It was the third car in line. It looked as if it hadn’t been washed in this century, but that was the least of the vehicle’s problems. The ear-splitting screech let everyone know that the car had a loose fan belt, a vacuum leak, or some other random auto ailment.

The car in front of his had been loaded with groceries, so our friend with the screeching car slowly rolled forward until Brett, one of the food bank volunteers, signaled for him to stop. Stepping forward, I leaned in and asked, “What’s going on with that car of yours?”

“Damn—I mean, darn if I know. I’ve tried to find out what’s wrong, but it has me baffled.”

“Well,” I offered, whenever I have a problem I can’t solve, I pray about it. Shall we pray for your car?”

“Sure, man. I’m willing to try anything.”

Putting my hand on his shoulder, I closed my eyes and practically shouted in order to be heard above the noise. I prayed, “Lord, my brother here has a problem with his car. Please help him.”

Instantly the noise stopped! My eyes popped open, and the driver looked at me with one of those looks I presume you only see when someone believes they’ve just experienced a miracle.” “What happened?

Smiling broadly, I said, “God works in mysterious ways.” I guess our food bank is now a place for car reprayer.”

A few weeks later my friend returned to the food bank and wanted to tell everyone about his miracle. “Thank God for your blessing.” I advised him, “But please keep this story to yourself. I have no desire to become the patron saint of old cars.

Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises.  James 5:13 (NLT)

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