In this book we have been discovering what God is like. Muti learned that God sees us and is with us wherever we are.
Kalatash can tell us that she has learned that the true God can protect us from danger.
The little girl in Burundi learned that God can heal us when we are sick.
John learned that God can change people's hearts.
Gashopfu told us how God is stronger than pagan idols and evil spirits.
All of these children and young people read their bibles and found out what God says he is like. Then God let them have their own experiences that helped them to believe in him even more.
Do you wonder who the evil spirits are. There are good spirits and evil or bad ones. They are angels. There are good angels and bad angels. How can this be.
Do you remember the story we had that told about Lucifer's being in heaven. He was a beautiful. Good angel that God made. As time went by he became jealous of God. He got one-third of all the beautiful. Good. Holy angels to agree with him. They made heaven such a sad place and they made so much trouble that God finally had to send them all away.
Lucifer's name became satan. When adam and eve chose to obey Satan. They chose him to rule them. So God allowed him to go wherever he wished on this planet earth. He allowed him to do some of the things he wanted to. Satan led the angels that had sided with him in heaven to do what he wanted them to.
What do all these fallen angels do. We call them fallen because they fell from doing right to doing wrong. They go all over the world making people unhappy. They lead people to be afraid of God. They lead them to think Satan is bigger and stronger than God. They lead people to be afraid to trust what God says.
They lead them to fear that God will not forgive them when they do wrong. They lead people to think that they cannot possibly do what is right. They discourage people and lead them to think they have no hope. They lead some to think that they Will never die even though God said they would.
They lead others to believe that when God comes. He will not bring to life the people who trusted him. They make people sick. They bring terrible storms and lead people to think that God is cruel. They kill people. They lead people to kill. To steal. To lie. To disobey.
They try to keep people too busy to read their bibles. Too busy to pray. Too busy to go to church. Too busy to think about the true God. They lead many people to go to sorcerers and astrologers to learn what they should do when theu ought to read their bibles. And pray to the true God.
Sometimes they give people much money and make them happy while these people are living wicked lives. Then they lead these people to believe that God must be happy with them. Even though they are sinning greatly. They lead people to worship idols instead of the true God and they even teach people to worship Satan and evil spirits.
They are very angry with God and God's people. But God has promised to care for us. Sometimes he allows Satan to have his way. But God promises that he is with us even then and will bring good to us even when Satan makes trouble for us. When we learn that we are doing wrong in any way. We need to ask God to forgive us and to give us the desire to change and the power to do right.
If we do this. God will keep Satan from leading us into doing wrong. He will help us to do right. He will give us pure thoughts. He will protect us from Satan's power. Some day God will destroy Satan and his angels and followers. He will do this because they make life so terrible for each other and for God's people. It is better for all that they should die.
You and i would rather think of the good angels. They are kind. They help us to do what God wants us to. They protect us. They help us to be happy. God has given each one of us a special angel-helper. And how these angels do love us. We don't worship them as we do God. But we can thank God for them. We can tell them thank you.
Those who have chosen the true God and tell Him transform and change their lives will live forever. Forever with the one who made all the worlds out there in the big starry sky. Forever with the one who came to this world as a tiny baby. Who grew up to be a man to show us what God is really like. Forever with Jesus who died so that your sins and mine can be forgiven.
Dear children and young people. Yes. And older ones. Too forever with God is a long. Long time. It never ends. To be with Jesus and the good angels forever. What a wonderful. Joyous thought. Let's ask God to make us into the kind of people that everyone in heaven will want to live with forever. He promises that he will if we ask him and cooperate with him.
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