ARE YOU A LIVING SACRIFICE?
by Barbara Chadwick

We recently returned home after a two week trip. A pastor asked if we had had any opportunities to witness on the trip. I answered to him that after many years of witnessing to our brother-in-law it was such a blessing to see him praying, talking about the Lord and helping others in Jesus’ Name.

We do need to be ready to tell someone about the faith within us – to witness to them about God’s great mercy and His love for us. In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. Do this with gentleness and respect. I Peter 3:15

When we left on our vacation we did not make a plan to intentionally find someone to witness to every day. We both feel like our spiritual gift is not evangelism. But Jesus tells us to be salt and light in the world. (Matthew 5:13-14) However, throughout the next week I kept coming back to the pastor’s question. We began to talk about our trip and the people we encountered and we remembered many little instances of giving a witness of our faith.

To a shopkeeper – Thank you. Have a blessed day
To a hotel clerk – Thank you. God bless you
Praying in restaurants before meals
Singing a Praise song in the bathroom
Participating in an offering to help someone in need

The Old Testament is full of sacrifices. The Israelites had all kinds of sacrifices. In the New Testament Paul tells us: Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:1

Today, we too, can offer many kinds of sacrifices:
- Hebrews 13:15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess His Name
- Jonah 2:9 But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to You
- Ephesians 5:19b Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ
- Ephesians 5:2 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God
- Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as Christ forgave you
- Ephesians 5:20 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ

Jesus said in Matthew 5:14, You are the light of the world. And in verse 16, He said, Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

I have never given myself to be a sacrifice for someone else – that is, to die for them. But I have to confess that some days I need to sacrifice my selfish spirit, or my cranky attitude in order to let the Light of Christ shine through me.

I pray that I will go through my days with more intentionality than ever before. I pray that I will:
- Confess His Name
- Sing a song of thanksgiving
- Live a life of Love
- Be kind, compassionate & forgiving
- Submit to others

Moises

I met Moises while I was on a mission trip to Belize this summer. He lives just outside of the city of Corazal in the country of Belize. While my team was at his home visiting he told us this amazing story.

On January 8, 2009 Moises was playing on his dad’s truck when he fell off and landed on his stomach on a jagged log. His parents rushed him to the hospital where the doctors did what they could but didn’t expect him to live 5 hours much less 3 months. In fact the doctors were so sure that he was going to die that they didn’t finish stitching up his stomach. Moises was 7 years old.

Moises says that he prayed and told God that if He would spare his life then he, Moises, would become a preacher. During the five days that he spent at the Belizian hospital (before they sent him home to die) an angel visited Moises and told him that he would be alright. His mother says that it was very hard for her to feed him because everything that he ate would then just fall out of the hole in his stomach. Moises at that time was one of 8 children and they lived in a small hut like building with dirt floors.

Well, people began to hear his story and wanting to help. The Word at Work (and organization that strives to train and encourage Belizian Christians) began searching for an American hospital and doctors that would take care of Moises for free. There were so many things that were involved in making it possible. They needed air transportation, a pilot, gas for the plane, transportation to and from the airport and the hospital. Moises and his mother needed passports. Moises’ mom would have to have a place to stay while they were there. Hospitals, doctors, supplies, tests, and the list goes on.

Remember that every day that passed was another day without nutrition another day just clinging to the hope of the promise of the angel in the hospital that everything was going to be alright.

Then one night, an angel told Moises that they were coming to get him and that they would fly away and he should get ready. At this point he weighed 30lbs. He got up and wiped his arms and face with a wet towelette, then he put some Vaseline in his hair and combed his hair and sat down in the chair near his bed to wait on his ride. When his mother woke up she was so worried about him and wondering what in the world was going to happen and just then a van pulled up and said that they had come to take Moises and his mom to the states for treatment.

Believers got together and it took a good many believers to pull this thing off: doctors, nurses, pilots … but most of all just regular pew sitters who gave to save the life of one little village boy that just refused to die. The testimony of American Christians gained much validity by the unselfish love they showed for little Moises. It took 7 months of treatment before he could go home. First he had to gain weight so that he could be strong enough for the surgery, then the internal surgery, then the reconstructive surgery to graft skin across his stomach before finally he was pronounced well.

While Moises and his mother were in the states, The Word at Work began to look for a way to build their family a new home. They didn’t want him to come home to dirt floors. Before they could approach Juan (Moises’ dad) about it, Juan says that an angel visited him and told him that he would grant him some wishes. So he said, “I want to be saved and I want a house for my family.” The next day some Word at Work people came and asked if he owed that land where his current house stood, when he said yes that he did. They asked for permission to come and build a house. He agreed and worked with them to build the house and while they were working with him they shared the gospel and Juan became a believer.

Today, Moises and his (now) nine brothers and sisters live in this very modest home and feel unbelievably blessed to have it. Moises looks like every other healthy little 10 year old. He’s eyes twinkle and he’s full of curiosity and mischief. However, he’s very eager to learn more about preaching. He cries when he tells his story because he’s still overwhelmed at God’s love for him. And when he pulls up his shirt and you see the huge oval shaped scar stretching from his diaphragm to his pelvis there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that they is a God in heaven and he answers prayers, there is no doubt that God has a plan for this young man’s life. One thing that Moises is so proud of is his belly button … he still has it, although it’s about 5” higher and 4” farther to the left … but he still has one and that brings a huge smile to his face.

My prayer is that as God gives us opportunities to invest in someone’s future in the days and weeks to come that we will be generous and participate in what God is doing in the lives of others around us. We never know what God has planned for that neighbor that we loved as much as we love ourselves! ^O^

1. John 13:34
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
John 13:33-35 (in Context) John 13 (Whole Chapter)

2. John 13:35
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
John 13:34-36 (in Context) John 13 (Whole Chapter)

3. Romans 12:10
Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Romans 12:9-11 (in Context) Romans 12 (Whole Chapter)

4. Romans 13:8
[ Love Fulfills the Law ] Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.
Romans 13:7-9 (in Context) Romans 13 (Whole Chapter)

5. 2 Corinthians 13:11
[ Final Greetings ] Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
2 Corinthians 13:10-12 (in Context) 2 Corinthians 13 (Whole Chapter)

6. Galatians 5:13
[ Life by the Spirit ] You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh ; rather, serve one another humbly inlove.
Galatians 5:12-14 (in Context) Galatians 5 (Whole Chapter)

7. Ephesians 4:2
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another inlove.
Ephesians 4:1-3 (in Context) Ephesians 4 (Whole Chapter)

8. 1 Thessalonians 4:9
Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other.
1 Thessalonians 4:8-10 (in Context) 1 Thessalonians 4 (Whole Chapter)

9. 2 Thessalonians 1:3
[ Thanksgiving and Prayer ] We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and thelove all of you have for one another is increasing.
2 Thessalonians 1:2-4 (in Context) 2 Thessalonians 1 (Whole Chapter)

10. Hebrews 10:24
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,
Hebrews 10:23-25 (in Context) Hebrews 10 (Whole Chapter)

Beautiful Feet

by Barbara Chadwick



…how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Today we were driving through Kansas. A tourist shop at a rest stop had a T shirt with the message, “I’ll work for shoes” under a picture of a pair of high heels!
When I was a little girl missionaries would sometimes come to our church and tell about their work in a foreign land. I would listen enthralled as they told about walking to villages and telling the people about the good news of Jesus and His love and how they embraced the message and accept Jesus as their Savior.

My father was a lay minister who was asked to go into some out of the way places to preach. Many of those places were ranches in New Mexico.

One place was the building in the picture above. It’s just a shell of the building now but in the early 1950’s it was a very attractive place. It was a one room schoolhouse in a ranching community. I was a little girl. We went there on a Sunday evening. The chairs were all occupied. The gas lamps on the walls hissed, giving light to the room. The ranchers and their families listened attentively as my father spoke the good news of God’s love and the provision of salvation He made for us by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross to take the penalty for our sin.

When I was older he was sent to a place called El Paso Gap. Again it was a one room schoolhouse – this time in the mountains in a corner of New Mexico. It was a white wooden building. The year was 1952. Ranchers and their families came from miles around to the Sunday service on horses or in horse drawn wagons. They paid daddy with milk, eggs, butter and money for gas. Daddy, Mother and the five of us children would drive the 150 mile round trip every other week-end. The ranchers loved us and kept us for the week-end each time. We loved them and eagerly anticipated each trip.

Another time he was sent to the Flying H Ranch outside of Roswell, NM. We took a small portable organ which Mother played. We sang the hymns the cowboys wanted to sing and daddy preached the good news of salvation. The service was in the rancher’s house and all the cowboys came. What a neat memory for us children.

We went to a place called Salt Creek, also near Roswell.  I was nine and was asked to play the piano. We sang and daddy preached. Sometimes everyone brought food. There was a patch of the most magnificent watermelons just over the fence. We were given some and have never had another that tasted as wonderful.

Steve Green sings a song called, “May All Who Come Behind Us Find Us Faithful.” The last verse says:
After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone and our children sift through all we’ve left behind.
May the clues that they discover and the memories they uncover
become the light that leads them to the road we each must find.

Refrain:
O, may all who come behind us find us faithful. May the fire of our devotion light their way.
May the footprints that we leave, lead them to believe and the lives we live inspire them to obey.
O may all who come behind us find us faithful.

May we be faithful and may our feet be beautiful!
As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”