But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. 2 Corinthians 3:16-18
You know many times we walk with blinkers on. Things happen and we say: how come we never saw that coming. We sometimes have tunnel vision, focusing on a singular thing that clouds out the other things happening around us. Here The writer says to us When we remove our veils we will be not only be able to see the glory of God but we will reflect it too.
This second letter to the Corinthians is really not the 2nd time Paul is writing them. He had written two other letters besides 1Corinthians as recorded in the bible. Paul in this letter was trying to convince the Corinthians that he Paul was the real deal. There were others teaching them something different. Paul says if they truly pay attention to the lord the veil will be removed and if the veil is removed they will see what God is saying and doing.
In the Old Testament the glory of God was too intense for the ordinary person to see. Only Moses the anointed leader could see. The others hid their faces Paul says seeing everyone can see God. God belongs to everyone. Anyone and everyone can have intimate knowledge of God and so understand how best to act. We can discern how God wants us to act, we do not need to take what others are saying as the only way to experience God.
Lifting the veil is living in the spirit. Living in the Spirit, being guided by the Spirit frees us from spiritual blindness, and sin. This allows one to be able to act freely without any doubts or second guess themselves that they are living the life as God wants. It brings freedom to live in a way that that truly reflects God’s glory. They no longer needed to keep the Jewish religious laws. They were released from them. So too when you focus on God you too will see that the relationship you develop with God and the community of God is all you need to live a full life.
Transformation is then possible. You move from being anxious and unsure to being assertive confident and a bold Christian. God’s glory is revealed. We are able to live in it and portray it so others can see it. This means we bear God’s image and become more like him daily as we trust in what God reveals to us. As we seek to remove the veil God undergirds us with God’s strength, power and wisdom. We know God’s promise of a hand to protect us as walk in The way God directs us We have the assurance that the shield of God will defend us and God’s host will 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. Amen. .
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 43: 28-31
God gives strength and the ability to persevere.
Yesterday, in one of my devotionals –I have no other name for them, its daily emails that I receive that gives insight to how others are journeying with God. So in one of these the writer speaks about waiting on God. Then in the evening I decided to prepare my reflection to you, the same passage flashed across the screen as I looked for a passage on a topic I have been wrestling with. My search did not go well do as I wrote nothing last evening, but I work up to that shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint, teach me lord teach me lord how to wait.
I do not know for what specifically God wants me to wait. There are so many things that I have on my to-do list. I also have a list of concerns. It sometimes make me numb as just looking at the lists is in and of itself frustrating. But I know with perseverance God will work it all out. I think God wants us to understand that.
Throughout the Bible we see persons waiting on various things. They cry out for help. The Israelites in Egypt, their wandering for many years to settle in the promised land, their waiting for the messiah. Then we have individuals Anna and Zachariah in the temple. I wonder if Anna knew she was waiting to see Jesus. In Isaiah 43, Isaiah speaks to the Israelites captive in Babylon and provides comfort as he tells them, that everyone gets weary from time to time. They maybe wondered if they would ever go back home. He says do not despair God will strengthen you. Since others waited and were OK, we can wait too
Most times when we are waiting we get anxious, maybe even angry, but definitely frustrated. New graduates wait to be employed. Some are waiting to get better, to be married, to die, to get pregnant, to be rich, to be able to move away and start a new life. Life my friends is about waiting. We live in between where we are and what we want to achieve in life. We live waiting many times on what we think is a good or normal life to happen. Waiting in God’s time is normal as God brings us to where God wants us to be.
Isaiah says, God give you strength to wait. Waiting is not strange it is normal. How you wait will make a difference. The people who walk with God, who trust God to guide them are better able to manage the waiting. The message paraphrase says God doesn’t come and go. God lasts. He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath And he knows everything, inside and out. He energizes those who get tired. Unquote. God is never faint nor weary. God is an energizing constant in our lives. God comes through for us every time. God strengthens us.
We wait as we discern what God is doing and participate in it. We wait Trusting in God’s goodness and grace, trusting that God works out all things in time. We wait putting aside our anxieties and frustrations while, feeling ourselves getting a stronger resolve to persevere, seeing the opportunities to soar and to achieve the peaceful normality where God wants us to be. We let us not be overwhelmed, but let us lean on God as we remain rooted in the strength, power and wisdom of God. We know God’s promise of a hand to protect us as walk in The way God directs us We have the assurance that the shield of God will defend us and God’s host will 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. Amen. .
Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.” The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Exodus 33:12-14
This records a conversation between God and Moses as God gives Moses further instructions to go to the promised land. Moses is not so sure that God will continue to be with him on the journey. He asks for God to continue to walk with him and that God continues to make Godself known. Moses I believe knows that God is with him, but God’s presence isn’t always obvious.
He gets jittery. Moses is no different from us. We know God’s promise to be with us, but sometimes we rely on ourselves alone and God seems far away and we need to be reassured. We can all identify with this feeling of inadequacy. The need for someone to hold your hand and there is no better hand to hold than the hand of God.
Verse 1 of the same chapter says God speaks to Moses face to face. I am not going to speculate if face to face was physically, what it means however is that relationship between God and Moses was open and honest. They could interpret the nuances of each other’s expression, just like you and I can read each other’s body language.
Verse 14 says assures Moses that God will walk with him and Moses can rest. Rest as I understand it meant that Moses could lie easy. He did not have to be anxious, or second guess himself, but could be at peace even if it seems things were not going well, because God promised him to walk with him and God always keeps God’s promises.
God makes the same promise to us, to be with us no matter what. God is there through the difficult times as well as the fun times. God remains with us.
Moses asks to know God to be taught God’s ways so he can always be in the way of the Lord. This request is contrary to what many of us would ask. Moses was going to the promised land and were we walking in Moses shoes, we would ask for military prowess, the ability to subdue the enemies and to show how powerful we are. But Moses recognize that all those things will happen if God grants one request, that of walking with Moses.
May the understanding of Moses be ours today. May we
Know and believe that if God walks with us and all other things fall into place 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 defends us. The host of God guards 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.
“But as the time drew near for the fulfillment of the promise that God had made to Abraham, our people in Egypt increased and multiplied until another king who had not known Joseph ruled over Egypt Acts 7: 17-18
Until another king who didn’t know about Joseph came and ruled over Egypt. In genesis 17 God had promised Abraham to make great nations and kings of his descendants. Everything it seemed was on track until there was a new pharaoh who did not care to honour the history of Egypt. It didn’t matter to him that in a former generation Joseph had saved Egypt from famine. Egyptian politics had changed. This pharaoh was not in favour of immigrants. They should not have the same benefits or status as Egyptians.
There are many questions swirling around. Aren’t persons born in Egypt, Egyptians even though they are of the Hebrew faith or lineage? Shouldn’t they have the same benefits? Had the Jews also forgot God’s promise to Abraham for them to prosper in the land God had given Abraham? In their complacency of the good life in Egypt had they forgotten their land was not Egypt?
What was the status of the Hebrews that they could so easily be mistreated by this new pharaoh? Didn’t they have any influence in Egypt?
We cant answer these questions in this devotional, but It seems to me, that what was happening in Egypt is similar to what is happening in the United States where Suddenly the US has awakened and found out that Nonwhites as a group were fast becoming the majority. In Egypt it seems the jews were already the majority. In both situations the immigrant population had no power. Right here in the Caribbean this same thing happens. In the Dominican Republic, persons of Haitian heritage born in the Dominican Republic have no status. They are not regarded as citizens and I am not speaking about new migrants fleeing violence in Haiti, but persons born in the Dominican Republic of Haitian heritage.
It seems we never learn. There always has to be a hierarchy. Some more worthy than others. Even in our Churches we bring this kind of attitude to bear. It is not the attitude that Jesus exemplified. Life is not about our station, but living justly in loving-kindness, mercy and humility as Micah 6:8 says. Everything else will fall into place. Benefits are scarce because some of us hold unto more than we can use and are not willing to share. We become the pharaoh who didn’t know Joseph.
All life is of equal status and all of us should be treated as worthy of living to our full potential. All of us should have access to the same benefits. God designed the world so the fittest survives in each generation, in each tribulation. The fittest is not necessarily the person with the most power. We just choose to worship power as we all fan our egos.
For the world to be better, for our lives to be better, for our communities and nations to be better, we have to wheel and come again. We have to remember we are dependent on each other and we are all connected In one way or another and we must strive to live lives enriching that interdependence and connectivity. May God in God’s wisdom show us how Amen.
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant. Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed, Luke 1:46-48
Today is the feast of the Virgin Mary. In the Roman Catholic tradition it is referred to as the Feast of the Assumption of Mary. It’s one of the 5 Marianne feasts we as Anglicans celebrate.
Whenever I think of Mary, being blessed is always at the forefront of my mind as she is very often referred to as the Blessed Mary. Very often the Greek word used for Blessed is translated as Happy. In this case it isn’t just about happiness, it is also about being esteemed and I would want to add being chosen. These days the saying blessed and highly favoured is a common phrase.
Blessedness as looked on through the life of Mary is not just a privilege but it is also an awesome responsibility, as one has to live out this special anointing by the holy spirit, this choosiness. Mary played a pivotal role in the story of Salvation and she recognized that bearing the od-human Jesus would be the singular most important thing she did in her life. Hers was the job to keep Jesus in line, to direct him as he grew as a human until he came into the full understanding of how best to express his godliness. Jeremiah tells us that before we were formed God made a plan for each of us, a plan to make us esteemed persons. He calls it prosperity.
Mary’s blessedness shows that all of us can live in Blessedness and live out Blessedness. Blessedness is not luck nor special favour but an understanding that each of us is special in our own way. That God has given to each of us a gift unique to us and it is our calling to express it. It is not ours to keep, but it is for nurturing of others and for building up of the body of Christ. Further in chapter 1, Luke places on Zachariah’s lips another perspective of being blessed. It is about ensuring that others too can live blessed lives. Verses 74-75 says free to worship God and to live in holiness and righteousness.
Luke in chapter 1 not only declares the coming of Jesus as Mary’s son, he also declares the birth of his forerunner John the Baptist. God has chosen all of us to do something different for God’s honour and glory. Being blessed and highly favoured is then not just about receiving the good things life offers to us, it is living in such a way that others see how they too can live out their blessedness and favour. We are each different with unique gifts that God wants us to express. Luke truly understood Blessedness as in chapter 4: 18-19 emphasizes it by repeating Isaiah 61 that the spirit of God comes on us for the benefit of others. That passage says The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” This sentiment is expressed all through the bible partnering it seems with the story of salvation and liberation.
Mary too understand her role in the liberation of her people. Zachariah understood his role and what would be the role of John the Baptist. We too must seek to understand our role in the story of Salvation. How is God leading us to bring others into their own blessedness and favour? It is something for us to ponder We pray that as we seek to do as God leads us, we will not be daunted by the challenges of living a blessed and chosen life 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 defends us. The host of God guards 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. Amen
I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides me there is no god. I arm you, though you do not know me, so that they may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is no one besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. Isaiah 45:5-6
I am God. Don’t forget, don’t get it wrong. You may not know me, but there is no other God besides me.
I wish we would believe this all the time. It would make life so much less burdensome. We wouldn’t second guess ourselves, when God speaks to us. We would truly live a free and uncomplicated life knowing that God is there working out all things for our good.
In this passage god is speaking to Cyrus, the King of the Persians who is not a descendant of Abraham. Cyrus is not a Jew. Yet God appoints (Isaiah 45:1 says anoints) Cyrus to be the person who frees the Jews from Babylonian captivity. This reinforces the point that God can and will use anyone to carry out God’s bidding, even if they don’t know they are doing God’s work. This so true of many of us, who don’t realize that what we do in our everyday tasks is God’s work. God appointed you to do as you are doing so others who have a need of your service can benefit. Further we should not think that others are not worthy of God’s anointing and grace.
Some experts tell us that Isaiah announced this before Cyrus came on the scene. This just bears out how awesome God. God usually anoints Israelites, but this time the Israelites could not free themselves and so God used the King of Persia to release them. God did a new thing then and continues to do things differently. God intervenes in ways we do not even know so that our life can be better.
The Lord always raise up someone to carry out God’s work. So with all the drama going on in our lives and in the world God has already laid down the plan which Jeremiah tells us is a plan for us to prosper and not one to bring us harm.
We must emphasize that Cyrus didn’t know God like how we know God. He probably didn’t understand how he had become so successful as a king. God did so in order that God’s chosen people would be free. God anointed, guided and used Cyrus. We should never underestimate the value of what God does through us who are believers. God uses us the faithful to carry out God’s bidding.
We need to hold on that promise of God always being there and planning before we even recognize that there is a problem. God has our back and is ever present and working. The strength, power and wisdom of God is with us. We know God’s hand protects us as we walk in the way that God directs us We have the assurance that shield of God will defend us and God’s host will 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. Amen.
We know that we live in God and God lives in us. We know this because he gave us his Spirit. 14 We have seen that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world, and this is what we tell people now. 15 Anyone who says, “I believe that Jesus is the Son of God,” is a person who lives in God, and God lives in that person. 16 So we know the love that God has for us, and we trust that love. God is love. Everyone who lives in love lives in God, and God lives in them. 1 John 4: 13-16
We know that we live in God and God lives in us. We know this because he gave us his Spirit. 14 We have seen that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world, and this is what we tell people now. 15 Anyone who says, “I believe that Jesus is the Son of God,” is a person who lives in God, and God lives in that person. 16 So we know the love that God has for us, and we trust that love. God is love. Everyone who lives in love lives in God, and God lives in them. 1 John 4: 13-16
John the beloved as I like to call him, understood God as love. In his writings he always makes reference to God as love. In his Gospel he says God so loved the world that he sent his son Jesus to save us. For me Jesus saves us not just by dying on the cross but by also showing us a better way to live. Verse 7 of this chapter says Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. The passage says we live in God and God lives in us. We are entwined with God like strands of rope bound together in love and by love. Or we can think of it as love the glue that holds us to God. There is an abidance (my word) an intimacy with God that only comes from knowing God’s love. The song says I love you Lord for your mercy never fails me.
We need to see God’s love as enveloping us and the world. If God is love and God made the world then all that is in the world should reflect that love. Yes I know we all don’t. we all don’t even acknowledge that God exists. But as the passage says for those of us who do, we know that the axis on which the world spins should be love not the selfish dog eat dog ways we prefer to exhibit. Abiding in God is like in John 15 where Jesus describes believers as branches of the vine. Thus it is love that feeds the vine and branches. Its love that bears the fruit. And we know that a mango cant bear ackee. Thus love begets love.
Love of humanity, love of persons we don’t even know, has inspired people to fight in causes where others are treated unfairly. Human rights and treating all persons with dignity and as if they are of value and have worth is tied up in expressing God’s love for humanity. We may call it other names but we who are of love understand differently. We who look at life through God’s glasses understand that love should be the foundation of all our relationships. According to John loving each other should be easy for us because we acknowledge being born of God, and we claim to know God and ultimately love is of God.
I recall a childhood friend and I talking about how wicked people are to each other. The things family members do to each other, we were amazed. We realized that we grew up in the protection of love, where family members were not taken for granted, where we cared for each other enough to consider the feelings of others before we acted.
Friends Love is to be our mindset. Love is our attitude, love is our go to emotion when difficult situations arise. We ask how do, I show love through this. Loving does not mean compromising our principles. It means showing kindness despite the harsh realities that face us. This is not something to which we say yes and it happens. Living in God’s love must be cultivated and we must teach our children so they grow in love.
the strength, power and wisdom of God. We know God’s promise of a hand to protect us as walk in The way God directs us We have the assurance that shield of God will defend us and God’s host of God will 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. Amen.
John the beloved as I like to call him, understood God as love. In his writings he always makes reference to God as love. In his Gospel he says God so loved the world that he sent his son Jesus to save us. For me Jesus saves us not just by dying on the cross but by also showing us a better way to live. Verse 7 of this chapter says Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. The passage says we live in God and God lives in us. We are entwined with God like strands of rope bound together in love and by love. Or we can think of it as love the glue that holds us to God. There is an abidance (my word) an intimacy with God that only comes from knowing God’s love. The song says I love you Lord for your mercy never fails me.
We need to see God’s love as enveloping us and the world. If God is love and God made the world then all that is in the world should reflect that love. Yes I know we all don’t. we all don’t even acknowledge that God exists. But as the passage says for those of us who do, we know that the axis on which the world spins should be love not the selfish dog eat dog ways we prefer to exhibit. Abiding in God is like in John 15 where Jesus describes believers as branches of the vine. Thus it is love that feeds the vine and branches. Its love that bears the fruit. And we know that a mango cant bear ackee. Thus love begets love.
Love of humanity, love of persons we don’t even know, has inspired people to fight in causes where others are treated unfairly. Human rights and treating all persons with dignity and as if they are of value and have worth is tied up in expressing God’s love for humanity. We may call it other names but we who are of love understand differently. We who look at life through God’s glasses understand that love should be the foundation of all our relationships. According to John loving each other should be easy for us because we acknowledge being born of God, and we claim to know God and ultimately love is of God.
I recall a childhood friend and I talking about how wicked people are to each other. The things family members do to each other, we were amazed. We realized that we grew up in the protection of love, where family members were not taken for granted, where we cared for each other enough to consider the feelings of others before we acted.
Friends Love is to be our mindset. Love is our attitude, love is our go to emotion when difficult situations arise. We ask how do, I show love through this. Loving does not mean compromising our principles. It means showing kindness despite the harsh realities that face us. This is not something to which we say yes and it happens. Living in God’s love must be cultivated and we must teach our children so they grow in love.
the strength, power and wisdom of God. We know God’s promise of a hand to protect us as walk in The way God directs us We have the assurance that shield of God will defend us and God’s host of God will 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. Amen.
The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made. Psalm 145 verses 8 and 9.
I have not abandoned you. I had decided to wait until the Digicel generator was turned off so the hum is not heard in the background. Alas, it is still going. The electricity isn’t stable enough to power the cell tower. But life must go on.
God hears us Knowing that God is gracious is important in this very harsh world. So many things happen that disappoints us. Other situations we face make us feel alone forgotten and less than others. The things people say and do particularly if it is aimed at us make us feel bad. But God is gracious and merciful. God loves us no matter how inadequate we are or may seem to others. Beryl has been particularly hard on us. The home sweet home lamps, the darkness in which we can do nothing. The inconvenience of lack of water or flooding from the leaks and the nonexistent roof. But God is with us. God is gracious and merciful. God steadfast loves abounds.
All through bible we see the sentiment of God’s graciousness and Gods steadfast love. Jonah after he went to Nineveh referred to it. In exodus, when God gave Moses the commandments, the same thing was said. Joel, and Nehemiah says the same thing. Jeremiah in Lamentations 3 repeats it. It is like a mantra or creed to many in the Old Testament. Psalm 86 and 103 says the same thing. It seems to be something we should hold onto. Knowing that God is gracious and merciful helps us understand that God never abandons us.
Hurricane Beryl has left many of us confused or out of sorts. Some of us no roof. Some us still have no electricity or water and it isn’t that we live in some deep rural area, but our locale has its own features which require special attention.
Even when there is no hurricane, we each have situations or nuances in our life that confuse us and cause us to doubt God’s presence with us. We question God sometimes to the point where we quarrel with God. We ask why me? what have I done to deserve this? But God answers “you have done nothing. Life happens. I love you always.” God says as verse 9 I am always showing compassion to you. Many of us hold onto a vengeful angry and jealous God, because God is also described in that way throughout the bible. But ultimately that is not who God is. John tells us God is love. And since so many have experienced gods love and grace we too can say as the passage says God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. We have done nothing to earn Gods graciousness or favour. It’s not based on our performance or our good deeds. It is just who God is, gracious and loving. God is fully committed to God’s people. Verse 9 says Gods compassion.is over all God made. No one is exempt. Nothing is exempt from God’s love and compassion. We may be feeling down today. Feeling the stress of post Beryl on top of everything else we have to deal with. Some of us have learnt to compromise, others to compartmentalize our troubles, and so are able to put on a brave face, still others choose not to accept the reality of their situation in order to live a relatively stress free life. But God wants us to come to God, to trust in God’s unfailing love. Verse 15 and 16 of the psalm says the eyes of all look to God and God gives them their food in due season. In other words God provides what we need when we need it. God never abandons us nor leaves us alone. Verse 16 says God opens gods hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing.
There is one requirement in all of this. Look to God always. He will never leave you or abandon you no matter the uncertainty or the difficulty. God walks with you. The Lord is gracious and merciful, abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made. We have heard this, we know this, we must now just trust God to do God’s work. God hears us and responds, 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 defends us. The host of God guards 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.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Psalm 51:10-12.
This what we all desire. A heart free from sin and guilt. But like David we find that it is not easy to maintain. As humans we do things that we regret. We hurt persons, many times unknowingly. There are other times when we do things even though we know somebody is going to be hurt. Like David when he slept with Bathsheba. Psalm 51 is David’s confession of his sinfulness. He asks God to cleanse his heart, to remove the guilt of his transgressions from him and renew a spirit of care for others in him. He calls it a right spirit.
Renewal of a right spirit acknowledges that sin isn’t just about doing wrong and harming people, it is also has spiritual consequences. It is distancing yourself from God and godly things, therefore breaking your relationship from God. Not maintaining a relationship with God, not tending our spiritual life causes us to forget who we are to be. It makes it easy for us to break the rules of love and care for others. The psalm says cast me not from your presence. God never abandons us, it is we who abandon God, shutting God out with the darkness of our lives. As Chaplain at CTC I recall Christians speaking about being demon possessed. I couldn’t understand how one could be filled with holy spirit and yet there was space for the devil to enter. The devil enters when we do not keep refilling our life with God. Just as how we top up our phones we must top up our spirituality. We do so by having daily devotions, reading the Bible daily and asking what is God saying to is through the word through our experiences.
Some questions we need to ask ourselves. What does God want from us and are we just going through the motions.
What does God want from you? Verse 16 and 17 says God is not interested in sacrifices. David and the Israelites would atone for their sin by sacrificing an animal) God is not interested in gifts. God cannot be bought. What God wants is a contrite heart. God wants us to acknowledge our sins and to constantly and continuously reach out to God to walk with us so we sin no more. God wants us to be always humble, and gracious, walking in love and fairness. God wants us to have meaningful loving relationships rather than toxic ones where we hurt ourselves and others.
Are we going through the motions of devotion to God rather than delving deep, seeking to live our best lives? Going through the motions is not good enough. It does not cultivate a truly contrite spirit nor does it allow us to be refreshed with the vigor of God’s spirit to do God’s work. We miss the mark totally. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin. There is a need for us as individuals and as a community to live a life of deep prayer and reflection. I implore us to be serious about our spiritual life. To be as serious as we are about our daily work, and our children. Ask we ask God to help us mend our relationships,
I end with a prayer from lectio 365
Father, help us to live this day to the full, being true to You, in every way. Jesus, help us to give ourselves away to others, being kind to everyone we meet. Spirit, help us to love the lost, proclaiming Christ in all we do and say. Amen.
I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” 2 Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem. 3 Jerusalem—built as a city that is bound firmly together. Psalm 122:1-3
The 1st verse of this psalm is an opening sentence at the service of the Eucharist. I cannot recall it being used frequently by anyone. But it struck me this morning as I remember that 3rd verse as it is printed in our prayer books says Jerusalem is built as a city that is at unity with itself. At unity with itself. What does that mean? The easy to read version says This is New Jerusalem! The city has been rebuilt as one united city. I wondered about church and congregations. Are we at unity with ourselves. The infighting, the lack of compromise. Those who believe that they own the church. And I know how that feels. As a congregant I owned my church, but something I never did was decide its my way or the high way. Never imposed my ideas, and if they were rejected, I carried out the other persons ideas as if I had suggested it. That I believe is unity. No problem with the discussion, but once the dust settles and a way forward is decided, all must put hands and hearts so it can work. David wrote the psalm for the new Jerusalem he had built. He wanted persons to love the city and to be loyal to what it represented to the nation. While church is not a political entity we want the same loyalty to our members. We want people to take pleasure in coming to church. Pleasure does not mean enjoyment for entertainment purposes, but feeling pleased to participate in the wonderful worship services or other activities. I question how many of us come to church with joy in our hearts. Sometimes I wonder if we have any idea what joy is, as I see many faces burdened by the care of the world. The faces came serious and they left serious, no stopping for pleasantries or fellowship. As church members, this psalm invites to open our hearts to the surprise of the liturgy at every service . To come or go to church expecting excitement. Expecting to discover a new thing, hear a new verse, understand an old song differently and to leave feeling gratified and grateful for another opportunity. It is being at unity with oneself. No second guesses, no supposes, no what ifs, only how is God going to be present with me today? Jerusalem housed the temple of God in which rested The Ark with the covenant between God and the Jews made an effort to go Jerusalem for the several festivals. It was a joyous time for them. If we read all the psalm it refers to happiness. I was glad when they said unto me, reflects excitement at the journey and what would happen in Jerusalem. One verse says peace is within your walls. Being in Jerusalem is a peaceful experience. There is also gratitude for being able to have the experience of being in Jerusalem. There is also gratitude in doing God’s work. There is gratitude in being a member of the family of God. If we consider that everything we do is for the honour and glory of God, we can also consider everything we do as worship. if that is true, if we can cultivate that kind of mindset and adopt it, we would be surprised by the joy we feel, the openness we have to new experiences and to experience old things anew. Its not hard to achieve. Its an openness to what God offers. It’s a glow that others see on your face. It isn’t always fun, but it is a unity of purpose knowing others are having the same experience and working in tandem with you, as the strength of God pilots us. For the power of God preserves us. The wisdom of God instructs us. The hand of God protects us. For The way of God directs us. The shield of God will defend us. The host of God will 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.
Hilda's journey 