Seeds For Thinking

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* Milk and Honey
* Scripture: The Lord said, "So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey." (Exodus 3:8a, NKJV)

Living things come in many forms, from the microscopic, one-celled amoeba to the multi-ton elephant and whale. We all share one common trait (yes, people, too!) We require nourishment to sustain life. We eat.
People can, and do, live almost anywhere. Anywhere that there is an adequate supply of food, that is. This may come as a shock to many urbanites, but supermarkets do not create our food. Food comes from the land, fertile, productive land. The phrase "land flowing with milk and honey" is repeated numerous times in the biblical books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, holding forth the promise of not just a safe haven, but also the promise of a sufficient and sustainable food supply.
The people of the Exodus often complained to Moses and Aaron that their new-found freedom was leading them to starvation. They hungered for the familiar foods of Egypt, even if it meant a return to slavery. In reality, they did not lack food. The Lord provided sustenance to the people in the form of manna and quail. They also had access to meat and milk from the flocks they took with them (See Ex. 12:32.)
The Lord had promised Abraham that his descendants would have a land to call their own, a "land flowing with milk and honey." Moses sent out a band of men, leaders chosen from each tribe, to survey or 'spy out' the land they were to occupy. I find it to be interesting that they did not bring back examples of milk and honey from their foray.
Instead, we read that "they came to the Valley of Eschol, and there cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes; they carried it between two of them on a pole. They also brought some of the pomegranates and figs." (Numbers 13:23, NKJV)
Livestock must have grass to eat, and where there is vegetation wild bees will be found, adding honey to their diet. So, in a sense, they already had their milk and honey. They were, however, strangers and sojourners in the land through which they traveled.
Fertility and fruitfulness were highly valued in Biblical times, indeed, in much of the world even today. Pastures feed the flocks of even a nomadic people. Fruit trees, however, and fields of grain require permanence. No more wandering, no more transportable tent dwellings. A place to call home!
A good and large land, indeed, with the fertility and resources to not only support agriculture, but to also raise families and build a great nation - and to live as God's people.
Many people today have their "milk and honey" - God's word and access to Him - but are like sojurners in the wilderness. They need to find a place to call home, a good, supportive church home, to fully live as God's People.
July 16, 2006

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* Nourishment
* Scripture: Jesus said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” (Mt. 3:4, NKJV)
Paul wrote, “I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it.” (1 Cor. 3:2)

All of God’s creatures require nourishment to sustain life. The types of food and the means of acquiring it are indeed wondrous and varied. Some require specialized diets, such as the koala bear, that eats only eucalyptus leaves. Others will eat almost anything that they can get on the outside of. Human beings are “everything eaters” (omnivores) except for maybe three year olds, who have a very selective diet. Teenagers also have definite preferences, tending toward pizza, burgers, and pop - but mostly whatever is within reach.
Styles of eating also vary a lot, from the dainty “peck like a bird’ of formal society to “tip the bowl and toss it in” characteristic of some cartoon characters. Proper society and manners have well established rules for ‘dining,’ including the order in which foods are served, the utensils to be used, and the manner in which they are to be employed. So you either pick at your chicken portion with a fork, or . . . you grab it with both hands and go at it!
From the largest to the smallest, the fussiest to the slob, all are provided for by God.
God also provides “The Word” that feeds mankind spiritually, as stated by both Jesus and Paul. Neither speaks of how we acquire or consume this spiritual food, though. Obviously, we don’t pick it from a tree, of dig it from the ground - or do we?
A lot of things set me to thinking about God’s Word, comparisons between God’s earthly realm and the heavenly one. This time it happened as I was watching our sheep graze, while I leaned against the truck waiting for the water trough to fill. They don’t just stand and eat; they grab a mouthful here, and another mouthful there, all the time moving across the pasture, choosing among the choicest grasses. So, to graze is to eat small amounts of various foods several times a day.
There is another definition for ‘graze,’ however; to touch lightly in passing.
The livestock guard dog, who lives with the sheep, gets one meal a day, and gulps/gobbles it down, then spends hours digesting her food.

Here is your assignment for the week: think about how you typically receive the Word of God.
A 'grazer' (noun) in the sense of getting small amounts several times a day, choosing among the choicest available writings.
A 'grazer' (verb) passing or missing God’s word unless it smacks you head on.
A 'gulper/gobbler' who loads up and then meditates over time.
The 'child', not yet ready to receive Paul’s solid food.
The “three year old” who mostly says “No!” - somewhere between milk and solid food.
The 'teenager', who devours as much of God’s Word as comes within reach.
And as to the “mealtime” - Formal ‘dining’ (ritualized worship) compared to free structure, perhaps ‘contemporary’ services, or ‘fast food’ style
Have fun thinking! And - bon appetit!.
July 3, 2005

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* Roosters
* Scripture: Paul wrote, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her.” Ephesians 5:25, NKJV

It’s time to have a little talk about -
Roosters!
The males of domestic fowl, roosters, do far more than sit on the barn roof, crow at dawn, and preen their feathers. They are a very active presence in the flock.
I’ve been observing about twenty chickens as they roam the barnyard area, pretty much free to do whatever chickens do. This is a mixed flock, including small bantams and larger ‘heavy’ breeds, so I think the sample size is large and diverse enough that the behaviors I will describe apply to roosters in general.
Yes, roosters do crow, at any time throughout the day, and they also cackle, cluck, and sing various chicken songs.
Roosters will often try out a nest before entrusting it to their favorite hen companion, and then stand guard duty while the hen lays her egg. Both then announce their pride over the freshly laid egg with gusto - a raucous cackling and sing-song ode to joy.
I once watched as two hens with chicks got into a territorial spat. A rooster quickly intervened, and sent them on their way, a peacekeeper, no less! Roosters can also be very protective and aggressive, especially if something threatens one of the flock.
I got to thinking about the positive attributes of the rooster in chicken society as I observed a rooster find a tasty morsel under the bird feeder, and then allow the hen to come over and pick it up, rather than eat it himself.
Now that rooster doesn’t even read, let alone read the Bible! Yet that bird, in a natural state, embodied many of the things that the Bible tells us we should do to emulate Christ. To paraphrase Jesus, talking about parents giving gifts to children, in Matthew 7:11, If even a rooster can do these things, how much more will the Heavenly Father do good things for you!
(Note that the Golden Rule is given in the following verse, Mt. 7:12, concerning doing for others as you would have them do for you.)
We sometimes hear the excuse that people who are rough and rowdy are just being ‘natural’. The next time that someone pulls that line on you, just tell them that even a rooster does better than that.
Take time to read Ephesians chapters 5 and 6, as well as Peter’s advice on the matter, 1 Peter, chapter 3.
Living together in harmony is sometimes a tough challenge. We need all the help we can get, even from a rooster.
April 24, 2005

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* Covetousness
* Scripture: Jesus said, “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:21, NKJV

God was with Joseph. Even Pharaoh was convinced that there was no one else in the kingdom of Egypt more discerning and wise as Joseph, “a man in whom is the Spirit of God.” (Genesis 41:38)
Joseph was made ruler over all of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself. By his command, granaries were built throughout the land, and filled with much grain, “as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable.” (Ge. 41:49)
Jesus told a parable of a man who did the very same thing; he built additional storage facilities to hold the grain his fields yielded in abundance. (Luke 12:16-18)
At this point, the stories diverge, however. Although both Joseph and the man in the parable stockpiled sufficient grain to last many years, God’s providence was intrinsic to the plans of Joseph and Pharaoh. God provided the dreams for Pharaoh, and the ability to interpret them in the person of Joseph. The storehouses in Egypt were for the benefit of the people, including Joseph’s own family, with whom he was reunited. When the time of famine came to all the land, the granaries were opened, that the people might have bread.
The “Rich Fool,” for as such is the parable known, had no plans for sharing with anyone, saying, “Soul . . . eat, drink, and be merry.”
Did Robert Southey have this parable in mind when he wrote “God’s Judgment On A Wicked Bishop?” I do not know, but there are certainly parallels. Both hoard their grain, to the exclusion of others, and both forfeit their soul because of it.
Bishop Hatto, like the Rich Fool, had a plentiful store of grain; his granaries were ‘furnished well’ with grain from the preceding year’s harvest. Not so the starving poor, for the weather had been so bad that there had been no harvest, and they were starving
In response to their clamoring, Bishop Hatto set a day, and bade them to come to his great barn, that “they should have food for the winter there.”
When the barn was full of women and children, and young and old, Bishop Hatto locked the doors, set fire to the barn and burned them all. His rationale?

“And the country is greatly obliged to me
For ridding it, in these times forlorn,
of rats that only consume the corn.”

This rather gruesome tale concludes with an army of rats devouring not only all of the grain he so covetously refused to share, but the Bishop himself! The closing line is this:
“For they were sent to do judgment on him.”

Covetousness has its reward, declared Jesus, in that he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God, loses both the store of ‘things,’ and the soul as well.
February 20, 2005

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: When you sit down to eat with a ruler, consider carefully what is before you; and put a knife to your throat if you are a man given to appetite. Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food. Proverbs 23:1-3, NKJV)

Deceptive food? I have heard the phrase, “Death by chocolate,” but I have also heard how a little dark chocolate is good for you, so surely that can’t be life threatening. So what is deceptive food?
Maybe gluttony - excessive appetite - which is on the Biblical ‘No-no’ list. In fact, gluttony is on the list of ‘Seven Deadly Sins’: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth/laziness, Wrath, Envy, Pride.(1)
Leading off, Lust is an inordinate craving for the pleasures of the body. Gluttony is an inordinate desire to consume more than that which one requires – excess in eating and drinking: “for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags” (Proverbs 23:21).
Derived from the Latin gluttire, meaning to gulp down or swallow, gluttony (Latin, gula) is the over-indulgence and over-consumption of anything to the point of waste.
Medieval church leaders (e.g., Thomas Aquinas) took a more expansive view of gluttony, arguing that it could also include an obsessive anticipation of meals, and the constant eating of delicacies and excessively costly foods. Aquinas went so far as to prepare a list of six ways to commit gluttony, including:

* Eating too soon.
* Eating too expensively.
* Eating too much.
* Eating too eagerly (burningly).
* Eating too daintily (keenly).
* Eating wildly (boringly).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_deadly_sins

Paul left no doubt as to his opinion of the glutton. In the letter to the Philippians, 3:19, he writes about enemies of the cross “whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame - who set their mind on earthly things.”
But what of the 'gourmet’ label often associated with persons, foods, and dining establishments?
A gourmet is a connoisseur of good food; a person with a discerning palate. Also used to describe a kind or standard suitable for a gourmet : a gourmet meal. a restaurant lauded by the most discriminating gourmets.
A gourmand is a person who takes great pleasure in food; as in: “his brother is a shameless gourmand who is eating us out of house and home.” Also: glutton, overeater, big eater, gobbler, gorger; informal pig, greedy pig, guzzler.
The words gourmand and gourmet overlap in meaning but are not identical. Both mean ‘a connoisseur of good food,’ but gourmand more usually means ‘a person who enjoys eating and often overeats.’ (Definitions of gourmet and gourmand from my computer dictionary, Copyright © 2005 Apple Computer, Inc., All Rights Reserved.)

To taste is to perceive. As to food, the rule favors tasters, but not gobblers. Nevertheless, somebody is sure to find fault with you no matter what you do.
Consider these words from Jesus: “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’
The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, “Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children.” (Matthew 11:18-19, NKJV)

The best taste of all is this, expressed by the Psalmist: “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him.” (Psalm 34:8)

(1)The Epistle to the Galatians includes a substantially longer list: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, "and such like" (Galations 5:19-21

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Scripture: Jesus said, “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning.” Luke 12:35 NIV

Suppose - just suppose - that you are on your way to town. You decide to pull over, stop, and just sit there. People stop, ask if you are having a problem, if you need help, etc. You decline assistance, say you just got tired of going forward, and don’t want to go back, either.
Doesn’t make sense, right? Nobody in their right mind would likely do such a thing. Yet people do things with their lives all the time that make no more sense.
Jesus told the parable of just such a person, which we know as the Parable of the Rich Fool. The man tore down his barns, built bigger ones, and stored up enough that he said to himself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink, and be merry.” (Lk. 12:19)
What of the future? He decided to “pull over, stop, and just sit there.” Someone else got what he had prepared to enjoy.
Jesus goes on in Lk. 12:35 by advising to “be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning.” Jesus cautions against knowing the master’s will and not getting ready or not doing what the master wants.
Check out once again Jesus’ words to the disciples in Mt. 28: 19., “Therefore go . . .” He did not say, “Sit.” He did not say, “Take it easy; this is as good as it gets.”
All Jesus’ disciples (and I think that includes us) are encouraged to be active participants in God’s Kingdom. I will point out only a couple:
Hebrews 13:15, 16 - “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
1 Peter 5:2 “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers - not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be.”
Peter also calls us to an active life, moving forward, to “add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our lord Jesus Christ. “(1 Peter 1:5-8)
Are you actively adding in increasing measure to your Christian growth, or have you pulled over to the side to take life easy?
January 5, 2003

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Scripture: Isaiah wrote, Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.” - Isaiah 55:6

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old time is still a-flying,
And this same flower that smiles today,
To-morrow will be dying. ROBERT HERRICK

So - take time to smell the roses!
“Carpe Diem” is a Latin phrase that is sometimes used to express the thought of making the most of an opportunity. Literally, “Seize the Day,” with roots in the word for pluck, gather or harvest.
I can picture a rose - yes, any flower - at its peak of perfection, filled with the aroma which we are admonished to enjoy. How quickly, how fleetingly, is that moment snatched from us.
Fruit, also, the sometimes fullness of the flowering, may be in the developing stage that we call ‘green’ for an extended time, reaching ripeness with its own aroma and taste only briefly before passing into inevitable decay. The fullness of time, Yes! That is the moment to harvest, to savor, that which the Lord has prepared.
The harvest is only half of the given opportunity, however. If someone gives us a gift, we respond with an expression of gratefulness; a “Thank You” is appropriate. The flower, the fruit, I may pluck and present to you. I have not caused it to bloom, to ripen, though; that is The Lord’s gift.
All too often the phrase “Carpe Diem” is taken, especially by poets and lovers, as the enjoyment of the pleasures of the moment without concern for the future. And, I might add, without concern for the Giver of the moment.
I think Jesus expressed the earthly, unthankful viewpoint well in the parable of the man who built many barns for his harvest, and enjoyed the moment as a time to “eat, drink, and be merry.” No thanksgiving, no thought of sharing his bounty, which he would not have received except the Lord provided it. (Lk 12:16-21)
Paul wrote, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith,” Galatians 6:10, NKJV
That is the double opportunity; as we receive from the Lord, we need to remember to call upon Him when His presence is evident in the gift. Seize the moment, yes, the moment to ‘Seek the Lord while He may be found, to call upon Him while He is near.’
And give thanks!
November 20, 2005