Branch Living

I was sitting in Sunday School this week when I had one of those moments--have you had them?--when life just seems so sweet, it brings tears to the eyes. I don't know exactly what brings it on, but this happens to me now and then--driving down the road and spotting that little maple that grows up out of the ditch and turns a brilliant red every fall . . . sitting on the back steps in early summer chatting with Larry, who is working in the yard . . . sitting in Sunday School looking at the first chapter of John and listening to Rodney talk about Old Testament prophecies.

Sometimes life itself is just incredibly sweet.

In my prayer time this morning, I was expressing my gratitude to God for a number of things I really do love and appreciate: soft sheets, warm water, plenty of food. But then it occurred to me that I was completely taken up with my physical comfort. It's not wrong to be grateful for comfort; James tells us that "every good gift . . . is from above." To be only concerned with the physical, however, is to miss the deeper, richer gifts that God gives.


So I began to concentrate on the non-physical blessings of God: the love of family, good times with friends, but deeper than that, the satisfaction--the joy--of praying to the God of the universe. Part of our Sunday School discussion this week concerned John's witness of Jesus after he had seen the Holy Spirit descending on Him. We discussed the way we are able sometimes to sense a fellowship with other Christians even before we know them well, and someone mentioned that, unlike Old Testament believers, we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us. What an amazing thing! I am so grateful that God lives in me, that I am part of His life.

Jesus said to the disciples, "I am the vine; you are the branches" (John 15). His life--His pure, perfect life-- is flowing in you and me, giving us the power we need to make every day a day of praise and thanksgiving.

--Sherry Poff

A Little Goes a Long Way

On the heels of Mission's Conference heading into a week where "giving thanks" is the theme, I believe you'll find inspiring the note below from our beloved, Karen Myrick.

In October, I went on a trip that changed me forever.  Haiti was something I was not prepared for. The poverty, the orphans, the trash, the needy, but mostly the joyfulness of the people there pierced my soul. It's difficult to see and experience things and go back home and  be able to explain for people to really understand. 
I will be able to share some of my experiences Sunday night, January 9th, in the service. I'm excited to have Ken Ivins come with me to present  AMG International's role in helping such needy people physically and spiritually. It's amazing that so little can make such a HUGE difference in people's lives. I never want to forget what I saw, and I can't wait to return.

~Karen Myrick~

My Life as a Slideshow

What a blessing to see what God is doing across the world through the Grace Baptist Church missionaries! After watching the slideshows this week, not only did I have to buy more purse packs of Kleenex, but I also got to thinking...If I had to present a slideshow of my life to hundreds of people every four years, what would that look like? Do I have a story to tell? Do I have statistics to share? Do I have a ministry to get others excited about? Are there people I would include as "success" stories or prayer requests? Would I be brave enough to ask prayer for the very real struggles I face? Would I be able to tell about future plans and ideas for reaching the "people group" I'm surrounded by? Could I, in just a few slides in a few minutes, clearly and articulately present my part in God's big plan? Would people see Christ in my life? Would people's emotions be touched? Would people be motivated and encouraged by what God is doing in and through me? Would people be moved to pray or give because they believed my life calling was worth their time and money?

This little Sunday school song, complete with our little chant at the end has gone through my head all week as well:  "Be a missionary every day. Tell the world that Jesus is the Way. Be it in a town or country or a busy avenue, Africa or Asia, the task is up to you. So be a missionary every day. Tell the world that Jesus is the Way. The Lord is soon returning. There is no time to lose. So, be a missionary-God's own emissary. Be a missionary today! Let's Go! All the way to Mexico. Take a train and go to Spain. Kiss your Aunts and go to France!"

In our town of East Brainerd, on our busy corner of Shallowford and Jenkins, are we telling people that Jesus is the Way (John 14:6)? On your street, in your neighborhood, at your apartment complex, in your dorm are you God's own emissary (Acts 1:8)? Are you using your time, talents and ideas to reach your community? This week we saw pictures of Bible studies being conducted in villages and neighborhoods. We saw strangers being invited into homes for cooking classes. We saw children playing games and learning English as a second language. We saw God's Word being preached and taught in many different settings. We saw creative evangelism in the workplace. The common thread - people, like us, serving God with the talents, abilities and gifts He gave them, creatively reaching the lost for Christ.

I walk away from the missions' conference with a sense of encouragment that I'm doing what God has called me to do, yet with the anticipation that He has more coming my way.
I also walk away challenged to be ready to share what He's doing with people like you, my church family, who pray for me and hold me accountable!

~Rebecca Phillips~

No Time for Fear

Have you ever noticed how often in scripture, God is telling someone not to be afraid? Sometimes, as with Jeremiah, He Himself speaks the words. At other times, He uses angels to offer reassurance and encouragement. These days, He uses people like Ken Rudolph.

As I sat listening to the excellent message on Sunday evening, I was enthralled once again with the image of David standing up to Goliath. He had behind him the experiences of victory over the lion and the bear. He had the memory of countless nights in the open, marveling in the vastness of the sky and the greatness of God. How good God is to give us this story and many others to show us that He is greater than all our fears.

Sometimes our fears seem legitimate. We face disease or debt. We have problems that we know are bigger than us, that we cannot solve on our own. Other fears are more nebulous--fear of failure or of loneliness, of saying too much or not enough, of having the wrong motives despite an earnest heart.

I remember sitting outside one of the mission houses in Togo several summers ago, wrapped in fear. Strangely, perhaps, I did not fear the possibility of malaria or dysentery, of green mambas or tarantulas. Those things were out of my control, I figured. The fears plaguing me that day were the nebulous type--the ones that creep out in the darkness and take away sleep, that pop up unexpectedly and get in the way of work, the ones we think we should be able to fix.

On this early morning, as I listened to the rising song of some unfamiliar bird and contemplated the tall gray trunks of African trees, God reminded me of a wonderful truth: II Timothy 1:7--"God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power and of love and of a sound mind." I cannot tell you everything that verse meant to me that morning, but I have held onto it tenaciously, and I return to it today.

I cannot be everything I want to be. I will disappoint and I will fail. But God gives me power and love and a sound mind. Through Him, I can love others and do what must be done. There is no time for fear.

--Sherry Poff

Hallowed is His Name

On this Halloween weekend, I hesistate to mention that I've read (and quite enjoyed) the entire Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. However, to illustrate my thought for today, I will mention just one little part. 

Throughout the series, it is evident that the wizard world lives in such fear and awe of the evil Lord Voldemort that they dare not even speak his name. Only when absolutely necessary, he is referred to as "you-know-who." To speak his name would be disrespectful, wrong and worthy of extreme consequences.

Now stick with me here. In the context of what I am writing I'm sure you will see that I am in NO WAY equating the evil villain of a fictional series to our awesome, holy God. It is the attitude of reverence I want to address, and I find something similar when studying the names of God.

The Israelites in post-exilic times considered the name Yahweh so sacred that it was not pronounced. Instead they substituted Adonai. By the 6th and 7th centuries the vowels of Adonai were combined with the consonants YHWH to remind the synagogue reader to pronounce the sacred name as Adonai. From this came the artificial word Jehovah. They were so careful not to speak such a precious, holy name. The name Yahweh was hallowed as it was the name by which they related personally to God. It was the name God Himself gave Moses at his "burning bush" experience.

It puts into new perspective the command written in Exodus 20:7 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name." Is the mention of His Name so precious to you that hearing it misused turns your stomach? Do you cringe when you hear His name said flippantly or as an expression of frustration or anger? I must admit, I haven't always cringed as I've fallen victim to desensitivity, but after my own "burning bush" experiences with my God over the past couple of years, His Name has become so precious to me that upon hearing God's name in these ways I sometimes find myself gasping like my mother.

Yesterday, on Halloween Sunday, the college praise team led us in singing the words "Yahweh, Yahweh, Holy is Your Name." I struggled to hold my conservatively-Baptist-trained hands to my side as I thought about the Name above all Names and the oh-so-personal and intimate moments I've shared with my Creator God. He is Yawheh!

"Our Father, which art in Heaven HALLOWED be thy Name." - Matt. 6:9

~Rebecca Phillips~