iBelin

Sunday, February 28th – Get a Life*

// February 28th, 2010 // 2 Comments » // LENT, Lent Devotional

John 5:19-24 (NIV)
19Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these. 21For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 22Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.
24″I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.

You’ve heard expressions such as, “like father, like son,” or, “just a chip off the old block.” Basically these idioms say, “the offspring are similar to the parents.” But if you were to go up to a teenager and say, “you know, you remind me exactly of your parents,” a teen probably isn’t going to take that as a compliment. We value our individuality. We want to be our own person, and not be compared to our parents, even if they are good, godly people. Jesus didn’t think that way. Instead of distancing himself from his Father, he goes out of his way to stress the close relationship that he has with God the Father.

Listen to how Jesus expresses his closeness to the Father, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” Here in John, Jesus is interested in conformity, not uniqueness. He wants to be the same as the Father. And he is the same as the Father, and there is no need to hide it.

Jesus said, “the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom He is pleased to give it.” This raising to life refers to the inner raising of the dead that goes on inside the soul of an unbeliever when they hear and believe the Word. Without Jesus, a person is dead. Yeah, they might be living here on earth, but they’re dead. They don’t really have any purpose in life. They don’t have any meaning in life. They are just living for themselves and for the here and now. They are living a dead life. But listen to the change that occurs when you add Jesus into the mix, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life.” Pay attention to the tense of the verb. A believer has life. Here on earth. At conversion, all of a sudden there’s a shaking up of priorities. God fills the believer up with a life that now looks to serve others. That’s different than the selfish so-called life before faith. And…this life Jesus says is eternal. Believers have it now. They will have it forever.

“Get a life!” Back when I was in high school, that was a common expression to say to someone who spent too much time studying….too much time playing video games…too much time on the phone. “Get a life!” Go, do something useful with your time. How much more important it is that we get true life. Get to know Jesus, because the Son has life!

Prayer: Father, Thank you for life! In you I live, move and have my being. Because you live, I have life and I have it more abundantly. I am so glad to be your child. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Reverend Tyronda Howse Burgess
Pastor, Jones Chapel A.M.E. Church
Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee

*During Lent and Holy Week, devotional writings will be posted by Facebook and Twitter friends who are praying and fasting together in a Daniel Fast. Read more about this “Journey to the Heart of God by clicking here.

Saturday, February 27th – Stand up and stretch out your hand!*

// February 27th, 2010 // 2 Comments » // LENT, Lent Devotional

Mark 2:33-3:6 (NIV)
23One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”
25He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”
27Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
Mark 3:1Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”
4Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.
5He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. 6Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

Monday, Tuesday Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Sabbath! Yes, Sabbath! For some, their day to rest and worship comes on Saturday and others Sunday.

As a child I thought that on the day of Sabbath there were certain things that I was not permitted to do. I would hear “Don’t do this nor that” on Sunday, in respect of the day for the Lord. In my childish mind not understanding that my day of rest and worship was actually made for me not me for it. Childishly, I also thought that on my day of rest and worship that Jesus was resting and worshipping too. Work was only to be done during the week.

Becoming an adult and have grown in spirituality through study my childish tendencies have faded away. I’ve found myself needing the Lord more and more regardless of the day. I’ve needed him during a midnight hour, before the morning sun, at work, and while driving. To be honest, some of life’s circumstances have made me stand up and stretch out my hand to cry out, have mercy on me Lord! Realizing it doesn’t matter what time on any day Jesus is still Lord. Even on my day of rest and worship.

Don’t sit and do nothing if there is a time that you need Jesus. Stray away from your childish tendencies. He’s here for you in your time of need always. Stand up and stretch your hand!

Felecia Teasley
Nashville, Tennessee

*During Lent and Holy Week, devotional writings will be posted by Facebook and Twitter friends who are praying and fasting together in a Daniel Fast. Read more about this “Journey to the Heart of God by clicking here.

Friday, February 26th – Compassion*

// February 26th, 2010 // 6 Comments » // LENT, Lent Devotional

Mark 2:13-22
13Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. 14As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.
15While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the “sinners” and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”
17On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
18Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?”
19Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.
21″No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. 22And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.”

When I first started pastoring, a couple of homeless people and a few drug addicts used to come to the church and ask for food and money, I would give them work to do. We would sometimes sit for hours talking about who they were and their goals and dreams for their lives. Because of these two people, I gained the capacity to not look so much at who people were on the outside, but who they were striving to be on the inside. Those first few months helped me formulate the vision and mission of our church – to be a place where everyone is welcome. Only through the hospitality that Jesus teaches us are we able to truly reach the masses.

Let us Pray: Most gracious and compassionate God, convict, compel and challenge our hearts to have the capacity to seek out the lost, to encourage the weary, and have compassion for the downtrodden. Show us what it means to fully live out the mission that you put before us so long ago. In Jesus’ name Amen.

Toni Belin Ingram, Pastor
Greater Smith Chapel AME Church
Atlanta, Georgia

*During Lent and Holy Week, devotional writings will be posted by Facebook and Twitter friends who are praying and fasting together in a Daniel Fast. Read more about this “Journey to the Heart of God by clicking here.

Thursday, February 25th – Sometimes, We Need a Lift*

// February 25th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // LENT, Lent Devotional

Mark 2:1-12 (New International Version)
1A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them.4Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on.5When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
6Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7″Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
8Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . .” He said to the paralytic, 11″I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 12He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

Today’s gospel reading has long been one of my favorite passages with its story of how some men came to Jesus bearing with them a man who is paralyzed . Upon seeing that so many people had gathered in the home where Jesus was ministering, they even noticed outside the doorway a crowd blocking their passage. They climbed up unto the roof of the place and dug a hole through the roofing material. This hole is large enough for the man on his mat to be lowered down to where Jesus sat teaching and conversing with the crowd. Jesus grants this paralyzed brother forgiveness of sins and divine healing by saying “Arise.”

It is a powerful picture with a powerful message. This story gives us an example of serving as your “brother’s/sister’s keeper.” All of us will need a helping hand at some point in life. None of us would be as blessed as we are today, “if it had not been” for the intercession of a friend. None of us would be here, “if it had not been” for the advocacy of Jesus Christ in our lives. Sometimes, we need a lift.

Like the man carried by his friends; people need a community of faith, brothers and sisters to carry them to where they need to go, and friends to believe for them when they don’t or simply can’t believe for themselves. Sometimes, we need a lift.

And that is where all of us today fit in. Healing, forgiveness, wholeness, the working of justice, and restoration needs a community in which to occur. Broken people need to find a community where people who not only know of the miracle working One, but encountered Him personally. Broken people need to find a community who in love and faith will carry those who can’t carry themselves to the One who can heal, to the One who can forgive, to the One who speaks the truth, to the One who can bring justice and restore that which has been lost. Sometimes, we need a lift.

Healing, forgiveness, justice, and restoration needs friends, a family, brothers and sisters, people who will not give up, just as the four who brought the paralytic to Jesus did not give up but instead removed the roof of the house so that one in need might meet Jesus the healer.

Through the power of Holy Spirit, we can serve as that community. We can be God’s instrument in someone’s life. We can be the one who speaks life and healing to broken and bruised people. We can be God’s ministers of reconciliation to show love and compassion and lift up those who are downtrodden. Just as the paralyzed man, got a lift from some friends, go out into your community and do the same. Go lift a brother! Go lift a sister!

Prayer: God of healing and forgiveness, I want to be all that you intend for me to be and to cooperate with your Spirit in the process of being transformed into the image of your glorious Son. In the name of Jesus, AMEN.

The Reverend Fedrick A. Wilson, Pastor
Cedar Grove AME Church
Cope (Orangeburg County), SC

*During Lent and Holy Week, devotional writings will be posted by Facebook and Twitter friends who are praying and fasting together in a Daniel Fast. Read more about this “Journey to the Heart of God by clicking here.

Wednesday, February 24th – Can We Touch?*

// February 24th, 2010 // 4 Comments » // LENT, Lent Devotional

Mark 1:29-45 (KJV)
29And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her. 31And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them. 32And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils. 33And all the city was gathered together at the door. 34And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him. 35And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. 36And Simon and they that were with him followed after him. 37And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee. 38And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth. 39And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils. 40And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 41And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. 42And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. 43And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away; 44And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. 45But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.

During the flu season we are warned to avoid personal contact with people at work or in school who exhibit symptoms of infection or sickness. Even in churches it is suggested that we should find alternatives to shaking hands and hugging as signs of love and peace. We’re being programmed not to touch. But what would Jesus do?

Cries of “unclean” signaling that a person with leprosy or some other infectious disease was in the midst were prevalent during Jesus’ public ministry. Avoiding and isolating sick people was recommended then too. But that was not the way of Jesus our Savior, Healer and Deliverer.

When Simon’s mother-in-law was at home sick with fever – Jesus went inside, took her by the hand and lifted her up and she was healed. When a leper knelt at Jesus’ feet asking to be cleansed – moved by compassion Jesus put forth his hand and touched him and the leper was cleansed. When they brought people to Jesus suffering from soul diseases such as demon possession – he didn’t flee from the devils, he cast them out!

Jesus was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief and was touched with the feeling of our infirmities. People touched Jesus and Jesus touched them back.

Prayer: Jesus we see you hanging on the cross bruised, bloody, in pain. You suffered for our sins and left us an example of bearing our brother’s infirmities. We have the antidote for their ills– it’s in You. Help us not to turn away from those who need to know you as Savior and Healer.

Denise L. Mitchell
Tabernacle of Prayer for all People
Jamaica, N.Y.

*During Lent and Holy Week, devotional writings will be posted by Facebook and Twitter friends who are praying and fasting together in a Daniel Fast. Read more about this “Journey to the Heart of God by clicking here.

Butternut Squash and Red Potatoes*

// February 23rd, 2010 // No Comments » // LENT, recipes

Here is a very tasty recipe for the Daniel Fast purist

1 vidalia onion
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
6 small red potatoes
3 small butternut squash
salt and pepper to taste
cumin to taste
thyme to taste
cayenne pepper to taste
2 tablespoons safflower oil

saute thinly sliced onions and peppers in safflower oil
add thinly sliced potatoes
add thinly sliced peeled butternut squash

cover and simmer until potatoes break easily with fork

*Thanks to Toni Belin Ingram (@tenayebi) for this Recipe

Tuesday, February 23rd – Forsake Your Nets and Follow God*

// February 23rd, 2010 // 1 Comment » // LENT, Lent Devotional

Mark 1:14-28 (NRSV)
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’
16 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. 17And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fish for people.’ 18And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.
21 They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. 22They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24and he cried out, ‘What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.’ 25But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!’ 26And the unclean spirit, throwing him into convulsions and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, ‘What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.’ 28At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee

I often look at my life and say the phrase that others have said:”If only there were more hours in the day….” The inescapable reality is that if there were more hours in our day, we would probably continue to fill those hours with meaningless, mundane tasks that would leave us still seeking for more hours to continue these works of our hands. I see people who have so many irons in the fire that their lives become stagnant, continually striving to have the appearance of success, progress, and accomplishment. This is not a rebuke of industrious people, “for whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required :”( Luke 12:48B). This missive does serve to bring awareness to you and I who often use our life’s work as an escape of the call of God on our lives.

The call of God is not a call to preach or a call to pastor: it is a call to follow. The initial exuberance of following Christ can be lost in the work of ministry if the joy of following Christ is not properly maintained. The scary part for many believers, new and seasoned, is that the work of God is so intense and unending. It requires sacrifice and dedication, and for some, they believe that it is not worth it. Simon, Andrew, James, and John followed Christ based on an invitation and immediately they were introduced to the work of ministry. To go from fisherman to being a fisher of men is a daunting proposition, to say the least. But, if one seeks to experience God’s glory, we must understand that to love Him is to follow Him and to follow Him requires us to perform the work of Him. As we follow, we will see miracles, large and small. Following anything means that some things will be left behind. Leave your past behind. Leave your inhibitions behind. Forsake the nets that entangle you and answer the greatest call on your life: to follow God.

Prayer: Give us this day, our daily bread….

Terrance L. Culp, Associate Minister
The Life Cathedral
Orangeburg, SC
www.twitter.com/terrancelculp

*During Lent and Holy Week, devotional writings will be posted by Facebook and Twitter friends who are praying and fasting together in a Daniel Fast. Read more about this “Journey to the Heart of God by clicking here.

Monday, February 22nd – What Not to Wear*

// February 22nd, 2010 // 4 Comments » // LENT, Lent Devotional

Mark 1:1-13
“John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey” (v. 6 NIV).

Can you imagine John the Baptist on The Learning Channel show, “What Not to Wear”? The text does not mention if he had a stylist, but John’s strange clothing was a purposeful part of his message. Jews acquainted with Scripture would immediately recognize that John dressed exactly the way the prophet Elijah dressed, as described in 2 Kings 1:7-8. His clothing immediately identified him as the new “Elijah” – the messenger who would prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. As Jesus himself declared, “and if you willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.” (Matt 11:14) Decked out in camel’s hair, a fiber that protects and insulates from extreme cold, and keeps the wearer cool in heat, John unknowingly was dressed for his role as a prophet and messianic forerunner.

Even though he may have appeared wild and a bit odd, John was clothed in compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience (Colossians 3:12), clothed with love (Colossians 3:14), and most of all he was clothed with Christ (Galatians 3:27) People came out to where John was not to see him model, but to hear the good news of Jesus arrival. (Mark 1:5-6)

What are you wearing on this journey? The garment of praise? The whole armor of God? The covering of the blood? What NOT to wear? Pride, selfishness, and disobedience have been out of style forever. John wore camel skin. It probably looks good only on a select few. You choose. But remember…the devil wears Prada!

Let’s Pray: Mighty and Merciful God, Help me to see past appearances and focus on the proclamation of your Word. Today may I see the messenger AND hear the message, even if I end up in the wilderness.

Minister Colette L. Walker
Moring Star Community Christian Center Linden, NJ
www.morningstarccc.org

*During Lent and Holy Week, devotional writings will be posted by Facebook and Twitter friends who are praying and fasting together in a Daniel Fast. Read more about this “Journey to the Heart of God by clicking here.

Sunday, February 21st – Do You Know?*

// February 21st, 2010 // 1 Comment » // LENT, Lent Devotional

John 12:44-50
44Then Jesus cried out, “When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me.45When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me. 46I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. 47″As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. 48There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. 49For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. 50I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”

The world is filled with uncertainty. Will I have a job tomorrow? Will my children grow up to be productive citizens? Will I live to see another birthday? The list goes on and on. Attempting to find certainty in the uncertainty of this world is a one way ticket to a nervous breakdown. I submit there is a better way. The certainty of God.
Jesus came to Earth at the command and will of the Father. He knew his purpose was to do whatever the Father told him to do and he was okay with that. In verse 49 of today’s passage he stated plainly, “I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it.” This is one speaking from place of total submission, willing to do only what he was told to do. However, the activating power of his submission comes in verse 50. “And I know his commands lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say. This statement speaks of his unmovable faith. Faith that is confident and assured. Faith that is certain.
Can you say that you know, not believe but know, that God’s commands lead to eternal life? Can you say and act on His word with enough confidence to do what He says and tell others to do the same? We say we believe but do we know that God’s way leads to eternal life? Is it evidenced in our lives? As we follow hard after the heart of God during this season, let us stop and ask God to give us a “knowing” experience with him that will allow us to say, with conviction that we know his words lead to eternal life, and then with joy tell the world whatever the Father tells us to say.

Tracey Bowen
Bethel Apostolic Temple
Miami, Florida

*During Lent and Holy Week, devotional writings will be posted by Facebook and Twitter friends who are praying and fasting together in a Daniel Fast. Read more about this “Journey to the Heart of God by clicking here.

Saturday, February 20th – Let’s Go For a Walk*

// February 20th, 2010 // No Comments » // LENT, Lent Devotional

John 17:20-26 (NIV)
20″My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24″Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 25″Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

As I meditated on these 7 verses, I thought about one word: intimacy. God wants an intimate relationship with each one of us. Jesus was basically praying, ‘Father, can you please allow my sisters and brothers, to experience the same intimacy that we have through our One-on-One relationship, through Your love, through Your glory, through Your name. God I know that their experience with You will lead them to also declare to the world, Abba, You are Righteous.’ God lives in me. We are one. How hungry are you? During this Lenten season, when the Holy Spirit taps you ─ when the house is asleep or during any part of the day ─ say yes to intimacy. God wants to take a walk in the forest of your life. God wants to whisper in your ears and in your heart.

Monique Eugenia Brown
Brooklyn NY
no1b4him.blogspot.com

*During Lent and Holy Week, devotional writings will be posted by Facebook and Twitter friends who are praying and fasting together in a Daniel Fast. Read more about this “Journey to the Heart of God by clicking here.