My God My Everything

Simon is another character in the bible that you usually only read about at Easter time. He is the man that the Roman soldiers seized and made him help carry the cross with Jesus. “And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross to carry behind Jesus.” (Luke 23:26). The soldiers were becoming impatient because it was taking longer than they wanted it to. They were afraid Jesus wouldn’t make it to the hill where He would be crucified. As Jesus grew weaker, they grabbed a man out of the crowd and made him…

I was reading about a woman in the bible that you don’t hear much about except during Easter. Her name is Claudia and she was the wife of Pontius Pilate. I want to share what I discovered about her through the informative articles that I read. Very little is known about her, except that she was high-born, Roman, well-educated and wealthy – and the wife of the Roman Governor at the time of Jesus’ death. Being the wife of the Governor of Judea would not be easy. Pilate was tasked with keeping peace and stability in the region and as long as that happened he would keep his job. Imagine…

A passage in the bible that has been on my mind over the weekend is Luke 9:23 which reads, “Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” When a verse is on my mind for a while it usually means I need to dig deeper because God is trying to tell me something. It’s almost always something that I am struggling with and He has the answer for me, if I really want to hear it. I began to read that passage from several different translations because I like to compare them as I…

Why do we do the things we do? To provide for our families, to fulfill a promise or goal, out of obligation or guilt? There are many reasons why we do them, but today I was reminded to look past the reason and see what my heart was like as I was doing them. There are days that our jobs are more enjoyable than others. The same with our responsibilities at home and to our family and friends. Our attitude plays an important role in how the whole process plays out. Some days when I know that the work load will be heavy and challenging, I can think myself into…

How many times have you heard those words, “Who would like to pray?” As a child when that question was asked I would look away hoping that I would not be asked because I didn’t want to pray in front of people. I would say my bedtime prayers, but I didn’t understand it as anything but asking God to protect my family and thanking Him for them. I was also taught that as a girl I didn’t have the authority to pray for certain circumstances. Those situations were left to men with that authority. As I grew older my prayers were more of asking for His help when I would…

There are many things in this world that catch my attention, a colorful sunset, birds chirping in the early morning and the many beautiful types of flowers, just to name a few. Spring is a season of new life and it’s amazing to take in all the splendor of the colors and scents that come with it. One of my favorite plants is the bleeding heart. Every year when they bloom I am in awe of the incredible detail of each little heart. They are perfect in shape and I always think, “Wow God, you’re amazing!” In our story of the healed beggar even bigger, more permanent changes took place.…

Think about the most amazing thing that has ever happened to you in your life. How did you respond? Was it a shout for joy, singing or dancing? When amazing things happen we cannot contain the excitement. What started off as a routine day in the life of a crippled beggar quickly changed into a day of leaping and praising God. “But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”  And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were…

I want to continue with the story of the man in Acts 3:1-10 that was in yesterday’s blog because it just keeps getting better and better. After Peter had the man’s attention he said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” I love that verse! The very thing that the man wanted or thought he wanted was the very thing that Peter did not have, silver or gold. But what Peter had was priceless. He gave the lame man power in the name of Jesus. But………… he could not give it unless he had…

In Acts 3: 1-10 there is a story that is titled, “The Lame Beggar Healed.” (ESV) It’s about a man who had been crippled since birth and who was begging for alms. “As Peter and John were about to enter the temple courts the man asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John, then Peter said, “Look at us!”” Try to picture the scene in your mind. “The man had been carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts.” This was his daily routine so much so that he wasn’t even looking…