Kissed by the Spirit

“Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.”

The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.

There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”

Luke 10:40-42 (NAB)

Bethany was a common stop for travelers, going to Jerusalem from Nazareth. Jesus and his parents traveled to Jerusalem throughout the years for religious holidays. They likely stopped over in the town of Bethany to spend time with the family of Lazarus, who befriended and hosted Joseph, Mary and Jesus in those earlier years. The friendship between Jesus, Lazarus, Mary and Martha developed and grew deeper over the years. 

The parents of Lazarus and Jesus’ father, Joseph, are not mentioned in this gospel story. The children are now young adults and very close friends. Jesus is just beginning His ministry and is the guest at their home along with His disciples, as Martha serves them. Mary appears to have abandoned Martha, while sitting at Jesus’ feet, in adoration. Perhaps she is seeing Him for the first time as her Lord and Messiah, and not merely her childhood friend.

There has always been debate over differing viewpoints about these two sisters in the gospel. Both sisters knew and loved Jesus, but Martha was busy serving, as Mary was listening to Jesus reveal Himself and His teachings. 

Some interpret this story to mean that service means nothing without true worship and others say that worship means nothing without true service. Both views are true and understandable, so we look to see what Jesus said about it. 

Jesus looked at Martha and told her that she was way too anxious. He wasn’t saying that service is not meaningful. In fact, He said  that there is a great need for more laborers to work in His Father’s harvest. (Matthew 9:38)

Jesus just wanted Martha to understand which response comes first. Our personal time spent with Him needs to come before our service and labor. We were meant to worship and to serve, yet Jesus said that Mary chose the “better”part, because it cannot be taken away. 

Chris Stefanik, a Christian lay speaker, once said;

“Lord, help us to be more like Mary so that we don’t have to work like Martha.” He didn’t mean that we shouldn’t work at all, but that there is a proper order to follow, so that we can serve God with joy, and not with all the anxiety that Martha carried around. Adoring Jesus and spending time listening to Him, comes first. It prepares us to serve Him in the spiritually healthy way, freed from the anxiety that leads to criticizing others.

Martha thought Mary wasted time sitting at Jesus’ feet, and she urged Him to tell Mary to help her. The difference between the two sisters is that Martha wanted Jesus to talk to Mary and correct her, but Mary wanted and needed only to listen to Jesus talk to her. 

Jesus told Martha that Mary has chosen the “better” part, which will not be taken from her. Jesus ended His sentence, indicating that there is something better that precedes all service to God, that will never be taken away. 

Jesus was warning Martha that we can lose ourselves in our labors, even when our labors are for Him. Hospitality and service is valuable, but some people can go through all the labor but still not know Him. Jesus asks us to abide in Him, which requires time spent with Him. 

We need Mary’s hunger to spend time with Him in prayer. To know Jesus is the better thing that produces the best servants, who listen to what He is saying before going out to labor in the world. It’s the “better”part that prepares us for eternal life with Him. 

Lord, help us to follow Mary in choosing to first spend time with you, so that we may serve like Martha, but without anxiety. Amen 

“This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Psalm 118:24 (RSV)

Jesus advised us to keep our hearts, minds and over all focus on the present day, as He is quoted in Matthew chapter 6, saying,

“Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his span of life?” That’s pretty strong advice to stay focused on this present day. 

It reminds me of a short prayer that I start each day with, called the “Permission prayer,” which goes like this, 

“Lord, I give you permission to use me today in any way you desire, and show me your hand in action, so that I can give you all the glory.”

This prayer keeps the focus on today, and what God wants to do this day, instead of thinking about all the things we need to do. It makes us revolve around God’s perfect timing, instead of ours. When unexpected obstacles hinder me from accomplishing what I planned to accomplish during the day, I pause and say, “Okay Lord, thank you for your perfect timing.”

Only we can surrender ourselves to permit God to use us as He chooses. He gave us free will, and He never forces anyone to seek His purpose. When we offer Him our words, our hands, and our path, for the day, He works in our hearts and minds to fulfill His purpose. Then exciting things start to happen, because God has people to introduce us to and plans to unfold, by using us. 

He may bring someone into our path, so that we show them some simple act of kindness. We might otherwise be oblivious to that particular person, if we didn’t first pray and offer ourselves to be used by God during the day. It’s so fulfilling to know that something special awaits us because this is the day that the Lord has made. 

While sitting at the table, visiting nursing home residents this week, I noticed a very tall young man walking around in the large Day room. He walked back and forth looking kind of lonely and lost, and I never saw him before. He struck my attention because he was not only a young man but even taller than my son, Jon, who is 6’4.” 

I called him over to talk to him and introduce myself, inviting him to pull up a chair and he seemed happy to speak to someone, although his speech was slurred and required repeating. He is 6’6” tall and 28 years old. For his privacy I will call him Muhammad. He said he’s been living in that Nursing home for 5 months, but I never saw him before. 

Muhammad told me he has Wilson’s disease, which is a rare genetic illness where copper builds up in the body, causing damage to the brain, nerves and liver. The liver is the organ that removes unused amounts of copper in healthy people, but it’s unable to remove copper in one out of 30,000 people with the rare Wilson’s disease. 

It is treated with medication, but I don’t know much more about it or the prognosis. Muhammad has some difficulty articulating his words, and a slight tremor in his hands, but he is very polite and sociable. He also told me that he used to teach autistic children for a living. Now he lives in a Nursing home and his mother visits him, so I hope to meet her one day. 

I told him about my son, Jon, who was taking a nap in his room while I was visiting that day. I hope someday to introduce Jon and Muhammad to each other. 

That same day was also the day that Jon put his hoodie jacket on all by himself, which was a first for him. It was really the day that the Lord has made, by introducing me to the newest and youngest resident at the Nursing home, and showing me Jon’s latest progress in dressing himself. 

To focus on the present day, as Jesus advised, removes our attention from our problems and shows us the new things to be grateful for. When we start each day with the belief that God cares for us enough to bring joy to our day through others, it makes every day an adventure. 

The residents in a Nursing home have no choice but to live one day at a time. None of them can make a single plan for their future, and any satisfaction that they get, comes in the blessing of the present day that the Lord has made. Muhammad made a new friend that day, and Jon put his jacket on by himself, which brought joy into their day and mine.

If we, who are living independently and in good health, can find as much joy in the present day, as the residents in Nursing homes do, we will discover the joy of living in the present day that the Lord has made.  

Lord, make us aware that you make each day special, by the people you bring people into our day, restoring our joy with gratitude. Amen

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.”

Lamentations 3:22-23 (RSV)

We have all experienced scarcity in something during our lives. A scarcity could refer to something other than a financial or material undersupply. There are scarcities of faith, hope, love, peace, health, patience, courage, and the list could go on.

God may meet our scarcity in an unexpected way, during the time of greatest need. If we look at examples throughout scripture, when anyone struggled with a lack of something, their faith was rewarded with an unexpected manifestation of God’s presence. 

As a young man, Jacob fled from his brother, Esau, who was out to kill him. It all started when Esau exchanged his birthright to Jacob, for a bowl of lentil stew, in his moment of hunger. Later, Esau regretted that exchange, felt cheated and his anger burned against Jacob, as he pursued him.

Jacob was living like a fugitive,  frightened and running from Esau’s wrath. He had neither peace nor security. While in that state of anxiety, Jacob fell asleep and dreamed of a ladder that led all the way up to heaven. God spoke to Jacob in his dream, promising that He would always be with him, and one day make out his descendants, a great nation.

Jacob woke up from that dream, saying, “Truly, the Lord is in this place and I did not know it,” and from that time onward, he found new peace and security believing everything will be alright. He  eventually reconciled with his brother and lived in peace, though he faced many more trials ahead. Problems still arose but Jacob found new mercies each morning.

God often spoke to people in scripture while they were in dire need. After the day of Pentecost, a poor, crippled beggar called out to Peter, asking him for help in the form of money. Peter, filled with the Spirit, boldly told the beggar, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!” (Acts 3:6)

Then taking him by the right hand, the man was healed, jumped to his feet and began to walk. Peter had new courage to exercise his faith since Pentecost, and Jesus became present to that beggar through Peter, declaring him to be healed. God showed new mercies to both Peter and the beggar. The church that Jesus formed with His disciples, had become His body on earth. 

When the friends of Mary ran out of wine, early in the evening of a wedding celebration, she knew that God was present at that wedding feast through her son, Jesus. As the hosts of the party surrendered their lack to Him, Jesus turned their jars of water into jars of the finest quality wine. When God shows up, His new mercies are always focused on the quality of His blessings.

The world is full of scarcities, but God desires to keep introducing His son to the world, so that whoever turns to Him will receive new mercies. We never know how God is going to show up for someone, but He will find a way to make Himself present in a time of need, restoring the quality of life through faith.

His new mercies came to Jacob in a dream, giving him a peace beyond understanding. His new mercies came to a poor, crippled, beggar and through Peter, spoke strength and healing to him. Water was turned into wine through a wedding guest that no one knew was the son of God, except Mary, his mother. In every example of some lack or scarcity, God shows up and His mercies are new every morning.

Lord, we surrender all that is lacking in us, and trust you to meet us where we are, and to shower us with new mercies so that we can say as Jacob said, “Truly the Lord is in this place and I did not know it.” Amen

“And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.”

Mark 10:16 (NIV)

Renee Hendrix is a neonatal nurse from Georgia, whose 33 years on the job, was more of a calling than a career. Ever since she was a little girl, when visiting relatives in the hospital, Renee’s mother would take her to see all the newborn babies in the nursery through a window. She knew then, that she wanted to be a neonatal nurse when she grew up. 

Renee did just that and her whole career involved caring for premature babies in the (NICU) Neonatal Intensive Care unit. She started to develop a routine of silently praying over every new baby as they were admitted into her care. One day, a 28 week old premature baby girl was placed in the NICU. A routine ultrasound of the baby’s brain revealed a grade 4 brain bleed, which is very critical. If the baby survived, she would likely develop serious neurologic impairment. 

Renee stood over the baby girl and began to pray her usual prayer as she did for all the babies in her care, but that day, she felt the Lord telling her to place her hand on the baby’s forehead. It wasn’t her routine style of praying, but she obeyed. As she laid her hand on the baby’s forehead and prayed, she felt a rush of intense heat filling her own body. She kept praying, while feeling that heat, as her breathing began to be in sync with the baby’s breathing. After that prayer, she went about her usual duties for the day. 

I have heard testimonies of people who received a miraculous healing, and they all claim to feel a sensation of intense heat running through their body. When that infant girl had her follow up exam, her cranial ultrasound revealed no bleeding at all in her brain.

What Renee felt during prayer for that baby was a miracle healing. The Holy Spirit was filling the baby while she felt the heat of divine healing. After learning that the baby’s follow up ultrasound showed no bleeding of the brain at all, it was a confirmation that a miracle happened in that moment. She was thankful to God, but never told anyone about her experience until the timing was right.

The baby was discharged and went home, but a year later, the parents returned to visit the NICU, to greet the nurses and doctors, and show them their healthy one year old baby girl who was once cared for in that unit. 

Renee was pleased to see her and then pulled the parents aside to privately tell them her story of praying that day. They shared tears, hugs and friendship since then. Today, that baby is a healthy seven year old girl, whose parents are raising her to love God and others, trusting that her destiny is in God’s hands. 

The Lord has a purpose for every human life, even those who are not healed. Babies who survive, to live with neurologic impairment, have a purpose as much as any other life that God creates. They become lessons of love and patience for the parents, who are given a special grace and strength to handle whatever is ahead.

The gospels give us the image of Jesus, taking little children in His arms, placing His hands on them and blessing them, and He is still doing it today. He also does it through people like Renee. 

We may not fully understand it now, but whether babies live very brief lives, or spend a lifetime with impairments, they are in the arms and hands of Jesus who blesses them, as He once said, 

“Let the little children come to Me, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14)

Lord, thank you for your divine will for every life and how valuable all life is to you. We have all once been helpless infants, so help us to trust that we are in your arms always. Amen

“Like apples of gold in settings of silver,

Is a word spoken at the proper time.”

Proverbs 25:11 (NASB)

As I was reminiscing about my

retirement, the joy and fulfillment I derived from all my years of working at the hospital, I remembered what actually drew me to the health care field in the first place. 

I was an art major in college but after getting married, a few years later, I became a stay at home mom until my boys were six years old. While staying home, I worked at various summer festivals doing portraits, and contracted a few art jobs, doing illustrations for a company at home, but we still needed a more steady income, so I got a job as a bank teller at a small family owned Savings and Loan in the neighborhood. 

The hours worked perfectly with school hours and I was home by 3:30 every day. It was a very family oriented bank, so they hired college students for the summer, allowing me to take every summer off to be with my children. During the nine years of working there, I listened to elderly customers tell me about their stroke or other health issues, and developed an  increasing interest in the human brain. I used to read books about neurological disorders during my lunch breaks. 

One college girl who I worked with asked me one day, “Why don’t you ever read normal books?” 

She asked me why I continued to work in a bank, while being so interested in neurology. I never thought I had the opportunity to change direction and start a new career, but she told me about a Medical career institute in Chicago, where she enrolled in their Ultrasound program. That brief conversation totally changed the direction of my life. 

I was 41 years old at the time, and my boys were 13. I checked out the school and enrolled in the program to study neurologic testing. I learned about all the medical tests and procedures for the brain and spine. We had the equipment in the room to perform hands on testing on each other, and I knew this was what I wanted to do. I finished the course, found a position in a large trauma hospital, worked there for 25 years, and retired three years ago.

While reminiscing about all this, I wondered what that college girl is doing today, 32 years later. Of course, she is no longer a college girl, but probably in her fifties. Since she inspired me and I still remembered her full name, I decided to search for her on Facebook, which is a good way to find and reconnect with past acquaintances. 

Surprisingly, I found her and messaged her after all these years, not sure if she would even remember me. I was shocked when I received an answer from her, saying “Maria!!! How funny that I am seeing your message since I was just thinking of you and the days when we worked together.”  

Wait, what? I was stunned that she was thinking about me on the same day that I messaged her. We were not even friends throughout the years. We were coworker acquaintances, who haven’t seen or spoken to each other in 32 years, and yet we were both thinking of each other at the same time? That is the Holy Spirit.

We exchanged phone numbers through Facebook messenger and she lives about 15 miles away from me, but we agreed to meet for coffee someday. 

It’s funny how a person from the past pops into two people’s minds simultaneously. It’s a lesson to teach us to pay attention to “who”is passing through our thoughts, because the Holy Spirit brings people into our minds and He does it for a reason. He’s a networker, who connects people according to His plan, purpose  and precise timing. 

I was so glad to finally tell her through FB, how much her words and our brief time together was a positive influence in my life. People perceive their true sense of worth when it’s reflected back to them by another person. It took 32 years, but I was able to let her know that her words were of great worth to me, and still echo in my heart. 

We are all here to lift each other up, and helpful words echo in our hearts forever. It pays to take note of who is passing through our thoughts at any moment, because it’s probably coming from God. Life is truly be an adventure, since the Holy Spirit is full of surprises. 

Lord, thank you for the people you send into our lives, networking through us and our words, so that we find deeper meaning in our purpose here. Amen

“For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

Hebrews 4:15 (RSV)

It’s easy to say “I’m only human,”when we feel angry, insecure, depressed or tempted in some way, but sometimes we forget that Jesus was human too. He was 100%  human and divine. We usually focus on His divinity and miracles, but Jesus had a human side that He lived for thirty years before the ministry phase of His life ever began.

When we do the math, His brief ministry of three years was only 10% of His entire life, but 90% of His life was lived as a man in Nazareth. The gospels tell us very little of His earlier days. We know the story of how He wandered into the temple at 12 years old, leaving His parents to search for Him. His neighbors in Nazareth knew Him as the son of Joseph, the carpenter and Mary. 

His ministry took place during the last three years of His life, but what about the first thirty years of His life? 

We can gather some information about His earlier days, based on the traditions of the time He lived in. Most sons learned the trade of their father, so Jesus most likely worked at Joseph’s side, learning the skills of carpentry during His youthful years. He grew up in the Hebrew faith and customs of His family, faithfully observing all Mosaic teachings, as well as celebrating every feast and holiday of His culture.

Carpentry would have taught Jesus the skills that also shaped His character for ministry. He learned patience from Joseph, as they smoothed the roughest edges of wood, while handling it gently. He learned problem solving, in making the corners and joints of wood to line up perfectly  in order to construct and finish a beautiful product. A carpenter in Nazareth would have interacted with the small town community as they were consulted and contracted to build products, which taught Jesus His people skills.

No one knows for sure when Joseph passed away, but Jesus learned carpentry skills from him throughout those years, which helped Him in His ministry later. He managed to mentor His twelve disciples, with the gentleness of handling raw wood, that needed to be smoothed and sanded with great patience. 

He taught His disciples how to fit together in love and unity, despite their different backgrounds and opinions, in order to build His church in the same unity as when adjusting the corners and joints of wood to fit in building a beautiful piece of furniture. 

Jesus had people skills needed to connect with all types of people, whether it was a prominent synagogue official like Jairus, whose daughter He healed, or the woman at the well, who was a Samaritan, from a community alienated from Israel. 

In His humanity, Jesus felt the emotional pain of betrayal, rejection, and disrespect by some who might have even been close childhood friends, respected religious leaders or His own relatives. Some who rejected Him were those He knew and loved during his thirty years in Nazareth. He felt the pain of rejection but never sinned, and forgave everyone.

God loved us so much that He clothed His own divine Son in a human body and temperament like ours, in order to have a Savior and Intercessor who can identify fully with us. The next time we feel exasperated and have a tendency to say, “I’m only human”,  Jesus reminds us that He once was as human as we are. 

His Holy Spirit is speaking to our hearts, every day, assuring us, 

“You can do all things through Me, because I give you My strength.”

Lord, thank you for your humanity, and for your Holy Spirit that lives in us, giving us strength to do all things through you. Amen

“I will restore to you the years
which the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you.”

Joel 2:25 (RSV)

The symbolic meaning of locusts  represents anything that destroys or eats away at things in our life. It could refer to a health issue, a broken relationship, financial loss, unforgiveness, unresolved anxiety, or a purpose that has not yet been fulfilled. Scripture tells us that God will restore whatever the locusts have eaten.

The Bible is full of stories about imperfect parents, dysfunctional families, estranged siblings, and flawed spouses, who later found their restoration from the Lord. 

Scripture shows us that the greater the calling on a person, the more that the locusts come against them. There is no greater example of locusts eating away at people’s lives, than the story of Jacob and his family.

Jacob was in love with Rachel, and despite the tradition of arranged marriages, he received permission to marry her. On the wedding night, her father tricked him and gave him her older sister, Leah instead. Jacob was deceived by his father in law, who made him work seven more years just to marry Rachel, who was the love of his life. 

Those seven years felt like years that the locusts took from him.  When Jacob finally married Rachel, she gave birth to two sons, Joseph and then Benjamin, but she died giving birth to Benjamin. Jacob waited so long to marry Rachel, but then lost her too soon. It seemed as if the locusts ate away at the prime of Jacob’s life. That may be why he gave Joseph, Rachel’s first born,  the controversial coat of many colors. 

The eleven other sons of Jacob were filled with envy and their resentment turned against the favored son of their father. By this time, the family of Jacob was in a completely dysfunctional state and getting worse, as the brothers plotted to get rid of Joseph. 

God had such good plans for those twelve sons of Jacob. He promised Jacob’s grandfather, Abraham, that He would make a nation from his descendants, but at this stage, his descendants were too divided for God to work out His plan.

Jacob would be deceived once more, but this time, by his eleven sons, who told him that Joseph was killed by a wild animal. That news crushed Jacob even though it was a lie. Joseph’s own brothers tossed him into a cistern, where he was picked up by slave traders, taken to Egypt and sold as a house slave. He would never see his father again for about  twenty years. 

Joseph was an obedient slave, until the day he refused the sexual advances of his master’s wife. Although he refused her, there were no witnesses, and he was falsely accused of rape and sent to prison. Joseph’s years as both a slave and then a prisoner were years that the locusts had taken from him.

Through Joseph’s many gifts and his trust in God, he was finally set free and promoted to second in command of Egypt. He predicted a coming famine and stored up grain, which made Egypt the only place with grain to sell during that famine. 

The broken family of Jacob came to Egypt one day, to buy food, not knowing that God was planning to reunite Joseph with his eleven brothers. His brothers were shocked to see that Joseph was not only alive, but the Governor of Egypt. When Jacob saw Joseph, his son, after all those years, it was like a resurrection. The God of second chances, brought his son back into his life and reunited his family. All the brothers hugged each other and wept in love and forgiveness. God would continue His divine plan, and the twelve sons of Jacob would become the twelve tribes of Israel. 

The Lord use famines, pandemics and droughts to change hearts and bring positive results. He is a restorer of all that was ever lost. God brings new life to what was dead, makes whole what was broken, and gives hope to all that seemed hopeless. 

In seeing our locust years from His perspective, God is a rewarder of those who trust in Him, as Joseph did. He gives us more than we ever thought or asked for, as He did with Joseph’s brothers. Mercy and grace triumphed over the locust eaten years in Jacob’s family, and they were restored and blessed in the end. 

Lord, we trust you to heal, restore and renew all that was ever eaten by the locusts in our lives. Amen

“So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.”

Matthew 27:66 (NIV)

The Pharisees feared the rumors of resurrection and asked Pilate to help secure Jesus’ tomb, so he granted their request to seal the tomb and appoint armed guards at the entrance. After studying to learn what “sealing the tomb” actually entailed, I learned the following:

They stretched a cord across the large stone which blocked the entrance to the tomb. Then they packed clay over each end of the cord, and pressed a wax seal over the clay, which was the seal of Roman government authority. Finally, they posted armed guards in front of the tomb each day. 

All these measures to guard the tomb, appeared to work until the third day, as predicted by Jesus. On the third day of that spring morning, the guards fell into a deep anesthetized sleep. The earth quaked, the stone was rolled away, the cord was broken and the wax and clay seals all crumbled. A powerful surge, like none other, brought Jesus to life, giving Him a resurrected body that could be seen and touched, yet able to walk through walls.

Inside the open tomb lay nothing but the grave clothes of Jesus. A separate cloth that was used to cover the head and hold the jaw closed, called the sudarium, was lying apart from the 14 foot shroud as John described in his gospel. (John 20:7)

The analysis of the mysterious image on the shroud of Turin has been studied by forensic scientists and physicists. Other bodies wrapped in grave clothes never left the type of image on a burial cloth as the shroud has. It’s an image of a crucified man, with bloody wrists, feet, head and a stab wound on his side. There are 120 marks from the scourging of the whip, from the head to the ankle. Though there are human blood stains on the shroud, the image itself was not made from blood stains. 

The shroud image is the most researched artifact in the history of the world. Scientists agree that there is no paint pigment on the shroud. The first carbon dating test found it to be only 700 years old, but that first sample was taken from a tainted, frequently handled portion, which was patched after surviving two fires, but no further sample was ever tested. The flax in the linen cloth was from first century Palestine. The coins placed over the eyes to keep them closed, date back to the time of Pontius Pilate. 

Those who studied the shroud image have found it to be a photographic negative, produced by particle radiation. One scientist described it as a blast of ultraviolet light, of a single wavelength, projected from the body, outward, and onto the surface of the burial cloth. The image also has the 3-D qualities of a hologram, showing front and back of the body. Scientists say that there is no technology that could recreate such an image today. 

The blood type is AB positive, and some have asked why the blood on the shroud remained red in color, since blood turns brown or black over time. Dr. Alan Adler, a hematologist, explained that a person who is tortured for many hours would release bilirubin from the liver, causing the blood to permanently remain red. I am convinced that the shroud is Jesus’ burial cloth. 

Whether people agree or not on the credibility of the shroud, all believers can agree that the resurrection of Jesus came from the same Source who once said, “Let there be light” and there was light. 

No government seals of authority, armed guard, or massive tomb stone could prevent a God of such love from completing His plan of salvation for us. The cords of fear  are now broken. The clay seals of doubt crumble into dust. Powers and principalities of darkness can no longer control us. The powerful blast of energy that raised Jesus will also raise us one day. 

The world has never been the same since His resurrection and lives are still being changed as a result of that empty tomb, 2,000 years ago. 

Lord, thank you for resurrection power that brought our salvation, healing, deliverance and victory. Amen 

Hallelujah! He is risen.

“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.”

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

Camey Joy is a lovely woman of faith who wrote a book called “Beautifully scarred.” I have not read her book but I listened to her television interview. She was born in Guatemala with a bilateral cleft palate and lip, totally unable to nurse. She seemed destined to die without immediate medical help, so her father wrapped her in a blanket and walked to the nearest hospital to ask for help. He was turned away saying there was no one at that facility who could correct a cleft palate, yet gave him no advice of where to take her. 

Her father sat on the front steps of the hospital, feeling helpless and began crying, not knowing what to do next. God sees the cries of the helpless and is truly near to the brokenhearted. At that moment two strangers stood before him and told him about an orphanage where children will receive the medical help they need.

The strangers escorted him to the orphanage, even providing him with something to eat on the way, since he had not eaten all day. When he arrived, they quickly took his baby in, helped to nourish her, arranged for medical help and her adoption. 

The father was relieved that the infant girl would be in good hands. He turned to thank the two strangers who brought him there, but they disappeared. The person who met him at the door of the orphanage said that he arrived alone, and there were no other men with him. His rescuers were obviously angels, who appeared as men for a specific mission, and then disappeared. The Lord heard the cries of that father and reached out through two visitors from Heaven to guide him. God had a plan to give hope and a future to a baby girl who would one day share this story.

The baby girl was adopted by a Christian couple in the United States, who named her Camey Joy. She has had 23 surgeries throughout her lifetime to correct a complex cleft palate. She is not only beautiful today, but loves the Lord, sings, tells her story at churches, public events and has written a book of memoirs. If God had not intervened by sending those two angels who led her father to the right place, she would have died as an infant. 

As I listened to her interview I was inspired to write about it. Her story just affirms that every life is precious to God, and He doesn’t make mistakes. He has a divine purpose for each life He creates. He gives wisdom and medical skill to surgeons who correct even the most difficult cases like Camey’s. 

God also inspires people to start orphanages and connect with medical personnel. It just confirms that God is behind the planning of every humanitarian venture that saves lives. He really is near to the brokenhearted and saves all who are crushed in spirit, as Camey’s biological father once was.

(Psalm 34:18) 

We see the defects but God sees the restoration. We see deformity and malformation, but God sees hope, healing and a future. We see a birth anomaly, but God sees His beloved child born for a purpose to know and walk with their Heavenly Father all the days of their life.

Lord, give all those who may feel flawed, rejected or have lost hope, a special inspiration that you love us and have a beautiful plan for everyone’s future. Amen

“Indeed someone may say, “You have faith and I have works.” Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.”

James 2:18 (NAB)

A man named Patrick recalled his journey from being a bitter atheist to finding a new life after putting his faith in Jesus Christ. Patrick became angry at God ever since his teenage brother died by suicide many years earlier. As time went by, he married, had children, worked a successful job, and thought he had it all, and didn’t need God. Then his life suddenly hit a roadblock, when his wife asked for a separation, saying she didn’t love him anymore, so they separated.

Patrick found himself living in an apartment and at the lowest point of his life. He even had thoughts of suicide at times, but one person was leaving a gradual impression on him during that dark time. There was an older man in his neighborhood, named Jesse, who  rode his bicycle everywhere, especially to church every Sunday. Jesse would always stop briefly to talk to Patrick, telling him that God loved him or that God is with him. It was as if Jesse knew what Patrick was going through.  

One day Patrick was surprised to see Jesse walking instead of riding his bike, and learned that someone had stolen Jesse’s bicycle. Patrick felt sorry for him, but Jesse brushed it off, in his usual cheerful demeanor, saying it’s okay, since that person might have needed the bicycle more than him.

After his bicycle was stolen, Jesse would take a taxi to church every Sunday, but one day someone stole all of Jesse’s money. When Patrick heard about that, he was outraged, but Jesse calmly said that maybe that person needed the money more than him. 

As Jesse continued to show genuine meekness, forgiveness and incomprehensible peace, it began to work in Patrick’s heart. He never observed anyone like Jesse, who lived his Christianity in a relationship with Jesus, instead of fulfilling religious obligations. Jesse demonstrated by all he said and did, that the presence of Jesus was real in his life. In his sincere gratitude and purity of heart in the troubled times, Jesse was motivated by the love of Christ. 

Patrick became spiritually hungry for that kind of faith, and one day, he bowed his head in prayer, surrendering all his anguish to God, saying, 

“God, if you are real, help me, I want to know Jesse’s Jesus.”

That marked a turning point for Patrick. God answered his prayer,  and he began to have his own personal relationship with Jesus.  As a result of the light that shined through Jesse, Patrick went to church, was reconciled with his wife through a marriage retreat, and today he and his wife are involved together in various ministries, serving God as a family. Patrick also started a ministry of suicide prevention, in honor of his late brother. 

Jesse passed away in 2020 and is resting in the arms of Jesus today. He lived his life in humility and faith, never doubting that God was with him, even when bad things happened. Now Patrick is telling his story of redemption and spreading the light of Christ to others. 

The world is hungry for someone to demonstrate the true peace and joy that only Jesus gives us. 

Jesse showed it throughout his life, by leaving a legacy, which inspired someone to say, 

“I want Jesse’s Jesus.”

This story made me more aware of how effectively Christ’s light can shine through a human being. It doesn’t require a minister, priest or missionary to explain Jesus to this world, just the humility of believers who shine with a genuine peace, joy and love. Jesse made me hope and pray that I could demonstrate my faith in a way to cause others to say, 

“I want Maria’s Jesus”,  because there’s no greater legacy to leave in this world.

Lord, help us to demonstrate our faith in greater ways, so that we will all leave a legacy of reflecting your peace, joy and love through all we say and do. Amen