|
Armadillos |
 The
armadillo has a name that in Spanish means the little armed one. This
amazing creature has a nose that gives him very detailed information. His
ears are also very good but his eyes are not real good. He can sniff out
grubs and insects that are under the ground as deep as six inches.
Powerful front legs and claws are used for digging. |
 There
are20 different armored armadillos in this family. The largest is the
giant which is as big as a pig. The, smallest is the fairy armadillo
that fits into the palm of the hand. |
 Each
armadillo has different habits. Some dig many burrows. Others only use the
holes dug by others. Some hibernate. Sleeping through cold winters is
important if their food source is below the ground and they can't stay
very warm. |
 The
amazing feature that all these animals have is their ability to stay
protected. They have a shield that is too hard to eat. This helps them
survive very dangerous things. Snakes can strike on their armor and not
hurt them. |
 The
fairy armadillo is small enough to fit into your hand. When danger
threatens, this smart little creature that God made, digs a hole real fast
just big enough for himself. His bottom has a hard shell plate to protect
it. All that is showing when the enemy tries to eat him, is his shield.
This reminds me of the text, where God promises to be our rear guard. It is wonderful that we have a powerful guard behind us. So often people talk about you and sometimes literally try to stab you in the back when your back is turned. God guards those who love Him. I will be your rear guard Is. 52:12 |
  Turtles
have armors too. Their shell is their house on their back. They just pull
legs and head in when it is time to sleep. |
 The
Christian has a shield too. This shield is very big on the Christians who
are obeying and praying for help in everything. This shield is faith. It
is part of the armor a Christian wears. The shield needs to be big. You
can gather more faith each time you read how God answered prayers of
others. "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of
God."
By studying these Bible lessons you are growing a bigger shield. Pretty soon it will be impossible for Satan to ever reach this soldier. This soldier keeps studying the Bible every morning for more than an hour and every evening. There is power in God's WORD. It is the sword. |
 Without
faith, it is impossible to please Him. For whoever would draw near to God
must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.
Hebrews 11:6
SONG: Jesus dreams of you This little poem is a changed version of the one I wrote for my little daughter before she was born. The longing in my heart to have each child born and to look at them must be something like God's dreams and plans for you.
|
 I
dream of you
I dream of you, Cuddled soft and warm on my lap Gentle, faithful, and kind Dimpled cheeks, sparkles in your eyes
I've prayed for your faith,
For God and I a mansion of jewels have made.
and safe big animals to ride For you must know, My heart loves you so.
The wind tossing our hair Playing in our white robes, The Water of Life tickling our toes.
God is making a crown of the finest jewels, He wants you dressed in white, We're waiting to hear your squeals and giggles too.
May you love the peace of our presence. We're so glad you've chosen to be with us. You've made our family complete,
Jesus |
 Without
faith, it is impossible to please God. Hebrews 11:6
There are so many stories in the Bible that teach us about faith. Most little children believe what they are told. They have a simplicity and a purity of love that adults do not have. They also have a humility. This comes from their ability to see that they do not know everything. When you know that someone loves you, you trust that they will not hurt you. You trust that they will take care of you. That is faith. Faith is trusting. Children do this naturally. When parents tell them they will do something. The child expects it to be done. This is what God wants all to do. He wants them to read His promises and expect He will do them. The mountain climber has faith that his rope will hold him. This little girl has faith that her father will not let her fall. He holds the rope at the top. She lets the rope slowly slip between her legs with her hand. She is doing her part and trusts her daddy to use strong enough ropes and not to let her fall. Children have special trust. Many older people forget how to believe and trust in what God can do. |
 In
the wilderness, the pillar of cloud showed the Israelites that God was
always near. He sent manna food out of the sky every morning except
Sabbath morning. He wanted them to remember to keep Sabbath holy. This
daily supply of food was to show He always provides.
The people started complaining. They said they were tired of manna and wanted meat. They were tired of God's vegetarian diet. They wanted to eat meat. God said, "OK, I will give some meat. I will give meat for a whole month until it comes out of your nose, because you have despised the LORD." Moses was concerned. "There are 600,000 men," Moses said, "Can't you count, Lord? There won't be enough meat if we killed all the animals in the camp. Lord, what are you talking about? Shall we kill all the fish in the sea to feed them? There are always more women and children so there were over a million people to feed. |
 Then
God made a big wind. The wind blew and brought birds called quail flying
into the camp. There were so many birds that you could walk all day in any
direction and see many quail. There was enough for everyone. They ate
until they had eaten too much. They got real sick to their stomachs
because they ate so much. You can read this story in Numbers 11:10-31
These Bible stories were written to show us God is very powerful. He can do anything. Sometimes He even does things just because we wanted it not because it was good for us. |
 Abraham
and Sarah had faith in God's promise. When God promised to give them a
baby boy, they believed. But they had to wait a long time. They had so
many birthdays, that they were very old people and still no baby boy had
come. Abraham forgot to trust God one day and he had a boy by another lady
named Hagar. Then one day his wife Sarah had a baby boy. Sarah was a whit
haired old lady with wrinkles. She was 90 years old. Old ladies can not
have babies. But God made a miracle and Sarah had a baby. Sarah was a very
happy lady. She said that everyone who heard would laugh. You can read
this story in the Bible in Genesis chapters 20 and 21. God in Heaven
can do anything He wants to do. There is nothing too hard for God to do.
Jeremiah 32:17 |
 It
is Jesus that gives the shield and helps it grow. Your part is to ask for
help and read every chance you get. You can listen and study Bible lessons
on computer. You can read your Bible and pray. The more time you read to
learn of what God wants you to do with the plan to obey, God will grow
your shield. Remember the snake is a symbol of Satan. |
| Things which make the faith shield shrink are:
things which make you neglect the Bible. If you are reading exciting books
instead of the Bible, your shield shrinks.
If you are playing games on computer instead of spending precious time in Bible study, your shield is shrinking. Pokemon toys, witchcraft books, new age books like Harry Potter books will cause your faith shield shrink. |
| You
need a very strong big shield against Satan's attacks. You need to
spend time with Jesus every day. Your faith will grow as you ask God for
things and He answers you. There
is more faith that grows in your heart over one thing God does for you
than over hundreds of things He did for others. Keep a journal with
pictures of every miracle in you life. Keep asking God to
help you witness. God wants big jobs. He knows what this will do to your
faith shield. You need to think about Him as your FOREVER FRIEND. Give
your life to Him every morning.
Then pray the Lord's Prayer Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory for ever. AMEN. Mathew 6:9-13 |
 Quiz:
1.What does the name armadillo mean? 2. What is the largest armadillo? 3. What do armadillos eat? 4. How do armadillos find their food? 5. What are the biggest and smallest armadillos? 6. How many different kinds of armadillos are there? 7. What is the Christians shield? 8. What was the faith test in the wilderness that we talked about here? 9. What was Abraham and Sarah's test of faith? 10. What did the little girl have to do as well as trust as she rappelled off the cliff? 11. How can we have more faith? 12. What makes faith grow more than any other thing? 13. What special thing does the tiny fairy armadillo do for safety. 14. What makes our shields shrink? Name specific things in your life and your family's life that makes your shield shrink. |
I
anxiously watch you grow,
I'm
counting the days
There's
rosebuds and harps,
Someday
we'll walk barefoot on golden sands,
God
and the angels are looking forward to hugging you.
You've
been destined for heaven,
Love,
Consecrate
yourself to God every morning. Make this your very first work, let your
prayer be, "take me O LORD as wholly Yours, I lay all my plans at
Your feet. Use me today in Your service. Abide and live with me. May all
my work be done in YOU. Put a guard on my lips that I will not hurt anyone
today. If I am in danger of doing wrong, tell me a better way to act.
Choose my words for me because I wish to help others today."