The Bible In Rhyme Update

I apologize for my delay, but I am nearing the finish of all the development of the Bible in Rhyme. Please email me at kyle.holt@poweredbyu.com if you want a copy of it emailed to you. I want all to who love the Lord to have access to it. Email me if you're interested at all!!!

The Two Fields of Corn

Two farmers had fields next to one another, both full of corn stalks.

One farmer feared that his stalks of corn would be broken if the local children played in his field, so he took great measures to frighten them and yell at them so that they stayed away from his land.

The other farmer enjoyed watching the children play, so he encouraged them to play amongst his corn, even though they would sometimes break a stalk or two.

When it came time to harvest, the farmer who had frightened the children away found that most of his crop had been picked clean by crows and by vermin.

The farmer who had encouraged the children to play in his field, however, had a beautiful crop. The playing children had frightened all the birds and rats away. With nowhere else to go, they had gone into the other farmer’s field.

The farmer who befriended the children was doubly blessed, because of the great crop he reaped, as well as for the many hours he had been granted watching the children at play.

He who shuns the Lord’s children shall be cursed, while he who invites them in shall be doubly blessed.

Make Straight the Path of the Lord

I had not told my wife that I had started this blog, because I was afraid that she would either be embarrassed by my actions or think I was crazy. Sometimes I worry that I am crazy.

But today at lunch I told her and she gave me some sage advice. She said, "I don't know if you're truly God-inspired or if you just have a really good way of writing down religious thoughts in a way that's reminiscent of the way Jesus spoke. Maybe it's both. But either way, if you're going to do this, do it with some humility."

First off, I was relieved that she wasn't embarrassed or irritated. But second, she touched on the whole reason I waited so long to even start posting these parables. I too wonder whether I am God-inspired or whether I can just write in this style. I am afraid that I will be perceived as a crazy person who had some delusion of grandeur of being the second coming of Christ, when that couldn't be further from the truth.

John the Baptist was "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'" (Matthew 3:3).

Isn't this what we are all called to do? We are told to be ready at all times. Well, I know that I am not. I fall short, but as I struggle in my efforts to prepare the way for the Lord, I think this is one of the ways I am meant to do so.

I am not crazy. And I do not know why or from where my inspiration comes. All that I have comes from God, so I can take no pride in my words for they too come from the Lord.

The Parable of the Beautiful Song

Three men were sitting together listening to some music. Suddenly, the most beautiful song they had ever heard began to play.

The first man thought, “This song is so gorgeous, it reminds me of the love I have for my wife.” So he got up and went home to see her.

The second man thought, “This song is so lovely, it reminds me of the love I have for my children.” So he got up at once and went off to see them.

The third man thought, “This song is so glorious, it reminds me of the love God has for me.” So he got up at once and set off to share it with anyone who would listen.

The Parable of the Two Brothers

A father had two sons. To the older, he said, “God is everywhere and nowhere. He is without form, and yet He is in everything.” And his eldest son believed him. To the younger son, he said, “God lives and dwells in this house. That way He is near to us always,” and the younger son believed him.

When the boys had grown to be men, the older said to the younger, “We should move from this place, for there are many other places out there to explore.”

“No,” the younger said, “God lives in this house. We cannot move from here.”

“God does not dwell only here, you fool,” the older brother said. “God is all around us. He is not confined to a building.”

So the younger went to his father and asked, “Father, is God in our house?”

“Yes,” his father answered. Satisfied, the young man went back and told his brother what their father had said.

Then the elder brother went to their father and said, “Father, I thought God was not limited to just a house, but that He lived everywhere.”

“What you say is correct,” his father told him. Satisfied, he went back and told his younger brother what their father had said.

And so the two brothers hated each other, though they both worshipped God faithfully. They warred with one another, as did their children, and all their descendants to this day.

Does God call people to start a blog?

As a Christian, I feel that God can and does talk to people. Not necessarily the voice of God coming down from on high to tell us what we should and shouldn't do. He hasn't spoken to humans that way since His son was baptized. However, God does put things in front of us several times until we finally realize that He wants us to do something.

So a few months ago as I was sitting in church a thought popped into my head which I thought was interesting. I mulled it around for a second and then I promptly began to forget it. But strangely, I couldn't forget it. I actually tried. And I kept getting the feeling that I needed to write it down and save it.

Despite this fact, I still tried to forget it and I refused to write it down, until it finally occurred to me that it was beyond my control. I had to write it down or it would end up driving me crazy. So I did.

Then it happened again. And again. And again.

It wasn't always at church. Sometimes it was as I was lying in bed, or when I was at work, or when I was just trying to spend some time with my son. So I have compiled a set of what I can only describe as New Parables to share. I don't have enough to start writing a book. But I do have enough to start writing a blog. So my next post, which I will do in just a few minutes is the first of these parables...the one that was driving me crazy.

I don't know who will read this, if anyone. But for the past month I have felt compelled to start this blog, and in my typical stubborn way I have tried to ignore this sensation. But the word of the Lord cannot be ignored. So I guess what I am saying is that I feel God has called me to start a blog (which looks crazy to me as I type it out!). But God also called 11 men to go to countries they weren't familiar with and to start talking with complete strangers...and to die for His word.

So who am I to complain? I just have to type something into a computer.