Dear Friends,

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV)

This week, The Lord called home a dear Christian lady named Joyce Liegler. Heaven’s gain is our loss. As we met with her husband of 63 years, we asked God to give us words that would comfort and strengthen him in this difficult time.

Which brings us to the question, “How do you offer comfort and support to someone who has lost a loved one?” The above verses from second Corinthians offer what we feel is a good starting point. Reflecting on the times that God has comforted you in times of trouble can bolster your faith and prepare your heart.

In the third chapter of Ecclesiastes, we are reminded that there is a time and season for every activity under the heavens … a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing. In those initial hours, when someone first enters a season of mourning, they may wonder if they ever again will feel like laughing or dancing, or even embracing. Expect tears —theirs and yours. Even Jesus wept for the friends and family of Lazarus.

While we know and believe the words of Romans 8:28, “In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose;” we also know that that in that initial season of mourning, it’s really difficult to see the good.

“In Proverbs 20:12 we read, “Ears that hear and eyes that see—The Lord has made them both.” God gave us two eyes that can help us see someone’s pain and two ears that allow us to hear their story. Everyone expresses grief differently. For some, just listening to their stories is a good way to offer comfort. For others, sharing stories from our experience can help them begin the healing process.

When it comes to prayer, asking, “Would you like me to pray with you?” is far more comforting and powerful than merely saying, “I will pray for you.” “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:20

Sometimes it helps to remind those who mourn of the reason for our hope. The Scriptures are replete with verses that talk about the hope we have in Christ. Blessed are those that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Matthew 5:4

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.” John 11:25 (NLT)

 “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.” 2 Corinthians 5:1 (NIV)

“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,” Philippians 3:20

“Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest.” Hebrews 3:1

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:4

What should Christians do or say when the person who has died did not know the Lord, or when the one who mourns is a non-believer? I attended one memorial service where the pastor offered what could best be described as a “Hell-fire-and damnation” sermon. Many of those in attendance were of differing faiths or had no faith. The reaction to the sermon was not good.

That pastor would argue that as Christians the most loving thing we can do is introduce people to the love of God found in Jesus. I’m not sure how many people walked away from that service feeling the love of God. We prefer the Proverbs 16:24 approach: “Kind words are like honey— sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.” The best thing we can offer to anyone who is mourning is our love — “Love is patient and kind.”
1 Corinthians 13:4.

Blessings,
Your Friends in Christ

Dear Friends,

We read about the burial of Jesus in the book of Matthew. “As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.” Matthew 27:57-60 (NIV)

When Bonnie and I visited Israel, part of the tour included visits to two different sites, each of which is purported to be the place where Jesus had been buried. The first, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, was originally ordered built by Emperor Constantine about 325 AD. Over the centuries it has been destroyed, rebuilt, and renovated a number of times.

According to tradition, the site includes Calvary or Golgotha, the place where Christ was crucified, and Jesus empty tomb, from whence he was resurrected. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is controlled by several Christian denominations: Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and to a lesser extent Copts, Syriacs, and Ethiopians. Protestant denominations are not represented.

In the early nineteenth century, protestant Christians who questioned the authenticity of traditional religious sites in the Holy Land began to search for alternate sites. The second tomb site we visited on our tour is located north of the Damascus Gate of Jerusalem.

Commonly referred to a Gordon’s tomb, this location which has become a pilgrimage site for protestants, features a garden tomb, hewn from a steep cliff, on a hill that resembles a skull; which seemed to conform to the description found in John 19:41-42: ^“At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.”

Which site — if either — is the exact location where Jesus died, was buried, and rose from the dead? We’ll just have to ask Him when we meet him in Heaven.

Pilgrims to either site should be encouraged by the words the angel spoke to the women at the empty tomb: “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.”

Jesus only borrowed the tomb. He is risen; He is risen indeed!

Verse for the Week: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” Colossians 3:1

Blessings,
Your Friends in Christ

Dear Friends,

In Ecclesiastes 3, we read, “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.” After much prayer and reflection, Bonnie and I have decided that the season for us to send out this weekly devotional has ended. Our goal over the past two years has been to share the Good News of Jesus Christ in a way that is respectful and caring. Our hope is that you have been blessed as much by reading it, as we have been by preparing each message.

Our thanks to those who encouraged us with their kind words, emails, and letters. We close, wishing each of you a glorious Easter.

Christ is Risen!
Christ is Risen Indeed.

“When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.”  Titus 3:4-7

Blessings,
Your Friends in Christ – Don & Bonnie Sennott

Dear Friends,

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
Psalm 23:1-2 (KJV)

 “He will feed his flock like a shepherd.
He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart.
He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.”
Isaiah 40:11 (NLT)

The Scriptures include myriad of verses that compare the Lord to a Shepherd. As we approach Easter, let us turn our attention to the Tenth Chapter of John, where Jesus explains his role as the good shepherd.

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. John 10:14-15 (NIV)

In the Reformation Bible, R.C Sproul points out that “know” here, as so often in Scripture, means more than a mental grasp; it includes personal understanding and a commitment of will. To say that God “knows” a person in this way refers to His gracious redemptive commitment to that individual.

I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
John 10:16

Up to this point, Jesus ministry had been focused on the Jews. Here he announces that he is the shepherd for all who will listen to his voice.

 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” John 10:17-18

Note the significance of these verses. Jesus is declaring that he will not only voluntarily lay down his life for his sheep, but that he will live again. When Jesus raises Lazarus in John 11, he reveals God’s power over death.

 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” John 10:27-30

Jesus uses the analogy of the shepherd to explain his role as our Savior. If we listen to his voice and follow him, he offers us eternal life.

Verse for the Week:
“Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Hebrews 13:20-21

Blessings,
Your Friends in Christ

Dear Friends,

The word “grace” appears in the New Testament over 100 times; the apostle Paul used it 80 times.  Surprisingly, Jesus never spoke of grace … He lived it.

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 (NIV)

Stories in the Scriptures can help us recognize the nature of grace.

1. When Jesus chose Matthew, a hated tax collector as his disciple, he showed us that grace doesn’t take applications, it offers invitations. Grace meets people where they are, not where they ought to be.

 “As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.” Matthew 9:9

2. At the wedding in Cana, Jesus demonstrated that grace comes to us even in the midst of life’s little dilemmas. There is an expression, “Don’t sweat the small stuff, and it’s all small stuff.” Grace comes in when the small stuff becomes really big to us.
   “The next day there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus’ mother told him, “They have no more wine.”” John 2:1-3 (NLT) 
3. Jesus touched the leper before he healed him. We don’t have to get cleaned up before we can come to Christ.
   “Jesus reached out and touched him.“I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the  leprosy disappeared.”   Matthew 8:3 
4. Jesus’ encounter with the woman caught in adultery shows that God knows all our secrets and accepts us where we are.
   “They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said,“All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.” John 8:7-8 
5. Jesus words on the cross show that grace is available to each of us.
   “Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”
   Luke 23:24aTHERE ARE NEGATIVE THOUGHTS THAT KEEP US FROM REALIZING THE POWER OF GRACE.

“NOT AFTER WHAT I’VE DONE”
Once we start to realize that grace accepts us as we are, we can start to build our own grace story.

“NOT AFTER WHAT HAS BEEN DONE TO ME”
We want justice when what is needed is grace. We need to release our hurt and resentments to God.
“And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.”                                        Ephesians 4:26-27

“NOT AFTER WHAT MY LIFE HAS BECOME”
Guilt and pain that we feel because we made a difficult decision can only be released when we believe that God’s grace is greater than anything we have done or has been done to us.

How would you answer the question, “What is grace?” Some might be tempted to rely on a Sunday school definition such as “Grace is unmerited favor,” or “Grace is a gift we need, but cannot earn.” But the best answer is a story: your story of how you have experienced grace. God can help you write a new story, and the title is, “Grace is greater.”

ACTION PLAN: We may see grace without recognizing it; we may offer grace without realizing it. This week, make a note of times when you have experienced grace, and share your “grace stories” with others.

ACTION PLAN: If you have been limited by any of the “Not after” thoughts that keep us from realizing the power of grace, pray that God will show you his grace by freeing you from that kind of thinking.

ACTION PLAN: Help others find grace by volunteering to serve at your church at Easter.

Verse for the Week:
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)

Blessings,
Your Friends in Christ

This week’s devotional was inspired by a message titled “Grace is Greater”
Kyle Idleman
Saddleback Church, March 25-26, 2017