Light on the Earth

According to google, it was Elly Derr who said, "A diamond is a piece of coal that didn't quit under pressure." I'm afraid I have no idea who Elly Derr is, but I have heard that little bit of wisdom before. What, though, is coal?  It's plants, mostly. And where do plants get their food? Primarily from the sun. In fact, the sun is the source of all our food, too.

Back when I taught fourth grade, I enjoyed assigning food charts. I had the fourth graders keep a list of everything they ate. Then we looked at where all the food comes from. We traced every bit of it back to plants, which depend on the sun for photosynthesis. So all our food really does come from the sun. And all our coal.

Have you ever gathered, on a cold winter day, around a coal stove? It's been years since I did that, but I can tell you, it's a warm place to be. These days we don't heat our homes with coal directly, but some of our electricity comes indirectly from that source. I love thinking, when I am enjoying light and heat in my home, that it's really all sunshine.

Like many of you, I crave sunshine, and too many gray days really put me in a funk. But when we can't get it directly, we can have the benefit of the sun in other ways. Just think of God's foresight and love to make--way back on the fourth day ever--a source of heat and light for us to enjoy in 2015.

"Then God said, 'Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth'; and it was so" (Genesis 1:14-15). And so it is.

--Sherry Poff

My Portion Forever

Psalm 73:25-29

Whom have I in heaven but You?

And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.

26 My flesh and my heart fail;

But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

27 For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish;

You have destroyed all those who desert You for harlotry.

28 But it is good for me to draw near to God;

I have put my trust in the Lord GOD,

That I may declare all Your works.

Recent events in my life have caused me to do a lot of soul searching and deep thinking. If you know me, then you know I am not a deep thinker. I pretty much have always been very accepting of the way things are.

Oh yes, I have strong convictions and can be pretty opinionated, but just have never been one to really dig deep or put another way – “think that hard.” But, lately, I have been doing a lot of deep thinking about change. This year my life has been full of change! There have been good changes, not so good changes, and some that are just different. I am forming a new perspective on life. Maybe, just maybe, I am beginning to learn what God deems important!

The other night I was reading Psalm 73 and these verses jumped off the page. “Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (vs. 25-26) You see when I got the news of my brother Ivan’s death, I was shell shocked! I guess one is never prepared for such news, but even now as I think back to that moment, it still seems like a dream and at times I think I will wake up and it will be over. But no, we all know that’s not the way it will ever be, at least not here on this earth! But, during this time of grieving, I have spent some very precious time on my back porch with the Lord, baring my soul. I have come to realize that what the psalmist says in Psalm 73:28 is worth remembering: “But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God, That I may declare all Your works.” (vs. 27-28) For you see, that through trials, changes, and yes, even the death of my dear, sweet, brother – God remains a constant. He can be trusted. He wants us to draw near to Him! So, while change can bring about trials, it is those trials which can push us to yes, dig deep, do some soul searching. Through that process I have begun to sense a hunger to draw nearer to God! So, now on those rare occasions when I get to sit in my favorite spot on my back porch and spend special time with the Lord reading scripture or just meditating on Him while enjoying the outdoors His works are so evident and in that very moment I wonder why I need to be reminded that God wants that fellowship with me. Maybe I just need more time on my back porch!

For His Glory!

Pam Dratnol

Shout With Joy

Psalm 100

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!
Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
Know that the Lord, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
For the Lord is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.

The last few days I have been looking up Psalms of praise and rejoicing. Psalm 100 only started it. You see, a very dear friend last week had an all day brain surgery to remove a tumor. The surgery was Tuesday and was a complete success. They left a small sliver that had wrapped itself around the facial nerve. If they had pushed it, she could have wound up with major complications. She was released from the hospital on Friday and I can barely contain my joy.

But while I have been rejoicing, the question has popped up repeatedly. Would I be praising the Lord this way if Sarah had not made it through the surgery? What if my sister, who has been fighting liver and colon cancer for months, does not make it? What if my physical issues become more serious and I can’t work? What if . . . ? What if . . . ? What if . . . ? You fill in the blank. What are the things you fear or even anticipate? Would you and I be rejoicing that we are His people and praising Him with joyful shouts?

I know we would grieve and carry heavy burdens. Would we still believe that the Lord is good? That His mercy is everlasting? Should we still be shouting with joy?

So now I must confront that question. Since writing the first part of the blog I have found that my dear friend has some pretty drastic side effects from that surgery. Half of her face is paralyzed. One eye does not want to stop moving or shut. She cannot sleep because of the stimulus to the brain through the medicines and the brain surgery, etc. She is having difficulty speaking because of the paralysis. So now what?

I am weeping while I write this. I am grieving as she is. But I have this confidence: I know God is going to do something miraculous with and through her life. I do not know that it will be healing, but it may be something much richer, something that brings glory to God in a way I could not imagine. I choose to be thankful unto Him and bless His name.



~~~Faith Himes Lamb

"Come change--"

One of the joys of my life is teaching literature. In one of my classes, we've been talking about symbols---both contextual and cultural.  Contextual symbols are specific to a particular work, but cultural symbols are ones we all understand to a degree.

Well, now, it's almost autumn, and guess what that's a symbol of? The end of life. It makes sense, doesn't it?  Gardens are finishing up their productive cycle. Leaves will soon be falling all around us, making trees look bare and dead (even though we know they're only resting).  For some of us, autumn is a sad time. We miss the ones we have lost, and we ponder our own passing that will come all too soon. But it's also a beautiful time, just as the memory of loved ones and the assurance of Heaven to come.

Here are two stanzas of a poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. She captures the feeling I want to cultivate for myself. I am always sad when summer is over, but I also want to see the blessing of the changing season and to know that God's plan is a good one. When I see the order of the seasons, I know He has everything in His mighty, loving hand.

The dearest hands that clasp our hands, —
Their presence may be o’er;
The dearest voice that meets our ear,
That tone may come no more!
Youth fades; and then, the joys of youth,
Which once refresh’d our mind,
Shall come — as, on those sighing woods,
The chilling autumn wind.

Hear not the wind — view not the woods;
Look out o’er vale and hill —
In spring, the sky encircled them —
The sky is round them still.
Come autumn’s scathe — come winter’s cold —
Come change — and human fate!
Whatever prospect Heaven doth bound,
Can ne’er be desolate.

(from "The Autumn" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning)

--Sherry Poff

Home

            As a preacher’s kid who moved several times during my childhood, I always longed for a hometown, a place I came from.  I was born in Wheaton, Illinois, but left there when I was thirteen.  When I went to college, my hometown was listed as Racine, Wisconsin, though we moved there just before my senior year in high school.  By graduate school my parents had moved again, this time to Denver, Colorado, and then that’s what was listed as my hometown, though I had never even visited there.  I thought being able to say a hometown would have made me happy.

            I was reminded of that longing by the message Duane Beach preached on Hebrews11:13-16.  “…having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth…they are seeking a country of their own…they desire a better country, that is to say, a heavenly one.” 

            No wonder we have a longing for home.  Our problem lies in looking for it here on earth.  “This world is not my home; I’m just a passing through. . . and I can’t feel at home in this world any more.”

            Duane said that we have the vision and values of home and these change our behavior.  What if we had the vision and values of our heavenly home?  Would that be different from the vision and values we have right now?

            Right now I have questions that I don’t have the answers for.  I know that we are in this world, but not of it.  John tells us that in chapter 17 where he prays for his disciples saying, “I do not ask Thee to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.  They are not of this world, even as I am not of this world.”  Obviously, He has left us in the world for a reason.  I know I am to bring glory to God; I know I am to give people a thirst for God; I know I am to show that I am a citizen of another Country.  What does that really look like?  I want to know. 

            In the meantime, I want to go Home.  Do I long for Heaven far more than I longed for a hometown when I was young?  Do I long for Heaven because I want to be out of the trials and heartaches of this life or do I long to go Home because that is where I belong?

            Teach me, Lord.

                                                                                              ~~Faith Himes Lamb

The Power of Story

Many years ago, when I was in college, I had a friend I'll call Lacy. My roommate--let's call her Patty--and I had been witnessing to Lacy for months.  While Lacy was a "good girl," she didn't have a personal relationship with Jesus, and she admitted that.  Then for a time after beginning to talk to Lacy about Jesus, I led a very hypocritical life.  I wasn't acting like a Christian, and Lacy knew it.  After getting right with God and breaking off a destructive relationship, I returned to church and Bible study regularly but never explained the situation to Lacy.

One night Patty, who had been faithful in her witness all along, suggested that I tell Lacy my story. So I did. That was the missing piece in her decision to trust Christ. Lacy needed to know that my lifestyle was not part of the Christian life, and she needed to hear me say that I had asked for and received forgiveness for my sin. It was our joy then for Patty and me to share the ups and downs of our Christian walk and to see Lacy grow in faith.

This is the power of story. I've heard it said a number of times recently that, because your story is your own experience, it's a powerful witnessing tool. Even people who want nothing to do with the Bible will often listen to a personal anecdote. They can't claim it isn't valid; it's your experience.

Think of the numerous times Jesus told a story to get the attention of the crowd. He knew what most teachers know: if you want people to remember a lesson, find a way to get them emotionally invested in it. Stories do this. They can be merely parables, or they can be true accounts of actual events.

Literature is a powerful medium because we learn so much about people and relationships from well-written stories. The power of friendship is illustrated beautifully in everything from Charlotte's Web to Huckleberry Finn. I am certain that reading Steinbeck has made me a more compassionate person. Some of his stories I will never forget.

On Sunday morning, we were challenged to share our story. I thought of some people who might need to hear the same thing I told Lacy all those years ago. I am praying about the right time and way to begin that conversation.  It won't be easy, but I am trusting God to lead me. Then I'll have yet another story to share!

--Sherry Poff

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