Sunday Mornin' Hope : The innocent and the Glory

Mt 7:11 -
"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!



Mt 18:3 -
and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.




God gives us children on loan to teach us about His heart. He shows us that He is more generous than we are. We love giving our children whatever they want (at times). Back in the late sixties our parents took us to get shoes. With six well behaved (yeah right) children and two parents in one shoe store....I'm surprised we got shoes with all of our antics and all at once. My brothers were getting their PF Flyers tennis shoes. But I wanted something different and probably alot more expensive. The Beatles were very popular and someone coined 'Beatle boots' for a certain style of shoe. These were black leather high tops with red zebra cloth inside. I just HAD to get these. I probably deserved a spanking, but I got these.

I'm still surprised my parents bought these for me. My brothers said I was their pet. Maybe they were right. I guess those were a part of them 'Good ole Days'. We also wore matching orange shirts and matching everything. I guess that helped them keep us together at places. We have the super 8 films to prove it.



Children are so innocent and teach us constantly about how God looks at us. They say the funniest things at times without meaning to. My wife has a daycare in our home and watches five children through the week. Wed's morning I had a little two year old girl on my lap and we were going through a numbers book (five fish, six apples, etc). Halfway through the book I felt a rumble on my lap. She looked up and said "I farted on you." I laughed relieved "Yes I heard that." We both got a laugh out of it. God is so cool to let us have these experiences. Most of the time we're too busy to enjoy the moments. I'm trying to learn to slow down and enjoy the simple things.


Tonight at Walmart we had to get some cakes. My wife decided she needed to look for shirts for our daughter. So Judah and I went one direction and they went another. We decided to make a mission of hiding from them and sneak as close as possible. Peeking over the dress racks and around other stuff, we got almost next to them. It's always interesting to hear your wife and daughter talk. It's not like guys. Judah found one of those huge balls in the clothes aisle so we played volleyball for about five minutes over by the underwear racks. At the checkout I dared him to see if he could fit in the sacking hooks. He climbed in there and I gave him a short ride. We had a great time and got those large boxes of Whoppers, Milk Duds, and Flips. They're supposed to be good for you, right. This week take some time and get 'out of the box' of normal behavior. God did that with Moses in Exodus 24:



1
Then He said to Moses, "Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and seventy of the elders of Israel, and you shall worship at a distance. 2 "Moses alone, however, shall come near to the LORD, but they shall not come near, nor shall the people come up with him." 3 Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of the LORD and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, "All the words which the LORD has spoken we will do!" 4 Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. Then he arose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 He sent young men of the sons of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to the LORD. 6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7 Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!" 8 So Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, "Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD has made with you
in accordance with all these words." 9 Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10 and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. 11 Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they saw God, and they ate and drank.



That is one of the coolest scriptures in the Bible. God wanted to meet with Moses and the leaders while out in the desert. So God had them come out and climb this mountain. Halfway up there was a landing of sorts. They prepared a picnic and God arrived riding this dark blue clear rock. He could've been in a fire in a bush or descended by lightning strikes. Instead He surfed down on a flat blue stone. I just think that's way cool. They saw God and weren't destroyed. Maybe God told them some awesome stuff about their journey.

Just like you enjoy your children and grandchildren, God enjoys spending time with those that love Him. He desires time with us. He's not a distant God that doesn't hear the cries of His people. He has a plan and speaks to us every time we open His word. A few years ago I was at a church in Missouri. We were music/youth pastors volunteering. I came in the afternoon one Monday and the staff was acting strange. They said a stranger came in and told them that God was in the sanctuary. They smiled politely. Then she said it a few more times till they got up and went into the gym/sanctuary. At the door they all fell face first to the floor. After 45 minutes the glory of God lifted. I asked them if they saw anything or asked anything. They all looked blank "All we could think was 'we are undone'." God is a 'rewarder of those who dilligently seek Him.'

Take some time this week to seek God's face and spend time walking in His presence. If you seek Him, you will find Him, when you "search for Him with all your heart". Enjoy His presence like you enjoy those children. Maybe that's God's face in that little child. Have a great ride this week and remember I'm praying for you.

Good one. Thanks.