Sunday Devotions |

Sunday Devotion: You are needed

February 22, 2015 By: admin

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4: 13-14

By Christa Rupar

For at least part of almost every day, ~~my life~~, I mean house, feels like a circus. The kids are in the front yard half dressed in the dead of winter, there are dirty dishes on every counter top, laundry in every corner, and the dog is drinking milk from an abandoned sippy cup. I turn my back for 2 seconds and chaos breaks out!

It’s no secret, the role of motherhood will take everything you have and more. The amount of love and care that goes into the role of motherhood is truly overwhelming. All the little tasks we do for our families and our attention that is always needed by someone, leaving very little time to attend to ourselves. It’s a big job, in fact, I fail to see how mothering well can be done at all on our own. I often wonder how mothers who haven’t put their faith in God do it. Being honest, I don’t want to know how.

The role of a mother requires a kind of love and care that can only come from above. It is only when I am allowing God to pour his unconditional love into me that I have the unconditional love and care to pour out on my family. However, I find sometimes that letting God pour his love out on us can be difficult, at least for me. I for one think I have trouble truly understanding the depth of his love for me, or maybe I’m afraid to understand it, or maybe I’m insecure in it, I mean, how could I be so worthy of such deep unwavering love? Whatever maybe the reasoning for my doubt, I do know this, he loves us. Every one of us and every part of us. I also know that accepting his love is foundational to our role as a mother.

I’ve heard it said that, “the hand that rocks the cradle, rules the world” could the imperativeness of motherhood be summed up any better?! You are needed mother, whatever age your children are. However, unimportant the role may seem at times. Remember, you are needed. You are needed more as a mother (and wife) than by any other role that you may play in life. With an important job like this we must be full of love and to be able to pour out this love we must first be filled up from up above. John 4:1-26 tells us the story of the woman at the well, I challenge you to read that passage of scripture this week. While reading remember these things about that woman.

1. She was a Samaritan. Samaritans were a mixed race of intermarriage between Jews and foreigners (mostly Assyrians). They were disliked by pure Jews, who intentionally made as little contact with them as possible. But Jesus makes contact with her despite her race.

2. She was a woman with a bad reputation having numerous failed marriages and living with a man she was not married to. She was visiting the well at noon rather than in the morning with the other woman, most likely to avoid the dirty looks and criticism due to her bad reputation. Regardless Jesus thought her worthy enough to ask her for a drink of water.

3. Not only does he consider her worthy enough to make conversation with. He offers this non-Jewish woman with a bad reputation his living water. He longed to fill her soul not only for that day but for eternity.

He longs to fill your soul too, if you will let him.

Christa Rupar has a Bachelor of Arts in Bible Studies and a Master of Arts in Counseling. She would one day love to use her therapy skills working with kiddos. At the moment she stays home chasing around her two favorite little people Kyah, 3, and Beckham, 1. They get up way too early and go to bed way too late, but she wouldn’t trade it for the world. A strong cup of coffee and an afternoon dance party with the littles is her remedy for mom-induced sleep deprivation. She and her husband, Ryan, have been married for almost 6 years and reside in Springfield, MO.

Devotion: The Divine Domino Effect

January 4, 2015 By: admin

3 Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. ~ Ruth 2:3

By Bro. John L. Cash

When my mother was a young woman in the early 1950’s, she worked as a secretary. One day when she came to work, there was a young man under her desk. He had a can of paint and was painting her desk. The young man had beautiful blue eyes, and my mother was quite taken by him. Evidently the young man liked her too, because he came back and painted her desk every day.

He put so many coats of paint on her desk that it never dried properly. Finally the people in the office had to put her desk in the alley so someone could scrape the paint off of it. The young woman and the young man (from under her desk) started dating, and eventually they got married. Later on, my sister Cathie was born, and 5 ½ years later, I was born. We’re the children of the secretary and the man from under her desk. And we became a joyful family.

Now think with me for a minute. What if my dad had not painted my mom’s desk? What if he had called in sick that morning? What if my dad’s boss had ordered another man to paint my mom’s desk? My goodness! I would have never been! You’d be reading another columnist right now. The events of the past make possible the events of the future, in sort of a “Divine Domino Effect.”

If you’ve never read the Book of Ruth in the Old Testament, you really ought to. It’s a short little book and a beautiful love story. And it’s a great example of how God blesses the events in our lives — even the difficult ones – through the Divine Domino Effect.

When the story opens, Ruth is childless, and she’s a widow. She is also living in the time of a famine, and she and her mother-in-law are near starvation. But then, as the lesson text (at the top) says, “she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz.” And she marries Boaz, and they have a baby. And Ruth’s great-grandson is King David. And David’s descendant is the Lord Jesus, who is the Messiah, the Saviour of the world.

It’s not too much of a stretch to say that salvation came into the world by way of the major reversals Ruth had in her life. And though it seemed to Ruth that she “happened” to meet Boaz, I will always believe that this was part of God’s eternal plan. You see, often what we think of as the normal flow of events or coincidences are really the fruit of God’s planning and direction. Albert Einstein once said “Coincidences are God’s way of remaining anonymous.”

So if you’re going through something hard this week, keep your chin up. Don’t focus on what’s wrong at the moment, but realize that today’s events are leading to something wonderful in God’s eternal purposes. He loves you dearly and has a wonderful plan for your life.

Dr. John L. Cash is the “Country Preacher Dad.” He has spent the last 29 years being a country preacher. (On week days has a desk-job at a public school, where he used to teach Latin on closed-circuit-television.) He and his lovely wife, Susan, live in the parsonage next door to the country church. Their kids include Spencer (age 23), his wife Madeline (age 23), and Seth (age 20).

Devotion: When Bad Things Happen to Good People

January 4, 2015 By: admin

18 Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, chief of the captains, and he said: “We are yours, O David; We are on your side, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, And peace to your helpers! For your God helps you.” 1 Chronicles 12:18 (NKJV)

By Bro. John L. Cash

I’m starting a series today. As a country preacher, people often ask me questions they want me to answer. As you might imagine, there are a number of questions brought to my attention time and time again — since as humans, we pretty much share a universal set of problems. A question we all struggle with is this: “Why do bad things happen to good people in God’s world, and how are we to react to and understand these things?”

I don’t pretend to have all the answers to these questions, but I do have some thoughts. It will take me several Sunday columns to tell you what I’m thinking—but I hope you don’t mind me sharing.

Are your children ever upset by things that they see on the evening news? My sons were little boys in grade school on 9/11. Even though Seth was in kindergarten and Spencer was in 4th grade, they both still remember that day. I was frightened at that day’s events as an adult, so I can only imagine how little children felt.

What should you tell your children when they see films of a terrible situation on the news? The best answer I have ever found is in a quote by the late Fred Rogers, of Mister Rogers Neighborhood:

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of “disaster,” I remember my mother’s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers — so many caring people in this world.” – Fred Rogers

That quote brings me comfort and strength because it’s the absolute truth. Whenever you see tragedy, or suffering, or pain, there are always helpers there. Teach your babies to look for the helpers.

And we should extend that lesson a little further. Not only should we look for the helpers, we should strive to BE one of the helpers. It is for this reason that God has made us, and He sent Jesus to set the example of service for us. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45). My prayer for you today comes from the Scripture lesson (at the top): “Peace, peace to you, And peace to your helpers! For your God helps you.” Have a blessed week.