Bible Quotes & Verses, Bible Games, Famous Quotes & Sayings

As we raise children in the Christian faith, a common theme resounds in how we teach them about the love of God and their relationship with Jesus. One of the most popular children’s songs heard in churches and homes is Jesus Loves Me (this I know for the Bible tells me so). As children, the world can be a scary place, and we work hard to reassure them that they are truly loved.

“Jesus loves the little children.”  - Bible or Not?

While this popular church phrase is based upon Biblical principles, it is not in the Bible – it’s a children’s song. Here are the full lyrics to the song, and below is some history about its origins and of course a Bible reference.

Jesus Loves the Little Children Lyrics

By Clare Herbert Woolston

Jesus loves the little children,

All the children of the world.

Red and yellow, black and white,

All are precious in his sight,

Jesus loves the little children of the world.

The Bible reference that inspired the song comes from the Gospel of Matthew: “But Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven’.” (Matthew 19:14 NKJV). The words of Jesus Loves the Little Children were written by Chicago pastor and preacher Clare Herbert Woolston (1856–1927) and it was put to the tune of an 1864 Civil War song “Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!” written by George Fredrick Root.

Over the years many variations of the lyrics have been introduced, all still with the same enduring message to our children, that Jesus loves them.

Yesterday much of the country spent the evening watching the Super Bowl, and what a game it was. It’s interesting the role that faith has played in this NFL season. Yeah, everyone was talking about Tim Tebow (Does God Takes Sides in Football?) but I was surprised to learn that the NY Giant’s run to the Super Bowl, and their ‘All In’ credo, started at a chapel service prior to their Christmas Eve game against the NY Jets. You can read the story about that chapel service and how those team members who were in attendance were challenged and inspired here.

Today’s post though is not about the Giant’s All In credo, it’s about Jesus’ All In credo:

Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?” Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, with ALL your soul, with ALL your mind, and with ALL your strength.’ This is the first commandment.” – Mark 12:28-30 NKJV

The Giants being all in has paid off as they are the Super Bowl champions, but that will only last until next season. If we are all in with God, the pay off is infinite and eternal. So, forget about football. Let’s be all in with the Bible.

NY Giants 'All In' Towel

Hey, we have recently released a new version of Bible or Not for the web. New features in Version 2.0 include giving players the ability to choose between the New International Version (NIV) and the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible, to save high score, save favorite quotes, share quotes and high scores, Like on Facebook, login and change profile settings, and submit feedback. The game also has a new, more intuitive, graphical user interface.

Here is a picture of the shiny new game, but hey, why not just go play for a bit and see how you like it! And for those who like to read press releases, the full story is here.