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Forgive and Comfort

“Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. . . . so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. You should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. For this is why I write that I might…  ( Click for more )

This Sunday is Mother’s Day. Due to the ravages of time both my mother and stepmother are no longer with us. I have been thinking about those mothers we read about in the Bible.

EVE: Eve is the first mother in the Bible. She and her husband, Adam, lived in paradise. God provided created them and gave them the Garden of Eden for their home. He gave them full access to the products of the garden, except the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Now, in the garden was a serpent that played on Eve’s curiosity. He twisted the truth and beguiled her into…  ( Click for more )

What Do We Know about Mary Magdalene?

I have been thinking about thankfulness. As we await Christ’s return to our world, shouldn’t we be more thankful for the everyday blessings we receive? Can we do better about giving thanks back to Jesus? Imagine with me what Mary Magdalene would say to us if we were to converse with her about her life before and after her encounter with Jesus.Let's imagine meeting her and our talking together.

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You: Hello, Mary Magdalene. I am thankful you could be…  ( Click for more )

The Holy Spirit

What do we know about the Holy Spirit of God?

Jesus promised to send a helper to His disciples after He departed this world.

“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever” John 14:15-16 (NIV)

The Holy Spirit was present at the creation of our earth.

“Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” Genesis…  ( Click for more )

As I sit here in my comfortable home, I ponder the activities of the days leading up to Christ’s resurrection. I compose this on Maundy Thursday. Tonight, our church joins with a sister church to partake of a Seder meal.

A woman in our prayer group has asked, “What is Maundy Thursday?” We tried to explain it but we stumbled as to why it was called “Maundy.”

" Maundy Thursday is the Thursday before Easter, believed to be the day when Jesus celebrated his final Passover with His disciples. Most notably, that Passover…  ( Click for more )

Peter, John, and Mary Magdalene

Peter and John–Their Experience

John and I saw Mary Magdalene as she ran toward us. I wondered why she hurried so.

“They have moved the Master’s body and I don’t know what they did with him.”

John and I took off running toward the tomb. John outran me and arrived there first. Later, he told me, he hesitated at the door. He didn’t want to enter such a personal place.

I came to the tomb a moment later. I had to see for myself. I brushed…  ( Click for more )

John 18:28-19:16

I looked out onto the street, I saw a mob of people heading to my palace. “Oh, no. Here comes a crowd of soldiers with that man Jesus. A lot of the Jews follow Him.”

They could not enter my palace; if they did the Jewish Law would say they were unclean. Then they would not be able to partake of their Passover Feast. I had to go out to them. If I didn’t take care of this properly, my superiors in Rome would send someone to replace me and I would have to go back to Rome or worse.

These people did not care about this man Jesus.…  ( Click for more )

Jesus’ Priestly Prayer

Jesus Prays for Himself

John 17:1-5

We see here a very intimate time between our Lord and His Father. Barclay states this degree of intimacy can only happen because of Calvary.1Also, He describes the Cross as the gateway to everlasting glory.2

We realize Jesus obeyed His Father by going to Jerusalem. He could have turned back at any time.

Jesus had spoken to the disciples in what we call straight language as He prepared them for what lay ahead for them all. Here, as He…  ( Click for more )

Lately, I have been thinking about the changes in our lives. Here are some of my thoughts.

The disciples faced a major change in their lives. Their Master told them He was going to leave them. They could not fathom what Jesus said. We have Peter and his misguided declaration of following the Lord to the end.

The youth at our church are facing a change in their lives. Our youth leaders all graduate from college this spring. All three of them came here from an adjacent state. The main youth leader and his fiancée,…  ( Click for more )

Read Luke 2

Have you considered what Mary thought about when the angel Gabriel comes to her and told her of God’s plan? Or have you ever wondered what Mary thought about during Jesus’ life. Let’s look at each recorded scene in Mary’s life and explore the meaning of what might happen.

At the Angel’s Visit

Mary, a young girl from a poor family, is pledged to Joseph, a local carpenter. There are three steps to marriage for Hebrew young couples. First the parents meet and discuss the possibility of a union. Then…  ( Click for more )

We often wonder how we come to celebrate Lent, a time of preparation for the commemoration of the resurrection of our Lord.

Why 40 Days?

“The number 40 was not chosen randomly. Forty is a number associated with times of intense spiritual preparation and significant transition in the Bible.”(1.)

*Noah and his family in the ark.

*Moses spending time in the desert before God called him to the task of rescuing His people and building a new nation. (2.)

*Jesus…  ( Click for more )

I worship in a faith-community that observes the season of Lent. This past Wednesday, we held Ash Wednesday service. We had, as our guests, congregants from a sister church and their newly-appointed pastor.

In my Lenten devotional reading, one author reminds me that our practice of observing the season recalls the 40 days our Lord spent in the wilderness. Another writer calls it a time of preparation for Easter.

The custom of fasting during these 40 days reminds us of what Jesus went through both in the wilderness and during the time…  ( Click for more )

The Love of Jesus Strengths Us

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecutions or famines or nakedness or danger or swords? 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 (NIV)

“For I am convinced that neither life nor death, neither angels nor demons, neither the present or the future, nor any powers,…  ( Click for more )

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (NIV)

“And the second is like it; ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:39-40 (NIV)

Love the Lord Completely

The first words above, spoken by Moses, tell us today that we should approach loving and serving God with our whole hearts.

Several years ago, I knew a person…  ( Click for more )

“And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?” Deuteronomy 10:12-13 (NIV)

“fear the Lord your God,”

Once I had a disturbing conversation with a friend. She related that her husband had told a co-worker he didn’t fear God. All I could tell her was the Biblical thought of fearing…  ( Click for more )

Recently, I had an experience that will remain with me forever. Here's how the story went:

“We’ve got to go the Emergency Room.” My husband, Jim greeted me with these words. I looked at the clock; it was almost 7:00 A. M. This was my morning to go to the Mustard Seed Prayer Group. It was January, we had received icy rain the past few nights.

I texted two of my friends who would be at the prayer group to let them know what was happening. They responded with encouraging thoughts. They would be praying.

…  ( Click for more )

God’s Refreshing

For the Weary

“This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel says: “When I bring them back from captivity, the land of Judah and its towns will once again use these words ‘The lord bless you, O righteous dwelling, O sacred mountain. ’I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.”

Jeremiah 31:23,25 (NIV)

The very next verse tells us that God had visited Jeremiah as he slept. He tells us “My sleep had been pleasant to me.” Why did Jeremiah say this?

An End to the Exile,

God tells…  ( Click for more )

Rest for the Land

“The Lord said to Moses on Mount Sinai, ‘Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am giving you, the land itself must observe a Sabbath to the LORD. For six years sow your fields, and for six year prune your vineyards and gather their crops. But in the seventh year the land is to have a year of rest.” Leviticus 25:1-5 (NIV)

God established Sabbath years for the land He gave to His people. In this instance the Hebrew people did not follow God’s direction. God told them to do as He…  ( Click for more )

“I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;

Even at night my heart instructs me.

I have set the Lord always before me.

Because he is always at my right hand,

I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices,/

My body also will rest secure,

Because you will not abandon me to the grave,

Nor will you let your Holy One see decay.

You have made known to me the path of life,

You will fill me with joy in your presence,

With eternal presence at your right hand.”

Psalm 16:7-11(NIV)

…  ( Click for more )

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“Peace, I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27 (NIV)

Each time I hear of a bombing or a shooting, my heart becomes heavy for a short time. Those who lost their lives in the Paris attacks, the magazine and the multiple sites in 2015, those who became victims in Nice, Berlin and in Turkey at the end of 2016, those who were in that night club in Florida all come to mind. And I can’t forget the bombings of…  ( Click for more )

Sometimes, in all of the preparation of Christmas, people push Christ aside. Interesting enough all this preparation consumes more time than the holiday itself.

Due economic issues, people seem to make preparation in a scaled-down fashion. Because of all we hear about the financial state of our nation, the banks and the housing industry, people don’t know where they stand with their jobs, incomes and insurance coverage.

Some questions come to the forefront of my mind:

1. Are we preparing for Christ at all? …  ( Click for more )

As I watched the TV newscast this past week, I noticed something that bothered me. All these organizations and adults showered children with Christmas gifts and all the trappings that go with the festivities. One of the newscasters interviewed a woman who said, “We want to give these kids hope.” That is commendable but my question is this: “What message do these children receive? Where do they think they can place their hope?”

A Different Perspective

Early in my marriage, I taught a junior high Sunday school class that had a few children from…  ( Click for more )

“As you come to him, the living stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him-you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe ‘The stone the builders rejected/ has become the capstone.’” 1 Peter 2:4,7 (NIV)

“Peter is writing at a time when Christians are increasingly viewed with suspicion.…  ( Click for more )

Son of Man

“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming out of the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations, and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed” Daniel 7:13 (NIV)

Daniel, the prophet to the exiles, had this vision. He saw the Son of…  ( Click for more )