Pathways Press.com

Written by Vickie Stone, from the Village Church

One of my most cherished books is called “Intimate Moments with the Savior; Learning to Love“, by Ken Gire. The copyright is 1989 and I had it for years before, like many of my books, I finally read it. Once I did, however, it is a book I go to time and again. During Lenten season one of the stories in this book especially sticks with me:  “An Intimate Moment with a Thief on the Cross”. Jesus is suffering on the cross; on both sides of him hang a thief, teetering between life and death. At last one reaches out in faith, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Not much is known about the criminal on the cross next to Christ. We know from Matthew’s scripture that this thief joined with the crowds in mocking Jesus. Yet his plea to Jesus before he dies is the last kind word Jesus hears.   Jesus responds to the thief “Today you will be with me in Paradise”. He receives the blessed assurance of the Savior. This thief had mocked Jesus to come down from the cross and save himself and taunted Jesus for His claims to be the Son of God.  What did the thief see Jesus do, that made him reconsider who Jesus was? Even as Jesus is taking spears in his side, this thief hears Jesus appeal for mercy for His persecutors, His tormentors.   As he feels himself fading, the thief meets the eyes of the Savior, and for a moment, all time stands still. And in those eyes, he sees no hatred, no scorn, no judgment. He sees only one thing – forgiveness.

Then he knows. He is face to face with a dying God.

As the author writes: “Incredible, when you think of it. Amidst the humiliating abuse of the crowd and excruciating pain of the cross, Jesus was still about his Father’s business. Even with his eyes sinking on the feverish horizon of death, he was telling a common thief about the uncommon riches of heaven.”

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” [Luke 23:39]

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Written by Gregory of Narek (950-1003), an Armenian poet, monk, and theologian.

You found me, a sinner, lost in darkness crying like the psalmist in prayer,

       and because of Your willing care You were called Shepherd,

for not only did You care but You sought,

       not only did You find, O worker of miracles

but with the goodness of Your love,

       A love that defies description,

You rescued me, lifting me upon Your shoulder,

       To set me down alongside Your heavenly army,

the heirs to Your fatherly legacy.

He [The LORD] brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. [2 Samuel 22:20]

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Written by Victoria Riollano, a contemporary ministry leader and author.

Honesty is a quality that goes a long way. Making a choice to tell the truth when it’s difficult is an act of love. Yet, one must balance truth with grace. Telling the truth without grace is rude and causes us to make harsh statements. However, giving grace and never sharing the truth is enabling. We have a duty as Christians to share the truth even when it’s not comfortable or acceptable by the world’s standards. In doing so, we must realize that it’s not just what we share but how we share it. In general, airing our feelings on public forums, in a way that may embarrass, or in a demeaning way, will always be met with contempt. One-on-one conversations and not avoiding answering questions of faith or ethics (when asked) can help us to communicate truth in a way that will be respected and heard. Let us remain prayerful and students of the Word so that we can be ready when the time comes to share His truth.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. [2 Timothy 2:15]

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Written by Catherine Montgrain, from the Village Church.

When I moved from Canada to the USA (moving to a small town in Indiana and not California quite yet) , I was what I could call doubly culture shocked. Shock from learning a new bilingual culture in Quebec from my native UK , to shock from moving from that multicultural experience to a small mid-western town where many people had never traveled out of their country or even their state. I asked God to guide me on this journey and he showed me how life plays out when we let ourselves be guided. How does this happen? By engaging with the people we meet in each new place. After joining churches, school activities with our four children who were also in culture shock from Canada , we were humbled and grateful for how caring the people were in the USA. I joined charities to provide shoes to schoolchildren whose parents struggled to buy them, worked in a free Catholic-run  clinic to give medical help to people without insurance,  and joined many school fundraisers of all kinds with our children. I was so impressed with how selfless and hard-working all these kind Americans were. They would work so hard and literally tire themselves out helping people. I will never forget the example these lovely people from all walks of life gave me. Commitment, dedication, love, and mainly faith. I soon forgot my homesickness and started trying to emulate them . I still haven’t managed to but God is helping me.  

But give as alms those things that are within and behold, everything is clean for you [Luke 11:41]

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Written by Kim Arnold, a contemporary music teacher and writer.

God’s steadfast love for us is firm and unwavering. It is not merited upon our performance. He does not look at us and think, “Oh, she messed up again. I will only love her a little bit today.” No! Scripture continually proclaims that God’s love is devoted, faithful, and enduring. The love that He promises us in heaven is the same constant love that He gives us today… He pursues us with His love no matter what season of life we are in. He pursues us in the boring mundane, chaotic mundane, lonely mundane, and hurting mundane. Whatever season you are in, keep your eyes open to where He is revealing His love for you in Scripture… I see God holding me in the comfort of His arms to quiet my soul. There is no place I would rather be during the mundane days than held by my Savior.

The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save you; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. [Zephaniah 3:17]

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Today’s devotional is from Newspring Church.

God does not love us because of what we do or don’t do. He loves us because of who He is. Such a powerful truth can be hard for us to wrap our minds around. God gives an example of His unconditional love for us through Hosea’s marriage. It would seem that Hosea had already done the godly thing by looking past Gomer’s history as a prostitute and marrying her. Despite her infidelity, Hosea was faithful. And when Gomer runs away yet again, God tells Hosea to go after his wife, loving her in spite of the mess. “Go find her. Go love her again,” God says. Hosea had nothing to gain from loving Gomer. She didn’t even seem to love him back! But Hosea’s love did not depend on what Gomer did or did not do. In this way, Hosea is a picture of God, while Gomer represents you and me. God loves us even if we run and even if we choose not to love Him back. God chases after us because He hurts when we hurt. God knows that even the best the world can offer us will not satisfy the longing in our souls. We try to fill our hearts, minds, and bodies with new things and new relationships, but the emptiness always catches up. God continues to love us regardless of where we run. He comes to the darkest, messiest places to find us and rescue us, again and again, because He loves us.

Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the Lord are right, and the upright walk in them,  but transgressors stumble in them. [Hosea 14:9]

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Today’s prayer is from the website RENEW, International, an organization with a mission to connect faith and life. The prayer is excerpted from the book “Lenten Longings: Seeing With God’s Eyes.”

O radiant light, eternal God,
we pray that you shine on your Church.
Scatter the darkness of our ignorance,
the blindness of our pettiness,
the limits of our self-protecting positions.
 
May Christ be our light shining within us and around us,
inviting us to the heights of Tabor and sustaining us
in the depths of Golgotha.
 
Teach us, Holy Spirit of wisdom,
to embrace the rhythm of light and darkness
that flows from your sustaining grace.
Inflame us with courage and trust
to journey together as beacons of hope
whom you enlighten for the sake of this world
that you love.
 
Lead us, kindly light,
until we reach our journey’s end
and the home of God’s embrace
where we will dwell in triune love
forever and ever. Amen.

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.  [2 Corinthians 2:14]

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Written by Ruth Grendell, from the Village Church

A graduate nursing student of mine introduced me to a global medical care group—MERCY SHIPS–the goals are to follow Jesus to the world’s forgotten poor, and able to provide hope to those who have been praying for help.  I learned that volunteer doctors, nurses and other medical personnel believed their own lives are transformed as they put their faith in action as they care for patients and families before surgeries, during recovery times and providing additional support, love, and health education.  The ships are equipped with “state of the art” medical equipment on board including intensive care and recovery rooms. Families often stay with the patients and learn how to care for themselves as well.  The countries’ own health care providers receive education, infrastructure, and tools to continue to care for their people when the ship and personnel move to another setting.  I was very impressed with this information and learning the MERCY SHIPS have been in existence since 1978, I was ready to volunteer!  I volunteered three months on the ship based in the Caribbean Islands.  It was a great decision.  Our goal was to care for children and young adults who need surgery to remove very large benign facial tumors that can eventually become life-threatening.  Every year I receive a bulletin regarding the year’s activity.  “Within a few short days two ships will be serving countries along the coast of Africa.”  

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds   [Hebrews 10:24]

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Written by Maxine Harrison, a contemporary writer.

In the world of today, ‘real beauty’ is often defined by an individual’s appearance; but God looks at our true beauty and identity which is found in Christ who lives inside of us (1 Samuel.16;7, Galatians. 2:20). God says we are fearfully and wonderfully made in His image (Psalm 139:14, Genesis 2:7) and that He has chosen to use you to be ‘His own special treasure’ (Deuteronomy 7:6). You have astonishing potential and ‘through God working in you, you are able to accomplish infinitely more than you might ask or imagine’ (Ephesians 3:20). What more could you want or need? … we serve a God who genuinely loves and cares for us. The whole process of God putting in so much effort to save us, so that we may have a relationship with Him, is an amazing concept in itself and all contributes to the unbreakable love that He portrays.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works;  my soul knows it very well. [Psalm 139:14]

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Written by Lyn Lloyd-Smith, from the Village Church.

We humans, we are so hasty to see the great wrongs of the world and so slow to acknowledge the wars that didn’t happen, the disasters that were averted. In the minutiae of everyday we find cause to complain and forget to praise the evidence of God’s goodness and love around us. Today, I choose to reflect on some of those who have touched my life in beautiful ways. I think of the choir of the French Reformed Church who took me under their wing when I was the only person living in a school building in a provincial town in Southern France. They taught me how to appreciate life in a different land and culture. I remember the neighbor in Germany who washed the steps of my apartment when I was heavily pregnant. And yes, another neighbor, in Switzerland this time, who came to the children’s gym class and looked after my baby, week after week, while I helped my toddler wear off her boundless energy on the balance beams. Then also, the neighbor in England, who knocked at my door for an entirely different reason but stayed with me for three hours while I waited to hear that my father had come through heart bypass surgery. May we today and always, in God’s grace and love, be the neighbor we want to have.

He has shown you, O Mortal, what is good. [Micah 6:8]

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