Did You Know?
Father, what a day of blessings! A visit at church from dear friends and then meeting up with another dear friend from college for a late lunch! I am grateful today for Your love and for the love of others in my life!
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Another exciting sign of spring for me is the emerging lush green of the many fields of winter wheat in my area. With the brown of winter still lurking around every corner, it is uplifting to see it flourish.
Thinking about it, my curiosity was peaked and I discovered that America’s cookies rely on winter wheat grown in Ohio! It is a mainstay for Oreos and Chips Ahoy. Sure, other states grow the wheat that makes artisan breads and premium pastas. But Ohio’s soft red winter wheat is the type needed for pastries, cookies, saltines, cake, brownies, and pretzels. According to a March 2018 article, Ohio was the top U.S. producer of soft red winter wheat in 2016.
In John 4:35 AMP Jesus says,
“Do you not say, ‘It is still four months until the harvest comes?’ Look, I say to you, raise your eyes and look at the fields and see, they are white for harvest.”
Jesus was putting out a clarion call for us to go out and harvest the many souls that were ready to find the answer to all of life’s questions – Jesus Christ himself!
That is so very, very important but He also needs us to plant the seed and some of us are called to nurture that seed as well. If it weren’t for devoted Ohio farmers Oreo cookies might not be as readily available! (Gasp!) But…if we don’t do our part, whether it is planting the seed of the Good News or caring for it as it grows and develops or being one of the much-needed harvesters what a great travesty that would be!
Lord Jesus, please burden our hearts to do whatever needs doing to assure a great harvest of souls for You and Your kingdom. So, so many are lost – struggling through life, not understanding, not knowing anything of substance about You – but we can show them. Lord, use us…use me. Amen.
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations [help the people to learn of Me, believe in Me, and obey My words], baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually—regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion], even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 AMP
Apr 14th, 2019, Sun, 8:08 pm
Rule Breakers
Father, I am in a different atmosphere in which to work for sure as I am here with the Middle School Robotics team in Marion for a competition. No matter where I am You are there, fill my heart and mind with You. Amen.
Mark 7:9-13 (<<click to read the passage)
One thing I see over and over again while driving the bus is that kids are great at “interpreting” the rules. Bus rules are there for one reason: to keep everyone safe. But rules are regularly bent, twisted, and quite often flat out ignored!
If I had a nickel for every time I’ve said, “sit down” or “turn around” or “stay out of the aisle”…well you know! Elementary students especially. We expect it from Kindergarteners, they are just learning all the ins and outs of life but 5th graders? They should know better at that point but quite often some are just as bad!
As Christians, we have the Bible as our guide as to what we should be doing and what we shouldn’t be doing. When we first establish a relationship with Jesus, we may get things wrong and need to be corrected. And the longer we walk with Him, the fewer those times should be – or at least we shouldn’t be stumbling over the same basic issues. As our relationship deepens we will probably have to deal with deeper issues and overcome them with His help.
But here’s the thing…some of us do the right thing but many of us begin to “interpret” things to our own desires. We shove God to the back and we step to the forefront. There are so many things that we rationalize so that we can do what we want and “justify” that we are still following the rules – just like the Pharisees who were called out in today’s passage. At some point, many of us are guilty of skillfully sidestepping God’s law in order to hold on to our own traditions. (v.9)
Lord Jesus, help us to see clearly the importance of staying true to Your Word. It is there for one reason: to guide us in our relationship with You. Enable us to put our minds to obeying You. May we stop putting so much time and energy in getting around things and start getting to doing things that line up with Your will. Amen.
Apr 11th, 2019, Thurs, 9:47 am
Smoldering
Sometimes, Father, I struggle what to say as we come together and feel that I repeat myself a lot. But I realize if it was just a regular “Good Morning!” that it would not bother You one bit. You are just pleased that we are together. Thank You, Father, for loving me!
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A couple of weeks ago some locals took down an old barn. I think they salvaged what they could and then put what was left into a pile and set it on fire. Interestingly enough, it is still smoldering! When I drive by it, smoke is still rising from its core. I see no flame but at its heart, it is still burning.
How often in our lives do we do the same? Anger… hurt… pain… hurt feelings… disappointment? The initial “fire” has gone out – maybe even years ago! – but in our heart, it still burns.
I have been hurt in my past – haven’t we all? Things – unpleasant things – have happened to me that have literally changed the direction of my life. People have said and done things that were out of line, at least from my perspective. Sometimes it was with my best interests in mind and other times only their interests mattered. I cannot help but remember them but I have let them go long ago. I had to.
Renowned Christian author, ethicist, and theologian, Lewis B. Smedes said, “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”
Lord Jesus, help us to not allow old feelings of hurt and pain to continue to smolder in our hearts. May we set the prisoner free through Your work in our lives. May we cling to Apostle Paul’s words to the church of Galatia. Amen.
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1 NIV
Apr 10th, 2019, Wed, 11:14 am
Distant from God
Thank You, Father, for the absolutely beautiful day! From the stars shining brightly as I headed to the bus compound, to the glorious sunrise during my first route, to the brilliant blue sky this afternoon – all gifts from Your loving hand! Praise You!
Mark 7:1-8 (<<click to read the passage)
I have noted before that Jesus had the utmost of patience with “sinners”. He had all the time in the world for those who did not know or truly understand Him. But for those who should have known Him – those who were well versed in the Scriptures and the Law – He had no patience whatsoever. I guess we could say he had a zero-tolerance policy!
At this point in His ministry, the Jewish religious leaders of the day and Jesus had already butted heads several times. Whatever patience Jesus may have had initially is long gone and He does not hesitate to quickly lay them out!
“You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,
‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship is a farce,
for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’
For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition.” vs.6-8
My Life Application Study Bible sums it up pretty well.
“Hypocrisy is pretending to be something you are not and have no intention of being. Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites because they worship God for the wrong reasons. Their worship was not motivated by love but by a desire to attain profit, to appear holy, and to increase their status. We become hypocrites when we (1) pay more attention to reputation than to character, (2) carefully follow certain religious practices while allowing our hearts to remain distant from God, and (3) emphasize our virtues but others’ sins.”
Ouch! Did anyone else’s toes get stepped (stomped!) on? #2 is particularly prevalent in the church. How many step into church on a regular basis and their hearts are in no better condition spiritually than every other run-of-the-mill “sinner”. We are good at going through the motions but “our hearts…remain distant from God.” Pastors, elders, deacons, bishops and all the rest can be in the same spot – no one is exempt.
Lord Jesus, help us to truly come to understand You. Help us to own up to our hypocrisy and draw close to You so Your light will illumine all that needs to be addressed. Amen.
Apr 9th, 2019, Tue, 12:25 pm
Beauty in the Rough
A bit of a rocky start this morning, but it affected no one but me. Thank You, Father, for always being there for me. Thank You for safety on my routes and thank You once again for Your inspiration!
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Shortly after my elementary route began this morning, I crossed a small bridge on a county road. Under the bridge was a small stream and all around this particular area was hilly, wooded terrain. There were absolutely no signs that anyone had ever lived in this spot or would ever choose to. But…as I crossed the bridge, and from the height advantage of my bus, I spotted a small cluster of blooming daffodils in all their splendor! There they sat gloriously amongst the decaying leaves, fallen branches, and mud from all the rain we have had – beauty in the rough!
I have a child on my route who has been, to say the least, a handful. So much so that for her own safety she has been placed in a harness. Each morning I have to buckle her in, which takes a bit of time. She is little but fierce! And in all truth, her upbringing has contributed greatly to this. But in the midst of it all, she has been sweetly compliant. I find myself not calling her by name but instead “Hun” or “Dear”. Truly she is a beauty in the rough.
Many of us have people in our lives that make life difficult. They don’t cooperate. They fuss. They whine. They cry. And they may even throw an occasional temper tantrum. Whether they are family, coworkers or total strangers, we can’t just write them off as not worth the effort.
If there is anything that we can learn from Jesus’ time here on earth – and really the way God feels about every single one of us, all the time – is that people are always worth the effort! He invested the totality of His love in redeeming us – no matter how unworthy we are. And just as He did for us, we must strive to seek out and redeem beauty in the rough.
But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 AMP
Apr 8th, 2019, Mon, 9:48 am