Psalm 121 You are never alone!

Psalm 121 was the message today at Life Church. This was my understanding of it. In the good, the bad and the ugly parts of our lives we are never alone when we place our faith in Him.To God alone be all glory!

Psalm 121:1-8 I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help? 2 My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade at your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. 8 The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore.

Psalm of ascent  was sang as the Israelites traveled to Jerusalem. Moving onward and upward our hope comes from the Lord. He watches over Israel as His covenant people  and us as believers in His Son, Jesus Christ. God so loved the world that He gave us salvation in Jesus that through Him the world could be saved. No one loves you more than God…Father, Son and Holy Spirit.Carla

Psalm 122, a psalm of Zion, is the third song of ascent. This poem describes the joy of the pilgrim on arriving at Jerusalem to worship God. This is one of four songs of ascent attributed to David. The structure of the poem is as follows: (1) a description of the pilgrim’s joy in coming to Jerusalem (verses 1, 2); (2) a description of the beauty of Jerusalem (verses 3–5); (3) a prayer for the peace of Jerusalem (verses 6–9).

The words lift up my eyes dramatically picture a traveler approaching the city of Jerusalem. On first sight of the city walls and the temple, the singer asks rhetorically where help is to be found. The answer is the strong affirmation: My help comes from the Lord. The NKJV Study Bible

Hebrews 3:14-15 Soften our hearts to be like Christ!

In a culture that screams violence and hatred, Lord help me to be one who shouts of your love for all nations, all people, all genders. Help me to be a voice in the wilderness that by my actions You are seen. Help me to cling to what is good and abhor what is evil. Help me to have a soft and compassionate heart like Yours.

Hebrews 3:14-15 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, 15 while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

No matter how difficult our circumstances seem God is always in there. He never leaves us alone. We are totally dependent on His  gift of Holy Spirit in our lives. He will transform our minds and replace our hearts of stone into hearts for Christ and the Fathers love for all of His creation. Carla

This citation from Psalm 95:7–8 summarizes the argument thus far. It recalls Israel’s failure to obey God in the wilderness. This is a warning for the present generation who has the opportunity to inherit God’s rest (Hebrews 4:1). Faithlife Study Bible

Exhorting each other to continue in the faith is important. Believers must hold their faith firmly to the end of their lives if they are to be partakers of Christ (verses 15–19). Partakers is the same word translated companions in 1:9. Believers will be partners with Christ in His future kingdom (Revelation 2:26, 27).

The author of Hebrews speaks of the Israelites’ unbelief as sin (verse 17) and disobedience (verse 18). The Israelites did not enter God’s rest, the Promised Land (verse 11), because they did not believe in God’s promises to them (Numbers 1:1–34). They failed to possess their inheritance because they did not trust in God (Deuteronomy 12:9; Joshua 13:7). 

The Jewish Christians to whom this letter was addressed were in danger of following in their ancestors’ footsteps. They were tempted to doubt the words of Jesus. With the rhetorical questions in these verses, the author of Hebrews was encouraging them to place their faith firmly in Christ (10:26; 12:1, 2). The NKJV Study Bible

Psalm 95:7–8 

For He is our God,

And we are the people of His pasture,

And the sheep of His hand.Today, 

if you will hear His voice:

“Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion,

As in the day of trial in the wilderness,

Hebrews 3:6–8 but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says:“Today, if you will hear His voice…

Hebrews 4:7 again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said:

“Today, if you will hear His voice,

Do not harden your hearts.”

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 

1 Corinthians 15:2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

God's desire

God's desire is no political agenda, nor an economic vision.

It is simply kindness toward all,

a world that includes everybody, that offers beauty,

that gives life, free and abundant,

tendered in verdant hands,

that weaves us together in one living being,

one body, one life.

It is simply passion that the wanting child be fed:

for she is your own.

The “self-made” who disbelieve are the wounded

whom the Spirit sends us to heal;

the “successful” who cling to their food

are the oppressed who need to be set free.

Only the grateful are wise;

only the compassionate see clearly.

Only those who would suffer to free others

are truly free.

The divine in you is not the power to conquer wrong

but simply brave kindness.

It has its own power to open eyes, to set free.

The martyrs and prophets,

who have known glares and stones,

pogroms, marches and fire hoses,

each trail of tears the same Via Dolorosa, they know:

this is not a goal or agenda, a plan or a program;

it is not born of human will at all.

It is a gift of God, the life of the Spirit breathing in you,

the maker of worlds commanding, “Let there be light.”

Steve Garnaas-Holmes

Sixty-two years ago today, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial before 250,000 people who had come to Washington, D.C. to march for civil rights. In his booming voice, he gave his famous "I Have A Dream" speech.

So today, I needed to pause. To listen to his speech. To remember. And to acknowledge at my core, that we still need to hear—and honor—these words today.

I am a minister (old school called a “preacher of the Word”). Although, maybe we should be called “rememberers”. Because in a world where fear and distrust and judgment and hatred are real (meaning we are “not free”), it is easy to forget. To forget that every single one of us is imprinted at our core, with the Sacred (the Imago Dei). An identity (the “Word” if you will) that spills compassion and kindness and inclusion and reconciliation and healing. No one is on the outside. One word, one gesture, one helping hand at time.

And in this Sabbath Moment, I’ve included the final few paragraphs.

“Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

So even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day down in Alabama with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, one day right down in Alabama little Black boys and Black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day…

And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, Black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last.” Sabbath Moments

1 Peter 3:8-12 Believers are to be a people who pursue peace not division.

Psalm 34:12–16 

Who is the man who desires life,

And loves many days, that he may see good?

Keep your tongue from evil,

And your lips from speaking deceit…

As much as it  is within our power we are to seek peace. 

This is only possible with the help of Holy Spirit.  With Him we develop compassion. With Him we pursue peace. With Him we forgive others as we have been forgiven. There is no other way. 

We are called to love people, all people, and to show them the love that God has for all of His creation. If the power of the Cross is held up others will be drawn to the Father’s gift of love. Carla

1 Peter 3:8-12 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; 9 not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. 

10 For “He who would love life And see good days, 

Let him refrain his tongue from evil, 

And his lips from speaking deceit. 

11 Let him turn away from evil and do good; 

Let him seek peace and pursue it. 

12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, 

And His ears are open to their prayers; 

But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

Peter calls his readers to inherit a blessing through unity, love, and upright conduct, and to repay evil with good (Luke 6:28; Romans 12:14). Here, Peter quotes Psalm 34:12–16 to emphasize his point that believers are called to be a blessing to the world. The larger context seems to indicate that believers are meant to live the words of this psalm through their long-suffering, so that the evil of the world may be gradually changed. Faithlife Study Bible

Peter encourages Christians to act like the Lord Jesus. He endured suffering and ridicule in silence, entrusting His just cause to the ultimate Judge (2:23). Peter emphasizes the contrast between our natural tendency as human beings, to get even when we are offended, with the way we should act as believers: returning good to those who hurt us (Ephesians 4:25, 29). that you may inherit a blessing: Christ will reward us for any suffering we endure in His name (Matthew 5:10–12; 19:27–30). The NKJV Study Bible

1 Corinthians 4:12 And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; 

Romans 12:14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 

Romans 12:16–18 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men…

1 Peter 2:23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously

Titus 3:10 (ESV) "As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him ..."

Because division often stems from false teaching or contentious behavior, allowing it to continue is dangerous and threatens God's desire for unity. First5

I accept my imperfection—my brokenness, my divided and fractured being (what William James called my "torn-to-pieces-hood"). That here, even with the untidy parts, the untidy emotions, I can embrace the sacrament of the present moment...

in this conversation,

this relationship,

this conundrum,

this challenge,

this dandelioned pond,

this serendipity

this moment of grace.

Sabbath Moments

Romans 8:26-30 Holy Spirit is in us to teach us and guide us.

Christ in us the hope of glory!

In the troubling times that we are living in our lifeline is Holy Spirit. He will guide and sustain us. He is given the power to keep us in the will of the Father and protect us from evil. Spirit to spirit He intercedes for us. He works out the very things meant to destroy us and turns them for good. He takes the teachings of Jesus and transforms us, precept by precept, into the person God created us to be. Rely on the process of transformation. As believers in Jesus Christ, His Son, He will justify us to the glory of God the Father. Carla

Romans 8:26-30 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

Though more may be involved in the concept of weaknesses, the primary reference here is to mental ignorance. The contrast offered by Paul in this verse is between our inability to know how to pray and the effective prayers of the Spirit Himself. The emphasis indicates that the Spirit Himself prays for us. He intercedes on our behalf before the throne of God (1 John 2:1). But His intercession cannot be uttered, which means it is “unexpressed, unspoken.” No language is in view here, only the inner groanings of the Spirit. As children of God, we do not always know what to pray for or how best to pray (verse 26), but we can know the purpose of God which the Holy Spirit desires to accomplish. 

The primary reference of all things is the “sufferings of this present time” (verse 18). All circumstances will work together in cooperation for the believer’s good—that is, the believer will be conformed to Jesus Christ now and reign with Him later. 

Those who love God are in fact those who are the called by God. Our love is our response to the work of the Holy Spirit in us. We are called according to His purpose. God does everything, including redemption, in order to accomplish His overarching plan. 

God foreknew, which means simply “to know beforehand.” This has been interpreted by some as God’s free and merciful choice of certain people who would receive His gift of salvation. Those who hold this view contend that His knowledge of future events and people did not determine His choice (1 Peter 1:2). Instead He chose those who would be saved out of His own free will. Others believe that in His wisdom, God knew beforehand those who would respond to Him in faith. According to both views, only God saves; people never earn salvation through any work. The NKJV Study Bible

Our weaknesses refers  to people’s limited capacity and susceptibility to sin and death. Paul encourages the Roman believers that the Spirit does not condemn them in their weakness. Even with the assurance of future hope, believers who patiently endure suffering may, at times, face troubles that exhaust their strength and try their faith. Paul urges such believers to find encouragement in the intercession the Holy Spirit makes on their behalf in these circumstances. This is one aspect of how the Holy Spirit serves as an advocate (paraklētos) for followers of Christ. 

The one who searches our hearts is an expression of God’s omniscience (Acts 1:24; 2:23; 15:8). Paul tells the believers that God continues to work on their behalf, especially when they do not know what to pray for. Saint refers to those who are set apart to God. 

Paul has been discussing the perceived tension between human experience and divine promise. He assures believers that God is working for the ultimate good. 

God calls people to receive salvation and, through the resurrection, to reflect His glory (1 Corinthians 15:42–44). The Greek word used here for foreknew, proginōskō, means “to know in advance” or “to choose beforehand.”  However, the theological concept of divine foreknowledge is subject to various interpretations. One view understands “foreknew” as referring to God’s knowledge of the faith people would have in Christ. Following that interpretation, God predestined those whom He knew would believe. This interpretation, however, does not seem to be Paul’s meaning here. The context of the word here and elsewhere in the New Testament suggests the sense of “choose” or “determine to know intimately,” derived from the Old Testament concept of the election of Israel (Romans 11:2; 1 Peter 1:2, 20; Acts 2:23). The Greek verb used here for predestined, proorizō, refers to choosing or deciding beforehand. Salvation ultimately depends on God’s choice. 

Election refers to sanctification, the process by which a believer grows to be more like Christ. 

The term for the firstborn does not indicate that Christ was created; rather, it means that Christ resides in the place of utmost priority in God’s kingdom. 

Called is God’s act of drawing someone to a relationship with Him through Christ. 

Justified refers to being set right or declared righteous by God (3:20, 24). Justification is a central theme of Romans (2:13; 4:2; 6:7). Paul’s chain of verbs culminates in glorification, tying this section back to its starting point in verse 18 and emphasizing that the hoped for future glory is just as certain as the already evident work of calling and justification. Faithlife Study Bible

Ephesians 1:11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 

Romans 9:23–24 and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

Ephesians 1:5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 

1 Corinthians 1:9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Corinthians 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory

Embrace the sacred in the daily

Celebrate gooseflesh

Go human

Find God in the ordinary

Live playfully

Spill laughter

Invite serendipity

Radiate compassion

Spill light

Allow your Spiritual Renewal to be a journey

Savor this moment

Practice the Power of Pause

Delight in life, knee-deep in the sights, smells, sounds and textures of the day

And remember that Grace is a gift given to all.  Without exception. Period.

Slowing down lets us see.

Seeing allows us to be amazed.

Amazement gives way to gratitude.

In Gratitude we relinquish control, and embrace life.

This life. This exquisite and extraordinary and often messy life.

Yes, there is work to do. The work of compassion, and creating sanctuaries, and advocating, and addressing inequalities, and healing. And the list goes on. But that work (yes, that light) spills instinctively from one who is grounded, and at home in their own skin. Not exhausted or unraveled by a compulsion to prove or earn or perform or control. 

Gene Logsdon helps, and cuts to the chase. “The things that matter in a bad life, we know, are: gaining power over others, accumulating as much stuff as you can, getting revenge on your enemies (who are everywhere), and drugging yourself one way or another to forget the pain of not quite being human.”

So. To be human means being attentive to the life you have right now, and experiencing the sacredness and wonders within it—within the present moment.

“Just to be is a blessing. Just to live is holy.”

Thank you, Rabbi Abraham Heschel. 

“Sabbath Moments” Terry Hershey 

Good boundaries are the only fighting chance we have for navigating relational challenges in a productive and healthy way. Good boundaries help us stay away from things that are "unprofitable and worthless" (Titus 3:9) so we can continue to pursue godliness.

So how can we really be gracious without excusing hurtful behavior we're experiencing? How can we have the honest conversations we need to have? We can bring truth while also creating an atmosphere of grace. We can express what needs to be expressed, set a boundary that needs to be set, say what needs to be said, and stay completely committed to the reality of the situation. But we can also foster it all in an environment of love that never dishonors the other person.

We can say a hard truth, but we don't have to say it in a harsh way. As we say honest things and set boundaries with kindness, this is one way we can show the world that we have "have believed in God" and "devote [our]selves to good works" (Titus 3:8).

Ultimately, don't we want our words to reflect that we know Jesus, love Jesus, and spend time with Jesus? I know I do. 

John 15:9: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love” (NIV). When we remember we are loved by God, we can remain in His love. We can allow this truth to inform our thoughts and actions, and we can release any fears we may have about what someone else thinks of us. 

 I read The Enduring Word Bible Commentary on this verse, and it says, "Faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is not alone. We must never put the cart of works before the horse of grace!"

Friend, may we remember this as we cling to our own faith and also ask the Holy Spirit to work in us and through us so we can live a life devoted to good works. First5