Book of the Month: The Basket of Flowers

Summary:

     Mary and her father James Rode live comfortably as gardeners in the service of the Count of Eichbourg in Germany. Adored by all, Mary is an especial favorite of the young Countess Amelia. However, when Amelia's mother discovers her diamond ring is missing, young Mary is accused of stealing it by the jealous maid Juliette. Hence, Mary and her father are banished from the kingdom.
Will they ever return home? What happened to the ring? Will Mary's faith remain intact through this fiery trial?

God Uses Flawed People

“God can’t use me. I’m not smart enough. I’m not strong enough. I’m not bold enough. I’m not _______ enough.”

     Have you ever thought this? I have. Fortunately, God doesn’t think like this. There is a remarkable theme found throughout Scripture of the Lord using the most unlikely individuals to accomplish some of the greatest tasks.

Peter was a rough fisherman with an unfortunate tendency to stick his foot in his mouth. When Jesus plainly told his disciples they would all forsake Him, Peter persistently declared he would never do so. Yet, in the hour of Christ’s greatest trial, Peter not only forsook his Lord, but denied Him as well.

Paul (formerly Saul) was one of the early church’s greatest persecutors. He hunted, captured, and tried hundreds of Christians. By Paul’s own admission, he was the chief of sinners.

Moses spoke directly with God out of a burning bush and was given the ability to perform several miracles. But when God commanded him to speak to Pharaoh, Moses insisted he was incapable and ineloquent.

Jonah was sent to preach to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, but fled in the opposite direction instead. After being spewed back in the right direction, he finally delivered God’s message… but became furious when God actually saved the Ninevites.

In the eyes of many, these men were unqualified and unable of ever achieving success. They were fearful, weak, uneducated, spiteful, ineloquent, disobedient – in a word: flawed. Why would God use flawed people to enact His will? Wouldn’t He want those who are skilled and knowledgeable? The answer is in 1 Corinthians 1:27-29.

Loving Your Enemies

     Have you ever met someone you just couldn’t stand? The moment they walk into the room, your smile fades, your heart sinks, and the day suddenly becomes gloomier. Sometimes, even the sound of their voice can make your stomach churn. Maybe it’s their personality. Maybe they have radically different views than you. Maybe you don’t even have a legitimate reason to dislike them, or, maybe you have a very good reason. Jonah had several reasons to hate the Ninevites. Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian nation and the Assyrians were infamous for two things: their skill in battle and their cruelty in dealing with defeated nations. Common were their barbaric practices of dismembering, skinning, or burning their captives alive. Often displayed atop the walls of Nineveh were the decapitated heads of conquered kings and princes. Besides all this, the Assyrians were Gentiles who worshipped numerous false idols, many of which required abominable sacrificial rites. Israel and Assyria were diametrically opposed. Thus, we can understand why Jonah was so averse to delivering God’s message to them.

“What? Preach to Nineveh, to those Assyrians?! No! Let them die in their sins. Why should God save them?”

When God's Commands are Unpleasant

“I can’t do that.”

“But God told you…”

“Maybe I heard wrong. God would never ask me to do that.”

Perhaps these thought swirled in Jonah’s mind as he hailed a ship headed for Tarshish. The Lord had asked him to do the one thing he abhorred. The one assignment he refused to undertake. The one task he would not do.

Preach to the Ninevites.

Those wicked, violent, rich Gentiles. No. He would not do it. He would go in the complete opposite direction: to Tarshish. But as we all know, Jonah’s plans were abruptly reversed by a mighty storm and a great fish with an appetite for stubborn prophets. After several miserable nights in the fish’s belly, wrestling with God, Jonah eventually did what the Lord commanded him to do: preach to those wicked Gentiles.

How often we read this story and chuckle at Jonah’s foolishness in trying to run from the Lord. “What was he thinking?” we ask pretentiously. But have we ever run from the Lord’s will? Has the Lord ever commanded you to do the very thing you loathed doing? How did you respond? The Lord made such a request of me, and my reaction was not unlike Jonah’s.

Book of the Month: Mothers of Famous Men

Summary:

     Why do some children grow to be highly respected and godly individuals while others amount to nothing more than wayward miscreants? It can arguably be stated that it is because of the loving care, or lack thereof, provided by their mothers. This book is a collection of short biographies focusing on the Christian character of the mothers of famous men. The author states in the introduction, "My purpose in writing this book was not to extol a few mothers but to pay tribute to the countless number of unselfish, devoted mothers everywhere."