The Most Famous Puppet Show

For several Christmases I sat down with my family to watch “The Sound of Music”. The story moves me to tears. And I enjoy the puppet show the kids put on with Maria.

I often think what a great puppet show God could do with His creation. What a perfect drama would play out if He would make each person on earth do as He chose. There would no pain, no wrongs, no crimes or trials. It would be a perfect world.

God had the Israelites pegged. He knew their hearts. “For I know the inclination of their behavior today.” Deuteronomy 31:21 Because He knows the past, present and future He already knew they would desert Him for their gods after Moses died.

God called them “a perverse generation, children in whom is no faith.” Deuteronomy 32: 20

God knows our weaknesses and inclination to seek our own desires too instead of His. I often think it would be great and so much easier for us if God would only make us do what we should. But God will not make us His puppets. He wants us to serve Him out of our free will. I can understand that. I too want my husband, children and friends to love me and bless me because they want to. God wants us to serve Him out of our love for Him.

He knew Peter’s inclination to fear and protect Himself at Jesus’ trial when he was accused of being with Jesus. Jesus predicted beforehand that Peter would deny Him. Even after Jesus told him, Peter still fell into the trap of denial.

At the end, Peter chose to be crucified, upside down, because he didn’t consider himself to be worthy of being crucified upright as Jesus. His love and loyalty for God won out at the end.

We have our weaknesses too but we also have the Holy Spirit and our position in Jesus to overcome. I see the Apostle Paul as incorporating this principle. I believe his secret was his closeness to God. He did everything depending on God for direction and strength.

The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith has taught me a lot about walking in the Spirit. She so perfectly paraphrases what the Bible says about depending on God at all times.

She writes, “The point to be considered is as to what are the chief characteristics of this life hid with Christ in God, and how it differs from much in the ordinary Christian experience.

“Its chief characteristics are an entire surrender to the Lord, and a perfect trust in Him resulting in victory over sin and inward rest of soul; and it differs from the lower range of Christian experience in that it causes us to let the Lord carry our burdens and manage our affairs for us instead of trying to do it ourselves.” Therein lies our success.

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I want to walk with you spiritually this year, inviting you to read the Bible through from cover to cover; from Genesis 1 all the way to Revelation 22:21. If that sounds too difficult for you and your kids, you can join in again after you have taken a break or join us for the days you’re up to it. I promise that you will understand the Bible in a much deeper way if you read it through from cover to cover in a year’s time.

Accept my challenge to read the Bible through in one year chronologically, including the Old and the New Testament.

Today read:
Deuteronomy 31:1-32:27
Luke 12:8-34
Psalm 78:32-55
Proverbs 12:21-23

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