Christmas Is…

“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means God with us).” – Matthew 1:22-23 (ESV)

Christmas is ‘God with us,’

‘Immanuel His name.’

In the fullness of time

The Lord Jesus came,

Fulfillment of prophecy

In God’s plan for mankind,

To restore broken kinship

And bring peace of mind

To all who draw near

With faith deep in the heart.

This is the message

That Christmas imparts.

Christmas is Love Incarnate,

The Word made flesh;

A break through the darkness

From sin that enmeshed

Mankind in bondage

For multitudinous years.

Angels declared the message:

“Rejoice! Have no fears

For behold, we bring you

This message of peace:

“Christ is born in Bethlehem”

Sin’s bondage will cease!”

Think how our gratitude

Should swell up in praise;

Let us serve Christ the Lord

Through all of our days!

“Christmas is the day

That holds all time together.”*

Christmas is “God with us.”

Let no power that bond sever.

-Ethelene Dyer Jones

*”Christmas is the day that holds all time together.” -a quotation by Alexander Smith.

Prayer: May the deep meaning of Christmas permeate our hearts and minds on this Christmas day and give us hope for living a victorious life in the year 2017. Amen. - Ethelene Dyer Jones 12.25.2016

The Compassion of the Lord – A Messianic Prophecy

“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and our labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast sure love for David.” – Isaiah 55:1-4 (ESV).

      Beginning with Isaiah 54 and continuing through Isaiah 55, the prophet changes from the Suffering Servant and vicarious sufferer theme, both of which Christ became in His life. Isaiah 54 declares the eternal covenant of peace with the invitation: “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtain of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.” (Isaiah 54:2). The prophet also told of the splendor of the kingdom and its domains: “I will set your stones in antimony and lay your foundations with sapphires. I will make your pinnacles of agate, and your gates of carbuncles, and all your wall of precious stones” (Isaiah 54:11b-12). Many, in anticipating the coming of the Ruling Messiah, saw Isaiah’s prophecy as the ushering in of and age of prosperity and wealth. Since they had endured much at the hands of oppressing nations, they would welcome restoration. They wanted their holy city of Jerusalem rebuilt with the finest materials available. But was God meaning a literal restoration of the kingdom of Israel? Or did he intend this picture from our focal passage to provide a glimpse into the eternal city prepared in heaven for the faithful?

      The invitation that opens Isaiah 55 is all-inclusive: “Come, everyone who thirsts…” God invites everyone to receive His blessings. Who doesn’t have need for water? Water difficulties and loss of water even for a short period cause great concern. Thirsting, the need for water is a universal condition. God’s invitation in this Messianic prophecy is for everyone. Farther on in Isaiah 55:6-7, he urges: “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” Seeking the Lord, returning to Him, and appropriating His compassion are part of the believer’s beginning in the new kingdom. God offers salvation to all, but each individual must make the move toward God and accept His offer of help and salvation.

      Isaiah’s prophecy reminds us of Jesus feeding over five thousand, a miracle recorded in all four gospels (see, beginning with these references and following the account: Matthew 14:15, Mark 6:35, Luke 9:12 and John 6:1). Jesus, in His ministry, was moved with compassion on the crowds. He performed the miracle of feeding, but he also healed the sick, cast out demons, raised the dead. He was the Messiah acting to meet people’s needs. When the crowd followed Jesus still expecting a constant hand-out without working for what they received, He reprimanded them: “You seek me not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man shall give to you, for on Him the Father, even God, has set his seal (John 6:26-27, NASV). Asking how they might do the works of God, Jesus answered, “This is the work of God that you believe in Him whom He has sent” (John 6:29) Jesus’ word to them was a direct fulfillment of the invitation prophecy given by Isaiah. Note the strong verbs in Isaiah’s invitation: “come, come, come; listen, incline (your ear), hear! All these denote actions prior to receiving “the food that endures to eternal life.” The steps are to go to the Messiah, seek Him with the whole heart, hear His words and accept Him as Savior. The actions of these verbs—go, seek, hear, accept—also precede a fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy in 54:13: All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children.”

      Prayer: Lord, especially at Christmas time when we are prone to join in the secular rush of the season, help us to hear and heed Your plea to “Come…take of the water of life.” Help us to “hear…that our soul may live.” In Jesus’ name. Amen. - Ethelene Dyer Jones 12.18.2016

Abraham’s Seed to Bless the Gentiles…A Messianic Prophecy

“And in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice. I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, and statutes, and my laws.” -Genesis 22:18; 16:4 (ESV).

      When God promised to bless all the nations of the earth through Abraham’s offspring, the context was extremely impressive. Abraham had undergone a great test of his faith. He heard God’s command to him to offer as a sacrifice his son Isaac. He went to the mountain with his son to perform the act of sacrifice. God intervened and stayed Abraham’s hand from killing Isaac. The writer of Hebrews in later centuries noted: “He (Abraham) considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back” (Hebrews 11:19). The commendation from God was that Abraham had obeyed His command. He had carried through on the intent to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. Was this act on the part of Abraham—offering his son—not a foretaste of same type of sacrifice God Himself made in offering His only begotten Son as a propitiation for sin? The Messiah was in the ancestral lineage of Abraham. Through the Messiah all the nations of the earth have been blessed, are still being blessed, and will continue to be blessed.

      In Genesis 26:4, the word of promise is to Isaac, Abraham’s son. The covenant was continuing. At that time, a great famine was in Israel. Isaac went to Gerar to King Abimelech of the Philistines no doubt to seek help with food due to the severe famine. God appeared to Isaac, telling him not go into Egypt (as Abraham had done at the time of a previous famine [see Genesis 12:10]). Then God renewed basically the same covenant as He had made with Abraham, Isaac’s father. He promised Isaac his offspring would be as numerous as the stars of the heavens because Abraham, his father, had obeyed God’s voice, kept his charges, his commandment, his statutes, and his laws (see Genesis 26:5). An amazing truth about this promise made to Isaac is that he was a person with flaws of character—not perfect by any means. But through people, as imperfect as they are, God accomplishes His purposes. Did this promise made to Isaac come true? Here is the response from Paul the Apostle: Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, ‘and to offsprings, referring to many, but referring to one. ‘And to your offspring,’ who is Christ” (Galatians 3:16). In Hebrews 6:13 we read: “For when God made a promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater by whom to swear, He swore by himself, saying, ‘Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” God’s promises are guaranteed by God’s own perfect and trustworthy character. There is no one greater than God who can assure the promises He Himself makes. God’s oath for blessing all the nations of the earth through “the offspring”—the Messiah—was made upon God’s own character. From the days of Abraham until the seed of Abraham came to Bethlehem to enter earth in human form as a tiny Baby, God was working out the pledge He had made to Abraham and to Isaac. Wrapped up in that tiny Baby in a manager was the means of blessing all the nations of the earth. And “the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations,” (Mark 13:10) which is a sign of the close of the age. Until then, we basically have the same work as assigned to Abraham: “to obey God’s voice, to keep His charge, His commandments, His statutes and His laws.”

      Prayer: Lord, it is amazing to think that we now are the recipients of the promise made to Abraham and to Isaac. Thank You for working Your purposes out through ordinary people with extraordinary assignments until finally Jesus came a baby who was Emmanuel, God with us, to save God’s people from their sins. And, Lord, that same Emmanuel will come again to reign in Glory. Thanks be to God. We rejoice! Amen! - Ethelene Dyer Jones 12.11.2016

God’s Promise, God’s Command

“No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.” -Joshua 1:5-7 (ESV).

      Joshua was a leader after God’s own heart. Moses, the great leader of Israel, had just died. Joshua had been named his successor. Ahead of him lay the task of possessing the Promised land for the Israelites. His was not an easy task, as Joshua often led an unbelieving, grumbling, hard-to-please large, large group of people. We are told that the Israelites numbered “six hundred thousand men on foot” (that is, those men who were able to walk and engage in battle, not counting the crippled, infirm, and elderly that might have had to be carried on a litter or to ride in carts or on animals). Not included in that great number under Joshua, the new leader’s command, were the great number of women and children in the Israelite camp, awaiting entrance into the Promised Land.

      Many battles lay ahead for Joshua, the new leader. God reminded him to be “strong and courageous.” He had a heavy responsibility and recognized his need for dependence upon God. Following conquest of the land, and settlement by tribes, Joshua called the leaders together at Shechem, a major city, and there the covenant was renewed between people and the Lord God. Joshua’s statement was firm and positive, and established his stand for God before the people: “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15b). His statement was his commitment and indicated his manner of life. He was a leader after God’s own heart.

      A summary of Joshua’s leadership is found in Joshua 24:31: “Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, and had known all the work that the Lord did for Israel.”

      We learn from this inspiring account of Joshua and his time as commander of Israel that a strong, God-fearing, courageous leader can make a decided difference in a nation. The lesson also teaches us that individuals with purpose and commitment can be used mightily of God to set the course of righteousness for themselves and others. God’s promise for such a leader is: “I will be with you; I will not leave your or forsake you.” God’s command for such a person is “Do not turn from Me to the right hand or to the left.” Recognizing God’s strength, the committed person’s courage and following God are keys to a job well done and are according to God’s purpose. - Ethelene Dyer Jones 12.04.2016

Signs of the End Times

As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?’ And Jesus answered them, ‘See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come’” -Matthew 24:3-14 (ESV).

      Matthew chapters 24 and 25 are termed by scholars the “Olivet Discourse,” or teachings of Jesus to His disciples as they were on the Mt. of Olives. This mountain is the middle peak of a two and one-half mile long mountain ridge that towers over the eastern side of Jerusalem. The Mount of Olives rises over two hundred feet about the Temple mount located across the Kidron Valley. At this place Jesus gave His disciples some very cogent and deep teachings about the end times and the tribulation period that will precede the Lord’s second coming (return) to earth.

      In the focal passage from Matthew 24:3-14, Jesus gave several significant events that will occur at the beginning of this period. Religious deception will be very evident (vv. 4-5, 11). Wars and rumors of war will be experienced (v. 6). Famine will be widespread. Earthquakes will be prevalent. Persecution of Christians will occur resulting in their martyrdom. One positive is that “the gospel of the kingdom” will be preached throughout the whole world before the end comes. People of all nations will have an opportunity to hear and know about Jesus the Lord before the end comes. And who will help to hasten this fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy concerning the end times? This will be done by Christians who are faithful in telling those they know about salvation through belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. When Christians tell others, we help to hasten the day of the Lord’s coming. This task began very shortly after Jesus ascended into heaven. We recall the command Jesus gave His disciples: “Go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20, ESV).

      Followers of the Lord Jesus Christ have already been commissioned to be faithful in telling others of the good news of the Savior and of His return to earth. All of us may not go as ambassadors. But we all can be faithful in praying for those who go to preach and teach and we can give to support our mission causes around the world.

      Many, like the first disciples, ask “What are the signs of Your coming and of the close of the age?” We must admit that many of these signs have already occurred or are now occurring. In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus told His disciples: “You must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Matthew 24:34). Be ready. Be alert. But Christians should go beyond looking and wondering about the second coming of Christ. They should be about the task of spreading the Word and fulfilling the Great Commission to go and tell all people. This is the will of God concerning us as we anticipate the Day of Jesus’ return to earth. - Ethelene Dyer Jones 11.27.2016

Developing an Attitude of Gratitude

“Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of a reverence for Christ.” -Ephesians 5:20-11.”Pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” -1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 (ESV).

     This is our Thanksgiving season, a special time set aside in November to give thanks. Do we consider the seriousness of giving thanks, and how the Word of God urges us to “give thanks for everything,” and to “give thanks in all circumstances?”

     Most of us have difficulty overcoming the inability to “give thanks for all things” and “in all circumstances.”

     What about illness of self or one dear to us? Can we give thanks in this circumstance?

     Or what about hard times, some situation or event that clearly challenges every effort we can engage just to subsist or live through it? But to give thanks in it? That is difficult indeed.

     I recently heard a man’s son give a beautiful eulogy of his deacon father at the man’s memorial service. In the remarks about his loving and stalwart Christian father, the son recounted how his father always taught his children that they are strengthened by adversity and can, indeed thank the Lord for trying circumstances. Accepting the difficult situations as times to gain strength and to grow closer to the Lord and depend upon Him for guidance helps one to grow in character. If we can remember to be thankful in circumstances and to depend upon God’s guidance to bring us through whatever we are facing, victory surely will be ours. We will come through the period of trial a stronger and more understanding person.

     To develop an attitude of gratitude means to sincerely seek to have a spirit of thanksgiving every day. It is good upon arising to quote sincerely Psalm 118:24: “This is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” In this way, the believer starts on a plane of gratitude and it will be more likely that throughout the day his spirit will rejoice and seek that which is uplifting and inspirational, even in hard situations.

     As we count our blessings this Thanksgiving, and give God glory for bringing us safely through another year, may we also give consideration to cultivating an attitude of gratitude that will help us every day to count our blessings and be grateful for the difficult circumstances as well as those that are happy, manageable and don’t require extreme effort.

     This exercise should help us to see that God is good, all the time, and every circumstance holds something good for those who love the Lord and seek to do His will. - Ethelene Dyer Jones 11.20.2016

Qualities of a Christian’s Character

"For this very reason make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours, and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”-2 Peter 1:6-11 (ESV).

     Writing about 67 A. D. from prison in Rome, Peter, facing imminent death as a martyr to the faith, wanted again to write to the churches in Asia Minor to encourage them in their own persecution and to give them strong pointers on living an effective Christian life. He encourages Christians to remember how they were called into God’s own “excellence and glory,” (v. 3) and that their lives should reflect qualities of the divine nature.

     I like to think that the qualities of Christian Character Peter advocates are like giant steps upward to a life of effectiveness for the Christian while at the same time providing an example to be emulated by those who are weaker in the faith. Imagine the qualities as steps upward to godliness. Here are the qualities for which each believer should strive: Faith (the foundation); virtue (growing in grace); knowledge (really loving to study and practice the Word, the Bible); self-control (as the Christian learns scriptural truths, he puts them into practice in his life and is able to really live as a devoted Christian; steadfastness (another term is faithfulness); godliness (putting on Christ-like characteristics of humility, understanding and service); brotherly affection (loving one another, caring for one another); and finally, reaching the step of love (unconditional and God-inspired).

The graphic is hard for me to draw here, but draw a set of steps and write these eight qualities of Christian Character on the steps as a reminder that we are always striving to emulate the character of Jesus in our daily life and walk. And the striving is always upward.

     These characteristics are akin to the fruit of the Holy Spirit Paul admonished Christians to seek after and practice in their daily lives. From Ephesians 5: 22-23 we learn: “But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

     Knowing Christ and following Him makes a vast difference in our own life and in how we relate to others around us. If we have made “our calling and election sure” as Peter writes in 2 Peter 1: 10, then it follows that we should be changed and become active in helping others to know Christ so that they, too, may begin that glorious climb upward in attaining a lifestyle pleasing to the Lord Christ and exemplified by virtuous living. - Ethelene Dyer Jones 11.13.2016

God Intervenes to Establish His Honor

“‘Now therefore what have I here,’ declares the Lord, ‘seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Their rulers wail,’ declares the Lord, ‘and continually all the day my name is despised. Therefore my people shall know my name. Therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak: here am I. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, Your God reigns.” -Isaiah 52:5-7 (ESV)

     Isaiah in his prophecy wrote at a time when chaos and conquest of the land by foreign, pagan powers was foreseen and was occurring. His writing establishes the sovereignty of God and pleads for true believers to return to God as the One in charge.

     We in America are in a period of unrest and agitation as we seek to choose the next president of our country. Our own rebellion as a nation reminds us of conditions of disbelief and departure from the statutes of God that Isaiah warned about in his time. He prophesied from about 740 B. C., beginning, as we are told in Isaiah 6:1 “in the year that King Uzziah died.” He recorded the death of Sennacherib (37:38) dated at 681 B. C. This 60-year period in Israel’s history carries a strong central theme espoused by the God-inspired prophet who declares unequivocally that God is the glorious central figure who is Sovereign of the whole world (13:1). Regardless of what man does to thwart God, He is supreme. His cleansing touch atones for sin, seen in the vision of the coal from the altar touching the lips of the prophet with the declaration, “your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for” (Isaiah 6:7b). But as Isaiah, who was willing to accept God’s cleansing and become the spokesman for God for which he was called and set apart, we in our troubled day must experience, too, a turning to God.

     Note in Isaiah 52:6 what God requires of us: “my people shall know My Name.”

Oh, that God’s people would commit themselves anew to walk in the light of the Lord: “Come, now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 1:18-20). These are very plain words from the Lord through the prophet Isaiah. History has proven them true through centuries of kingdoms that have risen and fallen. Is not this a clarion call to us today? Return, return to the Lord. Recognize Him as Sovereign and Lord. - Ethelene Dyer Jones 11.06.2016

Living in Humility

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. – 1 Peter 5:6-7 (ESV) [Read 1 Peter 5:6-11]

     Peter the Apostle was bringing his first epistle to an end. Writing about 62-64 A. D. when Nero was the Emperor of the Roman Empire and persecution of Christians was rampant throughout all the lands to which believers had been dispersed, Peter wanted to give them encouragement, despite great difficulties. He urged them to continue living in humble submission to the precepts they had been taught of being a follower of Christ.

     Despite the civil conditions under which they live, they are to remember that they are under “the mighty hand of God,” the same hand that brought the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage and led them in the Exodus and to possess the Promised Land. The same God was active in leading and keeping believers in Peter’s time, and extends to our time on earth. Like the gospel song reminds us, “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.” Although times be hard, then and now, and holding onto faith may bring difficulties to the believer, humility and faith are to be practiced consistently.

     Time had different meanings in Peter’s day, as it does in our own. The Greek word for chronological time, chronos, has to do with seconds, minutes, hours, days, years, decades, centuries. Kairos time referred to an occasion when something can be marked as occurring, or an appointed time. In the context of this verse, “at the proper time” is God’s appointed time when difficulties will be lifted and rewards for faithful service will come. Know assuredly, Peter writes, that God “cares for you” whether reckoned in chronos or in kairos time.

     God has promised to take care of all who suffer “at the proper time” and will reward those who are humble and faithful. Peter, in admonishing the faithful followers to be humble, submitting to God’s leadership, reminded them of the promise from Psalm 55:22: “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.”

     God is not distant and detached, but watches with providential care over those who trust in Him and humbly follow Him. But at the same time Peter warned that the devil, that adversary whom Christians fear and who seeks to turn them aside from following God purposefully, is “as a roaring lion, looking for whom he may devour.” This resistance to staying on the Way with Christ is common to all believers and we must keep vigilant watch lest we stray. Peter wanted followers to understand, assuredly, that “the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (1 Peter 5:10b).

     The Christian is thus to know that his help is from the Lord, as the Psalmist so aptly stated, “who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1b). To recognize God in His sovereign majesty is to take on humility.

     This week I am in the mountains of North Georgia, a place where I was reared and where I return again and again for inspiration and because of love of place that nurtured me well when I was young and impressionable. With such beauty and majesty stretching about me, I cannot help but wonder: “Who am I, that God should regard me?” With such thoughts, and upon consideration of God’s majesty and care, I am greatly humbled, and grateful at the thought that God, even the God of the majestic universe, cares for me! Selah! - Ethelene Dyer Jones 10.30.2016

“Blessed Are the Peacemakers”

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.” -Matthew 5:9 (KJV)

     “Shalom!” is a Hebrew greeting that has several meanings, the most important of which is to wish personal well-being, prosperity, bodily health and peace to the one greeted. In the mountains where I grew up, when we met our friends and neighbors, we were likely to say, “I hope things are well with you and yours!” That, in our vernacular, was saying and wishing “Shalom!” to them.

     Jesus taught us in this beatitude that peacemakers are blessed and are called the children of God, for God is the Master Peacemaker, He brings peace to believers, and wants us to be agents of peace in the world. Instead of hatred and strife, He taught us how to pursue a better way. A peacemaker is not static, hoping that peace will come. Instead, he is actively working to bring reconciliation where there is hatred and enmity.

     Those who work for peace are sharing in Christ’s ministry of bringing reconciliation out of trouble. In 2 Corinthians 5:18-19, we learn that a peacemaker is part of our Christian way of life. “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” Paul also teaches in Ephesians 2:14 that the Christian is an agent of peace: “For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility.” Paul further admonishes Christians to be a peacemaker in Colossians 1:19-20: “For to Him (Jesus) all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross.”

     St. Francis of Assisi lived and worked in the 13th century A. D. He left behind an often-quoted prayer that has been set to lofty music. The words of His prayer formulate the idea in the seventh Beatitude.

“Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

To be consoled as to console;

To be understood as to understand;

To be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.”

May we sincerely pray this prayer and have in our hearts the genuine commitment to be instruments of peace in our troubled world. Thus we can help to fulfill Jesus’ command and promise: “Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God. -Ethelene Dyer Jones 10.23.2016

Considering the End Time and How to Live

“The end of all thins is at hand; therefore, be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles for God; whoever serves as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” -1 Peter 4: 7-11 (ESV)

     The epistles of Peter were written at a time when persecution was severe against Christians. Many believers thought that Christ would return to earth soon, as He had told them. Peter writes that in anticipating the great hope of Christ’s second return, the Christians should live exemplary lives as He had taught Christians to live. Over two thousand years have passed since Peter wrote. We are still looking for the second appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is much nearer now than in the first century when Peter wrote. When we consider our present-day civilization, we who hold avidly to the belief of Christ’s second coming need to heed Peter’s admonitions about how we should live and conduct the affairs of our lives.

     Peter gave some very practical advice about how to live in anticipation of the Lord’s imminent return to earth. We ae to be self-controlled and sober-minded. The Holman Christian Standard Bible translates verse 7 thus: “Now the end of all things is near; therefore, be serious and disciplined for prayer.” Serious means to be alert to what is going on around us. And we pray about matters, situations, people. “Watch and pray,” Jesus said in Matthew 25:13, “for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

     While we await His second coming, we are to love one another. We are to show hospitality (good will, kindness) to one another. In the first century, many shied away from Christians, fearing that if they were taken in and treated well, the host (or hostess) might also be persecuted. We are to remember that God bestows on us graciousness and good gifts. We are to share the gifts God gives us to serve others. We are to exercise spiritual gifts. If we have the gift of speaking to others, we speak as though we are delivering God’s message. If our spiritual gift is serving, in whatever manner we have the ability to do, we do so to glorify the Lord Christ and not ourselves.

     This passage from 1 Peter reminds me of the words from the hymn penned by Leila Naylor Morris (1862-1929) entitled “What If It Were Today?” The third stanza poses questions about our faithfulness and anticipation of His coming:

“Faithful and true would He find us here/If He should come today?

Watching in gladness and not in fear, If He should come today?

Signs of His coming multiply, Morning light breaks in eastern sky,

Watch, for the time is drawing nigh, What if it were today?”

     Prayer: Father, help us to be ready, watchful and in prayer, doing Your work and anticipating the time of the Lord’s sure return. Indeed, “What if it were today?” May readiness be our watchword. Amen. -Ethelene Dyer Jones 10.16.2016

Love, the Well-Spring of Life

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” – Proverbs 4:23.

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” -Psalm 16:11. “The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.” -Matthew 12:35. (ESV).

We know that the vital organ of our body, our heart, is the well-spring of life itself. Let something happen to the heart and its steady beating to take life-giving blood to every part of our body and to provide our very life sustenance is sorely affected.

But the heart is also considered the center of our spiritual and emotional life. “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he” we read in Proverbs 23:7. In context, the writer of this Proverb is using a stingy person who asks another to dine with him, but in his heart does not really want anyone to participate with him in what he has to offer. When we think about the heart and how open and sincere or, conversely, how calculating and ill toward others it can be, we can agree that “as one thinks in his heart, so is he.”

We are encouraged to keep our hearts vigilantly and faithfully. To seek the Lord God with all the heart, mind, soul and body is, foremost to loving the Lord God devotedly and following Him with total commitment. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself”  (Luke 10:27, quoting from Leviticus 19:18).

Our society has tended for some time to render love cheap, to take love up and make a commitment, or to decide that love is not enduring and to break the bonds of love. God’s intention was not thus to cheapen love and make it of little regard.  Instead from the heart comes the well-spring of life itself. True love is without dissimulation.  It is enduring. It brings fullness of joy. And love is a gift of God “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God…We love Him because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:7, 19. NKJV). - Ethelene Dyer Jones 10.09.2016

A Prayer for Faithful Believers

“For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.” -Philippians 1:8-11 (ESV).

This prayer of Paul (and Timothy) to the Christians at Philippi is given early in his letter, in the paragraph beginning with verse 3 where Paul states, “I thank God in all my remembrance of you,” and continues in verse 4 with “always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy.”

Having been a minister’s wife, and working in partnership with my husband to teach and lead in churches in which we had the blessed privilege to serve, I think I know something of the depth of Paul’s prayer for believers, maybe many of whom he personally had led to belief in the Lord. The Christian mentor does not forget the wonderful experiences with those whom he introduced to the Lord and led them to deeper commitment to His purposes.

In this age of modern communication, we have remarkable ability to keep in touch, to yield a positive influence for good on people we might otherwise not remember unless we see their names on screens. Furthermore, we can invite, through Facebook, to be “friend” to these whom we can now contact easily.

I thank God that even in my “old” age, I have the internet as a means of communication. Six years ago, God led me to study and write daily a devotional which I have shared through e-mail since with many people and more recently on Facebook where persons can read it and have opportunity to comment. To be sure, I take seriously the message I send out and pray that I will be true to the Bible’s teachings and that God will give insight and inspiration to those who take time to read what I write. Because it is by the Lord’s direction that I study, seek His insight and write.

Paul said in his love note to the believers in Philippi (and subsequently to many since as Paul’s letter has been lovingly read from our Bible), “I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.” He follows this expression of love for them with a prayer that they be fruit-bearing Christians, filled with knowledge and discernment, and blameless before the Lord Christ. How very much he prayed for in this notification of his prayers for the faithful at Philippi. Likewise, we ought also to pray for each other. I take seriously the requests from those I know who say, “Pray for me.” Even this morning, I have written the names of those requesting prayer and have paused to seek the Lord’s blessings for those mentioned and their specific needs. Let us be faithful in praying. God hears and answers our prayers according to His gracious will.

Within the past week, it has been my happy privilege to talk with four delightful college students who strongly feel a call of God upon their lives. They are now in the period of preparation and study, but each of the four has expressed to me their willingness to study hard, to prepare and to be willing to go where God leads them. I was able to share my own testimony of God’s faithfulness and leadership in my life and assured them that patience is needed as well as the sincere desire to follow God. In retrospect, I can look back on my life and know assuredly that God opened doors and gave opportunities that I could not even anticipate. I encouraged these fine young people to seek God’s will, to pray for discernment, to be cognizant of opportunities offered, and to trust Him that He will open the way. Living within God’s purposes in the present and preparing by studying lays a foundation for future accomplishments. We often fret when we cannot see the full picture. But we trust God and wait. He will reveal His plan systematically. One opportunity faithfully assimilated leads to others with which He trusts us.

Prayer: Lord, give us fortitude “to be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” Amen. - Ethelene Dyer Jones 10.02.2016

An Earnest Plea for Our Country’s Spiritual Awakening

“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heql their land” -2 Chronicles 7:14 (ESV).

This verse was emphasized near the 4^th of July when we were considering the birthday of our country and the ideals upon which our nation was founded. Much emphasis is heard now from ministers from pulpits and on television and radio for a return to God-fearing, God-honoring ways in America. We stand in the need of a “Great Awakening” as we had in our nation’s earlier history. One is overdue for this disheartening time in which we live.

Three or four spiritual awakenings are identified as periods of evangelical fervor which brought conviction, confession of sin, and strengthening of congregations throughout the colonies. Early, it was a period of turning from “high” church practices to congregational practices and personal religion.

The First Great Awakening in America began in the 1730’s and extended through about 1743. Evangelical leaders during that period were the Rev. Solomon Stoddard who preached in frontier revivals. His grandson, the Rev. Jonathan Edwards, was famous for his sermon entitled “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” This sermon has been preserved in written form and included in American literature textbooks. In 1838, the Rev. George Whitefield of England came to Georgia and preached convincingly and evangelistically of turning to God. He also preached through the middle colonies and in New York and Philadelphia. The First Great Awakening had a decided influence on religious liberty laws written into our country’s constitution.

The Second Great Awakening began in the 18^th century and was especially strong in the Northeast and Midwest. The preaching brought about awareness for social reforms such as abolition, temperance and women’s rights.

The Third Great Awakening from about 1850 to 1900 saw many new denominations formed, active missionary work, and the “social gospel” preached. The Young Men’s Christian Association was formed in 1844. Dwight L. Moody, a strong evangelical leader, began preaching in 1858. Religious work was strong in both Northern and Southern armies during the Civil War.

The Fourth Great Awakening was about the 1960’s and 1970’s. Evangelistic campaigns like those led by the Rev. Billy Graham occurred. Two denominations, in particular, were strong in preaching, teaching and leading people to repentance and right living. These were churches in the Southern Baptist Convention and in the Synod Lutheran denominations. My husband, the Rev. Grover Jones, was a young Southern Baptist minister beginning his ministry in 1952. I can recall some great local, state and national evangelistic results during those years and following.

During 2016, the Rev. Franklin Graham has sought to make America aware by his “Wake Up America” tours with a service on the grounds of each state capital in the nation. Good reports of attendance and participation have occurred. Prayer groups such as “Cry Out, America” and the emphasis to stop and pray for America at 9:00 p. m. each evening are part of the effort to awaken America to spiritual responsibility.

Awareness, awakening and repentance begin in the heart of each individual. May we pray that we will sincerely study 2 Chronicles 7:14 and earnestly meet what God demands—becoming humble, praying, seeking God’s face, and turning from evil. Then God promises blessings: God will hear, forgive and heal our land.   - Ethelene Dyer Jones 09.25.2016

The Christian as Salt

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.” -Matthew 5:13 (ESV)

Jesus used salt to teach how important Christians are as they live out their lives in the world. Comparing disciples to the familiar commodity, salt, He reminded them to think of the value of salt. Salt (sodium chloride), a common commodity, is used for seasoning, for a preservative, as a cleansing agent and in many compounds for medicinal and other uses.

Growing up on a farm, I saw the uses of salt in more ways than for seasoning the food we ate. My father kept blocks of salt suspended on stable platforms for our farm animals to “lick,” thus assuring that they would become thirsty and go to pure water sources to drink. Salt was a part of keeping the farm animals healthy.

Salt was also valuable as a preservative. Near Thanksgiving time, in my home community, we had what we knew as “Hog Killing Time.” Neighbors would help each other as the cold snaps hit our community to butcher the hogs and begin the process of curing the meat for later use. I recall how my father took salt and carefully rubbed it into the cut hams, shoulders and “middlings” laid out on the curing table in the smokehouse. At the right time, he hung them up to further cure. My father had his own formula for a cure for hams, consisting of a mixture of salt, brown sugar and other ingredients. He was somewhat famous for the “Dyer-cured hams.” He had regular customers from Gainesville and Atlanta year by year who would come for their pork ham when the curing process was completed. Salt had been a vital ingredient in this curing, seasoning, preserving process.

Salt as seasoning adds a distinctive flavor to foods we eat. Many of us who have experienced heart difficulties are familiar with the limitation of salt to prevent further damage to diseased arteries. We learn to use less-potent forms of salt to add flavoring to food. We are familiar, too, with other uses of salt as a cleansing agent and as a medicine. We use salt water to gargle for a sore throat to minimize soreness and get at the germs that cause infections. All of the uses for salt—to add flavor, to preserve, to cleanse, to permeate and heal—are characteristic of a Christian’s influence in society. Jesus said, “you are like salt in the earth.” The Message Bible by Eugene H. Peterson gives this translation to Matthew 5:13: “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.” Actually, in Jesus’s day, we are told that “un-salty” salt was used as a paving agent on the streets and roads; hence the use to be “trampled under people’s feet.”

In my historical research and writing, I came across Civil War letters from citizens in Fannin County , Georgia, addressed to Governor Joseph Emerson Brown begging for shipments of salt so cattle would have their licks and so people could preserve food. It was an urgent appeal. Consider Jesus’ statement to His disciples to be urgent: “You art the salt of the earth!” What an appeal and what a command to us! Christians must know that they have a flavor given to them by the Lord Christ, different from the world, and making a definite difference in society. Praise be to God! - Ethelene Dyer Jones 09.18.2016

“Cry Out, America”

“He has told you, O man, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” -Micah 6:8 (ESV). “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” -James 1:22-25 (ESV).

Today, September 11, 2016, marks the fifteenth anniversary of what we term “9/11,” that infamous date in America’s history when two planes on a terrorist-seized mission crashed into the Twin Towers of the Trade Center in New York City, when another plane crashed into a portion of the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and a fourth plane, whom authorities later believed was directed on either the White House or the U. S. Capitol, was redirected and crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pa. It was a dark day for America when about 3,000 were killed and America was put on notice of a way of life that has been different since. Terrorist attacks are real. The threat is astronomical.

These acts have caused people to ask, “Are we in the days before the final judgment?” We know the teachings of Jesus on that subject, that no one, save the Father in Heaven, knows the day or the hour. But such events—and there have been more since that infamous 9/11—have turned our thoughts seriously to the last days, the days of judgment.

Our scripture focus verses for today teach us God’s requirements. From Micah, we learn that believers are to “do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with God.” From James we learn that we are to be “doers of the word, and not hearers only.” Our actions should be commensurate with what we know of the Word and teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the days since 9/11, in these fifteen years, we have had books and sermons, pleas from ministers and leaders to “Return, return to God.” Even during this year 2016, Franklin Graham has launched his effort “Decision America” in which he has scheduled rallies on capitol lawns of all 50 states in our Union with the plea to for the people to turn again to God.

Since 2008, the effort, “Cry Out, America,” has seen rallies held on court house lawns and other public places where the Word of God, the Bible, is read and men and women gather for earnest prayers on the very day commemorating 9/11.

What does this say of us as believing Americans, in a land where the motto since our founding has been “In God we trust”? Many do and are turning to God. Will we, as Sodom and Gomorrah, of old, experience destruction because not enough of a remnant is faithful to warrant God’s saving our nation? We know assuredly that we are living in perilous times. I do not want to be considered an alarmist, one who sounds a trumpet of doom. However, we rest in the assurance that those who know the Lord truly, in spirit and in truth, will be known by Him, both now and in the judgment. “Cry out, America!” God still hears and answers. - Ethelene Dyer Jones -9.11.2016

Support

“There is none like God, O Jeshurun, who rides through the heavens to your help, through the skies in His majesty. The eternal God is your dwelling place and underneath are the everlasting arms.” – Deuteronomy 33:26-27 (ESV).

The context of these verses is Moses’ farewell address to the tribes of Israel prior to his death at age 120. The liberator of Israel could not go into the land his people had been promised by God, and God himself would take care of Moses’ unknown burial place in the land of Moab (see Deuteronomy 34). But before he left them, Moses gathered representatives of the tribes together and gave his final blessing (recorded in Deuteronomy 33), naming eleven of the twelve tribes (Simeon was not mentioned in the roll-call of tribes, perhaps because that tribe would be dissolved and absorbed by Judah). And in verse 33:26, Moses uses a poetic name for all of Israel, Jeshurun, but at the same time use of this term was a strong reminder by Moses that they were to guard against unfaithfulness to God and not seek false Gods.

Moses uses strong metaphors to remind the people of how they are bound to Jehovah God. They are to remember He is their dwelling place; and underneath them are God’s everlasting arms. How strong and useful are arms—the upper limbs of our body. We depend much on arms and hands to do the work we need to do. What better metaphor could Moses have used in his blessing of the tribes and his farewell message to them than to remind them that the everlasting arms of God are underneath them? God’s arms will support them, carry them, guide them.

Arms also express love. How we enjoy the comfort and blessing of arms that enfold us and with tenderness hold us! A fretful baby can be taken into a mother’s arms and the fretfulness eases. When Jesus called the little children “He took them in His arms and blessed them, laying His hands on them” (Mark 10:16, ESV).

When we are in need of support, we should think in terms of the everlasting arms of God underneath us and wrapped about us. In all situations God can supply the support we need. How appropriate is this prayer by the Rev. Dr. Robert D. Young from “Prayers for the Journey” (c1998):“

O God, Break through our callousness and our preoccupations until we realize that we belong to You and that You are with us every step of the way. Help us to handle life with a certain lightness that comes with faith. Buoy us up in our most despondent times so that we might feel not only that underneath are the everlasting arms, but feel the lift of those arms. Hold us lest we fall and give us confidence about the days ahead. Amen.” - Ethelene Dyer Jones (reposted from 09.04.2013 for publication again on 09.04.2016)

A Well-Placed Trust

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” -Proverbs 3:5-6 (KJV).

I give these verses in the King James Version, because that may be the version you used if you committed these to memory earlier in your life. To memorize these verses is good. Better, still, you may have chosen them as “life verses,” instruction from God’s Word to guide your conduct and lifestyle. Notice that trust in God is to be wholly, completely “with all thine heart.” The essence of trust is to recognize who God is and to depend on Him to supply whatever it is we need. This trust does not preclude our working and putting forth effort. It does mean we recognize God for who He is and ourselves as weak and standing in the need of His help. Daily, we should find a “chapel of the heart” where we can commune with God and learn to develop the trust and knowledge of Him needed for Him to “direct our paths.”

In the Chapel of My Heart

“Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk.” -Psalm 143:8

“It is not needful always to be in church with God. We make a chapel of our hearts.” 

-Brother Lawrence

This early hour is a time to worship,

To draw apart from the rush and din;

To enter the quiet chapel of awareness,

To call upon the Lord again.

My Lord and I meet in this chapel;

Whatever the hour, He is already here.

In this time and place He meets me

And gives me grace to banish fear.

Although the future seems uncertain,

Its challenges stretching as a cloud;

In this quiet chapel God’s holy presence

Is certain, ‘though He speaks not aloud.

In calm assurance His Spirit guides me

To know His sufficiency covers every day;

And from this chapel in my heart

I find direction in God’s way.

At whatever time I need a boost in strength,

Regardless of the problem, large or small;

Or just to go aside to praise Him,

How reassuring on God’s name to call.

-Ethelene Dyer Jones 08.28.2016

Resting in the Peace of Christ

“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” -Colossians 3:15-17 (ESV)

As I read this passage from Colossians, I thought that if we could really apply the truths of these verses to our lives and live by them, how different would be our world. Our frets and cares would not consume our time and efforts. We would be able to take God’s Word and live by it, and at the same time teach others to rely upon the promises we find in Scripture.

The Greek word translated “rule” in Colossians 3:15 means “to sit as an umpire” or “to arbitrate”. We are familiar with the official at athletic events whom we call an umpire. He rules on and arbitrates in games and gives final decisions that honor the conduct and guidelines of the game. When the peace of Christ is present and active in the believer’s life, the leadership He gives will be as an umpire to quell anger, anxiety and the tendency not to follow His leadership. Note three times in the focal passage we are told to “be thankful,” sing “with thankfulness, and to “give thanks.” We should be ever grateful that the Word of God which teaches us the precepts of the Lord Christ is to be shared one with the other in the fellowship of other believers. How many of us “grew up” going to Sunday School, and continued to go as adults? In the wonderful fellowship of a Bible class we can admonish one another so that we can better understand Christ’s claims for a guide in our behavior and our actions.

Paul advised in the letter to the Ephesians that congregations should sing “Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” Already by the time the early churches were established, believers had the Torah, the Psalter, Wisdom writings, and the Prophets. But he seems to refer, in “spiritual songs” to recent compositions that were being sung in the churches. We can imagine under the Holy Spirit’s leadership that persons in that day, as in recent times, were led to write words set to music that expressed their faith and how they should conduct themselves as Christians. Paul’s advice, “whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,” could have applied to the “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” that permeated the early Christians’ worship.

Frederick W. Robertson wrote, “The real strength and majesty of the soul of man is calmness, the manifestation of strength, the peace of God ruling.” And as William C. Poole (1875-1949) wrote in a beloved hymn, “Just When I Need Him Most” “Jesus is near, to comfort and cheer, Just when I need Him most.” As my “umpire” who rules my heart, I can trust Him, even “when I falter…when I fear.” - Ethelene Dyer Jones 08.21.2016

The Church: Helping in Time of Need

“During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. This happened during the reign of Claudius. The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.” -Acts 11:27-30 (NIV).

Helping those in need is a principle taught by Jesus and promoted and practiced by the early church and by churches and Christians today. “The poor you will have with you,” Jesus taught. Also, He gave us the parable of the Good Samaritan to teach us that we are to reach out with compassion to those who hurt and are in need.

The passage cited for today’s devotional lists several leaders in the early church, all of whom had active roles in leading the believers to look with compassion on people in need and to respond and give to help alleviate the needs. Prophets had the ability to foresee and predict situations needing response. Agabus was one of those. The disciples, who may refer to the “early disciples,” and also seems in this verse to refer to the new converts in the Antioch church, and the brothers are fellow believers living in Judea, where the famine struck. The elders were those charged with overseeing the business of the church. Barnabas and Saul were the missionaries to Antioch, sent out from the Jerusalem church. They were highly interested in the welfare of believers at any location where churches had been established and believers lived.

Agabus had the ability to foresee the coming of the famine. He led the church at Antioch to begin a relief fund which later (maybe as long as ten years later during the reign of Claudius Caesar) assisted with the famine that did occur.

The example set by the early church of helping those in need became a principle for the church then and since. Those churches who genuinely reach out in love to share with others are fulfilling the mission assigned to disciples and the church by Christ. In recent years many nations have experienced floods, famine, poverty, illnesses and calamities. If we are not moved by compassion to share what we have with those who suffer, we need to examine our motives and rearrange our priorities. I am grateful that my late husband, the Rev. Grover Jones, had a heart for missions and for sharing. He preached it and by example led the people in the churches where he was pastor (and later those in the area he served as director of missions) to be very aware of how churches share resources with those in need. To give to others exemplifies a heart of love and compassion. The nature of Christian love is to share. -Ethelene Dyer Jones 08.14.2016

Shine as Light in Darkness

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.” -Isaiah 60:1 (ESV)

“No one, after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. -Luke 11:33 (ESV)

Light? How much does it have to do with peace and harmony? How can I be light in darkness? How can the Light of the World (Jesus Christ, Savior) shine through me?

I recall two distinct instances from my teenage years that had to do with following the Light of the World and His teachings, and seeking to be light myself, as he had commanded me.

When I was a student at Truett McConnell College, I had been elected president of the college’s Young Woman’s Auxiliary (YWA) a missions-service organization. Those YWA Presidents in colleges around the state of Georgia were invited to a retreat (with expenses paid) at a Christian encampment at Clayton, Georgia named Camp Pinnacle. I went gladly for the days of training in methods of how better to lead our college YWA group. The sessions also included intensive Bible study. We heard inspirational speakers giving challenging messages. On the last night there, we gathered by the lake for a candlelight service. We each had a candle securely fastened to a piece of wood so the candle would float. After a challenging message by our speaker, Miss Sarah Stephens, we each were invited to light our candles from a large taper, representative of the light from Christ that He makes available to each Christian. As each participant set her lighted candle afloat, the dark lake began to take on a gentle glow from radiating candles. This simple but profound illustration of individual candles set afloat on a dark lake was representative of the difference a life radiating the light of Christ can make in a dark world. Darkness extinguishes the light of peace and love. But when a person’s light comes from Christ, and His love is shed abroad to others, great strides are made in alleviating the darkness in the world. That experience by Camp Pinnacle that summer night in 1948 helped me to know that God had a special work for me to do in His kingdom. I wanted the light of my life to make a difference to others.

Another remembrance I have is of how the mention of light affected me and subsequent work I would do. I was fifteen years of age, and my high school teacher, Mrs. Grapelle Mock, wanted me to interview our local poet, Byron Herbert Reece so I could write an article about him for our school page in the local paper. His first book of poems The Ballad of the Bones, had just been published by Dutton in New York. Even though Mr. Reece lived in the same community as I, he was suddenly a celebrity, with “The Atlanta Constitution” (newspaper) giving reviews of his book and telling of the recognitions and awards Poet Reece was receiving. Although I knew Mr. Reece, suddenly he had become famous. I felt shy and hesitant to interview him. But with Mrs. Mock’s help, I prepared for the interview with questions and readied myself to do the very best I could with the article I would write about him. Hesitantly, I told Mr. Reece that I liked to write, and had tried my hand at poetry and other literary genres. I was surprised by his reaction. “Don’t hide your light under a bushel,” he said to me. I immediately knew he referred to Jesus’ instruction to His disciples about not allowing light to be hidden but to put it on a candlestand. In that interview, he told me how he kept his poetry secret for years. Then Kentucky poet Jesse Stuart saw one of Reece’s poems, “Lest the Lonesome Bird” published in “The Prairie Schooner.” Stuart got in touch with Reece, asked for more of his poems, and introduced Reece’s poetry to E. P. Dutton publishers in New York. Reece was on his way to having his work recognized by the world. His light was no longer “hidden under a bushel.”

That interview with Reece set a direction for my life. What talents and abilities I have are gifts from God. What light I have to give to the world is also a gift from God. I am not to hide it, but with God’s leadership, I am to share my own light with the world.

I learned this lesson from two significant events in my life: my interview with my neighbor the poet, Byron Herbert Reece, and a quiet, thoughtful devotional with a group of college-age girls chosen for a leadership role and their inspiring leader, Miss Sarah Stephens. Jesus further taught how our light should shine: “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:33, ESV) -Ethelene Dyer Jones 08.07.2016