WATCHFULNESS - The Good Shepherd protects His sheep.

Watchfulness 1 - English files

Wachsamkeit 1 - German files

Devotional Thoughts about John 10:1-30

Here we find two of the most compelling metaphors of Jesus in the Bible—as the Good Shepherd who gave His life for and cares for those who follow Him, and as the Door through which they enter His care. These concrete word pictures are probably more accessible for children (once they know what a shepherd is) than are some of the other “I-am” metaphors in the Gospel of John.

This chapter emphasizes the interpersonal nature of the relationship between Jesus and those in His care: the familiarity between them, His fierce love for and protection of them, and their unity as one fold under one shepherd.

It also describes Jesus’ relationship to the Father, which aggravated His enemies to the point that they grabbed stones to kill Him for claiming to be the Son of God. In this case He escaped their clutches.

Lord, thank You that I’m a sheep in Your fold. Help me to follow You and to trust You.

Downloading lesson files

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TRUST 4 - We can trust God to guide us in life.

Trust 4 - English file

Vertrauen 4 - German file 

Devotional Thoughts about Genesis 11:27-12:9; Acts 7:2-5; Hebrews 11:8-16

God said He’d show Abram the land He had in mind for him (Gen.12.1). As it turned out, the trip took him once around the Fertile Crescent.

The Acts passage emphasizes that Abram received no land upon arriving in Canaan. It was all for his descendants far in the future. (During the 100 years he spent there, his only documented real estate was a cave which he bought from the Hittites as a burial place for his wife.)

The Hebrews passage focuses on Abraham’s foreigner status: migration with his livestock, temporary housing and his one agenda of waiting for the descendants God had promised him. Along with other Old Testament saints, he trusted God and then died before most of the promises were fulfilled.

That may not appeal to us, but Hebrews 11 says that they welcomed the promises and even clung to their own identity as displaced persons because they were waiting for the city from God where they’d finally be at home.

Lord, please help me to trust You, too.

Downloading lesson files

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TRUST 3 - We can trust God, even when we don’t understand what He’s doing.

Trust 3 - English file

Vertrauen 3 - German file

Devotional Thoughts about the Book of Job

Job is a unique book of the Bible, beginning with the story of an upright man who loved and served God. Then succeeding waves of calamity washed over him, leaving him grieving and desperate. Well-meaning friends who had initially come to comfort him ended up inferring that he must have done something wrong to deserve it.

Although Job complained at length that God had treated him poorly, he hung on to Him tightly. He was willing to trust God even though he wasn’t able to fathom what was going on around him or why.

When God finally spoke, He didn’t explain but posed questions of His own which showed that His creation and all of His works are far beyond what humans can grasp. As Job began to comprehend God’s greatness, he saw he didn’t measure up and repented (42:6).

Lord, please help me to trust you, even when I’m confronted by many things I don’t understand.

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 fourth in the topic Trust. 

TRUST 2 - When you trust God, you don't need to be afraid.

Trust 2 - English file 

Vertrauen 2 - German file

Devotional Thoughts about Matthew 14:22-33

Do you ever find it hard to trust God in hard situations? Most people, even most Christians, probably do.

Even after having decided to trust God in a difficult circumstance, I often find that my body and emotions still tense up and panic at the stress triggers which I’ve determined to ignore.

In flying it's often been a problem when my mind has registered some signs of turbulence as being more extreme than normal. I've breathed deeply and prayed through my anxiety.

At some point I adopted a “takeoff song,” to run silently through my head at the begin­ning of each flight to remind myself that I belong to the Lord forever, no matter what happens. It’s become a reassuring habit.

Flying still isn’t my favorite pastime, but thankfully it’s not usually the problem it once was. Yet other things remain that start me worrying. Lord, help me to stay close to You and bring to You the things that fret me.

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 Trust. 

TRUST 1 - We can trust God to take care of us.

Trust 1 - English files

Vertrauen 1 - German files 

Devotional Thoughts about Matthew 6:25-34

Because worry is a constant temptation for me, I always find this passage in the Sermon on the Mount challenging.

Someone who’s decided to serve God shouldn’t fret about the practical necessities of life such as food, drink and clothing. Jesus used the Hebrew practice of arguing from the lesser to the greater as He compared His followers to birds and flowers,

God hasn’t programmed birds to store up food for coming days; He feeds them. And He even gives exquisite colors and blossoms to many plants that will be withered and done in a short time. Having provided for them, He can be counted upon to provide food and clothing for His children.

As noted in verse 32, worry is the recourse left to the heathens—those who don’t know God. And worrying won’t make anyone grow taller or live longer.

Lord, help me trust You, seeking Your kingdom and Your righteousness first.

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 second in the topic Trust.

HELPFULNESS 4 - Point others to Jesus, who can help them!

Helpfulness 4 - English files 

Hilfsbereitschaft 4 - German files

Devotional Thoughts about Mark 2:1-12

From the three Gospels telling this story we learn a bare minimum about the people who brought a paralyzed man to Jesus: there were four of them. We don’t know their age, sex, rank or nationality, but they were probably relatives or friends of the lame man. Who else would be persistent enough to do what it took to get him to Jesus?

This incident seems to have happened in the second year of Jesus’ ministry when He was very popular in Galilee. Word had spread that He was teaching, and the house was packed out. Sick people were in the audience as well as scribes and Pharisees who were already waiting for evidence of blasphemy in Jesus’ words.

As nobody was willing to budge to make room for another sick person, the helpers had to come up with another solution. They carried the man up to the roof (surely by an outer staircase) removed some planks over Jesus’ location and began lowering the bed (which in illustrations looks either like a board or a hammock) to put the man in front of Jesus.

Jesus tells us the only other thing we know about the people who’d brought the man: they had faith. He told the man his sins were forgiven. Of course that excited the scribes, who thought they’d caught Jesus in blasphemy. Jesus added that he could get up and walk, which he did. The audience glorified God.

Lord, please help me to act in faith like the friends of the lame man and bring people to You.

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 first in the topic Trust.

 

HELPFULNESS 3 - You can share God's love by helping.

 Helpfulness 3 - English file

Hilfsbereitschaft 3 - German file

Devotional Thoughts about Acts 9:36-42

The story of Tabitha is contained in just a little blurb at the end of the chapter about Saul’s conversion and preceding Peter’s amazing experience and realization of the breadth of God’s love for people other than Jews.

This story isn’t about apostles, although Peter plays a role in this story. The focus is on the life of an ordinary Christian woman. Her death brought a group of mourning widows together, and when Peter arrived, he was in for a show-and-tell session. Each woman showed him garments Tabitha had made and given to meet her family's needs.

Tabitha's help for these marginalized women had already shown them God’s love. Those among them who hadn’t yet believed on Jesus were surely among the many in Joppa who were saved after the miracle.

Lord, please make me ready to help people because I love You, even if nobody else finds out about it.

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 fourth in the topic Helpfulness.