Stand Up and Speak

Stand Up and Speak

By: Bethany Strang

Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey with the shouts of “Hosanna!  Blessed is the King of Israel that comes in the name of the Lord!”  People are throwing their coats in his path, waving palm branches, and declaring Him King with their cries of praise.  It is a joyous event as people outwardly proclaim the Kingship of the Lord with their mouths.  However, not everyone is festive; the Pharisees refuse to recognize Jesus as the Messiah and promptly ask him to rebuke His disciples.  Jesus responds by telling them, “If these are to be silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”

Even the rocks of the city will not hold their voice in declaring the glory and majesty of the Messiah!  Picture that! 

As Christians, we can learn so much from this tiny passage of Scripture (taken from Luke 19).  Often we forget or neglect to honor and proclaim God with our mouths and yet we have been given an unthinkable gift.  We are saved from our sin through the blood of Jesus Christ; we will spend an eternity worshiping the Lord; no longer are we bound by the chains of sin… but how do we forget to speak of these things to others?  Even the very stones of the pavement will cry out and worship the Lord and yet, it’s easy for us to go about our lives as Closet Christians.

Fear is something that can keep up from speaking out about our faith.  The devil doesn’t want any more people to come to Christ, so he will do anything he can by putting his icy grip of fear around your neck.  We listen to the devil’s lies and feel that we might offend, anger, or even not reach a person if we talk about Christ.  However, usually the exact opposite happens!  I have found that when I do state that I am a Christian to a nonbeliever or share something about my beliefs, I am empowered by the Holy Spirit.  The Lord has commanded us to share our faith with others and He will open the ears and soften the hearts and give the strength; it’s just up to us to speak.  As Matthew 28:19 says, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”

The other day I was listening to some Christian music and was comparing Keith Green with Steven Curtis Chapman.  As a songwriter, I want to listen to lots of music so I can learn how to bring the flow of words to the flow of music.  In my opinion, Steven Curtis Chapman is like a modern day Keith Green.  Both write songs with convicting and joyful lyrics and both sound like quality music from their time.  While listening back and forth between the two of them, I realized that I heard two songs that were very similar in content.  It was from those lyrics that I began to see that this topic is something that every Christian needs to heed.

Consider the similarities (these are just some sections and not the complete songs):

Now think about this, if we really have been given,


The gift of a life that will never end.

And if we have been filled with living hope were gonna overflow,


And if God’s love is burning in our hearts were gonna glow,


There’s just no way to keep it in.

 

Every corner of creation is a living declaration,

Come join the song we were made to sing.

Wake the neighbors, get the word out
!

Come on, crank up the music, climb a mountain and shout
!

This is life weve been given, made to be lived out
!

So la la la la, live out loud
!

Live out loud!

~Steven Curtis Chapman, Live Out Loud

Thank You Jesus, for what you're doing for me,


Thank you Jesus, I want the whole world to see,


That you're not just a picture on the wall in my room,


That you're faster than lightning, and you're coming back soon.



Thank you Jesus, for all the good things you do,


Thank you Jesus, I wish they all could know you,


That you're not just a book collecting dust on the shelf,


And if they don't want to read it, you're gonna be back to tell them yourself.


Thank you Jesus, for all the good things you've done,


Thank you Jesus, I really want to tell you Lord,


I'm having so much fun, loving You.



Thank you Jesus, for this here smile on my face,


I really want to shout it to the whole Human Race,


That you're not just this building on the corner where we meet,


They can know You in person, You're a pleasure to meet.

~Keith Green, Thank You, Jesus

Both of these singers proclaim the excitement and overjoy that is bursting from their hearts.  They aren’t a bit afraid to overflow with praise to God and it’s contagious to those who listen to them.

It should be the same with us.  I have found that just jumping out and doing the thing that feels like it might end up in a explosion usually ends up being accepted by those who don’t believe.  Of course this isn’t always the case and I have had many personal attacks from atheist and pro-abortion radicals through a pro-life ministry I work with.  They might call me horrible names for naming the name of Jesus Christ, but what does it matter?  If I stop proclaiming the Truth and that I believe in Jesus, I will give in to cowardliness.  If I shy away from naming the name of Christ, I don’t deserve what I have been given.  If I don’t speak, the rocks will.  “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?  And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”  Romans 10:14-15

Not only is it fear, but also I think there is a misconception of the presence of God.  Where is He?  The Lord is everywhere.  He is not somewhere "just up in heaven", dislocated from the constant on goings of ours lives.  No, He is right there beside us.  Forgetting that God is omnipresent can bring us into silence regarding Him.  We wouldn't want to live our lives like our best friend is always in the other room, but not right there by our sides, and so should it be with our very Best Friend; He is always by our sides, which gives us all the more reason to be bold as lions.  As it says in Jeremiah 15:3 “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.”  This should make us realize that not only is God watching over us, but He is also watching for us to proclaim His goodness.

Going back to Matthew 28:19, the next verse says, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  Why should we fear others?  "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."  (2 Timothy 1:7)  Why should we slink into the dark corners of cowardliness?  "Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf."  (1 Peter 4:16)  We don’t have to do either!  "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth..."  (Romans 1:16)    We have a command to speak and our hearts should be overwhelmed with thanksgiving that looking straight into the eyes of a nonbeliever and saying, “I am a Christian” will fill us with power from God.  If the rocks can cry out and proclaim the majesty of our Lord Jesus Christ, then how much more can you?  Stand up and speak! 

Serious Shoppers

We know how to have fun... especially when we go shopping at the Goodwill--which, of course, is any big family's favorite place to shop!

The shoes section attracts us like a magnet and we always end up trying to find the worst pair of shoes possible.  (I really can't find a good pair of shoes anyway, because the average person doesn't have feet as small as mine!)

After church last week, we had too much fun browsing the always-eyebrow-raising shoe section and couldn't resist taking just a few pictures...

I really like this picture!  It ended up looking really artsy. ;)

 No comment about the extreme height difference.

 Which shoe would you wear?!

I'm wearing Italian Designer shoes, Jordan is wearing something, and Shiloh... what is Shiloh wearing?!

  The tallest shoes I've ever tried on.  And they didn't help after all.

They were also the most uncomfortable shoes I've ever worn.  Within seconds, my feet hurt and I probably would have toppled over if I tried to walk anywhere!

Posted By:

~Bethany

Tradition!

This is our 5th Annual "Tell Us Who You Are" post!  Each year we take a moment to give you a chance to tell us about yourself.  We love to hear from our followers, so comment and let us know how you found our blog.  (Yes, that does include stalkers!)

As we are setting out on a new year--closing this chapter of our lives and opening the next--let us remember to keep Christ as our center.  Without Him our lives are meaningless, worthless, and useless.  Our focus must be on the Lord!  With Him guiding our lives, we will be blessed and have true success.  Although we will have our hardships, God will be right there by our sides, leading us along.  I heard a sermon the other day and the pastor challenged everyone to search out the things of God more this year.  He said, "If you seek Him this year, you will find out things you didn't know about Him."  Let that be our main goal this next year: to seek the Lord and dig deeper into His Word as we are searching for hidden treasure. 

"I have one desire now - to live a life of reckless abandon for the Lord, putting all my energy and strength into it."
~Elisabeth Elliot

 "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
~Isaiah 40:31

"He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end."
~Ecclesiastes  3:11

May the Lord bless each and everyone of you in 2014.
Happy New Year!

Posted By:

~Bethany 

Merry Christmas!

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."  

~Isaiah 9:6

This Christmas, let us not only remember that Jesus came to earth in human flesh (although not on this date), but let us rejoice in why He came.  

He came to die so that through His death we might live.  

There is no story so great as the story of Salvation, no love so deep as the love of our Savior, or no life so sweet as the eternity we will spend with Him.  May we fall to our knees in humble thankfulness and overwhelming joy as we rejoice in what Jesus Christ did for us!

"I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels."

~Isaiah 61:10

Praise the Lord for His unconditional love to us!  Let us rejoice, be glad, and honor Him!

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

~Romans 5:8

Merry Christmas, my friends!  May the Lord bless you all!

"Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered."

~Psalm 40:5

He shall reign for ever and ever!  May we forever praise Him, for He is worthy of our praise!

Merry Christmas from everyone here at Ebenezer Forest Farm!

New Buck!

We were finally able to find and then purchase a new stud!  Thankfully, we were able to find a great deal on this guy and brought him home yesterday.  He's not to keen on smiling for pictures and he doesn't really like people either (don't try turning your back on him), but we are Thankful that we have a buck now and hopefully we still have a bit time left in the breeding season to settle our goats.

In May we are hoping for some little mixed kids from our four Mini Nubians that are currently being bred (Mini Nubian/Nigerian Dwarf) and in June we will hopefully have some first generation Mini Nubian kids coming if all goes well!

Enjoy these buck pics, though somewhat blurry.  The buck is the one little guy with the enormous horns (we've had a buck with horns before, but not has huge as this guy!), Shofars anyone?? :)

Side view- took an incredible amount of coaxing through the window screen to get to him to walk out of the shed and then walk back...

One Accord

Our sibling quartet, One Accord, had the wonderful opportunity to play at a benefit concert.  We played a set featuring Jordan's original song, "I am of the Light", a Keith Green song, and even a few Christmas pieces.
We were able to bless our listener with the good news of Jesus Christ and His saving grace!

Judah, Havilah, and Benjamin enjoying the music with their Daddy.

One Accord

Thanks to Mommy for filming, we were able to get a few videos for your viewing pleasure!

"I am of the Light"

"There is a Redeemer"

"Christmas Pipes"

"O Holy Night"

Posted By:

~Bethany 

Catch Up

I can't believe November is pretty much over!  

Maybe it's because this month was so busy that by the time Thanksgiving was over, it suddenly dawned on me that there were only a couple days left before I needed to gear up for December.  After briefing myself on the upcoming calender, I am excited to say that I am looking forward to another fast-paced month (I like things fast)!

But before that month swoops upon us, I thought I should bring our readers up to date on what went on over here.

With the days getting colder, we are back to using our wood-burning stove
While starting a fire (in the stove, of course) I happened to come across my old Geometry school papers.  I couldn't believe I was burning up all my hard work to keep everyone warm!  I mean, look at all those organized lines (yes, Geometry is so me)!

One Accord performing!

(Stay tuned for a post with some videos from this concert.)

Call me crazy, but I so enjoy working with these little geometric shapes!  I find that all the building toys I used to play with have become more interesting now that I'm older and can do more stuff with them.  ;)  I was particularly fond of this one I made to show Judah, Havliah, and Benjamin how to use them.

And then... Jordan and Daddy headed off to the National Bible Bee! 

(I felt funny about doing a blog post on an event I didn't get to go to, so you can check out Jordan's blog here and look at all the fun he had and we missed out on.  Did I just say that?!)

 We were so proud of Jordan and how he qualified for Semi-Finals!

(Let me tell you... the day dragged by as we anxiously waited to hear his results!)

 After I taught my piano students, we all gathered around--students and all!--to watch the rounds.

 Jordan did a fantastic job proclaiming God's Word with power and eloquent delivery.

The best part was when Jordan got to recite Genesis 49:8-12 and since he knew we were watching the livestream, he spoke the Scripture directly to Judah.  It was so special!
"Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.  Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?  The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.  Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:  His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk."

 The look on Judah's face when he heard his brother calling his name in the Scripture.

While they were having so much fun on the other side of the United States, we decided that we were going to make the best of it with Girl Time.

Which means... we went shopping!

 I have a fascination for our solar system and the study of Astronomy because it so amazing to see God's creation displayed so vastly and beautifully across the night sky!  While on our way to go shopping, I saw this strange light in the sky.  I snapped a picture thinking it was a planet.

The other day I found out that Comet ISON was orbiting in such a way that it was visible with the eye.  When I had planned to go out and see it the other night, by the time I gathered all my gear together (camera, binoculars, telescope, and stool) and thin layer of clouds had covered the comet.  Very sad.
Imagine my surprise when I found that I had snapped a picture of it only a week before!

Thanks to technology, Jordan called us up over Facetime and introduced me to the M. family at the Bible Bee!
We were thrilled, if you couldn't tell.  ;)

Shiloh and I played a gig together.

(I promise I was not as bored as a look!)

 

After the gig we had some Girl Time at a restaurant with the lovely B. ladies!

Daddy and Jordan arrived safely home after this busy week and we all enjoyed catching up together over ice cream bars.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with the S. family.

 Group Photo!
Just don't get the shoes in there...
(Inside joke, but you probably can read through the lines on that one.)

 The S. Family.

Thanks to Ethan for getting the pictures!

 Fellowshipping with one of our favorite "traditional" Thanksgiving games!

There are lots of laughs in this group!

Although this was a busy month, the Lord blessed us in many incredible ways!

Well, that should have to caught up to speed with our life!  If you can believe it, I've already peeked ahead into 2014 to see how I can start scheduling all sorts of new plans and ideas...
I'm looking forward to December and all that the Lord has in store for us! 

Posted By:

~Bethany