The weather this past week has been gorgeous. I know, I know! It's been unusually warm for October, and we could use some rain. But I was out of school for a week and completely enjoyed being able to sit outside to read and mark papers. I delighted in afternoon strolls to look at the leaves and late flowers. There are still some little yellow butterflies that flit around the morning glories on my back fence. (Cloudless Sulfur, they're called). I even picked a few late tomatoes--so sweet this time of year.
On Sunday morning when Holly and Kevin played "The Love of God" so beautifully, I opened the hymnal to read along. The third verse says this: Could we with ink the ocean fill and were the skies of parchment made, were every stalk on earth a quill and every man a scribe by trade, to write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry; nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky. (Frederick M. Lehman)
I pictured that blue, blue sky I've enjoyed this week. In my mind, one of the tall trees became the quill that the song speaks of (not exactly a stalk, but that's what came to mind anyway). I remembered the ocean that I enjoyed with my family back in May. It's so vast, so incredibly enormous, that to imagine it being ink and then running dry before the love of God could be explained boggles the mind.
I realize that the words to this song are not on the level of scripture, but they do speak a truth. John said it this way: "There are many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written." (21:25)
God's love was made flesh when Jesus walked the earth, and he reveals his love and beauty to us every day in the sunshine, the rain, and the moonlight. Praise him!
--Sherry Poff
Monday, October 25, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
God Changes People
Crime. Addiction. Sin. Devastation. Death. These words characterize the lives of the precious women that Loretta Mattheiss and I get to spend time with once a week. Yes, I said precious. Because, in spite of the sinful choices they've made, the crimes they've committed, the familiy members they've hurt and the consequences they still face, these women are women like us and they're in love with the Lord and His Word!
To my right sits a woman who has destroyed her mind with drugs. Her oldest child is in jail for committing crime. Her younger children live with her mother, whose health and low income add to the stresses of rearing her daughter's children. To my left sits a woman on house arrest whose husband is in jail for crimes they committed together. Their oldest children have been adopted by families they may never know. Their youngest is being raised by grandparents. To her left sits a lady whose past 30 years have been lived in prostitution and poverty. Her family is scattered and scarred. An empty seat represents the women who have come into the program at the Regeneration House and have failed to complete it, and have likely walked back into the lives they came from. However, another empty seat represents the women who've come into the Regeneration program and have graduated into lives that are truly "regenerated!"
The three women I mentioned are well on their way to Regeneration. The first lady is full of passion when she talks about what she's learning in the Word. I envision her leading Bible studies in the very near future. Her prayers flow with adoration to her God! She consistently asks prayer for her mother and acknowledges that her mother is doing the job that she shirked for her sinful lifestyle. The second lady writes everything we talk about in letters to her husband. She prays for the children she has given up for adoption and for their adoptive families to be saved. I envision her and her husband counseling families one day. The third lady has surprised me the most in her spiritual growth. The first week she was there, it was evident she did not want to be. She had a bad attitude and "asked prayer" for the girls in the house to mind their own business when we took prayer requests. This week, when the study was coming to a close, she commented that it goes by so fast now. She used to think it dragged on and on, but now her hunger for the Word can hardly be satisfied in the short hour we meet. She is the most grateful person I have ever met. Her prayers are filled with thanksgiving to the Lord, and when sharing prayer requests now, she lists the things she is thankful for first. She continues to pray for the ladies in the house to be unified and loves them as sisters.
I don't know why it surprises me that God can change people's lives in such a short amount of time. These women remind me that nothing is impossible for God, and no one is unreachable.
I know I didn't share verses of Scripture with you in writing this. But I'm sure many passages come to mind as we reflect on Who God is and how He works to change people. I'd love it if you'd comment with the verses that you think about while reading.
~Rebecca Phillips
To my right sits a woman who has destroyed her mind with drugs. Her oldest child is in jail for committing crime. Her younger children live with her mother, whose health and low income add to the stresses of rearing her daughter's children. To my left sits a woman on house arrest whose husband is in jail for crimes they committed together. Their oldest children have been adopted by families they may never know. Their youngest is being raised by grandparents. To her left sits a lady whose past 30 years have been lived in prostitution and poverty. Her family is scattered and scarred. An empty seat represents the women who have come into the program at the Regeneration House and have failed to complete it, and have likely walked back into the lives they came from. However, another empty seat represents the women who've come into the Regeneration program and have graduated into lives that are truly "regenerated!"
The three women I mentioned are well on their way to Regeneration. The first lady is full of passion when she talks about what she's learning in the Word. I envision her leading Bible studies in the very near future. Her prayers flow with adoration to her God! She consistently asks prayer for her mother and acknowledges that her mother is doing the job that she shirked for her sinful lifestyle. The second lady writes everything we talk about in letters to her husband. She prays for the children she has given up for adoption and for their adoptive families to be saved. I envision her and her husband counseling families one day. The third lady has surprised me the most in her spiritual growth. The first week she was there, it was evident she did not want to be. She had a bad attitude and "asked prayer" for the girls in the house to mind their own business when we took prayer requests. This week, when the study was coming to a close, she commented that it goes by so fast now. She used to think it dragged on and on, but now her hunger for the Word can hardly be satisfied in the short hour we meet. She is the most grateful person I have ever met. Her prayers are filled with thanksgiving to the Lord, and when sharing prayer requests now, she lists the things she is thankful for first. She continues to pray for the ladies in the house to be unified and loves them as sisters.
I don't know why it surprises me that God can change people's lives in such a short amount of time. These women remind me that nothing is impossible for God, and no one is unreachable.
I know I didn't share verses of Scripture with you in writing this. But I'm sure many passages come to mind as we reflect on Who God is and how He works to change people. I'd love it if you'd comment with the verses that you think about while reading.
~Rebecca Phillips
Monday, October 11, 2010
A Morsel of Bread in Thine Hand
He called to her, and said, “Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.” 1 Kings 17:11
The widow woman objected to Elijah’s request, her resources were almost gone. Her plans were to make a cake for her and her son and then die. We are familiar with this story - How
God took her meager amount and multiplied it to supply the needs of her, her son, and Elijah.
Our lives are like the widow woman, God asks us to give Him what is in our hand.
For many years my desire for children made me so consumed with that desire that I could not see what was in my hand.
It is so easy to get sidetracked by the enemy into thinking God has not blessed me like someone else. What if the widow had told Elijah to go somewhere else, perhaps to someone with more food, a bigger, nicer house; you name it. The enemy tries to convince us that what God has placed in our hands is not as valuable as what someone else has in their hand.
God wants what is in our hand, whatever He has given us. It may be something only for this season of life. Maybe what you have in your hand is to be an encourager through a note or a phone call. Perhaps it is a meal to someone going through a difficult time. Your morsel of bread may be the care of your children, or an elderly parent. God makes no mistakes, His way is always perfect. Looking back I am so grateful for the way He worked in my life, those long fifteen years. He was in the process of preparing me for what He has for me right now.
Whenever we are out in the public, repeatedly the phrase is said, “You have your hands full.”
Yes, my hands are full. God has blessed us with three children! We have a four year old and four month old twins. Full hands indeed, God’s timing is perfect. He knows how and when to take the morsel of bread from your hand and give you the desire of your heart...full hands!
Trust him with whatever small tedious thing He has given you for today. Watch and see what he can do with it for eternity if you only trust Him.
~Lynell McMillan~
Monday, October 4, 2010
New Every Morning
I've been working on Philippians chapter two recently. That's a passage that God has used at notable times in my past to speak to me about specific things. There was the time in college when I was grudgingly helping my roommate with a time-consuming task. As I waited for her to complete an errand, I decided to read my little New Testament. The first verse my eyes fell on was Philippians 2:14, "Do all things without murmurings and disputings."
On another day, I was feeling overwhelmed with the task at hand and feared that I would not be able to do all that was required of me. That's when I underlined Philippians 2:13, "It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure." I knew then that I could indeed accomplish whatever it was that God meant for me to do.
This week, driving to school--a great time, by the way, to meditate on scripture-- I went over the chapter again on the hills and curves of Bill Reed Road. In this section of scripture, Paul is encouraging the Philippians to work together in Christian love. As a method of helping them adopt the proper attitude of humility, he reminds them of some of the benefits of a Christian life: "consolation in Christ ,. . . comfort of love, . . . fellowship of the Spirit, . . . affection and mercy."
As I mentally reviewed these four blessings, I remembered when I had seen them in my life: finding just the right word of guidance in Scripture, experiencing unexplained comfort at a funeral, enjoying laughter around the table at Wednesday night Bible study, breathing a sigh of relief when my Christian boss told me, "We can cut you some slack this time." (You can all join me in asking God to bless that good man.)
Scripture never grows old. Like God's mercy, it is new every morning. Living in a community where God's word is our common belief means that we often discover God speaking to us and meeting our needs through His people. Whatever problems I face today, there is help and comfort to be found, sometimes in very familiar places.
--Sherry Poff
On another day, I was feeling overwhelmed with the task at hand and feared that I would not be able to do all that was required of me. That's when I underlined Philippians 2:13, "It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure." I knew then that I could indeed accomplish whatever it was that God meant for me to do.
This week, driving to school--a great time, by the way, to meditate on scripture-- I went over the chapter again on the hills and curves of Bill Reed Road. In this section of scripture, Paul is encouraging the Philippians to work together in Christian love. As a method of helping them adopt the proper attitude of humility, he reminds them of some of the benefits of a Christian life: "consolation in Christ ,. . . comfort of love, . . . fellowship of the Spirit, . . . affection and mercy."
As I mentally reviewed these four blessings, I remembered when I had seen them in my life: finding just the right word of guidance in Scripture, experiencing unexplained comfort at a funeral, enjoying laughter around the table at Wednesday night Bible study, breathing a sigh of relief when my Christian boss told me, "We can cut you some slack this time." (You can all join me in asking God to bless that good man.)
Scripture never grows old. Like God's mercy, it is new every morning. Living in a community where God's word is our common belief means that we often discover God speaking to us and meeting our needs through His people. Whatever problems I face today, there is help and comfort to be found, sometimes in very familiar places.
--Sherry Poff
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