Hearts of the Blind Men

~~~ Isaiah 29:17-24 ~~~ Psalm 27 ~~~ Matthew 9:27-31 ~~~

“Do you believe that I can do this?” 
“Yes, Lord,” they said to him. 
Then he touched their eyes and said,
“Let it be done for you according to your faith.” 
And their eyes were opened. 

We are also blind in so many situations.
Our eyelids are open but yet we do not see.

How is faith connected to eyesight you might wonder?

Jesus restored the physical sight to the blind men,
and in doing so he was able to see their faith.
Jesus brought into reality the belief that was already present
within the hearts of the blind men.

It is possible for God to make your desires come true
when they spring forth from your faith.
This confirms seek and you shall find...
knock and it will be opened.

God has so much patience that he can wait until our own eyes
 are opened enough to reach out and grasp
 what our heart truly desires.

The blind men called out to Jesus
and their eyes were opened.
During these weeks of Advent what do you want
 to have your eyes opened to?

Have faith...believe that Jesus can fulfill your
deepest heart's desires.

Advent Blessings
We wait in stillness for his touch
 to open our eyes.

~~~Peace~~~

Gaze Upon His Loveliness

(2012)

Seamless Service

~~~ Titus 2:1-8, 11-14 ~~~ Psalm 37 ~~~ Luke 17:7-10 ~~~

 

At first reading the gospel account from Luke seems harsh and selfish.

The slave in Biblical times literally had no rights.

 He was the property of his owner and would have

been given few priviledges.

Certainly the servant would not have expected or been

entitled to special allowances.

 

 

Jesus is using this slave as an example of our relationship with God.

What could God possibly owe to us?

On the other hand we owe everything to God.

He has given us all that we are and all that we have.

 

We are not is a position to bargain with God.

We are not is a position to expect special priviledges.

But at the same time we are not slaves to God.

 

When we obey God we are not doing so in hopes of sitting

with him as his honored guest.

We obey out of a desire to give something back to him.

The only thing we can give to God is ourselves.

Giving ourselves back to God is really all that we can give to him.

 

 "'...We are unprofitable servants;
we have done what we were obliged to do.’”

 

We might like to think that we are worthy of something from God

in return for our prayers and good deeds, but it is not true.

It is out of the goodness of God that our prayers are even answered.

No matter what we do for God he does not profit from our efforts.

 

Just as the slave returns from the field with more work waiting to be done,

we too can never become complacent. We must never think that we have done enough...that we have served the Lord long enough or enough times.

There will always be more work to be done in the vineyard.

Our whole life needs to be one of serving...bringing forth the word of the Lord.

 

No matter what we are doing with our life;

the underlying mission should be about pleasing God.

 

 

I guess the question remains...

when have we ever given enough back to God?

Does your love for God compel you to give him your best?

Does your love for God help you to give yourself back to him?

 

We know that even the apostles were confused by the message of the kingdom.

They even thought that they were going to be entitled

to some special merits for being among his closest followers.

In this example Jesus may be trying to tell them to be patient;

things were not exactly as they might have thought.

 

Often our perception of things turns out not to be the reality.

Serving in the 'field' or serving at the 'table'

our work in the eyes of God is never completed.

It is by the grace of God that we continue to freely serve him.

In the end it was Jesus, himself, who assumed the servant's position

and washed the disciples feet.

~Pomegranate and the Spirit~

~~~ Galatians 5: 18-25 ~~~ Psalm 1~~~ Luke 11: 42-46 ~~~

 

If you are truly guided by the Spirit, as Paul suggests,

 then you should have nothing to worry about.

If you are in the Spirit then you will be less inclined

to indulge in the things of the flesh.

Most all of the sins that Paul refers to in this letter 

are about selfishly putting yourself above others.

They are supported by believing that we should live for the moment.

They fool us into believing that satisfying our own needs take preference.

 

Paul goes on to say that if we are to be led by the Spirit

then we will manifest more goodness in our lives.

Embed yourself in the Spirit and you will bear fruit.

 

"...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."

 

It seems to me that the pomegranate is the perfect fruit

to represent the fruit of the Spirit referenced in today's letter by St. Paul.

The pomegranate fruit is unique in that the fruit itself

is neatly packed inside of a vibrant reddish sphere.

Once you cut open the pomegranate you see the actual

edible fruit...many small seeds between 200 and over 1000.

 

So imagine for a moment within the pomegranate

you find all nine fruit of the Spirit.

If you notice the word fruit is singular,

but yet contains many wonderful qualities of the Spirit

to cultivate in our lives.

 

 

In further research on the the pomegranate I was amazed to find

that it has Biblical connections. It is mentioned several times

in the Song of Songs, which poetically speaks of love,

the first of the fruit of the Spirit.

See Song of Songs 4:3, 6:11, 7:12, and 8:12 t

o share just a sampling of the references to the pomegranate.

I am now so fascinated by this unusual fruit

that I want to take more time with it's Biblical connection.

 

But for now take time to reflect on these qualities

that flourish as the fruit of the Spirit.

 

"...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."

 

Which of these do you feel most comfortable with in your heart?

Which do you find the most challenging?

 

Each one is inviting you to live in the Spirit and not just by the law.

The law can be blind, cold, harsh, and rigid.

By contrast the Spirt is tender, compasionate, and kind.

May the fruit of the pomegranate flourish in your heart.