Walking in the light: Embracing Authenticity

Posted on October 9, 2024 by Hilda Vaughan

God is pure light undimmed by darkness of any kind. If we say we have an intimate connection with the Father, but we continue stumbling around in darkness then we are lying, because we do not live according to the truth. 1 John 1:5-6

Walking in the light requires authenticity. For something to be authentic it is the real deal. There is nothing false about it. It is not fake.  An authentic person lives what is real. We are called to be authentic Christians

I read this illustration some time ago about being authentic.  The writer said that some of us are just like a counterfeit ten-dollar bill. You think it is genuine but it is not. You use the bill to pay for gas. The gas station manager buys supplies with it. It eventually reaches the bank and the teller says, “this bill is counterfeit.” That ten-dollar bill did a lot of good while it was in circulation, but when it arrived at the bank, it was exposed for what it really was and pulled out of circulation. Same with a counterfeit Christian. They may do many good things in this life, but when they face the final judgment, they will be rejected. Many times the test comes before. The times we are asked to make a big sacrifice for the good of others or the times when we are called to re-evaluate our thinking., our biases and prejudices.   Thinking about the times of judgment causes us to question ourselves. We ask “Am I a true child of God, or am I a fake Christian? Are we walking in the light of the Word of Life, in authenticity and truth?

 Authenticity is living with integrity. It is keeping your word and promises. We should not make promises we cannot keep.  Being authentic is also about being true to who you are. John  says God is pure light, there are no shadows or hidden places. All is visible. 

To be authentic, one must have an appreciation of what is true. The truth is defined in this letter as the Word of Life.  The same Word that became flesh and dwelt among us in the Gospel of John.  The implication is, to be alive one must know and have the truth. Each of us must ask himself. or herself “Am I a true child of God, or am I a fake Christian? Are we walking in the light of word of life , in authenticity and truth

Truth and light are both liberating elements of life. In light one is better able to see.  When we don’t understand we say shed some light on this. or enlighten me. It makes the path and understanding clear. The truth sets you free. There is no more ambiguity or doubt. There is an assurance and confidence that you are doing right. Remember Thomas telling the other disciples I must see  Jesus for myself? I believe it is what Thomas was seeking to do, to remove from his own mind any doubt that Jesus was indeed alive.  It was important to him. He did not want to be professing some falsehood, because his friends thought this would provide stability or some other reason. I do believe that Thomas was the kind of person who never accepted second hand information readily. He needed to know for himself.  Maybe we should take a leaf out of Thomas’ book to be always questioning seeking a deeper understanding of God and Jesus. 

Let us pray for God to help us

  1. To be true to God and ourselves.
  2. To follow God’s guiding light as God’s light shine into the darkness on our path.
  3. To be open to living a truly authentic life in the Jesus Way and
  4. Even while questioning, drawing closer to God
  5. May the mind of Christ our Saviour be with us and in us from day to day Amen
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Embracing Life’s Rhythms: A spiritual Perspective

Posted on September 27, 2024 by Hilda Vaughan

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;  He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. Ecclesiastes 3 1-2, 4-5,  11

There are various patterns that are repeated in life. The teacher in Ecclesiastes calls them seasons. I prefer to think about them as rhythms like dances making life the dance.

Life has several contrasts, be it in nature or one’s  emotions. There is the ups and downs we experience like a boat being swayed by waves of the sea  

There is a time for everything.  It suggests that we shouldn’t expect life to be always the same.  It isn’t constant. We should be prepared for a change in rhythm. The master DJ has so designed life that it is not monotonous but engaging.

Everyone experiences these rhythms but what is critical is how you respond. Do you sway with the music being played or do you resist.  Some of us have no rhythm. Our friends laugh at us because we can’t dance. Life is not the kind of dance you can sit out until your favorite rhythm is played. One always has to embrace the music of the dance.  Many times we try to decide the outcome of a situation, or we anticipate that things will happen a certain way but it does not.  We are not in control God is. These various rhythms and dances that we perform helps us to have a healthy appreciation of what life offers.  We are able to always be optimistic, to live with hope and in hope, because everything is suitable in its time.

James talking to the Christians who ran from Jerusalem after the stoning of Peter said they should make allowance for their laughter to become mourning and their joy gloom. We must trust God and do our best dance. It does not make sense worrying over things we cannot control.

 Life happens and we have control over very little.  Things change according to the rhythm. Life isn’t always rosy and pretty, but the teacher says God makes everything suitable for its time.  Other versions say God makes everything beautiful in God’s time.  when all is said and done we would have performed our best dance and at the end of it all look back and say all things considered Life is beautiful. If we turn verse 14 -15 of the same chapter the teacher says he knows that what God does is forever nothing can be added to it nor anything taken from it; What happens now also happened in the past. What happens in the future has also happened before. Things happen over and over again. God has done this so that we should just focus on worshiping him and not worry about the other things.  Let us trust in the lord and lean not on our own understanding. But in all our ways acknowledge him and he will direct your path.  

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Calling out to God: Finding Strength in Times of Distress

Posted on September 26, 2024 by Hilda Vaughan

I believed, even when I said, “I have been brought very low.” In my distress I said, “No one can be trusted.” … I will lift up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. Psalm 116:9-12

“I believed, even when I was I was thinking no one can be trusted.” 

Yesterday, I saw a video of a fire in the churchyard of the Black River Parish Church, that existed way back before the Sam Sharpe rebellion – 1831. I could not help but take a deep breath for fear of what could happen to that historic building. The fire station is right beside it, but so many things could have gone wrong. I wondered so what if it caught fire?

In questioning this I thought of the three Hebrew boys in Babylon who were put in the fiery furnace.  They told the King even if God did not save them they would not go against God’s teachings.

How have you been calling on God? Are you remembering that that is ultimately in charge? The psalmist is in a low place. He does not feel he can trust anyone. He remembers that God is always present. The psalm starts with acknowledging who God. He says “I love the Lord, because he has heard the voice of my supplication, because he has inclined his ear to me whenever I called upon him.” He then tells the story. Not only does he call on God, he promises to drink of the cup of salvation and fulfill his vows so the world could see the honour and glory of serving Christ. 

Drinking the Cup of Salvation has always sounded like the bitter gall Jesus drank. Jesus asked the sons of Zebedee if they can drink from his cup. The Jews have a drink offering, which Paul refers to in Philippians 2:17 where he says “But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you”. It is the same thing the Psalmist is here saying.   No matter what happens I will praise the lord for what he has done for me.  The song says “he has set my spirit free”.  When we call upon God, God does save us.  God frees us from our burdens if we open ourselves to God’s bidding. As we call upon God we remember that God is in charge.  God is God and God behaves like God. God is there for us when we cry out of the depths of our sorrow, God provides the calm.  We call out and we lean on God. This leaning is I believe drinking of the Cup of Salvation. Most times we think of the chalice at Eucharist as the Cup of Salvation. The psalmist did not participate in the Eucharist so he was not referring to the Communion chalice. Here the understanding is different and symbolic. For me, the first taste is like bitter gall, and as we continue to drink we get the sweet taste comes through as our burdens and cares are being lifted. In Jamaica we say we feel light.

Let us then commend ourselves into the hands of God as we call on God even in desperate times. May we feel God’s presence as God strengthens us. We pray that God will give us a diligent and watchful and discerning spirit, to know God’s will, and to do it, to the honour and glory of God; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

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Who is Greatest

Posted on September 23, 2024 by Hilda Vaughan

These verses reflect the disciples measuring up against each other, considering which one of them is greater than all the others combined.  I wonder what criteria they were using.

Jesus asked “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest… He said. “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” Mark 9:33-35

  1. Our faith is our practiced way of life.
  2. All things come from God. All are God’s.
  3. Nothing is greater than another, everything functions as God designed it. Three thoughts that we must always bear in mind if we are walking in the footsteps of Jesus.

I always say that we shouldn’t compare ourselves with others, because they are areas in which we are the experts r no one around us has that same skill level, and so there will be few persons who know as much as we do.  Then there are other areas, where we have to follow the advice of others as they in that area or instance   are more skilled than us. 

Secondly I encourage persons to be their best selves that is, the person God has called us to be.  Mark here causes me to question if being our best self and greatness is the same thing.   If that is so, it seems I could be understood as suggesting you should want to be great, that you should strive for greatness.   I do not believe greatness as the disciples used it is necessarily how we understand greatness today. Nothing is wrong with being great but it should not be at the expense of others

Jesus defines achieving greatness as being not 1st or at the top of your game, like Usain Bolt or the American gymnast Simone Byles. It is more like the ability to do well while being at the bottom of the pile. Being unnoticed, a nobody, yet your skills are top notch and you execute whatever you are doing well. 

a person helping another

Jesus says we need more than being great to live a full and satisfactory life.  In some ways it is egotistic as it says I am better than the rest of you. This I believe is how we usually understand greatness.

Jesus says greatness is being of value to others. It is being at the bottom of the pile and unnoticed, yet doing your best is being great. He calls it Servanthood. In that space you are working for God and others.  You have yielded to humility.  It’s opening yourself to the possibilities that lies before you, looking from God’s point of view rather than looking on situations through past experiences, your biases and seeing yourself through the eyes of others.

So many of us find ourselves in this position and become frustrated and depressed, and/or unhappy as no one notices us. We do not feel appreciated. We believe we are not enough. We have not accomplished enough. Wanting to be great I then understand to be wanting to matter to others, for others to recognize our value and worth. 

Walking in the Jesus way, changes the questions we ask ourselves.  We no longer choose to ask: Am I successful enough? Have I reached my full potential, or have I failed to work hard enough, smart enough to get there? We ask instead – is my work glorifying God and neighbour.  Can others see Christ reflected in me? When we are at this level of spiritual maturity, we would be enough for God, for ourselves and for others. We are then exhibiting greatness. 

Remembering that the greatness we aspire to, is not as others perceive it, Let us allow the strength of God to pilots us. The power of God to preserves us. the wisdom of God to instructs us. the hand of God to protects us. the way of God to directs us. the shield of God to defend us. May the host of God guard us against the snares of evil and the temptations of the world. Where God is all is well all will be well all manner of things will be well.

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God’s Grace is Indeed Sufficient

Posted on September 17, 2024 by Hilda Vaughan

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. 2Corinthians 12:9

This morning I woke up to thinking God’s grace is sufficient. I awoke last night and could not go back to bed. Fiddling with my phone I saw a WhatsApp message from a niece “Aunty you awake?”. It seems I was waiting for this call.  We had a lo-ong talk.  As we exchanged thoughts and I helped her to see God in what was happening, the words did not come but thinking back if I were to summarize our conversation it would be God’s grace is sufficient Everything since waking aligns to God’s grace being sufficient.  Grace we very often say is God’s undeserved favour.  I consider grace much more than that. It is the inner strength that constantly and continuously allows us to do and to be more than we first thought possible. It is the power of God to make a change in our lives and in the lives of others.  God gives us grace to respond to God in humility and lovingkindness. We in turn should have grace enough to respond to others in humility and lovingkindness. In Romans 1:5 Paul says we got grace to call others into obedience.

God’s grace is sufficient to get us through the dark times, when we cannot see where to put our foot, or when we have to decide which stone will provide better support as we climb a hill.  God’s grace is also sustaining as we do well, as we see clearly the path that God has laid out for us. 

Grace is a gift from God that allows us to care for others.  We care whether or not the person deserves it.  Grace is placing others on the same footing as yourself.   We care because God cared for us and we understand that as God’s image bearer we too must care as unreservedly as we are able.  I qualify this, because there are times when we genuinely want to help but are not able. If we are persons who examine our behaviour we maybe feel badly. But we should not feel bad in those situations, but be gracious to ourselves and forgive ourselves for not doing better.

There are so many bible passages about God’s grace and how it extends far and wide.  There is a movement called Gracism which focuses on the inclusion of others. It provides strength and guidance in America where racism is rife.  We here in Jamaica may not suffer because of our colour, but there are so many other ways that people exclude us, or in which we feel excluded. God’s grace is enough to carry us through, when we feel deserted, excluded and alone.  The psalmist says God is ever present.  May we be mindful of this. Understanding that Christ is with us, Christ is before us, Christ is in us, Christ is over us. Christ is all around  and where God is all is well. All will be well. All manner of things will be well.

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Second Chances: Nurture and Redemption

Posted on September 16, 2024 by Hilda Vaughan

After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Come, let us return to every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. But Paul decided not to take one who had deserted them and had not accompanied them in the work. The disagreement became so sharp that they parted company; Barnabas took Mark with him and Paul chose Silas. Acts 15:36-40

I smiled as I read Acts 15: 36-16:5 the second reading of today’s Daily Office.  Sharp seems like an understatement. If these 2 who had worked so well before, were now willing to part company because of who is on the team, the argument sounded more like a verbal fight, leaving each person with bruised36-40 egos.   

Paul was a great leader. We do not doubt that Paul was inspired by God.  Could it be that Paul held a grudge? It seems to me he was not willing to risk Mark doing the same thing on this second trip and so he refused to take him.  Paul was not willing to nurture the young Mark in patience and stick-to-itiveness. He wanted a more mature ready-to-go worker. Sometimes we have to ‘make’ persons into who we want them to be as fellow workers. We have to nurture and encourage them.

Yet Paul, years later, calls him a “fellow worker” (Philemon 1:24). Not only that when Paul was in his last days in  prison in Rome  he sends for Mark.  “Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11).  John Mark had matured to become a faithful servant of the Lord and Paul was willing to acknowledge that he was valuable to the ministry. 

How often do we behave like Paul? Not willing to give a second chance? We rationalize our decision.  Paul I believe had decided that Mark did not have the makeup necessary for planting new congregations. Missionary work requires dedication, resolve, patience  and stick-to-itiveness. Like Mark many of us do not have enough of the 4 characteristics. Like Paul we want success in what we do, we are not willing to take a chance with persons in whom we have lost confidence. 

Maybe our attitude should be like Barnabas. We should choose to encourage the person who lacks confidence, or patience or some other skill which they need to be their best self.  He chose to give Mark a second chance, to build him up. Mark’s contribution was so great it could not go unnoticed by Paul. 

Sometimes the person who needs building is ourselves.  Each of us should consider what we need to do to be our best selves, what we need to do God’s work and work on achieving this better person.  It isn’t something that is easy to do by ourselves.  We need an accountability partner.  Barnabas was Mark’s accountability partner and Mark turned out just fine.  He wrote the first gospel. Using Paul’s own words, he was “helpful to him in ministry”.  Each of us is called to the mission field. It is a mission field where, who we portray in what we think do and say is the most important factors in bringing persons to Christ.  As the saying attributed to Francis of Assisi says “proclaim the gospel and if necessary use words.   

Let us seek to be more like Barnabas in situations where we are disappointed but choose to be nurturing.  Let us also be like Paul acknowledging and commending the achievement of others.  May God give us grace to choose which to do at the appropriate time, as the strength of God pilots us. The power of God preserves us. the wisdom of God instructs us. The hand of God protects us. the way of God directs us. The shield of God defend us. May the host of God guard us against the snares of evil and the temptations of the world.  Where God is all is well all will be well all manner of things will be well.

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Embracing life’s beauty: Living with Purpose

Posted on September 11, 2024 by Hilda Vaughan

Beautiful thoughts fill my mind as I speak these lines for the king. These words come from my tongue as from the pen of a skilled writer. Psalm 45:1-2

I don’t know that my reflection is a commentary on the the psalm quoted. What I do know is that more and more I recognize the importance of enjoying the beauty that life offers, be it it a place, a point in time or an occasion. How often do we stop from our busyness and reflect on the goodness of God? How often do we focus on the things, the times and people that has filled our life with beauty?
We hear many stories of persons saving for retirement. They work hard but when retirement comes the joy that they expect just does not come. What comes is the frustrations of ill health, which makes them miserable as they are disappointed in not being able to live out their dreams. Bronnie Ware a nurse who cared for persons sent home to die gives the following as the main regrets of these persons.

  1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
  2. I wish I had not worked so hard.
  3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
  4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
  5. I wish I had let myself be happier.
    They realized the secret to true happiness late.
  6. These verses of Psalm 45 remind us to show appreciation for the good things. Beautiful thoughts can’t come if you have closed your mind. One version says My heart overflows with a pleasing theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe. The writer of Hebrews says this psalm is an ode to Jesus. And isn’t Jesus the person who came to show us the way to live a balanced life, taking everything in stride, looking at the beauty that surrounds us even in the midst of busyness and to be thankful for the opportunity of experiencing the beauty.
    Jesus never missed an opportunity to celebrate God and to be thankful along with his friends. He was at all the dinner parties, carousing with the most unlikely persons as far as his society was concerned. But he definitely lived a full life, telling all he met about God and demonstrating the goodness of God. This is to be us too. Steve Jobs has 2 quotes which I love. He says Remembering that you are going to die is the best way to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. He also said that every morning he looked in the mirror and asked himself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ If you were to ask yourself that same question, what would be your answer. Would your answer be a resolve to do differently to live differently, paying attention to the things that really matter –loving God, family friends and the stranger and finding Joy in doing so. Friends we need to time to see the beauty around us and to enjoy it.
    We do so as the strength of God pilots us. The power of God preserves us. the wisdom of God instructs us. the hand of God protects us. the way of God directs us. the shield of God defend us. May the host of God guard us against the snares of evil and the temptations of the world.
    Where God is all is well all will be well all manner of things will be well.

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Be True to Your Rule of Life

Posted on September 6, 2024 by Hilda Vaughan

If any think they are religious and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world. James 1:26-27

Being true to the Rule of life. 

The word Religion simply put is a rule of Life – Principles we live by.  Defined by the Dictionary it is “a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices agreed upon by a number of persons.” James says for Christians irrespective of what else we do and say, caring for the less fortunate and ensuring that the world does not influence our behaviour is important.  We must be in the world and not of the world.  We live in the world in such a way that we do not get caught up in the ills surrounding us.  Rudyard Kipling puts it nicely in the poem If  

If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you,… If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch, If you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds’ worth of distance run, yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!”

If you can be true to your Christian rule of life you are a disciple of Christ.

Remembering that James speaks to a scattered group of Christians suffering from persecution, what they say is important. They cannot say anything that will cause harm to others. They should not lie to protect themselves or family.  These early Christians are finding it difficult to practice what they believe as they are treated with skepticism in the culture they now find themselves.  They were afraid as Paul and others put them in jail for practicing their belief. As humans we do what is easiest, what is most convenient. They did whatever was necessary to survive. James says they must stay true to their beliefs and not do what is expedient. This is so with us too.

We want to belong, to fit in with the rest of society, we don’t like standing out so we join in with what others are doing, without realizing that we are hurting ourselves and our belief system. Very soon our lines become blurred and we lose our sense of identity. 

In the Jewish society of James there was no provision for the widow or orphan. There was no safety net, no social security programmes, no food stamps, no ‘Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education’ (PATH). These persons were at the mercy of  unless someone cared for them.  James says as Christians walking with Jesus and in his footsteps, we are compassionate, we look out for the less fortunate by providing for them. It is not just humans, we also seek to protect sustain and renew all of creation. We challenge violence of every kind and pursue peace and reconciliation where and when we are able.  

We seek to live your authentic lives no matter what is happening, no matter who is with us or where you are. Our principles remain the same and we strive to show care and compassion at all times. We do so as the strength of God pilots us. The power of God preserves us. the wisdom of God instructs us. the hand of God protects us. the way of God directs us. the shield of God defend us. May the host of God guard us against the snares of evil and the temptations of the world. Where God is all is well. All will be well. All manner of things will be well.

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Do Not Deceive Yourself

Posted on September 5, 2024 by Hilda Vaughan

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. James 1:22-25


The Easy To Read version puts it this way “Do what God’s teaching says; don’t just listen and do nothing. When you only sit and listen, you are fooling yourselves. Hearing God’s teaching and doing nothing is like looking at your face in the mirror, and doing nothing about what you saw. You go away and immediately forget how bad you looked. But when you look into God’s perfect law that sets people free, pay attention to it. If you do what it says, you will have God’s blessing. Never just listen to his teaching and forget what you heard.”

We must listen more, and speak less. Being slow to anger, we reflect, observe and then act. We must pay attention. Paying attention is noticing the obvious as well as the less than obvious movements around you. I have found myself many times, being in the same place as others. They are able to describe things that they saw that missed me. We were together all the time, how come? The opposite has happened too. To truly act on God’s teaching we first have to pay attention to what it is saying. If you are going through the motions you will miss the instructions.

The deception comes with not knowing why you are doing what you are doing. Deception comes from just following the crowd without understanding the background that has led you to this point of action. – the hitherto If we do not reflect then we could be doing the wrong thing or even acting for the wrong reasons. In acting for God and on behalf of God we must observe reflect and then act with conviction and confidence that this is the instruction. It is as if we look in the mirror to ensure that what we present reflects the best us.

We look in the mirror to make ourselves presentable before others? If we see our dress hems down or our shirts buttoned badly and still go out, that way we are fooling ourselves that we our clothes is in an acceptable condition. Similarly if we know we have faults or things that keep us from experiencing God to the fullest yet do nothing to address them, we are fooling ourselves. This fullness comes from experiencing the perfection of the law, which makes you free. We cannot feel free or confident if we are always second guessing ourselves. When we rid ourselves of the things holding us back we then live in the full abandonment of God, experiencing abiding in God without reservations.

Friends we are challenged to take a leap of faith despite the adversities we face daily, to pay attention to what God is saying, to look in the mirror and fix the faults in such a way that we can live free faithful lives resting in God’s love.

We lean on God to help us as the strength of God pilots us. The power of God preserves us. the wisdom of God instructs us. the hand of God protects us. the way of God directs us. the shield of God defend us. May the host of God guard us against the snares of evil and the temptations of the world. Where God is all is well. All will be well. All manner of things will be well.
Where God is all is well all will be well all manner of things will be well.

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Be Slow to Anger

Posted on September 3, 2024 by Hilda Vaughan

Be slow to anger for human anger does not produce God’s righteousness.  Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls. James 1: 19-21

James says be slow to anger for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. So you might as well not be angry. It does not become us.  We  must separate ourselves from people and situations that will make us angry.  At the same time we must cultivate an attitude where the word of god is implanted in our hearts. 

The word here I understand in 2 ways. One is what the bible teaches that we should make a part of our daily routine.  And secondly this must be qualified by what the Word made flesh taught us about navigating life.   Feasting on the common word of the scriptures and Capital Word which is Jesus, James says will save us.  We will learn a meekness that will, I believe, help us to do and be better.

Matthew 15:17 and Mark 7:20 reminds us that evil comes from our heart.  It is in our innermost being that sin and therefore anger starts. in our thoughts which we then put into action.  It is in the heart that evil jealousy and malice are laid and hatched. So we have to protect our heart from impure thoughts and toxic persons and situations.  Our motives must be pure. We should not do anything with an objective to hurt others. We must be sincere at all times.   

It is not about going through the motions.  Isaiah 29:13 says we pay lip service to God and this keeps us from changing to become Jesus shaped people. Isaiah says we get caught up in rituals, not realizing that the rituals are not an end in and of themselves. They point us to God.  And everything we do should be for the glory of God and point others to the glory of God. 

As Christians we are challenged to main good relationships with all, to not cause offence, make mischief nor to mislead others by what we say or do. We must be slow to anger, slow to react in a manner that bears no good.  May, we continue to challenge ourselves to be better persons We do so as the strength of God pilots us. The power of God preserves us. the wisdom of God instructs us. the hand of God protects us. the way of God directs us. the shield of God defend us, the host of God guard us against the snares of evil and the temptations of the world. Where God is all is well all will be well all manner of things will be well.  

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