Day 9: Mark 5:21-34

Mark 5:33-34: ³³ The woman, full of fear and trembling, came forward. Knowing what had happened to her, she fell down in front of Jesus and told him the whole truth.³⁴ He responded, “Daughter, your faith has healed you; go in peace, healed from your disease.”

In this passage, we read the story of Jesus healing the “bleeding woman.”      Jesus was on his way to heal a little girl, when a woman who had been ill for 12 years pushed through the crowd to touch his cloak. The story says she had been to many doctors but had only grown worse. Her condition made her permanently “unclean,” and the strict rules of Judaism prevented her from taking part in society. She lived in isolation and was most likely unable to experience many of the wonderful things that make life so rich for us – friendship, giving to others, and worship. She took a great risk by coming out into the massive crowd surrounding Jesus. Her condition may have caused others to treat her harshly for subjecting them to her “uncleanness.” She also risked (she thought) being rejected by Jesus Himself.

I can empathize with this woman. For 12 long years I, too, suffered from a disease which cut me off from many of the joys of life. I battled severe eating disorders. I went in and out of therapy, took medications, and struggled each day to make better choices for myself. The depression and anxiety I experienced, combined with the rigid patterns I forced myself into, prevented me from experiencing life fully. I lost friends, hurt my family, and missed out on so many things because of this disease. Read more…

Day 8: John 3:16

John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Trust and Obey 

As we prepare for Easter, we cannot help but marvel at the love our Heavenly Father has for us. John 3:16 says it all: “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

That sounds easy enough, but we all know that life is not always easy. Our faith has its ups and downs much like waves upon the waters. We can become blindsided by illness, job loss, broken relationships, or death. Often we struggle to cope on our own. Our Heavenly Father’s promise to always be there for us can sometimes be difficult to believe.

When I was about eight years old, our extended family gathered for a big party at Matagorda Beach on the Texas Gulf Coast. I was playing with some of my cousins in the surf and paying no attention to the high tide coming in. Suddenly, without warning, a large wave crashed down over me. I had no idea which direction was “up.” I could not cry out for help, so without hesitation, I prayed to Jesus to save me. The next thing I remembered was feeling the strong arms of my brother-in-law as he scooped me up out of the waters and held me tightly. As young as I was, I had been taught to go to Jesus in prayer when I was in trouble. That advice still works for me today. God’s arms surround us when we need Him, if only we trust and obey Him. Read more…

Day 7: John 8:12

John 8:12: Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”     

The Light Shines

As my husband and I traveled through The Great Smoky Mountains in late fall, we were pleased how clear the roads were after a fresh snow. Snow was resting at the base of all the trees up the mountain slopes. However, nestled among the evergreen trees, stood the colorful fall leaved trees. What a wonderful sight! 

The sun was out. The fall colors were so much brighter where the sunrays hit the trees. This reminded me of my own life. Jesus tells us to follow Him and let His light show through. I never have any problem with daily prayer because I am always looking for conversation with God. Studying the scriptures and listening carefully for guidance are the two things I have to work hard to maintain. When I do these things I am like the trees basking in the sunlight.

Dear God, Open our eyes to see Your love reflected brightly in other people, that we might miss without Your help. Amen.

Contributed by Sue

Day 6: Romans 12:10

Romans 12:10: Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.

Faith ● Friends ● Family

When asked why I came to this church, my first response was my faith. Reading, learning, and obeying God’s word led me to a church where I could grow in my faith.

After attending only a short time, we began to recognize faces and to learn the names of people who also chose to attend this church. From these people came invitations to join in church activities, where we met more and more people. We began to get to know these people, and bonds started to form. From there, friendships developed: strong, deep, long-lasting friendships.

I can truthfully say that some of my best friends are the people I go to church with. God knows that we need other people in our lives, and He blesses us by putting them in our paths. Thank you, God, for friends.

We also need deep, long-lasting relationships to help us get through the difficult times and to rejoice with us in the good times. These are the people we feel closest to, whether they are family by birth or friends we have come to accept as family. Our church family loves us and accepts us as we are. We rely on them and know that God has given them to us for special reasons. Thank you, God, for giving us such a wonderful church family!

 Thank You, God, for friends. Amen.

Contributed by Marcy

Day 5: Romans 5:15             

Romans 5:15

And what a difference between man’s sin and God’s forgiveness!  For this one man, Adam, brought death to many through sin. But this one man, Jesus Christ, brought forgiveness to many through God’s mercy. (NIV)

There are many scriptures in the Bible about forgiveness, and for a long time I was searching for answers to help me through a very dark place in my life.

While I was serving in the military, I was deployed overseas in an area where I was engaged in a firefight. I had taken many shots and became hardened by the circumstances. I had made a joke to a buddy of mine, “It just kind of felt like a turkey shoot.”

The part that bothers me the most is that we found out there were children involved. As I recall, the oldest was not more than thirteen years old, and the nature of my joke was unacceptable no matter if it was a child or an adult. It still makes me tear up just thinking about the events that had made me so cold and damaged.

I saw a video on Facebook, where a man went to buy a shirt and the cashier had questioned the customer on the shirt, “Do you really want to buy this shirt; it has a tag stating it is damaged?” Read more…

Day 4: John 1:43-46

Scripture: John 1:43-46: ⁴³ The next day Jesus wanted to go into Galilee, and he found Philip. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” ⁴⁴ Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter. ⁴⁵ Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law and the Prophets: Jesus, Joseph’s son, from Nazareth.” ⁴⁶ Nathanael responded, “Can anything from Nazareth be good?” Philip said, “Come and see.”

When Nathanael was told by Philip that the Messiah had come forth to fulfill the prophesies, he replied to the news with skepticism. His doubt was not based on  religious or political beliefs, but on the city from which Jesus had come, Nazareth. Nathanael’s reply to Philip was, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” 

As Christians, we are called to see past the prejudices of the world and look for the Holy Spirit in everyone. For many of us, this is a difficult task. Our cultural background, environment, experiences, and worldly influences seem to draw us into preconception and bias, if for no other reason than expediency. Modern life can be complicated, with many distractions and responsibilities. Read more…

Day 3: Psalm 100:4

Scripture: Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. (Psalm 100: 4)              

How Great Thou Art

Back in the mid 1940’s, I was five years old, the third eldest of seven children. There were 14 of us gathered at our supper table, which included cousins, an aunt, and my grandmother. We all shared what we called everyday life on our 300-acre Wisconsin farm. My mother started each meal with “Bless Us Oh Lord…” which transitioned into stories of the day during hard times, but even then we always managed with laughter and joy in our hearts.

My parents raised the children along with sheep, pigs, chickens, geese, ducks, horses, and cows. They planted and harvested corn, barley, oats, and also a garden with all the vegetables and berries we needed to sustain us over the cold winter months. Being raised on the farm was a delight to me at this age, always exciting, playing games and working from sun-up to sundown.

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Day 2: Titus 1:8-9

8 Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. (Titus 1:8-9)

As we woke up every day and did our errands, we always told ourselves, as we passed the church, that we should go there. Day by day, the same thought went through our minds every time we passed, until we finally looked up the hours for services and followed through with our intentions.

We walked through the door and into the welcoming arms of the awesome family that we have come to love and cherish. God has chosen his disciples wisely, from a crazy man who just wants the word of God to be heard and understood to the mellow wife who loves the Lord with undying love. We have come here to be followers of the word. We are not the richest people in the world, but we do give our offering in the love we share for our church family and in the ever so present love that the Lord gives us every day.

Read more…

Lent is the 40 days that precede Easter (excluding Sundays).

In the Christian Scriptures, the number 40 relates to the period spent in the ark by Noah, the period spent by Israel seeking the Promised Land after the Exodus, and the amount of time Jesus was in the wilderness after His baptism and prior to the beginning of his ministry. For us, the season of Lent is an invitation to 40 days of renewal (“Lent” means “spring”) and 40 days to prepare ourselves to take in the Good News of Easter through deeper disciplines of prayer, fasting and sacrifice. 

Lent begins on what is called “Ash Wednesday.”  Part of the tradition of Ash Wednesday is to receive a mark of ashes on your forehead.

Receiving the ashes reminds us that God’s love is triumphant over sin and death, and that God remains “in communion” with us, that in Christ, our mortality is overcome.

Another important tradition in Lent is to sacrifice something or give up something for Lent. For example, some people will give up television, others will give up eating meat, some will give up beer or coffee, others may give up gossiping.

I encourage you to make a true sacrifice this Lenten season.

My Lenten sacrifice is:

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