LORD, teach us to pray!

One time I had a friend share with me that she was diagnosed with cancer and on another occasion a friend shared a very trying time in her marriage. I found myself struggling how to pray so I asked God to teach me how to pray.

I love that the disciples had the same feeling as they watched John and Jesus pray. They knew they lacked. So, they asked!  "LORD, will you teach us to pray as John taught his disciples?"

Jesus provided a model to pray, but He also used stories to teach the importance of persistence and to trust the generosity of God.

Do you struggle knowing what to pray, too? If so, just ask Jesus to teach you how. I promise it will bless you and give you words beyond your understanding and ability to pray.

Check out the story below.

LORD, teach us to pray.

God is Looking for Obedience not Emotions

He drew on the chalk board three doors and then he slowly went to each door and began to draw so that his hand motions matched the emotions he was describing. 

On the first door, he drew fast with large sweeping motions as he described a family with fear. Their shoulders were hunched and they walked around with worried expressions. He said, "This family was terrified they would do it wrong and not fast enough. They felt like they must hurry before the LORD passed over Egypt to take the first born son."

On the second door he drew with very slow and precise motions to make sure every part of the frame was covered. He said, "This family was subdued, quiet, focused on the details with very little interaction. This family felt that it was all about the details and getting it just right."

On the third door he slapped a quick line on the top and a quick line of each side. He shared, "It was sloppy but done with laughter and alot of noise as the family gathered."

He then drew one more door, but he didn't draw over it. He then turned to us and said, "Which families were passed over?"  Everyone agreed the first three but not the fourth.

"Why was the last door not passed over?"  

We answered, "Because they didn't obey God! God said to cover the door post with the blood of sacrifice and all doors with the covering would be passed over."

"Did the emotions matter as they obeyed? Did their emotions stop the LORD from doing what He said He would do?"

"NO!" We all cried out.

"So as you go to do ministry you will face many highs and many lows. Your emotions will want to drive you, but you must obey what the LORD has called you to do and trust that He will do as He said."

His words are echoing in my heart and mind today!

I don't even remember my professor's name! But, everytime I read this passage or let my emotions get the best of me, I remember this truth! God is looking for the one that obeys Him. My emotions do not determine God's faithfulness. God is faithful. He will do what He says. 

Today, I will remember the promise that He is my ever present help in a time of need.

How about you? Which family most represents you right now? Where do you need to walk in obedience regardless of the emotion? 

For some, it might be at the very start, believe on the LORD Jesus and you will be saved. 

Did you know that this passover moment was a foreshadowing of Jesus dying on the cross for our sins and that anyone who believes in Him will have the gift of life? Regardless of your emotion your belief is like the blood covering over the doorpost when death comes it will not hold its sting. 

Shalom y'all! 

God uses the Small to Change the Nations: Modeling a Generational Timeline while Teaching the Stories of Joseph and Esther By: Dr. Tara Rye

“One person can change a generation!” My friend from India shared that his dad used to say this to him often. I have not been able to stop thinking about that short phrase. As I prepared for our trip to Gambella, Ethiopia, to minister to the Nuer people group that phrase bounced in my head, my heart, and my prayers. I realized that God was doing something in me in preparation for our teaching time. We were going to minister to the Hope for the Children Orphanage. Simon, the leader, did not set out to be the father of several hundred children, but as he saw all the children without parents because of the South Sudanese crises he began to gather the children. He told me, “We cannot change our nation if we do not give them Jesus!” So, Simon started collecting children that had nowhere else to go. He sought to change the next generation by loving the children of South Sudan. 

When Simon invited me to come and teach to the top English-speaking students, I prayed and asked God what would be the best Bible stories for us to bring. I knew the children were being taught the Bible, so what stories might have a profound impact? God put it on my heart to bring the story of Joseph and Esther because they both represented someone placed in circumstances beyond their control, yet they both chose to honor God and their people. I also knew that the Nuer language did not have the Old Testament translated yet, so I wanted to introduce them to stories in the Old Testament that they might not know yet. I love that Joseph and Esther’s life choices led to both of them being used to save their nations. God uses the small to change nations! This would be a phrase I would repeat often! It became our theme for the whole week and the one truth we wanted them to know deep in their souls. 

Generational Timeline 

Because knowing your family’s tribe and history are important to the Nuer, I wanted to help them see God’s generational timeline for them through the Bible and how each person plays an important role in God’s big plan. We started off by creating a human generational timeline for the Bible. We invited a boy and a girl to come forward to represent Adam and Eve while sharing that God created all things. He created the first man and woman in His image. God had a plan for the man and woman, but they disobeyed God and, in the process, brought shame and separation from God for all of mankind. But God had a plan to restore mankind to Him. God would provide a way through their descendants to save the nations through His Son. 

In the process of time, God chose Abraham, a descendant of Adam and Eve. At this point, we invited one boy to stand beside Adam and Eve to represent Abraham. God promised Abraham that his descendants would be like the stars of the universe and the sand of the sea. Through Abraham God would save the nations. Abraham was to go and tell the nations what God had done for him. The LORD blessed Abraham to be a blessing. 

Abraham had a son named Isaac, and the promise continued through him. We then invited someone to stand as Isaac. Then we shared that Isaac had a son named Jacob. Now, Jacob had twelve sons. God promised Jacob that he would give him the land of Canaan and make his family great and blessed him with many good things. Jacob in turn blessed his sons. We then invited someone to stand as Jacob and then gathered twelve people to stand as Jacob’s twelve sons. 

Once Jacob’s twelve sons were settled upfront, we pulled one boy out to represent Judah. We shared that Judah was blessed by his father Jacob. Jacob told Judah that the royal line would come through him and that the nations would come to obedience through his descendants. It will be through Judah’s descendants that Jesus, the Savior of all nations, would be born. It was very important that the descendants of Judah were kept safe. We then pulled one boy forward to be Joseph. 

Next, we explained that we would be telling the story of Joseph during the week. He will save his brothers and forgive them even though they sold him into slavery. What man did for evil, Joseph recognized that God used for good. God used Joseph to protect the descendants of Judah so that we would eventually have Jesus, the Messiah. God used the small to save His nation. 

We then explained that many descendants were born and as time passed, the people of God ended in exile in Persia. It is in Persia that we will meet Esther and Mordecai. We then invited a girl and a boy forward to stand for Esther and Mordecai. We explained that God used Esther as a young, orphaned, unmarried girl in exile to become the queen of Persia. The king of Persia oversaw 127 territories that spanned from India to Ethiopia. We wanted them to see how Esther was the queen for their nation and that for such time as was needed, she was willing to sacrifice herself for the people of God. God used the small to save her nation. 

We then explained that in the process of time, God saw fit to send His one and only Son, Jesus, to come to earth. At this point, we brought up one boy to represent Jesus. We explained that Jesus grew in wisdom and stature in favor with God and man. Jesus preached, taught, healed, and cast out demons while pointing to the father’s will. Jesus willingly died on the cross for the things that all of mankind did and will do that bring shame and dishonor to God. Anyone who believes in Jesus is promised eternal life. Jesus gave the command to go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He entrusted His followers to bring the message that God loves the whole world and sent His Son for them. God will use the small to change nations. Jesus entrusted His command to go make disciples to anyone who seeks to follow Him and be His disciple. 

I then invited the team upfront. I had shared previously that each of them was someone that I had the privilege of training, and now I am teaching alongside them. As much as possible, I gave them the key role as teachers. 

We split the stories equally, so it was a shared teaching time. My prayer was that they would see the generational teaching being modeled. We then shared that in the process of time, we learned the story of God and how He so loved the world that He sent His Son. We obeyed Jesus’ command to go make disciples of all nations and that is how we ended up in Gambella. God uses the small to change the nations! 

I then shared that God has a plan for you! If He can use us, then He can use you! God wants to use you though you may feel small to change the nations!

Big God Story Summary

In order to make sure that the listeners knew the Big God Story, we had Alice come forward and tell the Big God Story in Summary. She shared a less than three-minute basic summary of what God did for the nations through Jesus. The generational timeline allowed them to see and hear where each person fell in God’s timeline, but we also wanted to make sure that they knew what God had accomplished through Jesus. 

The Big God Story Summary was told to emphasize Jesus’ role in the timeline. We did not want to miss out on sharing about Jesus since we would spend the week telling stories of Joseph and Esther. Below is the Big God Story Summary. 

The Most High GOD created the heavens and the earth and every living creature in the earth, in the sea, and in the sky said, “It is good!” 

Then the Most High God created man in His image and placed him in the garden and told him to care for the garden. 

He could eat from anything in the garden, but not from the tree of knowledge, good, and evil. 

But man ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil and it caused him to be ashamed. His shame separated him from God, and he hid from God. 

God loved man, so He made the first blood sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins and sewed clothes for man from the animal. 

God then gave man commandments to live by, but the man did not obey those commandments and his disobedience hurt his relationship with God. 

The Most High God had a plan. He so loved the world that He sent His Son Jesus so that all who believe in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. 

Jesus walked on this earth as the Son of God teaching, preaching, healing, and casting out demons. 

Man killed Jesus and hung Him on the cross. Jesus died and rose on the third day. 

Now everyone who believes in Jesus will not perish but have everlasting life. 

Before leaving this earth, Jesus commanded us to go make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Teaching them to obey all I have commanded you. I will be with you always! (Rye, p. 6) 

One villager came up to me later in the week and said that they really appreciated us sharing the Big God Story Summary. It helped him to see the generational timeline for Jesus. I found it interesting how different aspects of what we did impacted different people. This villager was so impacted by the Big God Story that he came back and took notes while other stories were told. He was just someone passing by on his way to do chores, but he stopped to listen. He made sure to stop by the next day because he was so captivated by the stories.

Story Summary 

Now that we know God’s generational timeline for Joseph and Esther and how God has us moving toward Jesus, our team would teach the entire story of Joseph and Esther using various storytelling methods. We would introduce the story with a short summary of the story. The story summaries typically take about twenty minutes. They cover the key scenes with simple phrases. This provides the overview of the story so the group can know the whole context of the story before we dive into the week of learning. 

Grant presented the story of Joseph in summary as the crowd kept growing. As villagers would pass by us while we taught under the big tree, they would stop their journey and stay to listen. Our group that was supposed to be fifty students from Hope for the Children Orphanage ended up being a huge crowd from the village and almost all of the students at the orphanage. The big tree outside the compound not only provided us with shade from the sun but also placed us on the path that villagers traveled as they completed their daily chores.

One teacher, Peter, came up to me after Grant taught the Joseph story in summary and said, “Thank you for sharing the generational outline. I now see how Joseph fits in God’s story. This is very good! We will be using this in the future. We have taught about Joseph, but not like this.” 

On Monday and Tuesday, we only focused on Joseph. We told Esther on Wednesday and Thursday. The Esther summary was told by Emily. We were very excited about Esther because when we asked if anyone knew the story of Esther, no one raised a hand. Emily had a surprise element to her story summary. She prepared a short song that introduced the characters before she told her story summary. She used the same motions that we created for the story in motion, but only introduced Esther, the king, Mordecai, and Haman. The children loved it, but I am certain some of the teachers loved it more!

Emily’s song 

My name is Esther. My husband is the king. My uncle’s name is Mordecai and Haman wants the Jews to die! 

(You can access Emily's Story Song at this link.) 

As I woke up in the mornings while in Gambella, I would be singing Emily’s catchy tune. As a teacher, it was my gift on the trip. It illustrated how Emily owned her story and took seriously the call we give to our listeners to go and create their own thing related to the story. She took it to the next level and owned it. This is when generational teaching blesses those who have given the investment to another! As we traveled home, this story song was a fun way to show family and friends what we did in Gambella. One night as Emily led her story song, even the fathers in the room stood and joined in the motion and song!

Emily’s song prepared the listener well for her story summary. The sound of the crowd moving and chatting never seemed to cease. There always seemed to be a hum of movement and chatter, but, when Emily stood and started telling the story of Esther the silence that fell was palpable. We never once had to ask them to listen or be quiet. The power of story silenced them as they were gripped with the true tale of a young orphan girl becoming queen. A few women listened with huge smiles on their faces as the story unfolded.

Story Outline in Motion

After the story summary was told, we introduced the story through a basic outline that used motions to help us remember key scenes in the storyline. These were shared with a sing-song sound while using hand motions that communicate an idea. 

Because I knew movement was important to the storytellers in Nuer, I wanted to incorporate something that would provide easy story recall as well as provide a fun activity for the children. I created a basic outline and motions to tell the story, but the story in motion came alive when we as a team sat down and went through the motions together. The team took what I created and made it better. It is in these moments that teachers realize that what we teach is often done much better by the ones we have the opportunity to pour into. Grant, Alice, and Emily reminded me that I could stand back and reap what they sow because of how God has gifted each of them. 

For the story in motion times, we would ask the listeners to stand up so that they could engage their whole body in the movements. This was intended to help awaken those who might have become too comfortable or to quiet those that were too noisy. Movement will also awaken both sides of the brain. By using both words and movement, we are more likely to recall what we are hearing. 

It was our goal to have the story in motion before story time and after storytime to help create a basic story outline that would chunk the story for recall. For the most part, we were able to follow this rhythm, but there were a few times that time did not allow us to tell it at the end of the training. If they could remember the basic outline, it was easier to recall the bigger story. 

As the week unfolded, it was fun to watch the children both young and old unconsciously do the motion as the fuller story was told. They recognized immediately when the motion connected to the storyline. This story connection will remain long after we leave and enable them to tell it well.

You can access the Joseph story in motion at Joseph Story in Motion .

You can access the Esther story in motion at Esther Story in Motion 

Story Told in Sections 

The Joseph story spans from Genesis 37 to 50. It is the longest narrative of any one character in the Bible. It deals with family drama, favoritism, jealousy, revenge, slavery, power, influence, favor, and blessing. It has plot twists and role reversals found in dreams that come alive. It shows how one man adjusts to cross-cultural situations. 

In contrast, Esther is told in 9 chapters and shows us what it is like to live in exile as a foreigner, an orphan, and being commanded to do things simply because of her womanhood and beauty. It also has plot twists that bring about justice with finality and celebration. In order to tell the stories over several days, I broke them into smaller sections. 

My goal was to try to keep them under four minutes, but I wanted to stay true to how the story scenes unfold. I divided the stories up and each of us told our story section. If you see two names, then that section had two storytellers. If there are three names, it had three storytellers.

Here is our basic outline: 

Joseph 

Joseph was sold into slavery (Genesis 37) Tara & Alice 

God was with Joseph (Genesis 39-41) Emily, Grant, and Alice 

Joseph’s Secret (Genesis 44-45) Alice and Emily 

God’s Promises (Genesis 46-50) Grant, Tara, and Alice 

Esther 

A Plot to Destroy (Esther 3:1-13-4) Emily and Grant 

Honor is Esteemed (Esther 5-7) Tara, Alice, and Emily 

A Nation Saved (Esther 8-9) Grant and Tara 

For each section, the storytellers would stand and tell the whole section at one time. This allowed for the flow of a natural story conversation, and it followed the scenes for that section. We would not do an introduction; we would simply start telling our story. The first person would start off by saying something like this is a true story in the Bible and then start telling. The last storyteller would say, May God honor the telling of His word! This allowed a clear beginning and ending for the sacred story of God.

QAR (Question, Answer, Response) 

After each story section, we then began a process of asking questions about what the listeners discovered from the story. Each storyteller would stand and ask basic observational questions related to the story. At the beginning of the week, the group did not engage much. But as the week progressed and they discovered the rhythm of listening and sharing, they started answering more quickly and more excitedly. We discovered that we did not have to ask anyone to retell the story because someone always seemed to retell it naturally. When a question was asked, they would often summarize the story as part of their answer. We would faithfully encourage them to go and tell the story to someone else!

Using art for story recall 

In order to help me recall the story of Joseph and the story of Esther, I created storyboards using stick figures. As I prayed about Esther, it was on my heart to provide a storyboard that could be replicated with bead art. I created a storyboard using geometric shapes to help me recall the story. I wanted to put the storyboard on scarves to hand out to the children. This way they could use them for headbands and then take them off to share with someone. Because I knew that art was not a typical learning tool used to recall stories in Nuer, I did not use it as part of our main teaching. However, at the end of the week when they knew the story of Joseph and Esther, I pulled out the art and retold the story using the storyboard to reinforce what they already learned. This is best used in smaller groups so that everyone can see the storyboard and follow along. It was quite a task to try to use with a large crowd. 

On the day before I was to share the storyboards one of the teachers, Peter shared with me that he loves using art. I showed him the storyboards, and he was very excited. I gave him the challenge to create art to tell Bible stories. I also had a young villager named Prisca approach me and say that every day as she passed by while doing her chores, she loved hearing the stories. She wanted to come by in the afternoon to learn more. To my surprise, she showed up that afternoon. She said, “I am sad that you will not be telling more stories this afternoon.” We were doing fun activities in the afternoon while Pads4Pupils taught women’s hygiene. I asked Prisca, “Would you like for me to share them with you now?” She said, “Yes!” So, I took out the scarves and started telling her the story of Esther. A small group of young men and a few boys gathered behind us as I used the story scarf to tell the story. I told her both the story of Esther and Joseph. I gave the scarves to Prisca and asked her to go home and share it with her family. She did! She shared with her mom, sisters, and aunts. Her mom and one sister came to greet me the next day. 

The next day Prisca and several family members showed up for our morning teaching time when I presented the story scarves and told the stories using the art. We had our team and a few teachers stationed around the crowd holding the story scarf pointing to the symbol as I told the story. For the most part, the group was able to track along with me and see how the story unfolded using the art. I left behind 70 scarves for both the story of Joseph and Esther for the teachers to distribute as they felt necessary. In order to help the teachers, recall what each symbol stands for I left behind a printout of what each symbol means for each row. 

The storyboard is unique in that it starts at the bottom of the page and moves up. This was to be symbolic of how God uses the small to change the nations! He lifts us up and moves us up when we are willing to seek Him and walk in obedience to Him. God used Prisca to show us that He can use art in their area to help them with story recall and encourage others to want to come and hear more. This affirmed the importance of using as many methods as possible.

When our team left the area and was staying at a guest house, I pulled out a story scarf to give to the house manager and assistant. I did not intend to tell the whole story but was showing them how to use the story scarf with the women they serve. The house manager sat down so he could listen to the whole story. So, a moment when I thought I would be just handing out a gift with a short explanation ended up being the whole telling of Esther using the scarf. Once the story started, he did not want to leave until he heard it all. 

The story scarf is a tool that can be used to draw someone into the story, and it is fun because you can give it to them so they can use it to retell as well! Another example of how, God uses that which is small to change the nations! 

On Thursday afternoon as I was about to crawl into the bajaj to leave when a young boy walked up to me and did the motions for “God has a plan for you” as he spoke in Nuer and then he hugged me! I knew in that moment that God had used that which was small to change one, and it only takes one to change a generation! Because God uses that which is small to change nations! 

 And in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” (Genesis 22:18)

The story summary, story outline in motion, and the stories we told can be found in a workbook I created called Joseph and Esther (Rye. 2022).

The Parable of the Tenant

What will the Vineyard owner do?

I have read the Parable of the Tenant (Mark 12:1-12) for three days now.  Sometimes God just wants us to sit and be still in a passage.  

There is so much here, but what I caught for prayer in this moment is that when the religious leaders that sought to hurt Jesus heard this story they feared the crowd and walked away. I thought now that is a great prayer today. 

Father, let those who seek destruction of Your people that You placed in this massive garden called earth let them fear the crowd and walk away from seeking to cause more destruction.  I especially long for this in the Ukraine right now.  I recognize that this is a temporary fix because they will seek to do it again. Thank you for being so faithful in sending servants so that even they may know You and respect Your Son. In Jesus name amen

Peace on Earth Good Will to Men: An Angel's Story

I am an angel of the LORD, a messenger of God. 

 Today I am being sent to you to give you a message that GOD loves everyone. The good news is a gift from the Almighty for all people everywhere. 

I remember the day the announcement came for us to prepare for the birth announcement. All of Heaven was rejoicing. Excitement filled the air. 

The angels were flying about singing Glory to God in the Highest! Our joy filled heaven with anticipation of this great event. 

Do you know what event I am talking about? Please let me tell you the true story from the perspective of an angel of the LORD. 

It all started the day the angel Gabriel was told to go and give a message to a young maiden in Nazareth, a small town in Galilee. Her name was Mary. She was a gentle young maiden that loved GOD very much. She was engaged to a young man named Joseph. He was simple carpenter that was honest, faithful, and true. 

Oh, how excited we were to watch Gabriel prepare for his trip to earth. I could feel the tickles of joy crawl up and down my spine. For this was the greatest gift to ever be given. Peace on earth and good will toward men.

As in all gifts are free, it was free to be taken because grace was pouring out from heaven through this announcement. We peered down from heaven watching Gabriel appear to Mary. Oooh, He gave her such a fright! 

He said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Her face creased with fear. She did not realize that GOD found great pleasure in her and chose her special for this tremendous occasion. 

Gabriel instantly tried to calm her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with GOD. You will be with child and give birth to a son. You are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The LORD GOD will give Him the throne of this father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; His Kingdom will never end.” 

It was at that moment, I realized all of Heaven was silent. Every angel held their breath in anticipation of Mary’s response to the angel Gabriel. 

Her eyes lowered as she whispered to Gabriel, “How can this be since I am not married?” 

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of GOD,” Gabriel replied. 

As the words rang from Mary’s lips, “I am the LORDS servant. May it be to me as you have said,” all of Heaven breathed again. We began to sing “Glory to God in the Highest and on Earth peace and good will toward men!” We exulted in the great gift of GOD in sending Jesus to man. 

Peace on earth. Good will to men.

There was a moment of hesitation in our singing as Joseph struggled with the news that Mary was with child. He did not understand about the baby.

 

The LORD dispatched an angel to him while he slept to give him this message: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save his people from their sins.” Joseph woke up and did as the angel of the LORD told him and took Mary as his wife.

Heaven danced again for the greatest gift would soon be born. 

Joseph and Mary traveled to his hometown of Bethlehem because of a census that Caesar Augustus decreed. We watched from heaven as they traveled the long road to Bethlehem from Galilee enduring the dirt paved road as the elements of the sun and moon paved their journey. Joseph had layered blankets on the donkey’s back so Mary could ride in comfort. His kind ministrations comforted her and allowed her to rest pleasantly. 

When they arrived in Bethlehem the little village was so crowded there was no place for them stay. Joseph went from house to house trying hard to find a room for them. The baby was to be born soon. 

An innkeeper saw that Joseph was very concerned. He felt so bad he did not have a place for the couple to sleep, but he had an idea. He walked Joseph and Mary around to his stable where he kept his animals. He said, “You can rest there!” 

A weary Mary walked into the stable and laid down to rest in the hay. Even the animals quieted waiting for the gift from GOD. Finally, a wailing cry pierced the night as Mary wrapped the baby in swaddling clothes placing him in the manger. 

At this perfect moment, a star appeared in heaven over the little town of David. Shining in all its glory, as the breath of heaven arrived on earth through the birth of the Christ Child.

Without haste, I gathered a host of angels in the sky above the fields where shepherds kept watch over their flock that night. The glory of the LORD shone around me as I appeared over the shepherds. Terror fell upon them as they fell hiding their eyes from the glory of the LORD! .

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born for you; he is Christ the LORD. This will be a sign to you; you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared praising God, “Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth good will toward men.”

As quickly as we appeared, we disappeared into heaven again to watch the gift of heaven be unwrapped by His children. 

The Shepherds were the first to capture the vision of the newborn babe. They knelt before Him as tears stained their dirt caked faces unable to speak words—as the beauty of promises fulfilled covered the face of the babe nestled in the loving arms of His mother. 

The shepherd’s ran and told everyone what they had seen and heard before they returned to their flock that night! All were amazed! 

Mary and Joseph were so proud of the baby Jesus. On the eighth day of His life, they presented the Christ child at the temple for all to see. One lover of God named Simeon was there that day. He loved GOD very much. He was waiting for the arrival of the Messiah. As he took Jesus in his arms with his weathered hands cradling Jesus gently. He knew he could go in peace.

A song burst from him, “My eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” He announced to all people, “Jesus is for everyone including you and me!” 

Mary and Joseph marveled over what was said of their son, Jesus. 

 

In time Jesus grew. Do you remember the star that appeared the night he was born? Well, there were some wise men studying the stars that night. They saw the star when it appeared. They had heard that it was the star of the Christ Child sent to be the King of the Jews, GODS own gift from Heaven. So they traveled to find the baby Jesus. They traveled for many months to see Jesus bringing Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. What they found on the day they arrived was a great surprise. The gift they received was far greater than their gifts or their journey! It was the gift of life! 

God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. 

This is the free gift of Heaven. Joy made complete in the birth of a baby. The Baby Jesus was born for all people every where. 

It does not matter who you are, where you have been, or what you have done. God gave a gift by sending His One and Only Son! For all people everywhere. “Glory to GOD in the highest. Peace on earth and good will toward men.” 

Written and told by Dr. Tara Rye at Grace University in 2017 for the Introduction to Orality Story Celebration! 

Shallom y'all!

Knowing the Names of God Builds Enable Obedience and Obedience Builds Hope

Listen here: An Angel Tells Joseph the Baby is Jesus

How do you respond when someone says, "Obey or Obedience!"  Does it cause you to want to fight or listen?  What if I told you that often obedience builds hope? 

In today's advent story, we will discover that Joseph's obedience gave him hope to do the right thing. 

This week as I reflected on the Christmas stories to teach them I wrote out every name given to Jesus through the Christmas stories. Here are some I noted.  They are from the three angel visits to Mary, Joseph, and the shepherd's stories.

Jesus

Son of the Most High

King David's descendant 

King of Israel

Holy

Son of God

The LORD Saves

Emmanuel

God with us

Messiah

Savior

The Lord

Knowing the names of God help us to understand His character and that builds hope. It also helps us to obey when things just don't make sense or seem hard. 

I love how God made sure Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds were given the character traits and names that would help them walk in obedience to fulfill His will in their lives. Our lives are changed because of it.

Where do you struggle with obedience? What character trait of God do you call upon to help you walk in obedience?  How did it give you hope? 

Blessings come when we obey! Joseph got to become the earthly father of the heavenly king because of his obedience and we now live in hope because of his gift.

Father, please use this story to build hope today. Here is to knowing the character of God and walking in obedience. Thank you for hope! 

Shalom y'all!

Christmas: Uninvited Guests

Listen to the story: The Angel Tells Mary she will have a Son

I love preparing for guests to come over. As I bustle about my house, I consider their needs and how I can care for them. My heart overflows with goodness and I cannot wait for them to enjoy our time together. Yet, sometimes when a guest arrives uninvited it is easy for my response to be fear. My fear may come in many forms. I am not ready. I am not prepared. I am too busy. I am tired or my house is a mess. Ugh! 

As we enter the season of Christmas, I wonder at the bustle of heaven in preparation for Jesus' visitation on earth. People had been praying and anticipating His arrival, but it did not happen as they expected. 

I imagine God was so excited about inviting us to join Him that He sent on three different occassions messengers to prepare people.

The angels visits were not expected. In fact, they caused fear. The people were not prepared and most definitely did not expect it to happen as it did. Yet, each one responded to their uninvited guest with a yes.

How do you respond to uninvited guests? How do you respond to God's unexpected messengers? Have you allowed your bustle to get in the way of seeing the uninvited guests? Have you been preparing for God to come, but not welcomed the gift of His Son? 

I'm praying I am ready! How about you?

ALL NATIONS BY ALL MEANS

ALL NATIONS BY ALL MEANS 

When I received a friend request from a man wearing a topi I was intrigued. I thought, Why would he be friending me? After checking out his profile to make sure he was a safe person I friended him. I always examine my friend requests before I accept them. I try to say yes as much as possible because I use my social media for ministry. 

 The next day he wrote on one of my posts to pray for his country. I asked for the name of this country, and he shared it with me. I wrote it down in my prayer journal and started praying the next day. That night I received the longest message in messenger telling me about his people group. 

I learned that the there is 0% literacy among the women and that the men have less than 2%. They take care of cattle and cotton crops. They don’t have tv’s, radios, or Wi-Fi and no Bible is published yet in their language. I also learned that the women are not allowed to use cell phones or in their culture there is no need to do so. They are truly an oral culture. 

He then asked me, “Will you disciple my wife in Bible storytelling?” 

He shared that he prayed and asked God to give him someone that would teach his wife so she could disciple their women because he realized that if they don’t teach the women the Bible then their culture would never change. 

I found myself asking God, “God is this my person of peace? Am I to do this?” and immediately I heard in my heart a resounding, “Yes!” 

My response was, “Here I am, LORD!” We set up a time to meet. Late at night for my husband Greg and me and early morning for them. Now three months later and sixteen Bible stories, this couple is like family to my husband and me. We cannot wait for our Zoom calls and are eager for messages about what is happening in their lives. 

Somehow GOD in HIS sovereign will chose us to go to a place we never thought possible to make disciples through ZOOM of all things. 

We use several different methods as we train: conversations, stories, questions, art, stick figure drawing, graphs, and PowerPoint slides. 

Sometimes Greg and I are up early, and they are up late. We change the time based on the rhythm of our needs, but we remain faithful to giving the Word of God as accurately as we can orally so they can hear the Scriptures in their heart language. 

Greg or I tell the Bible story and then our friend interprets it to his wife so she can hear it. Then she repeats the story back and he interprets it to us so we can tell if she understood correctly. She then meets with five to eight women from five different villages on Friday nights and tells them the Bible stories. They tell them back to her and she checks to make sure they know it. They then go home and tell people the Bible stories in their villages. The women then report back stories of what happened. It is a circle dance of listening, sharing, teaching, listening, sharing, teaching with questions mixed in to help us all understand. 

The NARION theme for 2021 is Mark 13:10 “And the gospel must first be communicated to all nations.” (Mark 13:10). 

Our theme is ALL NATIONS BY ALL MEANS! As I prayed God put on my heart four words that we should remember. 

The first word that God put on my heart is PANTA TA ETHNE! In the great commission God gave us the command to go to all nations by all means. 

All Nations is the PANTA TA ETHNE. There are debates among theologians on whether this word represents the geography, the anthropology, the linguistic, or the Gentile. But in the scheme of things all agree we must go and if someone doesn’t know then we must find a way to get the Scriptures to them in their heart language. 

According to the Joshua Project 41.8% of the world’s population in completely unreached with the message that God so loved them that He gave His only Son, Jesus, to die for them! And if you add up all of the columns except the significantly reached 77.4% of the world’s population needs more people that are willing to say, “Here I am!” 

This bring us to our next word Hineni (Hnaynee) which means “HERE I AM!” 

It appears 17 times in four books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Samuel, and Isaiah). 

My friend that contacted me over social media was willing to use social media to reach out to the nations for help! He was willing to ask me if I was willing to say, “Here I am! I will go to the nations!” He was willing to ask me, when culture would say, a man should not ask a woman for help. He went ahead and asked. He recognized that God was urging him to do so, so he obeyed. 

Hineni is about a call and response. 

The CALLER…. GOD 

 God is seeking our full attention for His purpose. 

The RESPONDER… us

 We have a to make choice. 

   • Am I willing to sacrifice? 

   • Am I willing to obey the call? 

There is great risk in saying, “HERE I AM!” 

   Think of Abraham with Isaac. 

   Think of Joseph searching out his brothers before they threw him in a pit and sold him as a slave. 

   Think of Moses facing his past as a murderer before he could lead the nation out of bondage in Egypt.  

Hineni says… 

   Here I am with ALL of ME! 

   Here I am ready to face whatever is before me! 

   Here I am to do whatever You lead me to! 

   Here I am to go wherever You tell me to go! 

Hineni is… 

   Into the unknown 

   Requires faith  Expects surrender 

   Faces pain 

   Embraces needs of others 

   Dives into the deep 

   Is willing to do God’s circle dance  

Our dear sister Nancy Wilson is a person who lived out Hineni! Nancy served as a Global Ambassador with CRU on the StoryRunners team. She traveled the globe as she surrendered to her Hineni. Nancy visited over 70 countries. She lived out “Here I am” for the nations. She used many methods to reach others. She was an incredible storyteller. She used her clothes as an opportunity to tell stories and draw people into conversations. She used prayer, events, books, and speeches. Nancy used everything at her disposal to reach the nations. 

We want to take a moment to recognize her and say we miss her. We celebrate the life of our dear friend Nancy. Nancy lived out a beautiful circle dance for Jesus all over the world. 

Which leads us to the next word. Marharal. Marharal is the Circle dance! 

It is what Miriam did when they crossed the Red Sea! 

  • The Circle dance celebrates our connection to God and to each other. 

 • The Circle dance is about movement. 

 • The Circle dance is about unity. o In the Circle dance each person will move through the circle from person to person taking the next person’s place. Together moving in unity! You are never stationary and you are never alone!

 • The Circle dance celebrates in community. 

 • The Circle dance is focused on God! He is at the center! The movement is not about the one moving, but the one with whom we encircle! We are all dancing for His glory and praise! 

As I listened to this description at a wedding recently, I thought, “What a beautiful picture of ministry!” 

We each play our part and we keep moving in unity as we seek to follow our “Here I am” LORD call. 

We cannot do this alone! We must do this together and we must do it through many ways. 

This leads me to our last word Multi-modal. 

As we go to the nations with our ‘Here I am’ response and join the circle dance we must be willing to use whatever means possible to reach the unreached. 

Multi-modal is using various methods, strategies, or modes of communication in order to increase meaning. 

Multi-modal is 

 • Adaptive to the audience 

 • Flexible 

 • Interactive 

 • Experiential

 • Uses the senses

 • Creative 

It is Biblical… 

 • Miriam choreographed a group of women to sing, dance, and worship the LORD with hand drums. 

 • David Danced in the streets.

 • Ahimaaz the son of Zadok ran to get a message to David. 

 • Isaiah used poetry to point us to the Messiah.

 • Jeremiah smashed jars as visual aids to show the people God was going to smash them. 

 • Nehemiah shook his robes to show that this is what will happen to the ones that do not follow through with their word. 

 • Jesus used parables and questions.   • Paul wrote letters. 

In God’s call to the Nation’s, it is about using whatever method will help the person develop understanding and meaning when they hear the Word of GOD! 

I love how God’s message has been communicated from so many different methods! It is never about the method! It is about JESUS and reaching the people with HIS message. 

We are here today not to compete with one another, but to celebrate one another as we go to the nations in our unique, “Here I am” with whatever method, strategy, or mode that works to get people the gospel message! 

We celebrate you and thank GOD for all you do! 

Shalom y’all!

The Sinful Woman

Simon, the Pharisee, the sinful woman, and Jesus in Luke 7:36-50

As I shared the story of the sinful woman with a friend she said to me, "I love that HE saw her!" The best hospitality happens when we take the time to see the person!

Every culture has certain expectations for hospitality. Taking time to honor these lets the person know you see them!

Sometimes, we can think we are above the norm. In today's Heaven's Hospitality story, we discover that even religious leaders are not above the norm. They need to take time to see the person and serve the person.  

As you listen, do you see that Jesus kindly pointed out that Simon didn't even take time to see Him, the teacher, and offer him the basics of hospitality? 

If Simon wasn't willing to honor the Rabbi and show Him that he sees Him as a guest worthy of hospitality, what makes you think he would even see a known sinful woman? 

Hospitality sees! It doesn't look at the past. It looks at the person! And does what brings honor.

How to use Symbols to Recall a Bible story

Watch video here:

How do you use Symbols to Recall Bible Stories?

I was recently asked, “How do you use symbols to recall a Bible story?” Some Bible stories are more difficult to recall than others because of abstract ideas, lists, or repetitive dialogue and non-narrative passages are not as easy to internalize because they do not follow the natural narrative flow. This is when it is a good idea to use symbols to help with recall. 

We will use John 3 as our practice story. Did you notice that I chose to divide it into five storylines? 

Notice how I kept the symbols simple and consistent because this helps with recall. Symbols are not meant to be masterpieces that draw the masses to your art, but simple story prompts to help you internalize the passage. It is not intended to be what you will use when you go and tell your story. It is personal to you. Your symbols will not carry the same meaning for someone else. 

For example, in order to remember that Nicodemus is a pharisee I put him in a triangle pointing downward to illustrate that he was a religious leader focused on man’s rules. 

I put a moon over his symbol to remind me that Nicodemus approached Jesus late at night. 

On top of the triangle, you will notice that I have person bowing before another to show that Nicodemus saw Jesus as his teacher and was seeking to learn from Him. 

I kept Jesus’ symbol simple. A stick figure with a halo. 

In order to depict being born again took a lot of thought. I chose to use the theta, the symbol for God because it looked like an egg which is a symbol for birth. The incomplete line on the inside represented that unless someone is born of the Spirit they are not born again. And then I used the cloud to represent the kingdom of God. 

The question mark inside the born-again symbol represented Nicodemus asking, “How can someone be born again?” 

The use of the born-again symbol and a water droplet remind me that we must be born of water and spirit. I drew the wind bigger because there was more information about the Spirit and that it is like the wind that blows wherever it pleases. 

The question mark over the wind/spirit symbol is Nicodemus asking, “How can this be?” 

While the question mark over the symbol of Nicodemus represented Jesus asking, “How is it possible that you as a religious leader do not already know this?” 

The next division in the storyline I noticed it is only Jesus speaking, so I put each of the symbols in a speech bubble. The one with the eyes represents that the Jews speak from what they have seen and know.

For me using the no symbol with the quotations and ellipses was the perfect way to represent that the religious leaders did not accept their testimony. 

And then to show that people were not believing what Jesus said about earthly things, I used a tree. For me a tree is one of God’s beautiful examples of earthly things He created. 

The cloud symbol represented that they would not believe Jesus if He spoke of heavenly things. 

The little man running up the stairs with the no symbol over him represented that no person has ever gone to heaven except the Son of Man. Jesus standing at the top of the stairs with a cloud represented that He is the only one who has been in heaven. 

Some symbols are easy to chose because they are widely used already like the snake on the shepherd staff for Moses, the figure on the cross for Jesus, or the ichthus for believe. 

Jesus on the cross with the trinity symbol signifies that anyone who believes in Jesus will have eternal life. I had a harder time picking this one. I really like how the trinity symbol is created with three believe symbols. 

Creating the John 3:16 verse was fun for me. I layered the images. The world filled with a heart shows that God loves the world. I added Jesus on the cross to symbolize the One and only Son. Again, the trinity symbol represents eternal life provided for all who believe in Jesus. 

The theta symbol with the arrow pointing at Jesus on the cross illustrates that God sent Jesus to the world. The no symbol over the world is the reminder that God did not send Jesus to condemn the world. 

On the next image adding the trinity symbol and removing the no symbol over the world illustrates that God sent Jesus to provide eternal life. 

By now you can see why I chose to use divisions and symbols to help me with the recall. 

Did you notice all the different ways eternal life is repeated? The ichthus symbol and trinity symbol remind us again that the one who believes in Jesus will have eternal life. 

Likewise, the ichthus and trinity symbol covered with the no symbol illustrate that those who do not believe in God’s one and only Son are already condemned by their unbelief. 

In the last storyline, I used a light bulb to convey light. The light bulb over the world shows us that the Light of the world came to earth. I like it when a symbol is easy to choose like a light bulb. It is always best to keep your symbols simple. 

While man’s love for evil is represented by a heart surrounding an evil face. This shows that man chose darkness instead of the light. 

While the choice to not love the light is a light bulb scratched out. I use this to help me remember that those that hate the light fear their evil deeds will be exposed. 

While those that love the truth go into the light so what they do can be seen. Their good deeds are represented by a heart inside a light bulb. 

And you can find the story of John 3 in a link below. 

John 3 Nicodemus Visits Jesus

Let me know if you use symbols to help you with Bible story recall! 

Using symbols to recall Bible stories is a great way to help you be in the Word, be with Jesus and be transformed.

Shalom ya’ll.