Topical Article Examples

INSTANT ACCESS #5
Moving away and going to a new school can be pretty scary. Abraham was afraid when he moved to a new area of the Holy Land. He was so afraid that he asked his wife Sarah to lie for him. That lie got him into all sorts of trouble. Abraham was afraid of the strangers because they didn’t know God. But he forgot that God knew them! If you find yourself in places where people don’t know God or don’t live godly lives, remember that God is there already. Read this story and remember that wherever you go, God goes too.
- NIV THE TEEN STUDY BIBLE, Page 24, Copyright 1984, 2008 by Zondervan

INSTANT ACCESS #8
Choosing the person you will marry is serious business. A good choice will bring you a happy, rewarding life. A poor choice can make you miserable. That’s why it’s important to involve God in your dating life even when you’re young. You’re probably not planning to get married yet. Dating is a time for fun and for getting to know lots of kids of the opposite sex. But it’s also a time when you develop attitudes that will shape your choice of a mate. Genesis 24 teaches that God will lead you if you ask his help in choosing a mate.
- NIV THE TEEN STUDY BIBLE, Page 29, Copyright 1984, 2008 by Zondervan

INSTANT ACCESS #10
Are you envious of that guy in the next row? You know, the one with all the answers written on his hand? He got an A on the last test! But before you decide cheating pays off, check what happened when Jacob cheated his brother Esau out of their father’s blessing. In Old Testament times a father’s “blessing” was both a will and a prophecy. It guaranteed the success of the son who received it. And Jacob got that blessing—by cheating. But read verse 41 and you’ll see that Jacob got more than he bargained for. Sure, some people cheat and get away with it, but usually cheating brings more negative results than you expect.
- NIV THE TEEN STUDY BIBLE, Page 34, Copyright 1984, 2008 by Zondervan

INSTANT ACCESS #13
School bore you to death? Mom and Dad treat you like a child? Your big brothers or friends are driving cars, and you’re stuck with a bike? Life is passing you by, and you’re stuck forever in the slow lane? Joseph probably felt the same way. He was sold into slavery as a young teen and jailed unfairly in his early twenties. Life was passing him by too, but he stuck it out and did his best. Genesis 41:46 says that at age 30 “he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt” to become that country’s second most powerful man. Age 30 may seem like forever away, but doing your best in little things is the way God prepares you for great things.
- NIV THE TEEN STUDY BIBLE, Page 55, Copyright 1984, 2008 by Zondervan

YOU WOULD LAUGH TOO
We should be careful not to judge Sarah too critically, for we’d laugh too if we were in her shoes. As a matter of fact, though we’re not near 90 and have no chance or need for pregnancy, we laugh at other potential miracles that could happen to us or though us.
 Poor health may be the reason some can’t continue to serve. But usually it is not the hardening of arteries but the hardening of attitudes that keep s us on the sidelines. Rigidity of programming is one of the perils of senior-hood. We give up on others. We give up on ourselves. Do we not, like Sarah, think we know more than God? However, God is not done with us, though we are done with ourselves…
 What can we do to strengthen the local church, to energize God’s prophets, to get the gospel out to an ink-dark society? God can use us in the far-reaching endeavors that we would naturally dismiss.
 A volunteer senior force can make a church effective. Many are not too old to sew, to pray, to sing, to usher, to teach. Either we are too bashful to volunteer or too unwilling to try. Why not go out of life maximizing our influence for Christ, instead of sitting around waiting for an escort of heavenly angels?
- NIV SENIOR’S DEVOTIONAL BIBLE, Page 22, Copyright 1995 by The Zondervan Corporation

EXCHANGE THE MEANING
When God parted the Red Sea, he told Moses to “raise your staff.” After the glorious miracle occurred, Moses was careful to refer to it as “the staff of God” [Exodus 17:9]. It was just an ordinary stick of wood, but when the Lord chose it for his tool, the staff took on new ownership and meaning.
 God can exchange the tragic meaning behind accidents or injuries for something new and positive. The cross is a good example. What was once a symbol of torture and pain now represents hope and salvation. My wheelchair, which once signified tragedy and confinement, is the very thing that now gives me freedom and mobility.
 When God uses for his glory the most ordinary things – such as a staff, or a cross, or a wheelchair – he gives each one unique and special meaning.
 What are the symbols of tragedy in your life? A crutch or hearing aid? Where you live? Your appearance or abilities? God can exchange the meaning of the heart-break for something hopeful and positive. God did it at the cross, and he can do it for you.
- NIV SENIOR’S DEVOTIONAL BIBLE, Page 84, Copyright 1995 by The Zondervan Corporation

REDIRECTED, NOT RETIRED
The word retirement can be misleading. For some, retirement connotes a stop sign or a rocking chair. Perhaps the world redirection is a better one. That means a new beginning for the best 20 years of our life.
 The Levites retired from active military at age 50, but that did not mean complete inactivity. They began “second careers” in assisting, advising, ministering to their fellow Levites in the Tent of Meeting. Their retirement seems to have included becoming teachers and advisers to the younger men.
 Perhaps we should stop using the world retirement with its often negative connotations, and use instead the concept of freedom. Freedom to read, to interact socially, to change one’s life-style, to find new priorities…
 Retirement is redirection. In retirement we may do a bit less so that we can be who we are. We may slow down, but we can be as active and involved as we ever were. Retirement is just another station on life’s journey as we change gears and move on.
- NIV SENIOR’S DEVOTIONAL BIBLE, Page 169, Copyright 1995 by The Zondervan Corporation

BUILD UP, NOT TEAR DOWN
A Sierra Leonean proverb says, “If a person is taller than you, do not chop off his legs so that you will be equal. Rather, grow up.” There are many people who like to pull others down when they cannot catch up with them in life. Abel’s sacrifice was accepted and Cain’s was rejected. Cain chose to kill his brother rather than doing his best to catch up. Do not put out somebody’s lamp so that yours will shine. If you do, God may punish you as gravely as he did Cain.
- NLT AFRICA STUDY BIBLE: GOD'S WORD THROUGH AFRICAN EYES, Page 11, Copyright 2012, 2015, 2016 by Oasis International Limited.
 

REVERSING REJECTION
What made Joseph accept and not reject his brothers? Today the cycle of violence in many African countries continues because many do not see God at work. People take revenge and do not allow God to act.
 Joseph recognized that God was at work in his life. Joseph trusted God when his brothers sold him into slavery and continued to live with integrity. He did the same in jail, believing that God was in control. And he trusted and allowed God to act when his brothers arrived years later desperately seeking Pharaoh’s help.
 Many people have assumed positions of power over those who have wronged them greatly. Some people desire to take revenge and continue the cycle of violence. Others like Joseph forgive and say, “it was God who sent me here, not you.”
 Forgiveness brings peace. Let us be like Joseph with people who have rejected us and caused us harm. We must not continue the cycle of violence by seeking revenge. We must see our lives as controlled by God. Only then can we be at peace.
- NLT AFRICA STUDY BIBLE: GOD'S WORD THROUGH AFRICAN EYES, Page 64, Copyright 2012, 2015, 2016 by Oasis International Limited.

 THE SNAIL AND THE TORTOISE: A LESSONS ON FORGIVENESS
One upon a time there lived a snail and a tortoise. The two were close friends. The snail proposed to give his daughter in marriage to the tortoise. The two friends agreed. Because of this, the tortoise became an in-law to the snail.
 The snail worked hard on his larger farm, but the tortoise was lazy. Later the snail discovered that someone was stealing yams from his farm. He had no idea who the thief was, but it usually happened on market days. The snail kept on the lookout, and the thief was apprehended. To the surprise of everyone, the thief was the tortoise.
 This infuriated the snail, so he ordered the tortoise to be tied to a palm tree very close to the road. People going to the market rained abuses on the tortoise as they passed by. The snail was gratified with his revenge on the thief, even though the thief was his in-law.
 But the people changed. They were shocked at the way the snail treated his relative. They then turned their abuses on the snail, condemning what they thought was an act of cruelty for tying his in-law to a tree all day. Hence an adage in Yoruba says, Ebu alo ti ahun, ti abo ti ana re, meaning, “The earlier insults were for the tortoise, but the latter for the in-law—the snail.”
 On the contrary, Joseph exemplified the act of forgiveness. God expects us to forgive our enemies, no matter the magnitude of their offence. The Bible asks us to forgive our enemies or those who use us poorly, so that we may be forgiven by him.
- NLT AFRICA STUDY BIBLE: GOD'S WORD THROUGH AFRICAN EYES, Page 66, Copyright 2012, 2015, 2016 by Oasis International Limited.