aSacredRebel

Sent

And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff — no bread, no bag, no money in their belts — but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. And he said to them, ” Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. (Mark 6:7-13, ESV)

Take nothing for your journey except a walking stick.

Don’t take any food, or a backpack, or money.

Wear sandals and one set of cloths.

Where ever you go, stay there until you have to continue, and give them your peace, but if you are not welcomed, then shake the dust off your feet and move along.

But go to all the world and tell everyone the good news, but do it in a way that has you relying on me, because that is the only way you will make it!

An Open Letter to the LGBT Community

Great words from a Bishop in the ELCA

MichaelRinehart.com

Dear friends,

You are welcome in congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

We are a church that believes it is wrong to discriminate against anyone based on sexual orientation. All are welcome. We celebrate diversity.

While Lutherans in the U.S. are not of one mind about sexual orientation, the ELCA, the largest Lutheran denomination in North America, has taken a stand as an open, affirming church where all are welcome.

I recognize that some of you have been wounded by churches. On behalf of the church, I apologize for the hurtful comments, exclusion, and discrimination you have experienced. Churches are filled with hurt people who sometimes hurt people. We are not a perfect church, nor filled with perfect people. We follow Christ who forgives and calls us to be part of a new community beyond race, gender, and social status. The church is an imperfect community of hope.

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Faith

When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘ Go, ‘ and he goes, and to another, ‘ Come, ‘ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘ Do this, ‘ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment. And when Jesus entered Peter ‘s house, he saw his mother- in- law lying sick with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.” (Matthew 8:5-17, ESV)

I wonder from this verse if I really do have faith sometimes…

We want to see the signs.

We want God to stand in front or us in awe and majesty and see the mighty wonders of His hands!

And when we don’t get that we hesitate and wonder if it is all for real, or at least I do sometimes. I admit it.

I wish I had the faith of the Roman centurion, a Greek, not even a Jew! He was an outsider, but he believed!

I wonder sometimes if we do believe, because God said he would, why do we need to see the big sign to make it real for us?

Do we have faith?

opened

Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes (Isaiah 35:3-7, ESV)

Have you ever seen a deer leap?

Just the other night I was driving on an icy road and a deer shot out in front of my vehicle, and as I pushed on the brakes the car started to slide, and then came leaper 2 and leaper 3…

It is a beautiful sight to behold, deer leaping across the road… as long as your not sliding into their path…

I wondered if I would stop before running into them, hurting them and my vehicle…

But the point is we worry about how we will do things. Where we will get the strength.

But if we let go, in our weakness He is strong. He will give us the ability to see things we never could before and to hear things that we inaudible before. He will make us leap for joy and do things we only dream of.

He will be our strength and our shield and He will be the foundation for a wonderful life we can’t image.

So let Him open your eyes, unstop your ears, and help you to leap and sing for joy!

Why?

And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon ‘s mother- in- law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them. That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, ” Everyone is looking for you.” And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons. (Mark 1:29-39, ESV)

As you read this text I am sure you, like me, and the majority of other people are fixated on the healing. Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law and then the sick people are brought in droves to Him so they can be healed.

He had to sneak away in the wee morning hours to get some alone time. And when the disciples find Him, they ask Him where He was because “everyone was looking for Him.” They needed to be healed and they needed to see Him and have Him heal them!

But Jesus’ response is one we need to focus on.

While we are focused on the healing, Jesus is focused on preaching and spreading the good news. Jesus answer to the disciples question of where He was is “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” Jesus came to spread the good news, not to heal.

He came to tell us of the wonderful life we could have in God, and because of that we are made well!

who is like Him?

Behold, God is exalted in his power; who is a teacher like him? Who has prescribed for him his way, or who can say, ‘You have done wrong ‘? “Remember to extol his work, of which men have sung. All mankind has looked on it; man beholds it from afar. Behold, God is great, and we know him not; the number of his years is unsearchable (Job 36:22-26, ESV)

Who can tell God He has done wrong?

That is not to say that we don’t or don’t want to. But really when we perceive that God has done wrong that is when His way is not our way and we don’t get what we want.

God is the greatest teacher and preacher.

The one we should all try to emulate.

unknown god…

Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, ” What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”— because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, ” May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new. So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said:” Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god. ‘ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “‘In him we live and move and have our being ‘; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring. ‘Being then God ‘s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.” (Acts 17:16-32, ESV)

To an unknown God…

Jesus is the personification of God and was God made man to show us how to live.

He came to us and took on our form and our lot and lived as us to know what our struggles are and to show us it is possible. Yet we still fall short, but if we believe, in the unknown God and follow Him. We will always hear from Him and have Him by our side.

keep my words…

Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father ‘s who sent me. “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. (John 14:23-26, ESV)

If you love me you will keep my word…

And if you keep my word the Father will love you…

Sounds like I need to do the right things in order for Jesus and the Father to come and dwell with me. Like if I do not do the right thing then they will not be with me.

And yes that is exactly what it says. But who determines what is the word of Jesus, and how we keep it?

It is not I. And it is not you.

It is Jesus.

He is the judge and will judge each of us by what we have done, and what we have left undone. He will judge us all for what we have said and for what we have left unsaid.

It is between us and Jesus. So live the life He has called you to, knowing that that is what He asked you to do.

nothing on my own

They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said to them, ” When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” As he was saying these things, many believed in him. So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, (John 8:27-31, ESV)

Jesus said nothing that God the Father did not tell Him to say.

Jesus did not do anything that God the Father did not tell Him to do.

The way we can be His disciple is to do what He tells us to do. We must abide, dwell, reside in His word and do what He leads us to do.

We can do nothing on our own and abide in Him. He is our life and the source of all things.

So live the life He has called you into and abide in Him.

master crafter

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes. (Matthew 7:24-29, ESV)

Would you ever start a project without knowing you had the resources to complete it?

Or build a house or a building on a plot of land without testing it first to make sure it wasn’t like sand and going to shift underneath your building once it was done and make it topple?

Every time I read one of these texts I picture the building I use to drive by in lower Michigan. When we lived in Grand Rapids,OH we would visit with some friends on Lime Lake and we would drive by this building that wasn’t complete kind of like the one in the picture here. This was not the building we would pass, but I think of that building because someone obviously started a project and for what ever reason couldn’t complete it and couldn’t undo what had been done.

And that is what life will be like without God. You will start things and never complete them. You will go into projects and never come out of them with a completion.

If you hear the words of the Lord and follow where He leads you, your life will forever be built on a solid foundation and your life will be built by the master crafter!