Uncategorized – Page 10 – Jewels From the Word

April 17, 2017

Going Fishing

What do you do the day after a great holiday? You get up and go back to work, so that’s what Peter did.

They’d had a glorious Easter Sunday evening church service. Jesus had died on the cross, and was dead and buried for three days, but on a glorious Sunday morning, He rose from the dead. That evening, all the disciples except Thomas were gathered together when Jesus appeared to them.

“Jesus breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” John 21:22, and at that moment, the disciples were born again, but Jesus didn’t stay with them this time like He always had in the past. Too soon, He was gone.

Monday came, and Peter told his fellow fishermen, “I’m going fishing.” Peter went right back to his old job, because without Jesus with him every day, Peter didn’t think he knew how to do anything else.

They fished all night. Dawn broke and there stood Jesus on the beach. He called out, “Boys, did you catch any fish? Do you have anything to eat with your bread?” They said, “No!”

Jesus said, “Cast your net on the right side of the boat,” and they caught so many they couldn’t haul them all in. Peter jumped off and swam to shore. When he got there, Jesus had a fire, and fish and bread ready to eat.

While they sat around the campfire after breakfast, Jesus asked Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” Jesus was asking Peter if he loved Him more than the fish and fishing. “Follow Me.” John 21:19.

And then Jesus spoke the same two words that he had spoken to Peter when he called him to be his disciple three and a half years before. “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19.

Nothing had changed. The call was still the same.

April 12, 2017

After Easter

The story doesn’t end with Jesus on the cross, although that is the focal point of our salvation.

Every drop of blood in His body flowed out, ran down His brow, ran from the wound in His side, from the stripes on His back. His blood ran in rivulets down the hill, over the cliff of Golgotha, where according to legend, His blood flowed into the tomb was where Jesus was to be buried. Jesus didn’t die because His blood was all gone from His body. He died because He voluntarily gave up His Spirit, His life.

Jesus Himself said in John 10:17-18, “I lay down my life that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of Myself.” Then the first day of the week, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus took up His life again and rose from the dead, but the story doesn’t end there either.

In the garden, He appeared to Mary. That night He appeared to His disciples. Later He appeared to the disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Then in the presence of at least 120 people He ascended to heaven, but that isn’t the end of the story either.

After Jesus ascended to heaven, the Bible says now He is seated at the right hand of the Father, where He ever lives to make intercession for us. But the story didn’t end there either.

Jesus will come to take us to heaven where we will be with the Lord, but the story doesn’t end there either.

Then Jesus and His resurrected saints will return to the earth and we will live on earth with Him for a thousand years, but that isn’t the end of the story.

At the end of the thousand years, Jesus will re-create heaven and earth, and heaven will come down to earth, right over Jerusalem. Then we will rule and reign with Him forever. That isn’t the end of the story either.

That is only the beginning.

April 3, 2017

Sweet Words

If I were to define my worst trait it would be my big mouth. Oh, I’ve gotten into a lot of trouble over the years because of my mouth.

One time we’d been fishing and were leaving the creek, with Dad driving a big Dodge pickup with an overhead camper. We pulled up to the road and stopped, waiting for a car who was going to turn in where we were coming out, but she couldn’t see around us to see if she had room. In other conditions, Dad would have just backed up a little to let her in, but there was someone behind us too.

I was in the passenger seat with my arm hanging out the window and I just mouthed, “Can’t you see we can’t move? Come on, lady.” She was almost facing me and I could see her face as she hollered out at me, “What did you say?”

I said, “I only said we can’t back up.” Well, she couldn’t hear me, so she said, “Say that again,” and I could tell she was getting mad. Now I was an adult, maybe 30, and I decided maybe I’d better act apologetic before she jumped out of that car, pulled me out, and stomped on me.

While I was smiling and shrugging at the lady, Dad waved at the guy behind us to come on around us, and he did, so then Dad backed up, so the lady could turn in. It turned out okay but I should have just kept my mouth shut.

Have you ever had to eat your words? I did that day, and I’m sorry to say, that’s not the last time I’ve had to back up and retract something I have said.

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14 NKJV.

I’ll keep my words sweet in case I have to eat them.

March 27, 2017

Storms of Life

Another thunderstorm blew through town this evening, and it thundered occasionally for several hours. Most of us didn’t get very much rain this time, but we had received rain a few days ago.

Until the time of Noah, mankind had never experienced rain. In Genesis 2:5-6, “For the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, ….but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.”

God spoke to Noah telling him that because of the wickedness of the people on the earth, He was going to destroy them all. God told Noah to build an ark and gave him all the details in how to build it. In Genesis 7:4, God said, “I will cause it to rain forty days and forty nights,” then God put Noah and his family into the ark which would ride upon the water. From the day that Noah and his family entered the boat, their lives were never the same. The world that existed when they entered the boat was different from the world to which they returned, and their lives were spared.

When Noah and his family left the Ark, Noah built an altar to God and God spoke to him again, telling him that he had placed a rainbow in the sky which represented God’s promise that He would never again destroy the whole world (and all the people) with a flood.

I was not singled out to experience the storm. Everyone in northeast Oklahoma experienced the same storm, although it wasn’t exactly the same in every location. Some places received rain but others only had thunder.

“He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matthew 5:45 NKJV.

Are you facing struggles in your life, storms that threaten to destroy your world? It might destroy things around you, but it won’t destroy you, if you will just allow the Lord to put you into His ark of safety.

March 20, 2017

Strange Fish

When we were first married, my husband had a streak of good luck fishing for unusual fish. He kept bringing home strange looking fish.

A true pre-historic fish, the spoonbill is a boneless fish, with a spinal cord that looks like a rope and a tail that looks like a propeller and a big flat spout that looks like the beaver’s tail. Also called a paddlefish, they can grow up to 7 feet long and up to 200 pounds and in Oklahoma at least they are caught by snagging or using a giant hook to catch them on their body.

The biggest spoonbill my husband ever snagged was 60 pounds. He hung it by the “paddle” from a tree, cut around the tail, and pulled the spinal cord out. We chopped it into big chunks, dipped it into cornmeal, and deep fried it. It was very good. We froze a large amount to eat later, but when I thawed and cooked it, I didn’t like it.

Once hubby came home with buffalo, buffalo fish that is. Most people throw them back since they are full of bones. I didn’t really want to bother with it, but Mom said that they used to eat buffalo, after it was pressure-cooked, so we canned it. In January when I opened the fish to eat it, the fish reminded me of jack mackerel, and we made “tuna” sandwiches and “tuna” patties.

Paul had some rough times too and he mentioned frequently that he worked for his living instead of depending on the people in the churches.

“I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.” Philippians 4:12 NLT.

There are many things that we ate back in those early days of our marriage when we were struggling to get by because we weren’t too good to eat fish that wasn’t commonly served.

March 13, 2017

Ironing the Wrinkles Out

During World War II, Mother worked at the Army base laundry where Dad was stationed and because she could iron so well, she was assigned to iron the officers’ uniforms. After I was born, Dad bought Mom a wringer washer, a sewing machine, and iron, so that she could take in washings for a living, while he worked as a mechanic. She washed and ironed clothes for the businessmen of Vinita.

For many years, an ironing board and iron was always set up in the front room of our house. The ironing board represented hard work for 10 cents a shirt. I could make more money than that waiting tables. No more ironing for me.

I was so happy when they started putting polyester in shirts and pants. The only time I ironed was to press the seams when I sewed. I trained my two kids to toss wrinkled clothes into the dryer and “fluff” them. Now I occasionally iron a dress for church or a funeral, but it is rare.

“That He [Jesus Christ] might sanctify and cleanse her [the church] with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 4:26-27 NKJV.

Jesus washes us with the Word of God, in the agitator of life. He is turning up the heat on the dryer to get the wrinkles out of our life. Sometimes He can just toss us into the dryer to “fluff” us, but if the wrinkle is too deep then He gets that heavy iron from the top of the woodstove.

When you are agitating in the washing machine of God, sing “Hallelujah.”

When you are tumbling in the dryer, being fluffed, shout “Praise God.”

When the heat is on, rejoice.

When the intense pressure of that hot iron is removing the wrinkles from your heart, bow down in gratitude for His mercy.

And thank God, that He loves us too much to leave us in our sorry state, but will do whatever it takes to prepare us for that Special Occasion in heaven, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb of God.