew 6: 5

There are people who do various charitable deeds and even things concerning God to show-off to others expecting to be noticed and get praises from them. Such people are pretentious and crave for recognition and glory. Even though, they seem very genuine outwardly, their heart’s intent is to get people’s attention and praises. They want others to be talking about them and hence they make sure to do such things with much publicity. Do you crave in your heart to be praised by people, then your deeds will be in alignment to that. So evaluate yourself and check the intention behind your deeds – are you craving praises and recognition?

  • People who neglect and ignore the significant matters of God

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

Matthew 23: 23-24

Drinking tea or coffee with fly in it is possible although it is disgusting. But can you swallow a whole camel? It is impossible!!! Flies are small and insignificant compared to camel. Even though all laws should be obeyed, there are certain laws that are very significant like a camel – justice, mercy and faith are among them. These should be obeyed and followed at any cause. However not giving importance to such laws is like swallowing a camel which is an impossible thing to do. Jesus used this simile to address the kind of people who would follow certain laws and instructions that are easier and comfortable for them to the minutest detail, but neglect the important and significant ones before God. Jesus calls them hypocrites and even blind guides who would strain out a fly but will readily swallow a camel! We should follow all instructions given by God and not ignore them, specially the matters that are of significance before Him.

  • People who neglect the cleanliness of their heart

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.

Matthew 23: 25-26

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Matthew 23: 27-28

As we already learned in “What does God notice in me?“, God notices our heart when he looks at us. Our hearts are very important to Him. We can fool people by pretending and projecting ourselves as something that we are not. But remember, we cannot fool God. We might look beautiful, gracious and righteous outwardly but our heart’s condition would be bad and in ruins. Our heart shows the “real” us. This is wide and open before God. He knows the “real” us. When we are pretentious this way before people, we are being hypocrites. Hypocrisy is at par with lawlessness. They are both considered unclean. So cleanse the inside – our hearts, from all uncleanness and only then the outside will actually be clean.

Treasures uncovered

Hypocrisy is a matter of the heart. It is destructive in nature. It is infectious and dangerous for our hearts, so BEWARE of hypocrisy…

Hypocrites before God are

  • People who judge others and point fingers at them rather than correcting own flaws.
  • People whose hearts long for recognition and praises from people while doing charitable deeds or the things of God.
  • People who neglect and ignore the significant matters of God, but follow others to the minutest detail.
  • People who neglect the cleanliness of their heart and cares only about outward appearance.

Hypocrisy is a matter of the heart. It is unclean and destroys our heart. Our hearts are wide open before God and He gets to know all our hearts desires and its intents when he scans it. We cannot fool Him by being pretentious. He knows the exact content of our heart and what it is filled with. So cleanse your heart with the blood of Jesus and fill it completely with Him and His love, then nothing else will infiltrate it. As Romans 12:9 says Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.

Prayer:

Father we thank you for teaching us that hypocrisy is a matter of heart and brings about destruction. Help us not to be pretentious, longing for praises or judgmental but be aware of the matters that are significant before you. Help us to keep a clean heart that is fully pleasing to you. We Love you. In Jesus name, Amen.

Posted in Ages 11 & above, The Negatives

Rebellion

Posted on by christianliving4young

Have you ever rebelled in your life? Rebellion is nothing but defiance of authority or control – it refers to the resistance against the order of any established higher authority. It could be your parents, your teachers, your educational institution, your government, etc. Sometimes it is just that we do not like a person or a group and hence will be rebellious to everything they say or do. Or sometimes it is to fight for our rights or a certain cause. Rebellion is promoted in the times that we live. Does that mean it is the right thing to do?

We will look into the treasure book to find clues.

OPENING THE TREASURE BOOK undefined

Clue 1: Rebellion against GOD

Rebellion against God means defying His supreme authority and control over our lives. It also means disobeying His commands and statutes.

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.

1 Samuel 15:23

Rebellion against God is SIN. More than our actions, God is interested in our hearts (What does God notice in me?). So upon weighing our hearts, if found to be rebellious and stubborn, then it is sin and evil in the eyes of God!

But they rebelled against Me and would not obey Me. They did not all cast away the abominations which were before their eyes, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I said, ‘I will pour out My fury on them and fulfill My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.’ 

Ezekiel 20:8

As we learned in “The anger of God”, disobedience is evil in the eyes of God and continuous evildoing without repentance arouses His anger. Ezekiel 20:8, also says that disobedience and rebellion brings about the anger of God!

However, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you, as it was against your fathers.

1 Samuel 12:15

But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; So He turned Himself against them as an enemy, And He fought against them.

Isaiah 63:10

Our triune God is the ultimate power in the entire universe. He is the beginning and the end. There is no one else who is like Him. As the word of God says in Romans 8:31, when this powerful God is on our side, what can bother us – If God is for us, who can be against us? He becomes our strength and our fortress. However, if we choose to disobey God and be rebellious, then it is not going to be easy! Rebellion grieves God and turns Him into our enemy!!! His hand will be turned against us. How could we stand against the all powerful God? Do we stand a chance against HIM? If God becomes our enemy, whom do we turn to? That will be unbearable and a state that none of us would want to be in.

Rebellion against God is a SIN. It grieves God and brings about His anger. It causes His hand to be against us and to fight us like an enemy.

Clue 2: Rebellion against parents

If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and who, when they have chastened him, will not heed them, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city, to the gate of his city. And they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones; so you shall put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear.

Deuteronomy 21:18-21

For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’

Matthew 15:4

The punishment for being rebellious to parents was very harsh under the law given to Israelites. Rebellious children were supposed to be stoned to death if they did not repent and heed to parents because rebellion is evil in the eyes of God. For God, death is the deserving punishment for rebellion to parents. It is that serious before God. God wants us to honor our parents and give them the respect that is due to them. It pleases Him.

Rebellion against parents is serious before God and deserves the punishment of death.

Clue 3: Rebellion against authorities

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.

Romans 13:1-2

Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.

Romans 13:7

God is the highest authority in the entire universe. So all governing authorities on the earth are appointed by Him. There is no authority that exists without God appointing them. So He wants us to be subject to these authorities, pay the right taxes and give honor to those who are deserving. Resisting them is to resist God. This brings about judgement.

The rulers are all appointed to bring about good and resist evil. However, what if the ruler itself turns evil. In that case, are we allowed to rebel? Let us look into an example from the book of Daniel chapter 3.

Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon built a huge image of himself in gold and set it up in his province to be worshipped by all people. When music is played with different kinds of musical instruments, all the people should fall down and worship the golden image. Those who disobey will be cast immediately into a burning fiery furnace. Now, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego were young Jews who were put in charge of affairs of the province of Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar was told that these men were not obedient and did not worship the golden image. He was furious and brought these young men to be questioned. When asked, they said they will not worship other Gods or the golden image of king, but only the living God. Since they disobeyed the king, he was furious and ordered the furnace to be made seven times hotter and threw these men into the furnace. The furnace was sooo hot that the men who took these young Jews were killed in the flame. The three young men fell into the middle of the furnace and when the king looked he saw four men instead of the three men who were thrown in. Seeing they did not die, the king called out to them to come out. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came out of the furnace and those who gathered saw that the fire had no power over them. Neither their hair nor their garments were affected. There was not even any smell of fire on them. The King was astonished and praised the God of the young Jews and promoted them.

In this example we see that King Nebuchadnezzar ordered an evil decree – to bow down and worship a golden image of himself. This violated the commandment given by God – “You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image and not bow down to them nor serve them”. So the young Jews here refused to obey the command given by king because it violated God’s commandment. They did not rebel against the authority of the king but disobeyed the decree as it was against God’s command. Their heart’s intent was not to rebel against the king but to obey God’s command.

We see a similar case with Daniel. Daniel was asked to pray to King, and did not. So he was thrown into a den of lions but came out without being eaten by them. His intent was to obey God and keep his commands. God delivered Daniel from the lions.

If the decrees issued by our authorities is in direct violation of God’s commands, we should make every effort to obey the commands of God who is the highest authority, no matter what the consequences are going to be. But our heart should not rebel against the authorities. God will definitely deliver us out of the consequences, like how he did supernaturally for the young Jews and Daniel.

Rebellion against authorities ordained by God is to resist God Himself and brings about judgement. If decrees and laws put up by authorities are against God’s command, rebellion is not the option but choose to obey God’s commands as He is supreme authority.

Treasures uncovered

Rebellion against God is a SIN. It grieves God and brings about His anger. It causes His hand to be against us and to fight us like an enemy.

Rebellion against parents is serious before God and deserves the punishment of death.

Rebellion against authorities ordained by God is to resist God Himself and brings about judgement. If decrees and laws put up by authorities are against God’s command, rebellion is not the option but choose to obey God’s commands as He is supreme authority.

God hates rebellion and considers it Sin. Because our God hates a rebellious heart, rebellion is never an option for us except when it comes to devil. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Prayer:

Father, we thank you for teaching us that rebellion is never an option for us because you hate a rebellious heart. Father, help us to not follow the world and what it considers right but be obedient to you and always keep your commands. In Jesus name, Amen.