November 2023 Conchshell Chronicles

 

The Journal of Seek The Lamb

Lamb Bleatings

Thank you for coming alongside us for our 1st annual Dance Party and for being willing to give Humanically . We are 100%    Humanic and believe in bettering the lives of humans around the world. We all have our formats of giving and helping.

The ways are endless, as are the needs .

Michael and I decided that we would trust God for any increase in our lives and continue to live by faith as chosen by Him to be His Ambassadors. To encourage many to want to follow in faith. The privilege it has been to be able to minister all over the world with a variety of people groups all having one basic need …. To be loved, seen, and acknowledged and encouraged toward the Light and protected from the dark. We are grateful that this mission remains engrained in our hearts wherever we may be and whatever we may be doing. It is with high honor we get to bring an eternal message of hope to all if we remain in that loving Light of his love.

I trust God alone to bring me into His spacious spaces of serving in joy and In the many gifts he has given to me.

The pressure to pay rent and other bills, meet needs assail us constantly but again where does our hope come from?

My hope and trust is on the only One who controls the universe and I constantly beseech him to open up the floodgates of blessings to run free and to liberate me and all those around me.

I sincerely thank all of you who choose to be a part of our lives through your prayers and support. We really appreciate you and your faithfulness. You are few and far between and we are blessed to have you standing with us . Thank you. We pray for God’s grace to abound in your lives and ours as we set our hearts towards the One who cares, loves and is able to do anything about everything.

Laura

 

 The Power of Thanksgiving

The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in November 1621 with about 50 English settlers and over 90 Wampanoag   native Americans. Shellfish, fish, eels, vegetables, and venison was served, along with beer and liquor. Guns were fired, races run, and everyone tried to speak to each other in the Wampanoag and English languages. This event sealed a treaty between these two groups that lasted over 50 years.

The English had arrived the previous year, but over half of the group had died during a harsh winter. Only four  women, 22 men, and 25 children and teenagers survived that winter, yet took time with their neighbors to give thanks to God for His provision, and their survival. The Wampanoag also gave thanks to the Great Spirit, which was common in their culture.

A few years ago, I asked an Israeli friend who proclaimed to be an atheist if she was thankful. She said she was. I then asked “To Whom are you thankful?” Afterall, thankfulness implies gratefulness to someone. She smiled.

We see throughout history the results of individuals and societies giving thanks to God.

Something happens when we do.

 

Before Jesus fed the 5000 with five barley loaves and two fish, he simply gave thanks to his Heavenly Father. Nothing more!

When Paul and Barnabas were in the Philippian jail in stocks, they sang hymns and gave thanks. Soon an earthquake shook the jail, their bonds and chains fell off and cell doors were opened.

Western culture took off when the European society began to personally give thanks to God during the Reformation of the 1600’s. Science, Education, Commerce, and Freedom flourished. The United States was founded on the practice of giving thanks to God. Our Founding Fathers often took time for prayer and thanksgiving even in the most desperate times.

We are commanded at least eight times in the New Testament to constantly give thanks to God in all that we do. Even in all that happens to us- good and not so good.

Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name  of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father                    Colossians 3:17

 

We also note what happens when we don’t give thanks:

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. ²¹ For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was  darkened.            Romans 1:20-21                         

As we read the Bible, it is obvious that we live in a spiritual world which we usually don’t see or hear, but if we are aware, we often feel that world. Things happen to us because of    the conflict in that spiritual realm between God and His angels, and satan and his rebellious angels. This conflict has been going on since before the creation of Earth and provides the background for the Human Experience.

Modern society believes that mankind is good, and will act accordingly if we have good education, good government, and good economic opportunities. Yet over and over we see mankind making decisions that are very self-centered and have adverse ramifications to society. Greed in a few results in poverty for many. Lust for power leads to oppression for many. Wars happen because of mankind’s sinful nature. Paul told his friends in Rome that this sinful nature is amplified when we don’t honor God or give thanks.

 

Beatrice Webb was an English socialist who was a member of the Fabian Society and founded the London School of Economics. She also kept a diary. Here is an entry from 1925:

“In my diary in 1890 I wrote: ‘I have staked everything on the essential goodness of  human nature,’ but now, 35 years later, I have realized how permanent are the evil impulses and instincts in us and how little they seem to change- like greed for wealth and power and how mere social machinery will never change that. We must ask better things from human  nature, but will get a response? No amount of science or knowledge has been of any avail  and unless we curb the bad impulse how will we get better social institutions?”

Good question Beatrice. “How will we get better social institutions?”

 

Over 17 Million died in World War I, fought in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.  That number increased to 40 to 50 Million deaths in World War II, a global conflict that began just 21 years after WW I. Obviously Beatrice is correct in her observation. The ‘evil impulses  and instincts are permanent’.

 

Giving thanks to God opens the door to His Presence.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the LORD is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations.   

                                                                                       Ps. 100:4-5

• Wisdom and understanding are given in the Presence of God.
• Transformation of character happens in the Presence of God.
• Miracles occur because of the Presence of God.

 

Thanksgiving opens the door to God’s Presence. On the other hand, complaining opens a door to the other side. Suddenly attitudes of the heart are amplified by those whispers in our ears demanding justice and what is rightfully ours. We open our mouths, and out come very self-centered words, often causing injury to those around us. As we continue, we create an atmosphere where the dark side thrives- we have opened a door to the pit of hell, and  suddenly we are in the grip of the accuser, the one who opposes all mankind. Look at what  the apostle John saw in his vision:

And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The    dragon and his angels waged war, ⁸ and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer   a place found for them in heaven. ⁹ And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. …. So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her  children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. Revelation 12:7-10, 17

 Things I'm Thankful For: Our Project Ezra Teachers

 

Yes! There is a war in that spiritual world, and although we don’t often see or hear it, we definitely are affected by it and feel the result. We also see the results in our society with poverty, oppression, terrorism, greed, and the indiscriminate and random taking of human life.

 

This week we as a nation take a day to pause and give thanks to God for His Love for us, His eternal plan for us, and his constant provision for us.

Let’s expand our thanksgiving day. Let’s make it every day. Watch the results of entering His Presence with daily thanksgiving. You will start thinking differently, more like Christ. The people around you will also feel a beneficial effect from your thanksgiving. You will become wiser with more self control.  Through our thanksgiving, our communities will change. Notice the diminishing tendency to open the doors of hell through our complaints. Here are photos of some of the things I give thanks for on a regular basis.                           Michael

 

Seek The Lamb Giving

Please consider a gift this month toward our school project, the Kibbutz Nir Oz relief, or support for our missionaries.

Read about this opportunity here:

Kibbutz Nir Oz Relief

Here is the link to our giving page.

Seek The Lamb Giving

 

Rio Coco Beans

Our most popular coffee is the choice of many of our coffee club members because it has a very exquisite taste profile, smooth body and a very satisfying finish. It is a coffee that is really hard to describle.

We have been out of this coffee since April, but the crop is in and we roasted plenty this week. Order yours here for home delivery at 

Rio Coco Beans.

Profits from our coffee business help us pay our teachers in Nicaragua.

Thank you!