Feast of Pentecost (First Fruits of God’s Harvest)

 

Today, May 16 is the Feast of First Fruits. The following is an excerpt from my new book due out later this fall, Larry Teaches the Children, and explains this celebration.  
 
Feast of Pentecost
(First Fruits of God’s Harvest)
 
“Mizzur Perry,” said Lucas, one of the children visiting Eloise and I one day after school. “My friend in school was talking about Pente.. something in the Bible. “What is Pente...something and First Fruits?” he asked.
 
“Oh, your friend was probably talking about the Feast of Pentecost or the Feast of First Fruits,” I said. Continuing, “the Feast of Pentecost or First Fruits is celebrated 50 days from the day Jesus was crucified each year.”
 
“Whatiszat,” asked Julie another of the children.
 
“Well a long time ago most of the people were farmers or sheep herders. As farmers they planted the seeds of vegetables and fruits in the spring so that they would grow for the summer and fall,” I explained.
 
“You mean like the farmers in our country do today?” asked Lucas.
 
“Exactly,” I replied. “In the Bible days there were 7 Feasts or we would call them celebrations today.”
 
“Oh, you mean kinda like Christmas or Easter?” asked Julie.
 
“Why?” asked Michael another of the children.
 
“These festivals were reminders of the people of important events in history. Kinda like a link between the past and the present,” I explained. “In the Bible, God told everyone to celebrate these Festivals.”
 
“Why, are they important today?” asked Michael again.
 
“ Some people today believe these Festivals were only meant for the early Biblical times and that the need for them stopped when Christ was crucified on the cross. Believe it or not the Bible itself clearly contradicts this view,” I said.
 
“Whatdoya mean?” asked Julie.
 
“Well, these festivals are called God’s Holy Days and He wants us to celebrate them, because He wants us to know about our future. He tells us his great purpose for our lives and reminds us how to live them. When we celebrate God’s festivals He explains His plan for our future. The biblical festivals and the Holy Days within them fall during three harvest seasons of the year…early spring harvest, the late spring harvest and the late summer to early fall harvest in the biblical countries of a long time ago,” I explained.
 
“Then why do we need to celebrate these today?” asked Michael.
 
“We need to celebrate these today to show God’s spiritual harvest of all of us to eternal life by Jesus Christ,” I said. Continuing I said, “ God’s Holy Days help us to understand His master plan…the way to truly become His people and to be with Him when we die and go to heaven.”
 
“Hey,” asked Lucas, “you said there were 7 festivals in the Bible.
What are they?”
 
“Good question, “ I said, “They are Passover, Feast of the Unleavened Bread, Pentecost that we are talking about today, Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles, and the Eighth Day. We’ll talk about the others later, but for now let me try to explain Pentecost.”
 
“Why 7,” asked Michael. “Why not 10 or 12 or some other number?”
 
“Seven is a very strong biblical number meaning ‘complete,” I explained.
“Anyway these Holy Days have meaning that build upon each other. Together they reveal how God works with us and guides us to be
with Him when we die.
 
Let me tell you a story,” I continued.
 
“This is a story about a great miracle that happened on the first Pentecost Festival way back in bible times. Remember Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead, but He didn’t go straight to heaven. The Bible teaches it was 50 days from when He rose from the dead. During these 50 days His disciples or students started telling people about Jesus and all that He did and said. In this period the Bible tells us there were 120 believers that His disciples had taught and who believed in Jesus. But on this 50th day Jesus wanted to pour out His Holy Spirit to these new believers before He went to be with His father in Heaven. So these new believers from all over the biblical world came together in one place, even though many spoke different languages and could not understand each other, they joined together in celebration of Jesus. Suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind and it filled the whole house where the 120 were sitting. They were filled with God’s Holy Spirit and began to speak with other languages as the Holy Spirit gave them that ability. The interesting thing was that the people who were speaking in different languages were gathered together hearing and understanding the speech of the disciples. This demonstrated the presence of the Holy Spirit.
 
At first the people who saw this miracle were astonished and some thought the statements made by the disciples as being drunk. Then one of the disciples named Peter, now filled with the Holy Spirit, explained the event to the crowd as a fulfillment of the prophet Joel’s prophecy, when he said, ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out My Spirit on all.’
 
God used these miracles and Peter’s preaching to add 3,000 more people to His Church in one day! These people were converts and were all baptized and received the Holy Spirit! The day of Feast of Pentecost is an annual reminder that God poured out His Holy Spirit to establish His Church, the group of believers who are led by His Spirit.”
 
“Whoa,” said Lucas. “What is the Holy Spirit?”
 
“The Holy Spirit is how God talks to us or His power if you will. Think of the wind. Can you see it? No. Can you taste it? No. But you can feel it, right? That is how God talks with us, through the Holy Spirit. We can’t see it, we can’t taste it, but when we read the Bible or learn from a religious leader we can feel it. So it is one way that God guides us,” I answered.
 
“Remember that God’s way of thinking makes peace, happiness and concern for others. Jesus once complimented a religious scholar who correctly quoted the basis of God’s law: ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul,, with all your strength and with all your mind’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’ The man quoted from two books in the Old Testament, Leviticus and Deuteronomy.
 
Jesus confirmed in the New Testament book of Matthew that the Old Testament scriptures are based on these two great principles of love. Because after Jesus’ resurrection, God lived in the Church, its members could express genuine love for one another. Jesus said, ‘ A new commandment I give you…that you love one another as I have loved you…’ . By this all will know that you are My disciples, ‘if you have love for one another.’”
 
“So what does all this mean the Festival of First Fruits or Pente…what did you call it?” asked Lucas.
 
“Well remember that Pentecost or First Fruits are the first farm products to mature and open. Throughout the Bible, God uses stories of the harvest--- particularly on First Fruits or Pentecost to give examples of His plan to get us to heaven. This spring harvest of wheat and barley was the first fruits of the yearly agricultural cycle. One of the first harvest lessons of the New Testament is that Jesus Christ ‘is risen from the dead, and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.’ Pentecost serves as an annual reminder that God still works miracles, granting His Holy Spirit to those called to be the first fruit of His spiritual harvest, giving them the power to carry out His work in this world. In this world we are simply at the beginning of the harvest for the Kingdom of God.”
 
“So-o-o-o-o what you are saying is that God wants us to love each other as we love Him, and that He talks to us through the Holy Spirit and we celebrate that on First Fruits or Pentecost to remind us of all that.” said Julie.
 
“ I think you’ve got it,” I said, “now lets get some milk and cookies Eloise has made for us.”
 
 
*****
May God Bless and keep you and yours!!!
 
Larry

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Letters from Larry: The "W" in Christmas

 

                                 The "W" in Christmas

Each December, I vowed to make Christmas a calm and peaceful experience.

I had cut back on nonessential obligations – extensive card writing, endless baking, decorating, and even overspending.

Yet still, I found myself exhausted, unable to appreciate the precious family moments, and of course, the true meaning of Christmas. My son, Nicholas, was in kindergarten that year. It was an exciting season for a six year old. For weeks, he'd been memorizing songs for his school's "Winter Pageant."

I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd be working the night of the production. Unwilling to miss his shining moment, I spoke with his teacher. She assured me there'd be a dress rehearsal the morning of the presentation. All parents unable to attend that evening were welcome to come then. Fortunately, Nicholas seemed happy with the compromise.

So, the morning of the dress rehearsal, I filed in ten minutes early, found a spot on the cafeteria floor and sat down. Around the room, I saw several other parents quietly scampering to their seats. As I waited, the students were led into the room. Each class, accompanied by their teacher, sat cross-legged on the floor. Then, each group, one by one, rose to perform their song.

Because the public school system had long stopped referring to the holiday as "Christmas," I didn't expect anything other than fun, commercial entertainment - songs of reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflakes and good cheer. So, when my son's class rose to sing, "Christmas Love," I was slightly taken aback by its bold title.

Nicholas was aglow, as were all of his classmates, adorned in fuzzy mittens, red sweaters, and bright snowcaps upon their heads. Those in the front row- center stage - held up large letters, one by one, to spell out the title of the song. As the class would sing "C is for Christmas," a child would hold up the letter C. Then, "H is for Happy," and on and on, until each child holding up his portion had presented the complete  message, "Christmas Love." The performance was going smoothly, until suddenly, we noticed her; a small, quiet, girl in the front row holding the letter "M" upside down – totally unaware her letter "M" appeared as a "W".

The audience of 1st through 6th graders snickered at this little one's mistake. But she had no idea they were laughing at her, so she stood tall, proudly holding her "W". Although many teachers tried to shush the children, the laughter continued until the last letter was raised, and we all saw it together. A hush came over the audience and eyes began to widen. In that instant, we understood the reason we were there, why we celebrated the holiday in the first place, why even in the chaos, there was a purpose for our festivities.

For when the last letter was held high, the message read loud and clear:

"C H R I S T W A S L O V E"

He still is.

Christ is born, Alleluia! Have a Blessed Christmas!

Much love from the beautiful Smoky Mountains

Larry

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Letters from Larry: Ponderings

The United States throughout history has has looked to God for strength and protection in times like these.

Please join me in praying for those who are sick and their families, for those who are living in fear and anxiousness, for the professionals who are providing medical care, for those working on treatments and a vaccine for COVID-19, and for our leaders to act with wisdom and courage as they make vital decisions that impact each of our lives.

This is a collection of ponderings that I have collected over the years with input from our readers. Read and think about these today.

PONDERINGS

Real friends are those who, when you feel you've made a fool of

yourself, don't feel you've done a permanent job!

To the world you may be one person, but to one person, you might be the world.

A coincidence is when God performs a miracle and decides to remain anonymous.

Sometimes the majority only means that all the fools are on  the same

side.

Lead your life so you won't be shamed to sell the family parrot to the

town gossip.

I don't have to attend every argument that I am invited to. Life is

10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you respond to it.

Did it ever occur to you that nothing occurs to God?

Life  is like an Onion; you peel it off one layer at a time and

sometimes you cry.

Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to

make them all yourself.

There are 2 things I have learned in life: (1) There is a God;

and (2) I am not Him.

Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach

of God's grace. And your best days are never so good that you are

beyond the need of God's grace!

Funny how $100 looks so big when you take it church, but so small

when you take it to the mall.

Funny how long it takes to serve God for one hour, but how

fast a team plays 60 minutes of ball.

Funny how we get thrilled when a baseball game goes into extra

innings, but we complain when a sermon goes longer than the

regular time.

Funny how we believe what the newspaper says, but question what

the Bible says.

Funny how everyone wants to go to heaven, provided they do not

have to believe, or think, or say, or do anything.

Funny how people want to get a front-line seat at any game or

concert, but scramble to get a back seat at church services.

Funny how hard it is to read a chapter in the Bible, but how easy it

is to read 100 pages of best-selling novel.

Attitude  is Everything. God says, in everything be THANKFUL.

AMEN

Much love from the beautiful Smoky Mountains.

Stay well.

Larry

NOTE: This letter is sent to anyone interested in receiving these inspirational notes. There is no charge and you are encouraged to forward these to anyone you think would benefit from reading them. If you would like to receive them direct, just send an email to me at larryperry@att.net and request to be added to the Letters from Larry list.

Letters from Larry: The Daffodil Principle

Spring has about arrived here in the south. We were out walking around yesterday and noticed all the buttercups and daffodils blooming along the road and trails. What a beautiful site! Seeing these reminded me of the story about the Daffodil Principle. I have shared this before, but it is always popular this time of the year and I hope you enjoy it. What a marvelous principle!  

The Daffodil Principle

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you must come to see the daffodils before they are over."  I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead "I will come next Tuesday", I promised a little reluctantly on her third call."

Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and reluctantly I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house I was welcomed by the joyful sounds of happy children. I delightedly hugged and greeted my grandchildren.

"Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in these clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see badly enough to drive another inch!"

My daughter smiled calmly and said, "We drive in this all the time, Mother."  

"Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and then I'm heading for home!" I assured her.

"But first we're going to see the daffodils. It's just a few blocks," Carolyn said. "I'll drive. I'm used to this." 

"Carolyn," I said sternly, "Please turn around." "It's all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience."

After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand lettered sign with an arrow that read, " Daffodil Garden ."  We got out of the car, each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, as we turned a corner, I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight.

It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain peak and its surrounding slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, and saffron and  butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted in large groups so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers.    

"Who did this?" I asked Carolyn.  "Just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house, small and modestly sitting in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house.

On the patio, we saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking", was the headline. The first answer was a simple one. "50,000 bulbs," it read. The second answer was, "One at a time, by one woman Two hands, two feet, and one brain." The third answer was, "Began in 1958".

For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun, one bulb at a time, to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop. Planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. One day at a time, she had created 

something of extraordinary magnificence, beauty, and inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration.

That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time--often just one baby-step at time--and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world ...

"It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn. "What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years? Just think what I might have been able to achieve!"

My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way "Start tomorrow," she said.

She was right. It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this to use today?"

Use the Daffodil Principle. Stop waiting.... 

Until your car or home is paid off

Until you get a new car or home

Until your kids leave the house

Until you go back to school

Until you finish school

Until you clean the house

Until you organize the garage

Until you clean off your desk

Until you lose 10 lbs.

Until you gain 10 lbs.

Until you get married

Until you get a divorce

Until you have kids

Until the kids go to school

Until you retire

Until summer

Until spring

Until winter

Until fall

Until you die...

There is no better time than right now to be happy.

Happiness is a journey, not a destination. So, work like you don't need money. 

Love like you've never been hurt, and, Dance like no one's watching.

Wishing you a beautiful, daffodil day!

Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin. 

Enjoy the beauty of the day!

Much love from the East Tennessee mountains where the daffodils are blooming now.

Thanks, Larry!

NOTE: This letter is sent to anyone interested in receiving these inspirational notes. There is no charge and you are encouraged to forward these to anyone you think would benefit from reading them. If you would like to receive them direct, just send an email to me at larryperry@att.net and request to be added to the Letters from Larry list. Note, if you press the unsubscribe button below, your email address will be permanently removed and you will no longer be able to receive these notes, so please be careful. You will not be able to resubscribe.

Letters from Larry: Angels... as Explained by Children

Good Afternoon Everyone:

Several years ago a good friend who is a Sunday school teacher sent me some comments from her students about Angels. I thought you might enjoy reading some of these today.

Angels... as Explained by Children

I only know the names of two angels, Hark and Harold.

Gregory, age 5

Everybody's got it all wrong.

Angels don't wear halos anymore. I forget why, but scientists are working on it.

Olive, age 9

It's not easy to become an angel! First, you die.

Then you go to Heaven, and then there's still the flight training to go through. And then you got to agree to wear those angel clothes.  

Matthew, age 9

Angels work for God and watch over kids when God has to go do something else.

Mitchell, age 7

My guardian angel helps me with math, but he's not much  good for science. 

Henry, age 8

Angels don't eat, but they drink milk from Holy Cows!!! 

Jack, age 6

Angels talk all the way while they're flying you up to heaven. The main subject is where you went wrong before you got dead.

Daniel, age 9

When an angel gets mad, he takes a deep breath and counts to ten.

And when he lets out his breath again, somewhere there's a tornado.  

Reagan, age 10

Angels have a lot to do and they keep very busy.

If you lose a tooth, an angel comes in through your window and leaves money under your pillow.

Then when it gets cold, angels go south for the winter. 

Sara, age 6

Angels live in cloud houses made by God and his Son, who's a very good carpenter.  

Jared, age 8

All angels are girls because they gotta wear dresses and boys didn't go for it.

Antonio, age 9

My angel is my grandma who died last year. She got a big head start on helping me while she was still down here on earth.

Ashley, age 9

Some of the angels are in charge of helping heal sick animals and pets. And if  they don't make the animals get better, they help the child get over it.

Vicki , age 8

What I don't get about angels is why, when someone is in love, they shoot arrows at them. 

Sarah , age 7

From the mouths of babes!!!!

Much love from the beautiful Smoky Mountains,

Larry

NOTE: This letter is sent to anyone interested in receiving these inspirational notes. There is no charge and you are encouraged to forward these to anyone you think would benefit from reading them. If you would like to receive them direct, just send an email to me at larryperry@att.net and request to be added to the Letters from Larry list.

Letters from Larry: The Tiger's Whisker

Good Afternoon Everyone, I have some friends from Korea. One day while talking with her, she told this story that I want to share with you today. The Tiger's Whisker Once upon a time, a young wife named Yun Ok was at her wit's end. Her husband had always been a tender and loving soulmate before he had left for the war but, ever since he returned home, he was cross, angry, and unpredictable. She was almost afraid to live with her own husband. Only in glancing moments did she catch a shadow of the husband she used to know and love. When one problem or another bothered people in her village, they would often rush for a cure to a hermit who lived deep in the mountains. Not Yun Ok. She always prided herself that she could heal her own troubles. But this time was different. She was desperate. As Yun Ok approached the hermit's hut, she saw the door was open. The old man said without turning around: "I hear you. What's your problem?" She explained the situation. His back still to her, he said, "Ah yes, it's often that way when soldiers return from the war. What do you expect me to do about it?" "Make me a potion!" cried the young wife. "Or an amulet, a drink, whatever it takes to get my husband back the way he used to be." The old man turned around. "Young woman, your request doesn't exactly fall into the same category as a broken bone or ear infection." "I know," said she. "It will take three days before I can even look into it. Come back then." Three days later, Yun Ok returned to the hermit's hut. "Yun Ok," he greeted her with a smile, "I have good news. There is a potion that will restore your husband to the way he used to be, but you should know that it requires an unusual ingredient. You must bring me a whisker from a live tiger." "What?" she gasped. "Such a thing is impossible!" "I cannot make the potion without it!" he shouted, startling her. He turned his back. "There is nothing more to say. As you can see, I'm very busy." That night Yun Ok tossed and turned. How could she get a whisker from a live tiger? The next day before dawn, she crept out of the house with a bowl of rice covered with meat sauce. She went to a cave on the mountainside where a tiger was known to live. She clicked her tongue very softly as she crept up, her heart pounding, and carefully set the bowl on the grass. Then, trying to make as little noise as she could, she backed away. The next day before dawn, she took another bowl of rice covered with meat sauce to the cave. She approached the same spot, clicking softly with her tongue. She saw that the bowl was empty, replaced the empty one with a fresh one, and again left, clicking softly and trying not to break twigs or rustle leaves, or do anything else to startle and unsettle the wild beast. So, it went, day after day, for several months. She never saw the tiger (thank goodness for that! she thought) though she knew from footprints on the ground that the tiger - and not a smaller mountain creature - had been eating her food. Then one day as she approached, she noticed the tiger's head poking out of its cave. Glancing downward, she stepped very carefully to the same spot and with as little noise as she could, set down the fresh bowl and, her heart pounding, picked up the one that was empty. After a few weeks, she noticed the tiger would come out of its cave as it heard her footsteps, though it stayed a distance away (again, thank goodness! she thought, though she knew that someday, in order to get the whisker, she'd have to come closer to it). Another month went by. Then the tiger would wait by the empty food bowl as it heard her approaching. As she picked up the old bowl and replaced it with a fresh one, she could smell its scent, as it could surely smell hers. "Actually," she thought, remembering its almost kittenish look as she set down a fresh bowl, "it is a rather friendly creature, when you get to know it." The next time she visited, she glanced up at the tiger briefly and noticed what a lovely downturn of reddish fur it had from over one of its eyebrows to the next. Not a week later, the tiger allowed her to gently rub its head, and it purred and stretched like a house cat. Then she knew the time had come. The next morning, very early, she brought with her a small knife. After she set down the fresh bowl and the tiger allowed her to pet its head, she said in a low voice: "Oh, my tiger, may I please have just one of your whiskers?" While petting the tiger with one hand, she held one whisker at its base and, with the other hand, in one quick stroke, she carved the whisker off. She stood up, speaking softly her thanks, and left, for the last time. The next morning seemed endless. At last her husband left for the rice fields. She ran to the hermit's hut, clutching the precious whisker in her fist. Bursting in, she cried to the hermit: "I have it! I have the tiger's whisker!" "You don't say?" he said, turning around. "From a live tiger?" "Yes!" she said. "Tell me," said the hermit, interested. "How did you do it?" Yun Ok told the hermit how, for the last six months, she had earned the trust of the creature and it had finally permitted her to cut off one of its whiskers. With pride she handed him the whisker. The hermit examined it, satisfied himself that it was indeed a whisker from a live tiger, then flicked it into the fire where it sizzled and burned in an instant. "Yun Ok," the hermit said softly, "you no longer need the whisker. Tell me, is a man more vicious than a tiger? If a dangerous wild beast will respond to your gradual and patient care, do you think a man will respond any less willingly?" Yun Ok stood speechless. Then she turned and stepped down the trail, turning over in her mind images of the tiger and of her husband, back and forth. She knew what she could do. ~A Korean Fable~ Much love from the beautiful Smoky Mountains, Larry

NOTE: This letter is sent to anyone interested in receiving these inspirational notes. There is no charge and you are encouraged to forward these to anyone you think would benefit from reading them. If you would like to receive them direct, just send an email to me at larryperry@att.net and request to be added to the Letters from Larry list.

Used with permission.