Jesus Healed Us All
Luke 6:19-49
19 And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.
20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 "Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied.
"Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
22 "Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.
24 "But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. 25 "Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. "Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. 26 "Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.
27 "But I say to you who hear,
Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
28 bless those who curse you,
pray for those who abuse you.
29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either.
30 Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. 32 "If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
37 "Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you."
39 He also told them a parable: "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. 41 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.
43 "For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
46 "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you? 47 Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49 But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great."
Happy Mother's Day!!!
The most memorable of Facebook quotes went like this, "I accidentally told my mother 'Happy Mother's Day" to my mother in person and not via social media this year." We were in our hometown last weekend and celebrated early.
My Real Mother's Day has been Huge. I find Mother's Day to be variable. Some years there are other things going on and Mother's Day is a card or Grocery Store Plant. It's the Stock Market of Event Days. My Father said nothing like Hallmark and Congress to tell you when to trot out the familial emotion. We are not the Mother's Day celebrators of all people. My eldest son came home from Michigan State Law School. Making Mother's Day - Wonderful, Truly Wonderful.
All three of the men in our family have gone - all day long - asking me how to make this Mother's Day Great. You don't even need an event with the heart of kindness. The Day is made by the inquiry of the heart.
Mother's Day is best encouraged by asking the people with you what they want. A hike through Sam Houston Forest. A drive-in or theater movie. The Conroe Airport Restaurant Black Walnut to see the new pilots learn to fly airplanes. And Peach Dessert!!!
Amazing number of Dairy Farms in Michigan. The Pizza was... Astonishing at Michigan State.
We spent time with a tall friend, our 2 adults, 2 ladders and a footstool to take care of the God blessed, amazing, year old Peach Tree beautifully laden with fine and abundant fruit. The peaches seem to ripen May 13th, which is my grandmother Anita's birthday and she had a Peach Passion. Grandmother would go to the Farmer's Market and she could tell what week would be the peaches from Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Anita could debate varieties of Peaches. I bought these three fruit trees on a whim - not sure of the variety - and the peach trees were about 2 feet tall. Now they are 15 feet the next year. I should have listened when I was told to stake the trees. Wow. They are staked and roped and will require more attention after the fruit is harvested.
I'm not fond of Peaches. The fuzz is fuzzy. But the taste is good after the effort. Like Pecans. My favorite is un-cooked Peaches. Bake Pepperidge Farms separate pastry shells, add sugar free pudding and put in raw peaches topped with (canned, compressed, fun) whipped cream to make - pretty. No sugar. Just raw great peach taste. I like to add in Almond Extract or a little Coconut Oil with Stevia.
And like the Stock Market is ...
The story of David's Promised Reward. The Kings of Israel. Off - on. On - off. Very Stock Market. Very life.
Consider the Biblical Chapter of Luke 6. God is orderly. Collected. Wise. Fatherly. Helper. Comforter.
1. Blessed to Look to our Father God to see Blessings in difficulty. God is the Light to the Path. Hope. Love. Joy. Encouragement. Puzzle Solver. Solutions. Loving.
2. Times are GREAT!!! God prepares us not to be the man for 38 years waiting on God. He became egotistical and wanted power from the officials at the expense of Jesus. God tells us to be wise when we have blessings. To bless others. God has told us He created man for the Sabbath, not the Sabbath for mankind. The secular world would ask us to see God in His creation. To seek His wisdom backed with Scripture. The secular phrase would be "Make your words soft and sweet, one day - you may be eating them."
Notice Father God has treated the hurting and the victorious. The places surely change. Father God is not discriminating nor partial to the jazzy and heart-broken. God of Mercy and Compassion. Our Father God.
3. Enemies. Sometimes we have enemies and Winston Churchill said it means we Stood Firm. The Bible tells us to Stand Firm. Other times, we create our own problems by refusing to adopt new mercies. New Hope in Prayer. Lack of stone cold diligence with warm love. Sacrifice.
4. Saint Michael - Archangel - had words with Evil. Pure evil. And being the Messenger of the Creator - God of All - Michael employed polite respect to the most evil we find in the Bible. We rarely will have to do what God has done for us - respect never hurt a situation.
The ability to forgive one another and move on. We build bridges and make a meaningful life.
5. Count on Changes!!!
Count on an Unchangeable, Reliable, All-knowing God.
God told us in Genesis, "it is good" 10 times. He begins to tell of His Words and Works with, "it is good." God our Father ends by telling us His Eternal Home where those who rely upon Him will spend their eternal lives. God then tells us all His ways, words, actions and heart are "Love One Another."
From Chapter One - to - The Closing, Billy Graham assured us would 'turn out ok', Father God assures us Love is our goal.
Abba, Our Father God,
Jesus tells us to be careful with specks in our eyes. And Jesus knows we are in need, every day, of His Compassion. When we fall short - our God - the Almighty - Ancient of Days - our All and All. Shepherd of our Souls - will fill in the dots and iotas. We need You, Father.
Taking all the dots, iotas and specks from us.
Covering us in the Name of Jesus. Ourselves, me - you. Our Loved Ones. The people He has given us. Our day to day cares and needs. Our obligations and our time scheduling. Our pets. Our households. Glad rejoicing the Cherubim of Heaven is partially an Oxen - our pets are covered by our Loving Father God.
Knowing as the least of us is Covered. We fully will Trust God with our Nation. The Nations Trusting in Him. Our employments, our communities, the Churches. With Love the culture we think about daily - Rises. Jesus and the Holy Spirit doing more than we can ask or imagine - bringing more Heaven to earth.
In Jesus Christ, we rest fully assured. Amen.