What Children Can Teach Us

"Every child you encounter is a divine appointment." {Wess Stafford}

"Only where children gather is there any real chance of fun." {Mignon McLaughlin}

"There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children." {Nelson Mandela}

"Children are our most valuable resource." {Herbert Hoover}

"Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven." {Henry Ward Beecher}

That's just a small sampling of the many, many things have been said about children. Whether you are a parent, a grandparent, or someone who has interacted with children in various settings, you know how trying children can be for your sanctification (*wink*). Although children certainly can be a handful, there are a great many things we "older folks" can learn from them.

Scripture has plenty to say about this.

Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

{Psalm 127:3}

Children are blessings from the Lord, and are to be treated accordingly. If God has entrusted children to your care, He has given you the privilege of being responsible for the lives - both physical and spiritual - of those little blessings.

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. 

{Proverbs 22:6}

If you are a parent, you are responsible for your child's growth and development - physical, emotional, spiritual, and in every other aspect. Yes, this includes training and instruction, but they also learn by example and observation. You know the saying: "Actions speak louder than words." Children are watching you and learning from you, even if you aren't always conscious of it. Someone has said, "Children are great imitators. So give them something great to imitate."

Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. 

{Proverbs 22:15}

Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. 

{Proverbs 23:13}

A child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame. 

{Proverbs 29:15}

Children are fallen, sinful people, just like we "older folks" are. Discipline is a necessary aspect of biblical parenthood in order to raise children who fear God, obey authority and respect others. However, this does not justify abuse or neglect. It must be done in such a way that the child understands it is being done out of love for him/her.

Jesus had much to say regarding children.

At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, ad said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. {Matthew 18:1-6}

Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. {Mark 10:15}

Children have a simple, humble faith and trust in those they love (parents, grandparents, older siblings, etc). They have a confident expectation that those who love them will take care of them. That's the kind of faith Jesus tells us is part of the process of salvation.

Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. {Matthew 19:13-14}

And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them. {Mark 10:13-14, 16}

Jesus chided the disciples for trying to keep the children away from Him. They were just as important to Him as the adults He was ministering to.

Children bring a tremendous amount of joy and laughter wherever they go, and that certainly is a blessing. God manifests His sense of humor through the amusing things children do and say. Some of the funniest things I've ever heard have come from the mouths of children.

When children are selfish and/or disobedient, it can certainly try our patience as we seek to discourage such behavior, discipline them for it (when necessary), and try to encourage obedient, others-focused behavior. Such times serve as a sobering rebuke about how we treat God and/or respond to His commands sometimes.

A Little Child

The nature of a little child, I simply could not see

How such a nature could become a part of me.

The pride of years would never let my Savior to the Throne,

But crowned me King and kept me where I reigned, just I alone.

This pride, oh, what a horrid thing! Kept me from bending low,

So, through the Kingdom's door, you see, I simply could not go.

Thus all the beauty of His realm was on the other side;

Oh, what I missed, oh, what I lacked, because of my old pride!

Then, oh the wonder of that day, I saw what I should do;

I said, "Lord Jesus, I step down and give the throne to You."

And so when I by faith obeyed, a miracle of grace,

Within this haughty heart of mine, that moment did take place.

For all at once I knew, I felt humble and meek and mild,

And saw that God had given me the nature of a child.

Now, would I, dare I, could I try once more the Kingdom's door?

I longed to, yet it looked so low, so near unto the floor.

But beckoned by the pierced Hand which had removed my sin,

Upon my knees, now weak and small a child, I entered in.

I entered in, oh bless the day, I entered through that door,

And all His Kingdom lay ahead for children to explore.

And so, diminished as I am, stripped of all else but grace,

I live, a trusting little child, and look upon His face.

And now there is but One supreme who rules and wears the crown,

And that great miracle began the moment I stepped down.

Now it's your turn: do you have any additional thoughts or insights? What other lessons can you think of that the Lord has taught you through children? Leave a comment below!

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Satan's Lies vs. God's Truth

When you are in the valley of depression and/or discouragement, your mind is weak and particularly prone to believe Satan's lies, and he knows this. Satan uses our times in the valley (when we're discourage or depressed) to ensnare us in the bondage of self-absorption. Self-absorption takes your focus off of God and His truth and onto yourself. That's why it is extremely important that you replace Satan's lies with God's truth as soon as they come to your mind. You need to remind yourself of the truths you have neglected in order to reaffirm them in your mind and heart to avoid this trap and experience victory. 

What better way to combat Satan's lies and remind yourself of God's truths than with Truth itself, the Word of God?

Below is a list of some of the most common lies Satan uses to try to ensnare us. I have paired each lie with at least one verse to help remind you of what God has to say about that particular lie. 


Satan's Lie: "No one cares, including God."
God's Truth: Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. {Jeremiah 31:3}

Satan's Lie: "I'm no good."
God's Truth: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. {2 Corinthians 5:17}

Satan's Lie: "I'm all alone." 

God's Truth: I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. {Hebrews 15:3b}

Satan's Lie: "I don't need God."

God's Truth: I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. {John 15:5}

Satan's Lie: "This problem is beyond help."

God's Truth: Is any thing too hard for the LORD? {Genesis 18:14}

Satan's Lie: "Nothing will ever change."

God's Truth: ...to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. {Isaiah 61:3}

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. {Psalm 30:5b}

Satan's Lie: "I should be afraid of the unknown."

God's Truth: For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. {Jeremiah 29:11}

Satan's Lie: "These feelings of hopelessness will never change."

God's Truth: Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: {Psalm 42:5, 11}

The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. {Lamentations 3:24}

Satan's Lie: "I hate people."

God's Truth: If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. {I John 4:20-21}

Satan's Lie: "God is angry with me."

God's Truth: The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy ... For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. {Psalm 103:8, 14}

Satan's Lie: "No one understands me."

God's Truth: Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite. {Psalm 147:5}

Satan's Lie: "I hate life."

God's Truth: Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. {John 14:6}

Do you have any additional lies and/or truths to add to this list? Feel free to leave a comment below.

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Achan's Sin

What is the definition of sin?


The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines sin as "transgression of the law of God." The American Heritage College Dictionary defines sin as “deliberate disobedience to the known will of God.”  


With those definitions in mind, let's take a look at a story from the Old Testament that illustrates these definitions of sin. 

But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel. {Joshua 7:1}

 When the Israelites were about to take the city of Jericho, God gave specific instructions that no Israelite should take any spoils for himself, yet Achan did so. He gave into temptation and deliberately disobeyed the known will of God.

Next stop: Ai, an easy victory.

Or was it?

And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Bethaven, on the east side of Bethel, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai. And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few. So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai. And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water. {Joshua 7:2-5}

Achan's sin cost Israel victory at Ai. Many innocent lives were lost, and the conquest of Canaan was delayed.

And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads. And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan! O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies! For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name? 

And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.  

Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you. In the morning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the LORD taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family which the LORD shall take shall come by households; and the household which the LORD shall take shall come man by man. And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel. {Joshua 7:6-15}  

 Notice what God said when Joshua asked him why this happened: "Israel has sinned." Not "Achan," "Israel." One man's decision to transgress the law of God tainted the entire nation.  

So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken: And he brought the family of Judah; and he took the family of the Zarhites: and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man; and Zabdi was taken: And he brought his household man by man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me. 

And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.           {Joshua 7:16-21}

 What happened after Achan came clean?

So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it. And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD. 

And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor. 

And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones. And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day. {Joshua 7:22-26}

 Achan's sin cost him not just his own life, but the lives of his family and livestock as well.

We are no better than Achan; we are capable of the same sins he committed - giving in to the temptation of the lust of the eyes and deliberately disobeying the known will of God. The difference is, we are sinners saved by the grace of God. Because of Christ’s atonement for the sins of mankind, we no longer must atone for our sins in the sense that Achan did. The Old Testament law no longer applies because Christ’s blood covers our sins. Even though we are free from the burden of paying for our sins ourselves, this does not mean we are free from the consequences that result from our sin.

{ You can choose your sin, but you cannot choose the consequences. Rand Hummel }

The next time you are tempted to sin, remember Achan. The spoils he took seemed so appealing at the time, but they ended up hurting his nation and resulted in the death of innocent Israelites, his family, and himself. The next time doing wrong looks so appealing, think about what taking that path might entail for yourself and for those close to you.

It just might save your life.

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Pride Slips In

It starts small, even cute (according to some). The more you feed it, the bigger it gets. It grows to a size where your friends and family express concern that it could be dangerous, but you shrug it off and don't think much of it. It seems harmless enough to you.

Then, one day...

it consumes you.

No, I'm not talking about the large furry felines you see at the top of this post, although they do provide an excellent visual aid for the subject matter at hand (thanks, kitties!).

Perhaps you were forced to adopt an independent, survival-oriented, self-sufficient lifestyle as a child in order to survive. Perhaps you were born with a natural bent towards an independent, self-reliant attitude. Whatever the reason, it is now operating out of choice and habit. It's hard for most of us to come to terms with this; we tend to live in denial of our pride, which makes it difficult to spot in ourselves. 


We don't like thinking of pride as a sin - a sin that is so easy to slip in to our lives without us taking much notice. It starts small and gets bigger every time we feed our egos, our self-worth, our feelings of complete independence... you name it. The larger it gets, the harder it is to control. Before you know it, you can be caught in the overgrown jaws of your own pride. 


An independent spirit says, "I can take care of myself;" "I want to do it my way;" "I don't need anyone." It's telling God He isn't needed when we literally cannot live without Him.

For in him we live, and move, and have our being ... for we are also his offspring.             {Acts 17:28}

 God calls this independent spirit pride. Pride is the greatest obstacle to humility. Pride tells you that you can live without God's help and leadership. Pride willfully opposes God. Pride willfully makes the choice to "do it my way." Pride doesn't want to depend on anyone, including God. Pride feels self-sufficient, "I can make it on my own!" Pride focuses on my pain, my needs, my desires, my expectations,... me, me, me. Pride centers on self. Pride is an obstacle to knowing God, listening to God, and loving God.

When pride cometh, then cometh shame: {Proverbs 11:2}

 In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: {Proverbs 14:3}

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. {Proverbs 14:12}

The LORD will destroy the house of the proud: {Proverbs 15:25} 

 Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: {Proverbs 16:5}

  Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. {Proverbs 16:18}

  A man's pride shall bring him low: {Proverbs 29:23} 

Take some time to evaluate your lifestyle (you may want to seek the help of a mentor or parent). Is it focused primarily on others and their needs, or is it focused primarily on you and your needs? How has this pattern of living affected your relationship with God?

Ask God to open your eyes to the sin of pride in your life. Remember: "it's not about me."

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