Grains of Sand

Pixabay I remember that Sunday as if it were yesterday. The pastor's wife, Mrs. Wood, was in charge of the Sunday School department of which I was a part. I think it was the Primary Department so I was somewhere between six and eight years old. My task for that particular morning was to recite Psalm 1 from memory. I did it—and got a prize for doing it (I still have that bookmark)! To this day I can recite that chapter of the Bible. That experience, (among others) makes me an advocate for Scripture memorization in Sunday School. If kids don't remember anything else they learn in Sunday School, make sure they have the Bible in their heads. Sooner or later, it will filter down to their hearts as the Spirit of God works in their lives. The Lord promises that His Word will never return to Him without accomplishing what it was sent to do (Isaiah 55:11). Psalm 1 begins with any preacher's ideal three-point sermon. " Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel ...

stpatselkhorn.org (Google Images) It used to be that one of the signs of old age was loss of hearing. I say, “used to be” because many people have suffered loss of hearing early in life due to the excessive level of noise they have been exposed to, levels that were not the experience of earlier generations. In any case, the question that arising from today’s reading is “How’s your hearing?” Jesus has just told the parable of the sower to His audience (Matthew 13:10-23; Mark 4:10-25; Luke 8:9-18). On the heels of that teaching He reveals to His circle of disciples what the parable means. The parable itself is all about the Word of God and how well, or how poorly, people hear, understand, and respond to it. Changing metaphors, Jesus then said that, like a lamp on a table, the light than comes from the Word of God is to shine brightly. Everyone should be exposed to it, but not everyone will understand the meaning of its brilliance, even when they have been exposed to it. He ends with ...

Google Images “ Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth ” John 17:17. Repeatedly the Scriptures tell us how important being immersed in the Word of God really is in a journey of faith that is taken seriously. Part of Jesus’ last prayer for His followers emphasized that importance as He asked His father to make them holy through their interaction with God’s Word. PSALM 119 is well-known for its emphasis on the importance of the Word of God: “ How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word ” (Psalm 119:9). “ I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you ” (Psalm 119:11). “ The unfolding of your word gives light; it gives understanding to the simple ” (Psalm 119:130). The author to the Hebrews says this: “ For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to the dividing of soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart ” (Hebrews 4:12). As indi...

When I was setting things up for the Thanksgiving display at the church, I came across some loaves of bread that had been left over from last year’s display—perfectly preserved after a year in storage. I’m not sure what that might say about what was baked into those loaves to keep them from going moldy, but I was impressed nonetheless—even though they were as hard as rock! Jesus described Himself as the bread of life (John 6:35). “ ...the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world...I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty ” (6:33-35). No illustration can compete with the real thing, but those hard Thanksgiving loaves did remind me of the permanence of God’s gift of the bread of life. Unlike those loaves, God’s gift never gets stale or hard, but it is a “forever” gift, one that will outlast any circumstance and any attack. The implication of the text here is that this “brea...

“ This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the Lord, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself ” —Isaiah 44:24, NIV. I have an issue with instruction manuals. Call it a mental block or just pure stubbornness, but as soon as I see the writing in the little booklet that comes with most things that need to be assembled these days, I know I’m not going to be able to understand. I need the pictures—those I can follow. They tell me that men don’t read the instructions OR look at the pictures. They just figure they know how to put stuff together. I wonder what the statistics are related to how many times a job has been started without the aid of the instructions only to have to be redone, or undone, because those instructions weren’t followed. Moving the discussion to the spiritual realm, I read today’s verse and do an “aha.” God not only wrote the instruction manual, He made the product. So it ...

“ The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever ” —Isaiah 40:8, NIV I can see the value in the multitude of courses, curriculums, studies, workshops, conferences, books, and sermons that talk around the Scriptures. But in the end, all of those things (and their writers, speakers, and promoters) pass off the scene to be replaced by others. Popularity wanes. The cost of keeping up with all the latest fads in hot new programs gets excessive. Someone invests a new “mousetrap” and we rush off to see if the “cheese” appeals to us—at least until a new “mousetrap” comes along. And what remains? That very thing we so often only give a passing nod to in our rush for more information and wisdom, beckons us from beneath the pile of all the pseudo-smarts of modern thinking that we have accumulated. We should have seen the red flag years ago. If you offer the latest in courses or studies, especially if those courses or studies have to do with self-help, you...

“ He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes out of the mouth of the Lord ” —Deuteronomy 8:3, NIV. As Moses led the escapees from Egypt across the wilderness, they were faced with one of the many teaching points that God had in store for them. He let them go hungry. You would think that after all the miracles that God had done to get this newly formed nation out of captivity that he wouldn’t have forgotten the grocery list. But he did—on purpose. Then, when the Israelites realized that the supply of even their most basic needs depended on   God, and not on them, he sent them manna to satisfy their hunger. That lesson would be relearned every single morning of their lives as they travelled in the desert. We often question why God allows us to “hunger.” This hunger isn’t always wrapped in the need for a hamburger and fri...

Yesterday, over turkey and dressing, we got to talking about reading Scripture. I'm pretty sure that one has nothing to do with the other but the latter certainly had to do with my post yesterday on how few people actually bring their Bibles to church. One of my friends showed me his ipod? Cell phone? Blackberry? Whatever it is, my friend can access any passage of Scripture on it. When the Scripture is being read during the service or as the pastor preaches, he follows the reading on his "whatever." Modern technology gives a new meaning to carrying your Bible to church, doesn't it? The point is, whatever form it takes, it's important to bring your Bible with you to God's house. This theme of reading the Bible will not go away. I had to chuckle to myself this morning as I read the devotional reading assigned for today. The people have gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate their return and the rebuilding of the city walls. Ezra brings out the Word of God and: ...