Women & More January 27, 2011 snow day on 20 th MOVED to March 17, 2011 God keeps us from getting too comfortable, and spending our lives frivolously. He wants us to live open to what he wants for every second of our lives, so we must release ownership of our plans and lives to Him. He will save us from ourselves so that we will not waste this life He gave us, but live it for Him and others. Proverbs 11:25 A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. Acts 20:35 It is more blessed to give than to receive. At the end of our first year of Women & More, one of our young women lay down on her couch to rest off a headache, and she never woke up she died. We were shocked when we learned, and eight women from Women & More were able to attend services for her. One thing we can never calculate is just how much being there might mean for a family. We received the following letters from the family letting us know what our presence had meant to them: Dear Women & More Bible Study Group, Words cannot express how touched we were by the presence of the Bible study group. What a godly, compassionate group of women you are. Thank you so much for your outreach to (our) sister. You were such an encouragement to (her), and she always looked forward to attending. We also thank you for the beautiful floral arrangement you sent. Please tell your group what an encouragement and blessing they were to our family. Your group is making a difference in your community, and I will pray that God sends a special blessing for each one of you. I may never see you here again, but the memory of how genuine, kind, and compassionate you were will remain with me and my family forever. I hope I can be to others what your group was to me and my family. Sincerely Dear Study Group Ladies, I can t begin to express my thanks for your outpouring of love and the support you showed (our loved one). I know your group meant so much to her. Your presence at visitation and at the funeral touched my heart, and the flowers were so thoughtful. I pray God will continue to do great things through your Bible study as He has already done. God bless all of you for your faithful kindness to those who need it most. Sincerely
2 Dear Ladies, Please know that we were very touched by the number of your Bible group who came to our (loved one s) visitation and funeral. Thank you from our hearts for the kindness and compassion you showed to her. (She) had so many problems throughout her life and we sincerely appreciate the many who reached out to try and help her along the way. Our greatest peace is knowing she is in the presence of our Lord and Savior, and she now has true happiness and victory. Thank you for your wonderful testimony of Christian service. You have chosen the right name for your class, because you live it Ladies and More Bible Study Group. May the Lord richly bless each of you as you reach out to help others and serve Him Proverbs 3:5, 6. Not coincidentally for God doesn t do coincidence six were able to attend services for another member s brother-in-love on Sunday, March 13, 2011. Love and tight-fistedness do not go hand-in-hand! There comes a time in our Christian walk when Jesus will ask us to open wide our hands: to the Savior s complete will; to the poor, the suffering, the wandering, and the lost of this world. We are called to give our best, and to give it all! Madame Guyon: Many people want to direct God, instead of resigning themselves to be directed by Him, to show Him a way, instead of passively following where He leads us. The LORD to Abram in Genesis 12:2 I will bless you so that you will be a blessing. And Charles Spurgeon encourages us further No promise is of private interpretation. Whatever God has said to any one saint, He has said to all. When He opens a well for one, it is that all may drink. Whether he gave the word to Abraham or to Moses, matters not, O believer; He has given it to thee as one of the covenanted seed. Earlier in Genesis after Cain murdered his brother, God asked him in 4:9 Then the LORD said to Cain, Where is your brother Abel? I don t know, he replied, Am I my brother s keeper? What would God say to us: are we our sister s keeper? The answer is a resounding YES! Every hard duty that lies in your path has a blessing in it. Not to do it, at whatever cost, is to miss the blessing J. R. Miller. Psalm 116:12 How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me? J. I. Packer: As praise to God for his transcendent greatness is the doxological basis of holiness, so commitment to spend one s life expressing gratitude for God s grace, every way one can, is its devotional basis. Open hands and outstretched arms generous and compassionate Jesus gave Himself.
3 We can clearly see that Jesus was filled with compassion and mercy. We had nothing to repay Him; and so we are not to look for repayment from others. Matthew 14:14 (in sickness) When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. Matthew 15:32 (in hunger) Jesus called his disciples to him and said, I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way. Matthew 20:34 (blindness) Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him. Mark 1:41 (leprosy) Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man (leper). I am willing, he said. Be clean! Mark 5:19 (demon-possession) Jesus did not let him, but said, Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you. Mark 6:34 (sheep without a shepherd) When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. Luke 7:13 (to a widow whose son had died) When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, Don t cry. Then Jesus raised her son from the dead! The Apostle Paul has some exhortation to us as well: 2 Corinthians 6:11-13 We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and opened wide our hearts to you. 12We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. 13As a fair exchange I speak as to my children open wide your hearts also. 2 Corinthians 9:7 Each man (woman) should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 12:15a So I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well. Galatians 2:10 All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do. A True Story: One day, a poor boy was selling goods door to door to pay his way through school, and found he had only one dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. He lost his nerve, though, when a lovely young woman opened the door. So instead of a meal, he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so she brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, How much do I owe you? You don't owe me anything, she replied, Mother taught us never to accept pay for a kindness.
4 He said, Then I thank you from my heart. As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man also was stronger. He had been ready to give up and quit. Years later that same woman became critically ill. Local doctors were baffled, so they sent her to the big city, where specialists could study her rare disease. Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, he became strangely excited. He went down the hall of the hospital to her room, and dressed in his doctor's gown, went in to see her: He recognized her at once. Kelly went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life, and from that day gave special attention to her case. After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the business office pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it, and then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room. She feared to open it, because she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay. Finally, she looked, and read these words on the side of the bill: Paid in full with one glass of milk, (signed: Dr. Howard Kelly). Tears of joy flooded her eyes as she prayed and thanked God for His love expressed in this miraculous way. Ecclesiastes 11:1-2 says, Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again. 2Give portions to seven, yes to eight, for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land. The good we do today may benefit us or someone we love at the least expected time. At this time, my thoughts and my heart are knit with the people of Japan. Located on the very west side of the Pacific, Japan is called The Land of the Rising Sun because the sun comes up on her first, after having passed over the vast Pacific. When I was four years old, my family went as missionaries to the main island of this country virtually void of the knowledge of the Risen Son. Our first year was spent in Chiba on the Japan Sea with proximity to a nuclear site then we served five years more in Matsudo, about an hour from Tokyo. Sunday morning, as our congregation sang Jesus Loves Me, I sang it to the Lord in Japanese, remembering some of my young friends, Tomiko, and the Sakai sisters, Namiko and Fumiko. Sunday night, pastor preached from Isaiah 45 about God, and God used verses 5-7 to encourage me about Japan s plight and His care for her: I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, 6so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other. 7I form the light and created darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things.
5 Monday, March 14, Fox News reported that there has been an explosion at the number two power plant in Fukushima, now, all while aftershocks are regularly coming, and the Governor of Tokyo has said that These disasters from heaven are for being too greedy. Please pray for the people of Japan who need fuel, food and water desperately, but need to come to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ so much more. Pray that hundreds of thousands will turn to Christ! Leviticus 23:22 When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien, I am the LORD your God. Psalm 27:11-14 Teach me your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. 12Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence. 13I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. 14Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. Charles Spurgeon As his voice to you is Come, your response to Him will be Come, Lord, and abide with me. Come, and occupy alone the throne of my heart; reign there without a rival and consecrate me entirely to Thy service. In mid-september 2010, I went to see a woman in the hospital who had come to our church with great needs. Our people had responded in love and provided so much I had something beautiful and special from my mother s estate which I was going to take to her, but, sinfully, I asked myself: Will she really appreciate and adequately care for this? Then the Lord s conviction came to me like a flood a Tsunami: It was as if God stopped my thoughts and interjected, Do not show partiality do not be a respecter of persons. You give your little treasure up to Me! And so, after repenting, I did. God knows that, thanks to his chiding, I gave it to Him and in His name! Hebrews 12:11-13 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. 12Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 Make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. Mrs. Cowman: We can always count on God to make the afterward of difficulties, if rightly overcome, a thousand times richer and fairer than the forward. Where is our sister? Let us spend ourselves on the kingdom of God the Lord God and others because the kingdom of God is the buy of a lifetime! Martyred missionary to Ecuador, Jim Elliot, got it so right when he said: He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot loose. Hebrews 6:10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.