The Third Day of Lent

 Friday, February 19, 2021

Hallelujah!  He is risen!
A Lenten Devotional Guide

By Marge Dilling

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
I Thessalonians 5:18 

In the fall of 2000, Walt and I began our first Disciple studies. Having always been in some kind of a Bible study group, I thought this would be a snap. I was wrong! It was a challenge that changed my life.

Sandra Garner was our teacher. She had one phrase, "Thank you, Jesus," that was heard during our classes. I wouldn't know its impact until several years later. I started early in the morning before sunrise, when I would take a walk and say, "Thank you, Jesus, for my health and enthusiasm to take this walk.” It continued.

·  Thank you, Jesus, when I trip over something in the kitchen but don't fall.

·  Thank you, Jesus, when my intestinal problems seem to be improving.

·  Thank you, Jesus, when our pastor delivers a sermon I need to hear.

·  Thank you, Jesus, when my headache disappears without need of medication.

·  Thank you, Jesus, when, after 3 days of searching, I find my glasses in the freezer!

·  Thank you, Jesus, when I recall mentoring a child in Lakewood. We were helping Fran Graham up a slope on her way to her cabin. One little boy asked if he could help us. Great! We needed help. Later I heard him say to his friends, "We have to help these people; they're old!"

·  Thank you, Jesus, when one of our precious Youth Singers recalls something they have been told a week ago.

·  Thank you, Jesus, when I see the love of grandparents in our congregation who are raising their grandchildren.

·  Thank you, Jesus, for Sandra, and thank you, Sandra, for introducing us to Jesus and making Him an ever-present part of our lives.

·  Thank you, Jesus, for Wallace Nave, for used to say, “Lord, please guide me through this day in all that I think, all that I do, and all that I say."

Thank you, Jesus!

Hallelujah! He is Risen!
prepared for First United Methodist Church of Homosassa, Florida
Spring 2011
compiled by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator
reproduced and edited by Patience Fort