Sermons4Kids

[Soldier4Christ]

God Sees Us When We Cry

"Jesus wept." (John 11:35)

"And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, 'Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.' And he went out, and wept bitterly." (Matthew 26:75)

Throughout the Bible we read about people crying. God designed us to have emotions that bring tears to our eyes. Our crying expresses sorrow, pain, grief, and sometimes even anger or happiness!

Have you ever cried? If you are being honest, you will probably admit that you have cried (at least a little!) before.

There is wrong crying, like the kind when you are just crying to get your own way. That is just being selfish. But there are other ways of crying that are just natural ways we show emotion. Jesus wept because his close friend Lazarus had died. His crying was an expression of His grief about losing a loved one. Peter wept because he was so sorry over what he had done against Jesus. His crying expressed sorrow over his sin.

Did you know that God will one day wipe away His people's tears? In Revelation 21:4, God tells us about a new heaven. In this new heaven, the Bible says that "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." On this Earth, we will experience things that will make us cry. You might have a really hard school year. Maybe your dad will get very sick or lose his job. Your pet might get hurt or die. God is the kind of God Who understands our emotions. He created our emotions! And because He is the Creator God, He is the best One able to comfort us when we need to be comforted. How wonderful that God created a heaven where we will never have to cry again! (See Revelation 21:1-7.)

God sees and understands our emotions, and He gives the best comfort.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Is Strong in our Weakness

"And he said to me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Several years ago, Eunice went on a mission team to the island of Antigua. The missionary they were helping had a radio ministry. One afternoon he took their team out to a field where there were some parts of a radio tower lying on the ground. He asked them to help him lift the pieces of tower off the ground and slide cement blocks under them so that the parts would not rust on the damp ground. For a while, Eunice and the other girls stood around and watched the guys grunting and sweating as they hefted the heavy tower parts up onto the blocks. Then someone had the idea that maybe the girls could help too, if four or five of us lifted a tower part together. Eunice and a few other girls found a tower part and decided to give it a try. With all of them lifting together, they still couldn't even budge it! They were just too weak. There was no way we were going to lift that heavy tower part without the help of someone stronger than they were.

Sometimes God allows circumstances in our lives to show us just how weak we really are. He may allow us to have an illness or a disability. He may give us a job to do that we do not have the skills, time, or strength to accomplish on our own. He may even allow us to struggle with a certain sin. He always allows these things for a purpose. He wants us to turn to Him and seek His help. And that is when we become strong—because His strength is made perfect in our weakness.

Has God shown you your weakness in a certain area? Thank Him for humbling you. Seek His strength. He will not fail to give you the power that you need to be His obedient child.

God's strength is made perfect in our weakness.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Made Me Unique

"I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are thy works, and that my soul knoweth right well." (Psalm 139:14)

The Brown family has five children. Each one of them is different from the others. No one looks exactly like another, and no two have the same personality. One is a bookworm who could spend hours reading and thinking about reading. One is athletic and outgoing. Another is shy and quiet. One is clumsy but has a sense of humor. The littlest one, who is adopted, seems to love everyone. Each child is unique, and their parents love each one of them. No family is the same as another family, and no one person is the same. Being unique but part of a united group is one of the things that is so special about the family. That is how God created families to be.

We believe that kids are different from each other, but what about animals--even tiny ones, like ants? Have you ever seen a long trail of ants? Do they all look identical to you? Did you know that each of those ants is different from the others? God made each of them unique. Or snowflakes: have you ever watched snow fall? The flakes flutter down onto the windshield of a car or on the ground. Some flakes are big, and some are small, but every single one of those snowflakes is unique…none of them are alike.

Do you think the differences among people, ants, and snowflakes happened by chance? Not a chance! We have a powerful, awesome God Who has created everything. Each of us has been created unique. Not one of us is exactly like another person. Even if you are an identical twin, you are different from your twin. It may be that your hair is thinner, or you are slightly taller, or perhaps your teeth are straight but your twin's are not.

God made you unique! The Bible says we are all "fearfully and wonderfully made." God knows everything about you. He knows the number of hairs on your head—even after you pull out a handful of hair! He knows when you do right and when you do wrong. It takes an awesome, all-powerful God to create so many unique individuals and to know them so closely and personally.

Your awesome God made you unique.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Is the Giver of Wisdom

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." (James 1:5)

Evan and Patience were best friends, oddly enough. They had only two things in common: they both loved being outdoors, and their moms were in the same women's Bible study group. The other three ladies in the group did not have kids, so Evan and Patience had the church playground to themselves two Saturday mornings a month.

They were actually far too adventurous to stick to the playground, and they were allowed to go anywhere, as long as they could still hear their moms call them. So one morning, they started exploring the church graveyard. They knew that it was rude to walk on the graves, so they walked through the aisles, squatting down every once in a while to read the name and dates on a tombstone. And they walked along the fence, where there were some small trees. Evan was climbing one when he found a robin's nest with three blue eggs in it! He looked around for the robin-eggs' mom, but he didn't see any birds at all.

"Look! There's more!" cried Patience, pointing at a nearby tree.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"We could take care of them till they hatch!"

Evan bunched up his sweater on the ground and they used that to hold their new treasure. They climbed all the trees they could and collected eggs from every nest they found. Altogether, there were 21.

When it was time to go home, they decided that Patience should keep the eggs because Evan's family had a cat who might want to eat the baby birds once they hatched.

"I just thought of something," said Evan suddenly. "How are we going to keep them warm while we're in school?"

Patience thought about it. "Maybe we should ask my mom to take care of them?"

"No way! Our parents wouldn't understand something like this. We can't let your mom see them till they are hatched--then she'll fall in love with them because they'll be so cute."

"I've got stuffed animals and doll blankets for keeping them warm," Patience said. "I could set everything on my bed in the sun while we're in school."

And that is what they did. Every day, Patience made a "nest" for the eggs, wrapped up snug in doll blankets, hidden under a pile of stuffed animals on the bed in the sunlight.

But three weeks went by, and the eggs still had not hatched. In fact, they started to stink really bad. One day, Patience came home to a big mess on her doll blankets, and she did not know what to do. Crying, she shook the broken-up shells into the trash can and buried the blankets deep down in the laundry hamper so no one would smell them.

The next Saturday morning, Evan and Patience sat sadly on the church steps.

"When Mom found the blankets, she cried. And she said that what we did was really foolish and we should have asked her first. She kept saying it--'If only you'd asked me! If only you'd asked me!'"

"But we were so careful! Just like science class--we made our own incubator and everything! I mean, how were we supposed to know that it wouldn't work? Huh?"

"I don't know. I just know that there's 21 little birds dead now, and it's all our fault."

Evan had already cried, too, and he wasn't going to do it again in front of a girl. "So what you're saying is...."

"Next time we want to do an experiment like this, we'll just ask our parents first. Ok?"

Evan nodded. "Asking first can't be that bad. It can't be this bad, anyway."

Parents have lived longer and seen a lot of things that can help them help their kids with good advice. Have you ever tried to see into the future or figure out what you ought to do? Have you ever needed some help knowing what would be the best and right thing to do in a certain situation? The Bible says that the Heavenly Father offers wisdom freely to anyone who is humble enough to ask for it in faith.

Have you ever thought, "I've got common sense! I can handle this on my own!"--only to find out that you really could have used some wisdom greater than yours? God has given parents and teachers and His Word to help guide us, and it is never wise to set those gifts aside. Running ahead of God and relying on your "own understanding" can bring really terrible results sometimes--far worse than the trouble Evan and Patience got into.

The God of the Bible is the kind of God who gives wisdom to His people when they ask. Do you believe He is that kind of God? Do you believe He can help you know how to respond to things He brings into your life? Ask Him, believing that He will answer, and He will. God knows everything, so He is the wisest Person you could ever ask for help. He promises to share His wisdom with those who ask in faith.

The God of the Bible is the kind of God who gives wisdom to His people when they ask.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Does What Is Best for You

"But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased." (Psalm 115:3)

Little Amy longed to have blue eyes instead of brown ones. Her mother had blue eyes, and Amy wanted beautiful eyes just like her. Amy's mom taught her that God always answers prayer. One night before she went to bed, Amy prayed about her eye color. "Father, I would be so happy if I had blue eyes. Please change my eyes to blue. Please, Lord!"

The next morning, Amy jumped out of bed and headed straight to the mirror to see if God had answered her prayer. To her disappointment, brown eyes were staring back at her. "Oh, the Lord didn't do what He was supposed to do; He didn't answer my prayer!" she thought. Amy's mother knew how disappointed her little girl was. She explained to Amy that "no" is still an answer. Amy's beautiful brown eyes were a gift from God. He gave her brown eyes for a reason.

When she grew up, Amy went to India as a missionary. But the Hindi women were distracted with how different Amy looked from them and never paid attention to the Gospel message she was trying to share. Amy decided to try to fit in with the Indian people. She wore a sari, the outfit that the Indian women wore, and used coffee to stain her skin brown. "Wow!" she thought as she looked into the mirror. "I look just like an Indian woman with my dark skin and sari!" Then she looked at her eyes. Thank you, Lord, for giving me brown eyes for a wonderful reason! If my eyes were blue right now, I certainly wouldn't look like an Indian woman." After that, the Indian women were not so distracted with how Amy looked and carefully listened to the message of salvation.

The Hindis in India did not believe in God and did horrible things to little children in their temple. Amy had a desire to rescue the children from the temple and tell them about Jesus. Because she looked like the Hindi women, Amy Carmichael was able to save over one thousand children in India from the awful things happening to them in the Hindi temple. Amy praised the Lord the rest of her life for doing what He wanted and giving her brown eyes.

Has God ever said no to your prayers? Remember that God always does what's best for you.

God does what He decides is best for His own glory and your good.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Is Faithful and Just To Forgive

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)

The puppy looked up at them with big sad eyes and let out something between a yelp and a yawn. When he opened his mouth, a well-chewed science book fell out and thudded on the floor.

"Aw, who couldn't forgive a face like that!" Lizzy leaned down and rubbed his ears.

Jacob bent over and grabbed his puppy's collar.

"That's it, Charlie. You're sleeping outside tonight!"

Lizzy used a sock to wipe the puppy-slobber off Jacob's science book, while he wrestled Charlie out the back door and into his doghouse.

"Don't be so hard on him, Jacob," she said when he came stomping back into the kitchen. "Charlie's just doing what puppies do. They chew things and make messes. You've heard people joke about telling the teacher 'the dog ate my homework.' It's just his nature."

Jacob got a glass down from the cabinet. "My teacher isn't going to believe me when I say that my dog 'ate my science book'!" He slammed the cabinet door shut and threw open the refrigerator. "I'm sure she will just nod and smile and say, 'Oh, that's just fine, Jacob. You know that's just what puppies do.'"

As it turned out, Miss Albert was surprisingly understanding when he told her what had happened to his science book. She did not say "that's just what puppies do," but she did nod and smile knowingly. Jacob wondered if Miss Albert might have had a puppy sometime in her life.

Animals do crazy things sometimes. Well, they do things that might seem crazy to us humans. You might get angry when a cat scratches your arm or when a dog makes a mess or when a parakeet will not be quiet. If you want to keep a pet, though, eventually you get over annoying animal habits, because, after all, they are just acting being what they are!

We humans have a lot of habits, too--things that we are and do because we are human. We like to eat several times a day. We like to sleep, usually at night. We tend to hate pain. We like to have friends and family who care about us. We like to think about things, and we like to have fun hobbies. There is a famous saying that "to err is human." That means all humans make mistakes.

Not only do we make mistakes, but all of us are born with a sinful nature that we inherited from Adam. To sin is to do something worse than just an accidental mistake. To sin is to do anything that falls short of God's glory. We are all born sinners, which means that our natural tendency is to disobey God, to sin against Him. Those of us who trust Christ as Savior get a new nature, and they have a growing desire to live without sinning, like Christ lived. But since we are all still human, none of us are able to be that perfect yet. Even Christians who love God fail Him. When we sin against God, we need to repent and ask Him for forgiveness.

God has certain characteristics about His nature, too. Because He is God, He is perfect in His holiness--He never breaks His own laws! Because He is God, He is powerful and wise--He never messes up! Because He is God, He is good and gracious enough to help us sinning humans--He forgives us when we ask Him!

You may have heard this verse many times before, but have you really thought about what it means that God is faithful and just to forgive us? That means that, no matter what we do to make Him mad, God has promised to forgive us of that and of all our sinfulness--so long as we confess our sins to Him.

Charlie did a puppyish thing when he chewed up Jacob's science book. He was doing what puppies do, but one thing puppies do not do is ask forgiveness. Jacob lost his temper when he saw what Charlie had done. To lose your temper when something bad happens is a natural human reaction, but it is also actually a sin against God. Jacob is a sinner because he is human. That is how humans are. If Jacob is a Christian, he should try not to sin, and if he does sin, he ought to confess it and ask God's forgiveness.

If Jacob does confess his sin and ask God to forgive him, God will. That is what this verse teaches--that forgiving people who ask is part of God's nature. He does it because His nature is to be faithful to His promises. He does it because His nature is to be just and righteous. That is the kind of God we have.

Because of Who He is, God is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse sinners who trust Him.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Is the Giver of Patience

"Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 15:5-6)

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

The wailing just kept going on and on. On and on and on and on!

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

It was like a siren in Cody's ears. He snapped his workbook shut and left it on the kitchen table. He found his mother in the nursery, rocking Travis. "Mom, how can I memorize my vocab words with all this noise? When does that baby ever stop crying?"

"Cody, I need you to be patient with the baby. He's just teething."

"But I've been patient with him for weeks now! I was patient with him last night. I was patient with him this morning. Now I can't even think, and I've got to take two tests tomorrow!"

"Waaaaaaaaaaah!" Travis wailed again, as if to mock him.

"That's the thing about patience, Cody. It's supposed to go on and on. Travis isn't old enough to control all of his responses. He just knows his gums hurt." She looked down at the baby, who was happy for the moment, chewing on a ring of plastic keys. "I understand why it bothers you, Cody. And you could ask your dad for a pair of his hunting earplugs--if that would help. But unlike this little baby, you are old enough to control your emotions, and you are able to keep on being patient with someone who isn't there yet."

This story about Cody learning to put up with his loud little brother might sound kind of familiar to many of us. You may not have a teething baby in your house, but you probably know what it is like to have to spend time with someone who has annoying habits or with someone who is just plain grouchy!

Maybe your situation is more serious than Cody's. Maybe you are having to get used to the idea of living with a confused grandparent who cannot even remember your name from day to day. Maybe your dad has to travel away from home for weeks and weeks for his job. Maybe no one in your family even has a job and there is not enough money for groceries every week. Maybe one day your church family will face persecution and torture for believing the Bible and for trying to live out what it says.

You probably know what it is like to get so irritated that you cannot stand one more second of a situation--whether it is sharing a bedroom, losing another ball game, hearing another mean comment about your appearance, failing another math test, or getting another cancer treatment.

Jesus Christ taught that the two greatest commandments are: (1) Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and (2) Love your neighbor as yourself. These are the two things God expects of us, because they cover all the rest of the Law. If we are able to obey these commandments, we will have a right relationship with God and a right relationship with human beings. Unfortunately, we find that these are probably the two hardest commandments for us to obey!

When we have a one-time crisis, that's one thing. When we know something is going to last only for a short time, we can "be patient" for a little while. If we can see "the light at the end of the tunnel," it is a lot easier to love and glorify the God Who put us in that tunnel. It is a lot easier to love and put up with the people around us.

But, as Cody's mom pointed out to him, it takes patience to keep on enduring a hard situation when it seems like it will never end. The apostle Paul writes a prayer in Romans 15:5-6. "Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

That word "patience" is the idea of "endurance" or "perseverance," which means being able to keep on going, keep on doing right, on and on. That word "consolation" is the idea of "emotional support" or "comfort." When we find it is hard to control our responses, perseverance is the ability God can give us--to keep on studying in spite of distractions, to keep on putting up with a difficult person, to keep on rejoicing even in painful trials.

Cody was fed up! He did not think he had it in him to take one more second of the baby's crying. We are not able, on our own, to be patient for long periods of time. We are not the source of perseverance and comfort. God is. We do not have it in us, on our own, to keep on glorifying and loving God when He sends hard trials into our lives. We do not have it in us, on our own, to keep on loving people even when they are hard to love. But God does. God's patience and consolation goes on and on, on and on!

God is the greatest Source of patience and consolation. Ask Him to give you what you need to glorify Him and to love His people no matter what.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Is To Be Glorified

"Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans15:5-6)

God wants us to glorify Him, and He wants us to glorify Him a certain way!

Imagine that you are part of a little league team in your home town. Every kid on the team wants to win the league championship. The coaches are excited, too, because this is the best team of little league ball players they have ever coached. You have had a great season working together. A few minutes before the first playoff game begins, you grab your glove, sit down on a bench in the dugout, and look around at your teammates. There is Jerry--what a throwing arm he has! And Sam has got to be the fastest runner in the league. His legs move at the speed of light. There are some great hitters. There are some focused thinkers. Your team even has its share of wily base-stealers. This championship, you decide, is in the bag. No contest.

Once you get on the field, however, things go haywire. Jerry is pitching, and he picks today to try all his experimental trick pitches. What is he doing? Showing off? He walks two runners and lets five hits through. Out in the field, your players are not communicating. They are overthrowing bases or running infield with the ball rather than throwing to the nearest basemen. What is going on? The situation does not improve when your team gets up to bat. Sam gets a double, and you do your best to hit a home run and knock him in. Unfortunately, the right fielder catches your hit and goes after Sam, whose fast legs have gotten him almost to third base. The third base coach is yelling at Sam to stay at third, but Sam is not going to listen. You watch in shock as he plows toward home base and gets tagged out. By the time that Jake, the team's strongest hitter, gets up to bat, there is no one left on base for him to hit home.

Everyone on your team wants the same thing: to win the league championship. But they all want to win it their own way and get as much attention for themselves as they can. The problem is, no team can win a championship unless they operate as a team--pooling their talents and working together to accomplish the goal.

The apostle Paul's prayer that God would help believers be likeminded is an important prayer. Every believer would say "I want to glorify God!" But God wants us to glorify Him with one mind, in one accord. He wants us to agree together that He is Who He shows Himself to be in the Bible. He wants us to agree together that He is worthy of honor and glory forever.

Your imaginary little league teammates would tell you they all wanted the same thing--to be a league championship team--but they wanted to draw attention to their own individual skills and abilities on the way there. They were seeking to get glory for themselves, and in doing so, they stole the team's chance for the championship trophy.

When you play baseball, your brain has to communicate with your nervous system and your lungs and your hands and your legs and your heart and even your stomach (especially if you are a little nervous about playing against a tough team!). Almost every part of your body has to cooperate, or you will fall apart on the field, worthless as a ball player. In a similar way, when your imaginary team began to play as individuals rather than as a team, they fell apart. They could not pitch or field. They could not load the bases or make a comeback when they were up to bat. They fell apart.

When we worship God, we need to have something like a teamwork mentality. Your local church is supposed to operate as one body with many parts. You cannot say you glorify God if you are not loving other believers. The Bible teaches this clearly in I John and in other passages. Jesus says that people will know we are His disciples if we love one another. Are you trying to worship God your own way? Are you trying to honor Him in a way that causes people to notice your own talents and abilities more than they notice the God you say you want to honor? Romans 15:5-6 says we ought to glorify God together, with one mind and one mouth. If you know you have something against another believer, or if you know someone has a good reason to be angry with you, but you still think you can worship God with a clear conscience and a pure heart in a way that is glorifying to Him...you need to think again.

God's people worship Him rightly when they live out love for Him and for one another.

[Soldier4Christ]

God's Teaching Is Best

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

Little Annie was three years old, and it was time for her to go for her check-up at the doctor's office. As the doctor checked her ears, he found "something blue" in one. Annie's mom was a little surprised to hear that! Annie had not said her ear was hurting, nor did she seem bothered by it. Annie's mom started wondering how long this "something blue" had been in Annie's ear! The doctor left the room and came back with an assistant and some tools to try to remove the blue object. As they tried to take it out, Annie screamed, fought, and cried. Her ear was really starting to hurt now! Finally, they pulled out a rather large bead!

Then Annie's mom remembered that several months before, Annie had come to her with a broken necklace, saying something about putting a bead in her ear. Annie's mom saw how big the other necklace beads were, and she thought nothing that big could even fit in Annie's ear! She looked and looked, but she could not see any bead in there, and Annie never complained about her ear hurting. So they both forgot about it.

Annie stuck a big bead into her ear, and she did not know it was going to hurt her. We might not stick beads in our ears, but sometimes we let other things into our ears without thinking first. What about wrong teaching? God wants us to test everything we hear before we just believe it. He wants us to read His Word and use its truth to make sure things we hear are true. If we listen to teaching just because it makes us feel good about ourselves or about what we want to do, it will be bad for us in the future.

Remember, Annie hardly noticed she had the bead in her ear, and it did not seem like a problem because it was not hurting her. It did not hurt her at first, but it could have done a lot of damage in the future! The doctor explained that the bead had been hard to take out because it was so large and was resting right on Annie's eardrum. The bead had bruised and torn Annie's ear canal on its way out, but the doctor said it should heal and not cause any hearing loss.

Wrong teaching tells us lies that make us feel good about ourselves and what we are doing. The more we listen to wrong teaching, the more tempted we are to excuse our sin, and the less we care about what God thinks of our sin. Wrong teaching leads to sinful habits, and sin blocks out all the good things God wants us to hear, understand, and enjoy. Over time, we become used to wrong thinking and sinful habits. We do not notice the damage wrong teaching has created in our lives. Once an embedded sin habit is discovered, it is really hard to remove. In the meantime, it can block our enjoyment and fellowship with God and others. Wrong teaching will have long-lasting effects, and it can leave painful scars.

The other day, Annie told her mom that when she turns five years old, she wants to take piano lessons. She said, "I can hear music better now!" Annie probably never would have chosen to go to the doctor and have all the pain of getting the bead out; but in the end, she realized it was the best thing.

God warns us against letting wrong teaching get "stuck in our ears." He wants us to be able to hear Him and think rightly about His Word. He wants to shield us from the painful lessons that come with sin.

We should listen to God's Word, and refuse to listen to the lies of others.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Satisfies People

"As the hart [deer] panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God." (Psalm 42:1, 2)

When you've been playing outside on a hot day, what's the first thing you want when you come in the house? You want a glass of ice water! You grab the biggest glass you can find and fill it with ice cubes. Then you turn on the faucet, let the water fill your glass to the brim, and drink. You drink until you feel satisfied. You drink until your thirst has been quenched.

Did you know that you have a greater thirst than the thirst you feel on a hot day? You have a thirst only God can satisfy. David talked about that kind of thirst. He wrote in Psalm 42 that his heart thirsted for God the way that a deer thirsts for a drink from a water brook. It was not David's body that was thirsty; it was his soul. And God tells us that the one who satisfies that thirst is Himself. God "satisfieth the longing soul," Psalm 107 says. He "filleth the hungry soul with goodness."

God created man to be satisfied by God. But when man sinned against God, he started trying to be satisfied with things other than God. We see so many things that we think will make us feel satisfied. We think that toys or video games or vacations or cool friends will satisfy us. But when we get what we want, we just want more – or we decide we want something else. Our hearts are never truly satisfied by the earthly things we have.

But we do not have to stay unsatisfied. God says that He will satisfy us. He will give us joy. He will give us peace. He will give us contentment. He will meet every need. In Psalm 145, He says "He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them." Only God can quench the thirst our souls feel; only He can fulfill our longing for salvation. And He wants to do that! In fact, when Jesus was on earth, He offered living water to every thirsty soul. Here are Jesus' words to you: "Whosoever drinketh of this [earthly] water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life" (John 4: 13-14).

The only One Who can satisfy our souls is God.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Humbled Himself

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." (Philippians 2:5-8)

Have you ever met someone who seemed very proud? What did the person do or say to make you think of pride? On the other hand, have you ever met someone who seemed to be humble? What did the person do or say to make you think of humility?

Jesus Christ was God. As God, He deserved to be treated like God. In order to save sinful people, God humbled Himself and became a man. He did not focus on what He deserved, even though He was perfect and almighty. Because He was God, Jesus deserved honor and glory and respect – but instead, He allowed people to ruin His reputation. Because He was God, Jesus could have made Himself a king on Earth – but He chose instead to be a homeless teacher and a servant. Because He was God, Jesus did not have to submit to authority – but He chose to become obedient.

The Bible teaches that Christians ought to be clothed in humility. Being humble is like putting on an apron to cook in the kitchen, or putting on coveralls to go clean out a barn stall.

We ought to shake off our pride and switch it for a spirit of humility. Philippians 2:5 says, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." We ought to change our minds and think with the mindset (attitude) that Jesus had. A humble spirit does not care about being popular or respected by other people. A humble spirit serves others without complaining or thinking of self. A humble spirit is obedient, even when obedience hurts.

If the God Who created the universe has willingly humbled Himself, what reason do we have to hold on to our sinful pride? If we know God at all, it is because God has shown us grace. If we can talk to God at all, it is because He humbled Himself to make it possible for us to come to Him. The Bible teaches that "a proud look and a haughty spirit" are an "abomination" to the LORD. An "abomination" is something that is very wicked and very offensive. A proud spirit is not fitting for a Christian. For a sinner saved by grace, having a spirit of pride is like dressing in clothes that do not match or fit at all.

Instead, we ought to be clothed with humility. We ought to let Jesus' mindset be our attitude: humble enough to forget about what other people think, humble enough to serve, and humble enoughh to obey.

Even though He was God, Jesus humbled Himself to serve and obey.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Provides

"Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy." (1 Timothy 6:17)

Joanna looked at her dinner and tried to be thankful for it. The soup smelled like dirty socks, and the bread was crusty. Just once it would be nice to have enough money to go out to eat, or to have dessert – maybe chocolate cream pie! She elbowed her brother Joel, who was sitting next to her, and whispered, "Will you eat my bread?"

Joel looked at her like he thought she was crazy! He had already decided that his soup and bread was really a wonderful banquet. He knew that there are many children in other places who do not have any food, or who have no family with whom to enjoy a meal. Compared to them, Joel felt like a rich man, and he knew he had God to thank for that soup and bread.

God knows what we need. He is also powerful enough to provide anything He wants to provide for us. Sometimes He gives us what we think we need or want; sometimes He does not. Sometimes, He has us wait for a while before He answers our prayers.

Joanna and Joel had the same soup and bread set before them. Did you notice that they responded differently to the same provision? Joel remembered that, ultimately, his food was a gift from God, and he was able to be thankful. Joanna tried to be thankful, but all she could focus on was what she wanted but could not have. Joanna thought she deserved a little better, and she forgot how blessed she was.

This verse in Timothy warns us that our trust should not be in God's gifts but in God Himself. He provides what we need – physically and spiritually. Joel and Joanna did not have a king's dinner served to them, but they had enough to eat, and they had enough to praise the God who provides. We may not always have what we want, but we always have what we need in order to glorify God.

We do not need anyone or anything else as much as we need God. Is God what you need to be truly happy? Or are you depending on earthly treasures to make you happy? Do not trust in "uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy."

Whether you need food to eat, or a grateful heart to help you eat your food, God can provide what you need. Rejoice in God's provision, and trust in God. He always provides what you need to be able to rejoice in Him.

God provides what we need in order to glorify Him as we should.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Uses His Creation To Accomplish His Will

"Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights." (Jonah 1:17)

Have you ever eaten fish? Some people really like fish, and some people really don't! Some people eat fish all the time. But how often do you hear of a fish eating a person?

God told a man named Jonah to go preach to some people called the Ninevites. The Ninevites were very wicked people. They tortured and killed people for no reason. They worshipped many false gods. They hated the Israelites – and an Israelite is just what Jonah was. God told Jonah to tell these wicked people that God loved them and that if they turned from their sin, God would forgive them and would not punish them for their wicked deeds.

Jonah did not want to go tell these people that good news. In fact, he went down to the boat docks and bought a ticket for a ship headed in the opposite direction! On the way, a very bad storm came up. The wind blew and the waves rolled high. The boat rocked back and forth, and the crew was soaked head-to-toe by the rain. Each man on board cried out to his idol-god to save him.

Only Jonah knew of the one true God. Jonah knew God was using the storm to get his attention because he had disobeyed Him. Instead of telling the sailors to turn around and go back to port, Jonah told them to throw him overboard into the raging sea. At first, they did not want to throw him off, but when the storm got even worse, they finally picked him up and threw him over the side of the ship.

When they did, the seas were quiet. The wind stopped blowing. But what happened to Jonah? Well, God had prepared something special for him – a miracle, in fact! God made a fish swallow up Jonah! From inside the fish, Jonah prayed, getting his heart right with God. After three days and three nights, the fish threw up Jonah...onto a beach. He probably looked bad after all that time in a fish's stomach– in his prayer, he had even said he seaweed wrapped around his head!

When Jonah finally went to the city on Nineveh and preached to them of God's love, they repented of their sins. They gave up their wicked ways and began to serve God. Even the king repented of his sin and turned to God.

Throughout all these events, you can see that God was in complete control: He directed the weather and sea, directed a fish, and used these things to direct Jonah.

God uses creation to do what He wants done – even to get the attention of His people.

[Soldier4Christ]

God's Love Saved Noah and His Family

"And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation." (Genesis 7:1)

There was a time when everything God created was perfect and the world was without sin. But when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, everything changed. The sin of the world became so bad that God decided to destroy the world with a flood and start over.

There was one man named Noah who did what was right and walked with God. God told Noah that he and his family would have to build an ark to escape the coming flood. God gave him special instructions on how to build the ark and what animals to take with him.

Can you imagine the sight of that? It would be like a floating zoo! Noah was to take one male and one female of each animal. He was to take all of his family and he had to take enough food for his family and all of the animals.

There is just one more thing; it is possible that Noah did not even know what rain was! The book of Genesis is not completely clear about this, but it seems to be that, so far, it had never yet rained – from the time of Creation to the time of the Flood! God had watered the plants a different way, from springs underground. So even the promise of rain might have been a test for Noah's faith in God. Noah's neighbors made fun of him. Who had heard of water falling from the sky? It had never happened before, so why should it happen now? But Noah knew that God loved him and that God always spoke the truth. Noah trusted God for his life and the life of his family.

Not long after Noah finished the ark, God began bringing animals to it. There were elephants, giraffes, lions, bears, tigers, goats, horses, cows, dogs, cats, snakes, zebras, lizards, and many, many more animals. Once the animals, people, and supplies were on board, God closed the door. The rain began to pour down, and the winds blew hard. It rained for 40 days straight! When the rain finally stopped, Noah opened a window and looked out. There was water everywhere, but he was alive! He began praising God for saving him and his family. He praised Him for the love He showed toward His creation. God had brought him through this flood safely.

God loved Noah so much that He saved him from the destruction of the flood. God loves people today the same way He loved Noah. The Bible says that because you are a sinner, your punishment is that you must be separated from Him forever. But because God so loves the world, He sent His Son – just like He provided the ark for Noah – to take the punishment for sin and die for sinners on the cross. All you have to do to be saved is to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31).

Because God loves you, He sent His Son to save you from your sin.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Deserves My Praise

"For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised." (Psalm 96:4a)

Dylan stood back and admired his work. "Beautiful!" he said. The drawing of his grandpa's horse was finally complete and ready to be taken to school for the art contest. "I hope I win," Dylan thought. He had worked for over twenty hours on that drawing and really wanted the new go-cart that the winner of the contest had been promised.

That night, Dylan took his drawing downstairs for everyone to admire. His dad whistled while his mom and sister added their oooh's and aaah's. Dylan was so glad they liked it.

On his way into school the next day, Dylan's friends ran up to him and asked to see his drawing. They knew Dylan had always entered the contest but had never won. His artistic skills were improving every year, and they knew that he could win this year. Dylan carefully removed his drawing from the large special folder his dad had given him. He held up the drawing for everyone to see, and his friends clapped and patted him on the back.

When Principal Morton stood up that afternoon to announce the winner of the school art contest, Dylan drew in a quick breath and his heart started beating loudly in his chest. "And the winner of this year's contest...is Dylan Smith!" announced Principal Morton. Dylan was thrilled! His hard work was being recognized.

Do you think Dylan would have enjoyed drawing so much if none of his family or friends ever noticed his artwork? He had spent so many hours drawing and thinking and erasing and then drawing some more. What if his mom had looked at his drawing, said "That's nice, Dylan," and then gone back to doing dishes? What if his dad had not even looked away from his newspaper? What if none of his friends had encouraged him? Dylan's joy in making his drawing soared when he saw and heard his family's and friends' joyful response to his work.

Now just think about God's work. God's work is more spectacular than anything Dylan – or any person – could ever do. God has given us so many wonderful things. He forgives our sins and gives us eternal life when we ask Him. God has healed us when we have been sick. He gives us the strength to get out of bed everyday. He protects us every time we travel on a highway or in the air. The parents we have are gifts from Him.

David tells us in Psalm 103 never to forget any of God's blessings. But most days we just take His blessings for granted. Most days we don't even think about them.

Sometimes we think we deserve praise when we really do not. But everything God does deserves praise. God deserves our praise for all the amazing things He has done, and He loves to hear that praise.

God has given me everything I need and deserves my continual praise.