Stories of Missionary Life in Africa for Children (#2) “Big Black Dogs”

Oct17

mk-story-coversThis story is the second in the Missionary Kids Stories about the Matthews family who live in Malawi, Africa.

Each story is written in the form of a letter from one of the Matthews’ children. There are seven of them, (but the baby can’t write yet!). Haha.

I write these stories so readers can learn about missionary life in Africa.  The MKs (Missionary Kids) will tell  stories about cultural differences (and similarities) such as eating DEAD MICE in the first MK story. I hope to entertain and inform children, but mostly I want to quietly teach them truths from the Bible, God’s Word, as it pertains to their everyday lives.

So, here is the next story!  (Scroll down, or check the list on the side bar to begin the with the FIRST story and meet the kids in order.)

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Big Black Dogs!

Introduction

Are you all “over”your gross-out from the mice-eating story that my (pretend) MK Melody Matthews told you? I do hope so! THIS story is by Melody’s next-to-the-youngest BROTHER. His name is Gus, but I will let him tell you all about himself.

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Hi Kidsssssssssss!

Sometimes I like to hold the last letter of a person’s name real long. I can do that with my sister’s name. Sometimes I say Melodeeeeee when I call her, even if she’s in the same room. She turns it around and calls me AUGUST!  And then I try to punch her – but not really.

You see, my name IS August, but I don’t like it very much. I wouldn’t mind Augie, but most of my friends call me Gus. My Mom named me August Hope Matthews, because I was born in the month of…… can you guess??

I got my middle name because of something sad that happened. Between me and my next older sister, April Grace Matthews, we had another brother. I wasn’t here yet, but they told me about him.

Freddie was born in February, but he was SUPPOSED to be born in May like Melody. If he had been born in May, his name would have been Mayson Michael Matthews.  Instead, he was born on the last day of February.

February has 28 days most of the time, but every four years, in Leap Year, it has 29 days. It has something to do with how our calendars are made. We have to add an extra day in February every four years or the seasons will get all mixed up. Christmas might come in the summer!

Anyway, Freddie was born on one of those 29ths that come every four years. He would have been 8 years old this year, but he would have had only TWO birthdays (and parties) by then. Think of that!!  Totally weird, I know.

Well, maybe he didn’t like that idea, so he decided to go back to Heaven to be with Jesus. That’s what I think, but, here’s how my Mom and Dad tell it.

A week after Valentine’s day (February 14th) Mom got really sick. She had forgotten to put on bug spray when they went to the Mr. and Mrs. Floreen’s house (that’s another missionary here) for a “Sweethearts Dinner.”  Remember, she was still “carrying” Freddie then and she didn’t like to use too much bug spray. But this time she forgot it altogether.

She must have gotten bitten by a mosquito that had Malaria (not all of them have it).  A week later she started feeling very sick.  She got SO sick that Dad took her to the clinic.  I think there is some medicine you can give people who have Malaria, but it’s dangerous if they are expecting a baby.

Everyone was worried about her, especially Dad. (Remember I wasn’t there yet, but they told me.)  Everyone at church prayed for her – really hard. But she just got sicker and sicker.

Finally on February 28th she started feeling better. But Freddie didn’t want to stay inside any longer. (Was it too hot for him with that high fever she had?) He was born the next day. They took a picture of him. He was soooooo tiny, but soooooo perfect! I’ve seen the picture so I know. He stayed with Mom in the clinic for six hours then he went back to God, who made him.

ANYWAYYYYYY….. I know this is such a sad and looooong story, but that’s how I got my middle name. After Freddie, Mom and Dad were “hoping” for another boy.  At that time, there was only our oldest brother, Marshall and four girls.

They hoped and hoped, and when I came in August a couple years later, that naturally became my middle name. It’s not a girl’s name, it’s a “feeling” name. I guess I’m okay with that.

Okay, okayyyyyyy!!!  Melody says I need to tell you my story – the one about dogs.

Have you ever had a dog?  A big, big dog?  A big, big, black dog?  How about TWO big, big black dogs?  Well, we do. You HAVE to have them here in Malawi if you live in a big house like us. (There are NINE of us, remember!)

Our dogs are part Great Dane and part Rhodesian Ridgeback so they are big and have short black hair. Some people here are afraid of black dogs, so they make very good guard dogs. But ours are gentle with kids like me and my sisters and brothers.

We have a 2-year old brother, and sometimes they knock him over. But he’s fat and just plops down and laughs.  Then he grabs hold of one of their collars and pulls himself up again. They don’t mind.

Our dogs’ names are Gideon and Goliath. Goliath is bigger.

Well, one night very late, I heard Gideon and Goliath barking really loud, like they were very angry.  It was on the side of our house where me and my baby brother’s bedroom is. I heard some quick sharp talk and then the dogs got quiet for a few minutes.

I peeked out the window through the mosquito net and saw Goliath eating something on the grass. Gideon looked like he wanted some too, but he was not so big and couldn’t take it away from Goliath.

That was a good thing, as I will tell you later.

Finally Goliath picked up whatever he was eating and went around the side of the house with Gideon following him. Then I saw a head peeking over the top of our wall. It is very high, so he must have had a ladder on the other side.  He was watching our two dogs go.

“Gus-ie. Watz wong?” said my little brother from his bed. He was awake too.

“Shhhhhh, Deek!” I said in a loud whisper. (His real name is Deacon, but that’s another story.)

Our windows were open because it was very hot and I didn’t want the man to hear him. Oh, no!! Now there were TWO men!! One was hacking at the wire on the top of the wall with a machete (that is a huge knife used to cut tall elephant grass). The other one was starting to climb over where the wire was gone!

Kids, sometimes in Africa, very poor people don’t have enough food for their families.  The men can’t get work because they don’t know how to do much. And the women, who take care of their kids and work in the garden and sell their peanuts and squash and tomatoes and cassava, don’t earn very much.  And they have a LOT of kids to feed – sometimes more than we do.

So the men think that if they can just steal something from one of the “big houses” they can sell it and get some money for food…. and other things. THAT’S what was happening now to us!!!

I was just about to run and tell Dad – who sleeps on the other side of the house, when Gideon came running around the side of the house, barking his head off and growling like a mean wolf or something. He jumped up against the wall, higher and higher and caught one of the men’s pants’ legs.  The man let out a little yelp and pulled back.

He bumped the first man who dropped the machete into our flower bed.

“Yay! Gideon!” I whisper-yelled. “Good boy!”

“Ayyy Giddy!” said Deek.

But then, Gideon did a weird thing.  He stopped barking and ran back around the house.

What was he doing?

The men looked at each other, then down at the machete. I guess they thought if one of them could jump down and get it before…..

But then Goliath came running around the other side of the house. But wait…. it wasn’t Goliath. It was Gideon again.  Where was our biggest dog?  Was he still eating? Bad dog! Bad Goliath!

Gideon grabbed the shoe of the man who was starting to climb down and jerked it real hard.  He twisted his head back and forth and the man started yelling real loud now.

The lights went on in our gardener’s house in the back, and pretty soon he came running and shouting.  A few minutes after that Dad came out too with a….. a mosquito zapper???

That was enough for the two intruders. They thought two big dogs, a guard with a gun (Our gardener really had only a shovel) and another man with a…. what WAS that??…. was too much to handle.

The one kicked off his shoe that Gideon had in his mouth and then both scrambled back over the wall and ran off into the darkness.

By that time, Mom had turned on the outside lights and Marshall (our oldest brother) had come outside too. But the emergency was over.

Or WAS it?

“Where’s Goliath?” asked Marshall. He was petting Gideon and looking around. Usually our two dogs are together all the time.

They started looking around and calling. They went around the side of the house and I couldn’t see them anymore. I ducked under the mosquito netting and ran down the hall.  In the screened in porch I could see them all in the driveway, crouching down beside a big black pile of something.

“Poisoned meat,” I heard our gardener say. “Robbers do that. They throw poisoned meat over the fence to keep any dogs from attacking.”

Oh, no! Was Goliath dead?

“Li-ath sick?” asked Deek who had followed me to the porch.

I could feel tears stinging my eyes, as the men all stood up. (Marshall is fifteen and almost a man.)  Gideon started pushing against Goliath’s chest with his nose and gently pawed his shoulder.

“What’s happened?” said Mom behind us. “Ohhh, noooo!”

Dad turned then and said.  “He’s not dead, Audrey, but he’s very sick. We’ll take him to the vet. Can you call and tell him we’re coming?

“Good thing the big one got the poison, Mr. Matthews,” said our Malawian gardener, Ngunda. (Nnnn-GOON-dah) “He can take it. If he let Gid-yan here have it, well, this one would be dead.”

While Dad and Ngunda took Goliath to the vet, we all prayed that God would make him better. We needed two guard dogs – wasn’t that obvious from what happened tonight? And where would be get another one?

Well, Kids, I know this is a long story so I will just tell you that the next afternoon we picked up Goliath. He was still pretty weak and wobbly, but he was our Hero Dog!  He took the poison instead of Gideon, after trying to scare the intruders away at first. Dad said that was kind of like what Jesus did when He gave up HIS life to save people in the world.

And Gideon was a Hero Dog too. All by himself, he stopped the men from jumping down into our yard.  They might have stolen something from our garage, or… or… or even broken into our house!

God was protecting us, first, when we got those two big dogs, and then that night when they were heroes. People in our church back home pray for us, Mom says. (They send money to help us too.) She says she and Dad are very thankful for all our “supporters.”  She says they are “holding the rope.” (I’m not sure what THAT means. What rope?)

Anyway, that night, God heard all their prayers to keep us safe, even though our supporters didn’t know about the robbers right then!

When Mom wrote the newsletter to all our friends and family at the end of the month, she told them about Gideon and Goliath, and how good God is to us all the time. She thanked them for praying.

Oh, I almost forgot! We got another machete and the ladder that was against the wall that the robbers forgot. Ngunda fixed the wire on the wall – he’s good at fixing things. And Gideon and Goliath got an old shoe to play with!

Goliath is all better now. He thinks he is some special dog with all that extra good treatment and snacks he got. But he is ready again – with Gideon – to guard “his” family.

And that’s MY story. Maybe next time, my biggest sister, Julie Joy will tell her story about some “eyes” that she saw at the bottom of a deep, dark well.

See ya!  Gus

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Do you have any questions about the (pretend) Matthews family?  How do you think Africa is different from where YOU live?  Do you think you would like dogs like Goliath and Gideon? Do you know other missionaries that you can pray for?

PS: In this photo, do you see the tall wall and the wire on top? Which dog do you think is Gideon? Do you remember the Matthews’ gardener’s name?

 

 

“Come, my young friends and listen to me. And I will teach you to honor the Lord.”  ~~~ Psalm 34:11   Good News Bible

Stories of Missionary Life in Africa for Children (#1) “Dead Mice”

Oct16

mk-story-coversI recently posted an article on my writers’ group blog, Writers in Residence about “Turning Experiences into Stories” (http://bit.ly/2cTsCu0) and included in that post a story; the first and shortest in a series I’m writing for children. Since then, several people have asked to read the other stories in the series. Since I send these out to about a dozen kids (7-11) at my church via email, personalizing each and inserting 2-6 photos individually in each separate correspondence, I cringed to think about sharing them all in this way in any great number.

Friends have suggested I turn them into chapters in an eBook, but that sounds like a lot of hassle and I’d rather spend my time writing the stories and not “marketing” them. I believe God gave me this idea and talent as a ministry to do for Him, so to “profit” by them… well, it seems wrong.  But we’ll see – maybe sometime. I’ll wait for His leading on that. I have printed the series in simple booklet form for a few special individuals, but that would get quite costly in quanity.

So, I decided I would simply post the first seven “Missionary Kids Stories” here, on this site.  (Believe me; I agonized over many of them in my “Morning Meditations” time with the Lord!)

The characters came easy – seven children (2-15 years old) in a Missionary family living in Malawi, Africa.  Their backstories and personalities were fun to create, although sometimes “they” dictated just what they wanted to be. Since I have been on three short-term mission teams to Malawi, I’ve observed and learned a lot, and photographed a good deal. (I am a former photo-journalist.)  I listened to the missionaries talk about the people, animals, insects, cultural differences, living conditions, personal problems, and the things they experienced in their own daily life (some very funny). This was enough of a “spark” to get me started on the stories.

But my goal to “glorify” God with my writing, teach my local church kids about missionary life, and tie everything together with an important truth from the Bible, was a challenge I couldn’t manage on my own.  I have to admit (and thank God) that as I put my fingers to the keyboard and began these email-letter stories with, “Hi —, my name is —” the Lord would bring what I needed to my mind.  Nothing supernatural or weird; the story simply began to flow from the character and the spark of an idea.  Only twice did I really get hung up. Those were stories #4 and #7, and THEY ended up having the strongest Gospel message.  One of my young readers wrote that the #4 was her favorite story!  Thank you, Lord.

Here is the first one I sent out, introducing the family and setting up the series.  The stories vary in age level depending on the MK (Missionary Kid) who is telling the story. Stories five and six – told by a teenager – is actually one story in two parts with a cliff hanger at the end of five. I include the rest of the series in the following posts.

Dead Mice

Introduction

 These stories are about the (make-believe) Matthews Family, who went to Malawi, Africa about eight years ago to be missionaries.  This family has a dad and a mom, and seven children (three boys and four girls including a set of twins). As part of their names, each of them has the month that they were born in as a first or middle name, like Melody May or April Grace.  All of the stories are written to you as letters.  The first story starts like this: 

Hi kids!

My name is Melody May, and I have a twin sister whose name is Charity June. I also have three brothers and two more sisters. We all have the month we were born in as part of our names. It’s really cool I think, but some people think it’s weird.

My mom – her name is Mrs. Matthews – is really fun and creative. She picks out all our names. My dad – his name is Mr. Matthews – just smiles at her with love and agrees to the names.

People call me Melody, but they call my twin sister “June.” You may wonder how twins could be born in two different months. Can you guess how? It’s kind of tricky.

I’ll let my brothers and sisters tell you about themselves in other letters, but right now, let me tell you about what happened to my sister June and I a week ago.

We are MKs (Missionary Kids) who live in Malawi, Africa. Our dad is a college teacher at the African Bible College. We go to a school there too, but in a different building.

One day, an African boy in our class showed us a mouse… a really DEAD mouse. Then he dared us to do something with it. At first June and I refused, but then…..

Here’s how it happened.

The boy’s name is Kukana (Koo-KAH-nah). On that day, the first day of the new school year, he dared us to EAT a dead mouse! Ewww! Would YOU eat a mouse, especially a dead one? (I guess a live one would be worse!)

There are kids from America and Canada and Holland and South Africa in my class. There are many Malawian kids too. We have three grades in our classroom because, well, our teacher is very smart and can teach three grades at once! At least that’s what I think.

That day, when Kukana stood up in class with a closed box and told us he brought something for us to eat, we all smiled. We thought it might be some roasted peanuts, or those small super-sweet bananas they grown in Malawi. Yum.

Then he opened the box and reached in and held up this really stiff, black, hairy thing.  Some of the new girls screamed, but June and I didn’t. We almost did, but we grabbed each other’s hands and squeezed real tight.

“This is a mbewa,” he told us.

(You say mbewa like this – mmmmm-BEE-wah.)

“They are very tasty to eat,” Kukana said.

Then he held the mbewa up high by the stiff tail, tilted his head back, put the old dead mouse’s head into his mouth… and crunched it off!!!!!  He smiled big as he chewed it. The Malawian boys cheered and stomped their feet!

Our teacher frowned a little, but she didn’t say anything.

Kukana smiled again, real big, and there were little bits of black fur in his teeth!  He leaned very close to June and me and showed us his icky tongue, trying to scare us, I think.

Then he ate the rest of it….. even the tail. There were more hoots from the boys, and this time Mrs. Molenaar said, “Okay. That’s enough. Now tell the class about mbewa. Why did you bring it – and eat it?”

Mrs. Molenaar knew about mbewa – we could tell by her look – but she wanted Kukana to explain about this “famous Malawian snack food.”

“We eat mbewa because it’s good protein food,” began Kukana.

June and I looked at each other, our eyebrows raised way up and our eyes got big. OUR family eats  eggs, chicken, fish, and sometimes pork or beef for protein.

Kukana went on, “Village families here in Malawi are very poor. They raise goats and sometimes cows to SELL but not to EAT. They do this to have money for beans and maize to eat, and seeds to plant.”

I thought about what else OUR family eats. We like the beans, tomatoes, pumpkins, and peanuts that the villagers grow. We also eat yogurt and canned fruit and oatmeal. Sometimes Mom cooks nsima (nnnnnn-SEE-mah) which is made from white corn, called maize, and tastes like thick hot cereal without any salt. (Mom adds some for us.) Poor Malawians eat that every day. Sometimes that is all they HAVE to eat.

“There’s LOTS of mbewa around,” said Kukana. “You just have to catch them. We go to where old maize stalks or dead grass is piled up. We stand around the pile with sticks. Then someone lifts up the pile with a long pole and mice run out everywhere.  We have a lot of fun killing them with our sticks!”

Kukana laughed and all the boys laughed too.

“Then we put five or maybe ten of them on a long stick and roast them.”

Kukana looked right at June and me, opened his eyes really big and added, “….just… like… your… marshmallows!” Then he laughed in a mean way.

That made us feel mad and scared and icky, but we didn’t do anything. I think it was then, that I started to think….. maybe I WILL eat a dead mouse!

Mrs. Molenaar gave Kukana a stern look and he finished his talk like this. “Sometimes our fathers burn off the maize stubble (old stalks) in our fields. Then all the people stand around the edge of the field to catch the mice that run out.”

Mrs. Molenaar told the rest of it. “After the mice are roasted, which dries out the bodies but doesn’t burn off all the fur, they will keep for quite a while. Maybe you American children have tried jerky. It’s a bit like that.”

She turned to Kukana. “Did you want to share your mbewa with the class?”

He walked through the desks with the box down low. All the Malawian boys and girls took one out and started crunching and chewing. One American boy, named Benji took one too.

When the box came to June and me, my sister leaned way back, but I….. I reached in, grabbed a stiff hairy burned mouse and took it out.  Before I could think about what I was doing, I leaned back, held the thing up, and crunched off its head!!!!!!

This time June DID scream. “Melody! Noooo!! You are going to get sick and die!! And Mom will be very mad!”

I didn’t look at her. I stared at Kukana as I chewed the prickly, scratchy thing. It tasted kind of like burnt peanut shells and grease to me. Finally I swallowed it and stuck out my black-specked tongue to prove I ate it.

Kukana was surprised. He smiled at me (nicely, this time) and gave a little nod.  After that, he didn’t tease June and me. He kind of respected me, and since I was usually with my sister, he didn’t dare tease her either. After a while we even became friends.

Let me tell you a secret now. I didn’t finish the dead mouse.  I passed it to the boy behind me who snatched it up and ate it.

And you know what else?  I didn’t get sick and die.

I just became a Malawian.

But Mom DID get mad at me and told me never to do that again. I promised her that I wouldn’t. I figured I would never HAVE to do it again.

Later in our Sunday School class at the International Bible Fellowship church where my Dad sometimes preaches, I learned what Paul wrote in one of his letters in the Bible. He was a missionary to MANY countries. I don’t know if he ever had to eat mice, but he did say in 1 Corinthians 9:22, that he wanted to “become all things to all men that he might save some” for Christ.

I hope Kukana will someday want to know Jesus too. Maybe he will listen to me now when I tell him the gospel story ….. BECAUSE I ate the mouse.

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~~ Facts ~~

          Malawians DO eat mice like this for protein. Sometimes you can see them along the road, selling mbewa still lined up in a row on the roasting sticks, or in piles on a piece of cloth they spread out on the ground. They also eat big grasshoppers for protein which they fry in oil and sprinkle with hot pepper. 

“Come, my young friends, and listen to me. And I will teach you to honor the LORD. ~~~ Psalm 34:11  –  Good News Bible

“Charlie” & Lazarus, a parable

Oct7

lazarus-01Jesus told this story to men who were lovers of money, who ridiculed Him on His teaching about using money for the Kingdom of God, about being faithful to use what what they had, and about not being able to serve BOTH God AND money.

 

“You either hate one and love the other, or are devoted to one and despise the other. God knows your hearts. What men value highly is detestable in God’s sight.”

“There were two men……

A rich man (we will call him Charlie) and a very poor man named Lazarus.

Charlie lived in a fine house in a gated community.

Lazarus lived on the cold sidewalk outside the gate.

Charlie was clothed in purple and fine linen.

Lazarus was “clothed” in sores.

Charlie feasted sumptuously, every day.

Lazarus begged for just a few… crumbs.

While Charlie was probably pampered by a dozen slaves, Lazarus had his sores licked by dogs.

Then….both men died.

Charlie was buried (a grand funeral, no doubt, laid out in silken robes with flowery wreathes).  He went straight to Hades, and was in torment, in anguish, in flames.

Lazarus was carried by angels to Abraham’s side where he was comforted and had access to refreshing cool water.

Charlie: “Oh, please, Father Abraham, send Lazarus with a cool drop of water for the tip of my tongue, for it is burning beyond what I can bear!”

Abraham: “Lazarus can neither hear you nor see you.  He is being comforted and healed from all the abuse and misuse he suffered on earth.  Sorry, Charlie… it’s not going to happen!  Your days of ordering slaves and servants to meet your every need are over.  Besides… there is this huge chasm between where YOU are, and where WE are.”

Charlie: “Then…. I beg you, Abraham, send Lazarus to my five brothers to warn them about this place!”

Abraham: “No, Charlie. Your five brothers have Moses & the Prophets (the Bible).  Let them listen to them!”

Charlie: “No, they do not read the Bible. They don’t know any of that. But… if you would send someone from the dead (Lazarus), they would believe him, I know!”

Abraham, with a sigh: “If they do not believe Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced if Someone (Jesus) was raised from the dead.”

~~~ from Luke 16.

 

Romans 10:17 “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”

After Jesus’ resurrection, He joined two disciples walking to Emmaus, and “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”

Later, to his own close disciples, Jesus said, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” Then He opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them,“This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”

***

Oh, be prepared for your last day! Read, listen to, meditate on, believe, and obey all God says in His Word about Jesus and the gift of faith and salvation. His Word is truth. Search the scriptures, for they testify of Jesus Christ, and in them you will find  eternal life. Be a “doer” of that Word and not only a superficial “hearer.”

The Law of the LORD is…

Aug15

I’ve been reading through the book of Psalms in the Bible, one each night before I turn out the lights. It’s amazing what wonderful sleep you get with God’s words the last thing on your mind. The Psalms are familiar, I have read them many times and have always received help, hope, a lightened heart, and at times a bit of scolding as well. It’s good for me.

Bible blog1Psalm 19:7-14 is very well known.There are praise songs and hymns written from its words. It extols the Law of the LORD; tells readers the aspects and wonders of God’s commandments and principles, and reminds them of the rewards of cherishing and obeying them. Written by Israel’s King David over 3,000 years ago, it nevertheless is God’s Word for us today.

These phrases are from the Good News Bible, a modern, easy-to-read translation that I am using for the Psalms, as a change, so I don’t run over them too quickly from familiarity. The thoughts and insights about them are my own as I review again, this lovely portion of scripture. Thank you, David. And thank YOU, my God.

The Law of the LORD is perfect.  And that’s because HE is perfect. He spoke no laws that need rescinding or amending.

It gives new strength — when we see the attributes of Almighty God in the Word and trust Him. When we see the Way that we should walk. When we see justice poured put on evil. When we see what reward He has prepared for for His faithful children.

It is trust-worthy. And that is because it is perfect. Because God is good. Because He is faithful and keeps His promises always.

It gives wisdom to those who lack it. Because it is truth, ALL truth and applicable for all life.

It is right/righteous. Because God is holy and right. Because He can do no wrong at all.

It brings happiness to those who obey it. Because God knows what is best for His children.

It is just. Because God is omniscient, knowing time, from eternity past to eternity future. Because He knows all the heart of man, even the secret parts. Because he is good and perfect and holy.

It gives understanding to the mind. So we will know God, make good decisions, live as He desires.

It is always fair. Perhaps not to our finite, sinful minds, but in God’s sovereign plan for the world. Because He is righteous. He alone knows the thoughts and intents of the heart and judges accordingly.

It is more desirable than the finest gold. To know God in His word is eternal life. To possess it in the heart is riches beyond imagination.

It is sweeter than the purest honey.  It soothes anxiety and fear. It brings joy unspeakable. It comforts and strengthens. It reveals the great love of God.

It gives knowledge. To know God is to trust Him completely and to love him with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strength. To truly know Him means we long to tell others of His goodness and wonderful works.

It rewards obedience. With peace and assurance. With intimate access to God. With purity of heart.

None of us can clearly see his own errors. God’s Word lovingly but firmly points them out and shows us ways to avoid them.  If we “hide His Word in our hearts” (memorize and meditate on it), it will keep us from both HIDDEN FAULTS and WILLFUL SINS, and give us the strength to resist temptation.

 

           Oh LORD God, may MY words and MY thoughts reflect Your perfection, Your righteousness and holiness, Your faithfulness and purity, Your wisdom and truth…today and always.

 

THOT: God’s word is meant to be BREAD for daily use, not CAKE for special occasions.

Don’t Blame Me

Aug12

Lubeck cathedral

Don’t Blame Me.

These are the ancient words of a poem carved in a gothic, medieval alphabet on a cathedral door in Lubeck, Germany.

Translated into modern English, the words take the form of a frightening poem, calling believers as well as unbelievers to look to ‘the thoughts and  intents’ of their hearts.

 

You call me eternal, then do not seek me
You call me fair, then do not love me
You call me gracious, then do not trust me
You call me just, then do not fear me

You call me life, then do not choose me
You call me light, then do not see me
You call me Lord, then do not respect me
You call me master, then do not obey me

You call me merciful, then do not thank me
You call me mighty, then do not honor me
You call me noble, then do not serve me
You call me rich, then do not ask me

You call me Savior, then do not praise me
You call me shepherd, then do not follow me
You call me the Way, then do not walk with me
You call me wise, then do not heed me

You call me Son of God, then do not worship me
When I condemn you….. then do not blame me.

I heard these words this morning in a recorded sermon by John McArthur.* They were written anonymously centuries ago, perhaps chiseled by a workman at the behest of a clergyman whose love for God and life of service were growing cold. Or, possibly by a zealous minister seeing his congregation becoming prideful, insincere, and self-satisfied. The year was 1173, but the wisdom of the poem is for us to consider today.

McArthur’s sermon was titled “Beware of Hypocrisy” from his Living Real series (1969). He referred to verses in Matthew 6 and 7 from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 6:1 – “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before man, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in Heaven.”

Matthew 7:21-23 – “Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?” Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers’.”

These are sobering, convicting words by Christ, meant to shake hypocrites from their self righteous pride and turn them (repent) to the only Righteous One, for true salvation.

Although I am a believer and I trust fully in the Lord Jesus for my salvation and righteousness before God, I still at times walk in pride, ego, selfishness, and hypocrisy toward God and others.  This prayer is my heart, crying out today for genuine love toward my God and for a life that honors him in all I do.

prayer, woman by bed

 

“O, God and Father of my Lord Jesus, help me not to live in hypocrisy!

Help me to heed your words of wisdom and walk in your Way, living gratefully the redeemed life you have given me through your Son, Jesus.  May my heart seek you, obey you, and honor you in all I do.

Help me to see you as the ultimate Light and Truth and to seek you with all my heart and soul.  Help me to trust in your grace absolutely and thank you always for your mercy and forgiveness. You are eternal, almighty, sovereign; my Lord and King. 

Help me as your child to freely ask ‘anything’ of you because you are rich beyond all my imagination, and You delight in supplying my needs and giving good gifts to me.

O Shepherd, Savior, Son of God, I worship you. Fill my heart and my mouth with praise and gratitude. Make me true!” 

  

 

*John MacArthur is the pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, as well as an author, conference speaker, president of The Master’s College & Seminary, and featured teacher with the “Grace to You” media ministry. All of John’s 3,500 sermons, spanning more than four decades of ministry, are available for free on this website.

In 1969, after graduating from Talbot Theological Seminary, John came to Grace Community Church.   The emphasis of his pulpit ministry is the careful study and verse-by-verse exposition of the Bible, with special attention devoted to the historical and grammatical background behind each passage

Should I Join a Book Club?

Jul23

BookClub2

I LOVE BOOKS.

The love the smell of them, the sight of them, the heft of them (print versions), the content of them.

Books have been important to me most of my life, from those early Nancy Drew Mysteries (the originals) read with a flashlight under the covers at night, to the marvelous Gothic mystery-romances by Mary Stewart, Phyllis Whitney, Victoria Holt and Daphne du Maurier, which carried me away to exotic places and times and “gentle” love. BookClub10(My favorite and most often read one is still This Rough Magic by Mary Stewart, set on an island in Greece.)

Then there came the countless books I read to my two boys as they grew up, from the whimsical Dr. Seuss rhymes and many volumes of illustrated children’s’ verse and fairy tales, to the detailed, cartoon towns, jobs and objects depicted by Richard Scarry.

I encouraged my granddaughters to read board books, chapter books and more. My oldest fell in love with Nancy Drew (of course!) and then… Jane Austin.

So eager was I to make books precious to them, that I wrote serialize stories, simple short stories, treasure hunt birthday stories (with activities) and eventually a couple junior-age books for them.

BookClub12I love a lot of genres, but my favorite is still mysteries, and I’ve graduated to literary-mysteries like those written by Madeline Gornell, and my favorite author today, Louise Penny. And now, after being a member of Mystery Writers of American and Sisters In Crime (writers), I also read lots of books for review in magazines and for author friends.

I am a reader. But I’ve never joined a book club.

Many women’s magazines have monthly articles featuring a book club located in a town within their readership. They give a brief highlight of what they do and list some of their favorite books. Also, these magazines feature a page of suggested books for reading – women, teens, children, history, humor, biography, etc.

Westways, the magazine of the Auto Club does this, and so does the monthly AARP newsletter (yes, I’m a senior!).

BookClub3My reasons for not joining a book club were several:
1. time commitment, not only for the meetings, but for the time to read the book and consider the questions.
2. what if I didn’t like the books to be read?
3. what if my Christian based opinions were scorned? (Yes, I know… it is to be expected, and I should take joy in standing up for Christ.)
4. where does one FIND a book club?

Laughing women in book club

A gal in my eight-member writing group – The Writers In Residence – Bonnie Schroeder recently wrote her blog post on being a member (and featured author) of a book club. She writes about what a book club IS, how one operates, the fun and not-so-fun books she’s read, discussing and moderating the chosen monthly book, and lastly the nail-biting anxiety of having her own book read.

Check out her post at: http://bit.ly/2ahjheK

So, why do I write about book clubs on a blog that features devotional topics?

Because I realized that I have been a member of the BEST Book Of The Month Club ever!  It’s all about the Bible; the Word of God.  You can read and reread the Bible as often as you like, pick out favorite passages, begin at the beginning, the middle or the ending, go to it for uplifting joy, inspiration, comfort, promise, knowledge, marching orders, even scolding! It contains biography, history, thrilling adventures, even romance. It is written for all ages, for all times. It’s truths “endure forever.”

Bookclub13Now HERE is the Book Club to join if you want to read THIS book – Bible Study Fellowship!

BSF has an in-depth reading, studying, and discussion of the Book of Books. Over the years it has covered nearly every portion in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. It runs for 9 months, concurrent to most school years, and meets once-a-week at a nearby host church. It will change your life, your heart, your thinking, and perhaps even your eternal future as the Gospel is proclaimed. Read it’s featured book, discuss it with other women (or men), hear it explained, and read supporting passages. You will never regret joining THIS book club, I promise.

The new study begins in September 2016, with the Gospel book of John. Contact Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) for where and when and how you can join this amazing “club.” There are “classes” around the world for all ages, and probably several in your own city.

Your only requirement? The Bible. And a desire to read it.

https://www.bsfinternational.org/

They that Wait for the Lord…

May6

FranticTo do listRecently my life has gotten very busy and stressed.  My calendar is full, my daily schedule seems impossible, and my “to do” list goes on for pages.

I’m anxious about the deadlines that I and others have set for me, and find myself biting my lip as once again what I’m working on just won’t go right!

Frantic womanI’m frustrated and irritable. I snap at the ones I love, who by the way are only trying to help. I feel like (and often do) scream to myself.  My head aches, my nerves are jittery, and I long for a nap.

Ever feel that way?

 

The only peace of my day comes from my early morning times of devotions with the Lord. In these, He focuses my mind on things above, on things that really count – things that HE wants done. He quiets my mind and helps me to prioritize my tasks for the day (if I will only follow through!).

Here are some verses He’s led me to in these mornings with Him. These will go at the top of my “to do” list.

Psalm 37:7 – Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him.

Psalm 62:5 – “For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him.”

Lamentations 3:24 –“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him. 

Psalm 46:10 – “Be still and know that I am the LORD.”

Psalm 37:34 – Wait for the LORD, and keep His way.

Psalm 40:1 – “I waited patiently for the LORD; He inclined to me and heard my cry.”

 Psalm 5:3 – “O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice!”

  Zephaniah 3:17b – The LORD your God is in your midst…He will quiet you by His love.

Psalm 131:2 – “I have calmed and quieted my soul.”

Isaiah 30:15b – Thus said the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, “…in quietness and rest shall be your strength.”

Isaiah 40:31 – They who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Lamentations 3:25-26 – The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.  It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

Psalm 27:14 – Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage. Wait for the LORD.

 

 

 

 

Praying in God’s Will

Feb15

Good wisdom on how God answers prayer. Is there a “magic formula”?

Don Merritt's avatarLife Project Blog

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I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

1 John 5:13-15

These three simple verses are encouraging ones, for they assure us of two wonderful things.  First, we have eternal life.  Second, anything we ask for in prayer will be done, if we ask in God’s will. This is our focus here: God’s will.

The whole idea of tacking “in Jesus’ name, Amen” has always struck me as trying to work the system just a little bit.  Of course, we do that because Jesus is recorded three times in John’s gospel telling His disciples…

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What Exactly IS that “Narrow Gate and Way?”

Feb5

Most people are familiar with John 14:1-6 where Jesus comforts his disciples in the light of the horrendous events that are about to happen to Him and to them.
“Let not your heart be troubled.”

You believe in God, well, believe also in me.

I’m going away…
but I’ll be back to get you, so you can live with me forever.
You know the way to the place I’m going, right?

Thomas (panicking) What? No! We don’t know where you are going… how can we know the WAY?

(Oh, Thomas, I know you love me so much and that you would die with me if you could, and that you can’t stand the thought of my leaving… but listen.) *I* (me, Jesus) AM the way…

Narrow way(There is only ONE way to God, to heaven, to eternal life… and it is very narrow and hard to find. (Matthew 7:13-14)

Few find it.

It’s only about 10 inches wide [speaking picture-wise]. It is the “width” of the post of the cross on which would soon hang the very Son of God, paying the punishment of death for our sin in His own body… being crushed and forsaken by His dear Father as He is weighed down by the horrendous, heinous, sickening sin of all who would believe in Him….bearing it, as only a perfectly sinless being can do for another, taking on the ultimate DEATH SENTENCE.)

THIS is the way, dear fearful but faithful Thomas (and all who will believe). It’s the ONLY way. You must come to God through ME, through my death for sin on that hideous cross, which is the only thing that will satisfy the holiness and justice of God Almighty.

And I am the truth…

(Yes, old Pilate would ask Jesus “What is truth?” but how could he understand what Jesus meant?

Jesus IS the truth of God. The truth that God spoke in His word clear back in the garden of Eden, through all the promises He made concerning a sin-bearer, a devil-defeater, a perfect sacrifice, a mighty rock from which water springs, manna in the wilderness, a bronze serpent impaled on a post and lifted up, a servant, a lamb silent to its slaughter, a son of David, a King, a morning star…. All that God spoke was absolute TRUTH – the truth that is Jesus who fulfilled every single prediction and pattern in the Holy Scriptures.) (Luke 24:26-27)

And I am the life…

(We are all dead in trespasses and sin…. we all are in a living death passed down through Adam and Eve when they first chose Satan over God. The wages of this sin is death. Sure, we may live for 35, 60, 95 or even 110 earthly years, but the end of us all is certain death. The only everlasting life we can have comes through a new birth by the Holy Spirit of God.

In a way, we are Jesus’ “offspring” (Isaiah 53:10). Jesus IS that new life for each of us who will trust in Him. On the other side of that cross is new life and righteousness complete and pure. We shed our sin upon the dying Jesus and come through new born, pure and righteous.. That’s how God sees us in Christ.) (2 Corinthians 5:21)

NO PERSON comes to the Father except through Christ on the cross.

Do you believe in Jesus the truth, the ONLY narrow way to eternal life? Would to God that you did.

 

God’s Perfect Timing

Feb4

My Bible reading today was John 11:1-55, on Martha, Mary and their baby brother Lazarus.  It’s a picture of God’s Perfect Timing, among a lot of other things. If you are like me, you are impatient when God doesn’t move when and how you expect or desire Him too. Always it is for our own good when things don’t work out to our liking. God’s ways are so much higher and better than ours! If we will just trust him quietly we would see. But, no… that’s not in our nature. Well, not in mine.

~~~~~

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” (11:1-3)

mary-martha-lazarus-1104310-galleryThe sisters sent word to Jesus that Lazarus was REALLY sick. (It was just a statement, but it went with the unspoken assumption that Jesus would come quickly and heal him “before it was too late.”)

Jesus did not come.

In fact He waited two more days after receiving their message before announcing to His disciples that Lazarus was dead. It took a few more days to head back and finally arrive. By that time, the brother had been the grave four days and had begun to rot. (stink)

MARTHA (going out to meet Him): “If you had been here our brother would not have died.”

MARY (falling at His feet, weeping): “If you had been here our brother would not have died.”

RELATIVES & NEIGHBORS (whispering): “Could not He who opened the eyes of the man born blind also have kept this man from dying?”

If only! Oh, if only He would have come! Things would have been so different! Why did He delay till it was too late?

(Do YOU ever feel that way? I do. That if Jesus was HERE RIGHT NOW, my illness would be cured? If He was here, He could just say the word, lay hands on me, or let power flow from his robe when I reached to touch its hem…. But He didn’t come when I prayed. He was silent. My situation got worse. I wasn’t healed.)

Jesus was deeply moved and troubled in His spirit.  Seeing the grief and pain and unbelief and death that the wiles of the devil had caused to His creation through deception and sin, Jesus wept angrily.

“Where is he buried?” He demanded.

“Roll back the stone!” He commanded

“Father, I ask this so that the people around may believe that YOU sent me (to bring life and resurrection power over sin and death).” He prayed as He looked to heaven.

“LAZARUS, COME OUT!”  He shouted.

It was a shout of victory over sin and death, much like his own cry from the cross, “IT IS FINISHED!”

And… “The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” (11:44)

Three days after His crucifixion and burial, Jesus also would rise from the dead, though the grave clothes would not cling to Him.

“Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men, God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.” (Acts 2:22-24)

“I am the resurrection and the life.” Jesus said to Martha and now to us. “Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.  Do you believe this?” (11:25-26)

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:55-57)

~~~~~

And so….. because of the delay of a few days (so misunderstood and maligned by the sisters) a greater miracle brought glory to Christ and to the Father, and many believed. It was a crescendo of God’s power displayed, to remind them, and all of us, and perhaps even Jesus, of that ultimate miracle which would take place on Resurrection morning.

If you are desperately praying for God’s intervention right now. If you can see no way out. If it is almost too late. Remember this story.  God sees and knows exactly your circumstances. His plan for you is good. Trust Him. He is totally trustworthy.