CHILDREN ARE ARROWS
How did this young gentleman come to do this kind gesture?The thought was parent-installed; most likely daddy-installed.
Psalm 127 calls children “a gift”, “the fruit of the womb” & “arrows”.
Why are children like arrows?
They can be shot to go beyond their parents (the archers).
They can be aimed at the target of their parents values, priorities, worldview & faith.
Aim your arrows well.
I LOVE TOMATOES! AND THEY LOVE ME.
This looks like my kind of lunch!Fortunately, my grandfather Witherspoon coaxed me on by assuring me that the flavour was mostly in the seed parts which I wanted to avoid.
Since then I have eaten untold numbers of tomatoes!
And they have not only tasted great, they have also helped my health.
Tomatoes are a Functional Food. They go beyond nutrition to preventing chronic disease and to delivering several health benefits.
Yet only 200 years ago they were thought to be poisonous! (They got a bad rap from the family of vines of which they are a part!)
Tomatoes are a rich source of vitamins A & C; Folic Acid & Anti-Oxidants.
They can help ward off cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease and depression.
I had to taste and see that tomatoes are good!
The Psalmist David tells us:
“O taste and see that the Lord is good; how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him”!
(Psalm 34:8)
Choose to take your refuge in your God. Taste and see. The benefits to you will be many!
Snakes!!
Of course Satan is not red. That’s a cartoon imagination. But Satan is real.He is a fallen angel with power but it’s power which is inferior to God’s.
Satan commands a lot of demons who do what they’re told.
Wayback Satan fell. (Ezekiel 28:11-19)
Currently Satan lies, accuses and murders.
(John 8:44)
In the future Satan will be sentenced to eternal life in prison! (Revelation 20:10)
Satan is highly organized. (Ephesians 6.10-13)
And he is lethal. (1 Peter 5:8)
Satan is a defeated enemy. (Revelation 1:12-18)
So, when mowing your grass (living your life here on earth), watch for the snakes but mostly stare at the One who defeated them!
I CAN’T BELIEVE I JUST DID THAT!
Sometimes risky faith in Jesus Christ leaves us in places of amazement and exhilaration.
That’s the look on our daughter Joanna’s face.
She has been in Spain this summer working at camp. And in this pic she has just been a part of a “running with the bulls” event.
(Did her traveler’s insurance cover that?)
“Running with the Bulls”. That had to require faith to “seize the moment”.
What is your Lord calling you to do that requires big faith in Him?
Do it! Be amazed. Be exhilarated.
“And Peter answered Him and said, Lord, ‘if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’
And He said, ‘Come!’
And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.’ “
(Matthew 14:28-29)
THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER
The New Testament calls the Christian life a race. But it’s a race with pitstops.
Our Lord Jesus came apart to rest at certain points in his public ministry.
One reoccurring theme is rest/enjoyment.
2:24 – “…eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good.
3:4 – “A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.”
3:12 – “… rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime”
3:22 – “… that man should be happy in his activities …”
5:19 – “… eat from them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor …”
9:9 – “Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life …”
Don’t feel guilty when you have special air mattress moments! They’re from the Lord for your good.