My digital photo frame was a gift from a dear friend who is now family. I’m not the only one who enjoys watching the pictures cycle through during mealtimes as it sits adjacent to the kitchen table. I was completely unaware that it could accept videos until one accidentally found its way in during a recent upload.
I was alone in the house after my granddaughter had gone home, yet I heard her babbling. I instinctively looked toward the bedroom where she naps when she’s here. Remembering she had already gone, I began to search for the source of the noise. It was another half hour before the video clip cycled back around, startling me again. That was when I realized the photo frame was the culprit.
It’s incredibly quiet in my house now when the grand babies go home. Quieter than I remember before their arrival. They are almost never silent, not even when they’re sleeping. They wiggle and grunt, cry out and coo, all glorious signs of life that bring so much joy and happiness to this house. They are completely uninhibited. They storm when they’re angry and squeal with delight when they’re having fun. They cry loudly and with gusto if they’re hungry or hurt. They grunt or whine when they’re tired. However, their beautiful symphony of noises are an expression of far more than their emotions and needs. They praise God, their Creator, with their powerful childlike worship.
“Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you; toddlers shout the songs that drown out enemy talk, and silence atheist babble.”
Psalm 8:2 MSG
https://bible.com/bible/97/psa.8.2.MSG
“You have built a stronghold by the songs of children.
Strength rises up with the chorus of infants.
This kind of praise has power to shut Satan’s mouth.
Childlike worship will silence the madness of those who oppose you.”
Psalms 8:2 TPT
https://bible.com/bible/1849/psa.8.2.TPT
“You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength, silencing your enemies and all who oppose you.”
Psalms 8:2 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.8.2.NLT
“One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them.
But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.
When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples.
He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them!
For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.
I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”
Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.”
Mark 10:13-16 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/mrk.10.13-16.NLT
“The leading priests and the teachers of religious law saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the children in the Temple shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David.”
But the leaders were indignant.
They asked Jesus, “Do you hear what these children are saying?”
“Yes,” Jesus replied. “Haven’t you ever read the Scriptures?
For they say, ‘You have taught children and infants to give you praise.’””
Matthew 21:15-16 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/mat.21.15-16.NLT
The idiom, out of the mouths of babes, originated with scripture. (Psalm 8:2) It came to be used as an expression of surprise when a child utters something profound, convicting, or compelling. We speak of the innocence of children but every child born since Cain and Abel has an inherent sin nature. When the disciples asked Jesus who sinned, the man born blind or his parents, Jesus did not say one or the other was without sin. He simply said sin was not the cause of the man’s blindness, only that his blindness would result in glory for God. (John 9:3) The Bible makes clear the fact that all have sinned. There are none righteous. All have fallen short of the glory God intended. (Romans 3:23) All save One.
“The Lord looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God.
But no, all have turned away; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not a single one!”
Psalms 14:2-3 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.14.2-3.NLT
“As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous— not even one.
No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God.
All have turned away; all have become useless.
No one does good, not a single one.””
Romans 3:10-12 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/rom.3.10-12.NLT
“For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/2co.5.21.NLT
“We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ.
And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.
For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin.
People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.
This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time.
God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.
Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God?
No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law.
It is based on faith.”
Romans 3:22, 25-27 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/rom.3.22-27.NLT
Faith comes easier for children than it does for adults. That’s why ministries like Child Evangelism Fellowship were founded. About – Child Evangelism Fellowship The simplicity of the good news about Jesus can be understood and accepted by young children, and as the apostle John wrote, “to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.” (John 1:12-13)
Mistrust is learned by experience. Someone I trusted lied to me or let me down, therefore, I hesitate to trust someone else because they may also disappoint me. Children are incredibly forgiving, hence the abuses they endure in every culture and in every age, but the Bible sternly warns against anyone seeking to deceive or lead astray those who have trusted in Him.
““But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone hung around your neck.”
Mark 9:42 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/mrk.9.42.NLT
Believing Jesus is God’s one and only Son who came to earth as a man, submitted to a substitutionary death on a cross, was raised to immortality on the third day, and ascended to heaven where He awaits the Father’s command to return for His own means my citizenship now lies in heaven. One day I will go to my Father in heaven. Whether I am raised from death or step from this life into the next, only God knows. I believed this as a child of ten. I have grown to know my Savior and Lord through the Word of God, and this knowledge of Him informs my choices and my actions. His Word tells me I am being conformed into His likeness from glory to glory and that one day, I will see and know completely even as I am now seen and known. (II Corinthians 3:18, I Corinthians 13:12)
““And I assure you that the time is coming, indeed it’s here now, when the dead will hear my voice—the voice of the Son of God.
And those who listen will live.
The Father has life in himself, and he has granted that same life-giving power to his Son.”
John 5:25-26 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.5.25-26.NLT
I am tempted many times and in many ways to turn away from this life-giving faith, but God is faithful and has not allowed me to be tempted beyond what I can bear. He has always provided a way of escape so that I can stand up under the temptation. (I Corinthians 10:13) He is my refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1) When I am tempted to take myself too seriously, wondering whether my effort or my praise are pointless, I remember that He inhabits the praises of His people, and out of the mouths of babes and sucklings, He calls forth praise!” (Psalm 22:3, 8:2)
“I will praise the Lord as long as I live.
I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath.”
Psalms 146:2 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.146.2.NLT
How Can You Not See God?
~Leanna Crawford
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