Today I was reading Psalm 8 and was surprised by verse two. It says, "From the lips of children and infants You have ordained praise because of Your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger." The explanation in the commentary in the New International Version of the Bible says,"... God appoints (and evokes) praise of little children to silence dark powers arrayed against Him."
This is not an old testament idea because we read in I Corinthians that God uses the weak things of this world to shame the strong. In Matthew 21:16, Jesus quotes Psalm 8:2 when children were praising and singing to honor Him in the temple. Simple praise from little ones has tremendous power, according to scripture.
So, all the time spent teaching little ones to pray, praise, to sing spiritual songs, and learn scripture is more important than any of us ever realized. Their praise conquers the enemies of God, softens hard hearts and teaches the children ways to honor the LORD with their hearts, minds, and voices. Sunday school classes are warring against evil every session.
May this realization encourage us to teach our children to praise God daily. This is a mighty defense against wickedness in this world! Even a little song like "Jesus Loves Me, this I Know" makes the evil one flee! According to Psalm 8:2, that is exactly what happens and God planned it that way. Doma
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Gardening Wisdom
When Spring comes, I have to hold myself back. I want to plant seeds in the warm earth at the first sign of sunny days. I remember the first garden I ever helped plant. My grandmother wanted assistance in planting and later weeding her garden.
I knew where we planted the seed in straight rows. We planted lettuce, and lettuce grew. But, when weeding time came, I was not that familiar with what the plants looked like when they were just emerging. I actually pulled out some tomatoes that I thought were weeds. With the patient help of my grandmother, I soon learned which plants were unwanted weeds and which were the good plants from the seeds we sowed.
Working in the soil, sowing the seeds and maintaining the garden, all ministered to my spirit and brought scripture alive to me. We were discerning about what we allowed to grow in our garden. We watered and kept watch on those little plants. Later, we reaped what we sowed.
This is so like our Christian life! Good seed nurtured carefully grows, and the result is a good harvest. For the Believer, the good seed is the Word of God. Isaiah tells us God's word will not come back void, it will bear fruit. Diligent reading and study will bring the seed of God's truth deep into the soil of your thought life. It will guide and direct your path in a way the pleases God.The final harvest in our lives comes when our God, the Great Gardener brings us into his house where there will be great rejoicing.
So, plant those seeds of faith in yourself and others, and study the scriptures. Grow and nurture each other with encouragement and love. Look forward to the great harvest. Doma
I knew where we planted the seed in straight rows. We planted lettuce, and lettuce grew. But, when weeding time came, I was not that familiar with what the plants looked like when they were just emerging. I actually pulled out some tomatoes that I thought were weeds. With the patient help of my grandmother, I soon learned which plants were unwanted weeds and which were the good plants from the seeds we sowed.
Working in the soil, sowing the seeds and maintaining the garden, all ministered to my spirit and brought scripture alive to me. We were discerning about what we allowed to grow in our garden. We watered and kept watch on those little plants. Later, we reaped what we sowed.
This is so like our Christian life! Good seed nurtured carefully grows, and the result is a good harvest. For the Believer, the good seed is the Word of God. Isaiah tells us God's word will not come back void, it will bear fruit. Diligent reading and study will bring the seed of God's truth deep into the soil of your thought life. It will guide and direct your path in a way the pleases God.The final harvest in our lives comes when our God, the Great Gardener brings us into his house where there will be great rejoicing.
So, plant those seeds of faith in yourself and others, and study the scriptures. Grow and nurture each other with encouragement and love. Look forward to the great harvest. Doma
Thursday, April 1, 2010
The Truth Is Still Alive
In thinking about all the times the devil tried to stop Jesus Christ from accomplishing the Father's will, I began at the beginning. The evil one has always and will always seek to undermine God's plan. Remember when Joseph was uncertain if he should marry his fiance Mary? One of the choices he had was to stone her, thus destroying the baby she carried. But God came to him in a dream and Joseph married her. Then, exposed to the elements and in unsanitary conditions, Jesus was born. Without the ministrations of a midwife, or even her mother, Mary and Joseph delivered Jesus in that animal shelter.
And He lived and grew. But evil still attempted to end the Salvation story. The ruler of the day heard a king of the Jews had been born. He was stirred up with jealousy and fear. He ordered all the male babies up to two years of age to be slaughtered. Again, Joseph was advised in a dream to take his family to Egypt. The baby was safe and they returned only when God's messenger advised Joseph it was safe.
We do not know how many times during Jesus' childhood He was in danger of being destroyed. Was there a serpent waiting in a pile of wood He was using to build something with Joseph? Were there illnesses that plagued children of that day, and He was spared? We only know He grew in the grace and the wisdom of the LORD.
When it was time for Jesus to begin His ministry, the devil tried three times to tempt Christ so He would stray from His Father's plan. Several times people wanted to stone Him, when His words of truth convicted them of sin and hypocrisy. He would just walk away and they were left frustrated, planning their revenge for another day. Even His disciple Peter did not want to hear of how the Father's plan was to unfold.
In Judas Iscariot, the devil discovered a tool to destroy both Jesus and the Father's salvation plan all at once. One can only imagine his glee and satisfaction. Struggling in the Garden before the traitor brought the soldiers, Jesus was again tempted by the evil one not to go through with the Father's plan, but He determined to fulfill it out of love for us.The subsequent betrayal, the six trials, the beatings and cruelty of that event and finally, the horrible finality of the crucifixion, all made it appear as though Satan had won. But the devil is not all knowing. Jesus did not struggle for His life. He died within three hours because He was doing the Father's will. As He said, He came to give His life as a ransom for many.
We are now on this side of those events and we know how perfectly Jesus fulfilled every prophecy about the Suffering Servant God would send to save us. We know about the Resurrection! We know and we rejoice. We know and we are forever grateful. We know and we are changed!
Christ Jesus victor, lift us out of our fearful, doubting culture and establish us as your Easter people. Amen Happy Easter! Doma
And He lived and grew. But evil still attempted to end the Salvation story. The ruler of the day heard a king of the Jews had been born. He was stirred up with jealousy and fear. He ordered all the male babies up to two years of age to be slaughtered. Again, Joseph was advised in a dream to take his family to Egypt. The baby was safe and they returned only when God's messenger advised Joseph it was safe.
We do not know how many times during Jesus' childhood He was in danger of being destroyed. Was there a serpent waiting in a pile of wood He was using to build something with Joseph? Were there illnesses that plagued children of that day, and He was spared? We only know He grew in the grace and the wisdom of the LORD.
When it was time for Jesus to begin His ministry, the devil tried three times to tempt Christ so He would stray from His Father's plan. Several times people wanted to stone Him, when His words of truth convicted them of sin and hypocrisy. He would just walk away and they were left frustrated, planning their revenge for another day. Even His disciple Peter did not want to hear of how the Father's plan was to unfold.
In Judas Iscariot, the devil discovered a tool to destroy both Jesus and the Father's salvation plan all at once. One can only imagine his glee and satisfaction. Struggling in the Garden before the traitor brought the soldiers, Jesus was again tempted by the evil one not to go through with the Father's plan, but He determined to fulfill it out of love for us.The subsequent betrayal, the six trials, the beatings and cruelty of that event and finally, the horrible finality of the crucifixion, all made it appear as though Satan had won. But the devil is not all knowing. Jesus did not struggle for His life. He died within three hours because He was doing the Father's will. As He said, He came to give His life as a ransom for many.
We are now on this side of those events and we know how perfectly Jesus fulfilled every prophecy about the Suffering Servant God would send to save us. We know about the Resurrection! We know and we rejoice. We know and we are forever grateful. We know and we are changed!
Christ Jesus victor, lift us out of our fearful, doubting culture and establish us as your Easter people. Amen Happy Easter! Doma
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