Hello and happy summer, my dears! We are out of school and living our best summer dreams so far— fire pits, pickleball, pool pass, & popsicles, oh my! We don’t have a lot planned the next two weeks before a busy June and July so I am soaking in all the minutes with my kids and trying to get caught up on my reading and writing and podcasting things that have taken a back seat for the last month or so. Oh, and I spend a significant time watering and talking to my beautiful flowers in my front yard. The kids often say, “Mom are you going out to wet your plants again?!” Haha!
Our seasons are sacred, friends: a very gift from God.
Seasons change, coming and going at regular intervals, reminding us we are but a shifting shadow here, pointing us to God-Incarnate, Jesus Christ, who also experienced a life of seasons while He walked this earth. It’s His model that anchors me in these times of transitions and spurs me on to embrace the sacredness of each spot He has me. Some sure don’t feel holy, I’ll testify to that. But, God in His goodness and grace, tells us that they are. The Great Storyteller, Author and Perfecter of our faith, continues weaving His story with every unwasted strand of ours.
There are seasons of people-heavy things.
Matthew 4:25- Large crowds followed him wherever he went—people from Galilee, the Ten Towns, Jerusalem, from all over Judea, and from east of the Jordan River.
John 6:2- A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick.
There are seasons of turmoil and difficulty.
John 11:33-36- When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
Matthew 16:8-12- Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? 9 Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? 11 How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
There are seasons of testing and temptation.
Matthew 4:1-2- Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
John 19:9-10- He took Jesus back into the headquarters again and asked him, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave no answer. 10 “Why don’t you talk to me?” Pilate demanded. “Don’t you realize that I have the power to release you or crucify you?”
There are seasons of growth and great reward.
Matthew 16:13-19- When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
14 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”
15 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. 18 Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”
There are seasons of persecution and trials.
Matthew 26:47-49 And even as Jesus said this, Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived with a crowd of men armed with swords and clubs. They had been sent by the leading priests and elders of the people. 48 The traitor, Judas, had given them a prearranged signal: “You will know which one to arrest when I greet him with a kiss.” 49 So Judas came straight to Jesus. “Greetings, Rabbi!” he exclaimed and gave him the kiss.
John 19:1-3- Then Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. 2 The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him. 3 “Hail! King of the Jews!” they mocked, as they slapped him across the face.
Matthew 26:69-75- Meanwhile, Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant girl came over and said to him, “You were one of those with Jesus the Galilean.”
70 But Peter denied it in front of everyone. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
71 Later, out by the gate, another servant girl noticed him and said to those standing around, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72 Again Peter denied it, this time with an oath. “I don’t even know the man,” he said.
73 A little later some of the other bystanders came over to Peter and said, “You must be one of them; we can tell by your Galilean accent.”
74 Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know the man!” And immediately the rooster crowed.
75 Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he went away, weeping bitterly.
And there are seasons of rest and renewal.
Genesis 2:1-3- So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. 2 On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.
Matthew 14:23- After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.
Mark 6:31- Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat.
Friend, whatever season you find yourself in today, I am praying you know it has purpose. Let us all, with open hands, release our own agendas, ideas, control over what we think should be, to the One most capable of handling it all.
What I’m Reading:
(*each book linked to purchase @Books-A-Million, an affiliate partner!)
Nonfiction Morning Read:
Gentle & Lowly by Dane Ortlund - This is one to take s-l-o-w-l-y; perfect for a summer morning. Beautifully written and an incredible read so far.
Afternoon Poolside Read:
Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan - This is a wonderful look in the behind the scenes of Joy Davidman & C.S. Lewis’s friendship and love story. I’m a few chapters in and am hooked!
After a busy spring retreat season and most recently, a time of rest, we are nearing a full June schedule! Please be praying for us and our families as we prepare to take to the road again! Our desire is to serve these communities well! Grateful for your prayers over these events!
June 5-6 - Pleasant Point Community Church, Ellsworth, NE - CLICK HERE (Facebook Event) or HERE (website & registration) for anyone in the Chadron, Gordon, or Ellsworth, Nebraska area!
June 11-12 - Northwest Community Church, Malcolm, NE - for any of my Lincoln friends; Malcolm is only a 20 minute drive! CLICK HERE to register!
June 13-15 - Jordan Valley Girls Camp - for any young lady in grades 7-12 in the eastern Iowa region— CLICK HERE to stay updated
August 20-21 - Mitchell Berean Church, Mitchell, NE
August 27-28 - North Pointe, Lincoln, NE
September 17-18 - Colby Berean, Colby, KS
October 8-9- Marysville Berean, Marysville, KS
November 5-6 - Crete Berean, Crete, NE
December 3-4 - Sonrise Church, Torrington, WY
March 4-5 - Imperial Berean, Imperial, NE
January 14-15, 2022 - Columbia, Kentucky
April 29-30, 2022 - Grenada, California
For 2022 booking information, please email dianemathis85@gmail.com!
Podcast Parables | Season 4 | GEN1 | Cornelius
Around these parts, we love exploring and interacting with Scripture and encourage you to do the same. All of these stories are taken straight from the pages of the Word, with Biblical integrity and historical accuracy held at highest priority but there is permission to fill in the blanks of what was not written and to imagine what might have been. So, welcome, glad you’re here! Today, we will take a look at Cornelius, a Roman centurion, and labeled the first GENTILE, or non-Jewish convert to The Way. James E. Kiefer says, “In New Testament times, an estimated ten per cent of the population of the Roman Empire consisted of God-fearers, Gentiles who recognized that the pagan belief in many gods and goddesses, who according to the myths about them were given to adultery, treachery, intrigue, and the like, was not a religion for a thoughtful and moral worshipper, and who had accordingly embraced an ethical monotheism--belief in One God, who had created the world, and who was the upholder of the Moral Law. Although only a few of them took the step of formal conversion to Judaism, undergoing circumcision and accepting the obligations of keeping the food laws and ritual laws of Moses and his rabbinical interpreters, most of them attended synagogue services regularly.” 1
This is the story of Cornelius, found in Acts Chapter 10. Enjoy.
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