KOININIA WORKS

KOININIA:

In the Bible, koininia is a Greek word translated as fellowship, communion, or participation,
referring to a deep, intimate, and covenantal bond between believers in Christ, built on shared beliefs, spiritual life, and mutual support. It goes beyond mere association, describing a dynamic of joint participation in a common life, faith, purpose and commitment to each other and the Lord. Koininia, then is Christian fellowship, uniquely enjoyed among brothers and sisters in Christ.

Acts 2:42 ESV

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching
and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

In the midst of the new-born Church, koininia showed up as believers gave themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to rejoicing together in living out their new lives of faith,  in sharing meals together, and in their prayers.

1 John 1:3 ESV

“ . . . that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you,
so that you too may have fellowship with us;
and indeed our fellowship with the Father
and with his Son Jesus Christ.”

Koininia welcomes us into the unique bonds of Christian unity which miraculously mirror the oneness of God the Father and the Son. Koininia is a deep and loving bond between believers which somehow reflects the glories of the unity of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

Philippians 2:1-2 ESV

So if there is any encouragement in Christ,
any comfort from love,
any participation in the spirit,
any affection and sympathy,
complete my joy by being of the same mind,
having the same love,
being in full accord and of one mind.

Koininia actually encourages us in Christ, comforts us in His perfect Love, enables us to participate in spiritual unity within the Body of Christ, gifts us with the holiest sense of affection and sympathy, inspires us to think with the same mind, the Mind of Christ; so that we live in one accord, purpose, and experience.

Ephesians  4: 11-13 ESV

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists,
the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for
the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
until we all attain to the unity of the faith
and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
to mature manhood, to the measure
of the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, . . .

Koininia exercises our Spirit given gifts as apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers—as we join as one to equip the saints for the work of ministry—spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ together. Koininia works hard to build up Christ’s Church until we become unified in our faith in our Lord Jesus. Koininia blesses us as we grow in knowledge of Jesus Christ. Koininia strengthens us and matures us in our common faith until we reach the full extent of Christ’s blessing in and through us.

Koininia Works

In the face of a crisis
koininia works,
sometimes standing
side-by-side
or possibly back-to-back
one with a spear
or with mortar
and bricks—
Nehemiah leading
the people at the
wall and Ezra
in their prayers—
or in these days when a
water pipe bursts
one with a mop
and others, towels;
God perfects our unity
when in the face
of a challenge
we each one
do our tasks as God directs
and encourage
each other with
pats on the back.

Now, why would I be thinking of Nehemiah and Ezra while I watched us as a church respond to the consequences of a broken pipe and lots of water flooding through the ceilings onto the floor? Well, the once exiled Jews, and their leaders once they returned to Jerusalem, found a broken wall, a destroyed Temple, and lots of enemies. God chose his leaders well, and Nehemiah and Ezra provided His people the direction and energy needed for the monumental, but necessary task of rebuilding the wall, Now, we at First Baptist Church Glencoe have not been exiled, and we have no outer wall to rebuild; but we did experience a mighty challenge this past Sunday morning, arriving for Life Group classes and a Mexico Mission fund-raising lunch. At least one pipe burst and a toilet had kept running and the water flowed freely upstairs and down in the fellowship hall, and in the classes overhead. So, as God would have it, people, young and old, jumped into the battle and eventually got floors and furniture as dry as possible. Many, many folks did more than their share, so Life Groups met as usual, worship continued, and the Mexico Mission Lunch took place as planned, although we’re not quite sure how those dishes got washed.

In this world we all learn how quickly out-of-control things can get; and that God has His plan and the enemy, his; each as to how they intend to have God’s children act. While God’s plan includes coordinated, Spirit-filled, selfless hard work shared by all God’s people; the enemy would divide us so we waste time arguing and pointing fingers, rather than in doing the work which needs to be done. God intends to make each crisis one more opportunity to grow closer to Him and each other, while the enemy seeks to divide and conquer us while we are distracted by petty arguments and assigning blame. God leads us toward unity and His, and therefore, our own victory. The enemy would lead us nowhere but in circles, frustrating us as we end up with nothing but dizziness and confusion.

Now, as I pause to reflect on this crazy, mixed-up, eventually glorious day, I recognize how koininia works to accomplish God’s Purpose through our faith family. I think of folks who hang out around laundry mats with stacks of coins to bless folks and engage them in gospelcentric conversations. I think of folks working hard summer days in West Virginia, creatively sharing the Gospel. I think of the Praise Team working hard on Wednesday evenings, prayerfully seeking to lead us in true songs of worship on Sunday mornings. I think of faithful men and women preparing to teach Life Groups, lead D-Life groups, work with G.A.’s and R.A.’s and Mission Friends. I think of our ministry leaders praying for God’s guidance as they proclaim the Gospel and illustrate its power and truth among us. I think of men and women welcoming us to worship each Sunday. I think of committee members as they seek to discover and do God’s Will on our behalf as a faith family. I think of our saint of a lady in the Church Office dealing with all of the details of keeping everything about us as a church functioning smoothly day after day. I think of those on their knees throughout night and day praying in praise to Him who makes all this possible, and seeking His blessing on all we do for His glory. I think of our selfless Day School Director and staff as they love children and their families in the name of Christ as they make learning fresh and effective throughout the year. You know, God always knows what He is doing, and He always does it right, so I just have to stop and praise Him for being the Mover behind the scenes as He spreads around plenty of  Koininia Love for His glory and our shared joy. So join me in giving praise to the Father of us all, the creator of salvation, and the sustainer of Koininia Christian Love and Fellowship. INDEED, KOININIA WORKS!!!

Heavenly Strength For Earthly Days

HEAVENLY STRENGTH FOR EARTHLY DAYS

We all have some very long, some very trying, some very exhausting days. As we face weariness, exhaustion and the specter of hopelessness, we find just how powerful, just how merciful, just how faithful is our God. His Presence makes all the difference. As we put one foot in front of another and move from one task to the next, His Holy Spirit often literally picks us up and carries us when we fear we cannot continue. He gives us strength to stand when we can stand no longer in our own strength. His power is sufficient. His care is deep. His Love is sure.

We all have testimonies to share. First, in 1991, while I was serving as Principal at Baptist High School in Jos, Nigeria, a cataclysmic wind storm heavily damaged our campus. The damage was so great we had to send our students home. Even on the first day of this crisis, God raised up Nigerian brothers and sisters who spoke faith into the face of the heavy damage. Our recovery moved along quickly as Christians in Nigeria prayed and gave, as Christians in the U.S., through the International Mission Board provided relief funds, and as government officials in Plateau State did their part. God used His people to intervene, and He was glorified as a much improved Baptist High School campus emerged for all Nigeria to see. Praise God.

Later, the clear emergence of strong Nigerian Christian leadership allowed us to move on from Baptist High School to other missionary tasks. We took up ministry at Hillcrest School, an international Christian school which served missionary and other expatriate families in Jos. Then rioting came to threaten the peace and security of the city, and of our students and teachers at this very prominent school. One year, in particular, had to be creatively fulfilled, missing out on days when particular violence broke out in the city. We had students engaged in teachers’ homes, and in doing take-up learning packets—whatever it took to keep the learning process active. Although we missed many days of school that year, not one person associated with Hillcrest School was harmed in any way as the violence around us arose over and over again. God protected His children. 

Later Becky and I moved from Nigeria to Niger to serve our missionary families at Sahel Academy. During our first year there, a historic flood forced everyone to flee the campus, and school continued that year at two satellite buildings, after the heroic effort of the Christian community in Niamey, the capital city. God provided super human strength, a strong sense of unity, and the material resources we need to be fully back in the original campus the following year. God uplifted and strengthened His people to accomplish His monumental task.

Finally, I experienced these past few weeks up close and personal the wrenching after effects of a cataclysmic fall by Becky’s Dad. I watched as her Mom, her sisters, our son and his wife, our daughter and her family, our nephews and their families, and her great nephews and nieces; all of them, as they watched him suffer and gradually slip away. During those three weeks I saw clear evidence of the love of God her Dad had shared with each and every member of the family. I saw the heroic and godly love his wife demonstrated night-after-night as she stayed by his side and spoke comfort, love and faith to him over and over again. I saw every member of the family suffering deeply, yet doing so with assurance and love provided by God, for their husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. I saw what it means to take each step in every long and difficult day by faith, uplifted by the empowering presence of our compassionate and loving God. I know better now than ever before the difference God makes in families who truly love and serve Him.

So, having shared these brief testimonies, I simply want to also share with you God’s Word in particular Bible verses that remind me everyday how great He is, how perfect are His ways, and how faithfully He guides, upholds, protects and loves us, His children, redeemed by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. 

2 Corinthians 4:6 ESV

For God who said,
”Let light shine out of darkness,”
has shone in our hearts
to give the light
of the knowledge
of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ.”

Indeed, Jesus is the heart of God’s Love for us.

Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

Surely, every day testifies to the unending
mercies of our God.

John 3:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only Son,
that whoever believes in him
should not perish
but have eternal life.”

There can be no doubt,
God loves us so much,
He gave us Jesus.

Romans 5:8 ESV

. . . but God shows his love for us
in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.

Remarkably, God allowed Christ
to die for us even while we were sinners.

2 Chronicles 20:15 ESV

And he said, “Listen, all Judah
and inhabitants of Jerusalem
and King Jehosophat:
Thus says the LORD to you,,
’Do not be afraid and
do not be dismayed
at this great horde,
for the battle is not yours but God’s.”

When we need God most,
He leads the battle—
victory is His.

John 16:33 ESV

”I have said these things to you, that in me
you may have peace.
In the world you will have tribulation.
But take heart;
I have overcome the world.”

On the most difficult of days,
and throughout the longest, hardest nights,
Jesus is right there close by our side.

Romans 8:37-39

No, in all these things we are more than
conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life,
neither angels or demons,
neither the present nor the future,
nor any powers,
neither height nor depth,
nor anything  else in all creation,
will be able to separate us
from the love of God
that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

NOTHING!
Absolutely NOTHING
can separate us
from that love of God
in Jesus our Lord.

All that’s left to say is:
Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord!
Amen!

EVERYDAY PSALMS

OPENING MY HEART
TO GOD

EVERYDAY PSALMS

Sunday

Psalm 100:1-2 ESV
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!

WE FIND JOY
IN PRAISING THE LORD!

    Come into his presence with singing!
Even as You are Three-In-One
we come together in unity
brothers and sisters forever
praising You as our Father
and our beneficent Creator
and our Messiah and Redeemer,
the Holy Spirit who inspires us
for Hallelujahs eternal.

We lift our hearts for Your cleansing,
our souls for Your reviving, and our
minds for Your purifying and our
bodies for Your strong protecting;
we worship You as Joy prevails,
we serve You gladly as You endow,
we proclaim Your Great Good News—
Your glory fills, overflows, surrounds.

Monday

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV

 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing,
 give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

OUR HUMANITY
BOWS TO HIS HOLIINESS

God blesses us best on our knees
giving Him glory, seeking His Will
done on this earth as it is in Heaven—
seeking from His hand every need
we have—finding joy in Him as we
live as His children ready to repent
when we disobey His commands—
we are forgiven as we forgive.

Our humbled hearts, our seeking souls,
our dependent minds—we discover
our best when we depend on Him most
and as we share His blessings we find
them fuller and richer and deeper
for the more we pray for and love
our neighbor the more truly we serve
others the more wholly we worship.

Tuesday 

Colossians 3:23-24 ESV

Whatever you do, work heartily,
as for the Lord and not for men,
knowing that from the Lord
you will receive the inheritance as your reward.
You are serving the Lord Christ.

WE LABOR FOR HIM
WHO IS OUR GOOD GOD.

Working for the glory of our Great God
Almighty takes us back in time
into the Garden where our Father
and our Mother before our Fall found
in work such joy as they shared
with God their Father in their glad
obedience tending to the fruit
upon the trees for pure goodness.

Playfully romping with the many
animals each a friend and as
such a companion like the Man
and Woman were beside their Father
and Creator—all was pure and all
was holy—all was pleasure deep
abiding in the perfect Will
in His Paradise provided.

Wednesday

Lamentations 3:23-24 ESV

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

GOD’S FAITHFUL LOVE
FOREVER AND FOREVER!

You can stand on this truth always
day after day when darker clouds
gather with gloom shadowing our
hearts attempting to hide even
God’s own splendid sun; but though they
grow thicker His sun is still there
and shines brighter than ever through
Jesus our Savior’s resurrection power.

No matter how dark a lonely midnight
might seem, no matter the fear and
and the pain and the doubt which try to rip
apart our hearts from our living faith,
God’s sun still shines on the horizon
and His dawn is drawing nearer ever
until His Trumpet finally sounds
in new Jerusalem His eternal victory.

Thursday

Habakkuk 3:17-18 ESV

Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

ALL GOODNESS
COMES FROM GOD.

I do find joy as I join in praise
for the God of my salvation
who puts the blossoms on the trees,
who forms the grapes upon the vines,
who brings the harvest in the fields,
calls the herd into the stalls,
who faithful has always been
for He stands by me forever.

He faithfully provides my every need
even when it seems there’s so little
in the fields or in the barns, His
provision remains plentiful, His
care surrounds me, He blesses with
such gifts from His glory I have plenty
to share with my brothers and sisters
as He lovingly cares for us all.

Friday

Isaiah 44:22 ESV

I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud
and your sins like mist;
return to me, for I have redeemed you.

THE LOVE OF JESUS
RESCUES AND
AND SETS ME FREE
FROM SIN.

God calls His own in the depth of His Love,
”I will cover Your sin and Your
rebellion with the Blood of the Lamb,”
as He comes Incarnate the Son
down from Heaven in the midst of
the darkness of all of our sin
and rebellion calling us by name
laying down His life to pay for our shame.

He acts as our Good Shepherd seeking
us each, one-by-one, wherever we have
wandered away from His Care,
into all of the danger waiting out there
where lions and wolves would stalk
us and destroy us for their ravenous
desire to destroy us and rob us—
but He gives His life for our own.

Saturday

To God the Father,
God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit,
be all the glory forevermore.
Amen! Amen! Amen!

And I heard every creature in heaven
and on earth and under the earth
and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,
”To him who sits on the throne
and to the Lamb be blessing
and honor and glory
and might forever and ever!!

Every day of every week, every month
of every year, I serve a God who loves
me and upholds me in His all-powerful
and yet His ever tender, perfect care;
there is no moment He ever leaves me
though I too often wander far from Him,
but He continues to pursue me and to
guide me always, until He takes me Home.

And so, I will eternally praise Him,
I will bow and worship before His Throne
gladly and with joy as we are gathered
there in glory to praise His Holy Name;
it is a wonder, it is a marvel, it is a
mystery beautiful—and we shall sing
forever the majesty of the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Three-in-One.

JESUS:“I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE.”

John 11: 25-26  

Jesus said to her,
 “I am the resurrection and the life.
Whoever believes in me, though he die,
yet shall he live,  and everyone who lives
and believes in me shall never die.
Do you believe this?”

For almost all of us, as we closely watch the dying of a loved one—there is a pain, there is an aching emptiness, there is an ugliness to the whole process. We find ourselves questioning almost everything—even God Himself. We often find ourselves weeping, both inside and out. But in the Scripture above, our beloved Savior who wept at Lazarus’ tomb, declared Himself as the Resurrection and the Life—and then proved it by raising back to life His dear friend. I believe this was a living parable in which Jesus chose to remind us how deeply He understands and empathizes with our suffering—and delivers us by this truth: He is our guaranteed resurrection. Praise the Lord. Throughout Scripture He reminds us time after time how He really is hope in the face of the ugliness of death.

Yet when we spend nights and days by the sick bed of one we deeply love and admire, we need His assurance again and again, and His Word is filled, even in the most challenging of books, overflowing with His undeniable power of sin and death. Even Job, in the midst of his horrible suffering proclaims his conviction that God is His absolute home.

Job 19: 25-27

For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
And after my skin has been thus destroyed,
 yet in my flesh I shall see God,
whom I shall see for myself,
  and my eyes shall behold, and not another.

Already in his early years David faced grave danger as he guarded his sheep from great dangers, even lions and bears; yet He found in the person of His Good God and Shepherd, deliverance in the face of death. We can depend on Jesus, our Good Shepherd, as the eternal Victor over the very reality of death.

Psalm 23:4

Even though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

In fact, Jesus, as He spoke to Nicodemus, promised all of those who came to believe in Him, would not ultimately die, but would have eternal life. As believers in Him, we can know that we will live in His Presence forever.

John 3:16

“For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only Son,
that whoever believes in him
should not perish but have eternal life.

Because Jesus and God are one, and since God has given us to Jesus, no one can snatch eternal life from us—no one can snatch us from the eternal grip of Jesus’ strong hands. We are His, and we shall remain eternally His.

John 10:28-30

“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 the Father are one.”

Late in life David, as he reflected on God’s Provision and Protection, prays for his Guidance into His Way everlasting. He recognizes, as should we, how our eternity with God is in His Good Hands, and as we put our trust in following Him, we can depend on Him.

Psalm 139: 23-24

Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!

Here is the Good News: The free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Eternal life is not earned; it is given to us by grace through the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to God!

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death,
but the free gift of God is eternal life
in Christ Jesus our Lord.

These past weeks I have witnessed and experienced deep moments and even days of suffering. I have witnessed the coming of physical death in all of its finality. But, praise God, I know deep in my heart, how true these words are—God is bringing us to glory which will wipe away all of the pain of that suffering—in one glorious instant. 

Romans 8:18

For I consider that the sufferings
of this present time are not worth comparing
with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

The more God gets ahold of me as I surrender to Him, the more I understand His heart for me and His desire for me to turn to Him and so, find life and healing eternal. I depend on Him more and more, and He holds me more tightly in the embrace of His loving arms.

Ezekiel 18:32

For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone,
declares the Lord God;
so turn, and live.”

Death seems to be life’s worst sting because I cannot in my fallen human nature keep myself from sin. But then, I join the Apostle Paul in giving thanks to God because He gives me victory through my Lord Jesus Christ

1 Corinthians 15:56-57

The sting of death is sin,
and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ.

So, God remains faithful to His Word, of course. He has overcome death. Though we briefly suffer here from the pangs of losing those we love to death, we know His Victory is sure, and death will be no more. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

James And Mary Penney Faithful Shepherds

Faithful Loving Shepherds

AN APOLOGY AND AN EXPLANATION: Just a few short weeks ago, I posted a tribute to James and Mary Penney. Many folks commented on how much they admired this godly couple from our church family. Then, somehow that post disappeared. I worked with my web site’s administrators, but they could not find it—I most probably did something crazy which triggered the disappearance—but technically it remains a mystery. So, this week’s post is a repeat effort to honor this faithful couple who so powerfully impacted our church and most especially, the little ones among us. 

I WILL CALL THEM SHEPHERDS 

I will call them gentle shepherds
for their hearts so love to gather
all those precious little ones
and place them full of joy
into His outstretched arms
filled with strength and with love
both to welcome and to hold them.

I will call them searching shepherds
for their eyes are always seeking
as they call and whistle, searching
even on the darkest evenings
while shadows seem to gather
threatening the blessed children
wandering alone in the wilderness.

I will call them loving shepherds
for their hearts will never rest
until all His precious little ones
gather close around Him who
Himself lives as their Good Shepherd—
calling out their precious names,
welcoming them up in His lap.

Matthew 19:13-15 ESV

Then the children were brought to him
that he might lay his hands on them and pray.
The disciples rebuked the people,
but Jesus said,
“Let the little children come to me
and do not hinder them,
for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”
And he laid his hands on them
and went away.

I praise God for people like James and Mary Penney who take to heart Jesus’ command, “Let the little children come to me . . .” Such couples humbly yet faithfully build the Kingdom of God for the future. They introduced many young and open hearts to the loving care of Jesus our Savior.

James in the Navy

James had been raised in Hokes Bluff, along with three brothers and sisters. He grew up on the “Penney Farm” now used by the Board of Education for agricultural education. At seventeen he followed in his brother’s footsteps to join the Navy. After serving during World War II, including a time at Okinawa, he returned home to Hokes Bluff and met Mary  at a picnic. They fell in love and married. They moved to Birmingham where he worked at Merita Bakery, where their oldest son, Jimmy, was born; and after two years moved back to Hokes Bluff. He worked at Hackett Engineering, associated with the Steel Plant until he retired. They built a home on Marker Avenue in Glencoe, where they raised Jimmy, Mike, Nila and Norma. They also had seven grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.

Mary Always Had
A Heart For Children

Mary had been the oldest of four children. She lost her mother when she was only eight. Her Dad worked as a carpenter; so she had to, in effect, act as the mother for the younger children. Her grandmother did help some, but Mary bore the main responsibility. Those were hard years for her, and she obviously built on her strength in the midst of that childhood difficulty to develop a great big heart of love for children.

Nila definitely remembers how her Mother prayed for and loved her own children. Nila also declares she never heard her Mom say anything negative about anyone. Those of us who were privileged to know her, can certainly testify to her loving and caring attitude toward everyone, but especially the children in her church and community.

James and Mary And Family

At Glencoe First Baptist Church James was a deacon and also worked with R.A.’s. Folks at Church truly enjoyed his tenor voice. One long-time member confessed she always sat near him so she could hear him sing. As a tenor in the choir, he inspired and enlisted other men to sing along with him. Mary participated actively, not only in children’s work, but also in G.A.’s, WMU (missions support activities) along with Vacation Bile School, and the Backyard Bible Clubs in various neighborhoods around Glencoe. I recall myself, how when I was directing the Summer Missions Program for the Etowah Baptist Association, Mary and James hosted one of our summer missionaries, treating her to lots of love and godly encouragement, of course.

Mary spent years working under Lois Pruitt in the kindergarten, and then moved into the Director’s Position. She studied at Samford University for this work. She led this ministry until she retired. In addition to her godly and loving leadership of the Kindergarten, she played a pivotal role in beginning and supporting the Children’s Church Ministry at our Church back in the late 1970’s. I had the privilege of working with her and Carolyn Snead in that ministry. I saw firsthand how deeply she loved God, how deeply she loved children, and how effectively she shared the love of Jesus with each and every one of them.

James and Mary also enjoyed their church family. He especially enjoyed the worship, while she found many wonderful Christian sisters. For instance, she and Louise Gray really enjoyed praying and fellowshipping together. I just have to say: Pity the hard-hearted sinner who had these two wonderful servants of the Lord praying for them. How blessed they were to have each other as Christian sisters and prayer warriors together.

Our Church Honors
Mary’s Ministry

Mary suffered a stroke when she was sixty-two, which slowed her down, but she lived until she was seventy-five at home with James. She did get back to church, and always had big hugs and bigger smiles for everyone. James and Mary bore the Presence of Jesus in their lives with such a genuine faith. God surely used them for His Glory. We praise God for them, all of us who had their lives so blessed by their faith.

Now, this is love
and appreciation!

GOD AND FAMILY FIRST

BRENT AND JOYCE GIRDLER
GOD AND FAMILY FIRST

I Timothy 6:11-12 KJV

But thou, O man of God,
flee these things;
and follow after righteousness,
godliness, faith, love,
patience, meekness.
Fight the good fight of faith,
lay hold on eternal life,
whereupon thou art also called,
and hast professed a good profession
before many witnesses.

This week I write to reflect on the beauty of a godly man’s life well-lived, invested with God’s redemptive love into the lives of his family, his wife, his daughters and their families, his children and his great-grandchildren. 

This man grew up in Somerset, Kentucky, the youngest of a big family raised on a lot of love, a lot of hard work, a bit of mischief, some sports and also some strong lessons in faith in the church the family attended. After high school, he chose to join the Navy during the Korean War, and served on a ship, working as a mail man and as a member of a gunner crew. During his service he was also supporting  his widowed mother. 

When he returned he went to work and married his girlfriend, who had also grown up in Somerset. He worked as a butcher and later as a mechanic. Then God called him into the ministry. Then he, his wife and two daughters, assisted by support from his family, moved to Clear Creek Bible School, where they spent three years. During that time they also added another daughter as he trained to be a Baptist Pastor. He grew in his love and understanding of God’s Word. He also began a lifelong dedication to prayer and its power as God deepened his faith and dependence on Him as his Heavenly Father. He worked along with other pastoral students building church pews. After graduation, he began pastoring in another Kentucky town.

Not too long afterward, he received a call to Indiana, in the Muncie area, where pioneer churches were struggling to gain a foothold. Here he served a number of such churches faithfully. He soon learned these small churches could not pay a salary which would support his and his wife’s family of five. God then opened work for him in a grocery chain’s warehouse. He continued working there until he retired. So, all those years he did the work of a bi-vocational pastor. He labored hard and God supplied a steady living for his family. His girls grew up and his wife went to work in a school cafeteria, where she became the manager.

Throughout all of the challenges of raising his daughters, he and his wife depended on their faith, constant prayer, their love for each other, their love for the Lord and lots of hard work, as the foundation for a tight knit family looking to Heaven for their every need.

When I first came into this remarkable family, I noticed how clearly they loved the Lord and each other. I noticed how they fought the battles we all face in living out our faith in this modern world together. I noticed how loyal they remained to each other through their ups and their downs. Then, as I got to know them better, I realized that the faith of this man and his equally strong wife, provided the basis for this love, this resilience in battle and in this unique loyalty to each other.

As I listened to him pray over and over again, my admiration and my gratitude for him and his faith grew deeper and deeper.  He prayed out of an absolute humility before God that touched me deeply. He truly prayed as one of God’s children depending deeply and completely on His Father. He had learned the trust and the faith our Lord Jesus personified in His relation to the Father while Jesus lived upon this earth.

One of those Christmas
Family Photo Shoots

As this man’s family gathered around the table to eat one of his wife’s hardy and delicious home-cooked meals, he would call us all to attention and begin to pray. His whole heart opened up in those prayers. It was during these moments I saw most clearly his mature, yet somehow childlike faith—His total trust in the good of our Heavenly Father. As we ate, he would look around the table lovingly, clearly appreciating each member of his family particularly and uniquely.

This is how he loves each daughter, the two of us sons-in-laws, and for me, most inspirationally, each of his grandchildren and his great-grandchildren. To his oldest grandson he has passed on the torch as a deeply dedicated bi-vocational pastor. How he loves to hear this one preaching God’s Word powerfully, simply and truly—even as he always did, himself. To his next grandson he passed down the basketball sports bug. They have a special bond as he communicates with this excellent athlete his deep spiritual strength. Then to the third, there is this deep, abiding love for family, this godly determination to see that every child finds in this life all of the resources they need to succeed in every way, no matter the obstacles and challenges they may face. Then to the fourth a strength of will, he has passed on a sturdy determination to get the right thing done, no matter how difficult. (In fact, all three daughters, in their own beautiful way reveal this iron will day-to-day as the world tries to have its way. Not for them. Not with God on their side and not as long as they stand.) Interestingly this fourth one is the only girl. And then in the life of the fifth there is joy in the living, wonder in the beauty of all the Lord has created. There is laughter, there is creativity, there is joy in the living. In the sixth there is a kindred wonder, a wholesome goodness, a love for one and all and an ability to get things done. Finally, in the seventh there is a deep heartfelt prayer for the strength of this one who has faced so many unfair battles, to conquer and rise above it all—the devious and hurtful ways-of-the-world which batter us each and everyone.

Now, as I look back upon all of this man’s life investment in the grandchildren’s lives, I have to say there is to found in all of these seven precious grandchildren, a mixture of all of these virtues—much like the delicious results his wife’s cooking creates in all of her dishes, whether they feature meats, sauces, vegetables, breads or desserts. Needless to say, meals at their house are always a celebration, due to the delights on the table and also found in the hearts and lives of the people gathered around the table. How fitting that his prayers before meals draw of all of their goodness together. 

Aren’t they wonderful?
The Great-Grandchildren

Plus One!

Among all of the great-grandchildren there are remarkable athletes, students, artists—in the making due to the goodness of God and the faithfulness of this man and his wife over their many, many years together, entrusting their lives, their family and their service to Him and for His glory.

And among the great-grandchildren there is a wide array of challenges, big-time challenges that life brings their way—but not without the godly resources God provides through Jesus and through their own parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. 

And so it all comes down to this: One great God, His Son, our Savior, the Holy Spirit—together Three-in-One; overflowing the lives of this remarkable couple over a lifetime of years; multiplying and expanding God’s Kingdom within the hearts of this family, and to all those blessed to be around them, preparing for glory together in Heaven and deeply loving their lives in the meantime. 

Praise God! I am blessed to have been welcomed into such a family’s life, led by this one godly man and his wife. Amen!

THIS MAN’S DEEP FAITH

God Leads Us From Before The Beginning To Beyond The End

God Leads Us For His Glory
From Before The Beginning
Until After The End

Isaiah 46:8-11

”Remember this and stand firm,
recall it to mind, you transgressors,
remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning
and from the ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish my purpose,’
calling a bird of prey from the east,
the man of my counsel from a far country.
I have spoken and bring it to pass;
I have purposed, and I will do it.’”

These verses speak truth to my heart and mind as I look back on our teaching careers, Becky’s and mine.  Always we have seen God as the foundation for everything involving our teaching. We have seen Him at our beginning and now, towards our ending. He stands alone as the One who has set and sustained our course. His wise counsel has blessed our students, for indeed, He has been the source of all their learning. Whether we have been teaching here in the U.S. or abroad, He has always been there, constant in His Provision and His Wisdom and most especially His Love. In each school we have taught His people have mentored and upheld us as we ministered. His Spirit has continually spoken into our lives and has brought His good to bear  because He has purposed to bless us and those we taught with His perfect knowledge and His clear wisdom. So, what can I say, but praise the Lord.

Calvary Baptist Church
Ludowici, Georgia
God began Mike’s teaching journey here.

So it all began when in 1974 God took me far away from home, or so it seemed at the time, from Glencoe, Alabama to Ludowici, Georgia and Long County High School, located about fifty minutes from Savannah. God provided housing for me graciously, though it seemed disappointing at the time. The only affordable and available place I could find was one room, with limited cooking privileges,  sharing a bath on the occasional nights when tourists from up North rented an adjacent room.  Mrs. Lawton Howard, a pillar of the town, and certainly, as it turned out,  provided me comfortable if simple accommodations. 

In Ludowici God blessed me with a loving church family at Calvary Baptist, and especially a strong Christian couple, Norman and Carolyn Mock and their son, Andy. Our Principal, Mr. Bill Owen, blessed me with his strong encouragement as I faced the realities of teaching and the rigors required in teaching ninth and tenth graders whose culture featured lots of time spent hunting in the swamps of Southeast Georgia. God taught me that wherever I am, He has already been there. He remains there with me daily and provides for my every need to sustain my service under His guidance and for His Purpose.

As it turns out, He had purposed to have me settled comfortably among the wonderful folks at Calvary so I could clearly hear His call into missions service. So, He called and I answered and after two years I returned home to study for my Master’s degree in English as a first step toward appointment as a teacher with the International Mission Board. 

God continued Mike’s teaching journey in St. Marys on the coast south of Ludowici.

After a year’s interval I found myself teaching at the St. Marys Elementary School, teaching sevenths graders. In the interim I had been put on hold with the IMB until I gained more experience. St. Mary was located south of Ludowici, on the coast, about forty minutes from Jacksonville, Florida.  Here God arranged for me to take a graduate reading course where I learned to use positive reinforcement to build strong classroom control. Under the Christian professor of this class, I discovered the use of tickets, the use of  which have delighted American, Nigerian, Nigerien, and countless other nationalities of students down through the years. 

In St. Marys I was surrounded by a loving community of First Baptist families and students in the Heaven-Bound youth group. I was shepherded in my teaching by a wonderful Christian gentleman, Mr. Charles Estes, our principal. My colleagues among the seventh grade students, Mrs. Bryant, Mrs. Stephens, and Coach Stewart, made teaching a joy and privilege. At first I had arrived in St. Marys disappointed, but before I left in 1981, four years later, I loved the people and the place, and still do. God had known His Purpose as he used your great years in St. Marys as He prepared me for service in Nigeria.

Becky attended Ball State University’s
Teachers College,
earning both a B.S. and and an M.A.E.

In the meantime Becky, living in Yorktown, Indiana, had been attending Ball State University in Muncie; and had worked at the Huffer Daycare Canter each summer, from 1976-79. This prepared her well for her first full-time teaching as a Journeyman Missionary assigned for two years to the First Baptist Nursery School in Port Harcourt where she served as the Advisor under the director, Mrs. Margaret David George as she assisted the Nigerian teachers while they taught three hundred students.  Even today she remembers having to take her turn catching and putting back into their classroom, pre-schoolers who had escaped through the open windows. Becky also discipled the teachers and worked with university students. Becky had the privilege of serving under long-time, IMB missionaries, Dale Moore and Earl and Roberta Fine. Through Becky’s time in Port Harcourt, God was definitely giving her a love for Nigeria, and for Nigeria’s open-hearted and friendly people.

When she returned to the U.S,, she began her Master’s Degree at Ball State University. She also began teaching at Christian Haven Boys Home, where she taught from 1983-87. There she taught a classroom of boys who had been placed there due to their struggles at home and/or with the law. She discovered they were all broken inside, and that they would never learn until that brokenness was addressed. They had to heal before they could deal with the school work they also needed to do. Her experience with them grabbed Becky’s attention, as God used this experience to shape and mold a stssrong foundation for her teaching career—always concentrating on both  the potential and on the challenges wrapped up inside each individual child.

Baptist High School in Jos, Nigeria continued Mike’s God-led journey in teaching.

 Back in St. Marys, Mike had found such fulfillment in teaching and ministering through his church, God had to give him a wake-up call in the form of pointed questions from some of his dear friends. They basically asked; “Just when are you going to get serious about God ‘s call to missions?” Mike responded positively and before he knew it, found himself in Jos, Nigeria at Baptist High School where he spent eighteen years (1982-2000) as a teacher and then as Principal. God richly blessed his time there, mentoring him through missionaries Ward and LouAnn Nicholson, Jane Ellen Gaines and Sandy Achenbach. God also challenged him to grow in his faith, through the inspiring lives of Nigerian teachers such as Mrs. Ekaete Ettang, Rev. Bulus Aplakah, and many others. God inspired Mike as He stretched him to feed the extraordinary spiritual hunger of many, many students, including Michael Tosan, Ayuba Iliya, and Samson Adedokun.

In 1985, on Mike’s first furlough, his high school friends, Randy and Pattie McCollum, introduced Becky and Mike, After Mike returned to Nigeria in January 1986, God worked, and they got engaged, carrying on their courtship long distance through old fashioned air grams. They were married in 1988 and after Hausa study, were both back to Baptist High in 1989. In 1990 Mike was asked to serve as Principal. As Principal he found great wisdom working alongside Nigerian colleagues and fellow missionaries. Indeed, he learned to understand how the Body of Christ operates through the God-given talents of various members working cooperatively as God leads.

Married in 1988, Mike and Becky returned to Jos and Baptist High School to continue teaching together.

At Baptist High School Becky discovered a great need when she considered the difficulty of enrolling village pastors’ children, due to the difficulty of sourcing well-trained teachers for rural schools. For this reason such students could never pass the entrance exam. So she began with two such students, worked with them throughout a school year, concentrating on basics in English and reading, while a Nigerian teacher taught them math. These two students both passed the entrance exam that year, did well at the high school, and went on for university level studies. One became a lecturer at the university level and the other became a veterinarian. Others followed in their footsteps in this pilot program for special education in Nigerian schools.

When missionary children needed similar supportive help in the basics, at Hillcrest School, also in Jos; Becky was asked to  do specialized training in the National Institute for Learning Difficulties. To be honest, the two of us were skeptical, having seen no evidence of any other such program actually working with such students. However, the structured and foundational one-on-one teaching did prove effective in most cases. Actually some missionary families were able to stay on the field due to the progress their students made under this training. Over the years Becky did extensive training in serving such students, and in Teaching English as a Second Language. In this way she was able to support students at both Hillcrest School from 1993 until 2011, and then when we left Nigeria to address needs in Sahel Academy in Niamey, Niger.

Becky led the way to Hillcrest School, also in Jos, where she helped introduce a program for students with specific learning disabilities. Mike later joined her, filling various administrative positions.

At Hillcrest Becky worked closely with an SIM (Serving In Missions) worker, Lorraine Foute, as they basically introduced and expanded a program for the students there. They were blessed to be joined by missionary mothers and Nigerian educators who committed themselves to the extensive training required, and to the intensive one-on-one sessions required. These dedicated teachers can relate many success stories today, reflected in the lives of successful students who have gone on to serve in a wide range of careers.

Throughout Mike’s time at Baptist High School he continuously found opportunities to disciple both students and teachers. These Nigerians had a keen appetite for studying the Bible and how it applied to living out their Christian lives day-to-day. At this time Southern Baptists were introducing excellent discipleship materials, including Master Life, Survival Kit, Experiencing God, The Mind of Christ and Fresh Encounter. So, Mike had the privilege of feeding really hungry hearts in depth training which made them strong and fruitful leaders for Nigerian Christians.

Baptist work had begun in Nigeria in 1850. Nigerians had accepted and grown strong in the Gospel Message of Christ throughout those years. So, progressively they took over responsibilities for the work of sharing the Gospel and making disciples. As a result the number of expatriate missionaries reduced throughout Mike and Becky’s time in Nigeria. So, the time came when there were no longer any Baptist missionary students at Hillcrest. Mike and Becky were asked to transfer to Niger where Sahel Academy had a strong need for teachers and administrators and special educators.

Mike and Becky moved to Sahel Academy in Niamey, Niger in 2012, where they finished the African portion of their teaching journey.

So in 2012 Mike and Becky arrived in Niamey to do some French language study before beginning to serve at Sahel Academy. Mike would become the Secondary School Principal and teach some English classes. Becky would teach special education. They continued their ministry there until returning to the U.S. for retirement at the end of 2018. During those years Becky effectively worked hard to do research and furnish well-targeted strategies for a wide range of students with particular learning challenges. She did training in teaching English as a Second Language, since many of her younger students spoke very little English. Again, she was able to facilitate families in their various ministries as she met their children and youth’s particular learning challenges. 

Teaching kindergarteners to read and speak English gave Becky a new challenge at Sahel Academy.

Mike was able to work on an administrative team which in their first school year at Sahel, dealt with the flooding of the main campus, moving to separate temporary campuses for the elementary and high school. In the midst of this natural disaster Mike saw the best in the people as the Sahel Academy pulled together to endure the flood and get the school running after just one month’s incredibly hard work. Then staff and students performed continuous difficult tasks to overcome the inadequacies of water and electric supply at both temporary campuses. Actually the camaraderie of students, staff and parents made the 2012-2013 a highly successful school year one to remember with praise to God.

Mike will never forget Friday morning chapel services on the roof of the secondary school, overlooking Niamey even as the sun rose. Students and staff carried their folding chairs from their classrooms up to the roof for those wonderful times of worship, and then back down to their classes afterward. There was such a “with God we can do anything” spirit about this year Mike will never forget. During this “year of the flood” Becky found the opportunity to introduce her services to wonderful, resilient elementary teachers, including Kathy Miller and Anisa Blomquist. Mike found joy in working along-side the Director, Brian Bliss, along with the Guidance Counselor, Mickey Schmidt, and others deeply committed Christian teachers as well.

Upon returning to the U.S., Becky eventually begin teaching with Dyslexia Connect, an on-line one-on-one teaching with students from across the country, and even from overseas. Always a determined and efficient learner, she overcame the challenges of handling computer and on-line technology and continues to support students and their families with her characteristic carefully crafted lessons suited perfectly to their individual needs. 

Mike actually had the privilege of spending about three years teaching in Westbrook School in the greater Gadsden community. In teaching there he met dedicated, deeply concerned administrators and teachers working hard to provide the best education possible with Christ as their essential foundation for learning.

First Baptist Church Glencoe, our home church, warmly welcomed both Becky and Mike home. Both have the joy of teaching senior adult Sunday School classes (Life Groups), participating with the Prayer Team, and enjoying the fellowship and learning together with others in D-Life Groups.

Now, if you aren’t too exhausted to read just a bit further, look back with me and see how God has always been leading and directing in our lives apart and then together, using every bit of experience from one opportunity of service to another to fill our lives with joy and a sense of fulfillment. While learning to live in a very different place, yet filled with wonderful, godly people, in Ludowici, Mike heard God’s Call to Mission. Then, by God’s perfect plan, he was delayed in getting to the field, and redirected to the next perfect place in building his dependence on God, in St. Marys. Here God grew and refined Mike’s teaching and leadership skills—and His faith in God and his trust in God’s people. In the meantime Becky had spent two wonderful years working with three hundred pre-schoolers in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

Only then was he ready for Nigeria, Nigerians and Baptist High School, the sweet spot for his soul. While discipling students and staff, godly and spirt-filled Nigerians and missionary models drew Mike deeper and deeper into the life of complete faith. In the midst of this blessed time, God brought Mike and Becky together through their mutual love of Nigeria and Nigerians. They returned together to Jos where they served together at Baptist High School and Hillcrest School. During this time God planted in Becky’s heart a desire to give students with unique learning paths the very best of opportunities to learn and achieve. 

This calling and commitment led to a Sprit-filled sensitivity to those students’ challenges and their potential—and then to a determination to give them the very best. God enabled her to do so, and countless students live today blessed by the hard work she has done on their behalf. At Baptist High God opened this path for Becky, which then led to Hillcrest, Sahel and now Dyslexia Connect.

We do not consider ourselves to be at the end of this wonderful journey yet—but we do know the delights, the challenges, the glories of the path—all of them, are for God’s Glory. We are so blessed to just be His servants. 

In every teaching opportunity, literally all over the world, Mike and Becky have always arrived to find God there, eager to lead, guide and inspire.
All glory to His Name! Amen!

God The Initiator

GOD THE
INITIATOR

JOHN 15:16 ESV

You did not choose me,
but I chose you
that you should go and bear fruit
and that your fruit should abide,
so that whatever you ask the Father
in my name, he may give it to you.

DIETRICH BONHOEFFER
(In Meditating On the Word)

”If we ask how we should begin life with God, the Scripture answers that God has long since begun life with us. If we ask what we can do for God, we hear what God has done for us. If we ask how we can live without sin before God, the forgiveness of all sins in Jesus Christ is announced to us.”

Most of my Bible memory work has been verses, many of which I was taught in Vacation Bible School, or Sunday School, or Training Union, or in R.A.’s when I was very young. Some of those I still recite in the King James Version, and enjoy doing so, for the language is so beautiful. I have also learned verses in various evangelism and discipleship  programs in which I have been involved. I certainly use some of those in day-to-day life and in ministry even today. When I began teaching Bible at Baptist Hiigh School, Jos, I was challenged by the easiness with which Nigerians memorized chapters and even books of the Bible. Though I joined in with Bible classes as we learned to recite a couple of shorter books, I cannot claim to have them still on my tongue nor in my mind. I do, however, continue to keep a few chapters in my mind because they means so much to me as God continues to open up the magnificence of His loving Will for all of us He has made His children.

One of those is  Psalm 139. I treasure this chapter because it presents God as the INITIATOR of all that good and redemptive and joyful in this world, in my life, and most abundantly in the life to come. Just read these powerful promises:

DECLARING GOD’S WORD

VERSE 1
O LORD, you have searched me and known me!

VERSE 4
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.

VERSE 13
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.

VERSE 15
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

VERSE 16
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

Pretty impressive, right? God  has been, is, and always will be acting to glorify His Kingdom all around me and within me. Praise His Holy Name! So, my thoughts this week center on God and how He has always initiated His relationship with me, how He continues to do, and how He will always do so. 

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.”
Hebrews 13:8

1. He knew me and loved me before I knew myself.

In Revelation 21:6, God seated on the throne, says “It is done. I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.” God has always been. He is now. He will always be. Psalm 139 makes it abundantly clear He has always known me, and He has always worked purposefully to make me the man I am in order to bring Him glory. Things I still do not understand about myself, He has always known. And His Holy Spirit indwells me as His redeemed child, to reveal to me who He is and what He will accomplish in and through me.

2. He established for me a good and godly heritage.

In His perfect plan for achieving His glory through my life, God so arranged families to have me born to godly parents who had godly parents, and so on . . . My parents and my grandparents, my aunts and my uncles, and their own people lived lives of gratitude and faithfulness before God. They instilled in me, my brother and my sisters, a love for God which has led me consistently to follow Him and His Will. Even in Scripture He has blessed me with a heritage based on the lives of faithful worshippers and servants of God.

3. He encircled my life with godly mentors and teachers.

For as long as I can remember I remember godly men and women teaching me about God, His Word, His World, His Son and His Love for me. I remember Sunbeam leaders, Sunday School Teachers, Training Union Leaders, Christian School Teachers, Youth Leaders, Choir Leaders, Godly Parents of Students and Youth Group Members, Pastors, Older Believers, Christian University Professors, Principals, Colleagues As Teachers, Senior Missionaries, Fellow Missionaries and Small Group Leaders and Co-Members. It’s amazing to consider such a vast array of faithful Christian lives used by God to guide, encourage, correct and strengthen me.

4. He established patterns in my life which have deepened my knowledge of and understanding of His Way.

Again, from early on in my life, God has called me to salvation, to be nurtured by His people, to instill in me practices which deepen my faith and my love for HIm. Always I remember being taught the beauty and the truth and power of the Bible. Always I remember being taught and being included in prayer as a constant privilege and responsibility in my life as I relate to God, my Heavenly Father. Always I remember enjoying the unique joy of worshipping and learning and serving God togetherwith fellow believers in the Church. Always I remember being challenged to share all of God’s goodness with others through my words, through my actions, and even through my attitudes. 

5. He placed faithful people alongside me who have walked beside me in the path He has prepared for me.

My mission team involvement began as a Summer Missionary here in Etowah County. My mission leader, Marsha Eichenberg, and my team members over the course of five summers, taught me the ins-and-outs of sharing the love of Jesus with people who do not know Him. Then when I went to Nigeria as a single, I shared a compound with the Holcombs and the Wilsons, young couples also beginning their missionary careers. We learned together as wonderful Nigerians and senior missionaries shared with us the wisdom gathered over the course of their years of service. Then my closest and dearest co-laborer, Becky, joined me in marriage, and has been constant as a companion on the road of service and worship God has for us together. Now in retirement our Pastor, our ministry staff, my Sunday School colleagues, my D-Life colleagues, my Prayer Team colleagues—all guide me in the way God would have me go. Obviously God has never left me alone as I serve Him.

6. Even until today He both challenges and encourages me to follow and serve Him more fully.

His Command in Matthew 28:19-20 has no time limit, not until Jesus comes again. Daily He challenges me in Bible Study, in devotional writing, in prayer, in declaring and living His Word—He strengthens me for His service. What joy He brings as we believers follow Him in delivering His eternal Gospel message of salvation through faith in Jesus, until every man, woman, boy, and girl knows.

7. He is preparing for me and all of His redeemed children New Heaven and New Earth when His Will will be accomplished eternally.

The reality of that is almost too wonderful to comprehend. Maybe, there will be a moment of silence before we all break out in praise to God who has initiated it all, who has been continuously working, and who will see it achieved—one universal chorus from every people, language, tribe and tongue, worshipping and serving Him in absolute glory forever and ever. Praise the Father! Praise the Son! Praise the Holy Spirit! Amen! Amen! Amen!

ALWAYS BEFORE, ALWAYS NOW, ALWAYS IN THE FUTURE

Always before there was
the heavens and the earth,
always before there was
the sun and the earth,
always before there was
the day and the night,
always before there was
the seas and the dry land,
always before there were
living creatures on the earth,
always before there was
both Adam and Eve,
always before, He was
the INITIATOR of His plan.

Always, every single moment
and through ever single day,
always in my waking and
even in my sleeping,
always in my going forth
and even in my coming back,
always in my working
and even in my playing,
always in my speaking,
and even in my silence,
always in my beginning
and even in my ending,
always even now, He is
the INITIATOR of His plan.

Always forever in the future
and forever eternally,
always for my tomorrows
and for my eternals,
always for the next year
and for my next decade,
always for my hopes to come
and for my dreams fulfilled,
always for His promises
and for His covenants made,
always for His steady plan
and for His glorious design,
always He will be
the INITIATOR.

Praising Our God

PRAISING GOD WITH ALL OUR HEARTS, SOULS, AND MINDS

Praising Our God

How quickly the years pass by now that I am in my seventies—now past the three score and ten which measure a person’s full life. (Psalm 90:10) It really does seem just like last year when I sat down to write out seventy—two praises for our great God, as He had blessed my life with Himself, His Leading and Guiding, and His People. Now, as I begin year Seventy-Three I feel led to focus on the centrality of His Excellence and His Being. I confess that throughout the days which make up my swiftly flying years, I feel truly convicted: I never do praise God enough. NEVER! Ironically, after praising God, my heart feels light, my soul sings with joy, and my mind rests at peace. So, I seek to consecrate this week’s writing as I focus all my attention and praise on our wonderful God. Rev. Dr. Musa Bawa, my first principal at Baptist High School in Jos, Nigeria, always loved to have the students sing this now 150 year-old hymn:

“To God be the glory, great things He has done,
so loved He world that He gave us His Son,
who yielded His life an atonement for sin,
and opened the life-gates that all may go in.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the  Lord, praise the Lord,
let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father
through Jesus the Son,
and give Him the glory,
great things He has done.”
(Fanny Crosby, 1875)

So, join me as I give glory to God: The Father, God: The Son,  God: The Holy Spirit: God and His Earth, God and His Gospel, God and His Church, and God and His Throne.

PRAISING GOD OUR FATHER

God: The Father

Acts 17:28 ESV

. . . for “In him we live and move
and have our being.”

My God and my Father, I come to You with PRAISE.

I praise You as my perfect Father.
I praise You as my eternal Father.
I praise You as my omnipotent, my all powerful Father.
I praise You as my omniscient, my all knowing Father.
I praise You as my omnipresent,
everywhere present, Father.
I praise You as my Creator Father.
I praise You as my Redemptive Father.
I praise You as my Perfecting Father.
I praise You as my always attentive Father.
I praise You as my loving Father.

PRAISING GOD
FOR THE SON

God: The Son

John 1:1 ESV

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.

My God and my Father, I come to You with praise for Jesus, my Savior.

I praise You  for the Incarnation (God coming to live among us) of Jesus.
I praise You for His  humble birth in Bethlehem.
I praise You for providing His parents on Earth, Mary and Joseph and their faithfulness.
I praise You for His deliverance and His escape to Egypt.
I praise You for His childhood and youth in Nazareth among common people.
I praise You for His love for and understanding of the Scriptures, even as a twelve-year old.
I praise You for His perfect obedience, even when facing Satan in the Wilderness.
I praise You for His teaching, His healing, His day-to-day just living comfortably  among His people.
I praise You for Jesus’ perfect example of
trust and obedience.
I paise You for His ultimate sacrifice on the Cross, and for His victory over sin as he arose triumphant
from the Tomb.

PRAISING GOD
THE HOLY SPIRIT

God: The Holy Spirit 

2 Corinthians 13:14 ESV

”The grace of the Lord Jesus Chirst
and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with you all.”

My God and my Father, I praise You for the Holy Spirit who lives in my heart and daily comforts, corrects,  and guides me.

I praise You as He has sealed me with Salvation.
I praise You as He daily convicts me of my sin.
I praise You as He enlightens my mind
as I read Your Holy Scripture.
I praise You as He strengthens me as I face daily battles.
I praise You as He gives me peace in the midst of storms.
I praise You as He delights me with joy
at the marvelous works of Your hands.
I praise You as He perfects Your love in my heart.
I praise You as He develops within me the Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control.
I praise You as He guides me clearly
on Your Pathway for me.
I praise You as He reveals Your glory to me.

PRAISING GOD
FOR THE EARTH

God: His Earth

Revelation 21:3 ESV

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“Behold the dwelling place of God is with man.
He will dwell with them, and they will be His people,
and God Himself will be with them as their God.

My God and my Father, I praise You for this beautiful, though sin-corrupted Earth, and for the New Earth you have promised.

I praise You for the grand scale of creation
which inspires my heart.
I praise You for the sun, the moon,
and the stars which inspire me.
I praise You for the oceans, the mountains,
and the valleys, which fill my mind with wonder.
I praise You for animals, small and large,
which illustrate Your grandeur.
I praise you for the parables for life
the animals teach me.
I praise You for the patterns in Creation
which guide me as I daily live.
I praise You for all your provisions; air and water and food, which You abundantly supply.
I praise You for particular beauties; sunrise, sunset, rainbows, flowers, birds and people
which brighten up my days.
I praise You for the Holy Spirit’s inspired desire
in my heart for the perfection of the Earth.
I praise You for the New Earth as
Your Guaranteed Promise.

PRAISING GOD
FOR THE GOSPEL

God: His Gospel

John 3: 16 ESV

”For God so loved the world,
that He gave His only Son,
that whoever believes in Him
should not perish
but have eternal life.”

My God and my Father, I praise You for Your Eternal, Your Perfect Gospel.

I praise You for providing from eternity Your plan
for saving every one of Your children.
I praise You for seeking each of us so we can be found.
I praise You for eternally overcoming evil with good.
I praise You for redeeming every one of us who turns away from this world to You.
I praise You for the way you call to us
over and over and over again.
I praise You, for by Your mercy, not giving us the penalty for sin we deserve.
I praise You, for by Your grace, giving us freely
what we never could deserve.
I praise You for Jesus being Your Perfect Lamb
and sacrifice for our sin.
I praise You for raising Jesus victorious from the dead, defeating Satan and Sin and Death.
I praise for Your Promise of Eternal, Glorious Life
as Your forever redeemed child.

PRAISING GOD
FOR THE CHURCH

God: His Church

1Timothy 3:14-15 ESV

”I hope to come to you soon,
but I am writing these things
so that, if I delay,
you may know one ought to behave
in the household of God,
which is the church of the living God,
a pillar and buttress of the truth.”

My Father and my God, I praise You for making me through redemption a member of Your living Church.

I praise You for seeking out, calling and finding me.
I praise You for claiming me through redemption through Jesus’ blood sacrifice.
I praise You for uniting me through the Holy Spirit
in koininia Christian love
with my brother and sister believers.
I praise You for making us One even as You, the Spirit and the Son are One.
I praise You for the privilege of loving Your world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
I praise You for the privilege
of being a member of the Body of Christ.
I praise You for the privilege of lifting praises to You
as hope in the midst of a desperate world.
I praise You for the privilege of being inspired
by Your saints who have gone before.
I praise You for the privilege of being taught by Jesus,
the Living Word, and the Bible, the Written Word, through Teachers gifted by You.
I praise You for that incredible Day when all of us,
Your Universal Church, gathered from every people, every language, every tribe, and every tongue;
will join together in praising You upon Your Throne.

PRAISING GOD
BEFORE HIS THRONE

God: His Throne

Isaiah 6:1-5 ESV

In the year that King Uzziah died,
I saw the LORD sitting on a throne,
high and lifted up,
and the train of His robe filled the temple.
Above it stood seraphim; each had six wings:
with two he covered his face,
with two he covered his feet,
and with two he flew.
And one cried to another and said:
”Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!”

My God and my father I praise you for Your Promise that will allow me to see and worship You upon Your Throne.

I praise You for the Gift of the Holy Spirit,
who lives in me, confirmation, that I will see You
in glory upon Your throne.
I praise You for the sure hope of seeing the perfection of Your eternal throne’s final victory over sin and death.
I praise You for the indescribable joy my heart will experience when Your own
surround and praise You on Your throne.
I praise You for this promise fulfilled:

“ . . . that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.”
(Philippians 2:10-11) ESV

I praise You for the eternal presence of all good
and for the external absence of all evil.
I praise You for eternal life
with no mourning nor crying nor pain.
I praise You for my eternally becoming
the child of God He created me to be.
I praise You for life eternal
learning more and more about His glory.
I praise You for the adventure of exploring New Heaven and New Earth forever and forever.
I praise God for eternally remaking me
as one among His perfect children.
I praise God for the privilege of seeing Jesus face-to-face.

That’s seventy praises. So, allow me add
these three more to make it seventy-three!

Oh, God, my Heavenly Father,
for the miracle of being created
and then redeemed and re-created
as Your beloved child,
I praise You.

Oh, God, my loving Savior,
for Your perfect, Your living  sacrifice
and your glorious resurrection
on Your child’s behalf,
I praise You.

Oh, God, the Holy Spirit,
for Your presence dwelling within me,
cleansing, correcting, keeping me
by Your holy Power,
I praise You.

Amen! Amen! And Amen!

One Great Big Faithful Family

ONE GREAT BIG FAITHFUL FAMILY
IT’S ALL ABOUT JESUS:

ROY DONALD AND DOROTHY RUTH GRAY

Proverbs 3:3-4

”Let not steadfast love and faithfulness
forsake you: bind them around your neck;
write them on the tablet of your heart.
So you will find favor and good success
in the sight of God and man.”

FAITHFUL AS A FAMILY

Faithful as a family
in the harvest field
of our Lord and Savior Jesus.

Working hard together,
playing just as hard
modeling Heaven for the Lord.

Providing for their own
family every need
they had as the Lord enabled.

Laughing hard together
helped them do their best
in holy labors for their Lord.

Demonstrating goodness
among all their neighbors,
by God’s Hands they were blessed.

Especially on those long days
when it seemed they could not
rest—they gave God their best.

Always they found God faithful,
always He found them true
doing what families do.

Roy Donald and Dorothy Ruth Gray married in 1940, and in time welcomed nine children into their family: Donna Ruth, Richard Allen, Eleanor Frances, Carris Elaine, Paulette Lynn, Roy Wesley, Helen Rebecca, and Flora Capitola (Cappy). As they lived out remarkably hard-working, faithful, joyful lives together, they established what I would call: ONE GREAT BIG FAITHFUL FAMILY which richly blessed their church family and their community friends.

Roy Donald Gray was born on August 19, 1911 in Carrollton, Georgia. His family moved to Alabama where he began his adult life as a farmer in Glencoe. In the meantime, Dorothy Ruth Guest was born October 17, 1922 in Duck Springs, and also eventually moved to Glencoe. They married on September 28, 1940. How they met seems to be a bit up-in-the-air; two sisters tell different stories. Kathy says her Dad was out trick-or-treating when he came to the Guest house. When their Mom answered the door, they met for the first time, and were married a year later, although her grandfather seemed less than enthusiastic because of the gap in their ages.  Lynn tells it this way: Their Mom was walking downtown with a friend. She dropped something and stooped to pick it up. Their Dad just happened to be driving along that street, when he saw her drop it. He stopped the car, jumped out and got it for her. He got back in the car and declared he was going to marry that young lady. And about a year later he did. I love both stories, so maybe both actually happened.

Donald always worked his farm. He also worked at the Steel Plant for eleven years, and at Goodyear for thirty years. He would get up early and do a day’s work in the fields, then come in, clean up, eat a big lunch, and head to work the second shift, afternoons and evenings.

 Dot worked to cook and feed and clean and clothe their nine children. Both always got the most out of every day. Then on Sundays they attended church, then spent the afternoons relaxing, and playing basketball  or other games. In earlier years their Dad occasionally picked up an ice block from an ice house, so they could make ice cream. Then it was back to church on Sunday night. Imagine getting their big family of eleven (and often their Grandmother Guest) to church on time. Now, two of the Gray children remember occasionally getting left in the hustle and bustle of getting everyone home after church. Somehow, I can just imagine all of the kidding and laughter that took place once “the prodigal” was returned home.

I believe you will be as impressed about this as I am; all six of the living Gray children took time to write about their love for their Mom and Dad, and their often hilarious and always delightful stories from their growing up  years in the Gray household. These days Cappy, the youngest,  is especially happy to be living next door to the old home place. She remembers how the neighborhood children tended to gather at their house because there was so much fun to had there. Helen remembers a very special Christmas, after reading the Christmas story at Roy and Carol’s house, and their being asked to share their blessings. Then their Dad stood up, pointed at the crowded room and declared, “You all are my blessings!” Now, that’s a faithful family. Kathy remembers lots of hugs and good feelings being shared among the family members that day.

Roy remembers riding behind the mule and plowing in the fields even as a young boy. He recalls being found asleep on occasion. He also remembers his Dad taking all of them to the Christmas Party at Goodyear. He and his Dad enjoyed hunting rabbits and also deer when Roy got older. Lynn remembers being born at home on the same day as a litter of pigs and a baby calf. She used to tell folks she was born with some pigs, and a calf. She also recalls falling asleep one day after working on the farm, only to be found sleeping out in the fields by her older brother, Richard, as a storm was coming. She also remembers how they painted “Jesus Saves” on their old barn just so the pilot who flew over to check the power lines occasionally, could read it. When they heard and then saw him coming, they would climb up the TV antenna to the roof, to wave at him. He would smile and wave back at the children, and tip his wings. Such fun!

Now, a childhood confession of my own: At Church on Mother’s Day back then, the church always gave a pretty corsage to the youngest mother present, to the oldest mother present, and to the mother present with the most children. Now, the Bishop children and the Stonecypher children were always hoping Mrs. Gray and her many children would somehow miss a Sunday, so their Moms might get a chance with their fairly large families of five children. However, the Grays always seemed to show up so their Mom could claim her annual prize. Now, I know she certainly deserved it. Lynn remembers their having a Seven Sisters Rose Bush outside their house, appropriately named, from which the seven sisters would each pick a rose to wear to church on Mother’s Day. 

As a high school student Carris was always an inspiration to me. She was a bit older, and on Youth Sundays gave the best inspirational talks, I thought. Carris remembers her Mom as a caregiver for those in need around them, both family and friends. She particularly remembers how important her Dad and Mom took their tithes and offerings for the Church. Carris carried on her parents’ Love for the Lord in taking mission trips to India, Guatemala and South America. 

Kathy recalls how her Dad raised both peanuts and popcorn, so they could enjoy those treats throughout the winter months. She also remembers all of those watermelons, cantaloupes, grapes, strawberries, peaches and apples they raised. Their Dad also raised cows, pigs, and chicken, so meat was not a problem. He also raised a huge variety of vegetables: green beans, peas, butter beans, corn, okra, squash, cabbage, bell peppers, carrots, radishes, tomatoes, potatoes, turnips, and turnip greens. Talking about healthy diets—the Gray family had just about anything and everything to eat—all because of the family’s hard work—inspired, of course by their Dad and Mom.

Their Dad actually taught Roy and me in his high school boy’s class, along with several of our friends, Richard Smith, Greg Ables, Mike Marker, Mike Hale, Tim Alvis and Jimmy Laseter. Their Dad also enjoyed playing ball with teens from the church and community on Sunday afternoons. Their Mom also did more than her share, assisting with the Cradle Roll as they called it back then.

Both their Dad and their Mom lived out their faith in very practical ways. As he sold lots of produce, he always added a little extra to make sure his customers got their full amount. Once on a Sunday a man desperate for corn stopped at the house to buy some. Their Dad told him he could not sell anything on a Sunday. The man kept begging, so he was given a bag and told to help himself to what he need. There would be no charge. That way, no one was selling and no one was buying on Sunday. Now, I would say that man went away with a lot to think about. I would also say their Dad understood fully the principal of loving and sharing with others, and just maybe, especially on Sundays.

Their Mom had to learn to give her oldest, Donnie, shots daily, after she came down with diabetes as an eleven year-old. So their Mom used that skill to help neighbors and relatives with shots they had to have down through the years. She also cared for several elderly relatives right there in the house when they got to needing special and constant care. In fact, Helen pretty much said it all, when she said her mother became like a doctor to many of those who needed her.

In the end, their Dad died at 85, from Asbestos Lung Disease due to his exposure all of those years at Goodyear. Doctors told the family he had the heart of a twenty-five year-old. Ironically their Mom died a few years later when her own heart gave out. She had worn it down doing so much for her family and friends.

Surely you would agree with me: Donald and Dot Gray, and now their faithful children, have as a family lived out Proverbs 3:3-4. Steadfast love and faithfulness illuminate everything about the lives their parents worked so hard to build through their family. Both godly love and faithfulness are so beautifully written on the tablets of their hearts. They as a couple and as a family have certainly earned God’s favor and our own admiration. Praise the Lord for such families as the Grays, families who blessed their churches and communities through their faithfulness to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 25:21 ESV
“ . . .Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little. I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”