Grains of Sand

Pixabay The Gospel and the young. However you define the “children” Jesus refers to in Matthew 18:1-14, the result is the same—don’t cause the young to stumble in their faith, or else! Jesus was responding to a question put to Him by His disciples: “ Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? ” (18:1) Considering some of the other discussions they had among themselves I suspect they wanted Jesus to affirm that they, for the sacrifice of following Him, qualified for the position. Instead Jesus takes a young child and uses the simplicity and fervour of a child’s faith as an illustration of who will be the greatest in the kingdom. That provides a launch pad for this: “ But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea ” (18:6). Yikes! This leads to an even more graphic description of what is necessary to protect the budding faith of the young. ...

Google Images Last night I watched White House Down —for the second time. I had seen it on the big screen last year and when I discovered it was on television I decided to watch it again. Throughout the movie I found myself thinking, “This can’t be the same show! I don’t remember this!” Granted, my memory isn’t always the best, but honestly, though there were parts that I did remember having seen, most of it seemed new to me. But I also caught myself paying closer attention this time to the details. Perhaps in the back of my mind I did remember the story and now, months later, I had enough background tucked away back there to be able to focus on the nuances. Though there is a limit to the depth of most fiction, whether it be on the screen or in some other form, I would probably find something new in the movie should I ever watch it again. That same kind of thing happens when it comes to the Scriptures. This time we have a true story with depths that we can only begin to fathom. But...

Kids Sunday School Place — Google Images The writer of Chronicles takes three chapters to describe the reign of Rehoboam, who succeeded Solomon as king. He starts out badly. We might think it was a rookie mistake, something a young man without experience might do. But Rehoboam was forty-one when he became king (12:13) so he was no kid when he chose to listen to his buddies instead of the wiseer, older heads who had advised him to be nice to his people if he expected them to serve him. Rehoboam also ended badly, leading his people into idolatry. Though he humbled himself before the Lord and avoided total destruction, his reign was described this way: " He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord " (12:14, NIV). In the middle of the story there is a bright spot, no doubt a part to which the writer refers when he says: " Indeed, there was some good in Judah " in 2 Chronicles 12:12 (NIV). It seems that things in the northern kingdom of Israel we...

Genesis 2 Before calendars were invented, God put His into effect. Before commandments became “official” because they were written down, God gave some basic rules. The history of the beginning of the world given for us in Genesis One denotes “morning and evening” to mark off days. When we get to Genesis Two we find God “resting” from His creative work and making that day of rest holy, set apart, sanctified, reserved for the purpose of rest rather than work. “ By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing, so on the seventh day he rested from all his work, And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. ” (Genesis 2:2, 3, NIV) Later God would issue a command about this day of rest but from the beginning He set the example by resting—even though God doesn’t need a rest. This rest didn’t mean that God abandoned “essential services.” The Jews would later make it impossible for their people ...

“ I will search for the lost and bring back the strays, I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy, I will shepherd the flock with justice ” —Ezekiel 34:16, NIV. One of the complaints that God had against His people was directed toward those who were the spiritual leaders of the community. They had failed to care for those for whom they were responsible. Their concern had been only for themselves and their own agenda. As a result the flock had gone astray. God pronounced judgment on them and announced that He would personally be their Shepherd and look after them as He had expected that His appointed shepherds would. The sheep themselves would not escape notice for among them were those who needed to be corrected as well. They had also had a hand in leading the others astray. To be the spiritual leaders of God’s people is a fearsome responsibility. Jesus rebuked the spiritual leaders of His day in the strongest terms for lea...