Okay, before I get started on the whole devotional listing….. I just want to take a moment to make a shout out to the Lord!!!  Some have thought I am completely off my rocker for wanting to follow what the Pope in the 1400′s as the Lenten “No No” list.  It has been a challenge to give up meat, eggs, milk, and butter along with fasting for one meal each day.

Leaning much upon the Lord has wonderful benefits!!  As of last Friday, I have lost 10 lbs since Ash Wednesday.  I am at the half way mark and I haven’t felt this good in years.  I no longer feel sluggish.  According to my daughter, I am happier.  And I haven’t had any “digestive” discomfort since the first few days.  I really feel great.

So what exactly am I eating????  Lots of fresh spinach, peppers, lettuce, apples, raisins, nuts, cranberries, beans, and drinking lots of chocolate soy milk.  This has been quite the adventure and I am thinking about…. perhaps…. continuing this after Lent.

The Devotionals…. as promised…. are based on the booklet “Coming Home to the Lord” by Patricia Fosarelli….

Monday, March 8, 2010

Go and learn what this means, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” Matthew 9:13

God wants people to be merciful instead of just offering a sacrifice to him.  When we are merciful to others we are imitating God’s mercy.  We treat people God made and loves very much in the way that God wants us to treat them….. and you know what???  That pleases God more than any sacrifice we could offer.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Should you not have a mercy on your fellow servant, even as I had mercy on you?  Matthew 18:33

In the story found in Matthew 18, a man owed his master a lot of money was forgiven his debt.  The master showed him mercy.  But then the man turned around and immediately went out and did not forgive someone’s smaller debt owed him.  The master heard about this and became very angry.  Sometimes we owe others much more than we are owed.  We need to remember that  when we demand others to pay their debts to us.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Every seventh year, you shall grant a remission of debt.  Deuteronomy 15:1

Back in the day…. Israelites forgave debts every 7 years so that people would not always be in debt or in slavery.  They believed that those who had wealth should be willing to show mercy and forgive debts.  Today, many people wish their debts could be forgiven in 7 years…..We just need to be reminded that everything we have comes from God and not act as if what we have is something that is OURS.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.  Nehemiah 9:17

God is good all the time….. All the time, God is good.  God offers his own love to us even before we offer ours to him.  God made us and he knows us better than any one.  That is why he is so ready to embrace us and welcome us back to his fold…. even when we do things that are wrong or fail to do what we know is right.  We are precious to God….sadly we don’t always remember that…..

Friday, March 12, 2010

Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive us our sins, for your name’s sake.  Psalm 79:9

God is always there to show mercy and to forgive us.  We should never be afraid to turn to Him when we need his help and when we need forgiveness.  Although we sin on a daily basis, God’s mercy will always deliver us from ourselves.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

[Jesus said,] “Which [one] was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.”  Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”  Luke 10:36-37

The story of the Good Samaritan is one of my favorites.  A man was robbed and left to die along the road.  Two men passed him by.  The only one that stopped was the Samaritan.  He showed mercy to the man and helped him… becoming his real friend.  We can’t always know who will be our real friend during a crisis.  God asks us to be kind and have mercy on others all the time.  We should ask Him to help us see God in everyone so that we treat them with respect and mercy.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.  Romans 12:11

Because God has shown us mercy and forgiveness, we should do the same.  We should want to serve the Lord because we love the Lord and are grateful for what He has done for us.  Paul encouraged believers to have the zeal for the Lord…. he wanted us to be excited and to tell about our faith!!  We should shout from the top of the mountains how good God has been to us.

God Bless…..

I have been asked a zillion times about my Lent “adventure.”  My response, “I haven’t killed nor eaten anyone.”  So I think I’m doing very well…..  The hardest for me is to remember to lean on God for all my needs……  The first couple of days I REALLY leaned on Him….but now, my body has adjusted and I feel as if I can do it…by myself…..and I am anticipating a trip up.

In order to prevent the “trip” I have another week’s worth of devotions for all of us to read and pray over……Once again, they are based on the devotions in the Watch and Wait booklet by Julia DiSalvo.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.  Luke 6:37

It is so easy to see someone sin and to point a finger.  My mother always said if you point one finger towards someone, you have three pointing back at yourself.  It is always so much easier to judge other people than to face the fact that we sin as well.  We really forget to look at ourselves and own up to our sins and weaknesses.

Before you criticize another, thing about something good that the person has done.  Be a friend and not a judge.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach.  Matthew 23:3

This verse was to expose the Pharisees, the leaders and preachers in the community.  If they couldn’t be trusted–because they judged unfairly or abused their power—then who could the people trust?

God’s teachings is something we can always put our trust into…..because it is always good.

Here’s an idea…. read the 10 Commandments in Exodus 20 and really practice them this week.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death.  Matthew 20:18

Surely, Jesus didn’t want to die.  He could have avoided the chief priests.  But in the end, Jesus was betrayed by his own.  To avoid being killed, he would have had to leave his ministry and abandon his disciples…..and guess what, God would never, ever do that.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Now during those days, he went out to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God.  Luke 6:12

Jesus would pray all night.  We don’t pray for that long nor with that intensity unless something was truly wrong and we are worried about a big decision we must make.  Jesus had a lot on his mind.  He went to God for guidance.  He prayed for so long and so much so that God could help him make the best decision he could.  That is good advice for all of us to hear.

Friday, March 5, 2010

When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them.  Matthew 6:7-8

So many times, people say very long prayers.  They tell God each and every little thing that they have on their minds or what they want.  But Jesus says all those words are not important.  It is more important just to be present with God because He cares about all of our concerns and knows what we really need, even before we say a word.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock that belongs to you…. Micah 7:14

Jesus is compared as a good shepherd who keeps watch over the creatures in His care, protecting them from harm and leading them to good food and drink.  Think of all the ways God takes care of you and gives you what you need.  The only way to get benefits of the good shepherd is to stay in his flock.  If we stray and try to do things by ourselves, we will become lost and lonely.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”  John 2:19

Somethings are just impossible.  We can’t change our past or become someone else, even if we try our hardest.  Other things are difficult but possible with God.  We can learn new activities and improve on bad habits.  We can forgive friends when we fight with them.

Just remember, don’t expect the results right away.  Next, believe it will happen.  God wants us to become better people and to change.  Finally pray for the strength to keep going and in doing so we will find God’s will.

May God bless you…..