"Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein" Mark 10:15.

Our Lord stated the same requirement in these two verses. Throughout Jesus' entire ministry He set forth the Kingdom of heaven. He came and made the way so that we might enter into His Kingdom. There are rules and regulations in the Kingdom of Heaven, laws and principles that must be adhered to, just as there are rules and laws within our natural families and earthly governments. The difference being, we change our rules... while God's rules are immoveable... they never change.

Isn't it curious, (if that is the proper word), that most of the time we act like children... spoiled, ungrateful, self-centered children... demanding, whining, complaining children? But this is not the 'child-like' behavior that our Father is looking for in us as HIS Children, members of HIS household. So much comes down to our attitude. "Let this same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus"... "Not my will, but thine be done." If we are to grow up spiritually, we will have incorporated this attitude into our life, to the point where we can honestly say the same thing that Paul was able to say, "yet not I live, but Christ liveth in me." Paul prefaced this statement with how he had arrived at this point... "I am crucified with Christ"...and how he remained in this state, "the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" Gal 2:20.

Religion allows us to be man-centered. Following Christ requires that we change, turn away from man's ways, and instead become God-centered. We will no longer pray long prayers instructing the Almighty what to do and for whom and how and when. We will no longer view God as being there solely to meet our wants and perceived needs in this life. Instead, we will learn humility, and servanthood... we will count the cost and gladly lay down the wretched, pitiable excuse that our lives are... when we are 'at our very best.' We will learn to reverentially fear the God we serve, for our God is an Awesome God.

To come to the Lord as a little child, is to place our sole trust and confidence in Him and Him alone. We will no longer operate under that false assumption that we must figure anything out. Our trust will no longer reside in our own intellect, abilities, or talents. We will recognize that our chief duty is to believe and obey which in themselves are full-time jobs. We will learn to come to Him in the same way, without doubting, that a little child trusts their parents to take care of them. Little children are not concerned with the affairs of this life, and neither can we be as a child of the Kingdom.

We cannot say enough about learning the lessons of genuine humility... for it is in learning this lesson for ourselves, that we achieve the attitude adjustment required to become a son of the Most High...

"For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones" Isa 57:15.

"But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up" James 4:6-10.

"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you" 1Pe 5:6-10.

Ours is the last generation. Events are in motion that none can change or prevent. To the born-again believer, this world is our wilderness that we must pass through, just as the Israelites of old sojourned in the wilderness for 40 years following their exodus from Egypt.

"And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no" Deu 8:2.

"Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end" Deu 8:16.

Do not be deceived by the multitudes of false doctrines that are widely accepted today; we will be tested and tried.

"For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?" Heb 12:6-9.

Just as the older generation of Israelites died in the wilderness, never entering into the 'promised land'... many of those who have been called and chosen in this, the last generation, will fail to enter into the 'new life in Christ Jesus' that He is calling us to, and for the very same reason: Unbelief!

God's requirements of us are the same as those placed upon the 'Israel of Old'... "Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord" Heb 8:9. He will not overlook our disobedience and rebellion any more than He overlooked theirs. This should be a sobering reality to us in this hour.

We need to embrace the child-like qualities of faith and trust. We need to diligently work out or own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12), "Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling" Psa 2:11. May we all come to full understanding of what it means to rejoice in the Lord... "Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty" Job 5:17.