tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34030936210941408432024-03-19T05:26:18.157-04:00Picturing My FaithCombining photography and Scripture to cultivate faith in, and devotion to, God.Picturing My Faithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05219969543066183211noreply@blogger.comBlogger249125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403093621094140843.post-41316854792817121092024-03-19T05:25:00.001-04:002024-03-19T05:25:42.453-04:00Greatness in the Way of Jesus<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgr5o3DtKuS-1p2F2dCg7tpj3c90Mv7xs2lH6ODTaw3S3O1Q_nXgo3LoWQ8UyopgxvXYWuvqAaaOeYpXx_6ZtiWT6oFmd3Aw_GDL1wV0h6kQWbBeZOwYTjW5EjohlSyJ5u63vbB0gzUI9by7izg-2rhQiUQ7bstrRKzrhB3o1zLYS-3iybmpaMFGZGlI2wU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="5156" data-original-width="3437" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgr5o3DtKuS-1p2F2dCg7tpj3c90Mv7xs2lH6ODTaw3S3O1Q_nXgo3LoWQ8UyopgxvXYWuvqAaaOeYpXx_6ZtiWT6oFmd3Aw_GDL1wV0h6kQWbBeZOwYTjW5EjohlSyJ5u63vbB0gzUI9by7izg-2rhQiUQ7bstrRKzrhB3o1zLYS-3iybmpaMFGZGlI2wU=w267-h400" width="267" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>Greatness in the Way of Jesus</b> (Mark 9:33-37)</span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>So you want first place? Then take the last place. Be the servant of all.”</i> (Mark 9:35)</span></span></span></p><p align="center" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~ ~ ~ ~ ~</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We have a lot of time on our hands while we’re walking with Jesus, plenty of time to think about the things Jesus says and does. On our way to Capernaum, we were talking among ourselves, while Jesus walked ahead of us. The subject of which among us was most important and greatest came up. Peter, James, and John all thought they must be most important because Jesus took them with him up to the mountain where they encountered Moses and Elijah, and where they heard the voice of God. John boasted, “Well, I’m the one Jesus loves most, so obviously I’m the greatest.” Peter said, “Oh yeah? Well Jesus told me that I was the rock on which he would build is church, whatever that means. So I must be the greatest.” It went on and on, other disciples putting their own names forward as the greatest.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Looking back, it wasn’t our best moment.</span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Well, Jesus must have heard that we were having a lively discussion, so when we got settled in Capernaum for the night he looked at us and asked us, “What were you arguing about while we were on the road?” His question was met with silence. Nobody wanted to admit that we were arguing about who among us is the greatest. We didn’t answer him.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In a tone that was a mixture of chiding and concern, Jesus said, “Anyone who wants to be greatest must put themselves last. They must be servants of all.” Then he looked at one of the little children who lived in the house where we were gathered, and he asked the child to stand. “You see this little child? Whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name is welcoming me; and not only are they welcoming me, but they are also welcoming God, who sent me.”</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">End of lesson.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Later that evening I was thinking about what Jesus said (After all, hadn’t the voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him”?). Everyone wants to be considered great. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. I think it’s in our nature to crave importance, to want to rise to the top. And yet, greatness for those who walk with Jesus isn’t a matter of rising to the top, but to sink to the bottom.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Those who desire to be very important people in the kingdom where Jesus reigns as Messiah must adopt the attitude of a servant, and must be willing to welcome and serve even those who cannot give us something in return for our service.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Something else Jesus said struck me. He said that to welcome someone like a vulnerable little child who can do nothing on his or her own but must depend on others to be responsible for his or her wellbeing – well, that’s the same as welcoming Jesus himself. Not only that, but if we’re welcoming Jesus, we’re also welcoming God, who sent Jesus into the world.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Greatness in Jesus’ world consists of humble service, gracious hospitality, tending to those who are most vulnerable and dependent on the goodness and generosity of others. Greatness in Jesus’ world, I have come to realize more and more as I walk with Jesus, is achieved in the way I see Jesus in others and then embrace them as I would embrace Jesus himself.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I want to be great in Jesus’ kingdom. I’m not ashamed to say that I want to be great. </span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Dear Jesus, nurture within me a spirit of humility, that I may become a servant for everyone I encounter this day. Amen.</i></span></span></span></p>Picturing My Faithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05219969543066183211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403093621094140843.post-52679957017480075652024-03-18T05:28:00.000-04:002024-03-18T05:28:09.836-04:00Listen to Jesus <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZbxGdqP2ebJfntlnTL_eBUb-c1_SDXXT3yW2fOkAmjUxABYbXCspqvGguOJE91cBaxQgaNzWw21mEIHaGgHGGK2Zt3Sw16Dc3ByM4FlfU4rJeh3LUWtBZfYEYUqe4nL1R-gIdbXDpCUazJ8IPfEjXBDHd9zk8ikKYXZ5VuJObbqqmijM2RrYdAdhvmNDw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="929" data-original-width="696" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZbxGdqP2ebJfntlnTL_eBUb-c1_SDXXT3yW2fOkAmjUxABYbXCspqvGguOJE91cBaxQgaNzWw21mEIHaGgHGGK2Zt3Sw16Dc3ByM4FlfU4rJeh3LUWtBZfYEYUqe4nL1R-gIdbXDpCUazJ8IPfEjXBDHd9zk8ikKYXZ5VuJObbqqmijM2RrYdAdhvmNDw=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>Listen to Jesus </b>(Mark 9:1-13)</span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>...a voice from the cloud said, ‘</i><i><u>This</u></i><i> is my Son. Listen to </i><i><u>him</u></i><i>.’” </i>(Mark 9:7)</span></span></p><p align="center" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~ ~ ~ ~ ~</span></span></p><p align="center" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">A few days after Jesus totally confused us by telling us that the Son of Man would suffer and be killed, and that any who would follow him must lose their lives in order to find real life, Jesus took three of his disciples – Peter, James, and John – up to a mountain. I didn’t get to see what happened on the mountain, but the three who did witness it told of something pretty amazing. </span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Evidently, while they were on the mountain, Jesus’ appearance suddenly changed. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became brilliantly white. As if that wasn’t amazing enough, out of nowhere Moses and Elijah appeared, standing with Jesus and talking with him! Peter, James, and John were awestruck. Peter said something about building three booths – one each for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus. </span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Then a cloud covered all of them, and Peter, James, and John heard a voice coming from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son. Listen to him.”</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Then, as quickly as it started, it was over. Moses and Elijah were gone. It was just Jesus and his three disciples once again. Jesus told them not to say anything about what they had seen until after the Son of Man has risen from death.</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">So, obviously Peter, James and John told us about what they had seen. Nobody has been able to keep quiet about anything regarding Jesus.</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I replayed the account in my mind over and over. Moses and Elijah, the two great figures of Israel that represent God’s Law and the prophets – their appearance couldn’t be coincidental. Peter obviously recognized that when he suggested that he build three booths to honor the occasion. Peter rightfully put Jesus right up there with Moses and Elijah.</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But there’s more to it than that, I think. Jesus is more than simply a peer of Moses and Elijah. Maybe that’s why the voice from the cloud – clearly, the voice of God – spoke and singled out Jesus: “<i>This </i>is my Son. Listen to <i>him</i>.” The more I think about it, the more I begin to realize that everything in God’s Law and the Prophets regarding Messiah and God’s plan for God’s kingdom were pointing to Jesus. <i>He</i> is the One of whom Moses had spoken when he said another would come after him. <i>He </i>is the One through whom all the messianic visions of the new heaven and new earth would come to pass.</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In my mind, the affirmation of God’s voice – <i>This</i> is my Son, listen to <i>him – </i>confirms the fact that Jesus is not equal with Moses and Elijah, rather, he supersedes them. It’s not as if I don’t need to pay attention to God Law and the Prophets, though; it’s just that if I really want to understand them in all their fulness, I need to listen to Jesus.</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I also realize that God’s affirmation of Jesus comes to all of us at just the right time. I mean, Jesus has been saying some really hard and bewildering things, like predicting his death, telling us that the way to life is to lose our lives and carry our cross every day. The fact that God says of Jesus, “listen to <i>him</i>,” encourages me to stick with Jesus, because Jesus is the One who will reveal all of God’s truth to me.</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In my walk with Jesus, sometimes the only clarity I get is that I have to trust him. I think that’s what it means to listen to him – to trust him. Even when things are confusing. Especially when things are confusing.</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Dear Jesus, I am so glad to know that I don’t have to wonder about where to turn for truth, because you are truth incarnate. Help me, I pray, to hear your voice among the myriad of voices that clamor for my attention and loyalty, and to <u>listen</u> to <u>you</u>. Amen.</i></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /><br /></p>Picturing My Faithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05219969543066183211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403093621094140843.post-46243548598046387682024-03-16T06:05:00.004-04:002024-03-16T06:05:45.095-04:00Who Do You Say That I Am?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiDeTa38QcpY3KDsW0OBsOdXH8dzrjmcU7pHr78I3Z9XU1mIq3FlrKA8XrWlnkH505Yj-BXbUTFMZpNs-Dnkwx_S9oFaq7g6SWjaywN6yMJVvRdL--KPXrH89vm0e6gKxOQl2OyHoVMtEYomigJcn6cJ6mitXdfaUDGcx7D1zs9quPX2nD4YhRTbWJ1p3EE" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiDeTa38QcpY3KDsW0OBsOdXH8dzrjmcU7pHr78I3Z9XU1mIq3FlrKA8XrWlnkH505Yj-BXbUTFMZpNs-Dnkwx_S9oFaq7g6SWjaywN6yMJVvRdL--KPXrH89vm0e6gKxOQl2OyHoVMtEYomigJcn6cJ6mitXdfaUDGcx7D1zs9quPX2nD4YhRTbWJ1p3EE=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>Who Do <i>You</i> Say That I Am? </b>(Mark 8:27-38)</span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Your thoughts don’t come from God but from human nature…” (Mark 8:33)</span></span></p><p align="center" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~ ~ ~ ~ ~</span></span></p><p align="center" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As we set out from Bethsaida on the north end of Lake Galilee, we walked toward Caesarea Philippi. I never really liked that place. Many generations ago, my people turned away from God and set up places to worship Baal there. Then later on, the Greeks erected a magnificent shrine to their god of the shepherds, Pan. And now the city has been named after Caesar, and every year the citizens are required to declare that Caesar is Lord.</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I was thinking about these things as we drew near to the city, wondering how the people would receive Jesus there. Jesus turned to us and asked, “Who do people say that I am?” A few of the twelve disciples offered answers: “Elijah,” “John the Baptist, returned from the dead,” “one of the prophets,” they said. Then Jesus looked right at us and asked us, “And who do <i>you</i> say that I am?” Against the backdrop of a place of various pagan influences, I don’t think Jesus’ question was coincidental; I think he really wanted us to decide who we believe he is, among all the deities that people worship. Peter spoke the words that I think most of us were thinking: “You are the Messiah.”</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">This was a very big moment! Finally, one of us had put words to what we were thinking – to what we were hoping. Everything that Jesus had been doing and saying up to now pointed to this revelation. Curiously enough, there were no trumpets from heaven, no angelic choruses singing his praises at this revelation. Jesus simply told us to keep it to ourselves.</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Then he began to say things that made us wonder if we were right in believing him to be the Messiah. He began to say that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be turned over to the officials, who would kill him; and then he would rise from the dead. Peter, again voicing concerns that all of us were having, told Jesus he shouldn’t be talking like that. </span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">That sparked a fire in Jesus. Immediately turned and looked at Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! Your thoughts don’t come from God, but from human nature!” And then Jesus said more things that seemed harsh, and that confused us. He spoke of us needing to forget ourselves – to deny ourselves and carry our crosses (what on earth does he mean by that?). He said that the only way to find life is to lose our lives for him and the Good News. Then he drew a line in the sand by saying, “Anyone who is ashamed of me and my message – well, the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes.”</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I think all of us felt like Jesus had sort of punched us in the gut. Not sort of, but really. His words took the wind out of us. Had we got it all wrong? Was he not the Messiah after all?</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As I reflected on this incident later, I remembered what Jesus had said to Peter: “Your thoughts don’t come from God, but from human nature.” It made me realize that we weren’t wrong in believing Jesus is the Messiah; but we were wrong in our thoughts of what the Messiah would be like. Our thoughts and hopes for the Messiah were not the same as God’s plans for the Messiah. It made me remember what God had said through the prophet long ago: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, and my ways are different from yours. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways and thoughts above yours.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Walking with Jesus means I have to be willing to put aside my own preconceptions of who Jesus must be as the Messiah, as my Lord. Apparently, walking with Jesus means walking down a road that leads to rejection of him. It means, apparently, following him to his death. Walking with Jesus also means, apparently, that I must be willing to sacrifice my own plans for the future and for my life, for the sake of following him.</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And somehow, mysteriously, walking with Jesus on his terms will also mean that I will find life in all its fullness. By losing my life for his sake, by carrying my cross (whatever that means) – by sticking with Jesus even when I don’t understand all of his ways, I will experience true life as God intends for me.</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I’m still confused by it all. The claims that Jesus makes and the demands that he puts on me are heavy, and I don’t understand it all. But so far I have trusted Jesus, and he hasn’t let me down. Even though I don’t understand it all, trusting that Jesus will show me the way as I walk with him is enough.</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Dear Jesus, I wish I knew everything there is to know about you. I wish I could know exactly what it means that you are Messiah, the Anointed One of God. Help me to put aside my own preconceptions, so that I can embrace you as you truly are. Help me to accept the difficult truths and the demands that are place on everyone who chooses to walk with you. Help me to believe, to really believe. Amen.</i></span></span></p>Picturing My Faithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05219969543066183211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403093621094140843.post-88618936656718887552024-03-15T08:34:00.001-04:002024-03-15T08:34:27.955-04:00More than One Way to See<p><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;"></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;"></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhrBE6PIU6Z1K_OqIjojhUBQHY-h6JlFJ7vFxgHBf4pbh6C9Jqrp5VVAj1o9F46AXCCHL-ONjCK2WS5Epu8mRbFpZrTUtXxZYIa5UBz9fs4ZKVvqOI3k1xkZhVL38yb0PNOtloYqAZiJpmORtKDt0fZbR_yuxC-HKpzxOihJhx25w1q8OlwSr_CC8Di-JX8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1620" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhrBE6PIU6Z1K_OqIjojhUBQHY-h6JlFJ7vFxgHBf4pbh6C9Jqrp5VVAj1o9F46AXCCHL-ONjCK2WS5Epu8mRbFpZrTUtXxZYIa5UBz9fs4ZKVvqOI3k1xkZhVL38yb0PNOtloYqAZiJpmORtKDt0fZbR_yuxC-HKpzxOihJhx25w1q8OlwSr_CC8Di-JX8=w267-h400" width="267" /></a></div><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /><br /></b><p></p><p><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;"></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj9nijLbNZ56hg6VO3kmIijIeSZrOvdheO48bkgrXR_WA1-QIXhX0gdim_j4l46haWNE4gW5h2cULrTyI9J679A8NkqgcI5dQMeobXR8Ec4a2PIV-S3FyHJ7R50GDse9pTc-CsjDG2zcIjGOUX_oOK6Xu_WkCyCy2fjNQ2xuTnuG3o4rt_9dpNv4leDh0jI" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1620" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj9nijLbNZ56hg6VO3kmIijIeSZrOvdheO48bkgrXR_WA1-QIXhX0gdim_j4l46haWNE4gW5h2cULrTyI9J679A8NkqgcI5dQMeobXR8Ec4a2PIV-S3FyHJ7R50GDse9pTc-CsjDG2zcIjGOUX_oOK6Xu_WkCyCy2fjNQ2xuTnuG3o4rt_9dpNv4leDh0jI=w267-h400" width="267" /></a></b></div><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /><br /></b><p></p><p><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">More than One Way to See </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">(Mark 8:11-26)</span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>You have eyes – can’t you see?” </i>(Mark 8:18)</span></span></p><p align="center" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~ ~ ~ ~ ~</span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Today in my walk with Jesus I learned that there is more than one way to be blind. There is the obvious way to be blind – to be physically unable to see, that is. And Jesus addressed this kind of blindness by healing a man who couldn’t see. Jesus literally made the man able to see things again. It was amazing!</span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">There is also a blindness of the heart, an inability to understand or discern important spiritual truths. For example, earlier in the same day that Jesus had made the blind man see again, he accused us of our own blindness, because we couldn’t understand what he was talking about when he said, “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees.” We thought Jesus was referring to the fact that we didn’t have but one loaf of bread with us. After just having fed 4,000 people with seven loaves of bread (not to mention the other time when he fed 5,000 people with just five loaves), Jesus was incredulous that we would be concerned about not having enough bread. “You have eyes – can’t you see?,” he said, astounded at the blindness of our hearts. “You still don’t understand, do you?” We later realized that Jesus’ remark about the yeast of the Pharisees was a warning against the tendency of unbelief to take root and spread so easily.</span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Just as there are more ways than one to be blind, there are also more ways than one to be able to see. There is the kind of seeing that our eyes provide for our bodies, and there is a seeing of the heart. We can physically see things with our eyes, but at the same time we can miss the truth of what we see. I realize that it is the second kind of seeing – the ability to discern and understand the truth of who Jesus is – that is critical in my walk with Jesus. What good does it do any of us if we see the kinds of things that Jesus does, and hear the things he says, but we are clueless as to their meaning? What good does it do any of us if we can’t apply what Jesus does and says to our own everyday lives?</span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Every miracle of Jesus points to something beyond the miracle itself. Every word that Jesus speaks is full of meaning. There is more to Jesus than meets the eye. Way more.</span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /><br /></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Open my eyes, dear Jesus. Not just the eyes on my face, but even more importantly, open the eyes of my heart. I want to see you – really see you. I want your words and your actions to take root and grow within me, that I may begin to comprehend the immeasurable truth of who you are, and so I may be more and more faithful as I walk with you. Open my eyes, Jesus. Help me to see. Amen.</i></span></span></p>Picturing My Faithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05219969543066183211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403093621094140843.post-69056890425495899322024-03-14T05:24:00.001-04:002024-03-14T05:24:24.440-04:00Quick-Acting Yeast<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh8TDO-0J6q-td58i4UY5q4lVwciGBGrBSu09El7pyL41_zQt-iYLg1EFBCJQRE-FrPa5sobpN3mWbWdyK4m08PMVbhqiNdqlwnFo_R6kvEEcKADgZhXNHAZnxFoJ1ZeEzaXD8gNtdQgBYWr09T_4n5wL2vVpebIa9dxNea5vePhODAxOaPonzNrOZxZZI7" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1025" data-original-width="937" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh8TDO-0J6q-td58i4UY5q4lVwciGBGrBSu09El7pyL41_zQt-iYLg1EFBCJQRE-FrPa5sobpN3mWbWdyK4m08PMVbhqiNdqlwnFo_R6kvEEcKADgZhXNHAZnxFoJ1ZeEzaXD8gNtdQgBYWr09T_4n5wL2vVpebIa9dxNea5vePhODAxOaPonzNrOZxZZI7=w365-h400" width="365" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>Quick-</b><b>A</b><b>cting Yeast</b> (Mark 8:1-21)</span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Be very careful. Keep a sharp eye out for the contaminating yeast of Pharisees and the followers of Herod.”</i> (Mark 8:15)</span></span></span></p><p align="center" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~ ~ ~ ~ ~</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Everywhere Jesus goes, large crowds seem to find him. Earlier today, about 4,000 people gathered around Jesus. Just like that other time when about 5,000 people came to hear him teach, Jesus had compassion on this crowd, too. So he took the few loaves of bread that we had, along with several fish, and he fed the entire crowd. One day I’m sure people will talk about having a power lunch, but they will have no idea what a real power lunch looks like!</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Because we’ve been in the region of Lake Galilee, we spend a lot of time in the boat. So, after we fed the 4,000 people (and by “we,” I really mean Jesus, because he was the one who miraculously fed the people; we just gave him what little bread we had), we got into the boat and went to the region of Dalmanutha. We were met by a bunch of Pharisees who wanted to put Jesus to the test. I’m sure they must have heard about everything Jesus had been doing, including the latest mass feeding. But the word of others wasn’t good enough for them; they demanded that Jesus prove himself to them by showing them their own private miracle.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Jesus just rolled his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. Looking to nobody in particular, he vented his frustration. “</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Why does this generation clamor for miraculous guarantees?,” </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">he said.</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> If I have anything to say about it, you’ll not get so much as a hint of a guarantee.” </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Then we got back into the boat and headed toward the other side of the lake.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">While we were in the boat, Jesus said to us, “Watch out, be careful and be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” Being the dull-headed dolts that we can be at times, we misunderstood what Jesus was saying about when he spoke of yeast. But that’s a story for another day. </span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Later in the evening, I did go back in my mind and think about Jesus’ warning against the yeast of the Pharisees and Herod. Given the Pharisees’ persistent refusal to believe or even acknowledge that Jesus is sent from God, and given the Herod’s propensity to act with evil and violence against anyone who poses a threat to his power, I have concluded that the “yeast” of which Jesus speaks is the contaminating influence of unbelief and evil. </span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I know that yeast, when it is mixed into a batch of flour and water, will cause the whole mixture to grow. A ball of dough the size of a fist can grow into the size of a large melon in only a matter of a few hours. It’s pretty amazing. If Jesus is comparing the unbelieving and evil spirit of the Pharisees and Herod to yeast, then I feel like he’s saying that their influence can quickly become very contagious, and their influence can quickly spread.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As I walk with Jesus, I realize that I must be careful not to let even a little bit of a bad influence to creep into my heart, because in no time at all it can take hold and spread into every aspect of my faith. And it’s not only my faith that is threatened by the “yeast,” but the faith of everyone else with whom I associate. The whole movement surrounding Jesus and the kingdom he is establishing can quickly become infected if any of us lets the unbelieving and coercive spirit of the Pharisees and those who follow Herod get a foothold in our lives. </span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I need to be very careful. It doesn’t take much of a bad thing to ruin all the good things about my walk with Jesus. </span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Dear Jesus, I pray for a spirit that is able to discern things that would become a bad and infectious influence within me and everyone else who walks with you, because we know how quickly the bad influences can overtake us.</i></span></span></span></p>Picturing My Faithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05219969543066183211noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403093621094140843.post-45994797504200886022024-03-13T05:53:00.001-04:002024-03-13T05:53:57.621-04:00Putting Together the Pieces<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgsvM-ajM0oe7VBeY-Gw73Fsmk9gjpeWcaANQFpMfGXnZW4v02Tad99hIhplFQr6zZ2xCsnwMikAt0thkmlRBe_xIen04lULsQTjgOkOeUQsmCTljvm910gF6vxp7GtHijHRddOwi1mil85KeWNNiUOyAD4OCjCpl6CUrd6eeBv0fw0WMqReXpdKw_cmSj" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgsvM-ajM0oe7VBeY-Gw73Fsmk9gjpeWcaANQFpMfGXnZW4v02Tad99hIhplFQr6zZ2xCsnwMikAt0thkmlRBe_xIen04lULsQTjgOkOeUQsmCTljvm910gF6vxp7GtHijHRddOwi1mil85KeWNNiUOyAD4OCjCpl6CUrd6eeBv0fw0WMqReXpdKw_cmSj=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>Putting Together the Pieces </b>(Mark 7:31-37)</span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><a name="en-TLB-21784"></a><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him, and everyone begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man and heal him… Then, looking up to heaven, </i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><i>[Jesus]</i></span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><i> sighed and commanded, ‘Open!’</i></span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><i><b> </b></i></span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><i>Instantly the man could hear perfectly and speak plainly!”</i></span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;">(Mark 7:32, 34-35)</span></span></span></span></p><p align="center" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~ ~ ~ ~ ~</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Jesus decided it was time to return to the region by the sea of Galilee, back to the area known as Ten Cities. Some people came to Jesus, bringing with them a man who was deaf and who had a severe speech impediment. They desperately wanted Jesus to heal the man. (It seems that everyone wants Jesus to heal them. I get it, he can do things that no one else can do.)</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Jesus took the man aside. I watched as Jesus put his hands on the man’s ears and then put some spittle on the man’s tongue. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and cried out, “Be opened!” Instantly the man’s hearing and speech were perfectly restored!</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The healing miracles are becoming commonplace. But I never cease to be amazed at what Jesus can do. I have begun to realize that the miracles aren’t just for the sake of the individual people whom Jesus has healed, but that the miracles are pointing to something bigger than just the healings. It’s as if the miracles themselves are sending a message about who Jesus is.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Once again, my mind goes back to some of the things I have heard from our holy scriptures. I remember words written long ago by the prophet Isaiah, words that describe how the world will be transformed when the Messiah comes to rule, when God’s kingdom is truly established. Isaiah spoke of the dry, arid, and barren wilderness being transformed into a place of lush beauty and vegetation, much like the garden where God placed Adam and Eve. And amazing things will happen to those who live there. I remember these words from the prophet:</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><a name="en-GNT-21319"></a><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>The blind will be able to see,<br /><span> </span>and the deaf will hear.<br />The lame will leap and dance,<br /><span> </span>and those who cannot speak will shout for joy. </i>(Isaiah 35:5-6)</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I begin to put some pieces together. So far I have watched Jesus tell a paralyzed man to get up and walk – and the man did just that; and I have seen Jesus restore hearing and speech to a deaf and mute man. I’m pretty sure that Jesus is perfectly capable of healing people of blindness, too; who knows – maybe he’ll even heal a blind man some day. Each individual miracle is amazing on its own. But when I put the miracles together, I begin to see a much bigger picture start to emerge.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It makes me realize that Jesus is more than a miracle worker. He’s the Messiah! He’s the One for whom the whole world has been hoping and longing, the One who will make the world right again! My head is spinning at this realization. I’m not sure I can wrap my head around what this really means for me, for Israel, for the world. </span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As I walk with Jesus, I am starting to see that every glimpse into who he is and what he can do is exactly that – just a glimpse, a foretaste of sorts. If I’m going to truly grasp the depth, width, height, and breadth of Jesus and the ways he will come to rule the world, every once in a while I need to take a step back and see how the glimpses fit together to make a bigger, more true picture of Jesus come to light.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I’ll have to keep walking with Jesus, because I know he has so much more to show me. There are a whole lot more glimpses I need to see before I get anything that resembles an accurate picture of who Jesus is. I’ll just have to take it one day at a time. When you’re walking with Jesus, one day at a time is enough.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Dear Jesus, thank you for pulling the scales off of my eyes and helping me to see who you are. Continue to help me see you better and better every day. Amen.</i></span></span></span></p>Picturing My Faithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05219969543066183211noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403093621094140843.post-89716357035339283242024-03-12T05:35:00.000-04:002024-03-12T05:35:07.148-04:00Rethinking the Things I Have Been Taught<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDkQBTVR7qtCyokcqCFnYfBJAiaHMeGn7ysKtSMBQ9PNse-LlZPDMVL6EMMY3O45zexnkhDVatWrQX7p3LjAke7NX1qLCvzcQ9HA00t0R_PZuv8KnNyvnPyZ6g9U_lvcTGV5TgKBs40ti3xEbhWPMg4CYkhZFXNbfW6SKWBTej280nkyrxBVrIRcBiO8JX" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4361" data-original-width="3744" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDkQBTVR7qtCyokcqCFnYfBJAiaHMeGn7ysKtSMBQ9PNse-LlZPDMVL6EMMY3O45zexnkhDVatWrQX7p3LjAke7NX1qLCvzcQ9HA00t0R_PZuv8KnNyvnPyZ6g9U_lvcTGV5TgKBs40ti3xEbhWPMg4CYkhZFXNbfW6SKWBTej280nkyrxBVrIRcBiO8JX=w343-h400" width="343" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>Rethinking the Things I Have Been Taught </b>(Mark 7:24-30)</span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>So Jesus said to her, “Because of that answer, go back home, where you will find that the demon has gone out of your daughter!” </i>(Mark 7:29)</span></span></span></p><p align="center" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~ ~ ~ ~ ~</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Our walk with Jesus took us from the area around Capernaum, northwest to the coastal city of Tyre. That far north in Israel there is a greater concentration of Gentiles, and so I feel like we need to be careful. Good Jews like us, after all, are not to mingle with Gentiles.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As usual, Jesus wanted his visit to be low-key. He didn’t want to draw attention to himself. But as usual, that was impossible. Word quickly got out that Jesus was in town.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We were at dinner in someone’s house when, suddenly, a woman came in and threw herself at Jesus’ feet, begging him to cast the demon out of her daughter, who was at her home. And this woman, she was a Gentile. Ugh.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Jesus looked at the woman and said to her, “Let the children eat first. It isn’t right to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” The silence in the room was palpable. Did Jesus, a man of compassion and care, really call this woman a dog? Is that what we heard?</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But the woman didn’t seem insulted by what Jesus said. In fact, she jumped right into whatever word game Jesus was playing, and she said to Jesus, “That’s true, sir, but even the dogs under the table get the scraps and crumbs that fall to the floor.”</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">A smile came across Jesus’ face at this Gentile woman’s response. “Good answer! Go on home, and you will find that your child’s demon has left her.” So the woman left. I heard later on that her daughter’s demon had, in fact, left the child.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I can’t stop thinking about the conversation between Jesus and this Gentile woman. So many things swirling about in my head. For one thing, I was shocked to hear Jesus call this woman a dog. I mean, that <i>is</i> how we refer to the Gentiles – as dogs. But I have not heard a derogatory word come from Jesus’ lips. For him to call her a dog really seems uncharacteristic of Jesus. Because it sounds so uncharacteristic, I choose to believe that Jesus is, in a mysterious way, communicating with this woman in a compassionate manner. I have never known Jesus not to show compassion to people who suffer, even people we’re supposed to avoid; I don’t think I need to assume that he was speaking cruelly with the Gentile woman.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I realize that the language of “children” and “dogs” is also the common way that Jews speak of Jews and Gentiles. The Jews are the children of God, and the Gentiles are, well, dogs. Could Jesus have been saying that he needs to help the Jews before he turns his attention to the Gentiles? I don’t know. It still bothered me, but it didn’t seem to bother the woman, so clearly something was going on that I don’t fully understand. </span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Something else that strikes me is that when the woman came into the room, I reacted with revulsion, because she was a “despised Gentile.” That was my instinct, because it was so ingrained in my being to think that way about Gentiles. But the more I think about it, the more I feel convicted for feeling that way about anyone who is different in a way that I have been taught is not good. It was just yesterday that Jesus told me I need to rethink what “unclean” means. I realize that it was wrong for me to consider this Gentile woman “unclean.” I also realize that Jesus came, not just for Israel, but for the whole world.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Finally, I am inspired by the determination of the woman. She was courageous enough to break taboo by entering the house and coming up to Jesus. She was persistent, and wouldn’t be put off easily. Her persistence and determination were evidence of a strong faith. Her example is something I want to imitate.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Sometimes my walk with Jesus just makes me rethink things. I don’t always get blinding revelations. But walking with Jesus does make me look at things differently because Jesus is different, very different from anyone I have ever known. He really does shake up my sensibilities. And I’m glad that he does shake things up for me. I’m beginning to believe it is making me a better person.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Open my heart and my mind, Jesus. Make me willing to rethink everything I have been taught, so that I can see things from your pure, unpolluted perspective. Amen.</i></span></span></span></p>Picturing My Faithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05219969543066183211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403093621094140843.post-86726714853581595082024-03-11T05:14:00.001-04:002024-03-11T05:14:14.370-04:00Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAFFg7V5Ho_rSN7XgdvUjBEjmmY8GpFlQuAYqmMfHvOqhi8z4ev9AXsI2dXHvSPB7ngrKXpEJj1RSxbLTRSOCd8je0JWaqifXPLQPCrEInZZ5N5DxN5KUQP5NZL2dyoTCYSYjs8QMEKGsJ74Zn5tbN_JNUyH95wtMFk7uv4TD3gIRgVH5s_bK9TRI6JEfE" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="737" data-original-width="785" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAFFg7V5Ho_rSN7XgdvUjBEjmmY8GpFlQuAYqmMfHvOqhi8z4ev9AXsI2dXHvSPB7ngrKXpEJj1RSxbLTRSOCd8je0JWaqifXPLQPCrEInZZ5N5DxN5KUQP5NZL2dyoTCYSYjs8QMEKGsJ74Zn5tbN_JNUyH95wtMFk7uv4TD3gIRgVH5s_bK9TRI6JEfE=w400-h375" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p> <b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God.</b></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>These people, says God, honor me with their words, but their heart is really far away from me. It is no use for them to worship me, because they teach human rules as though they were my laws!” </i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">(Mark 7:6-7)</span></span></p><p align="center" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~ ~ ~ ~ ~</span></span></span></p><p align="center" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Pharisees. They’re really sticklers for the rules. They know every command from God’s Law, and they have set up mountains upon mountains of complicated rules to make sure we know how to obey the commands exactly. They are obsessed, not only with God’s Law, but also with the rules they have made up. It’s no fun being around them, because they’re always correcting us, telling us how bad we are because we don’t follow their rules to the letter.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Here’s an example. We were eating lunch, but we hadn’t dipped our hands in the basin that was specifically set aside for ceremonial washing. The Pharisees must have been watching us, because they just barged in and accused us of eating with “unclean” hands (The truth is, we did wash our hands, but we used the vessel that collects rain water, and not the one with the “special” cleansing water; and maybe we didn’t do all the hand motions that the Pharisees’ rules require). They confronted Jesus – rather rudely, I might say – and demanded that he explain why we didn’t wash our hands according to the rules that had been handed down from generation to generation.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Well, Jesus didn’t answer their question. Instead, he leveled an accusation of his own at them. He recited words of the Lord spoken through the prophet Isaiah:<span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: #111111;"> “These people claim to worship me, but their words are meaningless, and their hearts are somewhere else. Their religion is nothing but human rules and traditions, which they have simply memorized.”</span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: #111111;">(Isaiah 29:13) Then Jesus went on to point out how the Pharisees put more importance on their own traditions than they do on God’s Law itself. In fact, they use some of the rules that they have made up in ways that actually contradict God’s Law.</span></span></span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: #111111;"><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: #111111;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">God’s Law says to honor your father and your mother,” Jesus said. “But you have this way of designating your money as ‘holy money, set aside for God,’ and then when your parents need your help you say, ‘Oh gee, I’m sorry. I would help you if I could, but I’ve designated that money as holy money, so I can’t use it for you.’ Sheer hypocrisy!”</span></span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><a name="en-GNT-27531"></a><a name="en-GNT-27532"></a><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Later on, when we were alone with Jesus, we were rehashing the debate about unclean hands. Jesus told us that it’s not what’s on the outside that makes us unclean, but what’s in our hearts. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">He told us, </span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“</span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">from the inside, from your heart, come the evil ideas which lead you to do immoral things, to rob, kill, commit adultery, be greedy, and do all sorts of evil things; deceit, indecency, jealousy, slander, pride, and folly—all these evil things come from inside you and make you unclean.”</span></span></span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It made me realize that the rules and rituals don’t mean anything if they don’t address what is in my heart. God’s Law was given to us, not so we could rigidly adhere to a bunch of rules, but so we could cultivate in our hearts a deep and abiding love for God and for everyone we encounter. I remember how God spoke through the prophets and told the people that the sacrifices and elaborate worship they observed meant nothing to him because their worship failed to make the people help the oppressed, provide for the orphans and widows, or pursue real justice for everyone.</span></span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Now that I think about it, I realize that when King David wanted to be right with God, he prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” It’s always been about our heart.</span></span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The longer I walk with Jesus, the more I am convinced that walking with him – following him, obeying him – is not worth anything unless my walk with him is changing my heart. Unless my heart is becoming more and more conformed to the heart of Jesus, then any way that I act like Jesus is no better than the way of the Pharisees.</span></span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Becoming “clean” in the eyes of the Lord goes way beyond washing my hands and avoiding lepers and women with issues of blood, because it’s not the dirty hands or leprosy or issue of blood that the Lord sees. It’s the heart that he sees.</span></span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">If you want to know if you’re “clean” before the Lord, you don’t need to look at how well you adhere to the rules. You just need to look into your heart.</span></span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /><br /></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Dear Jesus, I don’t want my walk with you to consist of rigidly going through the motions of doing the things you tell me to do. What I do want is for my walk with you to make me more and more like you – not just looking like you on the outside, but really being like you deep in my heart. Amen.</i></span></span></span></p>Picturing My Faithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05219969543066183211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403093621094140843.post-91315660501768463382024-03-09T06:19:00.010-05:002024-03-09T06:22:15.603-05:00Fostering Compassion<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRjIj6L7C8oOHFH5ypTM1plNQefPk0Ox0WEJl-c23BNtF3dsvzIbm9Vtr6GtIksosu9WQ5boq-CwJ51jj_EASKR7fiv6vTRo8UyPy5qPDu4GWNNGDt60wb2xEnRPkyInhelvg95ov6oO4-8S2ka8MxtxKCNCtPeY4SrSQccIueQng1xFCBzvL7ufjtVOkS" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1429" data-original-width="1499" height="381" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRjIj6L7C8oOHFH5ypTM1plNQefPk0Ox0WEJl-c23BNtF3dsvzIbm9Vtr6GtIksosu9WQ5boq-CwJ51jj_EASKR7fiv6vTRo8UyPy5qPDu4GWNNGDt60wb2xEnRPkyInhelvg95ov6oO4-8S2ka8MxtxKCNCtPeY4SrSQccIueQng1xFCBzvL7ufjtVOkS=w400-h381" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p align="left" style="background: repeat; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>Fostering Compassion</b> (Mark 6:30-44)</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: repeat; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><br /><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: repeat; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>When Jesus saw a large crowd, he compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.”</i> (Mark 6:34)</span></span></p><p align="center" style="background: repeat; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~ ~ ~ ~ ~</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: repeat; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><br /></p><p style="background: repeat; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The more I walk with Jesus, the more I stand in awe of who he is, and of what he does for you and me. The more I walk with Jesus, the more I want to be like him.</span></span></p><p style="background: repeat; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><br /></p><p style="background: repeat; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It really was an amazing miracle that day – feeding five thousand men with five loaves of bread and two fish. And five thousand doesn’t even include women and children who were also there! Not only that, but there was more food left over than when the people started to eat. What a miracle, right?!</span></span></p><p style="background: repeat; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><br /></p><p style="background: repeat; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I can sense another miracle taking place, though. It is the miracle that takes place in my heart when I am realize that I failed to view the crowds of people in the same way that Jesus viewed them. To me, the masses of people are a distraction, an annoyance, even. To me, the people have interrupted our attempt at having some time alone with Jesus.</span></span></p><p style="background: repeat; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">But Jesus doesn’t look at the people that way. They aren’t an inconvenience to him at all. No, Jesus looks at people with compassion and kindness. While I saw the enormous crowd of people as an unwelcome interruption to my personal time with Jesus, Jesus saw them with compassion, because he saw they were lost.</span></p><p style="background: repeat; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">My walk with Jesus often brings to mind the ancient words of King David, and this time is no different. As I think about how Jesus looked at the hungry people with compassion, the words of the psalm popped into my head: “The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made,” and then, “You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing” (Psalm 145). These words not only underscore the goodness that the Lord shows to everyone, but they also convict my own tendency not to show equal concern for all or to extend compassion to everyone. No, if I’m honest with myself, I pick and choose those to whom I am good, those whose needs I will try to meet, those on whom I will have compassion.</span></p><p style="background: repeat; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">But seeing Jesus showing compassion for all those people and nurturing them in body and in spirit makes me want to foster my own capacity for compassion. The more I walk with Jesus, I find myself looking at people differently more and more – not as interruptions to my routine, not as an annoyance that slows me down, but with compassion.</span></p><p style="background: repeat; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">That is, after all, how Jesus looks at you and me: with deep, abiding compassion and love.</span></p><p style="background: repeat; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><br /><br /></p><p style="background: repeat; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Dear Jesus, give me eyes that see people the way you see them. Help me to look at people, not as interruptions to my busy schedule or as unwelcome inconveniences; rather help me to look at people through the lens of compassion. Give me eyes that see the needs that others have, and foster in me a heart that wants to do something to meet their needs. Amen.</i></span></span></p>Picturing My Faithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05219969543066183211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403093621094140843.post-56905226544569249922024-03-08T05:34:00.000-05:002024-03-08T05:34:07.851-05:00How Long, Lord? How Long?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh0w6H1gQPP_koRAS3J6R4XQlV2K5PAyQ5UownmkHZ0tTRWXRxmZAcewVjh8mfY9iolIDsnvuFSmS2TlPplyEh0J4tZQFOzZx3e4jjo5eThwmbCQBFhIjJaWRdOHcaPiJgj7T_xblodF0BUNrsalATrzGZi0Dw1aUbExM0YoliRlgPCl3RUbiyHvGf-UyW9" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3459" data-original-width="3456" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh0w6H1gQPP_koRAS3J6R4XQlV2K5PAyQ5UownmkHZ0tTRWXRxmZAcewVjh8mfY9iolIDsnvuFSmS2TlPplyEh0J4tZQFOzZx3e4jjo5eThwmbCQBFhIjJaWRdOHcaPiJgj7T_xblodF0BUNrsalATrzGZi0Dw1aUbExM0YoliRlgPCl3RUbiyHvGf-UyW9=w400-h400" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>How Long, Lord? How Long? </b>(Mark 6:14-29)</span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>The king sent the executioner off to the prison with orders to bring back John’s head.” </i>(Mark 6:27)</span></span></span></p><p align="center" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~ ~ ~ ~ ~</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Meanwhile, the world around us keeps on going its own way, often seemingly out of control. I get so caught up in walking with Jesus, that I forget that there’s a whole world beyond us, and it’s full of its own troubles. </span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Roman tyranny rules the day. Take Herod, for example. He’s a very powerful man, and he chooses play games with people’s lives. He had John the Baptist arrested because John called him out about marrying his brother’s wife. Threw him in prison. </span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">John was a curiosity to Herod. Herod knew John was popular among the people and was a big deal on the religion front, so Herod gave John special treatment. From time to time he would bring John out and listen to him. It was weird – John made Herod feel guilty, but he still couldn’t stay away from John. John had this strange pull on Herod.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Then one night, on Herod’s birthday, Herodias took advantage of a rash promise Herod made in front of everyone and manipulated him to make him order the beheading of John the Baptist. Herod knew he had been forced into a corner, and he couldn’t get out without ruining his reputation, so he did it. He ordered the death of John.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Like I said, “Meanwhile…” Even though Jesus is doing amazing things, much of the world continues down its own trajectory, propelled by evil, greed, hunger for power. </span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I have been paying so much attention to my walk with Jesus that I have forgotten how rotten and evil some people can be. I wonder, What kind of world do we inhabit, where evil tyrants can go about their business without any resistance or accountability? How can corruption and injustice continue unchecked? Again, I remember the ancient words of our people, “The scepter of the wicked will not remain over the land allotted to the righteous” (Psalm 125:3), but people like Herod and Herodias make me wonder if that’s really true. Because the scepter of the wicked still feels pretty heavy. </span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I feel like joining the chorus of people who have cried out, “How long, Lord? How Long?”</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It makes me question whether Jesus will make a real difference in the world. I mean, he does make a difference in my life, and in the lives of everyone he has healed. His teaching does make us think about living in a different way. To those who have received him, he has given the privilege of becoming children of God, citizens of God’s kingdom.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And that, I realize, is how Jesus will make a difference: one person at a time. Each heart that embraces Jesus is a changed heart. Instead of despairing over the upper hand that evil seems to have in our world, my walk with Jesus has convinced me beyond any doubt that Jesus is exactly who our world needs. Jesus really is the answer to sin, evil, injustice, tyranny. </span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Jesus really does make all the difference in the world. But he does it by changing one heart at a time.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Dear Jesus, let me not despair over the seeming upper hand that evil has in this world. Instead, help me and all who have chosen to walk with you to proclaim you faithfully. Help us to make you known, because against you, evil doesn’t stand a chance. Amen.</i></span></span></span></p>Picturing My Faithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05219969543066183211noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403093621094140843.post-50941249602650046842024-03-07T05:33:00.000-05:002024-03-07T05:33:13.477-05:00Working with Jesus<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjAT0jaigM07fvP31fGHjpwbopPSE5vqBJqYLzC8DGJjz5BnRMrle0s-tAqSjo2UDx1eS30tBIjoXQv0EDPOM3fxQyAaELIQEMyb1_85wRQl7UrODj15kKilXIMODZIYprjpKxAjcq57G4u1xR7arslID8HR_SIj4SRSKm5ND_EdDPRoxdnOX3asYa28ftq" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="536" data-original-width="724" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjAT0jaigM07fvP31fGHjpwbopPSE5vqBJqYLzC8DGJjz5BnRMrle0s-tAqSjo2UDx1eS30tBIjoXQv0EDPOM3fxQyAaELIQEMyb1_85wRQl7UrODj15kKilXIMODZIYprjpKxAjcq57G4u1xR7arslID8HR_SIj4SRSKm5ND_EdDPRoxdnOX3asYa28ftq=w400-h296" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p> <b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Working <i>with</i> Jesus (Mark 6:6-13)</b></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Then </i><i>[the twelve]</i><i> were on the road. They preached with joyful urgency that life can be radically different; right and left they sent the demons packing; they brought wellness to the sick, anointing their bodies, healing their spirits.”</i> (Mark 6:12-13)</span></span></span></p><p align="center" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~ ~ ~ ~ ~</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I’ve been walking with Jesus for a little while now. I, and the twelve people Jesus had specifically called to be part of his following, and others here and there. We’ve watched him, day and night, growing in our awe at his powers, his wisdom, his courage, his compassion. He talks in strange ways, using parables to teach us about the kingdom. Wherever he goes, he shares the message of good news – inviting people to turn from their ways and to experience forgiveness for their sins. We have also watched as the people react to Jesus. Some embrace him with all their being, others look at him with curiosity and wonder, while some push him away and turn away from him. We feel a special privilege to be witness to everything he has been doing and saying. </span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">After we left his hometown, there we were, walking along to the nearby villages. Suddenly Jesus stopped and looked at the twelve. “You know what?,” he asked them. “I think it’s time you tried your hand at this. You go, all twelve of you, and do what I’ve been doing. Split up, two by two, and go to the villages. I give you permission and authority to do the things I’ve been doing. Take just yourselves, nothing more. Don’t worry about supplies and provisions; rely on the generosity and hospitality of the villagers. If they won’t have you, just turn around and walk away, shaking the dust off of your feet.”</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And that’s exactly what the twelve did! They went and proclaimed the same message Jesus had been preaching, inviting people to turn from their sins and be forgiven. And they cast out demons, and healed the sick. They were doing the same things that Jesus had been doing! It was amazing!</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As I walk with Jesus, I realize that he invites everyone who chooses to walk with him to be co-workers with him. It’s not as if he really needs us, because I’ve seen that he is perfectly capable of doing everything himself – healing, confronting and casting out evil, teaching about the kingdom. He is more than able to do it himself, and yet he invites us and empowers us to share in the work he is doing in the world. He doesn’t want us simply to be spectators watching and cheering him on; he invites us to be participants in his life-changing work.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Every day in my walk with Jesus, I offer myself into his service. I ask Jesus to show me the ways that I can share in his work. I ask him to guide me and equip me with what I need so that, in the things I say and the things I do, I am somehow bearing witness to Jesus and this amazing kingdom. I know that not everyone wants what Jesus has to offer, and so I try not to get discouraged. But what a privilege it is, to be part of the work that Jesus is doing to usher in his kingdom.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">If in some small way in my walk with Jesus I am able to make Jesus known, then I am happy.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Dear Jesus, thank you for the tremendous privilege, not only of walking with you, but also of working with you. I want to be faithful in doing your work. I want the things I say and do to bear true and faithful witness to who you are, so that people can genuinely respond to your grace, love, and to your invitation to right living. Fill me with everything I need, including boldness and confidence, so that at the end of the day I will have done everything you call me to do. Amen.</i></span></span></span></p>Picturing My Faithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05219969543066183211noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403093621094140843.post-53892464620616422022024-03-06T05:42:00.000-05:002024-03-06T05:42:00.776-05:00When Unbelief Prevails<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0wChdC5FZLypI3z3kkEnqu174uo2JKGYAGf86ImFOZQ-GQIji-Mesq7jPyzUHJMpSeuWElN_Lhl4toGTFZmerGoiTJoiFNP6QFw2NJLRh1V1knw_LM7XkY3AxPQjihD5jpnD9sBYAthHsJ9rmfxZUWgaFT0Y98UfmBjK9oYTvcKouRMrUNw94Prbafajt" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0wChdC5FZLypI3z3kkEnqu174uo2JKGYAGf86ImFOZQ-GQIji-Mesq7jPyzUHJMpSeuWElN_Lhl4toGTFZmerGoiTJoiFNP6QFw2NJLRh1V1knw_LM7XkY3AxPQjihD5jpnD9sBYAthHsJ9rmfxZUWgaFT0Y98UfmBjK9oYTvcKouRMrUNw94Prbafajt=w388-h400" width="388" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">When Unbelief Prevails (Mark 6:1-6)</b></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>He’s no better than we are,” they said. “He’s just a carpenter, Mary’s boy...”</i> (Mark 6:3)</span></span></span></p><p align="center" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~ ~ ~ ~ ~</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">One day Jesus decided to return to his hometown, to teach and heal there. I remember thinking to myself, “This is going to be great! The people are going to be so excited! I can hear them now – ‘Local boy hits the big times!’” Only, that’s not how it turned out. It ended up more like, “Local boy hits the big times? Yeah, right,” with a collective shrug of their shoulders.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">When Jesus spoke in the synagogue, the people were at first amazed. But then, they thought to themselves, “How can such words come from Jesus? After all, he’s just a carpenter. And his family, well, they’re no big deal either.” I couldn’t believe my ears! Their amazement at Jesus quickly turned to disrespect. They actually were offended by Jesus. </span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Jesus was taken aback by their reaction to him. I could see the hurt in his eyes and the frustration on his face. He said, “A prophet is acclaimed everywhere. Everywhere, that is, except among the people who know him best.” As a result of the unbelief of the people, Jesus only laid his hands on a few people and healed them, then he decided that we should go to some of the other villages that were nearby.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I thought about the events of the day, and the discouragement that Jesus felt. I wonder if there’s something about familiarity with someone that breeds a feeling of contempt rather than respect. Whatever it was, the people could not bring themselves to believe in Jesus; they refused to put their faith in Jesus.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And Jesus would not force himself onto people who would not welcome him. It’s not as if Jesus lost the ability to heal people, but if no one comes to him and seeks him in faith, then how is he going to be able to give them the help they need? </span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">If people wish to reject Jesus, Jesus will not force the issue. But here’s the deal: if we reject Jesus, then we reject the things he offers to us. If we reject Jesus, we reject his wisdom and his truth and his power to do good in our life.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In my walk with Jesus today, I came to realize that when someone turns away from Jesus, Jesus honors the choice that the person has made. Jesus actually lets them walk away.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">That makes me sad for those who turn their backs on Jesus, because they’re missing out on the best thing that could ever happen to them.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Dear Jesus, I know you allow us to experience the consequences of our own decisions. When people reject you, you honor their decision. Still, I pray that you will not give up on them. Maybe someday they will realize that you really are the best thing that could ever happen to them. Keep the door open, won’t you? Amen.</i></span></span></span></p>Picturing My Faithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05219969543066183211noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403093621094140843.post-47372277591403181732024-03-05T05:32:00.001-05:002024-03-05T05:32:02.549-05:00Not Invisible to Jesus<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhEFHmuta5aolcRgP0oXSdYklpC_Lm6DYrbPDknpapoOJoufCphnTLFxc_LI8-yRff29NmzMbyZfrk2LXtBiQ0Eud97kTrauMwRvsEV_tGMNXhp4bc4ldbtGn6M45lj65xyXtNoQC1lSeoJ8dn0LeRl5x5usEmlG4kwmYu1UPZTHv1ff2SRfrwYrhXcZ1kW" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1110" height="389" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhEFHmuta5aolcRgP0oXSdYklpC_Lm6DYrbPDknpapoOJoufCphnTLFxc_LI8-yRff29NmzMbyZfrk2LXtBiQ0Eud97kTrauMwRvsEV_tGMNXhp4bc4ldbtGn6M45lj65xyXtNoQC1lSeoJ8dn0LeRl5x5usEmlG4kwmYu1UPZTHv1ff2SRfrwYrhXcZ1kW=w400-h389" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An almost-invisible red-shouldered hawk sits in a tree</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>Not Invisible to Jesus (Mark 5:24-34, Psalm 139)</b></span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><i>Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, ‘Who touched my clothes?’” </i></span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;">(Mark 5:30)</span></span></span></span></p><p align="center" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~ ~ ~ ~ ~</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The same day that Jesus revived Jairus’ daughter from death, he healed a woman of her longtime hemorrhaging condition. In fact it happened while Jesus was on the way to heal Jairus’ daughter. </span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;">There was, as usual, a great crowd of people surrounding Jesus. In that crowd was this woman who had been hemorrhaging for more than twelve years. </span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;">She had tried every doctor she could find, and none of them could help her, though they were willing to bleed her of all her money. So, now she was sick, weak, </span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><i>and</i></span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;"> poor. </span></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;">Furthermore, her condition severely limited her daily life, because her bleeding made her ceremonially unclean. She was not allowed to observe any of the religious ceremonies with the rest of the people because of her uncleanness. She shouldn’t have even been in that crowd, because touching other people would make them unclean, too.</span></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But she was desperate. She had heard that Jesus had healed many people, often simply by touching them. So, in her desperation, she sought Jesus. She knew she couldn’t touch him because of her uncleanness. But she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, maybe I’ll be healed.” </span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Suddenly, there he was, right in front of her, walking away. She pushed her way through the crowd and reached out with her hand and touched Jesus’ outer robe. In that instant, she knew it – her bleeding stopped, and she had been healed!</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Even though she hadn’t actually touched Jesus, Jesus knew, because he felt healing power going out of him. So, he stopped in his tracks and asked, “Who touched me?” His disciples were incredulous. Literally, every step he took, he bumped into someone from the crowd. How could he ask, “Who touched me?”</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The woman, realizing that she had not gone unnoticed, threw herself down and bowed at Jesus’ feet and admitted that it was she who had touched him. With a look of tenderness in his eyes, Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has healed you!”</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;">The more I walk with Jesus, the more I notice that Jesus notices. No one escapes his attention. I wish I could say the same about myself, but often I go about my daily business and I don’t so much as look at those around me. They’re invisible. But not to Jesus. Nobody is invisible to Jesus.</span></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I think the woman with the hemorrhage thought she was invisible. After twelve years of being on the outside of every social setting that meant something to her, she knew that nobody noticed her anymore. She knew that nobody saw her, except as someone to avoid.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I get sad when I realize that, just because people are pushed aside because of their condition or some other status that renders them invisible to the world that passes them by, they assume that they are invisible to God, as well. I get sad when I realize that, just because people are given the message that they are not important to those who have power and influence, they assume that they must not be important to God, either.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But the example of Jesus is loud and clear: Jesus notices. Nobody is invisible to him. There is no cry that he does not hear. There is no suffering that he does not see. He will not ever turn a blind eye to anyone who reaches out to him in faith. Not ever.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;">As I walk with Jesus and as I watch him turn with compassion and tenderness to those who suffer – even to those whom most of us would ignore or push aside – I am reminded more and more of the way that </span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;">King David described his relationship with God:</span></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.98in;"><a name="en-GNT-17479"></a><a name="en-GNT-17480"></a><a name="en-GNT-17481"></a><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Lord, you have examined me and you know me.<br />You know everything I do;<br /> from far away you understand all my thoughts.<br />You see me, whether I am working or resting;<br /> you know all my actions.<br />Even before I speak,<br /> you already know what I will say...<br /></span></span></span><br /></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.98in;"><a name="en-GNT-17484"></a><a name="en-GNT-17485"></a><a name="en-GNT-17488"></a><a name="en-GNT-17489"></a><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">...Where could I go to escape from you?<br /> Where could I get away from your presence?<br />If I went up to heaven, you would be there;<br /> if I lay down in the world of the dead, you would be there...<br /><br />...I could ask the darkness to hide me<br /> or the light around me to turn into night,<br />but even darkness is not dark for you,<br /> and the night is as bright as the day.<br /> Darkness and light are the same to you. (Psalm 139:1-12)<br /><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br />Nobody is invisible to Jesus. Nobody is a nobody to Jesus.</span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Dear Jesus, give me eyes to see and ears to hear the needs around me. Help me to notice everyone you put in my path, that all of my interactions with others will be filled with compassion and care. As I walk with you, I also want to see like you see, and hear like you hear. As I walk with you, I want to be more like you. Amen.</i></span></span></span></p>Picturing My Faithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05219969543066183211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403093621094140843.post-67514565540285982002024-03-04T05:14:00.002-05:002024-03-04T05:14:20.078-05:00The Conundrum of Miracles<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhf7sWt9F6VeGQ87ynFRnX0wknuBmZkub9NHB5Jims6wjrysO8QNCZtyVnVbmUaeqUCTk6sOZDHTjSRUXhtybiB3hU4vdwG3pJIG5cBCnqSeNgC7wE-tiPaohzoqmY6CmJSUR_ZdRjo4JnykELaSyU6uIS4V2xXigxCxbO39gSulcCJF0CaxmqYdrwtN_jM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="686" data-original-width="839" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhf7sWt9F6VeGQ87ynFRnX0wknuBmZkub9NHB5Jims6wjrysO8QNCZtyVnVbmUaeqUCTk6sOZDHTjSRUXhtybiB3hU4vdwG3pJIG5cBCnqSeNgC7wE-tiPaohzoqmY6CmJSUR_ZdRjo4JnykELaSyU6uIS4V2xXigxCxbO39gSulcCJF0CaxmqYdrwtN_jM=w400-h327" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.08in; margin-top: 0.08in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>The Conundrum of Miracles </b>(Mark 5:21-24, 35-43)</span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.08in; margin-top: 0.08in;"><span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>One of the meeting-place leaders named Jairus came. When he saw Jesus, he fell to his knees, beside himself as he begged, ‘My dear daughter is at death’s door. Come and lay hands on her so she will get well and live.’ Jesus went with him…” </i>(Mark 5:22-23)</span></span></span></p><p align="center" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.08in; margin-top: 0.08in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~ ~ ~ ~ ~</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.08in; margin-top: 0.08in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">When I am walking with Jesus day by day my mind will, at some time or another, reflect on the nature of miracles. Ever since Jesus came on the scene, I have watched him heal many, many people. Some of the instances of healing are spectacular, and clearly miraculous, such as when Jesus healed the paralytic man, or when Jesus restored to madman to complete sanity. </span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.08in; margin-top: 0.08in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.08in; margin-top: 0.08in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">There was another miracle I witnessed, and it eclipses all the others. Jesus actually revived a little girl who had died. A man named Jairus went to Jesus when his daughter was at death’s doorstep, and he begged Jesus to come and heal his daughter. Jesus went with Jairus, but while they were on the way to Jairus’ house, they got word that the little girl had died. Still, Jesus insisted that they continue to Jairus’ house. When they arrived, Jesus – along with Jairus and his wife, Peter, James, and John – went into the little girl’s room. Jesus went to the little girl’s body, took her hand, and said, “Little girl, get up!” And she did! She got up and started walking around! She was alive again!</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.08in; margin-top: 0.08in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.08in; margin-top: 0.08in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">My heart is happy for people who experience miracles from the Lord. </span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.08in; margin-top: 0.08in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.08in; margin-top: 0.08in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But I also know that not everyone who begs the Lord for a miracle gets one. I remember the story of King David earnestly praying that his sick son would not die. David wouldn’t eat or drink or do anything but pray, pray, pray for his son to live. But his son did not live. David did not get the miracle he had asked for.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.08in; margin-top: 0.08in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.08in; margin-top: 0.08in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I realize that when we pray for people to be healed, there will always be one time when God will answer our prayers by telling us “No,” because eventually all of us die.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.08in; margin-top: 0.08in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.08in; margin-top: 0.08in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Miracles, wonderful as they are, are not guaranteed. Nor is the failure to receive a miracle a sign that our faith is too weak, or that God doesn’t love us as much as God loves those who get the miracle. </span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.08in; margin-top: 0.08in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.08in; margin-top: 0.08in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Whether we receive a miracle or not, I don’t think that our prayers to the Lord are made in vain. I remember how Jairus earnestly and desperately threw himself at Jesus’ feet; Jairus’ example reminds me to bring my needs to Jesus wholeheartedly. I remember that Jesus stopped what he was doing and went with Jairus; and I see in Jesus’ response to Jairus the promise that our Lord is never too busy for us, never unwilling to shift his focus onto us and our needs.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.08in; margin-top: 0.08in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.08in; margin-top: 0.08in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">When I consider the vastness of the universe, and the fact that when I cry out to the Lord, the Lord hears me and comes to me, I realize that maybe the real miracle is not so much whether we get that for which we ask. Maybe the real miracle is that the God of the universe hears me and comes to me in my time of trouble.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.08in; margin-top: 0.08in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.08in; margin-top: 0.08in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I love it when miracles happen. Really, I do. But I also love the Lord even when he doesn’t give the miracle.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.08in; margin-top: 0.08in;"><br /><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.08in; margin-top: 0.08in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Dear Jesus, your miracles are a beautiful thing to behold. They really are. But I also know that not everyone receives the miracles for which they earnestly pray. I ask two things of you, Lord: Let me not stop praying for miracles though I know they are rare; and give to me a sense of peace that every answer to every prayer is the result of your steadfast love, your endless compassion, and your infinite wisdom. Amen.</i></span></span></span></p>Picturing My Faithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05219969543066183211noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403093621094140843.post-87494223100156371432024-03-02T05:28:00.001-05:002024-03-02T05:28:16.573-05:00A Changed Man, a New Creation<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEihNKiMV98eTejM6sXIY8M94BMQkeCro7y2tqa60YqPhGst8wIWctZfW_Pca2v2OwuzJY4Wu224jFFYMUncy7f6duwU5gcg0ZhAM2ah4QxdaFRxpHaOTi7OFExUwLQ6xclsUZl11kuBdC4G5VR0aYslqb2XlFxfWSS3q_3cTbmcxlXMeHaT0m5PhnBIC5BU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEihNKiMV98eTejM6sXIY8M94BMQkeCro7y2tqa60YqPhGst8wIWctZfW_Pca2v2OwuzJY4Wu224jFFYMUncy7f6duwU5gcg0ZhAM2ah4QxdaFRxpHaOTi7OFExUwLQ6xclsUZl11kuBdC4G5VR0aYslqb2XlFxfWSS3q_3cTbmcxlXMeHaT0m5PhnBIC5BU=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>A Changed Man, a New Creation (Mark 5:1-20)</b></span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>...and when they came to Jesus, they saw the man who used to have the mob of demons in him. He was sitting there, clothed and in his right mind; and they were all afraid.”</i> (Mark 5:15)</span></span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /></p><p align="center" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~ ~ ~ ~ ~</span></span></span></p><p align="center" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">You really would have to have seen it to believe it. The change in the man who met Jesus was so radical that you would never have known that the man had been utterly crazed and wild. It was like you had seen two completely different people.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But it happened. I know it happened, because I saw it with my own eyes. When we arrived at the lakeshore in the territory of Gerasa (still reeling from how Jesus had calmed the storm last night, mind you), this wild madman came running out of the burial caves, shouting at Jesus, but also bowing before Jesus. The man lived in the caves because nobody could contain his madness; he was uncontrollable in his lunacy. He was totally possessed and controlled by a whole host of mad spirits. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">There were so many mad spirits that had taken over the man that the spirits called themselves The Mob.</span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What happened next was truly unbelievable, except I saw it with my own eyes. I saw Jesus talking to the man, but he really wasn’t talking to the man himself – he was talking to The Mob. The Mob knew they had met their match in Jesus. They went into negotiation mode. They didn’t want to be cast into oblivion, so they begged Jesus to let them possess a nearby herd of pigs. Jesus said, “Okay,” and The Mob overtook the pigs. The pigs went wild, and ran straight into the lake, and they drowned.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I told you it was unbelievable.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I turned my gaze from the pigs, to the man. Gone was the crazed expression on his face. Gone was the look of terror in his eyes. Gone was the frantic violence for which he had been known and feared. He was sitting there with a look of peace on his face – joy, even. His eyes conveyed a spirit of gentleness within him.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It was like night and day. He was a changed man. Totally changed. A new creation, even.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The strange thing was, when the villagers heard what had happened, including the bit about the herd of pigs, and when they saw the man who was no longer the madman they once knew, their reaction was fear at Jesus. They actually asked Jesus to leave the area.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The more I walk with Jesus, the more I realize that not everyone is ready to welcome him. You see, to welcome Jesus is to welcome the change that Jesus will make within you. And not everyone is ready for the kind of change that Jesus makes in our hearts. </span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Walking with Jesus will make a person into a new creation – the old way goes away, and the new way of living suddenly overtakes us. I have the distinct feeling that there will be others who will make this same point, so it’s not just I who realizes this.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I like to think that eventually the change in the madman will have the effect of inspiring others to want to walk with Jesus. After Jesus healed him of his madness, the man went back to his village and he told everyone how good God had been to him, and how much mercy God had shown him.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">When some people have trouble accepting the new creation nature because it is so radically different from the old creation nature in us, I don’t think we should give up on them. I think we should simply continue to let them know how good the Lord has been to us. I’m pretty sure there’s a message in the story of the madman for me, and for all of us who walk with Jesus. I think Jesus tells us, too, to go and tell others what wonderful things the Lord has done for us and how merciful the Lord has been. And maybe, just maybe, their fear of Jesus will turn to desire and longing.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Dear Jesus, as I walk with you, I truly am amazed at the ways you change my life for the better. Not always as dramatically as you did for the madman. But little-by-little changes in my heart are pretty amazing, too. Help me, I pray, to be a person who shows others your goodness and mercy, so that they, too, will want to walk with you. Amen.</i></span></span></span></p>Picturing My Faithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05219969543066183211noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403093621094140843.post-12347821964336748312024-03-01T05:32:00.002-05:002024-03-01T05:32:55.753-05:00On Fear and Faith<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiAWT-fNR04N2KeJpNudae7bys6NLGXFD9hjg4g_bEdiKogMQ60Zb1PC3SWbr2v9cRO6ZJG3vr4p8KUBUbC_Zmz7tQmdkM9t0rlpeQA_03OF9nxpMNzFvpRKes8cDbrcJG1coXtSSRQxn4V8v4fa0ggqtCsGECQca0RmUp5bvTnESmaux89BiCWZJHt43KZ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1620" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiAWT-fNR04N2KeJpNudae7bys6NLGXFD9hjg4g_bEdiKogMQ60Zb1PC3SWbr2v9cRO6ZJG3vr4p8KUBUbC_Zmz7tQmdkM9t0rlpeQA_03OF9nxpMNzFvpRKes8cDbrcJG1coXtSSRQxn4V8v4fa0ggqtCsGECQca0RmUp5bvTnESmaux89BiCWZJHt43KZ=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>On Fear and Faith (Mark 4:35-41)</b></span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Why are you frightened? Do you still have no faith?”</i> (Mark 4:40)</span></span></p><p align="center" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="center" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~ ~ ~ ~ ~</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">After Jesus finished teaching us about seeds and soil and the kingdom of God, he suggested that we get in the boat and go to the other side of the lake. I was fortunate to get a seat along with his twelve disciples. Or so I thought.</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It had been a long day, and so Jesus went to the stern and took a nap. He was fast asleep in a matter of minutes.</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As the boat reached deep water in the middle of the lake, a storm hit us out of nowhere. In the blink of an eye, we went from smooth sailing to the boat taking on water faster than we could bail it out. The wind and the waves were beating us mercilessly, and the rain was stinging our faces. We were all terrified.</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">All, that is, except Jesus. There he was, still sleeping like a baby. We cried out to him, “Don’t you care that we are going down?” Jesus awoke, stood up, and looked out over the water. Then he spoke, not to us, but to the storm: “Be quiet! Be still!” And the wind immediately went quiet, and the waves immediately were still as glass.</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Then Jesus turned his attention to the rest of us in the boat. I don’t know if he was disappointed in us, or just frustrated, but he said, “Why are you so fearful? Do you still not have faith in me?”</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The other disciples were caught up in awe and wonder. “Who is this, that even the wind and waves obey him?” But I was thinking about Jesus’ words to us: “Don’t you have any faith in me?” It made me realize that I, like the others in the boat, let my fear get the best of me. So, instead of coming to Jesus in faith (you know, like the faith of the four friends of the paralyzed man), I accused him of not even caring.</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As I walk with Jesus day by day, I am coming to understand that my walk with Jesus is meant to translate into faith in Jesus. The words I hear Jesus say, and things I see Jesus do – these are meant to cultivate faith, trust in Jesus. </span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In my walk with Jesus, I have seen him cast out demons. I have seen him moved with compassion at the plight of outcasts. I have seen him pushing himself past the point of exhaustion to heal the sick. I have witnessed time and again the care that Jesus has for people who are afflicted and who suffer.</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">So, when I found myself in troubled waters, why did I think he didn’t care about me? I think it was because my fear was greater than my faith.</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">If I learned anything in the boat that day, I hope that I learned that Jesus cares. I mean, he did wake up when we cried out to him. The storm didn’t bother him, but our cries got his attention. He does care. And he has the power to act on his care for me. </span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I know that I’m going to go through more storms in my life, both real and figurative. I hope that, the more I walk with Jesus, the more my faith in him will be able to over come my fear of the storms. I do know that Jesus cares about me. He cares about every detail of my life. </span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The next time a storm comes upon me, I hope that the first words I speak to Jesus aren’t, “Don’t you care?”, but instead, “Please help.”</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Dear Lord, as I walk with you, I pray that the more I come to know you, my faith and trust in you will only grow and grow and grow. Give me courage to face the troubles that will inevitably come upon me, knowing that you are with me, and that you care for me, and that you will get me through adversity. I don’t always know how you will act on my behalf. But I do know that you will act for me out of your great love and according to your infinite wisdom. And that is enough. Thank you. Amen.</i></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg3xAEagHdxKOxpr7S0PL1muHFgRZ9h2y3m6xT4HbIVsuSlZKO4ViTx1AmpGU6Gfx69VojWHaBURhFpATsXcmNjKSc2AONgQAqzh1FE0m_SR6QofuLiCKvGa5-tKZDB34WDQ8GfjVb_obBELDbltv0qwCj4DDL5_wxOd5lDHeOMoJMmxjd6giE1TV0_anfR" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1048" data-original-width="1573" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg3xAEagHdxKOxpr7S0PL1muHFgRZ9h2y3m6xT4HbIVsuSlZKO4ViTx1AmpGU6Gfx69VojWHaBURhFpATsXcmNjKSc2AONgQAqzh1FE0m_SR6QofuLiCKvGa5-tKZDB34WDQ8GfjVb_obBELDbltv0qwCj4DDL5_wxOd5lDHeOMoJMmxjd6giE1TV0_anfR=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>Picturing My Faithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05219969543066183211noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403093621094140843.post-11054763312807709342024-02-29T05:29:00.000-05:002024-02-29T05:29:05.583-05:00Seeds and Soil<p> </p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b></b></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh6O4JbmOh7tWRHiLlJrbENIYK2JLG6BRkKw0oaQrATx3k32oV26xVvWLjxoLYUHOV5unm_5XOxfDWh3tjf9Y26teUMf9l8pH5E218XCNMJLBZfp5DvBmKoyO7B7oS-E_yA3fldhUBtjt0kcBcwhCNlRE4jfSMD2o6G17LFbKQgxaHlZevCRzbW0pLsKlXT" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="914" data-original-width="1371" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh6O4JbmOh7tWRHiLlJrbENIYK2JLG6BRkKw0oaQrATx3k32oV26xVvWLjxoLYUHOV5unm_5XOxfDWh3tjf9Y26teUMf9l8pH5E218XCNMJLBZfp5DvBmKoyO7B7oS-E_yA3fldhUBtjt0kcBcwhCNlRE4jfSMD2o6G17LFbKQgxaHlZevCRzbW0pLsKlXT=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></b></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b><br /><br /></b></span></span><p></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>Seeds and Soil </b>(Mark 4:1-20, 26-32)</span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /><br /></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>God’s kingdom is like seed thrown on a field by a man … (Mark 4:26)</i></span></span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /><br /></p><p align="center" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Today I walked with Jesus to the lakeshore. I say “I walked with Jesus,” but of course it wasn’t just me walking with Jesus, because Jesus always has so many people who want to see him and hear what he has to say. </span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We gathered by the lakeshore, and all around us were small plots of land that families used for growing crops. While we were listening to Jesus teach, I noticed that there were people scattering seeds in their fields. Jesus noticed this, too, and he took it as an opportunity to use common concepts that we could understand in order to shed light on what he was teaching us about God. So, today Jesus used the example of seeds to help us understand about the kingdom of God.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Seeds grow,” said Jesus. “That’s what they do. They grow. But the way seeds grow and the way they bear fruit depends on the soil in which the seeds are cast by the farmer. Seeds cast on hard packed soil just bounce a couple of times, then they sit there, and the birds come up and eat them. Seeds that land on thin soil will experience a burst of growth at first, but then when adverse conditions strike, the new growth withers and dies. Seeds cast among the thorns and weeds will end up growing some, but they will get choked out. But seeds that are cast upon well-tilled soil will flourish and bear fruit many times over.”</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Okay, Jesus. Thanks for the farming lesson. We stood there nodding our heads, acting like we knew what he was telling us. But we didn’t really know what he was talking about, so some of us, including the twelve he had appointed as apostles, went up to him and asked him to explain what he meant.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The seed,” said Jesus, “Is God’s word, God’s message. It’s planted in people’s hearts, but the extent to which God’s word flourishes or fails depends on how much your hearts want to receive God’s word, or not.”</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">That’s also when he started to use the word, “kingdom.” “The kingdom of God is like seed planted in a field,” he said. “It is like a tiny mustard seed that, when planted, will eventually grow in to an enormous bush, big enough for birds to build their nests.”</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It struck me, then, that God’s kingdom is not really a matter of geographical boundaries and palaces and massive armies. No, God’s kingdom is a matter of how well God’s message takes root and grows within our hearts. If we harden our hearts against what God calls us to be and do; or if we only embrace God’s word superficially, not letting it penetrate into the depths of our being; or if we let worries and ungodly pursuits compete with God’s message – then the kingdom will wither on the vine. But if we are willing to accept God’s message and embrace God’s message with our whole being, then there is no stopping the growth of God’s kingdom.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As I walk with Jesus, I realize that I have to look into my own heart. If God’s message of right living, justice, mercy, humility, and compassion is going to take root in my heart, then I need to make sure my heart is prepared to welcome and embrace God’s message. If I am going to be a person who worships and adores God with all my heart, then I have to look deeply into my own heart.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Lord, as I walk with you today, make me mindful of my own heart, so that your message of grace, mercy, compassion, and steadfast love will take root and bear much fruit, all to your glory and honor. Amen.</i></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i></i></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgxyGG_hLrAdBsyrqC3rkL6HFg_Qdr2MWlaYScU0CXYNVCxhRTpFJs65pDgOfisfBAjl24kkND4lqNe_JhX2-vquHWJXGPezWgT8O36Z_uoB-HXoqYyOY8zzvdt-4GiCsON95wkqZbJtvnWHmaAWkXmpD_yue3XWKdmOuXX0sxgG-h8WGVvq7xObBEXAH-d" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1620" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgxyGG_hLrAdBsyrqC3rkL6HFg_Qdr2MWlaYScU0CXYNVCxhRTpFJs65pDgOfisfBAjl24kkND4lqNe_JhX2-vquHWJXGPezWgT8O36Z_uoB-HXoqYyOY8zzvdt-4GiCsON95wkqZbJtvnWHmaAWkXmpD_yue3XWKdmOuXX0sxgG-h8WGVvq7xObBEXAH-d=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></i></span></span></span></div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i><br /><br /></i></span></span></span><p></p>Picturing My Faithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05219969543066183211noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403093621094140843.post-47918478092922033372024-02-28T05:45:00.008-05:002024-02-28T05:45:55.145-05:00Companions with a Purpose<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEijKe0dDmurZmfo5pivuVf74WAGdFftrPsRoVM6-WGGzvgXKmI8nnp_iqqNGAJZO1c5DGZNfp6ncUkFg24UnINXXnfXZyIIARos-Egs3aLVTOwrEFC9ERKUE2vKCChLsrtAazLXt-KeevPka0ofFdq2BXO-tpdhA3a5609w-sFxUqAfT5k8WMv4LGYX-Kkc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEijKe0dDmurZmfo5pivuVf74WAGdFftrPsRoVM6-WGGzvgXKmI8nnp_iqqNGAJZO1c5DGZNfp6ncUkFg24UnINXXnfXZyIIARos-Egs3aLVTOwrEFC9ERKUE2vKCChLsrtAazLXt-KeevPka0ofFdq2BXO-tpdhA3a5609w-sFxUqAfT5k8WMv4LGYX-Kkc=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>Companions with a Purpose</b> (Mark 3:13-18)</span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /><br /></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Then he selected twelve of them to be his regular companions and to go out to preach and to cast out demons.”</i> (Mark 3:14-15)</span></span></span></p><p align="center" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~ ~ ~ ~ ~</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Ever since Jesus came back from his forty days in the wilderness, people have flocked to him. He has been surrounded by people who want something from him – people who need help that only he can offer, people who need to be healed in body and in spirit. I get it. I’m one of them. I’m walking with Jesus out of more than a sense of mere curiosity. I’m walking with him because, even if I can’t put my finger on it, I know that Jesus has something that I need, and I won’t find it in anybody else.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Today, Jesus shifted his focus on the people who were flocking to him. Today he invited twelve people to share in the work he is doing. He called them “apostles.” This is something I haven’t seen from the other religious figures; they have people who are their students, often called “disciples.” But apostles are people who are sent out with a commission from their leader.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">One of the things I noticed about the twelve people Jesus named as his apostles was that they didn’t seem to come from prominent families. Quite the opposite, in fact. There were a few fishermen, a tax collector, and a few others whose only striking characteristics were that they were pretty ordinary. </span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Actually, I find that somewhat refreshing. This man Jesus, who is doing and saying some incredible things and who clearly is on a mission from God, is willing to use ordinary people who will share in his work. I mean, he could have gone out and called some big names and people with authority – it doesn’t hurt to have important and powerful people on your side, after all. But Jesus specifically called regular, everyday people to be his apostles. And that is something that encourages me. </span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I think back to the stories that I heard in the synagogue – stories of people that God chose to accomplish God’s purposes. People like Abraham, who had trust issues and often took matters into his own hands; or like Moses, a fugitive who had run away from Egypt because he killed a man; or like David, who was a shepherd. The heroes of our faith were people who were pretty ordinary, but in the hands of God they were used to accomplish extraordinary things.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It’s looking more and more like Jesus, by appointing ordinary people to be his apostles, is following the example of the One who called him “my Son, whom I love.”</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As I walk with Jesus, I realize that my own focus is also shifting. I’m not walking with him just to get from him whatever benefit he can offer to me. No, I am now walking with him because I want to serve him; I want to be able to do something for Jesus.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Dear Jesus, as I walk with you, I offer myself into your service. You took twelve rag-tag, ordinary people, and you appointed them to be apostles who would proclaim your word and to have authority over the demons. Take me, too, and send me to do work that represents you in all your grace, mercy, compassion, and love. Amen.</i></span></span></span></p>Picturing My Faithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05219969543066183211noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403093621094140843.post-74681272645926574222024-02-27T05:27:00.001-05:002024-02-27T05:27:26.056-05:00What Does Our Law Allow Us to Do?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgzuszrWbkPkb-7f4fhwdtC9kQbhNCZYxwV9tq6C5g8VjxpRvwvprm5ruxPub8IKSaJkVq5NdnaJtDBGGZmADTETWIzvCXZnpiXq1PK6KeF-eOGAfiChOigLI80-Yw3-RXoFtsRviWDaTI4bWw5pXI1DdW712wPIXccfyLQt41a-HDvLRQMa8Xoz7NR_PKt" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="834" data-original-width="1279" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgzuszrWbkPkb-7f4fhwdtC9kQbhNCZYxwV9tq6C5g8VjxpRvwvprm5ruxPub8IKSaJkVq5NdnaJtDBGGZmADTETWIzvCXZnpiXq1PK6KeF-eOGAfiChOigLI80-Yw3-RXoFtsRviWDaTI4bWw5pXI1DdW712wPIXccfyLQt41a-HDvLRQMa8Xoz7NR_PKt=w400-h261" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>What Does Our Law Allow Us to Do?</b> (Mark 2:23 – 3:6)</span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /><br /></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>What does our Law allow us to do on the Sabbath? To help or to harm? To save someone's life or to destroy it?” </i>(Mark 3:4)</span></span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="center" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~ ~ ~ ~ ~</span></span></span></p><p align="center" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><a name="en-GNT-4737"></a><a name="en-GNT-4738"></a><a name="en-GNT-4739"></a><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The Sabbath is a big deal for my people. God was pretty clear when he gave Moses the Law: </span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“Observe the Sabbath and keep it holy, as I, the Lord your God, have commanded you. You have six days in which to do your work, but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to me. On that day no one is to work—neither you, your children, your slaves, your animals, nor the foreigners who live in your country. Your slaves must rest just as you do.” </span></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We are pretty serious about observing the Sabbath. The Pharisees make sure we keep the Sabbath to the letter of the Law. They have done us the kindness, if you will, of letting us know what “work” is, so we can be sure we don’t do anything on the Sabbath that would violate God’s Law.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">For example, harvesting wheat is forbidden on the Sabbath. Evidently, even grabbing a few kernels of wheat to chew on is considered to be harvesting and therefore, work – according to the Pharisees, that is. Healing someone is also forbidden on the Sabbath. I never really understood that one, because it seems to me that God values human life too much to want us to suffer from sickness or injury, just to make sure we are not “working.”</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Well, guess what?! Today, the Sabbath day, Jesus did both of these things. He pulled a few kernels of wheat from the stalks as we walked by a field on the way to the synagogue and gave them to us to quiet our grumbling stomachs. The Pharisees saw him do that, and they were furious. They wagged the finger at Jesus and scolded him, “You can’t do that!” And later on in the day, Jesus committed the really big violation by healing a man whose hand </span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">was deformed and crippled, all shriveled up. Again, the Pharisees were raving mad, and they stomped out of the synagogue swearing up and down that they were going to get Jesus for good.</span></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As I walk with Jesus, I’ve begun to notice something about him: Jesus cares about people. He really cares about us. He doesn’t let anything get in the way of doing the right thing for someone in need. And that’s how he helps us understand the real meaning of the Law of God – that the Law is given to us for our good, not as a burden to weigh us down or as an instrument to strike fear in our hearts. As I walk with Jesus, I come to understand more and more that God gave us the Law so that we could flourish and truly enjoy life in all its fullness.</span></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Jesus pretty much told the Pharisees that in the synagogue. “What does our Law allow us to do on the Sabbath?,” he asked them, looking them straight in the eyes. “Does our Law allow us to help or to harm? To save someone's life or to destroy it?” I’m really glad to hear Jesus say that, because the Pharisees, and lots of people like them, use the Law as a </span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">way of sapping the life out of us. They condense the Law down to a bunch of “You shall not” commands.</span></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It’s not as if I look for ways around the Law. I just want to live life in the way God intends me to live. And Jesus is teaching me that God wants me to live abundantly, with joy and gladness, free to show compassion and mercy to others, and to learn how to really love God with everything in me, and to love everyone I encounter. </span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The longer I walk with Jesus, the more grateful I am that he helps me understand the true meaning of God’s Law – it is a gift of abundant life.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Dear Jesus, as I walk with you today, open my eyes, so that I may see the wonderful truths in your Law. Amen.</i></span></span></span></p>Picturing My Faithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05219969543066183211noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403093621094140843.post-15079654303228600272024-02-26T05:31:00.004-05:002024-03-07T09:18:05.934-05:00The Company He Keeps<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEidNKlI-eAsCrXzWf166zBycYWy-4bstkqhWOZJB_q_YEzxa-x97dGUDgFXr9wggibcKw0_GARE9Rk5qsAMSs2YsWPIBjVvatY8LfGlAG4_D37ABYQ9lyCmVRlX6a7yF6FBfWVXR8VvK2DefEXJ-FMdKzmAKDNakC7HFMwazs2jNa4N34mNOtOeMInwmN_u" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="983" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEidNKlI-eAsCrXzWf166zBycYWy-4bstkqhWOZJB_q_YEzxa-x97dGUDgFXr9wggibcKw0_GARE9Rk5qsAMSs2YsWPIBjVvatY8LfGlAG4_D37ABYQ9lyCmVRlX6a7yF6FBfWVXR8VvK2DefEXJ-FMdKzmAKDNakC7HFMwazs2jNa4N34mNOtOeMInwmN_u=w363-h400" width="363" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>The Company He Keeps </b>(Mark 2:13-17)</span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>[The Pharisees] said, ‘How can he stand it, to eat with such scum?’” </i>– Mark 2:16</span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">~ ~ ~ ~ ~</span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It was a fairly raucous evening at dinner that night. Not surprising, given those who had come to eat with Jesus. The people who were gathered in the house weren’t exactly the kind of people I would expect to see around Jesus – money lenders, thieves, prostitutes, and the like. General undesirables. </span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Even Levi the tax collector was there. Earlier in the day, Jesus had personally invited Levi to walk with him and to be part of his following. I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. There we were, walking along the road. Levi was at his tax booth, gouging every denarius he could from good, hard-working people. Jesus stopped and yelled out, “Hey Levi, come along with me, why don’t you?”</span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I was aghast. Really, Jesus? Levi? I mean, Levi is the reason my parents lost the family farm. What kind of people will Jesus let into this great movement he is starting?</span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">While we were having dinner, the scribes of the Pharisees came and saw who all were gathering. These men were part of the religious leadership – their opinions were important, especially in matters regarding God’s law. The look of disgust on their faces made me want to hide. I didn’t want to be seen with this kind of crowd, so I kept my head down and turned away from the door so the scribes couldn’t see me.</span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I heard the contempt in their voice as they spoke accusingly to Jesus’ disciples: “What kind of example is this, acting cozy with the misfits? How can he stand it, to eat with such scum?”</span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Then I heard Jesus as he turned and spoke to the scribes. “Sick people are the ones who go to the doctor, not those who are well. I have come, not to call those who are righteous, but those who are sinners.” </span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">When I heard what Jesus said, my embarrassment at the group gathered in the house turned into shame at my own prejudice. Of course, Jesus would attract “sinners” to him, because they need what Jesus has to offer them. They need acceptance. They need to be told they are loved. They need forgiveness. They need to be treated with compassion, not disdain. Jesus has healed all sorts of sick people. Why not also heal those with another kind of sickness?</span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I remember something from the lessons I learned in the synagogue long ago, lessons about how everyone is sinful, not just the ones like the people in the room with Jesus. Words from our Scriptures come back to me:</span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in;"><a name="en-NIV-28003"></a><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;">“</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;">There is no one righteous, not even one;</span></span><br /><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><b> </b></span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;"> there is no one who understands;</span></span><br /><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;">there is no one who seeks God.</span></span><br /><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;">All have turned away,</span></span><br /><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;">they have together become worthless;</span></span><br /><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;">there is no one who does good,</span></span><br /><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;">not even one.”</span></span></span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I realize that the “sinners” Jesus came to call to him – I am one of them. And so are the scribes, if they are honest with themselves. Suddenly, I am glad to be in the same room with Jesus and all these outcasts. I am honored to share the table with Jesus, and I am grateful that Jesus chooses to keep company with anybody who needs him.</span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Literally, anybody.</span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Dear Jesus, as I walk with you, open my eyes, so that I can see people, not through the lens of condemnation and judgment, but with compassion and grace. In my walk with you, show me how to welcome the outcasts with your love.</i></span></span></p>Picturing My Faithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05219969543066183211noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403093621094140843.post-57703693386530063832024-02-24T06:51:00.005-05:002024-02-24T06:51:54.575-05:00Am I a Good Friend?<p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgEr1-0GuJnATRBwxGzaHqDVOSbt2QqVjujMe1Ecv_F7FVcL5e_WcHWnMZQBOkJu2IuQdp1shvcCSgvz_0Rl3EjoSuAuMxtchR1oK_RvtYci0MmiP-XVSOKi1qdwtBl6_mVqwQ_k8b-k9_IVwF_oyJvfwIgsmAkMcIZ-rHbhCOyZbbUkJPUD70DmAsDqQ6s" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3049" data-original-width="4543" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgEr1-0GuJnATRBwxGzaHqDVOSbt2QqVjujMe1Ecv_F7FVcL5e_WcHWnMZQBOkJu2IuQdp1shvcCSgvz_0Rl3EjoSuAuMxtchR1oK_RvtYci0MmiP-XVSOKi1qdwtBl6_mVqwQ_k8b-k9_IVwF_oyJvfwIgsmAkMcIZ-rHbhCOyZbbUkJPUD70DmAsDqQ6s=w400-h269" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b><br /></b></span></span><p></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>Am I a Good Friend?</b> (Mark 2:1-12)</span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>When Jesus saw how strongly they believed that he would help, Jesus said to the sick man, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven!’” </i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">(Mark 1:5)</span></span></p><p align="center" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~ ~ ~ ~ ~<br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I’m still thinking about the paralyzed man, the one who isn’t paralyzed anymore because Jesus healed him. My head is spinning as I try to remember the details of that moment.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It caused quite a ruckus when the four friends of the paralyzed man cut the hole in the roof. It was a big hole, big enough that a person could go through it, obviously. Chunks of clay started falling into the room where Jesus was teaching, kicking up a cloud of dust. I’ll have to give it to the four men: they were certainly determined to get their friend to Jesus. Very determined.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;">And that’s what I can’t stop thinking about – the look of determination on the faces of those four men as they cut the hole and then as they lowered their paralyzed friend down to Jesus. </span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;">And their love for their friend. They clearly loved this man, and they truly believed that Jesus could do something for him. </span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;">I remember watching Jesus as all this was unfolding. He wasn’t looking at the paralyzed man; he was looking at the four men who lowered the paralyzed man through the roof. </span></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;">It was when Jesus </span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;">saw how strongly those four men believed that he could do something for their friend, that Jesus then acted: “Son, your sins are forgiven… Get up, pick up your mat, and walk out of here.” It was the faith, the bold belief of the four friends, that spurred Jesus to action.</span></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It makes me wonder, Am I a good friend to my friends? When someone I know is suffering, how strong is my desire to take that person to Jesus? When Jesus looks into my heart when I pray for someone, does he see bold belief?</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I want to be a good friend. I want to be someone whose prayers for others are filled with love for them. I want to be someone who desires goodness, mercy, and healing to be poured out upon them. I want to be someone who earnestly brings them to the feet of Jesus because I am confident that Jesus has the power and the compassion to act for the good of the one for whom I am praying.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As I walk with Jesus, I want to be a good friend whose faith gets Jesus’ attention.</span></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /><br /></p><p><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;">Lord Jesus, I want to be a good friend. I want to be a friend whose faith in you is strong and bold. I want to be the kind of friend who, when I bring someone to you in prayer, you see love and determination in my heart – love for the one for whom I am praying, and determination that you will act powerfully and compassionately in their life. For the person who is hounded by chronic ailments, for the woman whose pain includes the death of her child, for the one who carries the burden of caring for a loved one, for my own grown children living far away, </span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;"><span style="color: black;">for the one whose days on earth are drawing near to their end and who is walking through the valley of the shadow of death, for the spouse whose husband or wife of many years is dying before their eyes – Lord, I want to be a good friend for them. For their sake. And for your glory. Amen.</span></span></i> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Picturing My Faithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05219969543066183211noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403093621094140843.post-44136649155077830602024-02-23T07:24:00.002-05:002024-02-23T07:24:36.527-05:00Something Only God Can Do<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiDLxPiMMSnvSfJZpzEQosN08nka2kFmKibg8GdT7ogLggecWP_9GLeYxIsqTwxtICIefpkfy0y7E8t_y5840jIVLCvgiWnquoL0M9zwFU10y9V8MRdsYLBivtBzsEumqrvB52HNwRmEmTlUeHLID6T99vgyCJz_a1jPssOCy5HXltssw2tFWpohkMIqbBv" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1563" data-original-width="2364" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiDLxPiMMSnvSfJZpzEQosN08nka2kFmKibg8GdT7ogLggecWP_9GLeYxIsqTwxtICIefpkfy0y7E8t_y5840jIVLCvgiWnquoL0M9zwFU10y9V8MRdsYLBivtBzsEumqrvB52HNwRmEmTlUeHLID6T99vgyCJz_a1jPssOCy5HXltssw2tFWpohkMIqbBv=w400-h265" width="400" /></a></div> <p></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>Something Only God Can Do (Mark 2:1-12)</b></span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /><br /></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>...Jesus said to the paralyzed man, ‘My son, your sins are forgiven.’” (Mark 2:5)</i></span></span></p><p align="center" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~ ~ ~ ~ ~</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">There’s something different about Jesus. There, I said it again, didn’t I? But it’s true: There’s something different about Jesus. Jesus shows me something new every day. I see some things in Jesus that make me wonder if he is really human. I mean, he is human. He is fully human, there’s no doubt about that. But he’s more than human. He has to be, to do the things he does and say the things he says.</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Like today, for instance. In the middle of teaching a huge crowd of people, four guys lowered a paralyzed man down through the roof (that’s a whole other story). Clearly, they hoped that Jesus would heal their friend. After all, Jesus has already healed a lot of other people.</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But instead of healing the man straight off, Jesus first said to the man, “My son, your sins are forgiven.” Well, that didn’t sit well with the religious bigwigs, and for good reason – only God can forgive sins, after all. </span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Jesus knew what the religious bigwigs were thinking. “I know, talk is cheap,” he said. “Anybody can <i>say,</i> ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ But let me prove that I have the authority to do on earth what can only be done in heaven.” Then he healed the man of his paralysis! </span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Wow! There are no words to capture my amazement at this man, Jesus.</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I’m thinking about what Jesus said. “My son, your sins are forgiven.” I recall some of the songs that David wrote long, long ago, and I see in Jesus the forgiveness that David seeks from God:</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-top: 0.04in;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Blessed are they whose sins are forgiven, whose wrongs are pardoned. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against him.”</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-top: 0.04in;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion, blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from all my sins.”</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-top: 0.04in;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As far as the east is from the west, so far has God removed our transgressions from us.”</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As I walk with Jesus, I wonder, Can he really give me what my heart truly needs? I long for the forgiveness that only God can give. My heart won’t find rest or peace until I know that I am forgiven. Can Jesus do that for me?</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Apparently, he can. Apparently, he does.</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Jesus, my friend, in my walk with you I look to you for many things – happiness, purpose, meaning in life, health. Now I know that I can look to you for the most deep need I have. Forgive me, cleanse me. Create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me. Amen.</i></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i><br /></i></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i></i></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXQj7FryA5NDYIq9dmN9pvw8zbRFM8evZIFdREpExgRx3OtB55L75SrBvRhEAArns1ufGVNj8GpO3wCmnB14-Kvjn149WdE3jWymyZ6DKVNAEk2mSZMnqerdm3-AkSgwoUNTGzROwxo2ZpMqPooo4i4opdBknLMAAGatqmeTZ3phTWtGnjkqciNF58bvRi" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXQj7FryA5NDYIq9dmN9pvw8zbRFM8evZIFdREpExgRx3OtB55L75SrBvRhEAArns1ufGVNj8GpO3wCmnB14-Kvjn149WdE3jWymyZ6DKVNAEk2mSZMnqerdm3-AkSgwoUNTGzROwxo2ZpMqPooo4i4opdBknLMAAGatqmeTZ3phTWtGnjkqciNF58bvRi=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></i></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i><br /><br /><br /></i></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i><br /><br /></i></span></span><p></p>Picturing My Faithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05219969543066183211noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403093621094140843.post-15896981466916612522024-02-22T07:06:00.003-05:002024-02-22T07:19:26.130-05:00The Look in His Eyes<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWbw96auB60R013mhB9vHLxJK8sbl9EsBJ3JxQK6GYinLpmHcaIToAJPbjiKK1Gp3o_ZDIZXFCQjCxX3g7lXaOx41VTro3QYPurfyg3d7gsdahcZ9uONea56T-rr8qV7z55Z3bKHeUfhh26rOtuyuQZqrubYnojsiHDNpH6diK9lbs1YrkLIL-fCLzYF5e" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWbw96auB60R013mhB9vHLxJK8sbl9EsBJ3JxQK6GYinLpmHcaIToAJPbjiKK1Gp3o_ZDIZXFCQjCxX3g7lXaOx41VTro3QYPurfyg3d7gsdahcZ9uONea56T-rr8qV7z55Z3bKHeUfhh26rOtuyuQZqrubYnojsiHDNpH6diK9lbs1YrkLIL-fCLzYF5e=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>The Look in His Eyes (Mark 1:40-45)</b></span></span></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Deeply moved, Jesus put out his hand and touched [the leper]…” (Mark 1:41)</i></span></span></p><p align="center" style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="center" style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~ ~ ~ ~ ~</span></span></p><p align="center" style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">So, we were walking along the road when a man came and threw himself at Jesus’ feet. He was a leper, a man whose disease had put him in the classification of “unclean.” Clean people like me aren’t allowed to interact with people like this man. In fact, it was a leper’s duty to cry out “Unclean! Unclean!” so that people like me could be sure to give him a wide berth. I was aghast at the nerve of this man, daring to come near to Jesus and the rest of us. I quickly took a few steps back. And then a few more steps for good measure. </span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I wasn’t so far away, though, that I couldn’t hear the conversation between Jesus and the leper. “If you are willing,” the man said to Jesus, “you can make me clean.” </span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Then I saw the look in Jesus’ eyes. Jesus was filled, not with horror that an unclean man had the audacity to draw near to him, but with compassion. The look in Jesus’ eyes conveyed pure pity and sympathy for this man’s condition. Clearly, Jesus was deeply moved. There was even a hint of anger in Jesus’ eyes – anger at a religion that pushed “unclean” people away from the very God whom they need, anger at a system of rules and regulations that saw personal holiness as more important than showing compassion to those who desperately need to experience the kindness of God’s people.</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">That hint of anger in Jesus’ eyes was meant for me. I can get so caught up in my own efforts at faithful living that I see some people as a threat to my own righteousness, and I avoid them like the plague, ...as if they were lepers. My self-righteousness, by default, has consigned those who are not righteous – really, those who are not like me – to a lesser class of human beings.</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The look in Jesus’ eyes tells me I need to refocus my own understanding of godly living. The look in Jesus’ eyes tells me that, instead of being repulsed by the “uncleanness” of others, I should be deeply moved, and I should want them to be made whole. </span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I watched as Jesus looked straight into the leper’s eyes and as Jesus touched him – he touched the man with leprosy! He said to the man, “I do want to make you clean. I do want to heal you. I do want to make you whole. Be clean! Be healed!” And immediately the man’s leprosy was cured!</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As I walked with Jesus today, I was both amazed and convicted. I was understandably amazed at his compassionate healing of the man with leprosy. But I was also deeply convicted of my own attitude toward people who might “contaminate” my own sense of righteousness and holiness.</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p></p><p align="left" style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I have a long way to go in my walk with Jesus. I’m grateful that Jesus looks upon me with the same compassion with which he looked upon the leper.</span></span></p><p align="left" style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /><br /></p><p align="left" style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Create in me a new heart, Jesus, one that is filled with compassion and concern for my fellow human beings, for all of them, even (or especially) those whom I go to great lengths to avoid. Amen.</i></span></span></p>Picturing My Faithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05219969543066183211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403093621094140843.post-27869353762168963102024-02-21T07:01:00.000-05:002024-02-21T07:01:01.151-05:00The Best Part of Waking Up<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhpAWY7hEN5Mx7aabtthL1Nlzt8XpejXYKj50CjmVj_qLDHjJaiBn721HX9XiOR6jpQdYzN35X3Yi2Ra_iLl8YU858mvIMkq6rqXMkUb-z71q3i7U34kwHx4wvi2xF54I4m2TkxlDQD0jAxGJr-HijWA3TqLhTu8WfsPnLbXaVzpWM1QuwrJhKi92vpf_aR" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2337" data-original-width="3024" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhpAWY7hEN5Mx7aabtthL1Nlzt8XpejXYKj50CjmVj_qLDHjJaiBn721HX9XiOR6jpQdYzN35X3Yi2Ra_iLl8YU858mvIMkq6rqXMkUb-z71q3i7U34kwHx4wvi2xF54I4m2TkxlDQD0jAxGJr-HijWA3TqLhTu8WfsPnLbXaVzpWM1QuwrJhKi92vpf_aR=w400-h309" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>The Best Part of Waking Up </b>(Mark 1:35-38)</span></span></p><p style="background: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Very early the next morning, long before daylight, Jesus got up and left the house. He went out of town to a lonely place, where he prayed.” (Mark 1:35)</i></span></span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /></p><p align="center" style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~ ~ ~ ~ ~</span></span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It turns out, walking with Jesus means that I have to be a morning person. A very early morning person.</span></span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">After the day Jesus just had – teaching in the synagogue, casting out demons, and healing the sick long in to the dark hours of the night – one would think that Jesus would sleep in, get some rest so that he could renew his spirit and energy for whatever lies ahead of him the next day. But Jesus didn’t sleep in. He awoke very early, before sunrise, even. And he went to a place where he could be by himself. </span></span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And Jesus prayed. I’m not sure what he said when he prayed. Maybe he told his Father all about the events of the previous day. Maybe Jesus asked God to follow up with the people he had healed, to make sure they were continuing to get better. Maybe he asked God for wisdom, guidance, and strength for the day that was just dawning. I’m sure that Jesus didn’t do all the talking, because real prayer also involves listening to God, discerning God’s will and hearing God’s direction and affirmation.</span></span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Maybe, just maybe, Jesus simply was still, soaking in the presence of his Father.</span></span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Walking with Jesus teaches me the importance of starting my day by turning my heart toward him. As it turns out, the best part of waking up is not coffee in my cup (though that is certainly up there), because my cup isn’t truly full until I have spent time with Jesus; indeed, when I do spend time with Jesus, my cup overflows. Walking with Jesus has taught me that the first appointment I make every day needs to be an appointment with him. It is in those early morning appointments that my spirit is refreshed and renewed, and that I get a sense of clarity and direction. </span></span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It is because of those appointments with Jesus that I can face the day ahead of me, along with all the uncertainties that the day will bring, with a sense of peace. You see, the wonderful thing about those appointments with Jesus is that at the end of them, I don’t have to say “Good bye, Jesus, I’ll see you same time tomorrow,” because the reality is, Jesus will be with me every moment of the day.</span></span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Dear Jesus, don't let me walk out the door without first spending time with you. I don't want to start my day without you. Amen.</i></span></span></span></p><p style="background: none; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjmoldmezS7xLgDe4IJqwEvU__kvgvlBfBmwd_kdYzjoZ5eqkbznnrKW-f1lNQlwlYLajSzjqSx0OXB4dQ5ADqGk4Mn9qKAVSyjIKVhlyeFFAo3rJTDQRNfDc9cMhmteeHb0oVpOFwYPfFE2zwdPLacEByn2MmAYhCLD1_xJWU6pb7o2vP2XyibEvsk--AB" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1620" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjmoldmezS7xLgDe4IJqwEvU__kvgvlBfBmwd_kdYzjoZ5eqkbznnrKW-f1lNQlwlYLajSzjqSx0OXB4dQ5ADqGk4Mn9qKAVSyjIKVhlyeFFAo3rJTDQRNfDc9cMhmteeHb0oVpOFwYPfFE2zwdPLacEByn2MmAYhCLD1_xJWU6pb7o2vP2XyibEvsk--AB=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>Picturing My Faithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05219969543066183211noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403093621094140843.post-16128450494795533832024-02-20T05:24:00.004-05:002024-02-20T08:22:11.805-05:00Take It (Them) to Jesus in Prayer<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-A8DwkACENsC_IMt5ZqAKnfKuv2jOUw7gy8RQakkJntKnDjwraw97v7LNROdwXsb073e2aY2xUFqe7ZHS7bMGfjU3UMSqKZoIsAtirjwIJDkU4a8tuiJ-KoD39L77RQ0xtJlGmh5ObMtAF67HE9z--qzwk2QpXrspaLKFjlUtO6StVEPVPHKPqsiroj_l" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3658" data-original-width="5488" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-A8DwkACENsC_IMt5ZqAKnfKuv2jOUw7gy8RQakkJntKnDjwraw97v7LNROdwXsb073e2aY2xUFqe7ZHS7bMGfjU3UMSqKZoIsAtirjwIJDkU4a8tuiJ-KoD39L77RQ0xtJlGmh5ObMtAF67HE9z--qzwk2QpXrspaLKFjlUtO6StVEPVPHKPqsiroj_l=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>Take It (Them) to Jesus in Prayer (Mark 1:29-34)</b></span></span></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed, burning up with fever. They told Jesus about her… The people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed…” (Mark 1:30, 32)</i></span></span></p><p align="center" style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~ ~ ~ ~ ~</span></span></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Every moment I walk with Jesus, he amazes me. This man is tireless. I mean, he never stops working. We went to Simon’s house for dinner, but Jesus wouldn’t eat until he had healed Peter’s sick mother-in-law. Then after dinner, Jesus didn’t relax and unwind, because there were hoards of people at the door looking for him. They brought sick and demon-afflicted loved ones to him, in the hopes that he would heal them. I watched Jesus in the hours that the moon arced through the night sky; as long as there was someone who had need, Jesus would not turn them away. He kept at it, until he had healed the last person and cast out the last demon.</span></span></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I was deeply moved, not only by Jesus’ compassion, but also by the loving concern of all the people who brought their friends to Jesus for healing. The first thing Simon and Andrew did when they got to the house for dinner was to tell Jesus about Simon’s mother-in-law. Her sickness had consigned her to bed, and the household was very concerned about her. So they told Jesus. Then the scores of people who showed up throughout the night – I could see in their faces the deep love they had for the ones they brought to Jesus for healing, and the desperate hope that Jesus could do something.</span></span></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I’ve only been walking with Jesus for a short while now, but already I’ve seen enough to know that Jesus has compassion for those who suffer. He also has the power and authority to act upon his compassion. That’s the winning combination – compassion, as well as the power to do something about it. I mean, a lot of people have compassion. I have compassion for people who suffer, but I a lot of the time I can’t do anything to help alleviate the suffering. I wish I could.</span></span></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But Jesus has both compassion and power, and that is the key.</span></span></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As I walk with Jesus, I realize that even when I can’t alleviate all of the suffering I see, I can bring those who suffer to Jesus. I can pray for them, bringing them to Jesus, and entrusting them into his loving care.</span></span></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Now, I’m not musically inclined, but in my mind, there is a song in this. Maybe long into the future someone will put this thought to music:</span></span></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in;"><br /></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear.</span></span></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.</span></span></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?</span></span></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We should never be discouraged. Take it to the Lord in prayer.</span></span></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in;"><br /></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Just a thought… ;-) </span></span></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i>Dear Lord, I am so grateful that you care. You really care. Even more, I am grateful that you use your power to act upon your care. Let me never forget that one of the most loving things I can do for those who suffer is to bring them to you in prayer. Amen.</i></span></span></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i><br /></i></span></span></p><p style="background: repeat; line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 0.04in; margin-top: 0.04in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i></i></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1jzABi41c5TVnYV6gR3lJtPejh5L0Dhj09MTpRUmjHIrdAZ1fCUF7esk5BkeUTtlK57n_yFlitHawDNSkJehls3LVHz-nlhsTjd3dN3yTryxO_3XPYXXkihmZV8l36Tyn9D74_uyRnVPH9iHZsTqsKrfEYskUju-92ojGwV-vERP-ECQvyuWqCU_qS1Jk" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="6000" data-original-width="4000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1jzABi41c5TVnYV6gR3lJtPejh5L0Dhj09MTpRUmjHIrdAZ1fCUF7esk5BkeUTtlK57n_yFlitHawDNSkJehls3LVHz-nlhsTjd3dN3yTryxO_3XPYXXkihmZV8l36Tyn9D74_uyRnVPH9iHZsTqsKrfEYskUju-92ojGwV-vERP-ECQvyuWqCU_qS1Jk=w267-h400" width="267" /></a></i></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i><br /><br /></i></span></span><p></p>Picturing My Faithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05219969543066183211noreply@blogger.com3