Literary Criticism, "Jesus Walks On The Water" The Holy Bible

"When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed three or three and a half miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were terrified. But he said to them, "It is I; don't be afraid." Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading” (John 6:16-21 New International Version). The disciples had rowed out 3-3 ½ miles in the dark, in rough waters and strong winds. The scripture tells us that Jesus brought them in immediately. Only Jesus can calm the waters and rescue us, even at many miles of separation. Are you in rough waters? Jesus is there to help you, immediately. A close reading of the text reveals that they went out in the evening when it is dark. And Jesus was not with them yet. Jesus was testing their faith. They had rowed 3-3 ½ miles which is exhausting at best. It was dark when they saw Jesus approaching the boat. Jesus is the light. His light always shines, even in the darkness. The disciples were terrified, even though they knew it was Jesus. He had to reassure them. He had to give them a word., “It is I.” The spoken word is powerful. When God spoke, he created all things. Why do we always have to be reassured before we trust Jesus to pilot our boat? Jesus's own disciples’ faith was being tested. They needed to learn to take Jesus at his word. Jesus was teaching them to trust Him. And as soon as they did, he brought them in. There is no distance, no miles of separation when you are in Jesus's hands. Won’t you place your trust in him today? He’ll bring you safely to shore.

Literary Criticism "Black Sam and Uncle Felix, characters in a text/real life"

During a Literature class, our professor assigned a novel to study involving a poor white farmer/gold-digger named Ty Ty Walden and his two African American sharecroppers that he owned, Black Sam and Uncle Felix. While Ty Ty and his family lived in the farmhouse, Black Sam and Uncle Felix lived in the barn. Ty Ty had gold fever and was always digging holes. He had promised a portion of land as a tithe to God but the problem was that he would dig there. He was always shifting the land around that was supposed to be his tithe to God. Ty Ty made other promises to, that he did not keep, one of them was to feed Black Sam and Uncle Felix, but the days grew longer and as it turns out, he had food to eat, they had none. They were hard workers and grew hungrier and hungrier everyday, so hungry that their ribs were showing. One day Black Sam could not take it any longer, he was determined to kill one of Ty Ty's two mules and eat it. Ty Ty got word of it and said he would "run their a...ragged." Ty Ty sat in his farmhouse eating to his heart's content and never once asked Black Sam and Uncle Felix to share food at his table in the farmhouse. They were starving and he never offered any food, not even a slice of bread. Ty Ty had two sons, Buck and Shaw, they were lazy but got to eat with their pa. Buck would feel bad for Black Sam and Uncle Felix and tell his pa how hungry they were but Ty Ty did not care. So, on occasion Buck would sneak food from the table and take it out to them. Ty Ty had food to offer to his sharecroppers, he knew they were starving, but withheld it from them. He stole what they could have had by keeping it for himself. Now, imagine this is real life as it exists in the 21st century, people are dying from lack of food. Who do you know that may be hungry, that you could help today? Will you search your heart and do what you can? When you offer bread to someone in need, you honor God.

Literary Criticism "Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden"

And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him (Gen 2:18). But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. The LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man” (2:21-22). It is clear from the scripture that the man came first, not the woman. God also made the serpent that tempted Eve, “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden” (3:1)? The devil is a master manipulator. He goes to Eve in the garden and puts a question in her mind. “And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die” (3:2). Then he lies to her, “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die” (3:4). The ultimate deception is when he entices her with what would happen if she did eat of it, that [he knew] but neither Adam or Eve did. “For God doth know that in the day ye eat of it thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil (3:5).God doesn’t tell this to Adam, he tells him only that he will “surely die.” God doesn’t give Adam all of the information. Perhaps he’s testing Adam’s faithfulness. But the devil knows the plan and he is sure to try and thwart it cause the devil doesn’t go to Adam he goes to Eve though God had commanded Adam her husband who should be leading his wife. “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat” (3:6). Eve shouldn’t have looked at it. How many times do we entice ourselves with things we shouldn’t even look at? Then she not only sins but entices her husband to sin. Eve listened to the devil when he told her that the apple would make her wise, then she entertained that thought and took it a step further and gazed at it and when she did she saw that it was good for food. He had her over a barrel. Then she ate of it. She did what she knew was wrong. She allowed herself to be tempted. "And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons" (3:7). They now know that they are naked so they cover themselves up, literally and figuratively, because they tried to cover themselves with fig leaves and they tried to cover up their sin. “And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden” (3:8). Adam and Eve heard God but didn’t see God in the “cool of the day” which would be dawn or dusk. He says, “Where art thou,” (3:9) even though God already knows where they were; he created them and put them in the garden. God always knows where we are. “And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? God had not told them that they were naked. “Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shoudnest not eat?” (3:10-11). Then God says, “What is this that though hast done. (3:13). Eve blamed the snake and in turn Adam blamed Eve. No one took responsibility for their part. The snake was cursed by God because he tricked Eve. “Your descendants and his descendants will be enemies” (3:15). Adam was not a good husband and Eve was not a good wife. God already knew about the goings on and so God puts clothes on them after the fall. It was a perfect world until sin entered it. We are born sinners because of what Adam and Eve did. Adam faltered when spoken to by God. God had not clothed them so Adam was caught red handed in his sin. God knew that Adam could see in order to know he was naked. People try to outsmart God but He is our Creator and he knows all things. We must always revere Him and we must always obey Him.
Note:
And because of their sin we are born sinners and we need a Savior. His name is Jesus Christ. He paid the “sin debt” by dying on a cross for all sinners and was resurrected from the grave on the third day. All part of God’s divine plan for mankind. This is the Easter message. There is hope because of what Jesus did for us. No one is beyond His mercy and grace. Won’t you place your trust in Him today? Bow the knee and pray to Jesus. He is alive. And you can have a new life in Him. He will give you the living water that wells up to eternal life. And His well never runs dry.

An Epiphany Moment

Epiphany is defined by Answers.com as "A sudden manifestation of the essence or meaning of something. It is a "Christian festival celebrated on January 6 and "one of the oldest Christian holy days."

I had a dream last night of the song, "Rainy Night in Georgia," and I could hear Ray Charles singing it. That is such a pretty song. There is one line in the song that says it all, "Oh, have you ever been lonely, people?" How can anyone listen to that song and not be moved. There is a lot of lonely people in the world. I know what loneliness feels like. I think for most of my life, I was lonely, and then one day, the Lord changed all that. I know that he walks beside me, and holds my hand, and I never have to feel lonely anymore, because he is always there. I hope that this thought helps someone today. You know what is really lonely? is to believe in God in your head, but not to have him in your heart. Won't you ask him into your heart today? He will come in, and heal that lonely place, and he will hold your hand, and you will never be lonely again.

My tear stained pillow

I've been lonely
most of my life
when I needed to be held
I hugged my tears in the night

I wake up with no one beside me
in the dark room I lay
It's four o'clock in the morning
how I wish for love today

Love in a family
is what's passed down
there may not be enough
love to go around

So I'll hug my pillow
and hang onto my tears
cause loneliness is the only love
I've known all these years.
Note
This poem was written before I found Jesus who healed that empty place and who is always there for me and now I don't have to feel lonely anymore.

911 Story

On September 11th my day began as usual, up around 6:15 am to see my daughter off to school and then to sit down with my Bible and a cup of coffee. As I lingered over my reading in Psalms I couldn’t seem to shake a “profound sense of sadness” and began to weep. I decided to pause and call a friend in Maine, we help each other, both divorced single moms with one daughter. I placed a call at 655 am to her work place and we chatted. I then decided to go for my morning jog. As I went outside to my patio I noticed two Chicago peace roses were perfect to be cut, they weren’t ready the day before. This bush was put in the ground many years ago, so it’s a rare sight to get beautiful roses still and they were side-by-side and identical. I walked outside to start my jog and looked up and saw a beautiful rainbow. I remember thinking to myself by not coming out when I did I might have missed this! As I was jogging I ran by my neighbor who also grows roses and I told him about my two that were beautiful. Upon returning home, as I was walking up my sidewalk I almost couldn’t believe it; in my butterfly garden I saw three unique species of butterflies, a rare sight. Once in awhile I might see one but this is what I’d hoped for someday. They were so pretty and I watched them for a few moments thinking, my patience had paid off, they’d found my garden! As I went inside the patio I decided to cut the roses before they opened anymore and then I noticed my very first flower on my bleeding heart vine. I was once again amazed at all the blessings of they day! A bleeding heart flower is white and has two red flowers in the center of the white. So I thought I would let my friend know with a quick call back that I was feeling better now. That call was placed at 8:33 am. It was through a phone call I learned of the tragic events of the day and had to turn on the television to see what I, like many others couldn’t believe. It wasn’t until days later I learned that my parents always flew Flight #11 American Airlines from Boston to Los Angeles every September to see his sister who lives in Palm Springs. He had said it was too expensive to go this year. Also, in 1982 I had dined in the World Trade Center at “Windows of the World.” Before the attack I had told my minister I was sad with the way the world was going. I’m happy that we’ve drawn together. To me the good far outweighs the bad, not to minimize everyone’s losses. My sister’s death in 1983 affected me in a profound way and I truly believe I became a better person because of it. I’d like to close in saying this, in a symbolic way as when they rolled the stone and Jesus was not there, I’d like to think in the same way that the people that haven’t been found in the World Trade Center have risen and become angels. It’s a nice thought, isn’t it? If anything I’ve said can help someone in their grief, I’d be honored by that, but more importantly give God the glory. God Bless you. Note: my rose bush died after the last two rose bloomed.
(Heartstrings, a collection of poems and stories copyright 2002 Library of Congress)

A Wild Mustang Named Star

Got a sweet story to tell you. It is about how I met some country folks, here in Smithfield, North Carolina. On a trip to Maine from Florida, I had stopped over in this town and stayed overnight in a lodge. One night, I took a walk down a long country road, and a dog followed me home. Her name was Precious. She happened to be a boxer, and she brought three people together before she left this earth. They wanted me to come and visit again, and being as it is at a time in my life, where I am trying to find out where the good Lord would have me to live, it seemed fitting to come now. The peacocks, who were on top of the barn seemed to remember me. An animal never forgets it when someone feeds them...I noticed a new horse named Star. It seems that she was rescued from a family who had not been taking good care of her. She was of a beautiful dark brown coat, though thin, and I found out, not trusting of people. My friend told me that she had originated from the outer banks of the Carolinas. I went on over to her and I held out my hand, and she moved over to the other side of the fence and put her head down. In that moment, I felt sad for that horse. You see, I have had a hard time in my life trusting people, and I knew just how that horse felt. You love people and they hurt you. Right there, I wept a few tears as I thought to myself, that I had been like her. But my Jesus, he showed me that if I would just place my trust in him, he would fill that empty place. So, I went into the house and peeled about eight apples. I decided that I was going to try and feed Star. I put those apple peelings on my hand and I waited for her to come right on over at my coaxing, but she did not right away. She looked at it, all the while looking at me with that look of distrust. So, I had a thought to toss it to the ground to have her see that I was trying to feed her, and she would see that it was good, and then we would start building up some trust between the two of us. And I talked to her in a sweet voice. Well, next thing you know, I was standing there and she was eating out of my hand. And I just loved the way she took it so gracefully and how she nuzzled my hand, and the feeling of what had been accomplished between us. We worked up to carrots, and noodles, and I must say the man of the house was quite surprised, since she would not eat out of his hand, and when I go over to her stall now, she comes right on over to see me. She is learning to trust me, and I sure like it when she caresses my hand so soft and sweet, and I remember when I was a little girl back on the farm in Appleton, Maine, when I first learned how to trust a horse.