Seasons of Refreshing

Can you guess where and when this picture was taken?

Do you know?

It is probably not where you think.

I know, it looks like home - good old York County, PA.

Give up???

Okay, I'll tell you.

The picture was taken here in South Africa, just last month.

It was Winter here in August (our seasons are opposite of yours in the USA).

We had heard on the news that there were places near us that had snow.

So one day, we got in the car and drove about 1 1/2 hrs to see the snow.

From a distance you could see the white tops of the mountains.

As we got closer, I couldn't believe my eyes.

I thought I would never get to see snow in South Africa.

On the way to the mountains, we drove through a Zulu area.

(Notice the snowman in front of the Zulu house.)

This lady stopped so she could be in my picture.

They don't get much snow, so they are not used to how cold it is

(as you can see, she just has a light sweater on).

The snow was so beautiful!

I didn't realize until that moment how much I missed home.

The snow in the countryside, reminded me of Pennsylvania winters.

I had forgotten how the country surroundings were so familiar to me.

The truth is I needed to go see the snow, 

it refreshed my soul in ways that I cannot even explain.

God was so good to give me the gift of seeing the snow.

Even though I didn't know how He would work in my life that day, He had a plan.

That plan was to make me feel like I visited home for just a little while.

The snow was so inviting.

It reminded me of the verse:

Isaiah 1:18  "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: 

though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; 

though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

Praise the Lord for His cleansing power!

The message we share with the Zulus

 is the message of His cleansing blood that makes us whiter than snow.

Of course, what good is snow, without a snowball fight!

Or snowman building!

Karen and I enjoyed fixing this sad little snowman.

I am sure that for the Kilmers, this was also a refreshing time.

People came from everywhere to just play in the snow.

Even I had to make my own snowman.

Okay, so he was not very big

(my hands were frozen).

But, he is my African snowman!

Like I said before, people came from all over to see and play in the snow.

As far as your eye could see for miles and miles (kilometers and kilometers),

there were empty cars parked along the road.

The passengers to these cars were out making snowmen along the road, 

like this one.

There was even snow on some of the Zulu housetops.

As we drove away, I began to think

 about this short season of refreshment that the Lord gave me.

Although I did not actually go home,

 or get to see my family, friends, church people,

I did get to see the Lord's hand in His perfect creation.

You know, we all go through seasons in our lives.

Isn't it great how the Lord uses His word to refresh our souls.

I hope that in whatever season you are in, 

that you trust in God alone to refresh you!

Proverbs 25:13  
"As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, 
so is a faithful messenger to them that send him: 
for he refresheth the soul of his masters."

Pappy's Bible

Pappy Frey's Bible

While visiting with my Great Uncle John & Aunt Floss, 

I was able to see and read my Great Grandpa Frey's Bible (who we lovingly call "Pappy Frey").

On the inside of his Bible he wrote this:

Uncle John told me that Pappy Frey and Mammy 

were saved at a special service at the local church.

Mammy was saved at morning service and Pappy was saved in the evening.

What an exciting day that was for our family!

The date is easy to remember because it is the day before my birthday (not the year though).

From now on I will always remember that my Great Grandparents

 were saved on February 17th.

Pappy, Mammy & some of the kids 

What were the events that led up to them accepting Christ as their own personal Saviour?

My Aunt Floss told me that Pappy Frey was known as the town drunk.

He also did some work in his garage and had some very bad pictures posted on his walls.

At that time, Mammy and Pappy had two children - Roy (my grandfather) and Hazel.

All the kids- Roy and Hazel are the two oldest (on the right)

My other Great Uncle, Paul (who we call "Amos") told my dad the other day about the events

 that led up to Pappy Frey attending that church service where he got saved.

He said that Pappy was passed-out drunk in a ditch somewhere,

 when a friend of the family came along and found him.

This dear friend took Pappy home with him and sobered him up.

 When Pappy was sober, he invited him to come with him the next day to the special church service.

He made Pappy promise that he would come with him.

The next day, Pappy's friend came to pick up Pappy for service.

Pappy was not ready and said that he did not remember promising him that he would come.

Mammy and the kids went to church with their family friend and as you read in the entry from Pappy's Bible,

 Mammy was saved that morning.

When that friend came along to pick them up for church service that night, Pappy went along.

That evening, Pappy accepted Christ as his personal Saviour.

My Great Grandpa, "Pappy Frey"

As a Christian, Pappy Frey was differant than before.

The town drunk, no longer lived in that community.

Pappy tore down all of the bad posters on his garage wall. 

One of my Great Uncles told me that he put up pictures of great Christians instead 

(like Spurgeon and R.A. Torrey).

After salvation, Mammy and Pappy Frey gave thier children

 Bible names like: David, Samuel, John, and Martha.

The old man had passed and the new man was alive in Christ.

Pappy Frey working on oil burners

Pappy was a hard worker.

He taught his children to work hard, obey God's Word, and be kind to others.

One of his sons told me that he would come downstairs early in the morning 

and find Pappy on his knees in prayer.  

Many times the children would hear thier names being uttered in prayer.  

Pappy and Mammy prayed for thier children. 

 Many times the boys would come back in from the morning milking

 to find thier father still on his knees in prayer.

Mammy did her part in raising the kids to honor the Lord.  

Aunt Floss told me that she remembers coming to dinner while she was dating John.  

Mammy would have each of the kids recite a memory verse before they could eat thier dinner. 

My Great Uncle John is a pastor.  

He said that most of the Scripture that he has committed to memory

 is from his childhood, because of Mammy.

Below are some of the notes that I found while paging through my Great Grandpa's Bible:

Was he thinking of the wretched life he used to live, before he found Christ?

I am thankful to God for the godly heritage I have because of Pappy Frey.

I believe he would be proud of his sons and daughters as they serve the Lord in thier homes, 

at thier jobs, churches, and some even in ministry.

I can't wait to get to Heaven to talk to him about the people that God

 has led me to minister to in South Africa.  

I believe he would be proud!

Reading Pappy Frey's Bible

On Sunday morning, before going to church with Great Uncle John & Aunt Floss, I did my personal devotions out of Pappy Frey's Bible.  What a treat!

My Bible with Pappy's Bible

Pappy's Bible contained a story. 

His story started on the first page with his and Mammy's date of salvation.

God's Word contains the same story for each of us.

The story of God who loved us so much that He sent His Only Son to die for our sin.

The Bible shows each of us how we can be a new man, with old things passed away.

A heritage of faith can be passed down to our children,

 grand children, and great grand children.

The story of salvation can be shared by a loving family friend, 

who desires for others to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

This story of God's love, is the same story that I will take to the Zulus in South Africa.

What a story!

Some Devotional Thoughts from Mark 15

My morning necessities- my Bible & my coffee!
Notice the snow scene reflected in my coffee.

This morning, while reading my devotions a few thoughts came to mind that I thought you may like.  I have been reading through the book of Mark and today have arrived at the best part – Christ’s crucifiction.  Leading up to this I have been reading about Christ’s earthly ministry as He clearly shows He is the Son of God.  Now He is taken by the Roman soldiers and brought before Pilate.  Pilate is appalled, by His reply of nothing (15:2).  Finally Christ says, “why should I reply, you are already saying who I am”.  Isn’t it funny that the heathen know who God is.  Some people look to themselves as gods to make their own life choices, yet, they accuse His people of being God’s people (“Oh, you are one of ‘them”!”).

Next, I saw how God even used the sinfulness of a man named Barabas to bring glory to Himself.  God sometimes uses our sin to point others to the Savior.  Christ dying on the cross spoke heavily to His people when one of the worst sinners was set free.  Christ died in this awful man’s place and He has died for me!  I wonder what Barabas thought of all of this.  

How beautiful! The snow on Saturday & Sunday.

What led the people to let this man go?  The awful sin of envy (15:10) by the high priests.  Even what I consider little sins can culminate in something as big.  Wow, be careful Christians when we give one thing over to satan!

As I read further, I saw how the soldiers mocked Christ, dressed Him up as King, and then they cast lots for his garments (15:24).  The unsaved mock Christ and laugh at His name, but they still want a part of Him, only when it is of some profit to them.  If it was modern times, they probably would have gambled for His clothes and then sold them on EBay to the highest bidder.  Sadly, the world we live in and the world Christ lived in has not changed.

The Cottage- where I used to live.

The best part of my reading today was in verse 34.  Christ’s words – “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?”  This last week, I have been reading about Christ’s time in the garden praying and His teaching to the disciples about His coming death, but now here He is.  The moment He has prepared His disciples for and He asks His Father why He is forsaken.  He knew what would happen because He has told it so many times.  He told the people that God cannot look on sin and yet He wonders why God has forsaken Him.  

This is the most triumphant moment of all – He is humanity!  This is so sweet and precious to me.  The God-Man has truly shown His love and the affect it has on Him to be separated by sin from His beloved Father.  This is what made the centurion standing by finally believe (15:39).  The Bible says that when He cried out, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me”, that is when the centurion believed.  

How powerful this message is to us!

View across the field to my neighbor's farm.

The last thing that I gathered today, in this chapter, was God’s perfect timing.  Joseph of Aramathea came to claim Christ’s body on the day of preparation for the Sabbath (15:42).  The Lamb of God had been slain and now it was time to take His body to prepare for burial.  Pilate was astonished that Christ was actually dead.  He was also amazed that Joseph came so quickly for the body of our Lord.  God’s people were used to show Pilate their faith and dedication to our God.  The saints reacted to the death, burial, and resurrection in a faithful manner.  They trusted Christ in life and in death.  Oh, to be seen as one of those saints. 

I am sure there is much more to glean, 

but these are just some of what specifically stuck out to me today.

My house in the ice & snow on Sunday.

SnowFall

On Saturday, (October 29 2011) this was the veiw from my window.

We are having an early snowstorm. In our area we have accumulated around 5 inches. It was very surprising to have such snowy weather in October. I guess we are having a snow-Fall!
One of my favorite verses about snow is - Proverbs 25:13 "As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to them that send him: for he refresheth the soul of his masters." This verse always encourages me to be a faithful messenger of God's Word!

Ladies Sunday School Class: TREASURE

Introduction: On September 24, 2009 the world's largest diamond was excavated at the Cullinan Diamond Mine in Pretoria, South Africa. This mine is only a few hours from our ministry in Durban, South AFrica. The diamon is 507.6-carat rough cut diamond and is about the size of a medium chicken egg. In April 2010 this diamond sold for $35.3 million, which makes it the mose valuable diamond ever. After doing some research I found out that it may take miners anywhere from 3- 15 years to safely remove these diamonds from the mine. Can you imagine going to work everyday to try to mine the same things for 3-15 years? God's Word is full of treasures. How much time do I take to "mine" in God's Word? The following are some Scripture passages & thoughts that I was able to share with a ladies Sunday School class yesterday.

1) What does the Bible tell us about our treasure?
~ Matt.12:35 "A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth
forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure
bringeth forth evil things."
a. What is my treasure?
b. Where & what do I spend the most time?
~ Lk.12:21 "So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich
toward God."
* I am foolish if I do not lay up treasures for God.
~ Matt.6:19-21 "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth
and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth
nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor
steal:
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
a. I should not have earthly treasures.
b. God commands us to lay up treasure in Heaven.
c. Remember your heart reveals your true treasure.
* Examine your heart today.

2) What should my treasure be?
~ Matt.13:44 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a
field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy
thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that
field."
My treasure should be> THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
a. Am I willing to "Sell out" for God?
b. The most important treasure is knowing Christ as Savior.
With Christ as my Savior, I have a home in Heaven!
~ Is.33:6 "And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and
strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure."
My treasure should be> THE FEAR OF THE LORD
a. Do I fear the Lord?
b. If I fear the Lord I have a precious thing, since it is called a
treasure.
c. If I fear the Lord, I will obey Him, and that glorifies God.
~ Gen.15:1 "After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a
vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding
great reward." ("great reward"= treasure)
My treasure should be> GOD ALONE!
* God says not to fear because He is our treasure!
~ Prov.8:21 "That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I
will fill their treasures."
*God promises to fill the treasures of those who love Him.

3)God's Word is a hid treasure. Prov.2:1-5
"1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to
understanding;
3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for
understanding;
4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of
God."

*God wants our whole being to be involved in searching the hidden treasure of His
Word- 1. incline thine ear (vs2)
2. apply thine heart (vs2)
3. lift up thy voice (vs3)

Think about how much you search for things around the house when they go
missing. I search high & low and in some places 4 or 5 times. The things that I
look for are not anything in comparison to the treasure of God's Word.
Ask yourself: - How much time do I spend digging in God's Word?
- What have I learned lately in my own personal Bible reading?
The Bible contains: truth, teaching, instruction, help for every need, comfort,
guidance, strength, wisdom for every decision,...

Like the diamond we talked about at the beginning of this study, God's Word is the most valuable thing we can have, if we use it.
(His Word is sharp, like a diamond, it cuts even the toughest surface. Are
we training to use this waepon on our enemy? God wants us to be prepared
to fight the spiritual battles. How often do you practice with your
Sword? Think about this: How good is a soldier if he does not know how to
use his weapon?)

My prayer should be - Ps.119:18 "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law."

Apply yourself:
1. Do a study on Psalm 119 about God's Word.
Write down the words used for the Bible.(law, word, precept,...)
Write down the words describing the Bible. (light, law, hammer,...)
Think about how God's Word can be used in your life inreguard to what you have
learned.
2. Make the digging into this Treasure a daily practice.
Follow a daily Bible reading schedule.
Have a study or devotional book that helps you to not just read God's Word, but
to write down what you have learned and how you will apply it.