The Biblical Path of Life

Tag: House

  • Family

    “For with God nothing shall be impossible”
    Luke 1:37

    Jacob’s family moved to Egypt to be with Joseph. Before he died, he blessed each of his sons. When he came to Judah, he not only blessed him, but also made a prophecy concerning his descendants. “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be” (Genesis 49:10). God knew that His people (the Israelites) would reject Him as their king, hundreds of years before they actually did. He had already chosen a tribe to be the kingly tribe – the tribe of Judah. Not only would the kings come from this family, but Jesus (Shiloh) would one day descend from this tribe (Judah). This was to be The King they were looking for: “… and unto him shall the gathering (looking for) of the people be.”

    However, before Jesus came, remember David.

    King David (from the tribe of Judah) sat at his house, and he spoke to Nathan the prophet. “… See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains” (2 Samuel 7:2b). In the city of Jerusalem, David had set up a tent to house the Ark of the Covenant (which was a symbol of God’s presence among His people). David recognized God’s blessings, and he wanted to do something for God. God answered that night. David wanted to build a house for God that God declared was not really needed. The Ark of the Covenant had always rested in a tent. God reminded him that He had taken David from being a shepherd boy watching sheep to become the ruler over God’s people, Israel. God had always been with David, defeating David’s enemies, and He made David a great name. God went on to give David a great promise. “12. And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. 13. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. 14. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. … 16. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever” (2 Samuel 7:12-16). Notice that God promised to build David a house – not a house to live in, but a dynasty, a kingly lineage. This promise was twofold. God established David’s family as the kings of Israel. God also promised that David’s son would build Him a house. David prayed to God thanking Him and praising Him. David’s son, Solomon, became the next king of Israel, and he built a beautiful Temple for God.

    Moreover, God would one day send His Son, Jesus, from David’s descendants: “… I will set up thy seed after thee …” (2 Samuel 7:12). Remember what Mary was told when the angel said that she would bring forth a Son. “30. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1:32). When she did not understand, the angel told her, “For with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37).

    God did just what he promised He would do. We see it confirmed: “… he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. 23. Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus” (Acts 13:22-23). It is here that we see God kept his promise given to Jacob, David and Mary. It is Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Read how Revelation describes Jesus: “… behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David …” (Revelation 5:5).

    More than that, Jesus came so that we could be restored as part of God’s family – only by faith in Jesus. “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26).

    Have you looked unto Jesus, believing in Him by faith, and becoming a part of God’s Family?

    How to be Saved

  • Choose You This Day

    “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; … but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
    Joshua 24:15

    What would happen if you were faced with a generation of young people, most of which were never taught to love the Lord or obey His commands?

    In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses gave God’s commands to the new generation who wandered in the wilderness to prepare them to enter into the land God promised them. God gave him specific directions for His people. One of the greatest is found in Deuteronomy chapter six. “1. Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them … 2. That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged” (Deuteronomy 6:1-2).

    The people were taught God’s commandments.

    The people were to obey God’s commandments.

    The people were to teach these commandments to their children and their children’s children.

    Those words are extremely important. The following words are just as important. “And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” (Deuteronomy 6:5). If they loved God with all of their heart, soul and might, their obedience would reveal that love of God.

    We just read that God’s people were taught to obey God’s Words and preserve them by teaching them to their children. The following verses help us understand the best way these things can be taught. “6. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7. And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” (Deuteronomy 6:6-7). First, these words must be in the parents’ hearts. It would be then that they would be able to teach their children when they sit or when they walk. It is important to be able to teach children the principles found in God’s Word in everyday life situations when they arise. In the morning when they wake, ready to start a new day, with questions in their hearts and minds. As they get ready for bed, and have had challenging circumstances from the day. The Bible says for parents to teach their children the things of God diligently! We can clearly read in these verses the importance of a parent teaching their child of the ways of God, and to “love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” Teaching children the commandments of God is important!

    Joshua led the people after Moses. He had learned much about the importance of loving the Lord and obeying His commands. At the end of Joshua’s life, before he died, he left a word that has been remembered throughout the ages: “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; … but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15). He understood the importance not only of knowing to love and obey the Lord himself, but to teach these things to his children. The whole family, together, would serve the Lord. By teaching it to his children, they would know how to live a life pleasing to God in this world. If you read the book of Judges, the book that immediately follows this statement by Joshua, you learn what kind of a nation they became. All because the people forgot God and failed to teach God’s commandments to their children. This is to be a warning to us today!

    Think about our world today. Does it sometimes appear that we live among a generation of young people, most of which were never taught to love the Lord, obeying His commands?

    Do you love and serve the Lord?

    Have you taught your children to love the Lord and obey His commands?

  • Believe

    “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”
    Acts 16:31

    An amazing event took place at Philippi while Paul and Silas were there. They were falsely accused, beaten and thrown in prison. The jailer was instructed to keep them safe. So, he threw them into the inner prison and put their feet in the stocks. Read what happened: “25. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. 26. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. 27. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. 28. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here” (Acts 16:25-28). Can you even imagine having a song in your heart after being falsely accused, beaten, and locked in stocks in prison? Yet they not only had a song in their heart, but they sang praises to the Lord loud enough for all of the prisoners to hear – for none of them escaped when their doors opened in the great earthquake. Because the keeper of the prison was responsible for those prisoners with his life, he decided to take his own life himself (probably so other Roman soldiers would not kill him!). See his reaction to seeing that none of the prisoners had escaped. “29. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, 30. And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:29-30). He wanted what Paul and Silas had – Jesus! “31. And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. 32. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house” (Acts 16:31-32). Notice that they told this jailer and all of the people in his house. It was important that they hear the Gospel message. Each person has to hear and respond to the Gospel message. What was their response? “And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house” (Acts 16:34).

    This event should be an encouragement to anyone who has chosen to believe the Gospel message, yet that Christian’s family has not yet believed. If one is a Christian but their family is not, it is a sad thing. Christians want their friends and family to have the same salvation that they have found. They would love to have them join them in the journey of the Christian life as they learn and grow. However, it is a personal call and an individual choice. As much as one may share that faith and want them to join, one cannot make them follow. They must believe and follow Christ on their own. This is an important thing to understand. God calls each person into the Christian life, and that individual must respond to that call in affirmation. God calls individuals. Each individual must take action by responding God’s call. However, God wants the family to come to Him. Therefore, it is Christian’s duty to share with his or her family the Gospel message, warning them of the wrath to come. Most importantly, that Christian must live his faith out before them.

    In daily life, we learn that some people come to believe the Gospel message easily, while others have a more difficult time coming to the realization that they are a sinful person who needs a Saviour to deliver them from sin. Nevertheless, they must hear the Gospel message!

    “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36).

    Have you believed on the Son?

    Have you shared your faith with your family?

    How to be Saved

  • A Wise Man

    “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
    Matthew 7:14

    There are countless people who believe there are “many” ways to get to heaven. We can see this evidenced in numerous religions out there that promise eternal life in heaven. These religions (and personal opinions) give false hope of eternal life because they do not teach there is only One way; Jesus.

    Jesus spent much time teaching, and the most important thing He came to reveal was the truth about eternity. He taught about the Strait Gate. After telling of the importance of entering in at the strait gate, He explained: “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). This Strait Gate leads to life, yet few find it (it is also called the door of the sheep in John 10:7). Jesus is that Gate (Door). This is a picture of Salvation through faith in Jesus. Those who enter by “other” ways, think they are heading to life eternal. When one rejects Jesus, they often choose an easier path than the strait and narrow path that Jesus requires.  

    That is why while continuing in the Christian life, one will find other people who declare they are a Christian, yet who do not hold the truth of God’s Word in their hearts – those who have not gained salvation through Jesus. They may challenge your Christian faith. “5. Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away … 7. Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:5, 7). We are warned to turn away from their “form of godliness.”

    Jesus gave another warning to help us understand this. “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Who will enter the kingdom of heaven? We just read, “he that doeth the will of my Father.” What is the will of his Father? It is to “enter ye in at the strait gate,” which is to believe in Jesus for salvation.

    Right after this, we read what Jesus taught about two very different men. One He called a wise man. This man He likened to one who heard the teachings of Jesus and did them. This man built his house upon a rock. A rock is solid and does not move. “And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock” (Matthew 7:25). Whatever opposed the wise man, his house stood, for it was founded upon Jesus, the Rock: “… and that Rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4b).

    The other man he called a foolish man. “And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand” (Matthew 7:26). What made him foolish? He heard Jesus’ teachings, yet did not do them. This is building a house upon the sand – for it is constantly shifting or moving. (Religions and man’s opinions continually change.) What happens when one builds their house upon the sand? “And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it” (Matthew 7:27). Not only does the foolish man’s house fall when troubles come, but that fall is great.

    Christians will encounter people who have chosen numerous different paths, by many different men’s teachings (religions/opinions). They all sound much easier and quicker than the One true way that the Bible teaches. The journey may not appear easy, but Christians have the assurance that the Narrow Way is the Only way to life everlasting. In addition, Christians have God’s written Word that was given to read which will help in this Christian life. Christians can learn many things in the Bible that are profitable, enabling them to become stable, building a strong house (life) upon the Rock that is Jesus. One should find comfort in God’s Word that will help in this Christian life, teaching one what to do.

    Have you chosen to be wise and build your house upon the rock?

    How to be Saved

  • Lesson 13 (Lesson 39): Jesus in the Old Testament: Jesus our Ruler

    Key Verse

    “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33

     

    Read the Key Verse with your class.  Explain the memory verse using the following definitions:

    seek:  strive after, with earnestness

    first:  importance; first of all; chiefly

    kingdom:  the glorious reign of the Messiah; its basis from the prophecies of the OT where the coming of the Messiah and His triumphs are foretold

    righteousness:  conformity to all God commands; God’s uprightness to which man is expected to conform.

    Jesus taught us to strive, with earnestness and as most importantly, for the coming of the Messiah (Jesus) and his reign.  And seek to be able to conform to all of God’s commands.  When we can do these things, all of the things Jesus had been teaching them (heavenly treasures, provisions here on earth, etc.) would be added.

    Summary:  We have learned that God’s people rejected Him as their king.  They wanted a man.  So, God gave them a man, Saul, and he failed miserably as a godly king.  But God chose a man “after his own heart,” David.  He was a good king, and God made him a promise.  Because David wanted to do good for God to build God a house, God would build David a house, one that would last forever.  Today, we will see in whom that promise was fulfilled, Jesus.

    David believed God’s promise, and it was recorded in the Bible for us to read today.  All through the ages, men watched and waited for that “Promised One” to come.  Even the wise men of the Far East sought a new king that was born, and wanted to come and worship him.  We find John the Baptist proclaimed He had come, and He was God’s Son.  But even more than that, Jesus himself declared principles of His kingdom we must learn to adhere to.

    Encourage your students to bring their Bibles and use them!

    Emphasis:  Our job, today, is to seek God as most important in our lives, obeying His commands, making him our King that we will serve.  When we do that, we have nothing to worry about because He will take care of us.

     

    Optional Worksheets to be downloaded:

    Lesson 39 – Volume 1 Children’s Worksheet 1

    Lesson 39 – Volume 1 Children’s Reinforcement Worksheet

     

    Ideas for children:

    Stickers always work well with children. Often times I watch Wal-Mart or Oriental Trading Company for specials or deals on things I can use for crafts for Sunday School (i.e. foam sheets, Bible Story scene stickers, crowns, stick on jewels, construction paper, etc.).  I keep a stash and when I need something, I go search in my stash!  Pinterest always has great ideas!

    You could have a coloring sheet that goes with the lesson.

    One idea for today’s lesson:  (See picture below).  For today’s lesson I had a kit that made a shield (since we had been studying the kings of Israel) with a sicker for the middle that said “Christ is my Victory.”  It seemed to fit pretty well since we had been talking about the kings of Israel.  In today’s lesson we remembered the promise to King David that that Jesus was the promised King of Kings who would come.  We also learned a little of Jesus’ teachings about the kingdom that would come.

     

    Mural idea:

    Refer to the wall in your classroom that has become a mural.

    By now your class should be in a groove as to the direction and areas in which they need to focus and work on to improve their Christian lives.  Use this knowledge to help you address specific areas in each lesson that your class can discuss and share as you add new things to your mural.  Continue to watch as your class grows in their knowledge of not only God’s Word, but areas in their lives that can be corrected, drawing them closer to the Lord.

    Have them each add anything else they may have brought to add to the wall.  Encourage everyone to participate.