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
Monday, November 29, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
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.
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~
Monday, November 15, 2010
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~
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~
Monday, November 8, 2010
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
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
Monday, November 1, 2010
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~
Monday, October 25, 2010
How Rich and Pure
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
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 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
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