Seventy-Seven Times

~~~ Memorial of Saint Clare ~~~

~~~ Ezekiel 12:1-12 ~~~ Psalm 78 ~~~ Matthew 18:21–19:1 ~~~

Peter approached Jesus and asked him,

“Lord, if my brother sins against me,

how often must I forgive him?

As many as seven times?”

Jesus answered, “I say to you, 

not seven times but seventy-seven times.

This is one of the numerous 

verses in the Bible about forgiveness.

In the Old Testament God is the one 

who forgives his chosen people.

Animal sacrifices were made in atonement

 for sins...seeking God's forgiveness.

Moses pleads to God for forgiveness

 on behalf of the people of Israel.

Now if you would only forgive their sin! 

But if you will not, then blot me out of the book

 that you have written.” 

Exodus 32:32

Jeremiah and Isaiah 

also address God's forgiveness.

With the birth of Jesus 

we see a profound shift in the meaning of forgiveness.

Jesus comes to save an entire world. 

His death atoned for the sins for the whole world.

Jesus heals while simultaneously 

forgiving their personal sins.

Jesus brings God's 

forgiveness right to God's chosen people. 

Jesus teaches us about 

the importance of forgiveness.

He includes forgiveness

 in his own example of how we should pray.

...forgive us our trespasses as 

we forgive those who trespass against us...

Hanging on the cross Jesus speaks

 his final words of forgiveness...

...forgive them for they know not what they do...

It is in our own best interest to practice forgiveness.

Forgiving those who hurt us frees us from a heavy burden.

...how often must I forgive him?

As many as seven times?”

Jesus answered, “I say to you, 

not seven times but seventy-seven times.

The heavy burden of carrying hurt and anger toward another

greatly impairs the grace God is so freely giving us.

Jesus passes the forgiveness ball to each of us.

So dear readers the ball is in your court.

Who is in most need of your forgiveness?

Even if you cannot tell them in words;

forgive them in your heart...

Open your heart to the forgiving grace of God.

Blessed to be forgiven.

~~~Peace~~~

Swallow Your Pride

~~~ Micah 7:14-15, 18-20 ~~~ Psalm 103 ~~~ Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 ~~~

The Lord is kind and merciful.

If we but take the first step back to God

 we will experience his mercy and kindness.

This message of God's mercy is delivered over and over again 

to us yet we continue to find it hard to believe

 especially when it pertains to us.

Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt

and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance;

Who does not persist in anger forever,

but delights rather in clemency...

God searches out the least of us

 inviting us to come experience 

what his mercy can do for our soul.

This magnificent mercy should 

make us love God all the more deeply,

but I fear it is too often overlooked.

Our thinking is that is makes for a good story,

but what does that have to do with me.

We have one such story in the gospel 

today of the Prodigal Son.

This story is probably one of the most 

well-known quoted from the Bible. 

We love this story it is filled with such idyllic scenes.

Do you believe that such a setting is possible?

Can you place yourself either in the place of the child or the father?

Sometimes we are the child...sometimes we must be the parent.

He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.

Notice here it is the father who rushes out

 to meet his son in the distance.

Before the father can see the son though

the son had to swallow his pride.

The son had to make the difficult decision 

to return to his father's home.

Lent is the acceptable time for us to do the same...

Swallow our pride and come back to our Father.

The father in today's gospel held a great celebration.

There was much rejoicing because the son admitted 

his selfishness which led to his poor decision.

This exactly what we are invited to do during this Lenten season,

The father does not ridicule the son.

The father does not belittle the son.

The father does not even try to make the son feel guilty.

The Lord is kind and merciful.

Pray for God to soften your heart 

so that you can overcome whatever is keeping 

you from returning back to the Lord.

There is no better time than NOW.

Coming home is filled with so many Blessings.

You will experience his overwhelming 

Peace.

Penitent Foot Washing

~~~ 1 Timothy 4:12-16 ~~~ Psalm 111 ~~~ Luke 7:36-50 ~~~

Which of them will love him more?

The Pharisee...Jesus...the weeping woman...
Jesus is dining in the home of a Pharisee
when a woman approaches from behind.
She begins to wash the feet of Jesus with her tears,
kissed his feet, dries them with her hair
and anoints them with oil from her jar.

Who does this in someone else's home?
The Pharisee immediately judges the woman to be a sinner,
but does not offer foot washing to Jesus.
Jesus takes note and turns it into a teachable moment.

The weeping woman treated Jesus with the utmost
reverence, respect, and emotion.

Her actions represented what was hidden in her heart.
She saw the holiness of Jesus and realized her sinfulness.
She realized her need for repentance and forgiveness.

In the presence of Jesus, his holiness reflected back to her
his acceptance of who she really was inside.

She wept tears for the love Jesus extended to her from his heart.

Why did the Pharisee invite Jesus to dinner?
Was he simply trying to make himself look good
either to Jesus or to his peers?

Was he hoping to discover more about Jesus?
Did he want to find out first hand the intentions of Jesus?

The weeping woman already had all the answers she needed.
She had no more concerns, she experienced the real essence of Jesus.

Jesus does not judge or condemn you because of your sinfulness.
Jesus invites you to come closer to him because of your sins.
Jesus never wants our sins to hold us back from coming to him.

"...her many sins have been forgiven;
hence, she has shown great love.
But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little."

Of course this is not giving you permission to go out
and commit as many sins as you can. 

That would defeat the whole purpose of coming
 to Jesus for forgiveness.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
prudent are all who live by it.

Fear of the Lord is not being afraid of his judgment...
fear of the Lord is humbly coming before him
with a contrite heart...
relying on his love, mercy, and compassion...
to be forgiven.

The weeping woman left the house
of the Pharisee a changed woman.
Perhaps the Pharisee was also changed as he pondered
the words Jesus spoke to him.

Repentance is vital to living a fully integrated Christian life.

Forgiveness is at the heart of Christianity.

The weeping woman put aside all of her inhibitions
to seek forgiveness.

Our invitation is to do likewise.
Seek the Blessings of forgiveness as often as possible.

~~~ Peace ~~~

The Power of Forgiveness

~~~ Joshua 3:7-10A, 11, 13-17 ~~~ Psalm 114 ~~~ Matthew 18:21–19:1 ~~~

...know that there is a living God in your midst... 

In our world today it is easy to forget that a living God is among us.

We hear people say 'God is dead'.

The Living God stopped the moving waters of the River Jordan.

The whole nation of Israel safely crossed to the other side...

men, women, children, carts, wagons, livestock.

God allowed for all of them to cross in safety.

His power was made evident so that the people 

could be assured that God was still with them through Joshua.

The power of God was made visible in those days.

The people needed to have confidence;

 they were actually going to a specific destination.

In our lives today we too can draw from the power of God.

When it comes to forgiveness in our life.

The power of forgiveness is right up there with the power of love.

Just as love heals so does forgiveness heal.

...unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.

From his heart...this is where the power of God resides.

Yes, we can say the words of forgiveness to another.

Yes, we can faithfully pray the words of the Our Father.

But forgiveness must be in our heart.

The power of forgiveness is not in the words,

but rather within your heart.

If you simply speak the words, 

but save the offense within your heart

there can be no real forgiveness.

You will know if the power of forgiveness is living

 within your heart

when a previous offense

 no longer causes you pain.

I know this from personal experience.

You must allow the power of God

 to extend forgiveness from your heart.

Even if you cannot say the words of forgiveness until later

it is necessary to forgive in your heart.

Peter thought it would be sufficient to forgive a person seven times.

You may remember seven represents perfection.

But Jesus raises the standard beyond the idea of perfection.

Forgiveness is more than we can expect to accomplish 

unless we have with us the power of the living God.

I invite you to search your heart for those hidden places 

where you cast those whom you really have not forgiven.

We try to hide them away.

We do not think about them every day,

but they are there.

Un-forgiveness is like a rust gradually marring your heart.

Rust, when left alone eventually ruins the metal.

In time the heart will completely disintegrate 

from the lack of forgiveness

Pieces of the heart will flake away, become rough,

less able to love as it should.

Forgiveness is not easy,

it is not something to take lightly either.

Many illnesses can be traced back to a time when hatred 

was allowed to rust away at the heart.

Seek forgiveness from the power of the living God.

His Blessings will remove the rust 

accumulating within your heart

~~~Peace~~~

The Internal Audit

~~~ Genesis 44:18-21, 23B-29; 45:1-5 ~~~ Psalm 105 ~~~ 

~~~ Matthew 10:7-15 ~~~

When no one was around Joseph made himself known to his brother.

His tears of joy and mercy began to fall from his eyes.

His sobs grew loud enough to be heard passed the walls.

“I am Joseph,” he said to his brothers.

“Is my father still in good health?”

Joseph is overcome with love and compassion for his father.

If he is to see his father again he must seize this moment.

He must reveal his identity to his brother.

Seeing his elderly father again becomes the motivating factor...

the reason to be reconciled with his brother.

A similar scene often plays out in our families 

when a loved one becomes ill or near death.

So many times it is the death of a family member

 that brings everyone together again.

Often times it is the pain and sorrow of loss that restores

us to our sense of family ties.

...It was really for the sake of saving lives

that God sent me here ahead of you.

Joseph realizes God brought him to this place

 in his life in order to save his family.

Joseph needed nothing for his journey.

His journey was a journey of the heart...his journey was interior...

his journey was one that only he could make.

Joseph engaged his mind, body, and soul in an internal audit.

When you come to believe that the kingdom of heaven is at hand

you will realize that even the dust on your feet

must be left behind.

Remember the marvels the Lord has done.

True Blessings come when we are able to release the

past, live in the present, and believe the future will be better.

~~~Peace~~~

Are You Ready to Forgive?

~~~ Genesis 41:55-57; 42:5-7A, 17-24A ~~~

~~~Psalm 33 ~~~ Matthew 10:1-7 ~~~

Joseph forgives his brothers for dumping him in the well..

leaving him to die...lying to their parents.

On the third day Joseph said to his brothers:

“Do this, and you shall live; for I am a God-fearing man.

Joseph recognized his brothers right away 

when they came for their portion of the grain.

Since he spoke to them through an interpreter, 

they did not know it was Joseph.

Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.

Joseph grew into a man of God...a man with compassion in his heart...

a man ready to forgive past offenses.

Many times forgiving family members

 is the most difficult thing to practice.

Forgiving family members mean you must put aside

 your expectations for their behavior.

You must overlook their selfish ways, their rude comments,

their cruel actions toward you.

How was Joseph able to look upon his brothers

with compassion and not utter disgust?

But the plan of the LORD stands forever;

the design of his heart, through all generations.

Ultimately it was the plan of God.

Joseph was to save his family;

just as Jesus came to save his family us.

In so many ways we are not 

much different than those brothers.

They thought they were rid of Joseph for the rest of their life.

How often do you do the same?

How often do you walk away from God

 thinking you are rid of him?

Because God is loving, compassionate, and forgiving

does not mean that we may act however we wish.

Jesus sends out the twelve apostles to find us.

We are the lost sheep.

We are the ones who too often 

put ourselves into the well

without realizing what we are doing.

Yes, you read that correctly...

we put ourselves into the well when we turn our back on God.

Jacob was rescued from the well because he was

 to be the one to save his family from starvation.

You are a part of God's plan.

It does not matter how many obstacles you erect...

or how detours you take.

It is by God's grace that his plan takes form.

The Blessings you receive today

are a part of God's plan tomorrow.

~~~Peace~~~

How Many Times is Enough?

~~~ Daniel 3:25, 34-43 ~~~ Psalm 25 ~~~  Matthew 18:21-35 ~~~

“Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
As many as seven times?”

Peter is seeking guidance
for an issue we experience throughout our life.
When have we forgiven enough times.

The problem is that God does not count...he is ready
 to forgive as many times as it takes.

God has the capacity to unconditional love;
we pick and chose who is to receive our love.

The Lord knows that is is much more difficult for us
 to forgive those we do love.
Why do you suppose that is the case?

In my own experience I have found it harder
 to forgive someone I love because they do not seem
 to reciprocate the same intensity of love.

Forgiving a family member for instance is very difficult.
You do not expect them to say or do hurtful things against you.

When this does happen it hurts even more deeply.
You hold them to a different standard of love...
we are family...best friends.

I have found it much easier to forgive those who are not close to me.
It is easier to make allowances for their words and actions.

Imagine how God must feel when we do not
 return love to him with equal intensity.

For God it is his love for us that makes it possible
 to forgive us over and over again.

Forgiveness for God is equivalent to our taking the next breath.
Some people struggle with forgiveness an entire lifetime.
Some even carry it with them to their grave.

Who do you still need to forgive in your life?
Place the intention to at least make the first step in your
 heart towards forgiving them today.

Consider that what we may need to forgive another for
 is simply our own perception of the situation.

Could it be that we see harm where none was intended?

Be patient with me...

Lord as I learn forgive as you have forgiven me.
Bless me with your mercy.

~~~Peace~~~

Only Ten

~~~ Third Sunday of Lent ~~~

~~~ Exodus 20:1-17 ~~~ Psalm 19 ~~~ 

~~~ 1 Corinthians 1:22-25 ~~~ John 2:13-25 ~~~

Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

God gave Moses his commandments his law.
Can you imagine only having ten laws in our society today.
What if your whole life was based solely
on just ten things you had to do to succeed in life?

Only one God no others...
not using God's name when we are frustrated and angry...
keeping the Lord's day holy, set apart from the rest of the week...
caring for your parents especially into their senior years
 when it becomes more of a challenge...

These are the first of the laws of the Lord.
Then we come to the ones we often warp into our own interpretations.

We would all agree that taking the life of another is morally wrong.
But when it comes the death penalty we feel it is
our right to condemn another to death.

God says vengeance is mine says the Lord.
We must 'play' the part of God.
It is God alone who gives life and has the power to take life.

I have never heard one homily about how we have
 a responsibility to preserve our own life.
How can we keep this commandment
if we smoke, drink in excess, daily over eat,
or become couch potatoes?

I know this is the commandment I must keep vigilant in my life.

The next laws deal with adultery, stealing, and lying...
These sins are often connected in many ways...
If you are guilty of adultery you are stealing
 from your marriage commitment...
and always hiding under the cover of lies upon lies. 

Perhaps all of these sins lead us to the point where everything
 on the other side of the fence looks better...
whether it is material objects or even the neighbors spouse.

For the foolishness of God is wiser 
than human wisdom, 
and the weakness of God is stronger 
than human strength.

Maybe God only had room on the tablets of stone
 for ten commandments,
but they contain more wisdom and deeper wisdom
than any human could dream up on their own.

Jesus understands our human behavior.
It is precisely because of this understanding that he forgives
 us as many times as we seek it from him.

Come to Jesus with a contrite heart...
He will Bless you.
~~~Peace~~~

The Infinity Pool

~~~ Daniel 9:4B-10 ~~~ Psalm 79 ~~~ Luke 6:36-38 ~~~

But yours, O Lord, our God, are compassion and forgiveness!

Day after day, Lord, we are sinners.

We do not listen as we should, Lord.

We do not follow your commands, Lord, as we should.

We judge others...we are quick to condemn.

We are slow to forgive...reluctant to love our enemies...

Yet, Lord, we beg for your kindness.

Look upon us with eyes of love.

...may your compassion quickly come to us,

We are a bit liked spoiled children...creating mischief,

 disobeying, expecting to have everything our way...and yes, 

believing that God will love us just the same.

While it is true God does love us in spite of how we misbehave,

He does have his limits.

He gives us the invitation to repent and turn away 

from our sinful ways.

How long do you think he should wait for you?

A month, a year, five years, ten years, fifty years, 

until you are on your deathbed?

How long will you keep him waiting?

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Stop judging...stop condemning...forgive...

give and gifts will be given to you.

All leads back to the single commandment...

Love you neighbor as yourself...

treat others as you would want them to treat you.

Is that really such a hard concept to grasp?

God's ways are compassion and forgiveness.

God replaces condemnation with compassion.

God replaces hatred with forgiveness.

Without His love would we know true compassion?

Without His mercy would we know true forgiveness?

Whatever mercy and compassion we think we have

 there is always more to be given to us.

We need to look deep within our hearts and see the infinity pool.

Infinity edge pools are often seen at exotic resorts or exclusive estates.

God is the perfect infinity pool of love and mercy.

There are no limits...no boundaries.

God wants to be seamless, exclusive in our hearts...

no artificial boundaries to contain Him.

Lent is about striving to be the better person 

God knows you can become.

He sends his Blessings to help us along the way.

Make sure you are paying attention.

~~~ Peace ~~~

Break Free...Tear Down the Wall

~~~Memorial of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr~~~

~~~Ezekiel 12:1-12~~~Psalm 78 ~~~Matthew 18:21-19:1~~~

...each of you forgives his brother from his heart.

We hear so much about forgiveness,
 that I fear sometimes we become indifferent to its importance.
We know Jesus tells Peter to forgive
not seven times but seventy-seven times.
And yet we all struggle with forgiveness.
It does not occur to us to keep count because each time we are hurt
we place a brick on the wall within our heart.
This may be the reason we must pray for God to give us a new heart...
to take away our heart of stone.
We desire to be close to God, but that is only possible
 if we can forgive as he forgives.
Yikes! That is such a challenging undertaking.
For some reason we hold on to those things that we should forgive.
It is within our heart that we store these hurtful details,
so it must be from within our heart that we find forgiveness.

...while they look on, dig a hole in the wall and pass through it;
while they look on, shoulder the burden and set out in the darkness...

Using this verse from the prophet Ezekiel;
we must begin digging a hole in the wall of past hurts
until we can at least reach through to the other side.

The only way to escape the pain is to allow your heart to forgive...
to dig a hole in the wall...to take the bricks down.
There is no 'other side' of the wall if we cannot forgive.
The burden we carry will be removed if we but break through the wall.

The burden we carry of not forgiving keeps our heart
 laden with heavy stones.

This wall did not instantly rise up in your heart over night
so it may take a very long time and much effort
to just begin to dig the hole.

The smallest brick you remove will begin to let the light
 from the other side trickle through.

The more bricks removed from the wall
 the more light will come through,  the more you can see
 the more you will appreciate the beauty of forgiveness.

It is time to begin to take down the wall within your heart
one stone at a time for as long as it takes.
Begin today, you will be so glad you did.
 Do not wait any longer.

Break Free...Tear Down the Wall.
You will be Blessed with a new heart and untold peace.

~~~Peace~~~

Judge and Jury

~~~ 1 Kings 21:17-29 ~~~ Psalm 51 ~~~ Matthew 5:43-48 ~~~

Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Yesterday's story continues only now God gets personally involved.

God sends Elijah to render his verdict against Ahab and his wife, Jezebel.

The verdict rendered by God was harsh and far reaching.

The future generations of Ahab would also 

pay for the crime of their parents.

“Because you have given yourself up to doing

 evil in the LORD’s sight,

I am bringing evil upon you: I will destroy you

and will cut off every male in Ahab’s line...

Ahab and Jezebel did not think for a minute

 that they would be judged by God for their crime of murder.

They clearly believed that no one suspected

 the evil plan to kill Naboth had been orchestrated by the king's wife.

Amazingly Ahab came to his senses upon 

hearing God's plan for the future of his family.

We might think Ahab did not deserve to be forgiven by God,

but that is exactly what God did.

God forgave Ahab, but not in the way we might expect.

God spares Ahab, but not Jezebel or his children.

Jezebel's gruesome death is recorded in 2 Kings 9:30-37.

This reality must have been a greater punishment for Ahab

 than being struck down on the spot.

He had to live out the remainder of his days knowing

 that his family was sentenced to make restitution for his crimes.

...you have given yourself up

 to doing evil in the LORD’s sight

There is no way to hide from God.

Whatever good or evil is in our heart he knows.

We cannot deceive the Lord.

...pray for those who persecute you...

This is perhaps one of the hardest things to do.
It is not your first instinct to pray for someone
you are ready to punch out.
Remember, as Jesus was dying on the cross
he prayed for those who pounded the nails into his body.
Forgive them for they know not what they do.

In order to make progress on the road to holiness,
 we must learn how to forgive first rather than as an after thought.

God is the one who decided what is just.
God is the one who administers the judgement and punishment.
God is the judge and the jury.

Dear Lord, please give me the desire
 to quickly forgive those who have wronged me.

Daily Blessings needed to forgive first thing.
~~~Peace~~~

Do You Want to be Well?

~~~ Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12 ~~~ Psalm 46 ~~~ John 5:1-16 ~~~

“Do you want to be well?”

Near the entrance gates there was a special pool of water.
This pool was to known to have healing waters.
Those near by would watch and wait for the swirling of the waters.
The people believed that to be the sign that healing would occur.
The first to get into the water would experience the healing.

The movement in the water
they were waiting for could have been
the natural bubbling of the spring.
Or was it something much more, like the healing
Spirit of the Lord?

There is definitely something soothing
about the sound of a babbling brook of water.

Here is what the Bible footnote tells us...
 “For [from time to time] an angel of the Lord used to come down 
into the pool; and the water was stirred up, 
so the first one to get in [after the stirring of the water] 
was healed of whatever disease afflicted him.” 
The angel was a popular explanation of the turbulence 
and the healing powers attributed to it. 

Jesus was particularly sensitive to the needs of those
who had been suffering for extended periods of time.
Remember the woman who had the issue of the blood for twelve years.
Jesus healed the woman after she came to him.
The lame man in today's Gospel had been suffering for thirty-eight years.

After this (healing) Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him,
“Look, you are well; do not sin any more,
so that nothing worse may happen to you.”

Just as Jesus healed the soul of the Samaritan woman
by revealing to her all of her sins;
Jesus reconciles this man and makes him whole.

The Jews could not stand that Jesus was going about
 performing these great acts of healing when they could not.

They were actually jealous, but kept attacking Jesus
about the actions he performed on the Sabbath.

That was something they knew how to do;
they were good at correcting and admonishing others.

“Rise, take up your mat, and walk.”

Jesus blesses regardless of the movement of the water.
Jesus does not rely on the angels to stir the water.
Jesus looks into the heart and heals from there.
Jesus heals the heart and the body reacts in kind.

We must believe that God will heal us and then it will happen.
His healing may not always be the healing we have envisioned;
but healing just the same.

When Jesus is present in our life
 the waters of our soul will be stirred.
For He knows the desires of our heart.
He knows that which we long for.
His healing often connects to forgiveness and mercy.

Still today we hold sacred some therapeutic bodies of water,
Lourdes comes first to mind.

Water blesses us with life, healing,
cleansing, and forgiveness.

Peace.

Forgiveness is the Key

~~~ Micah 7:14-15, 18-20 ~~~ Psalm 103 ~~~ Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 ~~~

‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you;

I no longer deserve to be called your son.’

We deserve things based mostly on our actions.

I am not sure that as a parent I could believe

 that my child would not deserve to be called my child.

The parable of the prodigal son is often heard because 

we need to see the picture of unconditional love.

We need to hear the words of the father.

We need to see the remorse of the son as he returns.

We need to hear the older son's words of resentment.

Parental love, sibling rivalry, and family connection

 is no different today than it was then.

Sometimes our kids are more like homing pigeons.

Coming home should be a safe place.

The son felt he no longer deserved to be called his father's son,

but the father felt his son deserved more.

The father felt his son deserved to be welcomed and forgiven.

This is what the older son could not grasp.

He could not understand that the celebration 

was nothing compared to the forgiveness.

Thank goodness God does not grant us forgiveness 

based on whether or not we deserve it.

If that were the case would any of us ever be forgiven?

On the flip side we should never feel that we deserve to be forgiven.

This is the challenge facing most of us...

Do we forgive when the other person does not deserve 

to be forgiven?

This is what God calls us to do.

This takes courage and determination.

As this second week of Lent comes to a close;

who in your life still needs to be forgiven?

I invite you to carefully consider that person whom you feel 

does not deserve your forgiveness.

Even if you do not see that person make 

the decision to forgive them today.

The father of the prodigal son forgave his son 

way before the son comes crawling home.

This is evident because of the 

swiftness with which he orders the celebration.

This is evident because the father rushes out to meet his son.

He does not wait for his son to reach the front door.

God is not waiting for you to come to him he is 

already coming out to meet you.

Forgiveness is not about deserving to be forgiven...

at least not with God.

The prodigal son also had to learn how to forgive himself...

he had to accept his father's open arms.

God wants us to have a future full of hope and happiness.

If you also want that for yourself, 

forgiveness is the key.

We are so Blessed with a God who forgives

whether or not we deserve it.

Return to him.

Peace.

Tomorrow is Not Guaranteed

~~~ James 4:13-17 ~~~ Psalm 49 ~~~ Mark 9:38-40 ~~~

...you have no idea what your life will be like tomorrow.

Do not wait...do good today.
We have no guarantee what tomorrow will bring.
Too often we put off today what we think we can do in the future.
For some they are living their future right now.
Since we have no prior knowledge of what lies ahead for us
we must carefully make good use of today.
If there is something you need to take care of
 in your personal relationships do it soon.

There is never the ideal time to forgive and mend broken relationships.
Too often I have seen the pain of a loved one
standing at the coffin filled with sorrow over unfinished business.

This is a perfect time to heal old wounds
 as we are a few days away from Lent.

Forgiveness leads to healing your own heart.
Forgiveness is always the work of God.
If you can forgive you are doing the work of God.

There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name
who can at the same time speak ill of me.
For whoever is not against us is for us.”

You cannot be against God and do good toward others.
The one who does these good works may not declare a relationship with God,
but we believe all that is good comes from God.

What if you have no tomorrow?
Would you live today differently?
Thoughts to ponder today.

Blessed to have no knowledge about tomorrow.

This should not stop us from setting goals though.
Carpe Diem...Seize the day
with good works and open hearts.
Peace.

Actions Have Consequences

~~~ 2 Samuel 12:1-7a, 10-17 ~~~ Psalm 51 ~~~ Mark 4:35-41 ~~~

Create a clean heart in me, O God.

A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat,

The Lord sends Nathan to pose a problem to David.
As the king David is in the position to make decisions
concerning the lives of others.
God uses Nathan to present a special situation...
the subject already dear to David's heart...a lamb.
David, of course, had been a shepherd.
He understands the tender relationship a shepherd has with his animals.
The story says the rich man orders the poor man to prepare his only lamb
for the guest's dinner.
David grew very angry with that man and said to him:
“As the LORD lives, the man who has done this merits death!

Eventually Nathan reveals the motive for the story.
David is faced with the gravity of his sinful escapades.
...you have despised me
and have taken the wife of Uriah to be your wife.’
Thus says the LORD:

Sometimes God sends another person to help us understand
how we have fooled ourselves with our sinfulness.
David and Nathan now can have an honest
conversation about what David has done.

The Lord does indeed forgive David, but he must pay a high price.
The Lord vows to take the life of his 'love child'.
We are all faced with the consequences of our actions.
Until now David thought he had gotten away with his scheme to deceive.

He woke up,
rebuked the wind,
and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!”

If God can quiet the wind and calm the violent sea;
surely it is possible for him to forgive our offenses no matter how grave.

David found himself in the depths of a storm.
A storm that he virtually created himself.
When we create our own storms through our sinfulness
God is there ready to forgive us and calm our storm.

Seek forgiveness from the Lord...
nothing is beyond his forgiveness.
We are Blessed to have a God
who graciously forgives us.

Create a clean heart in me, O God.

God Meant It for Good...

~~~ Genesis 49:29-32; 50:15-26a ~~~Psalm 105~~~ Matthew 10:24-33~~~

 

Jacob having been reunited with his son,

Joseph, gives his burial instructions.

He wishes to be buried with the rest of his ancestors.

 

When I was a child, every Easter we would bring

my grandmother to the cemetery.

I never could understand why she wanted to go to grandpa's grave.

He was not there. We had to be careful not to walk

 on the marking stones in the grass. 

 

I still do not think it is important to visit a cemetery.

Unless it is a way to show that you do remember a person you loved.

Jacob wanted to be placed with his ancestors as a symbol

 of his inheritance or his heritage. It was important to him.

 

Jacob also leaves instructions for Joseph to not

hold a grudge against his brothers.

The father is interceding on behalf of his other children.

One thing parents want most is for their children to get along.

You know the old saying about not choosing your family, I'm sure. 

Jacob wanted some reassurance that before his death

his sons would be reunited.

 

Joseph, being a man of God had anticipated his responsibility.

 

The brothers are counseled by their father to seek

forgiveness from their brother.

Now it was their turn to came to Joseph, admit their guilt,

and seek his forgiveness.

 

'...Jacob begs you
to forgive the criminal wrongdoing of your brothers,
who treated you so cruelly.'
Please, therefore, forgive the crime that we,
the servants of your father’s God, committed.

 

 

It does take a certain amount of humility to admit your offenses.

It takes courage to ask for the person's forgiveness.

It takes courage because, they might not be ready to forgive you.

You open up yourself to their possible anger.

 

But this is not the case here...

 

Joseph replied to them:
“Have no fear. Can I take the place of God?
Even though you meant harm to me, God meant it for good,
to achieve his present end, the survival of many people.
Therefore have no fear.
I will provide for you and for your children.”

 

God meant it for good...

What?

Can you wrap your head, much less your heart, around those five words?

Joseph remained the protector of his family

until he was one hundred ten years old.

 

We too can rejoice with the psalmist...

 

Be glad you lowly ones; may your hearts be glad!

 

Sometimes we must wait many years

for a Blessing to become a reality.

 

God allowed Jacob the blessing to die a happy man;

his family was reunited at last.

If you are waiting for a family member to admit guilt for hurting you,

I invite you to pray for your heart to be softened.

Surrendered Life Itself

~~~ Acts of the Apostles7:51—8:1a ~~~ Psalm 31  ~~~ John 6:30-35 ~~~

 

Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

 

The elders and the scribes were closed to anything contrary

to what they had always held to be truth.

We are often no different; we want to continue to believe

 and act according to how we have in the past.

 

They literally covered their ears.

Indicating that they could not even risk the chance of being changed by

the power of the words of God.

They were scared that their whole world was about to cave in on them.

Then what would they do? How would they be able to defend their position?

The risk was too great. They had to much to lose.

Their pride was in jeopardy.

 

So they chose, to respond as the class does when the teacher

speaks in the Peanuts shows...

"Waa, Waa, Waa, Waa, Waa"

 

Instead of hearing and being moved for good;

 they picked up rocks and stoned Stephen to death.

 

We do this too, maybe not with rocks but often

with our condescending words and hurtful actions.

 

When was the last time you did hurl a rock towards someone else?

 

Stephen is a vivid reminder that even in the rejoicing

of the Resurrection there are those who must carry their cross.

 

 

Stephen surrendered himself to the fate of stoning

 because he was filled with the Holy Spirit.

He was so aligned with the true spirit of Jesus

 that he asks for God to forgive each person raising their hand

 to throw their stone.

 

As they were stoning Stephen, he called out,
“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice,
“Lord, do not hold this sin against them”;
and when he said this, he fell asleep.

While we do not experience anything close to being stoned

 there are times when we need to make this same plea to God for forgiveness.

 

Finally we can learn from Stephen to completely

surrender our spirit...

to turn all that we are over to God.

 

It is not necessary to wait until we are on your deathbed

to release your spirit to God.

Daily we can surrender to God in small ways so that

when we are presented with something of greater magnitude

we will be in the habit of laying down our will to God.

 

It feels like your heart is opening up from inside and literally turning inside out. 

 

God will give us what we need when we need it.

 

"When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak

or what you are to say. You will be given

at that moment what you are to say."

(Matthew 10: 19)

 

The Blessings of Easter

 emerge from the darkness of the Death.

WholeHearted Forgiveness

~~~ Daniel 3:25, 34-43 ~~~ Psalm 25 ~~~ Matthew 18: 21-38 ~~~

Forgiveness must come from the heart.

It cannot endure unless it comes from the center 

of your being deep inside.

Peter must have been feeling pretty smug 

thinking if he forgave seven times that was doing well.

The look on his face probably gave away his surprise when Jesus

responded that he should forgive seventy times.

Seventy times is way more than seven.

The point perhaps is we must continue to forgive there is no limit.

Would we want God to be keeping track of how many times 

we must ask for his forgiveness?

I am guessing your answer is 'NO'.

Forgiveness cannot be measured by any of our conventional measures.

Jesus has given us examples of forgiveness time after time.

He must present forgiveness in as many possible ways as he can.

Forgiveness as God wants us to forgive is not easy.

It takes great humility to forgive as God forgives us.

We say this every time we pray the Our Father...

forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

The Prophet Daniel prays with a humble and contrite heart.

'Do not take away your mercy from us...
...with contrite heart and humble spirit
let us be received...
...we follow you with our whole heart,
we fear you and we pray to you...
...deal with us in your kindness and great mercy...'

Calling on God and his heart of mercy
Daniel presents himself humbly before God.

I invite you take these phrases from the Prophet Daniel;
  pray them from your heart.
If we follow him with our whole heart
our depth of forgiveness should
be of the same sincerity and intensity.

Peter is such a wonderful example of we as humans.
Forgiving seven times may be a lot for some people,
but we are called to a higher standard.
A standard worthy of our calling to be holy.
Forgiveness takes a lifetime of practice.
Luckily we are constantly being presented
with opportunities to practice.

Just remember that forgiveness must come from the heart.
It is not a superficial practice.
If you put the frozen dinner in the microwave for three minutes
you are not a gourmet chef.
Surprise! 

Return to Me, My Child

~~~ Micah 7: 14-15, 18-20 ~~~ Psalm 103 ~~~ Luke 15: 1-3, 11-32 ~~~

The Prodigal Son returns home and the good father is excited beyond reason....

Or is it beyond reason?

Sometimes I am amazed at what makes the news today.

You can often tell by the stories when it is a slow news day.

Jesus attracts, among others, tax collectors and sinners.

Why do you think this is worth noting?

Had we been among those listening to Jesus 

would it have been newsworthy?

The Lord is kind and merciful.

Or is this a way of letting know that we too 

would have been accepted by Jesus?

The gospel story was one we could all identify.

The image of a loving father embracing his wayward child

is one we can all appreciate.

Either because we have a healthy loving relationship with our own father

or because we long to have that kind of relationship.

Not all fathers are emotionally equipped to respond in this forgiving manner.

God, however, responds to all of us with this generous outpouring of forgiveness.

The point of this example is that no matter what we do...

no matter how great our sin

if we return as the repentant child 

God will rush out with open arms to greet us.

If we return to the Father his forgiveness 

is like gold pieces shining

 in the ashes of our sinfulness. 

The darkness of our sins can be transformed 

into joyful brightness 

by our forgiving Father.

The Lord is kind and merciful.

Much rejoicing occurs over even just one 

child of God returning to his home.

The very best the Father has to offer 

is there for this wayward child.

Do you believe this to be true for you as well?

This is what the many beautiful Gospel stories are designed to accomplish...

they are to show us who truly God is.

We need these scenarios.

We need to see how humans can mimic for us

the qualities of God himself.

God has not left us to create our own scenes demonstrating 

his unconditional love and forgiveness.

He gives the stories from his own lips.

How can we not believe and trust that they are

meant for us today too?

The Gospel message is timeless.

What a treasure we have in the Word.

The Lord is kind and merciful.

You are forgiven.

Ashes of Forgiveness

 

Ash Wednesday

~~~ Joel 2:12-18 ~~~ Psalm 51 ~~~ Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 ~~~

 

Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

 

Saint Paul says we are ambassadors for Christ.

What does that mean especially as we begin another Lenten journey?

Every year we pray in psalm 51

for a clean and contrite heart...

a renewed spirit...

a restoration of salvation joy...

and lastly a willing spirit.

 

You may believe you have a willing spirit until the 'hammer hits the nail'

until something happens to you that causes you to stop.

Until you have personally experienced a situation where

you must admit whether or not you really can have a willing spirit.

 

When someone does something wrong against you,

it is challenging to be an ambassador for Christ.

You want retribution.

You want the wrong done to be fixed.

You often do not want to forgive the person who wronged you.

If you do not know the person it is not any easier to forgive them.

 

We are signed with ashes today as a reminder of God's mercy.

The ashes upon our forehead also serve as a reminder to ourselves

that if we are to be ambassadors of Christ we must

 emulate his same mercy and forgiveness.

 

 

If I am to be an ambassador for Christ then I must strive to model him.

This is often not an easy task.

In our frustration we sometime cry out to God,

'this is too hard'

 

Every day of Lent is another opportunity to live the gospel message

of forgiveness and repentance.

We have forty days to practice forgiveness and repentance.

Current research finds it takes at least 21 consecutive days to create a habit.

The church has given us 40 days, plenty enough time to solidify the habit of forgiveness.

 

Take baby steps, begin with the small things...the minor irritations.

Begin forgiving people you do not even know.

Forgive those closest to you; this could be the most difficult.

 

Make yourself a calendar reminder to forgive at least one person each day.

Forgive without judging...

forgive without making excuses for either yourself or the other person.

 

Above all remember that you can only change yourself.

In order to create a new habit you must be aware of what you are doing.

Creating a new habit in this case is connected to our prayer

for a clean heart.

 

Habits are things we gradually do without thinking about them.

I know I have plenty habits that I should stop.

Habits that are not indicative of my being an ambassador for Christ.

 

During this Lent I invite you to create the habit of forgiveness in your life.

When you have the impulse to lash out pause for a moment;

forgive that person instead.

Be conscious of this decision.

By the time we arrive to Good Friday our heart will

be in a better state of openness to God's forgiveness of our offenses.

 

Sustain in me a willing spirit, Lord.

A spirit of forgiveness creating in me a clean heart.