A lesson from Noah!

After months of waiting in the ark, after the rain stopped and the waters receded, after the dove returned with an olive leaf, Noah finally stepped out and viewed the world around him..  Breathing fresh air and gazing out at the new landscape devoid of people!

Noah and his crew were in that large smelly zoo for 40 days and nights.  They must have questioned God in all of this.  Why destroy everything? Weren’t’ there others that He could have saved?  However, Noah obeyed.  He and his sons worked for many years on that boat.  Others saw and laughed.  But He obeyed.  He waited.

Who is this God that Noah worships? Why not build an idol instead of a boat?

We live in a culture that celebrates urgency. We are trained to move quickly, act decisively, and seize the moment. But Scripture consistently shows us a different rhythm. God’s timing is not slow. It is purposeful. And learning to wait well, to trust Him while His timing is still unfolding, is one of the most formative disciplines of faith. It’s not easy to wait.

 It means His timing includes preparation we can’t yet see.

Noah’s obedience came after a long season of trusting God. He built an ark when there was no rain. He gathered animals when there was no flood. He entered the ark and closed the door when God said to. He waited through the storm.

As I write this there are many friends who are waiting!  Waiting for Drs to help them heal; deaths of loved ones missing from their lives; sadness from natural disasters,

We want answers from God. We wait.  We question.  Noah waited and questioned. But he obeyed.  He was safe in the ark. He could not see a new world outside. He trusted God’s timing.   Just as we wait for our New Heavens and New Earth. We must trust God’s timing.

  It’s our waiting time.  He is coming!!  

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” appears not only in the Bible, but in cultures around the world. That adage, which has become something of a cliché, lies at the heart of all real etiquette. Once put into practice, it leads us into another realm—that of kindness.

In the scriptural story of the Good Samaritan, we find another example of the goodness that results from a combination of manners, friendliness, and generosity. The Samaritan comes across a stranger lying by the roadside, beaten half to death by robbers. Like the travelers preceding him, the Samaritan might have crossed the road and continued on his way, but instead he binds up the man’s wounds, takes him to an inn, and pays for his room and board until the man recovered.  This unnamed Samaritan received joy from helping this stranger.  When Jesus told this story he knew that the Samaritans and the Jews never got along.  They each resented the other.  Each claiming to be God’s chosen.

In “A Christmas Carol.” By Charles Dickins, a renewed Ebenezer Scrooge, now very much aware of his rude and mean-spirited treatment of others, delights in his spiritual makeover: “I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy.”  He was expressing his joy at helping others.

 I just read of a woman who received great joy from her work.  In her words she said. “I view this job as a ministry to help people at one of their lowest points that we all will face. It’s a hard job and challenging, but there is joy that comes from knowing you helped someone as much as possible through a hard time.”  

 Respect for others, kindness, and service: These are components in that invisible force we call joy.

Anyone can test and confirm that service to others brings joy.  Although we are unable to change the circumstances of others, we receive joy for ourselves in knowing perhaps that we have shared a bit of ourselves in their life.
                                         That brings us joy!

Its spring-cleaning time!  I remember growing up how my mother took this time of year to clean closets; shake rugs; wash drapes and get rid of an accumulation of odds and ends acquired during the year. Sometimes our houses, drawers, closets and vehicles are so crowded that we simply shut the door and hopefully the” cleanout” fairy will work a miracle!

As I was looking through my accumulation of stuff, I sat down with a cup of coffee and pondered, if once each year we could unload everything that clutters our lives, –not just our homes.

Worry, Its not always a bad thing!  Worry can spark action if you worry and recognize that a plan of action is necessary, and you can act.  But worry can also fill your imagination with every manner of fearful possibilities. 

Thankfully most worries never happen!  That means that we are better off getting rid of harmful worries as a way to clear our minds and souls.  In the same way that getting rid of stuff we never use clears our homes.

Yearning.  We live in a gotta have it now society.  Instant gratification.  Focusing on what we lack steals contentment because our heart and mind are stuck in the future, always trying to get whatever we want, thinking it will make us happy.
If we are so focused by wanting what we do not have, we are sacrificing joy in the present.  Let’s declutter that part of our life. 

Approval The desire to do well and receive approval from other people is not a bad thing. But when our life becomes based on the expectations of others it might be messing up our life.  Our best approval comes from what God expects of us.  His approval is the best one we need.

There is no better time than now to declutter your life.  There’s no better time than today to pack it up, haul it out, and get rid of it once and for all. Throw out the clutter but add things that matter.                                             

Time to Declutter!

I am currently reading a great book.  “Things that Matter” by Joshua Becker. 

The actual subtitle of the book is “Overcoming Distaction to Pursue a More Meaningful Life.” The author takes readers on a journey of self-examination, aimed at cutting the dead weight in life that hinders all of us from reaching our full potential.  

He explores eight different types of distractions that frequently afflict people: “fear, past mistakes, happiness (in a shallow sense, money, possessions, fame, human respect.  recreation and technology. “  So, if we strip ourselves of all these things from life, what’s left?   

Here is his answer. “A streamlined life that’s genuinely aligned with your values, passions, and purpose, a life lived with a higher cause in mind.”

This book is about so much more than how you feel. “There may be no greater pursuit for yourself and others than choosing to live a meaningful life focused on the things that matter.”   Isn’t that the message of that Jesus taught? 

Becker answers the question convincingly that true happiness and meaning is on “servant – mindedness”, generosity and focusing on what you have to offer to others and the world in general.  He argues that we should not think of work or any work we do, as mere drudgery. Instead, we should see it as a meaningful expression of how we respond to what needs to be accomplished.  It might be just doing a good turn for someone, our family or someone we don’t even know.  In other words, to make our world a better place.  I hope that washing dishes is included!!

Many of you reading this might be retired, living alone or perhaps unable to be active in your community.  If so, you can still find a way to be a servant to others.  That will be a sense of fulfillment in your life. 

Frequently, Becker drawers the readers with thoughts toward the end of life and what it would feel like to look back on the way we have lived.  Will we be filled with regrets about a sense of wasted time, or will we rest knowing that we lived with purpose and passion?  We must be aware of the truly important things that matter and how to cut free of the stuff that doesn’t. 

It’s time to not only declutter our closets but declutter our lives. Living a life with meaning.  Our self-fulfillment will be influenced by how we have influenced others.

                                        Not that’s what really matters!

In the Gospel of John, chapter 5, Jesus approaches a man who has been lying near the pool of Bethesda for thirty-eight years. Jesus asks him, “Do you want to be healed?” At first glance, the question seems unnecessary. Of course he wants healing. Or perhaps not.

Healing is not only about relief.  It is about transformation. It requires letting go of familiar patterns, even when those patterns are painful. It asks us to release identities we have grown accustomed to, even when those identities are shaped by brokenness of body or spirit.

 To be healed is to risk hope!

There are times when people become so accustomed to the weight they carry that they no longer imagine life without it. They stop seeing themselves as whole. They stop believing that change is possible. ‍ ‍Their burden becomes a way of life.  Do we risk being healed?             

Do we risk the chance that God wants us healed or do we feel safe just in the state we are in?  In this we must exam ourselves. 
 Sometimes, the healing of grace takes place within us naturally; we go through a rehab program; we find a caring Physician who found just the proper way to treat our problem; a faithful friend who nurtures; a new job we find fulfilling.  Many times, the healing comes slowly.
                                       Grace comes but in God’s timing.

These aren’t man’s doings alone. God has chosen this way for us.  God’s grace works today just it always has from the beginning of time.

 Grace works in multiple dimensions of our lives. It lifts the burden of guilt by reminding us that we are forgiven. It heals the wound of shame by affirming that we are loved. It strengthens us to change by assuring us that we are capable. And it fills us with gratitude, awakening a sense that we are, indeed, blessed.‍ ‍

‍‍As disciples, we  recognize the image of God in the face of the afflicted, to speak words that restore, and to speak words of encouragement and reaffirm how much each life is important.  You and I are to be vessels of God’s grace. 

To rise to the occasion.
To become “healers.”       
To live as whole people who know God!
                                That’s  Graceful  Living

‍

Can we as Believers, accept the fact that we live under the Biblical principles found in the Bible?  If you and I can agree that the Founding Fathers of America by and large, were confirmed Christians or Deists then the Constitution was influenced by the Ten Commandments. The teachings of the sages and religious scriptures provided the basis for the laws that govern human society or should.

For the Hebrews, the Ten Commandments were considered to be both divine and secular law simultaneously……..a tradition that became the foundation of Western legal culture.      

Followers of the Old Testament law believe that there is a distinct teaching on human behavior.  There is both evil, which should be punished or forgiven, and goodness which is rewarded.

The Ten Commandments can be divided into two categories.  The first four of these commandments describe the relationship between man and God, the other six govern relationships between people and reflect the teaching to love others as you love yourself.  Reverence for God is an imperative that enables humanity to maintain the principles of fairness and justice. 

With President Trump’s current visit to China, we will expect mutual agreements on trade, science etc. but not the principles of justice and love that we hold dear in our country.

Communist parties are anti-theist cults.  They will never follow the teachings of a Divine Being.   They will never make any sincere attempt to maintain fairness or justice. 

The Communist manifesto can be summed up by Lenin: “Dictatorship is a rule based directly upon force and unrestricted by any law. The revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat is that a rule is won and maintained by the use of violence. The rights of the individual are of no accord, and all are subject to the state.”

The current Chinese regime is godless, ruled by a handful of powerful, ruthless leaders, who defy the God of humanity.

I know this blog is more political than I usually write but as we all witness the rise of a secular culture around the world, we must examine our beliefs.

     Are you and I willing to stand fast in our faith? 
 

I wasn’t born in El Paso, but I soon learned to love the desert.  In the summer the cactus would become a home to bees and hummingbirds that found the sweet nectar in the cactus flowers.  I could see the ripened red fruit and many brave souls would make delicious jam.  All I got was lots of stickers!

I find that life has seasons as well.  Not the four seasons but times in life when nothing seems to be in our favor. It might be spring outside, but our life feels like its winter.  It’s dark and cold in the heart.  Nothing of spring or summer appears.  We get a discouraging phone call from a friend; a bad report from the Dr; our plans for a vacation fell though; a sick family member.

We no sooner get through one crisis or trial and another one comes to us.  Perhaps we are just holding our breath always waiting for the next bomb to drop or waiting to figure out what’s next in our life.

In the book of James, he has this to say: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. “   We ask God, why must I go through this?

 But James wrote that in our trials our faith will grow!   It ok to ask God, “What do You want to teach me through this?  What do You want me to do next? or how can I show my discipleship in this situation?”  No matter when our spiritual winter season comes or how long it lasts, we can be assured that it’s not, as Mr. Tumnus said in The Chronicles of Narnia, “Always winter, never spring.” 

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” (Isaiah ). Even when we don’t know precisely what God is doing, even when we can’t see the seeds beneath the soil, we know they will bloom. Our season of helplessness will not last. Our faith will furnish us with joy and hope.

Hebrews reassures us, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure”

Here’s the thing: every season is essential for life and growth. That’s true of the physical and the spiritual. We need winter every bit as much as summer. Winter will come, but so will seasons of planting, growth, abundance, and harvest.  God truly does all things well. In every season of our life.   As wise Solomon said.  “There is a time for everything, and a season for everything under the heavens”.     May our hearts hold on to hope that the harsh winter season will pass.  The summer of faith has come.

                                                                                The Season of Hope!

For most people, the sight of blood evokes an unpleasant response, both emotional and physiological.  Blood is often associated with the beginning and end of life.  We shy away from anything to do with blood. 

To the ancient Jews, blood played a significant role in their lives.  Blood was the essence of a living being.  This conviction underlies two foundational prohibitions that apply not only to Jews but to all of humanity; the ban on consuming blood and the ban on murder.
 
Because blood represents the life-force, consuming it is akin to symbolically consuming a creature’s life- force. Which is disrespectful and inhuman.

In the 15^th chapter of Acts, the Jerusalem council strictly prohibited the consuming of blood, which was done at the pagan temple. 

Blood is never neutral.  It delineates boundaries, between life and death, purity and impurity, humans and God.  It can both pollute and can purify.

In temple worship, the blood of an innocent animal could be used as a sign of repentance, an act of forgiveness or even for blessings received. 

Blood can signal harm, and it can bring protection, as in the Exodus story. The blood above the door saved those within.

  These seemingly contradictory qualities arise because blood is imagined as the container of life itself.  Anything that contains, releases, transfers, or threatens life holds immense religious weight. 

Jesus’ blood on the cross, takes on greater significance when we understand the true meaning of what His blood now means to us.

Blood becomes a type of covenant.  A covenant that is extended to those who have accepted His blood sacrifice as a substitute for our sins. 

Blood, therefore, is not merely biological, but theological. It stands at the meeting point of body and soul, human and divine.

                                                            Now you know about blood!

                                       
I was raised on a farm and my dad kept chickens.  We had one old rooster.  He was beautiful with this large comb and colorful body.  He also rules the roost!    When did he sleep? 

Every day, our prayers begin thanking God for our basic needs.  He has kept us safe through the night; He has provided our first cup of coffee and the beauty of a new day. However, there is one prayer that gave me  a smile that I will share with you.

This Jewish prayer I found so interesting I wanted to pass it on.  Perhaps we never think to thank God for the rooster but in this prayer, the petitioner thanks God “for giving the rooster understanding to distinguish between day and night.”

 While it is an amazing phenomenon that roosters crow at the beginning of each day, it does not seem to be a basic need. Secondly, telling the difference between light and dark is not so difficult. Why does it require special understanding to distinguish between day and night?

My Dad shared with me a great thought. Although a rooster crows at the beginning of each day it actually happens some time before it gets light. When he senses that dawn will break soon, and light is on the way to substitute the darkness, he emits the crowing noise that becomes like an ancient alarm clock.

In every day there are periods of light—clarity, blessing, peace of mind and prosperity. But there are also sometimes patches of darkness—challenge, confusion and difficulty. It takes special strength not to be caught up in the moments of challenge.

 A wise person learns from the rooster. He/she knows that the darkness is only temporary and light is on the way. The rooster is symbolic of an attitude filled with optimism, hope and belief. The rooster teaches us to envisage and celebrate blessings even before they come.

Thanks to Him for the wisdom of the rooster. It is the rooster’s lesson that will carry us through every part of the day.

      Teach us to look beyond the darkness and see the light that awaits us.
 

                                                The Rooster knows!