Have you noticed that Jesus rarely answered questions. Most of the time he told stories. We call them parables. He was one of the best storytellers of all time. His stories always had a moral and always left us thinking about the meaning. Stories stick with people better than anything else. It is hard to forget about the Prodigal Son or the Good Samaritan. If we grew up Christian just the mention of these stories brings up images. Go to the New Testament. Pick out and read the stories.
Category: choose
Pain can heal
“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present.”
―
Our past has taught us so many lessons. God expects us to use them to move forward. The hurts we carry open us to more understanding. Use them to help others.
Prayer: Gracious God, help us to share the pains we have experienced so that others can feel our openness and our love. AMEN
Out of the box
Following the rules can be good but sometimes the rules can be stifling. We have to learn when the rules keep us in a safe place and when they need to be discarded. In our religion rules can be either. Discernment is needed to see when they are helping us to follow Christ’s way or when they are holding us back. Throwing out the rules in favor of heeding Christ’s word can be scary. Sometimes doing so can be disruptive and does not show respect for those around you. When, where and how must be chosen carefully. Much prayer and listening is needed but there are times when stepping out in faith is important.
We can end up in a box created by rules. The rules are supposed to allow us to move closer to God. Some of the rules seen in ritual can help us to “center down” and experience God. Bowing at a certain time, in some faiths taking your shoes off in a holy space, genuflecting, saying the proper responses can make you part of the experience.
However, some rules that are more related to following Christ’s actions may not be for you. These are not true of all Christian denominations but each denomination has their own set. Rules that keep us from reaching out in compassion to all others by condemning them do not seem to be Christ’s idea. He treated all people with love.
Some ideas block us in and make us feel unworthy: You are not knowledgeable enough. You are not educated enough. You are not holy enough. Most of all you must believe what those around you believe. You must see the same God that they do even though in truth none of us see the same God in our minds. These things keep us in the box.
These things can be meaningful if we do them because they move us in an emotional way closer to God. They can make us comfortable. But if we are doing them just to follow the rules then they put us in a box. In the box we must follow the rules in order to be accepted by God but the truth is that we are already accepted by God’s grace. There is nothing we can do to make us perfect enough to reach the level of God. No matter how hard we try.
I don’t remember anywhere in the Bible that Christ told anyone they could not heal or bless. He encouraged his disciples to baptize in the name of the father. He never said anything about forming a church or setting people apart from others. He encouraged us to go and make disciples of ALL. He said we could do all these things on our own. He never said you needed anyone’s permission except that you follow the 2 great commandments; love god, love one another. I will do my best to follow that.
Watch out for idols
Happiness resides not in possessions, and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul. Democritus
The Bible talks about making idols. Do we realize what those are? They are not statues made of gold but the things we love more than God. Idols can be money, possessions, power….anything that gets in the way of putting God first. Our happiness comes from loving God and knowing that we are loved.
Tested?
And in times and places where there was not much persecution, people could become and continue Christians who neither were nor professed to be very devoted persons.
Robert Rainy
How will be behave when we are the persecuted? Will we fade into the background or stand up and be counted? Many of us are living in easy times and have not been tested. What will you do?
It’s not fashionable
Today it is fashionable to talk about the poor. Unfortunately, it is not fashionable to talk with them. –Mother Teresa
This is so true! Most of us would prefer to avoid the homeless or those begging on our streets. We see them as “less than” us. It’s as if we are concerned about becoming contaminated by them. We have to begin to look through Jesus’ eyes and see them as children of God just like us. Then we will be willing to talk with them.
Love is the message
Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. Buddha
The light of a candle is not the only thing that can be shared. Love is never diminished by being shared. It just keeps getting bigger and bigger. This is what Christ is all about. Love , love , love….if only we could stop all the anger and violence and just concentrate on loving each other the world would change.
Gracious God, do you despair of our every getting the message? Please help us to forget all the complex issues and just understand the message. Love is the way. AMEN
Starving amid abundance
Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death! From Auntie Mame
This is so true. I wonder how often we stop to savor just being alive. Are we thankful for what we have instead of longing for what we don’t have.? Most of us in this county are so blessed compared to those living in third world countries. My husband and I lived in Panama for a while ( Many years ago) and it made me decide that everyone in this country should have to live in a place of horrible poverty and need for a least a year.
Take time to be aware of your blessings. Thank God always.
Loving God, forgive us for our lack of vision. We do not see the good around us as often as we should. Help us to see our blessings and give thanks. AMEN
Could you?
I decided it is better to scream. . . . Silence is the real crime against humanity.
-Nadezhda Mandelstam, author
Most of us are aware that when something evil is going on silence allows it to continue. God calls us to step up. One who did and forfeited his life was Dietrich Bonhoeffer. During Hitler’s reign he left a place of safety in Britain and the US to return to Germany and work against Hitler. He was executed only a short while before the end of the war.
How many of us would be willing to go to prison or give our life to stop evil? I hope I would. Would you?
Gracious God, give us the strength and courage to face and fight evil. AMEN
Simple things
Find joy in the simple things. That’s all love needs to thrive on. From the TV series Call the Midwife
Our society has brainwashed us to think that happiness comes from things. The things we can buy. The truth is that happiness comes from inside us. It is almost as if it is hidden away to make us uncover its secret. Most joy comes from things we can’t buy. Love, the smell of a flower, the stars on a beautiful night, the sound of the ocean. These are the things that fill our soul and turn us toward true joy.
Prayer: Help us to see the things that are real.
Hear God in Other Voices 