Mark 15:21-26

And they compelled a passer-by, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull). And they offered him wine mingled with myrrh; but he did not take it. And they crucified him, and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. And it was the third hour, when they crucified him. And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.”

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Excerpt from John Wesley’s Sermon, On Working Out Our Own Salvation

“Since he (God) worketh in you of his own good pleasure, without any merit of yours, both to will and to do , it is possible for you to fulfil all righteousness. It is possible for you to ‘love God, because he hath first loved us’, and to ‘walk in love’, after the pattern of our great Master. We know indeed that word of his to be absolutely true, ‘Without me ye can do nothing.’ But on the other hand we know, every believer can say, ‘I can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth me.’”

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A Little Encouragement

Because God loves us so much, He wants us to live our lives to the fullest. Like any loving parent, He wants us to use our God-given talents to make each day count. I think God uses those around us to encourage us to make the most of what God has given us.

For Taylor Robertson, that person was first her dad, and later her teammates, and even her NBA role model who she recently got to meet. Taylor is a member of the Oklahoma Sooners women’s basketball team. This is her last season and it’s been a special one. In a game against Iowa State in January, Taylor hit her 498th three-point shot, and that set an NCAA record for the most three-pointers in women’s college basketball.

For a girl from a small town in Kansas, she has always dreamed big, and it was her dad who encouraged her dreams and challenged her to shoot from downtown, beyond the three-point line. Taylor said her dad took her to the gym when she was just six…

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Patience and Perseverance

Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud; it is not arrogant. – I Corinthians 13:4

Valentine’s Day is a time when we talk a lot about love. We plan dinners and treats for our loved ones and stress about how much money to spend and how elaborate to make it. One story I read this year was about Carmella and John Finnegan, a couple celebrating their 75th Valentine’s Day. When asked how they have maintained such a long and happy marriage, Carmella said, “I always say it’s the two Ps: patience and perseverance.”

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Out of the Darkness

November 11, 1981, is one of the happiest days of my life. It was the day my oldest daughter, Michelle Emily, was born! She was a happy child, and she did well in school. She graduated in the year 2000, Y2K, when all the computer programs were predicted to crash. I will never forget; we had enough firewood and water for ten years!

Michelle wanted to be a pharmacist, and she and her best friend were accepted to Southwestern Oklahoma State University and were roommates. She loved college, worked hard, and was accepted into Pharmacy School. She started dating her roommate’s brother and they were married in May of 2006, and Michelle graduated from Pharmacy school that December.

I became the proudest GIGI in 2008 when my first grandson, Mason, was born followed by Carson in 2010…

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He Never Stops Comforting

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. – Psalm 119:105

When I take time to think about how I have strayed from His path, it is easy to look back and remember the moments when I chose self-indulgence rather than the path of righteousness. The path is so clear, it is already lit in the darkness before us, but we often cave to our desires and our selfish ways.

This line from the Book of Psalms is beautiful imagery for the path we attempt to travel to avoid sinful ways…

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Hope and Gratitude Through Faith

A significant and meaningful part of my earlier career was helping several Oral and Maxillofacial surgery practices merge and create a larger multi-site practice, Oral and Maxillofacial Associates. I was their Administrator for seven years and the life lessons I learned during those years were profound.

Dr. William (Bill) Croom was one of the doctors I worked with, who was also a member of St. Luke’s. Our families were close, and we shared many of life’s milestones together. He was a devoted surgeon who had a heart for the needy and underserved. He volunteered locally, providing oral surgery services at King’s Klinic and Crossings Clinic, as well as volunteering at Living Faith Ministry for ex-offenders. We loved his stories about this work, but the memories we made with Bill when Bob and I traveled to Russia with our mission group are treasured ones. Although I was not clinically trained, I did my best and assisted him with his surgeries on that trip. He returned to Russia three more times and remained tireless in his efforts to help those in need. Bill developed Parkinson’s later in his life…

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John 13:3-15

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper, laid aside his garments, and girded himself with a towel. Then he poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded. He came to Simon Peter; and Peter said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not know now, but afterward you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part in me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but he is clean all over; and you are clean, but not every one of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “You are not all clean.” When he had washed their feet, and taken his garments, and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.

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Excerpt from John Wesley’s Sermon, Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, IV

“Let your light so shine:” — Your lowliness of heart; your gentleness, and meekness of wisdom; your serious, weighty concern for the things of eternity, and sorrow for the sins and miseries of men; your earnest desire of universal holiness, and full happiness in God; your tender good-will to all mankind, and fervent love to your supreme Benefactor. Endeavour not to conceal this light, wherewith God hath enlightened your soul; but let it shine beforemen, before all with whom you are, in the whole tenor of your conversation. Let it shine still more eminently in your actions, in your doing all possible good to all men; and in your suffering for righteousness’ sake, while you “rejoice and are exceeding glad, knowing that great is your reward in heaven.”

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Groundhog Day

I am writing this devotional on Groundhog Day in February. The day, of course, centers around a groundhog who foretells the weather. But what I think about most on this day is the hilarious movie, Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray.

It is the story of a cynical TV weatherman, Phil Connor, who finds himself reliving the same day over and over when he goes to the small town of Punxsutawney to film a report about their annual Groundhog Day. Phil is the sort of guy who thinks he is better than everyone. He believes he should be working in a bigger market, and he hates doing “fluff” pieces. He treats everyone around him poorly. It is here in this little nowhere town the story begins. Every day, he wakes up in his bed hearing the same song on the radio by Sonny and Cher, I Got You, Babe. He meets the same people every day in the same locations, doing the same thing they did yesterday and the day before that, and the day before that.

While this movie is a comedy… it is also a movie with a message about how people can change if given the time… time to look into their souls and see how their actions and attitudes affect the people around them…

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