Blog - Meredith Ludwig Curtis

Review of 365 Read Aloud Bedtime Bible Stories

9/12/2017

We have five grown children who love Jesus.

This little book is one of the tools we used to raise godly children.

You see, Mike would read a story to the kids each night before bed, often a Bible story and we would read the Scripture to the kids in the morning.

When we had outgrown our favorite picture Bible books, we wanted something that would be meaty, but accurate.

365 Read-Aloud Bible Bedtime Stories by Daniel Partner is a great next step for young children ages 3 to 8 who are ready for the next step.

We love this book! So many stories, such a good adaptation from Scripture. We give a copy to every new parent we know.

There is a story for every day of the year and each story is straight from Scripture.

How to Study the Bible

1/7/2017

When I was in college, I learned to do one of the most helpful things I have ever learned: how to study the Bible inductively. This skill helped to establish me in the Word of God.

What is Inductive Bible Study?

Inductive Bible study is an approach to studying the Bible, using the Bible itself as the primary source about what the Bible teaches. You dig into the passage itself, using other passages from Scripture for further clarification. You investigate the Bible using observation, interpretation, and application skills. Get out a pen and paper for this new adventure into the study of God's Word!

Observation

Start with a passage of Scripture like John 4 where Jesus meets the Samaritan woman. When you read the passage of Scripture, carefully observe the passage of Scripture. Ask yourself some of the following questions:

Who is writing the book where this passage is found?
Who is mentioned in this passage of Scripture?
Who is speaking in the passage?
What are people doing in the passage?
What is being discussed in this passage?
What is the setting (time and place)?
Who is the original audience?

Government & Economic Biblical Principle One: Stewardship

2/11/2013

The Bible has something to say about all of life, including government and economics. God is our provider and boss. All authority and power resides with God. We ignore God's authority at our own peril.

"Then Jesus came to them and said,"All authority in Heaven and on earth belongs to me," (Matthew 28:18 NIV (c)1984).

God also owns everything in world and all who live in it.

"The earth is the Lord's and everything in it; the world and all who live in it," (Psalm 24:1 NIV (c)1984).

Stewardship

God then delegates authority, responsibility, and wealth to people and institutions. What? Well, let me explain. God is the owner of everything and we are His stewards. We take care of His property for Him. The best biblical illustration of this is the parable that Jesus told in Matthew 24:45-51 where the master of the household puts a servant in charge of his household, possessions, and other servants while he goes away on a trip. When the master comes home, he will reward or penalize the servant based on the servant's care of others and behavior.

God places us in charge of his people and possessions. We are his stewards, accountable to him for the job we do in caring for what is entrusted to us.

Economic Stewardship

Is Jesus in Charge?

12/26/2012

"You are a great leader and you love being in charge. I think the problem is that you always want to be in control. It seems to be difficult for you to have others in charge."

Derek nodded his head, so I continued.

"Here's the problem, Derek. You are contending with Jesus. He wants control of your life, but I don't think you trust Him enough to let Him be charge, call the shots." I stopped talking. There was silence. After awhile, I continued, "If you resist His authority in your life, He will keep fighting you. If you keep resisting Him and He lets you run your own life, you will make a mess of things. Either way you lose."

"I don't think I trust God enough to give Him control."

The Problem

This conversation shocked me. Derek was the perfect Christian on the outside. He even did all kinds of things that no one ever saw. He had his Quiet Time every day, worked hard at his job earning the respect of other employees, and was a faithful man.

Why did he have such a hard time trusting God?

Review of Biblical Feasts and Holy Days

3/29/2012

Is there anything more fun than celebrating holidays? Christmas stockings, Easter baskets, and Valentine hearts filled with chocolate all bring a smile to my face and my heart. Life is good when there's a holiday to celebrate. God, of course, is the inventor of holidays, or holy days. What holidays did God establish for the nation of Israel? I can't think of a more enjoyable Bible study to dig into.

Grapevine Studies' Biblical Feasts and Holy Days by Diana Wiebe is a thirteen week study for your home school Bible class. Written for teens, this study would be enjoyed by younger and older folks too. We have college students, high school students, and middle school students in our home. All liked this Grapevine study on the Biblical holidays. We received a teachers manual and student worktexts to review.

Before I tell you about this delightful Bible study curriculum, let me tell you about Grapevine Studies. I love their mission. In fact, let me just quote it from the teacher's edition. "Our mission at Grapevine Studies is to provide believers with a method and curricula to study the Bible, using a timeline, stick figures, words, symbols, and colors to teach chronological lessons." What a great idea! Combining the intellectual (timelines, chronological studies) with the more emotional (stick figures, symbols). The result is that both the left and right sides of the brain are engaged, but more importantly, I think, is that both the heart and mind are engaged in these studies.

Each of their Bible studies start with a timeline as the framework for the entire study. Bible passages, characters, and events are understood within the big picture. Being a "big picture person" myself, I immediately latched on to this teaching method! Each day, your student reads a passage and then does some "stick figuring." Stick figuring is a method of note taking using stick figures, colors, charts, words, and symbols. It is definitely more fun than normal note taking. The lesson ends with a memory verse.

The teacher's edition of Biblical Feast and Holy Days was very helpful for me to teach this material. I did need to use a dry erase board, dry erase markers in several different colors, a Bible concordance, and a Bible dictionary. I am already familiar with using these Bible reference tools, but if you are not, they are relatively simple to pick up and use. All the children needed was their workbook, Bibles, and colored pencils.

How God Provides

3/25/2012

"And my God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus," (Philippians 4:19 NIV).

We all know that God promises to provide for us, to meet all our needs. But just what does that look like in our life? How does He supply?

God Provides through Paychecks

This is a "no-brain-er."

The Lord allows us to have a job that pays us enough money to pay our bills. He also provides opportunities and ideas to bring in extra money through side jobs or starting our own business.

Remember that the Biblical work week is six days, sun-up to sun-down. Many times a second job is necessary to make ends meet, while still working less hours than the Scriptural work week!

God Provides through Family

What God Promises to Provide

3/18/2012

"And my God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus," (Philippians 4:19 NIV).

We all know that God promises to provide for us, to supply all our needs. But just what does that look like in our life? What needs is this verse talking about?

What God Promises to Provide & The Concept of Profit

According to I Timothy 6:8, we are to be content with having food and clothing. Jesus also promises provision of food and clothing in Matthew 6:25-34 if we seek His Kingdom first. Food and clothing? We certainly need a lot more than that!

"What about housing, cars, cell phones, and vacations?" you ask.

That is extra blessing that is provided by surplus money, or what the Bible calls profit. God provides extras through your personal hard work. When it says that God supplies our needs, He is promising to provide food and clothing for us. Not that God is limited to only this provision. He also provides shelter, transportation, ways to communicate, and times of refreshing, but He is not limited by our definition of "what is best for us" or "what we really need." These things are most often the reward of hard work.

The only reason I bring this up is because I have seen God provide the need for shelter through hospitality. Family or friends open their home to a homeless family. Many times people have asked me why this happens, assuming that God promises that we will have our own home. I have not found that promise in Scripture, though I so often see God provide a home for His beloved people.

"All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty," (Proverbs 14:23 NIV)

Orthodox Christianity

3/12/2012

Many Christians have different viewpoints on things such as baptism, worship, music style, or what names they give to church leadership.

There is, however, a core of beliefs that define Orthodox Christianity.

All that simply means is sticking to the biblical viewpoints of the essentials of the faith.

Orthodox Christianity is a list of beliefs that Christians adhere to. We may disagree on the non-essentials, but on this set of beliefs, Christians agree. This is the non-negotiable part of our doctrine, or core of beliefs about Who God is and How God does Things.

Do not compromise on these truths:
.

There is one God eternally existent in the Triune Godhead: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Jesus Christ is God, the only begotten Son of the Father, eternally co-existing with Him from and beyond eternity. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, was born of Virgin Mary, was crucified, died, was buried, and rose again of Third Day. He ascended in bodily form into Heaven where He awaits us, is seated at the right hand of the Father and is interceding for us.

That God created the world and all that is in it. He has ownership rights over all people

The Amazing Word of God II

3/6/2012

The books of the Bible have always been recognized as having Scriptural authority.

Men did not meet together to pick and choose what would be called the Bible. All books of Scripture were immediately accepted as the Word of God.

People did not wonder if the letter to the Galatians was Scripture. They recognized it as such immediately.

Early church fathers cited passages in the New Testament as Scripture before the Council of Hippo in 419 where the canon was defended as the complete Word of God. Additions were rejected.

Before this council, Constantine had fifty copies made of the New Testament. The New Testament was already in place. The council merely confirmed it to stop heretics who were trying to add books that were not part of the canon.

The Great Commission

2/29/2012

"Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age,”(Matthew 28:16-20 NIV).

Make Disciples
Before Jesus, ascended to Heaven, He gave His disciples the Great Commission, His command to make disciples, spreading the Kingdom of Christ to the ends of the earth.

When I read this section of Scripture, I thought that there were four different commands, but soon I realized that The Great Commission is just one command, to make disciples. The main clause in the Greek is "Make Disciples" while the other three phrases (Go, Baptize, Teaching them to obey everything) clarify the main point.

Go

The Greek word here means to travel, depart, take a journey or walk. To go implies aggressive motion, action. We don't sit still and wait for people to come to us. We believe Jesus when he said that the "fields are ready for harvest," so we get out into those fields. As we go, our goal is NOT to convince people we are right, to make converts, or to grow our own local church. Our goal IS: to see people come to Jesus and follow Him with all their hearts and lives forever. We don't try to sugarcoat the Gospel, but declare it boldly.

Jesus called His disciples by telling them to leave everything to follow Him. He called them to be "fishers of men," to live a life of purpose. I like to paint a picture for unbelievers of a new life they can live under the Lordship of Christ. I call non-Christians to radical commitment.

Baptize

The Amazing Word of God I

2/27/2012

Scripture teaches and trains.

It equips Christians for good works. God’s Word is living and active (Hebrews 4:12), cleansing our minds and hearts (Ephesians 5: 26).

His promises, found in the Bible, allow us to participate in His divine nature and escape corruption. (II Peter 1:4)

If we memorize God’s Word and keep it in our hearts, we can avoid sin when we are tempted (Psalm 119:9-11).

The Bible is the very Word of God. It is infallible and without error in its original Greek text.

The books of Scripture were written by God.There are sixty-six books of the Bible and God used more than forty men from various walks of life to write them. The Holy Spirit came upon the authors and they wrote down the words God told them to write.

These books were written over a period of fifteen hundred years. The books were written in three different languages:Greek, Aramaic, and Hebrew.Yet, one theme pervades all of Scripture: God’s love for, and redemption of, mankind from sin.

The Lord Jesus Christ is revealed in the Word of God from the book of Genesis to the book of Revelation.The Bible reveals His Person, His purpose, and His plan.

To Be... A Trash Can or A Crystal Vase?

1/23/2012

The trouble is that I know I should want to be a crystal goblet but a want to be a trash can.

So, I just go through the motions of wanting to be a crystal goblet, but my heart is on being a trashcan," my young friend admitted. "What can I do?"

"You have to have a heart transplant. You need a new heart that wants to be a crystal goblet."

"In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work" (II Timothy 2:20-21 NIV).

How do these verses relate to crystal vases and garbage cans?

IF ONLY

1/16/2012

"This is what the LORD says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea. Your descendants would have been like the sand, your children like its numberless grains; their name would never be cut off nor destroyed from before me,” (Isaiah 48:17-19).

You might find yourself in trouble today, or in a difficult situation.

It just might be a trial to test your faith and reveal what you are made of.

Or, it might be spiritual warfare--a battle God wants you to fight.

I am sorry to tell you that often, when God's children are in trouble it's because they have ignored their Heavenly Father.

If only we had paid attention to the Lord's commands and plan, we would find ourselves in a different place.

We have a hard time listening to the Lord because we have our own plans and our own agenda. Sometimes we hear from the Lord and know God's plan for our lives but we run ahead of God's, wanting to do His will in our timing rather than His plan in His time.

Ways to Fill Our Lives with God's Word

1/11/2012

The Word of God changes us from the inside out!

How can we fill our lives with the Word of God?

Read the Bible each day aloud!
Write down Bible verse on index cards, decorate, and put in a prominent place
Type up Scripture verses and/or passages on the computer
Listen to Praise & Worship music on CDs or MP3s that have Scripture verses or psalms set to music
Listen to Bible on CD
Read the Bible aloud to children with extra expression, sound effects, and dialects
Stash Bibles around the house--read when you can!
Get away once a month for 3 hours to read the Bible and pray
Sing old hymns (they have a lot of Scriptural content), psalms, and praise songs

Finish Well with Daniel

1/10/2012

Everybody knows the story of Daniel and his friends in Daniel chapter one. He resolved not to defile himself with the unclean food of the Babylonians because he was a servant of the Lord. The guard agreed to let Daniel and his friends eat a different diet that would honor the God of Israel.

"At the end of ten days they look healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. So the guard took away the choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead. To these four men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds," (Daniel 1:15-17 NIV).

Daniel's Choice Leads to Blessing

Not only did God bless these young men spiritually who had resolved not to defile themselves, but he also gave them knowledge and understanding of literature and learning. If we want to raise smart and godly kids, there is only one way to do it! Resolve to not defile them with the world's ways, but instead always seek first the Kingdom of God. The Lord always blesses those whose hope is set on Him!

Our Ministry

Benefits of God\'s Word

1/4/2012

There are so many benefits of reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating on the Word of God.

Benefits of God's Word

When we meditate on God's Word, the result is bearing fruit, prospering, and health (Psalm 1).

When we meditate on God's Word day and night, obeying God's Word, we will experience success (Joshua 1).

The Bible has the power to change our lives! When we memorize verse and passages, we are able to avoid sin (Psalm 119:9-11).

We need to "wash with water" through the Word. Scripture washes away the crud in our lives (Ephesians 5:25-27).

Light for a New Year, 2012

1/3/2012

Welcome to a brand new year! As I have been digging into God's Word the past few weeks, I have been bombarded with passages on light. Let's start 2012 off with some encouragement from the Bible about light for our home schools.

Jesus is the Light

"I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life," (John 8:12 NIV).

Jesus is the light of the world. In Him, there is no darkness, no hiding, no deception. He is full of mercy and truth. His light in our lives changes everything.

Light for Homeschooling

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you," (Isaiah 60:1 NIV).

In the Bible, light represents truth and holiness. The Bible reveals truth to us for all of life, including homeschooling. The Holy Spirit is busy at work within us, purifying us and making us holy like Jesus. The more we are like Jesus, the better we will be at teaching our little ones to follow Him and apply Scripture to all of life.

Walk in the Light

15 Yard Penalty

10/25/2011

We were watching my son, Jimmy play football against the biggest 13 year-olds I have ever seen. They were giants.

I wanted to go rescue my son, take him off the field.

But these mighty Lake Mary Dolphins held their own

But there was one upsetting moment for me. One of the opposing team's players grabbed the boy running with the ball, lifted him in the air, twirled him around and around, and dropped him on the ground.

I was furious! I wanted justice.

"Horse Collar. 15 yard penalty," The ref yelled.

"Yeah!" I felt better. That rotten boy had humiliated my son's teammate, but he had been put in his place by the penalty.

Sometimes, I feel like that boy who was twirled around and dropped with a thud. Satan toys with me, tricks me, or fills my mind with lies. I feel like I am lying on the ground battered and bruised.

But, then the Lord steps up and says, "15 yard penalty, devil. Go back to where you came from. Leave my daughter alone!"

Just a reminder, spiritual warfare is not a battle of equals. Jesus won the battle 2,000 years ago on a dirty cross. He paid the price, the game is already won. We are on the winning side! Jesus has all authority in Heaven and on earth!

Next time, you feel beaten up by the devil, just remind God to give him a 15 yard penalty!

Winning the Battle with you!
Merey
(Meredith Ludwig Curtis)