Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team Mission Access!
This Fall marks 15 years since I began my first semester at Dallas Theological Seminary. Taking quite literally a Leap Of Faith out of my “If It’s To Be It’s Up To Me” Comfort Zone, I embarked on my pursuit of a Master’s Degree in Christian Education (MACE). Amidst the chaos I took great comfort in the daily requirement to attend Chapel.
But of the countless Chapels I would attend over the next four years this one in particular I shall never forget:
I share it with you now precious Peeps in the sincere hope that these timeless truths bring you a renewed sense of Peace & Purpose as we continue to press forward together for His Glory.
In 1952 the late great Ethel Waters first recorded her iconic hymn “His Eye Is On The Sparrow.” Based on Matthew 10: 29-31, this classic has since been covered extensively by both Christian and secular artists from Mahalia Jackson to Whitney Houston.
“Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.” (MT 10: 29-31 NASB)
So I did a little digging and am delighted to share my “Disability Connection” Discovery about this song here from Wikipedia:
“Civilla Martin, who wrote the lyrics, said about her inspiration to write the song based on the scriptures:
Early in the spring of 1905, my husband and I were sojourning in Elmira, NY. We contracted a deep friendship for a couple by the name of Mr. and Mrs. Doolittle—true saints of God. Mrs. Doolittle had been bedridden for nigh twenty years. Her husband was an incurable cripple who had to propel himself to and from his business in a wheel chair.
Despite their afflictions, they lived happy Christian lives, bringing inspiration and comfort to all who knew them. One day while we were visiting with the Doolittles, my husband commented on their bright hopefulness and asked them for the secret of it. Mrs. Doolittle’s reply was simple: “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.” The beauty of this simple expression of boundless faith gripped the hearts and fired the imagination of Dr. Martin and me. The hymn “His Eye Is on the Sparrow” was the outcome of that experience.”1
What an awesome testimony of how Our Awesome Lord can use People & Families Affected by Disability to expand His Legacy Of Love for ALL People Worldwide!
So take heart, Peeps! His Eye Is On The Sparrow & I KNOW He Watches *WE*! 🙂
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team Mission Access! This month we honor the Life & Legacy of former First (& Second!) Lady Barbara Bush who went Home to be with Our Lord earlier this year.
Rarely do we have the joy to witness someone who so graciously embodied The Wife of Noble Character found in Proverbs 31:10-31!
Yeah verily was Barbara Bush that & so much more for our generation! And in Washington DC no less!
Enjoy my podcast to celebrate her Good & Godly legacy.
Well Done Thou Good & Faithful Servant! Godspeed To Your Richly-Deserved Reward.
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team MissionAccess! Today marks the 500th Anniversary of Martin Luther nailing his 95 theses to the door of Wittenberg Chapel and transforming the Church forever.
If Martln Luther had a Life Verse it would be:
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB)
” For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Suffice to say that in the 1500 years since its birth the Church had wandered far from the Gospel. “Indulgences” were sold to pay down time spent in purgatory as the price for earthly sin. But Lo & Behold! A humble monk named Martin Luther could remain silent no longer, releasing the power of The Word still resounding throughout our world today.
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team Mission Access! Delighted am I to welcome back Larry Thacker as our distinguished Guest Blogger yet again this month with his timely message entitled All Things.
Our home state of Texas is still reeling from devastating floods unleashed after Hurricane Harvey. Tens of thousands of Texans have been forced to flee with just what they can carry. Especially hard-hit are People & Families affected by Disability, many of whom are trapped in their homes waiting for help to arrive.
Thankfully an Army of Volunteers with boats, bungees and brave bare hands is helping to Seek, Snatch & Save tens of thousands of families all along the battered coast. Praise God for them!
So how are we as Christians supposed to explain this ‘Act of God”? Especially to those who lost everything? I pray that Pastor Larry’s thoughtful message emboldens you to turn hearts to Jesus…even in the midst of the storm.
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team MissionAccess! Let’s chat about something Christians simply LOVE to talk about, shall we? Let’s chat about Hell!
(insert awkward silence here)
Moved by a local news story about a 65-year old woman who died in a South Dallas house fire, her charred power chair could easily belong to so many people at Bartimaeus Baptist Temple (our home church for people and families affected by disability)– including me! This Hellish vision prompted my Bible Study focused on “fire” which led to this simple verse:
Jude 1: 22-23 NIV: “Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear-hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.”
Expanding that search to the phrase “Christians Hell” I found only 13 verses! Look up “Heaven” and there are 422 verses! Do a similar search on Amazon for books and only two are listed. Suffice to say Christians are somewhat squeamish when it comes to discussing Hell. But we HAVE to talk about it!
However in Matthew 10:28 NASU Jesus does not shy away from it, saying “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Q: So What?
A: Because Hell is eternal separation from God! And without getting into some deep theological weeds, we know Jesus did go to Hell (only briefly Thank God) after His Crucifixion and before His Resurrection three days later. And if He allowed His Only Son to go there He will allow anyone to go there also.
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team MissionAccess! So lemme ask you: Are You Suffering? Or Sanctifying? Today’s Blog is based on my recent Bible Study at Bartimaeus Baptist Temple entitled: “Suffering 2.0–The Sanctification Upgrade.”
John Piper’s excellent book Acting the Miracle: God’s Work and Ours in the Mystery of Sanctification defines Sanctification as “the modest theological term we Christians use to refer to the process of being Holy.” [i] Books, Bible Studies, Sermons and Seminars abound exceeding abundantly on this thorny theological imperative.
Bottom Line? It’s TOUGH! So I’ve got Good News…and Other News. Let’s start with that:
There Are No Points If You Caused It
1 Peter 2:20 NASU says: “For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.”
But Good News! God Will Help You Through It!
Isaiah 41:10 NASU says:
‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely, I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
Thankfully Our Awesome Lord shows us it’s not only possible, He’s given us clear evidence in the Believers like David Brainerdwho have gone on before. Though we have ample evidence of David’s sanctification from his personal diaries, it is this humble postscript penned by Jonathan Edwards (who published them after David’s death) whose own 18-year-old daughter Jerusha also died of TB after caring faithfully for the dying missionary:
“She had not seen one minute for several years wherein she desired to live one minute longer, for the sake of any other good in life, but doing good, living for God, and doing what she might for His Glory.” [ii]
May Her Humble Example Serve To Redefine Sanctification As A Suffering 2.0 Upgrade For His Glory!
In His Accessible Grace,
Linda
[i]1 John Piper & David Mathis, “Acting the Miracle: God’s Work and Ours in the Mystery of Sanctification” (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2013), Kindle Edition.
[ii]2 “The Life And Diary of the Rev. David Brainerd” (with Notes & Reflections by Jonathan Edwards) 1749, Kindle Edition.
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team MissionAccess! Ponder with me this month the concept of Legacy. How shall we honor not just the Milestones on our Christian journey but more significantly the Process we go through to prayerfully become transformed into the image of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ?
So let’s talk Diamonds, shall we?
I’m not talking literal diamonds though they certainly are precious. I believe our Lord is interested in creating diamonds of a far greater value. In fact I never cease to be amazed by how Our Awesome Lord allows suffering to produce Spiritual Diamonds out of us.
Our Scripture passage focuses not so much on the Product but on Process:
Psalms 66:10-22 NASB
“For You have tried us, O God;
You have refined us as silver is refined.
11 You brought us into the net;
You laid an oppressive burden upon our loins.
12 You made men ride over our heads;
We went through fire and through water,
Yet You brought us out into a place of abundance.”
Question: Who is “You”? And what is He doing? More importantly who is *NOT* doing it?
Ah! But Look closely: WHY is He doing it?
Oh Precious Peeps! (Insert Heavy Sigh Here) So much of our focus remains fixed on the “What” we’re going through. And rightfully so because we are urged to “Pray Without Ceasing” (1 Thess 5:17 NASB) for others as well as ourselves. But the Power lies not in the What but in the “WHY”: “YET You brought us into a place of abundance!” Amen & Hallelujah!
Speaking of Diamond’s Best Friend…it’s God! So why not get to know Him better? Here’s a suggestion: try simply spending more time with Him focused on the Why with a Daily Devotional. Joni Eareckson Tada’s powerful classic Study entitled “Diamonds In The Dust” I Highly Recommend!
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team Mission Access! While we breathe a huge sigh of relief that our collective Christmas craziness is winding down and set our hearts on a hopefully Happy New Year ahead, let’s consider something that may have may have gone MIA this season: JOY.
So let’s unwrap Joy, shall we? James 1:2-4 NASU says:
“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
The Key Verse in that passage is: Consider It All Joy. The NIV says we are to Consider it PURE joy. Each of those words is a Bible Study in itself! But’s Go For The JOY.
Doing just a simple concordance search reveals a Whole Lotta Joy in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament books of Psalms and Isaiah. But it is only in the New Testament that a more excellent Joy is revealed:
John 15:11 NASU
“These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.
Wow! Check it out! God through His mind-blowing Gift of His Son & Our Savior Jesus Christ gives us full access to His uniquely personal Joy that Lives 24/7 IN All who Believe.
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team Mission Access! Well we made it through perhaps the most contentious election in America’s history. Though we have a “winner,” suffice to say that we remain deeply divided as a nation. I see a definite parallel in Churches today—especially when it comes to our most basic beliefs about how Christianity works, more specifically when it comes to Disability Ministry.
Bob Sorge’s book The Fire of Delayed Answers hits the nail squarely on the head. Having personally wrestled with extreme suffering in his own life, Bob not only identifies the challenge with astonishing clarity, he proposes a brilliant solution to strengthen every Believer’s witness.
Here’s an entry from Bob’s journal that captures the struggle:
“I relate to Job 9:27-31—it doesn’t seem to matter what I consider doing, there’s always some reason why that isn’t the answer, or why it isn’t sufficient. If I rest and do nothing, it seems that’s exactly what happens—nothing. If I wrestle and seek to press into God, I feel like I’m striving. I’m damned if I do, and damned if I don’t.”[1]
Believers, surmises Sorge, fall in one of two “Camps:” The Quietness Camp, or The Confidence Camp. These two vastly-divergent Camps are locked in an epic perpetual dance for theological superiority especially when it comes to healing.
In a nutshell:
“The Quietness Camp emphasizes the necessity of surrender to the sovereignty of God, and the Confidence Camp emphasizes the availability of God’s promises and power to those who will believe.”[2]
Q: So who’s the “winner”? Quietness? Or Confidence?
A: YES!
Galatians 3:28-29 NASU says “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Neither is there Quietness nor Confidence. May we Camp Out in but One Camp where Our Awesome Lord deeply desires our Unity to become One with Him through faith in Jesus Christ.
In His Accessible Grace,
Linda
[1] Bob Sorge, The Fire of Delayed Answers (Grandview, MO: Oasis House, 1996). Digital.
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team Mission Access!
