"Only Life Changes"

Father God let this touch someone’s heart today in Jesus Precious Name Amen.
Let’s praise God for the wonderful memories in our lives. The good memories can bring a joy that drowns out the bad memories. We learn from our bad memories so the good ones outways the bad. As believers, we can trust in our loving Savior who restores our brokenness and makes us new and beautiful. We have a Savior who heals and redeems. Let me encourage you to bring your wounds to Jesus Christ and allow Him to heal you and repair your scars. Be open and honest with Him. We doubt God so often. We forget that He cares so deeply about the intimate part of our lives. Good memories of how God worked through others to be His light to us. But Jesus said to him, remember what the Lord has done for you. Some of my greatest memories are the ones that involve my Christian testimony. It’s such a beautiful picture in our mind when we remember how God drew us to repentance and saved us. This memory is something that you should constantly replay in your mind.

The simplest things in this life can evoke powerful memories. Memories are one of the greatest gifts that God has ever given us. They allow us to live one moment one thousand times over. We all treasure memories because they allow us to relive delightful times in our lives. Memories become stories that we tell hundreds and thousands of times throughout our life. The beautiful thing about our memories is that, not only are they beautiful to us, but they are also beautiful to others. You ever hear?
“Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory. “Today’s moments are now,” “Sometimes small memories cover large part of our hearts!” “Some memories are unforgettable, remaining ever vivid and heartwarming! “Whenever I think of the past, it brings back so many memories.” “Memories are wonderful to make. But sometimes painful to remember.” “I thought past memories are everything to us, but now it’s about what we live in the present to write new memories.” I like taking pictures. Especially nature pictures of God’s creation. I can look back at last year’s memories. Like pictures of birds or sky and remember how I felt in that moment. How God would let me see this in the picture and take the picture. Then I see something new and take a picture of it. Whatever it is. If I don’t know what kind of bird or flower, I will look it up to get the true name.
“God gave us memory so that we might have snow or roses in December.” Lilies in April, July and September an when we see the daffodils we remember Jesus born in a manger. “Memories are timeless treasures of the heart.” “Some memories never fade.” Memories are awesome, but what’s also awesome is building new memories with your loved ones. Enjoy every moment that you have with your loved ones. Instead of being on your phone all the time, put your phone away. Cherish family and friends and make the most of your time with them. The more time you invest in someone, the richer the memories that you will have with them. Let your love grow through one another. God’s presence alone can bring us joy and the hope of living with Him forever. 1 Peter 1:6 Once again, we can rest in the hope that joy is ahead of us, even when we cannot see it.
It reads in 1 Corinthians 11:23–26-; “For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
{Let’s Pray}
Father God I thank You and praise You that You love me so much that Your punishment is not designed to harm me, but to return me into precious fellowship with Yourself. Assist me to keep a short rein on my sin and confess this quickly to You. I thank You and praise You for the institution of the Lord’s Supper. I thank You and praise You that we are called to remember the high price that Jesus Christ paid for our sin and for our remembrance at the communion table. Let me never become complacent about the enormous price that was paid for my sin. Assis me to honor Your holy name and give You all the glory when I meet together with my brothers and sisters in Christ. I thank You for all those who You have sent in my past life to mentor and be a light to me. I believe I will continue to remember the Lord Jesus’ death for my sins and forgiving, giving grace and setting me free until He comes again. If He comes back to get me. I thank You, praise You and give You all the honor and glory in Jesus Precious Name Amen.

{Power Verse}
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

Hebrews 13:8

Father God, let this touch someone’s heart today in Jesus Precious Name Amen.

It reads in Matthew 6:6 – But thou, when thou pray, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which sees in secret shall reward thee openly.

Like to get up in the morning. Read the bible, journal and have my conversation with God. Then do my daily routine then some. Everyone needs a quiet time. Even we go through the day, God is right with us, and He will assist us in all we do. Sometimes the days are tough. {For each day he carries us in his arms. Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, the God of our salvation. Psalm 66:19} But if we believe God is right here with us. Stuff can get easier. We just have to believe. Sometimes we make projects for ourselves or others that just can be time consuming. We have to overcome obstacles to get where we are going in this life. We work countless hours before we even reach our goal. Relax! Take a break I tell you. Hmm! Do I? Do you? Sometimes no and then mess up. So then take a break then do it all over. We are going to have those days if we don’t give it a rest. We need to stay on God’s plan It reads in Romans 12:12- Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

{Let’s Pray}

Father God, I love You, thank You for Jesus and that I have been saved by grace through faith in His finished work. I thank You that I can take a break and refresh my thinking. I thank You and praise You for this mind that is a gift from You. I thank You and praise You for Your love that is another gift from You. I believe that You would pour Your godly love into my heart so that Your love may stream through me to all my brothers and sisters in Christ, that I too may love with a sisterly affection and considers the needs of others before my own. I thank You, praise You and give You all the glory in Jesus Precious Name Amen.

{Power Verse}

Wisdom is a tree of life to those who embrace her; happy are those who hold her tightly.
Proverbs 3:18

Father God, Let this touch someone’s heart today in Jesus Precious Name Amen.
Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Ephesians 4:28
I would get upset if my grandchildren stole anything from the other siblings. I would put them in the corner and make them apologize to their siblings’ and return whatever they took. Well one Mother’s Day my adult children bought me some mums in a container. So, Mother’s Day I put them in the ground while everyone was sleeping. I was up that Sunday morning, and some old lady was digging up my Mums right after I planted them. I stood at the window in awe. How can this lady just think she can do this to me God? So, I let her go. When the children woke up, we ate breakfast and got ready for church. When we were leaving the mums became a big conversation piece between the children. They were asking why I didn’t put that lady in the corner. I had all I could do but laugh on the inside. But I told them she wasn’t my daughter or granddaughter, and she knew better. Well; we were in church, and Pastor Kerry was doing the sermon on stealing. That even if you pick a seed off someone else’s plant. This is stealing. Well, I started thinking. Hmm! I pick seeds off other people’s plants. Maybe pick a piece of Ivy that belong to someone else and brought it home and put it in water. Hmm! Or seed from a sego palm and pick it off someone’s bush near the street! Hmm! I was a thief. Never knew I was till this sermon! It spoke and shocked my heart at the same time. Hmm! I let that lady walk off with my Mums and I was no different than that lady. So, in my heart I knew I was no different than that lady. Hmmm! So, I don’t take anybody else’s clippings or seeds unless they give them to me, or I ask. I buy my own now. But you see how God can teach us a lesson and also through the Pastors lips to my heart. Hmm! I told my grandchildren what I did wrong. I asked God to forgive me and them to forgive me. They did. Plus, maybe that lady took my Mums because no one thought of her on Mother’s Day. I think God had to teach me a lesson. I prayed that wherever that lady planted them flowers that she would have an abundance grow. But you see the little things that we take for granted could be stealing. If we can’t ask, we don’t need it! I am sure glad they didn’t put me in the corner. Lol!
{Let’s Pray}
Father God, as I read through the many instructions we receive on godly living, guide me always to do good. Forgive me when I fail You. I am believing to walk with You and have Christ like behavior. I recognize that it is not an outside change in my outward behavior that is important, I need to change my inner being and do what is right in Your eyes. I want my life to reflect the light of Christ. Forgive me for the times I have stolen from others, not realizing that I was stealing. I believe in thought, word, deed, my actions and attitude would be pure, noble and would honor Your Name. Give me a generous spirit so I may be cheerful in my giving and compassionate in my heart towards others. I love You, thank You, praise You and give You all the honor and glory in Jesus Precious Name Amen.

Father God let this touch someone’s heart today in Jesus Precious Name Amen.

Ever speak stuff that you learned as a child and saw on family’s walls and recited it and didn’t know where it came from or who wrote it?

Well, the “Serenity Prayer” I have seen all my life. I have even painted plaques. Always thought it came from the bible. Which there are some bible verses that collide.

What is the origin of the Serenity Prayer?
History of the Serenity Prayer. The author of the Serenity Prayer has been a largely debated detail for years until a 1932 diary entry was recovered. It was found that the prayer was originally written by Reinhold Niebuhr, a German American reformed theologian in the 20th century. This man left such a legacy for God. When God speaks through someone. We will never know the impact we can make. All I know is God has made a living legacy with the bible that this poem has been in households, church’s and people’s hearts. Healing and changing lives all for God’s glory. Niebuhr used various versions of the prayer widely in sermons as early as 1934. The prayer spread rapidly, often without attribution to Niebuhr, through church groups in the 1930s and 1940s and was adopted and popularized by Alcoholics Anonymous and other twelve-step programs. The Serenity Prayer appeared in a sermon of Niebuhr’s as part of the 1944 A Book of Prayers and Services for the Armed Forces, while Niebuhr himself first published it in 1951 in a magazine column.

A believer with the Holy Spirit would agree that one cannot control sinful urges within their own strength and power. It reads in Hebrews 2:17-18; Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.
A believer realizes the power to overcome sinful desires of the flesh is only by and through the Spirit of God.

It reads in Romans 8:12-13; Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation, but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
Isaiah in chapter 55:8-9, boldly declares “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

Colossians 3:16

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5-6
“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.”

James 3:17

“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

Deuteronomy 31:6
For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. 1 John 5:4

Life can get out of hand. Maybe you are suffering from addiction and trying to recover, or maybe you are subconsciously choosing to care about many different things that are making life tough. Grief, divorce, disagreements, healing from a illness of any kind as there are many reasons we fall short. We need to overcome life’s difficulties. I totally get it.

{Let’s Pray}

Father God, I thank You and praise You for the family which was ordained by You from the beginning. Assist and guide me to be a good person and to instruct those in my care with patients and guide them wisely. Let me be childlike in my relationship with others and to respect and honor them, as unto You Lord. I thank You and praise You that You have given me all I need to be victorious in the spiritual battle in which all Your children are engaged. Guide me to rely on You and not on my own abilities. I am believing that I will Find all I need in You, also in the power of Your might as I stay fixed in Your word as I walk with You all the days of my life. Till You come back or I in turn go home to be with You in Jesus Precious Name Amen.

{Power Verse}

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 1:4

Father God, let this message touch someone’s heart today in Jesus Precious Name Amen.
As I grew up and went to school all the way to freshman in High School. I had a hard time reading. I even went to Summer School each year. I ended it mostly learning hands on and I guess you’d say I learned the hard way. {“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” Psalms 56:3} If you turn to God, he will comfort your fears. He is by your side always and ready to take on the very things that frighten you. So, when I got into Freshman year, and I needed eyeglasses. Who knew? Well, they had machines where you could speed read. How awesome but hard it was. {“God promises to make something good out of the storms that bring devastation to your life.” Romans 8:28} God knows the devastation you are facing, and he is right there waiting to lift you back up from it. He will always make something beautiful arise out of a hard situation. See I did know how to read but I was far sighted which made it hard for me to read close up. So, I could read. But those speed reading machines I had to learn slow at first. The more I did this speed reading. The better I could read a lot better. I loved to read after all this. I really love to read and learn. It has become my everything in all I do. Then You Tube came along. Thank God because I have had to learn a lot about technology. Besides taken some classes for computers etc. Learning hands on has always been my strongest suits.
I admit life was tuff before the eyeglasses and the speed-reading machine. Get knocked down. Get back up again and keep on moving forward. There is no greater time to grow in an intimate knowledge of God than when you are going through hard times. {“For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:10} God is a miracle worker! He has the power to turn things around, no matter the situation. “Sometimes the best thing that can be done is not think, not wonder, not imagine, not obsess. Just breathe and have faith that everything will work out for the best.” “God gave us this life because he knew we were strong enough to live it.”
Focusing on faith and the word of God to encourage. It’s hard to make it through life whenever dealing with a difficult situation. If we remember God’s promises and know in our heart, God is near and listening always. He is listening! Sometimes we just need a reminder.
{Let’s Pray}
Father God, I thank You and praise You for others who can comprehend the needs of others. I can be so ingrained in my own thinking that sometimes I doubt Your Word. I tend sometimes to doubt Your promises and love. Your Word gives me all the affirmation of this reality I will ever need. Your Word, Promises, faithfulness and love stretches over time and space. I thank You and praise You for Your gift of Your promises and Word that is true. I thank You and praise You for the grace of Your faith. I thank You and praise You for that Your love and word is being fixed firmly in my heart day after day. I love You, thank You, praise You and give You all the glory in Jesus Precious Name Amen.

{Power Verse}
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

Father God, let this touch someone’s heart today in Jesus Precious Name Amen.
Let’s read Psalm 92:12-14; The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age – As a tree that is carefully planted and cultivated may be expected to live long, and to bear fruit even when it is old.
I believe I will make everyday mine. I will let God grow me forward for His journey I am on and not backwards. I want a life of peace and not conflict. I want to be quick to find my own faults and correct them. Guide me Lord with Your Holy Spirit to remove any evil in my soul.
We could never outgrow God’s promises, plans or our journey we walk with Him. Both the faith we have in God’s promises and the actions that are produced by our faith in God’s promises are God’s work in us. That is why we walk in God’s promises. God’s love has made some amazing and awesome promises to us. Through those promises he has enabled us to put our faith in them and live our lives according to his will. The faith we have in God’s promises. plans and the actions that are produced by our faith in God’s promises are God’s work in us. His love for you is more permanent than a mighty mountain. Don’t believe any version of the lie that says God could stop loving you. He is your Father in heaven. God is holy and righteous and requires payment for sin. Our problem is that we are born in a fallen world, with a fallen flesh, and we sin because we are sinners. If we have to pay our own penalty for sin and rebellion against God, we will truly perish. But God has redeemed us. This simply means that Jesus took our place on the cross and paid the penalty for our sin, and we received the righteousness and clean record of Christ. Some people are blessed with good earthly fathers. Some are not. But our Father in heaven is a great Father. If you witness an adoption in a court of law, you will hear the question posed to the new parents, “Do you understand that adoption is an irrevocable act, and you cannot take it back?” Once God has adopted us as his children, it is forever. Through the finished work of Christ, he has adopted those who believe by him we cry, “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15)! Settle it in your heart that you are a child of God and loved by him. The next time you are fearful, go to God who promises to fight for you. “The Lord will fight for you in the Book of Exodus, chapter 14, the Israelites have just recently been rescued by God’s mighty hand from slavery and oppression in Egypt. No sooner had they escaped into the desert than they saw the might of the Egyptian army with chariots, horses, and men-of-war bearing down on them. They were terrified and cried out to Moses. Moses conveyed the heart of God with these amazing words in verses 13 and 14; “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

It reads in Philippians 4:19; And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. When hearing the news about the economy failing, wars that could possibly happen, and possible world recession, it is nice to hear Paul tell us that his God shall supply all our needs.
Here are a few more promises:

“He gives strength to the weary.” Isaiah 40:31“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.”

“He will give you rest.” The Lord promises to give us rest. It reads in Matthew 11:28-30; “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

“His love never fails. It reads in Isaiah 54:10;” “For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you.”

“He has redeemed you” It reads in Colossians 1:13-14; “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

“He has adopted you” It reads in Ephesians 1:5; “He predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.”
God’s Plans for each of us will be unique according to the variety of gifts God has given us and each one He is the proudest of you as you use those gifts. It is always designed uniquely to give us and those we serve a future and a hope. It reads in Jeremiah 29:11-13; For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
{Let’s Pray}
Father God, I thank You and praise You for the lessons You would teach me from Moses’ to Israel’s past history. I thank You and praise You for Your promises. Assist me not to fall into a bad attitude of unbelief or show a spirit of complaint. What a lesson to learn – that unbelief or a complaining heart is the cause of broken fellowship with the Father. I thank You and praise You for Your Promises and promise to supply all my needs according to Your riches in glory, and may I never take Your abundant supply for granted. Assist me to examine my heart today and to correct any areas in my life that dishonor You. I want to keep Your promises close to my heart and walk with You. I am believing if there is someone out there that don’t know You that You will take hold of their heart and draw them nearer to You today. I love You, thank You, praise You and give You all the glory in Jesus Precious Name Amen.

Father God, let this touch someone’s heart today in Jesus Precious Name Amen.
I was locking the garage last night. On the handle of the door there was a ladybug. I let it crawl on my finger and said God this is a good, good night. I got so much accomplished, and this ladybug reassured me it was a good, good evening. So, I woke up with a good, good attitude this morning. I am blessed! I get to know myself better today. I get to take time and spend time thinking and talking with God. Of course, I will use good judgement today. I will make plans, be hopeful, cheerful and positive. I will give myself to my duties and whatever God sends my way today. I will learn to say no. I will admit my faults and move on with God’s plans. I will get up when I am knocked down. I will love God and others and pray for them. No one else could ever be so positive with life as ourselves. We have to build ourselves up to build others up in their time of need. Give them God’s goodness and blessings.
It reads James 4:10-12; Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you. Brothers do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. And if you judge the law, you are not a practitioner of the law, but a judge of it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
Father God, I thank You and praise You for Your goodness each day that I don’t deserve. When I know what is righteous and yet do not do it, I am committing a sin in Your eyes. Forgive me for the times when I have known that something is evil but done it anyway, when I have avoided doing what is right, or when I have turned a blind eye to some need or necessity. I believe that from this day forward, I would not only know what is right but be ready and willing to carry it out, through Your sufficient strength. So often I have tried to control my life, where I go and what I do. This doesn’t get me nowhere. Let me let go of the controls and give them to You. Give me the will and courage to do so. I trust You will lead me where You want me to go today. I Love You, thank You, praise You and give You all the glory in Jesus Precious Name Amen.

{Power Verse}
“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”
James 5:16

Father God, let this touch someone’s heart today in Jesus Precious Name Amen.
It reads in Job 12:8- Speak to the earth and it will teach you.
I love learning something new. Always wake up wanting to do something new. Like I know plants need someone to care. People say this is crazy. Plants don’t have feelings! Well, if you don’t water a plant it dies. I have had the most beautiful plant and over watered it before. Or I will use the wrong soil and the plant dies. I killed this plant by not using what it likes to sit in its container. I like to spoil the plants. How. Like some plants don’t like to be around other plants. You put a Baby Agave next to an Ivy and tell me if the ivy leaves don’t turn yellow. Hmm! You would probably say: Susan you just didn’t water the ivy! Hmm yes, I did. The Ivy don’t like being around that Agave. If you let dust build up on your plant and you water it, feed it, that plant is going to get yellow and have spots on it because the dust is killing the plant. So, I dust my plants. Indoor plants. Outdoor plants you have a water hose to take care of them. Still outside plants are spoiled and have to look nice and be taken care of or they will die. Plants do need someone to care. Like I grow the aloe vera in the house in the winter. Two years ago, I took the aloe vera outside. Split them up in containers and they died a week later. I found out that I needed to slowly get them used to being outside a little at a time. One day an hour the next day two and so on. Hmm! Plants do have feelings, so you need to care. You ever see a Poinsettia, you break the leaf, and it bleeds white. Hmm! Plants bleed also. See how fast a house plant dies when you put it outside and leave it there. It dies because it doesn’t get spoiled. It is not crazy like some think. Plants love to be well taken care of and loved. I like to plant tree when I lose a loved one. I like to plant anyways. But a tree is strong, and I feel that tree reaches to my loved one’s heart in Heaven. All the way to eternity. See plants can teach us through life’s ups and downs. We continue to learn and grow. I may lose a plant, but the roots will always grow something new and better. I think of all the Agaves, and Yucca Palms I grew when I was ill. It gave me something to do with my hands. I took baby agaves and put them in new containers. I took and cut the baby Yucca palms of the Mother Yuccas Palms and just stuck them in a container of soil. They were not even rooted. They root as they sit in soil. How awesome is this. You can learn so much from plants. I may say they have feelings, but they teach you to love, patients, consistence and to care about the little stuff that some don’t get to ever see.
{Let’s Pray}
Father God, I thank You and praise You the You teach us to care for the little stuff. I thank You and praise You for the many lessons I am learning from Your Word. Guide me to recognize that even in the most difficult of circumstances, You are with me and that Your grace is sufficient. No matter what pressures and problems I may have to face. I thank You and praise You for the reminder that there is a spiritual battle raging in the unseen realm. I thank You and praise You that I have been given the sufficient grace to face all my problems and equipped with the whole armor of God. Increase my faith and hope in You. Guide me to stand fast in the evil day. I thank You and praise You for the beautiful plants that don’t only feed us, but also, they beautify Your world and remind us of Your promises. You will never leave us nor forsake us. I Love You, thank You, praise You and give You all the honor and glory in Jesus Precious Name Amen.

For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.

1 Corinthians 3:9

Ash Wednesday is a Christian holy day of prayer and fasting. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and falls on the first day of Lent. Ash Wednesday is traditionally observed by Western Christians. It is observed by Catholics in the Roman Rite, Lutherans, Moravians, Anglicans, Methodists, Nazarenes, as well as by many from the Reformed tradition. Each year, Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent and is always 46 days before Easter Sunday. Lent is a 40-day season (not counting Sundays) marked by repentance, fasting, reflection, and ultimately celebration. The 40-day period represents Christ’s time of temptation in the wilderness, where he fasted and where Satan tempted him. Lent asks believers to set aside a time each year for similar fasting, marking an intentional season of focus on Christ’s life, ministry, sacrifice, and resurrection. The ashes are prepared by burning palm branches from the previous Palm Sunday. On Palm Sunday, churches bless and hand out palm branches to attendees, a reference to the Gospels’ account of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, when onlookers lay palm branches on his path.
Let’s read Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, “Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King”
John 12:12-54.
The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Blessed is the king of Israel!”
Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him. Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. So, the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”
“Jesus Predicts His Death”
Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus. Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?” Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.
“Belief and Unbelief Among the Jews”
Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: “Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” For this reason, they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn, and I would heal them.” Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him. Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human praise more than praise from God. Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So, whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”
{Let’s Pray}
Father God, I love You, thank You and praise You I praise and glorify Your holy name for the life and witness of You Lord Jesus Who came to earth to fulfil Your redemptive purpose and plan for the fallen race of mankind. If it were not for Jesus miraculous birth, sinless life, sacrificial death, and glorious Resurrection, I would still be dead in my sin and at discord with You. Forgive me of my sins. I thank You and praise You that through Your goodness and grace, You planned to redeem mankind through faith the Lord Jesus’s finished work. I thank You and praise You for saving me. I thank You and praise You for sending Jesus to be the sacrifice for my sin. I thank You and praise You that You loved me before I knew You and have brought me into Your heavenly family. I believe I will live and work to Your honor, praise and glory, from this day forward and even forevermore. I am also believing for those who don’t know You that they will humble themselves and find a church to visit and may become a member after joining us for Ash Wednesday. Bless those who make their way to You this day in Jesus Precious Name Amen.

{Power Verse}
Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.
Revelation 3:19 {NIV}

Father God, let this touch someone’s heart today I thank You in Jesus Name Amen.

I used to walk downtown to my job at Mitchel’s Department Store in Massachusetts each afternoon after school. I would clock in and get to working in the gift-wrapping dept. I learned how to wrap gifts so simple and make bows. This store had everything you need to wrap the finest gifts. I was taught how to do this. Well, when the customer would pay us. I would write out the receipt and send it in a small rounded enclosed container, almost what a bank use’s when you drive up and they take your stuff, and a vacuum takes the work to them. How cool. Then they send the change and receipt back to the customer. So, this one day they sent me back more change than was expected. So, I sent it back to the office. Well, the lady come out of the office with the tube. Yelled at me and asked me why I sent it back. I nicely told her. she sent the wrong change back. She looked and realized it was her mistake and apologized to me and went and straightened out the change. I forgave her. Well as I left that day, the lady stopped me and apologized to me again. She asked me if I would help her on Saturdays in the office. I said yes. I am friends with Donna to this day. God trust in each of us to be a light in the lives of others. Our hearts were made for deep relationships with gentleness, kindness and love. Quick to forgive so unity of compassion we can really live. Jesus came in long-suffering in this we should be forgiving, kind, with humility, gentleness, compassion and patience.

Let’s read Colossians 3:12-17 NIV;
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

{Lets Pray}

Father God, I thank You and praise You that You alone are good, and You alone richly provide for all the needs and stability of life, and in Your loving-kindness, You give us over and above all that we need, think or ask. I thank You and praise You for Your steadfast love and gracious provision to us and to all Your creation. I am believing for the wars to cease, and that unity and teamwork prevail. I love You, thank You, praise You and give You all the honor and glory in Jesus Precious Name Amen.

{Power Verse}

You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds, O God our savior. You are the hope of everyone on earth, even those who sail on distant seas. Psalm 65:5