This is an article that is ultimately written to give praise to our Father in Heaven on Father’s Day. I wrote it for another web site, so I didn't share it publicly with you last week. Truthfully, when I wrote it the day before, I wasn't thinking about Father's Day. I had just been praying about something I read in the gospel of Matthew, and felt called to write about it for that other site. After a week of letting them have sole custody of this story, I have decided to share it with you as well.
Matthew 11:25-26 (NIV): At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure."
There are a few references to children in the gospels, always showing them to be the standard that we are judged by. Why is this? What is so special about children that we should take note of their attributes and apply them to our lives? To gain a measure of understanding, let's take a quick look at what it means to be a child.
Children come into the world with nothing. No preconceived notions, no possessions, no expectations, no self-reliance, no anything. The first thing a child does is not even their own act. They are born into this world and are, in most cases, caught by a doctor lest they fall to the ground. Shortly thereafter, they are cleaned up and have the initial bonding experience with the mother who has carried them all these long months. From the very beginning, they rely on others for their security!
The first years are all about learning the loving boundaries of their parents and discovering that these barricades are there, not to quench their joy, but that their happiness may be complete. They learn to crawl a bit, which sometimes leads them into more trouble, but that's what happens when they move independently of their parents, isn't it?
And then comes the walking. Before the soles of a child's feet has any callouses or firmness, they are unsteady. They walk awkwardly and oh, so gingerly. And when their parents praise them for taking those brave steps, you can see the joy welling up from their hearts! They may say they want a treat or a toy, but in their actions you can see that their true desire is the praise of their parents. What have they done to earn this praise? They have progressed in their growth that will make them resemble their parents. They know this instinctively and try to heighten this sense. One common way to emulate their parents prematurely is a game of dress-up. My son wears my shoes around the house sometimes, and that is all that he is doing. As he wears my shoes, he doesn't walk very well, but I can see the underlying motive behind it.
The joy of a child when they see the happiness of their father is another point to make here. If you have ever returned home and seen the face of your child pressed in the window in expectation for you, you can see where I'm going here. You get out of the car and head into the home, and there's a loud yell from the next room, "Daddy!" You barely have time to crouch down and the child collides into your arms with a hug of joy and excitement. That is how we are to wait for our face-to-face introduction to our Father in Heaven.
So when you look at the verses of the Bible that tell us to be like children, you can see that this commandment has nothing to do with becoming immature, but has everything to do with lessening our self-importance to magnify our reliance on our Father for everything. We need to rely on Him for our every need, from our desires to very lives! As we rely on our Father for our wants and our needs, we will find that we are never disappointed. Our needs are met, each and every one. Our wants are also met, for the things we want cease to be the material things and the lusts of our hearts, but we crave the discipline, the relationship, the growth and the security that come from a close bond with our Father.
Today's reading is found in Isaiah 12:1-6, Isaiah 17:1-14, 2 Chronicles 28:16-21, 2 Kings 16:10-18, 2 Chronicles 28:22-25, 2 Kings 18:1-8, 2 Chronicles 29:1-2, 2 Kings 15:30-31, 2 Kings 17:1-4 and Hosea 1:1-2:13.
Today's reading in Isaiah really spoke to me. It isn't just some historical poetry, you know. It's a command and a promise that holds true today. We are called upon to delight in the Lord and look to Him for our strength. It's too bad that Ahaz didn't listen to this one, huh?
When times are tough, that's the perfect time to turn your troubles over to God! Instead, Ahaz tried to keep the Assyrians happy by giving them things from the temple of God! How desperate can you be to gain the approval of man? Israel was already in deep doo-doo, but that doesn't mean he should pile any more on.
His son, Hezekiah, did some clean up during his reign, though. I'd love to know where he got the idea to follow the Lord. Not from his father, that's for sure! And I believe that, to an extent, a son is nothing more than a reflection of his father. Of course, this statement breaks down because I have the greatest father and son in the world, but I think you get what I'm trying to say here.
Today's reading is found in Hosea 2:14-8:14.
I'm reminded of the screen saver of a co-worker. Across her screen it says, "God will not ask any task of me that I cannot handle." This is so true, but I'd change it a bit to say that God will help me in all things, because with Him all things are possible. This brings us up to today's reading. There's a bunch of doom and gloom to read in this passage, but did you catch that part about Israel's retribution? God was warning them of their coming punishment, but before that was even done, he was promising to restore them. That's the God I believe in!
You can put that into perspective in your own life as well. Are you in a bad situation? Do you think that it just won't improve? God can restore you just as he did the nation of Israel! He brought me up from the depths, and in my experience, he did it so fast, I have to do a double take to see what happened! A year ago, I spent about 15 months in a self-placed situation that was driving me to depression and in the span of under 24 hours the burden was lifted. I tell you, it was like listening to a country music song backwards. I have my house back, my car back, my dog back...
Today's reading is found in Hosea 9:1-14:9.
Jerusalem, the faithful city had become a harlot. To put a picture in your head, It's like a bride going to her husband and asking him to pay for her to sleep with an adult prostitute. Trusting in God is the best way to honor Him as the husband of the church. Back to Israel, though. God had given specific instructions as to how to follow His path, but Israel sought wisdom in her own ways and failed to trust in God. While God hates sin He desired to teach Israel His ways so that they might walk in step with Him.
Today, as in the Old Testament, God judges sin with the purpose of drawing men back to Him. I do not understand God's ways, but I know that He seeks to draw people to Himself. God is a God of forgiveness. As God judged Israel for her sin, so He judges us today with the purpose of bringing us closer to Himself.
For an example of what I'm talking about here, see Galatians 5:16-26.
Today's reading is found in Isaiah 28:1-29, 2 Kings 17:5, 2 Kings 18:9-12, 2 Kings 17:6-41 and Isaiah 1:1-20.
So the day finally came and Israel was forcibly removed from their land and into Assyria. There is no point in wondering now why this was done. The Israelites had rejected the teaching of God long enough and it was time for them to understand what life without Him would be like. This is along the lines of being judged by your deeds.
Some people don't think it's fair to end up in eternal Hell if you were such a nice person. They think that they should be judged by their deeds alone. And in these cases, they are. Compared to the standard we are measured by, our good works are like filthy rags.
Christ is the only bridge that can cover the gap. If you try to do it based on your works, that's your problem. You will be judged by those works and your torment will be based on your life, compared with the life of Jesus. If you lean on God to take care of the everything, your good works will only determine the rewards you will enjoy, but the worst sinner to get into Heaven will have a much better time than the greatest nice person who doesn't trust in the Lord.
The Israelis were only being judged on their works with the idea of Godly intervention taken out of the mix. Even so, God was calling on His people to renew their faith in Him so He may make all of their sins better.
Today's reading is found in Isaiah 1:21-5:30.
If you apply for a position with a company today, you will find that companies are looking for leadership qualities. Hezekiah became king at the age of 25. For the last sixteen years he had watched his father, Ahaz, fail miserably as King of Judah. So what did Hezekiah do differently? He brought in the religious leaders and told them to consecrate themselves to God.
The first commandment is "You shall have no other gods before me." The religious leaders had violated this commandment for years. Hezekiah commanded the people to return to the Lord. It seems easy enough. Worship God and God only and let God direct the nation. So what kind of leaders do we need today? God hasn't changed, nor have his commandments. Let's worship God and God only.
Today's reading is found in 2 Kings 16:19-20, 2 Chronicles 28:26-27 and Isaiah 13:1-16:14.
There is a lot of prophesy here that resembles what we have seen in the last 50-60 years. We surely live in exciting times, don't we? Let's break it down a bit today.
- Babylon was indeed overthrown and even today, it is an uninhabited land. We've seen on CNN and other news agencies that Saddam Hussein had a vision of making his kingdom into a second Babylon, complete with the statues and other trimmings, but the original land lays barren. It is truly a home only to wild animals.
- Israel was to reclaim their land with the help of other nations. Does this sound a bit like the aftermath of World War II? Israel would be the captors there and rule over those in the land that were against them. Open the newspaper or check out any online news source and you will see that this has come to pass.
- The passage also speaks of other nations who would be utterly destroyed. I have yet to meet a Philistine, you know. Are there any out there now?
- Finally, we have the throne that was established out of the house of David to speed the cause of righteousness. Jesus is that King and He reigns forever and ever.
Today's reading is found in 2 Chronicles 29:3-31:21.
Boy, does this feel like a nice rain in the middle of a drought? King Hezekiah was no pretender. He decided to renew the covenant with God, and when we did so, he took it all the way! God listened to the prayers of His people and even forgave them for breaking the rules of the Passover because the means were out of their reach at the time. That goes against a common perception of the "God of the Old Testament." God is seen as vengeful and angry throughout the Old Testament, then loving and forgiving in the New.
Whoever believes this needs to take some time and read the Bible. We're doing this in a year, but it can be done much faster. It takes, what, 10-20 minutes to read with me each day, not including the drivel I supply? Give an hour of reading per day and the Bible can be read in a couple months. During that time, you will see numerous acts of mercy from God in the Old Testament to offset the righteous anger that is so perceived. You will also see the same anger from God in the New Testament to balance the mercy you read about.
God doesn't change. We do, and so do our circumstances. The unchanging nature of God is what allows us to rest in Him and look to Him as our rock when life's rains begin to fall. The God I believe in is greater than any problem that we may come across, and doesn't have to alter His plan for any change in our situation.
Weekly LinkFrom the site: World Help has actively worked with national pastors and church leaders to equip and train over 7,000 pastors of Eastern Europe, India, China, Nepal and Myanmar (Burma) in intensive week-long Strategic Alliances for Leadership Training (SALT). These pastors also received hundreds of books and resources to make their ministries more effective. Training these national pastors and evangelists to be church planters is one of their single greatest needs. Since 1996, World Help has planted over 4,300 churches and built 1,127 church buildings in the unreached areas of the world. To date, World Help has distributed more than 7 million Bibles, New Testaments, and books to public schools, churches, hospitals, military bases, and orphanages. More than 35,000 people have publicly prayed to receive Christ. Most of them had never heard a clear presentation of the Gospel. World Help has shipped over 250 tons of donated medical supplies, valued in excess of 20 million dollars, to people in need all over the world. This has earned World Help the right to be heard and given us entrance for the Gospel. Hundreds of terminally ill patients have come to Christ as a result of this project of love. |
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