Greedy Lying Gehazi

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Kings 5:15-27

TO CHEW ON: “Then he went in and stood before his master Elisha. ‘Where have you been Gehazi?’ Elisha asked.
‘Your servant didn’t go anywhere,’ Gehazi answered.” 2 Kings 5:25

After Naaman was healed, he went back to Elisha’s house full of thank-you's. “I’m always going to pray to your God now,” he told Elisha. “And please take some gifts from me.”

But Elisha refused the gifts. “Go in peace,” he said to Naaman.


After he had left, Elisha’s servant Gehazi couldn’t get the thought of Naaman’s gifts out of his mind. My master was too easy on Naaman, he thought. But I’d sure like some of those things.

He ran after Naaman’s carriage, caught up to it and said, “My master has changed his mind. He has visitors and could use some of your gifts.”

“No problem,” Naaman said. He loaded two servants with many pounds of silver and two new sets of clothes.

When they came near to Elisha and Gehazi’s house, Gehazi took the things from Naaman’s servants and sent them back. Then he hid the clothes and money in his room before he went to wait on Elisha.

“Where have you been?” Elisha asked him.
1. What did Gehazi answer? (2 Kings 5:25 ) ____________

He should have been smarter than to try and hide anything from God’s prophet. For God had told Elisha exactly what had happened. “Didn’t I see you when you approached Naaman’s carriage?” Elisha asked. “This isn’t the time to collect stuff.”

2. Then Elisha told Gehazi what his punishment would be. What? (2 Kings 15:27) _______
Gehazi learned the hard way that it never pays to tell a lie.

PRAYER: Dear God, I can never fool you with a lie. Help me to learn that. Amen.

SUPERSIZE IT: Old Lies
Have you ever told a lie and got away with it? Are you sure there is no one who knows about the lie you told?

Though you may never get found out the way Gehazi did, there is Someone who knows. God. And His opinion about lying is clear. He doesn’t approve of it and tells us in Proverbs that our unconfessed lies will eventually be punished (Proverbs 19:5,9).

Here are some things you can do to take care of old lies.
1. Admit they are sin and confess them to God.
2. Confess those lies to the people you lied to.
3. Ask God to help you recognize and overcome the habit of lying – in both words and actions.

Answers


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A Little Girl's Big Love

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Kings 5:1-14

TO CHEW ON: “Now bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, ‘If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.’” 2 Kings 5:2,3

Suppose you were a little girl who, one day, was captured by enemy soldiers. They took you far away from home. Alone in a new country, you had to work for the people who captured you. This was what happened to the little Israeli girl who worked for Captain Naaman’s wife.

One day she noticed her mistress was very sad. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“My husband has leprosy,” Naaman’s wife answered.

Now the little girl could have been selfish. She could have thought, this man’s soldiers took me away from my parents. He deserves to be sick. But that wasn’t her attitude. Instead she thought about how she could help Captain Naaman. And she thought of prophet Elisha. He did amazing things. He had even raised a little boy from the dead.

“If only my master could see the prophet who is in Samaria,” she said. “He would cure him of his leprosy.”


Naaman’s wife told this to Naaman. Soon he was on his way to find the prophet.

When he came to Elisha’s house, Elisha sent his servant with a message telling Naaman what to do: “Go wash yourself seven times in the Jordan.”


This instruction made Naaman furious. He thought the least Elisha would do was come out, pray and wave his hands over his leprosy. He wanted to turn around and go home. But his servants convinced him to do as the prophet had said.

Sure enough. After seven-dips in the Jordan, Naaman was healed! Because a little girl loved others – even her enemies – more than herself, God healed an army captain of leprosy.


PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to love others more than myself. Amen.

SUPERSIZE IT: Leprosy
Leprosy was one of the most dreaded diseases in Bible times. There was no cure for it. It was also very contagious (spread easily from person to person). For that reason, a person who had leprosy had to move away from family and friends so their loved ones wouldn’t get sick too. They had to live alone or in colonies with other lepers.

Find out more about leprosy (now usually called Hansen’s disease) from books or the internet.
1. Do people still get leprosy?
2. Are there medicines to cure it?
3. How can you tell if a person has leprosy?
4. Find out about Father Damien, a missionary to lepers in Hawaii.

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Death In Shunem

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Kings 4:27-37

TO CHEW ON: "He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the Lord." 2 Kings 4:33

Elisha and his servant Gehazi did a lot of traveling. One day they went to Shunem. A rich woman there invited them for a meal in her house. Then, knowing Elisha often traveled to Shunem, she and her husband fixed up a room for Elisha and his servant. Now every time they came to town, they had a place to stay.

One day Elisha asked the woman, “After all you’ve done for us, what can we do for you?”

“I have everything I need,” she said.

“She doesn’t have any children,” Gehazi said to Elisha after she had left.

“Right,” said Elisha. “Call her back.”

When the woman came, Elisha said to her, “By this time next year, God will give you a son.”

Sure enough, a year later, she had a baby boy. She had never been happier! But one day, when the little boy was with his dad, he got sick. “My head! My head!” he cried. Servants carried him home. But a little while later he died.


Immediately his mother saddled a donkey and went to find Elisha. If anyone would know what to do, he would. When she found him, she persuaded him to go back with her.

When Elisha got to the house in Shunem he went into the room where the little boy lay.

He was still and cold. Elisha closed the door and prayed to God. After a while, he lay on top of the little boy. Slowly Elisha felt him grow warm. Finally he sneezed, seven times, and then opened his eyes.

Elisha called the Shunamite woman in. He gave her little boy back to her, alive again. She couldn’t thank Elisha or God enough for the miracle of her dead little boy – come back to life.


PRAYER: Dear God, thank you for Your power over death. Amen

SUPERSIZE IT: A Promise
Has someone close to you died – a grandparent, uncle, friend, brother, sister or parent? Perhaps you prayed before they died that God would keep them alive. Maybe you prayed after they died that God would make them live again.

Though God has the power to raise people from death, He often doesn’t. And so we experience death. It is a sad, sad time.

But Jesus has won the final war over death. And we know that someday, because of Jesus, we will again see our loved ones who have died. It’s a Bible promise you might want to memorize.

"For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable,* and we will be changed." - 1 Corinthians 15:52.

* ‘imperishable’ means a body or form that won’t decay or die. It will last forever.

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What Do You Have?

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Kings 4:1-7

TO CHEW ON: "Elisha replied, 'How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?'
'Your servant has nothing there at all,' she said, 'except a little oil.'” 2 Kings 4:2

Elisha became a leader among the prophets like Elijah was before him. One day the wife of a prophet who had died came to Elisha with a big problem. “My husband owed a man some money,” she said. “Now that man says if I don’t pay back the debt, he’ll make my sons his slaves.”

“What do you have in your house?” Elisha asked.

“Only a little oil,” the woman replied.

“Here’s what to do,” Elisha said. “Send your boys out to gather oil containers. Collect as many as you can. Then close the door of your house and fill all those containers with the oil you have.”

How would she ever fill even one container with the little bit of oil she had, the woman wondered. Yet she did as Elisha said. After her sons had collected bottles, jugs and jars of all shapes and sizes from the neighborhood, they began to fill them. And an amazing thing happened. The oil never ran out – at least not till the very last container was full.


Excited, she went back to Elisha and told him what had happened.

“Now go sell that oil,” he said to her. “Use the money you get to pay your debt. Keep what’s left over to live on.”

Because the widow did what Elisha told her with the only thing she had, God gave her what she needed, and more.

What do you have? Give it to God and watch him multiply it too!

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to give myself and the things I have to You. Amen.


SUPERSIZE IT: A What’s-in-your-house Collage
Make a collage of things you have in your house (no going out and buying supplies allowed).

- What you need:
Collage backing: cardboard cut from cereal boxes, packaging, cardboard boxes etc.
Collage materials: colorful magazine pictures, dried beans, seeds, rice, macaroni, buttons, sequins or glitter, shells etc.
Paste or glue: If you don’t have any in your house, make a paste with flour and water.
Scissors for cutting paper, or use your fingers to tear the paper into the shapes you want.

- What you do:
Arrange and glue materials onto the cardboard backing.
Display your collage in a place where you’ll see it often. Let it remind you that God can use the things you already have.

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Double Strength

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Kings 2:1-15

TO CHEW ON: "When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, 'Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken from you?'
'Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,' Elisha replied." 2 Kings 2:9

One day as Elijah and Elisha were walking down the road, Elijah said, “God has told me to go to Bethel. But you stay here.”

Elisha had a strange feeling about this day. Somehow he knew that Elijah wouldn’t be with him much longer. He wanted to spend every minute he could with this incredible man. “No,” he replied. “I want to go with you.”

After spending some time in Bethel Elijah said “Now God is sending me to Jericho. You stay behind.”

But Elisha wouldn’t. He walked with Elijah to Jericho.

After they had visited the prophets in Jericho, Elijah said, “Now God is telling me to go to the Jordan, but you stay here.”

“I will not leave you,” Elisha replied.

When they got to the Jordan River, Elijah took off his robe, rolled it up and struck the water. Instantly it parted and the two men walked to the other side on dry ground.

“What can I do for you before God takes me away?” Elijah asked Elisha.

What should he ask for, Elisha wondered. He knew he didn’t want money or fame or nice things. What he wanted more than anything else was to be just like Elijah. “I want a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha answered.

“That’s a hard thing,” Elijah replied “You’ll get that only if you see God take me away.”

Then, as they were walking along, out of no where a chariot of fire and fiery horses appeared. In the next instant Elijah was swept away on the chariot and out of Elisha’s sight.



“My Father! My Father!” he called out. But Elijah was gone. All that was left was his robe. Elisha picked it up and walked back the way they came. When he got to the Jordan, he did just as Elijah had done. The water parted just like before.

Prophets watching on the other side of the Jordan saw what happened. “Elijah’s spirit is on Elisha,” they said. When they met him they promised to serve him like they had served Elijah.

Elijah wanted God’s best in his life. Because he had the determination and courage to go after it, God blessed him by answering his request.

PRAYER: Dear God, please put in my heart and mind to go after Your best for me. Amen

SUPERSIZE IT: Mentors and Models
When Elisha got to know Elijah, he wanted to be like him. When Elijah asked Elisha what he wanted as a parting gift, more than money, nice things or popularity he wanted God’s power in his life just like he had seen it in Elijah.

Is there a Bible character, or a person that you’ve read about in a book, or someone you know of whom you would say, ‘I’d like to be just like that person?
Who is it?
Why do you want to be like that person?

You can pray that God will give you the godly qualities you see in their lives.

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Quick to Follow

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Kings 19:19-21

TO CHEW ON: "Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah." 1 Kings 19:20

One of the jobs God gave Elijah was to find and call the person who would be the next prophet. We don’t know how Elijah knew which person to choose. God probably told him. Neither do we know much about the person he picked – Elisha – except that he was a farmer.

Elijah found Elisha in a field. He was plowing with oxen.

Elijah called him by going up to him and throwing his prophet cloak over Elisha’s shoulders. Our Bible doesn’t tell us if Elijah explained to Elisha what he meant by this. But Elisha knew exactly what Elijah was asking.

1. What did Elisha do? ( 1 Kings 19:20) ________

2. Did Elijah force Elisha to come with him? ________

"And Elisha left the oxen and ran after Elijah" 1 Kings 19:20
Artist's name – Diana Shimon
© Copyright – HaGefen Publishing / CWI Israel (used with permission).

For some reason Elisha was ready to follow Elijah. Maybe in the days just before Elijah came, he had been feeling restless about being a farmer. Maybe he had been asking God to show him what he should do instead. Maybe he had heard of Elijah, and wanted to get to know him. Whatever the reason, Elisha was ready for Elijah’s invitation and was quick to respond.

3. His answer was so definite, he made it impossible to change his mind and go back to farming. How? (1 Kings 19:21) ____

From that day on, Elisha’s life changed. He began traveling with Elijah as his helper

4. What lesson can we learn from Elisha:
a] that farming isn’t an important job?
b] that when God calls us, we should be quick to answer ‘yes’?

PRAYER: Dear God, please show me what You want me to do, and help me be answer “Yes.” Amen.


SUPERSIZE IT: More “Yes” people
All through the Bible God used and blessed people who answered His call with “Yes.” Below are five Bible characters who did just that. Find their names in the Word Search puzzle.

1. James and John left their jobs as fishermen and follow Jesus. (Mark 1:16-18)
2. Gideon led Israel in their fight against the Midianites (Judges 6:13,14)
3. Moses left his desert home and lead the Israelites out of Egypt. (Exodus 3:10-12)
4. Abraham moved away from his home and family to a land God showed him. (Genesis 12:1)

"Created with Puzzlemaker on DiscoveryEducation.com".

(To print the word search puzzle alone, click on it, then print it from the window that opens.)


Answers

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Back to Work

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Kings 19:9-18

TO CHEW ON: "Then the Lord said to him, 'Go back the way you came. . . .'” 1 Samuel 19:15

When Elijah came to Mount Horeb, he found a cave in which to sleep. That night God spoke to him. “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

“I’ve done my best for You,” Elijah replied. “But the Israelites have turned their backs on You. They’ve broken your altars and killed your prophets. I’m the only one left. Now they’re trying to kill me too.”

“Come outside,” God told him. “I want to show you something.”

As Elijah stood outside the cave, a powerful wind came up, shaking the trees and loosening rocks so they came tumbling down. But Elijah didn’t hear God in the wind. Suddenly the earth underneath him began shaking. But Elijah didn’t hear God in the earthquake. Then he saw fires burning around him. But God wasn’t in the fires either.


Finally Elijah heard a quiet voice. He recognized it. It was God. Again God asked him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Again Elijah explained how hard he’d worked for God, but how it hadn’t done any good.



Then God answered him. What did He say? Which one thing, below, did God NOT tell Elijah (1 Kings 19:15-18):
1. God told him to go back the way he came.
2. God gave Elijah some new jobs to do.
3. God explained why things had turned out the way they had.
4. God gave Elijah some facts about how many of God’s people were really left in Israel.

Though Elijah felt like a failure, God, Who saw the whole picture, knew that he wasn’t. After showing Elijah his power in the wind, earthquake and fire, God showed Elijah He still trusted him and had more things for him to do. He gave Elijah some new jobs and sent him back to work.

PRAYER: Dear God, Thank You for using people to accomplish what You want to do. Please use me. Amen.

SUPERSIZE IT: Hearing God
Though God showed His power in the wind, earthquake and fire, Elijah heard God speak in a quiet voice.

1. Has God ever spoken to you?

2. Where did you hear Him?
____ through Bible words?
____ through the words of a song?
____ through the words of a friend?
____ through the words of a pastor or teacher?
____ through a book?
____ through nature?
____ through a parent?
_________________ other ways?

3. What did He say?

Make a habit of listening to God. He may tell you that He loves you. He may tell you that He understands you. He may give you ideas on how to handle your problems. He may remind you to pray for a friend in trouble.

If God tells you to do something, be as quick as Elijah to obey His words.

Answers

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Discouraged

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Kings 19:1-9a

TO CHEW ON: "Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. . . . he himself went a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. 'I have had enough Lord,' he said. 'Take my life.'” 1 Kings 19:3,4

No sooner did Ahab get home and tell Queen Jezebel that Elijah had killed her Baal prophets than Jezebel threatened Elijah’s life. “By this time tomorrow, you’ll be dead like them,” she told him by messenger.

If Elijah expected Jezebel to believe in God after the contest on the mountain, he saw now that wasn’t going to happen. Her message terrified him. He and his servant took off, running as fast and as far as they could. When they got to Beersheba, Elijah let his servant rest while he traveled another day, far into the desert.

As he ran and walked and ran some more, he probably thought of what had just happened. It seemed that Ahab hadn’t learned anything from the three years of no rain and the contest on the mountain. Even though he, Elijah, had done his best, nothing had worked out the way he hoped. He was just a big failure.

Finally too tired and discouraged to go on any further, he sat down in the shade of a broom tree and prayed, “God, I want to die.” Then he fell asleep.

He woke up when something touched him. Someone – an angel – was beside him!

“Get up and eat,” the angel said. In front of him was fresh-baked bread and water.


Elijah ate, then fell back asleep. Some hours later he awoke to the angel’s touch again. Again there was food and water waiting for him.

After that Elijah had the strength and will to go on. He traveled forty more days till he came to Mount Horeb, far away from Jezebel’s threat. The God who could send fire to burn an offering also knew how to encourage His tired and hungry prophet.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for encouraging us when we feel like giving up. Amen.

SUPERSIZE IT: Prescription for Discouragement
When you think about what had happened to Elijah, you'll agree it's no wonder he was discouraged.
1. He’d just been through a very exciting time of seeing God defeat Baal and sending rain.
2. He had just spent days running and was super tired.
3. He hadn’t had much to eat.

Next time you’re discouraged, ask yourself if some of the things that discouraged Elijah may also be affecting you. Then take the prescription for discouragement.



1. Has something very exciting happened to you lately? Sometimes a return to normal living makes us feel blah after the excitement we’ve just experienced.

Give yourself time to get used to everyday life again.


2. Are you tired? When you don’t get enough sleep, discouragement easily takes hold.

Take a nap. Go to bed early, get up late. Catch up on sleep and get rested.


3. Are you hungry? Not eating properly helps feed discouragement.

Have a good meal. Eat healthy foods (including fruits and vegetables) and drink lots of water.

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Keep On Praying

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Kings 18:41-46

TO CHEW ON: "Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees. 'Go and look toward the sea,' he told his servant. And he went up and looked. 'There is nothing there," he said. Seven times Elijah said, 'Go back.'" 1 Kings 18: 42,43

God sent the fire to burn Elijah’s sacrifice. Elijah killed all the Baal prophets. But there was more to come. For God told Elijah He would send rain on dry, dusty Israel. Even though the sun was still blazing from the cloudless sky, Elijah was sure that God would keep His promise. “Rain is coming,” he told Ahab.

Then Elijah went to the top of Carmel, got on his knees and began praying for rain. After he had prayed for a while, he sent his servant to check the distant horizon.


“Nothing,” the servant told Elijah when he got back.

Elijah prayed some more. Then he sent the servant to look again.

Again the servant saw nothing – no clouds, no sign of rain.

Five more times Elijah prayed and sent his servant to check the horizon.

- How do you think Elijah felt as he prayed and prayed but still there was no sign of rain?
- What do you think kept him praying even though his prayer wasn’t answered right away?

Finally, the seventh time, the servant came back shouting, “There’s a small cloud, rising from the sea.”


Elijah got up from his knees. “Go tell Ahab to get off this mountain before he gets caught in the rain,” he commanded.




In no time the wind had picked up, the sky was black and big drops of rain were pounding the dust. People rushed off the mountain toward home, but not fast enough to avoid getting drenched in the welcome rain.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to keep praying even when You don’t answer right away. Amen.


SUPERSIZE IT: Prayer and Answer Journal
We don’t know why God answers some prayers immediately, others after a short while and still others only after a long time. But we do know that when God has put a desire in us to pray for something, and a promise that He will answer, we need to keep praying until that answer comes.

To help you look for and recognize the times God answers your prayers, start a “Prayer and Answer Journal.”


What you need:
- a lined school notebook, a ruler, black or blue pen or pencil and a red pen or pencil.

What to do:
1. Draw a line down the middle of each page to divide it into two columns.

2. Label the left columns “Prayers” (using black or blue pen/pencil) and the right columns “Answers” (using red pen/pencil)

3. Write (and date) the things you are praying for (in black or blue) under “Prayers” on the left.

4. When God answers your prayers, enter the answers in the right column (in red). Date them too.

When you are watching for answers to your prayers, you won’t miss them as easily. All the answers you write down will encourage your faith and help you to keep praying.

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Fire Power

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Kings 18:25-39

TO CHEW ON: “Answer me, O Lord, answer me so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” 1 Kings 18:37

“You go first,” Elijah told the Baal prophets. “Prepare your sacrifice. Put it on the wood. But don’t light a fire under it. Instead, pray to Baal to send the fire.”

The four hundred prophets of Baal did as Elijah said. It was morning when they began to pray. “Oh Baal, answer us!” they shouted, over and over, louder and louder. When nothing happened, they shouted even louder and began dancing around.

When it was noon and still nothing had happened, Elijah began to tease then. “Maybe your god is meditating. He is a god, after all. Or maybe he’s busy, or traveling or sleeping.”

So the prophets yelled at the top of their voices and danced around and even cut themselves. Soon there was chaos, screaming and blood everywhere – but still no fire.

Finally Elijah said to the people watching, “Come here.”


They crowded around as he repaired the ruined altar of God that was on the mountain. Then he dug a deep trench around it. He put wood on top of the altar and the sacrifice on top of the wood. “Now bring water,” he told the people. So they brought four large jars of precious water. Elijah had them pour the water over the sacrifice. Two more times he told them to get more water. Finally the sacrifice and wood were drenched and even the trench around the altar was full.

Then Elijah prayed: “Answer me, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, so the people will know that You are God.”

1. What happened? (I Kings 18:38) ____________

2. Then what did the people do? (1 Kings 18:39) _____________



PRAYER: Dear God, I worship You, the only God Who has the power to answer. Amen.

SUPERSIZE IT: Power Signs
The Bible has many stories of God proving His existence with supernatural happenings. Can you name two?

What do you think – does God still use such signs in our times to prove to people that He is real? Explain why you think as you do.


Answers

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Decision Time

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Kings 18:16-24

TO CHEW ON: "Elijah went before the people and said, 'How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.' But the people said nothing." 1 Kings 18:21

Obadiah found Ahab and told him that Elijah had turned up.

“Is it really you, you troublemaker?” Ahab asked when he saw Elijah.

“I’m no troublemaker,” Elijah replied. “You’re the one who is making trouble by ignoring God’s commands and following Baal instead. But it’s time for a showdown. Get all the Baal prophets and gather the people on Mount Carmel.”

When everyone had gathered, Elijah addressed the people. “How long will you go back and forth?” he asked. “It’s time to decide who you’re going to follow. So we’ll have a contest. We’ll prepare two sacrifices. The Baal prophets will put together a sacrifice for Baal and I’ll prepare one for God. Then we’ll each pray to our god. The one that answers by sending fire to burn his sacrifice is the real God. He is the one we should worship."



The people agreed this was a good plan.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to know that You are the real God, and to worship You alone. Amen.


SUPERSIZE IT: God or Baal?
Suppose you were one of the people on Mount Carmel.

1. What would you need to see to convince you that Baal was real?

2. What would you need to see to convince you that God was real?

3. Suppose Baal doesn’t answer with fire, but God does. Then you will need to make a decision. Will you go from worshiping Baal to God – or not?
a] What are some advantages to worshiping God instead of Baal?
b] What are some disadvantages to worshiping God instead of Baal?


Answers

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Yes Lord!

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Kings 18:1-15

TO CHEW ON: "After a long time, in the third year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah: 'Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.' So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab." 1 Kings 18:1,2

Obadiah had a tough job and an evil boss. His job was to be in charge of the palace in Samaria, where Ahab and Jezebel ruled. What made this especially hard was the fact that Obadiah loved and obeyed God. His boss, Ahab, didn’t.

Because Obadiah loved God, he did a dangerous thing. When Queen Jezebel was killing all the prophets of God, he sneaked one hundred of them away and hid them so they were safe.


The last while had been hard for King Ahab. Three years passed from when Elijah came to him and said there would be no rain. By now the land was completely scorched, the grass yellow, the plants brown and shriveled. This day Ahab sent Obadiah out to look for any patches of grass left where animals could graze.


As he walked along the road who should he meet but Elijah! Obadiah recognized him, bowed down and said “Is it really you?”

“Yes,” Elijah replied. For it happened that at that very same time, God had said to Elijah, “Now it’s time to go back to Ahab. I will send rain.”

“Go tell Ahab that I’m here,” Elijah said to Obadiah.

“You’d better not disappear again!” Obadiah said. “If I tell Ahab you’re here, and you disappear again, I’m dead!”

“Don’t worry,” Elijah told Obadiah. “I’m not going anywhere. God has told me to come before Ahab now, and I will.”

Obadiah and Elijah had very different jobs. But both of them loved the same God. When God asked them to do something, their answer was “Yes Lord!” even if it put them in danger. As a result, God could use them in important ways.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to willingly and quickly do whatever You ask me to do. Amen.

SUPERSIZE IT: “Yes” People
One of the ways God does what He has planned to do on earth is through people who say ‘Yes’ to what He asks. Obadiah and Elijah were people like that. There were many other Bible characters who acted in the same way. Match the person, below, with the thing God asked them to do.

1. Mary (Luke 1:31,38) _____

2. Samuel (1 Samuel 3:10) _____

3. Noah (Genesis 6:14) _____

4. Moses (Exodus 3:10) _____

*****************

A. Listen to God’s message for Eli the priest.
B. Build a big boat (ark) on dry ground.
C. Become the mother of Jesus.
D. Lead the Israelites out of Egypt.

Each of these people answered “Yes” to what God asked. They became important characters in God’s story.

Do you want to be a player in God’s story? Decide today that you will answer “yes” to anything and everything God asks you to do.

Answers

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Amazing Flour and Oil

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Kings 17:7-16

TO CHEW ON: "Elijah said to her, 'Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: "The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land."’” 1 Kings 17:13,14

After Elijah had lived by the brook for a while, he noticed a change. The hot sun was drying it up. It no longer flowed fast. Soon it was only a trickle. One day there was no water left in the brook at all.

That day God spoke to Elijah again. “Go at once to Zarephath in Sidon. A widow there will feed you.”

So Elijah walked to Zarephath. It was a hundred mile trip through scorching dessert, over rugged hills and through mountain passes. When he finally got to the Zarephath gate he was covered with dust, famished and very thirsty. “Could you please give me a drink of water?” he asked a woman who was gathering sticks. As she left to get the water, Elijah called after her, “And could you get me some bread too.”

“I don’t have any bread,” she replied. “I was just now gathering sticks to bake the last bread I can make with the flour and oil I have left.”


“Don’t worry,” Elijah told her. “You do that. But first, bring me a little bread. Because God has told me your flour and oil won’t be used up until He sends rain again.”

So the widow did as Elijah asked. She made bread that day and gave some to Elijah and her family. And she made bread for Elijah and her family the next day, and the next and the next. It was wonderful and strange. Even though it looked like there was just enough flour and oil for one more baking, it never got used up. Because she believed the promise that Elijah gave her and was generous to share all that she had, God supplied all her needs.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to be generous with the things I have, and to trust You for the things I need. Amen.



SUPERSIZE IT: Zarephath Bread
The bread the Zarephath widow made Elijah was different than the food we know as bread. It was probably more like flatbread or crackers. Try the recipe below and get a taste of Zarephath bread:

What you need:

1 cup flour
1 tablespoon oil
1 large egg
⅓ teaspoon salt
2 ⅔ tablespoons water (or milk)

What you do:
Combine flour and salt. Combine egg and oil. Beat. Then add egg mixture to flour. Add water and beat for 2-3 minutes. Pour the batter into an 8 inch greased pan. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes.

Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Special Delivery

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Kings 17:1-6

TO CHEW ON: “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there.” 1 Kings 17:3,4

After Jeroboam died his son was king for two years. Then, like the prophet had predicted, Jeroboam’s family was completely wiped out and another man, Baasha, took the throne. In the forty years that followed, Baasha and three more kings ruled, each one more wicked than the last. Finally Ahab became king. He not only copied the evil of past kings but he also married a very evil woman, Jezebel. She brought with her a whole new set of Baal idols.

At this time God gave a prophet named Elijah a message for Ahab. So Elijah went to the palace, got an appointment with the king and told him, “This is what the God of Israel, whom I serve, told me to tell you. There will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years, except at my word.” Then he left.

True to what Elijah said, all dew and rain stopped. It got drier and drier. Soon the situation was grim. “Find that man!” Ahab told his servants. “We’ll force him to make it rain again!”

The servants fanned out across the countryside. They looked in cities, towns, villages and out-of-the-way buildings. But Elijah was no where to be found.

This is because God was taking care of him. Soon after Elijah had talked to Ahab, God told him to go and live in Kerith ravine, beside a brook. The brook supplied him with water while ravens brought him meat and bread morning and night.


God knew that he would be in danger after talking to Ahab. So God told him where to hide and made sure that he had the water and food to live.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You that You take care of us when we do what You ask. Amen.


SUPERSIZE IT: Ravens
Find out about ravens through books or the internet.

- What do they look like?

- What do they eat?

- How do they behave?

- How was their bringing food to Elijah normal raven behavior? How was it abnormal?

- What can we learn about God’s power over nature through this story?

Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's.