Becoming Like A Child

Mat 18:3-6 and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. "Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. "And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Having a childlike faith. Oh to be like one of the little ones. This morning I was at a customer's home and I was doing some work there for her. Running around the house were two small children. A rambunctious little boy who just turned two and a precious little girl who is four. The rough and tumble little fella was running around in a pair of shorts and sported a bottle with him everywhere he went. The princess was adorned in a beautiful fairy dress and had a smile that was as precious as the morning sun. I couldn't help but watch these two little ones as I went about my duties there. They were genuinely innocent, incredibly inquisitive, and willing to help me in every way. They were asking me questions and very hungry for knowledge.

Why do you do it that way and how come you have to go over there? Each time they asked me a question I answered with care and compassion. No question to me was meaningless and they were full of many of them. Every time I answered their little question, as trivial as it may have been, they responded with the next question with just a little bit more confidence. By the time I completed my work they knew so much more than when I got there.

Throughout the morning their mother was trying her hardest to keep these two little ones from "bothering" me. "Stop asking the nice man all of these questions" she would say to them. All the while I would inform her that everything was fine and I was not the least bit bothered by their inquisitive minds. Finally, she scolded one of them and then turned on the TV in hopes of distracting them from keeping me from my work.

Jesus tells us in Matthew that we need to be converted and become like little children to enter the kingdom of heaven. To me this means to have an innocence about us that allows us to come to the father and seek Him with the faith of a child. Children are oblivious to the things of adults. In the eyes of a child all things are relevant and equal and what I had to accomplish there this morning was for the purpose of benefiting their little lives. Being childlike means we put all preconceptions aside and cry out to God for guidance, assurance, information, and ultimately freedom in Him.

The thing this morning that was bothersome to me was the mother trying her hardest to prevent the little ones from coming to me with their questions. It made me think that, in the spiritual realm in which we live, Satan has a great way of keeping us from our heavenly Father as well. Woe to you who cause one of these little ones to stumble.

As God's children we are to rely on Him as a child needs his father. Removing our pride and placing ourselves far below the magnificence of the Father, gleaning all we can from Him for our life. We can not sustain ourselves and Jesus reminds the disciples of this very fact as they are trying to figure out who is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven. I truly desire to be like a small child in my walk with the Lord. Always seeking Him for my sustenance and never being too grown up to think I know all of the answers.

Thank you Lord for reminding me that I need be converted and be like a child to enter the kingdom of heaven. Help me to never cause one of your children to stumble and please guide me today in the way you would have me to go.

Proclaim To The Next Generation

Psa 71:15-18 My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge. With the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD I will come; I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone. O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come. (esv)

I am meditating on this Psalm today as I go about my day. "Oh Lord, don't forsake me until I proclaim your might to another generation." God, in his grace, has given us the opportunity to teach and proclaim His mighty work to those who come after us. I spend several hours each week studying the Bible and I think about the generations of men and women who have gone before me and who have been faithful to the end. Their words are like pearls of wisdom as I dig deeper into the God's word. Their perseverance and fruitful lives have impacted me beyond measure.

I pray today that I can look to the next generation and that my words and life can be a testimony to the King. I encourage you today to not forsake the next generation of believers. To look to them and ask God to put a fire in your heart to proclaim His might to those who are struggling to understand who they are in Christ. As my hair turns gray, my sight begins to fail me, and my bones start to ache, I am still able cry out His goodness to the next generation. Lord I pray that you will find me faithful to the end.

There Are Two Kinds Of People

We have all heard the phrase 'There are two kinds of people in life.' I was pondering this thought as I was running through the streets of the Seattle area this afternoon and it begged me to ask the question as to what are the two kinds of people this statement originally referred to? Coke or Pepsi, those who give and those who take, those who say my will and those who say thy will? It really has many different applications but there was one specifically that came to my mind this humid afternoon. Those who are going to Heaven and those who are going to Hell.

The more I applied this statement to those two choices the more sobering the meaning of it became to me. I was compelled to think about all of the people in my life who are unaware of their eternal destination and what steps I have actively taken to help them answer this question one day for themselves.

1Jn 5:11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
1Jn 5:12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
1Jn 5:13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. (esv)

First John differentiates the two kinds of people that I was thinking about on my run. Those who have the Son and those who don't have Him. Those who have eternal life and those who don't. Those people who are going to spend eternity in Hell and those who have Jesus as their Savior and will spend all of eternity in Heaven. God has given us eternal life through Jesus Christ and if we have the Son, verse 13 tells us that we are to know that we have eternal life. To KNOW. Assurance that we have life abundantly forever.

What kind of person are you today? There truly are only two kinds of people. Whether or not you prefer Coke over Pepsi, comedy rather than drama, or you think life is about those who have and those who have not, the real comparison of the two kinds of people that has any significance at all is those who are saved and those who aren't.

Romans 10:13 For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

Who I Am In Christ

I believe one of the biggest struggles we face as human beings is finding our identity in something. Many of us find our identity in our work. Such as, I am a doctor, or a lawyer, or a teacher. Others find their identity in pop culture by emulating what they see on television and hear in the music they listen to. And still others of us base our identity in our religion. I am a youth leader, or a preacher, or I am an elder.

Having these positions in life is great and we are called to do the work the Lord has provided for us. But my question I ask myself is, "do I identify myself in my work or in Christ?" I find it difficult sometimes to be free from identifying myself with the things of the world. I want to be know for something and I often strive to have acceptance from people I encounter. I am pretty certain that I am not alone in this on either... I was reading through some of my past writings this morning and I encountered this list that I wrote to keep me focused on who I am in Christ. I compiled it over a year ago and wanted to read it once a week so I could remember and memorize the scriptures that would take me back to identifying myself with Him rather than the things of the world.

Well, the reading the list once a week thing faded off and today I am compelled to re-read it again and look closely at each scripture. Not just browse over it as a nice list, but to meditate on the verses and pray for God to reveal himself through me to others. With the culture pressing on us to "be like Mike" and to wear this or that to be beautiful and handsome, I am reminded of who I am in Christ. Being grounded in Christ, we can resist the temptation to get caught up in the next fad that comes our way. He will never change. When we find our identity in Him we will always be satisfied in who we are.

• I am a child of God. (John 1:12)
• I have been made complete in Christ. (Colossians 2:10)
• I am saved by grace through faith. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
• God sacrificed his one and only Son for me. (John 3:16)
• I am a new creation in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
• The Holy Spirit dwells in me. (1 Corinthians 3:16)
• I am completely forgiven. (Colossians 1:14)
• I am tenderly loved by God. (Jeremiah 31:3)
• I am a branch on Christ's vine. (John 15:1,5)
• I am united to the Lord, one spirit with Him. (1 Corinthians 6:17)
• I am chosen by God, holy and dearly loved. (Colossians 3:12)
• I have been adopted as God's child. (Ephesians 1:5)
• I am free from any condemning charges against me. (Romans 8:31f)
• I cannot be separated from the love of God. (Romans 8:35f)
• I am a member of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession and created to sing His praises. (1 Peter 2:9-10)
• I am born of God, and the evil one cannot touch me. (1 John 5:18)
• I have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:16)
• I may approach God with boldness, freedom, and confidence. (Ephesians 3:12)
• I have been rescued from Satan's domain and transferred into the kingdom of Christ. (Colossians 1:13)
• I have been given great and precious promises by God. (2 Peter 1:4)
• My needs are met by God. (Philippians 4:19)
• I have been bought with a price, and I belong to God. (1 Corinthians 6:19,20)
• I can do all things through Christ, who gives me the strength I need. (Philippians 4:13)

Jesus Is Our Righteousness

Deu 6:4-13 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. "And when the LORD your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you--with great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant--and when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. It is the LORD your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. (esv)

I was reading through Deuteronomy yesterday and came across this familiar passage. Lori and I have been reading through the Gospels again and it sounded quite familiar. Jesus, in Matthew 22, tells the Pharisees and Sadducees that the greatest commandment is to love your God with all of your heart, soul, and mind. Just as God told Israel after they came out of Egypt, He again reminds them what their number one priority needs to be. Isn't it amazing how God needs to remind generation after generation the same things over and over again? Sounds like parenting to me...

As I read on in Deuteronomy I couldn't help but sit for a couple of minutes on verses 7-9. Teach these words diligently, bind them on your hands, post them on your gates, etc... I started to feel quite convicted regarding these verses. How diligently have I been over the past 20 years teaching, instructing, and modeling the Word of God to my children? There are a lot of things I have spend many hours teaching my children. How to pitch a baseball, how to ride a bike, or even how to figure out a complex math problem. But have I done my due diligence in teaching them the Bible? I must honestly confess... No I haven't done as well as I could have. Oh sure, we have spent time reading devotions and we pray with the kids every night, (at least the ones who are still around) but being diligent to teach them consistently over the years has been a downfall for me.

DILIGENTLY, adv. With steady application and care; with industry or assiduity; not carelessly; not negligently.

Thankfully we serve a good God. One who forgives and allows us to learn from our mistakes and try again. Even if we fall short in a certain area of our life, God will always be there to help us pick up the pieces and begin anew. The Bible is packed full of instructions for how we should live our lives and unless we open it up and read it on a daily basis we will all fall short.

I receive new insight to the character of God each time I open His Word. It is as if the pages have new life and God is wanting to reveal not only something about His character, but my character as well. As I continue on in the book of Deuteronomy I come to the end of chapter 6 where Isaiah tells the people of Israel "Deu 6:24-25 And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day. And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us.' "

It will be righteousness for us if we do all that He has commanded us. I am seeking God's righteousness in my life but when I read this I think to myself, "How am I to keep ALL of His commands to be righteous?" I am but a sinful man who struggles with a sinful nature. There is no possible way for me to be righteous. Thankfully, this is where Jesus comes in. "Only Christ could keep all the commandments of God, and his obedience is our righteousness; and he only is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes, and to him we must seek for it." (John Gill's Exposition)

You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. This is the message of the Gospel. And Jesus adds to this in Matthew when he tells us to also love our neighbor as ourselves. There are many times I fall short, but Jesus is my propitiation. Because of Him I am righteous before the Almighty Creator of the universe. When my diligence falls short in instructing my kids, or loving my neighbor the way I should, or even messing up with my walk with Him, I am assured that He will forgive me when I turn to Him and Jesus will make me righteous before God.

Thank you Lord for showing me something new about my character every time I open your Word. Thank you for forgiving me of my shortcomings and allowing me to be renewed in you each day. Please help me to keep your commands as I seek to follow you more closely. I know you aren't looking for me to work my way into Heaven by being good or doing all the right things, but because I am in you and you are in me I desire to be like you. Help me to be like You every day.

Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth.

My lovely wife and I were talking this evening regarding the topic of salvation. One of the main subjects of our conversation was our children and whether or not they will finish the race strong or if any of them have and/or will choose not to follow the call of Christ.

All five of our kids have made a public profession of faith and been baptized. If you asked each one of them they would claim to be a Christian. But as we continued in our conversation together we really struggled with what the future has for our children living in this American culture and we pray daily for their walk with the Lord.

The day I answered the call of salvation I knew one thing, I was a sinner and I needed a Savior. I didn't grow up in the church and finally, after several attempts, I realized God had a purpose and a plan for my life. My initial draw to my new found faith was the hope of eternal life. You know, streets lined with gold, a mansion with many rooms, angels rejoicing... But as I matured in the faith and began to understand my sinful nature even more fully, I realized that being saved isn't fully about eternal life but is primarily my freedom from God's judgment. Just as we have the hope of eternal life, a life free from Jesus has the judgment of God upon it and the sentence of eternal punishment.

Mat 13:40-43 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. (esv)

I was listening to a sermon a few days back and a point was made that even though Jesus willfully bore all of our sin on Calvary, it doesn't compare to the horror of hell and eternal punishment. There was hope for Christ, and, after making his appeal to the Father to have the cup removed from Him, (Luk 22:42) He knew that after the third day He would be properly place at the right hand of God. Jesus had assurance that the Father would restore Him as had been written by the prophets. He could see an end and the end was good.

Those who reject the Son have no hope for their souls. The Bible tells us that in hell there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. I think of this as a complete and total wailing. Groans of pain and agony that can not be quenched. Imagine for a moment if you will the worst of the worst times in your life being played over and over again. Day in and day out feelings of hopelessness, despair, agony, torment, frustration, depression, horror, guilt, lust... The list goes on.

Matthew 13:40-43 is sour and sweet. Those who are the sinful and the lawbreakers will be gathered up and thrown into the fiery furnace. Regardless of what a person believes about Heaven and Hell, one thing is crystal clear to me... unrepentant sinners will have a really bad existence for all of eternity. Yet, in verse 43 Jesus tells His elect that the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Not because we are so good and worthy of it. On the contrary. Jesus is our righteousness before God. 2Cor 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Where are you going today, tomorrow, the next day? Where are your children going when they move from this life to the next? These are difficult questions for us to ponder, but sooner than later they will be answered. Abidance in Christ is essential to our walk with Him. We show we are His disciples by our fruit and for many of us it is time to see what kind of fruit is springing forth from our trees.

Joh 15:5-7 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

Jesus offers the free gift of eternal life and freedom from the Father's justice. Do you hear His call today? If not, I encourage you to listen for it.

Finding My Hope In Him

I was watching the movie "The Visitor" this evening. It is about a young man from Syria who gets caught in the immigration system of the United States and the futile efforts of his friend and mother trying to do everything in their power to get him released. The longer he was incarcerated the more hopeless he became in his situation. He put all of his hope into his mother and friend and relied on their strength to see him through. It was a very good movie but it left me empty inside because the ending was far more real than I had thought it was going to be. When we watch movies we are generally looking for the ending to be fulfilling and this ending was far from fulfilling. As with real life, sometimes the ending doesn't leave us smiling as we walk out of the theater.

After I finished watching the movie I opened up God's Word to do some study, but I couldn't shake the reality of the movie and the truth it spoke about people in our country who are living daily in fear of losing everything they have come to know here. Whether it be through deportation, loss of a job or loved one, or through a tragic accident, we have difficulties around us on a daily basis that leave us hopeless. It really solidified my understanding of where my hope comes from. Not in the things of this world, but in Christ himself. It also started me thinking about those around the world who are being persecuted every day for their faith. And those who are living in turmoil just because they were unlucky enough to be born amongst the perils of their society. Not to mention those who go hungry and their daily struggle to get a speck food for the table. Sometimes things in life just aren't fair!

We are a blessed people living in this country and many a day goes by that I grumble over the little things in life. How selfish of me. I am in a land of plenty while my brothers and sisters in Christ around the world are starving and going without. I was rolling through a community around Seattle this morning on my train and I couldn't help but notice there was a fast food chain on each corner of a particular intersection of a busy highway. And each drive through was full of cars. I chuckled to myself at the time and thought how crazy it is that half way around the world there are families sharing a two cent bowl of rice for a week and we are able to drive up to a building and receive as much food as we can cram into our faces for about 5 bucks.

I asked the Lord "why is this the way it is?" Well, as of this moment I don't think He has answered me yet. But as I read in His Word this evening I came across this passage from Isaiah.

Isa 41:17 When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the LORD will answer them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
Isa 41:18 I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.
Isa 41:19 I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive. I will set in the desert the cypress, the plane and the pine together,
Isa 41:20 that they may see and know, may consider and understand together, that the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.(esv)

It is comforting to know that even when there is nothing to eat or drink, God will not forsake us. Jesus tells Satan in Matthew chapter 4 ... "It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" God, in the midst of our famine, nakedness, and troubles, will always be there to strengthen our faith in Him and give us our portion as He sees fit.

As I reflect on my life and the choices that have placed me where I am at today, I thank God that even though I haven't always relied on Him, He has always been there to strengthen me. My hope lies in Him and Him alone. The economy will fail us. Our government will fail us. Our friends and families will fail us. God will never fail us and when we put our hope in Him we will be renewed every day.

I encourage you today to place your hope in Jesus. Lay down at His feet the burdens of the day and He will give you strength.

Psa 73:26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (esv)