2 Corinthians 9:6-8 We are blessed by our faith!

Galatians 6:7–9

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life…

Abraham was blessed that he could be a blessing. So are we. Through his faith all the world was blessed and God was glorified. May we all be generous in all areas of our lives not only in monetary gifts but in our time and talents, enriching the lives of all who we meet. We must treat others the same way we want to be treated. God loves a cheerful giver. Carla

2 Corinthians 9:6-8

But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.  (NKJV)

The law of the harvest is referred to repeatedly in Scripture (Proverbs 11:24, 25; 19:17; Luke 6:38; Galatians 6:7). Paul applied it to giving. Giving is like sowing seed. Knowing the law of the harvest (verse 6), each believer should give as he purposes in his heart. The believer is to give freely and cheerfully, not out of compulsion, and without regret. If we give, God is able to give us more so that we can perform other good works.  The NKJV Study

The Corinthians may have felt concerned about giving money because of the uncertainty of life in the ancient world. Paul does not want this to be reason for them to withhold their generosity. Paul affirms that God can provide everything they need, just as He is doing for the church in Jerusalem. Faithlife Study Bible

Deuteronomy 15:10

You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand. 

2 Corinthians 8:12

For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.

Exodus 25:2

“Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. 

From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering.

The planet needs people who wake up.

So. What if, waking up begins with wonder?

What if waking up begins with gladness, curiosity, gooseflesh, delight?

Without wonder we approach life as a self-help project. Eugene Peterson reminds us, "We (only) employ techniques; we analyze gifts and penalties; we set goals and assess progress. Spiritual formation is reduced to cosmetics."…

Today I don't need to overcome. Today I need to play. Latch on to moments of wonder and joy.

What if I don’t feel like playing? What if my spirit is too heavy? Fair enough.

I know exactly what that feels like... So. Let’s think of it this way: Play is an openness to a part of me that has been closed or discounted.

Which means that play is not so much an activity, as a suspending of control.

Let this be our prayer:

Let us recapture that child in each of us;

that child still smitten with wonder.

Where is the play in your life?

Where is the rest?

Where is the wonder?

Where is the gladness?

Where is the gooseflesh?

And St. John of the Cross reminds us of the soil where this seed, this awakening to wonder (this inkling of the fullness) comes to life.

“When you regarded me

Your eyes imprinted your grace in me,

In this, you loved me again,

And thus my eyes merited

To also love what you see in me....

Let us go forth together to see ourselves in Your beauty.” (Spiritual Canticle)

Sabbath Moments

Psalm 21:4 God gives us an abundant life and it is good.

 Psalm 133:3

It is like the dew of Hermon,

Descending upon the mountains of Zion;

For there the LORD commanded the blessing—Life forevermore.

In God is life and that life is eternal. We are blessed here and forever. He knows His desires for us and they are good to prosper and protect us from the evil that seeks to destroy us. Carla

Psalm 21:4

He asked life from You, and You gave it to him—

 Length of days forever and ever. (NKJV)

King David acknowledges that all he has is God’s gift; his kingship itself (the crown) is a gift from the Lord. But God’s greatest gift is life—temporal and eternal. In response to God for His many gifts, David trusts in the Lord, for he knows that this trust is not misplaced (15:5). These words of this passage should not be limited to King David, for they also speak generally of God’s blessings on all believers. Each of us shares in the blessings of true royalty when we place our trust in the Lord, the Great King. The NKJV Study Bible

The Israelites considered long life a blessing from God (91:16), a reward for obedience or wisdom (Deuteronomy 30:20; Proverbs 3:1–2). Faithlife Study Bible

Psalm 61:5–6

For You, O God, have heard my vows;

You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name.

You will prolong the king’s life,

His years as many generations.

Psalm 91:16

With long life I will satisfy him,

And show him My salvation.”

2 Samuel 7:19

And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O Lord GOD; and You have also spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come. Is this the manner of man, O Lord GOD? 

This week, we embrace the invitation to sanctify--and embrace delight in--the ordinary.
The hiding place for the holy.
May Sarton put it best (and now my daily mantra). “I spend the first 20 minutes of my morning walking the garden looking for miracles.”
I am struck by the rootedness that comes with investment.
And gratefully, it is the place where delight bubbles up, a “praising of the mysterious and tender touching we are so often in the midst of.” (Thank you Ross Gay, The Book of Delights.)
Joseph Campbell’s observation, “People say that what all we're seeking is a meaning for life. I don't think that's what we're really seeking. I think what we're seeking is an experience of being alive—of the rapture of being alive.”
Yes, and Amen, the sacrament of the present moment...

My friends, “Today, where did you see, find, savor wonder?”
“Where did you embrace passion and the delight of wholeheartedness?” Sabbath Moments

As the light of dawn awakens earth's creatures

and stirs into song the birds of the morning

so may I be brought to life this day.

Rising to see the light

to hear the wind

to smell the fragrance of what grows from the ground

to taste its fruit

and touch its textures

so may my inner senses be awakened to you

so may my senses be awakened to you, O God.

Celtic Benediction 

Galatians 1:10 God honors the spark of Him that abides in us

 Romans 2:29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.

We see in part that which God sees in whole. He sees the heart of a person and we cannot. That part of us that belongs to Him He loves and protects. Help me God to see the spirit  that was created from Your love and that is in every person born! To do otherwise is to deny You. All of mankind and Your creation deserves the respect and the dignity that belongs to You. Carla

Galatians 1:10

For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. (NKJV)

To please men was neither Paul’s motivation nor the source of his authority (verse 1). Paul continually sought the approval of God. He did not base his decisions on the opinions of other people. Instead he single-mindedly aimed at pleasing God (Philippians  3:14). As an apostle Paul was a leader, but he was always a bondservant of Christ. The NKJV Study Bible

In preaching the gospel, the apostle sought to bring persons to the obedience, not of men, but of God. But Paul would not attempt to alter the doctrine of Christ, either to gain their favour, or to avoid their fury. In so important a matter we must not fear the frowns of men, nor seek their favour, by using words of men’s wisdom. Concerning the manner wherein he received the gospel, he had it by revelation from Heaven. He was not led to Christianity, as many are, merely by education. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Paul was being accused of easing the requirements of obedience to the law for Gentile believers (non-Jewish people who believed in Jesus). For example, while circumcision was a sign of God’s covenant with Abraham (Genesis 17), Paul did not require that Gentile believers be circumcised. This made his message more appealing to Gentiles while opening him to the charge of seeking to appease people. Faithlife Study Bible

1 Corinthians 10:33

just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

Romans 1:1

Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God 

1 Timothy 2:4

But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. 

1 Samuel 24:7

So David restrained his servants with these words, and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and went on his way.

With so much of today's news being fueled by fear and uncertainty, I wonder some days if my own passion and heart is being leached from me. My mind races. When that happens, my spirit is anxious and heavy. And I detach. It is a dark place in me that I do not like. Or maybe I don’t like that I’m susceptible. Either way, it numbs the part of my life and my spirit that is essential.

Today I needed a reminder of the renewing, and replenishing, and healing gift of small wonders.

Our question this week is, “Today, where did you see, find, savor wonder?”

“Where did you embrace passion and the delight of wholeheartedness?” Sabbath Moments

Acts 14:8-:8-10 Just believe in the wonder and power of God in our lives!

 Matthew 9:28–29

And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.” 

In the measure that we believe in the power of God to do what we cannot is the measure that we can receive from Him. It is in His power to change us and heal us. he does this in the salvation that He offers us. in the name of Jesus the anointed of God His goodness and mercy is shown in those who believe. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and with Him nothing is impossible! To God alone all glory. Carla

Acts 14:8-10

8 And in Lystra a certain man without strength in his feet was sitting, a cripple from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. 9 This man heard Paul speaking. Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, 10 said with a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet!” And he leaped and walked. (NKJV)

The Roman poet Ovid told of an ancient legend in which Zeus and Hermes came to the Phrygian hill country disguised as mortals seeking lodging. After being turned away from a thousand homes, they found refuge in the humble cottage of an elderly couple. In appreciation for the couple’s hospitality, the gods transformed the cottage into a temple with a golden roof and marble columns. All the houses of the inhospitable people were then destroyed. This ancient legend may be the reason that the people treated Paul and Barnabas as gods. After witnessing the healing of the cripple, they did not want to make the same mistake as their ancestors. The NKJV Study Bible

Even when Paul and Barnabas are accepted after healing a lame man, they find that the non-Jewish people in Lystra misunderstand their message. Faithlife Study Bible

Acts 3:2

And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; 

Acts 3:8

So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. 

When life does indeed feel upside down, we ask, “How can I ever make a difference in a broken world?”
“What does it mean to create safe places?”
“How can we create places of sanity and sanctuary?”
Well that’s just it, so let us begin here: We—every one of us—do make a difference in the small world.
The small world is the place where we stand. Today.
It is the place where we care, and where we give a damn. And hug and give and try and love and fall down, and get up and repent, and cry and embrace, and challenge and reconcile and heal. Where we stand up—knowing we will not “close our eyes” to injustice—because we choose to make a difference with mercy and kindness.

So. I put my pen down. (Yes, I do indeed write Sabbath Moment with a nib pen.)
And head outside, to wander a wee bit. The sun still high in the sky, and the warmth is reviving and energizing on my skin. And the garden gifts instantly catch my eye. And I smile real big. Anemone blooms—as if faces of laughter, and exuberance. A hummer is at the saliva, here for his afternoon happy hour—and still flapping his wings 50 to 80 times per second. And in the grass nearby, a wood frog lingers, so I chatted with him a wee bit. On one of the roses, new buds, promising Autumn offerings. This I do know, the garden and nature gifts remind you that any “time piece” is of no need, or importance.

Yesterday, my Atlantic magazine arrived. The first article, “The Missing Ingredient of Modern Life. Why we need wonder,” by Ian Bogost.
“I’ve come to believe that wonder, the most immense of our sensations, is the antidote. Wonder can rise up anywhere,” he writes.
Oh my. Yes. And Amen.
And now, it’s paradigm shift time. The question is not, “Where did you feel unsettled or undone today?”
Rather, “Today, where did you see, find, savor wonder?”
“Where did you embrace passion and the delight of wholeheartedness?”
The good news: wonder is not detoured by life's unkindness.
The Celtic church had a word for these moments of transformation. They called them thin places. “A thin place is anywhere our hearts are opened,” writes Marcus Borg. “They are places where the boundary between the two levels becomes very soft, porous, permeable. Thin places where the veil momentarily lifts, and we behold (the ‘ahaah of The Divine’) all around us and in us.” Sabbath Moments

There is no one righteous, no not one, but Christ and Him crucified for the sins of the world.

 There is no such thing as deserving. None.

No one is owed anything. 
One’s work, behavior, virtue or sin is irrelevant.
God loves each of us the same—infinitely—
according to God’s love, not our “deserving.”
God is free from our past:
God’s love isn’t determined by what we’ve done.
The devil wants you to fear 
that God doesn’t really forgive, doesn’t just plain love, 
but demands some kind of transaction,
some making up for something, 
some reward or punishment, some quid pro quo. 
This is how Satan gets us to eat the fruit of the Tree 
of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Oh, how smart we are.

Jesus will have none of it. 
He rips at our secure place in the caste system
(not up with the saints but higher than those people… ).
And he rips at our assuming to measure.
And our assuming (how handy for us!)
we are owed more than others.

Listen: Everybody gets God’s love, everybody the same.

Listen to your heart when I say that.
Everybody gets God’s love just the same. Everybody.
Even you know who. 
What in you wants to say, “But….”?
Is that God’s voice.. or something else? 
Why do you fight against the infinity of God’s love?
What is the fear, the hurt you hang onto?
What if you were to let go, and let God love? 
What if there is no deserving, but only giving and receiving? 
What if you are one of those who is given 
way more than you earned? 
Will you fuss… or just say thanks?
— Steve Garnaas-Holmes, “Quid Pro Quo”