Day 11: Saturday, March 11   Mark 5:19 MSG

Jesus said, “Go home to your own people. Tell them your story—what the Master did, how he had mercy on you.” (Emphasis added)

According to Webster’s Dictionary the word story can be defined as: “an account of incidents or events.” 

I never realized how important stories are in our lives until I had a child.  Part of our bedtime routine each night is to spend time cuddling and reading stories before our bedtime prayer.  When this bedtime story doesn’t take place due to life being crazy, then the routine is thrown off, and to an 18 month old, when routine doesn’t happen, everyone else is made aware of it.

Looking at our Christian walk, stories become a very important part of how we come to know Jesus.  The Bible in itself is an important book that is full of stories, stories of struggle and triumph, loss and rejection, love and acceptance. Without these stories we wouldn’t know the love of Christ, as it has been passed down and told to us in stories.

When I think of my story--who I am, where I came from, who has spoken life into me    --words from the song “My Story” by Big Daddy Weave pop into my head:

“If I told you my story, you would hear victory over the enemy
and if I told you my story, you would hear freedom that was won for me
and if I told you my story, you would hear life overcome the grave
If I should speak, then let it be of the grace that is Greater than all my sin
of when justice was served, and where mercy wins!

What is your story? Who needs to hear of the Grace that is Greater than all our sin?  Who will come to know who Jesus is because you told of the events in your life where the Master had mercy on you?

Prayer:  Father, help us all to be sowers of Your word and to use that harvest for good.  May we be committed to study Your word and understand what we are to do.  Amen.

Contributed by Sarah Stone

Day 9: Thursday, March 9, 2017         Philippians 4: 4-6

So I looked through some old notes I took and came upon a section about prayer and how to pray.  I came across Philippians 4:4-6, and it seems fitting with the many struggles I have encountered in my life. Some of these include:

 ¨ Impatience

¨ Inability to ask others to pray for me and with me

¨ Being humble and asking God for help, releasing the flesh

¨ Being thankful for what God has provided for me at all times

These are fitting verses for a common struggle I have, and I understand that struggle more now than I ever did before.  What do the above verses mean to me?  Be thankful to God in everything about my life, seek out fellowship in prayer for my struggles and the struggles of others, and let the Lord work in my life for His glory.

Prayer:  Dear heavenly Father, I give You thanks for the bounties You have given me and pray that I can use Your love to glorify You in all ways.  Humble me Father and fill my spirit with the desire to seek You out in all ways for myself and for others' needs and desires.  Continue to work in my life, steer me in the direction to become the son I am meant to be.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

Contributed by a FUMC Killeen Parishioner

Day 7: Tuesday, March 7, 2017     Psalm 147:3

I was speaking with my Aunt Ruth shortly after the recent passing of my own father. I remember her telling me that when her husband passed, decades ago, she and two co-workers found themselves commiserating as all three had lost their spouses around the same time.  My aunt and another woman were people of faith, but the third, a man, was an atheist. Sadly, the man had the hardest time coping with the loss of his wife and was most distraught. Try as he might to deal with his loss, he could not. He had nowhere to turn for relief; whereas, the two women could seek comfort in God and the scripture, which they did.

My aunt found her first and only husband when she was around forty years old. He filled that void in her life for only a dozen or so years, and his loss was complete for there would be no other, and she knew it. It was at that time in her life when she needed God the most, and He was there for her. Because she could see herself and her two co-workers dealing with their losses, she experienced personal witness to the healing power of faith, for those who have it, and the anguish experienced by those who do not.

Prayer: Dear God, let us remember that You are always there for us and none of our problems are too big for You. Because we have faith, we can always count on You as a source of comfort. We never have to be alone or lost. Amen.

Contributed by Mike Baker

Day 5: Sunday, March 5, 2017  

Jesus often spoke in metaphor, and by using images that most were very familiar with, the people were able to easily understand what He was saying.  Unfortunately, the things that were familiar to the people Jesus spoke to 2,000 years ago in another culture are sometimes less familiar to us.  Now, in our scripture today, it’s not a foreign concept that branches of a vine separated from the vine and roots will not survive; however, there is yet another image that may speak more to our everyday experience--cell phones.

Have you ever tried to go a little too long without connecting your cell phone to a charger?  Perhaps you have travelled too far to receive reception?  We seem to be    powerless today when our phones are… well… powerless.  Same idea:  When we are not regularly plugged into God in relationship through prayer, scripture reading, and worship, and when we travel a bit too far to receive God’s guidance and hear God’s voice, we too become powerless--both to our own lives of faith and to the mission of making disciples for the transformation of the world. 

How much charge is in your battery?  Is it time to plug in with God again? 

How well are you able to receive the voice of God and the call God has on your life? 

I pray we may all spend some time plugging in and growing closer to God in our Lenten journey this year. 

Prayer: Holy and loving God, remind us to stay connected with You through prayer, scripture, and worship.  Draw us closer to You so that we may hear clearly the ways You direct us.  Renew and recharge our love for You and for Your people.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Contributed by Associate Pastor Alison Zollinger

Day 3: Friday, March 3, 2017                                

John 1:35-42

 ⁴⁰ Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. ⁴¹ The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). ⁴² And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).

When I read today’s text, I’m struck by the absence of details of Andrew’s life.  Later in the Gospels we’ll learn that Andrew is a fisherman, but for now, all we know is that  Andrew has the leisure to be a disciple of John, the spunk to follow Jesus after one short sentence from John, a day to spend with Jesus, and a desire for his brother to know that he has indeed found the Messiah.

What interests me is that Andrew’s life is remarkably free of appointments and meetings.  We first meet him as a disciple of John--free to spend hours (and days) with John.  Andrew then investigates this man Jesus--free to visit Him, free to stay the       afternoon.  What?  No conflicts on his calendar?  Andrew appears to have stripped his life of all but the essentials, and he can indulge his passion for God and his hunger for       Messiah.

^st

I’m also interested in the phrase “the first thing” that appears in verse 41. Andrew could have done many things after his afternoon with Jesus. Maybe he had to tend to his fishing equipment. Maybe he had family responsibilities. Maybe he had projects at home. But no--the first thing he did was to tell Simon that he had met the Christ.  I try to imagine their conversation that night, and I pray for Andrew’s zeal for Christ to be present in my heart.

Prayer:         Just as I am, without one plea,

But that thy blood was shed for me,

And that thou bidst me come to thee,

O Lamb of God, I come; I come.

Just as I am, thy love unknown

Hath broken every barrier down;

Now, to be thine, yea, thine alone,

Lamb of God, I come, I come. . Amen.                                                                

  Contributed by Katie Doyle