Matthew 10:25-26 Lord, lead us in the way of truth.

 Galatians 5:22

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. NKJV

“Your Yes to God demands your No to all injustice, to all evil, to all lies, to all oppression and violation of the weak and the poor, to all godlessness and mocking of the holy.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer (German Lutheran pastor, theologian, participant in the German resistance movement against Nazism)

The Apostle Paul told us that we would know God’s children by the fruit that is evident in their lives. We will know true believers by the love they have for His creation and the peace that they seek for all of us. Our fight is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities of darkness. Our power is in Holy Spirit to accomplish what man cannot. Carla

Matthew 10:25-26

25 It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household! 26 Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. NKJV

Though we nowhere read that Jesus was actually called Beelzebub, He was charged with being in league with Satan under that hateful name (12:24, 26), and more than once was charged with being possessed by “an unclean spirit” or “demon” (Mark 3:30; John 7:20; 8:48). The NKJV Study Bible

Despite the hardships they will face, Jesus commands the disciples not to fear; rather, they should be bold witnesses to Jesus’ message and faithfully carry out their tasks.

Nothing is hidden that will not be revealed in connection with Matthew 10:27, may refer to Jesus’ message of the arrival of the kingdom of heaven (4:17). It also might refer to the persecutors’ hidden sins that will be revealed at the judgment. Faithlife Study Bible

Luke 12:2–9

For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops…NKJV

Mark 3:22

And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebub,” and, “By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.”

Mark 4:22

For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. 

Luke 8:17

For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. 

On a few of my walks in Ireland, I would pass by congregates of sheep, with lots of new lambs. And I did my best to try to chat. Wondering if they would understand my accent.

“So. Is it okay to confess that some days I can’t focus,” I wonder aloud. “That, some days making sense of the world doesn’t work, and I just want to take a nap?”

“Not easy to admit, eh?” Their look tells me.

“No, it’s not.”

I’ve always wished I had control over the world, or at least some superpower, with a stunning costume of course. But I do not. (Have the control, or the costume.)

Gandalf’s reminder is apropos and worth heeding. We don't choose the times we live in, but it's often the case that the times choose us, to live out our faith, our resistance, and our healing. It is seldom, if ever, fun. Or easy.

Here’s the deal: When we believe that we are “at the mercy of”, we pretend we don’t have a choice, or are along for the ride. Which means that we no longer have the energy to give to (or care about, or invest in) those things that really matter.

We, literally, lose our bearings.

Living as if reality is determined only by circumstance, and we forget that…

We have agency.

We have the capacity to make choices about what matters.

We get to say how the story ends.

We live in a world where it is tempting to buy into an image (or role or model or persona), that carries with it certain values—to be powerful, to be impenetrable, to be bulletproof—but once given the opportunity to say “yes” or “no” to that image, we recognize that’s not who we are. And with blessing, there’s an experience in our life—a road to Damascus moment—where we can ask, “Is this who I am, and what I choose to honor?”

Where we see—and know—that as long as success is measured only by keeping score, or by being in control, it’s easy to lose track of most everything that makes us human and therefore, glad to be alive…

…small gestures of kindness.

…acts of grace--inclusion or community to someone left out, or someone on the fringes.

…extending a hand of healing (empathy, acceptance, sanctuary) to someone who hurts.

…finding and embracing your voice; knowing that silence in order to not ruffle feathers takes a toll we do not need. (“Sending love to everyone who is trying to rediscover their voice after life made them believe that silence was safer.” Thank you, Michell C. Clark)

…saying “No” to acts of narrow-mindedness and inequality and meanness.

…resting in moments of gratitude and reveling in the gifts of the senses and being present.

…sharing laughter, a smile, camaraderie and restoration; and dancing for joy.

Today; savor, doubt, embrace, question, wrestle, give, risk, love, fall down, get up, accept your incomplete and fractured self, know that anything worth doing is worth doing badly, speak the truth from your whole heart, and whenever you can, lavish excessive compassion and mercy and healing and hope and second chances and grace and restoration and kindness on anyone who crosses your path. Who knows, we may love one another into existence.

I'm sure God won't mind.

And let us carry this prayer into our week.

“Lead me from death to life, from falsehood to truth;

lead me from despair to hope, from fear to trust;

lead me from hate to love, from war to peace.

Let peace fill our heart, our world, our universe.”

(Universal Prayer for Peace, first publicly used July 1981, by Mother Teresa in St. James Anglican Church, London) Sabbath Moments

Galatians 5:25-26 We walk in the spirit of God’s love for all of His creation.

 Philippians 2:3

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 

As believers and as good citizens we should not covet our neighbors goods (oil) nor our neighbors. All people have the inherent right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Loving God’s creation includes all of His creation. Two wrongs never make a right. Carla

Galatians 5:25-26

25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Galatians 5:25–6:1

Humility

The Bible calls that people offer an honest appraisal of themselves; or as Paul says, we ought “not to think more highly of yourself than what one ought to think” (Romans 12:3). Pride, especially the spiritual kind, can prevent people from being used by God. When people begin to be used by God, it is very easy for them to think of themselves too highly. Yet the New Testament itself repeatedly emphasizes that God uses the the unified body of Christian believers at work in the world, as a group, not just as individuals (1 Corinthians 12). Faithlife Study Bible

In these verses, Paul exhorts the Galatians to walk in the Spirit because they are already living in the Spirit. Such an action should be natural, but unfortunately we are at war with the flesh. Walk in the Spirit means to obey the prompting of the Holy Spirit. A believer following the Spirit’s lead (verse 16) will not become conceited, provoke others, or envy others.  The NKJV Study Bible

It is not enough to claim to have new life in Christ by the power of the Spirit (3:3); believers must continually follow after the Spirit in the way they live while also resisting the flesh. In provoking one another, envying one another such actions represent a failure to live by the Spirit (verse 22). Faithlife Study Bible

Galatians 5:16

I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 

Romans 8:4–5

that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 

Philippians 1:21

For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 

Philippians 3:16

Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.

“Life is difficult” is the opening line in “Road Less Traveled”.

Yes, and Amen. And sometimes, too heavy.

We don't give ourselves the grace to feel exasperated or disheartened.

We don't give ourselves the grace to be seen or embraced.

Because to receive grace, let alone wholeheartedly, is not an easy thing

To see (life in its mysterious and extravagant fullness) begins with an inner disarmament. Sooner or later, we need to remove pieces of the armor we wear that keep us from allowing life in.

With life’s craziness, most of the time, I confess that I prefer the armor.

My armor keeps me safe. But it also keeps me from seeing. From feeling. From paying attention.

But, hey, it's a small price to pay.

It is no secret that we numb ourselves. Trouble is, I have found that resentment, fear, apathy, self-pity, being a victim and shame are just as effective. They all serve the same purpose: censor. Each one, numbing us, keeps both troublesome feelings (grief, sorrow, sadness, exasperation, anger), and wonder (ecstasy, awe, amazement and grace) at bay.

What if we are here to fall in love with life, to give in to the courage “to be mad” with the wonder of it all, to live and dance on the edge of grace (where we have nothing to show to justify our existence)? What if we are here to find ways to share that grace—and healing—with those around us who are wounded and afraid?

The gladness—to just be. Embracing the sacrament of the present, at home in our own skin.

Here's the deal. This gladness doesn't tidy our life. It doesn't remove pain or sorrow or grief. It does however let us see the sacred in the midst. And the courage to speak up when we see the sacred disgraced. Excerpt from Sabbath Moments

Acts 10:42-45 As believers we are hidden in the bosom of the Father in Jesus Christ.

 Acts 15:8–9

So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 

Whoever, everyone, who believes in Jesus will receive pardon. The captives are set free in His name. Sin and death have lost their grip on humanity through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Praise and glory are God’s now and forever! We must act worthy of the grace given to us and through our actions show others the agape love of God for them. Carla

Acts 10:42-45

42 And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead. 43 To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.”

44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. 45 And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. NKJV

The good news of the gospel is not for a certain population. In every nation every kind of person is welcome into the kingdom of God. This is precisely what Christ had told the apostles (Matthew 28:19).

In order to receive remission of sins, one has to believe—nothing more, nothing less.

The Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard. The Jewish believers present were amazed because they saw that the Gentiles had received the same gift of speaking in tongues that they had received (chapter 2). 

The good news had reached the Jews, the Samaritans, and now the Gentiles. All were united by the same faith in the same Lord with the same gift of the Holy Spirit. The NKJV Study Bible

Jesus is the one to whom all will give account on the day of judgment.  Peter argues that his brief synopsis of Christ’s ministry and its implications are based on the Old Testament (Psalm 22:1–31; Isaiah 52:13–53:12; Zechariah 11:4–14). Faithlife Study Bible

Acts 2:38

Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 

John 5:22

For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, 

Acts 17:31

because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”

This week we are honoring the encouragement that when we are open. And listen. And Live into the moment, we receive the gifts of joy, wonder and delight. Sabbath Moments

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

Knowing God's Word helps us know His restorative heart. Walls may crumble. The ground may quake. But a life built on the faithful foundation of Scripture (Jesus) will never fail. Today believers in Christ rejoice that God dwells with us always, making His permanent residence in our hearts (John 1:14) First5