Word Gifts

    My daughter*, if you receive my words
    and treasure up my commandments with you,
² making your ear attentive to wisdom
    and inclining your heart to understanding;
³ yes, if you call out for insight
    and raise your voice for understanding,
⁴ if you seek it like silver
    and search for it as for hidden treasures,
⁵ then you will understand the fear of the Lord
    and find the knowledge of God. Proverbs 2:1-5 ESV

I learned early in my walk with Jesus that God’s Word is a love

letter to His children.  It is sixty-six books of wonder and delight. The Bible shows us the power and awesomeness of God and brings us comfort and guidance.  It shows us how God works in the lives of ordinary people, just like us, to accomplish His will. My heart’s desire is to listen, to understand, to take the time to study and to treasure His commandments, and obey them.

Joining CBS has given me a pathway out of the desert that had become my way of life since moving to Rutherford, County.  Wednesdays have become an oasis from the storms of life, and reminded me, once again, how important words are, especially God’s word.  Being in a structured Bible study and back with sisters in Christ has been a true joy.  Being one of the new kids on the block, I was a little nervous and unsure of myself but the ladies quickly made me feel welcome. As I study, various words have stood out for me, like “persistence” and “intentional.” 

The woman who introduced me to Jesus took my hand and taught me the importance of God’s word.  Sherry took me to my first Bible Study.  She taught me to read His word every day and memorize it. Whenever I told her I didn’t understand what His Word said, she would ask me, “Did you pray before you read? Did you ask for wisdom to understand?” She inspired me to “persevere,” and the Holy Spirit would do the rest.   “Perseverance” was one of the word gifts she gave me.  She used it many times.

Since that time, I have been blessed to have many Godly women come into my life and reinforce the importance of God’s word and the “persistent” study of it.  The ladies of CBS have been part of my journey.  Through your “transparency” and love of Jesus and His Word, I have been inspired to keep going.  Through the weeks of study and the time together as a group I have been given many more word gifts and I thank you for them.  They have been a light to my path, a challenge, thought provoking and a wonderful gift.  Today I gift each of you with the word “perseverance.”  As you continue to walk with Jesus every day may you never forget that it is His mighty hand that holds you and His “perseverance” that keeps you.  His love never ends!

My prayer for us is:

Ps 119:133   Establish our footsteps in Your word, and do not let any iniquity have dominion over us.

Sharon Herzog
Treasurer, CBS Rutherfordton Day Class

Here I am Again

Here I am again, facing the unknown, another health issue that is such a nag.  As I cry out to the Father I pray that:

I will yield to His way.

I will remember that His ways are perfect and so is His timing.

I will not take my eyes off of Jesus but stand firm in the truth of His great love for me. 

I will listen, hear and obey. 

I will not allow the goodness of God to go unnoticed.

"The Lord of hosts has spoken, As I have planned so shall it be, as I have purposed so shall it stand." Isaiah 14:24 ESV

I have been blessed with a husband who loves the Lord, six children, who have each made a profession of faith and eleven grandchildren.  These are the facts, but when I look at their lives through my vision I get discouraged.  I don’t think that Isaiah did that.  Isaiah loved God, listened for His voice and said “yes” without being entangled with the results.  Isaiah spoke to God but left the results with God even when the people he tried to help would not listen to him.  He simply did what God said and kept doing it as long as God said to.  Isaiah’s obedience astounds me.  I, on the other hand, often get all entangled with what I see, with what I understand.  I see it my way and want God to make things fit into my plan and lose my way in self.

I have just finished reading Beth Moore’s book, “Audacious.”  It was so good I am going to read it again.  She wrote many things that challenged me about God’s love for us and our love for Him.  One of the questions she asks is, “What is your dream/your vision for the future?”  At my age I don’t think very much about the future, but what she wrote made me think: What do I want my future to be?  What dreams can come true? 

With God each day is a new beginning.  I do not have to stay the way I have been.  I can dream big dreams and change my ways and put them in line with God’s ways.   I can obey Him. 

Another question Beth asks is, “What do you really, really, really want?”  Can I, or can you, answer that with “You, Jesus, all of You?” knowing that this life will be a struggle, that counting your blessings will be hard some times and that change is an act of love and obedience, not a feeling.

Here’s an excerpt from Beth’s book:

Faith is not the clinging to a shrine

But an endless pilgrimage of the heart.

Audacious longing,

Burning songs,

Daring thoughts,

An impulse overwhelming the heart,

Usurping the mind----

These are all a drive towards serving Him

Who rings our hearts like a bell.

Abraham Joshua Heschel & Samuel H. Dresner in "I Asked for Wonder: A Spiritual Anthology".

Sharon Herzog

Treasurer – CBS Rutherfordton Day Class

Originally presented to the Leadership Team