WHAT ARE YOU DOING

IN THE KINGDOM?
By Barbara Chadwick

“I wish I could have known Kathy’s dad. He could have taught me so much. I never had any training and he was a master mechanic.”  Danny’s ability to fix automobiles was limited but he’s a great leader and God has also gifted him musically.

I said, “I know what you mean about training. I wish I could have had training with a master chef. I love cooking. It’s a hobby for me but I‘ve often wished to do really fancy things.”  But God has chosen to gift me in music and I’ve been told that I’m an encourager.

On the way home from Danny and Kathy’s house I heard a preacher say on the radio, “What are you doing in the Kingdom?”

Then I thought about some people I know who could be such a blessing to others, to the church and to God’s Kingdom if only they would step up and do it.

God has gifted each person in a unique way. Paul, that great New Testament teacher wrote, We have different gifts, according to the grace given us…If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously, if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.  (Romans 12:6-8)   There’s a place for everyone to contribute in the church.  Not only are other people blessed when you do the work God has placed in front of you, but you, yourself, are blessed when you do.

Sometimes we would like to contribute in a way in which we weren’t gifted.  I would love to be a gifted speaker! But, alas, people tend to go to sleep when I speak!  However, when I use music in ministry God blesses.

Max Lucado says that he loves to sing. “Singing for others would give me wonderful satisfaction. The problem is, it wouldn’t give the same satisfaction to my audience!”  My husband Kenneth also loves to sing. He says, “I was cut out to be a singer but I was sewed up wrong!”   Both of these men would love it if God would use them as musicians, however, God planned to use them in a different way. God has put into them an uncanny ability to lead and both are gifted speakers.

“In other words, be aware of your strengths. When you teach, do people listen? When you lead, do people follow? When you administer, do things improve? Where are you most productive?  Identify your strengths, and then…major in them…Failing to focus on our strengths may prevent us from accomplishing the unique tasks God has called us to do.”   (from Just Like Jesus by Max Lucado)

God does not expect us to have great training in order to use the gifts He has entrusted to us. Do you remember how God used Moses even though he stuttered and Timothy even though he was young?

Danny has repaired many a vehicle with his limited knowledge and experience and people were helped. I have prepared many a meal and people were blessed. Ask God to show you what He wants you to do in His Kingdom work. He will bless it.

BAGGAGE

By Barbara Chadwick

We waited for friends at baggage claim – hugs all around when they came. While we waited for their bags they told us about the English camp where they had taught in Slovakia. The crates came around the baggage belt.  They weren’t crates, of course, they were just very big suitcases. J The girls, Katie and Colleen, hefted them out to the car. With quite a bit of rearranging we got them in the trunk. It was quite a ways to the car in the parking garage and they were glad to be free of that burden.

 The next morning I cleaned out my purse. The receipts from the airport trip had to be filed. The apple slices and almonds had to be put away. (It is a 2 ½ hour trip to the airport!)  Empty wrappers from the cough drops, breath mints and gum wrappers, used Kleenex, a note with time and flight #, Gas X  (you can’t leave home without it!)  Then I rearranged my wallet, date book, cell phone, scripture cards, travel toothbrush and toothpaste and make-up items and shook out the lint, etc. You can clearly see that the purse -  the bag is vital.

So then I began to think about the baggage we carry around inside our heads. Heavy things - hurts like parental neglect or mistreatment (may have been unintentional but there nonetheless), children who have gone astray, slams by friends or relatives, lost opportunities, and shattered dreams. Or it might be our own sin that burdens us. These kinds of things stay in our minds and grow like mold. They wreck havoc with our health and emotions. They become crates in our mental and emotional psyche. Most of the time we feel that we have them buried. Out of sight - out of mind we say.

Not so. They keep going around in our sub-conscious mind like the crates on the baggage belt. We have to find a way to throw them out. Shake them out, if you will, like the trash in the bag. One great way to do that is to write it out. The whole thing. Every detail. Every nuance. Then burn the paper! That's right. Burn it up. Because if you continue to carry it, you will experience stress, illness, cynicism and a heavy heart. Let it go! Be free of it! Let God fill your life with freedom and abundant joy.

When I put the trash from my bag into the trash compactor, take it to the dumpster where it is taken to the dump. I will never see it again. It is gone!

You know, that is what God does with our sin:  He forgives all your sins…redeems your life from the pit (where you’ve gone with your baggage!) …crowns you with love and compassion…satisfies your desires with good things so that your path is renewed like the eagle’s. (Joy!)  Now look at verse 12: As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. (Freedom!) Psalm 103:3-5;12.

FRIENDS ARE COMING!
by Barbara Chadwick

Friends are coming from Alaska for a visit! What joy!

I have cleaned the house, made up the beds and baked a pie. I brought some daisies from the yard to brighten the table. I cleaned off various tables putting away old books and magazines. I looked around and smiled in anticipation.

Then the thought came to me, "What things would I do if Jesus were coming?"

Well, I would have dusted more - behind the bookshelf in the den for sure!  I think there are some spider webs in there. There are weeds in the corner of the yard that should go. Also, what about the Solitaire game on my computer - I wonder if He thinks I spend too much time on that? I could delete it.

But you know what?  All this activity is really futile because Jesus knows what we're doing at all times. He's omniscient - all knowing.  Besides that, Jesus is more concerned about what's in our hearts than dust behind the bookshelf.

Look at I Samuel 16:7 - The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

Like David, I would like the Lord to,  Create in me a pure heart...  Psalm 51:10.   Verse 7 says,  Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

When He cleans my heart and my life there will be no weeds in the corner or dust behind any place. I will be whiter than snow! What joy!

PERFECT

PERFECT   
by Barbara Chadwick

Did you ever notice how often we use the word "perfect"?

When Katie asked if I would help with the Vacation Bible School in Haines, Alaska I said, "Sure" and she answered "perfect."

Java Rush says they offer the "perfect cup of coffee."

When Kenneth asked how my birthday was I said, "It was a perfect day."

When each of our children were born we ever so tenderly touched their cheeks and examined their fingers and toes. In awe we said, "She/He is just perfect!"

The dictionary says the word "perfect" means without defect or fault. So it could be that sometimes we stretch the meaning a little with our use of the word.

We talk of our house, job, dress etc., as perfect meaning it fits our needs.  In some ways our house is perfect for us. It has the amount of space we need. The mountain location is beautiful. It is very quiet.
So many things are "perfect". On the other hand, it is too far from town (53 miles), doctors and stores.  Quite often something has to be fixed or at best tinkered with. Our closest neighbor comes up from Arizona once or twice a year. so we sometimes get lonely.  So not exactly perfect by the dictionary standard.

Then there are the people who are "perfectionists".  They want things to be done in a certain way and look just so. In their minds anything less is slovenly and without merit. It drives other people crazy! But in truth if we examined every single thing in their lives we would find things that were not "perfect"; that is to say, "without defect or fault." In this life we cannot be perfect.

Because I Corinthians 13:10 says, When that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part will be done away.  When we get to heaven we'll know what "perfect" is. Hallelujah!

May the God of peace...make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ; to Whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.  Hebrews 13:20-21

The Wilderness

The Wilderness Experience
A book review
by Barbara Chadwick

Have you ever been in a place that you recognized as a wilderness? We have been hiking sometimes in places that seemed like a wilderness. But my wilderness -es have usually been mental and spiritual.  Times when I desperately wanted God to speak aloud to me but He seemed to be silent.

So this is a book review. I want to quote some things that impressed me from a book called The Wilderness Esperience by Robert W. Bailey (Broadman Press)

     A tourist visiting an apple orchard noticed some trees so weighted down with fruit they had 
     to be propped up. He asked of the orchard owner: "What is the secret? How do you grow them so 
     successfully?"
          The grower responded, "I can't explain why, but I can tell you what happened."
          He pointed to the base of one of the largest apple trees and indicated an ugly scar that had 
     partially healed during the past years. The owner explained, "In the beginning, too much of the 
     tree was going to wood and not into fruit. We found that if we scarred the tree, we got less wood 
     and more fruit. And we're in the fruit business."
         We are a people who avoid linking pain to growth.

          The wilderness is an experience of contrasts,
     It is an unsettled, barren, perilous area, but
          it is also a place where God is!
     It is a difficult, lonely, unnerving site, but
          it is also a place where God dwells!
     It is a draining, exhausting, discouraging situation, but
          it is also a place where God heals and strengthens!
     It is a remote, desolate, debilitating condition, but
          it is also a place where God moves and loves!
     The shadows and darkness of the wilderness we do not seek for ourselves, but we need not fear to 
     advance on our wilderness journey, God is there! He goes before us!
                                                                                     He comes behind us!
                                                                                     He journeys beside us!
                                                                                     He dwells within us!

          God allows His children to walk through the dark valleys and to journey through the wilderness
     The scars we encounter result in our lives being:
            more fruitful for Him.
            more sensitive to Him.
            more obedient to Him.
            more loyal to Him.

     The outcome of our wilderness experience depends on
        our attitude toward life
            our choice of response
                our relationship with Christ
                    our openness to growth
                        our desire for obedience
                            our sensitivity to support systems
                                our responsiveness to the Spirit

     Many people have gone into the wilderness and died there! Others have gone into the wilderness
     and come alive there! Enter boldly, thoughtfully, openly, carefully, and may you emerge stronger
     than when you entered! Brave Journey!

ARE YOU A KAWLIGA CHRISTIAN?

by Barbara Chadwick

Kaw Liga  by Hank Willliams
Kaw-liga was a wooden Indian standing by the door.
He fell in love with an Indian maiden over in the antique store.
Kaw-liga just stood there and never let it show,
So she could never answer 'yes' or 'no.' CHORUS:
Poor ol' Kaw-liga, he never got a kiss.
Poor ol' Kaw-liga, he don't know what he missed.
Is it any wonder that his face is red?
Kaw-liga, that poor ol' wooden head.

He always wore his Sunday feathers and held a tomahawk.
The maiden wore her beads and braids and hoped some day he'd talk.
Kaw-liga, too stubborn to ever show a sign,
Because his heart was made of knotty pine.

Kaw-liga was a lonely Indian, never went nowhere.
His heart was set on the Indian maid with the coal black hair.
Kaw-liga just stood there and never let it show,
So she could never answer 'yes' or 'no.'

And then one day a wealthy customer bought the Indian maid,
And took her, oh, so far away, but ol' Kaw-liga stayed.
Kaw-liga just stands there as lonely as can be,
And wishes he was still an old pine tree.

We just got back from a trip to Oklahoma. Driving across the country, seeing old friends and family , sharing meals and stories – it was great!

On Sunday we went to Friendship Baptist Church in Owasso, OK. These people live up to their name. Just about everyone we got close to talked to us. They made us feel welcome and included. They seemed to be full of joy.

Well, some of God’s people are wonderful after you get to know them. But at first glance it seems that their name could have been Kawliga! We’ve been in more than a few churches across our country where no one spoke to us. Cold. Unfriendly. No passion. Wooden! Makes you wonder why they came
.
When you go to a church like Friendship Baptist Church, it makes you glad you came. You want to sing. You want to pray with them. You listen to the sermon with your heart. And you’re so glad you’re not an old pine tree but a living, breathing human being able to worship the Creator God. Joy seems to emanate from the center of your soul.

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let is come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song… Come, let us bow down in worship, let is kneel before the Lord our Maker; for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture… Psalm 95:1-2;6-7

As you go to your place of worship today I pray that you will smile, shake hands and give hugs with joy in your heart – that your worship will be real and your actions will be alive – full of love -  not wooden and lonely like Kawliga. Dead where you stand.

POWER

by Barbara Chadwick

 

“They can’t go back to their homes ‘til they get power.”

“I wonder what the pioneers did.  You can’t go west ‘til you get power!”  My friend was speaking tongue in cheek, of course.

We were discussing the High Park fire in Colorado and the people who were evacuated from their homes.  It was eight days after the fire started.  About 2000 families had been displaced, 180 homes destroyed, many more damaged and one person killed. (Note: Today, after 2 weeks, the fire is 45% contained and has burned 75,537 acres with 191 homes destroyed!)

A forest fire creates its own power. It develops intense winds that fuel and fan the flames. What would it be like if believers were filled with the Holy Spirit today as they were at Pentecost and if that Spirit and power would overflow and be spilled out to others?  What an amazing thought!

Charles Spurgeon said, in his devotional book Morning by Morning, about the Holy Spirit, “Life, comfort, light, purity, power, peace and many other precious blessings are inseparable from the Spirit’s presence. As sacred oil, He anoints the head of the believers and gives them grace to do His work properly. As the only truly purifying water, He cleanses us from the power of sin and sanctifies us to holiness. As the light, He first revealed to us our lost condition, and now He reveals the LORD Jesus to us and in us. As fire, He both purges in us from dross, and sets our consecrated nature on fire. As the dove, with wings of peaceful love He hovers over His Church. As a Comforter, He dispels the cares and doubts that mar the peace of His beloved. As the wind, He brings the breath of life. Would to God, that we might feel His presence this day and every day.”

Jesus told the disciples before He was taken up into heaven, Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will baptized with the holy Spirit…. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:4; 8)

Father, God, fill us with Your Spirit. Light a fire within us. Make us aware of Your presence in our lives. Let the light of Your love and grace emanate from our words and actions to touch others.