Pastor Mary Haley Interruptions as Opportunity
Monday 2/23/15 Day 5
ReRead: Mark 5:30-33
Ponder: Please notice that both the woman and Jesus is aware of the healing. Jesus is actually on his way to touch Jairus’ daughter when he is interrupted. This woman falls at the feet of Jesus (just like Jairus) and tells him what she has done; she touched him. Jesus gives this broken and hurting woman and opportunity to be real with him; to tell him the truth.
Interruptions as Opportunity
ReRead: Mark 5:27-29
Saturday 2/21/15 Day 4
Ponder: Are you quick to interrupt Jesus by asking for help? Do you think about the magnitude of other people’s problems and decide your’s are not worth bothering the Master? Or, maybe you think you can handle your own problems by yourself.
Interruptions as Opportunity
ReRead: Mark 5:24-26
Friday 2/20/15 Day 3
Ponder: I cannot answer for you, but I will confess that my cell phone brings constant interruptions. Sometimes the calls are simply casual or informative; sometimes the calls mean painful life changes for those whom I love. Can you, or those you love, relate to painful news and the need to search for answers from God?
Interruptions as Opportunity
ReRead: Mark 5:22-24
Thursday 2/19/15 Day 2
Ponder: Jesus welcomes our interrupting prayers. How might you describe what you need from Jesus?
Interruptions as Opportunity
Read: Mark 5:21-34
Ash Wednesday 2/18/15 Day 1
Ponder: How do you handle interruptions? Does it unsettle you when things do not go as planned? Could you benefit from looking at interruptions differently?
According to Robert McGee there are four false beliefs that Satan uses to undermine a person’s sense of worth. 1) The Performance Trap: “I must meet certain standards in order to feel good about myself.” 2) Approval Addiction: “I must be approved and accepted by others to feel good about myself.” 3) The Blame Game: “Those who fail are unworthy of love and deserve to be punished.” 4) Shame: “I am what I am. I cannot change. I am hopeless.” We need to connect to Christ. In doing so, let’s now replace those lies with the truth of God’s Word: 1) “I bear Christ’s righteousness and am, therefore fully pleasing to the Father” (Romans 5:1). 2) “Although I was…alienated from God, I am now forgiven and totally accepted by God through Christ” (Colossians 1:21-22). 3) “Christ satisfied God’s wrath against sin by His death…therefore, I am deeply loved by God (1 John 4:9-11). 4) “I am a new creation in Christ (John 3:3-6). Feeling better now? Take a minute and say, “Thank you, Jesus!”
Faith Connections with Pastor Mary…
As many Christians celebrate Palm Sunday—the arrival of Jesus (the Light of Truth who illuminates the way to live a vibrant life in connection with God)—let’s prepare our hearts by reflecting on some challenging questions. For example, “Do I really want to know the Truth of God’s love? When I can see my level of love is deficient in certain areas (dark and selfish before God), will I trust Christ to enlarge my understanding and ability to love in a way that pleases God? To accept and know Christ and to follow his ways will lead us to victory (death to selfishness and eternal life in God’s love).
“I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust me me will no longer remain in the dark.” John 12:46
God created the heavens and the earth, and placed creative humanity in a position to govern it under divine authority. We have allowed ourselves to leave the ways of God to follow the false standard of culture because we love our own “THINKING”…and our natural thinking without God’s influence is basically selfish and therefore, distorted. And, the sad thing is when our thinking is distorted all of our attitudes and behaviors keep leaning in that direction.
Albert Einstein said, “The world we have created is a product of our thinking; it cannot be changed without changing our thinking.
We serve a gracious and generous God. Our response to God’s grace and generosity should be a spirit of great thanksgiving and a passion to look like our Creator as we encounter people each day.
Peter and John had been very bold in their witness of what Christ had done in their lives; how their lives had become whole and Christ’s love had filled them. God took these ordinary men and inspired them to “connect” with a man who had been lame for forty years. This man was healed, in the name of Jesus, by the power of God’s love through these two men. Naturally, the church council and the religious leaders were not happy about this love and energy that was permeating “their” religious camp. But, these religious leaders could not deny the courage and boldness that had come over these two men to speak the truth about how their lives had changed since meeting Jesus. Peter and John were acting on what they could now see from God’s horizon. Peter and John were more concerned about what God desired to do through them, than how these people around them listening might react to what they might do and say. This is an example of a stand of courageous love for God and people. It is that courage for which we, as Christ followers, must seek to “connect.” The Holy Spirit is the Giver and Initiator of such courage. Following this story, the healing of the lame man, we see the early Church (followers of Christ) ramping up their prayer for courage…
