posted by Michael on 07/15/08

Here is a letter I recently read and was very impressed with, but was quite surprised to find out who wrote it. It opened my eyes afresh to the seriousness of forsaking Christ! See if you can guess out who wrote it with such authority. I can provide a couple hints if needed. By the way, do you real-ize Christ’s payment for your sin? Do you understand the awe of eternal rewards compared to the vanishing world? Is the judgement day real to you?

“To Mr. Harding

“So oft as I call to mind the dreadful and fearful saying of God, that he which layeth hold upon the plough, and looketh back, is not meet for the kingdom of heaven; and, on the other side, the comfortable words of our Saviour Christ to all that, forsaking themselves, do follow him, I cannot but marvel at thee, and lament thy case, which seemed sometime to be

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3 Comments » | posted in Historical Glimpses

posted by Michael on 07/8/08

On Independence Day, our family happened to read Psalm 124  in our morning devotions.  We could hardly believe how perfectly it fit the occasion!

As you read the chapter, relate it to these historical facts:

1. God protected the armies under George Washington by sending a heavy fog to allow them to escape from Long Island.

2. The taking of the British Fort Ticonderoga is an example of God fighting for us. Ironically, the gate was left open and as Ethan Allen rushed in leading his American troops, the guard’s riffle failed to fire at point blank range! Within minutes Captain Delaplace surrendered the fort to the Americans.

3. Amos Fawnsworth, a militiaman wrote: “About fifteen of us squatted down in a ditch on the marsh and stood our ground. Notwithstanding the bullets flew very thick, there was not a man of us killed. Surely God has a favor toward us….thanks be unto God that so little hurt was done us, when the balls sung like bees round our heads.”

4. God used the weather to play a large role in Washington’s surprise attack at Trenton on Dec. 25, 1776

5. It was the direction a horse chose at a split in the road that revealed Benedict Arnold’s treason, saving West Point and Washington’s life.

6. It was an unbelievable French navy victory and a miraculous and sever weather change that prevented both victory and retreat for the British at Yorktown, ending the war.

The American Militia was not in control of the fog… or the flooding… or the direction of the horse… or the miniature hurricane at Yorktown. Even Clinton, the British commander-in-chief of Cornwallis was forced to acknowledge the intervention of Divine Providence.

Psalm 124

1. If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, now may Israel say;

2. If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us:

3. Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us:

4. Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul:

5. Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.

6. Blessed be the LORD, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.

7. Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.

8. Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

5 Comments » | posted in Family News

posted by Michael on 07/1/08

There have been so many things going on here at the Staddon house that it has been impossible for me to get anything posted for a while. It seems too bad because those things would make great blog posts. We’ve been splitting bee hives, planting trees, harvesting honey, chipping branches, and all kinds of other interesting projects. I even had my first try at welding. It has been a lot of hard, sweat-dripping work. But what deserves a blog post the most is what our family read in Psalm 118 this morning, especially verses 19 through 23:

Verses 19-20: “Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and will praise the Lord: this gate of the Lord into which the righteous shall enter.” Question:Who is “the door of the sheep” through which they enter into the fold?

Verse 21: “I will praise Thee: for Thou has heard me, and art become my Salvation.” Question: Who is our Salvation?

Verses 22-23: “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.” Question: Who is the Head that the builders rejected?

Verse 24: “This is the day that the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Key question: What is “this” Day that the Lord has made?

Read the verses again. Verse 24 is just a continuation of the other verses. The gate, the salvation, and the stone are speaking of Christ. The Day in verse 24 is not ultimately speaking of any 12-hour or 24-hour period! This is speaking of Christ, the Eternal Day in which I will rejoice, beginning the moment that I made peace with God through the sacrifice of His Son. “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” 1 Jn. 5:12. The water Christ gives is a well of water springing up unto everlasting life (Jn. 4:14). “For God, Who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” 2 Cor. 4:6. “The Lord is my light and my salvation” Ps. 27:1, “a light to lighten the gentiles” Luke 2:32, Is. 9:2, and Is. 49:6. According to Hebrews 4:8-10 this eternal day that lives within me is the Sabbath, the Day of rest. “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” Mt. 11:28. My temporal body may work and sweat, but how glorious it is to abide in the Rest of Jesus Christ forever! Woe to me if I attempt the labor of iniquity on this Day! Question: “And to whom sware He that they should not enter into His rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not  profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest” Heb. 3:18 – 4:3a.

4 Comments » | posted in Politics, Recipes, The Bright Side, Tidbits

posted by Michael on 05/13/08

Rosemary is a delightful herb best suited to warm dry climates and sandy soil. Our family has been impressed with the world of difference a little rosemary makes in our stew recipe. I know that there are many people who would like to grow rosemary but their climate is not favorable. Being on the edge of zones 5 and 6 in the mountains of West Virginia, our climate is the opposite: cold and damp with clay soil. Each winter the temperature drops below zero F once or twice. If I had known about others’ failures in attempting to grow rosemary in my kind of environment, I might not have attempted it. But since the family enjoys using rosemary so much, when I heard about a variety that was “hardy to zone 5” named ‘Madeline Hill’ I decided to give it a shot. It is important when trying something new to keep detailed records. Only then can all the factors be considered for helpful conclusions. I hope the details here will be helpful to someone.

I planted it in April ’06 in front of a small south-facing brick wall but the soil was heavy clay that had been amended with peat moss and gypsum. Because neither clay nor peat moss is recommended for Rosemary, I amended it further with sand. The wall is 7 feet from the outside wall of the house so I do not believe it receives any warmth from that source in the coldest days of winter. However, the eave of a porch roof helps keep the soil somewhat dry and that is a good thing for Rosemary.

It seemed to grow happily the first summer. The following winter I insulated the plant if the temperature threatened to go below 15 degrees. I did this by turning a crate over the plant and wrapping it thickly with burlap bags. “Thickly” means about 15 layers. Since a bag is two layers, that means a 7- or 8-bag thickness all the way around. In a 12-day period in February 2007 the temperature fell to single digits seven times, the coldest temperature being -2 degrees F. The temperature rose

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5 Comments » | posted in Possessing the Land

posted by Michael on 04/22/08

"For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the LORD God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations." Is. 61:11

This has been a fascinating verse to think about at this  time of year as I see the buds opening and the seeds sprouting up after an unusually good spring. How is God like a garden? Just as in a garden plants receive the water,  nutrients, air, and light that they need to grow and produce, so those who are planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God (Ps. 92:13). Like a thirsty deer, a dry seed is ready to instantly absorb life-giving water, and "so panteth my soul after thee, O God!" Jehovah is also my Light and my salvation (Ps. 97:1). Just as the garden provides nutrition, Jehovah is my saving health and the Living Bread. If you have eaten that bread (Jn. 6:51) and comprehended that light (Jn. 1:5), you know what I mean, for we speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen (Jn. 3:11).

I advocate and practice sustainability, responsibility, and conservation, but a plant in the earth is only as secure as earth’s conditions allow. The light of the sun itself will not last forever. Droughts can render the richest soil useless and floods can wash it away. But unlike an earthly garden subject to the degeneracy of nature, a soul that is rooted and grounded in Love is as secure as the eternal God. "Although the fig tree shall not  blossom, neither shall the fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet will I rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation." (Hab. 3:17-18) Indeed, you cannot receive Christ without giving up the world (Luke 14:33). What life is there in the Spirit without the flesh (nature) being reckoned dead? (Rom. 6:5-6, 11) We will not be eating of the tree of life in the new heaven and the new earth until the present earth and heaven have passed away (Rev. 21:1 and 22:1-4)

Yes, Jehovah will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. He has caused righteousness and praise to spring forth in my soul. At first it looked like death, but when out came life, there were no regrets!

3 Comments » | posted in Possessing the Land, Tidbits