Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians
***denotes visual lessons
Galatians
** Galatians 4:19 - Until Christ is Formed in You
**Galatians 5:13 - A Serving Savior
**Galatians 6:9 - Do Good
Galatians 6:9 - Don't Throw in the Towel
Ephesians
**Ephesians 1:18 - Think Outside the Box
**Ephesians 2:10 - God's Workmanship
**Ephesians 2:20 - What's Your Foundation?
**Ephesians 3:17 - Rooted and Grounded
**Ephesians 4:29 - Sticks and Stones
**Ephesians 4:30 - Don't Grieve the Holy Spirit
**Ephesians 5:1 - Imitate God
**Ephesians 5:19 - Making Melody With Your Heart
**Ephesians 5:26 - Consecration of the Priests (Holy Day Lesson - Feast of Tabernacles)
**Ephesians 6:14 - Full Armor of God, Part One
**Ephesians 6:15 - Ready to Go
**Ephesians 6:16 - The Shield of Faith
**Ephesians 6:17 - A Helmet and a Sword
Philippians
**Philippians 2:15 - Shine!
**Philippians 3:8 - Rubbish!!
Philippians 4:8 - What Are You Thinking About?
Colossians
**Colossians 3:9 - Clean Hands
**Colossians 3:23 - Work With All Your Heart
**Colossians 4:5 - Wasting Time
***Until Christ is Formed in You
. . . until Christ is formed in you. Galatians 4:19
Materials: Coloring sheets for all of the fruit of the Spirit lessons, candy molds, candy [powdered sugar, food coloring, raspberry extract (or your favorite), water - Mix until stiff enough to hold its shape.]
We started three months ago talking about the fruit of the spirit.
Love: Like putting an ice cube in your mouth keeps you from tasting, the ice in your heart can keep you from loving other people.
Joy: Like an ear of corn forms all of the kernels when the plant has access to abundant water and nutrients, so your joy can be full when you love and serve God.
Peace: Like a sponge squeezed can only release what it has inside, you will show what’s really in your heart when you’re put under pressure. Knowing God and seeking to please Him is a good way to make sure your heart is filled with His peace.
Patience: Like waiting for a tower of cups to be built, we often have to have patience in our lives. Patience is the fourth fruit of the Spirit.
Kindness: Like trying to put toothpaste back into its tube, so our words cannot be unspoken. We have to be careful about what we say and what we do - to make sure that we are kind.
Goodness: A bad apple can negatively affect the whole barrel. We must choose to act in good and right ways.
Faithfulness: As a dog is faithful to its master, so we must choose to be faithful to our Master, Savior and Soon-Coming King.
Gentleness: As you have to be careful driving your little cars around a house of cards, so we must be very gentle in the things we do and the words we speak.
Self-Control: Like trying to hit a ball on a tube with just the right amount of force so that it will drop into the jar, so we must learn to control our actions - not too little, not too much. But just right.
Having each of these fruit of the Spirit is another way of saying that Christ is formed in us. His character, His ways of conduct, demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit perfectly.
But like a candy mold can shape the candy into different shapes, we all look different on the outside. It’s when you taste the candy that you know it’s sweet. Similarly, when Christ is formed in us, our actions and our words are evidence of what’s inside. We need to seek God with all of our heart, until Christ is formed in each of us!
**A Serving Savior
“Don’t use your freedom as an excuse to sin. . . Serve one another in love” (Paraphrase). - Galatians 5:13
Materials: Servant questions on cards
How do you feel about serving others? Is that something you naturally do? Is it something you think you should do but try to avoid? Or are you the one who is normally served?
Can you think of a time when you last served someone?
Are you the one who says, “Hey, can you get me a kleenex?” Or are you the one who goes to get the kleenex?
Do you look around for things that need to be done? Or do you focus mostly on what you want to do?
Do you like helping other people? Do you wish they’d do more for themselves? Do you prefer that people help you accomplish your goals?
When someone asks you to do something, what’s your first response? Is it “Do I have to?” Do you gladly help? Or is it somewhere in-between? Do you ever help someone grudgingly? You do it, but you don’t really want to.
During the time of Jesus, many people wore sandals. So as they walked from place to place, their feet would get dirty. It was custom for a host to have a servant wash the feet of their guests. It’s a nice way to help them feel welcomed, comfortable, and honored. So when Jesus got up after dinner and began to wash the disciples’ feet, it was shocking to the disciples! This was not something their esteemed Teacher, the Son of God, should be doing. There were lowly servants to do this sort of thing! But Jesus needed to teach His disciples (and all of us) that the greatest in the kingdom of God is the servant of all (Matthew 23:11). Paul tells us (Philippians 2:3) to consider others better than ourselves. That kind of humility doesn’t come naturally to most of us.
So how do you get to a place where you have a servant’s heart - willing to help those who need it, looking for things that need to be done, honestly serving in love? God works a change in our hearts - helping us to understand how Jesus came as a suffering servant. If He gave us this example to follow, we had better learn to submit to Him and learn to serve.
Here’s a place to start: Can you truly serve someone with gladness if you are upset at them over something? Work at fixing the relationship you have with the people around you, admit when you are wrong, apologize, and work to make it right. Give grace to those who have done something to upset you. Forgive, knowing how much you want God’s forgiveness.
And as for serving, how can you serve God if you are not willing to serve the people around you? (Principle from 1 John 4:20). It’s something to think about as we rapidly approach Passover.
**Do Good
And let us not grow weary of doing good . . . Galatians 6:9
Materials: a hard-boiled egg, an apple, a small container of baking soda and one of vinegar, a clear container, a towel.
How do you know if it’s a good apple or a bad apple? Sometimes there are spots where you suspect a worm might have crawled. Sometimes it’s kind of dented or wrinkly. But you can’t always judge an apple by its outside appearance. You might just get a bite that isn’t so appetizing, especially if you find half a worm.
How do you know if this is a good egg or a bad egg? If you have a bowl of water, and it floats, it’s bad! But if you don’t have a bowl of water, you wouldn’t know until you crack it open. If it’s bad, watch out. It’s going to smell!! If it’s really, really bad, when you start to crack it, it will explode. And that’s very, very smelly . . . and messy!
We talk about good apples and good eggs. But why are they good? Because they are still good to be used in some way - some way that usually involves eating them. So it’s not enough that the apple and the egg look nice on the outside. In our definition of good, we want to be able to eat them.
I’d imagine you couldn’t begin to count the number of times your mom told you, “Be good.” Now did she mean that you should look nice on the outside? Or did she mean that your behavior should be good? Or that your thoughts should be good? In most cases, when your mom tells you to be good, she wants you to act in a certain way, to follow the rules, to stay out of trouble.
We know what Mom means when she says, “Be good,” but in reality, Jesus said there is no one who is good, but God alone (Mark 10:18). So instead of telling us to be good, the apostle Paul tells all of us - adults and children alike - not to grow weary of doing good. Don’t you find it interesting that Paul has to say this? It indicates that it requires effort to do good. It requires perseverance. It might not always be your first choice. It’s hard. Our carnal minds would rather be bad sometimes because it appears to be so much more fun.
But remember the bad egg and the bad apple? They are not very useful to the one who finds them, except maybe as fertilizer in the garden. In a similar way, if we are not dedicated to doing good, we’re not very useful to God.
Now vinegar and baking soda are very good for a lot of different things. And together they make a wonderful reaction. But once they’ve combined and foamed, they’re not good for anything any more. Or are they? At first glance we might say that since the base-acid reaction is done, what’s left is just a mess and not good for anything.
Sometimes we’re like the vinegar and baking soda. We see a job we can do and we’re very willing to do it. It certainly draws a lot of attention. But once that attention is gone, are we just done? If no one is watching us, are we still willing to do what is good and right? Are we willing to continue serving and doing good, even if no one acknowledges or appreciates us?
The vinegar and baking soda combine to form carbonic acid and sodium acetate. Then almost immediately the carbonic acid breaks down in to carbon dioxide and water. The carbon dioxide escapes into the air. We are left with water and sodium acetate. The sodium acetate is what is commonly used to flavor salt and vinegar potato chips.
Even when people don’t realize it, the vinegar and baking soda are still good for something. They are still useful. And even when no one around notices, we are very useful to God if we are willing to be used by Him. It may not look like we had envisioned. It might not even be fun. But Paul tells us not to become weary, or tired, of doing good.
But we have to keep in mind that God put us on this earth for His glory. And when He puts something in our path to do, we need to do it with all of our heart, working as for the Lord, not for men. We should never grow tired of doing that - working for His glory.
Don’t Throw in the Towel
And let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9
What kinds of things happen in due season? Harvests. Summer break. Obtaining a driver’s license. The birth of a baby. This is what these two words mean in the Greek. The word “due” is idios (#2398) and means property or one’s own. The word “season” is the Greek word kairos (#2540) which means time. The two words together mean the proper or convenient time, or that which gives time the opportunity to do. Due season means that a specified amount of time has to elapse before a thing will happen - a baby being born, a plant producing a ripe tomato, the school year culminating in a summer break.
Paul makes use of the harvest analogy with the use of the word “reap.” If we want to reap, we have to continue doing good. These two words are also interesting in the Greek. “Doing” is the Greek word poieo (#4160) and means to do once for all, bringing forth something so it will have an independent existence of its own. It focuses on the end result, not on the performance or the act by which the object is obtained. The word “good” is the Greek word kalos (#2570) and means constitutionally good, without being necessarily benevolent. For instance, this Greek word is used in connection with the wine that Jesus had made out of water at the wedding in Cana. It was “good” wine. That is, it was good of itself. When these two words are put together, it is “doing good”, doing the right thing for the end result. It’s not focused on what’s happening at the moment. For instance, when growing a garden, you focus on the harvest, you don’t focus on the work necessary to get to the harvest. If I think about all the weeding, it can become discouraging and overwhelming. So I weed, I do the good or right thing, because I’m focused on where I want to end up.
Similarly, God wants us to focus on what He has prepared for us in His kingdom. So we continue to do the right thing, make the right choices, do good, because our focus is on His kingdom, not on the aches, pains, trouble, and toil involved in getting there.
The other two really interesting words in this verse are “give up” and “weary.” The Greek word for “give up” is ekluo (#1590) which mean to faint or to relax. So what Paul is telling his audience is that they can’t relax. They have to stand engaged in doing good because of the goal! The word “weary” is the Greek word ekkakeo (#1573) which denotes cowardice or faintheartedness.
Think about that! Paul does not want us to be cowards, to be afraid of doing the right thing. The implication is that doing the right thing is not always easy, is not always comfortable, is not always what we want to do. We might be tempted to relax. We might be tempted to look at the struggle and take our eyes off the goal. We might not keep our eyes on the goal, on the harvest, on what we are striving to reap!
God never promised that His people would have an easy time of it. Rather, God seems to give us indications over and over again that life will not be easy. But we have to persevere. We have to stand firm. We have to keep our eyes focused on the reward, running the race so as to obtain the goal.
It’s a good thing to remember the next time you want to give up and throw in the towel.
**Think Outside the Box
- having the eyes of your hearts enlightened . . . Ephesians 1:18
Materials needed: Stuff created from jeans or t-shirts (pot holders, remote pockets, rugs, dog toys, baskets, coasters, etc.)
Sometimes we get into the habit of seeing something in a certain way; we have trouble envisioning it as something else - also called “thinking outside the box.” For instance, what can you do with t-shirts besides wear them? They make good coasters and rags. You can turn them into quilts. The t-shirt yarn is useful for making baskets, dog/cat toys, and rugs.
We could have a similar conversation about a pair of jeans. They’re good for wearing. But what else? I’ve made bags, remote control holders, braided ropes for swinging out over the creek, baskets, pot holders, dog beds, and totes from jeans - and have taken the zippers for making other pouches, the good material for patching other jeans, and the leftover scraps for rags.
Additionally, a pair of jeans makes a fairly good life preserver to someone who’s just fallen out of a boat. But if you have never been taught to take them off, tie the legs, and splash air/water into them, you would think that those heavy jeans are only going to drag you to the bottom of the lake rather than provide the means to help you survive.
God gave us the ability to look at the creation and find new ways of using what He’s designed. (Think of George Washington Carver and the peanut.) If the physical world is so intricate, has so many layers, why would we think that God’s word would be any different?
Think about it! How many times have you read through the Bible? There are new nuggets which God reveals nearly every time, especially if you want to know more about Him and His ways. There’s a good reason why the apostle Paul used the word “mystery” - because we don’t understand everything there is to know yet about what God is doing, how we will be changed, what life will be like, what our role will be, etc. We could talk for a long time about the things we don’t know and don’t understand about God. But here’s the goal: that the eyes of our hearts would be enlightened, Paul tells the Ephesians, that we may know what is the hope to which he has called us, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe. That’s a lofty goal!
And I thought coming up with new ways to use t-shirts and jeans was cool! That’s nothing compared to knowing the hope before us, our inheritance, and God’s power in our lives!
***God’s Workmanship
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10
Materials needed: cookie cutters and homemade sugar cookies
What is your most favorite part of God’s creation? Horses, puppies, kittens, lilacs, roses, streams, mountains, a warm sweater? What comes to mind when thinking about this question?
Do you know what is the pinnacle of God’s creation? That is, what was His best achievement? Not the giraffe with valves in the veins of his neck to prevent the blood from rushing out of his head when he lifts it high to reach leaves. Not the kangaroo which can suspend its pregnancy up to two years if Australia is in drought conditions. Not the hummingbird! Did you know the Giane Hummingbird flaps its wings 10-15 times a second; the Amethyst Wood-star Hummingbird flaps its wings a record 80 times a second; the average North American hummingbird flaps its wing an average of 53 beats per second in normal flight. Not the peregrine falcon whose hunting speeds are around 240 mph as it drops from a height of 2/3 of a mile. Human beings are the pinnacle of God’s creation.
When I look around at all the amazing creatures in this world, I don’t want to believe that I am more amazing that any of them. What makes a person more special than any other thing in all of creation? Genesis 1:26 says that God made man in His image. Nothing else in all of creation was made after the image of God! In addition, Jesus Christ came to this earth as a baby, lived as a human, died a horrible death, and was resurrected again to life just for humans. He didn’t do all of that for dogs or cats or trees. He did that for you and for me.
Ephesians 2:10 says that we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
We are a very special part of God’s creation - made in His image, redeemed by Jesus for eternal life as part of God’s family, and given dominion over (given the responsibility to take care of) the rest of creation.
Yes. We are special: God’s workmanship. But that’s not where it stops. We were not just created to be. We were created to do. God has work for us to do. The first step in doing the work that God prepared for us to do is obedience. So how are you doing in your count to Pentecost? What day is this?
***What’s Your Foundation?
[God’s house is] built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, Ephesians 2:20
Materials: dominoes, building blocks, etc.
If you were stacking blocks, with just a little hanging over the edge, how many would it take before the top one was no longer over the first one at all? The fourth one!! Because of the center of gravity, if you stack the blocks with just the right overhang, the fourth one will be completely clear. (This is very dramatic on the edge of a table.)
Place the first domino (or building block) just an eighth over the edge. The next block is one-sixth past the block beneath it. The third block is one-fourth past the block beneath it. The fourth block is placed halfway off the block beneath it. That makes it completely off the table.
If you could stack 227 blocks, the overhang would be three full blocks!!
The very cool thing about this is that cantilever bridges are built in this fashion. Their benefit is in not having to have a center support.
But what does this stacking of blocks, and the overhang, have to do with being a Christian and our walk with Jesus Christ?
Sometimes this world makes us feel like we are out there - way out there. Crazy. But our faith is built on the foundation of Jesus Christ. The Church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus being the chief cornerstone. So we can feel like we hanging over a precipice. We can feel like there’s nothing beneath us, but as long as we center our lives on the foundation, we won’t fall.
Resource: 77 Science Activities for Illustrating Bible Lessons, Donald B. DeYoung, pgs. 50-52, 2013, ISBN: 978-0-8010-1537-3
***Rooted and Grounded
that you, being rooted and grounded in love, . . . Ephesians 3:17
Materials: sprouted seeds, plant
The other day I went downstairs to get a jar of tomatoes. I found my turmeric tubers had sprouted. I had to do something with them. Have you ever left potatoes sprouting until the growing potato has sucked all the nutrients out of the tuber? The potato is just left, wrinkled and shrunken and not much good. If I just left the sprouted turmeric in the bag, the same thing would have happened to them. So. What do you think I did with the turmeric? Ron planted it. What do you think he planted it in? It was a mixture of soil and sand. Then I added water. Why did Ron plant the sprout in soil? That’s how God has designed plants: most plants grow best when they are rooted in soil. It doesn’t work very well to plant them on the concrete or in a toy box or in a jar of marbles. Plants need the nutrients from the soil to help them grow strong and healthy. Concrete and toy boxes and marbles don’t normally have the nutrients that plants need. You get this. You’ve been around plants enough to understand how this works.
As plants take nutrients and water from the soil, the roots continue to grow down and the stem and leaves grow up. If it was only the stem growing up, without the growing of the roots, what would happen to the plant? It would fall over. It’s very important to the stability of the plant that the roots continue to grow down and out to provide the foundation for the plant. Sometimes plants grow a single taproot down - like a carrot. Other times plants grow a bunch of hair-like or finger-like roots - like grass or corn.
So in Ephesians 3:17 when the apostle Paul says “rooted and grounded” is he talking about plants? No, we know he isn’t because of two things: First, he says “rooted and grounded.” The first word is a biology word and has to do with plants. The second word is an architectural word which has to do with the foundation of a building. Then Paul says, “that you, being rooted and grounded . . .” He’s using the plants and buildings - something you are familiar with - to make a point. You need to grow and develop in the place where you have the things to you to help you grow strong and healthy. What kinds of things make you strong and healthy? Where do you get those kinds of things? Paul gives us another really good clue when he says we are rooted and grounded in love. Who loves you more than anyone else? Your parents love you! They give you the things (food, clothing, shelter, and yes, rules) that you need in order for you to grow strong and healthy.
Think about the choices that your parents make so that you will grow strong and healthy. You have good food to eat (not a bunch of candy and junk). You have warm clothes to wear when it’s cold. They are teaching you about God, His love for you, and His ways so that you’ll make good choices. They want you to have a good foundation for making choices even if they aren’t around. If they didn’t love you, they might root you in candy and junk food, throw dirty clothes with holes in them for you to wear, and let you do whatever you want. It’s because your parents love you that they give you good things - including rules - and make sure you are firmly grounded in obeying those rules.
It’s interesting, really, because our parents help us to understand that our Heavenly Father, God Almighty is the One who gives us what we need: remember the verses about the birds of the air and the lilies of the field (Matthew 6:25-33)? And guess what? God gives us what we need because He loves us. In other words, we are rooted and grounded in love, God’s love.
O.K. So back to the plant. Once that plant is rooted in the soil, what does it do? It grows and produces something. A plant might produce tomatoes or turmeric. It might grow apples or walnuts. All plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen - which we need in order to live. And some plants filter the air, taking the dirt out of it, better than others. And then think about the foundations of buildings: if a building has a bad foundation, what happens when storms come? What happens when something shakes the building? It could easily collapse.
So what about you? Being rooted and grounded in love, growing strong and healthy the way God wants you to, having a solid foundation on His word, what do you produce? The most important thing you produce is love for your parents. And you show that love by obeying them. What good is it to go give your mom a big hug and tell her you love her and then break all of her rules? Your words don’t mean much if you don’t obey her.
It’s the same thing with God. God has given you all things. He’s rooted and grounded you in love so that you’ll grow strong and healthy. So what is your response to Him? The reasonable response is to love Him with all of your heart (Rom 12:1, Deut 6:5). And how do you show that love? By obeying His commandments (John 14:15). What good is it to say that you love God with your words and then tell Him you don’t love Him by breaking His laws - laws that were given for your good?!
I have some very happy, healthy turmeric plants because they were rooted in soil. And you are happy and healthy because you are rooted and grounded in your parents’ love and in God’s love. Praise God!!
***Sticks and Stones
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up . . . Ephesians 4:29
Materials: paper
There’s a saying: Sticks and stone can break my bones, but words will never hurt me.
That’s just not true. Words don’t leave visible wounds, but words can leave interior wounds that last for years and people never realize how much they’ve hurt you. There’s a video going around on Facebook that illustrates this pretty well. It goes something like this:
Take a piece of paper. Nice, smooth, unblemished, a blank slate ready for use. Now say something unkind about the paper. Crumple a corner. Say something mean. Crumple some more. Continue until the paper is completely crumpled up. Now, apologize for the things that you said about the paper in an unkind or mean-spirited or rude manner. With each apology, straight out the paper. What does it look like when it’s all uncrumpled? Is it smooth and nice and unblemished? No. There’s the evidence of the crumpling.
Think twice before you say something. Don’t say something in anger. Consider how beneficial your words will be, even if they are true. Sometimes your words are true, but it’s not the right time to say that particular thing. And then, consider how you say your words. You might be correct in what you’re saying, but your rude manner, or simply unkind manner, can leave unnecessary wounds.
Think of it this way: God created everything there is with the spoken word. If we are in training to be like God (for we will see Him as He is), then we’d better learn how to control our tongues (and the words we speak with that tongue) right now.
Sticks and stones can break my bones; and words have the power of life and death (Proverbs 18:21).
***Imitate God
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. Ephesians 5:1
Materials: objects from which you can take a rubbing, crayons
Have you ever made a rubbing of anything? It’s fun to rub coins. Sometimes that’s the only way to figure out what is actually on the coin because the coin is so faded. It’s also very interesting to make rubbings of grave stones. Some of those stones have become so weathered that they are unreadable to your eyes, so the rubbings can show what you otherwise can’t see! They also make rubbing plates that kids can rub and then color in. It’s actually pretty cool: you can get just an outline, or basic, idea if you rub really lightly. If you press a little harder, you get a better rubbing. It’s just an impression of the plate; it’s not really the plate, but you get an idea of what the plate looks like if you are careful to do a very good rubbing.
This “rubbing” effect happens with people too. Ever have a friend that you really like and suddenly you find yourself using the phrases they use. Jennifer came home from Aunt Tricia’s house last summer saying “Tricky.” Even if I hadn’t known she’d spent time with Tricia, I’d have known just by that one word. The more we spend time with people, the more we become like them. We pick up their words as well as their good habits and their bad habits. That’s especially true with children who are watching the adults in their lives and imitating them.
Isn’t that the way it is with God too? The closer we get to Him, the more we can become like Him. If you spend time with God (in prayer, Bible study, meditation, fasting), you find out that you are amazed and humbled by His goodness and you find that you really like Him and want to spend more time with Him. If you begin to desire to spend more time with Him, you become more like Him. And if you seek Him with all your heart, He promises that He will be found by you (Jeremiah 29:13). In the end, when you like God, like what He does, want to spend time with Him, want to be like Him, you become an imitator of who He is.
I guess you could say He rubs off on you. And children, it’s a good thing to be an imitator of your Father!
***Making Melody With Your Heart
addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, Ephesians 5:19
Materials: glasses, water at different levels, spoon
There are so many places in the Bible that talk about singing to God, singing a new song, making melody in our hearts. Maybe it sounds like this. (Pour a little water into a glass and strike the glass lightly with a spoon.)
Notice what the verses don’t say. They don’t say that you have to sound good - who gets to decide what sounds good and what doesn’t? If you are praising God with your songs, that’s pleasing to Him. It doesn’t have to be pleasing to someone else.
So maybe that sounds like this. (Pour water into another glass at a different level. Again, strike lightly with a spoon.) What you have inside - in your heart - determines the sound of your praise, or lack of praise.
The way you praise God doesn’t have to be the way someone else praises God. Your song doesn’t have to sound like anyone else’s song. The melody in your heart just needs to be genuinely praising our Great God.
So if every glass had water in it at a different level and we all tried to sing simultaneously, it could sound like chaos. I think God would still hear our individual praises, but we wouldn’t be doing the first part of the verse: addressing one another in a way that builds each of us up.
So we try to sing in harmony. We try to take turns and work together to make a pleasing sound both to God and to one another. When we do that, the music draws us closer together as we praise Him!
Maybe it sounds like this. (With pre-set levels of water, play a simple song by striking each glass in the proper order.)
I hope you always have a song in your heart, praising God.
**Consecration of Priests
. . . to make [the Church} holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word. Ephesians 5:26
Materials: basin, wash clothes
Yesterday we talked about the dedication of the temple of God. Part of the design of the temple was the priesthood. The priests would serve God day and night in His temple, interceding for the people of God. The priesthood was a picture of our High Priest, Jesus Christ, who sits at the right hand of God and ever lives to make intercession for us.
The first physical High Priest from the tribe of Levi was Aaron. When God declared that Aaron would be high priest, there was an elaborate ceremony for his consecration. Consecration is a synonym of dedication, but carries an additional meaning of being set apart as holy or sacred for a holy purpose.
First, Aaron was washed by Moses; he could not wash himself. Second, Moses dressed Aaron in fine white line, special clothing only to be used in the tabernacle (and later, the temple). Then there were special sin offerings to be made, followed by fellowship offerings. The entire period of consecration took seven days!
So here’s the parallel: God says that we will be a kingdom of priests to Him. First, we have to be washed by water - baptized into Jesus Christ. Just as Aaron could not wash himself, we can’t baptize ourselves. Secondly, we are dressed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. All of our sins and sinfulness is atoned for by the sacrifice, the crucifixion, the blood, of Jesus Christ. And at the return of Jesus Christ, we will be consecrated as priests in His service. We’ll teach the people. We’ll minister before God day and night in His temple.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the consecration of the priests took seven days. I believe that one of the pictures of the Feast of Tabernacles is our consecration as priests of God when Jesus returns to earth and sets up His kingdom.
Talk about a place prepared for us!! Talk about a reason to rejoice!! God is preparing us to be part of His government, a perfect government, forever.
***The Full Armor of God
Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, Ephesians 6:14
Materials: fan, paper people
Have you ever tried to stand in a very strong wind? Wyoming is renown for its wind, and the rim of the Grand Canyon gets some pretty strong wind at times. Not only is it hard to walk against the wind, it’s also very difficult to maintain your position. The wind seems to take it as a personal challenge to move you from your spot.
Likewise, there are forces in this life which try to knock you off your feet and keep you from standing firm. So the apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians and told them (and us) to put on the full armor of God so that we can stand, so that we can hold our position.
The first piece of the armor of God is the belt of truth. Employing an effective visual aid, Paul emphasizes the necessity of speaking the truth. He says that part of the amor is a belt. What does a belt do? It’s really more than just decoration. For a soldier, it is that piece of armor from which you hang your weapons. Your hands and arms would get very tired of carrying weapons, whereas you can carry that weight around your waist for a much longer time.
So think about truth being the anchor which holds your weapons close to you so you can use them. If you don’t have truth, you can’t carry your weapons very far; you can’t fight as long.
There’s another interesting analogy for the belt of truth. A belt holds your pants up! Think about it: if you don’t wear a belt, then your pants fall down. You’re exposed. You’re embarrassed. You’re vulnerable to attack because you’re trying to cover yourself up! The belt of truth keeps us covered from Satan’s falsehood attacks. If you know what the truth is, it helps you to discern the lies. Don’t ever get sucked into the idea that a little lie doesn’t matter. If it’s not true, then it’s a lie. Wear the belt of truth.
The second piece of the armor of God is the breastplate of righteousness. First of all, what is righteousness. Ness is the state of being; ous means full of; so righteousness is the state of being full of right actions, doing what is right according to God. That’s significant. Righteousness is not defined by what we think; righteousness is determined and defined by God. He gets to make the rules; He’s God!
So Paul again uses the visual to drive home the point. A breastplate protects your vital organs, in spiritual terms, your heart. When you do right actions, you are protecting your soul. If you’re having trouble thinking of what that might look like, think of the opposite. If you do a wrong action, how does it make you feel? Do you get sick? Does it make you feel bad? Do you get irritable with the people around you? Does it make your stomach hurt? Your wrong actions, your sin, caused you to take off that breastplate of righteousness. Your sick feeling is a direct result of not doing what you knew you should have. And furthermore, if you don’t get that breastplate back on again (by repenting and going back to God for His forgiveness and direction), then you are leaving yourself open to more attacks by Satan.
Satan is like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Ephesians 6:11 tells us that the armor is so that we can defeat the schemes of Satan. Why in the world would you want to leave yourself open to attack by the being who wants to destroy you and destroy the relationship you have with God?
Put on the belt of truth. Wear the breastplate of righteousness. Leave no opportunity for the schemes and plans of the devil.
***Ready to Go
and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. Ephesians 6:15
Materials: various shoes
What’s the first thing Mom says when it’s time to go somewhere? “Get your shoes on; let’s go!” And it makes a difference what shoes you wear. If you’re going to go hiking, it would be best to put on hiking shoes. If you’re going to be mucking out the horse stall, it would be best to have waterproof muck boots. If you’re going to be playing at the creek, it’s nice to have water shoes or old tennis shoes. But it doesn’t work very well to wear flip flops if you’re tromping through the woods in 40º weather collecting firewood. And it doesn’t make any sense to wear heavy snow boots if you’re going to play on the beach in 80º weather. You have to have the right shoes for whatever job you have to do.
What job has God given you? Remember where this verse comes from. It’s part of the whole armor of God. And remember the whole armor of God is so that we can stand against the schemes of the devil. We’ve already put on the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness (last week’s sabbath lesson). So now Paul says, “and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.”
Some people say that the shoes are the peace or the gospel of peace. But Paul doesn’t say that. He says that we put on readiness - the state of being ready - and that readiness is given by the gospel of peace.
What is the gospel of peace?
It is the good news that Jesus Christ has come as our Savior, to redeem us from unrighteousness, to save us from the penalty of our sin. It is the good news that Jesus has reconciled us to the Father through His blood. It is the good news that we belong to God, that He cares about us, that our lives are in His hands.
Psalm 119:165 says, “Great peace have they who love God’s law and nothing can make them stumble.” When you know that gospel of peace, that good news that Jesus has saved you, you also know that God has provided a lamp to your feet and a light to your path so you won’t stumble. God’s law teaches you how to be ready to go do the task God has given you to do.
If you know that good news, those promises of God, then you are ready to stand against the devil’s plans.
Have you put on the readiness that is given by the gospel of peace?
***The Shield of Faith
In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; Ephesians 6:16
Materials: Jack-in-the-Box
Have you ever played with a jack-in-the-box? You are busy turning the handle, thinking the music is a little weird. Suddenly, this clown guy pops out! (No wonder there are so many people traumatized by the recent clown sightings; it all goes back to playing with a jack-in-the-box when they were little! 🙂) For a little child who has never seen a jack-in-the-box before, it can be very scary. They don’t know what to expect and suddenly there’s an unexpected movement. They weren’t ready and they are often startled - and maybe they start to cry.
Life is kind of like a jack-in-the-box. You walk through life, minding your own business, maybe enjoying what you’re doing, or maybe you’re a little bored. Suddenly, something totally unexpected happens in your life. Sometimes those unexpected things are scary - like a tire blowing out when you’re traveling somewhere, or a deer jumping out in front of the car! Sometimes it’s a good thing - even if it’s unexpected - like getting a call that you’ve won a contest or that you’re going to have a new little brother or sister.
There are other unexpected bad things too: The apostle Paul calls them the flaming darts of the evil one. Satan will try to hurt you in any way he can. He knows that doing something that is unexpected is more likely to hurt than if you’re ready for him. So Paul tells us to put on the shield of faith.
O.K. So when would you want to have your shield of faith? Any time that you want to be protected from the fiery darts of the evil one!!! When you first get up in the morning, you put on your clothes. Why wouldn’t you also put on the belt of truth - committing yourself to being truthful all day?! Why wouldn’t you put on the breastplate of righteousness - purposefully determining that you’re going to do what is right, even when it’s hard?! You know you have to put on your shoes so you can go where God wants you to go - being ready because you know the gospel of peace. In the same way, you need to take your shield of faith with you all the time. It’s part of what you clothe yourself with every day.
What is the shield of faith? Where do you get it? Your first measure of faith comes from God. But you want your faith to grow stronger - and that happens when you spend more time with God, coming to know who He is and how much He loves you. When you learn to trust Him, when you believe His promises, when you live your life knowing He has your best interest at heart, you’re growing your faith. As your faith grows, you have a stronger shield to extinguish the fiery darts of the evil one.
But if you don’t spend time with God and grow your faith, what will you do when Satan shoots fiery darts at you?
Put on your shield of faith every day and in every circumstance!
***A Helmet and a Sword
and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, Eph. 6:17
Materials: a helmet and a sunbonnet, a table knife and a sharp knife
If I want protection from a dangerous enemy, what am I going to put on my head? A sunbonnet or a helmet? The sunbonnet will provide protection from the sun, but it’s not the defense that a helmet is against almost any other weapon! A helmet can defend against sun, but it can also defend against hail or arrows or swords or tree branches. You see, your enemy, the devil, will use whatever weapon he can to harm you. You need to wear the head gear which will give you the greatest protection.
That’s what your salvation is: a helmet! It is the knowledge that in Christ Jesus, you are secure. You don’t have to worry about it. You don’t have to doubt - because your salvation doesn’t depend upon you; your salvation depends upon Jesus Christ. There’s no greater possible protection than Him!! The apostle Paul, in Romans 8:38 says it this way, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
So put the helmet of salvation on your head! Don’t leave your head unprotected!
The other piece of the armor of God in this verse is the sword of the Spirit. The apostle Paul is very clear: this is the word of God. So think about a dull table knife compared with a sharp knife. Which one will cut bread - not smash bread, but cut it? Which one will carve a turkey? Which one will cut steak? Obviously, you want a very sharp knife to make a clean division between two pieces. Think about it: you can actually get more hurt using a dull knife because you’re forcing it to do something it can’t.
Similarly, since the sword of the Spirit is the word of God, you want that sword to be very sharp. That happens when you do a couple of things: you ask God for His wisdom and you read the word of God, studying God’s word to know exactly what God has said. The more you study with the Holy Spirit leading you into all truth (John 16:13), the sharper your sword becomes. When your sword is sharp, you walk in the way that pleasing to God. Psalm 119:11 says, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” But when your sword is dull, then you don’t know when someone is trying to deceive you and pull you away from God’s way. You can’t easily divide between truth and lies. The dull sword can really hurt you!
When you put on the full armor of God, don’t forget your helmet of salvation and make sure you have a sharp sword of the Spirit, the word of God.
**Shine!
. . . among whom you shine as lights in the world. Philippians 2:15
Materials needed: glow sticks
Do you think Jesus was talking to you when He said, . . . “let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven”? If you think He was talking to you, if you count yourself as one of His disciples (a learner and follower of Jesus), have you thought of what it might mean to let your light shine? It likely has something to do with how you act, doesn’t it.
When you are a Christian, you take the name of Christ on you, what you do can bring dishonor to God or your actions can bring honor and glory to God. Think about it: if you are calling yourself a Christian, then you are telling me that you’re doing what God approves of. When you do things that are not right, people either think that God doesn’t care what we do or they think that they wouldn’t want to be part of a religion that allowed that kind of behavior. Either way, it’s not good.
But when you make good choices and act in the right way, then you bring glory to God - especially if you are making good choices when people all around you are not. After all, a light is the most visible in the darkness.
Your memory verse is just a portion of Philippians 2:15: . . . among whom you shine as lights in the world. O.K. We want to shine for God in this world, to bring Him glory and honor. But let’s back up a little. Just before this phrase in Philippians 2:15, Paul says, “children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world.” You live in a dark world! Paul called it crooked and perverse two centuries ago. Think of how bad it is now.
Let’s back up just a little further. Paul starts in Philippians 2:14: Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world.
We like the idea of being blameless and pure. We like being children of God without fault. We like shining for His glory. So let me ask you: Do you ever complain or argue? Uh oh. Do you complain or argue when Mom says it’s time to come in for supper or time to go to bed? Do you complain when bad things happen (like everything getting washed away by water, or burned up in the fire, or destroyed by a tornado)? Do you complain when life doesn’t go the way you think it should?
Hmmm. These light sticks won’t shine until what happens? We have to break them - kind of like going through difficult life circumstances. If we praise God regardless of what happens in our lives, then we’re doing what Paul said; we are doing everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world.
Isn’t it interesting that these light sticks show up the best in the dark? And if these light sticks are connected together, they really shine in a darkened place.
So there are three points today. Do everything without complaining or arguing even when things aren’t going your way (being broken). Then you can shine your light for God’s glory in a world that really needs Him. And if you stick together, you can shine even more brightly - as lights in the world.
**Rubbish
For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ. Philippians 3:8
Materials needed: trash can, valuable stuff
When was the last time you went dumpster diving and found something valuable? The dumpster is for trash, rubbish, things that are broken, worn out, worthless, or filthy. And things in the dumpster are taken to either the dump or an incinerator or a recycling plant. (It is to our shame as a country that we actually routinely find things in the dumpster that are worth keeping. It’s not supposed to be that way.) So if we pull the trash can over here and pour everything out on the floor, are you going to look at it the same way as you would if I opened a treasure chest full of gold and jewels and money?
So my next question is this: what is the thing that is most precious to you? What is it that you have that you value the most? Think of the thing that if you lost it, you would cry and be very sad.
It’s a good exercise because the physical stuff around us is just that: it’s stuff. And yes, we enjoy the stuff we have. Our stuff makes life easier - cell phones and toasters and cars and bicycles and . . . all of the stuff in our lives.
But the apostle Paul says that he suffered the loss of all things. He had lost all of his stuff. But then he says this, “I could them as rubbish.” Wow! All of the stuff that we think is so valuable! Paul says that he looked at all his stuff as if it were trash. And no, he wasn’t weird.
He did it, he said, that he might gain Christ. How does counting all of your stuff as garbage help you gain Christ? It’s a very evocative picture of taking stock of what you have and then putting your relationship with Christ first. There’s nothing more important than knowing God, talking with God, trusting that God is going to take care of you in all situations. A car, a video game, a cell phone . . . what is that stuff in comparison to the relationship you have with the King and Creator of the Universe - that He would call you His friend and His brother (or sister)?
As you’re counting to Pentecost this last week, consider carefully what you value most highly in your life. In other words, while you’re counting, do you count all the things you have as rubbish compared with your relationship with Christ?
What Are You Thinking About?
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8
When you look at the Greek words in Philippians 4:8, there’s nothing earth-shattering. True means “a true one who cannot lie;” honorable means “honest, venerable, that which inspires respect, reverence and worship. It has majestic and awe-inspiring qualities which invites and attracts, doesn’t repel.” Just means “right, just, that which is expected by the one who sets the rules and regulations.” Pure means “pure, innocent, predominantly used to express freedom from defilements or impurities.” Lovely means acceptable, lovely. Commendable means “of good repute, of good reputation, well-spoken of, of good report.” Excellence means “excellency, being pleasing to God, manliness, valor.” Worthy of praise means “commendable, laudable.”
The Greek word which hit me the hardest was logizomai (#3049). It means “to dwell on” or “to think about.” It’s derived from logos which is “reason, word, account.” Logizomai means to put together with one’s mind, to count, occupying oneself with reckonings or calculations.” So here’s this whole list of things from Paul. He wants his readers not just to sometimes think about these things; he wants them to occupy their minds with these things.
When I stop to consider what’s occupying my mind - you know, those thoughts which my mind turns over and over while I’m otherwise occupied with daily tasks - when I consider what’s hovering somewhere between consciousness and subconsciousness, many times it’s a song. Usually there’s a song rattling around, weaving between the things I’m intentionally doing mentally.
What kind of songs?
Thankfully the answer is much different now than it was twenty years ago. You have to understand; kids happened. With kids comes Bible songs. For the last thirteen years, whenever we are in the van, the tape player has some sort of kids’ Bible songs going. I remember being on my own one day. I started to put in the tape and then remembered I was by myself. Instead I turned on the radio to a soft rock station that I used to listen to - BC (before children). I was appalled. I knew the song. I could sing along. But I found myself repulsed by what I was hearing, by what was now playing in my mind! I suffered through a couple of songs before I turned off the radio and pushed the kids’ tape in!
Think about it! The world croons “Do you know where you’re going to? Do you like the things that life is showing you? Where are you going to? Do you know?” That sad, haunting song has instantly depressed me way too many times! As Christians, we should find ourselves singing, “Why should I feel discouraged? . . . Why should my heart feel lonely and long for heaven and home? When Jesus is my portion. My constant Friend is He. His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.”
Or the world might declare “You light up my life. You give me hope to carry on. You light up my day and fill my night with song.” The singer is giving incredible power to what? Another person!!! The Christian sings, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.”
The world sings “You ain’t nothing but a hound dog . . . you never caught a rabbit and you ain’t no friend of mine.” What a sad thing to sing about!! The singer is putting down someone else, instead of rejoicing in a solid friendship. The Christian sings “What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear.”
The world sings “Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away.” The Christian sings songs like Laura Story’s “Blessings:” “What if Your blessings come through raindrops? What if Your healing comes through tears? What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to feel You near? What if my greatest disappointments and the aching of this life are a revealing of greater thirst this world can’t satisfy? And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?”
I could go on. But I think you get the point. We can’t take the world’s definition of what’s right and pure and worthy of praise. We can’t think on the things that the world deems worthy of our thoughts. We have to use God’s definition of those things on which we should dwell.
Colossians 3:2 says to “Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” We have to break some bad habits of thinking of things which are not good for us. Just as we watch our diet, what we put in our bodies, we must watch our mental diet, what we put in our minds.
As we think about those things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise, we find our thoughts turning to Jesus Christ and the hope we have in Him. We take our eyes off ourselves and off the temporary pleasures of this world. We look forward to the goal. We gear up ourselves to run the race, running to win the crown set before us. We find strength, peace, comfort, encouragement and determination to persevere!
So, what are you thinking about?
***Clean Hands
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices. Colossians 3:9
Materials: chocolate syrup, paper towels, wet wash cloth
Have you ever been tempted to lie? Most of us have. When you think you’re going to be in trouble, or when you don’t want someone to think badly of you and what you’ve done, you may be very tempted to lie. But it can make a big mess. (Put a towel under each child’s hand. Then pour some chocolate syrup into their hands. Tell them they can’t let it drip out of their hands.)
It’s kind of fun to have syrup on your hands - at least at first. If you lick it off, it tastes yummy. And that’s how lies are - at first. Initially, you might think that the lie was a good thing. It kept someone from finding out what you really did or didn’t do.
So here’s another question: do you like to work hard? There’s hard work that makes you feel really good. But then there’s hard work that just makes you sick and tired - like the hard work that comes when you lie. Once you’ve told one lie, you have to cover it up with another lie. (Pour some more syrup into their hands.) It’s really hard to keep those lies from messing up your life - just as it’s very hard to keep the syrup from messing up your clothes and the table!!
So what do you do once you’ve told a lie? Telling another lie, and another lie, and another lie isn’t going to solve the problem. What do you do?
You have to go to Jesus Christ and ask for forgiveness. That’s one of the pictures of Passover - that the shed blood of Jesus Christ will pay the penalty for your sin and that you will be cleansed by His blood.
And really, it doesn’t matter whether it’s lies or some other sin which you have done. The hands are a symbol of what you do. So having dirty hands is like saying that you have sinned. And just like washing the chocolate syrup off your hands, Jesus can make your hands (and all of you) clean again through the power of His blood, His death and resurrection.
There’s something absolutely wonderful about having your hands washed cleaned again!
Adapted from: https://oneshetwoshe.com/lies/
***Work With All Your Heart
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters. Colossians 3:23
Materials: markers and paper, marbles, rocks, coins
Supposed you were instructed to separate all the magnets and put them into a circle and at the same time put 20 pennies, one at a time, into a bank. How would you do it. Would you separate out one magnet and set it down and then take one penny and put it into the bank, and then go back to the magnets? No, likely you’d finish one task and then start work on the other task.
What if your mom tells you to clean your room? Do you pick up all the toys and put them away and then pick up all the dirty clothes? Or do you pick up what’s in front of you and put it away and then pick up something else and put it away? What is going to make the best use of your time?
What if I was going to separate pennies and dimes? Would you pick out a dime and then a penny? Or would you pick out all of one kind first and then scoop up what was left?
What if I asked you to fill one page with As and one page with Bs? Would you write an A on one page and then move to the second page to write a B? Or would you do an entire page of one thing before you moved on to another?
Sometimes when we get so busy with stuff or when we really don’t care how well the task is done, we waste time jumping back and forth between tasks. We’re not as productive, and sometimes, doing it that way causes mistakes. We need to completely focus on what we’re doing, giving it all our attention, so that we can do it quickly and do it well. That’s how to work with all your heart - giving a task your best effort.
The second part of the verse talks about our attitude towards a task. If you don’t think that separating coins is important, you couldn’t care less whether you use your time well or not. But when you have a task to do, the apostle Paul says that you need to work as if you were working for God. He’s the King of the Universe. He’s the Almighty. He is Sovereign. It’s scary to think that you’d do a crummy job for Him.
Next time you have a job to do, whatever it is: big or small, hard or easy, fun or stinky; remember that you need to do it with all of your heart, working as if you were doing the task for God.
**Wasting Time
Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Colossians 4:5
Materials needed: chatterbox (folded paper toy) with different activities written inside
This story was shared by cybersalt.org:
One day a gentleman walked into one of Ben Franklin's book stores.
As one of the clerks went to assist him, the gentleman asked the clerk the price of the book he wished to purchase. The young clerk looked at the price posted on the book and said, "That book is one dollar, sir."
The gentleman began to haggle with the clerk over the price. The clerk assured him that the correct price for the book was one dollar and no lower. As the man realized that his efforts to haggle with the clerk were going nowhere, he insisted on speaking with Ben Franklin directly.
Franklin stopped his work, walked out to the storefront and the gentleman asked, "What is the price of this book?"
Franklin answered, "One dollar and a quarter."
The gentleman was confused and replied, "Your clerk just said it was a dollar."
Franklin looked at the book again and answered, "Yes, it was a dollar. But now you're wasting my time."
Do you ever find yourself wasting time? What constitutes wasting time? Someone might saw that scrolling through Facebook is a waste of time. Another might say that reading a book of fiction is a waste of time. What about making your bed? Or perhaps this: what about washing your face? It’s just going to get dirty again!!! What constitutes “wasting time”?
It’s not a black and white issue! If it were, we could look it up online. And actually, if you look it up, there are lists which tell you what the biggest time wasters are!! Doing other people’s work is listed as one. But . . . is that always true? Should you never do someone else’s work because it’s a waste of time? What about your next door neighbor’s driveway which needs to be shoveled, but he just broke his leg? That’s his work. Is it a waste of time to do it for him?
Another one on the list was daydreaming. I think someone else might call it meditation. And the ability to invent something or to be very creative probably hinges on the amount of time you get to spend just thinking - or daydreaming.
Many years ago Christopher complained loudly about digging all of the sod out of the blueberry patch and dumping wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of mulch in its place. He was adamant that it was just a waste of time; the weeds were just going to grow back. He was right about the weeds. But was he right about it being a waste of time? Jonathan looked at all the weeds in my blueberry patch this spring and said, “Well, that experiment failed.” I appreciated his perspective. We tried something; it didn’t work. But it wasn’t a waste of time. The nutrients in that decomposing mulch are very good for my blueberry plants. And I learned something in the process.
So what is a time-waster? That’s probably the wrong question to ask. A better question to ask is: what is the best way for me to use my time? Time is a resource - and you have a limited amount of it. Think about what is really important to accomplish. In his song, “Breathe,” Johnny Diaz sings, “Lay down what’s good and find what’s best.” It’s a matter of priorities. You only have so much time. Use it for God’s glory. Use it to grow closer to God. Use it to help others grow closer to God. Use it wisely.
***denotes visual lessons
Galatians
** Galatians 4:19 - Until Christ is Formed in You
**Galatians 5:13 - A Serving Savior
**Galatians 6:9 - Do Good
Galatians 6:9 - Don't Throw in the Towel
Ephesians
**Ephesians 1:18 - Think Outside the Box
**Ephesians 2:10 - God's Workmanship
**Ephesians 2:20 - What's Your Foundation?
**Ephesians 3:17 - Rooted and Grounded
**Ephesians 4:29 - Sticks and Stones
**Ephesians 4:30 - Don't Grieve the Holy Spirit
**Ephesians 5:1 - Imitate God
**Ephesians 5:19 - Making Melody With Your Heart
**Ephesians 5:26 - Consecration of the Priests (Holy Day Lesson - Feast of Tabernacles)
**Ephesians 6:14 - Full Armor of God, Part One
**Ephesians 6:15 - Ready to Go
**Ephesians 6:16 - The Shield of Faith
**Ephesians 6:17 - A Helmet and a Sword
Philippians
**Philippians 2:15 - Shine!
**Philippians 3:8 - Rubbish!!
Philippians 4:8 - What Are You Thinking About?
Colossians
**Colossians 3:9 - Clean Hands
**Colossians 3:23 - Work With All Your Heart
**Colossians 4:5 - Wasting Time
***Until Christ is Formed in You
. . . until Christ is formed in you. Galatians 4:19
Materials: Coloring sheets for all of the fruit of the Spirit lessons, candy molds, candy [powdered sugar, food coloring, raspberry extract (or your favorite), water - Mix until stiff enough to hold its shape.]
We started three months ago talking about the fruit of the spirit.
Love: Like putting an ice cube in your mouth keeps you from tasting, the ice in your heart can keep you from loving other people.
Joy: Like an ear of corn forms all of the kernels when the plant has access to abundant water and nutrients, so your joy can be full when you love and serve God.
Peace: Like a sponge squeezed can only release what it has inside, you will show what’s really in your heart when you’re put under pressure. Knowing God and seeking to please Him is a good way to make sure your heart is filled with His peace.
Patience: Like waiting for a tower of cups to be built, we often have to have patience in our lives. Patience is the fourth fruit of the Spirit.
Kindness: Like trying to put toothpaste back into its tube, so our words cannot be unspoken. We have to be careful about what we say and what we do - to make sure that we are kind.
Goodness: A bad apple can negatively affect the whole barrel. We must choose to act in good and right ways.
Faithfulness: As a dog is faithful to its master, so we must choose to be faithful to our Master, Savior and Soon-Coming King.
Gentleness: As you have to be careful driving your little cars around a house of cards, so we must be very gentle in the things we do and the words we speak.
Self-Control: Like trying to hit a ball on a tube with just the right amount of force so that it will drop into the jar, so we must learn to control our actions - not too little, not too much. But just right.
Having each of these fruit of the Spirit is another way of saying that Christ is formed in us. His character, His ways of conduct, demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit perfectly.
But like a candy mold can shape the candy into different shapes, we all look different on the outside. It’s when you taste the candy that you know it’s sweet. Similarly, when Christ is formed in us, our actions and our words are evidence of what’s inside. We need to seek God with all of our heart, until Christ is formed in each of us!
**A Serving Savior
“Don’t use your freedom as an excuse to sin. . . Serve one another in love” (Paraphrase). - Galatians 5:13
Materials: Servant questions on cards
How do you feel about serving others? Is that something you naturally do? Is it something you think you should do but try to avoid? Or are you the one who is normally served?
Can you think of a time when you last served someone?
Are you the one who says, “Hey, can you get me a kleenex?” Or are you the one who goes to get the kleenex?
Do you look around for things that need to be done? Or do you focus mostly on what you want to do?
Do you like helping other people? Do you wish they’d do more for themselves? Do you prefer that people help you accomplish your goals?
When someone asks you to do something, what’s your first response? Is it “Do I have to?” Do you gladly help? Or is it somewhere in-between? Do you ever help someone grudgingly? You do it, but you don’t really want to.
During the time of Jesus, many people wore sandals. So as they walked from place to place, their feet would get dirty. It was custom for a host to have a servant wash the feet of their guests. It’s a nice way to help them feel welcomed, comfortable, and honored. So when Jesus got up after dinner and began to wash the disciples’ feet, it was shocking to the disciples! This was not something their esteemed Teacher, the Son of God, should be doing. There were lowly servants to do this sort of thing! But Jesus needed to teach His disciples (and all of us) that the greatest in the kingdom of God is the servant of all (Matthew 23:11). Paul tells us (Philippians 2:3) to consider others better than ourselves. That kind of humility doesn’t come naturally to most of us.
So how do you get to a place where you have a servant’s heart - willing to help those who need it, looking for things that need to be done, honestly serving in love? God works a change in our hearts - helping us to understand how Jesus came as a suffering servant. If He gave us this example to follow, we had better learn to submit to Him and learn to serve.
Here’s a place to start: Can you truly serve someone with gladness if you are upset at them over something? Work at fixing the relationship you have with the people around you, admit when you are wrong, apologize, and work to make it right. Give grace to those who have done something to upset you. Forgive, knowing how much you want God’s forgiveness.
And as for serving, how can you serve God if you are not willing to serve the people around you? (Principle from 1 John 4:20). It’s something to think about as we rapidly approach Passover.
**Do Good
And let us not grow weary of doing good . . . Galatians 6:9
Materials: a hard-boiled egg, an apple, a small container of baking soda and one of vinegar, a clear container, a towel.
How do you know if it’s a good apple or a bad apple? Sometimes there are spots where you suspect a worm might have crawled. Sometimes it’s kind of dented or wrinkly. But you can’t always judge an apple by its outside appearance. You might just get a bite that isn’t so appetizing, especially if you find half a worm.
How do you know if this is a good egg or a bad egg? If you have a bowl of water, and it floats, it’s bad! But if you don’t have a bowl of water, you wouldn’t know until you crack it open. If it’s bad, watch out. It’s going to smell!! If it’s really, really bad, when you start to crack it, it will explode. And that’s very, very smelly . . . and messy!
We talk about good apples and good eggs. But why are they good? Because they are still good to be used in some way - some way that usually involves eating them. So it’s not enough that the apple and the egg look nice on the outside. In our definition of good, we want to be able to eat them.
I’d imagine you couldn’t begin to count the number of times your mom told you, “Be good.” Now did she mean that you should look nice on the outside? Or did she mean that your behavior should be good? Or that your thoughts should be good? In most cases, when your mom tells you to be good, she wants you to act in a certain way, to follow the rules, to stay out of trouble.
We know what Mom means when she says, “Be good,” but in reality, Jesus said there is no one who is good, but God alone (Mark 10:18). So instead of telling us to be good, the apostle Paul tells all of us - adults and children alike - not to grow weary of doing good. Don’t you find it interesting that Paul has to say this? It indicates that it requires effort to do good. It requires perseverance. It might not always be your first choice. It’s hard. Our carnal minds would rather be bad sometimes because it appears to be so much more fun.
But remember the bad egg and the bad apple? They are not very useful to the one who finds them, except maybe as fertilizer in the garden. In a similar way, if we are not dedicated to doing good, we’re not very useful to God.
Now vinegar and baking soda are very good for a lot of different things. And together they make a wonderful reaction. But once they’ve combined and foamed, they’re not good for anything any more. Or are they? At first glance we might say that since the base-acid reaction is done, what’s left is just a mess and not good for anything.
Sometimes we’re like the vinegar and baking soda. We see a job we can do and we’re very willing to do it. It certainly draws a lot of attention. But once that attention is gone, are we just done? If no one is watching us, are we still willing to do what is good and right? Are we willing to continue serving and doing good, even if no one acknowledges or appreciates us?
The vinegar and baking soda combine to form carbonic acid and sodium acetate. Then almost immediately the carbonic acid breaks down in to carbon dioxide and water. The carbon dioxide escapes into the air. We are left with water and sodium acetate. The sodium acetate is what is commonly used to flavor salt and vinegar potato chips.
Even when people don’t realize it, the vinegar and baking soda are still good for something. They are still useful. And even when no one around notices, we are very useful to God if we are willing to be used by Him. It may not look like we had envisioned. It might not even be fun. But Paul tells us not to become weary, or tired, of doing good.
But we have to keep in mind that God put us on this earth for His glory. And when He puts something in our path to do, we need to do it with all of our heart, working as for the Lord, not for men. We should never grow tired of doing that - working for His glory.
Don’t Throw in the Towel
And let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9
What kinds of things happen in due season? Harvests. Summer break. Obtaining a driver’s license. The birth of a baby. This is what these two words mean in the Greek. The word “due” is idios (#2398) and means property or one’s own. The word “season” is the Greek word kairos (#2540) which means time. The two words together mean the proper or convenient time, or that which gives time the opportunity to do. Due season means that a specified amount of time has to elapse before a thing will happen - a baby being born, a plant producing a ripe tomato, the school year culminating in a summer break.
Paul makes use of the harvest analogy with the use of the word “reap.” If we want to reap, we have to continue doing good. These two words are also interesting in the Greek. “Doing” is the Greek word poieo (#4160) and means to do once for all, bringing forth something so it will have an independent existence of its own. It focuses on the end result, not on the performance or the act by which the object is obtained. The word “good” is the Greek word kalos (#2570) and means constitutionally good, without being necessarily benevolent. For instance, this Greek word is used in connection with the wine that Jesus had made out of water at the wedding in Cana. It was “good” wine. That is, it was good of itself. When these two words are put together, it is “doing good”, doing the right thing for the end result. It’s not focused on what’s happening at the moment. For instance, when growing a garden, you focus on the harvest, you don’t focus on the work necessary to get to the harvest. If I think about all the weeding, it can become discouraging and overwhelming. So I weed, I do the good or right thing, because I’m focused on where I want to end up.
Similarly, God wants us to focus on what He has prepared for us in His kingdom. So we continue to do the right thing, make the right choices, do good, because our focus is on His kingdom, not on the aches, pains, trouble, and toil involved in getting there.
The other two really interesting words in this verse are “give up” and “weary.” The Greek word for “give up” is ekluo (#1590) which mean to faint or to relax. So what Paul is telling his audience is that they can’t relax. They have to stand engaged in doing good because of the goal! The word “weary” is the Greek word ekkakeo (#1573) which denotes cowardice or faintheartedness.
Think about that! Paul does not want us to be cowards, to be afraid of doing the right thing. The implication is that doing the right thing is not always easy, is not always comfortable, is not always what we want to do. We might be tempted to relax. We might be tempted to look at the struggle and take our eyes off the goal. We might not keep our eyes on the goal, on the harvest, on what we are striving to reap!
God never promised that His people would have an easy time of it. Rather, God seems to give us indications over and over again that life will not be easy. But we have to persevere. We have to stand firm. We have to keep our eyes focused on the reward, running the race so as to obtain the goal.
It’s a good thing to remember the next time you want to give up and throw in the towel.
**Think Outside the Box
- having the eyes of your hearts enlightened . . . Ephesians 1:18
Materials needed: Stuff created from jeans or t-shirts (pot holders, remote pockets, rugs, dog toys, baskets, coasters, etc.)
Sometimes we get into the habit of seeing something in a certain way; we have trouble envisioning it as something else - also called “thinking outside the box.” For instance, what can you do with t-shirts besides wear them? They make good coasters and rags. You can turn them into quilts. The t-shirt yarn is useful for making baskets, dog/cat toys, and rugs.
We could have a similar conversation about a pair of jeans. They’re good for wearing. But what else? I’ve made bags, remote control holders, braided ropes for swinging out over the creek, baskets, pot holders, dog beds, and totes from jeans - and have taken the zippers for making other pouches, the good material for patching other jeans, and the leftover scraps for rags.
Additionally, a pair of jeans makes a fairly good life preserver to someone who’s just fallen out of a boat. But if you have never been taught to take them off, tie the legs, and splash air/water into them, you would think that those heavy jeans are only going to drag you to the bottom of the lake rather than provide the means to help you survive.
God gave us the ability to look at the creation and find new ways of using what He’s designed. (Think of George Washington Carver and the peanut.) If the physical world is so intricate, has so many layers, why would we think that God’s word would be any different?
Think about it! How many times have you read through the Bible? There are new nuggets which God reveals nearly every time, especially if you want to know more about Him and His ways. There’s a good reason why the apostle Paul used the word “mystery” - because we don’t understand everything there is to know yet about what God is doing, how we will be changed, what life will be like, what our role will be, etc. We could talk for a long time about the things we don’t know and don’t understand about God. But here’s the goal: that the eyes of our hearts would be enlightened, Paul tells the Ephesians, that we may know what is the hope to which he has called us, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe. That’s a lofty goal!
And I thought coming up with new ways to use t-shirts and jeans was cool! That’s nothing compared to knowing the hope before us, our inheritance, and God’s power in our lives!
***God’s Workmanship
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10
Materials needed: cookie cutters and homemade sugar cookies
What is your most favorite part of God’s creation? Horses, puppies, kittens, lilacs, roses, streams, mountains, a warm sweater? What comes to mind when thinking about this question?
Do you know what is the pinnacle of God’s creation? That is, what was His best achievement? Not the giraffe with valves in the veins of his neck to prevent the blood from rushing out of his head when he lifts it high to reach leaves. Not the kangaroo which can suspend its pregnancy up to two years if Australia is in drought conditions. Not the hummingbird! Did you know the Giane Hummingbird flaps its wings 10-15 times a second; the Amethyst Wood-star Hummingbird flaps its wings a record 80 times a second; the average North American hummingbird flaps its wing an average of 53 beats per second in normal flight. Not the peregrine falcon whose hunting speeds are around 240 mph as it drops from a height of 2/3 of a mile. Human beings are the pinnacle of God’s creation.
When I look around at all the amazing creatures in this world, I don’t want to believe that I am more amazing that any of them. What makes a person more special than any other thing in all of creation? Genesis 1:26 says that God made man in His image. Nothing else in all of creation was made after the image of God! In addition, Jesus Christ came to this earth as a baby, lived as a human, died a horrible death, and was resurrected again to life just for humans. He didn’t do all of that for dogs or cats or trees. He did that for you and for me.
Ephesians 2:10 says that we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
We are a very special part of God’s creation - made in His image, redeemed by Jesus for eternal life as part of God’s family, and given dominion over (given the responsibility to take care of) the rest of creation.
Yes. We are special: God’s workmanship. But that’s not where it stops. We were not just created to be. We were created to do. God has work for us to do. The first step in doing the work that God prepared for us to do is obedience. So how are you doing in your count to Pentecost? What day is this?
***What’s Your Foundation?
[God’s house is] built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, Ephesians 2:20
Materials: dominoes, building blocks, etc.
If you were stacking blocks, with just a little hanging over the edge, how many would it take before the top one was no longer over the first one at all? The fourth one!! Because of the center of gravity, if you stack the blocks with just the right overhang, the fourth one will be completely clear. (This is very dramatic on the edge of a table.)
Place the first domino (or building block) just an eighth over the edge. The next block is one-sixth past the block beneath it. The third block is one-fourth past the block beneath it. The fourth block is placed halfway off the block beneath it. That makes it completely off the table.
If you could stack 227 blocks, the overhang would be three full blocks!!
The very cool thing about this is that cantilever bridges are built in this fashion. Their benefit is in not having to have a center support.
But what does this stacking of blocks, and the overhang, have to do with being a Christian and our walk with Jesus Christ?
Sometimes this world makes us feel like we are out there - way out there. Crazy. But our faith is built on the foundation of Jesus Christ. The Church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus being the chief cornerstone. So we can feel like we hanging over a precipice. We can feel like there’s nothing beneath us, but as long as we center our lives on the foundation, we won’t fall.
Resource: 77 Science Activities for Illustrating Bible Lessons, Donald B. DeYoung, pgs. 50-52, 2013, ISBN: 978-0-8010-1537-3
***Rooted and Grounded
that you, being rooted and grounded in love, . . . Ephesians 3:17
Materials: sprouted seeds, plant
The other day I went downstairs to get a jar of tomatoes. I found my turmeric tubers had sprouted. I had to do something with them. Have you ever left potatoes sprouting until the growing potato has sucked all the nutrients out of the tuber? The potato is just left, wrinkled and shrunken and not much good. If I just left the sprouted turmeric in the bag, the same thing would have happened to them. So. What do you think I did with the turmeric? Ron planted it. What do you think he planted it in? It was a mixture of soil and sand. Then I added water. Why did Ron plant the sprout in soil? That’s how God has designed plants: most plants grow best when they are rooted in soil. It doesn’t work very well to plant them on the concrete or in a toy box or in a jar of marbles. Plants need the nutrients from the soil to help them grow strong and healthy. Concrete and toy boxes and marbles don’t normally have the nutrients that plants need. You get this. You’ve been around plants enough to understand how this works.
As plants take nutrients and water from the soil, the roots continue to grow down and the stem and leaves grow up. If it was only the stem growing up, without the growing of the roots, what would happen to the plant? It would fall over. It’s very important to the stability of the plant that the roots continue to grow down and out to provide the foundation for the plant. Sometimes plants grow a single taproot down - like a carrot. Other times plants grow a bunch of hair-like or finger-like roots - like grass or corn.
So in Ephesians 3:17 when the apostle Paul says “rooted and grounded” is he talking about plants? No, we know he isn’t because of two things: First, he says “rooted and grounded.” The first word is a biology word and has to do with plants. The second word is an architectural word which has to do with the foundation of a building. Then Paul says, “that you, being rooted and grounded . . .” He’s using the plants and buildings - something you are familiar with - to make a point. You need to grow and develop in the place where you have the things to you to help you grow strong and healthy. What kinds of things make you strong and healthy? Where do you get those kinds of things? Paul gives us another really good clue when he says we are rooted and grounded in love. Who loves you more than anyone else? Your parents love you! They give you the things (food, clothing, shelter, and yes, rules) that you need in order for you to grow strong and healthy.
Think about the choices that your parents make so that you will grow strong and healthy. You have good food to eat (not a bunch of candy and junk). You have warm clothes to wear when it’s cold. They are teaching you about God, His love for you, and His ways so that you’ll make good choices. They want you to have a good foundation for making choices even if they aren’t around. If they didn’t love you, they might root you in candy and junk food, throw dirty clothes with holes in them for you to wear, and let you do whatever you want. It’s because your parents love you that they give you good things - including rules - and make sure you are firmly grounded in obeying those rules.
It’s interesting, really, because our parents help us to understand that our Heavenly Father, God Almighty is the One who gives us what we need: remember the verses about the birds of the air and the lilies of the field (Matthew 6:25-33)? And guess what? God gives us what we need because He loves us. In other words, we are rooted and grounded in love, God’s love.
O.K. So back to the plant. Once that plant is rooted in the soil, what does it do? It grows and produces something. A plant might produce tomatoes or turmeric. It might grow apples or walnuts. All plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen - which we need in order to live. And some plants filter the air, taking the dirt out of it, better than others. And then think about the foundations of buildings: if a building has a bad foundation, what happens when storms come? What happens when something shakes the building? It could easily collapse.
So what about you? Being rooted and grounded in love, growing strong and healthy the way God wants you to, having a solid foundation on His word, what do you produce? The most important thing you produce is love for your parents. And you show that love by obeying them. What good is it to go give your mom a big hug and tell her you love her and then break all of her rules? Your words don’t mean much if you don’t obey her.
It’s the same thing with God. God has given you all things. He’s rooted and grounded you in love so that you’ll grow strong and healthy. So what is your response to Him? The reasonable response is to love Him with all of your heart (Rom 12:1, Deut 6:5). And how do you show that love? By obeying His commandments (John 14:15). What good is it to say that you love God with your words and then tell Him you don’t love Him by breaking His laws - laws that were given for your good?!
I have some very happy, healthy turmeric plants because they were rooted in soil. And you are happy and healthy because you are rooted and grounded in your parents’ love and in God’s love. Praise God!!
***Sticks and Stones
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up . . . Ephesians 4:29
Materials: paper
There’s a saying: Sticks and stone can break my bones, but words will never hurt me.
That’s just not true. Words don’t leave visible wounds, but words can leave interior wounds that last for years and people never realize how much they’ve hurt you. There’s a video going around on Facebook that illustrates this pretty well. It goes something like this:
Take a piece of paper. Nice, smooth, unblemished, a blank slate ready for use. Now say something unkind about the paper. Crumple a corner. Say something mean. Crumple some more. Continue until the paper is completely crumpled up. Now, apologize for the things that you said about the paper in an unkind or mean-spirited or rude manner. With each apology, straight out the paper. What does it look like when it’s all uncrumpled? Is it smooth and nice and unblemished? No. There’s the evidence of the crumpling.
Think twice before you say something. Don’t say something in anger. Consider how beneficial your words will be, even if they are true. Sometimes your words are true, but it’s not the right time to say that particular thing. And then, consider how you say your words. You might be correct in what you’re saying, but your rude manner, or simply unkind manner, can leave unnecessary wounds.
Think of it this way: God created everything there is with the spoken word. If we are in training to be like God (for we will see Him as He is), then we’d better learn how to control our tongues (and the words we speak with that tongue) right now.
Sticks and stones can break my bones; and words have the power of life and death (Proverbs 18:21).
***Imitate God
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. Ephesians 5:1
Materials: objects from which you can take a rubbing, crayons
Have you ever made a rubbing of anything? It’s fun to rub coins. Sometimes that’s the only way to figure out what is actually on the coin because the coin is so faded. It’s also very interesting to make rubbings of grave stones. Some of those stones have become so weathered that they are unreadable to your eyes, so the rubbings can show what you otherwise can’t see! They also make rubbing plates that kids can rub and then color in. It’s actually pretty cool: you can get just an outline, or basic, idea if you rub really lightly. If you press a little harder, you get a better rubbing. It’s just an impression of the plate; it’s not really the plate, but you get an idea of what the plate looks like if you are careful to do a very good rubbing.
This “rubbing” effect happens with people too. Ever have a friend that you really like and suddenly you find yourself using the phrases they use. Jennifer came home from Aunt Tricia’s house last summer saying “Tricky.” Even if I hadn’t known she’d spent time with Tricia, I’d have known just by that one word. The more we spend time with people, the more we become like them. We pick up their words as well as their good habits and their bad habits. That’s especially true with children who are watching the adults in their lives and imitating them.
Isn’t that the way it is with God too? The closer we get to Him, the more we can become like Him. If you spend time with God (in prayer, Bible study, meditation, fasting), you find out that you are amazed and humbled by His goodness and you find that you really like Him and want to spend more time with Him. If you begin to desire to spend more time with Him, you become more like Him. And if you seek Him with all your heart, He promises that He will be found by you (Jeremiah 29:13). In the end, when you like God, like what He does, want to spend time with Him, want to be like Him, you become an imitator of who He is.
I guess you could say He rubs off on you. And children, it’s a good thing to be an imitator of your Father!
***Making Melody With Your Heart
addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, Ephesians 5:19
Materials: glasses, water at different levels, spoon
There are so many places in the Bible that talk about singing to God, singing a new song, making melody in our hearts. Maybe it sounds like this. (Pour a little water into a glass and strike the glass lightly with a spoon.)
Notice what the verses don’t say. They don’t say that you have to sound good - who gets to decide what sounds good and what doesn’t? If you are praising God with your songs, that’s pleasing to Him. It doesn’t have to be pleasing to someone else.
So maybe that sounds like this. (Pour water into another glass at a different level. Again, strike lightly with a spoon.) What you have inside - in your heart - determines the sound of your praise, or lack of praise.
The way you praise God doesn’t have to be the way someone else praises God. Your song doesn’t have to sound like anyone else’s song. The melody in your heart just needs to be genuinely praising our Great God.
So if every glass had water in it at a different level and we all tried to sing simultaneously, it could sound like chaos. I think God would still hear our individual praises, but we wouldn’t be doing the first part of the verse: addressing one another in a way that builds each of us up.
So we try to sing in harmony. We try to take turns and work together to make a pleasing sound both to God and to one another. When we do that, the music draws us closer together as we praise Him!
Maybe it sounds like this. (With pre-set levels of water, play a simple song by striking each glass in the proper order.)
I hope you always have a song in your heart, praising God.
**Consecration of Priests
. . . to make [the Church} holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word. Ephesians 5:26
Materials: basin, wash clothes
Yesterday we talked about the dedication of the temple of God. Part of the design of the temple was the priesthood. The priests would serve God day and night in His temple, interceding for the people of God. The priesthood was a picture of our High Priest, Jesus Christ, who sits at the right hand of God and ever lives to make intercession for us.
The first physical High Priest from the tribe of Levi was Aaron. When God declared that Aaron would be high priest, there was an elaborate ceremony for his consecration. Consecration is a synonym of dedication, but carries an additional meaning of being set apart as holy or sacred for a holy purpose.
First, Aaron was washed by Moses; he could not wash himself. Second, Moses dressed Aaron in fine white line, special clothing only to be used in the tabernacle (and later, the temple). Then there were special sin offerings to be made, followed by fellowship offerings. The entire period of consecration took seven days!
So here’s the parallel: God says that we will be a kingdom of priests to Him. First, we have to be washed by water - baptized into Jesus Christ. Just as Aaron could not wash himself, we can’t baptize ourselves. Secondly, we are dressed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. All of our sins and sinfulness is atoned for by the sacrifice, the crucifixion, the blood, of Jesus Christ. And at the return of Jesus Christ, we will be consecrated as priests in His service. We’ll teach the people. We’ll minister before God day and night in His temple.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the consecration of the priests took seven days. I believe that one of the pictures of the Feast of Tabernacles is our consecration as priests of God when Jesus returns to earth and sets up His kingdom.
Talk about a place prepared for us!! Talk about a reason to rejoice!! God is preparing us to be part of His government, a perfect government, forever.
***The Full Armor of God
Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, Ephesians 6:14
Materials: fan, paper people
Have you ever tried to stand in a very strong wind? Wyoming is renown for its wind, and the rim of the Grand Canyon gets some pretty strong wind at times. Not only is it hard to walk against the wind, it’s also very difficult to maintain your position. The wind seems to take it as a personal challenge to move you from your spot.
Likewise, there are forces in this life which try to knock you off your feet and keep you from standing firm. So the apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians and told them (and us) to put on the full armor of God so that we can stand, so that we can hold our position.
The first piece of the armor of God is the belt of truth. Employing an effective visual aid, Paul emphasizes the necessity of speaking the truth. He says that part of the amor is a belt. What does a belt do? It’s really more than just decoration. For a soldier, it is that piece of armor from which you hang your weapons. Your hands and arms would get very tired of carrying weapons, whereas you can carry that weight around your waist for a much longer time.
So think about truth being the anchor which holds your weapons close to you so you can use them. If you don’t have truth, you can’t carry your weapons very far; you can’t fight as long.
There’s another interesting analogy for the belt of truth. A belt holds your pants up! Think about it: if you don’t wear a belt, then your pants fall down. You’re exposed. You’re embarrassed. You’re vulnerable to attack because you’re trying to cover yourself up! The belt of truth keeps us covered from Satan’s falsehood attacks. If you know what the truth is, it helps you to discern the lies. Don’t ever get sucked into the idea that a little lie doesn’t matter. If it’s not true, then it’s a lie. Wear the belt of truth.
The second piece of the armor of God is the breastplate of righteousness. First of all, what is righteousness. Ness is the state of being; ous means full of; so righteousness is the state of being full of right actions, doing what is right according to God. That’s significant. Righteousness is not defined by what we think; righteousness is determined and defined by God. He gets to make the rules; He’s God!
So Paul again uses the visual to drive home the point. A breastplate protects your vital organs, in spiritual terms, your heart. When you do right actions, you are protecting your soul. If you’re having trouble thinking of what that might look like, think of the opposite. If you do a wrong action, how does it make you feel? Do you get sick? Does it make you feel bad? Do you get irritable with the people around you? Does it make your stomach hurt? Your wrong actions, your sin, caused you to take off that breastplate of righteousness. Your sick feeling is a direct result of not doing what you knew you should have. And furthermore, if you don’t get that breastplate back on again (by repenting and going back to God for His forgiveness and direction), then you are leaving yourself open to more attacks by Satan.
Satan is like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Ephesians 6:11 tells us that the armor is so that we can defeat the schemes of Satan. Why in the world would you want to leave yourself open to attack by the being who wants to destroy you and destroy the relationship you have with God?
Put on the belt of truth. Wear the breastplate of righteousness. Leave no opportunity for the schemes and plans of the devil.
***Ready to Go
and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. Ephesians 6:15
Materials: various shoes
What’s the first thing Mom says when it’s time to go somewhere? “Get your shoes on; let’s go!” And it makes a difference what shoes you wear. If you’re going to go hiking, it would be best to put on hiking shoes. If you’re going to be mucking out the horse stall, it would be best to have waterproof muck boots. If you’re going to be playing at the creek, it’s nice to have water shoes or old tennis shoes. But it doesn’t work very well to wear flip flops if you’re tromping through the woods in 40º weather collecting firewood. And it doesn’t make any sense to wear heavy snow boots if you’re going to play on the beach in 80º weather. You have to have the right shoes for whatever job you have to do.
What job has God given you? Remember where this verse comes from. It’s part of the whole armor of God. And remember the whole armor of God is so that we can stand against the schemes of the devil. We’ve already put on the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness (last week’s sabbath lesson). So now Paul says, “and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.”
Some people say that the shoes are the peace or the gospel of peace. But Paul doesn’t say that. He says that we put on readiness - the state of being ready - and that readiness is given by the gospel of peace.
What is the gospel of peace?
It is the good news that Jesus Christ has come as our Savior, to redeem us from unrighteousness, to save us from the penalty of our sin. It is the good news that Jesus has reconciled us to the Father through His blood. It is the good news that we belong to God, that He cares about us, that our lives are in His hands.
Psalm 119:165 says, “Great peace have they who love God’s law and nothing can make them stumble.” When you know that gospel of peace, that good news that Jesus has saved you, you also know that God has provided a lamp to your feet and a light to your path so you won’t stumble. God’s law teaches you how to be ready to go do the task God has given you to do.
If you know that good news, those promises of God, then you are ready to stand against the devil’s plans.
Have you put on the readiness that is given by the gospel of peace?
***The Shield of Faith
In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; Ephesians 6:16
Materials: Jack-in-the-Box
Have you ever played with a jack-in-the-box? You are busy turning the handle, thinking the music is a little weird. Suddenly, this clown guy pops out! (No wonder there are so many people traumatized by the recent clown sightings; it all goes back to playing with a jack-in-the-box when they were little! 🙂) For a little child who has never seen a jack-in-the-box before, it can be very scary. They don’t know what to expect and suddenly there’s an unexpected movement. They weren’t ready and they are often startled - and maybe they start to cry.
Life is kind of like a jack-in-the-box. You walk through life, minding your own business, maybe enjoying what you’re doing, or maybe you’re a little bored. Suddenly, something totally unexpected happens in your life. Sometimes those unexpected things are scary - like a tire blowing out when you’re traveling somewhere, or a deer jumping out in front of the car! Sometimes it’s a good thing - even if it’s unexpected - like getting a call that you’ve won a contest or that you’re going to have a new little brother or sister.
There are other unexpected bad things too: The apostle Paul calls them the flaming darts of the evil one. Satan will try to hurt you in any way he can. He knows that doing something that is unexpected is more likely to hurt than if you’re ready for him. So Paul tells us to put on the shield of faith.
O.K. So when would you want to have your shield of faith? Any time that you want to be protected from the fiery darts of the evil one!!! When you first get up in the morning, you put on your clothes. Why wouldn’t you also put on the belt of truth - committing yourself to being truthful all day?! Why wouldn’t you put on the breastplate of righteousness - purposefully determining that you’re going to do what is right, even when it’s hard?! You know you have to put on your shoes so you can go where God wants you to go - being ready because you know the gospel of peace. In the same way, you need to take your shield of faith with you all the time. It’s part of what you clothe yourself with every day.
What is the shield of faith? Where do you get it? Your first measure of faith comes from God. But you want your faith to grow stronger - and that happens when you spend more time with God, coming to know who He is and how much He loves you. When you learn to trust Him, when you believe His promises, when you live your life knowing He has your best interest at heart, you’re growing your faith. As your faith grows, you have a stronger shield to extinguish the fiery darts of the evil one.
But if you don’t spend time with God and grow your faith, what will you do when Satan shoots fiery darts at you?
Put on your shield of faith every day and in every circumstance!
***A Helmet and a Sword
and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, Eph. 6:17
Materials: a helmet and a sunbonnet, a table knife and a sharp knife
If I want protection from a dangerous enemy, what am I going to put on my head? A sunbonnet or a helmet? The sunbonnet will provide protection from the sun, but it’s not the defense that a helmet is against almost any other weapon! A helmet can defend against sun, but it can also defend against hail or arrows or swords or tree branches. You see, your enemy, the devil, will use whatever weapon he can to harm you. You need to wear the head gear which will give you the greatest protection.
That’s what your salvation is: a helmet! It is the knowledge that in Christ Jesus, you are secure. You don’t have to worry about it. You don’t have to doubt - because your salvation doesn’t depend upon you; your salvation depends upon Jesus Christ. There’s no greater possible protection than Him!! The apostle Paul, in Romans 8:38 says it this way, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
So put the helmet of salvation on your head! Don’t leave your head unprotected!
The other piece of the armor of God in this verse is the sword of the Spirit. The apostle Paul is very clear: this is the word of God. So think about a dull table knife compared with a sharp knife. Which one will cut bread - not smash bread, but cut it? Which one will carve a turkey? Which one will cut steak? Obviously, you want a very sharp knife to make a clean division between two pieces. Think about it: you can actually get more hurt using a dull knife because you’re forcing it to do something it can’t.
Similarly, since the sword of the Spirit is the word of God, you want that sword to be very sharp. That happens when you do a couple of things: you ask God for His wisdom and you read the word of God, studying God’s word to know exactly what God has said. The more you study with the Holy Spirit leading you into all truth (John 16:13), the sharper your sword becomes. When your sword is sharp, you walk in the way that pleasing to God. Psalm 119:11 says, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” But when your sword is dull, then you don’t know when someone is trying to deceive you and pull you away from God’s way. You can’t easily divide between truth and lies. The dull sword can really hurt you!
When you put on the full armor of God, don’t forget your helmet of salvation and make sure you have a sharp sword of the Spirit, the word of God.
**Shine!
. . . among whom you shine as lights in the world. Philippians 2:15
Materials needed: glow sticks
Do you think Jesus was talking to you when He said, . . . “let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven”? If you think He was talking to you, if you count yourself as one of His disciples (a learner and follower of Jesus), have you thought of what it might mean to let your light shine? It likely has something to do with how you act, doesn’t it.
When you are a Christian, you take the name of Christ on you, what you do can bring dishonor to God or your actions can bring honor and glory to God. Think about it: if you are calling yourself a Christian, then you are telling me that you’re doing what God approves of. When you do things that are not right, people either think that God doesn’t care what we do or they think that they wouldn’t want to be part of a religion that allowed that kind of behavior. Either way, it’s not good.
But when you make good choices and act in the right way, then you bring glory to God - especially if you are making good choices when people all around you are not. After all, a light is the most visible in the darkness.
Your memory verse is just a portion of Philippians 2:15: . . . among whom you shine as lights in the world. O.K. We want to shine for God in this world, to bring Him glory and honor. But let’s back up a little. Just before this phrase in Philippians 2:15, Paul says, “children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world.” You live in a dark world! Paul called it crooked and perverse two centuries ago. Think of how bad it is now.
Let’s back up just a little further. Paul starts in Philippians 2:14: Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world.
We like the idea of being blameless and pure. We like being children of God without fault. We like shining for His glory. So let me ask you: Do you ever complain or argue? Uh oh. Do you complain or argue when Mom says it’s time to come in for supper or time to go to bed? Do you complain when bad things happen (like everything getting washed away by water, or burned up in the fire, or destroyed by a tornado)? Do you complain when life doesn’t go the way you think it should?
Hmmm. These light sticks won’t shine until what happens? We have to break them - kind of like going through difficult life circumstances. If we praise God regardless of what happens in our lives, then we’re doing what Paul said; we are doing everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world.
Isn’t it interesting that these light sticks show up the best in the dark? And if these light sticks are connected together, they really shine in a darkened place.
So there are three points today. Do everything without complaining or arguing even when things aren’t going your way (being broken). Then you can shine your light for God’s glory in a world that really needs Him. And if you stick together, you can shine even more brightly - as lights in the world.
**Rubbish
For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ. Philippians 3:8
Materials needed: trash can, valuable stuff
When was the last time you went dumpster diving and found something valuable? The dumpster is for trash, rubbish, things that are broken, worn out, worthless, or filthy. And things in the dumpster are taken to either the dump or an incinerator or a recycling plant. (It is to our shame as a country that we actually routinely find things in the dumpster that are worth keeping. It’s not supposed to be that way.) So if we pull the trash can over here and pour everything out on the floor, are you going to look at it the same way as you would if I opened a treasure chest full of gold and jewels and money?
So my next question is this: what is the thing that is most precious to you? What is it that you have that you value the most? Think of the thing that if you lost it, you would cry and be very sad.
It’s a good exercise because the physical stuff around us is just that: it’s stuff. And yes, we enjoy the stuff we have. Our stuff makes life easier - cell phones and toasters and cars and bicycles and . . . all of the stuff in our lives.
But the apostle Paul says that he suffered the loss of all things. He had lost all of his stuff. But then he says this, “I could them as rubbish.” Wow! All of the stuff that we think is so valuable! Paul says that he looked at all his stuff as if it were trash. And no, he wasn’t weird.
He did it, he said, that he might gain Christ. How does counting all of your stuff as garbage help you gain Christ? It’s a very evocative picture of taking stock of what you have and then putting your relationship with Christ first. There’s nothing more important than knowing God, talking with God, trusting that God is going to take care of you in all situations. A car, a video game, a cell phone . . . what is that stuff in comparison to the relationship you have with the King and Creator of the Universe - that He would call you His friend and His brother (or sister)?
As you’re counting to Pentecost this last week, consider carefully what you value most highly in your life. In other words, while you’re counting, do you count all the things you have as rubbish compared with your relationship with Christ?
What Are You Thinking About?
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8
When you look at the Greek words in Philippians 4:8, there’s nothing earth-shattering. True means “a true one who cannot lie;” honorable means “honest, venerable, that which inspires respect, reverence and worship. It has majestic and awe-inspiring qualities which invites and attracts, doesn’t repel.” Just means “right, just, that which is expected by the one who sets the rules and regulations.” Pure means “pure, innocent, predominantly used to express freedom from defilements or impurities.” Lovely means acceptable, lovely. Commendable means “of good repute, of good reputation, well-spoken of, of good report.” Excellence means “excellency, being pleasing to God, manliness, valor.” Worthy of praise means “commendable, laudable.”
The Greek word which hit me the hardest was logizomai (#3049). It means “to dwell on” or “to think about.” It’s derived from logos which is “reason, word, account.” Logizomai means to put together with one’s mind, to count, occupying oneself with reckonings or calculations.” So here’s this whole list of things from Paul. He wants his readers not just to sometimes think about these things; he wants them to occupy their minds with these things.
When I stop to consider what’s occupying my mind - you know, those thoughts which my mind turns over and over while I’m otherwise occupied with daily tasks - when I consider what’s hovering somewhere between consciousness and subconsciousness, many times it’s a song. Usually there’s a song rattling around, weaving between the things I’m intentionally doing mentally.
What kind of songs?
Thankfully the answer is much different now than it was twenty years ago. You have to understand; kids happened. With kids comes Bible songs. For the last thirteen years, whenever we are in the van, the tape player has some sort of kids’ Bible songs going. I remember being on my own one day. I started to put in the tape and then remembered I was by myself. Instead I turned on the radio to a soft rock station that I used to listen to - BC (before children). I was appalled. I knew the song. I could sing along. But I found myself repulsed by what I was hearing, by what was now playing in my mind! I suffered through a couple of songs before I turned off the radio and pushed the kids’ tape in!
Think about it! The world croons “Do you know where you’re going to? Do you like the things that life is showing you? Where are you going to? Do you know?” That sad, haunting song has instantly depressed me way too many times! As Christians, we should find ourselves singing, “Why should I feel discouraged? . . . Why should my heart feel lonely and long for heaven and home? When Jesus is my portion. My constant Friend is He. His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.”
Or the world might declare “You light up my life. You give me hope to carry on. You light up my day and fill my night with song.” The singer is giving incredible power to what? Another person!!! The Christian sings, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.”
The world sings “You ain’t nothing but a hound dog . . . you never caught a rabbit and you ain’t no friend of mine.” What a sad thing to sing about!! The singer is putting down someone else, instead of rejoicing in a solid friendship. The Christian sings “What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear.”
The world sings “Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away.” The Christian sings songs like Laura Story’s “Blessings:” “What if Your blessings come through raindrops? What if Your healing comes through tears? What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to feel You near? What if my greatest disappointments and the aching of this life are a revealing of greater thirst this world can’t satisfy? And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?”
I could go on. But I think you get the point. We can’t take the world’s definition of what’s right and pure and worthy of praise. We can’t think on the things that the world deems worthy of our thoughts. We have to use God’s definition of those things on which we should dwell.
Colossians 3:2 says to “Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” We have to break some bad habits of thinking of things which are not good for us. Just as we watch our diet, what we put in our bodies, we must watch our mental diet, what we put in our minds.
As we think about those things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise, we find our thoughts turning to Jesus Christ and the hope we have in Him. We take our eyes off ourselves and off the temporary pleasures of this world. We look forward to the goal. We gear up ourselves to run the race, running to win the crown set before us. We find strength, peace, comfort, encouragement and determination to persevere!
So, what are you thinking about?
***Clean Hands
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices. Colossians 3:9
Materials: chocolate syrup, paper towels, wet wash cloth
Have you ever been tempted to lie? Most of us have. When you think you’re going to be in trouble, or when you don’t want someone to think badly of you and what you’ve done, you may be very tempted to lie. But it can make a big mess. (Put a towel under each child’s hand. Then pour some chocolate syrup into their hands. Tell them they can’t let it drip out of their hands.)
It’s kind of fun to have syrup on your hands - at least at first. If you lick it off, it tastes yummy. And that’s how lies are - at first. Initially, you might think that the lie was a good thing. It kept someone from finding out what you really did or didn’t do.
So here’s another question: do you like to work hard? There’s hard work that makes you feel really good. But then there’s hard work that just makes you sick and tired - like the hard work that comes when you lie. Once you’ve told one lie, you have to cover it up with another lie. (Pour some more syrup into their hands.) It’s really hard to keep those lies from messing up your life - just as it’s very hard to keep the syrup from messing up your clothes and the table!!
So what do you do once you’ve told a lie? Telling another lie, and another lie, and another lie isn’t going to solve the problem. What do you do?
You have to go to Jesus Christ and ask for forgiveness. That’s one of the pictures of Passover - that the shed blood of Jesus Christ will pay the penalty for your sin and that you will be cleansed by His blood.
And really, it doesn’t matter whether it’s lies or some other sin which you have done. The hands are a symbol of what you do. So having dirty hands is like saying that you have sinned. And just like washing the chocolate syrup off your hands, Jesus can make your hands (and all of you) clean again through the power of His blood, His death and resurrection.
There’s something absolutely wonderful about having your hands washed cleaned again!
Adapted from: https://oneshetwoshe.com/lies/
***Work With All Your Heart
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters. Colossians 3:23
Materials: markers and paper, marbles, rocks, coins
Supposed you were instructed to separate all the magnets and put them into a circle and at the same time put 20 pennies, one at a time, into a bank. How would you do it. Would you separate out one magnet and set it down and then take one penny and put it into the bank, and then go back to the magnets? No, likely you’d finish one task and then start work on the other task.
What if your mom tells you to clean your room? Do you pick up all the toys and put them away and then pick up all the dirty clothes? Or do you pick up what’s in front of you and put it away and then pick up something else and put it away? What is going to make the best use of your time?
What if I was going to separate pennies and dimes? Would you pick out a dime and then a penny? Or would you pick out all of one kind first and then scoop up what was left?
What if I asked you to fill one page with As and one page with Bs? Would you write an A on one page and then move to the second page to write a B? Or would you do an entire page of one thing before you moved on to another?
Sometimes when we get so busy with stuff or when we really don’t care how well the task is done, we waste time jumping back and forth between tasks. We’re not as productive, and sometimes, doing it that way causes mistakes. We need to completely focus on what we’re doing, giving it all our attention, so that we can do it quickly and do it well. That’s how to work with all your heart - giving a task your best effort.
The second part of the verse talks about our attitude towards a task. If you don’t think that separating coins is important, you couldn’t care less whether you use your time well or not. But when you have a task to do, the apostle Paul says that you need to work as if you were working for God. He’s the King of the Universe. He’s the Almighty. He is Sovereign. It’s scary to think that you’d do a crummy job for Him.
Next time you have a job to do, whatever it is: big or small, hard or easy, fun or stinky; remember that you need to do it with all of your heart, working as if you were doing the task for God.
**Wasting Time
Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Colossians 4:5
Materials needed: chatterbox (folded paper toy) with different activities written inside
This story was shared by cybersalt.org:
One day a gentleman walked into one of Ben Franklin's book stores.
As one of the clerks went to assist him, the gentleman asked the clerk the price of the book he wished to purchase. The young clerk looked at the price posted on the book and said, "That book is one dollar, sir."
The gentleman began to haggle with the clerk over the price. The clerk assured him that the correct price for the book was one dollar and no lower. As the man realized that his efforts to haggle with the clerk were going nowhere, he insisted on speaking with Ben Franklin directly.
Franklin stopped his work, walked out to the storefront and the gentleman asked, "What is the price of this book?"
Franklin answered, "One dollar and a quarter."
The gentleman was confused and replied, "Your clerk just said it was a dollar."
Franklin looked at the book again and answered, "Yes, it was a dollar. But now you're wasting my time."
Do you ever find yourself wasting time? What constitutes wasting time? Someone might saw that scrolling through Facebook is a waste of time. Another might say that reading a book of fiction is a waste of time. What about making your bed? Or perhaps this: what about washing your face? It’s just going to get dirty again!!! What constitutes “wasting time”?
It’s not a black and white issue! If it were, we could look it up online. And actually, if you look it up, there are lists which tell you what the biggest time wasters are!! Doing other people’s work is listed as one. But . . . is that always true? Should you never do someone else’s work because it’s a waste of time? What about your next door neighbor’s driveway which needs to be shoveled, but he just broke his leg? That’s his work. Is it a waste of time to do it for him?
Another one on the list was daydreaming. I think someone else might call it meditation. And the ability to invent something or to be very creative probably hinges on the amount of time you get to spend just thinking - or daydreaming.
Many years ago Christopher complained loudly about digging all of the sod out of the blueberry patch and dumping wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of mulch in its place. He was adamant that it was just a waste of time; the weeds were just going to grow back. He was right about the weeds. But was he right about it being a waste of time? Jonathan looked at all the weeds in my blueberry patch this spring and said, “Well, that experiment failed.” I appreciated his perspective. We tried something; it didn’t work. But it wasn’t a waste of time. The nutrients in that decomposing mulch are very good for my blueberry plants. And I learned something in the process.
So what is a time-waster? That’s probably the wrong question to ask. A better question to ask is: what is the best way for me to use my time? Time is a resource - and you have a limited amount of it. Think about what is really important to accomplish. In his song, “Breathe,” Johnny Diaz sings, “Lay down what’s good and find what’s best.” It’s a matter of priorities. You only have so much time. Use it for God’s glory. Use it to grow closer to God. Use it to help others grow closer to God. Use it wisely.