Broken Heart Remedy

~~~ Wisdom 2:1A, 12-22 ~~~ Psalm 34 ~~~ 

~~~ John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30 ~~~

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.

When you are in the brokenhearted realm

you may not be able to think clearly.

Merriam Webster defines brokenhearted:

filled with great sadness especially because 

someone has left you or died...

overwhelmed by grief or disappointment.

There really is medically something called

'broken heart syndrome'.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted because

the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual effects are real.

The Lord cares for us on every level of our being.

Severe emotional pain can cause physical

 damage to the heart.

The emotional pain of a great loss maybe 

part of our natural survival instinct. 

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted...

 the pain is real, it is not imaginary.

During Lent we may encounter a sense 

of our distance from God through our sinfulness.

This can result in feelings of deep grief.

Jesus desires to heal us of our broken heart.

Jesus desires us to be fully whole in mind, body and soul.

He is with us in our time of need.

He is with us especially when we experience

a broken heart.

...those who are crushed in spirit he saves.

Do you find this verse as comforting as I do?

It is so important to reflect upon things of such importance 

before we actually find ourselves in the

 grasp of a devastating crisis.

We must reinforce our faith in God's presence

in the good times and in the times when we are suffering.

Lent is the perfect time to meditate

on just how great God is...

that his love for us is immense.

He never wants us to suffer from a broken heart...

He never wants our spirit to be crushed...

He wants us to come to him in our times of distress...

times of brokenness and crushed spirit.

Has your broken heart or crushed spirit

brought you closer to the Lord?

Come to the feet of Jesus

curl up in the hem of his garment.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted...

the brokenhearted is invited to come to the Lord.

Blessings for the Brokenhearted.

~~~Peace~~~

The Quest for Good

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

Seek good and not evil so that you may live,

and the LORD will be with you.

Most of those who actively oppose Jesus

 are not in the habit of seeking good.

When the prophet Isaiah said God was going to create

 a new heaven and a new earth 

people were skeptical. 

Even today we long for that prophecy

 to be our reality.

 ...there shall always be rejoicing and happiness

in what I create...

Our times are no different than Biblical times;

we are still struggling to 'seek good'...

and perhaps we always will be on this quest.

The prophet promises no more tears...

no more premature dying...

we will build our own houses

and raise our own fruits and vegetables.

In this wonderful world 

the 'good' will be visible every where we turn.

Just this thought makes me want to sing 

It's a Wonderful World

at the top of my lungs.

'seek good'

Believe that there is goodness 

and beauty in this world

waiting for you to witness.

The royal official thought Jesus 

had to physically see his ill son before 

he would be healed.

'seek good' and the Lord will be with you.

Jesus said to him, 

"You may go; your son will live.

The man believed...

we must believe with the same conviction.

It is the good in this world that gives

 us a reason to live.

It is the quest for good that brings

 us closer to Jesus.

Lent is a time 

when seeking good

leads us to life everlasting

with our Savior and Redeemer.

Blessing...

the Lord is with you.

~~~Peace~~~

The Sound of Love

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

Psalm ninety-five from yesterday
and today's psalm are connected to one another.

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

Yesterday we are told that hearing
God's voice is a good beginning point.
If we are deaf to God's voice we
will be missing a huge part of living.

Being 'deaf' to the voice of God usually means
we value ourselves more than we should.
Perhaps we are under the impression that we
alone have our lives under control.

God's voice can seem distant and faint...
too much trouble...
Why bother to listen for God?

The next part of this verse goes deeper;
'harden not your hearts'.
Ouch! We are warned about the possible abyss
when we are not attentive to God's voice.
The longer we refuse to acknowledge his voice
the more rigid our heart becomes.

The more rigid our heart the more likely
we are to completely miss God's voice.

I cannot speak for others,
 but I want to hear his voice.
I would love nothing more than to close my eyes
 and hear the beautiful voice of God.
Of course if that ever happened it would
 be very frightening.

 I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.

It's odd that we must be reminded that God is God...
that he is who he claims to be...
He is our God.
The one who made us from nothing...
the one who loves us beyond measure...
the one who knows us from deep within our soul.

It is this God who must remind us
 to 'hear his voice'.

His voice is the voice
 of truth, justice, kindness,
mercy, forgiveness, and above all
his voice is the voice of Love.

God's voice must be the sound of Love.

God is love...
He created us out of this Love...
He calls us to live in this Love...
to be this Love.

The voice of God's Love
is given to us to share with our neighbors.

It is widely held that you can only give
of that which you possess.

We have been blessed
with this incredible gift of his Love.

It is in hearing God's voice that we can truly learn
 to love ourselves; because he loves us.

As we love our neighbors as ourselves
 it's really God's love that we are sharing.

God is love!
The love that we choose to share
comes to us through his great love for us.

You shall love the Lord your God 
with all your heart, 
with all your soul, 
with all your mind, 
and with all your strength.

How can this be difficult when we are literally
returning to God that which he has given to us?

I invite you to spend some time as soon as possible
contemplating how you return God's love back to himself.

Just maybe it is best measured
 in how you love others.

Lent is surely the perfect time
to reflect on God's love for you personally.

Every drop of blood he shed was
out of his love for us.

Surrounded by Blessings
~~~Peace~~~

The Uniqueness of God

~~~ Deuteronomy  3:25, 34-43 ~~~ 

~~~ Psalm 25 ~~~ Matthew 18:21-35 ~~~

The fifth book of the Bible is Deuteronomy.

It sums up many rules and laws.

It also stresses the uniqueness of God.

The uniqueness of God is made visible to us in many ways

most importantly through the life of Jesus.

God is so unique that he sent his son down

 to be a witness for us.

Jesus did not just witness to this uniqueness,

 his actions were the ultimate living proof.

But with contrite heart and humble spirit

let us be received...

During the season of Lent it is precisely 

our faith in the uniqueness of God

 that draws us to desire a contrite heart...

a time for us to practice humility before God.

So let our sacrifice be in your presence today

as we follow you unreservedly...

It is through our personal humility

 that we choose to make sacrifices before God.

Only you can decide what constitutes a sacrifice for you.

It is only with the spirit of humility 

that we can unreservedly follow the Lord.

Is it possible to be 'all in' in serving

 the Lord with your whole heart?

It is possible to hold back parts of your heart

 while unreservedly following the Lord?

And now we follow you with our whole heart,

we fear you and we pray to you.

What does it mean to you to follow God

 with your whole heart?

How do you know you are actually using your whole heart?

Using our whole heart means we must tap

 into the uniqueness of God.

The very uniqueness that invites us to forgive

 those who trespass against us no matter how many times it takes.

The very uniqueness that causes us to seek God's mercy.

...deal with us in your kindness and great mercy.

Deliver us by your wonders...

Deliver us by your wonders...

brings us back to honoring and believing

 in the uniqueness of God.

It is often to our benefit that God's 

ways are not our ways.

May your Lent be blessed 

with the wonders of the uniqueness of God.

~~~ Peace ~~~

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~~~

Sold for Good

~~~ Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13A, 17B-28A ~~~ Psalm 105 ~~~
~~~ Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46 ~~~

Here comes that master dreamer!

Joseph's brothers mocked him
by calling him 'the master dreamer'.

We all have dreams.
Why is Joseph different?

Joseph was the youngest of the brothers.
He was born late in the life of his parents.
Perhaps he reported the mischievous behavior to their father.

They were able to find many reasons to tease and taunt him.
When Jacob made Joseph a beautiful new colorful tunic
that was it. The brothers had had enough.

Joseph had recently shared with his father
and his brothers two dreams.

“Look, I had another dream,” he said; “this time, 
the sun and the moon and eleven stars 
were bowing down to me.” Genesis 37:9

They were primed for evil to enter into their hearts.
Once they were away from their father
they began to actively plot his death.

The brothers refused to accept the dreams of Joseph.
He was the laughing stock of his brothers.

Little did they know what God
had planned for their little brother.

Because they were distracted from killing their brother
 by an approaching caravan of Ishmaelites.

Ultimately they sold Joseph into slavery.

For them this was a win win.
They got rid of him and his wild dreams.
The added benefit earned them
some extra money in the deal.

Because of their evil plot, Joseph
was able to save his people
 including his own family
from certain starvation.

Remember the marvels the Lord has done.

What if your worst enemy was the very person
God would use to save your life one day.

How would you feel?

What if you had the opportunity to save
your worst enemy...
Would you do it?

Joseph saw the doom of the great famine in a dream.
He could have kept it to himself and done nothing.

Joseph was given the grace
to understand that God was using him. 

God wanted to save the people from starvation;
it was Joseph who was tasked to tell the King.

The King had learned to listen to Joseph.
More often than not he interpreted his dreams
in the long run to the benefit of the King.

God continues to do great things for his people...
this includes you and me.
God continues to use individuals to bring
about his Divine plans for us.

Be open, God may be planning to use you
in a very unique way.

Now is the time to pray for the grace
to see how and where God wants to use you.

God spoke to Joseph in his dreams.
What do you dream?

Blessed even in your dreams.

~~~ Peace ~~~

Who is God Seeking

~~~ Isaiah 1:10, 16-20 ~~~ Psalm 50 ~~~ Matthew 23:1-12 ~~~

Jesus scolded the scribes and the Pharisees 

for not being who they claimed to be.

He warned the people to not be fooled

 by their behavior...

their actions were not even aligned 

with their own words.

All their works are performed to be seen.

These holy learned men shrouded

 their true selves in fine clothing.

They become their own diversion.

But nothing can be hidden or disguised before God.

God looks deep within...

God sees the 'pimples' in our soul.

God is not impressed 

with your position at the banquet table.

God seeks those who desire 

a humble and contrite heart.

God seeks those who...

cease doing evil; learn to do good.

This is precisely what we are called 

to do each year during Lent.

We have forty focused days 

to catch ourselves doing evil...

none of us are perfect...we are all sinners.

We have forty focused days 

to learn to do good.

Now is the time to do some soul searching.

Now is the time to stop sinning...at least

 make the serious intention.

Do you really want to do good?

Or is it only when people are watching you?

Jesus shows us the way.

We do not have the task to discover 

what being 'good' means.

God is seeking you.

Help Him find you faster 'do good'

for He already knows who and where you are today.

Blessings 

turn away from evil and do good.

~~~Peace~~~

Light of Hope

~~~ Second Sunday of Lent ~~~

~~~ Genesis 12:1-4A ~~~ Psalm 33 ~~~ 

~~~ 2 Timothy 1:8B-10 ~~~ Matthew 17:1-9 ~~~

Jesus called Peter, James, and John to follow him.

They had no idea that when they followed him

 up this mountain they would be stunned 

by what happened to their leader.

They climbed the mountain to witness 

the blinding light of the divine glory of Jesus.

...he was transfigured before them; 

his face shone like the sun 

and his clothes became white as light.

They were given a glimpse of heaven.

God also sent down Moses and Elijah.

Moses, chosen by God to lead the people to the promised land.

Elijah, one of the greatest Jewish prophets.

When we look at the sun our vision is greatly effected.

You might call it a sunburn of the eyeball.

If the sun is brightly shining in your face you instinctively

 want to protect your eyes from the light.

The human eye is very sensitive to bright light.

During the Transfiguration the face of Jesus 

was as bright as the sun.

The three apostles with Jesus must have initially reacted 

by turning away or covering their eyes.

Subsequently they saw a dark cloud...

heard the voice of God and succumbed to fear.

Jesus immediately responds to their reaction.

He comes to them...

Jesus came and touched them, saying,

"Rise, and do not be afraid."

When we take our last breath many people

 have reported seeing a bright light.

This bright light seems to be an invitation to come closer.

If this is the light from the face of God

 it might explain why there is an experience

 of peace and not fear.

The Transfiguration gives us hope.

"Do not tell the vision to anyone 

until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."

Let this second week of Lent

bring you closer to realizing that Jesus 

will never leave you or abandon you.

The Transfiguration is the Light of Hope.

~~~ Blessings & Peace ~~~

Story Time

~~~ Esther C:12, 14-16, 23-25 ~~~ Psalm 138 ~~~ 

~~~ Matthew 7:7-12 ~~~

As a child my mother read to us every

 day right after lunch.

It was nap time 

for the little ones and 'rest' 

time for the older ones.

She read from this big book 

with a short story for each day of the year.

By the time she reached 'the end' the little ones 

were usually asleep.

Today most young parents have minimal time

 to actually read to their children.

As a child I used to hear from the books

 of my forefathers

that you, O LORD, always

 free those who are pleasing to you.

Esther, in her time of distress,

 is able to recall the goodness of the Lord

because as a child she was read to 

by the adults in her life.

What we hear as young children 

is able to be internalized more easily.

As young children we still have a pure unbiased heart.

Esther draws strength from 

the words she remembers hearing as a child.

If you have the occasion please read Bible 

stories to any child you love.

God the Father is the best parent.

He gives us all that we need.

Which one of you would hand his son a stone

when he asked for a loaf of bread,

or a snake when he asked for a fish?

God listens and answers to our prayers.

He is not ever trying to trick us.

When his answers seem to be a 'stone' or a 'snake'

it is only because he has something better in store for us.

...how much more will your heavenly Father

 give good things

to those who ask him.

If you need a visual during Lent to remind 

you to turn away from sin,

 find a large 'stone' and keep it near you.

Look at that 'stone' remembering...

 God gives you so much more.

Esther received valuable memories from her childhood.

The Gospel today reminds us all to 

believe that we have God as our Father.

Blessed to seek, find, and receive.

~~~Peace~~~

The Perfect Prayer

~~~ Isaiah 55:10-11 ~~~ Psalm 34 ~~~ Matthew 6:7-15 ~~~ 

In praying, do not babble like the pagans,

who think that they will be heard 

because of their many words.

Do not be like them.

Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

We are not babies...We are not pagans...

We can speak; there is no need for us to babble.

Babble means to talk foolishly, too fast,

 in an incomprehensible way.

Jesus teaches us what it means to pray

 in today's Gospel reading from Matthew.

God is not hard of hearing, 

we do not need to talk louder and louder.

We do not need to give God an endless litany

 of our needs when we pray.

Your Father knows what you need 

before you ask him.

Jesus teaches us to pray...

the Our Father.

To really pray the Our Father we must

 have some level of comprehension.

The words of the Our Father are not meaningless words...

they are not a mere string of foolish words.

The Our Father may be the perfect prayer.

The words of the Our Father are perfect because

they were given to us from Jesus.

These words are not to be taken lightly.

These words hold the potential to greatly impact our life.

It is fitting that in the first week of Lent 

we are given the Lord's Prayer.

This prayer is capable of changing us...

This prayer is capable of cleansing our heart...

This prayer is capable of replacing our 

heart of stone with a new heart...

This prayer is capable of creating within our soul

 an attitude of humility and gratitude.

Our Father who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name,

thy Kingdom come,

thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread;

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us;

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

Let this familiar prayer

fall afresh upon your heart during this Lent.

If you desire to have a fruitful forty days

let this prayer transform you to be more like its author.

May you be Blessed with the best Lent ever...

with a changed heart.

~~~Peace~~~

Instructions for Holiness

~~~ Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18 ~~~ Psalm 19 ~~~ Matthew 25:31-46 ~~~

'Amen, I say to you,

what you did not do for one of these least ones,

you did not do for me.'

This reading from Leviticus and the Gospel 

from Matthew are closely connected today. 

The Lord gives Moses a complete list 

of what it takes to be holy...

no stealing, lying, swearing, speaking falsely,

no fraudulent behavior, cursing,

not acts of dishonesty.

Slander is condemned as well as hatred

 and holding a grudge.

Be holy, for I, the LORD, 

your God, am holy.

For some people this list is just

 too overwhelming.

It is mostly negative and we live in the 'feel good' era.

The instructions to become as holy as God

 seem to be a bitter pill to swallow.

God, however. is the reflection 

of this extensive list in Leviticus.

His reflection is the resulting goodness

of the very holiness we long to attain.

Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

His words, no matter how challenging they are,

lead us to the holiness that he believes we can reach.

Holiness is our goal...

Holiness is what keeps us 

faithful to his commands...

Holiness gets us a place in heaven.

Jesus is very specific with his words in the Gospel.

Stating emphatically that when we treat 

others with kindness and love;

 it is God whom we are serving in disguise.

'Amen, I say to you,

what you did not do for one of these least ones,

you did not do for me.'

The positive message is what you did do 

for the least ones you really did for Jesus.

If we sincerely want to be more holy

 then we must operate within the

 'spirit and life' of Jesus.

Let the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart

find favor before you,

O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

During this first week of Lent let us try to see others

 as a reflection of the holiness of God.

Put aside everything that is a distraction from the words

of God to be holy as he is holy.

Blessings in knowing that God

 would not ask us to do the seemingly impossible 

without being right there by our side.

May you have the peace of the Lord.

One Bite

First Sunday of Lent

~~~ Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7 ~~~ Psalm 51 ~~~ 

~~~ Romans 5:12, 17-19 ~~~ Matthew 4:1-11

One does not live on bread alone,

but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

One bite from the fruit of the tree

 of good and evil

cast us all into the darkness

 of temptation and sin.

One bite of sweetness made us 

feel ashamed of our own beauty.

One juicy bite caused us 

to run and hide from the voice of God. 

One bite...

Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Cleanse me Lord.

Before you alone I confess my guilt.

Before you I acknowledge my offenses.

Cast me not from your holy presence.

Give me back a willing spirit to remain steadfast

in loving you with all my heart and soul.

Cleanse my heart with a contrite spirit.

Give me back the joy of knowing you will always love me.

Teach me to embrace the power of your words.

Your words are more than bread alone.

Your words bring healing and forgiveness.

Your words have the power to cleanse

 and heal the broken-hearted.

Your words are more nourishing than one bite 

of the fruit of the tree of good and evil.

I invite you to let this be a Lent

sustained by the reassuring words of the Lord.

For He will send the angels to sustain you.

One bite is nothing compared

 to the living words of God.

Blessings along the journey.

~~~Peace~~~

Swimming Upstream

~~~ Isaiah 58:9B-14 ~~~ Psalm 86 ~~~ Luke 5:27-32 ~~~

Teach me your way, O Lord, that I 

may walk in your truth.

We are given the advice to 'follow your own path'...

Ralph Waldo Emerson said,

" Do not follow where the path may lead.

Go instead where there is no path 

and leave a trail." 

We hear slightly different words from Jesus.

Jesus invites us to come follow him.

Jesus invites us to merge our individual path with his.

Jesus invites us walk the path of truth 

and justice that he created for us.

The desire to create our own path as followers of Jesus 

must be to walk more closely in his footsteps.

We will always have the right to choose our own path.

Perhaps some soul searching is in order when it 

comes to finding our own path.

Jesus came to show us the way.

His path is visible to all seekers...seekers of truth.

It may indeed take more courage to walk along the path

marked by Jesus than to create our own.

Hearken, O LORD, to my prayer

and attend to the sound of my pleading.

During this time of Lent

pause for awhile...

examine your personal path...

Are you walking in the footsteps of Jesus?

In the end that is what really matters the most.

Following Jesus may at times even feel like 

we are swimming upstream.

It is true that you must walk your own path...

no one can make the journey to holiness on your behalf.

The path you choose is up to you.

Join those who follow Jesus;

you will not be alone.

May you be confident in your decision

to follow Jesus even if it means

swimming upstream.

Have a Blessed Lenten journey.

See you along the path.

~~~Peace~~~

Setting Expectations

~~~ Isaiah 58:1-9A ~~~ Psalm 51 ~~~ Matthew 9:14-15 ~~~

A heart contrite and humbled, O God, 

you will not spurn.

Ash Wednesday was just two days ago.

Marked with ashes we are reminded of how easy

 it is for us to loose our way.

It is now day three into Lent.

How are you doing?

Has your prayer life changed in any manner?

Sometimes we find ourselves not living up to expectations;

our own expectations and expectations of others.

How sincere is our desire for a heart 

contrite and humbled?

Personally I find my self re-evaluating 

my expectations over and over again,

especially when I feel that I am falling short 

of my own expectations. 

Lent gives us forty days

 to update and fine tune our spiritual expectations.

I invite you to put aside any expectations you may have 

for your Lenten journey and focus on all 

that God has done for you.

Setting unreasonable expectations 

set us up for failure.

Not meeting our ideal expectations 

gives us an excuse to give up.

If we give up on making our Lenten journey 

all that it might be is exactly what the devil wants.

During this time of Lent take one day at a time.

Each day is one more chance to come closer 

to the God who created you.

...seek me day after day,

and desire to know my ways...

The One who has unquestionable love for you.

Let go of your 'expectations'

come closer to God one day at a time.

May your Lenten journey be Blessed.

~~~Peace~~~