The Barnabas Mind-set

In my devotions recently I read Psalm 37:37: “Consider the blameless, observe the upright; there is a future for the man of peace.”  Look around you for those who are making us stand taller by their support and encouragement. Consider their lives; observe the upright and their daily walk with the Lord. Thank them for what they mean to you.

One of my dearest girlfriends in all the world, Pat Staton, passed away in May. Brant and I were privileged to be part of her memorial service in Indiana. My daughter Debbie called our group of Indiana girlfriends the “crazy ladies.” Debbie often told them how glad she was that they “were there for Mom” for years through happiness and sorrow. All the friends and family at Pat’s funeral knew for sure...every kindness, compliment, accolade spoken about her was true!!! For years, I watched (as the Psalmist suggested) “the blameless...the upright” and I desired to be like Pat...a Barnabas for Jesus.

The book, THE BARNABAS WAY (John Sloan, Waterbrook Press), is a “Wow!” book, although only 119 pages. Barnabas might be called part of the “support team” today. The Barnabas mind-set is simple: showing compassion to others, reaching out to others, and encouraging others. “Barnabas” means “comfort.”  When people see you, including your family, do they think of you as a “comfort” or as a “pain”?

Lisa Beamer (whose husband Todd was killed September 11, 2001, as a hero in the plane) was speaking at Wheaton College. She asked this: "Who is becoming whole again on my watch? What is being healed through my influence?" Aren't those great questions to ask ourselves?

One of the most amazing acts of encouragement by anyone that is recorded in the Bible is told to us in Acts 9.  Saul had just met Jesus on the road to Damascus. He was totally changed, yet not all were convinced. Acts 9:26b states that the disciples “were afraid of him and believed not that he was a disciple.”

BUT...along came BARNABAS... (Acts 9:27-30). “Barnabas took him (Saul) and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he {Saul) had seen the Lord in the way...he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus...” Because of Barnabas, Saul (Paul) was received and began his unbelievable ministry. We know that Barnabas also encouraged John Mark in the ministry (Acts 15:39). Perhaps this led to our having the Gospel of Mark to read today!

 I doubt that Barnabas went around reminding everyone that HE was the one responsible for Paul’s power and influence. Pushing others ahead is not easy - accepting second place for ourselves.

The author John Sloan tells the reader we need to “take a risk...seek out those who stand in the lonely corners of life.”  What about in GBC, in your office, in your family? Are there people on the “edge” or in the “lonely corners of life” who need to be encouraged...even though success is not guaranteed!

Living “the Barnabas way,” according to John Sloan, is “job security.” All it takes is the willingness on our part to seek out someone who needs encouragement. As you have your “Cup of Grace” with your cup of java, ask the Lord to give you that person today. Maybe you, through a visit, phone call, or card, can “walk alongside someone toward a happier ending.”

--Maylou Holladay

Thirsty for Kindness

When I come in from mowing the grass, I am sweaty, sticky, and oh so thirsty. I can’t get enough to drink. Has your soul ever felt parched like that?  Exhausted in mind, body, and spirit, and no one notices? You yearn for someone, anyone, to offer a word of encouragement, an expression of appreciation, or a compliment on a job well-done. The smallest act of kindness would be like cool water on a hot, thirsty tongue. But then nothing. You were left to go it alone – to keep on keeping on. It’s difficult to escape a desert of the heart.

I think I encountered someone who felt like this the other day. My daughter and I stepped into a restaurant close to the Riverbend Festival just for a snack. Our waiter met us with a vacant expression and as few words as possible. If we requested something, he would fetch it with nary a word and plop it on the table. He appeared sullen the entire time we sat there. I wondered at his attitude. Maybe he was working hard for little money. Maybe his girlfriend broke up with him. Maybe his grandmother died. Maybe his supervisor was a jerk. Maybe he didn’t have enough money to pay the rent. The possibilities were boundless, but clearly something was wrong.

When it came time to pay the bill, ours was only $3.00. That wouldn’t require much of a tip. He hadn’t been friendly, nor had he provided good service. I was tempted to tip accordingly. But when he asked how much change we needed, the Holy Spirit nudged me, and for once I paid attention. I had a ten-dollar bill. “I can see you’re working really hard with Riverbend and all. Just keep the change,” I said. The dramatic change in his demeanor surprised me. His hard expression melted, and his face lit up like a firefly. “Thanks. That’s very kind,” he said. That droplet of grace made such a difference!

Later, my eyes filled with tears whenever I replayed this scene in my mind. I had been in his place before – burdened, angry, defiant - but desperately needing kindness. I felt honored that God would use me to offer a cup of cool water to the thirsty. He filled my heart with joy too. I hope I never ignore the Holy Spirit’s nudge again!

Joyce Hague

P.S. Happy Father's Day!

He Gave His Only Son

I know we have heard it a million times: God gave His only Son for us. But these words have hit home deeply in the last few months as Ben and I have faced the possibility of losing our only (foster) son. It does not matter that he is our foster son. We love him as our own, we have treated him in every way as our own, and we cannot imagine our life without him. We want to hear him say his first words, call us ‘mama’ and ‘dada,’ watch him take his first steps, make friends, attend VBS and AWANAs, play with his cousins, go to school, believe in Jesus as His Savior and Lord, learn to drive (yikes!), go to college, fall in love and get married and have kids. We want to be with him for all of that, we want to be a part of that. We want him to know how much we love him and how so many people have faithfully prayed for him.

I try (emphasize TRY) not to dwell on that horrible possibility of the day we may have to give him to his ‘real’ family. I cannot imagine letting him go. I cannot imagine not knowing what is going to happen to him and not to be able to do anything about it. I cannot imagine him, in whatever limited way he can, deal with feelings of abandonment and why he never sees the mommy and daddy he knows. My heart utterly breaks at the thought.

And yet, that is what God did…and more…for us! He purposely sent His only Son whom He loves more than I love Lee to live among fallible people, many of whom would reject Him and treat Him horribly. He sent Jesus out, knowing He would experience pain, suffering, sickness, rejection, and one of the worst deaths imaginable. He made this unthinkable sacrifice for you…and for me. Wow!!!

Does it take your breath away? Does it overwhelm you to know your God loves you that much? I hate to say it, but I know I have taken it for granted. I have seen John 3:16 plastered everywhere, memorized it, and repeated it without really letting it impact me at times.

I pray that today (and every day) we would truly grasp the depth of love that God demonstrated for us by sending His Son Jesus to die on the cross for us. This should change the way we live. We are valuable to God – this gives us a sense of worth when the world or we try to convince ourselves otherwise. And others are also that valuable to Him – I am convicted that I do not share this precious love enough.

Having this kind of love should give us a firm foundation from which we can live, love, and minister to others. When fear or anxiety sets in, this love reminds us that God will not let us go and is right there with us. When times are tough, we know that God is for us. When people hurt or persecute us, we can run to God who is always on our side. When life gets so hard that we begin to wonder where God is, we can meditate on His love and know that He will never leave or forsake us. “He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all – how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?” Romans 8:32 (Read Romans 8:28-38 for more encouragement!)

--Judith Graham

Models of Faithfulness

There is something significant in knowing I am not alone.  When I fear the future that my children will face and the hard choices ahead for believers to stand for truth and righteousness, it always calms my heart to remember that they will not be alone either. Other believers will face the same thing and can walk that path with them.  As children of God, we draw encouragement and strength from one another.  The Lord designed it to be so.

Maybe that is one of the reasons I enjoy biographies.  We are not alone in our Christian walks.  Not only does the Lord give us believers to walk alongside now, but He has also given us many examples in those who have gone before, who faced their own sets of challenges and joys in the times that God placed them.  Every time I read the biography of a brother or sister in Christ, I am encouraged and challenged in my own walk with the Lord.  I am encouraged that God uses ordinary people who choose to take Him at His Word and believe that He can do extraordinary things.  I am challenged to not allow material things to sidetrack me, but to keep my mind on the eternal, that I, too, may be remembered as a vessel that the Lord used.

So, with these things in mind, let me very briefly tell you what I learned from the three men whom I finished reading about yesterday in John Piper’s A Camaraderie of Confidence.  (This is a book in Piper’s Swan Series, in which each book contains three short biographies.) Charles Spurgeon, George Mueller, and Hudson Taylor were contemporaries in the British Empire in the 1800s and even knew and admired one another.
, faced many challenges in life including physical illness and recurrent bouts with depression, yet said that “the good that I received from my sorrows, and pains, and griefs, is altogether incalculable… Affliction is the best bit of furniture in my house.”  (Piper, 50) Honestly, I am still not hoping for affliction to come my way, but this testimony of Spurgeon gives me hope that Romans 8:28 is true.  God does cause all things to work for good for those who love Him
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Mueller, well known for running orphanages without ever asking people directly for money, did so “that the hand of God evidently might be seen in the matter, that thus my fellow-believers might be encouraged more and more to trust in Him, and that also those who know not the Lord, may have a fresh proof that, indeed, it is not a vain thing to pray to God.”  (Piper, 76) His life reminds me that prayer works (James 5:16), challenging me to pray more fervently.

Taylor, a missionary to China, knew great sorrow, having lost a young wife as well as five children.  Yet he continued in ministry with the desire to experience the fullness of oneness with Christ, and to that end, he said, “To let my loving Savior work in me His will, my sanctification, is what I would live for by His grace. Abiding, not striving nor struggling; looking oft unto Him; trusting Him for present power; resting in the love of an almighty Savior.”  (Piper, 98) His testimony challenges me to savor and be filled with the fullness of God (Eph. 3:19) as I abide in Christ (John 15:1-5).

There is so much more to say about these three men, but my hope is that you, dear reader, would be encouraged to pick up a biography yourself and allow your heart to be encouraged and challenged by faithful men and women of God who have modeled lives well lived for His glory.

--Amy O'Rear