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

The Lord My Keeper: My Litany of Praise

My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth…

The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. -Psalm 121:2, 5 (ESV).

What an incomprehensible thought:

God who made heaven and earth,

Wo lifted the mountains above the valleys,

Who bounded the waves of the seas,

Who strung the stars in galaxies unnumbered,

Who made the dry land and peopled the forests with animals,

Who created mankind and gave him dominion and power over the Creation,

Even He, the Maker of all, even He is my keeper,

My shade upon my right hand,

My Companion, my Savior, my Friend.

He, Creator, Lord, is never too busy to hear me when I call,

Never too remote to be concerned for my welfare,

Never too busy to radiate care and concern

In infinite ways beyond numbering.

How can my heart respond on this another day

He has given me in which to rejoice and be glad?

With gratitude:

Thanksgiving wells up like an overflowing fountain.

His provision eradicates all thirst and want.

With gladness:

Joy unspeakable and full of glory fills my cup

And praise wells up in a soul overflowing.

With awe:

He is Almighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

He neither slumbers nor sleeps and is near to observe

My going out and my coming in, from henceforth, forevermore!

The Maker of heaven and earth is my helper.

He is my keeper and guides me with His mighty hand. Selah!

-Ethelene Dyer Jones 07.31.2016

Trusting God to Work Things Together for Good

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” -Romans 8:28 (KJV).

Romans 8:28 has long been one of my “life verses,” one I memorized long ago and return to again and again to seek to live by. We often misunderstand the verse, thinking that it somehow shows that God puts immunity around believers to protect them from the perplexities, troubles and disappointments of life. That is not the promise of the verse. The promise is God’s ability to work things out for good for those of us who love and trust Him. God doesn’t promise to divert troubles but to lead the believer through them, not to have us avoid sorrow or pain, but to give grace to bear whatever comes.

What is my part in God’s plan? I accept and trust the daily grace God gives me for life’s journey. Has the Lord ever failed? No. But I, in my failure to seek and acknowledge God, fail to lay claim to His promises and live by them. My part in God’s plan for “all things to work together for good” is for my soul to get in touch with God’s greatness and mercy, to claim His promises and to believe, know and act upon the truth that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.”

On July 23, 2016, I participated in a thrilling event, the 70^th “Founders’ Day” program of Truett McConnell College, now Truett McConnell University. Those gathered recalled the history of the college in the mountains established on Christian principles and for the purpose of educating young men and young women in a Christian environment. The logo of a hand holding a flame with the Latin phrase, “veritas liberat,” (truth liberates) has been the college’s motto since the beginning from that Founder’s Day program July 23, 1946. Currently, the inspiring challenge added by the current president, Dr. Emir Caner is “From the first verse to the last tribe,” calling to mind the emphasis that we as Christians are all missionaries as we share the love of God in the context of daily living and reach out to even the “last tribe” who has not yet heard of God’s plan to bring all peoples everywhere to His abundant grace, mercy and forgiveness. God does, indeed (as this sonnet I wrote affirms) work all things together for good:

In God’s Master Plan

We often question, Lord, the ways of life,

The pains we bear, our toils and strife.

When troubles come we wonder why.

We’re not immune. We sometimes cry.

But then like a shining ray of hope

Above our questions Your Spirit spoke

Assuring us that in Your great plan

The best will come to believing man.

Here we see dimly as through a dark glass;

We cannot know what will come to pass.

What we do not know we accept by grace,

For answers come when we seek Your face.

For now, we hold to Your steadfast hand

To lead us on the journey You have planned.

Prayer: Lord, I know You are working things together for good. Therein lies “the peace that passes all understanding” Paul wrote about in Philippians 4:7. Thank You, Lord. -Ethelene Dyer Jones. 07.24.2016.

Some Guards Against Overextending Oneself

“To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of His calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by His power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. -2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 (ESV).

For persons with ambition to work well and to accomplish as much as possible, overextending oftentimes has to be dealt with, and planning and prioritizing must occur. Paul prayed for the Christians at Thessalonica that “God may make you worthy of His calling” and to “fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by His power.”

The Rev. Phillips Brooks, noted American minister and writer, stated, “Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men! Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.”

In my work, I often had to be what we term a multi-tasked person. I learned how to meet the demands of a busy high school media center. The job required dealing with immediate and unexpected challenges as well as the planned, long-range management of a resource center, teaching and leading, organization and keeping a schedule. And permeating the whole process was assisting students to find answers as they pursued knowledge and learned to be independent researchers to find their own answers to learning challenges.

When faced with multiple tasks, the Christine should not pray for easier or fewer tasks but pray instead for the knowledge and strength to do what needs to be done. Paul also prayed that the work might be done to the glory of the Lord Jesus. If attitude and priorities are right, and the Christian has accepted the challenge—not of a smaller work but for a larger strength and ability with which to accomplishan it—then work can proceed willingly and with determination.

I leaned this motto in Vacation Bible School when I was a pre-teenager: “I will do the best I can with what I have, where I am, for Jesus’ sake today.” The sound advice of this motto, and my strong faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, have served me well at times of overextension when I need to pause, take stock, release the less-necessary, and work hard to finish priorities. I know assuredly that if I pray for guidance and strength and seek to glorify the Lord (not myself) in my work, then “my heart found (and can find) pleasure in all my toil” (Ecclesiastes 2:10).

Prayer: Today, Lord, I have much work to do. Show me priorities and possibilities. Strengthen and equip me for the tasks. May I not feel guilty when brief pauses and a little “time out” are necessary for rest. May You be glorified as I work “as unto the Lord.” Amen. - Ethelene Dyer Jones 07.17.2016

Walk Worthily of Your Calling

“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility, and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, Who is over all, and through all and in all.” -Ephesians 4:1-6 (ESV)

Paul the Apostle wrote to the Christians at Ephesus (Ephesians 4:1-6), to those at Colosse (see Colossians 1:10), and to those at Thessalonica (see 2 Thessalonians 2:12) to walk worthily of the calling of a Christian. Earlier, as John the Baptist preached in the wilderness prior to his introduction of the Lord Jesus Christ, he admonished that persons should “bring forth fruits worthy of repentance” (see John 3:8-9). And have we not aspired to live by the Bible’s instruction to show a decided difference in our lives by the way we live following our acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord? There’s a gospel hymn that reminds us of this difference in a Christian’s walk (or manner of life):

“And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love;

Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”

We often refer to manner of life as a person’s “walk.” In 1 John 2:6 we are admonished to walk as Jesus walked: “Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way as He walked.” Indeed, that is a worthy goal—one nigh impossible to achieve in this life but one to which we should constantly strive, with the help of the Holy Spirit, our guide and stay. We have a perfect example—the life and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. “I am the way, the truth and the life,” He said (John 14:6). Our daily aim should be to walk in a manner that emulates Christ. There is a reminder bracelet that Christian youth sometimes wear with the initials “WWJD” inscribed on it. The bracelet is a reminder to ask, “What Would Jesus Do”? In teaching Christians to walk worthy of their calling, Paul lists some of the characteristics in our focal passage for today we know as the fruit of the Spirit: humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, love. And within the fellowship of believers we will seek to maintain unity. Where discord enters, confusion abounds. Neither of these is a characteristic of a spirit of unity.

Paul ends this teaching from Ephesians of walking worthily of our calling by giving some strong doctrine: “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.” The Christian comes into the walk with Christ through grace, the unmerited favor of God. Once that relationship is established, we then have a responsibility to “walk worthy” of our calling.

Today is a good day to examine my walk with the Lord.

Is Jesus beside me as I go?

Within me as I make decisions?

Is He my constant companion in the every-dayness of my life?

Do I talk to Him as an available friend and counselor?

Do I study the Bible consistently and apply its truths to my life?

Does my relationship with the Lord permeate all I do?

Do I ask, “What would Jesus do?” -Ethelene Dyer Jones 07.10.2016