Most of us have asked God for wisdom and knowledge at one time or another. We have also been asked for them by someone needing help. Whatever the circumstances, God's wisdom & knowledge...never deviates from Christ's character and His actions when He was here on earth. Like anything else...anything...God wants our faith and gaze to always end up back on Christ Jesus. Why?
Col. 2:1I want you to know how much I have agonized for you and for the church at Laodicea, and for many other believers who have never met me personally. 2I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ Himself. 3In Him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
4I am telling you this so no one will deceive you with well-crafted arguments. 5For though I am far away from you, my heart is with you. And I rejoice that you are living as you should and that your faith in Christ is strong.6And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow Him. 7Let your roots grow down into Him, and let your lives be built on Him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
8Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powersa of this world, rather than from Christ. 9For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.b10So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the Head over every ruler and authority.
We want to obey God...to emulate Christ...yet, we'll fail...or we'll be trying and trying in our own flesh...unless we learn to do it a different way. Not too long ago in our recent history the WWJD movement began. However, it faded, but why? This article has an idea about that....
We cannot do anything 'God derived' in our flesh, so as to bear the kind of fruit that accomplishes His purposes. This is why it behooves us to stand back for a time and ask God to teach us to be fruit bearers, instead of 'trying' and exerting ourselves to bear fruit.
Then even when we do bear fruit by own efforts, what comes of it? Is it lasting fruit? This is the question that the believers before us perhaps did not understand...which is why the movement that had good intentions, sunk into near nothingness ~ like a house built on sand...or wine skin that burst ~ because it had old wine put into it.
Evil wars against the human body that is already weak, then fights to sway our mind away from Christ so it can't cooperate with the things of the Spirit. ~ Who will give us the victory over these things...so our body and mind can be used for God, instead of against Him?
1 John 5:4 For
everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome
the world, even our faith.
Faith in what or whom? In ourselves? In our own abilities? In our own actions? In our own common sense? In our own knowledge and wisdom? In our own feelings? In our own ways? In our own talents? In our own intellect? In our own interpersonal skills?
OR
Faith in Christ Jesus? In His abilities? In His actions? In His common sense? In His knowledge and wisdom? In His feelings? In His ways? In His talents? In His intellect? and In His interpersonal skills?
Which source do you have faith in so as to be a 'happy tree'? A fruit bearer who is living it's purpose and shares in the blessings??
You who have been born of God...so you have been planted IN Him...and your roots have complete access to the Source...to Christ Jesus. He has given you a new nature, He is inside and with and around you....as well as His written word is before you...He has hemed you in on everyside! Psalm 139:5 "You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand of blessing upon
me". Jesus is your everything...including your teacher.
John 13:12When he had finished
washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them.
13“You call me ‘Teacher’
and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.
14Now that I, your Lord
and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s
feet. 15I have set you an
example that you should do as I have done for you. 16I tell you the truth,
no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one
who sent him. 17Now that you know
these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
He wants to be our example. He desires to teach us, and then His Holy Spirit remind us, how to live. Our spirit, which has been made new, is very willing, ready and able! However, our body is weak, and is used to doing things the old way. Jesus said inMatt. 26:41 "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.
The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
Then Paul, who emulated Christ, is saying the same thing Jesus said here in Rom. 7: "21So I find this law at
work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For
in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23but I see another law
at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and
making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What
a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to
God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
The disciples walked with Jesus and learned from Him...so we can also walk with Christ through the gospels and learn from Him there as well. John 2:20“What!” they exclaimed.
“It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and you can rebuild it in
three days?” 21But when Jesus said
“this temple,” he meant his own body. 22After he was raised
from the dead, his disciples remembered he had said this, and they believed both
the Scriptures and what Jesus had said.
Paul also learned from and emulated Jesus (1 Cor. 11:1), and so when we go there and read his letters and learn from him...this is also learning from Christ. Phil. 4:9 'Keep putting into practice all you learned and received
from me--everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace
will be with you."
We must remember as we are in this process, that God has not left us clueless at all!! He has shown us in His written word all the specifics...so you and I can become more familiar with what comes from His Spirit and what doesn't. Perhaps the WWJD movement didn't last because the fruit trees were expected to keep on growing and producing God's fruit even when the things not of God began coming out of the same trees?
James 3: 9-18 "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
Light and dark can not exist together...and even a little leaven leavens the whole lump. Or perhaps Christ grew into a mere idea, instead of a real Person who was God in the flesh and Who's every word and every action represented God exactly.
13Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. 16For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peaceable, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of impartiality and hypocrisy. 18Peacemakers who sow seeds of peace raise a harvest of righteousness."
Gal. 5:22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Do you love truth? It is not up to us to decide what truth is...it is up to God, since He gives it. It is a powerful gift from above. So, I am not talking about reading something in a magazine that rings true for you and loving IT. NO. I am asking if you love truth so much that you won't accept any substitute.
So whatever it turns out to be you will accept it...and you have the humble attitude that even when you think you've found it you hold on to it with an open hand - and not inside a tight fist as though you've attained and now have all the light you need! NO. Because when the truth has done what it was sent to do, it is then you will have found the truth!
Because as you closely follow Jesus and what He taught...then the truth that you find there will do more than just sit in your head...Jesus said that it will set you free! So, essentially, you can be saved...and still not be free. However, Jesus wants to be more than your Savior, so He bids you come closer, follow His teachings and therefore be exposed to the truths you will not find out there trying to make sense of things on your own! He wants you to abide (live, cling, remain) in Him!
John 8:31-32 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, "You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
Isaiah 55:10-11 "For just as the rain and snow come down from heaven, and
do not return there without watering the earth, making it bring forth and
sprout, yielding seed for the sower and bread for eating, so will my message be that goes out of my mouth— it won't
return to me empty. Instead, it will accomplish what I desire, and achieve the
purpose for which I sent it."
Heb. 4:12 For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper
than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit,
of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the
heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden
from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and the truth laid bare before the eyes of him
to whom we must give account.
Barnes Notes on The Bible: That truth has power to show what man is, and is like a penetrating sword that
lays open the whole man; compare Isaiah 49:2. The phrase "the Word of
God" here may be applied as the "truth" of God, however made known
to the mind. In some way it will bring out the real feelings, and show what man
is.
1 Cor. 4:1People should
think of us as servants of Christ and managers who are entrusted with God's
mysteries. 2Managers are
required to be trustworthy. 3It means very
little to me that you or any human court should cross-examine me. I don't even
ask myself questions. 4I have a clear
conscience, but that doesn't mean I have God's approval.
It is the Lord who
cross-examines me. 5Therefore, don't
judge anything before the appointed time. Wait until the Lord comes. He will
also bring to light what is hidden in the dark and reveal people's motives. Then
each person will receive praise from God.
6Brothers and
sisters, I have applied this to Apollos and myself for your sake. You should
learn from us not to go beyond what is written in Scripture. Then you won't
arrogantly place one of us in opposition to the other. 7Who says that
you are any better than other people? What do you have that wasn't given to you?
If you were given what you have, why are you bragging as if it weren't a gift?
The truth that saves you!
A number of years ago some representatives of a cult came to our door, and during our conversation I asked them how they helped people know God. I actually asked this several times because each time their answer was pretty much the same...- they would do bible studies with them, invite them to church and give them literature about God and so on.
So, in their mind learning about God by trying to gain specific 'truths' would save them. Altho, years later I asked one of their followers if he knew he was going to heaven. His answer was slow in coming...but then he said, 'No, I guess I really don't'.
Because how would we know, that we know or practice enough 'truth' in order to be saved??? This is sad, because God made it pretty simple to find that one truth that saves us!
2 Thess. 2:10 He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love the truth that would save them.
John
14:6 Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no
man comes to the Father, but by me.
Acts 4:12 There is no salvation by anyone else, for there is no
other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved."
The truth that IS you!
Everyone has a story. Yes, because everyone has a personal history of living and being. Your story is your truth. Only you and God fully know it. Your truth only belongs to you and God, no matter who you are. Your truth consists of ~ You! So, this means you and no one else has any right to your body but you and God. If I ever talk about rights, this is it! You and I have a right to be on earth just merely via the fact that we were born and we ARE here!
Therefore, we are also allowed to live and thrive, have a private life and make the decisions to follow God (or not) without manipulation, because God made it this way...and this is no matter the mistakes we have done, or what we believe, or what we look like...there is no one righteous, no not one...so, we are all in the same boat so to speak.
The only way someone else has a right to take any charge of my life is if I have deliberately #caused harm to someone else's rights...this includes gossip, slander, shunning, raging against, meddling and of course manipulation to just name a few.
#Side note here. I am not talking about experiencing inconveniences, or the ofttimes need to be flexible and getting toes stepped on, no...because this happens merely by living around other people.
2 Tim. 1:12 For this reason I suffer as I do. However, I'm not
ashamed. I know whom I trust. I'm convinced that he is able to protect what I have entrusted to Him until that day.
1 Thess. 5:23 May the God who gives peace make you holy in
every way. May he keep your whole being-spirit, soul, and body-blameless when
our Lord Jesus Christ comes.
1 Pet. 4: 19 Therefore let them also who suffer according to the
will of God in doing good, entrust their souls to him, as to a faithful
Creator.
*That which I have entrust unto him-Greek, "my deposit"; the body, soul, and
spirit, which I have deposited in God's safe keeping (1Th 5:23; 1Pe 4:19). So
Christ Himself in dying (Lu 23:46). "God deposits with us His word; we deposit
with God our spirit" [Grotius]. There is one deposit (His revelation) committed
by God to us, which we ought to keep (2Ti 1:13, 14) and transmit to others (2Ti
2:2); there is another committed by God to us, which we should commit to His
keeping, namely, ourselves and our heavenly portion.
Acts 17:28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as
certain even of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
SO, what do we do with these three truths?? I submit these truths in your life and my life are so immensely valuable that we must treasure them...and to the point where we must be careful with whom we share them with and how. But this will be for next time...
There is an epidemic of loneliness , not just here in the USA, but everywhere. Please take a minute and read this short article; http://www.joshhunt.com/mail18.htm
However, God has an answer for this if we but heed His call. In fact that call comes in the form of a command...and that command is the answer not only to loneliness, but also to providing the very best way to spread the gospel - by actually reaching out a hand to whomever God puts in your path.
Scripture says that if we are not loving others, then we do not know God. (1 John 4:7-8) Why? Because God is love, and if He is truly in your heart then He will be pulling at your heart to reach out in some form or fashion. Have you thought about this? It appears many people give it very little thought...or the plague of loneliness and the lack of the gospel being spread in the way where people are anxious to respond, would not be as much of a concern as it is.
I'm sure you notice in scripture the multitude of times that love is indirectly or directly spoken about...and how direct God is about the part love plays in our walk...even to the point of making it a command. Yet, do we take it seriously?
But some how I think that if we were loving as we are supposed to then the church would be getting the similar reaction as Christ got.
People followed Him in great numbers. They would sit and listen to Him for hours. However, how hard is it to get people to go to church with us? When we are with people, do they see something different in us...something that attracts them - instead of repelling them...or causing no reaction at all?
I believe that God's love, is a sacrificial, powerful love that does not show favoritism. It is not man's kind of love that has limits and distractions and usually only hangs around as long as the feelings do.
Philippians 2:5
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
I submit that God's whole plan is based on His love...therefore every New Testament scripture either directly or indirectly is pointing at another way of looking at God's love...and it is His love that ties all scripture together. SO... each one is about what His love is, or what it's not...and how important it is to God for our lives. God beseeches us...
Ephesians 5:2 Live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of
God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God,
which is your reasonable service of worship.
1 Thess. 4:9 But we don't need to write to you about the importance of
loving each other, for God Himself has taught you to love one another.
The top section of this post is re-blogged (with slight edits) from Simply Juliana http://simplyjuliana.com
God is vehemently against worry. It only produces stress, strain and death. Jesus preached against it. Paul preached against it. The whole Bible is against worry because Satan designed it.
Take Philippians 4:6-7 as a command. “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” The Amplified Bible says, “Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything.” I Peter 5:6-7 says, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.
Casting all your care upon him….” Not 75 percent of your care. Not everything but your kids or everything but your finances. Your confession every morning should be, “I do not have a care, because it has been cast over on my Lord.” Cast out every worried thought that would trample its way into your thinking. Roll it over onto Jesus.
If I tossed an item over to someone, and they took it with them...then I no longer have it. So if you asked me for it, I would have to say, sorry!
That’s what we need to do with our cares. We must cast them over on the Lord and not try to take them back! If Satan brings a worried thought to your mind, saying, What if…, you can tell him to talk to God about it. It is in His hands, not yours!
Many people want God to supernaturally remove their worry. But that’s not the way to get the peace of God. God’s peace comes by acting on His Word that says to cast all of your worry and anxiety over on Him. You must replace those thoughts with the Word. Philippians 4:8 says to think on “whatsoever things are true…honest…just…lovely…of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
You are the one who must control your mind. The Word says the peace of God will garrison and mount guard over your heart and mind (Philippians 4:7, The Amplified Bible). But you are going to have to do something. You must keep your thoughts under control.
II Corinthians 10:5 says, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” People have told me they can’t quit worrying. They can! Anyone can stop worrying. The verse before that says the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but powerful through God to the pulling down of strongholds. The strongholds of Satan are in the mind. He makes suggestions like, It won’t work this time, and What if… and, But….
The power of God begins to operate when you cast your care over on Him. As long as you worry about it, you only hinder the flow of His power and tie His hands.
Meditate on these three scriptures: I Peter 5:6-7; II Corinthians 10:5 and Philippians 4:6. Joshua 1:8 says if you will meditate in the Word day and night, you will be able to see how to do it. Philippians 4:9 says, “Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do….” As you give your attention to these scriptures, the Holy Spirit will reveal this truth to you and you will then be able to act on it!
Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me.” You don’t have to worry again. The greater One dwells in you. Commit to it. You will never worry again. –Ken Copeland
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Spreading Peace
James 3:18 And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.
It is NOT our job to spread conflict. Some who would disagree with this I've heard argue that Christ said that He did not come to bring peace, as in Matthew 10: 34 "Don't assume that I came to bring peace on the
earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword". However, this does not mean for you and I to spread conflict...as it was Christ speaking about Himself.
Moreover, we need to realize the sword He was talking about here is the natural conflict that truth causes...and the conflict He caused merely by being here amongst us. He did not mean that He came here swinging a sword. His words, His light, His truth, His power, His reaction to the Pharisees, His love of people over rules and His utter love of sinners ALL caused conflict and division just naturally...but, this division is one that is via the Spirit, as it separates truth from lie...light from darkness...and what is inside a persons heart. Where as the conflict humans produce is fleshly and just causes trouble for the reasons of opinion and self-interest.
Conflict that is from the carnal nature is produced from a human's coercion of some sort...to get other people to submit to their ways and opinions for that human's sake...even if they argue their opinions stem from truth.However, in the conflict that stems from truth, human's don't have to say a word or even be present, because it is totally a work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the people for the people's sake.
1 Tim.6:5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and
destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw
yourself.
1 Cor. 3:3 For you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You
are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn't that prove you
are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren't you living like people of the
world?
Heb. 4:12 God's word is living and active. It is sharper than any
two-edged sword and cuts as deep as the place where soul and spirit meet, the
place where joints and marrow meet. God's word judges a person's thoughts and
intentions.
.
He is the Prince of Peace Who's Spirit produces peace along with all the other luscious fruits. His Holy Spirit does NOT grow conflict! In fact if we have the Holy Spirit then any conflict that we would deliberately produce stems from self-interest and the old nature, and NOT from God. If we would be speaking the truth in love however. Truly - in love...then the truth is what will naturally cause the conflict.
Gal. 5:22 But the fruits of The Spirit are
love, joy, peace, patience, sweetness, goodness, faith,
Gal. 5:20 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious...idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, rivalry, jealously,
outbursts of anger, quarrels, conflicts, factions...
Let's say you are standing in the grocery line one day and because you kindly encouraged the women in back of you to go ahead of you, she starts a conversation with you. She is thankful and is obviously open to you and so you decide to say something about the Lord to her. However, when you do she automatically gets agitated and turns...then as she leaves after paying she turns around and gives you a sour look.
This is a natural conflict that occurred because of the truth she was faced with...like a clash of light with darkness...which can produce good things down the line in her life because she was confronted with the truth! It was not at all because you were negligent or trying to produce conflict...as you spoke the truth with love!
Now, how about if you were in line and the person behind you had only a couple of things and you had many more items then she had. She is obviously anxious, but you kind of ignore her, but then you figure you better get your witness in for the week, so you turn to her and try to push a track into her hand and tell her that she better get right with God because the end is near.
Then you turn and pay....and as you are on your way out you glance over and see her roll her eyes and shack her head while fumbling to get her items on the belt without dropping them. In this instance I can say that I doubt it was the truth that caused her discomfort.
I remember what a Pastor once said, "We have to learn to be good at being wrong." David in the Psalms was called a man after God's own heart because he was good at being wrong.(Psalm 51) His fight to keep his sin from being exposed was fairly short lived, and then he was open and honest about his wrong doings...which makes me think he knew something about God that many of us don't. We hide and blame and get defensive...then argue and become self-righteous, all to cover up that we are insecure about the possibility that we may not be right.
Our will is quite stubborn. There are people that remind me of a 2 year old child...as I've seen two year olds hold their breath till they literally pass out! I guess I would say that the typical 2 year old is the epitome of the human nature. Do you know of any perpetual '2 year olds'?
We were born with a nature that at it's heart is self-centered. Therefore, because of pride, we have a hard time admitting that we are imperfect and very possibly wrong. This is however one of those things we must conquer in order to grow.
We have to take off the mask of pride, as it is imperative for us to humble ourselves and allow God to change the way we think, so we are OK with being an imperfect person in an imperfect body, among imperfect people in a world that is also imperfect...otherwise it will be very hard to embrace all of God's love (including loving God and neighbor as oneself), His ways and discipline...and therefore find any success in this Christian life.
Another big reason we quickly put on our mask of pride, is shame. Just as Adam and Eve ran from God and hid themselves out of disgrace, this is why we try and put up our defenses as well. However, Jesus also bore our shame and then ignored it, and by His example we can count it as nil too. Take time in Heb. 12- http://nlt.scripturetext.com/hebrews/12.htm
YES! We have His written word so we can feed on truth, the truth of God that sets us free. However, because we have a tendency to look at things very black and white as well as punitively because of the human nature we still battle with...we must read scripture in the light of Christ's life, grace and His Holy Spirit...other wise, we will have a tendency to read it as a rule book and feel condemned and shamed!
Continue to click on video if it won't start...it is not a Christian made video, but I love the pics.
Luke 18:17 - "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."
Matthew 18:1 - "At
that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the
kingdom of heaven?"
Matthew 18: - "I assure you," He said, "unless you are converted
and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven".
The above scripture in Luke is speaking about eagerly accepting and trusting Christ as an innocent child would. An adult would worry about words, about the theology and if they 'did it right'...when a child just opens their heart to God.
Then in Matthew it is fairly obvious that God does desire that those who are converted be encouraged to keep the attitude of a child afterward. This verse is very similar in all translations "unless a person is converted and become like children". Therefore, if one looks at the whole picture, God wants for us to come to Him as a child (In Luke)...stay that way for a time and then desire the pure milk of the word to grow on! (Not the heavy theology...but instead the very basics. Steeping them in the gospel and learning about taking Christ's yoke upon them and walking with Him...obeying the New Commandment...prayer and fellowship, and etc)
Click on the following URL to see the whole chapter of Mark 4, which shows the importance of helping the 'soil' of the people we are sharing with to be receptive. > When the unsaved person is shown the love of Christ while they are yet sinners softens and prepares the soil to receive Him. And then new converts stay receptive when caring and adequate discipleship is given...then what happens when the soil has not been cultivated. Sadly I've seen this happen all too often, especially at an alter-call where people are going up to the alter alone, and then there is no sincere follow-up afterwards.
Baby Christians need to be encouraged to not rush through the process by those who are discipling them and are familiar with what the bible says...as this stage of Christian growth must be important or God would not have included it. Successfully walking through this process with a baby Christian will help their walk with Christ and their productivity immeasurably!
Having taught for close to 35 years in early childhood education I can tell you a few important general characteristics that uniquely separate how young children typically act and think as compared to any other age. Please read through them (below in red) and even though I will make some comparisons to the newly saved, I am not going to comment or leave scriptures (in black) on all of them, leaving some for you to fill in.
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**Young children are concrete thinkers. Whatever they see, feel, hear and.experience is real to them. There are no layers to anything... what you see is what you get.
This is a great attribute for a young Christian! To be encouraged to 'just believe' what the scriptures say! To not analyze so much, which is our problem! We only know the world and how the carnal nature thinks and acts...so these ways are so familiar to us that many of the precepts in scripture that may not seem logical are pushed aside because we have not nurtured this vital characteristic -- to 'just believe' God over our own thinking! What's interesting is that this important characteristic is what helps us to mature...because those that believe God's thinking even over one's own, grow quicker because they don't just give intellectual assent to the words of scripture, but actually believe them because they know that God's ways and thoughts will often be much different than our own!
James 1:22Do what God's word says. Don't merely listen to it, or you
will fool yourselves.
Romans 11:33Oh, how great are God's riches and wisdom and knowledge!
How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!
**They are egocentric. Everything is about them. So, if their family is having problems they figure they must have done something wrong, and if they are happy they figured they must have done something to help that happen too.
**If they see something and want it, even if someone else has it, they figure it's theirs just because they want it.
**Toddlers love to explore and touch everything...which is something that helps them grow in their sensory development rapidly, which in turn helps their brain grow...and so this is really good if they are allowed to do this, but it also means they will end up touching things they ought not.
**They do not understand, or even think about yet how their actions affect others.
This is a very important one to grow out of...at least that's what scripture says! However, it is one that much of the church still has not matured in...though God even made a command that we do! This is one of the strong residual characteristics that was passed to us at the fall -- self-centeredness. Where the world revolves around you and you can only go so far in being able to feel and empathize with someone else's pain. Christians will tout the extreme importance of doing the first part of loving God, but stop there...when God commanded that we do both - love God and our neighbor AS we love ourselves! In fact this one thing impedes so much of our productivity...
2 Cor. 5:15He died for everyone so that those who receive his new
life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who
died and was raised for them.
John 13:34So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other.
Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.
**They are usually risk takers, because they don't understand consequences yet, and also spacial differences. They can't tell whether something is 2 feet high, or 4 feet.
**They are wide open to love and be loved.
**They are easily moved when someone else is hurting...and feel very guilty if they think they caused it.
**They can be very stubborn, 2 yr olds have been known to hold their breath till they actually pass out!
Mark 16:14Still later Jesus appeared to the eleven apostles while
they were eating. He put them to shame for their unbelief and because they were
too stubborn to believe those who had seen him alive.
1 Sam. 15:23Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as
bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the LORD,
he has rejected you..."
John 14:23 Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
**They easily trust...and believe what is told to them...however, if the caretaker's behavior is contrary to their words it can cause one or more arrests in a child's development...BUT if the caretaker's words and actions are congruent the outcome is and can be solid! They also learn the importance of imitating Christ.
1 Thess. 1:6 - You became imitators of us and of the Lord. In
spite of a great deal of suffering, you welcomed the word with the joy that the
Holy Spirit produces.
**Their roots are very susceptible, so they readily soak up their experiences
**They have an exuberance to life. Everything is exciting.
**They are uninhibited, and they don't care what others think.
Matthew 18:4 - Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
**They are not yet tainted, so they don't have the fears and hurts that hold us back.
**They don't mind getting their hands dirty.
**When they were told God is real they will believe it, so their faith is strong and their heart open. I've seen young children accept Christ and it is very apparent they truly did! Christianity is actually simple enough for a child to understand the very basics...it is adults that make it seem more complicated.
**Therefore they usually are very open to spiritual things. Many people have said that it was when they were children that they saw an angel.
**They bond with their first caretakers unless those caretakers do something to deliberately cause harm, which can cause children to resist bonding later on.
**They need care, because they can easily be deceived. However, they can easily get discouraged too if the caretaker is not gracious with their mistakes and child-like thinking.
**Their senses are more acute and reactions more dramatic.
*They naturally know when they are full. It is the adults that teach them to not 'listen' to their body's senses and to finish their plate or to over eat. However, they naturally will be hungry...although it ebs and flows according to how fast they are growing and other factors. Therefore, they should not be pushed too hard to eat so it stays a natural thing and not forced...which can cause problems later.
1 Peter 2:2- Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
**They can usually tolerate cold much easier...in fact the kids that live in colder climates are typically healthier. We are the ones that insist on them wearing even more heavier clothing than necessary.
Please feel free to copy this if you want to write in your own answers.
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