Mary Magdalene - A Picture of Dedication

     ***Attention***  We are excited to begin a new chapter on this blog! Beginning June 5th it will only be once a week- on Friday's. There will be new material each week in a myriad of formats. Some examples are: Questions and Answers, Member stories, Testimonies, Behind the Scenes, and the list goes on. Oh, there will be devotionals as well. Please stay tuned and enjoy. ***

Bible Reading:  John 20:1-11

Key Verse: Verse 1 – “The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto  the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.”

Key Words: The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene 

Mary is called Magdalene because she was from the city of Magdala.

Mary, before her salvation, was a tormented woman who was demon-possessed.  We are told in Mark 16:9 that she was possessed with seven devils.

Mary is mentioned fourteen times in the Gospels.  Eight times she is mentioned with other women, but she always heads the list, implying that she occupied a place of spiritual leadership among the women who followed Jesus.  Five times when she is mentioned alone, it is in connection with the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Mary is one of three followers of Jesus who stood by the cross at the crucifixion, she was the first person to witness the empty tomb of our Savior.

Mary Magdalene gives us a picture of dedication to the Lord.

Bertoldo de Giovanni is a name even the most enthusiastic lover of art is unlikely to recognize.  He was the pupil of Donatello, the greatest sculptor of his time, and he was the teacher of Michelangelo, the greatest sculptor of all time.  Michelangelo was only fourteen years old when he came to Bertoldo, but it was already obvious that he was enormously gifted.  Bertoldo was wise enough to realize that gifted people are often tempted to coast rather than to grow, and therefore he kept trying to pressure his young prodigy to work seriously at his art.  One day he came into the studio to find Michelangelo toying with a piece of sculpture far beneath his abilities.  Bertoldo grabbed a hammer, stomped across the room, and smashed the work into tiny pieces, shouting this unforgettable message, “Michelangelo, talent is cheap; dedication is costly.”

                                                                                     Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

      ✞ We have a lot of “believers” but very few dedicated ones.  Today, would you determine to not just be  “saved” but be dedicated to the Lord as well.

The Samaritan Woman - A Picture of Acceptance

    ***Attention***  We are excited to begin a new chapter on this blog! Beginning June 5th it will only be once a week- on Friday's. There will be new material each week in a myriad of formats. Some examples are: Questions and Answers, Member stories, Testimonies, Behind the Scenes, and the list goes on. Oh, there will be devotionals as well. Please stay tuned and enjoy. ***

Bible Reading:  John 4:1-42

Key Verse: Verse  7 – “There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.”

Key Words: There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water             

This I believe is one of the greatest stories in the Bible.  John repeats the conversation between Jesus and the woman with great detail.  It is a dramatic story and is told so vividly that we could easily believe John was at the well himself that day quietly listening and watching as the story unfolds.  Only the Apostle John tells us of this day in the life of the Lord.

There are several things we know about this woman.

Ø  She was a Samaritan, and the Jews had no dealings with Samaritans (verse 9).

Ø  She was a religious woman, but she was not saved (verse 20).

Ø  She was no doubt rejected by others for her lifestyle.  One does not draw water at noon.  Early morning and early evening are the times water would have been drawn (verse 6).

Ø  She was not a successful wife.  She had been married and divorced five times (verse 18).

Ø  She was also living in adultery (verse 18).

Isn’t it great that Jesus accepts us where we are and takes us to where we need to be? 

I was dealing with a 14 year-old who was experiencing some problems in life, as many 14 year-olds do.  During our conversation, I simply asked her if she had been immoral sexually.  She began to weep and informed me that she was pregnant.  I asked her if her parents knew, and they didn’t.  I then informed her that we would have to tell them and her grandparents. 

As she was telling them of her sin and pregnancy, she began to sob.  Mother began to weep, Dad became upset, Grandmother cried, but it was the older, wiser Grandpa who took charge by slapping his knee with his hand and saying, “Come here, dear” – which she did.  Embracing his granddaughter, he told her that he loved her and that by God’s grace, all could be healed and made right again, which eventually it was.

Today, dear friend, that’s what Jesus wants to do with you: embrace you where you are and take you to where you need to be, whether that is salvation or restoring your relationship with the Lord and with others.  Today, come to Jesus.

                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

            ✞ Come as you are to Jesus, He’ll change you and take you where you need to be.

            ✞ As believers, let us never judge others and hinder the work of God.

Herodius - The Sinful Dishonored One

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Bible Reading: Mark 6:14-29

Key Verse: Verse 17 – “For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her.”

Key Words: and bound him in prison for Herodias’ sake 

Herodias is called the Jezebel of the New Testament.  Like Jezebel who was the power behind the throne of the wicked and weak Ahab, Herodias brought out all that was evil in Herod.

Herodias desired honor from the world, but instead of honor she has gone down in history as one of the most sinful and dishonorable of all women.

According to Josephus, the historian, Herodias was banished from her throne as queen and spent her last days in exile.  She desired honor but reaped dishonor.  We do reap what we sow.

Once there was a little old man.  His eyes blinked and his hands trembled; when he ate he clattered the silverware distressingly, missed his mouth with the spoon as often as not, and dribbled a bit of his food on the tablecloth.  Now he lived with his married son, having nowhere else to live, and his son’s wife didn’t like the arrangement.

“I can’t have this,” she said.  “It interferes with my right to happiness.”  So she and her husband took the old man gently but firmly by the arm and led him to the corner of the kitchen.  There they set him on a stool and gave him his food in an earthenware bowl.  From then on he always ate in the corner, blinking at the table with wistful eyes.

One day his hands trembled rather more than usual, and the earthenware bowl fell and broke.  “If you are a pig,” said the daughter-in-law, “you must eat out of a trough.”  So they made him a little wooden trough and he got his meals in that.

These people had a four-year-old son of whom they were very fond.  One evening the young man noticed his boy playing intently with some bits of wood and asked what he was doing.  “I’m making a trough,” he said, smiling up for approval, “to feed you and Mamma out of when I get big.”

So when you think of Herodias, remember you reap what you sow. 

                                                                                     Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

            ✞ Always treat others the way you want to be treated, for the day will come when you reap what you sow.

Mary of Bethany - The Woman Jesus Defended

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Bible Reading: Luke 9:23-36 

Key Verse: Verse 3 – “Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.”

Key Words: Then took Mary a pound of ointment 

The family of Mary is a very interesting family.  They were personal friends of Jesus.  Jesus described Lazarus as a friend in John 12:11; Martha loved to serve the Lord; but Mary loved to sit and learn at Jesus’ feet.  We are told in Luke 10:39 that Mary sat at the feet of Jesus and heard His Word.

It was Mary of Bethany who took ointment and cleaned the feet of Jesus.  As a result of this, Judas rebuked her for wasting expensive ointment.  As a result of this rebuke, Jesus came to her defense: “Let her alone” (John 12:7).  What a stern rebuke!

Isn’t it great to know that when our enemies are snipping at our heels, Jesus defends those who are living in righteousness?

I remember, as a young lad, riding to the corner grocery store with my two friends, Ricky and Alan.  On the way home, we rode by a new house where people were moving in.  Curiosity got the best of us and we rode as close as we could to the house – too close.  They had the biggest dog I’ve ever seen.  This dog didn’t like the fact that we had invaded his territory, so the chase was on.  We began to peddle as fast as we could, but the big mutt was gaining fast.  We finally had to put our feet on the handle bars and hope that we could coast to my house, which we did.  As God would have it, my dad was on the front porch.  He looked at that dog and shouted, “Get out of here and leave them alone.”  The old mutt turned and ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction.

Every time I have an enemy or foe after me, I remember that day and the story, and I hear in my heart the Lord crying out to those who intend to harm me, “Let him alone!”  To God be the glory!

                                                                                     Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

            ✞ Do right and let the Lord be your Defender.

Martha - A Servant's Heart

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Bible Reading:  Luke 10:38-42 & John 12:1-2

Key Verse: Verse John 12:2 – “There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him.”

Key Words: There they made a supper; and Martha served 

There are many things that could be said about Martha, but the one characteristic that stands out is her servant’s heart.  There is little doubt that she had the gift of ministry (Romans 12:7).  There is also no doubt that she was hospitable and opened her home to all.

John Kenneth Galbraith, in his autobiography, A Life in Our Times, illustrates the devotion of Emily Gloria Wilson, his family’s housekeeper:  It had been a wearying day, and I asked Emily to hold all telephone calls while I had a nap.  Shortly thereafter the phone rang.  Lyndon Johnson was calling from the White House.  “Get me Ken Galbraith.  This is Lyndon Johnson.”  “He is sleeping, Mr. President.  He said not to disturb him.”  “Well, wake him up.  I want to talk to him.”  “No, Mr. President.  I work for him, not you.”  When I called the President back, he could scarcely control his pleasure.  “Tell that woman I want her here in the White House.”

I believe Martha had this same loyalty to Jesus!  My prayer is that our loyalty in service would not be to men but to God.

                                                                                     Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

            ✞ Serve God by being a servant to others.

Elizabeth - A Miracle of God

    ***Attention***  We are excited to begin a new chapter on this blog! Beginning June 5th it will only be once a week- on Friday's. There will be new material each week in a myriad of formats. Some examples are: Questions and Answers, Member stories, Testimonies, Behind the Scenes, and the list goes on. Oh, there will be devotionals as well. Please stay tuned and enjoy. ***

Bible Reading: Luke 1:5-38

Key Verse: Verse 36 – “And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.”

Key Words: Elizabeth, she hath also conceived 

There are several things we know in regard to Elizabeth.  We know she was a cousin to Mary, the mother of Jesus.  We know that she was righteous before God and that she walked in the commandments of God.  We also know that she was well-stricken in age and well beyond her child-bearing years.  But this is nothing to an all-powerful God and so it was that she birthed the forerunner of Jesus: the man we know as John, the Baptist.

Elizabeth is a picture of the miraculous works of God.

The miracles of God are beyond human comprehension!!  Reminds me of the story of the little fellow who attended Sunday School for the first time.  The lesson on that Sunday was on Moses.  When the little fellow went home, his mother asked him what he had learned.  He replied, “I learned about Moses.”  “And,” the mother asked, “what exactly did you learn?”  “Well,” said the young lad, “I learned that Moses went behind enemy lines to rescue the Jews from Egypt.  The battle was hard and Moses had to call in air power from the Air Force and heavy artillery from the Army.  He had to ask for the engineers to build a pontoon bridge to get the Jews across the water.”  Finally the mother interrupted, “Did you really learn all that in Sunday School?”  “No,” replied the boy, “but if I told you what they really said, you’d never believe it.”

God is in the miracle business and Elizabeth is a picture of one of God’s miracles.

                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do: 

            ✞ God gave Elizabeth a physical life.  But the greatest of all miracles is being born again spiritually.  Have you truly received the miracle of salvation?

 

Anna - A Woman of Favor and Grace

       ***Attention***  We are excited to begin a new chapter on this blog! Beginning June 5th it will only be once a week- on Friday's. There will be new material each week in a myriad of formats. Some examples are: Questions and Answers, Member stories, Testimonies, Behind the Scenes, and the list goes on. Oh, there will be devotionals as well. Please stay tuned and enjoy. ***

Bible Reading: Luke 2:21-38

Key Verse: Verse 36 – “And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;”

Key Words: And there was one Anna 

The name Anna means favor and grace.  We know that Anna was married for seven years and remained a widow for eighty-four years.

Here are a few things we know about Anna.

Ø  She was a widow of great age (verse 36).

Ø  She was a devout worshipper of God (verse 37).

Ø  She was a person of fasting and prayer (verse 37).

Ø  She was full of prayer and thanksgiving (verse 38).

No wonder she was given the name Anna: because of the favor and grace she received from God.

Most of us will never fully know this side of heaven all that God has done for us, of which we are so unworthy.  The following story illustrates the point.

Years ago, my father coached a team of eight-year-olds.  He had a few excellent players, and some who just couldn’t get the hang of the game.  Dad’s team didn’t win once all season.  But in the last inning of the last game, his team was only down by a run.

There was one boy who had never been able to hit the ball – or catch it.  With two outs, it was his turn to bat.  He surprised the world and got a single!  The next batter was the team slugger.  Finally, Dad’s players might win a game.  The slugger connected, and as the boy who hit the single ran to second, he saw the ball coming toward him.  Not so certain of baseball’s rules, he caught it.  Final out!  Dad’s team lost!  Quickly, my father told his team to cheer.  The boy beamed.  It never occurred to him that he lost the game.  All he knew was he had hit the ball and caught it – both for the first time.  His parents later thanked my dad.  Their child had never even gotten in a game before that season.  We never told the boy exactly what happened.  We didn’t want to ruin it for him.  And till this day, I’m proud of what my father did that afternoon.

~ Quoted by Jeffrey Zaslow in “Tell Me About It,” 1990 

So the next time you think of Anna, think of God’s amazing grace and all He’s done for you – things you know He’s done and the things you don’t know as well. 

                                                                                 Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

            ✞ Be like Anna, full of grace and favor.