Author: Carrie Dameron

NCFI Cares: Equity — A NCFI Value

Leave a comment

7e133-ncficares_3bloglogo

As we look at the final NCFI value, we explore equity and God’s grace.

According to Ross, a Bible scholar, a lesson of God’s equity of faithful service is found in the parable Matthew 20:1-16 “Workers in the Vineyard”. The landowner hires workers at various times throughout the day. Some at the start of the day, some in the middle, and some for the final hour. At the end of the day, when it is time to pay the workers their wage, the landowner pays the same wage to each worker, whether they had worked 1 hour or for the entire day. The lessons from the story are:

  1. The Lord, the landowner, is sovereign over His kingdom including the workers and the wages.
  2. Everyone who serves the Lord will be treated fairly and can trust his equity.
  3. How the Lord treats all of His servants is by grace. Until the workers were approached by the landowner, they had no work. If he had not found them and arranged for them to enter his vineyard, they would have remained with nothing.
  4. The workers should be pleased with what He gives them.

In the final analysis, by Ross, it is not by length of service, or amount of work, that grace operates—it is based on what God chooses to give.  “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” (vs 16)

Thus my reflection on equity as a NCFI value is we are all colleagues, workers of the vineyard. The Lord, as the landowner, is sovereign over every detail of our vineyard, NCFI, including the workers. We depend on the Lord to search for workers and br
ing them into our vineyard and trust him with how he will supply each need. Unlike an ac
ademic setting that has tiers of masters or doctorates or clinical facilities with staff nurse, managers and administrators, each nurse is welcomed and respected as a fellow colleague. We encourage everyone to use his or her gifts in the vineyard without delineation of education, rank or title (1 Peter 4:10; Romans 12:6).  We live out the grace of God as we recognize each person’s contributions, whether it is small or large, or during a short season, or a life-time of service.  Finally, our landowner, the Lord is generous and gracious with his rewards in this life anncfi-valuesd the one to come (1 Peter 5:4; James 1:2). We praise him for the wonderful opportunity to serve Him in NCFI!

“Equity and justice are the foundations of your throne. Loyal love and faithfulness characterize your rule. How blessed are the people who worship you! O Lord, they experience your favor.” (Psalms 89:14-15)

Ross, A “Workers in the Vineyard” (Matthew 20:1-16).

NCFI Cares: Love–The gift that keeps on giving.

Leave a comment

ncfi-values

As I looked into the  NCFI value “Love”  I was overwhelmed with where to start. Until I found an excellent definition from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) written by William Evans entitled Source of Man’s Love

Whatever love there is in man, whether it be toward God or toward his fellowman, has its source in God–“Love is of God; and every one that loveth is begotten of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love” (1Jo 4:7); “We love, because he first loved us” (1 Jo 4:19). Trench, in speaking of agape, says it is a word born within the bosom of revealed religion. Heathen writers do not use it at all, their nearest approach to it being philanthropia or philadelphia–the love between those of the same blood. Love in the heart of man is the offspring of the love of God. Only the regenerated heart can truly love as God loves; to this higher form of love the unregenerate can lay no claim (1 Jo 4:7, 19, 21; 2:7-11; 3:10; 4:11 f). The regenerate man is able to see his fellow-man as God sees him, value him as God values him, not so much because of what he is by reason of his sin and unloveliness, but because of what, through Christ, he may become; he sees man’s intrinsic worth and possibility in Christ (2 Co 5:14-17). This love is also created in the heart of man by the Holy Ghost (Ro 5:5), and is a fruit of the Spirit (Ga 5:22). It is also stimulated by the example of the Lord Jesus Christ, who, more than anyone else, manifested to the world the spirit and nature of true love (Joh 13:34; 15:12; Ga 2:20; Eph 5:25-27; 1 Jo 4:9 f).

In other words, God gives us love. Not for us to keep, like a selfish child. Instead it is given to us to share and give to others. The mystery of God’s love is the more we give love, the more we receive love. Truly, love is the gift that keeps on giving.

NCFI Cares: Christmas WOW!

Leave a comment

wow

Every Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. A lowly infant born amidst a chaotic world to bring salvation to humanity. The life-changing miracle that is veiled behind the simplicity and monotony of a child’s birth is an amazing WOW for humanity. God became flesh on Christmas Eve (John 1:14). WOW! The omnipotent, omnipresence, and omniscient God (all powerful, all present, and all knowing) became Jesus Christ, the fully human and fully divine. Double WOW!

As I reflect on the cataclysmic miracle of the “I AM” existing as a human to display divine love for you and for me, I want to fall on my knees in holy worship.

“Fall on your knees

O hear the angels’ voices

O night divine

O night when Christ was born”

 (O Holy Night)

This truth is intensely theological, yet it is this mystery that is the real Christmas WOW and makes all our other WOW’s possible.

As you make last minute preparations for Christmas, look to experience your Christmas WOW. Do you find it in the innocent joy of children, the loving embrace of friends and family, is it  the extended heart to the suffering under your nursing care, or is it the quietness of the night as you ponder the night divine?

Merry Christmas from NCFI!

p.s. Share your Christmas WOW below OR in a comment on Facebook

 

Christian Nursing 101: Aging Gracefully

Leave a comment

I will admit that I have many friends that are in their 60’s, thus the many questions related to “retirement” come up frequently. How many years left to work? Will you relocate? Downsize your house? etc,. At the same time, I have had the same conversations with my younger friends, who as busy working professionals trying to plan ahead.

Even before, I began searching the literature on aging for the column, I knew the concept of retirement looked differently for Christians. This became more obvious as I searched scripture and paid attention to the ages of the Biblical saints and their ministries. Their faithful service was until death. They provide us a new take on the phrase “until death do us part”.  We are in a lifetime, eternal relationship with God as his disciples committed to his calling. Nowhere in the Bible, nor in Christian history did the saints have a retirement party, nor use their golden years to fulfill personal “bucket lists”. They may have changed their roles, but the Lord continued to use them to provide wisdom and guidance to the future generation.

I would love to hear your thoughts and plans, and how the Lord has spoken to you about Aging Gracefully. 

 

NCFI Cares: God’s Faithfulness

Leave a comment

77ba6-ncficares_3bloglogo

“For I know the plans I have for you” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”. (Jeremiah 29: 11)

God, our father and creator has plans for each one of our lives. In Jeremiah 29:11 our Lord declares that He knows the plans He has for us and those plans are only to prosper us and not to harm us. God plans to give us hope and a future.

This declaration assures us that when we are jolted in this world by trials and turmoil we need not become discouraged and lose hope. We trust and believe in a faithful and unchanging God. He is a God who keeps His word for ever. We in our human nature fail to keep our promises and many a time have failed to be faithful to our ever faithful God.

In 1 Cor. 1:9 God, who has called us into the fellowship of His son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful. Yes, He has called us and He is faithful to fulfill His plans for us.  Having such a faithful calling which is so special and superior, let not any situation or anyone around us strive to take away the hope and the future promised to us by God in Jer. 29:11. Let us always be assured that God has His own plans for each one us to make us prosper and not to harm us.

What a faithful God have I

What a faithful God

What a faithful God have I

Faithful in every way.

Mrs. Rosaline Jayakaran

Secretary – ENFI, India

NCFI International Board Member

 

An NCFI Value: Respect for All

Leave a comment

Another value for NCFI is Respect. The International Council of Nursing (ICN) states “respect for human rights, including the right to life, to dignity, and to be treated with respect”. This statement emphasizes the importance in providing dignified, respectful health care for the promotion of life and health. As Christians our inclusive care for all patients and families is based on Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greencfi-valuesk, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female – for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” We also have Ephesians 2:11 that says, “God shows no partiality or favoritism” which reminds us that God values all people.

As I reflect on respect as a Christian nursing value and the Lord’s word, I see 2 challenges for nurses.  The first is to not show partiality, but reconcile within our self to provide the same love and grace to ALL persons. Christ encourages us to love them as we would love him no matter what their religion, life style, or criminal behavior (Matthew 25:38-40).

Our second challenge is to respect our colleagues. I think the Lord’s teaching is explicit with Philippians 2:3b, “each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself”.  Whether we are providing nursing services, conducting a meeting, or educating others, the Lord challenges us to have a humble heart of servanthood to our colleagues, our patients, and their families.

Pray for our brothers and sisters in the region of Africa. Click on the link to learn more: NCFI: Africa Region

 

NCFI Cares: Celebrate Unity-a NCFI Values

Leave a comment

ncfi-values-wordcloudOne of the coolest things about NCFI is the unified voice of Christian nursing. I am not saying everyone is in agreement, nor that there is never conflict. Disagreements are to be expected with any family, group or organization, especially considering the diversity of cultures, experience, education, and personalities NCFI represent.

What I am speaking more about is the unity of Christ manifested by the lack of individual denominations. In other words, the question “What denomination do you belong to?” or “Where do you go to church?” has never come up. I have attended 2 NCFI Congresses, International Board meetings, and various international conference calls and our focus has been on Christ-centered nursing.

We are all disciples, unique members of the body of Christ and unified for the same goal—equipping and encouraging Christian nurses to integrate Biblical principles and Christ centered values. Which, by the way, is our mission!

Ephesians 4:1-6 is a passage to anchor us to our purpose in NCFI:

“….I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

Let’s take the unity of Christ beyond NCFI and into our daily nursing practice–committed to focusing on commonalities instead of areas of dispute while preserving our unified faith through the dwelling Spirit.

77ba6-ncficares_3bloglogo

NCFI Cares: Giving As Much as You Have Received

Leave a comment

This life is about giving and receiving; and it is God that taught us how to give by giving us His one and only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ to be our saviour and redeemer John 3:16.

The scripture explicitly tell us that; “It is more blessed to give than to receive” Acts 20:35b. And also that the more we give the more God make all grace abound in us 2 Cor. 9:8; so that we will always be rich in good works for which we were created in Christ Jesus Eph. 2:10.

Glory is to God for calling us to serve as Board members in NCFI and as Nurses; so the Lord want us to give as much as we have received from Him. God is not a task master, asking what He has not given us, He is only demanding as much as He has given us. The Bible said in 2 Pet. 1:3 “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness”. How much are you giving to your family? How much are you giving to your patients? How much are you giving to the church? How much are you giving to NCFI? Do you think you have given enough, or you are giving too much? Remember He says, “Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do to me” Matt. 25:45

May we all be faithful to the Lord by giving back to Him through our service to one another what He has graciously given to us for the edification of the church which is His body.

God bless you all.

Pastor Ishaku Izang, Nigeria NCFI International Board Member

Pray for NCFI Next Generation http://ncfi.org/about-ncfi/next-generation/

77ba6-ncficares_3bloglogo

NCFI Cares: Integrity–A NCFI Value

Leave a comment

77ba6-ncficares_3bloglogo

One of NCFI values is integrity. In the Old Testament the word conveys the meaning of simplicity, or sincerity of heart and intention, truthfulness, and uprightness  (Internationalstandardbible.com). An example is found in God’s edict to Solomon: “You must serve me with integrity and sincerity, just as your father David did” (1 Kings 9:4).

In the New Testament there is no exact Greek word for integrity. Instead translators use “pure of heart” and “sincerity” to imply integrity. In apostle Paul’s instructions to Titus “Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned…”(Titus 2:6-8). These two verses provide biblical teachings on integrity.

A nursing philosopher described integrity as: “a whole undivided, fully integrated and complete individual in whom there is consistency of views and actions; what they say and what do are one.”  Nursing uses professional practice and nursing ethics to guide and measure a nurse with integrity. As Christians we are encouraged to not only upheld integrity as a member of profession, we are to model our actions and words after the son of God. Jesus Christ lived an exemplary life replicating the virtues of God the Father.

We live out Christian integrity, when our actions are congruent with what we say and believe. Some thoughts to reflect on when exploring integrity in your professional nursing are: Do you act, speak, and think in accordance with biblical teachings? How does your nursing replicate the teachings of Christ?

An excellent verse to guide our thoughts, actions and words is Philippians 4:8,  “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things.

Take time to reflect on integrity in nursing, praying for Holy Spirit to guide you in truth and righteousness (John 16:12).

 

NCFI Cares: When Nursing Becomes the Olympiad of Our Life

Leave a comment


77ba6-ncficares_3bloglogo

Every day in our lives we, Nurses, are running a race that is often beyond the 400 meters. We feel we are rowing and rowing in a boat that leaks at the sides, or we’re cycling a bike that makes us exercise, but it is fixed and does not lead us anywhere. Not to say or think about the hurdles or difficulties that comes into our way.

“… That competes as an athlete; he is not crowned unless he strives lawfully” 2 Timothy 2: 5.

     Many times when we throw the ball, it bounces back into our lives, giving the enemy a temporary victory. Nursing is a kind of Olympic Games, which can burn you out or give you a lot of satisfaction and joy. What side of the court are you? ”Be strong and of good courage, fear not… because the Lord is going with you, will not leave, or forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31: 6.

     Those who believe in God know who has real control of the game is and His  Word says, “let us run with patience the race that is set before us , looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith …” Hebrews 12: 1 -2

     As a Christian nurse, I’m running the same race as you are, working out every day, “in piety, for the bodily exercise little is profitable, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life and of the coming. 1 Timothy 4: 7-8.

Guest Contributor: Martha Fernandez Moyano, Argentina, NCFI International Board Member