Ministries

Chain of Lakes Videos

Select a link below to view recent past videos of worship services. For all past worship services go to https://vimeo.com/chainoflakes/videos Don’t forget to also check out Pastor Paul’s blog

December 3, 2023
“The Gift that Keeps on Giving”
Video shown above

November 26, 2023
Thankfulness

November 19, 2023
“Growing Young” and Service of Healing

November 12, 2023
“Growing Young”

November 5, 2023
Guest preacher Charlie Clark – “The Road to Health is Paved with Good Intentions”

October 29, 2023
Conclusion of “Dunamis – Living with the Power of Christ”

October 22, 2023
“Dunamis – Living with the Power of Christ”

October 15, 2023
“Judge Not – Love Instead” Guest preacher Rev. Denise Dunbar-Perkins

October 8, 2023
“Life Giver” – Conclusion of the series

October 1, 2023
“Life Giver” – Experiencing the Holy

Daily Devotions

Comments about the devotion can be emailed to pastor@colpres.org

Daily Devotions December 4 - December 9, 2023

Monday, December 4
Luke 1:8-18
Once when he was serving as priest before God during his section’s turn of duty, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to offer incense. Now at the time of the incense offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified, and fear overwhelmed him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I know that this will happen? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.”
This past Sunday Pastor Paul began an Advent series called, “The Gift that keeps on giving.” The incarnation or the entrance of Jesus into the world was a gift. And this gift was a surprise. This week we will reflect on stories of surprise to see what they teach us about our own faith.
Zechariah was not expecting to encounter an angel when he was performing his duties in the Temple. And he certainly didn’t understand how he and his wife, Elizabeth, could have a child. They were both too old! The pronouncement by the angel, Gabriel, to him was a surprise. He was so surprised that he didn’t understand how it could happen. We can look at surprise in several ways. Some of us might not like to be surprised. We might like to have control over the events of our life and being surprised puts us out of control.
We can also see surprise through the lens of awe and wonder. When we are surprised, we might think or say, “I love surprises because I get to experience something that I could have not imagined happening.” Accepting a surprise can be a spiritual task. We recognize that we are not in control of everything in our life. Zechariah could not understand how this surprise announcement by the angel Gabriel could happen.
How do you view surprises? Do you embrace them as a reflection of awe and wonder, or are you more like Zechariah—not understanding how a surprise can happen? Please share.
Tuesday, December 5
Genesis 15:1-6
After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “You have given me no offspring, so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.” But the word of the Lord came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.” He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed the Lord, and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.
Abram (his name hadn’t been changed to Abraham yet) couldn’t comprehend how he and his wife, Sarai, would have a child. They were old and Sarai was barren. But God had told Abram that his descendants would outnumber the number of stars in the sky. We don’t see the word, “surprise” in this story, but Abram had to be surprised when God told him about the number of his descendants in verse 5. Receiving a surprise at times is an act of faith. We have to accept something when we don’t understand how it will happen and we might doubt if it will happen.
The end verse in this story reveals Abram’s faith. “And [Abram] believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to [Abram] as righteousness.” Abram might not have understood how it could happen that the number of descendants that he and Sarai would have would outnumber the stars in the night sky. But he believed that it could happen. He was able to accept the surprise.
Have you had a moment when an event happened that was quite improbable, even surprising? Were you able to accept what had happened. Please share.
Wednesday, December 6
Genesis 21:1-7
The Lord dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had promised. Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to his son whom Sarah bore him. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. Now Sarah said, “God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.” And she said, “Who would ever have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
Sarah—her name had now been changed—was willing to embrace the surprise of Isaac’s birth. She noted in verse seven, “Who would ever have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.” Sarah was delighted by the surprise. She was laughing with joy about what had happened. She probably didn’t understand how this could happen, but her lack of understanding didn’t prevent her from appreciating the surprise.
Can you remember a time when you were delighted by a surprise? Perhaps you laughed with joy like Sarah did. Please share.

Thursday, December 7
1 Samuel 3:1-9
Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room;the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.Then the Lord called, “Samuel! Samuel!” and he said, “Here I am!”and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down. The Lord called again, “Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore, Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’ ”So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
Samuel knew that the Lord was calling him as he had heard God’s voice, but it took Eli longer to accept what Samuel said was happening. In the first verse of this story, we read that the word of the Lord was rare, and visions were not widespread. It had to be quite a surprise for Eli to accept what was happening. Until he knew what was going on, he had a hard time accepting that God had in store. The word of the Lord was so rare that Eli was surprised when it happened. How ironic for a seasoned, religious leader to be led by a young child.
On Sunday Pastor Paul talked about cynicism. The story doesn’t share that Eli was cynical, but we can connect the dots. Sometimes when people get old, they became much more cynical about life. They’ve experienced quite a lot in their lifetime; some good and certainly some bad. They might look at an event and say something like, “been there done that.” Being surprised is a refutation of cynicism. Because to be surprised we must accept the possibility of the unknown.

Do you find yourself sharing often, “been there done that.” Please share.
Friday, December 8
Matthew 28:1-10
After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers and sisters to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
Even in Advent we can learn from the story of the resurrection. The women who came to the tomb in Matthew’s writing of the resurrection certainly experienced surprises. First, they encountered an earthquake when they came to the tomb. Second, they encountered an angel of the Lord. The intensity of what was happening was too much for the guards. They fainted in fear. Mary Magdalene stayed present. She had to have been surprised, but the surprises that she encountered didn’t prevent her from acting.
Sometimes we can be overwhelmed by surprises. Life goes in a way that we don’t expect, and it is just very hard to process all of it. We are immobilized—like the guards in the story who fainted in fear at what was happening. Have you had a time when you were overwhelmed by a surprise? Please share. And if so, do not hesitate to share your story with God in your prayer time.
Saturday, December 9
Acts 18:5-12
When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with proclaiming the word, testifying to the Jews that the Messiah was Jesus. When they opposed and reviled him, in protest he shook the dust from his clothes and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the gentiles.” Then he left the synagogue and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God; his house was next door to the synagogue. Crispus, the official of the synagogue, became a believer in the Lord, together with all his household, and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul became believers and were baptized. One night the Lord said to Paul in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to harm you, for there are many in this city who are my people.” He stayed there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal.
God gave Paul a vision for what to do. The setting of this story was full of tense situations and people in the story were living with tension. God told Paul what to do in this vision Paul was to keep on speaking that Jesus was the Messiah. He didn’t need to be concerned about the reaction to his message as God would help him.
That God showed up at this moment in Paul’s ministry had to be a surprise to Paul. But he didn’t miss a beat. He did what God wanted and achieved terrific success.
Have you had a moment where you receive a vision from God? Was it a surprise? Please share.

Daily Devotions November 27 - December 2, 2023

Monday, November 27
Luke 17:11-19
On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten men with a skin disease approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’s feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? So where are the other nine? Did none of them return to give glory to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”

It’s hard to know why one leper returned to give thanks and nine lepers did not. It’s worth wondering if each of us gives thanks ten percent of the time.
Jesus was frustrated by the nine who did not return to give thanks. And we can detect a hint of surprise that the person who did return was also a Samaritan. Even though they came from the same tradition when Jesus lived, Samaritans and Jews had veered far from each other in what they believed.
When something goes well, what is our first response to that going well? Are we surprised, happy, do we minimize what happened. What if we train ourselves to say and think, “Thank you.”
Developing thanks as a first response is a healthy way to live. Doing this doesn’t negate our own role in having something go well, but our response is one of humility.
Perhaps the leper who gave thanks was more humble than the other nine.
Is it hard for you to say “thank you” when something goes well? Please share.

Tuesday, November 28
Psalm 116:1-11, 17-19
I love the Lord because he has heard
my voice and my supplications.
Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
The snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.
Then I called on the name of the Lord,
“O Lord, I pray, save my life!”
Gracious is the Lord and righteous;
our God is merciful.
The Lord protects the simple;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
Return, O my soul, to your rest,
for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
For you have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling.
I walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.
I kept my faith, even when I said,
“I am greatly afflicted”;
I said in my consternation,
“Everyone is a liar.”
I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice
and call on the name of the Lord.
I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people,
in the courts of the house of the Lord,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!

It’s easy to go into a spiral of negativity when something goes wrong. Most of us can remember a time when life did not go the way we wanted. Because of what happened we looked into the future and made all sorts of negative projections.
Giving thanks means we don’t give into these negative projections. We can see them and believe that they can happen. But we hold fast to God and what God can do.
The writer of this Psalm was going through a very difficult time. He wrote in verse three that he was very close to death. Because of being close to death he had experienced great distress and anguish.
Perhaps the only source of comfort for the writer of this Psalm was God. He called out to God for help. And the response was beautiful—his life was saved.
Sometimes our hope centers exclusively on God. Even when everything around is bringing us down, we can remain hopeful because of what God has done.
The hope that God can deliver is reason enough to give thanks. Perhaps a prayer to share today is, “I thank you because of the hope I have experienced from you.”
Have you had a time when God did something in your life that surprised you? Please share.

Wednesday, November 29
Psalm 136:1-9, 26
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
O give thanks to the God of gods,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
O give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
who alone does great wonders,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
who by understanding made the heavens,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
who spread out the earth on the waters,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
who made the great lights,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
the sun to rule over the day,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
the moon and stars to rule over the night,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
O give thanks to the God of heaven,
for his steadfast love endures forever.

If you have some extra time read all twenty-six verses of this Psalm. It’s a remarkable statement that can lead us to give thanks. At the end of the Psalm the writer of the Psalm cannot help but give thanks to God.
This Psalm can lead us to reflect on giving thanks for everything. It takes practice, but over time we can train ourselves to give thanks for what goes well in our life. But can we give thanks for events that don’t go well?
And certainly, some events that don’t go well are tragedies. We aren’t glib enough to give thanks for abuse or injustice or terrible pain. Giving thanks for everything does not mean we are sadists.
But when suffering happens or when life does not go the way we want, we have an opportunity to respond. And sometimes those opportunities bring out the best in who we are. And for this we can give thanks.
So though we don’t necessarily give thanks for pain, we can give thanks for the opportunity that we have to respond.
This Psalm gives us an example of how this can work.
Could we see ourselves giving thanks for all the opportunities we have in life? Please share.

Thursday, November 30
Psalm 92:1-4
It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High,
to declare your steadfast love in the morning
and your faithfulness by night,
to the music of the lute and the harp,
to the melody of the lyre.
For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

The superscription for this Psalm says it is a song for the Sabbath Day. We can imagine people singing this song to God in worship on the Sabbath. This is the only Psalm of the 150 Psalms where a superscription of “A Song for the Sabbath Day” is written.
Our worship of God is a way to express thanks. When we gather with others, we offer the community’s thanks to God for all that we have received.
Take some time to write out all that you are thankful for in 2023. Make a list of ten events that have happened in 2023 for which you give thanks. When you’ve completed the list read these four verses from Psalm 92 again.
Would you share a few reasons for which you give thanks in 2023? Please share.

Friday, December 1
Galatians 5:16-26
Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.

In this passage Paul contrasted the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. The fruits of the Spirit come from out of our heart. The seeds of these fruits are our own thanks and gratitude.
Look at the difference between the person described in the first six verses and the person described in the last four verses. We have a choice about which person we will be. The choice starts with an orientation that we take towards thanks. When we are filled with thanks for all we have it’s easier to be full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. When we focus on what we lack, it’s easier to commit what Paul calls works of the flesh.
Living with the fruit of the Spirit takes training. Our first response at times to life might reflect the works of the flesh. But we can train ourselves to recognize what is happening and then orient ourselves toward the Fruit of the Spirit.
What do you find helpful in responding to life with the Fruit of the Spirit? Please share.

Saturday, December 2
Psalm 105:1-6
O give thanks to the Lord; call on his name; make known his deeds among the peoples. Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually. Remember the wonderful works he has done, his miracles and the judgments he has uttered, O offspring of his servant Abraham, children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

At the start of this Psalm Israel shared thanks to God. For the rest of the Psalm the writer of the Psalm recited the history of Israel. We can imagine these words being shared in a worship service. The history of the people prompted them to give thanks.
We can do the same for our own lives. Take some time to reflect or even write down the three ways you are thankful for what has happened in the last 24 hours. What would they be? Take some time to thoughtfully come up with this list.
Then when you have your list, shower God with thanks. Let God know how deeply you appreciate each of the events.
What are three reasons you are thankful for something that has happened in the last 24 hours? Please share.

Daily Devotions November 20 - 25, 2023

Monday, November 20
Genesis 1:26-27, 31
Then God said, “Let us make humans in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over the cattle and over all the wild animals of the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” So God created humans in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them… God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Some of this week’s devotions have been shared in previous devotions on healing. This past Sunday, Chain of Lakes shared a healing service. The service was part of an emphasis on healing that is taking place right now in the congregation.
As humans each of us is created in the image of God. We all carry the “imago dei” or the image of God within us. One spiritual exercise each of us could do is to look in the mirror and say, “I am carrying the image of God within me. I reflect God.”
This really is a vision of who God wants and desires for us to be. We carry with us the “divine stuff.” Of course, this does not mean that we are God or that we are to act like a God. What it does mean is we reflect God’s goodness and mercy and compassion with others. The ultimate reality is we express and share and reflect God to others.
This might seem a lot for us to process, but God will help us. Our task is to reflect what is already inside our inner spirit.
This is the vision of healing. The vision is that we come back to fully expressing and fully reflecting the image of God.
You might imagine a prism reflecting many different colors as the light shines through it. This is us! We carry the image of God within us, and when the light of God is reflected through us people can experience a picture of beauty.
What does it mean to you that you are created in the image of God? How does this make an impact in your life and the life of people around you? Please share.
Tuesday, November 21
Exodus 15:22-26
Then Moses ordered Israel to set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went for three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter. That is why it was called Marah.And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” He cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood; he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the Lord made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he put them to the test. He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in his sight, and give heed to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians, for I am the Lord who heals you.”
What image of God do you carry with you? When someone asks you to share the picture of God that you have, what does that picture look like?
Hopefully you envision God as a healer. In this story the Israelites had just escaped the onrushing Egyptians. The Israelites had made it through alive. It was a glorious time—one of the most powerful experiences of anyone that is expressed in the Old Testament.
Right after this powerful story the people go without water for three days. Then when they came upon water it was bitter. Moses cried out to God and God showed them a piece of wood. When the wood was in the water the water was sweet. The people could live.
This is what God wants to do in our lives—God wants us to bring sweetness into our reality.
Do we see God as someone who wants to bring sweetness and ultimately healing? Is this an image of God that you carry with you? Please share your thoughts about God being sweet.
Wednesday, November 22
Luke 6:17-19
He came down with them and stood on a level place with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases, and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And everyone in the crowd was trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.
Many times in the New Testament Jesus would have large numbers of people come to him with a desire to experience healing. We don’t know how many people came to Jesus in this story. It wouldn’t be far-fetched to think that five or even ten thousand people approached Jesus.
The people wanted to experience healing from their diseases.
Jesus offered much more than physical healing. He helped those who were suffering spiritually and emotionally. Jesus offered healing to those who were troubled with unclean spirits. (Luke 6:18)
It’s important to note the difference between being cured and being healed. The people weren’t cured of the physical maladies that they experienced—they were healed. They were literally released from the pain that these wounds caused. The pain of these wounds might happen again. But for this moment the people were healed.
Can you imagine what it would have been like to be part of that crowd? Share what you think the experience would have been like.
Thursday, November 23
Luke 8:40-56
Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. Just then there came a man named Jairus, a leader of the synagogue. He fell at Jesus’s feet and began pleading with him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. As he went, the crowds pressed in on him. Now there was a woman who had been suffering from a flow of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all she had on physicians, no one could cure her. She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, and immediately her flow of blood stopped. Then Jesus asked, “Who touched me?” When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds are hemming you in and pressing against you.” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I noticed that power had gone out from me.” When the woman realized that she could not remain hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him and how she had been immediately healed. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.” While he was still speaking, someone came from the synagogue leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the teacher any longer.” When Jesus heard this, he replied, “Do not be afraid. Only believe, and she will be saved.” When he came to the house, he did not allow anyone to enter with him, except Peter, John, and James and the child’s father and mother.
Everyone was weeping and grieving for her, but he said, “Do not cry, for she is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But taking her by the hand, he called out, “Child, get up!” Her spirit returned, and she stood up at once, and he directed them to give her something to eat. Her parents were astounded, but he ordered them to tell no one what had happened.
Happy Thanksgiving! This was the Scripture from this past Sunday.
Jesus ultimately healed two people in this story. In the middle of this story, we hear about a woman who intentionally touched the garment of Jesus, so she could be healed. She had lived with a hemorrhage for twelve years.
This is a long time to suffer with this physical malady.
When Jesus knew what had happened, he told the woman that her faith had made her well. This is a statement that Jesus shared quite often in the New Testament. Her faith in Jesus had brought her to the place where she wanted to touch his garment and experience healing.
This is more than a story of magic. It’s a story of the woman’s faith in Jesus. Her faith led her to seek out Jesus. She never gave up on the possibility that she could experience healing.
Often when people suffer, they turn away from Jesus. In this case, even twelve years of suffering did not turn the woman away from God or Jesus.
What are your thoughts on the example of the woman? Please share.

Friday, November 24
Luke 5:17-26
One day while he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem were sitting nearby, and the power of the Lord was with him to heal. Just then some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a stretcher. They were trying to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, but finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down on the stretcher through the tiles into the middle of the crowd in front of Jesus. When he saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” Then the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, “Who is this who is speaking blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” When Jesus perceived their questionings, he answered them, “Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the one who was paralyzed— “I say to you, stand up and take your stretcher and go to your home.” Immediately he stood up before them, took what he had been lying on, and went to his home, glorifying God. Amazement seized all of them, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen incredible things today.”
This story happened early in Luke’s gospel. A crowd of people were so concerned about their friend who was paralyzed that they brought him to Jesus. And even when a large crowd prevented the people from bringing the man to Jesus, this did not deter them. They brought him to a roof, dug a hole, and then let the man down through the hole, so he would encounter Jesus.
Jesus didn’t heal the man of his physical problems immediately. He declared that the man’s sins were forgiven.
This might seem to be an odd statement by Jesus. But if we see Jesus as someone who combined the spiritual and the physical it is not an odd statement. Jesus offered healing to the man’s body and to the man’s spirit. He was starting by healing his spirit. “Your sins are forgiven.” (Luke 6:23)
Jesus was a both/and leader. He healed both the man’s physical problems and his spiritual ones.
What are your thoughts about this story? Please share.
Saturday, November 25
Mark 10:46-52
They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.” So, throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.
Bartimaeus wouldn’t keep quiet about his desire to encounter Jesus. Even when the people were shushing him, Bartimaeus cried, out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” Even after he was told to be quiet, he shouted out this phrase even louder!
When Bartimaeus encountered Jesus, Jesus asked Bartimaeus what he wanted. Bartimaeus wanted to see. Jesus healed him of his blindness.
Once again Jesus shared that it was the faith that made someone well, that healing is more than a physical cure. The faith of Bartimaeus was significant in his own healing.
Do you see faith and healing connected? Please share.

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Chain of Lakes Church is excited to offer a Community Garden Ministry next to the new church building at 2650 125th Ave NE, Blaine, MN 55449. It’s just east of Malmborg’s Garden Center on 125th Ave NE in Blaine or .8 miles east of Radisson Rd on 125th Ave NE, Blaine.