No payment

Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company; he came and stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel; please accept a present from your servant.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will accept nothing!” He urged him to accept, but he refused. Then Naaman said, “If not, please let two mule-loads of earth be given to your servant; for your servant will no longer offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any god except the Lord. But may the Lord pardon your servant on one count: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, leaning on my arm, and I bow down in the house of Rimmon, when I do bow down in the house of Rimmon, may the Lord pardon your servant on this one count.” He said to him, “Go in peace.” (2 Kings 5:15-19a, NRSV)

Naaman was just healed of his disease and he wants to repay the man who did it for him.

We have all been there. Someone does something nice for us and we want to show our gratitude.

Only difference here is, Elisha is not really the one who did it for Naaman. And when we do tho gs for the Lord and people want to repay us, we should not accept, because it is not us, but God and we do not do the will of God for selfish gain, or prizes.

We are to do as God leads us, knowing the promises He has made and the blessings we have already received, not for what is to come to us.

God has richly blessed us to be a blessing, and that is all the payment we should need!

Thankful…

On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:11-19, NRSV)

10 are healed…

One comes back to the one who healed 10 and falls at His feet to give thanks!

All 10 are cleansed, and healed of the disease that is keeping them from the community…

But one is made well by his faith. Or he was saved by his faith. He asked for healing and by being thankful for what he was given he was made whole, well, or saved!

What are you thankful for?

Do you focus on your needs or what you have been given?

Be thankful or what you have and remember to give thanks!

If you will

While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him. And he charged him to tell no one, but “go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray. (Luke 5:12-16 ESV)

Lord, if you will, you can make me clean!

What a prayer!

We often say that we want Jesus to heal a friend or ourselves. But how do we ask?

Jesus please heal me or my friend…

Give them health…

Why do we not give Jesus glory and ask for our salvation? We just lose sight in our hearts and minds who Jesus is, and what He has already done for us.

He can and will heal us, if we will but make ourselves open and available to His healing…

So will you open yourself to the healing that Christ will give you?

Rules

You then, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus; and what you have heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well. Share in suffering like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving in the army gets entangled in everyday affairs; the soldier’s aim is to please the enlisting officer. And in the case of an athlete, no one is crowned without competing according to the rules. It is the farmer who does the work who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in all things. (2 Timothy 2:1-7, NRSV)

And in the case of an athlete, no one is crowned without competing according to the rules…

What are the rules?

Does the author of 2 Timothy mean that we have to keep all of the Levitcal laws? Are those the rules?

Well if that is the standard by which we are measuring then Jesus and the disciples would not be crowned!

So what are the rules, and how do we not get entangled in everyday affairs?

We love, as Christ loved us. We think of the other first. And put their needs in front of our own. Christ took care of us and our needs, and we are here as His hands and feet to take care of their needs. Not for our gain, but for theirs!

If the reason you are doing something is for your own gain, or your own comfort, then you are not competing according to the rules…

Live for Jesus and be the love that He came to show to the world!

Things Jesus said that maybe we wish he didn’t…

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.”

“But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear “

“If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire.”

“Love your neighbor as yourself.”

“Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part.”

“If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out.”

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

“When someone strikes you on one cheek, turn and offer to him the other one.”

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

“I come not to bring peace, but to bring a sword.”

“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”

“Sell all you have and give the money to the poor.”

“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things… But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness…”

“Anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me”

“For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Great is the Lord!

Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them. Full of honor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures for ever. He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds; the Lord is gracious and merciful. He provides food for those who fear him; he is ever mindful of his covenant. He has shown his people the power of his works, in giving them the heritage of the nations. The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy. They are established for ever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness. He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant for ever. Holy and awesome is his name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures for ever. (Psalm 111, NRSV)

I always give thanks to the Lord. Even in the state I am in, living month to month. Wondering if each week I will be able to pay my bills. I wonder if my children will have enough to eat, and will I be able to do for them the things they need to have done.

Every time one of them is sick my first thought is not about taking them to the doctor to get them better, it is on if we have to take them to the doctor, will we be able to afford it. Every time I take the car to have the oil changed, I worry what will be found wrong with the car that I will have to fix, and how will we afford that. Next month our insurance on our car is due, and where will that money come from. And in December our renters insurance is due…

Yes I know if I was budgeting all of this would be taken care of. But when you don’t know how much money you have coming in it is hard to budget. When your spouse tells you they are cutting back hours at work and the schedule will only be for 20 hours, the first thought is to what can we cut…

But still on all of this, I give thanks to the Lord for He is good and He has always taken care of me and my family. I trust in God and the promises He has made to us.

Noise Quotes

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. ~ Steve Jobs

We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… We need silence to be able to touch souls. ~ Mother Teresa

Noise proves nothing. Often a hen who has merely laid an egg cackles as if she laid an asteroid. ~ Mark Twain

Soon silence will have passed into legend. Man has turned his back on silence. Day after day he invents machines and devices that increase noise and distract humanity from the essence of life, contemplation, meditation. ~ Jean Arp

I think there’s something strangely musical about noise. ~ Trent Reznor

Hate is the consequence of fear; we fear something before we hate it; a child who fears noises becomes a man who hates noise. ~ Cyril Connolly

Distinguishing the signal from the noise requires both scientific knowledge and self-knowledge. ~ Nate Silver

Noise is a buffer, more effective than cubicles or booth walls. ~ Margaret Heffernan

True merit, like a river, the deeper it is, the less noise it makes. ~ Edward F. Halifax

God is gone up on high with a triumphant noise. ~ Charles Wesley

The world is noisy and messy. You need to deal with the noise and uncertainty. ~ Daphne Koller

I think too many comic book covers are way too busy, crammed with far too much information, both visual and verbal, that just becomes a dull noise. ~ Chip Kidd

I think there’s an awful lot of noise about the Church being persecuted but there is a more real issue that the conventional churches face – that the people who are really driving their revival and success believe in an old-time religion which, in my view, is incompatible with a modern, multi-ethnic, multicultural society. ~ Trevor Phillips

While doing centering prayer, the practice is to let go of any thought or perception. The priority is to be as silent as possible and when that is not possible to let the noise of the thoughts be the sacred symbol for a while, without analyzing them. ~ Thomas Keating

I’ve kept my phone on silent for a year and a half. For me, it’s too much noise. It’s not my jam. I like to keep things a lot more easygoing. The world’s not going to stop if you don’t pick up your phone. ~ Carly Pope

The role of television is the illusion of company, noise. I call it the fifth wall and the second window: the window of illusion. ~ Mumia Abu-Jamal

Silence Quotes

In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… We need silence to be able to touch souls. ~ Mother Teresa

Silence is a source of great strength. ~ Lao Tzu

Silence is a true friend who never betrays. ~ Confucius

Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content. ~ Helen Keller

I wash my hands of those who imagine chattering to be knowledge, silence to be ignorance, and affection to be art. ~ Khalil Gibran

Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself, and know that everything in life has purpose. There are no mistakes, no coincidences, all events are blessings given to us to learn from. ~ Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

He who does not understand your silence will probably not understand your words. ~ Elbert Hubbard

No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow. ~ Alice Walker

In the silence of night I have often wished for just a few words of love from one man, rather than the applause of thousands of people. ~ Judy Garland

A man who lives right, and is right, has more power in his silence than another has by his words. ~ Phillips Brooks

Silence is one of the hardest arguments to refute. ~ Josh Billings

Silence is one of the great arts of conversation. ~ Marcus Tullius Cicero

It is tact that is golden, not silence. ~ Samuel Butler

Well-timed silence hath more eloquence than speech. ~ Martin Farquhar Tupper

Silence is foolish if we are wise, but wise if we are foolish. ~ Charles Caleb Colton

Silence at the proper season is wisdom, and better than any speech. ~ Plutarch

We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. ~ Elie Wiesel

I was very, very religious. And of course I wrote about it in ‘Night.’ I questioned God’s silence. So I questioned. I don’t have an answer for that. Does it mean that I stopped having faith? No. I have faith, but I question it. ~ Elie Wiesel

Truth is not only violated by falsehood; it may be equally outraged by silence. ~ Henri Frederic Amiel

Great souls suffer in silence. ~ Friedrich Schiller

The most profound statements are often said in silence. ~ Lynn Johnston

Put a bridle on thy tongue; set a guard before thy lips, lest the words of thine own mouth destroy thy peace… on much speaking cometh repentance, but in silence is safety. ~ William Drummond

Silence is better than unmeaning words. ~ Pythagoras

Silence is a statement that is open to gross misinterpretation. ~ Craig Bruce

I drank the silence of God from a spring in the woods. ~ Georg Trakl

It’s very important in life to know when to shut up. You should not be afraid of silence. ~ Alex Trebek

Music is the silence between the notes. ~ Claude Debussy

In some causes silence is dangerous. ~ Saint Ambrose

A good word is an easy obligation; but not to speak ill requires only our silence, which costs us nothing. ~ John Tillotson

I’m familiar with that feeling of silence that comes with a very imminent catastrophe, when you know you have absolutely no control over a situation. ~ Dave Matthews

I think television has betrayed the meaning of democratic speech, adding visual chaos to the confusion of voices. What role does silence have in all this noise? ~ Federico Fellini

Once you permit those who are convinced of their own superior rightness to censor and silence and suppress those who hold contrary opinions, just at that moment the citadel has been surrendered. ~ Archibald MacLeish

Listen to the sound of silence. ~ Paul Simon

For sin is just this, what man cannot by its very nature do with his whole being; it is possible to silence the conflict in the soul, but it is not possible to uproot it. ~ Martin Buber

The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenements halls and whispered in the sounds of silence. ~ Paul Simon

He who sleeps in continual noise is wakened by silence. ~ William Dean Howells

Silence may be golden, but can you think of a better way to entertain someone than to listen to him? ~ Brigham Young

In prayerful silence you must look into your own heart. No one can tell you better than yourself what comes between you and God. Ask yourself. Then listen! ~ Johannes Tauler

Even in the most beautiful music there are some silences, which are there so we can witness the importance of silence. ~ Andrea Bocelli

My hope and prayer is that the body of Christ in America will awake with holy boldness, a boldness content neither with silence nor mere words but that backs up those words with action and results. ~ Frank R. Wolf

The better the information it has, the better democracy works. Silence and secrecy are never good for it. ~ Kate Adie

The desert has its holiness of silence, the crowd its holiness of conversation. ~ Walter Elliot

The music aids the message, it’s there to punctuate and abbreviate and shape the silence. ~ Saul Williams

Silence is the pause in me when I am near to God. ~ Arvo Part

Leadership is about encouraging women to break their silence and tell their stories to the world. ~ Zainab Salbi

In the beginning, there was silence. And out of the silence came the sound. The sound is not here. ~ Daniel Barenboim

Some persons talk simply because they think sound is more manageable than silence. ~ Margaret Halsey

Listen to the silence. Listen to your life. Be present, not just think about what’s going on next week, next month. ~ Mike Dirnt

believe…

On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see whether perhaps he would find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it. In the morning as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. Then Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you. So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Mark 11:12-14, 20-24, NRSV)

Why are we not able to throw mountains into the sea?

Is it because we do not believe?

Or is it because we doubt?

Wait a minute isn’t not believing and doubting the same thing?

No I do not think so. We are led to the understanding that they are opposites from the text above, “…if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe…”. Doubt though is not the opposite of belief, unbelief is the opposite of belief. Doubt is a part of us that lead us to seek out answers and to deepen our understanding.

When Thomas confronted Jesus, Jesus said to him, “do not be unbelieving, but believe!” Doubt was the thing that pushed Thomas to keep coming back. The wonder of Jesus being alive.

We can not move mountains, because it is not God’s will for the mountains to move. You see this verse says that what ever you want ask and it will be given if you only believe. But the biblical witness tells us, that we will get what we ask for when it is inline with the will of God. And if God wills a mountain to move, He does not need me or you to do it!!

So believe, with all your heart, and allow your doubt to push you to become a deeper stronger disciple!