Happy New Moment!

 

Have you given up on New Year’s resolutions? I have. Long ago. History (mine) shows if I want to make a change in my life that is big enough to require a “resolution,” I’m not likely to keep it for a year, much less a lifetime. Of course, I have made some beneficial changes in my life, but not usually connected to a calendar date.

If we wanted to make a New Year’s resolution on the New Year, which New Year should we use? Our Gregorian solar calendar names January 1 as the beginning of the year. It was decreed by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 to replace the Julian calendar, which made each year too long by .0125 days per year. It took some Protestant countries 70-ish years to agree to the change, so they operated on slightly different calendars. Chinese cultures use a lunar calendar, beginning in what corresponds to January or February on our calendar. On the Maori (New Zealand) calendar, Matoriki Day may be sometime in June or July, and different people in the culture celebrate it on different days. In Iran, Nowruz is celebrated for two weeks in March and April. Many cultures, including Hindi, name their new year in March or April, as spring seems a good time for new beginnings. And the Jewish first lunar month, Nisan, “the beginning of months,” established by God as the beginning of their year, falls in the Gregorian March or April. By the way, this year is 5781.  In addition, the Jewish calendar year has three other feasts called “New Year!” Actually one, the Feast of Ingathering, is called, “the departing of the year.”  Happy Old Year?

OK, now we’re getting somewhere. In the event I couldn’t make my resolution last for an entire year, I wouldn’t feel like such a failure if another chance came up sooner. So a broader understanding of the world would give me more chances to straighten up and fly right. I’m sure if I looked hard enough I could find more New Years, therefore, more chances to improve myself.

Or we could just look in God’s Word. God, Who does not change and does not need improvement, nevertheless renews his compassion, faithfulness and justice “every new day.” Lam. 3:22,23 and Zeph. 3:5.

When King Solomon intended to build a temple for the honor of God, he pledged to make “burnt offerings every morning and evening and on the Sabbaths, at the New Moons, and at the appointed festivals of the LORD our God.”  II Chron. 2:4.

The apostle Paul, facing death daily, claimed, “though our outward man is perishing, the inward man is renewed day by day.” II Cor 4:16

Both Eph. 4:25-32 and Col 3:5-10 contain lists of behaviors Paul is urging on believers, which are to be continually practiced, not merely attempted once at the beginning of belief in Christ.

God allows and accepts our repentance and renewal every moment! We don’t need to wait five more days to turn over a new leaf. And when we fail at 12:10 am on January 1, we don’t despair and wait 365 days to try again! Yes, we fail. Even the apostle Paul, who tried really, really hard to do right, admitted continual failure. But we don’t need to continue to feel like a failure. We can go ahead with our New Moment’s resolutions any and every second of every year!

--Lynda Shenefield

Christmas--For Such a Time as This

 

A recent widow celebrating Christmas without her beloved spouse this month. A husband and father lying in an ICU hospital bed fighting for breath in hopes of staying off a ventilator while his wife battles the disease alone at home, and their grown children unable to visit either parent. An elderly lady lying on her deathbed while her children know her time will be coming soon. Families unable to spend Christmas with their loved ones due to the virus. Business owners working hard to stay afloat in the midst of a second wave of the pandemic. Christmas parties and celebrations cancelled. Traditions broken. What is there to celebrate this Christmas?

I did not have to make up the above circumstances. These people are among my friends and acquaintances. I’m sure you could add to this list. Christmas has always been hard for people at various points in their lives due to difficulty and challenges, but this year the grief and hardships seem so much more universal with the effects of this terrible virus, the record numbers in the hospital in our own city, as well as the financial and social challenges the disease has brought about. So how do we approach a Christmas that doesn’t look like the kind of Christmas we know and love with its lack of Christmas parties and concerts, trips to see Santa, fighting the crowds for last-minute shopping, and gathering with extended family for Christmas?

But what if those things are not actually necessary for a true and meaningful celebration of Christmas?  And furthermore, what if the message of Christmas actually speaks hope into the situations in which we find ourselves? What if the truth of Christmas can be a balm to the one lying in an ICU bed on Christmas Eve? What if the meaning of the holiday can bring joy to the one alone in his apartment in a nursing home?  What if the family who can’t travel to the grandparents’ house for Christmas can find unique comfort this year in remembering what Christmas is all about? Perhaps this year, we have all the more reason to celebrate. For against this dark current backdrop the beauty of what happened at Christmas can shine all the brighter. When the family gatherings, the hustle and bustle, the parties, and the special services are replaced with stories of hospital beds, separation from family, loneliness, and sickness, doesn’t it overwhelm us all the more that God Himself came down into this mess to live among us and to save us from this broken and fallen world?

It is precisely because of Christmas that we can face days such as these, filled with hope. God did not leave us on our own, stuck with the consequences of man’s fall into sin.  For God so loved the world, that He himself, in the person of Jesus Christ, came down to rescue us. That is the good news this Christmas and every Christmas. We have a Rescuer, a Savior. One who came down to save us from our biggest problem, our sin, and who will one day save us from this broken world as well. This world is nothing compared to the one that is to come. We can face its hardships, knowing that God will use them for good, and knowing that these trials do not have the final word. So, however we find ourselves celebrating Christmas this year, I pray that we would be filled with the hope that can only come from understanding that the message of Christmas does not dim when things look bleak. No, it’s perhaps in these moments that its beauty shines all the more clearly.

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).

Oh come, let us adore Him!

--Amy O'Rear

My Favorite Nativity

I collect nativities.  These range from the cloth stuffed one under the tree (made when my children were young so they could play with them and act out the story) to the smooth olive wood made in Israel to the vintage plastic with glitter applied liberally.  There’s a large set of pottery figures that glow with candles inside, a larger ceramic one, even an African one—straight tall figures made of dark wood.

I have many nativities I treasure, but the one that I value most is a homemade one.  My children and I made it from clothespins and scraps of fabric and paper and pipe cleaners.   When Stephen was eight or nine years old he made a crude stable to house the figures.  It is a typical nativity in that it has Mary, Joseph, the baby, shepherds, wise men, an angel choir. The children contributed animals from the toy chest to finish the tableau.  The best part is that each of the children made a figure of themselves standing in front of the stable.  (The fact that they made their own figures explains why Sarah suddenly became a blond and also why she carries a small pipe cleaner doll.) Every year this nativity holds the place of prominence in the center of the buffet directly in front of the door.

This year as I placed the nativity a new thought grabbed me.  Each of us is standing at the nativity scene in the same way the children’s figures are and for the same reason we are all figuratively standing at the foot of the cross.  You see, the reason He came was to deal with our sin.  He was born because God loved us enough to deal with that sin.  He was born to die.

In Matthew 1:21 and 22, the Lord spoke to Joseph and told him not to be afraid, but to take Mary as his wife for “She shall bring forth a son, and you shall call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sin.”  Jesus was born to die, born to be crucified for our sins.  Christmas does not make sense without the crucifixion and ultimately, the resurrection, for without the resurrection, the crucifixion would have been in vain.

This theme is repeated again in Luke 2:10.  Speaking to the shepherds, the angel said, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”  That first public announcement said He would be a Savior.  We would need a Savior.

Other confirmation:

Luke 19:10, For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

John 3:17, For God sent not His son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

I Timothy 1:15, This is a faithful saying, and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

I Peter 2:24, He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.  By His wounds you have been healed.

Christmas is incomplete if we focus simply on the manger.  Jesus was born to die.

As we hear and sing the carols this year, as we view the blow up nativities and the light nativities and the plywood nativities and every variety in between, may we remember this thought.  Jesus was born to die.

My grandfather, Dr. John R. Rice, wrote a song years ago called Jesus, Baby Jesus.  The chorus says,

Jesus, Baby Jesus, there’s a cross along the way.

Born to die for sinners, born for crucifixion day.

The fourth verse continues, 

Jesus, Baby Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man,

Tempted, poor and suffering, no one knows us as He can!

Holy, righteous, blameless, fitting sacrifice complete.

Jesus, Baby Jesus, There’s a cross along the way.

Born to die for sinners, born for crucifixion day!

~~Faith Himes Lamb

Proclaim the Glory

 

https://youtu.be/BDYk2ZhJ-30

I’ve been thinking about this song lately. Who knows why or how certain songs get stuck in our brains, but this one has been a blessing. I found myself humming it between classes at school, bursting out in bits and pieces of song as I ran errands and drove home. So I found it on youtube and listened to the whole thing. It has excellent words—and that boy can sing!

There are several versions on line, but the one I have linked you to shows pictures of natural beauty. Certainly God’s creative genius is a sufficient reason to proclaim his glory; the magnificent colors of sunset, the stunning variety of birds, and the soothing beauty of flowers are only some of the details of creation that show God’s glory.

This month, though, I’m focused on the astonishing fact of Jesus’s coming to earth. As I drive down the road, it seems to me that every light strung in the trees or tacked up on someone’s front porch is a mute proclaimer of God’s glory. Even those folks who do not know our Savior are inadvertently proclaiming his goodness in sending Jesus to show us the way to the Father.

I think of the shepherds in the field who were overwhelmed with light and music on the night of Jesus’s birth. After they visited the baby, they could not keep the news to themselves! We should be the same way.

Psalm 34:3 says, “O, magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together.” Psalm 107:2 admonishes, “Let the redeemed of the LORD tell their story,” and Jesus himself directed us to “let [our] light shine before men” so that they will “glorify [our] Father” (Matthew 5:16). As we have opportunity this season, let’s say a word of God’s greatness and give testimony to his power in our own lives.

Now let’s hear that song one more time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDYk2ZhJ-30

--Sherry Poff

Seed and Trees

 

Think back for a minute. Do you remember a time when someone said something that hurt your feelings? Of course, you do. We hear all the time about the power of words, but do we really understand how powerful they are? Powerful enough to destroy a life - or heal one.

 

Sit back. Settle in and take your time reading this story about words:

 

“Seeds and Trees”

by Brandon Walden

 

In the land of the king lived a special young prince, who loved climbing trees and playing with friends. 

He lived in a castle overlooking the sea. He played in a field with his two kinds of trees. 

He carried a satchel slung low on his waist to contain all the seeds he might want to exchange. 

Each seed was a word that someone had spoken. Each seed was collected, a trinket, a token. 

It didn’t quite matter from where it had come, a stranger, a friend, a whisper made up. 

He rose every morning to water the seeds from each of the words he’d already received. 

When someone spoke nicely, not anything mean, they’d hand him a seed whose true essence was green. 

But sometimes the seeds would come bringing pain, seeds of dark color whose trees produced shame. 

Several dark seeds grew quickly, then withered. 

Others remained to grow slowly, unhindered. 

At the end of each day, he’d admire the seeds and go plant the new ones and play in his trees. 

The trunks and the branches of dark trees were laden with thistles and thorns, causing pain as he scaled them. 

Climbing these trunks and these branches was tricky. Each part of the tree that he grasped was quite prickly. 

Each time the prince climbed, he was bruised and was slit. Yet trees are for climbing, so through pain he’d persist. 

But each time he climbed up his trees clothed in green, he felt safe and healed, as those trees weren’t mean. 

His green trees were strong, and they welcomed his touch. 

Their branches grew fruit he could eat or could clutch. 

He could sit at the base or climb to the peak. 

He could rest in the branches or play hide and seek. 

As years passed, he noticed his green trees were weakening. 

The trunks at the base of the trees needed strengthening. 

Now the soil had hardened as life was escaping. 

Their canopies were covered. His dark trees had shaded them. 

He would plant his green seeds and dark seed beside. Then they’d war with each other and try to survive. 

His green trees were strongest with plenty of light, but his dark trees grew stronger in the darkness of night. 

They shared the same water and sunlight to grow, but the dark trees were hiding the fruit they would show. 

The green trees caused life, joy, and peace to grow near, but the dark seeds killed soil and grew trees clothed in fear. 

The field the prince planted had started to show many trees of two kinds and the fruit that had grown. 

The fruit fell like seeds to the soil down below, filled with seeds to be gathered or given to sow. 

The young prince grew strong and became a young man. He continued to plant the seeds placed in his hand. 

He invited some friends to come play in his trees, but some like to play in his trees from dark seeds. 

He had one special friend who always spoke true, her words filled with grace, as good friends always do. 

She never spoke harshly and never spoke lies. She always spoke gently, with loving replies. 

She always gave green seeds and never took back. She never ran out. There was never a lack. 

Her satchel was filled to the brim, overflowing with green seeds, not dark seeds, each one for the sowing. 

She watched the prince till, plant, and water his grove. She watched, and she waited until asked to go. 

One day, the prince said, “Hey friend, come along.” She humbly agreed and began singing a song. 

“To the grove, to the grove, we will look down below, at the roots in the soil and the trees that have grown. We will care for your green trees and even plant more seeds, but your dark trees will fall as this new life is sown.” 

As he waited in his field with his friend by his side, the young prince took note as his trees came alive. 

Green trees swayed now to the sound of the tune, But the dark trees stood stiff, clenched their fists, and seemed rude. 

After long years of planting and watering seeds, they’d grown into mighty and powerful trees. 

The prince reminisced as he entered the grove. He thought back to each tree and the seed that was sown. 

He admired the beauty the green seeds created, but noticed at the roots they were sadly ill-fated. 

His friend came prepared and brought tools along. The prince hadn’t noticed, but his friend was quite strong. 

The tools that she carried were weathered and humble: a pickaxe, a saw, and an old rusty shovel. 

The friend asked the prince to please pick out a tree, one causing pain that he’d rather not see. 

The prince pointed up to one skinny, dark mass. His friend said, “Watch this!” then took out her axe. 

With one mighty swing, the tree fell to the ground. Then his friend dug her shovel deep, deep, deeply down. 

The root had to die and be plucked from the dirt. 

Then a green seed was planted and covered with earth. 

The prince then exclaimed, “Can you cut down more trees?” 

His friend said, “Oh yes, and I’ve plenty of seeds.” 

Many dark roots had tunneled so deep that it took them a while to dig underneath. 

Dark roots wrapped close ‘round the green everywhere. So, the friend showed the prince how to tend them with care. 

Her tools came in handy: the axe, saw, and shovel, and others the friend had brought here to the struggle. 

Then came the day when his forest was green. Not a dark tree was spotted. Not any were mean. 

The friend then surprised the grown prince with some gifts, some tools for his new watering shifts. 

She instructed the prince not to plant the dark seeds, but to go to the cliff to cast them out to sea. 

The prince held the green seeds and those were all saved, but he tossed the dark seeds off the cliffs to the waves. 

Then he traveled to new fields abounding with trees, making sure that he packed his old satchel with seeds… 

“To the grove, to the grove, we will look down below, at the roots in the soil and the trees that have grown. We will care for the green trees and even plant more seeds, but the dark trees will fall as this new life is sown.” 

“Be careful what you water, for it will surely grow.” 

There are many Bible verses that speak about the use and power of the tongue, words we say to others and to ourselves. James speaks of the tongue as a powerful and deadly poison that is difficult to harness. The words on which we meditate grow deep into our souls and shape us. Surely, if we want good things to come out of our mouths, we must guard what is allowed into our hearts and intentionally plant good things there. It begins with the words that form our thoughts.

I have been rather anxious lately. Have you? There are so many dark and scary things happening in our world right now. The Lord is reminding me of what to do about these fears.

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” (The Apostle Paul, Philippians 4:4-9)

These are solemn words spoken by our Lord Jesus, 

“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:33-37)

 

joyce hague

A Familiar Comfort

 

Here I am... still in Psalms! This time some very familiar verses...Psalm 23. Oh, my! What a comfort midst all the virus, election unrest, cultural unrest...perhaps unrest in our own personal lives.

 Vs 1.  THE LORD - Maker of Heaven and earth, JEHOVAH - IS MY (personal, Maylou’s) SHEPHERD.

What does a shepherd do? He watches over me, a “dumb” sheep who doesn’t know where to get food and water, or how to stay out of briers, or where to sleep.

Vs 2. He makes me lie down. My Shepherd knows I need rest, but where? In green pastures by still waters. This is a picture of my Shepherd not only giving me rest but also meeting my needs with “still” waters so I can drink and not be afraid to drink. “Green” pastures imply fresh, good food.

Vs3.  While resting by water and pasture, He restores my soul. How? By His presence and by His Word. This may take a while but He doesn’t let me rest forever.   He leads me in the paths of righteousness. I have been rested, fed, and restored. Now I must get busy and follow him for His name’s sake. People who see me restored give God glory because they see WHO restored me.

Vs 4.  Yea...YES...For sure. There will be a change. A problem comes. I may walk (NOT RUN) through the valley. The fact that I am walking means my Shepherd is with me. The valley (many times a beautiful place) has a shadow of death.  Shadows might frighten me but cannot hurt me. I will fear no evil. This is an adamant statement.  My Shepherd is walking with me through the valley to the other side. Sometimes He corrects me (His rod); sometimes He directs me (His staff). These even comfort me. These show He cares and is paying attention to me.

Vs 5. Prepares a table for me - It is prepared by my Shepherd in the presence of my enemies so they can see me enjoy His provisions. He anoints my head with oil...A sign of His blessing and confirmation.

My cup runs over...A sign of His abundant care.

Vs 6. Even though I am a “dumb sheep,” God’s goodness...His kindness, His blessing, His care...and

His mercy...for my sinful person, for times when I do not obey my Shepherd...shall follow me all my life.

God, my loving Shepherd, never forsakes me. In fact, I am so special to Him, He will invite me to live with Him forever! 

This dear Psalm never grows old to me.

 --Maylou Holladay

WWJD

 

Since the late 1880s, “What Would Jesus Do?” has been a slogan, a fad, a watchword or a political rallying cry. The original writer, Charles Sheldon, meant it literally. Today it has devolved into a “higher moral ground” claim by people who use it to justify their own position on anything, even actions directly against Scripture.

 If we wanted to do what Jesus would do, we would start with an absolute and unwavering belief in and agreement with God’s Word, from beginning to end. This belief would inform all our understandings and all our actions. Only the Old Testament Scriptures had been written when Jesus lived, and He wrote them. He quoted the Scriptures hundreds of times, exactly as he meant them the first time. When He said, “but I say unto you,” he was not throwing out the Scriptures; he was explaining them and usually tightening the requirements a bit! He was not some sort of second God, a bit rebellious to the original God; he told us directly that He is God.

 Jesus believed in the creation of the world, the way it is presented in Genesis. (The Word tells us He is the One who did the creating.) He believed the worldwide flood, the promises to Abraham and the miracles of the Exodus. He believed the promises of God to Israel (especially the prophecies regarding Himself!) and the warnings of God to disobedient ones. He acknowledged that sin is what God said is sin. And he affirmed God’s loving offer of forgiveness as available to all.

 I’ve always appreciated Dr. Euler’s oft-repeated statement, “The Word of God is always truer than Steve Euler’s presentation of it.” We don’t seem to be able even to quote God’s Word without putting a bit of our own slant on it. Even Satan used God’s own words to tempt and argue with the Son of God! And Jesus answered him with God’s own words.

·      Many Christians today are following Satan’s lead in cherry-picking, misusing or twisting the words of the Bible with their own brand of “logic,” in order to bolster a position on sin, salvation or politics which is directly against the words of the Bible.

 Some parts of Scripture may be difficult for us to understand, but there is enough which is easy to understand to keep us busy for the rest of our lives! Back in June, Pam wrote a marvelous article tying together obedience, trust and faith. God requires not our understanding, but our obedience. Our obedience requires us to trust Him, and trusting Him grows our faith. We need to trust that His Word says what He meant and we need to obey His Word because He is the Almighty God, even when we would rather not. That is What Jesus Would Do.

--Lynda Shenefield

 

 

A Brief Thought and a Prayer

 

I have been studying the Sermon on the Mount in my quiet times over the last month. In the Beatitudes, as we all know, Christ spoke of the one who is blessed. This completely turned the thinking of his audience on its head. Doesn’t blessing look like riches, joy, confidence, and strength? Yet this is not what Jesus described. 

Are we too looking for blessing in the wrong places? Has 2020 revealed to us that we perhaps also at times have a wrong view of the blessed life?  In our challenges of this year, have we felt less than blessed by God? Do we view our blessings primarily on such issues as being healthy, having the freedom to come and go as we please and keep up our weekly activities, maintaining a secure job, having the “right” President in place, being spared from devastating storms and life circumstances, and keeping our religious freedoms? None of these are on Christ’s list of the one who is blessed. 

The blessed life that Christ describes has nothing to do with circumstances, but has everything to do with character: being poor in spirit, mourning over sin, showing meekness, hungering for the things of God, extending mercy, being a peacemaker, and enduring persecution for Christ’s sake (Matt. 5:1-12). Have you experienced these? You are blessed. Cultivate these, and you will be blessed, whether 2021 looks a lot like 2020 or not.

        Read this Puritan prayer and see the longing for a right view of the blessed life in the middle of a valley. May this be our prayer as we finish out a challenging year.

 

The Valley of Vision

Lord, High and Holy, Meek and Lowly,

Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,

where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights;

hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory.

 

Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up,

that to be low is to be high,

that the broken heart is the healed heart,

that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,

that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,

that to have nothing is to possess all,

that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,

that to give is to receive,

that the valley is the place of vision.

 

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells,

and the deeper the wells the brighter the stars shine;

 

Let me find thy light in my darkness,

thy life in my death,

thy joy in my sorrow,

thy grace in my sin,

thy riches in my poverty,

thy glory in my valley.

 

-- Amy O.

Finally Home

                                             

When I retired from teaching in 2016, one of my first goals was to find a way to connect with other women of the church.  For the first time I was not teaching Tuesday morning and Tuesday night.  Those were the times the ladies of the church met for Bible study and prayer.

Tuesday morning was all I had hoped for.  I loved the first minutes of simply visiting and getting to know one another, then sharing our burdens and requests and hearing others pray fervently for our needs, then the time of Bible study.  I got to know that group of women in a special way.  One of those women was Renee Bottoms.  Amy O’Rear has shared so beautifully the relationship she had with Renee, but I want to, no, I need to share what I started the morning I found out Renee was Home.  I knew Renee casually before I began attending the Bible study, but that class sealed the deal.  We had an immediate connection.

Outwardly Renee and I did not have much in common with our backgrounds.  She had been a lawyer, had beaten cancer, had married Rick later in life, then had moved with Rick from Texas to Chattanooga.  I moved here fresh from grad school to teach, then married and had five children, homeschooled for twenty years, then went back to teaching, and ultimately found myself alone.  It doesn’t sound like much in common to build a friendship, but build one we did.

This morning I read back through about six months of our texts and found tears running down my cheeks.  She was the friend who allowed you to say whatever you needed to say, and in return, felt free herself in the relationship.  We sat and talked on my porch over lunch, we sat on swings on her back porch, we sat in her Texas room and shared our childhoods.  We called and talked, but more frequently we texted.  And now I have those texts to go back to. I want to share some of those texts to show you what kind of woman Renee was.

5/28  I’m getting well practiced at praising God.

6/18  I regularly pray for all of your children (know it’s close to your heart) but you never told how I can pray for YOU.

6/25  Praise God that He allows doctors the ability to give relief.

7/1  Rick and I prayed and God resolved.  My faith is strengthened and God showed off His faithfulness again!!

7/4  I have struggled but the Lord has helped me level out again.  He promises not to give me more than He will equip me to endure (I Corinthians 10:13).  And I’m holding on to that. . . . .I’m asking for wisdom and trust His James 1:5 promise that He’ll help me know.  The effort of asking and listening is day to day.  Please pray for my courage and faithfulness and peace.

7/5  Today is another good day—praising God!!  Trying to focus on each and every one.  So thankful to count you a faithful and trusted friend.

7/10  We certainly do live in a strange time.  So wish Jesus would come.

8/1  I’m hanging on!  And feeling His presence and that is enough, just like He said.

8/27  Looking forward to Faith-time.

8/31  Thank you for being in the yoke with me on this phase of life.

9/18  God has used it (a broken wrist) to show His continual presence in incredible ways.  Even in this, He is here.  But I am so weak, with so little courage.

Can you see Renee?  She knew Scripture and could apply it even on difficult days.  She had a vital relationship with her Savior. She loved her friends and showed it.  She prayed for her friends and their concerns.  Renee was not a perfect woman.  She had difficult days and nights.  She had fears. One of the fears she shared with me was her fear of smothering.  What if they turned the oxygen up as high as it would go and she still couldn’t breathe?

On September 22 I had just loaded up the beans and rice she had asked for.  I had planned even to stop at Taco Bell to get her the tostados she yearned for.  And then I got the word that Renee had stepped through the door of Heaven the night before.  In my head I heard this song,

        But just think of stepping on shore and finding it Heaven,

        Of touching a hand and finding it God’s, 

        Of breathing new air and finding it celestial,

        Of waking up in Glory and finding it Home.

        Finally Home!

Renee didn’t need to struggle to breathe. Her oxygen never got turned to the highest.  Instead she’s breathing new air and finding it celestial.

Above my kitchen sink is a sticky note that says Renee, a reminder to pray for my friend.  I’m not ready to take it down yet.  I miss her, but every time I see it I think, “She’s breathing celestial air,” and I smile.

                       ~~Faith Himes Lamb

Finally Home        https://youtu.be/oRQM7_FjnxU

                                                                      

That Time of Year

 

That time of year thou mayest in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few do hang
Upon the boughs that shake against the cold,
Bare, ruined choirs where late the sweet birds sang.

Shakespeare’s lovely Sonnet 73 contains the message that we learn to appreciate things and people when we know we’re about to lose them. The poet uses three metaphors for life: a year, a day, and a fire. Each—the day, the year, and the fire—is coming to an end. In some ways, the poem is a bit melancholy, but I like to focus on the beauty that is undeniably present in each situation: autumn colors, sunset, and glowing embers. Obviously, it’s the autumn colors that are on my mind this week. 

I sit on my porch and just marvel at the red in the dogwood leaves against the deep yellow hickory across the street. Driving to school or church, I have to make myself watch the road, so beautiful are the colors around me. I was telling my granddaughter Wren that the color in the leaves is there all year, but we don’t see it until the chlorophyll goes out of the leaves to reveal it. That simple explanation is mostly correct, but the truth is that lots of changes bring about the colors we enjoy this time of year—chemical changes caused by temperature and amount of light. We are women; we know about chemical changes. Am I right?

And here I find another object lesson to ponder as I sit on my porch or walk in my neighborhood. Through all the changes of my life, do I appear beautiful? What is revealed when my “true colors” show through? We are all experiencing change, regardless of our age. It’s a fact of life. But I’ve been meditating on James 1 recently, and I take great pleasure in noting that our God does not change. In fact, we read that He is the one “in whom is no variableness neither shadow of turning.”

When changes come to us, we may view them as trials, but these trials can have the result of developing patience in our lives, of making us more beautiful than ever before, making us “perfect and entire” and a little more like our Heavenly Father.

The first chapter of James has other lessons drawn from nature. Why not read it now? Better yet, memorize a few verses you can meditate on as you take a walk in this lovely weather--before it goes away. 

--Sherry Poff

 

                                                                                                                         

On the Beauty of a Queen

 

When I served as an AWANA leader, we had Bible Character Night every October. All the kids dressed up as Bible characters instead of goblins, vampires, and witches. The kids would line up and parade by the leaders while we decided who would win the costume awards. I enjoyed the creativity (or lack thereof) displayed in their costumes. There was the “blind man” who literally wore window blinds. One of the lepers always showed up with toilet paper bandages, drawn-on sores, and a pitiful look on his face. Several Marys wearing bathrobes and sandals arrived with their baby Jesus’ wrapped in towels. The scandalous Samaritan woman wore heavy eye makeup and lots of jewelry. One year my two daughters and their friend came wearing my husband’s fire gear posing as three wise men “coming from afar.” (Get it?) And without fail, a few Queen Esthers always showed up wearing purple or blue gowns and plastic bejeweled crowns. Little girls (and big girls) are fascinated by queens and princesses.

I too have been drawn into the story of Queen Esther. In the first two chapters of the book of Esther, the words beauty, lovely, and favor are used repeatedly. That (and Disney) can lead us to romanticize what being a queen is like. We imagine a beautiful woman dressed in royal attire wearing her crown proudly while servants grant her every desire. The king listens to her wisdom and acts accordingly. He loves and cherishes her. Everyone admires her. We forget that the palace can be a dangerous place. Some may become jealous of her. They might stab her in the back figuratively or even literally. Women can be catty. A queen or princess never knows whom she can trust.

As an orphan and an exile, Esther came to the palace with heavy burdens. The government ripped her from her family, and she was essentially raped. Women like her who did not become queen, were used once by the King and then placed with the other concubines. They would not come before the King again unless requested by him. (Maybe they were relieved?) Even Queen Esther could not come into the King’s presence lacking an invitation without risking death. The beauty of the women in that culture was a liability.

Yet, we all long for beauty and admiration, and that is why stories revolving around queens and princesses draw us. Not only do we want beauty in ourselves, but we want to visit lovely places, live in beautiful homes, and drive attractive cars. Beauty is big business! Think of all the hair products, cosmetics, beauty treatments, home décor products, etc. What are we chasing?

We are chasing Shalom. “The webbing together of God, humans, and all creation in justice, fulfillment, and delight is what the Hebrew prophets call shalom. We call it peace, but it means far more than mere peace of mind or a cease-fire between enemies. In the Bible, shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight – a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully employed, a state of affairs that inspires joyful wonder as its Creator and Savior opens doors and welcomes the creatures in whom he delights. Shalom, in other words, is the way things ought to be.” (Cornelius Plantinga Jr, “A Breviary of Sin.”)

We are longing for things to be the way God created them to be. We are longing to be physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually whole. Goodness, truth, and beauty are interconnected, and the source is God Himself. He is good and trustworthy and beautiful, and we are made in His image. Imagine how beautiful we and all of Creation would be if we were uncorrupted by sin. Although we will not experience complete wholeness in this life, all of us can experience a measure of wholeness if we lay it all in God’s hands and submit to His authority. Are you withholding anything from Him? Maybe there is generational sin, deception, unforgiveness, bitterness, rebellion, pride, bondage, or fear. These things are ugly and reek of death.

Sometimes people put up walls to protect themselves from others. We do not have to do that with Him. We can lay bare our souls to Him and know He will love us no matter what. He is good and wants good things for us. He can be trusted with every part of ourselves, even the distinctly ugly parts. He can bring healing, life, and beauty. 

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
Because the Lord has anointed me
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives
And freedom to prisoners;
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
To grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.
So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins,
They will raise up the former devastations;
And they will repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.

Isaiah 61:1-4

 

joyce hague

Clarifying

 

 Many mornings I listen to an interesting man on Christian radio named Brant Hansen. (Yes, another Brant!) In the first few weeks of this virus, Brant told his audience (including me) that these times would be “clarifying.” That word “clarifying” has stayed with me for months. Now we have not only the virus, but also the unrest that has been destroying some of our cities and infringing on our liberties.

 Clarifying - Making something less confusing or easier to understand, being certain or definite, encouraging sharpness.

 How can a “pandemic” be clarifying? How can “concern for our wonderful country” be clarifying?   How can a “mountaintop experience” be clarifying? How can any event in our lives be “clarifying”?

1. Clarifying my opinion of the Lord (To me, the most important): 

Sometimes during difficult times, my heart echoes Psalm 10:1 - “Why, Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?”

 How can we keep from being defeated by doubting our Lord and His plan during difficult times? We must go to the eternal Word of God! That cannot be overstated.

 Psalm 16:8 states: “I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.”

 SET - This is a definite decision that has to be made - to “set something” before me. Why “before me”? That is so I can see Him and follow Him. Sometimes He is moving...sometimes still. Then I have to WAIT! Ugh! J

 How do we “see” Him? By reading and meditating on His Word!

 2. Clarifying my attitude (this goes along with my other point):

How many times during these few months have I asked to myself and out loud (poor Brant): “How can just one man/a few people dictate to the whole country/state what to do?” “Why do they keep moving the goal posts?” “We need to get going...get back to our normal routines.” Boy, my attitude has been clarified! I am not very happy with the circumstances!

Well...this restlessness and aggravation and concern I feel many days cannot be changed by my wishing it is not so. It has to be that I “set” the Lord before me and look to Him.

Do I always do that? No! But this change inside me (which sometimes is a daily battle) is a CHOICE because of what I find in my Lord.

Psalm 18 (almost overwhelming with goodness):

Verse one is a declaration:

I will love You, O Lord, my strength (when I cannot go on...).

² The Lord is my rock (the kind that cannot be crushed, perhaps a foundation, something steadfast, maybe solid in the same place for ages)...

and my fortress (a place of safety, protection, like some of the castles we have seen in England and Germany...can withstand the blows of the enemy)...

and my deliverer (SO...this would imply that the enemy might overtake me, but God will deliver

me. This enemy can be worry, doubt, fear, pride...); 

My God (personal), my strength (we need this word again), in Whom I will trust (choice, determination - not just “love” as in verse one, but “trust”); 

My shield or buckler (used in hand-to-hand combat...God fighting close to me) and the horn (implies anointing me with power) of my salvation, my stronghold or high tower (protection).

³ I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised.

 

OUR CHOICES CLARIFY WHERE WE STAND IN A CHALLENGING TIME.

--Maylou Holladay

 

 

 

It Just Happened

 

“Happen” is an interesting word with too many meanings. The dictionary gives meanings of “to take place; occur,” and “find or come across by chance.” Because we understand the word so well, we don’t think very deeply about it. We use it in many questions as a catch-all. “What happened?” “How did that happen?” “Why did it happen?” Or even, “What’s happenin’?” If we put the word “just” in front of it, we mean either that it occurred very recently or that it occurred by accident, without cause or plan. “I don’t know why; it just happened.”

 If we look around us, we see that many unhappy things have occurred in the past few months. Nobody accidentally or deliberately caused the Easter tornado to happen. It just happened. Someone may or may not have caused the COVID-19 virus to blow across the entire globe. Or maybe it just happened. Some of us have gotten sick with other things, for reasons we don’t understand. Some have lost work, possessions, even people for reasons we can’t understand.

 If, as believers, we look at our lives in light of God’s word, we should probably not use the phrase, “It just happened,” unless we mean the occurrence was recent. Our lives are not a series of accidental occurrences. Psalm 139 details the knowledge the Creator of the universe has of our entire lives – our beginnings, our actions before they “happen,” even our thoughts before we think them. (Considering the natural bent of our thoughts, that’s quite frightening.)  Read the whole Psalm. Verse 13 starts at our beginning; “for You formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.” And for the present time, v. 16 says, “all the days chosen for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

 You did not just happen. Your life to this point is not just a series of accidental happenings. You may have been formed in an unusual fashion or had your physical form changed by something that happened. You may have had disasters in your life that shaped your attitudes, hopes or fears. You may have had wonderful influences in your life that shaped your attitudes, hopes or courage. But wherever you are and however you are, you did not “just happen.”

 Sometimes we may understand why things happened in our lives; sometimes we may guess wrong. Sometimes we never know. It is faith in God’s goodness that assures us there are reasons for odd occurrences.

In an incident related in the Bible (John 9), Jesus’s disciples made two wrong guesses about why a man was born blind and had suffered for an entire lifetime. Jesus said there was a real reason – that the works of God might be displayed in him. From that point, the man’s life played out quickly and well -- until the religious leaders got involved with their unbelief.

 When we struggle with unbelief, or maybe just confusion, pain and longing, God’s Word tells us of His goodness, purpose and plan. And our sisters have helped us with recent posts. Joyce reminded us God has placed authorities in our lives, deliberately and for our good. Faith mentioned that we do, indeed, have many unhappy “happenings,” but our “strong tower” is not a wobbly Jenga game. Amy encouraged us to “complain” to God in a Scriptural way and seek His comfort.  Maylou pointed out the repetition of “the gracious hand of my God” as the rock sustaining Ezra and Nehemiah in a time of desperate “happenings.” And Sherry gave us an awesome daily checklist that can help us prevent disasters from happening to our spiritual health.

 It did not just happen. You did not just happen. Let us trust the “gracious hand of our God” for the real reason – that the works of God might be displayed in us.

 

--Lynda Shenefield

A People Who Show Christ's Love

 

Some people come into our lives for only a short season. Yet it seems that the Lord in His kindness brought them to us for a specific reason at just the right time. For me, such a person was Renee Bottoms. We had gone to the same church for many years and, though we had had short conversations here and there, I did not know her well. I had not been to any of the women’s bible studies that she taught, and within the church, we just seemed to move in different circles.

I had just finished teaching through the book of 1 Peter at the end of February this year when Renee stopped me after church to find out where the Wednesday night women’s study met and how many women usually came. She was set to teach through the month of March and had chosen some of the Psalms as her theme. I told her where we met and a little about the group, and then came to the study that first Wednesday in March. After we briefly discussed our favorite psalms, she took us through Psalm 121, pointing out not only the meaning of the text but also its writing style. She was very down-to-earth in her teaching and also very knowledgeable. She had studied that passage thoroughly. At some point in the class, either based on an application question she asked, or it could have been prayer request time, I spoke of Kelly’s cancer situation and either my fears or what the Lord was teaching me (I really can’t recall). This was a week before we found out that Kelly’s medication wasn’t working and we would need to have surgery to remove the tumors. That evening ended up being the last time that I saw Renee. For it was later that week that everything shut down, and church stopped meeting on-site. Even when we did begin meeting again, Renee could not join us due to her fragile lungs.

That would have been the end of my interactions with Renee had it not been for a card that she sent me a week or so later. Renee had had her own cancer journey many years ago and shared her experience with me in the card she wrote and mentioned how she was praying for Kelly but also specifically for me (in response to what I had shared in class). She then sent me a text while Kelly was in the hospital in early April, and from that day on, until her passing, we developed a friendship over texts. About once every week or two, we would exchange texts. She updated me on her situation as her health was declining, and I kept her updated on how things were going with Kelly and with the possibility of our children having inherited the genetic mutation that caused Kelly’s cancer. And oh how she cared and how she prayed! She told me specifically what she was praying for me, she sent Scripture verses, she reminded me of truth, and she praised our Father with us over the answers to prayer along the way. That day in church, when I shared what God had done in my heart through Kelly’s cancer, Renee was praying for me. She sent me a text right after I shared that she had seen that I was getting teared up and so she started praying right then that I would be able to get through all that I wanted to say. Perhaps it was thanks to her prayer that I did.  I, in turn, was able to bring her name to the Lord as she went to various appointments and as her lungs struggled to function well. When she texted that the doctors had given her only 3-4 months to live, I grieved with her. I wept tears over this precious woman who had become so dear to me whom I would not see again on this earth.

So why do I write this? Because I, and perhaps you too, can get so caught up in my own life. I can have great intentions about reaching out to others, but in the busyness of life, it doesn’t happen. But I have been the recipient of a dear woman who took the time to write that card and to send that first text. A woman whose prayers and texts and Scripture helped carry me through the most difficult time that I have been through so far in my life. Renee reached out to me, a woman she barely knew, out of a heart of care and concern for a sister in Christ. She took the time, and a beautiful friendship developed. I’m forever grateful to her for the role she played, and as she texted me once after she told me that she probably wouldn’t live much longer on this earth, “we have all eternity to learn and grow together.” How thankful I am that I will see her again and will be able to give her a hug for the first time ever.

It’s a bit amazing to me that as I am challenging us to open our eyes to the needs of others, to reach out, to encourage, to write the card, to send the text, and then to follow-up so that we can be those special people that the Lord uses greatly in the lives of others, I know that Renee would agree. The very last text I have from her ends with this (I don’t think she’d mind me sharing): “I DO wait for the Lord and continue to be overwhelmed at His people that He has uniquely in place to meet my needs and show Christ’s love! Tears flow from gratitude for such love!” She had experienced those people in her life. She was that person for me. How I pray that you and I could be those people for others!

--Amy O' P