You must understand this, my beloved brothers and sisters: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak. If any think they are religious and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. James 1:19 & 26
One of readings this past Sunday was from the letter of James. James has a firm grip on how he thinks we should behave as persons living Jesus shaped lives. Over the next few days we will explore some 7 or 8 of James principles. James says, our Character counts. Our true religion is seen not in the things we do, but in the inner transformation of our hearts. James, says that we should live a life of authenticity – being true to who you are as Jesus shaped people. Our behaviour must be consistent. It does not matter whom you are with, where you are or the situation. One must be consistent.
James says quick to listen, and slow to speak. Communication is a major issue in all our relationships. We are driven by our egos, who we are and so we do not approach our communication with openness. When we are called to listen we must put aside personalities and just pay attention to what the person is saying. When we listen, all our biases and prejudices listen with us. We are judgmental. When persons speak, we react based on who we think they are. Many of us do not even realize that we are biased, because others have the same bias and it becomes normal to be biased in a particular manner.
James says “If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. The thing is, slowness to speak is important, but generally we would rather not say anything because we do not want to offend. James says you are fooling yourselves. We are not only deceiving ourselves, we are deceiving others too as they can only know what you think by what you say. We cannot live authenticity if we are keeping back something in our hearts that is going to defile us in the long run. We should say what it is and move on. We must learn that life is not about us and our feelings. When persons speak they are seeking to resolve a situation not necessarily to defy us or put us down. We must be open to speaking our truths and listening to the truths of others while ignoring any offence that may seem to be there.
The only thing that should guide how we behave is the principles by which we live. Who we are to be in Jesus is what we are seeking to portray. Therefore we must do what Christ did and what Christ leads us to do. We have to listen to others and hear the voice of Jesus speaking through to us as they speak. 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.
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
Unveiling oneself also means understanding that there is more of what we don’t know about God than what we know. Unveiling oneself is acknowledging that there is more to God than meets the eye, that there is the possibility of having a deeper and closer relationship with God than you presently have. There are things we know, basic things on which we stand. But there are some things we do not know and some things we do not understand. Hence knowing yet not knowing. We cannot take what we know as the sum total of the knowledge of God and there is nothing more to know or learn. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:11-12 using the living translation version “When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” There are stages and more stages and still more stages of knowing and understanding God. There are basic truths about God on which we all stand. God sent God’s son to save the world. God made each of us with a distinct plan for us. God is love and God loves all humans. We must love God with all our hearts souls and mind and we must love our neighbours as we love ourselves. Those truths help us navigate life. We must give ourselves permission to express God in our lives as God leads, to question if what we are hearing and what we are seeing is truly God. Is God really present with and in us? Are we present? We come to God differently and therefore we can do different things in God’s name and to God’s glory. A good example of our differences yet similarity or commonality is death. Even while we know each member in a family must feel the loss they express their grief differently. Many times because they, don’t cry and roll on the floor or howl and hold our bellies, others say they are unfeeling. Yet they maybe take longer to process exactly what has happened. So it is with each of us that has come to God, remembering that it is in coming to God we are truly unmasked we become as it were naked, so we can be clothed by God. We all process the experience of God differently. Another point is that God’s plan is different for all of us. Ephesians chapter 4:11-12 says, Christ (God) gifted us differently so that that God’s work on earth can be done and the body of Christ can be built up. If God’s work and glory was a wheel turned by gears, each of us could be regarded as a gear helping to turn that wheel. But we only understand that when we open ourselves to God. Seeing and listening to what God is saying to us. And we view these through the lens of Jesus Christ who showed us the way to live. We come for God to teach us, to help us to know God and we open ourselves as 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. .
This is 3rd in a series of devotions based on 2 Corinthians 3:16-18
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
Yesterday I spoke about removing the veil from our faces, but I do not believe I explained fully what was laid on my heart. There is so much to unpack when we think of lifting the veil.
More and more I believe we have missed the mark in understanding who we are to be in God and what it means to be Jesus like. That when we accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour a veil is lifted from us, the spirit that we now acknowledge is within us shows us and reveals God’s glory to us and in us.
God made us to be our best selves. So I am to be the best me and you are to be your best you. Each of us striving to be the best human living in harmony with each other and for what is best as a community. Thus unveiling oneself means we must understand who we are and whose we are. I have a long list of who we are not, which can be summed up by saying we are not clones of anybody else, but unique persons as our hand prints tell us. Thus because we are on the path of righteousness and our foundation is sure, it does not give us permission to be unkind, to be egotistical, or to believe that we are the only ones who know what is right.
We are disciples of Christ following in his footsteps. Jesus was unique. He was a Jew, but he thought about his Jewishness differently from others. I suppose you will say that is why he died, because he behaved differently, and you don’t want to be singled out. but that is for another discussion. Jesus drew persons to him, who had different personalities, strong personalities like Peter, like Matthew – it could not have been easy living in a community where most persons did not like or respect you. There was also John the beloved who wrote a gospel that was very different from the others. Even the gospels, it is one Gospel, one good news, one story of Jesus walk on this earth, yet they are not all the same, they do not emphazise the same things. There are similarities, there are commonalities, but each has a uniqueness to it, as it seeks to tell the good news in a way that each writer understood it and in a way that each community of new believers could and would understand how best to walk in the ways of Jesus.
This something we too must grapple with. What is our story and how are we going to express our uniqueness so that God can be glorified. A difficult task as it is easy to follow and not think for ourselves. It is easier to be liked to not upset the applecart, and to stand up for what we know is the right thing. On the other hand unveiling yourself is not about being a goody two shoes, or being so heavenly minded that you are no earthly good.
In coming to a place where you are able to unveil yourself, you recognize that you don’t come to God with the fruit of the Spirit already in your heart and mind, but you come to God knowing that living with God as guide and companion, you will grow in the ways of the Holy Spirit. We don’t come to God already in the full knowledge of God. Unveiling ourselves allows us to see what God is offering in a way that makes life more meaningful, more livable. Unveiling ourselves is giving ourselves permission to fully participate in all of life to the fullest. Knowing that 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 and 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. Amen.
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.
Hilda's journey 