Live in the Light

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1 John 1:7

Photosynthesis is the process by which a green plant uses the energy from the light of the sun to convert carbon dioxide and water into its own food for growth. Picture the simple experiments in your elementary school science classes which were designed to demonstrate the concept: grass seeds on soil in a tray, partially covered, sitting beside the window; or sprouts in shoe boxes, some with and some without lids. Do you remember the stark contrast between the plants which received adequate light and those which did not? 

Just as science textbooks explain that light is essential to the lives of plants, our Bible explains in many different passages how the light of the Lord Jesus is essential to the lives of Christians. For example, Paul writes to the Ephesians, “Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness but rather expose them.” The author of Hebrews writes, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” And in John’s gospel, Jesus says, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight: A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world’s light. It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light.” 

Prayer: Lord, you are our everlasting light and our salvation, and Jesus is the radiance of your glory. May our words and deeds also reflect your glory. Shine your light on us so that we will not stumble in the darkness. Just as the green plants use sunlight as energy to sustain life, let us use your light as energy to sustain our lives and produce good fruits. We ask these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Judith Keller (reprinted from the Advent Devotional - 2015)

Who is Our Neighbor?

“On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher’ he asked, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’  “What is written in the Law?”  he replied.  “How do you read it?” He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind,” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied.  “Do this and you will live.” Luke 10:25-28

Watching the news every night, it’s hard to understand why “we all just can’t get along.” With wars in the Middle East, the Ukraine, Sudan…violence, sacrifice, and death are pictured in graphic horror. Until scenes of modern cities being leveled and people wearing western clothing similar to ours began to show up, it was easy to think, “the people who can’t co-exist are religiously, ethnically, socially different than I am.” Now the scenes of violence look like our home country. 

We don’t have to look far to realize there are violent rifts among citizens of the United States. We haven’t devolved into the same level of aggression seen in other countries, but hatefulness and repulsive verbal attacks have become common and are accepted with complacency. 

Luke brings us a message that is straight from Jesus’ words, “Love your neighbor.” When the expert in the law asks, “Who is my neighbor?” He may be hoping Jesus will exclude the people whose skin is a different color, who came into the county illegally, who speak out against the political leaders, who insult and denounce the poor, but no! Jesus says everyone is our neighbor. No exceptions, no prerequisites, every person who exists deserves our love.

Jesus is asking us to do something that is very difficult and sometimes socially unappreciated. If I show mercy to someone hated by many, am I weak? Am I a sucker? Shouldn’t they get a job, sober up, or go back to their home country; what do I owe them? Jesus says you need to use all your strength and all your resources to help them simply because they are your neighbor.

I have wept in the night

For the shortness of sight

That to somebody’s need made me blind,

But I never have yet

Felt a tinge of regret

For being a little too kind.

                                  - C. R. Gibson 

Prayer: Dear Lord God, help me to see my neighbor’s needs and respond to them with love and mercy. Let me use my resources, my heart, my soul, my strength, and my mind to minister to my neighbors and help them see the hope God brings to all of us. Amen. 

Carol McClain (reprinted from April 2024)

Great is the Lord

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom. Psalm 145:3 

God With Us

June 29th is a date I will never forget:

1. I was woken up at 5 AM by critters running in the attic above our bed. 

2. Went down to the storeroom to get vacuum to get ready for family coming on July 4, and water was 3 feet from daughter Tracey's 5-foot-high pile of new items from Painted Tree's closing.

3. Called Bill's Heating because the water was draining from the air conditioner as it was over 90 degrees outside. A serviceman came but the problem was the drain was clogged. Cost was $160.

4. I used a dustpan and a cup to put 10 gallons of water in buckets and carried them outside.

5. I continued this procedure going down the stairs every 15 minutes to keep everything in my storeroom dry. This meant going up and downstairs about 40 times.

6. Son Spencer came with his 25-foot tool and cleared the drain. I still kept going down to check it.

7. While he was working in the storeroom a bat dove at him.

8. I called 6 exterminators for the birds and the bat. None could come until next week. Daughter-in-law Angie saved the day by calling someone she knew who could come on the 30th. Granddaughter Sidney saved that day because she could be at the house when the exterminator came because Bryce had a doctor's appointment at exactly the same time. 

8. Had to put water in my golf cart batteries because I had forgotten to do that this spring and the cart had died the day before.

9. Noticed the car fender had been pulled slightly away from the car on the right front. On July 1 the kind man at Sid Dillon fixed it while we waited. 

I believe my tennis match June 29th at 8:30 AM was cancelled so I would be home and keep everything dry in the storeroom. I was brought down to the storeroom at just the right time to get the vacuum and save everything in that room from getting wet. I luckily had a fan and a dehumidifier in the room which worked perfectly to dry out the short carpet. My son and his family were available for me. The exterminator said there were no critters in the attic so must be on the roof. He did send me a plan to fix all entries available to bats and provide a route for them to leave but not come back. 

A huge hibiscus, my favorite flower, opened up at the front of my house for the first time this year and I smiled. (And my spirit rejoiced in God my Saviour. Luke 1:47) Yes, He is with me at all times.

Sandra Hilsabeck

What's Your Story? G is for Gift

When I was a freshman in college, I belonged to a Christian group that met every Friday night in someone's home in the community. I also attended a small group  Bible study. Dave, a member of our group, had a beautiful singing voice and played the guitar as well. He led our singing at our meetings and taught us all the contemporary Christian folk music of the time. Towards the end of the semester, a person from one of the homes where we had met called and asked if our group could send someone to their home and teach a group of young couples to sing the new music. Dave was not available and the person called me as the backup. I knew the songs and could sing and play the guitar but did not feel as qualified as Dave and these were people I really didn't know. Initially I said no and the person expressed their disappointment. Our Bible study had been studying Ephesians, and I learned that our purpose in life was to praise God (Ephesians 1:12). Then our Bible study group looked at Ephesians 4:7-8, Therefore it is said that, "When he ascended on high, he made captivity itself a captive," he gave gifts to his people." The chapter goes on to identify the roles in the church related to these gifts and how the gifts can be used by speaking the truth with love to join the whole body together, building itself in love. 

This really spoke to me and I recognized that everything we have is a gift from God and God expects us to use them. I called the person back and said I would come and meet with them and share the music they requested. That Sunday night I met with about twenty people and we praised God as we sang together. I now recognize that this was a turning point in my faith, a recognition of the musical gift God had given me, and my purpose in life was to praise God. 

Nancy Hall

 * What’s Your Story? 

This summer, we invited members of our Eastridge community to explore ABCs of Faith: Simple Stories for Complex Times. In this series, we will be exploring stories from the Bible that tell us about God and God’s people. But our faith is also carried through our own stories.

When someone asks, “What’s your story?” they’re asking about the moments that shaped you: the people, experiences, challenges, and turning points that made you who you are. Scripture is full of such stories—and so are we.  

Throughout the series, we’ll offer prompts connected to the themes we’re exploring. You’re invited to share a brief reflection on any prompt that resonates with you—especially a moment that changed your mind, your heart, or your life. Selected stories may be shared (with your permission) in our newsletter, devotionals, or even during worship. 

What's Your Story (Part 2): Coincidence or The Holy Spirit?

One man, through the Spirit, has the gift of wise speech, while another, by the power of the same Spirit can put the deepest knowledge into words. 1 Cor. 12:8 NEB          

In Part 1 of my story, I mentioned that I’ve always loved writing, but during those years between high school writing, Sunday school and Bible school teaching, women’s exercise leading and monitoring the cradle roll, I didn’t do any Christian writing. Those were my years of raising children, writing poetry and working outside our home. 

However, in the year 2000 Lori Snyder-Sloan encouraged me to contribute a message to the first Eastridge Advent Devotional booklet. A few years later, in 2005, I was invited to contribute to the Homestead Presbytery’s Advent Booklet.

It was between those years in 2003 when I really had an opportunity to become a better writer and write for a wider audience. Were all these interesting writing opportunities just a coincidence? 

Then I received an email from a gentleman I didn’t know who said he had read several of my messages and he thought that I might like to write for the Presbyterian Church of Canada’s (PCC) website. At that time, PCC’s daily subscription count was nearing 5,000 and each of their “Dailies” (devotionals) was posted in 7 languages besides English.      

I decided to give it a try but I was quite apprehensive when it came to actually hitting that send button. Did I really have anything to say to so many readers? It took 3 days of preparing my message to send then backing away saving the message for another day. Finally, it was sent. Then the editor sent it back to me 3 times with changes that were needed. Although I admit it was a bit more frustrating with each return, I realized that I was learning a great deal - making sure each verse of scripture was accurately referenced and quoted, and affirming spelling was correct in order that all the translations worked. Then there were the differences in American English and the King’s English which is used in Canada. The result being that I’m no longer sure I can spell correctly in either version! Those “ior/iour” words like behavior (American)/behaviour (Canadian) still vex me.

For my first message, I chose to write about healing after the death of a spouse. I thought that those readers who had also lost their spouses would be among my first readers. When the feedback messages started coming, I found that men responded 2-1 to women. That really surprised me!

All those messages came from places like Africa, Brazil, Canada, the Middle East (from a gentleman who feared signing his name), and from the UK, etc. They said things like: Many Thanks; I loved your clarity of thought; I am your brother in Christ. Such uplifting messages made all my trepidations vanish. I continued to write for PCC for more than a decade, and I was no longer jolted by being addressed as “Sister” Judith from Your “Brother” in Christ from various parts of God’s earth, but it wasn’t until I took a break from writing in 2010 to have 4 eye surgeries that I realized that all those opportunities to write seemingly coming from nowhere and which led me to making Christian friends across the globe weren’t the result of any coincidence. I had just been too “blind” to see the “Hand of the Holy Spirit’s” leading me on to share my Christian faith.  

After a year’s healing time with restored vision, and at the request of the editor, I returned to writing for PCC for many more years. I received so much Christian love from so many people in so many places! I’ve found no greater joy than this on my long Christian journey of faith.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we praise You for so many things for which we often forget to say thank You, and now we ask You to open our eyes to the beautiful surprises that You send through the Holy Spirit that make our Christian journey here on earth amazing each and every day. In Jesus’ name we ask it. Amen

Judy Welch

  * What’s Your Story? 

This summer, we invited members of our Eastridge community to explore ABCs of Faith: Simple Stories for Complex Times. In this series, we will be exploring stories from the Bible that tell us about God and God’s people. But our faith is also carried through our own stories.

When someone asks, “What’s your story?” they’re asking about the moments that shaped you: the people, experiences, challenges, and turning points that made you who you are. Scripture is full of such stories—and so are we.  

Throughout the series, we’ll offer prompts connected to the themes we’re exploring. You’re invited to share a brief reflection on any prompt that resonates with you—especially a moment that changed your mind, your heart, or your life. Selected stories may be shared (with your permission) in our newsletter, devotionals, or even during worship. 

Words from First Corinthians

Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. 1 Corinthians 16:13