TEEN CHALLENGE

   "Let brotherly love continue."  Hebrews 13:1 "Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love." Romans 12:10a     If you go on to read the rest of Romans 12, Paul goes on to give a few simple instructions that are basic parts of the Christian life. In verse 11 he says to serve the Lord. Verse 12 says, "Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer." Verse 13 talks about being hospitable and generous to those in need. In verse 15 Paul talks about being compassionate to those in trouble. Verse 18 that "If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men."   Verse 19 says "Avenge not yourselves". Verse 20 talks about loving our enemies, and 21 says that we are to overcome evil with good.      So, when we obey God's commands concerning how we ought to treat others, we are letting "brotherly love continue".  Perhaps all of us should read Romans 12 regularly and keep in m...

    1 Kings 21:1-3 " And it came to pass after these things, that  Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which  was  in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.  And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it  is  near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it;  or , if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.  And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee."  1 Kings 21:13-16     " And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him,   even   against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died.   Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is...

     II Kings 21:9-10 "And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people: And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die."        Jezebel wanted someone to do her dirty work- and she knew exactly who to call. The 'sons of Belial' were ready to do whatever job she had for them. Jezebel knew where to get help- whoever these men were, they're reputation preceded them. But it was a bad reputation.       How do people know you? When an elderly person in your church has a need, are you the first person they think of that could help? Or is it that when some mischief has happened in school, are you the first one thought of?      A reputation is a priceless thing. Proverbs says, "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches..." A good rep...

     1 Kings 21:7-10 "And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth. And she wrote the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high above the people: And set two men, Son's of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die."      Jezebel is the instigator of a complex plot to get Naboth's vineyard. Her mind worked in such a way that she could think of a way to deceive a lot of people to get what she wanted. Jezebels act of deception ended in the death of an innocent man.      Now, it's unlikely that anyone read...

                                                                Purpose of Heart This month's devotional comes from Mr. Bill Delperdange from Lighthouse Baptist Church in Shepherdsville, KY.  For the most part, we all know the story of Daniel in the Lions’ Den, but we often don’t think about what brought Daniel to the place in life where he was both cast into the lions or how through his faith, God delivered him.  In case someone may not know, Daniel was among the Jews taken captive in Babylon and had risen to prominence in the Persian Empire that ruled the region at that time.  The other, pagan rulers of the land resented Daniel and wanted to accuse him of wrongdoing so that he might be killed.  Daniel 6:4-5, however, tells us they could not find anything to accuse Daniel of apart from worshipping God!...

  1 Kings 21:4- “And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.”        Some teenagers are whiners! The second that things stop going their way, they begin to make it very clear that they are not pleased. They cross their arms, huff, and mumble out any words that might be forced out of their frowning mouth.     As we just read in 1 Kings, this doesn't only apply to teenagers. But I wonder if Ahab was a whiner as a teenager, too? Suppose Ahab grew up in our day. He would probably have been the toddler throwing a tantrum in the store, the kid pouting in the corner, and the teenager stomping down the hall and slamming his bedroom door. My Dad says this a lot; what you do now will stick with you your whole life. If Ahab's mo...