God of all comfort

The Shunammite Woman

And so she departed, and went to the man of God at Mount Carmel.  So it was, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to his servant Gehazi, "Look, the Shunammite woman!  Please run now to meet her and say to her, 'Is it well with you?  Is it well with your husband?  Is it well with the child?'"  And she answered, "It is well."  Now when she came to the man of God at the hill, she caught him by the feet, but Gehazi came near to push her away.  But the man of God said, "Let her alone; for her soul is in deep distress." -2 Kings 4:25-27

The Shunammite woman had just lost her only child to death.  Her husband could not help her.  Elisha’s servant could not help her.  There was only one who could.  She went straight to the man that represented God. 

Sometimes there are things in our lives that are so heart-wrenching that no human agent can comfort us.  But there is One we can go to.  We have a great High Priest that has passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God.  So let us hold fast to Him, for He is a high priest who is touched with the feeling of our infirmities.  He knows our anguish, and He cares. 

In March 2001 I received a telephone call informing me that my three year old nephew had been killed in a car accident.  I lay on my bed sobbing.  All I could do was cry out, “Oh, God!  My God!”  

Sometimes the hurt in our lives is so deep that we do not even have the ability to formulate the words to express our agony of soul.  But in those times, God is there, and He has already made provision for us.  “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” (Romans 8:26)

That day the Lord proved Himself to me to be the Comforter.  He held me in His arms like a little child.  When hard things come into your life, go straight to the Lord.  Let Him comfort you.  He is the God of all comfort.

Workers at Home

The next thought we want to remember after "pure" is "workers at home". My daughter got a hard hat last summer to wear where she worked at a gas plant in Wyoming. I put it on with an apron and took my picture with the tools I use to work at home. Of course there are many other tools that we use as we work at home but I am hoping these will remind us of the words...workers at home.

Let's review again!

Reaching Children with the Gospel

Do you have a heart to reach children in your area with the gospel?  
Then you need to go to where they are.

This past school year, I was blessed to work with one of my sisters-in-law teaching a Bible club that meets in a public elementary school.  We do it under the auspices of Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF).  CEF is a Bible-centered ministry that reaches out to share the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ with children throughout the world.  The goal is to see children brought to faith in Christ, and then discipled and established in a Bible-believing local church.  

Did you say public school?  Is that legal?  
Yes, I did, and yes, it is!

In 2001 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Good News Clubs v. Milford Central School that Good News Clubs can meet in public schools in the United States after school hours on the same terms as other community groups. Children attend Good News Club only with their parents' permission.  (Excerpt taken from Child Evangelism Fellowship website) 

Good News Club is the name of the after-school Bible clubs affiliated with CEF which meet after school hours once a week in the public schools.  To help in a Good News Club, some training is required, but I found it to be extremely beneficial and personally encouraging.  

During the club time, the children sing songs which teach doctrinal truths, are taught and work on memorizing a Bible verse, have a Bible lesson (using CEF materials, which I have found to be very well-written), and then play a review game to reinforce what they have learned.  

Working with these children can be physically and emotionally draining.  It can be heart-breaking as they share with you some of the situations they deal with in their homes on a daily basis.  But it is an opportunity for you to share the love of Christ with them and to let them see, through His Word and through your own life, the reality of who He is.  

If you have any questions as to how you can start, or be part of, a Good News Club in your area, check out the CEF website for more information at www.cefonline.com.

"Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; 

for of such is the kingdom of God."

(Mark 10:14b)

Great Expectations and Disappointment

It has taken me way longer than it should have, but I have learned something that helps me to be happy. It seems like an obvious conclusion, but it wasn't apparent to me for a long time.

Are you ready for the big reveal? Okay so it's not that big of a deal, but I have learned that when I have expectations of how things are going to go, I am often disappointed.

    I am especially susceptible to expectations of grandeur when going on road trips. I guess I've watched too many movies of families on vacation with windows down (no one ends up windblown), smiles on their faces and fun travel music being sung by all. They never have to stop along the road for a bathroom break five minutes after an official break at a fabulously clean gas station. No one squabbles over where to sit. No gets cranky after being in a car seat for hours on end. There aren't any random bits falling out when they open the doors. The truly romantic life.

   My reality isn't like that. And when I expect it to look like the movies, I am disappointed. It's not that our travel hasn't been fun. It's just that life isn't a hallmark moment. Life is real. I need to embrace the good parts and get over the not so wonderful parts.

   The truth I need to remember is that life isn't about me and my expectations. I am here not to have a wonderful, fulfilling life the way that movies and hallmark like to portray it. I don't find happiness and fulfillment looking for perfection. I find it when I give up my selfish desires and allow myself to be blessed by the little imperfect moments.

Pure

To remember pure we picture a glass of water.  

Let's review again!

We ought always to pray and not lose heart

Until the Day Breaks...  is a book written by Patricia St. John about the life and work of Lilias Trotter, a missionary to Muslims in North Africa in the early 1900's.  In the book she includes a story that has been an encouragement to me to persevere in prayer.
I share the excerpt with you here:



     In a small booklet called Vibrations, Miss Trotter told of a day when the wall of her house had suddenly, without warning, fallen inwards.  She had sent for a builder to repair it but he first asked to investigate the cause.  On returning from his exploratory trip outside he explained that the kneading machine in the baker's shop next door had been vibrating against her wall every night for twenty years, gradually weakening the structure.  Every stroke of the seesaw-like machine had done its work but only the last had brought about the destruction.
     She believed with all her heart in that vibration of prayer that would gradually but insistently weaken the solid front of Islam.  For forty years she did her part and died content, and we who follow have sought to carry on that quiet rhythm.  Already there are those cracks in the wall of which we may not speak, but she knew and we know that not one vibrations is lost.  Every one does its work and we cannot tell how soon or how late the great barrier will crumble.  May God grant us the patience to live in faith and hope and, if necessary, to die not disappointed, because- "The vision is yet for an appointed time.  It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail.  Though it tarries, wait for it; for it will certainly come, it will not delay." (Habakkuk 2:3)

Persevere in prayer and don't lose heart!

To be sensible

We are back to memorizing with pictures, so far we have learned;

Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, 

Not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine,

Teaching what is good,

So they may encourage the young women 

To love their husbands, 

To love their children, 

Today we add the third thing that young women need to be encouraged to do;

To be sensible, 

Cents in a bowl (sensible)

Do you keep your cents in a bowl? I actually keep my spare change in a cup but it seemed sensible to put these cents in a bowl to remind us to be sensible. 

There are seven things listed in Titus 2 that the older women are to encourage the young women to do, we have four more to go. If you are just starting to memorize Titus 2:3,4,5 you might want to look at the links below.

Review Titus 2:3,4
Titus 2:3 Memory Verse
Not Malicious Gossips

Nor Enslaved to Much Wine

Teaching what is good

A lesson in love and humility

As you all know, I struggle knowing what to wear on Sunday and had decided to post on Saturday what I was going to wear on Sunday. I would like to get back to doing that as a discipline for myself. My poll of my two readers showed that 50 per cent found my posts on what to wear helpful and the other 50 percent had no interest in my struggles and could not relate.

This Sunday I was doing well, I had my dress laid out with shoes, and necklace. Woke up on time got showered, dressed, hair done, make up on, even put make up on my bare legs since my feet were going into sandals. I was looking good and still had a hour before we had to leave. After cleaning up breakfast I read scripture in preparation for the worship service. My husband let me know that it was time to go so I hopped in the car, happy and feeling some what proud that my morning was going well. 

We arrive at chapel and I look down as I swing my feet out of the car and to my horror and astonishment what do I see? My feet are covered in my fluffy pink paint splattered crocks. Now what's a girl to do? It is to late to turn around. My sensible young friends keep a comfortable pair of flip flops in their cars to slip on after they take off their high heels but alas I am no Girl Scout and have no spare shoes. Nor do any of them wear a size 10.  Would you take off your shoes and go barefoot? Could I? This is what I am thinking. After vetoing the bare foot idea, my husband suggests I walk in wearing my trophy shoes and sit down as fast as possible and he will follow later. So being the sweet submissive wife that I am, that is what I do after greeting four or five people grinning ear to ear. Even though embarrassed I am getting quite tickled at my predicament since I always say that the worse part of dress clothes are the shoes.

During break time my older southern belle friends wonder how I hurt my feet, I tell them there is nothing wrong with my feet it is my brain that is the problem. They laugh along with me, I suspect it has happened to them before they just won't admit it.

My husband is not really embarrassed and takes me out eat with another couple and we have a lovely time together. This was a humbling experience but the dear people at chapel showed love and acceptance toward me. I think dressing for chapel just got a little less stressful.

I have a question about Hell…

Kids think about eternity.  They ask serious questions.  Here are just a few of the questions that were posed after our Bible club lesson on Hell.

Let’s go to God's Word and see how to answer them.

What happens if I die and go to hell, but then I want to go to Heaven?

Hebrews 9:27 is very clear.  “It is appointed for men to die once, and after this comes judgment.”  When your body dies, the real you that lives inside your body (your soul and spirit) will step into eternity.  Where you spend eternity is based on the choice you make in this life.  In Luke 16:26, the rich man in Hell was told that there is “a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.”  You cannot change your mind about your eternal destiny after you die. 

Do people who go to Hell have to work for Satan?

Contrary to what many people think, Satan is NOT the boss of Hell. 

Hell was created as the place of eternal punishment for the angel Lucifer (who then became known as Satan/the Devil) when he rebelled against God.  It is a place of “everlasting destruction away from the presence of the Lord” (2 Thessalonians 1:9) 

Revelation 20:10 says that “the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone… and will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

Satan has no authority in Hell.

I know I’m not good enough to get into Heaven, but I don’t think that I’m bad enough to go to Hell.

The question is not how good or bad you are.  The fact is you have sinned.  We all have.  And your sin separates you from God.  If you die without having your sin problem taken care of, you will spend eternity separated from God.  God wants you to spend eternity with Him in Heaven, but He knows that you are not good enough to get there on your own.  That is why He made a made a way that you can have your sins forgiven.  He sent His own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die in your place.  “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.” (1 Peter 3:18)  Because Jesus died and rose again for you, you can receive a living Saviour who will forgive your sins and give you the gift of eternal life.  

So the real question is:  What have you done with the Saviour?  God’s Word is very clear- “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (John 3:36)

There are only two options for you when it comes to a relationship with the Lord Jesus- receive Him or reject Him.  And there are only two options when it comes to eternity- Heaven or Hell.