Matthew 11:29-30
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me;
for I am gentle
and humble in heart,
and you
will find rest for your souls.
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
We are all compensating for the Pandemic recovery, dishonest news, and economic uncertainty. This week's Sunday, both Protestants and Catholics were reading the same Liturgy
Mark 8
34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, He said to them,
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
And the sermons we listened to asked the same question. What does a faithful life and the meaning of life mean to you?
I think the present days have all of this colliding.
Ephesians 5:15-17
Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 redeeming
the time, because the days are evil.
Therefore do not be foolish,
but understand
what the Lord’s will is.
The purpose of Life is yoking us together.
Our season and time is to see God has placed the creation being subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption. And obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
Which really isn't incredibly upbeat. Why would God, our Father, want us to have this in the season of life?
In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, 2 “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. 3 And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.”
4 And his disciples answered Him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” 5 And He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.” 6 And He directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, He broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. 7 And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. 8 And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 9 And there were about four thousand people. And He sent them away. 10 And immediately He got into the boat with His Disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.
Yes, I realize The Scriptures are not highlighted and bold. Compensating. Jesus feeds the people for looking to Him. Jesus doesn't leave His Beloved high and dry. He has compassion on the people. His People.
The Scriptures say when the days are evil, redeem the time.
Redeem Compensate. What we reach for when we need: consolation, strength, resolve, to find our joy again. The reason Jesus helps us, compassion. The work of the Lord is compassion with resolve to find His Compensation.
As Anita passed on, Dallas had an electrical storm
making Dallas Morning News Headlines.
I believe it was God, having Welcome Home Fireworks.
My grandmother Anita came to me in a Dream, about 2014, after she had been in Heaven for about 21 years. She said, make each day count to please the Lord. He isn't hard to please. And The Lord isn't far away. Just to decide in the morning what we are grateful for and use the placement of life to create doing Good with what is in front of us. To enjoy the Presence of God. And bring this Joy to others.
Redeeming each day. Give us the day.
Light overcomes darkness
The Bible is Living and Active.
John 3:8
The wind blows where it wishes,
and you hear its sound,
but you do not know where it comes from
or where it goes.
So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
Matthew was right. Matt Maher. Scripture won't necessarily get you a job, don't pay your bills
Won't buy you a home in Beverly Hills
Won't fix your life in five easy steps
Ain't the law of the land or the government
But it's all you need
And love will hold us together
Make us a shelter to weather the storm
And I'll be my brother's keeper
So the whole world will know that we're not alone.
Because Scripture is alive, it doesn't have a system of neat phrases that apply to the complexities of life. Instead, Scripture brings Light to the corners, and we see more of Life, Meaningful Life surrounding us. Neat phrases don't answer the questions. But the Word of God does have the Word of Life. And something will occur to you when we seek to find what Scripture would apply.
I'll explain this with a story, please take rather lightly.
This time was something to rejoice in. We all make mistakes, but this one was spot on.
Edward and I got on our Cruise to Alaska this summer, We were so excited. And as we got to the Ship to board, suddenly, someone put a very elderly woman in front of us in a wheelchair. And the dock attendant looked and said loudly, who is with this woman? No one answered, and neither did she. I prayed. God, I have taken care of someone elderly since 1999. Please, no. Then the one worker looking at us for help was asked if the Cruise had a wheelchair, and the answer was a brusque, "No." This was very untrue. Something was odd.
Suddenly, I looked at her hair. And I knew the wig from taking my grandmother wig shopping in 1986. The wig was extremely expensive. Best, you can buy. And I knew something was really off. No one with this hair is suddenly dumped on a Cruise Liner. They would have attendants. And I motioned to Edward silently to get quiet and get around her. All around us seemed to have open mouths. And as we got to the Lobby of the Cruise, she was again wheeled in front of us. Still catatonic. We were stopped by another Cruise Employee to quickly get to the mandatory meeting. We did with posthaste.
That night, we decided to go to the Library. And lo and behold, the catatonic woman was now with a walker and moving briskly. Behind us. And was speaking very clearly, clearly looking for a type of book. And, trying to find out where Edward and I would sit. Edward went past me and I moved him to the hallway. It was a scam. We got to our room and I said, this woman is entirely, "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels." The 1988 Movie with Steve Martin and Michael Caine.
She was two rooms down from us. And within a day, fully able-bodied the rest of the trip. No walker needed. And then with a man who became her target. We had major amounts of glaring from her.
What occurred to me on the deck, to enter the ship, the Good Samaritan had an accident among thieves robbing. The Good Samaritan didn't try to go on an Alaskan Cruise trip as an elderly catatonic, looking for complete care giving, in the most expensive wig the wig store sells. Cry out to the Lord and He will Hear you. Cry for Wisdom.
We were sitting having a cup of coffee and a man in clean clothes was having a job interview, across the street. He was telling another stranger he needed the work. So we went over and told him about high paying, local jobs we knew from doing Youth Ministry. And it turns out he knew both places and was presently homeless. With a work history, he was thrilled to learn he had formerly worked for one of the places. This was a position within the same company. This was a man looking for a way forward with some troubles he was trying to leave behind him.
Ezekiel 36:26
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.
And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
There is a change that should be celebrated.
A fuss was started about a Christian inmate of Auschwitz. It was a second language post and combined the confusion with rapid use of gender bending and a photo of the same. The photo looked like someone in the news this week. The would be assassin. Implications were bouncing everywhere. Details were dropped, not included about a bold escape and, then, the women left behind suffered terribly for the escape. But overlooked the hope the imprisoned women of the concentration camp, all shared, to escape. Live.
The compensation for the pain of the Post became a discussion that wasn't very gracious and focused on what was escapism fussing, instead of the focus. People grew outraged the description of the events wasn't very lucid. Ping, boink, crash, ping.
But there was a change we should all celebrate together.
No one denied Auschwitz existed. That Jews, 6 million died. The Holocaust tragedy was called an extreme tragedy. This is because we have seen October 17, 2023, Israel. The night peaceful slumber was killed. Grandmothers taken. Children taken. We mourned.
Compensation redeeming.
Recently, Anne of Green Gables was remade as a TV series.
It was sad and didn't gather any strong hopes for continuing the huge book series could have allowed. In the series, Anne was escaping her orphan status, probably from horrors untold status. The series now included the orphan had been horribly abused. All of the great vision of the child to grow more Heaven on earth was pushed aside to say, it was merely compensation for deep emotional pain.
We didn't need to see these favorite childhood books of many, like me, become so jumbled. I loved seeing Anne cause the caustic, horribly practical Marilla Cuthbert become loving and alive, seeing beauty surround their home. Her heart bloomed as much as Anne seeing other worldliness. Matthew Cuthbert was always in the shadow of his practical sister. But learned to come forth and make a home for the orphan girl. In speaking of her well, Marilla could see.
How would we know this is beauty and not the sad compensation of childhood horrors?
Anne, the written book heroine of Lucy Maud Montgomery, laughed to think, dream and plan of the future. Her joy was available in thinking of the future. Her wedding, her love for Gilbert, her husband and her many children would arrive.
Proverbs 31:25
Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs
at the time to come.
Do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed
by the renewal of your mind,
that by testing you may discern
what is the will of God,
what is good and acceptable and perfect.
1 Corinthians 3:16
Do you not know
that you
are God's temple
and
that God's Holy Spirit
dwells in you?
Lord God Almighty
The Church on shining water
following the water
to the Throne of The Lord
Light of mankind, Light of the world, Light of Nations,Light of Heaven
Jesus Christ the King
The Hope and Future
for those we Love
One day, tells its tale to another.
Abba, Father,
Forget not all His benefits -
Who forgives all your sins
and
heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you
with love and compassion
Father, You are working
and so is Your Son, Jesus Christ.
The Power of the Holy Spirit.
Turn again
to the Lord.
With Your Help
We will act justly
and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with You, our God.
Dwell in me,
Dwell in us,
Dwell in those we Love,
Help us to seek You first.
And we will finish well, in Jesus Christ.
Lord Jesus Christ,
Bless those working for
Post Pandemic Healing
and Care.
The Healing of our friend Will.
Will is 92 and has been
incredibly spry.
Will is having intense lower back, leg pain.
Edward's Uncle recovered from this when he was 92.
No one thought he would recover at 92 and he surely did.
Thanks to the Lord.
We ask Jesus to speak the Word of Healing
for Will, who has cared for his family
for decades.
Lord Jesus.
Thank You,
for hearing us.
The healing and safety of Your people.
The safety of those
helping the earth
to heal.
Let evil and practicing evil
depart far from us
and our children.
Worldwide Peace
Prosperity and
Peace.
Worldwide
Peace!
HEAL OUR NATION
We have 51 days
until
our National Election.
Please Vote
and Vote Responsibly.
For Children in their Schools, all safety.
For those who protect and defend the USA,
protect us from arsonists.
Keep our food supply safe.
Support the Police.
For Worldwide Peace.
And the Peace of Israel.
Those protecting
and defending
All The Word of God.
Freedom in our Churches.
Wholeness, Holiness.
And in Jesus - this Hope,
Faith and Love - we will rise up believing Jesus.
Amen.
Yes, The Lord Fulfills His Purpose
Thank You, Jesus
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