You Have Christ on Your Face!

We are having Vacation Bible School this week. I love kids. They are so real. Have you ever noticed that little kids are very transparent? They don’t usually hide their feelings. If they are happy their face is beaming and they are bouncing around. When they are sad they frown, pout, or hide away. It’s only as we get older that we learn to mask who we are and how we feel.

A man was asked by a pastor to come to church for 4 Sundays, He was a skeptic but the pastor thought if he would come, maybe he would be convinced to accept Christ. At the end of the fourth Sunday, the man approached the pastor and said, "I have given my life to Jesus Christ."

The pastor was pleased and said, "Tell me about it."

The man looked at the pastor and said, ""Well, Pastor it wasn’t your preaching.” The man paused for a moment. He went an, "On the third Sunday morning, I saw an elderly lady fall down on the icy parking lot. I stopped to help her and I saw the radiance on her face, even in the midst of such difficulty. So I asked her what gave her life such a radiant glow and she said simply, ’If you knew my Lord Jesus Christ and felt his love in your life, you would have the same look of radiance on your face.’”

"I became a Christian," the man said, "because of the glow on that woman’s face was like a light shining into the darkness of my soul."

When’s the last time someone noticed Christ in my face?

“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”  (2 Cor 3:18 NIV)

The glory, the light, the radiance of Christ is still with us as we allow His Spirit to transform us into His likeness. As that glory, that radiance, transforms our lives, we become joyful, we want to sing praises to God for His act of deliverance, His transformation in our lives.

“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” (2 Cor 4:6 NIV)

There is a radiance, a beauty, a glory, about Christ which fills our lives with peace and contentment no matter what the circumstances. That glory gives to our lives the quiet and radiant peace which allows us to have the strength and the courage to handle all the brokenness of life.

Oh, how I want my life to be a reflection of His glory!

God Answers Our Prayers

Vacation Bible School started yesterday at our church. We had been praying and planning for weeks. We had put in hours of preparation, decorating the building, studying the lessons, learning the music, inviting families, praying that God would bring the children.

Our small church does not have a lot of children that come every week. Some Sundays we only have a handful of kids in Sunday School (yes, that really is about 5 children). We love kids and their families but we just have very few right now. So we prayed and planned. We prayed and prepared. We prayed and invited. And we prayed.

Would God answer our prayers? I know that God is able. God “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think,” and He is able to do it “according to the power that works in us.” (Ephesians 3:20). But would He? Did I really believe that? Monday morning I took my doubts and my anxieties to the Lord. I asked Him to “help me in my unbelief.” And the Lord answered. He strengthened my little faith. I prayed, “Lord, whatever you do, however many kids you send, we will thank you. We will honor you. We will surrender our lives to let you love through us. We will trust you.”

Bible School starts at 9:00am. We got to the church building at 8:00. We made sure we had at least 30 registration forms and name tags. We did some final preparations. And we waited on the Lord. The kids began to arrive: two; then three more; another little boy; a couple girls; and they kept coming in. Final tally, twenty-five children enrolled first day! Praise the Lord!

After the morning was over, after we sang all the songs, taught all the lessons, played all the games, ate all the snacks, and sent all the kids back home – I was alone in the sanctuary of the church building. I stood there amazed again at the wonderful, faithful God we serve. I thanked Him. I worshiped Him. I prayed for more of His glory.

We had a great day at VBS. I know that God will do even greater things during the rest of the week. I am trusting Him, believing Him, and loving Him.

Do you have a story about how God answered prayer?

Three Things that Make Kids Special to Jesus

At our church right now we are preparing for Vacation Bible School. I love VBS because I love children and working with children. Nothing blesses my heart more than to kneel down and to hug a child, to hold a baby in my arms, or to hear a child pray.  

Not that I am the most skilled at teaching children. The first year I taught VBS I lead the first and second grade class. I was okay at teaching the Bible story, but crafts are not my thing. We ended up with fabric paint all over me, the kids, the table, chairs, books … everything. My wife just stood there and shook her head in amazement.

Kids are cool. As Art Linkletter said, “Kids say the darnedest things.” One VBS teacher of four year olds said she was trying to write down the names of the parents of a new little boy who had come. She said, “Brian, what’s your father’s name?” He looked at her and said, “Daddy.” So she said, “What’s your mother’s name?” He said, “Mommy.” But this teacher was pretty sharp, so she thought of a way to get the information. She said, “Brian, what name does your daddy use when he calls your mommy?” Brian’s face lit up and he lowered his voice and said, “Hey, baby doll.”

In the last verses of Luke 9, as Jesus is walking along with His disciples, He gives them some life lessons. Beginning in Luke 9:46, we read:

An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all—he is the greatest.”

We know Jesus loved kids and they loved Him. We read in Mark 10 some children tried to see Jesus, but some of the disciples try to shoo them away from the busy Master. When Jesus saw this, He became agitated, even indignant. He rebuked the disciples saying, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” (Mark 10:14) Then He took the children in His arms and put His hands on them and blessed them.

What are the qualities that make children so special to Jesus? Here are three:

1. Kids Are Fun-loving. Some of us old adults have lost the joy and the laughter that ought to be a part of our lives. We have become party-poopers and fuddy-duddies. A childlike spirit loves to laugh and have fun.

2. Kids Show Total Trust. Have you noticed children don’t worry as much as adults do? Not too many children have ulcers. Children are trusting. That’s why we have to warn them to be suspicious of strangers, because of their trusting natures. When it comes to the world, you should be careful. But when it comes to God and His Word, we should have that same kind of childlike faith in God and in His promises.

3. Kids Are Completely Dependent. Little guys can’t drive and they don’t have money to buy their food or clothes. They are utterly dependent on others. As we become adults we become more independent. We can take care of our own needs and our own problems. We may get to thinking that we don’t need anybody else. Sometimes we act like we don’t even need God. I need to be like a child and realize the very next breath I take is a gift from God. The next pulse of my heart is a gift from God. Every dollar I ever earn is because God has given me the ability to work. I must recognize I am completely dependence on God.

Do you have a childlike attitude?

If you want to preregister your kids for our church’s VBS click here.