Newsletter Mar 1st

GREETINGS FROM BARBEE’S GROVE BAPTIST CHURCH

Ladies, we thank you for the wonderful way you led us in the Baptist Women’s Day service. The sharing, the music, and the message by Mrs. Janice Hopkins, were all a blessing. We appreciate you and your ministry for the Lord and for Barbee’s Grove Baptist Church.
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This week, let’s go on to Chapter 3. You remember that a few weeks ago I wrote a Newsletter about the question so many elderly people ask, WHY IS THE LORD STILL LEAVING ME HERE? Of course, the answer is that God still has ministry for you to do. In that Newsletter I told of an older friend of mine. A medical issue had landed her in a Rehab Facility. That week she had been able to share her faith in Jesus with an older Student Nurse. The Nurse knew nothing about Jesus. Several weeks later I wrote another Newsletter about my friend. That week  she was able to share Jesus with 2 different staff members. They also knew nothing about Jesus. At least 1 of those staff members indicated that she invited Jesus into her life.

My friend’s ministry has continued. She won several appeals and was allowed to stay in Rehab longer than most people. At the last, the insurance company said, “No more”. As a result, my friend was transferred to the Long Term Care section of that facility. The staff member who was pushing my friend’s wheelchair to Long Term Care began to cry. She told my friend, “I am going to miss you. You are the only person in my entire life who has made me feel loved, treasured, and valuable”. Imagine, an adult who had been made to feel like “Trash” all her life. My friend came into her life and made her feel like a “Treasure”. When we allow Jesus to flow through us we become a blessing and brighten the lives of others.

In her new room, my friend had a roommate. The lady was a couple of years younger. But she was sad, depressed, “down in the dumps”. In about 2 days my friend had the roommate happy, sharing, and laughing. The Bible says “The joy of the Lord is my strength” [Nehemiah 8:10]. It is so good when the Jesus joy in us spills out onto others.

A day or two after my friend was transferred I called her. She was crocheting. I knew that in the past, she had bought the yarn and had made and given away over 100 Afghans. The day I called she had 2 more planned. [One was for the staff member who had cried]. Days later I called again. She was teaching 3 staff members how to crochet their own blankets. Here is where it gets interesting. One of those staff members asked, “Why are you doing this?” My friend replied, “Why wouldn’t I do it?. The staff member answered, “You are a white woman and we are black. We are not accustomed to being treated so nicely”. It was another chance for my friend to witness. She told them, “Jesus doesn’t see color. He loves us all the same”. A simple act of kindness and Jesus used my friend to bless ladies of a different race.

Fellow Believers, indeed the Bible teaches, [Galatians 3:28] “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond or free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus”. As the children’s chorus goes, “Red and yellow, black and white. They are precious in His sight”.

My friend is still letting the Light of Jesus shine in her small corner of the world. I pray that I am doing the same. What about you?
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At the risk of offending someone, I feel strongly impressed by the Holy Spirit to share my personal, but Biblical based opinion. I really believe that if someone shows up at the Gate of Heaven and says to the Gatekeeper, “I have a reservation in the WHITES ONLY section of this beautiful city”, they will be sorely disappointed. I believe they will be told, “You are at the wrong Gate. Make a U-Turn and head in the opposite direction”. 
Revelation 7:9—-“After this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people and tongues, stood before the Throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands”.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS

1. Sunday School is at 9:00 am
2. Morning Worship and Children’s Church are at 10:00 am. Also available in the parking lot at 10 on  99.1 FM and on the website after 12:30 pm
3. Prayer and Bible Study are Wednesday at 6:30 pm in the Fellowship Hall
4. March 1—Baptist Men’s Day See previously announced schedule
5. March 1—Called Church Conference—Building and Grounds Committee recommendations

Let others see Jesus in you!
Pastor Ed and Deacons of Barbee’s Grove Baptist Church