Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from an anonymous chorus of children singing … Jesus Loves the Little Sining … poignantly singing of just how much God loves children.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Matthew 18:5-6 [NLT] …
5 “And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf[a] is welcoming me. 6 But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea. …”
… Jesus loved the little children and severely warned against treating them badly.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Matthew 18:1-10 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus makes it very clear that He loved children and that we, His disciples, needed to have attitudes of faith like a child to inherit the kingdom of God.
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Reference Passage #1 [NLT] : … Matthew 19:13-15 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus rebukes [esp. v. 14] His disciples as they tried to shield him from the children; and once again (see Matt. 18 above) He showed his deep love for children.
Reference Passage #2 [NLT] : … James 1:27 [NLT] …
27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
… Our faith can only be genuine IF we have a heart to protect and provide for widows and children, especially the orphans.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Bill Crowder used an historical illustration to teach on Christians caring for children as a measure of the reality of our faith. The ODB author wrote: Thomas Barnado entered the London Hospital medical school in 1865, dreaming of life as a medical missionary in China. Barnado soon discovered a desperate need in his own front yard—the many homeless children living and dying on the streets of London. Barnado determined to do something about this horrendous situation. Developing homes for destitute children in London’s east end, Barnado rescued some 60,000 boys and girls from poverty and possible early death. Theologian and pastor John Stott said, “Today we might call him the patron saint of street kids.”
I’ve actually had people, who think of themselves as “progressive” thinkers, argue that since the Bible doesn’t condemn abortion outright that we, who call ourselves “Christian conservatives,” shouldn’t come down so harshly against it. And the argument always hinges on how one defines “children,” doesn’t it? Because if one defines an unborn fetus as an actual “CHILD,” then Jesus’ attitude and description of how we should view a “child” speaks forcefully against abortion.
In the Scriptures from Matthew 18 and 19 above, we read how Jesus rebuked anyone, including His disciples, against hindering any “CHILD” from being able to come to Him, saying that only those who came to Him so humbly as a “CHILD” will inherit the kingdom of God. So, if one defines a fetus as a “child,” as I believe it is, then we must NEVER do anything to inhibit that child from being able to come to Jesus.
The argument is really that simple!
My Prayer Today: Abba Father, … King Jesus, … May we do all we can to let the little children come to You and may we come to You with the attitude of a child. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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