Living Witnesses To The JOY Jesus Brings
Living Witnesses To The JOY Jesus Brings
There is no doubt about it. Jesus is the foundation and the reason for JOY in my HEART. He walks with me through the ups-and-downs of everyday life. He shares with me His victories, He constantly points me to His witnesses in the Bible. He surrounds me with living witnesses wherever I go and whatever He has me doing. This week I want to share with you some modern day saints who have ministered joy to me throughout my life. The world calls these kind of folk “really happy,” but I know them well enough to know, they have JOY so much deeper and richer than happiness. How blessed I am to have known their JOY in Jesus, for they have been His vessels for leading me to faith in Jesus and also keeping me hungry for more and more of His Good Way in the JOY only He supplies.
A Couple Of Notes Before I Begin: First, I have to point out that Jesus, Himself, is the chief JOY in life. Without Him, I would have no reason, no JOY to write about, no purpose to live. Second: My wife Becky is His most perfect gift to me from His gracious Hand. She daily teaches me how real and how deep His JOY is.
PaPa Stonecypher
My Grandfather
Philippians 4:4
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.
Most folks called him Dewey, some called him Mr. Stonecypher, but the seven of us blessed to enjoy him as our grandfather always called him PaPa. He definitely worked hard all his life at the local steel plant. When he wasn’t working at the plant, he was gardening and serving as a deacon at Paden Baptist Church, and bringing lots of love and laughter to his grandchildren and lots of other lucky folks. His faith in Jesus and his gentle teasing and playfulness made knowing him as PaPa a real blessing to the seven of us. The Joy of Jesus in our PaPa was definitely real and contagious.
Aunt Cordeal
My Aunt
Isaiah 12:3
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
To be honest, in my mother’s great big family, I only saw my Aunt Cordeal occasionally, at big family occasions. Still, when I did see her, she was constantly telling delightfully hilarious stories, and shaking with contagious laughter. Most of her stories featured her and Uncle Hobart’s amusing adventures. Once they went to a neighboring county to get a certain liquid ingredient for her fruitcake. Poor Uncle Hobart had to do the “dirty” work while Aunt Cordeal hid in the car down the road from the disreputable store that sold that particular forbidden drink for soaking the cake. They were long-time members serving at New Hope Baptist Church, and in their later years, at Goodyear Heights Baptist. The JOY of Jesus always shone in her eyes and in her life of service for her Lord among her family, her friends and through her church.
Mrs. Culberson
My Training Union Leader
1 John 3:18
Little children, let us not love in word or talk
but in deed and in truth.
Mrs. Culberson was our leader as older children on Sunday nights in Church. She was always smiling, always entertaining us as she taught, always catching us up in the delight and JOY Jesus brings. I never knew as a child how she spent most of her hours every day caring for her son Neal, who had profound developmental issues. She and her husband lovingly parented him with the care only deeply godly parents could give. I did wonder why she only attended church in the evening, while her husband only attended in the morning. My mother explained to me how their care for Neal required one of them to be present at all times. I will never forget the loving encouragement they gave me when I went to Nigeria as a single missionary. During my first homeside assignment she invited me over for lunch, which was delicious, and we had a great time as she asked me how she could pray about my life as a missionary. She did occasionally take time to check on Neal, and I kept the visit short. Now that the three of them are all together, perfected in Heaven, I just know Mr. And Mrs. Culberson and Neal are even now REJOICING together in Jesus.
Vicki Whaley
My School Friend
Ecclesiastes 3:12
When I think of Vicki, I remember her for her big smile, her hearty laughter, her teasing banter, the beautiful music she made on her flute or piccolo, or with her voice, and her hard work. She was a great, a very true friend, with an unshakable and inspirational testimony. Growing up in church and school together, we enjoyed life among a group of kids, then teens, from hard-working, faith-based families. Her parents were among the couples who led us in Sunday night discipleship. Vicki did her Christian service as a choir member often featured as a vocal soloist and also, playing the flute. Her merry spirit and her sense of peace in Christ made her a dear friend to many. Years later, as she battled cancer, her faith remained confident and strong. I will always remember sitting at the back of our church after successful surgery, and having her come over and express her concern and prayers for me, even as I knew how seriously she was fighting cancer. When I asked her about herself, she smiled confidently and replied, “The Lord and I have this. Everything will be okay.” Her faith remained strong always. Throughout her lifetime, Vicki definitely exemplified JOYFUL faith before me.
Felicia Butler
My Lifelong Friend
Isaiah 12:2
“Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the Lord God is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.”
Felicia and I met as members of a Summer Missions team here in our home county. Our work focused on low income families living in government housing. We actually ran a coffee house outreach in the early seventies, complete with a tie-dye parachute hanging from the ceiling. We worked days and nights, providing programs for children and teen-agers, offering them hope through Christ in the midst of some very painful realities they faced every day. God accomplished many mighty miracles. Felicia excelled in that work because God gave her a joyful heart in spite of health concerns which never seemed to keep her from finding smiles and laughter to share with the most troubled among the youth and children we encountered. Later we taught together in Ludowici, a small swamp town in southeast Georgia, filled with wonderful people and lots of challenges. Again I admired Felicia for finding God’s best in every situation. She and Ralph, her husband, continued bringing JOY in Jesus to the lives of many, even as they moved closer to Savannah and coastal Georgia. Eventually she lost Ralph, yet she continues to brighten the day of many folks—always pointing them to Jesus, as she continues health struggles that make her life less than comfortable, to say the least. Yet she still takes our Lord God as her strength and her always JOYFUL song.
Richard Hearn
My Bible Teacher
Proverbs 15:13
A glad heart makes a cheerful face,
but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed.
Rev. Hearn was never my pastor. He was my Bible teacher. He was the father of two of my students. He was a rock of gentle and exemplary ministry in St. Marys. One of my dearest friends, Carolyn Mock, served as his church secretary. She experienced first hand day after day the depth of His faith and his always true Christ-like love for His people, and his always present grin. When he taught the Bible, his calm demeanor and his deep conviction testified to the power of God through Jesus and through the Word to bring JOY to even the most desperate of lives. His teaching arose out of a heart that was always speaking out in the midst of lives which desperately needed what Jesus had in store for those who responded to His offer of salvation and new life. In Rev. Hearn I learned in my two brief years in Ludowici how the genuine witness of a JOYFUL servant of Jesus accomplishes mighty works in the power of our Lord Jesus.
Jane Ellen Gaines
My Missionary Mentor
Psalm 16:11
You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Now, fullness of JOY, that is exactly what Jane Ellen Gaines brought to life every single day. I cannot recall anytime with her not bringing me a smile, laughter, and encouragement—always in the Lord. She was always declaring God’s Truth as she rejoiced in His Goodness. She often proclaimed and acted out in faith the power of His Goodness. During my first missionary term, she insisted the two of us meet for prayer each week, which was great; but she also insisted we eat lunch because she felt I needed encouragement for eating more as I battled to hold onto my weight. So, we prayed and ate lunch once a week. She proved to be an excellent model for both; she prayed heartily, with great enthusiasm and conviction; and she did the same with eating. Her lively love for Jesus and people made her irresistible. Students loved her. Teachers loved her. Parents loved her. Everybody loved her. She definitely taught me to trust Jesus with everything and to experience JOY as I followed Him.
Sonny Stewart
My Coach
Psalm 40:8
I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.”
When I moved to St. Marys on the southeastern coast of Georgia, on the mainland, across from Cumberland Island, I was searching for JOY, and folks who would in Jesus share that with me. I had just been disappointed in being put on hold in my desire to fulfill God’s call on my life for missions service. So, meeting Sonny Stewart the first day of my teaching at St. Marys Elementary School was a Godsend. He was to be the PE teacher for the school, while I was to be the English and reading teacher for the seventh grade. He had served in the Navy, while I had previously taught up the coast a bit, in Ludowici, Georgia. He loved God deeply, and had a “go get them” personality which made for great coaching. We enjoyed the challenge of teaching and reaching our students together. He and his wife Norma both helped to focus me on finding what God had for me to do in St. Marys. Through them and a wonderful group of faithful members of St. Marys Baptist Church, I discovered an exciting calling into a blend of teaching and youth ministry which brought me a tremendous four year time of preparation for my missions service in Nigeria and Niger. Sonny Stewart, from that very first day at school, coached me up, as they say, in knowing and sustaining the pure JOY of serving the Lord.
Bro. Mike
My Inspiration
2 Corinthians 12:10
For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses,
insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.
For when I am weak, then I am strong.
One of the first people I met at Baptist High School, Jos, Bro. Mike Abraham, has one of the most JOYFUL faces I have ever seen. Bro. Mike and his discipleship brothers, Ademola, Akinwale, Philip, Shola and Victor, had been discipled deeply by Larry Davis, who was moving into work in Mubi when I arrived; and so, he graciously handed the group over to me. What a rich blessing! They all loved the Lord and also loved learning more and more about serving the Lord. Among them Bro. Mike backed up his broad smiles with a deep set of convictions about living the Christian life in obedience, always acting with faithful dependence on Jesus. The entire group loved singing JOYFULLY and living their lives to back up their testimonies. To this day I recall with awe how God welcomed me to Nigeria with Bro. Mike’s and his discipleship brothers’ enthusiasm for the Lord.
Samson Adedokun
My Abiding JOY
Psalm 37:3
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Samson is one of those people everybody loves. He is genuinely friendly. He stands strongly and graciously on his deep faith. He values people as God’s Creation, and speaks and acts in a manner which inspired by Jesus, communicates encouragement and godly love. He treasures life and enjoys it greatly. Since he lives in Lagos, the most unpredictable of the world’s great cities, he just trusts in the Lord and in obedience ministers faithfully, in spite of the surprises and challenges which overflow each and every day. If he needs to hop on a motorcycle in the midst of impossible traffic jams in order to catch his plane still miles away, he does so, chuckling and smiling all the way. Just one more story to tell his family, his friend, and his church members. The JOY of our Lord is absolutely his strength. So, people rush to him for encouragement, advice, and for good-hearted understanding. Like the other blesssed souls, I mention this week; just to mention him makes me smile.
Beverly Bean
MY CO-LABORER
Romans 5:2
Through him we have also obtained access by faith
into this grace in which we stand,
and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Beverly came to Sahel Academy as the Elementary School Principal, and her JOY in the Lord immediately captivated her students, her staff, and the entire Sahel missionary community. Oh, to hear those elementary students singing and laughing through one praise song or the other. Now, those were moments of JOY. She carried that sense of celebration in the midst of God’s goodness wherever she went, among students, staff, parents and all over Niamey. And I had the privilege of witnessing the same JOY in her prayer life as she prayed about anything and everything with absolute faith in our faithful God, and His answer to our prayers. No wonder she ended up becoming the Director for the school; and no wonder she did such an amazing job of drawing the entire school together as we worked successfully through the complex task of reaccreditation. No wonder she won the heart of her husband, Stuart. They are blessed. And so are we.
Hadiza
My Godly Example
Isaiah 12:3
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
Like so many in this list of JOYFUL people, I cannot recall Hadiza’s face without appreciating her smile so big it stretches her face from side-to-side; and her shining eyes which reflect that same confidence in our Lord. Her vision for providing help to Nigerien children facing overwhelming needs inspires my admiration. Hadiza has no quit in her. Her vision came while she worked as a cook in the hostel for missionary students at Sahel Academy in Niamey, Niger. She also took orders from missionary families in the community, and delivered such delicious treats, she stayed more than busy meeting the demand. She felt called to get a bit of additional land so she could open a center to provide care for Nigerien students with extraordinary needs. She labored on until God fulfilled her desire to make this vision a reality. She sacrificed much, and is now able to minister with the JOY in her heart of knowing she has obeyed, the Lord has provided, and many are blessed.
