We Are So Thankful For Your Faithfulness

Some words from Paul to the believers in Philippi:

I know how to be abased and live humbly in difficult circumstances, and I know also how to enjoy plenty and live in abundance. I have learned in any and all circumstances the secret of facing every situation, whether well-fed or going hungry, having enough to spare or going without and being in want. I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me. I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me.

But it was right and commendable and noble of you to contribute for my needs and to share my difficulties with me. And you Philippians yourselves well know that in the early days of the Gospel ministry, when I left Macedonia, no assembly entered into partnership with me and opened up an account in giving and receiving except you only. Even in Thessalonica you sent me contributions for my needs, not only once but a second time.

Not that I seek or am eager for your gift, but I do seek and am eager for the fruit which increases to your credit: the harvest of blessing that is accumulating to your account. But I have your full payment and more; I have everything I need and am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent me. They are the fragrant odor of an offering and sacrifice which God welcomes and in which He delights.

 And my God will liberally supply; fill to the full your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever, through the endless eternities of the eternities. Amen!

We at New Hope trust our God to fill to the full every need we have as well, but we are so grateful to every one of you for your faithful support of this ministry!

This fall season has brought us God’s blessings through your bountiful harvest, first in participating as riders and as givers in the Dream Ride Lancaster, and as those who will be joining us this week at our annual New Hope Banquet. We are very much looking forward to sharing this time of fellowship together in Jesus, and in sharing the good things He is doing by His Spirit through all of us.

We are also very grateful for our many wonderful Closet volunteers who give of their time and their effort regularly to support so much ministry right here in the Southern End of Lancaster County, far beyond what New Hope can do by itself. Our time of sharing together at the Christmas Breakfast is also just around the corner in early December!

A new opportunity for others to become part of the New Hope family, in loving and helping our neighbors locally, is on the horizon as well. We are partnering with other non-profit organizations and the Lancaster County Community Foundation in the upcoming Extraordinary Give Day, on November 30^th.  This is an online giving event which allows us to literally tell the world who we are and what we are doing to benefit our community.

By going to the ExtraGive.Org website and making an online donation, people from our area and beyond will become partners with us, in bearing fruit and bringing in the harvest of blessing also: all of this to lovingly help our neighbors, to give the glory to God, and to magnify the Name of our Lord Jesus!

 

Neil Uniacke

Executive Director

 

 

Grandchildren!

     I’ve been taking my turn writing this blog for almost two years now and I often mention my family in my postings. However, I don’t think that I have ever written about my grandchildren.  We have two granddaughters and are expecting another grandchild later this month.  So, today, I am writing about them.  This is not a spiritual blog, but just a “fun” blog because grandchildren are fun!

     We’ve all seen the bumper sticker, “Ask me about my grandchildren!”  I used to read those words and kind of roll my eyes in disgust.  Everyone says that grand parenting is great but could it really be THAT great? The answer is YES!

     Here is an example of what grand parenting does to you.  Last month was the annual Solanco Fair.  To the locals in and around Quarryville this is a huge event. While I do enjoy a fair, it is not high on my priority list and when someone asked me if I was going to the parade on Wednesday evening I replied that I didn’t plan to go.  I didn’t have a big desire to fight the traffic and noise to see something that wasn’t that special to me.  Fast forward to a few days later when I received this phone call from my 3-year old granddaughter, Alexis.

Alexis: “Granmaw!  Do you want to go to Sanco prade with me?

Suddenly there was nothing I wanted to do more!

Me: “I would love to go to the parade with you. Are your mommy and daddy coming too?”

Alexis: “Weell, Mommy is gowing out to eat with frens but Daddy can come.  Can Lydia (her 1-year old sister) come too?”

 Me: “Of course Lydia can come. Make sure you bring a basket for candy.”

Alexis: “Weell, it’s upstairs. I’ll get it.”

Me: “What about one for Lydia?”

Alexis: “Weell, she doesn’t have a baskit. (long pause) She can share mine.”

Me: “That’s really nice of you. I’m so glad you asked me! I can’t wait to see the parade with you!”

Alexis: “Okay! Bye!”

Me: “Bye!”

     Probably now some of you that don’t have grandchildren are rolling your eyes.  What is it about grandchildren that just melts our hearts and causes us to drop almost anything to spend time with them?  I have often pondered this question.  I can honestly say that I loved raising my children and I truly enjoyed each stage of their lives. I didn’t wish for them to grow up faster or want them to hurry up and move on from a phase that they were in. I tried to live in the moment and just enjoy each and every stage. 

     So the big question really is: Do I love grand parenting more than I loved parenting?  Honestly, I’m not sure if that is a fair comparison but I can definitely say I love it differently than parenting.  Here are just a few things that make grand parenting special:

·         When they cry because they don’t want to leave Grandma’s house.

·         When they call you on the phone and ask, “When are you coming to my house?”

·         When they go directly to the cupboard where you keep the snacks and point.

·         When they want to go home with you.

·         When they look and act just like their daddy did when he was a child.

·         When they cry and throw a tantrum and you realize that you really don’t have to deal with it J

     I think this last point is the icing on the cake for grandparents. We get to enjoy everything fun about the child but don’t have to discipline them. We are there to love them and pamper them. Of course, we don’t let them get away with murder, but for the most part the serious corrections are left up to the parents. The bottom line is that being a grandparent is a lot less stressful than being a parent. I think that is why we enjoy it so much.  

     Proverbs 17:6 says that “grandchildren are the crowning glory of the aged.” Well, if having grandchildren makes one “aged” it is worth it.

Mary Lehman

Secretary

 

 

 

 

The Community Closet Thrift Store

The Community Closet Thrift Store is a fun, unique store to shop in right in the middle of Quarryville. Our customers come from Quarryville, but also from Oxford, the Baltimore area, Delta, Gap, and many more communities. Why do our customers come from near and far to shop at The Community Closet?

Some people enjoy "thrifting" and the hunt for unique and interesting items that they can purchase at a fraction of the cost. New items are priced and put on the floor every day and some of our customers do shop daily to see what is new. Some customers like to find name brands at a bargain price as they find creative ways to outfit themselves or their entire family. Some customers are looking for inexpensive ways to purchase items for a first kitchen or apartment. And, some are looking for those retro finds that often appear in thrift stores.

There is a common perception that those who shop in thrift stores do so because they cannot afford to shop elsewhere. This may be the case for some people, but many more customers shop in thrift stores because they enjoy the hunt for a special find at a great price. We have customers who "thrift" as a hobby.

Also, many of our customers shop at The Community Closet because they love where their money ends up. We support New Hope Community Life Ministry where healing happens through Christian counseling. The New Hope counselors see about 30 clients each week. No one is turned away because they cannot pay for their services, so funds from The Community Closet help make up the short fall that clients cannot pay. This amounts to about 50% of the fees that clients are not able to afford.

We also donate to other local agencies like Solanco Neighborhood Ministries which includes the food bank and the fuel fund, Solid Rock Youth Ministries, Camp Andrews, House on the Rock and others. When our customers are paying for their purchases, they can see how much we have given to help our neighbors in the southern end of the county.

So, thank you for shopping and thank you also for donating those items that you no longer need. We appreciate our customers in the store, and we also appreciate those who bring their items to our back door for us to sort and eventually place out for sale. No thrift store can survive without donations.

Deb Riddell
Closet Manager

Who Jesus Really Is!

A small fraction of the educated population think that Jesus never actually existed, although the great majority of historians and archeologists have no such doubts, objectively researching into the preponderance of archeological evidence and extra-Biblical secular writings of that ancient period, which heavily corroborate and buttress the basic historical reality of the Gospel accounts and other New Testament references.

 Others consider Jesus to be an iterant preacher, well within the  mainstream proto-Rabbinical schools of thought and general discussion of the Jewish culture of that early first century age, Who may have been killed for some involvement in stirring up the population, as He followed along after the already well established tradition of John the Baptist.

Still more recognize Jesus as an amazing teacher and philosopher Who was able to synergize the highest aspirations and greatest thoughts of the Jewish theologians and the Greek thinkers, distilling them into simple expressions which illuminate and inspire people of every culture and religion to this day, with a depth of reflection and insight that is transcendent and applicable to every age of human development and in every situation.

Another view is that of Jesus the prophet and miracle worker, coming to Israel as the capstone of a long line of prophetic voices calling God’s ancient chosen people back to fidelity and holiness before Him, and to a rejection of the other predominant doctrinal and dogmatic schools of that first century timeframe. His power and persuasive speaking abilities threatened the religious status quo to such a degree that He had to be eliminated, by the collusion of the secular authorities of that time and place, both Roman (Pontius Pilate) and semi-Jewish (Herod Anitpas), supposedly to keep the peace of the nation, as spoken of by the chief priest, Caiaphas.

There are many more who have come to recognize and confess that Jesus is their Savior and the Redeemer of the whole world, Who was born of a virgin, lived in perfect righteousness, Who taught a fullness of truth that both summed up and superseded the writings of the Scriptures and the Rabbinical schools of interpretation. Jesus, Who was tried, tortured, tormented, and crucified for the sins of the world as the spotless sacrificial Lamb of God, fulfilled and completed the sacrificial system practiced by the Priesthood of Israel.

Most of these also believe that Jesus rose from the dead on the morning after the Passover Sabbath day, ascended into heavenly realms, and will come again physically and literally at the consummation of this age. They see Jesus as the only Way to the Father, and the only One Who every knee in the physical and spiritual universe will bow to, by Whose Name we must be saved!

Beyond the arguments that Jesus never existed, each of these other understandings of Jesus has an increasing degree of validity. Those that have come into the full knowledge of Jesus as the world’s only Savior have begun an eternal journey of great discovery about this Person we call the Son of God.

Even so, in the faith life and daily experience of many of Jesus’ followers, there still seems to be a lack of full acknowledgement in thinking of and relating to Jesus for many. This lack of focus surrounds the truest and deepest overarching focus of the whole Bible concerning Jesus of Nazareth. Many do not seem to comprehend and appreciate that every thought, word, and deed of this God-Man (the absolutely unique Theanthropos), every title, every prophecy, every story, every revelation about Him is simply an element of the greatest and fullest truth of all: His full and complete Divinity or Deity!

It is in understanding, meditating upon, and being inspired by this main Truth of the Scriptures that we can be transported to heights in our intellectual, emotional, and spiritual connection or communion with Jesus, more deeply relating to Him in a greater way than ever before. This personal journey mirrors the development of each apostolic writer, as they moved from unbelief into an ever more complete revelation and personal surrender to Jesus, as King of Kings, Lord of Lords, God the Son, the Eternal Word!  

As we study the Bible with a desire to know more about what it means that Jesus is truly and fully GOD, we will find ourselves joining with the company of believing theologians who have given their earthly existence to know and share this understanding with everyone to bless and lift them to the same heavenly heights. When our understanding of Jesus increases, our trust and faith in Him increases and His blessings are able to pour into our lives more readily and completely!

 

Neil Uniacke

Executive Director

Thinking Again About Pornography

I've been thinking again about pornography. I say again, because I wrote on this blog a year ago about the dangers of porn. I still believe as I did then, that pornography is an insidious evil, a trap that people get caught in, and the more they struggle to escape this deceitful web, the more entrapped they become.

The reason I'm writing about this again, is because of a link that I believe can be drawn from porn use to childhood sexual abuse. In my conversations with men who have been involved as perpetrators of sexual abuse toward children and adolescents, I have noticed that in most cases, the men who have abused have previously been involved in pornography. Why might this be the case? I believe that men who view pornography become addicted, and as that addiction escalates, it becomes more and more difficult for the sexual addict to limit the acting out of their addiction strictly to the virtual. When I speak of "virtual," I mean those images one views on the internet, or on the TV screen. What one indulges in virtually eventually will be acted out in real life. Hence, I believe that men who are addicted to porn, will eventually cross the line into real life violations.

Men who abuse their children and other family members fact the very real possibility of legal consequences, such as being separated from their children, and possibly probation and/or prison sentences, not to mention the painful emotional consequences of adult children who later break off communication with their parents over such violations.

I realize that what I am writing sounds dire indeed, but if you are reading this and you are addicted to pornography, please know that what you may believe is personal and private now, may very likely express itself in a more public and painful way in the future. If you are a sexual addict, there is help available. Please don't wait until you have violated trust and boundaries in your family to seek resolution.

Tom Horst, MA
Marriage and Family Therapist

Believing IN Jesus Becomes Living FOR Jesus One Day at a Time!

Jesus clearly proclaimed to each of us who believe in Him, that the narrow path to eternal life is walked out one day at a time!

He also told us very specifically what should happen each day as we follow Him, in the Gospel of Luke:

9:23 Jesus said to all, If any person wants to come after Me, let them deny themselves [disown, forget, lose sight of self and their own interests, refuse and give up self] and take up their cross daily and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying also].
24 Whoever would preserve this life and save it will lose and destroy it, but whoever loses this life for My sake, they will preserve and save it [from the penalty of eternal death].
25 For what does it profit a person, if they gain the whole world and ruins or forfeits (loses) themselves?

Jesus did not give us this instruction as an option, but as a command to be obeyed by all His followers, not just certain special people. Most of us have read this or heard this many times over. The fact that we are called to actually do it is where we become challenged, because deep in our hearts we know that on our own we really can't!

As the apostle Paul says at the end of Romans 7, when faced with a similar challenge himself:

24 O unhappy and pitiable and wretched man that I am! Who will release and deliver me from [the shackles of] this body of death?
25 O thank God! [He will!] through Jesus Christ (the Anointed One) our Lord!

Although impossible for any of us in our own strength, God has given all His children purchased by Jesus' own blood, His Holy Spirit with infinite power, to live within us and strengthen us to live out all that Jesus had commanded us to do!

We can be trained by God's Spirit to die daily (decision by decision) to our selfishness or cowardice or need to control or whatever currently influences us to miss the mark, and then to receive and walk in what our Father is showing us to do. How much we actually walk, by keeping in step with the Holy Spirit in this way, has profound influence on every aspect of life and fruitfulness for each of us.

This level of surrender is impossible by ourselves, but we must always keep in mind the fact that we can do all things only through Him Who strengthens us! Jesus referred to this kind of surrender in His parable of the Pearl of great price. Only those strengthened to become fully willing to sell everything would be the ones who could pay for this wondrous Pearl, Who is Jesus Himself.

This kind of strengthening comes to us in the process of amazing synergy between the humbled and surrendering believer and the Lord Himself, outlined very specifically for us by James, the brother of Jesus in chapter 4 of his letter to the churches:

6 He gives us more and more grace (power of the Holy Spirit, to meet this evil tendency and all others fully). That is why He says, God sets Himself against the proud and haughty, but gives grace [continually] to the lowly (those who are humble enough to receive it).

7 So be subject to God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him], and he will flee from you.

8 Come (draw) close to God and He will come (draw) close to you. [Recognize that you are] sinners, get your soiled hands clean; [realize that you have been disloyal] wavering individuals with divided interests, and purify your hearts [of your spiritual adultery].

9 [As you draw near to God] be deeply penitent and grieve, even weep [over your disloyalty]. Let your laughter be turned to grief and your mirth to dejection and heartfelt shame [for your sins].

10 Humble yourselves [feeling very insignificant] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up and make your lives significant].

Jesus Himself confirms His receptivity to this kind of humble heart surrender in His parable of the Publican and Pharisee in Luke 18:

9 He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves and were confident that they were righteous [that they were upright and in right standing with God] and scorned and made nothing of all the rest of men:

10 Two men went up into the temple [enclosure] to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

11 The Pharisee took his stand ostentatiously and began to pray thus before and with himself: God, I thank You that I am not like the rest of men--extortioners (robbers), swindlers [unrighteous in heart and life], adulterers--or even like this tax collector here.

12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I gain.

13 But the tax collector, [merely] standing at a distance, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but kept striking his breast, saying, O God, be favorable (be gracious, be merciful) to me, the especially wicked sinner that I am!

14 I tell you, this man went down to his home justified (forgiven and made upright and in right standing with God), rather than the other man; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.

The importance and outcome of constant surrender of self and everything else in our lives, is underlined emphatically by Jesus in several serious statements recorded for us in Luke 14:

25 Now huge crowds were going along with [Jesus], and He turned and said to them,

26 If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his [own] father and mother [in the sense of indifference to or relative disregard for them in comparison with his attitude toward God] and [likewise] his wife and children and brothers and sisters--[yes] and even his own life also--he cannot be My disciple.

27 Whoever does not persevere and carry his own cross and come after (follow) Me cannot be My disciple.

28 For which of you, wishing to build a farm building, does not first sit down and calculate the cost [to see] whether he has sufficient means to finish it?

29 Otherwise, when he has laid the foundation and is unable to complete [the building], all who see it will begin to mock and jeer at him,

30 Saying, This man began to build and was not able (worth enough)  to finish.

31 Or what king, going out to engage in conflict with another king, will not first sit down and consider and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand [men] to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?

32 And if he cannot [do so], when the other king is still a great way off, he sends an envoy and asks the terms of peace.

33 So then, any of you who does not forsake (renounce, surrender claim to, give up, say good-bye to) all that he has cannot be My disciple.

34 Salt is good [an excellent thing], but if salt has lost its strength and has become saltless (insipid, flat), how shall its saltness be restored?

35 It is fit neither for the land nor for the manure heap; men throw it away. He who has ears to hear, let him listen and consider and comprehend by hearing!

It is our daily surrender of our entire being, body, soul, and spirit, to God's perfect will for our lives that changes outcomes now, and will most certainly affect the ultimate, everlasting outcome of our future!

~Neil Uniacke
Executive Director

A Labor of Love

   Every year my family has a pizza party that is typically held over the Labor Day weekend. We start the preparations months in advance as we buy items needed while they are on sale. As the time gets closer we begin to consider whom to invite and how many. This is a very tedious and thought out process.  A list is created and then gets gleaned over until it is at a manageable amount of people.

   Several weeks before the "big day" there are pizza crusts that are prepared and frozen. The day before the event we do the last minute shopping for the perishable items that can't be purchased any sooner. We lovingly call this part the "shopping and chopping" as we prepare the toppings for the pizzas. This is  a very long day and it takes many hands to make the work go quickly and smoothly.

    The quality time spent with our nieces and nephew passing down a tradition that was started over twenty years ago is priceless. Our labor of love for family and friends is enjoyed in a few hours and our guests can hardly wait for the next "unique" pizza to get out of the oven to be tasted. We make pizza with unique toppings along with the standards. Our guests often question our "taste" but usually love the pizzas with toppings are not "standard" to the norm for the east coast.

    As Christians we should be willing to offer our "labor of love" to all people. How often do we feel that we could never talk to someone because of how they look, dress, or talk? Jesus' labor of love was to share God's word and works with ALL people, not just the ones the disciples felt were worthy.

    Have you helped someone in need, fed them or clothed them as Jesus tells us to in Matthew 25:35 & 36? The disciples question Jesus about when they saw him in need and he replies that when they "have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Mathew 2:40b KJV.  All of our works should be our "labor of love" to our fellow man.

     As we celebrate Labor Day may we remember God's labor of love for us. What greater gift than to give us eternal life through His Son!

     Have a Safe, Healthy, & Happy Labor Day weekend!

Elaine Campbell, MA
New Hope Counselor

                                           Elaine's unique shrimp & sauerkraut pizza!