HELPFULNESS 2 - Helpers are very important.

Helpfulness 2 - English files 

Hilfsbereitschaft 2 - German files

Devotional Thoughts about Barnabas

It’s an instructive exercise tracking the appearances of Barnabas throughout the Book of Acts. His first one (4:36,37) shows us that the name by which we all know him is actually a nickname betraying his most obvious virtue: encouragement. He sold a field and gave the money to help poor people in the church.

When Christians in Jerusalem were still afraid of Saul despite the news of his conversion, Barnabas accepted him and then introduced him to the apostles. After Saul had spent some time in his hometown of Tarsus avoiding Jews who wanted to kill him, it was Barnabas who looked him up again and they both helped in the church in Antioch.

The Holy Spirit chose Barnabas and Saul from among the prophets and teachers in Antioch for a special assignment, (13:2-5), and the church sent them out to evan­gelize in Asia Minor. John Mark, a nephew of Barnabas, went along to help them (see Col 4:12). Unfortunately he soon bailed out of the trip and went home.

When Paul proposed another journey a few years later to visit the believers from their first trip, Barnabas wanted to take John Mark along again, but Paul was against it. As they couldn’t agree, Paul chose Silas for the trip while Barnabas went to Cyprus with his nephew. Paul later spoke highly of John Mark (see 2 Timothy 4:11), which suggests that the young man had matured in the meantime. His uncle had surely played a large role in mentoring him.

Lord, please let me see opportunities to help and encourage others for Your glory.

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HELPFULNESS 1 - Two are better than one.

Helpfulness 1 - English file

Hilfsbereitschaft 1 - German file

Devotional Thoughts about Exodus 17:8-16

This passage tells about the first battle for the Israelites fresh out of slavery. God had led them out of Egypt by a detour to avoid war with the Philistines (Exodus 13:17,18), but here Moses gave directions for fighting the Amalekites who had been lying in wait to attack them (1 Samuel 15:2).

Moses appointed Joshua to lead the battle while he himself stood on a hill holding his walking stick. Moses would raise his hand from time to time, probably in prayer for the battle. A connection between what was happening down in the battle and up on the hill was soon obvious: when Moses’ hand was up, Israel was winning, and when it was down, the Amalekites were.

Of course it’s hard for anyone to hold up a hand up for very long, and sure enough Moses’ hands got very heavy. That’s when Aaron and Hur came to help, bringing him a rock to sit on and holding up his hands. They shared his burden for Israel and assisted him in praying. Of course the victory came from God.

God directed that an account of the battle should be written in a book and read to Joshua, perhaps as an encouragement to the person who would one day lead Israel to conquer Canaan.

Lord, please help me remember that we all need Your help as well as that of others. And thank you for the promise of Your presence when several of us gather in Your name (Matthew 18:20).

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JOY 4 - Be glad that you can know God!

Joy 4 - English file 

Freude 4 - German file

Devotional Thoughts about 2 Samuel 6:12-21

To understand this story, it’s important to know what the Ark of the Covenant was. As the people of Israel had been traveling to Canaan some 450 years earlier, God had specified that this chest of wood overlaid with gold was to be made according to His detailed instructions.

This would be the place where He would reside among His people. Of course God doesn’t need food or shelter, but His invisible presence would dwell between the angel figures on the lid of the Ark within the Tabernacle as the focus of the people’s worship.

In Canaan, the Tabernacle including the Ark was settled in Shiloh, where the priests carried out the prescribed sacrifices and rituals as the people worshipped God. At a certain low point in Israel’s history, some corrupt priests took the Ark along into battle (see 1 Samuel Chapter 4), and the conquering Philistines took it among the spoils. They soon sent it back because it was only a curse for them.

The Israelites stored it for many years, being afraid to touch it. Finally, when David became king over all of Israel, one of his first priorities was to bring the Ark to Jerusalem. The initial attempt failed as yet another person who touched it died, but when they followed the exact instructions given to Moses, it arrived without incident. David was thrilled that they could finally worship God again as He intended. Ignoring his own royal dignity, David danced for joy and praised God with a psalm.

Lord, thank You for the joy of being Your child. Help me to project it to others as I praise You.

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JOY 3 - Elijah Runs From Jezebel

Joy 1 - English files

Freude 3 - German files 

Devotional Thoughts about 1 Kings Chapter 19

Being a prophet surely wasn’t an envied vocation, for it was neither easy nor popular to call people back to God. The job description required handling rejection in all of its forms.

Isaiah was assured in advance that most would refuse his message. (See Isaiah 6:9-13.) Some prophets were killed for doing their job, as Jesus pointed out in Matthew 23:37.

Prophets had to have thick skin, and yet they weren’t mere robots who mecha­ni­cally rattled off their speeches. It concerned them deeply that many listeners ignored their warnings. Jeremiah, for example, is known as the weeping prophet

Although Elijah was such a bold, uncompromising prophet, James goes to pains to tell us that he had feelings just like we do (James 5:17), and in this passage we see that his vulnerability unexpectedly comes to the surface in the wake of a big victory.

God provided him with physical recovery through sleep, food and water and then showed him His greatness and gentleness before sending him back to work, which included the anointing of a new colleague.

Lord, please help me to come to You when I’m sad, worn-out or discouraged. Thank you that I can rest in Your care.

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JOY 2 - Joy in the Middle of Troubles

Joy 2 - English file

Freude 2 - German file

Devotional Thoughts about Acts 16:16-36

The story opens with an account of human trafficking. A demon-possessed slave girl was exploited by owners who pocketed the income from her fortune-telling. She followed Paul and Silas around in Philippi and unexpectedly yelled that they had come as servants of the Highest God to tell them the way of salvation.

Paul commanded the evil spirit by the power of Jesus Christ to leave her. When it did, shutting down the money-making gig, the affected parties retaliated with mob justice. Paul and Silas were beaten and put into a high-security unit in prison.

There, of all places, they prayed and sang praises to God. The other prisoners heard this, which no doubt left a big impression on them, especially in light of the subsequent earthquake. We know that the jailor’s life was changed through his contact with these men whose behavior was so uncharacteristic for their surroundings.

Lord, please let me recognize Your presence when I find myself in trouble, pain or aggravation, and help me to respond with prayer and praise instead of panic.

Downloading lesson files

If you're interested in the lesson file, simply click on the appropriate link above to download it 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 Joy.