ELECTION 2016

            The presidential election of 2016 will go down into the history books as the election where voters cast their ballots against candidates, not for them.  Never have there been two candidates more widely disliked or more tepidly supported by even their own political parties. Many people have stated their intentions to stay home on election day because they don’t want to vote for either candidate.  This election will not be a proud moment in our country’s history.

            This past week my aunts were discussing one of my grandmother’s speaking outlines and I realized that her points made perfect sense for election advice.  Gram said we were to fret not, fear not, and forget not.

            First, fear not.  II Timothy 1:7 says, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound judgment.”  Please notice what replaces the fear.  Those are qualities we badly need during this election.  To continue the thought, the reason we are not to fear is because of His presence.  “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”  (Isaiah 41:10)  We should not fear the outcome of the election.

            Fret not.  I have never seen an election that has had more Christians worried.  Psalm 37 begins with the words, “Do not fret because of evildoers."  Both sides have legitimate reason to claim the other candidate is an evil doer.  Instead of fretting, we should look to Philippians 4:6 and 7 for our instructions.  “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”  Jesus said just before his crucifixion, when He was getting ready to leave His disciples, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you.  Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”  (John 14:27)  Claim His peace.

            The final phrase is forget not.  We are not to forget God’s role in this election.  Jonah 2:7 says, “While I was fainting away, I remembered the Lord.”  We have forgotten during this election that “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes.”  (Proverbs 21:1) I would add Daniel 2:21, “He removes kings and establishes kings.”  So who is in charge of this election?

            No one can tell you who you should vote for or who you should vote against in this election.  You must vote your conscience.  But whatever your decision, fear not, fret not, forget not.  God is still on the throne.

                                                                                    ~~Faith Himes Lamb

Treasures

What is more important to you than God?

Though my husband, Paul, grew up in a poor family, by the time he was 17, he thought he had everything a guy could want. His older sister and brother-in-law had a ski boat and gave him water skis and included him on their team of semi-pro water skiers. He had a good job (carrying block for building foundations), immense strength, the fun of skiing, a girlfriend, even God. As a youngster, he had believed in Jesus Christ as the only way of eternal salvation. But, in order of importance, God came at the bottom of the list.

But the Hound of Heaven (see the heartrending poem by Francis Thompson) kept after him, asking for his attention. Resentful, Paul didn’t want to do evil; he just didn’t want to give God the time. He pointed out to himself that he gave God His Sunday mornings, and that was all he was willing to give. God whispered, touched, requested recognition. He reminded, pestered, nagged. Finally, pressed beyond endurance, Paul stood up, shook his fist heavenward, and cried, “God, get off my back and leave me alone!”

Five days later, driving recklessly in a pouring rain, Paul rolled his car off the Missouri River levee in Omaha. His back was broken and his legs paralyzed. It didn’t take him long to see that all of his treasures were lost forever. He had no strength for work or fun; the girlfriend left; the boat and skis were useless.

He refused to make a “foxhole confession” and continued in his confusion and depression. But God kept talking to him. Paul saved up his evening ration of sleeping pills, intending to end his life. But he saw himself standing before God, Who said, with some annoyance, “You’re early!” The excuses he offered did not impress. Again, he heard, “You’re early!” So, he gave up the plan. Months later, still in the hospital, Paul turned to God and said, “I’m a broken vessel. But if You can use me, I want You to.” 

God changed his life completely. He stopped crying about his disability, learned to manage life from a wheelchair, finished high school, got a job, went to college. He took as his own the song, “Treasures,” by Margaret Snell Nicholson, sung to the tune of, “The Unveiled Christ.”

                                                             Treasures

One by one He took them from me,
All the things I valued most.
Until I was empty-handed;
Every glittering toy was lost.

Then I walked earth's highway grieving,
In my rags and poverty;
'Til I heard His voice inviting:
Lift your empty hands to me.

So I held my hands toward Heaven,
And He filled them with a store
Of His own transcendent riches,
'Til they could contain no more.

Then at last I comprehended
With my stupid mind and dull,
That God could not pour out His riches
Into hands already full.

God gave him many more treasures – he married, worked a good job, adopted three children, had “a wonderful life.” But the best treasure has been God Himself. Paul has had the joy of the Lord every day of his life since he gave it to God. He has had many opportunities to tell people of God’s goodness.

For 53 years he has said he is happier now, in a wheelchair, than he was when he was strong and capable and miserable in his rebellion. He loves the Lord with all his heart, marvels daily at God’s written Word, appreciates His large and small blessings. He looks forward to heaven, not because he will be able to walk (self-transportation will probably be much better than that), but because he will see the Lord face to face and be free from the pressures of our sinful nature.

For Paul, God is the greatest treasure. Is He your greatest treasure?

--Lynda Shenefield

Behold the Beauty!

I was sitting on my backyard swing soaking up some morning sun recently, and a little black and white moth landed on the armrest of my swing. He was a lovely, furry little thing--he almost appeared to have feathers--glossy and soft. I remembered a butterfly I had seen earlier in the butterfly garden at school. This fellow was mostly orange on top, but when he settled on a flower and folded his wings, silvery spots on the underside of his wings glittered in the sun. Such amazing detail!

I have a relative who takes these incredible nature pictures. He has all sorts of expensive lenses, and the shots he gets are truly stunning! I especially love his photographs of bugs. Sometimes the tiny critters that appear to be black or brown, when seen up close, actually have incredible blue streaks or green and purple spots. There is a lot of hidden beauty in the world.

How many people get close enough or slow down enough to see all this creativity and beauty? Does God worry that his work is wasted or that no one will notice? Certainly not, but I see in these details a God who loves beauty for its own sake, who is himself so truly beautiful that everything he touches--and that's everything--is rich with color and patterns.

David's prayer as recorded in Psalm 27 was "to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to meditate in his temple." Zion is frequently described as a city of great beauty. Just read Revelation 21 to see how much God values color and brilliance.

Until I get to heaven and see the glory for myself, I'm going to keep looking for the shiny and gorgeous previews God has put all around me--even on little bugs!

--Sherry Poff

Live as Children of Light

Recently while reading my One Year Bible, a verse “jumped out at me.” It is Isaiah 21:11 that states: “Watchman, what of the night?” Or “Watchman, what is left of the night?”

This reminded me that we as Christians must be lights in this dark world. We do not know when the Lord Jesus will return. Our challenge is to “walk (live) as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8) to influence those around us while we have time. Then verses 9 and 10 follow: “(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.”

Because of our ministry, Brant and I travel overseas often – many times to Eastern European countries. Brant always packs his “torch” or little flashlight. He knows that we might sleep in a place that isn’t “en suite” as far as a bathroom is concerned. Sometimes he has stayed in homes where the “facility” was a path out back. His trusty little light keeps him from stumbling or breaking his neck in the middle of the night.

The amazing thing about light is that it chases away the darkness. We can be sleeping in the darkest room and yet when Brant’s little “torch” comes on at 3 AM, I am sure there is a freight train coming! : )

The verses in Ephesians tell us that we as Christians should walk or live as children of light. What do you think that means? How can we walk as children of light and help to chase away some of darkness in our corners of the world? The obvious answer would be that you need a source of light to be a light. Can we, in ourselves, have the light to dispel the darkness?  Verse 8 answers our question: “You are light in the Lord.”

Moses met alone with the Lord on the mountain and received the Ten Commandments.

The Bible records in Exodus 34:29 what happened: “(Moses) was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.” Because he had been with the Lord, talking with Him, enjoying His presence, learning from Him, Moses’ countenance was even changed. He reflected the Light that he had encountered.

Daily we should ask God to show us how these qualities of “goodness, righteousness, and truth” can shine as light through us.

A good way to start each day is to meditate on the meaning of Psalm 143:8: “Let the Morning bring me word of Your unfailing  love, for I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul.”

We might feel that our spheres of influence are very small, but one way you and I can live as children of light is through the encouraging words we speak. The Apostle Paul said in I Corinthians 16:24 that his friends “refreshed my spirit.” I am sure they spoke encouraging words to him.

Our light can also help to drive away the heavy sadness in our friends who are sorrowing – through a card or a hug. On any ordinary day, we can have an uncomplaining spirit when we are delayed in the check-out line or frustrated with circumstances at home or work . Most of all, we show that we are children of light when we share the story of Jesus the Light of the world with others. We share with our family and friends that only “goodness, righteousness, and truth” can be found in placing our trust in Jesus Christ. This is truly living as children of light.

So…as Kathy Troccoli sings in one of my favorite songs:

Go light your world... today.

--Maylou Holladay

The Wait

Oh the wait! This week I will have surgery. On that day, it will have been three weeks since it was scheduled – three weeks of thinking about what the doctors will do to me, grieving the loss of my breasts, worrying about those lymph nodes, searching God’s face with pleading eyes.

But today, God reminds me of the butterfly. A caterpillar goes into a cocoon and comes out a butterfly, but first there’s the struggle. The caterpillar twists and bends and wriggles. He works and works to get free, but this can take quite a while. Sometimes he has to rest. The exertion thins his plump body and strengthens his wings. If some well-meaning person were to cut the cocoon open to help him, the caterpillar would emerge underdeveloped, and he would never fly. He would never glorify his Creator in the way he was intended.

“I asked for strength,

            And God gave me difficulties to overcome and strengthen me.

I asked for wisdom,

            And God gave me problems to solve.

I asked for prosperity,

            And God gave me enough brain and brawn to work.

I asked for courage,

            And God gave me obstacles to overcome.

I asked for love,

            And God gave me troubled people who were ready to help.

I asked for favors,

            And God gave me opportunities.

I received nothing I wanted,

            But I received everything I needed.” (Candy Lobb, butterflystory.homestead.com)

Everybody has to wait sometimes. May we embrace the wait – the struggle – while God develops us for His glory.

joyce hague

Speak Life

Proverbs 18:21 – “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”

Do you realize how powerful your words are? I know each of us has experienced the pain of someone’s harsh words. Hopefully, we have also experienced the opposite: someone’s kind, encouraging, and healing words that came just when we needed them most. I don’t know exactly why, but we as women have often been known for tearing each other down. Perhaps it is a sense of competition. Whatever the reason, we need to speak life into people’s lives and not death. I am thankful that we have a sweet congregation of women, but we do still have human moments of hurtfulness. And even if we are generally pleasant, we can always be more intentional about being specifically encouraging and bringing life to people.

Proverbs 16:24 – “Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”

Personally, I could not accept a compliment for years because I truly did not believe the nice things that people would say about me. I had had plenty of people tear me down to the point I began to believe what they said. I remember reading in a psychology class that it takes seven positive comments to combat one negative one. My experience certainly affirmed that for me, as well as for many other women I know. So, let’s look at ways we can bring life to people.

On a daily basis, I urge you to look for ways to compliment or uplift everyone you meet: her scarf, her hair, and other outward things are a good place to start, especially with people you don’t know well. But try to go deeper too. Encourage people in the way they are growing in the Lord, the way they are serving you or others, their kind spirit, etc.

Some people are much easier to affirm and give compliments to. Definitely do this with the people you love most, but ask the Lord to make you sensitive to people who seem a little more prickly and may need to hear positive words even more. Look for people who may be underappreciated or even overly criticized: the waitress that keeps neglecting to refill your drink, a check out person at Walmart, etc.

I have been convicted by people I know who go out of their way to compliment someone doing a normal good job or excellent job at serving them, even calling their manager over to praise them. So often, managers only hear complaints, as do the people who work for them. Taking that extra minute or two to praise someone for excellent service makes their day and their manager’s. Sometimes this may even open the door for an opportunity to witness to someone, or at least give them a positive experience with a Christian.

Proverbs 12:18 – “There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”

Think about this proverb for a moment. You have the power to wound someone deeply or bring healing to someone. Many people are walking around with invisible wounds, resulting from people being critical, just plain mean, or even the deepest abuse. Every positive, affirming word you speak could impact another person more than you can possibly imagine. So, let’s speak life! I pray that you experience someone speaking life into you this week, as well as your speaking life to others.

--Judith Graham

A Check, a Billboard, and the Sweet Assurances of God

It was late spring 2005. I had been struggling in my walk with the Lord. I had watched God do incredible things in the lives of those dear to me but felt that I myself was overlooked. I prayed for weeks for God to make Himself real to me; I wanted to see Him do something great and powerful on my behalf. He did not come through in the way I was praying, and I felt discouraged. Doubts crept in. Did God care about me, too? Was He involved in my life? A comment from a dear lady in a completely different context reminded me of truth, “Amy, it’s not about you.” No, it wasn’t about me. In my desire to see God do something great for me, I was more concerned about my own desires than God’s will being done. I repented. 

A few days later, at an elementary spring concert, the principal announced that a number of us teachers would be going on a missions trip (our first) to Togo, West Africa to train teachers. She gave the names of those going on the trip, mentioning that we would need to raise around $2500 each. A parent of one of my students came up to me immediately following the concert and handed me a check. I was grateful; I hadn’t even sent out the first support letter yet. I opened the folded check, expecting to see maybe $100, but instead saw the number 2,000 written on it. Yes, 2,000 dollars! I began to cry. I tried to refuse such a large sum; she, in tears as well, insisted. I knew immediately, that this check was not just the huge sacrifice of this sweet lady, but it was the Lord showing me His power, love and care for me in His way and in His time. This was my Ebenezer moment, when God worked in such a powerful way, that I needed to set up a “stone” (or in my case a journal entry) to remember this moment. It was God’s assurance to me in response to my doubts, “I love you. I care about you. I’m involved in your life, and I am still the God Who does exceedingly beyond what you could ask or think.”

Fast forward ten years to the fall of 2015. I was on interstate 75 South, heading to my grandmother’s house in Cedartown, Georgia. I had planned two days prior to drive down this day to visit my sweet grandmother who would likely not live much longer. Yet now this day had turned out different than expected.  My grandmother had passed away the morning before; I was driving down to see my uncle and aunt, to be with family in a time of mourning. As I drove alone in the car, questions assailed me. Can I really believe that my grandmother lives again? That I will see her one day? That eternity is real? That God is real? Again, doubts crept into my mind. I already tend towards doubt. I doubt whether or not I locked the door, turned off the stove, made the right choice, and so on. But this doubting was much more serious than that. Was my grandmother, whose body I would see a few days later at the viewing, really alive? Could I believe the teachings of Scripture? Was God in fact real? (Can we be this honest with each other, ladies? These were the thoughts going through my mind.) 

To counter these doubts, I went over the defense of God’s existence in my mind. I said to myself, “OK, Amy, list out the evidence of God’s existence.”  I went over the witness of creation itself, the sense of right and wrong that each of us are born with, and I had just gotten to thinking about the witness of the disciples as they gave their lives for what they had seen (the risen Christ), when I looked up at a billboard. The words on this billboard were the following: “There is evidence for God.” The word ‘is’ was underlined. Once again, God’s assurances met me in the midst of my doubt. This was another Ebenezer moment -- a moment in which I knew that, more than a billboard to a lost world, this was God speaking to me. He knew I would be driving down I-75 that day and He knew the thoughts that would be going through my mind on that specific stretch of the interstate. And He said, “Yes, Amy, I am real. I do exist; and I care enough about you to have someone post this billboard on the interstate for you.”

No, God does not always work in those kinds of miraculous ways in my life. In fact, it is very rare that such dramatic things happen. Many times my questions are unanswered or I don’t hear God’s voice. But, it is in those times, that I can go back to my Ebenezer moments, my “stones of remembrance”, and remember that God is real and that He cares.

What are YOUR Ebenezer moments? Do you keep track of them? Do you remind yourself of them in difficult times? The Old Testament is full of commands to remember what God has done in the past. May we remember; and may those memories give us assurance when times are hard.

--Amy O'Rear