SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/24/2023 9:44 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-1 “Jesus Loves the Little Children”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew
19:13-15
Message of the verses: “13 Then some
children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray;
and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, "Let the children
alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven
belongs to such as these." 15 And after laying His hands on them, He
departed from there.”
I want to begin by stating that in this 17th
chapter of John MacArthur’s third book of four on his commentary that the title
of this chapter is “Jesus Loves the Little Children” and in this chapter there
is really no introduction and not any sub-sections so we will be looking at it
this way as we study these three verses, verses that have a great deal of
meaning on children.
I
think that we continue to see a lot of “Jewish Tradition” in these verses as we
saw much of that in our previous studies about marriage, divorce, and
remarriage in our last section.
The
title MacArthur gives to this chapter comes from the Sunday school song of the
same name, along with another song many of us who went to Sunday school sung “Jesus
Loves Me.” Both song titles are true as
Jesus certainly loves children very much.
While
I was listening to the sermon that goes along with this section of Scripture I
heard a story that was very hard to listen to, but at any rate I will copy it
here as this will make up the bulk of this SD.
We pick up the story of a woman in MacArthur’s church back in 1983 who
wrote the following letter.
“And I know there are parents throughout all the countries
of the world who know the Lord, who have the same longing as these parents, in
a spiritual sense, to bring their children to Jesus. There’s a family in our church that had the
pleasure of doing this - among many families. Deanne wrote this particular
testimony regarding one of their little children, by the name of Tanya. I don’t
normally read something like this, but I want to read it to you, because it’s
her own testimony. Listen carefully.
“I sat down on the bed, and picked up my
crocheting to learn a couple new stitches before our long flight to Auckland on
Monday. The girls had just gone outside to play, and I had a few moments to get
some details of the trip sorted out in my mind. I had missed my husband very
much during the past three weeks, as he went on ahead of us to New Zealand on a
preaching itinerary, but soon we would be on our way to meet him. My plans were
interrupted by the loud screeching of tires.
“I waited to hear the collision,
but there wasn’t any sound of impact; so I figured someone on the boulevard
near our home had been very lucky. Within seconds, my ten-year-old came running
into the house, and shouted upstairs, ‘Tanya’s been hit by a car.’ My body
reacted immediately with terror and fright as I raced down the stairs. I could
tell as I ran past Sonya that her little heart was in knots. Mary, my neighbor,
met me on the porch and said, ‘Hurry.’ ‘Oh, my God,’ was all I could say.
“I felt every second was an
eternity as I sped toward the people who were there even ahead of me. Fear
gripped my soul as I imagined what my child was feeling. Surely it couldn’t
have happened. I knelt over Tanya, as the off-duty fireman from across the
street covered her with a blanket. She was unconscious, and the neighbor told
me she couldn’t feel any pain, that her being out was good. I didn’t see any
blood or any broken bones; if only she would wake up and tell me where it hurt.
“I didn’t dare move Tanya, for fear of hurting
something, and I was told the ambulance was already on the way. All I had to do
was wait. What was taking so long? I picked up her tennis shoe that had been
knocked off, and looked at her face. I talked to her, but she couldn’t hear me.
She breathed a heavy sigh, and her head turned to the side. I began to cry. I
asked the fireman how she was as she monitored - he monitored her pulse, and he
assured me she was still breathing.
“Deep inside, I told myself,
‘She couldn’t be badly hurt. She looks all right. If only she’d wake up and
tell me how she is.’ “Finally, the ambulance arrived. It had been about five or
six minutes, the longest I can remember. If only my husband were with me, instead
of halfway around the world. As we backed into the emergency entrance, the
staff was waiting for us at the door. I felt relieved to finally be here; now
everything would be okay. Tanya was in good hands, and I would soon know what
injuries she sustained.
“They took her into a treatment
room and closed the door. I was asked to give some information and sign a slip
authorizing the doctors to do what was necessary. I picked up the pen and
scrawled my name and the word mother, but it was hardly legible. I realized I
was under severe emotional stress, and all I could do was wait. I sat on a
bench and prayed. I sobbed inside and out as I asked God to take of my dear
little seven-year-old. I felt confident He was there with me, so I wasn’t
alone, even for a moment.
“After about a half an hour, a
young nurse came over to me and took hold of my hands. I wasn’t ready for what
she was going to tell me. ‘Tanya’s condition is very serious. She has brain
damage. She isn’t breathing on her own.’ ‘You mean she might die?’ ‘Yes, she
certainly might.’ I was completely numbed with the possibility that Tanya’s
life might be taken from me. I was mighty thankful that God could work
miracles, because I was going to ask for a big one. It would be hours before my
husband would get here.
“Would it be all over? Would Tanya be gone? My
parents arrived; they were already crying, and I hadn’t even told them the
grisly news yet. The words came pouring out: ‘Tanya may die.’ Soon the doctor
came in. He introduced himself as a neurosurgeon, and I felt sure Tanya was in
capable hands. His assessment of her condition was totally pessimistic. She had
sustained a blow to the brain stem. Her brain had been shaken like a bowl of
jelly. It had been damaged - they didn’t know how much - but she didn’t have
much chance of a full recovery.
“He gave her about 5 percent
chance of coming out of it. We all dropped to our knees in that little room,
and prayed through tears and grief that God would heal Tanya. We asked God to
glorify His name by restoring her to her normal vivacious self. The night was a
long, hard one. I sat holding Tanya’s tennis shoe. There was no place to put
it, so I held on to it all night long. It was good to have something to occupy
my hands anyway, and every time I spotted a nurse walking our direction, my
heart stood still, as I waited for her to walk up and say it was all over.
“But all night long, they just
went about their business. Oh, how I wish Silas were there to relieve some of
the strain I was undergoing. I felt I had to do the feeling for both of us. The
doctor’s reports grew steadily worse, and I prayed even more. Finally, about 24
hours after the accident, he gave us another hopeless diagnosis. He said Tanya
could remain indefinitely on those machines, but would probably never improve.
She hadn’t regained consciousness, and showed no signs of improvement.
“Her brain had been changed -
damaged too badly. I felt my skin grow cold as he completed his report and
walked away. I couldn’t wait much longer for that miracle. I decided to go and
stay with Tanya until Silas returned, no matter how long it was. I asked for a
chair, and pulled it close to Tanya’s side. I began sobbing uncontrollably, as
I begged aloud for God to return my little girl to me. I kept choking on the
tears as I prayed, recited the Lord’s prayer, and poured out all the tension,
fear, and emotion building up, for more than a day.
“I uncovered Tanya’s foot to touch her; there were
black pin marks put there by the doctors. I stroked her forehead and talked to
her, hoping she would wake up. My brother’s father-in-law, a doctor, entered,
and checked the charts and machines. I kept on crying out to God for that
miracle, and after about a half an hour, I finally came to the place where I
was ready to accept God’s will, no matter what it was. I asked God to take
Tanya if He wanted to, but I still wanted her back, and I told Him so.
“Someone came and asked me to
return to the waiting area, where family and friends were gathered to hear our
family doctor give his appraisal of Tanya’s chances. I felt I could leave for a
couple minutes, and then return to my vigil until Silas arrived. He spoke in
much the same language as the neurosurgeon; he said Tanya’s brain was gone. He
spoke in such final terms, as if the battle were over. I interrupted, ‘Where is
Tanya right now? Is she in the intensive care room, or with the Lord?’ He
repeated his statement about her brain, and I asked again, ‘Where is Tanya? Is
she with the Lord?’
“I had to know if God had made
the decision already, and finally, he said, ‘Her body is being kept working,
but Tanya isn’t there anymore. She’s with the Lord.’ And I remember what I had
just said to the Lord: ‘Have Thy will, not mine.’ Friends later told me I was
radiant, as I then replied, ‘I shall not forsake my Lord, because if I did, I
would be saying Tanya’s gone forever.’ I would do as King David in the Old
Testament had done when his child was taken; he washed his face, changed his
clothes, and went about his business, satisfied that God knew best.
“I returned to the room to say good-bye to Tanya,
and that I would see her again. There would be no more begging to God to bring
her back. It was then I realized she had actually been taken home to heaven the
day before, in the street. When I saw her heave that sigh and turn her head to
the side, that was when she went to be with Jesus. As I stood there with an
inner strength that was foreign to me, I remember how Tanya had prayed during
her last few months, ‘Lord, I want to go and be with You while I’m young.’
“When I asked her why she prayed
like that, she smiled and said, ‘Because I want to sit on Jesus’ lap when I get
there, and I don’t want to be too big.’ A new assurance and peace surged
through my sorrowful soul, and I was refreshed with the joy that we were all in
good hands, and God hadn’t forsaken us for an instant.” Great testimony; great
testimony. You see, the reason that family had joy was because they knew where
Tanya went. She was gathered into the arms of the Savior, because they had
brought her to Jesus.
“And they live, even to this
day, in the exciting anticipation of a reunion with her. As a parent, I have
always lived with a tremendous, almost overwhelming, desire to bring my
children to Jesus; haven’t you? I want nothing in life more than that. I take
to heart the words of the Apostle Paul: “Bring your children up in the nurture
and admonition of the Lord.” And it is so hopeful, when you have the confidence
that you’ve brought your child to Jesus, that if they die, you know where they
are; if they live, you know to whom they belong.”
2/24/2023 10:07 AM
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