Women’s Ministries Plus One
by Sharon Skillman
I chuckled at the YouTube® video put out by Environment Canada titled “Seven Day Forecast.” A Canadian couple asks “What are we gonna do when it’s plus 1?” Te couple was ECSTATIC because the weather forecaster announced that in seven days the tem- perature would reach a balmy 1 degree Celsius! Tat’s almost 34 degrees Fahrenheit for those of us south of Canada in the United States (and I use that term south because it somehow makes me feel warmer). Te pair listening to the broadcast were most excitedly making plans to shed a few layers of underwear, go outside to chip the ice off the back gate, wax the car, and maybe even venture out to the store for items not purchased in several months! My husband and I could relate and laugh because we live only
50 miles from the Canadian border, and our weather patterns are quite “Saskatchewanish.” Excitement bubbles up in me even now when I think of ice and snow melting, being able to walk on dry ground, and feeling some warmth on my face! (Somehow the warmth from my microwaved rice bag just doesn’t do it for me.) Te scene in the video switches to a weather forecaster in his
office. He admits that he really doesn’t know if it will be plus 1degree Centigrade since no one can accurately predict what the weather will be in seven days. He made up the forecast, he says, to keep Canadians from being destructive and “going to dark places mentally”! He was giving them hope! A reason to keep going during the harsh winter days! Yes, the weatherman’s hope was fabricated hope, but it does
show the great importance of hope! Te late Hal Lindsey reportedly said, “Man can live about 40 days without food, three days without water, about eight minutes without air, but for only one sec- ond without hope.” I am thanking God that in our winters of life we have a sure hope in Jesus Christ. He keeps us from going to “dark places” when we experi- ence our cold seasons here on earth. We do not need to live in shadowy spots but can walk in light. Jesus proclaimed “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12 NKJV). Tis is our certain hope! My favorite verse concerning hope is
Psalm 42:5, repeated in 42:11 and 43:5: “Why are you downcast, O my soul: Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him,
Fellowshipwship Focus, M rch/April 2017 Fellowship Focus Ma ch/Apr 2017 cus,March/Apriil 2017 9
my Savior and my God.” It became more personal to me when someone suggested that I insert my name or title in the verse, “Why are you downcast, [Sharon] …” or “Why are you downcast, [O Pastor’s wife] …? Put your [confident] hope in God!” Te Bible uses the word hope over 150 times! Recently when
reading Romans, I noticed the emphasis on hope given through Jesus. Here are a few of the passages: “Terefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Ro- mans 5:1-2 NKJV italics added). “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has
been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5 NKJV italics added). We of the Women’s Ministries Commission do not specifically
know what icy, sinister times you are experiencing, but we pray the following words for you: “Now may the God of [true] hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13 NKJV italics added).
Sharon Skillman serves on the Commission on Women’s Ministries, and alongside her husband, John, who pastors Evangelical Menno- nite Brethren Church in Lustre, Mont.
find us on Facebook at W Com Connections
Winter Window, pastel by Sharon Skillman. Copyright ©2017. All Rights Reserved.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24