Little Levi

“That’s a great idea Mom”, Levi said.  “Wow, did you hear that Elijah, we’re going to have a bar-b-q”.  Levi loves serving God; he loves playing with his friends too.  How exciting he thought to himself, I get to go to the park with my friends and play, I can hardly wait!  Well a couple of weeks later the big day came and Levi and his family drove out of town to Landa Park.  Landa Park is very nice; it has a ton of shade trees to block out the hot summer sun, several  jungle gyms to play on, plenty of room to play catch, water slides, fishing piers, boat rides, streams that go through the park and even a wading pool to swim in when you need to cool off.  Definitely all that a 5 year old boy could want. 

“We’re here, we’re here”, Levi shouted as he exited the van.  Levi and his friends went to play on the jungle gym while his dad and the other parents got the bar-b-q grill and the rest of the food ready to eat.  The kids were having a lot of fun playing together.  They played tag, made an obstacle course, and played hide-n-seek.  Finally it was time to eat.  “Lord Jesus”, Mr. Juan said.  “Thank you for loving all of us.  Thank you that you love the kids here so much that you allow them to serve in your church.  Even though they are just kids you are still willing to use them to bless other people and build your church on this earth.  Please help all of them to serve by the power of the Holy Spirit and not by their own strength.  Thank you for allowing us to come together at this park and celebrate the freedom and the love that we have because Jesus died on the cross for us.  Help these kids to continue to be a light to the world, amen.”  

After lunch they all decided to go to the wading pool at the creek.  “Oh yah, this water sure is cool”, Levi said to Elijah.  Now Johnny, one of Levi’s friends, decided to splash people and lo and behold an all-out splash war started.  All the boys were drenched from head to toe.  “How freshing”, Levi said with a smile on his face.  After a while at the wading pool they decided to head back to camp to have some dessert.  It’s a long way back through the park so everybody stopped at the half way point where the restrooms were to take a break.  While they were there a couple of the kids began to discuss whether or not they should go see the new Veggie Tales movie.  As they were talking Mr. Juan shouted “Hey, what’s goin’ on over here?" He did a good job of scaring the kids.  “We’ll never get to enjoy dessert if we sit around here all day, let’s get a move on”.  So they took a quick look around to make sure everybody was accounted for and off they went.  Sadly however, not everybody was with them. 

A few minutes later little Levi came out of the restroom and everybody was gone.  Levi was startled!  His mouth opened wide as he looked around in disbelief.  Where is everybody he thought to himself?  “Mom, Dad” five year old Levi shouted.  “Where are you?”  Poor, little Levi has never been alone before.  At this point Levi became very scared.  Where can my parents be?  Where are my friends at?  Which way is the camp?  I see so many people but I don’t recognize anybody.  There’s a bunch of strangers all around, nothing but strangers.  Look at all of this water, and I can’t swim.  So many animals around here.  What if I get bit by a snake?  What if the boogie man tries to get me?  What am I going to do?  These were the scary thoughts going through Levi’s mind.  His heart began to beat very quickly.  Bang!  “What’s that?” Levi turns around only to see someone leaving the restroom.  “I am lost”, Levi said sadly, “Who can help me?"

After a couple of minutes passed Levi thought of something he had learned at home from his parents during Bible study time.  God wants us to put our faith into action. You know; do stuff.  Levi walked slowly over to a log on the ground and sat down.  He put his hands together and prayed.  “God, please help me find my parents, amen.”  Levi got up quickly and ran through the park!  “God, you can help me find my parents”, Levi says as he’s running aimlessly through the park.  “You can help me!”

At this point Levi’s parents and friends had all returned back to camp and the kids were playing with one another.  “Hey, where’s Levi?” one of the mom’s asked.  “Oh, he’s over there on the jungle gym with the other kids”, said Levi’s dad.  “Are you sure, I don’t see him”, Levi’s mom said with a very worried look on her face.  Levi’s parents ran to the jungle gym to see if Levi was there, and sure enough he was not.  Everybody stopped what they were doing and started looking for Levi.  “Levi, Levi, where are you Levi?” they shouted.  “There’s Levi”, said Vicky. “Over there across the road.”  Everyone began to shout louder and run towards Levi.  “Where are they?” Levi wondered as he kept running through the park.  Finally, Levi heard them call his name.  “Levi, Levi!” “Daddy!”  Levi ran towards all of his friends and jumped into his daddy’s arms and they hugged each other tightly.  Levi and his family were very happy to be back together again and they gave thanks to God for taking care of Levi while he was lost and helping him find his way back to them.  Levi was only 5 years old but had pleased God very much.

It was on that day, little Levi really learned what God meant when he said that our faith and actions should work together and that our faith will be made complete by what we do.

The End

The Place God Built

The Place God Built

·        There’s a place God created without the help of man, but it’s not the Earth

·        A place he went when he first created all things, but it’s not Heaven nor is it The Garden of Eden

·        Moses went to this place during the Exodus, but it’s not the Tent of Meeting nor is it Mt Sinai

·        Joshua went there but it’s not the Promise Land

·        It is a place on Earth and due to its vast size, accessibility and tremendous fruit wild beasts are often drawn to it.  But God knew this would be the case so he has always placed a man there to oversee the people to give them the knowledge to fend off the beasts if bothered by them

·        Isaiah spoke of this place in great detail

·        David, spoke of it multiple times including to the leaders of Israel just before he died, but it’s not the temple

·        Many have stumbled upon it both in person and in scripture but unfortunately did not understand where they were

·        It’s a place Jesus spoke of himself

·        Luke wrote about it after going there with Paul

·        And it’s a place John loved to go more-so than any other

·        When you’re there you know God is real because you get to experience his power

·        You’ll experience God’s love, kindness, joy

·        Peace will wrap it’s arms around you and coddle you like a mother does her new born baby

·        Speaking of mothers, Naomi told both of her daughters to go there, but it’s not Israel

·        Pastor Ron hates to travel but loves to go to this place

·        You may find some celebrities there, reason being many songs have been written about it

·        Many have had it described to them but didn’t really believe it existed, maybe like you right now

·        The first time I made a trip there I had total assurance and confidence in God

·        One time Tash was there and after looking around for a couple of minutes she simply said “You know, the view sure is nice from up here”

·        The writer of Hebrews said once we found out about this place we should get there as quickly as possible

·        It’s a place where you see God’s gentleness, goodness, faithfulness and direction for your life

·        If you go there when you’re hurting, sad, upset you will be comforted

·        A place where worry and anxiety are non-existent

·        Figure it out yet?

·        It’s a place where believers go, but it’s not God’s Church

·        This place is actually WITHIN God’s Church, but it’s not God’s presence

·        The place I’m talking about is absolutely majestic, but its name is not, it’s very subtle

·        Its name in Greek is Katapausis which means……….. God’s rest

That sounds so generic doesn’t it.  God’s rest. 

The writer of Hebrews talks about this place, which is God’s Rest, in chapters 3 and 4.  The English language only uses the one word Rest to describe this place God created and it is mentioned 18 times in only 35 verses.  So we know God is serious about us knowing about it but the English word rest doesn’t really help us understand what the writer means.  But the writer does use 4 different Greek words to explain to us what God’s Rest is.

The Greek words used describe an actual place where believers can go, but only by choice.  It’s literally a place you call home, where you settle down to rest, to cease from your own desires by putting your trust in God to control, manage or use you.

Let me repeat that:

God’s Rest is literally a place you call home, where you settle down to rest, to cease from your own desires by putting your trust in God to control, manage or use you.

God used the writer of Hebrews to tell us he wants all of us to enter his “Rest” and stay there.

Strawberry Delight

As she's in her garden she holds the bright red, freshly picked strawberry in her hand, “Oh how sweet and juicy this would be” she says to herself. Her mouth waters in anticipation of her strawberry delight. So soft, yet so juicy and sweet. Darla just couldn't take it any more; she had to have one. She slowly raised the strawberry up to her mouth. She could feel the strawberry on her lips; she closed her eyes, opened her mouth and “Hi Darla!”. “What, what was that?” she asked in disbelief. “Who called my name?” As she looked around her eyes became fixed on him. There he is, he's back. Oh what a wonderful surprise. “Big Ron” she hollered. “Come quickly, God is back in town.” God happened to be passing by her house while talking to some people in the street when he noticed her in the garden. Darla was so excited to see him. She loved God very much. Darla got up, walked through the gate of her white picket fence, went out to greet God and his sidekick Hazi and invite them into her house to talk and relax.

While at the house Darla made a wonderful dessert called Strawberry Delight. While God and Hazi were enjoying their dessert, Big Ron sang songs for them with some of the neighborhood kids he'd gathered together. They played “Nothin' but the blood of Jesus”, “ Friday Night in Universal City” and “No turnin' back” a couple of Big Ron's favorites. God really enjoyed the music and Darla's strawberry delight, of course. Oh how Darla loved to have God in her life and especially in her home. God felt very welcome when he was around Darla's so he stayed for most of the afternoon. They talked about many things including the neighborhood kids, her family, Big Ron's singing, gardening, the internet, Abraham, and King David. Oh how God enjoyed simply spending time with Darla and Big Ron. As the sun began to set God and Hazi decided it was time to head home. That night Darla encouraged Big Ron to build an extra room onto the house so that if God ever came back to town he would have a place to stay. “What if God never came back to our house” Big Ron thought to himself. But Big Ron loved God and decided “I'm going to build a room for God and furnish it so that if he does come back he will have a comfortable place to stay.” It was settled then, the two of them worked hard to make the room comfortable for the Lord. A comfy bed with a memory foam mattress, a night stand made of bamboo , several down feather pillows and soft blankets, a small white refrigerator, a laptop and a mosaic by Misty on the wall. “That ought to do it.” Big Ron said as he took a deep breath and wiped his hands clean. “God should be able to do just about anything he wants while staying here.”

Several days passed and God did show up again and this time he stayed the night in his new room. “What a wonderful gift this is” God said. That night Darla and her husband got to visit with God and Hazi in the extra room, and as you might suspect they all enjoyed their time together. God could see that Darla liked to have him around and this pleased him.

A few months passed and God and Hazi decided to stop by for another visit. They enjoyed Big Ron and Darla's hospitality once again. “How can I bless Darla?” God asked Hazi. Now Darla was already happy with simply having God in her life; she didn't want anything from God. But God insisted and after talking it over with Hazi he had an idea. He was going to give Darla something she didn't even know she could ask for, a son!

“What are you doing, Lord?” Darla asked. “Please my Lord, don't get my hopes up. ”The Lord took Darla by the hand; “I know you have always wanted a child but have been unable to bear one to this point. You have been such a wonderful neighborhood mom for all of the kids around here, adopting them into your heart as your own. You always welcome me into your life so I want to give you the deepest desire of your heart.”

One year later Darla had a baby boy. He was oh, so cute. He had crystal blue eyes, blonde hair with little waves and loved to smile. He was very chubby and was always sucking his thumb. Big Ron and Darla decided to name him Michael. “Mikey” as they called him, quickly became the talk of the town. Everybody adored him, especially his mom. Mikey grew to be a polite, hardworking, godly boy. He enjoyed playing basketball, chess, drawing pictures and of course playing the guitar just like his dad. The family enjoyed many fun days together. From the time Mikey was born, each time Darla made her delicious strawberry delight, she could not help but remember what wonderful things God had done for her simply because she made him feel welcome in her life. And wouldn't you know it, God blessed her with even more.

The End


(taken from 2 kings 4 - the shunammite woman)