Luke 18:17 - Child-like Faith

“Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” ~ Luke 18:17

Have you ever met somebody who has a child-like faith? A person who just seems to believe in God without questioning?

I remember a friend from grade 1 who firmly believed that raisins were made from dead flies because her brother told her so. She trusted her brother without questioning him at all.

Our faith in God should be of a similar kind. We should have a child-like faith that God exists, that God only wants the best for us and that God is in control of everything.

Naturally we should question everything that teachers of God's word say, and we should be weary of false teachers and prophets, but we need to be sure in God's word as we read it. Trust it and have faith in him.

Jesus himself said that if we do not receive the kingdom of God like a little child, full of child-like belief and faith, we shall not enter it.

Trust God unconditionally. Love God unconditionally. And receive him like a little child.

The Persistent Widow

This morning while reading Luke 18, I came across The parable of the persistent widow.  It brought my mind back to another blog post I made over a year ago.  since I have many more readers now than I did then, I would like to bring your attention to that blog post.

As an advanced note.  God did move the chess pieces into positions at exactly the correct time.  My prayer was answered in ways I could never have imagined at that time.  I wrote the blog post in May 2011.  He answered the first part of my prayer in June 2011 (work-related).  He answered the 2nd part of the prayer in November 2011 (heart-related).  He then answered the third part in April 2012 (home-related).  I am still waiting for him to answer the 4th and 5th parts.  I have no doubt in my mind God will answer all 5 parts of the prayer, but only when his timing is absolutely perfect.


Without further delay.  Here is the link to:

God's Will vs. Relentless Prayer

Luke 17:26-35 - What will you be doing?

²⁶ “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. ²⁷ People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

²⁸ “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. ²⁹ But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

³⁰ “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. ³¹ On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. ³² Remember Lot’s wife! ³³ Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it. ³⁴ I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. ³⁵ Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.”

Luke 17:26-35

This is a short post today.  But just ponder about this.  When Jesus comes back… where will you be and what will you be doing.  If he came right now, would you be ready?  Keep asking yourself this week.  If God came back now, would he find me glorifying his name?

Luke 12:15 – Greed

Then he said to them, “Watch out!  Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” ~ Luke 12:15

Greed (noun) - Intense and selfish desire for something, esp. wealth, power, or food.

The above verse is the one that stood out for me while reading my Bible this morning.  We live in a greedy society.  People are selfish and think only of themselves and their wealth and their power.

We live in a society where people are looking for a get rich quick scheme, where people won’t do anything out of the goodness of their hearts.  People are always looking for a way to make money from something.

Jesus warned against greed of all kinds, because there is more to life than your possessions.  For all you know you could die from an aeroplane crashing into your house at 2am in the morning, or in a car accident on the way to work.  We don’t know when God is going to call us home.  What is left?  Your children may benefit from your possessions, but because they didn’t have to work for them like you did, will they appreciate them?

I think about the problems in South Africa.  People in government positions drive around in brand new BMW’s and Mercedes Benz, but their neighbours, the people they grew up with, still sit in the rural villages without indoor plumbing or electric lights.  That is greed.  Greed for wealth and greed for power.

How am I better than these people though?  What do I give back?  People point fingers at government officials, but what are we doing to help the community we live in?  How many of us will go down to the park and start picking up the litter, then use our own fuel to take it to the garbage dump or recycling centre?  How many of us will volunteer at a disadvantaged school and teach the children to knit, sew or do woodwork?  How many of us cannot do these things to help because we are greedy about our time, the one thing we all have?

I am strongly against just giving something for nothing, because if a person get’s something for nothing then it won’t be looked after.  So offer to repaint the rural school, but get the children to help.  Remember the old saying “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Remember that when you give back.

This is a challenge to myself and those reading this… don’t be greedy with what you have, because you don’t know when God will call you home.

The Good Samaritan

This week, while doing my bible study, I read the story of the Good Samaritan.  If you are not familiar with the story, please read it in Luke 10:25-37.

After reading this I realised something interesting about the story for the first time.  No history was given of the man who had been robbed and left at the roadside.  This man could have been a robber himself, or a beggar, regular Joe, Nobleman, or king.  Nothing is said about this man.

The Good Samaritan helped this man without knowing anything about him.

So often we think people are beneath our help, or we find excuses not to help the person…

“The hitchhiker could be a murderer”

“That beggar could waste the money on alcohol and cigarettes”

“Somebody else will help”

“She should go home to her parents”

“He should be in school”

“It’s none of my business”

True, it is dangerous to pick up hitchhikers, especially in certain countries, so this is something, for safety sake I wouldn’t recommend.  But what is stopping you from giving money/food to the beggar?  You don’t have to invite him into your home, you can hand him a home cooked meal through the window of your car.  You can buy him a pie from the corner cafe.  You can help in more ways than just giving money.

Then the question is, how many people in your immediate area, are in need of a good meal?  What about your children’s friends?  Do you assume that they go home to a delicious meal cooked by their mom every night?  What if they don’t?  What if their mom works all day and buys them MacDonald’s every evening?

What about the student living in the next door neighbour’s basement?  Or the widow at church?  Or the newly married couple with 2 young children and a third on the way?  When did that lady last have a meal she didn’t cook herself?

What about the couple going through marriage problems?  When last did they have an evening to themselves without needing to worry about the children?  Couldn’t you offer to babysit for an evening so they can have dinner together?

Being a good Samaritan doesn’t mean you need to pick people up off the street, take them to the hospital and then pay their medical bills too.  It can also be done in small ways.  Cooking a meal.  Babysitting.  Providing company to the elderly.

Ask yourself:

How can I be a good Samaritan today?

Readers, I want to hear from you.  In what small ways has somebody be a good Samaritan to you?  In what small ways can you be a good Samaritan to others?  Feel free to leave a comment with your good Samaritan idea's and stories.