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

God Has Called and Saved Us for a Purpose

"For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, 'I have made you a light for the
Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.,,,And the
disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit." -Acts 13:47, 52
(ESV)

Those who worked in the early church were noted by Dr. Luke, the writer of
Acts, to be "filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.  After Jesus'
resurrection from the dead, His appearance to several in a forty-day period,
and then when He was ready to ascend to heaven,  He gave His disciples what
we have come to call the Great Commission.  It contains believers' "marching
orders" to do the will of God: that is, telling others what Jesus has done
and will do for anyone who believes.   "And Jesus came and said , '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)  

Jesus promised to be with the disciples as they went everywhere preaching
the Word.  And He was with them:  through rejection by their own Jewish
kinsmen and those who refused to believe that Jesus was the Messiah promised
by their prophets.  He had not set up an earthly kingdom and rid them of the
dreaded Roman rulers.  Therefore, He could not possibly be the Messiah for
whom they had looked for centuries.  But through the preaching of Peter,
James, John and the newly-converted Jew we know as Paul the Apostle, many
heard the Word of the gospel and believed.  We don't have to know a lot of
Scripture to share our faith with others.  Tell an unsaved person about your
own personal experience with the Lord.  Lead the unbeliever to read John
3:16, which contains the heart of the gospel:  "For God so loved the world,
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should
not perish, but have everlasting life." (-John 3:16, KJV).  Then the way to
be saved is given 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."  (KJV).

Great joy can come to the believer by testifying to his/her faith with an
unbeliever.  Remember, the Lord commanded us to be a light to unbelievers.
If we do not witness to them, tell them, who will?  Someone has aptly said:
"You may be the best Christian someone knows."  What if our light is not
shining with the Lord's love?  What if our witness is silent?  How will the
unbeliever come to know the Lord?  We are living in very troubled times.
The recent slaughter in a school in Florida has set our hearts to yearning
for law, order, protection and peace in our land.  And there can be no peace
unless people are guided by the peace that Jesus Christ brings to the heart.

Prayer:  Lord, this week, give me purpose, courage, strength and boldness to
be a witness for You wherever I go.  "Arise, shine, for Thy light is come!"
Help me be a bearer of your Light to others.  I know You are willing to go
with me and guide me.  Let me accept this knowledge and speak out lovingly
to those who need to hear and respond to Your invitation to "Come; believe!"
Amen.     - Ethelene Dyer Jones    02.25.2018

Paul the Apostle Testifies Before King Agrippa

“Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. For this reason, the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.” -Acts 26:19-23 (ESV).

In the passage from Acts given above, Paul the Apostle is in Caesarea about 65 miles northwest of Jerusalem. The city is on the Mediterranean Sea. Because Paul was a Roman citizen, he had asked for an appearance before Caesar, the Emperor, in Rome. He had been taken out of the Roman barracks in Jerusalem, heavily guarded by 200 Roman soldiers, until his entourage arrived in Antiparis, about half-way to Caesarea. Having out-run the angry Jews who were also on their way to Caesarea hoping to kill Paul before he could go on to Rome for trial,, the 200 Roman soldiers returned to Jerusalem. A contingent of the cavalry continued on toget Paul safely to Caesarea. Paul would be retained in Caesarea for two years. There he would testify before three Roman leaders in high positions, governors or procurators, Felix, whose term was from 52 A. D. to 60 A. D., followed by Festus, governor from 60 A. D. until his death in 62 A. D. King Agrippa II,the “Herod,” or major ruler of the Jewish people under Roman Rule, and his wife, Bernice, wife, arrived in Caesarea for a visit. King Agrippa and many heard the testimony of Paul as given in Acts 26:2-23. At this point Festus had already given permission for Paul, a Roman citizen, to be sent on to Rome to appear before Caesar. When Paul had given his testimony before King Agrippa, Paul asked him: King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe (the prophets,understood, for Agrippa had studied avidly the law and the prophets. King Agrippa replied, “In a short time, wouldy ou persuade me to be a Christian?” (See Acts 26:27-29). Even before rulers, Paul sought to bring them to a belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, proving that he was truly called of the Lord to be an apostle to the Gentiles.

Following Paul’s testimony before King Agrippa II and Festus, the governor (procurator)at Caesarea, and the King, agreed that Paul had done nothing to deserve death, and that if he had not already been granted a hearing before Caesar in Rome, hecould be set free. Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe says of the Apostle: “Paul did not look for the easy way but for the way that would most honor the Lord and win the lost. He was even willing to become a prisoner if that would further the work of the gospel.[i] God amazingly cared for Paul, his servant, and allowed him to speak and preach in many places following his amazing conversion on the road to Damascus. We are reminded of these words from Psalm 34:7: “The angel of the Lorden camps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.” (Psalm 34:7). After giving his testimony, Paul pressed fora decision to follow the Christ. Let us not forget in our witnessing that we, too, should seek to persuade those to whom we witness to have faith in the Lord to save us so that we, too, may be apart of His kingdom and look forward to our own resurrection from death, as Christ promised.

Thank you, Lord, that by faith we are saved for abundant life here, and everlasting life with You. -Ethelene Dyer Jones. 02.18.2018.

[i]Warren W. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe BibleCommentary. NT. Colorado Springs: David C. Cook. 2007. P. 397.

Ethelene Dyer Jones

When Things Are Turned Upside Down

“Ah, you who hide deep from the Lord your counsel, whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, ‘Who sees us? Who knows us?’ You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, ‘He did not make me; the thing formed say of him who formed it, ‘He has no understanding?’ ” -Isaiah 15-16 (ESV)

“Thou art the Potter, I am the clay!

Mold me and make me, After thy will,

While I am waiting, yielded and still.”

So declares the beloved hymn, “Have Thine Own Way, Lord,” with words by Adelaide A. Pollard (1862-1934), set to the tune “Adelaide” composed by George C. Stebbins (1846-1945). But what about the words from the prophet Isaiah in the focal passage for this devotional? When we read it carefully, Isaiah is talking about people in his day who “hide counsel deep from the Lord,” those who perform deeds “in the dark;” those who say (after all) ‘Who sees us? “Who knows us?” Those who “turn things upside down.” Those who regard God, not as the Potter who formed the world and the people in it, but who regard Him as the clay and themselves as the potter, denying Him as the Maker or as One with infinite understanding.

Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe, Bible scholar and writer of the Wiersbe Bible Commentary states: This “woe” exposed the devious political tactics of the rulers of Judah who thought that God would not hold them accountable for what they were doing. They were trying to turn things upside down, the clay telling the potter what to do (See also Isaiah 45:9; 64:8; Jeremiah 18; and Romans 9:20. If only people would seek the counsel of the Lord instead of depending on their own wisdom and the fragile promises of men!” (Wiersbe, Warren W. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary. O.T. Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2007, p. 1174).

Read the Isaiah passage above again carefully? Does this not remind you of our own day? Are things not “turned upside down today?”

Benjamin Franklin at the Constitutional Convention held in Philadelphia in 1787 told his fellow gathered countrymen: “I have lived a long time and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth—that God governs in the affairs of men. I therefore beg leave to move that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of heaven and its blessings on our deliberations be held in this Assembly every morning.” (Wiersbe. Ibid. p.1175).

Oh, that we as citizens would sincerely seek God’s guidance for our country! Oh, that we as church members would see that we are in a strategic position to make a difference in our church, in our community, our county, state, nation and world! Oh, if we as individuals, saved by the grace of God and with a purpose ordained by Him for this life could realize our strategic position in God’s plan! God knows each of us. He knows where we are. He is our Potter; we are His clay. Let us rejoice and take the responsibility He grants us seriously and gladly. When, as now, things are “turned upside down,” we, as individuals, can make a difference by seeking God’s face and asking for His power to right wrongs and to allow us to be His person where we are, for Jesus’ sake. Selah! -Ethelene Dyer Jones 02.04.2018

A New Year and Renewed Perspective

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father,who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and theFather are one.” -John 10:27-30. ESV.

The context of this Scripture is an occasion when Jesus was in the Temple at Jerusalem,walking in the colonnade of Solomon (John 10:22). Some Jewish leaders said to Him, “If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” (John 10:24). Jesus reminded them that He had told them, and they did not believe, because they were “not of his flock.” Then,using the familiar shepherd/sheep relationship, Jesus proceeded to tell all who heard (and us, through John’s gospel) that those who are believers in Him (his sheep), know and follow him, and have eternal life, and will never, ever perish, and are forever in the Father’s hand, because Jesus and the Father are one.

What joy to face every day and a new year knowing that a believer belongs to Jesus,the Good Shepherd, and that no one or no occasion can pluck the believer (the sheep of the Good Shepherd) from the Father’s hands.

A year brings forth many unexpected happenings, life-changing, hard to bear at times, yet if we have the faith Christ talked about in John 10:27-30, we know,assuredly, that all is well and all will be well.

The year 2017 brought a deep, deep sorrow into my life. On November 16, 2017, my only son, the Rev. Elton Keith Jones, died with a massive heart attack. He had been diagnosed with heart difficulties more than three years previous, and was under cardiologists’ care. Like both his father and his mother, he had propensity for heart difficulties and was seeking to live life in accordance to physicians’ instructions and precautions of one who has an “ailing” heart. But on that Thursday morning, death came suddenly. The strength that has borne me through this deep, deep sorrow has been the firm assurance from Scripture that he was safely in the fold of God and all is now well with him, given the eternal life promised by Jesus Christ, God’s Son. These words, and others, assured me of Keith’s eternal home, with all illnesses gone and with him safely in heaven where all is joy, peace and rest.

When sorrows come, God is with the believer. When faith needs to be strengthened—and practiced—God is there, the Rock, the Encourager, the Good Shepherd, in attendance and loving.

With this assurance, I face 2018, knowing that there is not a sorrow God does not bear, not a trouble He cannot lift. I pray that those reading this can come to such a renewed perspective and faiththat God Himself binds up our wounds and leads us to follow Him, whatever the circumstance we face. As at Lazarus’tomb, when Jesus physically raised him from the dead, he said: “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” (John 11:41). Future resurrection and glory also await all those who hold steadfastly to the belief that Jesus is God’s Son, the Savior of the world, the Resurrection and the Life. Amen. - Ethelene Dyer Jones 01.07.2018.