Category: spiritual lessons

Sunday Funnies: Children’s Letters to God

We love our children (those little angels!) and really do see them as a gift from God to us.  They are part of the reason why we take our meds, stay sober and deal with our depression.

Below are examples of children writing their letter to God.  All of them are significant, and we see through their innocent questions to understand the heart.

  • Dear God, In Sunday School they told us what You do. Who does it when You are on vacation? — Jane
  • Dear God, I think about You sometimes even when I’m not praying. — Elliot
  • Dear God, Did You really mean “do unto others as they do unto you?” Because if you did, then I’m going to fix my brother. — Darla
  • Dear God, I didn’t think orange went with purple until I saw the sunset You made on Tuesday. — Margret
  • Dear God, I read the Bible. What does “begat” mean? Nobody will tell me. — Love, Allison
  • Dear God, Are you really invisible or is that a trick? — Lucy
  • Dear God, Is it true my father won’t get in Heaven if he uses his bowling words in the house? — Anita
  • Dear God, Did you mean for the giraffe to look like that or was it an accident? — Norma
  • Dear God, Instead of letting people die and having to make new ones, why don’t You just keep the ones You have now? — Jane
  • Dear God, Who draws the lines around countries? — Nan
  • Dear God, The bad people laughed at Noah — “You made an ark on dry land you fool”. But he was smart, he stuck with You. That’s what I would do. — Eddie
  • Dear God, I went to this wedding and they kissed right in church. Is that okay? — Neil
  • Dear God, What does it mean You are a Jealous God? I thought You had everything. — Jane
  • Dear God, Thank You for the baby brother, but what I prayed for was a puppy. — Joyce
  • Dear God, Why is Sunday School on Sunday? I thought it was supposed to be our day of rest. — Tom L.
  • Dear God, Please send me a pony. I never asked for anything before, You can look it up. — Bruce
  • Dear God, If we come back as something — please don’t let me be Jennifer Horton because I hate her. — Denise
  • Dear God, My brother is a rat. You should give him a tail. Ha ha. — Danny
  • Dear God, Maybe Cain and Abel would not kill each other so much if they had their own rooms. It works with my brother. — Larry
  • Dear God, I want to be just like my Daddy when I get big but not with so much hair all over. — Sam
  • Dear God, You don’t have to worry about me. I always look both ways. — Dean
  • Dear God, I bet it is very hard for You to love all of everybody in the whole world. There are only 4 people in our family and I can never do it. — Nan
  • Dear God, Of all the people who work for You, I like Noah and David the best. — Rob
  • Dear God, My brother told me about being born but it doesn’t sound right. They’re just kidding, aren’t they? — Marsha
  • Dear God, If You watch me in Church Sunday. I’ll show You my new shoes. — Mickey D.
  • Dear God, I would like to live 900 years like the guy in the Bible. — Love, Chri
  • Dear God, We read Thomas Edison made light. But in school they said You did it. So, I bet he stoled Your idea. — Sincerely, Donna
  • Dear God, I do not think anybody could be a better God. Well, I just want You to know but I am not just saying that because You are God already. — Charles

Almighty Father

“Almighty Father, Son and Holy Ghost, eternal and ever blessed gracious God; to me the least of saints, to me allow that I should keep a door in paradise.   That I may keep the smallest door, the furthermost, the darkest, coldest door, the door which is the least used, the stiffest door.  If it so be but in thine house, O God, if so be that I can see thy glory even afar, and hear thy voice, O God, and know that I am with thee, thee O God.”

A Prayer of St. Columba, 521-597 AD

 

Bryan’s Note

We must travel some distance, before something like this will cling to our hearts.  Columba’s journey to the presence of Jesus most certainly gave him a perspective that enabled him to pray with this intensity and this humility.  We cannot dissuade ourselves of his effort and his overwhelming desire to be near Him.  We can only watch, and mark the zeal which took his heart and soul into the burning presence of His presence.  Columba becomes a guide of what is possible and what is to be sought.  We must become (if we are in pursuit) a people radically changed by the reality of His presence.

 

 

The Varieties of Life: A Prayer for Direction

The Varieties of Life

 

“Guide me, O Lord, in all the changes and varieties of the world, that in all things that shall happen, I may have an evenness and tranquility of spirit, that my soul may be wholly resigned to your divine will and pleasure, never murmuring at your gentle chastisements and fatherly correction.  Amen.”  —

Jeremy Taylor

“Be still, and know that I am God!
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world.”

The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us;
the God of Israel is our fortress.”
Interlude

Psalm 46:10-11

American Idols, the Next Season

 

“And though they worshiped the Lord, they continued to follow their own gods according to the religious customs of the nations from which they came.” 

2 Kings 17:33, NLT

 

Exclusive worship is not exactly the first choice of an outwardly religious people.  It can be offensive to the spiritual sensitivities of a people wanting an extra edge on blessing and favor.  We like to hedge our bets and cover our bases.  Worshipping Jehovah alone goes against all we feel and believe from a earthly viewpoint.

Idol worship is alive and well in America.  No longer restricted by carvings of stone or wood, we have ascended to worshipping concepts, or ideas.  For example, “materialism” used to be worshipped as a Golden Calf.  Today it is a god that is worshipped by many in a completely re-done format.  Go down to the Financial District of New York or San Francisco and you will see it laid out pretty obvious. Great effort and considerable activity is given to follow this idol.  Actually an idol is anything we love, find security in, look to instead of God.

Sex, power, music, art, politics, education, popularity and sports are open to people who want to worship.  The ritual of this kind of worship is easier and more prevelant then ever.  Christian believers are hardly immune.  People who fear God alone are rare.  We perpetuate attitudes and ideas that we pass on as our “values” to our children.  It is no wonder they rebel.  Often in their innocence they can see right through our hypocrisy.

We are specialists in spiritual syncretism.  It seems we have achieved a level of sophistication that idolatry and true worship have been blended to our tastes, and we swallow it all with minimal discomfort.  Heck, it even tastes good!  And it gives us so much in return (we think).

As we worship other things, we become enured to the truth.  We begin to actually prefer the taste of lies (as long as they are blended well).  Many times I have sampled other things, typically convenient and attractive.  Like a mineral vein in a mine shaft, it runs very deep and hidden.  It typically starts off small, and not hardly noticeable.  But it works its way through our minds and hearts.

When we first start worshipping an idol we have feelings of guilt and shame. Deep down we know it is not right (Isa. 45:16; Psalm 106:36) It is an universal truth that idols, in their mirage-like characteristics, lead us to spiritual poverty and confusion.  Since we become hardened by this false worship, we hardly notice.  When people (or books) speak truth to us, we will typically become angry and defensive.  We are pretty protective of our favorite idol.  Typically, if there is hostility, there you will find an idol.

Idolatry is running rampant through our culture.  It is not something we have “outgrown” as a civilization, rather we have “grown into it”. There now exists a sophistication to idol worship that the ancient Israelites lacked.  We have developed a blend that denies nothing and promises everything.  And any commitment to exclusive truth is regarded as fanaticism, hate and bigotry. 

“Little children, keep yourself from idols.”  1 John 5:21