aSacredRebel

For it is good

Why do you boast, O mighty one,
of mischief done against the godly?
All day long
you are plotting destruction.
Your tongue is like a sharp razor,
you worker of treachery.
You love evil more than good,
and lying more than speaking the truth. Selah
You love all words that devour,
O deceitful tongue.
But God will break you down forever;
he will snatch and tear you from your tent;
he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah
The righteous will see, and fear,
and will laugh at the evildoer, saying,
“See the one who would not take
refuge in God,
but trusted in abundant riches,
and sought refuge in wealth!”
But I am like a green olive tree
in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
forever and ever.
I will thank you forever,
because of what you have done.
In the presence of the faithful
I will proclaim your name, for it is good.
(Psalm 52, NRSV)

I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever!

In this trust is the life and love that anyone needs to flourish in the world. To live a life that points to the unending life that is to come!

You too can be an olive tree that is nurtured by the loving hands that created each of us!

Turn from your boasting and self-assurance and trust in the maker of the universe to be your life!

In mass…

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. (Revelation 22:1-5, NRSV)

The river of life flows and on either side of the river is the tree of life!

The tree that we were removed from in the Garden of Eden has returned and not just as 1 tree, but in mass quantities!

Growing and thriving with its 12 kind of fruit!

Everything that is evil has been removed and only God and His children will live forever in the New Jerusalem!

So worry not, we will see the Tree of Life!

Which tree?

The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you among all animals and among all wild creatures; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” And to the man he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all living. And the LORD God made garments of skins for the man and for his wife, and clothed them. Then the LORD God said, “See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a sword flaming and turning to guard the way to the tree of life. (Genesis 3:14-24, NRSV)

Because the serpent did this, it is cursed among animals, and crawls on its belly…

Because the woman did this, child-birth is painful…

Because the man did this he will toil and live by the sweat of his brow…

That is what we see when we read this. Who is to blame…

But isn’t there more to this?

How many trees were there in the Garden of Eden?

Ok trick question there were a lot of trees in the garden. But how many “special” trees were there?

There was the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil, which is the tree Adam and Eve were told not to eat from, and they did.

But they are removed from the garden, which is the death they were told would happen, when they are removed from the presence of God, so they may not eat of the Tree of Life.

There were at least 2 special trees, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life.

Adam and Eve were removed from the garden after eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil so they might not eat from the Tree of Life and become just like God.

They were never told not to eat from the Tree of Life…

So take from the Tree of Life, and let Jesus be your guide and light. Live in the grace that God gives us.

sower

Again he began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” And he said, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; in order that ‘they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.’” And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” (Mark 4:1-20, NRSV)

Who is the sower?

Well the sower is one who sows seed. Thank you for clearing that up, right!

When I read a parable I try to put people into the story. Meaning, who am I in the story, who is Jesus, who is the Father…

So who is the sower?

Well I am the sower, and you are the sower. Anyone who tells others about the kingdom of God or the love that Jesus has for them.

But really isn’t the sower Jesus?

He went out and sowed the word of God. And some listened and followed, others heard it and had problems, and others just didn’t get it.

So when we are the sower, do we think we will have a better response than Jesus did? Probably not…

But in every instance the growth was brought about by God.

So go into the world and do what Jesus did, tell everyone about the gracious love of God that will not quite on them. Throw the seed every where you go, and let God bring the growth!

who can save us

Who can save us Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God,
for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.
Take words with you
and return to the LORD;
say to him,
“Take away all guilt;
accept that which is good,
and we will offer
the fruit of our lips.
Assyria shall not save us;
we will not ride upon horses;
we will say no more, ‘Our God,’
to the work of our hands.
In you the orphan finds mercy.”
I will heal their disloyalty;
I will love them freely,
for my anger has turned from them.
I will be like the dew to Israel;
he shall blossom like the lily,
he shall strike root like the forests of Lebanon.
His shoots shall spread out;
his beauty shall be like the olive tree,
and his fragrance like that of Lebanon.
They shall again live beneath my shadow,
they shall flourish as a garden;
they shall blossom like the vine,
their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
(Hosea 14:1-7, NRSV)

Have you ever walked away from God?

Done something that you know the sovereign Lord would not want you to do?

And if so who will save you from the wrath that is to come?

If we but return to the Lord, and say to Him, “Take away all guilt; accept that which is good, and we will offer the fruit of our lips. Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses; we will say no more, ‘Our God,’ to the work of our hands. In you the orphan finds mercy.” If we confess with our lips and put our trust in Him, He will save us!

Nothing other than God will save us.

Return to the Lord and put your trust in Him!

Proud

In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: Mortal, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes: Whom are you like in your greatness? Consider Assyria, a cedar of Lebanon, with fair branches and forest shade, and of great height, its top among the clouds. The waters nourished it, the deep made it grow tall, making its rivers flow around the place it was planted, sending forth its streams to all the trees of the field. So it towered high above all the trees of the field; its boughs grew large and its branches long, from abundant water in its shoots. All the birds of the air made their nests in its boughs; under its branches all the animals of the field gave birth to their young; and in its shade all great nations lived. It was beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches; for its roots went down to abundant water. The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it, nor the fir trees equal its boughs; the plane trees were as nothing compared with its branches; no tree in the garden of God was like it in beauty. I made it beautiful with its mass of branches, the envy of all the trees of Eden that were in the garden of God. Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because it towered high and set its top among the clouds, and its heart was proud of its height, I gave it into the hand of the prince of the nations; he has dealt with it as its wickedness deserves. I have cast it out. Foreigners from the most terrible of the nations have cut it down and left it. On the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs lie broken in all the watercourses of the land; and all the peoples of the earth went away from its shade and left it. On its fallen trunk settle all the birds of the air, and among its boughs lodge all the wild animals. All this is in order that no trees by the waters may grow to lofty height or set their tops among the clouds, and that no trees that drink water may reach up to them in height. For all of them are handed over to death, to the world below; along with all mortals, with those who go down to the Pit. (Ezekiel 31:1-14, NRSV)

The trees towered into the clouds and was proud in its heart of its height.

It put its trust in itself.

What more did that tree need?

It was tall. Taller than any other tree.

It was the biggest and the best.

And it knew it. and it flaunted it.

So trust not in your own achievements, but rest in the hope we have in God. For if we are proud of ourselves in our hearts, what is to stop God from taking us down like this tree?

So trust in God, not yourself!

casting seed

Mark-4-26-34-2drevbn-269x300 He also said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.” He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples. (Mark 4:26-34, NRSV)

The kingdom of God is as if…

With what shall we compare the kingdom of God…

We need to know what the kingdom of God is.

But interestingly Jesus does not say this is the kingdom of God, but He gives analogies.

The smallest of seeds growing into a mighty bush!

Or seeds planted and then the earht giving forth the plants!

It is a mystery. Even if we could undertand it we don’t. The seeds are planted and the plants come.

God is the one who does it.

God brings the kingdom.

But He needs us to scatter seeds.

You scatter the story of His love, mercy and grace. He waters and brings the growth.

God’s kingdom will come and be brought on by Him in His time. You get the honor of casting seed!

how far?

Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and do not forget all his benefits—
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the Pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good as long as you live
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The LORD works vindication
and justice for all who are oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far he removes our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion for his children,
so the LORD has compassion for those who fear him.
(Psalm 103:1-13, NRSV)

God has removed our sin from us.

He has forgiven us, and will continue to forgive us.

There is nothing we can do that can not be forgiven.

For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love towards those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us!

As far as the east is from the west! I love this, because we just don’t really see how far that is. Mark Hall of Casting Crowns explains it in the teaching video for the song East to West.

You see if you look at the directions on the compass and then you start going north, at some point you will reach the north pole and then you will be going south. You can go south until you reach the south pole and then you will start going north again. There is only so far you can go north or south until you go the other direction. But if you go east, you will never start going west. Or if you go west you will never start going east. Unless you turn around and go the other direction!

God has removed your sins from you as far as the east is fromt he west! And He lost them in the sea of forgetfulness!

God’s forgivenenss is nothing we can comprehend. He loves you more then we can know.

As far as the east is from the west!

born of God

Love-One-Another Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. (1 John 4:7-12, NRSV)

If you love one another then you are born of God…

So who is the one another we are to love?

Just those in our congregation?

Just those in our denomination?

Just those in our wider understanding of the body of Christ?

Everyone that God has made (which would be everyone…)?

Whoever does not love does not know God.

So I would say we need to love everyone. But then how do we love them? With agape, or unconditional love? Or with tought love?

Do we judge them for what they do, but still love the person?

Jesus loved people where they were, forgiving their short comings, helping them up when others had knocked them down and sending them off to be new people.

How can we love others, the way Jesus loved us?

How can we show we are born of God?

Hospitality

This post is part of the June synchroblog that invited bloggers to write about “Hospitality”.

And I wondered what is hospitality?

Merriam Webster Online defines Hospitality as:

: hospitable treatment, reception, or disposition

So hospitality has to do with being hospitable. But what does that mean?

Again Merriam Webster Online defines Hospitable as:

1 a : given to generous and cordial reception of guests
b : promising or suggesting generous and cordial welcome
: offering a pleasant or sustaining environment
2 : readily receptive : open to new ideas

So now I wonder if we as a church are hospitable?

Do we give a generous reception of our guests, or do we look out just for ourselves?

Do we welcome the stranger and the foreigner into our midst and accept them where they are.

Do we offer a pleasant and sustaining environment for those who are not a part of the inner circle or are different from us? Who may or may not agree with what we believe?

Are we receptive and open to new ideas? Not that we have to accept them and change to them, but are we open to seeing things from a different point of view than our own?

Jesus told us to be welcoming of the stranger and the foreigner. We are to look out for the down trodden and the orphans and the widows. We are to look to the needs of those who have no voice, or whose voice is ignored.

Are we doing this as a church, or are we simply being a club that looks out for the needs of its members and makes sure that the people who “join” are just like us and will not change us?

I think if we are truly going to say we are the body of Christ we have to be open and welcoming of the stranger, the orphan, the widow, the foreigner, the one who is not like us and maybe never will be. We have to be open to the ideas of others, not so that we are changed, but like Christ changed us, we can be in a relationship with the other, so that they might see Christ through us.

You see Christ ate with the stranger. Christ mingled with the whores. Christ fellowshiped with the tax collectors, and looked out for the ones the religious authorities were going to stone. He accepted them where they were and lived with them in a relationship. Not accepting their ways of lives, but also not shunning them for where they were. He found them and accepted them. And just like you and me raised them and us to a different place through His relationship and acceptance.

Christ was hospitable to us, giving us a generous welcome when others would not let us in.

Christ was hospitably to us, giving us a pleasant and sustaining environment in which to grow in His love, rather than rules and conditions that have to be met.

If we are to be the body of Christ we need to welcome the stranger and the foreigner, not to grow the body of Christ, but to be like Christ in the world and to allow Him to shine through us!

So let us be open to the other, so that Christ may give them what He has already given us!

Other posts from June Syncroblog on Hospitality:

Carol Kuniholme – Violent Unwelcome. Holy Embrace.

Glen Hager – Aunt Berthie

Leah Sophia – welcoming one another

Mary – The Space of Hospitality

Jeremy Myers – Why I Let a “Murderer” Live in My House

Loveday Anyim – Is Christian Hospitality a Dead Way of Life?

Tony Ijeh – Is Hospitality Still a Vital Part of Christianity Today?

Clara Ogwuazor Mbamalu – Have we replaced Hospitality with Hostility?