Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>
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The Burning Bush Devotional
01.15.03
Like A Little Child
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, 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. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. - Matthew 18:1-5.
Jerry Jones and Bill Parcells are as some writers have noted self-made men in love with their maker. The length of Parcells tenure as the coach of the Dallas Cowboys is definitely in doubt. Can their two gigantic egos withstand the constant collisions they will inevitably have? We may laugh at Jones and Parcells but in the American mind many envy their independence and self-reliance. It is part of the Code of the West to be self-reliant. To be able to stand on your own two feet and live life without anyone having to help you out is an admirable accomplishment. Being independent and self-reliant are traits that many are taught from the time they are born.
But Jesus says what?
unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. We are to become like a child. One of the characteristics of children is that they are completely dependent and they realize it. Youll never hear a five-year-old child saying, Im a self-made, independent child who makes it on my own. Youll never hear anything like that from a child. Instead youll hear things like Im hungry, Will you get that for me? Help me, and, Will you carry me?
In the Kingdom of God we too need to become like little children - children who are completely dependent upon their God. The apostle Paul tells us,
we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead,
who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us (II Corinthians 1:9-10).
We are to be disciples and part of the definition of a true disciple is being dependent upon your teacher. Instead, of being self-made men and women we must instead depend upon God for everything. A frequent statement made by Bill Clinton was that if you see a turtle on a fence post you know somebody put it there. Alex Haley the author of Roots and many others have said much the same thing. Haley says, Every time Im tempted to think, arent I marvelous? Look at all Ive accomplished! I look at the picture I have on the wall of a turtle on a fence post and remember how this turtle - me - got up on that post. Becoming holy, becoming great in the Kingdom of God by ourselves is about as possible as a turtle climbing a fence post. The fact is that we cannot do it on our own. We need His help. We must depend on Him just like a little child.
To live the overcoming abundant Christian life we must reach a place of surrender and absolute dependence upon our God. We must become like little children trusting Him for every detail of our lives.
Copyright © 2002. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the
devotionals on a non-profit basis with source credited.
Printed copies of the "Addictions Kit for Substance Abuse" and "The Never Give Up! Devotional Collection" are available. For details go to the devotional archive page
http://www.theburningbush.org/33.html
If this devotional is a blessing to you, maybe you have a friend or family member who would like to start receiving it. Subscribing is easy. Send a blank email to burningbushdevo-subscribe@MyInJesus.com or to subscribe to the html version send a blank email to burningbushhtml-subscribe@welovegod.org If you desire to receive a text only version of the devotional you can make the change yourself by going to www.injesus.com click "Click Here" in the upper right hand corner login with your email address and password click the My InJesus tab at the top of the page click the My Profile in the My InJesus box on the left click Pure text.
If I can help you in any way please contact me at wrather@logixonline.net
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Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>
The Burning Bush Devotional
01.15.03
Like A Little Child
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, 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. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. - Matthew 18:1-5.
Jerry Jones and Bill Parcells are as some writers have noted self-made men in love with their maker. The length of Parcells tenure as the coach of the Dallas Cowboys is definitely in doubt. Can their two gigantic egos withstand the constant collisions they will inevitably have? We may laugh at Jones and Parcells but in the American mind many envy their independence and self-reliance. It is part of the Code of the West to be self-reliant. To be able to stand on your own two feet and live life without anyone having to help you out is an admirable accomplishment. Being independent and self-reliant are traits that many are taught from the time they are born.
But Jesus says what?
unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. We are to become like a child. One of the characteristics of children is that they are completely dependent and they realize it. Youll never hear a five-year-old child saying, Im a self-made, independent child who makes it on my own. Youll never hear anything like that from a child. Instead youll hear things like Im hungry, Will you get that for me? Help me, and, Will you carry me?
In the Kingdom of God we too need to become like little children - children who are completely dependent upon their God. The apostle Paul tells us,
we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead,
who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us (II Corinthians 1:9-10).
We are to be disciples and part of the definition of a true disciple is being dependent upon your teacher. Instead, of being self-made men and women we must instead depend upon God for everything. A frequent statement made by Bill Clinton was that if you see a turtle on a fence post you know somebody put it there. Alex Haley the author of Roots and many others have said much the same thing. Haley says, Every time Im tempted to think, arent I marvelous? Look at all Ive accomplished! I look at the picture I have on the wall of a turtle on a fence post and remember how this turtle - me - got up on that post. Becoming holy, becoming great in the Kingdom of God by ourselves is about as possible as a turtle climbing a fence post. The fact is that we cannot do it on our own. We need His help. We must depend on Him just like a little child.
To live the overcoming abundant Christian life we must reach a place of surrender and absolute dependence upon our God. We must become like little children trusting Him for every detail of our lives.
Copyright © 2002. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the
devotionals on a non-profit basis with source credited.
Printed copies of the "Addictions Kit for Substance Abuse" and "The Never Give Up! Devotional Collection" are available. For details go to the devotional archive page
http://www.theburningbush.org/33.html
If this devotional is a blessing to you, maybe you have a friend or family member who would like to start receiving it. Subscribing is easy. Send a blank email to burningbushdevo-subscribe@MyInJesus.com or to subscribe to the html version send a blank email to burningbushhtml-subscribe@welovegod.org If you desire to receive a text only version of the devotional you can make the change yourself by going to http://www.injesus.com click "Click Here" in the upper right hand corner login with your email address and password click the My InJesus tab at the top of the page click the My Profile in the My InJesus box on the left click Pure text.
If I can help you in any way please contact me at wrather@logixonline.net
Subscribe to the Burning Bush Prayer Group. Send and receive prayer
requests to over 300 members. Send a blank email
to: BBPG-subscribe@MyInJesus.com
Subscribe to the Burning Bush Inspirational Group. Send and receive
inspirational material to over 100 members. Send a blank email
to: bbinspire-subscribe@MyInJesus.com
Subscribe to the Burning Bush Restoration and Recovery Group for those with
addictions or recovering from addictions. Receive devotionals and
inspirational material directed toward those with addictions. Send and
receive prayer requests. Over 200 members. Send a blank email
to: tbbrr-subscribe@MyInJesus.com
