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Deacon
Bob Kenney |
SHAKE IT OFF
Jesus handled the rejection He received from His native place
(the disciples of Jesus Looked at all that was transpiring). This is what Jesus told His
disciples to do when He sent them out to various towns to teach the people, to heal the
sick, and to care for their needs. Jesus knew His followers would sometimes suffer rejection. Not everybody would like them or gladly receive the message. Some people would get jealous and start talking negatively about them, trying to make them look bad. Jesus knew the slingers would be out there, so He instructed His disciples, when you go into a town whoever will not receive and welcome your message, when you leave that place, shake the dust off your feet. Matthew 10:14 Notice He didn't say if they treat you poorly, if they start talking about you and spreading rumors; He said when they do these things. Jesus did not advise His disciples to become worried or defensive. Nor did He instruct them to defend their reputations and set the record straight He simply said, "Shake the dust off your feet." That was a symbolic way of saying, "You're not going to steal my joy. You may reject me or speak badly about me, but I'm not going to sink down to your level. I'm not going to fight with you. I'm going to let God be my vindicator." Realize that you, & you alone, are responsible for your own worth. Nothing anyone can do, say or think will change your value. Only you have the power to do that. It is impossible for anyone to reject you unless you let them, because rejection occurs in your own mind. Believe in what your doing. That will make rejections the other person's problems, not yours. Example: Colonel Harlan Sanders was a retiree receiving Social Security. He had a pretty good recipe for fried chicken, and decided to try to sell the recipe to restaurants in return for a percentage of revenue that it generated. Colonel Sanders drove around the country, sleeping in his car, looking for restaurants that might be interested in his recipe. He was rejected 1,009 times before someone finally said "yes". 1009 rejections! Because he was able to keep going after each one he made a fortune as the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Does the fear of rejection hold you back? Are you so concerned about what others might think or say or feel about your to allow it to hurt. If someone says no to you, or if someone say something negative about you, that does not change anything about who you are. The words, actions & opinions of others have no real bearing on your worth as a person. Certainly it is helpful & desirable to make a good impression whenever you can, yet it is not the end of the world when you experience rejection. In order that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Paul says: Once the Apostle Paul was shipwrecked on a small island. He went to pick up some firewood and a poisonous snake bit him. The people thought he would die immediately. That's what it feels like when someone critizes us, when somebody is talking behind your back, trying to put you in a bad light; we can feel the sting of his or her words. I love what Paul did. "He simply shook it off." It was thought he was saying, "No big deal. I'm not going to let this thing bother me. It may be poisonous, it may look bad, but I know God is in Control. I know God can take care of me." Miraculously, that snake bite didn't even harm Paul. Although it was dangerous and poisonous. Paul knew the secret of simply shaking it off. Trinity Imprints I’d like to share with you three quick stories & then we’ll see what they have in common that sheds light on the mystery of the Holy Trinity. The first story is this: Once there was elderly man, & one evening he was taking his usual walk. He was enjoying the crisp night air & the wind blowing gently. But suddenly he heard a voice crying out, "Help me! Help me!" the man looked around & saw no one & so he continued to walk. Again he heard a tiny voice, "Help me, help me!" This time he looked down &saw a small frog. He gently lifted up the frog & looked at it intently. The frog spoke, "I really a beautiful princess. If you will kiss me, I will turn back into a princess & I will hug you & kiss you & love you forever." The man thought for a moment, placed the frog in his top pocket & continued walking. The little frog looked up out of the pocket & asked, "why don’t you kiss me ? The man responded. He said, "Frankly, at this stage of my life, I’d rather have a talking frog" Then there’s this passage from Zorba the Greek. Zorba is speaking. He says, "One day when I was a child, an oldman took me on his knee & placed his hand on my head as though he were giving me a blessing. ‘Alexis,’ he said, I’m going to tell you a secret. You’re too small to understand now, but you’ll understand when your bigger. Listen, little one. Neither the seven stories of the Heaven nor the seven stories of Earth are enough to contain God, but a persons’ heart can contain God. So be careful, Alexis--& my blessing be with you—never to wound another person’s heart". A final story, a true one, comes from a priest friend of mine who was summoned one day to the chancery & told , "Father , we are sending you to this old, inner city parish. There are some wonderful people there; yet they are old & the church & the parish have been in decline for the past 20 years. Just a handful of people left now, so they won’t expect much ministry from you. Just go there & visit & do what you can." His heart sank. This is not what he wanted & told the parish council when he got there –three elderly woman—that he really wanted to work with young children & families. He told them," I really PRAYED to God whether I should come here. How can I have a fruitful ministry here? But I’ll give it a try." A few months later, he happened to be visiting the hospital &stop[ped in to visit a mother with her newborn son. She talked to him of the experience of childbirth. But worst of all" said the young mother, "is that we had this baby all by ourselves." What do you mean?" he asked. " oh she said, Our parents are away across the other side of the country & since this is our 1st baby it's a little scary for us. We have no one to ask what to do next. We have no grandparents. Most of the people in our neighbor are young couples. I wish this baby had some grandparents." And suddenly as you can guess, a light came on. "Grandparents!" he thought, "My God, the parish is full of grandparents! So he talked the congregation into visiting the home of a couple whose baby was born. Well as it turns out the baby visitors, were great in evangelizing. The church had a surplus of grandparents & the 2 got together - the church was reborn. Where once there was solitude, there was now community. So there are my 3 stories what the 3 stories have in common are they testify to a person's greatest desire or urge, or need is union. Even if it is with a frog. To be whole people need union, relationships. It is self-evident. Think of the most satisfying moments. That was when you sat on your mother's lap, when you were held, hugged, embraced, you were affirmed or sitting in the silent presence of someone who loved you. Think of the worse moments when you were rejected, divorced watching couples hand in hand, cut off from family & friends ached for a hug, scared & wanted someone to hold you, betrayed by a friend, felt isolated. You see what I'm saying. Our hearts were made for one another & God. Rejection is such an intolerable hurt because we need desperately to be connected. But my question is why? Why this existential, driving need for union? Why do the young flock to the malls & single bars? Why those best moments when union occurs & the worst when it is absent? Why? The answer, simply & profoundly is in today's feast. We are made in the image & likeness of God & God is communion. That's it, God's images is writ large into our very natures, imprinted on our neurons, coded on our brain cells burned into our hearts. The feast of the Holy Trinity, says that God is communion, is relationship, so are we. God's own innerself is be with, to be in connection, to the family Father, Son & Holy Spirit. What makes God. God is intimate relationship & no wonder we can't help it if we have to be the same way. Every striving of our souls for union, every reach out for companionship every urge for a hug & an embrace, every act of love gives indirect testimony of the Trinity. The Trinity says that God is community & so we seek. We are who we are because God is who God is.God has everything you need Become what you believe! Perhaps at this point you are saying "Bob, I don’t want to get my hopes up. I’ve prayed. I’ve done everything I know to do. Nothing’s changed. If I don’t get my hopes up and nothing good happens to me, at least won’t be disappointed" Friends, you must get your hopes up, or you won’t have faith. Consider the fascinating account of the leper who before Jesus passed by. Despite his leprous condition (which includes a variety of skin diseases. When a skin disease was active and infectious , a person was considered "unclean.") The leper must have thought, I don’t have to stay like this. There’s hope for a better future. So he approached Jesus and kneeling down begged Him and said, "If you wish, you can make me clean." "He stretched out his hand….’I do will it. Be made clean’" As I reflect on this personal encounter. Chosen to coincide with the first reading, this Gospel completes the story. Jesus’ healing touch replaces the rejection faced by the unclean leper. As members of a sacramental Church, we are brought close to the Lord through our experience of Him in the sacraments. The leper’s experience of Jesus’ healing in this Gospel was a personal experience. So, too, are the sacraments for us. And, while they are personal experiences for each individual, they are not meant to be private. The Second Vatican Council taught that the liturgy and sacraments are meant to be celebrated in common, thus acknowledging the presence of Christ in the community. SO WHAT ARE YOU BELIEVING? Are you believing to rise above your obstacles, that you can live in health, abundance, healing, and victory? One of the most important aspects of seeing ourselves God’s way involves developing a prosperous mind-set. Understand, God has already equipped you with everything you need to living a prosperous life and to fulfill your God-given destiny. He planted "seeds" inside you filled with possibilities, incredible potential, creative ideas, and dreams. But you have to start tapping into them. You’ve got to believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that you have what it takes. God created you to excel, and He’s given you ability, insight, talent, wisdom, and His supernatural power to do so. You don’t have to figure out how God is going to solve your problems or bring it to pass. That’s His responsibility. Your job is to believe. Quiet your heart and receive God’s Word: " Let the Lord be magnified. Who takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servant" Start looking through eyes of faith. See yourself prospering, and keep that image in your heart and mind. You may be living in poverty live in you. God takes pleasure in prospering of the moment, but don’t ever let poverty live in you. God takes pleasure in prospering His children. As His children prosper spiritually, physically, and materially, their increase brings God pleasure. What you believe has a much greater impact on your life than what anybody else believes. PUSH The remarkable point of the first reading is that Jonah succeeded in getting the Ninevites to repent. Jonah is upset at the success of his preaching! Jonah said, God should not be merciful to such an evil people. God puts people in our lives on purpose so we can help them become all He created them to be. Most people will not reach their full potential without somebody else believing in them. The ‘Psalm’ remembers the main point of the first
reading. The goodness and mercy of God towards sinners in teaching them His ways. That
means you & I have an assignment. Everywhere we go we should be encouraging people,
building them up, we should be challenging people, building them up, challenging them to
reach new heights. When people are around us, they should leave better off than they were
previously, Rather than feeling discouraged or defeated, people should feel challenged
& inspired after spending any time with you or me. Which brings me to an e-mail I have here: the subject: JUST PUSH A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light, and God appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might. So, this the man did day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down; his shoulders set squarely against the cold massive surface of moving rock, pushing with all of his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain. Since the man was showing discouragement, the Adversary (Satan) decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the weary mind: "you have been pushing against the rock for a long time, and it hasn’t moved. "Thus, giving the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man. "Why kill myself over this?" he thought. "I’ll just put in my time, giving just the minimum effort, and that will be good enough. And that is what he planned to do, until one day he decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to the Lord. "Lord" he said, "I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by a half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?" The Lord responded compassionately, "My friend, when I asked you to serve Me and you accepted. I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to Me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and sinewy and brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure, your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much, and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven’t moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. This you have done. Now I, My friend, will now move the rock." At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what He wants, when actually what God wants is just a simple obedience and faith in Him. By all means, exercise the faith that moves mountains, but know that it is still God who moves mountains. When everything seems to go wrong…just P.U.S.H.! When the job gets you down…just P.U.S.H.! When people don’t react the way you think they Should…just P.U.S.H.! When your money looks "gone" and the bills are due…just P.U.S.H.! When people just don’t understand you…just P.U.S.H. P=Pray U=Until S=Something H=Happens VVV 
Metanoia The opening words of today’s Gospel tell us that John was proclaiming "a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins". It is important not to misunderstand the meaning of these words. It would be quite wrong to think that people simply had to come for baptism in the river for all their sins to be wiped out. That would be little more than superstition. The baptism itself was a symbolic act, which had to be accompanied by an inner change. The word for ‘repentance’ here is metanoia in Greek. It implies a radical change in the way we look at the meaning and purpose of life and how we live that life ourselves. It calls for much more than is normally connoted by ‘repentance’ which we normally understand as ‘being sorry’ for something we have done. Metanoia is much more than just feeling sorry. It calls for a total reorganization of one’s attitudes so that such errant or hurting behavior would simply disappear from one’s life. If you have a vision for victory in your life, You can rise to a new level. But as long as you gaze on your problems instead of your possibilities, you risk moving in the wrong direction and missing out on the great things God wants to do in and through you. It is a spiritual as well as a psychological fact: Your life will follow your expectations. If you dwell on positive thoughts, your life will move that direction; if you continually think negative thoughts, you will live a negative life, which will affect your relationship with your family and friends. If you expect defeat, failure, or mediocrity, your subconscious mind will make sure that you lose, fail, or sabotage every attempt to push above average. It’s time to quit limiting God. God is your source, and His creativity and resources are unlimited! One idea from God can forever change the course of your life. God is not limited by what you have or don’t have God can do anything, if you simply stop limiting Him in your thinking. Quiet your heart and receive God’s Word: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." When God brings opportunities across your path, step out boldly in faith, expect the best, move forward with confidence, knowing that you are well able to do what God wants you to do. Step outside that little box you’ve grown accustomed to. Start thinking big! After all as baptized children of God, we witness to God’s presence in our hearts through our daily interaction with others in our daily lives. Do you see what really matters? One of the greatest challenges we face in our quest to enjoy our lives now is the temptation to live selfishly. Because we believe that God wants the best for us, and that He wants us to prosper, it is easy to slip into the subtle trap of selfishness. Not only will you avoid that pitfall, but you will have more joy than you dreamed possible when you live to give and not to take. God is a giver, and He created us to be givers. The spiritual principle is that when we reach out to other people in need. God will make sure that our own needs are supplied. If you want your dreams to come to pass, help someone else fulfill his or her dreams. If you’re down and discouraged, get your mind off yourself and go help meet your friend’s need. Sow the seed that will bring you a harvest. Quiet your heart and receive God’s Word: "Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive"" Perhaps you feel you have nothing to give. Sure you do! You can give a smile or a hug. You can do some menial but meaningful task to help someone. You can visit someone in the hospital or make a meal for a person who is shut in. You can write an encouraging letter. Your friend needs what you have to share. God created us to be free, but He didn’t make us to function as "Lone Rangers". We need one another. Have an attitude that says, Who can I bless today? Win the victory over your mind. I heard a story about two farmers. When the rain fell. One farmer said," Thank You, Lord, for watering our crops." But the other farmer said, "Yeah, but if the rain keeps up, it’s going to rot the roots." When the sun came out, the positive farmer said, "Thank You, Lord that our crops are getting the vitamins and minerals they need. We’ll have a wonderful harvest this year" But the negative farmer said, "Yeah, but if it keeps up, it’s going to scorch those plants. We’re never going to make a living."
"Choose to dwell on the promises of God’s Word." Mary did, Full of grace which means that she was being shower with God’s special favors.Whether or not you are aware of it, war is raging all around you, and the battle is for your mind. Your enemy’s number one target is the arena of your thoughts. If he can control how you think, he’ll be able to control your entire life. Indeed, thoughts determine destiny, which is why Bible warns us to guard our minds. Almost like a magnet, we draw in what we constantly think about. Whether we dwell on depressing, negative thoughts or positive, joyful thoughts, our life follows our thoughts. And our thoughts also affect our emotions. We will feel exactly the way we think. You cannot expect to feel happy unless you think happy thoughts. Conversely, it’s impossible to remain discouraged unless you first think discouraging thoughts. So much success and failure begins in our minds. To win the victory in your mind, you can’t sit back passively and expect this new person to suddenly appear. If you don’t think you can be successful, you never will be. When you think thoughts of mediocrity, you are destined to live an average life. In a great leap of faith and trust in the angel’s message, Mary gives an unequivocal, an unconditional "Yes". "Behold, I am the slave girl of the Lord; let it be to me according to Your Word. "She had yet to learn what that "Yes" would involve but it was made unconditionally and it was never withdrawn.
Quiet your heart and receive God’s Word: "As [a man] thinks within himself, so he is (Proverbs 23:7) When you align your thoughts with God’s thoughts and you start dwelling on the promises of His Word, then you constantly dwell on thoughts of His victory and favor, you will be propelled toward greatness, inevitably bound for increase and God’s supernatural blessings. Begin by agreeing with the psalmists, this is the day the Lord has made, and I ‘m going to be happy. This is going to be a great day. Magnify your God, and go out each day expecting good things. God works where there is an attitude of faith. Bad things happen to good people. Obviously, we can’t ignore problems and live in denial. But I am saying that if we get depressed or discouraged, we need not remain there. Nobody can make us think a certain way. If you’re not happy, nobody is forcing you to be unhappy. You decide what you will entertain in your mind. We must take responsibility for our lives.
Through a life of trials and tribulations, of which we know surely only a fraction, right up to those terrible moments as Mary stood beneath the Cross and saw her own Son die in agony and shame as a public criminal, she never once withdrew that ‘Yes’. There is clearly a message there for us. We too have been called in our own special way to give birth to Jesus in our lives and in our environment. We too have been called to say ‘Yes’, an unconditional ‘Yes’ to following Jesus. Now, as we approach the celebration of Christmas, is the time for us to renew that pledge with Mary’s help and example. WHAT WE SHALL SEE! The Jesse tree is located in the foyer of the church. It is this image Isaiah gives us in the readings – that thru Jesse the father of David will come a sign of life Jesus. This is the revelation of our Advent. The Spirit of God at work (speaking of work) We have an amazing God, He put these words in Isaiah’s mind over three thousand years ago. Telling us all about Jesus so accurately, right up & including our salvation thru Jesus’ revelation. This is the revelation of our Advent. The Spirit of God at work. This kingdom announces a universal peace. There shall be no more harm or ruin. Because we shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord Jesus in other words people will know the Lord & listen to His Spirit & there will be peace. We will know the Lord & we will keep His commandments of love & there will be justice. This newly regenerated sign of Jesse will be a clear sign not only of reunion of the people of Israel but also for the Gentiles to seek & enter. On a practical note, how do we open ourselves to the work of God in us? It means carving out a time & space to be with the Lord in prayer, being present in body & spirit at the liturgy, asking the Holy Spirit to teach us about Jesus. It means taking time to read scripture & asking the Spirit to bring it to life for us to hear the word of God. Ask the Holy Spirit to work in you in a deeper & exciting way. Ask Him to open up profound truth in God’s word & enliven your prayer so that you can be transformed. Ask Him to help you trust Him with your with your life. When I was a child, I remember learning about the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. The Golden Rule is still a great place to start with our relationships.I recently read a story, which put a new twist to the Golden Rule. The premise of the story was that we each carry an invisible bucket--- yes, we all have one ! It’s an emotional bucket, and when your bucket is full you are happy, satisfied, & encouraged; when your bucket is empty, you feel down & discouraged. On this earth , there are "bucket fillers" & "bucket dippers." A bucket filler is a person who adds to other people by encouraging & investing in them with kind words & actions. When bucket fillers are investing in others, they find that their own buckets are filled up, too. Bucket dippers, on the other hand, are those people who take away from people by using harsh & negative words. They not only deplete other people’s buckets but also diminish the contents of their own.As we have heard in todays readings, God intends for us to be bucket fillers, His sheep using our lives & resources to help people be the very best they can be. When I think about St. Peter, one of Jesus’ first Sheperds. He was impulsive; he said things he shouldn’t have & he needed to grow in a lot of areas. Jesus referred to him in surprisingly positive terms. He said, "Peter, you are a rock." Jesus reminded Peter of what he was becoming---a solid, stable rock. Jesus spoke confidence into Peter’s life, & we should follow that example in our relationships. Let’s be bucket fillers, not bucket dippers. Let’s not remind people in our lives of their failures & faults; instead, we see the solid rock in them & speak positively about what they are becoming. Encouraging words are the glue that holds our relationship together. Throughout the day, we have opportunities to get discouraged. We face difficulties; plans don’t always work out; & life has a way of stealing our joy. That’s why we need to get in the habit of encouraging one another daily. Looking back over the last forty years in my marriage, I can see how positive words & affirmations have bonded Judy’s & my heart together & have caused us to bring out the best in each other. Not just through our words, but through simple acts of kindness & finding ways to make life easier for each other. You can do the same in your relationships, & I believe it will improve the atmosphere of your household, your workplace, your community, & your world.A verse to remember: The most important (commandment) Answered Jesus"is this… Love the Lord your God with all your heart & with all your soul & with all your mind & with all your strength.’ The second is this: Love your neighbor as your self." It’s tempting to think, "Of course Jesus had time for people. Things weren’t as fast paced in His culture as in ours." The truth is, whenever tasks need to be accomplished, there is the temptation to make the task you are doing more important than the people for whom you are doing the task. I tend to value time & tasks. Getting things done can be very important to me. I devoured books about how to get more done in less time. God used one of those books to get my attention in the area of relationships. I’m sure you noted that God has a wonderful sense of humor--& one of the ways I have seen it is in how He will use the most unexpected means to get a message across. If your ever tempted to doubt God’s humor, let me remind you that when the prophet Balaam tried to distance himself from God. God used his donkey to speak to him! If God could speak to Balaam through his donkey, He could certainly speak to me about relationships through a book on time management. As I searched the book for the next tidbit on how to get more done, two sentences jumped out & struck my heart like lightning: God does not demand of me that I accomplish great things. He does demand of me that I strive for excellence in my relationships.So the Eucharistic preparation for us is—take, bless, break, share—reminds us that our whole lives are a "thanksgiving" for God’s gift of relationship with us. We have been called into communion with God & others. Each day we discover ways to show in words & actions our love for God & for others. Holy Spaces The Bible promises that ‘instead of your former shame’ God will give us a 2xfold recompense. As we have found in Christ what we formerly had been looking for in sin. (Or in other words when a person has found Christ, who is infinitely more attractive than even the most powerful allure of evil). That means if you’ll keep the right attitude, God will pay you back double for your trouble. He’ll add up all the injustices, all the pain & abuse that people have caused you, & He’ll pay you back with twice as much peace, joy, & happiness. But you must do your part & start expecting good things. IF YOU WILL CHANGE YOUR THINKING, GOD CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE. Remember: God is your source, & His creativity & resources are unlimited! God may give you an idea for an invention, a book, a song or movie. God can give you a dream. One idea from God can change the course of your life. God is not limited by what you have or don’t have. God can do anything, if you will simply stop limiting Him in your thinking. When God puts a dream in your heart, when He brings opportunities across your path, step out boldly in faith, expect the best, move forward with confidence, knowing that you are well able to do what God wants you to do. God wants to do a new thing in your life. But you’ve got to do your part & get outside that little box you’ve grown accustomed to. Start thinking big! SUCCESS BEGINS IN THE MIND. Your full potential is to discover the power of your thoughts & words. Whether you are aware of it, a war is ragging all around you, & the battle is for your mind. Your enemy’s number one target is the arena of your thoughts. If he control how you think, he’ll be able to control your entire life. Indeed, thoughts determine actions, attitudes, & self image. Really thoughts determine destiny, which is why the Bible warns us to guard our minds. SUCCESS BEGINS IN THE MIND Almost like a magnet, we draw in what we constantly think about. If we dwell on depressing negative thoughts, we will be depressed & negative. If we think positive, happy, joyful thoughts, our life will reflect that & attract other upbeat, positive people. Our life follows our thoughts. And our thoughts also affect our emotions. We will feel exactly the way we think. We can not expect to feel happy unless you think happy thoughts. Conversely, it’s impossible to remain discouraged unless you 1st think discouraging thoughts. So much failure in life begins in our minds. Set your mind on the right course. Start every day by agreeing with the psalmist, "This is the day the Lord has made, & I’m going to be happy. I’m going to go out & be productive. This is going to be a great day" Magnify your God, & go out each day expecting good things. The favor of God comes in the midst of life’s
challenges. When you are going through tough times, even if your situation looks
impossible, stay in an attitude of faith, & start declaring God’s favor instead
of being discouraged & developing a sour attitude. One touch of God’s favor can
turn everything around in your life. When he comes to you (us) with full knowledge & unconditional as well as unlimited love. He knows exactly what we are & He knows what we will be. He knows all our defects & weaknesses, those that are done without effort, as well as the result of circumstances & those that are a result of our sins. He knows what has happen & what will happen to us. You come from his bloodline & your spiritual bloodline is more powerful than your natural bloodline. He thought about you before you were even born. He wants you to settle for nothing less than God’s best for you. He has given you life, & we are going to make the very most of it. "Right" Most of us don’t give much thought to the plethora of decisions we make as we go through each day. Yet the decisions we make today will affect our children, our grandchildren, & the generations to come. Too often, we think only about the here & now."Well, Bob, it’s my life. I know I have some bad habits. I know I’m kind of hottempered. I know I don’t treat every one right. The problem with kind of thinking is it’s not just hurting you; it’s making life more difficult on those who come after you. A person’s good habits as well as poor choices—the addictions, the bad habits, & wrong mind sets—all are passed down. But the good news is: Every right decision we make, every time we resist temptation, every time we honor God, when we do the right thing, not only are we going to come up higher our selves, but we’re making it a little easier on the generations that will come after us. I like to look at my life as a few laps in a marathon that our family line is running. When my life is done, I’m going to hand the baton to my children. Contained in that baton will be my physical DNA as well as my traits. It will also hold my spiritual & emotional DNA. It will include my tendencies, attitudes, habits & mind sets. My children will take that baton, run a few laps, & hand it to their children, on &on. Every lap we run with purpose, passion, & integrity is one more lap that can be used for good by those who come after us. We need to think about the big picture. I want to leave my family line better off than they were before. I want everything about my life now to make it easier on those who will come after me. Even if you don’t have children, you’re going to live on through the people you influence. I read of an interesting study done in 1993 by the United States military. They were curious about what traits get passed down from one generation to the next. We know that our physical traits do. What about our emotional, mental, & spiritual characteristics? What about good qualities such as integrity, compassion, & godliness? Can they be passed down as well? The researches extracted some white blood cells from a volunteer & they carefully placed them in a test tube, they then put a probe from a lie detector machine down in that test tube, to measure the person’s emotional response. Next they instructed this same volunteer to go a couple doors down & watch some violent scenes, from an old war movie on TV. When this man watched the scenes, even though the blood that was being tested was in another room, when he got all up tight & tense, that the lie detector test shot off the page. It was detecting his emotional response even though the blood was no longer in his body. The experiments did this with person after person with the same results. They concluded that the blood cells seem to "remember" where they came from. I’m talking about peoples’ attitudes, helping them along in their habits, in their character, & in their journey with God. My motto: will always be: I shall pass through this life only once therefore any good I can do for any human being let me do it now for I shall not pass this way again. " Take courage it is I; do not be afraid." "Be still & know that I am God." Notice you need to get still. You need to be at peace with where you are now, to hear that tiny whispering sound. As explained in the 1st reading. Things may not be perfect. You may have some areas in which you need to improve. But as long as you are living with worry & stress, you are tying the hands of Almighty God. If you could get to a place of peace, God could fight your battles for you. He can turn your negative situations around & use them for good. Scripture records, have it, "Those who have believed enter into the rest of God" Being in God’s rest means that although you may have a situation that you don’t understand, but you are not constantly trying to figure it out. It means you have a dream in your heart, but you are not in a hurry, you’re not frustrated because it hasn’t come to fruition yet. In other words, when you are really in God’s rest, you know God has you in the palm of His hand. No matter where you are, you accept it as the place God wants you to be. I’m saying that God wants you to stay there, but if you are truly trusting Him, If you believe He is in control, then wherever you are---in either good circumstances or bad--- that is where you are suppose to be. Maybe something unfair has happened; maybe somebody is not treating you right, or you are struggling financially. Still that does not give you the right to live upset & frustrated. One of my favorite Scripture verses is Rn.8:28. "all things work together for good to those who love God." If you can stay in an Attitude of Faith, as the 2ndreading tells us, it is not any scrupulous observance of the Law but one of salvation of faith. "When peace like a river attendeth my way when sorrow like sea billows roll, whatever my lot, You have to say, It is well with my soul" Life may have thrown me some curves, but it is well with my soul, All my dreams may not have come to pass just yet, that’s okay. I’m not in a hurry. I know in God’s timing they will. "My plans didn’t workout. But nonetheless, it is well with my soul. I received a bad report from the doctor, things don’t look good. But I know God has another report. I know He can do what men can’t do. And whatever happens to me, it is well, with my soul" That’s the kind of attitude we need to have. You may need to get a new perspective. Perhaps you have been too focused on what you can’t do, & what’s wrong in your life. Maybe you’ve been telling God every 5 minutes what to do & how to do it, & letting Him know that you are not going to be happy unless it turns out exactly like you want it. Make a decision to turn it over to God. As Peter did as explained in the Gospel. Cast your burdens on the Lord. Release the weight of them & God will sustain you." No matter how dark & gloomy it looks in your life right now, if you can release the weight of those burdens you will rise higher & you will see the sun break forth in your life. This starts by believing that God is in control. Father, Lord of heaven & earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise & the learned you have revealed them to the little ones. An old Cherokee tale tells of a grandfather teaching life principles to his grand son. The old wise Cherokee said, "Son, on the inside of every person a battle is raging between two wolves. One is evil. It’s angry, jealous, unforgiving, proud & lazy. The other is good. It’s filled with love, kindness, humility & self-control. These two are constantly fighting, the grandfather said. The little boy thought about it, & said, "Grandfather, which wolf is going to win? The grandfather smiled & said, "Which ever one you feed." Feeding unforgiveness, impatience, low self esteem, or other negative traits will only make them stronger. For instance, maybe you complain frequently about your job. You’re always talking negatively about something, how that company doesn’t treat you right, & how you can’t stand the drive to work. Ironically, when we complain, we feel a sense of release. It feels good to feed those negative thoughts. But the wolf we feed will always want more. The next time you are tempted to complain, ask yourself, "Do you want to keep feeding this negative habit?" Or, Do I want to starve this complaining spirit & step up higher?" If you start feeding peace, patience, humility & self-control, you will see those character traits developing in your life. Make the better choice & instead of complaining about going to work, learn to say, "Father, thank you that at least I have a job. & these people may not be treating me right, but I’m not working for man; I’m working unto You.’ When you do that you’re feeding the right thing & the new habits develop. You can’t keep doing the same things you have been doing & expect to have different results. You must start by consciously changing your everyday habits. What we need to do is take inventory of your good habits. Do you have a tendency to be negative in your thoughts & conversations? Do you worry all the time? Do you overeat? Do you regularly succumb to additions? Understand, your habit may not be legally, ethically, or morally wrong. It can be a seemingly innocuous action or attitude, a little thing, but if you don’t do something about it, you can go for years wasting time & energy, being unproductive & unprofitable. That is not God’s best. The good news is you can change. You can develop better habits. Some studies tell us that you can break a habit in as little as twenty-one days. With God’s help I was able to break the habit of smoking two packs of cigarettes a day in one day. You can rid yourself of a negative behavior, form a new healthy habit, & rise to a new level of personal freedom. The Apostle Paul said, "All things are permissible to me, But not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but I will not be mastered by anything." "Notice, Paul is saying in effect, "I’m going to rid myself of anything that is not profitable or productive in my life." He was saying, "I’m not going to stay under the control of any bad habits." It’s a fact: Successful people develop better habits. That’s why even professional golfers practice hitting golf balls nearly everyday. If you have a bad habit of eating a bunch of junk food & drinking several sodas everyday, commit yourself to forming better eating habits. Don’t go on a crash diet; just change one small thing at a time Before long, you will notice a marked difference in your energy level as well as your personal appearance. Remember, your habits today will determine your future. Examine your life, take inventory of your habits, & when you find something that’s not right, be quick to change. In the process, you will establish the habit of becoming you. Studies tell us negative parents raise negative children. If your parents focused more on what was wrong, living stress out, uptight, or discouraged, there’s a good possibility that you have developed some of those same negative mindsets. I often have people tell me, "Well, Bob, I’m just a worrier. I’m just uptight. No, please understand, those are habits that you have developed. & the good news is you can "reprogram" your own "computer." You can get rid of a negative mentality & develop a habit of happiness. The Bible says "Rejoice in the Lord always." One translation says, "Be happy all the time." Many people are waiting for their circumstances to be worked out before they decide to be happy. "Bob, as soon as I get a better job; as soon as my child straightens up; as soon as my health improves."No, the bottom line is if you’re going to be happy, you need to make a decision to be happy right now. Happiness does not depend on you’re circumstances; It depends on your will. It’s a choice that you make. It’s all in how they’ve trained their mind. One person has developed a habit of happiness. She is hopeful, trusting, believing for the best. The other person has trained his mind to see the negative. He’s worried, frustrated & constantly complaining. If you are going to develop a habit of happiness, you must relax & go with the flow, instead of getting frustrated. You have to believe that God is in control, & that means you have no need to be stressed out and worried. Moreover, you have to be grateful for what you have, rather than complaining about what you don’t have. A habit of happiness boils down to staying on the positive side of life. "Let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father." It’s easy to think, ‘"Well, the law of entropy is setting in: Everything is moving toward disintegration. So my body is getting older. This doesn’t work. That doesn’t work. Can’t see. Can’t hear. Cranky." No, don’t fall into that trap – especially not the cranky part. There are enough cranky people in the world already! Plan to be healthy, to be full of joy, to be productive right up to the day God calls you home. In the old testament, when Caleb was eighty yrs old, he said, "God give me another mountain." He was saying, Give me something else to do. Give me another assignment." Notice, he was planning on living out his life in victory. He could have said, "God, just let me retire. My back is hurting. I can hardly see anymore. Medicare wouldn’t pay for that latest prescription, I’m so aggravated." No. he was strong, energetic, & ready for his next challenge – even at eighty yrs. of age. You can be sure that regardless of your age God has important plans for you to fulfill. You are not just taking up space, waiting to go to heaven. Get your joy back: get your enthusiasm back. Don’t wither up like a prune; instead, make plans to live every day joyfully, vibrantly alive, healthy, & productive. An older couple, I know ask me, Bob we’re not real sure what we’re supposed to be doing at our age." He said they were in their nineties. This man was dressed to the nines; his skin looked great. His eyes sparkled with life. His wife was the specimen of grace & beauty. They were a sharp, striking older couple. I told them, "One thing you need to do for sure is to go around let other people see you. Be an example. Your joy, your health, your peace, your victory is an inspiration to others." I said, "You need to let the younger generation- which, in your case, is anyone under eighty- see how you can be up there in years & still be healthy, joyful, & peaceful." That elderly couple inspired me! I tell Judy every week I’m believing for at least
20 more years of strong, productive ministry. Twenty years of sharing God’s Word,
encouraging people giving God the glory. "Let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father." Trust God even in the small things in your life. If we will be sensitive, if we will be aware, we will see the hand of God even in little things. That’s God letting us know He’s still working behind the scenes. A friend of mine has what doctors say is terminal cancer. They’re not giving him any hope. But the other day, his 4 year old son came in with the bible. He opened it up & said Daddy, I want you to read this Scripture right here. ‘ The little boy can’t read yet, so he didn’t know what passage he was pointing to, but when the father read the scripture, it spoke right to the heart. It was John 11:4, a passage where Jesus said, "This sickness shall not end in death. But it is for the glory of God." My friend took that to heart. He felt that God was saying , "I know what you’re going through. I’ve seen every tear you have shed. It may not look possible to you, but remember, I’m the God of the impossible. Keep believing. Keep trusting. I’m still in control." These little signs are simply glimpses that God gives us to build our faith. They are reminders He is working behind the scenes. Our responsibility is to be sensitive to His leading, to be on the look out for His hand moving our everyday circumstances. If you are tuned in to God, you soon will recognize that most of the time, you don’t simply bump into somebody. You didn’t just get a lucky break. You don’t just happen to be in the right place at the right time. God has been directing your steps. With God All Things are Possible The good news is that it’s not a lack of resources on Advocate’s part or His unwillingness to show you His incredible favor that prevents you from prospering. You may have assumed that that you have reached your limits in life. Sad to say, you are exactly right …unless you are willing to change your thinking & start believing for something bigger . Interestingly, when Jesus wanted to encourage His followers to enlarge their visions. He reminded them, "You can’t put new wine into old wine wineskins" He was saying that you cannot have a larger life with restricted attitudes. You don’t have to be bound by barriers of the past. Start making room in your thinking for what the Holy Spirit has in store for you. You must conceive in your heart & mind before you can receive it. The key is to believe, to let the seeds God is placing in your life to take root so they can grow, Expect God’s favor to help you break out of those ruts & rise to new height. Remember: with God all things are possible. You know the Father through Jesus. God is saying to you something similar to what the angel told the Virgin Mary—that she would conceive without knowing a man. In other words, God was saying it would happen through supernatural means. What he wants to do in your life is not going to be by your might or power. It’s going to be the Holy Spirit. The power of the Most High God shall come upon you & cause it to happen. Will you allow the seed to take root ? It can happen without a bank loan or having the right education. It can happen in spite of your past. Will you believe? With God, all things are possible. Seventh Sunday of Easter We have celebrated the Ascension of Jesus on the eve & on Thurs of this past week. Knowing full well with confidence that Jesus remains until the end of time. Next Sunday we celebrate the de-scension of the Holy Spirit, this Sunday we celebrate our belief in being faithful as God has shown us. One of the greatest threats we face in the 21st century is not a terrorist attack or an ecological catastrophe, but an attack on our homes. The enemy would love nothing more than to ruin your relationship with your husband or your wife, your parents, or your children. Too many homes are being destroyed through strife, lack of commitment, wrong priorities, & bad attitudes. If we’re going to have strong, healthy relationships, we must dig our heels in & fight for our families. "If you will fight, then God will fight." I believe God is saying something similar to us today. If we will do our part & make a strong stand for our families, God will do His part. He’ll help us have great marriages & great relationships with our parents & children. Certainly, not everyone will get married, but if a man or woman choose to marry, two issues must be settled 1st. As a couple, we are committed to God. We’re going to live a life that honors Him. 2nd Settled issue must be that as a couple, we are committed to each other. Occasionally, we may disagree, say things we shouldn’t, or even get downright angry. But it’s all said & done, we’re to get over it & we will forgive & move on. Leaving is not an option. We’re committed to each other through the good times & the tough times. If bailing out of the relationship is an option or an alternative, then you will always find some reason to justify it. "Bob, we just can’t get along. We’re not compatible. The truth is, no two people are completely compatible. We must learn to become one. That means we may have to make sacrifices; we may have to over look some things. The perfect spouse does not exist. Judy sometimes tells people, "Oh, my husband, Bob, is the perfect husband." Don’t believe that for a minuite. She is saying that by faith! As one lady quipped, "My husband & I got married for better or for worse. He couldn’t do any better & I couldn’t do any worse." When you have disagreements, learn to disagree from the neck up Don’t let it get down in your heart. Judy & I don’t always see eye to eye, but we have learned to agree to disagree. If you’re not going to be happy unless they agree with you, then really you are simply trying to manipulate your partner. The better approach is to present your case, share your heart, & then step back & allow God to work in that person or situation. Do your best to create an atmosphere of peace & unity in your home. Men, learn to speak blessings over your wife. She will respond to your praise & encouragement. Tell her simply but sincerely, You’re a great mother to our children & a great wife to me. If you’ll treat your wife like a queen, she will be much more willing to treat you like a king. As a husband, you must understand your wife needs your blessing. Understand this is not an option; it’s a necessity, if your going to have a healthy marriage. The Bible says, "The wife is the reflection of a man’s glory" "Unquestionably, when a husband praises his wife, their children
will follow his example. How a man treats his wife will have a profound impact on how his
children will respect & honor their mother. Dad, your daughter will most likely
marry somebody much like you. If you are hard-nosed & disrespectful, speaking rude,
hurtful things to your spouse, don’t be surprised if your daughter gravitates toward
somebody with those same characteristics. Mom, you need to treat your husband the way you
want somebody to treat your sons. Father, you need to make especially sure that you affirm
your children. Everyday just as you bless your wife, bless your children as well. Look at
each child & say " I so proud of you. I think your great. There’s nothing
you can’t do" If we are to busy as fathers, we’re never there, or maybe
we’re just always correcting our children without providing them with affirmation,
our children, are not going to be as confident & secure as they should be. A life long
friend told me that as a teenager he had a drug problem. I thought that was strange, since
I knew him well & remembered him as a kid. He didn’t look or act like someone on
drugs. He said, "Yeah, Bob ,every Sunday my parents drug me to church. They drug me
to CCD school. He laughed as he said, "& those drugs are still in my veins. They
affect everything that I say & do" GOD IS
IN CONTROL You are at the right place at the right time & you meet the woman of your dreams. God could have been working on that for ten years earlier, getting everything lined up, & then suddenly it all comes together. Suddenly your due season shows up. Here, years & years before, you could have thought, nothing’s happening in my life. I’ll probably never get out of this problem. Yet the whole time, God was at work. Things were happening behind the scenes. I’m asking you not to fall in that trap of dragging through life with no joy, no enthusiasm, & thinking nothing is happening. You’ve got to shake that off & start believing That right now-not two weeks from now, but right now-God is working in your life. Right now, God is arranging things in you favor. Right now, God is fighting your battles for you. Right now-God is making your crooked places straight. You may not see it come to pass today, but here is the key: Every day you live with faith & expectance brings you one day closer to seeing it come to pass. If it doesn’t happen today, your attitude should be "No big deal" I know it may happen tomorrow. If it doesn’t happen the next day. But whenever it does or doesn’t happen, it’s not going to steal my joy; I’m not going to live frustrated. I know God is in control & at the exact right time, it’s going to come to pass. & in the meantime, I’m going to relax & just enjoy my life. You’ve got to believe God is in control. Believe God is working behind the scenes in you life.The Scripture says, "God is effectually at work in those who believe" Notice His power is activated only when we believe. God can work in your behalf your whole lifetime & you never get the full benefit of it because you didn’t believe. Sure, you may get a break here or there, but when you really believe,when you really get up everyday expecting good things, you’re going to see more of God’s favor. You’re going to see what He’s been doing behind the scenes. And even when we have problems, even when things come against us, we have to believe God already has the answer. In other words, that problem is no surprise to God. That child who won’t do right. The financial difficulty. Being lonely. That does not have God baffled. God already has the answer. He knows the end from the beginning. God knows every trial we are going to face in the future. He knows every difficulty we’re ever going to go through. The good news is God already has the solution. He has already made a way to escape. That tells me we don’t have to live life worried. We don’t have to go around all stressed out. God has it all under control. When we’re tempted to get negative & complaining, we need to just turn around. Our attitude should be "I know God is working on this problem. I know he’s in the process of changing things, getting the right people lined up, softening the right hearts. I believe God will not only bring me out better off than I was before." When we have this kind of attitude, it takes all the pressure off us. We can relax & enjoy our lives. We know as long as we believe, God is all the while working for our good. VVVApril 6, 2008 God puts people in our lives on purpose so we can help them become all He created them to be. Most people will not reach their full potential without somebody else believing in them. That means you & I have an assignment. Everywhere we go we should be encouraging people, building them up, we should be challenging people, building them up, challenging them to reach new heights. When people are around us, they should leave better off than they were previously, Rather than feeling discouraged or defeated, people should feel challenged & inspired after spending any time with you or me. You have something to offer that nobody else can give. Don’t obsess about how you can make your own life better. Think about how you can make somebody else’s life better as well. I believe that God is going to hold us responsible for the people He puts into our lives. He’s counting on us to bring out the best in our spouse, in our children, & in our friends & co-workers. Ask yourself Am I improving somebody’s life, giving that person confidence, or am I just coasting along, consumed in doing my own thing? That’s something I always believed about Judy. She has always believed in me; she’s my biggest supporter & my biggest fan. Judy thinks that I’m the greatest person on earth. Now, I know that’s not true, but I like the fact that she thinks I’m great. Judy thinks that I can do anything. She’s always bringing out the best in me.One thing I know for sure is that Judy has confidence in me. I don’t think I would be standing up, speaking to people every week, if Judy had not told me years ago that one day I was going to be a Deacon. Keep in mind that when Judy first began expressing those convictions, I had never preached homily in public. Furthermore, I had no desire to do so at the time.She often said Bob that’s going to be you up there. You have so much to offer. One day, you’re going to be helping a lot of people.I could have been a terrible speaker, but everyone kept cheering me on, giving me the confidence I needed. After a few months, I realized that they truly believed in me. I thought, These people think I can do it. It did something inside me as Judy, my family members, the clergy & our congregation helped bring out the best in me. Now I’m committed to bringing out the best in them & in you. You have things on the inside of you-gifts & talents- that you’ve not yet dreamed of using. You can go further & accomplish more. Don’t settle for the status quo. You can break the addiction. You have the power of the Most High God on the inside of you. Start believing in yourself & acting like it’s true. This is the message the Holy Spirit is bringing you today. Many people simply need somebody to spark a bit of hope, somebody to say, Yes, you can do it. You’ve got what it takes. Are you believing the best in your own children? Are you instilling the confidence in them that they need, telling them they are going to do great things in life? Are you believing the best in your loved ones? Maybe some of them have gotten off course. Don’t give up on them; don’t write them off. Make sure they know that you’re concerned. Make sure they know that you really believe in them.When you believe the best in people, you help bring the best out of them. Here’s the key: Don’t focus on what they are right now. Focus on what they can become. See the potential on the inside. They may have some bad habits, or they may be doing something you don’t like, but don’t judge them for it. Don’t look down on them critically. Find some way to challenge them to rise higher. Tell them , I’m praying for you. I believe you’re going to break that addiction. I’m believing for great things in your life.You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how people respond when they know you really care. Everywhere Jesus went, He saw potential in people that they didn’t see in themselves. He didn’t focus on their weaknesses or their faults. He saw them the way they could become. Like the 2 disciples on their journey to Emmaus.VVV POSITIVE TOWARD YOURSELF 8TH GRADES & PARENTS March 11, 2008 Don't listen to voices that are pulling you down. You may not look like you stepped out of a fashion magazine, but I can tell you this: You were made in the image of Almighty God. You will be amazed at how much more you enjoy your life and how much better you feel about you,if you learn to talk to yourself in a positive manner. And even when you make mistakes, even when you do wrong, Don't go around saying, "Well, I can't do anything right. I'm so clumsy.I'm slow." I played sports with people who make the mistake of beating themselves up, calling themselves derogatory names. You idiot "Bill, you sorry thing. You can't make a shot." What kind of jerk are you?" I know other people who have gone through setbacks in life disappointments & failures. They go around so defeated, focused on what went wrong. Learn to put on that new recording, tell yourself" I am forgiven. I am restored. God has a new plan. Good things are in store. I'm not saying simply to take the easy way out. I'm saying that it does you no good to go around feeling condemned, disgraced, or disqualified over something that is in your past. I know people who live with a black cloud following them around. It's a vague feeling; they can't even put a finger on it, but something is always telling them, "You're never going to be happy. You might as well forget it." You cannot sit back & accept those kinds of statements to yourself. You must rise up & start talking to yourself in a new way. All through the day, you should be telling yourself things like, something good is going to happen to me, God is pleased with me. I have a bright future. The best is yet to come." You have to change on the inside before it's ever going to happen on the outside. It would do us all good to lie in bed in the morning & before we get up, think good thoughts about ourselves. Iam a good student, I'm a good person, I have a bright future. God is pleased with me. Learn to think these thoughts on purpose. I was blessed to be raised by parents who instilled in me this kind of confidence & self-esteem. As I was growing up, my parents always told me I could accomplish great things; they constantly reminded me that they were proud of me. Having people in our lives who will nuture & encourage us, especially at a young age, when we're forming so many of our thought patterns, is extremely important. Parents, I would encourage you to instill these qualities in your children. They need your love, your encouragement, your approval, & your affirmation. Don't ever put your children down.Don't say things like "Why can't you make good grades like your brother?"Or if you keep that up, you're not gong to amount to anything. Words are like seeds. They can take root & grow in a person's mind for years.Certainly, when our children are small, we have to correct them, but don't make the mistake of saying things such as, you are such a bad boy You are such a bad girl. No, they are not a bad person they may have done something wrong, but they are good children.They're made in the image of Almighty God. God didn't make any junk. Parents we have a responsibility to instill confidence, self esteem, & security into our children. VVV STAY IN PEACE March 1, 2008 Did you know that you can have peace in the midst of difficult circumstances? Many people are trying to get rid of there problems, hoping they will then be happy. God wants us to have peace even when things aren’t going our way. Your child isn’t doing what you want, and he should. If we make the mistake of basing our peace on our circumstances, we’ll never experience God’s best, because something will always upset us. You will never get to the point where you don’t have challenges or opportunities to get discouraged. We have to change our approach to life. The apostle Paul experienced all kinds of heartache. People had done unfair things to him, others had lied about him. Nevertheless, he said, "In spite of these things, we are more than conquerors." That’s the kind of attitude we need to have. Don’t use your faith to try to get rid of all your problems. Use your faith to remain calm in the midst of your problems. Peace is not necessarily the absence of trouble, nor is it always the absence of enemies. You may be upset & worried about some aspect of life. Perhaps you are concerned about your finances, or there’s a situation at work that is unjust or unfair, & you are letting that situation rile you on inside. Day after day, it weights on you, draining your joy, your energy, & your enthusiasm. As soon as I get through this, then I’m going to get back to being my normal self," you may be saying. No, you know when this challenge is over; there will be something else that can steal your peace. You got to change your approach & stop allowing those things to upset you. Instead, turn that situation over to God. Understand until you get to this place of peace, God can’t work in your life the way He wants to, because God works with an attitude of faith & expectancy not with attitudes of worry, unbelief, despair, & discouragement. "Well, I’m upset because a man walked out of a relationship," Sue says. It was wrong it was just so unfair. I want to call him up & give him a piece of my mind. "No hold your peace, I advised. If you stay calm & at rest," God will bring somebody better into your life. He’ll take what the enemy meant for evil & Turn it around & use it for your advantage. But you‘ve got to do your part & hold your peace. Sometimes we lose our peace over things we can’t change. You can’t change the traffic in the morning. You might as well just stay calm.You can’t make your spouse or your boss or your neighbor do what is right. Only God can. You might as well enjoy your life while God is in the process of changing things in the lives of people around you. I love the scripture in Proverbs that says, " Since the Lord is protecting our steps, why do we try to figure out everything that happens along the way?" Just go with the flow. Quit worrying about the things you can’t change. Turn the situation completely over to God, knowing that He is the one in control of your life.One of the best ways we can show God that we trust Him is by simply remaining calm. Be the type of person who remains calm in the midst of a storm. When somebody is saying critical things about you, remind yourself (& others, if necessary) that’s okay I know God is in control. I know God will fight my battles for me." "Well, aren’t you going to at least respond? Aren’t you going to set the record straight?" "No, I know God will be my vindicator. If I have been wronged, He will make things right."Somebody may say, "I heard you got a bad report from the doctor. I ‘m sure you’re all upset." "No, I’m not upset," you can reply. "I’m at peace. I know my life is in the palm of God ‘s Hand.""Well, I heard you are up against some big enemies," somebody else warns. "Yes, that’s true, but I’m not worried I know God is bigger. Nobody can stand against my God. Recently, I was waiting patiently in my car for a particular parking spot. The man was about to pull out, & I was sitting there with my turn signal blinking. I had been there long enough that it was obvious I was going to pull into the spot as soon as it was vacated. When the driver backed out his car, however, he blocked me. I could not believe it! There was no doubt in my mind that the person who pulled into the parking spot must have seen me waiting. I had to make a decision. Was I going to lose my peace, or was I going to stay calm & overlook it? Was I going to get up set or was I going to sow a seed & trust God to make it up to me? In the natural, I wanted to blow my horn & let him know what I thought. The thought crossed my mind, Well I’ll wait until he goes inside & then I’ll go let a little air out of each tire! But I decided, this is not worth losing my peace over, I’m just going to bless him & move on. I whispered a quick prayer for the rude driver & than pulled out to look for another parking spot.Don’t allow anyone to steal your peace. Understand that there will always be people around you who are able to aggravate you if you allow them. & usually you can’t just pray them away. Even if they leave, God will send two more people to replace them! Throughout Scripture, the person who trusts in God is compared to an eagle The eagle has some pests, one of which is a crow.He’s always squawking, always causing the eagle trouble. The truth is we all have a few crows in our life. You may have an entire flock of them. Certain people can rub us the wrong way; they can irritate us if we allow them. We need to take a lesson from the eagle. When the eagle is out flying, often a crow will come right up behind him & start to pester him, aggravating & annoying him. Although the eagle is much larger, it cannot maneuver quickly. To rid his pest, the eagle simply stretches out its eight foot wingspan & catches some of the thermal currents, & he rises up higher & higher, Eventually, he gets to an altitude that no other bird can live. In the same manner, if you want to get rid of your pest, you need to rise higher. Don’t ever sink down to the opposition’s level. Be a bigger person. Overlook their faults. Walk in love & dare to bless even your enemies. Friend, you are an eagle. You’ve been made in the image of Almighty God. Learn to live above your circumstances. If you are always frustrated, trying to fix everything in your life, trying to straighten this person out for what he or she said about you, worried about your health, Worried about your finances, You’re acting like a crow. Friend, life doesn’t have to be that way. Why don’t you relax? God is in complete control of your life.Make a decision today that you are going to enter into God’s rest. You are not going to live worried anymore. You’re not going to let people steal your joy. You’re not going to give up on your dreams that God has place in your heart. At times, I have been on an airplane about to take off & the skies outside are gray & overcast, almost depressing. Then the plane races down the run way climbing through the clouds. Finally, we break thru the dismal skies, & behold, up above the clouds the sun is shinning & the sky is bright blue. Now, here’s what intrigues me: The sun was shining the whole time. I just had to get a higher perspective to see it. Similarly, the clouds in your life are only temporary. It may look dark & dismal right now, but the sun is up there, shining brightly. One of the best things you can say to yourself when you are tempted to get discouraged is, "This too shall pass. It is not going to last forever. Friend, get a higher perspective. God is on your side. There’s nothing too difficult for Him. Lay aside anything that is weighing you down, so you can live free of worry, frustration, or discouragement, knowing that God is in complete control. Be the eagle God made you to be Stretch your wings & rise to the level where God wants you to live. You were made to soar; you were made for more.VVV February 17th 2008 I hope you take this in the right sense, but I like being me. I know I'm not perfect, & I have areas in which I need to improve. Overall, though, I enjoy being myself, I realize I am valuable to God. You, too, may have some things you wish you could change, but rather than focus on those areas take what God has given you & make the most of it. You are valuable to God. I heard somebody put it like this: If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If God carried a wallet, your photo would be in it. I love the Scripture that says, "If we belong to Christ, we are Abraham's seed, & heirs according to the promise." "That means we can all experience the blessings of Abraham. If you study Abraham's record, you'll discover that he was prosperous, healthy & lived a long, productive life. Even though he didn't always make the best choices, he enjoyed God's blessings & favor. No matter how many mistakes you've made, you need to know that on the inside, you have a seed of Almighty God. If you keep pressing forward, if you'll keep believing. God says He'll take those negative experiences, turn them around, & He will use them to your advantage.Remember, we are called overcomers. That means we're going to have obstacles to overcome. The enemy always fights the hardest when he knows God has something great in store for you. If you’ve had unfair things happen to you, or people have robbed or cheated you, the Scripture says that God will bring you out with twice what you had before." Every day when you get up, declare, "This is going to be a day of victory in my life. I’m expecting God’s unprecedented favor. Promotion, favor, increase, they’re all on the way. I’ve had people tell me, "Bob, I know that some day I’ll be happy I appreciate what their saying, but God wants us to enjoy our life right here in the nasty now & now. One of the reasons Christ came that we might live an abundant life. You can be happy & free in this life, not simply in heaven one of these days; you can accomplish your dreams before you go to heaven! How can you do that? By tapping into God’s power inside of you. The Bible says "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law" "The curse is any kind of defeat-sins, mistakes, wrong choices, fear worry, constant sickness, unhealthy relationships or bad attitudes. Please understand that those are all things you have already been set free. But here’s the catch: If you don’t appreciate & take advantage of your freedom, if you don’t get your thoughts, your words, your attitudes going in the right direction, it won’t do you any good.You may be sitting back waiting on God to do something supernatural in your life, but the truth is, God is waiting on you. You must rise up in your authority; have a little backbone & determination, & say, "I’m not going to live my life in mediocrity, bound by addictions, negative or defeated. I’m going to take hold of everything God has in store for me. I heard story about a little dog that had been kept on a twenty-four foot leash for years, tied to a tree. He had his home there & the owner came out to feed him & play with him occasionally. But the dog remained on his leash. He would see other dogs, & he run out to the end of his leash. He knew exactly how far he could go. He wanted to chase them. He wanted to go play, but he knew he was limited. If he went to far the leash would jerk him back into place.One day, the owner felt sorry for the dog, so he decided to let him off the leash. Instead of removing the whole leash, however, the owner simply unfastened the leash from the dog’s collar. The collar remained around the dog’s neck, but it wasn’t buckled anymore. The owner thought sure the dog would take off running, happy & free. Another dog came along, & sure enough his dog got up & took off running. Much to the owner’s surprise, when his dog got to where his leash would have ended, he stopped right where he always did.A few minutes later, a cat came strutting by. This cat had tormented the dog for years. But that cat knew where to walk-just a couple of feet outside the leash’s range. Again the dog took off running but stopped right where he normally did. The dog was free; he just didn’t realize it. The leash was loosed. All he had to do was go one step farther than he was used to going.Many times, that’s similar to what we are doing, God has loosed our chains of addictions, of personal defeats, &of bad attitudes. The problem is we’re not walking out of them.I’ve always been this way; I’ve always had a problem with my temper. I’ve always had this addiction," some people lament.No, you need to realize you have already been set free. Two thousand years ago, God loosened your collar. Now, it’s up to you to start walking out of it.How do you do it? Change your attitude. Quit saying, "I can’t do it; I’ll never be well; I’ll always be in debt. I’ve got too much to overcome." Every enemy in your life has been defeated-enemies of worry, depression, addiction, financial lack-& you have power overall of them. The same power that raised Christ from the dead is inside you. There is nothing in your life that you cannot overcome: no hurt is too deep that you can not forgive. You have the power to let go of the negative things of the past. You may have been knocked down a thousand times, but you have the power to get back up again. The medical report may not look good, but you have the power to stand strong. Refuse to sit back & accept things that are less than God’s best. Your attitude should be, "I know my chains have been removed; I know the price has been paid, & even if I have to believe my whole lifetime, even if I have to stand in faith till the day I die, I’m not going to sit back & accept a life of mediocrity. I’m going to keep pressing forward."Too many people learn to function in their dysfunction. They embrace all kinds of things that are not God’s best. They’re argumentative, bitter, & resentful; Instead of dealing with it & being willing to Change, they merely put a bandage on it & continue living in bondage, functioning in their dysfunction. You can never change what you tolerate. As long as you accept it, you’re going to stay right where you are. But you don’t have to live that way. You are learning to function in your dysfunction. I encourage you to go one step further. Try giving up one cigarette day. Forgive one person who has offended you. Strive to be a little more disciple today than you were yesterday. "Well" you say, "Bob, I’ve been this way so long. I don’t see how I could ever change." No, freedom has already been purchased, but you have to rid youself of that defeated mentality & start thinking power thoughts. Start saying I’m free. This addiction does not control me. Greater is He who is in me than he that’s in the world." Don’t ever say, "I’ll never see my dreams come to pass; I’ll probably never get married.’ Or "My bills are so high, my income is so low, I don’t think I’ll ever get out of debt." No, turn that around. You need to be saying, "I am more than a conqueror. I will fulfill my destiny. God is supplying all of my needs."VVV Saturday, February 2nd, 2008 Strife Verses Peace Relationships are what really matter in Life--our relationship to God, our spouse, children extended family members, friends, and others within our community-yet all to often, we allow these relationships to occupy much lower positions than they deserve on our priority lists. To maintain healthy relationships, we need to learn how to keep the strife out of our lives. God made each of us as unique individuals. We have different personalities & temperaments; we approach issues in different ways. Too often, though, if someone doesn't agree with our opinion, or see eye to eye with us on some matter, we get bent out of shape & allow strife to foment. I've discovered that just because somebody is not exactly like me, or doesn’t do things the way I do them that I am right & they are wrong. We're just different, & our differences can cause friction. It takes maturity to get along with somebody who is different than you are. It takes patience not to start a dispute over minor issues or become easily offended. If we're going to keep the strife out of our lives, then we must learn to give people the benefit of the doubt. We will also need to over look some things. Every person has faults; we all have weaknesses. We should not expect the people with whom we are in a relationship to be perfect. No matter how great a person he or she may be, no matter how much you love him or her, if you are around that person long enough, you will have the opportunity to be offended. There is no such thing as a perfect spouse, a perfect boss. If we're putting unrealistic expectations on people, expecting them to be perfect, that is not fair to them, & it will be a source of frustration for us. We're always going to be disappointed. Some people live with the attitude of, "I'll love you as long as you never hurt me or as long as you never make a mistake." "I'll be your friend as long as you treat me just right.' " As long as you do things my way, then I'll accept you, and I'll be happy. Scripture teaches that love makes allowances for people's weaknesses. Love covers a person's faults. In other words, you have to overlook some things I couldn't find a better wife than Judy. She is extremely loving, caring, generous person, & yet there are some things I have to overlook, some things for which I have to make allowances. That doesn't mean something is wrong with her; she's just human. If I were a critical faultfinder, keeping in account of everything she did wrong, then our relationship would suffer. Before long, we'd be at odds with each other, arguing, & fighting. Instead we make allowances for each other’s weaknesses. We've learned not wear our feelings on our sleeves & not to be easily offended. Few things are worse than living with a touchy, overly sensitive person. If somebody offends you or does you wrong, learn to shake it off & move on. The Scripture teaches love believes the best in people. "Well, my husband hardly spoke to me this morning. He didn't even thank me for cooking dinner the other night," a wife might say. Remember, love covers a fault. Instead of going through the day offended & upset, consider the fact that he might have not been feeling up to par. May be he is under a lot of pressure at work or stressed over some matter. Rather than criticizing & condemning, give him the benefit of the doubt & believe the best in him. My father used to say, "Everybody has the right to have a bad day every once in a while."If somebody does something you don't like, if they insult or offend you unwittingly, simply swallow your pride & say, "I choose to overlook that offense," & move on. Instead of immediately drifting to the negative & seeing the worst, it could change your life greatly if you would get in the habit of viewing events from a positive perspective & believing the best in people. The Scripture says that love keeps no record of wrongs done to it. You might see your relationship with someone go to a whole new level if you'd just get rid of the record book. I know people who have a mental list of everything anybody have done wrong to them for the last twenty years. They have a detail scorecard, listing every time their spouse hurt them, every time their boss was thoughtless or rude, every time their parent missed the grand kids' ball game. Instead of keeping a list of slights or offenses, throw out your negative record book & look for the good. Tom told me, "Bob, any time my wife & I have a little disagreement, she brings up every mistake I've made for the last ten years. 'Well, you did this last year. Don't you remember that you did that in 2005? Last month you hurt me.' She keeps stirring up dirt from the past. As long as you are bringing up pain from the past, you are going to have strife in your present. "But I’m the one that's right!" I hear you. Maybe so, but do you want to be right, or do you want to have peace in your home? Do you want to have your way, or do you want to have healthy relationships? Many times, we can't have both. In all of our relationships, especially in marriage, it is vital that we not keep score of offenses. Jean was driving through an intersection when she accidentally turned too sharply & sideswiped another car. Worse yet, she was driving her brand new car, a wedding gift from her husband Jerry. Jean pulled over to the side of the road & the driver of the other car, an older gentleman, got out of his car & began to examine his severely damaged front bumper. He then stepped over to where Jean was sitting in her car, crying. "Are you okay, young lady?" He asked kindly. "I'm fine," Jean sobbed", but I just got married & my husband gave me this car as a wedding gift; he is going to be so upset. I don't know what I'm going to do." "Oh, I’m sure it will be okay." The older gentleman tried to console her. " Your husband will understand." They talked for a few minutes before he said, If I could just get your insurance information, we'll exchange that, & be on our way." I don't even know if I have an insurance card," Jean said through her tears. "Well, it is usually in the glove compartment," the man suggested. "Why don't you check there?" Jean opened the glove compartment & found the owner's registration & the insurance information. Attached to the envelope containing the insurance card was a note that read, "Honey, just in case you ever have an accident, please remember I love you & not the car." That's the kind of person I want to be-a person who shows mercy, even in advance of a mistake or a wrong action. Rather than flaunting somebody's failure, learn to cover some of those weaknesses in the people who are close to you. Chose to be a Peacemaker SEPTEMBER 2,2007 Surrender becomes so much easier when you realize the fleeting nature of all experiences and that the world cannot give you anything of lasting value. You then continue to meet people, to be involved in experiences and activities, but without the wants and fears of the egoic self. That is to say, no longer demand that a situation, person, place or event should satisfy you or make you happy (Certainly, not like the Pharisees who grasps for places of honor). Its imperfect nature is allowed to be. And the miracle is that when you are no longer placing an impossible demand on it, every situation, person, place or event becomes not only satisfying but also more harmonious, more peaceful. When you completely accept this moment, when you no longer argue with what is, the compulsion to think lessens and is re placed by alert stillness. You are fully conscious, yet the mind is not labeling this moment in any way. This state of inner non resistance opens you to the unconditional consciousness (the Holy Spirit) that is infinitely greater than the human mind. This vast intelligence (God) can express Himself through you and assist you, both from within and without. That is why, by letting go of inner resistance, you often find circumstances change for the better. Am I saying, "Enjoy this moment. Be happy"? No. Allow the "suchness" of this moment. That’s enough. Surrender to this moment, and not confuse it with a story the mind has created around it? Surrender comes when you no longer ask, Why is this happening to me?" Even within the seemingly most unacceptable and painful situation is concealed a deeper good, and within every disaster is contained the seed of grace. When someone comes to you for help and you don’t know what to do or say. When you fully accept that you don’t know, you give up struggling to find answers with the limited thinking mind, and that is when a greater intelligence (God) can operate through you. And even thought can then benefit from that, since the greater intelligence can flow into it and inspire it. Sometimes surrender means giving up trying to understand and becoming comfortable with not knowing. Do you know someone whose main function in life seems to be to make themselves and others miserable, to spread unhappiness? Forgive them, for they too are part of the awakening of humanity. There is nothing personal in this. It is not who they are. Whatever you accept completely will take you to peace, including the acceptance that you can not accept, that you are in resistance. I mentioned surrender a few times. Some might say it sounds fatalistic. To some people, surrender may have negative connotations, implying defeat, giving up, failing to rise to the challenges, and becoming lethargic, and so on. True surrender, however, is something entirely different. It does not mean to passively put up with whatever situation you find yourself in and do nothing about. Nor does it mean to cease making plans or initiating positive action Suppose you say, I can see that if I am in a situation that is unpleasant or unsatisfactory and I completely accept the moment as it is, there will be no suffering or unhappiness. I will have risen above it. But I still can’t quite see where the energy or motivation for taking action and bringing about change would come from if there isn’t a certain amount of dissatisfaction. In the state of surrender, you see very clearly what needs to be done, and you take action, doing one thing at a time and focusing on one thing at a time. Learn from nature: See how everything gets accomplished and how the miracle of life unfolds without dissatisfaction or unhappiness. That’s why Jesus said:"Look a t the lilies, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin." If you’re overall situation is unsatisfactory or unpleasant, separate out this instant and surrender to what is. That’s the flashlight cutting through the fog. Your state of consciousness then ceases to be controlled by external conditions. You are no longer coming from reactions and resistance. Ask yourself, "Is there anything I can do to change the situation, improve it or remove myself from it. If so take the appropriate action. If there is no action you can take, you can not remove yourself from the situation either, then use the situation to make you go more deeply into surrender, more deeply into the Now, That is more deeply into Being (God). What about people who want to use me, manipulate or control me? Am I to surrender to them? They are cut off from Being (God), so they unconsciously attempt to get energy and power from you. It is true that only an unconscious person will try to use or manipulate others, but it is equally true that only an unconscious person can be used and manipulated. If you resist or fight the behavior in others, you become unconscious yourself. But surrender does not mean that you allow yourself to be used by unconscious person. Not at all. You can say no, let it be a nonreactive "no" a "no" that is free of all negativity and so creates no further suffering. If you can never accept what is, by implication you will not be able to accept anybody
the way they are. You will judge, criticize, label, reject, or attempt to change people.
Is that God’s way for you? The Lost Ring If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts A large part of many people's lives is consumed by an obsessive preoccupation with things. When you can no longer feel the life that you are, you are likely to try to fill up your life with things . As a spirit- -ual practice, I suggest that you investigate your relationship with relationship with the world of things through self- observation and in particular, things that are designated with the word "my" You need to be alert and honest to find out, for example,whether your sense of self worth is bound up with things. Do certain things induce a subtle feeling of importance and superiority? Does the lack of them make you feel inferior to others who have more than you? Do you casually mention things you own or show them off to increase your sense of worth in someone else's eyes and through them in your own? Do you feel resentful or angry and somehow diminished in your sense of self when someone else has more than you or when you lose a prize possession. When I was seeing people as a spiritual counselor, I would visit a woman two times a week, whose body was was riddled with cancer. She was a school teacher in her mid - forties and had been given a few months to live. Sometimes only a few words were spoken during those visits mostly we sat together in silence, in this she found stillness which never existed as a teacher. One day, I arrived to find her in a state of great distress and anger. "What happened?" I asked. Her diamond ring of great monentary value, had disappeared, she was sure it was the woman who came to look after her two hours everyday. She wanted to know whether to confront the woman or call the police. I said , I couldn't tell her what to do but asked to find out how important a ring or anything else was at this point in her life. "You, don't understand " she said, "this was my grandmother's ring. I use to wear it everyday until I got ill and and my hands became swollen. It's more than just a ring to me. How can I not be upset?" The quickness of her response and anger and defensiveness in her voice let me know she had not yet become present enough to look within and disentangle her reaction from the event and observe them both. Her anger and defensiveness were signs that the ego was still speaking through her. I said, "I'm going to ask you a few questions but instead of answering them now . See if you can find the answers within you. I asked, do you realize that you will have to let go of the ring at some point. How much more time do you need to let go of it. Will you become less when you let go of it? Has who you are become diminished by the loss? When she started speaking again, there was a smile on her face and she seemed at peace. She found in that peace. The joy of Being. God's Presence. You can only feel it when you get out of your head. She said, "Now I understand something Jesus said, that never made much sense to me before. If someone takes your shirt, let him have your coat as well. "All it means is that sometimes letting things go is an act of far greater power than defending or hanging on. In the last few weeks as her body became weaker. She became more radiant, as if light were shining through her. She gave many of her possessions away, some to the woman she thought had stolen her ring, with each thing she gave away, joy deepened. Her mother mentioned at the funeral, they found her ring in the medicine cabinet. Did the woman return the ring, or had it been there all the time? Nobody will ever know. Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. How do you know this is the experience you need? Because this is the experience you are having right this moment. If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts.
HEALING We are invited to pray about just what we will give out rather than give up. Thee are good things to do in order to bring Christ's light into this world of suffering, pain and brokenness. The Lord makes the amazing promis of quick healing. This promise, like many of the Lord's promises, is preceded and followed by several comands. The Lord commands us to fast in the right spirit and what the Lord is interested in seeing you do is sharing your food with the hungre, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families. Do this and the lights will turn on, and your lives will turn around at once. your righteousness will pave your way. The God of glory will secure your passage. Then when you prayer, God will answer, you'll call out for help and I'll say," Here I am" (Is 58:6-7). Then He will fulfill several promisses, if wea re willing to respond to these graces by obeying further commands related to doing justice (Is 58:9ff). When we are hurting, we tend to want God to heal us so that we can return to the lifestyle that may have contributed to our sickness. However, the Lord wants our healing to be the centerpiece of major developments in our lives based on repentance, love, justice, and mercy. "If you get rid of unfair practices, quit blaming victims, quit gossiping about other people's sins, if you are generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the down-and out, your lives will be bathed in sunlight. I will always show you where to go. I'll give you a full life in the emptiest of places -- Will we accept healing on the Lord's terms? Will we let Him be Lord of our healing and Lord of our lives? Will we let the Lord tear down and restructure our lives through healing? Will you subordinate your healing to the Lord, He Healer? THE MANY DIFFERENT WAYS OF RESPONDING TO THE GOSPEL On any given day, the gospel of Jesus is proclaimed to millions of people. Some may hear the message in the church. Some hear it on the radio or television. Some hear it in books and magazine articles. Some hear it from a friend. They all hear the same message but in different ways. Why is it that two people go to the same church, the same Mass, hear the same message, yet have different responses? Why is one transformed while the other is barely wrinkled? Why do some turn from sin and others continue on indifferently? This parable raises an important question: Why do people respond differently to the gospel message? Jesus lists four different kinds: They don’t want to hear. They have trained themselves to tune God out. Surprisingly, you may even find these kinds of people in church. Please, do not turn and look at anyone else for that is a sure sign of the fact you are not working on the plank that is in your on eye. And if you thought of someone other than yourself you are missing the Whole purpose of the gospel. We may be: attending worship just to please a spouse We may be: here because our parents require it We may be: involved to keep up appearances in the community. We may be: Logging time figuring that will gain us points for Heaven. The seed on rocky ground-The superficial hearer. Those of us who receive the gospel message with enthusiasm. The novelty wears off. For a while we are bold in the Lord. And then one day we lose interest and drift away that kind of faith is superficial. Unfortunately, we may be convinced that we are going to Heaven because we prayed the prayer, walked the aisle, or got baptized. It is trusting Christ that saves us Recently a drug manufacturer announced the study results of a new wonder drug for migraine headache suffers. The research showed that within one hour of taking the drug a whopping 70% of the test patients had little or no pain. Remarkably, in the control group that received placebo, 29% of the test patients showed the same improvement. Scientists testing new drugs always have a control group. Those in the control group take what they think is real thing, but it is not; it is a placebo, a sugar pill. It has no active ingredient; it is not real medicine. The placebo effect simply means that a certain percentage of people who take any potential cure will show signs of improvement if they think they are taking real medicine. Though the placebo will produce the benefits of the real medicine for a while, sooner or later the effect wears off. They are, after all, not taking the real thing. It won’t work forever; it is not a permanent solution. A certain percentage of people professing faith in Jesus don’t take the real medicine—the real cure for what ails us. We don’t place our faith in our Savior. Instead, we place our faith in our good deeds, or some vain imagination of what Jesus must be like. It is a faith that has no active ingredient. It is a placebo. The seed in the THORNS—the distracted Hearer The 3rd group of people are attracted to the gospel message but we never get around to getting serious. We are so distracted the by other things that we never respond to the truth. It’s like the girl to which a young man once proposed. He said, Darling, I want you to know that I love you more than anything else in the world. I want you to marry me. I’m not rich. I don’t have a yacht r Rolls Royce like Johnny Brown, but I do love you with all my heart. Too, but tell me more about Johnny Brown. These people have divided hearts. They don’t know what they believe. Today, we would be considered ‘politically correct’ we affirm all belief systems even though they are contradictory and cannot be all correct. We know we need spiritual life but unwilling to commit to Christ. No one can serve two masters. The seed on the fertile soil- The responsive Hearer The true believer is one that hears the truth and accepts it. We receive the message of salvation and apply it to our own lives. We recognize our selves as real sinners in need of the grace that can only come from Christ. We throw ourselves at mercy of the court and vow to serve Him. Evidence of this kind of commitment is a transformed life. We bear fruit. In other words, we are beginning to give evidence of Christ –like character (by manifesting love, joy, peace, patience, kindness goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control) we honor God and share the Gospel with others. "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we
also eagerly We want to make sure our kids and grandkids
are able to Hallelujah, Amen and Amen Scott Adams, who created the comical world of Dilbert and Alice and Wally, says that the real-life stories he hears are more bizarre than the comics he draws. I found this one:
Being a Christian is a real bother sometimes. Just when you've got Jesus all figured out, he throws a curve. For instance, the disciples are suddenly discovering that what they thought was faith all along, a kind of muscle they could build up by exercising it, isn't really faith. Apparently they don't need more faith. If they had any faith at all, or if they were using the little they had, trees would be getting uprooted all over the place. And then he tells them a story that seems not to be about faith at all. Or is it? If we really knew how to look inside a mustard seed, or a human embryo, as our scientists are just beginning to learn, we would discover something more complicated than a giant industrial complex. The seed carries blueprints as well as the equipment to read those blueprints and carry them out. There are machine shops to make the tools to make the tools. There are complicated timing devices so that one part of the system only turns on when another part has finished its job. There are security forces to check your ID and repel any invaders. It seems like a miracle, and yet it is so ordinary that the world is filled with billions of seeds, billions of plants, billions of living creatures, billions of human beings. Now we don't usually think of faith in connection with the growth of a plant or animal or baby human. It is the job of seeds and plants and embryos and babies to grow. They're just doing what was programmed into them. They are just being faithful to their original design. Faithfulness, not faith. Or are they the same? In our reading from the Hebrew Scriptures, Habakkuk is standing on a watchtower waiting for God to answer: Why do bad things happen to good people? Where is God when it hurts? Lots of luck getting an answer, Habakkuk! Are you going to wait until you're covered with cobwebs and pigeon droppings? Are you going to wait until Mt. Rainier is worn down to a bump? If God isn't going to help, why would God even bother to answer questions? But then, wonder of wonders, Habakkuk does get an answer! Write it on a billboard! Chisel it into the side of a mountain! Outline it with neon lights! Make it so obvious that freeway drivers can read it at sixty miles per hour: The righteous shall live by faith! It probably wasn't the answer Habakkuk was looking for. Look, God, I wanted to know why the good folks always get hurt, and you tell me the righteous live by faith? I knew I should have sent away my Wheaties boxtop and 25 cents for a secret decoder ring. I ask for comfort, and you send a message that hard to figure out? So Habakkuk will think about it and think about it and think about it, and eventually decide that it is a message of comfort after all. The Hebrew word for "faith" is also the word for "faithfulness." It is the word that is used way back in Exodus to describe the steadiness of Moses's arms when his friends are holding them up. [You remember the story: the army of Israel is fighting a battle. As long as Moses holds his arms up they are winning. When his arms get tired and drop, the army starts to lose. So Aaron and Hur rush over and prop up Moses's arms.]. Faithfulness. Steadfastness. The righteous live by faith. And the righteous live by being faithful. Be steadfast, faithful, even if you have to wait a long time. God's people will eventually be vindicated. And the evil folks will eventually get what's coming to them. But the waiting is more than sitting patiently. That's why Jesus tells the parable. A parable about faith? No, a parable about being faithful. The wise slave expects nothing more than to do his or her duty. So faithfulness is the key to faith. Every catcher needs a pitcher. Every landing requires a takeoff. Every receiver needs a transmitter. Every harvest depends on a planting. You can only have faith in someone who is faithful. And if they become unfaithful, you lose faith. And you can only have faith by being faithful. No one would venture out on I-295 if they didn't have faith that the other drivers would be faithful to the rules of the road. But by the same token, no one should venture out on the freeway if they don't intend to be faithful in their driving. Faith demands faithfulness. And even before you get out onto that freeway, you can only depend on your car, you can only have faith in your machine if you are faithful to it, if you change the oil and fill up the gas tanks and do the maintenance checks. Faith demands faithfulness. So even as Habakkuk gets his answer about God's faithfulness, he understands that some faithfulness is required from him. "Keep the faith, baby!" is a phrase from a few decades ago. But it sums up our situation perfectly. It means keep believing and keep working. Faith and faithfulness. Keep faith with our Lord, keep faith with our heritage, keep faith with our brothers and sisters of the faith. Keep believing what you always knew, and keep acting on that belief. How does Habakkuk keep the faith? By keeping faithful to the vision: The righteous live by faith, by faithfulness, waiting without despair, working without giving up, keeping on keeping on even when the wrong seems so strong. How do disciples uproot trees? Not by increased faith, but by being faithful. Our greatest prayers come when we don't feel like
praying.
Write it on a billboard. Carve it into the side of a mountain: The righteous shall live by faith. The righteous shall live by being faithful.
Just doing their jobs. It's interesting that when Matthew and Mark quote Jesus, they have not a tree but a mountain being moved. Write it on a billboard! Carve it into a mountain: The righteous shall live by faithfulness. Just doing their jobs. It turns out that big, flashy miracles aren't so important after all. Faith moves mountains one shovelful at a time. Faith transplants trees slowly and carefully. Faith comes to worship every Sunday and drops an offering in the plate every Sunday and takes communion every Sunday, and prays with discipline every day, and feeds the hungry every day, and carries a cup of cold water every day. And just because we have a day when we celebrate communion with Christians all over the world, doesn't mean we aren't celebrating with them each week. Slow and steady. Just doing our jobs. So if you do have mountain-moving faith, don't brag about it. You're just doing your job. If you are a tither, and give ten percent of your income to God, don't brag about it. You're just doing your job. You did eighty hours of work for the Lord last week? Meets expectations. Donated bone marrow? Meets expectations. And if you feel like a martyr because you worked through lunch? It means nothing. Maybe Dilbert's boss isn't God. But my boss is. And so is yours. And maybe our greatest ambition should be to gather at the heavenly banquet table, serving and being served, and to hear God say, "Meets expectations." Just doing our jobs. This story is about a young girl with separated troubled parents. I'm instructing her in preparation for her first communion. Well, yesterday she told me that her class was going to receive reconciliation after Mass soon. I told her, she did not have to go to confession. For she had just been baptized recently. I realized she did not want to be left out of the chance to receive reconciliation with her classmates. I had some idea that the reading from Eziekel was about forgiveness. So since I had everything, that is the scripture as well as an exegesis of it, right there at my disposal, I read the scripture to her all while realizing that this scripture was for her. Than I asked her to read the exegesis. Ez 18 is a study of culpability. A word of prophecy comes to Ez stating that, in essence, neither the guilt nor the merit flowing from the life of a parent passes on to the children who follow. Each person is judged on personal merits. The second message of Ez is: Repentance is constantly available, accompanied by forgiveness. Thirdly, one needs to be attentive to the state of their present life without presumption on past merits. That young lady will receive her first confession but it won't be her parents sins or guilt she will be confessing but her own venial sins. Is wisdom something soft and squishy---hard to define---and even harder to attain? Is it something that comes only through age or experience or years of meditation and spiritual practice? Is it something that we can only glean from our forefathers…or from ancient scriptures? No, no, and no again!V At its heart, wisdom is seeing things just the way they are. The problem is that most people see what they want to see…or what they have been trained to see…. Or what others want them to see. In a sense, they go through life with blinders on. Waking up your God given POWER OF WISDOM is as simple as discarding your blinders! Most people never realize they have blinders on— until they discard them.V When you change the way you see the world, your world changes! The world doesn’t want you to get rid of your blinders. It wants you to remain in the dark. This way they can keep feeding you their own agendas through the media etc…and more importantly, they can keep you psychologically and emotionally dependent on them.V For their part, most people prefer to live in a world of fantasy and illusion. They prefer delusion to truth. This is why--- They blindly follow self –proclaimed experts.V They escape to TV and sex and Disneyland and alcohol and drugs. Most people prefer delusion to reality because they think it’s easier. When you stop struggling with reality—when you finally come to see wisdom is just the way it is—wisdom rewards you with real relationships and real accomplishments.V BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD. Mahatma Gandhi GET WISDOM!!!!!!!VVV Marriage And Friendship Sirach gave us good advice on how to find and be a true friend and Jesus tells us how to form a true marriage. It takes a lot of "I do's" for a man and a woman to become a husband and wife. Unlike the popular television quiz show, our answer is never a FINAL answer, but each "I do" and "I will" is a pledge, a recommitment, a renewal. V I believe love is shown in actions and not just words. We become friends and/or spouses through our self-giving as well as our self-pledging. We do it when we give and when we forgive. We also do it when we receive and we are forgiven.V Forgiveness is the glue that repairs broken relationships.V These readings also tell us we do not do this alone. Families and individuals must actively encourage the growth of friendships and marriages with love and encouragement, a ready heart and an open ear. Never work to separate what God has joined also means to work to keep together what God has brought together. Rely on God and God’s power. Rely on those around you too.V Our best friends draw us closer to Christ.V Yet none of us are perfect
friends and not every couple who are pronounced man and wife actually become man and wife.
When we fail we seek forgiveness of God and each other and we begin again as best we can. V
Jesus full of the holy Spirit, having come up out of the waters of the Jordan after being baptized, He went into the desert for 40 days to pray and fast. Both of which are our identity as well as it was Jesus’. It is the same identity, which the 8 people of our RCIA are about to experience. Who will sign away there lives in the "Book of Elect" If you had to do it all over again would you chose baptism? Would you want to belong to this community? Does your life contribute to the attractiveness of this parish?V I believe Jesus laughed in the face of the devil. Think of this, suppose someone were to offer you what you are entitled to or what you already have," at a cost", Wouldn’t you have a tendency to laugh right in their face? Maybe, you would use your wit. Saying to yourself this guy has got to be kidding. He is using, scripture (which the devil knew and used) so in turn, Jesus used the scripture of Deuteronomy.V The devil is confounded but will be back to tempt Jesus again to follow a path different from the one willed by His Father.V Jesus alike us in all things save sin does not mean He was immune to temptations. Especially temptations to power, pleasure, and fame (as in our story today it is in the nature of a human to be threatened by the inevitability of death and to try to fight death off with power and pleasure and fame. Of course that’s an illusion. During Lent, we are supposed to remind ourselves that we come from dust and we will eventually return, despite what power we come up with or whatever pleasures we may enjoy, or whatever fame we may require. We are destined for glory, only after we have conqueror the fear of death and overcome the phony escapes that tempt us.V Story:Once upon a time, back in the late 1920’s, a well to do business man was approached by some friends and offered the opportunity to be part of a plan they promised would make him a millionaire in no time at all These men had "connections" with the political leaders in the city and they were assured of kickbacks on all of their projects. Now, our businessman had "pulled himself up by his bootstraps" and was well off, but not a millionaire. Though his friends promised that this was a no lose situation and no one would ever be able to figure out what was going on, our business man considered taking kickbacks to be immoral as wells illegal and he declined to get involved. He did not preach these friends but simply said he felt it was wrong and wouldn’t do it. As he was often found of saying in later years, the ‘crash’ of ’29 took him cleaner than "Grant took Richmond" It did the same to his friends.V Just as it was in this gospel, Jesus would
again be tempted by, the devil three times for Jesus to use His power to save Himself from
suffering and death. During VALENTINE’S DAY Remember the stories around your birth, your family—with all its pain and difficulties and goodness, your years of growing up, going to school, finding a job and a vocation that fulfilled you (or will fulfill you), friendships, love relationships, and your current blessings. I’m not suggesting that you over-romanticize your life. Look at it squarely and honestly. How has God been with you, sustained you in loss and difficulty, comforted you in sorrow, assured you in times of discouragement, sent "angels"--messengers to rescue you in times of distress? Often it is in the midst of the struggles that you and I can most profoundly see and taste God’s love. Our psalm today asks, "How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good He has done for me?"V "Nothing is more practical than finding God, i.e., than falling in love in a quite
absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect
everything. Today is a day to fall in love all over again with the one(s) you most love. May you and I let ourselves fall in love with the One who loves us beyond our imaginings! Happy Valentine’s Day, Lord and all my friends. VVVLEARNING TO COOPERATE The following story is about: "A
simplehearted man who was asked how he managed to live in such a state of tranquility even
though he was Very few of us practice this wise and practical approach to life. Many of us fight against and complain about our circumstances throughout life, "all the while believing that we are surrendered to the will of God." VIn this Gospel reading, we see Christ as he heals a deaf and mute man with a healing touch. VIn the lives of us all, there will be problems that refuse to go away. But what God permits, He also uses--redemptively. The question is, will we permit what God permits? We too often pray, "Lord, get me out of this mess." But the Lord may be saying, "Let Me into this mess. Permit Me to change you rather than your circumstances." That's the greatest miracle of all. VMay we learn the blessed secret of delighting in Your will,Welcoming whate'er You send us,Joy or sorrow, good or ill. --Anon. VPeace is found only in yielding to the will of God. VVVINSIDE
OUT If I placed a filled glass with water on a table in front of you. I pounded my fist hard enough to make the water splash onto the table, then I explained, "You will come up against much trouble. But when you do, remember, only what's in you will spill out." V That's worth thinking about, isn't it? When we are mistreated or misunderstood, how do we respond? With loving words, patience, and kindness? Or are we inclined to retaliate in anger? V When we live under the control of the Holy Spirit, we will show our true person by the way we react to the jolting trials and temptations of life. How we respond to trying, embarrassing situations that are suddenly thrust upon us is a good test of how much we have grown in grace. V It is possible to suppress frustration and
anger and to appear undisturbed. But if our heart is full of the Savior's love, we will
respond to the jostling of an unexpected trial with patience and kindness. Like a full
glass of water, what's inside of us will spill over on the outside. VVV ENCOURAGEMENT Discouragement is a problem for many Catholics. They’re discouraged about their spiritual service. They compare themselves to others who are gifted with musical talents or the ability to teach. They see people who give themselves generously and pray with evident effectiveness, but they think they can’t do these things. As a result, they feel they are useless to God. They need to realize, however that every Catholic is qualified to carry on at least one helpful ministry—the ministry of encouragement. V It may seem insignificant There is a symbolic story that illustrates this wonderfully. Satan called together a council of his servants to consult how they might make a good man sin. One demon said, "I will make him sin." I will set before him the pleasures of sin, I will tell him of its delights, and the rich rewards it brings." Ah said Satan that will not do. He has tried it and knows better than that." Another demon said, I will make him sin. I will tell him of the pains and sorrows of virtue. I will show him that virtue has no delights, and brings no rewards." Ah no exclaimed Satan, that will not do at all. He has tried it and knows that Wisdom’s ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace" Well, said another demon "I will undertake to make him sin." And what will you do? Asked Satan again. I will discourage his soul was a short reply. Ah, that will do! We will conquer him now.’V Some people are good at popping the balloon of those who are feeling the excitement of a new experience. And a negative spirit tends to discourage others.V A new convert was excited about an answer to a prayer. "I had a flat tire and couldn’t make my jack work, " he told his sponsor. "I prayed that some one would stop and help me, and with in a minute a man came along and had me on my way in no time." The sponsor replied, "Now, don’t get too excited. He might have stopped even if you had not prayed!"V Jesus’ disciples were excited. They had talked with the risen Lord and were filled with joy and confidence. But Thomas, who wasn’t with them on that first Easter evening, was skeptical. He said, "Unless I see…. I will not believe." Yes, it was astounding news. Yet Thomas could have responded positively if he had recalled what Jesus had promised. He might have said, I’m having a hard time believing you, but I can see how excited you are, and I really want to see Jesus myself.’ Instead, he blurted out his unbelief, and I can’t help but feel that this dampened the joy of the other disciples.V Lord helps us to respond to people with words that are kind and sensitive--- even when we have doubts.V And greet each venture with reproof; This invitation or call is one of service in which we are grateful to God for his Presence in our lives. We might say: Oh what can I give to the Master, By age 50, a person who has worked full-time since college will put in about 56,000 hours of work. Whether you’re teaching, working as a nurse, running a press, pursuing the priesthood or sisterhood or brotherhood or what ever else you do, that’s a lot of time.V Joy comes when work is done to please God. So all of our work, when done as a service to our Lord, has significance.V An airline employee who was struggling through a long delay in a flight’s departure kept her composure as the passengers grew angrier. When someone asked her name so he could write a letter of commendation, she replied, "Oh, I don’t work for this airline. I work for Jesus Christ.V Imagine the value of 56,000 hours of work done with that attitude! There’s nothing better! Our daily work takes on eternal value when it is done for God.V To be Catholics of service answering the call requires a
prior experience of encouraging, understanding and an overwhelming love of God. Only then
can we all say, "Here I am, send me."VVV YOU ARE SPECIAL Continuing
with the Birth of Jesus In family, Christ dwells with us. In today's readings we find hope. Christ dwells in the mess and routine as well as in the joy and beauty of our families. VVV God's Love Overcomes While the healing stories in the gospel accounts dazzle us,the stories of forgiveness and call are just as resplendent and may, perhaps, touch us more deeply because we know our own conflicted souls. The forgiveness of God as we see it in Jesus quickens the dead or dying heart. Such is the gracious love of God for each of us. VVV
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