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 later he would be crucified. The people seemed to love 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 answered 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 sins. You can cry out today. My prayer today is just an example of what you may want to tell Jesus.

Dear Lord Jesus, I have sinned.  Thank you for loving me and dying for me. Please forgive me and save 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? 

No Christmas?

 

And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. John 10:22,23

This year, the Feast of Dedication, Hanukkah begins on December 25. What does the Feast of Dedication have to do with Christmas? Could it be that we wouldn't have Christmas if there had not been a Hanukkah? 

I'm certainly not an authority on Hanukkah, but I think I have a grasp on the gist of the story. Really everything in Jewish history has an effect on Christmas. If Adam and Eve had not sinned in the garden there would have been no need for Christmas or Calvary. It all started in the Beginning. God told Eve that it would be her seed that would bruise Satan's head and that Satan would bruise His heel.

All through history, Satan has tried to destroy God's people so Christmas would never come. Think about Abraham and Isaac. Imagine an old man over 100 years old, tying up a teenager to offer the teen as a burnt sacrifice. Isaac could have easily broken away and run like crazy. But no, Isaac was obedient to his father, even as Jesus was obedient to His Father, even unto death. God spared Isaac's life because he couldn't die for our sins. But the Father did not spare His only Son. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Without God's love, there would be no Christmas. 

Think about Esther. God put her through tragic events to make her the queen who would save her people. If Haman had won, the Jews would have been destroyed. There would have been no special people to receive God's Son. There would be no Christmas.

Think about Hanukkah. The Greeks had come in to change the culture of the Hebrews to the Greek culture, language, and religion. A pig was sacrificed on the temple altar. The brave family of the Maccabees fought for Israel and the temple. They cleansed the temple but there was only enough oil to light the lamp for one night. It would take a week to make more oil. They demonstrated their faith and love by reclaiming the temple and lighting the lamp. God demonstrated His love and power by keeping the lamp burning for eight days while the oil was being made.
What would have happened if the Maccabees had not reclaimed the temple? The religion of the true God would have been destroyed. There would have been no Christmas.

Think about King Herod's attempt to kill the baby Jesus by killing all the children under two years old. If Joseph had not listened to God and taken Jesus to Egypt, there would have been no Calvary, no sacrifice for our sins. There would be no salvation. 

Even to this day, Satan attempts to end Christianity. Satan knows his time is short. No matter what we see on the news, be reassured, God is not dead nor doth He sleep. He is in control. God wins. There is forgiveness and salvation because there is Christmas. 

Heavenly Father, thank you for overthrowing every plan of Satan from the beginning. Thank you for placing each person, Abraham, Isaac, Esther, the Maccabees, and Joseph, and others in the right place at the right time. Father, we know you have placed each of us here for such a time as this. May we be like those who were obedient to you even in the face of death. In Jesus's name. Amen. 

Hey Kids:

Christmas brings out the carols, some old favorites, some new but all to remind us of the birth of our Savior. We often sing without thinking too deeply about the words. If we read and listen more closely we may be surprised at the meaning and prophesy found in our songs. 

From now until Christmas read the carols.

Examine them as devotions

Search for the meaning the author was trying to convey. 

Here's a few to get you started. 

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

Hark, the Herald Angels Sing

Silent Night

O Little Town of Bethlehem

The Miracle of Thanksgiving

   

O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people. ~Psalms 105:1

You know the picture in our minds we all get of the Indian brave who walks into the Pilgrim village in the spring of 1621 to show the Pilgrims how to plant corn, and beans, and pumpkin? Wasn’t his name Squanto? Or didn’t anyone ever tell you about Squanto?

Locusts for Lunch?

And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. Matthew 3:4 KJV

Did we just read that right? John ate locusts and wild honey? Check another version. Yep, still says locusts and wild honey.

The ferny leafed tree at the edge of my yard reminded me of hunting with my dad in the fall of the year. We snacked from the trees and fields where we hunted. When we came upon frost sweetened persimmons, Dad pulled a few and shared them with us. I didn't particularly care for the taste of persimmons then, but now I like making persimmon jam for homemade bread. 


He also taught us to eat locusts. We just split them open and ate the insides.

Bunnies or Lambs

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: Matthew 11:25 KJV

Here at Easter we see lots of eggs and bunnies, but how did a bunny replace the Lamb in the Easter story? Easter is actually a celebration of a pagan goddess, Eostre. Hares are symbolic of her. Her celebration coincides with our celebration of the resurrection of the Savior.  

The other celebration this week is Passover. Passover has everything to do with Easter. What is Passover? Simply, it is the remembrance of the night the Death Angel passed over the houses of the Hebrews who had the blood of a lamb on the doorposts and lintel. The blood placed on the outside caused all in the house to come in under the blood to safety. This was the night Pharaoh finally released the Israelites from bondage and allowed them to leave Egypt. It is also the meal Jesus ate as the Last Supper just before He was arrested.

Jesus the Messiah, fulfilled the Passover when He was sacrificed for our sins. As the Israelites were freed from Pharaoh on that night, so we who allow Jesus to cover our sins by repenting, asking His forgiveness and receiving that forgiveness by faith are freed from the bondage of sin and death by His blood.

Christians as well as Jews celebrate Passover with a Seder meal. As part of the meal, a piece of motzah  (unleavened bread) is broken, placed in a cloth and hidden somewhere in the house. At the end of the meal, the children are allowed to search for the motzah. While the meal allows children to ask questions about the celebration with bitter herbs, salty water tears, and a lamb shank, so the bread at last is found. To Christians, this is the resurrection of Christ's body, The Bread of Life, wrapped and hidden in the tomb three days.

Have you allowed Jesus to cover your sins?

CarteeBlessings for your Easter celebration.

Gail

Hey Kids:

Do you know about Passover?

Would you like to have a Christian Seder?

Start by reading Exodus 12.

You will need:

motzah bread (found in the specialty aisles of most grocery stores)

Parsley
Grape juice

Horseradish

Leg bone of a lamb or chicken.

You may want to check out these sites for a detailed version of how to have your own celebration.

http://www.crivoice.org/seder.html

http://annvoskamp.com/2012/03/the-best-easter-dinner-with-a-free-printable-start-a-christian-tradition-messianic-seder/

Hidden Treasures

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. II Timothy 2:15 

Amazing what a little investment will produce! Last spring I found purple sweet potato slips at the farmers' market. They were three dollars for twelve plants. 

I brought them home, dug a trench, placed the slips, watered them and that was pretty much all I did. The vines spread everywhere. By the time the bush beans were finished the sweet potatoes were taking over their spot. They were climbing into the rose trellis and creeping into the squash vines. Finally, in September, they began to bloom pretty purple and white morning glory type blooms. 

Yesterday was my only free Saturday left in October to harvest the potatoes. Wow, was I surprised! Under the first hill were huge potatoes that more than paid for the investment. As I dug the hills, I was rewarded with lots more. I wonder how many more I would have found if the ground had been softer or if I had taken the tiller to the area and turned the soil with the turn plow. 

Digging all these potatoes got me to thinking, as it always does. Just a little effort in God's word will turn up some "hidden treasures" if we only invest a few minutes of our time. 

I was saved as a teenager. From that time I began to invest a few minutes each day in reading my Bible. I would only read one chapter each day when I came in from school before I started my homework. 

I started with the New Testament and in the next 5 years, I read the New Testament 4 times and the Old Testament 3 times. There were some dry years I didn't read, but for pretty much all my life, a chapter a day has been my reading plan. 

Though I have read the Bible many times, each time turns up something new and interesting that I missed before. I often wonder why I never saw that before. God gives us what we need when we need it and if we are willing to invest a little time and do a little digging. 

Hey Kids:

My grandkids love digging root crops! It's like finding hidden treasure. 

Carrots, sweet potatoes, and other root crops also hold hidden treasures for our health. The carotenoids in these vegetables help keep our vision strong. 

God's word has it's hidden treasures as well. It will take a little digging to find them, but it will improve out spiritual vision.  Reading is like eating. Eating the best foods makes us strong. Reading the Bible makes us spiritually strong. 

Digging root crops won't do us any good unless we eat the vegetables.

Reading the Bible won't do us any good unless we think about and then do whatever it says.

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. James 1:22

Sharing God's word is like sharing your garden crops. It helps everyone, good food and good fellowship. This week, find a friend who will be a spiritual treasure hunter with you.

Blessings,

Gail