Month: March 2023

Fruit Tree Lessons

Posted on by Wendy
God can use every bit of our stories.

My Daddy grew up farming. He was one of eight children and they barely got by. I’ve often heard him tell stories of the hard work he and his siblings did, out in the hot Georgia sun, plowing the fields with a mule. They ended up moving into town when he was in high school and his farming days were behind him. He joined the Navy and went on to follow several different career paths.

I suspect if you would have asked him when he was growing up if he ever had any intention of farming again, he would have laughed. Yet, he has always loved to grow things. He grows tomatoes every summer. I’ve seen him grow everything from figs and strawberries to cabbage and blueberries and always successfully.

Recently, my hubby and I wanted to plant some fruit trees. We planted in the fall when they all looked like sticks. There was no sign of life. Daddy told us how to plant them and how important it was to put straw around them. He warned us about the deer and while we knew he was right, we thought we had more time. We were wrong. The deer ate the very first leaf off of one of our fledgling apple trees. We heeded his advice and put some wire around them to protect them. He added pie pans to make noise in the wind.

The deer have left them alone.

When he asked me if we wanted him to fertilize them, I told him I would defer to his knowledge. He went ahead and fertilized them.

Last weekend, after a cold snap, I was delighted to see that our little orchard, which several months ago, showed no sign of life, was teeming with leaves and I was so very thankful for his guidance.

He told me that we could plant our tomatoes after Good Friday. I have no doubt, they too, will flourish.

I often marvel at how God uses our life experiences to help guide others along the way.

Daddy didn’t know it at the time, but he was learning valuable lessons in that Georgia heat of his youth, lessons that he now can pass on to his children and grandchildren.

In God’s economy, nothing is wasted.

So, take heart my friend. Whatever circumstance or situation that you find yourself in today, whether good or bad, exciting or mundane, beautiful or incredibly ugly, put it in God’s hands and let Him use it. In His hands we can find restoration, redemption and a peace that passeth all understanding. Some thriving fruit trees reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 😊

The Power of Prayer and Praise

Posted on by Wendy
Prayer and praise together are powerful.

I’m participating in an online Bible study on the books of Chronicles. They are the history of God’s relationship with His people. There are examples of both good and bad kings and lots of examples of the downright failure of humankind to stay faithful to God. King Jehoshaphat was one of the good kings and the account of one of his battles in 2 Chronicles, really stood out to me.

Some of his enemies had decided to fight him for no good reason and he went to God to beg for His intervention. He first praised God’s mightiness and faithfulness, by listing the many ways God had saved them before. Next, he openly acknowledged that they were powerless against the great armies that were coming against them. He said they don’t know what to do so they were asking God for help.

God answered the king through a prophet, “This is what the Lord says to you: Don’t be afraid or discouraged by this great army because the battle isn’t yours. It belongs to God! 16 March out against them tomorrow. Since they will be coming through the Ziz pass, meet them at the end of the valley that opens into the Jeruel wilderness. 17 You don’t need to fight this battle. Just take your places, stand ready, and watch how the Lord, who is with you, will deliver you, Judah and Jerusalem. Don’t be afraid or discouraged! Go out tomorrow and face them. The Lord will be with you.” 2 Chronicles 20:15-17

My favorite part was what happened next. They decided to trust God.

“21 After consulting with the people, Jehoshaphat appointed musicians to play for the Lord, praising his majestic holiness. They were to march out before the warriors, saying, “Give thanks to the Lord because his faithful love lasts forever!” 22 As they broke into joyful song and praise, the Lord launched a surprise attack against the Ammonites, the Moabites, and those from Mount Seir who were invading Judah, so that they were defeated.” 2 Chronicles 20:21-22

Since they trusted that God would provide, they went out singing and praising Him with both their voices and instruments. They didn’t even lift a sword.

The account made me ask myself about my own prayer and trust. When I take something to God in prayer, do I drop my anxiety and trust Him? Do I truly believe that He will deliver me like He has countless times before?

Later in the week, I needed to have a hard conversation. As I was praying about it, a song came on the radio about fighting on our knees. I could totally relate. But then, “I’ve Got Joy,” by CeCe Winans came on and I found myself singing to the top of my lungs. “I’ve got joy in the struggle. I’ve got peace in the storm…I’ve got joy cause I’ve got Jesus.”

I felt at perfect peace when I had that conversation. I was not the least bit surprised when it went well.

A biblical king reminded me to never forget the power of both prayer and praise. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Why We Come Together to Worship

Posted on by Wendy
Worship is about celebrating God’s love for us.

My hubby and I visited a church for the first time last week. We didn’t know a soul there which was part of the reason why we chose it.  It was housed in an old warehouse with exposed brick. As we waited for the service to begin, I marveled at how the congregation elected to redeem something old and fairly dilapidated for a brand new purpose.

As we sang a worship song about coming to Jesus as you are and about no one being too far past redemption, we got to the chorus about earth having no sorrow that heaven can’t heal. A little boy around three or four went dancing up the aisle and across the front. I smiled at him thinking about how the hearts of little ones are always the ones who seem to find it easiest to worship without reserve and how the truth in that song was worth dancing about.

In modern day church, we simply don’t do that kind of thing. Although the Bible tells us that King David freely danced before God, not caring what anyone thought.

The young often have more to teach than we think.

The sermon was on Nehemiah, interestingly enough, an Old Testament book about rebuilding a wall and consecrating it to God, looking at the walls around me, these people appeared to have done the same.

The focus was on why Christians come together to worship.

It’s a legitimate question. Some of us have gone to church every Sunday since birth. I suppose each of us could list a dozen reasons why we go, some of them better than others.

The speaker gave a single reason. He said we worship together to celebrate, to celebrate who God is and what He has done for us. That alone he said, was why we come together, because whatever may be going on with us on a personal level, we have still been redeemed and saved and because of who God is, we are destined for a glorious future and that is worth celebrating.

For the people among us who are struggling, our celebration should remind them of hope and encourage them to hope for something better.

At the closing songs he had everyone in the room come together in the middle of the room as a people of God. He said he knew some of us would be uncomfortable, but to do it anyway. Everyone complied and the college student that I ended up touching shoulders with just smiled at me as we lifted our voices  together.

I left that service with a light heart and a new perspective. I was reminded that the Church is truly universal and when we come together with other people of faith to worship, the where is of no consequence, but the why is. In the end it’s really only about the Who we worship. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day! 🙂

Wendy

Have a Great Weekend

Posted on by Wendy

I have been out of town all week visiting family with no time to write.  I hope to see you back in this space next week.  Have a wonderful weekend.

Wendy 😊

Jesus Knows Your Name

Posted on by Wendy
We all have a part to play in kingdom work.

I recently heard a sermon where the pastor talked about the account in Matthew 26, where the woman pours very expensive perfume, Nard, on Jesus. While the disciples were appalled at what they considered a waste of precious resources, Jesus praised her.

“Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” Matthew 26:13

The pastor pointed out that she has no name in Matthew’s Gospel. We learn in other accounts that her name is Mary, but in Matthew’s account she isn’t named, yet Jesus predicted that wherever the Gospel is preached, we would be talking about her selfless act. Over, two thousand years later, we are still talking about her.

Was the Gospel writer led by the Holy Spirit to know that humanity has a tendency to make idols of just about anything and so decided to leave her unnamed? We may never know.

In the end, it doesn’t matter whether or not we know her name. All that matters is that Jesus knows her name.

That sermon got me to thinking about the countless other people in the Bible who were doing kingdom work but weren’t given a name. There’s the woman at the well who may have been the first evangelist. There’s the boy who gave up his bread and fish to Jesus, all he had, and watched it feed thousands.

Are their stories any less powerful because they aren’t named?

There are the men walking to Emmaus. One of them is named and one was not. Was the encounter any less lifechanging for the traveler not named? Was he less of a disciple of the Gospel going forward?

What about the four friends who lowered their paralytic friend through a roof to get to Jesus? Jesus told them that their faith healed their friend. They too, weren’t named, yet they too, continue to serve as a powerful example of the power of faith.

In today’s society, we can bet the name of the boy with the fish and loaves would be plastered all over Facebook by his parents.

The four friends would likely be on Instagram or Tik-Tok.

We don’t like the idea of obscurity. We want the world to know when we do something we consider important. We crave the praise of others.

Yet, we worship a God whose kingdom has always been contrary to ours. It’s an upside-down concept to for us not get credit. We tend to forget that the only credit we should seek is the heavenly kind.

All of the countless unnamed people in the Bible, remind me that we each have a part to play in kingdom building and there truly are no small parts when we are working for Jesus. Whatever our gifts and talents are, we are called to use them generously, knowing that ultimately the only praise that really matters is getting to one day hear Jesus say: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” Matthew 25:23

Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 😊