MY PERSONAL SPACE

MY PERSONAL SPACE

READ:  Luke 8:40-48

We do not have a high priest

who is unable to empathize with 

our weaknesses.  Hebrews 4:15

An industrial design graduate from a Singapore university was challenged in a workshop to come up with a novel solution to a common problem using only ordinary objects.  She created a vest to protect one’s personal space from being invaded while traveling in the crush of crowded public trains and buses.  The vest was covered with long, flexible plastic spikes normally use to keep birds and cats away from plants.

Jesus knew what it was like to lose His personal space in the commotion of crowds desperate to see and touch Him.  A women who had suffered from constant bleeding for 12 years and could find no cure touched the fringe of His robe.  Immediately, her bleeding stopped (Luke 8:43-44).

Jesus’ question, “Who touched me?” (v.45) isn’t as strange as it sounds.  He felt power come out of Him (v.46).  That touch was different from those who merely happened to accidentally touch Him.

While we must admit that we do sometimes wish to keep our personal space and privacy, the only way we help a world of hurting people is to let them get close enough to be touched by the encouragement, comfort, and grace of Christ in us.      C.P. HIA

Lord Jesus, I want to be near You and know You so that when I’m in contact with others they can see You through me.

A Christian’s life is the window through which others can see Jesus.

INSIGHT

Luke recounts three miracles in quick succession.  First, Jesus calms a storm while out in a boat on the sea (Luke 8:22-25).  Then when the boat reaches the other side of the sea, Jesus heals a man possessed by demons (vv.26-39).  Finally, Luke records that while going to heal the daughter of Jairus, a synagogue leader, Jesus heals a woman who had been suffering from bleeding for years (vv. 40-48).  In the end, Jesus brings Jairus’s daughter back to life (vv.48-56).  This series of miracles shows that nothing-nature, spirit, health, even life and death-is outside of Jesus’s power and authority.    J.R. HUDBERBG

Have a blessed night.

God Our Creator’s Love Always.

Unity & Peace

SELF-CARE

SELF-CARE

Exodus 18:14-24

Come with me by yourselves

to a quiet place and get some

rest.  -  Mark 6:31

After my husband underwent heart surgery, I spent an anxious night by his hospital bed.  Mid-morning, I remembered a scheduled haircut.  “I’ll have to cancel,” I said, raking my fingers distractedly through my straggly hair.

“Mom, just wash your face and go to your appointment,” my daughter said.

“No, no,” I insisted.  “It doesn’t matter.  I need to be here.”

“I’ll stay,” Rosie said.  “Self-care, Mom….Self-care.  you’re of more use to Dad if you take care of yourself.”

Moses was wearing himself out serving alone as judge over the Israelites.  Jethro cautioned his son-in-law Moses:  “You will only wear [yourself] out.  The work is too heavy…you cannot handle it alone” (Exodus 18:18).  He then explained ways that Moses could delegate his work and share his heavy load with others.

Though it may seem paradoxical for the Christian, self-care is essential for a healthy life (Matthew 22:37-39; Ephesians 5:29-30).  Yes, we must love God first and love others as well, but we also need to get adequate rest to renew our body and spirit.  Sometimes self-care means stepping away and graciously allowing others to help us with our burdens.

Jesus often slipped away to rest and pray (Mark 6:30-32).  When we follow His example, we will be more effective in our relationships and better able to give care to others.  

CINDY HESS KASPER

Dear Lord, refresh my spirit today.  Help me to bring balance to my life as I juggle my responsibilities.  Thank You for Your love and care.

Don’t try to do everything-take time to refresh your body and spirit.

INSIGHT

It is hard to imagine the complexity and variety of tasks Moses faced as he led the Hebrew slaves to freedom.  The Israelites had been gone from Egypt less than three months (SEE Exodus 19:1) when the load was already too great for one person to bear.  This prompted Jethro’s wise counsel that Moses share the load with others.  

BILL CROWDER

Have a blessed night.

God Our Creator’s Love Always.

Unity & Peace

ABIGAIL'S REMINDER

ABIGAIL’S REMINDER

Read 1 Samuel 25:14-33

When the LORD takes pleasure

in anyone’s way, he causes their

enemies to make peace with them.

David and 400 of his warriors thundered through the countryside in search of Nabal, a prosperous brute who had harshly refused to lend them help.  David would have murdered him if he hadn’t first encountered Abigail, Nabal’s wife.  She had packed up enough food to feed an army and traveled out to meet the troops, hoping to head off disaster.  She respectfully reminded David that guilt would haunt him if he followed through with his vengeful plan (1 Samuel 25:31).  David realized she was right and blessed her for her good judgment.

David’s anger was legitimate-he had protected Nabal’s shepherds in the wilderness (vv.14-17) and had been repaid evil for good.  However, his anger was leading him into sin.  David’s first instinct was to sink his sword into Nabal, even though he knew God did not approve of murder and revenge (Exodus 20:13; Leviticus 19:18).

When we’ve been offended, it’s good to compare our instincts with God’s intent for human behavior.  We may be inclined to strike at people verbally, isolate ourselves, or escape through any number of ways.  However, choosing a gracious response will help us avoid regret, and most important it will please God.  When our desire is to honor God in our relationships, He is able to make even our enemies to be at peace with us (SEE Proverbs 16:7).  

JENNIFER BENSON SCHULDT

Lord, thank You for holding back Your anger and having mercy on me.  Help me to walk in step with your Spirit so that my actions please You in every situation.

We can endure life’s wrongs because we know that

God will make things right.

Have a blessed night.

God Our Creator’s Love Always.

Unity & Peace

DON'T QUIT

DON’T QUIT!

READ:  Hebrews 12:1-11

Let us run with perseverance 

the race marked out for us,

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the

pioneer and perfecter of faith.

Hebrews 12:1-2

In 1952 Florence Chadwick attempted to swim 26 miles from the coast of California to Catalina Island.  After 15 hours, a heavy fog began to block her view, she became disoriented, and she gave up.  To her chagrin, Chadwick learned that she had quit just 1 mile short of her destination.

Two months later Chadwick tried a second time to swim to Catalina Island from the coast.  Again a thick fog settled in, but this time she reached her destination, becoming the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel.  Chadwick said she kept an image of the shoreline in her mind even when she couldn’t see it.

When the problems of life cloud our vision, we have an opportunity to learn to see our goal with the eyes of faith.  The New Testament letter to the Hebrews urges us to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (12:1-2).  When we feel like quitting, this is our signal to remember not only what Jesus suffered for us but what He now helps us to endure-until the day we see Him face to face.  

DENNIS FISHER

Dear Father, sometimes the challenges of life seem insurmountable.  Help me to fix my eyes on You and trust You.  I’m thankful You are bringing about Your good purposes in me.

We can finish strong when we focus on Christ.

INSIGHT

Using the metaphor of a marathon and a stadium of cheering supporters, the writer of Hebrews encouraged persecuted Christians to persevere and to remain faithful.  The content call of Scripture is:  Don’t give up!  Keep your eye on the finish line!  Finish the race! (1 Corinthians 9:24-27; Philippians 3:13-14).

Have a blessed night.

God Our Creator’s Love Always.

Unity & Peace

STRANGERS AND FOREIGNERS

STRANGERS AND FOREIGNERS

READ:  Hebrews 11:8-16

He was looking forward to the

city with foundations, whose

architect and builder is God.

Hebrews 11:10

I parked my bicycle, fingering my map of Cambridge for reassurance. Directions not being my strength, I knew I could easily get lost in this maze of roads bursting with historic buildings.

Life should have felt idyllic, for I had just married my Englishman and moved to the UK.  But I felt adrift.  When I kept my mouth closed I blended in, but when I spoke I immediately felt branded as an American tourist.  I didn’t yet know what my role was, and I quickly realized that blending two stubborn people into one shared life was harder than I had anticipated.

I related to Abraham, who left all that he knew as he obeyed the Lord’s call to live as a foreigner and stranger in a new land (Genesis 12:1).  He pressed through the cultural challenges while keeping faith in God, and 2,000 years later the writer to the Hebrews named him a hero (11:9).  Like the other men and women listed in this chapter, Abraham lived by faith, longing for things promised, hoping and waiting for his heavenly home.

Perhaps you’ve always lived in the same town, but as Christ-followers we’re all foreigners and strangers on this earth.  By faith we press forward, knowing that God will lead and guide us, and by faith we believe He will never leave nor abandon us.  By faith we long for home. 

 AMY BOUCHER PYE

Father God, I want to live by faith, believing Your promises and knowing that You welcome me into Your kingdom.  Enlarge my faith, I pray.

God calls us to live by faith, believing that He will fulfill His promises.

INSIGHT 

Hebrews 11 has been referred to as the “Hall of Faith.”  Its contents celebrate the deep and impressive faith of our spiritual ancestors.  Their faith, demonstrated through their actions, is put on display by the writer of Hebrews for the encouragement of those who follow in their spiritual footsteps.  The examples of those who have preceded us-those who lived as “foreigners and strangers on earth” (v.13)-help us to fix our eyes on Jesus (12:2).  This focus allows us to press on toward a “country of [our] own” (11:14).   J.R. HUDBERG

PLEASE COME IN

PLEASE COME IN

READ:  Hebrews 10:19-25

Let us draw near to God…

with the full assurance that

faith brings.  -  Hebrews 10:22

Jenny’s house is situated on a little country lane, which is often used in rush hours by drivers who want to avoid the nearby main road and traffic lights.  A few weeks ago workmen arrived to repair the badly damaged road surface, bringing with them large barriers and “No Entry” signs.  “I was really worried at first,” said Jenny, “thinking that I would be unable to get my car out until the road work was finished.  But then I went to look at the signs more closely and realized that they said ‘No Entry:  Access for Residents Only.’ No detours or barriers for me  I had the right to go in and out whenever I liked because I lived there.  I felt very special!”

In the Old Testament, access to God in the tabernacle and the temple was strictly limited.  Only the high priest could go in through the curtain and offer sacrifices in the Most Holy Place, and then only once a year (Leviticus 16:2-20; Hebrews 9:25-26).  But at the very moment Jesus died, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, showing that the barrier between man and God was destroyed forever (Mark 15:38).

Because of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins, all those who love and follow Him can come into His presence at any time.  He has given us the right of access.  

MARION STROUD

Lord, thank You for paying such a price to enable me to have unrestricted entry into Your presence!

Access to God’s throne is always open.

INSIGHT

The letter to the Hebrews contains images and ideas that would have been very familiar to the Jewish recipients of this epistle.  The Most Holy Place (Hebrews 10:19) was the holiest part of the temple in Jerusalem.  The curtain (v.20) refers to the temple veil that was torn in two when Christ died (Matthew 27:51).  The great priest (Hebrews 10:21) is Jesus, who succeeds in perfectly taking us to God-something that the human priesthood could not do.  While this imagery would have been particularly meaningful to the Jewish readers of this letter, it also reminds us how wonderfully the Scriptures are put together.  The practices of Old Testament Judaism create wonderful portraits of the person and work of Jesus. 

 BILL CROWDER

ABUNDANT SUPPLY

ABUNDANT SUPPLY

READ:  Psalm 36:5-12

You give them drink from

your river of delights.

Psalm 36:8

We have a hummingbird feeder in the garden, and we love to see the little birds come and drink from its sugary water.  Recently, however, we went on a short trip and forgot to replenish its contents.  When we came back, it was completely dry.  Poor birds!  I thought.  Because of my forgetfulness, they haven’t had any nourishment.  Then I was reminded that I am not the one who feeds them:  God is.

Sometimes we may feel that all of the demands of life have depleted our strength and there is no one to replenish it.  But others don’t feed our souls:  God does.

In Psalm 36 we read about God’s lovingkindness.  It describes those who put their trust in Him and are abundantly satisfied.  God gives them water from His “river of delights” (v.8).  He is the fountain of life!

We can go to God every day for the supply of our needs.  As Charles Spurgeon wrote, “The springs of my faith and all my graces; the springs of my life and all my pleasures; the springs of my activity and all its right doings; the springs of my hope, and ail its heavenly anticipations, all lie in thee, my Lord.”

Let us be filled with His abundant supply.  His fountain will never run dry.  KEILA OCHOA

Lord, I come to You with the confidence 

that You will fill me with what I need.

God’s love is abundant.

INSIGHT

David-opposed and persecuted by powerful enemies-wrote of these threats to his life in Psalms 34-36, asking and thanking God for His protection and deliverance.  In Psalm 36, David contrasts the wicked and the righteous.  The wicked commit evil because they have no fear of God (v.1).  David, however, chose to live differently-he chose to live a life of trust in a merciful, faithful, righteous, and just God (vv.5-7).  David affirms that God will protect and sustain the faithful.  SIM KAKY TEE

Have a blessed night.

God Our Creator’s Love Always.

Unity & Peace