Well our family is about to increase today by three !!  No, we’re not having triplets but my daughter and her husband are bringing home three new foster children !!  Most people think they are crazy to take so many at once but our daughter has always been a lover of children and she will be a great Mom and her husband a great Dad.  Their decision to take in now a total of four as their own reminds me of an instance in seminary when a fellow student and his wife were talked about for having had their seventh baby.  In such an affluent area where things were given such precedence, having more than the normal 1.5 was frowned upon even by many in our church.  But the majority were wrong then and still are !   People hold vast importance to God and especially those who are “down and out”  who’s biological parents want nothing to do with them.   James said “pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction. . . ” (1:27) .   That word “visit” is not a casual idea, it means to examine in order to see how that person is, to look after, care for !

All too often we allow things to eclipse the importance of people. Saturday comes and warm weather is upon us and there is so much we want to do outside, so many errands to run, the house to clean, the car to service and before you know it you lie your head on the pillow at night and there is little that was done to show affection to those you call your loved ones !  But each day there are precious souls around us in need of the love of Christ through our lives (outside and inside our own homes).  They need encouragement, help, prayer, physical sustenance that God can use us to help them with.  We should not turn a blind eye or deaf ear to them and think that we are living a sterling Christian life.   The prophet Micah put it thus, “. . . what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” (6:8).   Before you “hit the pews” this Sunday, put some effort forth to be a blessing to someone  so that they are encouraged, feel loved, and see in you that God is making a difference in your life.   Don’t just talk the walk,  walk it too !!

Recently I took our daughter’s dog on a long walk through the woods in search of leeks !  If you have never tried them, they are a wild onion and very tasty in soup.  So I stink up the house for a day or so making a ham and leek soup. My wife has stayed with me through even this !!

Needless to say what sometimes stinks to us may actually be good for us. Here are several benefits of leeks: They are high in protein (and so provide a sense of fullness and check needless weight gain) and beta carotene (helping supply vitamin A and ward off infection, for example), they contain vitamin C (especially in the green stems), they are rich in iron, calcium, magnesium and potassium. Leeks are also a natural antibiotic, they lower our blood pressure and cholesterol levels properly. Additionally they prevent cardiovascular diseases, strengthen the immune system, and help with colds and infections. They contain an oil which assists us in better digestion and is a “cleaner of toxins” in the body. Finally the Lord placed in them vitamin E which helps promote healthier skin and is now believed to even be a steady defense against chronic diseases such as cancer !  And there are more benefits I have not listed or we do not yet know about more than likely !!! Our Creator is a fantastic and perfect Designer !!

By now you may be wondering, where can I get these?  What do they look like? They can be found in most grocery stores in the vegetable section but most of us this time of year probably pass by leeks on a regular basis in many parts of the country as we drive and walk about not even noticing these wondrous plants God has made for our benefit !! They resemble a green onion.   But two points to make spiritually:  (1)  What may “smell” to us may actually be very, very good for us !   (2) What we really need to be well may be right in front of our noses, we just need to see it and seize  it.

There are many commands God gives us we naturally chafe against (witnessing, Matt.28:19-20; reading our Bibles, Josh. 1:8;  going to church, Heb.10:25; submitting your will to His, Rom.6; etc.)  but when we do them we find a multitude of benefits begins to kick in for us !     And if we shun the sweet smell of obedience to His Word we will then look elsewhere for “happiness” in things, improper relationships, control of others or even God Himself  yet all along there is the simplistic yet powerful options of trust, His peace through communion with Him, and the power to live as we ought as we stay in harmony with Him moment by moment.   So don’t merely “eek” out life, partake of  the blessings of what He’s already provided for your every need and benefit !!

Its truly a soggy day in central Pennsylvania today as the rain has been coming down all night and this morning too.  But that’s just fine, the Lord knows what He’s doing for as they say “April showers bring May flowers” !   Most people don’t care for a lot of rain but we do recognize its needed for our drinking supply and other needs, the plants need it, as do the animals.  Through the rains God not only provides us with this life sustaining liquid but He washes the terrain, refreshes parched vegetation, and myriads of other things needful to maintain His creation we are still not aware of.  It was only around 150 years ago science finally discovered the importance of running water  to wash one’s hands as a simply yet powerful preventive measure in the promotion of good health and washing away of germs.  So Mom was right after all, “Wash your hands good before you eat !”

Perhaps this is why God so deftly uses this language through Paul as it speaks of how we are spiritually cleansed, “. . . with the washing of water by the Word” (Eph.5:26) and  in another verse, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to His mercy He saved us , by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” (Titus 3:5).   You are clean at salvation but we still need the daily washing the Word can only provide as we go out in a dirty world.   We see things, hear things that come into our minds to pollute but we also have a sin nature and so within is yet a filthiness which needs daily purging.

I like how James sums up living the Christian life by stating, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this: To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” (James 1:27).   Though it may be raining outside, is it inside? It needs to.  So take some time today to let the water of the Word refresh your soul and mind and so live unspotted or clean even in a uncleanly world !!

“And let us not be weary in well doing:  for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”   This was what the Spirit of God had Paul set in print when he wrote to the churches of Galatia (6:9).    How many times have you pressed on for the Lord with something only to see it not come to fruition? This past Easter Sunday, we finally did at our church.  We saw a couple come we have been praying for and working on for some time and it was very encouraging !

Gardening has some definite parallels as you prep the soil, you sow the seed, you water, weed, fertilize and then you wait for the fruit to come.  Sometimes the yield is great, sometimes, eh, not so much considering all the variables but when it does come and you bite into that fresh ear of corn or juicy, sun ripened tomato the effort was worth it.  But in both instances, whether working with people or potatoes, God has a clear role He plays and ours is to do the work He wants and wait on Him for the rest.

How about you? Is there something or someone you have been working on and praying for  and it just doesn’t seem like anything is happening? Are you getting a little weary with the whole process and lack of fruit?   You’ll note Paul begins the verse with “Let us”  (as opposed to lettuce) suggesting we all struggle with the desire to just throw in the towel at times.  He also says  it’s the well doing we should not cease for inevitably this is still God’s universe and He will not sit by idly and let that kind of effort go unrewarded or unnoticed.      And then Paul adds “due season”.  I think many times our frustration with the timing and results is due to our natural impatience and desire to be Lord of the universe instead and we are thus reminded that when things don’t go according to OUR plan it’s because we need to have it firmly implanted in our brain that He is the One Who’s in charge, period !

But, happily, the verse ends with a promise that if we’ll persist the reward will come, God says so !  You can bank on that, my friend !!

Happy Easter to all  and a few ramblings for you !! What a wondrous holiday we have as believers, not only does the Resurrection mean our faith is right and above all others but it guarantees our own resurrection and means we can also tap into His strength each day ourselves.  As I was preaching the sunrise service at our church I finished with the seven sayings of Christ in His cross and when He uttered in Jn.19:30 “It is finished” or “tetelestai” in the language He said it, He gave a victory statement unparalleled in the annals of history !  The price has been paid once and for all for even the tense of that Greek word indicates there is no further need of any other sacrifice, hence once you truly accept Him as your Savior your soul is eternally secure ! That is great news !

But that final verbal stamp of victory was further authenticated the very first Easter morn when He arose triumphant over death itself !!  He is risen said the angel, just as He said.   The heavenly messenger reminds us all when God speaks, He means it !  So should we if we are to be like Him.  You can count on His Word, so when this life is past you too will be risen to newness, no more sin, sorrow or sickness !!  Happy Easter, God has good things in store for YOU, why else would He go through all the hassle that first Easter if not so?!