June 2025 Newsletter

Frank Paul
Jun 14
8 min read

Quotes of the month

May the Lord lift the weight of yesterday from your shoulders. May He renew your vision and stir hope in your heart again. You are not forgotten. You are not finished. You are being prepared for something greater. His peace is with you, and His promises still stand.

Friends Who Love Andrew Wommack website

If you're going to preach about God's love, preach about what God hates. If you preach about God's mercy, preach about God's wrath. If you mention heaven, don't forget hell.

Preach the whole counsel of God. Acts 20:27. A half-truth equals a whole like

J. C. Ryle

I didn't find Jesus; He found me. Because He wasn't lost. I was. Amen.

Jesus is Our Savior website

God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for the very things we are celebrating and teaching in our schools and allowing in some churches today. Prayer should be put back in our schools, the Ten Commandments should be put back in our schools, and the Pledge of Allegiance should be put back in our schools.

Compelling Truth website

You can't walk with both Jesus and the world. They're going in two different directions.

Encouragement Group website

Morning is God's way of saying one more time, go, touch a heart, encourage a mind, inspire a soul, and enjoy the day. Amen.

Christian Memes website

Hear Our Prayer This Day

by Austin Fleming

In the quiet sanctuaries of our own hearts, let each of us name and call on the One whose power over us is great and gentle, firm and forgiving, holy and healing.

You who created us, who sustains us, who call us to live in peace, hear our prayer this day.

Hear our prayer for all who have died, whose hearts and hopes are known to you alone.

Hear our prayer for those who put the welfare of others ahead of their own, and give us hearts as generous as theirs.

Hear our prayer for those who gave their lives in the service of others, and accept the gift of their sacrifice.

Help us to shape and make a world where we will lay down the arms of war and turn our swords into plough shares for a harvest of justice and peace.

Comfort those who grieve the loss of their loved ones and let your healing be the hope in our hearts.

Hear our prayer this day and in your mercy answer us in the name of all that is holy.

The peace of God be with you.

Ever Wonder What Jesus Meant by This?

by Frank Paul

“The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath: Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27-28

I never understood exactly what that meant, so I did some digging. I used Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible for a start. Excellent study guide for Bible readers. It literally has every single verse of the Bible explained in today’s language.

Dake’s said this, “Meaning rest. Man was not made for rest, but rest was made for man to use for his best good.”

It was God who created the Sabbath so that we could take advantage of the seventh day and rest, reflect on God’s creation, and be grateful for our existence and everything we have. We did not ordain the seventh day as rest, God did; so if God chose the seventh day as the Sabbath, man has no right to change what day it is we rest; and since God created the Sabbath, then truly Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath, and He can do pretty much whatever He wants to on that day.

God knew we would need a mental and physical break from a week’s worth of work; to rest and recharge our batteries. God knew that day of rest was so important that He even designated it as the Fourth Commandment. “Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy.”

Here is another explanation from the website Bible Tools. “When Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man, He meant that the Sabbath was created as a blessing for all of humanity, not just for the Israelites. It was designed for the benefit and wellbeing of mankind, emphasizing that man came first and the Sabbath was made afterwards. The Sabbath was intended to help people, not burden them.”

The Powerful Jesus website says this. “The Sabbath was designed to provide rest, refreshment, and a time to focus on spiritual matters. The Sabbath’s original intent was to benefit humanity, offering rest and a break from the toil of daily life. This idea is applicable even today, encouraging us to find balance and rest in our busy lives.”

If you want further information about the Sabbath, you can refer to my previous article on the website, “The Passing Parade, Saturday or Sunday.” That article helps to

distinguish which day is truly the Sabbath, Saturday or Sunday; but the main point is to pick one and try to make it a weekly habit. Take a break, unplug, do restful things, or do nothing, but pick a day and stick with it. I believe the true test is in the “doing.” Experiment with yourself and see if a day of rest doesn’t truly refresh you for the week ahead.

Hopefully this helps explain Jesus’ words for you.

A Word to Planners

by Alistair Begg

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit” – yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. James 4:13-14.

In and of itself, there’s nothing wrong with planning ahead. John Wesley, the great evangelist, even used to plan out his day in twenty-minute segments, ensuring that a third of an hour wouldn’t pass without him addressing himself to matters of God’s kingdom. But in these verses, James offers a word to men and women in every generation who are addicted to their calendars, who clutch at their phones, and who live with the impression deep down that the world will stop turning if they get off track.

At the heart of the matter is this rock-solid fact: to us, the future is unknown. Will it be sunny tomorrow? Will your flight be on time? Will the traffic be busier than usual and interrupt your schedule? We can plan as best as we’re able to, but ultimately all our best plans may fall into tatters. Indeed, they do so routinely. To presume upon the future is foolish when our ignorance of that future is an indisputable fact.

Facing this ought to have two effects. First, it ought to humble us. James has already reminded his readers that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6), and issued the challenging call: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you” (v 10). Now he reminds us that we ought not to take for ourselves the seat that belongs to God alone – we are not in control. It is our response to disruption and disappointment that reveals whether we have truly grasped this.

Secondly, tomorrow being unknown to us ought to help us, for the future is hidden from us for our good and for God’s glory. If we knew of some success that awaited us, we might become unbearable, preening our feathers and basking in our own sense of self-importance. By the same token, we should be thankful that we don’t live in the constant awareness of our future stumblings and struggles, fears and failures, bereavements and heartaches – for what advantage would that give us? God knows. That is enough.

So remember this: God the Creator established you, made you, and gave you all your abilities, your looks, your opportunities. He has ordered your life right up until today, and will continue to do so until He welcomes you home. Because of this, you can actually rejoice in what you do not know.

There is beauty in the mystery. There is great wonder in knowing that God is ordering all things and will accomplish His purposes in and for you, whatever tomorrow brings. It is this perspective that will enable you to look at your plans for today, tomorrow, and further on down the path of your life, and say with a humble peace in your heart, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” James 4:15

“There is nothing little in God; His steadfast love is like Himself – it is infinite. You cannot measure it.”

Charles H. Spurgeon.

Good News

I am pleased to announce my new book, Jesus in Plain Words, is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and a number of Ebook sites. The book grew from my years of Biblical study and prayer. Filled with Reflections and Prayers and Biblical insights, Jesus in Plain Words can be a good companion for your walk with God. My hope is that your mind and Spirit are challenged and inspired and that through this book I can help point you in the direction of Jesus, and let Him do the rest. If you go to the main page of our website and scroll to the bottom, you will find a link to Amazon. Thank you.

www.thesowerofseeds.com

More Good News

Tai chi and kung-fu classes are up and running. On inclement days, as today was, we meet anyway at 10 A and just chat about whatever’s on your mind, Bible stuff, anything that comes up. It’s great to see people showing up again to train.

Tai chi is at 10 A, kung-fu is at 11:15. Still just ten bucks a class. Get together chats on rainy days are free. Hope to see you soon…

Ancient Prayers

Almighty and merciful God, the Fountain of all goodness, who knowest the thoughts of our hearts, we confess unto Thee that we have sinned against Thee and done evil in Thy sight.

Wash us, we beseech Thee, from the stains of our past sins, and give us grace and power to put away all hurtful things; so that, being delivered from the bondage of sin, we may bring forth worthy fruits of repentance.

O eternal Light, shine into our hearts.

O eternal Goodness, deliver us from evil.

O eternal Power, be Thou our support.

Eternal Wisdom, scatter the darkness of our ignorance.

Eternal Pity, have mercy upon us. Grant unto us that with all our hearts, and minds, and strength, we may evermore seek Thy face; and finally bring us, in Thine infinite mercy, to Thy holy presence.

So strengthen our weakness that, following in the footsteps of Thy blessed Son, we may obtain Thy mercy, and enter into Thy promised joy. Amen.

Alucuin 780 A.D.

(Disclaimer: What you are reading is all me, with the exception of some articles I include by other Christian authors, but I always give them credit and their own byline.

I enjoy writing and creating. So I use no AI writing assist programs, nor will I ever going forward. Thank you.)