Pray for Nepal

Nepal lies in the shadow of Mt. Everest
where avalanches, triggered by the
7.8 magnitude earthquake, killed many
climbers while many more remain
at risk, stranded on the world's tallest
mountain'ssnow-covered slopes.

With more than 3,700 dead, as people of faith we must direct our resources to the survivors in Nepal and the surrounding towns/villages impacted by this natural disaster. Your resources may be financial in nature. It has been my experience that the best place to direct your hard-earned money in times of crisis is the Red Cross. Follow this link to donate to the Nepal relief fund.

Many people are dealing with monetary issues and do not have a dime to spare, but, as Christians we all have the ability to send prayers up to God - prayers for healing, prayers for rescue workers, prayers for those lost and their families, prayers for just about anything you can think of. These fellow occupants of the home we call earth will need your prayers for days, weeks and months to come as they process the devastation and begin the path to restoration.

Offer your prayers up to the God of creation. Ask Him to help those who need Him most.

In the meantime, I offer my prayer for all of you -
     May God bless you and keep you every day in every way. Amen

Search me, LORD

King David playing the harp.

Been attending a women's Bible study for the past several weeks. This week the author, Beth Moore required that we read two verses from Psalm 139, nine and 10 to be exact. But, I did not stop there. I read the entire 139th Psalm, perhaps you should too. Then, why not take time to ponder what David said about God's place in our daily lives. Here is the New International Version of Psalm 139 -

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

¹ You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
⁵ You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.

⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand—
    when I awake, I am still with you.

¹⁹ If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
    Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
²⁰ They speak of you with evil intent;
    your adversaries misuse your name.
²¹ Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord,
    and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
²² I have nothing but hatred for them;
    I count them my enemies.
²³ Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.

 

Search me, God, and know my heart. Search me and make me entirely yours. Search me...

 

May God be gracious to [you] and bless [you]
and make his face shine on [you]. Psalm 67 (NIV)

Amen.

Today - ponder His sacrifice

1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 (MSG)

^9-11 God didn’t set us up for an angry rejection but for salvation by our Master, Jesus Christ. He died for us, a death that triggered life. Whether we’re awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we’re alive with him! So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you’re already doing this; just keep on doing it.

Powerful message this, agreed? Even though Easter was almost three weeks ago, it is never too late to contemplate the sinless life of our Lord Jesus Christ. The sinless life, which, through His death on the cross, led to salvation for all who believe in Him.

Have you made the choice to believe in Jesus? Perhaps today is the day, but do not forget that with belief comes responsibility. As Jesus himself cautioned, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." Luke 9:23 (NIV)

Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Have you accepted the responsibility?

While you're considering His saving grace, remember that we are always praying that God will bless each and every one of you every day in every way.

Always - Jesus...follow Him

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ on the deck,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
— From the prayer of St. Patrick

Pray with me

We must come before God in silence, as evildoers, in order to obtain grace for the offenses that we have committed. We come clothed in shame, confessing that we are lost, that God might save us through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. In short, we say that it is completely beyond our powers to acquit ourselves in the eyes of God. But he comes to our aid; he does not scrutinize us or enter into account with us. When we have offended him, there is no satisfaction for sin other than the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. The only way we can be cleansed is to wash ourselves in his blood. — John Calvin, Freedom from the Bondage of the Law

John Calvin, above left, was Martin Luther's successor as the preeminent Protestant theologian of his time. Calvin, who wrote extensively about the concept of election, made a powerful impact on the fundamental doctrines of the Protestant faith. Interested in reading more about Calvin's interpretations of the Holy Scriptures, click here.

Do you really need to go to church?

Part 1 of ?

Do you really need to go to church?

I think – no.

Why?

Because, in my humble opinion, the people who populate church pews today seem to have adopted the holier-than-thou mentality, an attitude that does not belong in a God-fearing, Bible-professing group of Christians.

Jesus sure did not act that way.

Last I read the Good Book, Jesus came to save the sinners, not the righteous. Even the apostle Paul recognized this and confessed, “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.” 1 Timothy 1:15 (NIV)

Why go to church if you come away upset? And, I am not talking about the upset that occurs when the pastor’s message hits too close to home, convicting me of my sin. I am talking the kind of upset that happens when your fellow Christians act in an un-Christian manner.

Why go to church if you spend the next week wondering what you did to deserve such treatment?

Why go to church if your fellow parishioners are cold and lack understanding?

Why go to church, if, when you need them most, your fellow Christians choose to turn their collective backs on your misery?

Think about it folks. What would Jesus have done? Would He have humiliated, intimidated, ignored His flock?

The answer is simple, no, He would not.

What Jesus did was take on our sins, all of our sins – yours and mine – nailed them to the cross, ensuring eternal life in Him, if only we believe.

Belief, however, comes with responsibilities.

We’ll explore some of those responsibilities as we work through this series in the next few weeks.

As you go about your day, I offer this prayer, Psalm 67 (NIV), for you and me –

1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
    and make his face shine on us—
2 so that your ways may be known on earth,
    your salvation among all nations.
3 May the peoples praise you, God;
    may all the peoples praise you.
4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
    for you rule the peoples with equity
    and guide the nations of the earth.
5 May the peoples praise you, God;
    may all the peoples praise you.
6 The land yields its harvest;
    God, our God, blesses us.
7 May God bless us still,
    so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.
Amen

See the best in people...

Always pray to have eyes that see the best in people, a heart that forgives the worst, a mind that forgets the bad, and a soul that never loses faith in God.

He is risen, indeed!

Matthew 28:6 (NIV)

 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.

Time to prepare for tomorrow's resurrection

OLD TESTAMENT READING

Job 14:1-17 (MSG)
If We Die, Will We Live Again?
^1-17“We’re all adrift in the same boat:
    too few days, too many troubles.
We spring up like wildflowers in the desert and then wilt,
    transient as the shadow of a cloud.
Do you occupy your time with such fragile wisps?
    Why even bother hauling me into court?
There’s nothing much to us to start with;
    how do you expect us to amount to anything?
Mortals have a limited life span.
    You’ve already decided how long we’ll live—
    you set the boundary and no one can cross it.
So why not give us a break? Ease up!
    Even ditchdiggers get occasional days off.
For a tree there is always hope.
    Chop it down and it still has a chance—
    its roots can put out fresh sprouts.
Even if its roots are old and gnarled,
    its stump long dormant,
At the first whiff of water it comes to life,
    buds and grows like a sapling.
But men and women? They die and stay dead.
    They breathe their last, and that’s it.
Like lakes and rivers that have dried up,
    parched reminders of what once was,
So mortals lie down and never get up,
    never wake up again—never.
Why don’t you just bury me alive,
    get me out of the way until your anger cools?
But don’t leave me there!
    Set a date when you’ll see me again.
If we humans die, will we live again? That’s my question.
    All through these difficult days I keep hoping,
    waiting for the final change—for resurrection!
Homesick with longing for the creature you made,
    you’ll call—and I’ll answer!
You’ll watch over every step I take,
    but you won’t keep track of my missteps.
My sins will be stuffed in a sack
    and thrown into the sea—sunk in deep ocean.

 

NEW TESTAMENT READING

 

1 Peter 4:1-11 (MSG)

Learn to Think Like Him

^1-2 Since Jesus went through everything you’re going through and more, learn to think like him. Think of your sufferings as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way. Then you’ll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want.

^3-5 You’ve already put in your time in that God-ignorant way of life, partying night after night, a drunken and profligate life. Now it’s time to be done with it for good. Of course, your old friends don’t understand why you don’t join in with the old gang anymore. But you don’t have to give an account to them. They’re the ones who will be called on the carpet—and before God himself.

⁶ Listen to the Message. It was preached to those believers who are now dead, and yet even though they died (just as all people must), they will still get in on the life that God has given in Jesus.

^7-11 Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!

 

 

Jesus is crucified

Isaiah 53:2-6 (MSG)

The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,
    a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about him,
    nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over,
    a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away.
    We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
    our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself,
    that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him,
    that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
    Through his bruises we get healed.
We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost.
    We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong,
    on him, on him.

Today is Maundy Thursday

Jesus washes Peter's feet at the Last Supper.

Derived from the Latin word mandatum, meaning commandment, Maundy refers to the commands Jesus gave his disciples at the Last Supper. Jesus said that as His followers, we must love with humility by serving one another and remembering his sacrifice.

During his last meal on earth, Jesus exhibited humility when he washed the disciples' feet. Jesus instructed His closest companions in the meaning of supping the wine and eating the bread, explaining that it symbolizes His righteous blood shed for our sins and His holy body dead in those sins.

Please read today's Bible passages.

OLD TESTAMENT READING

Exodus 12:1-16 (MSG)
^1-10 God said to Moses and Aaron while still in Egypt, “This month is to be the first month of the year for you. Address the whole community of Israel; tell them that on the tenth of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one lamb to a house. If the family is too small for a lamb, then share it with a close neighbor, depending on the number of persons involved. Be mindful of how much each person will eat. Your lamb must be a healthy male, one year old; you can select it from either the sheep or the goats. Keep it penned until the fourteenth day of this month and then slaughter it—the entire community of Israel will do this—at dusk. Then take some of the blood and smear it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which you will eat it. You are to eat the meat, roasted in the fire, that night, along with bread, made without yeast, and bitter herbs. Don’t eat any of it raw or boiled in water; make sure it’s roasted—the whole animal, head, legs, and innards. Don’t leave any of it until morning; if there are leftovers, burn them in the fire.
¹¹ “And here is how you are to eat it: Be fully dressed with your sandals on and your stick in your hand. Eat in a hurry; it’s the Passover to God.
^12-13 “I will go through the land of Egypt on this night and strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, whether human or animal, and bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am God. The blood will serve as a sign on the houses where you live. When I see the blood I will pass over you—no disaster will touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.
^14-16 “This will be a memorial day for you; you will celebrate it as a festival to God down through the generations, a fixed festival celebration to be observed always. You will eat unraised bread (matzoth) for seven days: On the first day get rid of all yeast from your houses—anyone who eats anything with yeast from the first day to the seventh day will be cut off from Israel. The first and the seventh days are set aside as holy; do no work on those days. Only what you have to do for meals; each person can do that.

NEW TESTAMENT READING

1 Corinthians 11:23-32 (MSG)
^23-26 Let me go over with you again exactly what goes on in the Lord’s Supper and why it is so centrally important. I received my instructions from the Master himself and passed them on to you. The Master, Jesus, on the night of his betrayal, took bread. Having given thanks, he broke it and said,

This is my body, broken for you.
Do this to remember me.

After supper, he did the same thing with the cup:

This cup is my blood, my new covenant with you.
Each time you drink this cup, remember me.

What you must solemnly realize is that every time you eat this bread and every time you drink this cup, you reenact in your words and actions the death of the Master. You will be drawn back to this meal again and again until the Master returns. You must never let familiarity breed contempt.

^27-28 Anyone who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Master irreverently is like part of the crowd that jeered and spit on him at his death. Is that the kind of “remembrance” you want to be part of? Examine your motives, test your heart, come to this meal in holy awe.
^29-32 If you give no thought (or worse, don’t care) about the broken body of the Master when you eat and drink, you’re running the risk of serious consequences. That’s why so many of you even now are listless and sick, and others have gone to an early grave. If we get this straight now, we won’t have to be straightened out later on. Better to be confronted by the Master now than to face a fiery confrontation later.

Who betrayed our Lord?

OLD TESTAMENT READING
Isaiah 50:4-9 (MSG)

^4-9 The Master, God, has given me
    a well-taught tongue,
So I know how to encourage tired people.
    He wakes me up in the morning,
Wakes me up, opens my ears
    to listen as one ready to take orders.
The Master, God, opened my ears,
    and I didn’t go back to sleep,
    didn’t pull the covers back over my head.
I followed orders,
    stood there and took it while they beat me,
    held steady while they pulled out my beard,
Didn’t dodge their insults,
    faced them as they spit in my face.
And the Master, God, stays right there and helps me,
    so I’m not disgraced.
Therefore I set my face like flint,
    confident that I’ll never regret this.
My champion is right here.
    Let’s take our stand together!
Who dares bring suit against me?
    Let him try!
Look! the Master, God, is right here.
    Who would dare call me guilty?
Look! My accusers are a clothes bin of threadbare
    socks and shirts, fodder for moths!

 

NEW TESTAMENT READING

John 13:21-35 (MSG)

²¹ After he said these things, Jesus became visibly upset, and then he told them why. “One of you is going to betray me.”
^22-25 The disciples looked around at one another, wondering who on earth he was talking about. One of the disciples, the one Jesus loved dearly, was reclining against him, his head on his shoulder. Peter motioned to him to ask who Jesus might be talking about. So, being the closest, he said, “Master, who?”
^26-27 Jesus said, “The one to whom I give this crust of bread after I’ve dipped it.” Then he dipped the crust and gave it to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot. As soon as the bread was in his hand, Satan entered him.
“What you must do,” said Jesus, “do. Do it and get it over with.”
^28-29 No one around the supper table knew why he said this to him. Some thought that since Judas was their treasurer, Jesus was telling him to buy what they needed for the Feast, or that he should give something to the poor.
³⁰ Judas, with the piece of bread, left. It was night.

^31-32 When he had left, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is seen for who he is, and God seen for who he is in him. The moment God is seen in him, God’s glory will be on display. In glorifying him, he himself is glorified—glory all around!

³³ “Children, I am with you for only a short time longer. You are going to look high and low for me. But just as I told the Jews, I’m telling you: ‘Where I go, you are not able to come.’
^34-35 “Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.”