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.