05 | January | 2019 | This Year's Bible Reading Guide

I forgot to send the songs to cousin Brenda. I told her I would in August. Of course, I only remembered in the middle of the night.

This time, I wrote it on my task list: Send the songs that have portions of hymns in them to Brenda.

My list was long and my basement is in disarray. The stockings are hung on the clothesline with care. (I dry-cleaned them yesterday.) The other clothesline is full of Christmas throws and blankets. Two partially packed totes of Christmas ornaments are in the living room.

Luke 8:1, “He continued according to plan, traveled to town after town, village after village, preaching God’s kingdom, spreading the Message. …” The Message

What is my plan, Lord? I started with the first item on my list. I thought of goals for this year. Some scare me!

Luke 8:37-39, “Later, a great many people from the Gerasene countryside got together and asked Jesus to leave – too much change, too fast, and they were scared. So Jesus got back in the boat and set off. (38) The man whom He had delivered from the demons asked to go with Him, but He sent him back, saying, (39) ‘Go home and tell everything God did in you.’ So he went back and preached all over town everything Jesus had done for him.” The Message

I don’t want to push Jesus away because there are changes. And everything happens so fast. (Like right now! I’m typing on a new editor and I have to do everything differently! Type a paragraph – set the bold, set the quote, get out of that box and start a new one. I am not a fan. This is taking forever!)

I want to follow Jesus. Hitting the road looks so glamorous. It’s not. (Been there, done that, got the tee-shirt. Television and concerts are not glamorous.)

He keeps telling me to stay home and talk about everything He has done for me. I wondered why He told the parents of the little girl to keep quiet?

Luke 8:56, “Her parents were ecstatic, but Jesus warned them to keep quiet. ‘Don’t tell a soul what happened in this room.’ ” The Message

* * * * * * *

“…Keeping a secret of the new life given Jairus’s previously deceased daughter would have been impossible (Matthew 9:26). So some have thought that when Jesus charged her parents ‘not to tell anyone what had happened’ (Luke 8:56), He was referring specifically to what had transpired in the girl’s room. Perhaps Jesus wanted to leave open the possibility in the minds of some that the girl had actually only been sleeping (Matthew 9:24; Mark 5:39; Luke 8:52), lest His fame for raising the dead should become a hindrance to His continuing ministry. …”
Chronological Study Bible Notes

If the parents spread the news, everyone would have pressed Jesus to raise their dead. He would not have had time to preach, heal the sick, and set the captives free.

Yes, He had a long task list, too! I followed His example and prayed, “Father, what would you have me to do next?”

I marked off all but one item on my list. The Christmas throws are still on the clothesline downstairs. But, the ornaments are all safely packed away – even the new ones!