Today's Word
You are welcome to use the writings on these pages or pass them on to others who might find a touch from God in the words. Our purpose is always to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the world. Please remember to give credit to the Author who has given you everything, and keep in remembrance the vessel which He used to bring these words to you. We pray that this site may be a blessing to you and anyone with whom its been shared. All rights reserved. Peggy Hoppes
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Salisbury PlainClimb a Hill, Look at a Rock Day
Our Lord is so good, He grants us many blessings. We can see Him in the daily course of events, in our homes, our jobs, our lives. I pray that these words help you to grow in your faith and recognize His hand in even the most mundane circumstances.
The picture to the right is of a Celtic Chapel located in Cornwall England. This building is approximately 1700 years old, and contains a holy well known for its healing powers.
(Click for enlarged)
“God, don’t be far from me. My God, hurry to help me. Let my accusers be disappointed and consumed. Let them be covered with disgrace and scorn who want to harm me. But I will always hope, and will add to all of your praise. My mouth will tell about your righteousness, and of your salvation all day, though I don’t know its full measure. I will come with the mighty acts of the Lord Yahweh. I will make mention of your righteousness, even of yours alone. God, you have taught me from my youth. Until now, I have declared your wondrous works. Yes, even when I am old and gray-haired, God, don’t forsake me, until I have declared your strength to the next generation, your might to everyone who is to come. Psalm 71:13-18, WEB
A storyteller named Susan Klein visited the children’s school when we lived in England. She told stories from all over the world. She has the ability to make the stories come to life by using voices and body language coupled with the right words. She sparked the children’s imaginations to take them to places they’ve never been. One story she told was about the Milky Way, taken from a desert tribe in Africa. It told of an inexperienced hunter who went to find a skin for his girl. He got lost and was nearly eaten by a hyena. During the night his girl, in a desperate attempt to bring him home, flung hot embers in the sky. Those glowing bits flew to where the hunter stood, surprising the hyena and giving him a path to follow home.
Human beings have told stories since the beginning of time. We have a need to understand the things around us, and many things in God’s creation are unexplainable. We tell stories to ease our fears. Many stories bring the monsters from our imaginations to life. Those stories end in the transformation or death of those monsters, giving us a feeling of relief and safety, even from the real monsters that make us afraid.
Storytelling is nothing new, we don’t even have to be professionals. People have been telling stories since the creation of the world. Gather with family and friends over a holiday or a special occasion and what happens? We tell stories. We laugh at our foibles, rejoice over our successes, and remember the people who have impacted our lives. One story inevitably leads to another as we discover shared experiences and crossed paths. We all have our favorite stories, stories we've developed and love to tell. My kids sigh when I start telling one of my favorites because they've heard it over and over again. Sometimes the stories become so familiar to others that they jump in to tell our story.
Modern technology and social media have made it easier for people to tell their stories. There are programs and products that help us put our stories for everyone to read. Anyone can self-publish a book, in print or digitally, and send it immediately around the world. Who hasn’t posted about their vacation or something that happened during their day on Facebook or Twitter? While many of these stories are not read by millions of people, they can reach the people who matter: our children or grandchildren, friends and neighbors. By sharing our stories, we live on in their memories; written stories last even longer.
“I love to tell the story” is one of my favorite hymns. The chorus says, “I love to tell the story, I’ll sing this theme in glory, and tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.” It is easy to get caught up in storytelling at family gatherings or on the internet, but we are more willing to tell the stories about our lives than we are to tell the most important story of them all. Many people are afraid because they do not feel they have the knowledge to convince anyone to believe. We don’t think our story is interesting enough to make a difference. We are afraid that we will say something wrong, or that we might even cause someone to reject Jesus or persecute us. We are too insecure to answer the big questions, so we never bother to tell the story that has the power to make any questions insignificant. It is easier to let the professionals tell the stories of Jesus.
We don’t have to be great storytellers, although prayer and Bible study can make us ready to witness for the God who has redeemed and saved us. Just like our stories that come tumbling out of our mouths because we want to share, the story of Christ is as much a part of our lives that it can, and will, come naturally as we open ourselves to the opportunities to share. We aren’t necessarily called to be teachers or preachers, but we are called to be storytellers. We are called to praise God and to share what we know about Him. The psalmist had hope God’s salvation and could not help but sing His praise. How much more, then, should we be singing and sharing the story of Jesus Christ, who saved us from sin and death for eternal life in His Kingdom?
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“He said, ‘God’s Kingdom is as if a man should cast seed on the earth, and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, though he doesn’t know how. For the earth bears fruit by itself: first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the fruit is ripe, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.’” Mark 4:26-29, WEB
It is springtime and Mother’s Day soon, so many schools for young children have done lessons about plant growth. Teachers take the opportunity to teach several lessons at once. They plant a flower seed in a small pot, which grows into a flower just in time to be a gift for mothers. The plan includes lessons on science, generosity, patience, and the calendar. The children learn how to take care of the plant, when to water and how much. Some schools do art projects to wrap the pot and make a card. The children love to look at their pots each day to check for any growth. It is exciting when they see the plant poking out of the dirt. They talk about each stage, keeping track of the changes to their plant each day. By the time it is ready to go home with the children, the plants usually are large enough to have their first buds.
It is an amazing process to the children. They know what they put into the ground, but within days that tiny seed is a green stem with leaves. With nothing but a container, some dirt and that seed, the children grow a flower. They don’t know how it happens; it just does. They learn what happens during the lessons. They learn the stages of growth, see diagrams of what is happening in the dirt. They learn how the sun and water affect the seed. Many teachers will even do an experiment with a bean seed. They put it in a clear plastic bag with a damp cotton ball. The seed sprouts and grows inside the bag, with the cotton acting as soil, and the children can see what is actually happening. It is an amazing process.
I don’t know if anyone really understood the science of growth in Jesus’ day. That’s not the point of His parable. Farmers had a rudimentary understanding of what was happening under the ground when they planted the seed, but Jesus is making a very important point: even if we know the stages of flower growth, we don’t make it happen. We plant the seed, give it water, and make sure that it gets some sunshine, but we can’t cause a seed to grow. Unfortunately, in every classroom some seeds fail. Some child is usually disappointed when they never see the tiny sprout poking out of the dirt. The child did nothing wrong; the seed simply did not grow.
We understand what happens under the ground, but we still have no control over whether or not the seed will grow. The same is true of the seeds of faith that we plant. We are sometimes disappointed when faith doesn’t grow in someone we love. We can’t make people believe. We can’t force growth in a relationship between a person and Jesus. We aren’t in control of what will happen. We can only plant the seeds and pray that God will make it grow. The best we can do is take care of the seed: feed it with God’s word and nourish it with Christian love. It might seem like we’ve failed when the person does not believe, but we can trust that God is able to make life spring out in His time and way.
The following links provide some specially chosen scripture that tell the stories of the Birth and Passion of our Lord as Saviour Jesus Christ, as well as a fictional perspective of the Crucifixion. Spend time in God's Word, read about His life and learn of the wonderful gifts He has for you. Know Jesus Christ and honour Him today. Thanks be to God.
The Story of our Saviour's Passion
The Crucifixion, a fictional perspective
When researching, I use several versions of the bible, including the New International Version and English Standard Version. Due to copyright restrictions, I have not included quotes for the scriptures on some of the archives, but highly encourage you to open your own bibles to read the scripture passages for yourselves. Where scripture is quoted, it is usually the American Standard Version or World English Bible which belong to the public domain. Any other versions used in quotes are identified.
The devotion posted on Wednesday is based on the Lectionary texts used by millions of Christians each Sunday. The Lectionary consists of four texts: an Old Testament passage, a Psalm, a passage from one of the Epistles and a Gospel text and follows the church calendar. Archives for these writings are found at Midweek Oasis.
You are welcome to use these words to share the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. Please remember to give credit to the Author who has given you these gifts, and keep in remembrance the vessel which He used to bring them to you. We pray that this site may be a blessing to you and anyone with whom you've shared it. Peggy Hoppes
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