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The thought recently came to me that we are all needy people. Some of us are not aware of the needs we have.

Our primary need is that of salvation. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV) Each of us needs the LORD to save us from our sins. Without the LORD in our hearts, we all deserve to go to Hades. Yes, we sometimes make decisions that are not wise. However, God loves us even then, all we have to do is admit our sin and ask His forgiveness. …  ( Click for more )

Sensing the Holy Spirit’s Presence

This week, I attended a Celebration of Life of a young mother who was a member of our church. I witnessed something I had never seen before. The woman’s husband chose to have the service at church. I arrived almost at the time the service was to begin. The sanctuary was filled almost to capacity.

I noticed that no one was talking above a whisper, if at all. The two ladies I sat between and I did a little bit. I had gotten an order of service page and the older lady said she lost hers. My younger friend…  ( Click for more )

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13 (ESV)

A young girl, recently graduated from high school, used this verse in a message she gave during our worship service this past Sunday. The thought resonated with me, “And they recognized they had been with Jesus.”

Peter and John had been placed under arrest. “Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John and Alexander and the rest of the high-priestly family”…  ( Click for more )

In Sunday school class, we recently had a discussion that led into talk about the rote, ritualistic prayers or songs we repeat as a part of worshipping God.

Doxology

That discussion set me to thinking. Do we realize what we are saying when we sing the Doxology?

Let’s take a look at the words we sing:

In the Doxology we sing: “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures below; praise him above, ye heavenly hosts; praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. (1)

“Praise…  ( Click for more )

“Trust the LORD your God in all things and lean not to your own understanding.”

Proverbs 3:5 (ESV)

I recently received a phone call from a man I knew as a child and as a young man. Our dads were friends. His dad worked for mine. At one point his mother had also. From time to time I had babysat him and his four brothers. The day before, my husband called my attention to the obituaries. The man who called me called to let me know what we knew. His oldest brother had passed away.

As I had read in the obituary, the deceased brother had cancer. I asked…  ( Click for more )

Do we think often enough about the greatness of God? Don’t we sometimes allow ourselves to get bogged down in our cares and concerns that we can’t see anything but the dark side of events or conditions that come into our lives?

Parents and grandparents used to teach young children a table grace, “God is great, God is good and we thank Him for our food. By His hand we are fed, Thank You, God for our daily bread.” Did we learn what these words mean? A Google search give us this meaning for the word great, “of an extent,…  ( Click for more )

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7 (ESV)

When we accept Jesus as our LORD, believers tell us we are to pray to God. A ‘babe in Christ’ wonders why this is so important.

We draw closer to God when we pray. If we find ourselves feeling alone in a circumstance. All we have to do is enter God’s presence. When a person accepts Christ, that person may or may not come from a Christian family.…  ( Click for more )

“Behold the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:3-4 (ESV)

John the Revelator paints a wonderful word picture here of what heaven will be like. What do we see from this vision?

· God will live with us. He will assure us that He is there with us. The thought…  ( Click for more )

The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.

Proverbs 16:9 (ESV)

A friend preached a sermon about how we are to live in the moment. She gave me a lot to think about. I sometimes relive the past and dream about the future. However, I re-learned that God holds the future.

Another friend and I were talking about those who want to know the future of their lives. She told me she didn’t want to know what lay ahead for her because she would be afraid. She is a Christian and knows God has all things in His hands.

…  ( Click for more )

“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up.And the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet and with two he flew. And one called to another and said “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory. “And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me for I am a man of unclean lips and dwell…  ( Click for more )

(Philippians 3:20, ESV)

Several years ago, the mother of a friend of mine explained to a group of us that, at one time, she and her husband had dual membership in two local churches.

The church where they raised their family was the one I knew them from. That congregation helped plant a church in the northeast part of our town. This couple and their eldest daughter…  ( Click for more )

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.

______________________________________________________________________

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 )