Lenten Devotional – Tue, March 31, 2009

Posted: March 31, 2009

Bear ye one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2

My husband called home one night last week with the news that a friend’s daughter was diagnosed with cancer.  It hit me like a good punch in the stomach.  All I could think of was, if this happened to me, I’d be sitting in the hospital begging God to let me be the one to suffer, and not my child!  Not my child.  But we all know, this isn’t how He works!

My husband was quick to call our friend—a work colleague of his—and offer to take on anything at all that would make it easier for him to spend time with his little girl.  Bear ye one another’s burden, we reasoned.  This wasn’t going to make our lives any easier, but, really, what cause is better than the life of a little girl?

I share this as a rather extreme example.  Thank goodness we don’t come across situations like this every day.

But, there are so many other opportunities to fulfill this law of Christ.  I’m sure you’ll agree that we’re living in economic times like none of us have seen in generations.  Our neighbors are losing jobs, or if not, fearful of losing jobs.  Our schools are seeing budgets slashed.  And, not to be ignored, our church and other non-profit organizations are keenly aware of the effects of this tough economy.  We know that all too often, when the economy gets tough, the need for these non-profit organizations skyrockets.

How are we sharing in these burdens? We’re called to joyfully be Christ’s hands and feet on this earth.  Are we looking out for our neighbors and friends and doing all that we can to help them find new jobs, or keep the ones they have?  Can we help encourage the women and men who teach our children every day?  Are we truly giving our time and money to the organizations that so desperately need it?

As we prepare again, to hear the story of how He ultimately bore all of our burdens that Friday on the cross, we should be called to reflect on how we’re doing this for our brothers and sisters today.

Heavenly Father, please forgive me for the times that I haven’t helped carry a burden of a friend.  Thank you for giving me the ultimate example of this sacrifice and I ask you to help me to remember and honor your Son every day in my words and actions.  Please today God, give me a clear opportunity to lessen the load for my brother or sister.  I promise to do it only in Your name!  In Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.

Susan Plunkett

Lenten Devotional – Mon, March 30, 2009

Posted: March 30, 2009

“My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them.  “Stay here and keep watch.”  Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him, “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you.  Take this cup from me.  Yet, not what I will, but what you will.”  Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping.  “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep?  Could you not keep watch for one hour?  Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.  The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”  Mark 14:34-38

When I think back on my memories as a child, there was always something special about Easter morning.  Maybe it was the new dress and patent leather shoes or the tall chocolate Easter bunny nestled in a pile of plastic grass.  Maybe it was the bright yellow sugar coated marshmallow chicks tucked snug in a pastel woven basket speckled with vibrant colored jelly beans.

Once I began my relationship as a follower of Jesus Christ, I truly began to understand the freedom that Easter morning brought.  The hope and promise of new life, forgiveness, mercy, and grace for things I don’t deserve.  During the Lenten season I find myself going back to the Garden of Gethsemane; I can smell the dampness of the air, feel the mist in the garden, my heart breaks as I picture my precious Lord and Savior fall to the ground and cry out “Abba, Father”.  He was alone in the garden, his “soul overwhelmed with sorrow”, he was on his journey to the cross, the ultimate sacrifice unfolding, and he pleads for his disciples to “watch and pray”.  And what happened, they fell asleep.  Not once, not twice, but three times Jesus came back to find them asleep.

I often wonder how many times the opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus Christ is right in front of me and instead of “watching and praying”, my eyes are closed.  How many times does a Divine appointment come my way and I sleep through the chance to share the victory of the cross?  Sleepwalking through the day to day business of living; shedules, to do lists, chores, multi-tasking, etc.  Have you ever gotten in your car and as if auto-pilot is an option you manage to get from point A to point B?

Am I sleepwalking through God-moment adventures, Kingdom building opportunities, and relationships that will last for eternity?  Am I wide awake and on watch to see God’s thread woven in my life or am I sleeping through it?  Children don’t even like to discuss bedtime, that requires sleep and that might mean missing something.  How much do we miss in our daily walk with God?

Dear Father God,

Guide me out of slumber and awaken my senses to your amazing grace that surrounds my life each and every day.  May my soul be overwhelmed with the beauty in the trees that bud, the flowers that burst forth out of the ground, the birds that waken with the break of daylight, and the reminder of new life in all of your mighty creation.  Your beautiful reminders of the season are brushed across the landscape like a magnificent portrait.  Keep my eyes open, my mind alert, my heart tender, my spirit humble, and my tongue prepared to speak, when necessary, to share the gospel.

Give me the strength to “watch and pray” and the obedience to live a life wide awake for you!

In Jesus Mighty and Precious Name,

AMEN!

Sherri Juliani

Lenten Devotional – Sun, March 29, 2009

Posted: March 29, 2009

Poured Out

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
Titus 3:4-7 (New International Version)

In this passage we hear the theme throughout the scripture that God has an incredible love for us.  In this short passage we hear that God is a God of kindness, a God of mercy and a God of grace. Because He is all of these things He shares His love with us not just with a few drops or even a steady stream but He pours it out on us generously.    The intense love He has will stop at nothing to express itself.  The greatest expression of this love can best be seen in the pouring out of His own blood, His very life (Luke 22:20).  This act of love through the pouring out of His very life blood provides a way for forgiveness (Matt. 26:28) and through that forgiveness a relationship with this God of love.

But God’s indescribable love didn’t stop there.  If He were to truly love us completely then he must not only have a relationship with us but also through His pouring out of Himself provide a way for us to experience the very life of Christ for ourselves.  The scriptures tell us that God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.  He has not only poured out His life for us but poured out His life into us who by faith have trusted in Him.

God has poured out the full measure of His Life so we might fully experience His love.  Once we experience this amazing love that is beyond any earthly love we have known He invites us to pour it into others who are desperately in need of love.  God invites us to be poured out for others. (Phil. 2:17)

That is the story of Easter.  God’s love poured out, God’s Spirit poured out, God’s life poured out into our life so we might be full of love and pour that life of love into others. This is the greatest life there is and in God’s great love He invites us to be poured out.

Rev. Carey Akin

Lenten Devotional – Sat, March 28, 2009

Posted: March 28, 2009

“…being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.”

Colossians 1:11-12

In early January while in Charlotte, North Carolina, I visited the Billy Graham Library.  He had grown up nearby on a dairy farm.  The family home had been moved twice, brick by brick to that location.  One enters the library under a large window cross on the front of the “barn.”  The third part of the grounds is the Prayer Garden where Ruth Bell Graham is buried.  Her tombstone which is a large rock that came from the mountains near their home reads, “End of construction.  Thank you for your patience.”  She had seen this message at the end of a construction site on the road while riding in a car.

We are under construction as we go through life.  God is so wonderful and so patient with us.  We disappoint Him and He still loves us and forgives us.  Sometimes OUR construction plans need to be remedied through Bible studies, devotions and volunteering to help others.

I have heard people say after a serious accident or illness, that God was not done with them here on earth.  What a wonderful blessing that God is always working on our construction project with the final destination of Heaven in His plan for us.

Dear God, please continue to be patient with us as we journey through our personal construction project.  Help us to be thankful for each day and to be a blessing to others who are also under construction.  Most of all, thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ.  Amen

Shelby Marston

Lenten Devotional – Fri, March 27, 2009

Posted: March 27, 2009

“I called on your name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea: ‘Do not close your ears to my cry for relief.’ You came near when I called you, and you said, ‘Do not fear.’ ~ Lamentations 3: 55-57

Have you ever been in a pit? I mean a place where fear threatened to take over your entire being? As we watched and waited for our son to emerge from a coma following surgery to repair a ruptured brain aneurysm, I remember how fear tried to take a stronghold on my heart. I had so many questions……..so many “what ifs?” and “but hows?” What if he never recovered? (After all, the doctors had said he likely wouldn’t, and that even if he did, he would likely be in a vegetative state.) What if he died without me being able to hold him and tell him one more time how very loved he was? What if he recovered, but could never experience any real quality to his life? Those were coupled with, “But how, God?” But how will everything ever be okay again—how will he ever return to normalcy (whatever that really is), and how will we be equipped to help him in his journey? But how will this affect his brothers and sister; what kind of impact will it have on their lives?

The answer came to me one night as I shared some of my fears with one of his nurses. She likened his recovery to climbing a mountain, saying that if we try to run up the mountain, we will surely slip and fall, but if we take our time planting one foot firmly after the other, we will slowly but surely make it to the top……SLOWLY BUT SURELY. God wasn’t going to desert us and let us climb that mountain alone; He was going to be right by our side helping us make that climb, carrying us when we couldn’t carry ourselves! In that simple but eloquent illustration, I had all my answers—God was going to take care of ALL my “what ifs?” and “but hows?” He heard my pleas from the depths of the pit, and He sent an angel in the form of an ICU nurse to remind me of His words, “Do not fear.”

Prayer: Oh God, how many times have I allowed fear to threaten my trust in you? Thank you, sweet Jesus, for knowing my fears and sending assurances to me to remind me that You will never leave me nor forsake me—that You ARE in control and that You will bear my burdens for me whether in the depths of pits or on the tops of mountains. In Your precious, precious name, Amen.

Mary Clark

Lenten Devotional – Thu, March 26, 2009

Posted: March 26, 2009

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6

So often we Christians judge our faith by our strength during adversity, our purity and peacefulness of mind, and our good deeds performed in the name of Christ. The Gospel according to Luke recounts that Christ endured forty days of evil temptation, during which “he ate nothing… and at the end of them, he was hungry.” Luke 4:2  Christ’s experience reveals to us that vulnerability is inevitable, because even Christ could not resist becoming hungry. We cannot depend on these earthly bodies to prevent weakness or on our wandering minds to avoid unproductive thoughts. Christ remained faithful His entire life, living in perfect harmony with His Creator in spite of the temptations thrown His way. His life is a model for us to follow and gives witness to the power of faithfulness to God. An intimate relationship with God requires dedicated effort and does not necessarily lessen the blow of being battered by earthly obstacles. By being faithful and cultivating our relationship with the Great Provider, we learn that God has a plan for our lives and that we can please Him by adhering to His path and ultimately rest assured that God’s hands bless us abundantly.

Hi God! Thank You for Your abundant grace! I want to please You because You are my Wonderful Creator. Please help me deny my earthly pride and guide me to a closer relationship with You. I love You!

Kelly Driver

Holy Week at Mt. Bethel

Posted: March 25, 2009

No Sunday School on Easter, but Nursery is available at 9 & 11 and Special Needs will meet at 9:00 & 11:00.

Video of March 22 Traditional Sermon: “Blessed are the Risk Takers”

Posted: March 25, 2009

Minister: Dr. Randy Mickler

Scripture: Matthew 25:14-18 and Luke 12:48b

Video of March 22 Encounter sermon: “Brothers in Arms”

Posted: March 25, 2009

Minister: Rev. Jody Ray

Scripture: Acts 2:42-47, 5:42

Lenten Devotional – Wed, March 25, 2009

Posted: March 25, 2009

“If anyone therefore purges himself from these, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, and suitable for the master’s use, prepared for every good work.”

2 Timothy 2:21

I used to think I could not be an instrument for God.  I was too busy as a wife, mother, volunteer, nursery staff member, friend – the list was endless.

Then one day while on vacation in Florida, I ran into a friend from schoool   I had not seen her in 25 years. She told me, “It’s funny to see you.  I’ve always wanted to tell you something.  When we were in 5th grade on a trip to Washington DC, you told me about your church.  I did not grow up in a Christian home, but because of what you shared, I found Christ. I’ve always wanted to tell you how much you changed my life.”

I was stunned that something I said could have been so affecting.  But, of course, it wasn’t me.  It was God working through me.  I remember daily that He can use me for His glory at any time.

A church in Minnesota gave a great summary in a recent letter to their congregation:

Things to remember next time you feel like God can’t use you:  Abraham was too old, Noah drank too much, Jeremiah and Timothy were too young, Elijah was suicidal, Jonah ran from God, Job went bankrupt, Peter denied Christ, Martha worried about everything, Paul was too religious, and Lazarus was dead!  No more excuses now.  God can use you to your full potential!

Lord, prepare me each day to be an instrument for your glory.  Amen.