SATURDAY, MARCH 27

Luke 15:27-28  The servant replied to him, “Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has him back safe and sound.”  Then the elder brother became angry and refused to go in.

Three Reflections on the Parable of the Prodigal Son

“The parable of the prodigal son is alive and well in my own family.  My two sons are very different and have always been very competitive.  Today they met again for the first time in two years, and I was very concerned about the outcome.  Driving to lunch with them, I kept thinking about this passage – God's unconditional love and my gratitude for both of them.  I was so focused on the potential negative outcome, I almost forgot to enjoy the time with them.  They were both sensitive, caring, and concerned during our time together.  I do not know what might happen next, how or if they can build a loving relationship.  I do know that I can trust that God will help me – and them – to understand what that relationship might look like.”

“As an older sibling, many times it seemed that my sister was favored and given the chance to do many things earlier than I was able to do them.  There was resentment, yet always with love.  Over the years the love has taken precedence over the resentment.  How grateful I am that our relationship has endured and that we are now such good friends.”

“How very often we have to choose between resentment and gratitude.  Do we choose to stand outside and hold our grudges, nurse our resentments and have a perverse satisfaction with the faults of others?  Or do we feel the pain of our hurts and then act to leave our resentments behind so that we can experience the joy that gratitude can bring.”

Prayer:  Oh Lord, help us to move past our resentments and to be able to give thanks in all circumstances.  Amen.

Tuesday 9am Bible Study Group

FRIDAY, MARCH 26

Colossians 3:12,14  Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Former Pastor L. P. Jones frequently chose this thought-provoking saying for the benediction:

“Life is short and there is precious little time to gladden the hearts of those who travel with us, so make haste to be kind, and may every act of love and kindness be a reflection of God’s love in you.”

Simple, eloquent, wonderfully wise and meaningful.  The writer must have had in mind the countless ways there are to reach out, be it a warm smile or a kind word, a helping hand or a listening ear, a thoughtfully written note or a concerned phone call, a word of praise or understanding patience, a hug or a comforting shoulder to cry on.  How often it is the little things that count, and each will be a reflection of God’s love in us.

Prayer:  Loving Father, help me to be more sensitive to the needs of those who travel with me on my life journey.  Amen.

Vera Harkin

THURSDAY, MARCH 25

Hebrews 12:26-27  Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also the heaven ... that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

I recently came across these words in a small calendar dated July 1942 that my grandfather sent to my father as Dad hastened to complete his college coursework early so he could begin serving in the Navy.  While I feel shaken by world events today, I am humbled to remember the cataclysmic events that have uprooted this world in the past.  What must Grandpa have been thinking as he wrote his note to his son on the July 2 page?  He wrote, “Mighty words, these.”

The scripture passage is a slight re-phrasing of Haggai 2:6 which is written as encouragement for the Jewish people as they rebuilt the Temple following their 60-70 years of exile in Babylon.  And the writer of Hebrews paraphrases it for an entirely different purpose; those things which can be shaken will be destroyed so that only the unshakable kingdom of God will remain.  And these words from Hebrews, taken out of context by the 1942 calendar producer, seem to suggest that God creates havoc for a purpose.  How far we have strayed from the original intent!

And yet, there is a thread of truth woven through the passages beginning with Haggai.  In Haggai, the treasure of all nations shall come to fill the new Temple which will belong to the Lord; God promises prosperity to God's people.  In Hebrews, the writer says that, in response to this shaking of earth and heaven, God's people should worship God with reverence and awe.  Finally, the words of the 1942 calendar focus on the unshakability of what remains.

Earth and the heavens were shaken in Haiti last month.  Has this swept away the rubble in the world's vision so that we can now begin to see clearly the work that must be done to build up God's Kingdom in the world, pouring out the treasure of all nations, so that all of God's people may have life and have it abundantly?  I pray it is so.

Prayer:  Dear Lord, grant us eyes to see Your kingdom standing firm and unshakable in the midst of chaos.  Amen.

Charlotte Fischer

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24

Matthew 5:3  “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 11:28-30  “Come to me, all you who labor and are overburdened, and I will give you rest.  Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.”

Lindsey John, or LJ as she was known to friends, was an amazing young woman, attractive, popular, an honor student, and all state cross country champion.  At age twenty, facing the diagnosis of inoperable brain cancer, she began a race like no other in her young life.  It was a race run with humility, joy, courage, love, hope, and trust in God modeled by her Savior who suffered death on the cross.

In a letter she wrote to a friend, LJ said, “God has a plan.  I know no matter how hard I try to control it, destiny is out of my hands.  Life on Earth is wonderful, and I’m going to try to learn as much as I can and be the best I can.  However, I know that life in heaven will be indescribable.  Honestly, the day I make it there will be the best day of my life.”

While undergoing chemo, Lindsey continued with her studies at MSU and graduated with honors.  She ran with friends in the Terminating Cancer race.  She wore bright colored wigs and costumes to her bi-weekly appointments, bringing laughter and treats to her fellow patients.  A wounded healer, LJ welcomed friends and strangers into her heart and became a blessing to others, bearing the light of Christ.

When radiation and aggressive tumors ravaged her body and she could no longer walk, she allowed her friends to carry her to social gatherings and to be by her side to watch her sister’s wedding from her hospital bed days before her passing.

Lindsey lived and died courageously, trusting in God’s gracious love and the promise of salvation.  Those same things Lindsey clutched in her hands she gave generously to others, sustaining and comforting all those who mourn her passing.

Prayer:  God of grace, you have promised blessings of the kingdom to the poor in spirit.  Help us to live in the poverty of spirit which enables us to give and love abundantly.  Amen.

Sheila Roebke

TUESDAY, MARCH 23

Psalm 149:1  Praise the Lord!  Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the faithful.

Many times when I meditate I look to songs.  Songs to me are like a Singing Bible.  In songs, I can rejoice, thank and praise the Lord, as well as be encouraged and challenged in my daily living.

Lift Every Voice and Sing
Stony the road we trod, bitter the chastening rod,
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
Yet, with a steady beat, have not our weary feet
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered;
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,
Out from the gloomy past, till now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.
 
Great Is Thy Faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not;
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.
Great is Thy faithfulness!  Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided:
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!

Fill My Cup
Fill my cup, let it over-flow; Fill my cup, let it over-flow;
Fill my cup, let it over-flow; let it over-flow with love.
Lord, let me be your instrument, spreading sunshine in the land;
Let people see Your works in me; Help me live the best I can.
It’s my desire to live for you and to always walk upright;
Give me the strength to face each day;
Stay with me through each dark night.

Prayer:  Dear God, I thank you for the opportunity to sing your praises.  I sing because I am happy, I sing because of your mercy, your eye is on the sparrow and I know that you watch me.  May your eyes continue to watch over us and bring us peace.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.

Rosy M. Latimore

MONDAY, MARCH 22

John 14:6  Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

John 11:26  “Whoever believes in me will never die.”

THE WAY
It's in my DNA

I am one of the fortunate people.  I have the Holy Spirit by my side and in my heart and mind.  My eyes have been opened to the truth and saved from the utter darkness of no Christ just as Saul on the way to Damascus.  He became a believer and he was shown the way.  It was in his DNA.
 
I am one of the fortunate people.  I own a study Bible that Louise Westfall gave to me for Covenant.  I use it all the time, sometimes comparing it with one of my others around the house.  Some date back to mid-1800’s, many with underlined paragraphs and thoughts written over the words or stuff written in the margins.  I come from kith and kin, as my Mom would say, that were believers as well.  They knew the way as well.  It was in their DNA.
 
I am one of the fortunate people.  I have been attending John Judson’s Bible study on Acts, where I learned about the early movement called THE WAY.  God's people were being called to change direction, drop everything they thought they knew about their God, and go in a new direction.  Believe in Christ, the Son of God, the Word of God, in One with the Father, the fulfillment of the scriptures of the Savior to come.  They had to repent from old and take up the new.  THE WAY changed their focus to follow Christ and not Moses’ laws.  It was God’s DNA.
 
I am one of the fortunate people.  I can be a servant to the Lord.  I can help, I can pray, and I can serve.  Thanks be to my parents, their parents, their parents and so on, and in God's mercy, it’s in my DNA.

Prayer:  Dear Lord, thank you with all my heart that I know you.  You are my salvation.  I trust your words and rely on you.  You are my great comforter and healer.  You help me navigate through all the stormy seas of my life.  Help me to radiate your love to others.  Help me to direct them to THE WAY and be a witness to your great love.  In Christ's name, I pray.  Amen.

Barbara Rubel

SUNDAY, MARCH 21

Psalm 26:7  That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving and tell of all thy wondrous works.

My journey of faith continues with the strongest and most wonderful happening yet.  Carl and I have been contemplating moving to California for several years.  We have looked at houses during this time; however, we didn’t find “the right house.”  We wanted to be closer to our three California offspring and their families.

This year, on our California Christmas holidays, I felt the time was right and we would find “it.”  We looked near Julie, then near Tom and Bob, one half-hour south, but didn’t find “the one.”

Four days before we were to leave for Michigan, we were shopping at Nordstrom’s and waiting to check out.  I talked to another couple also waiting.  I mentioned Michigan.  The lady said she was from Charlevoix.  I told her we were looking for a house but hadn’t found one.  She responded that she had a house for sale that was not yet on the market.  Her mother had died and she was getting ready to sell her house.

We arranged to see it on Sunday.  Our families went with us.  The two sisters selling the house loved our family and we all loved the house.  It’s perfect, a one-story, end-unit condo with green belts to walk.  And, Carl can get out.  It’s five minutes from Julie, Ed and Samantha, and 25 minutes from Bob, Cindy, Ian and Will, and from Tom and Kimberly.

We are ecstatic about our being close to our offspring, being able to continue what I believe God chose me to do, and looking forward to better health for Carl.  We will miss our fifty-six years with First Presbyterian Church and all the wonderful people.

God moves in mysterious ways, his wonders to perform, and I truly believe his hand was on my shoulder when I talked to Kay, the lady from Charlevoix.  The next street over is Charing Cross which is around the corner from us here and another is Robinwood – we’re on Robinhood.

Prayer:  Loving God, thank you for your trust and having faith that we are truly in your hands.  Help me to honor that faith every day.  Amen.

Lou Stewart