A Weekly Walk in the Word

Psalm 51:7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

I am a sinner and beg to be clean.

I worked in our 100 year old barn all week. I removed manure and abandoned bedding from under the stairs to the hay mow. I blew out the remaining dirt with a leaf blower. My week ranked up there with one of the dirtiest jobs I have ever done. At the end of the day, I could hardly wait to jump in the shower to let the water run over my filthy body. After a thorough scrubbing, I feel much better on the outside. But what about all those days when I feel filthy on the inside? Only God can wash me clean then. He knows every sin I have ever committed, and he loves me anyways. God is the only one who is able to clean me from the inside out. He gives us a fresh start every day. Clean my heart oh God. Amen

John 15:4 Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. John 15:9 Make yourselves at home in my love.

Home! Is there anyplace better to be? I love to travel, but by the end of the trip, I am ready to be home. There is just something about the comfort and peace of being in your own home, sleeping in your own bed and showering in your own bathroom. As wonderful as our homes are, they are only temporary dwellings. Imagine how incredible it will be when we finally get to our permanent home in heaven. The good news is that we don’t have to wait. No matter what your current situation is, you are welcomed into God’s loving home today. God is waiting with open arms to embrace you in his love. Welcome home!

Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

Was it really necessary to add patience to the list of Christian virtues? I am struggling with patience this week. We are in the final stages of moving our antique store from a shed on our farm into our historic dairy barn. The last piece before moving furniture is to seal the newly constructed pine floor which was installed the end of December. I patiently waited all winter for the weather to turn warmer. Then I patiently waited for consistent warm temperatures. Finally three weeks ago I was able to seal the floor with the contractor’s recommendation, linseed oil. I was thrilled with the result after application. Today I am still waiting for the floor to completely dry. There are still wet tacky spots. Some reports say it can take months for linseed oil to completely cure. I am trying to be patient. But it is hard. My cure for lack of patience for a curing floor is prayer. Prayer for patience as I literally watch paint dry. My prayer today is a prayer of thanksgiving for all the life lessons God continues to teach me, including patience.

John 13:34-35 “Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples – when you see the love you have for each other.”

Jesus commands us to love one another. In preparation for writing this blog, I spent the morning scrolling through photos on my phone looking for this week’s blog picture. It was hard to choose. My heart is full. I have so many incredible people in my life, past and present. I decided on the picture above of a group of young men who clean daily at the city street shop. These gentlemen come in every day with a smile on their face as they loved unconditionally. They are such a blessing and set a good example of what love looks like.

I hope you are able to spend a little time this week scrolling through the pictures on your phone. Let the people in your life know just how much they are loved.

John 11:47 The high priests and Pharisees called a meeting of the Jewish ruling body. “What do we do now?” they asked. “This man keeps on doing things, creating God-signs.”

Jesus showed up on earth creating God-signs. The signs didn’t end after Jesus was crucified, died and was raised. We continue to receive God-signs every day if we just slow down enough to see them. Open your eyes and heart to view the signs God is sending you.

Song of Songs 2:10-13 My lover spoke and said to me, “Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me. See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me.”

It is Spring – time for you to bloom!

Mark 1:8-11 “I (John) baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

Over the weekend, my friend Margie was baptized for the first time. She attends a weekly Bible Study with me and and a group of women from our community. A couple months ago we talked about the holy sacrament of baptism. Margie told the group that she had never been baptized. At this point in her life she thought she was too old. When we explained that anyone can be baptized at anytime in their life, she cried tears of joy. Not only was her life changed on Sunday, but everyone in the congregation when Margie shared her heart as she told her faith story. Margie is a child of God.

2 Thessalonians 3:11-13 We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.

What do your days look like? Are they filled with busy work, or meaningful work? You have a choice every morning on how you fill your day. This weekend was the Minnesota Yarn Shop Hop. I debated if I should travel to the 13 shops in the hop. In the end, I chose to attend Friday morning Bible Study, dropping my children off at the airport, eating out with my husband, watching a soccer match with my son and dinner with friends instead of hopping. My guide when making those decisions is to choose relationship over stuff.

It is not how busy you are, but why you are busy – the bee is praised, the mosquito is swatted. Author unknown

John 20:1-9 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)

Continue to read the book of John to hear the rest of the story!

Luke 23:44-49 It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.