Author: Allyson Hoekzema

We all understand the need to set some things apart, we actually do it with a lot of things. When we wash our clothes, we set them apart by colors, or at least my mother told me we should. We tend to set apart our vegetables from our meat on a plate. We set apart those items that should be refrigerated from those that don’t need to be. I think you get the idea. In Leviticus 11:44-45, God puts this into another perspective for us. “For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground. For I am the LORD who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” To “be holy” means to be “set apart.” These verses, along with the ones before them, set a spiritual precedent as well as physical ones—one of the distinctions between clean and unclean. By calling His people to be holy, God wanted them to be set apart, showing the difference as shining lights of His blessings and truths in comparison to the darkness around them.

You and I are also called to be set apart, and live for God, just as Jesus did. Following Jesus means more than simply listening to His teachings. Jesus says in Mark 8:34 that whoever wants to be His disciple, “must deny themselves,” be set apart, seeking to live holy lives, “and take up their cross and follow Me.” Notice that Jesus says we must deny ourselves, not just deny ourselves of something—like chocolate for lent. No, we are to deny our own self-interest and self-absorption. And then like Jesus, our new self should be focused on serving, not being served—to give of ourselves for the sake of others.

Jesus took up his cross and let himself be crucified, once for all, so that our old selves could be crucified, set apart from sin, and made new through Him—to take on the self-sacrificial life of Christ in place of our old sinful ways when we fully embrace His offer of grace and mercy. In the weeks ahead as we move toward celebrating Jesus’ resurrection, it is my prayer that Jesus will help us to follow Him more closely and fill us with His Spirit so that we may deny ourselves, be truly set apart, take up our cross, and follow Him into His Holiness and His righteousness.

Pastor David Price31

Thank God we can laugh. The Bible says the “joy of the Lord is our strength” in Nehemiah 8:10. We also read a cheerful or “joyful heart is good medicine” in Proverbs 17:22.

Effie Leland Wilder has written a delightful book with the title, “Out to Pasture (but not over the hill)”. The book is a fictional account of residents living at FairAcres Home in Drayton, SC. Effie’s insights are humorous and insightful. The plot is simply telling the adventures of a “bunch of old codgers trying to get along”.

The author struck a common chord when she discussed the value of a sense of humor. “Existence at a retirement home—any kind of old folks’ home—would be pretty miserable without that life-saving thing that a benevolent providence built into most people: a sense of humor. Without it we would live in dread or fright or sorrow a good part of the time. We know there is an end to our short road—and that’s a mystery, but it’s the perils on the road that frighten us most. We have the sadness of seeing deterioration in each other. … We want to do something about it and can’t. So, it’s no wonder that we grab at every slightest chance to giggle or laugh out loud.”

I think we could all use some laughter and joy in our life. Especially during the winter months. Maybe this Lenten season we should make a resolution to find some laughter at least once a day. I visited a facility during their weekly “happy hour”. Their “happy hour” was watching re-runs of the “I Love Lucy” show. What joy!

The humorist, Will Rogers, quipped: “When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to youth, think of algebra.”

May you be filled with the Joy of the Lord.

Chaplain Jeff Meyers

As a child growing up in a suburb of Chicago, I would run to my friend’s house and call out her name while waiting at the door for her to come out and play. When I was a teenager, I would use the phone to call my friends. Today, I use my cell phone and email.

God calls us to many places – a particular family, a certain church, a place of education and a position of work. God calls us to learn how to love and give and respect others.

In Genesis 12, God called Abraham to leave his country and family so God could make a great nation of him. In Exodus 3, Moses is called by God from the burning bush to lead God’s people out of Egypt. In Luke 1, Mary is called by God to bear the Son of Man and in the New Testament, Jesus is called by God to give his life for our sins that we might have eternal life.

Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in California, writes that we have 5 purposes in our calling:

1. To center our lives around God.
2. To have fellowship with his family.
3. To study God’s Word.
4. To give back to ministry.
5. To tell others about God’s love.

In Romans 1:1 Paul writes this about his calling “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, and set apart for the Gospel of God.”

When you reflect on your life, where has God called you to in the past, what has he called you to in the present and how might he be calling you into the future. It is a beautiful thing, God’s calling on your life.

Ephesians 2:10 tells us, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he had planned for us long ago”.

As you journey through 2025, I pray you will hear God’s calling on your life, you will study God’s Word and you will tell others about God’s love.

May your journey be beautiful!!

Chaplain Val

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2:9-10

A man and woman at the facility were talking about the holidays. I heard one say, “I wonder if perhaps you are lonely.” “Yes, I think I am” the other responded. That same day, several other people shared about sadness and missing the former connections with family and friends. “I don’t feel part of things anymore” was a common comment.

Feeling “a part of something”…. Whether loners or people persons, we are hard wired to be in community. Relationships and communities through the years shape us and provide connection. Wife/Husband. Father/Mother. Staff/Administrator. City/rural. Daughter/Son. Boomer/Millenial/Gen Z. Families, schools, neighborhoods, friends, work. These relationships and communities give support and purpose, provide opportunities for growth, and can also create struggle and problems. Sometimes we may feel this community and other times we may feel isolated. I suspect Mary and Joseph at times felt isolated and alone in their journeys with the baby Jesus. Yet even then the angels and shepherds and wisemen were somewhere close by.

In that story of Christmas, we celebrate that God so loved the world that he sent Jesus. That “people living in darkness have seen a great light.” If you are feeling alone, isolated or “not a part”, acknowledge those feelings as your experience of the moment. Also remember the big truth that you ARE part of a Great Connection whether you feel it or not. You are the People of
God. God is with you. God loves you. You are a chosen people as the scripture says. Because of that, all of us are to be with and be light to one another.

As we begin this year of 2025, I invite you to reflect on your connections and community. What communities are you a part of? What relationships are important to you? In what settings do you FEEL a sense of community and when do you feel alone or disconnected? I also invite you to reflect on LOVE. That we are part of something greater than ourselves. That even if we were thousands of miles from another person, we are in community with God. And that connection helps us to choose to be a loving community for one another.

Chaplain Karen