Outdoor Object Lesson 108: A Holy Toothbrush

Key Text

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. You shall labor six days, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to The Lord your God. You shall not do any work in it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates; for in six days The Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore The Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭20:8-11‬ ‭(WEB)‬‬ Paraphrased

Lesson

What does it mean for something to be holy? Since we don’t have a temple like they did in Bible times, it can be a foreign concept. In modern times, especially in the West, we treat nearly everything casually. Western culture prizes a laid-back attitude. So it can be a stretch for those of us raised in this culture to fully grasp the concept of a holy object. Yet, it is something God takes extremely seriously.

In the Old Testament there are stories that seem harsh to our modern sensibilities. For example, when the Ark of the Covenant was being moved back to Jerusalem in the time of King David, as the Ark rocked sideways off the cart, Uzziah reached out to steady it. Because it was against the law for him to touch, God struck him dead on the spot (2 Sam. 6). The Ark of the Covenant was a holy object. In fact, it was the Most holy object in Israel. When God declares something holy, that means it is dedicated to a special purpose. It should not be treated casually. It should always be respected no matter what. To disrespect it is to disrespect what God has said. Think about it like this.

A toothbrush is something very important and personal. If you have ever gone camping you understand this well. It’s not healthy to go days without brushing. More importantly, your toothbrush is to remind yourself of home and help you feel somewhat clean even if the rest of your body is dirty. When camping, you must leave a lot of comforts at home. You don’t get to take a shower every day if at all, you might have to go to the bathroom outside. If you’re a dedicated backpacker you might not even take deodorant to save weight. A toothbrush is small and light enough to take camping. So brushing your teeth gives a nice clean feeling when the rest of you feels dirty and is a good reminder of home. Some backpackers are so dedicated to saving weight but also having their toothbrush they cut most of the handle off!

Your toothbrush is your's alone. You would never want anyone else to use it for anything without your permission. You would be most deeply offended if you came to the tent and saw someone else brushing their teeth with your toothbrush! You might be angry enough to hurt someone if you found them using your toothbrush to clean the mud off their shoes! You would consider that brush dirty, defiled. You would probably never use it again and get a new one. That toothbrush is holy unto you. It is meant for one purpose. It is meant for one person alone.

When God declares something holy, he takes holiness to a much higher level, because he is the God of the universe. He is the giver of life and has the right to take life back when we defile his holy objects. God does not owe us anything, we owe him everything, including our lives. So while it seems harsh for God to kill those who violate his holy laws, it’s not unjust. While we may live in a very casual society, God still expects us to keep things holy that he has declared as such. The Sabbath is perhaps the most important one. God asks us to dedicate one day a week exclusively to him. It is holy unto him. We are not to defile it by treating it like any other day. As we grow spiritually, we will learn to see the Sabbath as a gift and a blessing. We will learn to value it like a toothbrush on a camping trip because it is a taste of home. The Sabbath is a reminder of the comfort and cleanliness of our true home in heaven.

Questions

Can you think of some other things God has declared holy?

Why do you think God chose to strike Uzziah dead on the spot?

How can you grow to love and appreciate God's holy objects?

How can you keep the Sabbath holy?


Written by David F. Garner
Photo credit: Monfocus via www.pixabay.com

SDA Belief Series #20

Christian Outdoor Object Lesson 57: Keep The Flame Burning

Key Verse

“So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Philippians 2:12 WEB

Lesson

The Protestant Reformation was about telling people about salvation by faith alone. John 3:16 clearly states that whoever believes in Jesus will be saved. So why is there a verse in Philippians talking about working out your own salvation? We can not earn salvation, right? This is true, but there is more to it.

If you have ever built a fire, or seen one built then you know it takes some work. First you need a safe place to build a fire such as a fire ring. Next you need to gather all the materials. You will need to gather several different sizes of wood, some tinder, and a fire source such as a match. Once you gather all the wood you need to separate it into different sizes and make sure it is dry. Once this is done you are ready to begin building your fire.

First put the tinder down in the center. Tinder can be things such as lint, wood shavings, or dry grass. Next add the kindling. Kindling are small twigs and sticks that will catch fire quickly. Finally, you can position the fuel wood around the kindling. This is the big pieces that will keep the fire going for a long time. Now you can strike the match and light the fire. But as you probably already know, your job is still not done. Once the tinder is lit, you must blow and fan the flame so it can grow. You must constantly tend the fire to keep it alive or it will go out. Once you have a roaring fire you must still stoke it and add more fuel.

Following Christ is a lot like building a fire. We receive salvation in an instant and we can do nothing to earn that gift. It is a spark that sets a spiritual fire in our hearts. But as Paul says in Philippians 2:12 we must work to keep the flame alive. We must fight against the temptations of our sinful nature. We must make it a priority to spend time with Jesus. We cannot earn God’s forgiveness. It is free. But we must work to live the way God asks us after we receive salvation to keep the fire in our hearts alive as long as we live. The best part is God will freely give us the strength to do so!

Questions

What did Jesus mean when he said, “take up your cross and follow me” in Matt. 16:24?

How do we receive God’s free gift of salvation?

What is the spark that sets a spiritual fire in our hearts?

What happens if we die before we have a chance to work on living the way God expects?



Written by David F. Garner

Photo Credit: Alexas_Fotos via www.pixabay.com

Christian Outdoor Object Lesson 43: Jackets and Rags

Key verse

”It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” 1 Corinthians 1:30 (NIV)

Lesson

Note: For the object you can hold or wear a fancy winter jacket. A hat or gloves could work but a jacket is more impactful. Take it off as you get to the description of removing the jacket, hat, and gloves.

In the Bible there are verses that talk about us being covered by Christ righteousness. The key verse says that Jesus became our righteousness and our holiness. This is confusing language. What does it mean that Jesus is our righteousness? What is righteousness anyways? The Bible gives us answers to these questions. In John 3:16 the Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory or standard. In other words, no one has lived according to God’s standard of goodness perfectly. We have all broken God’s law at some point. Next, Romans 3:10 says that our righteousness is as filthy rags. We have all broken God’s law and our own personal goodness or right-ness is stained by badness or unright-ness. The key verse says that Jesus offers us his own goodness in place of ours. Let’s imagine an example.

We are walking down a city street in the winter time and its just after dark. There is snow on the ground and a chilly wind stirring up the snow. We are wearing fancy, warm down jackets, stylish winter hats, gloves, boots and other warm clothes. We barely even notice the cold temperature or the wind. We almost completely forget that we are outside where its very cold after dark. As we come around the corner we see an astonishing sight.

There is a barrel with a fire inside on the street corner. Around it stands a couple of men with their hands outstretched. As we get closer we realize they are probably homeless. They are dirty, smelly, and have long, scraggly hair. We can see that they have lots of clothes on too. But we can see they are still cold and shivering slightly. When we reach them we see that one man is wearing a tattered and stained jean jacket. He is shuffling his feet and rubbing his hands together just to stay warm. We stop and look at them.

As we do so we think about our car which is just a few blocks further. We notice how warm we are in our down jackets and how cold these men are with inadequate clothes, especially the man with the jean jacket! We remember that winter has only just begun and the nights will keep getting colder. There is no way these men will survive the winter unless they get better winter clothes! But what can we do? We don’t have any money with us. Then an idea comes to me. I whisper it in your ear as the men look at us, confused.

We approach them and say, “Can we trade jackets with you?” We take off our warm, fancy jackets, hats, and gloves as they take off theirs. We wrap our jackets around their shoulders. We pick up their jackets and hats and put them on for the remainder of our walk.

1 Corinthians 1:30 tells us that Jesus became our righteousness, holiness and redemption. He took is own righteousness and gave it to us to wear, and took ours upon himself when he died for us. What a kind person Jesus is to do that for us!

Questions:

Do you think you could do something like that—give your warm clothes to a homeless person?

How does it make you feel to know that Jesus gave us his own goodness and took our dirty, filthy goodness?

How would you describe righteousness in your own words?

Is it possible for us to ever take off the righteousness Jesus has given us after we have accepted it?


Written by David F. Garner