Psalm 112:9
He has dispersed abroad,
He has given to the poor;
His righteousness endures forever;
His horn will be exalted with honor.
The gifts of God, our talents and our finances, come with inner peace and love for all of God’s creation, not chaos and hatred. We are meant to share them. We cannot be followers of Christ, who was born a man of color, and be racist. We cannot be Christ followers and seek to kill, steal and destroy His creation. That is the works of Satan. There is no one righteous but God and He knows that we are mere humans praying for His will in our lives and in the world. We fail but we get up and try again. It is never too late to change. Carla
2 Corinthians 9:8-9 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. 9 As it is written:
“He has dispersed abroad,
He has given to the poor;
His righteousness endures forever.” NKJV)
2 Corinthians 9:8-9 Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work. 9 As it is written: "He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." New American Bible—Vatican
If we give, God is able to give us more so that we can perform other good works. In other words, God sees to it that the generous giver will not suffer want. Instead, God generously provides for those who give so that they can continue to do so. This verse is Paul’s prayer for God’s blessing to be poured out on the Corinthians. The words supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food are adapted from Isaiah 55:10. The latter part of the verse is a reflection of Hosea 10:12. The NKJV Study Bible
God is able to cause all grace. The Corinthians may have felt concerned about giving money because of the uncertainty of life in the ancient world. Paul does not want this to be reason for them to withhold their generosity. Paul affirms that God can provide everything they need, just as He is doing for the church in Jerusalem. “His righteousness remains forever” Paul quotes Psalm 112:9 to suggest that giving alms and being generous are expressions of God’s righteousness. Faithlife Study Bible
Ephesians 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
Philippians 4:19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Proverbs 11:24–25
There is one who scatters, yet increases more;
And there is one who withholds more than is right,
But it leads to poverty.
The generous soul will be made rich,
And he who waters will also be watered himself.
In a world where exclusion is real, I choose the Gospel: “You belong. Your humanity is not up for negotiation. Your presence does not require anyone’s permission.”
I choose to be a witness.
And one of the gifts of wisdom the Buddhist monks offered to us these past weeks, is the permission—and the necessity—to embrace peace within.
“We walk not to protest, but to awaken the peace that already lives within each of us,” said Bhikkhu Pannakara, spiritual leader of the Walk for Peace.
Because here’s the deal: We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves. And as another monk reminded us, “Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.”
This makes sense. And is so important in a world where it is easy to be troubled, and “have no words.” Recently, people have shared with me, “I feel so powerless.”
This I know to be true: Uncertainty and insecurity take a toll on our emotional and mental and spiritual well-being.
I choose to be a witness… Yes. And it comes from being grounded in self-care. And self-care is a radical act of healing, resilience and well-being.
So. Where do we begin?
Well, a self-care plan isn’t a bad start.
This I know: I don’t want to shut down.
We begin with the essential reminder that care of any kind—engagement, service, kindness, generosity, ministry, teaching, compassion, gentleness, encouragement, healing, being a witness—is predicated on, and fueled by self care.
As “witnesses”—grounded in self-care—we offer coffee, and we make space.
We make space to see—I “see” you, and you belong here.
We make space to give wholeheartedly.
We make space to welcome those excluded and demeaned.
We make space to offer comfort or reprieve or hope.
We make space to speak truth to power, to not be silent about things that matter.
We make space to be Sabbath (sanctuary—self-care and self-love), in a world of disquiet, disruption, misgiving and cruelty. Sabbath Moment
“Dear God, May we come home to what is true within us. May we be grounded in love, steady in compassion, awake to our purpose, and willing to carry that light into the world. Amen.” Maria Shriver
1 John 1:9 (ESV) "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
The Apostle John wrote these words in a letter to the churches of Asia Minor, where people were exposed to many conflicting ideas about sin. False doctrines within the Church had begun to blur lines, denying or minimizing the reality of sin and removing the perceived need for confession. These heresies posed a serious threat to the core truths of the Christian faith.
In response, John wrote to refute these dangerous teachings and encouraged believers to get "back to the basics" of authentic Christianity, including the need to acknowledge their own sin (1 John 1:8). He also emphasized confession as a necessary step toward being made clean: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us ..." (1 John 1:9, emphasis added).
The Greek word for "sins" in this verse is hamartias, which literally means "to miss the mark." Confession acknowledges the distance between us and the mark: Jesus Himself. Hebrews 4:15 reminds us that Jesus was fully God and fully man on earth, and He faced every kind of testing yet did not sin. John, who walked closely with Jesus (1 John 1:1), personally witnessed what it meant to live in perfect truth and love. So he also understood the deep divide that sin creates between us and God ... because unlike Jesus, we are all imperfect and inevitably miss the mark. But through confession, we experience cleansing and restoration of our fellowship with God. Our Creator already knows everything about us (Psalm 139:1), and when we confess, we acknowledge and agree with this fact. We also acknowledge that He is "faithful and just" (1 John 1:9). He freely forgives us and replaces our guilt with deliverance and joy (Psalm 32:5-7). First5
No comments:
Post a Comment