The Estill County Tribune, January 15, 2020, Page 7

by Dawn ReedE. Ky. Columnist

WhileIlovetotellstories,thisisoneIhavedreadedshar-ing. Several weeks ago, I toldaboutmyfriendBeverly(nother real name) whom I hadmetataBiblestudyatthejaillastJanuary.(Ilovedherright

away!)ShegaveherhearttoJe-susafewweekslaterandwasbaptizedinMarch.Itwasthefirst time she had been clean in alongtime. Beverlytoldmeshestarteddoingdrugsatage11.WhenIaskedherwhereintheworldshehadgottendrugs,shesaidfromherfamily.Shehadalreadylostmanyofthemtodrugs:hermother,father,abrother,andnumerousfriends.Afterherbaptism,Beverlybe-gantochange.ShewasreadingherBibleandLOVEDit…see-ing clearly for the first time in decades.Afterseveralmonths,shewastransferredtoanin-house drug rehabilitation atanother county jail. I visitedher regularly, talking on thephonethroughplexiglass.WeprayedeachtimebeforeIleftwith hands together on thescratchedglass.Shewasup-beat and thriving! We weremakingplans forher future;notjustfortheupcomingholi-days,butBeverlyhopedtobe-

comeapeercounselorhelpingothersovercomeaddiction. After she finished her re-hab, she had 30 days left toserve in our county. A fewweeksago,IaskedforprayerthatGodwouldworkmiracu-lously to find another place for her to finish that time-not injaillestshedigress.Manyofyoudidjustthatandevencon-tactedme.Thanksagain!Goddidworkamiracle!Herlawyer,theassistantcountyattorneyandaverykindjudgearrangedforhertogotoarehabfacilityforthose30days.Iwasbeyondthrilled! Though I could notcontacther,knowingshewaswarm,inarealbed,beingfedandgoingforwardhelpedmesleepatnight. Lessthanaweekin,mydearBeverlywalkedawayfromthatrehab. She went back to oldfriendsandoldways. IgotacalloneeveningthatshewasinICUafteranoverdose;shewasunresponsive.Dayslater,she was taken off life-support.

Herfuneralwasthenextweek.Iamstillindisbelief. IdobelieveBeverlywassin-cerewhenshegaveherheartto Jesus.While ina(mostly)protected environment shethrived, likeababy inan in-cubator.Butheroldlifebeck-oned.Thedrawof27yearsofdrugaddictionwastoogreat.Shewaspulledbackin. During the visitation andfuneral, my grief was heavy.Iwasoverwhelmedwiththereality of the drug epidemicinourarea.Ifeltsoburdenedit seemed like someone wasstanding on my shoulders.Withmanytears,Iwonderedif we were making a difference at all at the jail. I ponderedwhatmoreIcouldhavedonepersonally. Daysbefore,PaulChitwood,President of the IMB, hadsharedinKentuckyTodayhowwecouldprayforinternationalmissionaries. He mentionedthat they sometimes sufferfrom“compassionfatigue”be-

causeofthe“continuousexpo-sure to horrific pain and loss”. Thoughhereathome,Icouldnow somewhat relate. Thestaggeringnumbersofthoseunder the influence of drugs arecontinuousandgrowing.Thisday,theyseemedinsur-mountable. Afteragoodcry,Iremem-bered missionaries in hardplaces with people sufferingfromstarvationanddisease.IthoughtofMotherTeresawhoservedlepersinCalcutta.And,ofcourse,IthoughtofHarrietTubman-a favorite overcom-er-leadingslaves to freedominCanada.Acts26:17-18re-mindsme:“Iamsendingyoutothemtoopentheireyesandturn them from darkness tolight,and fromthepowerofsatantoGod,sothattheymayreceiveforgivenessofsins…” Ipickedupmyphoneandtextedsomeof the ladiesonourjailministryteam:“Wewillpray.Wewillgo.AndweWILLNOTgiveup!”

Storywithasadending

1) The main Christmas story is para-phrased from what two New Testament books? Mark/John, Acts/Romans, Matthew/Luke, Jude/Revelation

2) Who visited Jesus on the night of his birth and found Mary, Joseph and the babe lying in a manger? Innkeep-er, Shepherds, Herod, Magi

3) Where was the young child when the Magi came to visit Him to pres-ent gifts? Manger, Under the stars, House, Temple

4) How many times does the word “Christmas” appear in the Bible (KJV)? Zero, 1, 2, 7

5) Who was King of Judaea at the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem? Solo-mon, Herod, Balak, Belshazzar

6) What animals were present at Jesus’ birth? Lions and bears, Sheep and goats, Cows and donkeys, No mention of animals

ANSWERS: 1) Matthew/Luke; 2) Shepherds; 3) House; 4) Zero; 5) Herod; 6) No mention of animals

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1. Isthebookof Jo-nahintheOldorNewTestamentorneither? 2. In Genesis 19,who escaped to Zoaronhearingwickedcit-ies were going to bedestroyed?Gomorrah,Elijah,Lot,Shimei 3.Whoconfessedtoan angel, after beat-ing his mule, that hehad sinned? Sodom,Balaam, Samuel, Dan-

iel 4. From Job 4, whowas so frightened bya dream that his hairstoodonend?Eliphaz,Abraham, Ehud, Jo-seph 5.Whohadtoparadehiseightsonsbeforeaprophetas foundin1Samuel?Aaron,Jacob,Naboth,Jesse 6. From Exodus 14,whose chariots werelost in the Red Sea?Solomon’s, Pharaoh’s,Samson’s,Ahab’sAnswers on bottom

of Page 12Sharpen your under-standing of scripture with Wilson’s Casey’s latest book, “Test Your

Bible Knowledge,” avail-able in stores and online.

A Living Sacrifice, What does it Mean?by BOB CASEY, preacher

Cornerstone Church of Christ70 Bond Street at Camp Avenue in West Irvine

InRomans12:1-2,itiswritten,“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” AsIattempttoresearchthispassage,Iwanttoreturn as much as possible to the original words first spoken;so,ImakemyappealtoW.E.VineandtotheStrongExhaustiveConcordanceoftheBibleforanyinformation,andthereareothersIuseaswell.ThesearesomeofthegreatestmindsontheBibleforover300yearscombined.Andtoadd,IthankGodforev-eryoneofthem. So,whenwelookdeeplyuponwhatthisinspiredApostlesays,here,noticeheusedthewordbeseech,meaningtoinvite,invokebyimploration,exhorta-tion,consolationbrethren.So,thisisavery,veryim-portantteaching.Thenhestresses,bythemerciesofGod.ThismercyisdescribedforusinEphesians2:4-5,Evenwhenweweredeadintrespassesandsins,Christdiedforus.Then,todiagramtheseverses,heinstructsustopresentyourbodies.Wedothisbywhatwesay,whatwedo,wherewego,andbywhoweassociatewith.Wearewarnedin1Corinthians15:33,nottodoit. Thenhesayswealwaysoughttopresentour-selvesasa living sacrifice!Howsaditis,thatnearlyallthemenintheArabnationsthinkthatGodprefersthemtobedeadmartyrsasademonstrationoftheirdevotiontoGodbykillingotherswhodisagreewiththeirteachings.TheyteachthatifyouaredefendingtheKoran,youwillgotoHeaven.ThisiscompletelyforeigntotheteachingsofourLord.Hewantsustobelivingexamplesofwhatisgood(Matthew5:16).“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” What does it mean to be a sacrifice?Theoriginal

wordingmeansanitemorthingthatmustbekilledor slain. Also, in the study of this word sacrifice, the ancientword,“Thusia”isused,meaningtheactionsofthevictimthatisslain.Thenisaddedtheadjectiveto describe this act as an altar or place of sacrifice. It isusedtosayitisimmutable(meaning)unchange-ablethat,aslaughterofthevictimmusttakeplace. NowFriends,Idon’tknowwhatyouarethinking,butasformeIcantracemyLord’sreasonforcomingtothisearthtopurposelydieformysins,andwhathedidwasgivehimselftotheslaughterofhisbodybythehandsofevilmen.Andhediditbecausehelovedus.Andyet,somanyareremainingungrateful. ThenPauladdedthatbecauseofwhatGodandChristhasdoneforus,weoughttostrivetobeholyandacceptableuntoGod,whichisareasonableser-vice.But,arewedoingit? Thenheadds,asabeliever,nottobeconformedtothisworld.Thiswordsimplymeanstofashionorshapeonethinglikeanother.Thusheissayingofourbodiesandourmanneroflife.So,don’tpatternyourlifeafterthethingsofthisworld,becauseoneday,atthereturnofJesus,thisworldalongwithallitspat-ternswillbeburnedup! Thenhesaysthesafewaytoliveistobetrans-formed(beingbornagainasJohn3teaches,bythewaterandthespirit).Thisisbeingbaptizedinwa-tertobewashedbythebloodofJesus.Romans6:3.Bytakingheedtowhattheword--theSpiritofGodteachesus.Thisobediencewillleadtotherenew-ingofyourmind. Only then by living a sacrificial life basedupontheteachingsoftheBible,istheonlywayyoucanprovewhatisthatgood,acceptableandper-fectwillofGod. Read1Timothy2:1-6,verse3-4says,“For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” Inclosing,IhopethatallourreadersareinarightrelationshipwithGod,butifyouarenotbutmaybecontemplatingtheneedtodoso,weinviteyoutocome,listen,compare,andhopefullyobeytheGospelthatwillsaveyoursoulfrometernaldestruc-tion.Iclosethiswithaprayerthatthiswillfalluponallwhoneedsalvationtoday.

Sincerely, Bob Casey, (1-859-369-4165), local

Nine-one-oneisthenationalnumbertouseintheeventofanemer-gency.Whenweuseit,weknowsomeoneistherewhowillcometoourrescue.Thoughwehaveheardstoriesof themisuseof thatnumberandreportsofincompetentrespond-ersansweringcallsofpeople in a crisis, itiscomfortingtoknowthathelpisavailable. Psalm ninety-oneand verse one is anumberforChristiansto“re-call”whenthereis a need for assur-anceandreassurance.ItfirmlystatesthatourGod isonguardand“standingby”toguideusthroughthecrisesoflife. Theword“dwells”issuchanimportantwordforustounderstand.Itinvitesthebeliever“toremain,stay,tarry,en-dure,and findpeacein one’s abode.” It

suggestscontinuanceandpermanence.ItisaplacewhereGod’speoplecan“live”-for-ever.Howcomfortingit is toknow thatourGodisa“shelter”anda“refuge” intimesoflife’s storms.For theChristian, He is ourdwellingplaceforlife. Shortlyafterasub-marine had beencommissioned, thecommanding officertook it tosea. Itwasto undergo varioustests tomakecertainthatitwastrustworthyandreadyforservice.Shortly after leav-ingthechristeninghegavetheorderto“sub-merge.”Severaldayslaterafterhereturnedto shore, the report-ers besieged himwithmanyquestions.Asked one, “Howdid the stormsaffectyou?”“Storms?Whatstorms?” he replied.“Wewerenotawareofanystorms.Weweredwellinginasafeandsecure place in thevalleys between theocean’smountains.” What comfort wehavewhenwedwellinGod.Sower Ministries.org

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