A Prayer for Our Home

March 17, 2023

“And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”  (Ephesians 5:2)

In the epistles of Peter and Paul, the model for marriage is Christ and the Church.  It is meant to be a total communion of two whole personalities, and that is pictured in the communion between Christ and His Bride, the Church.  It is a spiritual intimacy.  While physical unity involves mutual, unconditional commitment, there must also be a spiritual quality in the relationship:  unselfish, others-centered love of the risen, living Christ as it is being expressed through both the husband and the wife.

If you sincerely desire a Christ-centered marriage and home, earnestly pray this prayer:

“O loving Heavenly Father, bless this house.  Bless this house with the light of Your presence.  Energize with the love of Your Spirit the relationships that make this house a home.

May the light, the life, and the love of the risen, Living Christ so empower and control us that we will be Christ’s representatives when we come in, when we go out, and especially as we live together under this roof and within these walls.

Heal us as persons, that we might have a wholesome partnership, ad be wise and loving parents.  Show us how to access Your grace all day long, every day.  We pray that everything we do here in this house will be done by Christ, in Christ, and for Christ.

Make this home a symbol of hope that will point to the One Who put this home together in His Word, Who brought it together through His Spirit and Who alone can keep it together by His grace.

In the glorious and victorious name of Jesus Christ. Amen.”

Dick Woodward, God’s Prescription for Marriage & Family

Editor’s Note: The blog posting elf misses her parents today! March 17th is Dick & Ginny Woodward’s anniversary. They were married 58 years before Dick went to rest in the Everlasting Arms of God. A year later his precious Ginny joined him. Their marriage truly testified to the agape, enduring, empowering love of Jesus!

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Happy Birthday in Heaven, Dick!

October 25, 2022

“The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years… Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:10-12)

When I was 25 years old I attended a conference for pastors. Our speaker was a famous pastor who had snowy white hair. I felt sorry for him because he was so very old. As he started to speak his first words to us were: “I’m old. I’m gloriously old, but I wouldn’t be as young and ignorant as you are for anything in the world!”

I was feeling sorry for him because he was so old, while he was feeling sorry for me because I was so young.

In many cultures age is considered a plus because wisdom comes with age. Psalm 90 makes the statement we reach 80 years of age “by reason of strength.” I have had a debilitating disease since 1978. By God’s grace, I have found the strength which comes from the Lord and is exhibited in the showcase of my physical weakness.

I was born eighty years ago today (25 Oct), so these verses resonate with me in a personal way. Two of the ways Moses exhorts us to apply this psalm is to number and value our days to gain a heart of wisdom about how we should spend them.

He then concludes his psalm asking God to show us the work God wants us to do, so that God’s glory might appear to our children. His last words invite God to anoint the work God reveals to us.

Dick Woodward, 25 October 2010

Editor’s Note: Today is Dick Woodward’s birthday. He would have turned 92! The fact that he was 83 when he passed as a bedfast quadriplegic in 2014 is nothing short of miraculous. But everyone who knew Dick can probably still hear his voice saying, “I can’t, but God can… I didn’t but God did.” (In other words, even when he couldn’t do anything but nod his head, God did miraculous things in and through him.) After 28 years as a quadriplegic, today his spiritual legs are running along Heavenly pavements with his precious Ginny, basking in the everlasting love of Jesus. The blog posting elf wishes her Papa Happy Birthday in Heaven!

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#FAITH: WHERE IS YOUR HEART?

October 13, 2020

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)

Jesus said we should not lay up treasures on earth where they depreciate and thieves steal them from us. He told us we should lay up treasures in heaven, in the spiritual dimension, where they will not depreciate or be stolen. He added that our hearts will be where our treasures are. 

In other words, Jesus challenged us, “If you really want to know where your heart is, show me your treasures.”

If you really want to know where your heart is, a practical application is to look over your old check stubs and calendars for the past five years. Consider how you are spending your money and time. Then you will know where your treasures are, and where you heart is.

Millions of people are crushed and depressed these days because they have lost all their treasures on Wall Street.  If our hearts are in our treasures on this earth, and laying up more treasures on earth, we need to listen and understand Jesus as He tells us where our hearts should be.

Where is your heart?

Dick Woodward, 15 October 2008*

*The Blog Posting Elf – This was Dick Woodward’s second blog post twelve years ago!

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Dois Rosser: An Extraordinary Man of Faith

December 2, 2019

“…Well done, good and faithful servant…” Matthew 25:23

On 12 November the world lost a valiant man of faith, but Heaven gained a steadfast soul. As Dois Rosser went to be with Jesus, he joins his precious wife, Shirley, along with his long-time friend and partner in ministry, Pastor Dick Woodward.

Extraordinary is a word that describes Dois Rosser. He humbly called himself “a car salesman.” That’s the ‘ordinary’ part of Dois, although he ran one of the most successful car dealerships in the country and hobnobbed with business luminaries like Lee Iacocca.

The ‘extra’ in extraordinary depicts his incredible devotion to Jesus Christ and His commandment, “Go and make disciples.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

While leading his booming businesses in the 1960s and 1970s, Dois also served on the Boards of Trans World Radio, Prison Fellowship, Leighton Ford Ministries and was involved with the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelism.

Extraordinary is the way Dois offered up his everything for the Kingdom, especially at the age of 65 (when most businessmen contemplate playing golf fulltime) he founded International Cooperating Ministries (ICM) in 1986.

Extraordinary describes his friendship with Dick Woodward that continues to yield miraculous fruit for the Kingdom today. Dick had a vision to make the “whole Word available for the whole world” through the Mini Bible College, an Old and New Testament survey course designed to make Scripture applicable in our daily lives.

Dois was mesmerized with how Dick’s MBC teachings put the Bible “on a shelf of understanding accessible to all.” He made Dick’s vision a reality with strategic efforts undergirded by prayer. After recording the MBC in the early 1980s before Dick’s neurological disease constricted him to a wheelchair, Dois sponsored broadcasts and translations of the MBC.

At Dick’s memorial celebration in 2014, Dois said that God intersected his life with Dick’s and blessed their friendship into a miracle: the ministry of ICM (assisting church growth worldwide) and MBC (nurturing believers with practical discipleship tools.)

To date ICM has constructed 8,700 churches in 93 countries with indigenous ministry partners, while MBC has been translated in 56 languages and shared with millions around the world.

Dois was also an extraordinary conduit of God’s love. He spread the love of Jesus in ways that mattered, often anonymously.

He loved his precious wife, Shirley, for 76 years of marriage before she passed on September 29th. He loved his daughters – Pam, Cindy, and Janice – and their families.

Dois also shared the love of Jesus as a great friend and brother in Christ. Before Dick’s quadriplegia, Dois organized speaking opportunities for him around the country with Prison Fellowship and other organizations. Dois and Shirley and Dick and Ginny enjoyed sweet fellowship on many of those trips.

When doctors said Dick would need a wheelchair, Dois organized a group of friends to build a one-story house especially equipped for Dick’s health challenges. When Dick needed an expensive van for his wheelchair to get around, Dois helped. When Dick became a homebound bedfast quadriplegic, Dois brought countless visitors to Williamsburg to see him there.

When not scheduled to visit, Dois called regularly to check in, “How’s it going, Dick?”

Dois Rosser leaves a legacy of extraordinary love, faithfulness and friendship. He will be missed!

Dick, Dois, and his daughter, Janice Allen (CEO of ICM)

Our hearts, prayers and love are with his daughters – Pam Minter, Cindy Higgins, Janice Allen – and the extended Rosser family at this time along with everyone at ICM.

A Memorial Celebration of Dois Rosser’s life and ministry will be held on Sunday, December 8th at 3:00PM at the Williamsburg Community Chapel (3899 John Tyler Hwy) in Williamsburg, Virginia.

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#FAITH: Doing God’s Work (Now!)

August 16, 2019

“I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day. The night is coming when no one can work.” (John 9:4)

The Gospel of John gives us another window into the way Jesus felt about the works God wanted Him to do. According to this vision statement of Jesus He knew the reality that He had less than three years to do those works.

In 1956 the famous missionary Jim Elliot and his four colleagues were speared to death by the tribal people they were trying to reach with the Gospel. Jim was a passionate follower of Jesus Christ. About four years before he died, he wrote in his journal, “When it comes time to die, make sure all you have to do is die.”

We can’t understand how God decides the day of our deaths. We don’t know when our own finish line will come. But we should all live in such a way that when we come to the finish line of our lives there will be no unfinished business, no works our Heavenly Father assigned to us that we’ve left undone.

Do you have the magnificent obsession of Jesus to work the works God has assigned to you while it is day not knowing when the night is coming and you cannot work anymore?

Can you accept the challenge of being like Jesus in your attitude toward the works God wants you to do?

Dick Woodward, 18 August 2009

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Psalm 19: God’s Glorious Sermon(s)

April 23, 2019

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge…The Law of the Lord is perfect… Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19: 1-2, 7, 14)

In Psalm 19 David writes that every day and every night God is preaching a sermon through the heavenly bodies. The text of that sermon is the glory of God. The “firmament” and space in which those bodies exist are also preaching sermons.

Space preaches to us about the infinite size of God.

His thoughts then turn to the “Special Revelation” of God. That’s what the theologians call the “Word of God” and David calls the “Law of God.” David is impressed and impresses us with what the Word of God can do: The Word can convert the soul, enlighten the eyes and make wise the simple.

The Word can rejoice the heart, and since the Word is true and righteous altogether it will endure forever. So will the one whose soul has been converted by the Word of God. As David meditates on what the Word can do, he claims that the Word is more to be desired than much pure gold.

Having reflected on what we might call “Natural Revelation” and “Biblical Revelation” David next guides us to consider “Personal Revelation.” His thought is that God’s revelation through nature is magnificent and beautiful. God’s revelation through Scripture is miraculous and perfect.

But what about God’s revelation through God’s people like you and me?

Dick Woodward, 26 April 2010

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25 October: Dick Woodward Standing Tall

October 25, 2018

October 25th is Dick Woodward’s birthday (he would have turned 88 today.)The fact that he was 83 when he died as a bedfast quadriplegic in 2014 is miraculous. But everyone who knew Dick Woodward can probably still hear his voice saying, “I can’t, but God can… I didn’t but God did.” (In other words, even when Papa couldn’t do anything but nod his head, God did miraculous things in and through him.) Today in honor of his birthday, here is a poem my sister, Cindy, wrote for him on his 77th birthday. It’s comforting to know that after 28 years as a quadriplegic, today in Heaven he is standing tall in the eternal love of Jesus.

STANDING TALL

DAD

How do we tell the story of your extraordinary life?
Your background conditions would have predicted only strife.
 
Growing up in the Depression with barely enough to eat,
Your father working day and night just to make ends meet.
Overshadowed by your siblings—the seventh child of eleven,
But at the age of nineteen sought out by the God of heaven.
 
Such a change in direction,
Indescribable new affection!
ANYWHERE, ANYPLACE, ANYTIME,
Was your commitment to your Savior divine.
 
A gift for speaking and engaging wayward souls,
Making the Word simple in order to make men whole.
Many years spent preaching to empty pews,
When suddenly the wind of the Spirit blew.
 
Then came along the Mildred Alexander show,
And a TV audience with a hunger to know.
Many folks tuned in to discover
The Mini-Bible College from cover to cover.
 
So much spiritual success,
But one day really put to the test,
A crippling illness took away your mobility,
Yet grace was greater than your disability.
 
Immeasurable fruit on seven continents,
Broadcasts, booklets, “God-pods” and Internet.
“Unexplained happiness” for all to see,
“I can’t, but He can”—your secret remedy.
 
So how do we tell your story, Dad?
By telling of the Savior you’ve had.
Jesus Christ is your all in all,
And by His grace you’re STANDING TALL!

Cindy Woodward Kranich 10/25/2007

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Setbacks or Cutbacks?

August 7, 2018

“… every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”  (John 15:2)

My mentor Ray Stedman loved to tell the story about the famous violinist Paganini. As a brilliant violinist and superb showman, he liked to attach a sharp razor to his wrist. At the right moment he would cut one of the strings on his violin. As the string popped the audience would gasp, but the most famous violinist in the world would keep playing. Paganini did this dramatically until he only had one string left on his violin. He would then play the entire concerto on that one string as a violin virtuoso.

Ray’s application was that God sometimes likes to cut back our strings and play the concertos of our lives on one string. This brings great glory to God because people can’t believe that as we experience cutbacks our concertos continue to play with even more beautiful sounds.

My precious wife has lost the use of her left arm and years ago I lost the use of all four limbs. But the concerto of our lives and ministry continues to be more fruitful than it has ever been which brings great glory to God who is the One orchestrating the concerto of our lives.

The explanation of Jesus is that He is a Vine and we are branches related to Him. When we are fruitful because of that alignment He cuts us back to make us more fruitful.

Is it possible events in your life that you consider setbacks are actually cutbacks of your loving Lord and Savior who wants your life to be fruitful in the heavenly dimension?

Dick Woodward, 14 August 2012

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God’s Revelations to (& through) Us

April 27, 2018

“The heavens declare the glory of God… The Law of the Lord is perfect… May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight…” (Psalm 19: 1, 7, 14)

In Psalm 19 David writes that every day and every night God is preaching a sermon through the heavenly bodies. The text of that sermon is the glory of God. The firmament, the space in which those bodies exist, is also preaching a sermon.

Space preaches to us about the infinite size of God.

David’s thoughts then turn to the special revelations of God. That’s what theologians call the Word of God and David calls the Law of God. David is impressed and impresses us with what the Word of God can do: convert the soul, enlighten the eyes, and make wise the simple. God’s Word can rejoice the heart and it will endure forever. So, too, will the one whose soul has been converted by the Word. As David meditates on what the Word can do, he claims that the Word is more to be desired than pure gold.

Having reflected on what we might call “Natural Revelation” and “Biblical Revelation,” he next guides us to consider “Personal Revelation.”  His thought is that God’s revelation through nature is magnificent and beautiful. God’s revelation through Scripture is miraculous and perfect.

But what about God’s revelation through people like you and me?

Another thing Scripture does is warn us about willful sins that mar the revelation of God through us.

Are we willing to track with David through these three ways God speaks and then pray that God’s revelation through us will be acceptable in God’s sight?

Dick Woodward, 26 April 2010

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The Dragonfly: An Easter Reminder

April 3, 2018

 “And just as we have borne the image of the one made from dust, so also shall we bear the image of the One from heaven.” (1 Corinthians 15:49)

Have you ever watched a dragonfly move from one plant to another with its two sets of wings hovering like a helicopter? A dragonfly actually spends the first two years of its existence at the bottom of a body of water. When that phase of its existence comes to an end, it rises to the surface of the water, climbs up on the bank and lets it wings dry in the sun. Then it spreads its wings and begins the second dimension of its existence, becoming an aeronautical wonder.

Easter reminded us that like the dragonfly we are meant to live out our existence in two dimensions. If you did a cross-section of the under-water dragonfly you would see it has two respiratory systems: one for living under water and one for breathing air in the second dimension of its life.

If you could do a spiritual cross-section of a believer you would find that we are also equipped with two systems. We have an outward person and an inward being. Our outward person is just a little clay pot in which our eternal inward being lives.

We are told in the great Resurrection Chapter (1 Corinthians 15) that we are given a body for living this life and we will be issued another body for living in the eternal state. According to Paul, that new body will be a spiritual one for living through all eternity.  I don’t know about you, but as a bed fast quadriplegic I’m really looking forward to being issued that new spiritual body!

Dick Woodward, 12 April 2012

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