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A Horrific Response by Pastors…
Devotional Thought of a New Day
4 “I have sinned,” he declared, “for I have betrayed an innocent man.” “What do we care?” they retorted. “That’s your problem.” Matthew 27:4 (NLT)
805 Listen, where you are … mightn’t there be one … or two, who could understand us well? (1)
Some point to the man and claim he was the most evil man that has ever lived.
Some say his sin was one that could never be forgiven, that he was so sold out to the demons that possessed him, that there was no hope.
He would hear the words from those who were supposed to be his shepherds, those who were spiritually responsible for him, who were to call him to repentance, to nurture him back to spiritual health.
Their words, without mercy, without hope, left him no other option.
He went out and hung himself.
And until reading this today, I never wondered if anyone ever cried for him, if anyone did anything but respond with “he got what he deserved.” Or, “Good riddance.”
Judas Iscariot, another man, another sinner, another man who cried out, looking for mercy, confessing his sin, and the answer of the ages has not told him there was mercy.
The mercy Peter would know, and Paul would encounter, after killing a servant of God. David knew it though he too thought he had lost any chance of knowing it. So did Jacob/Israel, and even the people of Nineveh.
But not Judas.
When he turned to the shepherds of Israel, looking for absolution, looking for mercy, looking for some peace to alleviate the pain of guilt and shame he found none. It’s no our business, Your sin, your problem. You don’t belong to our denomination, you certainly are guilty, live with it. You are a sinner. (even though they were his PARTNERS in the sin!)
Hours later, the answer Judas needed wold be provided, as the sun darkened at noon, and that which separated people from the glory of God was torn apart. The Answer that every prophet, ever priest, every king, had pointed to, the love and mercy of God.
I know pastors today, me included, may have seemed as heartless at times. Or we dismissed the pain you felt Churches too have failed to call people to dare to draw near to Jesus, to see Him on the cross. Forgive us, call us to hear the sweet words of forgiveness as well.
For no one, no matter their ethnicity, their political party, their age, should ever go without hearing that God has forgiven their sins. Indeed, that He commanded the church to forgive them. Look around you, they are there… even those you would never expect to repent. For know this, God doesn’t want any of them to perish. God doesn’t rejoice in the death of any wicked person. Even Judas, ever us.
We cry out, “Lord have mercy!”
We find peace in hearing His voice, “I have!”
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). The Way (Kindle Location 1856). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Yes, “she” would be welcome at my church, for all are…
Devotional Thought of the Day
19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 2 Corinthians 5:19-20 (NLT)
32 And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” John 12:32 (NLT)
. 21 I will pardon my people’s crimes, which I have not yet pardoned; and I, the LORD, will make my home in Jerusalem with my people.” Joel 3:21 (NLT)
There is a lady who’s name, face and voice have been plastered all over the internet lately.
She has been compared to Nazi doctors; she has been termed a devil, she has been called evil, her sin has been paraded all over the world.
And she is welcome to come to my church. She is welcome to come and know she is safe. Her sin will not be the only focus of the sermon and the message. People will welcome her, we might even rejoice that she has come! We want her to come to Concordia, and hear a message of hope, a message of love, a message of mercy, that all of us desperately need to hear. Not just her, not just that one sin either a mercy that covers every sin, for He died to forgive every sin.
Some may hear this in disbelief. You don’t mean the doctor from Planned Parenthood. The one who was involved in the selling of body parts? You surely wouldn’t welcome her into your church? Don’t you realize how guilty she is?
Yes, I do, Christ didn’t come to save the good people. He came to save sinners, people broken by guilt and shame, He came to save her. He came to save you and I. he came to save every one of us that has chosen evil over good at some time in our lives. Jesus came so we could be granted repentance and trust in Him, and given hope. This lady needs to know that God is still willing to reach out to her! He not only wants, He desires to bring her back to Him! Jesus died to make her reconciliation to the Father possible, as He has for every sinner.
You and I included.
For this is what the church does, it reveals hope to the sinner. It is i the church’s mission. We exist to give sinners hope. We exist to bring them into the Father’s presence. We exist to see everyone be cleansed of all sin and welcomed into the family of God.
And if God can do that for me, he can surely do it for her. For she is not a worse sinner than I am. Or for that matter Paul the Apostle who said,
12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him, 13 even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. 14 Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus. 15 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. 16 But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. 17 All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen. 1 Timothy 1:12-17 (NLT)
That is how powerful the mercy of God is. He desires that she would know His love and mercy. And fellow sinner, we need to be so in awe of God’s love for her, that we don’t get in her way, that we don’t block her way to the Father.
He can work with her, she needs to know that, as does every other sinner we know. That Jesus has done this for us, we who are of all sinners the foremost, should give them hope.
I pray she comes into one of our churches this weekend, along with every other person who needs hope. And I pray she find it.
For that is God’s desire… and it should be ours
Lord have mercy on us all!
Surviving Criticism by Walking with Jesus.
Devotional Thought of the Day
59 So they stoned Stephen while he called upon God, and said, “Jesus, Lord, receive my spirit!” 60 Then, on his knees, he cried in ringing tones, “Lord, forgive them for this sin.” And with these words he fell into the sleep of death ….. Acts 7:59-60 (Phillips NT)
16 Live in harmony with each other. Don’t become snobbish but take a real interest in ordinary people. Don’t become set in your own opinions. 17 Don’t pay back a bad turn by a bad turn, to anyone. Don’t say “it doesn’t matter what people think”, but see that your public behaviour is above criticism. 18 As far as your responsibility goes, live at peace with everyone. 19 Never take vengeance into your own hands, my dear friends: stand back and let God punish if he will. For it is written: ‘Vengeance is mine. I will repay’. 20 … these are God’s words: ‘Therefore if your enemy hungers, feed him; if he thirsts, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head’. Don’t allow yourself to be overpowered with evil. Take the offensive – overpower evil by good! Romans 12:16-20 (Phillips NT)
688 Once again, they’ve been talking, they’ve written— in favor, against; with good, and with not so good will; insinuations and slanders, panegyrics and plaudits; hits and misses … Fool, big fool! As long as you keep going straight toward your target—head and heart intoxicated with God—why care about the clamor of the wind or the chirping of the cricket, or the bellowing, or the grunting, or the neighing? Besides, it’s inevitable; don’t try to install doors in open air.
It is the odd day that someone isn’t criticized for their beliefs, It seems a past time to criticize others, and most of us have been hurt deeply by that criticism. And perhaps as often, we have struck back hurting others as we’ve been criticized. Either hitting our target, the one who attacked us or striking some innocent person who walked into range at just the wrong time.
This is true in the secular world, and it is as true in the world of religion.
It is hard to allow people to strike us, without striking out in self-defense. It is hard to take the abuse and not be hurt.
Such oppression dealt with in a manner like Jesus’ dealing with his accusers, or dealt with as St. Stephen did, can lead to reconciliation and community in ways we could never have imagined.
Yes, it takes great faith, an incredible level of trust in God. That is the key.
Having thick skin isn’t the key.
Pretending the words don’t hurt isn’t the key. Neither is not taking it personally! When our beliefs and opinions are, well ours, we can’t just shake it off. To pretend we can is living a lie.
In order to survive our beliefs being criticized, in order to hear the words, apply what is true and beneficial, and not strike out, we need to do what St Stephen does, cry out to Jesus. We need to keep focused on our target, Jesus. To not deviate from our adoration of Him, our awe at the depth of His love for us, I love the way St. Josemaria puts it, our head and heart intoxicated with God! To make life centered on receiving that love, and returning it. Living life in full view of it, and becoming the saints He has planned for us to be.
It is then that true constructive criticism (or that two lines out of a thousand) become something we are grateful for, as they help us draw closer to Jesus. And that which isn’t constructive, we ask that God forgive, that He handle, because He has the wisdom we don’t.
That kind of love, that kind of trust in God helps us to not just dismiss the evil we encounter, but sees GOd’s love overwhelm it. Just as Paul, who wrote then incredible words in Romans quoted above, and witnessed Stephen pleading with God to be merciful with Paul.
May our cries for the Lord to have mercy, not only include us, but all, including our enemies and adversaries.
AMEN!
Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). The Way (Kindle Locations 1602-1606). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Has the Church Forgotten the only Fact it needs to focus on?
devotional thought fo the day
“And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” Matthew 28:20b (NLT)
“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” Mt 1:23
“For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.” Mt 18:20
“Answer: A god is that to which we look for all good and in which we find refuge in every time of need. To have a god is nothing else than to trust and believe him with our whole heart. As I have often said, the trust and faith of the heart alone make both God and an idol.
If your faith and trust are right, then your God is the true God. On the other hand, if your trust is false and wrong, then you have not the true God. For these two belong together, faith and God. That to which your heart clings and entrusts itself is, I say, really your God.” (1)
2. In His goodness and wisdom God chose to reveal Himself and to make known to us the hidden purpose of His will (see Eph. 1:9) by which through Christ, the Word made flesh, man might in the Holy Spirit have access to the Father and come to share in the divine nature (see Eph. 2:18; 2 Peter 1:4). Through this revelation, therefore, the invisible God (see Col. 1:15, 1 Tim. 1:17) out of the abundance of His love speaks to men as friends (see Ex. 33:11; John 15:14–15) and lives among them , so that He may invite and take them into fellowship with Himself. (2)
584 Stir up the fire of your faith! Christ is not a figure of the past. He is not a memory lost in history. He lives! Iesus Christus heri et hodie: ipse et in saecula! As Saint Paul says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today—yes, and forever!” (3)
We cannot probe more deeply into the roots of the world in order to change it than by resting on the Heart of God, thus making it possible to call upon the living Ground and Power that supports everything and is alone capable of restoring all things (4)
When something keeps showing up in my morning devotions, I figure it must be something I need to share with those who read my blog. Actually, I don’t want to admit the real reason, and writing the blog helps me, because I write what I need to hear/read. It is God’s way of seeing if there is anything functioning in my brain, trying to get me to understand the most critical fact the church needs to remember. The critical fact I need to remember.
To know that not only God is, not only does He love us, but that He is with us. He has designed us to live with Him, describing us as being in Christ, abiding in Christ, the Holy Spirit residing with us. Over and over and over. That is why we can trust in Him because He is present because we have a relationship with Him, a relationship more intimate, more complete than any other relationship we have.
It all begins and ends with that relationship.
Every doctrine focuses on it, from Justification that makes it possible. Sanctification, the doctrine of being set apart, to that relationship. The sacraments, by which the reality of the relationship is communicated. Scripture, the record of the promises God makes to us, and a record of how He faithfully keeps those promises. Faith, the trust that becomes the natural expression of the relationship.
This is where we need to focus; it is this fact that is the reason for evangelism. It isn’t about transforming behavior (though that may happen), it isn’t worry about whether the world reflects what God teaches us is good and holy behavior. (We struggle with it, why do we expect them not to?)
This is what our religion is all about, walking with God. Everything else in Christianity, in our religion brings us to know this.
It is what matters in the end, and it is what gets us through this day.
I need to be reminded of this daily, so I expect that you will hear of it often.
The Lord is with you!
1. Tappert, T. G. (Ed.). (1959). The Book of Concord the confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. (p. 365). Philadelphia: Mühlenberg Press.
2. Catholic Church. (2011). Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation: Dei Verbum. In Vatican II Documents. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana
3. Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). The Way (Kindle Locations 1395-1397). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
4. Ratzinger, J. (1992). Co-Workers of the Truth: Meditations for Every Day of the Year. (M. F. McCarthy & L. Krauth, Trans., I. Grassl, Ed.) (p. 211). San Francisco: Ignatius Press.
Are We Afraid to Be Honest With God? How Honest?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
7 LORD, you have deceived me, and I was deceived! You are stronger than I am, and you have overpowered me. Everyone makes fun of me; they laugh at me all day long. Jeremiah 20:7 (TEV)
It’s been one of those years when things that aren’t supposed to happen do happen. When I’ve had to help more people pick up the broken pieces of their life, and plead with God to put them back together.
When I’ve seen other friends, turn their back on God, and choose their way to go, encouraged by those around them. When those entrusted with responsibility become Machiavellian in the work, and then justify it. I am not just talking about the secular world, I see it in the church as well.
It is almost enough for me to change from being cynical to being a pessimist. It is enough for me to despair, and even go through something akin to depression.
But it is there, almost consumed by darkness, that I remember the brutal honesty of Jeremiah. His ability to speak honestly with God, even to admit he was ticked at God and felt betrayed by Him, even deceived by Him.
To many people I hear today, acting as if life is perfect as if there is no brokenness as if everyone can achieve everything they want to, simply by only speaking positively. If life was such, why would they need to be encouraged to adjust their attitude, to only speak positively as if the challenges of life were not there?
Jeremiah is speaking positively when he rails against God when the prophet admits he is tired when he admits that he doesn’t like the suffering, the pain, the life he has to live. He doesn’t hide this stuff, bury it deeply, ignore it and cover it with nice notes of encouragement.
He wrestles with God, like a true son of Jacob; the man renamed Israel
I was blessed to work with a pastor named Robert Schuller a few times. Let me rephrase, I didn’t work alongside him, but in a series of courses, he taught me a few things about preaching, along with his trusted associates. He’s known for a positive message, perhaps along with Norman Vincent Peale to be one of the father’s of positive thinking, at least in the Christian realm. One of the bits of confusion is the allegation that he was a name-it, claim-it type guy. Not so much. The stories he would tell of people’s encounters with God’s grace always included the challenge God would get them through, the scars that God would use to bless them and others, the pains that resulted in gains.
An attitude that didn’t dismiss the brokenness, but freely admitted it, but also entrusted one’s self to God. Something that can only be done when we are as honest as Jeremiah was, as we admit out frailty, our pain, our honest feelings, and let our Heavenly Father comfort us. It is when we are honest, we see how overwhelming His mercy is, how compassionate His love is, as it reaches out and begins to heal us.
I have to admit, I don’t like what God somehow allows. I tell Him that, sometimes as bluntly as Jeremiah.
but then, eventually, my tantrum subsiding, I realize what Jeremiah does, just a couple of verses later…
9 But when I say, “I will forget the LORD and no longer speak in his name,” then your message is like a fire burning deep within me. I try my best to hold it in, but can no longer keep it back. Jeremiah 20:9 (TEV)
His message of mercy, His message of love, is that deep.
I can’t shut it even… even when I feel bruised and broken, or when I am tired of trying to help those who are.
for I know His presence, I know His mercy, and I trust in the compassion of our Father, who sent Jesus to die, to make life just and right…. and a blessing.
Cry our, Lord, have mercy! You will see that He does… in more ways than we can count.
Godspeed!
Given for YOU (plural!)
Devotional/Discussion Thought of the Day:
2 How I want to be there! I long to be in the LORD’S Temple. With my whole being I sing for joy to the living God. 3 Even the sparrows have built a nest, and the swallows have their own home; they keep their young near your altars, LORD Almighty, my King and my God. 4 How happy are those who live in your Temple, always singing praise to you. Psalm 84:2-4 (TEV)
22. Whenever the Sacrament of Baptism is duly administered as Our Lord instituted it, and is received with the right dispositions, a person is truly incorporated into the crucified and glorified Christ, and reborn to a sharing of the divine life, as the Apostle says: “You were buried together with Him in Baptism, and in Him also rose again-through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead”.40
Baptism therefore establishes a sacramental bond of unity which links all who have been reborn by it. But of itself Baptism is only a beginning, an inauguration wholly directed toward the fullness of life in Christ. Baptism, therefore, envisages a complete profession of faith, complete incorporation in the system of salvation such as Christ willed it to be, and finally complete ingrafting in eucharistic communion. (1)
“…for, thank God, a seven-year-old child knows what the church is, namely, holy believers and sheep who hear the voice of their Shepherd,” etc.”
I am sitting in my office, the first day “back” from a short vacation with my mother.
I am filled with anticipation for tomorrow, even as I thumb through my mail and lose some of that joy. For some would try and use their “authority” to convince me what i know about my congregation isn’t true with the church at large. That somehow there is a “us and them” in the Church.
You see, there is something special, something sacred, as the people of God are gathered to the altar, and as baptized believers, share in the body and blood of Christ. As I communed at another congregation on the other side of the United States last week, my heart looked forward to being “home”.
That is how I look at the divisions that exist in the Church. There are some that won’t be healed until we are all home, before the Father. He will settle the squabbles that exist between various siblings in the church. But being “home” means celebrating the feast with all who are believe and are baptised. For from God’s perspective, we cannot deny our brothers and our sisters, united in Christ at baptism, are indeed brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus.
Some discuss this in arrogance and pride, rather than sorrow and regret They put in roadblocks to the unity that is the Church in Christ by focusing ont he division, not the hope. They weep, not over the brokenness of the church, but over those who would look to that brokenness being healed in Christ. ( By the way, I am not talking of just one incident, or from just my own denomination)
I love the way Vatican II puts it in the quote above – we are linked together, all who are reborn in Christ. It’s a beginning, a start to seeing us all linked at the altar, the foretaste of the feast to come. Our baptism gives the vision of what should be, what will be in Heaven, and yes, something that should be worked towards here. Not dismissed with a – well that is them, and this is us mentality.
I also love the way the Lutheran confessions, in a section that deals with those (the Roman Catholic hierarchy at that time – but equally applicable to divisive types of today) describe the church as a child would, “the believers and sheep who hear the voice of their Shepherd.”
I read those words and hear the voice of Jesus, “take and eat, this is my Body, given for you” and “take, drink of this all of you, it is my blood of the new covenant, shed for you for the forgiveness of sin”
There is our goal, to hear the voice of the Shepherd, to grow in unity until we realize that we are one in Christ. Just as He and the Father are One. What begins in baptism is our goal, our desire, just as it is His. Complete unity, because He has lovingly healed the brokenness, giving us new life.
It is that unity in Christ, the miraculous unity of baptism in Christ, that gives me joy. I look forward to sharing in that unity tomorrow, as people gather here, as they hear of the peace promised and given by the Lamb of God, as they commune together with God. As we deal with division, as we deal with brokenness and separation, may we never forget that His feast is what we were re-born to share.
His love, His unity, trusting in Him and His work.
Lord, Have mercy on us all.
(1) Catholic Church. (2011). Decree on Ecumenism: Unitatis Redintegratio. In Vatican II Documents. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
(2) Tappert, T. G. (Ed.). (1959). The Book of Concord the confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. (p. 614). Philadelphia: Mühlenberg Press.
Are You Brave Enough, to Receive This Blessing?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. Psalm 139:23-24 (NLT)
27 So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. 29 For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died. 1 Corinthians 11:27-30 (NLT)
240 Ask for light. Insist on it … until the root is laid bare and you can get at it with your battle-axe: the particular examination.
I know a lot of men who can make a valid claim to bravery. Some are those who faced the enemies of our nation, like my father. Others work the inner city streets and the jails. Some armed as police and sheriff, others who go into those same streets with a Bible, and the sacraments that will help bring healing. I know others who are brave in a different way, as they face challenges of health such as cancer or Alzheimer’s or the death of a loved one.
But even in the midst of courage, there are few people who are willing to take another step that requires great courage, even though what is promised is a blessing, not some danger. Though to do so will result in a change in our lives as great as those who battle external or internal enemies.
The courage to examine one’s conscience, to let God look inside us, diagnose our sin, and go about cleansing us, healing us.
It takes courage to bare our souls to God, yet it is something we need to do and do often. We overlook it, perhaps out of fear that quenches our courage. A fear that God might break His promise, and not lead us into everlasting life. Perhaps even a greater fear, that God will take a part of our lives, and remove it, change it, remind us that it isn’t good for us. Parts of our lives that cause great shame, that we think cause pleasure, and may for our instant. Or parts that make us feel superior to others, or give us power and control.
Our fear of confession, of the self-examination that scripture encourages, may also come because of a fear of intimacy. Many of us, not only men, are afraid of that word. We are truly afraid of it when God is the one driving the intimacy, who wants to know every nook and cranny of our lives. He wants to, not to break us, but to heal our brokenness. That means letting Him plunge into the deep dark places in us. We need to let Him see the parts of us that we don’t want to admit exists, the narcissistic, dark places of our hearts and minds.
It takes more than faith, it takes courage. It also takes encouragement, which is why I think the blessing of confession and absolution is so needed. It is why Luther prayed that private confession would never fall into disuse. It is why I rejoice when I hear of churches that have lines, waiting for people to receive the blessing that comes from self-examination and letting God show you where He is working in your life.
For God is working there. He isn’t restricted to the good and joyous parts of your life. He isn’t just helping you know what you should do, or where you should go. He’s not just giving you the gifts you need to serve His people, or guiding theologians in their pondering of things mystical and mysterious. He is not just declaring you righteous and holy, He is at work, crafting a masterpiece, getting rid of that which mars and ruins the depth of the masterpiece.
He is healing you, where you need to be healed.
Just like He is doing in my life.
If you have the courage, go to you pastor, your priest. Ask them for guidance in this, ask them to hear your confession, to tell you God is forgiving you. That is what they are there for; it is something that is a great blessing to them as well.
You weren’t meant to do this alone… God is there…for you. And he’s put men there to be for you as well.
To help you see the height, depth, width and breadth of His love, revealed in Christ Jesus.
So come, take courage, and let God work in you!
Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). The Way (Kindle Locations 648-649). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
The Method That Works When Dealing With Evil…
Devotional Thought of the Day:
No doubt about it! God is good— good to good people, good to the good-hearted. 2 But I nearly missed it, missed seeing his goodness. 3 I was looking the other way, looking up to the people 4 At the top, envying the wicked who have it made, 5 Who have nothing to worry about, not a care in the whole wide world. 6 Pretentious with arrogance, they wear the latest fashions in violence, 7 Pampered and overfed, decked out in silk bows of silliness. 8 They jeer, using words to kill; they bully their way with words. 9 They’re full of hot air, loudmouths disturbing the peace. 10 People actually listen to them—can you believe it? Like thirsty puppies, they lap up their words.
11 What’s going on here? Is God out to lunch? Nobody’s tending the store. 12 The wicked get by with everything; they have it made, piling up riches 13 I’ve been stupid to play by the rules; what has it gotten me? 14 A long run of bad luck, that’s what— a slap in the face every time I walk out the door.
5 If I’d have given in and talked like this, I would have betrayed your dear children. 16 Still, when I tried to figure it out, all I got was a splitting headache... 17 Until I entered the sanctuary of God. Then I saw the whole picture: 18 The slippery road you’ve put them on, with a final crash in a ditch of delusions. 19 In the blink of an eye, disaster! A blind curve in the dark, and—nightmare! 20 We wake up and rub our eyes… . Nothing. There’s nothing to them. And there never was. 21 When I was beleaguered and bitter, totally consumed by envy, 22 I was totally ignorant, a dumb ox in your very presence. 23 I’m still in your presence, but you’ve taken my hand. 24 You wisely and tenderly lead me, and then you bless me. 25 You’re all I want in heaven! You’re all I want on earth! 26 When my skin sags and my bones get brittle, GOD is rock-firm and faithful. 27 Look! Those who left you are falling apart! Deserters, they’ll never be heard from again. 28 But I’m in the very presence of God— oh, how refreshing it is! I’ve made Lord GOD my home. God, I’m telling the world what you do! Psalm 73:1-28 (MSG)
212 That Christ you see is not Jesus. At best it is only the pitiful image that your blurred eyes are able to form … Purify yourself. Make your sight cleaner with humility and penance. Then the pure light of love will not fail you. And you will have perfect vision. The image you see will really be his: Jesus himself. (1)
Evil.
We encounter it daily.
You see it as the acts of ISIS are discussed, we hear that some think that police are evil, or politicians, or maybe someone close to you. Someone who has betrayed you, or disappointed you. We wonder why there can’t be anything done against evil, whether it is some physical action that stops their work, or a physical judgment in which we can all rejoice.
Psalm 73 looks at this issue, why those who are evil can appear to be successful, we might even dare use the word blessed. But the psalmist can’t even bring himself to ask publicly that question. To do so would betray the people he is set aside to lead in worship and praise of God. But this existence of evil, is too much, and that they succeed, and are not punished, there is no logic to this. There is only questioning, and even that we feel seems to be wrong. For to question, does that mean we don’t trust God?
The answer is not found in words, they fail.
It is found in the sanctuary, the Holy Place, the temple of God. It is found as we realize the presence of God in our lives, in the comfort His presence brings.
That is why I am so completely overwhelmed when we commune, as we receive the Body and Blood of Christ. There is something that is not only humbling, as the Psalmist mentions, but healing as well, Comforting, Assuring, building our confidence in a way that goes beyond words. God, giving Himself, to rid us not only of the evil in the world, but the evil in our lives.
His promise, His action, His death on the cross – giving His life, for us. Letting His blood be poured out, so the nations could be reconciled.
As St. Josemaria says, it is then, our vision cleared by seeing Christ, humble and at peace, we can turn evil over to God. We know His protection, His peace.
We can even find rest, knowing that He is Lord, and Savior, and the One who loves us.
So if you have to deal with evil, at whatever level. Look to Christ – let Him cleanse you.
He will.
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). The Way (Kindle Locations 604-607). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
The Incredible Awe and Joy found in the Cross of Christ
Devotional Thought of the Day:
5 Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and 6 my God! Now I am deeply discouraged, but I will remember you— even from distant Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan, from the land of Mount Mizar. 7 I hear the tumult of the raging seas as your waves and surging tides sweep over me. 8 But each day the LORD pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life. Psalm 42:5-8 (NLT)
2 “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Tell her that her sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned. Yes, the LORD has punished her twice over for all her sins.” Isaiah 40:2 (NLT)
15 Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Romans 12:15 (NLT)
I sit here in my office, as prayer requests continue to role in. There are so many people out there who are hurting, grieving, struggling. There are families, torn apart, not just by the loss of a loved one, but by the turmoil that was anticipated, the turmoil there just below the boiling point,
I am sad, discouraged, grieving with those who grieve. Yesterday was hard, as we prepared for our serving, celebrating Christ’s last supper, the night when thoughts of death oppressed Him, our Lord. Oppressed Him as He looked upon the disciples, who hadn’t learned the lessons of serving yet. They argued about who would be first in the Kingdom. (after Jesus of course!) Oppressed as He considered Judas, who would betray Him with a kiss, and Peter, who would betray him not once, but three times. Considering the agony of the garden, where his closest friends couldn’t pray with Him one hour, even as many refuse to do so today. Considering that pain adds to the pain I am enduring, as tears come too often, as I consider the trauma of friends, the pains, the battles, the grief.
it seems ironic that this day, the day when He would die, when we celebrate His death, I would find joy and relief.
I came across the verses above, these incredible words of promise. That God’s love would pour over us like the constant swell of the ocean’s waves. That the days of dealing with our sin, and the brokenness that it thrusts upon us are over. Christ has been victorious, over my sin, over the bondage of guilt and shame that Satan used to oppress us.
It will be nearly 48 hours before this sinks in, and I like that. I need to spend some time in the awe of Christ dying for me. You should as well.
He died for us. Those nails that physically held Him to the cross didn’t bind Him there as strongly as the love that drove Him there… and again the words of Hebrews comes blaring back into my ears….
For the JOY set before Him!
The Joy we know, that we need to know, even as we feel discouraged, tired, betrayed; as we know grief, and pain,
and LOVE.
May you find rest and joy in this moment of contemplating His death, the death He embraced for you. AMEN!
Something More Important Than Political Issues
Devotional Thought of the Day:
14 To Greeks and non-Greeks alike, to the wise and the ignorant, I am under obligation; 15 that is why I am eager to preach the gospel also to you in Rome. 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: for Jew first, and then Greek. 17 For in it is revealed the righteousness of God from faith to faith; as it is written, “The one who is righteous by faith will live.” Romans 1:14-17 (NAB)
3 I passed on to you what I received, which is of the greatest importance: that Christ died for our sins, as written in the Scriptures; 4 that he was buried and that he was raised to life three days later, as written in the Scriptures; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (TEV)
You are powerful over Your creatures. You can do all things in me. Give me a right mind, give me the wisdom that you promise to all who ask for it. Covert my heart and let me glorify you to the utmost till my last breath and through all eternity. I ask this in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen! Amen! Amen! (1)
There is a civil war going on right now. It is not one where blood has been spilt; it is pretty much a social media war. It is a cyber artillery match as people engage in battle with quick witticisms, with cartoons, with meme’s, with stories. It is brother and brother, sister against sister, and families are being ripped apart. Both sides accuse the other of ignorance, and of wanting to deny their rights. Both sides have been barbaric, as they take sides on a political and legislative action.
Several have tried to get my point of view on it, and a few others have presumed to know where I fall on the issue.
Apparently they haven’t seen my FB “about me” section, where I declare my political views as apathetic. Matter of fact, I would say I am actively and decidedly apathetic. See Psalm 2 for why, but simply put, it isn’t that important.
Here is why I am apathetic. There is something more important at stake, for all involved. Paul talks of it above. Salvation. That Jesus Christ died for sinners, was buried and rose again. We can also add ascended into heaven and intercedes on our behalf at the right hand of the Father.
He died for sinners.
Now before you go pointing your finger over the barricades, and tell me to look at Indiana, or those trying attacking Indiana, realise this.
All people are sinners.
Every person on both sides of the issue is a sinner. Matter of fact, many demonstrate it pretty clearly, as they condemn, judge, mock, and issue hate-filled statements against each other. Both sides of the issue are behaving badly, no, not badly, sinfully.
Repentance is needed. Reconciliation, not just to each other, but primarily to God is needed. For only reconciled to Him can we find what we need to be reconciled to each other. For we need a grace that is strong enough to be merciful, while at the same time identifying and calling for healing where sin has wreaked havoc. Not sin as in a singular incident, or a particular sin. Sin is where we have decided we are God, where we choose what we want, where we give up loving Him and loving each other to get it. It is part of our brokenness, the unnatural natural thing to do as humans.
But we can’t… on our own, fix what is broken.
Jesus can, and indeed, did. That is the message of the gospel. He died so that all of OUR sins can and will be forgiven. So that healing can happen. So that people won’t see each other as the enemy, as the opposition, but instead love each other and urge each other to draw close to God.
So both sides will now probably attack me, saying, you don’t know how evil they are, they have to change before any of this can happen.
My friends, that change can’t happen in them, and it can’t happen to you, until God transforms you, until He takes that heart of stone out of each of us and replaces it with a heart of flesh, and the Holy Spirit resides in us.
So let God lead you to repentance, don’t shy away… don’t wait for the other side to go first. Don’t wait for your anxieties to be settled. Instead come find hope, come find mercy, come find His love.
and learn to dwell in His peace.
Both sides may hate me for this.
(1) From Celtic Daily Prayer, devotion for 4/1 Finian Readings.
