Animals of the Bible A-Z

8/8/2019 Animals of the Bible A-Z

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Animals of the BibleA-Z

25 Sermon Devotionalsfor Daily Reading


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Introduction

These sermons were given over a period of weeks in 2005/06the response to them was so much that I have put them into areflective devotional.

Each day has a thought of the day. In the morning read this tofocus on God for the day.

Each day has the sermon about one animal and its character.We can see their character in our life. Remember it was God

who designed them as well. Read this in the evening as youreflect on the days stress.

Each day has a prayer. After you have spent some timereflecting on your day pray it. You can read it or memorize it.But pray it. God listens to our hearts.

If you have any comments please write me [email protected].

Dr. Paul R. Friesen
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Thought for the day

When we focus on whatGod wants us to do we can

have energy like the ant.


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Dear God,

As I start this journey open my eyes

to who I am. Open my eyes to whoYou are in the world of animals,and who you are to me. Open myheart to Your still small voice.

Change me into a better image ofYou and Your purpose for my life.

In Jesus Name

Amen


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A is for Ants

Reading

Proverbs 6:6-11 30:24-28

Have you ever had ant in your pants?

We use the phrase in English ants in our pants for thechildren who cant sit still. Because, if you have ants in yourpants you wiggle and cant stand still.

Many years ago when I was in boarding school in Guinea weused to look at the ants marching along. There were big onesand small ones, red, yellow, black, and brown ones.

We had names for some of them. The army ants were the mostfun. They would march in a line and we would step on the lineto confuse them. They would always find the line and continue.Did you know they leave a scent or smell for the others tofollow?

Then there were the sloppy joe ants. We called them thatbecause they were like a bunch of hamburger. They alwayswent in a group and when we stepped on them they wouldsmell like hamburger meat with sauce.

There were the sugar ants and the water ants. The fruit treeswere full of sugar ants. Of course you didnt climb those trees.The water ants could always find water and they were verysmall.

The large ant hills have millions of ants and can be as tall as 4meters.

There is always something that all ants have in common. Theydo what they are born to do. They dont complain. They donttry to so someone elses job. They dont even get greedy. Armyants will give their life so that the others will be able to continue.


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If you watch ants in their home they have many storage placesfor food. They do the same thing all day long. They dont needto be told what to do. They serve only the queen. There isnothing too big to bring back to the house for food. If it is toobig they get together and conquer it.

This is what the book of Proverbs says about the ant.

Ant is mentioned only twice in the Bible. The first mention isabout being lazy versus the ant. I know you arent lazy, butsometimes you are in your homework or in English.

The second is about wisdom and strength. The ant is not

strong but it is wise in its planning for the future.

How can we learn from the ant?

First we learn that the ant does not go fast or slow. They justdo their job. Many times we are lazy in our spiritual life. Wepray and read the Bible every day. We go to Church onSunday and Friday and Wednesday. But are we gettingstronger.

When we memorize scripture we store up spiritual strength forthe times when we need it. When we develop a disciplined lifewe dont get tired and stressed out. When our plan getsstepped on we focus on getting on track.

When we find ourselves with a load too big to carry we findsupport from other Christians. We also have a special job. Thewater ant is very small and can squeeze through the tiniestcrack to find water. The sugar ant eats the sugar found in fruit.The army ant just follows the leader sacrificing their life so thatothers can succeed.

We need to question ourselves about our job.

We need to question ourselves about our discipline as gooddisciples. We need to ask ourselves questions about why weget stressed. Perhaps we have lost our way because someonehas stepped on the line.


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We need to get back into the habits that have promised thepower of Christ in our lives. We need to do the job that Godhas chosen for us and do our best not worrying about theothers. Are we doing it?

Are we becoming lazy like the man in chapter 6 or are weconsidered wise like proverbs 30. We do not need to be thebiggest but known as wise.

What is your goal in your life? Are you ant wise?


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Dear God,

My life is so full of activity that makes

me tired. I lose my focus on the jobyou have given to me. I get so proudof myself. Forgive me Lord. I set mypurpose on You, who loved me fromthe beginning. Help me to keep my

goals clear so I can better serve You.

In Jesus NameAmen


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Thought for the day

The time to capture isshort. Am I making honeyor busy doing

nonproductive things.


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B is for Bees

Reading

Psalm 118

Do you like Bees?

Like ants there are many kinds of bees. There is the Africanbee which can kill you when it bites you.

This is found in America too. It swarms and the poison will killyou. They get angry easily but almost always fight in a group.

Then there is the water bee. We used to pump water to theroof in Africa. We had to fill the reservoir first and then pumpthe water up. We always had a screen over the water so thatthe dead bees would not be so many on top of the water.These bees are not dangerous and there only desire is to drinkthe water.

Then there is the bumble bee. It is yellow and black striped andreally doesnt get angry very often. He flies from flower to lowerdrinking the sweetness. His legs are hairy and they carry thepollen from one flower to another. That is how many trees gettheir fruit. By the pollen carried by these bees.

Then there are the honey bees. Do you like honey? I likehoney. I used to watch the honey farmer put the beehive in thetree and then they would smoke the bees out to get the honey

later.

Even our neighbor in Canada was a bee farmer. He set hisboxes of hives out in the field every spring. There are workerbees and there are honey finding bees. The worker preparesthe queens eggs while the other bees find the honey. Theworker then seals the egg with wax. That is called beeswax.


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In English we say, Thats just a bunch of beeswax. What dowe mean by that? Im sure that we dont carry around a bunchof bees wax.

Bees wax is very good for making things slide smoothly.

Bees are very amazing. These bees never get lost. Theydance to give directions.

What can we learn from these bees?

First the African killer bees. African killer bees get angry easily.They always go in swarms, or thousands at a time. They attack

people when they get upset and they kill with their sting.

We can do the same.

I know we like to be peaceful but sometimes we get upseteasily. We gossip to others and kill the person through ourgossip.

This happened to me in the first pastorate I had. One lady who

had come from another part of Canada thought I was doingstrange things in my study. She just had a feeling. She told anElders wife who believed her and they told other people.

Finally they told me and found that the feeling was wrong. Butthey had caused me a lot of stress. They had almost killed me.

Second, there is the water bee. He is so determined to drinkthe water that he gets caught and dies in the water. He wonthurt anybody. But he wont get any work done either. He justdrinks the water.

This is like a person who prays everyday and goes to Churchall the time. Yet, their spiritual life is not getting deeper.

Then there is the bumble bee. He is the cutest of them all. Socolorful and chubby. He goes about his business while blessingall those he touches.


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He is like the person who lives their Christian life simply. Thestress in their life is from not doing what God has called themto do.

Then there is the honey bee. We like this bee because hegives us the sweetness. But he doesnt do it alone. ALLhoneybees serve the queen. And they have different jobs.They dont worry about changing to be better than the others.They just do their job.

But the honey bees make wax. The wax is not only importantto make things slide easily it is also used for putting in your ear.It blocks out the sound. It can block out the whispers of the

gossip.

To get the honey they need very hot heat and filtered. To bepure like Jesus we need to cleanout the garbage in our lives.We can be sweet but not attractive is we have garbage in ourlives.

Imagine if they didnt do their job. You wouldnt have any honey.If the bumblebee didnt do his job there would not be much fruit.

If the water bee didnt do his job nobody would care. But thebees dont live through the winter. They die. If a bee stings youit will die.

God has given each of us a job to do. If we get angry easilyand gossip we damage relationships.

If we just drink from the Spirit but never do anything else wedont benefit anybody but ourselves.

We can make an impact on people. Not by preaching at them.Just by living out our Christian life. That is why we need toknow Christ in a relationship, not just some theory. This is thebumblebee.

We can group together and attack all that is not understood.We can be too sensitive. In killing others we hurt ourselves.We listen to gossip and make judgments without knowledge.


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The Bible says that we should test things for the truth. Weshould NOT listen to gossip but look for the truth.

We need to fill our ears with bees wax so that we listen toGods still small voice and not the gossip of those around us.

We need to filter out the impurities through Gods life changingrelationship.

Are we just a busy-bee, a killing bee, a bumbling bee, or ahoney bee?


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Thought for the day

Carrying everybodys

burdens over wasteland isnot meant for just anyone.It is only for the very thick

lipped. Only one person cando this effectively, that isJesus Christ. Try puttingyour burdens on His back

when you are in the desertof life. He will leady you to

the oasis.


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C is for Camel

Reading

Jeremiah 2: 20-25

Have you ever seen a Camel? They have them in Zoos andthey can even be found in Cheju do.

There is a camel brand cigarette. It was a sign of a certaincharacter. The western man who wanted to be a little stubborn.

There are two kinds of real animal camels. The one hump andthe two hump. One is called a dromedary. One is common toAsia, the two hump. The other is common in Africa the onehump, or dromedary.

The camel is an interesting animal. It has very thick lips andeye lids. The lips are so thick they can eat thorns. The eye lidsare so thick they can protect the eyes from sand in a sandstorm.

But they are also very smelly and stubborn.

What does the Bible say about the camel?

In the Old Testament there are couple of references to thecharacter of the camel. Leviticus is a book of the Law. It gavedirections on what to eat. The camel was an animal that Godtold them they didnt like. (Lev 11:4)

In Jeremiah, the camel is referred to the stubborn people whobroke the rope to be free. So they have a strong sense ofindependence.

Lets read it together.

Jer 2:20 For long ago you broke your yoke andtore up yourbonds. And you said, I will not transgress, when on everyhigh hill and under every green tree you lay down likea

harlot.


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Jer 2:21 Yet I planted you a choice vine, wholly a true seed.How then have you turned into the deviant shoots ofanalien vine to Me?

Jer 2:22 Though you wash yourself with potash, and multiplysoap for yourself, your iniquity is stained before Me,declares the Lord Jehovah.

Jer 2:23 How can you say, I am not defiled; I have not goneafter Baals? See your way in the valley; know what youhave done! You area swift camel criss-crossing her ways;

Jer 2:24 a wild ass used to the wilderness. In the passion ofher desire she snuffs up the wind inher time. Who can turnher away? All those who seek her will not tire themselves;in her month they will find her.

Jer 2:25 Withhold your foot from beingbare and your throatfrom thirst. But you said, It is hopeless! For I love strangers,and after them I will go.

Israel had promised God to not continue in the habit of SIN.They wanted to change. So they broke the ropes of the badhabits. God planted a tree that was pure and holy.

How had they become so sinful?

They had tried to wash the sin off. They thought that if theykept the outside clean the inside would be ok.

They didnt worship the idols of the other people. But theydidnt tear them down either. They were like a camel whowould not become tired crisscrossing the valleys.

Did you know the hump is where the camel keeps his extrawater? He can walk for days without drinking water.

The Islam people say that there are 100 names for God. Wecan know 99 and the camel knows the 100th name only.

So the camel is not only stubborn but he is very smart. He canavoid doing what other people do because of his water storage.

In the end the passion and desire of the camel will get him intotrouble. Many people want to catch him and chase him

tirelessly. In the end they will find it.


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But is this what God desires?

Jeremiah says in verse 25 that the people chose to run afterstrangers. They chose the way of the camel instead of Godsway.

In the New Testament we find three Gospels that tell us thesame thing. If we find the same thing in three different books Ithink it is important.

Three places say that it is easier for the camel to pass throughthe eye of the needle than the rich man to get into heaven.

This sounds funny and easy. The eye of a needle is very smalland the camel is very large. So it is impossible.

What does this mean? Does it mean that rich people cant getinto heaven? OF COURSE NOT!!

It does tell us about the character of both.

First, we know that the camel is stubborn. The camel can go along distance without drinking. It can protect itself from themany dangers in a desert.

Second, we know that often rich people do not depend on Godfor their riches.

But we cannot look only to this one verse we must look farther.

The people in Luke asked Jesus, Who can be saved?

Jesus said, Luk 18:27 But He said, The things impossible withmen are possible with God.

This is the comparison between Old and New Testament.

In Jeremiah the camel is like someone who is careful aboutwhat he does. He is very determined and stubborn. Peoplewant to follow them because they seem to be going the right

way. But they never clean anything.


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Dear God,

I feel like I am in a dry desert in my life.The things I carry are precious to me. Ineed to let things go. Give me guidanceto know what is important. Take my

burden so I can again be refreshed. I amso thirsty and tired. Thank you.

In Jesus Name,Amen


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Thought for the day

It is not what your gift isbut the attitude with

which you give it.


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D is for Dovetailing

Reading

Psalms 55:2-17

Dovetailing in English is what we say when we want to blendthings together smoothly.

It is used in carpentry many times and when things need to fittightly together.

I find the dove interesting. You can hear them in the morningcooing to each other.

These are called morning doves.

In the Bible doves were used for sacrifice of the poor people. Itwas the bird God chose to accept as a sacrifice.

Dove also is used for the Holy Spirit. We see so many of theseon Christian stickers and think of the Spirit.

But the Bible says things about the dove that we see inourselves. They are the opposite of the donkey. The donkey ishard headed and stubborn. The dove is soft and gentle.

Which would you like to be like?

In this Psalm we find that David wants to escape as easily as

the dove. The dove is seen as a sense of freedom.

Have you ever felt that way? Just wanting to escape form thepressure of life. To escape from the English tests and hokwons.

Sometimes I feel that way. To be as free as a dove to fly awayand escape quickly and easily.

But the word dove is also used for gentleness. A soft emotional

person. We find this in the Song of Solomon. It is very romantic.


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Dove in Jeremiah talks about the nests of the dove. Jeremiahsays that the people should move out and live like the dove.Making nests where they do, in the crevasses and sides ofcliffs.

There will no longer be protection of the large walls of the city.They will be exposed to the enemy.

In Hosea we find the dove as a fragile and easily deceivedperson. A person who is nave or simple minded and withoutunderstanding.

The dove is also portrayed as a person who is trembling withfear. They are scared because of the larger enemies aroundthem.

The Old Testament talks about the Dove as Gods people. TheNew Testament talks about the dove as The Holy Spirit. It isinteresting to look at the dove as ourselves.

We are the people of God. The dove is never written different

than that. The dove in the Psalms l0oks at the protection ofGod on a defenseless bird. It is God who is the Protector of Hispeople.

In Jeremiah we find that God knows where we are even if wehave to run away from our problems.

In the Song of Solomon we find the dove as the gentlenessthat God wants to see in us. The Song of Solomon is a lovesong. God loves us so much. God the gentle lover of our soul.

In Hosea we find the dove as the person who believeseverything everybody says. They follow easily. They are easilyled astray.

The Dove is not a bird of prey. It is a bird of beauty not strength.A bird of purity not of dirty.

The dove is not a fighting bird but a peaceful bird.


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This all means that if we are like the dove we will depend onGod for everything.

God will be our protector when we have some trouble in ourlives. God will be there when there seems to be no security inour lives. When God is the center of our lives we willdemonstrate the Holy Spirits attitude to the world around us.

We must be careful not to be like the dove who follows easilyto everything. The attitude and personality of the dove in 0urlives is the sign of the Holy Spirit within us.

When we are like the lion we have our own power. When we

are like the dove. We like the Psalmist want to escape but Godis our power even when we sleep.

Do you have a dove personality or a lion personality?


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Dear God

I dont have much to give you. Mysacrifice seems so inadequate, solittle. I become like a lion in myfrustration. Change me O God intoa dove. Accept my life as a sacrifice

to you and your purpose.

In Jesus NameAmen


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Thought of the day

When can soar on the wind

of cultural trends we loseour sharpness


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E is for Eagle

Reading

Isaiah 40:27-31

In English we often say someone has Eagle Eyes.

Eagles are birds that are very different than other birds. Butthey are not the only ones that have sharp eyes.

The eagle however is one of the highest flying birds you can

find.

In Scripture we find that the eagle is the animal used to escape.It can soar high above all the problems that other animals faceon the ground.

The eagles wings are almost the longest. The Bible talks aboutthe Eagle as a bird of speed and long distance.

So what does the eagle have to do with the New Year?

The personality of the eagle is perfect for this special day.

In the New Year we look forward. We plan our goals and ideasaround what we want to do.

These plans should include a spiritual goal to fly higher andsee clearer through Gods eyes.

This is where we need to have long and wide wings. Thesewings which are like the Holy Spirit. Give us the strength tosoar above our circumstances. We call them Spirit Wings.

To soar like and eagle means that we dont worry about whatgoes on below. We can enjoy our life without fear.

But there is another thing that eagles have to take care of.


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They are little birds. They like to tease and peck at the eagle.They bother the eagle if it flies too low.

The eagle doesnt waste energy chasing its food. It is veryprecise and careful.

In this Psalm we find the eagle as God.

What is God like then in this Psalm?

He is forgivingHe is the healerHe is the Redeemer

He is the One who crowns us with mercyHe is the One who can satisfy all of our desires.

In this New Year we need to look at our goals.

Look at where we want to go in this fresh new year.

The Indians use eagle feathers in their war bonnets to givethem strength.

Christians use Spirit wings to keep us above the problemsaround us.

We as Christians should desire to be more dependent on theSpirit who will lift us above our circumstances.

We need to have eagle eyes in this new year. Eyes that cansee the future as God sees it.

We need to pray for eyes which are clear to see where weneed to change to become more like Jesus.


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Dear God

I follow the trends and becomecareless in my spiritual life. ThoughI often feel free I am a slave to my

image. Help me to use my energymore wisely so I am less tired. Helpme to set better personal goals.Goals based on who You are.

In Jesus Name,Amen


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Thought of the DayChange is inevitable. It iswhen we ignore this changethat we get into trouble.


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F is for frog

Reading

1 John 4: 1-10

I wanted to go with fish. Fish are an important part of ourChristian life. In fact fish are a symbol of Christians.

But the frog is also an interesting creature. It is different than atoad. A toad lives on the land while the frog in the water.

That is not all true. Frogs live in trees and other places.

Toads are found hiding. They like to hide. But so do we. Welike to hide from the truth sometimes.

Frogs are found in the Bible in only two places. But the secondone refers to the first one. It was a plague of Egypt. When thepeople of Israel wanted to escape from Egypt.

But when God brought the frogs to Egypt the fortune tellersand Shaman did the same.

In the plagues of Egypt the magicians of Egypt copied themiracles of Moses. Except for the last one. Do you know whatit was? Do you remember?

It was life and death. Only God could save them and choose totake the first of everything from Egypt.

But frogs do something we all do sometimes.

Let me tell you what it is. Frogs like to be comfortable.

Yes they enjoy the rain and they enjoy the fun of sitting on a lilypad. They can survive most things because they can live onland and in water.

But they die because they become too comfortable.


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Let me explain what I mean.

If you put a frog in a pail of water he will be very comfortable.He will swim and then wait.

Then you slowly warm up the water. As the water warms upthe frog continues to wait. Very patiently.

Then the water gets hotter and hotter. Finally the frog is boiledand dies.

We do the same in the winter. When it is really cold our bodies

get numb, or not feeling. As we feel less we think thateverything is ok. Later we find that the feet and hands and earsare frozen too much and we lose them to frostbite.

So what can we learn from the frog.

First we can learn that Gods miracles can be duplicated bySatan. Magic is not a miracle but they look the same. How canyou tell the difference? Whose frogs are from God?

The Bible tells us to test the spirits.

1Jo 4:1 Dear friends, stop believing every spirit. Instead, testthe spirits to see whether they are from God, because manyfalse prophets have gone out into the world.

1Jo 4:2 This is how you can recognize God's Spirit: Everyspirit who acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in theflesh is from God.

1Jo 4:3 But every spirit who does not acknowledge Jesus isnot from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist. You haveheard that he is coming, and now he is already in the world.

Second we find that when we become too comfortable we dontgrow in our faith.

Faith is something that grows. Growing faith means that it ischanging. If we become too comfortable the changes are nevernoticed and we die spiritually.


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In Johns world false teachers came into the Church. Thepeople were like the frog in the pail of water. The falseteachers slowly turned the heads of some of the people. Theydidnt see the change and their spiritual life died.

We face the same thing in our culture. We dont like changebecause we have fear of it.

We dont like change because we dont like to challenge things.

This year we need to make goals to grow spiritually. To knowmore about what the Bible says about the doctrines.

This year we need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit so we canchange to be more like Him.

We need to become more confident so we can test what wesee and hear and have courage to keep the truth of God first.

Today we need to ask ourselves if we can determine whosefrog is it anyway. Is it magic or a miracle?

Today we have things like Harry Potter. These are movies thatare popular. They warm our water slowly and slowly we acceptthem into our Christian circles.

This is when we need to jump out and say, NO!!! They do nothelp us grow spiritually. They are against Christ.

Today let us make a goal to test and challenge those thingsthat we desire so that we can be ready for harder challenges toour spiritual life.


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Dear God,

I am like the frog. I have becomeinsensitive to how the culture haschanged me. I desire to be moresensitive so I will live in your power.Let me live in your freshness and

not the lukewarmness thatsurrounds me.

In Jesus Name,

Amen


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Thought for the day

Being stubborn is notalways bad. It is when our

stubbornness makes usblind to the truth that we

hurt ourselves.


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G is for goat

Reading

Matthew 25:32- 46

Have you ever seen a goat?

What is a baby goat called? A kid! So kids what do you thinkabout that?

Goats in the Bible are used most of the time as an opposite to

Sheep.

Sheep were animals that were used for a saving sacrifice. Itwas the blood of the lamb that was important.

Lamb was also a type of Christ. In other words Lamb andChrist in the Bible are the same thing.

But in English we use the word SCAPEGOAT for the oppositeof the Lamb. It is a person who gets blamed for somethingwhen we really dont want to be responsible. Another newEnglish phrase is fall Guy. The person who takes the blame.

Goats and people have a lot in common. The goat is an animalthat is very stubborn.

Are you stubborn? What do you do when you are stubborn? Doyou pout, yell, hit, or run away.

But stubborn is not always bad. As we look to scripture beingstubborn is good when we have to make a choice for God.

The Bible says a lot about goats and sheep. In these verseswe find that God likes sheep and not goats.

How are sheep different than goats?

First they follow easier than goats. If you get one sheep going

in the right direction the others follow.


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The goat likes to do their own thing. I am like this a lot.

Second the offering of a lamb or kid was acceptable to God if itwas a perfect one.

Third the goat here is separated. The New Testament is veryspecific about the goat and sheep when it comes to Godsjudgment

In this passage we find the sheep are on the right hand and thegoats the left.

The right hand was the most important hand. It was the cleanhand. The left being the dirty hand. The hand that you cursedpeople with.

The sheep on the right had paid attention to who Jesus was.They had served Christ by helping those people who weredown and out.

The goats, which were on the left said they had also done the

same. So why were they on the left?

They had experienced the same people. They had seen thesame problems. But they had not responded. They weregreedy and stubborn.

So what does Christ look like?

In these verses we find many ways to see Christ. Christ is notalways seen as a power monger. Rather He looks for thesensitive sheepness that we should be like.

Goats are every independent. They like to be the king of the hill.They are arrogant and insensitive to others.

We need to be strong but dependent on Gods strength not ourown.We need to be sensitive to the needs of others outside of ourlittle circle.


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Sheep need to be cared for a lot. Goats like to get into trouble.They ignore others needs focusing on themselves.

Today when we look at ourselves. Are we like the goat or thesheep?

If God was to choose today, would He say you are a sheep ora goat?

Could you say you were strong and independent on your paycheck and your strength of mind?

Or are you dependent on your God to follow Him?


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Dear God,

I am stubborn. Sometimes Im too

stubborn to see my own sin. I amlike the goat when I want to be likea sheep. Help me be a betterfollower. You promised peace beside

still waters to Your sheep. I wantthis peace.

In Jesus Name,Amen


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Thought for the Day

When we protect ourselveswe feel more confident to

sting others. We need to bewilling to move on so wecan have victory in our life.


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H is for Hornets

Reading

Joshua 24:2-15

Hornets, Bees and Wasps are almost the same. But the beesand the wasps are different.

Bees look for sweet flowers. They can make wax and honeyand they are soft.

Wasps and Hornets are the same family. Their mouth is smallso they eat different things.

Hornets have a body covered in special protection. They arealso the largest of the wasp family. They make the loudestnoise.

When a bee stings they die because their stinger is left behind.The hornet can use its mouth to bite and their stinger has some

poison in it.

We used to call the hornet a yellow jacket because of its color.Its body is yellow and it looks for meat (your arm) to eat.

We also have the horse fly. But this is not in the Bible. Thehorse fly can bite as well. It is like a monster fly that they makescience fiction movies with.

But the hornet has an interesting place in the Bible. God used it

in Exodus and in Deuteronomy and Joshua God makes areference to this occasion.

The lesson today is about hornets.

God used the hornet for a special purpose. What was that? Doyou know? There were many people outside of Egypt thatdidnt like Israel. God had promised to give a special land toHis people Israel.


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Do you think that those people wanted 1 million people tomove next door? They didnt even speak the same language.

But God had promised and God always keeps His promise.

So how did God move these people?

Maybe he sent them a letter. Or, maybe He sent them an email.Maybe He yelled at them.

NO!NO!NO!NO! He sent hornets.

Let us look at this story. It is very important because it shows a

lot about us. Joshua is speaking to the people. He outlines allthe times when they cried to God and God came to the rescue.

When they obeyed there was victory in their life. There is aspiritual principle here that is important. When you cry to Godhe hears you. ALL THE TIME

When He sends you He will take care of all the problems. Thisis the most important. God had told the people to go into a land

full of people who didnt want them. They had to make a choice.Obey and go or look at the problems and wander in the desert.Sometimes they obeyed and many times they wandered in thedesert.

When they found a problem like people who wanted to fightand not move He used HORNETS. Israel didnt have to fight.They had only to obey.

This principle is found all the way through the Bible. Goddoesnt always use hornets. He used many animals to teachpeople. When you are stubborn and dont do what God wantsHe may use a bad situation to move us.

He may use hornets but we dont find many in Korea. But,often God helps us or others through our circumstances.

He doesnt always use miracles. He uses things around us tomove us encourage us to do His will.


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If you dont have peace inside your heart and mind today askyourself

What is God trying to tell me? Do I need hornets to bite me tomake me move?

God wants us only to obey. Not to fight battles and get tiredand stressed. When we obey the hornets go ahead of us tohelp not against us.


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Dear God,

I like to go my own way. I like to domy own thing. I like to becomfortable and lazy. I need you tomove me from my comfort zone.

Help me to obey you so I dont findmyself in bad situations so much.

In Jesus Name,Amen


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Thought for the Day

Often we miss the small things Godwants us to do because we are toobusy doing out own business. Wesee only the now and not what Godcan do. Ponder how God uses ourcircumstances to communicate withus.


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I is for insects

Reading

Scripture Deuteronomy 28: 38-52

There are many kinds of insects mentioned in the Bible. Theword insects can be found in some versions in Leviticus. Inthese verses the mention of locusts and worms are insects.

Insects are interesting. Some people hate them. Some peoplelove them. Insects are really good sometimes.

Imagine if there were no caterpillars there would be nobutterflies.If there were no insects many birds would have nofood. Imagine a robin not finding the worm.

Insects are also a part of Gods plan. Have you ever wonderedhow God talks to us?

God used hornets to move the nations so Israel could goforward. God used a donkey to talk to the prophet. God used afish to pay the taxes of the disciples. But, insects also damagethings. The farmer uses poison to keep them from eating hisfruit, rice, etc.

Insects get into something and ruin it. They get into a tree andslowly destroy it. It becomes dead and then becomes uselessto anything.

Insects carry disease like mosquitoes.

So what can we learn about the Bible, insects, and us.

First the Bible says that God controls everything. Even theinsects. In these verse we find that God sends them His peoplebecause they didnt obey the command of God.

Second we find that insects are for both good and bad. This islike most of the things that happen in our life. We choose our


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friends, good or bad. We choose to study or not to study. Wechoose to obey our parents or not.

We choose to listen to God or not.

There are many things clear in the Bible. We are sometimessick because our bodies are not perfect. But these verses arevery clear about one thing. Sometimes what we do, the choiceswe make dont work. We pray but our situation gets worse.

This is when we know that God has sent some insects. Our lifeslowly gets worse and worse. We get more frustrated andangry every day and week.

This is what happened to me. I knew what God wanted me todo. That is to preach and teach. But I was going a differentdirection. Now God has given me His blessing because I amnow obeying His command.

The key to insects is to use them for the glory of God. We cando this obeying the Word of God. Or our life will slowly getmore frustrating.

God always gives us choices. Our choice is to obey His stillsmall voice. This will make us confident and strong.

Or

We can do it our way and let the insects into our lives to makeus frustrated and our prayers empty.

What are you doing with your insects today? Are you usingthem for the glory of God? Or are you letting them take yourpower and confidence away?


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Dear God,

I like to protect myself. I dont liketo move into new situations easily.Please help me to move without anyextra stings.

In Jesus Name

Amen


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Thought for the Day

We all have the same

dragon within. We must becareful that it does notburn us with its fire. Wehave God as a protection ifwe want Him.


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J is for JackalReading

Psalm 63

Well my trip was exciting. It was also tiring. The trip back wasalso tiring. (The summer camping trip)

God did great things. I told everyone how great God was. Theweather was great and God had prepared the hearts before me.

Even the car broke down at the hotel door.

Today we want to look at the jackal.

In the Hebrew jackal is translated to English as dragon. Wefind this in Nehemiah. In this psalm we find the jackaltranslated as fox. The jackal is like a fox we find in Korea orCanada.

What are the traits of a jackal?

The jackal is a very patient animal. It will wait for what it wants.It is cunning and deceptive. It is also very quick to catch itsprey. It is a thief. They like to hunt alone and in the wilderness.

So what can we find in this Psalm to understand the jackal?

In this Psalm we find that the wilderness is the place we oftenfind ourselves in our daily life. It is here that the jackal lives andwhere we find our desire for God the most. It is here that wefind the shadow of God as protection from the cunning jackal.

It is here that we must make choices to follow God, praise God,worship God, or just meditate on God. The trip to Canada waslike this for me. I went to Canada worrying about how the

Directors would understand the vision we have.


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I was in the wilderness wandering what was coming. Theprayer I made was to keep focused on the things that weremore important. That was to keep focused on Gods vision,meeting Gods people and not my own emotion.

All the other years the weather was terrible. It was cold andwindy when I came. This year it was wonderful.

The other years there were complaints and this year I met somany people who encouraged me. Other years the Directorswere not open and this year they were ready to accept theideas.

Satan is often written about in the Bible as a cunning person.He is like the jackal waiting patiently for us to fall and becomeweak. Then he will attack us with lies and gossip.The jackal waits for the animal to focus on something else.Then he jumps on them and eats them.

This Psalm mentions the jackal as what happens whensomeone tries to harm you the child of God.

The wilderness is a dry place. I grew up on the edge of thedesert. There is not always water you can drink. No waterbottles with cold water ready.

It is a place where God made Israel wander when theydisobeyed Him. It was also where they made the decision tofollow Gods command and have victory in theirlives.

The wilderness in our life is the place where we make thechoice to worship God or to become weak.

The psalmist didnt have a church or a tabernacle tent. But, heknew that worship was what he had to do.

When we are in the shadow of the Lord the heat of thewilderness is not so hot. The dryness not so dry. And thejackals waiting for us get bored and go away.


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Today some of you are worried about the lies and the gossipthat goes around. There is only one solution to this problem.We find it in this Psalm. Worship God in our dry wilderness.

When I cam to Korea in 1999 there was lots of gossip around.But after 3 years and a renewed focus on God and who Hewas this was all changed. My sister told me, All the things thatwere said people have found out the truth. The people that saidthem have lost their credibility.

They became food for the jackals.

What are you doing in your wilderness today? Are you

worshiping God? Or, are you worrying about the gossip whichmakes you weak and food for the jackal?


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Dear God,

I am weak and in wilderness. I longfor your protection from the jackalsof life. Take my life and lead me tothe safety of your bosom.

In Jesus Name

Amen


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Thought for the Day

Using others can be fun fora time. It can also get usahead. But in gaining the

world we must be carefulnot to lose our respect.


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K is for KineReading

Amos 4:1-5

What kind of kine are you?

What is a kine? In the bible we find kine is the buffalo. Not thewestern buffalo we see in western movies. Rather it is thewater buffalo you would see in Asia or Africa to help the farmer.

The other word that is associated with the kine is yoke. Tomake the buffalo work you put a yoke on it. Yoke is a greatbiblical concept. Jesus said Mat 11:30 for my yoke iseasy, andmy burden is light.'

When you are married you become yoked together.

But there are two kinds of buffalo in the Bible. There are leanones and fat ones. Lets look at some of the personality traits ofthe buffalo. The buffalo is a large animal. It is a powerful anima.So when the Bible uses buffalo it is often uses to demonstratethe power person, or people in power positions.

When the buffalo is not in a yoke it can be very dangerous. Ithas a long memory. It remembers those who did wrong to it.

In Josephs dream the skinny ones ate the fat ones.

In this passage the personality of the fat buffalo was comparedto the buffalo of the nation of Bashan. They were fat but theydidnt like to stay in their own pasture. They wanted more eventhough they had enough.

They had become fat by abusing others.


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But they wanted so much to have the blessing of God. Theycam and sacrificed to their gods in front of the True GOD.

They thought that they would be able to do as they wish and beblessed. They looked blessed because of their fatness butreally they fooled themselves. Their blessing came because oftheir power and freedom to break the fences of others land.

Today we find the same thing.

It is easy to look at anothers money or power and desire it. Weget clouds in our mind which hide the blessings of God. Whenlaws and discipline are put around our neck we break them to

have freedom. Then our desire becomes the drive in our life.Gods desire becomes dimmer and dimmer.

Finally we have success only to desire more and more andmore. In the end we have everything but happiness andfulfillment.

Jesus says, Mat 11:30, for my yoke iseasy, and my burdenis light.' This means that the fences He puts on is, the Law He

demands us to do, is really not so heavy.

When we keep our focus on Gods desire. When we let God doHis job for us. When we let Him work ahead of us and not usrunning ahead of Him.

Then we find we are satisfied. We dont need power. We dontneed to break other peoples fences just to get fatter.

All we need is to carry His yoke, go in His direction for our life,celebrating the freedom of Christ to our neighbors who carrythe yoke of the world.

What kind of Kine are you? One who desires to be fat withpower, lost in your own desires? Or, the kind of Kine who isyoked to Christ and His purpose for youre your life as theguiding power in your life?

If your yoke is heavy maybe you are carrying Christs burden

and not yours. If your yoke is too heavy ask the pastors or


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elders to pray with you so Jesus yoke can be one you arecarrying. It is light and freeing.

Dear God

My yoke is so heavy today. How canI lighten it? It is hard to go on.

Lighten my load so I can have thejoy, peace, and power I desire. Takemy yoke and replace it with yours.Guide me to the still waters andgreen pastures.

In Jesus Name,Amen


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Thought for the Day

To have the mind of a childdoesnt make you childish.To be dependent on Jesus

makes you the strongestperson in the crowd.


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L is for Lamb

Reading

Isaiah 43:21-28

Lamb is an important animal in our Christian faith. It was also akey part of the sacrifice of the people of Israel.

What is it about the Lamb that is so important. Why not achicken or a dog?

Lets look at the character of a lamb.

A lamb is innocent and young. It follows so easily the care of itsmother or father.

Compared to the kid which is a baby goat it is very gentle. Thekid likes to be the king of the hill. It likes to be first. It is alwaysfighting or in English,. butting heads with others.

Christ was called the Lamb of God. John 1:29

The Lamb was the first choice for sacrifice. It was preferred toany other. It had to be perfect in the Old Testament to beaccepted. It had to be the first baby of the mother.

The character of the Lamb in the Bible is one of gentlenessand ready for sacrifice.

In this scripture we find Israel in captivity. God defends Hisdecision to allow this to come to Israel.

Israel didnt have to sacrifice for some things outside of theirland. But they had just got tired of doing their duty as chosenpeople of God.


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They had got tired of all the Laws that they thought they had todo.

Do you get tired of the things you have to do as a Christian?

All the Bible reading and praying and not having fun? That iswhat a lot of people think. They think that the Christian life is allabout rules.

In real life being a Christian is about being a lamb. A pure lambwhich is ready to be used of God. In these verses we find thatthe people obeyed all the rules. But they were not ready to beused of God.

God says that He gave them everything they wanted. He evenforgave ALL their sin. He didnt even enforce the rules whenthey were in captivity.

Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God. He was the PERFECT LAMB.It was His blood that gives you and me the freedom in Christ.

But even with all the things God gave Israel they continued to

not see what God really wanted. Instead of serving God theywanted God to serve them by continuing to sin.

We do this sometimes. Maybe we dont continue to sin but wedemand from God in our prayers. We think we can do goodworks on the outside and get God to answer with blessings.

But all was not lost. God pleads with Israel to do things tocause Him to remember Remember what?

Remember their sin? Or remember that He had chosen andmade the nation of Israel?

God wants to remember why He created a nation as great asIsrael was and could be. He is was and will always be ready toforgive. He is always ready to restore His power to your life.

All He asks is for us to take a sum of our life. From this we cansee if there is anything that would make us justified to live

without penalty.


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So today we want to ask ourselves questions about our life.Questions like, Are we tired of all the rules that Christianshave to do?

Are we serious about our Christian life? What does this mean?

It means that we are not only doing good things to pleaseothers, but that we have an attitude of service to God and notbeing served by God.

Like Israel we need a pure Lamb to sacrifice. We need a firstborn Lamb to shed blood to cover our sin.

That Lamb is Jesus Christ. He died so that that we can live alife of peace and happiness.

Jesus the Lamb wants us to use Him so that we can bejustified. So that we do not have to become tired of theChristian life, but enjoy the power that He promises.

If you have tried to work for your salvation you need to come to

the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. IT is His blood that will secureyour relationship and open the blessings.

Maybe you pray every day. But do you pray as a servant toGod? Or do you want God to server You?

Today only you can answer these questions. I urge you to takean account of your life. Are you a servant of God through theblood of the Lamb?


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Dear God,

Thank you for being the sacrifice

lamb for me. Without You I wouldhave to bear the burden of my sinalone. May I have a lambssimplicity to enjoy your complexity.

In Jesus Name,Amen


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Thought for the Day

It was the straw thatbroke the camels back. It

was the mouse that set thelion free. It is the smallthings that make and

break us, not the big things.Lets take care of the small


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things in life and the big

things will come.M is for Mouse

Reading

Isaiah 66:15-24

Do you remember the story about the mouse and the lion? Thelion gets caught in a net and the mouse helps him by chewingthe net open.

The mouse is very small but can be very dangerous. InAmerica and Canada many farmers die of the hanta viruswhich is found in a small field mouse dung.

Most of the time we find our minds thinks of mouse as Stewartlittle, or Mickey mouse.

These are the most fun ones.

Or there is one that eats the cheese or the peanut butter. Theone that eats a hole in the bag of rice, or our favorite socks.

But in the Bible mouse is very serious. So serious that God toldthe people they should not eat them.

The Philistines, a nation that Israel struggled with all the time,made small statues of them. They were eaten like Koreans likeDog meat.

The mouse is small but it destroys so many things.

What can we discover about the mouse in the Bible thatreflects on us?


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First we find that the mouse was not to be eaten. This wascommanded because the Nations against God did this.

For us, this means that we need to be separate from the worldaround us. This is very important. In fact it is a major theme inthe Bible.

The key to power in our lives is often linked to this separation.In 1 Samuel the story is about the Philistines sending the ark ofthe Covenant back to Israel. Guess what they sent along?Some bags of mice idols. They wanted their idols to protect theArk on its way home.

Imagine sending to Gods people idols which God haddemanded not to eat. In English we say, Quiet as a Churchmouse. This shows us another thing about a mouse. It is veryquiet. It wanders around along the edges of the room hopingnever to be seen.

The mouse problem is what Israel had and what we have.

Israel was tempted to do the things of the world around them.

This took the power away from the nation. It made them weak.If there was no war they didnt notice how weak they were.

What can we learn form the mouse?

A mouse made the net of the lion weak slowly. Israel becameweak slowly. Often we dont think there is anything wrong withthe little things. A little lie, a little idol, a little a little a little. Then we are faced with a challenge. As we tryto find the strength to fight we find that we are weak.

What can we do?

In these verses we find

Isa 66:20 And they have brought all your brethren out of allthe nations, A present to Jehovah, On horses, and onchariot, and on litters, And on mules, and on dromedaries,Unto My holy mountain Jerusalem, said Jehovah, As the


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sons of Israel bring the present in a clean vessel, Into thehouse of Jehovah.

The key is to present ourselves a clean vessel to God.

How do we do this? We do this by confession of sin all the time.Making new habits,

This means that we need to look at our life and ask if we havelittle things that take our focus away from God. Jesus iscoming soon. He cannot let sinful people into His perfectkingdom. He is the perfect JUDGE of all our life, thoughts,and, heart. It is His blood that makes us clean.

If we are to have power to live our life we need to have a purelife. We need to throw out our idols, we need to catch themice that make us weak.

What mice do you have in your life? Are you ready of Jesus ifHe came for you today?


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Dear God,

I know the small things areproblems. I need your blood to washover me and cleanse me. Only thencan I experience Your power in my

life.

In Jesus Name,Amen


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Thought for the day

God has given useverything we need for a

good life. If we aredisillusioned by the lightsaround us we become fooled

into a false security.


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N is for Night Hawk

Reading

Job 39:1-12

In Africa we used to have night hawks. You could see their redeyes in the headlights of your car.

It is sometimes called a night jar. Maybe because of the shapeand size.

It is called in some translations an owl.

What does the Bible say about this bird? Really very littleexcept you shouldnt eat it.

But if you consider it a hawk then you can find several things.

In Job, which we have read today, we find God challenges Job.The challenge is to consider everything Job can do in his own

power.

Many birds go south for the winter. They dont have a map.They just know where to go.

The night hawk hunts at night. This is the same as Satan.Satan hates the light.

Satan likes it when there is darkness in our life. He has good

night eyes and we get lost very easily.


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The night is when we feel blue or depressed. When we feel likeJob that everything has fallen apart.

The night hawk in the Hebrew means to scratch or tear theface.

I remember when I was younger. I got into a lot of fights. Someof them were with older guys. They were bigger and strongerthan I.

The older ones sometimes lost because they were vulnerableto the scratching I did to their face and eyes. Eyes are

important. Imagine if you had no eyes from today. What wouldyou do?

Eyes are also an important part of scripture. Eyes are aweakness for us. It is through the eyes we sin. We see thingswhich make us covet. We see things that make us unhappy.

Satan wants to scratch and face so that we are unhappy withwho we are. He wants us to be unhappy with the way God

created us. With the problems that He lets us have.

This is where we find Job in these verses.

In reality He lights the way. Night hawks can do nothing in thelight. They cannot hunt or fly or anything. They become theprey.

Today we can find the same things in our lives. When ourrelationship with Jesus Christ is not right, we become dark andgloomy inside.

Satan attacks us so we cant see where Gods light is.

But all is not lost because of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the healerof all those scratches. He is the restorer of the sight lost whenwe sinned.

Today we need to look at our life and see Gods light.


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If you dont see the light, pray. It is only through prayer that wecommunicate with God. It is only through prayer that we have arelationship with God.

Dont be afraid of the night hawk. Accept Jesus as Lord of Yourlife. Let Him heal you from the inside out so you can see againthe beauty of God.

Dear God

Like the owl need to use my eyeswisely. I need your eyes to see intothe darkness, because when there islight Satan cannot have power overme. Heal my hurts that I havegotten. They take away my focusfrom you. Thank you for yourhealing and your light.


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In Jesus NameAmen

Thought for the Day

When we stick our neckout the risk is great. When

we bury it in the sand wecant see the danger whenit comes. By holding our


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head high we can see

danger far away and avoidit.

O is for Ostrich

Reading

Job 39: 13-18

An ostrich is a strange creature. Its long neck with no feathersand long legs make it look different.

Sometimes in the movies the kids will ride them like horses. Sothey are very strong and very fast. They even used thefeathers for ladies hats many years ago.

The ostriches I have found in Korea would not make good hatfeathers. They are dirty and not pretty.

There is also something about ostriches we can find if we ask afew questions to the farmer.

Did you know that if you pick a feather off the wing and chosethe wrong one it would die? Only one feather.

In this passage we find that the ostrich lays its egg and thengoes away. It leaves it unprotected in the sand.

Imagine. What a foolish bird. The ostrich is also known to buryits head in the sand when there is danger. This is not very safe.

The bird that forgets .Now I forget some things. But maybe thatis because I am just an old guy.


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But the ostrich has faith in the shell. The ostrich egg has a verythick shell. Most animals cant break it.

We are the same in many ways. We put our faith in our job orour family. Maybe our Church! We have some money saved forour retirement. We can escape from trouble because we arefast. We can see danger coming because we have a long neck.

But we forget. What do we forget? What did Israel alwaysforget? They forgot how good God was to them. They forgottheir egg and went after other things. They got distracted.

In the New Testament they also got distracted. They got

distracted by the traditions.

But we do the same. Dont we?

Jesus taught that He would come again. He encouraged Hisdisciples to look forward to this moment. It was to be the focusof their life when things got bad.

When things go wrong what do we do? We often go looking for

answers in all the wrong places. When things dont go right westick our head in the sand hoping things will just workthemselves out.

Like the ostrich we put our heads in the sand.

What do we forget?

We forget the promises that God has given us. Promises thatHe will come again to Judge the world.

We remember that there is heaven but forget that there is alsoa hell. We forget that Satans goal is to draw us away fromGods power.

Like the ostrich that goes away and leaves the egg for othersto steal or destroy so easily.

So we have to ask ourselves today, How easy is it to leave the

promises of God behind?


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What draws us away from God?

How easy is it to ignore the fact that Jesus is coming soon?Are we ready or do we just cover our head?Jesus is coming soon. We need to be ready to meet Him. AreYou?

Dear God

Too often I am drawn away fromyou. The pressures of my job andfriends make me less aware of the

danger around me. I often hide myhead and hope all things will passme by. I forget the promises Youhave given me. Help me to hold my

head high so I can see the danger.When I see the danger help me toclaim victory as You have promisedin Your Word the Bible.


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In Jesus Name

Amen

Thought for the Day

Having the master key isgreat only if you use it tounlock the door. Too often

we break the door or poutand complain outside it.


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P is for Partridge.

Readng

Jeremiah 17:7-14

Do you know what season we sing about a partridge?

Christmas!

We sing the 12 days of Christmas song and there is a partridgein a pear tree. What is it doing in the pear tree?

Have you ever chased a partridge? You can do it. In bible

times they would chase it and then they would hit it with sticks.

The partridge is a funny bird. It does funny things. IT wont flyunless it has to. It will run as fast as it can and only fly ifsurprised.

A missionary did catch one in real life.

In Jeremiah God condemns those who rely on man for things.

Or those who have got rich through using others.

We also find a great verse to memorize. Jeremiah 17:11

The partridge does something that may sound really silly. Theysit on eggs that arent theirs and they dont hatch.

This is the same as the riches of those who used others.


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The partridge that really are useless. The one makes it easy tocatch, the other he spends his time waiting for something thatwill never happen. That is to have little partridges.

We do the same things sometimes.

We depend on others to bring happiness and peace to ourhearts. We try hard to get salvation. We wait for something tohappen in our life.

God says that He brought the Israelites into captivity becausethey had other gods and idols.

They had worshipped other gods hoping to get victory as anation. But they like the partridge waited for nothing.

We also like to run away when we have some trouble.

Where do we run when we have trouble? Maybe we run to ourparents and our parents run to their family and on and on.

Maybe we run to the pastor who can offer a prayer for us.

Maybe we run to our friends or to the bank.

When we run we find ourselves with too much stress andfrustration. We find we have a lot of anger and in the end tootired to fight.

What do we wait for? We wait for blessings in our life. We waitfor direction and get lost. We sit on our eggs for nothing.

God has offered us an answer.

Run first to God. He is the first person we pray for and then werun around trying to do it our way.

Run first to God. Jeremiah 17:7 Blessed is the man who hastrusted in Jehovah. .. He will be like the tree planted by theriver. Peaceful and strong.

Run to God and relax.


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I dont always go to God first. I pray a lot and I am sometimesimpatient. I run when I should let God protect me.

But if we run to God first, if we let God do His job, we findourselves in victory.

Where do you run first?What are you waiting for?

Dear God,

Too often I depend on my walletand my plan to get me through. Iget stressed because I dont dependon you. Help me to run to You first

and then my understanding. Helpme to not wait but run to Youbefore trouble comes to my door.

In Jesus Name


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Amen

Thought for the Day

There are more people whodie of overweight diseases

than starving. Complainingis more often not our lackof things but lack of

equality with our neighbor.


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Q is for Quail

Reading

Exodus 16:11-18Numbers 11:1-15 Read This one

If you could have one food for a month what would it be?

Only one food every day. You get it in the morning and if youtake too much it goes rotten.

This is where Israel found itself.

Quail is found in two places in the Bible. In this passage and inNumbers 11. We find that the people complained about whatGod had given them. They were in the desert. Theycomplained that they didnt have enough.

In Numbers we find the people doing the same thing.

In Exodus they were in the wilderness of Sin. In Numbers theywere in the place called Graves of Lust.

Now the quail is a normal bird. It migrates with the season. Butwhen God sent them to Israel they came every day. Therewere so many you could easily catch them.

In Korea you eat quail eggs. Just another small chicken egg.But to God quail was sent to do two things.


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The first was to satisfy the peoples hunger.

The second was to demonstrate the terrible sin of complaining.

The first was soon after the miracle of escaping Egypt. Thepeople had given up all their good food and hard work to eatmanna.

They had their freedom and were going to the promised land.But they didnt like the road there.The second was to give them THEIR desire and then

Then when they had eaten all they could eat it became a

disease to them.

What can we learn from the quail?

Well first of all we learn that Israel got quail because God caredfor them. He knew the road to the promised land would be hardand dry sometimes.

In Numbers 11 we find that God was tired of His people

complaining and gave them so much they got sick.

In both places Sin and Graves of Lust. Arent they both sin?

Have you ever had too much of a good thing?

Sometimes we have so many blessings that we complain. Godgives us everything but we are not satisfied.

What would it take to satisfy you? What can God give you tomake you happy?

When we are in the wilderness we look at other people aroundus. Their success and their bank account.

We forget about the goodness of God. About the promisedland that we are going to.


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Are you wandering around the wilderness? Complaining thatGod doesnt give you enough or do enough?

God wants to give you the desires of your heart. Psa 37:4 Anddelight yourself in Jehovah, that He may give you yourheart's desire.

Lets stop complaining lets enjoy what God has brought uslooking at the Promised Land. The promise of Easter.

Dear God

I complain too much. I dont see yourblessing in what you have given me.I give my desire to You so that Ican enjoy the blessing You want togive me.

In Jesus NameAmen


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Thought for the Day

We like to be tough. It isour way of protectingourselves. When we areRam tough we let Godtake care of us and nothurt thosearound us.


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R is for RAM

Reading

Genesis 22: 1-13

Ram is the father of Lamb. Do you remember what wasimportant about LAMB?

Lamb was a reference to Christ, the LAMB of God who takes

away the sin of the world.

Ram is so different. Have you ever tried to wrestle with aLamb? It can be difficult but you can usually win.

A Ram on the other hand is much more mature. It is a symbolof strength. Dodge, the American Truck Company likes to put iton their trucks, to show how tough they are.

Rams were different than many other sacrifices. It is alsoimportant that God provided a Ram not a Lamb for Abraham.

It is important because for Abraham the Ram was a sacrifice ofconsecration.

That is a big word. Consecration means that there is acommitment to something. A promise to be pure and holy. Notonly for a day or two but for the rest of your life.


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Of course we cannot keep our promise. But in the oldtestament it was the Ram that was significant. A symbol ofpower.

The bull sacrifice was for sin. The Ram was a sacrifice of purity.

Now imagine the word Ram as power. When Abraham wasputting Isaac on the altar, there may have been manyquestions he had. He had the power to control Isaacs behavior.He could have had pride that he did what God had told him todo.

But to Abraham and Israel as a nation the Ram was a symbol

of mans power. Mans will to become obedient to God.

This is why the sacrifice of a Ram was so important.

In the Old Testament the Ram was to have the priests handsput on his head. A sign of acceptance by God. The priestwould look at the animal and see if it ok. Then there would bethe sacrifice and a commitment to be obedient.

As we look at the Bible we find this theme over and over again.The Ram fights for his territory, but otherwise he is a gentleguy. The Lamb didnt fight at all. He was silent.

We are like the Ram very often. We fight for our rights. Wefight because we know best. We fight because we are proud.We are stubborn. We like the power of the Ram.

In Daniel we also find a Ram. The Ram was talking about aproud nation. But this nation would fall in the end.

In todays world we find countries that are Rams. We findourselves being like Rams.

But there is one thing that we find hard to do. When we praywe find it hard to put the ram on the altar.

We like to put the bull of sin offering on the altar. Confessionour sin is a great thing. It is cleansing.


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But the Ram is hard. It is the consecration sacrifice. Acommitment to set ourselves apart form the world and betotally obedient to GOD. It is this sacrifice that we must work on.

When we pray it is a key to power. With purity we find blessingfor sure. With consecration we find total victory and protection.Today I want to ask you and myself the same question.

Are we a consecrated people, or do we focus just on the sinoffering?

Is our commitment to Jesus 100% all the time. or do we say ithalf heartedly?

Dear God

I give my tithe every month. I liketo keep some for myself. I know

that is selfish. I want to give YouALL that I have so that you canmultiply it and bring glory toYourself through me.


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In Jesus Name

Amen

Thought for the Day

Each bad thing in our lifecomes from an egg. The life

cycle of the egg is


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determined by us. We must

determine the nature of theegg before we nurture it.

Serpent or Servant

Reading

Psalm 91:1-14

Snakes and serpents are always a little creepy. They aredangerous and scary.

In the bible we find the serpent as Satan the fallen angel. Thedeceiver in Genesis and Revelation. But they are not alwaysdangerous. Remember when Israel was in the desert and theycomplained about the food.

We heard that story last Sunday. Well God sent serpents tobite the people. But when they cried for help and forgivenessGod told Moses to put up a serpent which had the healingpower for them.

What can we know about snakes from the Bible?

First that they are poisonous and dangerous. This we find inNumbers and in Acts when Paul was bit by one.


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Second that they deceive people. This is what happened toEve. But she was not the only one. The whole world wasdeceived.

In John we find that the Serpent was a symbol of the ServantJesus Christ. Lets read it together. The servant serpentovercame the deceiver serpent.

John 3:14 And even as Moses lifted up the serpent in thewilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

I like this Psalm. (Psalm 91) The Book of Psalms is such agreat book to read and memorize. This Psalm is all about the

Serpent and the Servant. Gods protection of those who dwellin His shelter. Imagine not having anything happen to you asyour friends struggle. Nobody would want this to happen but itdoes. Many times we look for martyrs for our faith. We want tosacrifice everything.

Easter season is about this sacrifice. It is about the deceiverserpent who wanted to destroy the creation of God from thebeginning and about Jesus being in the shelter of His Father

God.

We look so often at only the sacrifice and forget about theblessing of the shelter of God.

We look at the serpent who deceives and not the servant whoheals.

Lets look at what the psalmist says about how powerful we arewhen we focus on the servant not the serpent People will fallaround us and we wont get hurt. We will see the wicked suffer.

We dont have to be scared at night or when we cant see anylight on our path. He will command His angels to protect you.You will tread on the Lion and the Cobra.

Job thought that too. But in the end God doubled what Satanhad taken away. Today the question for us is what are welooking at?


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Are we scared we are going to be bitten by the snake?Deceived by the serpent?

The Apostle Paul was worried for the Christians. He knew thatmany of them were weak. He knew many of them would betempted to go other directions. It is so easy to follow theserpent. It is so easy to complain. But it is only when we are inthe shelter of the Almighty God that we are powerful.

It is only when we are focusing on the servant that we arehealed.

Let us look at the Servant this year.

Let us become powerful in our lives because we live in theshadow and protection of God.

Dear God,

I am wrong so often in the eggs Ikeep because I can not see inside. Icomplain too easily. I want to be aSERVANT for You, not a SERPENTto those around me. I give my lifeto You. Protect me form the


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Serpent who wants to take Your joy

and power from me.In Jesus Name

Amen

Thought for the Day

The guide in our life willbring us to power. If wechoose to follow fashion it

will bring us attention for


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a moment. If we choose the

Holy Spirit we will live alife of honor and powerforever. It is our choice.

T is for Turtle Dove

Reading

Luke 2: 21-35

There are so many kinds of doves. But they are not always

nice. In the big city they can make your car dirty. They getunder your feet when you want to walk across the park whereeverybody feeds them. But they were one of the two birds thatwere allowed to be sacrificed.

But what is it about the dove that is so important?

The dove is gentle and soft. Have you ever held one in yourhand?

They also make a soft noise in the morning. We used to callthem mourning doves because of their sound.

Do you know who is like a Dove?

Think for a moment. There was a speaking dove in the Bible.We use the dove to represent the Holy Spirit.

Lets look at this idea for a moment.


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The Holy Spirit is a dove. What is Jesus?

Jesus is the Lamb!

What is God then? God is the King of Kings.

But each animal has its place. The role of the Holy Spirit is tolet us know when we are doing something bad.

We often think that the Spirit is just about sin and conviction ofsin. But really He does other things. HE makes us feeluncomfortable if we are approaching danger to sin. He makes

us feel bad if we are going in the wrong direction when wewant to go in the right direction.So the Holy Spirit is our spiritual guide.

How does He guide us?

First He guides us with gentleness. His job is not to force us todo something. Rather He is a gentle guide. If we dont listen toHim we get lost.

When we get lost we dont lose Him but His gentleness. Wefind ourselves with short term happiness and emptiness.

We pray for help but refuse to listen. We ignore His gentleness

Doves represent Peace in our world today. It is the Peace thatwe all want in life, the inner peace . So how can we apply turtledove to our life today.

Remember how we love to be Ram tough?

Well, in our spiritual life we need to be like a turtle dove. Whenwe are like a turtle dove we let the Holy Spirit control our life.We allow the Lamb of God to keep us clean through His bloodwhich He shed for us.

When our friends get stressed we have PEACE.

So why are you not a turtle dove? Is there any good reason?


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Dear God

I am slow to change. I know thatYou want to make me a betterimage of who You are to the world.Change me into the image of Yourpower and grace.


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In Jesus NameAmen

Thought for the Day

God made me different soHe could communicate withme. I am special to Him. He


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gave me the Holy Spirit so I

would never be alone.

U is for Unicorn

Reading

Psalm 22:12-25

Most of the time when we think of Unicorn we think of thehorse with the horn. It is from the myths of Greek.

In real life we find the unicorn as a narwhale. But in Bible timesthe unicorn (as translated in the King James Version) is thesame as a wild bull.

A unicorn is a good animal for us. In the myth of Greek theHorse with the horn and wings is so beautiful.

The narwhale is really an odd fish. In this Psalm we find a lot ofthings which are similar to those found at the crucifixion ofChrist.

What happened at this important time in the life of Jesus?

Now this Psalm is written many years before Jesus came tothis world. But it is like a prophecy of this special time.


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Sometimes people wonder if Jesus feels like we feel. He wasperfect and we are not.

But the struggle from the beginning is the same. That isobedience in the face of trouble. Jesus has to face this problemfrom Satan when He first started Ministry. When He wascrucified He also struggled.

This Psalm shows us the feelings of this obedient act.

People accused Him.People Spat at Him.People made fun of Him.

People wanted Him to rescue Himself.It was like nobody understood His problem or struggle.

Have you ever felt this way?

I have many times. But in this Psalm we find something veryfantastic. The Psalm writer writes My praise shall be of You.

The confidence that being obedient gives you. But not only for

me, it is also for other people. Our obedience in the face ofstruggle gives us confidence in the power of our Salvation.

We are strong headed. We are stubborn as the wild ox. Wewant to do our own thing like the Unicorn. But when we cut offthe horn and submit to Jesus we find that obedience will affectnot only us but all those around us.

We can change our world ONLY by being obedient to Jesus.He sacrificed His life for you.


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Dear God

Nobody really knows my heart. I hideit from the world. I know only You

know it. . I am unique because Youmade me different than all the rest.Search my heart an cleanse me fromall my sin


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In Jesus Name

Amen

Thought for the Day

For every mistake there issomeone to take advantageof it. For every triumph

there are even morecomplainers. To rise abovethese we need to grasp lifewith our heart and soul, of


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Dear God

I am weak and the Vultures waitfor me. Everywhere I turn I see them.Their shadows haunt me. Put Your


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protection around me so that I can

rest and renew my strength.

In Jesus NameAmen

Thought for the Day

Worms can be delicious if

you are hungry. They canoffer nutrition in a poordiet. They can destroysomething good. Look at


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your diet in life. Look at the

destruction one sin can doin your life and diet. To getrid of the worm we lose

half the apple. Let God takecare of the worm and gaina second apple.

W is for Worm

Reading

Mark 9:40-48 reading

where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched."Isa. 66:24

Do you like worms?

Especially worms in your apple or pear?

Last Saturday during baseball there was a caterpillar on theground. A little girl got very excited about it. She tried to kill itbut only cut it in half. I pushed it over the edge of the step andinto the water. But it just wouldnt die.

Worms are good insects, and worms are bad insects.


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The good is that worms give oxygen to plants. They makefertilizer for the soil. The caterpillar is nice too. From thecaterpillar comes the butterfly and the moth.

The grub is good for food. But not all caterpillars are good. Thetent caterpillar makes a tent which kills the leaves of the treesand then the tree because the tree cant breath.

The cutworms that eat the roots of the crops that the farmerplants ruining the field. There is even wormwood.

The worm in the Bible is not referred to as a positive. Wormsare slow to move. They like to eat dead things a lot. Or like

the apple they eat good things and make them bad.

Let us look at the scripture today. Worm is mentioned in thesame context of hell. Hell a place where there is no death justhell.

Do you think of heaven and hell much?Probably not.

Hell is not something any person likes to think about. Somepeople dont believe there is one. But lets look at the wormand how easy it is to kill it.

If you look at a plant and you get worms you can poison thembut it kills the plants.

You can use some old methods but its hard to destroy themwithout hurting other things. You can cut the worm out of theapple but then you dont want to eat the apple.

We find the worm is referred to as you and I. We feel likeworms sometimes.

Ps 22: 6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, anddespised of the people. 7 All they that see me laugh me toscorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 8 Hetrusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver

him, seeing he delighted in him.


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Worms dont get respect. As Christians we sometimes feel likeGod doesnt listen to us. We find our friends laughing at usbecause we do things different. We trust in the Lord but we stilldont do well on the test or our business.

Worms in Hell never die. Worms which go to heaven becomebutterflies.

We do trust in God for everything as Christians. We feel likeworms sometimes. But God wants to make us butterflies. Themost beautiful peaceful, powerful, and confidence.

What kind of worm are you?

Dear God

I have a worm in my life. It iseating at my heart and my soul. Itis destroying my life. Please take

this worm and make it into a life


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of beauty. Restore what has been

destroyed for Your glory.In Jesus Name

Amen

Thought for the Day

We cherish old things

because of sentiment. Weworry about the thingsaround us but not those

things inside of us. When


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the fire is out we think

they are extinct, only to berekindled. God makes oursin extinct NEVER to be

remembered. Ask Him to dothis for you today.

X is for Xenarthra

Reaidng

Matthew 25:24-33

Family of Xenarthra This includes the sloth. X is also for extinct.Now the work Xenarthra is not in the Bible. It is a family namefor the sloth and the antea

Animals of the Bible A-Z

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Transcript of Animals of the Bible A-Z