The Rain

 

Those who dwell under his shadow shall return;

They shall be revived like grain,

And grow like a vine.

Their scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

~Hosea 14:7 (NKJV)

There's a storm brewing over on the mountain. The billowy clouds rise above the haze. The thunder rolls like distant cannon fire, ever increasing in intensity as the battle draws closer. As of yet, there is no sight of lightning, only heat and humidity and the silence of waiting. No stirring breeze. Then the wrens begin to fuss, the robins chirp, and the crows call alarming the trees to the impending weather war. Do they feel their lives are endangered?

 As the storm draws near, it broadens its spectrum, rolling from one valley to the next. Down the hillside and up the other. How long before I must retreat inside to safety, away from lightning bolts and pelting rain, swaying trees? Aww, it's just a summer storm, they say. It will pass. But what will lie in its path? Will there be trees down, houses crushed, fires? Or simply the passing of another summer storm?

As I survey the skies of my younger days, I see political storms that came and went, leaving a little more destruction in their path each time. The last fifty years, for the most part, have not been kind to us. Apparently, we haven't learned a thing. As Israel mocked Jeremiah and the prophets, mocking seems to be quite the rage of our day. Morality, life, God-given identity, and Christians are mocked in the marketplace of today's cancel culture. 

The storm brought a passing shower, and now I see a rainbow forming. I am also beginning to see a rainbow forming in the political storm of Socialism and communism. Right now, the storm rages, but maybe there's another storm forming underneath. People are coming together. 

 Maybe it's the rain of revival. 

Mercy drops round us are falling, 

but for the showers we plead. 

~D.W. Whittle (1840-1901)

Father, we pray for wisdom in the midst of the storm. We are thankful for the mercy drops of revival we see. Lord, daily, may we pray for the showers, the downpour of revival. In Jesus' name. Amen. 

Freedom Depends on Prayer

 

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. ~II Chronicles 7:14

What do you know about the story of the Pilgrims? I was taught they lived in the Netherlands for a time to escape religious persecution until their children began to be more Dutch than English. I heard about the Speedwell that leaked causing them to return to England and load everything on the Mayflower. I even knew about the Mayflower being blown off course but, not until my children were in school did I begin to learn some of the most miraculous happenings. 

In the midst of a storm more than halfway across the Atlantic, the main crossbeam supporting the mast cracked. The sailors scrambled to prop it up but nothing worked. The Pilgrims began to pray. Mr. Brewster remembered the great iron screw of his printing press (Marshall, Peter; The Light and the Glory. pp118,119). A great iron screw for a printing press? Why would Pilgrims need such a thing? Mr. Brewster brought a printing press to print Bibles, likely copies of the 1599 Geneva Bible. The great iron screw did the job of holding the crossbeam together to get the Mayflower on across the waters. And so begins the voyage to hide Christ's church in the wilderness protected from the persecutions of Europe.  

A long hard winter followed the landing of the Mayflower, but the Indians, who died of disease, left a store of corn. This small stockpile of corn sustained the Pilgrims until spring planting. But they knew nothing of planting in this new world. They knew nothing of hunting and fishing in the vast wilderness. One day an Indian walked into the Pilgrim's village with "Welcome". Welcome? No screams or raised tomahawk? No unknown language? In perfect English he greeted the Pilgrims with "Welcome". (Squanto by Eric Metaxas). Though half the passengers of the Mayflower had died that winter, still God was preserving a people to bring the gospel to the new world and establish the laws that would be the founding document of the US Constitution. That document was the Mayflower Compact. 

Throughout the history of the United States, the hand of God is obvious in times of war and peace. One of the main reasons could be the call to prayer. Washington called the nation to prayer and so did Lincoln.  But since the Supreme Court misconstrued the Constitution to mean freedom from religion instead of freedom of religion, we've been on a downhill slide that goes faster every day. Is all lost? No, President Trump has once again, called us to prayer as a nation.

II Chronicles 7:14 tells us that there is a way out. Not by the device of man but by the power of God. Read the passage again. 

We must humble ourselves, realize we are not in control. 

We must pray and seek God's face. It doesn't take a preacher to pray, just willing people who talk to God with all sincerity. 

We must turn from our wicked ways. What is that? The 10 Commandments say we shall have no other gods before the Lord God. What do we do in place of worship? When was the last time we read our Bibles or attended church, or prayed? Is our language riddled with profanity? It's not just a habit. 

The rest of the verse says, turn and God will listen and heal our land. What needs healing? 

Heavenly Father, our land seems to be almost in collapse, yet you have given us the way of escape. Just as you provided and protected the Pilgrims working miracle after miracle for them, you will do the same for us when we turn from our wicked ways and turn our hearts to you. In Jesus's name. Amen. 

How to Pick Blackberries

 

“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. ~ Matthew 10:16 NKJV

I've picked blackberries since I was a small child. It's worth the scratches for the jam and blackberry cobbler. Every season, someone will admonish me to watch out for snakes, even neighbors driving by will stop and say, "Watch out for snakes." Your experience may be different, but I've never seen a snake in a blackberry patch. I've seen a snake skin hanging in a sapling, but never a live snake. So my wandering mind began to wonder as I picked as to just why in all the brush and pine needles, poison oak and briars have I never seen a snake. It is the perfect habitat. 

I thought, I'm not posing a threat, gently easing into the berry patch. I pick the berries on the outside, then step gently, a little at a time, to the next sticky cane. Then pick and step again. I'm not rushing in like a wild bull stomping and crushing. If there is a snake, he's likely slithering out the other direction as I'm creeping in from the front side. I gather every ripe berry I can reach, turn, and go back out the same way I went in, gingerly picking my way through the briars that have closed in behind me. 

I think that's the way Jesus wants our witnessing to be. Gentle, one step at a time, getting to know the person, not charging into their space with accusations of sin that will send them to hell if they don't repent this minute. Charging in will cause them to throw up a defense, and you might be "bitten". 

James 4:7 says, "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." How do we resist? Easing into the devil's territory. Gently witnessing with kindness and sympathy. You know, we're sinners too. Your story can have a profound effect on others when given in a harmless, dove-like manner. And be wise, know when it's time to turn and ease out. You may have the opportunity to return to that "berry patch", that conversation on another day. 

Heavenly Father, help us to love others well. Help us show them we care about their lives, their circumstances, as well as, their souls. Help us witness the way you would witness, as wise as serpents but harmless as doves. In Jesus's name. Amen.