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