Sermons4Kids

[Soldier4Christ]

God Is Patient

"And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee." (Jonah 3:1-2)

When God told Jonah to go and preach in Nineveh, Jonah ran away. The Bible says that Jonah fled to the harbor and found a ship heading in the opposite direction of Nineveh. There was no way he was going to preach the Word of the Lord to the people of Nineveh.

The Ninevites were cruel people who tortured their enemies. Jonah wanted God to destroy the Ninevites. He knew that if he preached God's Word, the Ninevites would probably repent from their wicked ways. So Jonah said "no" to God and ran the other way.

But God did not give up on Jonah. While Jonah was aboard the ship, God sent a raging storm. The sailors threw Jonah overboard because they thought he had caused the terrible storm. But God sent a big fish that swallowed Jonah whole. God heard Jonah's prayer in the belly of the fish, and the fish spit Jonah up on dry land. Then the Word of the Lord came to Jonah again and told him to go to Nineveh and preach.

When Jonah said "no" the first time, God could have said, "Forget you, Jonah! I'll just find someone else!" God can do anything He wants to do, and He could have found another prophet to preach to Nineveh. But God wanted Jonah to go. So God patiently waited on Jonah. He sent a raging storm to get Jonah's attention, but Jonah did not repent. Instead of repenting, Jonah decided it would be better to die in the sea.

But God still wanted Jonah, so He sent a big fish to swallow Jonah. Finally, Jonah cried out to God, who sent him back to Nineveh to preach to the people. God wanted Jonah to learn a lesson. God wanted Jonah to obey Him, and He patiently waited for Jonah to obey.

God is patient. He wants you to follow Him and obey Him. When you say "no" to God, He doesn't always punish you right away. He waits for you to obey. He is "a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness" (Jonah 4:2). Sometimes He might have to send a hard time to get your attention, as he sent a storm to Jonah. But He wants you to become more like Him, and He patiently waits for you to do so.

God is patiently waiting for you to follow Him.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Must Be Your Personal God

"And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God." (Genesis 28:20-21; see also Genesis 32 and 33)

It was night, and Jacob was alone and afraid. He knew that the next day he would meet his brother Esau--the brother he had terribly wronged and fled from long ago. As Jacob waited alone in the dark, perhaps his thoughts went back to the vow he had made at Bethel when he first set out on his journey. His father's God had spoken to him in a dream. This God had promised Jacob many wonderful things: land, children, blessing, protection. Now Jacob had a family, servants, and livestock. The God of his father Isaac had blessed him. But tomorrow he had an angry brother to face. Would this God protect him now? Until now, Jacob had called God "the God of Abraham" and "the God of my father Isaac." But he had never called Him "my God." He had not yet fulfilled the promise he made at Bethel that someday his father's God would be his own God. Could he trust the God of his father and his grandfather--personally?

That night, Jacob met God personally. He wrestled with Him until morning and begged Him for His blessing. That meeting changed everything for Jacob. He came away from it a different man. When he faced Esau the next day, he was limping because of the great strength of the God he had wrestled with. His speech was filled with love and praise to God for His grace. God had even given him a different name: Israel. One of the first things Israel did when he settled in the land of promise again was to build an altar to this God. He called it El-Elohe-Israel, which means "God, the God of Israel." God had become more than just the God of his father and his grandfather. He had become Israel's [Jacob's] own personal God.

Is God your God--personally? It is not enough for Him to be the God of your parents. He must be your God. Are your parents Christians who have a right relationship with God? If they are, that is a wonderful blessing God has given you. But it is not enough for you to listen to them pray to God and talk about God in your home. You must have your own relationship with their God. You must come to know Him through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, Who paid for your sins on the cross. You must meet God for yourself, just as Jacob did. Such a meeting will change everything for you too--just as it did for Jacob.

God must be your personal God, not just the God of your parents.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Looks on My Heart

"All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits." (Proverbs 16:2)

Whenever Michele helped her mom clean the house, she always had to do the dusting. She thought dusting was a boring job, and she wanted to finish it as soon as possible. She would rub the dustrag quickly over the piano and the coffee table and the windowsills, and she would think, "This room looks pretty good." But then Michele's mom would come and inspect her work. Sometimes when Mom ran her finger over the piano or a table, she picked up a yucky layer of dust Michele had missed! Even though the room looked clean to Michele, her mom knew exactly how to test her dusting skills. Too often, she would find that Michele had not done a very thorough job at all.

Proverbs 16:2 tells us that we tend to look at our own lives and think that they are "clean." To ourselves, we look pretty good, especially if we are staying out of big trouble and even doing nice things once in a while. But God looks inside of us and sees what is really there. He sees our spirits--our attitudes, our feelings about what we are doing, and our motives (the reasons we do things). Sometimes we might be obeying Him on the outside, but on the inside we are angry or bitter. Or we might be obeying Him for the wrong reasons--to make people like us or to win the prize for saying the most verses. God wants us to serve and worship Him not for our selfish reasons, but because we love Him and owe Him everything.

How does your heart measure up to God's test? Is it really "clean" in His eyes? Or does He find layers of "dust" in your heart--wrong attitudes and motives? If He does, there is good news. His Son, Jesus Christ, is the Cleanser of impure hearts.

God sees my inner attitudes and motives, not just my outward actions.

[Soldier4Christ]

My God Knows Me

"O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. . . For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether." (Psalm 139:1, 4)

How many words do you speak in a day? Have you ever counted? Probably not! But did you know that God knows how many words you spoke today? Not only that, but He knows what words you spoke and exactly what you were thinking when you said them! He knows if your words were kind or unkind, loving or unloving, respectful or disrespectful. He knows if you just talked about yourself all day or if you thought to ask about someone else's life.

Psalm 139 says that God knows everything about you! It even says that He knows every time you sit down and every time you get back up. He knows everything you say, everything you do, and even everything you think…both good and bad. No one else knows that much about you, not even your Mom or Dad or your best friend.

This psalm also says that God is always with you. You cannot run away or hide from God like you can from other people.

So, if God knows everything about you, and He is always with you, what does that mean? It means that you must remember to obey Him. Ask God to help you remember to speak only good and kind words, and ask Him to help you do and think right things.

If you are a Christian, it should comfort you to know that God is always with you and that He knows all about you. You should be glad when His voice talks to your heart when you do wrong. Always listen to His voice and obey right away. There is nothing that will make you ultimately happier than pleasing Him.

God knows you better and loves you more than anyone else in the whole world.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Wants You to Wait on Him

"Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD." (Psalm 27:14)

You probably know what it is like to wait for something. Maybe you wait for the bus to come and take you to school, you wait in lines when you go shopping, you wait for the school year to end and for the summer to come, you count down the days until Christmas, and you cannot wait to be old enough. Sometimes when you are waiting, you become impatient. You want everything to happen right now! But your timing is not always the best.

The Bible says that God, your Heavenly Father, knows what is best for His people (Jeremiah 29:11). God knows everything. He knows your past, present, and future. He knows exactly when you need something, and He knows the best time to give it to you. He knew the best time to give Abraham his promised son (Genesis 21), He knew the best time to bring Joseph into Pharaoh's court (Genesis 40-41), and He knew the best time to send the long-awaited Messiah to provide salvation for lost people (John 1). He knows what is best for you and asks you to wait for Him.

But sometimes it is hard to wait. Maybe you are waiting for your broken leg to heal, so you can play sports again. Maybe you are waiting for God to heal your mom from a serious illness. Maybe you are waiting for God to provide your dad a job. You pray and ask God to heal your leg, to heal your mom, or to provide your dad a job, but God does not seem to answer. He is asking you to wait. He is asking you to trust that He knows what is best and will do what is best for you. Wait on the LORD and trust Him.

God's timing is always best, and we should wait on the LORD.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Is Kind to Sinners

"But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity." (Psalm 78:36-38)

David's musician Asaph wrote a poem, Psalm 78, that tells part of Israel's story. That story shows just how sinful God's people are, but it shows, too, just how kind God is toward His sinful people.

The awe-inspiring God made an agreement with the tiny nation Israel: He would be their own God, and they would be His own people. Of course, the Israelites felt so thankful for God's kindness that they did everything He asked. Right?

Not exactly. Asaph says, in fact, that the Israelites "kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law; And forgat his works, and his wonders that he had showed them." Still, God showed His people kindness. He performed a miracle to rescue them at the Red Sea, and He led them with a cloud and with fire in the wilderness, and when they were thirsty He made water gush out of a rock.

But the Israelites refused to trust the God who had been so kind to them. Instead, they challenged Him. Yes, they said, God performed a miracle when we needed water. But can He give us bread, too?

Was God so frustrated with the Israelites that He abandoned them? Actually, God "opened the doors of heaven" and gave the Israelites food. And in response to God's amazing kindness, the Israelites...kept on sinning.

And God kept on showing kindness. This time His kindness took the form of punishment, meant to bring the Israelites back to Him. In spite of "all this," Asaph says, "they sinned still, and believed not." Did God say "I've had enough"? No again; He dealt with His people, punishing them so that they would turn around. And they did turn around, for a while, but "their heart was not right with him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant." But God didn't give up. Instead, "being full of compassion," He "forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not."

Is Asaph's story becoming a bit predictable? Asaph must have felt the same way, because he sums up a lot of history in a few lines: "many a time [God] turned...his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath."

God shows kindness toward sinners, doing good to them even though they hurt Him over and over again.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Is Awake

"Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench." (1 Kings 18:38)

Elijah asked, and God responded immediately. The prophets of Baal spent all day trying to call down fire from heaven, and nothing happened, because Baal was a false god. But as soon as Elijah prayed, God sent fire from heaven that burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, the dirt, and even the water in the trench around the altar. God was not asleep or on vacation; He was not surprised or startled. He heard Elijah's prayer and answered him.

Sometimes when you pray, you might think that God does not hear, or that He is too busy to listen, or that you are not important enough to Him. All of these are lies of the Devil. The Bible says God hears the prayers of His children and always gives them what is best. God always knows and does what is best, even though sometimes you might think He does not know what He is doing. Just as He did for Elijah, He will always prove Himself mighty and worthy of your worship.

Even though God is always awake and never sleeps, sometimes Christians sleep spiritually. How do they do that? They choose not to go to church, or fail to read God's Word and talk to Him in prayer. They forget God and live as though He cannot see them. But God never rests, He wants you to come to Him and spent time with Him. He wants you to talk to Him – to tell Him the good and bad things that have happened today. He wants you to tell Him your needs, so He can show you His mighty hand. He is always there and always hears you when you pray.

God never sleeps and always watches over His children.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Is Rich in Grace

"That in the ages to come he [God] might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:7)

Not very long ago, a six-year-old boy named Andrew was saving money for a trip to Mexico with his family. His grandmother paid him a few dollars for doing some chores for her, and then right before he left on the trip, she decided to give him some extra spending money. When he saw how much it was, he couldn't believe it. "Wow, twenty dollars!" he hollered, dancing around in a circle. He ran home to show his mom the $20 bill. "Look, Mom! Now I know what it feels like to be rich!"

Maybe getting a crisp $20 bill when it was not even your birthday would make you feel rich, too. Or maybe it would take a $100 bill. Maybe it might take a million before you would feel "rich." No matter how much money you got, though, your riches could never compare to God's. Not only does God own everything in the world, He has another kind of riches: riches of grace.

Grace is giving something good to someone who does not deserve it. Every person who is now saved once lived in total disobedience to God. Their lives were all about pleasing themselves and ignoring God. It does not seem fair that those people would get any special attention from Him, much less the chance to be in heaven with Him.

If God were fair, He would not give those people anything good. They do not deserve anything except to be punished! But God is not fair; He does not give people what they deserve. Instead, He is gracious. He does not give up on people who couldn't care less about Him. Because He loves them – even though they are "dead in sins" – He gives them life.

Because God has exceeding riches of grace, He doesn't have to be stingy with it. He doesn't have to save up His grace to spend only on people who are trying hard to be good. Instead, since He has plenty of grace to spare, He pours it out on people who don't deserve it.

The main reason Andrew's grandmother gave him $20 was that she loved him. In Ephesians 2:4, Paul says that God's reason for giving is the same: He gives His children salvation because of "the great love wherewith he loved us." Just as Andrew did not do anything to earn his $20, God's children cannot do anything to earn God's gifts, either. God gives good gifts just because He loves His children.

Andrew's grandmother is not rich enough to walk around town giving $20 bills to every little boy she sees. She decided to give one to Andrew, though, because she already had a special relationship with him. But for God to have exceeding riches of grace means that He can give grace even to people who are dead-set against Him.

God pours out the exceeding riches of His grace on people who do not deserve them.

[Soldier4Christ]

Whom Does God Count Worthy?

"Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power." (2 Thessalonians 1:11)

How does one become "worthy" of God's calling? Is your worth decided by whether or not you are part of a special group of really rich or smart or talented or good-looking people? Even if you were all those things, it does not seem like they would be important things in God's eyes. What would make us worthy in His eyes? Whom does God count "worthy"?

To be "worthy" of anything to do with God sounds so much above us -- and in a way it is! God is the One Who deserves all honor and glory. Without Him, we are nothing. Much like salvation and the way God continues to work in the lives of those He saves, becoming worthy is not something people ever deserve. Nobody is worthy of God's calling, and it cannot be earned -- just as we are not worthy of salvation. People are not worthy by themselves, and we cannot earn favor with God. No matter what you have done, if you are willing to trust and follow Christ, God counts you worthy to be saved from sin and to be given eternal life. It is not about you. It is about Christ. Because of His worthiness, God can count you worthy.

Your biggest sin is no match for God's grace. God's love will triumph over any and all sin to make a person worthy of His work and calling for their lives. Just as God can give a child faith, He can also make the worst criminals faithful, too. God is not limited by our sins. Nothing can stop Him. His grace, power and love are greater than all the sins ever committed. Christ died for all the sins of the world. Every revolting and heartwrenching thing you or anyone has ever done or thought about doing! He took them upon Himself so we would turn to him and be forgiven.

Do you feel worthy of God's calling? Do you doubt that God could count you worthy? Remember that it is not what you have done, but what Christ has done, that allows you to receive God's grace and mercy. If your heart is willing to listen to the calling God has for your life, pray to Him, and ask His help. He is worthy for you! His power is more than able to forgive the sins of one person. His power can forgive and sanctify "whosoever," anyone in the world!

In God's eyes, whether or not we are considered "worthy" depends on whether or not we are trusting and following Jesus Christ, Who is worthy forever.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Is Powerful

"Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench." (1 Kings 18:38)

Elijah met up with the false prophets of Baal and made a challenge to them: "Let's find out who really is God."

Elijah offered this challenge because he knew that the one true God deserves to be worshipped. The prophets of Baal accepted Elijah's challenge and spent all day trying to make their gods do what they wanted. They prayed and cried and hollered and even cut themselves, but they never heard a peep out of their idols. They tried to get their god Baal to answer them or at least to do something to show that he had heard them.

But there was one slight problem. Baal was not able to hear them. He did not have real ears. He was a man-made idol, not a real God. As Elijah watched these prophets, he laughed and made fun of their thinking. If they made their god, and if they could tell it what to do, and if they were stronger than their god, then how could this god help in time of need? It could not give them anything they had not already given it!

The one, true, living God, however, is the Creator of life, and He is not controlled by anyone or anything. Elijah knew he served this powerful God. At the end of the day, after the prophets had tried and tried to get their god's attention, Elijah basically said, "Let's see what God can do!" Elijah then completely soaked the altar with water. He wanted to be sure that God would receive all the praise for whatever He did, and that there would be no question about whether Elijah had faked something or cheated.

Once this was done, Elijah called on God to prove to the people that He is God. Then the fire of the Lord consumed (burnt to a crisp) the sacrifice, the altar, and all the water around it. Clearly, God had heard Elijah. For God's own glory's sake, He answered Elijah's request. God made Himself known as the one true God. He exposed Baal for what Baal was: a fake god that could not hear or answer prayers.

God is not limited by the same things that limit us. He cannot be sidetracked from anything He wants to do. He cannot be stopped unless He wants to be stopped. He does not depend upon us. It is a very comforting thought to know that God has the power to do all that He says He will do. God does not send down fire from heaven today, but He does have the power to prove He is the one true God. He does do all that is best for His glory and best for us. Aren't you glad that God is stronger than we are?

God is powerful. He can and will do all that He says He will do.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Is Quick To Forgive

"Then David said unto Nathan, 'I have sinned against the LORD.' And Nathan said unto David, 'The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.'" (2 Samuel 12:13)

Have you ever been really angry with someone, and then been forced to tell that person right away that you will forgive him or her? Maybe your brother left your favorite toy out in the rain overnight and ruined it, or maybe your sister borrowed your favorite sweater without asking and spilled spaghetti all over it. Then--as mothers tend to do--your mother insists that your sibling should apologize, and that you must forgive as soon as an apology is offered. Has that ever happened to you? If so, you know how hard it can be to be able to get over something and forgive someone right away.

No one has ever hurt you more than you hurt God every time you sin. Whether by speaking unkindly to someone, lying to your parents, or even just daydreaming about doing some sin that you might not really ever do, you are sinning against the God of all heaven and earth. And just as it would be a much greater evil to call your mother "stupid," than it would be to call your cat "stupid," any sin you do against the God of heaven is far more evil than anything that anyone else has ever done against you.

Yet God is quick to forgive , and He does not have to have anyone tell Him to do it. David, one of the godliest men who ever lived, committed a dreadful sin when he took Bathsheba, another man's wife, for himself and had her husband murdered. When confronting David about his sin, the prophet Nathan told him a story about a poor man who had one little sheep and made that sheep his pet and best friend. Nathan said that poor man loved his sheep so much that he would let her come to the table with him and would feed her from his own plate. He would also let his little sheep sleep in his bed at night. Nathan said the poor man treated his little sheep as though she were his own daughter. But one day a rich man needed to prepare a great feast for a visitor. Rather than slaughtering one of the many sheep he had in his own flock, he took the poor man's beloved pet sheep and slaughtered her for the meal.

Naturally, David was horrified at the story, but he was humbled when Nathan pointed out that it was David himself who had done this very thing when he took Bathsheba for himself. One cannot help but be amazed that, although God still punished David for his sin, He immediately forgave David .

It is no accident that in 1 John 2:1, when the Holy Spirit writes, "These things write I unto you, that ye sin not," He follows that warning right away with a promise: "And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." God never wants us to sin, but for the times we do sin--He is quick and ready to forgive us. He is so ready to forgive us that He even prepared for our forgiveness ahead of time. He sent His Son to die for us even before we ever committed our first sins. What an amazing, forgiving God!

God is quick to forgive a repenting sinner.

[Soldier4Christ]

The Pure in Heart Will See God

"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." (Matthew 5:

When I was in fourth grade, my family took a trip to Washington, D.C. Before we left, some of my friends at school said, "Maybe you'll get to see the President!" I wasn't too sure we would see President Reagan, but I was very excited about the possibility.

One day while we were sightseeing near the White House, we noticed a crowd gathering by the White House fence. Some people had cameras. "What's going on?" we asked someone in the crowd.

"The President's helicopter will be landing here soon. We're all hoping to see him!"

My family joined the waiting crowd. My dad was able to get me right up by the fence where I could see. Sure enough, we soon heard the helicopter coming. It landed right on the White House lawn, and President Reagan got out—on the opposite side from where we were standing. A groan went up from the crowd. We could not see very much of him at all. In fact, from our side of the helicopter, we could see only his feet. Although I was a little disappointed, it was fun to go home and tell my friends that we had seen the President's feet in Washington, D.C.!

It's exciting to see a famous person. People will form lines and wait for hours just to get one glimpse of a person they admire. But have you ever thought that someday, all those who have had their hearts cleansed by Jesus Christ will see God? What could possibly compare with the wonder of that? What would it be like to see Him? 1 Timothy 6:16 tells us that God dwells in light so bright that no one can even come near it. People who saw Jesus on this earth saw God in human form, but not in all of the glorious splendor that surrounds Him in heaven. Moses saw a brief glimpse of God's glory, and even that was enough to make his face shine for days and days.

Jesus gave one condition for seeing God: being pure in heart. Only those who are pure in heart will see Him. And there is only one way to have a pure heart. Jesus Himself must purify it for you with His blood that cleanses from all sin (I John 1:7).

The pure in heart will one day see God in all of His glory.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Wants Us to Forgive

"And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses." (Mark 11:25-26)

A soft knock sounded on Michele's door, and she rolled her eyes. She knew it was her sister, Joy. "Come in," she mumbled.

"Michele?" Joy's nose was all red from crying. "I'm sorry I played with your necklace and broke it. I'll buy you a new one just as soon as I save up enough money. Would you please forgive me?"

Michele sighed. Why did Joy always have to be so quick to apologize? She did not want to accept Joy's apology yet. She was still angry about the necklace. "I'm not ready to forgive you yet," she said. "Come back later, when I've had more time to think about it." Michele turned her back on Joy, and she heard a little sob as Joy quietly shut her door.

Several times in the Gospels, Jesus talked to His followers about the importance of forgiveness. He even told them that if they would not forgive each other, their prayers would be hindered (stopped or slowed down), and God would not forgive them. Why is it so important to God that we forgive each other?

In Matthew 18, Jesus told a story to explain why forgiveness is so important. A servant owed his master a debt that he could never repay. He would have to spend thousands of lifetimes working to earn that kind of money! The master graciously forgave the debt out of his great compassion for his servant. Then that same servant went out, found a man who owed him much less money, and demanded that he pay it all. When the debtor pleaded for forgiveness, the servant said no and threw the man into prison. That servant had forgotten how much he had been forgiven!

Christians have been forgiven of a sin-debt that is billions and trillions of times greater than anything they could ever repay. God has forgiven us because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross. That is why forgiveness is so important to God. By forgiving others, we show that we have not forgotten what God has done for us. Forgiving others is one way that we can be like God and demonstrate (show) His compassion.

If you were Michele, what would you do? Would you sit angrily in your room thinking bitter thoughts about Joy? Or would you run to find her with a heart full of God's love and forgiveness?

God wants us to forgive because He has forgiven us of the greatest debt ever.

[Soldier4Christ]

The Master Was a Servant

"If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you." (John 13:14-15)

Can you imagine washing someone's dirty, slimy feet? This is what Jesus did. Jesus and His disciples were sitting and eating their last dinner together. Jesus stood up from the table, wrapped His robe around His waist, and kneeled down. He took a bowl of water and started to wash His disciples feet. Doesn't that seem kind of gross? Why would He do that?

In Jesus' day, people did not own shoes like we do today. They would wear either sandals or maybe no shoes at all. They did not have nice paved sidewalks and roads, either. What do you think your feet would look like if you walked around in the dirt all day with only a pair of sandals on? You would probably need to wash your feet, too! You probably would not be very excited about cleaning someone else's feet. But Jesus did just that. He got down on the floor and washed all of the disciples' feet. Once their feet were clean, He told them that He was giving them an example to follow. He was not teaching the disciples to go around cleaning everyone's feet. He was teaching them to serve the needs of others over their own needs or desires.

Jesus is God. He is awesome, mighty and powerful. Jesus' disciples should have washed His feet, but He washed theirs instead. He served His disciples (and all of us) in a much greater way and gave a much greater gift than clean feet. Jesus came to Earth and made the ultimate sacrifice. He served us by dying on the cross for our sins. While He was here, He set an example of love-motivated service for all of us to follow. It is natural for us to do only that which makes us happy. Jesus wants us not just to think of our own needs and wishes, but to think about the needs and wishes of people around us.

Jesus served us and He desires that we serve others.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Is a Refuge

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear." (Psalm 46:1-2a)

Tiffany''s day had been awful. She was the last one picked for a kickball team at recess, her science test grade was her worst yet, her chocolate milk squirted on her favorite shirt at lunch for all to see, her mom was late picking her up from school, and her brother Chris was now bugging her the whole way home from school. "If only I could get some peace and quiet!" she screamed to herself, yet trying to appear outwardly kind. As soon as the car pulled in the driveway, Tiffany ran all the way up the stairs to her bedroom and locked her door. She picked up her favorite stuffed animal (a frog named Gus) from her bed and dove into the back corner of her closet. Hopefully no one would find her here. Only three seconds passed before Tiffany was crying and telling Gus all about her horrible day. Remembering the details of each dreadful experience brought more and more tears. Of course Gus couldn''t respond, but at least Tiffany felt better!

Do you have a quiet place like Tiffany''s closet where you can just think about things? Or maybe you feel better after telling your dog or your favorite toy about your troubles. If you have a place or thing like this in your life, then you have a refuge. A refuge is a place of safety or protection. You may not always need protection from physical danger, but Satan often tries to discourage you and get your focus away from God. And that requires major protection! The Bible tells about a Refuge that is better than any place or thing that you could look to in order to make you feel better when you are upset or discouraged. That refuge is God. We can go to Him in prayer and ask for strength and encouragement.

If you read through the book of Psalms, you will see that the Psalmists refer to God as a refuge 17 times. Of all these references, three particular truths must be kept in mind:

1. God is always ready to be your refuge. He is "a very present help" (Psalm 46:1). That means He will be there for you; He will not be going anywhere else.

2. The refuge God provides is perfect for times of trouble. (See Psalm 9:9.) You can feel confident running to Him in prayer when things are difficult because you know He can help.

3. God will bless you when you choose Him as your refuge. He promises to keep evil and harm away from you when you are trusting in Him. (See Psalm 91:9-10.)

God offers you the best possible place of protection and encouragement.