COMPASSION 2 - People around us need our help.

Compassion 2 - English file 

Barmherzigkeit 2 - German file

Devotional Thoughts about Luke 10:25-37

Pharisees and scribes were often in the audience when Jesus spoke. Rather than attending out of genuine interest, however, they often listened intently for some statement that might get Him in trouble with Jewish or Roman authorities if repeated to the right ears.

If nothing of the sort was forthcoming, they did their best to steer the discussion in a direction more likely to produce an indictable answer from Jesus. Luke tips us off to this man’s duplicitous question (10:25). It’s hard to tell just what response he expected from Jesus, who then referred him back to his own area of expertise: the Mosaic Law.

This man quoted two famous pas­sages (Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18) about loving God with all one is and has and loving one’s neighbor as oneself. Jesus said, “You’re right. Do it, and you’ll have eternal life.”

The scribe could have saved face by stopping right there, but—like many of us—he just couldn’t resist the opportunity of putting himself in a good light. When he asked Jesus to clarify the scope of the term “neighbor”, he may have been ready to illustrate His answer by recounting an anecdote of his own charitable work.

But Jesus launched into a story of His own, and in it the person who clearly embo­died the term “neighbor” happened to be a Samaritan! Considering the aggression between the two peoples, it must have been hard for the Jewish scribe to admit that a Samaritan had showed mercy and thus been a truer neighbor in the sense of the law.

Lord, help me to notice people in need around me, and give me the courage to help them.

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COMPASSION 1 - God feels sorry for us sinners.

Compassion 1 - English files 

Barmherzigkeit 1 - German files  

The picture at the left shows the craft project for this lesson. Instructions are included.

Devotional Thoughts about Jonah Chapters 3 and 4

If Jonah was asked later in life to tell about the highlights of his Nineveh experience, the part about the big fish may not have even ranked at the top.

Although Jonah had known of God’s merciful character for years (4:2), I’m sure he was still surprised at the lengths to which He would go to get His message to the Ninevites.

And then the disap­proving prophet had a front row seat to watch those awful people turn to God. They didn’t deserve it! But of course that’s the whole point: none of those whom God redeems deserves it—not any of us. We all need His mercy.

After God tells Jonah His reason for sparing Nineveh, arguing from the lesser (the plant) to the greater (the people), the story abruptly closes, and we don’t actually find out whether Jonah ever changed his attitude.

But this open ending has always made me go back up into the text to try to find the point. God’s unique practice of valuing people lies at the heart of His mercy.

Lord, thank You for your compassion. Please help me extend it to others.

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WISDOM 5 - Act on what you've learned!

 Wisdom 5 - English files

 Weisheit 5 - German files

Devotional Thoughts about 2 Chronicles Chapters 34-35

Act on what you’ve learned, whether you’ve gained the knowledge through books, observation or painful experience.

But anyone who’s tried knows it’s not as simple as it sounds. Discipline is usually necessary for carrying through with it. Otherwise wisdom would be our basic setting and so common in our experience that we wouldn’t even need the word.

As I worked on this lesson yesterday, a sentence from the worksheet kept nagging me: “It’s not healthy to sit for hours in front of a screen.” I ignored it for half of the afternoon until I finally went outside and started moving.

Josiah surely had some opposition from his family and court as he began seeking God as a young king. But he did it, beginning with the most obvious things: destroying idols and cleaning and repairing the temple.

Then when the Book of the Law was found and he heard the Bible for the first time, God’s warning of judgment against the sin which had become so normalized humbled and shook him. God graciously responded to his repentance, and Josiah began applying his new knowledge from the Bible.

Lord, please help me follow Josiah’s example of being open to Your Word and taking it seriously. Help me to carry through in applying what I learn.

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If you're interested in the lesson files, simply click on the appropriate link above to download them in the desired language. See the Informational Pages in the right column for more about the lesson series. The next post and the next lesson will be the first in the topic Compassion.

WISDOM 4 - Listen to Older People!

 Wisdom 4 - English files

Weisheit 4 - German files 

Devotional Thoughts about Wisdom and Older People

Many of us have dismissed our parents’ cautions against some of our decisions. The introductory story in this lesson is taken from my own experience as a young adult with my first car.

Because my dad had often taken our family on long road trips, my plan to make a 1000-mile round trip by myself didn’t seem extreme to me. I thought I’d just be enjoying one of the perks of finally being an adult. But I didn’t consider the age of my car nor the fact that my dad was a mechanic and I was not.

After I’d returned home safely by God’s grace and it was all over, I was annoyed that my dad had been proven right—again!  Only then did I begin to realize the value of experience and wisdom. It requires some humility.

The older counselors recommended that Rehoboam acknowledge his father’s excessive taxation and that he serve the people by lightening their burden. His homies advised him to react to the people’s valid grievance by flaunting his power with haughty threats.

Rehoboam chose the latter, even parroting his friends’ extreme metaphors of whips and scorpions. God planned to use this situation to divide the kingdom of Israel as judgment for idolatry, but Rehoboam was responsible for his part in it, and he suffered the humiliating consequences.

Listening to what older people have to say and giving weight to their words lies at the heart of honoring one’s parents. Lord, please help me to practice this attitude.

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WISDOM 3 - Spend time with wise people.

 Wisdom 3 - English files

Weisheit 3 - German files

Devotional Thoughts about 1 Kings 10:1-13 and Matthew 12:38-42

Solomon, the many-gifted king at the height of Israel's glory, is one of many types of Christ in the Old Testament. Signifying God’s wisdom in the earth, he points to­ward Jesus, the ultimate embodiment of that wisdom.

The Queen of Sheba, another head of state, is drawn from afar by Solomon’s reputation. We find echoes of this in the wise men’s visit to Jesus after His birth (Matthew 2,1-12) and in the parable of the Pearl of Great Price (Matthew 13:45,46). To all the seekers, the goal was well worth its price in travel and money.

In Matthew 12:42, Jesus said the Queen of Sheba, who'd come from “the uttermost parts of the earth” in pursuit of wisdom, was in a position to judge His contemporaries who were rejecting Him. Then with His second "greater than" statement, Jesus made a very thinly-veiled confirmation that He was the Christ (the first is in verse 41).

Lord, please give me faith to grasp the truths in your Word and to pass them on.

Downloading lesson files If you're interested in the lesson files, simply click on the appropriate link above to download them in the desired language. See the Informational Pages in the right column for more about the lesson series. The next post and the next lesson will be the fourth in the topic Wisdom.

WISDOM 2 - Listen up and be open for God!

Wisdom 2 - English files 

Weisheit 2 - German files

Devotional Thoughts about Matthew 13:3-23

Jesus told a story set in the agricultural environment familiar to most of His hearers. A farmer scattered seeds on the ground (which he would normally later work under the surface with a plow).

Some seeds fell onto the hard path, and birds ate them up. Others fell onto ground with many stones in it, and the plants that quickly sprouted there soon died, being unable to develop strong roots in the shallow dirt.

Other seeds fell onto ground that was already growing a crop of thorny weeds, and when they sprouted, they had no chance against the thorns. But other seeds fell onto good ground and reproduced themselves to varying degrees.

Then Jesus closed the story with the enigmatic challenge that whoever has ears to hear ought to listen. Before telling His disciples the meaning of the parable, He quoted a passage from Isaiah about stubborn people refusing to believe.

As the coming explanation of the parable would show, there were various reasons why people would refuse or forget about God’s Word, but it would all boil down to their attitude and unwillingness to listen.

Lord, Thank You that Your Wisdom came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ. Open the kids’ eyes and hearts to listen to and believe Your message of salvation through Him.

 Downloading lesson files 

If you're interested in the lesson files, simply click on the appropriate link above to download them in the desired language. See the Informational Pages in the right column for more about the lesson series. The next post and the next lesson will be the third in the topic Wisdom.