Pastor Terry Lema's Daily Devotions
  • Home
  • Past Devotions
  • Support
  • Contact
Author

TerryLema

TerryLema

Closed Doors, Open Doors

by TerryLema April 10, 2023

We closed our doors yesterday at The Way Middleton. The next time we open them we will be Christian Faith Center (CFC) -Middleton. Between the closing and re-opening, the building will be modernized, outbuildings will be plumbed, the grounds will be updated.

When we reopen, Pastor Laura will not need to support herself with a second job but will be fulltime staff at CFC.

I honestly did not know what my emotions would be closing those doors (symbolically). I figured going in that I would have a wide range of emotions, from sadness to excitement, perhaps even a bit of regret that I did not do things differently.

As it turned out, the one emotion I did not expect was the one that almost overwhelmed me yesterday afternoon – gratitude.

I felt such gratitude and thanksgiving that I had the privilege of being The Way’s pastor for a little over a decade. The line from the song, “Why Me?” kept running through my mind.

“Tell me, Lord, What did I ever do That was worth lovin’ you For the kindness you’ve shown”

God never told me “Why me?” Just like He never explains “Why me?” every time I think about being His child.

I always remember what I was before Christ Jesus came into my life. I always know what I would be without God’s grace.

“Why me?” I don’t know. I just know I am so grateful to be able to ask Him that question.

April 10, 2023 0 comment
FacebookEmail

He Is Alive! Resurrection sunday

by TerryLema April 9, 2023

Last Sunday Pastor Laura brought her closing message out of the life of Elijah, Faith Through Fire. She talked about Elijah hiding in the cave, after he had run away from Jezebel. As Elijah cowered in a cave, God asked him a question, “What are you doing here Elijah?”

She said that often God asks us questions in order to change our perspective.

It is early Resurrection Sunday morning. The women who had been waiting through the Sabbath to bring their spices and oil to anoint the body of Jesus are finally able to leave. “They came to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared… They went in but did not find the body of the LORD Jesus…They were perplexed….” [Luke 24:1-5a HCSB]

Suddenly they were confronted by two men in dazzling clothes who asked them a question – “Why are you looking for the living among the dead.” [Luke 24:5b]

If ever there was a question that would change perspective! They came seeking the dead. They came to anoint a body. They came grieving and mourning loss and defeat.

Instead, they found life! They found rejoicing. They found victory!

We all must go to the cross. We all must surrender our lives there – not to a dead Savior, but to a Risen LORD. Our perspective has changed for all eternity.

He’s not in a tomb. He is alive. And we are alive with Him! Amen & Amen!

April 9, 2023 0 comment
FacebookEmail

Waiting – Silent Saturday Holy Week

by TerryLema April 8, 2023

Isn’t it interesting that the body of the One who came to fulfill the law, the One who is LORD of the Sabbath, is alone in a borrowed tomb, buried quickly, without the prescribed anointing because the Sabbath was beginning?

Isn’t it interesting that the ones who loved Him are unable to do anything to anoint His body because they are still abiding under the provisions of the LAW of the Sabbath?

Everything has been done, prepared before the Sabbath began. They have the spices and oils to anoint. They visited the tomb before the Sabbath began and know where they will need to go once it ends.

They are simply waiting. Grieving their loss. Waiting for dawn.

Isn’t it interesting that when dawn arrives, all their preparations would be useless. There would be no body to anoint.

Isn’t it interesting that that Saturday was their last Sabbath under the provisions of the law?

Now they would celebrate – not the Sabbath – but the LORD of the Sabbath.

Now they would celebrate not because they had to, but because they want to.

Now they would rest – not because they were told to – but because they could rest forever in the presence of the LORD of the Sabbath.

Isn’t it interesting!

April 8, 2023 0 comment
FacebookEmail

Around the Cross – Good Friday

by TerryLema April 7, 2023

A few years ago, I was studying the groups gathered around the cross of Christ for a message during the Easter Season. The writers of the Gospels give us a glimpse of those gathered there and their reactions.

John 19:25: “Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene.”

Luke 23:27: “A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him.”

 All the Gospels identify the Roman Soldiers, the two criminals crucified alongside Jesus and the Roman Centurion (who would later call Jesus “the Son of God.”) [Mark 15:39]

Matthew 27:41: “In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him.”

John 19:21: “The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him.”

 And John reminds us that he also was there. [John 19:26-27]

There were many differing people and many different reactions around that cross. Some were mocking, sneering, and calling out insults. Others may have been there to see the “show.” And some – the ones who loved Him – were sorrowing, crying, and mourning.

I still remember that as I was studying, I heard the LORD say to me, “Don’t be so sure you would have been in the group that was shedding tears.”

And I realized (stunned!) – I could have been, maybe would have been – one of those mocking and sneering.

Because … it is only by the grace obtained and given by Christ Jesus through His death and resurrection that my heart has been made tender and grateful.

Good Friday—a Good Day to reflect on that.

April 7, 2023 0 comment
FacebookEmail

A Garden, A Prayer, A Choice – Holy Thursday

by TerryLema April 6, 2023

As much as the agony on the cross reaches deep into my soul, there is a passage in Luke that perhaps for me reaches even deeper. It is defined simply in my Bible translation as “The Prayer in the Garden.”

Following the last Supper, Luke tells us Jesus had to deal with a dispute among His disciples over who would be considered the greatest in the kingdom. He had to warn Peter about his coming denial and warn the others to be ready for the trouble ahead.

Then He made His way to the Mount of Olives and there in the Garden of Gethsemane He knelt to pray. He began His prayer with a request – and a decision.  “Father, if You are willing, take this cup away from Me—nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.” [22:39-44 HCSB]

Luke uses a word translated as anguish or agony to describe Jesus at that moment. The word is agonia, which means great fear or terror of death, anxiety, agony. Matthew emphasizes that point. “Then He said to them, ‘My soul is swallowed up in sorrow —to the point of death.’” [26:38 HCSB]

Amid the anguish, even knowing what was directly ahead of Him, Jesus made a choice. He accepted the Father’s will.

From that moment, Jesus’ determination to complete what He had come to do is evident. He is in charge as He stands before His accusers. He is in charge before Pilate. Even as His body fails Him on the cross, even as He suffers pain beyond measure … He forgives the soldiers, He takes care of His mother’s future, He gives the promise of salvation to the thief hanging next to Him and He declares to all that the question of salvation is “FINISHED!” forever.

April 6, 2023 0 comment
FacebookEmail

A Fateful Decision – Holy Week Wednesday

by TerryLema April 5, 2023

Matthew Chapter 26 reports that on Wednesday, Judas would solve the problem the chief priests and elders faced (when and where to have Jesus arrested). They were conspiring together, trying to find a way to arrest “in a treacherous way and kill Him [Jesus].” [vs 5 HCSB]

While the actual betrayal would not take place for another day, Judas made a fateful decision. Judas would, for 30 pieces of silver, betray Jesus as soon as he could find a “good opportunity.” [vs 14-16 HCSB]

After walking with Jesus for years, Judas for whatever reason, chose to join the conspiracy of the chief priests and elders. He chose to surrender his teacher, his friend to those who hated Him. When the actual betrayal took place, Judas identified Jesus with a kiss. He told the mob sent by the chief priests and elders “The One I kiss, He’s the One; arrest Him!” [26:47 HCSB]

Jesus’ response to the kiss of betrayal? “’Friend,’ Jesus asked him, ‘why have you come?’” [26:50 HCSB]

Friend.

As I think of this betrayal, I am reminded of Psalm 55. David, too, was betrayed by a friend, Ahithophel. He wrote of his anguish. “Now it is not an enemy who insults me … it is not a foe who rises up against me …. But it is you … my companion and good friend!  We used to have close fellowship; we walked with the crowd into the house of God.” [v12-14 HCSB]

I wonder if Jesus thought of Psalm 55 as Judas betrayed Him with a kiss?

April 5, 2023 0 comment
FacebookEmail

Holy Week Tuesday: A Conspiracy, An Anointing, A Betrayal

by TerryLema April 4, 2023

Matthew Chapter 26 begins with three events, a conspiracy, an anointing, and a betrayal.

The chief priests and Jewish elders met with the High Priest on Tuesday following the triumphal entry. They were worried about the popularity of Jesus. Together they formed a conspiracy to arrest Jesus “in a treacherous way and kill Him.” [vs 5 HCSB]

They decided to wait a while, afraid to arrest Him during the Passover festival. They were afraid the people would riot in defense of this One who had recently been proclaimed “the Son of David,” the blessed One who “comes in the name of the LORD.” [21:9]

While the chief priests, elders and High Priest were conspiring to murder Jesus, one of the most beautiful and compassionate events in the life of Jesus was taking place, His anointing in the house of Simon the Leper. [vs6-13]

Almost always people came to Jesus with an underlying motive. Some had a need. Some begged for healing. Some peppered Him with questions. Others confronted Him, arguing and hoping to catch Him saying something they could use against Him. Even His own disciples had their eyes on a kingdom and argued who would be greatest there.

This woman came to minister to Him. She brought an alabaster jar of very expensive fragrant oil. She anointed His head. She asked nothing in return. When others around Him became indignant in what they considered a waste. Jesus said, “she has prepared Me for burial,” and told them the world would remember what she did for Him.

For Him. She gave what she had for Him.

April 4, 2023 0 comment
FacebookEmail

Blessed! Part Two

by TerryLema April 3, 2023

I wrote yesterday about being blessed by God. Blessed is a word Christians use often because we see it often in our Bibles. But God’s blessings are far deeper and more profound than the way blessing is described in our contemporary thinking (as enjoying happiness, bringing pleasure, contentment, or good fortune.)

In Scripture, blessing is often linked to endurance and perseverance. It is not dependent upon circumstances and can be found even amid poverty, sorrow and other like conditions.

When I think of being blessed by God, I think primarily of three things. God’s love. God’s forgiveness. God’s inheritance for us.

God’s Love: “Who (what) can separate us from the love of Christ …. For I am persuaded that not even death or life, angels or rulers, things present or things to come, hostile powers, height or depth, or any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our LORD.” [Romans 8:35-39 HCSB]

God’s Forgiveness: “We have redemption in Him through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.” [Ephesians 1:7 HCSB]

God’s Inheritance: “He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” [1 Peter 3-4 HCSB]

I am blessed by God. I am loved. I am forgiven. And I have a future that nothing in this world can destroy.

And so do you. 

We are Blessed.

April 3, 2023 0 comment
FacebookEmail

Blessed! Part One

by TerryLema April 2, 2023

I woke up the other morning thinking about being blessed by God. “Blessed” is a word Christians use frequently. We come by it naturally as the Scriptures speak of blessings and being blessed a lot in both the Old and the New Testaments.

Merriam-Webster defines blessed with phrases like, “Enjoying happiness,” “bringing pleasure, contentment, or good fortune.” We all surely want happiness, pleasure, contentment, and good fortune in this life, but is that the way we understand being blessed in the Scriptures?

The Bible speaks of being blessed differently from how the world thinks of it. One the primary passages on being blessed in found in the Beatitudes. In the Beatitudes blessing is linked to poverty, mourning, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, and even persecution.

To understand God’s blessings is to understand that they affect the inner part of us. They are not dependent upon circumstances. God’s spiritual blessings are a deep abiding joy that cannot be shaken by lack, sorrow, deprivation, persecution, war or any other trial or difficulty we face in this life.

James reminds us that “blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the LORD has promised to those who love him.” [1:12]

I doubt we would find, “perseveres under trial” as part of the definition of “blessed” in our contemporary dictionaries, but we find it, and phrases like it, in the Scriptures.

When I think of being blessed by God, I think of three things. Tomorrow!

April 2, 2023 0 comment
FacebookEmail

Almost Four Years

by TerryLema April 1, 2023

In June or July 2019, I noticed changes in my body. I was walking three miles a day, no pain, lots of energy. I was 72 years old. But suddenly, in the space of a couple weeks, I could not walk even half a mile, I was stiff, fatigued, and pain was blooming in various parts of my torso. By September I had a diagnosis, Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR). Early the following year, they added a second auto-immune disease Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA). My life changed.

There was always the hope of remission. PMR can go into remission after two to five years. I am almost at four years and so far, PMR and GCA are daily companions. Doctors are hoping that the medications I take will keep them under control, but the medications also have side effects that can disturb daily life.

I realized at 76 years of age, I no longer have the hope that “I’ll get back to normal,” and that one day “I’ll get better,” and able to do what I once did. These diseases have taken a toll on my body and even if they go into remission, even if I no longer must do the infusions or take the medications, my body will never go back to what it once was.

That is disheartening. It means that every day will have some kind of struggle against pain or fatigue. It means that every day I will have to fight to do what I used to take for granted.

Still … I am grateful. I have an empathy for others with chronic pain or debilitation that I never had before.

Still … I am hopeful. I serve the God of Hope. “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” [Romans 15:13 HCSB]

I believe and serve the God of Hope. He has filled my heart with joy and peace. Hope, joy, peace overflow in me because the power of the Holy Spirit remains in me! And one day I will stand strong again in the presence of my Father God because of all that Christ Jesus has done for and in me. That is what I will focus on today! Amen & Amen

April 1, 2023 0 comment
FacebookEmail
  • 1
  • …
  • 90
  • 91
  • 92
  • 93
  • 94
  • …
  • 294

Comment notes:

We have disabled comments on the blog, but invite you to join our Facebook page and share your comments.

Pastor Terry Lema

Pastor Terry Lema has been married for 53 years, and has 3 children and 3 grandsons. Terry graduated from Trinity Bible College, and and recently retired as Lead Pastor at The Way Church in Middleton, Idaho.

  • Facebook
  • Email

@2022 Pastor Terry Lema. All Right Reserved. By: Rodli Web Strategies


Back To Top
Pastor Terry Lema's Daily Devotions
  • Home
  • Past Devotions
  • Support
  • Contact