 By Mary Spence
"But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) I have always struggled with Holy week. The emotional high of Palm Sunday celebrating Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem to the low of Good Friday and his crucifixion and death on the cross to the high again of Easter. The joy of the reserection and realization the His death freed me. It's so many emotions in one week. My realization that by dying on that cross He opened the door for me to be in relationship with God changed my life. Does anyone else feel a tremendous amount of freedom in that? God is not tallying up our good behavior, judging our performance, or even marking us down when we fail. He loves us absolutely and, ultimately, with no strings attached. When I mess up, which for me, was as recently as yesterday, He forgives me, He lavishes His love on me, and I am renewed! Grace is a term that we throw out a lot as Christ followers. I could never really grasp the concept before I began to understand what Jesus did for us by dying on the cross. Grace is God's undeserved favor. Corinthians 12:9 says, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (NIV) Grace is Christ's free gift to us. It means that we are loved, valued and it’s a power that increases when we are weak. Our own flesh is in a daily battle with the holy spirit within us. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God" Ephesians 2:8 NIV We are living in a world full of sin and chaos. Our human nature itself is sinful. But God's grace saves us from ourselves. There are so many examples of Jesus embracing sinners in the bible...The woman at the well.... Jesus picked her because she had sinned and offered her a new life. The woman caught in adultery.... Jesus says to her accusers "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.." Saul. A man who killed Christians. Who had an experience with God and became Paul, a student of Jesus. The prodigal son....He pursues us. He is always waiting for us. The needier, the thirstier we are the better. Grace is God's loving kindness. Grace is forgiveness extended to the sinners.The greatest example of grace is Christ's death on that cross. When Jesus paid our debt. So we could be forgiven of our sin and be In relationship with Him. That is grace. So now as I walk through Holy week each year I am sober, sad and elated and free. But I guess I should be emotional. Heavenly Father. Help us to view ourselves as loved and accepted just as we are. Let us know that our sin does not separate us from relationship with you. Our faith alone qualifies us to be your family, your loved ones. Thank you God that you meet each one of us right here. With your arms spread wide waiting to embrace us in your glorious love. God, we thank you for the gift of your son. We are so grateful that you so desired relationship with us that you gave your one and only son to make a way for forgiveness of our sins.  Written by Jennifer Hoyt
2 Corinthians 13:5-6 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? -unless indeed you are disqualified, But I think that you will know that we are not disqualified. Our church youth group embarked on an unforgettable journey to Word of Life for Snowcamp in the Adirondacks, and it was nothing short of epic! It was a weekend jam-packed with thrilling activities like tubing, ax throwing, and even polar plunges. But wait, there's more—mini sports tournaments galore, including basketball, volleyball, dodgeball, soccer, and you name it! Rallies were held that rivaled secular concerts. Imagine the pulsating beat of the music, the swirling haze of fog machines, and the kaleidoscope of lights casting a glow over the crowd. Kids would be on their feet, cheering, while mini volleyballs bounced around in a heated competition between the red and blue teams. But amidst all the excitement, there came a moment of hush as the message of the gospel took center stage. In a room bustling with hundreds of teens, silence descended as the truth was spoken. And then, hearts were stirred, and souls were moved to respond. The sight of teens streaming down the aisle, answering the call to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior brings tears to my eyes even now, a few weeks later. The first night alone, two from our group took this life-changing step. My heart swelled with joy and gratitude, as I witnessed God's work in the hearts of these teens unfolding before me. The next day brought a blend of fun and spiritual nourishment, with breakout sessions tailored to meet teens right where they were on their spiritual journey. From questioning seekers to committed believers seeking growth, everyone found a place to belong and grow. Each camper engaged in devotions every morning and evening with their Bible Institute camp counselor, deepening their faith and connection with God. As the weekend drew to a close, a powerful and convicting message stirred our souls on Sunday morning—a message that continues to resonate within me. It's a message we all need to hear, so today, I'm excited to share it with you, best I can from memory: Matthew 7:16-19 says: “We know a tree by its fruit.” “So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. Trees bear fruit after their kind. Apple trees won’t produce oranges and pear trees won’t produce lemons and on. We know this to be a simple fact of science and nature. The Bible tells us this is true in the spirit too. We are like trees producing fruit after our kind. What kind of fruit are you producing? First, let’s take a look at our trees and the types of fruit they bear. What does the bible say the world’s tree looks like? From the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) we have: false worship, idolatry, misusing God’s name, violating the Sabbath, dishonoring parents, murder, adultery, stealing, lying, and coveting. Galatians 5:19-21 The Message (MSG) It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on. The Message translation of Galations 5:21 says “This isn’t the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God’s kingdom.” Verses 19-21 in the NKJV translation doesn’t do anything to lessen the impact… “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” I really liked the MSG and the NKJV translation, but feel free to grab any translation you prefer and take a look. Here are some corresponding verses to dig a little deeper with. In real life I’m a basketball coach. If you’re at a game my team is playing in, you will hear me from the sidelines calling our directions to encourage my players. I yell for them to swing the ball or run a certain play or to get a rebound and clean up the boards. I also cheer when someones makes a shot or plays good D. Right now, let me call out from the sidelines to you, as we are running this Christian race – dig a little deeper. Grab the Bible or your app and take a look: Revelation 21:8, Ephesians 5:3-6, Galatians 5:19, Corinthians 6:9-10, Mathew 15:18-19, Peter 4:2-4, Romans 8:13, Timothy 1:9-10. We know a tree by it’s fruit. Healthy trees bear good fruit and unhealthy bad. You won’t get bad fruit from a healthy tree and likewise, you won’t get good fruit from a diseased tree. If this is truth, what does a Christian’s fruit look like? What does the bible say a Christian’s tree look like? Galatians the New International Version 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Dig a little deeper: James 3:17-18, John 15:5, Colossians 3:12-17, John 15:5, 2 Peter 1:5-8, and Matthew 12:33 Describing the atmosphere in that room full of teenagers is tough to articulate. You have a mix of individuals—some who may have never encountered the concept of God before, and others who have grown up surrounded by faith, yet perhaps are hearing it anew with fresh ears. What I can say, is, it was remarkable to witness these young minds eagerly absorbing truth—the truth that our actions and choices hold significance in the eyes of God. As the preacher delivered the sermon, he urged the audience to reflect on their lives, "What kind of tree are you?" and "What fruits do you bear?" “What kind of tree will you be when you leave here?” His words hung in the air, prompting soul-searching. Then he said a thing I can’t shake: “Most of you are tempted to pick and chose between the lists. You know, I don’t murder, but I have a temper. Sure, sometimes I gossip, but who doesn’t. Sure, sometimes I swear, listen to the wrong kind of music, watch porn, disrespect my parents, lie and on… but, I can be kind. Thing is, a good tree doesn’t bear bad fruit and a bad tree doesn’t bear good fruit. It’s not a pick from the two lists kind of situation. You’re either one or the other!” The first part of Galatians 5 tell us to “stand fast in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. It means – don’t go back to what you’ve been set from! So how do we do that? How do we cross over to a place where our tree is producing the fruit of the spirit? The key is in the last word of the fruit of the spirit – SELF-CONTROL. WE must become diligent in our pursuit of God! We can either invest our time in pursuing the world and all of it’s emptiness (though pleasurable for a season) and look just like the world, bearing its fruit OR we can invest (sow) our lives into the pursuit of God. Here’s the deal, if you’re running a game called church on Sunday and hell on Monday – is it any wonder you’re not really feeling God? Is it any wonder your fruit reflects the nutrients you’re feeding it? Is it any wonder that something inside still feels wrong? Galatians 5:17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever c you want. We cannot hope to bear good fruit if we don’t practice self-control. Romans 12:2 holds that key for us: “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Each day we are feeding ourselves from one source or the other. Each day we have an opportunity to practice self-control and for our mind to be renewed and transformed by God. Let me encourage you to knock, seek, ask. Those that seek God with their whole heart – find Him. Let me encourage you to walk in the Spirit so that you don’t gratify the desires of the flesh (v.16). In closing, sin breaks down our relationship with God. It makes us hide. Adam and Eve hid. They sowed fig leaves together to try and fix it themselves. God walked through the garden in the cool of day and said “Adam where are you?” and it wasn’t because God didn’t know. Its because Adam needed to realize where he was. Today, if you’re reading this, what does your fruit look like? Where are you at?  Written by Rebecca Vickery
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, 2 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. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3 Juliet spent almost every day of the first few months of her bartonella treatment on a heating pad. We each had one. She could hardly move, and I didn’t expect her to. Now that I was going through the same treatment, we understood one another better. I could bare witness to her in a way that my husband who rarely gets sick could not. The expectations that I put on her for chores and other things were very different than they would have been if she had been well. This seems obvious, but with invisible illness, it isn’t always. Early in our treatment, I watched her get up and go into the kitchen for the first time in a while. I encouraged her as she took two steps, paused, three steps, more pause, etc. She made it to the kitchen counter and finally to some water. To anyone else looking (without seeing) it was a small feat. But because I knew how hard it had become for myself to move, I could see her. I cheered her on. There have been times in this journey when people have reached out to me to encourage me. And there are times I when I have not felt a lot of external support. Chronic illness, long term treatments, anything that allows a person to be persistently isolated and alone can lead to gaps in encouragement. It’s a busy world out there, and not everyone takes the time to remember you if you aren’t actively reaching out to them. But the Bible says, the Lord is close to the brokenhearted. He saves those who are crushed in spirit. The Lord can meet with us even when we feel forgotten. In the process of our family’s many years dealing with Lyme disease, we have had a lot of limitations. Social gatherings became a thing of the past. Celebrate Recovery meetings also became a thing of the past. The support groups that I built up over the last few years were not present in my suffering. It simply wasn’t possible to surround myself with people who could uplift me in person. Everything I needed, I needed to get directly from the Lord. What I could not do, He did. I found that I went from desperate and needing connection to being able to turn around and offer comfort to others. In the beginning, it started with praying for friends on Facebook. Sometimes I would receive a message of encouragement from other friends who were fellow sufferers. This frequently would give me enough boost to turn around and encourage others. I could not be in someone’s space to cheer them on, but I could offer them encouragement via Facebook messenger. I knew what it was to be alone, and I knew that I was far from truly alone. I knew I could take my burdens to God, and I knew there were others who could not. I knew there were others that did not know they could talk to God directly, so I talked to God and lifted them up to Him. One such time, I was praying for a friend who had recently lost her husband. He had fought a long hard battle with cancer and shortly before Christmas went home to be with the Lord. One update, she made a public speech thanking some people who had previously supported her. I prayed for her while she spoke, and suddenly I had this crystal-clear image of her husband surrounded by a great number of people. He was smiling, and his face was restored and radiant. I was delighted and thought how lovely an image to share with my friend. Maybe he was in their cloud of witnesses now. But then I saw another familiar face. My beautiful first friend as a married woman, she was about my mom’s age. She passed away in a car accident a number of years ago. Now I was confused. The image was still so clear, but I was asking the Lord, wait, I thought you meant that image for my friend. I didn’t know her husband very well, but there he was next to my sweet friend Pam. And I thought, how many hours did I spend praying for Shane and his family. Why wouldn’t it make sense for him to be in my cloud of witnesses? We were connected by Jesus, and we were connected by massive amounts of prayer. I was laughing and crying at the scene. I delighted in the picture that was an encouragement to my heart. Maybe that was the part I was not quite understanding about the great cloud of witnesses. Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, even when we were unseen by human eyes, we were understood. We were loved much, not just by God but by those who had gone before us. If we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, they bear witness to our pain, our sorrows, our heavy burdens. It can be so much easier to keep going when we know we have people in our corner. We may not all have a cloud of people in person every day spurring us on in love and good deeds. But as believers in Jesus, we all have a cloud of witnesses who can bear witness in our daily existence, even when we feel alone.  PRAISE CHANGES EVERYTHING!
by Donna Churchill Several years ago, I was at my kitchen table one day, having just finished breakfast and reading my morning devotional. I was looking out the window, thinking and talking to the Lord. The wind was blowing like crazy and the trees outside my window were swaying back and forth, the branches slapping one another as they were tossed to and fro. In that moment, I sensed the Lord say to me, “Donna, the trees are praising me because you are not.” Wow! My mind immediately went to the Scripture in Luke (10:37) where the Pharisees had asked Jesus to rebuke his disciples because they were joyfully and loudly praising God for all the miracles they had seen Jesus perform. Jesus said to them, “I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” Revelation began to burst forth in my spirit that day and several other scriptures came to mind. The first one was Isaiah 61:1-3 which says, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion - to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.” I began to see that Praise changes your focus. Praise changes your focus. For a long time, I had been troubled by a situation I had absolutely no control over. I worried and fretted like never before in my life. I am not normally a worrier by nature – it’s just not who I am – but I think I did more worrying about that situation in one year than I had about any other thing in all other years combined!! I just did not know how to deal with this particular situation, had never walked through anything like it, and was totally unprepared for it. But, in that instant there at the breakfast table, I knew – PRAISE – would change my focus! I saw the truth, was reminded of this truth that I had lost sight of. As I began to praise the Lord, my focus shifted from the situation to the Lord and as I was drawn to the Lord, my faith was strengthened and my joy renewed. As I focused on the Lord, the enormity of my situation decreased and God’s might in the situation increased and it changed my whole perspective. The Scripture tells us that the Lord gives to us the “garment of praise.” A garment is something that you put on; it’s a covering for your body; a wrap. So, praise is a garment you clothe yourself with. Just as you choose which garment to put on your body each morning, you can choose to put on the garment of praise. “I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness: and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the most high.” Psalm 7:17 “I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth all thy marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most high. Psalm 9:1 2 “I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Psalm 34:1 Our focus changes from our problems to His majesty when we choose to praise Him! We realize that nothing about our situation changes anything about who He is…about His character. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is sovereign over all and already knows all about the situation we are walking through. He has known all along and has already make provision for us. Praise is also a weapon we use to execute vengeance upon the enemy of our soul. Psalm 149 shows us this very clearly: “Praise the Lord. Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the godly! Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King! Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre! For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation. Let the godly exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands, to execute vengeance on the nations and punishments on the peoples, to bind their kings with chains ad their nobles with fetters of iron, to execute on them the judgment written! This is honor for all his godly ones, Praise the Lord!” Psalms 144 through 150 are beautiful praise songs to the Lord and show us much about how praise moves the hand of God on our behalf. We are made to praise the Lord! We praise Him for who He is, for what He’s done, for what He’s going to do and for driving back the enemy of our souls. We praise Him because His word commands us to. We praise Him because praise changes our focus; praise changes everything. We praise Him because praise is a gift He has given us; a gift to be opened and used, but most of all, we praise Him because He, above all else, is worthy to be praised!! “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!” Psalm 150:6  By Joyce Pelletier 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 Whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom, and we who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. In all my years of reading God’s word, I know I must have read these words, but on this particular morning, I read this passage and I had a somewhat of an “AHA” moment. I love it when that happens. I thought about it off and on today. I knew I’d be writing in the blog about it. In the Old Testament I read in Exodus where Moses went into the place where few people were allowed to go. He wore a veil until he was in this holy place. And when he came back out, his face was filled with holy brightness. He wore his veil again to dissuade people from looking at his face after talking to God. If he were to go back to the people unmasked, he’d be a distraction from looking for God’s holy face. I’ve not seen God’s face, but in essence, when I talk to God in intensity, it’s like He removes the veil that I wear, unseen by others, but it’s like God let’s my open up my invisible veil and I can speak to Him in complete honesty and never have to hold back from what I talk to Him about. Like the reading from 2 Corinthians, He sets me free. I don’t have to be afraid or fearful about being honest about my failures, and I can remove that veil and tell Him everything, His response is His radiant heart showing through every part of His being, like His eyes, and hands, and mouth as He speaks truth to my life and there is no condemnation, or fear. He reassures me, does not point fingers. All He wants from me is “me” and He is always there with compassion, goodness, love, grace, kindness and the list is endless. He accepts me as I am, and at the same time, He helps me to change. He shows me things I could not know without Him. My true freedom comes when I just let everything go and walk along the path to where He bids me to go. “No worries” just amazing love. When we sing the song, ‘Is He worthy,’ it catches me within the first line about knowing the world is broken, and He is so worthy. There is nothing else we need. Wherever I am, I’m always talking to God. He never grows tired of listening. When I reach out to another person, who might be really hurting, and it’s His grace that enables me to lift up the other. There are times I fail, but He’s always there to help me pick up the pieces. Don’t be afraid to tell it like it is. He is completely and fully aware of what is going on and He has a plan to carry you, and see you through any cloud that comes down the road. Father God, Thank you for being there through the thick and thin of life. Whether I’m going through another painful day or having a day of being pain free, You know my pain, and that cross you bore for me, I am eternally grateful. I take your hand through the journeys you have planned for me, with some fears, but ready to go wherever you lead me to go. Your hand protects me at every step I take. Thank you In Jesus’ name, AMEN! |
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