Christmas Adam

My brother's & I showing off
our new clothes one
Christmas Adam.

Christmas Day 2010 is done.  The presents are all unwrapped, the stockings are unstuffed, the refrigerator is full of leftovers, and all the cards that didn’t get mailed are back in the box for next year!  Un-decorating is never quite as motivating as decorating. If I’m not careful the post-Christmas blues will settle in. They always seem to come close behind the celebration. Maybe it’s just exhaustion! But when everyone’s gone home and the ordinary is calling again somehow things seem even more ordinary?  My youngest brother coined a name for the feeling of the day after Christmas, Christmas Adam. It’s our family’s way of describing the mixture of feelings you have after the party.

I find that it’s easy to let the ordinary leave me feeling a little down; some years down right depressed! Especially when things have not gone according to my plan!

However, this morning I read this verse in Psalm 89.”Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord”.   

Christmas is a joyful call to worship! O, come let us adore him. The angels called the shepherds to worship, the star led the wise men to worship and Christ called us all to worship. The call to worship always comes at the beginning of the service, Christmas is only the beginning. At Christmas, the light came to the darkness and called us to worship. What a sweet form of worship to walk in the light of his presence.  Walking in the light is our response to the call.  And walking is an ordinary thing. Every day involves walking. Some days our walk is rushed, some days steady, some days we skip and other days we lean on others just to put one foot in front of the other. But every day He is present shining the light showing us how and where to walk.

In the gospel of John, Jesus speaking to the people who remained after the attempted stoning of the woman caught in adultery, Jesus said you don’t have to walk in darkness. Speaking to both those who were addicted to the Law and to the one trapped in sin, he offered the same words from his heart.  “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” (John 8:12 NLT) Whatever is blocking the light from your path - addiction, sin, depression, bad theology, or just the ordinary things of life, it doesn’t have to be this way. Jesus is here and He is the Light.

One of my favorite Christmas decorations is the lights.  One year when I was young we didn’t have enough lights to cover the tree so my mom made a cross with the lights inside the tree. In making the best of not having enough lights, she reminded us of the reason for the lights. This year when I pack away the lights I want to remember not to pack away the LIGHT that came at Christmas!

The awesome thing is when we walk in the light of his presence, wherever we go the reflection of his light will light the path of our fellow journeyers.

On this Christmas Adam, hear the joyful call to worship!

Thanks for listening,

See you next Sunday

Ronda

If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the Lord and rely on your God. (Isaiah 50:10 NLT)

Hope

So glad she knows about Hope!

One Christmas season when we were traveling and listening to Amy Grant singing “Love has come”. Suddenly, my three or four year old daughter pipes up from the back seat and says, “Daddy, why does Hope have a big gun?” Hope had begun! We all still laugh when we listen to this song and think about Hope’s big gun.

I read somewhere that hope begins in the dark and when I read the opening verses of the gospel of John, I think its true. “The Word became human and made his home among us”. Hope had begun. “and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness…” Hope began in the dark.

In Ezra chapters 9 and 10, we read of one of the many dark times in the story of God’s people. Ezra is lamenting the sins that had polluted the exiles after they have been freed. “O my God, I am utterly ashamed, I blush to lift up my face to you”. Despite the grace and mercy shown to them in both their rescue and their slavery, they have once again abandoned their God. Ezra prays, “And now, O our God, what can we say after all of this?”. Others join him in weeping in front of the newly restored Temple and they confess they have been unfaithful. Then I love what the people say to Ezra, “But in spite of this there is hope for Israel.” (10:2)

Even before the Word became human, his people found hope in his faithfulness. On our darkest nights, even in our utter shame, his light brings hope. Recently someone reminded me of something one of my Sunday School teachers would have us do when reading the stories of Israel. She would have us put our name in place of Israel. But in spite of this there is hope for Ronda! Whatever your “in spite of” is, there is hope! When the darkness of our world is overwhelming there is hope! But in spite of this. there is hope for our families, there is hope for our friends, there is hope for our churches, there is hope for our nation, there is hope!

For unto us a child is born, a light has shone, love has come and Hope has begun! And the darkness can never extinguish it! (John 1:5 NLT)

Try these verses from Psalm 130, substituting for Israel your name or the name of those you love.

O ________ , hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is unfailing love.
His redemption overflows. He himself will redeem _______ from every kind of sin.

Hope may not carry a big gun but it comes loaded with unfailing love, unending mercy and redeeming grace!

“And his name will be the hope of all the world.” (Matthew 12:21 NLT)

　
Merry Christmas to all
May you experience hope

Thanks for listening
See you next Sunday,
Ronda
　
Love has come
For the world to know
As the wisemen knew
Such a long time ago
And I believe that the angels sang
That hope had begun
When the God of Glory
Who is full of mercy
Sent His Son
Click here to hear Amy sing about Hope's big gun!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUU_m7PMIyY&feature=related

A Stick Horse for Christmas

Michael & his stick horse

On Christmas Eve, 1971 my mother opened the box she had picked up from the local Western Auto store to unpack the rocking horse she had ordered for my younger brother, Michael.  Upon opening the box she was horrified to find car seats, rather than a rocking horse! She called the store owners who kindly met her at the store to see what could be done, but of course at that late hour there were not many options.  Christmas morning, my 3 year old brother would find a stick horse under the tree instead of a nice, shining rocking horse. I will never forget how distraught my mother was about that stick horse. She cried. Michael, he just ran around on his new stick horse!  Years later when I had a similar experience with a gift for my daughter, I remembered that stick horse. Mothers always want the best for our children. Our plans for them are for happy lives filled with love and goodness.



My mother on the year of the
stick horses. (and me in the corner)

My mother (the best in world, by the way) has cherished for years special verses and promises for each of her four children. Some she has seen fulfilled, for some she still waits. And I'm certain at times that she has found more "car seats" and "stick horses" when she was looking for "shining rocking horses".  But like Mary, she continues to cherish and believe that the Lord will do what he says. "You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said". Luke 1:45 NLT

In Luke 1:31 -33, we see the promise to Mary concerning the child she would bear. "He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of the ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end".  While she didn't understand how this could be, she believed and her song of praise recorded in verses 46 -55 expresses her elation at the promise. Several times we are told that Mary kept special moments in her heart. After the shepherds came; "Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often" (Luke 2:19 NLT) After finding him in the temple amazing the religious teachers; "his mother stored all these things in her heart". (Luke 2:51 NLT) Sounds like a mother to me!

But what about when she gave birth in a barn and laid him in a manager, did she wondered if she had misunderstood his destiny? What about when he was rejected by the very leaders he had amazed as child? What about when she stood at the foot of the cross? Did she ask as she had when the angel informed her of his coming, how can this be? Did she remember Simeon's words to her when they had taken him as a baby to the temple "And a sword will pierce your very soul" (Luke 2:35 NLT)

Maybe she thought of the words of his ancestor, King Solomon, to get her through theat dark night. Many are the plans in my heart, but the Lord's purposes prevail.

It seems when our expectations are the highest is often when our disappointments are the deepest. It can be very confusing and disturbing when things don't seem to go as promised. We find ourselves saying to God, how can this be?! On what must have been Mary's darkest night when the sword indeed pierced her soul, in the piercing her son's purpose was being fulfilled. He was accomplishing what was necessary for his Kingdom to rule forever.

If in the midst of celebrating the joy and peace of Christmas, you find yourself opening boxes of car seats when you had planned for shiney rocking horses, find a stick horse and ride with all your might! And know that even in the confusing times in life, God is working his purposes. And the purposes for which He was born will prevail!!

Hear the hope in the words of the prophet Isaiah when he foretold the birth of Jesus.

That time of darkness and despair will not go on forever...

For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.
For a child is born to us!

(Isaiah 9 NLT)

Thanks for listening

See you next Sunday,

Ronda

Looks like Timothy got a stick
horse, too, but apparently
the banana had his attention!

By the way, Michael did eventually have the rocking horse to go along with the stick horse. Worked out well for him! and Timothy.

Cheers

Making your way in the world today

Takes everything you’ve got

Taking a break from all your worries

Sure would help a lot

Wouldn’t you like to get away

Sometimes you want to go -  where everybody knows your name

and they're always glad you came

You wanna be where you can see -  our troubles are all the same

You wanna be where everybody knows your name

Cheers of Boston 2006

Anyone but me willing to admit that this song made the Boston neighborhood pub a place you wanted to go? I loved that show during the Shelly Long years and when we were in Boston a few years ago it was one the places I had to go. Right up there with all the sights of American history, I wanted to see the Cheers bar. (Sorry, Mom)

There was just something about the camaraderie in the cast of characters. I loved the way they shouted, Norm, every time he entered the bar. I think they captured something in that bar that we all crave. As the song says, a place where we are always welcome, a place where we are all the same, a place to take a break from all our worries. A place to be cheered.

Webster defines cheer as something that gladdens or a shout of applause or encouragement. The act of cheering is defined as instilling hope or courage or applauding with shouts.

In the ninth chapter of Matthew twice we read where Jesus says “be of good cheer” to those whom he healed. In chapter 14, he says to the disciples “be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid.” You’ll have to get out your King James Version to find that wording. But if you go to your NIV or NLT you’ll see these words “be encouraged” or “take courage.” Who knew Jesus read Webster! I believe we can say all through the Gospels we see Jesus spreading cheer; welcoming people, instilling hope and courage and offering relieve from our worries.

But then how could it have been any other way, the angels announced at his birth that he had come to bring us cheer. Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all the people” (Luke 2L10 KJV)

“O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits at Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death’s dark’s shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel”
　
Just before his arrest Jesus is pouring out his heart to his disciples preparing them for the things to come and he concludes with these words. “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world”. (John 16:33 KJV) Other translations read, take heart!

Let’s go spread a little Christmas Cheer! Someone one needs to hear you call their name and welcome them this holiday season. Let’s instill hope and offer encouragement.

Cheers Everyone! Jesus is here!

Thanks for listening
See you next Sunday,
Ronda

• When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer. Psalm 94:19
• Worry weighs a person down;an encouraging word cheers a person up. Proverbs 12:25
• A cheerful look brings joy to the heart… Proverbs 15:30

　

Be Ye Kind

Robertice Hobbs
better known as Dear

This past week as I counted my blessings and enjoyed being with some of them, I was mindful of one the greatest blessings in my life. Maybe it was the chocolate pie or cooking and cleaning with her granddaughter, but my mind went several times to my husband’s wonderful grandmother.

My daughter playing on the blue
floor while Grandma Dear
cooks lunch

I had known her all my life, but for 5 years I was blessed to watch her up close and personal often from the coveted place on the chest in her kitchen. From this place I watched faith lived out in the common things of life; preparing a meal, folding the laundry, sewing or repairing a garment. The art of caring for one’s family and others was always on display at 405 East Ross in Waxahachie, Texas. Hemming a wedding dress for a grandson’s bride, making a special hot air balloon for her youngest granddaughter, sewing up a pretty pink dress for her new great granddaughter, making a favorite cake for a birthday and adding an extra piece of fried chicken for her brown eyed grandson were all acts of kindness that I witnessed. And they were not random acts of kindness, they were intentional and often.

Saturdays were for chores, mopping, vacuuming and scrubbing the bathrooms and Sundays were for rest and visiting with family. The only time this changed was when someone had an emergency or as she would say when there was “an ox in the ditch”. She understood that an act of kindness was an act of worship.

One of the first memory verses I remember learning was “Be ye kind one to another”. I memorized this when I was probably 5 or 6 years old. I watched it when I was 20 something at 405 East Ross.

This verse is found in Ephesians 4:32, “Instead, be kind to each other, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” (NLT) “Instead” is one those words like “therefore” that insist we read what came before. Here’s what came before, get rid of bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words and slander, and all types of evil behavior. Back up a little further to verses 25 - 29 and we find more instructions; be truthful, use your hands for good hard work, give generously and then there’s this one “Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.” (verse 29 NLT) Everything?!  Let’s back up a little further to verse 23 for some insight into how this might be possible. “let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes…”

I can honestly say that in all the time I watched Grandma Dear, I never heard her speak a harsh word or act in bitterness or anger. It was not that she had no reason to be bitter, angry or unkind. She had plenty of opportunity to choose that type of behavior. She was orphaned as a small child spending much of her childhood in an orphanage, as a teenager, she was adopted by a family to care for a blind woman, she experienced the grief of the loss of a child, knew the sorrow of sickness, knew the stress of little financial resources, experienced the death of a grandchild and more.

Ginny & Grandma Dear
in one of those dresses
she made.

In my bedroom, I have a small cane bottom chair that came from her home. It sat by the bed and each night when Dear and Papaw knelt to pray this is where he knelt. We all loved to hear him say grace at each meal we enjoyed there. Life was orderly and it included pray and bible reading each night and with every meal. Might I suggest that this allowed the Spirit to renew thoughts and attitudes! I know it did mine good each time I was there.

In Chapter 2, Paul reminds us of the source and reason for kindness. "So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us... we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."

Somehow I’ve managed to make life more complicated and less orderly! I pray I will do more this holiday season than enjoy the precious memories but honor them by allowing the Spirit to renew my thoughts and attitudes that I might be kind to those whom I love and those whom God places in my path. I pray I can be an example for future generations of the greatness of his kindness lived out in a life filled with goodness, remembering doing good things is often the simplest of things; a meal prepared, a dress hemmed, a birthday cake baked.

"Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying." (Romans 12:10-12 NLT)

Thanks for listening
See you next Sunday,
Ronda
　
From Webster:
"Kindly implies a sympathetic attitude toward others, and a willingness to do good or give pleasure. Kind implies a deep-seated characteristic shown either habitually or on occasion by considerate behavior"
　

Jesus Loves Me, this I know

A child my Daddy loves and who
no one could deny belongs to him!

Ask my Dad what he preached about this morning or what I should talk about today and his answer will always be “Jesus loves me, this I know.”. And so today, I’m taking my Dad’s advice. It’s been a wonderful weekend spent with friends and family in western Kansas, but as I sit down to write today my body is tired and my mind less than sharp. Ideas are whirling in my mind from the retreat I participated in this weekend, the wonderful stories I heard, the feelings I felt and the Sunday school class I attended this morning. Every thought seems to inspire a blog entry, but ultimately it all comes back to my Dad’s standard answer. So all those inspirations will just go on the list for another day when my mind is better prepared and we’ll keep it simple.



“Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so, little ones to him belong”  “See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children, and we really are.”  1 John 3:1 (NLT)

I cannot imagine a love stronger than that of a parent for a child. And to think that God allows us to be called his children is overwhelming. That he says, this one belongs to me is an amazing thought. Just this morning, I had one of those moments when I as a parent I wanted to stand up and say “Yes, those two, they belong to me!” While I only have one daughter who has belonged to me all her life. I have a son-in-law who now belongs to me. I choose to call him my child and love him as my own. ( I’m fortunate that it’s not hard! He’s great kid.)

When our daughter was born, Stephen and I where struggling to find the denomination where we felt we belonged. My father-in-law, a lifetime Assembly of God pastor, said to my husband. “Son, it doesn’t matter where you go to church as long as you teach her that Jesus loves her.”

I think my father and my father-in-law are right, every sermon comes back to this simple, yet overwhelming truth. Jesus loves us!  and we belong to Him.

If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Romans 14:8 (NLT)

Thanks for listening

See you next Sunday,

Ronda

Another of my favorite hymns, led often by my Aunt Bonnie when I was growing up,



Now I Belong to Jesus

Jesus, my Lord will love me forever,
From Him no pow'r of evil can sever,
He gave His life to ransom my soul;
Now I belong to Him;

Now I belong to Jesus,
Jesus belongs to me,
Not for the years of time alone,
But for eternity.





A child my brother loves and
no one can deny belongs to him.



A Mess

Michael, aka Big Bubba
Timothy aka Other Bubba
(pronouced utter bubba)
Marcus aka Baby Brother



My baby brother &
a few of his favorite toys.

1977
 My family and I had moved to Tioga, Louisiana where my dad was pastoring Alpine Assembly of God. All 6 of us were living in a 2 bedroom house which meant the dining room doubled as a bedroom for my brothers. One day my oldest and youngest brothers, Michael and Marcus, had finished playing and it was time to put the toys away before supper. Being the older brother, Michael told Marcus he needed to help clean up. Marcus, who was always coming up with the funniest lines, replies with this. "Uh, uh, big bubba, the bible says he that maketh a mess shall not have to clean it up!" That verse can be found in the Book of Marcus, which we quote faithfully in our family. Even my daughter and son-in-law have their version, he that cooks does not have to clean up! (I’m not adopting that translation for fear I might have to do one or the other!)

Can’t find that in your bible? Try Romans 3:23 & 26. “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. … and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.” Everyone has made a mess, but God has made us right! Nothing we can do for ourselves.

A few years ago I was reading through familiar verses in the Old Testament and came across this verse in 2 Samuel. “Then David comforted Bathsheba, his wife, and slept with her. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The Lord loved the child.” (2 Samuel 12:24 NLT)

I don’t remember this part of the story from Sunday school. David slaying the bear, David killing the giant, David running from King Saul; those are the stories I remember on the flannel board. Maybe it was that this story usually required the “G” rated version. You don’t put lust, adultery, deceit and murder on the flannel board! As a teenager, we learned the “PG” version of story and studied Psalm 51 learning that this was written after the death of the son conceived with Bathsheba. We learned that it was his contrite heart that God loved. We saw his deep remorse and the high price that he paid for his sin. But I think I must have not been listening the Sunday we learned that Solomon was the son David and Bathsheba conceived after the death of the child they had conceived in sin! Solomon, the wisest man on the face of the earth, the one who rebuilt the temple of Lord, the king who ruled over Israel for more than 40 years of peace. This man was the result of the union of David and Bathsheba.

“During the lifetime of Solomon, all of Judah and Israel lived in peace and safety …God gave Solomon very great wisdom and understanding, and knowledge as vast as the sands of the seashore. In fact, his wisdom exceeded that of all the wise men of the East and the wise men of Egypt. He was wiser than anyone else … His fame spread throughout all the surrounding nations. He composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs. …And kings from every nation sent their ambassadors to listen to the wisdom of Solomon. (I Kings 4:24,29-30 NLT)

That's redemption -one more piece of evidence that God is the only one capable of cleaning up our messes. We as David only make things worse when we try to clean them up. So what do we learn about God from David‘s most humiliating experience? I think it’s two things, obedience and a repentant heart when we fail. When David was selected as King, God said “He will do everything I want him to do”. (Acts 13:22 NLT). In Psalm 51, we see the broken and repentant heart of a man who had failed to live up to God’s expectation. “The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.” (Psalm 51:17)

Going back to the Book of Marcus, maybe we could say it this way, he that maketh a mess can not clean it up. And I would add, but God helps those who cry to him in repentance. David said it this way in Psalm 107, Some were fools; they rebelled and suffered for their sins. They couldn’t stand the thought of food, and they were knocking on death’s door. “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.”

Got a mess? Been the fool? Join me in crying out, Lord, help!

Thanks for listening

See you next Sunday,

Ronda

Hymns of Glorious Praise

The first summer I lived in western Kansas I witnessed "amber waves of grain" for the first time. This week I watched as the billowing waves of the Pacific produced an "ocean white with foam". Nothing makes me more aware of the presence of the Creator than experiencing His creation. The beauty and smell of the pine trees in North Louisiana, the cool streams in the Ozarks, the majesty of the snow capped Rockies, the vast blue sky on a clear day in western Kansas; they all inspire me as they did the Psalmist to worship and bow down before the Lord, my maker.
 
These are a few of my favorite experiences with worship inspired by creation. 



Lisa, my brothers & I
in the West Virginia mountains.
(and Dad)

 Walking down a path in the mountains of West Virginia with my mom and my best friend, Lisa and realizing we were all humming the same song, "How Great Thou Art".

"When through the woods

 And forest glades I wander

 I hear the birds

 Sing sweetly in the trees;

 When I look down

 From lofty mountain grandeur

 And hear the brook

 And feel the gentle breeze; "

 Then sings my soul, My God, how great thou art!

Sunflower fields of Western Kansas
against the biggest, bluest sky!

 Watching year after year the beauty of the crops of western Kansas, gave me a new appreciate for a Thanksgiving Hymn I first heard at Red Oak UMC.

"Come, ye thankful people, come - Raise the song of harvest home:  All is safely gathered in. Ere the winter storms begin. God, our Maker, doth provide, For our wants to be supplied: Come to God's own temple, come - Raise the song of harvest home."

 Sitting on a rock in a cove surrounded by the Coastal mountains in central California, listening to the roar of the waves and watching the spray of the water as it broke against the rocks, I found myself humming a line from another favorite hymn, “sweep over my spirit forever, I pray in fathomless billows of love”. Watching as those waves rose and rolled again and again and again, each one seeming taller and stronger than the last, I could almost feel the waves of His love roll over my soul again and again and again. I sat amazed at the strength and endurance of His love and it brought to mind one of Stephen’s favorite hymns.

The Love of God

The love of God is greater far

Than tongue or pen can ever tell

It goes beyond the highest star

And reaches to the lowest hell

The guilty pair, bowed down with care

God gave His Son to win

His erring child He reconciled

And pardoned from his sin

Could we with ink the ocean fill

And were the skies of parchment made

Were every stalk on earth a quill

And every man a scribe by trade

To write the love of God above

Would drain the ocean dry

Nor could the scroll contain the whole

Though stretched from sky to sky

O love of God, how rich and pure!

How measureless and strong!

It shall forevermore endure
The saints' and angels' song

 

But mightier than the violent raging of the seas, mightier than the breakers on the shore—the Lord above is mightier than these! Psalms 93:4 NLT

It's easy to miss in the busyness of our daily lives, but if we listen His creation speaks to us every day.  It speaks of His majesty, His provision, and His strength.

Thanks for listening,

See you next Sunday,

Ronda

 

Talking about all these hymns makes me think about cleaning the church on Saturday nights with my dad when I was a teenager. One of the things he always insisted on was “straightening the hymnals”. This task was not as simple as making sure they were all standing upright. We carefully placed each one the same distance apart in the holder so that when one stood at the back of sanctuary they lined up perfectly! I learned something from my Dad on those Saturday nights about honoring the house of the Lord.

 

 

 



There's just something about that name

Stephen & I
Summer 1983

The summer of 1982 changed my life and it was not that I had just graduated from high school, it was a guy named, Stephen.  Stephen and I had known each other all of our lives, but that summer we found each other and never looked back. My notebooks from classes at Louisiana College that Fall are full of pages and pages of doodling his name and practicing writing the one I would change mine to, Mrs. Stephen Bailey.   Almost 30 years later, I don't often doodle his name and I do not ever remember actually signing my name, Mrs. Stephen Bailey. But I love the fact that our names are forever connected. I am the luckiest girl alive when it comes to finding the perfect mate. (I didn't say he was perfect, just the perfect match for me!) I married well.

Along the way I've learned over and over just how lucky I am.  So many of my friends and family have not been so fortunate.  Too many times I've met women who have been mistreated in bad relationships and others who live with the marks of failed ones.  Even more times I've listened to women who are simply disappointed with their choices.

One thing I have seen is that we as women too often, ask way too much of our husbands. We make the mistake of asking them to be the one who meets all of our needs, who brings us fulfillment in life and validates our self esteem. I've made this mistake.  And what I've learned is that only Jesus can satisfy my soul! He is the one and only! Incidentally, in my experience the relief it brings to our relationships when we learn this frees us and our spouses to love each other more honestly.

The last four weeks we've looked at four different women. One who had suffered illness and isolation, one who had experienced failed relationships, one who was caught in sin and one who believed, but felt disappointment and confusion. Today, let's look back at how Jesus responded to each of these.

To each one he offered words that brought life.

• Take heart, daughter, your faith has made you whole
• I know your whole story and I came to offer you life.
• Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more
• Believe and you will see

To each one he offered more than she asked or could imagine.

• One sought healing for her body, Jesus offered wholeness for her soul
• One knew a Messiah would come, she had no idea He would come personally to her
• One waited for punishment and found mercy
• One anticipated healing and received life from death

When we are desperate for a healer for our body and soul, when we go through the motions of life hoping for something more, when we are caught in sin, when we wonder where Jesus is in the middle of our need - we like these ladies can know that He came to offer to each of us personally, life, healing, wholeness, mercy and much more, more than we can image.

Sometimes I like to close my eyes and do a little mental doodling to this tune; Jesus, Jesus, Jesus there's just something about that name. Master, Savior, Jesus, there's just something about that name!  And I am eternally grateful that my name is forever connected to His!

Thanks for listening,

See you Next Sunday,

Ronda

"Live full lives, full in the fullness of God. God can do anything you know - far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!"  Ephesians 3:19-20    (The Message)

Testimonies

Growing up in Sunday school, I heard the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead many times. It’s got to be on the top ten Sunday school lessons list. It’s up there with the crossing of the Red Sea, the Lion’s den, the fiery furnace and Peter walking on the water. It’s one of those my brother Michael could have told backwards. When he was in the beginner Sunday school class and was less than enthused to hear the same story again, he complained to his teacher that he could tell it backwards. To which she quickly replied, go right ahead! He did. 

Sister Williamson



Aunt Claudie

As a young lady, I heard many lessons and sermon’s about Lazarus’s sisters, Mary and Martha. Most of them included a warning not be a Martha. Martha, the one who fussed too much over things and missed opportunities to sit at Jesus feet. I must admit I always felt Martha was cast a little unfairly. But then I always admired hard working women. Some of my favorite ladies growing up were sturdy women, women who worked hard and served the Lord with gladness. Women like Kitty Lee Williamson, Gerturde Brown and my dad’s aunt, Claudie Lewis. (You just have to love those names!) These were the ladies whose dishes emptied first at church dinners! My favorites were Aunt Claudie’s chicken and dumplings, Sis. Brown’s mexican cornbread and Sis. Williamson’s rich chocolate cake. Makes me hungry just thinking about it!

None of these ladies ever taught my Sunday school class, took my friends and I to church camp or sponsored my Missionette club, but they taught me life lessons. These women had lived. They had raised children and some grandchildren, cared for dying loved ones, and buried husbands and some siblings. Yet, on Sunday evening when it was time for testimonies, these ladies would stand and declare their belief in the goodness of God.


That’s the very thing I love most in Martha’s story is her unwavering faith. When her brother was sick, she sent for Jesus. And when he died, she still believed. She believed that Jesus could have prevented his death, she believed that He could raise him from the dead and that He would on the resurrection day. She testified to her belief, “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.” (John 11:27 NLT) I admire a belief that doesn’t waver when one is disappointed or unsure of details. (Are you sure you want to roll away that stone? It’s going to smell, she said.)


I am blessed to have know some Martha’s in my life. I admire their service and their belief. Women who relate to the father who said “I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief!” Women who understood the truth spoken through the prophet Isaiah, “As the heavens are higher than earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9 NLT)


When I married, the ladies of First Assembly in Haynesville made me a patchwork quilt from fabric remnants. When I look at that quilt I see pieces of the double knit dresses worn by Sis. Williamson, Sis. Brown and Aunt Claudie. Women who showed me faith; mature, productive, sturdy faith. 

My favorite quilt!


Below is a first person script I wrote several years ago for Women’s Ministry Day service at First Assembly in Hugoton, Kansas. A place, by the way, where I became acquainted with some more Marthas.

Thanks for listening
See you next Sunday,

Ronda

Good Morning. My name is Martha. I am from Bethany, a community just outside of Jerusalem. Several years ago, my brother, Lazarus, my sister, Mary and I became acquainted with a man from Nazareth named Jesus. He became one of our dearest friends and often spent time in our home. My sister and I would often prepare meals and serve him - or should I say I would often serve him. Mary preferred to sit and visit. I recall one day when I got frustrated with Mary and asked Jesus to tell her to get up and help me. In response to my frustration, he said Mary had chosen a better way to spend her time, listening and learning from him. He said I should not fuss so much over meals and things. He said he would only be with us for a little while. Well, then someone had to do the work and fast, if he only planned to stay a little while. It bothered me a little the way he said that, after all I was doing these things for him.

Recently, my brother had become very ill and was near death. Mary and I had sent word to Jesus of the seriousness of his illness. But he did not come, until four days after we buried Lazarus. At first I was very hurt that he had not come. You see, we had come to understand that Jesus was the promised Messiah, the very Son of God. He had been traveling around our region, preaching and healing the sick. He had caused the lame to walk, cleansed lepers and even recently he had healed a blind beggar’s eyes! Why would he not have come and healed our brother, whom he loved. But he didn’t.

Four days after we had buried Lazarus some of the mourners came into the house and said Jesus was coming. I got up and went to meet him. I said, “Lord, if you had come my brother would not have died.” He said to me that my brother would live again. I assumed he was referring to the resurrection on the last day. But he said to me, “ I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” Then he asked me if I believed this. I said, “Yes, I believe you are the Christ.” I did believe, but I didn’t understand.

I went to get Mary, because Jesus was asking for her. She went with me quickly to Jesus and the crowd of people who gathered at our house followed us. She said the same thing I had said, if only you had been here. Jesus began to cry. We took him to the tomb to show him where we had buried our brother.

And then the most extraordinary thing I ever witnessed happened. Jesus told the men that had come with us to take away the stone from the tomb. I tried to stop him; it had been four days, there would be a terrible odor by now. He turned to me and said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”. I stepped aside. They moved the stone. Jesus prayed and called my brother back to life. Lazarus walked out of the grave!

Then I knew why he had come at this time, rather than when I had asked for him. Many of the people who had come because of his death, saw this miracle and put their faith in Jesus.

Neither do I

Only once in elementary school do I remember getting my name on the board. I don’t remember what I did but I remember the embarrassment I felt. I thought that day would never end and my name would be erased. In high school, I hated reading Nathaniel Hawthrone’s “The Scarlett Letter”. The idea of a woman being branded and publicly shamed for life was more than I could stand.

Today my office is directly across from the county courthouse. It’s not uncommon to look out my window and see prisoners being led into the courthouse shackled and dressed in orange. It never fails to bring tears to my eyes. I cannot help but think that each one is someone’s brother, sister, son or daughter and it breaks my heart. I can hear my Dad say as he often has, there except for the grace of God go I. It’s true. “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard." (Romans 3:23 NLT) Fortunately, my sins have not brought me public shame but punishment is what we all deserve. I’m not suggesting that crime should go unpunished, I’m just saying it breaks my heart to see lives branded with their failures.

Every time I’ve read the story of the woman caught in adultery in John 8, I think of reading the “The Scarlett Letter” . And every time, I’ve asked just like many of you, what about the man?! Just like the man in the “The Scarlett Letter” stayed in the shadows, the man seems conspicuously absent. I’ve heard many people suggest he was part of the plot. After all scripture does tell us this incident was part of a political scheme plotted by religious leaders who wanted to trip up Jesus. Indeed they may have taken advantage of this woman for their own political motives. Either way, it seems clear from Jesus’ words to her that she was guilty of something, “Go and sin no more” he says to her. As clear as was her guilt, clearer still was the mercy she found at the feet of Jesus. I can only imagine the fear and embarrassment she felt as she was thrown at his feet as He was teaching at the Temple. Not just anywhere in the temple, in the Court of the Women. (A place by the way that no other man would have stopped to teach.) As horrible as this moment must have been for her and the events that led her here might have been, she was right where she needed to be, at the feet of Jesus. A place where she received mercy. That same mercy is there for you and I.  "Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.” (Romans 3:24 NLT)

There is also a lesson here for those times we reach for a stone to throw. Jesus, knowing that the men were correct that there was a prescribed punishment for the crime, stops the crowd in their tracks with his words. “Stone her, but let he that is without sin throw the first stone”, he says. And then, he waits. The only one who meets His criteria waits until they’ve dropped their rocks and walked away leaving her there at His feet. He asked her, didn’t any of them condemn you. Then she hears the words that brought life back to her, “Neither do I.” What relief she must have experienced. What a motivation to obey the balance of His words, “Go and sin no more”. 

One of the not so lovely things I’ve learned along the way is that life gets messy for everyone. People make mistakes and people misuse other people. But these two things I’ve also learned -

1. There is no escaping the reach of God.

“If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.” (Psalms 139:8 KJV)

2. There are no mistakes beyond His mercy.

The prophet Nehemiah described His mercy this way, “Yet whenever your people turned and cried to you again for help, you listened once more from heaven. In your wonderful mercy, you rescued them many times!” (Nehemiah 9:28 NLT)


If you find yourself in need of His mercy once again, don't wait to be thrown at His feet. Turn to Him and fall at His feet.  You are guaranteed to find mercy!

Thanks for listening,

See you next Sunday,

Ronda

The words below are from an old hymn, “Neither Do I Condemn Thee”. My mom and I sang this song together at my Grandpa’s church when I was child.

Neither do I condemn thee,
Precious words divine,
From the lips of mercy
Like the sweetest chime.
Wonderful words of Jesus,
Sing them o'er and o'er,
"Neither do I condemn thee,
Go and sin no more."


Greg Long is one my favorite Christian artist and one of my favorite songs is “Mercy said No”. Here’s a few lines and link to audio.
Mercy said no
Sin will never take control
Life and death stood face to face
Darkness tried to steal my heart away
Thank You Jesus, Mercy said no
When sin demanded justice for soul, Mercy said No


http://www.myspace.com/music/54867/songs/28336112/?ap=1&sms_ss=blogger&at_xt=4cb27bb0fc6094a0,0