Audio Bible study.

Early mornings in August are just the right time to sit outside on the back porch and sip some coffee, while enjoying the happy songs of the birds. But, alas, the gardener who wanted so many tomatoes and okra plants is now destined to spend that quiet, cooler hour gathering the fruits of her labors.

When I drove out to the community garden where I rented a couple of sunny plots, I was not surprised to see the gate was closed. The faded banner that used to have the garden’s name sagged forlornly on one side.

Not many of us really wanted to spend a lot of time out there in the 90-degree heat. I may have inherited the extreme frugality of my parents and grandfather, who lived through the Great Depression and had told stories of not having enough.   Making the most of my $30 rental fee is what I feel I need to do, never mind the heat or squash bugs or that coffee still waiting at home. I’m not giving up! There are beefsteak tomatoes and cucumbers in there!

Getting out of the car to open the gate with the drooping banner, it suddenly struck me that the once-colorful large rag resembled a sagging white flag. Had many gardeners surrendered their plants to the heat, drought, and bugs? Are we announcing to the community that we are giving up?

I wonder how many other things we have simply given up on? Young mothers often feel like they are beating their heads against the wall, trying to teach basic life skills to children my daughter refers to as “hooligans” (however lovable and adorable HER hooligans are!) Oh, how many times I wanted to fly the white flag of surrender during those early days of potty training and the general teaching of manners!

What about our efforts to seek and save the lost? Sure, we all have enough on our plates, and Christianity in general is getting some very negative press these days, fairly or not. But the Great Commission was given at an epoch that soon saw Christians being used as torches. We can’t be so discouraged by the threat of social rejection.

Some have even given up on the church in general. During the time we were encouraged to quarantine to stop the spread of Covid, we got out of the habit of meeting one another in person to exhort and encourage one another. Some even quit bothering to attend “online.” Some are just dispirited from the lack of Christian fellowship, that they have thrown up the white flag of surrender, and simply given up on God. He hasn’t given up on us!

“… Let’s consider how to encourage one another in love and good deeds, not abandoning our own meeting together, as is the habit of some people, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:24, 25).

If our tiny family cannot consume the bounty that I go out and make myself harvest every two days, we will bring them to the church building and put them on the table in the foyer, where Herb and Jessica and Dorea have been providing others with fresh vegetables already. Why give up when we can bless others?

Some gardeners may come back in cooler weather when their cucumbers are hard and yellow, the tomatoes are rotten, and the rabbits have eaten their squashes. They won’t have a harvest, because vegetables don’t wait. Neither does God, at least not forever.

Christine (Tina) Berglund

I am not a fan of heavy metal music. I enjoy a variety of music, but heavy metal isn’t music to me. Though I care nothing for their music, Motley Crue has a fascinating story that brings about a sound Biblical principle that anyone can understand.

In 1983, the group released an album that included a song called, “Shout At The Devil.” The album cover shows a pentagram, and this sends a message without hearing a note from the album itself. It “shouts out” satanism. The story behind the song is about Nikki Sixx, bassist for the group and their primary songwriter. At the time the group recorded this song, Sixx had a growing interest in satanic symbols. He originally wrote the song under the title, “Shout With The Devil.”

Tom Zutant, an executive with the group, watched Sixx as some strange things occurred in his life. One day Zutant told him that if he continued shouting with the devil, he would be killed. That’s when Sixx changed the title of the song.

In one of Sixx’s interviews, he said, “The phrase has a deeper meaning beyond the satanic. It has always been about pushing back.”

Pushing back is what is behind much of what is wrong in our world. God created this world and everything in it. He made it perfect, and the devil pushed back. He became the evil one, and he was responsible for teaching man how to push back, not against sin, but against God. The devil told Eve, “You will not surely die.” Eve first, then Adam, sinned; and they did die. Eve did not shout at the devil. Instead, she listened and fell for his lies.

When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness in Matthew 4, the devil tried three times to get Jesus to submit to Him. Three times Jesus shouted at him, “It is written,” and then He proceeded to quote from the Old Testament God’s commandments to man. Jesus didn’t hesitate. He didn’t think about whether or not He wanted to be favored by the devil. He shouted loudly and clearly that He would not give in to the devil’s lies.

On the day of Pentecost, Peter and the other apostles stood before the crowd of Jewish worshippers and proclaimed the identity of the one God’s own people had crucified. He didn’t whisper. He couldn’t quietly tell these people they had crucified the Son of God. Instead, he shouted his message loudly and clearly, and it cut them to the heart (Acts 2:37). Verse 40 says he exhorted them saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” Does that sound like a whisper?

When Peter and John healed the lame man at the temple in Acts 4, they were eventually brought into the presence of the rulers of the Jews. The rulers questioned them and wanted to know by what power they were able to perform this miracle. When Peter stood to answer them, this is how Peter replied. He said, “Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well.” Do you hear a soft-spoken Peter making such a statement? He shouted at the devil.

When Peter confronted Ananias and Sapphira with their lies, he spoke plainly and boldly. “…why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit…” (Acts 5:3). He didn’t quietly tell them they he had made a mistake. He shouted at the devil— “Satan filled the hearts.”

When Stephen stood before the people and defended his ability to heal and defended his teaching, he clearly said, “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit, As your fathers did, so do you” (Acts 7:51). It is not likely that he spoke in a soft voice but rather shouted at the devil.

There are many other examples, but I think the point has been made. Shouting at the devil is not necessarily done with a loud voice and certainly not an unkind attitude. It is about a clear, concise attitude of standing for the truth. It is about being clear to the devil that you will not engage in wrongdoing, whatever the cost. It is pushing back against the devil and not pushing back against God.

When Paul stood before Festus in Acts 26, Paul was accused of being mad. Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words.” His words were clear. He belonged to Christ. He shouted out against everything that was contrary to the gospel. He shouted at the devil.

When Paul writes to the Romans, he speaks about not being ashamed of the gospel. He declares it as being the power of God for the purpose of everyone who believes it. He also says the wrath of God is shown against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, “who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth” (Romans 1:18). The world may push back against God, but God will win.

So, we need to “push back,” not against God but against the devil. Shout out loudly and clearly against the devil, not with him.

Sandra Oliver

(Information about “Shout At The Devil” from ultimatedclassicrock.com).

Some time ago, I heard this sermon, “How Can We Deceive Ourselves?” When I heard the title, my ears perked up. I felt this was a lesson I really needed to hear and learn what to do to not deceive myself. I knew it was something I must put into my daily life. I am afraid we all at times deceive ourselves, and I know I do.

We want to believe we are better people than we really are. We say we have not done or said anything wrong, but what about our attitude toward others? The Scriptures teach us to take heed lest we fall in 1 Corinthians 10:12. This means not to think more highly of ourselves than we should. Therefore, we must be able to think of ourselves as we really are. What do we think of ourselves?

It is bad when we are deceived by others. When we are misled by others, we may be excused once. There is a saying that goes something like this, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” We must stay alert and follow God’s Word. We are told in 1 Peter 5:8 that the devil is always going about seeking whom He can devour or con, either by ourselves or by others. He wants us to believe a lie and to be deceived, just as he conducted himself in the Garden of Eden when he interacted with Adam and Even. The devil told Eve a lie by changing what God had told her and Adam by just one word. They were told to not eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, for God said they would die. However, the sly devil came to her as a serpent and deceived Eve by lying to her. He told her she would not die (Genesis 3:3-8). Satan was very sly with his conversation with Eve. Is He sly with us, causing us to believe his lies?

The apostle Paul said in Galatians 6:7 and Thessalonians 2:2-3 that man can be deceived. We must keep ourselves focused on the Word of God and His commandments. By doing this it will be harder for anyone to deceive us including ourselves. We must always keep our eyes and ears open, because the Devil is watching and waiting for a weak moment for us to be scammed.

First John 4:1-2 says, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God.” There are so many false teachers in the world – on the radio, on the television and on the Internet. We can turn any of these electronics on any time of the day and hear false teaching. Therefore, we must listen carefully to preachers, teachers, elders and anyone bringing us lessons from the Bible. Then, we must read and study the Word of God to check what we have been taught is the truth (Acts 17:10-11). If the teachings are false, do not deceive yourself by following the false teachers. We are told in James 1:22, “But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” We must obey God totally, rather than doing only what pleases us. The devil tempts us, and we do not want to fall into temptations, by which we deceive ourselves.

There are several ways we can deceive ourselves, such as:

• By building upon the sand just like the foolish man in Matthew 7:26-27. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

• By not bridling our tongues and letting whatever we think come out. The Bible says in James 1:26, “If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.” Also, James 3:6 tells us, “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.”

• By trying to balance evil with good. We are told in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Some Christians try to be good one day of the week – Sunday – and live like the devil the other six days of the week. We cannot straddle the fence, trying to serve God and Satan.

• By listening to human philosophers, against whom we are warned in Colossians 2:8. “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.”

• By hiding our sins. Others may not see our sins, but our Heavenly Father knows all and sees all. We are told in 1 John 1:8-10, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” Our spouses may not even know our sins, but God does, and we cannot hide anything from Him.

• By thinking too highly of ourselves. We learn in Galatians 6:3-5, “For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examines his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For each one shall bear his own load.”

• By trying to mock God. Galatians 6:7-8 reads, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”

Please let us consider how important it is to be focused on living for the Lord and following His Word seven days a week. We must live a faithful life 24/7, not just when it is convenient. Let us not be deceived by ourselves, by anyone else or by the devil. We must follow God’s Word as best as we can to inherit eternal life. Revelation 2:10 reminds us of an incomparable reward that awaits the children of God. “…Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

Martha Lynn Rushmore

The ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome believed in a multitude of immortal gods and goddesses who interacted with mortal men and women. The gods and goddesses had expectations for human behavior, and they punished those who broke the rules. One common theme throughout Greek and Roman mythology describes the punishments given to those who committed the worst offense – excessive pride or hubris (Edgar 2).

Hundreds of years before the Greek and Roman civilizations, God’s inspired penmen addressed the human condition of excessive pride. “For You will save the humble people, But will bring down haughty [prideful] looks” (Psalm 18:27 NKJV). “The LORD lifts up the humble; He casts the wicked down to the ground” (Psalm 147:6). “Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty, And before honor is humility” (Proverbs 18:12). God considers excessive pride an abomination (Proverbs 6:16-17).

Notice in the verses above that pride is contrasted with humility. The Old and New testaments praise those who are humble (Proverbs 15:33; 22:4; Matthew 18:4; Luke 14:11). Multiple verses command God’s servants to demonstrate humility (Colossians 3:12; Romans 12:16; James 4:10).

Humility Defined

Several Hebrew words in the Old Testament and several Greek words in the New Testament translate into our English words “humility” or “humble.” These words can also be translated into the English words “meekness,” “gentleness” and “subdue” in addition to phrases like “bring down” or “bring into subjection” (Strong’s). The general idea of humility or humbleness is an attitude of self-control, submission and an awareness of one’s place in this world. Time after time, God reminded the world that He is supreme. The attitude of humility is the responsibility of mankind, while the privilege of exaltation belongs to God (2 Chronicles 7:14; Psalm 149:4; Daniel 10:12; Luke 14:11; 18:14; James 4:10; 1 Peter 5:6).

Biblical Examples

The account of God dealing with the Pharaoh of Egypt regarding the deliverance of the Hebrew people from slavery begins in Exodus 5:1. Moses repeatedly asked Pharaoh to let God’s people leave the land. Even after seven plagues, Pharaoh refused to grant the request, demonstrating an unwillingness to submit to Jehovah God. Exodus 10:3 reads, “So Moses and Aaron came in to Pharaoh and said to him, Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews: How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may serve Me.” In contrast, Numbers 12:3 declares Moses as a most humble man. “Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.”

Many of the kings of Israel and Judah did evil in God’s sight. One such man was Manasseh, King of Judah. Second Chronicles 33:10 states that God spoke to this evil king and his people, but they would not listen. Manasseh did not acknowledge his place as inferior to the Almighty. Notice the result.

Therefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon. Now when he was in affliction, he implored the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God. (2 Chronicles 33:11-13)

Manasseh learned humility the hard way.

Josiah became king of Judah when he was eight years old (2 Chronicles 34:1). At age sixteen, he began to “seek the God of his father David” (34:3), which led to drastic changes in Judah (34:3-35:18). God rewarded Josiah for his humble attitude.

But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, in this manner you shall speak to him, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: Concerning the words which you have heard – because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and you humbled yourself before Me, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you, says the LORD. Surely I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place and its inhabitants.” So they brought back word to the king. (2 Chronicles 34:26-28)

Acts 12:1-4 describes the persecution of the church by King Herod. The end of the chapter describes this arrogant man’s violent death. Herod appeared before the people dressed in a fine manner. The historian Josephus described his garments as made of silver that shone brightly in the sun (New Unger’s). When the people saw the splendor, they shouted, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” (v. 22). Herod did not deny the claim and God punished him. “Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died” (v. 23). God humbled this man in most painful manner.

Christian Responsibility

First Peter 5:5-6 reads, “Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for ‘God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.’ Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.” James records a similar statement. “But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: ‘God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.’ Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (4:6-7). Christians must submit to God and to each other. When God’s children are “clothed with humility,” they wear an attitude of service to others. Incidentally, both of these passages quote the Septuagint version of Proverbs 3:34 (Barnes’).

Consider the disposition of humility as commanded in the following verses.

• “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4).
• “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love” (Ephesians 4:1-2).
• “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21).
• “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom” (James 3:13).
• “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15).
• “And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth” (2 Timothy 2:24-25).
• “Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men” (Titus 3:1-2).

Final Thoughts

The world around us frequently does the opposite of what God commands, to their eternal detriment (Isaiah 5:20). Though many in the world praise the haughty and malign the humble, the ways of Almighty God remain the only path to Heaven (Matthew 7:13-14; John 14:6). “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up” (James 4:10).

Works Cited

Barnes’ Notes. Electronic Database. Seattle: Biblesoft, 1997.

Biblesoft’s New Exhaustive Strong’s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Seattle: Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, 1994.

Edgar, Frank. Greek and Roman Mythology. Quincy, Illinois: Mark Twain Media, 1994.

New Unger’s Bible Dictionary, The. Chicago: Moody P., 1988.

Rebecca Rushmore

Luke 4:13 “Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.”

We women of faith are strong. We are unshakable. We are mighty soldiers in the Lord’s army.

Unless. . .

We are hungry. We are tired. We allow the glitter of the world to steal our hearts.

Then we find ourselves weak, and vulnerable, and being drawn into Satan’s trap.

Is this a secret? Absolutely not! Satan is a formidable opponent on the continual prowl and patiently waiting for us to enter a vulnerable stage.

He did the same with Jesus. Concluding His forty days of solitary prayer and fasting, Jesus was physically drained, hungry, and weary. Surely the Son of God was vulnerable.

Enter Satan.

Using the wiles of his trade, Satan lay before the Savior everything to satisfy the needs of His humanness: food to fill his growling stomach, an expansive venue for displaying his deity, and a ready-made kingdom to jumpstart His ministry. Surely Satan never anticipated the power an exhausted and famished Jesus would access from God’s Word.

End of story? Far from it. Satan may close a door, but he never bolts the lock. This cunning demon simply awaits “an opportune time.”

So, instead of waving the white flag, Satan regrouped and set his sights on those in Jesus’ inner circle. With the knowledge that Judas’ weakness was greed, Satan dangled a bag of silver in front of him. Knowing Peter’s weakness was fear, Satan provided him words of denial. Aware of the chief priests and elders’ jealousy and pride, Satan connected them with powerful leaders unwilling to take a stand for an innocent man.

Sisters, when we find ourselves weary from the day’s battles, when our children obliterate any semblance of civility we have left, and when the duties of motherhood and sisterhood leave us drained, we open the door for Satan to make havoc in our homes, our marriages, our families, and our relationships. No doubt, when our words are used to hurt others instead of sharing our faith, Satan is mightily at work in our lives.

This deceiver finds great joy in our hardships. May we never give him that satisfaction. We must waste no time discovering our vulnerabilities, because rest assured Satan has already exposed them and is awaiting an opportune time.

Father God, open our eyes to the ways we are vulnerable to Satan’s attacks. May we ever remain close to your Word and strong in our faith. And, may we never provide Satan an opportune time.

Blessings,

Rita Cochrane

It is not uncommon for someone to talk about walking with Jesus, an expression to show a person having Jesus in their life. It means different things to different people; to the Christian, it means daily living a life of service and obedience to the Lord.

I’m sure we cannot imagine the way the disciples and those who closely followed Jesus felt when He died. Their grief was real, but their confusion would have also been real. They had thought that Jesus would call together an army and bring relief to Israel from the rule of the Romans. When that did not happen, they must have been disappointed, confused, and maybe even a little angry.

Luke relates a conversation between Cleopas and one other man regarding the events of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. This story helps us learn some valuable lessons about walking with Jesus.

The first day of the week came; and Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary, the mother of James, and some other women visited the tomb where Jesus had been placed for His burial. There was no body, only angels to announce that the Savior was risen. When they told the disciples, they thought the women were telling tales; and they did not believe them. Peter ran to the tomb to see for himself; and sure enough, no body was there. Jesus was gone.

There were other men with them, and two of those men started their journey back to the city of Emmaus, about 7 ½ miles from Jerusalem. They talked about what had transpired over the weekend, and they were sad because of what had happened. As they were walking along, another man joined them. It was common for travelers to make their journey with others, even strangers. This stranger wanted to know of whom they spoke and why they were sad. Cleopas asked the stranger how he could not know what had happened over the last few days. He quickly related to the stranger that Jesus of Nazareth, a prophet who had done many mighty things, had been taken by the rulers of the Jews and delivered to be crucified. Then he relayed his disappointment that they had all thought this Jesus would be the deliverer of Israel. He related the story of the women visiting the tomb and finding it empty.

I have no idea what they thought this stranger would say, but they had quite a surprise when he began by rebuking them for their unbelief and quoting from the prophets of the Old Testament about the Savior the Jews longed to have come.

When they arrived at home, the men invited the stranger to stay with them, and he did. They prepared food, as any good host would do; and they sat down to eat together. The stranger took bread and blessed it, then gave it to the men. Immediately their eyes were opened, and they knew that this was the risen Jesus. Jesus then vanished from their presence, and they made the trip back to Jerusalem to inform the disciples and other followers of Jesus that they had seen the resurrected Lord.

How excited they must have been to realize that they had walked with Jesus. He had shared the words of Scripture with them. He had been the recipient of their hospitality. He had prayed with them. Just think how special that was for two travelers who went to Jerusalem for worship.

There are many lessons in this story for us. Even for the Christian, it takes a lot of faith to believe that all the promises in Scripture will come true. Though the prophets of the Old Testament had promised the coming of the Savior, and though the disciples walked with Jesus every day, Jesus’ followers doubted that He had truly risen from the dead. Faith truly is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). This band of followers struggled with their faith, and so will we.

In our journey through this life, we will walk with a lot of strangers. There is no way to know what impact they may have on our lives or the impact we might have on them. That is why we are told to love our enemies as well as our friends (Matthew 5:43-44). Cleopas and his friend would have never guessed the influence of a stranger traveling a few miles with them. We may not know until the judgment what influence we have on those we encounter on our walk.

Along our journey, we need to keep listening to the message. The words of the prophets, the lessons from the Gospels, the writings to the churches, and the writings to individual Christians all serve to remind us of our place in this world and in the church (Second Timothy 2:15). Cleopas and his friend needed to be reminded of the promises of God. That is why Bible study is so important for us today.

Hospitality is part of the walk with Jesus. When we share our homes, food, and fellowship we share with Jesus. Jesus says that when we show hospitality to others, we are showing hospitality to Him (Matthew 25:33-46).

When we fall, and we certainly will, we need to seek those who will make us stronger and support us when we need them most. The coming together of the believers served to support, encourage, and strengthen those assembled together waiting for the promised power the disciples were to receive. Our coming together to worship supports, encourages, and strengthens us to wait on the coming of our Savior.

Our greatest lesson is that we don’t have to walk alone. The Lord is always with us. He said, “…I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5).

Sandra Oliver

It had been a long night. As Galilee slept, the weary fishermen toiled the midnight hours away and with the waking of the sun, they had nothing to show for their labor. They waved the white flag and the exhausted men rowed towards shore to wash their nets; the final task standing between work and coveted sleep.

As they wrangled their nets to shore, a crowd gathered. Looking up, they recognized a man named Jesus, whose reputation as a healer preceded him. This healer approached them with a rather odd request: Might He use their boat as His pulpit? Without a doubt, being agreeable was challenging after their miserable night, but this was no ordinary man. So, they pushed the boat into shallow water, delaying their precious rest.

Later, as the crowds dispersed, Jesus made another unwelcomed request of the fishermen. “Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”

Bless Peter! Somehow, he mustered up self-control, silencing his thoughts of, “I am tired and frustrated. My nets are now washed, and you dare ask us to start over?”

Instead, Peter found his submissive voice, replying “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless, at your word I will let down the net.”

Peter felt called to first recount his profitless night, as if the Savior had no knowledge of every moment of it. But, gratefully, one pivotal word followed: “nevertheless,” meaning, despite what I have told you, I will submit to your will.

Peter submitted his exhaustion, his reluctance, and his schedule to the Savior and with that submission came Peter’s reward. They caught so many fish, their nets were breaking.

The blessings of submitting to Jesus are boundless. When Peter surrendered to the Savior, not only did he witness a faith-building miracle, he was introduced to a life of worship. This miracle was greater than a gift of fish. This was a gift of faith, for those filled nets led Peter to a lifetime filled with the Gospel of Christ Jesus.

When exhaustion hits and life is hard, God’s inconvenient summons may leave us crying out, “Lord I’m tired; I’m scared; I’ve already attempted to do what you ask.”

In those inopportune moments, submitting to God takes courage. May we realize our loving Father already knows our struggles. And may we, like Peter, follow up any hesitancy with one pivotal word, “nevertheless,” changing the direction of our lives. Tighten your grip as a mighty God prepares to fill you to overflowing with the greatest gift of all; the gift of the Savior’s love.

Father God, open our hearts to following your calls even when they interrupt our plans.

Blessings,

Rita Cochrane

“You’re so pretty. Here is a penny.”  My little piggy bank was full of pennies from people who apparently thought that my outward appearance was reason enough to reward me. I never understood that as a chubby-cheeked preschooler with long auburn hair.

Fortunately, my mother kept my feet on the ground. “Beauty is only skin deep,” she would remind me when the compliments, and sometimes the pennies, were paid. That outward appearance has long since faded, and whatever is inside is more noticeable, for better or worse.

A friend recently shared a photo of a very unusual squash, half yellow zucchini and half regular green zucchini. Personally, I have grown and consumed both types and I find very little, if any, difference in flavor. But the yellow ones sure are pretty! I can’t figure out how a squash can come out with both colors. I am impressed.

Imagine the meal in which this chimera of a squash is consumed. One of the children calls dibs on the yellow squash, maybe the Dad chimes in that he will only eat “normal” color zucchini. But alas, they’re all mixed up in the serving bowl, or soup, or zucchini muffins.

It’s all the same, after all. Close your eyes and you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference!

Our Father would have us all make a difference in this sad, sick world by BEING different, and not just on the outside.

“Your adornment must not be merely external—braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; 4 but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God” (1 Peter 3:3-4, NASB).

In the case of this squash, it was home-grown in good soil, not depleted dirt that was commercially farmed for too many decades to provide good nutrients. Inside, it’s a great vegetable without the poisons so often used in major agribusiness. The appearance is only skin deep, truly.

Much of our energy is expended on “blending” in to the world around us, to wear the clothes that are trendy, to enjoy the most popular pursuits in entertainment, and to be liked just because we are so close to everything that everyone else likes.

That is not our calling.

We are to be the salt of the earth, making it better; not absorbing the flavors of everything around us (Matthew 5:13).

Kathy’s funny little squash couldn’t seem to decide if it wanted to be different or not. Yes, the yellow zucchinis are attractive and unusual, just as a good Christian life should be. What if we can’t decide to be “a peculiar people” all the time, and half the time we are the same old same old?

Well, if you’re a zucchini, that’s just weird. If you’re a Christian, trying half-heartedly to do God’s will, you won’t be as effective as you could be.

Christine (Tina) Berglund