Category: actions

God calling

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All your life you’ve been getting ready for now. The light is probably dawning on you – what God is calling you to be and do – and you could easily feel overwhelmed. But God is the source of the light, and God is behind the dawning. There will be provision. Go ahead.

-Br. Curtis Almquist
Society of Saint John the Evangelist

God is calling

sometimes we know deep down in our heart that God is calling us. He may be calling us to something that we really don’t want to do. It does remind me of Moses who certainly had no idea about freeing the people of Israel. Sometimes what he’s calling us to do seems something that we are incapable of. But there is nothing that we cannot do with God. Listen for that voice. Hear God calling. And answer.

Sing a new song

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Colossians 3:16

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

SING TO THE LORD

Today I’m reminded of how important it is to be grateful for everything that you have. God has given us so much. Many of us have so many things that we don’t appreciate. Many of us need to remind ourselves that we have a roof over our heads, food to eat, family and friends and lots of other things. Do we remember each day to thank God for those gifts? I don’t think we do. Somehow we spend time praying for other things. The things we pray for may not be bad. We may be praying for others which is important. But let us not forget each day to thank God for the gifts that he has given us.

The passage from Colossians reminds us to sing hymns songs from the spirit and sing our gratitude to God. St. Francis says that those who sing pray twice. So if you can sing songs of gratitude to God

God is waiting

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Psalm 94:19 New International Version (NIV)

19 When anxiety was great within me,
    your consolation brought me joy.

waiting

Sometimes we are overwhelmed with problems. Worry takes over our thoughts and easily escalates into anxiety and possibly panic. When our emotions take over it is hard to take a breath and remember our real strength doesn’t come from us.

It is God who is there for us just waiting. All we have to do is call out and we will receive the consolation we need. Turn toward God. He is there.

Erosion

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“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Matthew 5:11-12 NRSV

Persecution-Hands-900x600

For those of us who are Christian we will be seeing a great deal of this in the years to come. Time was when being Christian and going to church was necessary for social acceptance and a way to get ahead in the world. Needless to say…this has changed.

Things will not change all at once. Erosion will happen little by little in the hope that it won’t be noticed or argued against. If we don’t protest the small things eventually there will be nothing left.

Our culture has changed drastically and we a heading into a time when being Christian will be a detriment.How many of us are willing to be persecuted for the sake of our religion? It will certainly separate the wheat from the chaff. Already Christianity is being removed from areas of life where it has been present since the founding of this country. I think it will continue.

We must be ready to stand up for our beliefs in the face of opposition. Be ready!

Hope

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Psalm 33:22
Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.
Images-HopeFlowerInDryLakebed
Hope. A word to cling to. I suspect that one of the worst things that can happen to us is to have no hope. But having hope also depends on what we hope for. Writings from those in the concentration camps of the Hitler era show that even in conditions of horror hope was still present.
Hope can be a matter of perspective. Am I hoping that I can be an opera singer (not likely) or that my day will be a good one? It is possible that neither will come true but one is less likely.
If my hope rests with the Lord then I will never lose it. The psalm says his love is steadfast and I believe it with all my heart. I will hope in God no matter what.

Spend time with God

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the-more-you-know-god-21 Corinthians 2:14 The Message 

14 The unspiritual self, just as it is by nature, can’t receive the gifts of God’s Spirit. There’s no capacity for them. They seem like so much silliness. Spirit can be known only by spirit—God’s Spirit and our spirits in open communion.

Do we really take the time to get to know God? We get to know people by spending time with them. We can’t know those that we stay away from. There are so many ways to spend time with God. We can meet in prayer, in silence, in church, and any other place that we choose. God is waiting for us. God is always ready. It is up to us.

Prayer: God, our companion on the way, help us to seek you in everything that we do. You are always there. We are the ones who back away. Remind us to spend time with you.

Judgement is the Lord’s

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For we know the one who said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Hebrews 10:30-31 NRSV

revenge-bible-verses.800w.tn

We all know people that we would love to have suffer for the wrongs that they have done. We would love to see evil befall them. However, God tells us that no matter how much we want to see them suffer it is not our place to take vengeance.

So many evils in this world come abut because of someone’s selfish, uncaring ways. People are hurt or seriously damaged and we can’t understand how they can get away with continuing to live that way and nothing happens. It seems that the good suffer and the evil thrive. How can God let this happen. That is one of the most difficult questions but part of the hope we see is here in these verses. It is definitely fearful to fall into the hands of the living God and have to answer for how we lived. Trust the Lord.

Prayer: Loving God, help us to trust you to render judgement. Remind us that is not our place but yours. We are called to forgive instead of seeking vengeance. Help us to follow in the ways of our Lord, Jesus Christ. AMEN

 

Spending time

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Psalm 84:10

For a day in your courts is better
    than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
    than live in the tents of wickedness.

spending time together

I have discovered an interesting thing. The more time that I spend with God….praying..listening…the better I feel. Maybe that’s what the psalmist is talking about. Someone I knew said the person we know best is the one we spend the most time with. Maybe we need to spend more time with God and less time with psychics and horoscopes. Living with God is a much better deal.

Prayer: Lord of Wisdom, turn us from false prophets who lead us along wrong paths. Show us the way to you through your Son Jesus Christ out Lord. AMEN

Do we really see them?

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Psalm 41:1

Happy are those who consider the poor;[a]
    the Lord delivers them in the day of trouble.

We don’t want to see the poor and needy. It disturbs us. Probably because we feel guilty about not doing something. We see homeless people on the streets and they are dirty, wear layers of clothing (have everything they own on their backs) and often smell bad. They are not pleasant to be around. They often beg for money and we generally assume that they will use the money for liquor or drugs. Hoe much we assume! I wonder if we would fee the same way if we knew their story.

see the poor

Christ calls us to give out of our abundance. Maybe we think we don’t have much to give but by comparison we are very rich. The psalmist tells us that we will be happy if we help…that help will come to us in our time of need if we do. It reminds me of the saying “what goes around, comes around!” If we do nothing that could be a scary thought.

Prayer. God of the homeless and needy . Help us to not pass by when we encounter the poor. Le us see the incredible plenty that we have and inspire us to share. Remind us that we, also could be one of those in need but for your grace. AMEN

Rest

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Psalm 23:2
He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters;
come-and-take-the-rest001
I have always found this verse from the so loved psalm intriguing. Why does it say “he makes me?” There is an easy answer to that. We are so busy…so prone to never stropping that we don’t slow down. God wants us to stop. He wants to us to just rest in the beauty of nature and listen for his voice. He wants us to hear the babble of the brook and dip our hands into the still waters.
Take the time to take your rest.