Introduction

Many years ago, my father took me to a seminar. The presenter had made a book about bible
animals with great effort made on art and detail.

As a pastor, I decided to do a series on animals of the Bible using each letter of the alphabet.
Through both reflection of the seminar and personal experience I developed this model as a way
of helping my parishioners, colleagues, and others meet God through them.

This reflective devotional style brings the reader into a thoughtful reflection of who they are in
their relationship with God. Through meditation the reader develops a deeper personal
understanding of their character and how God is changing them for His glory.

Each letter section begins with a ‘Thought.’ In the morning, read this to focus on God for the
day.

Each letter section has a short reading about one animal and its character. A scripture reference
is there as suggeted reading before proceeding onward as a base. Read the scripture in the
morning.

Each letter section has a reading related to the animal with personal application. Remember it
was God who designed the animals as well. Read this in the evening to reflect on the day’s stress.

Each letter section has a prayer. After spending time reflecting on your day, pray it. God listens to
our hearts.

If you have any comments, please write a personal note at a2bitnickel@gmail.com

Dr. Paul R. Friesen

Pastor / Mentor
List of Bible Animals

Ants …………………………….
Bees ……………………………
Camels …………………………
Dovetailing ……………………..
Eagle ……………………………
Frog …………………………….
Goat …………………………….
Hornets …………………………
Insects ……………………………
Jackal ……………………………
Kine ……………………………..
Lamb …………………………….
Mouse …………………………..
Night Owl ……………………….
Ostrich …………………………..
Partridge …………………………
Quail ……………………………..
Ram ……………………………...
Serpent or Servant ……………..
Turtle ……………………………..
Unicorn …………………………..
Vulture ……………………………
Worm …………………………….
Xenarthra (Xtinct) ……………….
YZ men ………………………..
 Thought

When we focus on what God wants us to

do, we will have energy like the ant.
 nt
Read
Proverbs 6:6-11
30:24-28
We use the phrase in
English "ants in our
pants" for the children
who can't sit still. If you
have ants in your pants
you wiggle and can't
stand still.
Many years ago, in
boarding school, we
used to look at the ants
marching along; big
and small ones, red,
yellow, black, and
brown ones.
We had names for some of them. Army ants were the most fun.
They would march in a line, and we would step on the path to
confuse them.
They would always find the line and continue. Did you know they
leave a scent or smell for the others to follow?
Then there were the "sloppy joe" ants. We called them that
because they were like hamburger.
They always went in a group, and when we stepped on them, they
would smell like hamburger meat with sauce.
There were the sugar and water ants. The fruit trees were full of
sugar ants.
Of course, you didn't climb those trees. The small water ants could
always find water. Whereas, the giant ant hills have millions of ants
and can be as tall as 4 meters.
There is something all ants have in common. They do what they are
born to do. They don't complain or try to do someone else's job.
They don't even get greedy. Army ants will give their life so others
will be able to continue.
If you watch ants in their home, they have many storage places for
food. They do the same thing all day long, not needing to be told
what to do.
They serve only the queen. There is nothing too big to bring back to
the house for food.
If it is too big, they get together and conquer it. This is what the
book of Proverbs says about the ant.
"Ant" is mentioned only twice in the Bible. The first reference is
about being lazy versus the ant.
I know you aren't lazy, but sometimes you are in your work or
worship.
The second is about wisdom and strength. The ant is not mighty in
and of itself, but it is wise in its planning for the future.
What can we learn from the ant?
First, we learn the ant does not go fast or slow. They just do their job.

Many times, we are lazy in our spiritual life. We pray and read the Bible every day, go to Church
on Sunday and Friday and Wednesday, but are we getting stronger?

• When we memorize scripture, we store up spiritual strength for the times when we
need it.

• When we develop a disciplined life, we won't get tired and stressed out as often.

• When our plan gets stepped on we focus on getting on track.

• When we find ourselves with a load too big to carry, we see the army ant follows the
leader, sacrificing their lives so others can succeed.

We need to question ourselves about our job. We need to challenge ourselves about our
discipline as good disciples.

We need to ask ourselves why we get stressed. Perhaps we have lost our way because someone
has stepped on the line.

We need to get back into the habits that have promised the power of Christ in our lives.

We need to do the job God has chosen for us and do our best not worrying about the others.

Are we doing it?

 Prayer

Lord,

My life is so full of activity that makes

me tired.and I get so pro ud o f myself. I
lose my focus on the job yo u have given
to me, forgive me, Enable me Lord to s et
my purpose on Yo u, who lo ved me fro m
the beginning. Help me to keep my go als
clear, so I can better s erve Yo u.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen
Reflection

1. How often do we let our emotions control our directions?

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2. How often is our focus on the outcome and not the job we are gifted to do?
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3. How long does it take us to get back on track once distracted?

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4. How do distractions affect our Christian maturity growth?

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 Thought

The time to capture is short. Am I making

honey or busy doing unproductive things?
 ee
The bumblebee is yellow and black striped and rarely gets angry.
Flying from flower to flower drinking from their sweetness.
Read
Having hairy legs, they carry the pollen from one flower to another.
Psalm 118 The pollen dust, taken by the bees, is how many trees get their
fruit.
Like ants, there are Do you like honey? I like honey and used to watch the honey
many kinds of bees. farmer put the beehive in the tree which would later be smoked to
make the bees evacuate to get the honey.
There is the African bee
which can kill when it In North America tree hives may not the choice, but in Africa it was
bites. It swarms and common. We had a neighbor, in Canada, who was a bee farmer. He
the poison will kill you. set his boxes of hives in the field every spring.

They get angry quickly Each bee in the hive has a job. There are worker bees and honey
but almost always fight finding bees. The worker prepares the queen's eggs while the other
in a group. bees find the honey. The worker then seals the egg with wax with
beeswax.
There is what I call the
water bee because In English, we have a saying, "That's a bunch of beeswax “. What do
they are attracted to we mean by that? I'm sure we don't carry a bunch of "beeswax" in
water. our pocket. Beeswax is good for making things slide smoothly and
fragrant candles.
in Africa, we had to fill
a reservoir before Bees are amazing. They rarely or never get lost and dance to give
pumping the water to directions. What can we learn from these bees?
the roof. A screen,
placed over the top of First, African killer bees get angry quickly and swarm, thousands at
the reservoir limited a time. They attack people when they get upset, and kill with their
the bees. Their only sting.
desire was to drink.
We can do the same. I know we like to be peaceful, but at times we
get upset quickly. We gossip to others and kill the person and
relationship through it.

This happened to me in one of my jobs. One lady, thought I was

doing strange things in my study. She just had a feeling, and told
another who believed what was told. They told others and, in the
end, discovered the story was wrong.
The water bee won't hurt anybody, and won't get any work done either. He just searches and
drinks water. This is like the person who prays every day and goes to Church all the time. Yet,
their spiritual life is not getting stronger.

The bumblebee is the cutest of all. Colorful and chubby they go about their business while
blessing all those they touch. He is like the person who lives a simple Christian life. The stress in
their life comes from not doing what God has called them to do.

The honey bee gives us the sweetness, but they don't do it alone. All honeybees serve the
queen, each having different jobs. They don't worry about changing to be better than the
others. Christians serve the King of Kings and through worship spread the blessings and power
of God to those around them.

Honey bees also make wax. The wax is not only important to make things slide easily, it also
used for putting in your ear to block out sound. It can block out the whispers of gossip.

To extract the honey, we need heat and filtration. To be pure like Jesus we need to clean out
the garbage in our lives. We can be sweet but not attractive if we have litter in our lives.

Imagine they didn't do their job; you wouldn't have any honey or fruit. If the bumblebee didn't
do its job, there would not be much fruit. If the water bee didn't do its job would anybody care?

Bees don't live through a cold winter without protection. If a bee stings you, it will die.

God has given each of us a job to do. If we get easily angry and gossip, we damage
relationships. If we just drink from the Spirit, but nothing else we don't benefit anybody but
ourselves.

We do not impact people by preaching at them, but living out our Christian life. That is why we
need to know Christ in a relationship, not just a theological theory.

• We can group together and attack all that is not understood.

• We can be too sensitive and in killing others, we hurt ourselves.
• We listen to gossip and make judgments without knowledge.

The Bible says we should test things for the truth. We should NOT listen to gossip but look for
the truth. We need to fill our ears with beeswax so we listen to God's still small voice and
not the chatter of those around us. We need to filter out the impurities through God's life -
changing relationship.

Are we a busy-bee, killing bee, bumble bee, or honey bee?

 Prayer

Dear God,

I am like the bee. Being busy keeps me from looking at my sin.

Too often I am like the killer bee with my tongue. Forgive me
and help me to become like the honey bee. Directing people to
You, who can make even the worst into the sweetest honey.

In Jesus name,
Amen
Reflection

1. How often do we lose our direction because we listen to the wrong information?

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2. How often do we do the right things but don’t grow spiritually?

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3. How do we spread the blessings God has given us?

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4. What do we do to look busy but don’t get anything done?

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 Thought
Carrying everybody’s burdens over
wasteland is not meant for just anyone. It
is only for the very thick lipped. Only one
person can do this effectively, that is Jesus
Christ. Try putting your burdens on His
back when you are in the desert of life. He
will lead you to the oasis.
 amel
There are two kinds of real camels: one and two hump. One has
two humps and common in Asia. The other is common in Africa
Read and has one.
Jeremiah 2: 20-25
They are known for their very thick lips and eyelids. Their lips are
Have you ever seen so thick they can eat thorns.
or ridden a Camel?
Thick eyelids protect the eyes in sandstorms. They are also very
They have them in smelly and stubborn. What does the Bible say about the camel?
zoos and can even be
found on Cheju In the Old Testament, there are a couple of references to the
Island. character of the camel.

There is a "camel" Leviticus is one book of the Law (Pentateuch) giving directions on
brand cigarette what to eat. The camel was an animal God told them not to eat.
which was (Lev 11:4)
representative of a
particular character. In Jeremiah, the camel is referred to the "stubborn people" who
broke the rope to be free. They have a strong sense of
The western man independence. Look it up an read together. (Jeremiah 2: 20-25)
who wanted to be a
little stubborn. Israel had promised God to not continue in the habit of SIN. They
wanted to change by breaking the ropes of bad habits and God
planted a pure and holy tree.

How had they become so sinful?

They had tried to wash the sin off thinking if they kept the outside
clean the inside would be ok. They didn't worship idols of other
people, but they didn't tear them down either.

They were like a camel who would not become tired crisscrossing
the valleys.

The camel can walk for days without drinking because the hump is
where the camel keeps its extra water?

It is said Muslims believe there are 100 names for God. We can
know 99, and only the camel knows the 100th name.

The camel is not only stubborn, but also brilliant. He can avoid
doing what other people do because of his water storage.
In the end, the passion and desire of the camel will get him into trouble. Many people want to
catch him and chase him tirelessly, finding it in the end. Is this what God desires?

Jeremiah says (25), the people chose to run after strangers. They decided to go the way of the
camel instead of God's way.

In the New Testament, we find three Gospels that tell us the same thing. If we see the same
thing in three different Bible books it might be an essential. These say it is easier for the camel
to pass through the eye of the needle than the rich man to get into heaven.

This sounds both funny and easy. The eye of a needle is tiny, and the camel is enormous, so it is
impossible.

What does this mean? Does it say rich people can't get into heaven? Of course not!! Just as it is
difficult for a rich man to give up his riches, for something he has less control over. It does tell
us about the character of both.

First, we know the camel is stubborn. It can go long distances without drinking and protect itself
from the many dangers in a desert.

Second, we know rich people most often do not depend on God for their riches. We must look
farther than only this one verse.

The people in Luke asked Jesus, "Who can be saved?" Jesus said, (Luke 18:27) But He said, ”The
things impossible with men are possible with God.

In Jeremiah, the camel is like someone who is careful, determined, and stubborn about what he
does. People want to follow them because they seem to be going the right way, but never clean
anything.

Therefore, to God, the camel is like somebody who avoids things, never needing to clean things
out which is what God wants us to do. God doesn't want us to avoid situations.

Instead, he wants a clean life and mind so He can fill them. With His Holy Spirit’s power and
blessings.
In the New Testament, the camel is like someone trying to do the impossible with their own
strength. They can be stubborn, but they cannot do the impossible. Only God can do the
impossible. That is to give you life forever.

Are you like the camel today?

Chasing after something which seems impossible like peace of heart and mind. Or, power to
change your life direction. God can do the impossible and with God we can have all these and
more.
Dear God,

I feel like I am in a dry desert in my life. The things I carry are

precious to me. I need to let things go. Give me guidance to
know what is essential. Take my burden so I can again be
refreshed. I am so thirsty and tired. Thank you.

In Jesus Name,
Amen
Reflection

1. How do we find the oasis in life?

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2. What do we do with the “impossibles” in life?

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3. What attitudes does God desire to change?

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4. How often do we just wander and how dies t affect our spiritual life?
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 Thought

I t is not what your gift is

but the attitude
with which you give it.
 ovetailing
I find the dove interesting. You can hear them in the morning
cooing to each other. These are called mourning doves.
Read
Psalms 55:2-17 In the Bible, doves were used as the preferred sacrifice animal of
the poor.
Dovetailing in English
is what we say when It was the bird God chose to accept as a sacrifice and is
we want to blend representative of the Holy Spirit, in the New Testament.
things together
smoothly. We see so many of these on Christian stickers and think of the
Spirit.
It is used in carpentry
many times when The Bible says things about the dove that we see in ourselves. They
things need to fit are the opposite of the donkey.
tightly together.
The donkey is hard-headed and stubborn. The dove is soft and
gentle. Which would you like to be like?

In this Psalm, we find David wants to escape as easily as the dove.

The dove is seen as a sense of freedom.

Have you ever felt that way? Just wanting to escape from the
pressure of life.

To escape from the English tests and after-school study programs.

Sometimes I feel that way.

To be as free as a dove to fly away and escape quickly and easily.

The word dove is also used for gentleness. A soft emotional person.
We find this in the Song of Solomon. It is very romantic.

The Book of Jeremiah talks about the nests of the dove. Jeremiah
says the people should move out and live like the dove. Making
nests where they do, in the crevasses and sides of cliffs.

There will no longer be the protection of the towering walls of the

city. They will be exposed to the enemy.

In Hosea, we find the dove as a fragile and easily deceived person.

A person who is naïve or simple-minded and without

understanding.
The Old Testament talks about the dove as God's people. The New Testament speaks of the
dove as The Holy Spirit. Looking at the dove as ourselves is an interesting contrast.

We are the people of God. The dove is never written differently than that. The dove in the
Psalms looks at the protection of God on a defenseless bird. It is God who is the Protector of His
people.
In the Song of Solomon, we find the dove as the gentleness that God wants to see in us. The
Song of Solomon is a love song.
God the gentle lover of our soul.
In Hosea, we find the dove as the person who believes everything everybody says. They follow
easily. They have been easily led astray.
The dove is not a bird of prey. It is a bird of beauty not strength. A bird of purity not dirty.

The dove is a peaceful bird. This all means if we are like the dove, we will depend on God for
everything. He will be our protector when we have trouble in our lives. He will be there when
there seems to be no security in our lives.

When God is the center of our lives, we will demonstrate the Holy Spirit's attitude to the world
around us.

We must be careful not to be like the dove who follows easily to everything. The Holy Spirit
within us is demonstrated through our attitude and personality of the dove in our lives.

• When we are like the lion which operates under their own power.
• When we are like the dove. We, like the Psalmist, want to escape but God is our power
even when we sleep.

Do you have a dove or lion personality?

 Prayer

Dear God,

How much I am like the dove. Naïve and depending on You.

Be patient with me as I seek to change to Your direction in my
life.

In Jesus name,
Amen
Reflection

1. How dependent am I on God?

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2. How often do we want to escape our situation like a dove? Explain.

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3. Is your personality like a lion or a dove?

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4. How would changing my personality to be more dove-like affect others around me?
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 Thought

I t is not what your gift is

but the attitude
with which you give it.
 agle
In English, we often say someone has "Eagle Eyes."

Read Eagles are very different than other birds, but they are not the only
ones that have sharp eyes.
Isaiah 40:27-31
The eagle, however, is one of the highest-flying birds you can find.

When we soar on the In Scripture, we find the eagle is not easily captured. It can soar
winds of cultural high above the problems other animals face on the ground having
trends, we lose our the longest wingspan of almost any bird.
sharpness.
The Bible talks about the Eagle as a bird of speed and endurance.
When we soar with The personality of the eagle is perfect for this special day.
the Holy Spirit go
higher and see We look forward planning our goals and ideas around what we
dangers clearer. want to do. These plans should include a spiritual goal to fly higher
and see clearer through God's eyes.

This is where we need to have long broad wings. Wings which give
us the strength to soar above our circumstances. We can call them
“Spirit” wings. The power coming from the Holy Spirit, who allows
us to stay above the crowd and those pesky smaller birds
encountered at a lower altitude.

To "soar like an eagle" means we don't worry about what goes on

below. We can enjoy our life without fear.

Eagles have to take care of one other thing. They are the little birds
which like to tease and peck at it, bothering it if it flies too low.

The eagle doesn't waste energy chasing food. It is very precise and
careful. In this Psalm, we find God has attributes like an Eagle.
What is God like in this Psalm?

• He is the Forgiver.
• He is the Healer.
• He is the Redeemer.
• He is the One who crowns us with mercy.
• He is the One who can satisfy all of our desires.

God sees all the stresses in our life.

God gives us the power to rise above our circumstances.
God gives us victory in our pursuits.
 • We choose to fly lower and get harassed by smaller issues.
• We choose to run after our goals not God’s.
• We choose to get tired and depressed rather than rise on Spirit wings.

We need to look at our goals. Indians use eagle feathers in their war bonnets to give them
strength. Christians use Spirit wings to keep us above the problems around us.

We as Christians should desire to be more dependent on the Spirit who will lift us above our
circumstances. We need to have eagle eyes in this new year. Eyes that can see the future as
God sees it.

We need to pray for eyes which are clear to see where we need to change to become more
like Jesus.
 Prayer

Dear God,

I desire to rise above my circumstances. I desire to have eyes

like an eagle and not focus on the small things. I need the Holy
Spirit’s power in my life. Be patient with me as I seek to change
to Your direction in my life.

In Jesus name,

Amen
Reflection

1. How often do I soar above my circumstances?

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2. How often does stress come from little things and distract us from seeing clearly?
Explain.
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3. Describe a time when the Holy Spirit enabled you to soar above and not get tired?
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4. What do you need to change to experience the soaring peace promised by the Holy
Spirit?
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 Thought

Change is inevitable.
When we ignore this change
we get into trouble.
 rog
Frogs are unusual creatures and different from toads which live on
land while frogs prefer wetter places or the water.
Read
That is not all true because many frogs live in trees and other
1 John 4: 1-10 places. Toads, on the other hand, are most often found hiding, but
so do we! We like to hide from the truth.
I wanted to go with
fish because they Frogs are found in only two Bible passages and the second refers to
were an essential the first. It was one of the plagues sent from God to Egypt. When
part of Christian life. God brought frogs to Egypt the fortune tellers and Shaman did the
same.
In fact, they were a
symbol of identity In the plagues of Egypt, the magicians of Egypt copied the miracles
centuries ago. of Moses with the exception of the last one. What do you think
that was?
In modern culture,
they are used by It was life and death. Only God could save them and chose to take
Christians to the first of everything from Egypt.
represent Christ's
goals for them. Frogs do something we all do at times. Be comfortable! Yes, they
enjoy the rain and the fun of sitting on a lily pad. They can survive
most things because they can live on both land and water, but die
because they become too comfortable.

If you put a frog in a pail of water, he will be very comfortable

swimming and waiting.

As you slowly warm up the water the frog continues to wait. Very
patiently, As the water gets hotter the frog boils and dies.

We do the same in winter. When it is frigid, our bodies get numb

so we feel nothing. As we become more accustomed to our
surroundings, we think everything is ok, only to discover the feet,
hands, and ears are frozen and we lose them to frostbite.

What can we learn from the frog?

First, we learn God's miracles can be duplicated by Satan. Magic is

not a miracle, but they look the same.

• How can you tell the difference?

• Whose frogs are from God?
The Bible tells us to test the spirits.

1 John 4:1 Dear friends, stop believing every spirit. Instead, test the spirits to see whether
they are from God because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is
how you can recognize God's Spirit: Every spirit who acknowledges Jesus Christ has come
in the flesh is from God. 3 But every soul who does not confess Jesus is not from God. This
is the spirit of the antichrist. You have heard that he is coming, and now he is already in
the world. (NiRV)

Second, we find when we become too comfortable, we don't grow in our faith. Faith is
something which grows meaning things are changing. If we become too comfortable the
changes are never noticed, and we die spiritually.

In John's world, false teachers came into the Church. People were like the frog in the pail of
water. The false teachers slowly turned the heads of some of the people, who didn't see the
change and died spiritually.

We face the same thing in our culture. We don't like change because we have a fear of it
and don't like to challenge things.

We need to make goals to grow spiritually. To know more about what the Bible says about
the doctrines and be sensitive to the Holy Spirit so we can change to be more like Him.

We need to become more confident so we can test what we see and hear, and have the
courage to keep the truth of God first.

Today we need to ask ourselves if we can determine whose frog is it anyway.

We have popular books and movies like Harry Potter. They warm our spiritual water slowly
and slowly we accept them into our Christian circles. We need to jump out and say, NO!!!
They do not help us grow spiritually. They are against Christ.

Let us make goals to test and challenge things we desire so we can be ready for harder
challenges to our spiritual life.
 Prayer

Dear God,

I am like the frog. I have become insensitive to how the culture

has changed me. I desire to be more sensitive so I will live in
your power. Let me live in your freshness and not the luke-
warmness surrounding me.

In Jesus name,

Amen
Reflection

1. How does culture affect the decisions I make?

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2. How does culture affect my spiritual life and goals? Explain.

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3. Is comfort dangerous? Explain.

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4. What do you need to change to be less complacent spiritually?

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 Thought
Being stubborn is not always bad. It is when
our stubbornness makes us
blind to the truth that we
hurt ourselves.
 oat
Have you ever seen a goat, sheep, or lamb? What is a baby goat
called? A kid!
Read
Goats in the Bible are used most often as an opposite to sheep.
Matthew 25:32- 46 Sheep were used for a saving sacrifice in the Old Testament. It
was the blood of the lamb that was important.
Being stubborn is not
always bad. The term “Lamb” was also a type of Christ. In other words, Lamb
and Christ in the Bible are often a reference to the same person.
When stubbornness
makes us blind to the In English we use the word SCAPEGOAT for a person who is
truth, we hurt punished to protect another. Jesus was the scapegoat when He
ourselves. was crucified. Another similar meaning English phrase is “fall guy”.
The person who takes the blame.

Goats and people have a lot in common. The goat is very stubborn
and can find solutions to many obstacles and creates havoc if not
watched carefully.

That is why you find them eating clothes, standing on precarious

cliffs, and at the top of trees.

Are you stubborn? What do you do when you are stubborn? Do

you pout, yell, hit, or run away? Stubborn is not always bad. As we
look to scripture being stubborn is good when we have to make a
choice for God.

The Bible says a lot about goats and sheep. In these verses we find
God likes sheep and not goats.

How are sheep different than goats?

First, they follow easier. If you get one sheep going in the right
direction the others follow. The goat likes to do their own thing. I
am like this a lot.

Second, the offering of a lamb or kid was acceptable to God if it

was a perfect. Perfect was the key for an effective sacrifice.

Third, the goat here is separated. The New Testament is very

specific about the goat and sheep when it comes to God’s
judgment. In this passage we find the sheep are on the right hand
and the goats the left.
The right hand was the most important hand. The clean hand versus the left being the dirty
hand. The hand you cursed people with.

The sheep on the right had paid attention to who Jesus was. They had served Christ by helping
those people who were down and out.

The goats, which were on the left, said they had also done the same. Why were they on the
left? They had experienced the same people and seen the same problems. They had not
responded becoming greedy and stubborn.

What does Christ look like?

In these verses we find many ways to see Christ. Christ is not always seen as a power monger.
Rather, He looks for the sensitive “sheepness” we should be like.

Goats, being independent like to be “king of the hill”. They are arrogant and insensitive to
others.

We need to be strong, but dependent, on God’s strength not ours. We need to be sensitive to
the needs of others outside of our circle.

Sheep need a lot of care and attention. Goats like to get into trouble ignoring other’s needs,
focusing on themselves.

Today when we look at ourselves, we should ask ourselves;

• Are we like the goat or the sheep?

• If God was to choose today, would He say you are a sheep or a goat?
• Are you strong and independent depending on your paycheck and your strength of
mind?
• Are you dependent on your God and following Him?
 Prayer

Dear God,

I am like the goat most of the time. I am insensitive to the

needs around me unless I get the glory. I desire to be more
sensitive so I will live in your power. Let me live in your
freshness where You lead.

In Jesus name,

Amen
Reflection

1. Which am I most like: Sheep or Goat? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

2. What needs to be changed to become more sheepish? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

3. Why is following Jesus Christ so hard? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

4. How would becoming a better follower affect those around me?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
 Thought
When we protect ourselves we feel more
confident to sting others. We need to be willing
to move on so we can have victory in our life.
 ornet
Hornets, bees, and wasps are almost the same, but are all
different.
Read
Bees are soft look for sweet flowers to make wax and honey.
Joshua 24:2-15
Wasps and Hornets are in the same family. Their mouth is small so
When we protect they eat different things than bees.
ourselves we feel
more confident to Hornets have a body covered in special protective material. They
sting others. are also the largest of the wasp family, and make the loudest noise.

We need to be When a bee stings they die because their stinger is left behind. The
willing to move on so hornet, on the other hand, can use its mouth to bite, and their
we can have victory stinger has poison in it.
in our life.
We used to call the hornet a yellow jacket because of its color. Its
body is yellow and it looks for meat (your arm) to eat.

We also have the horse fly, but this is not in the Bible. The horse fly
can bite as well. It is like a monster fly they make science fiction
movies with.

The hornet has an interesting place in the Bible. God used it in

Exodus, and Deuteronomy, and Joshua. God used the hornet for a
special purpose.

Do you know what it was?

There were many people outside of Egypt who didn’t like Israel.
God had promised to give a special land to His people Israel. Do
you think that those people wanted 1 million people to move next
door? They didn’t even speak the same language.

God had promised and He always keeps His promises. How did God
move these people? Maybe he sent them a letter or yelled at
them. NO! He sent hornets.

This story is very important because it shows a lot about us. Joshua
is speaking to the people. He outlines all the times when they cried
to God and God came to the rescue.

When they obeyed there was victory. There is an important

spiritual principle here. When you cry to God, he hears you - ALL
THE TIME.
When He sends you, He will take care of all the problems. This is the most important. God had
told the people to go into a land full of people who didn’t want them. They had to make a
choice.

Obey and go or look at the problems and wander in the desert. Sometimes they obeyed and
many other times they wandered in the desert.

When they found a problem, like people who wanted to fight and not move, He used HORNETS.
Israel didn’t have to fight. They had only to obey.

This principle is found throughout the Bible. God doesn’t always use hornets. He used many
animals to teach people. When you are stubborn and don’t do what God wants, He may use a
bad situation to move us.

He may use hornets but we don’t find many in Korea. Often God helps us or others through our
circumstances. He doesn’t always use miracles, but things around us (hornets), to move and
encourage us to do His will.

If you don’t have peace inside your heart and mind today ask yourself:

• What is God trying to tell me?

• Do I need hornets to bite me to make me move?

God wants us only to obey. Not to fight battles and get tired and stressed. When we obey the
hornets go ahead of us to help not against us.
 Prayer

Dear God,

I like to go my own way. I like to do my own thing. I like to be

comfortable and lazy. I need you to move me from my comfort
zone. Help me to obey you so I don’t find myself in bad
situations so much.

In Jesus name,

Amen
Reflection

1. Do I need hornets to bite me to make me move? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

2. How often do I bring sweetness rather than poison? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

3. What is the most effective way to move me? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

4. Why is it so hard to obey when the benefits are so great?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
 Thought
Often we miss the small things God wants us
to do because we are too busy doing out own
business. We see only the now and not what
God can do. Ponder how God uses our
circumstances to communicate with us.
 nsects
Insects are interesting. Some people hate them. Some people
love them as pets or for eating. Insects are really good sometimes.
Read
Imagine if there were no caterpillars or butterflies. If there were
Deut. 28: 38-52 no insects many birds would have no food. Imagine a robin not
finding the worm.
There are many kinds
of insects mentioned Insects are also a part of God’s plan. Have you ever wondered
in the Bible. how God talks to us?

The word insects can • God used hornets to move the nations so Israel could go
be found in some forward.
versions in Leviticus. • God used a donkey to talk to the prophet.
• God used a fish to pay the taxes of the disciples.
In these verses
the mention of Insects also damage things. The farmer uses poison to keep
“locusts” and them from eating his fruit, rice, etc. Not many of us would like to
“worms” are buy fruit which has an insect in it. We also ban the transportation
considered insects. of wood from ne pace to another because of insects that can
destroy our forests.

Insects get into something and ruin it. They get into a tree and
slowly destroy it. It becomes dead and useless. Insects also
carry disease like mosquitoes.

What can we learn about the Bible, insects, and us?

First the Bible says God controls everything; even the

insects. In these verses we find God sends them to His people
because they didn’t obey the command of God.

Second, we find insects are for both good and bad. This is
like most of the things in our life.

• We choose our friends, good or bad.

• We choose to study or not to study.
• We choose to obey our parents or not.
• We choose to listen to God or not.

There are many things clear in the Bible. We are sometimes

sick because our bodies are not perfect.
These verses are very clear about one thing. Sometimes the choices we make don’t work. We
pray but our situation gets worse. This is when we know God has sent some insects. Our life
slowly gets worse and worse. We get more frustrated and angrier as we continue down the
chosen path.

This is what happened to me. I knew what God wanted me to do; preach and teach. I was going
a different direction The choices I had made were not following the path God had made for me.
Now God has given me His blessing because I am

Getting back on track, I have seen God’s blessing flow through me. Making the change was not
easy and there was sacrifices to be made. It was like pruning the bad relationships that were
insect-ridden. Too often we wait until it is too late and more painful.

The key to insects is to use them for the glory of God. We can do this obeying the Word of God.
Or our life will slowly get more frustrating if we ignore this small but important decision.

God always gives us choices. Our choice is to obey His still small voice will make us confident
and strong.

Or, we can do it our way and let the insects into our lives making us frustrated and our prayers
empty.

What are you doing with your insects today? Are you using them for the glory of God? Or are
you letting them take your power and confidence away?
 Prayer

Dear God,
Insects are bothersome. I know they need to be killed because
they kill my soul silently. I ignore them too much and my spirit
gets down having no energy to do what is right. Come into my
life and clean every beetle and bug so I can experience the
freshness of Your Holy Spirit.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Reflection

1. How do insects come into your life? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

2. How do I know if I have insects in my life? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

3. Have you ever had to prune relationships from your life? Explain.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

4. What effect did the pruning have on your relationship with God?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
 Thought
We all have the same dragon within. We must
be careful that it does not burn us with its fire.
We have God as a protection if we want Him.
 ackal
The jackal is a very patient animal waiting for what it wants. It is
also cunning and deceptive and very quick to catch its prey. It is a
Read thief, often hunting alone in the wilderness.

Psalm 63 What can we find in this Psalm to understand the jackal?

In the Hebrew jackal i In this Psalm we find the wilderness is the place we often
s translated to Englis find ourselves in our daily life and where we find our desire for God
h as “dragon”. We the most. It is here we find the shadow of God as protection from
find this in Nehemiah the cunning jackal.
.
In this psalm we find It is here we must make choices to follow, praise, worship, or just
the jackal meditate on God.
translated as “fox”.
The jackal is like a fox When we move forward not knowing what is ahead is when we are the
we find in Korea or most vulnerable. We feel like we are in a wilderness. Israel was here
Canada. regularly. The challenge was to stay focused on the God they served and
not their circumstances.

The jackal will wait till we have lost our focus and begin complaining. God
has provided everything but we focus on those around us not the true
God.

Satan is often written about in the Bible as a cunning person. He is like

the jackal waiting patiently for us to fall and become weak. Then he will
attack us with lies and gossip.

The jackal waits for the animal to focus on something else. Then he
attacks them

This Psalm mentions the jackal as what happens when someone tries to
harm you, the child of God.

The wilderness is a dry place. There is not always water you can drink. No
water bottles with cold water ready. It is a place where God made Israel
wander when they disobeyed Him.

It was also where they made the decision to follow God’s command and
have victory in their lives.

The wilderness in our life is the place where we make the choice to
worship God or to become weak.

The psalmist didn’t have a church or a tabernacle tent, but, he

knew worship was what he had to do.
When we are in the shadow of the Lord the heat of the wilderness is not so hot. The dryness
not so dry. And the jackals waiting for us get bored and go away.

Today some of you are worried about the lies and the gossip. They will always be there as long
as Satan is free to roam. At times we assume these are there, like shadow boxing. We get weak
spiritually and our stress increases.

There is only one solution to this problem. We find it in this Psalm; worship God in our dry
wilderness. Worship is the key to our strength in every stressful circumstance.

When I came to Korea there was lots of gossip in my small community in Canada. Though it
lessened after 3 year, a renewed focus on God and who He was this was all changed. I could not
change the jackals form being there. I could choose to worship and be protected by the
Almighty God.

• What are you doing in your wilderness today?

• Are you worshiping God or worrying about the gossip making you weak and food for the
jackals?
 Prayer

Dear God,

I am weak and in wilderness. I long for your protection from the

jackals of life. Take my life and lead me to the safety of your
bosom.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Reflection

1. How many jackals are around you? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

2. Have you ever been in the wilderness? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

3. What is the secret to victory in your life? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

4. What effect does worship have?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
 Thought
Using others can be fun for a time. It can also
get us ahead. But in gaining the world we
must be careful not to lose our respect.
 ine
When you are married you become yoked together.

Read There are two kinds of buffalo in the Bible. There are lean
and fat ones. Let’s look at some of the personality traits of
Amos 4:1-5 the buffalo.

In the bible we find The buffalo is a large powerful animal. When the Bible uses buffalo
kine is the buffalo. it is often uses to demonstrate the power person, or people in
power positions.
Not the western
buffalo we see in When the buffalo is not in a yoke it can be very dangerous because
western movies. of its long memory. It remembers those who did wrong to it.

Rather, the water In Joseph’s dream the skinny ones ate the fat ones.
buffalo you would
see in Asia or Africa In this passage the personality of the fat buffalo was compared
to help the farmer. to the buffalo of the nation of Bashan. They were fat but they
didn’t like to stay in their own pasture. They wanted more even
The other word though they had enough.
associated with the
kine is yoke. They had become fat by abusing others, but wanted so much to
have the blessing of God. They sacrificed to their gods in front of
To make the buffalo the TRUE GOD.
work you put a yoke
on it. They thought they would be able to do as they wish and be
blessed. They looked blessed because of their fatness but in
Yoke is a great reality fooled themselves. Their blessing came because of
biblical concept. their power and freedom to break the fences of others.
Jesus said Mat 11:30
for my yoke is easy, Today we find the same thing. It is easy to look at another’s money
and my burden is or power and desire it. We get clouds in our mind which hide the
light.' blessings of God.

When laws and discipline are put around our neck, we break them
to have freedom. Then our desire becomes the drive in our life.
God’s desire becomes dimmer and dimmer.

Finally, we have success only to desire more and more. In the end
we have everything but happiness and fulfillment.

Jesus says, Mat 11:30 ,” for my yoke is easy, and my burden

is light.' This means that the fences He puts on is, the Law He
demands us to do, is really not so heavy.
.
 • When we let Him work ahead of us and not us running ahead of Him
• When we keep our focus on God’s desire.
• When we let God do His job for us.

We find we are then satisfied and don’t need power or to break other people’s fences just to
get fatter.

All we need is to carry His yoke, go in His direction for our life, celebrating the freedom of Christ
to our neighbors who carry the yoke of the world.

What kind of kine are you? One who desires to be fat with power, lost in your own desires? Or,
the kind who is yoked to Christ and His purpose and guiding power in your life?

If your yoke is heavy maybe you are carrying Christ’s burden and not yours. If your yoke is too
heavy ask the pastors or elders to pray with you so Jesus’ yoke can be one you are carrying. It is
light and freeing.
 Prayer

Dear God,

My yoke is so heavy today. How can I lighten it? It is hard to go

on. Lighten my load so I can have the joy, peace, and power I
desire. Take my yoke and replace it with yours. Guide me to the
still waters and green pastures.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Reflection

1. How heavy is the burden you are yoked to? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

2. Are you fat with blessings or using others? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

3. What hides the blessings of God from your mind? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

4. Why do we prefer using other to sharing God’s blessings?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
 Thought
To have the mind of a child doesn’t make you
childish. To be dependent on Jesus makes you
the strongest person in the crowd.
 amb
A lamb is innocent and young, following so easily the care of its
mother or father.
Read
Compared to the kid, which is a baby goat, it is very gentle. The
Isaiah 43:21-28 kid likes to be the king of the hill. It likes to be first. It is always
fighting or “butting heads” with others.
Lamb is an important
animal in our Christ was called the “Lamb of God”. John 1:29
Christian faith.
The lamb was the first choice for sacrifice. It was preferred to
It was also a key part any other, but had to be perfect to be accepted. It had to be the
of the sacrifice of the first born.
people of Israel.
The character of the lamb in the Bible is one of gentleness
What is it about the and ready for sacrifice.
lamb that is so
important? In this scripture we find Israel in captivity. God defends His
decision to allow this to come to Israel.
Why not a chicken or
a dog? Israel didn’t have to sacrifice for some things outside of their
Land, but they had just got tired of doing their duty as chosen
people of God.

They had got tired of all the Laws they thought they had to obey.

Do you get tired of the things you have to do as a Christian?

All the Bible reading and praying and not having fun is what a lot of
people think. They think the Christian life is all about rules.

In real life being a Christian is about being a lamb. A pure lamb

which is ready to be used of God.

In these verses we find the people obeyed all the rule but were
not ready to be used of God.

God says He gave them everything they wanted. He even forgave

ALL their sin. He didn’t even enforce the rules when they were in
captivity.

Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God. He was the PERFECT LAMB.

It was His blood that gives you and me the freedom in Christ.
Even with all the things God gave Israel they continued to not see what God really wanted.
Instead of serving God they wanted God to serve them by continuing to sin.

We do this. Maybe we don’t continue to sin but we demand from God in our prayers. We think
we can do good works on the outside and get God to answer with blessings.

All was not lost. God pleads with Israel to do things to cause Him to remember… Remember
what? Remember their sin? Or remember He had chosen and made the nation of Israel?

God wants to remember why He created a nation as great as Israel was and could be. He is was
and will always be ready to forgive. He is always ready to restore His power to your life.

All He asks is for us to take a sum of our life. From this we can see if there is anything that
would make us justified to live without penalty.

We need to ask ourselves questions about our life like; “Are we tired of all the rules Christians
have to do?”; Are we serious about our Christian life?

What does this mean? It means that we are not only doing good things to please others, but
that we have an attitude of service to God and not being served by God.

Like Israel we need a pure Lamb to sacrifice. We need a first-born lamb to shed blood to cover
our sin. That Lamb is Jesus Christ. He died so we can live a life of peace and happiness.

Jesus the Lamb wants us to use Him so we can be justified. We do not have to become tired of
the Christian life but enjoy the promised power.

If you have tried to work for your salvation you need to come to the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.
It is His blood that will secure your relationship and open the blessings.

Maybe you pray every day but you pray you want God to serve You.
Maybe you pray every day but as a servant to God.

Today only you can answer those questions. I urge you to take an account of your life. Are you a
servant of God through the blood of the Lamb?
 Prayer

Dear God,

Thank you for being the sacrifice lamb for me. Without You I
would have to bear the burden of my sin alone. May I have a
lamb’s simplicity to enjoy your complexity.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Reflection

1. How serious are we about our Christian life? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

2. How often do we pray for God to give us our desires? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

3. What does God want to remember? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

4. Are we tired of the rules or celebrating the freedom in Christ?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
 Thought
It was the straw that broke the camels back. It
was the mouse that set the lion free. It is the
small things that make and break us, not the
big things. Let’s take care of the small things
in life and the big things will come.
 ouse
Most of the time we find our minds think of mouse as Stewart
little, or Mickey mouse.
Read
These are the most fun ones.
Isaiah 66:15-24
Or there is one that eats the cheese or the peanut butter. The
Do you remember one that eats a hole in the bag of rice or our favorite socks.
the story about the
mouse and the lion? In the Bible mouse is very serious. So serious God told
the people they should not eat them.
The lion gets caught
in a net and the The Philistines, a nation Israel struggled with all the time, made
mouse helps him by small statues of them. They were eaten like Koreans like
chewing the net dog meat or Africans eat agouti.
open.
The mouse is small and can destroys so many things. What can we
The mouse is very discover about the mouse in the Bible that reflects on us?
small but can be very
dangerous. First, we find the mouse was not to be eaten. This was commanded
because the Nations against God did this.
In America and
Canada many For us, this means we need to be separate from the world around
farmers die of the us. This is a very important and major theme in the Bible. The key
hanta virus which is to spiritual power in our lives is often linked to this separation.
found in a small field
mouse dung. In 1 Samuel the Philistines were returning the Ark of the Covenant
they had stolen in a battle with Israel. Guess what they sent along?
Idols!

They wanted their idols to protect the Ark on its way home, though
this was foolish since the God of Israel had made their idols fall.

Imagine sending to God’s people idols which God had

demanded not to have anything to do with.

In English we say, “Quiet as a Church mouse”. This shows us

another character trait of the mouse. It is very quiet. It wanders
around along the edges of the room hoping never to be seen.

The mouse problem is what Israel had and what we have.

Israel was tempted to do the things of the world around them.

This took the power away from the nation. If there was no war
they didn’t notice how weak they were.
What can we learn from the mouse?

A mouse made the net of the lion weak slowly. Israel became weak slowly. Often, we don’t
think there is anything wrong with the little things.

A little lie, a little idol, a little… a little… a little…… Then we are faced with a challenge. As we try
to find the strength to fight we find that we are weak. What can we do?

In these verses we find (20) And they have brought all your brethren out of all the nations, A
present to Jehovah, On horses, and on chariot, and on litters, And on mules, and on
dromedaries, Unto My holy mountain Jerusalem, said Jehovah, As the sons of Israel bring the
present in a clean vessel, Into the house of Jehovah.

The key is to present ourselves a clean vessel to God. How do we do this? We do this by
confession of sin all the time and changing habits.

This means we need to look at our life and ask if we have little things taking our focus away
from God. Jesus is coming soon and cannot let sinful people into His perfect kingdom. He is the
perfect JUDGE of all our life, thoughts, and, heart. It is His blood that makes us clean enough to
enter.

If we are to have power to live our life, we need to have a pure life. We need to throw out our
idols, we need to catch the mice that make us weak.

What mice do you have in your life?

Are you ready of Jesus if He came for you today?
 Prayer

Dear God,
I know the small things are problems. I need your blood to wash
over me and cleanse me. Only then can I experience Your
power in my life.

In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Reflection

1. What are the small things that take your spiritual power away? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

2. What misconceptions do we have of Christianity? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

3. What small things do we do that God doesn’t wants us to do? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

4. Are you ready for Jesus’ return?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
 Thought
God has given us everything we need for a
good life. If we are disillusioned by the lights
around us we become fooled into a false
security.
 nighthawk
The Bible says very little about this bird except you shouldn’t eat it.

Read If you consider it a hawk you can find several things. Night is
usually a positive in the Bible. For a bird to hunt at night they need
Job 39:1-12 to have very special ears and eyes.

In Africa we used to In Job, which we have read today, we find God challenges Job to
have night hawks. consider everything Job can do in his own power.

You could see their Many birds go south for the winter. They don’t have a map.
redeyes in the They just know where to go.
headlights of your
car. The night hawk hunts at night which is similar to what the Bible
says about Satan. Satan loves the shadows and fears the light.
It is sometimes called
a “night jar”. Satan likes it when there is darkness in our life. He has good
night eyes and we get lost or scared very easily.
Maybe because of
the shape and size. The night is when we feel blue or depressed. Like Job when God
gave Satan the authority to take everything but his life.
It is called in some
translations an “owl”. The night hawk in the Hebrew means to scratch or tear the
face. If you have ever experienced an attack by a hawk you would
discover they attack the face.

I remember when I was younger. I got into a lot of fights. Some

of them were with older guys who were bigger and stronger..

The older ones sometimes lost because they were vulnerable

to the scratching I did to their face and eyes. Eyes are
important. Imagine if you had no eyes from today. What would
you do?

Eyes are also important in scripture. Eyes are a weakness for us. It
is through the eyes we sin. We see things which make us covet.

Coveting what others have creates an ungrateful mind. An

ungrateful mind creates a distraction to God's purpose

Satan wants to scratch our face so feel insecure with our

appearance, creating low self-esteem and an unhappiness with
who we are.
He wants us to be unhappy with the way God created us. With the problems H, God, lets us
have. This is where we find Job. Job never wavered in his commitment to the God he
worshipped.

Night hawks can do nothing in the light. They cannot hunt or fly or achieve anything. They
become then prey and are in danger.

Today we can find the same in our lives. When our relationship with Jesus Christ is not right, we
become dark and gloomy inside. Satan attacks us so we can’t see where God’s light is. We think
we are safe in the darkness.

All is not lost because of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the healer of all those scratches. He is the restorer
of the sight lost when we sinned.

Today we need to look at our life and see God’s light. If you don’t see the light, pray.

It is only through prayer we communicate with God.

we are able to have an interactive relationship with God.

Don’t be afraid of the night hawk. Accept Jesus as Lord of Your life. Let Him heal you from the
inside out so you can see again the beauty only seen with the light given by Jesus Christ. .
 Prayer

Dear God,
Like the owl need to use my eyes wisely. I need your eyes to see
into the darkness, because when there is light Satan cannot
have power over me. Heal my hurts that I have gotten. They
take away my focus from you. Thank you for your healing and
your light.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Reflection

1. Which do you prefer; the night or the day? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

2. What gives us the most fear? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

3. What causes my low self-esteem? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

4. Are you in an interactive relationship with Jesus Christ?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
 Thought
When we stick our neck out the risk is great.
When we bury it in the sand we can’t see the
danger when it comes. By holding our head
high we can see danger far away and avoid it.
 strich
There is also something about ostriches we can find if we ask a
farmer some questions.
Read
Did you know if you pick a feather off the wing and chose the
Job 39: 13-18 wrong one it would bleed to death? Only one feather!

An ostrich is a In this passage we find the ostrich lays its egg and then abandons it
strange creature. leaving it unprotected in the sand. It’s hard to imagine abandoning
such a valuable asset. What a seemingly foolish bird.
Its long neck with no
feathers and long The ostrich is also known to bury its head in the sand when there is
legs make it look danger which is not very safe.
different.
Now I forget some things, but maybe because I am just an old guy.
Sometimes in the
movies the kids will The ostrich has faith in the shell which is very thick. Most animals
ride them like horses. can’t break it. Some birds persist by dropping stones on it.

They are very strong We are the same in many ways.

and very fast.
• We put our faith in our job or our family. Maybe our
They even used the Church!
feathers for ladies • We have some money saved for our retirement.
hats many years ago. • We can escape from trouble because we are fast.
• We can see danger coming because we have a long neck.
The ostriches I have
found in Korea would What do we forget? What did Israel always forget?
not make good hat
feathers. They are • They forgot how good God was to them.
dirty and not pretty. • They forgot their egg and went after other things. They got
distracted by traditions.

We do the same. Don’t we!

Jesus taught He would come again. He encouraged His disciples to

look forward to this moment. It was to be the focus of their life
when things got bad.

When things go wrong what do we do?

We often go looking for answers in all the wrong places. When

things don’t go right we stick our head in the sand hoping things
will just work themselves out.
Like the ostrich we put our heads in the sand. What do we forget?

We forget the promises that God has given us. Promises that He will come again to judge the
world. Promises that He will always be there for us. Promises that if we obey the blessings will
flow through us. Promises that when there is danger, He will be the protector.

We remember there is heaven but forget that there is also a hell. We forget Satan’s goal is to
draw us away from God’s power. We forget that Satan is an angel of light. We remember Satan
is a lion only.

Like the ostrich that goes away and leaves the egg for others to steal or destroy so easily, we
ignore truth. We have to ask ourselves today,

• How easy is it to leave the promises of God behind?

• What draws us away from God?
• How easy is it to ignore the fact that Jesus is coming soon?
• Are we ready or do we just cover our head?
• Jesus is coming soon. We need to be ready to meet Him. Are you?
 Prayer

Dear God,
Too often I am drawn away from you. The pressures of my job
and friends make me less aware of the danger around me. I
often hide my head and hope all things will pass me by. I forget
the promises You have given me. Help me to hold my head high
so I can see the danger. When I see the danger help me to claim
victory as You have promised in Your Word the Bible.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Reflection

1. What do you do when you see trouble? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

2. Why do we abandon God’s promises so easiy? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

3. What draws us away from an active relationship with Jesus Christ? Explain.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

4. How easy is it to ignore the fact that Jesus is coming soon?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
 Thought
Having the master key is great only if you use
it to unlock the door. Too often we break the door
or pout and complain outside it.
 artridge
Have you ever chased a partridge? You should try it sometime. In
bible times they would chase it with sticks. It is like chasing, or
Read getting chased b, an angry chicken.

Jeremiah 17:7-14 The partridge is a funny bird. It does funny things. It won’t fly
unless it has to, choosing to run as fast as it can. A missionary I
Do you know what know did catch one in real life.
season we sing about
a partridge? In Jeremiah, God condemns those who rely on man for things.
Or those who have got rich through using others. We also find a
Christmas! great verse to memorize. Jeremiah 17:11

We sing the 12 days The partridge does something that may sound really silly. They
of Christmas song sit on eggs that aren’t theirs and often don’t hatch.
and there is a
partridge in a pear This is the same as the riches of those who used others.
tree.
The partridge hen sits on dead eggs that are really useless. On the
What is it doing in one hand it makes it easy to catch, on the other she spends his
the pear tree? time waiting for something that will never happen (have little
partridges).

We do the same thing sometimes.

• We depend on others to bring happiness and peace to our

hearts.
• We try hard to get salvation.
• We wait for something to happen in our life.

God says He brought the Israelites into captivity because they had
other gods and idols.

They had thought expanding the number of gods would bring more
success, prosperity, victory, or protection. Like the partridge, they
waited for nothing.

We also like to run away when we have some trouble. We have

wings to escape through the Holy Spirit, but choose not to use
them.

Where do we run when we have trouble? Maybe we run to our

parents who run to their family and on and on.
Maybe we run to the pastor who can offer a prayer for us. We can pray as effectively as he can
because we have the Holy Spirit who utters prayers for us.

Maybe we run to our friends or to the bank. When we run, we find ourselves with too much
stress and frustration. We find we have a lot of anger and in the end too tired to fight.

What do we wait for?

• We wait for blessings in our life.

• We wait for direction and get lost. We sit on our eggs for nothing.

God has offered us an answer.

Run first to God. He is the first person we pray to and then we run around trying to do it our
way. Run to God and relax.

Run first to God. Jeremiah 17:7 Blessed is the man who has trusted in Jehovah. He will be like
the tree planted by the river. Peaceful and strong.

I don’t always go to God first. I pray a lot and I am sometimes impatient. I run when I should let
God protect me.

If we run to God first, if we let God do His job, we find ourselves in victory.

Where do you run first? What are you waiting for?

 Prayer

Dear God,
Too often I depend on my wallet and my plan to get me
through. I get stressed because I don’t depend on you. Help me
to run to You first and then my understanding. Help me to not
wait but run to You before trouble comes to my door.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Reflection

1. What do you wait for? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

2. To whom do you run when you see trouble? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

3. What do you put your trust in? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

4. Are you ready to let God do His job in your life?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
 Thought
Having the master key is great only if you use
it to unlock the door. Too often we break the door
or pout and complain outside it.
 uail
Have you ever prayed and received an answer you didn’t like?
Israel was in the habit of doing just that.
Read
Most of the time we focus on the exodus miracle. Many of us have
Exodus 16:1-20 GPS navigation in our cars or phones. When I set the destination, I
don’t always follow its suggested path.
Quail and partridge
are very similar. Israel could have gone on a more direct path to Canaan. God’s
navigation determined the best was the desert, the long way
Quail was the meat around.
God sent in the
evening after the The people expected God would have given them a better menu
exodus from Egypt. since He could part waters and destroy Pharaoh. At the same time,
they complained which affected their prayers.
Be careful what you
pray for. They compared their life, as tough as it was, to one in the desert.
They just wanted the same menu. Was it that the Lord had not
provided?

In bygone years, people didn’t always have coolers to keep meat

fresh. If you have been in the desert, there is not always a lot of
meat or food to be found easily.

God, like any parent, doesn’t appreciate complaining so He did

answer them with enough quail every evening. They could cook it
over the fire.

He also gave them mana in the morning. If you have ever tried to
pick something from the sand, without getting some sand, you will
understand the effort it took to gather enough for one day.

God had promised to take care of His people. He had led them on
the long route so they would depend on Him.

Quail travel in flocks. They are easy to catch and follow the wind.
They are not large birds like ostriches, which is also a desert bird.

Could they have killed their animals? If you remember they were
not able to leave with a lot of suitcases. They prepared their meal
and left in the middle of the night.

I have often complained about where God led me. He could have
led me on a much greener path. IF Israel had gone a different route
the greener pastures were easily found.
It is always easy to second-guess God. There is always a better way, form our point of view.
Quail were the choice, not because there were so many but because they followed so easily.

Quail follow the crowd and get blown with the wind. They have no strength of their own to
fight the winds around them. They were a good example of Israel and their complaining.

God wants so much more from His chosen people. He wants us to stay focused on Him. He
wants us to depend on Him for everything.

When we compare our wisdom to His we will complain. Our comparisons are for our comfort.
Where God leads is for our best benefit.

Had Israel gone another way they would have been stressed at all the thieves and warring
nations around them. They would have green grass, but they would have to stress about
staying safe.

In the desert, God created a circle of protection and clear direction with the cloud and the pillar
of fire. There was no doubt who was traveling or the Protector.

Too often we are like quail, choosing to follow the path to the greenest pastures. If God is
leading your life into a desert, He has promised to provide everything you need.

• Be careful in our prayers.

• Be precise in our prayers.

Are you wandering around the wilderness? Complaining God doesn’t give or do enough? God
wants to give you the desires of your heart. Psa 37:4 And delight yourself in Jehovah, that He
may give you your heart's desire.

Let’s stop complaining let’s enjoy what God has brought us looking at the Promised Land. Learn
to lean on God not the trends of our culture.
 Prayer

Dear God,
Too often I go with the flow. I’m too easily changed in my
direction because I don’t depend on you. Help me to run to You
first and then my understanding. Help me to be precise in my
prayers. Enable me not to be a complainer comparing my
wisdom with Yours.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Reflection

1. What trends are you following? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

2. What has the Lord given you that was not what you thought you prayed for? Explain.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

3. How precise are your prayers? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

4. How does attitude affect our spiritual life?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
 Thought
We like to be tough. It is our way of protecting
ourselves. When we are ram tough we let God
take care of us and not hurt those around us.
 am
A ram is a mature lamb, a symbol of strength. Dodge, the American
Truck Company likes to put it on their trucks, to show how tough
Read they are.

Genesis 22: 1-13 Bull is another animal symbolizing strength. A statue of a bull can
be found in front of the American Stock Market building to
Do you remember represent power. (bull market) The bull sacrifice was for sin. The
what was important ram was a sacrifice of purity.
about lamb?
Rams were different than the many other sacrifices used in the Old
Lamb was a Testament. It is significant that God provided a ram, not a lamb, for
reference to Christ, Abraham.
the “LAMB of God”
who takes away the It is important because for Abraham the ram was a sacrifice of
sin of the world”. consecration. Consecration means there is a commitment to
something. A promise to be pure and holy for the rest of your life,
Ram is such a not only for a day or two.
different character
than lamb. Of course, we cannot keep our promise, but in the Old Testament it
was the ram that was significant, a symbol of power.
Have you ever tried
to wrestle a lamb? Now imagine the idea of ram as power. When Abraham was
putting Isaac on the altar, he may have had many questions. He
It can be difficult but had the power to control Isaac’s behavior or Isaac could have
you can usually win. refused. He could have been proud that he did what God had told
him to do.

To Abraham and the future nation Israel, ram was a symbol

of man’s power and his will to become obedient to God.

This is why the sacrifice of a ram was so important. In the Old

Testament the ram was to have the priest’s hands put on his head.
A sign of acceptance by God.

The priest would check the animal and see if it met the
requirements for sacrifice. Then there would be the sacrifice and a
commitment to be obedient.

Rams had significant higher value than the lamb. It had more than
just potential. It had maturity to increase the flock exponentially.

God provided a ram to communicate both His promise and His

power to Abraham.
As we look at the Bible, we find this theme over and over again. Rams fight for their territory,
but are otherwise gentle. They are not rambunctious like goats who fight for the fun of fighting.
Lambs, on the other hand don’t fight at all. Jesus, the Lamb of God, was silent when He was led
to the cross.

We are like the ram very often. We fight for our rights because we know best, are proud and
stubborn. We like the power and authority of the ram.

In Daniel we also find a ram. The ram was talking about a proud nation which would fall in the
end.

In today’s world we find countries that are “rams”. They are careful to challenge, but are proud
of their strength.

But there is one thing we find hard to do. When we pray, we find it hard to put the ram on the
altar. We prefer to put the sin offering, bull, on the altar. Confessing our sin is a great cleansing
idea. Bulls are large expensive animals.

Rams, on the other hand, represent a challenge to change to a Godly life. One that is
commitment centered. What we forget is the promises and power that flow from this
consecration. A commitment to set ourselves apart from the world and be totally obedient to
God. It is this sacrifice we must work on.

Prayer it is a key to power. With purity we find blessing. With consecration we find total victory
and protection.

• Are we a consecrated people, or do we focus just on the sin offering?

• Is our commitment to Jesus 100% all the time, or do we say it half-heartedly?
 Prayer

Dear God,
I give my tithe every month. I like to keep some for myself. I
know that is selfish. I want to give You ALL I have so you can
multiply it and bring glory to Yourself through me.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Reflection

1. When do we need to show strength? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

2. What is easier for you; the bull – sin offering or the consecration ram? Explain.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

3. How much does confession really cost – not money? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

4. Is our commitment to Jesus 100% all the time, or do we say it half-heartedly?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
 Thought
Each bad thing in our life comes from an egg.
The life cycle of the egg is determined by us.
We must determine the nature of the egg before
we nurture it.
 erpent /Servant
If we look at scripture, God sent serpents to bite the people. They
had continued to complain about His care. When they cried for
Read help and forgiveness God told Moses to put up a serpent which
had the healing power for them.
Psalm 91:1-14
All they had to do was look at it. They did not even need to touch it
Snakes and serpents and their body was healed.
are always a little
creepy. This story is also thought, by some, to be where the symbol of
health and pharmacies came from; the snake on a post.
They are
dangerous and scary. What can we know about snakes from the Bible?

In the bible we find First, they are poisonous and dangerous. This we find in Numbers,
the serpent as Satan and in Acts when Paul was bit by one.
the fallen angel. The
deceiver in Genesis Second, they deceive people. This is what happened to Eve. She
and Revelation. was not the only one. The whole world was deceived.

Serpents are not In John, we find the Serpent was a symbol of the Servant,
always dangerous. Jesus Christ. The servant serpent overcame the deceiver serpent.

Remember when John 3:14 And even as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
Israel was in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
desert and they
complained? I like this Psalm. (Psalm 91) which is all about the Serpent and the
Servant. God’s protection of those who dwell in His shelter.

Imagine not having anything happen to you as your friends

struggle. Nobody would want this to happen, but it does. Many
times, we look for or want to be martyrs for our faith. We want to
sacrifice everything.

Easter season is about this sacrifice and the deceiver serpent

who wanted to destroy the creation of God, from the beginning,
and about Jesus being in the shelter of His Father.

We look so often at only the sacrifice and forget about the blessing
of the shelter of God.

We look at the serpent who deceives and not the servant who
heals.
Let’s look at what the psalmist says about how powerful we are when we focus on the servant
not the serpent. People will fall around us and we won’t get hurt. We will see the wicked suffer.

We don’t have to be scared when we can’t see any light on our path. He will command His
angels to protect you. You will tread on the lion and the cobra (serpent).

Job thought that as well. In the end, God doubled what Satan had taken away. Today the
question for us is what are we looking at?

Are we scared of being bitten by the snake or deceived by the serpent? The Apostle Paul was
worried for the Christians.

• He knew many of them were weak.

• He knew many of them would be tempted to go other directions.

It is so easy to follow the serpent and complain. We are powerful only when we are in the
shelter of the Almighty God.

It is only when we focus on the servant we are healed. Let us look at the Servant and become
powerful because we live in the shadow and protection of God.
 Prayer

Dear God,
I am wrong so often in the eggs I keep because I cannot see
inside. I complain too easily. I want to be Your servant, not a
serpent to those around me. I give my life to You. Protect me
from the serpent who wants to take Your joy and power from
me.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Reflection

1. How tempting is it to follow the serpent? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

2. What are the benefits of being a servant? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

3. What is your strongest fear? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

4. What happens in your life when you trust wholly in the Lord?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
 Thought
The guide in our life will bring us to power. If we
choose to follow fashion it will bring us
attention for a moment. If we choose the Holy
Spirit we will live a life of honor and power
forever. It is our choice.
 urtledove
What is important about the dove is its gentle and soft character.
They also make a soft noise in the morning. They are often called
Read mourning doves because of their sound.

Luke 2: 21-34 Have you ever held one? Do you know who is like a dove?

There are so many Think for a moment. There was a dove that spoke in the Bible, the
kinds of doves, but Holy Spirit. Let’s consider this idea for a moment.
not everything they
do is nice. If the Holy Spirit is a dove, what is Jesus portrayed as?
Jesus is the Lamb!
In the city they dirty
your car. Who is God then? God is the King of Kings.

They get under your Each animal God created has a role to play. The role of the Holy
feet when you want Spirit (dove)is to let us know we are doing something bad. (convict
to walk across the of sin). He is also the one who empowers us to run from
park, where people temptation.
feed them.
We often think the Holly Spirit is just about sin, and conviction of
They were one of sin. One of His many jobs is to make us feel uncomfortable if we
two birds allowed for are approaching danger to sin. He enables us to make better
sacrifice. decisions. The Holy Spirit is our spiritual guide.

How does He guide us?

First, He guides us with gentleness. His job is not to force

us to do something but to gently guide us. If we don’t listen to
Him, we get lost in our spiritual journey.

When we get lost, we don’t lose Him or His gentleness. Life seems
happy for a time, but there is a sense of unfulfillment. That is
another reason the Holy Spirit is important in our lives.

Doves represent peace in our world today. It is the peace that

we all want but find hard to get, inner peace.

When a person reads scripture, they will discover a link between

peace, power, and confidence.

Most people want all of them functioning in full force in their lives.
There is a “happiness factor”, in culture today. A sense of
entitlement from others.
Scripture, if we read it, says we can have joy. Happiness is great but shallow and short-lived.
Happiness needs to be fed continuously leading to an emotional rollercoaster if not managed
well.

The Holy Spirit will give us joy. Joy is more powerful and deeper than happiness. Stemming
from contentment the power of a secure relationship enables confidence.

The dove feels secure and goes about life with the confidence God will provide. In fact, Jesus
said He knows each feather, so why not even more His children.

Confidence, based on a secure relationship with Jesus Christ is the most powerful thing you can
have. You can commit to a path already made for you. A path also protected by the Holy Spirit’s
power.

We love to be Ram tough. In our spiritual life we need to be like the turtle dove. When we are
like turtle doves, we let the Holy Spirit control our life.

We allow the Lamb of God to keep us clean through His blood which He shed for us. When our
friends get stressed, we have the peace that passes human understanding.

Is there any good reason why are we not turtle doves?

 Prayer

Dear God,
I am slow to change. I know that You want to make me a better
image of who You are to the world. I want peace but it is always
short-term. Enable me to experience the Holy Spirit gives which
is longer and more stable. Change me into the image of Your
power and grace.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Reflection

1. How easy is it to give the Holy Spirit control? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

2. What’s missing in your life; peace, power, or confidence? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

3. What keeps you from the joy the Holy Spirit offers? Explain.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

4. What would happen in your life if you gave the Holy Spirit control?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
 Thought
The guide in our life will bring us to power. If we
choose to follow fashion it will bring us
attention for a moment. If we choose the Holy
Spirit we will live a life of honor and power
forever. It is our choice.
 nicorn
The narwhale is really an odd fish. In this Psalm, we find a lot of
things similar to those found at the crucifixion of Christ.
Read
What happened at this important time in the life of Jesus?
Psalm 22:12-25
Written many years before Jesus came to this world, Psalm 22 is
When we think of like a prophecy of this special time.
unicorn we think of
the horse with the Sometimes people wonder if Jesus feels like we feel. He was
horn from the Greek perfect and we are not. He was God and we are human. It seems
myths. impossible that He could, but that is what scripture says.

In real life we find If we put a bit of thought into this idea, Jesus always went to His
the it as a narwhale. Father for advice and direction. We have the same advantage and
the power available to us.
In Bible times the
unicorn (KJV) is the The struggle to remain in a perfect relationship, that is obedience
same as a wild bull. in the face of trouble, is the same. Jesus faced this problem
from Satan when He first started His ministry. When He was
A unicorn with the crucified He also struggled, though He knew it was by design.
horn and wings is so
beautiful. This Psalm shows us the feelings of this obedient act.

• People accused Him.

• People spat at Him.
• People made fun of Him.
• People wanted Him to rescue Himself.

Nobody seemed to understand this was the reason He came. The

leaders, who knew the scripture ignored what it said for their own
power.

Have you ever felt this way?

In this Psalm we find something very fantastic; “My praise shall be

of You”.

The confidence being obedient gives you. Not only for me but
everybody. Our obedience in the face of struggle gives us
confidence in the power of our Salvation.

Like the Unicorn, we are strong headed. We are stubborn as the

wild ox. We want to do our own thing.

We can change our world ONLY by being obedient to Jesus.

When we cut off the horn and submit to Jesus, we find that obedience will affect not only us
but all those around us.

If you have ever had something stick to your head, like the unicorn myth, you can understand
the difficulty in moving anywhere but forward. Without the horn its uniqueness would
diminish. The power of fantasy is the focus.

In real life a narwhale is not so pretty. The appendage senses the water and the food available.
It is easy prey for larger whales.

We are like unicorns and narwhales in so many ways. We desire fantasy rather than God’s
peace and power. We are not satisfied with God has given becoming prey for the Deceiver,
Satan. We are easily caught when we could have the protection of the Almighty.

What are you like today? Chasing the fantasy culture says we should be, or living the life power
Jesus has promised.
 Prayer

Dear God,
Nobody really knows my heart. I hide it from the world. I know
only You know it. I am unique because You made me different
than all the rest. Search my heart and cleanse me from all my
sin.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Reflection

1. What don’t you like about your body? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

2. How does your image affect your spiritual relationship? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

3. Are you chasing a fantasy or real power life as a Christian? Explain.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

4. What would happen lived the life Christ has promised, not the fantasy you desire?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
 Thought
For every mistake there is someone to take
advantage of it. For every triumph there are
even more complainers. To rise above these we
need to grasp life with our heart and soul, of
those who take advantage are waiting for
weakness to show without any protection. God
promises to care for us but not to do the work for
us all the time.
 ulture
In this chapter we have the vulture waiting for judgment to come
against the nation of Edom and those who support it.
Read
Vultures are a very important bird in scripture. Though a large bird,
Isaiah 34:8 -17 it is not a hunter as other birds of prey.

Turkey vultures are Secondly, it is such a big bird it can’t move its wings fast enough
perhaps the ugliest to get off the ground easily, yet flies very high.
birds.
It uses the heat waves to fly at higher altitudes. Vultures are like us
In the encyclopedia many times.
you find “vulture”
has an old meaning The vulture’s nature is to look for weak or dead animal which is
or a new meaning. what we do. We look for the weak and then bully them. Not all
people do this, but it is integral to our character
The old meaning is a
general term for We look at weak relationships and swoop down to tear them apart.
eagles and other Vultures in this chapter grow in numbers because what will happen
birds. to Edom and friends.

The new term is for Many people believe this chapter is about the return of Jesus
only the ugly ones. Christ. Some are waiting and doing everything the same. Others
are working hard to make sure all have a chance to go to heaven.

Vultures are waiting because when the last battle comes and
Jesus wins there will be lots of food for them.

The character of the vulture is anti-Christian. It takes advantage of

the disadvantaged. It doesn’t waste energy on healthy animals or
dangerous situations.

Jesus character, and what He taught, is in direct opposition to this

way of thinking. We only need to look at the “beatitudes” in
Matthew 5.

The easy choices are to wait for the weak and take advantage of
them. From some it is financially, for others emotionally. This is the
character of Satan.

He knows if he was to attack a Christian with a healthy spiritual

relationship, he would lose. If he attacks those who complain and
are focused on themselves, he will win.
The vulture is not fast or sleek, but very good at their job. We make choices every day whether
to say positive or negative things.

If we are to change our world, we need to be sensitive to those who lag behind. They don’t
always fit our theology or culture. Those who lag behind are vulnerable to Satan’s attacks,
which can also be in the church.

The attitude of Christ is to focus on the victory each person can have. Victory in the fight of
Satan’s harassment. Victory leading to healthy spiritual relationships. Power relationships with
the power of the Hoy Spirit as promised.

Are you ready to be a part of the victory? Are you sure you are a Christian today? If you are not
absolutely sure ask. It is simple and will change your life.

Are you ready to live for Christ or be vulture food?

 Prayer

Dear God,
I am weak and the vultures wait for me. Everywhere I turn I see
them. Their shadows haunt me. Put Your protection around me
so that I can rest and renew my strength.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Reflection

1. Have you ever been bullied by a vulture? Explain.

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2. What is your reaction to people who lag behind? Explain.

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3. What are you waiting for; people to fail or to help? Explain.

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4. What would happen if you acted faster to help?

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 Thought
Worms can be delicious if you are hungry.
They can offer nutrition in a poor diet. They
can destroy something good. Look at your diet
in life. Look at the destruction one sin can doin
your life and diet. To get rid of the worm we lose
half the apple. Let God take care of the worm
and gain a second apple.
 orm
Good - worms give oxygen to plants and fertilizer for the soil.
Caterpillars are nice too. From the caterpillar comes the butterfly
Read and moth. Some are good while others are full of destruction,
though they look pretty.
Mark 9:38-50
The grub, a kind of worm, is good for food. Not all are good like the
During a baseball cutworm which eats the roots of crops the farmer plants ruining
game there was a the yield.
caterpillar on the
ground. There are worms that process dead material into good soil. This
helps decompose the dead in the forest. They keep the
A little girl got very environment healthy for rebirth and growth.
excited and tried to
kill it by cutting it in There is wormwood associated with bitterness in the Bible.
half.
The bad - the tent caterpillar makes a tent killing the leaves of the
I pushed it over the Trees. Leaves are the lungs of trees so they die if they lose too
edge of the step and many.
into the water, but it
just wouldn’t die. Tent caterpillars also migrate and become like grease on the
highway. From personal experience it is very dangerous.
Worms are both
good and bad. The worm in the Bible is not referred to as a positive. Worms are
Slow but can do a lot of damage quickly. They are sensitive to the
small soft spot we don’t see until it is too late like the apple you
buy at the store. They eat good things and make them
unappealing. We can eat the apple with the worm if we cut out
the damaged portion. .

Let us look at the scripture today. Worm is mentioned in the same

context of hell, a place where there is no death, just fire.

Do you think of heaven and hell much? Probably not.

Hell is not something any person likes to think about. Some

don’t believe there is one.

It’s really easy to kill a worm. It doesn’t have 9 lives like a cat
usually.
If you look at a plant and you get worms you can poison them
but it kills the plants.
You can use some old methods but it’s hard to destroy them without hurting other things. You
can cut the worm out of the apple but then you don’t want to eat the apple.

Earthworms and nightcrawlers are the silent support for your garden. They don’t get a lot of
praise for what they do. They don’t show off what they do like the tent-caterpillar.

Caterpillars are often scary and forgotten. It is the butterfly that emerges that gets the praise.
We find the worm is referred to as you and I. We feel like worms sometimes.

We don’t get praise when we are the support or energy for others. We are desired for our
talents but forgotten in the shine of success.

Ps 22: 6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. 7 All
they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 8 He
trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.

Worms don’t get respect. As Christians we sometimes feel like God doesn’t listen to us. We
find our friends laughing at us because we do things different. We trust in the Lord but we still
don’t do well on the test or our business.

The Holy Spirit works form the inside out. He also doesn’t get enough respect from Christians.
He turns the garbage in our lives into fertile ground for growth.

We do trust in God for everything as Christians. We feel like worms at times, but God wants to
make us butterflies. The most beautiful peaceful, powerful, and confidence.

What kind of worm are you?

 Prayer

Dear God,
I have a worm in my life. It is eating at my heart and my soul. It
is destroying my life. Please take this worm and make it into a
life of beauty. Restore what has been destroyed for Your glory.

In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Reflection

1. What is the Holy Spirit producing in you? Explain.

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2. What do you do when you don’t get noticed after lots of effort? Explain.
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3. How much attention do you need to produce healthy relationships? Explain.

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4. Would having more attention really change your community?

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 Thought
We cherish old things because of sentiment. We
worry about the things around us but not those
things inside of us. When the fire is out we
think they are extinct, only to be rekindled.
God makes our sin extinct NEVER to be
remembered. Ask Him to do this for you today.
 orm
I have noticed the letters A, B, etc. are all about hard working
animals. The letters at the end of the alphabet are about lazy and
Read negative things.

Matthew 25: 14-30 X is all about lazy or “slothful” people. Sloth, the animal, and
slothful are the same root, I think.
The family of
Xenarthra includes In the Gospels, we find Jesus tells a lot of stories, called “parables”.
the sloth. In this parable the master had given servants some money.

X is also for extinct. Each servant was given different amounts. When the master
was gone they were not given exact instructions for using it, but it
The word Xenarthra is understood, as servants, they would use it for the masters
is not in the Bible but benefit they were given.
a family name for the
sloth and anteater. This sounds easy, doesn’t it?

There is something Well for some of them it went well. They doubled the money of
interesting about the the master and He was very happy. Some even increased it 10
alphabet. times more. There was one who just couldn’t make up his
mind what to do.
Can you guess what it
is? He went to many private schools (Korea) to discover how to
increase his money. He listened to many good speakers and TED
talks. Still the choices were so hard to make.

Finally, this one studious and dedicated student just put it in a

secret place in his bedroom. At least nobody would steal it.

When the Master came back, he asked them all how much money
they had made for Him.

The last servant had the smallest amount given to him. He had
tried hard to find out what to do. It was such a small amount
compared with the others that he just couldn’t be equal.

When asked what he had done he answered,” Master you are

always very angry and hard on your servants. I was scared so I
did nothing.”

This is what the sloth does. The sloth animal hangs on to tree
branches and eats all day or curls up and sleeps all day. He
only has two or three toes and could argue that he was not given
enough to do better like the monkey.
Not the same number of talents or abilities as other creatures his size. So why should he work?
He was too big for much. He was smaller than the elephant but claws that made it hard to do
anything but hang on to the tree.

He wasn’t an ant or a bee which could move fast. He didn’t have the creativity skills or other
appendages to anything, so he just became lazy.

The slothful man in the story tried hard but it wasn’t fair he had so little while another got so
much. What can you buy for a dollar?

In God’s eyes we are all equal. If we have a little, we are responsible for little. If we have lots,
we are responsible for lots. That is why most of us have limited resources. We have talents but
don’t use them because we don’t have confidence in the God we serve.

• Some can learn English easily some can’t.

• Some are rich
• Some are poor.
• Some are healthy.
• Some struggle every day.

God sees the heart which is different than others. He knows what He can do in our life. All He
wants is for us not to be slothful. He wants us to use what we have and He will give us more.

Even the smallest amount.

What are you doing with what God has given you? Is Jesus going to say to you, ”My good and
faithful servant“, when He comes back? Or will He be angry and take it all away?
 Prayer

Dear God,
I keep things in the attic of my mind. Many things die but they
keep coming back. Please cleanse my heart and life. Make my
sin extinct so I never worry about them coming back. Bury them
where no one can find them even Satan. Set me free from this
bondage.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Reflection

1. What are you doing with what God has given you? Explain.

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2. What would you need to increase your effort for God’s kingdom? Explain.
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3. What are you waiting for to use the talents God has given you? Explain.
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4. What would happen in your community if you used your talents more?
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 Thought
Animals are great things. They are created by
God for His glory. I am given the power to
rule over them but not other people. I need to take
this responsibility seriously. To take it too
lightly makes my life harder and full of stress.
To give God control of my life makes it easy
and light.
 men
In the New Testament we find wise men. They were educated
people trying to find the truth. A star caught their curiosity.
Read
Then there were the wise men of Egypt, powerful and magical.
Ecclesiastes 7:19 – 24 Moses and his God proved to be better.

Now this is not a There were the wise men of Babylon whom Daniel had to face.
word in any language The ones who tried to have him and his friends killed.
maybe but the
pronunciation is. When Jesus was here many people thought He was strange.
He had disobeyed His parents at 12and done things against the
It is not an animal culture He knew.
either but it fits the
end of the alphabet. He was a wise man. He was different choosing only 12 guys, not
the crowds other leaders would have. He ate with sinful people.
Through the alphabet He threw people out of church.
we have seen
ourselves in every So, there are many wise men, but the question “Y” is always there.
animal. Why did He do what He did? Why didn’t He escape and be the King
when He was the King of Kings?
God made the
animals and He made The question why is what we all ask. Children never seem to stop
us. asking it. Now some of us today are children. Some of us are
children because of our age. Others of us are children in our
But He made us in spiritual life.
His own image.
It is nice to be a child better to be YZ (wise).

Wise is maturity. The wisdom of maturity to obey when we

can’t see the future. Wisdom to tell what is right from wrong.

Some of us would like God to give us the choice Solomon had.

Choosing wisdom over many other things he could have chosen,
made him the wisest man on earth.

The road to be wise can be hard. You can experience failure

and depression.

Look at Christ. His chosen disciples left Him. He felt like God
had taken all His energy away. He was tempted to disobey, but
He showed His wisdom by obeying God his Father,
Today we can review the animals and see how wise they are because God made them. Today
we can look at ourselves and see how childish we are.

Today we can see that having the faith of a child is good but having the attitude of a YZ person.
If we are not YZ we know that God is ALL YZ. When we are like a child we can depend on His
wisdom and obey.

If we are not YZ we know that God is ALL YZ. When we are like a child we can depend on His
wisdom and obey.

If we are childish, we depend on OUR wisdom and become frightened.

When you pray ask for His wisdom not yours. When there are tough times, low grades, and
disappointments, we know that God’s wisdom comes from maturity and maturity comes from
trials.

Are you a YZ child of God or just childish?

 Prayer

Dear God,
I want to be wise but am so dumb. I am selfish and proud.
Animals seem to be so wise. Make me a wise child of the King
of Kings. A child that is free from slavery to my sin. A child, who
brings glory to their Father.

In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Reflection

1. How wise are you? Explain.

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2. How often do you ask God “Why?” Explain.

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3. How much wiser would I be if I depended more on God? Explain.

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4. Am I childish or just child-like? Explain.

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Final Letter

What insights have you gained? Perhaps a better understanding of self and a closer
relationship with God. Perhaps answers to questions to old questions?

God is more than just great. He is interested in a dynamic relationship to blow you
away. He wants to give you a life free of slavery to things. Free to have peace
inside,power outside, and confidence in your direction.

Will you take this free gift and you let Him reset your life today?

Think on these things to live forever.

Dr. Paul R. Friesen

Pastor / Mentor
25 Meditations on Animals of the Bible