Kuyper, Marv & Nancy 3

Scripture: Psalm 51:10-11 (NIV) – “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.”

Message: David’s prayer recalls the rejection of Saul and pleads for God not to take away his Spirit.

This reminds me of my days teaching in middle school. As we are all aware, teens are often conflicted by friends and relationships that seem to change from one day to the next. If only these young people would keep all of their friends special in their hearts and minds. Since the public school system does not allow religion to be brought into the schools, I could not tell my students that the Holy Spirit in their souls would help them to love everyone of their classmates.

It seems that when we had prayer in the schools, years ago, we had a gentler, more congenial feeling amongst all students.

Hopefully, many of today’s students who have been brought up attending church and have heard about the Trinity will someday understand that prayer and the Holy Spirit can be a part of their lives forever.

As we embrace the Lenten season, it is of ultimate importance for all of us to remember David’s prayer and ask God to keep the Holy Spirit in every one of us, so that we can love our neighbors as ourselves, at all times.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for all of Your blessings and for providing the Holy Spirit within us. May we, in turn, share Your Holy Spirit with others in our daily lives, especially students with whom we are connected through our family and friends. So many of the students we know have, or are in danger of, wandering away from Your teachings. Let us be Your agents, providing guidance through Your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Marv & Nancy Kuyper

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Scripture: Romans 1:16-17 (NIV) – “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed – a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’”

Message: When we see the term righteousness it reminds us of the life story of a young boy named Ben. Ben was born into a family where the mother and the father were constantly arguing which sometimes led to abuse. The marriage ended in divorce. The mother then worked to provide for Ben and herself, and that led to a contemptuous situation for Ben.

When Ben reached his teen years, he joined a gang and eventually was arrested, charged with robbery, and sentenced to jail. One day, an individual from a local church who was a member of the Prison Ministry visited Ben and introduced him to the teachings of God and Jesus. Through those visits Ben came to understand that salvation through Christ was available for everyone, including Ben. Ben became a righteous person and started living his life by faith.

When released from jail, Ben got a good job, married a wonderful wife, and now they are raising a son who is being brought up in a home that loves the Lord. Knowing Ben and the transformative joy he and his family have received, reminds us of the joy we can all receive, especially during the Advent season as we celebrate the birth of Christ.

Prayer: Dear Lord, please allow the joy of righteousness to envelop each one of us as we live by faith during this Advent season and beyond. Amen.

Marv & Nancy Kuyper

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Scripture: Psalm 136:1-3 (NIV) – "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords; His love endures forever."

Message: As a cancer survivor, you can only imagine the many times I thank the Lord for watching over me through the journey of surgery and radiation. Guiding the surgeon and radiologists through the process successfully gives one a reason to thank the Lord daily. His love has and continues to shine through on me each and every day and I am so grateful.

Similarly, my husband had been diagnosed with a blood infection soon after my cancer removal. The specialists could not discover the reason for the bacteria in the blood, but the Lord knew and, again, directed the doctors to do the right thing to clear up the problem after weeks of wondering where it came from. Needless to say, we are two mighty grateful people who give thanks each and every day for all God does to take care of us.

Praising the Lord is something we all take for granted and we so often put ourselves first. There is no question about His enduring love that continues to be with all of us as we go through our lives here on Earth.

Family Activity: Create a "Thank You" poster. In the middle of the poster write the words "Thank You, God". Children should then look for magazine pictures or photos that indicate things for which they are thankful. These can be glued all around the words in the center (lead their choices away from material things and more toward things God has provided for us).

Prayer: Father we thank you for all of our blessings as we try to follow the lessons of Jesus Christ. As troubles enter our lives, it is always best that we turn to Your guidance and love to endure those times and be thankful for Your enduring love. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Marv and Nancy Kuyper

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