Don't stop now!

 

Do not forget

 

Why do we give?

 

Living to serve

 

Are we even trying?????

 

Sacrificing my needs . . .

 

Trading His life for mine . . .

 

Me last . . . .

 

Share yourself

 

God is love

The "S" word....

 

Gut check . . . .and a little about St. Patrick!

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (Mathew 7:21)

I am having a little fun today as we are approaching St. Patrick's day, as we who may just be a 'lil bit Irish and some who are in no way Irish celebrate the culture anyway! By the way, the original color of Ireland was blue . . . changed to green during the Irish rebellion and the shamrock ☘ became a fighting symbol of unity. 

Patrick, or Succat as he was known in Gaelic, was a true man of God. Taken into slavery from England as a teen by Druid priests, he managed to escape back to England. He gave his life to Christ and then returned to Ireland determined to win his captors for Christ! He did the will of God despite the sacrifice and struggles.

This is a portion of the prayer he kept within his breastplate: 

"Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me."

So here is the GUT CHECK? Are we willing to do the Father's will?

Seeing . . . not hearing . . . is believing!

But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? (James 2:18-20)

We have all heard it said,"Seeing is believing." This is true as far as faith is concerned as well. There must be evidence of our faith in Jesus Christ. If we truly believe He has died for us and rose from the dead so we have an eternal relationship with Him, then surely it must show!

When people join a club, a team, a fraternity or sorority . . . people tend to identify themselves with a shirt, hat or some physical sign . . . even perhaps a bumper sticker or window decal. Fans of sports teams wear the jerseys of their favorite teams and fly banners and display other items publicly. 

So we as born again CHRISTians are also expected to show signs of our faith! In fact, we are commissioned to "go and make disciples of all nations"! (Matthew 28:18-20) This is our pledge if you would! Our identifying marker is our lifestyle . . . how we live!

What/Who do others see in us?

Louise Cecelia Fleming . . .Celebrating Black HIStory '24,

THE GOOD DOCTOR - LOUISE CECILIA FLEMING

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. (Philippians 2:3-4)

Born into slavery in the early years of the Civil War, Louise’s first pursuits included education. After a stint as a public educator, she became the first female black missionary appointed by the American Baptist Convention. In 1887, she sailed to the Congo, where she used education to improve the lives of the children she met there. 

As her own health deteriorated, she was forced back to the states in 1891. Realizing the importance of proper medical care for the people she loved in Congo, she enrolled that same year in the Women’s Medical College in Philadelphia. Four years later, she returned to Congo, the only known female medical doctor in the entire country. She worked for the health (physical and spiritual) of the Congolese people over the next four years before dying at the age of 37 from African sleeping sickness. 

Over a hundred years later, she continues to shine as an example of bending your life around scripture’s instruction to “consider others more important than yourself” (Phillippians 2:3).

With all that wisdom . . . Except. . . .

Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt and married his daughter. He brought her to the City of David until he finished building his palace and the temple of the Lord, and the wall around Jerusalem. The people, however, were still sacrificing at the high places, because a temple had not yet been built for the Name of the Lord. Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the instructions given him by his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places. (1 Kings 3:1-3)

In the verses following, God would grant Solomon all the wisdom he needed for life as a king. Except, he began to stray to foreign women and foreign gods! With all that wisdom . . .

We too can make some dumb decisions, even though we know better. We like to say how ridiculous the Jewish people were in their decision making, yet we do the same day after day. After all, we have eternal salvation in Christ . . . He died on the cross for us . . . yet we still sin! We say we love the Lord and we are His children, except we still choose sin.

Grace is not to be abused! We have work to do!

The stories of the Bible are not fairy tales!

Now the days of David drew near that he should die, and he charged Solomon his son, saying: “I go the way of all the earth; be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man. And keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn . . . (1 Kings 2:1-3)

As Solomon took over for David, there was much blood shed and violence. Decisions had to be made and lives were in the balance. There was no time for compromise or back room deals to be made. God's will needed to be carried out swiftly.

The violence in these verses makes them difficult to read. Revenge was the order of the day. But we must remember that the stories of the Bible are not fairy tales! Battles were fought, men and women died. God had given Solomon the throne, but that did not mean he would be exempt from the challenges that came with possessing it.

We face at work or at home that are sometimes challenging and even distasteful. Our challenges are not fairy tales either. They are real and life changing to us, even if not to others.  

Rather than seeing them as a burden, what if we viewed them as God’s appointed work? Let's ask God for His wisdom as we engage in these difficult situations, that He will help us act in obedience to Him.

Not about me . . .

It is not about me, but others! Let's admit it, we live in a selfish and sinful world. Life is all about my goals, my plans, my job, my career, my life. Really? Is that was we learn from scriptures?

While Jesus was dying from our sins, He stopped with some of His last breaths to be sure to care for His mother. In fact, all He went through was not for Himself, but for you and me! What a lesson to learn this Lent . . .

Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home. (John 19:25-27)

No matter our situation, there is always someone in more need than you or me. Just look around: 

• Who is hurting?
• Who is hungry?
• Who just lost a job?
• Who just lost a big game?
• Who just got turned down for a college offer?
• Who around us in more stressed than you or me?

Maybe we can hear Jesus saying: "Hey . . . behold the person near you. Care for them today!"

Two mites . . . all she had.

How much is enough? This is often asked today of those who even go to church. Do I just give 10%? Does giving my time and talents count as well as my money? I don't know about you, but we all could take a lesson from the woman in the lesson below.

 Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.” (Mark 12: 41-44)

Two mites was about the lowest value of money ever created in HIStory! It was given to the poor daily for bread. It would have also bought two or three grapes! Yet this women gave it as her offering to God. It was all she had that day!

Not just at Lent, but always, I believe God is asking for more than money. Yes, we need to give to sustain the work of the church . . . outreach, building expenses, salaries, missions support and more. Yet we also must give of ourselves. Since when does God get the minimum anyway?

I have come to believe that until we have given it all, as Jesus did for me, then we still have more to give!

Never give up on God: Honoring Black HIStory '23

 It is little wonder, given the history of their mistreatment at the hands of whites, that many Native Americans were suspicious of missionaries preaching what seemed to be a white man's religion—even when a black man was the missionary. And yet because of the perseverance of this man, John Stewart, many eventually adopted his religion. But it wasn't always easy for him.

Then, Stewart said, he heard a voice telling him, "Thou shalt declare my counsel faithfully." Feeling impelled to preach to Indians, Stewart journeyed to northern Ohio to the Wyandots, a branch of the Hurons driven south by the Iroquois League. Once a thriving people, the Wyandots had been reduced to about 700 when Stewart arrived at their reservation on the Upper Sandusky River in 1816.

There he met another black, Jonathan Pointer, who knew the Wyandot language. He told Stewart it would be "folly" to preach to the Indians. Nonetheless, the indifferent Pointer agreed to interpret Stewart's sermons. Many, even the Native Americans, did not give him the respect due. Even many of the Native Americans did not see black people as equal, but evil. Still, he pressed on, and by degrees, Stewart won the trust of the Wyandots, and he saw conversions.

Stewart died, apparently from tuberculosis, in 1823. Twenty years later, the federal government moved the Wyandots to Kansas as part of its Indian relocation policies. But Stewart had made his mark—the first black missionary to Native Americans and the first Methodist home missionary in America.                (John Stewart, 1786-1823)

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9)

No privilege here!

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.(Galatians 3:26-29)

No privilege here! No one greater . . . smarter . . . better looking . . . better hair . . . better skin color . . . richer or poorer. In God's eyes, His children are one!

Oh, if we as a Body would only get that! The Jews thought they were Abraham's chosen. However, when God blessed them and blesses us with benefits, we are to share them with those that do not have the same opportunities we have. The only reason one has things is because God has allowed them to have it!

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. (1 Timothy 6:17-18)

As believers we all have been blessed by God by His grace, not our works. In a world that is begging for change, maybe we can be that change?