27. THE OLD LADY AND ANA-PSALM 91.1-8 (God is my Protector)

The Sunday morning was bright and beautiful as Ana sat next to her grandmother in the backseat of her father’s car as they drove home from attending church services. After a short while Ana turned to her grand mother and asked her to explain what the preacher meant by his statement that he was afraid of no one because he lives in God’s house.
The old lady, expecting such a question and recognizing that everyone in the vehicle would be interested in her answer, opened her bible to one of her favorite passages and replied:
“My dear child, this is an answer that every one of us should be able to confidently give, if we are true Christians and followers of Jesus Christ. Let me read from Psalm 91, Verses 1-8 which clearly spells it out in great detail:”

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD:

“He is my refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust.”

“This is a direct expression of confidence that whoever chooses to seek shelter and protection of the Almighty and remains in communion and service will find himself in a state of divine deliverance and security. But to achieve this we must declare our intention and belief, that we are choosing God as our refuge and confirm our commitment as children of faith. This after all is the fundamental tenet of Christianity!”

Ana, by now listening intently to every word her grand mother has spoken and wanting to know more about what we may expect, then asked:
“Gramma, does God really protect us from every bad thing and all the bad people?”
The old lady nodded her head affirmatively and continued reading verses 3 and 4:

Surely he will save you

from the fowler’s snare

and from the deadly pestilence.

He will cover you with his feathers,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

“Here the Psalmist is promising us that God will rescue us from all the hidden traps laid by our enemies and will protect us from all the deadly calamities that may befall us. Further, he will gather us and protect us under his own wings, so that we are assured of refuge, support and protection. In effect he will provide us with all that is necessary to make us safe and secure.”

The old lady paused briefly to allow her words to be assimilated and then continued:
“God promises even more to all believers, let me read the rest of the reading contained in verses 5-8:"

You will not fear the terror of night,

nor the arrow that flies by day,

nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,

nor the plague that destroys at midday.

A thousand may fall at your side,

ten thousand at your right hand,

but it will not come near you.

You will only observe with your eyes

and see the punishment of the wicked.

“God’s protection is complete. You do not need to fear anything, whether it be the terror of the unknown, or the arrows from your enemies or the disease that destroys lives, he promises that we will be safe while thousands will fall around us. Even more than this, he promises that while all this is happening, we will witness with our own eyes the real punishment that will befall the wicked and non-believer.”

The old lady closed her eyes as she closed her bible, and after a short while, she opened them and addressed all the occupants of the car in a strong and confident manner:

“I hope and pray that every one in this family is able to declare, like Reverend Smith, that we too, are not afraid, for we all dwell in the shelter of the Most High.”

26. THE OLD LADY AND ANA-ROMANS 12:3-8(Humility and Service)

The old lady was quite concerned about her grand daughter who had been quiet and introspective all afternoon. It was clear to her that Ana was bothered by something, so right after dinner she invited the child to come sit with her on her favorite chair. After they were comfortably seated, the old lady asked:
“Ana, do you have something on your mind that is bothering you?”
Ana hesitated for a second and then, taking a deep breath, looked directly at her grand mother and replied:
“Yes gramma, I do indeed, ever since I heard the inspirational speaker on TV talk about the importance of building a strong self-image in order to impress everybody of your abilities and your strengths as the most important key to your future success. Yet I remember you telling us that we should always try to be honest and never try to make ourselves appear better than we truly are. Isn’t that what God expects?”
The old lady smiled gently as she picked up her trusted Bible and lightly stroking her grand daughter’s face, she opened it on St. Paul’s Letter to the Roman, Chapter 12, Verses 3-8, and said:
“This is one of my favorite passages in the bible because it is one occasion when God tells us what he really expects of us as his children. Let me read verse 3:”

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you:
Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought,
but rather think of yourself with sober judgment,
in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

“St. Paul begins by stating that he has the permission of God to speak to everyone. In simple, unequivocal language he advises us to be honest about our own estimation of ourselves, and to avoid over-inflating our image. He went on to advice us to use sober judgment, by which he means using good sense and the faith that God has given us. It really means that we must, at all time, avoid the temptation of false pride to exaggerate our importance, but rather to accept the humility that comes from knowing who we really are.”
Little Ana, nodding her head vigorously indicating a confirmation of her impression but needing more information, then asked her grand mother:
“Gramma, did St. Paul explain what we should be doing to please God?”
The old lady responded affirmatively as she continued to read verse 4:

Just as each of us has one body with many members,
and these members do not all have the same function,
so in Christ we who are many form one body,
and each member belongs to all the others.

“This, my dear child, is to me the most beautiful description of our individual roles and responsibilities as members of the family and body of Christ. In the same way that our own body is made up with many different parts and each one has an important function to perform, so too are we, as members of the body of Christ. We all belong to the same body, each one having a different role for the common good of all. If we fail to function, or allow false pride to lead us in the wrong direction then our action will affect the rest of the body. This is why we must remain humble in the responsibility, whether small or large, granted to us, and carry them out to the very best of our ability. Always remember, whatever we do, good or bad, is going to have an impact on others.”
Ana, by now was in deep thought as she tried to assimilate all the information her grand mother had just provided, eventually turned to her and asked:
“Gramma, how will I know what God expects of me?”
The old lady smiled as she acknowledged the importance of the question, and continued to read verses 6-8:

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.
If a man’s gift is prophesying,
let him use it in proportion to his faith.
If it is serving, let him serve;
If it is teaching, let him teach;
If it is encouraging, let him encourage;
If it is contributing to the needs of others,
let him give generously;
If it is leadership, let him govern diligently;
If it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

“St. Paul began by reminding us that we are all granted special “gifts” from God and that we are expected to use them to better serve the body of Christ. He went into great detail to list out almost every aspect of life clearly indicating the impact on everything we do. The list includes prophesying, serving, teaching, supporting and charity, all of which are meant to help and support other members of the Body of Christ. Most important however, I believe, is the fact that these are essentially spiritual gifts given to us by God, to be used to the best of our ability. These are our own special blessings!”
Little Ana, by now much brighter and less perplexed, got up and turning to her grand mother, hugged her tightly and as she ran off to join her siblings, exclaimed:

“Thank you God for accepting me into the Body of Christ. I promise I will accept whatever gift you give me and do my very best to make you proud of me!”

25. THE OLD LADY AND ANA-1 CHRONICLES 4:10 (The Prayer of Jabez)

Little Ana sat quietly next to her grand mother deeply engrossed in a television program dealing with the activities of a group of disgraced televangelists who over the years had become very rich and had built up large followings, only to end up in disgrace because of their greed and personal transgressions. The names of Jim Bakker, Ted Haggard and Jimmy Swaggart were given as prominent examples of people who gained great fame and following, only to fall in shame. In all these cases the commentator suggested, the one common denominator was that they did not understand the real meaning of “The Prayer of Jabez”, and as a result paid the ultimate price.
When the program ended Ana turned to her grand mother and asked:
“Gramma what is the Prayer of Jabez and what did the announcer mean when he said they did not understand its meaning?”
The old lady paused for a while to collect her thoughts on this very important subject, and then turned to her grand daughter and said:
“My dear child, the story of Jabez is probably one of the most inspiring and most beautiful stories ever told of what it means to be a true Christian, a follower of God. It is a very short prayer which appeared in 1 Chronicles, Verse 4:10.
Let me read it to you and I will then explain it”:

And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying:
“Oh, that you should bless me indeed,
And enlarge my territory,
That your hand will be with me,
And you will keep me from evil,
That I may not cause pain”
….So God granted him what he requested.

“Jabez was a very simple man, an average “nobody” who felt that he wanted to dedicate himself, in whatever way he can, to serving his God. His prayer was simply a cry to God to help him to find the right way to serve and to make the best use of him, while helping him to avoid doing evil things. The pray is in four parts:
1. That God will bless him, so he may become worthy to continue God’s work successfully. This was a sign of profound humility so often seen in the holiest people.
2. That God will enlarge his territory. This does not mean, as many of the “Prosperity Preachers” justified their accumulation of material wealth as blessings from God, but rather it was a request for God to broaden his influence, so he could do more for more people. It was an appeal to strengthen him to continue God’s work.
3. That God’s hand will be with him. This is an acknowledgement that God will always be with you and will not abandon you when you are doing his work. He promised you will never be alone.
4. That God will keep him from evil. Knowing his human weakness to sin and to cause pain and suffering, this is a plea to God to protect him from his own failings.”

The old lady waited for a few seconds while Ana assimilated the information she had just heard and then continued:
“You see Ana, this prayer is designed for anyone to go to God and ask for his blessings. By choosing Jabez, a real loser whose name means “born from pain”, God clearly shows that it does not really matter who you are, or how smart you are, or how well connected you might be; -What truly matters is being sincere and knowing who you are, who you want to be, and asking for the opportunity to serve him.”
Ana, beginning to understand what her grand mother was describing and recalling the events in the television program, sat up, looked toward the old lady and said:
“Gramma, I think I can now understand why the Prayer of Jabez is so important for us all to understand. By using this simple prayer and strongly believing in God, anyone of us can change who we are and who we would like to be.”
The old lady, overwhelmed by the insight shown by her young grand child, added:

“Yes indeed my dear child, the real message of the prayer of Jabez is not in the words of the prayer, but in the confidence that God will always listen to our prayer.”

24. THE OLD LADY AND ANA-LUKE 16:10-11 (Trust and Honesty)

Little Ana listened intently to the TV reporter who was describing in great detail the exploits of the financial advisor who had succeeded to cheat hundreds of people of all their money by using a combination of trust and dishonesty. Later that evening she sought out her grand mother and asked her:
“Gramma, what happens to people who knowingly use trust and dishonesty to cheat and rob people? What does God feel about them? Does he ever punish them?"

The old lady, recognizing this as an opportunity to teach her grand child about God’s attitude toward people who take advantage of other people’s trust and honesty, beckoned her to come and sit with her and, picking up her trusted Bible said:

“My dear child, God has spoken about these subjects over and over again and you will find many references in the Holy Bible. Let me read a few of these for you, so you can understand what I mean.
... First let me read from the Gospel according to Luke, Chapter 16, Verses 10 and 11:”

Whoever can be trusted with very little,
can also be trusted with much,
and whoever is dishonest with very little,
will also be dishonest with much.
So if you have not been trustworthy
in handling worldly wealth,
who will trust you with true riches?

“You see Ana, God, speaking through the disciple Luke, made it quite clear that anyone who cannot be trusted in small things, cannot be trusted in the bigger things of life. And, to reinforce this, he repeated exactly the same thing for being honest. He explained further that if you cannot be trustworthy while dealing with the ordinary things on earth, how then can you be trusted with the most important matter of all, your eternal life in Heaven.”

She paused for a minute as she turned to another section of the Bible and then continued to read from Deuteronomy Chapter 25, Verses 13 to 16:

Do not have two differing weights in your bag—one heavy, one light.
Do not have two differing measures in your house—one large, one small.
You must have accurate and honest weights and measures,
so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
For the LORD your God detests anyone who does these things;
-Anyone who deals dishonestly.

“This is a good example of how dishonest people take advantage of people who trust them. By keeping different measures they fool people into believing that they are getting what they are entitled to get. This behavior is very common, and God detests these dishonest people. It is one of the six things contained in Proverbs (Chapter 6:16-19) which God hates. They include; False Pride, Lying, Killing the innocent, a Wicked heart, doing Evil deeds and causing Confusion within the community."

Ana, by now fully engrossed in every word spoken by her grand mother, asked her:

“Gramma, what happens to all these dishonest people?

The old lady nodded affirmatively and responded:
“Let me read to you two separate excerpts from the Bible which will explain how God feels towards people like these. The first is taken from Proverbs Chapter 13, Verse 11:

Dishonest money dwindles away,
but whoever gathers money little by little, makes it grow.

“God in these few words makes it very clear what happens in these situations, and we see it actually happening over and over. The money made dishonestly never lasts, but money gathered honestly, little by little, will continue to grow.
And yet again in another context, God has stronger words for those who are dishonest. Let me read from Ezekiel Chapter 28, Verses 18 and 19:

Your many sins and dishonest trade
polluted your temple.
So I made you go up in flames.
I turned you into nothing but ashes on the ground.
I let everyone see it.
All of the nations that knew you
are shocked because of what happened to you.
You have come to a horrible end.
And you will be gone forever."

“God does not hesitate to warm us of the extreme measures that will befall anyone who chooses to lead a life of dishonesty. Not only will they be destroyed, but the whole world will know about it and their name will be gone forever.”


Little Ana, now becoming much clearer with her grand mother’s explanation, hugged her as tightly as her little arms will allow, and whispered:

“Now I understand why Daddy is always insisting that we must always be honest and trustworthy in everything we say and do. And also, I now see why the Judge sent the bad man to prison for life. He was only carrying out God’s wishes.”

23. THE OLD LADY AND ANA-PROVERBS 26: 18-27 (Be Not A Deciever)

Ana could not understand why her grand mother, who is always so calm and cheerful, was so upset after a visit from Judy, the next door neighbor who has a habit of criticizing everyone. Addressing her grand mother she asked:
“Gramma, why does Aunty Judy always say bad things about everyone whenever she comes to visit us? You have always said that that God does not like people who spread bad rumors about others, haven’t you?
The old lady, smiling at the child’s comment, replied:
“Yes my dear child, God has indeed spoken over and over against people who spend their time spreading lies and rumors about others or cause harm by their manipulations. Let me read my favorite passage in the Holy Bible on this subject. It is from Proverbs Chapter 26, Verses 18-27:”

Like a madman shooting deadly, burning arrows
is the one who tricks a neighbor and then says,
"I was just joking”.

“You see Ana, God does not mince words when he is describing these people. They go about spreading deadly gossip and fooling their neighbors and when they are challenged they claim that they did not mean any harm, they were only joking! They are truly deceivers and are not normal.”
Little Ana nodding her head in agreement then asked her grand mother how they are able to do so much damage to so many people. The old lady responded by continuing to read from the bible:

Without wood, a fire will go out,
and without gossip, quarreling will stop.
Just as charcoal and wood keep a fire going,
a quarrelsome person keeps an argument going.
The words of a gossip are like tasty bits of food;
people like to gobble them up.

“You see Ana, in the same way a fire will go out if you do not put in wood to keep it burning, so also quarreling will not continue unless someone brings gossip to keep the argument going. The truth is that people love to hear gossip and will readily and willingly listen to, and believe it. That is why these decieving people are so dangerous. Let me read more for you:”

Kind words from a wicked mind
are like a shiny coating on a clay pot.
Those who hate you may try to fool you with their words,
but in their minds they are planning evil.
People's words may be kind, but don't believe them,
because their minds are full of evil thoughts.

“In this section, God describes the many ways that these people can harm you. They can come to you with kind words while hiding their wicked intention, when you have a nice shiny look that hides a rotten clay pot underneath. These people will say anything to fool you while hiding their hate and their evil intentions and plans against you. This is why God warns you that when they come to you with nice, kind words you must remain on your guard, for behind this kind appearance they will be harboring wicked, evil thoughts against you.”

By this time, Ana was sitting upright, with her eyes wide open and obviously very perturbed by the all the bad things that can be caused by these people who have no regard to the damage they do. Looking for an answer, she asked her grand mother:
“Gramma what happens to these people, does God let them continue doing their wickedness?”
The old lady shook her head from side to side as she continued reading:

Lies can hide hate, but the evil will be plain to everyone.
Whoever digs a pit for others will fall into it.
Whoever tries to roll a boulder down on others,

Will be crushed by it.

“This is your answer Ana. They may think that they can cover their hate with lies, but you cannot hide your intentions from the world. Your evil ways must come to light and the world will see you as the deceiver that you are. And even more, these people never seem to realize that inevitably, the hole you dig for others, you will stumble and fall into it yourself, and the boulder that you try to use to crush others will eventually crush you.
In the end you will always lose out as people get to know you and your wicked intentions."

Ana remained very quiet for a few moments and then as she got up from the chair, she turned to her grand mother and, with a level of wisdom that far outweighs her tender age and experience, remarked:

“Now I understand why you get so upset when Aunty Judy starts to speak her lies. Does she not realize that she is breaking God’s ninth commandment which says:

You must never bear false witness against your neighbor."