Month: February 2021

And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” Luke 22:19

God made a covenant with Abraham. His descendants would number as the sands on the shores, the stars in the sky, and they would inherit the land of Canaan. These people were now in slavery to an Egyptian Pharaoh. God heard the cries of His people and called Moses to return to the Pharaoh’s household and demand that God’s chosen people be set free. Calamity upon calamity occurred but Pharaoh would not set the people free, until a final plague, the death of the first born son. 

God provided a way for the Hebrew families to be spared. Their thresholds were covered in the blood of a sacrificed lamb. Families gathered on that night, shared their food and waited for deliverance to come. It did. Passover is the season for celebrating this wonderful deliverance and salvation.

Jesus gathered with His friends to share in the intimate, sacred remembrance. Not only was this a time to remember God’s covenant with Israel, but a time to teach the young of God’s faithful provision and hope. At the conclusion of the meal Jesus took bread and broke it. He knew that he would not see another sunset as a man. He would face agony and humiliation. He would die. Thanking God for what He alone knew, He introduced the New Covenant in which His blood would separate life and death. 

The Lamb of God gave His body, His life, for yours. 

Love,

Gretchen

He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces He was despised, and we held Him in low esteem. Isaiah 53:3-4

It seems as though Isaiah is standing at the foot of the cross, but he lived 700 years before Christ. His vision is so clear and his faith so defined that this passage of prophecy reads as though it is past tense. The absolute of our salvation plan is not found in any clearer way than is told by Isaiah.

God long promised a King who would come to earth and reign in justice, set everything right, bring peace and restore a correct world order.  A serious conflict existed between man’s expectation and God’s omnipotent wisdom and power. God sent a servant armed with love. Man longed for a king, entitled and enthroned. Man didn’t get what they wanted and with selfish, evil hearts, hated what they needed.  

The recipient of our hatred, the victim of our rejection, was the perfect King of Kings, Lord of Lords and Prince of Peace. We need nothing else. 

Love,

Gretchen

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 2 Corinthians 4:8

Paul, the author of the second letter to the church at Corinth, suffered beatings, imprisonment, shipwrecks, and unceasing attacks and indignities as a result of his missionary work and aggressive evangelism.  The True Gospel of Jesus Christ was his work. It wasn’t a popular message. For thirty years Paul lived under great persecution, but determined the Joy of His salvation was worth more than avoiding human discomfort. 

Pressure is part of the equation that creates a diamond. It is more often constructive rather than destructive. Perplexity is not hopelessness, just the state of seeking the answer. Abuse and injustice are tragedies and when things go badly, the room empties and there you are, alone. Paul experienced all these things, but determined it was not going to be His end definition, nor yours, if he could help it. 

Heaven is full of work worn hands, calloused feet and hearts once broken. They are there because they persevered. Every voice raised in praise testifies it was more than worth the temporary pain and grief of this life to achieve life eternal. 

Happy Thursday,

Gretchen

For He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care. Today, if only you would hear His voice. Psalm 95:7

Yahweh is King over all the universe and its history. He is ruler because He alone is the designer and creator. This Psalm is a hymn of praise to God for His creative power and justice. 

Many times, both in the Psalms and in the New Testament, man is likened to sheep, a domestic animal that needs tremendous management. God is referred to as a shepherd, the wise caregiver who provides like none other, for those in His keeping. God’s pasture is lush. All that is needed, not just nutritional sustenance, but security from predators and/or fatal temptations and distractions, is given in generous plenty. 

Sin separates us from God. He cannot do for us what He desires if we do not obey. We must tune our hearts to His, train ourselves to His character and commands and follow as a sheep follows its shepherd. 

Have a great Wednesday,

Gretchen

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. I John 4:8 

Love, the defining characteristic of God.  The Bible describes no other in this way.  

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these. Mark 12:30-31

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Matthew 5:44

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.Love never fails. I Corinthians 13:7-8b  

God’s nature is love. This must be our standard.

Happy Tuesday!

Gretchen

The tempter came to Him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell theses stones to become bread.” Matthew 4:3

The destiny of all creation rested on this moment.  

Born to be fully man, our Savior came into this world a helpless child with only His mother Mary to tell Him of His origins. At His baptism the Holy Spirit fell on Him, Heaven opened and Jesus was restored to His pre-incarnation knowledge and power. Before He left Heaven He knew, now He knows again. As a human, the only way back to Heaven was through death, but now he had all the miraculous power of the universe to die His way….or He could fulfill God’s eternal plan.

Satan tempted with fame, power, the basic need of the body and proof that He was who He claimed to be. At this moment Jesus could have condemned us all, bound us to the hell we deserve and saved Himself from the horrible ending He knew would come. This was satan’s wish, because the ONLY hope for all that mattered was at stake and evil wanted it badly. 

The will of the Savior and His Father became one; to heal, feed, comfort, rescue……love. 

God is Faithful,

Gretchen

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

The author of this sequel to the fourth Gospel, Luke, is the only non Jewish writer in the New Testament. His Gospel tells of the loving and miraculous work Christ did while on earth and the forty days between His crucifixion and ascension. The Acts of the Apostles is the history of salvation, God’s purpose to save the world.  

At the time of Christ’s death the afterlife was a mystery with few clues. When He returned to life and revealed Himself to His disciples the secrets of the Kingdom became clear. What an amazing plan God had, to teach these men and women the reality of life eternal through the very real presence of a risen Savior.  The time came for Jesus to return to His Father, but He left instructions for the immediate days ahead, and then for the perpetuation of the Good News that lasts through this very day.

In verses 3-5 Jesus promises a great gift. Mortal minds turned to politics and the expected political deliverance and independence of their nation, but Jesus did not come to justify temporary things of man for a generation. Eternity is His agenda. The Day of Pentecost made these things clear.  

God created the nation of Israel to bless all nations.  This purpose is fulfilled when Jesus sends His disciples into the ends of the earth…… so you and I will know the way home.  

You are Loved,

Gretchen

In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” I Corinthians 11:25

The Greek city of Corinth was a metropolis full of diversity, wealth, prestige and very important to the Roman Empire. Paul traveled to this town, evangelized and established a sizable congregation across all cultural and economic spectrums.  Soon the new believers were beset by immorality, false prophets, factions and abuses in worship. The things God designed to bind believers together in love and strength, became sources of contention and hurt. Paul sent instructions to straighten things out.

The Corinthian church expanded the Lord’s Supper and made it a complete meal. In quick time the social aspect of potluck usurped the sacred act of worship.  Luxurious food was brought for man’s glory and shared with acquaintances of like social status while others of lower economic standing went without being included. In verses 23-30 Paul reteaches the way Jesus modeled the remembrance of the Greatest Act of Love known to man.

Gluttony in the presence of starvation is a problem, but THE issue here is how easily man brings himself to the center of the universe rather than diligently determining that God, at all costs, will remain the sole object of recognition, adoration and gratitude. 

Love,

Gretchen

And He was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended Him. Mark 1:13

As prophesied by Isaiah, John came baptizing for the repentance of sins. At this time Jesus came from Nazareth and was baptized. As He came out of the water, Heaven was torn open and the Holy Spirit descended as a dove. God’s voice spoke, “You are My Son, whom I love; with You I am well pleased.” (verses 1-12)

Following this event Jesus went into the wilderness for forty days, fasted and prayed. This was not a time of serenity. Satan pulled out all the stops in an attempt to end our hope before it ever got started. Jesus prevailed. 

The great questions of theology deal with Holy living and the community relationships of Christians.  There is admittedly some wiggle room that does not make a difference between Heaven and hell. However, in this passage you find Jesus, fully and completely, Son of Man and Son of God. Jesus was indisputably human in every meaning of the word. He lived as we lived, with discomfort and temptation, fought life’s most common battles, remained the sinless servant of all mankind, died a human death, BUT rose again into eternal life, thus removing the power of satan to hold us prisoner to the sorrows of this world.

Have a Great Thursday!

Gretchen

So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to Heaven, He gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then He gave them to His disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.  Mark 6:40-41

The disciples were exhausted. Jesus was taking them to a quiet, solitary place to rest, but people saw where they were going and got there ahead of them. It was late in the afternoon in the middle of no where. Everyone was tired and hungry but no one wanted to leave. Jesus sent his disciples out to gather what food they could find among those gathered. From thousands of people they collected five loaves and two fish. Plenty to be grateful for and more than enough to satisfy. 

The time was Passover, THE Jewish Holiday!  The multitudes were headed to Jerusalem for the celebration. Due to the plot to kill Him on a prior visit, Jesus and His friends would not be joining in any festivities. Instead, Jesus serves. He does not rebel against His opposition with harsh consequences, nor does He sequester Himself and His supporters and slander the unbeliever. He lovingly feeds the hungry on many levels.

It wasn’t the quality or quantity of resources that determined the outcome. It was the love of the Giver. Take all that you have, lay it at Jesus’ feet and count the baskets full returned. (For the entire miracle read Mark 6:30-44.)

Have a Lovely Day,

Gretchen