11 minute read
It’s Back to School Time
from Fall 2021
Passing the Baton of Faith
by Pam Farrel
You and I want to be Christians who are able to hang tight with Jesus, to follow faithfully into our silver-haired days and be a beacon of hope and help to the generations who follow in our footsteps. But what do we do on the days when fears threaten to overtake our faith? The psalmist illuminates the way through these times:
O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come (Ps. 71:17-18).
In simple terms, the psalmist calls us to:
Look back so we can move forward. Look up so we don’t become downcast.
At one time, Bill and I faced a move to the inner city so Bill could attend seminary. I was so desperately depressed about the idea that Bill pleaded with me to talk with an older, wiser woman. I called Barbara, the mother of one of our close friends. She was a woman who had experienced tragedies, challenges, and obstacles; yet, she had a zest for life that I knew was empowered by her love for God and her hope in His Word.
This young, fearful newlywed sat at the kitchen table of this seasoned saint as she recounted to me the faithfulness of God. She took out her well-worn Bible and flipped from favorite verse to favorite verse, telling me stories of God’s faithfulness. I made a four-fold resolve that day:
• Get to know God by digging deeper into His Word and mark passages as I learn. • Journal and keep track of God’s faithfulness to me, so
I can share it with others. • Get in the habit of recalling God’s character and faithfulness so it’s natural to turn to God. • Get creative so my home reflects the truths of
His Word. To this day, I place myself in Bible explorations and look for leaders who challenge me—like those who write for Just Between Us magazine. I use colored markers to make notes alongside verses and display them in creative ways: I keep a “miracle scrapbook” to track all the blessings God has performed in my own life; I hang photos and paintings of special passages; I sketch, and I write prose and poetry capturing names and traits of God. And I bring the act of praise into natural rhythms of my life. For example, when I swim, I pray through the attributes of God, A to Z, recounting His character, and this gives me confidence. And before I get out of my cozy bed to face this often harsh world, I recall the names of God. My friend, Jill Savage, says, “Look at the mountain-mover, not the mountain.”
Every mentor God has sent across my path has similar patterns of praise in their lives. Now I am the grayhaired grandmother. (Well, at least under the blond highlights I pay for!) And when times get tough, and they still do, I pull out my Bible and revisit the passages that have brought me hope!
No matter what we face, Psalm 71 inspires us to express a legacy of joy and hope: “My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have redeemed. And my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long …”(23-24).
Now, in my legacy-living days, I’ve added more ways to meditate on God’s goodness and share it. I turn to my art journaling Bible and draw passages in hopes that one day a grandchild or great-grandchild might be inspired in their faith. In every part of my life, I recount the faithfulness of God!
You and I can join the psalmist in passing the baton of faith from generation to generation. Let’s stay true, creative, and faithful!
Pam Farrel is an engaging and energetic leader who has impacted women's lives with her experience as an international speaker, director of women's ministry, radio co-host, newspaper columnist, pastor's wife, youth leader, and mentor. She is co-director of Love-Wise, and the author of over 52 books. When she's not traveling, she and Bill make their home on a boat in southern California. Love-Wise.com
Fighting for Your Family
by Melva L. Henderson
It’s common in today’s families for children to spend countless hours gaming while parents are on the phone or computer, often leaving no time to read God’s Word or grow together spiritually. No longer is it common to see a family sitting around the dinner table enjoying one another’s company. We need to see this for what it is: a plot of the enemy. His goal is to isolate us from each other and destroy the family.
You must stop him!
The family was the first institution ever created by God. Since the beginning of time, He established the family as the foundation for every person’s life, so the family is extremely powerful and vitally important to God. His ultimate desire was to have families that flourish and model His blessings throughout the earth.
Today, we are losing what God purposed for the family and, as a result, the enemy has been granted access into the family. He works overtime, bringing division, separation, and destruction to a place God loves. It is one of the first places Satan strikes because he knows that a strong family unit is a powerful family unit.
If Satan can get us preoccupied with our agendas, technology, work, and even ministry, he knows that we will waste precious time and miss opportunities to grow individually and as a family. Instead of drawing closer together, these things will eventually pull the family apart.
How can we protect our families against Satan’s attacks? For a family’s foundation to be lasting and strong, it’s essential that it is established in the Word of God and covered in prayer.
The Power of the Word of God
Satan is strategic. He works at the core of the family to stop any level of spiritual development. If he can keep the Word of God out of the home, those within it won’t include God in their day-to-day lives and relationships. At the heart of a dysfunctional family is the absence of God and a failure to live by the Word of God. God’s Word needs to be brought back to the forefront. The Word of God is a family’s guidebook for day-today living. Help and guidance for our children should come from the Word of God in the context of daily family life.
All the wisdom and understanding we need is found in the Word of God. Deuteronomy 6:6–7 says, “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” His Word is to be central to all that we do. The connected promise says that God will bring our family into a place of great abundance when we obey.
The Power of Prayer
Prayer and repentance are essential for regaining the ground that has been lost by the enemy. We need to ask God to forgive us for allowing “idols” in our lives and neglecting our first ministry: our family’s relationship with Christ. Pray for God to open your eyes to see what your priorities need to be to keep a Christ-centered home (see Eph. 1:18).
Prayer also invites God into the home and brings an awareness of His Spirit, creating an atmosphere of peace and stability. When a home is filled with the presence of God, our children will desire to be there, and visitors may never want to leave.
It’s not too late, no matter what the current condition of your family is. Today is a new day and God’s Word will never return void. Pray for those in your family who have gone astray, who have even abandoned their faith, or denounced your family. Prayer is powerful and effective, and God can use it to take your family from the grips of the enemy! Allow the blessing that belongs to the family to flow to yours.
Melva L. Henderson is an author, speaker, and regular columnist for Just Between Us. She is also the founder of The Milwaukee Give, a humanitarian outreach, and co-founder and president of World Bible Training Institute, an accredited Bible college. She is wife to pastor Ervin, mother of five, and a grandmother. melvahenderson.org worldoutreachbtc.org F Melva Henderson T Melva Henderson
Do it Scared
by Ashley N. Thomas
“God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7
Much of my life I have struggled with anxiety. With every bold and courageous step I have taken, comes countless hours of processing “What if” scenarios…and hoping
I don’t mess up too badly, or worse yet, do harm to someone else.
The first time I drove down to Hope Street, the only context I had for the area or the organization was that it was on the wrong side of town. Numerous people shared the concern that I was going down alone. I made the trek from my suburban church to the “hood” on the northside of Milwaukee.
However, looking back, the drive down wasn’t what caused me fear or anxiety. It was the people that I would come face-to-face with. It was not knowing what questions to ask, when to speak, or when to remain quiet. It was wrestling with the fact I knew nothing about addictions, severe mental health, or much of the trauma and abuse members had endured.
The kicker? No one was asking me to have all the answers. There was no special manual to read and no quiz to pass. People were simply wanting to see how long I would stick around. Was I there to build up my resume or was I in it for the long haul—willing to be transformed alongside of them? No one wants to be someone else’s “project.” We just want to know it is safe to be a whole person alongside another whole person. To do this, we have to show up. As we are. Agendas aside.
Three words ring the loudest and most profound in my mind from my time at Hope Street: “thanks for coming.” Cassandra, a.k.a. Sunshine, spoke these words to me after a couple months of sitting next to her during community prayer. I showed up. Beyond that, I'm not sure what I did beside shedding a few tears, and getting sucker punched with truth. Slowly, I realized the divide I was worried about was a man-made chasm with a Godsized bridge waiting for me to take the next step.
I had no idea what God had planned for me the first time I walked through Hope Street’s doors. I never could have imagined being in the role I am today some seven-plus years later. I can tell you He turned my fearful first steps into something beautiful. I have found healing, freedom, and a love like none other. He has never left my side.
Authenticity, vulnerability, and transparency trump any divide. They make us real, loveable, and relatable. They allow grace to be continually exchanged. They don’t divide. They create unity, as they help us discover the inherit core longings we all have. The main one being—to belong.
I am simply telling you “Just Do It.” No, this isn’t an ad for Nike, but if we allow all of our fears, insecurities, limitations, and excuses to reign we will never get anywhere.
Where do you sense God is trying to walk with you?
Fear. Step. More fear. Next step. He is with you. Be bold. Do it scared.
Father, Your Word says “fear not” over and over again. Your power reigns in us, because of the sacrifice of Your son, Jesus. Help us to receive Your perfect love and to rest in Your truth, so that our mind, body, and soul can be fixated on You. Your will be done. Amen.
Ashley N. Thomas is the Executive Director of Hope Street ministry in Milwaukee, Wis. She enjoys speaking, writing, and being present with broken people as each discovers the grace that allows us all to be known and loved still. fromsmashtoash.com
