LivethruJesus

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When Ruth married her husband, she joined herself to his family and his God. Even after his death, she refused to leave either. Her sister-in-law reluctantly went back home, but Ruth knew there was nothing left in Moab to go back to. So, she went to Israel with her mother-in-law, made it her home, and followed their God. Her loyalty and faithfulness to her adopted family and God are a testament to...

After Joshua and his generation died, the people started doing what they thought was right instead of what God said was right. By the end of the book of Judges, one of the tribes committed such a grave sin that the rest of the nation went to war against them. After the war was over, they stopped to contemplate how their country had arrived at this place and how they might preserve the rest of the...

Samson was super strong, but also sort of a bad guy. He had a weakness for women, and he did not follow God’s laws concerning them. But we all have weaknesses, and no one follows God’s laws perfectly. Maybe God used a man whose flaws were so visible, so that we would see God’s power instead of Samson’s, and so we can see that the Lord can use us even though we fail to live up to His standards. We...

Satan tricked Samson into thinking that his temporary situation would be permanent, that he only had two choices, and that God would still give him power if he was no longer dedicated to Him. He does the same thing to us and we can't fall for it. We do not have to choose between being miserable for the rest of our lives or giving into temptation. There is another way. God always provides us with a...

When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, dedicating our lives to Him, then He sends His Spirit to be with us forever. The Holy Spirit came over Samson every time He needed strength, but the Holy Spirit is not with us only when we need Him. He is with us every minute for the rest of our lives, bringing us power too. But not the outward power of Samson, but inward power and ability.

As parents we may begin praying for our children before they’re even born. But are we asking God for what we want or what He wants for them? Do we ask for His guidance from the very beginning or wait until it starts getting hard or we don’t know what to do? Do we dedicate their lives to Him? Are our lives fully dedicated to Him? Do we even think to ask Him what His purposes are for them and how we...

We will often unite against outside forces. But as soon as the threat is over, it seems like we turn our fight inward and begin warring with each other. This weakens any nation, community, family, or church. Without unity we cannot be strong. Diversity is only our strength if we unify. If our differences cause us to be divided, then we will be weak. When Israel no longer faced a threat from withou...

What happens when you open your mouth? Do others benefit from what you say or would it often be better for you to have just kept quiet. In our lesson today, one time Jephthah speaks eloquently and intelligently and the next he makes a promise without thinking it through and it costs him his daughter. We also talk about keeping our vows to God, if we should ever break them, and when that is. At the...

Have you ever had a friend who does not call until they need something? They do not pursue a real relationship with you. They may not even know what is going on in your life or seem to care. Maybe they do not even like you, or at least not as much as others. But if they think you have something to offer, then all of the sudden, they are your best friend. This is how the Israelites treated God. The...

A refuge is the person or place that we run to when we need protection, comfort, advice, or help. Though God is the only adequate refuge, because we cannot see Him or hear His voice audibly, we often go to the people and places we can see and talk to. Then, a king is the one that we cede all our power to, the one we trust with our lives, the one we submit to. God alone is worthy of such power or f...

Is God your King or do you profess Him to be king, yet rule yourself? You can say God is the King, but do you serve Him or your own selfish desires? You may say you have no right to rule yourself, but do you still act like you are in charge, doing what you please instead of submitting to His ways? Do you gather riches and glory for yourself instead of gathering riches in heaven and directing your...

Sometimes, it is hard to know whether the voice we hear is that of God, Satan, or ourselves. Some people who proclaim the name of God are actually false teachers, and it can be hard for us to spot the difference. Or it may not be a person we are trying to discern but our own thoughts. Is that the angel on our shoulder or the devil if you happen to remember the old cartoons.

Have you ever felt God calling you to do something, but ignored it? Have you ever known what needed to be done, but didn’t have the will to do it? God called Barak to rescue His people but he ignored Him until Deborah called him out. Then, because he didn’t want to take full responsibility, he also wasn’t allowed to take all the glory. He must share it with Jael, who is a woman and not another sol...

Throughout history, God’s people have strayed without good leaders. They had the law, but still found it difficult to follow without a strong leader. We have the law too, but we also have Jesus. He is the Good Shepherd who guides and cares for us, but also laid down His life to save ours. Then, he gave us the Holy Spirit and the church. The elders are supposed to shepherd His flock and we are supp...

Everyone in our story today takes the easy way that they want instead of the way that God told them to do things. Micah doesn't want to travel for worship so he makes his own house of God and hires his own priest and the tribe of Dan don't want to fight the people in their allotted land because it's too hard so they conquer a vulnerable group of people up north instead and take their land. They al...

Superficial head knowledge of God will not be enough for you to follow Him faithfully. We must grow past that to a deeper more personal understanding of who He is. The more we know Him, the more we will love Him, and the more we love Him, the more we will want to serve Him. This is the AWANA motto and it definitely pertains to this lesson. This is a long lesson so maybe you can listen to it in inc...

God does not force us to follow Him. We have a choice. But we cannot choose to go our own way then expect to reap His benefits. We live with the consequences of whichever choice we make. With Him comes many benefits, but if we don't choose to commit ourselves to Him, then we won't receive them. We can't just make Him our Savior. We must also make Him our Lord. Then we do this in front of witnesses...

Be careful about making presumptions. How deep is your desire for God and His people? Are you willing to defend Him? When do we confront other people about their sin and when do we keep our mouths shut? Who do we confront and how do we do it in the right way? The Israelites almost went to war with the eastern tribes because they thought they had done something against God. But after confronting th...

Israel is the Promised Land on earth but Heaven is our eternal Promised Land. Place your faith in Him and you will inherit this land.

Are you willing to work for what you want or would you rather complain and make excuses? Life is not always fair. But complaining about it won't change anything.

God literally fights for the Israelites when He sends hailstones to kill their enemies. He also stops the sun at Joshua's request. God has power! But more subtly but no less miraculously, He gave the Israelites the stamina, endurance, and strength to travel 20 miles uphill overnight, then fight victoriously for a longer than ordinary day. God equips us for what He calls us to.

When we are faced with a decision, God should be the first One we go to. The Israelites got themselves in a bind because they relied on their own logic instead of asking God. Based on that, they made an oath in God's name and they couldn't break it.

We start this year with encouragement to put the past behind us and begin the year committed to following Jesus. Repenting of the past allows us to move forward confident and at peace. Then we talk about why God doesn't tell us everything we want to know and how we can trust and patiently obey anyway.

How can we find understanding and faith when we are confused and doubt? Is our sin of any value to us and how can we be truly set free from it? We can't bring destructive things into our lives and think they won't affect us. They will always bring us trouble in the end and they pull us away from God whether we realize it or not. Satan tempts each of us in our own ways, trying to convince us that o...