All the Children of the World

Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. Mark16:15

“What doing?” asked the Chinese boy sitting at our table.

“She’s pray-ing,” replied the Russian boy across the table.

“Yes,” I said. “I’m thanking Jesus for my food.” So began our pre-school lunch conversation in a public school.

“I do that too at my house,” said the Russian boy.

Another boy chimed in as well. Children of every ethnicity sat at nearby tables; Indian, Hispanic, Jewish, Cambodian, African-American, Caucasian, and mixed. All the children of the world sat eating and talking together. A simple unspoken blessing over food became a witnessing tool for the children to share the gospel on their level with each other.

Jesus commanded us to go into all the world and preach the gospel. Often I hear an ad on the radio asking why hasn’t all the world heard the gospel. Maybe we aren’t always seeing the opportunities God lays in our laps. We may not all be able to travel to foreign mission fields, but God has brought the mission fields to us. They are our neighbors, our students, our friends. Legal or illegal makes no difference. Remember the song we sang as children? Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.  The best part of my day is watching and listening to all the children of the world right at my table.

Won’t you share with us the mission field where God has placed you?

Jesus Loves the Little Children 

Don’t Throw Out the Bacon Drippings!

Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Matthew 6:26

The snow was falling and the ground began to cover. Breakfast needed to be comfort food; whole grain waffles, maple syrup, bacon, strawberries, and of course coffee. As I started to clean up, I thought, I hate to throw out all this good smelling bacon drippings but I also don’t need to eat all that grease. You know, Grandma used bacon drippings to flavor everything, but she worked the fields all day with Grandpa. They needed the energy the grease would give. Idea! The birds out in the snow need energy to stay warm in the freezing weather. God created us in His image and gave us a mandate to care for His creation. Genesis 1: 28b tells us have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. That doesn’t just mean use them, but care for them.

 The squirrels had destroyed my bird feeder but surely there was a way to use what I had around the house to take care of my beautiful birds. Let’s see. I had seeds, little paper cups, a mesh onion bag, and bacon drippings. Put it all together and voila! Suet feeder.

Is God really caring for me? I can think of a hundred things I want. Want, now there’s the key. I want, not I need. I need to make a gratitude list of a hundred things. I have a warm house, a comforting breakfast, warm clothes, the power is on, family, etc, etc, etc. I do believe God is taking extra special care of me.

Lord, help me focus on being grateful rather than longing for all the things the world tells me I deserve. I deserve nothing.  I am grateful for Your mercy and grace. I am in need of nothing. You have even provided me with technology to share Your gospel. Help me, dear Lord, to share Your love with the world and demonstrate my appreciation for all You have created by lovingly having dominion over it. In Jesus name. Amen

P.S. In case you need a little bacon dripping recipe:





Don’t throw out the Bacon Drippings!

Many backyard birds such as woodpeckers, titmice, nuthatches and chickadees love suet.

You can make your own suet feeders with a few simple items you probably have around the house.

Materials:

            Bacon drippings

            Seeds and nuts (bird seed from the store works well)

            Paper cups

            Mesh bag recycled from oranges or onions

Directions:

            Scoop the paper cup(s) about ¾ full with seeds and nuts. Pour bacon drippings over the seed/nut mix until the cup is almost filled. Place in the fridge or outside in the cold until the bacon drippings are firm. Remove the paper cup and place the suet in the mess bag. Suspend the bag so raccoons and dogs can’t get the suet before the birds.

P.S. Be sure to keep your binoculars and camera close by.

           

Building on a Rock

And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spririt. Ephesians 2:20, 21, 22.

Have you ever used blocks or bricks or stones to build a house? Playing, we usually build towers that fall pretty quickly. But if we build a corner first, then lay the rest of the house or tower, it will stand.  We also need to overlalp the breaks between the blocks.  Try making a wall without over lapping the breaks of the rectangles or squares. The wall comes down quickly.  Try making the wall overlapping the breaks like a brick mason . Take a look at a house that has bricks in the foundation or walls. Do you see the overlaps? The house is strong becasuse it has a corner stone or brick. It can stand very tall because the bricks or stones  are overlapped in the breaks.

This is exactly what Paul was trying to tell the Ephesians. Our lives must be built on Jesus Christ. He is our foundation. Without him our lives will fall. We may turn over a new leaf but it won’t last long unless Jesus has become our Rock, our cornerstone, our foundation. To be strong in the Lord there needs to be that overlapping of the “bricks” in our lives. The bricks that build us into strong Christians are the reading of God’s Word, and the studying of God’s Word with others, and putting those things we learn into action. We as Christians working together are the place, the habitat, of God’s Spirit. Wow! God’s spirit lives within us if we have been born again. We can do great things together with God’s direction.

We would love to share your experiences in God’s Word. Together we can go into all the world and preach the gospel. Use the comment space to share. On the day of Pentecost 3000 souls were added to the church because the Christians shared the gospel.

Blessings. Gail