I Have Called You Friends

 

Jesus said, “I have called you friends”. “…come unto me all ye that are weary and

heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

 

Memorial Day – for all of its rain this year – has passed; school has finished for the summer; church activities, small groups, and meetings have been placed on a hiatus; and life is settling into the pattern of “the lazy, hazy days of summer.” Routine is settling around us. Perhaps, after the rush and busyness of changing seasons, hurried activities, and whirlwind schedules, we may find an empty hollowness, a hole, a feeling that something is missing. We may also feel the weight of being the planner, the executor, the giver in so many ways lifted from our shoulders, but – in its wake – comes dryness of heart, a need for peace and rest.

 

Sometimes, when all the activity ceases, even for a short time, the weight of burdens can come, the stretch of finances overwhelms, the loneliness of empty days pervades, discontent with life’s situation drains energy. Our hearts, then, turn to Jesus – our Savior, our Friend – in, perhaps, a different way. We seek His peace in the stillness. Sarah is recorded in Hebrews as a woman of great faith. She too, however, had to learn peace in the inactivity—in the long days of waiting and wanting. She was unhappy with her state: childless. She manipulated the situation and sought her own solution by giving her maid Hagar to Abram. We know the story well. However, as we look deeply into the situation, we see two disenfranchised women. Hagar conceived. Sarah did not and found she was despised by the very woman who was her slave. Sarah took out her frustration on Hagar in such a way that Hagar ran. We soon realize that taking matters into her own hands did not bring Sarah peace but a dryness of heart.

 Sarah longed for a son, yes, but she also in those days of waiting needed to learn to be still in the wake of all the activity around her. She needed God’s gracious peace and rest to be hers. She needed to trust God’s Word and promises to her. She needed to see her God in a different way—a way that would bring quietness to her heart. Sarah had fourteen years of stillness before her. She had no notion as to how God would work. She had struggled, and continued to struggle, with her own inadequacies. She needed God’s peace. Sarah needed, but did she fully seek God’s way and peace?

 Our sister in the Lord teaches us that God’s peace comes in the stillness. God works in our situations to supply what we need when we need it. She exemplifies for us a woman overcome by her burdens who had to give them back to the God who promised. She had to learn that the dry seasons of life should drive us to closer dependence upon God. Sarah learned that in God’s time, in His way, and in His merciful love, He would act on her behalf. God rewarded her not only with the promised son but by recording her as a woman of faith in the face of obstacles.

 And we, too, need to cling to the promises of God. The old hymns teach us “Jesus what a friend for sinners, Jesus lover of my soul . . . He my Savior makes me whole.” “I’ve got peace like a river, peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river to my soul,” claims the African-American spiritual. The Isaiah 26:3 hymn speaks to “peace, perfect peace”and Spafford’s “When peace like a river, attendeth my way/ When sorrows like sea billows roll/ Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say/ It is well, it is well, with my soul.”  These speak to those who have gone before us who also needed God’s peace and rest. They are part of “the great cloud of witnesses” who encourage us.

So, before the activities of summer take over our lives, allow God to step into our period of drought. Activity will not bring satisfaction. Simple trust, sometimes hard-fought, supplies the peace we need in an over-stimulated world. To God be all glory.

 

--Janet Hicks

Disappointing Fruit

 

What disappointing verses! Check it out!

 Isaiah 18:4-5 (ESV), For thus the Lord said to me:

“I will quietly look from my dwelling

like clear heat in sunshine,

like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”

For before the harvest, when the blossom is over,

and the flower becomes a ripening grape,

he cuts off the shoots with pruning hooks,

and the spreading branches he lops off and clears away.

 In context these verses are about God’s judgement upon Moab. The Moabites were going to be working hard planting, watering, tending their grape vines (literally or figuratively), but in the end, God just lops off the fruit of their labor. Snip!

 How discouraging that they would put forth all of that effort only to have the Lord thwart their plans. (But this was judgment, and God had His reasons of course.)

 I began to reflect on the fruit of my own labors after reading these verses. (If you read my previous post, you know I struggle with feeling inadequate for the work God has given me to do. Thankfully, He’s working with me on that. This is a sort of part 2.) I am learning that we do our part, He does His, but it’s also our responsibility to acknowledge our need for Him in everything we do if we want our efforts to produce good fruit instead of being lopped off or just withering away.

 Take a fresh look at these familiar verses:

 Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." (emphasis mine)

 One more, and then I’ll tie it together.

 Psalm 90:17 (ESV), "Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!"

 Every day we go along the way with our to-do lists clutched in our hands. thinking of all that needs to be done, likely without acknowledging God’s role in assigning us our good works or of our desperate need for Him to bless our work. If He chose, He could lop the fruit right off of our endeavors because of our failure to acknowledge His will or to seek His direction.

 It’s better to ask for the Lord’s favor to be upon us as He establishes the work of our hands. Maybe that’s why some of us feel so fruitless? Maybe we are pursuing tasks not assigned to us? Sometimes He impresses upon on us creative ways to serve Him that might be unusual – ways that might be unique to us or our situation or personalities. It’s best that we acknowledge and submit to His direction in this. The good fruit might be surprising.

Maybe we are not asking for God’s favor upon our works? Maybe we’re leaning on our own understanding and not realizing that without Him we really can do nothing!

For example, recently I had an eye surgery. My doctor is supposed to be the best in the country. Guess what? He can do his expert thing of replacing part of my cornea, but only God can make it heal and be successful.

 Another, I can faithfully attend my body pump classes and give it my all, but only God can cause my body to develop muscle and protect my bones.

 I can plan, shop for, and prepare healthy meals, but only God can use those nutrients to help me thrive.

 I can pour out my heart telling others about Jesus, but only His Spirit can draw and save people.

 I can invest countless hours serving the residents at the TN Baptist Children’s Homes, but only God can do a special work in their lives for healing. hope, and happiness.

 These are some of the things I spend my time doing. Think about your typical day. Are you allowing God to establish the work of your hands? Are you acknowledging your dependence on Him to hold it all together, to cause it to flourish? I know I need to do more of that. What’s not going well? Have you asked Him if you need to be doing something different? Have you asked him to bless it or to give you wisdom in doing it better?

 I’m depending on Him right now as I type this Cup of Grace to make it fruitful. I have no impact or influence in my own power – and truthfully, that’s probably for the best.

 joyce hague

The With-ness of God

 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” — Psalm 23:4

 

As I was preparing for a trip to Alaska with Aiden and thinking about all the uncertainty that lay ahead, I heard someone mention something I had never really considered before: the with-ness of God.

 

Of course, I knew in my mind that God is with us. I had read it countless times throughout Scripture—how God was with His people, with the prophets, with those He called. Yet hearing it described as the with-ness of God made me pause and think more deeply about what that truly means.

 

I once heard Beth Moore describe it this way: the with-ness of God is like the handprint of His presence—His effectual presence leaving evidence that He has been there. That image stayed with me. God does not simply observe our lives from a distance. He is actively present, leaving His fingerprints throughout our journey.

 

My relationship with my Heavenly Father is essential to my spiritual growth. Yet it is far too easy to become distracted. Life gets busy. Responsibilities pile up. Social media pulls for our attention. Before we realize it, we can drift away from the quiet awareness of God’s presence.

 

I know this struggle well. I am right there with you.

 

One morning, while hurrying around the kitchen preparing breakfast for the teams in Alaska, I overheard a gentleman sharing a story that caught my attention. He said he had gone into the bank one day when he felt God gently tug at his heart to step into the office next door and pray with a woman who worked there.

 

He hesitated for a moment but eventually asked her, “Would it be okay if I prayed with you?”

 

She replied that she was a Christian but that she could not openly talk about it in her workplace. Still, she agreed to let him pray.

 

After the prayer, he turned to leave. As he walked away, the woman noticed he was limping. She asked him to shut the glass door to her office and then asked about his leg.

 

He explained that he had been struggling with pain from his sciatic nerve.

 

“Can I pray for you?” she asked.

 

He agreed. She prayed, and when she finished and said amen, the pain was completely gone.

 

He shared that he had been telling people about that moment for months because he was so amazed at what God had done.

 

As I listened, I couldn’t help but think about something. I asked him, “What if you hadn’t been willing to do what God asked you to do in the beginning—to step into that office and pray for a stranger? What if you had said, ‘Not now . . . maybe another time . . .  I’m in a hurry today’?”

 

Sometimes obedience opens the door for blessings we never expected.

 

Moments like that remind me that when God asks us to do something, we are never doing it alone. His with-ness goes before us, walks beside us, and sustains us in every step.

 

Later, I asked my SWAG group—if you've read my first book, you'll remember that the wonderful group of ladies I grew to love during my time in Alaska were my SWAG (Sassy Women at Grace)—what they think of when they hear the word with.

 

One woman said, “Together… like rice with gravy.”
Another responded, “Accompanying… like two are better than one.”

 

Their answers made me smile because they captured something simple but powerful: with means we are not alone.

 

As I was finishing writing these thoughts, my sweet elderly friend called. She asked if I would pray for her son, who was about to have surgery.

 

I immediately said, “Would you like to pray right now over the phone?”

 

“Yes, please,” she replied.

 

So we prayed together.

 

When we finished, she said softly, “Thank you, Anna. I just needed to talk about it. You really encouraged my heart.”

 

After we hung up, I felt that familiar nudge again. It was as if the Lord gently reminded me, Now send her a message and remind her that I am with her—and that I will continue to be with her.

 

The with-ness of God.

 

It shows up in unexpected phone calls.
In simple prayers.
In quiet obedience.

 

And it reminds us that wherever we walk—even through valleys—God is already there.

--Anna Creed

 

Songs Along the Way

 

Back when I taught high school English full time, it was not uncommon for me to recite a sonnet or a portion of another poem in order to illustrate a point. Students were sometimes surprised that I could do that without looking, but I said to them, “You know all kinds of stuff you didn’t have to try to learn. You learn what you love.” Then I reminded them of all the songs and commercials and chants running through their heads. They had to admit I was right.

I thought about this phenomenon recently as I slowly worked my way through the Psalms of Ascent. This group of songs, found in Psalms 120-134, is a collection of work that Jewish travelers sang as they journeyed to Jerusalem for feast days. As I read these psalms that give honor to God as well as voice appreciation for fellowship, godly families, and even the temple, I thought about how such ideas might lighten the journey.

We are familiar with stories of former slaves singing spirituals as they worked in the fields. I recall my own mother singing along with gospel records as she worked around the house, and I have been known to turn the music up loud to help myself get some work done. It just helps to have a distraction sometimes, and if the distraction can remind us of eternal truth, even better!

Better than motivation for work, though, is the blessing that comes from rehearsing God’s goodness and expressing our praise and thanks to Him. In Steve Faulkner’s discipleship class, we have been studying psalms for many months. These studies are a constant source of joy and inspiration. Just this week, we looked at Psalm 121--one of the Psalms of Ascent, and talked about how God’s word gives joy and comfort in difficult times. I shared my own recent experience with traveling along unfamiliar roads facing a bit of a scheduling crisis. As I drove, the words of Psalm 139 came to mind: “Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.” (KJV is easier for me to learn, somehow.) It was such a comfort to me to recall that God saw me on those twisty roads that Google maps had me traveling, and I got to my destination in calm and peace.

Do you love God’s word? I know you do. As you read and re-read favorite passages, I hope you can commit them to memory. It’s worth working at for those moments when you have to keep your hand on the wheel and your eyes on the road.

--Sherry Poff

The Value of Words

 

I recently read a book called The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. It is a story told through letters and emails to and from a woman named Sybil Van Antwerp. It is simply the story of a life. Sybil is in her early 70’s when we enter her correspondence between all sorts of different people in her life: her best friend, brother, customer service, authors, co-workers, neighbors, etc. There are writings about grief and loss, love and family, memories, activities and fears. While reading these forms of writing I began to think about the written word in general and the importance it has in my life.

             Sybil loves writing letters. She recognizes it as a lost art, and makes it a priority in her own life. She also loves reading books. She writes to her best friend fairly often and in most letters back and forth they share with one another what they are currently reading. In turn Sybil also writes to authors. She shares her appreciation of their work, often delving into her understanding of themes and points of view. It was notable that her appreciation of writing went so deep that she desired to thank those who wrote for a living, especially those who wrote books that made an impact.

             I also love to read. I appreciate authors who brilliantly craft words together, describing ordinary things in extraordinary ways. There is a difference between a book that has been written and a book that has been well-written. I appreciate the time it takes someone to write a book. I understand the pouring of one’s soul and the anxiety that can be felt allowing others to read one’s thoughts, ideas and stories. There is a lot of vulnerability that can be left on a page.

             I have been thinking about how much we take reading and writing for granted. So much of our current correspondence is via electronic devices. I am currently typing out thoughts on my laptop. Pushing the delete button is a convenience, and writing this out on the keyboard is much quicker than hand writing. We text back and forth quickly, send a million emails in our jobs and for school activities. We delete even more emails that are just plain junk. Correspondence has changed.

             About a decade ago I visited Edith Wharton’s home in Massachusetts. It is still to this day one of my favorite house tours I’ve ever been on. The grounds were beautiful and reminded me of Downton Abbey, and the walk through the home itself felt like stepping back in time. It was so literary and so fun. I remember standing in Edith’s bedroom and hearing about her writing process. Handwritten pages strewn all over the bed, floor, desk. Chaos in waking up halfway through the day, staying in bed and writing the rest of the day away. Amazingly, turning that chaos eventually into a Pulitzer Prize winner.

             I was talking about some of these things to a friend the other evening and thought about how much more likely I am to go back and read a note or letter someone has written to me, than I am to go back and read a text. Letter writing really is a lost art, and I believe we appreciate receiving a hand-written note so much more because of the rarity. When is the last time you wrote a letter? What recent note have you received that meant something special?

         All of these thoughts about writing, reading, sharing of ideas leads me to consider that our Creator also places such value and importance in the written word. Or should I say written Word. How remarkable that He has given us so many Words to read from, learn by, go back to, encourage with, hope in!

             As I mentioned before, it is amazing to be able to bare one’s soul on the pages of a book or a note. We have the most interconnected, deep, honest, soul-reaching book available. God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. (2 Tim 3:16). We are encouraged not to take these words for granted but rather to write them on the tablets of our hearts and hide them in our hearts so we may not sin against God. (Psalm 3:3; Psalm 119:11)

             We think about the written Word of God through history and what a gift we have today. From societies that were illiterate to nations that to this day do not yet have their own language translation. We are a fortunate people. Do we value what we have?

             There is a hint of slowing down when we think about writing a letter or reading a book. Even the act of a quiet time to spend with God in his Word is a moment of our day that goes against the normal pacing. In the busy-ness of our lives, are we willing to value these Words that we have? To prioritize them? To find our answers to the grief and loss, love and family, memories, activities and fears in the place our Savior intended us to discover them?

             Thank you, God, for entrusting us with this gift. Help us to use it, read it, and love it, and to treat it with the value and power and care it deserves. Amen.

 --Sandy Gromacki

I WILL BE WITH YOU

 My daughter Sarah, grandson Ruben, and I flew to Oklahoma City for Easter.  We would be attending the Holy City of the Wichita Mountains Passion Play.  It began in 1925 so this would be their 101st year.  My best friend from college Diana was driving up from Texas to spend Easter with us at Elizabeth's home.  That was the plan.

The flight from Atlanta was unremarkable.  We actually landed a few minutes early.  In pre-landing announcements the attendant announced there were storms in the area.  Nothing unusual in that.  Oklahoma is known for its storms.  But all was about to change.

We loaded our things into Diana's car, excited about the visit.  After we left the airport, the promised storm erupted--floods of rain, thunder vibrating, continual flashes of lightning that seemed as if a strobe light had been activated.  Driving became more difficult for Elizabeth, our designated driver.  Suddenly the sky in front of us lit with eerie green flashes.  Immediately we were pelted with rain and wind and glass.  We had driven directly into the path of a tornado!  Our back window and back side window had blown in,  I leaned over Ruben and Sarah covered both of us.  Above the sound of the storm four adults were praying desperately.  Elizabeth found an on ramp and drove down it, making it to a gas station as the tornado siren wailed.  We brushed off glass as we sprinted for the station.  The car and my luggage were wet and glass-filled. Every seat but one was filled with glass.  You could see by the location of the glass fragments how the wind had swirled in the car.  

I will not try to rehearse our emotions or raw nerves or every detail of the next few hours.  I will tell you that God sent his ministering servants, from the convenience store workers who gave us tape and plastic to cover the windows, to the two men who helped my daughters cover the windows.  One of them even drove home to get tape that he thought would hold the plastic better.  My friend Diana brought me hot tea and gave me her jacket to cover my wet clothes.  My sons-in-law from Atlanta, Georgia, and Fairbanks, Alaska, comforted their wives and tracked the storm for us.

When we finally headed for Elizabeth's again, the storms continued to batter, this time with rain so heavy that now the alerts were sounding for possible flooding.  At 2:00 a.m. we pulled into Elizabeth and Bill's driveway in Cache. 

When the insurance adjuster examined the car several days later, we were amazed.  He  totaled the car.  The ceiling was slashed repeatedly, evidence  of flying shards of glass.  The upholstery also bore slashes, too much damage to repair.

But here is the miracle of April 3rd.  Not one of the five in that car had a scratch or a cut.  There was no blood.  Obvious evidence of glass flying, but noone hurt.

Could God have kept us from the tornado?  Could the storm have missed us completely?  Absolutely.  Instead He chose to say, "Look what I saved you from.  Look what could have happened.  I protect you all the time.  This time I let you have a glimpse of what I protected you from."  I heard Him loud and clear.

In the days since I have pondered His message.  Isaiah 43:2 and 3a says "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.  When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.  For I am the Lord, your God."

The night of April 3, 2026, He added, "When you go through the tornado, the wind will not hurt you, the glass will not cut you.  I am the Lord and you are mine."

                                                                ~~Faith Himes Lamb

As God Asks, Do It!

 

 

It is getting close to summer and vacation trips. I usually think about escaping to the beach for summer break. Most probably I think this because I grew up in Brooklyn, New York, which is on the western tip of Long Island, and beaches were available in abundance: Jones Beach, Robert Moses Park, Fire Island, Riis Park. I learned to swim in the Atlantic Ocean at Riis Park. Dad took me out past the breakers, pointed to the lifeguard stand, told me to keep in sight of the stand and stay parallel to the shore, and swim. He also told me to be brave and to try. So, I did!

 Idyllic, yes?!? However, learning to swim is not always easy. As a swimmer, you must learn the rhythm of the waves and how to stay out of the curl as they break. You need to keep your head in the water as you stroke (and breathe away from the incoming swells). You need to build your strength and coordination in both your arms and legs to make forward progress beyond the breakers. It is not jumping up and down in the water after the wave has broken. It is not chasing the ensuing bubbles. It is not simply sleeping in the sun on your towel. Learning to swim takes concerted effort and consistent discipline, and—perhaps—a bit of courage. It is a life-long skill that I enjoy and one that has served me well.

 Teaching students to swim is another matter. Just as my father had to assess my strength and potential skill as a beginning swimmer, lifeguards and teachers must do the same with the beginners they instruct. Continuing progress as a swimmer will require the swimmer to remember the essentials of the skill, practicing them regularly to maintain form and strength, and continuing to take on new challenges courageously.

I do not think it is a stretch to make a comparison from learning a skill to growing in faith and focus as believers. King David knew this; he had lived it before God and his son. David’s instructions to Solomon as he was approaching his death included the basics of living the believing life and the intricacies of the mature Christian life: be courageous (I Kings 2:2), keep the commandments of God (I Kings 2:3); and be disciplined by being faithful (I Kings 2:4).

First, David instructs Solomon to be courageous. “Be thou strong, therefore, and show thyself a man” (vs. 2). Solomon has had the benefit of his father’s example and teaching about the things of God and leading the Children of Israel. He now had to do it –with courage. This courage is moral courage, it is obedience to God, it is spiritual strength and consistency. Keep the charge—the instructions—of the Lord, Solomon. Notice that the instructions for developing and maintaining courage come before the tests Solomon would face as king.

Dad taught me what to expect when swimming beyond the breakers; he stayed with me as I was a beginner; he told me to have courage when I had to swim by myself. God gives us this pattern multiple times in Scripture. Moses tells Joshua, “Only be thou strong and very courageous” (Deuteronomy 31:7,8). Paul tells the Corinthian believers to be “courageous and strong” (I Corinthians 16:13). Face the opposition, continue in your walk with God, stand firm in your faith. “You have overcome the world”! (I John 5:4,5). We can do it as we are brave and remember God Himself is with us.

Second, David speaks to Solomon about God’s instructions that will never change. “Keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in His ways, to keep his statues, and his commandments and his judgments” (vs. 3). This is the simplest charge: obey God. It is also a challenge to each of us as we mature in the Lord as we must allow our wills to be obedient to God’s ways and commandments. David uses two important verbs: keep (guard, observe, watch over) God’s commands and to walk (a continuous obedience and ordering of your life) in His ways. David gave Solomon the pattern for consistent living before God as he would face the tests, and the successes, of life.

This is dedicated obedience to the principles of facing the long-term challenges of living the Christian life (or pursuing a sport such as swimming) aids us today. We simply obey. The consequences and rewards are God’s to provide. The author of Hebrews simply states: “Let us lay aside every weight and the sin that doth so easily beset us and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus…” (12:1,2). It may not be easy, but we have a Savior interceding for us. We have courage and conviction.

Third, David encouraged Solomon to be faithful in continuing in the truth. “If thy children take heed to their ways, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee a man on the throne of Israel” (vs. 4). God wanted His servant Solomon to be disciplined by being faithful. David reiterates to Solomon that walking – the ordering of one’s thinking and living –in truth is imperative to spiritual success.

Once again, those who have come before us reveal we are strongly reminded to guard our faith, to discipline our living, to consider our choices, and to give the results to God. We each wish to hear from our Savior “well done.” When God asks do not be afraid, remember the disciplines of believing life, and be faithful.

Oh, when considering the analogy to swimming, the water beyond the breakers of the ocean waves provides opportunities to prove oneself. Just do it!

--Janet Hicks