May matters.
It matters because this is the first month that we begin to step out of our homes to do a few more things while
May matters because the ‘matters’ of the month are new birth, new growth, Springtime!
May matters because it’s a time of new hope, a time to breathe fresh air outside, a time to brake through the sequester just one step at a time.
We still need to be very careful because we ‘matter’ to God.
We are precious in His sight, the apple of His eye.
Let us go forth celebrating new life with small steps because we matter to God and the ‘matters’ to which we attend . . . matter!
"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.” C.S. Lewis, p. 205 Mere Christianity
May 8
Exodus 34:18-35; Psalm 40,51,54; 1 Thessalonians 3:1-13; Matthew 5:27-37
1 Thessalonians 3:1 “We sent Timothy, our brother, to strengthen and encourage you. :8-10 For now we really live if you stand firm in the Lord. How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we feel before our God because of you? Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and restore whatever is lacking in your faith. :12 May the Lord choose you to increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. And may he so strengthen our hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.”
The Apostle, Paul, is in Athens when he writes this letter to the Thessalonians. Because he prays for those whom he helped to grow in Christ, those in Thessalonia are heavy on his heart.
So, he sends Timothy to see if they are stable in their faith.
Paul is concerned for their steadfastness of faith during this time when Christians are being persecuted for following the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
Timothy returns with the great news.
Not only are the Thessalonians strong in their faith but also in their love for one another and far those beyond their sphere of influence.
They continue to pray for Paul and the others as Paul prays for them.
What a perfect scenario!
Paul and his leaders in Athens are elated!
For the most part, Paul would proceed on his missionary journeys with a plan well in hand, according to God’s will.
In fact, sometimes, on the way to some towns, the Lord would tell Paul to change plans not go there. The time is not yet right.
However, when the Lord does direct Paul to the right place, he and a few fellow Christians will remain for three months to a year as Paul sends the rest of his team to the next town.
When Paul plants himself in a new place, he ‘disciples’ or
During that time he seeks enthusiastic Christians who may become leaders.
Those who have said ‘yes’ to following Jesus most likely will join Paul in worship and teaching every morning before they go to work and every evening after work.
Often, whole families will be involved.
This includes Paul and his co-workers.
They must earn their own living so they also attend to their duties in the market place. As they mend tents and leather apparel they have the perfect opportunity to answer questions of those who ‘stop by for a moment.’
There is something about Paul, freely sharing words about Jesus Christ, that draws a crowd . . . day in . . . day out.
He never stops.
God chose Paul because of his discipline to ‘stay the course’, because of his never-ending energy, because of his brilliance, because God knew Paul would carry the Good News of Jesus Christ far and wide.
Paul would share what it means to stand firm in our faith and to love the unlovable. He showed generations the very essence of God’s love, Jesus Christ.
Faith, hope, love . . . these three.
And the greatest of these is love.
May 9
Exodus 40:18-38; Psalm 55, 138, 139:1-17; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12; Matthew 5:38-48
Exodus 40:18 -21 Moses put the tabernacle together
then put the covenant into the Ark and attached poles and put the mercy seat on top. He brought the Ark into the tabernacle and put up a veil for a screen. :34 Then a Cloud covered the tent and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle and Moses could not enter because the Cloud settled in it. :37-38 The sons of Israel only moved when the Cloud was taken up . . . otherwise there was the Cloud by day and the Fire by night in the sight of the house of Israel.
This passage is edited. It’s best to read the entire passage as the details create a beautiful picture of God’s masterplan for His dwelling place at this time in the history of the Israelites.
The people chose to capture God’s presence in a confined space as if they could obtain a better glimpse of God.
The Tabernacle, the tent of meeting, included the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. The Holy Place was open daily to the ‘priest of the day’ so that the offering of bread and wine could be changed. The lamp stand provided light and oil to maintain the light needed to be added every day. The table of incense, placed in front of the veil to the Holy of Holies, was filled and lit daily. This was a place of offering to God, filled with symbols of God’s faithfulness to His people.
The Holy of Holies, the most sacred space behind the veil, was only entered annually on the day of Atonement. Purification and blood sacrifice was a small part of the priest’s duty that day. When all was ready, he entered this small space to splash blood over the Ark of the Covenant in order to cover the sins of the people of Israel. He may remain for hours in the cloud of God’s presence. Offerings of all sorts would continue to be brought daily for various reasons but this ‘Sin Offering’ for the nation of Israel was only offered once per year.
As God’s chosen people moved from place to place during their forty years in the wilderness, the Tabernacle could be disassembled and moved from place to place.No human could touch the Ark, the most holy Presence of God.
The mobile Tabernacle was replaced by a brick and mortar Temple designed by King David but built by his son, Solomon.
About forty years after Jesus’ death, the grand temple, covered in gold, was destroyed.
To this day a new Temple was never built.
Good reason. Jesus, the unblemished Lamb, is the final Sacrifice to cover the sins of all, for eternity.
Because of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, the need for a temple of sacrifice is no longer needed.
Filled with the Holy Spirit, we are now the ‘temple’ of the Lord, the holy place where God’s presence resides.
Jesus’ blood-sacrifice covers the sins of those who believe in and follow Him.
We who are baptized into Christ Jesus and filled with the Holy Spirit, are now that temple.
We are the new temple, set apart to give glory to God in all we say and do.
We are the living temple of the presence of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We are called together to feed on God’s Word, to chew on words of scripture and digest what they mean.
We offer our prayers and song and worship to our Lord.
Then, when we have given ourselves and offered thanksgiving, we receive God’s Word in the flesh, his presence, the fire and the cloud, through Holy Communion.
We first give all we are in thanksgiving to our Lord and, in turn, our Lord gives all to us, to lead us and guide us according to God’s plans for each of us.
Our gatherings remind us to remain thankful to our Lord through our gatherings of Holy Eucharist.
Eucharisteo means Thanksgiving!
We give thanks to God that, through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, the Christ, and by saying ‘yes’ to following Him by faith, we are God’s living temple.
Eucharisteo!
May 10 Fifth Sunday of Easter Mother’s Day
Acts 7:55-66; Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16; 1 Peter 2:2-10; John 14:1-14
John 14:1 Do not be troubled. I go to prepare a place for you . . . in my Father’s house there are many
Mothers are given the gift of growing the seed of life within us.
Mothers are most often the ones who form that child in the ways of righteousness.
Praise God for the dads who are also involved in this process.
It’s no easy task.
Saying ‘yes’ to God in bearing new life and then saying ‘yes’ to God in raising that new life, according to our Lord’s will, is an eternal treasure for that child.
In fact, because Mary, said “yes” to the Angel Gabriel, she humbly received the seed of life planted in her by the Holy Spirit.
She gave her life to God totally.
She trusted our Lord implicitly.
Mary was groomed from birth to be ‘one with God’, to have that agape love that was ordained for her.
. . . .That love that dies to self and lives for God.
Mary said ‘yes’ to motherhood knowing full well she could be stoned to death for being ‘with child’ before the marriage vows were declared.
Mary would carry Emmanuel, God with us, in her womb.
Our hindsight helps us recall the stories in the Old Testament regarding the Ark of the Covenant that held the presence of God.
In fact, the Ark of the Covenant was so holy, so filled with God’s presence, that the Israelites would take the Ark with them to war and lay that Ark right in the midst of battle to give them confidence in God’s presence.
When the temple was built, the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant was placed, was so sacred that only one priest was picked each year to pour the blood of the sacrificial Lamb over it during the most holy day of the year, the day of Atonement.
One day a year, the sins of the nation of Israel were obliterated by the blood of the lamb that was sprinkled over the Ark of the Covenant.
Centuries later, God appointed Mary to be the New Ark who would carry God’s only begotten Son, Jesus, the
Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant, carried a very human child, Jesus, who was filled full with the divinity of God . . . God in the flesh.
Mary and Joseph nurtured the infant Jesus who, at first, could do nothing but receive. They met every need and more.
And before their eyes, Jesus’ divine presence, seen by visitors, surprised all who came.
As He grew, elders conversed with Jesus when discussing scripture . . . Jesus was about eight when Mary and Joseph encountered Jesus teaching in the temple.
When it was time for Jesus to enter full time ministry at about age 30, Mary, although very present, knew she had
Mary must have been one proud mom as she heard her son speak wisdom from above.
She was at peace when she heard Jesus speak as if He were God.
Mary heard many promises from Jesus . . . that His presence could reach farther than the expanse of the grandest mansion, . . . that each of us has a specific place, . . . built just for us, where we can be with Jesus, . . .always.
Mary may have been amazed at the power of Jesus’ words as she realized what He was saying:
“I AM the Way and I will always BE the way to eternal life because I and the Father are One.
Those who come to me for salvation come to the Father . . . because I am in the Father and the Father is in me.”
Jesus said, "When you see Me, you see God’s presence because I and the Father are so entwined, so one, that what I say and do is the same as the Father.”
We’re one.
When you see Me, you see the Father.”
Jesus often said, “If you do not believe what I am saying about myself, at the very least, believe because of the healing power I have laid on others through word and deed.
I have healed the sick, given sight to the blind and raised people from the dead.
If, in my name, you ask for anything I will do it.”
Jesus also said, “I AM Truth. Because the Father and I are one, I can be nothing less than Truth.” Then He said, “I AM Life . . . eternal life . . . those who remain with Me, will live eternally.”
Jesus overcame death so that we might have life everlasting.
Like any mother with sacrificial, agape love, Mary let God take her Son where He was needed.
Mary knew Jesus never belonged to her but to God.
Because Mary gave all she had in motherhood and then let go, we have access to Jesus, always
Mary, Mother of God, shows US how to live that sacrificial life, given fully to God, given to others, the God-love, we can only give away if we choose to die to self and live according to God’s plan for our lives.
May we choose to be as obedient to our Lord as was Mary.
May we all feel as blessed as Mary on this Mother’s Day.
May 11
Leviticus 16:1-19, Psalm 56,57,64,65; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
Matthew 6:3 When you give to the poor do not let the
left hand know what your right hand is doing. :17 When you fast, anoint your head and wash your face . . . so others do not know you are fasting.
We know, deep in our soul, when we place total trust in God.
We may say we ‘know’ God and trust in Jesus but what does this truly mean?
Does it mean we understand Jesus is God and go to church weekly?
What does it mean to be a ‘Christian,’ a Christ follower?
Is it simply professing our faith in Jesus as Lord of our lives or have we spent a good amount of time getting to know Him?
As faith-filled, dedicated Christians we do not need to ‘do’ much but we do have to learn to ‘be’ much.
It’s important to gain an intimate relationship with Jesus by walking with him daily.
This can take various forms: daily worship and prayer, daily readings of scripture, listening to music and podcasts that draw us close to our Lord and by talking and listening to God.
We can do any one of these or all of them.
We can grow ever-so-slowly or bloom quickly.
It’s totally up to us.
God created time, which also affects space, for humans because we are finite creatures.
God is infinite.
We can receive the full treasure of heaven from the Lord if we want it.
But there is a catch.
We must be willing to let go of what we think is our own treasure.
We must be so free with our giving that we cannot even keep track.
Where there is a need, filled it.
Where there is hunger, provide food.
Where there is lack of understanding of God, provide it.
Where there is grief, listen and pray.
Where there is joy, embrace the dance.
Where there is emptiness, fill it with the breath of God’s Word.
Stop, look, listen.
BE who the Lord is guiding you to be according to His will.
As you grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord, Jesus Christ, share only that which encourages another and draws others into that same tight bond with Him.
When you fast and pray, when you study and learn, when you worship and praise, be very careful not to stand out among the rest.
Allow your joy to melt into the crowd of fellow Christians.
Know that you are noticed primarily by our Lord, who watches over you.
No need to ‘dress’ the part if you fast.
Just get ready for the day as you would any other day.
Enjoy fellowship and study and worship as you would any
other day.
It’s all just between you and the Lord.
Let it stay that way . . . except for telling others about the JOY of knowing Jesus as Lord of our lives.
Be ready to tell the world about your personal relationship with Jesus at any time.
But let your service, your offerings, the giving of your total self to God be just between you and our Lord.
Give praise to God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Tell the world about Him.
Let the rest of your growth and giving be discerned, not displayed.
May 12
Leviticus 16:20-34; Psalm 61, 62, 68; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11; Matthew 6:7-15
Leviticus 16:20 When he finishes atoning for sin in the holy place in tent of meeting at the altar, he shall offer the live goat. :21 Confess over it. :22 The goat shall bear all iniquities . . . and he will release the goat into the wilderness. :26 The one who released the goat as the Scapegoat shall wash his clothes and bathe with water and then come into camp. :29 Annual atonement is on the 7th month, 10th day. :31 Sabbath of Solomon rest - permanent statute.
Yes, it’s full of rules but they are an amazing puzzle to discipher.
Like the one today.
This is where we find the term, “scapegoat.”
After the priest offers the annual sacrifice on the Day of Atonement, the crowd outside gets a little action.
The priest places the sin of the nation of Israel on the live goat and gives it to someone to release into the wilderness.
Here is an action that shows the people that their sin is released, never to return again . . . the sins of the past.
The minute these sins are released, the sin that our human nature cannot help but accumulate begins to pile up for another year.
Oh well.
They’ll just have to wait until next year when the Scapegoat is released again.
And what happens to the one who carried the goat into the wilderness?
He has touched the Scapegoat!
He is covered with the sin of the nation of Israel.
He will go through the ritual bath, the Michveh.
It’s a beautiful cleansing ceremony that releases his own sin to God.
He then dresses with fresh clothing and can then return to camp, the place in the wilderness where his tribe rests.
He had earned his sabbath day of rest.
The Scapegoat ceremony seems so simple.
Yet, this task became arduous for the most serious Jews.
What freedom we have that our ‘scapegoat’ is Jesus.
We, indeed, piled our sin upon Jesus when He was in His most weakened state on the cross.
For a moment of time and space, when Jesus took all our sin upon Himself, while hanging on the cross, He had to be separated from God.
For just an instant, our sin that was pile on Jesus wrenched our Lord away from His very life-giving presence.
For an instant, Jesus felt the agony of separation from God, the very agony He promise we would not feel . . . we who have said ‘Yes’ and remain focused on Him.
For one instant, Jesus, our scapegoat, gave all our sin, past and present and future, upon Himself so that we would never feel the affect of separation from God.
One instant.
So that we would forever be released from the sting of death that we would feel if we could not release our sin to our Lord.
Therefore, we must daily confess our daily pile of sins to God and our neighbor.
Jesus paid the price . . . once, for all.
We’ve already been forgiven.
Confession simply keeps us fresh and clean and ready for the work the Lord has planned for us each day.
Confessions keeps our heart pure so we can praise and glorify the Lord and beam with JOY as we go out into the world to release the Gospel of our Lord to others.
Embrace the Lord.
Pray and confess.
Be the Christian God called you to be.
Enjoy sabbath rest and begin again.
May 13
Leviticus 19:1-18; Psalm 72; 119:73-96; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28; Matthew 6:19-24
1 Thessalonians 5:12 ff Work well together. Live in peace and love. Admonish the unruly, encourage the faint-hearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Rejoice always , pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks. Do not quench the spirit, do not despise prophetic utterances. :21 Examine everything carefully, hold fast to the good.
It’s a good outline of how to live a balanced life in Christ.
At the very least, Paul provides great goals for our Christian walk.
Do some seem impossible?
They all work together if we focus on the multitude of possibilities we have through our relationship with Christ Jesus.
The main focus is to live so that others see the light of Christ Jesus shining through us.
That eternal ‘glow’ radiates from those who make a habit of remaining focused on the simple words we learned years ago, “What would Jesus do?”
Remember the little rubber bracelets we use to wear to remind us of whose we are? WWJD
People would ask, “What does this mean?”
If Jesus were walking with me throughout one day, would I feel comfortable? What would Jesus do with me as we walked together?
When purchasing groceries, Jesus might point to a container of plain yogurt when I’m just about to grab that pint of ice cream.
Jesus might whisk me away when I’m about to be unkind to someone who steps in line in front of me.
If Jesus were with me for 24 hours, would I feel stifled or would I feel safe?
Would I feel the joy of spontaneously singing the glories
of the Lord or would I feel self-conscious about my sometimes off-key voice?
The fact is that God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit is always with us as we seek to be more like Christ.
God is here for us, cheering us on, leading us into the paths of those who need our encouragement, who need to know Christ’s grace and love.
We who choose to ‘hold fast to the good’ will bump into those who are not so good.
We are called to ‘pray without ceasing’ for this reason.
We cannot changes others to be like Christ but we can be His example.
We can pray continuously that Jesus work in and through us to be as grace-filled, as loving, as kind, as giving, as the Lord is to us.
Only when we know we are receiving the abundance of God’s blessings for us, can the light of Jesus shine through us to others.
At least we have a list of a few items to remind us that, as we walk with our Lord, we will be filled with His presence in such a way that we will be used mightily to draw others into His marvelous light.
May we rejoice that we are being used right where we are, as Jesus leads us on the path He sets for us each day.
WWJD?
Love us unceasingly so we can do the same for others.
May 14
Leviticus 19:26-37; Psalm 71, 74; 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12; Matthew 6:25-34
Don’t worry.
Be happy.
Those were the first words we heard when we stepped off the ship in the Bahamas.
It was one of those three-day cruises we could not resist years ago.
It was like we were in another world.
For these jovial, sweet spirited people we met, life was very simple but oh so good.
Time seemed to stretch each adventure a little longer.
We hiked and lingered in places of beauty beyond the town.
We forgot about schedules and commitments and life-plans.
We lived totally for the few hours we had on the island.
To this day I also remember a few lyrics from Simon and Garfunkel:
“Slow down, you move too fast, you gotta make the morning last now . . . “
I stop, breathe in for my usual ten seconds, hold that breath ten seconds and then breathe out.
I linger deep in thought during that time.
S L O O O O O O W down.
B R E A T H E . . . .
I gotta make this hour last a little longer, much less a too-short morning.
So much to do and so little time.
Stop
Look up
Listen to that soft whisper that says, “Be . . . simply Be for five minutes.”
I stop to remember whose I am.
I look at my ‘remembrances’ of the One who leads me through each day.
I give thanks to the Lord for the multitude of blessings I have, especially one more day of life.
Each day I live, how do I live?
Do I awake and ask, “What are your plans for me today, Lord?”
Or do I dive in to my preconceived idea of what the day should be like and then become anxious and worried because my idea of accomplishment is not turning out as planned?
So often my expectations of what ‘should’ happen each day gets in the way of what the Lord wants me to embrace each day.
I’m almost driven to complete my “list.”
I never do.
It’s always too long and ‘circumstances’ inevitably draw me away from many tasks I have slated for the day.
When I stop and wait upon the Lord and listen to those faint whispers, I remember that my days are not about me.
Yet, if my purpose is to glorify the Lord, Jesus Christ, in all I say and do, Not to worry!
It does not matter ‘what’ I do but it does matter how my my soul embraces the Lord’s presence and carries me through the day.
Our weekly accountability group talked about ‘vigil’ time, a time to concentrate totally on a specific person in prayer.
What if we stopped periodically throughout the day, sat down for a ‘cuppa’ for fifteen minutes, and prayed specifically for another whose day may not be going so well.
Ahhhhhhh.
Be anxious for nothing but float above time and space, float into the Lord’s presence, and stop, look and listen in prayer.
Feel better?
Today is a good day to have a good day without anxiety.
Try it.
You’ll like it.
May 15 Leviticus 23:1-22; Psalm 106; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17; Matthew 7:1-12
Psalm 106:1 Give thanks to the Lord for he is good. :47 Save us, O Lord our God, and gather as from among the nations to give thanks to your Holy Name.
Ahhhhh
Isn’t it nice to take a deep breath with the Psalms?
In one of our growth groups we have been practicing different forms of prayer.
There are as many ways to pray as there are different kinds of psalms.
In fact, singing the psalms are indeed prayer.
At the very least, when reading a psalm we need to scatter those pesky negative thoughts by saying the verses out loud.
We can use a soft voice but it should be audible.
There is something about speaking God’s Word out loud that scatters those pesky demons of unrest, anxiety, worry, or sense of chaos.
Singing or saying a psalm out loud is like covering ourselves with a cloud of the Lord’s presence as if we were wearing an elegant cape.
We can let His presence swirl around us as we repeat each verse.
One kind of prayer we are exploring is what we’ve titled ‘vigil’ prayer.
A few of us began one evening by texting one another as we were concerned about a prayer request for someone we do not know.
One person was asked to pray for a very sick gentlemen who none of us had met.
She, in turn, shared the request with a few of us via text message.
He was on a ventilator and seemed to stop fighting.
That was about three weeks ago.
He was just moved from ICU to a private room!!!!
We are elated but we know we were simply conduits for the healing hand of Jesus to pull this man back to life.
BTW, his wife also had COVID19 but was not even hospitalized.
The request to pray came from her, to her best friend, and then to one person on our prayer team.
From this moment of ‘texting’ prayer, we discovered the most important part of our time with the Lord is saying ‘thank you.’
Even when we felt helpless in prayer, we rejoiced with psalms as we shared our love for the Lord’s presence, the Lord’s healing hand, the Lord’s whispers in our ears.
It’s saying THANK YOU to God that keeps us mindful that it is not our work but the work of the Lord that provides healing.
“Save us . . . Gather us . . . so we can give Thanks!”
Isn’t that what it’s all about?
From this ‘texting vigil’ came another idea.
Let’s take ‘vigil’ time from our daily schedule to sit down
with a cup of tea or coffee each day and simply be with the Lord in prayer for a few minutes.
“Vigil” time means that we concentrate totally on listening to those soft whispers from the Lord who directs our prayer. Of course, for the longest time this one person seemed to be on our hearts and continues to be part of our daily prayer sessions.
Now that we are breathing more easily about our COVID19 person, others have taken our time in ‘vigil’ prayer as they also fight debilitating illnesses.
Saying Psalms, especially those with thanksgiving, are now part of my Vigil prayer time.
It’s like breathing deep and knowing it’s all in the Lord’s hands.
Thank you, Lord!!!
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