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GLEANINGS FROM THE WORD Experiencing an extraordinary God in ordinary life Issue # 863 July 21, 2003 Eagerly Anticipated The eagerly anticipated event has come to pass. No, I don't mean the second coming (although that's certainly eagerly anticipated), so you can relax; you didn't miss it. I mean that after four years of unsuccessful effort, and being flooded out twice this year, the red necked grebes on our lake have hatched young. All summer, I've been keeping you updated on their various trials. This past week, they hatched out three young. Many of the birders have been stopping by the lake to watch and photograph them. The young grebes are fascinating to watch, as they ride their parents' backs at times, even when the parents dive. We've been able to watch the parent feed them minnows. Last night, I watched the father make three successive dives last night and at the end, he had three minnows in his mouth (at the same time) to feed the hungry brood. It's a good thing that he's a skilled fisherman, the brood has a huge appetite and each of the young has grown tremendously in just a week. It's been interesting to watch the reactions of various people to the whole nesting process. Some people have walked by for months and not paid any attention. Others have watched briefly at some point and decided that it wasn't all that interesting and carried on. Still others have watched diligently, every day for weeks now, and are thrilled about the event. It's all they can talk about and you can see them at the lake watching every day. When I talk with them, they're delighted to share the details of every fascinating event they have witnessed and to listen as I share the same. They'll gladly share all they know about the event with anyone who pauses to ask or show an interest. The magnitudes of the events can't be compared, but I'm reminded of people's reaction to Jesus. Some were oblivious to His coming. Others had a passing interest. Still others looked forward to the event, and grabbed onto Him and His message with all their hearts. It was that way with His first coming, it's still that way today. Jesus talked about the message of the gospel being received in a similar way. That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop--a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear." "Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." Matthew 13:1-9;18-23 NIV We're commanded to carry the gospel message to a needy world. Some will hear it and not understand it. They will reject the message and maybe even the messenger. Some will seem to get it for a while and then drift away. Some will grasp the message, gain their salvation, but waste most of what God has in store for them chasing the things of this world. Still others will understand what a radical, life changing message the good news is, and run with it no matter what. Until next time, my prayer is that you be in this latter group. May all that you do bear great fruit or the kingdom. Be blessed Hallelu Yah (Praise God)! Kevin YOU ARE Once you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour you have an eternal guide. For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end. Psalm 48:14 NIV Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. You have value in the eyes of God so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that heaven will not be complete without you. HELP FOR THE HURTING There is a message of hope, love, freedom and eternal life waiting for you. Will you pass it by without a second thought or will you give it serious consideration? Jesus Christ wants to reconcile YOU to God; will you let Him? You can simply begin the relationship by honestly and completely opening your heart, admitting you need God's help, and saying a prayer along the lines of: Jesus: I have made many mistakes in my life and done things I am not proud of. I have sinned. I need your love and forgiveness. I believe that you came into this world and gave your life on a cross to pay for my sins and that you defeated death and rose again. Please forgive me, and be the Lord of my life. I give my life to you Lord. Amen If you pray this prayer for the first time let me know so I can rejoice with you. Did you know that at Gleanings, we have a dedicated team of prayer warriors and all prayer concerns are kept strictly confidential? Your comments, your questions and your joys are shared with the prayer team, to keep me accountable as the head of the ministry and to encourage them as they see God at work in your life. As with prayer all these things are kept confidential within the Gleanings team. To share your questions, comments, thoughts, prayer concerns and praise reports email us If you enjoyed this issue of Gleanings From The Word, email it, in its entirety, to a friend. For information on use of Gleanings in your church newsletter or other situations please visit the permissions page . You can write to us at Gleanings From The Word Ministries International 114 Oak St Sherwood Park, AB Canada T8A 0V8 © 2003 K.F. "Kevin" Corbin Gleanings From The Word Minististries International - All Rights Reserved
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