"For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body." - 2 Corinthians 4:11
Betsey Stockton was born as a slave in 1798. Her parents were the property of Elizabeth (Stockton) Green, the daughter of a wealthy landowner in Princeton, New Jersey.
Betsey became a Christian during a revival that hit Princeton in 1816. She was accepted for membership in the First Presbyterian Church and was baptized.
In 1817, Betsey was emancipated, but she continued to work in the Green home as a paid servant. She was allowed to use the family's extensive library and was personally mentored by Ashbel Green, who later became the president of Princeton University.
One of her dreams was to journey abroad as a missionary. A second was to have a school for black children.
In 1821, the Rev. Charles S. Stewart, an associate of Ashbel Green's, planned a missions trip to the Sandwich Islands, now known as the Hawaiian Islands. Betsey was asked to join him, and she became the one of the first American single women to go on a foreign mission.
Betsey set up a school for the islanders, to whom she taught English, Latin, history and algebra. Within two years there were more than 8,000 students attending 200 island schools.
After 2-1/2 years, problems with Mrs. Stewart's health forced the family to return home. But Betsey's work continued through the efforts of others.
Following Mrs. Stewart's death in 1830, education became the focus of Betsey's life. For three decades, she worked as a teacher in Princeton, New Jersey, where she established the Witherspoon Street Colored School.
The Lord wants us to live fully in Him so He may be glorified in us. Today in prayer, praise the Lord that He loves you and that He can be gloried in your life.
"When we are abandoned by the things we value, when we discover that no matter how much we have gathered we do not have enough, when we realize that even in the currency we value we are very poor, we are ready to start talking to God. Not before. Faith means betting our lives on the grace of God." - M. Craig Barnes
God's Word: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." - Romans 8:35-37
By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2013, Devotional E-Mail
DEVOTIONS IN 2 CORINTHIANS