Do you feel under the pile? Matt 11:28-30

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Do you ever feel like everything is piling up on you? You messed up at school on a big assignment, your best friend got mad at you (or you don’t even have a best friend), and when you got home your family acted like you weren’t even there… Life can be tough sometimes. I hope you have a family that loves you and helps you to believe in yourself. But even if you don’t, you have a heavenly Father who loves and cares for you. Jesus loves you in the very same way. He even died for you on a cross to prove it. And he rose up from the grave to prove that he was God’s son.

Once Jesus was talking to a large crowd of people when he said: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  (Matthew 11:28-30  NIV)

Jesus was telling those people to bring their problems to him and let him help them solve them.

Jesus uses the word “yoke” when he talked to the people. In Bible days two oxen were used together to pull heavy carts and wagons. The yoke made it easier for the animals to share the load as they pulled the wagon. Jesus is willing to share our hard times and help to make it easier for us.

Jesus promises to go through hard times with us like a best friend. If we learn to live the way he teaches us to live, he will help us to feel good about ourselves and will help us to enjoy life.

Copyright © 2010 by Janice D. Green

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Blue Moon?

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Blue Moon one day late. It was cloudy the night of Dec. 31, so I took this on Jan. 1, 2010.

 

Tonight, December 31, 2009, we will have a blue moon. 

Does that mean it will look blue? Not really. “Blue Moon” is an expression that we use whenever we have a second full moon in a month. 

What is a full moon? A full moon happens when the sun and moon are on the opposite sides of the earth so the sun lights up every part that faces the earth. 

How often do we get a full moon? It takes twenty-nine and a half days for the moon to revolve around the earth, so we get one full moon every twenty-nine and a half days. Since most of our months are 30 or 31 days, we get two full moons in the same month only about once every two and a half years. 

You might want to take a look at the moon tonight if you stay up late for New Year’s Eve. It will look the same as any other full moon, but we call it a “blue moon.” This happens on New Year’s Eve about once every twenty years. 

Genesis 1:14-18 tells us that God made the sun, moon, and stars to give us light and to mark the days, months, years, and the seasons. The moon causes the tides in the ocean and is important in many of the life cycles of animals in the ocean. When you look at the moon, think of the awesome God who created it and thank him for being so wise to work out so many things for us. 

© 2009 by Janice D. Green

Mary, the mother of Jesus

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I listened to the song Mary Did You Know? several times this evening. Isn’t that what Christmas is really all about? Mary had a baby whose father was God. Mary had no idea what would happen in the days and months and years ahead with the Christ child.

How could she know? Her baby would turn the world upside-down with his teachings, and his miracles. The very church he came to build up rejected him, and had him crucified. But Jesus was God, and he rose from the dead.

But Mary knew none of this the night baby Jesus was born. Somehow she must have known she had seen a miracle just the same. The shepherds witnessed the miracle of the angels who told them where to find the baby Jesus. Later the wise men came to see Jesus too. We know it was later because by then they were living in a house, not in the stable.

Listen to the song, Mary Did You Know (click on title), as sung by Bethany Haberer and imagine yourself looking into Mary’s eyes and at baby Jesus as you listen. Imagine the sounds and the smells of the stable. Imagine the shepherds on the hillside listening to the angels, and then finding the baby Jesus in a manger like they said.

Heavenly Father, help me to feel your presence this Christmas. Don’t let my Christmas wish list of things I want get in the way of experiencing a real Christmas: the joy of remembering that you sent your Son Jesus to live on earth so we could know you. Amen

Jesus helps us bear fruit

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Do you ever find it hard to do what is right, even though you know what you should do? Perhaps a friend wants you to steal some candy from a store. Or maybe several classmates are making fun of someone. Will you join them or stick up for the child they are laughing at?

Jesus once lived on earth just like us. He knows what it is like to be around people who would try to get us to do bad things. And Jesus is here for us now to help us to do good.

Jesus said to his disciples, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”- John 15:5,8 (NIV)

So how does this work? How do we become a branch on Jesus’ vine so we can bear much fruit? We begin by believing in Jesus and making a promise to him to live for him. We also have to tell him about the sinful things we have done and ask him to forgive us. Then Jesus will live in your heart and help you to live in a way that pleases God. He will also let you live in heaven with him forever when you die.

Doing the right things can still be hard at times, especially if we think we have already done everything God wants. We need to do more than start with Jesus, we need to keep on talking to him in prayer and living to please him. We need to read his book, the Bible, so we will learn more about how Jesus wants us to live. The more we spend time with Jesus in prayer and in the Bible, the more we will be like him. It is also important to go regularly to a church that believes Jesus is the Son of God. Christian teachers, pastors, and friends can help us to learn what the Bible says. They can also help us remain in Jesus and bear much fruit.

Father God, thank you for showing me the way to know you through Jesus. Come and live in my heart. Forgive my sins, especially when I _________________. Help me to always look to you for the strength I need to do the things that please you. Thank you for making me and for showing all people the best way to live together in peace. Amen.

© 2009 by Janice D. Green

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Bearing fruit for Jesus (Luke 3:8)

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Do you have friends who wear a WWJD bracelet? The letters stand for “What Would Jesus Do?” People wear these bracelets to remind themselves to think of what Jesus would do when they are tempted to do somthing they shouldn’t. This is a good way to remind yourself to think about Jesus when friends want you to do bad things.

Do you think the bracelet always works? What if you saw someone who was wearing a WWJD cheat on a test or take someone’s pencil when they thought nobody was looking? Or maybe you heard them say unkind things about another kid. Do you really know someone is trustworthy just because they are wearing a WWJD bracelet?

An expresion I sometimes hear people say is “Your actions speak louder than your words.” Kids wearing a WWJD bracelet are telling the world that they do what Jesus says. But if they don’t act like they are listening to what Jesus says, their actions are speaking louder than their bracelet about what kind of person they really are.

When we obey Jesus’ rules we are bearing fruit. There is a Bible verse  that says, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance… “(Luke 3:8 NIV) Jesus is saying that it isn’t enough to look like a Christian, to wear a WWJD bracelet or a cross on a necklace. We must do what Jesus tells us to do.

Father God, work in our hearts to help us want to please you from the inside out. Help us to bear fruit for you in everything we do. Amen.

© 2009 by Janice D. Green

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.