Jesus' Kids

"Let the little children 

come to Me,

and do not hinder them,

for the Kingdom of God 

belongs to such as these."
Mark10:14b (NLT)

Some of the parents brought their children to Jesus, so He could touch and bless them. However, the disciples scolded the parents for doing this because they thought the children would bother Him. The disciples were wrong! When Jesus saw what was happening, he became angry at His disciples for not showing love to the children. Jesus then called the children to Him, took them in His arms, placed His hands on their heads, and blessed them.

Confidence In Prayer

"And we are confident that He hears us

whenever we ask for anything that pleases Him.

And since we know He hears us

when we make our requests,

we also know that He will give us

what we ask for."

1 John 5:14-15 (NLT)

Each week the children receive one of my many photographs with the week's Bible verse printed on it. However, three weeks ago, one nine-year old girl misplaced her album of these pictures and became quite distraught over it. After two weeks of trying desperately to find the album, the girl sheepishly approached me last week to ask for another one. To her dismay, I resisted the temptation to give her one. Instead, I took the opportunity to teach her the power of prayer. I put my arm around the girl's shoulder. We bowed our heads, and prayed to God to help her find the album. When we were through praying, I told her not to worry. God would answer her prayer. She looked at me in disbelief, but I encouraged her to trust God and believe.

God heard this girl's prayer and this week gave her what she asked for. She was so excited to tell me in church today that she found her album! Now this girl knows from personal experience God truly hears and answers prayers.

The Heart Of A Spiritual Leader

Paul, as a spiritual leader, never sought earthly treasures. He sought only spiritual ones---precious souls dearly loved by God and him.

"I will not be a burden to you.

I don't want what you have

---I want you."

2 Corinthians 12:14

Paul was never sneaky, nor did he ever try to take advantage of God's people by trickery. He was always honest and unselfish because he had the heart of God in him. He loved people and gave himself to them, just like Christ did. His desire was to see every person saved and mature in the knowledge of God.

"I will gladly spend myself

and all I have for you."

2 Corinthians 12:15a

As a result of Paul'sgenuine heart and love for people, miracles, signs and wonders followed his ministry.

Let My Soul Be At Rest Again

The Canadian geese are here! The ponds are still frozen and snow covers most of the land, but the geese have arrived safely.

It seems strange though not to see the geese swim gracefully in the water. I don't know how much longer they are going to have to wait for the ice to thaw. Winter was much longer than normal this year.

In the meantime, the geese rest from their long journey. God has been good to them.

"Let my soul be at rest again,

for the lord has been good to me."

Psalm 116:7 (NLT)

May We Always Be Teachable

When the blind man was healed by Jesus, his neighbours took him to see the Pharisees because he was healed on the Sabbath. However, the Jewish leaders refused to believe the man had been blind and could now see, so they called in his parents. When the parents acknowledged the man as their son and confirmed his blindness at birth, the Pharisees were still unwilling to believe the miracle. The Pharisees again called back the man who was blind to question him once more. By this time, the man was exasperated and emphatically explained to the Pharisees the simplicity of it all---Jesus must be from God if He could open the eyes of someone who was born blind.

"'Why, that's very strange!' the man replied.

'He healed my eyes,

and yet you don't know where He comes from?

We know that God doesn't listen to sinners,

but He is ready to hear those who worship

and do His will.

Ever since the world began,

no one has been able to open the eyes

 of someone born blind.

If this man were not form God,

He couldn't have done it.'"

However, the Pharisees did not respond to the man's intelligent reasoning in acceptance, but in anger and violence.

"'You were born a total sinner!' 

they answered.

'Are you trying to teach us?'

And they threw him out of the synagogue."

John 9:34 (NLT)

The Pharisees were so blinded by their arrogance and self-righteousness, they were incapable of seeing the light. 

They had become non-teachable.

We Think We See, But We Are Blind

Jesus healed the blind man on the Sabbath, infuriating the Pharisees because Jesus worked on the Sabbath.

"Some of the Pharisees said,

'This man Jesus is not from God,

for He is working on the Sabbath.'"

John 9:16 (NLT)

The Pharisees may have claimed they loved God, but they really didn't. If the Pharisees truly loved God, then they would love their neighbor as their selves. They would rejoice that once a man was blind, but now he could see, no matter what day of the week he was healed. The Pharisees' code of regulations had become more important to them than the welfare of a human being.

Disturbingly in churches I often see the same thing where a church's focus is no longer on people, but on other things. And when the church's focus is off people, the church's focus is off God. God and people are closely tied together. As a result, the church ends up becoming nothing more than a group of sanctimonious, self-righteous, and hypocritical people, where God's presence is no longer felt.

If we truly desire the presence of the Lord, we need to love others. No amount of prayer, fasting or giving money will do it.

So The Power Of God Can Be Seen

"As Jesus was walking along,

He saw a man who had been blind from birth.

'Rabbi,' His disciples asked Him,

'Why was this man born blind? 

Was it because of his own sins or his parents' sins?'

"It was not because of his sins or his parents' sins,'

Jesus answered.

'This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.'"

John 9:1-3 (NLT)

Christians sometimes assume when they or others face hardships and adversities, they are because of sin. This is not always so. Many times they are allowed by God to reveal His miraculous power or character, so others too will believe in Him and be saved.