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For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.Eph 2:9 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Wednesday, June 5, 2019
Today's Passage : Today's Passage:Jesus Blesses the Children Bible Verse :Matthew 19:13-15 "Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, “Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence. " Message:
At the beginning of Matthew 18, we read a long passage in which Jesus uses children as a metaphor, to explain the attitude that one needs to gain the kingdom of heaven. He then extended the metaphor to give a warning about the severity of tempting an innocent person into sin.
But here, He makes his metaphor literal. When He says “such is the kingdom of heaven”, He is not talking about people with the innocence of children; He is talking about actual children!
It is a beautiful moment, emotional and heartwarming to most people. Christ, although filled with love and driven by the sole desire to save humanity from an eternity of hell, can be very stern. He is not cuddly; He does not hesitate to tell people, in the bluntest terms imaginable, that they will be cast in a fiery pit. “I did not come to bring peace,” He says, “but a sword.”
But angry and dire predictions are the exception; Jesus is generally gentle and positive in his approach to salvation, and nowhere more than here. So, what are we to take away from this?
Holy Innocents
We might interpret it to mean that young children will not be held accountable for sin, until such time as they are able to distinguish good from evil; that when Christ says “those who have ears to hear” will be able to believe his message and be saved, children get a pass. Very devout parents often become concerned with this, and different churches have different dogma to deal with the concerns.
And we ourselves can find our lost innocence in Christ. He tells us that we must come to him as children, and we might assume that He would not tell us this if it were not to our benefit. There are, in fact, many aspects of Christ's teachings that teach us to become more childlike, not only in our attitude towards God, but in our daily lives.
Providing for the family, putting food on the table and a roof over the family's head, is the role of an adult. Yet Jesus tells us very plainly:
Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:31-33)
Moreover, we are to be obedient and “do what we are told”, so to speak — like children. We are not to care about money, or pride. We are to be humble, to seat ourselves at the bottom of the table. Although we should become wise with age, we are at the same time to understand many things as fools. In short, the perfect Christian life is one in which a person literally treats God as his father, not only in a theological sense but in a day-to-day practical sense, trusting that He will provide for us in every way that is important, knowing better than we do what is good for us in the long run.
Meditation : Prayer : And finally, may the grace of Christ our Savior, and the Father's boundless love, with the Holy Spirit's favor, rest upon me, and all of us, from above. Thus may we abide in union, with each other and the Lord, and possess, in sweet communion, joys which earth cannot afford........Amen |
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