Take 2.0 Ministry for the Next Generation

I always enjoyed watching my son play with his imagination when he was younger (you know he is 10 years old ready to turn 11 within a couple of weeks). I would watch him begin to shoot at imaginary bad guys and make all kinds of sounds effects as he did. Rat-tat-tat…Rat-tat-tat… would go his sounds from his incredibly huge and all powerful imaginary gun. I would ask him what he was pretending and he was always trying be the hero for all man kind. He would tell me these elaborate stories of how everyone was in danger and there was only one solution…Yes, for him to rescue everyone.

I still meet today grown men who have this great imagination of saving all of man kind. They are little boys in a mans body saving the world from all kinds of bad guys. I must admit at times I am right there with them saving the world. It isn’t until people get their whole identity wrapped up in them not really being a person of value unless they are the heroes. This begins to create a low self esteem, mental picture and then tends to be a breeding ground for over compensation through false pride, ego, and a ton of other stuff to begin to take place.

I want to look at some men whose name were Josheb and Eleazar and also Shammah. You can read of them in 2 Samuel 23 where we are introduced to them as some of Davids mighty men. Here you have Josheb who it is recorded down that he killed 800 men at one time. Eleazar it is said was one of the 3 soldiers who were with David when they challenged the Philistines. The Philistines were gathered for battle, and the Israelites drew back. But Eleazar stayed where he was and fought the Philistines until he was so tired his hand stuck to his sword. The Lord gave a great victory for the Israelites that day. Then you have Shammah, who stood in the middle of a vegetable field and fought for it and again the Lord gave a great victory that day as well.

The point of looking at these 3 mighty men of Davids is to show that they were mighty just being them. But not only that, but David was famous because of men like these. You see for every general there are thousands of soldiers. They carry out his plans, and he becomes famous. We have one Lord-Jesus Christ, and it is our responsibility to glorify Him, not to make a name for ourselves.

Are you just proud enough to be YOU serving in God’s army? Check whose image are you trying to build? Whose Kingdom are you building, really?

Post by Guest Blogger and Summer intern named Crystal.

This week’s young Bible hero is the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite. Judges 11 tells us that Jephthah was a mighty warrior with a difficult life. Kicked out of town by his half brothers because of his illegitimate parentage, Jephthah was the one they went to when things got really messy. Even though they hated him they knew he was the only one who could save them. Before he went to battle for his city with his band of mercenaries he promised God that if he was victorious he would sacrifice the first thing that walked out of his front door upon his return.

Fortunately, he won. Unfortunately, his daughter, his only child, was the first thing to walk out of the door of his house. He must have raised her to be just as brave as he was because when he told her his vow she didn’t cry and without hesitation she told her father not to break his vow. Even though his promise had not been her fault she was willing to die so that her father could keep his honor.

She herself was also a young woman who honored her word. When she requested of her father to have a month to go mourning in the mountains with her friends because she would never marry, he agreed. He trusted that his daughter would return. And even though she could easily have ran away and saved her own life, she returned to be sacrificed just as she had said she would. Jephthah’s daughter was brave, trustworthy, and loved her father more than her own life. Now that’s an example worth following!

Another adventure and lesson with Crystal my fabulous intern.

When you work with kids it’s always nice to have bible lessons where the hero is young. As I was looking through some of the options today I was struck again with how many young people there are in the Bible who have done extraordinary things for God. I have decided that I am going to make one of my weekly blogs about a young bible hero.

This week’s hero is Moses’ sister Miriam. Although most of the attention she receives in the Bible comes when she is older one of her most daring exploits happened when she was still very young. As her family sought to save her young brother she was asked to follow him as he floated in a basket along the Nile. The Nile was not a safe place, she would have had to fight strong currents, watch out for Nile Crocodiles (which average about 13 feet!), vicious hippopotami, and steer clear of boats, nets, and fishing spears, all while making sure her brother didn’t fall into the wrong hands or get his basket upset by any of these things.

Her obedience to her mother’s command and her brave care for Moses ensured his survival and even enabled his receiving from his own mother the early training he needed to be a fitting leader for the people of God.