Today's Word
You are welcome to use the writings on these pages or pass them on to others who might find a touch from God in the words. Our purpose is always to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the world. Please remember to give credit to the Author who has given you everything, and keep in remembrance the vessel which He used to bring these words to you. We pray that this site may be a blessing to you and anyone with whom its been shared. All rights reserved. Peggy Hoppes
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Our Lord is so good, He grants us many blessings. We can see Him in the daily course of events, in our homes, our jobs, our lives. I pray that these words help you to grow in your faith and recognize His hand in even the most mundane circumstances.
The picture to the right is of a Celtic Chapel located in Cornwall England. This building is approximately 1700 years old, and contains a holy well known for its healing powers.
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Due to the high volume of spam that comes through the domain, I have had to stop using that email address. However, if you would like to send me mail, use the following address, replacing the bracketed words with the symbol. Thank you for your continued interest, prayers and messages of encouragement.
“For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ. For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; it is not therefore not of the body. And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; it is not therefore not of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members each one of them in the body, even as it pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now they are many members, but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of thee: or again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be more feeble are necessary: and those parts of the body, which we think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness; whereas our comely parts have no need: but God tempered the body together, giving more abundant honor to that part which lacked; that there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffereth, all the members suffer with it; or one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.” 1 Corinthians 12:12-26, ASV
The human body is an amazing thing. It is imperfect and each body will fail one day, but it adjusts remarkably to various circumstances. Take, for instance, a person paralyzed from the waste down. Their upper bodies grow much stronger, adapting to the loss of legs by giving them the strength to move their bodies with their arms. Blind people find their hearing becomes more sensitive. I’ve seen people who have lost the use of their arms able to use their feet as if they were hands. Those with the will find a way to get around their disability.
The same can be said of a congregation of faithful people. Paul writes that each part of the body is necessary for the body to be whole. This is true. It is certainly much easier if we can use our arms and our legs, our eyes and our ears. We adapt to the circumstances as possible. Medical science has made it possible to do incredible things to make their difficult things easier. But, it will always be better for the body to be whole.
We might think we can live without the person in our congregation who is focused on only the administrative things. Church is about worship and prayer, right? Why worry about how much paper we use for the bulletins? What about that woman who does nothing but pray? Shouldn’t she come out for the clean-up days to help scrub the bathrooms and rake the leaves? After all, we all pray. Shouldn’t we all share in all the work?
There are times when we have to adapt. Perhaps the person who is terrific at organizing pot luck dinners has to move out of town, we have to find a way to continue doing those dinners even though that part of our body is missing. What usually happens is that the same people who do everything step into the role, not even bothering to find those who are gifted to do the tasks for the sake of the Church. In other words, we look at the parts of the body not as individual with unique purpose, but bodies that can be put wherever they are needed. However, God has created the Church as a perfect machine, with every part specially created for a purpose. We may think we don’t need an eye, but God has appointed someone to be the eye. We have to help each believer discover their gifts and find their purpose to fill all the parts of the Church as God intends it to be.
We certainly can make do. There are plenty of things anyone can do in the Church to keep it running. It doesn’t take anyone special to print the bulletin, to light the candles, to clean up the sanctuary after worship. Or does it? Yes, printing the bulletin takes little more than a bit of copy and paste and pushing the right buttons on the copier, but it takes someone with patience and a sharp eye to ensure that the bulletins are accurate and easy to follow. It is important to light the candles with an air of solemnity and worship. Cleaning the sanctuary after worship takes a sharp eye, so that the old bulletins are removed and the books are returned to the right place, available for the next service. These might seem like unimportant tasks, tasks that anyone can accomplish. We can probably live without them and perhaps even thrive. But God has ordained someone to do these tasks, and every task. Can we help them find their place in our fellowship? They are important for the body to be whole.
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“Ye know that when ye were Gentiles ye were led away unto those dumb idols, howsoever ye might led. Wherefore I make known unto you, that no man speaking in the Spirit of God saith, Jesus is anathema; and no man can say, Jesus is Lord, but in the Holy Spirit. Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are diversities of ministrations, and the same Lord. And there are diversities of workings, but the same God, who worketh all things in all. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit to profit withal. For to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom; and to another the word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit: to another faith, in the same Spirit; and to another gifts of healings, in the one Spirit; and to another workings of miracles; and to another prophecy; and to another discernings of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; and to another the interpretation of tongues: but all these worketh the one and the same Spirit, dividing to each one severally even as he will.” 1 Corinthians 12:2-11, ASV
Food shows are big these days. There have always been television chefs offering cooking advice to viewers, from the days of Julia Child and “The French Chef” to today’s Food Network. We love to watch people who know what they are doing do what they love. And we learn from them. One of my favorite shows is “Iron Chef America” because it is fascinating to watch professional chefs produce creative foods out of sometimes bizarre ingredients. How they come up with savory and sweet offerings from some of secret ingredients is amazing.
There were several shows that I watched when I was a new wife. One was a show starring the singing chef Pasquale. During the show I watched, his cooking tended to be directed to the single guy that has no kitchen skills or patience, a description that easily fit me except for the single guy part. He taught me not to be afraid of putting together ingredients that aren’t always used together. He used a lot of canned goods and he never cared about the delicacies of cooking. Instead of wasting time peeling a potato, he showed how cut off the skin more quickly. It wasted a little bit of potato, but potatoes were ten cents a pound and a person’s time is much more valuable. Some of the recipes I created during my Pasquale years were delicious but unrepeatable because I never remembered which cans I pulled out of the pantry when I made that savory concoction.
Another show was called “The Home Show.” I liked this because they taught me how to do so many things around the house. There was a guy who taught us how to pick good produce, a woman who taught us simple crafts, other regulars who offered advice about decorating, shopping and holiday entertaining. I liked the show because it was directed at average women, mostly stay at home moms because we were the ones home to watch the show when it played, although everyone running a house could find valuable information. “The Home Show” taught me so many things that I still use today.
It takes many different types of teachers to help us learn. There wouldn’t be dozens of different food shows if everyone learned the same way or if everyone had the same abilities. Some people are able to put together a meal for fifteen with all the bells and whistles. They can arrange flowers, create place tags, organize entertainment and choose a different table setting for every occasion. Other people just want to get a can of soup opened and on the table for dinner on a busy evening. Some people want to learn new ways of doing things and are willing to spend time in the kitchen creating the perfect meal. Others want practical suggestions that will give them more time to do the things they love to do.
I recently read an article that reported a comment Martha Stewart made about Rachel Ray. Now, Martha Stewart is the home diva, able to do anything and everything. Her ideas are sometimes expensive, complicated and time consuming, but they make things beautiful. Her advice is often impractical. After all, how many of us really have 42 sets of china from which to choose? Rachel Ray, on the other hand, teaches how to make the most of time (30 minute meals), money (several travel shows help tour on a budget) and talents.
Martha Stewart said that Rachel Ray “doesn’t hold a candle to me.” In an interview, she said that Rachel Ray’s abilities are “not good enough for me” and that she’s an entertainer, not a teacher. They are certainly different, but I think they are both teachers. Some people will learn and model the example of Martha Stewart. Others will model Rachel Ray’s techniques. For what it is worth, Rachel Ray agrees that Martha Stewart’s skills are better. She’s even said she would rather eat Martha’s food. But there is a place for Rachel’s lessons, people who are appreciative of the advice she can give and the recipes she shares. There’s room for both.
There are so many different cooking shows because each one fills a niche. There are different ways of following Jesus because each one fills a need. Within our Church, there are different types of people, each with his or her own gifts, each able to share a point of view about Jesus that builds up the body of Christ. We might not agree that another has any ability to share the Gospel, but they might just be exactly what another Christian needs. So instead of seeing them as less or without gifts, let us remember that God can, and does, use the weakest among us to transform the world. I’m not Martha Stewart. I’m not even Rachel Ray. But I do what I can in the kitchen to feed my family. I’m not a great evangelist or teacher or preacher, but I use my gifts to the best of my ability to share the Gospel with others. You can, too. You have something to offer to the Church and the world.
The following links provide some specially chosen scripture that tell the stories of the Birth and Passion of our Lord as Saviour Jesus Christ, as well as a fictional perspective of the Crucifixion. Spend time in God's Word, read about His life and learn of the wonderful gifts He has for you. Know Jesus Christ and honour Him today. Thanks be to God.
The Story of our Saviour's Passion
The Crucifixion, a fictional perspective
Scripture on this page taken from the American Standard Version of the Holy Bible which belongs to the public domain. Some scripture on this site taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
As you may be aware, I also write a weekly devotional on Wednesday called "MIDWEEK OASIS." For those of you who are familiar with lectionary scripture sources, MIDWEEK OASIS is based on the texts used by millions of Christians each Sunday. The lectionary consists of four texts – an Old Testament passage, a Psalm, a passage from one of the Epistles and a Gospel text. We are now using the lectionary for our A WORD FOR TODAY texts. The way it works: Our week begins on Thursday, with our texts being those that will be used on the Sunday ten days out. Thursday, Friday, Monday and Tuesday we look at each of the texts – an Old Testament lesson, a Psalm, an epistle and a Gospel text, in no particular order. On Wednesday, we'll look at how these texts fit together, how they fit into the church calendar and how they fit into our lives. I use the Revised Common Lectionary as used by the Lutheran Church.
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You are welcome to use these words to share the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. Please remember to give credit to the Author who has given you these gifts, and keep in remembrance the vessel which He used to bring them to you. We pray that this site may be a blessing to you and anyone with whom you've shared it. Peggy Hoppes
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