Encouragement to Pass the Baton..Laura Bailey

 Encouragement to Pass the Baton

By Laura Bailey

“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction” - 2 Timothy 4:1-2 NIV

Recognizing the handwriting on the front of the card, a grin quickly spread across my face. The person behind this well-timed letter of encouragement? A wise, older spiritual mentor who had invested countless hours encouraging and spurring me on in various ministry avenues. Often times with notes just like the one in my hand.

 It had been one of those weeks, and really, the past few months had been difficult in ministry. Our church was experiencing a time of transition, the congregation constantly changing, causing a deeper strain and commitment on already maxed-out members to keep serving through this uncertain time. 

In this particular season, our church experienced great loss among our elderly serving saints, some rejoicing in Heaven while others were confined to their homes. We deeply felt the absence of these spiritual powerhouses, their physical contributions, their rich godly wisdom, and their deep love for the Lord and His people. 

As I read over the card from my mentor, a woman I playfully call my “church grandmother,” tears pricked my eyes. She wrote to let me know she was praying for me, that I would have strength and wisdom as I served. She closed the letter with warm regards and unexpected biblical commissioning from 2 Timothy 4:1-2, "I'm passing the baton to you."

Paul's letter to Timothy was his way of passing on the honor, privilege, and great responsibility of teaching the church. This charge to Timothy contained the Greek word diamartyromai, meaning obligation. Paul's word choice implies that he desired Timothy not only to listen but ready himself to obey. In the subsequent verses, Paul urged Timothy to prepare to teach the Gospel in all seasons, to all people, in times of prosperity and adversity. 

The inspiration for the final words in my mentor's letter came from Paul's final words as he passed the baton to Timothy because his earthly life would soon come to an end. With these words, Paul encouraged Timothy to persevere and remember the gospel as he had modeled. Paul and Timothy had a mentor relationship, a father/son bond, and a deep friendship. Paul loved Timothy and wanted to see him succeed in his earthly ministry, but he knew from experience serving the Lord is filled with opposition and hardship. 

Paul’s final words of advice, as he reiterated the passing of his ministry leadership to Timothy, “But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:5) Paul passed down wisdom from years of experience; keep calm, preserve through the trials, share the Good News, and complete the calling of Christ on your life. As we read through other accounts of Timothy, we see that he did heed Paul’s wisdom. He grabbed the baton of faith, ran the race well, and persevered. 

My mentor and the Lord knew I would need encouragement and commissioning to navigate and persevere in ministry. May we strive to be people with arms and hearts open to receiving this great commissioning from the saints who have run their race and finished strong. And may we be faithful in looking for opportunities to pass the baton of faith when the time comes. 

Intersecting Faith and Life:
Is there someone in your life that encourages you, gives godly wisdom, and supports you in your Christian walk? If you don’t have a spiritual mentor, talk with your church's pastor or women’s leader, and ask them to introduce you to someone who can help you grow and mature in Christ. Perhaps you are in a place to be a mentor? Look for younger Christians to share your experiences, lessons learned, and biblical Truth. 

Further Reading:

• Hebrews 13:7

A Prayer for an Anxious Heart..Ashley Moore

 A Prayer for an Anxious Heart

By Ashley Moore

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” - Romans 5:3-5, NLT

My phone buzzed the other day with a notification from the kid’s school. Severe weather was on the way! My mind swirled like the doppler image of the hurricane headed toward our area. Rejoicing is the last thing that comes to mind when I feel worried. Instead, my mind immediately begins to troubleshoot everything that can possibly go wrong and scramble to make a plan. I never want anything to catch me with my guard down! 

• Where should I take the kids after school?
• Will our house be safe?
• What about the dogs? 
• Should we leave town or risk riding the rough weather out? 

Maybe you can relate? Do you try to think through every possible scenario and how you might respond when life goes awry? Anxiety is often our response to life’s unwanted surprises. Our minds race to get ahead of anything that can and might get thrown our way. We exhaust all our emotional energy in an unfruitful effort to stay ahead of uncertainties. 

But I’ve never, not once, been able to overthink my way into predicting the future. Worrying and overanalyzing, assuming the worst-case scenario, does nothing to calm my anxious heart. Frankly, most of the time, it just leads to more anxiety. However, the good news is not all anxiety is harmful. We can harness our nervous energy into action, helping us work to get to a safe place, solve the problem, or resolve the issue. Then, we can use our anxiety to prompt us toward the truth. 

Scripture tells us to rejoice because our problems are doing something very useful. The problems anxiety tries to convince us we need to outrun are often the very occurrences God uses as His method to build character in us. This character leads us to the hope we have in the gospel. And this hope reminds us who God is and what He has done for us. No matter how dire the situation, His hope will never allow us to be put to shame. And the proof?! He sealed us with the security of the Spirit. (Romans 5:3-5).

The next time something catches you by surprise, and you find those anxious feelings bubbling inside you, your thoughts going every which way, try this. Allow anxiety to prompt you to pray. Talk to God about your problems and trials. Remind yourself that He is all-knowing, so you don’t have to be. Rejoice that He is present with you through every storm and trial, and He will use every bit of your trouble to drive you to hope that never fails. Allow this truth to be a balm to your anxious heart today, and know that you are never alone. God will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).

Let’s Pray:

Dear Lord, 
I admit I often don’t think to rejoice when trouble strikes. My knee jerk is worrying. But in your graciousness, you gently remind me through anxiety to lift up my circumstances in prayer. Lord, I pray your Word over my anxious heart. God, thank you that I can rejoice in these troubles because they are refining me into a strong and hope-filled person. So, Lord, I trust that as I lean on you during my trials, you stir hope in me and out onto others who may be enduring their own problems. God help me to be gentle with myself when I’m feeling scared. Help me run to you and not away from you. I know you are good, and you’ll use everything happening to me for my good and your glory. Thank you that as I praise you and ask for what I need, you give me peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:6). Thank you that gratitude is the secret weapon to experiencing joy during the storms I face. 
In Jesus’ name, amen.

Making the Most of Your Mouth..Lynette Kittle

 Making the Most of Your Mouth

by Lynette Kittle

“What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them”—Matthew 15:11

In the current culture, it seems what goes into the mouth is given much more thought and priority than what comes out of it.

Even Jesus and His disciples discussed which is more important. As Mark 7:18 describes, “Are you so dull?’ He asked. ‘Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them?’”

Sadly in today’s setting much more focus and importance is put into what types of food goes into a mouth, while what comes out of it seems to be given very little thought.

Yet Jesus took great care to explain why what goes into the body through the mouth, is not as important as what comes out of it. “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body?” (Matthew 15:17)

Continuing His dialogue with them on the topic, Jesus had more to say about it, “He went on: ‘What comes out of a person is what defiles them’” (Mark 7:20).

Current culture seems to foster hateful, hurtful, and careless words designed to humiliate and destroy others, and supports the sharing of it through public and social media for the whole world to hear or read.

As well, worldwide share-ability through technology has escalated the effects of its destructive reach.

Still Jesus emphasized that what comes out of peoples’ mouths is destructive to themselves (Matthew 15:11) a truth seemed lost in today’s society.

Yet how many people might think twice about what they are writing or saying if they understood their words are defiling themselves?

If individuals truly understood how their words towards others are actually revealing more about their own heart, along with causing much harm personally, they might reconsider the things they say and write.

Luke 6:45 explains how “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”

If you’ve been tempted to jump onto the social media insult wagon, consider your words as Ephesians 5:31 urges, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.”

Instead of lashing out with your words, Colossians 3:8 encourages, “But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.”

Ask God to, “Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips” (Psalm 141:3).

When you do, Scripture assures, “Those who guard their lips preserve their lives, but those who speak rashly will come to ruin” (Proverbs 13:3).

We want to experience God through the Bible… we really do!

But our good intentions fall flat when reading the Bible just doesn’t seem to help us experience God in a real way. What should feel alive often feels confusing and boring and irrelevant. But it doesn’t have to.