Category: Mark

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Love Hurts

A few days back I read something that Max Lucado had written. He asked what would have happened if the two Mary’s hadn’t have gone to the tomb on that Sunday morning. I like how he thinks – he looks at the Bible not as a religious book but as a book about relationships.

Religion would tell us that the women went to the tomb of Jesus because that’s just how God commanded it to be. Not true, God has never forced anyone into obedience. We all have a free will and these women were no different. It was their love for a dear friend that drew them to the tomb not religious teaching.

“The Sabbath was over, and it was almost daybreak on Sunday when Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.” Matthew 28:1 CEV

Their hearts must have been aching. They had watched Jesus die. There was no one like him. Did they try to figure out how they would move the stone? After all, they were just two women. They didn’t have the strength. They weren’t going expecting to find an empty tomb and a risen Saviour. Their purpose in going was to properly prepare His body for burial since it had been so rushed when he was taken down from the cross.

“The Day of Rest was over. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices. They wanted to put the spices on Jesus’ body. 2 Very early in the morning on the first day of the week, they came to the grave. The sun had come up. 3 They said to themselves, “Who will roll the stone away from the door of the grave for us?” 4 But when they looked, they saw the very large stone had been rolled away.” Mark 16:1-4 NLV

And when they arrived and saw the stone was moved and the tomb was open they were heart sick. Where was Jesus?

“While they wondered about what had happened, they saw two men standing by them in shining clothes. 5 They were very much afraid and got down with their faces to the ground. The men said to them, “Why do you look for the living One among those who are dead? 6 He is not here. He is risen. Do you not remember what He said to you when He was yet in Galilee? 7 He said, ‘The Son of Man must be given over into the hands of sinful men. He must be nailed to a cross. He will rise again three days later.’” 8 They remembered what He had said.” Luke 24:4-8 NLV

Now they remembered! Their grief gave place to joy. They had come to grieve, to say good-bye to the Man who had changed their lives dramatically. In their sadness they had forgotten His words that He would rise again.

Joy, absolute joy! They had to go tell the disciples that Jesus was alive. He had risen from the dead!

“Now hurry! Tell his disciples that he has been raised to life and is on his way to Galilee. Go there, and you will see him. That is what I came to tell you.”

8 The women were frightened and yet very happy, as they hurried from the tomb and ran to tell his disciples.” Matthew 28:7-8 CEV

I’m asking you to imagine that you were with those women. Place yourself there. Hear the message of the angels, watch the anguish melt away and pure joy fill your heart. Now do as the angels said.

Go tell someone that He is alive! We serve a risen Saviour!!

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Out of Balance

Do you remember those days in seventh grade Science class when your teacher brought in a set of scales and weights? I do!

Mr. Fox put the scales on the front lab table. There were a set of graduated weights and there were various other objects too; an apple, a brick, a coin, salt, and feathers. We then embarked on a series of trials. One of the objects was the exact same weight as one, or a combination of, the weights. It was up to us to determine which one.

Nine times out of ten we were out-of-balance!

Have you ever felt that way? That things in your life are out-of-balance. This morning I’m going to tell you why that’s a good thing.

When it comes to our walk with the Lord we need to be top heavy. Jesus disciples came to him and asked Him to increase their faith.

“The apostles said to the Lord, “Give us more faith!”6 The Lord said, “If your faith is as big as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Dig yourself up and plant yourself in the ocean!’ And the tree will obey you.” Luke 17:5-6 ERV

Notice Jesus didn’t tell them that they needed BIG faith. No, He told them that if they had little faith, faith as little as a mustard seed, that they would be able to accomplish big things. The question was how to use the faith they had. Look at the example he gave them.

“Suppose one of you has a servant who has been working in the field, plowing or caring for the sheep. When he comes in from work, what would you say to him? Would you say, ‘Come in, sit down and eat’? 8 Of course not! You would say to your servant, ‘Prepare something for me to eat. Then get ready and serve me. When I finish eating and drinking, then you can eat.’ 9 The servant should not get any special thanks for doing his job. He is only doing what his master told him to do. 10 It is the same with you. When you finish doing all that you are told to do, you should say, ‘We are not worthy of any special thanks. We have only done the work we should do.’” Luke 17:7-10 ERV

Here, Jesus is referring to faith as a servant. He told the disciples to put it to work. Faith is doing what the master has told you to do. Jesus had told them to go out and teach, preach, heal the sick, raise the dead and cast out devils. They did as he told them and they came back amazed at the results they had. But then there were other times when they let the circumstances stop them from doing what the Lord had said. He told them to get in the boat and go to the other side; they let the waves and the storm overwhelm them with fear and they almost capsized. Then there was the night that Jesus was arrested. He told them to pray with Him so they wouldn’t fall into temptation, instead they fell asleep and scattered in fear when the soldiers took Jesus away.

There are no great accolades for doing what you are told to do but there are great results. Faith is a tool that God wants us to use. Using our faith is as simple as obeying what God says. Just like a servant obeys his master.

If little faith can make great things happen then where’s the problem? It’s fear. Do you realize that fear is also a form of faith? Fear is a belief that the negative will happen. Instead of trusting God and putting faith in His word fear believes that circumstances will overwhelm and shatter God’s promises.

“In Christ we come before God with freedom and without fear. We can do this because of our faith in Christ.” Ephesians 3:12 ERV

“The followers went to him and woke him. They said, “Lord, save us! We will drown!”26 Jesus answered, “Why are you afraid? You don’t have enough faith.” Then he stood up and gave a command to the wind and the water. The wind stopped, and the lake became very calm.27 The men were amazed. They said, “What kind of man is this? Even the wind and the water obey him!” Matthew 8:25-27 ERV

If we have little faith and great fear we will be out-of-balance and the results will be disastrous. But if we have little faith and no fear or doubt we can move mountains.

“Jesus answered, “Have faith in God. 23 The truth is, you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, mountain, fall into the sea.’ And if you have no doubts in your mind and believe that what you say will happen, then God will do it for you. 24 So I tell you to ask for what you want in prayer. And if you believe that you have received those things, then they will be yours.” Mark 11:22-24 ERV

Let me ask you this. What types of things cause fear in your life? It’s important to identify them. Is it cancer, bankruptcy, divorce, rebellious children, loss of employment, auto accidents? Find what God says about each and every one of these things and as you do you will begin to remove them from the fear side of the scale. The more items you remove, the greater the weight of your faith becomes. Soon, faith in what God says and will do will tip the scales and you will be out-of-balance in faith.

“We thank God for you always. And that’s what we should do, because you give us good reason to be thankful: Your faith is growing more and more. And the love that every one of you has for each other is also growing.” II Thessalonians 1:3 ERV

It’s time to tip the scales in the right direction!


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Come Down or Rise Up

The last couple of days I have been reading about the arrest, phony trial and crucifixion of Jesus from the book of Mark.

Jesus knew that he would soon be crucified and he was trying to prepare his disciples for this horrific event. He wanted to keep them close, pray with them and teach them up the last moment.

They went to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus asked them to pray with Him. He knew what type of death he would experience. He knew how excurciating it would be! He needed more strength that he had ever had before. His humanity was facing the greatest struggle of his life and his deity was facing its greatest victory.

When Jesus prayed his humanity was asking God the Father if there was any other way our salvation, our reconciliation, could take place.

“Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he told them, “Sit here while I pray.”

33 Jesus took along Peter, James, and John. He was sad and troubled and 34 told them, “I am so sad that I feel as if I am dying. Stay here and keep awake with me.”

35-36 Jesus walked on a little way. Then he knelt down on the ground and prayed, “Father, if it is possible, don’t let this happen to me! Father, you can do anything. Don’t make me suffer by having me drink from this cup. But do what you want, and not
what I want.” Mark 14:32-36 ERV

The anguish in His heart was great; the desire to accomplish the Father’s plan was greater!

“We must never stop looking to Jesus. He is the leader of our faith, and he is the one who makes our faith complete. He suffered death on a cross. But he accepted the shame of the cross as if it were nothing because of the joy he could see waiting for him. And now he is sitting at the right side of God’s throne. 3 Think about Jesus. He patiently endured the angry insults that sinful people were shouting at him. Think about him so that you won’t get discouraged and stop trying.” Hebrews 12:2-3 ERV

While Jesus was in the garden the soldiers came to arrest Him. He was tried on trumped up charges, his accusers lied, he was beaten and whipped. He was nailed to a cross and still he was taunted. People stood at the foot of His cross and challenged his deity.

“The leading priests and the teachers of the law were also there. They made fun of Jesus the same as the other people did. They said to each other, “He saved others, but he can’t save himself! 32 If he is really the Messiah, the king of Israel, he should come down from the cross now. When we see this, then we will believe in him.” The criminals on the crosses beside Jesus also said bad things to him.” Mark 15:31-32 ERV

This was a very fitting temptation. Jesus knew He was the Messiah, He knew he was God’s son. So, why not prove it to them – prove it to them all? One word, love! If Jesus had come down from the cross there would be no other atonement for sin. He was the only one who could be the sinless sacrifice. If He didn’t complete the plan, we would have no hope of reconciliation. Jesus loved the Father so much that he willingly gave up his life for us. He loved us so much that He provided a way for us to have an unhindered relationship with His Father.

“But God showed how much he loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinful.

9 But there is more! Now that God has accepted us because Christ sacrificed his life’s blood, we will also be kept safe from God’s anger. 10 Even when we were God’s enemies, he made peace with us, because his Son died for us. Yet something even greater than friendship is ours. Now that we are at peace with God, we will be saved by his Son’s life. ” Romans 5:8-10 CEV

If Jesus had come down from the cross He wouldn’t have been able to rise up defeating Satan, death, hell and the grave.

“God saved us and chose us to be his holy people, but not because of anything we ourselves did. God saved us and made us his people because that was what he wanted and because of his grace. That grace was given to us through Christ Jesus before time began. 10 And now it has been shown to us in the coming of our Savior Christ Jesus. He destroyed death and showed us the way to have life. Yes, through the Good News Jesus showed us the way to have life that cannot be destroyed.” II Timothy 1:9-10 ERV

Before Jesus submitted to the cross He had already crucified his instinct of self-preservation. There in the garden he faced death and won. He committed all He was to the Father.

I am so grateful that Jesus made the hard choice; He didn’t come down but He chose to rise up! How can anyone deny such love?

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No More Patches

Quite often Dave and I will use a line from the movie Lonesome Dove when it comes to our wardrobe. “No point in givin’ up on a garment just cuz it’s got a little age on it”. Well, the other day I had to do just that – give up on a garment.

I had a pair of jeans I’ve been wearing for the last ten to twelve years. They were just so comfortable and fit me like a glove. The hems were worn off where I had walked on them with my boots, the back pocket rivet had pulled away from the fabric and they were patched where I caught them on a barbed wire fence. The belt loops were pulling free but the final determination came when the zipper broke. They served me well and I hated to see them go but go they must.

This morning I was reading in Mark 2 and I had to stop and ponder, I love that word, what Jesus was saying here.

“No one patches old clothes by sewing on a piece of new cloth. The new piece would shrink and tear a bigger hole.” Mark 2:21 CEV

When I read that I thought of the pants I mentioned above and in my heart I said “Lord, but I loved those old patched pants”. What am I supposed to be learning here? As soon as I asked that question this thought came to mind.

“For if a man belongs to Christ, he is a new person. The old life is gone. New life has begun.” II Corinthians 5:17 NLV

When we accept Christ as our Savior we receive an entirely new life. God doesn’t take our old life and patch it up; He gives us something completely new. Now, if you’re like me and those jeans, I was glad to have them patched because I was comfortable with them. I liked the fit. It was ok they had a few patches.

But God has better things in store for us. He has designed a life for us using the things we love, our talents and abilities. He gives us something new and wonderful. It fits better and looks better and He gives it to us as a free gift. This new life is designer quality and custom fit.

“When you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and you were raised up with him because of your faith in God’s power. God’s power was shown when he raised Christ from death.

13 You were spiritually dead because of your sins and because you were not free from the power of your sinful self. But God gave you new life together with Christ. He forgave all our sins.” Colossians 2:13ERV

Christ is our example of what this new life looks like. He showed us how to love the Father and love the people that God created. He showed us how to walk in forgiveness and victory.

“You were raised from death with Christ. So live for what is in heaven, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Think only about what is up there, not what is here on earth. 3 Your old self has died, and your new life is kept with Christ in God. 4 Yes, Christ is now your life, and when he comes again, you will share in his glory.” Colossians 3:1-4 ERV

Amazing! I have a new life. A life where all my sins are forgiven. God isn’t condemning me for my past. He has wiped that out and has given me a new life in Christ.

Thank you Father that you didn’t patch up my old life. Thank you for giving me something completely new!

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Ham It Up

We were having dinner with friends last night and talking about old wives tales that carry forward as fact. I was reminded of a story I heard about a young bride. It was her first Easter with her new husband. She had purchased a ham for their Easter dinner. She took the ham and cut off the ends before putting it in her roasting pan.

Her husband asked her why she cut off the ends. After much prodding, she replied “I’m not sure. My mom always did it that way.” At her husband’s encouragement she called her mother and asked “why did you always cut the ends off the ham before you put it in the pan?” Her mother was silent for a moment and then replied “because your grandmother always cut the ends off her ham”.

With this answer sitting hard in her thoughts, and at the prompting of her husband, she called Grandma. “Grandma, why do you always cut the ends off the ham before putting it in the roaster?” Grandma replied “Oh dearie, that’s simple. My pan was too short so I had to trim the ends to make it fit.”

The young bride and her husband laughed heartedly. For years three women had been cutting the ends off the ham because at one point the roasting pan was too short.

“So you are teaching that it is not important to do what God said. You think it is more important to follow those traditions you have, which you pass on to others. And you do many things like that.” Mark 7:13 ERV

How many things do we do religiously that have nothing to do with God’s truth but are fashioned by man’s tradition? We say that God can’t love us if we go to certain places or don’t give up certain habits. We are told that if we don’t spend so many days during the week in church or hours in prayer that God will be unhappy with us. He won’t love us.

Maybe you have been told that God won’t love you because of what you have done. You’ve been too bad or you’ve had too many failures or one too many divorces. All of these things are traditions. It is the traditions of men that make the Word of God of no effect.

As long as people are feeling condemned for not being good enough for God they will run from God instead of to Him. Jesus heard this criticism often. This was His response.

“When some teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw Jesus eating with such bad people, they asked his followers, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

17 When Jesus heard this, he said to them, “It is the sick people who need a doctor, not those who are healthy. I did not come to invite good people. I came to invite sinners.” Mark 2:16-17 ERV

We will never be good enough to be acceptable to God outside of our relationship with Jesus. We can’t do enough good works. Our own efforts can’t buy us salvation. There is only one way that we can be saved.

“I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. 9 You are not saved by the things you have done, so there is nothing to boast about. 10 God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would spend our lives doing the good things he had already planned for us to do.” Ephesians 2:8-10 ERV

We don’t clean up to take a shower and we don’t try to keep enough rules to be accepted by God.

I don’t know what religious laws you are trying to keep. I do know the ones I thought were right but I never succeed in keeping them. We have to come to a point where we give up on religious tradition and accept God’s grace at face value.

“But God showed how much he loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinful.

9 But there is more! Now that God has accepted us because Christ sacrificed his life’s blood, we will also be kept safe from God’s anger. ” Romans 5:8-9 CEV

God has so much more for us than we are experiencing. Religious traditions keep us from receiving all God has in store.

It’s time we quit cutting off the ends of the ham and enjoy the whole thing. God’s blessings are so much greater than we imagined.

“I pray that Christ Jesus and the church will forever bring praise to God. His power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21 CEV

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The Worry Bird

Sometimes I just know what I’m supposed to share the minute I start my morning Bible reading. Today was one of those days. I was reading in three different places and in each of those I found God’s instruction on worry. To be more accurate, I found instruction on not worrying.

When I was a little girl we moved from Yuma; we left dear friends, our church family and our home and moved to a very, very small town in the middle of the desert, Gila Bend. If you pay attention to summer weather reports Gila Bend is often the hottest place in the nation. That’s where Dad had a job and so that’s where we went.

The people at church gave us a send off and someone gave my mother a worry bird. It looked just like the one I used here this morning. According to all rational thinking Mom had good reason to worry. She was moving with her family to a very small, hot and dusty town where she knew no one. There wasn’t even a real grocery store in the town. Maybe you can identify with what she was going through.

Our lives can be filled with so many worrisome thoughts. There are financial, health, home, children, grandchildren, career and even spiritual worries. Some of us don’t think we are being good parents or grandparents if we aren’t worrying. However, when we allow worry to permeate our thinking it keeps God’s word from working.

“Others are like the seed planted among the thorny weeds. They hear the teaching, 19 but their lives become full of other things: the worries of this life, the love of money, and everything else they want. This keeps the teaching from growing, and it does not produce a crop in their lives.” Mark 4:18-19 ERV

We don’t want to lose our confidence and trust in God’s promises. Worry is on the opposite end of the spectrum from faith. Worry is the belief that worse may happen and faith is trusting that God’s best will come to pass.

“So I tell you, don’t worry about the things you need to live—what you will eat, drink, or wear. Life is more important than food, and the body is more important than what you put on it. 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant, harvest, or save food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. Don’t you know you are worth much more than they are? 27 You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it.” Matthew 6:25-27 ERV

It doesn’t get much plainer than that. Jesus was instructing his disciples and a multitude of people on how God wanted them to live. He knew they had a tendency to worry and so He addressed it. Don’t worry. We are more precious to God than the birds and He provides for them, so He will provide for us. He goes on to say:

“Don’t worry and say, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 That’s what those people who don’t know God are always thinking about. Don’t worry, because your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things. 33 What you should want most is God’s kingdom and doing what he wants you to do. Then he will give you all these other things you need.” Matthew 6:31-33 ERV

How do we displace worrisome thoughts when they come? We keep focused on God’s word and follow His instruction. Remember what I said a few days ago? God always keeps His promises. So, each time a menacing thought comes we give it to Him.

“God cares for you, so turn all your worries over to him.” I Peter 5:7 CEV

“Turn to the Lord for help in everything you do, and you will be successful.” Proverbs 16:3 ERV

Each time we give an anxious thought over to the Lord and trust Him to handle it we gain spiritual strength. Its like exercising our faith muscle. Lift the worry, hand it off, lift the worry, hand it off. Repeat. Repetition builds muscle, spiritual repetition builds faith and trust.

“Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. 7 Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel.” Philippians 4:6-7 CEV

Be conscience of the object lesson that Jesus gave us. Each time we see a bird it should make us happy. God’s love for us is so much greater than it is for them. Since He provides for their needs, He will provide for ours!

“And my God will give you everything you need because of His great riches in Christ Jesus. ” Philippians 4:19 NLV

Don’t be a worry bird!

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A Servant’s Heart

You know who those people are…the ones with a servant’s heart. They are the ones who serve and help without being asked. They enjoy helping and do it with a smile on their face.

At Thanksgiving Dinner, they were the ones who were doing the dishes in someone else’s kitchen; setting the table; helping take the food from the kitchen to the table and then getting up quietly to fill a gravy boat or get more dressing. They were the ones taking out the trash.

Jesus instructed his disciples on the way they should be acting in their relationship with others.

“Jesus and his disciples went to his home in Capernaum. After they were inside the house, Jesus asked them, “What were you arguing about along the way?” 34 They had been arguing about which one of them was the greatest, and so they did not answer.

35 After Jesus sat down and told the twelve disciples to gather around him, he said, “If you want the place of honor, you must become a slave (servant) and serve others!”

36 Then Jesus had a child stand near him. He put his arm around the child and said, 37 “When you welcome even a child because of me, you welcome me. And when you welcome me, you welcome the one who sent me.” Mark 9:33-37 CEV

Jesus always set a fine example of servitude. His was a life of ministry. He never claimed glory for himself. He only wanted to bring glory to the Father. One of his final acts was one of servitude. He washed the feet of the disciples.

Have you ever met someone with dirty feet? Maybe not filthy dirty, maybe just be a bit dusty? Would you volunteer to wash their feet for them?

In John 13 Jesus was having the Passover meal with His disciples and midway through the evening He got up from the table, took a towel, wrapped it around His waist, got a basin of water and went from disciple to disciple and washed their feet.

This is something the servant of the house should have done. It was customary to wash all the guests feet. But since Jesus and the disciples were in a home that wasn’t theirs, it was apparent there was no “servant” to perform the task. Jesus took it upon Himself to do it.

Peter protested. But Jesus told him that it was essential. The thing that amazes me about this is not the interchange between Jesus and Peter but that Jesus washed Judas Iscariot’s feet willingly. He knew that Judas was going to betray Him and Jesus lovingly served him like all the rest.

” But when he came to Simon Peter, that disciple asked, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered, “You don’t really know what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

8 “You will never wash my feet!” Peter replied. “If I don’t wash you,” Jesus told him, “you don’t really belong to me.”

9 Peter said, “Lord, don’t wash just my feet. Wash my hands and my head.” 10 Jesus answered, “People who have bathed and are clean all over need to wash just their feet. And you, my disciples, are clean, except for one of you.” 11 Jesus knew who would betray him. That is why he said, “except for one of you.”

12 After Jesus had washed his disciples’ feet and had put his outer garment back on, he sat down again. Then he said: Do you understand what I have done? 13 You call me your teacher and Lord, and you should, because that is who I am. 14 And if your Lord and teacher has washed your feet, you should do the same for each other. 15 I have set the example, and you should do for each other exactly what I have done for you. 16 I tell you for certain that servants are not greater than their master, and messengers are not greater than the one who sent them. 17 You know these things, and God will bless you, if you do them.” John 13:6-17 CEV

Jesus made Himself servant of all. He didn’t discriminate. He knew who truly loved Him and who would betray Him but He treated them all the same. It was and is unconditional love.

There may be some in our circle who have betrayed us and others who have remained close and loyal. Jesus tells us to treat them all with unconditional love.

Is there someone today who needs you to show them that kind of love?

Let’s always be willing to wash some feet!

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Rest, Sweet Rest

Last night I told Dave that I was tired and just wanted to sleep in this morning. I said I wasn’t sure that I would get up to write the blog. He laughed and said, “Honey, there has never been a morning that you haven’t gotten up early. You’ll write the blog.

Ok, so he was right and I was up earlier this morning than I have been in a while. I hoping to be like this little puppy later today and just lay down for a bit and rest.

One of the things I have learned from years of constantly being on the go is the Lord takes no delight in us being exhausted and weary. Burn out is not God’s plan!  Let me encourage you to rest.

I found sound instruction in Psalm 23 this morning.

“The Lord is my shepherd. I will always have everything I need. 2 He gives me green pastures to lie in. He leads me by calm pools of water. 3 He restores my strength. He leads me on right paths to show that he is good.” Psalm 23:1-3 ERV

The Lord knows that we need rest. He didn’t design our bodies or our minds to be constantly on the go. We need to have our strength renewed and restored. He invites us to lie down and rest.  He’s a gracious, loving Shepherd and He watches over us attentatively.

When we’re tired we lose focus, our concentration decreases and we can even weaken our health. However, when we wait, cease from labor, our strength with be restored.

“He helps tired people be strong. He gives power to those without it.
30 Young men get tired and need to rest. Even young boys stumble and fall.
31 But those who trust in the Lord will become strong again. They will be like eagles that grow new feathers. They will run and not get weak. They will walk and not get tired.” Isaiah 40:29-31 ERV

The word trust in verse 31 can also be translated “wait”. Trusting the Lord is a form of waiting. Trusting means to expect, look for, hope in and rely on. There is waiting attached to each and every one of those words. When we are weary there is a place of rest that never disappoints. 

“Come to Me, all of you who work and have heavy loads. I will give you rest. 29 Follow My teachings and learn from Me. I am gentle and do not have pride. You will have rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29 NLV

God’s Word gives us instruction on how to live and keep things in proper order. It promises us rest. Jesus’ life was filled with constant activity. He walked from town to town, ministered to people daily, and resolved interpersonal conflicts. This is what He did when he needed to be strengthened and rest.

“Then Jesus made the followers get into the boat. He told them to go to the other side of the lake. He said he would come later. He stayed there to tell everyone they could go home. 23 After Jesus said goodbye to the people, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. It was late, and he was there alone.” Matthew 14:22-23 ERV

“ Very early the next morning, Jesus got up and went to a place where he could be alone and pray.” Mark 1:35 CEV

“But the news about Jesus spread more and more. Many people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16 Jesus often went away to other places to be alone so that he could pray.” Luke 5:15-16 ERV

Jesus committed himself to prayer and there He found rest. He took time to be alone.

I enjoy doing those word search puzzles. So I am going to give you some letters and ask you to find the hidden word. You can only use each letter once. Here they are.  T-S-E-S-R-S.  What word did you find?

If you found the word STRESS, you can’t have rest. But if you chose the word REST you won’t have stress. Just saying!

Take a day and enjoy some time of rest.

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Taking Care of Weeds

I wish I had gone out yesterday and taken a picture of our property. We’ve been gone four weeks and the weeds are almost out of control.

Dave is so faithful to keep the weeds sprayed but while we’ve been gone, we’ve had rain and they have gone wild.  He came in for a drink and told me that he had to chop the biggest ones down and now he was on his third batch of spray.

Oh my!

The heat, rain and humidity have caused our yard to bloom and look beautiful but it has also caused the weeds to flourish.

Isn’t that just like life?

We go along trusting the Lord, having our quiet time, reading our Bibles, (and our favorite morning devotional), taking time to talk with the Lord in prayer. Things might not always be smooth but our focus is on the Lord and we know with Him present we will weather any storms and things will be well.

Then something happens and we get distracted. Little weeds start to grow; discouragement, worry, fear, sarcasm, unexpected set backs. We’ll deal with them later, after all, it’s only a couple of weeds and they aren’t very big.

“ I walked past a field that belonged to a lazy man. It was a vineyard that belonged to someone who understood nothing. 31 Weeds were growing everywhere! Wild vines covered the ground, and the wall around the vineyard was broken and falling down. 32 I looked at this and thought about it. This is what I learned: 33 a little sleep, a little rest, folding your arms, and taking a nap— 34 these things will make you poor very quickly. Soon you will have nothing, as if a thief broke in and took everything away.” Proverbs 24:30-34 ERV

Have you ever noticed that the weeds grow faster than the flowers? It’s that way with the weeds of life, Jesus called them the cares of this life. Some weeds are small and can be pulled up easily by the roots. Others have long roots and pulling them causes them to spread, they need to be sprayed. While others are tall and their stocks are too thick to be effected by the spray so they have to be chopped down and then sprayed.

We are told to take our cares to the Lord. He is a master gardener and has a way of removing with weeds without harming the good crop that is growing in our lives.

“ The seed that was planted among thorns is like some people who listen to the Word. 19 But the cares of this life let thorns come up. A love for riches and always wanting other things let thorns grow. These things do not give the Word room to grow so it does not give grain. ” Mark 4:18-19 NLV

“ Give all your worries to Him because He cares for you.” I Peter 5:7 NLV

“Do not worry. Learn to pray about everything. Give thanks to God as you ask Him for what you need. 7 The peace of God is much greater than the human mind can understand. This peace will keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7-8 NLV

Time for some good old fashioned weed extermination.

Spend time with the Lord this morning and let Him skillfully remove the weeds/cares that have been choking out the promises that God has made to you.

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True Friendship

We’re just returning home after spending several weeks in Idaho. We have wonderful friends there and it was so great to see them. You know, they are the kind of friends that you don’t see for years and still have that wonderful heart bond with.

When we lived in the Northwest we had that same yearning for our friends in the desert. Now we get to see those dear ones more often and it warms our hearts with each visit.

This morning the house is quiet and I began to think of dear friends, far and near, and as I was praying for them by name I heard myself tell the Lord “I would do anything I could to help them”.

And then the Lord reminded me of this story.

“A few days later, Jesus came back to Capernaum. The news spread that he was back home. 2 A large crowd gathered to hear him speak. The house was so full that there was no place to stand, not even outside the door. While Jesus was teaching, 3 some people brought a paralyzed man to see him. He was being carried by four of them. 4 But they could not get the man inside to Jesus because the house was so full of people. So they went to the roof above Jesus and made a hole in it. Then they lowered the mat with the paralyzed man on it. 5 When Jesus saw how much faith they had, he said to the paralyzed man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.”

6 Some of the teachers of the law were sitting there. They saw what Jesus did, and they said to themselves, 7 “Why does this man say things like that? What an insult to God! No one but God can forgive sins.”

8 Jesus knew immediately what these teachers of the law were thinking. So he said to them, “Why do you have these questions in your minds? 9-10 The Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins. But how can I prove this to you? Maybe you are thinking it was easy for me to say to the crippled man, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ There’s no proof it really happened. But what if I say to the man, ‘Stand up. Take your mat and walk’? Then you will be able to see if I really have this power or not.” So Jesus said to the paralyzed man, 11 “I tell you, stand up. Take your mat and go home.”

12 Immediately the paralyzed man stood up. He picked up his mat and walked out of the room. Everyone could see him. They were amazed and praised God. They said, “This is the most amazing thing we have ever seen!” Mark 2:1-12 ERV

Here were four men who heard about Jesus reputation to heal. They had a friend who was paralyzed. They put him on a bed and carried him through the streets of town to the house where Jesus was teaching.

When they got there they couldn’t get in. There were too many people so they went up the stairs to the roof top. They began to dismantle the roof! Seriously! I’m sure that the owner of the house valued his roof as much as I do mine. These men were determined – their friend needed help. He needed Jesus!

They worked until there was a hole in the roof large enough to lower the man to Jesus. Imagine for just a minute what it was like to be inside the house and hear the commotion on the roof. There were particles falling and hitting people but we can only assume that Jesus kept on teaching.

I always ask questions, you know that. Did the paralyzed man object when his friends carried him out into the streets? Did he ask to go home? The Scripture tells us that Jesus “saw” how much faith they had. The friends and the man all had to have faith in Jesus to go to so much trouble.

There are so many ways we can help our friends. We can provide physical strength, financial help, emotional support and prayer support. The best thing we can do to help our friends is bring them to the One with all the answers. Sometimes we just need to “carry” them to Jesus.

Jesus not only met the man’s physical need but He forgave his sins. Jesus is still doing both of those today.

“A man who has friends must be a friend, but there is a friend who stays nearer than a brother.” Proverbs 18:24 NLV

True friendship.

First we take them to Jesus, either in our prayers or through a Scripture verse or spoken word of encouragement. Then we lend a helping hand and lighten the load.

Thanks to all the friends that have done both for me. I love you dearly and consider you a gift from God!

 

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