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RICE Big Day Out: The Challenge Date: 19th August, 2006 Location: Wentworth Common, Sydney Olympic Park Time: 11:30 – 4pm RICE Rally:LOST. Date: 26th August, 2006 Location: Sydney Town Hall Time: 6:30pm – 9:45pm Tickets separately cost: $12 for Big Day Out $5 for RICE rally A combined ticket cost: $15 Sat 26 August is @ Town Hall. Hope to see you there! For more info go to: www.riceevent.org.au

God Bless. Kind Regards.

 

 

Review: Uzziah did many good things as king (see 2 Chronicles 26:1-15), but his success apparently made him proud of himself instead of grateful to God. Reflect: Do you think Uzziah could have taken pleasure in his accomplishments without being sinful? If not, why not? If so, how? Can you take pleasure in your abilities and accomplishments without being prideful? If not, why not? If so, how? Pray: “God, I don't want to be like Uzziah. I don’t want to be ruined by pride. Help me to remember that no matter how well I do, I can still be humble and should always be grateful to you for any success I enjoy. . . .” Remember: “Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor” (Proverbs 29:23, NLT). Review: Uzziah did many good things as king (see 2 Chronicles 26:1-15), but his success apparently made him proud of himself instead of grateful to God. Reflect: Do you think Uzziah could have taken pleasure in his accomplishments without being sinful? If not, why not? If so, how? Can you take pleasure in your abilities and accomplishments without being prideful? If not, why not? If so, how? Pray: “God, I don't want to be like Uzziah. I don’t want to be ruined by pride. Help me to remember that no matter how well I do, I can still be humble and should always be grateful to you for any success I enjoy. . . .” Remember: “Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor” (Proverbs 29:23, NLT). Most kids would be happy just to have clear skin and a driver’s license when they reach the age of sixteen. But Uzziah, he got to be king. That’s right, king! Palace, servants, throne, the works! Cool, huh? And he handled it pretty well for a while. He built things, he ran things, he decreed things--all the stuff a king’s supposed to be good at. Then one day something got into Uzziah. He knew that burning incense and offering sacrifices to God in the Temple could only be done by the priests, but he was king and figured he could pretty much do what he wanted. Maybe he liked the smell of incense. Maybe he thought he could do a better job than the priests. Maybe he got the idea from something he saw on TV. Or maybe he just thought, Hey, nobody can tell ME what to do--not even God! Anyway, Uzziah decided he was going to break the rules and show those priests who was boss. So headed to the Temple. Of course, kings never go anywhere alone--his Secret Service agents accompanied him, as well as his chief of staff and maybe even a few reporters. As he left the palace the royal trumpeters announced his departure. Tourists gathered to try to catch a glimpse of the young king, and a crowd quickly formed. Meanwhile, the priests (about eighty of them) heard he was coming and found out what he intended to do. The Bible says “they followed him in.” Several hundred people clogged the streets, whispering in shocked tones that the king wanted to burn some incense in the temple. Priests tried to talk him out of it, tourists tried to see him, guards tried to guard him, advisors tried to advise him, and Uzziah ignored all of them. He picked up the incense burner; the priests got more excited and their protests became louder and louder. Uzziah got angry. He turned and started yelling at the priests. “Who do you think you are to tell me what to do? I should have your heads cut off; no, I should have you smothered with honey and put on an anthill; no, I should have your hair dyed like Dennis Rodman’s; no, worse--I should make you listen to your parents’ radio station!” While he was raging, the Bible says, God got his attention. His skin started to bubble and flake, and within seconds his face was covered with scaly white patches--the telltale signs of leprosy! Suddenly the showdown ended. The priests rushed Uzziah from the Temple. He returned to the palace as a leper. He had to live in a separate house the rest of his life. He never again got to enter the temple, and his son took over his throne. Uzziah was even buried in a separate graveyard from the rest of his family because of his leprosy. All that happened because, “when [Uzziah] had become powerful, he also became proud” (2 Chronicles 26:16, NLT). Pride can make a mess of things. It can really mess up your judgment and make you do stupid things. It can ruin friendships. It can make you look silly. Being prideful never earned honor, respect, or friendship for anyone. In fact, it most often destroys those things--just like it did for Uzziah. Review: Uzziah did many good things as king (see 2 Chronicles 26:1-15), but his success apparently made him proud of himself instead of grateful to God. Reflect: Do you think Uzziah could have taken pleasure in his accomplishments without being sinful? If not, why not? If so, how? Can you take pleasure in your abilities and accomplishments without being prideful? If not, why not? If so, how? Pray: “God, I don't want to be like Uzziah. I don’t want to be ruined by pride. Help me to remember that no matter how well I do, I can still be humble and should always be grateful to you for any success I enjoy. . . .” Remember: “Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor” (Proverbs 29:23, NLT).