Kites in the Wind

 

The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.  ~John 3:8 KJV

March – kite flying season. I love the way the wind makes my kite dip and swirl and takes it almost out of sight. Sometimes the string breaks and takes my kite wherever it wants and I wonder where, and who sees it.

We are a lot like kites. When we are without Christ, Satan pulls the strings and directs our lives. Like kites, we pull against the string and try to break away. Jesus told Nicodemus that the wind is like the Holy Spirit that comes into a person’s life without being seen and causes changes that take a Christian in new unseen directions. It is the Holy Spirit through the power of Jesus Christ that breaks the bonds that tie us to sin. Only then can we be free to be carried by the Spirit to accomplish God’s purpose for our lives.

Is sin holding you down? 

Ask Jesus to forgive you and give you that new life of joy and peace that only He can give. Others will see and hear when the Holy Spirit directs your life. Your life may bring change to their life too.

Father, may we be directed by Your Holy Spirit, taking us in new directions for Your glory. In Jesus's name. Amen.

Hey Kids:

Have you ever wondered where your kite or balloon went after its escape?

Here's an idea.

Get together with a group of friends and ask permission from your church to use the church's address for this experiment. (Your parents may not want you to divulge your home address).

Tie a note with a Bible verse or invitation to a kite or balloon. Be sure to include the address of your church. 

When replies come in, use a map to find the distance your kite or balloon traveled. 

What direction did your kite or balloon travel? 

How long did it take to travel the distance? 

What kind of terrain or obstacles did it have to overcome? 

Be sure to follow up with the person(s) who was willing to answer your invitation. 

Perhaps you'll see a new face at church.  

God's Plan

 

Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. ~Jeremiah 1:5 KJV

Sound like anyone you know? Four years ago tomorrow marks the anniversary of the death of Billy Graham. Ninety-nine years old, they say. But God prepared him to preach from the time of conception which would have probably been in February 1918. So, he actually was alive for 100 years. 

The verse I quoted was written by the Prophet Jeremiah.   God was telling him that He had a plan for Jeremiah's life before he was conceived. Psalms 139:14 makes a similar statement about King David. God even had plans for Samuel before he was born (I Samuel 1:11, 26-28). Each came to know the Lord and His plan at different times in their lives. 

Samuel was a child when he heard God's call. King David was probably a teen. Jeremiah said he was too young, but he was old enough for God. He stood before the people of a crumbling nation to preach, warning them and calling them to repent. Billy Graham was nearing his seventeenth birthday when he came to know the Lord. He was a mighty man of God in our day. There have been others, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, and Billy Sunday to name a few. 

Does God have a plan for you? You don't have to be famous to be used by God. Remember the story of the little slave girl in II Kings 5:3? She was responsible for Naaman's journey to the prophet who told him to wash and be healed of his leprosy. And what about the boy with five loaves and two fishes (John 6:9-12)? We don't know their names, but they were used by God in a mighty way. There are no mistakes. You are important to God.  You too have a special call on your life. Have you answered?

Hey Kids:

Do you know God has a special plan for you? Look up some of the verses above and see what children were able to do as part of God's plan. 

I have four grandchildren. One is a talented singer. Another is quite the athlete. The one pictured above is a budding artist. The youngest is still developing her talents, but she is a linguist for sure. They don't know yet how God will use them, but they are strengthening those talents. God will put those talents to use in His timing. 

What is your special talent?
How are you working at perfecting that talent?
Has God already shown you His plan? 

Just a Rock

 

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.KJV

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 supposed to hike with a buddy. I needed Rick’s hand to pull me over the rocks! I hoped this waterfall was going to be worth it.

Finally, we could hear the fall tumbling below. A sign: Hebron Falls with an 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!” 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 the great things God had done so their children would learn to have faith.

There are other stories in the Bible where people placed stones of remembrance. The first that comes to mind is the altar. Altars were made of stones. People made sacrifices to remember God and thank Him for all he did for them. Jacob raised his stone pillow up to be a pillar of remembrance. 

Father, help us to remember what great things you have done for us. Help us to be thankful and share the stories of your blessings with our families and those we meet. In Jesus's name. Amen.

Hey Kids:

There are lots of ways people try to remember things. Some tie a string around their finger. Others write things in the palm of their hands. Some carry a rock or other item in their pocket to symbolize an event or person they don't want to forget.

Let's not forget to daily worship and fellowship with God. One way might be to place a stone on the hearth or a coffee table to remind you and your family of family altar time. Just as the people of the Old Testament built altars to worship, we need to have that "family altar" time to worship the Lord as well. 

The Rocks Cry Out

 But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” ~Luke19:40 (NKJV)

There are hearts all around us, in the stores, in classrooms, magazines, everywhere I look I see hearts. Love is in the air with Valentine's Day upon us. Jesus tells us to "love one another." February is a good time to check up and see if we truly love; love like Jesus loved. In Luke the people were praising Jesus as he entered the city of Jerusalem, just a few days before he would be crucified. It seemed the people loved him, but in a few days they would cry out, "crucify him."

What is love? Is it a feeling, a temporary emotion, or is it something that endures? The people were praising Jesus because they thought he would overthrow the Romans. Their love, for the most part, was temporary. But true love is lasting, deep, even unto death. 

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. ~John 15:13(KJV)

When the Pharisees told Jesus to make the people stop praising, Jesus's answer was that if they didn't praise him, the stones would immediately cry out. God's creation praises him even if and when we don't. The picture of the heart stones is from If Rocks Could Sing a discovered alphabet by Leslie McGuirk. Rocks, stones all sizes demonstrating love. Their size doesn't matter. The place they were found doesn't matter. They all say love just by the way they are shaped. They cry out love. Their shape will stay the same as long as the world stands unless they are broken in some way. Jesus's heart was broken when he sweated great drops of blood as he prayed in the garden. His heart was broken when he hung on the cross, dying for our sins. But his love for us remains the same. There is no greater love than Jesus's love for us. He gave his life that we may have eternal life. 

Many of us say we love Jesus. Is it temporary like the crowd on Palm Sunday or has he worked a love in our hearts that is eternal? Have we allowed him to give us the gift of eternal life or are we still trying to work for our salvation? The thief on the cross next to Jesus couldn't do good works and neither can we. Like the thief on the cross, we have to cry out to Jesus in repentance of our sin. You may want to cry out today. My prayer today is just an example of what you may want to tell Jesus.

Dear Lord Jesus, I have sinned. Please forgive me and save me. Thank you for loving me and dying for me. Thank you for your gift of salvation.  In Your name, I pray. Amen. 

Hey KIds: 

Do you like to collect rocks? What can you do with a pocket full of rocks? In Leslie McGuirk's book If Rocks Could Sing, she collects rocks that look like letters and then adds other rocks that look like things the letters could stand for — like V is for Valentine, E is for Elephant, and my favorite J is for Joy and she has little rocks that look like happy fish. They remind me of Nemo. 

Other books about rocks that you might enjoy are by Patti Rokus. She uses rocks to tell Bible stories. One is A Savior is Born: Rocks Tell the Story of Christmas. The other is He is Risen: Rocks Tell the Story of Easter.  My grandchildren loved collecting and retelling the stories with their own rocks after reading these books. 

Isn't it amazing how even the rocks praise our Lord and Savior?