Jesus at First Sight - Lisa C. Wesson

When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.  But he (Stephen), being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” Acts 7:54-56

This past week, our family received the sad news of the death of a longtime member of our former church in Anniston, Alabama.  Mrs. Leola, at the age of 95, passed away with her family surrounding her bedside.  Leola had been a steadfast member of the congregation for as many years as I had attended there, and a member there since my husband, Mark, was a little boy.  A native Texan, often known as 'Tex', Leola spent much of her time making sure the poor had plenty of food at the local Community Enabler.  She had been a proud supporter of the local Girl Scouts and as a Troop Leader, she led many a young girl over the years in the adventures of scouting.  Within a few minutes of meeting her, you’d know she was a proud Texan, loved scouting, had not a shy bone in her body…and that she loved Jesus.

Upon hearing of her passing, I was lying awake thinking about her. I looked at out the window to the night sky and said to myself, "I wonder what the first thing was that she saw when she opened her eyes in Heaven."  Immediately, an inaudible but very clear and familiar voice spoke to my heart and said, “Me!!!” I smiled, a bit embarrassed that I had been focused on the appearance of Heaven’s surroundings rather than thinking about the Lord Himself.  I can’t imagine the joy she felt seeing His face and being in His presence!  Can you?

The season of Lent is a time of self-denial for us as we consider the sacrifices made by Christ for our sake which led to His crucifixion and death.  May we, as we reflect on those sacrifices, also look past the day of His death to His resurrection and consider the promise we have…just as Leola had…of seeing Him face to face one day if we receive Him in our hearts.  Can you imagine?  What a day that will be!

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the sacrifices you have made for us that we might one day enter our eternal home and be with you.  Forgive us for focusing on the wrong things sometimes and help us to ever keep our eyes on you, seeking to fulfill the mission you have given us here on Earth.  May our journey here be one that is pleasing to you with the purpose of bringing others to you that they may also join you in your Heavenly Kingdom one day.  In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.

Will They Know You Are Mine? - by Carrie Rester

I was recently at a women’s conference, which our admission ticket was a green bracelet to wear throughout the weekend. On Saturday we had a 2-hour lunch break, so my group proceeded to the closest restaurant. As we were waiting on our food, we couldn’t help hear the women sitting behind us fussing at their waitress, about the food being delayed, and not to their specifications. It was a bit awkward. When their bill appeared they were even more disenchanted and marched to the checkout stand to inform the waitress of their disapproval of the charges. That is when I saw the little green bracelet on her wrist, indicating she was a Christian at this women’s conference.

This behavior caused me to reflect on my own life. How do I react to others when things are not going particularly the way I planned? Are my actions drawing people to Christ or pushing them away. I started to think back on situations when I didn’t respond with much grace. Like the day I was a little snappy with my husband, after we made it home from church.  The day I sighed and tapped my fingers at the clerk that was so slow in checking me out as I wore my cross jewelry indicating I was a Christian.  By these actions and attitudes, I concluded that I was doing just as the lady did at the restaurant with the green bracelet. 

After reflecting on this I had a few questions: The first question was why do I do these things, I don’t want to do them. I am reminded of Paul in Romans 7:14 – 25 paraphrased, I do what I don’t want to do and don’t do what I want to do. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.  For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. He proceeds in referring to us in our sinful nature, which is our old nature. We must understand that there is a battle that is going on within us and that is the battle between our old nature and new nature. 

So the next question, how can I live in my new nature on a regular basis and not respond out of the old nature?

 Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

When we put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit moves in and begins to overhaul us from the inside out. Our minds are renewed--refreshed, renovated, --and that in turns transforms us, carrying over into our actions. So the old ways of thinking are changed to reflect the image of Christ. The way we live follows the way we think. The key to this is we must make the choice to follow our new natures.

We might be the only Bible people read, so we want to make sure they are seeing who Christ is by our attitudes and actions. It may be in the grocery store, at work, in the car, at our child’s sporting event or at a restaurant during a Women’s conference. We want to be different, not blending in and reacting the way the world reacts. Because you never know who is watching you…

What Do You Think? - by Soni Buckalew

Read Psalm 139:23-24

See if there be any wicked way in me. – Psalm 139:24a

Bennett pointed to a slender tube on the bathroom counter. “Is that Gold Bond Dark Spot Remover?” “No,” his Honey replied, “That is Gold Bond Neck and Chest Firming Cream.”

Bennett inquired, “What is that for?” Honey begins her lesson on ageing. “When people get older their necks and chests start to wrinkle. The bottle says 97% of those who use this product will have smoother skin in two weeks.”  Honey bends down and reveals her décolletage, “What do you think?” Wide-eyed Bennett replied with all the honesty of a five-year-old. “I think you need the brown spot remover!” 

Ouch! So worried about wrinkles I failed to see dark spots. Isn’t that true in our spiritual lives? Like a laser beam we focus on one portion of our relationship with Christ while another is neglected. What personal wrinkles or spots need removing in your life? Bitterness? Anger? Unforgiveness? Jealousy?

Throughout the Lenten season set aside time for daily introspection. Be honest with yourself. Journal or share your revelations with a trusted friend. Allow God to search your heart and mind to see what attitudes need smoothing out and actions require fading away. With eyes wide open to not only the wrinkles in your life but also the dark spots of your soul, your Maker is waiting to lead you back to the way everlasting.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, You formed me and made me. You redeemed me by the blood of your Son Jesus. Show me how to live each day in a way that points others to that glorious truth. In Christ’s name I pray, Amen

Thought for the day: What wicked way is in me?

Prayer Focus: Teaching grandchildren what is important.

Renewal - by Rev. Kelly Pope

“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”                            Acts 3:19 (NKJV)

I know that many people are in the midst of spring cleaning.  How do you feel about spring cleaning?  Do you love it?  Do you hate it?  I happen to be one that would rather not think about spring cleaning, but I know it’s something that needs to be done.  Besides, spring cleaning gives Sherrell and me some good bonding time as we clean out and put things in order.

And speaking of cleaning out and putting things in order!  The season of Lent give us an opportunity to do just that!  Of course, like spring cleaning, we can choose to leave things as is.  We can choose not to reflect on our lives and where God fits into them.  When we do our spring cleaning, we have to use cleaning supplies to help us renew the looks of things.  Well, I want to suggest some practices that might help us with renewal.  The practices I want to suggest are: prayer, scripture, worship and reflection.

Lent is a time for repentance.  It’s a time for us to deal with issues such as anger, greed, envy, bitterness, unforgiveness or broken relationships.

Let’s use the season of Lent as a time for renewal.  When I take time to draw near to God in reflection and repentance, I always find things for which I need forgiveness and places I need to move in a different direction.

I pray that we will use the season of Lent to discover renewal in our lives and through that renewal, find transformation and abundant life. 

Pride - by Rev. Sheila Cumbest

Read Matthew 25:31-46 https://biblia.com/bible/Matthew25.31-46#

Lent is particularly a season of the Christian year that makes me glad I’m in a church that uses the Christian year.  You might say, “Really?”  I really am glad to have a season that forces me to reflect in depth at what sin have I let take hold of me.  Of all the sins that known as deadly, pride is probably the death trap that we can slip into very easily without realizing it.  How do we know we’ve gotten there?  Whenever our religious life is making us feel that we are good, or above all, better than somebody else then we’ve let Pride enter.  Our real test is can we forget about ourselves?

Matt. 25.37 says,

“then the righteous will answer him…”  Has our self-righteousness blinded us?  The opposite of pride is humility.  The first step toward humility is realizing you are prideful.  Righteousness is only through God’s grace and not of our own doing. 

C.S. Lewis, in The Joyful Christian, said “the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride….Pride leads us to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.”

I don’t know about you, but I can easily think that I have gotten everything right.  I begin to measure everyone else by my standards. 

As you search your heart this Lenten season, ask yourself what sin is it that you struggle with most.  And dwell on the Psalmist’s word in Psalm 143:1-2

… hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications in your faithfulness; answer me in your righteousness.  Do not enter into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.  

Oh Lord, My Strength and My Redeemer - by Jane Sikora

Read: Psalms 119: 105-112 https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Ps119.105-112

Wayne and I were married twenty-eight years when he got sick. We both had a gastro-intestinal upset in March and I got over it but he continued to have problems.  In the next two months he became jaundice and just didn’t have much energy.  After many tests and procedures we were referred to Oschner hospital in New Orleans for further procedures and hopefully a diagnosis.  In July they determined he had a very small tumor at the junction of his stomach, small intestines and gall bladder. He was scheduled for a Whipple procedure to remove the tumor and reconnect that junction.  The recovery from this was slow.  Then we traveled to MD Anderson for treatment options.  It was cancer and required chemotherapy that could be done in Gulfport.  In September he started his treatments. That day was his best day in months. He was able to eat and called several people on the phone that afternoon. We found out later that many of his co-workers at WLOX had a prayer meeting at the same time as his treatment. Through all of this Wayne continued to read his Bible and strengthen his faith.  Two weeks later he developed a pulmonary embolism and died. 

There is NO DOUBT in my mind that he is in heaven.  He was a much stronger Christian than I and better Methodist than I’ll ever be. GOD,

The church family, our Sunday school class (Scrap Iron) and Christian friends got our family through this crisis. PTL

Dear God, “ Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight.  O LORD, my strength and my redeemer!”

Amen.  Psalms: 19:14

God is Unchanging - by Jason Thornton

Forever, O Lord,
Your Word is settled in heaven.
Your faithfulness endures to all generations.                                                       
                       Psalm 119:89-90
                                                            
God Himself says: “I, the Lord, do not change” (Malachi 3:6)
With God “there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17). “Jesus Christ is the same. The same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8)

He is immutable—unchanging. He is not loving one moment and wrathful the next. His wrath coexists with His love; therefore, the two never contradict, even when by human logic they seem in opposition. Such are the perfections of God that we can never begin to comprehend these things. Above all, we must not set aspects of God's nature against one another, as if there were somehow a discrepancy in God. God is always true to Himself and true to His Word (Romans 3:4; 2 Timothy 2:13). We can trust that His love and justice truly will remain steadfast forever (Psalm 136).