1 Samuel 18:6-11
My parishioner was a bitter woman. She was easily peeved. She inhaled gossip and exhaled criticism. The past wrongs that she had suffered were her favorite topic of conversation.
She seldom missed church, but on the other hand she had never been a Christian. When I repeatedly spoke to her about her need, explaining the way of Salvation in simple terms she would say, “But, Bro. Woods, it seems so hard. I just can’t understand.” She was too old to take the chance of not understanding.
I was concerned and baffled. What would cause a person who seemed so interested in the church and spiritual matters to go through a long life to never enjoy the benefits of Salvation?
I discovered that she and another lady who attended our church had a disagreement years earlier when they attended the same grade school. Unforgiveness and bitterness were the result which corrupted her heart with an evil spirit. Such a small thing, and yet such a big thing. Small enough to seem petty to all who were not involved and yet big enough to block a person from entering through the pearly gates.
Dr. Gayle Woods
Matt 10:16-23 (22)
As I considered this topic my mind traveled many miles from Kansas City. In an instant I was in an cozy cottage in Cuba, AL on the campus of the Southern Annual Camp. There Rev. and Mrs. Troy Moore resided. For years he was a faithful warrior of the cross. He brought hope and happiness to many. The humorous stories from his experiences still bring laughter to those who remember how he told them with such meaning.
Creases stretching out from the corner of his eyes revealed that he was optimistic and full of faith. I remember when he and his wife visited the Mid-South Camp meeting that I chaired in Tennessee. You could hear him in his room in the afternoon while others were taking naps. It was not a snoring sound that drew your attention to his room but the pacing of feet moving around behind the closed door and his deep resonant voice quoting scripture after scripture. He was a man of faith and a man of the Word.
Even when Bro. Moore was diagnosed to have cancer it did not change his outlook on life. Did he complain? Did it altered his desire and efforts to serve the Lord? No . . . even through sickness and pain, difficulty and uncertainty Bro. Moore left an example for others of the faith.
Endure faithfully to the end.
Dr. Gayle Woods
