Watch Your Mouth

Recently I heard on the radio that someone was “a marked man.”  I chuckled and thought how odd it was that a secular radio program was referencing the Bible.  Then I thought of all the hubbub that took place a few years ago about whether people should continue to wish others a merry Christmas.  So with that in mind, here’s a list of common expressions that come straight from the Bible.  Perhaps we should inform society where these sayings come from and warn all government officials and employees to avoid using them as we would not want to blur the line between church and state. (Sorry for the sarcasm.)

Nothing but Skin and Bones & I Escaped by the Skin of my Teeth, both from Job 19:19-20, “All my inward friends abhorred me: and they whom I loved are turned against me. My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.”
There's a Time and a Place for Everything, Eccl 3:1
Going the Extra Mile, Matt. 5:41
United we Stand, Divided we Fall, “And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.” Matt. 12:25
Scapegoat, Lev. 16:9-10
Red Sky at Night, “He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” Matt. 16:2-3
Twinkling of an Eye, “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”  1 Cor. 15:52
A Man After his Own Heart 1 Sam. 13:14
Drop in the Bucket, “Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.” Isa. 40:15
Powers that Be, Rom. 13:2
A Little Bird Told Me, “Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.” Eccl. 10:20
Stumbling Block, “Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” Matt. 16:23
A Gentle Answer Turns Away Wrath, Prov. 15:1
Time to be Born and a Time to Die, Eccl. 3:1-2
Rise and Shine, (surprised?) "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. Isa. 60:1
Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child, “He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.” Prov. 13:24 (But don’t beat your children!)
A Leopard Cannot Change its Spots, “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.” Jer. 13:23
Pride Comes Before a Fall, “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” Prov. 16:18
By the Sweat of your Brow, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” Gen. 3:19
Out of the Mouths of Babes, “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength…” Psalm 8:2
Bite the Dust, (Really it’s from the Bible) Psalm 72
The Blind Leading the Blind, Matt. 15:13-14
Eat Drink and Be Merry, Luke 12:19
Straight and narrow, Matt. 7:14
No Man is a Prophet in his Own Town, Mark 6:4
Head on a Platter, “And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou forthwith give me on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” Mark 6:25
Tearing Your Hair Out, “This news made me so angry that I ripped my clothes and tore hair from my head and beard. Then I just sat in shock” Ezra 9:3
The Truth Shall set you Free, John 8:32
He’d Sell His Birthright for a Bowl of Porridge, Gen. 25:31-34
Let Him without Sin Cast the First Stone, John 8:7
Apple of his Eye, “In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye.” Appears twice: Deut. 32:10 & Zec. 2:8
East of Eden, Gen. 4:16
Filthy Lucre, 1 Tim. 3:3
I'll Pin Him to the Wall, “Saul hurled the spear for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David escaped from his presence twice.” 1Sam. 18:11
Stranger in a strange land,  “…I have been a stranger in a strange land.” Ex. 2:22
Seek and Ye Shall Find, Matt. 7:7
A Law unto Himself, Rom. 2:14
Absent in Body, but Present in Spirit, Col. 2:5
At My Wit's End, “They reeled and staggered like drunken men; they were at their wits' end.” Psalm 107:27
You Don't Know the Half of It, (oh yeah! From when the Queen of Sheba visited Solomon.) “Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard.” 1 Kings 10: 7
Nothing New Under the Sun, Eccl. 1:9
Handwriting On the Wall, “In the same hour came forth the fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.” Dan. 5:5
Knees Knocking Together, “Then the king's face grew pale and his thoughts alarmed him, and his hip joints went slack and his knees began knocking together.” Daniel 5:6
A Merry Heart is Good Medicine, Prov. 17. 22
A Good Name is Better than Money. Prov. 22. 1
A Thorn in the Flesh, 2 Cor. 12:7
Turn the Other Cheek, Matt. 5:39 & Luke 6:29
No Man Can Serve Two Masters, Matt. 6:24
Reap What You Sow, Gal. 6:7
It Rains on the Just and the Unjust, Matt. 5:45
Alpha and Omega, Rev. 1:8
Armageddon, Rev. 16:16
Fight the Good Fight, 1 Tim. 6:12
The Weaker Vessel, (hey, don’t blame me, I didn’t write it) 1 Peter 3:7
Fallen from Grace, Gal.5:4
Beat their Swords into Plowshares, Ish. 2:4 & Micah 4:3
Beat their Plowshares into Swords, (yep, both ways) Joel 3:10
Set your House in Order, Isa. 38:1
Be Fruitful and Multiply, Gen. 1:28
As Old as Methuselah, Gen. 5:27
The Fat of the Land, Gen. 45:18
A Land Flowing with Milk and Honey, Ex. 33:3
An Eye for an Eye, a Tooth for a Tooth, Ex. 21:24
Your Sin Will Find You Out, Num. 32:23
Turn the World Upside Down, Acts 17:6
God Forbid, Rom. 3:4
Take Root, 2 Kings 19:30
No Rest for the Wicked, Isa. 57: 21
A Fly in the Ointment, Eccl. 10:1
I am What I am, (yes sir, even Popeye quotes the Bible) 1 Cor. 15:10
By the Grace of God, also from 1 Cor 15:10
Feet of Clay, Daniel 2:33
Refused to Give Up the Ghost Job 3:11
The Salt of the Earth, Matt. 5:13
You Can't Put Words in my Mouth, Ex. 4:15
The Land of the Living, Job 28:13
Sour Grapes & To Set One's Teeth on Edge, “In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge.” Jer. 31:29

This is nowhere near an exhaustive list, one researcher counted 257 of these colloquialisms.  If you recall, this started from my hearing, “A Marked Man” on the radio.  That has to do with the mark of Cain in Gen. 4:15.  This year is the 400^th anniversary of the completion of the King James Version of the Bible. Over these 400 years, the Bible has influenced the English language in an irreversible manner.  Quoting the Bible may not be politically correct, but it is a fact of our life.  So whenever you hear anyone use one of the above Bible quotes, be sure to respond with a hearty, “and God bless you too!”

Hope you have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving this year!
Pastor David

She Just Sat Down Close by Colleen

It was the fifth day of Vacation Bible School, it was prayer time for the staff and we were meeting in the office before classes started.  For some reason Pastor David had not arrived yet, but I felt we couldn’t wait any longer.  As was our custom, I began by sharing a story of someone who had encouraged me in my walk with the Lord.  On this morning I shared how my younger brother on many occasions would call me up and check on me, asking if there was a prayer need or just to share with me from the Word  as he felt God had told him to.  He was my younger brother and the one who had led me to the Lord.

He also was my prayer partner and a friend—God would put it on his heart to call me, and I really appreciated him.  By necessity, I did not have his number, so he told me, “Just tell God and He will tell me and I’ll call you.”  He always did within a matter of a few minutes or hours.  I shared how important his words, spoken and prayed out, were to me.  I then asked for prayer requests and we had just started to pray when Pastor David walked in the door.

I looked up and he motioned for me to come with him to his office.  I could see whatever he needed to share was not good news.  Excusing myself and asking someone else to handle the prayer requests for that morning, I followed him into his study.  I thought he would tell me his dad who was fighting cancer or my mother with her deteriorating health had taken a turn for the worse.  Not wanting him to say, I quickly ran a list out to him before he could speak fearing all the worst, but he just kept shaking his head no.  As my list lengthened, I knew before He spoke, what I dreaded to hear was the truth.

You see a few short weeks before my younger brother had called me to tell me he thought he was dying.  He just wanted to tell me that he loved me and wanted me to tell our family that he loved all of them too.  He also wanted me to tell those of them who didn’t know the Lord the message of salvation.  To make a long story short, I encouraged him to go to the local emergency room where they told him there was nothing wrong with him.  Now, three weeks later, they were wrong and unfortunately, he had been correct.  He had passed away with fatal cardiac arrhythmia.

The next few minutes were, spent praying and asking the Lord for His perspective.  Knowing I needed to complete what was to be our last day of VBS, I let the teachers know what had happened and asked if they would please give me a few moments alone.  I knew my brother would want nothing less than for VBS to continue as scheduled.  I went to the sanctuary sat at the piano played and prayed for a short while.  I felt a presence sit beside me.  Quietly a head was lain on my shoulder.  No words were spoken just a quiet sharing of hearts.  I had my eyes closed and continued playing “My Life is in You Lord,” while I asked God to give me what I needed to finish the day well, with our kids. 

That morning I planned to share the story of my younger brother leading me to the Lord with the children and now I was really going to need God’s strength.  I had wanted to tell them not to worry that they were just children sharing the message of salvation with their friends and family and that God would and could use them to speak for Him. Not sure who sat beside me, I eventually opened my eyes to see who had entered my silent world of grief.  Wouldn’t you know it and wasn’t it just like God to send one of His sweet young Christians.  Beautiful blue eyes, dark auburn hair, attached to a loving face, which reflected her heart.  She just came and sat quietly.  She had stepped boldly into the abyss of great loss and with wisdom beyond her years said nothing but spoke volumes.  For me it was very special that someone as young as she was would be so bold to enter that quiet place of raw pain. 

We are blessed with angels all around us who carry the message of God’s sustaining power and love.  Sometimes He lets us be the messengers and sometimes all we have to do is just sit silently.  She will always be a treasure in my heart and she was raised up to serve and love the Lord in this church.  Thanks again Nicole and a special thanks, to all of you who taught her over those years and prayed for her to be all that God planned for her to be.  All of you make a difference for God.

V B S Prayer Requests

1. The Lord’s will to be done concerning VBS

2. Staff:  teachers, and helpers-strength, health, commitment, preparation time, love for the children

3. Weather to be conducive for a sports camp theme

4. Children to come with open hearts and minds to learn about Jesus and grow in His love

5. Colleen to have discernment concerning the schedule

Vacation Bible School Volunteers Needed!

Still looking for some teaching staff and some class aides.  We need help in the kitchen with registration and crafts.  We are short one teacher and assistant.  People to be here on site just to help would be great too.  If God is speaking to your heart about any of these areas, please give me a call.  Could we borrow your soccer and playground balls please!  Also any practice nets if you have them?  Thanks a bunch!  -Colleen

Only Around for a Little While

She walked haltingly from her car, a bright redheaded 10-year-old boy in tow.  He was not happy and she was not giving up.  With a determined look on her face, she announced she had brought him to camp.  Asking where registration was she headed off with her young relative.  Before she took three steps, she whirled around and asked if the camp nurse had arrived, as she would need to speak to her first.  Sheesh!

Somehow I just knew this young guy would be one of my campers.  I was right.   They returned shortly to where I was stationed receiving my group of ten little boys for the week.  It was a camp that included troubled children.  Since I was the oldest, and they were short of male counselors and I had experience, they would give me this group.

Eddie (I will call him) returned to my group of already wiggling anxious boys just waiting to be turned loose into the wilderness of the Cascade Mountains where they would divide and conquer and become “Daniel Boones” for the next week of Christian camp.  Some showed up with one change of clothes, others with the bare minimum, and most without toothbrushes, etc.  Pretty much anything to do with personal hygiene was left at home by this staunch group of young adventurers.  We were to sleep in a Teepee for the week!  Who needed to brush???

I was in the process of explaining the rules...when the swearing, swaggering Eddie joined us.  Grandma, as it turned out to be, was not too impressed with the camp because, first of all the nurse had not shown up yet!  Good grief!  Didn’t we know that some of these kids were on medication (actually we did) (Our nurse was a volunteer who did finally show up the second day of camp!!!  Yeah!!!)  Fortunately, none of the staff had been hogtied by the campers who needed medication to combat their rowdiness.

Grandma explained, in the presence of all, that junior had been dumped on her for the summer as his parents had gone off on yet again another extended vacation, just to get a break from him!  I saw the pain seep across his face, and shame entered into his eyes, then a desperate sort of sadness which he tried to mask with a few choice swear words just to prove he was as bad as his grandma said.  Even my group of hardy delinquents were struck dumb at the words that branded him “Real Trouble” as she put it.  But not to worry, she added, as long as he’s on medication he’s manageable.

Great!  What she didn’t know was that there were several with his same disability already in the group and her little Eddie had his work cut out to stand out amongst them.  Yay, and they were mine, all mine, for one week, how was I going to share the Lord with this group of characters in a way which would effectively reach their young hurting hearts for Christ.

Grandma made her swift exit saying he hasn’t made it through a camp for a week anywhere and I have left my contact number so you can get a hold of me.  She hopped into her car and made a speedy exit down the rough gravel mountain road as if we would change our mind.  Fortunately, God was in charge and not me.  Little did I know what was in store for the week, or I may have jumped in the car beside her and begged to make my exit there and then.

Showing the group around the camp explaining the rules about 5 times before the bulk of them heard me, I finally felt safe to now share the very important safety announcement that a mother bear and her cub had been seen wandering the grounds the previous week.  All campers were to stay in plain view of their counselors at all times.  I asked did they understand the seriousness of this and with round eyed awe they said they did.  I explained I had to go to a short meeting and left my group in the care of another counselor.  I would be right back and they could get their bed rolls laid out in the Teepee.

Within 5 minutes the one of the campers came to get me, telling me Eddie had climbed onto the roof of one of the buildings.  He had a frog up there, he’d taken from someone else and was pulling its legs off and throwing them at the  other campers and no one could get him down.  Hurting animals hit a very  sore spot for me and I kind of like frogs.  That’s when I really started praying for Eddie.

When I got him down he asked me, “Are you going to call my Grandma?”  Hmmm, seems like this was a tool that had worked well for him before.  “Nope, your one of my little blessings and you and I are going to have fun!”  He looked at me like I was nuts, and whatever activity we were doing he kept an eye on me to see my reactions to his behavior.  Finally, it was bedtime and all my campers finally settled down to a sound sleep.

Bright and early the next morning before the campers woke, a meeting was scheduled for all the counselors.  I returned about 7 o’clock as I entered the teepee my campers “mooned” me!  Of course, Eddie was the instigator.  Figuring they all had a part in it they were not allowed to do the first activity and were last for breakfast.

The week continued—Eddie in the water when he was not supposed to be—Eddie taking someone else’s turn—Eddie hitting—Eddie stealing—and the list went on and on.

We went on a long hike in the mountains where we were to filter drinking water.  We were 2 & 1/2 miles into this high mountain lake filtering water when we looked up to see a forest fire had started at the other end of the lake!  We rounded up all the campers as quickly as we could and heading them back down the trail—that’s when I discovered Eddie had another medical condition—asthma—and he couldn’t run very long without trouble and there was the smoke.  They took the others ahead and I stayed with him and walked or ran beside him until we were back to our van. 

You would think that would do it for him…

The next morning I came back from the counselor’s meeting , opened the flap of the teepee and just as I did, a huge jackrabbit appeared out of nowhere.  The rabbit ran past me and started making laps on top of all those sleeping campers!

The kids woke to this marauder making a racetrack out of their sleeping bags.  Thinking he was a bear or at least a cub—they were screaming—I was laughing!  I finally chased the rabbit out for them, telling them that’s how God rescues us.  Just in case you are wondering, God has a sense of humor.  He reaches us all with the tools that will touch our hearts, even 10-year-old boys.  Campfire time that night was a whole lot quieter and the time for commitment was well attended.

Through the week Eddie had not made many friends.  He repeatedly caused his group to be last with his ill behavior.  The other boys did not make his life easier.   Not that they were well behaved, far from it.

The event for Thursday was “Mountain Biking.”  It seemed Eddie could just barely ride a bike.  Up the hills, they tried to go.  These were real trails and had many obstacles.  Finally , everyone completed what they could, then they were free to ride down the mountain road.  Eddie with his feathers a little rumpled decided he would go down as fast as he could to impress everyone, even though he was told not to.  He zoomed by me gaining speed every inch, kids and counselors alike yelling at him to slow down.

He did slow down, actually came to a sudden stop at the end of his fall as his bike hit a bump and up over the handlebars he flew!  Doing a handstand as his feet flew high in the air, white-faced as a scream of terror escaped his lips.  Then the bike landed on top of that human torpedo.  It jarred him from his unplanned slumber.

He was carried by van some 50 plus miles away to the Wenatchee hospital where they stitched him back together.  Unable to reach his grandma the doctors declaring him fit to return to camp and the little trooper was returned to me. 

Battered bruised and with a whole new attitude and a slight concussion.  The boys were sorry who had taunted him.  He was sorry he had listened to them. 

Friday morning came with me waking up with the flu—lovely just lovely—could the week get better with a fever of 103?  They sent me home.  It was actually hard to leave my little group of misfits and Eddie in particular.

I made it about 40 miles before I had to pull over to sleep—I had to miss the last day of camp.  I wouldn’t get to be there and see them off with their treasures and trophies.  Rats….

A few weeks later my pastor called me to his office, he  had tears in his eyes, and he handed me a letter that had been given to him to give to me.  He knew how tough it had been.  He had also received a phone call.  The call was from the boy’s grandma who had tried to get hold of me just to say thanks.  The letter was from, alias intact, Eddie.

“Thank you for not giving

up on me, thank you for

staying with me in the fire,

thank you for being my friend

when the other kids wouldn’t,

thank you for giving me the

best week of my life and thank

you for telling me how much

God loves me and telling me

 about Jesus,

your friend, Eddie.”

But it was me who should have done the thanking, he taught me so much.  He taught me how it hurts to be on the outside of everything.  Outside of a good reputation—outside a natural welcome from his won family.  How hard it was for someone who had always failed to succeed.  Mostly just be present with them when they are doing their best to be unlovable.  It was only four days and what Eddied didn’t know spending time with him was like spending time with myself as a child.  God reached Eddie and he reached me, one day, one event, one situation at a time.

Each of us has opportunities most only last for a short time.  When we miss them, they are gone, along with the blessings.
-by Colleen

Newsletter

A Word from Pastor David



Easter is past and even though there is a late snow storm in the forecast, spring is upon us and summer is just around the corner. Do you have any plans? If you don’t it will be fall and winter again before you know it and you will have missed summer. Our days can roll by one after another, simply chalked up as one long continuum of the same thing or plans can be made to do something extraordinary. You could plan a cruise or trip to some far away place, but making an investment in the future is always important.



As most of you know, recently my Father passed away. We simply called him, “Dad”. His life was ordinary by most standards. He never earned a million bucks, wrote a book, sang or spoke to crowds. He just went to work and did the best he could to be kind to others. He brought home his paycheck and trusted my Mom to spend the family’s money wisely. He never invested in the stock market and when he was horse-trading; he was actually trading real horses! He was a serious homebody living in the same house for over 61 years and within a ½ mile radius since 1933. But, at the prodding of my Mom we vacationed each summer to some exotic place like Ellensburg, Cashmere or a distant shore like Jackson Hole WY or Salt Lake UT. We also took horse trips into the mountains. Far into the mountains. Where alpine forests, heather and the effects of the late snow are always evident, the landscape was magnificent and it was a photographer’s paradise.


Me, I wanted to stay home. I wanted to be with my friends. I wanted to play, hangout and do what I wanted to do. The idea of being cooped up in a car for a week or riding hour after hour on horseback was not my idea of a vacation. In my immaturity I wanted what I wanted, not what I needed and at my age I didn’t even consider what was best for our family. I lived in the day, in the moment, whatever made me feel good and my plans were all about me.


As the years pass by, life has a way of booting us into the future whether we are ready to go or not. Life can be absorbed by a lack of money, lack of time and the busyness of the day. But even though life has little mercy and keeps turning tomorrows into yesterdays, we have to break from the mundane and create the valuable. There are many valuable things in life and keeping our priorities straight is how we can make lasting investments to the future.


In Matthew 4:18-20 the Bible says, “While walking by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him.” I suppose Peter and Andrew could have said, “Thanks, but no thanks.” They could have noted the wants of the day. They could have thought of the costs of the fishing nets and considered the short life of nets left piled on a beach. But what they did was to invest themselves in something important, following Christ. Oh they still fished. We find them in their boat in Matthew 14 and John 6 and in John 21:3 we find Peter and the disciples going fishing again. After all they were fishermen and they needed food and money to survive.


But we also find they spent plenty of time focused on spending time with Christ, worshiping God and teaching others about God’s love for man. So let this be a reminder as you prepare your summer plans and all the things you want to do, there are some things you need to do. There will be a need for VBS teachers, Bible Study teachers, neighbors and friends who need to be invited to Church and at times comforted. These are the things that change communities and turn the mundane to the extraordinary. We need the mundane and we need vacations and trips. But the rest of society needs to know that God loves them and God sent us to spread the good news.