The Price of the Invitation Declined

“Come for all things are now ready”  Luke 14:16

“I have bought a piece of ground and I must go and see it…….I have bought five oxen and I am going to test them…..I have married and therefore I can not come”  Luke 14:18-20

“For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper”  Luke 14:24

There has been much work done in preparation.  Food is gathered and prepared, dining utensils and place settings are all arranged, the banquet hall is decorated that dining tables decorated, and the Master of the hall then sends his invitation.  At first He sends the invitations out to those whom he feels are close friends, those whom he loves and expects, love him in return.  The responses start to come in; please excuse me……sorry would love to but………wow, sorry, you’ve caught me at a really bad time, the Master is spurned.  What was it that He wanted?  Was this a potluck, where the guests would have to go out of their way to bring something?  Was this some flashy masquerade ball where they would have to get into some wild costume?  No.  He just wanted to share with them; share His time, His bounty, His good will.  Maybe some other time was their response.  They probably didn’t realize that there was to be no chance for an other time.

Obviously, our Heavenly Father is the Master of the Hall.  The table is set, all the provisions are ready; in this case there is even a guest of honor; His Son Jesus Christ, who is there.  In a very real sense; they would love to see us there.  If we are not careful, we are full of excuses.  I do not have time for you because I have my………fill in the blank; job, hobby, family, trip, this and that.  In essence we are replying, God, sorry, I just don’t have time for you right now.  I’ll get around to it.  Maybe when I know I’m dying, I’ll come to you.  Maybe, when my world is crashing down around me, I’ll decide to make the time for you.  Some will never make the time.

The invitation stands open for you and me.  It reads:  Come as you are.  BYOB:  Bring Your Own Body.  I will supply everything else.  What is on the agenda?  Love, fellowship, peace, joy, blessings.  It is amazing that I would ever find an excuse to turn down an invitation like that.  Oh but wait, I bet this is a fund raising kind of dinner.  I bet the price to get in is really steep!  Relax, our Guest of Honor says, I am Jesus Christ and I have already paid your fee in full.  May it be that we all hear the invitation this very day, and have the wisdom to accept it.

Our Most Gracious and Heavenly Father, as was said in the psalms, truly who are we that You would see fit to invite us into Your presence.  Yet through Your immeasurable mercy, You are calling for us today to come in to Your presence and dine with You.  The bounty that You have laid out for us, is beyond our imagination, Dear Father.  We humbly ask, Gracious Lord, that you give us the strength to overcome the enemy who strives to keep us from Your table.  Deliver us, Dear Father, from the worries and cares of this world that block us from coming to You.  We give thanks and praised that, through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our savior, You have seen fit to pay the price of admittance that we owe.  That we may, starting today, have eternal fellowship in Love with You we pray.  In the name of Jesus Christ.  Amen

If I’m not careful, I have an idol….My Plan

“But God said to him, Fool!  This night your soul will be required of you.”  Luke 12:20

“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Do not fear therefore….. Luke 12:7

” Now I don’t want you to be aware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now)..Romans 1:13

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.”  Matthew 7:34

The paradox of planning; especially for a Christian.  I am both an Air Force veteran as well as a veteran of management and training in large corporations, and in all those experiences, the mantra “failure to plan, is a plan for failure”, was a guiding principle.  And lest one think this is a diatribe against, planning, that is not the case.  Plans are useful and I truly believe God has a plan.  Well actually I believe, God has the plan.

So what is planning?  Is planning not the collection of thoughts and actions of today that are meant to bring about a positive outcome when the future becomes the present?  Does not a plan have a certain presupposition that, if successful, my do happens of today will bring about the should happens of tomorrow?  And thus, if we stop to consider those presuppositions, that is where the potential for eternal conflict lies.  First, is the realization that at some very basic level, these are my plans and my actions.  Those plans and actions are based on my perceptions and calculations on what actions will lead to what outcomes.  And if we think on this as a mathematical equation; my plans x my actions = my results.  Even if they turn out perfectly for me; truth in fact, they may have little if nothing to do with God’s plan.  Second, the process of planning has the underlying proposition that we can impact or control the future.  I have no argument that we have a capability to impact the future.  I get much more concerned with the thoughts of being able to control our future to any great extent.

And now the conflict rears it ugly head; at least for me.  I have my plan, something I really want to happen.  A future present, I want to achieve.  So I think mightily about what I need to do and I actually start doing it.  To add in some extra help, I even pray about it.  Maybe I even started off with a prayer.  A prayer for success of MY plan.  I look at it from every angle.  I put notes to myself about it.  It’s the first thing I think about in the morning and it’s the last thing on my mind as I go to sleep.  I even hope I dream about it.  And Oh, Oh sweet it will be when MY plan comes to fruition.  Kind of sounds like worship doesn’t it?  Kind of sounds like I hope my will, will be done?

And here’s the other aspect; the outcome.  If my plan comes about the way I had wanted; Yea ME!  Look how smart I am, look at my wisdom, my courage, my perseverance.  God it is so great that You showed the wisdom to agree with me in letting this happen!  If my plan does not come about as I wished.  God what is wrong with You?!  I prayed, I worked, I thought, I researched, How dare You come up with something different!

The word is called alignment.  There is a phrase, that I did not originate that is oft used:  “If you want to make God laugh, tell him Your plans.”  I think tears get shed as well.  Impact the future, control the future?  So should we plan.  I say yes, at least I do.  But the most that I can hope for, that I think we can hope, pray and strive for is that our plans are in alignment with God’s.  Think about your car’s alignment.  When your tires are aligned the car travels smoothly and straightly, with minimum effort to it’s desired destination.  If your tires are out of alignment, then the car wants to weave all over the place, and it can take effort, sometimes great effort to get it to where you want to go.  Finally I must forever understand, my plan will never be as complete, as thorough, as perfect as His plan.  When I neglect His plan and substitute my own instead, I might as well be bowing down to a golden calf.

Why should I trust God’s plan for my future?  For the simple reason that He has already been there.  He has already seen it and He is in control of it.  And, most importantly of all, that plan was conceived and will be carried out to its conclusion, in total Love.  That is a plan worth following.

Our Most Gracious and Heavenly Father, we acknowledge the great paradox of our knowledge of the future and our desire to shape it.  We confess, that as we attempt to implement our imperfect plans, we neglect the plans You have put in place for us.  We also repent in the sin of claiming personal glory for our successful plans, instead of giving You the glory for Your blessings of our success.  Dear Lord, please remove the temptation for me to idolize and worship my plan.  Give me the wisdom to align, as best I can, my plan with Yours.  Give me the patience to understand when my plan does not come out as I had expected; that does not diminish Your plan for me.  Thank You Dear Father, for your Love, Mercy and Patience with us.  Thank you, Most Gracious Father, for including our salvation in Your plan, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  That in all things Your plan may be our highest goal and praise we pray.  In the Name of Jesus Christ.  Amen

No Passive Salvation

“and He will answer and say to you, I do not know you, where you come from, then you will begin to say, “We ate and drank in Your presence and You taught in our streets.  But He will say “I tell you I do not know you…..depart from Me.”  Luke 13:25-27

It is one of the basic questions of life, both this terrestrial life and our eternal life, if salvation is from God’s Grace, what do I need to do?  It often sparks a debate over, do I work to earn salvation, or does salvation come to me as a gift?  The bible seems unequivocally clear, salvation is a gift of grace; lest I have a reason to boast.  If I indeed, can ”do” enough to earn salvation, did Jesus need die for me?  I truly have no reason to boast, and yes, I can not approach the throne of God, except for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  Sooooo, I can just kick back, live how I want to live and count on that Grace being there whenever I need it.  Let the partying begin!  I can’t wait to eat and drink!  And look wow, there is a church on every corner!  What a saved place I live in!

Not so fast.  Jesus Christ is crystal clear.  He needs to know you and I.  Think about it; you can’t introduce someone you have never met.  Think about this the next time you go out to eat; do you know everyone, there in that restaurant who is eating in the same place?  And ask yourself this; you may go to a lecture or you may read an article by a learned person, but does that person know anything about you?  In the United States, there are some that say we have  an, or live in a Judeo/Christian tradition or culture.  So when it comes to my salvation, what does that culture mean?  Truly, extremely little.  In a practical sense, it may mean that I have easier access to Christian Churches and doctrines which can facilitate my personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and that is a good thing.  I do truly feel and pray for those who are in an environment where the mere mention of Jesus Christ can bring drastic penalty, even death.  And I do pray an acknowledgement of praise and thanksgiving, that I leave in a culture who, for the most part, embraces my right to follow Jesus Christ.  Yet Jesus Christ is very clear;  that I live in this culture, gives me no claim, in the least, to the salvation that comes from actually following Jesus Christ.

So what is required?  Again Jesus Christ answers, I need to know you; we need to have a relationship.  Yes, I believe that God, as creator, knows all of His creation.  Jesus Christ, knows that I exist.  That is not the knowledge that Christ is talking about.  While, I know that a person is standing on the corner as I drive by, I know nothing about them.  I would be hard pressed to actually introduce that person to anyone.  To know them I have to meet them, and they have to meet me.  As I approach them, if they turn and walk away, I still don’t know them.  So for Jesus to know us, we have to enter into a relationship with Him.  To claim salvation, we have to know that it, 1) exists, 2)by whom the salvation comes, and extremely important 3) that we need salvation.  Upon that revelation, a relationship develops.  As the relationship deepens, I feel the immeasurable love, mercy and blessings that come from that relationship.  The same way that, on earth, medicine can bring about healing and that often that healing leads to improved life and behavior, the relationship with Christ leads to an improved life and different behavior.  That relationship, allows Christ to know us and then, we are told, Christ longs to introduce us, in our redeemed state, to God Almighty.  And, through and because of our relationship with Jesus Christ, Our Heavenly Father will welcome us home.

Our Most Gracious and Heavenly Father, we long for a relationship.  We want to do more than just have some vague knowledge that You exist as we eat and drink.  We want to acknowledge more than the fact that You are preached somewhere around us.  We strive, Dear Father for a personal relationship with You.  We do faithfully acknowledge, that relationship comes through Our Savior Jesus Christ.  May it be, Almighty God, that we will enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ.  That through that relationship, we may humbly come to you.  And in that coming to you, we will live a life on this earth that praises your name and leads others to want that relationship, as well as having an eternal relationship with You.  In the name of Jesus Christ we pray.  Amen

With This Promise, Enough Said

“Be strong and of good courage……And the Lord He is One who goes before you.  He will be with you, He will not leave you or forsake you; do not fear or be dismayed.  Deuteronomy 31: 7-8

You and I, we are on a journey.  God has a plan for us but at times we may have chafed at his direction and wondered off.  In our eyes, the journey has been long and arduous.  We may or may not have seen God’s hands in our blessings along the way.  And now our promise land awaits.  In some cases we misinterpret this location as a place where we come to a terrestrial stop; our expectation may be that we have come to a place where no more effort is required.  A place where we sit back and it just all comes to us.  On the other hand, we may be in a position where we see the grandeur of the promise land that is promised to us and we are awestruck.  But we may also be struck with fear.  In an ironic mental twist, we say:  “This promise land is too hard for us to live in.  It is too good for us to be able to maintain.  We will never be able to obtain it and truly make it ours.  Leave us in the imperfection and wilderness where we feel comfortable.”

Moses is speaking to the people he has led and loved for more than forty years.  He is the prophet of the Most High God, who speaks directly to him.  God has specifically and clearly told Moses of His plan for His people and has given Moses words of encouragement to speak to his people.  They are about to cross over into a land promised to them, through their ancestors.  Moses has seen them turn away before.  But he knows, with Joshua as their leader, they are about to actually cross over.  So he pronounces those words from the Lord over them.  And those words are not just for them; they are for us on our journeys.  A promise fulfilled through the Life and Resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

The triumph of our journey is going to take strength and courage.  Where does that come from?  The sure knowledge that God, Himself, goes before us.  We can have the sure knowledge that He is with us.  We should be filled with the confidence that His presence is not temporary for He will never leave or forsake us.  This world should hold nothing to bring us to fear or dismay.  What an all empowering, all encompassing promise.  What should be our response?  First to love.  To Love the Giver of the response, plus to love those to whom the promise is given; yes, that includes ourselves plus those who are on the journey with us.  Second, to go.  To enter the promise land, to receive the blessings given to us, to not settle for being our own gods of our own imperfect plan and existence, but to submit, in joy, and inter in to His promised land.  May it be that we grasp on to and hold on tightly to this promise.

Our Most Gracious and Heavenly Father, we are so thankful and praise Your Most Holy Name for the promise that you have given to each of us.  Through Your Mercy, You have promised to go before us on our journeys, to be with us and never leave us.  We ask that You will pour out Your Spirit upon us, that we gain strength to move forward in you, and the courage to not fear or be dismayed.  We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Do Not Miss the Mercy for the Judgement

“Look for three years I have come seeking fruit and find none, cut it down………….Sir let it alone this year, also, until I dig around it an fertilize it….”  Luke 13:7-9

Jesus has been teaching about many things.  He has been teaching about; no need to worry, preparing for the His return, divisions among families over Him, and hypocrisy, many weighty topics.  He has pointed out the judgments to come when people are not doing what they should be.  And now he tells a parable concerning a tree who will not bear fruit, with the owner wanting to cut it down.  Perhaps, it sounds like another parable of judgment; the cutting down and casting out.

Yet, built into this story, it seems to me are tremendous themes of mercy, patience and even sacrifice.  First, note how the owner has waited three years.  This is land that he owns, in the parable, this is described as a  vineyard, which is a type of agriculture that takes considerable effort.  So the owner has been putting forth that effort and yet there is no return.  One year goes by, perhaps that is a function of the weather conditions that year.  A second year goes by, maybe there is something with soil, so still the owner withholds action.  Now it is the third year, no matter what has been tried, this tree is taking up space, using up resources and has nothing to show in return.  It is time for the tree to go.

Wait, the gardener intercedes for the tree.  And note this, the gardener doesn’t just say, let’s give it one more year.  No, the gardener takes pity on this tree, He is going to do all that he can to help this tree, even though it has yet to bear any fruit.  He will expend the effort to dig around it, he will pay the expense to fertilize it; still not being assured that fruit will come.

Is it not possible the we are the trees?  God has created us and planted us where He wants us.  He patiently waits for us to produce fruit.  He blesses us with fulfilling the needs in our life and gives us the space, the environment to grow in Him.  Yet, so often we remain barren.  The fruit that He so wants to be able to share with others, does not come.  There is a time for judgment.  Then there is One who intercedes for us.  Whose mission, based upon the Father’s own plan, is to take our judgment upon Himself.  Jesus Christ comes to and for us.  He provides His very Body for us, like digging around us and fertilizes us with His very Blood!.

And what is the fruit that Our Heavenly Father wants from us?  What is the harvest that Jesus Christ works so hard to bring about?  Love.  Plain and simply; Love.  Love first for our Heavenly Father, and then Love for each other.  And, please take note, how much Love our Heavenly Father has invested in us, to bring about a harvest of Love in return.  While there will be judgment, if that is what we focus on, we miss the miraculously great lengths of mercy, patience, forgiveness and love, our Heavenly Father is willing to go, to forestall that judgment.

Our Most Gracious and Heavenly Father, we humbly confess Your Righteousness and Perfect Judgment.  We repent of the sin of not producing the fruit of love for which You planted us on this earth.  We praise You for sending us a Loving Gardner, to nurture us, teach us, sustain us, to show us how to grow and to whose image we should be growing into.  Help us, Dear Father, to bear the fruit of Love toward You and each other that You long for us to have.  That we may truly be the fruit of Your Creation.  In the name of Jesus Christ we pray.

Amen

To Err is Human

“Yes and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right.  When you go with your adversary….make every effort along the way to settle with him….I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid every last mite”  Luke 12:57-59

“Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is God.”  Luke 18:19

I am human.  We are human, everyone of us.  Heavy Sigh.  And we are going to make mistakes.  Everyone one of us, have made, are making and will make mistakes; consciously, knowingly; make mistakes.  Those mistakes will have consequences to those around us.  Heavy Sigh.

Jesus is God.  Jesus was human.  Because Jesus was human and is God, He never made a mistake.  But only because He is God.  So a man comes up to him.  The man doesn’t approach Him as the Messiah, the true Son of God.  No, this man approaches Him as if He is another man.  A good man, a teacher, but a man all the same.  And you just have to love Jesus’ response (I know I do).  Jesus has every right to accept the man’s praise at being good; but, he does not.  Why do you call me good?  Why would you want to make a distinction between one human being and another; especially in questions of God!  Like, how do I get to heaven.  Why not make that distinction between one man and another?  Because we all err.

Jesus preached much about forgiveness, about not holding grudges or keeping score on how many times someone comes against us.  Those are true and loving lessons.  Yet here, it seems to me, He is preaching about, gulp, responsibility.   In things of this world, we will make mistakes.   The one we have wronged, our adversary, may be gracious and forgive us, Yeah!  However, our adversary may want to hold us responsible and seek restitution, oh no!  In Luke 12:57, Jesus is not talking about the person wrongly accused.  No, He is speaking of the person who has done something wrong and owes a restitution for it.  In essence, again to me, He is warning against trying to duck out of that responsibility.  He says to own up to it, to make amends before you end up in court.  For once it gets to court, it is likely to go down hill from there.

Is our world not one filled with many excuses?  When my actions are wrong and do hurt, can I not find some issue with upbringing, some physiological trait or reaction that caused me to act against what I knew was the right,or something that I was told from someone else that caused the wrong?  So in all things and all my actions I can find someway out of taking responsibility.  Has not our civil legal system come to be the incredibly huge, expensive, complicated and highly adversarial process that it has, because I refuse to take responsibility?

Believe me when I say, I hate to make mistakes.  I dread to be found at fault.  I have at times and am sure will again search for the most ridiculous excuse to absolve me from my responsibility.  And, I will be wrong in doing so. 

I do pray for the grace to truly learn how to forgive and the mercy to truly be forgiven, both from above and from here.  But I also pray for the strength of character and the honesty to own up to my responsibilities when I make a mistake.  To not hide, but to accept.  Think about the world that would have no need for magistrates to judge over us.

Our Most Gracious and Heavenly Father, I humbly and penitently declare that I make mistakes.  My imperfect will, does not match Your Perfect Intention.  Pour out Your Strength on me, Dear Father, to take the responsibility to accept and acknowledge my mistakes.  Give me the sense of Your Justice, Dear Father, to restore to those whom my actions have caused to see decrease.  Keep from the temptation, Most Merciful Father, to search for excuses and schemes by which I can relieve myself from the obligation that I owe.  Finally, Most Loving Father, pour out Your Sense of Mercy on Me, that when I am owed by the acts of other, instead of seeking retribution, that I will seek to find the heart and love to forgive.  That, through You, I can live a more perfect life, a life exemplified to us by the life of Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray this prayer.  Amen

Does Our Understanding Lead to Kneeling?

“Hypocrites!  You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you can not discern this time?  Luke 12:56

“The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork, Day unto day utters speech and night unto night reveals knowledge”  Psalm 19:1-2

Is science evil?  Are scientists Satan’s ambassadors?  As we peer into the tiniest spaces of matter or out to the farthest and most gigantic regions of space, what conclusions to we draw?  As our medical understanding grows to the extent that we can map the building blocks of an individual and grow new organs from scratch; how does that make us feel?

Jesus used an illustration of people’s understanding of weather.  The term meteorology goes back to 350 BC.  Yet there is evidence that trying to discern patterns in heat and cold, rain and drought go back much further.  Why?  Because the harnessing of that information was so important to survival.  The proper time to plant crops or move flocks, what changes caused large herd animals, required for food, to move to and fro, when would the rains and the floods that went with them, happen; these are all questions that could and did impact the rise and fall of civilizations.  On the one hand Jesus gave them some credit.  He acknowledged that they had a degree of accuracy when it came to reading natural conditions and predicting outcomes.  On the other hand, He asked them what good was having that limited knowledge in the eternal scheme of things?  For that knowledge did not drive them to an awe inspiring acknowledgement of He who is in control of all things.  They did not use those same observational skills to search through the scriptures to find the conditions that predicted the coming and nature of the Messiah.  And whether or not they got the weather correct was inconsequential compared to missing the fact that the promised Messiah was in their midst.

Both my parents left this earthly existence due to cancer from which they never recovered.  My wife is a cancer survivor.  I am very grateful for the advances in medicine.  Those advancements have human names attached to their discoveries.  However, I believe that the source and the blessings come from Our Heavenly Father.  As in the way that the disciples were humans used to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ and Salvation, Our Heavenly Father as seen fit to use human beings to carry out His Will and His Plan.  I pray a prayer of thanksgiving for those doctors, scientists and others who, having been used by God (whether they understand or acknowledge God’s hand) in the progress in treating cancer.

Science, by its very nature evil?  No.  The same way that wood carving is not evil by its nature.  But carve a block of wood into an image, cover it in gold and bow down and worship it, then you have a hideous evil.  As in all things, money, alcohol, physical relations, any human endeavor, what is the intent is what matters.  Because we have a greater understanding of our physical bodies and greater abilities to impact its health, does that mean that we feel that we are increasing toward a time of equality with Him that created it?  When we are able to see the great vistas of space and see great insights into our past in that place that we call, the heavens and don’t discover a unmistakable abode of God; do we then conclude He doesn’t exist?  Or as we are allowed to see and grasp some understanding of the amazing complexity of the creation we are and all around us, does that understanding compel us to realize the Power, Intelligence, Perfection, of He who created it and bring us to our knees in humble thanksgiving and worship?  

Jesus Christ is clear, if we know all of the terrestrial, but remain ignorant of the eternal, we are doomed.  Let it be that what knowledge we glean about our world, leads us to the awe and worship of He who created all and shares that creation out of Love.

Our Most Gracious and Heavenly Father, we praise You for the knowledge that You have seen fit for us to have.  May it be that we use that knowledge in Your service and to further Your Plan and Your Will.  Keep us from the temptation of believing that an increase in knowledge should lead in a decrease in faith in You.  That in our knowledge, our actions and our love, they are all used in Your Worship and in Praise of Your Most Holy Name.  Amen.

You Are the Very Breath of God!

“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.”  Genesis 2:7

“And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more they can do…….Fear HIm who after He has killed has power to cast into hell, yes I say to you, fear Him.  Matthew 12 4-5

We are formed of things physical, oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, calcium among others.  There are over a thousand nerve endings for every square inch of skin!  Is it any wonder that there we have such and incredible capacity to feel sensation.  The optic nerve can have up to 1.7 million nerve fibres with which to take in information.  The average human has between 2,000 and 5,000 taste buds each with 50-100 taste receptor cells on them.  We have approximately 5-6 million smell receptors.  Humans can hear sounds resonating from 20-20,000 Hz.  There are so many other utterly fantastic aspects of our physical human anatomy, is it any wonder that we can become fixated on our physical presence. 

And what about the our spirit?  Where is that located; the brain, the heart, the big toe?  How many spirit cells are there?  When my spirit is broken; where do you put the cast to mend it?

Jesus is talking, not only with his disciples, but a gathering of followers.  He has just eaten with a group of high ranking Jewish officials, including Pharisees and lawyers.  Specfically, He has spoken to the Pharisees and the lawyers, pointing out the errors of their ways.  Then, he warned the entire gathering against the hypocrisy He sees in the leadership as a whole.  Well,  it’s one thing for Jesus to say that, but I don’t think He understands.  If I try to say what He says, if I try to do differently than these people say I should do, I could be in big trouble.  You see these people can hurt me!  They can have me beaten.  They can have me fined so that I lose money.  They can take my home away.  They can make my physical world…..hell.

Jesus understands.  We need to remember that as Christ, He was there from the beginning.  He knows exactly what we are made of.  He knows that we were dust, a lump of clay, very ordinary things.  Then we received a breath; not just any breath, but God’s very breath.  Then we became, truly alive.  We came alive and could see the splendor of God’s creation.  We could feel the wonder of His love.  We could eat and taste the blessings of His abundance.  We could smell the sweet aroma of the existence He put all around us.  We could hear the promises, He laid out for us.  We still can.

Jesus knows that which is the most important and eternal part of us.  That which came, not from the dust, but from God’s own Breath, our spirit.  He goes on to say, that God will watch out over our physical needs.  Yet Jesus also warns us, that meeting those physical needs, whatever they may be, will never truly satisfy us.  We are creatures of God’s very breath, God’s very spirit.  That spirit, our spirit, yearns to be in lasting relationship with Our Heavenly Father.  That spirit, our spirit, should truly fear an existence which is cut off from God’s spirit.  It is through Love, first His, and then ours in response, that we (He+I) can keep that spiritual relationship alive, not only for today, but for the eternity to come.

Our most Gracious and Heavenly Father, You breathed Your breath in us and so made us different than anything else that You created.  We thank You and Praise You, for that gift of Your breath, which is our spirit that resides in each of us.  Teach us Dear Father, to be always mindful of You, no matter what are circumstances may be.  Knowing full well, that our physical presence is temporary, but our spiritual presence is eternal.  It is our fervent prayer, that You will teach us the path to that eternal relationship and be merciful to us when we stumble off that path.  That we may be blessed both by our physical relationship in this life and our spiritual relationship now and forever more with You, we pray.  In the Name of Your Son Jesus Christ, who came before us and shows us the way.  Amen

I Wonder if I’ll Get Caught?

“For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.  Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark, will be heard in the light and what you have spoken in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.  Luke 12:2-3

It’s been said that we’ve become a connected world such that has never been seen before in history.  With social media I can see things that my “friends” are doing, today, when they are half way around the world.  I can read people’s opinions, great and small, on virtually any topic.  I can get information in real time, with much less filtering from government or traditional information outlets (for example news organizations).  I can comment AND, and this is a very important aspect, I don’t have to give my name out or anything about me when I do.  AND, I can go searching for sites and places, and because I don’t physically have to show up, no one really knows what I’ve done………Do they?

Jesus accepts an invitation to dine with some Pharisees and other leaders.  Some might think He was not being a good guest, but His hosts start to criticize Him for not washing before He ate.  So Jesus responds.  His response is not just about the physical act of washing, it is about the humble need for cleansing.  He chides the Pharisees about being much more interested in appearances of actions versus the inward proper motivation for actions.  He chides the lawyers for not using their learning to truly help others versus, using their learning as way to keep others ignorant and dependent on them.

Then Jesus goes out and speaks to the multitudes and in that way He is speaking to us.  He tells us, don’t think we can hide our hypocrisy behind the shield of seemingly good acts or social position.  Don’t put your faith your ability to be sneaky or conniving.  You will be found out.  The extent of your daytime piety or generosity mean little if your actions at night are of greed and depravity.  And what happens at night, what you think is being kept secret, what has transpired in the backroom, will be known.

How many times have we seen that today?  A person says, well more than that, they swear, that they did not do something; and then the exact opposite comes out.  How many times have we seen the video gone viral of somebody doing something shocking and seemingly so out of their public persona?  It is pretty amazing that people feel, these days, that they can send something electronic and that it will remain secret.  I’ve heard it said, and it seems to be true, in the world of electronic communication, there truly is no delete key.

So as we contemplate our sin, our evil and we spend our efforts and resources thinking about whether we will get caught.  The short answer is yes.  How does that happen?  It happens because God knows our hearts.  And as Jesus said in Matthew and Mark, it is in our hearts where the struggle between good and evil resides.  How do we not get caught?  We don’t go there in the first place.  We understand that truly, there is no place to hide.  When evil raises up its ugly head, and understand, evil is going to try to invade our very hearts, we must cry out to the One who has the power to overcome that evil, because He did it before.  On the cross.  Let it truly be that what is heard from our heart in those dark times is not the desire, then plan and finally action to accomplish evil, but the desperate cry of help to our Abba Father.  That the blaring light of truth that is shown on us is the Light of  His True Love.  Let that be what we get caught in.

Our Most Gracious and Heavenly Father, we pray to You Dear Father, humbly confessing that we often devise plans of evil and wickedness in our heart.  That we think we can hide our thoughts and deeds from you and the world.  So it is that we truly pray for Your Strength and Your Mercy so that we can overcome the temptation to do evil.  Cleanse our hearts, Dear Father that we can live in the confidence of Your Love not fearing what might be uncovered or shown in the light of day.  That through that cleansing, we may become vessels of Love, Light and Truth, which will bring Praise to Your Holy Name and good to Your people on this earth.   In the name of the One sent to Save us from evil, Jesus Christ we pray.  Amen

The Jesus Standard – Forgiveness

“And Jesus said, Father forgive them for they know not what they do..”  Luke 23:34

First and foremost I do not claim to be the writer that C.S. Lewis was.  So when I make a comparison, it is a comparison of thought, not talent or wisdom.  When C.S. Lewis wrote his wonderful work, The Problem with Pain, he stated that he first wanted to write it either anonymously or at least under a different name.  Why?  Because he was going to make statements about life, love and pain, which he knew intellectually and spiritually to be true, but he did not want anyone to think that he was able to live those out in his own life.  I can commiserate with him, for as I look at the topic of forgiveness, I see a standard which I can not say that I come close to living up to.  Alas, that does not change or refute the standard.

There is much written and said today about the great need for forgiveness in this world and I whole heartedly agree.  At the same time, the acts of wickedness, hatred and depravity that are requiring of forgiveness seem to multiply, not only in their number but also in their depth of evil.  And what is forgiveness, truly?  Dictionary .com has forgiveness being the act of releasing from penalty for an act.  So what is that?  You have wronged me, either through physical means or insults or both.  The penalty might involve physical restitution but also the penalty of my anger (which I believe to be righteous) and ill will towards you.

Why should I forgive?  For Jesus preaches that I should; not seven times, but seventy-seven times.  In the prayer, He taught us we are to forgive the trespasses of others as we have asked that our trespasses against God be forgiven.   There is a view that says that forgiveness is not about the object of our forgiveness, that is the person for whom our forgiveness is meant, but it is really about us.  It is a way for us to get on with our lives and move past the incident.  I again believe that forgiveness can have a very cathartic outcome for our lives.  Yet seemingly then, the act of pronouncing forgiveness is really about helping ourselves?

Jesus is hanging on the cross.  What does he know?  He knows that the men who have done this terrible thing to him, are sinning.  They are spilling innocent blood.  They have borne false witness against him.  Their penalty should be eternal damnation.  He forgives them.  Jesus knew that He was the Son of God.  Jesus knew that in three days He was going to rise again.  There is no aspect of Jesus’ forgiveness where he is trying to “get on with His life.”  No, Jesus loved them.  He truly did not want them to face the punishment that was rightly due them.  They were evil and for the most part were not interested in and would not accept Jesus forgiveness.  It didn’t matter to Jesus.  He took their sins upon Himself, and forgave them.

Heavy Sigh.  Why?  Because this I know.  I am a sinner and Jesus has taken my sins, my trespasses against Him and He has forgiven me, released me from any penalty.  That fills me with joy!  Jesus says, as I am, so you should be as well.  Gulp.  You, Doug, need to forgive.  Not so that you can move on with your life (which is only a side effect of the act of forgiveness), but so you can learn to love as I love.  You can begin to see others as I see them.  Wow, Really?  That’s what You expect???

The devil would tell us meeting that type of standard is impossible, so don’t even try.  Use the phrase:  I forgive you, then go on with your lives, still harboring the resentment and ill feelings against that person.  I’m forgiving them but not their act.  Jesus forgave them specifically for what they were doing.  I know there is no way that I can live up to that standard.  I can’t!  We, He+I, can!  We can move toward that goal (I being the one who is moving for He is already there).  If (and it is a big, hairy if) I can live in Him, be a branch to His vine, take my eyes from the evil around me and see the perfect goodness of Him, I have a chance.  That’s the only chance, I’ll ever have.

Our Most Gracious and Heavenly Father, it is very evident that the world is in dire need of forgiveness.  Yet we humbly confess that I/we do not first include ourselves as being ones so in need of forgiveness.  So we pray for You to pour out Your Spirit of forgiveness on us.  Yet Dear Father, we also confess we don’t truly forgive others with the same total forgiveness that You provide to us.  We hang on to resentment and bitterness.  We look to forgiveness as a way to further ourselves instead of the way to show true love and mercy to our brothers and sisters.  Teach us Dear Father, how to truly forgive.  How to be in the spirit with Your Son, Our Savior whose death and resurrection has brought forgiveness to us and an everlasting relationship with you.  That in our learning to truly forgive, we may come to further know You and spread Your Perfect Love to a world in such need of it.  That in all things Your Most Holy Name will be praised and in the Name of He who died to bring that forgiveness to us; Jesus Christ we pray.  Amen