The Seed Basket series continues with kids asking questions of God. We are not using their real names for privacy, but the ages given are correct so you can see how each age group is thinking about God.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Today we will hear from Joelle and Blake. I think you will love their thoughts.
“What sound do hedgehogs make?” Joelle, age 4
Joelle, I love that you asked about God’s beautiful and fun creation. I would say that hedgehogs are curious little critters. The fact that God made funny animals like hedgehogs, camels, the platypus, and even the Blob fish, shows that He has a sense of humor. (Which He also created. He loves laughter).
Actually, God also created science. He created veterinary science and made men and women smart enough to study and care for God’s creatures.
Here is a link that your mom or dad can play for you so that you can hear a groundhog.
And Joelle snuck in a second question “Why do plants need sun and water?”
To answer your second question, God made millions of kinds of plants including trees, flowers, cacti, a rain forest and desert full of living plants. Even in the icy cold Arctic there are more than 1500 types of growing plants.
Because God made all living things, He made a way for them to thrive by giving them water, sunlight and air to help them grow. The Bible says that one of the reasons we know that God cares for us is because of how beautifully He cares for all of His creation. And we mean even more to Him.
Here are two Bible verses that will help you see why and how God cares for His creation. The Open Bible1
Matthew 6:26-29 Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they? Can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying? And why do you worry about clothes? Observe how the wildflowers of the field grow: They don’t labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these.
“What will I be like in the future?” Blake, age 15
This is such a great question, Blake! God has given everyone the right to choose lesser lives or to live in honor of Him, following a wise path and keeping His moral law
Believers can know God’s will for their own life. Assuming that you are a believer, then you have already taken a very important step towards having an exciting and worthwhile life.
Now you have to decide if you want to discover what God’s best plan is for your life or if you will pursue your own goals, dreams and ambitions.
God has a best plan for every life. In God’s view, there is no “plan b”. But when you goof up, which we all do, God can help you get back on track. He is gracious and forgiving.
You know an old pastor once said that people are quick to say, “What’s so bad about it?” When the right question for a believer is “What’s so extraordinary about it?”
The Christian life is extraordinary, beyond anything the world imagines. Not because of worldly wealth or material blessings. It is extraordinary because of what Jesus makes of our lives. And that is because of everything that He has done from Creation to our redemption.
When we choose to follow Jesus and truly want what He wants, then our lives will be fulfilling. Your life won’t always be easy. Many people who follow Jesus experience great hardship. But there is no better place to be than in God’s will.
Psalm 119:9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping God’s word.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.
Click the link above and below the next picture. The first link is a true story of a man who loved and followed God. It cost him so much, at first. But God helped Him and gave him a place in God’s story.
The picture is of a soldier in the army who follows his career path by following Jesus.
A young man who follows God’s footprints for his life
A young man who turns away from Jesus to live for wealth and his own dreams
Below are examples of modern-day believers who have lived for Jesus. Some were older before committing to living a Christian lifestyle and some did it from the beginning. Some died because of their faith, and others are still living.
Eric Liddell2 , Chris Kyle3, the sniper who was a believer, Katie Davis Majors, Payne Stewart, David Bloom4, Louis Zamperini, Latimer and Ridley, Tim Tebow, Keith Green, Helen Roseveare, Jim Elliott, Joni Erickson Tada5 and so many more.
I have decided to follow Jesus…6
The Cross before me, the world behind me,
Though none go with me still I will follow.
No turning back.
- The Open Bible
Unless otherwise indicated, all content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Contact me: openbibleinfo (at) gmail.com. ↩︎ - Eric Liddell
Biographyonline.net ↩︎ - American Sniper, Chris Kyle
American Sniper’ Chris Kyle Was a Good Christian Man Who Did Not ‘Love War,’ Says Widow Amid Film Criticism
By Benge Nsenduluka, CP Reporter Wednesday, January 21, 2015 ↩︎ - David Bloom Death in Iraq by Baptist Press
Coverage of Iraq war has unintended results; death of NBC’s David Bloom results in media elite hearing message of Christ
By David Roach, posted October 13, 2003 in ↩︎ - Why Doesn’t God Heal Everyone? Gotquestions.org
Joni Eareckson Tada ↩︎ - I Have Decided to Follow Jesus
Author (attributed to): Simon Marak
Simon Kara Marak A pastor, schoolteacher, and missionary in Jorhat, Assam, India. ↩︎
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Getting the Seed out of the basket and into hungry hearts. Matthew 13 