Are you childlike in your faith?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
(Matthew 18:2-3 (NIV))

I pray that you have little children in your life!

There is something special about the innocence of a little child. Their smile is infectious. The sparkle in their eyes is so joyous. Their laugh is genuine. Their love is unconditional. Their trust has not been broken by the world, and their faith is still strong! They haven’t been tricked by the world or by the enemy which means that they have not grown callous and hard hearted. They have not been beaten down by the weight of sin.

No wonder Jesus said that we need to become like little children.

Think back on your childhood. Hopefully your childhood was wonderful. You probably didn’t have a care in the world. You trusted that all of your needs would be met and you spent your time being happy and filled with joy. You knew that you were loved and you knew just how to ask for the things that you needed, and probably the things that you wanted as well. You possessed a faith in the family and friends who were your whole world. They sheltered you from the evils of the world that you didn’t even know about. We should be just like this in our faith in the Lord. Can we say that we are filled with joy? Can we say that we love unconditionally? Can we say that we trust? Can we say that we are sheltered? It is my prayer to be childlike in my faith.

Are you childlike in your faith?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Innocence or sin?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.
(Matthew 19:14 (NIV))

Innocence and innocence betrayed! We were once little children in the eyes of God, innocent and very willing and eager to climb onto the lap of “Abba, Father.” Our innocence also lead to our fall from this peaceful existence into a life of sin and death. Our innocence was used against us by Satan in order to get back at God. Satan wanted to be God, and in his attempt at getting his desires, he was cast down from heaven. In his anger, he deceived humanity in our created innocence and now we are no longer innocent in the eyes of God. We are no longer those children who could sit on the lap of our “Abba, Father.”

Reading the words written in Matthew 19:14, I can’t help but wonder if Jesus was trying to tell us to come back to God as we were before the fall from grace, innocent and naive about the deceiving nature of sin. Deceit and distrust are a learned characteristic, as are honesty, truth and righteousness. We can be taught either characteristic, but, it is an attitude that actually makes us turn towards one direction or another. Little children are trusting by nature and have not learned to be wary of anything. When it comes to God, we need to trust wholeheartedly as a little child. When it comes to Satan, we must be wary of all things and have the wisdom of his ways so that we can avoid him.

Which attitude do you wish to have? Do you desire to have the innocence that God desires for you, or do you desire the wisdom of sin that Satan uses to trap? It is your choice!

Innocence or sin?

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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