"I Am Who Am"

~~~ Exodus 3:13-20 ~~~ Psalm 105 ~~~ 

~~~ Matthew 11:28-30 ~~~

Standing with shoes removed,

 before a burning bush that is not consumed,

Moses hears the voice of the Lord say...

"I am who am."

God reveals to Moses and to all generations

his very existence...an existence that is timeless.

God is the same past, present and in the future.

God speaks of himself in the present tense.

He expresses to Moses concern for his people.

I am concerned about you

and about the way you are being treated...

Lest you ever question whether or not 

God cares about you record this verse

 in your prayer journal.

Commit this verse to memory...

Take this verse to your prayer time.

What does it mean to you personally

to hear God saying those very words to you?

Can you accept that God is concerned about you?

"I am who am."

God is clearly stating I am here with you...

I am here with you in the dark times.

I am here with you in the times of joy.

I am here with you when 

fear and sorrow torment your spirit.

There is nothing hidden about God.

God cannot not exist.

God cannot contradict who he is...

not who he was when he created the world...

not who he was when he spoke from the burning bush...

not who he was when Jesus died on the cross...

not who he is today.

The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.

He is the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob...

who always keeps his promises to care for his people.

A God who is so concerned for us 

that he is willing to carry all of our burdens for us.

He invites us to let him be more present

during our deepest struggles.

"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,

and I will give you rest..."

The I AM who loves you 

is present at this very moment.

You are never alone.

~~~Peace~~~

The Kingdom of Heaven

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

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

'The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.'

Kick the dust off your feet...keep moving forward...

spreading footprints of peace.

If you have been baptized

you have been commissioned to bring

 the eternal message of peace.

Are you carrying out that mission?

There is no need to wait for those called

 to missionary work to speak on our behalf.

In order to continue to spread peace

it is necessary for us to leave the past behind...

to kick the dust off our feet.

Peace must come from the purity of heart.

It does not come up from the dust of our feet.

Have we become numb to hearing

 that the 'kingdom is at hand'?

What does it mean for something 

to be 'at hand'?

Do you have anything that you keep at hand?

Could the Kingdom already be here?

Did Jesus leave it here when he was raised from the dead?

If we are living in the Kingdom of God now

what does that mean for you?

Is there anything in your life that you need to adjust?

What if 'kingdom' is not a place, as we believe,

but rather an action as defined in the Hebrew language.

In Hebrew 'Kingdom' is active. It is action.

It is God active in the lives of men and women.

Those who have surrendered their lives to God.

'Kingdom' refers to those who are keeping God's

 word alive and living within them.

The apostles that Jesus called joined him

 in becoming the 'kingdom' and we can too.

Remember the marvels the Lord has done.

How adept are you at kicking off the dust from your feet?

Is it difficult for you to move forward?

Where do you go to restore your inner peace?

Who inspires you to seek greater 

peace in your own life?

So many times in the Bible peace 

is reached through the door of forgiveness.

Joseph forgives his brothers years after

 they sold him into slavery.

 His peace comes in being reunited with his father again.

Joseph, the Apostles, and us...

we are all the Kingdom of Heaven.

~~~Peace~~~

'Blind Spot' and Faith

~~~ Genesis 28:10-22A ~~~ Psalm 91 ~~~ Matthew 9:18-26 ~~~

"Truly, the LORD is in this spot, although

 I did not know it!"

Could it be that when we question the presence of God 

he is really just obscured in our 'blind spot'?

There is a scientific explanation of our 'blind spot',

maybe it can help explain our spiritual challenge to see God.

Science tells us it is the physical structure

 of the eye that creates this precise spot 

where we cannot see.

We are not aware of this 'blind spot' because 

our brain automatically fills in the missing information.

The brain fills in with information that is known and available.

In things of the spiritual nature 

it is our faith that fills in the missing parts.

Even when we cannot 'see' the presence of God

we believe he is present by our faith.

A woman suffering 

hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him

and touched the tassel on his cloak.

This woman believed that she could seek healing

 from Jesus from behind him.

She believed that eye to eye contact

 with Jesus was not even necessary.

She believed that her cure was not dependent 

on her words...on even her verbal request.

Jesus had to stop and turn around to see

 this desperate woman.

He did not allow her to remain obscure.

Jesus wanted to see the woman

 who displayed such great faith and hope.

"Courage, daughter! 

Your faith has saved you."

Jesus fills in our spiritual 'blind spot'

with blessings of greater faith.

Allow your trust in the goodness of the Lord

fill in the missing parts.

Say to the LORD,

 "My refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust."

Perhaps one day we will learn that 

heaven is near just hidden in our 

spiritual 'blind spot'.

Pay attention to what may be hidden 

within your 'blind spot'.

He is always near to you.

~~~Peace~~~

The Burdens of Life

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

~~~ Zechariah 9:9-10 ~~~ Psalm 145 ~~~ 

~~~ Romans 8:9, 11-13 ~~~ Matthew 11:25-30 ~~~

"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,

and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,

for I am meek and humble of heart;

and you will find rest for yourselves. 

For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

There are a few scripture passages

 that most people either know or at least recognize; 

today we hear one of those.

What are your 'heavy burdens'...

are they physical...are they mental...emotional...

or are they spiritual?

We each have some sort of burden.

 Jesus invites us to surrender it to him.

Why is this such a difficult concept to grasp?

Are we just too hard headed and stubborn

to let go of our burdens?

Are we afraid that God will let us down?

Sometimes our burdens make us want to crumble

 to the ground in a tangled heap.

God reaches out to us.

He says you are not alone.

He says I am here to help lighten the load.

He says let me be the one who relieves your pain.

...the one who raised Christ from the dead

will give life to your mortal bodies also,

through his Spirit that dwells in you.

It is this very Spirit that comes to give us rest...

this very Spirit that will carry our burdens.

The meek and humble of heart...the little ones;

they know God will be there to carry their burdens.

The little ones admit that they cannot

carry their burdens alone.

If we trust in the Lord 

it is through grace that we can 

surrender our burdens to him.

Come to the Lord.

He will give you rest.

~~~Peace~~~