Let’s pick up from where we stopped yesterday on lessons from the story of creation. I hope you really have been following these lessons and they have been very applicable in your daily lives.
See what God’s word says in Genesis 1:5 – 12 KJV
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
5. God gave names to all the things he created.
This is a great lesson, from the creation, for us as children. It’s always important to name whatever you have, you know why?
It’s because they eventually become whatever you call it, and that’s also why your parents give you beautiful names because they want you to exhibit the meaning of what you are called.
6. During God instructed the earth to produce things.
As a child of God, you also should learn to command fruitfulness on all that belongs to you.
Like your school subjects, command it to be easy and learnable for you.
Say things like I am going to pass this so and so subject. Say the kind of results you expect from all that is placed in front of you.
7. Everything God did, He did in days.
Learn to plan your week just like God. He could have decided to make everything in one day, but he didn’t do that. He created the earth in six days and rested on the seventh day.
Have an activity per day. Don’t wind away your day without doing anything meaningful or worthwhile.
Dear Child of God, it’s God’s desire that you be just like him. Be diligent with these lessons and you’ll become exceptional just like God.
We will continue tomorrow
Prayer: Lord, teach me how to be creative like you. Amen
Action point: Be a person of order
Declaration: I am a person of order, just like my God.
A few days back, we talked about lessons from the story of creation. We talked about the power of words and how it’s important for you to speak the right words at all times.
We talked about the importance of light and how we need it, even in our daily lives. How it’s important to standout and be a problem solver.
We also talked about how God evaluated everything that was created and that he himself confirmed it was good. We learned that excellence is God’s style and we as his children should live with that standard.
Today we’ll be going further into the story of creation and picking out basic lessons from what God did.
Let’s read through verses 5-12 and see what we can learn.
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:5 – 12 KJV
4. God is a God of Order.
After he made the two great lights, he placed one in the day and the one in the night.
As children of God, we should learn to bring order and arrangements to whatever we do.
Proper arrangements makes us different and it’s a good standard to show the world that we truly are of God.
Beyond the light, God worked on the water and the earth, he divided them beautifully such that one doesn’t interrupt the other.
Let’s continue with this tomorrow, there are still a lot to learn from the story of creation. Have a blessed day.
Prayer: Lord, teach me how to be creative like you. Amen
Action point: Be a person of order
Declaration: I am a person of order, just like my God
The Shepherd raced through the trees, his heart pulsating madly inside his chest heavily. Baa! Baa! The cry came again. He shoved branches out of his way, not caring if they pricked his skin. The cry was getting closer as he reached the edge of the stream. Baa! Baa! Baa! Baa!
“Where are you?” Deep fear flooded his heart, dragging life out of him but he refused to believe the worst. Baa! Baa! The cries came just in front of him. He looked and moved closer to the trees in front of him, there he found his little one.
He broke into a sob at the sight of the bruises on its legs. Lifting it up slowly, he tenderly wrapped his arms around the lamb and began to walk home. He was happy that the one missing lamb was found.
Did you see how the shepherd ran to the rescue of his sheep? Did you see how the shepherd followed the voice of the sheep? That is how God comes to your rescue when you call.
Call on Jesus for help. He is your Shepherd and ever ready to help you. There’s even a song describing the type of love God has for us. It goes like this
Oh, the overwhelming, Never-ending Reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights till I’m found Leaves the ninety-nine.
I couldn’t earn it, I don’t deserve it. Still You give Yourself away
There’s no shadow You won’t light up Mountain You won’t climb up coming after me
There is no wall You won’t kick down Lie You won’t tear down Coming after me
God displays how much He loves us by going all the way to find us. Call out to Him today and let Him find you.
I myself will tend my sheep and give them a place to lie down in peace, says the Sovereign Lord. – Ezek. 34:15 NLT
Dear children, there are several lessons you can learn from the story of creation.
The creation story can be found in
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. – Genesis 1:1-4
Let’s go through it one after the other.
1. The power of words.
God created this beautiful world by speaking it into existence. Learn to use your words positively.
There is power in your words, so use it as a creator, just like God.
2. God called forth Light first.
This means that it’s one of the most important things in this world. You know how you feel when light brightens a dark room?
The Bible calls us the light of the world. Be the light wherever you find yourself. Solve problems. Standout and make a difference.
3. God saw that what he had done was good.
Always evaluate yourself when you do something, and always aim for the best.
As a child of God, we are to act like our father, so we shouldn’t do anything less than excellent.
We will continue on this line tomorrow.
Prayer: Lord help me to be creative with my words. Amen
Every sheep that will get the best from its shepherd must learn how to be still. Being still means to trust in the shepherd’s person, that he would never lead them to a place of danger or harm nor will he leave them in the face of trouble.
They trust him to take them to where the choicest grasses are and the cleanest of water is.
The Lord is my Shepherd. I have everything I need. He gives me rest in green pastures. He leads me to calm waters. Psalm 23:1-2 ICB
They follow behind him, and when he stops, they stop too. An obedient sheep knows to stay within the safe boundaries created by the shepherd.
It is not in the sheep’s place to teach the shepherd what to do but to watch, listen to and obey the shepherd at all times – to be still and follow the shepherd.
Do you obey your parents at home? When they tell you not to do something because of the bad things that could happen to you, do you listen to them? Or you do as you like, thinking you know what’s best for you?
A sheep doesn’t know what’s best for it. Only the shepherd does. Are you a good sheep following Jesus as your shepherd? Do you obey Him by obeying your parent’s instructions? Learn to be still and follow Jesus.
The most important question that you need to ask yourself right now is this—have you accepted Jesus into your life as your Lord and Saviour? If yes, are you obeying His leading?
If not, then say the prayer at the bottom of this post.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I believe you are the son of God. Thank you for dying on the cross for me. I accept you into my life as Lord and Saviour. I want to be a sheep in your flock. Please be my shepherd. In your mighty name, I pray. Amen.
Action point: Look through this series and see where you can improve on.
Declaration: The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want
Today, we start with how to ensure your safety as a sheep in this world. A sheep knows better than to be alone without any help. The first way to ensure your safety is to have a shepherd. Jesus is your shepherd. He is the good shepherd.
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep” John 10:11 NLT.
He repeated it here
“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me,” John 10:14 NLT.
What does a shepherd do? A shepherd looks over a flock of sheep. He is their guardian, watching over them. A protector that keeps them safe from being attacked by other animals stronger than they. He is their provider, ensuring they graze on the choicest grasslands.
As a child, you have to be under the protection of somebody. That’s why you have parents to look after you. They gave birth to you and really care for you. They will protect and provide for you. God has made them shepherds over you in this world.
Prayer: Lord, help me to obey my parents who are my shepherds in Jesus name. Amen
Action Point: Have you been disobedient to your parents? Repent.
Declaration: I am an obedient child. I listen to my parents.
You can engage your greatest weapon as a child. As a child, do you know that God sets you as an example for adults?
In one of Jesus’ teachings, he teaches that it’s important for everyone to be “child like” Being child like means the person isn’t bothered about the issues of life, and believes everything God says without wondering how it will happen.
A child is quick to forgive and holds no wrong. A child is also joyful.
One of the most important things about childhood is the joy you as a child carry all the time.
This is a strong weapon (your greatest weapon) and the devil can only try but cannot steal the your joy, why? Because the next minute you are joyful about something else.
Today, I want to tell you to set the standard in your family and among your friends.
The bible says the joy of the Lord is your strength. It means you are strong if you are always joyful.
Nehemiah 8:10 (KJV) Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our LORD: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.
God numbers you as one of the strongest persons in the world because of joy. Joy is your greatest weapon.
You can teach others around you to be joyful as well, how?
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God; He is the special gift. He is our friend and comforter. In the place of prayer, He enables us, especially in tough situations.
You need Him to function perfectly as a child of God. When Jesus was going to leave the earth, the disciples were sad to hear this. He said that he had to go for the Holy Spirit to come. The Holy Spirit had to come for us to receive the spirit of God.
How do you receive the Holy Spirit?
The first thing is to accept Jesus Christ as the Lord and Saviour of your life. This means that you confess all your sins because you believe God sent Jesus to die for your sins. After this, you renounce all sins and make a decision not to go back to them again.
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. – Rom 10:9, KJV
The next step is receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit either by the laying of hands or by the Holy Spirit himself coming on you. The manifestation of this is the evidence of tongues. Some kids might choose not to speak in tongues, probably out of fear of what their friends or classmates might think or say about them. Others could just be afraid of what is happening to them.
Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. – Acts 8:15, 17, KJV
I beg you not to be afraid of what people around will say or think of you. Do not be afraid of what is happening to you. The Holy Spirit is not harmful in any way.
After this, you need to start practicing the tongues you have been given. Do so as often as you can. This is a great way to pray as it enables you to weed out distractions. It helps your spiritual muscles grow.
For which cause I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee through the laying on of my hands. – 2 Tim 1:6, ASV
Having the Holy Spirit, the special Gift, is one of the best things that will happen to you as a Christian.
You should be part of the fold. A sheep doesn’t exist on its own or should say it wants to stay alone. That poses a huge danger to it as wild animals can prey easily on it. Also, it won’t be able to enjoy other benefits of having a shepherd around.
What is the key reason why you shouldn’t move away from the flock? The bible says that the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. The enemy doesn’t come to be your friend but to make sure you don’t become who God says you are.
How does this translate to you as a child of God? It simply means that you shouldn’t move with and or act like unbelievers. The bible says again that one shouldn’t be unequally yoked with unbelievers.
As a child, make friends with Christian believers like yourself, attend church regularly, practice what the bible says, and obey your parents.
A flock of sheep consists of sheep, not sheep and lions or other animals. If you find a pride of lions, it only has lions in it, not lions and gorillas. So why would a sheep want to be with a pride of lions when the lions only want to tear it into pieces?
Your place as a sheep is with your fellow sheep guided and guarded by your shepherd. The shepherd can only watch over sheep, not lions. And a sheep that has been with lions cannot be like a sheep again unless it drops the lion’s attitude and behavior.
Any sheep that refuses to be like a sheep beside its shepherd will definitely be removed from the flock. Why? So that it doesn’t influence the other sheep into becoming like it. It doesn’t contaminate their minds and teaches them how not to be sheep.
Stay with your flock so you don’t fall prey to wild animals. Let Him shepherd you as you should be.
Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Gaurdian of your souls. 1 Pet.2:25 NLT.
Prayer: Lord, help me to stay within the reach of my shepherd always. Amen
Action point: Have you wandered away? Retrace your steps home.
Little one, there is power in your words. Your words reflect what your dominant thoughts are towards a person, situation, or thing. In other words, your thoughts form or influence your words.
“The Lord hates evil thoughts. But he is pleased with kind words.” Prov. 15: 26 ICB.
The types of words you speak to a person, about something or a situation tells a lot about your feelings.
So also, the degree to which you say those words, coupled with your facial expression, a lot can be understood.
A raised, angry, and harsh voice could mean anger or dislike. But a low, cool, and sweet tone could show love, respect, and care.
May God give you the grace to speak sweet and kind words to even those who hurt you. Amen.
Prayer: Lord, Jesus, I need your help with my words. Help me to deal with my thoughts so I can speak positive and life-giving words even to those that offend me in Your mighty name I pray. Amen.
Action point: After dealing with your thoughts and words, how about apologizing to someone you said some unkind words to? Try it.
Declaration: I receive the grace not to think or speak ill towards anyone.
We can understand a bit of the mercy of God through this story. Jordan’s heart boomed in his chest as he stood looking at his mother. He didn’t mean to break the five bottles of freshly pressed orange juice meant for the women’s meeting at church tomorrow. One of the bottles sat on the bread wrapper and as he pulled the bread out from the fridge, disaster struck.
“I am sorry, mummy,” he said.
He waited for his punishment. He couldn’t meet her eyes as she looked long and hard at him.
“It’s okay” she said. “Just clean it up.”
That was it. He couldn’t believe his ears. Instantly, he got the mop and bucket and began to clean.
Minutes later, mummy hears Juliet crying. Jordan had hit her for removing one of the tires from his toy car. It was a mistake.
“But I didn’t do anything to you when you broke the bottles of juice?”
Jordan acted like the wicked servant in Matt. 18: 21-35 as told by Jesus.
The wicked servant refused to be merciful to his fellow servant after receiving mercy from his master. He owed his master more, compared to what his fellow servant owed him.
Much like Jordan’s mistake compared to his sister’s. He could have just told Juliet “It’s okay. Just fix it.” Much like mummy said to him.
Why do you think Jordan and the servant in the story acted as they did? They did so because they weren’t grateful for the mercy they received. They forgot that their offense was worth punishing for but who they offended decided they were worth not punishing.
The story teaches us two things:
Firstly, we should be grateful for God’s mercy because we’ve all come short of mercy. And it’s only through Jesus’ death on the cross that we have the right to receive mercy from God.
Secondly, as we have received this mercy, we are meant to reciprocate it to others ‘You should have mercy on your fellow-servant, just as I had mercy on you.’ Matt. 18:33.
What do you think mommy would do to Maxwell? Well, the master in the story was angry when he found out what happened and had the wicked servant thrown into jail until he could pay back what he owed Matt. 18: 34.
Jesus said that is how God will deal with us if we don’t have mercy on others.
Who are you going to forgive today?
Prayer: Dear God, I thank you for showing me mercy. Amen
Action point: Continually ask God to help you to do this continually.
Declaration: My children show mercy. They are considerate and loving to their neighbours.
There are people who don’t know about Jesus. They could be around you or not. Even if you can’t evangelize to them, you too can pray.
Pray that the Holy Spirit will help them to accept Christ into their lives. They could have heard about Christ and still be unwilling to accept Him. It’s only the Holy Spirit that can convince them of who Jesus is and make them yield to Him. Yes, only the Holy Spirit can do that; it is not in your power to do that.
Make prayer also, for those who have never heard of Christ before. Pray that they will have an encounter with someone who would tell them about Jesus. And that once they are spoken to, the Holy Spirit will convict them.
God loves it when we make prayer for people to know Christ because He wants everyone to enjoy the benefits of having Christ in their lives.
Yesterday, we talked a bit about your thoughts, and learnt that we should guard our thought pattern. Today, we will talk about your words and actions. Your WORDS receive the baton from your THOUGHTS. They continue the race but if your thoughts leave the racetrack, they make your words run the same way.
Your words do as they like also and continue to the race.
Your ACTIONS finish the race. Whatever way your actions pass the baton to them is how they will finish it. If the baton is received wrongly, the race will end in a disaster.
Disaster can only be averted if the race starts well with your THOUGHTS good and passing the same goodness to your WORDS who pass this same goodness, finally to your ACTIONS, who end it healthily.
The only way to have a healthy ending is if you know and remember what the word of God says about your thoughts, words, and action.
To obey God is a sign that you love Him. And God likes it when we obey Him. It makes Him bless us more and more.
Be careful about what you think. Your thoughts run your life. Prov. 4:23 ICB
May the Lord help you with your thoughts, words, and actions. Amen.
Prayer: Lord, help my thoughts, words and actions start and finish their relay well in my mind. Let me guard my thought well in Jesus’ name. Amen
Action point: Check your thoughts always, watch your words, don’t jump into acting instinctively. Pray about these three areas.
Declaration: My thoughts, words, and actions are guided by the word of God.
Learn to guard your thought pattern. Have you ever watched a relay race before? Four people in a team will have to complete a set amount of distance, each covering a distance before passing the baton to the other person.
This continues till the last person takes the baton and finishes the race. The last person holds all the chances of the team either winning or losing the race.
Now, imagine your THOUGHTS, WORDS, and ACTIONS as members of a relay team. Who do you think will start the race? Who will be in the middle and who will end the race?
Be careful about what you think. Your thoughts run your life. Prov. 4:23 ICB
Your THOUGHTS will definitely start the race because they are what inspires or fires up the rest. Their speed is an advantage to the team. They birth the whole process and come from deep within you.
If you don’t teach them to run within the lines of the racetrack, they will run the race as they like and hamper the chances of the team winning the race.
Tomorrow, I will talk about your words and actions.
Prayer: Lord, help my thoughts, words and actions start and finish their relay well in my mind, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Action point: Check your thoughts always, watch your words, don’t jump into acting instinctively. Pray about these three areas.
Jesus is one important person you cannot help but study about. Studying about Jesus is important, and the bible talks about Him all through from the start to the end.
You could start from the prophecies about Him, His conception, birth, death, and resurrection. These are key aspects of His life that will definitely benefit and bless your life.
Study what He did, how He did it, where He did it and why He did it. It’s a wonderful thing to study about Jesus. His whole being and existence is the bedrock of salvation.
And as you study, ask Him to bless you with a revelation about Him. Amen.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, give me more revelation about you. Help me know you more. Amen.
Action point: Take yourtime to study about Christ.
Declaration: As I study, there is illumination on my path.
What do you say to yourself? Are you speaking good? The words you speak to or about yourself are very strong and important.
Do you say negative things about yourself? Do you bring yourself down in front of others?
The use of negative words like ” I am just not good with counting”, “I don’t have good legs”, ” My face is too ugly”, is a sign of negative self-esteem.
The bible says we are wonderfully and fearfully made in God’s image. That means you are made in God’s image. Made in the image of the Creator of the whole earth.
Why would you think you are ugly? Who told you so? Magazines? Slay queens? Public opinion? The mirror? Who? You?
Rather than look at all these external forces telling you what you are not, look towards the One who created you and start to see how He sees you.
Start using excellent and beautiful words on yourself. Raise your esteem with the word of God and walk in the light of those words.
The Holy Spirit works in us. Thirteen-year-old Funmi asked her mother for some money but her request wasn’t granted. When her mother went to the kitchen, Funmi quickly took money out of her mother’s purse.
She felt good knowing that she had money to spend with her friends at school. Her friends always had lots of money to spend at school and she didn’t want to be any different.
But she kept having a feeling. As much as she was happy, the feelings of happiness were slowly dwindling. What could it be, she wondered. Soon, she began to feel bad about taking the money.
A voice kept telling her it was wrong of her to have taken the money. It kept telling her she had stolen the money. But I didn’t steal the money, Funmi said to herself. It’s my mother’s money and she has lots of it.
Funmi was hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit. When you sin, the Holy Spirit convicts you of it. He speaks to your heart and tells you what you did wrong.
When the Holy Spirit speaks to you and can convict you to the point where you change your ways or confess your wrongdoings, you are stillborn in a safe zone. You still have a conscience.
Funmi didn’t spend the money at school that day or went with her friends to buy things. She felt bad about taking the money and knew what she had to do – tell her mother the truth, ask for her forgiveness, and never steal again in her life.
May the Holy Spirit give you a healthy conscience. Amen.
Prayer:
Sweet Spirit of God, thank you for the power to convict me of all sins. Please give me a heart that will listen and obey you in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Action point:
Has the Holy Spirit ever spoken to you about something wrong you did? How did you respond? Did you do what He said or not? Decide to always listen to and obey His instructions.
Declaration:
My conscience is not seared. I listen and obey the Holy Spirit.
This year, learn how to journey with God. A new year comprises numbers that run from one to three hundred and sixty-five. It’s just numbers that help you make the most of your life and time.
Every new year starts from number one and runs all through to the end. That is an indication that what you didn’t or couldn’t achieve in the past year, there is another set of days, weeks, and months to do so.
Another beautiful thing about a new year is that it’s a clean slate for you to fill with decisions and habits. It is an empty book for you to use as much as you want.
The fact that there are numbers in a year is clearly helpful in measuring your progress. As you count from one to two to three and so on, you are measuring what you are doing and noticing the changes you see.
You can also break the numbers into months; another way of structuring your progress.
A new year is a promise of possibilities. Adding God to the equation makes it juicer because He has seen all the days in the year.
Only He can help you navigate through this new year.
Add God into this new year. Don’t trudge alone on your journey. Let God load you on His back.
May this new year be a journey with God you will never forget. Amen.
Prayer: Lord, as this year starts, I hold your hand and start with you. Load me daily with your benefits. Be a part of my day throughout this year, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Action Plan: Consciously ask for God to walk with you this year. Do not go alone.
