Shifting Sand or Solid Rock?

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. Matthew 7:24-27

Have you viewed the beautiful sunsets and sunrises in the last few days? The Saharan desert, pictured here, has a land area as big as the United States and covers most of northern Africa. I can't imagine building cities and countries in a desert, but there are rivers and oasis to build near. Many of the cities border the Mediterranean Sea, but the picture above seems like nothing but a wasteland.  People from all over the world are drawn to visit the cities and yes there are some who venture across this vast territory. The winds show us some of the beauty of the blowing sand when viewed with the light of the rising and setting sun. But would you want to build a house on the rise in the picture above?

Put On Your Walking Shoes

Gird thyself and bind on thy sandals Acts 12:8

How often do we say to our children "Put your shoes on"? How often do they whine, "I can't"? There are things we know our children can do for themselves but there are times when they still need our help. Today let's look at a situation in Acts 12:1-19 when God was willing to help but Peter needed to do some things for himself.

Peter was imprisoned for preaching the gospel and because it pleased "the people". Herod's intent was to kill Peter, but God wasn't finished with Peter just yet. Peter wasn't like me. I would have been wide awake with worry. Peter was sound asleep.  He'd taken off his clothes and shoes and prepared for a night's rest. He was settled in a dark damp prison sound asleep when the angel punched him in the side to wake him up.

"Gird thyself and bind on thy sandals." Even though Peter thought he was dreaming he followed the angel's directions. "Cast thy garment about thee and follow me." the angel said. Of course today we might hear, "Put your clothes on and put on your shoes too. Get your jacket on and follow me." Peter was chained in the prison. So the angel had to do his part by unshackling Peter. It's easy for us as parents to do the things our children can't but it takes patience to wait on them to do what they can for themselves. I can just see Peter still half asleep trying to dress (Did you notice the angel had turned on the light?) Peter probably staggered along following the angel out to the gate that opened by itself. 

As they went out into the street the angel left. By then Peter was awake enough to realize he wasn't dreaming. God had delivered him! What was the first thing he did? He went to find his friends, the people of the church. They were praying at the home of Mary, John Mark's mother. Here was another door. This time he knocked. Sweet little Rhoda comes to the door and in shock, she closes it back and runs to tell the others. (Goodness girl, let him in. It's dark and cold and the guards may be looking for him). No one believes her but Peter is still knocking. 

What has God told you to do? How is He helping you do the impossible? Yes, it was impossible for Peter to come out of his situation alive. But God always does His part and waits patiently for us to do ours. In Ephesians6:1-19 we are told to put on the whole armor of God. He's provided us with all we need, the Truth, His righteousness, the gospel of peace, and above all faith. But there are a few things we have to do for ourselves. We need to put on our walking shoes and tie them on tight.

Have we asked for salvation? Have we studied our Bible, the sword of the Spirit? And have we covered our days and nights with prayer for ourselves and others? These are the things we must do for ourselves. God will lose the chains and open the doors if we do our part in following Him.

Blessings, 

Gail

Life Begins

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

             

 Sometimes choices are hard. Sometimes we make the wrong choice. Sometimes we don't fully understand the choice until it's too late to change the choice. But God is the Great Forgiver and Lover of our souls. 

When I began to keep chickens, I wanted to raise my own flock. I didn't know how to keep my hens from laying with my setting hen. I hated wasting eggs, so I attempted to sort them without candling them (looking inside with a light through the shell.) One day I cracked an egg into a bowl and there lay a yolk with a few arteries stretching across it with a tiny heart beating.

Oh no. What had I done? I couldn't put it back in the shell. I couldn't keep it warm, and I couldn't throw it in the trash. It was alive and dying before my eyes. Over the next 20 minutes, I watched the heartbeat slow as the egg cooled down to room temperature. I tried to walk away but I always returned to check on it, wishing it to live, knowing it would die. I had made the wrong choice. Finally, the little heart no longer beat. I slid it into the trash, my heart broken.

Read the verse again, please. If my people, that's Christians. Aren't we God's people?

Shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face. Why? 

and turn from their wicked ways. It sounds like there must be something there that needs repenting. What have we done? What are we allowing? Are we sitting idly by while children are being murdered in the womb? Maybe they are being murdered before they even make it to their mother's womb. When does life begin?

When does life begin? My friend had trouble conceiving so she and her husband turned to invitro fertilization. The fertilized egg was implanted in her womb. Was the fertilized egg alive? Sure, or it would not have embedded itself in the womb. It would not have grown into a beautiful little girl. There had to have been life there. This couple was attempting to create a life. How many people today would never think of going to an abortion clinic but they prevent the embedding of a fertilized live baby from implanting itself in his/her mother's womb? 

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, this is hard to write but it is necessary if we want to see our families, our churches, and our nation healed. We can't pretend this is not happening even in our own churches. I know it is. But what does the Lord say?

 then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. We are not without hope only if we choose to be. What will we choose?

Please choose life,

Gail

Planted and Watered

 

Psalms 1

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

 

2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night

 

.3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

We camped at Table Rock State Park in SC this past week. We love hiking to waterfalls and walking along the tree-lined rivers. Though I didn't take this photo we saw something very similar just a short distance up the trail from the nature center.  Walking along trails is a good place to contemplate the words of scripture. It's where we can gain a better understanding of the word pictures the Lord is using to help us see our relationship with Him and with others.

Let's take a look at Psalms 1. Verse 3 speaks of the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord. He is like a tree planted by the water. Now look back at the picture. What can we notice?

• There is a constant flow of water to sustain the trees
•  Some of the trees are along the edge and some farther back.
• Those along the edge are constantly drinking from the flowing water.

Like trees, if we draw up close to the Living Water, we can constantly be refreshed and grow. 

What does a growing tree do? Our verse says it bears fruit and its leaf doesn't wither. 

• Fruit from a well-watered tree is plump and juicy, delectable.
• Juicy fruit makes it desirable to be picked.
• There is no dry spell for the leaves to wither. It's always appealing.
• An appealing tree draws people to it for the shade and the fruit.

How are we as Christians providing a place of rest for the weary, sin-sick world? Are our actions showing the fruits of kindness, peace, and joy?

 

The tree by the water prospers.

• It grows, bears fruit. 
• It's noticed. 
• It's desirable.

 Are we bearing fruit by winning souls? Are our lives making the gospel desirable? As the saying goes, Apples don't fall far from the tree. The fruit we bear will desire to be planted by the Water as well. Our testimony to the world can fill the whole earth with the knowledge of the Lord (Habbakuk 2:14)

My prayer is that we catch the vision of international revival to fill the whole earth with the knowledge of the Lord. How about you?

Blessings,

Gail