Bible Reading - February 26 thru March 4
The law as given in Numbers continues to be really interesting. I really took a look at the vow of the Nazirite in Numbers 6. Later on we will read about the most famous Nazirite - Samson Paul, in Acts 18:18 is leaving Corinth and cuts his hair as he leaves because of a vow he had made - so for a time being, Paul may have also followed the law for the Nazirite. I was told in one of the Bible studies that I took - and I will be honest - I can’t remember which one it was - that Corinth was the most carnal of the cities in that area and that Paul may have taken the Nazirite vows in order to resist the temptations of the city and her people. Then as he left Corinth he was released from His vow.
We left Acts this past week and started in Mark. I found the first passage in Mark really interesting because it says that it is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, then it quotes some prophecy about John the Baptist and then goes into the baptism of Jesus. I guess for Mark, the miracle of Jesus’ birth wasn’t as important as the beginning of His ministry. I wonder why?
Here is this week’s readings: we have a sudden switch on the 28th - I wonder how going to Corinthians ties into what we are reading in Mark?
Sonday - February 26 Numbers 19-20, Psalm 28, Mark 5
Monday - February 27 Numbers 21-23, Mark 6-7
Tuesday - February 28 Numbers 24-27, I Corinthians 13
Wednesday - March 1 Numbers 28-29, Mark 8
Thursday - March 2 Numbers 30-31, Mark 9
Friday - March 3 Numbers 32-33, Mark 10
Saturday, March 4 Numbers 34-36, Mark 11
Don’t forget our Ash Wednesday service on Wednesday, March 1st, at 6:00. I urge you to attend if you have not yet been to one of these special, special nights. I know that a lot of people think that this type of service is not a “Baptist” thing - but come to it and you will discover that within it’s beauty - it is definitely a Jesus-thing
Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."
This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at the next Bible Study.
That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.
She woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver."
She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire.
If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it."
If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has His eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.
Valerie Rae Hanneman
Matthew 25:45(NIV) "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'”
Ephesians 5:1(NIV) “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children”
I was in services many years ago when I heard a “buzz” of noise coming behind me. I glanced back to see what was up and my mouth dropped open. Here coming up the aisle was this young man with this longish scraggly blond hair - and NO SHIRT ON! He continued up the aisle then knelt just to the side of where Willie (without seeming to bat an eye) was preaching. Every eye was on this man - Willie could have been preaching while riding a unicycle and juggling chainsaws for all the attention we were paying to him. I am sure that my initial reaction was mirrored in the minds of many others. “What’s wrong with this guy? You don’t go charging up the aisle like that while the preaching is going on - and you certainly don’t do it half-naked!” I was outraged that this man would behave so improperly in church. Then that small still voice whispered, “He needs help and he came to Me. Who are you to deny him?” It was like a sword piercing my heart - and it was the sword of Truth. In just a minute some of our church men took the man out to the back of the sanctuary and gave him the help he needed. I learned a lesson that day that I have never gotten over - who am I to deny anybody access to Father simply because I do not approve of them or their behavior.
Flash forward a few years to the contemporary service that is being held in Fellowship Hall. There are a bunch of southeast Asian kids sitting with me. They are regular attenders at Care Fresno Kids Klub. They loved coming to services for the music and for the kids kash that they earned. You know what most people said to me about them? “Valerie, they’re not wearing shoes.” And they were right. It was the dead of winter, and these kids were barefoot. I would explain that’s just the way they were - I never saw them with shoes on at Care Fresno either. I just sort of figured it was a cultural thing. Then suddenly the kids just quit coming. When I asked them what had happened they just sort of hemmed and hawed around. Finally one of the kids told me. In a nutshell, while they were eating donuts and drinking hot chocolate a church person had told them that they shouldn’t come to church without their shoes on. And they never came back to church. They would come to Care Fresno but not to church. By the following year, most of them had moved out of the neighborhood.
I think that we carry a very stylized picture of Jesus during His walk on earth. The pictures we have of Him depict a tall, slender man in flowing white robes, His hands elegant as He teaches. He is a handsome man in with His long wavy brown hair and clear blue eyes. But that is not how it was. Isaiah says that He had no beauty that we would desire Him. His hands were the broad, big knuckled hands of a carpenter and His body style was that of a man used to physical labor. He traveled the countryside in His ministry, carrying His belongings with Him. He may have worn the same clothes for days. And there weren’t any “Granny Wash & Drys” on every corner - so I bet His clothes were sometimes not the freshest. The Word shows that He was accustomed to sleeping in the open air, so without access to a hot shower everyday - maybe He wasn’t always the freshest either. With little money available, His clothing may have been patched rather than replaced. I believe that there were days - between showers, between washers, and between barbers - when Jesus looked a little scraggly.
I wonder if Jesus came into one of our churches today looking as scraggly as He may have looked back then - what would our reaction to Him be? Would we recognize Him? Would we fall at His feet in worship or draw back from His scraggy looks? Would we worry more about how His dirty feet were staining our carpet then why He had come among us? Would we listen to His words of Life or would we be whispering behind our hands about the impropriety of the way He looked in church?
Jesus spent His time among the prostitutes, lepers, tax collectors, and those sick in heart and sick in body. He got His hands dirty as He touched them, loved them and healed them. He didn’t spend much time with the well-to-do, the mayors, the religious movers and shakers. When He did spend time with them - He certainly wasn’t kissing up to them. On the contrary His sharpest criticism was for them.
What does that tell us as the Church? When we welcome those who are just like us and look down on those who are not - are we following Jesus’ example? If we don’t accept the least of these - how can we possibly accept Him?
The Church frets because the Pastor wasn’t wearing a tie & jacket when he preached last Sonday and children in our community go to bed hungry.
The Church worries about the right way to baptize in Jesus’ name while the homeless sink deeper into the swamp of misery and despair.
The Church debates doctrine while souls pass from this life and into eternal darkness.
Jesus allowed the soldiers to take Him, beat Him, spit on Him, mock Him, and torture Him until He did not even look human anymore. He let them drive spikes through His flesh and a sword into His side. He did not do this so that we could get together in His name once a week and have a comfortable little faith that makes us look just like the rest of the world. He did it to make a radical change in us.
If we are going to spend our time and effort on the right way we should look, or the right neighborhood for our church, or the right way to perform our rituals, or the right beliefs - if we want to be with others just like us then lets just go ahead and take the word “church” off our building and off our stationary and slap “country club” up there instead. Because that is what we are - a country club with stained glass windows.
Jesus did not call us to a comfortable faith - He called us to a radical faith. Jesus hung out with the people on the fringe of society and that is where He wants us to be also. He doesn’t want us to just welcome the marginal people into our church when they come into our stained glass world. In Luke 14:23, He said, “Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”
If we are ever going to impact this world in Jesus’ name then we have to quit being so comfortable in the pews It is not enough to come on Sonday and give our money. We need to be where Jesus is - and He is out with the hurting people.
LORD Jesus, save me from being comfortable in my faith. I don’t want to miss seeing You just because You don’t look like I do. Show me how to serve You by serving the least of these.
Contact Valerie or sign up for the e-Ministry of Fresno First Baptist at valerie@fresnofirst.org
The Christian faith is meant to be lived moment by moment. It isn't some broad, general outline--it's a long walk with a real Person. -Joni Eareckson Tada
My fingerprints have cleared with CPS (whew!) The home visit is scheduled for next Monday. Now I get to do all sorts of fun things like get a “to scale” drawing of my home - Hal Cole is doing that for me. My family and I have to devise an emergency evacuation plan (my plan of “open the window - kick out the screen - go though the window” doesn’t seem to be adequate) But most of all - I need to do some rearranging in our closets! I am getting hopeful that this situation will soon be resolved!
Care Fresno Kids Klub is going up to the snow this Saturday - please keep us in prayer that we all have fun - and nobody gets hurt - or lost.
Pastor Willie, Jessica, Megan and Seng should be home by the time that you read this! It will be great to see them again and to hear all about their adventures!
Please continue to keep Biana Grogg in prayer as we get closer and closer to sending her off to Nigeria.
We continue to pray for the following: Bobbi Ronsley & lupus that has spread to her brain, Jim Pombe & heart problems, Joe Barty & throat cancer, Pat Siemens, Mike Abbott in Afghanistan, Lois Thompson & recovery from a stroke, Walt Couch & prostrate cancer, Mike Joos & recovery from radiation treatment, George Martin & cancer, Tony & treatment for prostrate cancer, Merle Rush & recovery from a stroke, John Rodgers with cancer, Stan Reed & cancer
Pray for our missionaries -Jan & Larry Martin in Thailand, The Reaching Hand Society in India, SeaFM in Southeast Asia, Dr. George Pe Myat in the Congo, Bounkham & Khamla’s mission to Laos, Gospel For Asia, The Faith Alive Clinic in Jos, Nigeria, Laurie Bethall in Prague, and Judy, Faye & Miisaw at the New Life Center in Thailand, all the missionaries worldwide.
Pray for our pastors, our leadership, our ministries, and Father’s provision for His Church. Pray that we recognize opportunities to share our faith with others
Pray for our country, her leadership and our military.
LORD of All,
Our souls strive to be closer to You because You are our life-source. You are our joy, our peace, our happiness, our very reason to live.
Abba, on my knees I pray to You for these two children and I ask that You continue to open doors. I thank You for my friends who have rallied behind me in this endeavor, who have given me furniture and drawn my house and will secure my bookcases - if necessary. You show me Your will through them, and I go forward with confidence. Be with Joanna & Jesse, comfort them, strengthen them, protect them.
Holy One, we pray Your protection over the Care Fresno snow trip. Keep all the kids safe and secure.
Thank-You, LORD Jesus, for Your hand of protection over our Laos team. Grant them rest now that they are back. May the seeds that they planted in Laos bring forth a great harvest.
We lift up Biana to You, Holy Spirit, and ask that You smooth her way to Nigeria. Help her to obtain the financial support that she needs. Help her to tie up all the loose ends before she goes to serve You on this great adventure. We praise You, LORD, for her radical faith.
Father God, You are our salvation; we trust in You and we are not afraid. You, LORD Jehovah are our strength and our song, You are our salvation, and our Rock. You cannot be moved and we find our refuge in You. You have put a new song in our mouth - a song of life and joy.
We pray, Adonai, Our Master, for those who continue to be on our prayer chain. Continue to work each situation and person to Your glory.
We pray for those who serve You so faithfully around the world. Grant them a renewed vision of Your Kingdom. Help them to see that they do make a difference.
We pray for our beloved pastors and ask that You continue to grant them wisdom and patience. Show them the way that You would have us go - and help us to follow them. Bless our ministries and provide for their needs.
Show us opportunities to share our faith in You. Help us to live our life so in tune with You that when we talk of You and Your glory - people believe us because they see us live it.
Great and Glorious God, we pray for our country - that it will come back to You. We pray for our President and his cabinet - that You will be with them as they chart the course for the USA. We pray for our Congress and our Supreme Court - that their decisions can be based in Your wisdom and Your will. We pray for our military that serves us around the world. Grant them peace. We pray for our planet, LORD of Light, and pray that Your light be allowed to shine freely on it.
You are the Bread of Life, You are the Light of the World, You are the Gate by which we enter, You are the Good Shepherd, You are the Resurrection and the Life, You are the Way, the Truth and the Life, You are the True Vine. You always were, You always are and You always will be. You are the Great I AM. We fall on our face before You. We love You, LORD. We get to love You forever.
Valerie Rae Hanneman
1 John 3:17-19 (The Message) “If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God's love? It disappears. And you made it disappear. My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality.”
There was a time when I lived behind a facade of an upwardly mobile woman. I worked hard in my profession to be the best that I could possibly be. I started out as a bookkeeper for the organization that I work for. I worked hard and learned as much as I could. I had aligned myself with the right skills and the right people so that when an opportunity to advance came up - the promotion was mine. Still playing the upwardly mobile success story, I dressed in the right clothes, lived in the right area, drove the right car. I was climbing the ladder of success - kissing rear to those who were higher on the rungs than me - ignoring or using those below me. The only time I reached out to another person - was to knock them off the ladder. Cold-heartedly ambitious - I was the American success story in the making. But I wasn’t very happy.
I have a friend named Biana. Biana also looks like the American success story with a career in nursing and owning her own home. Biana is an incredible servant of Christ. She went on a short term mission trip to Nigeria last year. It made a real change in how Biana looks at the world and serving Jesus. She heard Jesus say, “Who will go for Me?” and she answered, “Here am I, LORD, send me.” In April Biana will get on a plane. She will no longer have a job, she will no longer have a home. She gave them both up to go and work among AIDS victims in Nigeria, one of the poorest countries in this world. She leaves her family, her friends, everything that is safe and secure in her world to follow Jesus’ call. And here’s the kicker - Biana isn’t a twenty-something out for an adventure before she settles down and gets serious about her life. Biana is a grandmother, she is 53 years old. At a time of life when most of us are getting serious about planning for retirement - Biana is throwing it all over to go to Nigeria.
I have another friend, Norm. Norm is also the epitome of the American success story. Norm is also an incredible servant of Jesus. Norm went to Nigeria as well. He used his vacation time at work and a great deal of his own money to go there. He has also gone on several mission trips to Mexico willingly driving the church bus full of people - again using his vacation time and his own money for the privilege of driving. As his colleagues trade stories about week-long vacations in Disneyland, Norm talks about a week of painting churches and having Vacation Bible School in the slums of Ensenada.
The world looks at Norm & Biana and gives them lip service for their “humanitarianism” They give them accolades with their mouths and - on the surface - they mean them. But deep down inside - where the truth lives - they think that Biana, Norm and others like them are nuts. You know - “the wheel is turning - but the hamster is dead” type of nuts. The idea of putting God before self, putting others before self, putting service before self is a concept that is not only foreign to them - but they are happy keeping it that way. They are upwardly mobile - and that’s the way that they want it. They may give praises to Norm, Biana, and others but they are certainly not going to become downwardly mobile just to help others who are less fortunate. They are not going to give up what they have worked so hard to obtain to live among AIDS people in a third world county or work among the children existing in the slums of Mexico. They might throw a little bit of money at it - but they won’t get their hands dirty in it.
What would possess a person to give up their home, their job, their life to go to Nigeria, a place so far away from everything known and comfortable. Why would a person give up their vacation and their money to work among dirty little street urchins that the rest of the world ignores.
Simple - it’s because of that upside-down, turned around Jesus.
Jesus says that anything we give up for Him is nothing compared to what we have in Him. He says that the servant’s heart is the heart He most desires. He says that those who do for the least of these does it for Him. He says that the world may secretly mock us because we are downwardly mobile but He will raise us higher than the highest stars. He says that when we serve others on earth we are really serving Him, and although our pay for serving Him may not be much on earth - our retirement benefits are out of this world.
Ask Biana why she is going to Nigeria. Ask Norm why he uses his vacations to go to Mexico. Ask Ilene Luna why she visits women in prison. Ask Jennifer Pittman why she goes to Laos. Ask Stan & Debbie Jenks why they are so focused with their time and energies on “Celebrate Recovery” Ask Dennis Galloway why he has taught Sonday morning classes for so many years. Ask Willie why he stands in that pulpit. The answer will be the same from each of them - and from all of the rest of the incredible servants in our communities of faith. They will tell you that it is everything about serving Jesus and nothing about the world’s values.
The world says that when we sacrifice to serve Jesus we are downwardly mobile. What they don’t know is that they are the ones who are failing at life. We who serve Jesus are not only upwardly mobile - we are eternally upwardly mobile. What the world values and offers will pass away - it isn’t real - it doesn’t last. But what we do for others in Jesus name we do for Jesus. And that serving Him will never pass away
You know what I have learned in these past 10 years? The American dream - it’s just smoke and mirrors - an illusion of happiness. The Jesus dream of serving Him and serving others - it is all that is real. I am happy - really happy.
LORD Jesus, You first. First over what the world values. First over what I possess. First above all else. Be sovereign in my life.
Contact Valerie or sign up for the e-Ministries of Fresno First Baptist at valerie@fresnofirst.org
Speak Lord, for your servant hears. Grant us ears to hear, Eyes to see, Wills to obey, Hearts to love; Then declare what you will, Reveal what you will, Command what you will, Demand what you will. Christian Rosetti
Major, major praise for Ann Mead. The results from her last test came in and they confirmed that our beloved sister is cancer free. If this ole 52 year old body could stand it - I would be turning cartwheels of praise! (Don’t even try to imagine that!) Thank-You, Father for Your mercy to Ann. We praise You because we know that if another path had been given for Ann to follow - she would have followed it with all the strength and courage she has always followed You with.
I have finally heard something on foster parenting the two Care Fresno children - I have been fingerprinted. Once they clear - they will schedule the home visit, then hopefully I will be through the red tape ! Please keep this situation in prayer.
Char Cole was back at Kaiser. Further complications following her initial gall bladder surgery. But as an update, she was once again released from Kaiser last Wednesday and she sounds better than she has in a long, long time. She will be going back up to Sugarpine this weekend for camp
Please keep Pastor Willie, Jessica, Megan and Seng in your prayers as they travel in Laos. Joy got a call from Willie - they have arrived safely - but some of Jessica’s luggage still hasn’t arrived. Willie called Joy on his Tuesday to wish her a Happy Valentines Day - only it was on Monday our time. Isn’t that weird? I heard in my small group that Khamla is not doing well physically and may be returning to the US with our team.
Please pray for Bobbi Ronsley, the daughter of a co-worker of mine. She has lupus and it is affecting her brain.
I received an e-mail from Biana in which she told us about her purchase of her airflight tickets to Nigeria. Although I have known about this since last Fall - it has suddenly hit me in a new way - Biana is going to Nigeria in just a few weeks. Please continue to pray for this incredible woman.
We continue to pray for the following: Jim Pombe & heart problems, Joe Barty & throat cancer, Pat Siemens, Mike Abbott in Afghanistan, Lois Thompson & recovery from a stroke, Walt Couch & prostrate cancer, Mike Joos & recovery from radiation treatment, George Martin & cancer, Tony & treatment for prostrate cancer, Merle Rush & recovery from a stroke, John Rodgers with cancer, Stan Reed & cancer
Pray for our missionaries - Judy, Faye & Miisaw at the New Life Center in Thailand, Jan & Larry Martin in Thailand, The Reaching Hand Society in India, SeaFM in Southeast Asia, Dr. George Pe Myat in the Congo, Bounkham & Khamla’s mission to Laos, Gospel For Asia, The Faith Alive Clinic in Jos, Nigeria, Laurie Bethall in Prague, and all the missionaries worldwide.
Pray for our pastors, our leadership, our ministries, and Father’s provision for His Church. Pray that we recognize opportunities to share our faith with others
Pray for our country, her leadership and our military.
Adonai, Master
You are LORD God Almighty. Over our joys - You reign, over our sorrows - You reign, over our lives - You reign, over this world - You reign, over this universe - You reign, over all of eternity - You reign. Your reign is splendor and glory, Your reign is justice and mercy, Your reign is joy and love. Help us to call You Master with our hearts as easily as we call You Master with our mouth.
Abba, please protect and guard the two Care Fresno children. Continue to guide through all this red tape.
Father God, please continue to have Your hand on Char as she goes to Sugarpine this weekend.
Strong and Mighty God, our beloved Willie, Jessica, Megan and Seng are in Laos - serving You with all their hearts. We pray that You protect them from anything that satan might throw at them. Protect them from tiredness, discouragement and little bugs.
Great Physician, we pray for Bobbi as she goes through this situation. Place Your hand of healing on her.
LORD Jesus, before we embraced You and Your life, our lives were painted in washed-out tepid shades of color. Now, because of You, our lives are explosions of brilliant colors. We know that You are going to reveal even more colors in our lives - colors we have not even imagined. Thank You for giving us these colors.
Holy Spirit, we pray for Biana as she finalizes her plans to go to Nigeria. Now is the time when satan will come against her with fears and doubts. Her heart is strong for You, LORD God - help her to stay strong.
We pray for those on our list - that You will continue to work in them and through them.
We pray for our beloved missionaries and we praise You, El-Rohi, Our Shepherd, for their courage and their vision. Continue to bless and protect them. Let them feel Your love surround them.
LORD of All, be with our pastors, our leadership and our ministries. Help us to keep focused on You and not on the petty stuff the world sends our way.
Show us opportunities to serve this week. Remind us that if we volunteer in a ministry that serves thousands or we give a stranger a glass of cold water - the bottom line is that we serve You. We want to serve You.
God bless America, her leaders and those that serve freedom around the world.
We exist to bring You glory, our desire is to worship You with our every thought and deed. Amen
E-Bible Reading - February 12 through February 18
Leviticus is a rough book isn’t it? All those laws governing things that are not relevant to us any more. And yet, there are interesting things that maybe we didn’t know before. For instance, I had thought that the priests were doing the sacrifices on behalf of the people. But Leviticus indicates that if a person brought a sin offering they were the ones who had to slaughter the animal - the priests couldn’t do it for them. That certainly did make the sacrifice much more personal didn’t it - if you were the one who had to cut that animal’s throat and have it’s life drain out over your hands. Just as they couldn’t have a priest do the hard part back then - .we also must deal personally with our sin issue and with the sacrifice made for it. Each person must deal individually with Jesus - nobody else can do it for us.
Acts 13:9 has a seemingly small statement - but one of great importance. This verse is the last time that Paul is called by his Jewish name of Saul and the first time that he is called by his Gentile name of Paul. He is called Paul for the rest of the book of Acts - which to me indicated his call to the Gentiles.
This week’s readings are:
Sonday - Feb 12 Lev 18-19, Psalm 13, Acts 19
Monday - Feb 13 Lev 20-22, Acts 20
Tuesday-Feb 14 Lev 23-24, Psalm 24, Acts 21
Wed - Feb 15 Lev 25, Psalm 25-26, Acts 22
Thur - Feb 16 Lev 26-27, Acts 23
Friday-Feb 17 Numbers 1-2, Acts 24
Saturday, Feb 18 Num 2-3, Acts 24
Valerie Rae Hanneman
Matthew 18:32-33 "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' (NIV)
We had a sleepover for Care Fresno Kids Klub last Friday. We have been doing this for years - but this last one was just different. Maybe it is because Kids Klub has seen such tremendous growth this year and many of the kids spending the night had not been in Kids Klub for long. We had a lot of fun We made butter from whipping cream, had some relay races, ate a lot of food, watched movies, and played video games. We also had a lot of problems that we have never faced before. We had to send two kids home because they got into a fight - and I will not tolerate that. There was a lot of rough play - more than normal. But somehow, we made it through the night. The next morning we had breakfast and were cleaning up the Fellowship Hall when I sent Steven and Karen down to put away the TV’s we had used. We didn’t realize that the room was connected to the alarm system, so we set off the alarm. I ran out to my car to get my wallet so I could call Willie for help. Luckily Bill Clem was there, he got me into the office and turned off the alarm. I called Willie to tell him what happened then went back to the Fellowship Hall. When I got back to Fellowship Hall - another emergency - a girl had fallen & was crying - so I ran in that direction. Finally the place was clean - the kids were gone and I headed out to my car. Wait a minute! Where is my wallet? With the help of my sister-of-my-heart, Debbie Jenks, I retraced my steps and we searched for that wallet. But it was nowhere to be found. I went home and unloaded the car and searched through all the Care Fresno boxes - no wallet. It had been stolen. And all I could assume was that it had been stolen by one of my Care Fresno Kids. I was devastated. It was bad enough that the wallet was gone - but to have one of my kids steal from me broke my heart. I immediately cancelled all my credit cards then, as I brooded about it for the rest of the day, I got more and more upset by the situation. By the time I came into Father’s presence that night, I was fit to be tied. “How could they do this to me?” I whined. “I love them so much - I have given them everything for 9 years! And they steal from me?” I tried to remind myself that some of the kids did not come from the best of home environments - but I just couldn’t get past what had happened. “Maybe it is time to do something else, LORD. How can I ever forgive them for stealing from me?” I was too upset on Saturday night to hear Father speak to me. But Sonday morning, I listened to Him. “I know how you feel,” He said (Not out loud - I would have freaked to the max over that - but you know what I mean!) He continued, “I have a daughter that I love so much I gave My life for her. For years our relationship was good. Then tragedy struck her life. Her son died. I was waiting to fold her into My arms, comfort her - but she spit in My face. She blamed me for her loss so she cursed Me and screamed that she hated Me. She turned her back on Me and purposely set out on a self destructive lifestyle. The grief was breaking My heart but I never left her. Ten long, painful years later, she was drowning in a cesspool of drugs when she turned back to Me. After all that she had done to Me - all the pain and grief she caused Me - I had no reason to forgive her. So do you know what I did?”
With tears streaming down my face I answered my Father, “You forgave me. Your love has always been bigger than anything I have done to You.” Then I went face down on my bedroom floor and asked Father to forgive me for my cold, stone heart that would chose unforgiveness for something as petty as a stolen wallet over loving a child like Jesus loves them.
Jesus told a parable about a man who was forgiven a great debt by his master, then turned around and refused to forgive a petty debt from another. Our verse today gives the master’s response to his servant after the master found out about the situation. The master then put the unforgiving servant in prison until the debt was paid.
Jesus is our Master. Because of His great love for us, He has forgiven us of a debt that we can never pay. He has commanded us to love one another and He has asked us to forgive others just as He has forgiven us. But a lifestyle of forgiveness is not easy. It goes against our human nature because it means that we must let go and not keep count of the hurts that others have done to us. And here is the hardest part - we have to forgive those who have hurt us - even when they have not asked for our forgiveness. But it is what the Master asks.
In the parable, the unforgiving servant ends up in prison - does that mean that if we refuse to forgive another that Jesus is going to toss us into a prison? I don’t think He has to. I think that when we refuse to forgive, unforgiveness coils through our hearts and cripples our ability to love, cripples our ability to serve, cripples our ability to live the abundant life Jesus has for us. And so we rot away in a prison that we have built around ourselves.
Father forgave me for my sin of unforgiveness. (He forgives me of so much) Later that morning I went into the kitchen to return the towels & stuff that Kids Klub had used and I mentioned to Carol Eland that my wallet was missing. “It’s in the pantry,” she told me. And so it was.
Later in services, while I was in choir, tears filled my eyes as two Care Fresno families participated in our celebration of Communion. One of my little girls took a great big drink from the Communion Cup because she doesn’t understand. She will someday though. Someday, through the grace and mercy of Jesus and the ministry of Care Fresno Kids Klub, she will understand what Communion means, then her sins will be forgiven and her name written in the Book of Life for eternity. And I almost chose unforgiveness over that.
LORD Jesus, even as You hung on the cross, Your words were of forgiveness for those who had killed You. You have forgiven me of so much - help me to remember all that I have been forgiven of so I do not harbor unforgiveness towards another.
Contact Valerie or sign up for the e-Ministry of Fresno First Baptist at valerie@fresnofirst.org
What an exciting week of reading we have had! I hope that you were able to go to the web site that was sent to you and explore the Wilderness Tabernacle. Isn’t it just amazing how everything pointed to Christ? And did you notice that if you drew a line through the ark, the table of incense and down though the outside altar, and then drew a line between the candlestick and the alter of shewbread - that it made a cross?
and reading about the early history of the Church was great - so much to think about. But here is what struck me. The Apostles are drug in front of the Sanhedrin and their answers so angered the Sanhedrin that they were about to be put to death. Then Gamaliel talks some sense into them and they so the flog the Apostles and let them go. And then in verse 44 it says it says that the Apostles were rejoicing because they had been counted worthy to suffer disgrace for the Name. I wonder how many of us would consider a flogging to be something to rejoice over?
This week we get started in a new book in the Older Testament. Here is our schedule for this week:
Sonday - February 5 Exodus 30-40, Psalm 15, Acts 12
Monday - February 6 Leviticus 1-3, Acts 13
Tuesday - February 7 Lev 4-6, Acts 14
Wednesday. - February 8 Lev 7-9, Acts 15
Thursday - February 9 Lev 10-12, Acts 16
Friday - February 10 Lev 13-14, Acts 18
Saturday, February 12 Lev 18-19, Psalm 13, Acts 19
Valerie Rae Hanneman
Exodus 20:17"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor." (NIV)
Back in August of 2000 I bought a brand-new Impala, the first new car I had ever owned. I drove it off the lot singing “LORD, You are good, LORD You are good, LORD, You are so good to me!” because I knew that this car was given to me by Father. I promised Father that it was His car - I was just the driver. Over the years it has gotten it’s share of bumps, bruises and stains - but I love that car. This past September - two days before my birthday - I lost control of it while going 70 on the freeway. I played “chicken” with the guard rail - and lost. As I sat on the side of the freeway I cried first because I was so glad to be alive. Then I saw the front end of my car and cried at what I had done to my car. I was so glad when it went into the shop to be fixed. My insurance paid for a rental and so I picked out the gorgeous black-on-black 2005 Amati. Fawn & Steven said that it looked like a mafia car - so that made me a mafia princess - and I felt like a princess when I was in it. It was so cool! It has a 6 cd changer stereo system that you could control through buttons on the steering wheel, a sun roof, separate temperature controls for the two halves of the car. But here is the coolest thing of all - it had bun warmers. With a click of a dial the seats would warm up. It was only mid-October, I was still wearing shorts, but every time I was in that car my buns were being warmed. When the auto body shop called to say that the repair was not completed I was not all that disappointed - in fact I was glad. The Amati was just so much better - it was prettier, it was cleaner, there weren’t any flaws in the paint and it had so many bells and whistles! And you know what? I deserve the Amati. I work hard! I work hard in my job - you would not believe the extra hours I have to work! I have earned that Amati. I work hard for Jesus - Care Fresno alone with all of it’s stress and problems is hard - and then you add everything else I do on top of it - and I deserve that Amati. What I don’t give to my job or to Jesus - I give to my family - they get the money I earn, they get my love, they get what they need before I get what I need. I take very little of anything for myself and I want that Amati. The Impala that Father had given me, had been put into a second class position. I earned, I deserved and I wanted to be the mafia princess. The Amati should be mine.
Covetousness - the wanting of things that are not yours. It is one of those fine-line sins. I don’t think there is anything wrong with having nice things or wanting nice things. I think the fine line comes in is where the priorities fall. When you fail to tithe because you want a bigger house - even though it is really to big for your needs, when you fail to serve Jesus because you choose to be out in the stores buying the new and improved version of what you already have, when you can not reach out a hand to help another because you are trying to keep up with the Jones’ then you have passed the fine line between wanting and coveting.
What motivates covetousness? Selfishness comes to mind first. “I want this because I want it” Sometimes we cover our selfishness under a thin veneer of righteousness. “If I had a bigger house I could host our small group.” That sounds pretty good - doesn’t it? Only the living room you have is plenty big enough for your small group to be comfortable in - and you don’t host them now. Covetousness is always found in a “me first, I want it” attitude.
Jealousy is another component of covetousness. “They have it - I work harder than they do - I deserve it and they don’t.” Your neighbor gets a new car and instead of being happy for them, that green cat of jealousy sheaths her claws into your heart - and you are jealous. Maybe you don’t even want that particular car - but you don’t want them to have it either. Covetousness is always found in a “I don’t have it - so I don’t want you to have it either” attitude.
But I think, that for the Christian, the biggest form of covetousness is found is discontent. We are not content with what Father has given us. I was so thrilled with my Impala when I first got it. For five years it has served me faithfully and I have served Father faithfully with it. I have used it to take kids up to Sugarpine, or for a day snow trip, or to roller skating. I have picked people up for church and taken kids home after Care Fresno. My trunk is a portable Kids Klub supply depot, I have done Trunk-or-Treat out of it, and hauled stuff to Lydia’s closet with it. Only now - it wasn’t good enough - it wasn’t the Amati. I wanted that Amati - even though it would not be as useful in serving God. It only seats 5 - the Impala seats six. (When you are in Children’s ministries - seating numbers is important!) The Amati’s trunk is much smaller - hauling kid’s luggage up to Sugarpine, or loading the supplies for 60 kids to have a sleep over at the church is simply not do-able in the Amati.
And still - I wanted the Amati. Not because I could serve God better through it - but because I liked getting my buns warmed.
My covetousness started showing up in my relationship with Father. Not because I directly said to Him “I am not content with what You have given me - I want my buns warmed” but because my discontent was in my heart. And to be honest - I should have gone ahead and just said it to Him - He knew anyway. It took me too many days to figure out that the coolness in my relationship with God was not because He had moved away from me, it was because I had built a wall of covetousness and discontent between us that was getting so big that it was hard to see Him anymore. The Amati wasn’t worth that.
I was actually relieved when I got my Impala back. It was so good to sit in the drivers seat again! The Impala may not warm my buns - but after 5 years it fits my buns perfectly! On the front seat is a soda stain from when a little boy dropped a soda on the way up to Sugarpine. When we got up to Sugarpine, he got out of the car and he said to me, “Ms Valerie, I didn’t know it could be so beautiful!” He had never been in the mountains. He accepted Jesus on that trip. God used my Impala to change his life for eternity. There is a green highlighter mark on the back seat made by a child who just didn’t understand that in-car graffiti is not cool. She accepted Christ later that year at Vacation Bible School - and I love that green mark.
I am content with my Impala because it is what Father gave me to serve Him with. Someday He might give me an Amati - and that would be pretty cool. But if He doesn’t - that is cool too - because my soul deep joy is found in serving Him - not in being a mafia princess.
LORD God, thank You for providing what I need to serve You. Help me to examine myself when it comes to my wants. I really don’t want them if they are not used to serve You.
Contact Valerie at valerie@fresnofirst.org
Either we are adrift in chaos or we are individuals, created, loved, upheld and placed purposefully, exactly where we are. Can you believe that? Can you trust God for that?
Elisabeth Elliot
I have applied with CPS to become a foster parent for the two children I requested prayer for last week. (Yes, I probably am crazy) The bureaucracy of CPS is unbelievable. Please pray that God will open doors for me quickly so that these precious children - the truly innocent victims of this mess - can be in a stable, God worshiping environment.
I have a great praise! Ann Mead’s doctor’s initial examination did not show any bone cancer. He took some bone marrow and did an MRI - so he may still find something - but so far the news is such a relief.
Dan Hansen has found a job as a security guard. He is in training for it right now. Please pray that he will really enjoy his job and that Father can use Dan’s strong testimony on his jobsite.
Char Cole was back at Kaiser due to a tear in her bile duct (?) that has been releasing bile into her system. She has had two operations since Saturday to repair it. To further complicate the situation, she has developed an infection from the bile. However, God has stepped into this situation, and Char was able to go home on Wednesday - sooner than had been thought.
Our mission team to Laos leaves this Sonday. Please keep Pastor Willie, Jessica, Meegan and Seng in your prayers.
Bob Kinnish passed away this past Saturday. Please keep Geri & the family in prayer.
Please pray for Angelina, a young woman I met in Von’s this week. She is undergoing tests on her liver - and things don’t look good.
I have received a prayer request from our e-family, Jane and Karen, whose husband/father passed away unexpectedly.
We continue to pray for the following: Donna Hemphill, Mary Jepsen, Doris Mason with pneumonia, Jim Pombe & heart problems, Joe Barty & throat cancer, Pat Siemens, Mike Abbott in Afghanistan, Lois Thompson & recovery from a stroke, Walt Couch & prostrate cancer, Mike Joos & recovery from radiation treatment, George Martin & cancer, Tony & treatment for prostrate cancer, Merle Rush & recovery from a stroke, John Rodgers with cancer, Stan Reed & cancer
Pray for our missionaries - Judy, Faye & Miisaw at the New Life Center in Thailand, Jan & Larry Martin in Thailand, The Reaching Hand Society in India, SeaFM in Southeast Asia, Dr. George Pe Myat in the Congo, Bounkham & Khamla’s mission to Laos, Gospel For Asia, The Faith Alive Clinic in Jos, Nigeria, Laurie Bethall in Prague, and all the missionaries worldwide.
Pray for our pastors, our leadership, our ministries, and Father’s provision for His Church. Pray that we recognize opportunities to share our faith with others
Pray for our country, her leadership and our military.
Father God,
Thank You for our lives. Thank You for the many ways that You show Your love for us. Your praises will fill our hearts, our minds and our voices for all eternity. We cannot even begin to imagine what it is going to be like around Your throne - but we know it is perfect joy.
LORD Jesus, Your love for the children was so strong. And it still is. Build a wall of protection around these two children and hurry the process that will get them into a secure environment. We pray your blessings on their mother - help her to get the help that she needs to be free of her daemons so that she and her children can be reunited.
We thank You for the praise reports on Ann Mead, Dan Hansen and Char Cole. Continue to be with them and guide them.
Holy Spirit, comfort Geri, her family, Jane and Karen at this time of loss. Help them to cope with the unwelcome changes in their lives.
We lift up Angelina as she undergoes these tests, LORD God, and ask that the tests be negative.
LORD God, so much of the world pulls at us all the time, demanding our time, our attention and our resources. Help us to remember that everything we do, think or speak reflects our relationship with You. Help us to live our lives before an audience of One. Our hearts desire is for the world to fade away - until only You remain.
Light of the World, we praise You because our continuing prayer list is so much shorter than it has been in a long time. Thank You for what you have done and continue to do in each of these situations.
Holy Jesus, 4 of our family will be traveling far from us in these next weeks. Thank You that although they are far from us - they are NEVER far from You. Protect them and guide them as they serve You in Laos.
We ask Your blessings on the ministries of our community of faith, on our leaders, and on our pastors. Protect and provide for those who serve you in places far from home.
We pray for our country - that she might be turned back to You. We pray for our leaders - that they will hear - and heed - Your small still voice. We pray comfort, peace and blessings on all who serve the cause of freedom.
Thank You for this time that we have been able to spend with You. You are our God - our hope for today - our hope forever.
Donna Sullivan sent me this site and it is incredible! It is a virtual trip through the Tabernacle, which just happens to be part of what our Bible reading is about this week (fancy that!) As you tour the tabernacle it explains how it was a foretelling of the Messiah, Jesus.
I made it one of my favorites so I could visit it often and just marvel at our God. Thanks Donna!
http://www3.telus.net/public/kstam/en/default.htm