March 12, 2017 - Armor of God

TONY & MICHELLE PAWLAK

MEMORY VERSE

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

EPHESIANS 6:11

Have you ever felt that it's you against the world?  Has God put you in a situation that you think you're not strong enough to overcome?  Sometimes it's hard to remember that    1 Believer + God = Winning Team every single time! 

King Saul's son Jonathan knew this well.  Even though his

father had lost favor with God, Jonathan was a good man who loved God and who even became best friends with David.  

One day, during Israel's war with the Philistines, King Saul didn't know what to do.  God had stopped talking to

him and so had Samuel the Prophet.  Jonathan saw that something had to be done.  So Jonathan and his armor bearer sneaked away from the camp without telling King Saul in order to find some Philistines.  

Jonathan knew that if God was with them, it didn't matter that there were only two of them and many Philistines. "Let's show ourselves to the

Philistines." Jonathan said to his armor bearer. "If they say 'Come here' then we will know God wants us to attack them.  But if they say 'we will come to you' then we should not attack them."  Then the armor bearer said to Jonathan, "Do all that you have in mind. Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.” 

So they showed themselves to the Philistines who saw them and said, “Come up to us and we’ll teach you a lesson.” Knowing that God was with them, Jonathan and his armor bearer attacked the Philistines and killed about twenty of them. This caused the Israelites to

become brave and fight harder.

So why did Jonathan have an armor bearer?  Is having armor that important?  Should we wear armor today? The answer is a resounding YES!  Paul says in the Bible that we should

wear the Armor of God.  It is not physical armor but Spiritual armor.  Each piece represents something that we need in order to do battle with the Devil every day.

The first piece of armor is the Belt of Truth.  The belt is an important piece because it not only holds everything

together but also carries our sword.  We need to base everything we say, do, and believe on the truth of God's Word.

The second piece is the Breastplate of Righteousness.  This over over your chest and protects

your heart.  We must fill our hearts with righteousness: living and thinking as God wants us to. If we protect our hearts, we will live lives that please God.

Third are the Shoes that are the Readiness that comes from the Gospel of Peace. Good shoes anchored to the ground will make sure

we cannot be pushed back.  If we stand on the Gospel, we will not be moved by the lies of this world.

Fourth is the Shield of Faith.  A shield is made to block arrows and other dangers that come from

enemies. If our faith in God and His Word is strong, then we will be able to block the lies (fiery darts) of the Devil.  The Devil is constantly telling us lies trying to stop us from being effective soldiers of Christ. If we only have a little faith, then we can only block a few of the lies.  We must have a big faith to keep us safe.

Fifth is the Helmet of Salvation.  A helmet protects our

brain/mind.  When we guard our minds with the knowledge that we are saved and that we are new creatures in Christ, we will know not to return to the ways of the world.

Finally we have the Sword of the Spirit, our only

weapon. Our sword is the Word of God.  When Jesus battled Satan, He used Scripture.  We must know our Bible so we can use it to defeat the Devil when he comes against us.

So we have learned two things this week: With God we can overcome any obstacle, and that we need to put on

our Armor of God every day to do battle with the Devil.  

March 5, 2017 - God Prepares David

TONY & MICHELLE PAWLAK

MEMORY VERSE

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an  example for the believers…

I Timothy 4:12a

Have you ever been on a sports team? What did you think of those endless hours of practice, exercise, learning drills and plays?  Did you ever wonder, "Why do I have to do all this?"  It wasn't until game day that all that work paid off and you performed well on the field, court, etc.. 

Succeeding in life is all in the preparation.  

Last week we learned of Samuel anointing Young David to be the next King of Israel.  However, David wasn't yet ready to be king so God had some preparation work for

him to do...like herding sheep.  What?? Herding sheep is preparation to be king?  Of course.

While herding sheep, young David learned what it was to care for others and even be willing to lay down his life to protect

them. Whenever a lion or a bear would show up and try to run off with one of David's sheep, David would risk his own life to save the sheep and kill the lion or bear.  

This bravery came in handy one day when David's father sent David to take food to his brothers who were off with the army fighting the Philistines.  When David arrived, he saw a Philistine named Goliath, who was nine feet tall, standing between the two armies challenging any Israelite who was brave enough to face

him.  The entire Israelite army looked on in fear and no one would dare try to fight the giant, even when King Saul tried to bribe them with money.  He even said whoever would kill Goliath would marry the king's daughter.  Still, they were all too afraid.

Goliath even started making fun of God.  This was too much for David to stand.  He decided to fight the giant himself!  King Saul tried to talk him out of it but David was determined.  He went out to face Goliath with only a sling and his faith in God to protect him.

David took five smooth river stones and stood before

Goliath. His very first stone nailed Goliath right between the eyes, knocking him out!  David then used Goliath's own sword to remove the giant's head!  Suddenly, the Philistines weren't so brave anymore and they all ran away. Young David was a hero.

One of David's favorite hobbies was playing a harp called a lyre.  He would use it to sing praises to God.  God used this to prepare David for something else.  What could playing a lyre prepare David for? Let's see.

When King Saul had disobeyed God, God's Holy Spirit left him and an evil spirit came to make Saul miserable.  Whenever the evil spirit came upon Saul, it would torment him.  They decided that maybe music would

calm their king down so they sent for young David.  Whenever David would play his lyre for Saul, the evil spirit would leave him and Saul would be happy again. All this and more were moving David closer and closer to becoming king.  

So when you go through hard time, keep having faith.  Maybe it's just God preparing you for something amazing!   I know it's hard to have faith when things are going wrong but we must remember that God has things well in hand.  Neither hard times, old age, or even being young can stop God from using you.

February 26, 2017 - Samuel Anoints David King

TONY & MICHELLE PAWLAK

MEMORY VERSE

Man looks on the outward 

appearance,But the Lord

looks on the heart.

I Samuel 16:7b

How would you describe the perfect best friend.  Would you talk about how tall they were?  How strong?  How good-looking?  Or would you rather talk about things like honest, kind, happy, patient (or basically the Fruits of the Spirit)?  Which would make a person more enjoyable to be around?  Usually, it's what is in the heart that is more important.

Last week we learned how Israel wanted a king like the other nations.  God knew that such a king would not have the right kind of heart.  Samuel tried to warn the people but they wouldn't listen.  God knew that the only way they would learn is the hard way so He gave them what they wanted, He gave them King Saul.  Eventually, Saul proved to

be a poor king that gave into pressure and disobeyed God.  God then rejected Saul as King of Israel and said the he would be replaced by someone better than Saul. 

God then told the prophet Samuel to go to the house of a man named Jesse.  There, he would find the next king.

 So Samuel came and, one by one, Jesse showed Samuel his sons.  When Samuel saw the first son he thought, "Surely this must be the one God has chosen."  But God said, "Don't think because he is tall and handsome that I've chosen him. Man looks on the outward appearance,But the Lord looks on the heart." 

So Jesse brought seven sons before Samuel but God rejected them all! Then Samuel asked Jesse, "Are these all of your sons?"  Jesse answered, "My youngest son is out tending the sheep."  "Send for him." Samuel said.

So Jesse sent for his youngest son, a young man named David.  When David came before Samuel, Samuel saw that this one was healthy and

handsome like the others.  "This is the one.  Anoint him." God said. So Samuel anointed David to be the next King of Israel and the Holy Spirit came heavily on David.

So next time you start to judge someone by how they look, just remember that God is looking at their heart.  It doesn't matter if someone is good-looking or not if their heart is ugly.  So let's all make sure our heart's are good looking to God.  Remember, He's watching.