Jeremiah 29:11-13 If you seek the Lord you will find Him!

The knowledge of God isn’t just knowledge about God. It’s also the desire and the process of inclining and applying your heart to understanding.  Barry, J. D., & Kruyswijk, R. (2012).

Faith, hope and love and the greatest of these is LOVE! God is love and He longs for all of His creation to come to Him. God has a plan for every human that He created it is up to us to live in His plan for us.Carla

Jeremiah 29:11-13 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. 

The plans of Yahweh assures the exiles that His long-term plan is good and that He has not abandoned them. Their national calamity would have precipitated feelings of hopelessness and abandonment.  Faithlife Study Bible

The Lord here places considerable emphasis on His unchangeable plan to bring peace and not evil. God had not terminated His relationship with Judah; He remembered His covenant promises of restoration (Deuteronomy 30:1–10). The promised response of the Lord to the people’s prayers stands in contrast to His refusal to hear in 7:16. 

With all your heart: The picture here differs greatly from the usual depiction of the heart of the people of Judah as stubborn and wicked (3:10; 4:14; 7:24). God would search the people’s heart and reveal its true character (11:20).  The NKJV Study Bible

Sitting in a Cathedral that is many centuries old, I do understand the invitation to pause. To pray. To confess. To embrace pardon and mercy. To savor grace. And to celebrate—“This is my body, broken for you.”

What matters is not your pace.

What matters is not your spiritual temperament.

What matters is that you took a step.

What matter is that you chose.

What matters is that you began your journey.

In John’s Gospel, there is a wonderful story about a tough question and a fabled pool. This famous pool, near the Sheep’s Gate in Jerusalem, included five porticoes, where chronically sick and disabled of the city lived, waiting. You see, rumor (or legend) believed that an angel visits the pool, at random times, stirring up the water, which gives it healing properties. But there was a catch. Only the first person to step into the pool after the angel disturbs it, receives healing. Like a lottery.

So. Jesus passes by this outdoor nursing home and sees a man lying by the pool. This man has been sick for thirty-eight years. Jesus stops, and asks the man a question. No introductions. No small talk. No sermon. Just a question: “Do you want to be made well?”

Simple question. Maybe? But the answer is not so simple.

Jesus prefers these “tell-me-the-truth” questions. (“Do you love me?” “Why are you so afraid?” “Are you also going to leave?” “How long shall I put up with you?” “Do you still not understand?”)

“Do you want to be made well?”

Jesus cuts to the chase. In his direct question and invitation, he is saying loudly and clearly to the man, “I see more than your sickness. I see more than your defeat, your resignation and your stagnation. Yes, your hope has dwindled, however I see your capacity to choose, grow, give, transform and spill light. Where you see scarcity, I see sufficiency.”

Amen. And onward my friends. “Sabbath Moments”

Ecclesiastes is a melody of mostly minor chords. In today's scriptures, it's like we hear the Teacher singing a lament questioning life's purpose. The Teacher grieved injustices that grieve our hearts too: Why do some people relentlessly harm others, and no one stops them? Why do some people suffer without reprieve? Where is God when powerful people oppress the weak with impunity?

The mournful meditation in Ecclesiastes 4:1 begins with a poetic play on words. The Teacher saw the tears of the oppressed and the power of oppressors, and he said both "had no one to comfort them." The Hebrew word for "comfort," nacham, can also be translated as "repent" or "relent." The Teacher was observing that the helpless are oppressed without pity or compassion while the oppressors continue to oppress without repenting or relenting.

These verses hum with melancholy notes of despair. The Teacher even moaned that the dead may be "more fortunate" than those who live to see such great evil on earth. It is better, he thought, not to be born (Ecclesiastes 4:2-3). But his biggest problem was actually one of perspective: He was looking at the tragedies of life he saw around him but not at the Creator and Author of life (Psalm 139:14).

Similarly, if we only listen to the minor chords of helpless defeat, we will be crushed by the weight of despair. But the end of today's passage provides a new song. We may have to wait for God's ultimate movements of justice against oppressors, but even now, we experience His quiet changing of our hearts.

In a world where greed breeds oppression, Ecclesiastes 4:4-6 suggests we can find "a handful of quietness" when we stop chasing worldly gain, envy, and "striving after wind." We will find tranquility and peace when we look at what God has placed in our hands and choose to be satisfied in Him. Despite oppression, we can choose contentment and receive quietness.

Like the Teacher, we might have moments and seasons that feel like minor chords. Sometimes suffering and oppression even feel like the main overtures of life. Yet this truth prevails: God, the great Composer, is writing a glorious symphony. We can live in the minor chords with the contentment that God is ultimately writing a better song (Psalm 40:3; Psalm 98:1; Revelation 5:9). First5

Proverbs 16:9 Trust God He is just!

Proverbs 19:21 

There are many plans in a man’s heart,

Nevertheless the LORD’s counsel—that will stand.

When we trust in God He directs our steps. The Godhead makes the crooked path point straight to Jesus.

Proverbs 16:9 

A man’s heart plans his way, 

But the Lord directs his steps.

Our God  is in control and He answers our prayers for ourselves and for others. Carla

This section of Proverbs 1-9 is framed by a comparison of the plans of people’s hearts and the direction of Yahweh (verse  16:9). Yahweh establishes the plans of those who seek Him and follow Him; He causes their enemies to be at peace with them (verse 3, 16:7). 

Yahweh looks at the heart of humankind (verse 2) and punishes the arrogant (verse 5). Yahweh has created everything—even the wicked—for a purpose (verse 4). Faithlife Study Bible

These verses contrast human limitations with the sovereignty of God. 

Man can plan, dream, and hope, but the final outcome is from the Lord. 

Rather than “resign ourselves to fate,” we should trust in God. Our loving Lord is in control of our seemingly chaotic situations. In addition to being sovereign, God is the final Judge. 

All the injustices of this world will be corrected some glorious day. The verb commit … to is from a word meaning “to roll.” The idea is to “roll your cares onto the Lord.” Trusting the Lord with our decisions frees us from preoccupation with our problems. The NKJV Study Bible

Proverbs 16:1 

The preparations of the heart belong to man,

But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.

Psalm 37:23 

The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD,

And He delights in his way.

Proverbs 20:24 

A man’s steps are of the LORD;

How then can a man understand his own way?

Jeremiah 10:23 

O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself;

It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps

May I walk this day

in the realm of grace,

walking with You

my feet firmly on your earth-path,

my heart loving all as kindred,

my words and deeds alive with justice.

May I walk as blessing,

meeting blessing at every turn

in every challenge, blessing,

in all opposition, blessing,

in harm’s way, blessing.

May I walk each step in this moment of grace,

alert to hear You

and awake enough to say

a simple Yes.

Robert Corin Morris

The prophet Micah gives us further insight into the kind of work God wants us to do: "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8).

God cares deeply about justice. He wants us to care about it too (Proverbs 31:8-9; Isaiah 1:17; Jeremiah 22:3; Psalm 82:3-4). And fortunately, though humans and even animals have a limited time on this earth, so does injustice. The day will come when "God will judge the righteous and the wicked" (Ecclesiastes 3:17).

The writers of the New Testament share this conviction that God's justice will prevail. In 2 Thessalonians 1:6-7, the Apostle Paul echoed the assertion of Ecclesiastes 3:17 and explained it further in light of the gospel of Jesus: "God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict [His people], and to grant relief to you who are afflicted ... when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels." 

Until the day Christ returns, we will observe countless examples of injustice around us. To persevere, we require what commentator Craig Bartholomew calls "ruthless trust" in Jesus, who justifies us before God even now (Romans 3:26) and who will bring perfect justice in eternity for all the oppressed.

You and I cannot banish all the injustice in this world, but we each have a sphere of influence. We can treat those around us with compassion and dignity. We can support organizations that share God's love by working for justice regionally, nationally, and globally.When we stand against oppression, we align our hearts with the heart of God, the Author of justice and mercy. In our time on earth, let's find joy in this work God gives us. First5

Isaiah 8:14-15 Jesus, the name above all names!

Jesus the name above all names. King of kings and Lord of lords. No one comes to the Father except through Him.

Romans 8:31-33 but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. 32 Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone. 33 As it is written: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”

Jesus the only name by which mankind can be saved. 

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, male nor female in the Body of Christ. We are all bound together in the sacrifice of the King of the Jews. Carla

Isaiah 8:14-15 

He will be as a sanctuary, 

But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense 

To both the houses of Israel, 

As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 

15 And many among them shall stumble; 

They shall fall and be broken, 

Be snared and taken.”

God is a sanctuary for believers, but a stone of stumbling for unbelievers (Psalm 118:22; Luke 20:17, 18; Romans 9:33; 1 Peter 2:6–8). Both the houses designates both the northern and the southern kingdom, that is, both Israel and Judah. The NKJV Study Bible

1 Peter 2:8 and 

“A stone of stumbling

And a rock of offense.” 

They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.

Romans 9:33 As it is written:“Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense,And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”

Luke 2:34  Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against 

Isaiah 4:6 And there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain.

Ezekiel 11:16 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet I shall be a little sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.” ’

Care of any kind—kindness, humanity, compassion, magnanimity—begins with self-care. We too easily don’t see or make the connection. We see shifts and threats to our life and our world, and then we set out, mentally and emotionally and behaviorally, to make changes, as if we need to find “the precise script”. Wondering, where should we be (instead of where we are)?

Forgetting that even when life is catawampus, our choices—to care and give and make a difference—spill from our healed and replenished self.

From that replenished place we can see, listen, relinquish assumptions, and choose to make the world—our small world that we touch—a safe, compassionate, inclusive, kindhearted, healing place. “Sabbath Moments”

Colossians 1:13-18 The Body of Christ consist of all who believe in Him!

John 1:1–3  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God…

In Jesus Christ, and through Him, we are redeemed from sin and death. No longer are we tossed to and fro from the destruction that is of this world. 

Colossians 1:13-18 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

Jesus is the head and we, by faith in Him and the salvation that He offers in His death and resurrection, form His Body. Sacred and protected nothing can destroy the honor due God’s only begotten Son. To God all honor and glory. Carla

Domain of darkness refers to the realm dominated by sin and death (Ephesians 6:12). Kingdom is the realm in which Christ reigns as King, where His sovereign rule is carried out. 

The transfer from one realm to the other is accomplished by God: In His love and grace, He brings believers out of the domain of sin and death and moves them into the kingdom of His Son. Faithlife Study Bible

Delivered … conveyed: God has liberated believers from the dominion of darkness. The apostle uses the common symbolism of light and darkness for good and evil, for God’s kingdom and Satan’s kingdom, that is found throughout the New Testament. The kingdom from which believers have been rescued is the kingdom of darkness (John 1:4–9; Ephesians 5:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:5; 1 Peter 2:9; 1 John 1:5). The NKJV Study Bible

Ephesians 1:15–23 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:…

Ephesians 1:6–7 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 

Romans 11:36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

Revelation 3:14 

“And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; 

These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God

I know I write about this—but realize I need to repeat it, for my own absorption; on life’s pilgrimage, God is not waiting until we have it all figured out. The gift of life is in this present moment.

We forget that life is not “a script”. Life is a choice. We choose. This is an invitation to participate in this life. To bring all that I am to the table of this moment. To invest my heart. To spill light where I can. What Barbara Kingsolver calls a “conspiracy with life.” Stories that are reminders of sufficiency and the sacrament of the present, to help us not give way to any restrictive narrative of fear. Sabbath Moments

“Sufficiency isn't two steps up from poverty or one step short of abundance. It isn't a measure of barely enough or more than enough. Sufficiency isn't an amount at all. It is an experience, a context we generate, a declaration, a knowing that there is enough, and that we are enough.” Lynne Twist

When we accept what we cannot control and we acknowledge God's sovereignty, we gain both humility and confidence in our daily activities.

With humility, we acknowledge that nothing in this world is ours forever (Matthew 24:35; Matthew 6:19). There is "a time to keep, and a time to cast away" or let go (Ecclesiastes 3:6).

With confidence, we make the best use of our time, not striving after wind but intentionally pursuing God's appointed purposes (Ephesians 5:16).

Today, may God's sovereignty over "every matter under heaven" (Ecclesiastes 3:1) lead us to live with humble confidence, assured of His purposes in every season. First5