One Body

During the service on Sunday morning, we read I Corinthians 3:9, which presents the following metaphors: "[Y]ou are God's field, God's building." These are profound and instructive concepts to explore at some point, but they reminded me of another metaphor Paul uses later in Corinthians and also in Romans: "As we have many members in one body and all members have not the same office, so we--being many--are one body in Christ" (Romans 12:4-5).

God's people are a body. It's something I've been thinking about a lot lately. I will confess to being nosy--wanting to know what's going on with everyone and, if possible, to tell them how to do their jobs. God has been teaching me for some years now to mind my own business and do the work He has given me. So when I came to Romans 12 on my memory work list, it was a good reminder of these truths.

How smart of God to use common comparisons we can all relate to. My feet do lots of hard work. So do my eyes and hands. Naturally, the feet are best suited to carry me from place to place (and dance the occasional jig) while my hands dig in the dirt and type on this keyboard. How foolish it would be to try to walk on my hands all day long--just as foolish as trying to do everyone's job in the body of Christ.

As I listened to Sunday's sermon, I was also thinking about the many members of our Grace body. One we will miss is Jon Carter. Pastor Ben noted Jon's humble and quiet service over the years, and I recalled that he helped paint my classroom, working for hours on something that he would never personally use. Earlier, just after Sunday School, I had been talking to Carol Woods about a memory my son has of her and some helpful advice she gave to him years ago. Right before that, another church member thanked me for influencing her son in a good direction. Each one of us had a part in carrying out God's work--a part that we could perform best.

We are all members of the same body, friends. I could not possibly do it all myself, and neither could you. We need each other. I'm so thankful for God's wisdom in putting us together in this place.

--Sherry Poff

An Opportunity Not Lost

Over three days this last week, I sat in a large convention center room in Indianapolis with over 8,000 women and heard God’s Word opened and exposited by both godly women and men. What a blessing! My thoughts today will be short, but I want to tell you about the end of one of the messages I heard that will stick in my mind for months to come.

It was Friday evening, and author and Bible teacher Jen Wilkin was speaking on Deuteronomy 15. (The plenary sessions were all from the book of Deuteronomy.) This passage deals with God’s desire for the Israelites to cancel debts in the seventh year, lend to the poor, and release slaves (in this context more like indentured servants) in the seventh year. Jen Wilkin spoke on generosity as seen in this passage and focused on the contrast between being tightfisted toward your poor brother (verse 7) and opening wide your hand (verse 8). Near the end of her message, she said that she’d been recently teaching through the gospels in her women’s Bible study at her local church in Texas. She’d been struck by how Simon, a stranger in the crowd, was the one who carried Christ’s cross. She continued as tears welled up in her eyes, saying something along these lines: ““Where were his friends? His disciples? Why weren’t they there and stepping forward to help Christ with the cross? Oh, if I had been there, I would have carried that cross for my Savior. Oh to serve him when he needed it most! Or to have been there with Mary and Martha, when Jesus came to their house. To have served him a meal, washed his feet, seen to his needs. Oh how special that would have been – to serve Christ.”  I knew what passage Jen Wilkin was going to follow this up with and immediately knew the Lord was challenging me. And sure enough, the verse that followed was Matthew 25:40, “Whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it for me.”

Do you also wish you could have in some way served Christ as he walked this earth? To have made him a meal, provided him a place to stay for the night, brought him a drink of water? Do you feel the awesomeness of the privilege that would have been? Yet our opportunity is not up. Who do you know that is in need? How can you show generosity in investing your time, talents, money, or experience to help the least of these? Let’s ask God this week to open our eyes to someone in need, and may we be faithful to lay aside selfish desires and serve. And as we do so, may we see the face of our Savior.

--Amy O'Rear

My Friend

My Friend

I have a friend, a friend of over twenty years, a bosom friend.  We laugh. We cry.  We pray.  We share.  We need each other.  I learn new things from her and about her.  I miss her when I don’t get to spend time with her.  Often when I call her, she says, “I’ve been thinking about you and was getting ready to call.”

If my need for her is so great, what should my need be for time with my friend, Jesus?  He called me His friend. John 15:15. He has been my friend for more than sixty years.  He has been there when I was tired.  “Come unto me, all ye who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  (Matthew 11:28) He has been there when my heart was broken and my life seemed to be crumbling.  “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”  Psalm 34:18. He has been there to supply my every need. “The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; but they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing.”  Psalm 34:10.

I could go on and on.  He has been my life, but have I made an effort to spend time with Him?  To get to know Him better?

Philippians 3:8 and 10 have expressed my stated goal for many years, “I count all things but loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. That I might know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed unto His death.”

I want to know Him better, but I have not always made the effort and the commitment to do that. Sometimes I have had that excitement about my time with Him.  Sometimes I have longed for an awareness of His presence. But not always.  Sometimes I have been rather casual about my time with Him.  Sometimes I have been bored.  I am embarrassed to write that.  I want the overwhelming need of Him to control me.  I want the longing to know Him better to control my life, to be the most important motivator of my life.  I need Him.

“I need Thee, O I need Thee, Every hour I need Thee!

O bless me now, my Savior—I come to Thee!”

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things . . .

In obedience to a recent suggestion from our insurance agent, I set about photographing and listing our possessions. I told him it didn’t seem important, as our things are few and old. But he wanted to talk about “replacement value.” So I dutifully laid out and cataloged all our worldly goods. If you haven’t done it, you should. Not for your insurance agent; for yourself. It’s an eye-opener.

To no one in American culture would we seem affluent, but this girl who grew up dirt-poor felt rich, rich, rich when thinking of replacement value. At the same time, I began to feel burdened with “stuff.” How many Phillips screwdrivers do we really need? (And with all these in the house, why can I not find the size I need when I want one?) Do I really want to give the storage space to these fabrics I have had for so long?

I thought about the photos our missionaries to Africa have shown us of families whose possessions are a one-room home with mud walls, sleeping mats, a water jug and a cooking pot, and the clothes on their backs. If the lady of the hut is a Christian, what, of value, do I have that she does not?

Luke 12:13-15 tells us, ^“Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.’ But he said to him, ‘Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?’ And he said to them, ‘Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.’”

At that point, Jesus told the parable of the rich man and his new barns, concluding with, ^“But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” ESV

What difference does it make whether our items are many or few, valuable or worthless, if one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions?

Some items are irreplaceable, like my mother’s 1950 china cabinet and the yo-yo doll my grandmother made. But what difference does it make, if one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions?

Do I place undue value on my world treasures, compared to my God riches? Do I even recognize my God riches, or am I so absorbed in my world riches that I cannot see the valuable ones? Does “Count Your Blessings” turn into a recitation of “things”? Can I catalog my God riches? Probably not. Should I focus on things to which I cannot account definable value? Jesus thinks so.

Some ladies like to “shop ‘til you drop.” Not me; I hate shopping. Some delight in chasing after yard sales. I did formerly; now I feel I don’t have room for more stuff. Couponing is a favorite way of acquiring goods for many. I like the approach of a friend who said, years ago, “I just tell the Lord what I need and how much I can spend on it, and He brings it to me.” But, regardless of our methods of spending or saving or getting, these things do not have nearly the importance we assign them.

Jesus wants us to become rich. His riches are not in our bank accounts, living rooms, closets or storage sheds. The treasure is in His Word.

 --Lynda Shenefield

The Highest Praise

As I sit down to write this post, I am aware that so many of my thoughts offered here center around our Sunday morning music. Today is another in that series. :)

I am sure that Pastor Fred is guided by the Spirit as he makes plans for our corporate worship. Whether he bows his head and forms a prayer or not, God is guiding him, I know.

Here's how I know: So many of the songs seem designed just for me. I'm not suggesting by any means that I am the most important person in the auditorium; rather, God's Spirit works among us--in all our spirits--to bring about the worship He is due.

Inasmuch as many of our songs are directed to God, they are really prayers. One recent example that stirred my soul has a chorus that says the following:

            You alone can rescue; You alone can save.
            You alone can lift us from the grave.

As we sang, the faces of loved ones who need God's rescue flashed across my mind, and the song became a prayer not only of worship but of supplication to God to rescue those I love. Then the next two lines:

            You came down to find us, led us out of death.
            To You alone belongs the highest praise!

I long for the day I get to see my dear ones praising God along with me because of His mercy and power in their lives.

Today's song service (May 27) couldn't have been better if I'd designed it myself! The praises directed to God for His blessing and love in the "desert place" and in "the wilderness" as well as when "the world's all as it should be" are powerful reminders that God has a plan, and that His plan is a good one. He is "the Everlasting God" Who does not faint or grow weary; we are all in His loving hands.

Even when tragedy hits or we can't really see any good thing happening, we trust Him, our King, and we sing praises to Him--and those praises are also prayers.

--Sherry Poff

Be Nice

                                            

                                 May 13, 2018

(Before I give my thoughts, I would like to honor our daughter, Gillian Holladay Lopez, who went to Heaven on May 11, 2017. She was a wonderful wife and mother to her husband Ralph and their son Kai. Thank you for your prayers.)

Ephesians 4:32 “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.”

“Be nice” - If my dear mother said that once, she said it a thousand times. AND

guess what???? I did the same thing with my son and daughter. In fact, Brant and I spent six months taking a church in Fiji. One of the projects I had there was to stitch quotes for our children. And my mom and I both loved to quote Ephesians 4:32. Such a practical, powerful verse!

What an honor to get to “blog” on Mother’s Day! If this blog were to be totally about my mother, and I told you why so many loved that little lady, you would be excited to meet her in Heaven. She was so much fun, so kind, thoughtful, compassionate, unselfish...

BUT she would say: “Sis, talk about the Lord Jesus.” She would tell you that the verse - Ephesians 4:32 - is NOT an option. “Be kind (be nice), be tenderhearted (be compassionate), forgive others as God did because of Jesus.” Those are not choices but “musts” for Christians who wants to please the Lord.

HOW can we consistently “show” all these remarkable traits? Just look right down from Ephesians 4:32 to the next chapter...Ephesians 5. Read the whole chapter sometime. For now, we will use just a few ideas to help us to “be nice.”

Ephesians 5:1 - Follow God’s example. Study His Word to learn about His character.

                 5:2 - Walk in love as Christ loved us. BUT HOW can we do that? Study the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) for many examples of how Christ walked in love towards so many different people.

                5:8 - Realize you are no longer in darkness but are children of light. Shine for the Lord. Kindness is a way to shine.

                  5:15/18 - Walk circumspectly (I loved to teach Latin...the etymology of this word: “circum” = around/”spectare” = to watch or look), be alert, be careful to use God’s Word and His Holy Spirit to help you to walk the right way.

                  5:19/20 - Be joyful in the Lord. Joy is contagious! Some wise person said:

“Life is too short to live as a grouch.”

Have you memorized this verse?

Ephesians 4:32 “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.”

If not, d o it soon. It will help you to “be nice.”

--Maylou Holladay

Brace Yourself

According to “The Truth About Cancer” people, Louis Pasteur’s contemporaries disagreed with him regarding germs making people sick. They argued that it was people’s inability to resist germs that made people sick. They contended that if people would prepare their bodies for the attack of germs, they would not get sick. This concept can be true for other areas of life.

Years ago, I worked in a local Baptist ministry and endured relentless spiritual
attacks the whole time. The Enemy recognized a good work and schemed to
divide and discourage the staff. Sadly, he succeeded.

After being gone for 16 years, I'm back working there. This time, the Lord has
matured and prepared me spiritually, emotionally, and mentally for the onslaught.
I expect it. I don’t want to be destroyed by the Enemy, nor do I want to be an
instrument in his hands. I bet you don’t either, in whatever your calling is.

Most of us are familiar with the armor of God outlined for us in Ephesian 6, but
do we take it seriously? Do we really believe in principalities and powers and
rulers of darkness?

Verse 12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

I don’t know about you, but I’m not strong enough to face the powers of
darkness. I’m “skeered” to step foot into that arena without God’s armor
protecting me. Have you put on His truth, righteousness, and salvation? Are you
ready to share the gospel? Are you lifting your shield of faith? Is the Sword of
God’s Word strapped to your side? Have you prayed for Spirit-filling? That God
would fill your mouth with His words?

Whether you’re a stay-at-home mom (especially if you’re a stay-at-home mom),
a career woman, or an empty-nester does not matter. Our Enemy wants to
destroy us. He literally wants to kill us.

We must be confident, but not arrogant, in our position in Christ. He chose us.
Restored us. We are His children, saved from the bondage of sin and made holy.
He is our Good, Good Father. We prepare ourselves by learning the truth of Who
He is and what He expects of us. We have faith that God is in control and will
handle our problems according to His good purposes. He is for us. Who can be
against us?

Brace yourself. Expect to be attacked. It's coming.

joyce hague