While my husband is busy assembling our new life in Arizona, I'm busy disassembling our old one here...and it has turned into one long tearful goodbye.
Since Sis. Horne is going to BTI, she chose tonight to turn me into a sobbing mess while I was in the truck...right before I had to drive home...FYI Sis. Horne, I did make it home safely. :-) I told her that I would probably see them next weekend, but she felt that she wouldn't have ample time or opportunity to make me really cry hard, so she took advantage of the time she did have. LOL! That's okay. I have a plan in the works.
Due to BTI schedule, my last Children's Church was probably last Sunday...my last Gleaners was tonight and my last Sunday School with the little ones will be in 2 Sundays. I realized on the way to church tonight that tonight would be my last Gleaners and I cried all the way to church and then tidied up the Children's Church room before church started...all clean, organized and ready for whomever the Lord calls to run to the Children's Ministry.
Tonight, the Gleaners and I studied about the books of Ezra and Nehemiah and their callings to rebuild the Temple and the Walls of Jerusalem. None of these children remember 1990-1993 because they weren't born yet. I explained that there were those who rebuilt/reorganized/re-stablished The Church of God for us already (standing for the truth, having church in their living rooms, in store fronts and finally building our beautiful building in 4 months.) Madison Cox was alive during the building of our church, but was too young to remember it. I explained that even though they didn't participate in the initial struggle and rebuilding, they can participate in the building/keeping/protecting/strengthening process of The Church of God.
Nehemiah 8:10 says: Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.
Right now, our local church is a little discouraged, not just because we're moving, but because we have lost several people for various reasons. Some to discouragement, some to deception, some to backsliding. Discouragement can begat discouragement.
I explained to the Gleaners tonight that Nehemiah and Ezra had to battle discouraging forces when they rebuilt the temple and the city walls. Nehemiah especially wrote after the reading of the Word of God "for the joy of the LORD is your strength."
When a person is depressed, discouraged or dismayed they have no strength and will lay in bed all day long with no energy. But when a person is full of joy, they are full of energy, wanting to run, to be with people and enjoy their day.
The Children of Israel were terribly discouraged and dismayed before Goliath's taunts. They could have easily defeated the Philistines because God was on their side, but discouragement is contagious and they all felt lifeless and faint with fear. Then little David showed up, full of the joy of the Lord and said "Is there not a cause?...Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine." David's joyful heart could not understand why everyone was so discouraged. He even told the loudmouth Goliath "Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied." One little David re-energized a whole nation.
Before a great victory always comes discouragement. If we give into discouragement, satan gets the victory If we reject discouragement, the Lord gives us the victory and fills us with joy. I told the Gleaners that whenever they hear someone moan that "we seem to be losing more people than we are getting!...then is the time to become like Nehemiah and say, "The Joy of the Lord is Your Strength" and be like David and RUN, RUN, RUN with joy to meet the VICTORY head on!
I reminded them that God didn't allow Bessemer to build a 300 seat church in 4 months for no reason! I encouraged them to be like Ezra, Nehemiah and David... work to build and run with Joy and God will provide the Victory!
1 comment:
Love the lesson! I'm sure there's very few teachers who would think to apply these Bible examples to today's life, and relate the rebuilding of the walls to the 1991-93 disruption. It's so important that our children and grandchildren know this important history and be resolved to not let it happen again.
How's the job training going? Is the new girl catching on quickly?
When we found out (quite ABRUPTLY) that we would be moving to Cleveland, we were in the middle of remodeling our house in Virginia. By abrupt I mean, we innocently came to Cleveland for the Presbytery meeting and left a few days later with our whole world turned upside down. Of course, we didn't KNOW we would be moving to Cleveland until after the Assembly but we knew we had to finish our remodeling in case we needed to put the house on the market. Brother Smith had to immediately assume duties at HQ and I was left to remodel on my own. It's a big blur, but I know Melanie Hogan and I laid the floors in my dining room on our own. I know I built a bookcase and desk area in the kitchen and finished it all out. Once we got word we would be moving for sure I did the vast majority of the packing. But, when God's in it, He gives all the strength and grace to get it all accomplished. You're making memories. Personally, I was too rattled to remember the memories I was making. HAHAHAHA!
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