Lent 2022 • Week Four Jesus Loves The Least Of These

Monday, March 21, 2022

Photo Credit: Me
WDW — Magic Kingdom
February 16th, 2022

“People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” ~Mark 10:13-14 (NIV)

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/830140143792990349/

“If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?” ~Matthew 5:46 (NIV)

Bible Reading: Mark 10:13-16

“People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.”

Below is one of my most favorite pictures, that I originally saw in social media with no reference to where it came from. I did some digging and found it on website. See below. https://www.culturalhall.com/friends

When I look at this picture, I see me sitting with Jesus. This picture has brought comfort to me on more than one occasion. I hope it comforts you as well.

Challenge Question

  • Are you ever tempted to show more love or generosity toward those who can reciprocate?
    • Truth is temptations are everywhere, the point (I believe) is to truly give from the heart with love and generosity it can never be done with an expectation of getting something in return. I also believe when acts of kindness, love and generosity are freely given, the reward is knowing in your own heart you are being the hands and feet of Jesus in a hurting world.
    • I am fortunate to work in an environment where I can help people reclaim their lost items. It is a great feeling when I am able to reunite a person with their property. It is also disheartening we I cannot. I have been able to participate in some very meaningful conversations with individuals as they share their unique stories. Just last week I received a call from a frantic father calling on behalf of his son who had lost a meaningful item. My heart hurt for this man and his son. I did everything possible to assist them but in the end I could not, I felt helpless. But, you know what (?) to my surprise I heard back from the father and he wanted to thank me for my kindness shown to him and his son, even though I could not help them. To me, that was priceless. I was just doing my job. My heart capacity for love increased that day and my hope for the future of human kindness was renewed.

What If this week . . .

Search out one person who can’t repay you (a child in the neighborhood, a widow in your church or neighborhood, or a homeless person on the street) and love them lavishly, privately, without expectation of being seen or known by anyone but Jesus.

Friends—

I pray that your day is unexpectedly filled with random moments of HOPE, KINDNESS and LOVE. Thank you for sharing part of your day with me, I am blessed by your kindness. ❣️

Further Study

Matthew 18:2-4,10-14 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Matthew%2018:2-4,10-14&version=NIV
Matthew 25:31-46 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Matthew%2025:31-46&version=NIV
Mark 10:13-15 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Mark%2010:13-15&version=NIV
Luke 14:13-14 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Luke%2014:13-14&version=NIV
John 4:4-30 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=John%204:4-30&version=NIV
John 13:1 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=John%2013:1&version=NIV
1 John 4:19-21 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=1%20John%204:19-21&version=NIV

~Charlotte, Seeker of unexpected Comfort, Happiness, Joy and Patience.

References:

https://www.biblegateway.com/

Lent 2022 • Week Four • Celebration

Sunday, March 20th, 2022

Hello friends —

Today is the Third Sunday of Lent. Welcome to my blog space, if you’re returning I am thankful for you support. If you are seeing my blog for the first time, I am truly honored for your visit. I am looking forward to the start of a new week and new adventures in uncovering the love of Jesus. I am reading a devotional book by Asheritah Ciuciu, titled “A Lent Devotional ~ Uncovering the Love of Jesus.” It has helped to remind me of Bible stories I learned long ago and has opened new ones for me too. It is a joy to share my faith with you and share a bit of my personal journey of faith. My hope and prayer is that God uses this space for His glory and to bring encouragement and hope to a hurting world.

Photo Credit: Me
WDW — Magic Kingdom
February 16th, 2022

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” — Romans 6:23 (NIV)

Why Did Jesus Have To Die?

🔸 Jesus died to give us eternal life with Him.

Bible Reading: John 6:35-40

“Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

John 6:35-40 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=John%206:35-40&version=NIV

Challenge Questions

  1. Jesus says that God’s will is that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life. What does this tell us about God?
    • God cares and loves all creation and wants us to spent eternity with Him in heaven. The Bible tells us that we (individually) were created by God, on purpose and with a plan. We are all children of God.
  2. What do you want to say in response to Jesus?
    • Jesus, I know that I am not worthy of your goodness. I know that I cannot buy or work my way to heaven. My salvation is a gift from God. Jesus you paid for my salvation with your life on Calvary. Your grace is free and your mercy is endless. I ask for your forgiveness of my sins and I seek your guidance in my life. Help me share your love with the world.
  3. How might you share this good news with others who need to hear it today?
    • I can share Jesus with others through my actions and through my voice. I can be kind to others. Kindness is free and easily done with a few seconds of your time or with a lot of your time. We each have daily opportunities to share goodness or create barriers. We have the ability to change lives simply by using our senses;
      • Make eye contact with someone; you might just remind them that they are seen.
      • Smile at someone; you might just make their day.
      • Open a door or hold a door for someone; practice kindness it just may be contagious.
      • Listen, be attentive when someone speaks to you; who knows you may be the only person who does.
      • Extend you hand in friendship or provide shoulder support when opportunities arise; it may be that your touch has healing qualities.

Thank you for stopping by today. Wishing you a beautiful Sunday and a new week filled with wonder and blessings. The song below was a favorite of mine growing up in a small country church. I pray it blesses you today.

Photo Credit: Me
The Church I Grew Up In
Yeddo, IN

~Charlotte, Seeker of unexpected Comfort, Happiness, Joy and Patience.

References:

https://www.biblegateway.com/

Lent 2022 • Week Three Review

Saturday, March 19th, 2022

Photo Credit: Me
WDW — February 16th, 2022

Hello friends —

It’s been a great week of beautiful stories of Jesus’ ministry. I’ve listed the Bible readings from the week as we uncovered the LOVE of Jesus in case you wanted to go back and read them again.

Do You Have A Favorite Story From This Week?

My favorite was the healing of the woman who had suffered 12 years from bleeding. Her faith in Jesus healing her was so strong she knew all she needed to do was touch His garment and she would be healed. The story was titled, “Jesus Sees Fully.” Jesus knew who had touched Him but still He ask . . . The point being, Jesus wanted more for the woman than physically healing her; Jesus wanted to heal her emotionally as well. He wanted to restore her dignity.

“And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ” But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
— Mark 5:25-34 (NIV) —

Bible Reading — Stories in Review

💚 Jesus Honors the Dishonored

✝️ Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman
Luke 7:36-50 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Luke%207:36-50&version=NIV

💚 Jesus See Fully

✝️ Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman
Mark 5:21-43 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Mark%205:21-43&version=NIV

💚 Jesus Does Not Envy

✝️ Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
Mark 6:30-44 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Mark%206:30-44&version=NIV

💚 Jesus Drives Out Fear

✝️ Jesus Walks on Water
Matthew 14:22-36 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Matthew%2014:22-36&version=NIV

💚 Jesus Loves Indiscriminately

✝️ The Faith of a Canaanite Woman
Matthew 15:21-28 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Matthew%2015:21-28&version=NIV

Week Three Activities

  • Deliver flowers to someone you care about and then prayer for them. 💐
  • Memorize a passage of scripture that is meaningful to you. Suggestions . . .
    • Isaiah 53 📕
    • John 19 📗
    • Philippians 2 📘
    • 1 Corinthians 13 📙

“We love because he first loved us.”
— 1 John 4:19 —

~Charlotte, Seeker of unexpected Comfort, Happiness, Joy and Patience.

References:

https://www.biblegateway.com/

Care • Less

Saturday, March 19th, 2022

Credit: Disney/Pixar: Inside Out

Friends —

I’m not filled with pride writing this blog, it is not my usual energy [BUT] it is authentic and I am not ashamed of that. I am a person created by God for His glory and I am also 100% sinfully-human filled with emotions and shortcomings. Recently, I experienced both physical and emotional distress, it was as if a switch had been flipped and I was instantaneous angry.

Credit: Disney/Pixar: Inside Out

My chest was tight, my heart was beating fast, my back began having spasms and my mind overtly actively replaying the moments that lead to these paralysis. My world felt out of sync for a time. Yesterday, an incident happened at work that infuriated me to the point of physical and emotional pain that affected me both inwardly and outwardly. The actual incident details are unimportant to this story, only how it affected me and my outlook. I have become increasingly frustrated with how the office I work in is constantly being dismissed, overlooked and discounted. Admittedly, I have an extremely passionate (to a fault) personality that extends to and through the work I do and the office where I perform my duties. I also have a tendency to be overly protective of the people and things associated with my life; such as my work, my family, my friends, my church and my faith.

Sadly, all too often I find myself staring out into a dark space of mediocracy, it feels cold and lifeless, a place where I do not want to be.

What Would It Be Like To . . .

  • Care less
  • Feel less
  • Be mediocre
  • Be content with what is

What If Instead of . . .

  • Care less . . . Be Considerate

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” ~Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV)

  • Feel less . . . Be Kind

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” ~Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)

  • Be mediocre . . . Be Fabulous

“The Lord will fulfil his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures for ever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.”
~Psalm 138:8 (NRSVA)

  • Be content . . . Be Joyful

“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”
~Proverbs 17:22 (ESV)

By choosing to be CONSIDERATE, KIND, FABULOUS and JOYFUL, I do not devalue myself or deflate my passions, I need only to adjust my perspective.

Thank you for reading and I hope you find encouragement from God’s Word. It’s an honor to share my authentic-self with you in hopes that we all can learn and grow together to make this world a better and healthier place for everyone.

“I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.” ~Philippians 1:6 (NRSVA)

~Charlotte, Hope Seeker

References:

https://www.biblegateway.com/