Rocks and Shoals

 "The wicked have set their traps for me, but I will not turn from your commandments." Psalm 119:110

A ship tossed in the storm, needs a chart.

       Every ship that sails on the ocean has in the captain's room a chart. You have all seen maps of this state, and you know by looking at the map where every city and river and mountain is. A chart is a map of the ocean. There are dangers down underneath the smooth waters which the captain's eye cannot see. They are all marked carefully on the chart, and if he sails the ship by the chart he will escape them.

       Sometimes just a little below the water are great sharp rocks, and if the captain were to forget to look at that map of the sea he would run into one of those hidden rocks and the ship would sink.

       There are shoals also for which he must be on the lookout. A shoal is a very shallow place in the sea. If the ship runs on a shoal it sticks fast, and has a hard time to get off, and sometimes is broken to pieces by the waves before they can save it.

       On the captain's chart every lighthouse and light-ship and buoy, and every rock and shoal is carefully marked, for the safety of the people who travel on the ships.

       Life is very much like a ship, sailing out to sea. We need a chart to point out the safe places and to show us how to avoid the dangers. God has given us a book to be our chart. It is the Bible.

       Let me tell you some of the people whom you know who ran on the rocks because they did not watch the chart carefully enough. The first boy in the Bible was named Cain. His was the very first ship that ever put out to sea from a home in this world. But do you know he let his ship run into a rock called " bad temper," and before he knew it he had killed his brother. A great many good ships have been wrecked on that rock. We must look out for it by watching the Bible carefully.

       Another was Absalom. He was King David's favorite son. The Bible says, "Honor thy father and thy mother." But Absalom was one of those boys who knew more than anybody else. He wasn't going to bother about that old chart. He knew where to go himself. And one day, crash! He ran into the rock of " disobedience" and  that was the end of him. It would never have happened if he had watched the chart.

       Over in the New Testament is Ananias. He was a business man. He was so busy making money that he thought that he didn't have time to look at the chart to see where he was going, and all at once he ran into that rock called "lie" and he went down and was never seen again.

       But rocks are not the only dangers we have to look out for. There are the shoals. One of the very worst shoals is laziness. I knew a man who had plenty of ability and a fine education. He might have been a great man. He started out well, but he never went far. One day he just stopped working and there he stayed the rest of his life. Do you know what was the trouble ? He ran on the shoal of laziness, and there he stuck fast. If he had read the book of Proverbs, he would have known enough to have steered away from that dangerous shallow place.

       There is one more dangerous shoal that I must tell you about. Once there was a man named Demas. He thought it would be a great thing to be a missionary like Paul and love and help other people. He started out like a fine ship going on a long, happy voyage. Then he began to think how much it was going to cost him; all the good things he would have to give up, and the pleasure he would miss if he went with Paul. So he stopped and did not go. He stuck fast on the shoal of selfishness. We must be careful and not be caught on this shoal.

       Often a ship is in danger. There is fog on the ocean, or it is near rocks or shoals. At such a time the captain never leaves the pilot-house for a second. He keeps his eye on the chart and the compass every moment. There are many dangerous rocks and shoals which we must avoid. If we will keep near to the Bible and follow its directions, we will not fear what may be before us.

The Lord God Is Like The Sun

"For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless." Psalm 84:11

       The Bible tells us that God is like the sun. “The Lord God is a sun.” If you take the Hymnal, and look among the hymns you love you will find the thought repeated, again and again, “Sun of my soul, thou Savior dear,” “As the sun doth daily rise,” “Sun of our life, thy quickening ray,” “Great sun of righteousness, arise.” The sun is so full of light, so bright, so warm, so beautiful, it is little wonder the sun reminds us of God.
       How far away the sun is! Once I saw an automobile travel 100 miles an hour. It was out at Indianapolis on the great speedway. No! I was not at the races. I was at the General Assembly. Now, if you can imagine that automobile, not going around in a circle but traveling straight on and on, going day and night, every day, Saturday afternoons and Sundays, going on and on, 100 miles an hour for more than 100 years, it would arrive at last at the sun.
       How great is the sun! It would take more than a hundred worlds as big as ours to make one sun. And how great is God. He made the sun and all the stars. There is nothing in the world so great as God. “To whom then will ye liken me, that I should be equal to him? saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and see who hath created these, that bringeth out their host by number; he calleth them all by name; by the greatness of his might, and for that he is strong in power, not one is lacking.’’
       How bright the sun is! It scatters the night and chases away the darkness. How bright and beautiful God is! In him is light. The sun sends out great flames of light reaching 500,000 miles high, and the light of the sun warms this cold world of ours. They tell us there are “spots” in the sun, great dark spots, thousands of miles across, but there is no shadow of darkness about God.

“Our midnight is Thy smile withdrawn;
Our noontide is Thy gracious dawn;
Our rainbow arch, Thy mercy’s sign;
All, save the clouds of sin, are Thine.”

       How near the sun is! We think it is far away, millions of miles away, and yet the sun is here, at our side, shining, among the flowers, in our homes, in the faces of little children, in the eyes of those we love. The sun is so near you can almost hold it in your hand and look at it. We know the sun. We know what it is. We know what is in it. We know there is iron and copper and zinc and soda and magnesia in the sun. How do we know that? Because the sun comes right down and kisses the flowers and the faces of little children, and wise men take a sunbeam and make it tell them it's wonderful secrets. How near God is and how good He is. He comes to us in Jesus, the light of the world, and Jesus tells us all we know about God.

“Great Sun of Righteousness, arise;
Bless the dark world with heavenly light:
Thy gospel makes the simple wise,
Thy laws are pure, Thy judgments right.”

There shall coma a star out of Abraham.
Jacob's many sons descended
from Abraham.

       The Bible tells us that Abraham' s descendants would number like the stars in Genesis "Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.” So Abram departed, as the LORD had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram (or Abraham) was seventy-five years old when he left Haran." Genesis 12 : 1-4

"Son Shine" Crafts and Activities:

• Be a Good Example
• The Bible is My Light, spinner craft
• God is my light fall Bible craft
• Jesus said "I Am..." the light of the world lighthouse craft for object lesson.
• Light of the World Paper Candle Craft
• "Let it Shine!'' light themed Sunday school crafts 
• Let Your Light Shine Oil Lamps
• Clay oil lamp craft

Things to come coloring page...

Description of The Coloring Page: The WOG coloring pages are from India. These have been dedicated to the children of the internet by this ministry. The collection was compiled by Yesudas Solomon in 2020 at www.WordOfGod.in, you may contact them at wordofgod@wordofgod.in to ask about these particular resources. The scripture references about Cain and Abel bring their two very different sacrifices before God's altar

Don't forget to drag the png. or jpg into a Word Document and enlarge the image as much as possible before printing it folks. If you have a question about this coloring page, just type into the comment box located directly below this post and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.

Color two brothers, two points of view...

Description of The Coloring Page: The WOG coloring pages are from India. These have been dedicated to the children of the internet by this ministry. The collection was compiled by Yesudas Solomon in 2020 at www.WordOfGod.in, you may contact them at wordofgod@wordofgod.in to ask about these particular resources. The scripture references about Cain and Abel offering their two very different sacrifices to God.

Don't forget to drag the png. or jpg into a Word Document and enlarge the image as much as possible before printing it folks. If you have a question about this coloring page, just type into the comment box located directly below this post and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.

Color Bunches of Dates

Dates, fruits and leaf.

Description of Botanical Coloring Page: Palm is a general name for a whole family of plants, but in Scripture referring to a single species, the tree that produces dates as its fruit. The date-palm still finds suitable conditions for its growth along the shores of the Mediterranean and in the Jordan valley, but in former times it was more widely spread over Israel. Phoenicia was named after this palm (Phoenix-dacty-lifera). Bethany means the house of dates, and other places had names connected with the palm. The date-palm has a long columnar stem, rough with the bases of the old leaves, and terminating in a crown of large pinnate leaves, popularly called branches. The dates are borne in great bunches, springing out from the bases of the leaves. At first the flowers are enclosed in a spathe, which opens to permit the escape of the flowers. The staminate flowers grow on different trees from those bearing the pistils, which become the fruit.

Don't forget to drag the png. or jpg. into a Word Document and enlarge the image as much as possible before printing it folks. If you have a question about this coloring page, just type into the comment box located directly below this post and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.

Learn about dates in Israel.

Color Saffron Crocus

Saffron Crocus. With the pistil and
its three-cleft style separate.

Description of Botanical Coloring Page: Saffron is mentioned only in the Song of Solomon 4:14 as one of the perfume plants of the garden. The saffron is a purple-flowered crocus which blossoms in the autumn, having produced its leaves in the spring. It is a common plant in Israel. The saffron of commerce consists of the yellow stamens and style of the flower, which possess a penetrating aromatic odor; it is used as a flavoring and coloring material in cooking, and is also eaten raw.

Don't forget to drag the png. or jpg. into a Word Document and enlarge the image as much as possible before printing it folks. If you have a question about this coloring page, just type into the comment box located directly below this post and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.

• Why Real Saffron Is So Expensive
• A saffron purity test
• 5 Reasons why you should eat saffron

Color Rue

Rue. With separate flower and fruit.

Description of Botanical Coloring Page: The Lord rebukes the Pharisees for tithing trifling objects like rue, while neglecting the weighty matters of the law in Luke 11:42. There is a wild rue found in Israel, and the officinal rue was cultivated because of its supposed medicinal properties. The powerful, fetid odor is due to a volatile oil in the leaves. Rue is somewhat shrubby plant, two or three feet high, with much divided leaves and small yellowish flowers.

Don't forget to drag the png. or jpg. into a Word Document and enlarge the image as much as possible before printing it folks. If you have a question about this coloring page, just type into the comment box located directly below this post and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.

• Rue, The Ancient Herb
• OKGardeningClassics : About Rue

Color the Branches of The Shittah Tree

Shittah Tree. With a single flower and pod.

Description of Botanical Coloring Page: The shittah tree or shittim wood is only mentioned in the prophecy of Isaiah 41:19 in reference to the prosperity of Israel when the desert will be covered with vegetation. The wood was used in the construction and fittings of the Tabernacle. The tree is a species of acacia (A. seyal), growing to the height of fifteen or twenty feet, with angular-twisted branches, elegant feathery leaves, and clusters of small flowers, followed by many curved and tapering pods. The wood is very hard, close-grained, and orange-red in color. It grows in the valleys about the Dead Sea and in the desert southwards. In the R.V. shittah and shittim are rendered acacia.

Don't forget to drag the png. or jpg. into a Word Document and enlarge the image as much as possible before printing it folks. If you have a question about this coloring page, just type into the comment box located directly below this post and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.

• Acacia Tree known in Hebrew at Shittah
• The Acacia by All Objects Are Lessons

Forgetting Ourselves...

"For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.” Romans 15:3

       When we start in life one of the most important things to learn is to remember. We must try very hard not to forget the instruction of our parents, and the teachings of the Bible and the lessons we learn at school. All these things we must remember, if we are to grow up wise and good. But there are also many things that we must learn to forget. We must try to forget the wicked stories that we hear, and the evil pictures that we see, and all the mean and unkind things that we find out about other people. And there is something else that we must try to forget and that is‚ ourselves.
       When Jesus was nailed to the cross, suffering such awful agony, He did not think of Himself at all. It was only of the poor men who had fastened Him to the cross, and He prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
       There is a very good woman not very far from us. I heard someone say about her one day, ''She is the very best woman who ever lived." And then he went on to tell me why he thought so: "She never thinks about herself. It is always about others." What a fine thing to be said of anyone! If you want to be happy, and if you want to be loved by others, forget yourself, and you will be both.

Home damaged int the 1896 Sanriku earthquake.

       This week I read the story of an old man in Japan. There was a little village at the foot of a high hill along the seashore, and up on that hill, high above the shore, the old man lived with his little grandson, who was ten years old. He had worked hard all his life and owned the little house where they lived.

       One evening in June, 1896, he was standing in the doorway of his house with his grandson beside him. The day's work was done and they were looking out to sea, when all at once there came a great earthquake, such as they very often have in Japan. The house swayed and shook, but it didn't fall down, for they make their houses in Japan so they will stand up when earthquakes come. But the old man saw that the sea was running out, miles away from the shore. Long before when he was a young man he had seen the sea do that after an earthquake, and he knew just what was going to happen. The people in the village had seen the strange sight and ran down to the beach to look at it. The old man knew what they didn't know, that in a little while that sea would come rolling in, as a great tidal wave and destroy the whole village. So he called his grandson and told him to bring him a lighted torch. He took the torch and set fire to the thatch on the roof of his house. The little boy began to cry. He thought the earthquake had made his grandfather crazy. Down in the village the people saw the blaze and they came running up the hill. The fire bell began to ring and the people who were on the seashore ran back, too. Some young men were the first to reach the fire and they tried to put it out, but the old man would not let them.'' Let it burn," he said. ''I want the whole village here." The men thought it was very strange and asked the grandson about it. He said, "Grandfather is growing mad. I saw him set the house on fire on purpose." ''Yes," said the grandfather, "I did set it on fire. Are the people of the village all here?" They looked and told him that they were all there. "Now," said he, "look at the sea."They looked, and they saw the water like a great cliff, rolling in toward the land. On and on it came and swept over the village, and almost came up to where they were, and when the water went back there was not a sign of the village left. It was all gone. Then they knew why the old man had set fire to his house and burned up everything that he had. It was to save them. He never thought of himself and his hard work all his life to earn enough to own that house. He only thought of them.

       That is what Jesus wants us to do, forget ourselves and think of others. S. N. Hutchison

"The Tsunami" a Kiddlie Disaster Movie

made by The Parry Brothers.

Kindness to Animals

"And God looked upon all that He had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day." Genesis 1:31

About two hundred years ago there was an English poet who wrote a little poem that we all ought to know:

'' He prayeth well who loveth well

Both man and bird and beast;

He prayeth best who loveth best

All things both great and small,

For the dear God who loveth us,

He made and loveth all."

       God made the animals and the birds, and He loves them because He has made them and He wants us to love them, too. We ought to love them for what they do for us. They serve us in more ways than I have time to tell you about. Think of the cow and the horse. The cow gives us milk and butter and cheese and meat, and leather for our shoes, and many other useful and necessary things, even in modern times. The horse, in the past, did much of our hard work for us. We cannot pay them in money, but we can repay them in kindness. If you see a man who is not kind to his faithful horse, you may be sure he is a man whom you could not trust very far.
       Long ago, in India the elephants did a great many things that horses do for people, and they did some things that horses couldn't do. The Indian mothers would sometimes leave their babies in charge of an elephant, and that big fellow took almost as good of care of them as if the human children were his own. One of the missionaries was telling of seeing a big elephant set to brush the flies off a sleeping child, with a little branch of a tree that he held in his trunk. All the time the big flies and insects were biting and stinging the elephant, but he for- got all about them taking care of that baby.
       Then we ought to love the animals because they love us. When I was in Holland I went to the city where the great Prince of Orange, William the Silent, was buried. There is a fine marble statue there of the prince, and at his feet there is a little dog with his head between his paws, carved out of marble. Later on we went to The Hague, the capital of Holland. There is another statue of the prince, and the dog is there too. I asked someone about the dog and he told me that hundreds of years ago when the prince lived there was a little dog that loved him very much. He went everywhere the prince went, and when William was murdered the little dog refused to eat and starved himself to death with grief. So whenever the people of Holland build a monument to their great hero they remember the little dog, too.
       If the animals do not love us it is because we are not kind to them. They always love us if we love them.
       And the birds, too, how tame they become if we are good to them! Jesus once said that not a sparrow ever falls to the ground without the Father. That is, God knows and cares for every one of the birds. When we see boys and men killing the little birds just for the pleasure of seeing them fall out of the trees, it would be a good thing, wouldn't it, if they could know that God sees every one of those birds fall, and knows who made it fall, too?
       The Jews have a lovely little legend. They say that when Moses was keeping the sheep of Jethro, his father-in-law, a lamb ran away and was lost. He ran after it, and at last he caught up with it. It was panting and footsore, and weary, and torn, and unable to go a step further. Moses said to the lamb, ''Did you think that I wanted to hurt you that you ran away from me? No, it was love that made me come after you, and in love I am going to lay you on my shoulder and take you back home."
       When God saw how kind Moses was to the little lamb He said, ''There is the very man I need to lead My people." So God made Moses the leader of Israel.
       If you wish to please God and form a gentle character be kind to the birds and the animals. S. N. Hutchison

The Hymn, "All things bright and beautiful",
based upon the poem above and 

here is a coloring page too!

Why God Doesn't Get Rid of Satan?

 "The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger." Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD." Job 1:12

       While the children of Israel were on the way from Egypt to the land of Canaan they came one day to a valley, where there were a great many poisonous snakes. Many of the people were bitten and died.
       If one of the boys was out playing, all at once he felt a sharp pain in his ankle. Then it began to swell and before long he was dead. If one of the girls went to the spring to get some water for her mother, when she stooped over to dip up the water she felt a prick in her wrist, and saw a snake wriggling away in the grass, and knew then that she did not have very long to live. If one of the men went out to get some wood for the fire, the first thing he knew he would be bitten. These things were happening all the time, and there was no cure for the bite of these serpents. So the people went to Moses and asked him to do something, and Moses prayed to the Lord.
       God told Moses to make a serpent of brass and fasten it to the top of a long pole and set the pole up in the middle of the camp where every one could see it. If any one was bitten by a snake he was to look at that serpent on the pole, and he would not die.
       That seems like a strange thing for God to do, now doesn't it? Why didn't God just kill the snakes and be done with them? It seems as though that would have been the very best way to save the people. But no, God left those serpents there to teach the people several things. First He wanted them to be watchful. If you have ever been out in the woods where you are afraid of snakes, you know how very carefully you walk. You never put your foot down unless you know where you are putting it. Those snakes made you watchful.
       And He wanted to teach them to look up. That is why He put that serpent on the pole, that the people might not forget to look up to Him when they were in need or trouble.
       But now you say to me, "What has all this to do with Satan?" It has a great deal to do with him. Satan is said to be a serpent, and when we are thinking of him we are thinking of a serpent.
       Sometimes we ask this same question about him, ''Why does God let Satan live?"
A boy said to me once, "Why doesn't God just kill old Satan and be done with him? What good is he anyway?''
       Well, God lets Satan live for the same reason that He let those serpents live, that were biting and troubling the children of Israel in the wilderness.
       He wants to teach us to be watchful, to be careful of every step that we take and every word we speak, and every thought that we think. When people believe that Satan isn't around anywhere they become careless. God lets him live to make us better and stronger boys and girls and men and women.
       And He lets him live that we may look up to Him when we are in trouble. You know when people have no troubles they are very likely to forget about God. But when they are tempted and troubled then they think about Him and pray to Him. And God wants us to come to Him.
       God is going to attend to Satan sometime, but I am glad that He didn't do it before. He makes us plenty of trouble, but if we resist him he makes us stronger and better Christians.
       There is a story of a Frenchman who was shut up in the great prison of the Bastile many years ago. They put him into a lonely dungeon into which the light came just a little while each day through a tiny window high up in the wall. He never saw anyone, or heard a voice, and became very sad and depressed, with nothing to think about or to do. One day he saw a little plant beginning to sprout up between the stones of the cell. He watched that plant. There was nothing else for him to think about. As it grew day after day he learned to love it very much. He did not know what kind of a plant it was, whether it was a weed or a flower. He said to himself, ''I am going to watch that plant, and if it turns out to be an ugly weed then I will know that I am never going to get out of this prison alive. But if it is a lovely flower I will know that I am going to be released."
       One night he lay down to sleep and when he awoke in the morning there was a delicate fragrance in the cell. He jumped up from the straw on which he was lying, and went and looked, and there was a lovely little flower on the plant. When he saw it he called it ''mignonette," which means " little darling." Sure enough, a little while after they came and released him and he went away to his home again. And people who did not know about him used to wonder why he had the mignonette so much on the table in his home.
       Now God is watching every one of us to see just how we are enduring the temptations of Satan, whether we are going to turn out just weeds, or beautiful flowers that will bless and help the world. N. S. Hutchison.

"Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain
thine integrity? Curse God and die." Job 2:9 (KJV)

Owning Up

  "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results." James 5:16

       One of the most beautiful stories that was ever told is the parable of the Prodigal Son. You all know the story. There was a young man who went away from home and did wrong. After a while he was sorry and came back and said to his father, ''Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight and am no more worthy to be called thy son." That little speech that he made to his father was about the hardest thing he was called upon to do. Nobody likes to own up when he has done wrong.
       Professor Blackie, of Edinburgh, once called on a boy in the freshman class to stand up and read in the schoolroom. The boy stood up, holding his book in his left hand. He told him to put the book in his right hand. The boy still held it in his left hand and Professor Blackie became angry and commanded him harshly to lay the book down and take it in the other hand. Just then the boy turned around and he saw that there was nothing but an empty sleeve on the right side. Dr. Blackie came down from the desk and going over to the boy he put his arm around him and said, "I am very sorry, my boy. I didn't know.'' And then he went back to his place and apologized to the class for his mistake. That was one thing about this great man that made the boys all love him. He was always ready to own up when he had made a blunder.
       Our text tells us to confess our faults one to another. If you have done wrong to some one else, to your father, or mother, or brother, or sister, or one of your friends, be manly or womanly enough to go and own up. That is the best and quickest way to make it right.
       I know a boy who lost his mother. After her death he was very sad. He said, "I did many things that I ought not to have done, and I always thought that some day I would go and tell mother that I was sorry, and now she is gone and I cannot."
       Most of the quarrels and troubles that separate people are brought about because there is someone who will not own up, when he knows that he is in the wrong.
       There was a man who accused his neighbor of taking something that belonged to him. They had a bitter quarrel and a lawsuit and plenty of trouble all around. One day while looking over some papers in his desk he found the one he had thought was stolen. His neighbor had not robbed him. It was all a mistake. He ought to have gone at once and confessed, but he was too proud to own up like a man and the quarrel went on for years.
        The bravest boys and girls are those who are not afraid to own up even when they know that they will have to suffer for it. Someone told me of a boy who had cheated in an examination. He handed in an almost perfect paper, and on commencement day was called up to receive the prize. He stepped up and said, ''Sir, I didn't earn it. I cheated. The prize belongs to someone else." That boy did wrong to cheat, but he was a brave boy to own up and take the punishment. That confession was worth more to him than the prize that he lost.
       Boys and girls, do not be afraid or ashamed to own up when you have done a wrong or dishonorable act. That is the first thing to make it right and to make yourselves right. "Confess your faults one to another." S. N. Hutchison

Kids talk about cheating: Why Kids Cheat (and why they shouldn't)