Thinning 2025….

 Thinning 2025…

It is time to thin peaches again at my house, my little trees…I think every flower was pollinated, thanks to warm days and the gift of bees…and a providing God…

So I take a little bucket out for a while each day and thin the peaches…

I have to say this is emotionally hard for me to do…every one of those baby peaches has such potential…they could be tasty fruit when ripened…but, with so many, they break the branches or whole limbs and eventually kill the tree…not good…so I have to pare them down to produce the best fruit…

God gives the growth…

Yesterday, God brought to mind Gideon with all of his army…and how God pared it down to 300 men from thirty-two thousand….and those with minimal war supplies… 

God fought for them…God gave the victory…

 Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. 

The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. 

The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’ Now announce to the army, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’” 

So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained. But the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will thin them out for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.” 

So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog laps from those who kneel down to drink.” 

Three hundred of them drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. All the rest got down on their knees to drink. 

The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.” So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites home but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others….

Judg.7.1-8a

And then, I thought of our Gardener…God…how he prunes, provides…care for each one us…I wonder if it pains him to prune us to bear more fruit…even though he knows the outcome is so much better…He make things good…

 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. 

No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 

This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. 

Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 

This is my command: Love each other.

John.15.1-17

 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Heb.12.11

Thank YOU…

God help me…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_pgGgHVxPg

Influencer…

 

Influencer…

The other night I watched a movie about a person who was a fashion influencer …you know, one who idolizes the world, fashions, selfies, self importance, pleasures of the world, the must-haves and shares with it via social media…(I didn’t know that)…although tv ads, Facebook ads, etc. influence our everyday lives…from deodorant to cars to fashion to perfume to________.

But, back to movie…this influencer, through a series of life events, prayers of her parents, God’s grace found a much more satisfying, life changing way of influencing…showing God’s love to others, kindness, care, compassion…her life was changed…and those around her were blessed as well…

“A true influencer is how you positively affect others…”

The whole Bible is full of influencers…both for the good and the bad…we meet people everyday whom  we influence and who influence us…we read about influencers….the list goes on…those whose lives effect the neighborhood, the states, the nation, the world…those whose lives we venerate, tolerate or  despise…

God calls us to himself…to be a light for Him, to show mercy, kindness, compassion, self control, forgiveness, grace…to walk worthy…

Thank YOU….

  Therefore this is what the Lord says:“If you repent, I will restore you-that you may serve me;if you utter worthy, not worthless, words,you will be my spokesman.

Let this people turn to you,but you must not turn to them.

Jer.15.19

 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.

Col.1.9-12

 For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory. And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.

1Thess.2.11-13

 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 

Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Gal.5.22-26

I know a name…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wJKiOEdUsk

Cloaks….

 Cloaks…

It seems like there have been several major Christian organizations, churches that have changed hands these last few years…some successful and others not so much….the founders have aged out, retired and have wanted to hand over the mantle to the next generation…this is hard in some instances….different vision, new Technology, different lifestyles…a multitude of changes…even though they serve the same God…

It happens in families as one generation passes the baton to the next…or government, businesses, etc…change…updating…

I thought of several whose leaders “threw” their cloaks on their successors as Elijah did to Elisha…we give the leadership to another…we take off our “comfort, protection “ and hand it over…we desire a garment  of praise over  despair…we are given a robe of righteousness/salvation to meet the Lord….

Thank YOU….

 So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him.

1Kgs.19.19

 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 

Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two. 

Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.

2Kgs.2.11-13

 He put on righteousness as his breastplate,and the helmet of salvation on his head;he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.

Isa.59.17

 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,because the Lord has anointed me-to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God,to comfort all who mourn,     and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,the oil of joy instead of mourning,and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,a planting of the Lordfor the display of his splendor.

Isa.61.1-3

 I delight greatly in the Lord;my soul rejoices in my God.For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Isa.61.10

 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

Matt.21.7-8

….In biblical literature, the cloak, also referred to as a mantle or outer garment, holds significant symbolic meaning. It is often associated with authority, identity, and transformation. The cloak serves as a powerful metaphor for various spiritual truths and divine actions throughout the Scriptures…..throughout the Bible, the cloak serves as a multifaceted symbol, representing authority, protection, identity, humility, and divine justice. Its presence in various narratives underscores the profound spiritual truths conveyed through this simple yet powerful garment.

 https://biblehub.com/topical/s/symbolism_of_the_cloak.htm

 Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 

Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”

So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” 

Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” 

Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

Mark.10.48,Mark.10.49,Mark.10.50,Mark.10.52

 Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him.

Acts.12.8.  

His robe……(this is old….)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaQo6k412ug

Reciprocal prayer…

 Reciprocal prayer….

Last night I had the privilege of attending a potluck at a church that one of my daughters attend….it was just a plain, everyday potluck…those with an abundance of food, fellowship…(the meats were amazing, done on an outdoor commercial smoker)….

But, to me, it was like walking on hallowed ground…many I have known through my family for 10+ years, many  were new faces…many walked with my daughter and family through the death of her father, my husband …she was able to reciprocate with walking some through deaths on their families…this church lost their vibrant pastor to Covid…they grieved together, leaning in to Jesus…many, who saw Jesus in them are newer to the fellowship…

they prayed for a new pastor, a shepherd to come…

This last year, they prayed for me, someone a few didn’t even know, but saw the pain that my family was going through because of my pain…

One by one as we wandered through evening , many said, “ oh, you are the one we prayed for, sooo glad to see you.”  And I could say, “thank you “ over and over again…” then I could say, I prayed for you, too…for healing and a new pastor…whom I met…

Reciprocal prayers…

Another one, we could sit share ambush moments of grief…one of the meats cooking was linguica, a Portuguese meat I had often as a child…the last time I had had it was with my father, who passed away 12 years ago…she had lost her father as well these past years…

Reciprocal fellowship…

We get lists of prayer requests, but most of time we don’t get to see the answers, but when we do, it is like feeling God’s touch…a quickening of the Holy Spirit giving us joy…a peace that He is in control and cares deeply, compassionately … 

and to top off the evening, as I was driving home , I drove by my church and the reader board said, “Prayer changes things”…

What a confirmation….

Thank YOU…

Don’t stop praying…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpbZqMJ-B44

A blog from last year…

“Others are worth your time in prayer….….

 

I am sitting, waiting to go home…I left July 5 and barely remember that as I was so ill.  I got to go home for about 4 hours about a month ago, take a nap, sort mail…and then back to rehab and finally back to hospital for repair….

no matter the day of the week the whole time, I heard from someone who prayed for me…I was worth their time…that is more humbling than I can imagine…and more convicting as well…

 

Granted the prayers could have been answered with a resounding “no” as well, but for this time, they weren’t…God has our days numbered as he say in Psalms.

 

Anyway, every time, I thought about going home, I cried, because I was so humbled, so thankful that people took time to pray for me…I was worth their time…which turns into…”others are worth our time to pray for them”…so simple, yet so profound…

God answers prayer…

 

When I put the word “pray” in the search section of my Bible program, it came up with over 300 references starting with Abraham praying…

 

 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children.

Gen.20.17

 

On through…

 

 “Hear my prayer, O Lord,and give ear to my cry;hold not your peace at my tears!For I am a sojourner with you,a guest, like all my fathers.

Ps.39.12

 

And on…to a few of my favorites …Jesus praying for us…He thought we are worth His prayers…John 17…

 

 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

John.17.6,John.17.7,John.17.8,John.17.9,John.17.10,John.17.11,John.17.14,John.17.17,John.17.20,John.17.21,John.17.26

 

Through the rest of the New Testament, praying for one another…and even when we do t k ow how to pray…

 

 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

Rom.8.26

 

 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.

1Pet.4.7

 

Ending with…

Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.

3John.1.2

 

We may look around at those in the spotlight for various ministries, thinking we have little to give/offer to the kingdom, but we were worth Jesus’ prayers and his love, by his declaration…and if He says so, others are worth our time in prayer for them as well…He brings those into our lives who need prayer…

are we answering the call?????

 

Thank YOU…”

 

Talking to Jesus…

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXsxw1fRHMA

False versus true prophets

 False versus true prophets…

Reading about Elijah in 1 Kings, he pits himself those who follow the true God against the false prophets of Baal…on a mountain with two bulls, an alter, water, wood…the prophets of Baal calling on Baal all day with no response…Elijah calls upon God in a short request…

 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” 

Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. 

When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”

1Kgs.18:36-39

My study Bible has an interesting comparison….not only for those people long ago, but applicable for today…

Who do we follow?

False prophets-

• worked for political purposes to benefit themselves…

• Held positions of great wealth…

• Gave false messages…

• Spoke only what the people wanted to hear….

True prophets-

*worked for spiritual purposes to serve .god and the people…

*owned little one nothing…

*spoke only true messages…

*spoke only what God told them to say—no matter how unpopular….

This reminded me of Timothy’s words…

 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. 

Have nothing to do with such people. They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.

2Tim.3.1-7

Or Peter…

 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.”2Pet.2.1,2Pet.2.2,2Pet.2.3,2Pet.2.17-19

Elijah’s story is not just for the ancients, it resonates to our lives…

whom do we serve?

Thank YOU…

I serve a risen Savior…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTmSa5dhtYM 

God keeps his promises…

 God keeps his promises…

There are promises throughout the whole Bible…just thought it was interesting these few in chapter…unique that God kept Elijah safe using ravens, and sending him into the territory where Jezebel, the wicked queen,  came from and kept him safe in enemy territory…we don’t know how God works sometimes, but, He is there for us…in unique ways…

 1…In Ahab’s time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the Lord spoken by Joshua son of Nun.

1Kgs.16.34

 At that time Joshua pronounced this solemn oath: “Cursed before the Lord is the one who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho:“At the cost of his firstborn son-he will lay its foundations;at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates.”

Josh.6.26

2… Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.”

1Kgs.17.1

  After a long time, in the third year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.”

1Kgs.18.1

3…. Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.” So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

1Kgs.17.2-6

4…. Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him: “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. 

He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.” For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’” She went away and did as Elijah had told her. 

So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.

1Kgs.17.7-11, .17.14-16

5….  For to us a child is born,to us a son is given,and the government will be on his shoulders.And he will be calledWonderful Counselor, Mighty God,Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom,establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

Isa.9.6-7

 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

Matt.1.22-23

6… For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

John.3.16-17

Thank YOU….

These are days of Elijah…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca9LnzJnpjQ

Divided…

 Divided….

My first word this morning in Words with Friends was “ruins”…what a sad word…especially after reading 1 Kings 12…the great divide of the nation after Solomon’s reign…

Several years ago, a group of students and family wandered around the place where an alter as set up, the ruins and excavations of Dan…

 Then Jeroboam fortified Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. From there he went out and built up Peniel. Jeroboam thought to himself, “The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. 

They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.” After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” 

One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. And this thing became a sin; the people came to worship the one at Bethel and went as far as Dan to worship the other. 

Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. 

He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made. And at Bethel he also installed priests at the high places he had made. On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, he offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel. So he instituted the festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to make offerings.

1Kgs.12.25-33

This brought back personal memories for me..not only the amazing to trip to Israel…but, further back to  one of the church splits we were a part of…so sad…so hurting to so many…to watch the breakdown of relationships, families, a community, reputations…the reputation of the Christian community, the smear it  caused for the Glory of God…man’s downfall…and it has taken years to repair…the “old guard versus the new guard”…the turning away of advice…the turning away…

God was good and has made good come from that division, but it has take years…but the sting still hits some….

Thank YOU….

 Unless the Lord builds the house,the builders labor in vain.Unless the Lord watches over the city,the guards stand watch in vain.

Ps.127.1, Solomon 

 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Eph.3.20,Eph.3.21

Good is good…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABWnXNurPx0