One Conversation

Third Sunday of Lent

~~~ Exodus 17:3-7 ~~~ Psalm 95 ~~~ 

~~~ Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 ~~~  John 4:5-42 ~~~

Most of us are familiar with the woman at the well.

She came to the well late in the day.

She came for water as she did most days.

This was her normal routine.

She was not expecting to meet anyone at the well, 

surely not a man and absolutely not Jesus.

Imagine what was going through her mind 

when this Jewish stranger spoke to her.

Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink."

Some might say she was the least likely 

person for Jesus to befriend.

He saw something within her...she had longing in her heart.

She came for water but got so much more.

Following her conversation with Jesus 

the Samaritan woman left her water jugs and ran back to town.

The woman left her water jar 

and went into the town and said to the people, 

You might say she left everything behind 

once she learned about this Jew called Jesus.

Do you remember some others in the Bible

 who left everything behind to follow Jesus?

(I think they may have left their nets on the beach.)

"Come see a man who told me everything I have done.

Could he possibly be the Christ?"

This woman can now extend the invitation to 

'come as you are...'

Jesus was eager to come into her town...

eager to meet her neighbors.

She was not someone who ever went 

around enthusiastically engaging others.

This conversation with Jesus

changed her life forever.

Drawing water from the well 

will never be the same for her.

Now she understands the meaning 

of  'living water'.

What are you willing to leave behind?

Who will you tell to 

'come and see'?

Whatever we leave behind

must be as a result

of what we learn from Jesus.

Jesus comes to each one of us...

when you are least expecting him.

Be Blessed this week.

~~~Peace~~~

Greater Visions

Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle

~~~ Revelation 21:9B-14 ~~~ Psalm 145 ~~~ John 1:45-51 ~~~

You will see greater things than this.

In the book of Revelation we are given a beautiful

 description to what might be heaven.

But frankly I prefer to imagine the castles 

portrayed in the movies.

Disney usually does a superb job on castles.

I like these grand castles because

no matter how impressive they can be 

heaven will be greater.

I look for those castle movies exactly for this reason.

I want to wowed by the artist vision...

their creativity.

God gives us the ability to create in many different forms.

No matter what the best among us creates,

there will always be something greater from God.

“Come and see.”

Every day God is saying these very words to you...

Come and see the wonders he has stored up for you.

It is good to see as much of the beauty 

of our world so that we have something to compare.

All of the wonder and beauty nature reveals to us 

can only be a small fraction of what there is waiting for us.

Every time you observe something

 that makes you pause to catch your breath,

imagine what is waiting for you, multiplied ten times.

When Jesus speaks of 'greater things'

we have only what we know for comparison.

The vastness of the universe...the immense galaxies,

all pale to what has been prepared for you.

You and I are not equipped to handle

 the greater visions promised to us.

Your friends make known, O Lord, 

the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.

Whatever goodness you see in others...

whatever goodness you radiate to others...

all of this combined is a tiny piece of the splendor of heaven.

God is inviting us to Come and See...

to Come and See the magnificence of perfect love.

It is His perfect Love that creates beauty 

beyond human comprehension.

You are not invited to understand...

You are invited to be dazzled in his Love.

You are invited to see what illuminated love looks like

from God's viewpoint...the heavenly viewpoint.

Blessed with beauty beyond what we can see.

Saint Bartholomew, the apostle, was martyred for his faith.

We pray to him to intercede on our behalf.

~~~Peace~~~

Just Show Up

~~~Second Sunday of Ordinary Time~~~

~~~1 Samuel 3:3B-10, 19~~~Psalm 40~~~

~~~1 Corinthians 6:13C-15A, 17-20~~~John 1:35-42~~~

Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.

As it is still early in the new year it is fitting
 that we be reminded
through young Samuel
to renew our personal commitment to the Lord.

As the weeks and months go by we tend to be less and less
 enthusiastic about our desire to make changes in our life.

Not only does Samuel acknowledge the voice of God
 he tells God he is listening.

“Speak, for your servant is listening.”

If we do not open our ears to hear
and listen to God how can we possibly do his will?

God not only blessed Samuel he put a song into his heart.
This song of love was God with Samuel.
This song of love came to life in every word he spoke.

Samuel truly became one Spirit with the Lord.

Do you not know that your body
is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you,
whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

Samuel did not need to understand the theology of God
dwelling within our body.

He only needed to allow God to lead his life,
which he did as we see in the book of Samuel.

God just wants us to show up and he will do the rest.
He will place the question in our hearts...
What are you looking for?
He will invite us to simply Come and See/

How many times have you called out to someone
to Come and See?

Perhaps it was a beautiful sunset,
 a hummingbird feeding at your window,
a spider spinning her web, a blooming rose,
or the first tomato on the bush.

We are excited to share
these moments with our loved ones.
Imagine how much Jesus wants to share his
exciting things with you.

God invites us to Come and See.
It is with him that we will find what we are looking for.

Come and See how he Blesses you.
Peace.

WYSIWYG

~~~ 1 John 3: 11-21 ~~~ Psalm 100 ~~~ John 1:43-51

 

Jesus wastes no time in seeking out a small group to assist in his ministry.

At the risk of sounding biased, Jesus acted as a typical male.

I have a problem that needs to be solved now.

He wastes no time in getting together his small band of disciples.

He knew he had much to teach them in a very short time.

 

He wisely went out and chose men from various walks of life...

He sought out fishermen, siblings, tax collectors, friends of friends.

In three years Jesus was able to lay the foundation for what we believe today.

That is amazing!

 

Did Nathanael believe because Jesus saw him

or did he believe because Jesus knew things about him?

When Philip tells Nathanael about Jesus he expresses his doubt.

 

“Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

 

Yet his curiosity gets the better of him and he sneaks up

 into a tree for a better view.

 

How many times have you experienced something profound

as a result of your curiosity?

I attended a healing service once out of curiosity

where I was surprised at what happened.

It was a very moving experience that I was not expecting.

 

 

Philip encourages Nathanael to "Come and see".

He actually listens to Philip,

which says something about their relationship.

Sometimes it is the invitation of someone who cares about you

 that is the catalyst for your into action.

 

Everything is at God's disposal when he wants to reach you.

Nothing is wasted when Jesus is at work in your heart.

 

Jesus sees the heart of Nathanael saying,

 

“Here is a true child of Israel.
There is no duplicity in him.”  

 

There is no duplicity in him...

what you see with Nathanael is what you get.

He is open and honest.

He knows nothing of what today would be viewed as 'politically correct'.

 

Jesus wants your whole being he is not concerned

about what is 'politically correct' or not.

 

Would Jesus say no duplicity exists in you?

Sit with that thought a moment today during your prayer time.

Jesus is still extending invitations

to come walk with him today...thousands of years later.

Joyful Rivers Clapping

~~~ 1 John 3: 7-10 ~~~ Psalm 98 ~~~ John 1:35-42 ~~~

 

The words of praise continue in Psalm 98.

I first thought I had made a mistake in typing

the psalm number for today, but

as I looked more closely it is correct.

Both yesterday and today we have psalm 98.

This is such a significant song that today we are 

given additional verses.

 

All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.

 

The saving power of God is something all of the earth is celebrating.

If a celebration is in order you should be out with others.

Have you ever tried to celebrate alone?

It is much more fun to celebrate with others.

To laugh, sing, and dance together.

Making joyful music with a group is exhilarating.

Every thing should be singing the praises of God.

 

He could have gone on down the road, so to speak.

God could have just created another 'Earth' and started over.

He could have placed another

Adam and Eve in the Garden of this new earth.

 

But instead he sends his son down to save us from our

human weaknesses.

 

"...Let the sea and what fills it resound,
the world and those who dwell in it;
Let the rivers clap their hands,
the mountains shout with them for joy before the LORD."

 

If all of creation could break into song, as we know music,

what a glorious event that would be to behold.

We would have a viral YouTube video in no time.

As all of creation made their voices heard praising the Lord

who created them.

 

God wants us to celebrate our salvation.

If we really did celebrate our redemption

we might think twice before acting like it didn't matter.

That it was no big deal.

 

If the rivers were clapping their hands it would be a BIG deal.

We would never take it for granted.

 

 

“Come, and you will see.”

 

This has to be one of my favorite verses.

It is so real to me.

Some things just cannot be put into words.

Words do not do them justice.

Words are limiting...they are confining.

When Jesus says 'Come, and you will see'

words are no match for seeing what the Lord is doing.

His invitation extends to you today.

What is God inviting you to see?

What will he show you today?

 

“Come, and you will see.”