God’s Great Eraser!

Thus says the Lord GOD:
If the wicked man turns away from all the sins he committed,
if he keeps all my statutes and does what is right and just,
he shall surely live, he shall not die.
None of the crimes he committed shall be remembered against him;
he shall live because of the virtue he has practiced.
Do I indeed derive any pleasure from the death of the wicked?
says the Lord GOD.
Do I not rather rejoice when he turns from his evil way
that he may live?

Full Reading – Ezekiel 18:21-28

In the midst of Lent and being aware of our sinfulness, this scripture gives me so much hope!

For those of us who have chosen God, and keep choosing God every day – maybe not perfectly but doing the best we can – God gets that!

So many of us older people have been told for most of our lives about a God who has a big black book in which he keeps track of all the wrong we have done. We were not told about ‘God’s eraser’!!! “None of the crimes he/she committed shall be remembered against him/her; he shall live because of the virtue he/she has practiced.” God does indeed erase them when we turn to God and confess those sins and turn our lives around! If we have turned our lives around and confessed our sin to him, we do not need to carry that guilt around. We are invited to forgive ourselves….. as God has forgiven us.

God is the God of love, not revenge and anger: “Do I indeed derive any pleasure from the death of the wicked? Says the Lord God. Do I not rather rejoice when he turns from his evil way that he may live?” God wants only good for each and every one of us.

God is the God of love and he wants to love us. He gets out that big eraser of his every chance we give him! Lent is a wonderful time to turn to God and let him use that eraser.

For Journaling…

When I think about God using his ‘big eraser’ when I turn to him, I feel…..

“None of the crimes…shall be remembered….” offers me……

I hear God saying to me….

What is GOOD for us?

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Ask and it will be given to you;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Which one of you would hand his son a stone
when he asked for a loaf of bread,
or a snake when he asked for a fish?
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your heavenly Father give good things
to those who ask him.

“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.
This is the law and the prophets.”

Matthew 7:7-12

So many times we get hung up on getting what I want when sitting with the scripture. But we need to go way beyond that self-centered understanding.

For me the verse, “Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asked for a loaf of bread, or a snake when he asked for a fish?” sums it up. God knows better than me what is GOOD for each one of us. I need to trust that God will do only what is GOOD for me (he, as God, can’t do otherwise!).

In my asking, seeking and knocking, I need to let that trust be foremost. I have learned to ask to know God and then let him reveal himself to me. I have learned to seek his presence and then let him reveal himself. I have learned to knock on the door of prayer and God opens.

I can lay before him my concerns: There is so much hurt in the world, Lord, and I am especially concerned about ….. Please hold them in the palm of your hand – you know what is best for them.

“If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.”

We can trust that.

For Journaling…

When I think about trusting God to give me what is GOOD for me, I feel….

I would rather tell God how to answer my prayers because…

I hear God saying to me…

God’s Word

Thus says the LORD:
Just as from the heavens
the rain and snow come down
And do not return there
till they have watered the earth,
making it fertile and fruitful,
Giving seed to the one who sows
and bread to the one who eats,
So shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
It shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:10-11

God’s word is all around us: the Bible, in worship services, in nature, within our own hearts and so much more. Like the rain God’s word makes our lives fertile and fruitful, giving us what we need to lead lives of love as Jesus has taught us. God’s word plants the seeds of courage and faith and forgiveness within us.

Are you listening? Are you letting it soak like rain into your heart and mind and life?

If you don’t let it soak in, if you aren’t still and listening, then God’s word can’t achieve the end for which he sent it!

God gave each of us the gift of free will so we are free to ignore God’s word. What are you doing with your free will?

For Journaling…

I ignore God’s word when I….

God invites me to let his word soak into me by….

I hear God saying to me…

Invitations to see Christ

‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father.
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me,
ill and you cared for me,
in prison and you visited me.’
Then the righteous will answer him and say,
‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’
And the king will say to them in reply,
‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Full reading – Matthew 25:31-46

We can look at this scripture on two levels – really close to us and then farther away.

Let’s start farther away. The invitation here is to help those in need. Food for food pantries or soup kitchens or a family you know is struggling to put food on the table is part of the invitation. To clothe the naked – giving to Good Will or the SOS Store or any other clothing drive doesn’t take much effort. That’s relatively easy to ‘throw money at’. But then to welcome the stranger… the immigrants, those who move outside of our comfort zone, the one who irritates me the most – that hits a little closer to things I don’t want to do! Visiting the ill in the nursing home or hospital or those homebound or those who are caught in the prisons of addictions or mental illness or anger, that takes a whole lot more of ME than my money. The question here becomes how much do I take the easy way out without giving a whole lot of ME? And the deeper invitation is to see Christ in the person we are helping. By the way, we do because of the other, not because I want to feel good!

Now the really close to us invitations. If you put food on the table for your family, you are feeding the hungry. If you buy clothes and do laundry, you are clothing the naked. If you give your little ones a drink of water, you are giving drink to the thirsty. If any of your family is having a really rough day and they are angry and irritable and not their usual selves, you are welcoming the stranger. When you care for your family member who is sick, when you help them deal with their prisons – whatever they may be – you are doing it for Christ. The grace is to realize it’s Christ!

Lots of food for thought during this Lent!

For Journaling…

This scripture makes me feel….

The ‘loudest’ invitation I hear today is….

I hear God saying to me….

The Fasting God Wants…

Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits, and drive all your laborers.
Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting, striking with wicked claw.
Would that today you might fast so as to make your voice heard on high!
Is this the manner of fasting I wish, of keeping a day of penance:
That a man bow his head like a reed and lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Do you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD?

This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:
releasing those bound unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
breaking every yoke;
Sharing your bread with the hungry,
sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;
Clothing the naked when you see them,
and not turning your back on your own.
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
Your vindication shall go before you,
and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer,
you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!

Full reading – Isaiah 58:1-9

Let’s get right straight to the point here – is your fast or your Lenten penance all about you or about others?

If it’s all about you, then you will end up quarreling and striking at the other as described in the scripture today. If it’s all about you, then you will be doing things to bring attention to you and what you are doing. Is that what God wants from and for you?

What we choose to do during Lent needs to be about the other and what the other needs.

Those last two lines of today’s scripture are the key to a fruitful Lent: Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!

Lent is about realizing who we are in God’s eyes. If we are trying to do our Lenten penance on our own, then it’s still all about who we are in our own eyes. If you have truly chosen a ‘penance’ for Lent, something difficult but needed, then you can’t do it on your own! Lent is about our relationship with God, and we do that first of all by calling out to him!

How can God answer if we don’t cry for help? It’s only with God’s help that we can change.

For Journaling…

I can turn my Lenten practice to being about God and others by….

I am aware of God helping me when …..

I hear God saying to me….

Losing My Life?

Jesus said to his disciples:
“The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected
by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised.”

Then he said to all,
“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
yet lose or forfeit himself?”

Luke 9:22-25

Jesus seems to be talking in riddles today… how do I save my life by losing it? Hunh?

Maybe the operative word is MY life…. What I want. What I want usually has to do with ‘stuff’ (clothes, car, possessions) and not much to do with the good of my neighbor or anyone else.

Jesus’ invitation today is to let go of the stuff I really don’t need – and that includes some of my attitudes! They can be very selfish! I don’t like so-and-so because they make me uncomfortable. I won’t do a certain task because it is beneath me. I won’t go do ‘that’ because of the people who are there (other cultures, poor, needy).

The Jesus’ last comment has a whole new meaning: “What profit is there for one to gain the whole world (possessions, authority, comfort, etc.) yet lose or forfeit himself?”

God has created us to be his daughters and sons. When we do not live as he created to be, we have forfeited ourselves and all we could be. We also forfeit eternal life with our ‘daddy’.

For Journaling…

I need to ‘lose’ the part of me that….

I can let go of that by….

I hear God saying to me….

My WHOLE Heart

Even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart,
with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;
Rend your hearts, not your garments,
and return to the LORD, your God.
For gracious and merciful is he,
slow to anger, rich in kindness,
and relenting in punishment.
Perhaps he will again relent
and leave behind him a blessing,
Offerings and libations
for the LORD, your God.

Blow the trumpet in Zion!
proclaim a fast,
call an assembly;
Gather the people,
notify the congregation;
Assemble the elders,
gather the children
and the infants at the breast;
Let the bridegroom quit his room
and the bride her chamber.
Between the porch and the altar
let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep,
And say, “Spare, O LORD, your people,
and make not your heritage a reproach,
with the nations ruling over them!
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’”

Then the LORD was stirred to concern for his land
and took pity on his people.

Joel 2:12-18

Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;
Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God.

God asks for our WHOLE HEART. That is what Lent is about – changing our hearts, not just the outward appearances.

For Journaling….

The part of my heart that I am holding back from God and keeping for myself is….

I don’t want to let go of that because I……

I hear God saying to me….

God’s Invitation

So submit yourselves to God.
Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners,
and purify your hearts, you of two minds.

Full reading – James 4:1-10

What a wonderful scripture for the day before Lent begins!

Once again here is an invitation from God to come closer to him. Whatever you choose to do as a penance during Lent, it should be chosen within the framework of this scripture. Choosing to fast from sugar or chocolate or smoking or tv or whatever should be about your relationship with God and not about losing weight or getting healthy or having more time.

Lent is about deepening our relationship with God – cleaning your spiritual house, as it were. Lent is about making room for God, in your day, in your heart, in your life. For each of us, that process will be different. Each of us has something different that God is inviting us to let go of to make room for him.

Lent can be a joyful time! When we choose to follow God’s invitation to come closer, we are invited to let go of things in our life and that can be hard. BUT we need to remember that God is never outdone in generosity! Whatever we give to God, we receive such blessings and gifts in return. We can trust in God’s great love for us – and his joy in our gifts to him.

For Journaling…

This Lent God is inviting me to ……..

I am choosing to make room for God in my day/life by…..

I hear God saying to me….

Real Wisdom

Beloved:
Who among you is wise and understanding?
Let him show his works by a good life
in the humility that comes from wisdom.
But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts,
do not boast and be false to the truth.
Wisdom of this kind does not come down from above
but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.
For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist,
there is disorder and every foul practice.
But the wisdom from above is first of all pure,
then peaceable, gentle, compliant,
full of mercy and good fruits,
without inconstancy or insincerity.
And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace
for those who cultivate peace.

James 3:13-18

But the wisdom from above is first of all pure,
then peaceable, gentle, compliant,
full of mercy and good fruits,
without inconstancy or insincerity.

When you think about Jesus and his life, doesn’t this describe him? If our goal is to follow Christ and to be like him, then this needs to describe us also.

With Lent starting this week, it’s a good time to take inventory and see where God is inviting me to grow, to become more like him.

Am I peaceable – or do I stir up trouble? Am I angry and/or critical? Are things usually other people’s fault?

Am I gentle – or do I tend to bulldoze my way through life? Are others afraid of me and my reaction to them?

Am I compliant – or do I break the rules for no reason? Am I constantly looking for how far can I push this? (like the speed limit?)

Am I full of mercy – or do I hold grudges? Do I nitpick what others do, constantly finding fault?

Am I full of good fruits – or am I constantly ripping other people and other works apart and tearing them down? Along with this, if I am full of good fruits, do I remind others of the good I do or do I keep that between God and me?

Am I inconstant – some days I am peaceable or gentle or full of mercy and then the next day I am the opposite?

Am I insincere – do I do good because I want others to think well of me and not because I honestly love the other?

LOTS of room for growth in there!!!

For Journaling….

I hear the strongest invitation from God to grow by ……

I can do this by…..

I hear God saying to me…..

Whose Voice Are You Listening To?

R. I am the Lord, your God: hear my voice.

“There shall be no strange god among you
nor shall you worship any alien god.
I, the LORD, am your God
who led you forth from the land of Egypt.”

R. I am the Lord, your God: hear my voice.

“My people heard not my voice,
and Israel obeyed me not;
So I gave them up to the hardness of their hearts;
they walked according to their own counsels.”

R. I am the Lord, your God: hear my voice.

“If only my people would hear me,
and Israel walk in my ways,
Quickly would I humble their enemies;
against their foes I would turn my hand.”

R. I am the Lord, your God: hear my voice

Psalm 81:10-11, 12-13, 14-15

What voice are you listening to? What has your attention?

There are so many things and people clamoring for our attention – inviting us to follow – challenging us to do what they want.

A lot of those voices come from inside us – all those hungers clamoring to be heard! There is always the hunger for food which goes beyond what is healthy and needed for a good life. There is also the hunger for power and authority, for wealth, to be popular and well-liked, to be looked up to, to control, and on and on….

There is also the voice of anger and bitterness, of revenge, of hatred, of refusing to change as God invites each of us to do every day. There is the voice of selfishness and self-centeredness. The voice of laziness can be so loud!

And then there is God’s voice in your mind and heart – usually very quiet but oh so constant. Always the voice of love – sometimes tough love! Just like a spouse becomes attuned to their partner’s voice, even in a crowded room, so we are invited to become that attuned to God’s voice.

What voice are you listening to? All of those voices are there, but which one are you choosing to follow?

For Journaling…

The 3 voices I most pay attention to are….

I can become more attuned to God’s voice by….

I hear God saying to me….