If you won the top prize in a talent show or beauty pageant, it would be easy to believe that God was blessing you. But suppose you didn’t win. Suppose you didn’t even come in second or third place. What then? Could God still be blessing you?
Romans 8:28 says “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (NIV)
Does this make you feel happy or sad? Let’s think about it for a few minutes. Do you think God loves only the winners? I don’t think that for a moment. Can everyone win? That isn’t possible.
But what good can come out of losing? A lot. We may just need to practice more. If we didn’t do our best and still won, we wouldn’t try as hard next time.
Maybe God is more interested in your heart and your ability to comfort others than in your ability to sing or dance or perform on a stage. Maybe he knows that learning how to lose well will help you comfort a friend when they lose another time.
Dear Jesus, help us to remember that you always love us. Help us to feel your love, even when we are having a bad day. Remind us that you can make everything work out to help us be better people. We love you, Jesus. Amen
Copyright © 2008 by Janice Green
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
Categories: Bible · kids
Question: We are learning a lot about the history of African-Americans at my school, especially during the month of February. Were there slaves in the Bible times? What does the Bible say about Slavery?
What about it? There were slaves in the Bible, but slavery has never been considered a good thing. There were times when following a war the side that lost were forced to serve the side which won. Sometimes a person was forced into slavery because of a debt he could not pay. When this happened he could offer himself (or members of his family) as payment of the debt. That meant he must serve the man he owed the debt by doing whatever the man asked.
The Israelites became slaves in Egypt, though it didn’t start out that way. They became more and more miserable and they cried out to God to deliver them. God did rescue the Israelites. You can read this story in the book of Exodus which begins with the harsh treatment of the Israelites and the birth of Moses – the man who eventually led them out of Egypt and their slavery.
Categories: Bible · Egypt · Moses · kids · slaves
Tagged: debt
February 3, 2008 · 1 Comment
Hi kids,
I just started this blog today, so there isn’t much up so far. Click on the words “About Janice Green” at the top of the screen to learn a little about me and what I think about reading the Bible.
I’ve started writing about a heavy topic for you. It is about slavery in the Bible. I want it to be just right, and I won’t post it until it is. (Kinda like making sure your report is just right before giving it to your teacher.)
Be sure to ask questions about the things I post or just plain new questions. I’m game to try just about anything.
Categories: Uncategorized
