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He Knows Your Name!
my devotion this morning comes from yesterday’s preschool chapel…. it is pretty simple…but then again, that leaves us in awe…
I Know Your Name!
Isaiah 43:1
† In Jesus Name †
Isaiah 43:1 (TEV) 1 Israel, the LORD who created you says, “Do not be afraid—I will save you. I have called you by name—you are mine.
It’s special person’s day!
Who would like to introduce me to who they asked to be their special person today?
(pick a few)
Wow! And thank you to all of your special people who heard and responded to the call to be these children’s special people!
As I was thinking about this morning, I thought about someone else calling to the people he wanted to be His special people. Just like you children chose your special person because you love them and wanted them to share this time with them, this person chose His special people and not only wants to spend a morning with them, but an entire lifetime.
It was a long time ago, before there were cell phones, before even there were phones. To invite them, he sent messengers to tell them, they were called apostles, and prophets and pastors. And one of those passages is our Bible verse for this morning.
Isaiah 43:1 (TEV) 1 Israel, the LORD who created you says, “Do not be afraid—I will save you. I have called you by name—you are mine!
That is who it is who has a special people – it is God, He loves each of us so much – more than we can ever imagine. He shares not just one day with us, but every day! He calls us by name, and because Jesus came and died on the cross, we can become His special people – and He calls us each by name!
Stained glass at St John the Baptist’s Anglican Church http://www.stjohnsashfield.org.au, Ashfield, New South Wales. Illustrates Jesus’ description of himself “I am the Good Shepherd” (from the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 11). This version of the image shows the detail of his face. The memorial window is also captioned: “To the Glory of God and in Loving Memory of William Wright. Died 6th November, 1932. Aged 70 Yrs.” (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
So not only did you invite a special person today… you are a special person that someone paid a very high price to invite you to share his days. Jesus!
Hello, my name is Dt and I am a narcissist..
Devotional Thought of the Day:
1 If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— 2 then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. 3 Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. 4 Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. Philippians 2:1-4 (MSG)
Some pressing difficulties can be remedied immediately. Others, not so quickly. But they all are solved if we are faithful: if we obey, if we observe what has been laid down. (1)
It may seem to some that my post title is said in jest, using the formula of the various x-anonymous groups.
I would have you know, it is not said in jest, I can be, and often am, as narcisstic as any person on the face of the planet, and while I am not proud of it, I must recognize it. I must confront it, cofness it, and pray to God that he would help me lay down the idol of “self”. And as with recovery programs, it is this very thing, admitting our need of God, that is our beginning step to healing.
You see narcicism is a pretty lonely life, at best, even if it is “safer” than investing ourselves in others. Fulfillment doesn’t come at the being the best we can be, if we are alone when we achienve it.
We weren’t made ot be alone, or to be he center of our own universes. We weren’t made to live on the defensive, paranoid and hardened against hurt.
We were made in the image of Christ. And we were re-created in that very image as well, created (Eph. 2:10) to be His masterpice, specifically set aside for living life as He did… sacrficially, doing good things He has planned.
It’s not easy, leaving behind our narcissism, confessing our sin, asking God to use as He designs…. It requires we see ourselves nailed to the cross, united with Christ’s death and resurrection. It requires that we live in Christ and die to self, to become living sacrifices. Yet this is what Romans is all about, and this great passage from Philippians, and Eph.5:21 and following as it deals with the relationships of husband and wife, parents and children, bosses and employees. It is what 1 JOhn is about, when it talks of us loving our neighbor, and James when it talks about faith and works. It is Christ’s life, and this life we who trust in Him are called and made right and holy to live. This is what, as St Josemaria says, is laid down.
There is a sense of irony here, for if the goal of the narcissist is self-fulfillment, self protection, to succeed at it, the narcissist has to set himself aside… drop the defenses, and invest themselves totally in others.
That is what our faith, our trust, our confidence in God enables us to do, for we find our life, alive in Christ.
Lord have mercy on us…. and help us realize that you separated us in baptism, from our narcissism.
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1718-1719). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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What’s in you?
14 Then Jesus called the crowd to him once more and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand. 15 There is nothing that goes into you from the outside which can make you ritually unclean. Rather, it is what comes out of you that makes you unclean.” Mark 7:14-15 (TEV)
It is necessary that you be a “man of God,” a man of interior life, a man of prayer and of sacrifice. Your apostolate must be the overflow of your life “within.” (1)
In the last couple of days, I have heard a lot of people talking about the threats to Christianity, and indeed to Christians. I’ve heard talk of teaching pastors to defend the faith ( using a very misguided translation of St Peter’s words about being ready to give the reason for the hope we have). It’s as if these challenges to a Christian could possibly remove their faith, or break them.
That attitude is not unlike the attitude of the Pharisees in Mark 7. They spent all the time working on the outside appearance of their faith. They want it to appear perfect, with no cracks, no gaps, not even with the slightest hint of guilt. Except of course, we are all dirty, and whether we want to admit it or not – we are all weak and broken and needing to be cleansed – from the inside out, not the outside in.
The outside isn’t our threat – the inside is.
But just like that – it is not the inside that is the source of our holiness, even though we are called to a pure interior life. It’s not something we can do on our own, but it is something that is done to us. Hear the prophetic words of Ezekiel,
“ 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you and make you clean from all your idols and everything else that has defiled you. 26 I will give you a new heart and a new mind. I will take away your stubborn heart of stone and give you an obedient heart. 27 I will put my spirit in you and will see to it that you follow my laws and keep all the commands I have given you. 28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors. You will be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will save you from everything that defiles you! Ezekiel 36:25-29a (TEV)
This is what it is all about – this interior life that St. Josemaria speaks of so clearly. It is Christ in you, the hope of glory. It is the promise of His incarnation in us – as we are united to His death and resurrection. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit – dwelling in us, and the communion that occurs. That is the spring of a life from which no longer comes that which perverts us, but proof of God’s work in us – the fount of holiness.
So look within – not to see your own internal clock – not to see your own desires – but to see the love of the One who desires that you are transformed, repentant, made alive… and works in you……
and find that His mission, HIs apostolate – that even as the Father sent Jesus – so we are sent – to bring life and a walk with God to those he died to save.!
Lord Have mercy on us!
English: Christ Handing the Keys to St. Peter by Pietro Perugino (1481-82) Fresco, 335 x 550 cm Cappella Sistina, Vatican. Ελληνικά: Λεπτομέρεια από την νωπογραφία του Πιέτρο Περουτζίνο, Ο Χριστός Παραδίδει τα Κλειδιά στον Πέτρο, 335 x 600 cm, Καπέλα Σιξτίνα, Πόλη του Βατικανού. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). The Way (Kindle Locations 2226-2228). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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Why I don’t hate “religion”, because it is His One, holy, catholic/christian and apostolic church
English: Baptism of Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
But this is the meaning and substance of this addition: I believe that there is upon earth a little holy group and congregation of pure saints, under one head, even Christ, called together by the Holy Ghost in one faith, one mind, and understanding, with manifold gifts, yet agreeing in love, without sects or schisms. I am also a part and member of the same a sharer and joint owner of all the goods it possesses, brought to it and incorporated into it by the Holy Ghost by having heard and continuing to hear the Word of God, which is the beginning of entering it. (1)
The Large Catechism of Martin Luther.
385 Our Lord says: “A new commandment I give you: that you love one another. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples.” And Saint Paul: “Bear each other’s burdens, and thus you shall fulfill the law of Christ.” I have nothing to add. (2)
I was reading the other day about someone who was making a case for a “personal relationship” with Jesus Christ. A little later a friend sent me a question about the protestant church, and their view of faith being individual, compared to the “one holy catholic and apostolic church”. I thought it through and sent him some thoughts about it, tracing it back past the Enlightenment to Zwingli and his attitudes towards the Lord’s Supper and the miraculous. Putting the two together this morning, plus preparing to head to St Louis for my denominations convention, has me thinking about our faith a lot, and how scriptures expresses it – corporately.
You can’t really come up with a “personal faith” in Christ, nor for that matter a personal relationship with Him. The easiest way to see this is to start with the Trinity. To have a relationship with Jesus, means we have a relationship with the Father, whom Christ brings us to, and with the Holy Spirit, who is sent to us, by the Father and the Son. The Spirit brings us deeper into that relationship with the Father and Son, testifying of Them, showing you Their glory, reminding us of the presence of God in our life, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. That’s why we baptize in Their Name.
If we can accept the relationship with the Trinity, then we have to realize that as They work in our lives as individuals, they are drawing us into a relationship with each other. It is inevitable, it is our very hope, to share in their glory, to know Christ is in us, but that means us. That means we are all enveloped in Him, we are united to Him, and therefore each other. This is why Escriva says he doesn’t have to add anything to what Jesus commissions us to be, what Paul describes and encourages us to be. Religion is nothing more than a way to classify this relationship, to describe the actions that take place because of it, for to be united to Christ results in our fulfilling the law of Chirst.
Which is why, united to Christ from our very baptism, from the very work of the Holy Spirit calling us to faith and repentance, we learn to love each other! It is part of being drawn into the love of Christ for us, for the Father. It isn’t our decision or desire to love, it is part of the very nature of God – the Triune God, who is working in our life. It is part of our spiritual DNA – our heritage as those called into a relationship with God. He makes us One! He causes us to love, to serve, to think of others before we think of ourselves. For that is who He is, and as He unites us to Him, as we look to Him, the Spirit is drawing us to this, forgiving, reconciling, redeeming and causing us to share in this life of Christ.
So go in peace, to love God, and therefore each other.
(1) The Large Catechism of Martin Luther.
(2) Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). The Way (Kindle Locations 973-975). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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God’s own Child
Baptism of Christ. Jesus is baptized in the Jordan River by John. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
God’s Own Child
Galatians 3:23-4:7
† Jesus`Son`Savior †
May you realize the joy of being the very children of God!
The Joy of Baptism
After one of the recent baptisms, as I was walking out of church, someone said to me, “Pastor, you really enjoy baptisms, don’t you?”
I am not sure if it was a surprise to them, or just a an observation, but yes, I do. More than anything else I do in ministry, I love it when there are sacraments delivering God’s miraculous grace to those people He loves, to those He has called into relationship with Him.
When God takes a person and the Holy Spirit breathes faith and eternal life into them, declaring them to be His children.
It is an amazing miracle….
Matter of fact, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper and Absolution, all three of the major sacraments are miracles, something to be incredibly joyous about. They are, in my opinion, more important than any other miracle, more important than healings, or the story in the gospel of the man who was freed from demon possession…more incredible than the parting of the Red Sea, or anything else.
We’ve witnessed a miracle, one that has happened in our own lives as well.
Scripture describes what happens in baptism in many many ways. We often focus on the cleansing of sin, the being united with Christ’s death and resurrection, with the gift of the Holy Spirit, with a transformed life, even if it takes a while to see it completely. In baptism we are clothed with Christ, and the old sinful nature is drowned. We’ll talk about some of these things in our Bible Study today… but in the sermon, there is one thing, that sums up this miracle…
It’s there in verse 7, J, and all that are baptized know this…. you are God’s own Child…
I would hope that our reaction to realizing what Jesus has done here, and did in each of our lives would be like what the response of the man given life in the gospels did.
Jesus sent him home, saying, 39 “No, go back to your family, and tell them everything God has done for you.” So he went all through the town proclaiming the great things Jesus had done for him.
Including this amazing fact, that each of us has been made God’s own child!
The Law was More than A Friend
If we are going to tell people what God has done here, and in each of our lives when He baptized us, when He cleansed us and gave us abundant and eternal life, we start as Paul did, talking about where we were before this.
He uses this great illustration about the law being our guardian, that God’s rules were put into play, not to condemn us, but to protect us. That’s not usually how the law is presented to unbelievers by many Christians. Many people think evangelism means talking about how the law condemns us, how people who don’t know about Jesus fail to live up to its standards, and need to do something about it.
Paul explains it differently here, that the law is our guardian, our teacher, the pedagogue, or to use and older term – our governess. It’s job isn’t to condemn us, but to protect us until we come to trust in God, until we journey on this “way of faith”, until we are united in baptism.
The law served, in many ways, like our babysitter – with carefully laid down rules so that we couldn’t maneuver around them, or find the loopholes in it. Yes, it pointed out what we’ve done wrong – but it always points to the solution, that God would provide a way of forgiveness, a way that He would make it right…
He did that, in our baptism. In clothing us with not just with Christ’s righteousness, but with Christ Himself.
But the law was there, bringing us to Christ, showing us our need, like a teacher guiding us on a field trip – ensuring that we are safe, ensuring that we would get to our destination in time. The moment the way of trusting Christ was available to us.
But there is something so much more!
It is not just baptism that should excite us, but what it means for the rest of life, in a real way, the beginning of life.
It’s like yesterday, when James and Doran were married up in Seattle. A lot of planning goes into a wedding – and a lot of excitement builds up as the event gets closer. I have heard it can even become stressful for some brides.
The day is nothing compared to the life together that has begun. There may be challenges, there may be days where they will be tired, but they will be there for each other. Weddings are a blast – but they now have a life together. They have a blessing beyond any other blessing.
In a similar way, the journey only begins this morning for J. She will walk with God all her life, as each of us does who trusts in Him, who realizes that He has claimed us as His children in baptism, that we have been given Christ’s name, that we have been given Christ’s spirit, sent into hearts.
We will never be alone, we will never be without hope.
We’ve been claimed… His children…the one’s He takes care of, the ones that don’t need the law keeping guard on us, because He is with us.
That’s incredible.
That’s the miracle that is in baptism – that’s the power of Christ’s death and resurrection – it’s not just about the sins that are gone… it’s about the relationship that is revealed, that begins, for God has adopted us, made us His own children, claimed us as His own.
Talking to God!
Hear it again…
4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5 God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. 6 And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” 7 Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.
If baptism as an event is important – then this, the idea that because we are the very children of God, that the Holy Spirit prompts us to call God, Abba! We are prompted, by the Holy Spirit to call God – Daddy – that’s the point of it all, that is why this is so amazing, that we can call out to the Creator of the universe, to the God who placed the Sun and the moon in their positions! We can call out
in time of need,
to fix the things we have broken…
to help us be able to deal with things we cannot understand..
or just call out to Him.. to praise and adore Him, Father, we love you!
Conclusion –
So I get excited about days like this – for the right time has come, and we have a new sister, who will share in all of the blessings of being clothed with Christ.. who will with us, walk in great peace with God, who will feast with us, who is like us,
God’s own child.
That’s something to praise God for… even as we realize again, what He has done to each of us. AMEN?
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Gravity and God’s Grace….
Devotional Thought of the Day….
32 And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” John 12:32 (NLT)
As I walk between the extremes of Christianity, and my own branch of the church, I hear a lot of advice about the church. Some suggest that God will bless the church, if we are faithful to this model. Wait, most of them say that – their models just appear – whether traditional or contemporary, whether doctrinal or social – fundamental or liberal to be at odds with the other models. I would content they might not be as much as they think, they are often making observations about the same thing from different perspectives.
But that isn’t the point.
I would contend that it isn’t how liturgical you are, or whether you church is Lutheran or Catholic or Methodist, or whether you are involved in social ministry, or training the next generation of leaders, or whatever it is. What matters is, is Christ lifted up. For Jesus is where we find hope, it is His love, His desire to reconcile us to the Father, that is seen when He is lifted up on the cross. I will contend that this is the unseen core of the what drives both the church growth crown and the we have to be faithful to our past crowd.
They both love, even if they don’t realize it, how Christ is revealed to them.
The grace and mercy of Christ is like gravity – it is so needed, and the more people need it, the more they get caught in its pull. The more aware they are of being broken, the more they are pulled to the one who is lifted up, just so their souls can find healing. Such was the story of the serpent on the pole – look there – find healing. It was the nature of Solomon’s temple – for believers – look there – find forgiveness/healing, for non-believers, God will hear them – and bring them what they need.
It is, always and forever, about our relationship with Christ, for nothing else provides us with what we need, nothing is like the one crucified to show us His love, His mercy, His desire for us to be His people.
May the Holy Spirit remove from us everything else that catches our eyes,,,, leaving only Christ visible…and then, as the Spirit transforms us into His image – may we see that around us with His eyes.
English: Resurrection of Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
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Where you there when the… on Good Friday? On Easter Sunday? As much as He is here now!
12 For when you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and in baptism you were also raised with Christ through your faith in the active power of God, who raised him from death. Colossians 2:12 (TEV)
4 By our baptism, then, we were buried with him and shared his death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from death by the glorious power of the Father, so also we might live a new life. 5 For since we have become one with him in dying as he did, in the same way we shall be one with him by being raised to life as he was. Romans 6:4-5 (TEV)
Among the spiritual songs that are prevalent during Easter week, there is one that can be sung with such power, that it sends shivers downs people’s back, and can make the manliest man week in the knees. The spiritual “where you there when they” is a simple spiritual – but oh the emotional power of that song, as we hear the verses describing the crucifixion and burial of Christ. The woe’s hit us in the gut as we realize the death of Christ, and that we were as much the cause of it – as the Jewish Priests and Pilate and every sinner who Christ came to rescue was.
And we were there…
The above two passages – among several – talk of this very thing. That we were there, that in our baptism we died with Christ, so that we could be raised with Christ.
Which is the last verse of the song – “where you there when He rose up from the grave!”
And the answer for that is…. yes as well.
We have a new life, a new mind, a new heart – and a relationship that is heavenly – for it is with God. We do walk with God, He is our Comforter, our Paraclete our Shepherd. Everything changes with Christ – it is not just a bunch of knowledge to one up someone in a discussion. It’s not about changing people’s behaviors and stopping them from doing things that are distasteful,. Surely those things will change – as the Holy Spirit confronts and guides. But they aren’t the reason for the cross and the grave and the empty tomb. That is not the reason for the glorious exertion of the power of God.
The reason for the cross, the grace, the resurrection… is so that we are God’s children.
An incredible Lenten Friday Sacrifice – the “safe” distance.
Devotional/Discussion thought of the day:
“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, who will stay with you forever. 17 He is the Spirit, who reveals the truth about God. The world cannot receive him, because it cannot see him or know him. But you know him, because he remains with you and is in you. 18 “When I go, you will not be left all alone; I will come back to you. 19 In a little while the world will see me no more, but you will see me; and because I live, you also will live. 20 When that day comes, you will know that I am in my Father and that you are in me, just as I am in you.” John 14:16-20 (TEV)
From there, where you are working, let your heart escape to the Lord, right close to the Tabernacle, to tell him, without doing anything odd, “My Jesus, I love You”. Don’t be afraid to call him so—my Jesus—and to say it to him often.(1)
Memories of Fridays growing up – fish sticks for lunch, Filet of Fishes for Dinner, Occasionally clam strips and sometimes, if things we going well – baked stuff shrimp. Move forward into my early twenties, and working as a manager at McDonald’s – and we have to covert to extra friers to handle the demand for fish, because our unit was in a heavily hispanic area.
No meat on friday – no burgers, or steaks, or bacon or pork. Not even spaghetti and meatballs! I wish I would have understood lent as a kid, even as a young man, and the sacrifices that we were strongly encouraged to make. (Try showing up at a Catholic Jr. High School with a baloney sandwich for lunch. Still remember that day…) Abstaining from things, and even fasting are not bad, but very solid practices, given the understanding that should accompany them. They are not to make us more attractive to God, but rather, to free us to focus on Him. (Something we should strive to do all the time btw – not just during Lent!)
A suggestion- spend little moments of time throughout the day thinking about the verse above. The words of Christ, as he prepares his followers for His cross, for His death, but also for His resurrection. A great passage to contemplate, over and over, during our Lenten journey.
We must realize that because He lives, because we are united to His death and Resurrection we live, in Him. We are with Him, we aren’t far off.
Most of us, seem to prefer to live a distance from God. We want His blessings, and church sometimes isn’t a bad thing – especially when others are stressing us. We won’t Him in the background, just at the edge of how far we think our voices will cry, when we need to be rescued. Perhaps we are worried that He won’t like us close up, or that He will ask us to do something, to make some sacrifice,, or perhaps, He might want us to give up something closer and more meaningful to us than steak or bacon….yeah – you know – that sin we don’t want everyone to know about, or that resentment we nourish, because of a pain caused years ago.
It is time to give that up, to sacrifice that distance, to come close to God, to let Him draw you near, to make you an integral part of His family. No more hiding, no more looking in from the edges… time to admit, to confess, to cry our in praise and adoration – My Jesus, i love you!
For such is the response of faith, or trusting in Him and His revelation, of knowing His presence. Of depending upon Him.
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 2697-2700). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Don’t Confuse me with an Optimist…
Devotional Thought of the Day….
I long ago came up with, what is my theory of life.
An optimist looks at a 20 oz beverage container holding 10 oz of fluid and calls it half full. A pessimist looks at the same container and calls it half empty. I walk over drain the mug of beer, ticking off the optimist and the pessimist simultaneously. It was a good beer, the container served its purpose, and I caused opposing sides of an argument to be united. (against me – but that is cool) That’s a very good day! (1)
For some reason, I am occasionally mistaken for an optimist. I’m not sure why. I am certainly not a pessimist either, and I don’t fit on a line somewhere in between.
Don’t get me wrong – there are times I am sure everything is going to collapse around me, that the world is going to implode – and the proof of the possibility of that is that… well – I am here, therefore it could happen. At the same time – I a pretty sure that if it does, it will be a truly glorious thing to witness, mind-blowing even, and that I will find myself thoroughly enjoying the spectacle!
This weirdness in me is developed in part – by a long list of tragedies and traumas I have seen in life, either experiencing them myself ( for example my heart issues and marfans syndrome, my dropping out of college, my motorcycle accident, heck I could fill a blog) or by those I’ve walked beside, as they have seen God cause them to persevere and endure in peace …even unto death.
I’ve seen to much to be a carefree, naive, optimist who thinks everything is coming up roses. I have seen God’s action in those times nearly as often (sometimes I admit I can’t see them) to be a “the sky is falling” pessimist. Sure I will rant and rave at times, or celebrate a bit too early in other times. But overall, I am neither, or both, finding the joy in suffering, and the soberness in joy.
Maybe it is that my optimism is found, in that same place as faith, as trusting in God to fulfill specially what He has promised.
I like how St Josemaria put it,
“659 Christian optimism is not a sugary optimism; nor is it a mere human confidence that everything will turn out all right. It is an optimism that sinks its roots in an awareness of our freedom, and in the sure knowledge of the power of grace. It is an optimism which leads us to make demands on ourselves, to struggle to respond at every moment to God’s calls.” (2)
Call it “baptismal” optimism – the attitude we have in knowing that which God has given and done to us, when He claimed us as His people, when He cleansed our lives, and bound and sealed us with the gift of the Holy Spirit, the never-ending presence of God in our lives. Knowing that because of the grace poured out there, our lives are renewed, revitalized! That sin and shame and guilt and fearing death and Satan no longer have a hold on us, that we enter God’s presence and abide there confidently in peace.
There – instead of naively assuming that everything will work out right, or that everything is sure to fail, we can engage the attitude Paul describes as ours..
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. 8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:6-9 (NLT)
Live in your baptismal grace my friends… and rejoice… not just because all things will work out for good for those that love God, but that they will, because you abide in Christ..
(1) DT Parker – ~1988
(2) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 2424-2428). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Why is it still Monday?
Devotional/Discussion thought of the day….
I woke up this morning, with this dreaded feeling…
I thought it was Monday – and I had a longgggg trek ahead of me until Sunday, the day that makes sense of it all.As I get to my office, and look at the preparations for my trip to China – I find myself doing the same work I would do on a Monday… It’s eerie… and even a little scary..
Especially given yesterday… I don’t want to relive that day again. Ever… and if it is only Monday… I will have to.
Oh God, why does it feel like Monday… again!
I got through it, only by the grace of God, only by a remembering what the sermon passage is for this week – Romans 6:1-11 – the incredible discussion of what it means to be baptized. to be one who has died completely with Christ, that we may find our resurrection with Him. It is there we find our strength – in realizing what God HAS done to us, is doing in us, because He claimed and washed us in baptism, and the most precious part of that gift – He has given us His Holy Spirit – to dwell in us, to strengthen us, to comfort us….to help us live in His peace.
It is no wonder that a pastor/priest could write:
“You want to be strong? Then first realise that you are very weak. After that, trust in Christ, your Father, your Brother, your Teacher. He makes us strong, entrusting to us the means with which to conquer—the sacraments. Live them! (1)
Ultimately, these sacraments, these means of grace do make us strong! Not because of who we are, for we do not deserve them, we do not deserve the blessings. But He gives us His grace, our life in Him, the peace, the mercy, the love and comfort, in ways that go beyond our comprehension, beyond our understanding. That is the work He is doing… in us. It is the means by which we realize and know we are living in the presence of God – the One who would have us call him Abba… Daddy. The God who revealed to us His work, that we would come with boldness and confidence into His presence.
Rejoice! The Lord has had mercy on us! Even on Mondays… or the days that seem like it!
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 2375-2377). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
