Kingdom lessons from a young teacher

Jim and I are blessed to work with wonderful people at the Denison Forum. Brittany has been with us for two years and has made tremendous contributions to the ministry. She is a special young woman who prays for God’s guidance and receives it. Recently Brittany went to Kenya and returned home, blessed by and burdened for, those she came to know while there. I asked her to write this blog because all of us need to learn from our young teachers.

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He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.”Mark 10:14-16

What does it mean to have a child-like faith? For most of my life, I associated child-like faith with an unquestioning faith… you hear and believe. It took a trip from Dallas to Kenya and a 7-year-old orphan sharing her favorite verse with me (Mark 10:14-16) to redefine child-like. Our team of 16 North Texans stayed at Naomi’s Village for two weeks, leading devotionals, praying with the kids, singing songs, and spending time playing with them.

The children at the IDP camp in Maai Mahiu, Kenya learn how to play red light, green light (Credit: B Kulick)My new definition of child-like is utter dependence. It’s a group of children who get so excited about a new toothbrush that they hold it up in the air and shout ‘Thank you Jesus!’. It’s an 8-year-old asking me to pray that God would make her happy because she misses her mom, who died almost a year earlier. Child-like is a group of children in an orphanage gathering their toys to give away when they heard that the missionaries were going to the slums—it’s selfless giving because they know what it is to be the least of these. It’s impossible to see the heart-breaking poverty, the absolute joy in the Lord, and the servant-hearted missionaries, and come back to Texas and resume life as usual.

Throughout my trip, I had the Steven Curtis Chapman song, based on 1 Corinthians 10:31, stuck in my head. It’s not a bad song to have replay in your mind, but I didn’t understand its importance until I returned. I was warned of the “post- mission trip blues”. I missed Kenya and the kids with whom I had formed relationships, but then Steven Curtis Chapman’s song popped back up in my head…

Wonder sometimes, does it matter at all?
Well let me remind you, it all matters just as long
As you do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you,
Cause he made you.”

When we make a decision to live for Christ, and we walk by the Spirit, he is able to use us in a way that is unique to our gifting.

Each person’s gifting is unique, but I do know that the Bible is full of examples of people investing in the life of another— through their time; teaching like Jesus and His disciples; serving like Paul and Timothy; or through giving of their finances like the Good Samaritan.

I’d like to ask you… Whose life are you investing in? Who are you praying with or for each day? Is there someone in your life who can see Jesus’ love through yours? If your answer is yes, my prayer for you is Galatians 6:9: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

If the answer is no, pray that God would reveal a person or organization where you can invest.

“As you do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you,
Cause he made you.”
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If you would like to learn more about Naomi’s Village, please visit www.naomisvillage.com. To sponsor a child at Naomi’s Village, visit GO.BE.HOPE’s website. Sponsor’s gifts provide the assistance the kids need most — access to clean water, improved nutrition, health care, and education.

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