February 20 in KidQuest and FirstLook

I want to use this blog to help support you and give you information about what your kids are learning about in KidQuest and FirstLook BEFORE we teach them.  The reason for this is so you can introduce the topic at home before your kids get to church.  This gives your kids the image that you are the primary spiritual leader in their lives.  I pray with the combination of this weekly blog entry and the HomeFront Weekly, you are able to introduce your kids to what we are talking about so we are able to support you by teaching the same things at church that you are trying to teach at home.

KIDQUEST

Perhaps one major stumbling block for Solomon was that his heart was not in the right place. He may have gone through the motions, but at the end of the day he lacked the love and adoration for God that his father, David, had. Solomon might have also not needed God as much. Solomon basically inherited a kingdom at peace, while his father, David, was hunted by Saul, forced to live as a fugitive in his own country, and battled enemies on every side. Prosperity is one of the great enemies of faith.

Both of these stumbling blocks can be true of us. With the chaos of our day-today lives, we can often find ourselves in a place where we perform our “spiritual duties” as mere rituals, to check them off our list. We also might feel that our need for God is small so our heart for Him—our pursuit of Him—is also small. But God does not desire that kind of worship. It is critical that we regularly ask God to search our hearts, to ensure that we’re keeping Him at the center.

This week, meditate on David’s prayer from Psalm 139:23:
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
 

God wants our whole hearts. He wants us to desire relationship with Him enough that we long to be with Him—to love Him so much that we can’t wait to make time for Him in the midst of our busy lives. Ask God to reveal to you what may be standing in the way of you giving Him your whole heart, or where your worship may have become routine. Ask for His guidance and assistance in creating a new heart in you for the things and people God has entrusted to you.
 

Then pray God would show the kids how worthy He is of their whole hearts, and that they would respond to this with wholehearted worship.

FIRSTLOOK

At the time of writing, our world is living in the midst of some very trying times financially, politically, and relationally. These trials are not just global but are reaching each one of us personally. It is so hard to have faith that we will not sink, or be swallowed up by the circumstances of this world and our current situations. Try to remember: What was true of God in the past is true of Him still. He is very present and very near to you. He will not leave you, abandon you, or give you away. You have been chosen, redeemed, and adopted by Jesus—and you are His. He will walk with you through each moment, each day. He will provide a path for you to follow. Trust in Him; He is near.
 

As you prepare for your time with the children this week, pray that your time with God is sweet and fills you up—restoring all that has been depleted. May you feel His presence and hear His voice calling you to “come.” 

May you follow His example. Find a solitary place to be alone with God and let Him pour the peace of His Spirit over you.