ALMOST MARCH! ALMOST LENT!

It's the last day of February 2022!  That means Fat Tuesday is tomorrow and Ash Wednesday is - well - Wednesday!  I am planning to read through my book LEAD ME TO THE CROSS again this year as my Lenten devotional, but in doing so, I also look forward to making new observations along the journey.  

If you have a book and want to join me, that would be welcomed, and if you don't have a book, the easiest way to get one is on Amazon as an e-book.  

I am sad about what is happening to Ukraine with Russia's unwelcome invasion, but also know that often people don't reach out to God until extreme circumstances leave them no where else to turn.  And in this time of terror and trouble, I pray that MANY will turn to God and accept what Jesus did for them when He died for their sins, and rose again from the dead.   None of us know the evil will assault us - but we can know where we are headed when we leave the earth.  This is a good reminder to be sure we KNOW Jesus, not just know about Him.  

And, there is no better way to know Him  than to do an intentional, disciplined study as we head once more toward the cross and resurrection.  Whether through my book or another source, I challenge you to make the Lenten journey this year very intentional.  

Go in His grace....

The Journey to the Cross 2017, Day 5

If it looks like we skipped a day by not numbering yesterday, this is a reminder that the Sundays leading up to Resurrection Sunday do not count in the 40-day countdown of Lent.

Monday, Day 5: Matthew 5                            

There is so much in Matthew Chapter 5.  ‘Do not resist an evil person’ leaps out to me – as does ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.’  The reality is I do pray for those who misrepresent, malign and misunderstand me – but I am not truly persecuted, though sometimes I feel like it.  Sunday’s message at church talked  about the persecuted church – the truly persecuted – and in the light of that comparison, this is hard teaching . . . . Our Christian faith teaches forgiveness. Letting stuff go.

This chapter includes the Beatitudes, and a healthy ‘be’ attitude is the best kind . . . . We cannot always affect our circumstances, but we can affect our attitude.

Lord, when I need an attitude adjustment, nudge me to praise. You inhabit the praises of your people.

Chapter 5 ends with an impossible directive: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” I know I can’t actually do it - but by His grace, I can press toward the mark – and I’ll get a lot further intentionally pressing forward than I will if I don’t try.

Lord, help me be an intentional Christian today. I’m so grateful you impute righteousness to us, and that you see us through the filter of your Son!

Humor for today:
A young woman who was having no luck finding employment through all of the normal avenues decided to go door-to-door in a posh neighborhood and seek odd jobs. She bravely walked up to the door of the first home, knocked and asked the man who answered the door if there were any chores she could do to earn money.

The man replied, “Can you paint?”

“I sure can.” She replied confidently.

“Well, then, you can paint my porch if we can agree on a price.”

“How about $50 dollars,” she replied, “Is that O K?”

“That’ll be just fine. You’ll find the paint in the garage.”

He, of course, was ecstatic. He had been avoiding the project for a long time, and was getting tired of his wife bugging him about it. Now he had this drop dead gorgeous blond willing to do it for a mere $50.! He closed the door, feeling quite smug.

About an hour later, there was another knock on the door. It was the blond. “I’m all done,” she reported, “I had lots of paint so I gave it two coats - and, by the way,” she continued, “It’s a Ferrari, not a porch.”

HEAD’S UP:
We are frequently warned about scams.  

I received a call from a young man claiming to be my grandson. I asked him for his name, and he said scoldingly, “Grandma, you know my name . . . .” I said, “Well, I still want to know your name.” And he hung up. The reality is, I was forewarned about that one. I know someone who fell victim to it a year earlier. The young man who called her said, “Hi Grandma” and she responded with “Brian, is that you?” Then he had her hooked . . . .told her his tall tale of trouble, and that he was going to be jailed in Canada if he didn’t pay the fine immediately . . . and she went straight to Western Union and sent the requested money - - a couple thousand dollars, as I recall . . . . She truly thought she was helping her grandson.

Another scam happened to my Cambodian friends who helped someone because the person claimed to be a Christian – but the reality is there was a hefty pay-off for helping that was promised.  All they had to do was give the person the money needed up front, and as soon as the immediate problem was resolved, they were to be handsomely rewarded.  BEWARE!  Anything too good to be true is! (Except Salvation through Jesus Christ).   They lost their money and a nice Rolex watch in the process of trying to help. 

Just this morning I got an email telling me I had won a brand new BMW.  I get email scams fairly often.  Some even seem legit  – but I check them out . . . . I got an e-mail once that said my account at a certain bank had been compromised and they needed me to fill out the online form to get it cleared up. I went straight to the bank, and they were already aware of the scam . . . an effort to get my I D.

Another one that is fairly recent is calling people acting like they are the Court system  – telling you that you are going to be arrested for failing to show up for your jury duty . . .  and in the process of your being flustered they get your personal info from you and steal your identity, drain your accounts and leave you wondering how it happened.

We are told we are to be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves . . . .hopefully a word to the wise is sufficient.

The Journey to the Cross 2017, Day 2

Thursday, Day 2:  Matthew 1

Reading for today:

Matthew 1

Matthew begins with a genealogy of Jesus Christ.  There is great purpose in doing that.  The Old Testament prophets proclaimed that the One who would come as Redeemer – Immanuel, God with us – would be born of a virgin, be born to the house and lineage of David, and be born in Bethlehem of Judea.  All of those prophecies had to be precisely fulfilled – and Jesus fulfilled every one of them!   For starters, both his mother and his earthly step-father were descendants of David.

I love the beginning of their story.  An angel appeared to a young woman named Mary in the village of Nazareth and told her she was the one chosen to give birth to the Messiah, the Son of God.  She was just an obscure peasant girl engaged to an upright man named Joseph – and she willingly agreed to become mother of Jesus, to submit herself to God’s divine will, with no regard for what that might mean in terms of hearsay and assumptions about her fidelity.  And, Joseph, being fully man, upon hearing the news of her pregnant state prior to their marriage, could only assume she had been unfaithful.  He certainly hadn’t been with her yet, but being a decent man, he resolved to divorce her quietly and not have her stoned.  Really, that was being a nice guy! 

Then an angel entered his fitful sleep and told him not to be afraid to take Mary to be his wife, let him in on the secret and told him that what Mary had undoubtedly tried to tell him was true – that the baby she was carrying was miraculously placed there by the Holy Spirit.  The angel even told Joseph what he was to name him – Yeshua – and added the purpose for which he was to be born:  He will save His people from their sins.  His name – Yeshua – when translated directly to English is Joshua, and means Savior.  And He is! 

[Yeshua translated to Greek was Iesous, which when translated to English became Jesus, which is the name we most commonly know Him by.]

Matthew 1:23

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:  “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel.” (which means God with us).

Thank you, Lord of all creation, Master of the universe, for coming so humbly into this world You created to redeem those You created, so those who choose You can be reconciled to You, and become sons and daughters of God.  What a journey…from heaven to earth and back again.

Humor for today:

When our youngest granddaughter was 2, she was riding in the pickup with me and because we were just going from my eldest daughter’s house to my house –  on a back road on our own property, not out on a public road (a distance of about 500 feet) – I told her she didn’t have to put on her seat belt – something unheard of in her world!  As I drove into the garage, she dramatically exclaimed, “Thank God, we made it.”