Everyday Heroism

 

At the forefront of my mind the last several days has been the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Several times throughout the day, I find myself looking up the latest news to stay abreast of developments. Here and there I read snippets of stories of Ukrainian citizens stepping up to the plate in practical and heroic ways to defend their homeland. These inspiring glimpses into real individuals’ lives remind me that there are still people who believe in ideals greater than themselves, and are willing to sacrifice for those ideals.

I wrote the poem below describing another set of heroic deeds by everyday people when their national government was experiencing an attempted overthrow. May it encourage us to be faithful to our King – Jesus – Who is worthy of our highest loyalty. We never know when/if we may be called upon to do a heroic deed, but if we are faithful to Him in the little things, we will be faithful in the crisis moments.

MaryBeth Hall

 

Ahimaaz and Jonathan

“And the king’s servants said to the king, ‘We are your servants, ready to do whatever my lord the king commands.’” 2 Samuel 15:15

To read more of their story, see 2 Samuel 15:13-29, 17:15-22, 18:19-30.

 

His was a treacherous conspiracy well planned;

Absalom plotted to be king of the land.

In stark contrast to his name “Father of Peace,”*

Suave looks and actions were but a pretense

Designed to win hearts away from King David.

Yet there were some who the rightful king aided,

Whose loyalty was stronger than self-preservation.

Ahimaaz and Jonathan, without hesitation,

Looked danger square in the eye, then took steps forward.

We read of their tale in Scripture recorded.

 

Fleeing Jerusalem, David left priests** there

With instructions to send news of how events fared.

Ahimaaz and Jonathan, the priests’ sons, would stay

At the edge of town to secretly slip away.

After Absalom’s council made their battle plan,

A girl warned the young men, and their trip began.

But a boy saw them and told Absalom,

So they hid in a well in Bahurim.

The lady of that home covered the opening;

Ahimaaz and Jonathan’s hearts must have been pounding

While she talked to Absalom’s servants above them.

When the enemies were gone, they went to King David;

Because of their message, disaster was avoided.

 

Then let us rise up in our day without fear,

With derring-do loyalty to our King Who is near.

Whether it seems important or not,

Be faithful to stand in your God-given spot.

The priests, their sons, Hushai***, the girl,

The lady who put corn over the well –

You join in their ranks when you cannot be bought,

When in little or much, you do as you ought.

 

 

 *The literal meaning of the name Absalom

** Zadok and Abiathar

***David’s loyal counselor who attended Absalom’s strategy meeting

 

Make New Friends, but Keep the Old

When I was a child in Pioneer Girls at the College Church in Wheaton we sang the same campfire type songs that had been sung for decades.  One of these has been in my mind for several days.

 

         “Make new friends, but keep the old.

         One is silver and the other gold.”

 

In today’s world Facebook friends have become the standard for many. After all, if you can’t hang out with people because of the pandemic, let’s measure our friends online.  The only problem with that is that most Facebook friends are not true friends; they’re casual acquaintances, friends of friends, or even just random people who asked to be a “friend”.  So now is the time to recognize our true friends and to work at forming new friendships. 

 

I will start with my family.  Family members should be friends.  I am very fortunate in this sphere.  I count my children as my friends.  I text or talk to my daughters almost every day, to my sons less often.  I have two sisters, both live in Cincinnati, too far away to please me.  I would love to be close enough to have tea with them, to go antique hunting, to have over for dinner, to just hang out with.  One of my sisters has been fighting through cancer.  I am so grateful that it appears I will have her for many more years.  I also have the blessing of four living aunts, three of whom I get to see more than weekly.  What a blessing to have those who have known me all my life, who share the memories with me.

 

I have several friends in this church who began as colleagues, but have over the last fifty years become close friends.  Then there are former students who have stayed close.  One regularly texts to see if I am free for a phone call.  My dearest friend came from joint homeschool endeavors.  We have been through many joys and heartaches together, the latest watching her husband in the process of dying,  She has constantly challenged me spiritually.  We are true sisters.

 

I have wonderful neighbors who are friends, some old and some new.  I am grateful for those.  They check on me, invite me over, take my trash out, carry in my groceries, and stand in the middle of the street and visit with me.  I’m glad I live in a neighborhood of friends.

 

One of my favorite places is our church’s Ladies Bible Study.  Some in the class are old friends, some I have gotten to know through the class.  One of my first steps when I retired was to join the Bible study.  I knew this was a place I could get to know the ladies of our church.  Praying together, studying together, sharing with one another build close relationships.

 

So, why have I gone through this litany of friends?  Because it takes work and concentration to make new friends and to keep the old.  It is too easy to fail to follow up on friends and so lose them. Scripture has much to say about friendship.  These Scriptures are taken from the New Living Translation.  Sometimes another translation can shed new light on a passage.

 

Ecclesiastes 4:10, “If one person falls, the other can reach out and help.  But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.”  I have been in that real trouble, and I can tell you how important the support is.

 

Proverbs 17:17, “A friend is always loyal.”  There have been times in my life when I felt betrayed by those I felt were my friends.  How many more times have I felt the loyalty and support of friends, even when they didn’t understand what was going on in my life.

 

Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.”  We should be better people mutually as we challenge and encourage each other. This iron sharpening iron sometimes involves rebuke.  Proverbs 27:6, “Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy.”  This kind of friendship also brings counsel.  Proverbs 12:26, “The godly give good advice to their friends; the wicked lead them astray.”  Proverbs 27:6, “ The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense.”  Of course, this involves choosing the right friends, Proverbs 13:20, “Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.”

 

The right friends are valuable, to be treasured.  Proverbs 18:19 says, “An offended friend is harder to win back than a fortified city.  Arguments separate friends like a gate locked with bars.”  I grieve over every break in a relationship, my fault or someone else’s.  This should be where we learn to forgive.  Proverbs 17:9, “Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.”

 

So here are our instructions:

 

Romans 12:19, “Love each other with genuine affection and take delight in honoring each other.”

 

I Thessalonians 5:11, “So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.”

 

Philippians 1:3, “Every time I think of you I give thanks to my God.”

 

John 13:35, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

 

So what can you do to put this into practice?  Phone, email, text, visit.  Reach out.  Be creative.  One of my friends heard me complain that the previous day I had not heard a human voice, except on the radio.  She Face Timed me so that we both had company while we ate our suppers!  Unexpected and delightful!

 

         “Make new friends, but keep the old,

         One is silver and the other gold.”

 

 

                            ~~Faith Himes Lamb

 

 

Immortal, Invisible

 

I’m nearing the end of a Philip Yancey book that I’ve been reading for some time now. It’s one of those books that bear pondering, and I’m sure I’ll want to read it again. It’s called The Jesus I Never Knew, and in this last chapter, the author addresses the simple yet profound idea that Jesus came to earth to show us what God is like.

He points out that we often describe God with words that tell what he isn’t: immortal, invisible, infinite. In other words, God isn’t mortal; he can’t die. He isn’t visible; we can’t see him, and he isn’t finite; he has no end. We, on the other hand, are mortal, visible and finite.

This is what I’ve been thinking about lately. We have a God who is so very different from us, superior in every way. Yet God made man in his own image. He wants us to be like him. In fact, we are exhorted in Ephesians 5 to “be imitators of God.” How can we ever achieve this standard?

When God created people, he gave them creativity, compassion, a longing for community, and he intended Adam and Eve to live in communion with him indefinitely. Their sin, however, brought death—mortality—to the world. So God’s plan to reveal himself in Jesus went into motion.

The immortal, invisible God became visible and lived in a body that could die. He revealed the love and compassion of his father to a world of sorry sinners such as you and me. He became sin on the cross so we could regain the eternal life God meant for people to have. In Jesus, we have freedom to be who God intends us to be. Our eternal life has already begun, and we can use all the gifts God gives us to imitate him each day.

There is so much about life and eternity that seems a mystery. Yancey notes, “When I speculate about such imponderables as the problem of pain or providence versus free will, everything becomes fuzzy. But if I look at Jesus himself . . . clarity is restored.”

In Jesus, we have both a deep, profound mystery and a simple, understandable directive. Jesus, “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15) is our model for godly living.

--Sherry Poff

Mercy

 

There he is! William himself...Shakespeare, that is. Oh, how I enjoyed teaching his works, having my students in high school learn to appreciate literature they would never read unless “urged” to do so!

 Recently in our Bible study group, we were discussing the subject of “MERCY.” One of my friends spoke up and said that in high school she had read something about “The quality of mercy is not strained...” Oh, yes, I knew that quote! One of the best thoughts of many from Shakespeare and this from THE MERCHANT OF VENICE:

 The quality of mercy is not strained;

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest.
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown:
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway;
It is enthronèd in the hearts of kings.
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God's
When mercy seasons justice...

 I hope you will read those lines carefully. God is the author of mercy. But even kings can reflect this godly quality when mercy softens their justice. I feel the only way we can truly show mercy is to remember God’s mercy to us.

 I love that word MERCY...What is it? There are many ways to define the word. “Mercy is forgiving the sinner and withholding the punishment that is justly deserved.” “Compassion shown to an offender who deserves judgment.” “Not getting the punishment we deserve.”  “One who has mercy responds to those who cannot help themselves. Mercy responds to someone in serious need.”

 In my meditations in Psalms that I did the last couple of years, my thoughts from Psalm 13 include this fabulous word “MERCY.”

 Way back in April, 2020, I read vs. 1: “How long will you forget me, O Lord? How long will you hide your face from me?” Have you felt that way over the past couple of years? Will we ever see the end of this “virus” and the stresses that have come on our dear America?

 Vs. 2: “How long...How long...?” “Every day my heart is full of sorrow.”

Vs. 3: The Psalmist pleads with the Lord: “Consider and hear me...” “Lighten my eyes (give clear direction). I don’t want to die.”

 Vs. 4: “My enemy will gloat that he has had the victory.”

 NOW VS. 5...”BUT I have trusted in Your MERCY “that droppeth as the gentle rain from Heaven”...that God-quality that withholds deserved punishment, that God-quality that shows compassion on the offender, that God-quality that responds to those who cannot help themselves...” I remembered how many times, Lord, you have cared for me and then...

Vs. 5b. “My heart rejoices in Your salvation.” Not just salvation for my soul, but salvation for my mind from worry, salvation for my body from danger.

Guess what? Psalm 13 goes from Vs. 1: “How long will you forget me, Lord?” to Vs. 6: “I WILL SING unto the Lord” Wow! He has been so merciful...more than I deserve. 

Shakespeare reminds us that MERCY “blesseth him that gives and him that takes.”  Can I show this same mercy, compassion, to others when they are discouraged and even seem hopeless or even deserving of punishment? This is my prayer! “Give me eyes to see those who need my mercy to show them Your mercy, Lord!”

 --Maylou Holladay

 

 

 

 

 

 

Footsteps of the Faithful, Part 2

 

(Can I really do a “part 2” of someone else’s article?) I was in awe of Amy’s post last week, partly because it is so relevant and strengthening, and partly because I had prepared this piece and it follows her thoughts so perfectly. She asked us to respond with biographies that have encouraged us in our faith. This one qualifies!

In 1731, Pietists Johann Schoenfeldt and his brother-in-law Johann Poet and their wives were making their way by boat from Count Zinzendorf’s estate, Herrnhut, in Saxony to Haarlem (Amsterdam), Holland, where they hoped to find freedom to worship as they wished. Count Z had earlier taken in all forms of religious dissenters for protection at his refuge, but subsequently decided to require all to become Moravians. Those who declined were forced out.

Poet’s diary of the trip is an amazing story of reliance on God for every event, every moment, every day of their journey. His object was to give his friends in Silesia, Germany, their former home, “a report of the way the Lord has led us.”

A day’s journey from Herrnhut, they engaged passage on a ship, but found, to their dismay, they had to wait 10 days to sail and had little money for food. The customs inspector referred them to a resident who gave Poet 10 days’ work, providing him wages and extra money for food. They went “with God’s guidance” on board the ship. Sprinkled among his accounts of the people they met and the kindnesses showed them are comments such as, “on the 3rd of May the Lord brought us to Wittenberg.” “On the 6^th of May in the morning the hand of God guided us safely through the bridge at Magdeburg.” “We were not aware of the great danger through which our Lord had guided us so gently.” “On the morning of the 16^th we arrived, with the guidance of the Most High, in Altona. We decided to spend this one day aboard the ship to see what the dear God had in store for us.”

At one point one of their companions went ashore to see if he could find a poor man who would rent them a room, “but the dear God led him by chance to a very wealthy Mennonite,” who offered a large house to shelter their whole group. Faced with the choice of whether to stay or to keep on with their journey, Poet wrote,” Now we are sitting here and looking, as children, up to our dear Father who has met our meager needs by means of our handiwork.” A month later, “We still sit here, however, and await the signal of the dear God. When He commands us to move on, then we are resolved to move on immediately.” Another month later, “the Lord again gave us courage, that we should go in his name to Holland. So in the name of God we boarded a ship on the 1^st of August.”

At that point they had been given bread and cheese but had little money. Poet commented, “We turned over our cares to God, and although we well knew beforehand that the trip would take at least 11 to 12 days, even with a good wind; that we had no hope of eating one single bite of warm food; that we were well aware of the weakness of our bodies; that we could expect seasickness; in spite of all this, we cast ourselves into the hand of the dear God and decided to be satisfied that we could do as He wished.”

The remainder of the diary is a similar account of hardships, amazing provision for their needs, encounters with believers of other denominations and sects, all couched in Johann Poet’s firm belief in God’s leading, provision and sovereignty. At every point, he credited God with guiding them and giving them success in their journey.

Credit: Maryland Magazine of Genealogy, Spring 1980, Fall 1980.

 We were provided a copy of this fascinating diary by Dr. Hale T. Shenefield who, along with Paul Shenefield, is one of the descendants of Poet’s traveling companions, Johann and Elizabeth Schoenfeldt. Dr. Shenefield comments, “This letter illustrates, better than anything else, their Pietistic approach to life, their interpretation of their whole life and the most prosaic experiences in terms of the direct intervention of God in their lives; providing a ship for the next part of the trip, lodging for the night, getting a good captain and so on. Today, such an approach to life seems exaggerated. To them, it was both right and inevitable in view of their religious commitment and the events of their world.”

It is sad that Dr. Shenefield is correct. “Today such an approach to life seems exaggerated.” It should not. God IS involved in our moment-by-moment lives. Every good and perfect gift is from Him – not merely a by-product of our relatively safe, relatively secure, relatively prosperous, freedom-boasting society. From what our missionaries tell us, persecuted Christians (which these Pietists were) today do consciously rely on God for provision and protection every day, believing God is working His will in all. May we humbly follow suit.

--Lynda Shenefield

Following in the Footsteps of the Faithful

There is a great heritage of godly lives passed down to us in the family of faith. Believers have lived in all times past, facing the challenges of the days at hand. From the time of Nero to the Middle Ages to the Reformation to the World Wars to today, God has always had his remnant, a people who have lived for Him and placed His glory above their own comforts. As Paul himself said, “Follow me as I also follow Christ” (I Corinthians 11:1), so we can look to and follow these believers who have kept the faith and surrendered all for what is unseen and eternal.

Perhaps this is why I enjoy biographies of believers. These stories serve as real-life examples of men and women, as human as you and me with fears and dreams and sin struggles, who relied on God and lived all out for Him. They lived Paul’s words in Philippians 3: They were willing to give up all in their lives to live for Christ and to know Him in both His power and His sufferings. Despite all challenges, they pressed on toward the upward call of God on which their eyes were fixed (Phil. 3:8-14). Paul encourages us to observe those who walk in this way so we can follow their examples (15-17). And one way to observe their lives is to read their stories.

I am currently reading The Little Woman, an autobiography about Gladys Aylward. I am only about half-way through, but already I have been challenged by what she went through simply to get to China in the first place: the long time she had to work to buy the train ticket across Europe, the distance she had to walk in Siberia in the cold because war was raging where her train had stopped, the days that she was held prisoner by the Japanese government before she was able to escape them, and finally arriving in China in very primitive conditions and the missionary lady she was going to help dying about a year after she arrived. Yet she never turned around; she never gave up. She tells of a time on this journey when she cried out to God, “Oh God, is it worth it?” She writes, “Like a flash came the answer: ‘Be not afraid, remember I am the Lord.’ “ My challenges seem so small compared to someone who went through so much, but her example serves to help me put my own challenges in perspective, to be reminded that God is faithful to His children, and to press on in what God has called me to do in the place and time in which He has set me.

So for those of you who, like me, want to read more about the saints who have gone before us, here are some biographies that I have read and learned from. Perhaps you can respond to this post with biographies that have encouraged you in your faith.

A Passion for the Impossible (about Lillias Trotter, missionary to Algiers)

A Chance to Die (about Amy Carmichael, missionary to India)

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy (about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German pastor during WW2)

Katharina von Bora (about Martin Luther’s wife)

Living Sacrifice (Helen Roseveare, missionary doctor to the Congo, part biographical, part devotional)

Susie (about Susanna Spurgeon, wife of Charles Spurgeon)

Marriage to a Difficult Man (about Jonathan and Sarah Edwards)

Faithful Women and Their Extraordinary God (short biographies about five different women)

John Piper’s The Swans are Not Silent Series (each book in the series includes three biographies)

I am reminded of Steve Green’s song that holds true for these men and women and many more whose stories will never be told in books:

“Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful.

May the fire of our devotion light their way,

May the footprints that we leave

Lead them to believe,

And the lives we live inspire them to obey.

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful.”

 --Amy O'Rear 

Not Going Down

 My friend Becky recently shared an incident involving her grandson Leon. Two-year-old Leon said, "Grammy, I will hold your hand." She said, "No, Leon.  I will hold your hand." If Leon is the one holding on, then his hand may slip.  Leon may wipe out. If Grammy is doing the holding, Leon is safe.

I immediately thought of Psalm 37:23-24.  “The Lord directs the steps of the godly.  He delights in every detail of their lives.  Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand."  (NLT)  The NASB says “When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.”

The picture I have is of a young child walking with his father in ice and snow. (Appropriate for this  weekend, isn’t it! I am in Atlanta with my grandson Ruben. He and his parents and I walked in the snow this morning.)  Back to my picture: the child’s feet may slip, but because the father is holding him by the hand, he may dangle for a minute, but he doesn't go all the way down.  He may hang, but he gets his feet back under him. He doesn't go down for the count.

So God is directing each Christian's way.  He delights in every detail of our lives.  And when we stumble, we don't fall all the way down, because the Lord has us by the hand.  Notice, "when they stumble."  It's not "if they stumble."  It's "when they stumble."  That means we are going to stumble.  There isn't any question about it.  We will stumble.  And when we stumble, we may struggle to get our feet back under us, but we won't go down all the way.  God is holding our hand.  Verse 31 of Psalm 37 says, "They have made God's law their own, so they will never slip from His path." 

I often feel as if I am dangling, just about to go down. I fret over my children. I fear for the son who lives on a sailboat. I worry about finances. Will I be able to pay that insurance bill?  I worry about my health.  Who will be here when I have to have that surgery? I feel lonely, sure that no one cares. But I don’t have to worry.  I have the certain promise, I can get my feet back under me. 

Psalm 55:22 says, “Give  your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you.  He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.” So take heart and don’t be discouraged, God is holding your hand. 

“This I declare about the Lord: He alone

is my refuge, my place of safety;

he is my God, and I trust him.” Psalm 91:2 NLT

~~~Faith Himes Lamb