“One of the most well-known martyrdoms in the history of Christianity in China occurred in December 1934, when a young American missionary couple, John and Betty Stam, were beheaded in Anhui Province along with a Chinese Christian named Zhang Shuisheng, who had pleaded for the Stams’ release.

Before she was appointed for service, Betty wrote:I want something really worthwhile to live for. Like most young people, I want to invest this one life of mine as wisely as possible, in the place that yields richest profits to the world and to me…. I want it to be God’s choice for me and not my own. There must be no self-interest at all, or I do not believe God can reveal His will clearly. … I know very well that I can never realize the richest, most satisfying life Christ meant for me, if I am not giving my own life unselfishly for others. Christ said: “He that would find his life shall lose it,” and proved the truth of this divine paradox at Calvary. I want Him to lead, and His Spirit to fill me. And then, only then, will I feel that my life is justifying its existence and realizing the maturity in Him that Christ meant for all men, in all parts of the world.”

We can all only admire a heart that devoted to Christ. Knowing the heathen-like hearts of people who have never heard the Gospel, we would perhaps even say, “If the Lord called me to the mission field to minister to people such as those that John and Betty had a burden for, I would go.” It would not matter to us that the people to whom we were called were dirty, or different or diseased – we would go to share the Good news.

At a recent service at our church, we had a young woman enter the building after the service had begun, her two children and one of their friends following behind her. After the service ended she asked to speak to the pastor about a need she had. I had the privilege of getting to talk privately with her while our youth pastor took the teenagers with him. I learned that this dear girl is very sick. She has had a very difficult life, seeing things that no human being should ever have to witness. My heart ached for her. There was a sparkle in her eyes, however, when she told me about trusting Christ as her Savior when she was a little girl.

As I sat and talked with her I had an argument with myself. “Should I give her my cell phone number so she can call me if she has a need? Will she call too often? What would others do?” Then, “No. What would Jesus do?” A song I had recently learned came to my mind, “Love as I loved. Give as I gave. These are the people that I came to save.” I gave her my phone number and embraced her before she left. I went home blessed with the opportunity to call her my sister and help bear her burden. She went home with two children and their friend that had become children of God after they heard the Gospel!

As I’ve thought on that incident, I’ve thought about how we hold at arm’s length those that are different from us. If they don’t dress like we dress, smell like we smell, and have “decent” financial means we often look down on them. We shake our heads that they’re dependent on the state for their livelihood. But if those same people were in another country and we went to minister as missionaries, we’d think nothing of it! Yet, here there are, walking into our churches, or shopping at our Walmart, wondering if there is anyone that will love them and help them. Jesus would have. He fed the multitudes. Whenever He looked up He was looking at the people. What people has He put around you who are wondering if you care? A neighbor? Someone in line behind you at the grocery store? A visitor at church? Love them the same way you were loved and give your life for “something worthwhile to live for.”

With love,

This week I was in a place where I heard a little child crying for its mother – not just once, but many times over in the span of an hour. Bump on its head. Cry for Momma! Wanted to do something but was told “no”. Cry for Momma! Hungry tummy. Cry for Momma! This little one showed his dependence on his mommy every time he cried out for her…that’s what children do!

How dependent are you on the Lord? “Oh, very!” we might all say. But how often do we cry out to him? Does a “little bump” make us cry out? Does an unfulfilled need cause our voice to be heard at the Throne of God? When we feel opposition do we run to our prayer closet?

Our dependence on God is shown by how much we pray! We can’t say we need God and only pray in the morning or at meal times. If we really, really depend on Him then we will pray about everything. Dependence is “the state of relying on someone.” If we run things our way instead of praying about it then we are saying we don’t need God.

Today let’s practice being God’s child and cry out to Him all day long because we realize we are dependent on Him for every thing that touches our lives!

With love,

Great Products to try:

Winter months can really be hard on your skin. I recently read about Johnson’s Be Radiant Body Lotion. It came highly recommended to sooth dry skin and it’s listed at $5.99 – very affordable!

What young girl doesn’t dream of the day she’ll meet a wonderful man, fall in love and get married? She imagines married life to be a life filled with a man who adores her. This quote sums up what nearly every girl would love to hear:
“I dreamed of a wedding of elaborate elegance; a church filled with flowers and friends. I asked him what kind of wedding he wished for; he said one that would make me his wife.” — Author Unknown
**Sigh** Too often, though, that wedded bliss turns sour and that poor girl is left brokenhearted, lonely and empty. What happened? My answer is that often our focus is on what we want in a husband instead of what we need to be as his wife.

I mentioned recently that our ladies’ Bible study this month is “Having a Heart for your Husband.” Day one took us to Proverbs 31:10-31. Because this is a familiar passage I decided I would carefully study one verse each day this month and ask the Lord to bring out the truths that I need to understand. Some of my thoughts may not stand up in a Greek lesson, but these are the very simplistic things the Lord has brought to my heart as I’ve studied.

Verse 10 – “Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.” I am reminded that an excellent woman is hard to find; she’s rare. You don’t see her character in every woman you pass at Walmart or sit beside on an airplane. No, she is a rare treasure.

One has to go to the end of the chapter to find out how she became this way. Verse 30 says that “a woman that fears the Lord, she shall be praised.” Because she has a genuine fear of God – an awesome view of Him, her character is different. He changes her perspective on her family, on her time, her money, her words, and her witness. Because she has a fear of God she doesn’t just plod through her marriage doing her own thing; she digs into her Bible to find out what her responsibilities are. She seeks to know and obey what God says in His Word and she stays after it so she will be an excellent woman.

Do we really know what the Bible says to women? Are you and I studying God’s Word so we know how to act, how to talk, how to be a godly woman in a world that belittles womanhood? It’s the only way we’ll become a rare treasure. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if someone read verse ten over Proverbs 31 and then said, “I know where you can find a woman like that! She’s at my house!”