"The Greatest Power On Earth"

Jan 31, 2016  Psalm 7,  1 Corinthians 13:1-13,   Luke 4: 21-30       

Have Faith, hope, Charity that’s the way to live successfully, how do I know the bible tells me so.  These three attributes of God will outlast through out our lives but there is one greater, and as we read in 1 Corinthians today, it endures all things and is forever unending as it is eternal, Gods LOVE!  Beautiful words, in this old song and their truth is undeniable. Take a minute and listen to this:  Anyone remember Roy Rogers & Dale Evens?  

 Let us take a moment and take a closer look at three wonderful gifts from God, faith, hope and love. 
In order to maintain faith, faith requires us to trust.  When we put our trust in the unseen we develop the faith to believe that all things are meant for good, and it does not exclude pain, hardship, suffering or loss. 
According to the scriptures it is our faith that makes us whole, and it is faith that offers us a pathway to God.    When we begin to walk the path of faith it will teach us to live above our circumstances.  Do you personally know of anyone who does this?  Just recently I watched some of the sled hockey games for paraplegic on TV. It was fast and exciting Faith has to be a part of their lives.  Our faith teaches us that when difficulties befall someone, they somehow do not allow their circumstances to victimize them, dictate or restrict them from living a full life.  It is as though the light of faith surrounds them.   This light shines more brightly on those who follow this path in life, regardless of their circumstances.   Dare to walk the higher road of faith and it is there that you will find a direct path to the holy, a pathway that leads to God. 

Now of course there is a lower road folks that you can choose, you can choose to be the victim of your circumstances but it is longer and more difficult and you do not have to be paralyzed to travel it. This road contains twists and turns that often lead one into agonizing fear and darkness.  There your feet will fell as though you are standing on quicksand not on a firm foundation.

Proverbs 3:5 tells us “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”  There is a nugget here folks for those who the ears to hear.   Faith that produces trust will not only encourage you to follow, it will create in you a thirst to seek one of the ones whom God chose to embody his attributes to show us the way. 

A women who had twin boys age 7 was perplexed with the attitudes of the two.  One was an optimist the other a pessimist.  Out of frustration she took them to a psychiatrist “is there some way I balance them up” she asked.  “On their next birthday” the Dr. said “fill the bedroom of the pessimist with new toys, and the bedroom of the optimist with horse manure. That will do it”.   On their birthday the mother did as the Dr. had suggested.  She peeked into the room of the pessimist only to hear him say “bet my brother got better toys than I did.”  Then she peaked into the room with the optimist, there he was digging in the manure as he said “with all this manure there must be a pony in here somewhere.”  Isn’t it ironic at how true this story is?  The more manure that seems to pile up around the faithful, the more hope they seem to contour up to find opportunities.   By the same token the more opportunities that seem to pile up around a pessimist, it just never seems to be good enough.

Hope seems to live in the house of the optimism, the house of possibilities.  Hope is the lifeline given to those who have faith.  Faith and hope work in harmony with the spirit to produce faithful followers.  With the hope found in faith, one no longer needs to hide in the shadows of fear or darkness, but rather seek the sanctuary of living in the light. 

For those who come to faith and begin to live with hope, they can be blessed with something more powerful than anything the world has to offer.  It has the power to set the captive free, to feed the poor in spirit, revive what appears to be dead and change the circumstances of the lost.  Some of the most astonishing side effects of this blessing are:  it can change the greedy into the sharing of their wealth.  It has the power to change self-centeredness into the awareness to consider your neighbor.  It can change unforgiveness into the compassion that leads one to forgive the unforgivable and the list goes on and on.  Love is a blessing to all who have received it and share it.  This blessing is the power found in Agape love.   This love is not to be confused with the love the world knows as romantic love, nor is it the brotherly love we hear of spoken within the scriptures, love of neighbor or self.  No, it is a special love known to us as Agape love.  Agape love is best described to us in the reading from 1 Corinthians 13: 1-13 this morning.  This is love in its purist state, meaning it is completely void of condition, free with no strings attached.  It is not influenced by good feelings nor exotic pleasure.  It is not measured or affected by partridge or personal performance and as strange as it may sound, this all powerful love is often associated with non-acceptance, discomfort, suffering, pain or even death.  Jesus, along with many others, have offered their lives in exchange for this love of others.   This love is not cost effective in human terms because you become the barrier of the cost.  Its power is limitless and although connected to, it is not like faith, hope and other forms of love because this love does not stop with your physical death.  Agape love is timeless, universal and as Paul so beautifully puts it, this Love endures all things and is forever unending as it is eternal. 

Let us give God thanks for this love and let us reach out to others as we try our best to show God’s Agape love, or unconditional love to the world.   
                                            " Perhaps Love" 

"Spirited Verses Spirit Lead" Whats The Difference?

                               "Spirited Verses Spirit Lead"

Jan 24, 2016 Readings: 1 Corinthians 12: 12=31, Psalm 19 Luke 4: 14-21

How many of us here today have heard or used this word to describe someone we know.  My, he or she is a spirited person, meaning someone full of life, always seems to be looking on the brighter side, full of imagination, zeal, with a zest for doing things.  You might even get tired just mentioning their name!     Know anyone like that?  Now the opposite could also be said about someone, and probably you have heard the word used in this context.  Where’s your spirit, your spunk, what’s holding you back, what’s wrong with you?  Suggesting a lack of enthusiasm and fun, a lack of imagination, leans towards the negative, reluctant to embrace something new or different.  What we need to understand is either way we are all spirited people with the potential to be spirit lead.

May I suggest here that Luke is making the case for the spirit lead person, something I believe we are all searching and longing for in our lives?  There is a difference between people who are spirited and those who are spirit lead.  Jesus after being touched by the Holy Spirit in the River Jordan, Luke 3: 20-22, has now been literally set on fire for God, and with this change, he begins to clearly see the mission God has laid out for him.   This is the actual moment when his ministry really begins.   As he leaves the waters of the Jordan, Jesus is no longer just spirited but now spirit lead.  This anointing of the Holy Spirit as described by Luke 3: 21 is not just for Jesus folks, it is meant for all who seek that closer relationship with their Creator.  According to the Gospel of Matthew 3: 11 Jesus will offer baptism by Spirit and fire to all who would seek and come to Him.   God is just as pleased with your anointing as He was for the anointing of Jesus because as His children we are all sons and daughters in the eyes of the Holy.  We too are meant to be transformed by the Spirit to do the work God has called us to do.    May I suggest that the major difference between just being spirited as to being spirit lead is this:  one produces ego centered good work where "we" are recognized for the work, and the other produces egoless centered good work where God is recognized for the work.   Let us remember here that good work of either kind, ego centered or egoless centered, is still good work that benefits all of us.  God will not discard a good work, even when we accept or take the credit for that work.     

This anointing of the Holy Spirit is meant for all God sons and daughters.  This anointing lights the spark in us that gives us the desire to do that which is right and good.   When it happens to you, you could become the agent of mercy for the refugee, you could be the carrier of hope to the hopeless and good news to the poor.   You may be the visitor who visits the sick or the shut in, or you could be the light that attracts those to a new way of giving and living.  One thing is for sure, you will be recognized by others, but it will not be because of your spirited good works, it will be because of the visible fruit of your spirit lead works.  What are the fruits of a spirit lead person?  Please take the time to read about them, you can find them in 1 Corinthians 13: 1-13. They are the attributes of LOVE, the attributes of God.

Our Scriptures tells us that those who are led by the Spirit will have the power to set others free, especially those who are held prisoner by the darkness of their own lives as you bring to them the love of God, which is found in Christ.  This is the mission and purpose of any Church, or individual who claims to follow Jesus.  That we might become agents of God’s love, disciples for Christ in a world full of kayos and darkness, a world full of false truths.  Here is one of the biggest lies ever " War will eventually bring Peace"

Do you have doubts about the reality of spiritual baptized by fire?  Many do and I think it is because it’s scary.  We have been cultured to reject anything that could invade our minds and take over our lives. The fear of surrendering to anyone or anything beyond ourselves, well, it just doesn’t compute with us. I believe it is because most of us do not really understand nor do we trust in the biblical meaning of surrender.  Try and tell a war veteran to surrender his life over.  Others may think well, shouldn’t there be some great sign as in the case of Jesus.  You know, the heavens open, the dove comes down, should we hear God voice in some way or, as on the day of Pentecost Acts 2: 2-4 when tongues of fire fill the air and everyone begin to understand and speak in each other’s languages.   One may get the feeling that something significant must happen to signify our new baptism.  Well there is!  But it might not be that grandiose.   Please don’t get sidetracked while looking at any of the miracles especially at Pentecost, and miss the whole point of that story.   The POINT BEING, for the very first time, in a gathering of Jews, Greeks, and Gentiles they all experienced that oneness with Christ.  In the twinkling of an eye, they became one with the entity “The Christ.”  And we know from last weeks message {if you have been following} that it was that same entity that was there in the beginning with God, Genesis 1: verse 26.    John 1: the word made flesh

Many of you hear today may not have realized it but have already felt or shared in this oneness.  You may not have recognized it as such but for some it may have occurred when you were out in nature, where many experience a sacred connection to the earth and it creatures.  It may have happened for others as a compassionate moment during a tragedy in the life of a friend, a stranger, or a family member.   When our passion and the passions of the Christ cross paths; that is when we will know as individuals or as a Church that we have been touched by the Holy Spirit.  The question now should be, not have I received it, but have I recognized it in my own life?  It brings us to tears at times, our love for others runs deep, and our joys will soar as though on eagles’ wings.  But we can’t stop there because the spirit is asking us to do more. The question then becomes “What more can I do for God” both within my church and beyond.   Baptism by fire and the fruit it offers will produce the LOVE works of our God.   The Holy Spirits power is rooted in outreach ministries and mission work, both for individuals and the church.   That is why it so important for a church group to have a mission, a Church without mission has no heart beat and what happens when the heart beat stops folks.   God draws men and women to himself through ministry and mission, unleashing the power of the spirit through your compassion and your love for one another.    

  

"Are We Missing The Point"

While we are awed by the mystery of miracles we often miss its point!
  

 Jan 17 2016  1 Corinthians 12: 1-11  Psalm 36 5-10 John 2: 1-11

Years ago when Johnny Carson was the host of The Tonight Show he interviewed an eight year old boy. The young man was asked to appear because he had rescued two friends in a coalmine outside his hometown in West Virginia. As Johnny questioned the boy, it became apparent to him and the audience that the young man was a Christian.  So Johnny asked him if he attended Sunday school.  When the boy said he did Johnny inquired, "What are you learning in Sunday school?" "Last week," came his reply, "our lesson was about when Jesus went to a wedding and turned water into wine." The audience roared, but Johnny tried to keep a straight face. Then he said, "And what did you learn from that story?" The boy squirmed in his chair. It was apparent he hadn't thought about this.  But then he lifted up his face and said, "If you're going to have a wedding, it might be a good idea to invite Jesus!"

You know as funny as that was for the audience,  that is pretty profound advice.  Jesus is, at least for those who follow him, a sign of God being present in your life.    Jesus brings God into the picture and kindles in us the Holy Spirit.   Both relationships are meant to be life long Folks, the first doesn’t end when you put a ring on a finger.  The relationship with Jesus doesn’t end when you say you are a Christian.  The covenant your making is for life Folks.  Jesus at the weeding is not only keeping the party going, his presence there speaks of the eternal.  There is something of eternity in a marriage and something in Christ that connects us all for eternity.  Christ was in our past, is in our now and will be our future.  

So then, it is a good thing to have Jesus at wedding ceremonies, indeed it is good to have Jesus show up everywhere in our daily lives.  The gospel today is not only about Jesus performing a miracle, it is also about family and about family embarrassment.  It is about how our celebrations can turn in a moment to personal disaster, this is when we really need Jesus to be there for us to.   What do you do when the laughter and the joy run out?   How many here today have experienced a family gathering when joy turns into an embarrassment, a difficult situation or yes even a disaster?  We humans can get carried away with indulgence and not see trouble coming.  How many of us here today would have consciously though to invite the spirit of Christ to come to our festive gathering.  Jesus has been invited to attend this gathering and His presence has a profound effect on its outcome.  Many focus on the biblical miracles and get sidetracked and miss the point of the story.  The miracle is really secondary to what Jesus brings to a gathering, or what he offer us in his teaching.  In those days, and probably even today, you the host wouldn’t want to run out of food or drink with invited guests.   Mary, understanding the embarrassment the family was faced with, she asks Jesus to do something about it, and he does.  At first Jesus show reluctance to fulfill his mother’s request, because he explains it is not time yet to show Gods authority over life.   But Jesus’ true nature, to be a servant to all, comes shinning through doesn’t it.    Jesus will never fail the voice who asks for his help.  Did you hear that folks, this is our first learning here if you have the ears to hear it, Jesus will always respond to a call for help.     

Notice how Johns Gospel doesn’t focus on the miracle but only says this it is the first of his miraculous signs.  What was the first sign of the Holy being present in the circumstances in your life?   Take a moment and reflect on that thought.   You can put your trust in Him for Jesus never fails.   When you invite Jesus into your daily life, no matter what the occasion, you open the door for the Holy to enter in.   On the other hand if you do not invite the Holy into your daily life, you will not see the darkness coming until trouble shows up.  Trouble is like an out of control foolish child, but the father of trouble is evil and evil isn’t just foolish evil can turn deadly.   Don’t invite the Holy and you will leave the door wide open for the unholy to enter into your wok, your family, and your life.   Darkness cannot with stand the light of Christ.  In fact His light dispels darkness and brings peace of mind, real joy and God’s love into any situation or circumstance.  It is not about miracles it’s about TRUST.   Mother Mary puts her trust in Jesus, and because of her trust Jesus gives them the first sign of His holy presence.  It was so obvious that the disciples began to put their faith in Him. 

Signs as we all know, point to something - for those of us with eyes to see – these signs testify to something that is greater than we are - and it is that greater thing we are meant to grasp - not the miracle.  The first sign points to many things about Christ and about His relationship with us.   I would like to mention just three this morning.

First  - In turning water into wine,  Jesus takes what is and shows us that it has the possibility to become something else.  What can that do for us here today?   Well for those of us who might feel tired, worn out, devoid of joy, empty, or lacking in purpose – WE can be transformed by the power of His presence in our lives.   WE can be turned into something rich, fragrant, and ripe with the fullness of joy through His presence in our lives and through His care.   There is a lot of gospel in that for all of us.  Who doesn’t need his care, who doesn’t need his presence.  Jesus can bring new life, even to that which appears to us dead. 

Take Lazarus for instant.  He was dead for over three days yet still responded to the voice of Christ.  Hearing it he was able to walked out of his darkness back into the light where Christ reigns.   Can you grasp the power in these metaphors.   He can fill the emptiness in your life  - he can take whatever it is that we bring to him - no matter how little - or how much - and utterly remake it - giving to it a savor - a taste - beyond the best that the world is capable of providing.   TRUST IN CHRIST, HE CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE.  

Second -  John notes that wine, not just new wine but the best of wine came from thirty-gallon jugs that were full of water,  think of it, because of his generosity the time for celebration had once again begun, not as it was but something much better.  Your new life awaits you, have you invited him in, what are you afraid of, what are you waiting for. 

Third - the Gospel story emphasizes the abundance of what Jesus can provide.  The wedding guests went from having no wine at all to having almost enough to swim in.  By putting your trust in Jesus you too can share in His generosity,  of an abundant life.  One in which the wine of life will be the best ever - your cup will always be full to overflowing.  Thus this miracle was a sign pointing to the prize, Jesus' is that prize.  He is the long-awaited deliverer of your life.   He is the one who will purify you and make the circumstances of your life palatable.   Jesus always provides more than is needed.  Isn’t that GREAT!!!!   

                                   “Jesus on the Main Line”

Ever Felt, "Set Adrift"

Have you ever had the feeling that you had been cut adrift?  How will I ever find my way back?  What words would you use to describe the feeling? 

Jan 10 2016  Readings  Isiah 43: 1-7  Psalm 29

A new attendee to a local church looks out on a sea of faces and wonders where do I sit?   How will I fit in?  Will they like me?  Will I like them?  Is this a meeting place where I will feel wanted and needed?

A women walks by the den within her home looking at the chair where a loved once sat reading the newspaper.  The room is full of reminders.  The feelings of being cut adrift, being alone or lost come rushing back one again. 

A man drives towards the Dr. Office for an examination he has been dreading for the past several months.  His body will no longer let him hide the discomfort and the sense that something wrong is going on within him.   

Who am I?  Where do I belong?  What makes me worthy?     You probably know that these questions which take root in us during adolescence and young adulthood never really go away.  I do not know about you but I have often felt at different stages during my life cut adrift, left out on a limb or have found myself feeling lost, alone and lonely. 

These questions can come from our subconscious mind but not always.  It makes no difference whether they come from, the sub conscious or the conscious mind, what does matter is, where we go looking for the answers to these questions.   Many of us get distracted while looking in the wrong places.  It is very common for people to look for the answer to these identifying questions within their work, their achievements or their profession, only to find them short lived there.  What happens to a women when she begins to feel what phycologist call the empty nest syndrome?  When the last of the children are all gone, off to college or finished and are now out there on their own?  Is the woman no longer a mother? What happens to a home maker when there is no home for them to be maker anymore?  This often happens during family separation or divorce.  It also takes place for the elderly when they face the options of full time homecare or nursing home.  Is she no longer the home maker?   What happens to a man when his career comes to its end at retirement?  What happens to a man when he feels he can no longer satisfy his spouse sexually?  Is he no longer a man?  These three old identifying question may come to the forefront anytime without warning. 

This does not only happen to individuals but happens to groups who get their identity from a label or a name.  Legionnaires, Lyons, Sisters of Charity, or Church organizations like the United Church, you name yours.  Take away their label, United, Baptist, Anglican or Catholic or their common meeting place, the building where they congregate and many will begin to feel cut off, set a adrift, or experience the loose of their roots.  Individuals within the group who have experienced this begin to sense a piece of their identity slipping away.   

Isaiah the Prophet in the chapter 43 has a message for all of us who are feeling the pings and pongs of being cut off, lost or set adrift either personally or as a community.    He is speaking to the bloodied, bruised and bewildered Jewish people of Israel but also the message is for us today both personally and as a community of faith.   
Isaiah tell us Israel’s arrogance and disobedience to the will of God, opened the door that began a set of circumstances that will punish them severely.   The Babylonian empire would conquer them and throw a whole nation into exile.  In the previous chapter, chapter 42, you can read Isaiah’s harsh words of judgment, but now in chapter 43 Isaiah offers the reader these hope filled words of comfort.  Our God is not a God of condemnation as was the Greek and Pagan gods of Egypt.  No, our God is always hope filled and continues to extend hope to us for a future in spite of our sin.  

Isaiah offers his readers some insight concerning these three questions.   Who am I ?  Where do I belong?   What makes me worthy?   These are good question and Isaiah does a pretty good job of answering them for us.  Let us hear these words in Verse 4 of his writings:  “you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life.”   In the eyes of God we are all still his children.  Not just any child but His child.   God is our true parent and sees us clearly in our curious, adventurous, foolish and fear filled lives.   We are not just from but are of God, made in His likeness, His image with the promise that we will one day be again with him.   If we could truly see ourselves in the fullness of the universe, what we might see is a tiny person on a tiny planet who is not and I repeat “NOT” insignificant in the scheme of the fullness of it all, despite our shortcomings.   Falling short is part of the deal folks, it is the only way we really learn anything.  Just as you cannot hope for something you already have, you cannot learn from something you already know.  If we were made not to make the mistakes we do, then why would we need a savior, what would we need to be saved from?  We can take comfort in the realization that our failures or sins do not prompt God to quit loving us or laying claim to us, “You are mind” sayth the Lord God: Isaiah 49.     

Who am I?  I am a curious, adventurist child of the universe with a parent who allows me the freedom to fall and grow on my own time in my own way and who is continually seeking me, loves me and wants the very best for me.  Isaiah is told by God and then he pens it in Chapter 49: “I have carved your name on the palm of my hand. I will never forsake you, I will not leave you orphan, I will never forget my own.”    

Where do I belong?   I belong in community with others.  The prophet reminds us that our core identify lies not in our roles as individuals, nor is it determined by the relative size and wealth of a congregation.  Our sense of belonging cannot be found within our doctrine, dogma or achievements as a community or the status of our peers.  It cannot be found in the label we attached to our community either, but from the one who claims us and will never let us go.  

What makes us worthy?  Here we sit on a bench, chair or pew in a small church in small community on the margins of a hostile planet and its environment.  Yet the prophet tells the reader, as small as you may feel you are valued and cherished by your Creator God.   He tells the reader in Verse 1:  “Do not be afraid for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine.”   God claims you and holds you close.  We belong to God as sheep belong to the shepherd.  We are worthy only because we are His.  Not because we are good, for only God is good.  Not because we are have gained in stature in the eyes of the world, for we are all equal in the eyes of our Creator and we are all still learning children at heart.  May I suggest to you that we can trust and
hope in the God who is with us, and will protect us even in the midst of the floods of chaos caused by our irresponsibility as individuals and as a community.  Now isn’t that GREAT!!      

  

"And You Thought God Created Everything"

            Was God alone in the Beginning?  What do you Believe? 

Jan 3 2016     Psalm 148 John 1: 1-18

As I mentioned on Christmas Eve, the mystic John whom Jesus often referred to as the blessed one and was the only disciple who was there at his crucifixion with his mother Mary, offers us a cosmic Christmas perspective to consider.  Johns Gospel doesn’t start with Jesus’ physical birth, he is suggesting that Christ was there at very beginning of creations itself.   Let us listen:  John 1: 1-5   1.  In the beginning the Word already existed; the Word was with God, and the Word was God.   Let us keep in mind that this of course is according to John’s perspective. I must also say here that most of popular versions of the bible, NIV, American Standard, King James and may others all say “and the Word was God.”  But there are a few versions, Good New being one out there that say “and the word was the same as God”.  Either way, the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament merge as John makes the claim that the Word and God are one.  Verse 2:   ² From the very beginning the Word was with God. ³ Through him God made all things; not one thing in all creation was made without him.⁴ The Word was the source of life,^[a] and this life brought light to people. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.

John perspective on creations forces us to take a closer look at the Hebrew Scriptures starting at Genesis 1.  These writings make up three quarters of what we now call the protestant Holy Bible.  I say protestant here because our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters study an extended version of the Old Testament that includes the books of Tobit, Judith, Ester, The Wisdom of Solomon and the book of Sirach.  These extra books are called the Apocrypha.  The rest of the Holy Bible is made up of the Christian scriptures or New Testament and begins with the 4 Gospel accounts.   Matthew, the first of the four does not start his account with the virgin birth story either but begins with a linage or list of Jesus’ ancestors to prove this child is of the house of David as the Hebrew scriptures had prophesized.   If you look closely at verse 26^th of Genesis 1 you will note that the author, Moses, makes reference to someone being with God in the beginning.  Let us hear the verse: Genesis 1:26 (NIV) ²⁶ Then God said, “Let US make mankind in OUR image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,^[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

Jesus, in John’s perspective is not confined to the New Testament nor to the celebrations we commit to during the month of December each year.  Johns Jesus becomes the cosmic Christ, an entity who was there as the Word {according to John} in the very beginning.  I would like to suggest to you that it makes no difference which name you use as a metaphor to describe who was there with God, the Word as suggested by John or the Christ as suggested by Paul or Jesus whom is believed to be by some Christians today as God incarnate.  But Moses certainly tell us that an entity was with God, and that entity was one with God and was there from the very beginning. 

Let us move ahead 4.5 billion or so years to the time when the Word, finds itself embodied in a human being.   Isaiah 9:6   A child is born to us! A son is given to us! And he will be our ruler. He will be called, “Wonderful Counselor,” “Mighty God,” “Eternal Father,” “Prince of Peace.”  Our Scriptures now tell us that God would choose one of us to be the embodiment of the Word, the Word in human form.     Now the Holy Word as we know it comes in three forms.  The written word, the spoken word and the unspoken word which is word in action.   But how does this relate to our lives today?  Folks, we need to read the written word for ourselves, the written word informs us of where we came from and gives us stories to illustrate the struggles we face as human beings today.   If we read the stories within the Hebrew text or Old Testament not taking all of them literally as historical fact, we will find truths embedded in all the stories and we may discover why John chose the metaphor “The Word” to describe the entity that was there with God in the beginning.   

Without words nothing in our existence becomes tangible, debatable and or understandable.   Thoughts and emotions often make no sense to ourselves or others until they are expressed in one of the three word forms.  The written word allows us to study it, reflect or meditate on it, to absorb it, to take it in and then to interpret it, which helps you develop your own perspective on faith and the world around you.  The caution here is, do not develop your faith from someone else’s perspective.  The spoken word, combined with emotion has the power to heal or even resurrect a dead life, but it can also be used to manipulate or destroy a life.  The spoken word can be gentle and southing or harsh and disturbing.  The spoken word has the power to be more negative or positive then just the written word because of the emotion to which it is attached.  But the greatest power of the word lay not in what has been written or spoken but in the unspoken word, the word in action.   This was Jesus’ greatest and most powerful use of the word and the reason that we must look to him as the Word made flesh.  In fact it was because of what he did not what he said that brings people to believe that he is the one and only true Son of God but also the one and only true Son of Man.  You see John’s perspective offers us a Jesus who is both divine and human.   For Jesus was and still is the embodiment of God in human form.    May I suggest that for the New Year you begin to seek the written word, then speak it to neighbor, friend and family?  Then do as Jesus has so powerfully taught us, put yours words into action.   May the Lord Bless and keep you now and forevermore.  

                                           "Spread The Word"