Category Archives: As I Read the Word to my Daughter

April 11, 2014

A Seven Year Old’s BIG Answer

By Jason and Kimberly

During family devotion last night, I intended to ask some hard questions about a familiar story–Daniel and the lions den. My first question was, “Who is the hero of this story?” Answer: “God.” (If any of you are familiar with Desiring God Curriculum for children, you know the emphasis is to regain a God-centered telling of the Bible. I highly recommend this curriculum to you.)

The next question I asked (a 6 & 7 year old) was, “If God was able to shut the lions’ mouths then why didn’t He just keep Daniel from going to the lions’ den?” Answer from my 7 year old: “Because it is impossible for a man to be thrown into a lions’ den and not be eaten and God wanted to reveal Himself to everybody by doing the impossible.” Of course, that answer made a dad very thankful to the Lord.

I then asked, “Why did God save Daniel and not the others thrown into the den?” Answer: “Because Daniel trusted the Lord.” I would encourage you not to withhold hard questions from your children. Certainly, this is not the first day we have had devotion. So that is where to start. Teach your children. Equip them to follow the Lord in this world. Don’t shelter them from everything. And don’t think they will figure out how they ought to do things (you even have to teach them how to PLAY with each other in a God-honoring way…they don’t know). Equip them.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

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August 1, 2007

God is Sovereign!

By Jason and Kimberly

Lydia and I were reading the Bible together before bedtime the other night and I ran across a sweeping reality–namely God was and is sovereign over the condition of bread. Let me explain.

In Exodus 16 (go and get your Bible and read this text), the Israelites (who were just brought out of Egypt) are grumbling about their eating arrangements. As we all would do by nature, they had rather been in slavery eating all the meat and bread they desired than be satisfied with God. However, the LORD heard their grumbling and communicated to Moses that He planned to rain bread down from heaven (that will preach). So, God did send bread with some instructions. He told the people, through Moses, to gather only a certain amount each day according to each one in his tent. Also, they were warned that if they gathered too much and the bread was left until morning it would “breed (bred) worms and become foul”(Ex. 16:20).

Now with that context set, let us move on in the story. Instructions concerning the Sabbath follow the above. Within the teaching on the Sabbath, the people are instructed to gather twice as much bread the day before the Sabbath. Two reasons why: (1) the Sabbath was a day of rest and (2) there would be no bread in the field to gather on the Sabbath. So, why did the bread that was left over from the day before not “breed (bred) worms and become foul?” Answer: God is sovereign. He determines whether bread is foul or fresh. Praise be to God!

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