The Children of God

We are called the children of God
The date planner
Did your parents ever keep a datebook? Perhaps an agenda or they knew the upcoming events and plans for your family life. God knows the upcoming events. He has plans for your life. You may not be aware of the plans, you might not yet know what you will need for the plans. But God as your heavenly Father, he is well aware and ready for everything that will fill your life book. In Matthew 24, Jesus is talking about events that have yet happened at a time over 2000 years ago. Many verses speak of Jesus talking about his time before he came to Earth, this was a planned event. Purposed for a specific time to accomplish the fulfillment of prophecy and the enlightenment of his people, the children of God.

Little children
It is too often wondered and not quite accurately understood why Jesus in Matthew 18, purposely pointed out that the children were the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. It wasn't those children in particular, and it wasn't children in general, it was HIS children, the you and me, the children of God. It was a type of parable in essence. We are the greatest in heaven. Yes, I think it was literal in the sense that children are trusting, they have childlike faith, they are loving and simple. None of the adult trappings to tie down their life. He wanted to show the need to have the best of the childlike qualities, that grow us and keep us as his people. He is our father which is in heaven. He gave us natural fathers out of compassion, just as he gave us judges.

The body of Christ
As the children of God, you make up the parts of the body of Christ (Romans 12:5). This is very much like when you were a child and had chores that needed to be done. You were given something to do, and generally there was some reward attached to the accomplishment. God cares for us in the natural and understands that we are human in body, thus he rewards us with the earthly blessings in life to help us to maintain our course onto our heavenly reward. He knows that we are childlike in that we need these things in life, be it material blessings, or the gifts of our family to help us to stay the course of the work assigned to us. Our chores on Earth. Our chore is to maintain, preserve and act in the fullest capacity as the body of Christ, with the blessing of the gifts of the spirit to accomplish this.

Fruits of the Spirit
This is one of the most underutilized behavioral maps to being the Christlike child that we have. In Galatians 5:22-23 we are given the nine traits or qualities that represent the fruit of the spirit. These qualities should be the main building blocks of who we are from childhood. They are the Christ within us that make us like him. And who doesn't want to be the best of their father? Too often this scripture is overlooked as something for the adult Christian reader. It is actually part of the childlike ways that we should be trained throughout childhood and taught to maintain our entire adult life. True, if we haven't fulfilled that Christ perfection, then as adults we should emulate these fruits, practice them and continually work to make them part of who we are as his children.

Love
The greatest commandment that God gave us was to love one another (John 13:34-35). This is something that a child does pretty well. Have you ever noticed that small children are very much like puppies? When you come in the door, you are greeted with love and affection as if you were the only person in the world, the most important only person. How great would it be if we could give this loving affection to everyone we touched in life? This enthusiastic love that bubbled with such joy and brought a contagious smile to every life that we encountered. The ugliness that happens in life can block this from happening. Be it anger, grudges, hurt feelings, or sometimes we don't even remember a good reason why we lost that generous loving feeling. As his children, his little ones, that represent what we are taught in our fathers house, we must above all else have loving compassion one to another.



Be the Children of God
Children of God have to realize that we are called out of darkness (1 Peter 2:9), into our position that we are given. We are not called the Adults of God, because adults carry baggage, they are set in ways that may not truly emulate the fruits of the spirit. Adults have difficulty maintaining the faith, hope and charity. Little children when knowledgeable of a reward tied to their actions, can be the most faithful, hopeful and charitable creatures on the planet. It could halfway remind you of a comedic script. Brother and sister could be having a fight to end all fights, but when promised they will have candy or go to the park or some other enjoyable pastime or activity based on their behavior, they miraculously become model children. These are the children of God. No matter how much your physical earthly bodies grow or change, maintain that childlike grace of God. We are here to be on Gods plan, to be the physical body of Christ, fulfilling the fruits of the spirit, loving above all else, being the children of God

Let him that hath an ear hear.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

Power in the Blood - Lazareth

John 11:35-44

35 Jesus wept.
36 Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!
37 And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?
38 Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.
39 Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.
40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.



**Until his return, continue in the service of Christ**

Power in the Blood - Manna & Quail

Exodus 16:13-15

13 And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.
14 And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground.
15 And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat.



**Until his return, continue in the service of Christ**

Power in the Blood - Water into Wine

This will be the beginning of 12 part series on Power in the Blood. We will review miracles throughout the old and new testaments.

John 2:6-11
6 And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.
7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.
8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.
9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,
10 And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.
11 This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.


**Until his return, continue in the service of Christ**

Let no man despise thy youth...end

1 Timothy 4:12
Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.


- in purity
1 Timothy 5:2
The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.
(also see Purify and Pure)

Acts 15:9
And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

Let no man despise thy youth...cont.

1 Timothy 4:12
Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.


- in faith,

Hebrews 11:1-3
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.
3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Matthew 17:20
And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

2 Corinthians 5:7
(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)


**Until his return, continue in the service of Christ**

Let no man despise thy youth...cont.

1 Timothy 4:12
Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

- in spirit,
Galatians 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.


**Until his return, continue in the service of Christ**