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Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Strong of Spirit and Faith

Sunday was Mother's Day. I've been a mother for almost 47 years, Yet, when Mother's Day comes around, I always think first of my mother.  My mother was a quiet woman, small of stature, but strong of spirit and faith. Widowed at 37 years of age, with five daughters to feed and care for, she trusted God to strengthen her for the overwhelming responsibilities which were then hers. She was born in Norway, and her whole immediate family was thousands of miles away, never available to lend a helping hand. All my childhood memories are happy ones. My mother died when I was just eleven years old.

My mother made the best waffles I ever tasted. She let us jump on the beds; requiring only that we take our shoes off and be careful not to get hurt. Though things must have been difficult financially, she always invited folks home for dinner after church on Sunday.  And my friends always wanted to come to my house to play; not a "house" but rather a railroad flat in the middle of New York City.

My mother emigrated from a very small island off the southwest coast of Norway when she was just nineteen. She came to Brooklyn and found work as a domestic maid. The island and farm that she left behind had neither cars nor any public transportation. She learned to maneuver the public transportation system of New York to attend night school to learn English. Though she excelled, she never lost her Norwegian accent. She became a proud American citizen, but could never deny her heritage. Anyone who spoke with her recognized she was not native born. Her country was now the United States of America, but her accent and spirit was Norway!

From my mother, I learned to trust in the provision of God for his children, and even though I was a child, I realized the sufficiency of Divine Grace which carried my mother through uncertain times. When my father died, I was only one year old. World War II was just beginning. My mother was separated from her family not only by distance, but by the boundaries of war, because Norway was occupied by the Nazi regime. There was no one to help her. Yet, God's grace was available to her, and she demonstrated that in marvelous ways. I thank God always for her and for the lessons she taught me. She was an American, her accent was Norwegian, and her Spirit was "Galilee." She walked in obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ, whom she loved and served.

My resolution for 2015 was that in every uncertain moment I would ask myself the question, "WWJD?" – or "What Would Jesus Do?" I think that is also part of my mother's gift to me – a sensitivity and desire to be like Jesus.

I often think, "Am I really like Jesus?" or "Did I respond as Christ would have responded in that situation?". The truth is that the answer to that question is sometimes "No!" But Christ loves us as we are and sees us as we can become. As we learn from our mistakes and seek His forgiveness, He offers it freely to us.  And I can almost hear Him whisper, "Do better next time, Gloria."

The great reformer Martin Luther put it far better than I can. He penned the words to the famous hymn, "A Mighty Fortress is Our God." The second stanza hits the nail on the head:

Did we in our own strength confide,
Our striving would be losing;
Were not the right man on our side,
The man of God's own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is he;
Lord Sabaoth his name,
From age to age the same,
And he must win the battle.
    

The term "Lord Sabaoth" is a title familiar to Luther, a Hebrew, Greek, and Latin scholar. The Hebrew term means "armies" and denotes the sovereignty of Christ over everything, both spiritual and earthly.  He has the power to enable us to live like him. He wants to transform us from the inside out.

2015 is one-third over. I wonder how I am doing in my resolution to become more like Jesus, to walk in obedience like my mother did. How about you?

Written by Gloria Hohn
Asbury Park Corps

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

My Brother’s Keeper

Am I my brother's keeper?

Well, that depends. In reality, just because I say I am, that doesn't mean I'm effective in the role. First, let us take a moment to consider what exactly a keeper is. My good friend Google defines a keeper as: a person who looks after something or someone. Synonyms include: guardian, steward and caretaker. So let's ask ourselves again this way:

Am I my brother's guardian?

Am I my brother's steward?

Am I my brother's caretaker?

We read in Genesis 4:8-10, "Now Cain said to his brother Abel, 'Let's go out to the field.' While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Where is your brother Abel?' 'I don’t know,' he replied. 'Am I my brother’s keeper?' The Lord said, 'What have you done?' …"


The arrogance of man leads us to ask God ignorant questions, practically mocking Him. Understanding God knows all, Cain retorts to God's inquiry of his brother's whereabouts with, "Am I my brother’s keeper?" No Cain, you weren't.


In Batman Begins, Batman was on a doomed train with his adversary and says, "I don't have to kill you, but I don't have to save you either." Often times, this fits our lives. We may not have killed our brothers like Cain, but have we saved them?

God asks, "What have you done?"


Again, knowing full well the actions Cain had taken, God asks him that question. Being a keeper is more than being there - it's being present. It's more than talking to someone - it's speaking into them. It's more than instructing - also correcting them. You are their phone call in the middle of the week that encourages them. You are their coach, teammate and referee. You are their keeper ,and being their keeper is doing!

What have you done?

Are you killing your brother? Are you not saving him?

With so much turmoil in the world, here in the US, in our communities and even in our homes, the world is in desperate need of keepers!

(That goes for you too sisters ;-) God bless)

Prayer
Father, my prayer is simply this, help me to be a keeper. 


Written by Lt. Darell Houseton
Newark Ironbound Corps