Thoughts for the Day:
How 'bout a SHOUT-OUT for the women of the Bible!!! (Remember our study on last year's ski retreat?)
Our passage today begins with a note about the women who followed and helped Jesus and the disciples...Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and others. Verse three amazes me: "these women were helping to support them out of their own means." Wow, even in the old days, it was the WOMEN who were stepping up and making things happen!
What's even more amazing is the one little sentence about Joanna. She was the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's househould. The SAME Herod who had already locked up John the Baptist in jail (and would later behead John). What a great risk Joanna was taking to support Jesus. Surely that put her own life in danger.
Each of these women had experienced a life changing encounter with Jesus. Using the image of the parable of the sower (v.15), you could say that they were GOOD SOIL.
As you examine your own life during Lent, what kind of "soil" are you?
How do you respond to the seed of God's word?
Fasting Update:
As you know, Ash Wednesday was the first day of Lent. In the Catholic tradition, people wear a cross outlined in ashes on their foreheads. They attend a special worship service in the morning and then wear the ashes ALL DAY long...to school, to work, to the store, etc.
Over the weekend, I read in the paper that media mogul Ted Turner (the head honcho of TNT and TBS cable stations) had called some of his employees "Jesus Freaks" because they had come in to work with ashes on their foreheads.
Some of your friends may wonder why we, as Baptists, are observing Lent. One answer is that this is simply a spiritual exercise for us and a way to help us prepare our hearts for Easter.
Some of your friends might also think you are a "Jesus Freak" because of your fasting. I've gotten some funny looks when I tried to explain why I was not eating out during Lent.
So what do you think about being a "Jesus Freak"? (Cue the DC Talk music...)
Have a great day!
- Kelly

Flashback Picture for the Day