JANUARY 22

“If God is for us, who can be against us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” - (Romans 8:31-39 ESV, selected)

I am fascinated by the story of the missionary Mary Slessor, whom God used to save the lives of abandoned infants in the jungles of Africa. But it wasn’t her mission or passion that intrigued me, but rather the painful childhood journey that prepared her for the call God would place on her life. It seemed that early on, Mary resolved to give God all the broken pieces.

Mary grew up in the slums of Scotland in a poor and abusive home where she frequently witnessed her mother being battered by her alcoholic father. When Mary was just seven years old, she began to taunt her father when he returned home from work in an effort to deflect his rage from her mother. She would then tire him out as she raced through the house as he tried to catch her. Mary was petite and fast on her feet, and often, but not always, succeeded in escaping his wrath. A few years later, when Mary was only 11, she was sent to the local mill, where she worked and went to school 12 hours a day. In her precious spare time, Mary decided to start Bible studies for the street children in her poor neighbourhood; however, a local bully was threatening her and the other children. Though younger and smaller than he, Mary stood her ground and in an ironic twist, the bully was to become her group’s most loyal guardian and protector.

In her twenties, Mary Slessor became an admirer of the work of missionary David Livingstone and wanted to follow in his footsteps. She set her sights on Africa at a time when it was nearly unheard of for single women to enter the mission field. Arriving in Africa, Mary discovered hundreds of killed or abandoned twin babies and their outcast mothers, who were rejected because the villagers believed that twins were conceived by the devil. Filled with compassion and the Truth of God’s Word, Mary began rescuing the children, caring for the women, and introducing God’s love to the people. Her years enduring abuse, bullies and threats prepared this petite fiery redhead to confront even the most imposing of African chiefs – quickly winning them over, earning both their respect, and the freedom to minister to their women and children.

Is there something in your past that you believe is holding you back from God doing a marvelous work in your life? What if you were to give God all the broken pieces and let Him use those very things to pave a path to reach others with the glorious news of Jesus Christ?

Each of us, with all of our triumphs and failures, joys and heartbreaks, scars and all, have been given an opportunity to make a difference in the world, the community, the homes where we live and work. Don't underestimate what God can do with a life solely surrendered to Him. Give God all the broken pieces for who knows if you are where you are today “for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)

Adapted. (Copyright 2014, Shadia Hrichi. Used by permission).

Today our song is "Here I Am Lord" sung by Eric Tom.   Click on the picture to join in.

     Housekeeping details for you

     The point of this short blog will become clear if you decide to use this reading in the way we intend it. Netherfield Seventh-day Adventist Church believes in healthy churches. You can see what that means if you head to the relevant Healthy Churches page of the website. We also want other churches to be healthy. That means you can join in our campaign to create healthy churches, with healthy people serving the people in those churches.

     A healthy church is one where Jesus comes first. A healthy church is one where the people work together to put Jesus first. One thing we are doing is to join people together to spread that news. I would like you to look at our prayer partners page. This will explain how we want you to use this short devotional. Very basically we want you to find a like-minded Christian friend who you will join with to : choose to pray together every day, decide together on a way to serve other people together, to help them grow as Christians - and to invite the Holy Spirit into your life every day. This blog that you will receive every day simply gives a common spiritual purpose. If you are a newcomer and want to join the blog with this object in mind click here