FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT

Sunday, April 3

Jeremiah 14:1-9, 17-22

Psalms 19, 46, 66, 67

Galatians 4:21-5:1

Mark 8:11-21

From The Message…

Meanwhile, the disciples were finding fault with

each other because they had forgotten to bring

bread. Jesus overheard and said, "Why are you

fussing because you forgot bread? Don't you see

the point of all this? Don't you get it at all?

Remember the five loaves I broke for the five thousand? How many baskets of leftovers did

you pick up?" They said, "Twelve." Mark 8:16-19

I think all of us “don’t get it” when we are faced with trauma or sickness (family, friend, ourselves), or panic over money problems. We take it on as our problem to work out ourselves, forgetting we are not in this alone.

I try to pray early every morning (on my knees). I read the scriptures for the day and read our Day by Day (I am so glad our prisoner is coming back in April) and then try to leave all my problems and concerns, prayers for other people and my family with the “Mighty Chessman.”

A friend gave me a sign that hangs on my closet door. It reads, “God answers knee mail.” I need to remember that!!!

In His name,

Lynn Mather

Saturday, April 2

Jeremiah 13:1-11

Psalms 87, 90, 136

Romans 6:12-23

John 8:47-59

O give thanks to the Lord, for his is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Ps 136, verse 1, New RSV

Thank God! He deserves your thanks. His love never quits.

Ps. 136, verse 1, The Message

The Psalms are an excellent and sometimes overlooked source for prayer. In the sixth century Benedict considered them so important that his Rule for Monasteries prescribed that all one hundred and fifty of them be chanted each week as part of daily prayer. They contain prayer for virtually every occasion. Some praise God, some give thanks, some are laments, and some are very angry. Whatever your mood, you can find a Psalm to fit.

Psalm 136 is a litany of thanksgiving for things that God has done for his people, many of which are ancient history to us today. But the mantra “His steadfast love endures forever” or simply “His love never quits” as The Message puts it, is as real for us today as the day it was penned by the psalmist and repeated twenty-six times.

So my suggestion for today is this: right now as you are reading this write down a list of at least five things that you are thankful for today, make it ten if you can, longer is better. Then, as soon as you’re finished, prayerfully read the list and follow each item with either “His steadfast love endures forever” or “His love never quits.” Now you have made a direct connection between those things you are thankful for, those gifts from God, and your thanks to God for them.

So often our prayers are petitions to God for help for ourselves or others and we forget about thanksgiving. Psalm 136 is a wonderful reminder to include prayers of thanksgiving in our daily visits with God.

Bob Lowe

Friday, April 1

Jeremiah 11:1-8, 14-20

Psalms 88, 91, 92

Romans 6:1-11

John 8:33-47

Psalm 92

“Thank You.” Behind “please” it is one of the first manners we teach our children. I would not be able to tell you how many times I have asked my children…”What do you say?” Funny how something we work so hard to engrain in our children’s vocabulary is so rarely used in our own. Sure, we say thank you many times a day…to the cashier at Starbucks to our friend who brought our child home from baseball… it has become a part of our vocabulary. But, how often are we offering true Thanksgiving to God? How often are we beginning our prayers with “Thank You. Thank You God for today?” This truly should be the start of our prayers every day, good or bad. Whether we were met with a day of great happiness or a day of sadness, God made that day, and for that we need to be Thankful. (On the days of great happiness, it is a bit more obvious as to why we should be thankful so let’s concentrate on the days that are not so happy). I can hear my oldest son now, “Mommy, why should we thank God when things are bad?” It is a great question and one that requires a great amount of faith to answer. God has a hand in all that we do; He is our creator and is with us. He shapes who we are. He believes in us more than we believe in ourselves. He is in control of our path and, therefore, we need to trust Him in all that happens to us. Although we can’t and won’t see His reasoning in those difficult situations, we need to be “righteous” and say “Thank You.” The Lord wishes no evil on us and although things may not always go our way, He loves us more than we can ever possibly imagine.

“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”

~Psalm 92: 12-15

Courtneay and Kevin Odden

Thursday, March 31

Jeremiah 10:11-24

Psalms 42, 43, 85, 85

Romans 5:12-21

John 8:21-32

John 8:21-32

Every day we wake up and find ourselves on a path. This path may be a high road, one of peace and happiness or it can be a low road, one of darkness and struggle. I find that when I am on the first road, I know and trust that God is my way. He has led me down that path, He is my co-pilot. I trust His direction and have great faith that He is the reason for all my good. And then one day, without warning, I wake up on the later road. I find myself on a different road, one of discouragement, sadness, or frustration. It is on this path that I find it difficult to see the Lord as my co-pilot. Why would I? Why should I? Bad things are happening, how can I trust that the Lord has me in His best interest? These are the days, the weeks, the months that we need to trust God the most. Nothing happens to us without His caring eyes upon us. He wants us to seek him on all of our roads. He wants to take us from the rocky road to the high road. His greatest desire is to see our faith go beyond our circumstance. To know that He is the light, the hope, the truth in all of our days, in all of our moments, in all of our seconds, is His desire. When we find ourselves on this path He wants us to pray for a touch of His love. He wants us to believe that no matter what our circumstance, He knows where we are and He cares. His is our co-pilot in all situations and He will lead us to our final destination.

“Then you will know that the truth,

and the truth will set you free.” ~John 8:32

Courtneay and Kevin Odden

Wednesday, March 30

Jeremiah 8:18-9:6

Psalms 81, 82, 119:97-120

Romans 5:1-11

John 8:12-20

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (Romans 5:1-11)

I love God-things, don't you? When something meaningful or special happens for you or someone you care about, that just causes you to stop in momentary wonder that God would take time from His busy day to seemingly make something fall into place or otherwise occur. For me, it was realizing that one of my meditation options was the very piece of scripture that I have come to hang my spiritual hat on over these past couple of years. It speaks so clearly that we WILL have suffering, but that through that suffering we will develop perseverance and character; and with that character, we shall learn to trust in hope…hope sometimes for the improbable, the miraculous, even the crazy, but if we can just hold on to that hope, we will be able to draw power from the healing strength of Christ. If life has thrown you some curve balls, I recommend planting HOPE around your living space - in pictures, signs, anything that your eyes can fall on when things feel like they are getting out of hand. I promise…it helps!

Vicki Cravens