TESTING
BIBLE STORY STUDY ON
TESTING
BIBLE VERSES WITH
TESTING
BIBLE MESSAGE
Right now is a great time to share some
Daily
Bread! We're studying one of Moses' farewell addresses to the children
of Israel and as he does many times, Moses stresses the importance of
being obedient to God when they reach the Land of Promise.
Moses
makes an interesting point that we can apply to our lives today. He
said, Remember that God led you through the wilderness for forty years
to test you and to humble you, so He could know what was in your heart
and if you would follow Him or not.
I
have a couple of questions for you to think about. What is life all
about, if not
a test to see if we will be true to our Lord? The whole reason He put us
here is to glorify Him, so if we are disobedient to Him, how can we
possibly pass the test? For those who have had the question just pop
into your mind: Why should God TEST us though ... Why does it have to be
so difficult and scary?
Well,
let's think back to the story of the fallen angels from
Genesis 6:1-6
... There were certain of the sons of God ... Angels ... Spiritual
beings that God created, who were never human fleshly people, but holy
angels that lived in Heaven, where there is absolutely nothing lacking.
The only thing they didn't have there, is sin, and they traded up the
Lord to come down to Earth to partake of it. Why wouldn't God test the
sons of Man that He chose as His peculiar people, if the the sons of
God, who had far less temptation, failed Him?
My
point is, now we are ALL His chosen people. And of course we are living
in the times of the New Testament, so as Christians, God puts the laws
in our hearts ... But He also gives us the choice ... Just as the fallen
angels had a choice ... As to whether we will choose to follow the Lord
or the sin of the world.
TESTING BIBLE STORY LESSON WITH TESTING BIBLE STORY EXPLANATION AND
TESTING BIBLE STORY SUMMARY
Praise
God every day for His merciful Grace, because He knows what a
disadvantage we have, being fleshly human beings with original sin, as
compared to the angels. We are His servants ... And potential Angels of
the future. Does God want more disobedient angels? Heavens NO! And that
is the answer to the question of why God tests us.
Think
of life as our time in the wilderness, being tested and humbled, so that
God will know what is in our hearts, and whether we will be obedient
angels to Him. When problems arise in life, think of how the children of
Israel murmured instead of having confidence in God to provide and
protect. We are His children. Any good parent provides and protects, and
God is the Father of all ... Who loves us more than we can even imagine.
When you put problems into this kind of perspective, everything looks
brighter.
Now,
back to what Moses was saying. He explained that God allowed Israel to
go hungry and then fed them with manna to prove to them that man does
not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the
mouth of the Lord. Our Jesus said those words when He was contending
with the devil, remember?
|
Matthew
4:3-4
And when the tempter came to Him, he said, If thou be the Son of
God, command that these stones be made bread. But He answered
and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but
by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. |
Moses continues, saying,
Remember also, that just as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord
chastens you, so give your respect to Him. Can you remember ever being
disciplined for something as a child, and you thought it was such an
injustice at the time, but then when you got older, you realized that it
was done out of love and for YOUR own good? Have you ever wondered if
sometimes things don't go the way you want them to in life, because ...
A - You haven't followed
God's plan
or
B - You don't intend to follow His plan
???
TESTING BIBLE STORY INFORMATION WITH TESTING BIBLE STORY MEANING
AND TESTING BIBLE STORY DISCUSSION
Think about it. How many
times have you looked back and wondered if the Lord's divine hand was
really the reason why things didn't go YOUR way ... And in the end, you thanked Him
for making things turn out as they did (His way). One thing about
discipline ... Its thanks is always deferred. Wouldn't it be wonderful
if we could realize the benefit that the disciplinarian is trying to
relate to us immediately, rather than a long time after it has occurred?
How much resentment would be erased from our lives, and how much more
productive could we be for the Lord? OH MY!
In the remainder of this
chapter, Moses describes what a lovely, good land the Lord is giving to
the children of Israel, and warns them: Once you get there and are all
content, Be sure to bless the Lord for all He has given you. Don't get
prideful and think in your heart that you have obtained any of this by
your own power, because if you do, the Lord will destroy you, just as He
did to the nations that were driven out of that beautiful land.
That's good advice to
remember in our own lives. Every single good thing we have, is because
the Lord provided it for us. Yes, we may earn the money to buy things,
or we may do good things that bring recognition, but without the Lord,
we wouldn't have strength or health or ability or even life itself, so
never forget to give credit where credit is due.
Fortune and fame are
worthless in Heaven. "Did you glorify your Father?" is the
question that holds all the answers that will allow you to be His angel
when it's time.
Join again next time for
another great Old Testament story, right here at Daily Bread!
