God's Holy Word by Carolyn

God's Word takes my breath away. I am in awe of how the Holy Spirit speaks to individuals through this Holy Book.

I attended four Bible studies this week. That astounds me!

One of them is quite large, very diverse and primarily for ladies who work during the day. Another is with three of my friends, one of whom is seriously ill. My boon companion, Judy and I often study together, and the fourth is with the three young girls who live next door to me.

Bible Study Fellowship is an international organization for women who study the Bible together. This year we are studying Isaiah. There are 13 women in my group and we are one of 15 groups meeting in the church on Tuesday evenings. Each week we are given Scripture to read, notes on Scripture we've already read and questions. When we are together we discuss them. "Where do you think justice has not prevailed in your life, and what ways have you witnessed God bringing justice into your life?" the leader asked. The response? "Justice has not prevailed in my life because I haven't received the punishment I deserve for my sin. God brought justice into my life when His Son died on the cross for my sin so that I may go free to live eternally with God." Wow.

Four friends learning about heaven came next. "How do we know we are going to heaven?" my ill friend asked. "We have been assured through the Scriptures" another replied. "If we confess our sin, recognize we are unable to save ourselves, and invite Jesus into our lives as our Savior and Lord, we are assured we will be 'sealed' with God's Holy Spirit. Then one of those rooms Jesus is preparing in His Father's house in heaven is reserved for us!"

Then came the "boon companions" Judy and I talking about our Tuesday night Scriptures from Isaiah 40:10. "See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and His arm rules for Him. See, his reward is with Him, and His recompense accompanies Him." We look at this alone. We think separately about what it could mean. We define reward and recompense from the dictionary. As we are doing that, we realize that the wages of our sin are satisfied by the death of Christ. We have been redeemed! We are God's reward! Our sinful natures have been ammended! We, who were lost have been found. Amazing GRACE!

Finally, three girls, ages 7 - 12 are reading about the death of Lararus. They see in John 11 that both Mary and Martha individually ask Jesus why He didn't come earlier and save their brother's life. "Why? Why?" They begin to understand that Jesus has bigger plans than that. But not before He sees the tears the sisters shed and He too weeps at their suffering, at their heartache, at their inability to see what He sees. And the girls see that Jesus understands their own sadness and sorrow, and that sometimes miracles are preceeded by great pain. We need to trust Him. We must wait upon Him. We need to believe that He has bigger plans.

John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God." "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us." The Word became Jesus and Jesus is the Word. That astounds me.

Boon Companions (by Judy)

Twelve years ago this month, I was baptized. Of course since I was raised Episcopalian, I was baptized as an infant. At that time, my family and members of the church agreed to take responsibility for my spiritual growth. I grew up loving the church that I attended - the building, the church calendar and accompanying rituals, the music, and especially the youth fellowship, which was a lot of fun for a teenager.

Then as a young adult I drifted away – a familiar story. When we had a family, I knew it was my responsibility to raise our children the way I had been raised, so they were baptized and confirmed, and we attended church on a sporadic basis, for it was so nice to stay snuggled under the covers on Sunday mornings, listening to Charles Kuralt on CBS and solving Will Short’s puzzles on NPR. There was always guilt, but not enough. There was also a hole, an inexplicable emptiness.

One day, something changed. Again, something inexplicable – but rather than emptiness, warmth and a closeness. "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." I discovered that the Bible was filled with wonder, beauty, conviction, illumination, and clear, direct words for me. It no longer gathered dust on the shelf. A church in a neighboring town became such an special place that Sunday morning was the pinnacle of my week. Words to hymns that I had repeated over and over for decades took on the nature of sermons, revealing towering theology and personal relationships with Jesus. The saints in the mists of the past felt closer than casual friends in the workplace.

And finally, someone else joined me as I walked this new path – a boon companion. We discovered that pouring ourselves cups of coffee and opening the Bible together, planning and producing a monthly TV program called “I Love to Tell the Story,” going on the road with presentations to women’s groups in small rural churches, facilitating summer Bible studies, and simply talking about our faith in odd locations like local bars strengthened us way beyond what we could have done alone. As Proverbs says, “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.”

Twelve years ago, we were both baptized again in front of our church, friends and family – this time in full knowledge of what such a public acknowledgement means. Though we don’t know what the future holds, and our service may go in different directions, the horizontal bar of the Cross of Jesus holds us together, while the vertical bar points our gaze always upward. Proof of such a bond is that this boon companion, dear Carolyn, has agreed at our age to begin a study of GREEK, and she gave me the salt and pepper shakers in the photo above, so that my Jack will know that he is #1, at least here on earth!
Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together. Psalm 34:3

"Give us a watchword for the hour,

A thrilling word, a word of power

A battle cry, a flaming breath,

A call to conquest or to death:

A word to rouse the church from rest,

To heed the Master's high behest.

The call is given, ye hosts arise,

The Watchword is EVANGELIZE!

To fallen men, a dying race,

Make known the gift of gospel grace.

The world that now in darkness lies,

O Church of Christ, EVANGELIZE!

The call of Christ is unmistakeable. It is all over the Bible. "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" Matthew 28:18-20.

"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." Acts 1:8

"O, son of man, I have set thee a watchman...therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me...if thou dost NOT speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand." Ezekiel 33:7-8

"Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matthew 5:13-16

We have our marching orders. The price for an immortal soul cannot be fixed. Think about it. Is there any trouble too great, any humiliation so deep, any suffering too severe, any love too strong, any labor too hard, any expense too great, to spend on an effort to win a soul?

God loves His people more than anything He has created. He created us in His image. God has bought every soul back. We are "twice bought." Once at creation and once again from the "desires of the flesh." Satan uses the flesh to snare the people God created in His image. He will stop at nothing. He uses all his energy, his utmost cuning, he will employ any means for the single purpose of ruining a soul.

As God's people, we must recommit ourselves in 2011 to this mission. We must dedicate our lives to lost souls. We must commit ourselves to seeing unbelievers become committed followers of Jesus Christ. We have no choice. It is Christ's call.

"O where is that mysterious line

That may by men be crossed,

Beyond which God Himself hath sworn,

That he who goes is lost?

An answer from the skies repeats,

'Ye who from God depart,'

TODAY, O hear His voice,

TODAY repent and harden not your heart.'

Joseph Addison Alexander

True Grit (by Judy)

As I sit at the computer on January 1st, 2011, there are so many things to write about that I hardly know where to begin. My plate has been full, literally and figuratively as we have entertained friends and family, enjoying the blessings of each one. In the end though, I am turning away from the end-of-year events, and toward a movie we recently saw – True Grit.

This film moved me in ways that were completely unexpected, from the sometimes lilting, sometimes chilling thread of music – “Leaning on His Everlasting Arms” -often sung in church, but never with such haunting intensity, to the clarity of purpose modeled by a slender 14 year old girl from Arkansas. I should have known from the opening screen with a verse from Proverbs, but it was only as the film progressed that I understood the deep reflection of Christian values – a reliance on God’s providence, remorse and confession from a condemned man about to hang, a sense of justice and redemption, and a beautiful line spoken by the heroine - “You pay for everything in this world. There is nothing free, except the grace of God.”

Since I saw the movie, I have been reflecting on the word “grit.” It is doubly on my mind, for I received a yearlong subscription to magazine called GRIT from a co-worker – a reflection of my final job at school of farm manager. I have seen grit a lot recently – not the granules of sand that is the first definition, but rather the more heroic meaning, an indomitable spirit, or pluck.

I have seen it in the 24 piglets who share a cold, dark, snow-covered century-old barn with 11 sheep; in the brave, and stoic acceptance of chronic pain in a family member; in a sister-in-law who finds humor while living among the infirm and hard of hearing; and in the Bible, especially in my hero Joshua – he who saw mere men instead of giants, who led a raggle-taggle band to make walls come tumbling down; and who at the end of his life declared, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Where does grit come from? For awhile, it may come from within. But ultimately, when we humans realize that we can’t manage a situation on our own, it must come from reliance on One Stronger. In the movie, for awhile young Mattie could rely on Rooster, but her true grit came from Leaning on His Everlasting Arms!

Moving Mountains by Carolyn

"I don't feel good. " My husband spoke those infamous words the Thursday before Thanksgiving. "What do you mean?" I asked. "I don't know. I just don't feel good." That narrows it right down! That began a series of skirmishes that lasted a month. The good news is the Lord still moved the mountains!

Pneumonia clobbered him the next day. Out of the blue he fell ill and stayed that way until the Tuesday AFTER Thanksgiving when our children from San Francisco arrived to celebrate a delayed Thanksgiving and an early Christmas. The Saturday AFTER they left we both woke up with laryngitis. That cleared up almost a week later, the day we flew to Oregon for our grandson's first birthday. The day AFTER we arrived home we woke up with sore throats. It is Christmas Day now and there is a sweet repose in this house. Silence! No one is coughing!

And we spent the most incredible Christmas Eve, first at church, then as guests of my sweet sister in Christ, Judy and her family.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him." He could have chosen not to send those viruses packing. He could have chosen something far more serious than viruses to challenge us. But I choose to thank Him for providing ways for us to be together at this holiday time as a family. The Lord moves mountains for families all the time.

As I reflect on the little family that found its way through the dark of night to that manger in Bethlehem I see how much the Lord values families. He was with them throughout their travels and travails and He was with us through ours. He moves mountains. Mountains and battles belong to the Lord. All we have to do is trust Him, obey Him and get out of His way!

Joy to the World (by Judy)

Last weekend our church held its annual Christmas Concert. It is a huge effort, with choir rehearsals starting in September, and the audio and visual team working long hours in the days before the first presentation. Of course many churches have similar presentations with every bit as much work preceding the actual event.

In our case, the music was ethereal, combining a large chorus with beautiful orchestration and even a gospel group to ramp up the worship and the swaying of bodies and arms. They filled us all with special joy for they were from an area college, and though sounding like they represented the First Baptist Church of Jackson, Mississippi, they actually were a blend of fair Caucasian faces and their lovely darker counterparts.

Enhancing the worshipful music was the team of media workers, my dear friends, for we labor side by side every Sunday. They had slides that arched across the ceiling of the church and down the sides, spots of various colors, video, unobtrusive smoke-generating machines, and at one point silhouettes playing jazz instruments in rhythm with the musical score. It was most impressive!

When I returned to school Monday, filled with happiness that everything went so well, that there were no major disasters, that it was over, and in hopes that through it all, the Lord was glorified and the pastor’s message heard, within five minutes of my arrival a fellow worker came to my door – someone who had never been to my church, and only attended the concert at the invitation of a church member. She spent the first moments reviewing everything I wrote about above – and then she spent the rest of our considerable time together telling me how amazed her family was by the PEOPLE. The man next to them, an elder, who welcomed them, embraced them and entertained them. The row of respectful teenagers behind them, choosing to spend their Saturday night at church rather than partying. Those around them who greeted them, chatted with them, swayed with them, and invited them to return.

That is what they took away from our concert – welcoming, loving, joyful people. The body of Christ. The music and special effects came and went. The precious aroma of God’s people lingered. The first way to understand the incredible grace, mercy and love of Jesus, is to see it reflected in those who follow Him!

Refrigerator Gospel

Sometimes in our church bulletin there are quotes that inspire me, or challenge me, provoke me or convict me. Sometimes they make me laugh, especially when they are written by children, or church secretaries who may have misplaced modifiers or typing errors. Or, I might find a thought that so intrigues me I want to remember it, so I post it on my refrigerator since I spend a lot of time there. I didn't stop to think they might be great fodder for discussion!

Twice in the recent past, guests read my refrigerator and called me to account. As I type this I am reminded of Paul's words, "Preach the Word. Be prepared in season and out..." 2Timothy 4:2. "Be prepared, that's the Boy Scout marching song." Note to self, "Be prepared. Remember that."

Both quotes are short. My brother, who is not yet a Christian, read this one and took immediate offense. "Until men know themselves better, they will care very little to know Christ at all." John Owen 1616-1683 "How come this says until "MEN" know themselves better. Why single out men for this accusation? What's the big idea?" I felt the hair go up on the back of my neck, and quickly I sent up an arrow prayer.

My brother is no slouch. He has his Ph.D and was the chancellor of a fine mid-western college for years. "You are right," I said. "Absolutely, right. It should say, 'Until huMANity knows itself better, it will care very little to know Christ at all.' Point taken." And Whoosh...the wind went right out of his sails! Gender studies must have been a big part of his college curricula.

Later, my son and his wife, who are also not yet Christians came to visit from California. This is the quote that had them laughing hysterically. "A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ that a man should have to seek Him to find her." No author given. I love that! Maybe it helps to be a Christian to take a crack at understanding it. I'm not sure I understand it, but I sure like it! "If that were true," my son said, "it would have taken me another 6 weeks to find my wife." Laughter. "If that were true," my daughter-in-law said, "He never would have found me!" More laughter.

(Insert another arrow prayer here) "Make fun if you like," I said, "but don't forget when trials come to me, as they surely will, Christ will carry me through, so I don't have to bug the two of you!" Ooooh...that seemed to sober them up pretty fast and the conversation suddenly became a tad accusatory. "Why do you Christians refuse to hang around sinners?" my daughter-in-law asked. "What? I AM a sinner and I have to hang around with me! Christianity says we are all sinners. The Gospel says, "In Jesus, God forgives us." Sometimes with synical not yet believers you have to be quick and right to the point!

"You can't shake her." my son said. "You might as well quit trying." "Hallelujah!" I thought. "Thank you Jesus, for keeping me!"