God Knows

1 Samuel 16:6-7 NRSV

“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

God has rejected Saul as king and as his anointed. He sent Samuel to anoint one from the house of Jesse. Go back and read that whole passage. Samuel learned a extremely valuable lesson- We don’t see as God sees, God looks at our heart. 

We must check our heart to make sure it is beating- “yes Lord, your will.” It doesn’t mean we won’t act crazy or go through things. It does mean that we know how to get to God - how to get to ground. He grounds us. He keeps us in spite.

And when we check our heart we are clear not to judge, because we don’t know- but God does. enough for now.

Determination

2 Samuel 21:10 NRSV

“Then Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it on a rock for herself, from the beginning of harvest until rain fell on them from the heavens; she did not allow the birds of the air to come on the bodies by day, or the wild animals.”

Go back and read this story. This a story of a mother’s determination, her fight, her voice. We understand that all actions have consequences. We see a formula in her story her love + her pain - her status = her voice. We all can be encouraged by her determination. Happy Mother’s Day!

Keep On

Hebrews 12:1-3 NRSV

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. 

Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart.” 

That is it right there. To see what the ‘therefore’ is there for, Go back and read chapter 11, the hall of faith😎. And even consider those who have gone before us showing us the way. Don’t give up, don’t give in, continue on, and watch what God is doing. enough for now.

Abide

John 15:4&5 NRSV

“Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.” 

This . . . This is how we live. This is how we make it from day to day. This is how we are nurtured, nourished, protected.  This is how we breathe. Let it all sink in. Feel his arms holding you, listen as Holy Spirit guides you. Rest that God has you, you are connected to him. Live with him, watch what God is doing. enough for now.

See and Invite

Luke 24:32

“They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?”

Go back and read Luke 24:13-32. This was the two disciples on the road home to Emmaus after the crucifixion. They were walking with Jesus and did not know it. It was not until they invited Jesus in that things changed. When Jesus broke bread, then they realized who he was, and then he was gone. We must open our eyes to see, and invite him in. When they invited him in that was the key to their recognition. Everyday should be our invitation to invite him in. And we receive more than we can imagine. enough for now.

Easter People

Matthew 28:5-7 NRSV

“But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.”

We are to come and see and go and tell it. Jesus is not dead. The only things in the tomb are dead things. Too many times we have searched in the tombs for life - we found death. The tombs hold our sin issues, this things that keep us bound. But only our resurrected Savior brings life as he has conquered all things dead.

When we understand what Jesus has done for us we can rejoice. We can tell our story that what helps another. Each one of us has a rejoicing. Each one of us has gone through something that we have now left in the tomb. And some may be moving through now. but God!

Because he loves us so much we don’t stay with the dead stuff, we shrug off our grave clothes to rejoice! Hallelujah! We are Easter People. People resurrected from our sin issues. All because of Jesus! Happy Resurrection Day! enough for now

Don’t be the One

“Then Satan entered into Judas called Is afoot, who was one of the twelve; he went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers of the temple police about how he might betray him to them” (Luke 22:3-4 NRSV)

Blessings on this Palm Sunday! As we celebrate this day let us consider how just a few short days later Judas betrayed Jesus. We know the story, but I want us to hold to look at ourselves. Let make sure we are not betraying Jesus. He says to love one another. Let’s not betray him.  Sometimes we do with our actions, our thought. Let’s be very careful. 

Judas could not have betrayed Jesus unless he was fertile ground for Satan to enter.  We don’t want to be fertile ground. The cool part is that we can ask for forgiveness, now. When confronted by Jesus Judas had a chance to repent, but he didn’t. We can. That’s what this week is about. Blessings on your day, your week! Enough for now