If you want to know Jesus but don’t know where to start. Simply say this short prayer. 

Lord, forgive me for my sins and save me. Help me to turn away from my old ways and follow Your will. I believe in Jesus and ask Him to be my Lord and Savior. Cleanse me with Your blood and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Then find someone you trust and start on the path of learning about the Christian faith.

There are also many resources online and in Christian bookstores. Pray for discernment and He will guide your search.

Please open your heart to Him.  It was the best decision I ever made.

By Lois Hewitt

Resurrection Sunday!  This is the single MOST important day in Christian history.  For on this day, Jesus was no longer beaten and bruised, no longer susceptible to human malodies, and no longer lifeless.  On this Sunday, He rose up to His glory in Heaven.

The women who cared for Jesus went to the tomb and found it empty.  Then an angel appeared and explained:

Don’t be afraid! I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen.” (Matthew 28:5-6, NLT)

What a glorious day!  From this day forward the world had a Savior that defied death and brought salvation and redemption from sin.

Thank you for all who took this journey with me this week.  This is the first time I delved into all that transpired that week.  I learned to much!

Thank you to God’s word as it guided me through this week.  The Learn Religions website was a great help also.

So on this holiest of Holy days, I pray the the spirit of Jesus fills you.

Gives you forgiveness when you sin.

Gives you strength when you are weak. 

Gives you health when you are sick.

Gives you peace when you are anxious

Gives you comfort when you grieve.

Gives you daily bread and provisions every day.

Gives you love, kindness, mercy and grace all the days of your life.

Jesus came to change the world. Not to create a religion but to care for all of His Father’s children.

Everything before passed, a new day dawned. Glory was His.

If you don’t know Jesus, please just talk to Him.  He has saved so many.  He just wants us to come to Him, He will take it from there.

He took a sinner like me and washed me clean.  He now guides my path away from danger.  He is my comfort amidst a chaotic world.  He is my rock! 

Happy Easter!  May the light of Jesus shine upon you!

Sunday’s events are recorded in Matthew 28:1-13, Mark 16:1-14, Luke 24:1-49, and John 20:1-23.

By Lois Hewitt

Holy Saturday.  Friday is over but Sunday is not yet here.  Today two quiet followers of Jesus make it known that He was the Messiah.

Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, were members of the Sanhedrin, the court that had condemned Jesus Christ to death.

They quietly watched as Jesus ministered to those around Him.  They watched and listened. They had to be afraid to publicly support Jesus because of their positions in the church.

But on Saturday, as they prepared the body of Jesus for burial, they made their beliefs known.  They had to be a little scared but decided it was the right thing to do.

For so many years, I followed Jesus but He was a buddy, a pal.  I had some reverence but not in the amount I should have.  Although I was not the ideal follower, I did learn something.

I learned that He is indeed my friend.  A friend Who cares for me, Who weeps with me, Who laughs with me.  I was not the perfect follower but I actually learned to depend on Him.

I did not have the understanding I have now.  I, although am so very ashamed now, cursed Him.  I yelled at Him.  I questioned if He was real and if so, why was He so cruel to me at times.

Those were heady days, my friend.  I longed for a child and I longed to be healed and those things stayed distant.

I was not an ideal follower but in those dark days…years… I learned to rely on Him.

Then the time came were He has allowed me more understanding and knowledge. Free am I from those old thoughts and confusions. Once in a while I catch myself asking “why”  but I no longer need an answer because I know the plan is good.

So like Nicodemus and Joseph, I have come out of hiding. I still consider Jesus my friend, but now the relationship has moved to a new level.  He is my Teacher, my Protector, my Comforter and my Saving Grace.  He is more to me than I ever dreamed.

On this, relatively quiet, Saturday before the celebration of the resurrection, I contemplate all Jesus has done for me and I humbly fall at His feet in absolute gratitude for all things He has done and is yet to do.

If I had been with Jesus in His time on earth, I may very well have denied Him in fear.  But today I proudly claim my postion as a child of Jesus.  With gratitude unending.

I will no doubt have periods of uncertainty, life throws those curveballs our way, but to recover quickly from such times will be the goal.  I want no distance between Him and me.

As long as we have breath, we have the opportunity to grow deeper in Him. The old things we did are learning experiences. I was not the perfect follower, nor will I ever be, but we are not called to perfection.  We are called to love Him. I embrace that calling today. Do you?

Saturday’s events are recorded in Matthew 27:62-66, Mark 16:1, Luke 23:56, and John 19:40.

By Lois Hewitt

Good Friday.  What can happen in a nine-hour period?  A lot, especially if you are Jesus of Nazareth.

The day started early, in the wee hours.  The morning was full of unlawful mock trials. Trials that ultimately brought down a sentence of crixifiction for Jesus.

Scattered throughout those morning hours were random and planned attacks on Jesus. He was mocked, spit on, cut deeply by a crown of thorns, stabbed and beaten. I have read accounts that He was so brutally beaten, His own mother did not recognize Him at first.

After He was sentenced to death, the humiliation continued as He was paraded out in the crowds of people cursing Him.  As He carried His own cross, His body grew weaker.

Unfortunately the worst was not over.  There are many accurate writings describing what happens to the body when crucified. If you have never read one, I suggest you do just to get an idea of the absolute pain and devastation that comes from such a punishment.

Now it was time for the Roman solders to take those huge nails and tear the flesh as they were driven into His hands and feet.

He languished for hours along with the two criminals that joined Him that day each on a wooden cross.  At approximately 3 pm He uttered these words:

Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34, NIV).  

And His last words were, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” (Luke 23:46, NIV).  And it was done.

The sky drew dark and, I imagine, the winds swirled around.  It must have looked like the worst storm you have ever seen. 

Earlier that day, Judas, the one who betrayed Jesus for a few silver coins, took His own life for the grief of his actions was too much for him to bear.

By 6 p.m. Friday evening, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus’ body down from the cross and lay it in a tomb. 

Nine long and excruciating hours. Hours filled with the most cruelty human-unkind could muster.

Good Friday was anything but good.  You must look, however, at the bigger picture in order to appreciate the sacrifice.

Because of all Jesus gave, it allowed everyone the opportunity to know salvation and to know redemption.  Jesus has a love for us so complete, our wildest imagination cannot comprehend it.  We are not able to experience it all now.  But in the future, all will be revealed.

But the good that came out of that Friday, literally changed every life thereafter.
He changed life for believers and non-believers alike.  His love is so profound, nothing was the same as it before.

Just remember the story does not end here.

Friday’s events are recorded in Matthew 27:1-62, Mark 15:1-47, Luke 22:63-23:56, and John 18:28-19:37.

By Lois Hewitt

Maundy Thursday.  This day marks the beginning of the end of Jesus’ time on earth as a man.  Things got real, to coin a modern phrase.

Jesus sent Peter and John ahead of the group to prepare the Upper Room for the Passover Feast.  Little did the guests (the Disciples) know that very soon their Rabbi, teacher and their friend would be gone from their lives in physical form.

After sunset, Jesus washed the feet of His disciples.  This was a very poignant sign of His service to others and a shining example of how we are all to act in regard to others.

Jesus did not come to this world to have statues made of Him or to make grand gestures as a way to look more pious as many religious leaders did and some still do.

His ministry was about loving one another.  About being in service to each other.  He cared not about things, awards or accolades.  He came to show us all a different way to live. 

It was at this feast that Communion became an integral part of our remembrance of the ultimate sacrifice Jesus gave to all people…the opportunity of forgiveness and redemption for those who believe in Him as well as the gift of eternal life.

He broke bread (representative of His body) with His cherished friends. He drank wine (representative of His blood) with His disciples.  He washed their feet (representative of His service to other).  So much happened that evening.

But the night was not over.  Judas had yet to kiss his Teacher.  A kiss that would seal a horrendous deal that would cause the One True Light in the world to be tortured and left for dead on an old wooden tree shaped like a cross.

Judas delivered that kiss and Jesus accepted it as this was His Father’s will.  Once the kiss happened Jesus was arrested and stood trial early the next morning.

During the night, those who swore their alliances forever to Jesus, denied knowing Him.  Oh, how His heart must have broken. Oh, how their hearts broke also with anguish and regret.

The light of the next day would bring with it sorrow unimaginable.  A loss that would ripple through time for each generation to come.  Why did this have to happen?

Simply, to save us from the sins in our lives. Those things we are too weak to fight alone.  To save us from the bad choices we have made.  To purify us so that we may spend an eternity in Heaven with God, the Father and His Son, who humbly came to earth to change the way people lived.

This was a most horrific event in human history. There have been many horrific events in history, humans are the cruelest and most ruthless of species.

But the events of Jesus did not end after that dinner or after His human death.  He was triumphant over the darkness. Over evil.  Over death.  He rose again and His life did change the world!  Never will we be the same because He walked this earth.

These things we do, do in remembrance of the One who came to save the world through love, peace and servitude to others.

I fall short of His example every single day, sometimes I even forget about the sacrifice, and once or twice I denied Him.  Oh, how my soul mourns those transgressions. Peace could never be mine, except for Him.

Today, I remember what Jesus gave to this world.  No longer afraid to proclaim Him.  He is my Savior and I am blessed beyond comprehension because of His sacrifice on that old tree shaped like a cross.

“Thursday’s events are recorded in Matthew 26:17–75, Mark 14:12-72, Luke 22:7-62, and John 13:1-38.”

By Lois Hewitt

Holy Wednesday!  The countdown continues. Many historical accounts elude to the fact that this was a fairly quiet day for Jesus. He probably rested and took time with His disciples.

He knew what the next two days would bring, so He rested with the ones He loved.

What a beautiful example for us to live by.  Even in the midst of choas, sometimes we need to push back and breathe for a moment.

Others may not like that you do that.  But you need to take care of yourself.  Chaos has a way of always existing.  Chaos doesn’t worry that it might be extinguished. We live in a world that thrives on chaos, it is up to our own selves to stop the bus, as it where, and get off the ride.

I have discussed the fact a few times that Jesus was often going off alone to pray and rest.  The crowds never went away but He did.

Going away did not mean that He didn’t care or that He was being selfish.  Quite the contrary, it’s because He rested and prayed that He was better able to meet the needs of those around Him.

So when your life seems like an out-of-control circus, give yourself permission to stop, pray and breathe.  It will change everything. 

And do not forget to take time with those you love.  Jesus knew He would be leaving very soon and wanted to spend just a little more time with this most special to Him.

Jesus is the example we, as His followers, should follow.  He was never afraid to show up and do the work.  But He also knew the importance of a space in time that was quiet and nurturing.

On this Holy Wednesday, just days before the resurrection, take a moment or two (or more) to quiet your mind, calm your body, allow oxygen into and out of your longs and say a prayer of thanksgiving.  This act alone may just fortify you to keep hanging in there.

Peace be with you this Holy day and always, my friend.

By Lois Hewitt

Holy Tuesday!  The days must have grown darker for Jesus as He counted down to the crucifixion.  By this point in His story, the religious leaders were plotting ways to exit Jesus from the picture.  Permanently.

One account I read, said it is believed that this was the day Judas stuck his deal to betray Jesus.  A deal he soon regretted.

I know when I have an unpleasant thing to do, the feeling of dread envelopes me for days. If it is particularly unpleasant, doom can start weeks in advance.

I cannot imagine how Jesus felt knowing how His time on this earth would end. He always knew but I imagine as the time got closer, it was more and more difficult.

Jesus knew what was to unfold.  He knew the pain He would experience, the humiliation and the betrayal.  Yet He forged ahead knowing this is the work He was called to do.  To save mankind from sin.

When we face hard things, our minds tend to race around the “what ifs” and the “could bes”.  We tend to dread the worst possible scenario.

Jesus knew how it would play out. He knew about Friday, He knew He would experience pain beyond comprehension.  He knew He would sweat blood.  He knew His earthly body would expire from the torture.

But He also knew about Sunday!  Sunday would come with all its glory!  Sunday came with a new resurrected body and a seat at the right hand of God.

Sunday came with the knowledge that the world had changed. That sinners now had a way to be cleansed through His blood.  He knew that in order to experience Sunday, He had to experience Friday.

How many “Friday” experiences have you lived through in order to celebrate on “Sunday”?

My life for many years was a “Friday”, not like Jesus experienced, but was fraught with my own version of pain and anguish.  My pain mostly was self chosen, but painful nonetheless.

One “Friday” I dropped to my knees and screamed for it all to stop.  I reached a point where I felt I could not go on.  I prayed for cleansing and I prayed for redemption.

Then my “Sunday”came. I saw the glory of Jesus and my life forever changed. The exciting part is that this is only part of the story.  There is more to come in the glory of Heaven.  Things unimaginable.

So today, a day of betrayal for Jesus, it was a necessary evil to bring about the glory.

Your pain may feel unbearable, and it is.  But there is hope in the recovery from the pain.  Jesus lived through physical pain, to save us all.  He experienced the pain so that He could save us from sin.

There is hope in the “Friday” that because of it “Sunday” will come. Have faith and hope in His eternal gift to His children. 

I stand on the mountain and glorify Jesus for my “Sunday”!

By Lois Hewitt

Holy Monday!  This is my first year of even beginning to know this. Holy Monday, obviously, follows Palm Sunday in Holy Week leading up to Easter and the resurrection of Jesus.

A few things happened on that Monday, many years ago.  Jesus was back in Jerusalem and He walked by a fig tree that bore no fruit. He cursed the tree and it withered overnight.

I have read an observation that the tree represents the spiritual life of believers. The tree looked like a healthy fig tree but upon closer examination, one could tell something was wrong. It bore no fruit.

A fruit tree has basically one job and that is to produce fruit. It can do other things like make shade, convert carbon dioxide and other things trees in general do. But a fig tree is ultimately designed to produce figs.

I was a lot like that tree.  I looked okay at first glance. Productive even but if you would have looked for fruit of the Spirit, none would be found. For many years, I was basically withering away on the inside. I bore no fruit.

The fig tree that Jesus cursed, proved itself to be unfruitful.  Much like I had done for years.

Jesus also visited the Temple that day. What He saw greatly disturbed Him.

Moneychangers in His Father’s House, conducting business on sacred ground.  He flipped the tables over and rebuked all those who were participating.

He felt that many of the religious people of the time, were withered spiritually, like the fig tree.

I used to do Bible studies and prayed but many times those acts were simply items on my daily to-do list.  I did learn some things, but my heart was hard with bitterness and anger.  My sense of compassion and mercy was hibernating awaiting a time when I was better.

It’s so easy to look a certain way outwardly but to look another way on the inside.  Jesus wants us all to produce fruit in our lives. He wants us blessed and, in return, to be a blessing to others.

That’s hard to do when your heart is hardened. Life has a way of kicking us all.  Beating us up.  That can lead to many issues that leave us empty inside. We look fine on the outside, maybe we even say we are fine but the reality is much different.

My prayer this Holy Monday is that your heart heals from the pain you have experienced. That your heart breaks through the wall you built around it to protect it.  I pray that you allow Jesus to replace the hurt with His perfect love.

This process took me a very long time and I still struggle at times but I yearn to produce fruit in my life.  I want to live an authentic spiritual life and I pray the same for you.

As we all walk through this Holy Week, let us remember that true spirituality shines from the inside naturally, organically.  It is not a mask we wear, but the essence of our commitment to the One who suffered and died on a wooden cross for our sins.  Then rose from the dead to give us all the opportunity for eternal life with Him. 

What a gift to receive! What fruit to bear!

“Monday’s events are recorded in Matthew 21:12–22, Mark 11:15–19, Luke 19:45-48, and John 2:13-17.”

By Lois Hewitt

Oh, what a week it was!  Full of stress and my ineptitude ever showing.  Sometimes I just feel like I’m in over my head!  That was this week.

So after work I scurried home quite quickly fighting the badly parked cars on my road along with a few errant garbage cans.  I parked and ran down the steps to my basement apartment.

There is a huge advantage to living in a basement apartment that faces the back yard rather than the road…it’s so quiet you tend to forget the other lives outside the door.

My personal life policy, for the most part, is that I will partake in a normal life during the week, but go into full-on hermit mode on the weekends.

I am easily overwhelmed with small talk, answering the phone and other human-to-human contacts. I like people, I really do, but my personality only allows for a certain amount of interactions before I experience stress.

So yesterday, I scampered down the stairs to my apartment, quickly changed into my sleeping outfit and jumped into bed and covered my head for an hour or two as a way to decompress.

I eventually gathered the strength to get up, do a few chores and make dinner. 

Dinner was almost ready and we usually have a cup of coffee with dinner on Friday night.  It is us being wild and throwing caution to the wind.

The sun had set by this time, there was a glorious yellow-orange glow emanating from behind the mountains. As I walked out onto our deck, to drop the old coffee grounds off the edge, I stood longer than usual.

The only artificial light in the backyard is our Christmas tree lights (yes it stays up all year) and the warm glow of lights from the neighbors
windows. 

We live on a quiet street but are close to the highway. I could hear traffic zooming along the highway off in the distance.  We are also close to a train track and occasionally we are serenaded by the ryhthmic sounds of a passing locomotive.

As I stood outside, I realized that there is an entire world that is in continuos motion that has absolutely nothing to do with me.

I thought about the people going to work overnight or those people who were on a date. I thought about friends meeting for dinner and drinks. I thought about the people on their way to visit family or friends. And I thought about the people who were lonely and struggling.

I like to lock myself away on the weekends. Curtains drawn. Door locked.  An island unto myself as I do my cooking and cleaning. I sometimes, if only momentarily, forget about the world that is pressing on all around me.

When my parents and sister passed away, I was reminded that the world waits for no one.  It keeps moving always in perpetual motion.  So even when I get off the roller coaster of life, even if only for a day or two, the ride continues.

I am not sure why those thoughts appeared in my consciousness last night but I felt they arrived for a reason.

Jesus knew the importance of time away from the crowds. He knew His battery needed time to recharge in order for Him to function at full capacity but He never forgot the needs that were all around Him.  His life on this earth, albeit a relatively short time, is a good example to follow.

It is good practice to take care of yourself, to set boundaries (even if those around you may not like it), and to get away in the quiet to pray or take care of your needs.  We are called to that.

We are also called to take part in the world around us.  To see a view more than just ourselves. 

My visit to the back deck last night was a reminder that I should take care of myself but not to the exclusion of the needs that surround me.

We are called to be the Light in a dark world. That’s a big ask, but it is necessary as the culture encompasses more darkness. Just like the majestic light from behind the mountains transforms the night sky, so must we shed light on the world around us.

Just remember it is necessary to hide away at times to recharge and reinvigorate.  It is a balancing act, and one I am still trying to maneuver.  It’s not necessarily easy but, then again, the easy path is not always the desired path.

By Lois Hewitt

Doom scrolling…it is my newest bad habit.  I scroll social media for hours totally unaware of the time as it passes.  My goal since January was to scroll less but I have not been able to put the phone down.

Until today.  My hope is that today is the final straw. I have been praying for strength to stop.  I find myself scrolling without even realizing when I started.

This morning started out as all my days off do.  Breakfast, dishes, goodbye to Mike and the promise of only looking at social media for a short time.

Two hours later, I realized something so obvious. This activity is very bad for my mental health.

Just today I saw several videos of glorifying bad behavior. Apparently being rude is acceptable as long as it’s funny and gets views.

Lots of videos of people talking about other people, spoken in some unfamiliar code that I have no understanding of.  But I know it’s not good they are saying.

I cannot stand one more video of someone just yelling the same phrase over and over again to some end I don’t know.

Stop trying to “influence” and seduce me into thinking a bigger house or more stuff will make me happy. No one lives like they portray, it’s all a lie meant to make us feel less.

More and more videos show people preaching about Jesus. After watching a few, I felt a pit in my stomach. The words, at first, sounded sweet but then it did not add up.  Contradictions with God’s word were carefully veiled so as to sound Biblical but were, in fact, not. This is the scariest of all.

I started scrolling to watch cat videos and get cooking ideas. I have learned about natural ways to heal, but now that is getting excessively radical.

You look at the plethora of content and so much of it is subversive.  Little lies here and there.  Half truths that spread like an infection.  Outright lies that cause confusion and anxiety.

I got my answer to prayer today.  I realized that if I am to heal, I cannot keep feeding my mind unhealthy things. If only I could only see cat videos, but that’s not how this works.

The more I would hide videos, the more of those types I would see. Even the shortest glimpse of the lies can make a place in one’s brain and fester.

My focus must turn to the places I trust and look for those things that are enriching and fortifying. It’s too easy to jump down a rabbit hole and see things that can’t be unseen or hear something that could get a foothold.

God saw I was really struggling not only with the time wasted but the quality, or lack there of, things I was allowing myself to see.

I must remember there are no qualifications necessary to make a video.  I could make any number about weird things I already think. So me applying value to the words and actions of someone who I do not know, seems completely wrong.

Sharing ideas is a good thing, but I am not sure that is the objective of some. Creating chaos is so much more fun for some people. There’s enough going on in the world today, I don’t need to look for more depression.

My point, in a very long way around, is that truly because someone looks like they know something, it’s not necessarily so.

Pray for discernment. That’s my advice. There are lots of agendas in play and your best interest may not be one of them.  Take care of your mind and your heart.

Be careful what you believe. Heck, you don’t have to even believe me, I’m nobody.  I just want us all to watch what we put in our lives.  Bad begets bad but, luckily, good begets good.

Stay safe out there!