Like a Dove

"and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove..." Luke 3:22

After Jesus was baptized in water, heaven opened up and the Holy Spirit came down from heaven, looking like a dove, and rested on Him. Why do you think God had the Holy Spirit look like a dove? There's another place in the Bible that talks about a dove. It was with Noah. After the rain stopped Noah opened the window of the ark and sent out a raven. The raven flew here and there until the water was dried up from the earth. The raven never came back to let Noah know what was going on. It just went on its way exploring the earth. 

Then, Noah sent out a dove, but the dove couldn't find a place to rest so she came back to the ark. The dove came back to Noah, letting him know the water was still flooded over the earth. I love how the Bible says that Noah put out his hand and took her into the ark. You can just picture Noah putting out his hand, the dove landing on it and him very gently bringing her into the ark.

The dove, like the Holy Spirit, will rest with someone who is happy to have her. The Holy Spirit has a special way to talk to us too. Just like Noah's dove. After Noah's dove came back the first time, he waited seven days and sent her out again. This time the dove returned in the evening with a freshly picked olive leaf. Noah understood what that meant--that the water was gone down from the earth. Seven days after that he sent her out again and she did not return. It was time to get ready to leave the ark! Noah learned from the dove even though she didn't speak to him in words. How helpful it is to welcome the dove and learn the language of the Holy Spirit.

See Genesis 8:6-12

Perfect?

"...Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Matthew 6:48

Do you know what it means to be perfect? If something is perfect it means that nothing is wrong with it. It means its complete or finished. It's all done and there's nothing to do to make it any better. But who is the one who decides if something is wrong or not? If you take some clay and make a vase and you finish it and feel like it came out exactly the way you wanted it to, then you think its perfect don't you? What if someone else comes along and says they think it should be a different color so they don't think its perfect, who is right? That's the problem with trying to be perfect. Everyone has their own opinion so its hard to tell who is right. The only way to be perfect is to live by God's truth--His opinion.

Truth means that something is real or right. It means its not a lie. If I tell you that the sun will rise tomorrow and it does, than I've told you the truth haven't I? But I could lie and tell you that your best friend said something mean about you when he didn't and that would not be true. The next time I tell you something you might not know if you can believe me because I might be a liar--someone who lies a lot. 

Some people think they are telling the truth but they aren't. It could be because they just don't know the truth so they make up an answer, or someone else lied to them so they are deceived. If a person believes a lie we call that being deceived. Eve believed the serpent's lie in the garden so she was deceived. That caused a horrible thing to happen and brought sin into the world. Being deceived makes your life full of problems!

God always tells the truth. He never lies and He never deceives people. He always knows the truth because He decides what truth is! You can always trust God. You can always believe what He says. He is the only one who is always right. 

The Narrow Gate

 “Enter through the narrow gate;

for the gate is wide and the way is broad

that leads to destruction, 

and there are many who enter through it. 

For the gate is small and the way is narrow

that leads to life, 

and there are few who find it." 

Matthew 7:13-14

Jesus said we should go through the narrow gate. What does He mean? He means that we shouldn't do things just because everyone else is doing them. We shouldn't follow the crowd, but follow Him. Just because your friends do something doesn't mean that you should. You will get into trouble eventually if you follow people without seeking the Lord for yourself.

You might get all kinds of people telling you what you should do and what you should think. When you watch television or go on the internet there will be advertisements and commercials trying to get you to want their stuff. Some people don't want to sell you stuff, but they want to get you to believe what they believe and think like them.

When you follow God's way it will lead to life. There may not be a lot of people on that path. You might feel like you are the only one sometimes that is looking to find the narrow gate and stay on the Lord's path. But it's worth it! Remember that God created the whole world and everything in it--even the people. He knows what's best no matter what!

Reflections

"For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face..."

1 Corinthians 13:12

A reflection in a pond isn't the real thing is it? When we look at what's real, we see the truth. Reflections are pretty, and the calmer the water is, the more clearly we can see the real thing in it. If you're looking to learn more about good things--like truth, wisdom and love-keep your heart and mind calm, and God will show you truth. Your life will become a beautiful reflection of Him!

Don't try so hard that you lose your peace.

Don't compare and compete with others, but be creative instead.

What seems like is better might not always good. 

What seems to be good might not always bring life.

Instead of trying to please someone, what about loving them?

When you've failed, it's not the end, you still have hope.

Instead of finding ways to always have fun, remember your clear conscious will keep you happy.

Instead of trying to force something to happen, have faith in God to make it go right.

Instead of making excuses, admit it when you've done wrong, and don't go that way again.

Instead of looking at what you don't have, look at what you do have and say thanks.

Instead of always asking God to do something for you, ask Him what you can do for Him.

When you think you can't, God says when you are with Him, you can.

Your Life Story

"...everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them,
may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock."
Matthew 7:24

Have you ever been in a really tall building? Did you walk up the stairs or take an elevator? The upstairs in a building is called the second story. Some buildings have more than one upstairs, so we say they have 3 stories or 4 stories. The Empire State Building in New York has 103 stories! There are taller buildings in the world but this was the first one to have more than 100 stories. Tall buildings like that are called skyscrapers.

Just like a tall building has one story on top of another, history is like that except it builds on the stories of people instead of bricks. Every person has a story. You have a story too. Your story is about where and when you were born, your family, and what you've done in your life. In order to build a tall building you have to have a strong foundation. You can't build on the sand because when the building is done it would be so heavy it would sink into the ground! Your life story needs a strong foundation too. The only foundation that is strong enough for your life is Jesus Christ! History is really His-story.

Jesus said whoever does what He says, is just like a wise person who builds his house, (or his story), on a rock. A rock is a strong foundation. Jesus is sometimes called the rock of our salvation because He is a strong foundation to build your life story on. Whenever you make choices, remember that you are building a story. Sometime you will tell your story. One day your children and grandchildren will hear your story. If you want your story to be a good one and a strong one that doesn't crumble, then make your choices be ones that Jesus would do!

Matthew 7:24-27

Waiting All This Time

We used to use the shadows

from the sun to light the earth,

I thought that was old-fashioned

so I looked for something new,

But I looked into the dark, thinking it was light.

Creation kept on going

though I didn’t really know,

I thought that I had found

something better than the old,

But there is One who can see, better than me.

Could I open up my heart

to the deeper truth of life,

and give a great big hug

to the One who gave the light?

He’s been here all along.

If I do then I’ll find peace

I could never get myself,

and I’ll be amazed

at how great His love is,

He’s been waiting all this time

for me.

Rose Murdock

May 9, 2014

The Light

"I am the light of the world"

John 8:12

Jesus said He is the light of the world. If you try and walk around in the dark there's a good chance you're going to trip over something, stub your toe, or get hurt or lost. It's much better when you can see isn't it? 

One thing that can happen in the dark is that someone can lie to you about something going on and you can't tell if that's the truth or not. They can make you afraid, or get  you to do something you shouldn't be doing just because you can't see. In the same way, people have lots of their own ideas about what's good and bad and the only way to know the truth is to listen to Jesus--the light of the world. 

Truth is important. If you don't know the truth about what 2 + 2 is, then you're going to have a hard time doing a lot of things. You will have a hard time at the store trying to buy things, or knowing how many bananas you need to pass out when your friends come over and its time for a snack! The way to know the truth is to have light, and Jesus wants to give you all the light you need--just ask Him for it!