I didn’t grow up going to a Christian Church. My parents were Catholic and raised their seven children in the Catholic Church. There were a lot of rules and doctrine that went along with being Catholic. For instance, attending Mass. Attendance was never optional; in fact, it’s a mortal sin to miss Mass, and in addition to weekend services, we had Holy Days of Obligation throughout the year. In 2022, Catholics were required to go to Mass on Christmas; Solemnity of Mary (which was on New Year’s Day); Ascension of Jesus; Assumption of Mary; All Saints Day, and the Immaculate Conception.
My parents took our obligation to attend church very seriously, and unless my brothers and sisters and I were ill, we were in church. Back when school started after Labor Day, my family took a vacation in August, and my parents dragged us off the beach and to Mass on weekday to celebrate the Assumption. In addition to mandatory church attendance, we had to take part in the sacraments of the church - religious ceremonies or rituals that impart divine grace. Three of these – Baptism, Holy Communion and Confirmation – are necessary for initiation into the church. There were a lot of rules and doctrine involved with the Sacraments – and we learned them from church workbooks, not the Bible. We also had to go to confession once a week, where we confessed our wrong doings to a priest, who forgave our sins.
Everything was so complicated, yet God meant for it to be simple. Since becoming an immersed believer in Christ Jesus, I can’t imagine going back to the church of my childhood. I love serving a God I can worship anytime and anywhere. A savior who hears my prayers, forgives me my sins, and whose words show me His will for my life. Church is no longer an obligation, but an opportunity to get to know Jesus better, and learn to better love those around me so I can show Jesus’ love to them. Freedom is choosing to love God, love people, and taking his message to the world. What could be simpler?
Monday
November 7, 2022 • Gail Wright • Galatians 4
Friday
November 11, 2022 • Gail Wright
We are very blessed that our oldest son, Josh, married a Godly, smart, and beautiful young woman, Althea, two years ago in Iowa. The wedding took place during COVID and was a small family event at her parents’ farm. After vows were exchanged and the wedding feast was enjoyed by all, we were asked to give toasts to the bride and groom and offer some wisdom. Jim went first and talked about how even though marriage and their relationship may seem like they are perfect now, they will not always be perfect in the future. He talked about how they need to have grace and mercy with each other and how important it was to have these qualities rather than trying to make things perfect. In all, he probably said the word perfect about 20 times in his speech. However, he mispronounced the word perfect each time he said it. So instead of saying “perfect” he said “purfikt” As we like to say – his West Virginia was showing – which is something our daughter, Paige, and I will never let him forget. We’ve come to love the word and have embraced purfikt as our family motto. In our home, we know Jesus was the only perfect person to walk the Earth, so in striving to be like Jesus we try to be “purfikt.” Instead of beating ourselves up after a bad day or when things didn’t go as we planned, we just smile and say, “That sounds like it was purfikt,” or “I think this meal is just purfikt as it is.” Purfikt means trying your best and giving yourself and others grace when things don’t go as planned. It is the purfikt way to start a day, and a great attitude to have when the going gets rough. Jesus was the only perfect person who walked the Earth. He was the fulfillment of God’s perfect promise and the Father’s perfect plan for our salvation. I thank God every day for this and the fact that I don’t have to be something I can never be – perfect. God loves me because I am His and I am purfikt just the way I am.
Thursday
November 10, 2022 • Gail Wright • Galatians 4
What have you completed in your life that was perfect? One of my first memories of sports growing up was the 1976 Summer Olympics when Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci was the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10.0. In fact, she didn’t receive one 10.0, she earned seven perfect scores—four on the uneven parallel bars and three on the balance beam. The company that manufactured the official Olympics scoreboard was led to believe that no athlete could earn a perfect score, so it wasn’t reflected on the scoreboard. Her score read 1.000, which was the only way the judges register her score. I have watched many an Olympic event since then and perfect scores in gymnastics have been extremely rare. Achieving perfection at anything is something that is nearly impossible to achieve – yet something many people strive for in their lives. In the Old Testament, God gave the Israelites “the law,” which is an understatement in its magnitude. When I was young, I thought “the law” was the 10 Commandments. It was another understatement because “the law” was actually 613 rules God gave the Israelites. Perfectly keeping “the law” was something Jewish leaders believed would keep them right with God. However, no one ever was able to perfectly keep “the law” until Jesus. As we dive into Galatians, we hear Paul explain that the law was there to protect God’s people until his promise was fulfilled—and the one fulfilling the promise was Christ Jesus, the only person who perfectly kept the law. The fulfillment of the promise meant that faith in Jesus would justify believers. In Galatians, Paul strives to make believers realize they are Christians based on their faith that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, died on the cross for our sins, and rose again in fulfillment of Scripture. Once the Galatians were believers, they didn’t have to follow the law since they were perfectly justified by faith. Why would they ever want to go back?
Wednesday
November 9, 2022 • Gail Wright
If stretched out on end, I think the promises I’ve made and broken in my life would circle the Earth, probably more than once. All those times I told my Mom, “Don’t worry, I’ll be good,” or “I’ll be safe;” lots of broken New Year resolutions; parenting things I promised myself I wouldn’t do like saying, “Because I said so,” or “Don’t make me pull this car over;” and those promises I made to God that came out during pleas—“If only you would give me this, then I promise to do that.” Kind of like Garth Brooks’ song, “Unanswered Prayers,” when he sings, “If only you would grant me the wish I wished back then, I’d never ask for anything again.” I thank God every day that he not only forgives me for breaking my promises, but “as far as the east is from the west, so far does remove our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12). The worst time I broke a promise was when I told our oldest son, Josh, I always would be on time to pick him up from school. Well one day, the baby was sick and needed to be changed right when I was loading him in the car seat. I had to make a choice, and I chose to change the baby and be five minutes late to get Josh. When I arrived at the school, the look on little face was heart breaking and he cried out, “Where were you?” When I explained what happened, he understood, but letting him down still broke my heart. Isn’t great to know that God never breaks his promises to us? God promised Noah he would never flood the Earth again. Abraham that his wife Sarah would have a son (she did when she was 90 and Abraham was 100), and that Abraham’s seed would fulfill God’s covenant with him. David was promised that his offspring would be established forever; and he promised the Israelites a Savior. While we may be unable to keep the promises we make to ourselves, others, or God—our Lord always keeps his word and seals the promises he makes to us for eternity.