All the Children of the World

Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. Mark16:15

“What doing?” asked the Chinese boy sitting at our table.

“She’s pray-ing,” replied the Russian boy across the table.

“Yes,” I said. “I’m thanking Jesus for my food.” So began our pre-school lunch conversation in a public school.

“I do that too at my house,” said the Russian boy.

Another boy chimed in as well. Children of every ethnicity sat at nearby tables; Indian, Hispanic, Jewish, Cambodian, African-American, Caucasian, and mixed. All the children of the world sat eating and talking together. A simple unspoken blessing over food became a witnessing tool for the children to share the gospel on their level with each other.

Jesus commanded us to go into all the world and preach the gospel. Often I hear an ad on the radio asking why hasn’t all the world heard the gospel. Maybe we aren’t always seeing the opportunities God lays in our laps. We may not all be able to travel to foreign mission fields, but God has brought the mission fields to us. They are our neighbors, our students, our friends. Legal or illegal makes no difference. Remember the song we sang as children? Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.  The best part of my day is watching and listening to all the children of the world right at my table.

Won’t you share with us the mission field where God has placed you?

Jesus Loves the Little Children 

Shelter in the Rock

From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. Psalms 61:2,3

Hiking a moderately difficult trail along the Blue Ridge Parkway, thunder began to rumble. We knew a storm could be upon us in just a few minutes. Where would we find shelter? Too far to return to the car. Nothing to do but keep walking in hopes the storm would go around us. At the turn in the trail was a huge boulder with a large cleft underneath; the perfect shelter from a storm. We placed our backpacks on the ground for a seat in the rock. The pitter patter of rain began. A flash of lightning, another rumble louder than before. The rain began to pour and wash down the trail just outside our rock. Then as suddenly as it came upon us, the storm passed and the sun shown again. Backpacks back on, we continued the hike, thankful for our rock.

There is the Rock, our Rock who is always with us though we often don’t see how close He is. Storms always come and go in our lives. Sometimes the storm comes suddenly. But Jesus is very near. There is no need to turn back. We need to seek shelter in Him. When the storms rage, rest in Him. There is no better shelter from life’s passing storms than the Rock, Jesus Christ.

Won't you share the shelter you have received from the Rock?

Standing Stones

Standing Stones in the river at Hebron Falls, Julian Price Picnic Area, NC

That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? Then ye shall answer them, Joshua 4:6-7a.

Hebron Falls 1.4 miles to the right. That’s what the trail sign read. “Take us about an hour, my guess,” I said.

“Quarter to 5 now. Let’s go,” my husband answered.

The trail was easy through a meadow, then we went into the woods. Roots began to cover the trail; mud, streams, rocky ledges. I know why we are suppose to hike with a buddy. I needed Rick’s hand to pull me over rocks! I hoped this fall was going to be worth it.

Finally we could hear the fall tumbling below. A sign: Hebron Falls with the arrow pointing downward. Here we went again. At the bottom we looked up on a tumble of rocks with a stream running willy nilly through it. “Seen better,” Rick said. So had I. I took a few pictures with my cell phone and was about to leave when I spotted it.

“Look at that!” I exclaimed. There at the base of the falls in the middle of the rock pile was a man-made stack of small stones. “I bet there are 12 stones there.” I pointed, counting from a distance out loud. Sure enough 12 stones.

I don’t know who or why those 12 stones from the river were stacked at the base, but I do think they were put there for a reason. Maybe to commemorate something special on the hike. Maybe just to say I’m a Christian and I want others to think about God while they are here in His creation. Maybe none of these things, but to me it said, “Tell the story of what Jesus has done for you.” God commanded Joshua to have a leader from each tribe take a stone from the middle of the Jordan River and make a pile of standing stones so their children and generations to come would ask, “What mean ye by these stones?” God wanted the Israelites to pass on what great things God had done so their children would learn to have faith.

What great thing or things has God done for you that you would like to share so others might know how great a God we serve. Won’t you please leave a comment?

Diversify

O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it mightbe well with them, and with their children for ever! Deuteronomy 5:29

Diversify—that’s the key word for those who are trying to get us to invest our money for the future. Don’t leave all your money in a savings account with little interest. Just keep enough in savings for emergency funds. Put a little in risky stocks, some more in medium risk and some in low risk. Put some in gold. Invest overseas. How much money do they think we have? All of this is suppose to produce big yields and make us comfortable when we reach retirement. As Grandpa would say, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” It may be true in other areas of our lives as well.

How do we diversify our spiritual lives so we get the biggest return in eternity? Do we invest all our spiritual time in an hour or two at church once a week? Do we send our children to Sunday School and think we have done our religious duty by our children? Is the Bible in view on our coffee tables all week gathering dust until next Sunday? There are six other days to invest our time and efforts into the dividends of eternity. How can we start? When Adam and Eve sinned they lost the most important part of their spiritual lives; fellowship with God. They had to confess their sin to God and let God cloth them in the skin of an innocent animal before that fellowship could be restored. All the spiritual diversity is futile if we first have not been clothed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ through the forgiveness of our sins.  Then, we can start with family alter every night. It WILL take EFFORT. It takes effort to save money too, you know. What about personal prayer time? We can have a personal devotion time. We can memorize verses. We may not be rich in man’s eyes but we can be rich in God’s eyes. Having eternal riches is also an inheritance that will last for generations. Diversify your spiritual life—it will be the best investment you ever made.

Won’t you let us know how you are diversifying your spiritual investments with a comment?