What Can You Do?

~ Written by Viki Rife

Let’s be honest. We just can’t reach our full potential alone. Strength comes when we partner with others.

That is a foundational belief of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches. We rejoice in the number of brothers and sisters whom God has brought into our circle throughout the world, and realize that we must learn to partner together. Cultural differences must not stand in the way of the mission God has given us. We need to work together to determine how our beliefs can strengthen us to reach out to a world in need.

That’s why you should feel a vested interest in what will happen in Bangkok, Thailand, next week. As delegates representing at least 19 countries meet together, their decisions will help set the stage for greater impact as we collaborate globally to make disciples for Christ.  
For some of the delegates, just getting to the meeting is a major challenge. Some of them come from war-torn countries; some are at risk of persecution. They need our prayers. It’s the best contribution we can make to bless these representatives and to help our Fellowship become effective around the world.

Please commit to spend least fifteen minutes in prayer at some point next week for the future of the international Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches. Help the delegates know who “has their backs” by signing up in the prayer chain. Details can be found at http://charisalliance.org/english/prayer-chain.html.   

Thank you for your valuable contribution. 

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Spiritual Liberty

~ Written by Cassie Harris

Jews worldwide celebrated yesterday with an equal amount of silence and joy. Seventy years ago, on January 27, liberation came to the camps of Auschwitz. I can’t imagine the tension in the air. The Jewish prisoners wanted to celebrate, but joy must have been difficult as their liberation still left numerous loved ones in the ground.

During their internment the concept of liberty had probably slowly vanished from their hopes and from the rare moments they were allowed to dream. Despite it all, those spared from death walked towards liberty. The moment liberty was offered, they accepted it. It would have been foolish not to.

May we never forget the day that marks our history’s tapestry with shame, sorrow and joy. May we never forget the price of a tattooed forearm. May we learn from the Jewish individuals who lived as proof that evil doesn’t kill everyone it touches, but it certainly leaves its mark. Freedom was torn from them when they were put in the camps, but they did not waste their time clinging to the painful past when liberty stared them in the face.

I pray we learn to run towards spiritual freedom as we find it in the Bible, just as the Jews accepted liberation from Auschwitz. Many of those precious Jews couldn’t remember what liberty looked like, but they recognized a gift when they saw it. Just as the Jews recognized the tangible gift of liberty 70 years ago, may we strive to always recognize the gift of Christ in our lives.

As we honor the Jews who suffered in unexplainable ways, may we run towards the ultimate liberty of Christ when we see it. I pray as Christians we will experience that same liberty as Christ continually calls us from the sin that so easily entangles us to the gift of spiritual freedom. We may live with scars from our past, but may we never ignore our freedom.

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When Christianity and Suicide Collide

The memory haunts me to this day.

My best friend and her sister were spending the night with their grandparents, and their Grandpa had gone to his room early because he wasn’t feeling well. When the girls were ready for bed, they went to say goodnight to him. He was looking at one of his guns, and barked at them to leave. Surprised, they backed out, and as they closed the door, they heard a shot. They opened the door and became the first witnesses of their grandfather’s gruesome death.

What haunts me most is that I only know what I overheard the adults whispering. My friends never talked about it, and I felt compelled to wait for them to bring it up. It was a hush-hush thing, an elephant in the room of our relationship. I had no idea how to minister to them, and I’m pretty sure the adults around me weren’t sure, either. Everyone chose silence.

How do we as Christians respond to a person contemplating suicide? How do we respond to the family that remains after a suicide?

These thoughts are on my mind especially today, World Suicide Prevention Day. The recent death of Robin Williams has once again brought concerns about suicide to the forefront. We’re left wondering, “Couldn’t someone have done something?”

In our upcoming GraceTouch e-newsletter, a mother who lost her son to suicide shares her story and her involvement in working with suicide prevention and postvention. She also offers guidelines for a Christian response to suicide.

The e-newsletter goes out September 15—if you are not a subscriber, you can sign up on our home page www.wgusa.org (scroll down to the green rectangle).

~Viki Rife

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