Be Ye Separate

Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

Today our family went to our local church as usual. Beside us and all around us were fellow church members. We know them very well. We see them at almost every church service. We see them at work projects and ball games. We labor together to support our school. We get together summer evenings and make ice cream. Our children catch lightning bugs together. We’ve laughed together and cried together. We know them very well.

Needless to say, they also know us very well. They have seen us at our best and worst. They know our faults and idiosyncrasies. But they love us and accept us anyway. Surely this is evidence of the grace of God!

Several porcupines faced a fierce storm together in the far north. As the temperatures plummeted, their only hope of survival was to band closely together. During that long, frigid night they may have needled each other occasionally. But they also realized they needed each other for their own survival. Today let us learn from

the humble porcupine! Have you been dwelling on things that “needle” you about a brother or sister? We all have some sharp edges that God needs to further sanctify. Rather than focusing on the needles, let us appreciate the contribution that our brothers and sisters have made to our lives. We really do need each

Daily Devotion 131

May 10

Life From Death

Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

John 12:24

I enter the seed room of the greenhouse where I work. I open the seed packet and sprinkle a few tomato seeds into my palm.

Visions of juicy tomato sandwiches dripping with mayonnaise enter my mind. I try to imagine bushels of luscious tomatoes being produced by these few shriveled seeds. It seems impossible!

Now I walk over to the germination table and pull a tiny tomato seedling from its cell. I pull away the roots and soil until I can see the place where growth began. Wonder of wonders, the seed is a rotten husk, but there is life springing from death!

I move from the world of tomatoes into the realm of my personal struggle. Self, that hard crust enclosing my spirit, must “fall into the ground” and decay. Paradoxically, if I would really live, I must first die. Then only can the life of Christ spring up in my spirit and produce the kind of fruit that delights the Husbandman.

This is a difficult, lifelong process that involves humiliation, self-denial, darkness, obscurity. But, thank God, Christ did not propose anything to His disciples that He was not willing personally to exemplify.

Jesus’ discourse in John 12 was punctuated by His own suffering and death. Just a few days after He outlined these principles of self-denial, the perfect Seed was laid into the ground and the stone was rolled in place.

But three days later, Life burst forth from death in a glorious “germination” that shook the universe. Out of death grew a beautiful organism, the Church of Jesus Christ, and His true followers are still dying to live.

Ken Miller, Stuarts Draft, VA

Death—the gate of life.

—Bernard of Clairvaux

Bible Reading: John 12:20–36

One Year Bible Reading Plan:

John 3:1–21

1 Kings 21, 22

Used by Permission of Vision Publishers

PO Box 190, Harrisonburg, VA 22803

Phone: 877-488-0901

E-Mail: [cs@vision-publishers.com]

He's Outta Here!

Have you ever had moments when something or someone has gotten on your nerves for the very last time? I mean, you have tried and tried. The more you try the harder it is to let things go and finally one day the moment comes and you just slip a cog and break down with "That's IT, he's outta here!" And mean it? Well........

Yesterday, we had let our miniature stallion out into the large pen to run off some energy. The weather was great so why not? He's a fiesty, sassy little thing and though he can have his cute moments, he also has his studditude moments.

Anyway, later in the afternoon, after visiting with CaraDD and her children, they left, taking our Miss Mary-Ann with them for the night. This left the evening animal choring to Miss Sarah and I.

We got our act together and started out to get the animals back in their rightful places and do a little clean-up when Miss Sarah notices that Mr. Smith is gone. Vanished...again! Ugh. This sends that familiar irritation straight through me. You remember that he ran off the day after we moved here sending us all into search mode for two days? Well, this was just it.

We got the bucket of grain and a leadrope and took off to where he had gone before, figuring he would go that direction. He wasn't over there so we headed back home expecting to either find him or know about him by morning. Suddenly Miss Sarah says..."THERE HE IS!" We turn the car around (not easy to do in the middle of the street with a huge Excursion:P) and pull into this little treed lot where, sure enough, there he is prancing and throwing his little head. We get out and approach him with the bucket which he runs over for and Miss Sarah clips the leadrope on. He freaks! I've never seen him like this...EVER!

He jerks away and runs back to the fence line and there, lo and behold is a pretty mare (4 times his size!) catty corner to us. We realize we have a situation and try to force him to come with us. At this point her goes crazy on us. He's snorting, kicking, biting, rearing, pawing at us trying to hurt anyone that got near him.

Now, mind you, he's not even 3 feet tall! Sarah tries to hang on to him while trying to keep out of his way so he can't hurt her. He was trying to stomp on her legs and feet and she kept moving out of his way. I had ahold of one side of his halter and she on the other when he twists his head and I lost my hold. He rears up and almost slams her on the head with his front feet. She moves her head a little (thank you Jesus!) and he misses her head and hits her arm. He does this several times before she couldn't hold him anymore and let go.

I tell her to stay put and just don't let him go anywhere and I drive back to the house and grab to long lungelines. I get back to her and we trapped him with one of the lines agains the fence so we can hook the other line on his halter. Getting two of the lines finally on him we pull out as far as we can to make sure that he can't get to either one of us and we walk him to the back of my car.

Miss Sarah climbs in through the back and ties him off to the window post inside the back of the car keeping him as close to the bumper as possible without hurting him or giving him enough room to hurt himself on the bumper or rope. I start driving going about 3mph and he trots along behind, protesting and crying out all the way.

Now mind you it was probably as far as a whole cityblock to the house so he wasn't led like this for long. I wasn't going to wrestle him through the yard so I drove all the way to his stall. He was so tired from that jaunt that his little legs were just shaking. I though maybe he would be a little humble but noooooooooooo, he fought us all the way into his stall (all of 10 feet). We got him locked up and he's been crying and kicking the barn wall all night! He's still at it this morning! ugh!

I have to say that I have only experience that two other times with a stallion and those were history too! Miss Mary-Ann is sad about it but she understands that we just can't have a dangerous animal hanging around here. Not only that but realistically he's a lawn ornament. If I am going to have a lawn ornament it needs to at least be cuddly!

Well, that's my rant for this morning. Now to advertise him in the local paper:) Perhaps some local breeder will want him for a teaser:) He can be awful sweet but he is, after all, a stud and it's time for him to do his studly thing in a place that can accomodate him.

Daily Devotion 130

May 9

The Tongue

Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.

Proverbs 21:23

The tongue is a very important part of our body. We could do without teeth if we had to, but how could we do without a tongue?

On the other hand, the tongue probably gets us into more trouble than any other member of our body, unless we allow God to tame it. A wise tongue may not be able to heal diseases, but it can heal people’s discouragements and sorrows. A wise tongue heals broken or wounded relationships like a soothing medicine.

The average man speaks 20 to 25 thousand words a day. The average person spends at least 1/5 of his life talking. In a single day one person says enough words to fill a 50 page book. In one year the average person’s words would fill 132 books, each containing 400 pages. From the time a person says the first “good morning” until he says the last “good night,” he engages in approximately thirty conversations a day.

With all that conversation, we really have to be careful of what we say. We cannot recall any of those words, though we may repent of some of them and ask for forgiveness. An anonymous poet has well expressed the importance of even one of those 25,000 words.

A careless word may kindle strife.

A cruel word may wreck a life.

A bitter word may hate instill;

A brutal word may smite and kill.

A gracious word may smooth the way,

A joyous word may light the day.

A timely word may lessen stress;

A loving word may heal and bless.

Lonnie Peachey, Woodville, NY

He that hath knowledge spareth his words.

Bible Reading: James 3

One Year Bible Reading Plan:

John 2

1 Kings 19, 20

Used by Permission of Vision Publishers

PO Box 190, Harrisonburg, VA 22803

Phone: 877-488-0901

E-Mail: [cs@vision-publishers.com]

Mother's Day

I have always maintained that Mother's Day is simply another Hallmark conspiricy to grab childrens hard earned money and force families to do things they wouldn't ordinarily do. Like buy cards, gifts (isn't Christmas good enough?), flowers, candy and often trips to restaurants they can't afford even on a good day!

I was complaining about this very thing just the other day while walking through Michael's craft store. I tend to ramble outloud when I start ranting over such things. This means that I then turn it into a "public forum" and by default invite others to have an opinion or input. :P

While wandering aimlessly down one isle I said, to no one in particular (I was alone:P), "what is the point of Mother's Day? I don't WANT anything, I surely don't NEED anything, I have my children around me all the time anyway so it won't really be any different, most restaurant food kills my stomach and I constantly analyze the food and comment about how many pennies it cost to make a meal that I am paying an outrageous amount for". This little old woman clears her throat...got my attention:s I giggled and said, "Oops, I thought I was alone!"

She smiles at me, walks over and puts her hand on my arm and says..."Dear, what makes you think that Mother's Day is about you?" I opened my already footfilled mouth to say something and she say, "I don't need an answer young lady, I just want to tell you something I learned long ago. It's not about being a mother, it's about children being able to show how much they love the mother they still have on this earth in a public way. Don't deny them the one thing they probably have saved all year to do with you to honor you and show the rest of the world how much they think of you. God made you for them to rise up and call you blessed. Will you curse them for doing just that? Have a wonderful Mother's day dear, smile, hold up your head and be proud of them."

Wow...can we say humbled? God sent me an angel to put me in my place. I got spanked hard with that one. No just a tap on the head, not a nudge on the shoulder, not "food for thought", He sent that angel to cut me off at the knees and send me sprawling before Him.

This Mother's Day when you are being honored publicly by your children, remember it's not about you, it's about their love and admiration for the woman that raised them to be the wonderful children of God they have become:)

Be Ye Separate

Daily Devotion 132

Daily Devotion 131

He's Outta Here!

Daily Devotion 130

Mother's Day

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