Come as a Child

Unless we are little children, we cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 18:3). Not a child in age, size or maturity; but a child at heart - innocent and captivating.

When I took my first baby on his inaugural stroll in the park, I realized that he had no recognition of what his little blue eyes gazed upon.

A tree, leaf, bird, flower, clouds, ants, beetles were unremarkable to him. He had no reference point, no knowledge to draw from, in order to categorize what he saw.

With a clean slate for a mind, a pure heart and total trust in my care, he gurgled with his head bobbing from side-to-side to take in all the sights and sounds.

Unspoiled by the negative influences, harmful people and ungodly choices in life, he relied on me to meet all of His needs (1 Corinthians 14:20). I wanted to protect him from harm and hurt and to bring him joy all the days of his life.

As human parents we are either aggressive, permissive, nurturing or a combo of these parenting styles. God calls us to love in a nurturing manner with unconditional love, just as He fathers us (Luke 11:13; 1 John 3:16).

Our Father God calls us to come to Him as children with innocent trust in His faithfulness (Matthew 19:14). Those who are converted, humble and childlike will have the greatest position in God's eternal Kingdom in Heaven (Matthew 18:3-4).

Prayer:

Father God, as Your children, our angels are always presenting our needs to You (Matthew 18:10). You protect us as the apple of Your eye (Deuteronomy 32:10). You are our Father when our natural fathers abandon us, and you set us in families when we are lonely (Psalm 68:5-6). 

You know what we need even before we ask for it (Matthew 6:8). We have constant and continual access to You and help from You through Christ by Your Spirit (Ephesians 2:18). Thank You for lavishing Your love on Your children (1 John 3:1).

Thought for the Day:

In times of trial and adversity, we calm and quiet our soul like a contented, weaned child within us. - Psalm 131:2

Open Doors

Human beings often fear the unknown, resist change and grieve our losses longer than is healthy for our soul. This causes unnecessary stress to ravage our body and soul.

As authentic Born Again Believers, we can prevent this by trusting completely in God's goodness and grace. When He closes one door in our life, it is to open another door.

He may allow us to lose a job, mate, child, friend, church family, home, part of our body, etc in order to open new doors for us.

God also closes doors to protect us. The timing, people involved, location and details are not conducive to this new venue He planned for us, so God will close those doors.

When we end one chapter of our life, we start a new one, full of possibilities and every bit as fulfilling as the former chapter. If we maintain an open mind, God will continue to bless us.

No matter where we are, who we are with, or what circumstances He brings to us, we can still walk in God's Spirit and allow Christ in us to live through us (Galatians 2:20, 5:15-25; Colossians 3:3-4).

Supernatural direction, peace and joy sustain, strengthen and equip us for the Kingdom work ahead of us. God's Spirit and Son within us are our everlasting companions.

Prayer:

Father God, make us conscious of Your hand in our life. Help us not to mourn the closed doors for very long before we change our focus to the new and living way You have prepared for us.

We trust in You to care for all of our needs and to direct our every step through this new life where You called us to live. Open our eyes and ears to see and hear what Your Spirit is directing us to do, and use us for Your glory.

Thought for the Day:

The new door, which God opens, may be different than we are used to, strange and unfamiliar, but with Christ in us, we will continue to walk in God's perfect peace and joy.

Come As a Child

Read: Romans 8:35-39

"I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. - Matthew 18:3

When the disciples tried to discourage the children from taking up Jesus’ time, He firmly reprimanded them with the words, "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children." How can adults become like little children in order to get into the Kingdom of Heaven?

To answer this question, take a good look at the characteristics of children. They understand that they are totally dependent. They live in simplicity and are naive and trusting. They are morally uncontaminated by the world. They are transparent and ingenuous in character. They have not yet learned to practice disloyalty or to hold a double standard. They have no taste for sinful behavior. They laugh readily and are easily entertained. They wear no “masks” and are not embarrassed by their spontaneity and sincerity. They are rarely anxious and they ask many questions of everybody and anybody who will give them a moment of their time.

To continue, children have no prejudice or hostility toward anyone that is different from them. They are frank, sincere, unassuming and unsuspicious. They are impulsive and free-spirited. They confide easily and have no secrets. They have no resources of their own with which to defend, care for or provide for themselves. They totally trust in their parents to be there when they wake up in the morning and to tuck them into bed at night. Their hearts so closely resemble that of an authentic Christian. They have unlimited love, hope, trust and faith.

Therefore, to resemble a child, we must come to Christ in simple humility, mirroring all of these characteristics. A childlike mind is open to being taught by God and to be led into all truth by His Spirit (John 16:13). Through the sanctifying process, we grow more and more every day like a child who is totally dependent upon our Heavenly Father. In the same manner that a parent enjoys feeding, cuddling, providing for and protecting their child, our loving Father spoils His beloved children, who give themselves entirely and only to Him with trust in His loving kindness.

When Jesus speaks of childlikeness, He is not referring to our spiritual maturity. God actually wants us to lay aside our childish carnality and to grow into mature Saints (1 Corinthians 3:1). He does not want us dependent upon the milk of the Word forever, but to grow up to eat solid spiritual food (1 Corinthians 3:2). Paul chastised the Corinthians for their immaturity throughout his letters to them. God desires for us to have confidence to approach His throne in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16); however, we are to derive our confidence from Him, not from our own abilities.

We have arrived at the point of childlikeness, when we come to the place in life where we are totally dependent upon Christ living within us. He adopts us into His family as His children, and we are then coheirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). God’s grace abounds in us at our weakest moments and makes us strong (2 Corinthians 12:10). Paul learned this attitude when he petitioned God to heal him of his infirmity. God told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you; My power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). As we surrender our life to Christ and rely totally upon Him, God will make us great in His Kingdom (Matthew 18:4).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, give us the heart of a little child, trusting and true. Help us to walk in sincerity without any guile. Teach us to totally depend upon the guidance of Your Holy Spirit throughout our day. Help us to walk in unity and to prefer one another with compassion and grace as we walk in Your peace. Thank You for providing for our daily needs as we seek first Your Kingdom (Matthew 6:33).

Thought for the Day:
Meekness keeps us from depending upon our human abilities, and makes us realize our need to live with childlike dependence upon God.

 

 

Thank you, Candice Bradley, for the use of your photo. God bless Jon, Kira Jean and you today and always...kat