LABOURERS INTO HIS HARVEST

Labourers are needed for the fields-not just in another country, but right here where you live. We all know someone who needs the Lord, who needs an encouraging word, who needs someone just to say that they will pray for them. Will you go? Are you willing? Jesus can use you.
Have a wonderful and blessed Sunday!
Beth :-)

PETER AND POPCORN

One of my favorite object lessons that I like to teach the children is about the Apostle Peter and a bag of popcorn. What do they even have in common, you ask? The answer-they both "popped under pressure".

For popcorn to pop, it needs to be exposed to extreme heat. When I was growing up, we would make popcorn every Saturday night. My dad would take a bag of popcorn kernels, some cooking oil and a very hot pan and pop the corn on the stove top. I can still remember the sound of the kernels swishing back and forth in the pan and the delicious smell that would fill the house. Today, all we have to do is take a bag and throw it in the microwave.

Shortly before the Crucifixion, Jesus was talking to His disciples. He told them that they would all desert Him that very night (Matthew 26:31). But Peter, who loved His Lord very much, said, "Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended." Matthew 26:33. Jesus looked at him (I wonder if sadly), and told Peter that he would deny Him three times before the cock crowed twice. Peter insisted that even if he had to die with Jesus, he still would not deny Him. He meant it. But, the "heat" was closer than Peter knew.

Shortly after this, the guards came to arrest Jesus. There was quite alot of activity. Peter even drew his sword and cut off the ear of Malchus, the high priest's servant (John 18:10), who, by the way, Jesus healed before He was led away. All of the disciples, including Peter, forsook Jesus at this time and fled (Mark 14:50), although Peter did follow from afar off all the way to the palace of the high priest, where he sat by the fire with the servants (Mark 14:54). He was asked three times as to whether or not he was a follower of Jesus. Each time he denied, each time more vehemently than before. He even started cursing and swearing! Alas, when he heard the cock crow the second time, he remembered the words of Jesus with great sorrow and wept. He had "popped" under pressure when the heat became too much.

When things are going great for the Christian, we are often, like Peter, on fire for the Lord, praising Him, promising Him that we will always serve Him, thanking Him for such wonderful blessings on our life. But when trials come our way, how do we react? It's easy to follow Him when things are good. But what about the hard times? The tragedies in our lives? We are all human, this is true. We all will deal with emotions and feelings. But, when something happens, and we're "down in the valley", do we still keep our eyes on Jesus?

There is a song called, "God on the Mountain".  One of the verses says, "You talk of faith when you're up on the mountain. Oh but the talk comes easy when life's at its best. But it's down in the valley of trials and temptation that's when faith is really put to the test."

When things in life are going good for a Christian, it's easy for us to serve the Lord. But, as we all know, life isn't always easy. Trials and tragedies will come into our lives. But when they do, remember to keep looking up and looking to Jesus, your Lord and Saviour. Don't "pop under pressure" as Peter did. If you do, that's alright. Jesus knows us. He knows that we are sometimes weak. That is why we need Him-ALWAYS. He will never leave you or forsake you.

If you have wandered away from the Lord because of circumstances that have happened in your life, don't you think it's time to come back? He is waiting for you with open arms. Pray, ask His forgiveness, then give your situation over to Him. Trust Him! Start reading His precious Word again. Ask Him for guidance. Then, if you have stopped attending church, go back. Begin fellowshipping with other believers again.

Now, whenever you have some popcorn, maybe you will think of Peter. :-)!

Have a wonderful and blessed day!
Beth :-)

THAT'S MY PEW!

Has this ever been you-It's Sunday morning, it's time for the service to begin. You're making your way to the pew that you sit in every Sunday. You happen to look up and see a visiting family looking for somewhere to sit. They glance in the direction where you normally sit. Silently, you tell them not to sit there, that there are other pews to sit in. Or, you quickly slide into your pew, placing your Bible, purse, coat, etc down, knowing that there won't be room for all of you. The family comes closer, you hold your breath. Then they find another place to sit. You are relieved.

Or, how about this-Have you ever visited a church, found a pew and sat down, only to have someone a few minutes later come and stand by you, letting you know in no uncertain terms with their body language that that was "their" pew? Or, gasp! actually TELL you that is "their" pew?

My boys and I usually sit in the same pew every Sunday-the fourth one back on the left hand side, I guess because that is where my husband and I started sitting when we got married and after he became a pastor, I just kept sitting there. This Sunday, something happened to make me realize that I need to work a little bit harder on teaching my two little "gentlemen" some "pew manners".
This was the situation-we had already sat down in the pew. The service had already started. As we were singing the first hymn, a man, his wife and family proceeded to sit in the same pew. Now, please bare in mind, that these pews were only meant to hold six adults comfortably. Since the seating situation got a little bit cramped, and there were other empty pews, I went ahead and moved us to another pew. It did not bother me in the least. My oldest started complaining, however. He didn't like the view. He felt weird sitting in a different place. I drew the line when he said, "We were there first. Why did we have to move?".

First of all, I let my son know that it is not "our" pew, it's GOD'S pew. It is in His house. Besides, I don't see our name written on it anywhere! Secondly, I feel like it was the right thing to do. Yes, I could have let them know that there were other pews open (which I would not do under any circumstance), but, the Bible tells us, "If it be possible, as much lieth in you, live peaceably with all men." Romans 12:18. It was also the POLITE thing to do.

When visitors come to our church, we need to make them feel welcome. How can we show them Christ if we selfishly hold onto something so material and, yes, trivial?
When we are out in public, if an older person, a mother who is obviously pregnant, a disabled person, etc comes into a room or enters the bus or train that we are riding and needs a seat, we (I surely hope!), will rise and give them our seat. Why don't we do this in our churches?

I was very impressed when we visited a church in the mountains while on vacation one year. The church was small and extremely packed with people. They were in the middle of adding on an addition to their building. A man stood up when he saw us enter, immediately recognizing us as visitors. He willingly and gladly gave up where he was sitting so that we could have a seat.

Oh, Christians! Let's not hold onto such trivial things! No matter what we do, we are representing God and our church. We need to let the love of Jesus shine through!

Have a wonderful and blessed day!
Beth :-)

COYOTES IN THE WOODS!

The other night, after our boys were asleep, my husband wanted to go outside and try out his "Predator Call" to see if there might be any coyotes in the woods that would answer.  For those who don't know, a Predator Call is an electronic device that has several different sounds imitating an injured animal as well as some actual "predator" sounds (a coyote howl, etc) to attract the animal. 
My husband set the device to a coyote howl. At first, the only answer we heard was a neighbor's dog some distance away. My husband tried again. We got an answer that time. Where? In the woods, RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET from our house! With that, I promptly turned around and said, "OK, I'm going back inside now!". I am NOT one to stay outside with a coyote that close!
Coyotes are actually on an "open season" hunting list all year long in our area as their population has become quite large and they pose a threat to smaller farm animals such as chickens. They are also interbreeding with the Red Wolf population that has been reintroduced here in our county.
I started thinking about this experience. I thought about how Christians often forget just how close Satan is lurking, just waiting for the right moment to attack. We often get a little "slack" and let our defences down. When we do, we are opening ourselves and our family up to an attack that we won't be prepared for. The Bible tells us, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:" 1 Peter 5:8.
Be sober, be vigilant! Keep a watch out! You have children to protect. Keep those family devotions and prayer times going. Keep them in church. Constantly talk to them and teach them about the Lord. Be careful about and monitor what your family watches and listens to. How quickly Satan can come in to your home through television, video games or music.
"..as a roaring lion,.." Have you ever heard the roar of a lion? I have, when we have visited the zoo. This roar will literally vibrate and rumble right through your whole being! It is a frightful thing to hear! I can not imagine what it would be like to actually come across one in the wild!
The devil will roar. There will be circumstances in your life that will have you so frightened and shaking right to your inner core. Always remember that if you are a born-again Christian, you have One Who is mightier than Satan on your side! Satan wants you to believe that there is no hope, that you can not make it through. All you can hear is his loud roar. But you can! Romans 8:31 says, "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?". Romans 8:37-39 also tells us, "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." That covers everything. The Lord will never leave you, nor forsake you! He is always there by your side.
There are some things to remember when you are going through these troubling times. First, don't stop praying and reading your Bible, even when you don't feel like it. The Lord encourages us through His Word. Second, don't stop going to church. You need the fellowship and prayers of your fellow brother and sisters in Christ. There is strength in numbers! Lastly, don't forget that these experiences usually draw us closer to Christ. You won't be able to see it now, but further on up the road, you will see where you have grown and learned to lean more on the Lord, and not on your "own understanding".
I pray for all of you, my dear readers! I pray that you will have the strength to go through that trial that you are experiencing. I pray that you will keep a constant vigil for your family! With the Lord's help and strength, you can!
Have a wonderful and blessed day!
Beth :-)

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM MY HOUSE TO YOURS!

I just wanted to say, "Merry Christmas!" from my house to yours. I pray that it is a blessed day for you and your family.
Christmas falls on a Sunday this year. Don't forget to go to the Lord's House and worship the One for Whom this day is celebrating.
Have a wonderful and blessed day!!
Beth :-)

MAKING TRACKS

The weather Saturday was just SO beautiful that my family and I (our cats came along, too!) took a walk in the fields behind our house.
Nathan and Samuel love to look for animal tracks. The ground is still kind of soft, so the tracks show up pretty well. Among the tracks that we found were tractor tire tracks, deer tracks and, of course, people tracks (ours :-)!).
Some of the deer tracks were old, but my husband said that you could tell from the track how heavy the deer was, along with whether or not it was a buck or doe, as well as if it was running or walking. Boy! I learned alot that day. See pictures below:

BUCK TRACKS
MY HUSBAND SAYS THAT YOU CAN TELL THE BUCK WAS RUNNING BY THE WAY THE FRONT OF HIS HOOF IS SPREAD.

DOE TRACKS
MY HUSBAND SAID THAT THIS DEER WAS JUST WALKING.

PEOPLE TRACKS

TRACTOR TIRE TRACKS

CAT TRACKS
OUR LITTLE "TAG-ALONGS"

When we got back to the house, I started thinking about my life's path and what kind of "tracks" I was leaving behind me.

I have a poem on my refrigerator that reads, "The future lies before you like a field of driven snow; Be careful how you tread it for every track will show." Author unknown.

You know, everything we do, every decision we make, how we talk to and treat people (our families included), all leave "tracks" both in our lives and the people around us.

Our children are like sponges. Whether we are aware of it or not, they watch us VERY closely. Sometimes too closely. Often times, I will see an attitude or action in my child that I know they have seen in me. It's often hard and most humbling to see yourself reflecting back in your child, especially when it's a not-so-pretty attitude.

We as Christians have to be so very careful how we walk down this path of life. We should be a light, a beacon, shining out and showing people the way to Christ, starting with our own families.

Saturday's walk opened my eyes to a few life lessons. I am so very human. I need to rely on the Lord an awful lot. But, you know what? He is there for us. Keep praying, stay in your Bible, attend church REGULARLY.  We will fall, that's the truth. But He is there to catch us and put us to right again.

What kind of tracks are you leaving?

Have a wonderful and blessed day!

Beth :-)

BUILT UPON A ROCK

"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it." Matthew 7:24-27
These verses came to my mind several times during Hurricane Irene as we watched the strong winds and rain beating down, not knowing what damage we would find when it was all over.
This parable is actually talking about a person's spiritual "foundation". What is your "foundation" built on? Faith in Jesus, money, popularity, friends?
The wise man in these verses is one who has built his life upon the Lord. The storms of life may beat upon him, but as long as his faith is in Jesus, he will stand firm. Sometimes we have to hold on to His hand a little bit tighter during these times, but He is always there for us. That is why it is so important to daily read our Bibles and pray. Church attendance is also very important, as not only is this where we are taught the Word of God, but we are also among other Believers who can pray for and uplift us during our "storms". These are important "building blocks" in our foundations.
On the other hand, the foolish man is one whose spiritual "foundation" is built on things such as money, popularity, friends, etc. All of these can be taken away in a moment. All are like the "sinking sand" that he has built his house on. It is like building a house on the beach. When a hurricane comes, this house would be destroyed because the foundation was made of sand, and not rock.
During the "Great Depression", suicide was great among the rich. Their lives were founded on the money that they had, and when the banks crashed, so did their lives. It was very sad! Their foundation was built on sinking sand.
What is your life built on today? How firm is your foundation? Are there "storms" in your life that you are going through right now? If you are a Christian, stand firm. Keep praying and get those special "prayer warriors" in your life to help you pray. It will soon pass. If you don't know Christ as your Saviour, why not ask Him today? He is knocking at the door of your heart, but He won't come in until you ask Him. Let today be the day of Salvation, and the beginning of a new life!
Have a wonderful and blessed day!
Beth :-)

FORSAKE NOT THE ASSEMBLING OF OURSELVES

We shall all do well to remember the charge of the Apostle Paul: “Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some is.” (Heb. 10:25). Never to be absent from God’s house on Sundays, without good reason – never to miss the Lord’s Supper when administered in our own congregation – never to let our place be empty when means of grace are going on, this is one way to be a growing and prosperous Christian. The very sermon that we needlessly miss, may contain a precious word in season for our souls. The very assembly for prayer and praise from which we stay away, may be the very gathering that would have cheered, established, and revived our hearts. We little know how dependent our spiritual health is on little, regular, habitual helps, and how much we suffer if we miss our medicine.

~ J.C. Ryle