Born Again

TODAY’S SPECIAL: John 3:9-21

TO CHEW ON: “'How can this be?' Nicodemus asked." John 3:9

"Jesus the Savior of the World" - Artist unknown

Jesus told Nicodemus if he wanted to see the kingdom of God, he had to be born again. Nicodemus thought Jesus meant he actually had to be born from his mother again. Of course, Jesus didn’t mean that. But what did he mean?

He meant that Nicodemus had to have a new beginning (new birth) with God. How could this happen for Nicodemus? How does it happen for you and me?

1. Nicodemus, and all of us, have sinned (sin = disobeying God - even once).

2. The punishment for sin is death = separation from God forever.

3. Jesus is the only person who lived a sinless life. He is the only person who didn't need to die for His own sins.

4. But Jesus chose to die in our stead. God accepted His death as the payment for our sin. (It’s like when you’ve done something wrong, but someone else takes your punishment and you get off free).

5. Now all we have to do is accept Jesus’ death for us to be friends with God and have eternal life.

It’s all explained in John 3:16 (a verse you might know by memory):

For God so loved the world (God loved every person who lives, has lived or will live, so much)
that he gave his one and only Son (that He gave Jesus)
that whoever believes in him (so everyone who accepts that Jesus’ death pays sin’s punishment)
shall not perish (won’t go to hell - a place where we’re separated from God forever)
but have eternal life ( but will live with God forever).

PRAYER: Dear God, I put my trust in Your Son Jesus. You have promised that if I believe in Jesus I will have eternal life. Amen.

"The Bronze Snake" - Artist unknown

SUPERSIZE IT: Crosses and Snakes
Jesus mentions the story of Moses and the snake in the desert (John 3:14,15). You can read that story in Numbers 21:4-9.

- Are there poisonous snakes where you live? ___ What kind? _____________

- What should you do if you get bitten by a poisonous snake? _____________________

- When the Israelites were bitten by snakes in this story, God made a different way for them to be healed. They just had to look at the snake statue that Moses had made, and they got better.

In the same way, we just have to look to Jesus (who was lifted up on a cross just like the snake statue in the desert was raised on a pole) to get healed from the sting of sin.



Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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

God's Friends

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Luke 2: 21-38

TO CHEW ON: "It had been revealed to him (Simeon) by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Messiah ....She (Anna) never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying." Luke 2: 26 & 37



When Jesus was still a tiny baby (40 days, about six weeks old) Joseph and Mary brought him to the temple in Jerusalem and gave him to the Lord. They also had to bring a sacrifice - doves or pigeons. They were obeying a command God gave Moses hundreds of years earlier.

There were probably many people in the temple the day Joseph and Mary took Jesus there. Perhaps some stopped Mary to take a look at her new baby and say how cute He was. The temple workers (Levites) probably saw Jesus when they helped Joseph and Mary with their sacrifice. But only two people recognized that Jesus was not just an ordinary baby.

Elderly Simeon and Anna (who weren’t together) both came to Mary and Joseph, one after the other. They wanted to see this baby. They wanted to tell Jesus’ parents and everyone around that Jesus was special. How did they know?


It seems both Simeon and Anna had a special friendship with God. Simeon was waiting for Messiah, and the Holy Spirit had given him a promise: He would not 1)________ before he saw the 2)________ 3)_________ . When God told him to go to the temple that morning, he obeyed. (Luke 2:26)

Anna never left the temple. In fact, she 4) __________ 5) ___________ and 6)_________ ,7) ________ and 8) ___________ . (Luke 2:37)

Because they loved God so much and spent so much time with Him, God told them things He didn't tell anyone else.

What do you think - do you have to be old or live in church to have a special friendship with God?

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to be a close friend of Yours, like Simeon and Anna were. Amen


SUPERSIZE IT: Given to God

Though we no longer make sacrifices of birds or animals, many churches still have special services where parents can present their children to God.

In some churches a minister prays for and dedicates the baby to God. In others a minister or priest sprinkles the baby with water to christen or baptize it. If you had such a time when you were a baby, ask your parents to tell you about it.

Do you think dedicating a child to God when it is a baby makes a difference in its life? Why or why not.

ANSWERS

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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

Dethroned

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Samuel 15:17-26

TO CHEW ON: "Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams." 1 Samuel 15:22

Samuel came to Saul one day to give him a new job from God. He was to fight Israel’s old enemy, the Amalekites. After the battle was over, Samuel gave him plain instructions not to let any person or animal escape alive.

Saul’s army won easily. Then they did as Samuel told them and destroyed all the people. But they kept the best cattle and Saul saved the life of king Agag.

After the battle God talked to Samuel. “Saul hasn’t carried out my instructions,” He said.

So Samuel went to find Saul. When Saul saw him he was all smiles. “I did exactly what God told me to,” he said.

“Then what are the sounds of sheep and cattle I hear?” Samuel asked.

“The soldiers kept those,” Saul said. “They’re planning to sacrifice these animals to God. I destroyed all the people just like you told me to. I only kept Agag the king.”



But Samuel wasn’t fooled by the Saul's excuses. “God wants your obedience,” he said, “not your sacrifice. What you did shows that you have a rebellious heart which doesn’t want to obey God. Because you have rejected God, he has rejected you as king. He has torn the kingdom from you and your family and will give it to one of your neighbors.”

Then Saul was sorry. He wished he could go back and do what God had told him to do.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to obey You and the people, like my parents that You have put over me. Amen.

MORE: Obedience
We don’t have specific instructions of things God wants us to do like Samuel gave Saul. But God does give us general instructions on how to live. These are in the Bible.

One set of instructions is the Ten Commandments - Exodus 20:1-17.

Write the commandment that is easiest for you to obey. _____________

Write the commandment that is hardest. _________________________

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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

God's Fiery Smile

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Leviticus 9:1-5, 22-24

TO CHEW ON: "Moses and Aaron then went into the tent of meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people." Leviticus 9:23

On the first day that the priests sacrificed animals to take the place of sinful people who deserved to die, Moses explained what God had said to him on the mountain. His brother Aaron was to be the person in charge of making these sacrifices. Helpers for Aaron were to be from his family or tribe - the tribe of Levi. They were called ‘Levites.’ They had to wear the special priest costumes we talked about on this day.

On the first sacrifice day, Aaron brought animals to pay for his sin. Moses told him how to make each type of sacrifice – the sin offering, the burnt offering, the peace or fellowship offering and the grain offering. Different animals were needed for each one. These animals had to be perfect male animals (goats, lambs, calves or oxen) from the peoples’ own flocks.

Choosing animals for sacrifice (Graphic courtesy CC-Art.com)

As Aaron and his sons brought and slaughtered the animals, the crowd watched. The sight of innocent animals dying reminded them how serious it was to disobey God.

At the end of the day, Moses and Aaron spoke a blessing on the people. Then God blessed them too – not in a peaceful way but with an awesome, fearful sign. As the people watched, God’s glory came down as fire. Bright hot flames simply appeared and consumed the animal parts still on the altar.

When the people saw it, they were happy. The fire showed that God had accepted the sacrifice. But they were also afraid. What kind of a God could send fire like this? The people fell on their faces in worship.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for showing us Your awesome power. Help us to know Your power too, and to respect and fear You. Amen.

MORE: God’s ‘Yes!’
After this first day of sacrifices, God said “Yes!” by sending fire. Of course God doesn’t always respond in such spectacular ways. Here are some other ways God showed the people in the Bible that He was there, right with them. Match the incident to the person who lived it (listed below). How has God sad "yes" to you?

1. God’s sent a rainbow to show He would keep a promise. (Genesis 9:11-13)
2. God sent helpers (angels) to get a family out of an evil city (Genesis 19:15)
3. God answered a prayer (Genesis 24:12-16)
4. God spoke in a dream (Genesis 28:10-17)
5. God gave a prisoner favor with the king (Genesis 41:39,40)

A. Abraham’s servant
B. Lot
C. Jacob
D. Noah
E. Joseph.

Answers

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.


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

Blood Sacrifice

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Leviticus 17:11

TO CHEW ON: "For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life." Leviticus 17:11

Moses had been up on the mountain with God for a long time and God had told him many things. One of the things God gold Moses was a way to deal with sin.

What is sin? It is missing the target. If we think of doing everything God has said we should do, and not doing anything God has said we shouldn't do as the target, sin is missing that target.



For example, when God told Adam and Eve not to eat of the special tree in the garden and they did – that was sin. And when God told the people they were not to worship any other God but Him and they made a calf idol and worshiped it – that was sin. God gave the people a list of rules (we call them the Ten Commandments) which told them what was sin for each area of life, from how they treated parents and neighbors to how they treated God. The trouble was, no one could keep all these rules.

The punishment for breaking these rules – even one of them – was death. Period.

But on the mountain, God told Moses that He would make a way for the people to come back into His good favor – make atonement. It was a way they didn’t have to take the punishment of death themselves. They could substitute the blood of an animal. The blood would show that the animal had died (for no living thing, human or animal, can live without blood going through its body). The blood showed that the death penalty had been paid – for now. God accepted as a temporary punishment for sin, the death of an animal instead of the death of the sinful person.

Bringing the lamb as an offering - Picture from CC-Art.com

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for making a way for people to be right with You – through animal sacrifices, and then through Jesus. Amen.


MORE:  Sin’s Wages
God’s punishment for sin hasn’t changed. Paul, in the New Testament book of Romans calls this punishment ‘wages.’ Those wages are still death. Every one of us earns these wages every time we sin. But Someone – not an animal – took the punishment of death for the sins each one of us has committed.
1. Who was that Someone? (I Corinthians 15:3) ____________
2. What penalty did He pay? _____________

Here is a verse to memorize. It will remind you of sin’s wages and God’s gift to us through Jesus:

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- Romans 6:23

Answers

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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

Life-saving Blood

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Exodus 12:21-28

TO CHEW ON: "When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down." Exodus 12:23

As God had told Moses, Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites leave Egypt. Through frogs, gnats, flies, sick cattle, boils, hail, locusts and darkness, he didn’t budge. But God was not finished with him. God told Moses and Aaron what He would do next.

The first born son of every family in Egypt would die. It would happen at midnight.

But God would not kill anyone in the homes of the Israelites IF they followed His instructions. Solve the crossword using the Bible references and find out what God told each family to do.

Created with Puzzlemaker on DiscoveryEducation.com.
(Click on puzzle to enlarge and print)


- Each family was to take a (9 across - Exodus12:3).

- They were to kill it at (1 down - Exodus12:6).

- With (3 across - Exodus12:22) they were to paint the lamb’s blood on the (2 down [plural] Exodus12:22).

- Then they were to (6 across - Exodus12:9) the lamb and eat it with (10 across) and (5 down - Exodus12:8) with no yeast.

- They were to eat it in (8 across) and dressed ready to (7 down – Exodus 12:11).

- No one should leave the house until (4 across - Exodus12:22).

Painting blood on the doorframe

by James Tissot .

That night God would visit Egypt. When He saw the lamb’s blood painted on the door frames of the house, He would pass it and no one inside would die.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for this story which reminds us of Jesus’ blood and how He died instead of us. Amen.

MORE: The meaning of it all.
What was this special sacrifice and meal called?

A. Notice the red boxes in the puzzle above? Write down the letters in each red box, then unscramble them to make the name God called this sacrifice and meal (Exodus 12:27)

B. Why was that a good name for it?


Answers

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

The Big Test

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Genesis 22:1-19

TO CHEW ON: “...and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” Genesis 22:18

Imagine Abraham’s horror the day God told him to sacrifice his son Isaac. Perhaps he had some of these questions and thoughts:

- Did I hear God right?
- Why would God make me wait all these years to have a son, only to ask me to kill him?
- Didn’t God forbid human sacrifice?
- God can do anything. Maybe He is planning to raise Isaac from the dead.

Whatever Abraham was thinking, he didn’t argue with God. Instead, he took Isaac, the stuff they needed for the sacrifice and they went to the place God told him.

Using Genesis 22:9-12 as a guide, put the rest of the story in order.

An angel stops Abraham from sacrificing Isaac - Artist unknown

Abraham’s faith was tested to see what he believed in. God was testing him to see whether he believed in what his mind told him God would do, or whether he believed in God, even though he didn’t understand. Abraham’s actions showed he believed in God. He passed the test!

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to pass the faith tests I face. Amen.

MORE: A Father who really did sacrifice His Son

This story of Abraham and Isaac reminds us of a story that happened hundreds of years later. Another Father watched as His Son was sacrificed–not on an altar, but on a cross. Read about it in Mark 15:33-41.

Answers

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Choices

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Read: Genesis 4:1-12

Detail from "Cain and Abel Offering Their Sacrifices" by Gustave Doré

TO CHEW ON: "Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.'” (Genesis 4:6,7)

God told Cain and Abel to sacrifice animals to Him. Cain and Abel both worshiped God by making sacrifices. But Cain disobeyed and offered fruit from the plants he had harvested. Abel obeyed and offered animals from his flock.

God was pleased with the animal sacrifice. He didn’t accept the plant sacrifice. He had told Cain what He wanted. Here are some things Cain could have done. Which one did he choose to do?

1. Bought an animal and sacrificed it.
2. Ignored God and made another sacrifice of his harvest.
3. Became so upset, he murdered the brother who pleased God.
4. Argued with God about why his plant offering was just as good as an animal offering.

Sometimes we don’t like to hear what God says to us. He may tell us ways we need to change. He may make us aware of people we’ve wronged, or remind us of things for which we should apologize. But God will never force us to do the right thing.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to choose Your right way. Amen.

SECOND HELPING: Right Choices

Suggest good choices to make if you find yourself in these situations:



1. You accidentally break Mom’s favorite mug.

2. You’ve forgotten all about the test teacher promised today.

3. You find a purse in the washroom of a mall. It has lots of money in it.

4. A bunch of girls in your class are bullying another girl.

5. You’re only half finished delivering your papers, and you’re due at baseball practice.

Answers

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.