By Michael E. Brooks

"Let the little children come to me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God" (Mark 10:14).

Overpopulation is one of the world's greatest problems. More than six billion people now crowd this planet, with two nations (China and India) hosting populations of more than one billion each. China has imposed strict regulations governing family planning in an effort to limit future population growth. Western cultures have achieved similar results through education and peer pressure. Still, the world continues to hold more and more humans each year.

Increased population means more little children. And therein lies a paradox for many. We don't want more people than the earth can reasonably sustain. But we love children. They are precious, even priceless, and we know that we must continue to replenish the earth. Therefore our attitude towards "population growth" is mixed. Obviously the answer is to continue to have children, just not too many. Equally obviously, such a goal is easier to state than to achieve.

My visits to Asia have helped me understand the enormity of the problem. They have also helped me to appreciate the value of children. Whenever I visit a new village in Bangladesh, India or Nepal I am overwhelmed by the sheer number of children that greet me. I am a novelty to many of them and they are eager to see and touch me. They love for me to take their picture. They attend all meetings and studies and enjoy hearing the Bible taught. Their openness and affection helps illuminate Jesus' statement, "of such is the kingdom of God", and his teaching that "whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it" (Mark 10:15).

The Bible is clear that God loves children.

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is his reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate" (Psalm 127:3-5).

The question of how many children should be born each year, or to whom, is difficult. Much less difficult is the attitude which we should have to those who are born. We must value and love them. We must protect and care for them. And we must bring them to Jesus.

by Tim Hall

The word "wilderness" brings many images to American minds. Generally it connotes a place of harsh circumstances, a terrain that tests survival skills. For some, the wilderness is a place to be avoided at all costs; they don't want to give up their comforts. Others relish the opportunity to get out and brave the elements.

One man in the Bible didn't fare so well in the wilderness. We read of this nameless individual in Luke 8:26-39. We know nothing of his former life, only that he was possessed by demons who drove him "into the wilderness". After living among the tombs, his appearance and actions frightened people. His was a miserable existence in the wilderness. (Of course, Christ changed all that.)

The book of Numbers in the Old Testament is a record of many who didn't survive. In the Hebrew Bible, its title is "In The Wilderness", taken from the first words of the book. Its account of the first generation of Israelites doesn't have a happy ending. By failing to place their trust completely in the One who wrested their freedom from mighty Egypt, they forfeited their promise of a wonderful new home in Canaan. Here's Paul's summary of that first generation: "But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness" (1 Corinthians 10:5, NKJV).

Jesus' experience of life on this earth was not exempt from harsh wilderness experiences. Luke 4:1 tells us, "Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness." The wilderness, the place where so many before Him had not survived, was a dangerous place even for the Son of God. But as Luke goes on to report, Jesus survived the wilderness. And His conquest carries with it seeds of hope for our own survival.

What enabled Jesus to do what many others didn't is highlighted in Luke's account. When tempted by Satan to compromise His convictions, Jesus responded each time with "It is written" (Luke 4:4,8,12). What did He mean? Simply that mortals must look to God for their survival. If Jesus had reacted on the basis of fleshly passions, He would have changed the stones to bread, or taken the short-cut to power by worshipping the devil. Instead, Jesus looked to God for direction, refusing worldly solutions. The key to wilderness survival according to Jesus is to keep our focus on the One who placed us in the wilderness.

The Hebrew writer exhorts us with these words: "For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren" (Hebrews 2:10,11).

We who are Christians today are mentioned in that passage: "those who are being sanctified". We struggle to resist the allurements of the flesh. But we have made it our aim to be set apart solely for the use of God. We follow the example of Jesus who was perfectly sanctified, and look to Him for help. By keeping our focus on Him, we will survive this wilderness we call life on earth.

"They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses. And He led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city for habitation. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!" (Psalm 107:4-8).

by Mike Benson

The place was Palmer, Alaska and the date was July 21, 1988. There were 288 construction workers waiting for the signal to begin work. It was a contest to see how quickly a house could be built.

They were encouraged by 6,000 spectators and a country music band. The record they set was absolutely incredible. In only 3 hours and 54 minutes, the team of builders had erected an $80K, two bedroom home.

After that, the furniture company furnished the house in just under 4 minutes. An "instant home."

We may have "instant houses", but there are no instant homes. Homes take time to build. They are not built out of brick and mortar, but out of love, hope, patience, and trust (cf. 1 Corinthians 13). There will never be any bands playing, nor crowds of spectators cheering you on. Neither will there be any press releases announcing when you are through and the time that was required for the building. The truth of the matter is that you always find improvements which need to be made.

But with love as the foundation and God as your architect, you can know real joy as you watch your home develop.

"Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain"(Psalm 127:1).

by Barry Newton

Confident? Reality? Fatalistic? Lazy? An excuse? How would you describe the claims: "They will never change" or "I can not change"?

Whether the words trickle forth as a seemingly despairing self-confession or a mumbled pessimistic comment labeling others, some people appear to be determined to believe that what is will always be. To be sure, transformation can be daunting./1 Admittedly, some people may never grow into all that the Lord wants them to be. But there is really good news ... no, it is not good news, it is great news.

People are not forced to remain imprisoned forever in destructive, foolish, immature or ungodly behavior patterns. God has made it possible for people to be transformed from the inside out.

Changed Status (Guilty to Innocent)

The story of God working through Christ is the story of God's efforts to radically alter people. Offered as an undeserved gift, God has created a way for the guilty to legitimately be declared righteous, holy and blameless!/2 No longer should dark memories of their previous deeds haunt their lives and drag their sense of self-worth through the mud. The person in the mirror can not only be respectable and honorable, but also free from any accusation! This is great news.

How has God made this possible? With Jesus' death on the cross, Christ took upon himself our sinfulness in order that we might receive his righteousness./3 Those who rely upon Jesus and his blood are set free from their guilt./4 The gospel calls people to rely upon Jesus by being buried in water that the old self might die with Christ. Then a new man is raised up with Christ to the new life made possible by God through Christ./5

Changed Behavior, Values & Beliefs (Darkness to Light)

God does not want human transformation to stop with a changed status. God expects the whole person of those whom He has redeemed to likewise be changed./6 How can this happen? If we listen to Scripture and were to organize some general steps, they would be:

1. Change from darkness to light in what you think, value, pursue and do

Disciples of Jesus are expected to learn from Christ the values and behaviors which characterize a spiritually healthy life./7 As those who have died in baptism to their former lifestyle, they are to seek to please the Lord who now reigns over their life./8 Disciples are expected to adopt the new beliefs and values associated with Christ. These will create new agendas, new dreams, and a new standard of behavior.

2. Deliberately strive to grow into putting the new mindset into action

God's people are expected to put the new lifestyle into practice; it is not an optional extra./9 While forgiveness is available for sin, this can never become an excuse to hamstring a genuine effort to grow.

Do People Change? People Do!

The status and behavior of self-centered greedy individuals, swindling business dealers, those imprisoned in various kinds of sexual immorality and perversions, gossipers, thieves as well as those condemned by every other form of ungodliness have been transformed in the name of the Lord Jesus./10 People can change. This truth brings a revitalizing freshness filled with hope for a stagnant world mired in harmful routines.

God has made real transformation possible. God can change our status. The question is whether we are willing to put forth the effort to learn of Christ to start the lifestyle change from the inside out. Each of us needs to ask the question, "how is my way of living life different from the image of Christ?" Having created a specific list of new thoughts, motivations and behaviors which need to be adopted, God calls us to act. The Christian life is about continued growth and transformation./11

1/ Jeremiah 5:3; Proverbs 27:22 2/ Colossians 1:21-22 3/ 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 3:18 4/ Romans 3:24-26; Ephesians 1:7-8 5/ Romans 6:1-23; Colossians 2:11-13 6/ 1 Thessalonians 4:7; Ephesians 5:8-11 7 Ephesians 4:21-24; Romans 12:1-2; Colossians 3:9-10 8/ Ephesians 5:8-10; 1 Thessalonians 3:1-12 9/ Ephesians 4:1; 5:1; Philippians 1:27; 3:16 10/ 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 11/ 2 Corinthians 3:18; 2 Peter 1:5-7; Romans 8:29

by Barbara Oliver

The man gets up early in the morning, goes down to the bay, tosses his seine out into the water, and catches a net full of minnows. He puts them into a tank and sells them to fishermen (and fisher women). The fisher woman gets fifty or so minnows, puts one little minnow on a hook and throws it out into that same bay with the millions and millions of minnows, shrimp, bugs, eggs, and other disgusting delights that only a fish could love. And miracle of miracles, she catches a fish!

Last week, my brother and I went on what will become our annual fishing trip. Just the two of us, or the three of us, if we can get my other brother to go with us. My brother, Daryle, lives about three hours from the bay off of the Gulf of Mexico, and he has a boat. I have to admit to a little trepidation about boating, but he let me steer during this trip, which helped my confidence quite a bit. Also, he knows I am afraid, so he doesn't drive it too fast. We fish up in the marshes for red fish, sea trout, flounder, and anything else edible. He even caught a three-foot shark once, which he released. Moral of that story - don't fall out of the boat!

We had a great time getting sunburned, catching fish, and catching up on old times. We caught 17 "keepers" over the course of three days. On Wednesday, we came home fish-less. Thursday was a good day with a total of 14 fish caught. In a fit of misplaced enthusiasm, I threw the first one back because it was "only" 16 inches long, so we went home with 13 fish, mostly caught by Daryle. Which I can't understand because we were fishing in the same spot! Silly fish.

On Friday, I caught three fish to Daryle's zero! Don't tell him, but I think it is because I was singing my Fishy Song - "Fishy, fishy, fish-y. Fishy, fishy, fish-y." Hey, don't laugh! It worked!

It's funny how fishing has always been such an important part of life. Men still go out in their boats with nets and bring home shrimp, tuna, salmon, crab, lobster, and a variety of other sea creatures.

Funny, also, that miracle of fish-catching. You drop your hook into the water, and somehow there are fish to take the bait. I have to wonder, how does that fish find that one little bait at the end of my fishing line?

Christianity is a lot like that. I guess that is why Jesus called it fishing for men. We think that there is no way anyone will hear the words of faith we drop into that vast sea of attractions and temptations we call the world. How can anyone find the truth with so much "bait" dangling in front of humanity's face?

Peter, Andrew, James and John were coming home fish-less - until Jesus told them where to cast their nets. That's the way with fishing - sometimes the fish just aren't where you are! Jesus knew where the fish were. And he still does! With Jesus telling us where to cast our nets, how can we go wrong? "Go into all the world" (Mark 16:15). If we do that, we will catch more than we can handle, and we will have to call for our brethren to help us with the harvest! Now that would be a great fish story!