The Trussville Tribune
Apr. 24 - 30, 2019
Kids Talk about God: Should You Obey A Law That Forbids Worshipping God? By Carey Kinsolving and Friends
"I would rather die than to obey a law that prohibits worshiping God," says Sarah, age 8. "I love God with all my heart. You should do what's right. Obey what's right, and you will be fine." Thank you for your incredible statement, Sarah. I'm amazed and challenged by your love and devotion. "I would pray three times a day in the morning, at lunch and at suppertime," says Lindsay, 11. "I would have a quiet time in the morning and at night." You're in good company, Lindsay. The prophet Daniel prayed three times a day. His custom became the focus of a plot hatched by people who were jealous of his position in the court of King Darius. The king signed a decree that guaranteed a luncheon with the royal lions if you prayed to any god or man other than the king. In other words, whoever violated the decree would become lion lunch meat. Daniel's custom was to pray with his window open toward Jerusalem. It would have been very easy to justify closing the window during the 30 days of the decree. Daniel could have said: "Can you please shut the window? It's kind of breezy in here today." Not Daniel. His pattern never changed. Daniel was thrown into the lions' den, but the lions suddenly lost their appetites. This miracle apparently impressed the king, who issued another order: "I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom, men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel." Sara, 10, is on target when she says, "You should set a good example for other people to know God, and not worship something else." Amy, 11, adds, "It is better to die for a true God than living and worshiping a false god." Yes, Daniel is an example. Do you suppose he knew God would shut the lions' mouths? Nothing in the Bible indicates he knew anything of God's plan to turn the lions into house cats during his overnight stay in their den. "If you believe in the real God, no matter what happens to you, you will not get hurt at all because God and
Carey Kinsolving
his angels are always with you. That is having faith in God," says Salar, 10. Uh, excuse me, Salar. How do you explain the death of first-century Christians who were devoured by lions in the Roman Coliseum? Obviously, it was God's purpose to show unbelievers the courage and peace of Christians as they looked past death into the glories of heaven. As Stephen the evangelist was being stoned to death, he said: "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" (Acts 7:56). Who would have guessed that one of the young men consenting to Stephen's death would become God's chief agent for spreading the gospel? Later, that young man's name, Saul, was changed to Paul - the Apostle Paul. "I think that if Jesus was able to give his life and die for us, we should be able to stand up and say that we will not obey a law that forbids us from worshiping him," says Alyssa, 12. Think about this: Laws that coerce people to worship false gods or the true God should not be obeyed. Memorize this truth: "But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: 'We ought to obey God rather than men'" (Acts 5:29). Ask this question: If a law were passed forbidding the worship of God, would you obey it? "Kids Talk About God" is written and distributed by Carey Kinsolving. To access free, online "Kids Color Me Bible" books, "Mission Explorers" videos, a new children's musical, and all columns in a Bible Lesson Archive, visit www. KidsTalkAboutGod.org.
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Faith
On Finishing In Second Place Michael J. Brooks
I found former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s book at our local library recently and enjoyed reading about his life and service. I heard the governor speak in 2012 and know him to be a commanding figure in person. He didn’t hold back in his book, either! Christie told about his rise from federal prosecutor to governor, flirting with a national office and the two issues he dealt with in his final term that torpedoed his popularity: Bridgegate and Beachgate. In the former, he explained that the investigation drug on for two years but cleared him of all charges. And he described the latter as a news media publicity stunt. Christie and his family were photographed by helicopter on a state beach during a time of state government shut-down. Thus,
the public accused him of privilege. Christie explained that the public beaches were open, though the state beaches weren’t, and that the beach he was on always had a onemile perimeter protected by New Jersey security. I guess I’d overlooked the drama in 2016 as the soon-tobe-nominee Donald Trump determined who his running-mate would be. It came down to two: Christie and Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana. Christie said Trump offered him another government post, but Christie only had interest in the so-called “veepstakes” or Attorney General. He walked away with neither since Trump had already offered the justice spot to Sen Jeff Sessions. This story reminded me that life often comes down to two choices. Most of us have had the distinction of finishing in second place every now and again.
Sometimes we fall short in job interviews or promotions. I remember a department director in state government telling me this years ago, insisting that they had to hire a female. My being a stepping stone for female advancement didn’t make me feel any better! And we take little comfort in being number two in athletic competitions, even though our team may have defeated a dozen or more in the process of becoming number two--as with Alabama football or Auburn basketball this year. As followers of Christ we know we’re always number two! We’re called to be God’s servants, and the servant’s desires are always subject to the master’s desires. We subjugate our goals to his, and this process is never-ending. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31). And along the way we have to learn to pick ourselves up and press forward in
By Michael J. Brooks
those days when we fall short of some objective. King Solomon wrote, “For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again” (Proverbs 24:16). The God who created us rejoices in our success and sympathizes in our failure. Reflections is a weekly devotional column written by Michael J. Brooks, pastor of the Siluria Baptist Church in Alabaster, Ala. The church's website is siluriabaptist.com.
Unrequested help
By Kasey Graydon
Have you ever wondered if you were going to make it? Like seriously thought to yourself “I don’t know how much more of this I can take?” You are not even remotely considering anything as severe as suicide or leaving everything behind, you’re just freaking tired. Tired of schedules, tired of expectations, tired of bills, tired of people disappointing you, tired of disappointing people, & the list goes on. This is me. More specifically this is me right now. Life gets to us sometimes and we just need a breath of fresh air. Sometimes it’s all more than we can handle and we just need help. Sunday morning I got some help. I wasn’t asking for it. I’m too proud for that. I was lying in bed and dreading another predictable church service. When God told me “everything will be ok” and that “I was going to make it”. He started with a song. My wife was doing her makeup and she was listening to worship music on Pandora. When I was awake enough to know what was going on, a song came on “He will hold me fast”
by Kristyn Getty. EVERY SINGLE WORD baptized my heart with relief. Look it up. Anyway, That song was enough to get me out of bed and to head to church. We visited First Baptist Church Trussville’s 9:30 a.m. service. They had a big choir of about 100. I am 33 years old & all of them were older than me. As we begin to sing “Worthy is the Lamb” I begin to notice the faces of all the choir members. Every one of them were overcome with joy,
Everyone of them believed what they were singing, and every one of them were older than me. They all have been through more than double the “LIFE” that I have and they still love God and God still loved them. God was telling me He will “hold me fast” & then he showed me the smiling faces of HUNDREDS of men and women who still believe in what they were singing despite all of the tough days they had lived through. No matter what you’re going
through right now, rest easy and believe that God still believes in you even when you don’t believe in him. He still loves you even when you are filled with doubt. He still has a plan even if you feel lost. The next time you are struggling with all of this Christian stuff find someone older than you that still believes. It’s amazing to witness Gods faithfulness to US throughout our entire lives regardless of how we feel at the moment. He will hold you fast.