by Deb Leib

 

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in. (Matthew 25:35)

 

I’ve been going on mission trips to the Dominican Republic for fourteen years. Every night we give a devotion; God laid this on my heart. We do food distribution and my devotion was related to the food we hand out.

 

Bulk of Rice and Beans: This represents the Bible before it is opened. It is the Bulk of God’s Word. When it is opened, it serves people everywhere.

 

Sardines: Like fish in the sea, they swim in many directions. Our Bible says that there is only one way, and that’s through our Lord, Jesus Christ.

 

Spaghetti: When it gets soft, it’s not always straight. God did not promise us that there wouldn’t be hills to climb and valleys to go through, but He promised He would be there to help us through them.

 

Oil and Boullion cubes: These melt into liquid and absorb into the food, like God’s Word melts into our hearts, so we can learn more about Him.

 

Once we have gathered the food, we put each item into a bag and tie it shut. That is like taking God’s Word that we study and holding it dear in our hearts.

 

Once the bag is opened, when we hand them out, the food is like God’s Word, being passed out everywhere.

by Jess Slenker

This past year I have seen God move in a strong way at Awana! This year Awana leadership was expecting a low number of children. We had a lot of 6th graders move up to Pulse youth group and we couldn’t see where children would come from. In our Cubbies group (ages three and four), we were expecting only to have about four children, for Sparks (K-Grade two) we expected 12 and for T&Ts (Grades three-six) we expected about 24. God had something else in mind and was moving without us seeing. The four Cubbies we thought we would have turned into 14, the 12 Sparks turned into 30, and the 24 T&Ts turned into 46. That’s double the amount of children we expected!

 

It’s fantastic, but the number of kids is not what is important. It means nothing if they aren’t learning anything when they walk through the doors. God is too great and too big and too wonderful to let that happen. We start every Awana meeting with our theme song and prayer as well as pointing out the prizes/rewards they can earn. We follow this up by saying and asking, “the awards are good and fun, but they are not what is important. Why are we learning these verses? Why is it so important?” With a beaming smile and hand raised high in the air, Miss Finley Hess answers, “So we can hide God’s Word in our heart!” (I think this is her favorite time at Awana. She loves to share God!) The kids get it! They know God loves them and that it’s important to know His Word!

 

Before Christmas I taught a Candy Cane Lesson to go with our Candy Cane Theme Night. That simple lesson brought two Sparks to know Christ as their Savior. The following week, I taught the Christmas lesson and gave the opportunity again to accept Christ. This time four children prayed. I knew some had prayed before and I was concerned they didn’t understand salvation. I wanted to be sure they knew it could never be taken away from them. I prayed to God and talked with Pastor Todd. I came to realize that God took care of everything at the beginning of the Awana year! He is so good!

 

The next lesson series I was scheduled to teach was on the fruit of the spirit. I was able to go over teaching that salvation is prayed for one time, we never lose it, and after that God ripens the fruit inside us so we become more like Him. The examples the kids give and the understanding they have blows me away. You can see the love they have for God and the excitement. And it is showing not only in the way they talk but also in the way they learn their verses.

 

At the end of the Awana year, awards are handed out for finishing books (usually we have about 10 Sparks and 10 T&Ts) but this year we have record number of children finishing books. We have children knowing all 66 books of the Bible and so excited about God! We are seeing God move in the questions the kids ask, the answers they have, the love they have for one another, and the way they worship God.

 

God further confirmed that He is moving in Awana after I started writing this. Miss Devon, who leads the Cubbies, teaches her Clubbers to praise God through song and dance. They then share that worship one evening with the rest of Awana at our closing before dismissal. This year she picked “God is on the Move” by Seventh Time Down. She sent this after I titled this devotion “Watching God Move!” I just love God and how He works everything together. God you are truly amazing and I never cease to be in awe of how You move!

by Joe Becker

Twenty-five years ago my congregation of choice met in a small, local chapel. Although it was quaint by most standards, it provided a suitable environment for our weekly Bible study. At that time, the Pastor (Shepherd) happened to be big in the topic of The Body of Christ, particularly as it is found in 1 Corinthians, Chapter 12.

 

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. (1 Corinthians 12:12)

 

The body analogy fits so well that the Apostle Paul referred to it some two dozen times in his various letters. One Sunday session I remember being stirred to share from a squeaky chestnut pew my own perspective of Paul’s insight—that the body needs an eye, and the eye needs a body. “I may be only a ‘big toe’ in this assembly,” I said, “but I am a part of this body.”

 

Sometime later I recalled thinking how any old toe is critically dependant on the eyes of the body in order to be kept safe and balanced and to see, as well as measure, steps without becoming a ‘stubbed toe’. I realized what a great responsibility it is for the eyes (leadership) of the Church Body to shepherd the flock, not forgetting the words of Christ the Head as in John 10, or His instruction to Peter, “Feed my sheep.”

 

So when Pastor Ralph stepped down from the pulpit, I heard Pastor Todd with wife Lori say that they’ve always held to their favorite hymn, “Be Thou My Vision.” Then I knew we could be joyfully assured that the Body (flock) of believers at CABC is keeping in step with the Holy Spirit, the eyes of Todd, and the blessing of God.

by Laura Courtney

One morning about five years ago, almost one year after my husband and I were married, I was making the bed. To set the scene, we were living in a very small “cabin” his parents owned that was quite cramped. As I was shuffling along the side of the bed squished between the mattress and a large dresser, I jammed my foot very roughly into something much harder than my delicate toe. I proceeded to make a loud grunting noise and angrily looked to see what on earth was so obnoxiously in my way.

 

It was my Bible. My big, hard-covered, “obnoxiously in my way” Bible.

Sometimes that might be how we look at it. A big book, full of lots of rules, that gets in the way. But in this “obnoxious book”, we read

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

 

Everything in the Bible is given to us. To teach us, correct us, and make us better people. So that we may be wise and ready for anything that may come. You’ve heard people say they wish there was a manual for life… it sounds to me like that is just what God gave us.

 

Dear God, thank you for your Word. For the hope, peace, comfort, and promises it contains. Help us to not see it as a hindrance or something that gets in our way, but to see it for what it is… your guiding answers for all our questions.

Savenit Polo (Administrator, Batey 35 School)

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. (Matthew 6:26-32)

 

I live in the Dominican Republic, a Caribbean country that proclaimed its independence in 1844, but which over the years has been struggling to eradicate the deficiencies that affect it.

 

Like the Dominican Republic, many countries suffer the scourge of poverty, malnutrition and social inequality. Despite the situation, it is normal to appreciate a smile on the faces of its inhabitants, so that is proof that God, the Creator, takes care of his children.

 

Matthew 6: 26-32 gives us encouragement and reminds us that we can trust that our Heavenly Father cares for each one in any part of the world. His Word also helps us understand that we should not worry too much in this world.

 

As humans, we try to discover how God is going to work on our behalf. We despair and even lose faith, believing that God has moved away from us. He gives us a promise in his word saying “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)

 

Today I invite you to place your worries in the hands of God.

 

Dear Lord, help me depend on you at all times.

by Mary Reigart

 

Certain pictures and scriptures about Jesus flash into my mind…

 

He was playful. There is a scene in the movie, ”Passion of the Christ”—one of the few that did not make me close my eyes. It was a scene between Jesus and Mary. They were splashing each other with water, laughing, teasing. It was a wonderful demonstration of a mother/son relationship. So often I think of Jesus as a baby at Christmas or in his thirties during his ministry. But I love to imagine him as a son, a sibling, a friend. Fully God and fully Man. Only our God.

 

He was responsible. So many of my contemporaries are struggling with care for aging parents. I marvel when I think of Christ on the cross, very near his death, talking to John about caring for the same mother who had cared for him. “She is your mother.“ (John 19:27) He honored his mother from his first miracle at the wedding in Canaan to the cross. Do you honor your parents?

 

Does he still feel the pain? I try not to, but my mind wanders to the cross. Pain at its worst, bullying at its best. I am reminded of an old song by Ray Boltz. “Does he still feel the pain every time I fail?” Or do we continue to doubt him like Thomas? Or deny him like Peter? I never want to hurt him but I have to wonder…

 

He so knows what we need. “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10) My life would be so different if I could just remember that He is God and I am not. And that we are to pray rather than worry. I repeat this scripture, use it as a password and let go, surrender until I read the prayer chain or my phone beeps.

 

The last thing on my mind. Jesus prays to the Father, to forgive those who had done this to Him. Can you imagine? Who do you need to forgive? Is there anyone for whom you keep a scorecard of wrongs? Forgiveness is for us and yet we can hold on so tightly. Scripture is clear.