How to Love the Overlooked and Forgotten - Martin Wiles

But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. Matthew10:29 NLT

The peeping alerted me that something was amiss.

A mother bluebird had hatched several nestlings in a birdhouse outside my office window. As I worked, I enjoyed hearing their peeps as the mother and father bird made numerous trips to feed their young.

But on one day, the peeping differed. I looked outside, thinking the babies had flown the coup. And they had, except one who languished on the cement porch. I quickly scooped up the hatchling and returned it to the nest. But mom and dad never returned. I saw them flitting around in the yard, but they ignored the peeps of the abandoned baby. Although I tried feeding it insects, it was dead when I arrived for work the next day.

In warning his followers about the persecution on their horizon, Jesus reminded them that not even a sparrow falls without his knowledge. He loves the least. I thought of the verse when I opened the birdhouse and saw the dead baby. My heart broke as I realized sin was the reason this scenario had gone awry. God didn’t want the nestling to die.

Loving the least is rarely easy. I thought of the Andy Griffith episode where Andy’s son, Opie, adopted a nest full of baby birds and nurtured them until they were ready to fly. His attempt succeeded; mine failed. But at least I made the effort.

Although animals aren’t created in the likeness of God as people are, and though they don’t have immortal souls as humans do, they are still a part of God’s creation, which he expects us to care for. Many years ago, God entrusted Adam and Eve with the care of his creation. His instructions to them have been passed to all earthly inhabitants.

But loving the least extends beyond animals and the environment to people as well. We are God’s highest creation, made in his image. It may be easier to hobnob with those in places of importance who can scratch our back in return, but God wants us to love the least, too. Those in dire straits. Those who can’t fend for themselves. Those to whom life has handed a tough hand of cards.

Learn to love the least, not just those who can help you in return.

Father, create in my heart a love for all people and for everything you have created.

I invite you to try my book Grits, Grace, and God in eBook or paperback. If you want a daily dose of God's grace, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Fed by God: Words That Nourish the Soul - Martin Wiles

Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things. 

~Psalm 81:10 NLT

When I heard the chirping, I knew their mouths were full. But they couldn’t receive words that nourish the soul as I could.

After settling into my new position as pastor of a small rural church, I placed a few things on the office building’s front porch. Among them, a bird house. Within a few days, a mother bluebird began building her nest. I looked from my office window as she carefully selected materials and brought them to the house. When she started entering the house, I knew she had laid her eggs.

Two weeks later, I knew the eggs had hatched. I heard small intermittent chirps. As the days passed, the chirps grew louder. I peeked out of my window and saw little mouths extended from the small hole as mom and dad bluebird hung on the outside of the birdhouse, stuffing food between those eager beaks. When they had filled their mouths, they flew off again to retrieve more food. It seemed the little birds couldn’t get enough.

Deliverance from Egyptian slavery was a landmark point in Israel’s history that God didn’t want His people to forget. After reminding the psalmist of this rescuing, God told him to open his mouth, and he would fill it with good things.

I’ve missed good things from God on countless occasions because I didn’t open my mouth. Somewhat like not getting things I could have had from God because I didn’t ask. When Jesus knocks, we must open; if we want, we must ask; and if we desire good things, we must open our mouths.

God is filled with love and mercy. He has wonderful plans for his children. He desires to give us more than we have, but he has conditions. Opening our mouths is one. As the baby birds eagerly received their parents’ food, we must accept what God offers. He offers instruction and encouragement from his Word. We’ll never go hungry or wrong when we receive it. He offers daily guidance from his Spirit. We’ll never make a wrong turn when we take it. He gives abundant opportunities. We’ll never regret taking them. All we must do is open our mouths.

Open your mouth, and let God fill it with good things.

Father, I yield my mouth to you and ask you to fill it with the good things you have in store. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Known by the Markings - Martin Wiles

You can detect them by the way they act, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit. Matthew 7:16 NLT

The excitement over my first killed bird quickly turned to disappointment.

My cousin lived on my grandfather’s farm and introduced me to dove hunting. Of all the birds flying around, I wondered how he could distinguish a dove. “Look for curved wings,” he said.

One day, Dad and I were invited on a dove hunt. Now in the middle of strangers, I wasn’t sure if I’d bag any birds. After a few misses, a single dove came directly toward me. These were the easiest shots to make. I aimed carefully, pulled the trigger, and watched the bird fold and fall to the ground. Proudly, I walked over to retrieve my prize. But when I reached for the bird, I noticed I had killed a mockingbird, not a dove. Obviously, I needed more training in recognizing the markings. 

Jesus made it plain that his followers would have markings—things that would distinguish them from others and make them stand out.

Unconditional Love

Among the markings was unconditional love, the ability to love like their heavenly Father, and the ability to show love consistently, regardless of how others treated them in return.

Kindness

Kindness should also mark us. Empathy for others should exude from our veins. We will inconvenience ourselves to convenience others.

Servant Attitude

A further mark is a servant attitude. Just loving isn’t enough. A desire to put love into action and obey the second greatest commandment drives us.

Abundant Joy

Abundant joy also invades our lives. Regardless of circumstances, we have a smile that radiates from the inner peace of knowing God controls our lives.

Patience

Patience is a further virtue we’re working on. When others treat us harshly or unjustly, we tolerantly endure.

Crowd Control

As Jesus’ followers, we have also learned crowd control. Not how to control the crowd, but how to control ourselves so we don’t have to follow the crowd to find contentment.

Make sure your markings are evident for everyone to see.

Father, mark me with those traits that show others I belong to you.

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing. No one escapes life's hurts, but we can move beyond them to hope and healing. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

When God Calls - Martin Wiles

So he said to Samuel, “Go lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, ‘Yes, Lord, your servant is listening.’” 1 Samuel 3:9 NLT

With a clear, distinct whistle, my grandfather mimicked the female bobwhite until the male was almost within sight.

Pappy, as I called my maternal grandfather, was an early riser. Why, I’m not sure. He farmed … a little. He made his living doing it but hired out most of the manual labor. He was up by five every morning, made his cup of instant coffee, and retired to the porch, where he smoked his cigarettes and waited for the sun to top the nearby row of pines.

As dawn began to break, the distant call of the male quail was common. Pappy puckered his lips, whistled a counter tune, and waited for the bobwhite to answer. When he did, Pappy would call again. Within a few minutes, the male would be perched in the large magnolia tree just a few feet away from the porch where Pappy sat. The male answered what he thought was a female’s call. What he found was a tall, overweight farmer.

After Samuel’s mother weaned him, she took him to the temple to assist Eli, the priest. As Samuel lay on his bed, God called. Not being familiar with God’s voice--and since God’s word was rare in those days--he assumed it was Eli. Eli thought the boy was hearing things, but after three times, he concluded it was God calling Samuel.

Just as my grandfather did the quail, God calls people to trust him as Savior, to enter a special area of service, or to walk closer with him. When God calls, we have a few options. We can obey, disobey, or delay doing anything. The free will God has instilled in us allows us to make these choices.

Of course, obedience is the best choice. We should obey all of God’s calls out of love and appreciation for what he has allowed his Son to do on Calvary’s cross. No one has ever demonstrated a more significant act of love. But obedience isn’t always so simple. 

Sinful patterns, fear of surrendering to God, or uncertainty over whether we’ve heard God can all lead to ignoring God’s call, or at least a delay in answering it. Obedience, on the other hand, builds experience by listening to his call so that we’ll not mistake the voice as Samuel did when God beckons in the future.

Think about how you will respond when God calls.

Father, may I always respond with obedience when you call me. 

I invite you to try my book A Whisper in the Woods in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

God Cares - Martin Wiles

Series: Nature Lessons About God

Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds! Luke 12:24 NLT

I heard their chirps and couldn’t help but care.

Several bird feeders linger in our front and back yards. One is an old stand ashtray. Easy to use because all I have to do is dump feed in it. Of course, it doesn’t keep out the rain, but convenience is nice.

On the side of the house hangs a pair of wind chimes with a little cup at the top where birdseed is placed. Each time a bird lands on it—or flies away—we hear music.

And hanging on our privacy fence in the back yard is an old slat chair on which I’ve placed a dish I fill with feed. Again, not waterproof, but convenient.

Near the feeder in the front, we’ve placed a small birdbath, suitable for washing off dusty wings or getting a drink of water. A larger one sits in our back yard. Squirrels usually frequent this one because of its size.

As I lounge around the house, I often hear the chirps of various birds: cardinals, wrens, sparrows. Either I have let the seed run out or they are calling their friends to join in the feast I’ve just delivered to the feeders. When I hear the chimes raging wildly, I know a squirrel is gnawing on sunflower seeds.

The cost of the seed is sometimes prohibitive, but I continue to buy it. I enjoy nature, but somehow I feel as if God expects me too. Yes, He will feed them if I don’t, but He also uses people to help Him care for His creations. I feel a sense of peace as I watch the wild things enjoy what I’ve placed before them. A sense of knowing I’ve done the right thing … that I’m aiding God in His work … doing what He expects of me.

But the picture grows. Jesus uses the picture of Him feeding the ravens to assure me He’ll take care of me—and all of His children. I don’t have to worry, just as the birds don’t have to worry. God may not care for me in the way I might imagine, but He will care for me nevertheless. In His way. According to His timetable.

Never doubt that God cares for you. When you do, just look at how He cares for the animals He’s created.

Prayer: Father, as You care for us, may we in turn care for what You have created.

Tweetable: Are you caring for what God cares for? 

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God Loves - Martin Wiles

Series: Nature Lessons about God

But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. Matthew 10:29 NLT

Hogs and birds have taught me a lot about God’s love.

My maternal grandfather—Pappy I called him—raised hogs. And my cousin and I loved nothing more than to roam the hog pens.

One thing we enjoyed observing was a sow giving birth. When the sow had finished delivering all the little pigs, she would lie still while each piglet rooted for a milk source. If she happened to be lying in a position where some of her little ones couldn’t get milk, she would quickly know by their squeals and then rearrange herself so all could get nourishment.

Loving hogs remained in my blood. During the few times in my life when I lived in places where I had room to raise a few hogs, I did. As the memories of my boyhood returned, I watched again as the sows gave birth, and the piglets rooted for milk. Mom cared for the little ones by giving them milk and by guarding them against strangers, others hogs who might harm her young, and any other dangerous animals.

I’ve seen mother birds do the same, but in a different way. For hours on end, they sat on eggs, leaving only briefly for food and water. When their young hatched, they flew hundreds of trips back and forth, searching for and then bringing back food for their young. Bugs. Worms. The young waited at the nest or in a birdhouse with mouths open, and Mom—and Dad—inserted the food into their open beaks.

Jesus taught about God’s love for us by appealing to nature. If a single sparrow doesn’t fall to the ground without God knowing about it, then surely He knows about the fortunes and misfortunes we experience.

God’s love is powerful. A sow can turn deadly if her little ones are threatened. So can a mother bird. Although God may not keep us safe from temporal dangers, He ultimately controls what comes into our lives and will protect us eternally in heaven.

God’s love has no end and is repetitious. As long as they are together, sows continue to love their pigs no matter how large they grow. So do birds. God’s love knows no boundaries.

God’s love also leads Him to act on our behalf. As sows and birds provide for the ones they love, so God acts in our best interests. Everything He does helps us accomplish His plan and enjoy the life He has created for us.

If you doubt God’s love, just look at a hog or a bird.

Prayer: Father, thank You for being a God of love who reaches down to us in our need.

Tweetable: Are you experiencing God's love? 

Thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's encouragement through His Love Lines.

Loving the Least - Martin Wiles

But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. Matthew 10:29 NLT

The peeping alerted me that something was amiss.

A mother bluebird had hatched several nestlings in a birdhouse outside my office window. As I worked, I enjoyed hearing their peeps as the mother and father bird made numerous trips to feed their young.

On one particular day, the peeping was different. I looked outside, thinking the babies had flown the coup. And they had—expect for one who languished on the cement porch. I quickly scooped up the hatchling and returned it to the nest. 

But Mom and Dad never returned. I saw them flitting around in the yard, but they ignored the peeps of the abandoned baby. Though I tried feeding it insects, it was dead when I arrived for work the next day. 

In warning His followers about the persecution on their horizon, Jesus reminded them that not even a sparrow falls without His knowledge. He loves the least. I thought of the verse when I opened the birdhouse and saw the dead baby. My heart broke as I realized sin was the reason this scenario had gone awry. God didn’t want the nestling to die.

Loving the least is rarely easy. 

I thought of the Andy Griffith episode where Andy’s son, Opie, adopted a nest full of baby birds and nurtured them until they were ready to fly. His attempt succeeded; mine failed. But at least I made the effort. 

Though animals aren’t created in the likeness of God as people are—and though they don’t have immortal souls as humans do, they are still a part of God’s creation which He expects us to care for. Many years ago, God entrusted Adam and Eve with the care of His creation. His instructions to them have been passed to all earthly inhabitants. 

But loving the least extends beyond animals and the environment to people. 

We are God’s highest creation, made in His image. It may be easier to hobnob with those in places of importance who can scratch our back in return, but God wants us to love the least too. Those in dire straits. Those who can’t fend for themselves. Those to whom life has handed a tough hand of cards. 

Learn to love the least—not just those who can help you in return. 

Prayer: Father, create in our hearts a love for all people and for everything You have created.

Looking for a wide selection of genres in inspirational books at discount prices? Click here to see selections.

Thanks to all our faithful followers who are "sharing" our posts--please keep it up! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Help us spread God's encouragement through his love lines.

A Mouth Full - Martin Wiles

Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things. Psalm 81:10 NLT

When I heard the chirping, I knew their mouths were full.

After settling into my new position as pastor of a small rural church, I placed a few things on the front porch of the office building. Among them a bird house. Within a few days, a mother bluebird began building her nest. I looked from my office window as she carefully selected materials and brought them to the house. When she started entering the house, I knew she had laid her eggs.

Two weeks later, I knew the eggs had hatched. I heard small intermittent chirps. As they days passed, the chirps grew louder as the baby birds aged. I’d peek out of my window and see little mouths extended from the small hole as mom and dad bluebird hung on the outside of the birdhouse stuffing food between those eager beaks. When they had filled the mouths, they’d fly off again to retrieve more food. It seemed the little birds just couldn’t get enough. 

Deliverance from Egyptian slavery was a landmark point in Israel’s history that God didn’t want His people to forget. After reminding the psalmist of this rescuing, God told him to open his mouth, and He would fill it with good things. 

There have been countless times when I’ve missed good things from God because I didn’t open my mouth. 

Somewhat like not getting things I could have had from God because I didn’t ask. When Jesus knocks, I have to open, if I want I have to ask, and if I desire good things, I have to open my mouth. 

God is filled with love and mercy. He has wonderful plans for His children. He desires to give us more than we have, but there are conditions. Opening our mouths is one. 

As the baby birds eagerly received their parents’ food, I must receive what God offers. 

He offers instruction and encouragement from His Word. I’ll never go hungry—or wrong--when I receive it. He offers daily guidance from His Spirit. I’ll never make a wrong turn when I take it. He gives abundant opportunities. I’ll never regret taking them. All I have to do is open my mouth.

Open your mouth, and let God fill it with good things.

Prayer: Father, we yield our heart to You and ask You to fill our lives with the good things You have in store for us. 

Looking for a wide selection of genres in Christian books at discount prices? Use coupon MWiles for 20% off. Click here to see selections.

Thanks to all our faithful followers who are "sharing" our posts--please keep it up! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Help us spread God's encouragement through his love lines.