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March 11th, 2014

3/11/2014

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FACEBOOK, TWITTER AND OTHERS

Scripture verse:
Live so that you don’t have to feel you’ve done anything wrong. Some people may say evil things about your good conduct as believers in Christ. If they do, they will be put to shame for speaking like that about you. It is better to suffer for doing good than for doing evil if that’s what God wants.

I Peter 3:16,17 (NIRV)

Scripture reading:
1 Peter 3:8-22

In this day of computers, iPads and cellphones
We’ve another way others to greet.
It makes me shudder
When I see what we utter
When we text, update status or tweet.

Are we showing the world who we really are?
Can they see Christ flowing through us?
Or are we getting caught
On this peer pressure float
To be funny or stir up a fuss.

Others are reading what we have to say….
Who we follow and pictures we post.
May we help others grow
And tweet things to show
We are filled with the Holy Ghost.

What would Jesus post? What would Jesus tweet
If He had a Facebook page?
We could touch boys and girls
And change our world
W.W.J.D. would be all the rage.

It won’t be all that easy and we’ll be criticized
Some will pooh pooh our efforts as dross

They will laugh and joke

And fun at us poke

But we’ll get our point across.

PRAYER

Dear Lord, help us be a positive influence on our world in all we do. Help us show others how happy a true Christian can be. Help them to want what we have in Jesus’ name.


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We Were Called To Know Him

2/18/2013

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WE WERE CALLED TO KNOW HIM

Scripture verse:

Christ suffered for you. He left you an example. He expects you to follow in his steps. You too were chosen…....                                                    

 1 Peter 2:21(NIrV)

For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps.

1 Peter 2:21 (NKJV)

Oh, how special we are.  God himself called us. We were chosen by God. I don’t know about you, but that makes me feel special.

He left us an example to follow–his son, Jesus. Jesus instructed us many times to, "follow me." To follow him we first should get to know him. How can we get to know him? We can read about him. The Bible is full of the stories he told, the things he did and we can follow the things he showed us. Let’s learn about him.

These devotions will take us through the life of Christ. We will study his life through reading all about him in the Word of God—the Bible. You can make this your daily routine—to each day learn something new about Jesus. The more we learn about him, the more our love for him will grow. The more our love for him grows, we will then want to be more like him. Just remember, we are his chosen and special children.

PRAYER

Dear Lord, thank you for choosing us. We want to learn more about you. We pledge ourselves beginning today, to read about you every day. We pledge to find time to talk with you every day. Open your Word to us. Help us get to know you better. Every day we want to sit in your lap and listen closely to you. Whisper your words of encouragement to us.  Help us get to know you better, Lord. Help us to be more like you.



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Hold My Hand

8/23/2012

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HOLD MY HAND

Scripture verse:

              I hold on to you. Your powerful right hand takes good care of me.

Psalm 63:8

Scripture reading:

Psalm 63

              Grandpa Gene was visiting his son and family in a small, rural northern town. He decided to take a leisurely stroll to enjoy the beauty of nature, then swing by the post office to get the family’s daily mail. Gene’s namesake, five-year-old Gina, came along to keep him company.

As the duo meandered down the street, grandpa pointed out all the beautiful flowers, changing leaves on the trees and many colorful and exciting objects of interest. They enjoyed just being together most of all.

When they came to the point where they must cross the street, grandpa reached for Gina’s hand. Gina protested by jerking her hand to the other side of her body away from grandpa. She had always had an independent streak just like grandpa and she wanted to do show that she was a big girl now and didn’t need him to hold her hand. But Grandpa Gene didn’t want Gina stepping in front of a car or stumbling and falling in the street.

“Gina, you have two choices. Either you hold my hand, or we will return home,” Grandpa Gene instructed. Then taking Gina’s hand in his, grandpa started to cross the street.

Gina jerked her hand away, stamped her foot and said, “wait! I haven’t made my decision yet.”

We have a decision to make ourselves. We can either go our own independent way, or hold the hand of our Protector. God wants an intimate relationship with us just as Grandpa Gene wanted a bonding relationship with Gina.

God will walk beside us during the times when we are exploring, but when there are dangers ahead, we must allow Him to hold our hand. We don’t know what lies ahead and may not understand why he isn’t allowing us to be independent. We must remember that He sees the future and He knows the pitfalls. We must trust Him without questioning why.

PRAYER

Dear Lord, we don’t always know why but we trust you. We give you our all today. We want to stay close to you. We want to walk with you. We want to talk with you. We want to listen to you and your Word. And we definitely want to hold your hand because you know what lies ahead.


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Lots of Mouths To Feed

3/19/2012

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Scripture verse:

All of them ate and were satisfied. The disciples picked up 12 baskets of leftover pieces.
                                                                                     Matthew 14:20 (NIrV)

Scripture reading:                   
                                                                                                    John 6:1-13

Wherever Jesus went, large crowds followed. He had to climb a hill to get away from the crowds, but even then they followed him. Would Jesus turn them away? No, He taught them and healed the sick among them and spent the rest of the day with them.

When it began to get late, the disciples were worried about food. There were no grocery stores, restaurants or cafes nearby. What could so many people eat? Jesus asked what they had. One very small boy, with only five pieces of bread and two small fish, was willing to give his lunch to Jesus.  What a caring child he was. He gave his whole lunch away. He did this without expecting anything in return. But when we give to Jesus, we get blessings multiplied to us.

Jesus asked all the people to sit in the grass. The disciples counted 5,000 men besides all the women and children. I'm sure they wondered how this small lunch could feed all these people. Jesus took the bread, said the blessing, and began to break it up and pass it to the disciples, who then passed it to the people sitting in the grass. Then Jesus did the same thing with the fish.  When everyone had eaten their fill, Jesus instructed that nothing should be wasted. He asked the disciples to gather up the scraps of food.  They collected twelve baskets full of leftovers.

What a picnic this must have been. No one went away hungry. Everyone was well fed—even the little boy who had given his lunch away. There was plenty of food left over to feed a few more thousand people. When Jesus blesses anything, it multiplies. Can you imagine how wonderful that food must have tasted. Can you imagine the wonder in the eyes of the little boy as his lunch was broken and multiplied.  What a miracle.

Jesus loves to bless his people. We can never out give him. The more we give away, the more he multiplies the blessings to us. When we give to those in need, all of our needs are supplied with some left over. What a wonderful provider he is.

 

PRAYER

Dear Lord, your miracles are special even today. We are blessed by just reading what you did for others. You are a miracle-working God, but even more than this, you care for the little ones, too. Thank you for using kids in your ministry. Thank you for caring about the feelings of little ones. Thank you for caring for us today. We want to give to others….not to see what we will get in return, but because we love you and love doing for others.

ACTIVITY

Ask mom to help you bake cookies shaped like fish and loaves of bread.  Fill baskets with your goodies and you can pretend Jesus gave you all the leftovers of that great day.

SUGAR COOKIES

1 cup butter or margarine

2 cups sugar

3 1/2 cups plain flour

2 eggs

4 teaspoons baking powder

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all ingredients together and chill the dough overnight. Roll out the dough and cut it into cookie shapes as illustrated below. The fish are circles and triangles put together with a raisin or mini M & M eye. Make an indentation for the mouth. The bread is simply rectangles. After the rectangles are cut, round the corners to form bread. These will then be baked at 350 degrees until very lightly browned.

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The Masquerade

10/10/2011

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Scripture verse:
             No one who lies and cheats will live in my house. No one who tells lies will serve me.                                 Psalm 101:7 (NIrV)

             Grandmother's trunk is filled with unusual clothes—scarves, hats and shoes.

             Dressing up in them then,

            We've the chance to pretend

            We're anyone else we may choose.

             We can be a fine lady in high heels and dress,

             Or a gentleman in top hat and cane,

             Or be dressed all in brown,

             Or a clown upside down,

             Or look prissy, conceited and vain.

             But I know when we’re through,

             make believing and all,

             I'll become once again only me.

             Put on all that is mine,

             ('Cause I like me just fine),

             And be what God intended I be.

             It is so wrong when we see other folks make believe

             They are something they really are not.

             They pretend now and then.

             Cover over their sin.

             They are fooling themselves quite a lot.

             Do they think we don’t know this is only a show.

             They are tricking no one but themselves.

             We can see who they are.

             They’d be better by far

             To put this attitude on the shelves.

             But as for me, I’m content and carefree

             To be who God wants me to be.

             I give him the control

             Of my body and soul.

             What he’s planned I will just wait and see.

                             PRAYER

Dear Lord, please help us to be ourselves.  It is fun to pretend when we play, but help us to never play when it comes to our relationship with you.  Help us get my eyes off how others see us and only on how you see us.  Let us to see ourselves through your eyes and may we feel good about what we see.  May we be truthful and honest no matter what.

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Band-Aids

6/30/2011

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BAND-AIDS



Scripture verse:               
"Give praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! He is the Father who gives tender love. All comfort comes from him."
 II Corinthians 1:3 (NIrV)
               
When you skin your knee or cut your finger,         
The sight of blood brings fear.
You run to your mom,
(She's always so calm),
As she wipes away every tear.
 
She cleans off the dirt, the grime and blood
She sprays it, and blows off the sting.
She kisses some more,
And covers the sore
With a band-aid—what a comforting thing.

When the pain is no more—and it’s no longer sore,
I’ll want a band-aid all the same.
It's a comfort for sure
It helps me feel secure
When I'm skating or playing a game.

When my friends are all gone and I find I'm alone,
There is someone who lives inside me.
The Holy Spirit is here
Calming my every fear
Like a band-aid. He fills me with glee.

His peace will sustain as He covers my pain,
And fills me with wonderful joy.
You can have this joy, too.
He will do this for you.
His comfort you, too, can enjoy.

Then when other kids see the joy that you feel
They will want that joy, too.
You can lead them to Him
He’ll fill them to the brim.
They will be ever grateful to you.


PRAYER
(Tune of "Jesus loves the little children")

Thank you, Thank you Holy Spirit.
You're a comfort to my soul.
Fill me up to overflow
With your precious, holy glow.
Make my life shine bright so other kids will know.


 

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Teddy Bear Secrets

3/4/2011

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  TEDDY BEAR SECRETS

Scripture verse:

              He says, "Be still, and know that I am God.”

Psalm 46:10a (NIrV)

              I love to sleep with my teddy bear, Sparkle.  I tell all my secrets to this special friend.  Sparkle listens without interrupting.  He smiles the whole time I am talking to him.  This makes me think he enjoys my company.  What a special friend he is.  I never have to worry.  He will never tell someone my secrets.  Sometimes I like to put my ear to Sparkle’s mouth and pretend I am listening to his secrets, too. Sparkle is my special friend.

You and I have another special friend who wants to tell us his secrets.  He wants to share his thoughts with us.  God wants us to listen sometimes without interrupting.  What pleasure it must give him when we stop and listen to him. 

Too many times we spend time telling him all our problems, or asking him to do something for us.  He wants us sometimes just to be still, and listen, and to know he is our God.  He is our friend.  He is our Savior.  He is in control of our life.  He will direct us.  He will tell us what He wants us to know.

PRAYER

Dear Lord, today  we ask you for nothing.  We will not even share our problems with you today.  We just want to listen for what you have to say . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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    Author

    Betty Ward Cain is a retired teacher and author of Christian books. Most of her books are for children.

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