A K-4th Life Group lesson I recently taught focused on Romans 8:39, which says, “Nothing at all can ever separate us from God’s love. That’s because of what Christ Jesus our Lord has done for us.”
One of the suggested activities was to find two things children could combine that would then become inseparable. We happened to have black sand (created by teeny pieces of lava from an erupted volcano) that Kim and our son gathered on a mission trip to Montserrat, so I dyed other sand red and I was ready. The children put a scoop of black sand into their plastic bags as we talked about how dark our days would be if we didn’t recognize God in our lives. Then they added a scoop of red sand to signify knowing God and the joy that brings to our lives. They had a great time as they closed up their bags and shook them.
However, when I then asked them to separate the black and red sand back into separate containers, they couldn’t imagine how they could possibly do that, illustrating the point that once we invite God into our hearts and lives, we can never be separated from him. I felt like they understood and we went on to do other activities to solidify their understanding. They left with their bags of sand and the verse and I felt like we had accomplished our goal for the lesson.
Later in the week, one of our young students was looking at her bag and said to her mom, “you know the black sand is from a volcano because God’s love overflowed.” Out of the mouths of babes! Always remember, especially when you are feeling alone, sad, frustrated or discouraged, God’s love is overflowing and you can never ever be separated from it. His love is always with you!
by Tricia Schlegel
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us (Hebrew 12:1). Believe. Look at all those who have gone before us and paved paths on hot, dry, dust flying in their faces witnesses…drivers…believers…conquerors…our family. People who carried hope and dreams and stepped into their calling paving the path for us today. Their blood running in our veins.
We’ve sang the songs and heard the sermons and read the Word as to what God can do but what will we do? How will we take the words we heard and give them structure- bones, tendons, ligaments, muscles so that they walk out of our lives and show up as living proof that He is God? The one true God who is alive today. Our very hearts beating with the heart of the Holy Spirit until our Words and actions become so congruent with who Jesus is that as soon as people see our face, they see the face of Jesus. A people who bind up wounds and are willing to dig our hands in the dirt to build wells, to feed our neighbors to fearlessly love all and like the One above all.
God is saying to us the same thing he said to Moses, Joshua, Mary and Abraham and Hagar and so many others ”Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9).
Be strong and courageous when you lead and follow, when you parent and when you face the giant. Be strong and courageous when you face the past or face the future. Be strong and courageous when you love and care. When your love is rejected and the pain is too much to bear. When you have to wait or finish or stop. When the answer is no and all the doors close. When God tell you to trust and begin to move or run fast. When you have to ask for help. When you have nothing left. When the calling of God beats within your heart and travels up your throat until it comes out of your mouth. When you reject the lie and speak the truth.
Be strong and courageous because GOD IS WITH YOU. Because there is no obstacle, barrier, disease, failure, difficulty, challenge, fear, pain or oppression that He can’t beat. There is no place where you go that He isn’t there. There is no power greater than the great I AM. Because we are his, do not be afraid. We are His. Do not be afraid. Be strong and courageous. Because He is WITH us, do not be afraid. Be strong and courageous!
“The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen,” says Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen, author and integrative medicine professor. “Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention.”
Twice in Mark 4, while teaching, Jesus urges, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen” (verses 9 & 23, NRSV). One way we show what Jesus means to us is by truly listening to his word — not just hearing sounds but being attentive and intentional. Likewise, one way we love and serve others is by respectfully listening to them: not assuming we know what they feel or mean or will say; not planning what to say even as they’re still speaking, but listening deeply to learn about them and their experience.
We often think living our faith calls for great accomplishments or worldwide reach. But Remen says, “A loving silence often has … power to heal and to connect.” Don’t underestimate something as basic and doable as listening as a way to practice Christlike love.
(an article used with permission from Communication Resources)
How deep is your faith?
Lyrics to the Bee Gees’ 1970s hit song “How Deep Is Your Love” came to mind as I pondered the “depths” of my faith. Sometimes I prefer to stay securely in the shallow end, while other times I fearlessly launch off the diving board, ready and willing to be drenched by God’s love.
If you’ve ever tried to coax young swimmers to jump into the deep end of a pool, you may remember their excitement (and relief) after they finally take the plunge into your arms. To experience that joy in your spiritual life, evaluate your location in your own faith “pool.” Are you wading safely in the shallows or exploring the freedom of the depths? No matter where you’re at, you can jump confidently into Jesus’ outstretched arms. Hear his promises: “Trust me!”
—Julie Lee
(an article used with permission from Communication Resources)
Child’s Play
by Rob Eshelman
Scripture Reference: Matthew 18:1-3
At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child to him and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
I certainly love the idea of being a child again. Some people have told me I never grew up. I am not sure if that is good or bad, but I will take it as a compliment. After all, Jesus did say, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” See, I got a foot in the door, so to speak. However, I am thinking he is talking about the innocent and awesome wonder of a child. The stuff we lose as we become older and more cynical as we age. It seems hard to reclaim what we have lost, but according to Jesus, this child still lives within us. We just need to scrape off the layers of gunk we have left life accumulate on us and seek Him with innocence and awe as we did as a child. Maybe singing a rendition of, “Jesus loves me…”, in the shower might rouse that dormant child in you. However, it also might make your family feel like you are losing it. An explanation might be necessary. Folks, we must let the little kid inside us out once in a while. We need to look at the world with the innocence and awe of a child in Christ Jesus. We need to come running to Jesus as a child and sit at his feet with awe and wonder. You will feel better, and Jesus will probably get a kick out of watching your childlike wonder manifest in the mature person you have become in Him.
Locusts Everywhere
by Kim Ream
This is the year when the 17-year locusts have crawled out from underground and are everywhere. My plants, grasses, and trees are covered with them. There are dead locusts littering my driveway and half-dead ones try to escape our youngest dog who pounces on them and bats them around. They are loud and they are unavoidable. I’m not a fan of the year of the locusts. Not in the least. If you look at them when they are facing you, you see that they have beady red eyes. RED! They give me “the creeps”! They sound less menacing when we call them cicadas. And their “song” that I hear can even sound a bit sweet. But I can’t stop thinking of them as “locusts”, which does not have a neutral connotation in my mind.
Brood X has emerged by the billions, they say. Pastor Ryan once preached about the locusts. I remember it, a bit, because he pointed out the various types of locusts and devouring insects referenced in some translations of this passage. However, the word locust sticks with me for a different reason: well over a decade ago, someone prayed over me, “the Lord will restore to you what the locusts have eaten.” What?!?! I did not get it then, but I clung to this prophetic, prayerful promise when, a few years later, the years got dark and all I could do was sob in despair before the Lord, pleading with Him to change what was happening. I clung to this prophetic prayer. I did not think about the 17-year cycle of the literal locusts coming up out of the ground back then. Today, as I see those locusts everywhere, I am reminded of the Scripture from which this prayer came.
Joel 2:25, 32 [from the Contemporary English Version]
25 I, the Lord your God,
will make up for the losses
caused by those swarms
and swarms of locusts
I sent to attack you.
32 Then the Lord will save everyone who faithfully worships him. He has promised there will be survivors on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and among them will be his chosen ones.
The LORD restores and the LORD saves… He has promised there will be survivors. I’m not trying to remove the context of the entire passage as it fits into the body of Scripture, but I’m appreciative that God, who knows the larger picture of the divine plan, speaks to and over His people to tell us that He restores, He redeems for Himself survivors, and He has chosen ones that may have to face some devouring and swarming locusts in their lifetimes.
I don’t know if you have any aspect of your past or your present that feels like it has been completely devoured or eroded away, but God does. I don’t know if the earth under your feet feels softened and stirred up making it is hard to stand, but God does. I don’t know if your future holds some devouring season to come, but God does. I do know that God is a Restorer, a Redeemer, a Savior and He chooses to draw people to Him. God encourages us to hang on, cling to Him, worship Him, look to His Word and promises and not only survive, but THRIVE! When He restores what the locusts have eaten, we do have to choose to receive the offered restoration.
So, these swarming locusts that I see all around my home today are still creepy. But, they remind me of God Who is All-knowing and Good! He has the big picture in mind. I pray you not only survive, but you thrive in the redemptive power of the One Who is holding out His hand to you!
As a woman and mother that has been on quite a spiritual journey, it’s been really incredible to see how God has met me where I am and how He has provided me with support and a community when for so long, I lived without those vital connections and accountability. I was introduced to Moms in Prayer at the start of the ‘20-‘21 school year, and I never knew how much I was missing out on until I finally experienced this answer to so many prayers. The spiritual support I have received from participating in Moms in Prayer has been a life line of hope to me in a school year filled with some pretty extreme and unanticipated events. I have seen numerous times, God providing direct answers to prayer during this season. ECOB’s willingness to host our Moms in Prayer meetings has been wonderful and I am so thankful for the blessing this space has been to me and to the other moms, children, and families that have had their lives impacted by this incredible ministry.
-anonymous
By Julie Rhine
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will make straight your paths. -Proverbs 3:5-6
God has been asking working on “trust” with me these past few years. Especially since I have a granddaughter and I become concerned about the world she will be living in for the rest of her life. He, of course, has some interesting, sometimes scary, sometimes funny, ways of helping me with this lesson. The latest occurred a few days ago…
My husband, Bruce, and I received a $100 gift card in the mail to Martins Country Market. We looked at each other with bafflement about why we would have received this money—did someone think we were in “need?” We have been blessed to be comfortable at this time in our lives, so we both decided that God must have a plan for this gift card and we should trust that He will reveal the plan.
The next day I had a friend over so that our granddaughters could have a “play date” since they are the same age and get along well together. After cleaning up from lunch and preparing for the next activity, I saw the gift card on the kitchen table and asked my friend if she knew of anyone who is struggling to feed their family. Her face registered some shock and surprise as she answered cautiously, “Yes…. I do.” It turns out that just the day before a friend of hers had asked her to pray for her because God was telling her to get her family off all public assistance and TRUST Him to provide. This was their first month off food stamps and they had just $35 a week to feed the family of 4! Covered with goosebumps, I handed over the gift card. What a blessing to be able to bless others. And all three of us had our trust in God reinforced yet again. Our God is a good, good God!
(A funny little extra – I asked the name of the friend. Her name was the same name that I had always chosen as a little girl when my best friend and I played dress-up and re-named ourselves! It is not a common name, so God does like to have fun, I think.
-by Warren Heistand
If you know me, I am one who will tell you if you have any problems to take them to the Lord in prayer.
Some time ago I found out that the granddaughter of a close friend was about to undergo several operations to remove a very large cluster of vessels and arteries in her brain. At once, I called the prayer chain in our class. From what I was told, since August, she has had 5 minor operations to get her ready for the major one. On January 22 she had a full open brain operation to remove this cluster. It is called an AVM. Two surgeons worked for 12 hours, each one operating for an hour and then resting for an hour while the other continued the operation. The parents sat in their car for the entire time because of COVID restrictions, they were not permitted inside. On Friday night, just hours after the operations I got a call from her parents telling me the operation went well and the future looked very good. While we were talking, they got a phone call from their daughter who was awake and alert!
In this time when everything we hear seems to be bad news, here is some good news. We have a God that does care and He wants us to come to Him with our problems and I’m sure that there are many other stories like this one. The lesson here is to not forget that God has given us the wonderful gift of prayer and He backs it up with His power and promise. Remember if you don’t pray, He can’t answer it.
In celebration of our snow event, ponder these Bible verses mentioning snow:
Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Psalm 51:7
Trustworthy messengers refresh like snow in summer. They revive the spirit of their employer. Proverbs 25:13
“Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; through they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.” Isaiah 1:18
The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. Isaiah 55: 10-11
