Introductory Thoughts
Sometimes the Bible conveys some disheartening truths including man’s inability to love the Lord during difficult times. Regrettably, believers are easily offended and sometimes even scattered from the Lord because of a lack of resolve. The Lord prophesied in Zechariah 13:7 concerning His followers’ reaction to His rejection. Though the Lord knows the future, consider how this rejection must have grieved Him when it actually transpired. At a time when any faithful disciple should have been loyal to his Master, those closest to the Lord were instead scattered. The One that fed them when they were hungry (Mark 6:35-44), healed family members when ill (Mark 1:29-31), calmed the troubled waters during the storms (Mark 4:37-41), and taught them many wonderful truths was now the cause of their offence.
Devotional Thoughts
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(For children): We know what the Lord has done for us. Yet sometimes, like the disciples, we fear men and do not appropriately react to adversity (Proverbs 29:25). The Bible tells us whom to fear (Luke 12:4-5; Hebrews 13:6). Who feared God in the story of the man born blind: the parents (John 9:18-23) or their son (John 9:24-34)?
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(For everyone): How has the Lord blessed you? Has He been faithful to you through the good times and the bad? How can you be anything other than loyal to Him?
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What would it take to cause you to stop walking with the Lord? What troubles would keep you from serving the Lord? Would you have been scattered from the Lord (see Mark 14:29-31)?
Prayer Thoughts
- Ask the Lord to help you to be loyal through good times and bad.
- Ask the Lord to show you if your loyalty is faulty.
Song
TO THE WORK!
