Saturday, February 13, 2016

Knowing the Song of the King


   Today we are having a guest post!  Gabrielle A. wrote this piece about a favorite childhood book, one that I have read and enjoyed myself!  I hope this convicts you to listen to and study God's Word, keeping it in your heart so you will be protected from the arrows of the evil one.

   Enjoy!



 Knowing the Song of the King




Psalm 119:11
"I have hidden Your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against you."

2 Corinthians 11:12-15

  "And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about.  For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.  And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.  It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve."

 

John 14:25-26

  “All this I have spoken while still with you.  But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."

 



     As a little girl, I had a favorite book that I never grew tired of.

     It is worn and tired, but the story sticks with me.  It is With You all the Way by Max Lucado about three knights, evil woods, a prince, a King, and a beautiful prize. 

     In order to receive the prize, the knights had to pass a test.  The test was to go through dark and evil woods to reach the castle of the King, where the first person to arrive would receive the hand of the princess.  The woods were filled with evil creatures that lived among trees so think there was not a ray of sunlight to be found.  These creatures were clever, deceitful, and dangerous.  Each knight was fearful as they thought of having to go through the dark forest.  This was much worse the Anne Shirley's "Haunted Wood!"  The prince informed the knights of this, and proceed to play a song, the song of his father the King.  There were only two flutes that could play this song—one belonging to the prince and the other to the King.  The King would be playing this song three times a day until the first knight arrived to the castle.  If the knights could listen and follow the song through the forest, they would safely reach the castle. 

     The knights were given a partner of their choice.  One knight was known for his strength, the second for his speed, and the third for his alertness.  The third saw things others missed.  In the end, two people stumbled out of the forest as the people of the kingdom tried to guess which knight won.  Was it the strong knight?  Or perhaps it was the fast one...

     It was neither.  It was the alert one.  The King asked the winning knight of his journey.  The wise young knight spoke of the evil creatures of the forest, each of which played a song similar to the King's song, but slightly different.  They imitated the King's song, playing every time the true song entered the forest.  A hundred songs from every direction made it nearly impossible to hear the King's song.  The other two knights could not hear the song.  Strength and speed does not enhance hearing. 

     When asked how on earth he made it through the forest, the knight replied, "I chose the right companion."  He gestured for his companion to enter, and much to the surprise of the people, the prince entered.  To the King, the knight said, "I knew there was only one how could play the song exactly like you.  There was no one else I would have trusted to be with me all the way.  So I asked him to travel with me.  As we journeyed, he played your song.  I learned it so well that though a thousand flutes tried to hide your music, I could hear you son above all.  It was with me all the way."

 
     We are like the knights traveling through a dark and evil forest to reach the kingdom of heaven where the King holds our reward.  We must learn the "song" God plays.  We must study it.  Memorize it.  Hide it in our hearts.  Then we can make it through the forest safely.  Our companion, the Holy Spirit God gave us, is with us all the way.   He helps us fight and find our way into the kingdom of heaven.  He is truly with us all the way.  He is the only one who knows the song of the King.  The forces of evil try to imitate the Word of God, but in the end, only one truly knows it, and He teaches it to us.  Granted, we have mentors and Godly role models, but this is why we need to test everything to see if it is of the right spirit, His Spirit.  Then we can avoid the imitating deceitfulness.  He is truly with us all the way.  So let your heart be of good courage!  He never fails!

     --Gabrielle A.

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Patience


Hey, it's Karina :) This is my first addition to the blog, soo... yeah. Anyways, this was a devotional I wrote for a school assignment, and I based it off of an experience I had a couple weeks ago... Enjoy!
Patience
Nahum 1:3a “The LORD is slow to anger and great in power"
Jill sat in Bible Study listening to her teacher, Ms. Jefferson, teach about the Fruit of the Spirit.  Ms. Jefferson finished her lesson and told the kids to come up and write one Fruit they struggled with on the board.  When it was Jill’s turn, she paused for a moment.  ‘What do I struggle with?’ she mused.  Suddenly, she remembered something that had happened to her earlier – she had lost her patience!

“Can you just listen for ONE time?!?” Jill asked her horse, Chance.  Obviously, Chance couldn’t answer her, but Jill was frustrated.  Chance had been a pain for her whole ride, and Jill was about ready to quit, even though she knew she had to make Chance canter left at least once, otherwise he would have ‘won’.

Jill hastily wrote ‘PATIENCE’ on the board and returned to her seat.  After a few minutes, everybody in the class had taken their turns writing on the board and Ms. Jefferson faced the class again.  “Now, I noticed that there is a wide variety of struggles up here, but patience seems to be very common.  Your challenge this week is to PRAY for God to help you with whichever Fruit is the hardest for you.  Pray every time you feel like you’re giving in, and He will help you,” she told the class.  Jill nodded her head slightly and told herself ‘I will remember this challenge. From now on, when Chance is difficult, I’ll pray for God’s help controlling my impatience and He will help me.’

What about you?  Whether or not you struggle with having patience, everybody has trouble with at least one of God’s Fruits.  Your challenge may be loving others.  It may be having joy.  Whatever it is, pray for God’s guiding hand to show you the way through any situation when the Fruit you’re struggling with is getting the upper hand.  The Lord will help you!

~ KRN