Whom Shall I Fear?

 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”  Acts 16:9 (ESV)

Look back at the picture again. If you saw this person sitting on the sidewalk, what would you do? Would you pass by? What if they spoke to you? How would you answer? 

Satan has us afraid on so many levels. We're afraid of being attacked. I can remember when my dad stopped picking up hitchhikers because he became afraid for his family and rightfully so. We do live in a day of caution. I saw a news report where a lady saw a family slumped over in a car unconscious. She opened the door and took out a toddler, rubbing his chest and talking to him to wake up. Others had ignored the car for quite a while. She had to take the chance because she saw a child. She also had been in the same situation years ago.  But what about other ways we are unadmittedly afraid. 

Are we afraid we don't know what to say? Afraid we will say the wrong thing? Afraid someone won't like us? It's often not just the person sitting on the sidewalk that we fear. It's often our neighbor, our family, our friends and strangers. People in every walk of our life are living in fear, fear for their souls as well as their lives. 

The man of Macedonia called out to Paul in a vision. Scripture says where there is no vision the people persish. (Proverbs 29:18). People all around us are perishing. We don't know when the next person will perish from Covid or a car wreck or some random act of violence. Paul went to Macedonia. He was beaten and imprisoned but he helped the people of Macedonia. People were saved and encouraged. 

What's holding us back from answering the cries of those who are calling out for help? What vision has God given you? 

Trying to see with God's eyes,

Gail

Watering the Seeds of Witness

 

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.  Isaiah 55:10,11

A seed dropped into the ground does not sprout without water. We sing a song about showers of blessings. We want revival. We want to see people come to know the Lord, to be saved. We want to see the "seeds" we plant in witnessing bring forth fruit, but what about the rain? What about the snow? 

Dark clouds bring rain. Often there is thunder and lightning. Rainy days are dreary and hard to get through. We usually don't like rainy days, but that's what it takes for seeds to sprout and grow and produce food. 

Dark cold clouds bring snow. Here in the south, we love snow but farther north it may not be so much fun. People say they have "cabin fever". They're tired of being inside. But snow also brings a time of quiet and peace over the land. The seeds in the ground are growing roots. Though no sprouts are yet surfacing things are happening. 

So what does all that have to do with revival and seeing people come to the Lord? It may be that we are too comfortable in the sunshine of our lives to really be willing to allow the storm clouds and the cold snow. Our roots are shallow and it may be showing in our witness. When cabin fever takes over, our family and friends often get the brunt of our frustrations. We could allow the time to be better spent finding ways for our spiritual roots to grow. When the storm clouds of life gather we are often frustrated by politics, jobs, or sickness. We may be praying for the storm to pass, failing to see that it may water the seeds of witness. Weathering life's storms can be hard, but if it causes the seed of witness to sprout and grow will it not be worth it? 

Blessings,

Gail

Lights in the Darkness

 

Today I'd like to share a Bible story from Acts 20:7-12. I'd like to take you deeper into the story to see the sights and sounds, "the just like us" human side of the story, because the Bible is just as much about us as it is about the people who lived those stories. Enjoy.

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Matthew 5:14

Children chattered and played as they walked with their parents carrying baskets of food and their lamps. Tonight was the last night to hear and visit with Paul before he sailed to Assos. There was a large house, three stories high, where they had agreed to gather. Neighbors watched as the little troop grew larger the closer they came to the house. 

The ladies in the house welcomed the guests, taking the baskets and spreading the food along tables for

everyone to share. A little food, a little fellowship, a little preaching, because of the buzz of the house no one noticed how late the hour had become. 

Neighbors noticed the lamps twinkling into light in a third-story room. “What’s going on there?” Their own lamps were going out one by one as they laid down for the night. 

Eutychus, a young man, sat propped in a window to catch the night breeze and make room for the older folks to sit. As Paul preached toward midnight, Eutychus’ eyes began to droop and his head to nod. Several times, he’d caught himself from falling onto the old man seated in front of him. He’d rearranged himself hoping to wake up. He wanted to hear and he didn’t want to begin to snore. Suddenly his arms flailed and he toppled out the window to the street below. 

People screamed. Lights poured into the streets. Eutychus was dead! The commotion awakened the neighbors. Paul pushed his way through the crowd, then gathered the young man in his arms. “His life is in him,” he declared as Eutychus’ eyes fluttered open. 

“Hallelujah! Praise God! Thank you, Jesus!” came the exclamations from the crowd as they lifted their hands and faces heavenward. 

Thank you, Jesus? Who is this Jesus? , the neighbors whispered along the street. They watched as the people filed back into the house, talking and praising.

Inside the people prayed, ate, listened, and asked questions until dawn when the town began to stir again. Eutychus, the young man, was helped home as the people dispersed. Neighbors watched and eyed the window where last night he had fallen.

Lamps through the night, a dead man raised alive, people praising Jesus. “We’ve never seen anything like this before.”

To think, it seemed to have started with lights shining in the darkness.

Let your light shine.

Gail

Teaching Life's Parables

 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. Deuteronomy 6: 7 (ESV)

 It’s not unusual for a family pet to wander off.  We lost our dog a few months ago. We called him.  We searched the neighborhood. We asked the neighbors. Finally, a neighbor suggested we look on the website for animal control. There was his picture so we phoned to find out how to retrieve him. We had less than twenty-four hours to claim him without cost. It was over an hour's drive to the shelter. We had no supper and it was already dark. We couldn’t just let him go. When we arrived we found him scared, without his collar, and ready to leave. We loaded him into the truck and drove home. Here was a moment for us to seize. A moment to teach our children about the parable of the lost sheep. They could relate to the feelings of the shepherd. The relief of the sheep when it was found and taken home on the shepherd’s shoulders. All we needed to do was ask, “Do you remember the parable we read about the lost sheep?” (Luke 15) for a meaningful conversation.  

Taking this example again, if we hadn’t read this parable when the incident happened we might have later read it with our children. That’s when we might have asked, “Do you remember when we lost our dog?” Either way, children can make the connections of scripture to their daily lives.

When daily Bible study is a part of our family’s routine, those teachable moments are easily seen. We can facilitate our children’s learning by allowing them to make the relationships of the scriptures they already know to their daily lives. Facilitating their learning rather than simply telling them the answers allows them to think through and imprint truth in their hearts. They are retelling the scripture and their experience. Yes, as a parent or grandparent we are there to fill in the gaps, but our children need to do most of the thinking and speaking to hold onto and personalize the truth of God’s word.

 Anything and everything can be used to teach our children. Jesus spoke in parables. The parables were about the things in the everyday life of the Jewish people. He spoke to them about sheep, and seeds, and making bread. Our children have similar experiences that we can use to teach God’s truths. 

First, our children need to know God’s word through daily family Bible study.

Blessings for your family,

Gail

True Colors

 …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

I thought surely Eric Carle had lost his mind. Here was a book titled Hello, Red Fox with a green fox on the cover, all written and illustrated by Eric Carle. When I turned to the first page I saw a giant red heart with a tiny black dot. There was a caption at the bottom labeled Important. I thought I should read it. The instructions said to stare at the black dot and count to 10 then look at the black dot on the next page. Okay, so I tried it. A faint green image of the heart appeared on the opposite white page. Then the story of a little green frog’s birthday party began. Each animal invited was not the color it appeared if you took the time to stare 10 seconds at the black dot on the animal then, look at the opposite white page. I thought, this is really cool, Eric. Maybe you are on to something!