Spring Parables

One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. Psalms 145:4

Have you had a chance to get outside this spring? The winter has been cold, wet, and windy here in the upstate. Finally yesterday we were able to get outside and enjoy the warm sunshine while we prepared our garden spot. 

I enjoy having the grandkids help with the gardening. We've found unique rocks, "turtle" eggs in the straw mulch, and picked buckets of berries. No matter what we're doing my favorite part is sharing something special about God's creation.

Jesus spoke in parables to the people using what they could see around them, sheep and pastures, fields and vines. Our busy lives prohibit us from exploring Creation the way agricultural societies once did - the way our grandparents did. This week our schools are on spring break. It is a great week to take a walk, clean up the garden, plan a picnic or a hike. Don't forget to look for ways to declare God's wondrous works and praise His name to our next generation who is trailing along behind us. 

Hey Kids: 

What did you see outside today?

• a spider web?
• bees collecting pollen?
• birds peeking in birdhouses in search of a new home?

How can you use these sightings to share the Good News of God's Love? 

Here are some ideas to help get you started.

• spiders trap unsuspecting bugs and devour them (I Peter 5:8)
• bees collect pollen to make honey to share with the whole hive (IICorinthians 6:1,2)
• birds search for the best home for their brood (II Corinthians 5:1)

What connections to God's word will you make this week? 

Blessings,

Gail

Pruning for an Abundance of Fruit

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

John 15:5

Spring is coming on fast here in the Upstate of SC. This week my husband cut deadwood out of the apple trees. My garden was finally dry enough to turn under. The peach trees are blooming along the roadside. Everything is recovering from the dead of winter.

To get the best from the apple trees, the garden, and the peach orchards people have to be involved. God put Adam and Eve in a garden to tend it. He looked for a shepherd to be king of Israel. Many of Jesus' parables are about agriculture. In Isaiah 11:1 He is referred to as the Branch and in John 15, He is the Vine. Jesus says the Father is glorified when we bear fruit. 

To bear fruit we must be attached to the Branch. Sometimes there is deadwood in our lives that need pruning out. Pruning trees, tilling the ground, those are acts of kindness for a tree or a garden. Sure plants and trees can put down roots and still grow but not in the way they could or should. The tilling and pruning open the way for gardens and trees to grow and bear an abundance of fruit. Acts of kindness toward others can open doors of relationships where we can be the witness that bears fruit for God's kingdom. 

Father, help us examine our own lives that we might prune out those things that would hinder our witness. Help us replace the deadwood with acts of kindness that builds relationships and lead to opportunities for a witness. 

Hey Kids: 

What acts of kindness are you using to build relationships with others?

Here are some ideas:

• Help a neighbor clean up their yard after a storm.
• Bake some muffins or cookies for a sick neighbor.
• Sit with someone at lunch or recess who is alone. 

We would love to hear your ideas. Please share them in the comments below. 

Blessings,

Gail

Are We Sacrificing to Baal?

Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. 

I Kings 18:37

Do you ever feel alone in serving the Lord? Elijah was going to feel that way when he obeyed God. He was to show God's people exactly how strong God is but it wasn't going to affect King Ahab and his wife Jezebel. Elijah would serve God no matter the outcome and so should we. 

God asked Elijah to meet withKing Ahab. God wanted Elijah to challenge the prophets of Baal to prove who is the true God. Ahab gathered the prophets of Baal. They sacrificed, called upon their god, and cut themselves, making loud noises to get Baal's attention. No one answered.

Israel had deserted the Lord for Baal. The altar was broken down, unusable. Elijah repaired the altar. He used God's directives for building it. He put the wood in order and prepared the sacrifice by dousing it three times with water. Then Elijah prayed. He prayed for the Lord to hear him. He prayed for the people to know that the Lord, He is God and that the Lord had turned their hearts back again. Then the Lord sent down fire and consumed the sacrifice. 

The people fell on their faces and said, "The Lord, he is the God, the Lord, he is the God."

The worshipers of Baal sacrificed their children on Baal's burning hot arms. They made lots of noise so as not to hear the screams of their babies. This worship had even become acceptable to God's people. 

How long have we allowed the sacrifice of our babies? Since Roe vs. Wade? How long before we desire spiritual leadership? How long before we pray to restore our hearts to worship? How long before we allow our sins to be washed away, holding onto nothing but the blood of Jesus? 

I pray the outcry we have heard in recent days not be forgotten but lead us to repentance and revival. 

Are we ready to shout, "The Lord, He is the God! The Lord, He is the God!? 

Hey Kids:

Parents, these are hard issues but Satan doesn't think our children are ever too young to hear his lies. He begins to destroy their lives as soon as he can reach their tender ears. 

Pray how you can address these and other hard issues with your children so they know God's plan for family, marriage, and morality. 

Blessings,

Gail

Prepare, Gather, Minister

And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 
        II Timothy 3:15

What would the world be like without teachers to show others the "how" of living life? Not just teachers in a classroom though without them there would be no doctors or preachers or even mailmen and mechanics, policemen or air traffic controllers. 

Where would we be without moms and dads who teach the word of God?

David became the King of Israel at age thirty (II Samuel 5:1-5) but his education as a leader and defender didn't begin there. 

•   His heart was prepared as a child to serve the Lord by serving his family and others (I Samuel 17).
• He gathered those about him who were outcast but willing to serve (I Samuel 22:1,2).
• He became the defender and king of his nation serving until he was seventy years old (II Samuel 5).

Just as David prepared as a child to serve the Lord even the Lord Himself had a period of growth. God chose Mary and Joseph to be Jesus Godly parents to train Him in the ways of the Lord (Isaiah 7:14-16).

• Jesus was prepared to hear and ask questions in the temple at twelve (Luke 2:46,47).
• Jesus gathered His men and prepared them for the work (Luke 6:13).
• Jesus defends us before the Father with His sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection (I John 2: 1-3).

Are we preparing with the Holy Scriptures?
Are we gathering like-minded people around us?
Are we ready to be leaders in today's world?

Please share some of the ways you are preparing your family to be leaders for the Lord.

Hey Kids:
What are you preparing to be when you grow up? I know, you've been asked that dozens of times.
Has your plan changed since you were small and thought about being a policeman or a fireman or are you still thinking of that path?

How are you preparing for that future career?

How are you preparing to serve the Lord in that capacity?

King David had no idea he would ever be more than a shepherd but God saw a King.

God has plans for you as well.

Pray Boldly

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. Mark 16:15

It was 1934. Men gathered in Frank's cow pasture to pray. They had prayed in several locations around the city but this day Frank had offered his place of business - a dairy farm. 

The men gathered each time to pray for revival. This time there was a more specific, more bold request. Vernon one of the men made a request that they pray boldly for God to raise up a man from their city to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. That man was Vernon Patterson. That dairy farm belonged to William Franklin Graham. That city was Charlotte, NC. 

In the coming months, Dr. Mordecai Ham was invited to speak in an evangelistic meeting. Frank's son Billy had no intentions of attending the meetings but there was a rumor of teens stirring up trouble at the meeting. Billy thought he would go see the show. Six days before his sixteenth birthday Billy received Christ. He still didn't know he was going to be used in answer to those prayers but he did know his life was changed - for the better. The call to evangelism came later while he was in college. 

We still have great men called by God to do great work but our nation is crumbling around us from moral decay. There is little commitment to marriage and family. The murder of our unborn children is rampant. 

In the days of King Saul Israel found itself in trouble from lack of Godly leadership. God told Samuel to go anoint a new king that He would show him. 
Samuel was afraid to go because of Saul. God showed him a plan. He was to go make a sacrifice, to worship. Samuel obeyed. When he saw the sons of Jesse he thought he knew who God wanted but God's answer was no. 

Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. I Samuel 16:7.

Samuel asked Jesse if he had more sons. Jesse sent for David from the pasture where he was tending sheep. 

Have we prayed boldly for spiritual leadership? Let us pray we don't look on the outside but wait on the Lord for answers for a spiritual leader He chooses.

Hey Kids:

Billy Graham's parents prepared their children to serve the Lord.
Can you guess how? 

Every night the Graham family prayed and read their Bible together. 
Though Billy Graham did not receive Christ until he was almost sixteen, his parents laid the groundwork for a Godly man. 

How can you encourage your family to prepare each other for God's work? 
Here's a start: Pray boldly. Keep a journal of your prayers and God's answers. 
Be aware that YOU are the future leaders. 
Prepare to be spiritual leaders chosen of God. 

Praying Boldly,

 Gail