Scripture: Luke 10:25-37 (NIV) – “On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he asked, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ ‘What is written in the Law?’ he replied. ‘How do you read it?’ He answered, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ‘You have answered correctly,’ Jesus replied. ‘Do this and you will live.’ But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers…..’ ‘Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?’ The expert in the law replied, ‘The one who had mercy on him.’ Jesus told him, ‘Go and do likewise.’” Please read the entire text in your Bible.

Message: My absolutely most favorite parable is "The Good Samaritan" from Luke 10. Every year I go to my grandchildren's school in Melbourne to give a devotional. I pray and then tell the group that I will be talking about my favorite parable, "The Good Samaritan". I then tell the story from Luke, as shown above. At the conclusion of the story, I then ask the children what they think would happen if every person in Melbourne, including their school and their home loved their neighbor as they loved themselves; would we need police, how would all the children act in school, what would the teachers think, what would our family be like? One of the funniest answers I ever received was when I asked what their home would be like. One 5th grade boy raised his hand and answered, "It would be boring". I assured the students that our world would be anything but boring if everyone loved everyone else like they loved themselves; it would be more like Paradise. Our prayer in this Lenten season should be that everyone would love their neighbor as they love themselves.

Prayer: Lord, may all of us love our neighbors as we love ourselves and show our love for others as Christ taught through the parable of The Good Samaritan. Amen

 Charles Nelson

Scripture: Job 1:21b (KJV) – “The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Message: I view Job as being one of the more unusual books of the Bible, but one beneficial to read. When I was growing up, there were lots of pioneer and western movies shown in theaters. In most of them, settlers died on their journey, and the funeral ceremonies were presented to the movie-goers. In numerous scenes, the above scripture was repeated at the funeral. The words that seem most appropriate for the Lenten season are “Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Lent leads to the time when Jesus sacrificed himself for my sake and your sake.

There are many, many problems in the world today, but can we imagine what the world would be like if this great sacrifice had not been accomplished by God. We have hope because of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Therefore, I commend to you the words, “Blessed be the name of the Lord” as Holy Words we should be very cognizant of each and every day of Lent and throughout the entire year.

Prayer: Lord, each day, may I bless Your Holy Name and give thanks for the incredible sacrifice that Jesus made for all mankind. Amen.

Charles Nelson
(first published in 2015)

Saturday, March 15, 2014 & Monday, August 3, 2020 - "The Connection" Series

Strength

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NKJV) – “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Message: This is another of my favorite Bible verses, especially meaningful as it tells us what we should be doing each day relative to our relationship with the Lord. If we rejoice always, we will hopefully be joyful in all the situations of life which confront us, even when some of these situations are unpleasant, or hurtful. If we pray without ceasing, we will always try to be in the presence of the Lord. If we give thanks in everything, we will be always grateful to the Lord, constantly thanking Him for the many, many blessings we are receiving from Him. There are certainly circumstances where we may obviously be sorrowful, but in giving thanks in everything, we will try to always look for the good, which may be present in every circumstance of life.

Prayer: Lord, each day, help me to rejoice always, to pray without ceasing, and to give thanks to You in everything, both in good times and bad, since this is Your will for my life. Amen

Charles Nelson
(first published Lent 2014)