1 John 4:19 No greater love exists!

 1 John 4:10

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 

God so loved the world that He gave up His life for us. No greater love exists. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus, all God but yet all man, we are free to love others the way that God loves us. Carla

1 John 4:19

We love Him because He first loved us. (NKJV)

First John as a whole is clearly founded on the doctrine of the Trinity. From evidence throughout Scripture (Matthew 28:19), it is clear that God is both one and three. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit are one God, but they are also distinct Persons of the Godhead. Throughout his first epistle, John illustrates how each Person of the Godhead works with and through the others to accomplish God’s plan of salvation for us. The NKJV Study Bible

God demonstrates “first loved us” by offering salvation through Jesus. Faithlife Study  Bible

2 Thessalonians 2:13

But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth,

My friends, no one of us is on this journey alone. And we need one another not only for care and comfort, but to pick up the pieces, and find ways to create spaces in our world, that will not belittle, or diminish, or demean. After all, we are hearts that touch. Which may sound too sentimental in a real and fractured world; a world where hearts touch and hearts hurt, hearts hope and hearts break, hearts heal and hearts splinter… and; from those splintered places hearts that give again, and again. Sabbath Moments

2 Corinthians 10:3-6 Humbly walk with God our weapon against evil is His love.

Isaiah 2:11–12

The lofty looks of man shall be humbled,

The haughtiness of men shall be bowed down,

And the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.

For the day of the LORD of hosts

Shall come upon everything proud and lofty,

Upon everything lifted up—And it shall be brought low—

What does God require of us? To be fair, to be forgiving and to walk humbly with Him. Micah 6:8. In a culture that ask us to be arrogant and cruel to follow Christ we must do all things with love just as God commanded us. By loving Him above all and loving our neighbors we fulfill His desires for His creation. God hates pride and arrogance but He lifts up those who call on Him with humility. Carla

2 Corinthians 10:3-6

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.  (NKJV)

strongholds … high thing: Overlooking ancient Corinth was a hill 1,857 feet high. On top of it was a fortress. Paul used that imagery as an illustration of the spiritual warfare he waged. He destroyed strongholds, cast down towers, and took captives. The fortress, towers, and captives represent the arguments, thoughts, and plans that Paul was opposing. Paul cast down all rationalizations. He took captive to the obedience of Christ every perception and intention of the heart that was against God. Our actions reveal our thoughts. We should not cling to thoughts that do not conform to the life and teachings of Christ. Paul did not walk according to the flesh or his worldly desires; instead he conquered the flesh. He explains his strategy in 1 Corinthians 9:24–27: “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection.” The NKJV Study Bible

We do not wage war according to the flesh. Paul uses spiritual weapons—such as the gospel, faith, truth, and prayer—to battle against his opposition  (Ephesians 6:10–17).

Fortresses is the  term intended to refer to people’s standard ways of thinking, especially about Paul and the nature of his apostleship.

To be captive to the obedience of Christ implies believers must submit their thoughts to Christ and bring them into conformity with His will. All disobedience refers to opposition to Paul’s apostolic authority (2 Corinthians 2:9). Study Bible 

2 Corinthians 13:10

Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the authority which the Lord has given me for edification and not for destruction.

Jeremiah 1:10

See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms,

To root out and to pull down,

To destroy and to throw down,

To build and to plant.”

2 Corinthians 6:7

by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, 

This is the power of wonder. It is not just a reverie for my bliss. It is a grounding, a mindfulness; the permission to pay attention to this life.

And, the permission to pay attention to the people who are in it, now available to greater depths of compassion and love. In other words, we see the people who make us better, and we see the people who have been wounded, depleted and diminished, who need compassion. An invitation to “pay homage with our presence, and what we fight for from the ground of what we love.” (Thank you Krista Tippett) Sabbath Moments

Philippians 4:19-20 We were made for good works to proclaim the goodness of God.

 2 Corinthians 9:8 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. 

If God adorns the wild flowers of the field and all majestic beauty that is found in nature how much more will He care for us. We have such little faith in His ability to provide for us. Trust Him and enjoy the peace that He gives us. There is no one who loves us more than God. He cares for us. Our faith in Him and not in ourselves blesses us. Just like Abraham and Sarah we are blessed to be a  blessing to others. Carla

Philippians 4:19-20

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 20 Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. (NKJV)

Paul says that he is full because they gave. In this verse he writes that God will supply all their needs. The Philippians, in turn, will be full because of the gifts God will give them. Out of His abundant wealth, God will more than amply take care of the Philippians. The NKJV Study Bible

Paul’s needs were met through the Philippians’ generous financial gift. In the tradition of mutual exchange common to ancient friendship, Paul trusts God to meet the needs of the church at Philippi. The Philippians don’t need to practice caution in giving. They are free to give, and in doing so they testify to God’s provision. The Greek term used here for glory, doxa, refers to God’s majesty and honor. Faithlife Study Bible

Romans 11:36

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

Galatians 1:4–5

who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Psalm 23:1

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Romans 2:4

Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

We are hearts that touch.

Which may sound too sentimental in the real world, where hearts touch, and hearts hurt. In the real world, where hearts hope, and hearts break. Hearts heal, and hearts splinter. But here’s the good news: it is from those splintered places, that hearts give—love and empathy and healing and mercy—again, and again, and again. We are hearts that touch, and it makes our world a better place.

And here’s the deal my friends; when we ask one another, “How’s your heart?” it is an affirmation, and reminder, that self-care matters.

This we know: Care of any kind—compassion, generosity, forgiveness, reconciliation, peacemaking, service, ministry, teaching, giving, healing—begins with and is nourished by self-care. By self-compassion.

Care for our heart begins here: let us be gentle with ourselves. It is a restorative mainlined straight to the heart.

… this life-giving affirmation from Thérèse of Lisieux. “Jesus set before me the book of nature; I understood how all the flowers [God] has created are beautiful, how the splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not take away the perfume of the little violet or the delightful simplicity of the daisy… If all flowers wanted to be roses, nature would lose her springtime beauty, and the fields would no longer be decked out with wildflowers. And so it is in the world of souls.” (Thérèse of Lisieux, “Story of a Soul”)

I’m not sure where the “garden”—nature, walking, reading, music, eucharist, meditation—is for you. But the invitation is life-giving. It’s okay to take care of yourself.

Be gentle with yourself. It is okay to ask for help. To not be perfect. To make mistakes. To not appease everyone. To say, “no”. Sabbath Moments

Proverbs 4:23-27 God takes out our heart of stone and replaces it with His heart of love.

 Luke  6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

The ways of God are far above our ways. Without the guidance of Holy Spirit in us we cannot possibly understand them. Above all put on love and let the love of God cover you and grant you understanding and the wisdom to do what is right in His eyes. We cannot be doers of His word without it. Carla

Proverbs 4:23-27

23 Keep your heart with all diligence,

For out of it spring the issues of life.

24 Put away from you a deceitful mouth,

And put perverse lips far from you.

25 Let your eyes look straight ahead,

And your eyelids look right before you.

26 Ponder the path of your feet,

And let all your ways be established.

27 Do not turn to the right or the left;

Remove your foot from evil. (NKJV)

This section demands constancy of heart and purpose, honesty in speech, steadiness of gaze, and a right goal in walk and life. Setting off on the path of wisdom is no casual thing. Much of this chapter reiterates and refines the themes found in chapters 1–3. The emphasis on virtue prepares us for the frightening warnings of chapter 5. The NKJV Study Bible

With all vigilance, keep your heart. Appropriate speech and the state of the heart are closely associated in verses 20–24. Restrained speech is a common theme in Wisdom Literature. The Hebrew phrase used here for a kind of sinful speech literally means “falseness of mouth.” In Proverbs, the mouth reflects a person’s character (15:2, 28).

May the path of your foot be balanced. The Hebrew word used here indicates clearing a way. Here, the father encourages his son to intentionally remain on the path of wisdom and righteousness (Proverbs 4:11). Faithlife Study Bible

Hebrews 12:13

and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

Deuteronomy 5:32–33

“Therefore you shall be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. You shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.

Proverbs  5:21

For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD,

And He ponders all his paths.

Proverbs 6:12

A worthless person, a wicked man,

Walks with a perverse mouth;

We are hearts that touch.

Which may sound too sentimental in the real world, where hearts touch, and hearts hurt. In the real world, where hearts hope, and hearts break. Hearts heal, and hearts splinter. But here’s the good news: it is from those splintered places, that hearts give—love and empathy and healing and mercy—again, and again, and again. We are hearts that touch, and it makes our world a better place. Sabbath Moments

Romans 8:11 Holy Spirit will deliver us safely home!

 Romans  8:39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We live and breathe in the bosom of God. We are in Christ, He is in us and He is in God. We abide in Jesus who redeemed us by His sacrifice. In Him and with Him and in the unity of Holy Spirit we are free to love God and others. We are never left alone or forgotten. Our faith, the gift of Father, will deliver us safely home. Holy Spirit, the very heart of God, gives us a new heart. He takes out the hardened heart of flesh and replaces it with God’s heart of love.  Carla

Romans 8:11

But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. (NKJV)

The solution to the problem of the flesh is the Holy Spirit. He gives life to your mortal bodies. Being spiritually minded means overcoming the deadness of the body and experiencing life and peace. This is the resurrection life (Philippians  3:10). The NKJV Study Bible

God the Father raised Jesus from the dead, working through His Spirit (Colosians 2:12). Make alive refers to the bodily resurrection. Your mortal bodies refers to human bodies. After the resurrection, these bodies will no longer be subject to death or decay (1 Corinthians 15:42–44).

Formerly, people did not have a choice; they were under the control of sin (Romans 6:16; 7:17). Because of the indwelling Spirit, Paul declares that believers are no longer subject to the control of the flesh. They have been transferred from the realm of the flesh to the realm of the Spirit. Faithlife Study Bible

Acts 2:24

whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. 

John 5:21

For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.

Romans 6:4–5

Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 

Romans 8:1–2

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 

The gift of a soft heart!

…here's the deal: love can only spill from a heart that has been softened, and in most cases, broken. A heart where self-care—yes, self-compassion—is blossoming, replenishing, and healing.
In these encounters—if I do give, or offer my heart—it does come back to me in better shape. Because it comes back to me, softer.
There is no doubt that when faced with tragedy or chaos or uncertainty or misfortune, we want to have a “handle” on it, or fix it, or make it go away.
But this is not about a way to figure life out. Nor is it about determining whether we have intentionally or unintentionally invited chaos or sickness into our world.
It's about the permission to see the world—this day—through the eyes of our heart. Our heart made soft. Sabbath Moments

“The heart is the only broken instrument that works.” T.E. Kalem

Exodus 26:31-35 …and the veil was torn in Jesus

 Matthew 27:51

Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split,

When Jesus gave up His sinless life for us the veil was torn in the temple. It was finished. In His resurrection we are lifted with Him to the seat of mercy and washed clean. The veil that separated us from God was done away with and now we live and we are seated in Jesus at the right hand of the Father. We are free! We are free to live a life that is in union with Holy Spirit as a living testament to the glory and mercy of God. Praise be to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who together are worshipped and glorified. Our God is a tripartite God, He is one. We are built in His image. We have a mind, a body and a spirit that belongs only to God. Jesus, the body, is the name above all names. Listen to that still, small voice of God in us. Carla

Exodus 26:31-35

31 “You shall make a veil woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen. It shall be woven with an artistic design of cherubim. 32 You shall hang it upon the four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold. Their hooks shall be gold, upon four sockets of silver. 33 And you shall hang the veil from the clasps. Then you shall bring the ark of the Testimony in there, behind the veil. The veil shall be a divider for you between the holy place and the Most Holy. 34 You shall put the mercy seat upon the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy. 35 You shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand across from the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south; and you shall put the table on the north side. (NKJV)

The veil separated the holy place from the Most Holy Place.  Only the ark would stay in the Most Holy Place. Perhaps the most beautiful and intricate of all the fabrics in the tabernacle, the veil was to hang from pillars by clasps, dividing the chamber into two separate rooms. The larger room would be called the holy place and the smaller room the Most Holy Place. The Hebrew expression can also be translated “the Holiest Place” or “the Holy of Holies”. The NKJV Study Bible

The Hebrew word aron refers generally to a storage box, but it is commonly used to refer to the ark of the covenant. 

The atonement cover describes the lid of the ark of the covenant. Exodus 25:17 describes the mercy seat it is made of pure gold.

A screen  describes the curtain that hung across the entrance of the tent, closing it off from the courtyard.  Although it was embroidered, it apparently did not depict cherubim like the inner veil. Faithlife Study Bible

Hebrews 9:2–5

For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary; and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All…

Leviticus 16:2

and the LORD said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.

2 Chronicles 3:14

And he made the veil of blue, purple, crimson, and fine linen, and wove cherubim into it.

Exodus 25:10–23

“And they shall make an ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits shall be its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height. And you shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and shall make on it a molding of gold all around…

Exodus 25:17

17 “You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width. 18 And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat. 20 And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat.

“Say, Pooh, why aren’t you busy?” I said.
“Because it’s a nice day,” said Pooh.
“Yes, but—”
“Why ruin it?” he said.
“But you could be doing something important,” I said.
“I am,” said Pooh.
“Oh? Doing what?”
“Listening,” he said.
“Listening to what?”
“To the birds. And that squirrel over there.”
“What are they saying?” I asked.
“That it’s a nice day,” said Pooh.
“But you know that already,” I said.
“Yes, but it’s always good to hear that somebody else thinks so, too,” he replied…
(From “The Tao of Pooh”, Benjamin Hoff)

I lounge on the grass, that’s all. So
simple. Then I lie back until I am
inside the cloud that is just above me
but very high, and shaped like a fish.
Or, perhaps not. Then I enter the place
of not-thinking, not-remembering, not-
wanting. When the blue jay cries out his
riddle, in his carping voice, I return.
But I go back, the threshold is always
near. Over and back, over and back. Then
I rise. Maybe I rub my face as though I
have been asleep. But I have not been
asleep. I have been, as I say, inside
the cloud, or, perhaps, the lily floating
on the water. Then I go back to town,
to my own house, my own life, which has
now become brighter and simpler, some-
where I have never been before.
Of course I have always known you
are present in the clouds,
and the black oak I especially adore,
and the wings of birds...
Mary Oliver, “Six Recognitions of the Lord”

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

 Sabbath Moments