TOPIC: JESUS CARES
MEMORIZE:
Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 1 Peter 5:7
READ: 1 Kings 17:1-16
1 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.
2 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,
3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.
4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.
5 So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.
6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.
7 And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
8 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,
9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.
10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.
11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.
12 And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.
13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.
14 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.
15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.
16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.
MESSAGE
God cares deeply for all His children. In 2 Kings 4:1-7, we read about the widow of one of the sons of the prophets whose husband died and left her with a load of debt. When the creditor came and wanted to take her sons into bondage if she didn't pay,
she cried to Elisha, who told her to borrow many vessels and pour from the little bottle of oil that she had at home into them. The Great Provider stepped in, and she was able to pay off her debt and live off the proceeds of the oil she sold for the rest of her life. In John 6:5-13, Jesus fed 5,000 men, not counting women and children, with a boy's lunch. To show that He truly cared, He multiplied the lunch until everybody was fed and there were twelve baskets of leftovers. These and many more stories show that Jesus truly cares.
Jesus also cares about us, not just our needs. He knows how fragile our human bodies are, and He wants us to be in good shape to do what He has called us to do. Years ago, there was a day I attended to people from 8:00am until 6:00pm when I managed to eat a little before attending our Bible study service. When I returned to my office, people were already waiting to see me. I kept praying for people until 10:30pm, and I was told there were ten more people waiting. By that time, my body was aching, and I was very tired. I asked God for what to do, and He said, "You don't need to stand to pray for them. Sit down, touch their head, and let them go. They will receive their miracle." I was
surprised, and I said, "God, you mean l can talk to You, the Almighty, sitting down?" He replied that He has walked on the earth as a human, and He knows what it means to be tired.
Jesus knows our weak frame and cares deeply about us (Psalm 103:14). He is our High Priest who is touched with the feelings of our infirmities because He faced the same issues we now face (Hebrews 4:15). In today's Bible reading, we see how God cared for His prophet throughout the famine; he wasn't stranded at any point.
Beloved, put all your trust in God. He truly cares for you, and He will never leave you stranded.
PRAYER POINT
Thank You, Jesus, for Your loving care.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Joshua 21-22
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE
HYMN 5: BLESSED ASSURANCE
1. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine;
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
2. Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending, bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
3. Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest;
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.
Comments
Post a Comment