The final verse of 1 John holds basic, succinct advice:
"Look up at the sky. It is beautiful. Look at all the amazing things God made. You can see how great God is. You can look at the sky every day. You can look at the sky every night. It is beautiful. You can see that God is great. You can see that God is good. The sky does not say any words. You cannot hear the sky talk. But all over the world, the sky shows how great God is. God put the sun in just the right place" (Psalm 19:1-4, The B-I-B-L-E).
"Be excited about God. Sing happy songs to him. Tell God how great he is. Have a happy heart. Sing praise songs to him. You need to know God. You need to know he is the real God. He is the one who made us. We are his people. We are like sheep. He takes care of us. We should be close to God. We should always tell him 'thank you.' We should always tell him how great he is. God is good. He will always love us. He is always faithful. We can trust in him" (Psalm 100:1-5, The B-I-B-L-E).
Paul's desire for the church in Colosse is God's desire for each of us in our family and church and community.
Nehemiah took on a very difficult task, and he faced problems and opposition from every side. People made fun of him and his workers, set traps for him, and told lies. But he kept the right perspective. He was doing a job for God, and he knew God would help him.
od to make us strong. I asked God to help us keep on working" (Nehemiah 6:9, The B-I-B-L-E).
" 'God, we are your special people. You always take care of us. You are super strong. You do amazing things. We want to obey you. God, I am praying to you. Please listen to me. I like to tell how great you are. I like to make you happy. I like to obey you. Other people like to obey you too. They are praying to you too. Please listen to us. Please help me now. I am going to talk to the king. I am going to ask him to help us. Please make the king listen to me. Please make the king want to help us' " (Nehemiah 1:10-11, The B-I-B-L-E).
Our world is full of violence and filth, but God is sovereign. He is faithful. He is trustworthy. We should always thank him and praise him!
"Are you close to God? Are you growing to know God better and better? Then keep on doing what is right. Think about good things. Let your heart be full of kindness. Then you will always do good things. Then you will be nice to others. But be careful! Do not talk about the good things you do. Just do them! That is the way to make God happy. Then you will be thinking right" (James 3:13, The B-I-B-L-E).
I love to hear reports of children who carry The B-I-B-L-E in their book bag. They pull it out and read it when they have free reading time in school.
Word. I read all of it. I learn it by heart. It is good to have money. It makes me happy. It helps me live well. But I like your Word better. Your Word makes me very happy. I will keep on reading your Word. I will study your Word. I will think about your Word. Your Word is good. I like it. It is very special to me. I will not forget it" (Psalm 119:12-16, The B-I-B-L-E).
"Jesus always is. He did not have a start. He will never end. We saw him. We saw him with our own eyes. We touched him. We touched him with our own hands. He came to tell us about God. He gives life. Jesus came from God. We saw him. Now we are telling you about Jesus. He was always with his Father. Then he came to us. He gives life. He gives life that never ends. He gives eternal life" (1 John 1:1-2, The B-I-B-L-E).
I am a substitute teacher. Today I subbed in kindergarten. I overheard two boys talking. One said, "My dad and mom were fighting, and my dad gave my mom a black eye." The other one responded, "My grandma died from AIDS." It grieves my heart to see children suffer from problems and trauma at home. It grieves my heart to know that children are exposed to harsh things. I want to touch children with love and encouragement. I want children to know that God loves them. I want them to know that God has a good plan for their life. I want them to know that God offers forgiveness and salvation in Jesus. I want to help them be grounded in God's Word so they will be able to respond to the trials of life with trust in God and a peaceful heart.
"Jesus loves me, this I know,
"We need to obey God’s rules. We need to obey his Word. Then we will be close to God. We will be his children. He will take care of us. A stupid person can say, 'I love God.' But he does not obey God’s rules. He says nice words. But he is telling a lie. He is not telling the truth. Other people say, 'I really love God.' And they obey God’s rules. They are telling the truth. If we really love God, we will obey him. If we obey him, we will be close to him. Do not just say you love God. Words are not enough. Obey him. Do what is right. Be like Jesus" (1 John 2:3-6, The B-I-B-L-E).
A dear pastor friend in Mozambique said,
