Last Lessons #7 – CALLING

For consider your calling, brother: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 1 Corinthians 1:26.

This verse certainly describes me! Not wise, not powerful, not of noble birth, but God still called me. By his grace he called me first for salvation but also for “particular” good works during the different phases of my life (Eph. 2:10). The first particular call I recognized came early in life. I was to be a missionary. My parents were Christians, but they were not missionaries. I didn’t even know any missionaries. Still, here is how God gave me that first call.

When I was 17, I attended a rally for youths in the Presbyterian churches in Jacksonville, Florida where I grew up. The rally was held in an assembly hall of the church hosting the event and they had brought in a missionary from Africa to speak to us. On the last day as all of us young people stood in the hall in a big circle, the missionary asked that those who would be willing to be a “foreign missionary” should step into the circle. I stepped into the circle. I don’t know why. I just knew I had to step in that circle. The missionary prayed for us and I was convinced that God was calling me to be a missionary. I had no idea how, when, or where. But I knew I would become a missionary. And I did.

One lesson I have learned about calling is that it is irrevocable (Rom. 11:29). It’s permanent. Of course, my salvation is permanent, but I also give my life permanently to God for any particular work he wants me to do. I don’t change my mind when things get hard. I also learned that God wanted me to do different things at different stages in my life. There was the stage when I was a missionary because that was God’s particular call for me at that time. However, there was the stage when I was called to lead Bible Study Fellowship, and there was the stage when I was called to start Rafiki, and later I was called to start the Rosemary Jensen Bible Foundation. Those particular calls were to be done on top of being a wife, mother, grandmother (and now a great-grandmother!), employee (or employer), church member, etc. All people, Christian or not, are to do the “ordinary” things that are part of life. But followers of Jesus are called to take up particular crosses and follow him. Taking up a cross means we voluntarily take up a burden that costs us something but brings life to others. We do it for Christ’s sake. It brings glory to him, not us. Our cross will not cost us our lives as it cost him, but it will cost our time, talent, energy, money, or whatever we have that we can give. Big lesson: No matter what the cost, if we have a “particular” calling at a particular time, we will know it. How? God will bring it to us and make it possible for us to do it. But more than anything, we will want to do it, we will love to do it, and we won’t be happy unless we do it.

So, what’s your calling right now?

Last Lessons #6 – JOY

You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.  Psalm 4:7

Food and drink are great, but nothing brings joy like giving the Word of God out to others.  Therefore, I am rejoicing.  Here is why.

Three years ago, I set up the ROSEMARY JENSEN BIBLE FOUNDATION separate from Rafiki in order to send Bibles to Africans.  The RJBF sent Bibles to pastors, seminary students, teachers, and all students in Rafiki’s Christian classical schools.  By God’s grace we were able to give more than 60,000 Bibles to those who otherwise would have no Bible.

Then in 2019 the churches in Africa asked if Rafiki could give them Sunday School material.  They told us they had none.  So, I started to take the Rafiki Bible Study (RBS) lessons and revise and reformat them for adult SS use.  Level writers took the adult lessons and re-wrote them for children on three separate levels.  We have finished MATTHEW and ACTS so far and intend to do as many books of the Bible as churches want.  

The RSS (Rafiki Sunday School) packets Rafiki produce include written lessons for teachers, a memory verse, a printed hymn, and a Bible commentary (paid for by donors to the ROSEMARY JENSEN BIBLE FOUNDATION).

NOW! – the Church of Uganda has ordered 600 RSS packets of MATTHEW (31 lessons) for their 600 congregations!  They want them asap, so Rafiki will put 600 of them on a container September 21^st headed for Uganda.  Since most everybody goes to church in African countries, and since all Protestant churches have Sunday Schools, and since every class will have at least ten members, here is what will happen when the RSS material arrives.  

Every Sunday for 31 weeks, there will be at least 24,000 men, women, and children studying the Bible in Uganda!  And that is in just one denomination in one of our ten countries.  Who knows what God will do in the days to come? 

So, you now know why I am so full of JOY -- I’m giving others the Word of God!

Last Lessons #5 – BOOKS

One lesson I learned early is how reading influences my life. What I read can influence me for good or for bad.

Being in a senior living facility where I don’t have to cook, or clean, or do my laundry, gives me plenty of time to read and I am grateful for that. But I don’t want to waste my reading time on all the junk mail that I receive every day. I read books and reading a variety of books maintains my attention. Every day besides the Bible, I try to read:

• A Bible commentary
• A Christian biography or Christian subject
• A history and/or a current political book
• A fiction, mystery, or adventure

I talk on my cellphone not read on it. I watch TV for news, sports, and a few good programs. I am not against TV as long as it doesn’t replace reading good books. As I age and need stronger and stronger glasses, I have found that I can read as many books as I want on my iPad (or kindle) and adjust the print size. Quite an advantage.

I will be recommending books from time to time on my blogs, and this week I want to tell you about one of the best books I have ever read. It’s called Gentle and Lowly and is written by a friend of mine, Dane Ortlund. Dane used to work for Crossway Publishers where the Rosemary Jensen Bible Foundation orders all the Bibles we send to Africa. Dane has recently left Crossway to pastor a church in Naperville, IL. His book Gentle and Lowly is like a devotional that needs to be read a little at a time and slowly. It simply tells us how much God loves us personally and individually. That’s what we all need. I know I do and this book has reached into my heart like few other books have. It’s available from Crossway or on Amazon. I hope you will get a copy to read again and again.

Last Lessons #4 – VOTE

We must obey God rather than men. Acts 5:29

The 2020 presidential election is just around the corner. So how should a Christian vote? I know how I will vote. If you are not sure yet, here are some things you might want to consider.

1. Make sure you do vote. This is one of the greatest rights we have in the United States of America. Our forefathers fought and some died for this right and to not vote is to show disdain for their sacrifice.
2. Vote in person. Make sure your vote is counted, and you will know that if you actually see your ballot entered into the system. My daughter has promised to take me (with my walker!) to the polling site. If you are unable to vote in person then write for an absentee ballot. Make sure you ask for your ballot in plenty of time to get it mailed in.
3. Do not vote for a person or a party, look at what they stand for. It’s their platform that counts. Take time and the effort to know where the candidate wants to take this country in the next four years.
4. Make sure that no planks on the party’s platform are against what the Bible says. Does the Bible say, “You shall not murder”? Then you cannot vote for a party that approves of abortion. Does the Bible say, “You shall not commit adultery”? Then you cannot vote for a party that promotes homosexuality or same sex marriage. Does the Bible say, “You shall not steal”? Then you cannot vote for a party that makes laws that take from some and give to others. Does the Bible say, “You shall not give false witness”? Then you cannot vote for a party that is known for lying. But mostly does the Bible say, “You shall have no other gods before me”? Then you cannot vote in a government that makes laws that say you cannot pray to your God in school, or in public places, or at sports events. You cannot vote in a government that says that you could be fired from a job if you talk about Jesus Christ or if you use true but “politically incorrect” words in the workplace. You cannot vote for a party that tries to take away the right that God has given you to be free to think, talk, and act according to his Word.

I trust that you are grateful to live in a free country where you can vote. I know I am.