A word of Hope - Cheerful Giving

“Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” II Corinthians 9: 6-7 (NASB)

“God loves it when the giver delights in the giving.” (The Message)

As a boy growing up in East Lake with elm trees as a canopy over our street and neat tidy yards, we were 1 ½ blocks from Howard College. Our church, Ruhama Baptist was on the other side of campus. Our family, as did most in the neighborhood, did not have a lot of material possessions, but we did have love. Each Sunday morning, I remember that my sister and I would be invited over to our next door neighbors, Owen and Lenora Swindal’s home before we left for church. We would step just inside their backdoor to their kitchen. Mr. Swindal would get one of the small cans from their canister set, open it up and give us a dime a piece, sometimes just a nickel to give in Sunday School. We would thank and hug them and go fill out our Sunday School envelops before leaving for church. This was my beginning of giving in church. Then I remember the very first dollar I saved from helping neighbors sweep their porches and side walks. Most times I would receive only a nickel or dime. It seemed like a long time before it added up to a dollar. My parents encouraged me to give 10% back to God. From that point on I recall how important it is to give back to God and to give generously with a cheerful heart.

Starting with my 8th grade year, my first job was working as a church janitor at Hillcrest Baptist Church. I held this job through my senior year in high school. Also, at age 15, I was one of the first sack boys at the then new Food World in Huffman. Each payday, it was important to give back to God from the ‘first fruits.’

During college at Samford University, working 3 jobs and having 2 scholarships, it required a lot of discipline to study, practice piano 3 hours per day and being frugal with the money I received from work. By this time, it was instilled in me the discipline of giving back to God as He had so richly blessed us.

After college in 1980 and working full-time, I discovered giving not only money, but time and talent, back to the church and people who need a touch of God’s Love and Grace. Giving became important in my Christian walk.

Now at age 54, with a son graduated from Ole Miss and now working in Birmingham, a son in South Alabama, elderly parents with health problems, accounting projects and managing a team of accountants, juggling time and care giving are a part of life whether blood kin or God’s family.

I continue to make sacrifices not only to the offerings of church, but to special projects and also with time to other ministries, touching lives, loving and encouraging others in their struggles with life.

Several years ago, a dear friend, Mary Helen Dixon gave me some nasturtium seeds which I believe her grandmother called “nasties.” I prepared a new flower bed on the side yard in Roebuck and also in pots at the river. I dug the rocky, clay soil, planted the nasturtium seeds, watered and waited for them to germinate and the seedlings to pop out of the soil. As the weather started to warm and with regular watering, careful weeding and tending the garden, finally by mid-Summer the nasturtiums began to bloom beautiful shades of yellowy-red burnt orange color and were about 2 ½ feet tall. I enjoyed them so much and thought of Mary Helen and the great memories of her family passed down from generations past. Now, it’s become a tradition each year to receive a packet or two of seeds from Mary Helen and her dear sister, Sarah Jackson Shelton.

Isn’t this a picture of the church? God provides the seeds (our jobs, money and material possessions); we give cheerfully of our money, time and love; together our gifts are multiplied, and we see the miracle of how God gives the increase.

As we consider our gifts and the opportunities to serve at church, let us together give cheerfully from our hearts, our time, talents and money.

I believe that we will watch in amazement at how God multiplies our gifts and that He will generously pour out His richest blessings on our congregation and families as we see the miraculous increase!

Dear Lord, thank you for the opportunity to give cheerfully. Thank you for giving the greatest sacrifice of all, Your Son, Our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
As we serve along-side each other, I am your friend,
Mark David Jackson

A Qord of Hope - "God Is There For You!"

♪A Note of Thanks ♪ A Word of Hope – God is there for you!

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:28-31

Early, this Monday morning, with my normal routine, on my drive to work by 6:00 AM, I’m exiting off US Highway 280 East on the Cahaba Road Exit (Zoo Exit), slowing down to about 40 mph, whereupon just as it was getting daylight, a young lady was exiting from 280 West onto my two-lane exit. She had a yield sign that she did not observe and took a sharp left, headed on the road behind the Birmingham Zoo. I blew my truck horn and she stopped in the middle of the road directly in my path. With hardly no time to think, I saw that I was about to hit her broadside probably killing her and severely injuring me, I swerved to the left (thankfully, no vehicle was in the left lane) and ran onto the median missing within inches a large tree and jumping the curb back onto the pavement. She was so startled that she moved across to the median pavement. I backed up (that time of morning there’s hardly no traffic) and pulled along-side her car. I motioned for her to cross over to the service road behind the zoo. I pulled behind her, wrote down her tag number and got out of the truck walking slowly to her window. She said, “I wasn’t gonna leave you.” I said, “we could have both been killed, just now, but the Lord was watching after us.” I noticed that she had a GPS on her dashboard, purse on the passenger seat, and a Winn-Dixie badge with no name on it. I asked her name. She said, “Gina, uh…Regina.” I said, I noticed you were from Talladega County, based on your car tag showing 61. She said, “I am.” I asked, “Are you from Sylacauga?” She said, “Yes, I’m on my way to my first day of work, actually, to be trained at the Winn-Dixie in Fultondale.” She said, “I think I’ve made a wrong turn”… tears welling up in her eyes, she began to cry. I said, “there’s no need to call the police. We’re ok and not injured. Go down there and turn around. You can get back on the Red Mountain Expressway here and head towards downtown getting you to Fultondale. Will you be working there?” She said, “No, I’m training there and will be working in Chelsea.” I gave her my work card and said to “please be safe and to carefully watch when she makes left-hand turns. “ She replied, “Yes, sir.” She was probably in her late 20s. I noticed her car was very dusty. She probably lived way out in the country and had lost her way in her haste to get to her training.

There was sweat streaming down my shirt and pouring out on top of my head. I was shook up, but not shaken, thankful that there was not an accident and that no one was injured or killed. Time and again, we see where careless mistakes can cause fatalities in the twinkling of an eye. The Lord was with us this morning. His guardian angels were watching over us. Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.

So, as the Sanctuary Choir yesterday sang, “They Shall Soar Like Eagles”…that song, those words, arose in my mind and heart.

They Shall Soar Like Eagles
They shall soar like eagles; rise up and soar like eagles.
They who wait upon the Lord shall not be weary.
They shall never stumble, but gain new strength and power.
They who wait upon the Lord.
Those who are weary and burdened with sorrow
Need not despair there is hope for tomorrow.
God will be there each time you call on Him.
They shall soar like eagles; rise up and soar like eagles.
They who wait upon the Lord shall not be weary.
They shall never stumble, but gain new strength and power.
They who wait upon the Lord.
-Laura Manzo

So, my friend, if you are weary and burdened with sorrow, have hope, God is there for you! Remember He loves and cares for you! Recently, my friend, Ann Anderson, said, “Why do you end your devotions with ‘your friend?’ You’re my brother.” Yes, I’m your brother in the Lord, but I’m also, your friend. My friend, Debbie Pinson Bozeman, shared with me this Bible verse, back in college that has helped me through life: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15: 13

Dear Lord, thank you for your watch-care over your children. Thank you for seeing us through difficult times and protecting us through unexpected happenings in our life, especially when things can be tough. Amen.
As we serve along-side each other, I am…Your Friend,
Mark David Jackson