Seeds For Thinking

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

* Rain
* Scripture: Jesus said, "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you." Mt. 5:44
Ezekiel 34:26b - I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing. NKJV

There shall be showers of blessing:
O that today day they might fall
Nathan
The occasion of rain is a curious phenomena - Some people want it, some don't.
Granted, timing plays a large role in how rain is accepted. For some people, rain is an inconvenience, an interruption of life, a spoiler of fun:

"Rain, rain, go away;
Come again some other day."
Why?
"Little Johnnie wants to play."

On goes the scowls, out come the umbrellas, washed away goes the day.
Rain is a blessing for other people, however: The farmer needing moisture to sprout or sustain crops, people with cisterns, and - assuming that the shower is gentle and warm - children with obliging parents.
Ever notice? Children who have to be dragged into the tub/shower go joyfully and gleefully into the rain. Laughter, giggles, looking for puddles, maybe eyes closed, looking to the heavens. (Perhaps it's the absence of soap.)
So, some want (and need) rain, and rain will answer their prayers. Others, like Little Johnnie, are praying for sunshine.
Keep in mind the precepts of Matthew 5:45, that God makes the sun shine on the evil and the good He sends the rain on the just and the unjust. Everybody! No matter what, somebody is going to be unhappy.
Does it grieve you that blessings fall on the evil ones, perhaps those who hate you, or curse you? Are you discouraged to see bad things happen to good people?
There are - and must be - times that we do not readily see blessings in the answer that God gives us. Look closer; there may be blessings falling, blessings sent by God that you are turning away with your scowl and 'spiritual umbrella.' Look instead for ways you can collect, as in a spiritual cistern, these showers for times when you can draw upon them as needed. Times when love, blessing, and prayer bring seasons refreshing to your soul, or to another's.
Jesus, also, prayed for the "cup to pass," but accepted God's will.
He exemplified His teachings (Mt. 5:44) and, in so doing, brought salvation to the world.
November 19, 2006

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

Scripture: Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. Genesis 1:3, NKJV)

Light! Created by God, dividing Day from Night, and the light was good. But what is light, exactly? It is far easier to define darkness as the absence of light than to define how light works. Scientists and physicists still struggle to explain something that we take so much for granted.
A further reading of Genesis has intrigued scholars, as well. God created light during the first day, then turned it off at night. But the lights in the heavens, the sun, moon, and stars, were not created until the fourth day. Some have postulated that the original light came directly from God; God’s light will be part of the New Jerusalem: “The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.” (Rev. 21:23, NKJV)
Vision is perhaps the most marvelous property of light. We see, because light is! It was once suggested that light originated in the eye, and illuminated the world. It was quickly pointed out that we should be able to see even at night, if that was the case. No, the eye has the property of using light from the sun, candles, lanterns and a multitude of electrical powered lamps to produce vision, the ability to see things.
So - what is the nature of light? Light is a form of radio wave, except we “tune it in” via our eyes, rather than on a radio or television receiver. (Physicists talk about a lot of things deeper than we will go.) We see the colors of a rainbow sort of like “different channels” for red and green and blue light. Marvelous!
Light does not travel instantaneously: the speed of light in a vacuum is presently defined to be about 186,282 miles per second, which is still pretty fast. The speed of light is a factor in Einstein’s famous equation E=mc^2.
Astronomers use a form of celestial measurement called a “Light Year” to calculate the vast distances to stars and galaxies. It takes light about four years to reach earth from the closest star, about 23,462,784,000,000 miles away. How many light years to the edge of the universe? A bunch! And yet God is there. Even the best scientists and physicists struggle with things too marvelous for us to comprehend, but every speck - every force - in the universe is there because God said so.
The use of a light bulb image in cartoon or comic strips symbolizes enlightenment, indicating greater knowledge and understanding about a subject or situation. Those who simply “don’t get it,” are in the dark.
In the New Testament, John equates anyone who hates his brother with darkness. “He walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” (1 John 2:11) However, “He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.” (1 John 2:10)
Jesus spoke of the salt of the earth, and the light of the world in the Beatitudes. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)
What is that light? “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5) “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us of all sin.” (1 John 1:7)
Let the glory of God illuminate your life. Don’t hide your light under a bushel (No!) as children sometimes sing. But walk as children of light.
Let Your Light Shine

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

Scripture: Jesus said, “You are the light of the world . . . Let your light shine . . .” Mt. 5: 14; 16, NIV
This little light of mine,
I’m gonna’ let it shine.!

There is more than a little wisdom packed in the simplest of children’s songs! We’ve all watched children sing this one with the gusto that only a little child can exude, finger held up to represent a candle. We have probably sang it ourselves, as both child and adult, but living the words as a life-long practice. . . now that’s a difficult undertaking.
The song is based upon Jesus’ teachings contained in the “Sermon on the Mount,” Matthew Chapters 5, 6, and 7. We are to be living candles, showing the world the “Son-shine.” In a way, the “light” analogy is the pivot point of all the rest of the Beatitudes, including those two most important commandments;
Love the Lord your God with all your heart,
all your soul, and all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.
Little children imitate adults: Oh! How they imitate them! Monkey see; monkey do! Both good and bad.
Hide it under a bushel, No!
I’m gonna’ let it shine.

It is hard to hide anything from these little ones. They are a seeing, doing, learning machine. It is programmed into them. Some things are innate; crying, sucking, responding to touch and parental warmth, even babbling which later becomes speech. While the ability to learn language and mannerisms is programmed in, most things are acquired through experience. Like a dry sponge placed in water, we soak up the language we hear and see used. If we want our children to learn to talk, we talk to them. We let our “language” shine! We don’t hide it. Neither should we hide a righteous life.
So - two faces of “hide” -
1. We should not hide our “son-shine light” from children, or the world.
2. We should not maintain a secret, non-christian counterpart to our “shiny” life, and try to keep it hidden in the darkness.
That old deceiver whispers to us,
“It’s OK. Do it! Nobody will see; nobody will know.”

Won’t let Satan ‘poof’ it out;
I’m gonna’ let it shine.

Children see quite well in the “darkness.” And someone is certainly going to turn on the “lights” sooner or later.
A candle/light shines outward, not inward. The more ‘outward’ we make our lives, the less reason we have to fear the ‘darkness.’
February 24, 2002

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

Scripture: Isaiah wrote, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” Isaiah 60:1-3 NIV
What is the nature of God? People have pondered that question for thousands of years. As far back as records and tradition exist, mankind has looked to the existence of some power or force beyond that which our normal senses can detect. Beliefs range all the way from multiple gods and goddesses and spirits through a single deity to no gods at all.
Ancient peoples were sure that some force controlled all of nature, and needed to be appeased with offerings “fit for a god” in order to have the deity bless the worshipper with good crops and flocks, as well as success in life. We are familiar with such beliefs mainly through the classic mythology of the Greeks and Romans. The Bible records that some beliefs even went so far as to offer human sacrifice.
Even today many people look to spirits in all things, and upon killing an animal or cutting a tree offer a ritual of thanks to the spirit within.
The Greek word for god is theos, from which we get our word theology. Put an a in front of it, and we get atheist, one who does not believe in god(s). Many atheists embrace humanism, a philosophy that rejects supernaturalism and stresses an individual's dignity and worth and capacity for self-realization through reason.
Confucius was a Chinese teacher and philosopher; he became the most revered person in Chinese history. His teachings form the basis of Confucianism, which is not so much a form of worship as a method to improve one’s self.
Three major faiths believe in one God. Mono (one) and Theos (God) = monotheism. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all look to Abraham as the founder of their belief in one God, so there is some commonality in the starting point. All look to an end time, and judgment. Judaism and Islam are people of the law. Follow the laws and tenets of the Torah (Judaism) or the Quran (Islam) and you can work out your salvation.
Of all the religions, beliefs, and philosophies of the world, only one - Christianity - believes that salvation is given freely, by God’s Grace, to those who accept that Jesus was the Christ (Messiah, Savior) and believe on Him through faith. And that God came in human form, lived, died, and rose again (John 3:16)
It is that marvelous Gift that we welcome anew each year at Christ -Mass.
December 23, 2001

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

Scripture: Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. Let your light shine . . .” Mt. 5: 14; 16, NIV

This little light of mine,
I’m gonna’ let it shine!

There is more than a little wisdom packed in the simplest of children’s songs! We’ve all watched children sing this one with the gusto that only a little child can exude, finger held up to represent a candle. We have probably sang it ourselves, as both child and adult, but living the words as a life-long practice. . . now that’s a difficult undertaking.
The song is based upon Jesus’ teachings contained in the “Sermon on the Mount,” Matthew Chapters 5, 6, and 7. We are to be living candles, showing the world the “Son-shine.” In a way, the “light” analogy is the pivot point of all the rest of the Beatitudes, including those two most important commandments;

Love the Lord your God with all your heart,
all your soul, and all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.

Little children imitate adults: Oh! How they imitate them! Monkey see; monkey do! Both good and bad.

Hide it under a bushel, No!
I’m gonna’ let it shine.

It is hard to hide anything from these little ones. They are a seeing, doing, learning machine. It is programmed into them. Some things are innate: crying, sucking, responding to touch and parental warmth, even babbling which later becomes speech.
While the ability to learn language and mannerisms is programmed in, most things are acquired through experience. Like a dry sponge placed in water, we soak up the language we hear and see used. If we want our children to learn to talk, we talk to them. We let our “language” shine! We don’t hide it. Neither should we hide a righteous life.
So - two faces of “hide” -

1. We should not hide our “son-shine light” from children, or the world; and,

2. We should not maintain a secret, non-Christian counterpart to our “shiny” life, and try to keep it hidden in the darkness.

That old deceiver whispers to us,
“It’s OK. Do it! Nobody will see; nobody will know.”

Won’t let Satan ‘poof’ it out;
I’m gonna’ let it shine.

Children see quite well in the “darkness.” And someone is certainly going to turn on the “lights” sooner or later.
A candle/light shines outward, not inward.
The more ‘outward’ we make our lives, the less reason we have to fear the ‘darkness.’
February 24, 2002