November, 2011

With the sweltering, three digit heat-filled days and
ground cracking drought of the 2011 summer, the refreshing
cooler temperatures of the fall season will be
gratefully welcomed. Not only for the relief from the
heat, but because of the beautiful transformation that
will take place right before our eyes. The trees are
especially amazing! They become so brilliant with
rich, beautiful colors! It reminds me of the awesome
power of God’s creation. EVERY LEAF in every tree
is unique, different, and special in its own beautiful
design. It’s as if God painted each one individually. I
don’t understand how anyone can deny His existence
when beholding such a sight. But, as incredible as the
creation of the season of fall is, God’s creation of us
far exceeds the design and beauty of plants and trees.
Each one of us is unique and special. Psalms 139:13-
16 tells us we were fearfully, wonderfully and skillfully
created and that our Creator, God, knew us when
we were yet unformed.

Do you remember the saying, “They broke the mold
when they made you?” I remember this phrase being
said to people when I was growing up. The statement
implied that there was only “one” of that person
in existence. Until I was a Christian I never thought
much about how true that statement was. There is
only “ONE” of us in existence. No other person on
this earth has ever been or will ever be just like you
or I. Even “identical” twins are not truly “identical”.
With over an estimated 6 billion people in the world,
it is hard to comprehend that no two are exactly the
same, yet God knows every detail about us right down
to how many hairs we have on our head, Luke 12:7.
Although each one of us is similar in many ways, we
are each unique, different and special, especially in
God’s eyes. In Genesis 1:27 we read that God created
each of us in His own image. Nothing could make
us any more special and unique than that! However,
sometimes we don’t think of ourselves as unique and
special. Instead, many times we compare ourselves
to other Christians and how much more special and
talented they seem to be than us. It’s easy to get in the
mindset of thinking that everyone else is better than
us. “She is a better wife, a better mother, homemaker,
Bible class teacher than I am. “Why can’t I be like
her?”

I had this mindset as a new Christian. I didn’t become
a Christian until I was an adult, so I was way behind
all the other women in our congregation in Bible
knowledge and how to be an active, serving Christian.
Most of them had been in the church from childhood
or teenagers. This made me feel very inadequate and
I constantly compared myself to the Christian women
I worshipped with. I was always thinking “if I could
only be like them.” I was always selling myself short.
As the years have gone by, I have learned that some
of those same Christian sisters I desired so strongly to
be like were thinking the same thing about me. They
were actually wishing they could be like me in some
ways. I had no idea! I was so busy focusing on what
I thought I wasn’t and what I didn’t think I could do,
that I wasn’t seeing or using the talents that God had
blessed me with. I was limiting myself in my service
to God.

If you are struggling with these same feelings, I pray
you will search God’s word to help you to see that you
are unique, special, and that everyone, including you,
has a talent or talents that you can use to serve God in
a way that nobody else can.

Not in a vain or boasting way, but it is ok to love
ourselves. In fact, God wants us to love ourselves.
Matthew 22:39 tells us to “Love thy neighbor as
thyself.” Usually when we study or hear this verse
used in a lesson we focus on the part that instructs
us to “love our neighbor” and rightly so. That command
is a very important part of the verse. But, this
verse also tells us to love “ourselves”. We have to
first love ourselves and the special and unique person
God has created us to be before we can properly love
anyone else. This doesn’t always come natural for
us. It sometimes takes a conscious effort and maybe
a change in our lives so that we are living our lives as
a person we can love, a Christian that is pleasing to
God. Does that mean we have to be good at everything?
Does that mean we have to be able to serve in
any and every way? No, we just have to strive to be
the best we can with the talents God has given each of
us as an individual. Those talents may be very visible.
For instance, being able to teach a Bible class,
make visual aids for classes, be able to coordinate
events such as workshops, ladies days, etc. You may
have talents that are not so visible, but are still just as
important and effective in the Lord’s work. God has
given every single one of us a talent or ability that we
can use to serve Him. Maybe you are good at writing
and sending cards of encouragement to others,
cleaning the church building so it always looks nice
and welcoming for worship services. Are you good at
having just the right thing to say to a brother or sister
in Christ that is struggling with something in their
life? Is your talent praising and encouraging those
that make the effort to be at all the worship services or
to those men who lead in our worship in some way?
Do you help prepare a dish to take to someone when
needed? You may not think your talents are useful,
but they are! Whatever you are able to do, find a way
to use it to serve God. Use it to bring other Christians
together for a time of fellowship. Sewing, painting,
crafts, crocheting, creating Bible lessons, having a devotional
in your home are good ways to bring women
together for a fun time of fellowship.

Let’s look at some women that were unique, special
and worthy of mention in the Bible. They used their
talents to serve God.
* Dorcas: was kind and loving-Acts 9:36
* Lydia: showed hospitality (especially to those of the faith)-Acts 16:1-15
* Phoebe: was mentioned as a servant in the church-Romans 16:1
* Priscilla: Taught others privately -Acts 18:24-26

The acts of these women are acts any of us can do in
some way. It is these kinds of acts that will help to
make us feel special. Serving others is a great way
to help us feel better about ourselves and to let God’s
light shine through us.

Maybe we need to remind ourselves daily that we are
unique and created by God Himself in His image and
that He loves us so much! Here is a little exercise
that may help you to remember this and learn to love
yourself. Write this down on a sticky note and put it
somewhere you will read it every day.

“I am special and unique, created in God’s image and
He loves me.” “I have talents that I can and will use
for Him.”

Then believe it! Realize the potential you have as a
Christian woman to serve our Lord. Whatever you
do, do it with a cheerful, thankful attitude. You never
know how you may be influencing others around you
to become a Christian or to become stronger Christians.
Don’t be afraid to ask your Christian sisters to
help you develop your talents, to help you grow in
your service.

May God bless and strengthen you through the study
of His word and through your efforts to grow as His
Christian daughter.

By Pam Savage

Originally published in the Fall 2011 issue N4V4

It was God’s plan to provide a means of redemption
for man’s soul. He gave His only begotten Son that
mankind through that Son, might be saved. The shedding
of Christ’s blood on the cross makes that possible.
On the day of Pentecost when the pouring out of
the Holy Spirit was given to the Apostles in Jerusalem
and the first gospel sermon was preached by Peter, the
church was established when those who were pricked
in their hearts were baptized for the remission of their
sins and were added to the church. (Acts 2:38,47,
KJV). We read in Ephesians 5:23, that Christ is the
Head of the church and He is the Saviour of the body,
and Colossians 1:18 says “Christ is the head of the
body, the church.” If we are part of the body, then we
must be part of the church. Ephesians 1:22-23 says,
“He is the head over all things to the church which is
His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.”
We are the church which Christ purchased with His
own blood (Acts 20:28). If we are that body and that
body is the church and Christ is the Head, we must
conclude that we cannot be saved without being in the
body which is the Church.

Our brothers and sisters in Christ are very essential to
the maintaining of our faithfulness. We are to exhort
one another, to build one another up in the most holy
faith. We are to bear one another’s burdens, weep,
mourn, rejoice with one another. The letters to the
churches are filled with exhortations to love one another,
and be united in the Lord. We cannot afford to
diminish the importance of our church families. It is
true that we must all work out our own salvation, but
God saw the need of Christian fellowship that would
be had through the church. The example of the early
church meeting daily and having all things in common
should remind us of the necessity of being with those
of like faith as often as possible. The pattern for the
church and its’ mission are recorded in the New Testament
throughout the epistles. We see in Romans 12:4-
5, and also in I Corinthians 12:12-14, that the body is
made up of many members and that each member is
essential to the proper functioning of the body. When
one member of that body suffers, or is not functioning
properly, the whole body suffers as a result. As each
organ or member of the physical body should be taken
care of and kept healthy, so should the body of Christ
(the church). We as members of the church must do
all we can to keep ourselves spiritually healthy and
in doing so the church (body) will grow in strength
as well as in number. We must hunger and thirst for
the Word of God, thereby, growing in the grace and in
the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
and be ready and willing to share that knowledge with
those who are unlearned.

Thanks be to God that He has given us the church
which is Christ’s body. In Hebrews 10:25, we are
warned of the dangers of forsaking the assembling
of the church and that, by doing so, we are wilfully
sinning. Our Heavenly Father knows how important
the church is to our salvation and commands us to be
faithful to it, for it is our brothers and sisters in Christ
who pick us up when we fall, encourage us when we
are weak, and love our souls even when we’re not
loveable! It is the church with whom we assemble to
worship Almighty God, in singing, praying, giving,
partaking in communion and in studying His Word.

Not only are the “saved” in the nody, but they are
also given the name of the Head of that nody. Acts
4:12 says, “Neither is there salvation in any other
name; for there is none other name under heaven
given among men, whereby we must be saved.” According
to New Testament scripture, salvation and the
Church are synonymous.

By Alice A. Simmons

Originally published in the Fall 2011 Issue N4V4