I feel I should be sharing this but am not sure how to start or not make it trite.  I mentor two women – V and T.  They have two very different personalities and are different places in their walk with the Lord.  V is in her 40s and T is in her late 20s inching close to 30.  We meet in my dinning room that has a little sitting area with two nice (though quite worn) high back antique chairs.  I meet weekly with them, V on Tuesday nights and T on Wednesday nights.

V and I have met for 2 years now.  It came about quite casually in conversation that she would love to have someone meet with her and I have a heart for working with women to help them grow in the Lord.  Our meetings started the following week. V struggled through the first year not being able to absorb the Words of God easily and certainly not being able to grasp Biblical concepts well.  We discussed that she possibly had ADD problems and I credited much to that.  Though she was not absorbing the Word without much effort we could see how she progressed in her walk with the Lord.  V struggled with her husband.  They talked rudely and sarcastically to each other. We reviewed that in Ephesians (5:33) God through Paul tells wives to respect their husband and we prayed she could find ways to respect him no matter how small they may seem.  We reviewed her victories each week…how often she read the Bible, how often she prayed, did she have a kind word to say to her husband, did she succeed in not gossiping at work, etc.  All the little things we struggle with daily that add up to straying from the Lord or drawing closer to Him

When she felt guilty for not praying, reading or being kind to her husband I stressed that she needed to let go of the guilt.  That Satan would love for her to condemn herself and immobilize her by making her feel like a failure.  That is why I always emphasize learn from our slip ups, focus on our victories.  Let God have the glory.

Our little spot in the two old worn chairs became a place of security to V and awe to me.  I saw God work in many ways that it is almost too overwhelming to explain.  I think of Jesus’ disciples who tried to write a synopsis of His ministry and I understand how overwhelming that must have been.  And in my own little way relate to John who wrote:

Some time after we had been meeting over a year, she shared that she was not convinced she was going to heaven.  This puzzled me because I had been confident in her salvation but she wasn’t.  The next meeting we walked through the “*Romans Road” topped off with John 3:16.  (If you are not familiar with these verses, they are at the end of this article.)

I had V read each verse out loud several times.  And I ask her questions after each.  Is this the truth?  How do you know that?  She affirmed Yes and that God does not lie.  I’d ask if God was the same yesterday, today and tomorrow?  Yes.  When we reached John 3:16 I continued to ask the same questions and added: Are you going to heaven?  She said yes.  Then I asked why.  She stated she believed in Jesus and confesses her sin.  I’d say again and she would reread the verse…followed by the same questions.  We did this possibly 6 or 7 times when she said “I feel warm all over”.  V visibly looked different.  A peace had descended on her.  It was a beautiful sight and a privilege that God allowed me to be a part of. 

Now before you begin thinking that I am a person who believes in “feelings” or emotional experiences to know God is working, I am not.  I never had an experience such as V that reassured me of my salvation.  I have full confidence in my salvation through my belief in Christ.  I strongly feel it is a gracious blessing of the Lord when we get that feeling of being encompassed by Him but it is not a necessity to faith. 

After that day, V changed.  She had a hunger and thirst for God’s Word.  Passages that she struggled with were clear to her.  It was as if her mind had been in a fog and the Spirit of the Lord brought clarity to her.  Each week is an awesome experience seeing how God works in her life and during our time together.  He will grant me words and insights that specifically speak to where V is at that day. As we read God’s word, He brings it to life how it applies to her (and me).

V’s life is in change.  I had her write her goals down a while back and we review them each week.  One was to find a new career…it just happened last week.  Another was to re-build a relationship with her husband…she has found “fun” and joy in her relationship with him.  Her primary goal of drawing closer to God is unfolding before us weekly. 

And one of the goals I presented V with when we first began meeting is that one day she will invest in another woman as I have with her and become the mentor.  Last week was the first time she said she thought she could do it!  How great is that?

From 7 to 9pm on Tuesday nights I am blessed incredibly.  I almost feel those worn out chairs are sacred ground for God works in a mighty way when V and I sit, talk about the week, read God’s Word and pray together.  What makes it even more special is on Wednesday nights at the same time in the same chairs, God meets with T and I with still more amazing results! (That will be a post for another day.)

My soul praises the Lord!

God Bless,
Phyllis Ducey
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*The "Romans Road" are selected verses from the Bible that give you a quick Biblically solid path to salvation through Christ.  They are: Romans 3:23, 6:23, 10:9-10 and I add John 3:16 

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 Sometimes… when I least suspect it, I am overwhelmed by the Lord’s grace.  I had one of those amazingly beautiful moments recently.  Last month in my post I shared that I have been mentoring two younger women.  The Lord blesses me so much during our time together.  Here is what He taught us a few weeks ago.

Each week we review a chapter of a book of the Bible.  This past month we have been working in 1 Peter.  We pretty much go paragraph by paragraph.  When we started in chapter 1 and got to verses 10 through 12 I shared with my now dear friend how incredible it is that hundreds and hundreds of years prior to Christ walking the earth, prophets had testified to His coming.  That when they wrote they were inspired by the Holy Spirit and were writing even for us today… thousands of years later.

Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow.  It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.

1 Peter 1:10-12

We discussed how blessed we are that the Lord had laid out such a complex plan that even today their words encourage us.

The following week we were going through 1 Peter chapter 2. After we read verses 13 through 15 (below) about submitting to human authority we discussed how the Lord uses the authority on earth for His plans and that we need to be in prayer for our government as well as others. 

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. 

1 Peter 2:13-15

I had a handwritten note that I jotted in my Bible right after that paragraph that referenced Daniel 6.  That is the chapter about Daniel and the lions’ den.  My friend had not heard the story of how Daniel was obedient to both God and the king of Babylon.  I once again got the joy of introducing her to one of God’s great people of the Bible and explained to her that some of the king’s other advisors were jealous of Daniel and talked the king into issuing a decree stating that for a month if any person bowed down to anyone but the king, he would be thrown into the lion’s den to be devoured by the ravenous animals.  Daniel, being first a worshiper of the true and living God did not bow down but continued his normal habits of praying to the Lord.  The jealous guys told the king in general about Daniel (without using his name) and the king declared he must be thrown into the lions’ den.  Once the king realized it was his trusted counselor Daniel, he was very disappointed and as he watched him being tossed to the lions he told Daniel “may your God save you”.  The door was closed and sealed. The next day the king went back to the den and found Daniel alive and well.  Of course, the king was pretty mad by being manipulated like that, so he threw the other guys into the den who were devoured immediately. 

We discussed how Daniel is a great example of what these verses 1 Peter 2:13-15 speak about.  He was faithful to God and to the king (did I mention afterward he was made 2^nd in command and the king made everyone honor the God of Daniel?).  By doing good Daniel honored God and brought Him glory and made the others look foolish.

As we talked I kept staring at my handwritten note… I can remember writing the note but do not remember how many years ago it was.  I think it was about 12 or 15 years.  I realized that just like 1 Peter 1:10-12 where Peter stated God had the prophets preach for our benefit, God had me write down that note just for this moment in time.  He knew that one day I would meet with my friend and we together would study His Word.  He knew that the verses written by Peter would come alive to us with this very example of Daniel AND finding the note was an example of how God uses events from the past to encourage us. It was not only to benefit me then but enlightened us today! 

Wow!  What a humbling experience that was.  We both realized the depth of how God was working at that moment… of how He wove our lives in such a way that a simple note would enrich us so much years later… with humble tears in our eyes we praised our glorious Creator God!
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