Faith and Works

“But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works…For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” -James 2:18, 26 (ESV)

James was the pastor of the Jerusalem Church. He was the “half” brother of our Lord Jesus Christ. During James’s ministry at the early church, Christians were being dispersed abroad because persecution of Christians was sever. Persecution first came from the Jews who did not believe in “the new way” set up by Jesus and propounded by James and other Christian leaders of the church. A little later, the Roman government also waged severe persecution against Christian believers. Works were very vital to the early church’s ministry, because many lost jobs because of being Christians; men were stoned and killed (recall that Stephen was one of these (see Acts 7); and Paul, before his conversion, stood holding the cloaks of those Jews who stoned Stephen to death.) There were many widows and children starving, homeless and under grave danger of losing their own lives if Christians did not try to help them with getting food, clothing and shelter. Acts of compassion resulted from having faith and love.

James believed very strongly that Christians should “produce works worthy of repentance and belief.” We know that salvation is by grace through faith, not of works. Although the Judaizers were proponents of faith and still keeping the Law to the letter, They argued that Gentile (or non-Jewish persons) who became Christians and joined in the early church movement should still keep the Jewish law strictly. Many held that Gentile men believers should be circumcised. This was a great contention in the early church and a “Jerusalem Conference” was held in the early years of the spreading church’s ministry to try to make a decision on “faith plus works” for salvation, or “faith alone.”

James was not advocating that salvation came through faith plus works. Rather, in this letter to the scattered, persecuted Christians, he said if people did not do good works, such as missions, teaching the word, caring for orphans and widows and others in need, and loving and helping each other, their faith was “dead.” Faith should motivate a Christian to do the works Christ told us to do when he lived, taught and ministered to people’s needs. With love and compassion, one who is saved by God’s grace should be motivated by his/her faith to work faithfully in the Kingdom of God. Even one’s every-day work, whatever the occupation one follows, whether teaching, farming, being a clerk in a store, a doctor, a road builder, a seamstress—whatever the work that occupies one’s time and brings in money for the family to live on—should be done to the glory of God. Persons with faith should ask: “Lord, what will You have me do today?” And that job should be done with sincerity, dedication and a sincere thought of helping one’s fellow man. This seems to be what James’s doctrine of “Faith plus Works” means. Works do not bring us salvation from sin. But works benefit the doers of the works and lends needed aid to recipients of the kindness and graciousness of the workers.

Prayer: Holy God, thank your for my salvation: I learn in Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; Not of works, lest any man should boast.” But as James stated in his letter “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” -James 2:26 (KJV) Help me to seek and do Your will, Father, and may I engage sincerely in good works to help my fellowman. In Jesus’ name. Amen. November 04, 2018.

Paul States the Case for Faith in Christ to the Galatian Churches

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” -Galatians 1:6-10 (ESV).

In Baptist adult Sunday School classes for the fall semester beginning Sunday, September 2, using the Explore the Bible quarterly from LifeWay, Nashville, the studies are in Galatians and James. We move from a semester in 2 Samuel when we studied biblical history, the reigns of King Saul and King David, to doctrinal studies as given to us in the New Testament books of Galatians and James.

As Paul opens Galatians, he addresses a serious condition existing in the Galatian churches he wants to discuss in his letter circulating to the churches he established in Galatia on his first missionary journey (read about his first missionary tour in Acts 13:1-14:28). After he and his fellow missionaries had established churches, instructed them as much as they could while there, and then gone on to further work, some trouble arose in the congregations. A group called the “Judaizers” began to teach the church members that not only were they to become Christians through faith in Jesus Christ, but because the new belief, based on the sacrificial death of Christ, His resurrection from the dead, His commissioning the disciples and other believers to tell the story of salvation “into all the world,” there was still something needed besides forgiveness of sins and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The men needed to go through circumcision if they had not already had that rite performed. Also, obedience to the Jewish canon of laws was necessary to salvation, so the Judaizers taught. Paul wrote the letter to the Galatian churches, scholars believe, before the Jerusalem Council was held in AD 48/49. It would have been most helpful to Paul could he have mentioned the decision of the Jerusalem Council—that believers did not have to go through the rite of circumcision to become members of the Christian faith/church. But no mention of the Council is made in the letter to the Galatians. Paul conducted his first missionary journey and established churches there in AD 47/48. Therefore, it seems plausible that AD 48 is the probable time that Paul composed and sent the letter to the Galatian churches addressing the serious problem there.

Paul wanted to make it clear that faith alone saves a person, not fulfilling the law to the letter, not “becoming a Jew” first, not works—faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ, and accepting God’s grace for forgiveness of sins and Christ’s sacrifice to restore the broken fellowship between a person and God. “Through Jesus Christ, salvation and justification come to both Jew and Gentile, fulfilling the promise to Abraham of blessing to the nations (Galatians 3:8; Genesis 12:3).” (p. 2242, Dr. Simon J. Gathercole, Univ. of Cambridge. In The Study Bible, ESV. Wheaton, IL, Crossway. 2008. P. 2242, note).

Even though Galatians follows the general New Testament form of letters, with a salutation, a body, a paraenesis (set of moral exhortations), greetings, and a benediction, there is no general thanksgiving. Paul gets directly into the problem: the serious theological questions the Galatians must become aware of and settle: Salvation is by faith, not by faith and circumcision; not by faith and works. Paul defends both himself and the gospel in chapter 1. He was recognized by the apostles in Jerusalem (especially by James, half-brother of Jesus Christ Himself.) In strong language, Paul states that even if an angel came from Heaven and preached a gospel contrary to what Paul himself preached to the Galatians, that angel would be accursed. What we believe is important. One of my favorite passages succinctly explaining salvation by faith is Ephesians 2:8-9. Please read those two verses, examine your own faith, and if you are seeking God’s grace by any other means that faith in the Lord Christ, confess, repent, and believe! Today is the day to seek Christ! -Ethelene Dyer Jones 09.02.2018

Paul States the Case for Faith in Christ to the Galatian Churches

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” -Galatians 1:6-10 (ESV).

In Baptist adult Sunday School classes for the fall semester beginning Sunday, September 2, using the Explore the Bible quarterly from LifeWay, Nashville, the studies are in Galatians and James. We move from a semester in 2 Samuel when we studied biblical history, the reigns of King Saul and King David, to doctrinal studies as given to us in the New Testament books of Galatians and James.

As Paul opens Galatians, he addresses a serious condition existing in the Galatian churches he wants to discuss in his letter circulating to the churches he established in Galatia on his first missionary journey (read about his first missionary tour in Acts 13:1-14:28). After he and his fellow missionaries had established churches, instructed them as much as they could while there, and then gone on to further work, some trouble arose in the congregations. A group called the “Judaizers” began to teach the church members that not only were they to become Christians through faith in Jesus Christ, but because the new belief, based on the sacrificial death of Christ, His resurrection from the dead, His commissioning the disciples and other believers to tell the story of salvation “into all the world,” there was still something needed besides forgiveness of sins and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The men needed to go through circumcision if they had not already had that rite performed. Also, obedience to the Jewish canon of laws was necessary to salvation, so the Judaizers taught. Paul wrote the letter to the Galatian churches, scholars believe, before the Jerusalem Council was held in AD 48/49. It would have been most helpful to Paul could he have mentioned the decision of the Jerusalem Council—that believers did not have to go through the rite of circumcision to become members of the Christian faith/church. But no mention of the Council is made in the letter to the Galatians. Paul conducted his first missionary journey and established churches there in AD 47/48. Therefore, it seems plausible that AD 48 is the probable time that Paul composed and sent the letter to the Galatian churches addressing the serious problem there.

Paul wanted to make it clear that faith alone saves a person, not fulfilling the law to the letter, not “becoming a Jew” first, not works—faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ, and accepting God’s grace for forgiveness of sins and Christ’s sacrifice to restore the broken fellowship between a person and God. “Through Jesus Christ, salvation and justification come to both Jew and Gentile, fulfilling the promise to Abraham of blessing to the nations (Galatians 3:8; Genesis 12:3).” (p. 2242, Dr. Simon J. Gathercole, Univ. of Cambridge. In The Study Bible, ESV. Wheaton, IL, Crossway. 2008. P. 2242, note).

Even though Galatians follows the general New Testament form of letters, with a salutation, a body, a paraenesis (set of moral exhortations), greetings, and a benediction, there is no general thanksgiving. Paul gets directly into the problem: the serious theological questions the Galatians must become aware of and settle: Salvation is by faith, not by faith and circumcision; not by faith and works. Paul defends both himself and the gospel in chapter 1. He was recognized by the apostles in Jerusalem (especially by James, half-brother of Jesus Christ Himself.) In strong language, Paul states that even if an angel came from Heaven and preached a gospel contrary to what Paul himself preached to the Galatians, that angel would be accursed. What we believe is important. One of my favorite passages succinctly explaining salvation by faith is Ephesians 2:8-9. Please read those two verses, examine your own faith, and if you are seeking God’s grace by any other means that faith in the Lord Christ, confess, repent, and believe! Today is the day to seek Christ! - Ethelene Dyer Jones 09.02.2018

An Offering Pleasing to God

“But the king (David) replied to Araunah, ‘No, I insist on buying it for I cannot present burnt offerings to the Lord my God that have cost me nothing. So David paid him fifty pieces of silver for the threshing floor and the oxen. David built an altar there to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And the Lord answered his prayer, and the plague was stopped.” -2 Samuel 24:24-25 NLT

The context of these two verses from 2 Samuel is important to understanding the verses I have chosen for today’s devotional. David ruled for forty years, and brought the nations of Judah and Israel under one kingship. He ruled from about 1005 B. C. to 965 B. C. David going to Araunah’s threshing floor to worship God happened after David had greatly displeased God with the manner in which he took the national census. He did not follow the law, and he showed a sense of selfishness in wanting to know, through the census, how many men in the “united Kingdom” (Israel, north, and Judah, south) were able to serve in the military. This numbering of military-able men showed a sense of self-sufficiency instead of dependence on God. It also showed pride on the part of King David. We remember the adage: “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

Even though General Joab, head of David’s armies, told King David he was going about the census in the wrong manner, David still proceeded with his plans. The census revealed 800,000 able-bodied men of military age in Israel and 500,000 in Judah, or a total of 1,300,000 possible recruits for the army. Even with this great number of men who could serve in the King’s defense system, David began to feel great anxiety, for he sensed, possibly, that he had been selfish in seeking to find out how strong his military force could be. He could boast of military prowess to other nations and they would not dare invade Israel because they had a “sufficient king and a sufficient kingdom.” Although David was called “a man after God’s own heart” in I Samuel 13:14 and by Paul the Apostle in one of his sermons in Acts 12:22, Second Samuel 24 helps us to see David’s vulnerability. He began to feel anxious. His prophet, Gad, talked to him. God offered three choices, one of which David was to choose for punishment because of his mishandling of the census. And yes, the whole nation had to suffer because David had been disobedient. Our sins does affect other people. The choises were: (1) Three years of famine throughout the land; (2) Three months of fleeing from enemies; or (3) Three days of plague. David chose the third, possibly because of the lesser duration of the punishment God was to send. In the plague, 2 Samuel 24:15 reveals that 70,000 people in the nation died those terrible three days. But God put a stop to the death angel before the plague wiped out Jerusalem.

In the two verses selected for this devotional, David had gone to the threshing floor of a citizen named Araunah near Jerusalem to offer sacrifices. Araunah offered the place free and also wanted to provide oxen for the sacrifice, but David bought both for fifty pieces of silver (an ordinary workman earned 10 pieces of silver for a whole year’s work). David affirmed that a sacrifice would not be a sacrifice if he had put nothing into it that belonged to himself. David confessed his sin. He offered prayers and sacrifices for his misconduct. Being a man after God’s own heart, he confessed his sins, shaped his life again into God’s plan, and cemented his recommitment to God by offering sacrifices. God had promised David that his kingdom would last forever. He was an ancestor of the Lord Jesus Christ who came to earth in human form to be a sacrifice for the sins of all people who will believe in Him and accept God’s forgiveness. Someone has said that G-R-A-C-E stands for God’s redemption at Christ’s Expense. And Christ’s kingdom will be forever, thus fulfilling God’s promise to David that someone in his line would be king forever and ever. David, as sinful as he was at times, always asked and received God’s forgiveness. And he was an ancestor of the Lord God who through grace, forgives all who turn to Him in faith.

No longer do we have to offer burnt offerings of oxen and sheep for our sins. Christ made the once-and-for all sacrifice for us. But our love offerings—something we put ourselves into—should be our own pleasing-to-God sacrifice. - Ethelene Dyer Jones August 26, 2018

Listening to Wise Counsel

“Then a wise woman called from the city, ‘Listen! Listen! Tell Joab, ‘Come here that I may speak to you And he came near her, and the woman said, ‘Are you Joab?’ He answered, ‘I am.’ Then she said to him, ‘Listen to the words of your servant’ And he answered, ‘I am listening.’ Then she said, ‘They used to say in former times, ‘Let them but ask counsel at Abel,’ and so they settled a matter. I am one of those who are peaceable and faithful in Israel. You seek to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why will you swallow up the heritage of the Lord?’ Joab answered, ‘Far be it from me, far be it, that I should swallow up or destroy! That is not true, But a man of the hill country of Ephraim called Sheba, the son of Bichri, has lifted up his hand against King David. Give up him alone, and I will withdraw from the city.’ And the woman said to Joab, ‘Behold his head shall be thrown to you over the wall.’ “ -2 Samuel 20:16-21 [Read 2 Samuel 20

King David, although restored to his throne in Jerusalem after the revolt led by his own (third) son Absalom, and the son’s death at the hands of Joab, commander of King David’s army, the nation was still in chaos. Jealousy, strife and contention were on every hand. In 2 Samuel 20, we see the unusual interference by a brave, wise woman to help the situation and prevent more fighting and bloodshed.

The situation, briefly, is that a man named Sheba, a Benjamite was leading a rebellion against King David.. We are told in 1 Chronicles 5:13 that Sheba was from the tribe of Gad. He wanted to take advantage of the factions between what was the “Southern” Kingdom (Judah, that lay between the Dead Sea and ended at the border of the city of Jerusalem; and the “Northern” Kingdom of Israel, which was northward from just beyond Jerusalem through to Mt. Herman in the north and eastward across the Jordan River that cut the northern area in half to the land of Aram-Damascus in the northeast, Ammon in the east, and Moab in the south. It is interesting to note this division on a map of Old Testament lands.

Sheba tried to gain a foothold against King David and “dethrone” him. But Joab, still a commander in King David’s army, met up with an unlikely person to give advice, a woman at the town of Abel where the rebel, Sheba was hiding out. She dared to approached Joab with the adage, “They used to say in olden times: Let them ask counsel at Abel.” When Joab and his army were besieging and about to tear down the town of Abel with battering rams, this brave lady came out to talk to the army commander. She asked a probing question: “Who will swallow up the heritage of the Lord?” She definitely counted her city as “the heritage of the Lord” and did not want it destroyed by war.

It seems in 2 Samuel the name of the town was shortened to Abel. Scholars hold that the full name of the small town was Abel-Beth-Maachah, known for its wisdom; and hence a dear place to the woman who dare to approach and beg Commander Joab for mercy on her town. She was able to get the citizens of her town to deliver the head of Sheba to Joab, and hence prevent a massive war destroying the city of wisdom, peace and non-war-like people. Her example strongly indicates that God uses believers to accomplish His purposes, even though sometimes it takes great bravery and determination to approach someone with much more power than the person making the appeal. God averted another war with much bloodshed, as just shortly before this incident, in the Forest of Ephraim, David and his retinue had exiled to Mahaniam east of the Jordan River in the hill country of Gilead because of his son Absalom’s rebellion. To be able to avert a full-scale war is an achievement on any level. Thank God that this wise, brave woman was concerned enough to make a plea for peace.

Prayer concerns: Pray for our country and its leaders. God’s leadership of King David and his kingdom, of whom God had promised “a decendant of David on the throne forever,” and made David an ancestor of our Lord Jesus Christ, is an excellent case study in the truth that God is the Lord of all nations, even ours; and even if our leaders do not always acknowledge God. Pray! - Ethelene Dyer Jones 08.05.2018

Honoring Our Earthly Father

“Honor your father and your mother that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” -Exodus 20:12, KJV.

The fifth of the Ten Commandments and the first with an expressed promise teaches us that we are to honor both our parents. “Honor” involves love, respect, appreciation, looking up to them and accepting their instruction and leadership.

Parents, in turn, are to lead lives that command our love and respect. Statistics report that there are more than 70 million fathers in the United States today. Many of these are responsible, caring adults and are seeking to rear their children well. But many, however, are what we term in today’s definitions, “Absentee Fathers,” those who have abandoned their children to others’ care. I pray that any father now reading this will examine how well he loves his child (children) and how he is seeking to rear each one in parental love, with goals and initiatives, and certainly in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord.”

A brief history of Father’s Day in America reveals that it was begun in Washington state in the year 1910. It is reported that a lady named Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington talked to her pastor about setting aside a day to honor Fathers as the one in May honored Mothers. Sonora’s mother had died in childbirth, giving birth to her, the seventh child. Her father, William Jackson Smart, had been a Civil War Veteran. When his wife died, he wanted to do the best he could to rear his six sons and the new baby daughter. He kept them together, managed to operate his small farm to make a living, and loved his children and reared them “in the fear and admonition of the Lord.” A day in June was set aside to honor her father and the word was spread abroad by word of mouth and small-town newspapers. President Woodrow Wilson pushed the idea of Father’s Day, as did President Calvin Coolidge. It began to be observed in a more wide-spread area. However, it did not become a nation-wide, consistent observance until President Lyndon Johnson gave his presidential proclamation in 1966 for the day during his administration. Then when President Richard Nixon was in office, he set the day officially as the third Sunday in June and signed that proclamation. Since then, Father’s Day has been observed consistently in America on the third Sunday in June. It is a time when families gather to give tribute to the father in the family, thank him for his leadership of the family, and bestow gifts upon him. Usually in our churches, fathers are asked to stand, and we often hear a sermon both praising fathers and admonishing them to hold high the torch of faith before their children

Like Sonora Smart Dodd, I had a wonderful father who reared his children after their mother died.

My father was not a veteran of any war, but he was truly a veteran as a father. Godly and seeing that his children read and learned the King James Version of the Bible and went to Sunday School and Church regularly, we knew what our father expected of us. His life was not easy, but none of his children embarrassed him or went away from our strict but happy and dependable upbringing. Today, I thank God for a godly father, one who loved each child unconditionally, and taught us how to love others. Praises for fathers such as mine! - Ethelene Dyer Jones. June 17, 2018

Finding Strength through God’s Grace

“But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” -2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV)

These words from Paul the Apostle were written to the struggling church at Corinth, one he loved dearly but that church had questioned Paul’s “authenticity” as a missionary and leader because he had suffered so many hardships. Did not God take care of those who loved Him? Why, then, had Paul suffered, and was he really a “true apostle” of the Lord Jesus Christ? If so, why then had he endured near-death, shipwreck, beatings, and why would he suffer eventual imprisonment (after this letter to the Corinthian Church was written)? Paul wanted the Corinthian Christians to know assuredly that being a Christian did not guarantee that one would escape suffering and persecution. But through it all, the Christian can find strength to be faithful to the Lord and keep working as a servant in the church, leading others to know the“grace of God that passes all understanding.” I like one of my friend’s explanation of God’s grace, using the letters in the word: “GRACE: God’s (gift of) Redemption At Christ’s Expense.”

Compare Paul’s sufferings with this statement of suffering from “The Greatest Preacher in the English-speaking World”—Dr. John Henry Jowettt (1863-1923), who served churches both in England and America, and back in England again: “You seem to imagine that I have no ups and downs, but just a level and lofty stretch of spiritual attainment with unbroken joy and equanimity. By no means! I am often perfectly wretched and everything appears most murky.” (quoted from The Wiersbe Bible Commentary. NT. Colorado Springs: David C. Cook Publishers. 2007, p. 502).

Think of Christians, even in our present day, who are undergoing severe persecution for their faith and are either being killed on sight or placed into terrible prisons because they will not stop preaching when that is what God has set them apart to do. There is a growing unrest and severe treatment of Christian believers going on in many places in the world today. Even in America, a nation founded on principles of liberty and as a place to worship God freely without persecution, today there is a strong and growing anti-Christian movement. On National Day of Prayer, May 3, 2018, President Donald Trump pledged to launch and support a “Christian Initiative” in America. Pray earnestly that Christians in America will turn again to God’s grace for help in our time of grave trouble and unrest.

“In Times Like These,” goes the gospel song, with words and music written by Ruth Caye Jones in 1944 when the world (and the USA) was in the midst of World War II. Barry Pickens (location/state unknown) wrote on the “Google” listing of the hymn: “No matter what you may be going through, the answer to all life’s problems is to grip the Solid Rock, Jesus.” May we pray daily for His grace to overcome, as Paul said of his problem, “the thorn in the flesh,” whatever our difficulties might be. “In times like these I have a Savior,/In times like these I have an anchor/I’m very sure, I’m very sure/My anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!/This Rock is Jesus, Yes, He’s the One;/This Rock is Jesus, The only One!/I’m very sure, I’m very sure/My anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!” - Ethelene Dyer Jones. May 27, 2018.

Giving to Others, A Christian's Privilege

"By this we know love, that He laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth." - 1 John 3:16-18 (ESV)

I have noted that many church congregations do not always like sermons on tithing and giving. Comments may be heard from parishioners such as, "All you hear from pastor and leaders at the church is give, give, give to this cause and that cause; or tithe, tithe, tithe." Could it be a guilty conscience on the part of those who do not tithe and give that causes them to complain? Because pastors sense that it displeases some in their congregations to hear preaching on tithing and giving , they may refrain from exploring the subjects in their sermons, even if it might be appropriate at times to pursue these teachings. It is well, then, that we have a lesson on giving, as in the adult Sunday School lesson for May 20 2018, entitled, "Giving Faithfully," with scripture from 2 Corinthians 9: 1-15.  God often uses money to reveal the real love and motivations of our heart. In Matthew 6:21, Jesus taught: "...where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (ESV).

Defined, the tithe is the tenth part of one's earnings (or goods) set aside and given for the work of the Lord. And offering, then, would be that given beyond the tithe. Briefly, here is a review of some of the Bible's teachings on tithing and giving: Abraham gave 1/10 (a tithe) of the booty he had taken in a war to the Priest Melchizedec of Salem (see Genesis 14:18-20). When Jacob was sent by his father Isaac to Paddan-aram to his Uncle Laban's to seek a wife from among his mother Rebecca's people, he had a dream the first night out. He realized from t he dream that God was in every place, not just in Israel. He promised, upon a safe return, to tithe a full tenth of his possessions (see Genesis 28:18-22). The Old Testament gives many stipulations for the tithe. Here are some of them: a tithe of the agricultural products harvested was to be used for a harvest feast celebrating God's provision (see Deuteronomy 14:22-27). The third year's tithes from crops were to be set aside to provide for the Levites (priests), widows, orphans and foreigners in Israel (see Deut. 14:26-29). Malachi 8:8-12 teaches that failure to bring the tithe into God's storehouse is robbing God. Faithfulness in presenting the tithe, on the other hand, will bring blessings to those who are faithful in tithing. "Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need" ((Malachi 3:10. ESV).

In the New Testament, the Rabbis taught that there were to be three separate tithes: one for support of the Levites, one for special religious celebrations, and one for charitable causes (for example: widows and orphans). Jesus taught that we should consider more important aspects of the Christian life than just strict tithing. He urged us to tithe and to give, but importantly, to live justly and to love mercy. In Matthew 23:23 Jesus said, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: Justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!" He stated this truth again in Luke 11:42: "But woe to you, Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God." The central truth for the adult Sunday School lesson for May 20, 2018 is stated succinctly: "Believers show trust in God by using their resources to meet the needs of others." (-Rev. Micah Carter, writer of the "Explore the Bible" lesson on 2 Corinthians 9:1-145 for Sunday, May 20, 2018. Nashville: Lifeway, 2018. p. 109).

I believe firmly that it is both an obligation and a privilege for a Christian to tithe and to bring offerings to present at the church regularly and faithfully. We gratefully remember that Christ through His sacrifice made possible salvation, an abundant life on earth as we live for Him, and life everlasting in Heaven. All of these privileges are for us who believe in Him. He gave; therefore, we can give of our means. By our giving, we can help our church and others. God loves a cheerful giver. He blesses us as we seek to bless others by being obedient in gladly and faithfully presenting God's tithe and our offerings. - Ethelene Dyer Jones. May 20, 2018.

God Comforts the Troubled and Downcast

“Blessed be the God and Father or our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort, too. -2 Corinthians 1:3-5. ESV [Read 2 Corinthians 1]

The overriding theme of 2 Corinthians chapter 1 is God’s comfort. Because a person is a Christian does not assure that he will not suffer afflictions and troubles; and yes, even at times, as was Paul the Apostles and fellow evangelists with him, they were persecuted because of their stand for the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul, who had been one of the Jewish Pharisees before he was converted as he was on the Road to Damascus to persecute Christians, found that his own Jewish brethren wanted him captured and silenced because they did not like him preaching “the new doctrine” about Christ Jesus, Savior, Lord, Redeemer.

Paul pleaded Roman citizenship and was sent to Rome to appear before the emperor there in defense of his faith. Even the journey by ship to Rome brought dangers and Paul almost lost his life as he wrote in 2 Corinthians 1: 8-11: “ For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the difficulty we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.” In reference to Paul’s danger of being killed, please refer to Acts 9:23-27 to see how the Jews reacted, soon after Saul’s (Paul’s) conversion in Damascus, “the Jews took counsel to kill him.” They did not like Paul standing for and preaching about Jesus, whose death by hanging the Jews had managed to get the Roman government in Jerusalem to do.

But our God is a “God of mercies and all comfort.” And He has promised, that even with our sorrows and afflictions, He will not burden us beyond what we can bear. He is and will be with us in our trials. David praised God for rescuing him from enemies. God’s comfort is the theme of Psalm 56 that ends with this prayer of gratitude for God’s comfort and blessings: “Your vows are upon me, O God; I will render praise to You and give You thank offerings. For You have delivered my life from death, yes, and my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life and of the living.” -Psalm 56:12-13 (The Amplified Bible).

Lord, I repeat reverently and pray Psalm 56, verses 12 and 13 as my prayer for comfort today. In Jesus’ name. Amen. -Ethelene Dyer Jones. April 29, 2018

If You Should Go and I Remain (On Death and Dying)

“That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His suffering, becoming like Him in His death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” -Philippians 3:10-11 (ESV)

If you should go and I remain

To walk life’s road alone,

I know my heart will break with pain,

Deny that you are gone.

Despair will cover like a shroud,

The days pass slowly on;

Each task be covered with a cloud

That drips the message “Gone!”

What hope will dawn amidst my tears?

Can peace abide again?

What antidote to conquer fears?

What balm to ease the pain?

Then Spirit’s clear, calm voice I hear:

“Behold! Christ walks with you;

His presence is so very near,

Your strength He will renew!”

You have gone on and I remain,

But daily at my side

The Lord who knows my heart-felt pain

Is here to guard and guide.

He gives me peace, abundant life;

He offers hope and grace.

He, as one who knew deep strife,

Will help me daily face

The vacancy, the lonely night,

The yearnings that I feel;

For in God’s goodness He makes right

And helps the heart to heal.

Now you stand whole at heaven’s gate

Anticipating glad reunion day;

And I with patient hope await

To join you in that way.

Faith now moves in, a bulwark sure,

To assuage this present grief;

And with God’s grace I can endure

Through earthly life so brief.

Through tears God’s name I praise;

I share His love abounding,

For every burden He will raise:

He gives victory resounding.

Forward now to Heaven’s shore

I press each single day,

Anticipating even more

God’s guidance all the way.

You have gone on and I remain,

But my heart surely feels

That all the memories I retain

Sustains me, lifts me, heals.

-Ethelene Dyer Jones

January 10; 2011; revised January 30, 2011

I began composing this poem January 10, 2011 when my husband, the Rev. Grover Duffie Jones, a patient in Georgia War Veteran’s Home in Milledgeville, GA at the time, was very low physically and I had engaged Hospice Nurses to help with his care. He passed this life January 26, 2011 after having struggled with Alzheimer’s disease for 18 years—a long time to suffer from that debilitating disease. Following his “Celebration of Life” service on January 28, 2011, I worked some more on the poem I had begun, and on January 30, 2011, I finished the poem in its present form as a testimony of how God helped me deal with the severe illness and death of a beloved mate. Writing the poem helped me through hard days of his final care, as well as giving me Biblical perspective on death, dying, and grief of a loved one.

I thought the death of my husband might be the hardest to accept and recover from the grief of anyone else extremely close to me in relationship until I, too, passed beyond this vale of earth. But in 2017, I experienced the death of a very dear friend, Mr. Wilbur Dalton Smith, on February 13, 1017. During the remainder of that year, I had a first cousin and a “double-first” cousin to die; both had been very close to me in relationship. Then my beloved son, at age 65, died suddenly with a heart attack on November 16, 2017. Shocked and so saddened, I could hardly believe what I was hearing when I got the message of his death. I had never dreamed that one of my two children would precede me in death. Isn’t a mother supposed to die first in the age-order of reckoning? I miss both husband and son since their deaths. But I had expected my husband’s death after a long, lingering, worsening illness. I miss my son terribly. I thought he would out-live me. Not so in God’s order of taking Keith at age 65. The parting was so difficult; God’s grace has been abounding to help me through grief.

Then, two weeks to the day after my son Keith died, my sister, Linda Lou Dyer Fortenberry died with cancer. Her death date was November 30, 2017. Five deaths in 2017 of persons close to me left me feeling bereft. I returned again to the poem of 2011: “If You Should Go and I Remain.”

And 2018 has brought death to three more close and dear to me: Another “double-first” cousin, India Inez Dyer Lumsden died March 1, 2018. Two other “first cousins twice-removed” as we say in genealogy reckoning: Former Georgia Governor and US Senator Zell Bryan Miller died March 23, 2018. U. S. Marine Corps retired Master Sergeant Eric England died April 7, 2018. And my beloved niece, Annie Faye Dyer Graham died April 8, 2018. As I write this, I have just returned from Faye’s “Celebration of Life” Memorial Service today (April 14, in Atlanta). Now you don’t have to wonder why I return to a poem written in 2011: “If You Should Go and I Remain.” Grief and departure, death and dying, we must face and learn to deal with. And the Bible gives much comfort in many places in Scripture. God give us the grace to live through grief and rejoice again that our beloved fellow believers now know the glories of heaven. We can join them there if we repent of sins, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, accept His pardon and grace, and seek to live for Him in whatever life remains for us on earth. Selah! -Ethelene Dyer Jones. 04.15.2018.

If You Should Go and I Remain (On Death and Dying)

“That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His suffering, becoming like Him in His death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” -Philippians 3:10-11 (ESV)

If you should go and I remain

To walk life’s road alone,

I know my heart will break with pain,

Deny that you are gone.

Despair will cover like a shroud,

The days pass slowly on;

Each task be covered with a cloud

That drips the message “Gone!”

What hope will dawn amidst my tears?

Can peace abide again?

What antidote to conquer fears?

What balm to ease the pain?

Then Spirit’s clear, calm voice I hear:

“Behold! Christ walks with you;

His presence is so very near,

Your strength He will renew!”

You have gone on and I remain,

But daily at my side

The Lord who knows my heart-felt pain

Is here to guard and guide.

He gives me peace, abundant life;

He offers hope and grace.

He, as one who knew deep strife,

Will help me daily face

The vacancy, the lonely night,

The yearnings that I feel;

For in God’s goodness He makes right

And helps the heart to heal.

Now you stand whole at heaven’s gate

Anticipating glad reunion day;

And I with patient hope await

To join you in that way.

Faith now moves in, a bulwark sure,

To assuage this present grief;

And with God’s grace I can endure

Through earthly life so brief.

Through tears God’s name I praise;

I share His love abounding,

For every burden He will raise:

He gives victory resounding.

Forward now to Heaven’s shore

I press each single day,

Anticipating even more

God’s guidance all the way.

You have gone on and I remain,

But my heart surely feels

That all the memories I retain

Sustains me, lifts me, heals.

-Ethelene Dyer Jones

January 10; 2011; revised January 30, 2011

I began composing this poem January 10, 2011 when my husband, the Rev. Grover Duffie Jones, a patient in Georgia War Veteran’s Home in Milledgeville, GA at the time, was very low physically and I had engaged Hospice Nurses to help with his care. He passed this life January 26, 2011 after having struggled with Alzheimer’s disease for 18 years—a long time to suffer from that debilitating disease. Following his “Celebration of Life” service on January 28, 2011, I worked some more on the poem I had begun, and on January 30, 2011, I finished the poem in its present form as a testimony of how God helped me deal with the severe illness and death of a beloved mate. Writing the poem helped me through hard days of his final care, as well as giving me Biblical perspective on death, dying, and grief of a loved one.

I thought the death of my husband might be the hardest to accept and recover from the grief of anyone else extremely close to me in relationship until I, too, passed beyond this vale of earth. But in 2017, I experienced the death of a very dear friend, Mr. Wilbur Dalton Smith, on February 13, 2017.   During the remainder of that year, I had a first cousin and a “double-first” cousin to die; both had been very close to me in relationship. Then my beloved son, at age 65, died suddenly with a heart attack on November 16, 2017. Shocked and so saddened, I could hardly believe what I was hearing when I got the message of his death. I had never dreamed that one of my two children would precede me in death. Isn’t a mother supposed to die first in the age-order of reckoning? I miss both husband and son since their deaths. But I had expected my husband’s death after a long, lingering, worsening illness. I miss my son terribly. I thought he would out-live me. Not so in God’s order of taking Keith at age 65. The parting was so difficult; God’s grace has been abounding to help me through grief.

Then, two weeks to the day after my son Keith died, my sister, Linda Lou Dyer Fortenberry died with cancer. Her death date was November 30, 2017. Five deaths in 2017 of persons close to me left me feeling bereft. I returned again to the poem of 2011: “If You Should Go and I Remain.”

And 2018 has brought death to three more close and dear to me: Another “double-first” cousin, India Inez Dyer Lumsden died March 1, 2018. Two other “first cousins twice-removed” as we say in genealogy reckoning: Former Georgia Governor and US Senator Zell Bryan Miller died March 23, 2018. U. S. Marine Corps retired Master Sergeant Eric England died April 7, 2018. And my beloved niece, Annie Faye Dyer Graham died April 8, 2018. As I write this, I have just returned from Faye’s “Celebration of Life” Memorial Service today (April 14, in Atlanta). Now you don’t have to wonder why I return to a poem written in 2011: “If You Should Go and I Remain.” Grief and departure, death and dying, we must face and learn to deal with. And the Bible gives much comfort in many places in Scripture. God give us the grace to live through grief and rejoice again that our beloved fellow believers now know the glories of heaven. We can join them there if we repent of sins, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, accept His pardon and grace, and seek to live for Him in whatever life remains for us on earth. Selah! -Ethelene Dyer Jones. 04.15.2018.

As Mary Magdalene in the Garden

“Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him’…But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb….Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni’! (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, ‘Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father, but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father to my God and your God.’ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’—and that he said these things to her.” -John 20:12; 11, 14-18. ESV (Read John 20)

As Mary Magdalene in the Garden

Mary Magdalene went early

Before the dawning light

Had spread abroad the sunshine

To give the darkness light.

Sadness filled her heart,

For lo, her Lord was dead.

He who had promised life and hope

Had died with thorn-crowned head.

Frightened was she when she saw

The sepulcher’s stone awry;

Who had taken the Lord’s body?

Was it not enough for Him to die?

To Peter and the other disciples

She ran, in tears, and said:

“They have taken away His body;

Wherever could He be laid?”

Peter and another went to find

That Mary’s word was true.

No longer did the grave hold Him;

Only burial clothes there to view.

The disciples left and went home,

But Mary lingered there;

Weeping in the dark garden,

And mourning for the Lord so fair.

Then a voice said, “Mary!”

And when He spoke she knew

It was her Lord triumphant!

“Rabboni!” she said, “This is you!”

“I have a message for you to bear:

Tell the disciples I now live!

As I told them when I taught,

This message of life you must give!”

Mary in the garden was afraid

When lingering shades of night

Still surrounded the tomb;

But then what a glorious Light!

The very Son of God arose

Victorious over the grave;

And to Mary Magdalene His servant,

The glorious message He gave.

She went telling the disciples:

“I have seen the Lord!”

He lives, He conquered death,

We have this Word

To tell others that death

No longer over us reigns;

But Christ the Lord is risen,

Now my soul forever sings!

As Mary in the garden,

We need not fear shades of night,

Knowing that Life awaits us

In His marvelous, life-changing Light.

-Ethelene Dyer Jones

I wrote this poem March 23, 2005 for Easter, 2005. I brought the poem out of my file and am sharing it again Easter, 2018. May reading it bless you as I was inspired and blessed to write and now to share it. To God be the glory! And deepest gratitude to Jesus Christ, who made our facing death a passage through the “Valley of the Shadow of Death” to our own victorious resurrection. Thank you, God, for our friends, family members who are enjoying this year their “First Resurrection Sunday in Heaven!” May we know on earth a “foretaste” of the glory to come when we, too, join that happy throng in Heaven! Amen and Amen! 04.01.2018.

Lessons from Psalm 25: A Prayer for Learning God’s Paths

“To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none who wait for you will be put to shame. They shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. Make me to know your ways, O lord; teach me your paths; Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.” -Psalm 25:1-5 (ESV) [Read Psalm 25]

On this Palm Sunday, 2018, I could have chosen the Scripture for Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey, with palm branches scattered in His pathway. Perhaps in your church, the children have the processional waving the palm branches. It is a joyous reenactment of an important event in the life of our Lord. Enjoy Palm Sunday, and the forthcoming Holy Week, and Easter.

But for this devotional today, consider Psalm 25 to be our Bible lesson. As Jesus had the way leading into Jerusalem to follow, according to prophecy, so we, as the Psalmist declares in the 25^th Psalm, should travel in the path the Lord directs us. Psalm 25 is a prayer asking God to direct the believer’s path. We all need to pray the prayer the psalmist so aptly penned.

Psalm 25 is both a lament and an acrostic Psalm (using letters of the Hebrew alphabet to begin each section). As the writer, believed to be David, prays that God will direct His path, he also lifts a lament, using the pattern of the Hebrew alphabet to guide his thoughts. In the English Standard Version Study Bible, the 22 verses of this Psalm are set in paragraph form. Here, briefly summarized, are the elements of the prayer:

      Trust (1-3): “To You, O Lord, I lift my soul” (v. 1). The believer expresses confidence and reliance on God, his source for help whatever the circumstances.

      Guidance (4-5): “Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.” Who but the Lord can give the one who prays the direction needed? The Psalmist desires to know, to be taught; and so should we.

      Love, mercy and forgiveness (6-7): The Psalmist does not rely on his own goodness for forgiveness, but upon the steadfast love and forgiveness of the Lord.

      God’s instruction and its results (8-10): Because of who He is, God instructs sinners in His way, leads the humble in what is right, and rewards those who keep His covenant.

      Reasons for faithfulness to the Lord (11-15): God pardons the guilty, instructs those who fear Him; both the believer and His offspring shall follow the Lord and inherit the land. God renews His covenant to those who love Him. He keeps safe those who trust in Him, plucking “them from the net” (a metaphor for Satan’s trap).

      Request for forgiveness and protection (16-18): The believer is not free from trouble and affliction, but he turns to God for help in difficult times (and, indeed, all the time).

     Despite enemies, the believer will be faithful to God (19-21): These verses remind me of another acclamation: “God is my refuge and strength; a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1). The Psalmist says confidently: “I take refuge in You. May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for You” (Psalm 25:20b-21).

      Prayer for Israel (22): The first 21 verses have been an individual prayer and lament. The psalmist now prays for his country: “Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles” (v. 22). This ending is a timely reminder to us that we should pray for our own country consistently and frequently. As we pray for ourselves and our own relationship with God, that we might know His paths and walk in them, as the Psalmist, we should likewise pray this prayer for our own country, America. Where we live and dwell and have our being matters. We pray for ourselves. We ought also to pray for our country. For self and for country, our prayer should be “”To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust!” (Psalm 25:1-2a).

On this Palm Sunday, let us remember Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event in His life fulfilling prophecy (see Zechariah 9:9, Isaiah 62:1-2). As Christ walked that way in direct fulfillment of God’s plan, let us, too, as Psalm 22 teaches us, seek to find and walk in God’s ways. If we pray to find and follow God’s way, He will show us and lead us into His way everlasting and His plan for our time on earth. Selah! - Ethelene Dyer Jones 03.25.2018

Digging Again the Wells

“So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines had stopped up after the death of Abraham. And he gave them the names that his father had given them. But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water, the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, ‘The water is ours.’ So he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him. Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so he called its name Sitnah. And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, saying, ‘For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.’ “ -Genesis 26:17-22 (ESV) [Read Genesis 26]

Isaac had gone with his family, servants and herds to Gerar to seek to escape from the famine in the land where his father, Abraham, had settled. Already, Jacob, with his mother Rebekah’s help, had tricked the twins’ father, Isaac, into awarding the first-born twin, Esau’s birthright to the second-born twin, Jacob. God had appeared to Isaac and told him not to go to Egypt to escape the famine, but to go to Gerar. Abimelech was king of the Philistines who dwelt in the land of Gerar. Isaac told Abimelech that Rebekah was his sister, (as Abraham, Isaac’s father, had claimed about Sarai, Isaac’s mother, years before.). King Abimelech found out beautiful Rebekah was Isaac’s wife. When he found out the truth about Rebekah and Isaac, King Abimelech warned his people, “Whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.” (Genesis 26:11). However, everywhere that Isaac was in Gerar, he dug again the wells Abraham had dug before, and gave them the same names. But the herdsmen of the Philistines said, “These are our wells; this is our water.” Isaac moved on, opening other wells; but the result was the same: contention. Until Isaac opened the well at Rehoboth, and there the Philistines did not come and take possession of that well. Rehoboth means, “For now, the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”

My husband, the Rev. Grover Duffie Jones, was ordained to the gospel ministry at Choestoe Baptist Church, Blairsville, GA on July 9, 1951. After a “grueling” questioning by the Presbytery (Examining Board) of area Baptist ministers and deacons, he “passed the test” and was recommended for ordination, which proceeded immediately after the questioning period. My husband had also to preach his own “ordination” sermon, one he took from the passage of Scripture I’ve quoted above. As his beloved wife, I thought he did a remarkable presentation of the sermon, “Digging Again the Wells.” I won’t give the outline of his sermon here, but I will say that he was invited back to Choestoe Church on occasions of homecoming and special events to repeat the sermon he delivered on the day of his ordination to the gospel ministry. Fast forward to November 3, 1996, a day when Mrs. Dora Hunter Allison Spiva, noted (retired) high school mathematics and Latin teacher, and later a counselor, was being honored at a special “Aunt Dora Day: This is Your Life” at 2:00 p. m. However, at the morning service that day, Rev. Grover Jones was invited to give the sermon—the very one he had preached on his ordination day on July 9, 1951. Even though my dear husband had already been declared with dread Alzheimer’s then, he could still read and preach, if he had manuscript before him. And so, that glorious day, he preached “Digging Again the Wells.”

I wrote a poem, using the title of his sermon, and the idea from the Scripture at the beginning of this devotional, as a superscript to my poetic thoughts. I share that poem I wrote November 2, 1996 prior to the wonderful “Aunt Dora Hunter Spiva Day” at Choestoe Baptist Church. Aunt Dora (called “aunt” in respect by the congregation and many others) was actually my father’s first cousin through Dora’s mother, Martha Souther Hunter, and my Grandmother, Sarah Souther Dyer, sisters; and also first cousin to my mother, Azie Collins Dyer, through Aunt Dora’s father, James Hunter, sister to Azie’s mother, Georgianne Hunter Collins. Now, have I confused you completely on this double-cousin relationship? But they were all good, hard-working, honest Christian people, and Choestoe people’s church memberships were spread out to several Baptist Churches: some at Choestoe, some at Old Liberty, some at New Liberty (where my Souther great, great grandfather gave the land for building the church and forming the cemetery at a church now on Town Creek School Road), Old Union (called also Church Up on the Nottely River). Quite a spread of land, that district of Choestoe, where our ancestors came from Va, SC and NC before Union County was formed in 1832 while the Cherokee still fished along the Nottely River and lived in Choestoe, which the Indians named, meaning “The Place Where Rabbits Dance” in the Cherokee language. At the forced “Trail of Tears” exodus of the Cherokee in 1838, several of the Indians hid out in caves thus escaping the exodus. My ancestors befriended many of these and learned much of herbal medicine. For example, my own grandmother, Sarah Evaline Souther Dyer, was a noted herbalist doctor and the delivered hundreds of babies in the Choestoe District.

And here is my poem. It is a parody (written in the style and meter of) a poem entitled “The Bridge Builder” by Will Allen Dromgoole, and published in “Father: An Anthology of Verse (New York: E. P. Dutton), 1931. You may look up Dromgoole’s poem on “Google” to see how my pattern of verse follows his in his “The Bridge Builder.”

The Well Digger

(A parody on “The Bridge Builder,” a poem by Will Allen Dromgoole’s, 1931)

[Based on Scripture from Genesis 26:17-24, when Isaac digs again the wells dug first by Abraham]

An older person going a desert way

Came at the evening, cold and gray,

To an overgrown well, covered side to side,

With sand and debris piled at angles wide.

The aged one began with deliberate aim

To shovel debris and the well reclaim;

Working long hours at the arduous task

At last drew clear water and filled his flask.

“Old One,” said a thirsy pilgrim near,

“You are wasting your strength on this well, I fear.

Your thirsting will end as your life closes;

Don’t you know your work also soon reposes?

Soon you will drink your last from this well;

Why work so hard when it soon may refill?”

The well digger lifted his old gray head.

“Fellow Thirster, there are others seeking water,” he said.

“Seeking the Fountain of Life, and they cannot find it,

Because cares of this world so often hide it.

This well on life’s path I open for them,

With a prayer that a drink may point to Him

Who is Living Water. Taking Him, never thirst.

Drinking from Him, the blessings of Heaven burst.

That is why I labor, at the close of my day,

Pointing others to the Truth, to the Living Way.”

-Ethelene Dyer Jones

November 2, 1996

{Written, years later, to accompany my husband’s sermon, “Digging Again the Wells” based on Genesis 26:17-22. It was the sermon he preached on his day of ordination to the gospel ministry, July 9, 1951, at Choestoe Baptist Church, and several times subsequently during his 44 ½ years of ministry. But a special day, “The Aunt Dora Day” at Choestoe Church, Blairsville, was the occasion of his preaching the sermon again, to honor this gracious lady and my kinswoman and teacher in high school and in Sunday School at Choestoe Church, Mrs. Dora Hunter Allison Spiva. It is interesting, too, to note that the School of Education at Truett McConnell College (now University) at Cleveland, GA was named for Mrs. Spiva.) Grover Jones and I were charter students at that small Baptist School that opened its doors for students September 15, 1997. We graduated in the first (Truett McConnell Junior College) class in 1949. Through God’s grace and hard study, I was declared the valedictorian of that first class, 1949, and my address was “Making a Spiral Instead of a Circle.” Mrs. Dora Hunter Allison Spiva, my favorite high school teacher at Union County High, Blairsville (I a graduate, Class of 1947 from high school; valedictorian. Mrs. Dora inspired me to become a teacher, and I taught at Choestoe School in 1949-50. The school had dwindled from 2-teacher my 7 years there, to one teacher, and I was “it”! That year. Grover and I married December 29, 1949. And Mrs. Dora was there to congratulate us! Some autobiography! - Ethelene Dyer Jones 03.18.2018