Jane VanOsdol

Have you ever felt stuck in a pattern in your life? Maybe it’s an attitude or a habit that has become a stumbling block to you. Well, I know how that is because I’m there myself right now. It can be discouraging to be stuck in the middle of something you know God is calling you out on. You want to change it right NOW, but still find yourself stuck. So, what do we do?

With me, it started a few weeks ago. I went to a morning retreat at my church called Unplugged. It was held at a local retreat center. It was all about getting away from your routine and getting quiet before God. I was looking forward to this time and went with a few ideas of what I wanted to focus on and pray about. I soon found out that God had other ideas.

After the initial time together, we broke from the group, and I found a quiet place to sit before God. Before I had much of a chance to start in on MY prayers, a word kept popping into my head and that word was joy. I tried to ignore that word, but it kept popping back into my mind and wouldn’t leave me alone. I finally surrendered my agenda to God’s and turned my focus to figuring out what God wanted me to learn. Actually, it was kind of in the back of my mind already anyway. Not joy, but the opposite of it. For about a 1 1/2 years, I’ve been dealing with a health issue of vertigo.  While it’s not life threatening, it makes me very sick when it hits me, and I am unable to function for about a day.

What God is showing me is that I am also letting this illness rob me of my joy. I didn’t really want to face this, but God was telling me it was time to deal with it. It wasn’t like the kind of sadness that hits you hard when a loved one dies suddenly or a catastrophe of another kind hits; rather, my joy was being snuffed out a little at a time, almost without me realizing it.

God led me to a verse that morning:  “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11.

Prayer Labyrinth at Fatima Retreat Center in Indy

I realized God didn’t say “In perfect health is fullness of joy.” He said “In My presence is fullness of joy.” One of the things that I took away from that retreat was that I need to pray for my attitude so that I will learn what it means to be joyful even when dealing with a difficult situation.

I am not there yet, but I am letting God teach me how to do this. I hope this encourages you if you find yourself in the middle of a difficult situation or time in your life.  Ask God to show you how to respond to it and what you need to learn from it. I’m right there with you.

Pray on!

St. Augustine Easter Morning Sunrise

But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.

Very early on Easter morning Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome brought spices to Jesus’ tomb so that they might anoint His body. Can you imagine the surprise, the shock, the fear they must have felt in finding Jesus missing from His tomb and in His place a heavenly messenger with the stunning news that Jesus had risen from the dead?! They were the first to receive this news, and yet they were so afraid that the Bible tells us they fled from the tomb and said nothing to anyone. I am sure they were trying to piece together in their minds what they had just seen–and not seen.

Later, a distraught Mary Magdalene is back searching for Jesus when He appears to her. How touching that the first person He chooses to appear to is the one whom He had cast seven demons out of. I think Mary Magdalene was clinging to her faith in Jesus despite the circumstances. She  had been set free from such bondage; she above all others had to realize that no earthly power could have performed the miraculous healing that she received.

Now the word starts to spread that Jesus is alive, but Jesus’ disciples don’t believe it until they see Him for themselves. Soon they begin to realize that the plan is much bigger than they ever imagined–a heavenly kingdom, not an earthly reign. And they will be the ones to start spreading the good news.

I love the joy and power of Easter morning. Because of Easter morning we have hope. Hope that we can change. That we can be set free. That we can forgive. That we can love. That we can be forgiven and healed and restored to the relationship with God we were meant to have.

This Easter morning found me on the beach in St. Augustine basking in a beautiful sunrise while the chorus of “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today” wafted down the beach to me from an outdoor service a mile away. It’s easy in this setting to sense the magic of Easter. But what’s important is that this message is for every person in every place, from a beach in Florida to a slum in Calcutta to a prison in China to wherever you are, as you are. Don’t wait until you “get your act together” to come to Jesus, because none of us ever can without His help. That’s what He came for and that’s why He died and that’s why He rose again.

Happy Easter and pray on!

Jane VanOsdol

Jane VanOsdol

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded himself. After that He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. John 13:3-5

So many things happened on this day. Jesus and His disciples celebrated the Passover meal together, which we know as the Last Supper. During that time Jesus  reinterpreted the bread and the wine of this meal as pertaining to His body and blood in light of the sacrifice He was about to make.

Jane VanOsdol

And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table. Matthew 26: 6-7

As I look at her example, she causes me to think about my own reaction to and for Jesus. Am I as brave as she was? Would I do something for Jesus if it caused others to look down on me or think I was weird? Do I care more about Him than about my own reputation?

One brave woman whose example is forever captured in the Bible has given me much to think about this Easter week.

Jane VanOsdol

During the week before Jesus’ death, His authority was constantly challenged. It wasn’t challenged so much by the Jewish people as it was by the religious leaders:  the Pharisees, Herodians, Sadducees and the scribes. We can see this in the following example.

Jane VanOsdol

As we begin this holy week of Easter, I’d like to focus on some of the activities that happened between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. I’m not necessarily addressing them in the order they happened; just reflecting on these events and why they seem important.

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Mark 11:15-17 (Chronological Study Bible NKJV)

Well, first of all it helps to understand a bit about the temple. The temple where the Jews worshipped had four different courts. Each court was restricted to only certain people who could worship in it. The large outer court that everyone could attend was the Court of the Gentiles. This was the only court that the non-Jews could worship God in. The next court was the Court of Women. Both Jewish women and men were allowed here. The third court was the Court of Israel. Only Jewish men were allowed to worship in this court. Finally, the most restricted court was the Court of Priests. Only the Jewish priests could enter to offer sacrifices for the people.

Look for another Easter week topic tomorrow and until then, pray on!