Take Root and Write

Don’t Throw Your Pearls To The Pigs

By Chere Williams

 

Matthew 7:6 "Do not give the dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to the pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet and then turn and tear you to pieces."

 

Are you aware of how integral you are to God's Kingdom? Do you view your body as a temple? Do you honor your spiritual gifts? My prayer is that you recognize you’re uniqueness and value in God’s eyes. As children of Christ we’re created in his divine image. If we allow ourselves to get caught up in the ways of the world this indisputable fact can be forgotten. It’s easy to settle for anything and everything if we don’t believe we're worthy of anything better. You are sacred and God wants you to protect yourself from those things or people in the world who will tear you down and lead you away from his path and purpose for your life.

 

Webster’s Dictionary defines a pearl as, "one that is very choice or precious." That is you! You are a precious gem and God chose you to be part of his kingdom! You are powerful and beautiful because you’re God’s creation. Your worth doesn’t stem from the things you do, your appearance, or material possessions. If you view yourself in God’s light you’ll make choices based out of love and respect for yourself. Too often I see people making destructive choices that devalue who they are as a child of Christ. You play into Satan’s game when you make choices that don’t reflect your values, principals, and self-worth. Satan wants you to doubt who you are in Christ so he can wreak havoc in your life and weaken your relationship with your Savior. Honoring yourself is a vital step you must take on your journey as a Christian.

 

You are a gift to the world around you. God bestows you with spiritual gifts that he intended for you to use to build up the body of Christ here on earth. This is serious business and the enemy will do everything in his power to make you detour from God’s plan. Don’t be surprised when obstacles are thrown in your path…expect them. The enemy will attempt to invade your thoughts, actions, and emotions causing you to make unwise decisions eventually leading you to give your pearls to the dogs and pigs. Your best defense is having a firm understanding of the scriptures, a personal relationship with the Lord, and a strong sense of who you are in Christ. These three key strategies will help you keep your precious pearls safe.

 

Apprentices to the Master

by Kelley Pounds

 

We all know Genesis gives the account of God's creation of the universe, planet earth, and everything we see in nature. From Genesis 1:1 to 1:25, God is speaking, forming, naming, and creating order from chaos: separating light from darkness; separating waters from dry land; setting in motion time as we know it by establishing seasons, years, and days; creating all the vegetation and animals. He even provides these living organisms with a tiny seed of His own creative nature in the ability to procreate more of their kind.

Each time a new creation leaps forth from God's mouth, He pronounces it good. Imagine the Great Composer close to completing His magnum opus, His great work, resting for a moment as He admires His creation thus far. Then, inspired once more, He jots down the final notes in a symphony. Everything up to verse 26 has been created for the benefit of human beings, whom the Grand Maestro has created for relationship with Him, and whom He has created in His image—or in a small sense, in His kind.

And to us God gave ". . . dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth" (Gen. 1:26, ESV).

Dominion. Many hear only a negative connotation: the relationship of conqueror to conquered. But think about the great honor and responsibility God has bestowed on us. Imagine Leonardo daVinci within a few brush strokes of completing the Mona Lisa telling his least experienced apprentice, "You finish her. I think her mouth needs just a tiny tweak for that enigmatic smile." Yet that is exactly what God did when he gave Adam dominion over the natural world, complete with the right to name the animals, enabling this fledgling human, this mere apprentice, to evoke amazing power with the spoken word. And think about the baby boy born millennia later in Vinci, Italy, who grew up to be a painter, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, cartographer and writer. Do you think the original Old Master created this Renaissance Man knowing he would one day paint The Last Supper?

Dominion also requires a sense of order and purpose, as well as the ability to go beyond training or instinct in order to make decisions based on reason, consciousness and abstract thought. These abilities are what set us apart as creative beings in the likeness of God. Anyone who has studied Picasso understands the concept of "abstract thought." And a chimpanzee can create and use a simple tool, but humans embellish their tools into works of art that are not only useful and decorative, but may also display spiritual significance.

Though not exactly a tool, the Ark of the Covenant is as a prime Biblical example of a useful creation that is also a work of art. Representative of God's throne and footstool, the Ark was also made to house the stone tablets of the covenant and to accept the blood sacrifices of atonement. The Bible even tells us the name of the Ark's chosen creator and how God gifted him: ". . .the Lord has chosen Bezalel son of Uri . . . and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic craftsmanship" (Exod. 35:30-33, NIV).

Imagine yourself as Bezalel, entrusted with the creation of the Ark of the Covenant. Imagine sanding the acacia wood until it feels like satin beneath your fingertips. Imagine the painstaking attention to detail as you craft the cherubim, how the soft gold glows in the firelight of your forge. What an honor that must have been! Bezalel was likely one of the few men to ever touch the Ark and live. What if he had decided he wasn't up to the task? What if, in human conceit, he had decided there were other gifts more important than the creative ones God had given him?

Dominion also implies sovereignty and free will. In our sovereignty and free will, we can choose what to create—good or bad—and we can choose our creative media based on the materials God provides in our natural world. In our sovereignty and free will, we can also choose not to create at all, but who are we to deny the honor of being apprentices to the Master?

~ ~ ~

Kelley Pounds grew up in a family of writers, artists and inventors. She's a graduate of the Institute of Children's Literature and Art Instruction Schools, and she is the author of one published novel and one novella. In the midst of changing genres to write something more in tune with her interests and Christian beliefs, she took a wire wrap jewelry class, and something clicked. Though she may get back to her fiction writing someday, for now she's enjoying life making mixed-media art jewelry as the "Chief Creative Officer" of Kell's Creations.

 

The Soul of Old Glory

by Barbara Latta

Old Glory started out with needle and thread,

pieces of cloth of white, blue and red.

The standard that was carried and waved over battle,

it's waved over graves and political prattle.

Its message was clear, “It's freedom I won”

paid with the blood of your daughters and sons.

 

So honored was that banner that it never touched the ground

Even in battles with bullets all around.

When the bearer would fall another would rise

to carry Old Glory lest we see its demise.

So revered was the flag whose message would wave

that its sight over land, over sea, or the grave

would  inspire Americans to fight and pursue

to never give up, do what we must do,

to defeat the foes who challenged and taunted

to chase and defeat our enemies, undaunted.

 

It's waved until tattered, soiled and torn

it's waved in the face of the enemy's scorn.

But with each tatter and tear a drop of blood would cry

and Old Glory would wave and continue to fly.

The flags that have flown over past victory posts

are now carefully preserved lest their history be lost.

 But locked in their glass cases has the meaning behind

Old Glory's message made some people blind?

 

For to some it's just a nice history relic

to wave over fields where we play and we frolic.

For now the banner of freedom is spit on and burned and so few care that Old Glory is spurned.

They use “freedom of speech” as an excuse to abuse forgetting how easy that freedom they could lose.

 

Old Glory waves on the graves sacred soil

asking “why do you hurt me, do you forget my toil?

I am the symbol for you to give you the right to do what you do.

I welcome the foreigner with open arms to come enjoy my freedoms and flee from harm.

So why do you curse me and say it's an offense, to wave me and fly me it makes no sense.”

 

Old Glory's cry in days gone by of victory and freedom, has it been a lie?

No, for you see the soul of Old Glory is the people of her land,

the ones who dare to still take a stand.

For on many hillsides, plains and sands arises a shining, victorious band

of those whose yearning for freedom will never be lost,

it's the ones who have paid a price, the ones who love it the most.

~ ~ ~ 

Poem written by Babara Latta, freelance writer.

 

 

Neglecting History Erodes Freedom

By Maryleigh Bucher

 

“Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you.”(Deuteronomy 32:7 NIV)

If you want to change someone’s life, tell a story.” In this quote, Billy Graham simply states a truth we all know: stories help us comprehend and internalize life lessons in ways that can change our hearts.  Jesus knew he could reach people through stories.  He used parables to teach his followers complex spiritual dynamics through simple illustrations.  Stories play a vital role in many aspects of our culture: Aesop’s fables teach moral lessons; Fairy Tales exalt the virtues of good over evil; legends celebrate nobleness, self-sacrifice, and good deeds, but history tells the story of our past and our future.

“Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable.” (Matthew 13:34 NIV)

The Story of a Nation

“For I will speak to you in a parable. I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—stories we have heard and known, stories our ancestors handed down to us. We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders” (Psalm 78: 2-5, NLT)

The stories of our country’s foundation teach us about the courageous men and women who were moved by God to create a country where religious freedom could reign in the hearts of its citizens.  By following the Psalmist’s instructions, we can pass on our history to future generations and encourage them to secure our freedom. When someone asked Benjamin Franklin if we had a republic or a monarchy, he responded, “A republic, if you can keep it." When we tell the stories of our nation and its spiritual heritage, we can, indeed, keep the republic our ancestor’s designed.

 

Main Characters

"And in the future, your children will ask you, 'What does all this mean?' Then you will tell them, 'With the power of his mighty hand, the LORD brought us out of Egypt, the place of our slavery” (Exodus 13:14).

Dynamic main characters build good stories.  The main characters in the story of our country were men who took risks, envisioned the impossible, and in the face of fear, accomplished their mission. In 1828, the definition of education included the belief that, “a religious education is indispensable; and an immense responsibility rests on parents and guardians who neglect these duties" (http://1828.mshaffer.com/d/word/education). However, in 1828, parents never imagined freedom's faith foundation would suffer omission or re-construction in its children’s history books. As story keepers of our history, we need to re-acquaint ourselves with the men who preached freedom from churches, the men who formed our Constitution, and the men who fought on the battlefield for the freedom endowed by our Creator.

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." Thomas Jefferson

"I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it.”Benjamin Franklin, On the Price of Corn and Management of the Poor, November 1766

The Setting

A story’s setting gives the readers both time and place. The setting provides the readers with essential information which allows them to better understand the characters and their motivations. In essence, the Declaration of Independence is the setting for our country’s story.  If we read it one point at a time, not just as a communication to the King of England, but as a complaint written to the three branches of our government, this historical document becomes an empowering document. If we know the legal documentation of our history and freedom, then we can pass on the knowledge to our children, and they can keep the flame of freedom burning brightly. Let’s read the Declaration and re-discover the timelessness of it.

Supporting Characters

All good stories contain supporting characters. They help the reader to have a more vivid understanding of the main characters. The beliefs of our Founding Fathers and our historical documents are important, but they have more meaning when we understand where they came from. We can trace back the family tree of ideas in the letters, correspondence, and public record of the debates, sermons, speeches and conversations that led to the creation of the Declaration of Independence, the constitution and inspired the march to freedom. We can read each one separately or read them as a whole, but most importantly, we want to share the stories and talk about what they mean.

 “God well knew what a world of degenerate, ambitious and revengeful creatures this is – as He knew that innocence could not be protected, property and liberty secured, nor the lives of mankind preserved from the lawless hands of ambition, avarice and tyranny without the use of the sword – as He knew this would be the only method to preserve mankind from universal slavery” (Rev. Samuel Davies, 1755).

“Let us then. . .remember with reverential gratitude to our Supreme Benefactor all the wonderful things He has done for us in our miraculous deliverance from a second Egypt—another ‘house of bondage’ and thou shalt show thy son on this day. (Elias Boudinot, July 4^th, 1793, member of the Continental Congress)

Story telling is an educational tool as powerful as the sword. Jesus used parables to pierce his followers’ hearts and minds. God instructs us to tell our children the stories of him and his ways. Therefore, when we tell our children about God’s role in our nation’s foundation, we know we are building the future. Only by teaching our children to be our nation’s story keepers can we ensure our freedom and our faith will flourish.

“Tell your children about it in the years to come, and let your children tell their children. Pass the story down from generation to generation” (Joel 1:3, NLT)

 

Boudinot, Elias. “Oration.” Celebrate Liberty: Famous Patriotic Speeches and Sermons. Ed.

 David Barton. Aledo Texas. 2003. 237. Print.

Davis, Samuel. “Oration”. Celebrate Liberty: Famous Patriotic Speeches and Sermons. Ed.

 David Barton. Aledo Texas. 2003. 237. Print.

Ellis Sandoz, editor. Political Sermons of the American Founding Era. Vol 1 (1730-1788) and

     Vol. 2 (1789-1805). The On-line Library of Liberty. 2011 (free-on-line historical sermons that shaped our constitution))

     http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=1878

A Treasury of Primary Documents.

        http://www.constitution.org/primarysources/primarysources.html (contains sermons that helped shape our Constitution)

Two Treatises of Government. John Locke. The Law’s of Nature and Nature’s God. 2003. 5 June

      2011.  http://www.lonang.com/exlibris/locke/ (this allows you to read Locke’s work free on-line; however, it is readily available at any bookstore or possibly even library.

 

~ ~ ~ 

Maryleigh Bucher is the newest Editor here at Take Root and we're so happy to have her aboard!