Hebrew 12:11-12 May Holy Spirit guide us in the way of peace.

 Prayer for Refugees

“Give me your tired, your poor,

your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me.”

—Emma Lazarus

James 3:17–18

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

We will learn our lesson to love others as God loves us…the hard way or His way of peace but we will learn. Carla

Hebrew 12:11-12 

11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 

12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. NKJV)

Hebrews 12:11-13

At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it. 

12 So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees. 

13 Make straight paths for your feet, that what is lame may not be dislocated but healed. The New American (Catholic) Bible

Although discipline is painful, it produces positive results. Those who have been trained by God’s discipline are like a well-trained athlete who perseveres through practice. Here, the author urges believers to live in peace and holiness. Faithlife Study Bible

Although fathers discipline for awhile as they see fit, God disciplines us with our good welfare in mind. With every trial, God is fashioning us into a holy people, set apart for His good purposes (verses 14; 10:10). The peaceable fruit of righteousness suggests that the result of God’s chastening is peace and righteousness. The NKJV Study Bible

Isaiah 35:3

Strengthen the weak hands,

And make firm the feeble knees.

Isaiah 32:17

The work of righteousness will be peace,

And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.

1 Peter 1:6

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 

Job 4:3–4

Surely you have instructed many,

And you have strengthened weak hands.

Your words have upheld him who was stumbling,

And you have strengthened the feeble knees;

 I believe that the more we practice kindness and compassion, the stronger that energy of love becomes within us and within those who follow after us. Judy Cannato describes this reality in her Field of Compassion: ‘We live in a world of grace, and as we more consciously receive grace, each of us becomes a Field of Compassion. Each one of us becomes open to love a little more completely, and then love pours out of us and into the world. As we become free, others experience freedom in our presence and can choose to be open to love, too. This is our life work, our great work, what the Universe asks and what this moment in time demands. Our work requires all that we have become and all that we are becoming. It requires a ‘yes’ that at one moment may be whole-hearted and the next tentative and unsure. But together our ‘yes’ is empowering. Let us imagine the grace, then, hold it in our hearts and manifest, one day at a time, a Field of Compassion.’

…We are humans carrying the memory of love, the kind reflected and taught by Jesus and all compassionate leaders before him and since then. The possibility for reinforcing this quality of the human heart dwells within each of us. It flows forth with every gesture of kindness toward those who suffer, and strengthens the field of compassion as it does so. (Thank you Joyce) SabbathMoments 

Companion of the Companionless

Companion of the Companionless,

let my day not go by without remembering

the sixty-five million people forced from homelands

due to poverty, crime and political conflict.

Home of the Homeless,

gather the shawl of your compassion

around those who have nowhere to abide,

nowhere to call home, nowhere to work.

Nurturer of the Impoverished,

turn the attention of political leaders

toward systems that cause oppression;

urge them to open their doors to refugees.

Comforter of the Injured,

the prophet Hosea describes your love

as that of a parent lifting a child to her cheek.

Lift, now, the demoralized and beaten-down.

Refuge of the Lost,

protect those who are tossed upon the seas.

Be near to those thirsting in the deserts

and roaming dangerous city streets.

Hope for the Hopeless,

lift up the heavy hearts of families

who have lived for years in camps;

do not let their hope slip away.

Justice Bringer,

Bother us. Keep after us. Open our eyes.

Widen our hearts. Change our judgments.

Urge us. Chase us. Badger us, until we act

on behalf of the sixty-five million people

whose tears fall on foreign soil.

Joyce Rupp, Prayers of Boundless Compassion

2 Timothy 4:7 Fight the good fight of faith!

1 Timothy 6:12

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 

When you have done all that you can, stand, and let the power of God accomplish all that you cannot. The grace of God moves mountains. Keep the faith it pleases God. Carla

2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. NKJV)

2 Timothy 4:7 I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. New American Bible 

Paul had been vigilant in his service to God. Note that Paul did not make these comments until the end of his race, until he was about to die. He did not presume or rely on His past service. Instead he persevered, struggled, and served God until the end (1 Corinthians 9:24–27). The NKJV Study Bible

Paul’s use of athletic imagery seems to suggest that he expects to die soon. Even in such dire circumstances, Paul considers himself victorious because he remained faithful to God. Faithlife Study Bible

Acts 20:24

But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

1 Corinthians 9:24–27

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown…

1 Timothy 1:18

This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, 

This I know: I want a world where is it safe to come home.
I want to live in a world where fear is not the final word.

“Never look down on anybody unless you're helping him up.” Jesse Jackson reminded us. Now that, my friends, that is the music of Grace.

And we say, “Thank you, Mr. Jackson, for making our world a better place. And may you rest in peace.”
Former President Obama said, “He was relentless in his belief that we are all children of God, deserving of dignity and respect.”

Yes. Belief is, literally, all about where and how our feet hit the ground in terms of the choices we make.
It’s not uncommon to be asked, “What do you believe?”
And in response, we recite a creed (or doctrine or dogma). And it’s not that we don’t avow what we recite. It’s just that creed profession is one thing, and we need a paradigm shift in terms of how we “measure belief”.

Instead of asking, “What do you believe?” Let us say, “Show us how you treat the least among us, and then we will know what you believe.”

“We need stories that tell us the reason why compassion and the humane treatment of our fellows is more important—and interesting—than feathering our own nests as we go on accumulating property and power.” William Kittridge

“Our country and our people cannot continue to be drenched in animosity, hatred, and the denial of respect for human beings. There has to be another way home to peace and justice. A Herod-like atmosphere cannot be allowed to destroy our nation’s spirit of hospitality and good will for all.” Thank you, Joyce Rupp.  “Sabbath Moments” Terry Hershey 

Romans 15:13 (ESV) "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."

Joy and peace may feel distant from us when life is difficult. But the tug-of-war tension gives way to God's Truth when we seek "joy and peace in believing" (Romans 15:13), even when we don't have joy and peace in feeling. Earlier in his letter to the Roman church, Paul also reminded believers that hope is not an emotional response to how well things are going around us. Instead, "through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant [this] ..." (Romans 15:4-5).

Even when God's promises don't fit our preferences, through the Holy Spirit's power, we can learn to trust His Word and wait faithfully for Him. If God met all our desires and expectations immediately, we wouldn't need to endure ... but that's not what He promises.Instead, through life's ups and downs, God gives us His strength in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9-10), and He gives us His Word as our instruction. If a situation doesn't change, or even if it worsens, faith keeps us open to what's still possible with our limitless "God of hope" (Romans 15:13).

The church in Rome was facing persecution as well as divisions between Jewish and gentile believers, and Paul knew these problems and pains wouldn't disappear the moment they opened their Bibles. But the hope he referred to in today's key verse was about more than earthly desires being fulfilled. The ultimate hope is joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation through Christ (Romans 5:3-5; Romans 12:12).

Joy comes from delighting in Him. Peace comes from releasing our cares to His care. We can be certain that even in the places where sins' burdens and life's battles have left us empty, we will "abound in hope" (Romans 15:13). First5

Habakkuk 2:14 The glory of God will fill the earth.

Habakkuk 2:4 The rash man has no integrity; but the just man, because of his faith, shall live. Wealth, too, is treacherous: the proud, unstable man -  New American Bible

Psalm 22:27

All the ends of the world

Shall remember and turn to the LORD,

And all the families of the nations

Shall worship before You. NKJV

Oh how I long for the day the world receives her King. Everything that we now see in part will be shown in its fullness. The glory of God will bring justice and peace on the earth. Carla

Habakkuk 2:14 

For the earth will be filled

With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,

As the waters cover the sea. NKJV)

Habakkuk 2:14

But the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the LORD'S glory as water covers the sea. New American Bible

God’s future kingdom on earth will feature a reign of righteousness (Isaiah 2:1–4; Micah 4:1–5). All humanity on the renewed earth will know the Lord and live in accordance with His will. The structures of human systems, adequate as they are for the present, will fall under God’s judgment because they encourage a spirit of independence from Him. Knowledge, that Satan fraudulently promised in Genesis 3:5, God will deliver. The glory of the Lord speaks of the full manifestation of His person, significance, presence, and wonder. The true knowledge of God in the time of His kingdom on earth will be like the waters—all-embracing, inescapable, and fully enveloping. The NKJV Study Bible

See what will be the end hereof; what is gotten by violence from others, others shall take away by violence. Covetousness brings disquiet and uneasiness into a family; he that is greedy of gain troubles his own house; what is worse, it brings the curse of God upon all the affairs of it. There is a lawful gain, which, by the blessing of God, may be a comfort to a house; but what is got by fraud and injustice, will bring poverty and ruin upon a family. Yet that is not the worst; Thou hast sinned against thine own soul, hast endangered it. Those who wrong their neighbours, do much greater wrong to their own souls. If the sinner thinks he has managed his frauds and violence with art and contrivance, the riches and possessions he heaped together will witness against him. There are not greater drudges in the world than those who are slaves to mere wordly pursuits. And what comes of it? They find themselves disappointed of it, and disappointed in it; they will own it is worse than vanity, it is vexation of spirit. By staining and sinking earthly glory, God manifests and magnifies his own glory, and fills the earth with the knowledge of it, as plentifully as waters cover the sea, which are deep, and spread far and wide. 

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Isaiah 11:9

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,

For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORDAs the waters cover the sea.

Psalm 72:19

And blessed be His glorious name forever!

And let the whole earth be filled with His glory.Amen and Amen.

Numbers 14:21

but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD—

Exodus 16:7

And in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD; for He hears your complaints against the LORD. But what are we, that you complain against us?” 

“When we choose to stay human—when we keep telling the truth, caring for one another, protecting the vulnerable, practicing restraint instead of revenge—we become carriers of a different future, even if we never see its fullness.
This does not mean we ignore injustice or accept harm. Benedictine communities were not neutral. They were ordered around values that quietly but firmly contradicted domination: humility over power, shared resources over hoarding, hospitality over exclusion, care over control. In times like these, courage does not always look like confrontation. Sometimes it looks like preserving what makes life worth saving.” Thank you, Rev. Cameron Trimble.

“When you extend an open hand, instead of a closed fist, you’ll be surprised by who takes that hand.” James Talarico (Texas State Representative) SabbathMoments 

Paul was passionate about the gospel bringing together believers from different peoples and perspectives (Galatians 3:28), and Jesus Himself said the mission of the Church is to glorify God by making "disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19-20). But if the Church was divided, whether socially or spiritually, this mission would suffer. So Paul also wanted the Romans to understand that spiritual gifts and abilities, like cultural backgrounds, can vary among members of the Church body, but each person's gifts come from God for the purpose of serving one another and spreading the gospel (1 Corinthians 12:7). First5