February 23 | Luke 8:21-39

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DAILY READING

Luke 8:21-39

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REFLECTION

Look What He Did For Me!

By Elaine Pierce

Today's passage is a familiar one. The extra-biblical headline calls it "The healing of a demon-possessed man." As I read and re-read these verses, I noticed that both those tending the pigs and the formerly demon possessed man immediately told others what happened. to them. Take a look at how Luke records this miracle:

"When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened." (v. 34) (As an aside, do you remember what the shepherds did after they saw baby Jesus? Yes, they, too, told others!)

"So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him (v. 39)".

The pig farmers and the cured man didn't just calmly relate this story, did they. No, they ran....he went all over town. This was news that had to be shared. There was an urgency, an excitement about this news. It was real, it was life changing, and they wanted others to know about it.

I can think of many events in my life that I have shared with others with great joy and gladness. The birth of our children and grandchildren immediately come to mind. The thrill of starting a new job that I really wanted and worked hard to get. Finding a great deal on something I thought would cost far more (I love a bargain!).

But have I shared what God has done in my life with such zeal? Do I count it all joy to spend time with him? Oh, I fall far short. And yet, as I list all the ways he has blessed me, I am filled with gratitude. We don't know what happened next to those pig farmers. Their livelihood had just been destroyed. We don't know if the demon possessed man continued to praise Jesus. But we do know that each day, we have the opportunity to tell others what Jesus has done for us. Let's look for those opportunities, and share joyfully, giving God all the glory.

PRAYER

Lord, fill me with the desire to share how much you have done for me with others, not out of a sense of duty, but with joy and gladness. Fill me with the Holy Spirit and help me to see the opportunities to share your love with others. Amen.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ELAINE PIERCE

It is a delight and joy to write Sunday's UALC Blog post. I have been a UALC member for 20+ years and I value our community of believers. I draw strength from God's Word, and it is my hope that you join me in seeking to grow closer to Him as we read, study, and pray together. I've been married to Gene for 47 years, and we have four grown children and nine grandchildren. It is an exciting time to be alive, and I count it all joy to serve him, even in the midst of challenges. To God be the glory, for the great things he is doing!

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February 22 | Matthew 8:23-27

DAILY READING

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Matthew 8:23-27

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REFLECTION

Jesus Can Always Calm the Storm Inside of You

By Michael Guastella

It is incredibly easy to forget who is large and in charge. We get caught up in the pressure of everyday life; work, grocery shopping, kid’s soccer practice. We get pressure from every crevice of what we involve ourselves in, and sometimes it can be overwhelming. Sometimes the problems are big and sometimes the problems are small, but even the small ones have a way of building up into a storm inside of us. 

In this passage, we see a literal storm bow down to the Kings of Kings. Verse 23 shows us that it’s easy to follow Jesus in the calm moments–the disciples followed him onto the boat like it was nothing! But things quickly get out of hand by Verse 24, with waves crashing down on the fishing boat all around the men. 

The disciples decided it was too much; too late to do anything other than to accept their fate of drowning. They cry out to Jesus “Help us, we’re going to drown!” and Jesus reminds them that He was there all along with one of the most quoted phrases from Scripture: “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?”

What a beautiful and challenging reminder…Jesus is telling us “I was here the whole time! You’re all good!” He knew that this challenge to his disciples would echo throughout humanity for all of history. He knew that we’d need the same reminder as His closest followers: that God is the one who is large and in charge…always!

It’s almost comforting to see that the men who followed and lived with Jesus so closely even had their fears. (As Charles Spurgeon reminds us: even the best of men are men at best!) But their experience should stay with us as we navigate the storms in our lives.  When the waves crash down all around us, and we are certain we are going to drown…turn to Jesus and He’ll remind us exactly who He is.

We are blessed to already know the answer to the question “What kind of man is this?” and we will all watch as the winds obey Him.

PRAYER

Jesus, may we never fail to remember who You are. But if we do, we know You’ll still help us. We fear your strength and are in constant awe of your grasp on every facet of each of our lives. Give us the patience and foresight to give our stress, anxiety, fear, and doubt all to You. Remind us that no matter what, you are the one who is in charge. Be with us always as we navigate the waves. We pray this in Your mighty name…Amen.  

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

MICHAEL GUASTELLA

I have been a Hilliard resident since 2022, and have lived in Columbus about 11 years. I am orginially from the Cleveland area, where I attended Parkside Church as a boy under the teachings of Allistair Begg and was baptized at 16 years old. I work in downtown Columbus as a government affairs consultant. My wife and I have been attending UALC since early 2024.

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February 21 | Mark 4:35-41

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DAILY READING

Mark 4:35-41

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REFLECTION

Fear

By Todd Marti

This week’s readings have discussed the overriding importance of staying close to God. We’ve seen how vital it is to not let fear, preoccupation with worldly things, and even otherwise legitimate things get between us and what God desires of us. Today’s reading gives additional insights into one of those potentially distracting things—fear—and illustrates several encouraging things about it.

One is that even godly, faithful, folks experience fear and that it does not disqualify them from relationship with God. Here we see that the disciples—people who literally dedicated their lives to following Jesus—experienced great fear. We see that elsewhere in the gospels, during other storms and in connection with Jesus' passion.  But Jesus did not give up on them; He still loved and used them. So do not despair when you experience fear; fear does not equal failure and doubt does not equal disqualification.  

Another thing this reading shows us is to bring our fears to God; prayer is a powerful response to fear. Here, the disciples brought their fears to Jesus, prayer in its most direct form, and received peace. That is consistent with what we see in Philippians 4:6-7  and  1 Peter 5:7; those verses tell us that we receive peace when we bring our fears to God. So go to God when you are scared, you will experience peace from the very process of sharing your fear with Him. The fear causing circumstances may not be immediately changed, but your ability to deal with them will be.

 Finally, this reading shows that we do not have to be shy about bringing our fears to God; we can express our fear without inhibition.  The Greek word translated in a very understated way as “said” in verse 38 actually connotes a much stronger communication. It describes commanding, exhorting and speaking emphatically. Jesus didn’t reject the disciples or their plea because of that. In fact, he later instructed them to be bold in presenting their concerns to God. Luke 11:5-8, Luke 18:1-8. We see that elsewhere in scripture, God’s faithful servants presented raw emotion to Him and did so with great intensity, but God was not offended. 1 Samuel 1:4-28, Psalm 55:1-8, Psalm 42:2-4.   Relatedly, Romans 8:26-27 assures us that we can bring our raw emotions to God even if we are so upset that we cannot clearly articulate them. So do not pull your punches with God, pour your heart out to Him.

PRAYER

Lord, draw us to you when we are afraid. Do not let our fear separate us from you, but help us boldly cast our cares on you. Amen.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

TODD MARTI

I have been connected to UALC since 2000 in various small groups and as a co-manager of the UALC Community Garden. I’m married to Kelly Marti, and the proud father of Sarah Marti. I am happy to be writing these devotions.

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