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? 

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. 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 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? 

                                 

But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen. II Peter 3:18 KJV

There it was, the sky peeping blue through the pink of dawning clouds. The sky as old as creation, yet new every morning. A new day full of grace for my family and my community from my Savior. And what is grace? Grace is an undeserved gift. It is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). God’s grace is the sacrifice of His only Son. His desire is that we grow in grace and in knowledge.

As a teacher, I learned about Bloom’s taxonomy. It is a hierarchy of learning. At the bottom is knowledge or remembering. You know, read, study, memorize, but it doesn’t have to be boring.

Restate knowledge as searching, discovering, remembering. It’s like a treasure map.

Once we are able to recall facts we can comprehend and gain understanding. We can ask questions.

• Why do we need a Savior?
• Why did God send His Son?
• Why are we so loved?

 When we understand, we can apply that knowledge.

• We apply understanding for our own salvation. 
• We can show love to those who may seem unlovable. 
• Grace toward others is the application of the knowledge of God’s love.

 Creating, at the top of the hierarchy, is what God does when he makes us into a new creature. 

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. II Corinthians 5:17

Father, help me to:

• gain knowledge of You through Your word
• hide it in my heart, that I might recall it
• give Your grace to those around me.

Lord, those seem like big words. Please, just let me be the hands and feet of Jesus today. Amen

Love from our Savior, Jesus Christ,

Gail

Candy Canes with a Love Story

 

In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Hebrews 9:22 NIV

I'll tell this the way it was told to me, though I am sure there are others who would disagree with the story, surely no one will disagree with the message. So grab a candy cane and enjoy this sweet tale of Christmas with the whole family.

In the seventh century, when kings and queens declared and enforced the laws with the sword, a law was made that Christmas would no longer be celebrated. It broke the heart of an old candy maker who loved to see the smiles of children as they enjoyed his sweet Christmas treats. He also loved Christmas traditions and the telling of the story in churches and homes.  No one was allowed to own or read a Bible except the priests and now that was questionable under the rule of this queen. He wondered how this generation would grow up without the knowledge of Jesus if the laws forbade the telling of the stories.

As the old candy maker locked his doors for the evening and knelt by his counter for prayer, the Lord gave him an idea. It was not illegal to make new kinds of candy and he knew just what kind of new candy he would make.

All night the candy maker tweaked his candy recipes to fit the story of Jesus. As the new day dawned he set out for his shop anxious to get a start on his new candy. He would start with pure white candy and spice it with peppermint. Then he would layer it with red candy, making a pattern of a wide red stripe and three thin red stripes. As he rolled and twisted the hardening candy, he sliced off lengths of candy and bent them into a crook at the top. The next day would be Christmas and he would be ready to share his Christmas story. 

As families entered his shop the next day with faces long and sad because of the canceled holiday, he offered them a new candy and an old story. "See this crook?" he said. "On a night long ago, shepherds stood on a hillside watching their flock by night. Angels announced the birth of a baby born to a virgin. The baby would be pure and sinless like the white of the candy cane. His father would be God the Father. The baby would be the Son of God and He would give us the Holy Spirit." The old candy maker pointed to the three thin stripes going around the candy cane. "The baby's name was to be called Jesus." The candy maker turned the cane upside down, making the J. "The big red stripe," he said. "is the blood Jesus would shed on Calvary for our sins. Taste the candy now children. The peppermint reminds us of the gifts the wise men brought to Jesus and the spices used to prepare His body for burial when He died upon the cross. His blood covers our sins and offers forgiveness. This, children, is the real story of Christmas, not the toys and candy, but the coming of the Savior of the world as a baby in a manger, not just visited by shepherds but to be our Shepherd, guiding us to eternal life in Christ."

The parents were grateful their children were able to hear the Christmas story that morning and take home a reminder of the true meaning of the season. 

Now as you have receive a candy cane, examine it for the three thin stripes, the large stripe, the taste of peppermint, and the pure white candy that makes the body of the cane. Turn it to make the J and the shepherd's crook. 

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16

Merry Christmas, 

Gail

Picture credit to Pixabay.com

Legend of The Candy Cane - Sacred Literature Ministries, Taylors, SC

A New Day Full of Grace

But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen. II Peter 3:18 KJV

There it was, the sky peeping blue through the pink of dawning clouds. The sky as old as creation, yet new every morning. A new day full of grace for my family and my community from my Savior. And what is grace? Grace is an undeserved gift. It is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). God’s grace is the sacrifice of His only Son. His desire is that we grow in grace and in knowledge.

As a teacher, I learned about Bloom’s taxonomy. It is a hierarchy of learning. At the bottom is knowledge or remembering. You know, read, study, memorize, but it doesn’t have to be boring when we restate them as searching, discovering, remembering. It’s like a treasure map. Once we are able to recall facts we can comprehend and gain understanding. We can ask questions. Why do we need a Savior? Why did God send His Son? Why are we so loved? When we understand, we can apply that knowledge. First we apply that understanding for our own salvation. Then, we can show love to those who may seem unlovable. Grace toward others is the application of the knowledge of God’s love.

Father, help me to gain knowledge of You through Your word, hiding it in my heart, that I might recall it to give grace to those around me. Lord, those seem like big words. Please, just let me be the hands and feet of Jesus today. Amen

Hey Kids:

The season of love is upon us. Red and pink hearts are everywhere, but what is love?

Love is a gift, most likely an undeserved gift.

The greatest gift is God’s only Son sent to die for our sins, a gift none of us has ever deserved.

If you have repented of your sins and asked for forgiveness,
you understand you have received an undeserved gift. We often call it grace.

There are so many around us who do not know of God’s grace, the gift of His Son.

They feel hopeless and helpless.

We hold their hope.

Jesus commanded us to go into all the world and preach the gospel.
Part of reaching others is meeting their needs so they are able to hear the gospel.
We are to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

Make a list of people you know in need. Here’s a start.

• A kid at school who needs a friend.
• Elderly in the neighborhood or at nursing homes.

What can you do?

• Sit with the lonely kid at lunch.
• Make Valentines for nursing homes or hospitals.
• Weed a garden or plant flowers.
• Take a covered dish to someone who’s sick.

Acts of kindness open doors for the presentation of the gospel.
Be sure to enlist the help of your parents.
Remember, God gave them to you to help you grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord.

Love One Another

 

picture by pixaby

And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, 

and toward all men, even as we do toward you:

I Thessalonians 3:12

I was thinking earlier this week, I wished I knew where I could get some persimmons to make jam. 

On Friday, a sweet mom, who speaks no English, brought me a bag of Japanese persimmons. I think she grew them since she had so many. I saw the worried look on her face as she handed me the bag, a look of wondering if I would like her gift. Though, "Thank you" was all she could understand, she saw the excitement on my face. 

Her face changed from worried to a big smile. "You like?" she asked.

"Yes, yes, thank you!" I jabbered about making jam, which I knew she didn't understand, but it was the joy in my voice that made her happy. 

Though we could not speak each other's language, we could show love on our faces and the tones of our voices. 

Our expressions will open and close doors. 

May our smiles open doors of friendship and love this week. 

Hey Kids:

You may have neighbors or kids at school who do not speak your language.

How can you show them love this week?

Here's a few starters.

• Use your hands to invite others to play a game as you say, "Come on!" "Let's play ..."
• Notice something they have done. Then enthusiastically congratulate them. "Yay, you won?" or "That's beautiful!"
• Invite them to share a snack and be willing to try a snack they may want to share.

What other ideas do you have? Please share your ideas and successes in our comment section.

Love,

Gail