Antsy for Summer

By Makenzie Allen –

Summer is quickly approaching and I wait in anticipation for the day when I can dip my toes in the cool water of our nearby river. When I can look quizzically at the lightning bugs as they twinkle back at me. With much hope that the craving for ice cream isn’t larger than my resolve to look nice in a swimsuit, I eagerly await summer.

Last summer my friend and I migrated to the warm shores of Outer Banks in North Carolina. The sand squished between my toes and the sea breeze caused ripples through the tall grass. No wonder God created the waters and said, “It is good.” And though my heart jumped in time with the waves as I wondered at all the mysteries its depths might hold, one of the things I cherished the most was unity. The way the waves swept along the shore as crabs scuttled frantically to keep up with the torrent. How the dolphins swam together, never leaving their loved ones. Laughing with my longtime friend, standing side by side, we watched the way the waves formed before falling with tremendous force.

Unity is sometimes found in the little things, but once it’s found, glory to a Creator is necessary. That’s the kind of stuff that leaves me breathless. And although it’s hard to see sometimes, everything has a purpose. Everything. From the smallest ant to the largest rodent. There has to be a reason for God suggesting we be like the ants.

Ants have unity, they have perseverance, and they have the strength it takes to preserve not just their life, but also the lives of others in the colony. Instead of looking out for only themselves, they continue collecting food until there is enough to share. Now instead of pondering why God said that, I’m pondering why we don’t act more like the ants. “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise” (Proverbs 6:6 NIV).

I wish I always acted like an ant. I don’t mean by raiding picnic baskets and biting unsuspecting victims who have dared sit on my anthill. No, I mean by acting on what others need instead of what I want. Unfortunately, my flesh has something to say about that. “Go ahead and wallow in self-pity for how that person hurt you while others around you are suffering from the death of loved ones, nightmares from their past, and the pain it takes just to wake up in the morning and feel okay.” I have it so good, yet my flesh tempts me to view my situation as worse than it is.

So as we approach one of my favorite seasons, I pray that God will give me the endurance it takes to treat others the way I want to be treated. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll be less quick to bite the person who tramples on my anthill and quicker to bring forth the food I’ve collected as well. Let’s just hope I don’t start growing antennas after all this talk of being like the ants.

Furry Friend

By Karen O’Connor –

One morning as I reached for my breakfast food in the back of my station wagon at a campground in the Sierra Mountains, I noticed that several of the plastic bags had holes in them. One in particular was badly punctured. I had filled it with various nuts and dried fruits. When I picked it up, most of the contents fell out.

How strange. I was certain I’d put this mix in a brand new zippered bag. “Oh well, I’ll deal with this later,” I muttered. It was time for the group’s morning hike and I didn’t want to be late.

My friends and I returned to our site that afternoon and I opened my car to take out a snack and some water. To my surprise several more bags were full of holes. Even my Kleenex tissues were perforated. I assumed it was an insect and let it go. Flies and mosquitoes were all around so I chalked it up to life in the outdoors.

At the end of the week we broke camp and said our good-byes. Then I drove down the mountain to the motel where I planned to spend the night before heading home the following day.

I organized my gear, did a couple loads of laundry, ate dinner, and headed for bed. The next morning when I opened my car a terrible stench hit my nose. What is that? I wondered. I didn’t have any fresh food in the car so I was really puzzled.

Then suddenly I noticed a small furry creature curled up in a little open box I had left on the floor of the back seat. A long tail hung over the edge. A field mouse. “Eeek!” I shrieked and shivered at the sight. Poor fella must have snuck in when my car was open, and then died in the extreme heat of the day after I locked my car.

“Help!” I called to one of the employees at the motel. “A dead mouse. I can’t bear to touch it. Would you please remove it for me?”

The man chuckled, reached in, and carried the little guy, box and all, to the trash container. I thanked him and off he went. But then I had a shame attack. It was just a field mouse, after all. Why did I make such a big deal out of it? He was one of God’s creatures, too. And if the Lord could make a place for him on the earth, surely I could allow him to help himself to a few nuts and berries.

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you.
Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?
In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind” (Job 12:7-10 NIV).

Jesus

By Donna McCrary –

If Jesus had a Facebook page or Twitter account would you be His friend or follow His tweets?

Absolutely!

Can you imagine Jesus “tweeting”?

• Just healed another one.
• Going for a walk across the lake this evening.
• HMMMM feels like rain.
• Hungry – Got fish?
• I saw that….yes, I am talking to you!

With today’s modern technology it is nothing to accumulate over 500 “friends” via Facebook. It takes two seconds to click the “like” icon on someone’s post. It takes a few more minutes to type a comment. Two clicks and you have sent a happy face to a “friend” who is struggling. We might be “connected” to a lot of “friends” yet these relationships are emotionally void. In other words, we know the status of a lot of “friends” but we are a far cry from BFF’s.

I read this quote by Dr. Greg Fizzel, “No one’s relationship with Christ will ever rise above the level of his or her praying. Put simply, if your prayer life is inconsistent and weak, so will be your relationship with God.” It made me question my own prayer life. Is my relationship with Jesus any stronger than my relationships with my Facebook friends? Am I a fan who just follows His tweets? Do I really spend T-I-M-E with Him?

What I discovered is that I often treat my prayer life with God like my Facebook status. I login and update how I feel periodically from time to time throughout my week. I express my feelings, desires, frustrations, funny experiences, and then log out. I don’t log back in until I have a few extra minutes in my busy day or maybe a struggle that needs posting for some prayer.

I don’t want to be just a person who read the tweets and smiles. I want to be a friend that experiences an intimate relationship with an Amazing-All-Knowing-All-Powerful-God.

Being a friend to Jesus starts with a devoted prayer life where we read His word, give thanks, ask for help, pray for others, and simply enjoy His presence. This type of prayer life requires commitment and time.

What about you do you need to log in and update your prayer status?

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV).

The Judas in All of Us

By Janet Morris Grimes –

Judas. We all know his story. His name is synonymous with traitor. The eternal back-stabber.

For this reason, there have been few children that carry the name Judas. His life serves as the perfect example of what not to do, especially if you are a Christian.

Jesus knew early on that Judas would become the betrayer. Still, He invited him into his inner circle. Judas managed the money for the twelve Apostles; but was a shady businessman, stealing from that same moneybox. His decisions were based on profit margins, never matters of the heart. If it were up to Judas, there would have been a massive public relations campaign, spotlighting all that Jesus had done, asking for funding so that His ministry could continue.

Judas had a front-row seat to the ways of Jesus. He saw the miracles for himself. But more than this, he knew the grace. The love in His eyes. The way He spoke of eternity. And hope.

Still, Judas didn’t buy into it. He never allowed his heart to become a part of the equation; never sensed the fact that even he might one day need a Savior.

Judas was destined to be a part of Jesus’ story. Before what became known as the Last Supper, Judas sought out the Chief Priests, determining the cost for the life of Jesus. From that moment on, the book of Matthew tells us that Judas waited for an opportunity to hand him over (Matthew 26:14 – 15 NIV).

Judas still had to play the part of the adoring apostle. During the Last Supper, Jesus predicted his betrayal, acknowledging that it would be Judas, even saying that it would be better for him not to have been born. Jesus instructs him, “What you are about to do, do quickly” (John 13:27).

Judas leaves to make his mark in history.

A few hours later, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Judas leads the angry mob to Jesus. He greets him with a kiss, and mocks him even further by calling him Rabbi (Matthew 26:49).

Jesus responds by calling him ‘Friend.’ “Friend, do what you are here to do” (Matthew 26:50).

That’s some kind of friend. The ultimate betrayal.

If the truth were known, Judas could have reconsidered. They still would have gotten Jesus. Judas didn’t have to become the enemy of the story.

After watching the gruesome crucifixion, Judas felt remorse. He even returned the thirty shekels of silver, realizing, finally, that wealth did not bring the happiness nor acceptance that he craved.

His story ends with Judas hanging himself.

If Judas were thinking clearly, he might have remembered how Jesus had predicted his own death. And even more, that He promised to return. He had seen him heal the multitudes. There had been no unforgivable sins.

He could have sought the other apostles, confessed what he had done, begged to be baptized, or prayed to God to seek forgiveness. He could have been the hero to this story, the first one waiting at the tomb to apologize. Like the thief on the cross, he could have been the King of Second Chances.

Instead, he becomes the poster child for what happens after sin. Guilt. Remorse. Darkness. Even death.

I suspect there is a little Judas in all of us. We make bad choices, but instead of grabbing the one hand that can save us, we wrestle with our past, wallow in our remorse, and keep reminding Jesus what we did to Him.

He already knows. And He died anyway. So that we could join Him.

Signs of the End Times? Traveling Here and There and the Increase of Knowledge

By Dianne E. Butts –

Did you ever think people traveling everywhere would be a sign of the End Times? It was about 2,500 years ago when God’s prophet, Daniel, received and wrote down the vision from God of the End Times. Toward the end of the vision, Daniel was told:

“But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge” (Daniel 12:4).

Now, frankly I have to admit that my gut tells me that phrase, “Many will go here and there” might not actually mean traveling around. To me, that doesn’t make sense in the context. But since I have yet to figure out what it does mean, let’s take it at face value for now.

Think about this: In Daniel’s time the only modes of transportation were by foot, by animal—including horses and camels—or by boat. Not long ago, it was rare for people to travel much beyond their own communities.

Today think of all the modes of transportation we have. Cars, motorcycles, and other motorized contraptions. Airplanes. Trains. Subway. Large ships and small boats. Even the space shuttle. Unless someone is about to invent the Star Trek “Transporter,” and I really don’t think that one’s possible, except for variations on what already exists such as car motors that run on different types of fuels, I can’t imagine many more modes of transportation humans might invent. But then, I’m sure Daniel couldn’t have imagined some of the modes of transportation we have now. So maybe there are some more coming down the pike before the End Times.

Also, the end of that sentence to Daniel states people would be going here and there “to increase knowledge.” Since computers and the internet have come on the scene and become used among the general population—which was, what, just since the 1980s?—knowledge has increased exponentially. We are said to be in the “information age.” We can jump on the “information super highway” just about any time we want, even through the phones we now carry in our pockets everywhere we go…as we’re going here and there.

According to the booklet 101 Last Days Prophecies by Eternal Productions, “Today we are witnessing an explosion of available knowledge. With the advent of the internet, it is estimated that our cumulative knowledge is doubling every five years” (p. 6).

And yet, “knowledge” is not going to help mankind at all. It is the knowledge of God that mankind needs to possess. In the Bible, Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.”

Our ability to travel, the information available, and the increase in knowledge are incredible developments unlike anything we’ve seen in our human history books.

What do you think? Are these fulfillments of the prophecy in Daniel? And are they, therefore, signs we are in the End Times?

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