Seek Good...Amos 5:14

~~~ Isaiah 65:17-21 ~~~ Psalm 30 ~~~ John 4:43-54 ~~~

I wonder if Jesus ever got tired of people

 wanting him to work miracles every day?

“Unless you people see signs and wonders, 

you will not believe.”

Today we are no different

we want proof of the existence of God in our life.

We want God to manifest himself 

in our own life...we too want signs.

Most often we do not get strong clear 

evidence of God's presence.

This is where our individual faith should kick into action.

I am reminded of the passage in the book of Kings...

God was not in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire...

1 Kings 19: 11-13

God was in a whisper of a voice.

What if Jesus had not performed and miracles?

Would his verbal teachings been convincing enough

 to survive for over two thousand plus years?

Would his kindness and compassion...

his acceptance of all peoples been sufficient?

Jesus heals from a distance in this situation.

It was the will and power of God working through Jesus

that manifested healing.

It is worth noting that there might not have been healing

 in this situation if the royal official 

had not first made his request.

Seek good and not evil so that you may live,

and the LORD will be with you.

Amos 5:14

It is our daily challenge to seek good not evil.

Seeing the good before the evil takes 

our being primed to do so.

It is more than just being an optimistic person.

It is believing that God is evident

 in your life each and every day...period.

If you look for the good you will find more good.

It is a blessing to find exactly what you seek.

It is possible...BELIEVE.

~~~ Peace~~~

Your Homecoming

~~~ Fourth Sunday of Lent ~~~

~~~ Joshua 5:9A, 10-12 ~~~ Psalm 34 ~~~ 

~~~ 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 ~~~ Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 ~~~

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

The Lord hears our cries of distress...

in times of need he is near.

He delivers us from all our fears.

His praise shall ever be on my lips.

The goodness of the Lord is manifest

 before us in so many varied ways.

Today we once again hear the comforting story 

of the Prodigal son returning home to his father.

No matter how many times we listen to this story

 we can picture ourselves as the delinquent child.

Time after time we ask God for our share of heavenly bliss

only to take it and run away to seek our own passions.

Whoever is in Christ is a new creation:

the old things have passed away;

behold, new things have come.

If we are a new creation then the old ways

 of our sinfulness must fall to the ground.

If we truly want to be a new creation by the end of Holy Week

we must be intent on cleansing our heart...

we must seek the face of the Lord...

the face of mercy.

The father in today's Gospel

 looks past every poor decision made by his son.

He excuses the foolishness of his son...

He lets go of the hurt and heartache caused by his child.

How much more will God rejoice 

when one of us returns home.

He sees into the depths

 of your soul; there he finds

the goodness placed there when you

 were conceived.

That goodness is always there 

even when we, like the prodigal son,

run away and squander our inheritance.

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

There are no boundaries or expiration date on God's mercy.

We implore you on behalf of Christ,

be reconciled to God.

Return to God the Father.

See God running out to meet you.

Let the celebration begin

 with his blessings over you.

Close your eyes and picture God 

rejoicing in your homecoming.

~~~Peace~~~

A Sinner Prays

~~~ Hosea 6:1-6 ~~~ Psalm 51 ~~~ Luke 18:9-14 ~~~

It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.

What is worse/better, to recognize that you are a sinner

or to admit it before God?

The Pharisee and the tax collector enter the temple together.

Their internal dialogue paint very different pictures

of who they are within their soul.

The Pharisee's prayer is to compare 

himself to the tax collector.

How is this effective prayer? Should our prayer

 be focused on building up our own ego?

The tax collector's prayer comes 

from the realization that he has sinned against the Lord.

Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD;

as certain as the dawn is his coming,

and his judgment shines forth like the light of day!

He will come to us like the rain,

like spring rain that waters the earth.

For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice,

and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

When we come to prayer 

it must be with love and humility

not prideful thoughts of comparison.

How can we gain knowledge of God if our prayer

 is solely focused on our own degree of holiness?

The most saintly people who ever lived

did not boast about their own level of holiness;

in fact quite the opposite is the case.

The saints always desired to grow

 in love and knowledge of God.

They never assumed that they had complete 

understanding of God

Let your prayers lift up your heart

trusting that God is worthy of your trust.

Pray with the knowledge that God

 is not comparing you to the person kneeling beside you.

The Pharisee and the tax collector

knelt together in the same worship space.

Jesus presented them as equals in their prayer life

 by all outward signs.

Jesus uses their silent prayers

 to differentiate them from each other.

...it is love that I desire...

Love does not compare one to another.

Come to God in prayer just as you are...

strip yourself of trying to be better than the person next to you.

You will not find mercy looking down.

You will find mercy looking up into the face of the Lord.

Blessings in sincere times of personal prayer.

God loves you as you are...You are His.

~~~Peace~~~

Love...God, Neighbor, Self

~~~ Hosea 14:2-10 ~~~ Psalm 81 ~~~ Mark 12:28-34 ~~~

I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.

At least during this time of Lent remove your ear plugs.

God has amazing things to tell you concerning his love for you.

There is only One God...

He is One and there is no other than he.

And to love him with all your heart,

with all your understanding, 

with all your strength,

and to love your neighbor as yourself

is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.

This profound response was given by Jesus.

It may be easy to say that you love God,

but do you love him completely?

Are you holding back part of your heart from God?

Have you given God all of your understanding?

Have you asked him for an understanding of his will in your life?

Do you actually want God to give you additional understanding?

Is it easier to claim ignorance rather than responsibility?

Is it easier to ask for forgiveness than permission?

How much strength does it take to love God?

Why does it even require strength?

It should be easy for us to love God with our whole being,

but the catch comes in the second part.

...and to love your neighbor as yourself

is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.

We often stop short of fully living this part.

Notice that this is written as one sentence.

Jesus did not say that loving him is all you need to do

 to enter the kingdom of heaven.

The concept of loving God and loving 

your neighbor is not even separated by a period.

It is one together.

Is God telling us that if we do not love our neighbor

 then we are not loving him?

How does that make you feel?

Perhaps it is the complete love we have for God 

that gives us the motivation to love our neighbor to the same degree.

Lent is the proper time to make amends

 with those estranged from us.

Loving God to the fullest comes with the necessary 

blessings to love your neighbor in kind.

~~~Peace~~~

How is Your Heart?

~~~ Jeremiah 7:23-28 ~~~ Psalm 95 ~~~ Luke 11:14-23 ~~~

We often act as if we d'not understand the message of scripture,
but the truth is we have permanently implanted ear plugs.
We have spiritual ear plugs that block us from
hearing the Words that are spoken to us.

These ear plugs are so efficient that they
are capable of even deafening our hearts.

If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

How can we possibly hear his voice unless
we remove the ear plugs?
But first we must admit that our ear plugs exist.

It is critical that we remove the ear plugs.
If you clear your ears in order to hear more clearly
then you may just discover how much Jesus has done for you.

Why would you turn your back
 to the one who has done so much for you?
How could you walk away;
unless you have deafened yourself?

This is the nation that does not listen
to the voice of the LORD, its God,
or take correction.
Faithfulness has disappeared;
the word itself is banished from their speech.

These are harsh words...
God says we don't take correction, not even from him.

He accuses us of no longer being faithful.

But the crushing blow comes when we are convicted
of banishing his word from our speech.

Today I invite you to turn to scripture
 for every situation in your life.

We have a God who comes down to dwell with us.
A God who remains with us even when
we turn and walk the other way.
We have a God who wants us to listen for his voice.
A God who wants us to let his words soften our hearts.

A soft heart is pliable...a soft heart is more apt
 to have a greater capacity to love.

A hard heart is not capable of being anything more.
A hard heart is frozen in time forever.
A hard heart is as cold as stone.
A hard heart can have no mercy or compassion.

So the question for us is;
what kind of heart do you want to have?

Whoever is not with me is against me,
and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Can you do this if you remain deaf with a hard heart?
I am guessing the answer must be 'no'.

Blessings come in hearing with a softened heart.

~~~Peace~~~

The Better Way

~~~ Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9 ~~~ Psalm 147 ~~~ Matthew 5:17-19 ~~~

Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.

The laws were necessary for many different reasons
such as better health or community orderliness.
but with Jesus comes so much more

Sometimes laws continue to be kept on the books
 because it is the way things have always been done.
In all institutions rules and laws eventually are changed...
people change...circumstances change.

Jesus came to show us a better way.
He came to bring us something more
 than keeping all of the old laws.

Jesus brought us the beauty of love.
Jesus brought us the freedom of forgiveness.
Jesus brought us the gift of mercy.

Jesus gives us wisdom straight from the heart of God.

 ...what great nation is there
that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, 
is to us whenever we call upon him?

If we want to grow in holiness we must draw
from the depths of what Jesus teaches us.

You can perform all of the rituals.
You can keep all of the laws to the letter.
You can do all of these things, but
if you do not have love, forgiveness, and mercy
you are failing miserably
in the way of the Lord.

There is no God as great as our God.
No other god can compare
 to his goodness and faithfulness.

No one could make the law more than
 it was written to be except Jesus.
Jesus found the meaning within the written words
 that no one would have suspected existed.

Jesus peeled open the laws
 and gave us food for our life.

Blessed to have Jesus on our side.

~~~Peace~~~

The Forgiveness Standard

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

Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,

as I had pity on you?

Jesus expects us to forgive 

others just as we expect him to forgive us.

How would you feel if God took as long to forgive you

 as you took to forgive others?

Is it right to hold God to a higher standard 

than we would hold ourselves?

God never tires of forgiving us.

Even when we make less than perfect attempts

 at seeking his forgiveness...

he says okay I know you are trying.

God recognizes that we are trying to be holy...

no matter how weak we are at making progress.

...with contrite heart and humble spirit

let us be received...

It is necessary for us to come in humility

 to God when seeking his forgiveness.

It is a waste of our time and God's time 

if we are not sorry for our sins.

Being sorry does not mean that tomorrow

 you can return to business as normal...

committing the same sins over and over again. 

We must choose to follow Jesus with our whole heart.

We cannot hold back part of our heart from Jesus.

Sometimes it is beneficial to have a healthy fear of the Lord.

Fear can be a powerful motivation,

but it should not be the most important one.

Our God is slow to anger, abundant in kindness,

and eager to give us his mercy.

Remember your mercies, O Lord.

Let the mercies you receive from God 

be the guide for your own degrees of mercy.

The forgiveness and mercy of God sets the standard.

God holds the bar of forgiveness high, but not unattainable.

God sustains us with his love and his grace.

Forgiveness is our life long task.

Surprise someone this Lent.

forgive them as God inspires you to forgive.

Return to God with your whole heart...

That means you do not hold back 

a piece to harbor your anger for even 

one person who has wronged you.

Now is the time to forgive.

Blessed to be freed through his mercy.

~~~Peace~~~