In the history of the world, there have been seasons or eras of great darkness. One example in the last century was the Great Depression which was sandwiched between the two Great World Wars. These three events cast a dark shadow over the world for about thirty-one continuous years. The world has been under a shadow of darkness since the fall of man in the book of Genesis.
Amid this darkness, there have been periods of relative peace and prosperity. Jesus spoke about this darkness and His light, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NKJV).
Historical Fiction based on the Life of William Whitt (1775-1850)
I had just started school in the fall of 1781. I noticed right off that all the pupils in my class had a father except me and two others. Being fatherless was all I had ever known. My father died in the War of Independence while they were encamped at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania with General George Washington. I was only about two years old when my father left to fight. I had no lasting memory of him or his dying in the spring of 1778.
In the last few weeks there has been a lot of hoopla about AI (artificial intelligence). The very name “artificial” intelligence is telling. Artificial lemon flavoring means it tastes like lemons, but it is not real lemons. Perhaps AI is not real intelligence at all. Anything with the fingerprint of man has the potential for a bad purpose even though it was brought forth with the best of intentions. It appears that AI in some cases is already fabricating lies (misinformation if you please).
When John the Baptist was in prison, he sent two of his disciples to Jesus to ask a question, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” (Matt. 11:3 NKJV). It seems a strange question coming from the prophet who saw the Spirit descending like a dove on Jesus and hearing the voice of the Father declaring from Heaven, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17 NKJV).
One would think John would not have had any second thoughts. Of course, I can sit in the comforts of my home and speculate, but I’m not in a cold, damp, stinking dungeon. Maybe he thought, If the Messiah has come, then why has my situation turned into a miserable mess?
It is crazy for an atheist to say he has a purpose. One cannot have a purpose if they are only an accidental biological blob careening through space and time.
We can only have purpose because of God. God has a plan based on a purpose.
I was raised in a farmhouse built in the late forties. When I was a teenager, my room was in the very back of the house equipped with a space-heater. I preferred to sleep without the heater. Fortunately, my mother was a quilter, so there was an unlimited supply of quilts. When it was very cold, I slept with a big pile of quilts on me. I felt so warm and cozy under all those quilts. On a rainy winter morning with the rain making music on the metal roof, it was difficult to crawl out and hit the cold floor.
I remember as a child hearing the tick-tock of an old mantel clock in the home of one of our elderly kinfolks. At the top of the hour, the clock would make a gong for the number of the hour. It was always a little creepy to me. The passing of time is kind of weird when you think about it, like the whittling off of your life second by second.
Jesus was not born in Bethlehem so we could have Christmas. We celebrate Christmas because He came. Why did Jesus need to come? To unpack this answer, we are not going to the stable in Bethlehem but to a garden called Eden.
How could I say that I have accepted Jesus, chose Yahweh to be my God, and Holy Spirit to fill me? As if I was shopping for a god and thought they were a great bargain.
No—the realization that He chose me. He came to me in my brokenness, revealing His completeness and perfection. At the time, I could not have articulated these words, but in retrospect I can see Him coming to me, instead of me going to Him.
Recently, I was cooking some cheese toast to accompany my wife’s chili. I used up the last piece in an old bag and some from a new bag, leaving three end-pieces. I was about to throw the end-pieces in the garbage and suddenly I became convicted.
My friend, Mitchell Gibbs, had written a post about his daddy a few weeks ago. As a boy, Mitchell was about to throw a crust of bread into the fire and his daddy scolded him not to throw food away. If he didn’t want to eat it, there were a lot of hungry critters who would gladly eat his throw-aways.
So, instead of throwing my end-pieces in the garbage, I threw them where my yard meets the woods. A stray dog, possum, or bird would have a small feast on my throw-aways.
Bread has been called the staff of life. If you have bread, chances are you have something to put with it. I love bread and I love something to put on it. A PB&J has come close to saving my life.
When the Children of Israel came out of Egypt, God gave them manna from Heaven. They ate it for forty years, eating manna sandwiches and manna pudding. Jesus told his listeners, that the manna was not the bread from Heaven, but He was. He even compared His flesh to the bread He broke with his disciples at the Last Supper.
I need physical bread and I need Jesus. He has been my staff of life for some time now. In our world of slop thrown out, He is the constant source of strength and nourishment for my soul. If I did not have Him, I would surely die from not enough.
I pray you have bread aplenty. I pray you have Jesus, the true and lasting Bread from Heaven.
God feeds even the birds of the air. The next time you have an end-piece, help Him with the task.
Rice and Beans for Haitian Children
We try in the ministry to which the Lord has set our hands, to give the Bread of Jesus to hungry souls and the bread from grain to hungry bellies. We are thankful for the whole loaves and even the end-pieces we receive to share with others.
Pathway Journey 