DECISIVENESS 4 - Keep on praying!

Decisiveness 4 - English file

Entschlossenheit 4 - German file

Devotional Thoughts about Luke 18:1-8

Even Christians can become very discouraged when they don’t see answers to their prayers. Jesus told this short parable to encourage those with a relationship to Him (in this case His disciples) to keep on praying.

The judge in the story is an insufferable man. He enjoys the perks of his job without even pretending to carry out its duties. But we’re all relieved when he finally moves, however reluctantly, to make sure reparations are made to the widow.

I’ve wondered why Jesus chose to compare this man to God. At some point my attention was drawn to the “how much more” pattern in the New Testament (see Matthew 7:11 and Hebrews 9:13,14 for examples). This turns out to be a Jewish system of logic (apparently codified by Hillel) reasoning from the lesser (or more obvious) to the greater (or more obscure) to make something clear.

Jesus doesn’t even use the “how much more” phrase in this passage, but gains the same effect by putting the judge in juxtaposition to God (18:6,7). Most of us have encountered people like the judge and know how infuriating they are. But no matter how long we’ve been saved, none of us yet knows the full extent of God’s love, endurance and justice. Jesus encourages us to trust Him with everything.

Lord, help me to keep on praying for people and situations I see as impossible.

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DECISIVENESS 3 - Keep your word. Carry through. Don't give up!

Decisiveness 3 - English files

Entschlossenheit 3 - German files

Devotional Thoughts about Carrying Through with a Task

Children, who usually live in the moment and have very short attention spans, find the concept of carrying through especially difficult. The ability to buckle down to work toward a distant goal comes only with discipline over time. It’s very common for kids to want to break commitments to music lessons or sports teams, even if they’d initially begged to be allowed to sign up.

But many continue to struggle with the same problem as adults. They constantly change schools, jobs and relationships in pursuit of the “right one". And modern society, which offers seemingly limitless choices, fuels a non-committal mentality.

But God, as the Bible presents Him, is very different. He doesn’t change (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8). He’s faithful to His promises and to His people (Psalm 37:28; 2 Timothy 4:17,18). And He carries out His will, regardless of the difficulties or the time span involved (Galatians 4:4,5; Revelation 12:10).

Looking at Jesus’ commitment to His very difficult role in our redemption, we can thank God He didn’t quit and call off the plan. Lord, thank You that Your faithfulness isn’t dependent upon ours (2 Timothy 2:13). Help me to grow in consistency and faithfulness for Your glory.

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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 lesson will be the last in the topic Decisiveness. 

DECISIVENESS 2 - Do the right thing, even when nobody's watching.

Decisiveness 2 - English file

Entschlossenheit 2 - German file

Devotional Thoughts about Daniel Chapter 1

Try to imagine the seismic shift in Daniel’s life when, in the aftermath of siege and defeat in Jerusalem, he was ripped away from his family, his home and everything he knew, and taken far away to Babylon. Although he was among the “lucky ones” destined for an enviable career path, the experience must have been traumatic for him.

Still, one of the first things we’re told about Daniel is that he made a decision which set the course for his long lifetime of serving God as an interpreter of dreams, a statesman and a prophet: He wouldn’t defile himself (1:8).

God had given Daniel good favor with the personnel, resulting in permission to try and then continue an experiment he had proposed (1:9-16). Daniel’s decisiveness allowed him and his friends to keep the Jewish dietary laws and probably also to avoid idolatrous table ceremonies.

The rest of the chapter is an unqualified success story about Daniel and his friends. God had highly equipped them for His service while making them valuable in the service of Nebuchadnezzar, too.

In our society, most adults have the option of doing nearly anything they want. But even many Christians don’t handle that freedom well. Although we know that decisions come with consequences, the path of least resistance or the urge to indulge ourselves often wins out.

Lord, please help me keep the goal of pleasing You as my first priority, and enable me to do it.

Downloading lesson files

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DECISIVENESS 1 - Accept Jesus today!

Decisiveness 1 - English files

Entschlossenheit 1 - German files 

Devotional Thoughts about Acts 24:23-27; Chapter 26

These two passages give what seems to be some observable evidence of the Holy Spirit convicting two people as they heard the good news of salvation through Christ: Maybe Luke, the author of Acts, noticed that Felix was trembling (24:25), and Agrippa himself confessed that he wasn't far from becoming a Christian (26:28).

When we tell others this good news, we often hope to see some signs of conviction in them, but we can’t necessarily conclude that trembling, for instance, actually indicates conviction, nor even that confirmation of it from the person himself will lead to conversion. We’re simply not in a position to see or understand how God works in people’s minds and hearts.

Kids generally come to the gospel with much less baggage of pride and objections than adults do. I remember experiencing conviction myself when I was young. I was saved as a child and am very thankful for that early start in life with Christ.

These passages remind me to encourage kids to respond and accept Jesus once they've understood the Good News and recognized that God is inviting them to Himself. Lord, please help me to explain this clearly and to pray faithfully for the kids.

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 blogpost and lesson will be the second in the topic of Decisiveness.