Be like a child

What if Jesus came down to earth physically and stood right before you? Right now. Would you be able to look him in the eye with a clear conscience? Would you fall down and worship Him? Would you run and try to hide? I don’t think any one of us knows exactly what our reaction will be if it should happen. What is the point of my asking this question? The point is that a lot of the time we act as if God can’t see us and doesn’t know what we’re thinking. We do and say and even think things that are so totally not what we profess to believe in that it’s a bit scary. I don’t think that we should be looking over our shoulders all the time in fear of what God will think of us though. I think we need to get to a place where everything we do will reflect Jesus in our lives. We should be praising our way into heaven when we die.

But now we live on earth and we live with all kinds of people who don’t share our faith or our point of view. We are being constantly accused by the devil in the courtroom of Heaven. I try to remember that it’s only Christians who are going to be accused. The devil is definitely not going to be accusing his followers. And his followers aren’t only Satanists, anyone who isn’t a Christian is a follower of the devil.

John 8:44-47, You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”

Here Jesus is speaking to the Jews who wanted to kill Him. Not to Gentiles or Heathens. As far as I am concerned there are two kinds of spirits on earth that can influence us. There is the Holy Spirit who comes from God and there are the demon spirits who assist the devil in his mission to draw us as far away from God as he can. Therefore if we aren’t under the influence of the Holy Spirit, we will be influenced by the devil.

John 14:6, Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

There aren’t any other ways to God. No other religion serves the living God. If they think they do then they have been deceived by the enemy.

Revelation 12:10-12, Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”

At least there is light at the end of this tunnel. We will one day live in Heaven with Jesus, and God and the angels and it’s going to be really, really wonderful. But first we must overcome the world. We can do it if we are aware of the challenges and if we are willing to give our whole heart and our whole life to Jesus. Every teeny weeny little bit of it. Even the bad and embarrassing bits, especially those bits. We must become like children. A child loves unconditionally and trusts unconditionally. That is how we have to be.

Matthew 18:3-4,  “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Our faith must be pure and simple and we mustn’t try to complicate things. If Jesus comes and stands before us we must be able to do what any child would do to the one he loves and give him a huge hug.

Be still and know

I have a coffee mug with the words “Be still and know that I am God” on it. I have heard and sung those words so often that they have almost become a cliché. Psalm 46:10 – “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” As I was pouring the boiling water onto the teabag (I have tea in a mug), I looked at the words again. 

Be – to exist, to live, to become, remain, continue 
Still – at rest, motionless, quiet, calm
Know – to have a clear and certain perception
These three words are the crux of the verse. I see it this way – My existence must be rooted in and at peace with the clear and certain perception that God is who He says He is. When God makes a promise He keeps that promise. When God says that He will never leave me or forsake me, then He won’t. Here are a few verses telling us how we can trust God:
Exodus 14:14  – ‘The Lord will fight for you and you shall hold your peace.’
Isaiah 40:31 – ‘But those who ait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.’
Isaiah 51:12 – ‘I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you should be afraid of a man that will die, And of the son of man who will be made like grass?
Luke 12:22 – 23 – ‘Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about your body, what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.’
I believe that God doesn’t want us stressed out and rushing around like a dog trying to catch its own tail. He needs us to be calm and at peace. We must not look at our circumstances, rather we must see life as a journey and the Kingdom of Heaven as our destination. Everything that is here on earth is temporary. The only thing that we have that is of eternal value is our faith. We have to have the kind of unshakeable faith that Jesus had while He walked on earth. It’s not easy, and the Bible never tells us that following Jesus is going to be easy, but the more we read our bible and communicate with our Heavenly Father, the easier it becomes. We have to learn to take the Scriptures at face value and not overcomplicate things. Just be still and know.