Grades K-4Ask… (6)
When you go up to the pulpit before church starts, what do you say to the elder?
The word, “blessing.” This means that we wish each other “the Lord’s blessing” in speaking and listening for the whole church. We all need this blessing, boys and girls. Do you pray for the Lord’s blessing before you come to church? Do you pray for the Lord’s blessing at church before the service starts? When your parents and older brothers and sisters pray for a blessing before church starts, you may also pray for a blessing. Pray for the minister who is going to preach or for the elder who is going to read a sermon. Pray then that the Lord will use the sermon to give you a new heart to make you hate sin and love Him. Then try your very best to listen and pray for God’s blessing after church is over, too.
Is it bad to say, “Oh my goodness”?
Yes. Though it is not swearing as is using the Lord’s Name in vain, “goodness” really belongs only to the Lord. Jesus said, “There is none good but one, that is, God” (Mark 10:18b).
Most of the things people say like this — “oh my goodness” or “for heaven’s sake” are not good to say because they are speaking about God’s special things without realizing how special they are. This is not being reverent. Do you know what reverent means?
The Bible tells us that our yes should be yes and our no, no. That means we should speak what needs to be said and should not say things that we don’t really mean. We have to learn to be careful what we say. With our talk, we can do so many sins. We sin too when we talk badly about people or make fun of someone in our class at school. I hope, boys and girls, that you never do that. A good rule to try to follow is this: If I don’t have something good to say about someone, then I will not say anything. After all, I don’t like it when people say bad things about me, and didn’t Jesus say I should be to other people the way I want other people to be to me?
Do you see now why David prayed, “Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips” (Psalm 141:3)? That would be a good prayer for all of us — also for you boys and girls.
in the book of Psalms it is written about “he that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly” — what dose that mean?
That is written in the very first verse of the Psalms and it means that the person who doesn’t walk in the ways of sin and sinful people is blessed by the Lord. It means that we should not follow people who don’t love the Lord in what we think, say, and do. People who are unconverted, that is, people who are ungodly, walk after their own “counsel.” That means, they do what they want to do more than what the Lord wants them to do.
Godly people, who should not follow ungodly people, must always try to ask: “Lord, what dost Thou want me to think, to say, and to do?” Godly people pray: “Lord, help me to live less for myself and what I want to do, and to live more to Thee and what Thou dost want me to do.”
Dr. J.R. Beeke, 2115 Romence St. N.E., Grand Rapids, Ml 49503.
Questions will be published anonymously.
David says in Psalm 1:1 that these godly people are “blessed.” That means they are truly happy. You see, boys and girls, people who live for themselves try so hard to be happy, but they cannot be happy. You know why? Because God didn’t make us to be happy by living for ourselves. He made us in such a way that we can only be happy when we love the Lord and obey Him.
Ask the Lord to show you that you need to be born again to love the Lord and be truly happy. Ask the Lord to keep you from sinful things, sinful thoughts, sinful places, and sinful people.
What does the word conversion mean?
How do you know when you are converted?
Will there be a cry of joy in heaven?
The word “conversion” means to turn around. When we receive a new heart, then we are converted. Our whole lives “turn around.” That means that things we liked to do before but were sinful, we now hate doing because we want to live unto the Lord. It also means that we learn to love things we hated before.
Jesus told us that we can know who is converted by the “fruits” of their or our lives. These fruits are things like this:
• hating sin and being very sorry for it;
• being very surprised and happy that there is a way for poor sinners to be saved;
• fleeing to the Lord Jesus to be saved from sin;
• loving God;
• wanting to obey God with the whole heart — in every thought, in every word spoken, in every thing done;
• spending time and prayer on things that can help the soul — such as loving to hear the Word of God in church, loving to read the Bible and good books about God and how He works in the hearts of His people, knowing what it means to love prayer and to tell the Lord everything;
• loving other people and praying that they too will receive a new heart;
• desiring that the Lord will be glorified everywhere — especially in my life.
Yes, there will be a cry of joy in heaven when a person is converted. Jesus said, “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth. (Luke 15:7, 10).
Pray, dear boys and girls, that the Lord may convert you and that you may show in your life the fruits of what it means to be converted. Please remember that to be converted is not something that just happens one day, and then afterward you can live as you want. To be converted touches our whole life for our whole life. Being converted is a lifelong, yes, an eternal thing.
The Lord encourages you to pray for eternal conversion when He says, “I love them that love Me; and those that seek Me early shall find Me” (Proverbs 8:17).
Seek the Lord early, dear children. That means when you are very young. That means, right now, while you are in kindergarten or first grade — or perhaps second, third, or fourth. Pray, beg, seek, ask, knock, and read, if you can. Ask the Lord to show you your sins and to make room in your heart for the only Savior, Jesus Christ. Ask Him for grace to confess your sins. Tell the Lord everything.
Forward questions intended for this department to:
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Bekijk de hele uitgave van woensdag 1 februari 1989
The Banner of Truth | 28 Pagina's
Bekijk de hele uitgave van woensdag 1 februari 1989
The Banner of Truth | 28 Pagina's