A Little Child

A Little Child

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. Isaiah 11: 6 KJV

Yesterday when I was at Wal-Mart waiting for my ride to take me home I saw something that really touched my heart. A little girl about five or six years old was going up to all the rides and vending machines and asking her mother if she could ride them and have the things in the machines. Her mother said no, that they were in a hurry. This precious little child did not argue, cry or try to get her own way. She took hold of her mother's hand and smiled at her. Oh, that we would have a heart as tender and as obedient to God as this little girl was to her mother!

I wonder how many times God didn't answer us the way we wanted Him to answer and we threw a temper tantrum? We need to be as this precious little child and put our hands in the hands of our Heavenly Father. Why is it that we think that we know what is best for us? We can't see the future. God knew what was going to happen in our lives even before we were born. We can trust Him to work things out for us in a way that will be good for us and also be in His perfect will for us, not only for today but for the rest of our lives.

We should be like a little child when it comes to trusting Jesus. He has said that He will never leave us or forsake us. When He tells us something, we can depend on Him to keep His promise. There are times when we try to fix things ourselves and then wonder why we still have problems and heartaches. We don't have the power to change anything. It takes the love of Jesus to soften hardened hearts and replace the hardened hearts with tenderness, compassion and understanding.

The next time God doesn't answer the way you want Him to answer, smile at Him and put your hand in His hand and allow Him to lead you to victory over difficult situations and heartaches. We have a loving Heavenly Father and He really does care about us. He cares so much that He gave His only Son to die for us. There is no greater love than the unconditional love of God and Jesus for us. We are His little children and He wants to protect us and make us happy. Thank You, Father; thank You, Jesus, and thank You, Holy Spirit for loving us.

Joanne Lowe

Defiant Defense

Defiant Defense

Both our boys played high school football if I signed the permission slip. My wife was not willing to sign on for what football might do to the bodies of her sons. Part of the standard preparation for the next week's game was to study films of their upcoming opponent. You wanted to see how they operated because, well, you wanted to know how to defend against them. Most teams have a coach who is called the "defensive coordinator." You know, it's a good idea to have a coordinated defense, or else your opponent is going to run right through you or right over you, which doesn't go over well with a mom who didn't even want to sign the permission slip!

The Bible makes it very clear that, if you belong to Jesus Christ, His opponent is your opponent. Of course, that's the destroyer, Satan, who wanted you in hell with him forever. He lost you forever the day you put your trust in Jesus. But he didn't quit playing against you. Now he wants to use you to try to shame the Savior who died for you. He wants to keep you enslaved to the old you and to keep you from ever really making any difference for Christ.

Thankfully, we have the great Defensive Coordinator in heaven who has laid out for us the strategy for thwarting the devil's attacks on us. In its simplest form, it's there in James 4:7, our word for today from the Word of God. "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you." Sadly, our opponent is used to us surrendering to his temptations as he pushes all those buttons that have always helped him have his way with you. We don't resist the devil, we respond to the devil. But what if we actually do say, "Hey, I'm not going there." He runs. It doesn't say "resist the devil and he will fight you." It says he will "flee from you."

You've seen the points where the devil scored on your life when you haven't defended against him and all the important ground you've lost. If you're ready to resist him, then you need to know how. Here's how to effectively defend against the opponent who wants to take everything from you. First, you have to recognize it's him. You say, "Devil, I know who's behind this temptation, and I'm just not going there this time." Ephesians 6:12 says "our struggle is not against flesh and blood," but against the spiritual forces of hell.

The second step in resisting the devil is to announce the changes that you're committed to make, or as Ephesians 6:11 says, "Take your stand against the devil's schemes." You have to tell the people you've sinned with that things and you are going to be different from now on. You're on the line now to take your stand. Then, you have to stop the devil at the door. Or, "do not give the devil a foothold," as Ephesians 4:27 says. Say "no" to the very first compromise, no matter how small.

Then, you also need to starve the darkness. "Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness," Ephesians 5:11 says. Avoid the music, the shows, the people, the places, and the influences that just feed that dark side that you're trying to defeat. Ultimately, resisting the devil means that you turn your weakness over to the winner. Each day, you consciously and completely tell Jesus, "I can't beat this, but you can. And I'm surrendering it again to you for this new day." Because, as the Bible says, "The Son of God appeared ... to destroy the works of the evil one" (1 John 3:8). Including his works that have always destroyed you. Resisting in the Holy Spirit's power is your defense. Jesus is your offense.

You've been complying with the devil long enough, haven't you? Isn't it time you started defying the one who hates you?

You don't have to be his little puppet anymore!

Ron Hutchcraft

Flattery Gets You Nowhere

Flattery Gets You Nowhere

Psalm 78:34-39

Flattery is not communication; it is manipulation. We flatter people because we want something from them. It's bad enough to flatter people, but it's even worse to flatter God. "Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth, and they lied to Him with their tongue; for their heart was not steadfast with Him, nor were they faithful in His covenant" (36,37).

How do we flatter God? First, when we praise Him but don't mean it. It is so easy to stand in church and sing songs of praise with our minds somewhere else and our hearts not in our singing. We are simply going through an empty ritual. We also flatter God when we make promises to Him that we don't intend to keep. We do this sometimes in our praying.

We flatter God a third way when we pray to Him but don't really seek His will. It's easy for us to go through routine prayers and make promises. "Dear Lord, today I'm going to witness," or, "Dear Lord, today I'm going to read my Bible," or, "Dear Lord, today I am not going to yield to that temptation." But in our hearts we have no intention of following through. We lie to God. So often the Israelites lied to Him. They brought sacrifices, hoping to buy God's blessing. They went through the ritual and the routine of worship, hoping that He would somehow deliver them. They were flattering Him - their hearts were not right with God.

What does it mean to have a heart right with God? It means we are honest and open with Him. We are sincere, not lying. We tell Him just how we feel and exactly what we're going through. That's what God wants. He wants us to walk in the light as He is in the light (I John 1:7), not trying to cover up or excuse our sins, but confessing them. To have our hearts right with the Lord, we must stop flattering God and always deal with Him in truth. God wants you to be open and honest with Him. Never flatter Him with dishonesty, insincerity or deception. One way to be honest in your relationship with God is to keep your heart clean. Confess your sins instead of trying to cover them. He knows your heart, so be truthful in your praying.

Warren Wiersbe

Another Word for Love

Another Word for Love

Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the LORD a man avoids evil. Prov. 16:6

I knew a woman who always found an excuse to love.

I met her working at the most difficult job of my life - as a helper in an after-school daycare center. I was completely unprepared for the work; I had no training and my temperament seemed to be particularly unsuited to the position.

I reminded myself that I was hired to watch the children, play with them and lead arts and crafts - not fix all of their problems, of which there were many. And my only help was Mrs. Tucker, a 73-year-old retired social worker who worked with me. All that stood between the kids and disaster was me and a 73-year-old woman. And I wasn't that sturdy a defense! But I soon learned that Mrs. Tucker was a master with these children.

"Some children just need more love," she always said. A case in point was Timmy. Timmy received special help at school because of his emotional problems. He was developmentally delayed. He often fought with other children and was a compulsive hair-puller. I could never get close to Timmy - he did not trust anyone. Anyone, that is, except Mrs. Tucker. He responded her. He genuinely loved her because, I came to believe, she loved him.

One day a fight broke out between Timmy and one of the other children. After separating them, Mrs. Tucker directed Timmy to sit in a chair. He screamed, "I HATE YOU, Mrs. Tucker! You're a mean, old lady! I hate you!" "I know you hate me right now, Timmy," she said firmly, "but I'm sure not going to let you pull the other children's hair."

After a while Timmy had calmed down and Mrs. Tucker called him over. His cheeks were still dirty and bore dried tear streaks. I could not hear their conversation, but I saw Timmy put his arms around her neck. When I walked by I heard him say, "I'm sorry I called you a mean old lady, Mrs. Tucker." I knew he meant it.

A little later Mrs. Tucker said to me, "Timmy just needs more love than other children."

On another occasion I heard Timmy's mother say, "You work magic with him, Mrs. Tucker. He doesn't respond to anybody like he does to you." Maybe so, but sometimes "magic" is just another word for "love."

Rob Chaffart

Open Arms and No Closed Door

Open Arms and No Closed Door

Rwanda.

A lot of Americans had never heard of that African country until a few years ago, and then it became the scene of horrific bloodshed and a tribal war that left thousands of Rwandans brutally slaughtered. With this awful season of attempted genocide, Rwanda became a word that was written in blood. And now the challenge is to try to heal the nation. Leaders who helped South Africa reconcile its years of apartheid violence came to Rwanda to help them find a healing road like they had. Out of this struggle has come a story I'll not soon forget.

The son of a lady named Deborah was murdered in an act of ethnic vengeance. Months after the killing, a young man visited Deborah with this amazing confession and request. He said, "I killed your son. So take me to the authorities and let them deal with me as they will. I have not slept since I shot your son. Every time I lie down, I see you praying, and I know you are praying for me." As extraordinary as that young man's words were, Deborah's response was even more amazing. She said, "I do want you to restore justice by replacing the son you killed. I'm asking you to become my son. When you visit me, I will care for you." Today that young man is an adopted member of her household.

I know a little bit of how that young man must feel. I've been accepted as part of the family by someone from whom I deserved only punishment and rejection. After all, I had a part in the death of His Son. But, then, so have you. The Son's name is Jesus, who was nailed to a cross for your sins and mine. God has every reason to throw the book at us. But this very day, He's offering you instead a chance to join His family and live with Him forever.

God gives us a beautiful picture of this amazing possibility in a story from the life of King David, the one from whom Jesus was descended. In II Samuel 9, our word for today from the Word of God, David has become the king after the previous King Saul's all-out attempts to have him killed. It was the custom of kings then to exile or execute the families of those who had wanted them dead, so they wouldn't become part of a future rebellion or a plot. But there was one man left out of Saul's family. His name was Mephibosheth, and he was crippled in both feet. King David had Mephibosheth brought to him, and Saul's grandson was scared to death, of course.

"'Don't be afraid,' David said to him, 'for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan (who was Saul's son and David's friend) ...I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.' ... and Mephibosheth ate at the king's table like one of the king's sons."

That's what God wants to do for you even though you have, like all of us, rebelled against His kingship and run your own life. It's that rebellion that could be paid for only with the blood of God's Son. Which means you and I were part of the reason God's Son died. But He stands ready, no matter what you've done, to throw open the door and welcome you into His family and even into His heaven when you die.

The only way you'll ever be allowed into God's heaven, though, is on the basis of your personal relationship with the person God loves most - His one and only Son, Jesus. So where you stand with God and where you'll spend eternity depends totally on whether or not you have welcomed the Son of God into your life as your Savior from your sin. You can do that today and God will cancel the hell that you deserve and He'll give you instead the heaven you could never deserve. If that's what you want, would you tell Him today, "Jesus, you died for me. I'm yours."

Ron Hutchcraft

Unlimited Access

Unlimited Access

For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation. - Ephesians 2:14

As a child, I always wanted to go to Disneyland on my birthday. I still remember making a vow in the backseat of the car that one day, when I became an adult and made my own money and had my own car, I would go to Disneyland every single day. And if I couldn't do that, then at least I would go twice a week.

Some years ago, someone gave me an annual pass to Disneyland. I could go any time I wanted. But do you know how many times I actually went? Let's just say that it wasn't every day. It wasn't even twice a week. There was always some reason for not going.

We can be that way with our access to the presence of God. We can go into His presence 24/7, anytime we want. Yet how often do we actually do that? This was a radical concept for the people of Jesus' day, specifically the Jews. The Gentiles had no hope whatsoever of going into the temple. Any attempt to do so was punishable by death. The Jews couldn't go much further.

A veil separated the rest of the temple from the Holy of Holies, where only the high priest could enter once a year to meet with God. Now through Jesus Christ, we have access into the Holy of Holies. For the Jews, the veil has been ripped in two. For the Gentiles, the wall has been knocked down. We can all go into God's presence because of the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed. But we need to take advantage of it-not just talking about it, not just bragging about it, but going into His presence.

Greg

Do you believe God will take care of you?

Do you believe God will take care of you?

Do you believe that God will take care of you? Regardless of the circumstances. Regardless of what may be occurring around you. No matter how terrible. In the midst of cries, in the midst of lost dreams, in the midst of apparent hopelessness... do you believe God will take care of you? It's an important question. The answer reminds us where we are in our walk with God. It tells us if we are even walking at all.

The Bible is filled with accounts of bravery, men and women challenging the powers of this world for the glory of God. But there is one that does not occur on the battlefield nor in the courts of kings and queens. It takes place on a dusty road. This account is of one of the greatest acts of bravery you will ever read, though most would hardly give it such recognition. It is not of a warrior, but of a nameless, simple man.

Jesus had been away and upon His return was surrounded by a large crowd. An argument had been going on and Jesus asked what it was about. A man answered that his son was possessed by a spirit that for years had caused the boy terrible pain and torment. He begged, but if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us. Jesus replied, if you can? Everything is possible for him who believes. Mark 9:22b-23 And then came an incredible act of bravery. Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" Mark 9:24

Why is this an act of bravery? Think of a tremendous, desperate need in your life. It may be about you or someone else. It affects everything you do. You rise in the morning thinking about it. You go to bed with it still on your mind. You struggle with why this has happened, more specifically, why God has allowed this to happen. You pray, share with others, and go to church. You try to be strong, but deep inside you grieve, you mourn, and you're angry. And no help seems to come.

Then one day you're surrounded by family, friends and neighbors, people who know the person you've claimed to be. You hear of someone who might help. You've heard the stories of what he's done for others, maybe even witnessed a few yourselves. You know that God can work through this man. But when you tell him what is so terribly wrong, he looks at you and says it depends on whether you believe God will take care of you. Would you admit... before your family, your friends, your neighbors, people you see everyday, people you work with, before God Himself... that you don't?

Like us, the desperate father had no problem believing that God has the power and authority to do anything and everything. And he was wise enough to understand that God does not do miracles for unbelievers as though they were parlor tricks. He moves mountains in the lives of those who love Him, of those who believe in Him, of those who follow Him. So then, what was the father's problem?

Take pity on us! Help us! Us! This was not like hearing what God does for someone in a faraway land or seeing it happen for someone else. This was his own child he was desperate for. The father's real problem was that he wasn't sure God would take care of his son. Without that, he couldn't be sure God would take care of him. Where there is no certainty, there is no belief. And here, the father didn't believe. Yet he had the courage to admit it and ask that Jesus help him overcome his doubt.

It takes a long time for most of us to truly trust God and believe that in all situations, regardless of what's going on around us, He will take care of us. And there will always be those times when He allows our belief to be tested so that it can be made stronger. I receive hundreds of emails each day from people whose belief in God is being tested, but I don't have to look there for examples.

Just recently we learned that after 29 years of devoted service, my wife's position at her company is no longer needed. The assurance of her job has allowed me to focus on Ciloa all these years. Ah, but it is so easy, even without realizing it, to look to an income, a pension plan, or a 401K for comfort rather than to our Heavenly Father. Immediately the questions come: What will we do? How can we live? Will we have to move? How can Ciloa survive? I wonder how thin we'll get? Then we remember Who's in charge. The more tightly we cling to anything other than God, the more certain we can be that He will take it away. It may be a job, a house, a relationship, even a ministry or a church. He is, after all, a jealous God. He wants us to look to Him, to trust in Him, to admit when we don't, and to ask that our belief be strengthened. He wants us to believe He will take care of us.

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

Chuck