tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121166972024-03-07T17:31:25.236-06:00Pilgrim's ProgressFollowing the pioneer of the faith, Jesus, these are musings and statements of the journey.GinaEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18136344751667246279noreply@blogger.comBlogger191125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12116697.post-29135771904849194462024-01-31T21:05:00.004-06:002024-01-31T21:05:33.352-06:00Hope 13<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <i>tiqva </i>- hope, grounds for hope; longing expectation.</span></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Literally, a chord (to twist and stretch) </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress: I will not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory. My mighty rock, my refuge is my God</i>. Psalm 62:5-8</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">I will not be shaken. The ultimate purpose of hope is to keep me attached to God for security. In the world, we attach to other things for our security: money, position, education, know-how. We often believe and put our trust in anything but God.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Yet, those earthly benefits will fail us. We will fail them. Their influence wanes. We falter. They never had the power to save us in the first place. Our significance and identity (glory-weightiness, worthiness, splendor and honor) cannot rest on such flimsy, changeable definitions. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">In God alone can come salvation. In God alone is the stability by which I can see myself rightly, in his eyes, by his definition. I must attach to what God says, only!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>O Lord, become my all! Help me to rely on you alone. Take me to your throne and let me rest in you. Amen!</i></span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p></blockquote>GinaEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18136344751667246279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12116697.post-39878613768614078482024-01-24T11:33:00.003-06:002024-01-24T11:33:40.091-06:00Title Covers <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjE_p87mFeypAvir6mwyGMlkooI7YngZDn0WBMO8rygIZrIe_0FEtIQEsJaQnPIoig-4U9oxVJ5NnL1UGwNddudJspFEiN2ObYiv3-M0fiafhYDZ3sGSltwaVyrd_eEKQIxaqpN-u2rafkdLToarPElferPj4WfdvECc6FPhzLawLwug8YXyStkFw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="502" data-original-width="321" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjE_p87mFeypAvir6mwyGMlkooI7YngZDn0WBMO8rygIZrIe_0FEtIQEsJaQnPIoig-4U9oxVJ5NnL1UGwNddudJspFEiN2ObYiv3-M0fiafhYDZ3sGSltwaVyrd_eEKQIxaqpN-u2rafkdLToarPElferPj4WfdvECc6FPhzLawLwug8YXyStkFw" width="153" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-P20dnjyKrECjBCfaCyAnOHPUIBzan08JtMKXNY2BcL4GQmkJ2UuYNkOinEKx7c_GRatoz9bcoe8JobHWgoFvF05hIe15rzZl7D3Vz0tJuZMq5AMXoxfk9DUu3nEPX5V3e6New0GzLTlbORaFsoXt62JPMlwqBeYDWSZNlulrZDs5PkKYuhbKqg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="495" data-original-width="331" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-P20dnjyKrECjBCfaCyAnOHPUIBzan08JtMKXNY2BcL4GQmkJ2UuYNkOinEKx7c_GRatoz9bcoe8JobHWgoFvF05hIe15rzZl7D3Vz0tJuZMq5AMXoxfk9DUu3nEPX5V3e6New0GzLTlbORaFsoXt62JPMlwqBeYDWSZNlulrZDs5PkKYuhbKqg" width="160" /></a></div><br /><br /></div>GinaEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18136344751667246279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12116697.post-6408364469465591042024-01-24T11:28:00.005-06:002024-01-24T11:37:19.143-06:00It Begins<div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">What has been will be again; </span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">what has been done will be done again; </span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>there is nothing new under the sun.</i><span> Ecc. 1:19</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">I quoted that verse to my seminary professor/advisor when he was encouraging me to pursue publishing. His reply to my quote of Ecclesiastes: "That is true, but you say it so well." So, I developed this blog so as to filter some ideas in all the curriculum, essays, papers I have written. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">I humbly submit to you my first effort. I have published two small, devotional books through Amazon that incude some of the topics that have been posted here. Now, I have to engage in the next unknown project of marketing. Pray they will be meaningful for someone. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Feedback welcome.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Uninvited-Discipline-Eugenia-Marie-Etherton/dp/B0CQGD4X87/ref=sr_1_2?crid=TYBOTB63YWF&keywords=Eugenia+Etherton&qid=1706115440&sprefix=eugenia+etherton%2Caps%2C115&sr=8-2">An Uninvited Discipline: Etherton, Eugenia Marie: 9798870327600: Amazon.com: Books</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Unexpected-Discipline-Eugenia-Marie-Etherton/dp/B0CP8XSY8P/ref=sr_1_1?crid=JQKGMDU8P9Q&keywords=eugenia+etherton&qid=1706116729&sprefix=%2Caps%2C214&sr=8-1">An Unexpected Discipline: Etherton, Eugenia Marie: 9798869510112: Amazon.com: Books</a></div>GinaEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18136344751667246279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12116697.post-57639327766953519682024-01-18T11:45:00.003-06:002024-01-18T11:45:26.707-06:00Hope 12<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">hope - <i>yahal </i>- wait, expect, tarry: patience </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill to your dwelling. Then I will go to the altar of God, my exceeding joy. And I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil with me? Hope in God, for I will praise him, my salvation and my God! </i>Ps 43:3-5</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">It seems the entire purpose of our walk with God, of our faith development is to get closer to God. Interestingly, I have been taught that the priority is good behavior, as if it alone is right-ness. Right living only comes from a heart right with God. Here the psalmist looks to God's light (concretely so as to light the day or metaphorically to include "lightness" or happiness) and his truth (which emanates from God and is about God) as his source for hope because it leads to God himself. The purpose of the that truth is to light the path to the dwelling place of God. Think of it as showing the way to a relationship with God.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">We tend to look for our answers, our salvation in many far places from God. Sometimes, we look for our answers in the things of God - his Word, his Church - which can be helpful, but they are not God. It is where we should place the source of our answers that is the real pursuit. Our answers, our desires, our need for a safe place is actually in a sacred relationship with the Father. Seek him first...and all these will be added..</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Father, open my eyes to the truth you shine a light on. No other revelation but what comes from you, please. Amen!</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>GinaEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18136344751667246279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12116697.post-70849387199112342532024-01-13T10:53:00.005-06:002024-01-13T10:53:40.767-06:00Entering the Darkness<p><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: justify;">…</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: justify;">To you, the night shines bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you.</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: justify;">Psalm 139:12</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Most of
us know the familiar territory where darkness prevails and we usually work to
avoid it at all costs, from the extremes of addiction to keeping a good (false)
attitude of the place we are in.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">We are
just avoiding the darkness.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">We fear
it.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">It is not fun.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Yet, what if, in it, we could find God? What
if, in it, we could find the greatest truth of all?</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">God is not afraid of it.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">It doesn’t surround him like it does us.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Oh, God! Of
course, you can see through either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both
can dispense your truth and your presence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What if the darkness might hold just as much truth as the light?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Places of
darkness are different for each of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Maybe it’s the darkness of a hurt we have buried or the darkness that
befalls us when we quiet ourselves from shiny, noisy or blustery practices and
we have to sink into the center of who we are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Maybe it’s the darkness of an unresolved relationship or truth about
ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The list goes on, but God’s
truth about each can often only be revealed in the chasm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: large;">And since
He is there, seeing it as clearly as if by daylight, if we allow ourselves to
enter with him, he can shine the light on the truth we need. We can stay in the darkness knowing he is
there, whether resolution comes or not, knowing that he is there to comfort or
guide, satisfy or use it for our good. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: large;">I am not
so afraid of quiet now or even the darkness that some would claim to be the
absence of God. I think in the end the
only one refusing to be in the darkness is me.
Now I know to enter it and relish the pause it gives, the truth it
shows, and the comfort it brings.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>GinaEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18136344751667246279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12116697.post-10890630408978401492024-01-03T16:28:00.004-06:002024-01-03T16:28:56.078-06:00Hope 11<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: large;">hope - <i>yahal</i> - wait, expect, tarry: patience.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Elohim</i> - Supreme God</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?...Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. By day the Lord directions his love, at night his song is with me - a prayer to the God fo my life...Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God</i>. Psalm 42</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">With deep desire for God, especially in light of the trauma of being human, the writer recognizes that nothing on earth can comfort, let alone satisfy, but God. We despair and not in a quiet way. The clamoring and uproar of our soul can fuel a rage even against itself.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The solution does not come from within, but with the presence, the face-to-face encounter with the God who saves. Only then comes victory and delivery.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">How can we know God like this? The depth of God, which we must explore, meets us in the depths of our own psyche, our own soul. His love is revealed there; he is not afraid of our depths. His song plays in my heart, resulting in restoration and revival of the life he intends with Him.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Maybe we shouldn't medicate the pain. Maybe we should avoid the distractions and displacements and instead walk with God into our suffering, our difficulty. He isn't afraid and neither should we be. Let him meet us there and minister to us there and take the lessons, the glory, onto the healing path we need.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Lord, leave me unafraid! Amen.</i></span></p>GinaEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18136344751667246279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12116697.post-7477870102358727872023-12-27T16:39:00.001-06:002023-12-27T16:39:25.461-06:00Hope 10<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <i>wait - qava - expectantly look for, linger</i></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">hope -telehet - hope; by implication, to be patient, trust and tarry</span></i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">[We are nothing by a breath...a mere shadow...for all the turmoil...all the pursuit of gain....] O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. Psalm 39: 7 (6-11)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Life carries no meaning apart from the Lord. All the pursuits, all the messaging, all is vainglory, in King James' language, just a shadow of greater things from the Lord. Nothing satisfies independent from God. Yet, within life's meaning, can we, with an expectant eye, look for God? Any meaning for living only happens when we see, when we look for the presence of God within all of life's efforts. Can we tarry long enough, stop and smell the roses? Can we be patient as we wait for the revelation of God?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hope may not be a sudden clarification, but a gradual expansion of our view of the Triune God. Can we let Him be greater than anything this earth provides? Can we let Him be closer to us than any expectation we have that comes from our culture? No matter the noise around us, pursue the presence of God within the activity and within our own beings.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Lord, help me to open my eyes to your everyday presence, your intent and power to make it so in the world, in others and in me. Amen.</i></span></p>GinaEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18136344751667246279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12116697.post-66352439769720274672023-10-23T12:22:00.001-05:002023-10-23T12:22:08.082-05:00Hope 9<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: large;">The Hope of Christ </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Word - Logos - Something said, made true by its speaking.</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>I</i><i>n the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God.</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>All things were made through him and without him nothing was made. In him was life and the life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness and darkness cannot comprehend it. </i>John 1:1-5</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Jesus' originalness with God and his participation with the Godhead comes with his identity within it and by proximity to it. He and God are "one and the same." Jesus becomes the very expression of God to humanity. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Darkness on earth had obscured the Divine's presence (in creation) and led to an ignorance of people to God's intent for all creation. The darkness was an ignorance of the Divine that had produced misery and God intended to dispel that ignorance and its resultant misery with the life of his Son.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Jesus's life can now reveal God's purposes for all. His appearance illuminates God's truth and presence, even to the point that his presence obscures the darkness. The purpose for this expression of God (although he would not be the last, as he indicated he would send the Holy Spirit) was to dispel the lack of understanding of the Divine.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">There is now no reason for doubt, since Jesus' intent and expression now provides a channel for knowledge and understanding of the truth of God. It is an ongoing effort by the Holy Spirit through his holy people to have that light of Jesus still shine. His intent is clear: we are the presentation of revealed truth in these days.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">It is our hope that the light given us will continue to go out to a needy world needing the revelation of the Father who loves them.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand and it gives light to every in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. </i> Matthew 5:14-16</span></p>GinaEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18136344751667246279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12116697.post-73788228942552781072023-10-17T11:58:00.002-05:002023-10-19T15:23:52.977-05:00Hope 8<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i> Yahal - to wait, hope, expect</i></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope for salvation and by its great might, it cannot rescue.</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and shield. For our heart is glad in him because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you! Ps 33:16-22</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><i> </i>false hope/vain thing<i> - seqer - </i>deception, disappointment, betrayal</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><span><i> s</i>teadfast love/mercy<i> - hesed - </i>goodness, kindness, faithfulness</span><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><span><span><i> </i>trust <i>- batah - </i>security; place of freedom</span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">We have built our "armies" and they have failed us. The world gives us a formula for success, for protection. It only helps for awhile and deceives us into trusting it and the work of our own hands for protection and provision. Personal strength? Yet, we soon realize that we have failed ourselves. We soon find that the battle will go on too long. The forces of evil are too strong. Our deception will be our failure.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Lord! He is the one! He is the one who can save, protect and feed us. He alone is our shield. And he is available through the easiest of means:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> regard his greatness highly</span><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><span> press into his love; look for it</span><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><span><span> </span>be patient and watch as he acts</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><span><span> rejoice in God's being.</span><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Let that hope be on the grounds (foundationally) of resting upon the love of God. God is for us; who can be against us? </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>It has been you all along, Father. Help me to celebrate the travail and the victory! Amen!</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>GinaEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18136344751667246279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12116697.post-31618336156354298112023-10-02T17:47:00.002-05:002023-12-27T15:42:12.286-06:00The Hidden Rules of Religion<p style="text-align: center;"><i> <span style="font-size: large;">truth - alethia - objective (not situational) truth in any matter; personal excellence, candor; transparency and authenticity</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="text-align: left;"><i>Alethia</i></span> is made of "alpha" + "hidden" in the Greek, literally meaning "first revelation." Truth as the notion of idea revealed (from God) as in true nature of God and circumstances, standing in direct contrast to cultural norms.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The hidden rules of the religious class and church culture often do not reflect the truth of God. These rules serve to exclude others and build a fortress of isolation around itself. In religious extremism this is seen in theocracies which sequester their members through clothing (the hajib), food (LDS doesn't allow its members to drink coffee) , or body-expression (remember no dancing or card playing?), often isolating gender (women) from the worship center and creating a hierarchy for participation and service. It can include violence against aliens and apostates. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Are we willing to own whether our religious entity (church or small group) is exclusionary?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">And the purpose of these rules? They protect and preserve the religious class. They segregate the haves ("chosen") from the have-nots. They create conformity to the point of exclusion. The closed church appropriates Jesus and his message to create a sequestered body, safe by economic and power structures, like Constantine's use and protection of the early church in the 400s, when he made Christianity the religion of the state.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">What if our religious culture is more tradition than truth, especially as a way to maintain bias, separation, position and comfort? What if we have built a fortress instead of a community that is expansive and expanding? </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Are we like Mary and Joseph, who went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the seat and center of their faith, and in their return home lost Jesus in the crowd? They assumed Jesus was in the crowd of fellow pilgrims...assumed. They were absorbed in their communal practice, but were not in Jesus' presence. They didn't know where he was. To find him, they returned to the Temple. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">"Temple" literally means "altar of speech," the place where God speaks, the inner sanctum. Have we been enmeshed in the Christian community and its rules and rituals such that we have missed Jesus' presence? How do we find the temple where he resides? </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Jesus has assured us the temple is now in a new place: our hearts and souls, where his Holy Spirit now resides. It is the inner sanctum, to which we must return. While we are not to neglect the community, we are also not to forget our first love. We are to hold them in balance. Have we?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Yet this: you have forsaken the love you held at first</i>. Revelation 2:4</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p>GinaEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18136344751667246279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12116697.post-69150922774674980102023-09-26T16:59:00.003-05:002023-09-26T17:01:45.512-05:00Hope 7<p style="text-align: center;"> <i style="font-size: x-large;">tiqva - </i><span style="font-size: x-large;">hope; longing, expectation; literally, a cord. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span>The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed (crushed), a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you...for the needy will not remain forgotten and the hope of the poor will not perish...</span></i><span>Psalm 9:9, 10, 18</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">In what hole have you found yourself? Crushed by the toils of life? Emotionally destroyed? Afflicted? Weakened? Depressed? Needing help?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">All of us have had all of these. Life takes a toll on us. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Our Lord is present to provide a safe place when we have lost all security, when we feel unstable. He can comfort and supply our emotional needs by his presence and then he offers a connection to the future: next steps, next opportunity, helping a person or finding solutions. And he comforts in the meantime.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Praise be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! The Father of all mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction. We need not bear any burden alone. We need not depend on our own resources, for God has many more to offer. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Hope makes me thankful to know you, Lord, are at work in both situations and in me. You know what you are doing even when I do not. Amen.</i></span></p>GinaEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18136344751667246279noreply@blogger.com0Texas, USA31.9685988 -99.90181313.6583649638211533 -135.0580631 60.278832636178848 -64.7455631tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12116697.post-47373476199379421472023-06-08T15:10:00.001-05:002023-09-26T16:41:55.281-05:00Hope 6<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><i>yahal</i></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">to trust; to wait, to expect; to tarry (as in not get ahead of God).</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>God might kill me, but I have no other hope. I am going to argue my case before him. God will be my salvation, because I am not godless and can stand before him. </i>Job 13:15-16</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Job is desperate and he knows God is his only hope. He knows God will hear him out. Job's friends have tried to diminish Job, blame him, leaving him in a pitying pile, but Job will nave none of it. He is clear as to his only source for hope.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">I think we often go to many other sources before we go to God. Many other comforts, when God is our only comfort. He is the only one to trust. "Imagine that!" my friend use to say after we had sat around and bemoaned our plight. "We could pray!" </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">When will we learn to pray first? At the slightest level of need, run to God first. We are like Job, in right-standing with God. He wants us to come to him. He wants us to trust him.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Help me, Lord to first raise my voice to you! I will plead my case to you. I will recognize my privileged place to come to you. I am blessed just knowing you are my God, desiring to hear from me. Amen!</i></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>GinaEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18136344751667246279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12116697.post-10499514721534455562023-05-13T15:11:00.002-05:002023-06-08T14:43:36.559-05:00Hope 5<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i> tiqva - </i>grounds for hope; longing expectation. Literally, a chord, which can twist and stretch.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Oh, that I might have my request and that God would fulfill my hope...What strength do I have in order to persist? And what is my end that I should forestall it? Is my strength like that of stones? My skin as bronze? Can I even help myself, or is all chance of help driven from me?</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>A despondent person deserves kindness from his friend, even though he strays from the fear of the Highest One.</i> Job 6: 8, 11-14</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Job's friend's words (in Job 5) have brought no comfort. They were ill-timed and accusatory words. Can we take a lesson on how to be a true help, provide hope? A person is emptied by calamity, so there is no source of hope within. When a person is so afflicted, help (<i>ezra</i> - assistance) and wisdom (<i>tusiya</i> - sound knowledge; substance) cannot come from within. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">What provides help and hope? Kindness, goodness, faithfulness, mercy. We don't have to have answers, instead, we can care for a person in distress. We don't have to solve their problems, but offer compassion, love and support: a phone call, a silent sitting, a listening ear, a hug. The presence of another human being provides hope. Could you provide such a simple act of kindness?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Lord, draw me into the presence of the hurting. Help me to carry your spirit of comfort to others. Amen.</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></p>GinaEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18136344751667246279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12116697.post-65636727024887051182023-03-29T13:25:00.004-05:002023-06-08T14:45:20.680-05:00Hope 4<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <i>tiqva - </i>hope; longing, expectation; literally, a cord. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">...<i>sorrow is not a natural product of the soil, nor does trouble sprout from the earth itself...This is why, if I were you, I would appeal to God. I would lay my cause at his feet. He does wonderful things that confound, with an infinite number of miracles...so there is still hope for the helpless and poor.. </i>Job 5:6-16</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">For there to be hope for the future, hope for wonderful things, miracles, lifting up, bolstering, justice, it must be tied to the efforts of God in each. Also, remember that these are only needed in the face of calamity. Only when we are dry, downtrodden, bereaved, the victim of deceitful plotting and physical peril do we recognize our own weakness and tie ourselves, "hitch our wagon," to the God of the universe, who saves. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">We will only be able to avoid some of those calamities and God will provide and provide comfort, when not. The hope God provides in difficult and calamitous times become our guide to the future: safety which delivers us to another day; "water" for flourishing; intervention against plots against us, blinding and binding of our enemies.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The message of Job 5 confounds and upsets Job (seen in chapter 6), but even this righteous man was a victim of a plot against him by Satan himself. God will prove himself righteous and return Job to good favor. Can we stand the test as well?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Lord, help me keep my eyes on your favor in the midst of trial; my hope tied to you. Amen. </i></span></p>GinaEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18136344751667246279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12116697.post-39194227575194353902023-03-07T15:14:00.005-06:002023-03-29T13:28:36.415-05:00Hope 3<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <i>tiqva - </i>hope; longing, expectation; literally, a cord.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Behold, you have instructed many and you have strengthened weak hands. Your words have upheld him who was stumbling and you have made firm the feeble knees. Now trouble has come to you and you are impatient with it. Trouble touches you and you are dismayed. Is not your fear of God your confidence and the integrity of your ways your hope? </i>Job 4:2-6</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ah, Job, teach yourself! All this time you extolled God, helped others, taught others, did you not think the promise was for you or did you think you would be excluded from the general malaise of humanity?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Some would say Job's friends were no help to him. Okay. This is kind of blaming, but did Job need to hear the truth of his own words? Maybe. Did he need to be pointed to the depth of his own purported faith and comfort that he once gave to others? I think so. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">And then I think of myself. The lessons I have taught others, I must cling to! The care and comfort I gave, I must now accept! That is my hope! When I am fraught with disaster, in a weakened state, dare I hope for the help from others or mercy from my God? Dare I ask?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Lord, help me to know how to be vulnerable enough to ask for help and thus receive hope from others! My connection to them - the cord that binds - is what will give me hope. Let me prove my dependence and awe of you when trouble comes by living by the hope of you, Lord, and the proofing of my claimed dependence on you. Amen.</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>GinaEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18136344751667246279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12116697.post-55081913305211783912023-02-27T14:52:00.006-06:002023-03-29T13:28:53.391-05:00Hope 2<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <i>Miqve</i> - the grounds or foundation of hope; a collection, a gathering; bond together</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>As Ezra was praying and weeping and bowing on the steps of the temple of God, a huge group of Israelite men, women and children joined him in weeping. Shecaniah: You are right to weep, Ezra. We have forgotten our true God and [sinned], but there is hope for Israel yet. We shall make a new commitment with our True God....and you who are righteous (i.e. follow the law) must guide us...and we will support you. </i>Ezra 10:1-4</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hope must have a foundation...of truth and right living. Sometimes, hope rests on those who are in leadership, who live rightly. When a group - here a nation - has completely abandoned the principles of God, their actions have amounted to a broken faith. Deep confession with a change of heart and path is initiated from within, when the people can see their wrongs as an afront to God. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Then hope reaches out for leadership.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The people of Israel then build on their confession with a commitment to follow and support agents of change, their prophet and priests. It is never an independent faith. Sin is often communal. Righteous leadership can lead the community back to relationship with God. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Lord, lead me to confession and to leaders who would give me hope and whom I can support in their effort to guide.</i></span></p>GinaEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18136344751667246279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12116697.post-34134380992609752302023-02-16T15:45:00.002-06:002023-03-29T13:29:25.516-05:00Hope I<p style="text-align: center;"><i><u><span style="font-size: large;"> tikva</span></u></i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">hope; expectation of a desired outcome</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">literally: a cord; attached to the future</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">"...<i>if I should say I have hope.</i>..." Ruth 1:12</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Naomi has had husband and sons die: she has no hope for her or her abandoned daughters-in-law. She has no future hope, no cord, to offer them, let alone herself. Without hope, they wailed. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">One daughter-in-law returned to her people, where she might secure a hope for her future. Ruth, though, attached her hope to Naomi:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>"Where you go, I will go and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die, I will die and there I will be buried</i>...(verses 16, 17)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">To salve an unrequited hope, Ruth knew she would need family. She would need intimacy, closely tied to her mother-in-law. Later, we know her dedication to relationship would give her a new hope, a new husband with the same connections.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is the hope of social capital. When we stay connected to the people who can most secure our future, our continuation, hope survives. This tells me that when I am in desperate straits, when I am feeling helpless, I need those around me who can connect me to the solutions, the relationships, the future I need.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Lord, give me the social capital, the connections to relationships so as to build hope for my future.</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p>GinaEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18136344751667246279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12116697.post-13656187003457065722022-06-21T16:34:00.002-05:002023-06-08T14:51:01.156-05:00Abundant Life<p style="text-align: justify;"> .<span style="font-size: large;"><i>..I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. </i>John 10:10b</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">It is deeply disturbing and unsettling of how accustomed we have become with death: death on the street, death through violence and war, death of the soul. I wonder if we have lost the vision of life before death, as a result, and not just life after death.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Where Jesus is, there is life. There is abundant life, vigorous life, eternal life, which, because it begins now, allows us to envision life-before-death. We may need some definition on this abundant life. Many verses actually describe this present life-before-death, but I will use my favorite: John 17:20 - 26. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">In this, Jesus' prayers for you and me (all future believers). He tells us his request to the Father for us: that we will be unified with him and the Father, that we will share in Christ's glory, which will serve to facilitate the unity of the entire community with the Father and Son. He prays that we would contain the love of the Father and the Son. </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">The love of the Father drove him to inhabit the earth and attempt justice and reconciliation for his creation. Could we become so passionate and compassionate for life-before-death?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The "Passion" of Christ is not a one-off, tragic incident of God's intercession with humanity. It is the final expression of God's passion - a devotion for and a costly response - for his exiled people, which is all of humanity.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Let me be so passionate for the lost world around me. Let it be a passionate devotion, sacrificially offered, life-giving, relationship-restoring life. New life! Life possible before death, which leaves no room for apathy. Self-sacrifice as Jesus modeled brings life into view today (before death). </span></p>GinaEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18136344751667246279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12116697.post-26848635616261472622022-04-22T16:06:00.001-05:002022-10-08T00:14:21.824-05:00The Council of God<p> <span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><i>The secret counsel of the Lord is for those who fear him and to them he makes known his covenant.</i> Psalm 25:14</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Here is a reference that is made several times in the Old Testament that is essentially about the company we keep. With whom do we end up in close deliberations? With what circle of friends do we engage that provides our foundational beliefs and guidance? </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">And what does it mean to have that circle of friends be the LORD almighty? This word and verse have caused me to enter prayer looking for the viewpoints of the triune God. The God of the universe who holds foundational authority has something to say to me. His Son, the co-creator, Messiah and my brother has a word for me. The Son's revealing, enlivening and engaging Spirit wants to provide wisdom and direction.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I am reverent before them and astonished to be in their circle. I bow low before their greatness and availability, especially to the fact they want to make known the foundational knowledge of their intent and will for me and mankind. This is their covenant they want to portray and give to us.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">What is this covenant? Just the commands? In the original language, covenant comes from a pair of words that engages the communal meal, which is intended to feed, and then dispatches its members into action. It is the relationship energy of this counsel, which can be seen in other uses in the Old Testament.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Jeremiah 23 (verses 16-17 is about lying prophets) and verse 18 sets the contrast of a different prophet: <i>Who among them has stood in the council of the Lord to see and hear his word, or paid attention and heeded God?</i> Verse 22: <i>If they had, they would have God's truth to tell and people would turn away from evil</i>...</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Amos 3:7 <i>The Lord does nothing without the secret council, revealing his secret to his servants, the prophets.</i> (spokespersons, inspired persons).</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">So, God's movement within people groups doesn't happen independent of those he intends as truth-tellers. He is working in his prophets who are in deep relationship with the triune-ness of his being and can be trusted to give clear access to the ways of the LORD:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> from God the Father, the final authority;</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> through Jesus, His Son and our brother;</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> with the Holy Spirit, indwelling and revealing.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I am in awe and reverence of the communal experience and my inclusion in his council, which translates into good counsel for my life, my purpose and God's purposes for the community. It can turn me into a good prophet, ready to love, first, and vanquish lies and heavy burdens for his people, next.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>GinaEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18136344751667246279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12116697.post-38570669369937843482022-03-08T16:05:00.001-06:002022-04-22T16:08:54.873-05:00Very Good!<p style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Richard Rohr points out/says that we, as part of creation,
were made good: in fact, “very good” as
the crown of creation. <i>And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.</i>..Genesis 1:31</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I note that "very good" was the assessment that God made when he added mankind to creation. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">If you made a list of the "good" things in life, </span></i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">would you be on the list? </span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">If we are highly Christianized, we would argue that "there is none good," quoting Paul in Romans. I'm going to argue for a different view of ourselves based on Old Testament revelation.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">We are taught about original sin and how we all sin. Well, sin is prolific in personal and community life, but I am not sure about the original sin bit. The original sin doctrine did not get formulated until the 300s by St. Augustine. He argued that God made us sinners. I'm having trouble balancing that with a lot of scripture about our original goodness, even as unique individuals. (Psalm 139) God did not intend bad for us. You cannot read that anywhere in scripture. He, rather, intended good, of which there is tons of scripture, including "<i>he works all things out for the good in those he loves..</i>." (Romans 8:28)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">We can embed our identity in this goodness, especially as we explore identity and flourishing, spoken of as "righteousness" in the New Testament, which means "being as one ought to be, as God intended." He intended us to be good.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This makes us all the more responsible for our sin. It is not innate in us, though prolific around us. We have the core identity of what God has given and the chance for spiritual power to overcome all these principalities' sin offerings. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I wanted to find that inherent goodness that God intended for me. I want to live it out. I want to ride it into the presence of God so we both can find joy in the creation evidence in me. Paul even tells us how to join God in that pursuance:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">2 Corinthians 13:11 <i>Finally, rejoice. Aim for restoration, </i></span><i>be comforted, be like-minded, live in
peace and the God of love and peace will be with you.</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li><span style="line-height: 17.12px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Finally – what remains (final pursuit)</span></span></li><li><span style="line-height: 17.12px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Rejoice – be well, thrive. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Restoration - returned to original intent - be made complete - make one as they ought to be.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></li><li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Be made
complete –mend, repair; outfit, equip; strengthen; </span>find the good
ground/foundation of one’s being. “frame of oneself”; be as one ought to be (as
created/intended by God)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></li><li><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Be comforted
– <i>parakaleo</i> – call for/draw alongside of</span></span></li></ul><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> those who console, encourage, strengthen<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Be
like-minded – <i>phronea</i> – understanding, be wise</span></span></li></ul><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> about yourself, modestly humble
yet with honest assessment</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> (savor truth)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> Cultivate
peace – <i>irenea</i> - protection during vulnerability and tenderness (as in protection for young plants in the spring)</span></span></li><li><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">God will be
with (with/after/behind) you -</span>denotes accompaniment</span></li></ul><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">That would be <i>Very Good!</i></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p>GinaEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18136344751667246279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12116697.post-30201770936407207982022-01-28T12:56:00.002-06:002022-01-28T12:57:09.073-06:00Be a Monk<p style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">I love history and have often passed through studies around the monks of old, of several religions. They are an interesting lot! I decided that monkism needed a modern definition so I could be one, too.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here is the old definition: Usually a member of a religious community living under vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here is a new definition for the Modern Monk: A member of the family of God who decides to live in the world, yet under a different pretext and premise for life:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">To engage in poverty that is non-indulgent in goods and wealth that interfere, cloud or block the full presence of God, yet accessing the "good" goods in order to join in the joy of God's creation and God's work.</span></li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>To rest in a definition of sexuality as God designed it in order to enhance our goodness and as a way to enter the good of God.</span></span></li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">To respond in obedience to the love of God, carrying out love-actions through compassion, inclusion of all people, and justice-seeking.</span></li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">All of these exclude me from the world's way of thinking, its culture, but doesn't preclude me from the world's needs and issues and my proper place in it.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Do you want to be a modern monk?</i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><p></p>GinaEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18136344751667246279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12116697.post-17322586584082523192022-01-08T12:38:00.005-06:002022-10-08T00:18:21.103-05:00Humility II<p style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><i>Don't be selfish; don't live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others better than yourself</i>. Phil 2:30 NLT</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Don't push your way to the front; don' t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself to the side, helping others to get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourself long enough to help others.</i> Phil 2:3 The Message</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The clash of worldly "wisdom" with that of God's wisdom when it comes to the subject of humility is clearly seen in this verse from the apostle Paul. For any person who has been indoctrinated into the way of competition and opportunity in American culture, we are often blinded, if not resistant, to biblical truths. Messages that we are given to "make something of ourselves," to "get ahead," "be successful," are strong within the culture and can become so strong, so ingrained that we don't even see the Bible's opposing viewpoint, let alone comprehend it.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">I know what it means to be involved in one-upmanship, always striving to be heard or seen, often thinking I had the best or final word to be given. The race to success can be very alluring (and culturally rewarded). It can lead us to make gods of ourselves, but the problem is that it is truly a rat race and if you are in it, "remember you're still just a rat." (Lily Tomlin)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">God proposes something much different. He proposes that we put ourselves second to others, that we not pursue our own way, that we not be concerned about what others are thinking of us. This thinking couldn't be more opposed to what we are taught by the culture.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">In Corinthians, Paul says that we are dealing with strongholds in our life that can only be dealt with divine weapons. We cannot look to any source but Jesus to determine how to live. The battle will only be won through His resurrection power. For me, that means I lay down the weapons, the tools, the ways of this world and pick up the power-infused weapons, tools and ways of God.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Maybe you have been given a unique advantage in that you can have been taught those divine ways since birth. You have held the power of prayer in your heart and mouth, the wisdom of God's Word in your mind and hand, the strength of God's Spirit and the unity of the fellowship of believers. What a gift to know that you've got each other's back and the full of knowledge of Truth, which overcomes every insignificant idea that comes up out of the messages of this world. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Most of all, you bear the name of the Creator of the universe. His image is pressed within you. You have the mind of Christ. It is a high calling to represent Him, which will require that you lay down your earthly strength, your worldly knowledge in favor of His.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">How could you not do so!</span></p>GinaEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18136344751667246279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12116697.post-57632585725701107762021-12-12T13:19:00.005-06:002023-10-05T12:34:50.201-05:00Ten Supports<p style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">As an educator and therapist, I have come to realize that NO and DO NOT often do not help people know what to DO. For example, in a school hall, it is much more productive to tell a child to "Walk" as opposed to "Don't run." "Don't run" might mean I can skip, trot or crawl, which doesn't really lead me to "walk." </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Also, because of human nature, many people just inherently rebel against "Don't," which repels them, while "Do" could attract them to new behavior and thought. So, I </span><span>decided to rewrite the ten commandments given by God, which are mostly "do not." What do you think?</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Exodus 20:1-17 </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">God began to speak directly to all the people (including Moses): </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">I am the eternal one, your God. I led you out of Egypt and liberated you from lives of slavery and oppression. As a result, remember that I am only for your good, so serve me only. Let me be the center of your ideology and desire - in your heart where I belong. Consider me first in all your comings and goings.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Be loyal to me. Let your love for me, which I will give you and cultivate in you, grow into a passionate loyalty to me and my kingdom.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Love me by demonstrating a commitment to the path I set before you.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">When you speak, remember my name is sacred.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Set apart a day of rest so that you can capture a sense of that sacred. Let your whole household take respite so that my purposes can be focused and directed inside the hearts of all in your household. I myself rested, you know.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Honor your parents. How you do so reflects your honor of the Lord and will be reflected into your children.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Value the life of your fellow people - neighbors near and far.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Stay true to the one you marry.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Value the prosperity of your neighbors: what is his is his. I gave it.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Let your tongue value truth, especially about your neighbors. Only tell what is right, obvious and known.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Keep your heart focused and grateful on what God has provided you. Let it be enough.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Now that list gives me more to do than just avoidance of behaviors. Rather, a descriptive guidance leads me to growth within the life of God.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Amen.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>GinaEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18136344751667246279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12116697.post-13898616623765000042021-12-05T11:02:00.004-06:002023-03-29T13:34:44.024-05:00Prepare the Way of the Lord<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>....A voice cries in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level and the rough place a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together..</i>. Isaiah 40:1-11</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight...and there, John preached repentance...</i> Mark 1:1-8</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sin causes us homesickness for heaven: tight turns, hills and dales make the drive nauseating. Jesus, the Way, has changed the path. He is now the super highway (straight and level) to righteousness (being as we should) and heaven. Repentance is the entrance ramp.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">John preached repentance. "Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is near," he says in Matthew 3:2. Repentance in Greek is metanoia, which means "change your mind." Repentance is our off ramp.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Meta - less close, less intimate with; against</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Noia - your mind, your way of thinking and understanding.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">True repentance, Tim Keller says begins when these end:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">1) white washing (it's not so bad)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">2) blaming</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">3) self-pity (sorry about getting caught/consequence)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">4) self-flagellation (punishing myself to avoid criticism by others)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">It begins when I come into agreement with God and, through Christ, walk a different path - the one he prepared for me to follow him. This path is not without challenge and will be filled with great meaning through the developing presence of heaven. That's what I want - more of heaven!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Amen!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Make it so!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>GinaEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18136344751667246279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12116697.post-10454717898260952922021-10-01T11:27:00.002-05:002022-10-08T00:08:55.614-05:00Saved by the Earthquake!<p> <span style="font-size: large;">Acts 16:20-34</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Paul and Silas are beaten and put in prison for preaching the gospel. It sounds mostly bad, until the very end when the jailor, who almost committed suicide, was interrupted by Paul's cries to not do it. They were all saved by the earthquake, which interrupted the night, released the prisoners' chains and caused the jailer to be ministered to by Paul and Silas (and, I imagine, all the prisoners there).</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The unsettling of an earthquake, large or small, will grab your attention, cause you pause and usually results in actions which cause you to run from any structure you might be around. I have been in several earthquakes and I have seen people saved when they ran (far) out of the building.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The metaphor is haunting me: what was once their comfort zone, in an earthquake, becomes a danger zone.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">How much is crisis like that for us? When it comes, do we hunker down? Do what we always do? Hide within the walls of some coping mechanism? When each could be our death, our danger? What if we learned to reach outside of our comfort zones when in danger? Housed inside our "usual" could be fatal or dangerous...and the answers are not there...</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The earthquake released them all: Paul, Silas, other prisoners, the jailor and his family. May we realize how our earthquakes could do the same for us.</span></p>GinaEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18136344751667246279noreply@blogger.com0