Tuesday, March 9, 2021

Lenten reflections from years past

 Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Scripture: Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. (Isaiah 64:8)

This is one of my most favorite verses that I can think of in relationship to my life. This scripture tells me that God, like a potter has shaped my life. It also means that God has created all people in like manner. This realization gives us hope, that each one of us in our own uniqueness is precious to God. Just as each piece of pottery is precious to the potter.

Even though we are like the pottery pieces with different glazes, sizes, shapes, and depth, we are made of the same material and with the same hands. We are made out of clay which to me represents love. This love is at the very core of our being.

Now in my prayer I ask God to fill my pottery bowl or my heart with God’s spirit and wisdom. This is my prayer for you.

Ravi Isaiah, 1990


Thursday, March 11, 2021

Scripture: Surely I am with you always. (Matthew 28:20)

Never look ahead to the changes and challenges of this life in fear. Instead, as changes and challenges arise, look at them with the full assurance that God, whose you are, will deliver you out of them. Hasn’t He kept you safe up to now? So hold His loving hand tightly, and He will lead you safely through all things. And when you cannot stand, He will carry you in His arms.

Do not look ahead to what may happen tomorrow. The same everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow and every day. Either He will shield you from suffering or He will give you His unwavering strength that you may bear it. Be at peace, then, and set aside all anxious thoughts and worries. – Francis de Salles

The Lord is my shepherd. (Psalm 23:1)

Not was, not may be, nor will be. “The Lord is my shepherd.” He is on Sunday, on Monday, and through every day of the week. He is in January, in December, and every month of the year. He is when I’m at home and in China. He is during peace or war, and in times of abundance or poverty. – J. Hudson

Nicole Milam, 2008


Friday, March 12, 2021

We have been dealing with this pandemic for a year or so now, and many of us wearied of it long ago.

Can you imagine what it was like for the Israelites to wander in the desert for forty years? Scripture tells us they were complaining before even a few weeks had gone by!

Yet God was teaching them during their desert time, demonstrating that he was Jehovah Jireh, God who sees to it, God who provides.

Oh that we would learn well and quickly how great the Lord’s love for us is, and that we would entrust ourselves fully to his care, for “God is good, all the time! All the time, God is good!”

Take a moment to thank God for how you’ve been provided for.

Kerry Bart, 2021


Saturday, March 13, 2021

Scriptures: Leviticus 19:18 & Luke 10:25-37

Ways to Worship with Your Life

Love the unlovely
It’s easy to love the people you like. But how about those you don’t? Like the lady in the choir who talks incessantly... You don’t want to hear another word about her uncle’s brother’s cousin’s co-worker’s foot problem. But unlike the church choir lady, perhaps you are someone else’s “unlovely”. Think about that the next time she corners you. Try seeing her and loving her the way God sees and loves you.

Be neighborly. Borrow some sugar.
As believers, everyone is our neighbor. But sometimes we forget that our neighbors are really our neighbors as described in Luke. Whether we live in a high-rise or on several country acres, we all have people who live next to us. Become a fisher of neighbors and extend your hand to them. Make them wonder why you care [so much].

Prayer: Dear Lord, let us all be fishers of people. Our friends, our enemies, our family, our neighbors and even strangers. Let us spread the word of your love. Amen.

Laura MacCorkle, 2006


Sunday, March 14, 2021

Scripture: The Lord is in His Holy Temple, let all the earth keep silent before Him! (Habakkuk 2:20)

I used to ride to work in a car pool, and even though the fifteen-mile trip seemed to go quickly with everyone chattering, something seemed to be missing. With a change in the various members’ work schedules, I suddenly had to drive by myself to work. Even though the trip seemed longer, more time could be spent in meditation, especially giving thanks to God for those things which He provides for us each day that we often take for granted: family, heath, abilities, community, church and many, many others. There is a possibility that our car pool may be brought back together with yet another change in our schedules, but I am wondering?

Prayer: Thank you for the silent times, the times we may be mindful and thankful for those things which you have provided. Guide our steps and thoughts throughout this day. Amen.

Bob Carpenter, 1982


Monday, March 15, 2021

Scripture: James 4:14

There are so many moments wasted by people each day. An opportunity to do a small chore, read an interesting article, or call a friend slips through our fingers more often than any of us care to admit. If gold bars were awarded for time wasted, I would be a “high-ranking” official. I have recited the Dawdler’s Creed of “I didn’t have time” religiously. “I didn’t have tome to empty the garbage.” “I didn’t have tome to call my friend.” “I didn’t have time to …” I sometimes wonder if the true meaning of the phrase should be “I didn’t make time.”

God reminds us in the book of James that life is like a vapor that quickly vanishes. Even though we rarely realize it, life is too short to waste. We should seize every moment to study God’s word, do God’s will, and share in God’s work.

Wayne Kersey, 1990


Tuesday, March 16, 2021

Scripture: Matthew 6:25-34

When I am feeling low or troubled about something, I always remember the words of a song we used to sing in the country churches I attended as a child. Some of the words are as follows:

Be not dismayed whate’er betide, God will take care of you.
Beneath his wings of love abide, God will take care of you.
God will take care of you, through every day, o’er all the way.
He will take care of you. God will take care of you.

While I am doing dishes, I can sing this song quietly to myself     a couple of times and it always brings inner calm and peace. Although nothing has changed and the problems are the same,    I know that God cares and there is no need for me to be unhappy or worried.

Prayer: Thank you God for caring about us, and always being available. Forgive us for our moments of weakness when our faith falters. Amen.

Linda S. Turpin, 1975


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