One is Run. Picture yourself in a footrace with your head a computer screen or wide screen T.V. As you cross the finish line you fall, shattering the screen into a thousand pieces. Spend some time away from the technology this summer and get in touch with walking in the light. One is Run.
Are You Walking In The Light Of The Righteous Path?
Good Morning Friends,
Today we start on a ten-week series on walking in the light inspired by the book of John. And to start out each of the ten devotionals I have a memory tool I would use when I shared the Gospel with inmates at the local jail as part of a prison ministry. Hopefully it will help you not forget as well. And it will be as easy as counting to ten. The series complements the scripture text to be used by our pastor at Moorings Presbyterian Church this summer and follows an appropriate theme to help us to grow spiritually and become healthier by walking more and learning more about Jesus. To assist in that I have also included a painting and a poem for each of the ten devotionals. Hopefully we will walk more, read more and grow spiritually during the summer months even as we contemplate the next season. But don’t forget the walking part, for it is a path to health. Count your steps. For Jesus walked down to the river. Up to the mountains and down through the valleys. He walked with disciples and friends and taught. And here on the journey, in the way of righteousness, it becomes clearer on reflection that it is not always a tranquil stroll, but it is always better with Jesus. A walk with Jesus is always more revealing once the meaning is absorbed into the pace of our lives.Here light is the creation of God which brings life and a focus. Light brings order and is a divine gift which must be received for the full benefit. Light is for the illumination of the believer for conversion and the glow of a continence of Christ as a manifestation of God’s nature in us. Friends, the life of faith depends on the light of Christ which makes visible the Lord’s will. Light asIllumination is the conversion of a believer. The life of faith depends on the light of Christ which makes visible what is and what is not in agreement with the Lord’s will. We are to become sons of light and a light that shines in the darkness and a light aligned with the God of light, the creator of light. So, Are You Walking In The Light Of The Righteous Path?
Scripture: Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.” Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?”
Luke 24:13-32 (NRSV)
Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him that his glory may dwell in our land. Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky. The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before him, and will make a path for his steps.
Psalm 85:9-14 (NRSV)
By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.
Galatians 5:22-23 (NRSV)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
John 1:1-5 (KJV)
Message: The Bible is filled with stories of walking. Jesus walked just about everywhere he went…even on water. The Bible uses the example of walking to describe the journey we are on in life. And the thing is that life, like the Road to Emmaus, can be a bit of a thought maze. We get focused and anxious about the wrong turns instead of on the straight path of a Highway of Holiness. We can be walking with the answer but not have the right vantage point. It is hard to see the next step. It is hard to see Jesus on the journey even though in our soul we want him with us to help us understand.Helen Keller once said that, “What a blind person needs is not a teacher but another self.” This is so true for us. Helen Keller also said that, “Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.” She realized in her blindness some important truths about Jesus. She realized that, “In the knowledge of a friend is love and light and vision.” Friends we are so blind in our sins but when we walk with Jesus we are never in the dark. Here we discover that observing sins alone is not sufficient. Friends, we need the love of Jesus not as a teacher alone but as another self, bringing us vision walking in fellowship with God. Walking with another person as a friend in life is a witness to the love of Christ in us as an intimacy with God that radiates out through us to those we touch with gratitude and compassion. This brings glory to God step by step on our journey. So today’s message is about the benefits of taking a spiritual walk in the truth and in the light of conducting ourselves in ways that are pleasing to God. Here we can see how this helps us to live an abundant life….to have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Friends, taking a walk in the Fruit of the Spirit. Take a walk on the highway of holiness and live in submission to someone greater than we can imagine.
And So, peer into the dim past as far as you may and you will always see that God is never alone but eagerly seeking to create and flood every life with the glory of the full knowledge of God with grace and nature walking together as one. Today’s passage from the first verses of the book of John, written by the disciple who stood nearest to Jesus in understanding love, gives us the powerful poetry that echoes the creation story in Genesis and takes this beginning of love before time as part of the record of the Lord’s life and the Word made flesh, linking the Word, and Jesus and Light itself in the creation story which is good news. Here the Word of God is creative energy that completes our humanity. Here Jesus is the light and life of the World that gives the gift of sight to a man born blind and raises Lazarus from the dead. Here eternal life is more than a future consummation of all that is hoped for on earth but beyond time as the experience of fellowship with God in the wisdom of love at this very moment.
Pray we realize that to walk in the Spirit we have to move…we have to step out. Pray we have faith to walk in the Spirit. Pray we have strength to keep ourselves in check. Pray we realize that Jesus is the love and light of the world. Pray that through fellowship Jesus opens our eyes. Pray that in confession to Jesus we share in the power and light and love of God. Pray we have vision born out of fellowship. Pray we keep moving forward. Pray we allow the truth of the Holy Spirit to apply the truths of the word made flesh in our daily walk with Jesus. Pray we stretch our faith enough to risk taking a step toward God with God to become children of God. Pray we acknowledge characteristics of the Logos, the pre-existent, incarnate, rejected, yet revealer of God and the giver of sonship to those who believe in his divine mission. There is just one God however the Word made flesh is part of eternity and in fellowship with God and of a divine nature that is beyond time. Pray the divine reason and creative order of Jesus structures our very steps on the journey
Reflection: Consider the painting, “Supper at Emmaus” by Caravaggio. Think about how you are invited to join the table and the amazement of the experience of being on the edge in the thin space between this world and the eternal light of the next.
Reflect on the poem, “Let There Be Light” by Mary Oliver and how it echoes the creation story.
Let there be light, a voice proclaimed, And darkness scattered, forever tamed. With each new dawn, a promise renewed, Light’s golden touch, our souls imbued.
Blessings,
John Lawson
One is Run. Two is Shoe. Picture helping a child learn to tie their shoelaces. Helping another person learn about Jesus can give them the skill to avoid being tripped up on the journey. Two is Shoe.
Are You Ready To Show People The Light?
Good Morning Friends,
When God turns off the lights one must have faith to act otherwise one is stuck in the dark. It is a good time to have friends and especially a friend in Jesus. It is a good time for us to shine from the inside as a powerful witness. It is a good time to realize that there is evil in the world and even the institutional church and sometimes the contradictions rock our belief, but even in the great darkness, even the dark night of our soul, we have a responsibility to not be sarcastic and spiteful but instead serve with kindness. We are to have hope and to find joy in surprising places. So, Are You Ready To Show People The Light?
Scripture: Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him. Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.
Mark 8:27-35 (NRSV)
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
John 1:6-8 (KJV)
Message: I have a friend named Michael that has a wonderful clear backdrop of what he sees looking out into the Mountains of Vermont when he Zooms into our meetings during the summer months. But if he turns the camera around for us to see what he is looking at, what we see is a window because we cannot focus on the blur of the distance because the camera’s focal point includes the window itself. This is very instructive really and reminds me of John the Baptist being a window to the process of spiritual development and focusing on the story of Jesus much like Jesus being a window that frames the picture of the Father. And this is instructive in how we are to frame our story with a focus of walking in the light of God’s creation. Friends, if Jesus can save us from death, we really should not sweat the small stuff. But when we are hurting and need God the most, it may be difficult to sense the divine presence. And in these times of all times, our attitudes and actions need to demonstrate that our faith is real. It is this that turns on the lights of our emotions. But the painfully honest reality is that there are issues that can and do make us depressed. Here we need to remember that how we respond to the Holy Spirit of God makes a big difference. Here we need to remember that repentance is not only for unbelievers but for those that believe as well. Friends, because we are all sinners saved by grace, we are quite often candidates for repentance, especially when it comes to our attitude. So, when we are depressed, it is a good time to recommit our life to Christ realizing there are sins of omission and commission and the disposition as well. And here it is important to be real in our relationship with God and others. Sometimes it is more appropriate to put up than shut up but always we need an attitude of never giving up. When Jesus faced the gates of hell it was not easy. And let’s face it, Jesus sometimes takes us to difficult places. But in these difficult times the light we shine can make more of a difference in the darkness than in the light. Here we have an amazing opportunity to both share Christ and serve others. It is not about getting people to come to church or fellowship but instead be a walking prayer of light in the lives of others even when it is clear we have more pain than many we may be praying for.
And So, the key is to understand the proper authority when it comes to God’s plan. So here on our Journey we might well conclude that it is easier to walk one’s way into a new way of thinking than to think one’s way into a new way of walking. Maybe that is why Jesus was always urging others to come and follow him on his walk. That is why God’s love and light came down to us allowing us to see and to act modeling the only intermediary we have.
Pray we realize that Jesus is to one who helps us to see that we are both salt and light. Pray we influence others by living under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and enhancing our experience and others by preserving the faith through obedience. Pray through the Spirit of Jesus we commit to live by Christ’s faith. Pray that wherever and whenever we come together in prayer, we grow in grace and love and the Word. Pray when we face the dark night of our souls that we trust in God. Pray we like Christ are willing to be suffering servants. Pray we realize it is not about us. Pray we are the light at the end of the tunnel for others. Pray we demonstrate God’s presence. Pray we trust in God’s love. Pray we are real in our relationships but also carry an attitude of gratitude for even the severe mercy of God. Pray we find joy in unexpected places. Pray the lies of Satan do not deter us from the work God would have us to do. Pray we expose the genuineness of our faith to confront the darkness of evil. Pray we demonstrate the Good News of the light of Christ in response to the bad news of the world. Pray Jesus shows us the way. Pray Jesus’ life urges us into action according to His will. Pray we do not give up nor give into the darkness. Pray we realize that it is darkest before dawn. Pray we bear witness to the light by having a Christian Character that projects a radiant countenance, a congenial disposition, a loving heart and a serene soul. Pray we make wise choices.
Reflection: Consider the painting, “The Baptism of Christ” by Piero della Francesca as you remember your own baptism.
Reflect on the poem, “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both, And be one traveler. Long I stood. And looked down one as far as I could, To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.
Blessings,
John Lawson
One is Run. Two is Shoe. Three is Tree. Picture climbing a tree as a child and the importance of playing. Contemplate the tree on which Jesus died and how it frees us to spend some time in play. Three is Tree.
Are You Walking The Path Of Righteousness With God?
Good Morning Friends,
I have written about walking with God before and the thought that God never changes comes to mind, but the thing is that I have changed, and the timing of where and when God walks with me changes, and that always makes the experience new for me. Right now, as I am typing this it is quiet and dark outside and it makes me aware that when we walk with God in His light, we discover far more than we ever even knew to ask. We discover that we do not need to wait for Christmas or Easter or Pentecost to begin the walk. We do not even have to wait for Sunday but can begin right now even before the Sun rises. And when we begin to follow Jesus in His eternal light, we discover that indeed life can get rough, but as Christians we have access to an unshakable joy and a supernatural peace and a holy mindset that pleases God. I experience it as I walk on the beach with my wife…as I read scripture. Here I ask Jesus to be part of the journey. Here I take the talk of concerns to Him in prayer and He in turn answers with an opportunity to experience Him on the journey. So, Are You Walking The Path Of Righteousness With God?
Scripture: When Enoch had lived for sixty-five years, he became the father of Methuselah. Enoch walked with God after the birth of Methuselah for three hundred years, and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him.
Genesis 5:21-24 (NRSV)
For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.
1 Peter 2:21 (NRSV)
whoever says, “I abide in him,” ought to walk just as he walked.
1 John 2:6 (NRSV)
“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30 (NRSV)
These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.
Genesis 17:1 (NRSV)
And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people.
Leviticus 26:12 (NRSV)
That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 1:9-13 (KJV)
Message: According to medical authorities, walking is one of the most profitable forms of physical exercise. It stimulates the heart and lungs, strengthens the bones, and muscles, increases the blood flow throughout the body, and reportedly contributes to the loss of excess weight. Because of its multiple values, Americans have been encouraged to leave their cars in the garage and participate more frequently in the exercise of walking. I for one love walking on the beach and even up and down our street. But today’s question explores a different kind of health and a different kind of walking. In scripture walking with God is a figure of speech meaning the manner of life we live or how we conduct ourselves. The spiritual walk of which the Bible speaks is a dynamic exercise of faith, and the successful completion of this walk is dependent not upon one’s natural or physical resources but upon the strength, leadership, and controlling influence of the Holy Spirit. Walking with God here is about our response to God. It is about trusting God. Of course, this kind of walking, if with God, makes a good life better. For if we walk with God, not away from or ahead of, we walk in power, for God is power.
And So, we have a choice. And the better choice is to have an intimate fellowship in a walk with a God we trust. The words of Jesus today are so poignant in describing this that most of us have probably memorized them sometime in our lives. You see a yoke is the implement an ox or other draft animal wears between head and body. Slaves might be made to wear such apparatus if they were being used to drag a heavy load. So, they were not the kind of things that one would willingly take up. When Our Lord asks us to take His yoke on ourselves, it means He is asking us to work, to work on our own spiritual growth, on the unity and strength of our community, and on the labor of evangelization. We see this pleasing reality clearly in the little we know of the life of Enoch. He is one of but a few men of whom it is said “he walked with God.” He is one of a few who pleased God. He is an example for us of the power of walking in the Spirit. You see, in Christ we move, breath and have our being because when we come to Christ our burdens are lifted. So awake. Let scripture take us on a righteous journey. Let the light of Christ shine a way on the path. Travel through this life with the light of Christ and His love and health.
Pray we walk the straight path of righteousness. Pray we move in the fullness of a life in Christ. Pray we exercise in faith. Pray that even though we do not always know the way God is leading us that we trust in the destination God has planned for us. Pray we leave the details of the journey in His hands as we walk yoked to His ways. Pray we grow, build, and abound in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Pray we make the most of our walk with God. Pray we are influenced by God. Pray we delight in the Word of God. Pray we meditate on scripture. Pray our character is changed from the inside out. Pray we become fruitful, durable, and prosperous spiritually. Pray we realize that our destiny is determined by our choices. Pray we allow God’s Spirit to lead us. Pray we walk in a yoked relationship of love with God and with each other as a family. Pray we shod our feet with the preparation of peace so we might be stable in our walk with God when the path gets rocky. Pray we take joy in a healthy walk with God. Pray Lord Jesus, we realize that you are the Lamp that never dims. Pray that you illuminate our hearts so we stop hiding in the shadows. Pray you give us courage to confess, to love, and to shine your gospel in every corner of our lives.
Reflection: Consider the painting, “The Annunciation” by Caravaggio. Notice that a beam of light descends upon Mary as the angel Gabriel delivers the message of Christ’s conception. Think here about the light being both literal and symbolic of divine presence and purpose for those that would receive the blessing of Christ.
Reflect on the poem, “The Light of Love” by Jalaluddin Rumi and be reminded of the eternal presence of light within ourselves and the transformative power it holds.
In the realm of love, a radiant light, That banishes doubt and conquers the night. Love’s brilliance ignites every soul, Uniting the fragmented, making them whole.
.
Blessings,
John Lawson
One is Run. Two is Shoe. Three is Tree. Four is Door. Picture the front door to your home and someone knocking on the door. When you open the door, it is Jesus. Invite him into your home. Four is Door.
Are We Living Into The Light Of The Word Made Flesh?
Good Morning Friends,
The topic of the Word made Flesh is creatively addressed in the Book of John. It is caught up in the power of words that spark insight in us to not just tell how God is part of our story but more importantly how words of humble service share how we have become part of the larger story of God. To give focus and voice to the topic, today we explore an example of our challenge of choosing the right words to love a stranger and explore what words we may share with someone with whom we would not recognize as like us. The problem is that we offer privilege to some and not to others. But sometimes we are compelled to act, and it does not seem completely rational. Take the example of a child drowning in the rough surf and you are the only one around to see the event. Do you risk your own life saving that one child that you do not even know and perhaps one with whom you might consider… not one of us? The problem is a bit perplexing for many of us would jump in without a second thought and yet when it comes to similar potential negative outcomes in the lives of others, due to economics and access we might well turn a blind eye. We forget Jesus’ prayer in John 17 that we be as one. We hide behind a veil of plausible deniability, but our alibis are lies. So, I wonder this morning if we are making as much progress as we would like to claim. Friends, reality is mostly made up of what we cannot see and so we ask about what we might hear: Are We Living Into The Light Of The Word Made Flesh?
Scripture: In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
Genesis 1:1-3 (NRSV)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.
John 1:1-4 (NRSV)
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.
And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
John 1:14-18 (KJV)
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12 (NRSV)
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14 (NRSV)
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
Psalm 119:105 (NRSV)
“I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. “Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
John 17:20-26 (NRSV)
Message: It has been said that early to bed and early to rise makes a person healthy, wealthy and wise. Certainly we spend more time in the light when we do. And that I think makes us happier. As I mature, I tend to live more in that way. Along this line of thinking today’s scripture seems to be saying that we should give up the darkness of our emotional baggage…to sin less and love more if we are to become the Christians that Jesus would have us to be. And one cannot really argue with that at all as we count the cost of engagement and determine the direction of our lives guided by the lamp of scripture. And as we evaluate how to jettison our dark garbage, we may just want to also ask today’s question. For today we explore things that lighten our load for the journey with Jesus and help light the path in our own spiritual development…the light of love through a creative word of love. And it comes to my mind that when Jesus walked the earth it was not particularly safe to walk around at night but that it might just be a bit safer if others knew you had given away all your possessions and if one had a lamp on loan to light one’s path. I would think that part of the way to light the path is to make wise decisions and to read scripture to better experience the Word made flesh in Christ. But our decisions need to be exposed to a process that counts the cost and then decides, with some degree of illumination of what it will take to pay that price to have the desired result. Sometimes the decision-making process helps us to see the risks involved. Still, when it comes to love we must step out as an act of faith empowered by grace where the most powerful word is one not spoken but born into us. The light of the word of Christ literally needs to be turned on as a protection here. We need to be freed of the darkness of life and recognize our debt to Christ. And in this lighter, transformed life we are to focus on a devotion to God that comes out of a heart lightened by love where things are really turned around. We avoid the darkness of the world by embracing a lifestyle of light that expands the circle of love. Ultimately becoming creatures of the light of Christ is the only safe path for then we walk in the footstep of scripture incarnate.
And So, we are all strangers in a strange land that God makes saner by coming to be one of us in the hope that we might share a story of hospitality with others. Here the Word made flesh is about Jesus being 100% God and 100% human, but it is also about the story of God in the words of God revealed in our own stories of faith shared. It is about us joining in the story of God with a kind word to another person. The Word here is the means whereby God makes divine will known to humanity. Words that reveal and spark insight for a holy purpose. It is something to not only see but more importantly hear. It is essentially a title of Christ and manifests itself in sermons that glorify the Holy Spirit but also a kind word shared to someone we do not yet know. Consider it verbal hospitality that brings light to the subject of life and love. Now science may be able to answer more questions about light than it can about love. For science cannot tell us what a tear means for another person or what laughter to a joke means for a person who did not get it or why Jesus was willing to die for us. Extending love is not only a great challenge of life, but also a great mystery. But this is exactly what God does in sending Jesus to be one of us that reverberates throughout all history and even creation itself. Friends, the magnitude of God’s love for us may never be fully comprehended even if we experience it. But, for me the Word made flesh in Christ means that we have been given through Christ a new revelation that allows us to join the greater story. Here we are to share a word that helps us to identify Jesus’ status and function in the Gospel. Here the Word made flesh is about how God has spoken to humans about the plan and purpose for us all and how we join the story through the word and actions we share so that we might be united in the love of Christ as part of a new creation.
Pray we embrace the art of spiritual reading and living through the words we share. Pray we are enlightened by how the Bible weaves scripture together to reveal the character of God. Pray we love in a way that matters even though we do not completely understand it. Pray the weights of the world be removed from our dark life. Pray we make wise decisions in the words we share. Pray we see the possibilities of being part of God’s story. Pray we count the costs but risk love anyway. Pray we realize that there are eternal consequences to the development of our souls. Pray we have an appreciation of Christ’s love and action in the world. Pray we share the blessings we have received. Pray we meet people where they are with compassion. Pray we realize that we have been freed to love everyone in the way God loves. Pray we enjoy a full life of salvation and spiritual transformation that helps us to become creatures of the light. Pray therefore that we be people of love that speak the truth.
Reflection: Consider the painting, “The Transfiguration” by Raphael. Christ is shown radiating divine light on a mountaintop, with his disciples below in awe. The painting captures the moment Jesus is revealed in divine glory, a literal walk in God’s light reflecting the Word made flesh of the prophets and the law.
Reflect on the poem, “A Beacon of Light” by Rabindranath Tagore and how light not only dispels darkness but also serves as a guiding force, leading us towards truth and love.
A beacon of light in the darkest night, Guiding lost souls towards the right. With every step, the shadows fade, In light’s embrace, love is made.
Blessings,
John Lawson
One is Run. Two is Shoe. Three is Tree. Four is Door. Five is Dive. Picture yourself at a pool having just become airborne off the diving board but instead of water in the pool it is a huge Bible. Dive into the Word of God daily and experience the blessings. Five is Dive.
Would You Be Willing to Come and See How Jesus Saves?
Good Morning Friends,
Calling someone the Lamb of God for a Jew in the time of Jesus was really a more impressive comment than we give credit to the title today. It was a Wow!!! statement that prompted excitement and emotions. It was an invitation to a spiritual feast and a discovery of something very valuable and nothing less than the answer to the question on the minds of Jews looking for the Messiah and yes, finding God’s gift of the second Adam and second Eve. For all of us today who do not have the same cultural heritage, the question might be a little different and initially less exciting but not at all boring. The experience of becoming righteous in a relationship with bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh is the enthusiastic story of life in the called-out assembly of God. So maybe for those who have yet to get it we should ask something like, Would You Be Willing to Come and See How Jesus Saves?
Scripture: Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born of God do not sin, because God’s seed abides in them; they cannot sin, because they have been born of God. The children of God and the children of the devil are revealed in this way: all who do not do what is right are not from God, nor are those who do not love their brothers and sisters.
1 John 3:7-10 (NRSV)
Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone. The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
John 1: 35-52 (KJV)
Message: When it comes to sin and being a Christian, on the surface of it, there seems to be a contradiction, for all the Christians I know still sin. The Jews had sacrifices to deal with the contradiction but even that was not enough. The revelation is that we tend to get better at being good when we love, for God desires our love more than our sacrifices. But still, we all fall short. We need something to engage us in getting better for we are typically not a great attraction for the faith on our own. Thankfully God provides a solution to the problem by providing the sinless Lamb of God. Here God provides the opportunity for us to offer others the chance to experience forgiveness and to come and see the depth and breadth of this movement that started as a tear in the Father’s eyes and turned into a flood of emotion designed to baptize us in the Spirit and fill our cup with overflowing joy. It starts out like a single snowflake, for my frozen chosen friends up North, that turns into an avalanche of love. For in this experience of life we are to discover that Jesus is the Son of God…the answer to everything of importance. We are to discover that we have been made in the likeness of the Second Adam, Jesus, not just the first. So, friends, we need to try not sinning and see what happens. Perhaps we might just find that the love of God is so prevailing a match that we no longer desire to sin. Realize that Jesus is calling us. Jesus sees us and knows us and will praise us. Friends, Jesus is such a good lover of people and wants to know us even at the expense of his life. All the stories in the Bible are about Jesus. The gap between what the world is and what the world needs must be bridged. Jesus is the way to bridge the gap.
And So, we are to trust patiently for Jesus to deliver love. We are to trust Jesus our Lord to mold us into what we are called to do and cannot do alone. Friends, today we see how Jesus met his first disciples and the patterns here can help us to close the widening gap between a spirituality that people seek and the growing rejection of organized religion. The offer is to come together and think and come and see what Christianity has to offer in groups of seekers. And so, what Jesus is asking us to do is to accept the offer to not just come and see, but to come and believe and think it through intellectually with others reading the Bible. Look what happens in the text and the witness of John in what he sees and says about Jesus. The data is specific, and the evidence clear. John was a game changer on his own but still brings people to Jesus and so should we. The text today is an eyewitness account. Read the surrounding text and you will see. You can come and see it too with others. Read the account and realize that you must be pushed to the extremes of credulity if you do not sort it out and learn to read it marveling that either the writers of the Bible saw it happening and witnessed the amazing power of Jesus or they came up with an elaborate system of lies and died for them. The only logical thinking is to believe what they said is true. Be a person of intellectual capacity. Come and think but also come and follow Jesus with others. Spirituality alone does not transform. The thing is not just to believe, but to be changed in the following of Jesus. Being a fan and being married to someone is very different. This is all in stuff. Then you might just discover that to be a follower of Jesus it has to be his heart and not our own making the decisions. Process this with friends. Do it together. You have probably tried a product or purchased an item because someone else said they thought you would enjoy it or because they said it was fantastic and it made all the difference in their lives. That is what is happening in today’s text with John the Baptist. And what makes all the difference in how we respond is in how much we trust the person making the recommendation. Jesus calls us to personal transformation. Jesus calls us to an adventure to consider the affirmation of Jesus in our lives. All of it is about Jesus. We are to be moved by those things that bridge the gap between what we see and the cosmic reality that is the reality of what the Bible and life stories that move us point to. The story is true. The spell can be broken. The key is Jesus. Believe in the amazing grace of Jesus. Come and see.
Pray we be patient. Pray we have courage. Pray we be friends to others. Pray we help others to come and see. Pray we have friends that practice their faith with confident humility. Pray we have friends that come and wonder and worship with a sense of excitement that is more amazing than what we can imagine alone. Pray that the adventure of personal and collective transformation is truly wonderful for us and others. Pray we realize that the way to find Jesus is through friends who have found Jesus. Pray we stop deceiving ourselves. Pray we practice righteousness and in this realize that Jesus is never boring. Pray we answer the call of Jesus, the lamb of God, and that he changes our hearts to point others to the way of salvation.
Reflection: Consider the painting, “The Conversion of Saint Paul” by Caravaggio and how light is used to help us see spiritually even though for a time we may not see physically.
Reflect on the poem, “When I Consider How My Light Is Spent” sometimes titled “On His Blindness” by John Milton and consider what it is like to go blind.
When I consider how my light is spent, Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide, And that one Talent which is death to hide Lodged with me useless, though my Soul more bent To serve therewith my Maker, and present My true account, lest he returning chide; ‘Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?’ I fondly ask …
Blessings,
John Lawson
One is Run. Two is Shoe. Three is Tree. Four is Door. Five is Dive. Six is Sticks. Picture a bundle of sticks the next time you are about to say something that you will regret. Picture putting the bundle in your mouth to keep you from saying what you know you should not say. Choose your words carefully and realize that the least said is the soonest mended. Six is Sticks.
What Does It Mean To Have A Good Spouse?
Good Morning Friends,
By the end of the summer I will have been married for 46 years and the time includes thousands of moments of commitment with kind eyes and forgiveness and thousands of miles walked together. Many have been married for longer and many never made it this far on the journey. You know, I really never get tired of doing little things for my wife. I walk with her a lot. With her in mind it gives me a chance this morning to ponder scripture about weddings and love and, What Does It Mean To Have A Good Spouse?
Scripture: On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.
John 2:1-12 (ESV)
Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe. May her breasts satisfy you at all times; may you be intoxicated always by her love.
Proverbs 5:18-19 (NRSV)
He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favour from the Lord.
Proverbs 18:22 (NRSV)
with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Ephesians 4:2-3 (NRSV)
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.
1 John 4:18 (NRSV)
Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
Colossians 3:14 (NRSV)
Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.) Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.” At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”
Revelation 19:7-10 (NIV)
Message: Scripture does not tell us who is getting married in this place of celebration and safety at Cana. Maybe that gives us the opportunity to write ourselves into the story. Here I find that love and respect will make any good relationship better. Here I see two strong characters in Mary and Jesus sharing moments and memories and taking turns being strong for each other, and it seems that this is a good characteristic for families to have. So too in marriage we are to take our mistakes and turn them into something absolutely amazing. Here we are both vulnerable and strong. It brings out the best in us and then it changes us in ways we could have never have expected. Here marriage is a promise. Not just between the couple but to the community at large, to generations past and to those yet to be born. Here we find happiness in the face of incompatibility. Yes it is a miracle. For the better. Here we embrace a smile as we live a dream together shared with God. Here we discover that being a better spouse makes for a better family.
And So,the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is going to be married and that the bride is the Church and the Saints, and the marriage supper is going to take place only when the Father determines that the time is right. John invites us to take what we know about getting ready for a wedding and connects it to the wedding that will end all weddings. If you have ever participated in or planned a wedding, you know that a lot has to go into the preparation. But first century weddings in the Jewish culture were more extensive than we might imagine. They were not a day or two but an extended event at which the whole family and community participated. It was a much bigger deal than most modern weddings and more like a royal marriage celebration. So, imagine for a moment the great magnitude of the scale of the marriage of Jesus and the Church.I want you to first think about being ready to be a guest and then what is necessary to be a bride. Friends, you, and I can only be ready for the wedding if Jesus has prepared us…cleans us up and dresses us in purity. Through his power and by his grace we need to stay ready for the time when God comes to claim us as His own.
Pray that we accept the invitation to the wedding feast. Pray that the Holy Spirit has prepared us for the wedding. Pray we bring our needs to Jesus. Pray we break with customs and save the best for last. Pray we have a more personal relationship with Christ. Pray we rejoice in the transformation of frowns into smiles…of fears into hope…of sorrow into joy. Pray we experience the joy of the abundance of new wine in Jesus. Pray we experience a Jesus that turns sin into grace and death into life. Pray we experience the joy of God’s love knowing it will always be more than we will ever need. Pray that in living for Jesus we learn to love Him. Pray that we leave behind sin so we can follow Christ to a new home. Pray we are prepared through our experiences and relationships here now. Pray we are dressed in our wedding clothes of purity ready for the banquet. Pray we understand the grace, submission, and love of Christian marriage.Pray we understand the language of the heart. Pray we rejoice in a celebration of commitment that lasts more than a lifetime.
Reflection: Consider the painting “The Wedding at Cana” by Paolo Veronese and all the people you will meet on the journey.
Reflect on the free verse in the poem, “A World of Light” by Elizabeth Jennings and being at peace in times of darkness.
Yes when the dark withdrew I suffered light And saw the candles heave beneath the wax, I watched the shadow of my old self dwindle As softly on my recollection stole A mood the senses could not touch or damage, A sense of peace beyond the breathing word. Day dawdled at my elbow. It was night Within. I saw my hands, their soft dark backs Keeping me from the noise outside. The candle Seemed snuffed into a deep and silent pool: It drew no shadow round my constant image For in a dazzling dark my spirit stirred. But still I questioned it. My inward sight Still knew the senses and the senses’ tracks, I felt my flesh and clothes, a rubbing sandal, And distant voices wishing to console. My mind was keen to understand and rummage To find assurance in the sounds I heard. Then senses ceased and thoughts were driven quite Away (no act of mine). I could relax And feel a fire no earnest prayer can kindle; Old parts of peace dissolved into a whole And like a bright thing proud in its new plumage My mind was keen as an attentive bird. Yes fire, light, air, birds, wax, the sun’s own height I draw from now, but every image breaks. Only a child’s simplicity can handle Such moments when the hottest fire feels cool, And every breath is like a sudden homage To peace that penetrates and is not feared.
Blessings,
John Lawson
One is Run. Two is Shoe. Three is Tree. Four is Door. Five is Dive. Six is Sticks. Seven is Heaven. Picture your home on a cloud in heaven. Picture yourself there too. Keep that image of heaven in your mind as physically walk around the place you call home the next time you say the Lord’s Prayer. Seven is Heaven.
Are We Really Serious About Cleaning Up God’s Temple In Us As A Sign For Others?
Good Morning Friends,
Today’s scripture explores the nature of God’s Temple and God’s Sanctuary both in our hearts and minds, and on the altars of the world cleansed and redeemed for a holy purpose. It truly is a wonderful picture of hope if you believe it and a frightening thought as well. For it gets personal when we realize that we are not just the called-out assembly, but our very bodies are temples for the Lord and witnesses to Christ at home in us. So, Are We Really Serious About Cleaning Up God’s Temple In Us As A Sign For Others?
Scripture: Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple; there, water was flowing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east); and the water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. Then he brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and the water was coming out on the south side. He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah; and when it enters the sea, the sea of stagnant waters, the water will become fresh. Wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish, once these waters reach there. It will become fresh; and everything will live where the river goes. On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.”
Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12 (NRSV)
For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
1 Corinthians 3:9c-11, 16-17 (NRSV)
And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said. Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.
John 2:13-25 (KJV)
Message: All four Gospels tell the story of the cleansing of the temple, but the Synoptics place it near the end of Jesus’ life, and it provokes the chief priests and scribes to plot to kill him. John’s Gospel places the cleansing at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, and the raising of Lazarus is the precipitating event for his trial and crucifixion. John, I think, wanted to introduce a Passover theme and an emphasis on Jesus’ death and resurrection early in his Gospel right after the Wedding at Cana and the turning water into wine. In John’s view, Jesus’ life was not taken from him, but he laid it down of his own accord. So, do not be confused by the timing of the story. In Hebrew thought chronology was more spiral than linear. Synoptics emphasize more of the history of Jesus’ life and John emphasizes more the theology behind his life. It would be more in character for John than for the Synoptics to move the story out of sequence, and it seems likely that he did so to establish important themes at the outset of his Gospel. Of course, it is also possible Jesus cleansed the Temple twice before the Passover celebrations as a sign of the second coming. But perhaps the more fruitful approach is to experience the message of the Spirit in us beyond time. In our passage today from the prophet Ezekiel the motif is of a river flowing in the abode of God… Paradise… a new creation. So, meditate on the scripture and let it reveal to you that the river is not just the Jordan flowing though Israel as a visible sign to the world of God with us but in our very blood and breath and life in Christ. Friends, our bodies are Temples for Christ to reside too. And Jesus desires to clean up our temple for better worship as well. And anything that collectively walls us off from connecting to the rest of society in our commission or even gives the perception of a barrier to Christ needs to be removed or transformed. We need to look at our lives and what in them connects to and demonstrates the power of the love of Jesus in redeeming us and yes sometimes that needs to be tough love that turns things upside down if need be. The Spirit of the original church was radical and so too our temple may need a makeover to kick out the burdens and preconceived notions of worship and our ways of analyzing and determining limits on how God can use us for a holy purpose. Friends, worship is not to be a value proposition where we calculate what we get out of a particular way of worship. Worship is not to be an exchange of getting something out of the experience in return for an annual pledge. The Spirit is not so much transactional as it is transformational. Every worshipping community should be a response to what God has already done for each of us. Coming and participating in our collective body of believers is therefore about surrendering to the Lord through our obedience, praise, and service to and for Him. It’s not about us. But it is about what God is doing in and through us as a sign to others.
And So, it may be our bodies and it may be the world we live in, but it still belongs to God. We have indeed been bought for a price. And it was not perishable things by which we were redeemed. It is the life of Jesus Christ who was ordained before the foundation of the world to set us free to glorify God. And because the Holy Spirit resides in us, therefore, we are to honor God as part of the Body of Christ. Now, if God meant simply to convey the idea that the Spirit lives within the believer, He could well have said we are home to God. But by choosing the word, temple, to describe the Spirit’s dwelling, scripture conveys the idea that our bodies are the shrine, or the sacred place, in which the Spirit not only lives, but is worshiped, revered, and honored. Therefore, how we behave, think, and speak, and what we let into the temple becomes critically important as well, for every thought, word and deed is in God’s view. So too the world, as God’s Sanctuary, seems to convey a similar image for our collective worship. God expects all creation, both the visible and the invisible to become alive in the purity, power, prayer, and praise of God. We are to experience this life not just as isolated particles but as waves of power, not just as individuals but collectively. And that is why God cleans our house so our hearts and minds can be raised up as a new Temple and sign to the world. Friends, it is a bit of a prophetic mystery, but my reading of today’s scripture encourages me to believe that all believers and all creation will ultimately live by the Spirit and in the Spirit be in unity as an abode of worship redeemed. And that beautiful picture of resurrection is the very nature of love that should move us to worship with a purpose and reveal God’s glory in us. Indeed, Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again.
Pray we turn over the keys of our temple to Jesus. Pray we realize that we have been consecrated for the holy purpose of bearing fruit in and through worship. Pray we realize that God dwells in each one of us and that seed of faith and the Word made flesh can bear much fruit. Pray we do not grieve the Spirit. Pray we live by the Spirit worshipping God with our every thought. Pray we no longer gratify the desires of our sinful nature but instead be part of a redeemed creation for God’s glory. Pray we are conformed to the image of God. Pray we are transformed by the purity, power, purpose, prayer, and praise of God. Pray we are transformed by Jesus and cleansed so that we might be a home of worship that glorifies God. Pray belief is awakened in us. Pray we get the connection between the story and belief. Pray we stay on task to the Glory of God seen in us.
Reflection: Consider the painting, “The Raising of Lazarus” by Rembrandt.
Reflect on the hymn, Walk in the Light” by Bernard Barton and the scripture it is based on from 1 John 1:7, “if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
Walk in the light: so shalt thou know That fellowship of love His Spirit only can bestow, Who reigns in light above. Walk in the light: and sin abhorred Shall ne’er defile again; The blood of Jesus Christ thy Lord Shall cleanse from every stain. Walk in the light: and thou shalt find Thy heart made truly His, Who dwells in cloudless light enshrined, In Whom no darkness is. Walk in the light: and thou shalt own Thy darkness passed away, Because that light hath on thee shone In which is perfect day. Walk in the light: and e’en the tomb No fearful shade shall wear; Glory shall chase away its gloom, For Christ has conquered there. Walk in the light: and thine shall be A path, though thorny, bright; For God, by grace, shall dwell in thee, And God Himself is light.
Blessings,
John Lawson
One is Run. Two is Shoe. Three is Tree. Four is Door. Five is Dive. Six is Sticks. Seven is Heaven. Eight is Gate. Picture a gate that Paul walked through as he left prison and picture it going into a garden but instead of being made of iron the gate it is made of chocolate. In fact, it is a chocolate bar with the letter “B” “A” and “R” on it signifying the Belief, Action and Results we are to experience while walking in the light. Eight is Gate.
Do We Have The Faith To Be Changed And Born Again?
Good Morning Friends,
The Bible is filled with stories about birth and birth rights and rebirths and the whole image is caught up in the labor of a woman bearing a child intertwined with the death of Jesus on the cross and the image of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the church. And as with a child one has to imagine the future potential of transformation…the passing of faith from one generation to another. So this morning we explore this challenge and ask one question. Do We Have The Faith To Be Changed And Born Again?
Scripture: Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ* has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith.Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth.
1 John 5: 1-6 (NRSV)
Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him. Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Luke 1:57-79 (NRSV)
“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”–which means, “God with us.”
Matthew 1:23 (NIV)
Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?” Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
John 3:1-17 (NRSV)
Message: Anytime a child is born we can and should marvel at the birth, but when a child is born when the mother is well past childbearing years as with Sarah and Abraham and as in today’s scripture about Zechariah and Elizabeth it is out of the ordinary.Here we see that nothing is impossible with God. The prayers of the people can be answered in the affirmative but we have to be willing to let God answer in His own time. God really does want to touch us and change our disappointment into His appointment, but we have to be willing to let God answer in His own way. He can breathe hope into the stale air of impossible solutions, but we have to be willing to let God answer in His own power. Sometimes it just comes down to our being willing to receive it but we have to be willing to let God answer for His own purpose. Here the beginning point for our hope in heaven is the mystery of our new birth. It is the focal point of the Gospel message…the good news of the power of repentance and forgiveness. Here in our desire to learn more about Jesus we end up like Nicodemus learning more about ourselves. Here we find the importance of personal faith and the life God intends for us to live. We like Nicodemus are challenged by Jesus to begin a new life. As we search for what Jesus has attained, we too are challenged to have a relationship with God….we too are challenged to be remade by the power of God so we might live in the rule and reign of God. Here we find the importance of personal faith in the journey as we walk in the light.
And So, the Bible tells us little about Nicodemus. But this name “Nicodemus” gives us some insight. You see it is made up of two words, a word which means “to conquer,” and one which means “the common people.” The total word means, “One who conquers the people.” And maybe that is why Nicodemus was so interested in Jesus…this Jesus the Messiah who had captured the attention of the common people engaging with them with their faith heritage to create something new. But what soon becomes evident in the battle for power over the people and of the people is that following Jesus would require a commitment that would cost Nicodemus a great deal….Not unlike the Rich Young Ruler…Nicodemus would be asked to give up everything. It’s true throughout all of Scripture….Following Jesus isn’t something you can do at night where no one notices. It’s a twenty-four-hour-a-day commitment that will interfere with your life. That’s not the small-print–that’s a bold guarantee.” And here if we claim that we too need to be born again, because of what Jesus said that to Nicodemus, then we might just have to sell everything we have and give it to the poor, because Jesus said that to the Rich Young Ruler too. I guess we all need to look into our hearts with Jesus to understand what the commitment is going to require of us. Surprisingly, after Jesus’ death, Nicodemus brought close to 100 pounds of spices to the tomb to help Joseph of Arimathea prepare Jesus’ body for burial. Such a large amount of myrrh and aloes would be difficult to conceal, but at that point Nicodemus seemed unafraid for his connection to Jesus to become known. Why, after Jesus had died, would a man of Nicodemus’ standing risk his reputation? The answer is I think that Nicodemus after sleeping on it awoke believing that Jesus was the Messiah.
Pray Jesus looks into our hearts. Pray we get the chance to be born again and give it all away. Pray we are Holy Spirit inspired in our proclamation of the Word. Pray we come to Jesus for an explanation, greater clarity, and knowledge so we can explain to others how God works connecting it all together in a way that makes sense. Pray we wrestle with our stubborn literalism and be led by Jesus into the deep mystery of faith. Pray we receive the challenge to believe in and receive the challenge of God’s love. Pray we realize that we have to be all in for the commitment to bring a Kingdom Transformation.
Reflection: Consider the painting “The Prodigal Son” by Rembrandt and the stories of homecoming on our journey.
Reflect on the poem, “The Light Within” by Rumi and be reminded of the clarity light brings in times of adversity.
The light within you, so pure and bright, It can guide you through the darkest night. Shadows may fall and darkness may creep, But your inner light is yours to keep.
Blessings,
John Lawson
One is Run. Two is Shoe. Three is Tree. Four is Door. Five is Dive. Six is Sticks. Seven is Heaven. Eight is Gate. Nine is Dine. Picture yourself seated at a dining room table with vines curling around each of the legs of the table. Spend time around a dinner table with family and friends connecting with God. Nine is Dine.
Will More People Come To The Spiritual Water?
Good Morning Friends,
Today on our walk in the light, the scripture reminds me how creation itself and the geography of Israel emulates the life of Christ as it flows in and through us as one environment transitions into another. Here the animals teach us, and the fish of the sea inform us. Life abounds where I live because the change in the tides helps the water in the creeks, rivers and streams. So too it is with the flow of people here from everywhere. But it is the flow of Christ in our spirit that offers us the best opportunity to interact in new ways with new people as we consider, Will More People Come To The Spiritual Water?
Scripture: The King will say to those on his right, ” . . . I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.”
Matthew 25:34-35 (NIV)
Freely you have received, freely give.
Matthew 10:8 (NIV)
On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’”
John 7:37-38 (NRSV)
When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. And he must needs go through Samaria. Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
John 4:1-26 (KJV)
Message: Today’s scripture demonstrates the emotion and heart of the battle between Jesus and the Pharisees…between God and those that would control Him. The Pharisees were pitting Jesus against John in a battle of baptisms trying to dam up the natural flow of emotions. Into this setting and situation Jesus took some pretty amazing action that opened the door for the Hebrew God to become our God…that opened up new tributaries of Holy History. I would have loved to hear the discussion of the Pharisees on whether they should include the baptisms of the Samaritans in the count totals. Maybe they would count the Samaritans as half or two thirds. Jesus did not miss a thing. Jesus goes to a people that the Jewish religious leaders despised. They were called pretty discussing things, especially the women. They were outcasts. And to these people separated/ divided from what would become “the church,” Jesus enters into a leisurely conversation that turns into an intimate personal relationship with a compassionate response… ultimately His death on the cross opening up the flow of the Spirit everywhere. Today’s scripture brings us into a conversation with Jesus where the words spoken bring dignity and gravity, where Jesus speaks a word that calls salvation into being. It demonstrates that God, not the church leaders are in charge. It is done at that place, that deep well in us all where God provides for our needs, seeing into our hearts, into the deep wounds that have divided and brings the refreshing realization that we have a need for each other. I have need of you. You have a need for me and we all have a deep need for Jesus as He calls us even now to Come to the Living Water.
Pray that you Lord would give us an overwhelming thirst for Jesus. Pray Lord that you make our lives like well-watered gardens with springs of water that never fail. Pray that our spirit overflow with your pure water of love for the unloved. Pray there be a great harvest of souls for the kingdom. Pray we have the wisdom to know when the season of harvest has come. Pray that out of our hearts flow rivers of living water. Pray we read and share God’s word each day so we do not become drought stressed. Pray we drink freely of God’s grace and forgiveness in the joy and satisfaction only Jesus can provide. Pray we drink of the Jesus water and share it. Pray we drink to those in need in remembrance of the only One who can satisfy that need.Pray we drink deep of the life giving relationship with Jesus. Pray the Spirit’s cleansing flow of dignity and acceptance take dried up shriveled souls and bring them to life.
Reflection: Consider the painting by Rembrandt “The Storm on The Sea of Galilee.” And how light is used to draw our focus.
Reflect on the poem, “God’s Light-Houses” by Helen Hunt Jackson
When night falls on the earth, the sea From east to west lies twinkling bright With shining beams from beacons high Which flash afar a friendly light. The sailor’s eyes, like eyes in prayer, Turn unto them for guiding ray: If storms obscure their radiance, The great ships helpless grope their way. When night falls on the earth, the sky Looks like a wide, a boundless main. Who knows what voyagers sail there? Who names the ports they seek and gain? Are not the stars like beacons set To guide the argosies that go From universe to universe, Our little world above, below?— On their great errands solemn bent, In their vast journeys unaware Of our small planet’s name or place Revolving in the lower air. O thought too vast! O thought too glad! An awe most rapturous it stirs. From world to world God’s beacons shine: God means to save his mariners!
Blessings,
John Lawson
One is Run. Two is Shoe. Three is Tree. Four is Door. Five is Dive. Six is Sticks. Seven is Heaven. Eight is Gate. Nine is Dine. Ten is Hen. Picture a hen laying an egg even a rooster crows in the distance but the egg is not egg shaped at all but looks like a perfect heart. We are to lay down love in all we do. Ten is Hen.
Have You Discovered You Are Healthier And More Productive When You Have Been Touched By God In A Way That Prompts Faith?
Good Morning Friends,
Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling fresco portrays God reaching to touch Adam with his finger as an act of creation itself and indeed the giving of life. Countless modern paintings depict angels touching people. I think this made the artists feel happier and maybe even joyful in the act of creation. The point is that touching in a way that creates value has always been central to our spiritual life but has gotten more confusing of late. You see, the word touch conveys a lot of different meanings and in more recent years a negative one. To be touched can mean to be a bit crazy. Yes, it is a touchy subject in more than one way. But in the Bible, I think the connotation of touch is a bit saner and is one of healing and power and trust in a loving God that reduces our anxiety and leaves an impression of something holy in our mental clay molded into a fundamental pattern of our very being that witnesses that we are made in the image of God. In the Bible, touch brings a clarity of communication too. It is the universal language. When Jesus was touched by a woman washing his feet with her hair there was a clarity of communication. She did not have to utter a word. When Jesus was touched by a woman and power went out of him healing her, it was clear what had happened. When Jesus healed a leper, the communication was with a touch first then with words to back up the action. So, perhaps we are to hold each other’s hand on the subject. Perhaps we are to dream of a church that lays hands on our souls and sends us into the world to make disciples of Jesus Christ, having him speak through us while gently pressuring us to walk more closely in the Way, Truth and Life of Jesus. But maybe before we transform the world we first need to get in touch with our emotions. Friends, Jesus said he would never leave us. Being loved in spite of our flaws is really comforting. So, Have You Discovered You Are Healthier And More Productive When You Have Been Touched By God In A Way That Prompts Faith?
Scripture: and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.
1 John 3:22 (NRSV)
Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
John 14:5-6 (KJV)
Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
Hebrews 13:16 (NRSV)
And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Hebrews 11:6 (NRSV)
When the ways of people please the Lord, he causes even their enemies to be at peace with them.
Proverbs 16:7 (NRSV)
make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.
Philippians 2:2-3 (NRSV)
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it is said, ‘When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people.’ (When it says, ‘He ascended’, what does it mean but that he had also descended* into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.
Ephesians 4:1-13 (NRSV)
Now concerning spiritual gifts,* brothers and sisters,* I do not want you to be uninformed.
1 Corinthians 12:1 (NRSV)
If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
1 Corinthians 13:1 (NRSV)
While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader of the synagogue came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples. Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, for she said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.” Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. And the report of this spread throughout that district.
Matthew 9:18-26 (NRSV)
And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Hebrew 11:6 (NRSV)
Message: Today we take a look at the most staggering saying in all of literature and how Jesus touches us to focus on the Father. More specifically we consider what Jesus meant by His statement, I am the way, the truth and the life. The doctrine he taught was that by his bloody death, his body and his blood were offered in sacrifice for sin so he could procure pardon and life for those who partook. And no, this is not a teaching of cannibalism as his detractors promoted but a figure of speech related to the subject of the discourse on how to get to this place Jesus is preparing for the disciples. Jesus declares that the vision of God, the Way, is granted to those who have the revelation of the Father in the life of the incarnate Son. Jesus had previously said that he was the bread of life and all those who thirst should come to him and drink. This is an expression of sharing in the privilege of friendship that cleans our conscience and offers us the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus offers the singular truth that matters most and gives life to the soul. But to receive eternal life with God the Father one has to partake of the Spiritual sustenance that Jesus offers. And it is more than just manna. We have to be touched. The light has to come on. And when we believe in God and believe what He says, we will also be pleasing to Him. When we are spiritually minded, we please God. But we must be transformed in our mind, keeping our hearts, actions and thoughts on things that are pleasing to God. We must realize that love being put into action is the supreme truth. For sure it is good to think about and even develop a personal plan on pleasing Jesus. And it all requires faith put into action. Here transformation occurs. Here we develop spiritually. Friends, the life that pleases God is the one that yearns to know more about God so that they can experience God better. Friends, the key is not to work harder but to draw closer to the love of Jesus. Faith in this truth is real faith. Without faith we are without hope. Without faith we cannot please God. And we must see the necessity of faith asserted. Faith in a lie is death. And Faith in the Truth without action is of little value. For with faith asserted we progress toward and imagine our future selves achieving a moral and noble aim. We must have confidence in God. And to have this kind of faith sometimes we have to be broken enough to want to be saved. Here faith is a tool for our well-being. Faith allows us to test ideas and to learn from them. Having faith is very practical. Everything you experience is real. Without faith we drown in chaos. The beauty is that the pattern of our being is distilled in the words we share from the stories in the Bible. We take an abstraction and put it to the test where it is integrated into our physical and corporate bodies. Friends, seeking truth is a way of life, not a season of life and faith is central to it all. There is no end of the journey in finding the truth, each scripture you read is just one more step toward discovering the truth about God. For the Bible is a book about faith, the first hyperlinked book with 65,000 cross references. If you are reading this, you are seeking God, and you have chosen to take a step in the right direction. You can call it faith if you want. There are many things in our world right now that are real but cannot be perceived with the senses. Microwaves cannot be seen, but they cook our food. Television and radio waves likewise cannot be perceived without specialized receivers. Even something as basic as love is impossible to touch, taste, see, smell, or hear – but no one denies love exists or that it is necessary to human survival. The tool that you need in order to be able to believe in and perceive God is faith.
And So, we are healthier when touched in a positive way so that we might do things together which would be impossible on our own. In marketing there is the goal of seven touches to engage people. And indeed, in the Bible there are many examples, but somehow Jesus only needed one touch. So, let us contemplate some of those instances of Jesus touching and healing against the backdrop of heaven opening into our world through the life of the Messiah and the necessity of faith. There are several instances in the Bible of healings and many where someone sees heaven open, and they all relate to Jesus. Healing and heaven are intertwined in prophecy as a sign of the Kingdom coming through the life of the Messiah. Today’s scriptures look at examples of each, one in the dream of Jacob and a couple in the healing of a young girl and an older woman. As with the baptism of Christ and the stoning of Stephen, the person describing the healing events has a vision that accords some greater divine reality and understanding of Jesus as Messiah and how Jesus goes about healing and opening the possibility of heaven for us all. In the story of Jacob, as with the stoning of Stephen and the Baptism of Christ and the transfiguration and resurrection we get glimpses of this new reality. Jacob says, “Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!” And he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” Such is the nature of faith and of miraculous healings…a little bit of heaven on earth. Such is the nature of Jesus’ divine and human touch that brings unity. Such is the nature of dreams and faith in God.
Pray we fear God and are obedient to Christ’s example. Pray that we dedicate our lives to God. Pray we be dependent on God. Pray we be delighted with God. Pray that God direct our lives. Pray we be dynamic in the Holy Spirit. Pray we do not substitute facts for relationships. Pray that we provide Godly leadership. Pray we are witnesses to Christ’s Kingdom. Pray that we nurture, counsel, encourage and evangelize. Pray that we train and mentor others in the faith. Pray that we empower others by helping them face their addictions. Pray we coordinate and network in a way that brings unity to the Body of believers. Pray we administer in a way that lifts up the law of love. Pray that our attitude and motivation is pleasing to God. Pray that we claim the Holy Spirit’s power to help us live a life pleasing to God. Pray we accept God’s provision and invest in things pleasing to God. Pray we thank God. Pray we love what God loves. Pray that we have an agenda that includes others. Pray we love with the heart of God. Pray we take refuge in God knowing that God’s love is always there, and that Jesus’ Spirit will never leave us alone. Pray we realize that it is God who will restore us if we are humble enough to ask. Pray that we are cleaned by the touch of Jesus. Pray we keep in touch with the Great Physician of us all. Pray Jesus touches our hearts with the Glory of God and His purifying Spirit. Pray we are touched by the plight of others and moved to compassion to work collectively for a solution. Pray that we share the gift of touch with those who need a healing hand. Pray the Holy Spirit through the Word caress us with a comfort and hope of God’s love. Pray that we are touched by grace and extend it to others. Pray we experience love’s touch through kindness both given and received. Pray we get the point that Jesus not only wants us to be touched but to stay in touch with the reality of heaven. Pray that we reach out and touch each other in love because we are divided and need to become whole and healed. Pray the fertility of God’s abundance creates in us a better way…. the way of God’s promise of love. Pray that we believe Jesus is the Light of the World. Pray we come to the Light. Pray we walk in the Light. Pray we display the Light in dark places as a lighthouse to the world. Pray we believe that Jesus is the only Way, the only Truth and the only Life worth living and it has been that way from the beginning.
Reflection: Consider “The Creation of Adam” by Michelangelo – While not about walking, the spark of life passed from God to Adam in this iconic fresco symbolizes the beginning of humanity’s journey with divine light as its source.
Reflect on the poem, “Our Deepest Fear” by Marianne Williamson
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness That most frightens us. We ask ourselves Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small Does not serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking So that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, As children do. We were born to make manifest The glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; It’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, Our presence automatically liberates others
Blessings,
John Lawson
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Daily Devotionals 