Seventh-Day Adventist Devotional For Children: “Preach The Word”

DAILY BREAD – DEVOTIONAL FOR CHILDREN

EASTERN NIGERIA UNION CONFERENCE CHILDREN’S MINISTRIES

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Title: Preach the Word

Spread the good news; always be prepared, whether it’s easy or not; correct, teach, and encourage with patience and love.” (2 Timothy 4:2)

Our world is filled with so many voices and opinions. It’s important to remember that not all messages are evil, but we must be careful to share the ones that build others up and bring hope. As followers of Jesus, our message is his message. Just like Paul encouraged Timothy, who was a young pastor, to always preach the word and correct and encourage others with patience and teaching, we should do the same.

The Bible gives us a complete understanding of Jesus. It shows us his love and grace, and it also helps us see our own mistakes and need for him. There is no other message that we should promote or share apart from the hope found in the Gospel of Jesus.

Once, on a cold and rainy Sabbath afternoon, an eleven-year-old boy named Ethan eagerly joined his pastor father to hand out Gospel tracts in their town. Despite the unfavorable weather, Ethan’s father decided not to go, but the determined boy asked if he could go alone. Reluctantly, his father agreed, handing him the tracts and reminding him to be careful.

Ethan walked through the streets, bravely facing rain and chill, sharing tracts with everyone he met. After hours of walking, he found himself soaked and down to his last tract. Feeling a sense of urgency, he stopped at a house and rang the doorbell, but no one answered. Ethan persisted, knocking and ringing the bell repeatedly, until an elderly lady opened the door.

The lady was sad and lonely, but as Ethan handed her his last tract, his eyes radiated with joy and he told her about Jesus’ love. Touched by his words, she thanked him and blessed him as he left.
The following Sabbath, during church service, an unfamiliar elderly woman stood up to share her testimony. She explained that she had been on the brink of taking her own life the previous Saturday. However, just as she prepared to end it all, a persistent ringing and knocking at her door startled her and saved her from her despair.
When she opened the door, she encountered Ethan, the angelic boy, who told her about Jesus’ love. His message brought hope and life to her despairing heart. Overwhelmed with gratitude, she attributed her newfound faith and happiness to Ethan’s timely visit.
As the congregation listened to the woman’s testimony, tears flowed, and Ethan’s father, the pastor, embraced his son, moved beyond words.
In summary, Ethan’s determination to share the Gospel through rain and cold led him to the doorstep of a lonely and desperate woman. His last tract and the message of Jesus’ love saved her life, bringing her into a relationship with God.
This incredible story highlights the impact even a young person’s faithfulness can have in transforming someone’s life and bringing them hope.
There are three persons in the exciting story above, plus the church audience making four. The attitude of each one of them conveys some lessons to us about our different attitudes to evangelism.
First, is the Pastor’s son. His lifestyle or attitude in the story is an example of true commitment to evangelism. He is passionate about soul winning. When his father was not willing to go out for evangelism under the rain, he was undeterred, but spurred to go out by himself. His unyielding attitude is the one each of us should have. The rain did not stop him from going out to share tracts to the neighbours. He was undeterred whether his father went with him or not. He had the option to stay back home on a rainy day but he still went out alone. His perseverance and persistence in reaching out to souls eventually won a soul to the kingdom of God. Not even when he rang the doorbell of the old lady without any initial response did he give up. He kept on banging the door until the old woman who was about to commit suicide came out and opened the door. He gave the poor old woman a tract smiling. He did the job of evangelism cheerfully. Something made him not to be discouraged. It was the Holy Spirit.
Second, what about the attitude of the Pastor of the Church? What lessons do we learn from his attitude? The Pastor is a good example of a man who led his son every Sabbath to go out for evangelism. It does appear he could not mobilize his church to join him in evangelism. He seemed like a pastor who lacked perseverance? He was unwilling to go out for evangelism on a day when it rained. Like most of us, he procrastinated on a day it mattered most. He failed to lead his son out for evangelism, but thank God, the son listened to the Holy Spirit. He was not there the very day the son won a beautiful soul for Christ.
Third, was the old lady. She almost committed suicide due to loneliness following her husband’s death. Her experience teaches us why we must not give up in life. The gospel we have is a gospel of hope. There are people out there who are in desperate need of the hope which JESUS Christ gives. If only we remain unrelenting, like the Pastor’s son, we would be a channel of blessing to someone who is desperately in need.
The last audience in our story was the congregation. Other than cheer the Pastor’s son for winning a soul they seemed to be passive in the whole story. They did not seem to participate in evangelism. It was obvious the pastor could not mobilise his members to be involved in evangelism with him. They were observers to what happened.
This interesting story teaches us some lessons on the importance of perseverance in evangelism. It teaches us that God can use anyone, anytime and anywhere. It also teaches us that there is a day of reward for all our labour. Perhaps, the Pastor and his son had failed to win souls during previous attempts, but on this day due to the persistence of the boy, a soul was won. The bible says, “In all labor there is profit, but the idle chatter leads only to poverty.” (Proverbs 14:23).
There are countless opportunities today to proclaim the Gospel in person and online. We can start by having spiritual conversations with the people we interact with each day.
But when should we share the Word of God? The answer is always. We must always be ready to stand firm in the truth of the Gospel, no matter the circumstances. Accepting Jesus as our Lord means accepting his mission for our lives. We must be willing to share our faith in both good times and bad, because someone else may be in a season of struggle and need to hear about Jesus.

Thought for Reflection
Do we have any hesitations in sharing the Gospel? If so, why? Remember, we can only share what we have. Are we spending time daily reading, studying, and applying God’s Word to our lives? How can you share the message of Jesus with your friends and family?

Song
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Everywhere I go, I’m gonna let it shine.
Everywhere I go, I’m gonna let it shine.
Everywhere I go, I’m gonna let it shine.
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Prayer
Dear God, thank you for the gift of your Word. Please give us courage and boldness to share your love with others. Help us to be ready in every season to encourage, correct, and teach with patience and love. In Jesus’ name, amen.