If I Were a Father…

 

One day I would like to have a big family. First, I must be a faithful husband to my wife. If I have a large family, I will need to be very diligent as a worker so that I can earn enough money to support my family. What is a big family? Well, I would love to have eight children! My first-born son will be named Robby Jr. and my daughter will be named Wendy, which means very beautiful. I will need to buy a double-decker house to provide enough room for all my children. A large family will have lots of fun together!

As a family, I would like to serve God anywhere, in church, foreign countries, neighborhoods, and other places as well. To do that, I’ll teach my children the Bible [including our world view], bring them to church faithfully, and teach them the wisdom of my parents and grandparents. Also, to top it off, we’ll find ways to help the missionaries who were being a witness to those who never heard the story of Jesus: take Tanzania for example. We can do the same in our town.  

And last-but-not-least, I would spend time with my family. I can play games with my kids, teach them how to work hard, and maybe take them on vacation to my dad’s favorite campground – Yogi Bear! I sure hope God will allow me to be the man and dad He wants me to be.

70 x 7 = Forgiveness!

Have you ever been mistreated and wondered how many times you should forgive that person? The same question was asked in Matthew 18, when Jesus told a story to Peter about a king who forgave his servant from a great debt. The same servant was out in the street and saw his buddy who owned him only 100 pence (which was very little). He grabbed him and shouted, "Pay me all that thou owest!" He cried and begged, "Have pity on me and I'll pay thee all!" But he refused to have pity on him and threw him into a prison cell to pay for his debt. 

But that's not the end of the story! The other servants were watching him do this and ran back to the king to report it. And when the king heard all that had happened he was furious. He called that servant up to the throne room. The king said, "Thou wicked servant! I forgave thee of all thy debt but haven't ye showed that to your fellow servant?" He commanded the guards to take him to the dungeon until he pays all his debt.

You see, this parable of Jesus still happens today. We mistreat others sometimes, too. Sometimes it's on purpose and sometimes we don't mean to hurt others. We need forgiveness from God to forgive others. Friend, wouldn't you like to forgive others just as God has forgiven you? First, you must be forgiven from God. This means, you must come to the Lord and receive Him as your Savior. Let Him forgive you from your sin debt. Then you will be able to forgive others, too, even if they don't deserve it. Do we deserve God's forgiveness? No. He freely gives it us so we must freely give it to others.

Peter must have been struggling with forgiveness. He wanted to know how many times he had to forgive. 7 times? No! 70 times 7? If you do the math the answer will be 490 times. Imagine if you could possibly forgive that much! 

There is no one else in the world like me.

 I was created in the image of God. The verse in Genesis says, "Let us make man in our own image..." I got myself thinking when I read that verse. Take my birthday for instance. My life began 11 years ago (it was 2011 at that time). After many years of growing up and having siblings, something miraculous happened that changed my life forever: It's that... (drum roll)... I got saved! I know that I have been forgiven - I guess God has a plan for me after all! How about you? Would you like to receive Christ as your Lord and Savior today?

Below is my personal testimony...

I have a hard time saying things with my words so I can type them out for you. I have good news I want to share with you!

All my life I have heard about Jesus dying for me. I love listening to Patch the Pirate stories, reading Bible stories, and watching movies about the Bible. I think a lot about the lessons they are teaching me. I learned that Jesus loves me so much that He died for me so I could be saved from the penalty of my sin. In Master Club I learned some real life lessons and did some fun activities and memorized a lot of verses about being saved and believing on the One that saves me, Jesus. My dad has a book for our family night devotions where we talk a lot about the Christian life. I knew I was a sinner and not able to do the things that God wants me to do.

On Saturday, June 4^th, at the graduation ceremony, Pastor Castner was preaching about being saved by believing on the Lord. He talked about how every person, even children, need to be saved. I was thinking about that and wondered what my life would look like with Christ in me. During the prayer time, I told Jesus I was grateful that He died for me and took all my sins on Himself. I told Jesus I was a sinner that needed to be saved.

I can tell that Jesus lives in my heart because I’m happy and not afraid. Before when I would go to church, I wanted to draw pictures of Mario or other stories in my notebook even though mom would tell me we were at church to learn about God. But now, I like to read my Bible or take notes about the pastor’s preaching and will draw pictures later at home. My desire is to please God first and please myself next. Now that God lives inside of me, I can obey and respect my parents, even when they correct me.

A Father and Son At Odds

Although Jonathon was King Saul's son, he was different from his father in many ways.

1) King Saul was a jealous man who wanted more than what God has for him, BUT Jonathon was gentle and generous.

2) Jonathon bravely stood beside the LORD'S anointed (David), HOWEVER, Saul demoted David from his army and sent him to the valley.

3) Saul hated David so much that he even tried to kill him, WHEREAS Jonathon loved him and helped keep David safe.

4)  Jonathon was a godly man who wanted God to be exalted through David, WHILE  jealous Saul resisted God's plan for Israel.

5) As a result, Saul hunted David, desiring to kill him, ON THE OTHER HAND, faithful Jonathon hid him in a cave overlooking the battlefield in an effort to save his life. 

 

-Robby 

The Difference Between the Good Shepherd and an Hired Shepherd

 

The Good Shepherd is different from the Hired Shepherds in many ways: The Good Shepherd, who is the Lord Jesus, comes in at the door, but the Hired Shepherds are thieves and robbers who climb up some other way. The Hired Shepherd comes to steal, kill, and destroy sheep; where as the Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep. The Good Shepherd calls His sheep by name and they know His voice, while the sheep do not know the voice of the Hired Shepherd. Sheep will not follow and will run away from the Hired Shepherd however, they do follow the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd leads and goes before His sheep, yet on the other hand, the Hired Shepherd does not care about the sheep and runs away when the wolf comes!

-by Robby Gable