2 Corinthians 4:16-18 By faith the things not seen are eternal and this present life is temporary.

Romans 8:24

For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 

Today is my birthday I am 75 years old how can that possibly be true? Faith is the knowing that the things of this life, while perishing daily, will one day be replaced with eternal life with our Creator. It is the substance of things known but not seen. Carla

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. (NKJV)

Faith enables to make this right judgment of things. There are unseen things, as well as things that are seen. And there is this vast difference between them; unseen things are eternal, seen things but temporal, or temporary only. Let us then look off from the things which are seen; let us cease to seek for worldly advantages, or to fear present distresses. Let us give diligence to make our future happiness sure. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Believers should continue to grow in the knowledge of God and be transformed into Christ’s image in preparation for His return the Holy Spirit does this work in believers. Hardships are temporary and easier to bear when put in the perspective of eternity. Such hardships do not merit glory; rather, God uses them to display His strength in weakness. Paul does not focus on his afflictions. Instead, he reflects on God’s promises and the hope of resurrection in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20; 4:14). Faithlife Study Bible

Paul concluded that the Corinthians should not lose heart, because God would raise them up with Jesus (verse 14). Here is a great principle. A proper focus on our glorious future with Christ will empower us to endure any kind of trouble. The outward man is the physical body, called in this section “the earthen vessel” (verse 7), “the body” (verse 10), “mortal flesh” (verse 11), “earthly house” (5:1), and “tent” (5:1). Working means “producing,” or “accomplishing.” Afflictions produce glory. But the glory is out of proportion to the affliction: trials are light and temporary compared to the eternal glory we will receive (Mark 10:30). Paul’s focus on the future enabled him to properly assess problems and see how small they were compared to their eternal results.

Look means “to keep one’s eye on,” “to consider,” or “to contemplate.” The noun form of this verb means “goal”. In order not to lose heart, the believer needs to shift his or her focus from that which is seen to that which is not seen, from temporary problems to the glorious eternal rewards he or she will receive (verse 17). The NKJV Study Bible

Romans 7:22

For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 

Romans 8:18

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 

2 Corinthians 5:7

For we walk by faith, not by sight. 

Isaiah 40:29–31

He gives power to the weak,

And to those who have no might He increases strength.

Even the youths shall faint and be weary,

And the young men shall utterly fall…

Yesterday we were invited to plant a tree.

Plant a tree, because compassion still matters.

Plant a tree, because truth still matters.

Plant a tree, because the future—even an uncertain future—is still worthy of care.

And I received this email from Stephen. “Terry, Thank you! I needed the reminder of what I do, and to hear it from somebody. So, I plant trees, by planting seeds in people’s hearts. Seeds of Hope, seeds of life, seeds of compassion, seeds of forgiveness. Especially seeds that ‘they are enough’, and they don’t have to earn love.”

Yes. And Amen. Planting seeds that tell us, “We still care.” We are still invested. Tending life—and the welfare of the place where you live—matters. With the gift of grace, there is no check list, save allowing the healing places to work their magic. If I’m only focused only on the payoff (destination), I miss the gifts on the journey. Yes, I miss the “gift of enough”. 

My friends: Let us not forget: Choosing to live from a soft heart in a cruel world is courageous.

Choosing softness is choosing hope, over cynicism.

Choosing connection, over isolation.

Choosing being fully alive, over merely surviving. Sabbath Moments

Matthew 6:7-13 God sees our heart and knows our needs.

Matthew 6:32

For after all these things the Gentiles seek. 

For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

Sometimes in the silence of the night when words no longer come to us Holy Spirit takes the groanings of our heart and prays for us. Carla

Matthew 6:7-13

And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. 9 In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

10Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

11Give us this day our daily bread.

12And forgive us our debts,

As we forgive our debtors.

13 And do not lead us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. NKJV)

The focus changes here from hypocrites to Gentiles (ethnikoi). Their many words In Graeco-Roman religions, repetition was used to pester the gods so they would grant someone’s request. After describing how not to pray, Jesus gives a positive example. Matthew 6:9–13 and the parallel passage of Luke 11:1–4 provide a model for prayer. The Gospels make no explicit claims regarding Jesus’ intentions for creating this prayer, but the context indicates that He is teaching people how to pray. Jesus prays similar words as He faces arrest and crucifixion (Matthew 26:39, 42). The people of rural Galilee were poor and oppressed, and resources such as food were scarce. This prayer reflects the real needs of people living in difficult times. The language used here for debt can reflect an Aramaic idiom referring to sin (Luke 11:4). Into temptation  refers to hardship in a general sense. The  evil one is a Greek term used here it may indicate a specific entity (such as the devil;  Ephesians 6:16) or evil in its many forms. Faithlife Study Bible

From the motives for praying (verses 1–6), Jesus turned to methods of praying. Why one prays determines how one prays. Nothing is wrong with repeating prayers (26:39, 42, 44). The prayer is composed of six requests. The first three ask for the kingdom to come (verses 9, 10) and the last three are for God to meet the needs of His people until the kingdom arrives (verses 11–13). Hallowed be Your name is not an ascription of praise to the Father. The verb is an imperative and means “May Your name be hallowed.” This recalls Ezekiel’s prophecy in Ezekiel 36:25–32, where the prophet says Israel has profaned God’s name among the nations. One day God will gather His people from the nations, cleanse them, and by this means vindicate the holiness of His great name. The hallowing of the Father’s name means the arrival of God’s kingdom. Daily bread is a reminder of God’s daily supply of manna to Israel in the wilderness. The NKJV Study Bible

1 Kings 18:26–29

So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, “O Baal, hear us!” But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made.And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.”…

Proverbs 30:8

Remove falsehood and lies far from me;

Give me neither poverty nor riches—Feed me with the food allotted to me;

Many people I speak with right now are carrying grief. You can feel it in conversations. You can feel it in the quiet pauses when people try to describe what this moment feels like. War does that. Even when the bombs fall far away, our spirits know something sacred has been broken.

Grief is not weakness. Grief is what love feels like when life is threatened.

But grief can slip into despair. St. Thomas Aquinas taught that despair was the most dangerous of all human conditions. Despair tells us a dangerous lie: that nothing we do matters anymore.

This is the same wisdom the prophet Jeremiah gave to a people who believed their world had collapsed. Jerusalem had fallen. Their leaders had failed them. They were living in exile under an empire they did not trust.

And the prophet told them something surprising.

Build houses.

Plant gardens.

Seek the welfare of the place where you live.

In other words: keep tending life.

Good religion has always known this truth. We cannot control the great movements of history. None of us can stop the machinery of war alone. But we are not powerless.

We can decide who we will be while history unfolds around us.

We can keep loving our neighbors.

We can keep telling the truth.

We can keep protecting the vulnerable.

We can keep tending the earth.

We can keep planting trees.

We don’t know what tomorrow will bring. But we know who we are called to be today.

We are in this together.” Sabbath Moments

Psalm 143:8 God guides us so we never walk alone!

 Psalm 90:14

Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy,

That we may rejoice and be glad all our days!

In You alone God I place my trust. In You alone! Your mercies are new each and every morning. Carla

Psalm 143:8 

Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning,

For in You do I trust;

Cause me to know the way in which I should walk,

For I lift up my soul to You. NKJV)

Psalm 143:8

In the morning let me hear of your mercy,

for in you I trust.

Show me the path I should walk,

for I entrust my life to you. New American (Catholic) Bible

Without a renewed sense of God’s presence, described by the words, Your face, David believes that he is as good as dead. Often in the psalms there is an expectation that an answer from God might come with the morning light (5:3; 30:5; 130:6). The NKJV Study Bible

Cause me to hear your loyal love in the morning. God will have to preserve the psalmist through the night in order for the psalmist’s request to be fulfilled. Faithlife Study Bible

Psalm 25:1–2

To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul. 

O my God, I trust in You;

Let me not be ashamed;

Let not my enemies triumph over me.

Psalm 27:11

Teach me Your way, O LORD,

And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.

Psalm32:8

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

I will guide you with My eye.

Psalm 86:4

Rejoice the soul of Your servant,

For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

We are like crayons. I may not be your favorite color, and you may not favor the hues of others. But one day, we'll find that we need each other to complete the masterpiece. For it is in the blending of differences and distinctiveness that the most beautiful pictures are painted. And together, we create a story far greater than any single color could tell.
And I smiled big when I received this email from SM reader, Cindy, “And, remember broken crayons still color.”
Yes, and Amen.
Over the years in Sabbath Moment, we’ve talked about brokenness. And woundedness. And in both cases, how we too easily forget that neither brokenness nor woundedness diminishes our capacity to live whole-hearted. Or to spill light, and magnify color in a world where every small gift of kindness and encouragement and compassion makes this a better world.
Real life—real world trauma—can take a palpable toll. Recently we talked about feeling quanked (emotionally fatigued). That is real. But the fatigue is exacerbated when we believe that brokenness (or woundedness) is a weakness. Or a limitation and inadequacy, affecting our capacity to choose.
Let’s just say that it is no surprise when we prefer to shut down.

When society feels cruel, it is easy to be hurt or led astray. To remain tender after loss or tragedy or betrayal, is to choose life when renunciation beckons.
So. Let us choose to stay connected to our heart.
And let us embrace the truth that being fully seen, even at the risk of pain, is the only way to truly live.
Messiness, chaos, heartbreak, and vulnerability are not obstacles, they are the ingredients—transformed by hope—that gratefully become the “Crayola color” of human existence.
Let us not forget: Choosing to live from a soft heart in a cruel world is courageous.
Choosing softness is choosing hope, over cynicism.
Choosing connection, over isolation.
Choosing being fully alive, over merely surviving. Sabbath Moments

March 3rd Compassion wins

 From a soft heart, compassion wins.

For starters, when we see with our heart we don't give in to fear, or judgment, or alarm, or dismissal.

We do live in a world where it is tempting (and easy) to put people in a “box”—with labels to match.

One thing Jesus did with his parables, and “encounters” with the people around him, was to invite honesty about our paradigm. What kind of lens (glasses, or paradigm) do we use, to see the world, and the people in it?

And in his parables, he always invites a paradigm shift.

Let us choose empathy over judgment.

Let us choose understanding over dismissal.

Let us choose compassion over retaliation.

Let us choose inclusion over marginalization.

When I see only the label, or the box, it is easy to judge, or dismiss, or devalue.

With great irony, this itch to judge comes to life from our own fear of vulnerability.

The vulnerability alive and well in a soft heart. And this we know my friends, having a soft heart in a cruel world is courageous.

I love crayons. As a young boy, I always hoped that a Crayola box of 64 would be under the Christmas tree. Maybe you can relate?

Here’s the deal: We are like crayons. I may not be your favorite color, and you may not favor the hues of others. But one day, we'll find that we need each other to complete the masterpiece. For it is in the blending of differences and distinctiveness that the most beautiful pictures are painted. And together, we create a story far greater than any single color could tell. Sabbath Moments