What items had Achan taken? How did their value compare with what Achan lost? (See Joshua 7:21–26

ACTIVITY

WHAT GOD SEES

Supplies:

Cardstock photocopy of the “Flashlight” template from page 32 Clear, plastic sandwich bag Black permanent marker Black construction paper Scissors Markers Pencil

Instructions

Using your permanent marker, write on the plastic sandwich bag what God sees, e.g., “thoughts,” “motives,” “attitudes,” “words,” and “actions.”

Color the flashlight on your copy of the flashlight template. Do not color the light beam. Cut out the flashlight and light beam in one piece. Cut a square of black construction paper the size of your bag, and then place this piece of paper inside the bag.

As the children work, read the following paragraph to them:

God is watching all the time. He knows our thoughts. He sees us when we are alone. When we realize that God is always watching and that we will give an account to Him for all we think, say, and do, we will be motivated to do what is right. This motivation is called “the fear of the Lord.” Proverbs 16:6 says that “by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.” Do you apply yourself to your studies as if God is watching? He is. Are you playing with others as if God is watching? He is. Knowing that God is watching may cause you to feel fearful if you are doing what is wrong. Numbers 32:23 tells you that you can “be sure your sin will find you out.” However, if you are doing what is right and have nothing to hide, knowing that God is watching brings comfort, peace, and joy. “The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them” (Psalm 34:7).

Slide the beam of the flashlight into the bag between the written side of the bag and the black paper. As you move the flashlight, the light beam exposes those things in our hearts and lives that God sees. God sees everything!

On the back of your flashlight beam, write what God is pleased to see in your life. Look up the verses below to find some examples:

My thoughts:

Psalm 1:2 Philippians 4:8

My motives:

I Corinthians 10:31 Psalm 19:14

My attitudes:

II Corinthians 9:7 I Chronicles 28:9

My words:

Colossians 4:6 Proverbs 31:26

My actions:

Ephesians 4:31–32 John 13:34–35

Responsibility GEMs

GEM is an acronym for “God Enables Me.” This phrase begins each of the ten statements that describe the change that results as we behold the Lord and yield to the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives. “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (II Corinthians 3:18). The four colored GEM statements are the focus of the four character lessons in this booklet. Let’s read the listed verses that correspond with all ten GEM statements and explore the wide variety of applications of responsibility found in God’s Word.

God Enables Me to . . .

Know my roles.

“But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.” I CORINTHIANS 11:3

Know my duty and do my duty.

“Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” JAMES 4:17

Complete my tasks.

“For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.” LUKE 14:28–30

Be faithful in small things. “His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” MATTHEW 25:23

Take good care of things entrusted to me. “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.” ISAIAH 40:11

Follow the instructions I have been given.

“My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother.” PROVERBS 1:8

Remember He is watching.

“The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.” PROVERBS 15:3

Stop making excuses. “Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.” LUKE 14:16–20

Confess my sins.

“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” PROVERBS 28:13

Make things right when I do wrong.

“Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.” EPHESIANS 4:28

Journal and Application Chart

Record how God gave your family opportunities to apply this character quality.

Searching for the rich truths of God’s Word and applying them in your life is far more valuable than discovering rubies and diamonds. Add a check mark, sticker, or initials in a diamond each time God enables someone to apply responsibility in one of the suggested ways. Let’s set a goal and then celebrate, not only the accomplishment of applying God’s Word, but also our gratefulness for the work He is doing in our lives.

Put away your toys before doing your next activity. Finish a task according to the instructions given.

Wait to play until after your schoolwork is completed. Admit a mistake and make it right.

Make a to-do list for today.

Obey immediately without making excuses. Carry out your daily chores without being reminded.

Take care not to stain or rip your nice dress clothes.

Do what is right even when no one is around to see.

Hymn History

“Let the Lower Lights Be Burning” Sing “Let the Lower Lights Be Burning” and read about the responsibility proclaimed by the hymn writer, Philip P. Bliss.

In the growing darkness, Lake Erie’s waves crashed against the shore near Cleveland, Ohio. The lighthouse keeper was responsible to keep the beacon at the top of the structure lit. He also would light a row of smaller oil lanterns along the shoreline to guide ships into the channel toward the harbor’s safe haven. With each nearing storm, the lighthouse keeper would painstakingly go from lantern to lantern, filling and lighting each one. Despite the great beacon, without the smaller lights to lead the ship through the narrow passageway, the vessel would wreck upon the rocks.

One particular night the lighthouse keeper did not light the lanterns. During Philip P. Bliss (1838–1876) the night, a violent storm arose. Amidst the turbulent waves and screaming winds, a ship’s captain tensed. His creaked, the captain squinted into the darkness.

“Are you sure this is Cleveland?” he asked the pilot.

“Quite sure, sir,” replied the pilot, gripping the wheel.

“But where are the lower lights?” questioned the captain.

“They are out, sir,” was the terse reply. One last question remained. The captain asked, “Can you make it?”

“We must sir, or we’ll perish.”

Desperately, the pilot blindly tried to steer into the channel without the lights that should have been shining brightly to guide him. But the ship crashed against the rocks and many lives were lost because one man did not do his job.

A young man, Philip P. Bliss, read with horror the headlines and how one man’s negligence had been so deadly. Later, Mr. Bliss heard evangelist D. L. Moody refer to the tragedy in a sermon. Mr. Moody closed with: “Brethren, the Master will take care of the great lighthouse; let us keep the lower lights burning.” Mr. Bliss told a friend afterward, “. . . When I heard old pilot gripped the helm. As the ship heaved and

Mr. Moody use it as an illustration in his sermon that night, I cried out in my heart, ‘Bliss, you are just as guilty as the man in the story. As a Christian, you are to be one of the lower lights shining brightly so that some poor soul tossed about on the sea of life may find safety and everlasting life in the haven that God has prepared.’” Within a week Mr. Bliss had written the hymn, “Let the Lower Lights Be Burning.”

We are entrusted with responsibilities as well. Just as the captain and crew depended upon the lighthouse keeper, people are depending on us. Are we showing responsibility by shining for Christ in this dark world, sharing the way of safety with people who are drowning in sin? Do we keep our “lights” shining so they may find peace in Jesus Christ?

Explaining Salvation to a Child

Christ Our Righteousness You will need the following items: sticky notes, pen, and a white bed sheet.

The Bible tells us about God. He is the Creator of the universe and He is holy. God loves us and created us to have fellowship with Him. (See Revelation 4:11.) Select a volunteer who would not mind standing to represent the sin of all people. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Sin is anything we think, say, or do that breaks God’s Law. Can you name some examples of sin? As the children answer, write their examples on sticky notes and place them onto the volunteer’s clothing (e.g., speaking unkind words, stealing, disobeying, doing good with wrong motives). Because we have all sinned, and God is holy, we are eternally separated from Him. However, because God loves us so much, He sent His Son, Jesus, Who died on the cross to pay for our sin and Who rose again to conquer death! Now we can have fellowship with God forever

In a Nutshell

God created all things (Colossians 1:16). God is holy (Leviticus 19:2). God loves us (John 3:16).

Our sin separates us from God (Romans 3:23).

God sent His Son, Jesus, to provide the way for our sins to be forgiven and for fellowship with Him to be restored (Ephesians 1:6–7). Jesus accomplished our salvation through His 4.

5. crucifixion on the cross, His burial, and His glorious resurrection (I Corinthians 15:3–4).

We can do nothing to earn salvation. It is a free gift from God that we receive by faith (Ephesians 2:8–9). We receive that gift of salvation by confessing with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in our heart that God has raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9–10). through Christ. (See John 17:3.) If we accept God’s gift of salvation, Christ’s blood cleanses us from sin, and His righteousness is put upon us! (See II Corinthians 5:21.)

Remove the sticky notes and wrap the white sheet around the volunteer to represent Jesus’ robe of righteousness. Isaiah 31:10 describes what has happened this way: “My soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness. . . .” In Romans 10:9–10, we are told how we can accept this gift: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Are you trusting in Jesus Christ for your salvation? If so, your sins are forgiven and Christ is living in you!

Your new, inward identity is one of righteousness in God’s eyes. The more you realize that you are a new creature in Christ and walk in the Spirit, the more your outward actions will demonstrate

Christ living in you. Just as the Apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20, you can also say, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but

Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” God gives us eternal life—sweet constant fellowship in the

Spirit with our Savior—and then His righteousness is seen in us for His glory. (See John 15:4–10.)

and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and,

“And Achan answered Joshua, and said. . . . When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment,