What's so Good About Good Friday?

ARTICLE BY MARTHA JANE ORLANDO - LINK HERE

At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.  And at three in the afternoon, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" (which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?")  When some of those standing near heard this, they said, "Listen, he's calling Elijah."  Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink.  "Now leave him alone.  Let's see if Elijah comes to take him down," he said.  With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.  The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, "Surely this man was the Son of God!" ~Mark 15:33-39

What's so good about Good Friday?  This is a question I have pondered in my heart over these many years.  After all, this is the day our Lord and Savior, Jesus, suffered an excruciatingly painful and ignominious death on a cross.  Shouldn't we be calling Good Friday the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Friday?

Bishop Justin Holcomb of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida offers some insight as to why this holy day is called "good."

Still, why call the day of Jesus' death "Good Friday" instead of "Bad Friday" or something similar?  Some Christian traditions do take this approach.  In German, for example, the day is called Karfreitag, or "Sorrowful Friday."  In English, in fact, the origin of the term "Good" is debated; some believe it developed from an older name, "God's Friday."  Regardless of the origin, the name Good Friday is entirely appropriate because the suffering and death of Jesus, as terrible as it was, marked the dramatic culmination of God's plan to save his people from their sins.

Good for us.  No, wait!  Grand and glorious for us!

Because of Jesus' willingness to obey His Father's plan, we are forgiven our sins, once and for all.  And we can look forward to the coming Easter celebration with hope and joy, and the promise of a renewed relationship with our Father in heaven.

But on Good Friday, let us all take time to see ourselves sitting at the foot of that cross.  Let us become Mary and the disciple whom Jesus loved, who witnessed His immeasurable suffering.

Let us be fully present for our Lord as He gives His all for us.

Let us weep and mourn and pray.

And let us give thanks always for God's undeserved gifts of forgiveness and grace because Jesus took the cross of sin upon Himself for our salvation.

Amen!

Holy Week

 

Sermon by Father Jonathan E Moore for Palm Sunday - LINK HERE 

Hello again dear friends. Holy Week is beginning. If you are able to get to Mass or to watch or listen to Mass on television or the radio, this weekend you will hear the Passion of Christ as recounted in the Gospel of Saint Matthew.

Saint Matthew's account of the suffering and death of our Lord is the longest of all the Gospel accounts. It draws us into a profound meditation on the depths of love, sacrifice and redemption at the very heart of our faith. Spanning two chapters, or more or less entire chapters 26 and 27, it engages us with the final hours of our Lord's earthly life, inviting us to contemplate both His human sufferings and also His divine obedience.

In reflecting on these passages we're called not only to sympathise with the pain endured by Christ but also to recognise the transformative power of His sacrifice for each one of us. My little reflection this week focusses on just three points for meditation in that whole long narrative. What is meditation? It is reflective prayer.

It's not saying prayers, it's praying with your whole being. I wrote a little haiku once, defining meditation, and it runs as follows. 

Heart lifted, 
mind stilled, 
humble, 
as my emptiness is filled by you, Lord.

It's not so much about what we do, it's more about giving space and time for Christ to enter into our minds and hearts. 

The first point for meditation is the agony in the garden, especially our Lord's words, "Father not my will but your will be done". Matthew begins his account with Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, overcome by sorrow and distress.

He prays, "my Father, if it's possible let this cup pass from me yet, not as I will but as You will". In these words we encounter the human vulnerability of Jesus, who genuinely experiences fear and anguish. At the same time His unwavering submission to the Father's will exemplifies perfect obedience and trust.

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, He taught them the Our Father. "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy will be done". Here, Jesus perfectly practises what He Himself had preached.

For this moment is a model of prayer and surrender, reminding us that even in our darkest moments we are called to place our lives in God's hands and that there is no better place to be than in the hands of God. 

The second point for meditation is our Lord's betrayal, abandonment and loneliness. St Matthew makes no bones in telling us of the betrayal of Jesus by Judas and the abandonment by His closest friends. He says then all the disciples deserted Him and fled. This profound loneliness, intensified by false accusations and mockery, reveals the cost of true love.

Jesus faces injustice and isolation and yet He remains silent and steadfast. Reflecting on this we are invited to consider the times we have failed to stand with Christ or with others in need. Here the passion challenges us to grow in fidelity and compassion, even when such virtues come at a personal cost. 

And the third point for meditation is of course the crucifixion itself. In the fourth Eucharistic prayer we read, "For when the hour had come for Him to be glorified by You, Father most holy, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end". Jesus loves us to the end, indeed beyond the end. Behold He says "I'm with you always, even to the end of the age".

Matthew's depiction of the crucifixion is stark and unflinching. Jesus is stripped, scourged, crowned with thorns, nailed to the cross, hung up to die. Yet amidst the pain He continues to show love, praying for His persecutors, caring for His mother and offering hope to the criminal.

"This day you will be with me in paradise". He prays, "my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" These words echo Psalm 22, demonstrating both the depths of our Lord's sufferings and His unwavering faith. For us the cross is not merely a symbol of suffering, but also of ultimate victory.

Through Christ's death, sin and death are defeated, opening the way to eternal life. I hope these points may help you to fill some time with God this week. As we meditate on Matthew's account of the Passion, let us allow ourselves to be moved to gratitude and repentance.

We are challenged to acknowledge our own part in the suffering of Christ through sin and at the same time embrace the divine mercy and forgiveness which He pours out on us from the cross. We are called to live lives shaped by self-giving love, humility and faithfulness. At Mass in the Eucharist we encounter the living Christ who gave Himself for our salvation.

In our everyday lives we are invited to share in His passion through loving others as He has loved us. 

Dear friends, please join me in asking God to give us the grace this Holy Week to renew our commitment as followers of Christ, bearing our own crosses with patience and unfailing trust in the redeeming love of God. 

Lord, by your cross and resurrection you have set us free.

You are the saviour of the world. 

Lord, by your cross and resurrection you have set me free. 

You are my saviour, my Jesus.

You love me infinitely. Help me to love you in return. Amen.

God bless you all this Holy Week and again please remember to say a prayer for me.

Living with Mystery

 

Article by Father Jonathan E Moore - Link HERE

Living with Mystery

Being a Lincolnshire man, born and bred, I feel great affection for my native County's famous sons and daughters, not least the great physicist Sir Isaac Newton. His body is buried  in Westminster Abbey, graced with an epitaph written by the poet Alexander Pope:

"Nature and Nature's laws lay hid in night: God said: "Let Newton be, and all was light!"

Present Day physicists are wise not to claim their ability to "make all things light". A prudent man of science acknowledge the truth that there is more to the universe than any human mind is capable of understanding or describing. They identify what Professor Stephen Hawking called "paradoxes, anomalies and inconsistencies" which defy the Laws of Physics as we know them. Hawking described the things which don't  behave the way scientists think as "mistakes" and "imperfections".

Believers, of course, would give another name to that which is beyond all scientific investigation and definition - and that is GOD.

To describe things we can't understand as "mistakes and inconsistencies" can never be good enough for someone with faith. Three hundred years ago, people believed that Isaac Newton had answered all the questions about the way the universe worked. Later scientists, notably Einstein, showed that even the great Newton had made his mistakes. What of the scientists today, can they really hope to answer all the questions? Could it not be that, where they find "anomalies and inconsistencies", the mistake is in their own theories and calculations? Might it not be that there is an intelligence infinitely greater than theirs behind creation? When you come to think about it, is it any easier to believe that everything started in a huge, chaotic explosion of matter than it is to believe in an intelligent Creator of heaven and earth?

Think about a great work of art such as the Mona Lisa or the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Would it make sense to suggest that either had come about as the result of an explosion in a paint factory? Surely it would make more sense to recognise and appreciate the skill of the artist who used paint with such skill and intelligence.

Then again, who could look at a magnificent piece of engineering like a space rocket or a massive suspension bridge, and suggest that it was merely the result of a freak whirlwind hitting a scrap yard?

Truth to tell, nobody believes in nothing . Some people who would describe themselves as "non-believers" have faith in science or political philosophy. They are the sensible ones, others believe in "Ley Lines", crystals, fairies, dragons and lucky charms. As G. K. Chesterton shrewdly observed: "When people stop believing in God, they don't believe nothing, they believe ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING!"

This much is sure, science, politics and philosophy have changed many times in the last two thousand years, and they go on changing. The Good News alone is unchanged and unchanging. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and for ever. (Hebrews 13:8)

We have seen in recent weeks that Our Lord's teaching was, in its own time, often seen to be "inconsistent" with what others wanted to believe. He said much that was "paradoxical". As I've remarked before, in the end, He could only be judged to be mad, bad or God, no other conclusion was, or is, possible. For Jewish people in those days, what they termed the "Son of Man" (Bar Nasha) was a superhuman, all-conquering hero whose "glorification" would be conclusive victory over the armies of all "The Nations", and rule over all the world as an absolute monarch. Jesus, however, while describing Himself as "Son of Man" spoke of a very different "glorification" which involved rejection, condemnation, crucifixion, death and failure. He would be "lifted up", but His throne would be a rough wooden cross on top of a rubbish tip, and His crown would be made of thorns. Like a grain of wheat He must die and be buried in the ground in order to rise again.

It took a lot of faith for even his closest friends to accept this. Saint Peter himself struggled with the very idea. At the Transfiguration, Peter, James and John had glimpsed His divinity for one blinding and glorious instant, but now back down the mountain, they had to cope with a very different reality. There had to be death before resurrection, the cross before kingship. Each of them faced the same inevitable question: who is wrong, Jesus or me? One or the other had to be mistaken. This is the ultimate "acid test" of faith, and none of us escapes it. Like poor old Job, in the end we must either reject God, or put our finger to our lips and stand silent in the presence of mystery.

A theology professor, under whom I studied many moons ago, used to say that an appropriate "signature tune" for God would be the song "I was born under a Wandering Star" because He is like the horizon - you reach that distant point only to find another horizon. God is like an ever-flowing spring: however many times we satisfy our thirst, we can never drink it all. The Prophet Isaiah (Chapter 58:11) speaks of God giving us "A spring of water whose waters never run dry." People have sometimes asked me "Won't eternity be boring?"- I don't believe it will, you know. If there are always new horizons presented by God's love which is "new every morning", then we will be caught up in the greatest of adventures, as Cardinal Newman wrote "hearing no longer the busy beat of time".

Our Lenten readings have been very much about living with questions, embracing mystery, going by faith and not by sight. To be silent before God, to accept that there are mysteries far beyond our understanding, to live with the questions we can't answer - these are the non-negotiable "Terms and Conditions" of Christian Faith.

And what of the non-believers? In Eucharistic Prayer IV, we pray for all those who seek God "in sincerity of heart". In seeking the Truth, unknowingly people seek Him, for God is Truth. In the General Intercessions on Good Friday afternoon the Church prays that those who do not acknowledge God may sincerely follow what is right, thus finding the way to God Himself. I think we should be making that prayer all the year long, don’t you?

Fr. Jonathan Moore

The End of Lent

Another Lent

Is almost spent.

Would someone tell me

Where it went?

How forty days

So swift are spent?

Life, Falcon-fast

Is flashing by,

And Lent is spent,

And man must die...

Remember, though,

What follows Lent -

How Jesus Christ

Could not be pent

By stone, a seal

And armoured main,

But, Easter-early,

Rose again.

O Risen Saviour,

Raise us too,

And bid us ever,

Live with You.

 JEM

Let the stone fall from our hands

  

Sermon by Father Francis Maple - Link HERE 

LET THE STONE FALL FROM OUR HANDS

 

As we come close to Holy Week, the Church places before us one of the most moving scenes in the Gospel: the woman caught in adultery.  She is dragged before Jesus, exposed, ashamed, and condemned.  The law is clear.  The verdict seems certain. The stones are already in their hands.

 

And yet, everything changes when Jesus speaks.  “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone.”  Beginning with the eldest one by one, they walk away.  And then comes that tender moment: “Woman, where are they?  Has no one condemned you?”  “No one, Lord.”  “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more.”

 

This Gospel is not just about that woman - it is about each one of us.  We are all standing there.  Sometimes we are like the crowd - quick to judge, ready to condemn, holding stones in our hearts: resentment, criticism, harsh words.

 

At other times, we are like the woman - caught in our weakness, ashamed of our sins, afraid of being exposed.

 

And then there is Jesus, calm, merciful, and full of truth.  He does not deny sin. He does not say the woman is innocent.  But He refuses to reduce her to her sin.  He sees her dignity.  He gives her a future.

Notice what Jesus does: He bends down and writes on the ground.  Silence.  No argument.  No shouting.  Why?  Because mercy is quiet - but powerful.

 

His words do not attack; they awaken conscience.  And the accusers begin to leave, starting with the eldest - those who perhaps know their own sins best.  How often we need that same grace - to look not at the faults of others, but at our own hearts.  Lent is not a time for throwing stones. It is a time for letting them fall.

 

Jesus says “Neither do I condemn you.”  These are among the most beautiful words in the Gospel.  Jesus does not condemn, but He calls the woman higher: “Go, and sin no more.”

 

Mercy is not permission to remain as we are.  It is the power to begin again.  God never tires of forgiving us. But He invites us to change, to rise, to become the person He created us to be.

 

A young boy once broke a neighbour’s window while playing football.  Terrified, he hid behind a wall, expecting anger and punishment.  The neighbour came out, looked at the broken glass, and then gently called him over.  “I know you did it,” he said. The boy trembled.  “But I forgive you.  Just be more careful next time.”  Years later, the boy said, “That moment changed me. I wanted to be better - not because I was punished, but because I was forgiven.”

 

As we approach the Passion of Our Lord, we remember that Jesus Himself will soon take the place of that woman.  He will stand where the condemned stand.  He will carry the weight of our sins.  And the stones that should have fallen on us will fall on Him.

 

So today, let us do three things: drop the stones we hold against others.  Bring our own sins to the mercy of Christ.  Hear His words spoken personally to us: “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more.”

 

Lord Jesus, You see our sins, yet You love us still.  Give us the grace to let go of judgement, to trust in Your mercy.  May we walk with You into Holy Week with humble and repentant hearts.
Amen.

"I am"

 

Sermon by Father Jonathan E Moore - Link HERE

5th Sunday of Lent 2026

Dear friends, here's my little reflection for Sunday, the fifth Sunday of Lent, the resurrection and the life. Jesus spent a lot of His time with Martha, Mary and Lazarus in Bethany. You might say it was His second home.

When Jesus arrived there four days after the death of His friend Lazarus, it was hard for those two sisters to find words to speak. Initially, Mary just stayed in the house. Only Martha came to Him, at first voicing that anger which is so often an expression of grief.

"If you had been here, my brother would not have died". Once her grief-fuelled anger has come out, Martha remembers that she knows more about Jesus than that. "I know", she says, "that even now, whatever you ask of God, He will grant you".

And Jesus replies, "I am the resurrection. Do you believe this?" Martha's faith floods back. "You are the Christ, the Son of God".

And then Jesus calls Lazarus out of his grave, back to life and returns him to his sisters. You will not be surprised if I look back now to the Old Testament. I mostly do, I know.

If you look at the book of Exodus, the third chapter, we learn that when Moses asked the Lord God, "if I come to the people of Israel and say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me, what is His name? What shall I say to them?" And God said to Moses, "I am who I am". Those words, "I am", are repeated by Jesus in John's Gospel again and again. 

"I am the bread of life. I am the living bread from heaven. I am the light of the world. I am the gate of the sheepfold. I am the good shepherd. I am one with the Father. I am the resurrection and the life. I am the way, the truth and the life. I am the true vine". 

It's not long now till Good Friday.

When the Passion is being read on Good Friday, listen out for Jesus saying, "I am", three times in succession during His arrest. The significance of that was not lost on the arresting officers. John tells us that they drew back and fell to the ground.

Every time Jesus describes Himself as, "I am", He is clearly claiming that He is God. His opponents understood this very well. They hated Him for it.

When Jesus told them before Abraham ever was, "I am", they thought He was blaspheming. No man could speak of Himself as God. He was a madman, a bad man, or God incarnate.

There are still many people who struggle with the identity of Jesus and would dismiss Him as being delusional or an imposter. That's where we're so blessed, dear friends, that we have been given the gift of faith. And we should never forget that faith is a gift of God.

We don't deserve it. We haven't worked to attain it, nor have we in any way earned it. And through that precious gift, we are able to hear Jesus use that divine expression, "I am".

And like Saint Peter declared, "you are the Christ, the son of the living God", or like Saint Thomas said, "my Lord and my God". We Christians, God's people of the new covenant, are able to see in Jesus Christ the face of God. Our God is not remote, unapproachable, dangerous, unknowable, and one whose name must not even be breathed.

Jesus has taught us that God does have names which He loves us to use. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. And the New Testament tells us this clearly.

We find in the epistles of the Romans, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. And in the Acts of the Apostles, it will come to be that everyone will call on the name of the Lord. We even find this in the Old Testament, among the prophecies of Joel.

That's in the second chapter of Joel, by the way. Jesus speaks to us of a God who is not all mystery. Those with faith can begin to have an understanding of the nature of God, even though our knowledge in this life must remain imperfect.

When Jesus speaks as God, He always accompanies it with an image which we can understand. The sower in his field, the shepherd with his flock, the path to Heaven, the vine trunk feeding its branches, He is light, truth, resurrection, and life. A problem which our Lenten penances can cause to the unwary soul is that it all becomes a matter of thinking about oneself.

What am I doing without? What extra am I trying to do? What sins I have committed? And although self-knowledge is important, knowledge of Jesus is even more so. It's not enough just to know about Jesus. We need to know Jesus like Saint Thomas.

We have to come to know Him as "my Lord, my God, my Jesus". So for the rest of this Lent, please try to forget about yourself a little more and concentrate on Jesus alone. All your worries, all your concerns, all your fears will be resolved by Him alone.

All of your needs, He alone can supply. Each time you begin to pray, pause, remember that you are in His presence, the presence of God. Try to recall your wandering mind as far as you can.

Try to be present to Him too. Listen to Him ask you, "do you believe?" And let Martha's faithful response be yours too.

Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God. Amen. 

God bless you all and do please, please remember me in your prayers.

The Perils of a Know-all

 

Sermon by Father Francis Maple - Link HERE

THE PERILS OF A KNOW ALL

Jn. 9: 1-41

A familiar proverb says, “Knowledge is power”.  I’m sure we have all experienced the truth of this saying.  If your car won’t start and you don’t know what the fault is, you are helpless.  At this moment for you the ‘strongest’ man in town is the car mechanic.  His knowledge is strength.  The same is true in the medical profession.  If you fall ill and can’t help yourself, we hope a doctor who knows what is wrong and has the medicine will cure you.  At that moment he is the strong one because of his knowledge.

It is true that knowledge is power.  The more we know, the better prepared we are to cope with the problems and challenges of life.  But there is another proverb given to us by William Shakespeare.  “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.”  His meaning is fairly obvious.  A doctor who thinks he knows so much that he never questions his own diagnosis nor seeks the counsel of a colleague, poses a serious threat to the health of his patients.

It is important for us to know everything that we possibly can, but it is also imperative that we recognise the limitations of our knowledge.  Today’s Gospel reading tells us about a group of men who failed to make that distinction.  They were knowledgeable, but they overestimated the extent of their knowledge.  They had learned a little but assumed they knew everything.  That erroneous assumption cost them dearly.  It slammed the door of discovery in their faces and locked it tightly. They lived at the same time as Jesus, the greatest Teacher our world has and will ever know and they learned nothing from Him. They were too busy protecting their little store of knowledge to open their minds to any new insights.  All they could do was to bicker about the proper observance of the Sabbath.  As a result their lives were a tragedy.

Ignorance is not the primary hindrance of knowledge, arrogance is.  People who are ignorant, and know it, can learn.  People who know little and think they know much are almost impossible to teach.  I smiled when I heard of the student who had completed his study of physics.  One day, unknown to him, he sat next to Albert Einstein, the greatest physicist of the twentieth century.  He asked him what his profession was.  Einstein said, “I teach physics.”  The student replied, “I finished that subject last year!”  There was the great Einstein still learning more about his subject while this upstart had hardly scratched the surface.

St. Luke wrote of Jesus when He was 12 that He steadily grew in wisdom, age and grace before God.  Obviously like any normal child He was still learning, still growing in wisdom.  But I think that statement could have been said of Jesus at any point in His life.  He never ceased to be a learner.  Jesus involved His followers in on going formation.  He taught them for as long as He lived, and when He left them He had this to say, “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.  When the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all truth”. (Jn. 16: 12-13)  Jesus clearly did not think that He had spoken the final word.  He did not close the door of truth.  He opened it and left it ajar.  The only way that door can ever be closed again is for us to slam it in our faces, by the incredible arrogance of knowing too much.  This is what the Pharisees did to themselves.

This attitude also destroyed their relationship with other people.  They were so sure of their knowledge that they would not tolerate any opinion that differed from their own.  The man who was born blind told them that Jesus had opened his eyes, and explained how He had done it.  They should have praised and thanked God for such a miracle, instead all they could say was “This Man cannot be from God:  He does not keep the Sabbath.” The Pharisees were not prepared to accept what Jesus had done and so excluded the man who had been cured from the temple.  That is precisely how an ignorant and arrogant person behaves.

Think of how many hearts have been broken and relationships ruined by that kind of dogmatic certainty.  The father in a family makes his opinion known on a given subject.  After that, no other opinion will be tolerated.  Many young people have left home too soon, because of that very attitude.  An owner of a business has his own way of doing things, and is not open to improvements.  Many companies have lost employees because of that attitude.  Whatever our role in life may be, we should be careful of knowing too much.  It could cost us the greatest knowledge of all – the privilege of really getting to know other people.

How true are the words of that Jewish prayer:

“From the cowardice that fears new truth,

From the laziness that settles for half-truth,

From the arrogance that thinks it knows all truth,

O God of Truth, deliver us.”

Hope and Expectation

 

Article by Victor S E Moubarak - Link HERE 

In Hebrews Chapter 11 we read: To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see.

Let us concentrate for a moment on the first part of this statement: to be sure of the things we hope for.

What does it really mean? We often hope that certain things will happen; health issues, financial matters, and so on. But are we sure they will happen? Or are we just hoping with fingers crossed and a tail wind and good fortune? 

The definition of hope is: a feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen.

A bit weak and nebulous. A feeling that something will happen, but not really sure.

What if instead we were so sure that we expect certain things to happen.

The definition of expectation is: a strong belief that something will happen or be the case.

To have faith is to expect good things to happen from our Lord.

When things go wrong in my life I do not hope things will get better; I expect them to be so. Not expect in a cocky, entitled sort of way. As if it is my right it be so. A greedy expectation that if I sit and do nothing, God will look after me. But a respectful expectation full of certainty that God will take care of me because He loves me; and because Jesus promised so.

Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matthew 6:26

And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Luke 12:7

What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him! (Luke 11:11-13)

I have had many difficulties in life, and I'll admit that at the time I may have panicked a bit, but looking back, I should have known better and  expected things to turn out right, as they did - because I trust Jesus in what He said. 

God loves each one of us individually. 

We show our love back by believing and trusting Him.

Those first thoughts

 

Article by Barbara Mims - Link HERE

 Those First Thoughts

We have little power to determine what the first thoughts in our mind will be as last night’s sleep begins to slip away with the dawn of a new day.

Reminders of yesterday’s problems, sorrows, anger, regrets, and the most pressing of tasks requiring our attention are the usual thoughts to attack the drowsy mind. The enemy of our soul starts early to discourage us.

In my last words of prayer before dropping off to sleep the night before, I try to include a request that God would minister to me in my slumber thoughts of peace, trust in Him, and perhaps even some guidance regarding problems bothering me. I should also ask Him to oversee the first thoughts when I awake.

We are instructed to arm ourselves with the “full armor of God” (see Ephesian 6:10-18). His protective gear, so to speak, is to be aware that we have a spiritual enemy who, although invisible to the human eyes, is very much a reality and will spare nothing to bring us down. 

With self discipline and perseverance we are to remind ourselves of truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, scripture, and prayer. 

For me, I have found it helps in those first waking thoughts to focus on specific Bible verses to send the negative thoughts away. These are verses, maybe even just phrases, that promote trust in the Lord. These need to be words I’ve already committed to memory so they can be easily recalled before my feet touch the floor.

Of late, the ones I begin repeating to myself and forming into prayer have been the following:

This is the day the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24)

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord and forget not all His benefits. (Psalm 103:1-2)

The Lord keeps in perfect peace those who place their trust in Him. (Isaiah 26:3)

Thou, Lord, art a shield for me, my glory and the lifter of my head. (Psalm 3:3)

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. (Matthew 6:10)

When God’s Words are thought and spoken, the mental attacks of Satan leave.  This prepares me to face victoriously whatever confronts me next.

The Power to heal

 

Article by Martha Jane Orlando - Link HERE

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. ~Matthew 4:23

I take the photo featured in the header last week.  Why?  Because I spy it hanging on the wall in one of the last places I would expect to see something like this.  Yet, there it is, as plain as day.  Care to guess where Danny and I are?

Believe it or not, this plaque is on display in the patient check-out area of a doctor's office.  I must admit, I do the proverbial double-take, then whip my phone out of my purse to document this anomaly.  Like dear Doubting Thomas, I have to confess that until I see this with my own eyes, I would never take someone else's word that this plaque is proudly displayed in a doctor's place of business.

Will wonders never cease?

In our predominantly secular society, God is rarely given the credit when it comes to healing.  That's become the domain of physicians, nurses and medical researchers.  We humans have a dangerous tendency to posit our trust in those who have more knowledge, education and training in the field of medicine than we could ever hope to understand.  Sadly, from this worldly perspective, we put our faith in perceived professionals instead of the One who created us all.

This plaque, with its succinct and truthful statement about healing turns our upside-down thinking into right-side-up understanding.  Our competent and skilled doctors are just that because they've been endowed by God with the gifts of healing.  It is their calling.  But they are only the vessels of those gifts, not the source.

In the end, whether it's by divine intervention in this life, or not until we enter our eternal rest with the Lord, we will be healed, fully and completely, as God assures us in His Word.  I have some dear friends who struggle with pain and its debilitating effects on their well-being each and every day.  No amount of medicine or therapy can change that for them.

But they know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that God walks with them every step of this earthly journey.  They don't complain.  They lose neither faith nor hope.  They continue to pray.  I continue to pray for them.  God hears all of our prayers, and will answer them in His impeccable timing.

Jesus may no longer be physically among us, teaching, preaching and healing in person, but He knows every pain we endure and each diagnosis that causes us suffering.  He's gone through it all, and more, Himself.

May we be truly thankful for our medical professionals, but remember always the only One who has the lasting power to heal us.

Amen!

Old Age Follows Us And So Does Grace

 

Article and photo by Debby - Link HERE 

 Old Age Follows Us And So Does Grace

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.” — Psalm 73:26

There comes a time in our lives when we simply know we are getting
older. Forget the marketing mantra that “70 is the new 60.” I even
heard someone say, “90 is the new 60.” Come on… do you really believe that?

I’m not trying to be a Debby-downer on my 72nd birthday today.

I just tend to relate more to what is real and what is true. 

Of course, there are those times when I feel like I’m 40. We all have those moments.

But the reality is, no matter how you look at it, you cannot stop the
ageing process. So you might as well get a grip on it, embrace it, and
enjoy this season, or you’ll drive yourself crazy, never be truly
happy, and steal precious time from the limited years you have left.

My dear sister died at 56. She believed that if she simply denied
ageing, she could somehow escape it. 

Growing older deeply bothered her; the weight gain in the middle, high blood pressure, wrinkles, sagging skin, and varicose veins. She worked in the daycare and preschool world, and even as a highly skilled director, she faced ageism and discrimination. She pushed herself relentlessly, always striving to reclaim the youth she once had.

Just days before she passed, she was out in the playground with the
children and sat down to tie a little girl’s shoe. She was reprimanded
for that - told that someone in her position should not need to sit
down. That following Monday, they let her go. Three days later, she
lay down for a nap and died peacefully in her sleep.

Fifty-six years young.

It still gets to me.

She had an aggressive health issue that she kept to herself, trying to
manage it on her own. She never spoke of any of it. You can’t do that.
And she shouldn’t have had to.

A few years ago, my husband had to undergo a cardiac catheterization.
 

That was our moment, the moment we realized that, as a couple and

for him personally, we were entering uncharted territory. 

We didn’t like it. But the ageing process doesn’t care how we feel. It just keeps doing what it does.

Thankfully, he didn’t need a stent or bypass at this time. Medication
has managed it, and for that, we continue to be deeply grateful.

Standing at the pharmacy afterward, we looked up at one of those
overhead cameras. There on the screen was an older couple - a
white-haired woman and a balding man with a white beard.

“Is that really what we look like?” he asked.

“I guess so,” I replied.

We laughed and held hands as we walked out the door.

“There they are again!” he said, spotting our reflection in the mirrors.

“Yeah,” I said, smiling, “they’re following us.”

And they are.

Old age really does follow us around, so we might as well get used to
it. Better yet, learn to walk with it, laugh with it, hold hands
through it, and give thanks for every step we’re still able to take.
Because growing older is not a punishment. It is not a failure. And it
is certainly not something to fear.

It is a sacred season, one filled with grace, deeper love, gentler
hearts, and a growing awareness of just how precious each day truly
is.

“So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
— Psalm 90:12

Lord, teach us to treasure each day You give us so we can walk gently, love deeply, forgive freely, and hold tightly to the people You 

have placed in our lives. May our hearts grow wiser, softer, and more
grateful with every passing year.

Because of Jesus, I am Debby