My Samaria

Yesterday we were challenged to think about our personal "Samaria" (the group of people that would be least likely to ever get a visit from us).

The Jews had pretty good reasons to dislike the people of Samaria. After all, the Samaritans, because they'd intermarried, had mixed pagan idolatry with Jewish practices and customs. For years, Jews went out of their way to avoid these people. Then Jesus walked straight through! He didn't ignore the sin that was in the land, yet he loved the people and reached out to share the Living Water with them!

Later, Philip followed Christ's example, which resulted in many coming to know Christ.

So, have you thought about it? Have you answered the question: To whom are you unwilling to go?

I don't like to think that I've ever been unWILLING to go. 

Maybe unABLE. unQUALIFIED. unPREPARED. 

But unWILLING?

Seven years ago, I would have used these less abrasive "un" words to explain why I could not interact with drug and alcohol addicted prostitutes. But the truth was, I was unwilling to go. In my fear and insecurity I believed that someone else would surely be better equipped for the role. But the Holy Spirit was persistent, and now I spend time with these women every week sharing the truth of the gospel with them, the message that even in their sin, Christ died for them! And guess who gets the blessing every time?

I suppose I could become satisfied that I've been through a personal Samaria. But Acts 1:8 extends the invitation into the uttermost parts of the world. And oddly enough, many of those parts exist right here in my Jerusalem. 

Oh that we would all be bold and obedient to GO into all the world...ALL the world!

~Rebecca Phillips

No Lie

Who remembers that old Nazareth song "Love Hurts"?  It's not an encouraging number. From the anguished voice of the vocalist to the melancholy strains of the guitar, the song just oozes angst. But it is strangely appealing, pulling at the memory most of us have of some past hurt--either real or imagined.

One of the most pessimistic lines of the song is this: "Love is just a lie made to make you blue." Not very poetic or deep, but the tune got a lot of airplay, making it to number eight on the top 100 list in the spring of 1976. (You really have to see the expression on the guy's face as he sings. And the hair! But I digress.)

There's been a lot of talk about love recently, and I'm here to say a little more about it. A few years ago, I had the privilege of contributing to a devotional book called Love is a Verb. The idea of the book is, I believe, a biblical view that love is not how we feel but what we do--a behavior we decide on. That's not to say emotions aren't involved.  I certainly get a wonderful feeling from loving acts, and I am often inspired to loving actions by my emotions.

But sometimes I'm inspired to loving actions by scripture. The apostle Paul had a lot to say about motivation.  In his letter to the Romans, he exhorts the readers to "let love be without hypocrisy." He goes on to talk about "brotherly love" and "affection." The thrust of this whole chapter (12) is that we shouldn't think of ourselves as being better than others; instead, we offer ourselves as "a living sacrifice." 

What does such a sacrifice mean? Sometimes it means letting someone else choose the movie. It might mean digging a hole to help your neighbor plant a rose bush or putting down a book to talk to someone who needs a listening ear. It may mean something much bigger: a lifestyle change or a difficult stand for the truth.

In some of these cases, love might, indeed, hurt a little, but the end is so worth the sacrifice. And that is certainly not a lie.   

--Sherry Poff

Strengthened by Grace

These words are found at the end of a powerhouse book of doctrine, Hebrews. It is common for the epistles to end with instructions and this verse is found smack dab in the parting, last words, live-this-way closing. Because of the many admonitions before and after this verse, you could miss it….

Let’s take a minute and consider this verse.

• "Do not be carried away..."

This first phrase is a straightforward and often repeated, staple kind of teaching. We are not to be “carried away” by varied and strange teachings. The verb translated “do not” of this verse is Present, Passive, and Imperative. The present tense indicating “as a way of life;" the passive voice indicating this is an action we receive, and the imperative mood indicating this is a command. Also, the fact that this verb has a mood indicates this is a main point in the instructions… 

What does that mean? It means this is a very important fact - not a suggestion, not just a good idea of how to live, but a command. This is an action we receive - so how do we receive the ability to not be carried away?? Christ, of course. God, the Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth (John 14:26). It is interesting to look at the actual Greek in this verse because it reads: “Teachings, varied and strange BE NOT.” The word “varied” is exactly what it says, but the word can also be used for sickness. The word for strange means “not of the family.” So, we are to-as a way of life-not have anything to do with teachings that are not of the family, meaning not of the Word. These teachings that can be considered "sick." There are many varieties of these "sick" teachings.

• "...for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace..."

Now, to my favorite part of this verse! So, we know what we are not to be part of, now we find what teachings we should be about…and that is simply...grace. We are strengthened, which means: sure, fixed, to make firm or reliable so as to warrant security and inspire confidence, to strengthen, make true, fulfill. Teaching and learning grace makes us strong, firm, and secure. How can we be taught grace? Grace is God’s unmerited favor and is proclaimed in every book in the Bible. It is by grace we are saved. It is the truth found everywhere in the New Covenant that we cannot earn salvation or work to keep ourselves in favor with God. God is not interested in my “obeying” to make Him happy. He is Love and is already happy with me, in spite of me. I am sealed by the Spirit and cannot lose salvation or favor with God. Too often, we come to Christ in faith for salvation, but try walking with Christ through works instead. We feel that God is not going to bless us if we don’t have our quiet time, or if we do have our quiet time we feel that God owes us something. This is sin. To try to live out our Christian lives through works is sin; and honestly the reason for one of the harshest rebukes in the Bible, “You foolish Galatians.” We are made firm, by remembering and studying the truth, the truth that God’s love for me is because He is God and awesome. How does this give me strength? If I remember this, if I live with this in the forefront of my mind, I live a life of a bondservant. I don’t have to serve but I choose to serve because my Lord is so good.

I used to be afraid to blatantly focus my teaching ministry this way- I felt that if I taught primarily grace then Satan would deceive others into licentiousness, which is heresy as well. God through Paul addressed this in Romans 6:1, “What shall we say then, shall we continue in sin that grace might increase (Romans 6:1)?” He goes on to say “...how shall we who have died in sin continue in it” (Rom. 6:2)? This is the same truth as “...if you love me, you will obey My commandments...” (John 14:15) and “...a child of God cannot continually sin...” (1 John 3:9). God loves us not based on what we do, but because He is love. This amazing love inspires devotion. We “obey” out of love for our master who loves us no matter what. We do not obey our master in order to get Him to love us in return. This love, this grace, if we can grasp it, makes us firm and causes us to live a life of a bondservant.

This is what we should teach, believe, and live in light of…..


Sarah Beasley

(from The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament © 1992 by AMG International, Inc. Revised Edition, 1993)

The Death Wish

I know I'm not the only one to notice this phenomenon, but I'll mention it again:  So often the same scripture passages or ideas show up in multiple sermons, devotionals, or songs.  It happened again this week.  Larry and I are visiting our daughter Sarah and her husband in Greenville. The pastor at the church we visited yesterday preached from - - - are you ready?  Acts chapter 4!

It's amazing, really, how rich the Bible is and how many different lessons can be learned from the same passage. This pastor, Jonathan Tomkins, took us to verses 23-33. He had a lot to say about unity, but the big idea that stuck with me was the idea of a "death wish."

Pastor Tompkins noted that the prayer for "confidence"-- or "boldness" in some versions--was really asking for trouble because of the political and religious climate of the day. Many believers went out to proclaim God's word and truly suffered for it, a truth we see in I Peter.

However, another kind of "death wish" is at work here as well: death to self and selfish desires. If we truly focus on God's aims and the gospel message, many people will not like us. They will think we're strange, intolerant, or even hostile. In order to boldly speak truth, I must die to my own desire to be liked and accepted. God's opinion and approval must be more important to me than man's approval.

I note in verse 31 that God granted the prayer of his people. They did speak with boldness, and many of them suffered for it. Some died physically, but all died to self. May it be so for me this week.

--Sherry Poff

A Simple Equation

"Any number X 0 always = 0, huh!"

As a third grade teacher, I often found myself making up silly chants like the one above. While chants are great for instilling one message in a child’s mind, they are also really great for getting kids to line up quickly and in a somewhat fashionable order. Admittedly, the latter was my cherished result, but I’m glad that my third-graders-turned-college-students-overnight still know the truth about multiplying numbers by 0.

Unfortunately, in our spiritual lives, we forget this very basic equation:

ANY SIN (even your 1,893,423^rd one) X CHRIST (zero sins) always = RIGHTEOUSNESS (zero sin), HUH!

1 John 1: 9—“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Psalm 103:12—“…as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”

Hebrews 10:17—“…I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”

It doesn’t matter how large the first factor gets, the answer is always ZERO sin! Christ knew before He died 2,000 years ago how many sins we would commit, and He forgave all of them on the cross. When we add variables to Christ’s work on the cross, we change the equation!

There is NOTHING else needed, NO additional confession, NO additional penance, NO additional good works to cancel out the bad.

Nothing.

Zero.

That makes me wanna say, “Huh!”

~Rebecca Phillips

Prisoner...But Free

As a prisoner
All rights as a citizen
No longer apply

As a prisoner
Any dreams for the future
No longer matter

As a prisoner
All cravings and addictions
Cannot be indulged

As a prisoner
Favorite activities
May not be enjoyed

As a prisoner
Choices and variety
No longer exist

-------------------------------------

I know prisoners
Who today have hope in Christ
Chains of sin broken

I know prisoners
Whose guilt, remorse, and regret
No longer bind them

I know prisoners
Whose faith has cleared their record
Truth has set them free

I know prisoners
Blameless, righteous, forgiven
No longer guilty



I just spent two days alongside men who have committed gruesome crimes. They have been stripped of every right and privilege they had as a citizen. Yet, they are more free than many who are not confined to prison, because they have experienced the forgiveness and healing that comes through Jesus Christ. They have hope that even though their lives on earth will be spent inside a maximum security prison, it is not their end. They have joy in knowing that they can have (and have had) an impact on the "outside" world through what they're learning and pursuing inside prison walls. They are speaking Truth into their children's lives, stopping the generational cycle of crime one child at a time. They are sharing the hope they have with other prisoners whose lives are being changed. For two days, I shared tears of joy and pain with my brothers. For one day, I watched men be dads, uncles, grandpas to the children they love. For life, I will be forever changed.

~Rebecca Phillips 

A Letter to My Birth Mom

It is at this time of year that I think most about my birth mother. It may sound a bit calloused, but Mother’s Day is one of the only days of the year I think about her. Somewhere, a woman I have never met, whose name I do not know, is celebrating Mother’s Day, because my very existence labeled her as one. This year I took some time to write some thoughts and feelings I have about her.

Dear Mom,
Happy Mother’s Day! I’m the reason you can celebrate today. I don’t know what kind of emotions and feelings you have on this symbolic day of the year or if it evokes more or less than other days, so I will tell you mine.
Today I celebrate you, someone who is a total stranger to me, but essential to my very existence. I don’t know the specifics of the decisions that lead to my conception, but I do know some of the ones that followed. You must have been scared, Mom, and maybe even alone. But somewhere along the line you valued my life more than your own. Thank you. It didn’t have to be that way. It was “your body, your choice.” And I don’t know what I would have done if I had been in your place.
You did the best you could. You worked hard and sought out help. What humility. I’m strong-willed and determined…something I may have gotten from you. I struggle with asking for help sometimes, but you knew it was the right thing to do. And everyone knows the right things to do are some of the hardest things to do.
You picked out a family to adopt me. You took the time for someone who barely existed to have a chance at a better life. I’m sure if you had chosen to keep me that you would have continued to do your best. But you saw beyond that to me and the future I could have. Proverbs 16:9 says, “In their hearts humans plan their course, but it is the LORD who directs their steps.” God’s hand was moving both in my new life and in yours, whether you recognized it or not.
I don’t know what happened in the days before I was born. I don’t know if the weight of your decisions had finally taken its toll on you, or if life was just bearing down on you as it so often does. But I do know that in a moment of obscurity you found yourself in the midst of substance abuse. Was it at home? With friends? Did it bring comfort? Temporary freedom from everything life had dealt you? You had to have known that this choice wasn’t your finest. That it could have caused harm to both you and me. Was it worth the risk?
Whatever the circumstances were that lead you to that decision I can’t and won’t hold it against you ever, Mom. Who’s to say that I wouldn’t do the same thing if I were in your shoes? But I know God was watching over both of us. Despite the weight of the choices you made, I was born with perfect health. I learned years later while looking over my file that you were concerned about my health, yet refused to hold or interact with me. Many people would take that information in a variety of different ways. I choose to believe that you made that choice so that you would follow through with letting me go. I know that must have been hard. But there are no words to express the gratitude I have that you

made that choice.

I am so happy with the life you chose for me. I have been given a foundation that is solid. I have had the chance to excel and have been taught that my potential is only limited by my own lack of effort. You gave me this chance, Mom. So today of all days I’m asking you not to live in the past, in moments of doubt or regret. Be proud, Mom. Celebrate. Today is as much about you as it is the mother who raised me. You may not have had the chance to watch me grow, but you were the reason I got to. Thank you.

I love you. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom.

Your Daughter

Joya Shenefield