Half a Loaf Is

For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.  And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life:  he that cometh to me shall never hunger. John 6:33, 35 (KJV)

Being in my kitchen is sheer pleasure! Over the years, cooking and baking have provided many enjoyable hours. My favorite thing to bake is bread. I love the fragrance of a loaf of wheat bread baking in the oven.

Without preservatives, the shelf life of homemade bread is limited, and living alone I find it is imperative to share half a loaf.

Sharing bread often takes me to a friend’s home where I can enjoy a cup of afternoon tea and a good visit. My older friends, those who have lived longer than eight decades, are always the most appreciative. Often, along with their warmest thanks, they will add, “You are a lifesaver because I just haven’t felt like going shopping.”

Each time someone calls me a lifesaver, I think of the Latin-derived word for friend:  companion. A companion is one who comes “with bread” (cum panis) or one who eats bread with another. In Bible times (before the refining of flour), a companion was one who came with bread, which contained all the nutrients needed to sustain life. Since my friends and I have often discussed the meaning of the word, “companion,” they know that my reply to being called a “lifesaver” will always be the same: “Isn’t that what friends are for?”

Being a Christian friend and having a Christian friend just makes our lives seem so much richer, but it is when we know Jesus Christ well enough to call Him our friend that we understand the true meaning of the word, “companion.” Christ came bringing bread – the Bread of Life—that we might never hunger.

Prayer: Thank You, Father, for sending Your Son, Jesus, to share The Living Bread, that we might partake and find eternal life. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Judith Welch

Psalm 62

 

Truly my soul finds rest in God;

    my salvation comes from him.

Truly he is my rock and my salvation;

    he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

How long will you assault me?

    Would all of you throw me down—

    this leaning wall, this tottering fence?

Surely they intend to topple me

    from my lofty place;

    they take delight in lies.

With their mouths they bless,

    but in their hearts they curse.

 Yes, my soul, find rest in God;

    my hope comes from him.

 Truly he is my rock and my salvation;

    he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

  My salvation and my honor depend on God;

    he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

  Trust in him at all times, you people;

    pour out your hearts to him,

    for God is our refuge.

Surely the lowborn are but a breath,

    the highborn are but a lie.

If weighed on a balance, they are nothing;

    together they are only a breath.

Do not trust in extortion

    or put vain hope in stolen goods;

though your riches increase,

    do not set your heart on them.

One thing God has spoken,

    two things I have heard:

“Power belongs to you, God,

     and with you, Lord, is unfailing love”;

and, “You reward everyone

    according to what they have done.” Psalm 62

We Seem to Forget

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)

Several years ago, I attended the National Elders Conference of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in Nashville, Tennessee. At the meeting, I was fortunate to be able to meet Ann Weems, who has been called the Presbyterian poet laureate.  She passed away in 2016.  She served on the committee that wrote The Brief Statement of Faith. Her work has often been published in Horizons, the magazine of the Presbyterian Women. Here is one of her poems:

“We Seem to Forget” by Ann Weems

What concerns me, what lies on my heart is this:

That we in the church -- papered and programmed,

Articulated and agenda’d—are telling the faith story all wrong.

Are telling it as though it happened two thousand years ago

Or is going to happen as soon as the church budget is raised.

We seem to forget that Christ’s name is

Emmanuel, God With Us. . . .

Not just when he sat among us, but now;

When we can no longer feel the nailprints in his hands.

We need to remember what the true purpose of the church is – to tell the faith story.

Prayer: Dear God, As members of your church, we sometimes get wrapped up in the details of the organization, and “we seem to forget.”  Help us to keep our eyes on Jesus and the sacrifice he made for us.

Robin Hadfield (shared previously)

Hate has a Strong Meaning

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another Titus 3:3 

But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them 1 John 2:11   

Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him 1 John 3:15 

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ…May give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened. Ephesians 1:17-18

“Days of Praise” devotion booklet uses these words to explain what happens when we come to a realization that our past behavior is not the best. This could explain when someone listens to our Lord and determines to love instead of hate.

The Greek language of the phrase “the eyes of [our] understanding being enlightened” (Ephesians 1:18) could be translated “the vision of your deep thought will be made to shine,” or paraphrased in a more colloquial expression, “the light comes on!”

It seems to me that when a person hates another individual it also hurts the person who hates. Sometimes, it seems, the hating person gets hurt the most. Our Bible shows the love of Jesus in many different ways towards us. One of our Lord’s great commandments is to Love One Another. Titus tells us we are foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by hating one another. John tells us we walk around in darkness when we hate.

Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, who inspired these writers and tells us to love, please help us to put away any hate in our lives and quit being deceived. I pray Lord those who hate to have “the light come on!” Amen.

Sandra Hilsabeck

Words from Philippians

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:7-14

Earth Day 2022

As many of you who read this blog may have noticed, I recycle devotions. It doesn't hurt to hear something again, and I don't have a ready, endless supply of new material (I must add here: I am so appreciative of those of you who submit devotions!). However, for Earth Day this year, I've decided not to recycle one of my former devotions (all published on previous Earth Days back to 2018). Instead, I thought I'd ponder what I've learned about our earth over the past two years of paying close(er) attention to it. There is also a limited supply of nature-inspired scripture, so I will share a sampling of those again.

Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas, and God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:9-10

It is I who made the earth and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands and I ordained all their host. Isaiah 45:12

Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice. Psalm 96:12

Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. Luke 12:27

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:28-34

Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them”; and it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:11-12

I see God's hand in much of what I notice and photograph while "in the field". In particular, I have researched the fascinating wildlife I've photographed.

Pastor Thomas Dummermuth shared the following scripture and five prompts during our Lenten Pilgrimage 2022:

Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! Proverbs 6:6 

• Have you noticed any interesting creatures recently?
• Over the next day, keep your eyes open and see what animal crosses your path.
• Study it. If you can’t observe it in its natural habitat, find a picture or video and observe it.
• Mull over what you discover.
• What can you learn from their ways?

Fun facts that show the miracle of nature (and happen to be about those species I've photographed below!):

Kinglets, tiny birds that are just a bit bigger than hummingbirds, can survive winter temps below zero. They stay warm by constant movement! Another favorite of mine (mostly because they can be spotted here in Lincoln during the winter!) are chickadees. Chickadees (and other winter birds) retain heat in their body core by fluffing out their feathers. We may look at it as if they have "fattened up" for the winter, but they are merely puffed up, thickening the insulation around their bodies.

Birds know when to migrate, and on any given evening in April, up to one million birds may be flying overhead while you sleep!

Nature is a balance...when invasive species disrupt that balance, things can go awry. What causes invasive or non-native species much of the time? Humans. However, I have enjoyed photographing the house sparrows on the south side of the building each spring (even though they are native to Europe and Africa, and disrupt the nesting habits of native species, such as bluebirds). The difference between invasive and non-native: invasive: a species of plant or animal that outcompetes other species causing damage to an ecosystem. Non-native: a species that originated somewhere other than its current location and has been introduced to the area where it now lives.  

Canada Geese nest in the same area their parents did every year, often in the same nest. Adult geese may communicate with each other using more than 10 different calls.

Dragonflies and damselflies are some of the oldest insect groups. During prehistoric times, they were evidently much larger than what we see today.

I could go on but I won't, because you need to get on with your day. But take a moment during the course of this day and appreciate the beauty of the world God created!

Prayer: Thank you, God, for the miracles of nature. Help me to see the miracle of life around me, and to be grateful. Amen.

Donna Gustafson

All photos taken in Lincoln. Click on photos to view larger. From the top: golden-crowned kinglet, lesser yellowlegs, yellow-rumped warbler, something growing inside a dead tree, Canada goose, hover fly, black-capped chickadee, pewee, house wren, goldfinch, damselfly, cottontail rabbit, white-breasted nuthatch.

Earth's Beauty

“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it.” Psalm 24:1

“All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.” John 1:3 

“Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.” Hebrews 13:15 

Poets, songwriters, and ordinary people appreciate the beauty of God’s world. The familiar hymn, “For the Beauty of the Earth” expresses our feelings well. In 1864, Folliot S. Pierpoint wrote the words to the hymn at age 29. 

Many of us look forward to summer travel where we seek God’s beauty and wonder across the United States and throughout the world. Viewing God’s world from a fresh perspective can be beneficial and renewing. My husband and I recently traveled to the Pacific Northwest. The Portland Rose Gardens and Butchart Gardens visits prompted us to “Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10a. A fellow rose lover enthusiastically urged us to smell a rose that he had just discovered. At the Sunken Gardens at Butchart Gardens, a “congregation” of viewers stood in awe and wonder.   

Even when we experience a “staycation,” we can become aware of the natural beauty and wildlife in our neighborhood. I have been surprised at the wildlife present around our new townhouse – a mostly tree-less area.  This spring, I enjoyed watching a baby purple or house finch on our deck. It’s parent, ready to protect its offspring, hovered nearby. A robin’s nest and baby robin learning to fly were observed under the deck. A parent robin loudly screeched to distract us away from its baby. I also observed a plover teaching its baby survival skills. These birds have learned how to adapt to a changing world. Perhaps this can be a lesson for us humans.

If we are open to the wonders of God’s world, we can discover them all around us. As a pre-school teacher, I gave each child a one-yard piece of string. Outside, in the grass, each child formed a circle with their string. Focusing on the space inside the circle, we were surprised to observe what was present – insects, a small pebble or rock, and growing plants. God provides us with treasures daily. Do we see them?

Prayer: God, we thank you for the beauty that surrounds us in your world. Remind us to be open to all you provide us each day. Amen.

Lois Poppe (reprinted from 2012)

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

 

While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”

When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”  They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.

He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have

When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God. Luke 24:36-53

Unique, Yet Known

 

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 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.  Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Psalm 139: 13-17

While we were in Iceland, we visited a glacial lake where the broken pieces of the glacier float by on their way out to the ocean. It was interesting to see the differences in the chunks of ice as they floated by. Some were full of rocks, having lain for many years near the rocky ground. Some were porous, having experienced different thawing patterns. Those that had been underwater for a long time and recently flipped over were a shiny blue color, and so on. It reminded me of the way we humans, all ages, backgrounds, and circumstances now arrive at the present time. We have all come from different places, had different experiences, found ourselves closely associated with different people and living conditions; various challenges and conditions have formed us into the people we are today. But not a one of these situations was outside the knowledge or care of our Lord.

We are all so completely unique, yet the all-knowing Lord of creation knows exactly what we have been through, how that has shaped us, and how the person we have grown into can be useful in the kingdom if we open our hearts to being used.   

Prayer: Dearest Lord Jesus, you came into the world to teach us how to live and to show us the love of the Father. Here I am today, the living result of all of my history, which only You know. Thank you for always loving me and never leaving me. Please use me for your work in this world in ways that are fitted to my story.  Amen

Lori Snyder-Sloan

Easter

 "He is not here, for he has risen" Matthew 28:6

Good Friday

 

Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” 

“You have said so,” Jesus replied. 

When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor. 

Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas. So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him. 

While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.” 

But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.  

“Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor. 

“Barabbas,” they answered. 

"What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked. 

They all answered, “Crucify him!”  

“Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. 

But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” 

When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”  

All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!” 

Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.  

Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said.  They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again.  After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.   

As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross.  They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”).  There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” 

In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him. 

From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,lemasabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). 

When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.” 

Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.” 

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. 

When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”  

Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs.   Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.   

As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus.  Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him.  Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. Matthew 27:11-60

Maundy Thursday

It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”  “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”  “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”  Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. John 13:1-17

My Personal Image of Jesus

“When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

When I was a child, my mother hung a picture of Jesus standing by a heavy wooden door with a little lamb cradled in his arms. I would sit on the back of the sofa so I could look Jesus in the eye and talk to him. I told him everything and I had complete confidence that he heard me and understood how I felt. I had three brothers who often didn’t want to play with me and being a farm family, other children were not close. So I made Jesus my best friend. However, my father was hurt in a farm accident and we sold the farm and moved to Salida, Colorado. Here father healed and after four years we moved to a ranch in southeastern Colorado. It was twenty-five miles to town so at the age of 13, I again felt alone. My oldest brother started dating a Baptist girl who took him to church each Sunday. Mother insisted that he take his siblings, too. The Jesus I met at the Baptist church was very stern and had very strict rules to follow if one were to ever see heaven. Then graduation came and I was off to college. I left the Baptist Jesus behind and did not attend any church.  After college, I accepted a job at the hospital where I had trained as a Med Tech. There I met Noel who was serving a year long internship with the hospital chaplain. The Jesus Noel worshiped was like the Jesus I knew as a child, warm and loving. However, it took almost ten years for my image of Jesus to become a reality. That happened when I finally understood the role of the Holy Spirit. I believe that Jesus was born human but he always knew God had called him to be the person who would bring about God’s new covenant with mankind, i.e., he was to be the sacrificial lamb, without sin, who would offer himself to God for the sins of each of us. Yes, I see Jesus as the person who died so that when I die I will take a seat behind Him and enjoy his fellowship forever. I see Jesus as my traveling companion through life. Jesus is the father who kept me safe as a child and the mother who taught me the meaning of life and how to live it. I am his willing servant. 

Prayer: Thank you for giving us a “thirst” for you and setting us on our journey to claim the prize you made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus. We recognize that the prize of salvation and companionship was given at a great cost we cannot repay even if required of us. We know and willingly accept our responsibilities as your children. Help us to remain committed to this relationship throughout life. When we stray bring us back: for the only life we want is a life shared with you. Amen.

Noel and Jane DeKalb (reprinted from 2017)

Words from Acts

 

Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”

When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.” Acts 11:16-18

Believing in Heaven

Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. John 11:11 

Just as the buried grain of wheat brings forth a fruitful plant, so the old, sin-corrupted, aching body of human flesh, sown in the ground, will someday come forth “fashioned like unto his glorious body. Philippians 3:21 

It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. 1 Corinthians 15:42-44

Look around you, there may be those who think when you die, you are dead and that is it!

When my friend called me, crying, I listened carefully to her tears. She said, “My parents did not believe in Jesus or heaven. They felt when they died and left earth, they were just dead and that was it. I grew up with the same idea. The materials you are sending me let me know Christ has risen and is preparing a place for me.” The tears flowed again. She went on, “My father died three years ago, and I haven’t talked with my mother since then. It was so hard.”

I knew this friend was reading the Bible Study books I sent her. My Christmas devotion book full of devotions written for Eastridge was the latest item I sent her. She read it completely and then called me. The verses and stories in the devotions touched her and opened the thought of going to heaven someday. My heart was so happy. Her tears about her former beliefs were so real.

Here are words from “Days of Praise” that clarifies this truth.

When a believer’s soul and spirit leave the body and return to the Lord, it is

significant that the New Testament Scriptures speak of the body not as dead

but as sleeping.

Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, help us to look around us and see those who need to know your love and the eternal life your Son Jesus bestows upon us when we reach out and confess our sins and state we believe He is our Lord and Savior. In Jesus name, Amen.

Sandra Hilsabeck

See How Your King Comes

 

The next day the huge crowd that had arrived for the Feast heard that Jesus was entering Jerusalem. They broke off palm branches and went out to meet him. And they cheered:

Hosanna!

Blessed is he who comes in God’s name!

Yes! The King of Israel!

Jesus got a young donkey and rode it, just as the Scripture has it:

No fear, Daughter Zion:

    See how your king comes,

    riding a donkey’s colt.

The disciples didn’t notice the fulfillment of many Scriptures at the time, but after Jesus was glorified, they remembered that what was written about him matched what was done to him.

The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, was there giving eyewitness accounts. It was because they had spread the word of this latest God-sign that the crowd swelled to a welcoming parade. John 12:12-18 The Message 

Psalm 63

 

You, God, are my God,

    earnestly I seek you;

I thirst for you,

    my whole being longs for you,

in a dry and parched land

    where there is no water.

 

  I have seen you in the sanctuary

    and beheld your power and your glory.

  Because your love is better than life,

    my lips will glorify you.

  I will praise you as long as I live,

    and in your name I will lift up my hands.

  I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;

    with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

 

  On my bed I remember you;

    I think of you through the watches of the night.

  Because you are my help,

    I sing in the shadow of your wings.

  I cling to you;

    your right hand upholds me. Psalm 63:1-8

God’s Work is Visible on Earth

He left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. Acts 14:17

Days of Praise from the Institution of Creation Research in Dallas states, “In addition to such evidence of His wisdom and power, there is also wonderful evidence of the grace of God in nature. This goodness of God is evidenced in the daily victory of light over darkness, the annual return of spring after winter, and the oft-repeated triumph of life over death. Although individuals die, new souls are born; and always, there is hope.”

There was a text going around that showed how in the state of Nebraska you can dress one day in shorts and the next day need to use your winter coat. This March of 2022 has been a good example of our varied spring temperatures. However, I do not fear that spring will go away. I can trust God that He will bring the spring and the summer.

In all my years God has faithfully put the light of day after every night. Although, we know He has the power to place darkness on earth at any time. He caused darkness in the middle of the day after Jesus was crucified. I can put my faith in God and trust him completely.

We have one new great-grandchild that is 2 weeks old and expect another in June. We know that our days are numbered as we have been here many years. However, we also have two weddings scheduled November 18, 2022, and February 18, 2023. New souls are being born and new families are being started each day. We have the hope of eternal life because God sent his son to save us.

Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to look at the wonderful evidence of the grace of God in nature and in His word, the Bible. Thank you for your faithfulness and your saving grace. Amen.

Sandra Hilsabeck

Safeguard your Heart

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Proverbs 4:23 

Many things are hard even during good times. The pandemic certainly has pushed all of us to the limit; the horrors we see of homes and families in the Ukraine and worry that things will continue to escalate to include more countries; many have the “normal” challenges with family, health, finances, work.  So sometimes things can "get to us."

The reflection below (author unknown) provides some really good perspective as we all try to stay balanced, positive and optimistic during stressful times. 

You are holding a cup of coffee when someone comes along and bumps into you or shakes your arm, making you spill your coffee everywhere.

Why did you spill the coffee?

"Because someone bumped into me!!!"

Wrong answer.

You spilled the coffee because there was coffee in your cup.

Had there been tea, you would have spilled tea.

Whatever is inside the cup is what will spill out.

Therefore, when life comes along and shakes you (which WILL happen), whatever is inside you will come out. It's easy to fake it until you get rattled.

So we have to ask ourselves … "what's in my cup?"

When life gets tough, what spills over?

Joy, gratefulness, peace and humility?

Anger, bitterness, harsh words and reactions?

Life provides the cup, WE choose how to fill it.

Solomon tells us to “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”

But how do we take care of our hearts, or, as Scripture says, take it into custody? The Message says it this way: “Keep vigilant watch over your heart. That’s where life starts.”  And Matthew 5: 37 says “Let your yes be yes and your no be no.” This may be a good time to limit our intake of the news, of social media, of time with people who weigh us down, and fill our thoughts with Scripture, with love for people, and the love of God.   

Prayer: Dear Lord, these days we all face many challenges. And sometimes they can be really overwhelming. While I need to be aware of what’s going on in the world, please help me to balance this and to protect my heart from the things that drag me down, by putting some safeguards around my heart so I can live the life you formed me for.  Amen

Lori Snyder-Sloan

The Lord Hears Our Cry

I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. Psalm 40:1-2

Recently we have been spending time with friends from middle school and high school that we hadn’t seen for 20 years or more. Some play in a local band that we like to see. It has been interesting for us to discuss the last 25 years and the things that weren’t obvious to us in our youth. Things like how people’s home life really was, or who we looked up to and why, who had different talents, and what we expected to happen for people compared to how things actually turned out. 

Over the weekend we discussed a classmate who was a few years older than we were. In high school he suffered a hypoxic brain injury. I’m not sure of the cause.  Before the injury he was an amazing musician. His plan was to go into music as a career. Teaching. Performing. Writing. Living his dream. After his injury he could still play music, but the part of his brain that allowed him to read music didn’t retain his lifetime of learning to read it. He didn’t have the patience to relearn that skill and felt like his entire world had fallen apart. Brian told me that he thinks about him from time to time. The impact of losing his dreams and being unable to follow his passion. 

When we are in the “mud and mire” it can be hard to pull our way out. We might not know who to ask for help. We might even reject well-meaning offers for help.  We might feel as though we will never stand on solid ground again. I imagine that must have been the sensation for this young man. He could express himself through music. He could play beautifully the music that he had memorized and he was able to improvise musically on the instruments he played prior to his injury, but he was unable to learn new music. At least not through conventional teaching methods. His firm place was lost. 

Prayer: God who knows our pain, who works to remove us from the slimy pit and give us stability, please help us to see offers of help as a benefit. When we are struggling, help us to take the offers of stability. When we are afraid, please comfort us. Amen. 

Christi Moock

Words

If you utter what is precious and not what is worthless you shall be as my mouth. Jeremiah 15:19

How much time do we waste saying things that are “worthless” or saying things that are disrespectful or painful to others? The old saying “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is just not true. Words can hurt.

Sometimes those words are spoken maliciously, but probably more often they are unintentional and a result of just not thinking before we speak. Words can also be uplifting, healing and comforting.

Prayer: Dear Lord, forgive us when we say words that are “worthless” or hurtful to others and help us to speak words that are “precious” to your ears. Amen

Kathy Kuehn (reprinted from the Eastridge Daily Devotion book, 2008)