Sin and Quicksand

~~~ Ezekiel 18:21-28 ~~~ Psalm 130 ~~~ Matthew 5:20-26 ~~`

Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed, 

says the Lord,

and make for yourselves a new heart 
and a new spirit.

The only way we can have half a chance of making a new heart
 is to get out of the 'quicksand' of sin as Pope Francis says.

Did you know that if you fight and flail around in quicksand
you will sink deeper,,,it will be more difficult to get out of it.

It has been reported that if you lie flat...ie prostrate
 on the surface you will not sink deeper.
If you lay back you will float.



The more you struggle in quicksand and in sin the deeper you sink.

The same is true with our sins.
Some time we try everything
but the one thing that will bring us back to God.

 If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?

Just as in quicksand,
 we must come to God with our heart, mind, and soul
in humility...in repentance...dependent on his mercy.

To get out of quicksand you cannot stand up and walk out;
you must lay back.
When we are caught in sin we must surrender to God.
We must ask to be freed the sins that bind us.

Let not the 'quicksand' of sin keep you
 from crying out to the Lord for help. 

He will never turn his back on you.
Jesus will never turn and walk away from one of his children.

Take advantage of the time of Lent.
Get out of the quicksand and wash away your guilt.

Cleanse your heart and he will give you a new spirit...
a spirit revitalized with his great love for you.

The Lord is here for you...to rescue you from
all of your iniquities.

Blessings to come back to the Lord.

~~~Peace~~~

The 'New' Crayons

~~~ Ezekiel 18:1-10, 13B, 30-32 ~~~ Psalm 51 ~~~ Matthew 19:13-15 ~~~

Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed,

and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.

It is a miracle that modern medicine has discovered

 a way to literally give a human being a 'new' heart.

Technically I guess it is not really a 'new' heart

 since it comes from a donor...

another human being

 that for some reason will no longer need their heart.

God presents us the possibility of making ourselves a new heart.

Along with the new heart you may just get the added
bonus of a new spirit too.

Do you like new things? Most people do.

I remember every summer right before school began

 shopping for those 'new' school clothes.

I still enjoy the 'new' notebooks and school supplies.

What about 'new' crayons? Nothing better.

They look so beautiful all perfectly lined up in their box,

each with that carefully point.

I actually knew an art teacher who would make the kids

 tear the paper off of the crayons,

and if that wasn't bad enough 

then they had to break them in half.

Her theory was; they would be able to use the crayons

 to create in more creative ways. Ugh!

Create a clean heart in me, O God.

The psalmist is asking God to make his heart 'clean'.

Certainly God would do a better job with our heart then we could.

God can see what really needs to be done.

Perhaps a deep cleaning will suffice.

Perhaps we don't really need a 'new' heart. 

The dentist told my friend that his teeth needed
a 'deep' cleaning, 

like beneath the gum line.

That sounds very unpleasant to me, 

but if God would just 'deep 'clean my heart

 I would be so grateful. 

“Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them;

for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Jesus wants the apostles to let the little children come to him.

The Kingdom of heaven belongs to them

 because they are the ones with the 'new' hearts.

They are the ones with the 'clean' hearts.

The older we get the more we mess up our heart.

Luckily God reminds us several times a year

to allow him to create a clean heart for us.

He does not tell us it will be a pleasant experience,

just like the dentist does not give any details

 about that 'deep' cleaning procedure.

Blessed with options...

a 'new' heart or a 'clean' heart.

Which would you prefer?

Pray with Psalm 51 and then decide.

~~~Peace~~~

A New and Natural Heart

~~~ Ezekiel 36: 23-28 ~~~ Psalm 51 ~~~Matthew 21: 1-14 ~~~

 

"A clean heart create for me, O God..."

 

"I will sprinkle clean water upon you
to cleanse you from all your impurities...

I will cleanse you..."

 

The pure cleansing baptismal waters come to mind here.

Jesus is the Living Water.

He cleansed, healed, and inspired the woman at the well with one cup of water.

Just to be sprinkled with his 'holy' water will send down his healing and cleansing.

There are times when the sprinkling with holy water is part of our liturgy.

One of the most moving times we see a sprinkling take place is during a funeral.

Towards the end of the service the entire is sprinkled with holy water.

This sprinkling ushers us into relationship with the Lord at our baptism.

This later sprinkling ushers our soul into it's eternal relationship with God.

 

 

"...I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you,
taking from your bodies your stony hearts
and giving you natural hearts...."

 

If you have ever had the occasion to walk into a Build a Bear store.

The whole process from picking out your 'bear', stuffing it,

 to the fluffing station is quite charming.

What I think is the best part is when you get to take

the soft little heart...

hold it in your hands...

make a wish or prayer intention for the recipient...

kiss it and lovingly place inside the bear.

 

You can also at some point

record a personal message

to your loved one.

This tiny recording is also tucked inside the bear.

 

The person who receives this precious gift can listen

to your recorded message over and over again.

Each time they want to hear your voice it is just a squeeze away.

Every bear has its own special 'touch point' to activate the message.

 

You may be wondering where I am going with this stuffed animal story.

Today we hear God promising to remove our stony heart,

replacing it with a new natural heart.

I believe if we allow God to take our heart

 and replace it; he goes a step farther.

 

Along with this new natural heart

comes his voice embedded within it.

So that from then forward we have but to return

to that 'touch point' and hear his voice speaking to us once again.

 

You do believe God speaks to you, right?

His grace gives us the ability to hear his voice

 deep within our heart.

I believe it is natural to be able to hear God,

but we are not always in a disposition

to find the correct 'touch point'.

 

 

How awesome would it be to be a heart surgeon?

If I were I would hold the person's heart and say a prayer for their healing.

I would also pray for God to carefully guide my hands.

 

Place your hand over your heart...

now imagine God touching your heart making it new and natural.

He did not create us to have stony hearts.

He is always willing to restore your heart to its natural state;

so that you can be better at loving and listening.

You Will be Given Words

~~~ Hosea 14: 2-10 ~~~ Psalm 51 ~~~ Matthew 10: 16-23 ~~~

Return

you have collapsed

Take with you words..............................and return to the LORD

forgive

receive

offerings

save

compassion

heal

love

blossom

root

dwell

raise

humbled

prosper

understand

 walk

stumble

I offer to you the above words lifted right from the lines

of the prophet Hosea.

I invite you to reflect on this list of words.

Take these words with you to prayer before the Lord.

Which word touches you the most deeply today?

Which word brings you the most peace?

Which word causes you the most conflict?

Which word gives you the strongest connection with God?

How are each of these words a part of your life?

Which of these words would you delete?

Which word would be written in bold letters for you?

You may have noticed I tried to create a simple cross with this list from Hosea.

God wants to create in us a new heart with a steadfast spirit.

He knows our deepest desire to remain always in his presence.

He alone can give us the joy of our salvation.

When you come before God to pray...

"...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.
For it will not be you who speak
but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you..."

If you do indeed have a sincere heart that is steadfast in the spirit, as the

psalmist desires. There is no need to worry how you are to speak,

either to the Lord

or to your sisters and brothers.

For if you have the love of God in your heart you will speak

the words

that come from his spirit.

Will you allow God to speak his words

through the words you speak?