God’s Will

The mother of Jesus and his brothers arrived at the house.
Standing outside, they sent word to Jesus and called him.
A crowd seated around him told him,
“Your mother and your brothers and your sisters
are outside asking for you.”
But he said to them in reply,
“Who are my mother and my brothers?”
And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,
“Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of God
is my brother and sister and mother.”

Mark 3:31-35

“For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

Are you a sister or a brother of Jesus? The criteria is right here – whoever does the will of God.

The will of God is not some preordained path you need to figure out and then follow/do. A loving God would not do that to His children! Jesus told us over and over and over again – and showed us over and over and over again just what God’s will is: Love one another.

And that’s not the pie in the sky, fluffy, feel good love – it’s the nitty gritty giving of yourself when you’re tired, when you are up to your neck in your agenda, when you really don’t like someone.

Jesus lived a life of love. He was tired, he was overwhelmed by the number of people who needed healing, he was frightened of the consequences of his words and work, he was always surrounded by people, everyone wanted something from him. It was not a piece of cake for Jesus!

Living a life of love is not for the faint of heart! Being a brother or sister of Jesus requires a lot of courage and a giving heart – and LOTS of grace from the God who loves us!

The God who loves us is the one who enables us to say yes to loving others and the one who gives us what we need to do just that. Pure gift!

For Journaling….

Are you a brother or sister of Jesus? How?

I struggle most with doing the loving thing for someone when….

I hear God saying to me….

My Goliath

David spoke to Saul:
“The LORD, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear,
will also keep me safe from the clutches of this Philistine.”
Saul answered David, “Go! the LORD will be with you.”

Then, staff in hand, David selected five smooth stones from the wadi
and put them in the pocket of his shepherd’s bag.
With his sling also ready to hand, he approached the Philistine.

Full Reading – Story of David and Goliath
1 Samuel 17,32-33,37,40-51

Who or what is your Philistine/Goliath? What seems so overwhelming that you can’t/won’t deal with it?

David could fight Goliath because he asked and trusted in God’s help.

David’s weapons were simply five smooth stones – not something big and grand – and his trust in God’s help. How is God equipping you to face your overwhelming situation? Are you trusting God to help you? He won’t do it for you but will give you what you need.

“The Lord, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear, will also keep me safe form the clutches of………..”

For Journaling….

My Goliath is……

I’m finding it hard to trust God is helping me because…..

I hear God saying to me…..

What God Sees

But the LORD said to Samuel:
“Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature,
because I have rejected him.
Not as man sees does God see,
because he sees the appearance
but the LORD looks into the heart.”

Full Reading – 1 Samuel 16:1-13

If the Lord looks into the heart, what does He see in yours? What’s hidden in the corners or possibly swept under the rug? What hurts or bitterness have you refused to deal with – refused to let God shine His grace on and heal?

We become experts at hiding from others the parts of ourselves that we don’t like – we may even hide them from ourselves. But we can’t hide it from God….

The opposite is also true – we may have convinced ourselves that we are no good or worthless. But the Lord sees the good and loves us.

The Lord looks for different things than we look for…. I think we are much harsher judges of ourselves than the Lord is!

Take time today (and tomorrow and the next day and the next….) to just sit with the Lord, just BE with Him, and let Him tell you what He sees in you.

For Journaling….

The Lord sees in my heart…..

What is important to the Lord in my heart is….

I hear God saying to me….

Muting God?

Samuel said to Saul:
“Stop! Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night.”

Full reading – 1 Samuel 15:16-23

First of all, did you hear the Lord speaking to you last night? He does speak to us, you know. But we can choose to listen to something else – tv, email, music, etc. We can choose to dismiss what the Lord may be trying to tell us because we aren’t interested, or what we hear frightens us, or we don’t want to believe the Lord is that close to us, that we are worth Him speaking to us!

Second, we are afraid to tell others what the Lord said to me last night. We are afraid of their judgment, their comments, what they will think and say about us.

Yet, if we don’t listen to the Lord and share that with trusted others, how will the Lord’s word and love spread? I may be only one person – but I am one person!!! Mother Theresa was only one person but look what one person in her shoes did!

Are you putting a mute button on the Lord?

For Journaling…

I am muting the Lord by…..

The people I can talk about the Lord with are……

I hear God saying to me…..

Who Am I?

When Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days, it became known that he was at home. Many gathered together so that there was no longer room for them, not even around the door, and he preached the word to them.

They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd, they opened up the roof above him. After they had broken through, they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to him, “Child, your sins are forgiven.”

Now some of the scribes were sitting there asking themselves, “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming. Who but God alone can forgive sins?”

Jesus immediately knew in his mind what they were thinking to themselves, so he said, “Why are you thinking such things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, pick up your mat and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth” -he said to the paralytic, “I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home.”

He rose, picked up his mat at once, and went away in the sight of everyone. They were all astounded
and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”

Mark 2:1-12

Who do you identify with in this Scripture today?

Are you the one on the mat, paralyzed by experiences in your life? – fear, anger, hurt, betrayal, doubt, illness, etc.? Who is bringing you to God for healing?

Are you the friend who is doing everything possible to bring your friend to God? Are you the friend who is willing to step way out of your comfort zone for the sake of another?

Are you Jesus, in the midst of your work, your life, when someone interrupts, asking you to help them?

Are you those standing around watching, judging, condemning?

Are you those standing around watching – amazed at what you see and glorifying God?

For Journaling….

In this scripture, I am ……

I want to be….

I hear God saying to me…..

Who Am I?

When Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days, it became known that he was at home. Many gathered together so that there was no longer room for them, not even around the door, and he preached the word to them.

They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd, they opened up the roof above him. After they had broken through, they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to him, “Child, your sins are forgiven.”

Now some of the scribes were sitting there asking themselves, “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming. Who but God alone can forgive sins?”

Jesus immediately knew in his mind what they were thinking to themselves, so he said, “Why are you thinking such things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, pick up your mat and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth” -he said to the paralytic, “I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home.”

He rose, picked up his mat at once, and went away in the sight of everyone. They were all astounded
and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”

Mark 2:1-12

Who do you identify with in this Scripture today?

Are you the one on the mat, paralyzed by experiences in your life? – fear, anger, hurt, betrayal, doubt, illness, etc.? Who is bringing you to God for healing?

Are you the friend who is doing everything possible to bring your friend to God? Are you the friend who is willing to step way out of your comfort zone for the sake of another?

Are you Jesus, in the midst of your work, your life, when someone interrupts, asking you to help them?

Are you those standing around watching, judging, condemning?

Are you those standing around watching – amazed at what you see and glorifying God?

For Journaling….

In this scripture, I am ……

I want to be….

I hear God saying to me…..

If You Wish, You Can Make Me Clean….

Personal note: I apologize for not being able to get ‘thoughts’ written and out to you during the past couple of weeks. My mom took a turn for the worse so I have been sitting with her at her nursing home since Dec. 22 (no wireless capabilities there). During that time I was staying with the Sisters of St. Francis (no wireless capabilities there either!). Mom passed away on January 7 and her funeral was January 10. Please pray for the repose of the soul of Josephine Brown and for her family as we adjust to life without her.
Cary

A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said,
“If you wish, you can make me clean.”
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched the leper, and said to him,
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once.
Then he said to him, “See that you tell no one anything,
but go, show yourself to the priest
and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them.”
The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter.
He spread the report abroad
so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.
He remained outside in deserted places,
and people kept coming to him from everywhere.

Mark 1:40-45

We may not have a physical leprosy but our hearts have some form of leprosy – those hurts and wounds that we carry and won’t let go of while they eat away at our spirits….

When we get tired of that pain, we are invited to approach God and beg, as the man in today’s scripture: “if you wish, you can make me clean!” And God’s reply is always the same: “moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched the leper, and said to him (us), ‘I do will it. Be made clean.’”

And then God gives us the courage and the freedom to let go of those things we carry like huge burdens on our backs and to be able to dance with joy in the awesomeness of God’s love for us!

For Journaling…

The leprosy that eats at my spirit is my refusal to forgive ……

What keeps me from asking God to help me let go of that hurt?

I hear God saying to me…..

Your Kingdom Come

Beloved:
What was from the beginning,
what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes,
what we looked upon
and touched with our hands
concerns the Word of life -
for the life was made visible;
we have seen it and testify to it
and proclaim to you the eternal life
that was with the Father and was made visible to us -
what we have seen and heard
we proclaim now to you,
so that you too may have fellowship with us;
for our fellowship is with the Father
and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
We are writing this so that our joy may be complete.

1 John 1:1-4

Only God has been with us from the beginning.

We have heard of Him and heard from Him in Scripture, in worship, in our own hearts.

We have seen with our eyes, especially the eyes of faith, His presence and His working in our lives.

We have looked upon and touched with our hands God within the people in our lives – the God of life!

The challenge today is to proclaim God’s presence to each other – so that all of us together share in the fellowship of God’s love.

The Kingdom of God is about God’s presence – not only in its fullness in heaven but in those tastes of heaven we get here and now in our lives. When we share with one another God’s presence in our lives – share our “God stories” – we make the Kingdom of God more real and stronger!

Our Father…… Your Kingdom come! — it’s up to you and me to do that!

For Journaling…

I am aware of God’s presence in…..

I share God’s presence with…… by…….

I hear God saying to me….

Here I Am, Lord….

Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me safety.
You are my rock and my fortress;
for your name’s sake you will lead and guide me.
Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.
I will rejoice and be glad because of your mercy.
Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
Rescue me from the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors.
Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your kindness.
Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

Psalm 31:3-4,6 and 8,16 and 17

God is the only one we can really and truly rely on. All human beings are just that – human! No one is perfect and no matter how much another may love us, they will hurt us. We are not perfect and no matter how much we may love another, we will hurt them.

No human being knows for sure what is good for us – only God can claim that. Only God loves us with a perfect love.

God often works through human beings to show us His tremendous love for us. As I continue to sit with mom, I am at times overwhelmed by the kindness and concern and support shown to our family at this time of letting go for all of us.

In sitting with mom, all of us are aware of things said or done in anger, hurt, ignorance, or carelessness. Thank you, God, for the time to say ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘I forgive you.’ Only God can provide all the graces surrounding us right now! God indeed knows what is good and loving for us, even if pain is also involved in the experience.

In the midst of the pain of the tears and the joy and the laughter at the memories, the waiting, the prayer, God wraps all of us in his loving arms. Into your hands, O Lord……

For Journaling…

I see God’s love for me when…

I want to put myself in God’s hands in the midst of ….

I hear God saying to me….

Believing the Promises

Mary set out in those days
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”

Luke 1:39-45

“Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

The Lord has spoken to each one of us so many promises: I will be with you always. I will give you all you need. Ask and you will receive. I love you. And on and on and on!

Do you really believe those promises – what the Lord has spoken to YOU?

Do you act/live like you believe those promises?

I am so writing these words to myself today in the midst of just receiving word that mom is actively dying and my car in the shop being repaired to the tune of $300 so I have no car to go to mom.

The Lord has spoken those promises to me and while, like Mary, I really don’t understand, I do trust that the Lord has also spoken those promises to mom so His presence is definitely in the midst of all that is happening.

It’s not for you and me to know and understand what the Lord is doing – it’s for us to trust Him – just like Mary did.

For Journaling…

God is asking me to believe and to trust in the midst of….

When I think about it not being for me to know and understand what the Lord is doing, I feel….

I hear God saying to me….