ESCAPE FROM GOD’S ANGER -1 KINGS 15:25-34 KEY VERSE: "Because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he made Israel sin, by his provocation wherewith he provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger" (1 Kings 15:30). God is described in the Scriptures as the Almighty Creator, loving Father and merciful Redeemer; but He is also described as the All-knowing Judge and a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:23,29). He watches our thoughts, words and actions to see if they conform to His laid-down precepts of righteousness and holy living. And for anyone who chooses to disregard His commandments and warnings, judgment is certain. In the text, Nadab’s (the son of Jeroboam) reign was exactly like that of his father who made Israel to sin and provoked God to anger with the sins of idolatry, disobedience and forsaking of the words of the Lord. God’s judgment came upon him and he was destroyed with every member of his family by Baasha according to the word of the Lord spoken through

The Unpayable Debt By Billy Graham   •   April 28   •   Topics: Grace The Unpayable Debt hands reaching out of jail cell Who gave himself for our sins . . . —Galatians 1:4 Years ago King Charles V was loaned a large sum of money by a merchant in Antwerp. The note came due, but the king was bankrupt and unable to pay. The merchant gave a great banquet for the King. When all the guests were seated and before the food was brought in, the merchant had a large platter placed on the table and a fire lighted on it. Then, taking the note out of his pocket, he held it in the flames until it was burned to ashes. The king threw his arms around his benefactor and wept. Just so, we have been mortgaged to God. The debt was due, but we were unable to pay. Two thousand years ago God invited the world to the Gospel feast, and in the agonies of the cross, God held your sins and mine until every last vestige of our guilt was consumed. Prayer for the day In gratitude I kneel before You, Lord Jes

PRIVILEGES OF GOD’S CHILDREN I – Friday April 28th 2017 Memorise: Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. Galatians 4:7 Read: Mark 7:24-30 (King James Version) 24 And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid. 25 For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet: 26 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. 27 But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. 28 And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs. 29 And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter. 30 And when she was c

Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great (Genesis 26:12-13). Isaac had received an instruction from the Lord, not to leave his country to Egypt because of the famine in his country. Of course, people were migrating to Egypt to seek relief and Isaac thought to do the same. However, the Lord spoke to him and said, “…dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father” (Genesis 26:2-3). Isaac adhered to the Lord’s instruction, and the result is what we see in our opening verse. He grew, waxed great and became very great so much so, that the Philistines envied him in the same land that was ravaged by famine. God destined the man Isaac for greatness, and he

An Alternative to Anger Jennifer Benson Schuldt Proverbs 20:1–15 It is to one’s honor to avoid strife.  Proverbs 20:3 One morning in Perth, Australia, Fionn Mulholland discovered his car was missing. That’s when he realized he had mistakenly parked in a restricted zone and his car had been towed away. After considering the situation—even the $600 towing and parking fine—Mulholland was frustrated, but he decided not to be angry with the person he would work with to retrieve his car. Instead of venting his feelings, Mulholland wrote a humorous poem about the situation and read it to the worker he met at the tow yard. The worker liked the poem, and a possible ugly confrontation never took place. The book of Proverbs teaches, “It is to one’s honor to avoid strife” (20:3). Strife is that friction that either simmers under the surface or explodes in the open between people who disagree about something. God has given us the resources to live peacefully with other people. His Word assur