A Colt, the Foal of a Donkey

 

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. Zechariah 9:9

I wonder why Jesus chose the colt of a donkey to ride into Jerusalem that first Palm Sunday? 

Was it because that was the common form of transportation? 

If we examine the prophet Zechariah's words (above) we see the people were to be looking for their king to come on a donkey's colt. But wait, kings rode horses!

A donkey is short but a colt is much shorter. Jesus was riding right down there where the people were. The clothes put on the colt's back covered a prophecy that Jesus had tried to tell his disciples. Under the clothes was a cross. 

And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him.
And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way.
And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord:
Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest. Mark 11:7-10

Almost all donkeys have a cross on their backs. It runs down their backs and across their shoulders. 

A donkey is an animal known for carrying burdens. The donkey carried Jesus who was carrying the greatest burden of all - our sins, the sins of the whole world. 

Jesus rode this donkey into Jerusalem the same day the sheep would have been brought in, the tenth day of Nisan. The sheep were to be put up and examined until Passover when they were to be killed as the Passover sacrifice.

During this week, Jesus would be examined. He would be arrested and stand before His accusers. Like a sheep that is lead before the shearers is silent, so Jesus did not answer the accusations. He was slain as our sacrifice, the Lamb of God.

Father, help us slow down and realize today is the day our Savior has come. Today is the day of salvation. If only we will call upon Him, He will take our burdens and save our souls. In Jesus name. Amen. 

Blessings,

Gail

Hey Kids:

Let's return to the children's section of family devotions. A friend helped me recognize this as an important part of our blog. So here goes.

Have you ever seen a donkey? Many of the farms in my area are keeping donkeys in their pastures to ward off the coyotes. The next time you see one, stop and look for the cross on his back. NOT TOO CLOSE! Stay behind the fence. The purpose of the donkey is to kick away any danger. He would think that includes you too!

You might also enjoy The Easter Donkey, a picture book by Donna Thornton. 

She tells the story of a real donkey used by a church in our area to help reenact Palm Sunday.

Palm Sunday is the day Jesus entered Jerusalem riding a donkey. 

Some churches put on Easter Passion plays and invite the public. Like Christmas Pageants depicting the birth of Christ, so Easter Passion plays depict the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. 

What are some of the ways you are preparing for Easter this week? Leave a comment and let us know. 

Talented

 

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 

Colossians 3:23 (ESV)

Aren't these children talented? I think they are amazing to see the potential in dead wood and sticks and use them to construct tunnels or buildings or whatever they have planned. So often we overlook our talents. 

My grandmother saw me as a teacher when I was a child. I thought I had no interest in teaching. I loved drawing and painting and playing music, basically copying my cousin who could do no wrong. When I began school I developed an interest in writing poetry. The only book I had besides a Bible was Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes so it seems natural I would try to write in rhyme. 

What I really wanted to do was to get married and have lots of children like my great-grandmothers. 

Oh - history was my other great love. So I married, had three children quickly and then the doctor said no more. I wouldn't be able to carry another child to term. That's another story.

 

By this time my oldest was three and beginning to recognize environmental print - Pepsi, Exxon, KMart. I thought if he was interested in reading I should teach him. And I did. Then I taught my second son and my daughter. I liked teaching reading but I didn't have any more children to teach and my husband said no to homeschooling. Wait! Didn't Grandma say I was a teacher? I went back to school.

Several years into teaching we were told if we asked children to write we needed to write. You know, be an example. Don't ask someone to do what you won't do. It was scary but I did it. It was well received by the other teachers and administrators. Grandma said, "Teach." Was the Lord saying, "Write."?

Several years later I retired. I wanted the things I was writing to be illustrated the way I saw them in my mind. I'm particular like that. Years ago agents and publishers wanted to use their own illustrators. Some still do. But many want authors to illustrate or get an illustrator. That's a new twist. So I research, I draw, I paint. 

I heard an author say an important thing the other day, (I apologize I didn't get her name. It was an ETV show). She said, "Experience something common, notice what's going on, what it might mean. Start small." She was referencing writing but I think it applies to any talent the Lord has given us. 

In the parable of the talents, three people were given differing amounts of talents (money in the case of the story). The first two used their talents and acquired more. The last person hid his talent in the sand. It angered the master who took his talent and gave it to the one with the most. 

so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. Matthew 25:25-28 (ESV)

What talents do you have? What desires has the Lord put in your heart? 

Are you using them to honor the Lord while you raise your children and serve your family, your church, and your community? 

Is it time to dig up that talent and put it to use for the Master? 

Father, help me pause and examine the gifts, the talents you have given me. Though they may seem small, help me start noticing them, using them, and rejoice in how you multiply those talents through me. In Jesus's name, Amen.  

Steeping My Heart in the Word

 

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

 Psalms 1:2

Iced tea or hot tea? Sweet tea or herbal tea? The truth is they are all made the same way. It's just the way you choose to sip them that makes them seem different. They all need to be made with hot water and steep time. Tea is not fast food. Most teas take about five minutes of steeping time. Then it needs to be strained. When I was a child my mom had to pour the tea through a strainer into a pitcher with the sugar and water. Even today we often use tea balls for our hot teas. It takes time to make good tea. 

It takes time for things to soak into my mind and then drip down into my heart. Studying God's word is one of those things that I need to allow time to soak. Devotional time is not a fast food. Join me as I  make devotional tea today. 

Purposeful Wandering

 

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life:  John 11:25a

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6

Sometimes I wander. I wander around our little country neighborhood and try to clear my mind and settle my heart. The other day I just meant to notice the sights but then I began to notice the sounds. The blue jay, the guineas, the rooster all had their distinct sound, their voice. I marveled at how uniquely and purposefully God made each one. The blue jay sounded a warning. The guineas ran toward me "grackling" for attention. The rooster was just showing off for the hens, announcing the day.

Then there were the daffodils silently swaying in the breeze brightening a ditch. Even their sunny faces were purposeful don't you think? 

Dogs yipped, barked, and howled inside the farmhouse fence. Some wanted attention, others thought they were the purposeful guardians of their domain. 

As I walked past the farmyard and came to the hayfields and woods, I noticed a large maple tree, still winter dead, bare except for the mistletoe growing in the top. It wasn't just one mistletoe. There were lots of patches whose roots were going down through the bark into the sapwood, dependent on the tree for food, for life itself.

Once a tiny mistletoe berry dropped from a plant or a bird into a crevis in the bark. There it sprouted and dug deep to attach itself. Mistletoe is a parasitic plant, depending on a host for its life. 

As I looked at the tree I thought how the mistletoe will kill the tree but the tree seems to willingly allow the mistletoe to thrive from the tree's own lifeblood, the sap. 

Are we not all sinners responsible for the death of God's Son? But the good news is that when Satan thought he had Jesus killed, buried, and sealed in a tomb, Jesus rose again. We can have eternal life through Jesus Christ if we allow Him to give us the life we cannot attain by ourselves.

In a few weeks, the maple tree will remind me again that Jesus arose. The maple tree will be covered in the green leaves of a resurrected spring. We likely won't be able to see the mistletoe parasite without looking close.  The tree won't just host one plant but many.  And like Jesus, it will cover all those parasites because the tree is the life that gives life to all the mistletoes who attach themselves to it. 

Tall silent winter dead trees; parasitic mistletoes; in the middle of a field -- an often overlooked reminder of God's purpose in sending His Son -- to give us eternal life.

What have you noticed this week?

Wandering in Wonder,

Gail