Welcome
Prayer Request (updated): Pastor Stewart Crown our past LWML CNH counselor’s name was submitted to LWML to run for Pastoral Counselor and accepted. He has received a letter informing him that his nomination for LWML Counselor has received approval from LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew Harrison and the LWML Presidents Assembly. He is among six names under consideration at this time. The next step will be a Zoom interview with the Nominating Committee. Please continue praying for Pastor Crown during this process and if it is in God's plan for him to be placed on the ballot in June 2025.
Using Our Unique Gifts - Working as One
The image of this unique tree was used during a recent message I heard. It is beautiful and fruitful. Many branches have been grafted to the original tree and are bearing many kinds of fruit. We are all familiar with the passage in John 15:5 where Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” Similarly, the ladies of the LWML come from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities, with a variety of gifts and talents, but all serve the same Lord and God. Our Vine or Trunk provides us with all we have and need. What are you doing with the gifts God has given you? Are you bearing fruit, using your gift? I do believe most of us enjoy serving, but it is not all of our spiritual gifts. Is your gift leadership, hospitality, discernment, or Mercy? Do you use it to spread the good news that we serve a Lord who was sent by his Heavenly Father to earth to walk as man, be crucified, taking on our sins, and then rose from the dead and ascended into heaven? We profess this on Sundays, but do we tell everyone we meet? I have a good friend who when her daughter got into UCLA, she started almost every conversation with, “Did you know my daughter is going to UCLA?” We would laugh and join in her excitement. What if each and every day we would all have this excitement about the Lord and God we serve? I believe the results would be amazing. Jesus said, “If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) Producing fruit requires us to act and use our individual gifts to bring the lost to Christ. In addition, Jesus says, “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” (Luke 9:26) We all are responsible to repent, ask for forgiveness for our sins, and obey God. By living for Him, we will experience love that only a relationship with Christ can produce. Do not be ashamed to share this love with those you meet. It can be as easy as what my good friend shared with me about her daughter. This tree also reminds me of 1 Corinthians 12:12-20, where it speaks about the many members of one body. “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.” Whatever your gift is, whether you are an eye or an ear you are an especially important part of our Christian body and family. Life would be boring if God created everyone of us alike with the same gifts. He wants us to take part in His redeeming work and use our gifts to help graft the other branches to the body of Christ. The Three Persons of God are almighty, even so, they do not do things on their own, they each have a unique role to play. For the Father, He creates. For the Son, He redeems and for the Holy Spirit, He sanctifies. Similarly, we all are created in God's image for His workmanship and with different gifts. When we pour all our gifts together, as we have experienced, we achieve more amazing blessings like the colorful tree above. Our branches will forever be healthy and branching out, giving us shade, and producing much fruit. Do not shy away from your gift, use it, in the same way do not shy away from encouraging others to use their gift. I praise God for each one of you. Know that you are uniquely and beautifully made. Remember to share your gifts each day. I pray you have a wonderful and blessed summer. Enjoy the weather and each other. In Christ, Roxan Schwab LWML CNH District President |
★ Newsflash - August 2024
The August Joyful Servant is now available. Find it under News & Events on the Joyful Servant page. ★ Mites News - April 2024
The grants voted for at the convention are now listed on the Mission Grants Current page. Newsflash - April 2024
The Society/Group Record Form has been updated. Find it on the Forms page. Did you know...
Our own Jan Lemburg wrote an article that was published in the Lutheran Woman's Quarterly, Winter 2022 issue! Click here to read Relying on God. |