The Son of God Revealed

Mark 9:9-13

This scripture begins with Jesus telling Peter, James and John not to tell what they had just witnessed, and they had indeed witnessed a true event!   They had witnessed Jesus transfigured, saw him chat with the supreme law-giver of the Jews (Moses) and the first and most revered prophet of the Jews (Elijah), and had heard the voice of God!   And, now they were being told not to tell.

Their minds raced with questions.  God had directly proclaimed to them that Jesus was indeed His son, but the appearance of Elijah raised the question about the teaching that Elijah would come first, before the Messiah.  Jesus answered their questions, and in these few verses, outlined the entire lesson of the Gospel.

Moses and Elijah had appeared with Jesus, but after God spoke, only Jesus remained.  God instructed “This is my Son, whom I love.  Listen to HIM.”  In other words, Moses and Elijah had served their purpose, and now the disciples (and we) are to listen to and follow only Jesus.   Moses and Elijah were history, Jesus is the future.   Jesus taught that Elijah had already finished his work, and now the Savior would suffer, die and be resurrected.  Though not fully understood by the three, Jesus was proclaiming the Gospel in a nutshell.

Why were they told not to tell?  There are many theories, but maybe Jesus knew that these things (His death and resurrection) would have to be experienced first to be understood.

Prayer:  Gracious and loving God, we did not physically walk with our Lord, but we do have the benefit of knowing that He did in fact suffer, die and arise, and the He did it all for us.  We also know that we are no longer restricted from telling the world about it.   Bless us with the strength to be messengers of the great gift of Jesus.  It is in His name we pray.  Amen.

Brent Russell

Power of Responsibility

2 Kings 2:9-22

It’s quite amazing how Elijah was one of only two people recorded in scripture who didn’t die the natural way an average person dies. He received a miracle. He was “carried by a whirlwind into heaven”. It’s also incredible to consider God’s messenger sweeping down from heaven with chariots and horses of fire without his friend Elisha’s being hurt or killed. Elijah had just performed a miracle—dividing the water of the Jordan River so the two friends could walk across on dry land. Elisha wanted to receive this power, and he did receive it later as he was able to divide the Jordan’s waters just as he’d witnessed Elijah dividing them.

These verses from 2 Kings show that God is concerned about us and listens to our requests. We can want something very much and not realize the hard times we may have to endure waiting until we are able to receive that something. With our gift, there may be a responsibility we’re required to bear. We may feel anxiety about it as Elisha must have felt before he repeated the miracle Elijah performed using his cloak to divide the Jordan River. Elisha wanted more power. He received his request! As soon as he received this tremendous gift, he was asked to solve the problem of bad water in the city of Jericho. He used his powerful gift to heal the waters of Jericho and served as the agent of God using that holy power for good. It reminds us of the New Testament verses which say “to whom much is given, much will be required”.

Our prayer is that as you ask for “gifts” God will grant you the strength and wisdom to shoulder the responsibility that will surely come with their use. Amen

Rod and Denise Linzman

God’s Protection

Psalm 125

“You will never go wrong by doing what’s right”.  While growing up, my children must have heard me say that hundreds of times.  However, I also reminded them often that bad things happen to good people.  God never promised a life without evil and pain.  His promise was that he would send his Comforter. I personally have leaned on this promise many times.

His infinite promise of protection is of our mind and soul when tragedy strikes, not necessarily our body.  God is truly a loving God and does not wish bad things on anybody or anything, and in His time and with our “Mount Zion faith” we will someday understand…but for now it is OK to say “I don’t know” when asked, Why?

God loves us all as we are, human, made in his likeness.

Father, thank you for protecting us and sending us your Comforter when we are in pain.  Help us to keep our faith strong by trusting you and walking in the path that you have prepared for us.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, Amen.

Debbie Savage

Rejoice Always

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

When your Grandmother is Irene Ballard and your mother is Frances Green one could not grow up and not understand this scripture.  Growing up as a child the words in this scripture were words I heard often, and at times when all is quiet and still I can hear those words being spoken by either one.

“Be joyful always.” That doesn’t say sometimes or when we feel like it, but we are to be joyful always.  Even if we have received devastating news we should be joyful.   We are able to be joyful because we have the Lord in our hearts to comfort and guide us. 

 “Pray continually.” What this means is that we are to maintain a close relationship with the Lord.  For example, we text our friends and family, sometimes even in the same room.  What are we doing? We are communicating. That is the relationship that the Lord desires for us to have with him.  It is a constant sharing of our heart with His great heart, knowing he cares for us and delights in our conversation. 

“Give thanks in all circumstances.” This is similar to the first directive for us to be joyful.  It is our acknowledgement that we agree with what God is doing in our life.

There are things that keep our faith burning and things that put it out. When we continue to learn what God says in the Word our faith will continue to grow and as it does we need to hold onto the good things and not let them go.  This will keep our faith burning brightly!

We need to let go of all the things that burn out our faith and that applies to the to the TV shows we watch, the language we use, people we hang out with or the places we go.  Our faith in Jesus is too important. 

We grow in our faith every day by being faithful, being fruitful, and remembering that we are forgiven. After all, the one who calls you is faithful—and he will do all these things. Jesus is our Savior.

Prayer:  We rejoice in the knowledge that our true joy is rooted in the One who promises unending joy.  So rejoice, pray and give thanks.  Amen

Elizabeth Collins

Parable of the Two Sons

Matthew 21:28-32

Jesus was teaching this parable in the Temple to believers in Him and Unbelievers (elders and priests) “The Father asks his two sons to work in the vineyard.   Both sons’ attitudes and actions were contrary to the Father’s request.  The older son said ‘no’, but then changed to ‘yes’.  The youngest replied ‘yes’, but his actions said ‘no’ for he did not go.   Jesus then told the listeners that neither son obeyed the Father…”

“Jesus then told the believers and unbelievers of the consequences of their failure to do the Father’s Will”

 

How do we understand and use this parable in our Christian lives today?  Do we often postpone our commitment and opportunities when the Father calls us to serve Him?  Do we say ‘Yes, ‘No’ or ‘Maybe’?  Do we wait for a more convenient time to answer His Call for service?

Are we willing to surrender our time, talents, and finances to reach out to unbelievers who need to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ, especially the inactive members of our own congregation?   Many inactive members are trying to struggle through life’s challenges without acknowledging Christ who consistently asks believers and unbelievers to accept and receive His Unconditional Love.

May we let the parable of the two sons help us to be alert and ready to say , “Yes Lord”, we want to trust and obey whatever You ask us to do with dedication and enthusiasm without DELAY.

Prayer:

Dear Lord,  Thank you for the Gift of Grace through Calvary.   Remember we cannot spell JESUS and not include U and US as well as Resurrection.  In Your Name we pray.

Amen.

Martha King 

Strive for the goal

Philippians 3: 12-16

Are Christians always happy, good, wholesome, fulfilled, spiritual, close to Christ, kind and wise?  No, of course not.  Christians are human and we are sinners.  But people of faith can strive to know and understand Jesus and have a goal of living a Christ-like life.

In these verses, Paul talks about how his past works and achievements did not lead him to salvation and they did not make him right with God.  I think Paul is saying this: we should strive for the goal of moving away from the past and moving toward Christ.  We know we’ll never achieve Christ-like lives, but if we keep our minds and hearts open to Christ and keep striving for that goal, we’ll continually get closer.

So too is it with our lives in general.  We all have a past we want to leave behind.  Many of us have lived our life in ways that were not good for us or appealing to God.  We want to change and know that change is hard, but we strive to do it so we can live happier and more fulfilling lives.  This change doesn’t happen overnight, but is a process with a goal.

Paul’s past accomplishments did not make him right with God; just as our past mistakes and sins do not make us wrong with God.  When we pursue the goal of understanding Christ and seek the spiritual prize, we will know joy, usefulness and peace and have a closer relationship with Christ.

Prayer: God, forgive our selfish ways.  Please help us to not look backward, but to continually seek our goal of a spirit filled life that is pleasing to you.

Rod Smith

Collecting Garbage

Philippians 3:7-11

I once heard a story of a homeless man who filled his stomach each night out of the dumpsters of the local restaurants. One evening as he was sifting through the dumpsters he was spotted by a man who was coming out of the back of a restaurant. The man said, "come here." Even though he was scared of going to jail, he walked up to the man who took him inside the restaurant. As he walked into the kitchen he saw that there was so much food. The man told him that he owned this restaurant and whenever he was hungry he could come here for a free meal.  As the man looked around astonished, he thanked him humbly. After taking it all in and turned to the owner and asked, "would you mind if I still ate from the dumpster too?"

As unbelievable as this is, how often do we see all the things that the God of the universe has supplied and blessed us with and still want to hold on to the junk in our lives? If we were true to ourselves, we could look at everything we have in this world and realize it means nothing compared to the goodness of God.  Paul had the right perspective when he said, "But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ" (Philippians 3:7, 8 NIV)

Prayer:  Lord, show us the riches of Heaven that you have lovingly poured down upon us. Keep us from thinking too highly of the worldly things we have acquired. As we focus on your goodness today, let us love more fully, give more generously and praise you wholeheartedly. In Christ's Name, Amen.

Ryan Benton