Promises

Mary got up and hurried to a city in the Judean highlands. She entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. With a loud voice she blurted out, “God has blessed you above all women, and he has blessed the child you carry. Why do I have this honor, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. Happy is she who believed that the Lord would fulfill the promises he made to her.” Mary said,
“With all my heart I glorify the Lord!
    In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior.
He has looked with favor on the low status of his servant.
    Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favored
        because the mighty one has done great things for me.
Holy is his name.
    He shows mercy to everyone,
        from one generation to the next,
        who honors him as God.
He has shown strength with his arm.
    He has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations.
    He has pulled the powerful down from their thrones
        and lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things
    and sent the rich away empty-handed.
He has come to the aid of his servant Israel,
        remembering his mercy,
    just as he promised to our ancestors,
        to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants forever.”
(Luke 1:39-55, CEB)

Mary had every reason to be skeptical of what was happening. An angel came and told her she was going to have a child and it was from God. Well having a child was impossible since she had never been with a man and was not married. It was also impossible because now she would be pregnant our of wed lock and would need to be stoned/killed. This was problematic for her. But the angel said it was from God and God would watch over her and work with Joseph to make sure it worked out.

Elizabeth sees that and says, “Happy is she who believed that the Lord would fulfill the promises he made to her.” Happy here. Blessed other translations.

When we hold fast to the promises of God even in the face of ridicule and harm, we are blessed or happy. We all need to stand firm in our resolve to see the coming baby and coming Lord as the fulfillment of the kingdom and sharing of God’s love. Where everyone gets mercy.
Where the powerful are brought down.
Where the lowly are lifted up.
Where the hungry are filled.
Where all are cared for.
Where all are seen as God’s children.

We can usher in the kingdom by showing and being love.

Love like Jesus.

Loving People. Loving God.

fox!

At that time, some Pharisees approached Jesus and said, “Go! Get away from here, because Herod wants to kill you.” Jesus said to them, “Go, tell that fox, ‘Look, I’m throwing out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will complete my work. However, it’s necessary for me to travel today, tomorrow, and the next day because it’s impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who were sent to you! How often I have wanted to gather your people just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you didn’t want that. Look, your house is abandoned. I tell you, you won’t see me until the time comes when you say, Blessings on the one who comes in the Lord’s name.” (Luke 13:31-35, CEB)

Go tell that Fox exactly what I am doing.

Let him try to kill me because it will really not work.

We look for ways to protect God and think we need to stand up for God.

We do need to stand firm in our faith and our convictions, but God doesn’t need our protection. When push comes to shove no matter what happens, God’s will will be done, through us, in spite of us, or around us.

Do not worry about what is happening in the world. Stand firm in your faith and be a beacon of hope. Sharing love in all you do.

Loving People. Loving God.

endure

But remember the earlier days, after you saw the light. You stood your ground while you were suffering from an enormous amount of pressure. Sometimes you were exposed to insults and abuse in public. Other times you became partners with those who were treated that way. You even showed sympathy toward people in prison and accepted the confiscation of your possessions with joy, since you knew that you had better and lasting possessions. So don’t throw away your confidence—it brings a great reward. You need to endure so that you can receive the promises after you do God’s will. In a little while longer, the one who is coming will come and won’t delay; but my righteous one will live by faith, and my whole being won’t be pleased with anyone who shrinks back. But we aren’t the sort of people who timidly draw back and end up being destroyed. We’re the sort of people who have faith so that our whole beings are preserved. (Hebrews 10:32-39, CEB)

“we aren’t the sort of people who timidly draw back and end up being destroyed. We’re the sort of people who have faith so that our whole beings are preserved.”

We do not draw back, we stand firm in our faith, speaking truth into hate and love into the void.

We hold to our faith and overcome whatever may come after us.

Stand strong and endure. You are never alone.

Loving People. Loving God.

covenant

We have been made holy by God’s will through the offering of Jesus Christ’s body once for all. Every priest stands every day serving and offering the same sacrifices over and over, sacrifices that can never take away sins. But when this priest offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, he sat down at the right side of God. Since then, he’s waiting until his enemies are made into a footstool for his feet, because he perfected the people who are being made holy with one offering for all time. The Holy Spirit affirms this when saying,
This is the covenant that I will make with them.
    After these days, says the Lord,
        I will place my laws in their hearts
        and write them on their minds.
    And I won’t remember their sins
        and their lawless behavior anymore.
When there is forgiveness for these things, there is no longer an offering for sin. (Hebrews 10:10-18, CEB)

Laws on hearts.

Laws on minds.

Forget the wrongs they have done.

When wrongs are forgiven there is no need for a sin offering.

God made a way. We need to see and follow.

Life is more than rules to be followed. It is truly love that needs to be shared.

When the kingdom is fulfilled we will all live in love.

What can we do now as we wait for the kingdom?

How can we better share love and show God’s love for all?

Loving People. Loving God.

compare…

“To what will I compare the people of this generation?” Jesus asked. “What are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace calling out to each other, ‘We played the flute for you and you didn’t dance. We sang a funeral song and you didn’t cry.’ John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ Yet the Human One came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved to be right by all her descendants.” (Luke 7:31-35, CEB)

We played the flute and you didn’t dance, and we sang a funeral song and you didn’t cry.

You didn’t play along the way I wanted you to, so you obviously don’t get it or understand what is supposed to happen.

Unless it fits in my box, neatly and nicely, it is wrong.

Jesus should have said, “God doesn’t fit in your religious box and never will.”

Give up on understanding God and live in love.

Do not expect a response and always be delighted by what happens.

Loving People. Loving God

Will they listen?

On the day scheduled for this purpose, many people came to the place where he was staying. From morning until evening, he explained and testified concerning God’s kingdom and tried to convince them about Jesus through appealing to the Law from Moses and the Prophets. Some were persuaded by what he said, but others refused to believe. They disagreed with each other and were starting to leave when Paul made one more statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke correctly when he said to your ancestors through Isaiah the prophet,
Go to this people and say:
You will hear, to be sure, but never understand;
    and you will certainly see but never recognize what you are seeing.
This people’s senses have become calloused,
    and they’ve become hard of hearing,
    and they’ve shut their eyes
        so that they won’t see with their eyes
        or hear with their ears
        or understand with their minds,
            and change their hearts and lives that I may heal them.
“Therefore, be certain of this: God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles. They will listen!” Paul lived in his own rented quarters for two full years and welcomed everyone who came to see him. Unhindered and with complete confidence, he continued to preach God’s kingdom and to teach about the Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 28:23-31, CEB)

They will listen.

Do we listen? Or are we so caught up in what we learned or were told as youth that we can not say that was the best we could do then? We have learned more and moved on, but if I say that part of my childhood was a lie or wrong, then what else was? We are so hung up on having it right. Knowing we are right. Maybe we need to just love.

We need to open our eyes and actually see.

We need to listen to hear and not respond.

We need to understand and know it’s ok to change our mind.

Being right isn’t always the best thing.

Let’s love while we wait and work for inclusion, mercy, and justice for all.

Loving People. Loving God.

Misled

Remember your leaders who spoke God’s word to you. Imitate their faith as you consider the way their lives turned out. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever! Don’t be misled by the many strange teachings out there. It’s a good thing for the heart to be strengthened by grace rather than by food. Food doesn’t help those who live in this context. We have an altar, and those who serve as priests in the meeting tent don’t have the right to eat from it. The blood of the animals is carried into the holy of holies by the high priest as an offering for sin, and their bodies are burned outside the camp. And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy with his own blood. So now, let’s go to him outside the camp, bearing his shame. We don’t have a permanent city here, but rather we are looking for the city that is still to come. So let’s continually offer up a sacrifice of praise through him, which is the fruit from our lips that confess his name. Don’t forget to do good and to share what you have because God is pleased with these kinds of sacrifices. Rely on your leaders and defer to them, because they watch over your whole being as people who are going to be held responsible for you. They need to be able to do this with pleasure and not with complaints about you, because that wouldn’t help you. (Hebrews 13:7-17, CEB)

We are waiting for the Lord to come to us as a baby in the manger. We are waiting for the Lord to return and fulfill the kingdom.

We need to stand strong in our faith and not be misled by those who would use the faith for their own gain. God knows the heart of every follower and the motivation for their actions.

Stand in love and share the love you have been given.

Do not be misled by anyone and hold fast to love.

Hope is always there in God. God is true to the promises, where humanity will seek their own rewards.

Love always wins.

Loving People. Loving God.

Good News

Then John said to the crowds who came to be baptized by him, “You children of snakes! Who warned you to escape from the angry judgment that is coming soon? Produce fruit that shows you have changed your hearts and lives. And don’t even think about saying to yourselves, Abraham is our father. I tell you that God is able to raise up Abraham’s children from these stones. The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be chopped down and tossed into the fire.” The crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” He answered, “Whoever has two shirts must share with the one who has none, and whoever has food must do the same.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized. They said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He replied, “Collect no more than you are authorized to collect.” Soldiers asked, “What about us? What should we do?” He answered, “Don’t cheat or harass anyone, and be satisfied with your pay.” The people were filled with expectation, and everyone wondered whether John might be the Christ. John replied to them all, “I baptize you with water, but the one who is more powerful than me is coming. I’m not worthy to loosen the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. The shovel he uses to sift the wheat from the husks is in his hands. He will clean out his threshing area and bring the wheat into his barn. But he will burn the husks with a fire that can’t be put out.” With many other words John appealed to them, proclaiming good news to the people. (Luke 3:7-18, CEB)

Do not collect more than you should.

Share an extra shirt with someone who needs it.

Be satisfied with what you receive and do not harass anyone.

Does this mean we don’t stand up for ourselves when we are mistreated? No. It simply means we do not mistreat others to get more than we should get.

We need to work to build relationships and community in all we do.

Love all. Share where you can.

Loving People. Loving God.

What?!?!

When the time came for Elizabeth to have her child, she gave birth to a boy. Her neighbors and relatives celebrated with her because they had heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy. On the eighth day, it came time to circumcise the child. They wanted to name him Zechariah because that was his father’s name. But his mother replied, “No, his name will be John.” They said to her, “None of your relatives have that name.” Then they began gesturing to his father to see what he wanted to call him. After asking for a tablet, he surprised everyone by writing, “His name is John.” At that moment, Zechariah was able to speak again, and he began praising God. All their neighbors were filled with awe, and everyone throughout the Judean highlands talked about what had happened. All who heard about this considered it carefully. They said, “What then will this child be?” Indeed, the Lord’s power was with him. (Luke 1:57-66, CEB)

Why name the child John, no one in your family is named John.

Sometimes we do not know the reason things happen. They just happen.

Maybe John needed to be his name, and that is what happened. When we want to know all the details we get bogged down in things that do not matter in the grand scheme of things. We get caught in the minutia but lose track of the whole picture. When we stand at the end of our life and look back over it with God we will see the masterful picture it is, but the details now get in the way of us seeing that.

Know the minutia we think is important, is merely a passing thought.

You are greatly loved by the one who set the stars in motion.

Share that love in all you do and let the details pass.

Loving People. Loving God.

cheerful giver

It’s unnecessary for me to write to you about this service for God’s people. I know about your willingness to help. I brag about you to the Macedonians, saying, “Greece has been ready since last year,” and your enthusiasm has motivated most of them. But I’m sending the brothers so that our bragging about you in this case won’t be empty words, and so that you can be prepared, just as I keep telling them you will be. If some Macedonians should come with me and find out that you aren’t ready, we (not to mention you) would be embarrassed as far as this project goes. This is why I thought it was necessary to encourage the brothers to go to you ahead of time and arrange in advance the generous gift you have already promised. I want it to be a real gift from you. I don’t want you to feel like you are being forced to give anything. What I mean is this: the one who sows a small number of seeds will also reap a small crop, and the one who sows a generous amount of seeds will also reap a generous crop. Everyone should give whatever they have decided in their heart. They shouldn’t give with hesitation or because of pressure. God loves a cheerful giver. God has the power to provide you with more than enough of every kind of grace. That way, you will have everything you need always and in everything to provide more than enough for every kind of good work. As it is written, He scattered everywhere; he gave to the needy; his righteousness remains forever. The one who supplies seed for planting and bread for eating will supply and multiply your seed and will increase your crop, which is righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous in every way. Such generosity produces thanksgiving to God through us. Your ministry of this service to God’s people isn’t only fully meeting their needs but it is also multiplying in many expressions of thanksgiving to God. They will give honor to God for your obedience to your confession of Christ’s gospel. They will do this because this service provides evidence of your obedience, and because of your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone. They will also pray for you, and they will care deeply for you because of the outstanding grace that God has given to you. Thank God for his gift that words can’t describe! (2 Corinthians 9:1-15, CEB)

You shouldn’t give with hesitation or because of pressure.

We should give out of our abundance and out of our need. We should give cheerfully and not because we will get something in return, but so that others may know they are loved.

We do not give to gain. We give because we were blessed to be a blessing and God first gave to us.

Always be ready to give and do so cheerfully, so all can know God’s love.

Loving People. Loving God.