1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Love is kind!

Proverbs 10:12 

Hatred stirs up strife,

But love covers all sins.

God’s agape love for the world covered a multitude of our sin in the sacrifice of Jesus.

John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Through the sacrifice of Jesus  the world could be saved. Whoever believes in Him will not perish but will live eternally with Him. No greater gift exists. 

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails.

Father help us to have a soft heart of compassion like Yours. Holy Spirit guard our hearts that we do not let the cruelty of others harden it. If God so loved the world that He created shouldn’t we? Carla

Love is the true sign of someone who follows Christ (John 13:35). Faithlife Study Bible

The Greek word used here for truth, alētheia, refers to the gospel message and stands in contrast to “unrighteousness.” Love rejoices in this truth because the gospel demonstrates God’s love (Romans 5:8). Truth Involves enduring difficulties, and even taking on (spiritually) the difficulty of others (being compassionate; 1 Corinthians 9:12). Exhibiting confidence in God and His promises. Hopes all things Includes hardships and persecution (2 Corinthians 11:23–28). 

Love never fails. The NKJV Study Bible

1 Thessalonians 5:14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. 

2 John 4 I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, as we received a commandment from the Father. 

1 Corinthians 10:24 Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being.

2 Thessalonians 2:12 |that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness

Did you see the movie, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”?

The movie stars Tom Hanks, and is based on the relationship between Fred Rogers and Tom Junod which began in 1998 when Junod wrote an article for Esquire, “Can you say, Hero?”

Wondering how Fred was genuinely available and present to the people around him, Jundo recounts calling Fred to tell him the story about five people stopping their cars to help an ancient and enormous snapping turtle across a highway exit ramp near Atlanta. Mr. Rogers said that would make a good story. Tom asked him why. Fred Rogers responds, “Because whenever people come together to help either another person or another creature, something has happened, and everyone wants to know about it—because we all want to know that there’s a graciousness at the heart of creation.”

I love that phrase—graciousness at the heart of creation.

I know what he means. The beauty of humanity, of doing good when we can, of loving our neighbors, of treating one another openhearted, with dignity and respect, welcoming and reconciling.

But here’s the deal: In the world we live in, we too easily forget that this graciousness is alive and well in each one of us.

I wonder, why do we forget?

Why we give way to our lesser selves, to small-mindedness and intolerance?

I do know this: whenever our words demean, humiliate or shame, we cut off the oxygen of hope.

“Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place.” (Thank you Kurt Vonnegut) “SabbathMoments”

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