Gratitude for Answered Prayer

“On the day I called you answered me; my strength of soul you increased.” – Psalm 138:3 (ESV)

Psalm 138 is a catalogue of praise to God for hearing and answering prayers. A Psalm of David, the Psalm recounts various situations in which God showed His love and concern and answered the believer’s prayers.

God is still faithfully answering the prayers of believers today. God shows steadfast love and faithfulness (v. 2). His name is exalted above all (v. 2). Whatever day one calls on God, He answers and increases the soul’s strength. The kings of the earth will come to recognize the Lord as sovereign and sing to Him (vv. 4, 5). Although the Lord is high, He regards the lowly (v. 5). In the midst of trouble, God stretches out His hand and delivers the faithful (v. 7). The believer can be assured that the Lord will fulfill his purpose in his life, and that God will not forsake him, the “work of His hands” (v. 5).

Even though David wrote the words of Psalm 138 centuries ago, the truths hold true today.

God stands ready to hear and answer our prayers. The faithful can go to Him with petitions daily. They are assured that His ear is attuned to their needs.

Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. He hears the prayers of His faithful servants.

He hears and answers even me. Praise is a part of petition and thanksgiving. Let us not forget to praise the Lord for His faithfulness to us day by day. Selah! - Ethelene Dyer Jones 06.25.2017

“Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.” – Hebrews 9:15 (ESV).

Hebrews 11 has sometimes been called “The Roll Call of Faith” by Bible scholars. In that chapter the writer of Hebrews lists many Old Testament examples of those who held a strong faith in God under the “Old” or First Covenent, made to Abraham and subsequent persons whose accounts are given in the Old Testament. Those believers were faithful to hold to the promises passed by word of mouth generation to generation and recorded in the law and the prophets, the Psalms and Proverbs.

In the New Testament we learn of the New Covenant mediated by Jesus Christ the Lord. A mediator is one who helps two parties arrive at an important agreement. The first covenant, given to the Israelites, became ineffective, not through flaws in God’s beneficence in giving it, but in the people’s inability to keep the terms of the covenant. Jesus came and established a New Covenant between Himself and God and for believers.

Jeremiah and others of the prophets wrote of and anticipated the New Covenant. “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant…not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord…I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (Jeremiah 31:31-33). Jesus was the mediator—the executor of the New Covenant. And since, for remission of sins, there must be shedding of blood, Jesus Himself was the perfect sacrifice. He willingly offered Himself as the guarantor—the blood sacrifice—to seal the terms of the New Covenant and pay the price for mankind’s sins and separation from God.

The author of Hebrews states that “all who are called” will receive the promise of the eternal inheritance”—another way of stating “eternal life.” An amazing fact is that Jesus’ death for the propitiation (offering, sacrifice) for mankind’s sins is retroactive. Therefore, the “roll call” of the faithful in Hebrews 11 gives us an insight of Old Testament heroes whom we can expect to meet in Heaven because of their calling-out and faith held by those who lived before the coming of Christ to earth for the sacrifice of sins.

Jesus’ sacrifice is also “once for all” for any (of any era) who hear(d) and heed(ed) His call, believe in Him, and accept His sacrifice for sin. Dr. John Macarthur states in his commentary on Hebrews: “In a deeper sense, the sacrifice had already been made in God’s mind long before it was made in human history, because Christ’s works were finished from the foundation of the world” (see John Macarthur, New Testament Commentary. “Hebrews.” Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2005, p. 235). Jesus Christ, our Mediator and Redeemer, has done His work for the faithful of all ages: “It is finished!” was His triumphant cry from the cross before He died. To accept or reject is personal choice. Let us “be about our Father’s business” and declare to our unsaved family members and friends that any individual has but to believe, accept, confess and follow Jesus, and then look forward to an eternity with Him and with saints like the called-out among whom were Moses, Abraham, David and so many more. And, too, all who believe in this life will be reunited with ancestors and loved ones who have gone on before us. How can we not want to receive “the promise of the eternal inheritance” as declared in Hebrews 9:15? - Ethelene Dyer Jones 06.18.2017

Choosing the Right Path

“Blessed is the man Who walks not I the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in
the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in
the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.  He shall be
like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its
season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. 
The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. 
Therefore, the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the
congregation of the righteous.  For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But
the way of the ungodly shall perish.” -Psalm 6. (NKJV)

When we plan a journey, we want to arrive safely at our chosen destination.  We
map out a route.  Now we have a our fingertips help through the Global
Positioning Service (GPS) as a handy device on our cell phone.  We can quickly
get directions and the route to travel.   We often refer to living life as the
“path” we follow, or the “journey” we take as we live out our allotted days on
earth.  The anonymous writer of the first Psalm invites all who read it to
embrace the pathway God has established for the good of man.  He calls it “the
law of the Lord”—another way of stating that God has made a covenant with man,
to lead and direct him, and lead him in the “paths of righteousness,” the way
man should follow and live.  This way is delightful, and man should “meditate on
it day and night.” 

Early in my Christian life, I committed the King James Versions of this Psalm to
memory.  Throughout my years, I have often quoted the Psalm and meditated on its
truth.  “Blessed”—“happy”—is the person who avoids the counsel of the ungodly,
refuses to stand in the path of sinners, and avoids the seat of the scornful. 
Instead, happiness comes when one delights in the law of the Lord and thinks on
God’s law day and night.

As a child, I could easily understand the metaphor (although I did not then know
to call it a metaphor, a comparison) of being like a stately tree growing beside
the water and bearing fruit.  On our farm, we had apple, pear and peach trees. 
These bore delicious fruit for our family’s use.  I could then easily relate
what the Psalmist was teaching when he said the “blessed” or “happy” person was
like a productive, fruit-bearing tree.  I related, too, that trees that bear
fruit need water, just like a person, to grow and develop.  And in my thinking,
I related the study of God’s Word as being the “water of life.”  This is a
wonderful concept for a young child to learn and live by!  I also liked the
promise as a result of this action:  (The tree—the person) “brings forth fruit
in its season; the leaf does not wither; whatever he does prospers.”  As a youth
and into adulthood, I wanted to follow that method of seeking fruit and that
result of bearing fruit.  I had much to learn, but somehow the lesson fell upon
eager ears.  My path was set.  Early on, I wanted to walk with Go, and I made a
choice to do so.

This past weekend I had the happy privilege of returning to “my mountains,”
where my roots began.  I took friends, one born and reared in China and another
born and reared in British Guinea, to visit the mountain community where I was
born and reared.  We walked a short distance on the famed Appalachian Trail that
crosses Highway 129/19 at Neel Gap a few miles “up a mountain” from where I grew
up.  We drove to the church which was a pivotal point in my growing up years. 
We visited the country schoolhouse where I studied from Primer through Seventh
Grade, thus getting a firm foundation in education.  We viewed a portion of the
land that was once my father’s fertile farm.  We saw my “old homeplace.”  We
drove near the river where I was baptized as a testimony to my faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ on an August Sunday afternoon in 1939.  I think my friends easily
learned from my excitement at being “home’ that I had learned early in life an
eternal truth:  To choose and follow God’s path in life is the way to go.  This
path does not preclude troubles.  But it does assure that God is in control and
that God knows “the way of the righteous.”  Therefore, we have the choice of
choosing the right pathway, the Way with God as Guide.  It is a sure path—the
right path!  Selah!  - Ethelene Dyer Jones  06.04.2017

Christ’s Commission to His Disciples and to Us

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go 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 28:18-20 (ESV) The eleven disciples who remained with Jesus after His resurrection (Judas had already committed suicide because of his grief over betraying Christ) had gone to a mountain in Galilee to await his appearance to them. He was ready to ascend into Heaven, back to His Father. We are told in verse 17 that they “worshiped Him, but some doubted.” Even though he had been seen, we are told, some forty times since His resurrection, some “still doubted” that he had arisen triumphantly from death and the grave. And now Jesus had an important announcement to make to the disciples and a very important commission to give to them. First, He stated firmly: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Because of His authority, He had the power to be with them in what He was about to ask them to do. He had the authority to empower them for the task. He was going triumphantly back to Heaven, His reason for coming to earth fully accomplished. And even though He did not come to set up a political earthly kingdom as so many had anticipated He would do, and hoped He would do, He was ready for them to take part in building that kingdom of believers. They (and we) were (are) to do this by going into all the world and making disciples in every nation. Believers are to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Baptism is an act of obedience. It also demonstrates to the world that the believer is “dead to sins” and “resurrected to new life in Jesus Christ.” Next, they (we) have the command to “teach them to observe all that I have commanded you.” In other words, we are to disciple the saved, teach them the Bible, teach them to walk in God’s ways, as Jesus had taught His disciples when He was among them on earth. And this marvelous promise came from the mouth of Jesus before He ascended into heaven in their sight: “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Go to Acts 1:6-11 to read a fuller account than in Matthew’s gospel of the Great Commission and what happened just before and just after Jesus ascended (was taken upward in a cloud as they watched). Would you not like to have been standing on that mountain in Galilee that day to hear Christ’s commission and to see the remarkable spectacle of His ascension? How very thrilling that event was! Now, back to earth and the job the disciples had to do. We hear no more about “some doubting” after hearing Jesus that day and seeing Him ascend into heaven. They were so awe-struck that two angels were sent from God to tell the disciples Jesus would return even as they had seen Him go into heaven. This is the one promise of Jesus that has not yet been fulfilled. Be ready; this will happen when all peoples everywhere hear the Good News that Jesus is Lord and Savior! My pastor of years ago used to urge us to expect Jesus each day: To arise and say, “Lord, are You returning to earth today?” He told us that if we live in anticipation, we will also live in holiness and obedience. I believed him when I was a child and become a Christian (at age 9), and I believe even today that we should live with this expectancy of Jesus’ return very present in our minds. In the meantime, as disciples, we are to go, tell, baptize, teach. And I add, live in expectancy of His return to earth. The next day after I became a Christian at age nine, I led my cousin to the Lord. Later that revival week, I led another cousin to the Lord. Did I know “how” to witness? Not really; I had no previous lessons in the “steps to salvation”. But I knew how to tell Dennis and Mary Lou that Jesus loves me and He loves each of them. At age six, when Missionary Pearl Todd from China came to our church to speak, I was not then a Christian; but I loved Jesus in my heart and wanted to do His will as I understood it. I felt at age six that God was calling me to China to be a missionary like Miss Todd, to tell people there that Jesus loves them. My job, instead, was to stay home and “hold the ropes,” to be a preacher’s wife, and to seek to faithfully witness to the lost where ever God led my husband and me in our ministerial and teaching work. What a life He has provided me: seeking to do the Great Commission. Lord, help us be faithful. - Ethelene Dyer Jones 05.28.2017

In Worship: A Refrain of Praise

“Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of gods, for His steadfast love endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for His steadfast love endures forever!

To Him who alone does great wonders; for His steadfast love endures forever.” -Psalm 136-1-4 (ESV). [Read Psalm 136]

Today is a day of worship (although every day we should worship!). I pray you will attend the church of your choice and worship with fellow believers. Worship is important to our spiritual stability and growth. I have enjoyed gathering for worship in all of the span of my years since earliest remembrances in childhood.

Psalm 136 is a worship hymn that repeats the refrain, “For His steadfast love endures forever.” The priest led with the statement giving the list of God’s provision and goodness; the people sang or repeated the refrain. The leader recalls systematically the goodness of God (1-4), the greatness of God in creation (4-9), deliverance from Egypt (10-16), provision of a land in which to live (17-22) and His continuing care (23-26).

As I studied the Psalm, I thought how important it is for us in our worship (whether public or private) to list our own catalog of praise and thank God for His care and provision. It would be good for us, too, like the ancient Hebrew worshipers, to repeat “and His steadfast love endures forever.” Here is a list to follow:

           Praise for God’s goodness

           Praise for God’s creation

           Praise for God’s deliverance

           Praise for God’s provision

           Praise for God’s continuing care

We would also want to add:

           Praise for salvation

           Praise for a place to worship and for fellow with other believers

           Praise for family, comforts of life, productive work, our Christian calling.

I express my prayer of thanks for the above (and more). I, like the psalmist, follow my statement of thanksgiving with “For Your steadfast love endures forever.” Here is a little poem with some of my thanksgivings listed. I repeat after each, as did the Psalmist:

           Hope rises in me like a prayer; (for Your steadfast love endures forever!)

           God, You know my needs for every hour; (for Your steadfast love endures forever!)

           Your hand is strong, Your help is sure! (For Your steadfast love endures forever!)

           I abide in You,God. I feel secure. (For Your steadfast love endures forever!)

Thank You, God, for all of these and so many more blessings! In Jesus’ name. Amen.

- Ethelene Dyer Jones 05.21.2017

Honor Your Mother

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” -Exodus 20:12 (ESV)

The fifth commandment is often termed “the first commandment with a promise.” Indeed, it is the only one of the Ten Commandments with a specific promise attached. Those who respect and honor their earthly father and mother are promised long life in the land the Lord gives them. Remember that Moses received the Ten Commandments not long after the Israelites escaped Egyptian bondage. They were looking forward to soon settling in the Promised Land.

God commanded them to honor parents. “Honor” is a word meaning to treat with respect and dignity, love and deference, and to provide for parents’ needs and look after them in their old age. Both parents are to receive this preferential and loving treatment. Today, when we observe a day set aside to honor mothers, we will consider ways in which we can honor mothers.

Studying the history of Mother’s Day, we learn that the ancient Greek and Roman culture had a specified time to honor mothers. In America, a movement was begun in 1905, led by Miss Anna Jarvis of West Virginia, to honor mothers in general by honoring her own mother who had just died and who had cared for wounded soldiers, both Union and Southern, during the Civil War. In 1908, Miss Jarvis set a day of celebration in the St. Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton, Virginia, a church now noted as the one starting the International Mother’s Day. Even though a proposal to have an annual Mother’s Day lost in both Senate and House in 1908, by 1911 enough interest had been generated so that observances were held in most all the states. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation declaring the second Sunday in May as a national day to honor mothers. The day has been observed since that date throughout the United States.

Paul the Apostle repeated the fifth commandment in Ephesians 6:2. Also, the Apostle, writing to his ‘son in the gospel,’ Timothy, had these words about honoring mothers: “But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household, and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God.”

When a mother is given honor and respect, Proverbs 31:28 states that “Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.”

Love of children for the mother and love of the mother for her children is a vital concept in God’s plan for families. In this modern day, we have seen a wide departure from biblical admonitions to honor mother and for a mother to love and rear children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. The words written by Dr. B. B. McKinney (1886-1952) and put to “The Christian Home’ tune also composed by Dr. McKinney is a prayer. May we pray it sincerely and earnestly for a return to God’s ways for the home and for honoring mothers:

“God give us Christian homes!

Homes where the mother, in caring quest,

Strives to show others Your way is best,

Homes where the Lord is an honored guest;

God give us Christian homes;

God give us Christian homes.”

-Ethelene Dyer Jones 05.14.2017

His Creation Reveals God

“The heavens declare the glory of God And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world.” -Psalm 119:1-4 (NKJV)

Psalm 119, a Psalm of David, begins with a song of praise for God’s magnificent creation. Both the heavens and the earth in His created order reveal the handiwork of Creator God. David sees day and night as revealing, speaking out, about Almighty God who created them. A remarkable benefit of the creation is that in all places in the world the created order testifies to the power and glory of God.

I can recall as a young child looking up to the beautiful mountains that surrounded the valley where I lived. The sky above and the azure line of mountains made me wonder about God’s creation and appreciate the beautiful world in which I lived. I especially liked to see the night sky with the moon and stars. I marveled at the beauty I saw all about me in nature. It turned my thoughts to God the Creator.

Some people worship nature. But nature is a part of the remarkable creation God made, a place He created for man whom He made in His own image. We are not to worship nature and its beauty, but the God who created the beauty for us to enjoy. In John 4:23-24 Jesus taught us: “But the hour is coming and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.” God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (NKJV).

I enjoy singing “This Is My Father’s World” with words by Maltbie D. Babcock (1858-1901) and the music, “Terra Patris” by Franklin L. Sheppard (1852-1930 ):

“This is my Father’s world, And to my list’ning ears,

All nature sings, and round me rings The music of the spheres.

This is my Father’s world, I rest me in the thought,

Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas, His hand the wonders wrought.

“This is my Father’s world, O let me ne’er forget

That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.

This is my Father’s world, The battle is not done;

Jesus who died shall be satisfied, And earth and heaven be one.”

May the beauty of nature remind us of God who created the heavens and earth and the people who dwell in the place He made for us. “The morning light, the lily white Declare their Maker’s praise.” And so should we! And so do we! Amen! - Ethelene Dyer Jones 05.07.2017