Christmas Countdown - Dec 20

The Lost Sheep (Lk 15:3-7 / Mt 18:11-14)

Jesus told a story one day about how much He loves each person on earth.  Here is that story:

A certain man had 100 sheep.  One of them wandered away and got lost.  The Shepherd made sure that the 99 sheep were safe and secure, and then He went looking for His lost sheep.  He searched high and low, climbed mountainous areas and hiked through deep valleys.  He searched and searched until He found His little lost lamb. He was SO happy to find that sheep.  He carried it all the way back to where the other 99 sheep were waiting, and then He called His friends together and said "Let's celebrate!  My sheep was lost, and now he is found!"  

Jesus said, "That is how it is with each person.  There is much celebrating and joy in heaven each time a person comes to Me - they were lost, but now they are found, and belong with Me."

(the link to the full post is:  http://elizabethtreger.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-20.html)

Christmas Countdown - Dec 19

^{I Am the Light of the World}

^{"Then Jesus spoke to them . . .saying, 'I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.'" (John 8:12)} 

^{This is a wonderful truth that Jesus tells us - He is light!  Sometimes I am afraid of the dark.  I can imagine all kinds of scary things.  When I pray to Jesus He helps me remember that He is right here with me.  When I close my eyes to pray, I can see His light in my mind.  Knowing Jesus is light and He is with me helps me not to be afraid.  Even when I lay down in my bed at night and see the darkness, it is not dark to Jesus.  He can see everything just as clearly as if it were day.  That makes me feel brave.}

^{Sometimes things happen to me that make me feel sad or bad.  People can be unkind, or I might fall off of my bike and get hurt.  When I talk to Jesus about how I feel, He understands me.  He shines His light around me, and I don't feel so sad or bad.  It helps me to know that Jesus is with me, that He knows how to help me, and that He will stay with me no matter where I go.}  

^{(the link to the full post is:  http://elizabethtreger.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-19.html)} 

Christmas Countdown - Dec 18

The Unforgiving Servant  (Matt 18:21-35)

Peter asked Jesus a question one day:  "How many times do I have to forgive someone, Jesus?"  Jesus answered by telling him a story.  

There was a man who owed the king a great deal of money, like the huge pile of gold coins above.  He didn't have the money to give the king, and he begged him to have mercy on him, to give him time to repay him.  He asked him to let him repay him little by little until it was all paid back.  The king felt sorry for the man, and decided that he would forgive the debt - this meant that the man didn't have to repay it at all!  The man could hardly believe it!  He walked out of the king's palace as a free man!

But then he spotted a man who owed him a little amount of money.  Suddenly, all he could think of was wanting that man to pay him back!  The man begged him to give him some time, that he would repay him little by little until it was all paid back.  But the first man wouldn't hear of it - he demanded that the man be arrested and thrown into jail.

When the king heard about this, he was furious!  He had the first man brought to him.  "I forgave you the HUGE debt that you owed me, but you would not forgive this other man the little bit he owed you.  You are an ungrateful, unforgiving man.  Now YOU will work for me in jail until you have repaid all that you owe me!"

Jesus' message to Peter was clear:  You want God to forgive you for the wrong things that you have done.  God will forgive you because you believe in Me.  But My Father expects you to forgive other people for the wrong things that they do."

Is there someone that you need to forgive?  You don't need to wait for them to say that they are sorry - you can forgive them today.

(the link to the full post is:  http://elizabethtreger.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-18.html) 

Christmas Countdown - Dec 17

Jesus Heals 10 Lepers  (Luke 17:11)

Jesus was walking toward the city one day, and ten men were gathered a ways off by the road He was walking on.  They had a disease called leprosy, and they had to live far away from other people, so that others would not catch the disease.  When they saw Him, they cried out, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"  Jesus saw them and answered, "Go, show yourselves to the priests."  And as they started walking toward the temple where the priests were, they were healed!  One man, when he saw that he was healed, turned around and ran back to Jesus, falling at His feet, praising God and saying "Thank You" over and over again. Jesus said, "Where are the other nine men?  Weren't there ten men who were healed?"  Then he said to the man who came back, "Arise and go your way.  Your faith has made you well."

All ten of the men were healed - and they were SO happy!!!  Now they could go home to their families and live in their towns again.  They were glad that they were healed.  But only ONE man recognized that it was God who had healed him, and went back to worship and thank Him.  Jesus told that man that His faith had made him well.  

All the men had their bodies healed, but only the One who recognized Jesus as God was healed inside, where no one but God could see.  God does many good things for us - He gives us air to breathe, and food to eat, a family to love and care for us, the sun in the sky to keep us warm - but He wants us to love Him for who He is, not just for what He does for us.  The man who came back knew that it was great to be healed, but it was even greater to have met Jesus, God Himself!  

(the link to the full post is: http://elizabethtreger.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-17.html)

 

Christmas Countdown - Dec 16

I Am the Door  (John 10:9)

Jesus knows that it can be hard for us to understand Him.  God is very different from us.  So He uses words as pictures to help us understand.  Jesus said "I am the door.  If anyone enters by me, he will be saved."  What does Jesus mean?

Opening a door and stepping through a doorway takes us from one room to another, or from one place to another.  You stand in the hallway, open the door, walk through the doorway and now you are in your room.  Jesus knew that we would understand about doors.  

He tells us that He is the door - on one side of the door is being away from God.  On the other side of the door is being with God.  Jesus is the door that leads to God.  When we believe in Him, we go through Him as the door and then we belong to God - we become God's child, and God promises to be with us always.

(to link to the full post is:  http://elizabethtreger.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-16_17.html)

 

Christmas Countdown - Dec 15

 Little is Much When God Is In It  (Mark 6:30-44)

Today's story is about a miracle that Jesus performed.  Many people wanted to hear Jesus talk, and they would gather around wherever He was to hear what He would say.  One day, Jesus had been teaching them all day long, and it was getting to be dinner time.  His disciples told Him to send the people away so that they could each go buy themselves something to eat.  Jesus said "You feed them."  His disciples were shocked!  There were at least 5000 men, along with their wives and children!  They told Jesus they didn't have enough food for all these people.

Jesus said, "What do you have?  Bring it to Me."  The disciples brought Him what they had:  five loaves of bread and two fish.  Jesus told them to have all the people sit down in groups.  Then He took the bread and the fish in His hands, raised them up to heaven and prayed.  He broke the bread and the fish apart and began handing the pieces to His disciples to give to the people.  Guess what?!!!  The pieces just kept coming and coming and coming!  All the people got to eat bread and fish until they were full, and after that, the disciples gathered up 12 baskets of leftover bread and fish!!!   Only God could do a miracle like that!

Sometimes God will ask you to do something, and you will think it is too big of a job, or too hard, or just something that you cannot do.  Jesus performed this miracle so that all the people would have food that day.  He also performed it so that you and I would know that even when we think we can't do something, God can!  

(the link to the full post is: http://elizabethtreger.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-15.html)

Christmas Countdown - Dec 14

God will take care of you!  (Matt 6:24-34, Matt10:28-31)

Jesus knows that we need food and water, clothes to wear and a place to live and sleep.  Some people spend a lot of time thinking about those things - we call that worrying.  Jesus does not want you to worry.  He wants you to trust God to take care of you.

Jesus tells us "Look at the birds of the air;  they don't plant seeds to grow their own food - your heavenly Father, God, feeds them.  And God knows where each bird is, all the time.  You are much more valuable than a bird - if God is so aware of what each bird needs, how much more aware do you think He is of what you need?"

God loves you very much, and He is watching out for you all the time.  He will make sure that you have everything that you need.  He is always with you, taking care of you.

(the link for the full post is:  http://elizabethtreger.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-14.html)

 

Christmas Countdown - Dec 13

 The Wise and the Foolish Builders  (Matt 7:24-27)

Jesus told a wonderful story:  Whoever hears what I say to do and does it, he is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rains came down and the floods came up, the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, for it was built on the rock.  But whoever hears what I say to do and does NOT do it, he is like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.  The rains came down and the floods came up, the winds blew and beat on that house, it fell down with a mighty crash.

You have played in the sand before:  it can be scooped up and shaped into all kinds of shapes - but when waves come in and wash over the shore, they flatten out whatever you built.  Sand is always changing with the movement of waves, rain and wind.  People's ideas are like that too - one day lots of people think one thing, and the next day they think something completely different.  They change.  If you try to do things the way other people say you should, they may tell you something completely different tomorrow.

But Jesus is like the rock - rock is strong and hard, and it doesn't change.  It is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.  You can build on the rock and know that it will be steady.  When Jesus says something, He means it - He won't change His mind and tell us something else tomorrow.  He wants us to hear Him and then do what we heard Him say.  He knows that we can't do the things He wants us to do on our own, so He tells us to stay close to Him and ask Him to help us do what is right.  

(the link to the full post is:  http://elizabethtreger.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-13.html)

 

Christmas Countdown - Dec 12

 

I Am the Bread of Life

Jesus tells us "I Am the Bread of Life.  He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."  That is worth talking about, because you and I still wake up hungry for breakfast and thirsty for a drink, even though we believe in Jesus - so what does He mean?  

Jesus knows that we need to eat food, like bread, in order to grow and have a healthy body.  He knows that we like food, and we think about food a lot.  He knows that many of us are used to eating breakfast, lunch, dinner and even some snacks in between!  He knows that food is important to our body.

When He says "I Am the Bread of Life", He wants us to know that we need Him every day, all throughout the day, if we are going to grow and have a healthy soul - our soul is who we are, and our soul lives inside our body.  Jesus means that believing in Him, and talking with Him feeds our soul, and makes us grow strong inside.  Whenever we hear stories from the Bible, that is like eating food for our soul.  Whenever we pray and talk to Jesus, that is also like food for our soul.

Jesus promises that if you believe in Him and come to Him your soul will never be hungry or thirsty.  I am glad that Jesus says "I Am the Bread of Life"!

(the link to the full post is:  http://elizabethtreger.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-12.html) 

Christmas Countdown - Dec 11

The Draught of Fish  (Luke 5:1-11)

Peter was a fishermen.  He had been fishing since he was a boy.  He was really good at fishing.  One night, even though he had fished all night long, he didn't catch ANY fish!  He brought his boat in to shore and was washing out his nets.  Jesus got into Peter's boat, and told him to row out to the deep water.  Then He told Peter to let down his nets.  Peter told Jesus, "We have just spent the whole night fishing, and we didn't catch anything!  But if You want me to let down the nets, then I will."  Peter did, and suddenly they were FILLED with fish!  There were so many fish that when Peter started to pull the nets into the boat, the nets started to break!  Only God could have done a miracle like this!  Peter knelt down before Jesus right there in his boat!  Jesus told Peter to follow Him; He would teach Peter many things, and then Peter would tell people about Jesus.  And Peter did.

(link to the full post: http://elizabethtreger.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-11.html)

Christmas Countdown - Dec 10

The Mustard Seed

The mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds on earth, but it grows into a great tree.  It grows quickly too.  Jesus said that if we have faith as big as a little mustard seed, we can do mighty things for God.  Faith means believing what God says is true.  

God is very powerful.  He can do anything.  If I really believe that, then I can do the things God wants me to do, because He will use His strength and His power to help me.  Some things God wants us to do are to be kind, to listen to people, to tell the truth, to obey our mom and dad, to help others and to be a good friend.  Most of all, God wants us to love Him and talk to Him about everything in our life.  He will help us to do whatever we have to do each day if we only believe in Him and His power.

(the link to the full post is: http://elizabethtreger.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-10.html)

Christmas Countdown - Dec 9

 I Am the Good Shepherd   (John 10 and Psalm 23)

Jesus told a story about sheep and how they need a shepherd.  Sheep don't know very much about taking care of themselves.  They need help finding food and water, and a safe place to sleep at night.  They will follow each other into trouble if no one stops them.  A shepherd takes care of the sheep.  He knows where to lead them so that they will have plenty to eat, fresh water to drink and a safe place to play during the day and to sleep at night.  He stays with them all the time so that He can protect them if any trouble comes up.  

Jesus said "I am the good shepherd.  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  No one can snatch them out of My hand."  Jesus loves you, and He wants to take care of you, just like a shepherd takes care of his sheep.  He wants you to follow Him as He leads you through your life, learning to be like Him.  He will never leave you, and no one can take you from Him.  He is a GOOD Shepherd!  

(The link to the full post is: http://elizabethtreger.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-9.html)   

 

Christmas Countdown - Dec 8

Jesus Loves Children, and Children Love Him  (Matt 14:13-15)

Jesus loved to be surrounded by people when He was here on earth.  Many people wanted to see Jesus, and hear what He had to say.  Jesus was happy to meet them and to talk with them.  Moms and Dads wanted to bring their little children to see and hear Jesus too, and they hoped that Jesus would touch their children and pray for them.  But Jesus' special friends, the disciples, thought that children were not very important, and that the Moms and Dads shouldn't be bothering Jesus with their kids.  They told the parents that Jesus was too special to be spending His time with kids.

When Jesus heard the disciples saying this, He told them to stop.  He told them that they were wrong.  He said "Let the little children come to Me!", and the children came running!  Jesus hugged them and talked with them and they smiled and laughed together.  Jesus loves little children, and children love Him.  Jesus loves YOU too, and He is happy when you want to talk to Him, sing songs to Him and hear stories about Him.  He loves to spend time with you!

(The link for the full post is:  http://elizabethtreger.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-8.html)

Christmas Countdown - Dec 7

 

Jesus Stills the Storm

Jesus had been teaching a big crowd of people all day.  He had healed many people and He had fed them too.  He was tired, and ready to take some quiet time away from the crowds.  He told his disciples - the group of men who followed Him - that they would all get into their boat and sail across the lake that night.  Then He lay down in the front of the boat and fell fast asleep.

Suddenly a HUGE storm came up on the water!  The winds were loud and strong and fast!  They pushed and pulled the water into enormous waves that crashed down on the boat, filling it with water.  Even though many of these men were fisherman who had been out in storms before, they were VERY afraid!  They thought their boat would be tipped over, they would be dumped into the water and drown!  They hurried to wake Jesus up!

Jesus had been asleep - He wasn't scared.  He knew that they would be alright.  But He could see that His friends were VERY scared.  So He did something amazing:  He stood up and said to the wind, "Be Quiet!", and to the waves, "Be Still!".  All of a sudden, they were!  The wind stopped immediately, and the water became as still as a sheet of glass.  The disciples couldn't believe what just happened!  "Who is this," they said to each other, "that even the winds and the waves obey Him?"  (Mark 4:34-41)

Jesus is not like anyone else - He is God!  He made the wind and the waves, so of course they listen to Him and do what He says!  He loves us, and He doesn't want us to be afraid, even when scary things are happening around us.  Jesus will never leave you - even if something bad or scary is happening, He will be with you and He will take care of you.  Sometimes He will calm the storm, and sometimes He will let the storms blow but He will calm you.  You can always trust God.  

(Here is the link to the full devotional:  http://elizabethtreger.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-7.html) 

Christmas Countdown - Dec 6

Jesus Sees Me and He Knows Me

Jesus sees you, and He knows you!  He can see you right now, and He can see you even if you hide under the table!  As a matter of fact, Jesus is the one guy that I'd NEVER want to play hide-n-seek with - He'd always win!!!  

Look at the picture of Jesus that a girl named Akiane painted.  She shows His eyes looking right at you.  That is how I picture Jesus too.  The Bible tells us many stories about Jesus and people that He talked to while He was here on earth.  Jesus always paid attention to people when He was talking to them.  He looked at their face, and right into their eyes.  People could see in Jesus' eyes that He cared about them.

Jesus cares about you too!  The Bible tells us that He can see you all the time - when you are sitting down, and when you are standing up.  When you are lying down, and when you are walking around.  He knows what you are thinking, and what you are about to say, even before you say it!  And He loves you SOOOOOOOO much!  (Psalm 139:1-3)

When you are praying to Jesus, go ahead and tell Him everything you are thinking and feeling, because He knows and understands you.  He loves you and wants to help you with everything in your life.  

(The link for the full post is:  http://elizabethtreger.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-6.html)

Christmas Countdown - Dec 5

The Greatest Command is LOVE

One day a man asked Jesus "What is the MOST important thing God wants me to do?"  That's a good question!  I want to do what God wants me to do, and I'll bet that you do to!

Jesus answered "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  Then, love your neighbor as yourself.  If you do this, you will be doing everything God wants you to do."  (Matt 22:35-40) 

Love is not some gushy feeling - though when we love people, we usually do feel good when we think about them and are with them.  Love is about what we DO.  Loving God means that I think about Him, and I ask Him to help me do the things that He wants me to do, like obey my Mom and Dad, speak kindly, share my toys and always tell the truth.  When we do what God tells us to do, we are showing Him that we love Him.  When we love God, He helps us want to love other people too.

Sometimes it is hard to know how to love other people.  Jesus said "Treat other people the way you would like them to treat you."  That makes it pretty simple.  Before I say or do something, I can ask myself "Would I like them to say or do that to me?"  I'm glad Jesus told us that!  (Luke 6:31)

He said another thing about love.  Jesus said that He wants us to love other people the way He loves us.  If we do that, they will know that we are following Him.  (John 13:34,35)  I love Jesus, and I want other people to know Him and love Him too.  When I think about how much Jesus loves me, I want to love other people like that.  Jesus is kind and gentle, patient and forgiving.   

"Dear Jesus - thank You for loving me so much!  Help me to love other people the way You love me, and to treat them like I want to be treated.  Amen." 

(Here is the link to the full devotional:  http://elizabethtreger1.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-5.html) 

Christmas Countdown - Dec 4

God is All-Powerful

Today we are going to think about how powerful God is.  In the Bible, God says: "Behold, I am the Lord . . . is there anything too hard for Me?"  (Jer 32:26)  Nothing is too hard for God.  He can do anything!  He is stronger than anybody, and He always does what is right.  We can be very brave and sure because our God is so strong!  Even though we are small, and not very strong, and sometimes we are afraid, we can count on God to take care of us because He is so powerful.
  
God says:  "Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know."  (Jer 33:3)  When I am afraid, or need help, or don't know what to do, I call out to God and ask Him to help me.  You can call out to God too.  Sometimes He will answer you right away.  He might give you a new idea about how to do something.  He might have your Mom or Dad help you.  He might give you the courage to try again at something that is hard for you to do.

Sometimes God doesn't seem to answer right away;  then we can keep praying, and watch for how He will answer us.  He promises that He hears us and will answer . . . sometimes it is right away, and sometime it takes some time, but God always keeps His promises.  

(Link for the full devotional:  http://elizabethtreger.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-4.html)

Christmas Countdown - Dec 3

Jesus is Baptized

John the Baptist was a special man with a special job.  God told him to tell the people that Jesus, the Messiah was coming.  God wanted John to tell the people that they should be sorry for their sins, and to turn to God and follow Him.  As a sign of this decision, John would baptize the people;  this meant that he would support their backs while they leaned back into the water of the lake and came back up again, showing that they wanted to follow God and obey Him.When Jesus was a grown up man, He came to John the Baptist one day to be baptized Himself.  Jesus had never sinned, but He wanted to be baptized to show us how God wants His followers to obey Him.

The Bible tells us:  "When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.  And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' "   Matt 3:16,17

I wish I could have been there that day to see the dove and hear God's voice!  How exciting that must have been!  It is still exciting today to think about it!

Lord Jesus, thank You for coming to earth and living among us, and showing us by Your example how You want us to live.  Help me to listen to You more and more, through Your word and Your Spirit.  I love you!

(Here is the link to the longer post:  http://elizabethtreger.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-3.html)

Christmas Countdown - Dec 2

"Mary - you shall have a Son"

God had wonderful news - He was getting ready to send Jesus to our world!  He sent a special angel, named Gabriel, to tell Mary that she would have a baby.  Gabriel said, "God has a special plan for you, Mary.  You will have a baby boy, and you will call Him Jesus.  He will be great, the Son of God.  He will be a King forever."  (Luke 1:30-33)

Jesus was not just a regular baby.  Mary would be His mother, but His Father is God.  Jesus is God, and He would grow up and teach people about what God is like.  He would tell people that God is with them all the time, and that He was going to make a way for people to become God's children.

Mary was excited to hear this, even though she hadn't expected to have a baby.  She trusted God to know what was best.  She believed that God would make all of this happen just as the angel said.  

So Mary answered, "Here I am.  Let this baby come, just as God says."

Mary had to wait for Jesus, just as all mommies wait for their babies to be ready to be born.  We celebrate Jesus' birthday on Christmas day.  We are waiting right now for Christmas - it is exciting to celebrate the day that Jesus was born!  

(Here is the link to the full devotional for Day 2:  http://elizabethtreger.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-2.html)

Christmas Countdown - Dec 1

God is Eternal

One great, true thing about God that is very different from you and me is that God is Eternal.  This means that He has no beginning, and He has no end.  We each have a birthday - and we celebrate our beginning, when we were born.  Christmas is when we celebrate Jesus' birthday - when He came to earth as a baby.  But Jesus is very different from you and me.  He is God.  He has been alive forever, and He always will be alive.  He came to earth in the body of a baby, and grew up just like you are growing up.  But before that, He was already alive, because Jesus is God.  

This ring in the picture has no beginning and no end.  It helps us to think about God - He has no beginning and no end.  Jesus is forever!

(Allow your child to handle a ring, and talk about how it goes on without a beginning or an end.  Using your hands, stretch out your left while saying "Jesus goes back in time forever" and stretch out your right saying "Jesus goes on ahead in time forever."  Jesus never ends!)

 
Revelation 1:8  “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “Who is and Who was and Who is to come, the Almighty.”  

*You can read the fuller, companion version of this post here:  http://elizabethtreger.blogspot.com/2014/11/christmas-countdown-dec-1.html 

Thinking About Those Kids . . .

I am going to run a second blog concurrent with the first - this one: Life As I See It (With Kids), will take the main point of the holiday posts and simplify them for you to share with your kids.  

Having two married daughters with their own homes, a pre-teen, teen and young adult in our home, and three grandchildren to love on brings many opportunities to share faith - and no season is so rich as the holidays with truths I'd like them to mull over and consider for themselves.

These posts will be short and sweet, include a verse for sharing, a 10-word truth statement (thanks for the training, BSF!), and a passage to look up, read and discuss with older kids should you choose.

For today, let's end with this:  Proverbs 22:6  "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."